Welcome to Hotel Insomnia

This weekend was, in short, a nightmare. But of course to have a nightmare you actually have to sleep - so perhaps I've misspoken...

Friday hubby, Cora and I went to a small town in Iowa where hubby's cousin was getting married. This in and of itself was a mess. At one point I had told hubby that Cora and I were not going to go since the wedding was planned to be outside... in northern Iowa.... in early April. The forecast was 34 degrees and sleet. I was not going to have Cora outside in that mess. I cancelled my day off from work, told our daycare provider Cora would in fact be there on Friday and didn't worry about packing or choosing outfits for anyone. The day before the wedding (Thur) however they changed the location to be inside. So, ok, we're back on - I go back to my boss to re-claim my day off, let the daycare provider know Cora would once again NOT be there Friday, and scramble to find something Cora and I could wear to a wedding.

Cora had been to one wedding when she was just over a month old. She got so overstimulated that the night was horrid. She would twitch while sleeping and would wake every 1-2 hours screaming. I should have learned my lesson, but unless there is an act of God or Congress, hubby's family would have had a royal fit if Cora hadn't come (regardless of what she would have to go through to be there). So off we went.

We got through the wedding just fine. Then the plan was that I would go back to the hotel with Cora and put her down while hubby got to enjoy the reception. Back at the hotel everything seemed to be ok. Cora went down after a bit of trouble, but nothing highly alarming. I read a book and waited for hubby to come back to the room around 10:30. At 10:30 I got a call that hubby and his cousins were going to take a limo to a town about an hour away to pick up hubby's little brother who was just flying into town (long story, no point). Suffice it say beverages had been flowing. I was torn between being a good, dutiful wife letting hubby go be with his family (even if it meant he wouldn't get back to the hotel until 1:30am) and knowing that I would not be able to sleep until he got back since I am terrified of sleeping in a hotel alone (another long story revolving around me working on the case when I was fresh out of law school of a serial murderer who preyed on women in hotels). I softly told hubby I would like him with me, but that I would let him make the decision. He did. He went in the limo. Pissed off wife.

Hubby got home just after 1:30 and I was already tired, upset and generally fit to be tied. Just as hubby was getting into the bed, Cora woke up. No big deal , I figured... give her her paci, maybe rock her a second and we'll be ok and can finally get some sleep. Hubby, knowing he was up *%&$ creek went to get her. That was the last time her head hit her mattress. She was up the remainder of the night. The whole night. If one of us would try and put her down, she would scream. If we stopped moving (walking, rocking, etc) she would scream. I tried and tried until 4:00am to coax her back to sleep every way I could think of to no avail. Finally at ten after four, hubby just took her and said he would walk the halls with her. (There is no "crying it out" in a hotel mind you) I got some sleep until 6:20 when he came back in with her, totally exhausted. He had been walking the hall or sitting in the lobby the whole time.

At that point I decided it was time to go home. Period, paragraph. No matter how rude it seemed, no matter how angry his family would be. Hubby had been up for 24 hours straight now, and I had gotten 2 hours sleep. We had a two-hour drive ahead of us, and a sleep deprived child. We were going home. And go we did.

Yesterday was like walking through a fog. We took turns watching Cora (who ironically seemed totally fine and quite happy) and sleeping. We went to bed for the night at 9:30 since - thank the Lord - Cora went down without a peep. Hopefully today will bring better things now that all of us are back in familiar surroundings and rested. And trust me, no more trips anytime soon!

Cool Site of the Week: In the Motherhood

I am currently in a hotel room in a small town in Iowa (while my hubby gets looped at a family wedding reception) and FINALLY got Cora to go to bed in strange place after a looooong day ... even typing sounds too loud right now.

So enough with the witty prose, I'm cutting to the chase. Like Jenny McCarthy, Leah Remeni and Chelsea Hanlder? Check out this site and laugh your ass off. Nuff said! Each "episode" is commercial free and only 6 mins long so you can always sneak one in while dad entertains the munchkin. Its actually so funny you don't even need to be a mom.

For a quick hit, check out "Preachers, Panties and Policemen". And big ups to JMat for hooking me up. Now check it out so I can quiet down in here!

http://www.inthemotherhood.com/

PIF Update

Ok ladies - the four of you who played ball in my PIF. I need info.

Amy - you're good to go, got you covered
Ky - need your addy... I sent you an email but haven't heard from ya!
Sarah - ditto - need your addy to send your goodies!
Holz - I think I know where to find you.

Weight Watcher's Weigh In - Week Ten

Ok, so I had not been expecting much out of today. I had chicago-style pizza TWICE this past week and had not been counting points as closely as I should have for the first time since starting WW.

But, luckily the skinny karma was with me ...I weighed in and was down another 1.4lbs. That puts me over the 10lbs milestone (10.2 to be exact). I have another 5lbs to go to get to my first goal of 10% weight loss and then have 10 more after that so I need to get movin.

Speaking of moving I think that is what helped. I got on the treadmill 3x last week for 30 mins each, doing an alternating walk/run. I guess there is something to this exercise nonsense. Drat. So this is at least motivation for me to continue to knock myself out. Fab swimming suit, here I come!

To The Highest Bidder

I called my mother this afternoon as a courtesy to let her know her only granddaughter was going up for adoption. I figured it was the right thing to do.

Today has been one of *those* days. Cora (we believe) is getting her first set of molars. Doctors say they can come in anytime between 10 and 16 months. This past week she got in her 4 "lateral" incisors (i.e the ones that come in after the first top and bottom front two). Now she's chewing on those rear gums like a monster, has been the most cranky she's been since our lovely venture into colic those first three months, has been vomiting (no fever), and has been constipated. She either had a very weird and feverless flu bug (it can happen) or she's getting those molars. My money's on the molars.

Today I could do nothing right. Both my child and my husband were less than pleased with me. (Note to moms everywhere - when your husband is changing the diaper of your screaming cranky child, do not come in and show him the "pee-on" ovulation test which you found under the sink and decided to use for fun by telling him its a positive pregnancy test. Bad move.) Cora did not want her favorite toy, she did not want her bottle, she did not want to play, she just wanted to be held. All the time. But not while I was sitting down. The only way to keep her slightly sane was to hold her and walk hot laps around the house. While hubby and I both agree this is not nearly as bad as "the early days" (she would have 10-15 min spurts of playing on her own on the floor) it still sucked.

So, knowing that I could not make my child happy, I did the only thing I could do. When we went to the local furniture store today to buy a non-wrought-iron-and-stone coffee table (bad parental planning) I suggested that he finally buy the theatre-style seating sofa with cupholders built in and dual reclining ends for his 62" TV in the basement. Yay wifey. I was back on the "good girl" list. So at least I got one of my kids to buck up. I'm still keeping the adoption agency on speed dial for the other....