Today is exaclty one month till my little boy turns 2! Connor is holding conversations with us about peepee, whales, sharks, Nemo, Mermaid, music, oatmeal...you name it he'll babble something about it. He can climb anything and has no fear of any slide big or small. He has so much personality. Wow he has changed from that little ball of screaming flesh that came out of me almost 2 years ago.

When he was born we just couldn't imagine how we could get along with a child who was so different. Many surgeries later, you can't even see that he is different. Most people don't even notice his hands because he is busy running and climbing. Now we can't imagine our lives without him, he is such a miracle.

I think I need a tissue now. Nobody has puked in over 24 hours. WAHOO! Now my house that looks like a tornado hit it can be put back in order. Jason is working OB nights now, which is actually better. 3 out of 5 nights he gets some sleep on the job and can come home ready to play with us. Yea!

I am 27 weeks pregnant now and the baby is starting to force my tummy to expand by the hour, it actually hurts sometimes because she is stretching me. Little Ms. Alanna is very active and communicates with primitive thumping...I think she is telling me she wants some ice cream right now.

Our trip to Disney World is just around the corner and we talk about it in almost every conversation. Connor knows so many songs and characters, we talk about what he will love the most. We know Disney pretty well, but seeing it through the eyes of our growing child is a joy! "Do you think he will be scared in Pirates Of The Caribbean?" "Well we should walk around saying 'dead men tell no tales' to de-sensitize him just in case". Ok, so we are a little nuts, but that's what makes it fun for us.

I get to scrapbook tonight. Yea! Only a few more months to get all the pictures in order before the new baby arrives. Eeek. I thought I had shaken the nasty stomach bug. HA! It just bit me in the ass, literally. Two words of advice if you get it:

1. Don't brush your teeth before you hurl. You think orange juice tastes bad after you brush your teeth...

2. If you think you have to pass gass, run - don't walk to the bathroom. I am back from the pits of Hell. What Hell you ask? Try 26 weeks pregnant, lower back pain flattening me to the bed with a heating pad and nasty stomach flu, with a vomiting cranky toddler to boot and no husband in sight!

I couldn't chase Connor because my back hurt, yet I had to run to the bathroom to hurl while crossing my legs so I wouldn't pee myself. Vomiting with a pregnant bladder is so NOT cool. The smell of cleaning Connor's puke....*shudder*.

Jason's long hours working Labor & Delivery were never more despised then during this trial. He actually told me "Well if you really can't keep down fluids, you can come in and we'll give you some IV fluids." I asked him if he would be taking care of Connor during that time. Negatory. Thanks Honey.

Yesterday things came to a fevered pitch as Jason had his one day off (after pulling a 24-hour shift) I figured we should have some family time after our sick days and suggested a trip to Toys R Us. Sound tame? Connor threw up his scrambled eggs in his car seat on the way there. OH THE SMELL! I was dry-heaving in the parking lot we pulled into while we cleaned him up. Still..we pressed on. I hung on to the shopping cart to keep my back up-right while we shopped. Connor ran in and out of every battery powered car. They are so cool. The real purpose of our trip was a potty-training chair. Oh I didn't mention that? Time for a Wayne's World flashback.

DiddilledootDiddilledootDiddilledoot:

It was a dark and stormy Thursday night. Jason came home early and was stripping Connor down for a bath. Connor kept telling him "Peeeepeee", so on a whim Jason put him on the toilet and held him in place. He peed. After the bath he told Daddy again "Peeeepeee" so Jason held him on the toilet. He pooped 3 times! All while enjoying a Far Side comic book. We took pictures, we took video, we wrote down the date in his memory book. We never tried to instill potty training, in fact with the baby coming we were going to ignore it for a while. But now that he has shown interest...so be it.

DiddilledootDiddilledootDiddilledoot:

So back to our story. We drag Connor away from the cool cars kicking and screaming, grab a kid potty and make our way to the front to pay. Jason suggests we pick up a swing to hang from the tree in our back yard and Connor freaks out. S W I N G is not a word you say around him. He loses it. He loves all things swing-like in nature. So my little boy who is hungry from combined hurling and the dawning lunch hour, tired becase nap time is coming around the bend, and cranky because he is sick FREAKS OUT. Kicking, screaming, yelling "SWING". Jason has to put him in the swing on the ground so we can pay. My back is about to give out, and I am turning green from illness. Jason is tired from a 24-hour shift with little sleep. What a family trip. We make it out of there barely in one piece, only for me to hurl as soon as we get in the door.

Some day off for Jason.

My back feels better today, and so far my Captain Crunch has stayed down. Wish us well. I have to get my back in shape for Disney World in the next few weeks. If all else fails, Jason will put me in a wheelchair and wheel me around the parks...it would actually be a bonus to the other people we are going with because we can get into the quick line. However, sitting is what makes my back hurt! HA! I have to get in shape so I can SIT! Oh the humanity!

Wish me well. The sun was shiny, the birds were singing. Connor played with his girlfriend next door, Jillian. They gave each other hugs and kisses *AWWWWWWW*. They fell down hugging and she scraped her knee, but at least it was out of love and not because he pushed her! For once.

Daddy came home early and Connor sat with us on the bed and watched Beauty & The Beast in preparation for our Disney World trip. He LOVED it! He clapped every time the beast came on. He rocks. Now he knows Ariel, Snow White, and Belle. Jasmine and Cinderella to go before he is a certified Disney Princess fan. Our character breakfast with the princesses is going to be SO cool. All of the hard training I have been putting him through will be worth it. :)

Other Air Force dads would flip at his intensive princess training. LOL. There is his love of Peeeeee Paaaawww (Darth Vader) and Nemo to balance things out though. My boy can wield a light saber and sing Little Mermaid songs, he rules. I got this from Julee

Anyway, here are the rules:* take the concerts from my list that you have seen, and post them on your page.* add more until you have 25.* bold the ones you add.

The Cure
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Beck
Tori Amos
Foo Fighters
The Monkees
Save Ferris
Greenday
The Violent Femmes
The Beastie Boys
Breeders
Smashing Pumkins
Too Much Joy
Dead Milkman
Pixies (well I almost saw them, had tickets but was too pregnant to go)
They Might Be Giants
3rd Eye Blind
Jimmie's Chicken Shack
Depeche Mode

*a bunch more at festivals but I am too pregnant to remember* Ok, so I was a big loser in Bunco tonight. Had the most losses of anyone there...but that is good. I won $10! So with my "most Buncos" last time and my wins tonight, I am $30 bucks richer! Woohoo.

Just thought I'd share since my last entry was a downer. Ok so for every up day there is a down day. I have had a crappy day. Don't ask me why, I don't want to go into it. It was just one big waste of time, money, energy, patience and toddler personality time. When my time is wasted, Connor's is doubly so.

To top it off, I found this on MSNBC

Liberty County Animal Control and the humane shelter that shares its small cinderblock building have been crammed to capacity with dogs and cats since Army troops from neighboring Fort Stewart deployed to Iraq. Both agencies say it’s no coincidence.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have prompted national efforts to alert deploying soldiers to alternatives to abandoning animals when they leave for war. But the hundreds of unwanted pets turning up in this southeast Georgia military town indicate many aren’t getting the message.

Since the Fort Stewart-based 3rd Infantry Division deployed 19,000 troops to Iraq in January, animal control officers took in 321 abandoned dogs and cats. Of those, 119 have been euthanized.

Smells of dank fur, urine and bleach linger inside the Animal Control offices, where donated food in dented cans and torn bags are stacked in a corner. Dogs are doubled up in several of the 4-by-10-feet cages. Two of the 14 cat cages hold mothers with litters of nursing kittens. Cordry says she’s found an abundance of dogs in military neighborhoods — from emaciated dogs in back yards of vacated homes to puppies left in Dumpsters.

Blah. I I going to curl up in the fetal position and lick my wounds...maybe with some Doritos. I used to be a graphic designer, so it was pretty sad that I had a standard blog template. My buddy TJ and I put this one together. What do you think?

It is such a beautiful spring day outside. Connor has already spent over an hour playing in the sunshine. My house is pretty clean, the yard is mowed...life is nice. The only downside is that Jason's schedule returns to the "only home when Connor is asleep" deal. Since we live on base though, he is going to try to take some lunch breaks and come home to see him. Jason is on OBI. Kind of funny that he is delivering babies with a pregnant wife at home. He can definitely relate to them though, lol.

Our friends and Jason's younger sister came to visit us this weekend. Mmmmmmm fondue. It takes SO MUCH prep work and clean up but it is SOOO good. Ever tried Krispy Kreme doughnut holes dipped in chocolate fondue? You should.

That's all for today. Tell me how your spring day is going. this is tj testing the new template ... looks like it FINALLY works. sorry about the delay colleen, you're da bomb for puttin' up with me.

just remember to actually put your title in the "title" box when you post a new blog. k? k. i noticed all your old titles didn't have them. oh, and feel free to delete THIS post. hehe. So we registered for a bunch of useless crap today. There. I hope all of those silly friends and relatives feel better. Now they can get some crap from Babies R Us and I can return it. There are now 114 items on my registry instead of the 5 things that I need. I even registered for some of the snacks at the front counter. No, I won't return those if I get them. :) Famous Amos snack-sized cookies...yum.

But you better believe I will tell my sister something like "I registered for a bunch of small things for my shower now so I can return them for the stuff I need later."

We have registered for enough pink dresses and blankets to provide substancial relief to the families effected by the tsunami.

This is our second baby, so we have some baby stuff already. There ARE some things that we need though so I made up a registry. It contains 5 items that are a bit pricey, so I have asked for gift certificates towards these items. So far my mother and sister would not even look at it. I was at my sister's house today and showed it to her from a link in her e-mail (duh - point and click) and she complained about it. She said that I should really register for a bunch of small things for my baby shower so that people can get me stuff. This logic defeats the purpose of my registry. "I need these items, so help me towards this goal" is what I am saying.

I could have put on the registry "I have too much baby crap already and don't need a bunch of cutesy toys and things to trip over, so don't get me that kind of stuff or I'll put poopy diapers in your bed." Actually I am just telling people that over the phone. Am I wrong? Should the object of a shower be to help the parents gather the things that they need or is it about the guests feeling good about themselves by purchasing cutesy gifts? I thought I was helping. Just give me a gift certificate and go away.

See why I did not miss family in Florida?

I know what's going to happen. Everyone will disregard what we want and buy us a ton of pink clothes from the Carter's Outlet that we can't even return to Babies R Us for the stuff we need. Turds.

My friend Carmen had this piece of advice: register for a bunch of stupid little cute stuff so that you can return it for the stuff you really need. This is actually sound logic, but it is just so silly. You know? How about a message in the invitation "I know ya'll are going to fuck it up anyway, so I will do my best to smile and thank you to your faces when I see all the random crap you are giving me."

What is your advice (besides tone down the cynicism)? Is it just inevitable that I get saddled with a bunch of useless crap? Should I even try to fight it?