Category Archives: Mom Moment

27 Weeks

Leave a reply

Baby is:

27 weeks and about the size of a cauliflower
Weighs about 2 pounds
Maturing his immune system and lungs. Both of which are pretty important, I suppose.

I am:

Now in my third trimester. Don’t call it a “home stretch” or I may burst into tears over what I still think I have to do… which is nothing.
Waddling, grunting, and resembling a turtle on its back while I’m trying to get out of bed.

Oh, the memories:

Acid reflux. Prior to this week it was annoying but manageable, this week it’s turned into borderline unbearable. I’ve learned that there is a difference between name brand Tums and Kirkland brand. Difference being one works and one makes me cry into the bottle at 3am when I’ve maxed out the dose.
Hormones. They’re present and they suck.

What the hell:

The cravings are getting stronger for sugar. I drank a Coke for breakfast.

It takes a strong woman to be pregnant. It’s a lot of physical and emotional changes and you’re supposed to walk around for 9 months pretending to be happy about it all. Most days I am because I can keep my mind on the end goal here, but yesterday I hit the wall. On Tuesday night I was up all night learning a valuable lesson in generic Tums. I finally got comfortable downstairs in the recliner when through the monitor came a tiny voice from the house 2 year old calling for me and crying. I went up to check on him and he just wanted to cuddle with me. I tried the rocking chair and he wouldn’t fall back asleep so a few hours after attempting, I tried to lay in his bed with him but it made me sick. So I put him in our bed hoping that Daddy could do the trick but he was apparently knew the difference between generic Mommy and the real boobs. I did what any mom would do: I laid in bed with my little man so that he would sleep, even though I then spent all night sick. Somewhere in there the acid reflux started turning into an upset stomach and I got out of bed Wednesday with the stomach bug that’s plagued my house. So yesterday I’m bound to the recliner all day on a liquid diet and trying not to move. It just kept getting worse and by bedtime I was laying on the floor in the hall outside of Lucas’ room with a pinched nerve and pain that was taking my breath away. Cue hormonal tears. I’m over it. I don’t want to share my body anymore. I’m tired, I want to sleep on my back, I want to go an hour without having to pee, I want to wear my old clothes again, I could use a glass of wine after a bad day, I hate the taste of Tums, but more than anything I just wanted to be able to get off of the floor on my own and I couldn’t. Third trimester greeted me with a big, open-palmed, slap in the face and I’m calling bullshit on the whole thing. Pregnancy sucks.

Prior to this string of bad days, I’m happy to report that I have nearly nested the guest bedroom into the perfect nursery. It’s adorable, and I just like to take a peak in it every now and then to remind myself that in a few short weeks there’s going to be a tiny human in there. Let’s pause for a minute to remind ourselves how ridiculous it is that a 5 pound human has his own room. I don’t even have my own bedroom. But I digress…

Here’s a sneak peak at what I’ve got going on:

Lucas is now in a big boy bed:

And he’s sacrificed his crib mattress for his little brother’s room:

His little brother’s room, by the way, now has a dresser and closet full of clean baby clothes, and I’m starting to slowly unpack the stuff in the basement. This Momma is starting to feel better about the nesting and getting ready for baby.

Just in time to get sick and be bitch slapped by third trimester symptoms.

Sigh…

A New Year

Leave a reply

Hi again. Forget about me? I sure feel like some days I’ve forgotten about myself, but as long as everyone gets fed and to bed in clean pajamas I’ll consider most days a success.

We’ve been doing so much up in the mitten that I don’t even know where to start. This fall we did a lot (A LOT) of traveling. Nothing reminds me how much I dislike living in a grey, cold, snow like visiting somewhere that requires sunglasses instead of boots.

In September we drove to Niagara Falls in Canada (aye) with our friends and their kids. Once you see the giant hole in the ground and take a few pictures there’s not much to do so we spent the rest of the weekend at the local vineyards because when in Canada, do as the Canadians do, aye?

In October, we took our adorable munchkin to New York City for my first trip to the Big Apple. I was a ball of excitement and smiles because I hear so much about New York but never had the opportunity to go so when Angel’s Aunt and Uncle offered to take us I didn’t even have to think- YES YES YES! I love my husband, kid, and dog, but if I went to NYC for the first time before I had them all I probably would have tried to move there. Love that city but it is NOT conducive to strollers and toddlers who don’t understand that they can’t cross the street yet and you can’t carry them 80 blocks. What an awesome way to spend our 4th wedding anniversary, though!

About a week after we got home from the East Coast, we decided to make sure that the Pacific Coast was still there. So we up and went to San Diego for my best friend’s wedding! I was the Maid of Honor and Lucas was the ring bearer and it was so much fun. We stayed in a condo on the beach in Carlsbad and got to enjoy coffee on the porch in the sun and dip our toes into the ocean and put Lucas in shorts and remember all of the reasons why I really belong on the West Coast. Angel had to walk down the side of the aisle with Lucas carrying a bag of M&Ms, feeding them to Lucas so he would walk down without freaking out. I’m not sure he saw anything other than the candy that Daddy was carrying, which was perfect. Erica got married on a beautiful golf course looking over the ocean and I was able to keep myself together ALL weekend leading up to it and all of the events and ceremony so that I could make sure she did what she needed to with a fluffed dress for photos and all. Then naturally, as the DJ gave me the mic at the reception to give my speech I instantly started crying and couldn’t remember a single word of my memorized speech. All I could think of was Wedding Crashers and the guys in there betting on the Maid of Honor crying for her speech. Well, I totally did but all that I can say about it is that it all was genuine.

This brings us to 2 days before our favorite Little Man’s second birthday. And what do you give a kid when you’re in Southern California and he looooves Mickey Mouse? Yeah, it was a tough one for us to figure out, too. Luckily, it looks like we were able to guess correctly when we picked a trip to Disneyland:

Yeah, in that photo we’re waiting in line to get in and he’s that excited. We’ll go ahead and accept our award for Parents of the Year now.

So we spent 2 days at Disneyland and California Adventure, including Lucas’ 2nd Birthday. What an awesome thing to be able to do for your kid, seriously. I’m not sure who had more fun.

For Christmas we spent 2 weeks in Colorado with my parents. It was a long drive there and back, but it was nice to be able to see that sun and snow actually can coexist. Who would have guessed? Lucas got the hang of opening presents and still tells me that “Santa’s coming” so I think he sort of understood the concept this year. He was excited to see Nana and Paws and meet his cousin “Witty” (William). If it wasn’t for a bout of croup on Christmas Eve, it would have been the perfect trip. But then what’s a family holiday without a trip to Urgent Care? All in a day’s work.

Now we’re home for the next few weeks before another trip to the Caribbean. Best way to spend the winter is not here, I always say.

On to another year for the Rivas Family!

Happiness Unplugged

Leave a reply

I left the house all afternoon without my phone, this should prove to you when I say that I’ve been a little “unplugged” lately. I’ve read 2 kindle books, taken my kiddo to lunch and get cupcakes, and done some sewing, all without my phone. I was so used to not checking things that going to bed last night I knew I had something going on today but for the life of me I couldn’t remember what and was just waiting for the “where are you?!” Phone call. It came. Twice.

So anyway, on Saturday, we went to Livonia (a suburb of Detroit). We went to the state’s nicest mall and walked around for a while, took my computer to the Microsoft store (read: “teach me how to use this. Don’t judge me.”) and then went to a fun dinner before heading over to Angel’s college friend’s house for a party. It was all so much fun!

On Sunday, we came home and did nothing. Yep, nothing. I let the dishes pile up, we had leftovers, and we all hung out in the family room while I read on my kindle until it died and then I read on my kindle app on the phone. I didn’t take any photos because no one showered or got dressed. You’re welcome.

Yesterday I made tacos for cinco de mayo, finally cleaned my kitchen, and finished my kindle book. We also tried (and failed) at our first attempt to put Lucas in a toddler bed. You win this round, kid.

I took Lucas to the store after the world’s worst toddler nap to pick up stuff for tacos. The only way he would stay calm was if he sat in the basket of the cart and played with the can of beans and the box of rice. Pick your battles.

Today, I took Lucas to lunch downtown Kalamazoo with Heather and her daughter. Then we got awesome cupcakes and I went home because I had pushed nap time by about 2 hours at this point. On my way home to put Lucas to bed he fell asleep in the car. To anyone with a toddler who wakes up the instant that you move him and never goes back to sleep and then melts down and screams all evening: take my lead. Roll the window down, grab a folding chair and beer, and tailgate nap time

Days 21 and 22

Leave a reply

I was having too much fun enjoying myself yesterday to stop and blog. So here’s yesterday’s happy thing(s): a new haircut and another Special Wednesday with my 20 pound boyfriend at the children’s museum.

And for today’s happy thing, I just found this online and love it. It’s a really quick read by a humor mommy blogger as an answer to someone’s rather rude post to her regarding her body: A Letter To Anyone Unhappy With Their Body

It never hurts to have a reminder that we’re awesome just the way that we are.

Smile on, friends.

A Different Perspective

Leave a reply

I’m 12 days into my 100 Happy Days and I have to say, I do feel better already. Maybe it’s that the sun has finally decided to come out of hibernation, but I’m not going to be picky. It serves it purpose because I’m spending most of my day looking for happy things that I can post about and trying to decide what happy thing I want to post about. Even more importantly, it’s getting harder to decide which thing I want to write about. So take that, winter blues.

But seriously though, winter can kiss the fattest part of my ass.

For day 12, I’ve decided that it’s going to be a new Monday tradition to take Lucas to see Daddy for lunch. When we moved here I had all of these lofty plans about “we can come see you at lunch all of the time” and then when I have a screaming toddler, feet of snow, and reruns of Sex and the City on TV, I suddenly don’t have the desire to shower. Much like finding my happiness in the next 100 days, I’m forcing myself to do things differently. So Day 12, lunch with Daddy:

Lucas is running around on the floor at his feet

My champion sleeping toddler has been replaced with his evil twin Screw-Up-The-Schedule-Lucas. This less desirable version of toddler has been waking up at 5am to talk to himself, going to sleep at 11pm, throwing fits out of exhaustion in the grocery store, and really giving his mommy a run for her money. Is it appropriate to replace coffee in my mug with chardonnay and take him to the park?

Some days my nerves survive on his cuteness alone.

Happy Brithday To My Little Man!

Leave a reply

Today is extra special because you turn ONE,
We’ll eat cake and ice cream and have lots of fun

It seems like just yesterday that you were brand new,

And now there are so many things you can do!

We’ll light your first candle and make a big fuss,
To be sure that you know you are precious to us!

Today’s extra special because you turn ONE!

And the best part of all: your life’s just begun!

Happy birthday, Lucas!! Mommy, Daddy, and so many of your family and friends love you so much. I don’t know what we ever did without you.

Temper Tantrum

Leave a reply

I call this one: No, you may not bite Mommy.

Mom Moment #345

Leave a reply

I’d like to call this one: “Don’t you dare take those shoes off!”

I feel like the dad on Finding Nemo: “Don’t you dare move one fin!” “If you touch that boat-” It’s starting already.

I clearly have my hands full of toddler right now. And I blame it all on the convertible car seat:

This expensive acquisition has been a pain in more way than one. First, Amazon failed me for the first time. Anyone who knows me knows that I preach the awesome glory of Amazon like I own majority share in the company. So when we finally decided that Lucas had outgrown his infant car seat I didn’t hesitate to purchase the new one from Amazon. No. That’s a total lie. Have you seen the price tag on these?! All in the name of safety and 6 years of aesthetics.

I digress.

It’s like the purchase of his toddler car seat was the bitch slap that my brain needed to realize that my baby wasn’t a baby anymore. He’s a walking, screaming, toddler.

If only it was that easy.

The car seat came and I immediately tore open the box with the enthusiasm that was once reserved for packages from Coach. I’m tracking the package online for 2 days, running home to wait for the UPS guy, and the wind was taken out of my sail when I opened the box to find this:

I know that you should be careful when purchasing things online, but I feel like this seat may be missing a little something. It takes an extra week of returning and repurchasing before I finally get one that is usable. And once I install it, my little baby became a little boy:

He loved it. looooooooved it. He’s squealing, screaming, smiling, giggling, loving every second of being in the car. He stares out the window at other cars, and looks in the mirror and chats away to me in my rear view mirror. He’s in 11-month-old heaven. In his mind, life couldn’t be better than this car seat.

This triggered an overdrive movement to rid my house of baby bottles for the next few years. Round ’em up, we’re packing those suckers away. Goodbye nipples. I won’t miss you dish washing baskets, and if I never have to see another Avent bottle in my life it will be too soon. Well, Lucas had other plans. It’s like he knew that a sippy cup would make my life easier. So he was completely against it.

Again, I blame the car seat. When he got the car seat, he apparently decided that only this one kind of hybrid sippy cup/bottle was okay and he took to it like an ant at a picnic.

I have washed this sippy cup approximately 6,000 times in the last 4 days. True story.

…And then we went bottle cold-turkey. Pack that shit up, I’m done. D-O-N-E. Mark my words (except don’t, I’m a total softy when it comes to him). And while I’m at it, pack up everything nursing related! Those old clothes in the closet? Let’s throw those in the basement while we’re at it. Has he used this toy lately? ….I think you get the idea. I went hormonal mom on my house and packed bins and bins and vacuum seal bags upon vacuum seal bags away. And then for flare, I took the ptouch labeler to them all.

It was sad, I’m not going to lie. And then I hit the maternity and nursing clothes and got a good laugh out of my thought process: I’m sitting here looking at a wardrobe of fat clothes and all I can remember is them being too small for me. And that is why baby number two isn’t on the horizon: because I still remember baby number one. Until I can erase the memory of outgrowing maternity clothes with my stretch marks while hurling into the toilet in 120 degree heat, baby number two is a pipe dream. And I’m not going to lie: Those memories being refreshed in my mind made packing away his jumperoo and baby clothes about 600 times easier.

And then I hit that damn car seat. i just stopped and stared for a solid 5 minutes at his infant car seat. He’s never going to sit in that again. What happened to my baby?! He’s busy destroying the other room under dad’s supervision. But still. My baby wasn’t capable of walking up to a bookshelf to pull all of the DVD’s off of the shelf. My toddler, however, totally is.

You know what else my toddler is in the mood for? Chasing my fur baby behind the couch where she used to hide.

We’re playing nicely. I swear.

Which leads me to this week’s mom moment: Don’t you dare take those shoes off!

It’s pretty self explanatory. I’m in the car alone with my little man when I hear the swift tear of velcro followed by a giggle. This forces me to turn down my jamming to Kelly Clarkson, do my best to supress a laugh, and say in my best mom voice “Don’t you dare take those shoes off!” *rip* “Luuuuuuuucas!!” *rip* “Keep your shoes on!!” *rip* “(under breath) Damn it (ugh! There’s another 50 cents to the swear jar). If you take those shoes off, I have no alternatives except… to put them back on when we park this car at the grocery store.” And then I laugh at the absurdity of this whole thing. Mentally, I’m grinning at the fact that my little boy is learning how to take his shoes off while the practical side of me is adding an extra 10 minutes onto every car ride for the next 17 years.