United Nations Ambassador

So the owner of the daycare that we send Max & Ben to stopped Mike the other day on his way in to pick him up. He said he had to tell us what a wonderful little boy we had (we knew that, but it is nice to see other people recognize it, too!)
Apparently there is a new kid in Max's class. He is part Chinese, part Hispanic and only speaks those 2 languages. So you can imaginge how hard it has been for this 2 year old to adjust. He has been very scared and anti-social with the class. Max will have none of that. The owner said he spent hours just watching the monitor they have in their class. Max would try to coax this new child to play with the group. When he refused, Max would go get toys and sit down and play with him one-to-one. He said they were talking and laughing and playing together all afternoon!

...I had no idea my son knew Chinese and Spanish... maybe he has a future as a United Nations Ambassador!

P.S. He just rolled his toy box on wheels in here to "make me" something to drink with his toy pots and pan set... a little early for afternoon tea, but hey, this ambassador needs all the practice he can get!

Ben Update!

Thanks for all the good thoughts concerning Ben. He is doing much better! On Tuesday afternoon he started sounding like an old man with emphysema, rattling and wheezing away. We went to the MD yesterday and she didn't like the improvement so she prescribed steroids. After telling me the long list of side effects (stunted growth, immuno deficiencies, onset diabetes) I started to freak out a little, but she assured me that these were related to long term use and she was only prescribing it for 5 days. She also told me good luck trying to get it down him because it tastes awful and he is going to hate it and you have no choice but to gag it down him! How much fun!! She said she was going to give me double the amount needed because the majority of it is going to end up on his clothes! So far I have the advantage of being the adult and him the helpless infant, but you would be amazed at how strong 11 week old arms are! I had every intention of taking Ben to work with me yesterday, but my mother called and said that a nurse had been up at the office late on Tuesday when she started throwing up violently.. so much so her daughter had to come rescue her because she couldn't drive home. I decided I was not a strong enough woman to add the stomach flu to Ben's list of ailments so we are still home.
The Prince is calling (wheeze, hack)... time for another breathing treatment!

Peer pressure

Seen it several places...finally gave in...here we go....seem to be a East Coast kinda girl!

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

I knew I should've stayed on maternity leave longer!

So I am just getting back from Texas Children's Hospital. This journey started several weeks ago with a stuffy nose and little cough from our littlest family member. It has slowly gotten worse over the past 2 weeks with a climactic temp of 101.7 at 4 AM this morning. So I took him the the MD this morning thinking, why the hell am I doing this? I know what she is gonna say... when they are this young we treat the fever and let them ride it out. Oh how wrong I was.... she poked and prodded every orifice of this 10 week old child. She took blood and urine and did a breathing treatment in the office. After letting the breathing treatment do it's job, she returned and told me she didn't like the results and sent me to the hospital for a chest x-ray. She told me to stay until she had the report so that in case it was bad we could just be admitted.. right around here I start to lose my cool. I can feel myself putting on a calm face like I was putting on make-up... my internal dialogue was going out of control!!
"She is only doing this as a precaution"
"No she's not.. she is doing this because she thinks it is serious"
"It is not serious"
"I knew I should have brought him in earlier"
"But he didn't have any symptoms earlier...besides you were just here 2 weeks ago for his 2 month check up and last week for Max being sick."
"She is blaming you for allowing your sick 2 year old to be around him"
"Ben was sick before Max was"
There truly is nothing worse than trying to comfort an infant when you don't know what is wrong, and you know that they have to hurt him to find out what is wrong, but you have no way of communicating that to him other than repeating the mantra "Mommy is so sorry....I know I know, it's aweful... Mommy is so sorry!"
The result is that he has a viral bronchial infection that is causing all the congestion, but the fact that it is viral means no medicine. Only tylenol to help with the fever, breathing treatments to help the congestion, and prayer that it doesn't get worse and turn into pneumonia.
...will keep ya posted....

I miss you already!

So I have this ritual with my sons. It started with Max a long time ago. Every time we are parted for a while (daycare, nighttime, etc) I always told him, "I love you, I'll see you later, I miss you already". I know these parting words are more of a comfort to me than Max & Ben, but this week they hit my heart a little harder. Every morning at daycare as I spoke these words I really really meant it... I miss you already!
I never thought that I could be the type of woman to be a stay at home mom. I just didn't think I had the patience or the inspiration to keep small children and their little minds occupied and growing. But when Mike was a way for 2 weeks, me and the boys really found our groove. Don't get me wrong... I had my moments when I felt trapped inside the walls of this house, but that was when I called the "village" of friends and family to go for a visit.
I really had fun with my little men. Everyday I saw changes in both of them that kept me in awe. I had fun hiding in our tent of balls, or running around the house flying like Buzz Lightyear! There are just very few opportunities to do that at work!
I know that I have made the choice to work. We live a 2 person income type of life. I just had fun the past 9 weeks. And even though I have only been back at work for a week, I miss them already!

Because you asked

NOTE: The following information goes into the TMI category, but because you asked I am answering (with permission from the Village Idiot, himself)

I have referred to my loving husband as Ta Ta, both here and in public for many years. Recently I was asked "why?" Well here ya go:

Nickname: Ta Ta
Full name: His Royal Heiney Ta Ta Poots
Origin: When my husband and I were dating and had gotten to that casual "okay to go there" stage, I informed my husband that I was almost positive that a forest of small woodland creatures had obviously crawled up his ass and died there because he had a Toxic Ass. This was right around the time that I was reading the "Ya Ya Sisterhood" book so I started calling him "Ta Ta", short for Toxic Ass. It just kinda stuck after that.

WE DID IT!

Three cheers for the Feit Family!
We did it!
We had the kids up and ready...
They were at school by 8:00...
I made it to work by 8:30!
We didn't do it yesterday, we may not do it tomorrow...

... BUT WE DID IT TODAY!!

I made a pact with myself to try and get to work earlier so that I can leave earlier. For those of you who have known me for many years, you know how hard this is for me. I am not a morning person. Since college, I have arranged my life around this fact: no early classes, jobs that either do not start early or jobs that love me so much that they are willing to take blind eye to this major fault of mine. I really really wanted this to happen. I told my husband about this pact with myself, but silly me did not give him the direction he needed to help me with this pact. I thought he would understand and offer to do a little more than wake me up in the morning:
YESTERDAY MORNING:
Mike wakes me up at 6:15 and races out the door. I will give him one teeny tiny "benefit of the doubt" that he had a meeting to get to, so I understand why he left so early. Ben stirs so I get him up and nurse him for 20 minutes. He falls back asleep (lucky boy). I go to the kitchen to make Max's morning smoothie before waking him up. I walk into the kitchen to see nothing has been done. No bottles, washed, no bags ready, no lunch made... nothing. I start to get a little irritated because my husband wakes up at the crack of dawn to accomplish a 15 minute shower/shave/dress ritual then sits on the couch and watches TV until it is time to go to work. I probably wouldn't have been so upset about this ritual or the lack of assistance in getting the kids stuff ready if the following hadn't occurred:
8:24 AM
(Ring, Ring)
Me: Hello?
Mike: Hello... you haven't left yet?
Me: What?!?
Mike: I just thought that since you got up so early that you would be gone by now.
Me: Me, too... but there is a lot to do before that can happen and you didn't help me at all!! You did nothing... you even made your own lunch and didn't bother to make mine... HOW HARD WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN... WE EAT THE SAME SANDWICH...all you had to do was pull out 2 extra pieces of bread!
Mike: I'm sorry baby...
Me: I gotta go because I still have a lot of stuff to do before I leave and Ben is hungry again!

(1 HOUR LATER)

Mike: Hey babe
Me:Hey (cold)
Mike Did you get the kids to school okay?
Me: Yes (colder)
Mike: Listen, do me a favor, type up a list of all the things that have to get done. If I see it, I remember to do it. I promise I am gonna try to help you.
Me: (warming up) thank you for thinking of that.
Mike: I love you...
Me: I love you, too...

List went up last night on the fridge.

Back to the Grind

Mike just took Max & Ben to school.

Crying so hard I can't breathe.

Gotta go put my make-up on and get back to the grind!

If you pass an Infiniti with a woman driving erratically on the way to work today, it was probably me....

Happy Birthday Na Na!

A great big Happy Birthday to an incredibly special woman in my life and my children's lives! I will never be able to express how important you have been to me as well as so many others. I cherish our talks, even the ones that are meant to challenge me. I would not be the woman I am today if it were not for your love, support, and constant counsel. I love you more than you know!

Happy Birthday, Na Na Linda!

Go wish her Happy Birthday at www.whathebleepdoiknow.blogspot.com

I love you Ta Ta

My dearest love, Ta Ta....

Thanks for asking me out 6 years ago! I had fun that night... guess that is why I stuck around and gave you to beautiful boys! Who would have thought that all those dreams we shared that first night would actually come true 6 years later!

I love you,
Princess P

Careful... careful, Village Idiot!

SO here is the conversation just had in our house:

Me: (Groan)
Him: What's wrong?
Me: This cold is kicking my ass and I think I am about to start my period (1st one since being pregnant and having Ben)
Him: You think we have enough chocolate in the house to get through your first period?

Never piss off a woman who has had hormone build up for close to a year.

Oh yeah, I'm a wife too...

Okay... I am going there... with a warning... the following post is rated PG-13 and I might talk about sex. SO for those of you out there who do not wish to go there...don't read....

















Okay, now that the squimish are out of the room.

I fully admit that in my life I often forget that I am not just female and a mommy. I am a woman and a wife. It is so easy for me to push my wants around because I really do have a wonderful husband who wouldn't think of pushing the issue. But sometimes I need him to push the issue.

Daddy is HOME!!!

There is a reason why movie makers use the age old tear jerker of people coming off the plane to their familes...
So our adventure started after dinner last night. It was a little earlier than normal for bathtime and Max started fussing. I was going to try and not tell him that we were going to pick up daddy, because he doesn't have the concept of time and would expect him to walk through the door instantly. After much crying, I broke.
"We gotta take a bath so we can see Daddy!"
"Daddy?"
"Yes, baby... daddy is coming home tonight and we have to go pick him up!"
"DADDY HOME?!?"
"Yes, Daddy is coming home."
We then sprint to the bedroom yelling, "Daddy...Daddy....Daddy...." at the top of our lungs. While I am getting him undressed he asks, "Where Daddy?" I explain to him that Daddy is in a plane, like Jay Jay (the jet plane, PBS show... for those of you who are blessed not to have to watch toddler shows). The next thing you know, Max is running naked through the house with his arms out like a plane yelling, "Daddy FLY!! Daddy FLY!!!"
Bath time has never been so smooth and quick. I asked him if he wanted to play with his toys and he said no...He just kept chanting Daddy.
So I get him dressed and give Ben a bottle to satisfy him before we get into the car. Max is bringing me all the things that are included in the "Going Outside" ritual. It starts with him dragging Ben's carrier over to us on the couch, pointing and saying, "Baby, IN!" He then points to my naked feet and yells, "Mommy, SHOES!" We finally get everything together and we are in the car off to the airport. The entire time we are intermittenly chanting "Daddy" and pointing to the lights in the sky..how he knows those moving lights were airplanes, I have no idea!!
We get to the airport and park the car. Max has already unlocked his door, taken off his seat belt, and opened the door. I gather up Ben and we proceed to the terminal. It is very busy since it is a Friday night. There are lots of people and lots of cars moving very fast. Max is clutching onto my finger as we make our way inside. Max is a little confused and overwhelmed by all the commotion.
Our timing could not have been more perfect. We barely get to the baggage claim when I spot Mike coming from the main terminal.
"Baby...look who I see!"
(Max looks around confused)
"Baby...right there... who is that?"
(Mike from across the room)" BUD! BUD!"
Max sees him and tears off right into his arms, beaming!!
Max was helping by rolling one of Daddy's smaller bags to the car. He kept looking back behind him to make sure that Daddy was still there. The entire way home was the same conversation over and over:
"DADDY!!"
"Yes, Bud, Bud?"
"Hi"
"Hi, baby... I'm still here!"
Going to bed was a challenge, but one that we expected and didn't fight. Max kept yelling for Daddy to come into his room. Eventually Daddy just laid down into his bed until he was trusting enough (and sleepy enough) to know that Daddy was still going to be home in the morning.
Everyone should come home to someone who misses and adores them this much!

Is that a problem?

I just used my copy of Dr. Phil's, "Weight Loss Solutions" as a coaster for my chocolate and vanilla ice cream sprinkled with M&M's and drizzled with chocolate sauce....
....is that a problem?

Groundhog's Day

One of my favorite movies is Bill Murray's "Groundhog's Day". I remember seeing it in the movie theater. It was so much fun going through all the emotions of going through the same thing over and over again. First it's funny, then ironic, then you want to walk out if it doesn't end, then you are elated (almost sad) that it is over. I have seen it countless times since then. I always stop to watch it when I am channel surfing. I have tried counting the days many times, but I would lose track half way through then make a vow that the next time I watched it I would pay more attention or start a written log or something. If I were young and stupid again, I would invite friends over one night and turn it into a drinking game... wouldn't that be fun? Every time you heard Sonny and Cher's "I've got you babe" on his alarm clock you would have to take a drink!
So, I got to thinking...if I had to pick my "Groundhog's Day", what would it be? If I had to go over the same day over and over again until I got it "right", what day would it be? It would probably be a day that I was forced to confront people. That is one of my big life lessons. I have such a hard time confronting people. I either tend to be a push over or a bitch. Sometimes I spend an hour trying to justify my feelings or worse, I just lie to avoid the confrontation all together, then kick myself for days for not just being honest about my feelings.
So what's your Groundhog's Day? What day do you seem to be living over and over again until you get it "right"?

Shhhhhh!!!

SHHHHH!!!!

Do you hear that??


Listen real close....



It's silence.....



Uncle TJ and Kim just took Max for a fun day out on the town....out on the town being out of this house...

GOD BLESS THOSE ANGELS!