Ladybug

The highlight of my day was stopping by Inch by Inch Resale. They have maternity clothes, baby clothes/items/accessories and at a fair price. Most resale shops (especially the baby one's) sell items that are just as much as if not more expensive than what they sell for in the stores.

I was excited because we found Sadie's halloweenie costume! A little ladybug outfit complete with ladybug hat, boinger antennae's and a big, ladybug belly. Seven bucks people. SEVEN bucks.

If you need to find some costumes, check that place out. I just can't bring myself to buy a new halloween costume when they're only going to wear it once. It's kinda stupid if you ask me. I say - seek and you shall find.

Yay!

Good Moooooorning!

Sadie's been doing this thing where she gets up in the morning, has a bottle and immediately wants to go back to sleep on top of me. Creature of habit this one is.

ma ma ma ma ma ma ma

Sadie said mama today. It made me really, really happy. In a way I can't explain unless you understand what we've all been through. I know it's just a word, but it's Sadie's first of many...

You're an idiot

you know who you are. you let your kids run wild. you could care less about them - and if you really do sincerely care, you just really suck at watching your children.

we are not your babysitters.

i love watching a good disaster - but not when it's about to happen to a child who has parent's deemed useless.

Please vote for me!!

Hey everyone -

As some of you know, I make all of Sadie's baby food from scratch and freeze the food in ice cube trays and just pop them out when ready!

Well, the web site that I get the recipes from has a monthly photo contest and my "Olympic Ring Cubes" picture has been selected as a finalist!

If you get a chance, please visit this link and vote for my pic daily (I can win a $45 gift card for EarthBaby online!).

Thank you and here's the link (and forward if you'd like!) and if you can, vote once a day! Thank you!!!!

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/vote-for-august-baby-food-cubes-contest.htm

Love,
Michelle and Sadie

Thank you JESUS!

Sadie has finally moved on to the fast-flow nipples and she can down six ounces of formula in 4 minutes flat!

It's kind of made my life a little easier, but it kinda makes me sad all the same. She does really good on the sippy cup, I think that's why she tolerates the fast flow so well.

Still, I sit here and think that I'd still be nursing her if everything worked out the way I wanted it to. I can't change what happened, but it still hurts in my gut that a lot of the things I wanted for her didn't go the way I'd planned.

It's okay though - these boobies of mine are not out of commission yet (just waiting on baby #2).

new doctor

going downtown instead of surgery next week. long stupid story of money and insurance.

so, cancel tuesday

Boo!

No vacation for us this week - but it's okay because I'm getting the pain in my leg fixed on Tuesday. It's surgery, but they'll just shave off the part of my herniated disk that's pushing on my nerve (pretty much same as before) and the pain will be alleviated.

The doc said none of this would have happened if it wasn't for the infection I had after Sadie. So, in a nutshell - I hate Dr. you-know-who.

Boot-Scoot-n

Evil-ness

I don't understand how people can be so manipulative and just plain mean. Honestly, people who are like this must have some sort of serious mental problem - because a normal-functioning person couldn't possibly act this way without an ounce of guilt or that little person tapping them on the shoulder saying "You're being a jerk. Knock it off."

I try really, REALLY hard to be nice to these people. When they say something negative, throw a postive thought back in their face - change the subject - walk away...

My new theory is to just avoid these people at all costs. If only it were that easy.

BAD BOSS contest is back!

Last year - you ALL helped my brother, Tim, win the vacation of a lifetime because of his jerky boss.

If you could all take the time to just vote for this story (the one Tim and the rest of the family want to win this year) and help someone else out!Please follow the link to the story by "Thunderstruck" in IL and just register your email address in order to vote.

Please if you can, vote every day.Thank you!

http://www.workingamerica.org/badboss/index.cfm?appState=detail_s&story_id=26197

And forward this message if you can!!!!

Our first call to the Poison Control Center!

How memorable eh folks?

Really nothing too scary - but as a clueless, new mommy - I thought we'd poisoned Sadie last night...

I bought a poinsettia plant about two years ago for $6 and it's STILL alive. So alive in fact that the darn thing has needed to upgrade to a bigger pot for over a year now. Last night I randomly decided to take on the task with Erik's help.

We had just put Sadie down to bed and she kept waking up so we were taking turns trying to calm and soothe her. I headed back to her room and popped her "DeeDoh" (pacifier) back into her mouth...when I noticed that my fingertips and palm were covered in this milky-looking substance. I knew as soon as I smelled it that it must have been from a broken branch of the poinsettia and I swooped Sadie into my arms and hollered for Erik to call poison control.

By the way - If you do not have the # for poison control somewhere handy, I highly suggest it. Ours is on the fridge and there was no problem finding the number.

After a five-minute conversation with the woman from poison control - it was determined that Sadie would have had to eat a hell of a lot more poinsettia to get sick, and pretty much the entire plant to die. But, we washed her mouth out anyway and she got an extra bottle out of the deal.

I hope that's the only time we ever have to call.

On the bright side - For the third year in a row I don't have to buy a poinsettia plant for Christmas. Jealous??

My Weekend

Lots of new videos

I'm posting a bunch of videos from the weekend up on my YouTube channel. They should all be up by Monday morning - just click here to view the latest:

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=mktarrant

Swap Shop - ON AIR

So when you live in the middle of nowhere - it's very, VERY hard to pick up any waves from Chicago radio stations (minus the AM - 10,000 watt megabeasts).

So, I stumbled onto this local Morris station and it's beyond entertaining.

So there is this show called Swap Shop where people call in and describe items for sale or items that their looking for and then they leave a phone number. Here are some of the items - LIVE as they call in...


- 18 ft fiberglass boat (for parts) 815-476-7414
- hide-a-bed sofa 815-634-4562
-garage sale (in an alley mind you)
- packer's lamp 815-942-6011
-garage sale 1080 E North St COAL CITY lots of size 3X plus clothing
-male chameleon (with cage for $75) 815-735-6899
-fiberglass pick-up cover for an 8ft bed truck 815-735-5134

Head Breath

You know it's time to give Sadie a bath when her forehead smells like mommy and daddy's bad breath from kissing her.

Where to go?

So I finally have the car today - but it looks like I might not have anywhere to go (booo!).

I could go to WalMart and get some cat food. But that's a long way to go for "Special Kitty."

I was going to go to my mom's but something came up - so that's out of the question. I think I'll go take my shower and think about it in there. Honestly, I could do some shopping, but with what money?

I'm happy, however, because we're going up to the lake next week and I'm hoping Mary makes it. She said she might not go, but she's nuts if she doesn't! I hope it's sweltering so I can take Sadie for a dip in the lake and wear my new bathing suit that I love. Go figure, I actually find a bathing suit that I would wear live on national TV and the weather's been so cool, that I haven't gotten a chance to show it off. Lame.

Here's a picture I submitted to this homemade baby food website. Whoever gets the most votes for creativity with baby food cubes wins a $50 giftcard! When the voting starts, I'll hound ya'll to vote for me!

Bring it back

So, next week I find out whether or not i'll get my back surgery. Honestly, I can't wait. I'm tired of being in pain and of my leg feeling like it's on fire.

I'm hoping to get scheduled for it sometime in September. I figure do it now while Sadie is still small.

Speaking of Sadie - I hear her crying so I gotta run!

Cornfield

Sadie pooped one heck of a load on the way home from Buffalo Rock. We decided to take the scenic route home (Route 6 instead of I-80) and she pooped a gigantic, mooshy one when we were in the middle of nowhere.

I figured it could wait 26 more miles till we got to Morris to change her - but guess what...Sadie really didn't want to be sitting in that diaper. After about 5 minutes of screechy screams and countless efforts to calm her (bottle, binky, toys, etc)...I told Erik that we must pull over immediately.

So, dutifully - he whips the car into a cornfield where we changed the diaper. I changed it and handed Erik the diaper. He threw it into the cornfield. So next year, when we're driving around next summer wondering where we steered into a field - we should just look for the 20ft stalk of corn that will be well fertilized.

We did have fun today besides our romp in the field. We were at the "Rock" with Karlene and the gang and it went pretty well for having a toddler and two babies to watch after. I had a really nice time and the weather was great! Well, I'm exhausted so I bid adieu.

Daddy making fart sounds on Sadie

The MIX Radiothon for CHILDREN'S MEMORIAL

Will be Friday and Saturday! Tune into 101.9 for details and donate!

Sadie's trip to the ENT

Ugh. What....a...DAY.

Okay. First off, Sadie had her hearing checked out by audiology and passed with her right ear but completely failed the test in her left. Assuming there could be some sort of blockage of wax (or possibility of infection) the doctor had to clean out her ears.

I know all he had to do was clean out her ears and take a good look at them, but to be quite honest, it was horrible! They had to first off stretch her arms straight out and strap them down to this board, then put this straight-jacket type thing across her chest and legs. She was strapped in and screaming.

The doctor then had to hold her head down with straps and turn her neck. She was just screaming so hard she could hardly breathe. I couldn't even touch her to reassure she would be alright...so here i am, thru the tears saying "It's okay Sadie you're almost done..." My poor baby...she really was miserable. I swear, can't this poor kid just catch a break?

So after 3o minutes of hyperventilating, she finally calms down and the doctor comes back and says that we'll have to redo the hearing again on Friday just to make sure that the wax wasn't blocking her hearing. However, the ear with the most wax - her right - passed the screening...which makes me a little concerned.

But, if this is the worst that happens to her from being sick - I can handle it.

So, on to her surgery. The skin tag on her neck is pretty big (according to the doctor) and I've decided to have him remove it at the surgery center. Originally, I didn't want her to be knocked out for it, but after what she went thru today - FORGET IT! Poor thing doesn't need to be awake during that.

The earliest we could get in was October. The base of the tag is so big that it's actually grown into her neck muscles so the stitches will not be the dissolveable kind.

I'll update on Friday as to whether or not she passes her hearing test - I hope what we went thru today to find out is worth it!

holy thunderstorm batman!

after this giant, never-ending storm blew over - I went outside to put all my potted plants back in their proper places. everything is blown all over because there isn't a tree or hill unless you go about 200 miles west to Iowa.

anywho - i find my patio set in shambles and as i gather up the table and chairs...i notice there is only one chair. singular.

so, if anyone in channahon had a heavy, bistro-set chair come flying into your window - just plop it on back on my patio. no questions asked.

*EDITED NOTE - the chair has been found alive and well across the street. i'm sure the cop who drove past me wondered why some bra-less woman, with a bath towel around her wet head was dragging a chair through the streets.

Makes me angry...

We went to Pizza Hut the other night and our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. So we took home almost an entire pizza (only ate two slices) and three giant breadsticks.

Many, many, many hours later - Erik discovered them in the hot car. So much for leftovers.

Family Picnic Pictures!

Cousins...

Tom and Erik

Marty and Nina

Grandma and Uncle Terry

Mom and Dad

Mary, Jacob and Katie

Erin's girls: Madison and Emma

Tim and a tasty burger

Zach - He's like 6'2" (and he's only 14!)

The annual Egg Toss

Sadie and future-mommy, Shannon

Mary and Sadie

Family Faces

Sadie wasn't sleeping - just was smiling with her eyeballs shut.

I look like I need a cigarette hanging between two of my fingers.

The Cubs won!?

Drama in the baby department

So why in God's name do they stop making sleepers after 9 months? What, at 12 months it's time for two-piece jammies. I'm all for the jammies, but the sleeper is just - easier. I just do one zip and ta-da...diaper change!

After hunting and searching for quite some time, I found a few sleepers (12 and 18-month mind you) at Babies-R-Us. I've also been buying up boys sleepers too at garage sales, resale shoppes - wherever I can find them. Having a girl is great because they can wear anything. Plus, if we ever have a boy - I already have some clothes in stock and ready to rock.

Erik, Sadie and I had our weekly date at Pizza Hut. It's was very tasty. Sadie is really good when we go out to dinner too. I'm kinda surprised.

I also got some pretty good news today - we're going back up to my brother's vacation home in about two weeks for a FOUR day weekend! Woo wee!

The family picnic was today and I have lots o pics and videos - I'll post them sometime tomorrow after Terry and Shannon's shower. Well, off to feed Sadie and have her sleep with us. Yeah yeah, don't yell at me. But on the weekends she's been crashing in our room and I don't care - I love her and the more time we spend together, the better!

Exersaucin' Sadie

Six MONTHS

Sadie is officially 6 months old today. Happy 1/2 Birthday sweetie pie!