Happy Birthday!

Lil' Patch o' Internet was born one year ago today! It started out featuring the crazy rantings of a pregnant woman who couldn't get a bratwurst microwaved in the middle of the night and now discusses the roller coaster that is motherhood!

Incidentally, that cake pictured is not for my blog, my mom's birthday happens to be today too. But it makes for a nice segue into today's post.

I like making 'improved' cake box cakes. I get them out of this book called 'The Cake Doctor'. The recipes use a regular box cake for a base, but then add various ingredients and homemade touches for very yummy cakes. Since I've started making homemade frosting, I can't stand the canned stuff, it's way too sweet. Anyway, I typically make sheet cakes or bundt* cakes. Then every once in a while I'll tackle a two tier round cake. And then remember why I never make two tier round cakes. I have the world's worst problem icing them. I don't know why either. Most of them have some sort of filling between the layers, which acts as a lubricant. The cake then slides this way and that while I'm icing it. This particular cake has a cherry filling, which I cheated on. The directions were to get whole cherries and basically make cherry pie filling. I just bought cherry pie filling. The author of this book evidently did not know that I would have a child screaming at me while I was baking. Anyway, so the cherries were meant to stay in the MIDDLE of the cake. If you look at the cake, you can clearly see that they are everywhere! They oozed out the sides and into the icing, and then all over the cake. The other problem that I had, was that the frosting just seemed to slide down the side of the damn cake. The butter-cream may have gotten too warm, or may have been a bit too heavy on the milk.** After ten minutes of grappling with it, with Doug screaming at the baby gate, I was ready to throw in the towel. By this point Jeff had finally finished up his project and was able to come and see what both Doug and I were screaming about. After an initial assessment, Jeff decided that he could fix the cake:

(I married an engineer who is a perfectionist. Occasionally it pays off :)

You have to admit, the cake looks much better. Unless anyone is willing to teach me the art of frosting, from now on I'll stick to bundts, sheet cakes and cheesecakes :)



*Does anyone else flash back to that scene in 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' about the bundt cake? Makes me laugh every time. And then I spent a week saying 'Bund-T!'. But I digest.

**Not pictured here is the kitchen counter, which is covered in confectioner's sugar. I used a bigger bowl than normal to avoid the mushroom cloud of sugar, but the bigger bowl made more of a mess some how. To the side there is a sad tomato that has a lovely dusting of sugar now. Anyway, the ratio of sugar to milk were probably rather significantly off.

Upwardly Mobile

When my in-laws were here visiting in January, Doug took his first steps (at a hair over ten months old). He walked from his grandfather to me. In the days that followed, he would toddle here and there, mostly if some one helped him on his feet and steadied him first. I didn't expect him to be functionally walking two weeks later, but that is exactly what's going on now.

Doug now spends most of his waking hours walking. He walks just for the sheer joy of it, in and out of rooms, around the living room, anywhere. Initially, his steps were cautious. He could only walk a few feet before he would fall or need to steady himself on a piece of furniture. He could also only walk one direction, if he tried to turn slightly or turn around completely, he would fall over. He has since mastered that and is adding new tricks to his walking repertoire almost daily. He now can carry things with him when he walks. I keep finding objects in all sorts of weird locations. The other day I found my cell phone in the hallway. This morning he carried a coaster into the dining room and carried Jeff's bedside flashlight into the dining room too. One of the pieces of his foam mat is now on the other side of the basement. Doug is getting good at bending over or squatting to pick up something. He has also occasionally gotten up from the floor without pulling himself up on something. Doug can also 'work' a room better on foot now. When we're out at a restaurant or a store, he'll insist on walking. We'll hold his hand and he'll drag us over so he can wave and smile at people. He gets irked when people ignore him. He's not running yet (thank God, the child has yet to realize that he has a tired mommy), but I'm sure those days are fast approaching.

Windfalls

Today seems to be full of unexpected windfalls. This morning as I was getting Doug and myself up, my mother texted me to see if we could meet for lunch at the Amish Market. So I got Doug and I packed up and ready to go. We ended up having a nice lunch there and Doug surprised us by feeding himself with a fork! After lunch, my mother said that she could take Doug for the rest of the afternoon! I was so excited and relieved that I didn't know what to do! So, now Jeff and I can enjoy a nice dinner out and a relaxing evening!

After lunch I proceeded to Target to pick up a prescription and get some new trash cans with lids (Doug has decided the trash cans are a fun place to rummage in). Despite having called in my prescription hours ago, I had to wait about ten minutes for it. Afterward, I went to the in store Starbucks there to get myself my usual chai latte. There was a manager there, covering for the barista while she 'went to get supplies'. He said he couldn't make up the drink, but he could ring me up. I gave him a gift card, but he had trouble with it. Something had happened to it so that it wouldn't deduct the sale. The manager then put the balance of the card onto a new card so it would work. By the time he had finished with that, the barista had returned and made my drink. I went to get my drink and then I kinda waited for a second. I wasn't sure if my drink had actually been deducted from the card. So, I waited and then I decided I would slowly walk out. I thought, oh well, not my responsibility. Outside the doors of Target I began to rationalize my actions, 'I had to wait at the pharmacy,even though I'd called in my prescription', 'There was some one sitting on the bench and I had to stand and I am so sore and tired!'. When I realized I was rationalizing, I realized I was in trouble. I decided to go back in and double check that my drink had been actually paid for. The manager had been very nice about the whole card thing and I didn't want to take advantage of that whole confusing situation. He told me that it had been paid for. I left feeling better, but a bit confused, because I didn't think my balance had changed (I will admit that cold medicine is muddling my brain a tad more than usual today). But I did try and make things right.

When I got home, a package of clothes I'd ordered had come early!

So cheers, because it's almost Friday!

Socializing the Beast

It's been painfully obvious for quite some time that Doug needs to spend time with his peers. He will see other children his age here and there, and gets very excited about it. There was an incident a few weeks ago at a Barnes and Noble train table in which he tried to grab a little girl's face. Despite being a little older than he was, she was smaller, and he didn't realize that he could easily knock her over. I decided it was time for Doug to spend time with his peers.

So I started looking for classes or groups to enroll him in. The county we live in doesn't offer much in his age range. Montgomery County does have quite a lot of classes for babies his age, but most of them started a month ago. And then there's the problem of the drive back and forth. The local indoor pool offers classes for babies his age, but to be honest I'm worried about ear infections. I'm also not sure how much of it I can put up with either. Doug loves the water, but after taking him in the pool, I'm usually fairly wiped out. Then there's drying off and changing both of us back to our street clothes and everything else. Very exhausting. The other options were story times at the library and classes for babies at gyms for kids. I decided we'd try a free class at one of the gyms for kids.

When we got to the gym, a class for preschoolers was letting out. There were lots of excited kids running around, and Doug was quite interested in them. Once I got Doug out of his carrier and our coats and shoes off, Doug and I walked around a bit exploring. Only two other babies turned up for the class, one of which was also trying the class out for free. So they only had one registered baby in the class. The class consisted of songs and climbing up and down the various pieces of equipment. And lifting Doug. Up and down. Twenty pounds up and twenty pounds down. The instructor really liked activities in which we had to do this. Doug had an okay time, he didn't get terribly excited or hate it. He was mostly interested in the other babies and their parents. He met his first hippie. Doug was amazed that one boy's father had hair longer than mine. Doug also was really into the perky instructor. I didn't have the heart to tell Doug that she was paid to flirt with him. After it was all over, I was very tired and extremely sore. The physical toll on me wasn't worth the class. The price was also a bit much. Maybe when Doug's a few years older and there's less physical involvement on my part, we can try it again.

Until that time comes, I think we'll try story time at the library. The church nursery is also a nice place for him to socialize, but he's the youngest there by quite a bit. I'd also like to try to find him some play dates, so if you have a baby about Doug's age, I might start harassing you for some play dates. Now, I think it's time for a coke and some tv and not moving for a very long time :)

Thyroid Awareness Month

Did you know that more people have hypothyroidism than diabetes? Yep, it's true (if you're wondering why it's relevant, they're both endocrine disorders).

I imagine that a fair amount of people have little to no idea what hypothyroidism is. January is Thyroid Awareness Month, so I will share some info and first hand experience with you!

The thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland in your neck. You can actually feel it (and your doctor should totally check it!) it's your Adam's Apple. Your thyroid is responsible for producing hormones that regulate your metabolism and growth rate and about a zillion other things in your body. That is the quick and dirty description of it. It's a little gland, but it's incredibly important to many, many of your bodily functions.

When your thyroid is functioning well, life is good. When it goes bad, it goes bad. There are two autoimmune diseases (and the most common problems with your thyroid, aside from cancer) that effect the thyroid. One is Graves disease, which causes hyperthyroidism. Basically, your thyroid starts producing too much thyroid hormone. The symptoms associated with Graves are heart palpitations, excessive sweating, excessive hunger, weight loss and muscle fatigue. Treatment focuses on ways to slow down or stop the production of excessive thyroid hormone. One method for treatment is radioactive iodine, basically to destroy parts of the thyroid. One unfortunate part of Graves disease is that it leads to hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism is the result of a decrease in the amount of thyroid hormone in your body. The name for autoimmune hypothyroidism (which is what I have) is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. In my opinion, the hyper people have a better name for their disease. Anyway, there is a laundry list of symptoms for hypothyroidism: lack of energy, hair loss, abnormal weight gain, brittle nails, dry skin, extreme sensitivity to coldness, brain fog, muscle soreness, difficulty getting pregnant. The list goes on and on. Treatment is fairly easy, hormone replacement pills, to be taken everyday for the rest of your life.

Although treatment is fairly straight forward, getting diagnosed was tricky. The symptoms of hypothyroidism are vague and can be caused by many other diseases. Fortunately, all you need to get diagnosed is a doctor who is paying attention and a simple blood test. I saw maybe close to half a dozen doctors over a span over seven months before I was finally diagnosed. It was a long and scary battle. I started feeling better a few weeks into the treatment. For the better part of 18 months, I was getting tested monthly, and my dose changed several times. Since my pregnancy ended, my thyroid has been stable.

I am obviously not a doctor, but if you have concerns about your thyroid, you should definitely check with your doctor. I am happy to discuss my experiences further if you have any questions!

It's Regan's Fault*

We had quite a memorable New Year's Eve. I woke up on New Year's Eve at about 4:30 that morning in Columbus, Ohio. We had stayed the night in Columbus on our way back from Kansas City. I rolled over and over but I could not get back to sleep. See, Jeff has sleep apnea and if he sleeps without his mask, it sounds like some one is cutting down an entire forest of trees! Unfortunately, for us both, his mask broke the first day of the vacation, so for nearly two weeks, neither of us slept well.** Anyway, I wasn't getting back to sleep, Doug was restless between us and Jeff kept on waking himself up. So I decided that since none of us were sleeping we'd at least get on the road and be home by that afternoon. I was able to clam down and blow off some steam in the shower (don't mess with my sleep) and I come out into the room to find that Doug had thrown up all over the place. So there went my nice relaxed mood. I started working damage control. Jeff had done a good job on keeping the bio hazard localized, but Doug was still very upset. I calmed him down and took his temp, which was 102.3. So I dosed him with some Tylenol and called our pediatrician's after hours line. The line told us that Dr. So & So was covering for him and to call her. I called Dr. So & So and the message told us that our pediatrician was covering for her! Epic fail! So I called my mom. Anyway, long story short, we got Doug calm, clean and dressed and put him in the car. I think we left Columbus at about 7ish? I do feel badly for the person who had to clean our room. Doug sure knows how to destroy a hotel room!

For the rest of the day in the car Doug mostly slept. Unfortunately I couldn't get his fever down. I called his Dr.'s office and they were concerned about his high fever too, but as we were in Ohio, not much could be done about it. The nurse said we could take him to the ER or an urgent care facility, but neither of those were available at the time, so our goal was to just get him home. At about 11 we stopped some where in West Virginia for lunch. We wanted to eat quickly so we could get back on the road, so we headed toward a McDonald's. But lo and behold, what was next to the McDonald's!?!? An urgent care facility! I told Jeff that I thought it was a sign, so we took Doug in. We were told the wait was long, but actually we got in an out in a relatively short time. The doctor saw Doug and agreed with us that it was a stomach virus and told us the correct dosage*** of Tylenol for Doug. He also recommended that we try ibuprofen instead. So after the visit we got back in the car and drove to a pharmacy in town, dosed Doug with ibuprofen and headed back to McDonald's.

You know how some times something happens to you, or somebody does something to you accidentally and you really really want to throttle them but you know it's not their damn fault? That's what happened to me at McDonald's. I'd been going on no more than four hours of interrupted sleep the past two nights. I was beyond fatigued and in a lot of pain. I'd been dealing with a sick baby all day. In short, I was thisclose to going over the edge. Doug was asleep on the table in his carrier and Jeff brought the tray to the table with our lunch on it. Jeff reached for something and some how his gigantic Dr. Pepper was knocked over and spilled all over the table. A good portion went onto my lap, and the rest went into my brand new purse. Luckily, nothing in my purse was ruined, but everything was soaked and sticky. There were pools of soda in my purse. Jeff jumped up and helped me mop up and helped me pull things out of my purse. At the time the only thing I could say to him was to tell him to go to the car and get some plastic bags for the contents of my purse.

It was probably really good for our marriage that Jeff left me for that minute in a half. I was able to pull myself together and calm down. I realized that I had some options at hand. Option 1, I could yell at Jeff, which would allow me to vent. However, this will make Jeff feel worse and in the end will make us both miserable. Option 2, I could let it go and we can move on. I chose option 2. We were already both pretty miserable and really needed a break.

Anyway, Jeff came back in and we got resettled and began our lunch. After a few minutes Jeff said to me, "This whole trip has been my fault." I grabbed a french fry while I pondered my response to that. "Well, actually no. It's not your fault that you grew up in Kansas City. That's where your parents lived. They probably settled there in the 80s because of the economy. So, actually, it's Regan's fault. Yep, I think the blame resides squarely on his shoulders." So we had a nice quiet lunch and loaded Doug back up. By the time we got home on NYE, we were all dead tired, but Doug's fever broke. All in all, not a terrible end to 2010.



*I was in Kindergarten when the 80s ended. History classes never covered something as recent as the 80s, so really I have little to no idea what the economy in the 80s was like. Humor me.

**Fibromyalgia symptoms are worsened by poor, interrupted sleep. They've actually done studies in which they've screwed up the subject's sleep, and they have many fibro like symptoms. So seriously, don't screw with my sleep!

***Tylenol, or at least the generic we got, doesn't give you dosage per weight for children under 2. You're supposed to talk to your doctor about it. The last time we got that info for Doug was at least 5 lbs ago. On the other hand, the Advil we bought ONLY gives dosing instructions for children under 2. Go figure.

Christmas Cards

We've become those people who put their kids on Christmas cards. I think we'll get a good ten years out of this. The above photos are some of the many out takes from the cards.

One of the things I enjoy most about Christmas is sending cards. It's a nice way to stay in touch with people you don't see often. Of course, our cards aren't lengthy novels, but more of a "I was thinking of you during the holidays' sort of thing. As I was flipping through the address book, I ran across the address of one of my old friends. I haven't seen or heard from her since college. The last time I saw her was the first time I'd seen her in many years. I've googled and looked for her on facebook, but it seems she's fallen off the face of the earth. The address I have for her is her parent's, and I'm not even sure they live there anymore. I've decided to send a Christmas card to her anyway, with a note because she obviously won't recognize my married name. I don't know if she'll reply or not, but I'd just like to let her know that I've been wondering what her life has become. It's so odd how easily we lose people in our lives.