Welcome home, Dan!

Dan returned home yesterday from his 70-day work-related trip. We had a wonderful reunion, and it's wonderful having him back home again! We went out for dinner last night, then came home and just relaxed and watched a movie. Toby is very excited to have his daddy back--it took about 20 minutes to warm up to Dan, but after that he was a nonstop chatter box, telling Daddy about all the adventures Toby and I went on while he was away.


Toby fell asleep on the way into town, and enjoyed
some snuggles with Daddy going into the restaurant.


After dinner, Toby and Daddy played outside the
restaurant, The Blue Moose.

Do I look like a criminal???

So, I went to Wal-mart tonight--just a quick stop, comparing items. I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, so I didn't end up buying anything. Apparently, this does not happen often at Wal-mart, because I was stopped by the security guy as I was pushing Toby out of the store in an otherwise-empty shopping cart.

First, the security guy wanted to see my bag--I've been using a backback as my diaper bag lately for convenience, but I guess it looked suspicious tonight. He then gave me a doubtful look and said, "You didn't buy anything tonight?" After telling him his store didn't have what I was looking for, he let me go, apologizing for taking my time. He was nice enough about it (if you can call someone nice after they've practically accused you of shoplifting), but I must say I don't think a mom pushing a toddler in a cart is your typical shoplifter--although I could be wrong!

On another note, you have probably heard about the possible danger of the plastics containing the chemical Bisphenol-A. When I first heard about BPA, I ignored it--it seems like there's always some new thing in the news that sends panic throughout the continent! But the subject came up again tonight in conversation, so I decided to do some research on it. The general concensus among scientists and bottle-makers is that it isn't known to be harmful in the amounts spread from bottles and sippy cups, but even so, most companies are planning to discontinue making plastics with BPA in the next year or two. Just to be safe, I am throwing out my AVENT bottles (AVENT is coming out with a BPA-free bottle later this year), and I just ordered some Born Free bottles. I was thrilled to discover, however, that all of Toby's sippy cups and bowls are BPA-free, as well as my Medela breastpump and accessories, so I don't need to replace his entire cupboard!

Whistle while you work...

One of my favorite things about summer in the Upper Midwest is the long days--daylight from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. After the short hours of daylight in winter, it is so rewarding to have a season of sunshine. However, this is not very conducive to Toby's sleep schedule. He has been waking up at 5:30 a.m. all week, thinking it must be time to get up and play!

Today I bought a room-darkening shade to put in Toby's bedroom window. I'm hoping it will filter out most of the light so he will sleep a little later--is 10 a.m. too much to ask? Okay, I would settle for 7 or 7:30. I was a little apprehensive in putting the shade up tonight. After all, Dan always takes care of this type of chore! I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to using drills, hammers, wrenches, etc., but I am proud to announce I completed this task all by myself! Toby did try to help me by stepping on the shade as I was trying to lift it into the brackets, and he pushed the adhesive on slightly crooked while I was trying to align it, but it worked in the end!

Here's to hoping the shade will do its job and keep the sunshine from waking my son in the early morning hours!

Toby's first night without me

After reading my headline, you may have thought I had a fun overnight getaway--I only wish that was the reason Toby was missing me on Wednesday night.

Toby came down with the stomach flu on Monday, poor boy, but he was better by Tuesday morning. By 6 p.m. Wednesday, however, I had caught his bug and spent the rest of the night trailing between bed and the bathroom. Thankfully, we were at my parents' house when all of this happened, and my parents were a heavenly blessing to me that night. They took care of Toby for me all evening so I could rest, and they put him to bed that night as well.

When parents spend their first night away from their child, I imagine most of them worry all night about how their child is faring. Because I was still in the house, I was able to hear firsthand how Toby was doing without me--and it was not good. I first heard him crying when my mom put his pajamas on, but soon he was quiet again and, I assumed, drinking his bottle. A couple of hours later, I heard more crying, but as sick as I was, I was able to tune him out, knowing that he was okay with Mom and Dad, even if he was sad. By 2 a.m., though, Toby was awake again, and inconsolable. He didn't want Grandma, didn't want Grandpa, and didn't want his bottle--he wanted Mommy! I couldn't stand listening to it anymore, and brought him to bed with me the rest of the night.

Needless to say, Toby is not ready for Dan and me to have an overnight trip away from him! And to be honest, although I would like the freedom sometimes, I truly am not ready to leave him, either--I am quite attached to my precious Toby! I would like to shout out many, many, endless thanks to my parents for all of their help as I have been ill!

Toby and Grandpa--best pals

Toby and I are visiting my parents again this week, getting spoiled rotten. One thing I'm loving about being here is watching Toby and my dad become such good buddies. They played outside all weekend long, and Toby was sad when his Grandpa had to go to work on Monday. Dad didn't take his lunch break until 6 p.m. today, and Toby ran up to him with a big smile when he got here. When Dad had to go back to work, he would say "bye bye" to Toby, and Toby just kept shaking his head "no." After Dad left, Toby went to the door and tried to open it. When he had no luck, he lay down on the kitchen floor and just had a sad spell for a minute. Then he got and played again!

Lions and Tigers and Wood Ticks, Oh My!

Okay, so I didn't come across any lions or tigers today, but the wood ticks sure found me! Ick! My in-laws are visiting me this week, and we decided to go to the nearby state park and do some hiking. It was great to be outside, and we had lots of fun, but I was literally attacked by ticks!

Shortly after we began hiking, I looked down and saw a tick on my pant leg. Not cool--I despise those things (okay, I'm just not a fan of bugs and insects in general)! I plucked that guy off of me, and soon my mother-in-law found one on my back! I did another leg check and found four more crawling up my pants! Disgusting! When that trail ended, I got the Off spray from the car and doused myself with it--but to no avail. I found 8 more on my legs later, and again, my mother-in-law caught a couple crawling up my back.

I had at least 14 wood ticks on my body today (I lost track of counting them all)--my mother-in-law found two on herself, and my father-in-law had one. Thankfully, the ticks stayed away from Toby! I don't know why the ticks liked me so much today, but next time I go hiking in the woods, I will avoid wearing black and green--they seemed to be attracted to those colors!

No More Naps!

Last week was a very trying week for me as a mother. Toby, the happiest boy in the world, was unhappy all week--unless I was holding him. While I enjoy my cuddle time with my son, I do need to get some work done around the house (not to mention, my arms get tired from holding a 28-pound toddler all day!). Any time I set him down last week, he cried and looked at me like I was the meanest person alive. On top of that, he decided he could only nap if I was holding him...if I laid him in his crib, it was scream city until I finally gave in and picked him up again! So, Toby's only naps last week were either if I laid down with him and slept, or in the car going into town.

In Toby's defense, he has endured several changes lately, which are more than likely contributing to his behavior. His daddy's been away with work for nearly two months, and Toby and I have been doing a lot of traveling visiting family. He has also been teething. Thankfully, today was much better! I did start to lose my patience when he again refused to nap, but at least he was more independent today. I was able to work out, do laundry, cook dinner, pick up around the house, and write on my blog--which I think adds up to more than I was able to accomplish all of last week!

Mrs. Lead Foot

I'll admit, I have always had a tendancy to speed on the highway. For the past 5 years, however, I've tried to discipline myself to stay within 5 mph of the speed limit. I've stretched it several times, sure, but so far hadn't been caught since my freshman year of college...until this month! Three weeks ago, I was passing someone, looked ahead and saw a highway patrol vehicle, and sure enough, I was speeding! When I looked down, I was going 6 mph over the limit, but the patrolman said he clocked me at 13 mph over. He was gracious and knocked my ticket down to saying I was 5 mph over.

Enter today. After a very stressful morning with my son, who is refusing to nap lately, I was on my way into town for an appointment. I looked ahead, saw a cop, and sure enough, I was speeding--this time I was gping 64 mph. Oh well, not too bad, I thought. After all, it was a 55 mph limit--or so I thought! There was a small stretch that had a 40 mph limit, and apparently I was still driving in it! Again, the highway patrolman was gracious to me, and knocked my speed down by quite a bit. Thankfully, speeding tickets are relatively cheap in this state, but even so, it's time to concentrate on staying within the speed limits!

Sorry, Dr. Sears

As you may have read on a previous blog, I am trying to wean Toby of night nursing and get him to sleep through the night. I have nearly the whole collection of baby books by pediatrician Dr. Sears, and I think he has great advice on many areas of child rearing. One thing he advocates is "attachment parenting," and not letting your baby "cry it out" alone. I have tried nearly everything in his Baby Sleep Book, but Toby still wasn't sleeping through the night.

Dr. Sears says you can let your baby cry it out, just not alone--hold him while he cries. Lately, though, I've found that holding Toby at night while he's upset only gets him worked up even more than he already is (unless, of course, I nurse him). In the past week, I've finally tried to "toughen up," and let him cry in his crib. Some nights it goes well, and other nights are still very trying, but overall it's getting better. Toby usually wakes up around 11 p.m. now, and I nurse him then, but then he knows it's time to go back to sleep in his crib. He usually will sleep from 11 to 7, which actually gives me 8 hours of glorious sleep!

Sorry, Dr. Sears--I tried!

10 Things I Love About...The Upper Midwest!

My friend Katie tagged me to write 10 things I love about the place I live. Here’s my list, in no particular order. Enjoy reading, then consider yourself tagged, too!

1. Peace and quiet—I like to visit big cities, but I’m a small-town girl at heart. Give me the wide open spaces and a yard where I can look into the sky and actually see the stars.
2. Dairy Queen—Nearly every town, whether the population is 100 or 100,000, has one. We’re lucky to have one that is open year-round—yes, I love my ice cream, even in sub-zero temperatures!
3. Family—I’m loving being near family here! Granted, it’s still a five hour drive to see them, but it’s much closer than other places we’ve lived.
4. Flat land—Yes, you read that right. Mountains are beautiful to look at, but I’m just not a heights person!
5. Outdoor activities—We may suffer through bitter cold winters, but when the weather’s nice, everyone is outside. Grilling out with the neighbors is always fun!
6. Northern Lights—Absolutely and eerily beautiful!
7. Long summer days—I realize summer days are longer than winter days for everyone, but up here, summer days feel like vacation. I’ve been out of school for several years now, but I always feel like I’m on summer break during these months!
8. No rattlesnake derbies—What is it about the South and rattlesnake shows? We have rattlesnakes up here, too—we just don’t see the need to pile them up and watch them race each other out of the circle!
9. Snow—I’ll admit, I get sick of seeing the snow on the ground after about five or six months, but there is something so pure and beautiful about freshly fallen snow.
10. Low crime—Sure, there’s crime everywhere, but the crime rate here is much lower than some other areas in the states.