Princess and the Pea

Did you know that with your second baby you start showing right away?

Like as soon as the stick is positive?

It helps if you still haven't entirely lost all the baby weight from the first one too.

So what else have I been up to? (Other than not fitting into my pants...)

Between the increased duties at work, a very busy toddler, and my regular commitments I'm beat. It doesn't help that I'm sick to my stomach all day long and tired like I have mono. (I forgot how wonderful the first trimester is) Jackson and I have the same bed time.

Which leads me to the highlight of my week.....I bought a new mattress!!

The mattress that I have now is 11 years old and frankly sleeping on a board would be more comfortable. It was a cheap mattress 11 years ago when I bought it. At the time my mother was selling the house I grew up in and I was still living at home and in Respiratory school. I had been sleeping in a twin bed and when we moved I bought a queen sized bed with the intentions of taking it with me when I left. I bought the nicest one I could afford which wasn't much considering I was still in school.

I've extended the life of this mattress by buying memory foam mattress toppers. I've been through 3 of them, and my body is starting to ache every morning. As I get more and more pregnant I just won't be able to sleep on it anymore. So we bought the new one which was difficult. It's hard to properly judge a mattress when the one you have is such crap. They ALL felt better than the one I have now. Also? I would need to lay on it for a whole afternoon to properly tell if it works for me and they tend to frown upon that. But we picked one and fingers crossed it will be fabulous.

And it comes on FRIDAY!!! I also bought a new mattress pad, pillows, and two sheet sets (I have some really ratty ones). I'm holding off on using any of it until the new mattress arrives.

So Friday night I'm going to take a warm bath and get into some fresh jammies, in clean sheets, on my new pillow and mattress. Can anything be more delicious?

I just hope Jack's on board cuz mama needs some sleep!

The Big O-N-E!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in forever but I've been busy at work and chasing around a BIG/little boy while planning his First Birthday Party.
For his actual Birthday on Tuesday, Spiderman and I took him to Schoops for dinner. He had chicken strips, fries, some of my burger, and his favorite....chocolate milkshake! He had an awesome time, loved everything he ate and flirted with the waitresses.

On Saturday we had a party at the house. Here's a pic of the birthday boy.
So serious.
We opted for cupcakes instead of a whole cake. I thought it was a better idea since we had several kids at the party and this way everyone had their own "cake". Jackson liked the singing but I don't think he was sure what was going on. We put his high chair in the garage where we had set up tables. This made for easier clean up.This was his first taste of cake but not his first of frosting. I have given him little tastes in the past. I can't help it, I have a sweet tooth too!
Such a messy boy! He even had cake up his nose! My aunt snuck him a second cupcake and he was up and wired until after 9pm from that.
When he was done with his cake Spiderman rinsed him off with the hose. He loved that part almost even more than the cake. It was entertaining for at least 25 minutes as he ran through the spray of water giggling and squealing.

He was also VERY into opening his presents.
Once he caught on he ripped each one open with the glee that only a child can have. Spiderman was very good at moving the opened present out of the way while I got him ready for the next one. The gift opening went smoothly without a single fit over wanting to play with his toy instead of continuing on.

The last present was from Mommy and Daddy and caused quite a stir among the guests....

I've become a Lemming

Spiderman and I like food. We both enjoy cooking and going out to nice restaurants. Because of this our food budget is getting a little outrageous. We also are not very organized shoppers. When we go to the store we inevitably forget something and have to go back. Every trip to the store we end up getting what's on the list and then some. I'd say I go to the grocery store at least once a week (sometimes twice) and spend about $1-200 a trip.

This adds up and I don't know about you, but I can't afford it anymore. Add to this the increasing price of gas, diapers, and generally everything else and we'll be broke in no time!

This week Spiderman and I decided to join Costco. Up until today I had never even been to a warehouse store. I've never seen anything like it. You can buy a TV, beef brisket, 900 diapers, a 5 gallon jug of olive oil, tires and a casket all in one place! I'm gonna need that casket because on our first visit Spiderman and I spent almost $500. I almost had a heart attack! We waited to go until we were out of almost everything. Other than a few things that I can get at Aldi we shouldn't have to go to the grocery store for quite a while! We're going to go back in two weeks to get a few more things for Jack's first Birthday party but other than that we're set.

I just have to keep telling myself to breathe because I can't believe we spent that much money all at one time!

How do you feel about warehouse clubs? Am I the only one who goes this crazy the first trip?

Zumba Crazy

I took a Zumba class for the first time the other day. About 20 minutes into it I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Every time she would let us break to drink some water I thought about making a break for it. I think my instructor was on crack she had so much energy and I could wring my clothes out when I was finished.

So why am I going back tonight?

Because my fat ass is a glutton for punishment....

11 months!

I'm 11 months old today!

Childrearing Lesson # 150

What happens when you don't pay attention to a teething child in the grocery store?
They eat a frozen pizza.

A Difficult Game

Among the many new tasks I have to do for my "new" position the staff schedule is probably my LEAST favorite. Including the PRN staff there are over 40 employees in my department. They all have unique availability with school schedules, sitter schedules, and the fun fact that I need 24 hour coverage. Some do 8 hour shifts only some do 12 hours shifts only. Others like doubles or a mixture of the 3.

But not all together.

Or they want them all together in one long marathon of work with a longer stretch off between. I have a grid of boxes. The top of the boxes is the date. The side of the boxes are the employees. The bottom boxes are my shift tally. With all the availability issues, scheduling for my department is kind of like a very complex game of chess.

If the pieces yelled at you.

I have learned that you can never make everyone happy...especially with their schedules.