Panic. Shouldn't have gotten rid of the clothes. What was I thinking? I already miss my fat girl pants. I want them back. My stupid, impulsive actions have now committed me to running every morning until I can fit into my normal clothes again.

WHAT HAVE I DONE?

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

Dear Maternity Clothes,

Sometimes relationships have run their course, and the only thing to do is say goodbye. I think that time has come.

My feelings for you have changed. I remember 5 years ago when I saw you at the store and took you home, I thought you were cute. You actually made me feel good about myself and I really enjoyed seeing you in my closet every morning. But then, when our time together was over and I put you in the attic, you had barely even begun to collect dust when I had to pull you out again. I should've seen then that you weren't going away without a fight. You keep finding ways to weasel your way back into my life. I'm not putting up with it anymore.

I have to make a clean break. You're going to Goodwill. I really think that's best for both of us. I can't stand to look at you and you deserve to meet another woman who will love you and put you on a hanger instead of shoving you into a giant Ziploc bag.

I know you think I'll be back. But it's really over this time.
Thanks for the memories...

Gonna Be Waiting A While

Sarah went upstairs this afternoon to get her room all ready for a sleepover that she wants to have with Caroline when Caroline turns 4.

A Dining Room Makeover and Getting Some Help

We're painting our dining room sometime next week probably. Hooray! We're getting new curtains and I'm reupholstering the blue couch and the ottoman that sits in front of it.

(And by "we" and "I", I mean "we... are hiring someone to do it" and "I... will be paying someone to redo the couch.")

And the most exciting news to me is that Jason has suggested that we have a cleaning crew (Merry Maids, something like that) come in and get me out of the cleaning hole I'm stuck in. I can't find the time to stay on top of all the bathrooms and bedrooms and dusting and mopping. So he is treating me to a day of professional cleaning to get me back on track.

As I type this I guess it makes Jason sound pretty sexist, like he never helps out with domestic duties and he controls the money.

But that's not the case. I try not to spend our money on things like cleaning people because I feel like as the SAHM I should be able to do everything. He recognized that I can't do it all right now and he offered me some help. So I'm SUPER HAPPY!

Maybe I should take some before and after pics of the house. You'd see how badly I need help if you saw how bad I've let things get.

This Week in Appointments

This was the first truly busy week of running-around errands I've had since having Caroline. Making sure everyone is fed, dressed, happy, clean and strapped in carseats at the same time is sort of a scheduling nightmare. But I'm figuring it out.





Monday: Sarah's 4 yr check up: 4 shots and a flu vaccine. She didn't cry! Couldn't believe it! 4 shots, not one tear.





Tuesday: Went to Meet The Teacher Night for Jack's Mother's Day Out class. Love his teachers.


Holly, I am feeling your pain about having a child who will be 3 in October, is really ready for preschool (Must we really do another year of crafts?), but is not old enough to leave MDO yet. On the upside, he wouldn't have been allowed in preschool anyway. He's not pottytrained.





Wednesday: Went to the Early Childhood School (Beaty) to have Sarah's speech evaluated. I've been concerned for a while that she's not where she needs to be verbally. She'll have testing done in a couple of weeks. Then we'll have an ARD to discuss. An ARD... Ah, memories. Weird to be the parent and not the teacher though.





Thursday: My 6 week check up with my OBGYN. Ugh. I dread it every time. Glad it's over. And I know I said this after Jack but... It's so nice to know this is my last 6 week postpartum check. But it REALLY is this time. Really.

Happy First Day of School, Rachel

This is my niece, Rachel. She started Kindergarten today. I'm a little teary-eyed thinking about her being grown up enough to start "real" school. I can hardly believe this time next year Sarah will be off to school. Where does the time go? Some phases of my babies' lives seem to drag on and on, but then you blink and they're old enough to be in Kindergarten. Wow.

To all my teacher friends who started back today and to all the Moms of Kindergarteners (and older kids)... I hope this is the best year yet!! Happy First Day of School!

Out for a Jog

I made time this morning (and Jason gave me permission) to get out and run a couple of miles. What a difference in my mood to get some fresh air and alone time. It's going to be a good day... I can feel it!

And the word of the day is...

FRUSTRATION! I don't even know where to start. It's just been a frustrating day. I'm tired. Sleepy tired. Not just worn out. I'm not sleeping thru the night. I'm the only one not sleeping thru the night... besides Caroline but she at least gets to make up for it during the day.

Oh my gosh, someone always needs me. Juice cups. Snacks. Meals. Diaper changes for Jack and Caroline. (It's on my to do list to get him potty trained before Christmas. I just haven't had the energy to try.) Then Sarah wants to tell me something... all the time, she has something to tell me. 90% of the time it's tattling. Pet peeve of mine. The other 10% of the time it's sweet but very random (She gets that from her mother) and I sometimes think, "Did I really stop what I was doing so you could tell me that?" I try to explain to the kids that Mommy isn't sleeping when they sleep at night. Mommy is awake, so please give Mommy a break!! :) Goes in one ear, out the other.

And Sarah is such a Daddy's girl. Sweet? Yes, absolutely. But it's taken an ugly turn recently in that now she seems to think Daddy = Awesome, smart, wonderful. Mommy = Moron, inadequate substitute for Daddy. I'll tell her to do something and she'll say, "That's not what Daddy says." or "That's not how Daddy says to do it." Today I looked at her and said in a not-so-nice tone, "Well he's not here right now. Do what I've asked you to do."

When the heck did I lose control of this show? This is the danger of having people step in and help, I think. Then there are too many chiefs and the Indians don't know which chief to follow. Just wait. One day Caroline will be sleeping thru the night, which means I will be well-rested and have my energy back. And I will remind everyone that I am the CEO of our house... (except on weekends and weekdays after 7 pm). :)

So sad

Well Caroline's first cold has officially turned into her first sinus infection/ear infection. Poor thing. Should've known it was coming. Sarah has a sinus infection and Jack has the cruddy sounding cough. Now all three are on antibiotics and it's not even cold and flu season. Yikes.

Baby pics... just trying to win free stuff :)

I blog hop all the time and one of the blogs I love is linked on Elizabeth's website. It's blueeyedbride.com. Even though I don't know Erin, I think her blog is really fun to read. (Of course, I also love Elizabeth's blog "so happily us". You should check it out sometime. There's a link on the right.)

Erin's doing a giveaway and one of the ways to enter to win is to post baby pics and/or school photos on your blog. I'll shamelessly jump thru hoops to win free stuff. So that's the explanation for this post.

Obviously I'm not so good at using the scanner. Technology is so confusing. :)

13

The Fishero family

I think I've bored most of you with the way 13 plays into the McGlamery family but in case there are a couple of you who haven't heard, let me share. :)

First of all, I put this pic up because Caroline is the 13th member of the Fishero family. Go ahead and count us if you want. She's #13. She is also the 13th great grandchild. Hmmm.

Jason and I got married on March 13, 2004. Sarah was born on July 26, 2005 (the 26th is 13 + 13). Jack was born on October 13, 2006. Caroline was born on July 13, 2009. Weird, right? Now I know I induced all 3 times so you could argue that I picked those dates. But, no. Sarah was induced on the 24th so that I could have her on the 25th and she just didn't make her appearance until the 26th. (Man, that was a loooong labor.) Jack was induced but only because my blood pressure had sky rocketed, so I didn't choose what day he came. And my doctor chose Caroline's birthday.

So I guess 13 is our lucky number. Well if you want to call 2 unplanned pregnancies lucky. :) TOTALLY KIDDING! I realize I'm completely blessed to have all of my kids.

If I ever play the lotto I'm picking multiples of 13.

Random Thoughts

Well, Caroline has her first cold. Already. How can that be? I thought that was part of the point of me not using formula. Shouldn't she have a top notch immune system. I guess that's what happens with the 3rd kid. We're too busy living life to be as fussy about germs as we were with the other 2.

Speaking of busy with the 3 kids...

I am so ready for the summer to be over. We still have 3 weeks until the kids go to preschool/Mom's Day Out. Will I make it??? I can't go anywhere with them because Caroline has refused to take a bottle and I refuse to feed her in public. Well, not really refuse... more like I'm super uncomfortable with it and I'd really really rather not.

Which leads me to...

I went to the Crybaby Matinee at the Angelika Theater on Wednesday. According to the website, Julie and Julia was supposed to be playing. (It wasn't. It was "500 Days of Summer", which I decided was fine.) But when I walked in the theater, I was the only mom there. The point of the Crybaby Matinee is that you can bring in a baby that may or may not scream at some point during the movie, and no one will care. And that you can feed your baby in the dark theater and no one will stare. It's supposed to be moms and crying babies... that's it. But there was a huge group of what looked to be college aged kids, and they looked pissed that I had a baby with me. To which I wanted to say, "I'm the one who's right. You're the one who shouldn't be here." But anyway, I got up and left. Never saw the movie. My mom tried to convince me to go the regular theater and see Julie & Julia... "Just find a seat off by yourself and don't worry about it if you need to feed her." Right. Whatever. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think there are people who would be horrified if they saw a mother feeding her baby. Even with a blanket covering her. It's not like they don't know what's going on under the blanket. Don't get me wrong... I think I should be able to feed my baby on a park bench if I need to; I'm just not sure that's socially acceptable. ??

Speaking of Julie & Julia...

Top Chef starts Wednesday. Hooray! I love Top Chef. I am in awe of anyone who can cook... probably because I'm horrible at it. The Quickfire Challenges are the best. How can you think of something so fancy so quickly??? Amazing!

Pic of the WHOLE family...

Vacation Daydreaming

Jason and I haven't been on a vacation... just the 2 of us... since our honeymoon almost 5 1/2 years ago. I told him that I want to go somewhere!! ANYWHERE! In other words, get me out of here! :)

I know that logistically it will be hard to get away anytime soon. So we're seriously thinking about taking a trip (a long weekend) somewhere fun in the next 18 mos to 2 yrs. I know, I know. A long way away. So why would even be talking about it now? Because sadly I'm THAT excited about leaving Plano for a little while. Everybody needs some time away.

I'm not talking about some down time at a beach. I want to go somewhere I've never been. A place that has things to do. A place that 4 days is a reasonable amount of time to spend.

I'm thinking Chicago might be fun. Has anyone ever been there? I've always wanted to go.

Or maybe Boston. I've heard good things about it, but I don't want to spend the whole weekend recapping the American Revolution.

I've been to NYC, but it's been 6 or 7 years. I'd definitely go back there!

Other than L.A.. never spent time in California.

Any suggestions? I want a city where a long weekend will give me enough time to have some fun there .

Dating Shows.. TV I love to watch

I never realized until recently that I have a thing for dating shows. I like them. No matter how cheesy.

The most recent show I've kinda gotten into (I think it's only aired twice so how "into it" can I really be at this point?) is "Dating in the Dark" on ABC. Have you seen it? The general concept is to test people to see if personality or looks attracts the opposite sex more. It's always interesting to me when very average looking men expect to hook up with really pretty women. But for the most part, women are looking for more of a connection and less at the outside package.

Anyway, I started thinking about all the dating shows that I've loved in the past but are no longer on air. Do you remember any of these?

Bzzz! It was a game show where, in the first round, 4 bachelors stood behind a screen and talked to the bachelorette. She eliminated someone after the first round, purely based on their silhouette and voice. Then round 2 she interviewed the remaining bachelors and got to see them face to face and would buzz them if she didn't like them... eventually narrowing the field to 1 final bachelor. Then round 3 was the Sympatico round to see how compatible this bachelor and bachelorette were. If they answered questions alike, then they'd win some fabulous date. Ringing any bells with anyone???

Change of Heart Dating couples who were going thru a rough patch agreed to go on dates with other people to decide if they wanted to stay together or have a change of heart. Loved it. Especially when one of them wanted to work it out and the other one didn't. :) heehee

A Dating Story On TLC right before A Wedding Story (which btw I don't think is on any more either). Anyway, I think it was a blind date set up by a mutual friend. (I don't think the show picked the dates.) Anyway, it was fun to watch them get ready and then to watch the awkward blind date and then to read at the end whether or not they went out again. If I remember correctly, even if the dates were a bust, both people were almost always very polite to each other.

On Fox Reality Channel, I still catch myself watching "Blind Date" and "EX-treme Dating". Those are classics.

What about you? Any shows you love or wish were still on the air?

"Real" Clothes Again

So I went to Old Navy this weekend and bought a couple of pair of shorts.... real shorts. No elastic waist. No maternity panel. Sure, they're 2 sizes bigger than I would normally wear, but I think it's soooo worth it to spend a little bit of money when you're 3 or so weeks postpartum and buy pants or shorts that button and zip. It makes you feel like a person again and not a blimp. :) Plus, the added bonus is that in a week or so, they'll be too big and I'll be able to tell more easily that I am losing weight.

So that's my tip for new moms... Take it or leave it... But my advice would be... Within the first 6 weeks postpartum, buy real clothes!!! (But buy something on sale because they won't fit for long.)