Dude, that Mountain Dew is Jacked UP!!!

It has been the craziest 36 hours. Sunday night Mom made a spaghetti dinner and it was pretty good. However about 9 pm that night I started to feel funny. I just felt "woozy" all night and I didn't know what was going on. I figured it out at about 3 am. I was sick.

Here are the reasons I think I was sick with the flu:
1. I had a fever
2. I had cold sweats
3. I was vomiting

Here are the reasons I think it might've just been some food poisoning:
1. I was vomiting, VIOLENTLY
2. I had diarrhea
3. It's gone now

So now you have a picture of what my night looked like. My poor husband. First listening to me vomit and then having to smell me as I crawled back into bed with him. (Some of you will say, "why not poor you?" Well, I'm getting there. ) So I got vomit on my daughter's head. She heard me and woke up and I tried to pull her out of her crib but I was too weak to get her up all the way, but not too weak to smear vomit on the back of her head. So poor EVERYONE!!

Anyway I wasn't feeling too well. The morning was bad. I was shaky, weak, continually nauseated. I could barely stand up to go pee. So I DEFINITELY didn't feel good enough going to church and I asked Marcelo to stay home with me. I know, it was selfish of me. But because he stayed home, he watched the baby for me while I got some much needed sleep. (Thanks Angel Loaf!!)

Even with the naps, the whole morning and most of the afternoon I had a SPLITTING headache. The vomiting had stopped by then so I decided to go get a caffeinated soda to drink. I chose to get a Mountain Dew because I've been told that Mountain Dew has the highest level of caffeine of all the caffeinated beverages. And I needed the caffeine for the headache.

I know. How many sins can I commit on Sunday? Let's count them up, shall we?
1. Not going to church
2. Asking ANOTHER person to also miss church
3. Buying a soda
4. The soda is a MOUNTAIN DEW!!

So I'm walking home from the Taco Bell (where I purchase my SIN SODA) and I'm taking small sips of the drink. And it's horrible. It has a nasty aftertaste that tastes like a lemon Halls cough drop. Very medicinal. No joke. I'm thinking to myself "Who likes this drink? This tastes like ass. Ass soda. I hate this stuff. No wonder I never drink it" I had already decided then that I would give the rest of my soda to MaxKyle, because he loves soda and I know it had probably been a couple hours since he had had some, so he would be jonesing for it big time.

So when I get home, I had probably finished 1/3rd of it. I talked about how horrible the soda was and then offered it to MaxKyle. He JUMPED at it. I got him another straw, and he started drinking. And then he stopped. "There is something wrong with that Mountain Dew". Ha!!! I knew I wasn't crazy! Marcelo also confirmed the same thing MK said: There was a horrible aftertaste to my drink. MaxKyle said that someone at the Taco Bell was playing some joke on me. Whatever the case, It confirmed to me one thing: If you buy a Sin Soda on Sunday, as a punishment your Mountain Dew will taste like Halls medicine.

Moving on. As we prepared for bed, we had to do a little bedtime shuffle. Jules and her friend Kristen (who is only in town until tomorrow) are sleeping on the twin bed in the second bedroom. That means my mom is on the couch. This becomes a problem when Marcelo needs to wake up early and do some drafting homework. But he just kicks her to my bed, so she still can sleep.

But that wasn't the worst part of it. See, Marcelo and I silently decided last night that we should start making Evi try to sleep more at night again. She's back in the habit of waking up at 2, 4 and 6 and then finally getting up at 8:30. And she's playing at those times. We were being kind to her for a while because she was sick. But we are done with that. Because last night she was up at 10:30, 11:30, 2:30, 3:30 6:00 and then at 8:30 for good. I know, I know. She must be stopped.

So last night we silently made a pact to just let her cry. The first time she woke up wasn't so bad: I got a burp out of her and she went back down again. But the 11:30 time? Oh man!!! She screamed for more then an hour.

My mom later told me that she heard her from the other room and she felt awful!! She said she thought that maybe through my sickness I couldn't hear her or I couldn't get up and get her. And she was worried that my baby was going to be permanently scarred from being left to scream. (And my baby WAS screaming. Freaking screaming for her life! She was PISSED that she was being left alone. Turns out my baby is a little crap-head) So in the middle of the night my mom got out the computer and started to look up the book "Solve Your Child's Sleep problems" so she could see what it said about crying it out.

She only did this for herself. She didn't tell me she did this until the next morning. But she said she was really worried that we were just letting our child scream until she hear Marcelo's voice in there comforting the baby. So she at least knew that we were soothing and being attentive to the baby's needs and not just letting her suffer unknowingly.

And the final straw? At 3:30 am the smoke alarm RIGHT over our bed started going off. Was there any smoke around? NOOOOO!!! Why then is this horrible beeping machine going off right above my head? Nearly in my ear?UGGH!!! The perfect end to the perfect day. Here's to a million more just like it!

Oh, just so you know, the Sin Soda totally worked. My headache started letting up after I drank it. So I guess there was SOME good that came from it.

6 More Things

So Beth Tagged me for this again. And she's right. I could do these all day. But this time I'll actually FOLLOW all the rules and tag 6 people after I finish.

Here's a little rules refresher:

1) Link to the person who tagged you. (Beth's link is HERE)
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3) Write 6 random things about yourself.
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Random Thing #1: I hate missing the beginning of movies. I HAAAAATE that. I mean, I don't go to the movies all that often. Maybe 2 or 3 times a year going to the theater. So when I go, I want to enjoy every last cent of my $8.25. If I miss the first 2 minutes, I feel like I am missing out on something. And lots of times they have like explanations about the history of the story, etc. I would rather sit and watch 15 minutes of the lame previews at the beginning of the movie then miss 1 minute of the actual movie. I seriously hate missing the beginning of movies.

Random Thing #2: I miss Ecuador. A LOT. And when I miss it, I usually miss Judd A LOT. Some of my best memories of Ecuador I had with her. Like when we watched this GIANT moon rise while we were on the roof of the ZL's apartment in the middle of a blackout. She was sure we would get jumped walking in that neighborhood. And the Magnum ice cream bars that basically defined our companionship. And all the ladies we taught to read. And how we would walk so close together that we would have to synchronize our feet and walk on the same foot so that our hips didn't bump each other.Those were my favorite moments from my whole mission. I wish we could go back together.

Random Thing #3: I hate things on my fingers. Especially greasy, sticky or wet things. Like eggs. If i crack an egg, and some of it is on my fingers, I have to wash my hands immediately. The funny thing is that I love to touch things. I touch EVERYTHING to a fault. People are always telling me to stop touching things, but I still do it. But then when things get on my hands, I have to clean them immediately. That's why I eat popcorn and Cheetos with a spoon. I hate the residue that is left on your fingers after multiple grabs of both popcorn and Cheetos. Basically, I do anything I can to keep my hands as clean as possible. Until i touch something unasked, that is.

Random Thing #4: I love infomercials. However the new trend in infomercials is that they shout at us. You know, it all started with the Oxy Clean guy. Screaming at me about how it gets out stains in things even as delicate as lace. But now that guy as started purveying everything from steaming machines to plastic storage lids. But the shouting still remains. Does he think that the volume button on my remote is broken? Because I promise, if i am intrigued by a food dehydrator, then I will pick up the remote and turn it up.

And on a related note, what is with the guy in the "Sham-WOW" commercial? What is with the microphone he wears? Are you kidding me? In their crappy infomercial production crew, can they not afford a boom man? I mean, you can mic him under his shirt, or on the table. The head set is SO NOT NECESSARY. Maybe he feels like he "can't perform" without it. Clearly he's used to doing this little show on the carnival circuit. You know, cause he tells the camera guy to "follow him" he's used to telling the carnies and hot dog frier's to do the same. But still, what's with the headset? I don't know. But it looks ridiculous in the commercial. But I can't turn away. It's like a dear in headlights thing I got going on whenever I see it.

If you don't know what I'm talking about. Here it is.



Random Thing #5: I got Julie a "sex book" for her shower. (she asked for "naughty" gifts!!) I told her she couldn't open it till she gets married. Because it's inappropriate before then, right? Well, the pictures are like "sketch" drawings so they aren't real photo pictures. But still, they are quite disturbing to anyone who isn't married. Actually, they were pretty disturbing for Marcelo and I. And hilarious. We laughed for hours over the names of some of them. The "Tornado" the "Bird in a Cage" and the "Peephole". Actually, I don't think that last one was real. But the others are. Is seems pretty crass when you really think about it, but don't really think about it, ok? Just laugh about the hilarity of those names. And I got lots more if you want it. Which you probably don't.

Random Thing #6: I wish that I had dated more in college so I could have wild and crazy stories to share. I think Judd and Reagan are holding back on me when it comes to wild and crazy stories. I mean, I know about some of their stories, but I want more!! I have to live vicariously through you! Please tell me more stories. And if any of you have wild and crazy stories, please leave them in my comments section. Feel free to make them anonymous if you don't want everyone to know your misdeeds.

And now I tag. . .
1. Judd. I know that she doesn't have a blog. So she can just post her 6 things in my bog comments!! or she can email them to me and I'll post them where everyone can see them. Or not see them. You know, whatever.
2. Haley. My new BFF (Email style. Not Paris Hilton Style). Anyone loved by Judd is immediately loved by me.
3. Kim. Or did you already do this? Oh well. Please again!
4. Lisa. I want more posts from you!!
5. MT. you know, 6 BORING things
6. Georgia. You Rock!

Thanks Best-ies!!

It's official

I am sorry about what I'm about to say: I don't like Cafe Rio. There is nothing on the menu that I can eat that doesn't make me feel nasty in my stomach in 12 hours. Which is to say, I hate the way I feel 1-12 hours after I eat anything from there.

I was sort of feeling this way for a while before I was pregnant, but pregnancy really solidified it. Other restaurants that fall into this EXACT category (i.e. leaves a nasty flavor in my mouth and belly hours after I finish it's food) are: Taco Bell, Olive Garden, Subway and anything on the menu at Panda Express.

I think I already mentioned it, but when I was pregnant that's how I would choose my food. I would think about the food and then imagine how I would feel a few hours after eating it and imagine the aftertaste of the burps that would inevitably come up. If I thought the burps wouldn't be too nasty, then I would eat that food. But every time, Cafe Rio made me regret my choice.

I think it's the choice of spices. And the fact that the flavors aren't subtle. They like jam flavors all down your throat and smear them on your face just so you know that this pork is MARINATED!! I don't need full-frontal flavor. Just a little is enough for me.

I think I just got deleted from some of your RSS feeds. I'm sorry. I just had to come clean and let you know how I really feel. Will you please still be my friends? There's lots of other places we can still eat, I promise.

Just so you know. . .

If you try to answer your phone with one hand while you are feeding your child with the other, it's very possible that you will not be able to do it with lots of finesse. So it's possible that you will flip open your phone and it will falter in your hands. But you will be lifting it up to your ear so quickly that you won't be able to stop the flow of motion. The phone will be open and the thinnest part of it just might knock you right at the outer corner of your right eye.

Just so you know, if this happens, it will cause so so much pain that you will literally see stars. And leave a bruise on the side of your eye. It will be lovely. And will smart like a bee-yotch whenever you blink. Which you only do about 1o times a minute, right? And you will feel like an idiot whenever you tell anyone about it.

Just so you know.

Jealous?

Marcelo has the gift. The gift of putting our baby to bed. He's done it 3 times already just today. There is something about his singing that knocks her right out. It's a combo of being off key and a falsetto/vibrato that I can most accurately compare to the 1930's version of Snow White. You know all breathy and warbling. Let's just say it does the trick every time.

He's awesome. The third time that he did it, he came out and said "Does it make you upset? That I can put her to sleep when you can't?"

Does it make me UPSET? Are you kidding me? Upset that you can now take a very active role in the raising of our child? The fact that you can provide me with much needed relief when she's been screaming for 45 minutes? The fact that you now have a "thing" with your daughter and it makes you a better father? Am I upset about all of this. HELL YES I AM!!!

Kidding, of course. I love the fact that he can do this and help me out. So I just have one word for all of you. . . Jealous?

Apology and Pictures of Evita

Judd said I should write the full story about why I'm apologizing to Reagan. It's because I'm a horrible person. See Reagan worked her butt off and got accepted to an orchestra. So not only is she a full time mom, a part time sleep institute worker, and a part time orchestra member. She works herself to the bone and every time she tells me about a performance, I promise her that I'll be there.

And I have now missed two of them. Behold the horrible friend that I am. I missed her first one, and then she told me about the second performance last night. I PROMISED that I would be there, no matter what. And then my baby got sick and I didn't go. I'm a HORRIBLE person. Feel free to ignore me every time I make a promise to you. Especially if we are friends. Because apparently I am the most un-trustworthy person and friend on the planet. Boo, boo on me.

So after that self-flogging, I will move on. Well, Evita is getting more and more fun every day. She loves her high chair, and she loves all the different fruits and veggies we give her. We haven't started with the rice cereal yet. Maybe for Thanksgiving, I'll give her a special rice treat!! Yum.

But here are some pictures of her:

This is her in her high chair. She loves it. I can just put her in it and she'll watch me make dinner, or do the dishes or just clean up the rest of the house. See, here she is getting ready to eat
















And here she is playing with her new favorite toy: any water bottle.
















And here she is on Halloween. I didn't get any pictures of her costume. I need to get some of those soon. But here is the onsie she wore all day:






And here she is the day we went voting. It was raining a lot that day, and then it ended up sleeting a little bit. We got wet, but she didn't care. She loves being outside no matter what the weather. Notice that she's wearing my "I voted" sticker. And she's wearing the awesome hat that Lisa gave me. She LOVES that hat. And I love how warm it keeps her little head. Please notice all the rain on the stroller. But she does a good job of keeping her hands inside all warm.















Just look at that smile!! Have you ever seen a smile like that? She must REALLY love the democratic process. Or she must really love me. I hope its the later.

I think dad took this picture while he was changing her. He was trying to show how she puts her feet into her mouth during changing time. It's awesome.

And finally, this is my favorite picture these days. My two girls. Just enjoying the view.
















So that's my life these days. I hope you are all having a good day. And I'm sorry again, Reagan. Why can't I be a better friend? Curse me!!

(Oh, and maybe my next blog will be about how 3 people think I'm a whore who deserves to burn in Hell!! Hello?!?!?)

Sick

Sick. Sick. Everyone is sick. Marcelo is sick. And so of course that means that Evita is sick. Sick babies are the worst. Running nose, congestion, the whole works. Naps were a nightmare today. My boobs are ready to explode because she doesn't want to eat. Did I mention that I hate sick babies?

Oh man, my life sucks right now. She wasn't sleeping too well anyway before that, and then the sickness is making things so horrible. I think that maybe that's why nighttime has been so terrible for the last few days: because she was getting sick for a while now. And when she can't sleep, I can't sleep (we share a bedroom, of course). She's been having some rough days. And so have I.

Oh, and I'm a bad friend to Reagan. I'm sorry Reagan. I really really don't deserve your friendship.

So basically, I feel lame because I have nothing to post, and no energy to post my nothing. Should I just post something lame, or should I wait until I have something "interesting" to say? Please let me know.