Sleep habits of children and pregnant women and Cullen’s at a new store

I don’t know what happened, but Gregory use to be such a great sleeper. He would sleep all the way through the night. I am not quite sure when it changed. I think maybe gradually over the past year. Now he rarely sleeps till an hour which it makes sense to be up. Gregory goes to bed about 8:30 pm. Then he wakes up anywhere between 2 – 5 am. Usually it is around 3 am. So I have him use the toilet, change his pull-up, and let him come to bed with us. I think his waking has caused the night potty training not to happen. The second time he wakes up usually 8 am he is dry and makes it to the toilet. I think eventually he will get back to sleeping all the way through the night. Right now I am not worried about it. In three months I will have to be up every three hours anyway. I am also waking up two or three times a night. So the funny thing is when Gregory comes in because he has woken up he usually doesn’t wake me up, because I am already awake.

Eventually I am guessing Gregory will grow out of it. For now I don’t mind too much. It would be nice though if I didn’t have to get out of bed and he could just use the potty by himself, but he insists so I get up.

When he woke up about 3 am today. I helped him then I went to the toilet. I got in bed and held him and kissed him on the cheek.
Gregory’s response was “Thank you for kiss”

Now I do think that his response made getting out of bed worth it.

**

Cullen was transferred to another grocery store. He found out on a Saturday and on Monday he started at his new store. He has been working there for about a week and a half. He is enjoying his new store. His commute is about ten minutes less. He only has to leave about 50 minutes before he has to get to work now.
Cullen gets transferred whenever and wherever they want him, as long as it is in the same district. As a result Cullen has worked in so many different stores and knows a lot of upper management.

I am still alive, but don’t ask at the end of the day.

Well, my birthday was great. I think it is one of the best I have had. My friend Caitlin came over and she gave me some bath salts and two cute dresses that will fit as soon as my baby is on the outside instead of the inside. Then she came over the next day and we had fun. It is nice just being able to talk and relax with a friend.
My presents from Cullen were an itunes CD and a digital picture frame for my keychain. No, I really can’t see the pictures, but I had wanted one so other people could see the pictures. Plus it is great when I need Gregory to just sit down and behave himself when we are in a store or on the bus. Gregory loves pictures.
Cullen was awesome the whole week. I also got three purple roses for Valentines Day and Gregory gave me a box of candy. The candy will be gone by the end of today. Gregory did eat a few pieces, but it was mostly me.

For the most part I don’t have morning sickness and I am praying that it will stay away. I do however have pain in my hips that makes it hurt to walk or stand up too long. At the end of the day I feel as if I can’t breathe, because I do enjoy food and the food is taking up room that my lungs would normally have. I am so sleepy half the day that I think I could fall asleep standing up. When Gregory does nap the day goes pretty well. When Gregory does not nap I can hardly make it to the end of the day. My hormones are having fun with me by swinging. Chocolate is my anxiety medication.

My baby is so busy moving around anytime I lay down. It is like she is rearranging my organs to make her place more comfortable for her. I don’t mind as long as my bladder isn’t full. The kicks are reassuring.

Well, I am going to help Gregory get to sleep. I am hoping he will sleep, because I am in need of a nap. I am glad to be having this baby, but I know after she is born life will be easier. Pregnancy and my body don’t go very well together. I remember this from Gregory’s pregnancy. A new born will keep me busy and I am sure I will be tired, but it is so much easier than being pregnant.
May 16 is less than three months away.

Conversation this Morning

Me – “Gregory do you know what today is?”
Gregory – “What today is?”
Me – “Ask Daddy”
Gregory – “Daddy what today is? What today is”
Daddy – “Mommy’s Birthday”
Gregory – “Happy Birthday”
Me – “Do you know how old I am?”
Gregory – “Three on your birthday”
Me – “No, I’m 27”
Gregory – “27 on your Birthday”
Me – “Yes”

And I thought it was a sex toy

Every now and then when watching TV an infomercial for the Magic Bullet would come on. I would quickly change the channel. I don’t need Gregory watching anything like that. I couldn’t believe an infomercial with that subject matter would be on so early in the day and on the channels I had on TV.

Then…

Our blender died.

I cried.

Cullen said “Why don’t we get a Magic Bullet”.
I said “Cullen” in a very please be serious tone.
Cullen laughed because he figured out what I thought the Magic Bullet actually was.
Then he told me what it was, an awesome blender.

At first I didn’t believe him until we went to Costco and actually looked at one.

I guess that is what happens when you are blind and only hear the first few words of a program before changing the channel.

Yes, we have a Magic Bullet and I just love it. It makes great smoothies.

Little Victories

Gregory hasn’t pooped in the potty for a month. Today with much prodding and the promise of jelly beans he did it! I don’t know how tomorrow will go, but at least he did it today and I didn’t have to clean it out of his underwear.

He had a pee accident today too. Usually he makes it to the potty for pee.

BUT…
I will take what I can get.

Just three more months then my baby girl will be wearing some cute clothes

Kerry sent me a big box of baby clothes that her sweet little girl has outgrown. I got the package in the mail on Friday and there are just so many cute little girl things. I couldn’t even wait till Cullen drove home I opened the package in the car at the post office. Cullen asked me if I would just wait till we got home. I told him I couldn’t.
Oh it is exciting just looking at baby clothes.
Thank you so much Kerry.

Crazy Pregnant lady has supportive husband (Thank Goodness!!!)

May 16 is just right around the corner. Three months is really not that long.

I am nearing the end of the second trimester and I am not sure if that is why I am having dreams about going into labor. Right about now it would be nice if a “normal pregnancy” was 30 weeks instead of 40. My body seems as if it will fall apart at any moment and my hormones are on overdrive. I just don’t see how my mental and physical self are still staying together. The one thing that is saving me is Cullen. He has been so understanding. That is a great thing, but I just don’t know how he is doing it. If I were him I would just be avoiding me. I guess he really loves me. Now, Cullen is not being perfect or anything, but he is showing how much he cares, by doing his best to care for his family.
I am just so grateful to have his support.
Now this doesn’t mean that I won’t get frustrated with his towel he forgot to hang up or the cup he forgot to put in the sink, but it does mean that I am so happy about all that he is trying to do. Thank goodness for my supportive husband. I do guess he is half the reason I am pregnant right now.

missing cane to cotton candy

I spent the whole morning yesterday looking for my cane. I couldn’t find it. That meant that Gregory and I weren’t going out. I can go to the playground with out it, but into the big world of busses and things like that, no.
Turns out it was in Cullen’s car, at his work, with him. That did me a lot of good --- not. Sorry, I feel a bit sarcastic this morning.

Anyway, after all that searching I was tired and hungry. I made Gregory and I some mac and cheese and then we took a nap. I slept for an hour, but Gregory continued sleeping. I took care of some things and put dinner in the oven.

Gregory woke up.
Cullen got home.
We all ate.

Then, we went to Chuck E. Cheese.

Cullen did the running around after Gregory. Which was great because I usually do that and I got to sit and rest. I feel like I am tired all the time.
The resting led me to daydream about how insane it will be for me to try to take two children to Chuck E. Cheese instead of just one. Being blind I have a very hard time keeping track of just Gregory in that place. The one thing that keeps me calm is they always check to make sure the person who brings the child in is the only one who can take the child out. They do this by stamping both the child and parent’s hands with the same stamp. Then check it before exiting.
Well, at least Gregory will be four and a half, before the one in my tummy starts walking. I am hoping age four is easier than age three. I am sure it has challenges too though.

Many of the games at Chuck E. Cheese have been changed and upgraded. It is a lot nicer. Cullen had not seen it since the changes. I had, because I usually just take Gregory there on my own. One of the excitements is usually the bus ride to get there. Cullen drove last night though.

So, Cullen and Gregory ran around having fun. Gregory had an accident, because a three year old has better things to do at Chuck E. Cheese than to remember to pee. When I take him after about 15 minutes we go to the bathroom, just in case. With Cullen and Gregory having run off I forgot to mention this little detail to Cullen, oh well he will know for next time.

Then Cullen came back to the table and told me about a new “deal or no deal game”. He wanted me to try it. So I did. Instead of winning money you could win tickets. Top tickets you could win were 40. The few times I have seen this game show the game was very similar to the show.
I picked my case #7 as “THE ONE”. Then I got to the end and I hadn’t taken any deals. My case and the other case were left. My final deal was 21 tickets. There were 3 tickets in one case and 40 in the other. I figured why not and I didn’t take the deal. Turns out the case I picked in the very beginning was the big winner. I won 40 tickets. That was awesome. I couldn’t believe it.

Turns out with Cullen helping Gregory and my forty tickets we ended up with 100 total. Cullen mentioned cotton candy. Then he said oh that is 150 tickets so we couldn’t get it. Gregory saw a mini plastic ball and bat. He wanted that. It was 80 tickets.
Cullen thinks the store manager was the one behind the counter. The man got out the mini ball and bat then pulled the cotton candy off the shelf and gave it to us.
I was surprised. The two together would have been 230 tickets and we only had 100.
Now that is what you call good customer service. Granted the two things together probably cost them less than a dollar to purchase. So they had their money’s worth from us.
When I take Gregory we usually only at most win 10 tickets and get a sucker right before we leave. So, last night was a big treat for Gregory. Not only did he get a bigger prize than a sucker, but he had Daddy running around with him too.

Yesterday started out rough and turned out much better than expected. I would have to say it was a pretty good day.

My heart’s sunshine

020209 Gregory
Originally uploaded by smileahug.

Oh how I do love this little boy. He is growing up so fast. There are so many wonderful things he does. I just wanted to list a few things that warm my heart.

- When a timer goes off Gregory lets us know it is “honking”.
- When Gregory really wants something this is what he says “Pretty pretty please with sugar on top, hot chocolate, and sticky marshmellows”. This morning after he said all that he saw my coffee and water and added “and coffee and water”. Now it is hard to turn him down when he says all that.
- He loves to cuddle.
- He says “I so proud of you Mommy” every now and then. He has said it after I took a shower, after I cooked dinner, when I helped him with something.
- When I take out my crocheting and he sees it he says “SO BEAUTIFUL”.
- He randomly tells us “I love you”
- Gregory loves to sing.
- He likes to play make believe.
- He kisses my eyes and head when I am tired or have a headache.
- He loves helping with the house work.
- He will go and get the baby oil and give it to me and say “My back hurts”. Then I will put a little on my hands and rub his back for a minute.
- When a jar or a cupboard is open Gregory makes sure it gets closed right away and if it doesn’t he asks about it until it is closed.
- Instead of asking for me to turn on music he just tells me “I want to dance”.
- He has learned to jump and it is so cute when he does it.
- When something spills, drops, or something like that happens sometimes Gregory says “That’s ok it’s not your fault Mommy”
- Gregory loves trains.
- His favorite color is yellow and the other day Daddy asked him “You like the Redskins?” Gregory replied “yellowskins”..
- Gregory will ask to say “Amen” which means prayers. Then he will say what he is thankful for. He usually prays for what has made him happy that day, like the playground, toys, yellow walls, the specific food he has eaten, and it seems always Mommy and Daddy.
- Gregory loves being outside.
- He asks for me to sit with him.
- Gregory loves to play games and make crafts.
- He introduces me to people saying “This is Mommy”.
- When Gregory sees my picture screensaver on my computer he tells me who is in each picture and what they are doing.
- Oh there are so many more things that I love so much.
- I am so happy to have Gregory in my life.