Halloween 2012

My little Thomas the Tank Engine!
(at drop-off this morning)

So excited to show me his loot at pick-up!

A favorite - a lollipop!

Looking a little sheepish about showing
Mommy the dentist all his loot1

 

Ready to go on home!

He organized everything in his basket 'just so'

Ready to hit the street and our little party!

Aunt Lindsey always hangs with us on Halloween!!

Showing neighbor Aunt K his leaf ring from school! 

 

This lollipop is GOOD!!!

His first Kit Kat!

I couldn't believe he was 'finished' with 'getting candy'!

Oh how quickly we are swayed to the dark side!

This was the first Halloween where Tate seemed to understand trick or treating, though it wasn't until this evening after I picked him up from school that it was starting to make sense.  I don't make a big deal about Halloween;  I've never been a fan of dressing up and all that business.  But I know kids love it, and I want Tate to enjoy himself.  We don't live in a neighborhood with lots of kids, nor do we know many people with kids around here.  In the years since I've lived here, my neighbors and I have always sat outside and carved pumpkins, drank some beer, sometimes had food and handed out candy to the small smattering of kids who come by.  Lindsey usually comes and hangs with us as well (she did used to live with me!)  It's always a warm and mosquito ridden evening.  Tonight was no different.  I got some dinner into Tate and changed my clothes.  After dinner the 3 of us headed outside and got out chairs.  Earlier Tate had said he had enough candy, but I convinced him that if he would put his costume back on he could have more.  (They had gone trick or treating at school for what is called Wacky Day with a special lunch and cupcakes for snack time)  He ran over to his all time favorite Uncle R and quietly said 'Trick or Treat'.  Well the video says it all!  He was thrilled.  We then walked around the block one time and a few other houses had people out giving candy;  Tate became bolder and bolder, initially taking only one piece of candy to ending with a handful.

It was a fantastic night.  Tate was so happy.  This is what I always thought being a mom would entail...simply enjoying the joy of my child.  And of course me being me...I had him in the crib at 8:02! :)  I told him he could sleep with his basket as long as he didn't play with it or take anything out.  He was more than happy to oblige.  He was sound asleep by 8:15.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

The Halloween Pumpkin will be going upstairs
soon to remove all the candy he can't have.

October 24, 2008 - Tate's Birth Story

I woke up with puffy eyes and an unpleasant headache that Friday morning in late October.  I came downstairs to find a note from Christian.  He had heard me leave on Thursday evening (my neighbor and I initially talked outside), and he also knew how upset I was.  Raik was thoughtful and kind enough to go for a nice long run that morning, so Christian and I could sit down and talk.

We sat down in my cozy living room and just laid our feelings out there.  Mine...his reticence to try the night before really rocked my world.  I had been waiting for this chance for weeks, months and now this chance seemed to be passing me by.  I was so scared that it wouldn't work, this insemination, that I couldn't see past what I wanted/needed.  His...he was worried about how very much I wanted this and worried about how upset I would be if I didn't end up pregnant this time.

But what turned things around for me was when he articulated that he wanted us trying to make this baby to be special.  That he wanted us to have had time to reconnect, spend some time alone and feel as connected as we had in August.  With the delays of his flight, his jet lag, his exhaustion and worry after all the delays and hours wondering if he indeed was going to make it Houston last night he felt he was in no place to really 'be' with me.  And though we were not making this baby in the traditional manner, he wanted it to still be special and have some meaning.  

I knew then that this was going to work.  Maybe not this first time, but it was going to work.

So we reconnected.  We sat there on that couch and caught up on each other's lives.  He told me about his travels thus far in the states, how much he loved Vermont and the surrounding areas.  I regaled him with tales of our Ike and family/work life here in H-town.  And it was good.  It was great actually.  I don't recall what we did the rest of the day.  I suppose the 3 of us went to lunch;  I'm sure we hung out with my sister who I had banished to my parents' for the weekend :)  

And I checked for ovulation.  And all systems were go.  TMI alert....my cervix was wide open with lots of EWCM!  Much more open than it had been on Thursday late afternoon.  My timing was seemingly perfect.

That evening around 6pm Christian handed me his half of Tate's DNA.  I then added mine within 5-6 minutes :).  I situated myself on my back with my feet on my wall and my hips elevated on a couple of pillows.  Once I was 'done' and covered up I called Christian on his cell and he came upstairs and laid down on the bed with me for the next hour.  I laid on my back for about 30 minutes and then rolled to one side for 15, my stomach for another 15 and my other side for the last 15.  The idea being that you should try to coat your cervix completely.

We laid there, hand in hand, me with my feet in the air and just talked and talked.  About our lives, our childhoods, our families, our friends, how we came to be at this point in our lives, our hopes and our dreams.  And yes it sounds woefully cheesy, but it is really what we did.  And it was probably the most connected I had been with another person in a long time and actually still to this day.  And there in that space in time as the sun went down we both believe Tate was conceived.   And though what Christian and I had  at that time wasn't a romantic love or a passionate love, there was love in that room in abundance.  

And I'm so very blessed that this baby of mine, this sweet boy of mine was conceived in such love.

Tate's Birth Story...October 23, 2008...Hormones

 Four years ago today on Thursday, October 23, 2008 Christian arrived in Houston via Vermont and California for the big first insemination!!!

He and Raik spent a few days on the east and west coasts of this great United States.  Christian and I talked and emailed regularly.  He was taking his sperm enhancing pills :) and following the doctor's recommendation of no laptops on the lap, exercising regularly and wearing boxer shorts!  (we had had to buy a nice supply on his trip to visit in August).    In addition, my RE had suggested that he abstain from any and all sexual activity 4-5 days prior to any sort of insemination.  

I was an absolute basket case.  I so wanted this to work this first time.  I was just so worried about the logistics of doing this a second, third or fourth time.  We had decided for the second time I would fly to him in Germany.  This concerned me because flying and changing time zones so drastically can really interfere with some women's cycles.  As well I would have to take quite a bit of time off work, which would be unpaid, to be sure to be there long enough to ovulate while I was there give or take an unknown few days on either side.  And I was desperate to be pregnant sooner than later.  

I know my worry and desperation started to really come through to Christian during our last emails and phone calls.  He did his best to reassure me and try to help me relax because we both knew that my being stressed would probably be my biggest hindrance to getting pregnant aside from my age.  

He and Raik were set to arrive on the early afternoon of the 23rd via a layover in Dallas.

I don't remember what happened but their flight was delayed.  And delayed again.  

I anticipated ovulating sometime on the 24th.  And we know I knew because I had checked my beautiful cervix that morning of the 23rd before work...things were a-happening!

I was hoping to do an insemination on the evening of the 23rd as well as the next few days.

I was frantic.  

Many texts and phone calls ensued.  They considered renting a car and driving down to Houston;  I'm pretty sure I considered walking up to Dallas :).

Cooler minds prevailed and they finally arrived in Houston around 8pm.  I, of course, was apoplectic.

They were exhausted having come from California.  I was exhausted from nerves, long day at work and my life's dream *almost* within reach...to become a mother.

I got them fed and situated in the room downstairs and while Raik relaxed with a shower and some alone time, Christian and I took the opportunity to reconnect alone.  All the while I'm thinking 'Ok let's get this show on the road.'

And as I sat on my little green loveseat with him across the room on the couch I came to the sick realization that we were not going to try that evening.

I was devastated, heartbroken, crushed.

I don't remember what either of us said or how it came to be, nor is that something that needs to be put out for others to read or know, including Tate.  All I remember is that Christian simply was not in a place that evening where he could help me make a baby.  I simply withdrew into myself and could not figure out what on earth had changed his mind, though he kept reassuring me he wanted to do this and that couldn't we try tomorrow?  Like my body could be told to 'just wait a minute.'

He went on downstairs to get ready for bed and I went up to my room.  I sat and just cried.  I called my next door neighbor around 10 and as I hiccuped into the phone I asked her to come over because I needed someone to talk to.  K is amazing and came right over.  She hugged me and comforted me as I wailed that it seemed like Christian had changed his mind and why did he have to wait until he was here to tell me this?  Why did he waste 3 months of my rapidly disappearing reproductive life, actually more, saying he was on board with this?  

She left some 30 minutes later and I headed on up to bed thinking I might never become a mother.

Hormones.  They'll get you every time.

Good and Bad

I can't decide if I should start with the bad or the good.  

I think I'll start with the bad, so I can end on a good note :)

This afternoon I loaded Tate up and we headed to Carter's for their big doorbuster's sale (a big bust for us...all the cute stuff online is only online).  These days I undo Tate's carseat buckles and he climbs on out himself.  I have no idea what went wrong this time.  

I undid his buckles and went around the back door to open the passenger front door after telling him to get out and that he could bring his hippo and Mickey Mouse (a new favorite as of Friday) in the store with him.  All of a sudden I hear him crying hysterically.  I go back to him and he has somehow entangled himself in the carseat straps.  I don't realize what a problem this is initially as I try to get his arm out for him.  He's thrashing about and becoming increasing hysterical and I realize he has somehow got it around his neck as well and it's looped over and he CANNOT GET UNDONE.  I start to panic because I can't get him undone either because it is so damn tight.  He starts turning blue and purple and I'm frantically trying to get my hands slid under the strap as I recall somewhere in the recesses of my mind how to flatten your hand and slip it between the cord of a baby's neck if it's wrapped around to get it off the baby as it's being born.  He's still thrashing about making it so much more difficult, and it's 90 degrees out and noone seems to see us struggling.  

Finally, finally, finally I got the strap from around him.  This was probably 30-60 seconds of absolute torture for him and for me.  My poor, poor little guy.  I grabbed him out of the seat and just held him.  I sat him on the trunk of the car and looked to see what if anything was hurt, bleeding or bruised.  He had the definitive marks of seat belt abrasion :(.  But he said he was fine.  I decided we needed to get on into the store so we could be in the air conditioning.  I promised him he could watch his steam trains on my phone the entire time I shopped.

We got inside Carter's and cooled off.  I got him situated with my phone at their play table and I shopped.  I was shaking and just out of sorts.  I bought a few things, but my heart obviously wasn't in it.  We left with our purchases and made our way home.  

He seems just find minus the bruises and abrasions.  He also seems to have popped a few blood vessels in his face when he was having difficulty breathing.   Tonight I will definitely be bringing him into bed with me in our room when I go to sleep instead of sleeping downstairs like I normally do on work nights.  I can't bear to be away from him.

He was a great mood though when we got home.  He even got in his carseat with no problems for the drive home.  This little guy takes a licking and keeps on ticking.  (remember falling off the train...he still loves riding it, though he does always want me near).

And from now on not only will I unbuckle him I will remove the straps from around his arms and be sure they have cleared his body.  I suggest everyone do the same.
Here are some pics...

 

So for the good news.  We had a pretty good weekend my little guy and I otherwise.  We had music class yesterday and Tate had a ball.  He just loves going and has really come out of his shell while we're there;  well as long as his new love M is there!

We ran a few errands then came on home for lunch.  I finally got him down for a nap and about an hour into it I saw him sitting up and stirring on the monitor, so I ran upstairs and cuddled him and we fell asleep together for another hour.  Fantastic.  We hung out here when he woke, though it was 3 when he woke. He will not go to sleep until 1 these days for his nap.  And ideally he needs to be up by 2 to go to sleep easily.  I also think he needs at most an hour of sleep, but he was awake yesterday at 5:15am and we had a party from 5-7p to go to.  (and yes, I was less than pleased with the lateness of the hour for a 3 year old's party, when we start bedtime routine at 630/645).  But we persevered.  The party was at ChuckECheese, our first visit, probably our last unless there's another party.  I called the managers to be sure I could bring cake in for Tate that was egg-free and they gave me such a hard time about approving it I wanted to scream.  I finally spoke to the general manager who hemmed and hawed and finally said 'I guess it'll be ok'.  Ok, so you want my kid to die?  Do you realize how hard it would be to watch all his friends eat cake and he not be able to?  How do you explain that to a 3 year old?  In addition, Tate hates pizza, so I knew he wouldn't eat any of that.  I wanted to bring in some of our egg nuggets for him.  I opted to not ask about that and just loaded up my purse with his yogurt and cheese sticks for dinner.  Sigh.  But he had fun and that's all that matters.  I'm also really glad we went because there were only 2 other kids there for the little girl's party.  It was last minute notice, so I know people were busy.  There was a HUGE football game yesterday (A&M v LSU) so lots of people made the trek to College Station for that and it's pumpkin patch season, so more than 5 days notice probably would have helped.  Anyway, the sweet mom also invited her cousin who has 7, yes 7 kids.  And they did not show up.  Not at all.  I have no idea if they called or texted, but when we left at 6:45 they were not there and cake had been eaten, presents had been opened and games had been played.  I was just infuriated for the mom.  However, it's her family, and I'm sure she's dealt with them and this sort of thing before.  Tate had fun.  The birthday girl was happy.  We got home around 7:25 and I threw Tate in his pajamas, brushed his teeth, read him 2 stories and had him in the crib a little after 8.

This morning we got up, laid in bed a bit as he was up at 6 after waking at 2:30am for reasons unbeknownst to me. I put him in bed with me at that point with no complaints from him.  We got moving a little before 7, got him some breakfast and then went grocery shopping at our favorite store, Whole Foods.  Ran home and I threw the cold items in the fridge and we met a small portion of the tribe for breakfast.  (well snack for Tate, breakfast for the rest of us!)

There were 7 of us adults and 3 kiddos.  The girls are both almost 2; in fact one was the little girl he hung out with Friday late afternoon!  After breakfast Tate and I headed to the playground where he ran amok and had a great time.  He is a bit more clingy these days wanting me right beside him or in clear view when he's at the playground.  A bit difficult at this one as it's big and sprawling, but he had fun.

Oh and it was about 88 degrees.  At 10:30am.  On October 21, 2012.  Ugh.

We came home, he had lunch and I tried putting him down for a nap.  This did not go well today.  It was not pretty, and I'm very ashamed of myself for yelling at my sweet boy (well he's not always so sweet), but I yelled in his face to calm down and quit wiggling about.  The thing is I KNOW he's tired. I know he needs to get some extra sleep in.  He just cannot calm himself enough to do so and it drives me bonkers.  Add in the fact that his sleeping or lack there of just worries me greatly because of all the literature out there about overtired kids.  And I know, I know he may just have less sleep needs than most kids, but isn't that what those parents say too. the ones of the overtired kiddos?  Anyway, after he cried in horror and hurt feelings, and I made him throw away two of his favorite books he finally went to sleep in my arms.  I felt just awful and opted to just hold him while he slept.  He slept almost an hour and woke up smiling.  I even let him watch about 40 minutes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and gave him a popsicle to atone for my bad behavior.  (funny huh?  I won't use food to praise his good behavior, but I'll use it to to make him feel better about my bad behavior)

The Texans won!!!  We beat the Ravens 43-13!!  We are now 6-1 and we are the leaders in our division!  I love me some Texans football...I always have and I always will.  Here's Tate and his feelings, ok mine, on the win!

That's when we left for the ill-fated trip to Carter's.

We made it home and Aunt Lindsey stopped by for a quick chat.  Always love hanging out with her.

So it's almost Monday.  The worst day of the week in my opinion.  The day we have to be separated.  But I'll be sleeping with him near me in just a little while (I intend to put him in bed with me!).  So I'll end this with the happy face he had at bathtime tonight!

Times Like These

I have so many post ideas floating in my head I don't know where to start.

So I'll start with the mundane minutia of our lives.  Tate and I have had a pretty good week.  Though we are both miserable with allergies, and I mean miserable we're doing well.  We got in a good groove this week in the mornings even with him waking at 5AM.  I am still sleeping downstairs during the work week, but I obviously still hear and then see him on the video monitor.  He tosses and turns and sometimes calls out for me "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy", but I just don't give in.  I do not understand for the life of me why he goes to sleep around 8PM and wakes up to start his day at 5AM.  Gah!  Granted he was falling asleep around 830, but every night this week I've given him 12.5 mg of Benadryl because he is coughing so much.  And yes I know it's sedating, and I know it's not recommended for kids under 6.  His ENT approved it for him because nothing else works on his cough.  I tried Zyrtec for over a week with no results, except a little guy who coughed himself to sleep. He already takes Singular regularly with the anti-histamine prn (as needed).  Anyway I'm a big mess of gunk also.  I am so tired of not being able to breathe which absolutely exhausts me.  I'm not getting near enough oxygen in, and I'm just miserable. 

But hopefully after the day we had today we'll see some changes in how we both feel and get him to go back to sleeping until 6!

So we woke at 5.  I dozed until 545 and finally got upstairs to get him after getting his breakfast ready at 6:05.  He had a long whiny 20 minute meltdown for reasons I have absolutely no clue about.  He was climbing into his chair to eat breakfast and I was going to get him a napkin.  Something happened or wasn't exactly to his precise liking and he was just crying and boo-hooing.  It lasted 20 minutes!  Several hiccups later he ate his breakfast.  We got dressed, hairs done, make-up on and out the door at 803AM!  First stop was a haircut for Tate at 8:30.  Next a zip through the drive-thru at Chick-Fil-A to get me some breakfast because I wasn't hungry when I woke up, but that biscuit was way too much something (a testament to my healthy eating this week) and I only ate about half.  Swim lessons were next at 9:30.  My parents met us at swim lessons because I needed to drive out to Katy for a doctor's appointment (25 miles away...don't ask).  I've been having pain in my upper right sternum.  The young doc thinks it's costochondritis, but I'll be having a chest x-ray next week to rule out anything more ominous.  

Left Katy around 11:30 to head back to town, picked up and dropped off my contribution thus far to Tate's school's fall festival next weekend, so I got home around 12:30.  Hung out with the 'rents for a bit then loaded Tate up in the car for our trek to Clear Lake (28 miles away...a good 45 minute drive) for his appointment with his ENT.  I anticipated he would take a good nap in the car.  He did fall asleep immediately, but woke 40 minutes later...why? why?  He should have been exhausted.  We were following up on the blood found in his right ear last week to be sure nothing was wrong and that we weren't going to have to remove the tubes in the office or under GA.  All is fine.  They are out of the canals and should fall out eventually.  Tate was coughing while we were there.  Jim says he agrees with our ped...it's just post nasal drip.  He doesn't have anything really to offer up except to try switching to Allegra instead of Benadryl;  it should cover Tate for 24 hours as opposed to the 6 Benadryl does.  To see how it helps with the cough.

Why did I spend 2 hours driving to various physicians?  The first is a dear friend of my sister's and as my physician could not see me today I wanted to see this new young doctor.  I am scared of what's wrong, and I couldn't wait until next Friday to get an appt with my physician.  And Tate's ENT is an old college friend of mine...we graduated together, and we've been friends since we were 18 and freshmen in college.

Finally got home around 4.  Tate was a bit cranky...this cannot be a surprise.  He was so awesome for his ENT who looked and poked around in his ears for quite some time.  But we muddled through and he was smiling by the time my girlfriend and her 21 month old arrived to return something and play a bit.  Tate was all thrilled and excited for J to come play until she was here.  The no-sharing and pushing the baby out of the way business angered me.  Where did my sweet boy go?  Sigh.

They left around 6.  I shoveled some pizza cake (cheese quesadillas...Tate chose the pizza cake name) down his throat along with some Singulair laden applesauce.  A teaspoon of Benadryl later and Tate was asleep at 7:35pm.

I ordered some pizza from Star and am drinking a glass of Sangria by SkinnyGirl.

I'm on call this weekend which sucks.  I so do not want to be bothered.  I'm tired and I'm scared.

And I'm sad.

One of my oldest and dearest friends was diagnosed with breast cancer this week, and I found out yesterday.  When I called her I burst into tears and her first response was classic, just textbook..."It's going to be ok" SHE said to ME.  How many times have we read in blurbs or articles about serious illnesses that in telling those we love that the patient ends up comforting the friend or family member.

I just cannot believe this.  I never, ever thought I would be touched by cancer in such a deep and personal way.  Yet, it's not even me.  And she's so healthy.  She just lost 30 pounds, and I promise she probably had a BMI of 23 to begin with and now she's probably now at 18.  But she feels healthier, so that's all that matters. 

But what good has it done her?  She still got breast cancer.  She has a 13 year old and a 10 year old and a great man for a husband.  

I was in her wedding.  She is my diamond sister (sorority sister stuff!) She is my original sunshine.

And then late last night I found out another sorority sister's mother passed away.  She was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic pancreatic cancer on September 17.  5 weeks ago.  S was a freshman when I was a sophomore and I was her sophomore advisor...lived right across the hall from her.  I helped rush her and was thrilled when she became an ADPi.  Though we're not close friends, those of us who are from that special place we call Southwestern University and are part of that amazing Alpha Delta Pi sorority are joined together forever in a cocoon of love I don't think many are blessed to have on this earth.  She was in town this summer and made the time to stop by and spend some time with me and meeting Tate.  And it's like we've been living in LK the past 26 years together.  And now her sweet Mommy is gone.  Godspeed Mrs. G.

So I'm tired.  So very tired.  I'm of the age where our middle age health is starting to fail.  I'm of the age where we start losing our parents.  For that's part of our sadness during these times isn't it?  The fact that we know this could so easily have been any of us.  That by God's grace it wasn't me this time.  And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I don't start taking better care of this body God graced me with, how I feel today is how he'll feel much sooner than later...scared, worried and sad.  

So tonight I'll sleep in the room with my sweet boy.  Though we'll both struggle to breathe we'll be together.  I'll pray for my sweet J and ask for healing and treatments that will hopefully not even be necessary, but if they are, will spare her as much pain as possible.  I'll pray for dear S and her mommy as well as her son and her entire family, thankful that her mother is no longer in pain.  She's up there watching out for her precious, precious family.  And those of us left here on earth will look after S in her spirit.

It's 10-11-12, It Must Be Time to see Your Friendly Pediatric Dentist, Tate!

Tate had his 6 month dental check up today.  He's been coming for check-ups and cleanings since he was 16 months old.  (His mama must be a pediatric dentist)  I actually checked his teeth when he was about 9 months old, but it was on a weekend and no cleaning, so that doesn't count ;)

So this was his 4th visit to Aunt Dr. Rita!  He has cried, fussed and screamed each of his previous 3 visits.  He even bit our hygienist on his second visit...I was absolutely mortified.  We've ended up in the kitty kat room (AKA the room for cryers and screamers, you know the ones who won't cooperate) for the first 3 visits.

But NOT TODAY!

Tate did awesome.  He's 3 years old and in command of all his faculties and put on his best dental behavior.  I was so proud.  I didn't even have to sit with him on the bench or anything.  When I wasn't taking pictures during his cleaning, I was sitting in the play area pretending not to watch.  And he then marched on over to the check-up area with his Aunt Dr. Rita and hopped up there like a big boy!  

Diagnosis....

NO CAVITIES!!  Woohoo!!!
Class 2 occlusion on the right :(
End on occlusion on the left :(  (this must be from Christian's gene pool!)
Crossbite seems to be self-correcting (Bad pacifier habit!  So glad that's gone!)
And again...NO CAVITIES!!

Here's the best little patient ever.  Oh, and he chose the cupcake toothpaste all by himself with his hygienist, Ms. C.

He chose cupcake toothpaste!  Blech!  I mean YUM-O!

Getting his plaque score!

A little tell-show-do

Brush-a Brush-a Brush-a!

Time to floss!!

Great check-up!

Just One Day

Following the footsteps of several other SMCs who have blogged about a day in their lives, I've decided to add a rundown in a day of the life of me and sweet Tate (check out Shannon at Chasing Rainbows  or Tiara at Me Plus One or Lara at This May Be a Dream Come True, and by the way Lara I'm way later than you!)  It was a bit eye-opening.  I have a bit more time in the evenings than I realized...I should start doing some sort of 15-20 minute exercise DVD!

Here's our day from Tuesday, October 9, 2012

6am Alarm goes off...hit snooze on phone.
6am and 30 seconds Realize I don't hear anything on the video monitor laying on the floor beside the bed!  I shoot straight up in bed panicked.  Pick up monitor (Damn thing wasn't plugged in so battery died!  Have no idea when!)  Plug it in and turn it on and this is what I see and hear...

He is singing 'I've Been Working on the Railroad'.  At the Top. Of. His. Lungs.  I have no idea how long he had been awake.  I fathom a guess for a while because usually he lays about for a few minutes before standing in the crib, but I don't know.  And it's just hilarious.  You can hear his inflections and humor and how much fun he's having.  He sang for a good 10 more minutes.  By the time I made it up there he had climbed out of the crib and was sitting on the floor by the door waiting patiently for me.


6:05 Drag self out of bed, do my business, put on contacts
6:09 Up in kitchen to prep Tate's oatmeal made with Coconut milk (measure it out and put in microwave to cook for a couple of minutes), put Cheerios in bowl, get out his cow milk, get out his plain yogurt and pour the probiotic in it.  Get oatmeal out of microwave.  Put everything on the table for him including ice in the oatmeal to cool it.  (The night before I get everything out I will need down to the paper towels to cover the oatmeal while cooking to expedite things in the mornings).
6:15 Go get child!
6:15:30  He insists we go downstairs to change his diaper (he tends to poop first thing in the mornings and will do so in his overnight diaper.  I'm not getting up any earlier to put him in the bathroom, so until he figures this out on his own, this works for me!)
6:15:50 I'm told I'm not moving fast enough.
6:16 Change diaper
6:20 Very excited to see his breakfast on the table.  He asks (ok demands) the milk now be poured into his Cheerios.
6:20:30 Throw 3 advil down my throat as I have a heinous sinus headache from my hideous allergies.  Feed cat. Put away breakfast makings.  Sit down beside Tate to start putting on my make-up
6:27 Tate wants a paper towel to wipe his face.
6:28 Get towel and come back and put my make-up on while he eats (sometimes I'll down a bowl of oatmeal with him and do my make-up;  I wasn't hungry this morning)
6:37 Try to call Christian in Germany to see how he's doing (He was hit by a car while on his bike on Monday...he's a very lucky man.  Lots of trauma to his face which hit the windshield and some bruises and sprains)
6:39 Done with breakfast and make-up.  Wash some dishes, the rest into the dishwasher. Tate watches pictures of himself and A from Saturday on the phone.  I add some Mucinex to the mix hoping to clear up my nose a bit.
6:44 Meltdown by the pre-schooler when I insist he give me the phone reminding him of our no phone, no tv, no computer, no screen time during the work week. (Since I pulled the phone out in front of him to call Christian I felt like I set a bad example so let him have a few minutes to look at his own photos/videos, but no commercial anything...I do not check email, FB or anything on my phone or computer during the precious minimal time we have in the mornings and evenings during the work week.  And the only time I'll answer my phone is when I'm on call or it's my family who will call twice if it's an emergency)
6:46 Meltdown over.  Thank goodness cause he can go on for 30-40 minutes if he's in the mood!  He's off to play for a bit.
6:51 He brushes his teeth (2 times!) while I get dressed.  I weigh myself.  Sigh.
6:55 Potty time for him.  He requests his Music Together CD be turned on.
6:57 Dancing to music while I dress him
7:01 Zyrtec into Tate then I brush his teeth.  I search for his one jacket that fits still as it's SLIGHTLY chilly outside.
7:05 Keith Urban is requested, so I race to change the music.  He wants Keith Urban...I will be late to work to oblige that request.  Brush my teeth. Finish dressing.  Change cat's water.
7:08 Time to go ... says TATE!  Finish drinking my water.  Grab Tate's lunchbox and my purse.  Turn off lights.  Quick check to make sure everything is unplugged or turned off and head downstairs.
7:14  Downstairs and putting on our shoes.  Tate snacks on snack baggie of cheerios and yogurt melts. There is no morning snack at school and he seems to be starving less than an hour after breakfast...it's about 1/2 cup of cheerios and 10-12 yogurt melts.  Go figure...it seems to get him through.
7:17 Fasten Tate in carseat and we get on our way.
7:24 Arrive at daycare.
7:26 Take lunchbox to classroom and put contents in fridge. Hang jacket on coat rack.  Take empty snack baggie from Tate.  Go to restroom...he brushes two times.  I brush one more time (yep I make him brush and brush well after he eats the second time too!!).  Walk Tate back into parish hall, get him settled coloring a picture and kiss him good-bye.
7:35 Pulling out of parking lot to head off to work.  Traffic light today for some reason.
7:53 Arrive at grocery store next door to office after deciding now I'm starving.  Run up to coffee bar and get a large frozen Vanilla Latte (very heavy on the vanilla and very light on the latter :)  ).  Also get a yummy piece of banana bread (ok cake)
8:01 Arrive at work just a tad bit late thanks to my stop.
8:02 Morning meeting
8:34 See my first patient. Drill.  Fill.  Bill.
12:11pm Finally finishing drilling and filling for the morning.  Some screamers!
12:21 Head off to lunch and grocery store.
1:12 Return to work and nap in my freezing cold office.
1:24 Struggle to open my eyes as I'm so tired.  And so cold.
1:26 Brush and floss.
1:33 See first afternoon patient.  Drill.  Fill.  Bill.  More screamers.
4:58 Finally finished for the day.  More didn't scream than did scream, but one only remembers the screamers.
5:02-5:25 Drive (quickly) to Tate's school while talking (on my car-run bluetooth!) to girlfriend
5:25-5:34 Go into school/daycare, heat up Tate's dinner (chicken, peas, plain yogurt, Happy Tot pouch, grapes and milk) then go out to playground to say hi, give him a kiss and get him situated with his dinner.
5:35-6  PTO meeting (I'm the secretary!)
6-6:06 Gather up Tate and his belongings, say good-bye and get in our car where he begs to watch the videos of him and A from Saturday at Dewberry Farm.  I remind him he is not allowed to look at anything else as this is a slight infraction of our no screen time on school days.
6:14 Arrive home, gather stuff, get upstairs.  Tate goes in living room/playroom to continue watching himself while I: rinse and put all dirty dishes from his lunch and dinner in dishwasher, prepare his lunch for tomorrow, get out all the dishes, dry food items, utensils and paper towels to have ready to go for breakfast in the morning.
6:21 Ask for phone back, he happily obliges but begs for more yogurt.  He's denied and then asks for more milk..that's a big sure.
6:24 I give him his Singulair
6:26 We play together on the floor...well he runs his trains around and I push cars around and just simply hang out.
6:41  Tell Tate it's time for bath, books and bed.  He begs for yogurt again.  I offer him a cheese stick since he can carry this upstairs with no chance of a mess.  He scampers to the fridge and gets out a stick and gobbles it down while I start his bath water.
6:43 Together we load the washing machine with a huge load of dark clothes.  Tate potties.  I turn off the water and he gets in the tub.  He happily lays about and gets his hair and body washed.
6:55  Out of the tub, nightly cuddle time on the towel laden floor (love this!).  Tooth brushing commences and a meltdown ensues when he's not allowed to put a HUGE amount of toothpaste on the brush for his second (last) brushing on his own (he gets to brush two times).  While he was brushing his first time I've lotioned him up and gotten his pajamas top on.
7:04 He's laying about whining while I put the towels away, straighten up a bit, turn on lullaby CD, air purifier and video monitor
7:06  I pick him up off the floor, put him on my bed, hug him tightly for a few minutes and convince him to get his diaper and pajama bottoms on.  He fights letting  me brushing his teeth for a good 10 seconds. (FWIW I do not believe in allowing the word "LET" into our toothbrushing at all.  There is no let.  It is getting done...the hard way or the easy way.  And by hard way I mean holding him down.  He acquiesces every single time.)
7:15 He reads a Thomas book to me, hippo and Sue-Y Bear followed by Curious George.  He then demands I read Curious George.  We turn off lights.
7:27 We climb into the glider after he looks out the window to see the UT flag hanging from Uncle Ryan's house next door. I rock him a bit.  I say 'I love you Baby Tate.'  He sits up offended and for the first time says 'I'm not a baby.'  :(  We say our prayers, sing a song and I tell him good-night in the same exact words I've been saying since the day he was born....
Night Night Tate Tate
I love you
As big as the sky
As far as the moon
And as long as time
I rock him a bit more and he then asks to get in his crib (not his usual MO, usually we rock 15-20 minutes).  He walks over and climbs in.  I get him situated..blanket and loveys and kisses good night.
7:39 I walk out of the room
7:40 Put water on to boil for my dinner.  Piddle around on FB and my SMC forum
8:00 Eat my dinner..spaghetti and meatballs (made sauce and meatballs on Sunday).  Go through a list of 100 private schools trying to figure out deadlines, prices and dates for open houses...panicking at how much it's going to cost and wondering how I'll ever make this decision.  Pick about 10 to really do some research on. Spar with my sister on FB.  Watch Tate toss and turn on video monitor.  He falls asleep around 8:20.
8:58 Go upstairs to fold laundry. Clean up a bit as my housekeeper comes on Thursday, don't want her to see a dirty house LOL! Bring our clothes downstairs for tomorrow, complete with underwear, socks...everything.  Yes we dress in the living room, well I dress him, but I get dressed right down here with him.  Start writing this on my blog.
9:20  Clean up my dinner dishes.  Finish making and packing Tate's lunch.  I have lunch plans tomorrow, so no lunch packing for me.  Organize my purse and bags for tomorrow.  Take everything down and into my car that I can except my purse and Tate's lunch bag.  Empty trash.  Empty cat litter.  Realize I forgot to print some pictures for Tate's school project on "My Family" (so much for being in bed by 10! :(  )  Have to scour hundreds pictures in Shutterfly to find good pics of our cat, his cousins, Christian, Christian's parents and sister.  End up reminiscing as I'm looking through the pics.  Get pics downloaded and ordered to be picked up tomorrow (hope I can make it!)  Check on Tate...make sure his lovey can't fall out of the crib by strategically placing large books around the perimeter of the crib.  Rub his head and whisper 'I love you.'  Come back downstairs and brush teeth. Look at FB.  Shut everything down for the night.
10:20  Head downstairs.  Put trashbag in trashcan in garage.  Turn on alarm. Take shower.  Wash face.  Floss teeth.  Wrap hair.
10:46  In bed!  This time check and be sure monitor is turned on AND is plugged in.  Snuggle in under the covers.  Can't wait to see Tate in the morning!