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Archives for March 2007

Mar 13, 2007

Bottled Up No Longer!

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Did you ever have something you really wanted to tell all your friends, but you were sworn to secrecy even though you’re horrible at keeping secrets? That is exactly what I have been going through the past three months. But I can finally let the cat out of the bag, spill the beans, and unzip my lips as of today!

I’ve been cheating on this blog with another blog. The other blog is fancier with a big corporate backing to it, with a lot of flash and pizazz, so it’s easy to see how I was lured in. It all started with an e-mail out of the blue, asking me to submit writing samples to join the team. Soon I was signing non-disclosure forms and submitting all sorts of paperwork to a fax number in California, wondering if this was legit or if I was falling prey to some very elaborate Nigerian blog scam. Thankfully, it was legit.

And finally, later this week, you’ll be able to see the end results when the new website goes live on March 15. I’m one of the bloggers with the new Family.com. You know, that little website owned and run by The Mouse. I now work for The Mouse, and it is pretty friggin’ cool. You can see a preview of what the site will be like in this news article.

The site is very different for Disney. They generally have a lot of control over everything they publish, and with Family.com, they’re giving a lot more control to the community. Community members will have an active role in shaping the site: bloggers are writing their own takes on a variety of subjects, and the average visitor will be able to comment and rank articles and submit their own articles for the site as well. Right now, only the contributors have access to the site, but it’s already starting to feel comfy and cozy there.

It’s probably no surprise that I’m blogging in the Parenting section of the site. My new blog is called Cirque du Mommy. And before you get the chance to see the site, I’d just like to add: no, I didn’t pick my silly username, and please have some forgiveness on the picture. I’m pretty sure somewhere in my contract is the promise that I get to submit a new headshot once I’m no longer pregnant and puffy. But other than those two things, the site looks really spiffy.

And have no fears that I will be abandoning this little blog. My Disney blog is just one more piece of myself, and there is plenty of room in my heart for multiple blogs. Besides, since it is a family site, no swearing is allowed, and there are some topics I probably shouldn’t discuss over at the other site. I doubt my editors would enjoy reading about my killer hemorrhoid or my 90’s bangs. OK, they might enjoy reading those, but it’s probably not the content they’re really looking for.

So go check it out on March 15, when the beta site goes live to the public, and let me know what you think. Maybe even leave me a comment on my new blog, or check out some of the other bloggers there as well. Many of them are seasoned bloggers, and some you may have seen around the mommy/daddy blog circuit.

Filed Under: me me me ·


Mar 11, 2007

Tales From The Backside

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There are many firsts we look forward to in our lives: our first day of school, first kiss, first real-paying job, etc.

First hemorrhoid? Not exactly something to cheer about.

(It gets far worse from here on in, folks. Not Katie Couric “look-at-my-colon” detailed, but still more than some want to know. You’ve been warned.)

Thanks to a combination of pregnancy, a sedentary job, and a minor stomach bug, I developed my very own first hemorrhoid this weekend. How I managed to escape one of these with my first pregnancy, I have no idea. Though I had a c-section with Cordy, I now have a preview of what it will feel like post-birth if I am successful with my VBAC. And I’m scared.

The pain started after the stomach bug on Thursday. By Friday evening, walking and sitting were becoming difficult. Naturally, fate had to pick this weekend to do this to me: Aaron left mid-day Friday for a stage combat workshop, leaving me a single parent all weekend.

I knew something was wrong back there, but I figured it was something that would just go away. Everything I’ve read said that hemorrhoids were common late in pregnancy, and are nothing major. Stopping by the store, I bought some Tucks pads, figuring they would get rid of this little discomfort quickly.

By Saturday, though, the pain was something I couldn’t ignore. I felt like such a wimp – hemorrhoids are supposed to be a little uncomfortable, but nothing to cry over. I was supposed to get together with my friend L, but I doubted I could handle going out for long.

I tried to talk around the issue when I called L, thinking up several reasons why I couldn’t get together, before I finally fessed up to what was going on and told her the entire embarrassing story.

First sign of being in real pain: telling a friend about your backside troubles. A true friend won’t think you’re insane when telling her about your ‘roid. She understood, and agreed that I should not be in so much pain. I decided that maybe I wasn’t such a wuss, and went to an urgent care while L watched Cordy.

Second sign of being in real pain: willing to deal with the embarrassment of letting strangers examine your ass. I was expecting to be laughed out of the office by the doctor, but it turns out coming to the urgent care office was exactly what I needed to do.

Of course, I couldn’t just develop a small one for my first. No, that would be too easy. If we’re going to do something, let’s go all the way, right? According to WebMD, there are four types of hemorrhoids, each more severe than the next. For my first, I went straight to a fourth degree: thrombosed hemorrhoid. You can read the full details at that link, but the summary is it has a blood clot in it, is extremely painful, and in most cases requires medical assistance.

It was then I got to experience the other new pain of having two shots of lidocaine in that delicate area to numb it. At least I got to practice my labor breathing and try visualizing a happy place. You can bet that happy place didn’t involve a doctor staring at my naked butt while putting a needle into it.

After the shots, the pain was gone for awhile, and the entire procedure of removing the clot took less than five minutes. He then put a bandage over it, gave me a prescription for some ointment to help it heal, and sent me on my way.

It took three pharmacies to find one that had the ointment in stock. By that point, the lidocaine had worn off, and walking was damn near impossible. At the third, they told me they didn’t have the generic in stock, so I would have to either pay full price for the name brand or they could call around and find another pharmacy that might have it.

Third sign you’re in real pain: you pay way too much money for a tube of prescription hemorrhoid ointment because you can’t bear the thought of having to go to another pharmacy. At that point I just wanted to get home and lay on the couch.

I arrived home to find Cordy was asleep. L quickly gathered up her son and left me to take a nap also. I was so worn out from the experience, I fell asleep quickly. The doctor had made it sound like I would be pain-free right away, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Today I’m still hurting, but I hope it is getting better. Cordy has been hyperactive all weekend, making it difficult to rest. I’ve at least reached the point where I don’t care about sharing this very personal story with anyone, since I’m telling the entire internet at the moment. If anything, it serves as a lesson to other pregnant women: eat your fiber, drink your water, and stay healthy. Save the real pain for labor and the hemorrhoids you might get from labor, not some stupid pregnancy hemorrhoid before the real fun begins.

Filed Under: pregnancy, TMI ·


Mar 9, 2007

Ninja Toddler

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Remember how Cordy climbed out of her pack n play at her babysitter’s on Tuesday? Well, her stealth ninja tactics continue.

Last night I put her in her crib for bed. I remember this clearly. She settled down quickly and went to sleep. We didn’t hear a sound from her until this morning, when we heard her normal routine of chatting to her stuffed animals.

Aaron opened the door to her room to get her out of her crib, but instead Cordy met him at the door, saying, “Hi, daddy!” I was in our bedroom at the time, but I could hear the surprise in his voice as he said “Uh… hi Cordy!”

There was no thump. There were no cries. She somehow climbed out of her crib without making a sound. By the time she’s 16, she’ll be a pro at sneaking out of the house at night. We always expected her to be a pirate, but apparently she’s heading down the ninja track instead.

So the crib will likely be coming down in the next week, and we’ll be forcing her to sleep in her toddler bed. If she can climb out of the crib, she doesn’t need it. I only hope she won’t learn to open doors anytime soon, although I’m sure it’s coming.

**********************

In other news, I saw that Mayberry Mom has been into the Girl Scout cookies. I love this time of year – why can’t they sell these cookies year round?

I’ve tracked down a few boxes of Thin Mints around here, which I have been hoarding and eating away from Cordy. (Sorry kid, mommy doesn’t share her Thin Mints.) But what I really want are the Lemonades. I’ve asked three different troops here in Columbus, and all three told me they didn’t get any Lemonades, because they’re discontinued. Clearly they’re not, though, since you can clearly see an empty box on Mayberry Mom’s table.

Does anyone else have access to Lemonades? Surely someone knows a Girl Scout or is a troop leader out there? Help a pregnant woman satisfy this insane craving and tell me how I can get some of these cookies!

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Finally, check out my review on CleanWell hand sanitizers over at my reviews blog. If you want something that is non-toxic and won’t leak all over your purse like those goopy alcohol-based hand gels, this all natural option might be a good choice for you. Bonus: your kids will love it because it’ll make them think of pizza.

Filed Under: Cordy, growing up · Tagged:


Mar 8, 2007

Four Years

By ·
And he said: “Don’t you know I love you oh, so much,
and lay my heart at the foot of your dress.”
And she said: “Don’t you know that storybook loves,
Always have a happy ending.”

Then he swooped her up just like in the books
And on his stallion the rode away.

My love is like a storybook story,
But its as real as the feelings I feel.
My love is like a storybook story,
But its as real as the feelings I feel.

– Storybook Love, Willy DeVille
The Princess Bride soundtrack

Happy anniversary, Aaron. The past four years have brought about as much change as two people can handle, but while changes come and go, you’re still the one I want with me through it all.

Here’s to many more years together as we strive towards our own happy ending.

Filed Under: love, more than parents ·


Mar 7, 2007

Look Out, We Have A Climber

By ·

While at work yesterday, I received a call from my friend, L, who watches Cordy on Tuesdays. “We have a bit of a situation,” she told me.

My mind immediately jumped to all of the bad things that could have happened. Did she hit her head? Did she hit or bite L’s son? Is everyone OK?

“We all went down for our naps, and I put her in the pack n play like normal. I was in B’s room with him, and felt like I was being watched. I turned around to look, and Cordy was standing in the doorway. I don’t know how she did it, but she climbed out of the pack n play! I didn’t hear a thing!”

It’s official: we have a climber. What’s worse, she’s not just a climber, she’s a stealthy climber.

Cordy was never interested in climbing before this. She’s always been unsteady on her short legs, and frightened of heights, so climbing was never a priority. But over the past month or so, we’ve noticed a new trend in attempting to scale furniture. Last week, she managed to pull herself up onto our tall bed for the first time.

So at 3am, when I was startled awake by frantic screaming, I jumped out of bed and rushed to her room, convinced she had tried to climb out of her crib and had an accident. After all, if she can get over the pack n play hurdle, the crib should be no problem at all for her. Thankfully, she was still in the crib, but her foot was once again jammed between slats and wedged against the wall. “I’m stuck, I’m stuck!” she cried.

I freed her foot, which was greeted with a loud, “You did it!” from Cordy. (Who says parents don’t need praise and affirmation, too?) But then she practically threw herself over the crib rail into my arms, clearly not ready to go back to bed. Remember: it’s 3am, I’m pregnant and groggy, and just had 35 pounds of off-center weight added to me. This can’t go well.

Stepping away from her crib, I lost my balance. I tried to make it the two steps over to the glider, but put my right foot through her bead puzzle (seen here when she was younger), which caused me to pitch forward even more from pain and no solid footing. At that point, it was impossible not to fall, so I focused on trying not to land on my belly or drop Cordy. We landed on the glider footstool, with Cordy’s head only barely tapping the dresser behind the footstool. My upper torso took most of the fall, although I also have a deep scrape down my right leg from the bead puzzle.

Still trying to keep a hold on Cordy, I pulled my leg free from the bead puzzle. While I expected Cordy to be upset by the fall, she wasn’t – she just didn’t want back in her crib. We went downstairs for a few moments, where she tried to talk me into turning on the TV. I gave my most convincing lie: “I’m sorry, sweetie, it’s still night-time, and the TV doesn’t work at night.” We’ll see how much longer I can keep up that lie. I’m hoping at least until she’s 10.

She eventually calmed down from all the excitement, and we went back upstairs. She cried when I put her in her crib and left the room, which meant I couldn’t go back to sleep until I was certain she wasn’t going to try throwing herself over the crib rail again. Finally, a little after 4am, she calmed down, had a lively discussion with her stuffed animals, and then all was quiet. I laid awake in bed a little longer, waiting to feel a few kicks from the baby to make sure the fall didn’t hurt her. I was asleep by 4:30.

Now that we’re facing a climbing toddler, it’s time to push harder for her to sleep in her toddler bed. She fell asleep in her bed for her nap on Sunday, but she’s been unwilling to try at night-time. I tried it last night, but she was too scared to stay in the bed. I don’t want to spend every night worrying that she will break a bone or give herself a concussion falling out of her crib.

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Filed Under: Cordy, daily life, growing up ·