Dry Erase Markers, Being Too Busy, and Kicking

Last week one of Nick's pee-pee prizes was a little dry erase board and marker. Because I was naive, I let him take it with him to nap time. Frankly, I was exhausted and not thinking straight. The sudden, random tiredness that hit me all the time in the first trimester of this pregnancy has started returning with a vengeance, right on schedule in the third.

Do you see those cute little knees? Yup. Dry erase marker. Everywhere. He's been doing pretty well with potty training. He has even had several days without wet man panties. Nick has not, however, been able to go #2 in the potty. I have no idea why. I hope he figures that one out eventually.

Today Nick used his first urinal--Greg took him into the men's room at the Kohl's, and held him up, and low and behold, success! This does present a problem for me, though. You see, Nick is afraid of public toilets, and the ladies rooms never have urinals. Hmm. It was hilarious when Nick came running out of the men's room. He announced to everyone at the service desk, "I went pee-pee in the potty!" They were duly impressed.



Pardon my absence lately--the last two weeks have probably been my busiest in years. I have a part time freelance writing job and I am under deadline, so I've been spending lots of time researching and typing like a madwoman. I have 5,000 words due by Thursday, but I got a lot done yesterday and today, so now I only have about 2,400 left to go. I'm trying to earn some extra money for all the diapers we're going to be going through very soon. I seem to remember an average of 8-10 diapers per day--I shudder to think.

Then, I have two teacher friends working on their National Board Certification. It's the highest honor a teacher can get in this country, and the only way to get a Master Teaching Certificate in Illinois. I became a NBCT in 2008, and now I help mentor other teachers working on their portfolios. I remember how excited I was when I got my new IL Teaching Certificate, and it read, "Master Teacher." Can't beat that feeling.   :)  Anyhow, I've spent the last few weeks reading their papers and giving them suggestions. Their final portfolios were due last Friday.

To top it all off, I had to make a little visit to the hospital. The little boy inside of me was being kind of lazy, and my doctor had warned me to call if I didn't feel movement over a 24 hour period. This kid has never moved very much, and maybe it's because I was so busy, but I couldn't feel him at all for well over a day.

My obstetrician had me go in to radiology to get an ultrasound and have the baby pass some tests. He started moving right away on the ultrasound, though I still couldn't feel it. My placenta is in a weird spot, in the front, and I think that's why movement is so muffled. I guess he passed all of the test with flying colors. Aw, he passed his first test. The doctor said that with this good of a test, the chances of anything being wrong are practically Nil. Plus, especially in the last two or three days, the baby has been dancing a jig. His movements have become stronger and I'm having less trouble feeling him.

Anyhow, the trip to the hospital was just a precaution, but now I've been extra careful with tracking movements. We found out that Greg can usually feel him with his hands, even when I feel nothing. So he is now in charge of kick counts. Seems like a fair deal, seeing as I have the responsibility of carrying the baby 24/7. Oh, and apparently dark chocolate and caffeine help--this little guy dances when I indulge.

Speaking of dancing a jig--here's Nick dancing in his crib. This is probably the last week he'll be sleeping in the crib. Greg got the toddler bed together, and we're just waiting for the new crib mattress to arrive. (The original one we ordered was the wrong size.) Nick is thrilled, and every time he passes his toddler bed, he announces, "That's my bed! I gonna sleep in there!"

An $800 Weekend

So how, do you ask, can a weekend cost $800?  Let's see. . .

It all started with a big surprise Saturday morning. I was sleeping, because, you see, I have a wonderful husband who always gets up with our son and lets me sleep. Also, I sleep with earplugs (snoring husband) and it would take quite a lot of noise to wake me up. Anyhow, Greg woke up to find Nick wandering around the loft area upstairs. He had apparently figured out how to climb out of his crib. We waited with bated breath to see if it was a fluke. Nick did it twice more, once on Saturday and once on Sunday.

Transitioning from his crib was inevitable, I suppose. Nick is now 28 months old, and has a little brother on the way who will need to use the crib. We had hoped, however, to delay the transition a little longer. With the way Nick's crib is designed, though, it's really not safe for him to be flinging himself over the edge. So I began shopping for a toddler bed. I found one quickly, at JCPenney. A bonus is that I had a coupon good for 10% off furniture. Not too shabby, and I think it's pretty cute. Here's what I ordered.



























Once I had added this toddler bed to my online shopping cart, I realized I probably needed a new crib mattress. Also, since we're just starting potty training, I bought a waterproof mattress cover. Good thing I had a coupon code for 30% off online at Kohl's. Oh, and a new bed requires sheets! I hopped over to ebay and found this handmade sheet/pillow/quilt set for less than any new bedding set I could find anywhere. It's neutral but goes with our green nursery theme.

Since Greg is going to try to potty train Nick this weekend, I did some price-comparisons and bought 5-ply Potty Scotty underpants for Nick at $8 per pair on eBay. We had to buy at least 5 pairs for home and 5 pairs for daycare. (Potty training is expensive, but not as expensive as diapers!)

I realized as I was being distracted by potty training paraphernalia that we have a space problem. You see, we have a two bedroom home with an open loft. The boys will have to share a room, which is no great tragedy. However, right now the bedroom is completely full. There's the crib, a nice cushy rocker and ottoman, a dresser/changing table, and a full-sized bed. The bed was Greg's from his bachelor days, and Grandma Toni has been sleeping on it when she stays with us. There is no room for a toddler bed unless we ditch the mattress. Grandma Toni will need a place to sleep. So I started futon shopping. Here's what I found:






















We would've been fine buying a used futon on Craigslist or something, but we have no way to transport furniture. By the time you add in the cost of renting a truck, I might as well just buy a new futon and have it delivered. (Total cost for delivery of all items bought this weekend: $44. Not too shabby.)

However, a futon needs a mattress. And a cover for the mattress. This is how we ended up spending $800 in one weekend. All because of a little man who learned how to climb.

Do you notice how he's also chewed on the side of his crib? Most of that was done when Nick was at the teething stage. I hadn't realized how much had actually been chewed until I saw this photo. I guess the crib will be all worn-in for the new baby.

Sleepytime

Lately Nick has been sleeping with a blankie. He grabs it and snuggles up to bed. We have not, however, been able to break him of the binkie. Greg and I are far too weak. Either that, or Nick's will is just too strong.