Autumn Sweater

So we all have colds. I'm not sure who had the first cold, but it doesn't matter b/c now we all have them. Thankfully the kids aren't too affected. Gus just really has a runny nose that I have to wipe every two seconds, and Cleo has been coughing and has a bit of a runny nose, as well. I think Andy and I got the worst of it...we've been pretty sick the past couple of days. I had to leave work early yesterday b/c I literally couldn't keep my head off my desk. I've been taking Tylenol Cold and Sinus b/c it's a safe medication while I'm nursing, and it's helping. I think the worst of it is lifting for us, though, so that's good. I guess it's to be expected with the cold, rainy weather we've had.

Speaking of the weather, I LOVE fall. So much. So, so much. I've been drinking hot apple cider and chai tea and enjoying the beautiful trees here in Lawrence. It's supposed to stay chilly and rainy, so that's awesome. Such great cardigan weather. And such great Halloween weather. I heard the Yo La Tengo song "Autumn Sweater" the other day on KJHK and it just made my day. Such an appropriate song for the season.

I'm working from home today. Currently Cleo is sleeping and Gus is watching his new Yo Gabba Gabba DVD. He LOVES it. He asks me to put it on all the time, so that is fun. I also love Yo Gabba Gabba. I could watch it by myself for hours! It's so kooky. I'm trying to move Cleo to her crib for naps. Slowly but surely, anyway. Usually I just put her on her playmat or in her little baby seat to nap (or in our bed...she loves napping in our bed), but I'm trying to slowly move her in the direction of napping in her bed. She sleeps great in the crib at night, so it shouldn't be an issue. But she seems to wake up pretty quickly when she's napping there, for some reason. So far she's been in there for about 20 minutes, so that's good!

The kids are great. Cleo is just a doll and her little thighs are chubbing up and I love it. She has blocked tear ducts and we've gone to the doc a couple of time for it, but the eye drops they gave us aren't doing much. I guess we cannot really "fix" it until she's at least 6 months old, b/c most pediatric eye docs don't see babes until they are at least that old. It doesn't affect her sight or anything, but she's constantly "crying" from her eyes and she has the most gigantic eye boogers in the morning. Gus didn't have blocked tear ducts, so this is a new one for us.

Gus is hilarious...and so great. I really enjoy just hanging out with him. He's really speaking in full sentences these days, which is so fun. Here are some fun things he's been saying:

• (at breakfast): "Mom, I want chicken nuggets" or "Momma, I want hot dogs"
• (from the moment he wakes up): "Momma, I want to go in the car...the GRAY car" (he prefers the Camry to the Buick these days)
• "Momma, I wanna pay now..." (he means "I want to play")
• "Hello, everybodeeeeee!" (that's from one of his Sesame Street toys, and he says it quite often)
• "Momma, I wanna go on a walk"
• "Momma, I want candeeeeee" (he's discovered candy, which scares me...oh, and cookies, too)

You may have noticed a pattern...he starts most things off with "Momma" and it's so funny. He always pauses after saying, "Momma..." for the full effect. It cracks me up.

No photos to post this week. I'll post some after Halloween. Gus is probably going to be a spider and Cleo will either be a bear or a pumpkin.

Until later...

Family ties

Gus as a newborn

Gus at 3 months


Cleo as a newborn


Cleo at 2.5 months

Here are some fun comparison photos of Gus and Cleo. I think there are similarities, but differences, as well. I can't wait to see what color of hair and eyes she has!

Here I go again on my own...

I had to work the Whitesnake title...sorry about that. :)

So this week I'm returning to my single mom ways, hence the blog title. Andy starts his travel schedule up again. He's out of town throughout a good portion of the rest of the month and most of November. I'm sad but I know it's part of the deal. I know folks do it every day, but I haven't had to manage both kids and work yet. It'll be fine, though, I'm sure. I do feel so much more comfortable with both kids now than I did when Cleo was first born, and I think it'll just get even easier with time.

We had a nice weekend in Iowa. Andy fished with his dad and his dad's best friend up near the borders of Iowa/Minnesota/Wisconsin . They had a great time. I was alone w/ the kids Friday so I took the kids downtown (Iowa City) to walk around and see the University. I think Gus had a great time. Sally returned from Michigan Friday night and we all hung out the rest of the weekend. Gus had a blast with Gma and Gpa, and I believe Cleo did, too. :) They both did so well. We took a little tour of some of the areas of the town affected by the terrible flood in June. It was so depressing to see entire neighborhoods of empty ruined houses, gutted businesses, etc...so crazy. The city is rebuilding but it's going to take a few years to return to normal. We took a nice hike w/ the kids and Dave on Saturday. Gus loved picking up sticks and leaves. It took us awhile to finish the walk b/c he stopped quite often. :)

So, nursing an infant in the back of our car at rest stops and/or gas stations along the way was somewhat awkward, but I managed. I thankfully had a nice blanket that covered all the important bits. I even nursed Cleo in a McDonald's parking lot while Gus munched on McNuggets. Hilarious!

I return to work Wednesday. I should find out the fate of my job this week as the University is supposed to announce the fine arts restructuring plan (finally). We shall see.

Our Obama/Biden yard sign arrived, so we're proudly representing. Yahoo!

Good times, good times

The weekend has been nice, and it has flown by, of course.

Friday night I went to a "girl's night" at our friend Jessica's house. She had the ladies over (no kids, no significant others) and it was lovely. I had a great time and met a few new people. I also enjoyed two large glasses of wine and some yummy food, and it was so great. I stayed until 11pm...late for me these days! Saturday was a day full of chores and whatnot. We went over to Tom and Marisa's for dinner Saturday night. We have such a great time over there. They made pizzas and salad and we had some beers. Later Saturday night the guys all got together and played poker, so I stayed home w/ the kids. Today we went to a pumpkin patch outside of Lawrence and found our pumpkin. It was really fun, but super dusty out there. Andy's allergies were so bad for the rest of the day and he went to bed early tonight b/c of that and a sick stomach. I hope he's not getting sick...We cleaned up the house today and watched the White Sox (finally) win a game in their playoff series.

This week is going to be busy. Tomorrow I have an appointment with my personal trainer. Tuesday I'm going to my hair salon to get highlights (much needed), and Tuesday night is the debate. Wednesday I'm going in to work for a couple of hours to (re)train for my job, and then Thursday we leave for our weekend trip to Iowa. It will be nice to visit Sally and Dave, and Andy is going to fish with his Dad on Friday.

The kids are doing well. Gus is just so funny these days, saying new things literally every day. He loves going for car rides and walks, so I am optimistic that the 5-6 hour car ride to Iowa City will go well. I think Cleo should do okay, but we'll have to stop to feed her, I imagine. She's still eating about every 3-4 hours, and she's been doing great at night. She either sleeps all night or wakes up just once to eat. She's been going to bed rather early, which is awesome for us (around 8pm). I think that has helped her get on somewhat of a schedule at night. She isn't on a nap schedule yet during the day, and I can't remember how we got Gus on a day nap schedule! I hope it happens naturally for Cleo. Perhaps being at daycare will help. I'm still nursing, and I still don't really know how long I'll continue. I am leaning toward supplementing with formula when Cleo is at daycare and then nursing her in the morning, at night and when I'm working from home. I just really just hate pumping. But then again, I may try to pump a little at work if it isn't too terrible. We'll just see how it goes...I figure I'll continue to nurse at least part time until around 4 months (or a bit more). I'm happy I've made it this far! :)

I can't believe that in just over a week I'll be back at work. I'm really rather sad about it. I've enjoyed being home with both kids and not having anything else to do. But I also look forward to being busy and seeing my coworkers again. Hopefully it'll go okay.

ek