I love the exersaucer!

Aah..some time away from the kid. We got Ryan an excersaucer on March 6, but he couldn't use it because his feet wouldn't touch the bottom, even with a phone book. Well, he had a growth spurt and now can use it. It is wonderful. He enjoys it, and I can put him in it and walk away for a while. He is a good baby, but I have been husband-less since Thursday, so it gets a little old.

Ryan and I had a good trip to Humboldt yesterday. Todd's parents picked us up at 7:30 am, and we got home at 9:00 pm. We visited Todd's Aunt Kathy, Uncle Denny, and Grandpa Fortner. Ryan hammed it up and showed off all his skills. He was properly admired all day. He keeps trying to crawl, but hasn't figured out he has to lift his stomach off the floor yet. It was good for Grandpa Fortner to see him. He can't get out much, so Ryan brought him some sunshine.

Joy - the radar shows a big storm heading this way. Great. The tornado siren is 500 ft from our front door! It makes things in the house vibrate, but at least I know it would wake me up if there was a tornado in the middle of the night.

A long week ahead at work. Ugh. I hope I don't have to run errands every damn day at lunch. I am going to the Lion King with my mom and sister on Friday though, so I am looking forward to the end of the week.

I turned 5 months old on Monday!

Ready to Roll!

Scrapbooking with a Baby

This is how you scrapbook with a baby:

At 11:00 am - Put baby in swing.
Spend 20 minutes picking out paper to go with your pictures.
Glue down one picture.
Change diaper. Feed baby while watching Food Network.
Put baby down for nap.
Glue down second picture and worry about paper choice.
Veg in recliner a few minutes.
Baby wakes up.
Put baby in excersaucer.
Glue down third picture.
Baby frustrated. Move to play on floor.
Cut out 3 letters for title.
Rescue baby from activity gym that he has flipped over on him.
Go upstairs for more supplies.
Feed baby while watching Food Network. Try to put baby down for nap. Unsuccessful.
Put baby in car seat on kitchen counter. Cut out the rest of letters.
Again attempt nap, but batteries in swing and crib aqaurium are both dead.
Change poopy diaper.
Play on floor.
Glue down a few letters. Look for batteries. Rats! Only have 3 and need 4.
Hug, kiss, and cuddle. Get sad because he has to go back to daycare tomorrow.
Realize it is 2 pm and you have not had breakfast or lunch. Eat frozen pizza.
Repeat previous steps in random order for 3 more hours.
Nearly finish 2 pages, then baby is so tired he bawls.
Give up and only replace 3 of 4 batteries in swing.
Swing works great, baby falls asleep.
Kick yourself for not trying to get by with 3 batteries sooner.
Finally finish 2nd page and actually do a 3rd.
Baby wakes up. Wake up Dad and give him baby.
Time to cook supper!

Rolling Machine

Ryan has suddenly turned into a rolling machine and now will actually stay on his tummy. Last night he rolled all the way from one end of the living room to the other (the long way), and then spit up on the rug. He has started rolling to get toys and is really, really trying to crawl. He has the crawling basics down, but doesn't get up on his knees, so he scooches on his stomach. He has made it about 6 inches so far.

Today it was 65 degrees so after work I took Ryan for his first stroll outside. I pushed his stroller down to Franklin, over to 50th, up to Merle Hay, and then back home. It is not that far, but I am ashamed to say I was winded. I have been hoping to walk on my lunch hour since my work is on the Clive Greenbelt, but I always seem to have errands to run. It is so much easier to run them at lunch instead of hauling Ryan around with me. Monday I took 6 boxes of stuff to Goodwill and picked up pictures at Walgreens, yesterday I paid bills at lunch and afterwork went to Hallmark to buy birthday cards, and today at lunch I went to have my sleeping machine repaired and to Kmart to buy sunglasses for Ryan.

I also have three projects going on at home. I am cleaning up the basement (since Todd doesn't have time), trying to get the second floor cleaned (I started before Ryan but never finished - mostly involves sorting Todd's crap), and I am scapbooking on the dining room table. I do a little each night after Ryan is in bed or on the weekends when he is asleep or in his swing.

Mom's Day Out

On Saturday, March 18, I got a partial day off and thanks to two more gift cards, it cost me almost nothing. Gma and Gpa Stein babysat from 9 - 5:30. I got a whole carload of groceries and got them all put away in the morning, and then Diane and I went to Red Lobster for lunch. Then we went shopping to Kohl's, Bed Bath & Beyond, and of course, a greenhouse. Red Lobster was great except the waiter said we could substitute a cup of lobster bisque for our salads, then charged us $3 each extra. Damn good soup though. We burned through the giftcard my aunt sent me pretty quickly. I am happy to report that I apparently do not have a seafood allergy as I am alive to tell about it and did not get hives.

Grandma and Grandpa wore Ryan out. He zonked out during his 6 pm bottle and I put him to bed immediately. He was still in his clothes! He slept a full 10 hours, but since he went to bed so early, he was awake and ready to play at 4 am! He and I both were all messed up the next day. I never even made it out of my pj's. I did get 1.5 scrapbook pages done though.

Ryan continued to zonk for the whole next week. He was in a growth spurt because he was sleeping 12-13 hours a night and eating 6.5 bottles and 2 servings of cereal a day. We bought him an exersaucer on the 6th, and he was too short to touch the bottom. I put him in it on Sunday the 26th, and now he is tall enough to use it. It really tires him out though.

Thank God for Honest People & Gift Cards

I dropped my debit card at the gas station this morning. I figured it out by the time I got to work, but figured it was a goner. I called the station and someone turned it in! There are still good people left in this world.

Yesterday on my lunch hour I used the gift card that my parents got me to Grounds for Celebration. It was a little piece of heaven. I got a yummy lunch and cheesecake, and I got to eat and look at gardening catalogs UNINTERRUPTED for 45 minutes. I still have enough left on the card to get a icy mocha some morning.

Dazed and Confused

Sunday night Todd fell asleep on the couch and I went to bed. I was sleeping and heard Ryan crying. Todd and I got to him at the same time. I told Todd I would change Ryan if Todd made his bottle. So, I changed Ryan and got him dressed in a cute orange henley and jeans. Then I gave Ryan to Todd for him to be fed. Todd gave me the strangest look and told me to go back to bed. I was like, whatever - I can go back to bed for only 20 minutes - I have to go to work! Then I looked at the clock. It was 1:55 am! I thought it was 5:55 am. I went back to bed and woke up at 6 am. Todd was asleep on the couch, and Ryan was asleep in his crib - in his orange shirt and jeans :)

Ryan Gets H by the Hair

Well, I Went

I went to the farm for the weekend after all. I still didn't feel the greatest, but Ryan and I set off after daycare and arrived at the farm about 8:15 pm (after a diaper-change pit stop at Heather's). Everyone was surprised to see how big and bright my Baby-Boo has become. He even slept in the crib upstairs and didn't wake up until 7:30 am! Saturday was mostly all Ryan and Marnie time with my parents, and I started eating real food. Yum.

Saturday afternoon, I even got to take a little trip while Grandma babysat. I met H and Christy at the scrapbooking store in Oelwein and then we took Christy for ice cream. She is a sweetie and is fun to watch because she buys her scrapbooking supplies based on what she thinks is cool, not because she has specific pictures to go with it. She bought some paper with chocolate bunnies on it and some Las Vegas stickers.

Saturday night was my grandpa's 91st birthday party. It was a huge success. Mom cooked a delicious meal. We had roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, broccoli casserole, cauliflower/bacon salad, and Wacky cake. Nicky even baked some banana bread for us. Heather and I were confused because mom put dishes of jam on the tables for the rolls, and we both thought it was cranberry sauce. We couldnt' figure out why the hell you would put cranberry sauce on roast beef! Ryan entertained the adults after supper and the Hansen kids watched Harry Potter. The funniest part of the night was when Ryan discovered the barrette in H's hair. He grabbed it and would not let go. Instead of helping her, I took pictures. Ryan was up until almost 10 pm, but he crashed 15 minutes after everyone left.

Ryan screamed with nightmares for part of the night, and my stomach woke me up early (not good) but Ryan slept until 7 am. We just hung out the rest of the morning, and we left for Des Moines at 1:30. It rained all the way back to Des Moines, but it was a good trip.

When I got back, Todd was home :) so we had family bonding and then we watched the Sopranos. I made waffle fries and chicken breasts with cream of chicken soup for supper, and Todd loved it. He proclaimed it was the best meal he had ever had since - last week. (He is only home for supper one night a week). He is easy to please. The more boring the meal, the more he likes it. I went to bed early and Todd crashed on the couch.

It was a good but tiring weekend. Now I hear H and Kurt have my stomach ick.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Forgot to mention that during Ryan's shots, Dad sat down so he wouldn't faint, and Mom held down poor little Ryan. Why do I always have to be the bad guy?

I am supposed to head straight to the farm after I pick up Ryan from daycare today, but I am still feeling ickish. I took yesterday off, but am at work today. I am not puking or pooping, no fever, but my stomach just plain hurts. I have only had crackers, toast, and applesauce for 4 days. Ugh. I don't feel horrible, but don't feel good. Should I stay or should I go? The car is all packed (you would not believe the amount of stuff needed for 2 nights. I gave up on diaper bags and used a giant rubbermaid.) and Ryan is healthy, but I don't particularly want to get my 91-yr-old grandpa sick. Hmmm. Should I stay or should I go?

Bragging

I am bragging about my Baby-Boo Ryan. He had an excellent 4-month appointment at the doctor's on Monday. The doctor said they don't get much healthier than Ryan, and he has the motor skills of a 6-month old! Brag, brag. He can roll over both ways, grab objects and move them from hand to hand, track things with both eyes moving together, and he has his first two teeth. He only cried for about 2 mintues when he got his shots, then fell asleep. He has been on rice cereal for a week and can start the green veggies after April 15th. And the pediatrician says he can't hear Ryan's heart murmurs, but he never can. We will have to wait until June 5th to see what the cardiologist (and his super-human ears) hears.

Ryan measured in at 15 lbs, 10 oz and was 24 3/4 inches long. This puts him in the 50th percentile for height and weight. However, he has a large noggin'. His head is in the 90th percentile! As Elaine on Seinfield would say, he's a walking candy apple!

Misc.

Well, the aforementioned coffee cake has been trashed. I threw it out as a precaution since it was the last thing I ate before I started praying to the porcelian god yesterday morning from 5 am - 10 am, then spent until 2 am this morning with a 102 fever. Then the fever broke, and I was good as new. I even went to work today. Ryan and Todd aren't sick, so I don't know what happened. I feel fine, but...

...the hives are back. Scratch, scratch.

Tales from the Kitchen

I have been having an intersting time in the kitchen lately. A few weeks ago, I tried to make Paula Dean's ooey-gooey butter cake from the Food Network. It was supposed to bake for 30-40 minutes. After 75 minutes, the top was still raw and liquid and the bottom was burnt. Disaster.

Then, last week I made homemade crab ragoons for poker. They were a success, but they may be what has led to my hive outbreak. After 7 days of scratching and itching I went to the doctor on Saturday. He said they will probably never know what happened, but since I ate seafood the day I got them, I may have developed a sudden seafood allergy! This is horrible, as seafood is my absolute favorite and is actually something I eat that is healthy. The ironic thing is that I was given a gift card to Red Lobster, and Diane and I were going to go spend it this weekend, but now I have to lay of seafood for a few weeks, so I had to call her and cancel.

Thursday night I made 3 pounds of macaroni salad for Stein's Free Food Friday. I preplanned and bought all my ingredients except sugar. I always have sugar, right? Apparently not. At 7:30 pm I had two pots of pasta boiling away on the stove. Ryan and I were both in our pj's and he was swinging while I chopped carrots, and I was covered head to toe in big blotchy hives. I needed at least 4 cups of sugar. I open the canister, and viola! I have 1/4 cup. Needless to say, I couldn't exactly rush out to the store. So, I "womped" it. I found a canister of sugar packets, and used about 50 sugar packets. It takes a long time to open that many packets! Then I found 1/4 can of Splenda, so I dumped that in. Then I finished it off with about 20 Equal packets. Suprisingly, it turned out well and was a success. Apparently, I am now famous in the Newton bar scene for macaroni salad. Whatever that's worth.

Yesterday I made a coffee cake. I always make it in a 9 x 13, but this time I decided to make it in a Bundt pan like the recipe says. I got the first layer of batter in the ban, then sprinkled it with the cinnamon/brown sugar/butter crumbles, then started to put the rest of the batter in. At this point, I realized that I forgot to put the 4 eggs in. I had noticed that the batter was awfully thick. So I scraped off the crumbles, dumped the batter back into the bowl and beat in the eggs, then put it back in the pan. So much for having a distinct brown sugar layer! Then, I baked it the correct amount of time, and it was nice and brown on the top. The recipe said to flip it over immediately, so I did. Well it turns out that the bottom was still raw, so when I flipped it over, the batter started gushing. So, I quick slammed the bundt pan on it, flipped it back over, and threw it in the oven and baked it some more. It turned out pretty well, but was kind of crusty on the outside.

I am a good cook. Really. I think I have two problems - my oven isn't heating exactly right and I lost two many brain cells during pregnancy!

Well, got to run, it is now 6:40 am, and time to wake Ryan back up. He woke up early - 5 am, so he and I have been ready for work since 6 am, but daycare doesn't open until 7 am. Luckily, he fell asleep in his swing so I could blog.

King Cake

One of my co-workers (now my boss) is from Louisiana, so 8 years ago he brought the tradition of having King Cake on Fat Tuesday of Mardi Gras to work. The King Cake is a traditional Mardi Gras treat, baked and covered with a poured sugar topping in Mardi Gras colors; Purple, representing Justice, Green representing Faith and Gold representing Power. Each cake has a plastic baby hidden in it, and if you find the baby you have to bring the cake next year. It is also supposed to bring you fertility. Well, last year I found a baby just before I found out I was pregnant!
I was too cheap to buy a cake this year, so I spent last Sunday making one. It is a yeast cake and has to rise twice for a total of over 2 hours, so it took a while. It turned out well, except it was a little denser than I expected, and a little lopsided. After I got to work, I found out that Hy-Vee was selling King cakes for only $5. I should have done that!

Poker Night: The Day After

Last night I hosted a very successful Ladies' Poker Night. Roni and Steph joined our group, so there were 8 of us duking it out. I was the first to go out, very early, and finally at 1 am Stephanie finally beat Alisa to claim the $40 pot. It was a great time with great food and it was nice to have Roni and Steph there. A great night.

The day after has not been so good. After the girls all left, I loaded the dishwasher and went to bed at 1:30. At 1:35 Ryan was up, hungry and wide awake. Finally I went to bed at 3 am. Then Todd came in at 6 am, and we talked until 7:30, and then Ryan got up. He has been alternating between extremely playful and cranky all day because he has only had 2 - 30 minute naps today. Hopefully he is falling asleep while I am upstairs typing this. But, Todd has been home all day so we have had some good family together time, and I made him his traditional box of Saturday Kraft dinner before he left for work.

The other lovely news today is that I woke up covered head to toe in hives. Very itchy. I have no idea why, and I don't think I ate anything unusual last night. I took some benydryl and it seems to be helping, sort of.

Ugh..Back to Work

Well, it was too cold to scrap upstairs at my cropping table, so I sorted and hauled stuff downstairs to the dining room. Despite Ryan taking a 4 hour nap yesterday, I only got 4 pages done! But, I also got his calendar up-to-date and divided all my pictures into scrapbooking or the photo album. I get doubles of ones I have scrapbooking ideas for, and then everything else goes in chronological order into the album. I have space for 6 more pictures in the album. I also made belated valentines to send out with his professional pictures ... so I guess I achieved more than I thought. Plus baby duty! I was trapped at home since Todd was at work and it was too cold to take a baby out.

Ugh..back to work. Having an ugly morning. We all have colds and I spent the night in the recliner so I could breathe. Ryan spent from 10 - 3 sleeping with me in the recliner too. I hate to do that, but I couldn't help it. I fell asleep!

You know it's cold when....

You know it's cold when...the chain on your garage door opener snaps in half!

Mr. Baldy

Tummy time is a flop at the Stein house. It never lasts more than 2 minutes because as soon as you put him on his stomach, Ryan rolls over to his back. This has been going on since he was 16 days old, so as a result he has a huge patch of hair missing on the back of his head (see picture).

This weekend I am going to try to scrapbook. It is going to be too cold to take Smiley anywhere, the house is clean, and the laundry is done, so we are just going to hang out and I will attempt to scrap while he bounces, swings, or naps.

The mirror in the picture is on loan from the Arndt twins. My friend Jeremy from work had twin boys, Collin and Nicholas, in June, and they lend us their toys when they get bored with them. It spices things up for Ryan. Thanks to them and the fast-growing Anthony, I haven't had to buy much for Ryan :)

Mom's Night Out

It was hard, but I let Todd's parents keep Ryan overnight Saturday night. After 3 weeks of being back to work, I am exhausted. It is hard to get everything done every night and take care of Ryan. Plus, I want to hold him and play with him all the time, since I only see him in the morning, and then from 4:30 - 8:30 each weeknight. Todd has been helping about 3 of 5 mornings and on his 2 evenings off, so that is nice. My back is killing me though, from bending and rotating to squeeze Ryan and his car seat into the Cavalier four times a day, and I am in the process of moving my cubicle at work from one side of the building to the other. Whine. Whine.

Friday night after Ryan went to bed I started cleaning the house, and then I finished on Saturday. I got everything done except the dusting. Todd's parents came and got Ryan and left about 4:30. Then, Gilk and Diane picked me up at 6:30. I went with them and some other AZX people to Stein's in Newton. I hadn't been there since September. I had a good time, and all of the employees were took extra good care of me :) I got home at 12:45 and then ate leftover Mongolian Beef and Belgian chocolate ice cream. Talk about your weirdo dreams! I got up at 8:30 and felt like a new woman. I was supposed to meet Mike and Sandy in Monroe at 12:00 to pick up Ryan, but I am enjoying my "break" and getting a lot done, so I called them and they are bringing him here at 3:30. I feel like a horrible mother, but if I get a lot done today, that will be more time to spend with him this week. I might even plan out some scrapbooking pages as if I will ever get time to scrapbook!