Battle of the Bottle

As you can see from the picture we have several bottles. When I clean them I line them up in the same order each time. The bottles each have a matching nipple. Sam has this habit of taking a bottle from one side of the racks and a nipple from the completely opposite side.

Sam says, "It doesn't matter babe, they are all the same."

I say, "Yes it does! It helps me when I look at them to know they are all there or which one is missing. You're fired babe!"

I know this is a silly thing to be irritated about but I think Sam is secretly trying to drive me crazy! LOL

Dilemma

I had it all figured out. Armed with my Parents magazines and What to Expect the First Year I knew exactly when I was going to start weening Sammy off of his pacifiers. Everything by the book. LOL At six months he only gets it when he naps and at bed time and then gone completely at one year. I bought such cute little pacifiers and I bought some of each kind. Things were going well. Then Sammy found his fingers. Now I cannot keep them out of his mouth and he hates pacifiers. My pediatrician said to get him hooked on pacifers because they are better and you can take them away. If he keeps sucking his fingers you can't take them away. So for a good two weeks I spent all day taking his fingers out of his mouth and putting in a pacifier only to watch him spit them out.

I started reading a ton of articles online. I read everything I could find. Most said there won't be any permanent damage unless he continues past age 4. I also read a lot that said if we try to stop him from sucking his fingers he may do it longer than he normally would if we just let it be. Sam and I have decided to just let him suck his fingers and hope he stops at about a year like we read. If he doesn't we will worry about it then.

I am not writing this so that I can get everyone's advice or opinions although you are free to give it. I am writing it to acknowledge and remind myself that parenting is not always going to go by the book. I get these updates from these parenting websites and also the book that I am reading all tell me what Sammy should be doing. I found myself worrying about it. I am trying to relax a bit. I just want to be a good mom...not like anyone wants to be a bad mom. I have worried for most of my life that I didn't have those motherly instincts because my mom was not really motherly. I wish I could say that I would stop obsessing over the things I read but I probably still will. I am just going to try to remind myself that people have been raising children for thousands of years without the information that is available today. Here's to taking it one day at a time. :)

Randomness

Sam-"Babe, why do you eat half the hot pocket with a fork and then the rest with your hand?"

Me-Out loud..."Because a whole hot pocket is just not manageable." In my head..."Because I'm just crazy like that, I do what I want!"

Sam-"That just doesn't make sense."

Me-"Whatever babe, you do a lot of things that don't make sense!"

Sam-"Oh yeah, like what?"

Me-"Umm, lots of things!"

Sam-"Yeah keep trying to come up with something."

We both laugh.

Jean-0 Sam-1

Facts in Fours

Thanks for tagging me Lacey, I love these things. LOL

4 shows I like to watch:

1. The Office
2. House
3. How I Met Your Mother
4. Biggest Loser

4 things I`m passionate about:

1. Politics...I avoid talking about it because I get so worked up.
2. Becoming a better person...since I have such a long way to go!
3. Religion...it is why I do everything I do, or why I do most things and repent of the others.
4. Working on relationships. ie With my husband, my sister, and friends.

4 phrases I say a lot:

1. Hey girl, what's goin on wid it? (To Erica)
2. Your face! (To Sam)
3. Hey baby, what's the fuss about? (To Sammy)
4. I love you. (To Erica, Sam, and Sammy)

4 things I have learned from the past:

1. All of us are made up of a bunch of different personality qwerks that make us either more or less annoying to each other. (I forget who said this)
2. No one can make you feel inferior without your permission. (Eleanor Roosevelt)
3. When you are trying to be a better person the Lord will bless you with happiness and strength to battle your own weaknesses.
4. The is a great healing power in apologizing for your mistakes and in forgiving others!

4 places I would like to go:

1. Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
2. Chapel Hill, North Carolina
3. Sulphur, Louisiana
4. The cemetery where my ancestors (Istre) are buried in France.

4 things I did yesterday:

1. Rode my bike
2. Went grocery shopping
3. Checked the celeb gossip sites
4. Played with Sammy

4 things I'm looking forward to:

1. Seeing Erica in May
2. Seeing Sammy grow up
3. Learning Spanish
4. Going to Louisiana for the family reunion

4 things I love about winter:

1. Hoodies
2. Hot Coco
3. Bonfires
4. Christmas

4 things on my wish list:

1. Tarheel Season Tickets
2. Rascal Flatts Concert
3. An iPhone or Blackberry
4. iTunes gift cards!!

4 friends to tag:

1. Lyndsay
2. April
3. Jess
4. Carrie

Viva Las Vegas!

There are times when Sam gets really frustrated with the big corporate company he works for. All I can say is they sure know how to treat their doctors! I remember before Sam graduated some big wig from Banfield headquarters took us to dinner along with the others who were going to start at Banfield after graduating. We went to the nicest restaurant I have ever been to and the big wig knew my name when he stood up to greet me. I was really impressed. This past weekend they paid for us to take a family trip to Vegas!





Banfield has an Education Symposium a couple of times a year so that all doctors can attend. This one was in Vegas so Sam asked Sammy and I to come along. They set them up in a super nice hotel and feed them catered meals three times a day. They have lectures, town hall meetings, prizes, free products, and even have labs set up to practice surgeries. Sam did the optometry and dentistry ones.





They had all kinds of activities for the families to do. They took a Hoover Dam tour. Toured the chocolate factory. (Banfield is owned by Mars Candy) They also had a tour of the Botanical Gardens and Mandalay Bay Shark exhibit. I really wanted to go but I was nervous to do something like that alone with Sammy so we just hung out at the hotel while Sam was busy and enjoyed the cable tv.




We met up for lunch and dinner. There was always so much food! Lucky for me and my diet there wasn't much I would actually eat. However...there was usually a pretty good dessert and because Mars Candy owns Banfield there was free candy. I didn't go overboard but I definitely ate more than I wanted to.

Sam saw several of his classmates and they were really nice. The conversations were always flowing even though I would get a little lost when they'd start geeking out about the labs. One girl asked me if I was getting grossed out after someone said, "Make sure you get one that is pretty warm. So and so could barely cut hers it was still so frozen." They were talking about practicing surgeries on cadavers during dinner. I was enjoying my potato too much to let it bother me.

When Sam is at home he is goofy and playful. Sometimes I forget how smart he is, how hard he studied to become a doctor, and how much he loves to learn. When I hear him talk to other doctors I quickly remember. There was usually a general session at the end of breakfast and lunch that the families were welcome to stay for. There were words up on that screen that I couldn't even sound out! It was crazy but when I would see Sam listening so intently I was really proud of him. He cares about animals and wants them to have the best quality of life possible. There were times when the "at home" Sam would pop back up. During the town hall meeting the microphone was in front of our table. When someone came to ask a question our table was put on the big screen. Sam put bunny ears on the speaker, made faces, and even pretended he was discussing something very seriously. LOL He looked like a muppet!!

I am really glad we got to go because I would have really missed him. He said he enjoyed it more with us there because he doesn't go out to drink like his colleagues do. We survived our first trip with Sammy. It was tough! I packed all his toys but we didn't bring a stroller...we should have but it wouldn't have fit in the car. I hated changing him in gas stations because they are so filthy! It was fun being together and seeing Sam so excited to learn. Good times!