This is how I post when Dean keeps me awake all night

I will start by telling you that I have some kind of bizarre thing going on under my wedding ring. I don't know what has happened, but the skin is raw, almost like it's been burned. Marcus is certain I have a chemical burn from using too many Clorox wipes. Maybe so. It's better than it was, but still hurts a lot. The annoying part has been not being able to wear my ring. I finally just put a bunch of lotion on my finger and put the ring back on today. So there.

So, we grocery shop at Publix. I love it. It's a nice store and you can find whatever you need. They carry the right kind of baby food (Dean's a fan of some of the Beech-nut flavors) and my yogurt (soy, because I"m lactarded. It's not nearly as gross as it sounds.) My favorite thing they do is offer a penny mystery coupon in Sunday's paper. You clip it, bring it in and then find out what the mystery item is that you get for a penny! Last week it was Pringles chips. This week it was peanut butter. I didn't really need either of those items, but you better believe I grabbed them up for a penny! Ok, I digress. The one thing I don't care for as a part of my Publix shopping experience is the freaky, over-zealous baggers. Sometimes they are fine. Other times, like today, they are waaaay over the top. I suppose it's the store's policy to have the baggers bag your groceries (duh), then push your buggy to your car and load them up for you. They wear buttons saying "Don't tip." I always feel bad not giving them a dollar or something. Marcus HATES this practice. He likes to bag and carry the groceries so they will be easier to unload when we get home. He says the baggers make him feel unimportant and like his job has been taken away. I think he's being over-emotional about it, but who am I to judge, right? MY problem is that sometimes, the bagger finishes loading the buggy then just takes off to the parking lot WITH MY BABY IN THE BUGGY. Today, for instance, an older woman was my bagger. Y'all, I had 9 jars of baby food and some parmesan cheese. It all fit intot one bag. I was planning to push the buggy to the "lobby," take Dean and my bag out and walk to the car. She threw my one bag into the buggy and proceeded to take off with my buggy, bag and BABY. And I went all New York crazy in the Publix. (This is what all those years of "if you see something, say something" does to you. And it's not a bad thing!) I, quite loudly, screamed, "HEY!" She looked shocked. I noted my tone, smiled a little and said "I can get it." She said "No, ma'am! I'll take it for you!" and took off again. I ran up beside her, muttered something about wanting to stay near my baby and put a hand on the buggy, gripping it so hard my knuckle was white. Dean is fine with these people, who are always lovely, pushing him in the cart. And, truth be told, I very seriously doubt the Publix bagger is just going to take off with my kid, and even if they did, I"ll bet I could catch them, considering they'd almost certainly be slowed down by the weight of my groceries and my 20 pound child. I just wish they would at least ask "Ma'am, can I push your baby?" instead of taking off and giving me a heart attack.

Perhaps I'm over-reacting and this is just one of those small-town things I'm going to have to get used to again. Marcus is amazed by the number of people who come up in stores and restaurants to touch Dean. That doesn't bug me. What do you think? Would the baby in the buggy with the bagger thing freak you out?

I've obviously inhaled too many Clorox fumes today..and why rose-colored glasses should be taken off the shelves

Look at this hilarious website I found: www.yearbookyourself.com. You put in a picture of yourself and it turns you into a yearbook photo for every even-numbered year from 1950-2000! This was my favorite, from 1988.



















The ones of Marcus from the 80s were surprisingly accurate, according to his REAL yearbook photos!



















And we learned that Dean would look hot with an afro!




















Ok, enough goofiness.
We have spent today cleaning like mad people and putting a few finishing touches on the house. It's nowhere near finished, but we do have towel bars now. (How did I not notice in our walk-through that there were no towel bars or toilet paper holders!?!? My word, that would've been a deal breaker! Ok, that's not true.) Anyway, we're pooped now. Dean had to go to the doctor yesterday for an ear infection and is now taking amoxil, which makes him sleepy, so we got a lot done while he napped today. Poor guy.

I've started an entry for today about 11 times and deleted it each time. I know what I want to say, but am not sure how to A. make it brief enough for my blog and B. start writing on this topic. So, I'll just dive right in. A little backstory first, so you know where this is coming from. I read a lot of blogs. By a lot, I mean that I religiously follow about 6 and I have 3 or 4 others that I check pretty regularly. If folks leave me a comment on my blog, I visit theirs and try to reciprocate, especially if their blog is about something that interests me. I enjoy reading about other folks with kids. I also often visit the blogs of folks who leave interesting comments on the other blogs I read. (Here I go again, saying BLOG a lot...) ANYWHO, just this week on three of the blogs I follow closely, the authors have felt as though they needed to apologize for something they were saying or were scolded by readers for their content. One of the blogs I like a lot on Parents.com, "Not That You Asked," is written by a woman named Emily who has a toddler and one on the way. What I like about her writing is that she is a REAL person talking about REAL things that happen in the life of a parent. A reader left the first comment on a post of hers recently scolding her for "complaining" so much in her blog and telling her she should suck it up and stop taking her life for granted. This led to her loyal readers sounding off about why they like her blog (for the reasons I explained above) and telling her not to change a thing. On my very favorite blog, Parental Discretion Advised, Bree, the author, revealed that she's having a little boy. We were all thrilled, but one reader felt the need to immediately hop on the soapbox about "genital integrity" while another made a snarky comment about her grammar. Amalah, whose son struggles with some social issues, felt like she needed to preface her blog about her son's breakthrough at school with an apology. These women are all strong, independent, hard-working moms who should not have to apologize for what they write ON THEIR BLOGS. Who would want to read about your wonderful life with your precious, perfect, clean children who frolic in meadows and never throw sweet potatoes in your hair and your immaculate house and wonderful husband every single day!?!? Life is sticky and stinky and downright funky sometimes, folks, and what I like about blogs like these is that they remind me I'm not the only one out there spending half her day helping an 8 month old blow his nose.

Wow, it felt really good to say all that, and I hope you followed at least some of it! If you know me, you know I'm an over-achiever and I try to be the best all the time. I will now admit that there are days when motherhood is kicking my tail. I love it so much, even more than I could have ever imagined, but y'all, some days I would give anything to be able to take a shower whenever the desire hit me. I adore my little family and am extremely thankful that Marcus and I were able to have a baby so quickly and that he's so amazing, but I don't ever want to sugar-coat my life for my blog.
I'll give you the good and the bad, because sometimes at the end of MY day, reading about YOUR kid throwing a tantrum in McDonald's makes me feel just a little more normal.

So write on, fellow bloggers, and have a great weekend!

Physical Therapy--not for the weak!

Or "PT" as those on the inside call it. YOWZA! I had my second PT appointment today and my shoulder actually hurts worse than when I went in! Johnny the physical therapist is a lot of fun, though, and he explains everything he's doing and has quite a gentle touch. I'm so grateful to him for working me in. We'll be spending even more time together next week. The whiplash is still around. While my lower back is feeling much better, the left side of my neck and shoulder are KILLING me! (I'm sure lifting my near-20-pound child doesn't help!) Johnny the physical therapist suggested I take a full day off work and lay flat on my back in bed. Yeah, like that's gonna happen. He then added "Since that's not going to happen..." and showed me a few exercises I can do between cues at work and gave me some disposable ice packs. I have a feeling I"ll be partaking in a Skelaxin tonight!

MANY thanks to all who emailed and commented about my last post. It's good to hear that all moms seem to go through this big re-adjustment period. I expected to go through a lot of changes, just not quite this many at once. We've had a heck of a six-month period, what with organ transplants, birth, major abdominal surgery, moving twice (ugh!), new jobs, etc. I'm happy to hear your stories and even happier to realize I'm not losing my mind!

This weekend, we head into tech for High School Musical. Marcus (he's directing) and his stage manager, Sarah, were at the theatre til about 3:30 this morning setting lights with the crew. I covered the morning rehearsal for them so they could sleep in. Oh, y'all. 57 middle and young high schoolers is A LOT. A WHOLE lot. Fortunately, some of our older (college-aged) company members are also in the show, so they provide a nice break from the insanity. The show is looking good, though, and the set is fantastic. (It's our GREASE set from last summer with a new coat of paint and some snazzy new bleachers!) The show is selling like hotcakes and should be a really good time.

Dean had breakfast in his booster seat for the first time this morning. He went nuts over the toy tray that snaps over the eating tray. His little eyes almost crossed from the excitement! I was able to take my time fixing his cereal and my coffee while he played happily. I tried putting the bowl on his eating tray, but soon he learned that he could splat his hand in it, so I had to move it. Then he figured out that, since he's higher up, he can reach the coffee table if he leans over the side of his chair. We had to do several readjustments and repositions, but I think we've found a place for the chair where he's safely out of range of anything that could potentially damage him (or vice versa!). Solid food continue to go down well. And out--he pooped 4 times yesterday.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!