Breeder Beware

We actually grew something! We have FOUR green beans in our garden. As someone with the black thumb of doom, I am pretty excited.  We also have basil and tomatoes.  Of course when we planted the green beans about two months ago Peter LOVED green beans.  Now he gags on them.  Nice. 


FIL is coming up tomorrow so he and Mr. can go to a Phillies game.  He may or may not be coming to dinner afterward.  I am hoping NOT.  But I am annoyed that I don't know.  Because we were supposed to have chicken with broccoli and soba and I can't serve that if he is coming.  I just want to know darn it. 

Peter said his first word yesterday.  Though he would not repeat it.  He said"crescent".  Clear as day.  We were sorting shapes and I held up the crescent one and told him what it was like I always do.  He looked at it and repeated the word.  And of course since then has only done his adorable baby babbling. 

That's about all I can get into right now.  Gotta hit the sack and get ready for tomorrows Iron Peter Triathlon.

CD 39.  Well, I'm sure we all see where this is going.  Hint, the answer is not Baby Gap. 

On the other hand, Mr and I are losing weight.  I am  less fat than when I got pregnant with Peter.  So as long as my cholesterol is not too outrageous,  I can see no reason for much delay when we go back to the RE in December.  Or November,  depending on how much money we have.  Regardless, I am very happy about that.  In fact, I am only 12 pounds away from a weight I WOULD LOVE TO BE AT when we try again! 

Sooooo all my PCOS friends who like me,  normally could not shed weight on a desert island surviving only on raw clams- how is it happening?

Well, I think it is two things.  #1, we gave up coffee at the same time we gave up tv.  This was because I had been so sick that I was no longer addicted to my Dark Lover.  And half and half.  And organic sugar.  YUM.  And also because hello, we are on a budget and have you noticed how much coffee is going up lately?  Tea is much cheaper, and we both like it either plain or with milk- a darn sight better than sugar and half and half.  So we would go through a pint of half and half a week between the two of us.  But fat is fat, we still eat cheese and cake and butter. 

The other thing is that we are still trucking along with no tv.  Occasionally Mr. will turn on a game at night after Peter is asleep but that is it.  I don't watch at all, unless I am laying in bed while he has on the game.  And even then I don't give a shit about baseball so I turn over and read.  But none for Peter.  So that means that it is Peter and Mommy from 8 15 a.m. until 6 30 at night when Mr. gets home. 

One of the books I read while considering taking away the tv was The Plug In Drug.  Now, not only did it help convince me that this was the right choice for our family, but one of the things I read was that while watching TV your metabolism drops to somewhere between sleeping and resting.  Yes, you would actually burn more calories staring at a WALL.  Mr and I have not dieted and Peter and I already took two walks a day before this started.  The only thing that has changed is that we do not watch the television. 

Other benefits our family has had ( and so do other families who turn off the set)  are MUCH LESS FIGHTING.  "Change the channel, that's not safe for Peter!"  Ugh, have you noticed how awful some of the commercials are that are on when you are watching an otherwise innocuous show?  Ugh.  Screaming and guns and SE.X.XY TIT.T.Y DR.ESS.ES. You know the kind.  The sp.an.k. bank kind. 

We are also much better rested because we do not get sucked in to watching whatever is on just to sit there.

And the change in Peter's play and behavior has been dramatic.  While he did not watch nearly as much tv as an average child,  just the lack of it has really shown me a much happier child.  He plays independently, he is more creative, he reads more( though we always read a lot), he is a much better sleeper and napper too.  Now he naps two hours a day.  Everyone who reads my blog knows that Peter HATED to sleep.  Not now.  Now he is super easy to get to sleep.  It is miraculous. 

In fact, I am surprised we ever had time to watch tv, now it seems like there is barely enough time in the day.

Things that have been harder.  Well, I MUST,MUST, MUST plan dinner ahead and if possible get it set up because Peter is not sitting or standing quietly.  But it's not terrible.  I just choose dinners I can start ahead, or dinners that are very easy.    Also,  when we told our family they thought we were well intentioned but crazy and the news made the rounds of everyone very quickly.  I can imagine
" You'll NEVER guess what b.s. Celia is up to NOW."
  'What?"
" Well they took the tv away!"
"Whuuut?????"

"No!"
"Yes!"
" Well, we'll see how she likes it once winter hits or she has an emergency."
Well, I am not really worried about it .  Peter is already interested in puzzles and by the time winter gets here he will be 20 months old.  Which is plenty old to color and do crafts.  We''ll still be able to go out if he is bundled up. 

Do I think other people are bad for letting their kids watch tv, no.  That would be a dick move, in that Peter watched for two hours a day for a while.  But I am so pleased and impressed by the huge improvement this has made in our lives, I would wish it for everyone else.

No sign of the Red Queen.  Unless you count the fact that I almost strangled my husband at minimum 5 times yesterday. 

We are definitely 0 for 2 on Father's Day.  This one sucked more than last year.  Which sucked a lot.  But this one was worse .   I tested yesterday to see and it was another negative, which is not surprising.  Maybe I will let it go another week and then ask for something to get the party started. 

The house is pretty destroyed, and I am exhausted from yesterday.  I cannot imagine cleaning it up.

Last cycle was 34 days, and the one before that was 38.  So it looks to be a bang up ( or bang-less hee hee) Father's Day weekend.  I am still wondering if AF will even show after the crazy disruption of the Death Flu.  In related Death Flu News,  I have kept off five of the ten pounds I lost.  Putting me smack on pre-pregnancy weight.  Not my post birth weight, which was 16 pounds less than this- I gained a huge amount of weight during Peter's first year after I somehow lost weight while pregnant. 


Anyhow, Peter will be waking up from his nap soon and then we will be going out to buy Mr. a present. I don't what.  Mr suggested that Peter pick it out, which means that he will be receiving a fabulous Elmo doll. 

So I am back to say, OF COURSE I could not stop myself from testing.  Obviously a negative   dur.  Who in the fuck gets a bfp two days before Father's Day anyhow?  I do feel crummy and queasy and have off and on for days.  I don't feel as bad as when I had the Death Flu, but I still feel off.  And then I found some tests on BOGO.  I was like BOGO???  I AM SO IN.  And as soon as Peter went down for nap I used one.  See, this way I can still delude myself and try again with FMU. 

I am an ass.  Anyhow, now I have to go force myself to clean up because WE HAVE A BABYSITTER TONIGHT AND I AM SEEING MY FIRST MOVIE IN A THEATER SINCE I WAS IN MY FIRST FREAKING TRIMESTER!!!!! yes.  It has been that long.

Eight of the next ten days have rain in the forecast.  I can't think of much that fills me with more trepidation than trying to keep Peter  amused inside for 11 hours a day.  Because how many errands can we run anyhow?  He LOVES it outside.  He would stay out all day every day if he could.  You should see his poor knees.  yow.  The right one is totally chewed up.  The left one isn't too bad.

Anyhow, I have a ton of cleaning to do but it is hot and muggy and basically who wants to?  Not me.  Ugh.  I am caught up on laundry but I have stuff like mopping to do.  And we have to brush the cats.  ick.  Always a huge mess but ya gotta or the cat hair just gets everywhere. 

I am really wondering when AF will come this month.  If I follow last months pattern I will get it for
Friday.  But who knows?  Anything could happen since my cycle jerked to a stop mid month. 


We have company coming tomorrow for a visit.  That should be nice.  My friend is coming with her baby.  I am really interested to see what it is like to have an infant and a toddler in the house.  Just to see.  Peter is climbing a lot more now.   Last night he climbed right on top of my giant longaberger basket and stood on it, as pleased as could be.  I have to say, as much as I like longaberger baskets, they have really REALLY held up to life with Peter.  I use one for his books, and another for his blocks, and apparently another for a step stool :) They have taken all kinds of abuse and still look perfect.

Ewcm.  So maybe my cycle is not going to be endless this time.  I was starting to ovulate when I got the flu and everything just froze.  I was kind of thinking that I might have to take prometrium this month.  We did the deed this morning so maybe we will be covered.  The jury is still out on if I have the oomph to do anything tonight.

While I was sick Peter watched a lot of tv.  Partially because I was too sick to chase him, and partially because when I was really sick and in bed, Mister and Mom and Peter's Auntie let him watch a lot.  My point being that one day I watched FOUR episodes of Sesame Street with Peter.   I have to say, Sesame Street sucks now.  Not completely, but not enough for me to be happy with Peter watching it. 

 I don't like it enough for Peter to watch it , that is for sure.  And we already had to shut down the dvd player, because Peter will not leave it alone.  That was how Sesame Street entered the picture.  Our much loved Signing Time is only on dvd.  So when we had to unplug the player, I put Netflix on.

That's it though, we Mr. took the tv out of the living room two days ago.  We have been tv free since Sunday.  How un-American of us. 


So we are kicking it REALLY old skool.  No tv and no youtube videos either.  Which makes for a VERY action packed/slow/fun/crazy/SOMETIMES FOREVER day.

It is really different.  I had an idea of how much I relied on the tv to entertain Peter while I had my morning coffee and then later in the day while I finished up dinner.  But wow.  I am pretty sure we are not going back.  I read a book this past weekend called The Other Parent.  I am pretty careful  to shelter Peter from television.  That is why we only watched Netflix or DVDs with him.  But still, I felt like it was too much.  Mr was neutral because it does not really affect him. 

It's staying away til he is two.  Sooo nine months.  Then it can come back and he can watch dvds again. 

Our days go like this:
up some time between 6 30 and 7 30
play till 8.
have breakfast and get dressed
take a walk, fill the kiddie pool 
read play and carouse
maybe an errand
snack at 11
walk play read carouse
lunch
nap
pool
play
dinner play book bed by 8. 
I really miss the lazy mornings while Peter watched tv and I drank coffee and played on the interwebs and planned our day.
I really miss the CRAP IT IS FIVE AND HE IS FUSSY AND DADDY WILL NOT BE HOME FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF TIME FOR SESAME! time.  But I think it is the right thing for us. 

It makes it really important to be organized about meals.  I foresee more hot dog nights in our future. 

This week was truly awful.  I felt crummy for days and then on Tuesday I had projectile vomit and stomach cramps that reminded me of labor pains.  omg.  Mr. had to come home from work and take off Wednesday too and then my sister came down on Thursday.  Today is Friday and I am semi-functional. 

Peter handled it pretty well, they brought him in to my bedroom for kisses and cuddles.  Mr. told me that he had a whole new appreciation for how much work Peter is.  I lost ten pounds between Tuesday morning and Thursday. 

I have a headache too, apparently a side effect from either the antinausea drug or the one for stomach cramps.  yum. 

I had just started to get ewcm the day before everything went wrong, but no sign now.  I guess maybe my body shut down.  Not that sex is even slightly appealing yet.

Mom is here.  She is exhausted from helping with Peter.  She has been helpful.  In her own way.  By which I mean she will pick up the toys and tell you not to but then complain about her legs the whole time.  Most memorably was when I was hanging over the toilet and she was outside the bathroom door  saying"oh dear I just feel terrible that I can't do more. pause. Because I'm not very helpful. pause. And just a burden to you. pause."  Meaning that she wanted me to cheer for her and tell her she is awesome while I am puking.  More like that. 
"Dear, how are your terrible cramps?  Aren't you glad it isn't your appendix? My hair is a mess.  I bet everyone that sees me thinks I am some down on her luck prostitute. Have you got any spare legs for me?  I am exhausted.  Is there anything I can do to help dear?  Shall I unpack the dishwasher?  Well, if I don't know where it goes I will just put it down here.  Is there enough coffee?  How do you make coffee?"

SRSLY??? You are 62 and have been drinking coffee over 40 years.  You make it every day.  EVERYONE MAKES IT EVERYDAY. 

" Nooo I don't want to eat.  Don't worry about me.  No.  I'll just have this cereal. I look awful.  Can I comb your hair? Noo, I won't even shower.  No I'll just wash my face.  I'mmmm fiiiiiinee.  Ohh it's terribly hot/cold/cool/warm.What will the baby do next?

SAVE ME.