OK, Calmer Now

Whew, got laundry mostly done, Debbie is off to the airport (that's my mother-in-law for those keeping track), Kieran is napping and most of his clothes are packed. I still must pack my own clothes and Ken has to pack as well but that usually doesn't take much time. So with a short trip to Target tomorrow and hopefully a haircut for Kieran I think we're good.

Therefore, I now have time to mess with all the Facebook updates I've gotten in the past few weeks AND upload a few photos here for your entertainment. I know it's been quite some time since I've posted - sorry.

Stress Level: RED

OK so I've got way too many things to do before the cruise and to finish cleaning up after the holidays. I'm praying that I have enough time to do everything before we leave. Because of that, yeah, I'm sick. Also hoping the cold clears up before we take off on Friday.

Top it all off? Kieran is not allowed in the pool on the cruise ship. Because he is still in diapers (and don't ask about swimming diapers - they said those as a no-no as well) he is not allowed in the pool. On the positive side, we only have two ship days and the other days are port days so it's only two days we'll have to chase him around the ship and keep him out of the pool.

AAARRRGGH. I have to pack, finish up my work, get all the trash out of the house, make sure the dogsitter is set up, etc etc etc. laundry, last minute shopping. Someone please tell me that the cruise will be OK?

Update - 1:14 pm
Well, the dogsitter has been crossed off the list. Laundry and packing begin tonight. Shopping will occur on 1/1 (we're getting food for the flight and some additional new/lightweight toys for Kieran to play with). About 50% of what I need to get done here is complete. Feeling slightly calmer. Maybe a red/orange level right about now....

Let the Craziness Begin!

So, my MIL comes to town tonight. Ken has off tomorrow, but I don't. So Ken & Debbie get to hang out with Kieran and I'll be at the office.

But Wednesday night we'll have some fun. We've got some small gifts for Kieran to open, we'll light the menorah, we'll leave cookies out for Santa (and carrots for the reindeer) and we'll put Kieran to bed. Santa will come during the night.

In the morning, Kieran will get to open all that Santa has left for him. We'll watch him play. I think around naptime we'll head down to my brother's where a Christmas dinner will be enjoyed by all. My SIL's family will be there too so there will be lots of kids for Kieran to play with. He loves playing with his cousins.

Friday its back to work for me and Ken, Debbie will have the day with Kieran. Then the weekend together.

So yeah, the craziness begins of holidays and family. Speaking of which... something funny happened to me on Facebook. It's been blocked at the office (which is fine) and I haven't been on in awhile at home. Apparently the app that shows Ken & I as married has a glitch and showed us divorcing and getting re-married. Ken got a very sweet note from a friend who was sad to hear the news (though he let her know we're very much still in love and together). For anyone who's wondering, no, we did not renew our vows in Vegas or get a quickie divorce or anything. OK, we do have photos that I am now remiss in uploading. Hope to have some soon.

Love to all - have a wonderful holiday and I'll blog again sometime.

He Did It Again!

Yep - this time he fully meant to poop in the potty. I'm excited, but trying to remember that some kids go through a phase where they LOVE to use the potty... and then stop.

That said, Kieran would spend an entire day in the bathroom if I let him. He'd brush his teeth, wash his hands, sit on the potty, play in the bathtub and then repeat. Probably not a bad thing at all.

Poop Goes in the Potty

That's right. Our boy just pooped in the potty this weekend. We couldn't be prouder. Don't mention the fact that it was because he was straining so hard to pee that he accidentally pooped. Don't care. Still counts!

Oh, here is a bit of musical accompaniment for this momentous occasion.

Quiet Nights

Kieran has recovered from his flu. He went to school just fine on Monday (though he did freak out when I dropped him off) but then...

Ken had to come home from work early. He succumbed. He's been hit with the same flu. He's been down for the past two days. I think he's finally on the tail end of this. Hopefully I will dodge it completely.

Once a Year

I'm thinking that by and large we're allotted one parental freakout per year. Last night after getting hit with projectile vomit from Kieran (yes, again) he seemed to calm down and go to sleep okay. Then at midnight he woke up dry heaving. Ken took him downstairs and came back up around 3. Kieran started dry heaving again. Ken said Kieran had done that once per hour since he'd gotten up. So - off to the hospital.

A minor background on why this was freaking us out so badly. Milo, our first cat, ate a penny when he was first with us. He threw up all weekend long and finally did a lot of dry heaving. So, we were concerned that Kieran had swallowed something non-food.

Anyway - long story short - back at home by 6 am being told no blockage and just a stomach bug. Clear liquids for the next 8-12 hrs. That went over like a ton of bricks this morning with Kieran who demanded a fruit bar. We caved only because he didn't ask for food at all yesterday and was inconsolable without it (hey - we've had about 3 hrs of sleep). So far so good, but I don't want to jinx it. More later.

Seeing It Again (and Again)

I got home from my business trip last night. I was really happy to see Ken and Kieran and we had a nice night together. Kieran went to bed around 7:45 and Ken and I got to spend some nice quality veg time together.

Until about 10:30 when Kieran woke up crying. And vomiting. We got him and me cleaned up, sheets on the bed changed and him back to sleep in about a half hour. Not bad, clothes and sheets in the washer we hung out a bit longer until he woke up with more vomitting. He did this off and on throughout the night. The whole night is a bit of a blur because Ken and I are not used to him being up so often.

So today, needless to say, I am home. Called the doctor this morning and they said so long as he continues to keep everything down and is not feverish to not worry. So far so good. He barely slept last night so he's been asleep now for about 3 hrs and I'm hoping he sleeps a while longer yet. I also hope that I don't get thrown up on again - I got hit 3 times last night.

HoliDaze

Had a great long Thanksgiving weekend with much family ado. No photos yet but hopefully soon. Internet should be fixed at home Friday or early next week (we're canceling Verizon and going back to Cavtel, cross your fingers).

Thanksgiving Day saw us putting Kieran down for an early nap (2pm is the time for my Uncle Gary's traditional crazy big and good feast) and he was not happy about waking up. He took a little while to warm up to everyone, but once he did... well, let's just say he puckered up and gave everyone a kiss goodbye. I think my favorite was when he played with my cousin Jarrard who sat down on the floor to get him to run over. Jarrad thought Kieran didn't like him because he hit him and laughed. I had to explain that this was a sign of affection.

Friday was actually a little quiet. Kieran and I went to go visit Oma and Opa (that's Mutti and Poppop - my mom's folks) for a little bit. When we got back Kieran napped and we brought out the tree. When Kieran got up we all decorated the tree together. It was fun and we had cookies and hot chocolate. Kieran enjoyed his cookie - probably more than I'd like him to but I can't blame him. Cookies are tasty.

Saturday we went to the Science Center in the morning to let him run around. As always we had a breakdown when it was time to leave the water play area. He quickly recovered and we all had lunch before heading home. Another nap and then off to dinner with Oma, Opa, Uncle Andy, Aunt Wendy, Zack, Becca and Pete. Kieran did very well at the restaurant and had fun playing with his cousins.

Sunday he was a bit congested and coughed a lot that morning so, although we were scheduled to go to a baptism, I stayed home and Ken went. (sorry Stacy, Matt & Patrick!) Kieran and I played, watched some TV, played some more and basically just had a nice lazy, rainy indoor day.

Now, I'm in Vegas for a trade show. I'm beat (didn't sleep well) and looking forward to coming home. I can't wait to see everyone for the next big shindig.