The Sunday Spotlight

Every Sunday, I highlight one thing: one book, one idea, one dish, one person, one show, one anything. Today, the spotlight is on:

Carter Lee Dandurand

Weighing in at a bit over 25lbs, Carter is a wonderfully stocky 14 month old with a ready smile and a streak of mischief. He is seriously the most content, happy, cuddly, giggly boy, but no lie that stinker will look right at you while he tips your half-full cup of coffee over onto the carpeting. Then he will giggle.

He can say mama, dada, and a version of mah-mah that stands for Madison. He can also moo and say tractor - which really sounds like ca-ca. He eats everything and clearly has no concept of the term full. At every meal and every snack, we have to logically deduce when the bottomless pit has had enough. He never stops eating and would more than likely eat an entire 32oz steak with an extra large baked potato, a good size helping of corn, and still go for dessert...if we let him, which being good parents, we do not. He protests the ending of a meal, but he's good-natured enough to get over it quickly.

He sleeps like a champ, which is a real treat after Madison who, I think, broke records for least amount of sleep in a newborn, infant, and toddler. We can actually put him into the crib wide awake and he will simply jabber until he falls asleep. Heaven.

He is all smiles

even when wearing, riding in, or playing with his sister's hand-me-downs which are inevitably pink and girly. The boy rides in a brown and pink stroller, just got out of a pink carseat, consistently has tiaras, crowns, and bows in his hair, and even once was forced to sit in an overly large frilly pink dress.

His only other facial expression is his uh-oh face:

which is hilarious. He pulls this face when he drops something, misbehaves, spills his drink, or anything else that is uh-oh-ish. Here it is again for your enjoyment:

We had a little scare with Carter. He has a hard lump on the back of his head, which has been there since birth. The doctor finally ordered an ultrasound which came back inconclusive, and we had to meet with a pediatric surgeon for a second opinion. Luckily, the doctor is pretty positive it is merely a dermoid cyst which is benign. We can't know for sure without removing it, but we are going to wait and see if there are any indications of worry before going to such drastic measures as it is more than likely A-Okay. Thankfully.

Captain Adorable here has a few nicknames: C-Bug, Doofus, and My Good Boy are the most popular. He probably thinks his name is "Carter No" though.

Blogging In Absentia

So I've been gone from the blog for quite some time. My Medieval Monday posts which were pre-planned were rolling out for awhile, but as I was blogging in absentia, that doesn't really count. What, you may ask, have I been doing while gone. First, drumroll please, I've been:

READING

That's right folks, I said reading. Can you freaking believe it? I managed to sneak in some actual time for pleasure reading. Crazy business, as my daughter would say. I managed to read the following books in September FOR NO REASON EXCEPT I WANTED TO:

• The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
• The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
• Splintered by A.G. Howard

That's a record my friends. I haven't read four non-essential books in one month since March - and that doesn't really count since the four books were all House of Night installments; those books only require about two hours to read.

I haven't written reviews for any of these books, and who knows when I'll get around to that. After all, I'm in the middle of Jo Walton's Just City and IT FREAKING ROCKS.

And the other books? Well, let me tell you. The Lie Tree was AMAZING. The Girl on the Train was AMAZING. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up was pretty damn good. Splintered was not my thing. Hopefully I will get around to writing actual reviews sometime in the foreseeable future.

In other news, I am kicking educational ass in my Masters in Literature program aka The Thing I Do Instead of Blogging. I'm on a ten week break, and hence the reading for pleasure and the blogging. I am also kicking educational ass in my job as I (along with a bunch of other people) am in the midst of prepping for our Higher Learning Commission peer review for accreditation.

My final ass kickery occurs in the field of Momming these two cuties:

And because you want more pictures of them I'm sure:

Thank you to those who are still around. I promise to read your comments, and if you were wondering what to say I would love any recommendations on ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC BOOKS I SHOULD READ RIGHT NOW WHILE I STILL HAVE TIME.

A Day in the Life of Yours Truly

I missed the posting day for Trish's awesome Day in the Life Event, but I thought posting two days late was no big thing. Let's get right down to it because there's a lot to cover from midnight to midnight: :)

12:53am Wake up and soothe a fussy Carter aka shove a sootie in baby's mouth and turn the vibrate on the bouncy seat. He has to sleep upright because of acid reflux. Yep, that's as fun as it sounds. 12:58 put sootie back in mouth. Sleep.

4:15am Wake up, put sootie in, back in bed, up again in 5 minutes, repeat. Finally give in and feed Carter at 4:38. Have to change outfit because he's managed to soak his clothes despite the fact that only half the diaper is wet.

5:12am Back to bed. Get out of bed twice to reassure Carter that yes, we do have to go back to sleep

6:30am Madison wakes up and calls for me. She wants to "cuddle in Mommy's bed" so I bring her back to my room. She falls back asleep with her face approximately 1/2 inch from mine. It's mildly creepy.

7:00am Get out of bed and head for the shower. Get clean, get partially dressed, blow dry, make-up, flat-iron, put on remaining clothes

7:20 Ready. Madison wakes up. Pee, brush teeth, get dressed, strawberry milk on couch while watching Odd Squad

7:35 I get my coffee and sit down
7:36 Carter wakes up. I stare longingly at my coffee. Go get baby. Change diaper. Enjoy beautiful morning smiles. Feed baby. Other baby eating granola bar (it's like she's a mini-adult)

8:00 Pile Madison, Carter, diaper bag, suitcase full of toys, bouncy seat, purse, work bag, and myself into car. Drop off all kids and kid-related items at mom's. Head to work.

8:30 At desk finally drinking coffee. A very, very large coffee. Prepare for day's lesson, grade, and otherwise do my job.

11:00 Go teach composition. Eat an apple on the way.

12:15 Back in office responding to drafts. Suck down some yogurt with granola. Wish I had a large pepperoni pizza.

1:15 Leave work.

2:00 Home. Eat Lunch. Quickly pick up house and get all the dishes in the dishwasher. I manage to horde all dirty dishes on the countertop RIGHT ABOVE the empty dishwasher until I have a full load. It's a sickness.

3:00 Head to mom's. Feed Carter and play there before heading home.

4:00 Arrive home. Carter pukes on me. I stare at my disgustingly soaked pajama pants and wonder if I have any that are clean.

4:30 I start a load of laundry. Madison helps. Afterwards we run around the red wall for 15 minutes while Carter watches, a look of confusion on his cute baby face. He falls asleep.

5:00 Start dinner. Sausage, Spinach, and Tomato pasta with a salad.

5:30 Play Berry Big City Cafe (a Strawberry Shortcake thing) with Madison. This involves a lot of talking in a high pitched voice for some reason.

6:00 Carter wakes up
6:15 Everyone gets to eat dinner but me as I feed Carter.

6:45 I get to eat dinner since everyone else is done. Then I get to clean everything up. Aren't I a lucky girl? :)

7:00 Playing Go to the Ball with Madison (aka Elsa in her beautiful sparkling, singing gown). I get to be Anna. We dance. We sing. We are awesome.

7:45 Get Madison ready for bed. She watches videos on YouTube with Daddy while I play with Carter.

8:30 Madison heads to bed with Daddy. Carter decides he's hungry again, so I feed him. He takes his time with this one.

9:30 Carter is finally done nursing his 6 ounce bottle, and he is now relaxing in his bouncy seat watching some television. He's fond of the news I guess.

10:00 Put Carter to bed. I get ready for bed - turn off lights, get bottle ready for night feeding, wash face, in bed.

10:10 Hop out of bed to ssshhh Carter a bit

10:11 Back in bed.
10:17 Sshhhh Carter. Sootie in mouth. Back in bed.

11:38 Madison has a nightmare. I get in bed with her an rub her back until she stops making those horrible nightmare-having-noises.

11:42 Back to bed.

Sounds like fun, right?

This was a Tuesday which is a strange cross between work day and home day. I often joke that I am a full-time college professor and a full-time mom as my job allows me to split my days. This means I end up doing a lot of work at night and on the weekends, but it's worth it. Afterall....

Wednesday morning before heading to Madison's gymnastics

Monday morning before bringing Carter to the doctor

Carter at the doctor's

Dinner last night

Currently | 22 March

Last Week's Highlights (with Lots of Pictures)

Carter's week started out strong, wearing some actual clothes instead of his typical footed-onesies

Then, he put those comfy pjs back on and went to sleep

He woke up long enough to watch some Odd Squad with the Big Sis...

And he let her push him in his swing

But, then he went back to sleep...

Madison was much more active then her lazy brother. She went to the Dentist for the first time, and things went really, really well. She loved her shiny, clean teeth (of which she has 20).

She made it back to gymnastics after a two week hiatus...

She also went to a Book Fair at Barnes and Noble where she played with Miniature Volcanos, Play-Doh, Therapy Dogs, Story Time, Craft Time, and a huge Panda named Bamboo.

While at Barnes and Noble, she reasserted her status as Queen of the Books and then engaged in some light reading...

After spending 3 hours in the bookstore, Madison and Mommy were all like..

Also this week:

• Madison got a hair cut (3 inches off)
• Mommy got a hair cut (just a trim)
• Carter spent the night at Grandma Lori's TWICE!!!
• Mommy and Madison went out to eat together three times- Panera, IHop, and Barnes and Noble
• I ate a $40 plate of salmon that was absolutely delicious
• I reconnected with a friend I haven't seen since high school
• We had my mom and cousin over for dinner twice (fish fry one night, brat burgers the next)
• I went back to work

So what did everyone else do this past week?

Currently | 8 March

Time and Place // 8:50pm at home on the couch

Eating and Drinking // Kahlua and Milk, okay is this getting repetitive?

Reading // I'm reading Corsets & Clockwork a collection of steampunk short stories, and while I'm only a wee bit into it, so far, so good.

Watching // My television viewing is crazy business these days as most of my viewing time is from roughly 10-11:30pm as I'm staying up late to get a last feeding in for Carter. I'm responsible for him from 10-3 and Brian has him from 3-7. I've watched two movies, chunks at a time: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and TRON. I have a ton of shows saved on my DVR, but for some reason I started watching Veronica Mars for the second time.

Listening // Luckily I no longer have to listen to Call Me Maybe ad infinitum. Instead, Madison is addicted to Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk. Funny note, she thinks they are saying "hot pants" when they are really saying "hot damn"; as such, she calls the song Hot Pants. And the whole family uses her lyrics. This may cause some massive embarrassment if I'm ever singing the song in public.




Blogging // I missed last week's Currently post, so my first post of the week was my Mailbox Monday, a confession of book buying. My Top 10 Tuesday was on my favorite books from the past 3 years. I also reviewed Kody Keplinger's The DUFF and expressed my worries that the film will both water down the book and add too many cliches. I participated in Weekend Cooking for the first time, posting about my experience with Corn and Feta Pasta with Lazy Meatballs, a family favorite.

Cooking// Well, Corn and Feta pasta for one. This week I've also cooked ham buns and simple au gratin potatoes. Those two meals covered every night but one where we ordered delivery: a bacon cheeseburger, chicken parmesan sandwich, and some fries for the family.

Contemplating // Going back to work. I only have one more week before I have to head back in to the office. I am not a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) by any means. I just spent three days in a row just me and the kids at home, no leaving, no visitors, no nothing. That was plenty. I love my job, I love doing adult, intellectual things, and I love being by myself (a giant chunk of my job is spent alone). My only meh thoughts about returning to work are the loss of my mornings. Kids are awesome in the morning. From the time we wake up (and cuddle in bed for like 20 minutes) until lunch, we are having a blast. As the day goes on, everyone gets a bit testy. Mommy's the first to go as she starts feeling the tedium. Then Carter starts getting pissy as his acid reflux medication starts wearing off. Finally, Madison gets spastic and whiny. Unfortunately, my job takes away three mornings a week; I'm also gone every afternoon, but I am, horribly, home every night for the high point of craptasticism. :)

Loving // Okay, so this prompt is going to be pictures of my kids for the foreseeable future...Here's a pic of all of us in the morning when we are still having a blast.

And here's an imitation of how we feel later in the day...

Missing // Vacation. Brian and I are two-vacations-a-year people. For years, we were going to a beach somewhere and to Las Vegas every year. Then came Madison and vacationing changed drastically. In Madison's first year, we managed to keep to tradition, hitting Vegas in December and bringing Madison to Ft. Myer's in January. The next year, no Vegas, but Brian and I went to Tennessee for four days in December. The following, well I was pregnant, so we didn't get one in at all. Our consolation prize was the Blue Chip casino in Michigan City where we spent about 24 hours shopping, gambling, eating, and sleeping. Not exactly the same thing as four days in Vegas, but... no, no but. It's nothing like four days in Vegas, but beggars can't be choosers. :) Here's some pics of us losing our minds with freedom:

Someday we shall teach our children the joys of gambling in Vegas!!!! Wait, that doesn't sound right....

The Kiddos Update

Pictures of the two of them may be a recurring feature on this blog. Someday I hope to get both of their faces and possibly even simultaneous smiles.

Madison

I was warned. Dire predictions of jealousy and regression were smugly thrown in my direction by parents with 2+ kids. I was disbelieving. My beautiful, mature Madison would handle the arrival of her baby brother with aplomb and grace. Now, a month after the arrival of The Dude, I can go back to those people and say "Boo-Yah!" Madison is awesome. Not a whimper of discontent. She has adjusted to her new life quickly, easily, seamlessly. She patiently waits while we take care of Carter even if we were in the middle of playing with her (or feeding her). Not once has thrown a fit when our attention has shifted to her little brother. And my biggest fear - that she would wake in the middle of the night because of hungry-crying baby noises - has not been realized.

Not only is she adjusting to sharing the spotlight, she is also the best big sister ever, helping out wherever she can and trying to help even in areas that aren't quite suited to her just-turned-three-years-old self. She helps calm him down while he is crying, distracts him while his diaper is being changed, and quite adorably, stands in front of Carter when we are burping him and says "Look at your big sister and burp buddy". She even gives him props when he does burp, telling him "good job".

As for Madison-not-in-relation-to-Carter, she is the oldest three-year-old I've ever met, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. She's gigantic - 40 lbs, 41 inches tall, wearing a size 5. For the emotional stuff, see above paragraphs. Her vocabulary is ridiculous, she tells these adorable, detailed stories, and she knows all of her numbers and letters by sight. She's counting to 20 no problem, singing two different versions of the ABCs, and identifying colors that I didn't even know the names for. Okay, that sounds like bragging, but honestly, I'm not taking credit for any of this; I'm continuously shocked.

Her favorite game is playing school. I love this about her as playing school was also my favorite activity as a child. Let's be honest; it's my favorite as an adult too. Her favorite teacher is her great-grandma Linda and the two of them play for hours. We have even started adding real instruction to playtime with flashcards and the such not. Yay for learning!


Carter

He sleeps. Holy Mary does he sleep. From the get-go, he was making it 5+ hours at night, and from time to time now, he will even make it 7 hours. I, of course, am loving this so much after the horror that was/is Madison sleep. He also sleeps all day long which is kind of crazy. Seriously, The Dude is only awake for a few hours a day. It's crazy. The only complaint I have is that while he is sleeping on his back (so all night long) he is making these horrific, terrifying, disgusting sounds. He gets all gurgly and phlegmy and squeaky. It's hard to tell if he is choking or puking or what.

Apparently this strangeness is called snurgling - which is a cute name for a disturbing event. I thought he had a cold as it seems like nasal congestion combined with gagging on phlegm in the throat, but the lack of fever or cough suggests that it is actually this Snurgling thing. Supposedly this will go away in time. Since it keeps me up all night, I'm hoping sooner rather than later. What are the odds that I would get a sleeper but an extremely noisy one?

He's a big bobblehead, not quite ready for tummy time or you know, neck control.  He's spending time in the baby gym but not interacting with it too much yet. This past week he started making actual eye contact and smiling directly at you - which by the way is one of the most awesome events in the world. He has the gorgeous, big-mouthed smile, and his eyes actually sparkle. Of course, if his mouth opens, puke may be coming so you have to watch out.

I forgot how much laundry you have to do with a newborn. And how many bottles you have to wash. And how much disgusting ends up on your beautiful furniture and carpet. The joys.

Seriously though, he is a joy, and so is Madison.

Mommy and Daddy are a-ok. We are thinking about taking a night off and heading to a casino; although I'm hem-hawing a bit about leaving Carter overnight. I like to make sure my babies have the whole life thing downpat before I go too far away. The casino is like an hour away, so...yeah, not that far....We'll see.

And now, for fun, here's a pic of the awesome big sister washing her brother's feet. Yup, that happened.

Currently | 25 January 2015

Carter Lee Dandurand
Born 19 January 2015 at 1:16pm
9 lbs   21 1/2" long

Yep, it's all about the family today as we complete 6 days of awesome with our new addition Carter Lee Dandurand (is it just me or does that sound like a Civil War-ish name?). The next two paragraphs discuss labor, so if you don't like details skip them. I'm a sharer.

After a full week of being 5cm dilated and expecting to go into labor at any stinking moment, I was induced at 8am Monday morning. Things moved along relatively quickly after that. At 10 I was given epidural - which, just my luck, did not work well. For awhile my legs were numb but not my pelvic region, and for those who don't know, a baby does not come out of your legs so numb legs not really beneficial. Then they elevated my legs to direct the medication to the appropriate location, but it bypassed the area and made my torso numb. Finally, after an hour and a half, we found the right position, and while the pain didn't end, it paled in comparison to before. Unfortunately, when it came time to push, we had to move positions and away went the epidural yet again.

At 12:45 things began in earnest and at 1 my doctor came in to begin the pushing...well, I was doing the pushing, she was there to catch the baby. After one contraction, she thought maybe things weren't quite there yet, so she left. At 1:05, I had, in the words of my nurse, an overly effective push. Then came the torture. Everyone's telling me to not push, and I'm thinking ARE YOU F#&KING NUTS? Seriously, how do you not push at that point? The doctor was back in the room about 6 minutes later, and then at 1:16 out comes Carter. His head was huge - this is not just the opinion of the person out of whom he came; my doctor was rather surprised and had to give me an episiotomy even though she is not a fan. She said "that head was not coming out." I was aware. Very aware. And my pubic bone, which had been slowly separating throughout pregnancy due to Carter's weight and the pressure of his big head, suffered for it.

Okay, no more birthing details, so the squeamish can rejoin the conversation now. Once home, Brian and I quickly realized we had a well-behaved little baby. In stark contrast to Madison, Carter is both a constant sleeper and eater. He eats 2-4 ounces all at once and then can hold off for about 4 hours before his next feeding. Madison was more like a snacker. Carter also, at a mere two days old, was already going 5 hours during the night between feedings. FIVE HOURS PEOPLE. We actually woke him up to feed him the first night because, well, because shouldn't he be eating now?

He requires very little attention during the day, able to be alone in his pack-and-play or bouncy seat for extended periods of time. He cries rarely and is easily appeased. Fingers crossed that he stays this way. After Madison, Brian and I desire a sleepy baby.

Speaking of Madison, she absolutely loves Carter. She's so gentle with him, and she hasn't appeared jealous or annoyed with him at all so far. She has even started teaching him games such as peekaboo and hide-and-seek. On morning #2 at home, Madison and I were already up and about while Carter and Brian were still sleeping. Out of nowhere, Madison said, "Go get Carter so I can show him my videos." I was surprised. I thought she would be all about the alone time with Mommy, but not so much. Thank heavens, and just like with Carter's easy-peasiness, I have my fingers crossed that Madison continues to enjoy her big sisterness.

I am so-so still. I can get around pretty well during the day, but my pubic bone makes getting in and out of bed and laying down rather painful. I'm hoping it goes away this week. If not, I am supposed to call the doctor.

So, that's my story. I apologize for those who aren't in to sharing such personal information, but I'm the mistress of too much information in real life. I can talk about anything from labor and delivery to death and dying to bodily functions and medical horrors. You want to complain about bowel movements? No problem. You need to share your surgical horror story? I'm all ears. New adventures in your sex life, real or fantasy? Let's grab a glass of wine and compare notes. Seriously, I'll talk about anything, no matter how personal. And I've never fully understood why more people aren't also like this. Disgust? Shame? Embarrassment? Pfftt. Let's lay it all out on the table and negate such emotions.

Well then, how's everyone else's Sunday going? :)

Currently | 18 January 2015

Really there is only one thing on my mind currently;

I will be induced tomorrow morning at 7am!!!!! Yay!!! 

As I said in a post this past week, I am very, very ready for the baby to come out. I have been playing the waiting game since last Monday when my OB told me I was already 5cm dilated. To be honest, I cannot believe I didn't go naturally before now. My doctor is just as surprised. My sincere hope is that my body has been working all week on further dilation and effacement; that way once they get me going, things should progress remarkably fast. Fingers crossed!

The big question this time around is whether or not I will go for the epidural. Don't get me wrong, if it was just about pain, I'd be all over that miracle shot. For those around way back when I had Madison, you may remember my 13 Stages of Labor post in which I told you how I was given the joy of epidural and then it was taken away. Consensus is that the epidural drastically slowed down my labor, and that if I had refrained, Madison would have been born 3+ hours earlier.

Shorter labor or less pain? Does it matter if they might take the epidural away regardless? I just can't decide. Any advice?