Tired and just plain Tired
I wanted to blog today but am going on so little sleep that I can’t see straight.So I thought that everything was smooth sailing. I put my newborn in the car the other day so that we could make a short trip to wish my brother happy birthday. It took us 3 hours to make a 30 minute drive. There wasn’t traffic or anything , my baby cried like I was torturing him. At first I thought it was the car seat that was a gift from the hospital,so we drove back home and installed the Graco. Oh, and did I mention that as soon as I took him out of the carseat he stopped screaming? I put him in the new carseat and headed on our short trip again….and again the screaming started. I pulled over about 2 miles from my house and fed and changed him , problem solved. Nope! I stopped again….for 30 minutes to try and calm him, I tried everything humanly possible! He finally fell asleep and I finally had a MIGRAINE. We made it to my moms! Yippee, hurray….but we had to return home. I put my girls in the car first and then put the baby in his seat…and the screaming started…the girls couldn’t take it! They asked for earplugs and told me that obviously the seat wasn’t in the car right, that the car was hot and that the baby didn’t like being in the dark…and all of this was my fault! In the midst of him screaming in my moms driveway, my 6 year old threw a cell phone that hit my 4 year old under her eye…she started screaming and was dripping blood which freaked everyone out…especially grandma. I tried to get the baby out of the car quickly so that we could check my daughter…in my rushing I cut my leg on something on the car…and had blood dripping down my leg.My mom had the best idea…for us all to start over 
So we all got out of the car, went inside and tried to get ourselves together. After a half an hour, a bandaid for me, an ice pack for my daughter, a diaper change and feeding for my son, and my oldest complaining about everything possible we decided to head home again.
The drive home started the same way…we the baby crying and crying…it was 10 at night so I was pretty afraid to stop anywhere. I did stop once more just to feed him and we drove the rest of the way with screaming. Miraculously both of the girls fell asleep! I somehow, reached my arm back while sitting kind of sideways while driving and held my son’s hand and guess what….he stopped crying! It was completely silent in the car….I was so afraid to let go of his hand that my arm and right side were numb when I got home, but it was worth it. the baby was still up all night as his nights and days are mixed up and I am truly more tired that I thought I could ever be, but we made it home safe, no one was screaming and I was able to have a little peace and quiet. Moral of the story? ..I don’t know if there is one. I just kept thinking of the commercial from when I was younger “Calgon, take me away”..and wishing I could slip into a nice bubble bath.
So when its time again to venture out…Daddy will be Driving!
Baby Boy
My waiting is over, my baby boy has arrived! For some odd reason I felt like I was going to be pregnant forever this time around. I did not feel like this with either of my girls but maybe knowing that this was my last pregnancy had something to do with it. Also having 2 different due dates didn’t help. I was given both July 27th and August 3rd as my due dates, I know they are only a week a part but when you feel 40 weeks pregnant for the last month or so, a week makes a huge difference. I ended up having my son on July 25th….a hard but short labor and a wonderful delivery experience. They joy of having my son somethimes makes me sad as I know that I will not have the experience of being pregnant again. It is bittersweet . I know that I am blessed to have 3 healthy children but sometimes long to feel that little flutter inside my tummy again
Adoption
Over the past 5 days I have been anxiously checking email and Facebook to check on my dear friends trip to Ethiopa to see her son. This is the first child for “M” and “G” and I couldn’t be more excited for them both!
“M” texted all of us as she was holding her son for the 1st time, saying that it felt that her heart was going to burst! This feeling is no different for any 1st time mother, no matter HOW you become that childs mother. Every child is a blessing and I can’t wait to meet this little guy once he comes home to Chicago!
Kids bookstore and candy store in Chicago
On monday my friend and I made a quick trip to the city with our 4 year olds. We ended up finding to great places that I wanted to write about.
The 1st place we visited was Chicago Kids Bookstore located on Southport in Lakeview. The girls were excited to run in as there are books, toys, clothing and more. While we were there they were about to have story time for infants. There were cozy places for the girls to sit as well as large stuffed animals(horses, dogs, etc…) for them to sit on. It is a whimsical yet educational environment as after all it is a Bookstore 1st and foremost.
After visiting the book store we headed down the street a block or so to Candyality and let me tell you, good luck getting your kids out! The have candy from the days when we were young, as well as chocolates by the pound and every other candy you can imagine. We were greeted warmly by the owner who showed the girls around and gave them the golden rule of “not putting our hands in the candy bins and only using the scoopers”. There is a cooler in the front full of frozen treats, movie style popcorn, t-shirts and gift items available. My daughter picked up a little gift bag of treats for her daddy that said “SOME SUGAR FOR MY DADDY!” how cute is that? I ended up spending $19 on candy but so enjoyed my bag of chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate covered peanuts on the way home!
If you are in Chicago, these are both great places to visit with your Kids and are local favorites (not touristy spots). Just click on the names of the places above to visit their websites.