Of Bugs and Jobs

As usual - nothing much new to report.

Monkey seems to have some kind of cold. Her nose has been running like a leaky faucet and she had a slightly elevated temp yesterday. Needless to say - no one got much sleep the other night. She and Gigi were up when I got home from work and it took me a good hour and a half to get her to go back down. Our nap was almost non-existent too. So neither of us were functioning well yesterday. Here's hoping that today will be a better day. Gigi and Baboo got her some children's Tylenol and she's had some, so I'll follow up with a couple doses tomorrow and hope that this bug goes away quickly.

Doesn't look like I'll be getting a day shift after all though. The company is not hiring any body right now, and is trying to look into getting some one to trade shifts with me - but I'm thinking that if they wanted to work nights, they already would be. I'll wait a little longer, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

I did get a job offer in Madison, AL - it's literally RIGHT next to the city that Linds and I vacation in when we go to Alabama. I didn't accept - but there wasn't any need to. The company that offered the position is also a fire suppression company and is one of my company's affiliate partners. They take care of a large portion of northern Alabama. The owner basically said that if I chose to move there he would be more than happy to offer me a position with his company. It was a serious offer - I checked, but I just can't logistically make it happen right now. Even if I could - I know only one person there and he is EXTREMELY busy all the time. I'd be lonely. I'm not up for building a new support network right now.

Can't remember the last time I updated about my uterine fibroids - but I'm on birth control now which should shrink the "6mm mass that is consistent with a uterine fibroid". There is no point in going to see my gynecologist as far as I'm concerned. He'll tell me the same thing that my doctor told me - there's no point in removing it since theres no guarantee that it wont come back, and it can be controlled with birth control. If I were considering having another child, and the fibroid was considerably larger - then removing it would be an option. As I am NOT (ever, ever again - no time soon. NO MAS BEBES!), and it is not, removing it is not an option.

Beware: Monkey Bites

Monkey has officially become a biter.

I had hoped that we would avoid behavioral problems like this one, but it seems that we will not.

Monkey bit me the other day and I told her no and popped her little butt. She cried, and then all was ok. Well, today she bit me again. She bit Gigi too, and left marks. So when she bit me, I bit her back. Because the only way I know to break a biter, is to bite them back. I didn't bite hard enough to leave marks, but just hard enough so that she would know I meant business. Ladies and Gentleman, that child looked at me like I was nuts and demanded that I put her down ("DOWN!"). She didn't even cry. Nothing.

Gigi and I talked about it some, and we honestly believe that her biting is a result of not being able to communicate with us in a way that we understand her. I have decided therefore, to commit myself to teaching us to sign. She already knows the sign for "all done" and uses it in the correct way (i.e - when she's finished eating she'll say "done" and then wipe her hands on each other to tell me she's all done). Today she learned to sign mommy (my absolute favorite one!), baby, and thank you. So - I'm hoping that by teaching her words that she's not able to speak yet, her frustration level will drop and then the biting will stop. Because, if not, I'm not sure what else to do. I can't keep biting her back if it doesn't phase her.

Potty Training the Monkey

My hiatus ended up being a little longer than I intended, yet I still have nothing really interesting to share with you.

Well, other than the fact that Monkey may be ready to potty train - which is a little scary for me. When she poops now she'll tell me "eww" which is what I tell her when I have to change the diaper. And obviously, this is a sign that we should start potty training. I'm a little daunted by this task, for the simple fact that my mom didn't have to potty train my brother or me, so she has no idea as to how to go about doing so. My other hang up with this is that she thinks that we should get an actual potty chair, but the whole emptying the potty chair thing is disgusting to me. I wanted to get the children's seat that sits on the bigger seat, because I wouldn't have to empty the container. Flush, and we're done.

Meister says both of her girls did well with the seat, probably because they thought that they were some body because they were using the big potty. But Mom seems to think that this would be uncomfortable for Monkey - but I think I agree with Meister on this one, simply because I know that Monkey likes to do things she sees me do. She won't let me go to the bathroom by myself, so she's seen me on the potty and I think if I were to buy her a seat, that she would think she's big stuff sitting on the big potty like Mommy.

I have decided to start the project next week. I don't expect big results immediately - simply because I know she's a bit young to start potty training. So, I think I'm a bit ahead of the game here. But do any of you have any ideas for potty training the Monkey? I'm a bit in the dark here, and want some good pointers before I jump headlong into this project. Any tips, pointers or ideas would be much appreciated!!!

Also - I have an unspoken prayer request. Just keep me in your thoughts and prayers please?

Update.

Well - we didn't get in to see the pediatrician today. I called around 9 and they were already slammed for the day. So I set up an appointment for tomorrow morning at 9:15.

The head nurse said something about having to "bag" her. I had no idea what she was talking about so like the village idiot I am I said "Ok" and then made sure I didn't have make Baby fast. I talked to Mom later and asked her what the nurse had meant and she proceeded to tell me that she thinks the nurse meant giving the baby a catheter.......

My poor baby. I feel horrible now. Especially since if I'm just over-reacting I'll have made her go through a catheter for NO REASON. I almost don't want to take her now. I know I need to, but I don't want to.

So..... I'll update after the appointment.

Pictures, for your viewing pleasure!

Moving.

So.... We're moving.

It was a hard decision to make - but.... Now that it's been made, I feel WAY better.

We are now to be found at a previous address - Gigi Crazy's! (She's ABSOLUTELY thrilled, by the way!)