My winerator is bare - help me fill it...

I need to restock the winerator. I love wine but I want to branch out, so please suggest your fave whites and reds for my tasting pleasure. I am ready to try some new ones!!!

Mr. Rece's Neighborhood

Jeremy's mom and dad got us an AWESOME flip share camera for Christmas. (I think they may want to see video of Rece ;-) We love it. I am hoping this link will work to "Mr. Rece's Neighborhood" which is our Flip Share Channel. I will post it from time to time when we add to it. If you want to pee your pants watch the one where he is in the walker. All are good, but that is my fave.

*****For some reason it is now requiring a login id and password- I have my hubby working on this hopefully he will fix it soon****************************

2009 - The Year Of The Rolaid

I figured that I should probably aim to get my "new years" post done before the end of the first month of 2010. So here I am.

What a year. It was a good year for our little family, as we added our beautiful son and had many, many wonderful moments and laughs watching him grow and develop. I will hit all the highlights of Rece three weeks from now when he turns 1. Unbelievable!

It was also an a stressful and anxiety filled year for me personally. And with all seriousness, came with a good deal of heartburn and hence....Rolaids....Let me re-cap by month,it's a long one so if you aren't up for it that is ok - it is just as much for my therapy as it is for your reading pleasure:

January - Pregnant. Getting things ready at work and at home. Preparing for baby. The economy sucks and we announce a wage freeze at work. We take childbirth classes and hospital tours and infant CPR. Oh and I get the stomach flu at 35 weeks preggo. Rolaids.

February- Nerves start to kick in about Rece's impending arrival - his due date is March 5th. Heartburn is in full effect due to giant baby pressing on all acid pumps. Rolaids. On Friday the 13th I went to the OB to have them check some fluid I was noticing. I was sure it was fine....but....just in case. After an hour at the office of testing and re-testing the OB gives me a piece of paper and points his finger through the lobby - I say "I get to go home" - he says "Nope - over to the hospital" he tells me I am going to be induced. ROLAIDS.

I was supposed to go directly over to the hospital. But I call Jeremy and decide I will go home first. I need to finish "getting ready" and I need to eat. I remember in child birth class that they don't let you eat once you are induced. I go home and I eat a granola bar and two pieces of toast as fast as I can. I am induced at 4pm - 3 weeks early. I spend the first two hours sending work email and finishing up things I thought I would have another two weeks to get done. Pop pop go the Rolaids.

I get an Epidural at 5 am on Valentines Day. It only numbs one side fully. This proves to be an issue during transitional labor. For this - Rolaids did not suffice. At 3:30 Rece was born. Our lives were blessed and bettered forever. You know that old wives tale about heartburn during pregnancy and the amount of hair babies have? Rece had a TON of hair. Thank you Rolaids.

We get home and I have major baby blues. For the first week I cry because I am no longer pregnant and I miss feeling the baby move. Then nursing sucks and does not work for us and Rece is colicky and begins to reflux. Rolaids.

March - Nursing goes from bad to worse. It is all screwed up for us. Rece's reflux gets worse and he barely sleeps. When he does sleep, I cannot and lay awake with anxiety and worry. I stop eating any dairy and soy, tomatoes, coffee, onions, garlic and the list goes on and on. I do however eat Rolaids..... ;-) The days are long and blurry. The nights are short. I pretty much cry on and off all day and often think "what was I thinking"? Jeremy is coaching baseball and has long days away.

April - See March.

We switch to formula. I go on bender of eating cheese and pizza and wine and coffee. I gain back any weight I have lost when I couldn't eat anything. Rolaids sweet Rolaids. Things slowly start to improve.

May - Rece starts daycare and I go back to work. We all get the stomach flu the second week he is in daycare. But miraculously he begins to sleep at night waking only once each night at around 4am for a bottle. We get into a pretty good little routine. I am pretty sure I have died and gone to heaven.

June- Routine continues. Baseball seems to be never ending. Rece gets his first ear infection after being "stuffy" since literally the end of March. Even though Rece is sleeping now and I am sleeping too, I am so so so tired all the time. I am slapping myself in the car on the way to and from work to try and stay awake. I have no energy and I am unable to lose any baby weight. I am stuck. Pass the rolaids please...

July - We road trip home for vacation. Rece gets a second ear infection on the 4th of July when we are in Traverse City. We survive the road trip of mammoth proportions traveling with a 5 month old.

August - Rece turns 6 months old and I am still WAY over my pregnancy weight. Ugh. But the summer closes nice and the munchkin stays pretty healthy all month. Yea! My car dies randomly on the way to work and my engine is completely shot. The infamous "bolt" is not under warranty. For this I consider Tums...but settle for Extra Strength Rolaids.

September - We start a new daycare that we had been on a waiting list for. The month is enjoyable and pretty much uneventful - I am sure we had an ear infection or cold or two but can't remember the details now. I finally begin to feel a little bit like my old self.

October - The swine or not the swine - that is the question. Rece gets sick and I mean SICK. He is out of daycare for a week and is in miserable shape. The nebulizer finds a new home at the Rellingers. And begins Rece's very own "steroid era". Work is crazy when I can get there consistently which is hard when your child is sick ALL OF THE TIME!!! Plus we begin to have issues with the daycare...small at first.... and then they get worse. You know what is coming. I'll take three, Rolaids that is.

November - We continue to chalk up the ear infections, one after another. I find an egregious violation of basic care at the daycare and have a complete melt down. I have to find a new place. Jeremy is super sick and they even consider that he may have Whooping Cough. Thank goodness he doesn't but he misses an entire week of school. In addition, Angel wakes up one day and her back legs do not work anymore. She is put to sleep one week later. Rolaids do not suffice. Much wine is consumed.

December - Tubes go in after 7 ear infections in 6 months. It goes well and we have a marvelous Christmas and New Year and I consider and hope that 2010 will be a calmer less acid inducing year than the one prior. I resolve to try and not sweat the small stuff (above)...and it's all small stuff.

Happy 2010. May it bring more laughter and require less rolaids....

First Christmas!!

We traveled home to Michigan for Rece's First Christmas! He had his ear tubes put in on December 21st so I was a little worried about the travel in the event that something could get infected etc. But he did really good, in fact he was a pretty happy and healthy boy the whole time. We left late afternoon on December 23rd hoping Rece would be able to hang out for a few hours and then have dinner and head off to sleepy land for the last 4 or so hours of our drive. It pretty much worked, and we had great driving weather. We got to Jackson at midnight and put him to bed in a crib that my parents are borrowing from my Aunt Luann - he went right out again - until 5 am when he woke up wondering where in the world he was. I have to admit it was the first time since he was born that I have brought him into bed with us - I was sooooo tired, since we had gotten unloaded and to bed after 1am. He laid on my chest and slept another hour. Funny thing is - he moves so much - I didn't get any more sleep!

On Christmas Eve we went to Christmas Eve Children's Mass and he was fantastic - I was worried but he did really good. He was totally interested in the reading and singing and flirted with the girls next to him. He ate some puffs and had himself a great time. We came home and Rece went to bed and we all had some wine/beer & Pizza from Little Cesar's (Barton Tradition on Christmas Eve ;-)

Then came Christmas Day - Rece woke up at his normal early time and we opened presents, he did some paper tearing and some looking at the gifts....and....that was about it. He did however have a ball playing with the toys all week and since we have gotten home. Santa, Mommy and Daddy, Uncle Clint and Auntie Taylor, and Grandparents R & B, and so many others as well, were all very good to Mr. Rece. He got to many awesome toys to list and a whole new 18 month wardrobe for this winter. It was so much fun to see him play.

We had a great rest of the week at home, visiting with friends and family. Rece played and played and even went out in the sled. And Jeremy even got a chance to get away for a date night. All in All we ate to much, drank just the right amount, and had way to much fun throughout the whole week!!

We got back on Wednesday the 30th - and Jeremy's mom and dad came back to State College with us. The weather for the trip back was great and thankfully, Steve and Lynn caught a traffic alert on the radio that warned us of a horrible chemical spill and highway closure approaching on I-80. We stopped and got a map and made up a detour. After we got home we found out that the chemicals were horrible to breathe and people were evacuated and were not allowed out of cars or to roll their windows down and the highway was closed for HOURS!!! That would have been fun with a 10 month old.

On new years eve we went to the State College First Night Ice Sculptures - we got Rece all bundled up - but I don't think he cared for it so much - he was all trapped in the stroller with all of those bulky layers. Stink. As for ringing in the new year - of course a separate post to come on that. But we were in bed by 11 - and that my friends is staying up late!

OH MY - And I almost forgot - the last "event" of our winter break was...the first haircut.
His bangs were so long he couldn't see....I really didn't want to.

Here are pictures from our great, great week.

First Sled Ride

Playin with Grandpa R

Having the fave snack - Ritz and Cheese!

Playing with our Stack and Surprise Silly Town - Thanks Grandma & Grandpa R!!


Riding Grandpa' B's Deer

Playing Basketball with Uncle Clint - Thanks for the hoop Aunt Becky and Uncle Ron!

Opening our Sit n' Scoop Tonka Truck! Thanks Grandpa & Grandma B!!

As Grandpa B would say - Cruisin for a bruisen....

The new hair cut.