Noah's First Thanksgiving

Being a couple of Canadians, Brendan and I never make any plans for American Thanksgiving because it tends to slip our minds. However, this year our very kind and accommodating friends invited us over for an evening of fun, food, and festivities.

We had a wonderful time and I think Noah did as well! It was the very first American Thanksgiving for our baby American. He ended up puking at the table a little bit because of his seemingly never ending aversion to solid food, but I don't think our hosts minded. It always makes me feel like such a mom when my kid pukes up on himself and I'm ready with a change of clean, comfy clothes. (Thanks again for the washcloths and plastic bag, R!)

I'm going to be very honest here, Canadians are so fond of ragging on and making fun of Americans, and I don't think it's always warranted. Since moving here, I have found people to be incredibly polite and welcoming. There's definitely a difference between cultures, but different isn't necessarily bad.

I love that Noah will have dual citizenship and that he will grow up with the inside scoop on being American and Canadian. He'll also grow up with my Filipino and French Canadian influences, and with his daddy's Italian and Irish ones. What a cool and lucky little boy. It's definitely something to be thankful for!

Have a marvelous weekend, everybody! xoxo

Noah's first place card!

Hanging with Uncle J and Carm

Delicious and beautiful dessert spread

Baby Friendly Places

If I'm feeling good and not too stressed out because of life or more likely, something baby related, I like exploring Seattle with my babe. Sometimes you luck out and discover a baby-friendly establishment, or you strike out and find a place where they treat you like you have the plague.

It's completely understandable that not all places are baby or child friendly. Sometimes the space is simply too intimate, or geared toward a certain type of crowd. I get it, and that is cool with me.

When you do find an awesome place though, it feels like winning the lottery! I like going where I know I am welcome, and won't feel embarrassed or shamed for having a baby man who might shriek and throw things across the room.

There are a few places in Capitol Hill that Noah and I enjoy going to. The Wilsons' number one favourite place is Volunteer Park Cafe. I went there all the time when I was pregnant with Small Human, and continue to do so now. The atmosphere is always warm and homey, and the food is delish. Plus, you can burn off your calories by going for a walk in Volunteer Park afterwards! The only thing that makes it slightly inconvenient is that they don't have a change table in the bathroom.

The whole family at Volunteer Park Cafe

Vios Cafe & Marketplace on 19th is also a fun place because they've got a little play area for the beans, and a staff that loves kids. It might be better for more mobile kiddos though. The food here is delicious and Greek. Yummo!

Checking out the Vios play area

I get my blue streaks done at Red Chair Salon on 15th Ave. because not only are they awesome at colouring, but they are 100% cool with babies. During one of my appointments, Noah screamed for 20 minutes before falling asleep, and no one batted an eyelash. The staff usually plays with him when he's in a good mood. :)

Bakery Nouveau just down the street from the salon is small and cozy, but have a couple high chairs, and some really delicious baked goods and sammies. I don't suggest going there on a weekend though, because they often have lines out the door.

Noah with his gf Carmen, at Bakery Nouveau last August

I can't end this post without a shout out to the best baristas in town though. The Starbucks on 15th is the best Starbucks in the city hands down. They know how to make all the drinks properly, no matter how ridiculously I modify my lattes, and every single person that works there is amazingly nice and sweet! No really, I am in love with them. Fun fact: I went into labour at that Starbucks!

You don't have to feel like you can't go anywhere for a meal or a nice cup of coffee when you've got a babe under 1 year, you just hafta know where to go!

Christmas Crazy

I think Noah wants a teepee for Christmas.
Ok maybe mommy wants a teepee for Christmas. ;)

I have launched the Wilsons into full blown Christmas mode and I make no apologies. We're just going to skip over American Thanksgiving entirely and go straight for the holiday prize. The Christmas decorations are all officially going up because we're only going to be in town for three more weeks.

We won't be doing a tree this year, but I found a really adorable laser cut "tree" from Crate & Barrel that now lives on our mantle, as well as a metallic star garland with gold, pink, and white stars from The Land of Nod. All five of us Wilsons have stockings, Pottery Barn Kids for the humans, and little sparkly stockings for the bunnies. I even got Christmas cushion covers from Etsy. I love the holidays!

Our annual family photo Christmas cards are in the works too, I can't wait to show you all. :)

I am way too excited for Noah's first Christmas that I could burst! We've got Christmas sweaters to wear, Christmas pajamas, some special presents in the works, and of course we will be visiting Santa in the next few days too. Wanna know a little bit of trivia? I don't have a single photo with Santa as a child because I was mortally afraid of him.

I wonder if we'll actually have a white Christmas in Toronto this year? I'm dreaming of it! (Yes, I am cheesy, but that is half the fun!)

Are you planning any fun activities or presents for your Littles? Only 29 more days to go...

xoxo

Laser cut tree from Crate & Barrel

Star garland from The Land of Nod

Pottery Barn's Woodland stocking was practically made for me!

Subway style print on chevron of course (Etsy)

Raising Funds for Typhoon Haiyan Victims

The alumnae of the Sacred Heart School of Montreal have decided to join forces, via social media, to help raise funds toward sending aid to those affected by the devastating Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, through the work of The Society of the Sacred Heart/Religieuses du Sacré-Coeur de Jésus (RSCJ).

The RSCJ is dedicated to helping the Filipino people, and it has been there for over forty years. Its projects include developing infrastructure, which involves housing and relocation projects for the most needy.

The RSCJ has ministries in areas that were directly in the path of Typhoon Haiyan. The Society sent a letter to the international community asking us for help.

During Typhoon Haiyan, RSCJ buildings served as evacuation centres. In Leyte and Samar, people in the housing and relocation communities survived. However, their homes were destroyed. Rebuilding will take all the resources the RSCJ has in these areas and our help will be greatly needed.

Please consider donating generously. We are trying to raise $5000 to send as quickly as possible. Our actions and generosity need to be felt ASAP.

Thank you and God bless.

You can Donate Here!


Some FAQ's About Donating:

Q: How will we treat the donation?
A: We will be treating it as a group donation to the RSCJ, whose headquarters is now in the United States (the Canadian Province just merged with the US Province).

Q: Am I eligible for a tax receipt?
A: No, we are giving a group donation, so we will not be giving out tax receipts. If you would like to donate independently, you can send a certified check or money order to the RSCJ. (Fund for the Philippines 
Society of the Sacred Heart , 4120 Forest Park Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63108)

Q: How do I make a donation?
A: Just click on the “Donate Here” button. It will bring you to PayPal. You can pay through your PayPal account balance or linked bank account. You can also pay with a credit card. 

PayPal charges a small fee for credit card and cross-border transactions. Message us (me) if you would like more information about this process.

Q: In whose name will the donation be made? 
A: It will be made on behalf of the Alumnae and Friends of The Sacred Heart School of Montreal.

Q: How will we ensure transparency?
A: Well, the wonderful thing is that Joanne Tupaz ‘97 is a Chartered Accountant. She has helped us in developing a process for keeping track of everyone’s contribution. Just message us if you would like more information on yours or that of the entire group.

Happy Just to Be Nominated

I have always wanted to say that! Of course, I had once hoped that it would be for an Academy Award, but a blogger award is super cool in my book too.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, a very wonderful person nominated me for the Canadian Weblog Awards in the Ex-pat, and Parenting & Family categories. It's great because it isn't a popularity contest. No clicks or likes or voting necessary, just an old school jury.

I'm mostly excited about this because it makes me feel like I'm still included in Canadian things! But also because it's fun to be recognized in any way. Even if you just high-five me in street for keeping my child warm and alive, I will probably be really stoked and immediately email my husband about it.

Here's the list of nominees:



In other news: WOOHOO, IT'S FRIDAY. It's cold in Seattle, but sunny and feels just like home. There are about a million things I wanna do this weekend because sunny days will soon be few and far between. But maybe I should dial it back a notch so we don't all get sick again. ;)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Noah wants to be oot & aboot 

Huggies Overnites

Now that the Small Human is consistently sleeping like a champ every night, he's also soaking through his diaper, and subsequently his clothing. Obviously, changing his diaper in the middle of the night is NOT an option, so a solution was needed.

I have a handful of mommy friends with experience under their belts, whom I trust because they have never steered me wrong. One of these awesome women told me long ago, when I was pregnant with the then called "Blasto", that Huggies Overnites were the bomb diggity.

She was right. (Thanks, Tbone!)

We used one on Noah last night and he woke up dry (on the outside). Don't get me wrong, I still love, love, love Honest's diapers, but they just don't hold up overnight. We bought a box of 60 for $19 at the grocery store, which is not bad considering you only need to use one a day.

What they look like on the inside

Adorable design on the outside

I thought overnight diapers would be thicker and bulkier but I was mistaken! They are exactly the same size as our Honest ones (also size 4), but I guess they're just super duper absorbent. I am mildly concerned about what yucky chemicals are in them, so I'm going to investigate further.

Seriously though, they work great and he only uses one a day, so I think the dangers are pretty low. ;)

Fall Family Photo Shoot

Last week, the Wilsons were lucky enough to book a photo shoot with the fabulous Eliza of Eliza Truitt Photography! I have been bursting with anticipation to see the final product and I got to see them today!

I can't show you all of them because... spoilers! But I can certainly give you a sneak peek:

I love flying in the air photos!

Thank you so much, Eliza! This is her Facebook page, if you guys wanna check her out: ETP

Rain Day

We don't usually let the rain stop us from going out, but it sometimes makes me not want to use a stroller. The leaves and pine needles that stick to the wheels drive me crazy beans!

Monday was so rainy and dismal, it was proper rain and not the perpetual Seattle winter mist. As usual we had our mommy & baby class, so I ended up strapping Noah to me in the Ergobaby, grabbed my back-breakingly huge purse, an umbrella and left.

I'm really glad I brought an umbrella because it was pouring rain and my hair was really cute, but what's better is that Noah loved seeing the world through my clear umbrella.

If you have a baby that can still be worn in a carrier, buy a clear umbrella and go walking in the rain! It was so fun to watch him enjoy the world from a watery and blurry point of view. He was twisting, turning, laughing and trying to see everything, it was really adorable.

What do you do when you get home from a yucky rainy day? Crank up the heat and music and have a boots & diapers dance party of course!

We'll Be Home For Christmas

I think it's pretty safe to start getting excited about our trip back home to Toronto! We will be visiting for two whole weeks, and I am so excited I could pee my pants. I miss everyone so much, and I can't wait for everyone to meet Noah.

When I think about it, it's really weird to go over a year without seeing people you were used to seeing every day, or even once a month. Actually, this is getting depressing so let's not go there.

There are so many people to see that I'm a bit overwhelmed, but I don't care, it's going to be glorious. There are old friends to see, newlyweds, new babies, baby girls that are now big girls, and pregnant friends to revel with. Plus family, my wonderful wonderful family!

You would think that I'd be all packed by now but I'm not. I'm kinda daunted by it because of all the Christmas presents. I tried my best to only get small, light gifts, but a whole bunch of small, light gifts adds up to one very heavy suitcase. Also, I can't wrap anything yet can I? Maybe I'm making that up, but I feel like you're not supposed to wrap gifts when you cross the border.

I'm a teeny bit nervous about bringing a very active baby on a 4.5 hour plane ride, but I plan on him napping for a good chunk of that. I've also started to amass a bunch of entertaining new toys to bring on board, to keep him entertained in that way that only new toys can. You remember that feeling still right? Heck, I just got that feeling from my latest Sephora order.

Anyway, book your tickets to see the Wilsons now! It's a limited time engagement that is selling out fast. ;)

Are you ready for this guy, Toronto??

Small Human is 10 Months Old!

My baby man is ten months old today. It happened way too fast and he is growing like a weed (as he should). It has been the most taxing and glorious ten months of my life. Every day, I get to be the mommy to this hilarious baby human who is constantly learning and growing. I feel more alive than I ever have, which is weird, because it's attributed to the fact that I am more aware of our mortality now. Anyway, no morbid talk on beautiful Saturdays! You only get 940 Saturdays with your child from birth til college, so enjoy life, I say! (Thanks for that tidbit, Pinterest!)

Noah at 10 Months:

Favourite Food: Spinach, Apple & Rutabaga baby food, Beecher's cheese

Baby Tricks: walking, waving to people and occasionally saying "hi", saying "mama" and "dada" and "Tid"

Sleep: 11 hours a night on average, praise the lord

Favourite Activities: going for walks outside, picking up leaves and trying to eat them, splashing in the bath

What makes him laugh: rabbits, dogs, birds, zerberts and funny faces from momie & dada

Favourite toys: his learning walker, Crinkle Bear

Diaper size: 4

Clothing size: 9-12 month clothes, but 12 month socks and shoes

Dislikes: having his face wiped off, being told he can't do something

Naughty things: broke dada's Xbox. Luckily dada was able to fix it

Loves: to be snuggled by his mommy and daddy, especially when he's sleepy :)

"If I eat the evidence of being 10 months old, I stay 9 months, right?"

Fun Factoids

My friend Shelley posted ten things that people might not know about her on Facebook the other day, and I realized that you guys know so much about Noah and our life with him, but not much about me. This is mostly because I'm not really that interesting, but I am a sucker for listing factoids that make you think about your life, so here goes nothing:

Things You Might Not Have Known About Lilibeth

1. I was once a hand model for an Easter M&M commercial on tv.

2. I have a phobia of walking on unfamiliar grass, especially if it's wet.

3. I am trilingual.

4. I grew up across the street from William Shatner's mom.

5. I only got my driver's license last year, during my first trimester of pregnancy. I almost puked in the car.

6. I know all the spells from Harry Potter.

7. I have been sandwiched between Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Yes, physically wedged.

8. I have 2 feet of hair on my head.

9. I get angry really easily, but I also forgive really easily.

10. I have a brown belt in karate

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Only 40 days left until Christmas!

Baby Food Pouches Continued

A friend of mine mentioned to me this week, that Ella's Kitchen was known for their genuine concern for and interest in the insights of their customers. I put this to the test by asking about their recipes, packaging, and how they make sure their food is bacteria and maggot free (cough cough Plum Organics and Earth's Best cough cough). And they sure did deliver and helped to put my mind at ease.

For the record, Ella's Kitchen still has our family's trust. This was the response I received from Antoinette Jones on behalf of Ella's Kitchen about my concerns. I had asked about why they put fruit in all of their recipes, and not simply plain veggies:

"In putting together our recipes we wanted to maximize the nutrition, taste and texture of the products and make them as close to home made foods as possible (or as far away from jarred foods as possible). We do this by ‘flash pasteurizing’ the food rather than ‘sterilizing’ which occurs in jars. Jarred foods (and foods in pots) will be taken to much higher temperatures for much much longer. We can do this by making the foods too acidic for ‘bugs’ to grow but not too acidic for babies tummies. We could do this naturally, using fruits (which contain natural acids to keep the acidity low) or not naturally by using additives and preservatives – which was exactly what we didn’t want to do. We therefore use fruit for this reason, and spent much time balancing fruits and veg to get a tasty, safe, balanced and nutritious product – with the fruit and vegetable mixes. Fruits and vegetables are of course both nutritious for babies. We worked closely with child and baby nutritionists and a pediatrician to develop our recipes."

Well colour me impressed. The company emailed me back within hours of my query. I'm relieved to have found a baby food company that I can still stand by. Noah has shown me time and time again that he just isn't ready for the texture of big people food. Apparently he takes after his dada.

Yay for not being forced to buy a deep freezer!

Happy Thursday, folks! Love, Charlie Brown

Food Pouches, You're Breaking My Heart

Ok hold the phone. What the hell is going on with the baby food pouches on the market?! First, Plum Organics recalled nearly all of their stock because of a potential bacterial growth. They didn't say it in those words, they chose to use the more favourable term "swelling pouches". Now a video has gone viral on the internet about some Earth's Best pouches that contain LIVE maggots.

It is despicable that a company would charge so much for one little serving of baby food, claiming the ingredients are organic and more importantly, healthy for your baby, and yet not deliver on quality control.

If there are maggots in your food, it means that somewhere along the line your facilities aren't clean. I wouldn't call myself a germophobe, but when it comes to food contamination safety, I am all over it. Babies are resilient, but their digestive systems are so much more susceptible to dangerous bacteria because they're simply not mature yet.

I am livid. I thought I was doing the right thing by not making my own baby food because I wouldn't be able to properly store it, but apparently, the pros don't know how to do this either.

So far, Ella's Kitchen hasn't had any reports or incidents of baby food contamination, but I'm going to be vigilant about checking each pouch from now on.

I truly hope that no babies were affected or harmed in any way. Freaking gross.

Small Human loves to eat his Ella's Kitchen food pouches while reading the paper

Already Excited For the Holidays

It's not even mid November, but I am already sooooo excited for Christmas! I know that I should probably be excited for Thanksgiving first, but we're Canadian so our Thanksgiving has already past. I am, however, always excited (and thankful) for eating, so there's that!

It has been a surreal year of firsts for us, but for some reason, baby's first Christmas feels like the biggest deal. Having a baby and starting our own little family to share holiday traditions with, kinda makes me feel like my life is finally complete. It's something that I have always wanted and dreamed about. I realize that there is still so much more to come (yay!), but in the here and now I am genuinely, fully content.

Adding to the number of monkeys living in our house

One of our old Toronto holiday traditions was going to this cool trade show every year and I miss going to it so much. It was a great place to eat, have fun, and do your Christmas shopping. Well, imagine my elation when I heard that there was a Seattle Christmas Show going on at the Convention Center! I just about peed myself from excitement.

We got some really awesome things, some of which I can't show the interwebs because they will be stocking stuffers for people back home. The show wasn't exactly the same, but it was loads of fun, and really put me in the mood for the holidays.

This weekend was all kinds of wonderful. Our Christmas shopping is mostly done, we watched Love Actually, we shopped, we ate, we relaxed! The best part was: We didn't have to worry about the baby once. Noah was so good and very tolerant of all the gallivanting we did. No more hunger strike, diarrhea, barfing, or fussiness = winning.

Our cute, mini gingerbread house from the Seattle Christmas Show!

Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda Disaster Relief

For those of you that don't know, the Philippines was struck this weekend by the biggest typhoon in recorded history. The areas hit have been ravaged and devastated, and the body count keeps rising. People are scared and in great need of shelter, potable water, medical aid and food, so if you feel inclined to help out in any way that you can, please do.

The Filipino people are strong, caring, welcoming, and very family-oriented. If you were ever in need, I can pretty much guarantee that a Filipino person would always lend you a helping hand, or at the very least, make sure you have a good meal to fill you up. It's how we were culturally raised, regardless of where in the world you and your family ended up.

I know that in Canada, the government is matching funds donated to registered charities (go Canada!), but there are organizations in the US who are also committed to disaster relief aid.

Just something to keep in mind though: there are some horrible people in the world who set up fake charities in the wake of a huge natural disaster hoping to scam people, so make sure you donate to a registered charity.

I am praying for everyone's safety. Lastly, I encourage you to please give generously!

American Red Cross

Americares

Canadian Red Cross

Catholic Relief Services

UNICEF Canada

UNICEF USA

I Want to Be Pregnant Again

Yes, you read correctly, I want to be pregnant again. While I certainly don't want to waste any time, I don't think we're quite ready for another. As my friend Nicole put it: "Even after the weekend you had?!" I figure, we're right in the thick of the insanity, might as well go big or go home.

Seriously though, I think it might be for purely selfish reasons. I felt so good when I was pregnant, but now my allergies and migraines have come back, and I'm always cold. I don't think those are good reasons to bring another life into the world!

It's probably a phase that I'll snap out of. I've been reading about too many pregnant celebrities who are on to baby #2 after only ten months. It all sounds so wonderful and romantic, until you think about the logistics. I'm imagining myself, heavily pregnant and having to deal with a screaming, diarrhea-leaking Noah who's running away from me naked, in full tantrum mode. I am not a celebrity mom with multiple nannies and personal chefs at my disposal, ok Drew Barrymore?! Dude, we don't even have a babysitter.

I think I'll let our Small Human turn 1 first and see how it goes from there. :)

Have a great (long for some) weekend everyone!

Screw You, Daylight Savings Time!

Is anybody else experiencing wonky baby schedules because of daylight savings time? My Mini Man is just confused about when to nap and when bedtime actually is.

His new thing is napping at 5pm. What the heck? He never sleeps at 5 or even 6. Early bedtime is about 7pm, so I don't know what this is about. Maybe it's the dark?

Stupid Daylight Savings, don't you know I have a cranky, teething baby to keep on schedule?! Gah! Now, what used to be my down time and dinner prep has turned into wild and hyper, well-rested Noah time.

I have been trying so hard to be good, eat properly, and still cook when I'm dead on my feet, but this honestly calls for my go-to comfort food. So bring on the McDonald's!

It helps a lot to get encouraging notes from my mom though. Apparently, I also got most of my teeth at around 8-9 months while I had ear infections. My mom is badass.

Me and Sir Clings-a-Lot

Bananas and Banishing Diaper Rash

Did you know that bananas smell almost the same going in your baby as they do coming out? Just a little bit of hump day trivia for you. I didn't have to rinse poop off anything or anybody yesterday because the reign of the runny poops is over. So I danced a little a jig. I tried to do the Moonwalk but failed miserably and settled for a jig.

I am going to go right ahead and pat Brendan and I on the back, because after all of the hoopla of the last week, the baby is still alive! It wasn't achieved without battle scars, however. For the first time today, I saw wrinkles on my face. I'm kinda in denial about it though, so I'm going to chalk it up to a lack of water intake.

Anyway, now that I have some diaper rash experience under my belt, I would like to share my tried and tested techniques, and ultimate secret weapon:

1. Check baby's diaper often, change as needed. Be gentle.

2. Make sure all rashy parts are bone dry before applying cream.

3. Apply Vaseline on top of the cream.

The key is to use a cream with as much zinc in it as possible. Zinc forms a barrier against wetness, so you want ALL the zinc. Boudreaux's Maximum Strength Butt Paste is a miracle worker! It's got a whopping 40% zinc content, while most have well under 20%.

Noah's tiny bum went from having sores to pretty much immaculate within a few hours. It doesn't smell great, comes in an ugly red box with a creepy baby on it, and the actual cream is a weird light brown colour, but it works miracles. Use it.

I love that I have an answer now! I'm a real mommy with field experience, and it feels good.

The Not So Fantastic Four

I was just writing a post about how Noah's doing better than he was over the weekend. No more diarrhea, diaper rash is healing (Boudreaux's Maximum Strength Butt Paste for the win!), and starting to eat more like normal. Then he smiled at me from across the room, while forcefully expelling a very different kind of maximum strength butt paste. An improvement on the seven million diarrhea diapers a day from the last few days, but watery poop nonetheless.

At this point, my standard of happiness is so low, that I would be overjoyed by having one full day where I didn't have to rinse poop off someone's clothing and body. I think my needs are very simple and should be met, don't you?

Noah was such a fussy crab apple, but I at least got him to laugh so hard that he threw his head back in delight! That was when I saw what had been causing our whole family grief for the last week: four top teeth all coming in at the same time.

My poor child, no wonder he's been such a beast. I want those suckers to come in already! None of the usual teething remedies are working, but I would like to thank you all for messaging me with your different tips and tricks, I really appreciate it! The only thing that works right now is his toothbrush and music, believe it or not. He won't put anything else in his mouth, not even his beloved Crinkle Bear.

Here's hoping the teeth have come through when we wake up (at a reasonable hour please).

Mommy out. xo

Happy and full after breakfast, but massaging his sore upper gums.

First Child Stress Syndrome

Everyone tells you that you'll relax more with each child. Well, first of all, I don't think that's going to happen to me because my personality is that of an extreme worrier. Secondly, what difference does it make? We are living in the here and now, and I am presently quite stressed out.

Small Human's top teeth have been threatening to come in for weeks and weeks now, yet they still haven't broken through. I think we're close though, because he's currently having the worst of all the teething symptoms. It started with irritability, biting and drooling, then diarrhea, diaper rash, and now the worst thing for me: Noah's on a hunger strike.

I've been worried sick because I know how quickly a baby's health can deteriorate due to dehydration. Diarrhea coupled with not drinking or eating is the recipe for a sick baby in hospital. Brendan and I did our best, giving him solids and forcing him to keep drinking sips of formula and water all day long.

However, when Noah refused his last bottle of the night, I almost lost it, I was sure we were somehow allowing him to die. He consumed only two bottles of formula instead of his usual five, and two packets of baby food instead of three. He slept so soundly though, which naturally scared the living daylights out of me because I thought he was in some kind of malnutrition induced coma (he wasn't).

This weekend was very trying. I think Noah had three baths in two days because of multiple diarrhea leakages, got a hunk of poop on his head, threw up all over the carpet, and bit both mommy and daddy. He's been inconsolable and whiny, and just wants to be held! He hasn't been good with the napping, but is thankfully still sleeping through the night.

I need a break, I've had enough. I love my son so much, but I seriously needed to not make eye contact with him for awhile by Sunday afternoon.

Do you know what to do if your baby has diarrhea or is vomiting? The most obvious and safest thing to do is go see your pediatrician, especially if your baby has a fever. In the meantime, if you've got a solid food eater, give them bananas, rice cereal, apple, and plain toasted bread if they're used to it. But like I said, there is no replacement for seeing your doctor.

The upside to the weekend? Thank goodness he no longer has screaming fits in the bath, or it would have been WAY worse.

Delusions of Grandeur

Yesterday morning was one of those TV sitcom mornings where everything goes wrong, and the audience laughs at the hilarity of one family's silly, daily struggles. This is how I choose to see my life on the hard days. Call me delusional or call me a genius, I don't know, but it helps me!

I woke up with clogged ears and a fierce sore throat. Yes, again. I was greeted by a happy husband on his way to work and mostly happy baby, who started to whine upon seeing me. After a few minutes, my also clogged nose cleared up briefly and I was met by a delicious aroma. By delicious aroma, I mean godawful aroma. My son smelled like ass. There is no other way to truly describe it.

By this point, I had just woken up five minutes before, was sick, hadn't had coffee, or even gotten my bearings yet (I am not a morning kind of gal). But by necessity, I had to strip down my poopy son who was leaking various juices down his legs from his saturated diaper, and dunked him in the bath. Fun times.

Did I mention his diaper rash came back from the diarrhea? Yeah, fab. Later the same day, my clingy baby, who wants to be picked up no less than 500 times a day, finally broke mommy. My back started spasming! On and off for the rest of the day, I had back spasms, while chasing my baby elephant and taking him around to the stores on 15th Ave. for Halloween. He was so cute, he made all the ladies swoon! Except for one lady, who told me that my baby was too young for the candy he was holding, to whom I responded with East Coast panache, "That's a rattle, lady."

Anyway, today has got to be better, right? I am hopeful. Happy Friday, friends, and happy November/Movember!