Jan 2 - Seems like DH is happy to return to work tomorrow. I, on the other hand, have a couple more weeks of winter break. So I scheduled a lot of "mommy & me" type stuff and two Disneyland days. LO is home with me until school resumes on Jan 23.
Kiddo is showing a strong preference for mommy at diaper change and nap time. I am finally feeling like the house is back in shape after we involuntarily got our fences redone. So much carnage to my garden! We traveled Dec 12-18 and Dec 23-27 so we left the fridge totally empty for most of December. Our fridge is now fully restocked and Christmas is put away and we're caught up on laundry.
Unfortunately we stayed at a cheap hotel for Thanksgiving and brought back fleas. It's been such a stress constantly washing sheets, blankets and couch covers and vacuuming and spraying. I regret being a cheapskate!!! It would have cost us $200 to switch hotels but it will cost $2200 to have pest control come over here and spray. So we're trying to treat it ourselves. And by "we" I mean ME because DH isn't really doing anything to help.
It's like when he's on vacation DH just stops doing chores. When I'm on break from school, he relies on me to do all the shopping, cooking, cleaning and childcare. While he naps all day and complains about how tired he is and eats junk food even though he is diabetic. And then he complains when I "drag" him along to playdates and outdoor workouts.
I'm also over DH's lazy parenting style. He lets LO watch cartoons all day. Then he wonders why LO has turned into a whiny monster. I prefer to schedule playdates, go to a park, museum, shopping... anything to keep us busy. I let LO watch 1 hour of TV while he is waking up (6-7am) and 1 hour while I cook dinner (4-5pm). But DH just doesn't take a hands-on approach with LO.
I'm on the floor playing cars or outside chasing LO around. I definitely think the whining is 10x worse if LO isn't worn out. I plan busy boxes with sensory stuff or cooking together or go for a walk, there are literally endless things to do together. It does take time to plan and set up and then it takes initiative to get kiddo going on a new task. It seems like DH just doesn't do that, doesn't want to, doesn't think about it, or doesn't know how.
TLDR I love my husband and I love how he supports me in a lot of ways but I feel like we have very different ideas about how to parent.
Feb 27 - I feel like my life consists of chores. We will "graduate" from early intervention on Marchling's bday and I'm kinda glad. We have had a parade of therapists through our house 2x per week for 7 months now and the # of words kiddo says hasn't changed much. Granted he does say mama, dada and wawa but that's all the progress we've seen. I'm tired of cleaning our house for other people's benefit.
We had an assessment last Friday for transition to public school IEP. Now we wait until March 10th to hear the results and recommendations. I know each of us has our challenges with our kiddos and I love ours dearly. Looking forward to whatever is next in our speech therapy journey.
Feb 28 - "The Perfect Mother" by Aimee Molloy was selected by my mom fitness group as a book club read. It's about a bumper group. I am listening to it for free from hoopla in audiobook format.
I bought three plane tickets to visit my parents this summer: one for me, one for Marchling and one for my husband. My mom is being very negative about it. She wants us to stay with her but she's a hoarder. I asked her to clean out a bedroom but she refused. I booked an Airbnb less than 1 mile away and she's complaining that it's too expensive. Welp. My mom says it would have been easier if DH didn't come but I told her that I want him there. It's been since 2018 that he came "home" to Nebraska with me. My mom only wants to see her grandson and she wants him all to herself. Yet, she promised to come visit us every 6 months and has only been here for the birth, 6 months and 1 year birthday.
Last summer when we went to visit Nebraska, just me and Marchling, we got COVID and had to quarantine the whole visit. I'm already regretting summer 2023 and we haven't even got there yet.
I finally gave in and bought a new computer (laptop). Here is a timeline of previous mobile device purchases. Of course we've bought desktop computers here and there, out of necessity, which made it unnecessary to replace the older laptops for quite a while.
1/19/2023 ASUS E210 M (this is the new one pictured above)
So far I've used it to teach one Excel workshop and I'm getting ready to use it again to teach an Excel workshop this Friday. I had to get it because they upgraded our labs to include projectors which have an HDMI cable and I didn't have a laptop that would do Excel and project. In prior years, we would have booked the computer lab and I wouldn't have needed to Bring My Own Device.
So far, I'm pretty happy with my Versa 3 smartwatch. I like how long it holds a charge (longer than 3 days) and I like how it can pair with my phone to deliver calls and text messages. I can reply with an emoji which is pretty useful. I also have it connected to my Google calendar so it can remind me of upcoming meetings and appointments. I use it a lot to set a timer.
I do think it is getting to be time to replace our phones. We recently had to migrate over from Sprint to T-Mobile. I don't know what type of deal we might be able to get, but I talked it over with Mike and he seems to be thinking we can just wait until one of our phones is completely Kaput before doing the task of shopping and buying something new.
Throughout adulthood, I've gone through many revisions to my beauty regimen. There are factors such as priority (how much do you need to care about your appearance), cost (how much money do you want to spend on products), and time (how much time do you have in the day to devote to grooming). Definitely there is an absolute minimum of things you should do for yourself and it's debatable where that minimum lies. I'm definitely trying to get on board with once or twice daily face washing, daily sunscreen, and I've gotten into the Curly Girl Method for hair care.
With all the other things one has to shop for and maintain an inventory list of (groceries, diapers, clothing, gas, etc) sometimes beauty goes to the bottom of my priority list. It's expensive and tempting to cut corners. But I have a skin condition (rosacea) that is itchy and painful if not managed. I also tend to get an itchy flaky scalp if I neglect my haircare. I live in a city that has pretty bad air quality and low humidity and lots of sun, so if I don't take care of these things, they go to shit pretty fast.
I've written detailed descriptions of what worked for me at earlier stages of life. In 2011 I was teaching at the Claremont Colleges, which meant that appearance was a high priority and I had lots of money. During pregnancy, my priority was eliminating any carcinogens that might pass to the developing fetus. The newly postpartum time was hellish. I wasn't sleeping and I was focusing so much on caring for a newborn. But finally now I think I can report on what is working for me as a mom.
These three products together are a good haircare brand. I use the mask whenever it starts looking very dry like straw. I can find the first two at Target but I had to order the mask on Amazon. I really thought I would use "dry shampoo" and I spent a lot of time researching it, but I never really got into it.
DevaCurl Low Poo is good between shampoos. I shampoo weekly and do a deep cleanse (Suave) once per month, according to the Curly Girl Method. In between washes, I refresh with the low-poo. Once I've washed and set the hair with the gel (below), I don't touch it. I don't brush it. I plop it onto a long-sleeved shirt and wrap it up for 15 minutes, then take it down and put in some butterfly clips to give it volume in the front. Then I take the clips out when it's dry and "scrunch out the crunch" and don't touch it after that.
I cleaned up my drawer at work and this is what all I found. I got the Surf Spray and DevaFresh spray to refresh my curls between washes. Now I had very long pandemic hair when I bought those and now I have a kind of long bob so I don't really use them now. Also I don't like the strong aroma of the DevaFresh but it does do a good job of making the curls look good again.
The think Everyday Face tinted sunscreen SPF 30 is something I can't live without anymore. I also love the think magnesium deodorant charcoal & sage is also SO GREAT. CT Organics Shea Butter Coconut Lotion is a must-have for dry skin. As well as lanolin, which is great for cracked dry skin. There are some things that I bought as a nursing mom that I still use and lanolin is one of them. I love the CT Organics natural deodorant and the company is owned by a mompreneur so I love supporting her. Degree is the antiperspirant and Tom's is another "natural" deodorant, which both have an expiration date of 2018 LOL which is definitely 5 years ago. So I'm gonna throw them away now.
Clinique redness solutions was brought to my attention when we were planning our wedding, if I'm not mistaken and I've been a loyal customer since then. But I have found that Johnson's Head-To-Toe Baby Wash and Shampoo is a good mild facial cleanser that I use from time to time. Clinique dramatically different moisturizing lotion + is my favorite and go-to daily lotion for the face. I did also purchase Facial Cleansing Wipes for sensitive skin from Target. I use Pond's Cold Cream first and remove it with the cleansing wipe. Then add moisture from the Clinique lotion. That seems to give me a refresh without having to put my face over the sink and splash water everywhere like some silly Neutrogena commercial. I don't have time for that. Plus our counters are really high here at work and I can't lean over the sink without using a footstool.
Likewise, just as I use the baby shampoo as a cleanser, I also borrow my kid's sunscreen. This one is the absolute best. If I don't care about looking like a washed-out ghost that is. And also I have to remember to take this mineral sunscreen off. If I don't, it really clogs my pores. Speaking of clogged pores, I have this All About Clean 2-in-1 Charcoal Mask + Scrub. I use it as a mask and it does wonders. I also have the Pacifica brand curl refreshing spray, which I leave at home. I like the smell much better, it's nice without being overpowering, and it does an okay job of making my curls look better. Some of these sprays claim to be a scalp refresh so it's possible I'm just not using it correctly, but it does give a cooling sensation if you spray near the scalp and massage it in a bit to your roots.
I bought the Pond's Dry Skin Cream on accident. I thought it was a cleanser but it's only a moisturizer. So now I use the stack here. Cleanse with the cold cream, wipe it off with a washcloth and then moisturize (slug) with the dry skin cream. I wear this after a day out, so it's more of a weekend or nighttime ritual. And you can see that I'm never far from a batch of CT Organics moisturizing lotion. It's great for a foot massage, a leg massage, a hand cream, rough elbows, you name it. I don't put it on my face though.
After I became a mom, this lotion is really the only thing I wanted to put on my face. It's hella expensive but it really soothes angry skin. And if you have angry skin, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't have angry skin, I'm happy for you. Skip this. But if you have been out in the sun for 8 hours and the wind has been blowing and your skin is angry, this cream will really help you out. You will wake up the following morning and look like you just had the best night of sleep ever. I don't know how it works but it allows my skin to repair itself and stop being angry. I don't use it every day because of the price, but when I need it, I go for it.
This brand, Jurlique, came into my life from Buy Nothing. A friend gave me a slide. I didn't want it so I gave it to another mom who wouldn't take it without giving me something in return. I said it wasn't necessary but she said that her mother (or MIL) kept pushing her to take better care of her skin and she is a twin mom so she's twice as busy as me. I wasn't so sure that this would be something helpful for me, but it is a cleansing oil which smells fantastic and botanical. Again, I like that it is something that can be used without splashing a bunch of water all around. I apply 3 pumps of it to my fingertips and then rub it all over my face. I feel like it removes salt and pollution (grit) very well and gets trapped stuff out of my pores. Then I wet a washcloth and use that to take off the cleanser. After that, I apply the cream. It's very thick and also smells like a garden. I sometimes feel like the day after using these two, my skin is a bit redder than usual but I also feel like it's better than NOT washing my face at all. Like given the choice between using this or doing nothing, using this is way better.
Honestly, I would love for a dermatologist to hand me the quick fix for my rosacea but from what I've read, there are many forms and causes and very few actual "magic bullet" treatments that work for everyone. This is where I'm at now and I do use the tinted sunscreen to cover the redness and that makes me feel a bit less insecure. If I'm very good about wearing sunscreen, it tends to not flare up as much. But sometimes I think the tinted sunscreen actually causes the flare-ups. Something in the solvent or the fragrance. It's lightly scented like in a tropical way. I am interested in trying a product with azelaic acid or metronidazole, if one were available OTC. I heard Paula's Choice is good.
I had started making purchases for this semester before it started, so here's a list of what I bought in order of how much I love it and how much it has helped me.
Kelly Bag with matching Pumparoo $39 = new $160. This is a game-changer. I would say if you're thinking about getting a pumping bag but you don't know how long you'll be pumping, this one is awesome even for just going to work. The pump compartment is a cooler so I can put my lunch in there and not have to take a separate bag. Then when I get to work, I flatten that compartment and put all my work stuff in there and it all fits. Then at the end of the day, I put all my dirty dishes in the main compartment and it all fits. Amazing! If I were to change the design at all, I would love to have a chest clip and some reflective details, but I'll work on adding that stuff myself.
Simple Joys by Carter's Baby Everyday Diaper Backpack, I got this off Buy Nothing for Free = $50 new. This is my new fav diaper bag. I love how it clips on to the stroller. I love the wipes pocket on the side. It's a great park bag.
Signature by Levi Strauss & Co. Gold Label Women's Size Totally Shaping Pull-On Skinny Jeans Levi's $111 for 4 pairs (size 20) definitely follow the size chart, do not go by what size Amazon recommends for you! I had to send the first pair back for a refund. So far I haven't put them in the dryer but husband did and it didn't seem to ruin it. The waistband wasn't exactly right, but it got into place once I put them on. I can't speak to durability at this point since it's only week 2 but I can say that I don't dread getting dressed in the morning. I throw on one of these and go.
Latched Mama Snuggle Up Nursing Sweatshirt 2x/3x $58. I am using this WAY more than I thought I would. I absolutely love it and so does Albert. I can put him in there either forward or rear facing. It's been colder than usual with some days in the 30s and I can wear him to school so he stays nice and warm and cozy and I don't have to worry about him freezing in the stroller.
I never regret anything I buy from Latched Mama. I'm already using the vest daily and I love it. I did get some holiday-specific stuff which I packed away until next year. I do feel like a crazy person for it, but also I get so many compliments on the snuggle-up.
I can't believe I almost forgot to write about these new shoes. I love them so much. I realized after a bit of shopping that it's better to know the number of this year's (latest) model and then shop specifically for last year's. That's how I found the Ghost 14 for the cheapest. The other two are "this year" models, but I couldn't find the previous year models in my size. They were sold out.
One of my colleagues asked me, "where are your crazy pants?" I guess I was becoming notorious for the LuLaRoe pants with wild prints. I don't mind, of course.
I have both 10" inseam and 8" inseam. I kind of like the shorter ones because they let my knees cool down. But both are great! People in my life keep complaining about their yoga pants and I can't say enough good things about these. I've had the pants for 2 years and I wash and dry them with all my other laundry (no special treatment) and they are so durable.
12/20 - Haha DH complimented me on how snazzy I dress LO. He said kiddo is way cooler than either of us. I reminded him that I buy everything secondhand. So I just filter all the clothes for sale on consignment by kiddo's size and buy what is available. So thank you moms of Los Angeles for reselling the coolest little clothes. Yep I wish half of that stuff was in my size.
12/21 - I normally look forward to school breaks and have a list of shows to binge watch. This year I got nothing. Not that I don't want to watch TV but I just don't have a list of shows. We have Paramount+ and Disney+ and Amazon Prime and Netflix. How can there be so much content and I'm just not into any of it?
Kiddo is watching Baby Bus on YouTube and this other channel called First Toons (KidsFirstTV). He gets really upset if we try to put on something like Netflix or Paramount+. Of course there's no TV at daycare. And he will play at home without the TV. We use it when we need to do something like shower or cook dinner.
I wish I could rip the songs from this YouTube stuff he likes and then put it in a playlist and then just play the audio of it. My dad used to do that. Take our favorite movies and shows and make an audio recording of it and then play that in the car on long road trips. We're leaving Friday and doing a 6 hour drive and I'm just not sure it will go smoothly.
>> listentoyoutube is a site that allows you to rip audio
I really liked Wheel of Time season 1, there have to be significant strong female leaders. Game of Thrones was good but a bit violent. Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power was good. What I liked were the sweeping landscape views, a full orchestral soundtrack and an immersive fantasy world. I had to really think about shows I looked forward to watching when DH and LO were not around.
Seems like DH is happy to return to work tomorrow. I, on the other hand, have a couple more weeks of winter break. So I scheduled a lot of "mommy & me" type stuff and two Disneyland days. LO is home with me until school resumes on Jan 23.
Kiddo is showing a strong preference for mommy at diaper change and nap time. I am finally feeling like the house is back in shape after we involuntarily got our fences redone. So much carnage to my garden! We traveled Dec 12-18 and Dec 23-27 so we left the fridge totally empty for most of December. Our fridge is now fully restocked and Christmas is put away and we're caught up on laundry.
Unfortunately we stayed at a cheap hotel for Thanksgiving and brought back fleas. It's been such a stress constantly washing sheets, blankets and couch covers and vacuuming and spraying. I regret being a cheapskate!!! It would have cost us $200 to switch hotels but it will cost $2200 to have pest control come over here and spray. So we're trying to treat it ourselves. And by "we" I mean ME because DH isn't really doing anything to help.
It's like when he's on vacation DH just stops doing chores. When I'm on break from school, he relies on me to do all the shopping, cooking, cleaning and childcare. While he naps all day and complains about how tired he is and eats junk food even though he is diabetic. And then he complains when I "drag" him along to playdates and outdoor workouts.
I'm also over DH's lazy parenting style. He lets LO watch cartoons all day. Then he wonders why LO has turned into a whiny monster. I prefer to schedule playdates, go to a park, museum, shopping... anything to keep us busy. I let LO watch 1 hour of TV while he is waking up (6-7am) and 1 hour while I cook dinner (4-5pm). But DH just doesn't take a hands-on approach with LO.
I'm on the floor playing cars or outside chasing LO around. I definitely think the whining is 10x worse if LO isn't worn out. I plan busy boxes with sensory stuff or cooking together or go for a walk, there are literally endless things to do together. It does take time to plan and set up and then it takes initiative to get kiddo going on a new task. It seems like DH just doesn't do that, doesn't want to, doesn't think about it, or doesn't know how.
TLDR I love my husband and I love how he supports me in a lot of ways but I feel like we have very different ideas about how to parent.
So we ended up on a whirlwind week-long trip kind of by accident. My mother-in-law first came up with the idea to take us to Legoland. Then I wanted to go to Disneyland during the holiday season. We made those theme park reservations October 20th. We made all our hotel reservations on Oct 21st. Then my brother-in-law decided to join us the following weekend so we extended our vacation. So it was like 3 x 2 night trips but all in a row.
I'm writing this as we wait to check in to our 3rd hotel. What I am grateful for is that we had 1 day without driving between each driving day. And if we do this again, we agree that it would be more relaxing to stay 5 nights at the same hotel. Also it was a smart idea to have a day in between the theme parks to relax, rather than having 3 days in the park continuously.
When we left home around 9am on Monday morning, I believed we had everything except a soft structured baby carrier. It was on my packing list but I forgot to put it in the car. We drove to South Coast Plaza shopping mall, which was a great place to eat and use the facilities. Parking was free and the mall was decorated so wonderfully for the Christmas holidays. Albert rode the carousel 🎠with his grandparents, who joined us at the mall. Then we drove caravan style down to Legoland. We arrived just in time to check in at 4pm.
Legoland has a lot of streamlined procedures for check in and check out. They text you a hyperlink, you fill out a form, then when you arrive you scan a code from your phone and an attendant gives you your room keys. Of course they also take your card for incidentals, parking, resort fee, etc. We had a dinner reservation for 4:30pm so we just took our purses and a diaper change kit and a toddler busy bag. We scoped out the layout of the hotel, took a quick peek in our rooms and then reconvened for dinner. The menu wasn't extensive. The prices were steep. But there were TVs and a pit of legos and a play area and the waitstaff was friendly and they brought the kid's food right away, which was great.
After dinner we went out to our vehicles to get the bags. Unfortunately the valets wouldn't let us use the carts so we had to load everything on the stroller and/or carry it. We got it in one trip.
The layout of the rooms was amazing. There was a kids room with bunk beds and a trundle. The kids room had a TV and a wall-mounted LEGO building scaffold. Then there was a huge bathroom. It was big enough for a wheelchair I would think. There was a stepstool for the potty/sink. The toilet had a kids potty seat incorporated. The shower had a tub and rainfall shower head that could be raised or lowered and the wand was detachable. The bathroom was great. The master bedroom had a wizard theme. I loved all the options for nightlights. I didn't love how there was no couch and we had to eat on the bed to watch TV but I guess they expected us to dine at the restaurant.
The outdoor area had a movie screen, a playground and a pool. We did end up using all those things by the end of our visit. However if it had rained the whole time, we would not have had that benefit. The character meet and greet was right outside on the patio of the restaurant. We got a kick out of that.
We went to bed early and it was hard to sleep that first night. There was no good spot in the room to use as a diaper changing station. Eventually I found it was easier to sleep on the pull-out trundle bed. The kids room had a starry night ceiling that you could turn on. Adorable. We got two little prizes. If you do a scavenger hunt in the hotel, you get a code to unlock the safe and there are some lego packs in there.
Breakfast is included. It was amazing. Oatmeal, biscuits, gravy, fruit, pancakes, waffles, bagels, lots of stuff. Omlette, white rice, fried rice, orange chicken, cereal and milk... I can't even remember everything. There were chocolate chips and sprinkles, sliced cheese, sausage and veggie patties, bacon, juice bar. It was completely awesome. We got early-entry into the park. With breakfast at 7AM we had a lot of time to burn before we could get in but the opening ceremony was very cute.
The Legoland park itself is huge. We did 9 rides in 4 hours with Albert taking a 1 hour nap around 11am. We only got about halfway through the park. There were so many things we skipped. I don't know if we would go back but they did offer us passes to return. The food was good. We got meat at the Knight's Smokehouse BBQ. I think Albert's favorite rides were Cargo Ace and Lost Kingdom Adventure because we rode those twice. There were pretty much NO LINES which was incredible! He also really liked the Bionicle blaster and the Police and Fire Academy which weren't rides per se but more interactive. I think he would do the Academy again in a heartbeat. I also liked that area. Speaking as someone who had a LOT of Lego sets growing up, it was really fun to be immersed in the themes. We avoided the BIG gift shop instead opting for a pick-a-brick near the Deep Sea Adventure.
I couldn't figure out how to manage the photos on the app so we didn't get any formal photos taken but I think we took a good amount ourselves. We left the park at 1:30pm and bid adieu to Albert's grandparents at 2pm. We got a hand stamp to get back into the park just in case, but we didn't end up going back. We also got return tickets (4) for a future visit. Maybe we will use them? At least now we have a good idea of what the park offers.
What we did then was genius. We visited the resort pool. There were floating LEGO bricks for Albert to play with. He had to wear a life jacket. The water was super warm, like a bath. The pool had a zero entry and depth of 1.5 feet so Albert could walk in and out and all around. We stayed there for nearly 2 hours. There were 8 lifeguards for the 3 of us. I imagine in warmer months the poolside restaurant is open but it was closed for our visit. We could almost see the outdoor movie from the pool. If we had stayed 30 minutes longer, we could've watched the sunset. Overall super happy we used the pool. There were restrooms and free towels and you could reserve a cabana for $175.
We ordered takeout from the restaurant and picked it up. Eating in our room while watching Beat Bobby Flay was good. Much more relaxing than trying to entertain and contain our 2 year old. We had a view of Legoland Drive from our room and kiddo enjoyed lining his cars up on the windowsill. The in-room climate control worked great. The mini fridge was a bit loud but I was glad we had it because we ordered too much food, as usual, so it was perfect to store leftovers. The only thing lacking was wireless internet. It was good in some areas of the hotel but not in our room, which meant the Roku player didn't work. Hence Bobby Flay. But there were tons of channels for kids, news channels, and sports channels.
We have been going to bed so early this trip, it's been wonderful. We got a good night's sleep and went to breakfast at 7am again. They emphasize that you need a reservation for all meals, which we had, but I certainly saw lots of people walk up without a reservation and they got seated and served. After breakfast, Mike and Albert went to the playground while I went to pack up the room. That was a great division of labor because it gave me the quiet time I needed to pack up and organize. It gave Albert the time he needed to run, jump and climb. Checkout was easy and automatic. We dropped our keys off in the lobby. All our luggage was rolled out to the car in our stroller, so that worked out. Kiddo fell asleep pretty much right away. I think we were on the road at 9:30am. We drove to our old standby, the Anaheim Gardenwalk. Parked for 3+ hours for $6. We love parking there because there is a restroom near the security station.
We walked Downtown Disney. We got corn dogs for lunch. We walked back to the car and drove to our hotel, arrived at checkin. Got our room. Made a takeout order for CPK and got our food. Booking dog-friendly hotels in the past was a priority. Now it is a risk. We have found that using a lavender spray helps prevent the fleas from bothering us. Oilogic Slumber & Sleep Essential Oil Linen Spray gave us free samples which are great for travel-sized bottles. I would totally buy a larger one to refill the small bottles.
Our LQ room was good except the tub was crushed and when you stood too close to the drain, it felt like the floor was crumbling beneath you. It was terrifying. But other than that, the room was a good fit for our needs. We plugged in our Roku and enjoyed a bit of TV and showers before bed. Next morning was our park day so we woke up at 6am, packed up the stroller and rolled out. We were lined up in plenty of time for rope drop. We got our Golden Hour and then our grey stuff and coffee at the Red Rose Tavern. We did a ride and then had an early lunch overlooking the rivers of America. It turned out to be a great spot because we could watch the boats and trains go by. Since we ate early, we pretty much had the patio to ourselves. Also Albert had a wide choice of dips, French fries, chicken nuggets, and mac n cheese, and 2% milk. Pretty much all his favorite things. So we put him in the stroller and walked through Galaxy's Edge, and he fell asleep immediately. We didn't see Grogu but we definitely looked for him.
We parked in my favorite nap spot by Big Thunder Mtn RR. Albert slept for a full 2 hours. After the nap we used our Genie+ LL to skip the line and enjoy the holiday overlay of It's A Small World. Mike got us pretzels and we found a spot to watch the Christmas Fantasy parade. After that we got dinner at Bengal BBQ and the three of us were so exhausted that we ate in silence. So we realized it was time to head out. Luckily on our way to the exit, we caught the Main Street USA tree lighting ceremony. It was so cute.
At our hotel, we did showers and finished our dinner and watched a bit of TV. We were in bed shortly after 7pm. I was awakened by the fireworks at 9:30pm but it was okay. I enjoyed watching them from our room.
Next day, we tried having all of us down at continental breakfast. It was messy, loud, but at least we got a free meal. We had the room nearly all packed up before breakfast. After eating, we got the luggage cart and loaded it up. We left a tip in the room for the housekeeping staff. I was astounded at the amount of garbage we amassed during our 2-night stay. We left our car at the hotel and went for another walk through downtown Disney. It's safe and there are restrooms.
When we got back to our car, Albert was ready for his nap. We had a nice drive to the next hotel and he slept for 2 hours again. We arrived at 1pm but checkin wasn't until 4pm so we chilled in the parking lot. That's when I started writing this. Luckily they let us use the restroom in the lobby. And they let us know we could go into our room at 2pm.
Our 3rd room was very homey. It was a Residence Inn. There was a kitchenette, fireplace, bed, couch, desk, dining table. The cupboards and drawers were stocked with dishsoap, dishtowels, silverware, potato peeler, can opener, bowls, coffee mugs, etc. It was nice after a couple days of not having real mugs for our morning coffee. It was nice to have a full-size fridge. The bathroom had a large countertop and vanity area that was split from the toilet and shower.
We went to the grocery store and bought $70 worth of food and had a quite nice dinner and early bedtime. Continental breakfast was included and there were eggs, sausage and cereal, toast, coffee, juice. It was nice but nothing fancy. I had the idea to burn a log in our fireplace, which I felt was a great way to enjoy the room. Late morning Mike got the idea to do some Christmas shopping. It was ironic to be buying gifts for other people on his birthday.
This year our Christmas theme turned out to be the year of socks. I bought Woven Pear socks for my family and Mike went to the $1 spot at Target and did the same. Turns out all of us kept it simple this year with cash and gift cards, which was nice. The gifts were small and portable.
Mike’s birthday was great. There were streamers and balloons saying 50th. The plates were metallic and we almost burned the house down by microwaving one. We got dinner catering from El Pollo Loco. It was all so wonderful.
We bundled up and walked down to the boat parade. Since I didn't have a backpack style baby carrier, we took Albert down to the dock in the BOB stroller. As soon as he was floating, he fell asleep. The boats were festive and it was nice to catch up with our nephews. The moment I had to relax on the dock after Albert fell asleep and the parade started was just about as peaceful as I could ever dream up. It was like a Monet or Renoir painting.
The following morning was very relaxing. We packed up from 6-8am. We grabbed continental breakfast and checked out. We rendezvous-ed with Albert's California grandparents for a nice walk through the back bay. Then we met up with Uncle Dave for lunch at Fashion Island. We had an uneventful drive home and made it with 10 minutes to spare for the Zoom call with Albert's Nebraska grandparents. I'm finishing up this blog post at work. I would have loved to embed photos throughout but short video clips will have to do.
11/2 - Wondering Wednesday - What to do while kiddo is sleeping in? When to send them back to daycare after a few sick days? How long will they continue to fit in the stroller? Mombrain is working overtime this morning!
I did a COVID test yesterday. It was negative, so at least we know it's not that. He has one molar left (top right) that has yet to erupt but he hasn't been asking for Tylenol so I didn't think it was that. He asked me to read him a book about being sad. It was powerful because he doesn't talk yet and maybe that was his way to communicate. His dad took the day off to stay with him because daycare drop-off was such a struggle that I gave up. I dropped LO at DH's office after trying and failing to convince LO to put on his mask FOR AN HOUR. DH has never done drop-off, not even once. So if he takes kiddo back over there, this will be a first.
I found the weight limits on our BOB Revolution CE 2011. There's a default position up to 40 lbs. Position 2 is for Child 41 to 70 pounds. So we have a ways to go. Our kid is light (28 lbs) but tall so his head hits the awning. I guess that's why I thought he might be getting too big. I have a folding wagon with a removable canopy, which allows for much taller kiddos. A snack tray in the wagon would be nice. I also would love if it had the push bar handle instead of a pull handle.
11/7 - November is moving faster than October. October moved faster than September. I barely remember August at this point. I'm so grateful.
We finally have a return to menstruation. It's been 32 months of breastfeeding, which has saved our family $424 in feminine hygiene products. So we celebrated by getting Sprinkles strawberry cupcakes which were delicious and look like boobs.
Also I am celebrating that I AM NOT CRAZY. I was having hormonal rebalancing that made me sad and IT WAS REAL and it will get better.
I bought ~$100 of stuff at the SCV KIDS Online in Valencia in September. I bought ~$100 of stuff at LA KIDS Online in Burbank in October. One of the things I bought was a lot of fake succulents. I stuck them into my vertical garden because my real succulents weren't looking too hot. I think it looks absolutely great. I'm happy we are going to see Thomas the train this weekend to celebrate Veteran's day and spend the day with Albert's grandparents. We are also planning to sell some stuff at LA KIDS San Fernando Valley in Woodland Hills in December. If I can secure a consignor number tomorrow at 10am. Not that I'm trying to make a ton of money, but it would be nice to clean out the garage of stuff that we aren't really using. Some things are just a "miss" in terms of what Albert likes.
11/15 - Oh the money I've spent on vitamins! I seriously wish it would be covered by insurance or just shipped to you (government issued). Right now I'm taking postnatal, vit D, vit B12, Calcium-Magnesium, and lecithin. It's $1.20 per day. It adds up. From kiddo's DOB until now, that would add up to $1,171.20. I had it in my imagination that we could take a nice vacation for the price of these vitamins, and yes, it's true. That's not including the prenatal vitamin, vit B6 and digestive aids I was taking during pregnancy. Like, it feels sad to spend our hard-earned money on this. Like, earning money at all feels sad. I feel sad every time I leave my kiddo behind while I go to work. I feel sad that a mother's work isn't really recognized in our society. I feel sad that there aren't a lot of postnatal visits for the birthing parent. I feel like pelvic floor PT and talk-therapy should be compulsory. And complimentary. I probably feel sad because I'm going through weaning blues. There are symptoms associated with weaning like dizziness that nobody warns you about. I got a whole book on weaning and it's not even mentioned. I feel sad that my non-teaching days are treated like "days off" but they're not really days off, I still have a ton of student work to grade. I'll be over here crying in my tea buried under a mountain of ungraded papers.
TLDR: My kiddo is home sick today.
11/17 - Another day, another daycare battle. I do my best to comply with the mask policy, but now there are signs posted saying the kid cannot enter the classroom OR THE HALLWAY unless they are wearing a mask. Masks are optional in the atrium where sign-in happens. I am so sick of battling my kid to put his mask on.
We had just gotten into a good groove where I take him into the classroom, he washes his hands, we say goodbye and he puts his mask on WILLINGLY. Prior to last week, we would have a battle in the hallway because he couldn't go into his classroom without a mask. Now he can't go into the hallway so we have to battle in the atrium. I ended up carrying him out to the car to "start over" and I had him put his mask on outside before we went into the atrium because it was just so embarrassing to have a screaming kid in the big open indoor area.
I think one of the most unsettling things about the pandemic was the changes in policy. Like when we get used to one thing, then the policy changes, we just have to adjust and it sucks. And it seems arbitrary, we don't always get to know the "why." The kids don't wear masks while sleeping or eating, which they do right there in the classroom. Honestly I don't even know what this battle is about. I just know that if I'm not willing to do it, we'll get kicked out of this daycare and it is well-priced and conveniently located.
I hate that I'm the one consistently doing dropoff and I'm the one fighting this battle and it feels personal that they changed their policy, like it's just to keep us from struggling in the narrow hallway, which was awkward. I find it so challenging to negotiate with Marchling. There's no incentive that I can think of, he's not persuaded by stuffies wearing masks, friends and family members wearing masks, he's not interested in food or toy rewards. All he wants is cuddles and that's not helpful when I'm trying to drop off and get out of there. Lingering definitely made the problem worse.
I honestly don't know how the other parents bargain with their 2-year and 3-year olds. How do they ALL behave so well and we're the only ones who can't seem to get with the program? Sigh... parent-teacher conference is Dec 2nd (two weeks from now) so maybe that will shed some light on these issues we're having. I'm exhausted.
I tried discussing masking in the car. I think I need to start talking about it more and just start him wearing it sooner. What ultimately worked was to reward him with a surprise car.
Mike does pick up and he says half the kids are running around indoors without masks in the afternoon. I just hate that drop off is already so traumatic. Like, who cries at pick up? nobody. Who cries at drop off? many of them. Then to make the mask a thing that happens when we say goodbye to mommy... I just hate it.
Yeah, I had hoped it would prevent the spread of colds, but kiddo has been sick twice this semester so it's not like it's completely preventing the spread of diseases. It almost seems like a test that I'm failing, but that's probably just my insecurity as a FTM. We don't do punishment like time outs and such. My kiddo is generally happy and agreeable and so sweet. This mask thing is like WHY is this the hill we need to die on?
11/21 - Kiddo loves sour cream dip. I asked him last night what he wanted for dinner and he said "dip" and did a hand gesture like dipping a chip. It was so cute. At daycare dropoff this morning, it sounded like he said "love you" and did an open arms gesture. Kind of like blowing a big kiss. We're still speech delayed and the only word we hear regularly is "car" so it's always a milestone when we hear other sounds.
