Princess had diarrhea at school yesterday.  She is a HUGE freakin' drama queen whenever this happens.  Her school has caught on and they try to talk her down before calling me to get her.  This time, she had a low grade temp along with it, so they called me to see what I wanted to do.  I picked her up.  She was lying on the cot practicing for her future academy award.

Two hours later, she was running around like a crazy person playing with BamBam, no sign of sickness to be found.

This morning, the first thing she said when she woke up, Mommy, I don't feel well.  I need to stay home from school.  My belly hurts.

I called my husband to see how she was last night.  I had an away game and was didn't get home until after bedtime.  He left for work in the wee hours of the morning and we didn't get much of a chance to talk.  These 8 weeks of softball really throw me for a loop.  I'm used to being the one in the know about their every bowel movement.  Sad, but true.  He claims she was fine.  I let her talk to him and she threw on her best pathetic sick voice.

He thinks she's faking it.  So do I.

BUT, it will completely throw my day off if I have to go back and get her after dropping her off.  I am overbooked beyond capacity this week...aka I'm trying to do 5 things at once instead of just 3.  The last 2 times I've made her go and stick it out, I ended up having to go get her within an hour or so.  Not necessarily because she was too sick to be there, but because she caused so much drama about not feeling well, they sent her home.

SO, I've let her stay home with the threat that if she starts running around playing, I'm bringing her into school late.  She has a half day tomorrow, so that will be a better day to force her to go.

Grrr...stomach aches are so hard for me.  I never know if she's faking it or not.  I'm very frustrated.

Any advice here? 

...you're getting your gel nails filled at the local mall the day before you leave for vacation.  You have your 5 year old Princess with you.  The only way you can keep her occupied for the full 45 minutes is to pay $5 to get her nails painted as well.

On the way there, you drive through Dunkin to get a cocoa for each of you...it's snowing and FREEZING outside and you're dragging her to the mall...it's only fair that she gets a bribe treat.

During her nail painting session, she takes a drink and looks up at you, cute as can be with a cocoa mustache...Mommy, I like Starbucks much better than Dunkin Donuts

 --

(Skip to first night on vacation)

Princess, the future Diva, is in bed with her Mimi...and she says Mimi, this bed is way too hard.

Note: she was referring to the 250 thread count sheets on the bed.  She's used to Egyptian Cotton.

Can't say I don't agree with her observations...but, seriously, she's 5 years old people!!!

--

I'm seriously considering homeschool for 3 months of the year.  How much would that mess up my kids with school?  I don't want to homeschool at home.  I'm not that patient.  I just don't want to experience winter anymore.

Right now, I'm sitting at our favorite tapas restaurant sipping a latte outside.  Hot with a steady, nice breeze.  Heaven.

They're going to have to throw me back onto our plane kicking and screaming.

I mentioned recently that Princess and BamBam are so addicted to blueberries that they will eat them until they literally poop them whole.

They were sharing a bath last night. I was sitting with them in the bathroom reading a magazine while they played. Truly the only times I get to read a magazine these days is when they are in the tub or when BamBam decides to attempt a rare poop on the potty.

I get pulled out of Martha Stewart’s world of things I’d love to have time to do for Christmas, but don’t…to Princess screaming:

MOMMY, BamBam pooped!!!

OH, YES…HE DID.

I look into the tub expecting to see a lone floaty…instead I see that he had diarrhea…and the kicker…a random floating blueberry in the water.

*gag* Bleach is my new best friend.

I almost don’t want to ask if this has happened to you. I’m still feeling like I want to throw up and your stories might send me over the edge.

I said almost. Go ahead. I’d love to hear your gross bathtub stories. Leave a comment. Please? My kid can’t be the only one pooping in the tub? Can he?

This is the final post about my trip to Blog World Expo in Las Vegas last week. It's a long one.  In case you haven’t been following along, you might want to read here, Part 1 and Part 2.

4:45pm

OK, so we finished with two very looooong days schmoozing our way around Blog World. We pack up in record time and my boss drives away in his rental car. He had to find a FedEx to ship parts of the booth home and I had until 6pm to check out of my hotel…which I could see off in the distance. Shouldn’t be a problem…I’m feeling pretty good and my brain starts shifting to thoughts of going home to my little ones. I suddenly miss them. I get into the taxi line at the convention center. We wait. And wait. And wait.

5:15pm

I’m finally the first in line with about 20 people behind me. We wait. And wait. And wait. No taxis. My room key only works until 6pm. I paid $30 extra to be able to go back for a quick shower before my red-eye flight. I team up with a couple of strangers also staying at my hotel. We calculate that it would take about 45 minutes to walk back to the hotel…too late now…and our feet really, really hurt from being on them all day for the last two days. We walk to the closest hotel, about 100 yards or so away and begged a limo to drive us. For $20 each. I would’ve paid $50 at that point.

6pm+

The front desk let me into my room even after my key expired. They were very nice about it. I threw my stuff together and took a quick shower.

6:45pm

Finally checked out of my room. Grabbed a quick dinner at a Mexican restaurant called “El Nopal”. I remember thinking it’s going to be a long night, hope this doesn’t make me sick…if it does it’ll make a good blog post…El Nopal was No Pal of mine…tee hee.

7:15pm

I decided not to mess around before my 10:40pm flight back to Boston. I quickly grabbed a taxi back to the airport. When I got up to the Jet Blue check-in booth she asked for my name.

We don’t have anyone flying to Boston tonight with your name. Are you sure your flight is today?

Does that really happen? I wonder what idiot would get the wrong date on their reservations. I hand her my receipt.

Mrs. Xx, you’re flight isn’t until tomorrow night.

I think the weight of my exhaustion and the stress built up over the last couple of days finally hit me. Like a ton of bricks. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in my eyes. And, damn it, I hate to cry. Not gonna do it. I had all I could do to say but I promised my 5 year old I’d be there when she gets up in the morning!

Apparently, the flight was pretty full. My ticket wouldn’t allow me to fly standby?! WTF?!

She looks at me and says please, don’t cry. Give me a minute…I’ll be right back.

Well, I don’t know what secret stash of tickets she accessed, but after a 2 minute phone conversation, she comes back and says

This is your lucky day. You found a fellow mom (and she shows me a picture of her 3 kids she’s wearing on a badge around her neck). I have been in your shoes and I hate to be away from my kids. We can’t have a disappointed little girl wake up without Mommy, can we? I’m going to put you in seat 1C, on the aisle, so that you can get out quickly tomorrow morning. And I’m only going to charge you the $25 change fee.

I had to force myself to remember to breathe. In. and. Out. First fighting the tears because I wasn’t going to get home…then I had to push them back again because she was being way too kind. I’m an ass. It was totally my fault. I booked the damn flight. I was the one who grabbed the chance to fly away from my kids for 2 days…lured by the opportunity of an entire bed to myself and adult conversation…I was too busy doing a happy dance to properly check the date on the damn tickets. I didn’t deserve her kindness…but I so very appreciated it.

I thanked her again and again and once more…and then went through security and to the gate. I think trying so hard to hold back the tears made my brain swell. I could feel a migraine coming on. I don’t get them often…but when I do, ouch. The lights. The sounds. The pain. The nausea. If you’ve ever experienced them, you know just what I’m talking about.

8:15ish

I got to the gate and looked up at the board. The flight will be a couple of hours late. I had almost four hours to kill. I tried not to curse the airline…after all, I’m pretty damn lucky to be going home on this flight. I grabbed a seat and start reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

9:30ish

My migraine progresses. My neck and shoulders are all achy. I can barely see straight and want to throw up. I pay way too much for Tylenol and a Starbucks Hot Cocoa. I down 4 Tylenol with the cocoa.

Past Midnight

We finally board the plane. I’m exhausted, but feeling little better. I’ve read ¾ of the book. It’s an easy read, but very interesting to see into the mind of an autistic child. My migraine can officially be downgraded to a headache.

I sink into my seat and allow myself to sleep for a bit. I’m awoken to the sound of…someone throwing up. Yuck. There were a few people in the back of the plane that either had food poisoning or a virus. I vowed NOT TO TOUCH ANYTHING. I didn’t get up and sat with my arms crossed for the remaining 3 hours of the flight.

8:20am

We land and after running immediately to a puke-free bathroom, I grab my luggage. I find my way outside to where the limos pick up. I have a driver that we’ve used in the past and he was available last minute. He drives a town car…and it’s usually cheaper than gas, tolls and parking at the airport. I wait. In the freezing cold. I still have sandals on. I think my feet might just get frost bitten. I wait some more…and then seek shelter in a little hut near the limo pick up area.

An aside, damn 9/11…when I used to travel all the time for work, the limo drivers could just live park and would be standing inside the warm airport with a sign. I always loved seeing my name. Now you actually have to haul your own stuff outside because they can’t leave their cars. No, I’m not spoiled. OK, well, maybe a little.

I gave up waiting and called my husband. Instead of being greeting with a cheery good morning, he got the honor of dealing with my psycho-hugely-pissed-off-alter-ego. He doesn’t have to deal with her often so he snapped to. He called the limo company. Apparently, they FORGOT to pick me up. No, this had nothing to do with the wrong flight being booked. I spoke with them directly. They apparently forgot to put me on the books. And he was in Dover, NH.  That’s over an hour away from Boston. I was livid…and exhausted…and cold…and very, very hungry.

10:00am

The limo driver finally arrives and apologizes repeatedly. I’m too tired to be angry anymore. I just wanted to go home…and that’s where we went.

--

All in all, I’m glad that I went to Vegas. Blog World was very interesting. It was fun to be back in the world of trade shows. The one good night sleep I got was fab-u-lous, even if it was in a smoking room.

This was the perfect lifestyle for me…when I was in my 20’s…and not married…and not a Mommy. The bottom line, the grass may seem greener on the other side of the fence at times, but I wouldn’t trade my life right now for anything. I’m glad I had the opportunity to prove that to myself by spending a couple of days on the other side.

Since becoming a parent, have you been given the opportunity to do something from your  pre-parent days? If so, please share. If not, where would you like to go if you could...and what would you do there? Leave a comment.

I can sum it all up in one word: WOW!!

When I was single and in my twenties, I worked in the event industry and traveled to trade shows often. On a basic level, I knew what I was getting myself into…long hours, lots of talking, the stress of traveling, etc. I completely underestimated just how exhausted my post-Mommy self would be.

Quick recap in case you haven’t been following along. Last Tuesday my boss contacted me to help out with the company’s exhibitor booth. I lined up my husband and mother-in-law to stay with the kids. I was SO excited for a little alone time and to surround myself with adults for a couple of days. My flight left Boston Wednesday night. I was giddy.

So, how did it go?
I flew Jet Blue for the first time…and they totally ROCK! They have individual television screens on each seat and offer 20 network channels. I watched real TV the entire flight. Oh, and the earphones were FREE. The crew was hil-ar-ious! Whenever the Captain came on to update us on flight status he would end it with an Elvis-inspired, “Thank you. Thank you very much.” They actually came around 3 times during the 5 ½ hour flight and offered drinks and snacks. The snacks were beyond the normal peanuts. They had about 15 different options to choose from, including those 100 calorie snack bags…quite impressive for today’s standards.

I arrived at the Stratosphere in Las Vegas at 1am local time…that would be 4am “my time”, ouch. They only had smoking rooms available at that time, ICK. I was a little frustrated, but honestly, the room didn’t smell that bad. They offered to change my room the next night, but I decided to stay put.

I had to meet my boss in the lobby at 8:30am. THE Daddy forgot (?) the time change and called me before the kids headed off to school…that’s 7:30am here in NH…4:30am Vegas time. After a wake up call from “Britney Spears, y’all”, I managed to drag myself out of bed on time and prayed that I would find a Starbucks. There was NO WAY I would be able to function without my daily Pumpkin Spice Latte fix.

Luckily, our designated meeting spot was right next to a Starbucks, score! I got in line and noticed that they had switched everything over to Christmas (!) flavors…which meant NO Pumpkin Latte. After a slight panic attack, I decided to give Gingerbread Latte a try…not quite the same, but it did the trick.

I saw my boss for the first time in over 5 years. I’ve been working for him for over a year this time around, but our communication has been 100% via email. We hadn’t even spoken on the phone since he closed his original company. This was back when I was pregnant with now 5 year old Princess…kind of crazy.

We got to the exhibit hall and quickly got to work putting together the rest of our exhibit. We had about an hour before the show opened and still had a lot to do. As the first people began approaching our booth, I realized that I didn’t know what our “pitch” was. I’m so behind the scenes doing research from home that I didn’t know how to describe our site, never mind customize the pitch for the type of person: blogger, speaker, PR firms. I spent most of the day listening in on my boss giving the pitch. I tried a few times to help out by the end of the day, but I was sooo exhausted that I felt as if my brain was thinking faster than my mouth would allow the words to come out. I was very tongue-tied.

The opening reception that night was a big pajama party. My boss recognized that I was exhausted…or perhaps he felt how useless I had been that day…so he offered me an out to skip the party and go back to the hotel. I felt a little guilty for not having the energy to network with him…but I honestly was useless at this point, so I jumped at the chance to sleep, vowing to myself that I would be able to man the booth by myself tomorrow.

I grabbed some take out dinner at a 50’s diner on my way back to my room. It was the type of restaurant where the servers actually sang requested songs. Princess would have loved it. I was so busy all day that I truly didn’t have time to miss Princess and BamBam. Waiting in the diner…it hit hard that I was there and they were at home. I understand a little more how my husband has felt having to be away from us when he’s away for work. Kind of sucks.

I got in my room, ate my dinner and was sooo very tired that….I couldn’t sleep!!

I sucked up the $10/99 and rented “I Now Pronounce you Chuck & Larry”. I giggled…at times laughed out loud…and happily went to sleep…snuggling with Princess’s teddy bear and BamBam’s kitty.

Stay tuned for “My Trip to Blog World Expo: Part 2” which involves seeing Jeremy Shoemaker (aka ShoeMoney) and John Chow walking the show floor…as well as a couple of cool companies that might help you make money on your blog.

Good News:

I got to watch the ENTIRE Patriots Game without interruption yesterday. And what a great game it was! The Patriots remain undefeated…and even better, the Colts lost…nah, nah. Hey, I never claimed to be the mature one .

Bad News:

You didn’t think I’d be able to sit and watch football for about 3 ½ hours uninterrupted without having to PAY, did you?! Of course not. BamBam was on top of me the whole time…a puddle…he had a fever of 103.

-- 

For the record, Peyton Manning bothers me…more like he gives me the “ick”. This has nothing to do with the fact that he is quarterback for the Colts and they are the Patriot’s Rival Team…really, nothing to do with it. The ick started WAY, WAY before. I have yet to put my finger on exactly why he bothers me so much. Isn’t it weird to have such strong feelings against someone you’ve never met? I’m not usually that judgmental. But I’ve got to say it: I think the guy is dumb as rocks and speaks like he has potatoes in his mouth.

BamBam’s fever seems to be better, right around 100 this morning. He didn’t eat dinner last night, but just demanded 3 packages of oatmeal for breakfast. Needless to say, I’m keeping him home from school today. That should be a joy. Hope I don’t regret the oatmeal.

I have a ton of work to do…the kind that is time sensitive and needs to get done asap. Should be a fun, fun day!

Our 2 year old, BamBam, went for his first dentist appointment today. In case you haven’t been following along, I felt like the Loser Parent of the Year when I took 5 year old Princess for her first visit and found out that she had 7, yep, 7 cavities…and ended up getting a crown put on one of her molars.

I had very low expectations today for BamBam’s visit. He is still not letting me help him brush on a regular basis. BusyDad recommended declaring war on the “Tooth Germ Army” setting up camp in his mouth. Cool idea, loved it. Yep, that worked for a day. There have been times when I’m tempted to try Joeprah’s approach of intimidation and hitting…but I’m pretty sure certain he was just kidding.

I must say that The Kid’s Dentist is awesome. I don’t think they’re a chain, but I would highly recommend finding someone who markets being "kid friendly" near you. They’ve spent a lot of time and creativity pimping out their office. BamBam was sooo in awe of the birds and the snake in the waiting room. (I got a little nervous when we couldn’t find the snake in his cage, but they assured me he was hiding somewhere in there!) He wore his special sunglasses and opened wide like a shark. My little man charmed the heck out of the technician and let her count his teeth, scrape plaque, shoot water into his mouth and use “Mr. Thirsty” to suck everything up. He made his Mommy proud.

And, the good news, he doesn’t have any cavities!

Isn’t that the reason why you have more than one kid? You learn your lessons by messing up on the first one and do things (somewhat) right the next time around? Oooo…I should add that to my reasons why we SHOULD have a 3^rd…maybe we’d succeed at keeping that one in his/her own bed all night! Really screwed that one up with Princess and BamBam!

Anything within the parenting realm that you’d like to do differently if you got a “do over” with a next child? Anyone with 3 (or more) kids want to share reasons why we should/should not have another? Please leave a comment.

Princess had her two worst cavities filled this morning. I am so happy with “The Kid’s Dentist”, I could kiss them all! They were fabulous with her. They turned the scariest experience of her life into an adventure. Seeing her so comfortable definitely eased my nerves.

They have a resident dog who greeted us at the door. The waiting room included a kid’s nook with a snake (ick), birds and fish. The surgery room was done up better than most kid's bedrooms in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.  She had the safari room, very cool.  They gave her goofy sunglasses to wear. They had scented nose masks for the nitrous oxide…she picked grape. They described everything they were doing during the procedure…in kid friendly terms.

Her molars were pretty bad and it took them over an hour. The cavities were advanced and they ended up having to put a crown on one of her molars. It’s silver. Luckily, 5 year old Princesses think that jewelry on teeth is pretty…especially when it’s called a “crown”. She’s in a little pain right now and half of her face is still numb. I hate that feeling. I gave her a little Tylenol and some Arnica.

We stopped at WalMart on the way home and bought a new Disney Princess movie…and a new blanket…and a new doll. No, I’m not feeling at all guilty *wink*.

I found out that they will work with kids as little as 2 years old. You betcha...BamBam will be going next week for his first cleaning and fluoride treatment. THAT should be interesting. He will sit still for Daddy and let him brush his teeth for 5 minutes. Mommy? Not so much. He gets really p.o.’d and tries to bite me. Grrr.

Still looking for ideas on how to get him to brush. If you have anything beyond the norm to share, please leave a comment.

I realized that I won the LOSER Parent of the Year Award about a month ago at Princess’ first dentist appointment. They scheduled the major cavity in her molar to be filled just after Thanksgiving. Well, she’s been complaining that it hurts to chew on one side of her mouth, so I called to get her appointment moved up to tomorrow.

Yikes, I’m really, really nervous. They’re going to give her nitrous oxide…my poor baby. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever had to give her Tylenol. She’s only needed an antibiotic once and she’s 5 years old. We usually stick to homeopathic and/or herbal remedies. Did I say that I am really, really nervous? And THE Daddy is away for work again...grrr.

I’ve researched nitrous oxide online and couldn’t find anything too scary. Anyone have any experience with their kids needing to use it?

Oh, and a word of advice for those of you with toddlers. Apparently letting them chew on the tooth brush doesn’t count as brushing teeth. I guess you need to play adult and get inside there for a more thorough cleaning afterwards. Who da thunk it?! Would have been nice to know that 2 years ago!

Seriously, we did brush with her...sometimes. Seems THE Daddy had “soft teeth” and tons of cavities as well. Also, we have well water with no fluoride. Hey, if you can blame someone else…why blame yourself, right?

I am hoping that if I say this out loud, I will be able to make it go away.

“I am seriously thinking about having a third baby.”

I say “I” because THE Daddy has pretty much said that he is OK either way. He thinks he’s being supportive, but I see it as a deliberate way to avoid responsibility if the outcome of “our” decision is less than favorable. He was supposed to get snipped right after BamBam was born. It’s been over 2 years. If he was certain that he didn’t want more, wouldn’t he have gone through with the surgery already?

There are so many reasons that immediately come to mind why we should NOT have another:

1) We already have a girl AND a boy. They are healthy, happy, beautiful, intelligent children. We are completely blessed. Why would we want to tempt fate? F*&k with Karma?

2) Strike me down, say what you want, I know this sounds awful, but I HATED being pregnant. Sure, it had moments when it felt completely miraculous, like when we heard their hearts beat for the first time or when we could see their little bodies on their first ultrasounds. But, overall, I hated feeling like a host to a parasite that was stealing all of my energy and brain cells. I had morning sickness 24/7 for the first 14 weeks each time. I could barely cook without feeling nauseated…and I love to be in the kitchen. Just when the nausea passed, the heartburn kicked in. I remember wondering if I would ever enjoy eating again.  Well, I finally do.

3) I had problems with pre-term labor with BamBam. I ended up in bed for the last 9 weeks of the pregnancy and he decided enough was enough about 5 weeks before his due date. If it wasn’t for the gestational diabetes that I also was plagued with, I would have eaten a pint of Ben & Jerry’s a day out of sheer depression and probably would have blown up to look like Shamu. I typically lean towards natural, herbal, homeopathic remedies. During the pregnancy with BamBam, I had so many drugs pumped into me to stop the contractions, I lost track. I was in the hospital 12 times prior to his birth and "put to sleep" with morphine at least 4. Then there was that experimental cardiac drug that they gave me for the last 2 weeks…don’t get me started. The doctor literally laughed at me when I asked what the odds were of having complications with another pregnancy…his answer “50/50”…SO not helpful.

4) Due to said complications, we have several family members who would completely disown us if we actually took the plunge.

5) See my post about my friend struggling with the possibility that her third child may be born with Down Syndrome. That ties back into #1 for me and scares the crap out of me.

6) THE Daddy has been traveling so much for work lately. I’m not sure if I could handle being out-numbered 3 to 1. Worse, I’ve always been told NOT to have an uneven number of kids because one always feels left out. All of the “middle child” people that I know SO act like the “middle child”…SO that means I’d ultimately be outnumbered 4 to 1, not good.

My Case FOR having another:

1) Even after the nightmare pregnancy I experienced with BamBam, I always felt that our family wasn’t, well, I guess the word would be “complete”. I mentioned it to THE Daddy very early on, just after coming home from the hospital. He blew it off like I was enjoying some good post-c-section drugs. I probably was…but the feeling has never fully disappeared. I don’t feel like our family is complete yet, period. I’m not sure that I only want 2 kids. I’m not sure that I want Princess and BamBam to only have each other as siblings.

2) My BF always used to say that her ovaries were “glowing” when she saw a cute baby. Well, my ovaries still “glow” when I see a little baby. I suppose that could just be a side effect of having ovaries?

3) My babies are growing so fast and are so damn independent. I love the excitement and challenge that each new milestone brings, but I miss those little, helpless babies…the ones who really need their mommy. I know what you’re thinking, “OK, You want another creature to NEED you? Get a dog.” We have 2.

4) Princess has been campaigning HARD for a sister…and I’m pretty sure she’s old enough to know what she’d be getting into this time. Of course, I’ve explained that I couldn’t guarantee that it would be a sister and she could end up with 2 brothers…a concept a little above her head right now.

5) I still have names. We chose BamBam’s name rather easily because there was a death in the family and we conceived him right around the time of the funeral. In fact, the funeral was the only reason we were “sleeping” in the same location the time of conception. We racked our brains forever when we named Princess. Yet, I am now sitting on 2 names…a boy and a girl. I suppose that I could always buy a couple of goldfish to take care of that problem;)

6) I’m back in my pre-BamBam jeans…the “skinny ones”. I finally feel like my reflection is similar to what I think I look like. I’m no longer looking at a chubby stranger in the mirror.

7) I love working and especially love having a margarita or two on the weekends. Why would I want to give that up?!

OK, that’s 6 “against” and 7 “for”. Am I going crazy? (I hear my sister-in-law screaming a loud “HELL YES!”)

Is anyone else struggling with this as well? Help me out. Leave a comment.