First Things First

First of all, let me just say that I'm having one of "those kind of weeks" that I feel behind on everything. My house is in shambles and my "to-do list" has now become the "must-do-before-I-lose-my-mind-list." Oh yeah, and the list is about as long as my arm. Single spaced.

So here I sit with my neglected friend, Keyboard and my better known friend, Bowl 'O Ice Cream. I have come to believe that ice cream always seems to make my world a little bit better. Mmmm...

This past week has been filled with many "firsts" for my family. Nothing terribly monumental or significant to report like Lincoln figuring Chinese arithmatic or Elaina eating an entire plate of food, but other random things that are still worth the mention. To kick off our week, on Sunday night we switched Lincoln's formula back to milk-based. It was only 2 months ago that he was seeming to have so many issues with being gassy, uncomfortable and most of all, screaming throughout every feeding. When he would arch his back and scream with pain, we were convinced that it had to be an issue with his formula. Our pediatrician recommended that we try lactose-free formula and see if he presented with the same behavior. That seemed to be the magic that we needed and he drank his bottles with pleasure. Much the same way as me and Bowl 'O Ice Cream. What a relief.

This past weekend he gradually began to demonstrate the same symptoms of discomfort when it came to feeding time. Sunday evening he had a 30 minute crying fit while trying to drink his bottle, that would make you believe that someone was severing his limbs with a dull knife. Absolutely heartbreaking cries that nearly broke me in two. I had to pass him off to Eric to see if he had any better luck. After 30 minutes of this torture (for all of us) I finally ran to the kitchen, preparing a bottle of the free Enfamil (milk-based) formula that the company sends to new arrivals. Either he had just worn himself out from all of his yelling or he actually realized the difference and drank it with ease. Let's hear a big 'ol "Amen" for that!

This has been the first full week that he's been back on milk-based formula and not a single problem since. And just a lucky perk from Lincoln's frugal mom; I'm saving $2 a can!

Moving on, this is also the first time I have had to get both kids ready in the morning and out the door for work all by myself. Eric left very early Thursday morning for the NASCAR race in Bristol, TN. He'll be gone until Sunday, giving me 2 work day mornings to handle by myself. I know this sounds a little bit petty, but Eric is such an enormous help with both kids and we work well together. Seeing as though it is already Friday night, I'm happy to report that I made the best of my 6 a.m. mornings and got the three of us fed and ready and out the door, right on schedule.

This week was also the first time that Elaina's drama queen attitude lasted longer than a day and reached an all time high. Monday through Wednesday, she woke up sleepy and grumpy and early, refusing to go back to sleep. Our mornings included her refusing to eat breakfast, fighting to get dressed, yelling while I did her hair and lots of little diva things that just don't fly in our household. Each afternoon, she came home from Nancy's house and claimed she was tired so that she could lay down with her binkies. Plenty of times she was so tired that we allowed her about a 30 minute nap in the middle of the evening, just to get through the remaining hours before bedtime. I'm pretty much convinced that her 2 year molars are still working their way through and it's a side affect of growing also. Oh, but her behavior! Sheesh! A little less bad would work for me! As luck would have it, Thursday and Friday, I got my good girl back. Sweet!

And my final "first" to report is that I finally made time to really tear into my laundry piles. The first time in 2 weeks, I washed, dried, bleached, folded and put away about 6 loads of laundry. It would be easy not to mention that I still have about 3 more loads that I could run through, but whose gonna tell on me if I don't?