TVT

If you're here for ICLW click Here! for my post. Otherwise let the thought vomit begin!

• Parenting is a trial and error kind of endeavor, but because I want you to learn from my errors, let me give you a short cut. Jack has been sick....it is some sort of sinus clogging sickness. He doesn't have a cough, he doesn't have a fever, he is just stuffed the fuck up. Which makes him cranky. He has a hard time eating because he can't breathe out of his nose. So I will try to bulb him....now I don't know how Andy accomplished this, but somehow during the three months he was home with Jack, he made a game out of bulbing. Like Jack will actually laugh when you bulb his nose....well except for two instances: 1, when he is trying to eat and 2, when he is half-asleep, trying to breathe out of his nose, and screaming at me in the middle of the night. Needless to say we had a few really rough nights. But here's how it got better. Night one of attack on nose cloggedness, Jack wakes up every 45min to an hour, mommy sleepily turns on the beside lamp (FUCK YOU COMPACT FLOURESCENTS THAT REQUIRE THREE FUCKING TURNS OF THE LAMP KNOB TO TURN ON....I HATE YOU!), tries to calm pissed off baby while bulbing his nose. It was a LOOooooong night. Next morning I confer with Oak who says "did you use saline?....um big mistake you need saline". Fuck me!. Night 2, armed with saline and bulb. Jack wakes up every 2 hours, is even more pissed about saline and bulb. Now he can't breathe, I am sucking shit out of his nose, and trying to drown him afterward. Note to self - trying to get saline in a teeny ass nostril of a baby who is thrashing their head from side to side, is not funny at the time, but the memory of the visual will make you laugh later.....after you've slept again. *sigh* Night 3, mom and dad wise up. Armed with saline, bulb AND hot humidifier thingy (made by Vicks, you put salt in it and it shoots hot steam out...it was like $15...get one). Jack slept normally, waking up for his 4am feeding. Mom and dad woke up thinking 'aahhh this is what sleep is like'. Night 4, repeat the 3-pronged attack on snot and Jack resumes the plan to get him to sleep on his own*.So peeps, don't be a dummy. Go straight for the holy trinity of clogged nose resolution: saline, bulb and hot humidifier. You can thank me later.
• *I have accidentally become an Attachment Parent....Andy and I both have. I think this really deserves it's own post, but to give you a little taster to get you excited about that post (which in all honesty might not hit the stands until next week....apologies). I know you know I am a big ole hippie, but I had no intention of being an attachment parent. In fact, while pregnant and reading about attachment parenting I scoffed and said 'silly hippies'......pot....kettle...doesn't really matter which one I am today. Buuuttt, we are moving into the next phase of "Natalie and Andy's modified parenting plan" (aka make shit up as you go) and the time has come for Jack to move into the grown-up baby phase of sleeping through the night, alone. I am ready.....he's not ready and strangely Andy isn't ready....but it is a good time. Minus the five days we've been dealing with this "Attack of the Snot" things have been going well. And this weekend, we're stepping it up. Stay tuned.
• Solids - are going well, but I am a slacker. Mkay. So you're "supposed" to introduce new foods every 3-4 days....yeah well I am slacking off in that department. I have been doing one a week, and here's why- because I am stubborn, selfish person. See I want to be the first person to introduce a food to Jack....and I can usually only make that happen Fri-Sun. He eats at around 2pm everyday at Pippa's house, so I try to keep him on that schedule. But I am getting my mom-shit together and picking up the slack.....I promise. Tonight I am introducing vegetable numero 3. So far avocado is a go, and sweet potatoes are yummy too, not as yummy as avocado, but a close second. Tonight is carrot. So far I have been making my own baby food...barring Rice and Oatmeal cereal.
• Last weekend was super awesome. I took Jack up to my dad's house and we celebrated my birthday. For those of you new to my blog, my dad is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. He has completed his hormone therapy and radiation and is about two months away from finishing chemo. He has chemo once every three weeks and his last dose was the day before my birthday. Normally, he will feel fine for a couple days after treatment and then at 3 days post chemo he feels like he has been hit by a train. He is tired and sick and it takes him about a week to gain back some energy. He called me two Saturday's ago and was like 'I feel like I should come down and take you out to dinner for your birthday'. But I could tell by the sound of his voice that he wasn't feeling well. I told him that instead I would come down the next weekend (last weekend) and we could celebrate it late. Well, my dad is not the man he was 3 years ago and the only noteable change is this prostate cancer business. He planned quite the day for us. His wife watched Jack (which was a little hard for me, but I decided to let those thoughts go.....I still can't bring myself to call her "grandma" when she's around Jack) and my Dad took me out to lunch. We went to this super granola restaurant (part of his "fighting cancer" plan is to eat basically vegan plus fish) and sat out on the patio. We talked about politics and the state of our country (my dad is really smart and when he is around his ding-bat wife sometimes I forget that he can carry-on a riveting conversation), etc. Then he took me to get a pedicure....and he got one with me. What? I know! I have no answers. It just happened and I found myself grateful to be spending the time together. Afterward we blasted around in his new Mustang. That thing is zippy. Then we went back to the house and picked up Jack and Shelly. Dad took us to the Chocolate Cafe. Oh EMmm Gee. Delicious! They did have food there, but why? I mean just why? All you needed to see was the 3 rows of dessert options and the food menu disappeared into oblivion. It was a fun day and I want to do it again. Well not the same activities, but I want the one-on-one time with my dad. Afterall that is what I have been craving since my mom died and this business with Shelly and all that drama. So for my birthday, I got what I wanted. And I want more, give a mouse a cookie....I am definitely that mouse.

I know that is only four bullet points, but they are long (not surprisingly) so I will cut this shit off now. Have a great Thursday Peeps!

Wait what is this TVT business. Basically TVT came from my super amazingly large brain! One day I thought 'why create a coherent post? instead let's think of a fun way to make a post full of unconnected bullet points'. Voila! TVT was born. How do you participate? Shit is simple, just do it. There are no rules. Post on Mondays, post on wednesday, whatever. If the mood strikes you, grab the button over there on the side of my blog and put it in your post. Don't want to do that? No biggie, it is your fucking life. Welcome to TVT

-Lar-Bar there is also an ICLW icon on the side of my blog. Click on it and it will take you to the site that explains what ICLW is.