the very hungry caterpillar

Dylan's new love.

not for the weak at heart

Between working like crazy, fighting off sickness, and dragging myself through the day after multiple nights of little-to-no sleep, I have somehow managed to ignore a medical issue long enough to cause myself an intense amount of pain and grief.

What I am about to get into may fall into the category of "too much information" (or TMI as the kiddies would say), but the story is just too funny and bone chilling to pass up retelling.

It all started about a week ago when I noticed a small twinge of pain in my left boob (nipple to be exact) as I was breast feeding. As the week went on the pain became more frequent and was even occurring during non-breast feeding times of the day.

When the weekend hit, I was in full-on boobie pain mode. Even wearing a bra was making my nipple feel as though someone was holding a flame to it. By Sunday I noticed that my left nipple has swollen to at least 2 times the size of my right one! Just one glance at that spectacle and my jaw just dropped straight to the floor!

Monday was spent heading straight to my doctor (I wasn't wasting anymore time)...who informed me that it was just a bad case of thrush and sent me home with a pill to swallow and some nipple rub.

As the week went on, the pain not only persisted, but also intensified. I didn't even want to wear a bra. Slowly a large bubble started to form on my nipple (WHAT THE FRICK!). I was in so much pain that I cringed every time I even moved my arm. Finally, today I decided that the doctor's original diagnosis HAD to be incorrect (my nipple had now swollen to about 3 times the size of my other nipple AND was oozing)...so I headed right back in.

I waited somewhat impatiently for the doctor, carefully holding the ever fashionable paper hospital gown as far away from my throbbing nipple as possible. Every insane nipple scenario I could imagine ran through my head...what if I let the infection go too long and now it is seeping into my other organs?...what if the doctor comes in and has to cut my nipple open?...what if he has to inject my nipple with something to kill the infection and use a ginormous needle to do so?

No matter what I was thinking, I knew he was going to come in and squeeze it...which made my heart palpitate and my arm pits perspire.

When the doctor arrived he took one look at my nipple, made some comment about it not being what he originally thought (DUH), and quickly went in for the squeeze. Pain shot right from my nipple all the way to the top of head and down to my toes (that bastard moved so quickly I barely had time to ninja chop his hand away!).

I looked down and realized that my poor nipple was left battered and bloody, but starting to be relieved from this necessary evil. Before I even had time to take a breath in the doctor went in for one more squeeze! I shut my eyes and stomped my foot, but took it like a real woman (I really almost started to cry). I swear my nipple was going to pop, but luckily it was ok.

The doctor then sent me on my way with a healthy prescription for some antibiotics, a suggestion to continue the squeeze method at home, and what looked like a large HOLE in the area of my nipple that was relieved from the squeezing.

Needless to say, this has been a sore, painful, and UNCOMFORTABLE week. Hopefully I won't have to endure much more excruciating nipple squeezing before things go back to normal.

toyland

I suddenly got an urge to look up some vintage inspired toys for the kids. It seems as though almost EVERY toy they have makes a noise or lights up. What happened to the days when you had to use your imagination and make up the sounds yourself?!

During my search I have found that cool looking vintage toys are expensive as hell...and I REFUSE to spend more than $30 on a toy for an infant and 2 year old who will just tear it to pieces. I am super glad that fisher price has re-invented their vintage toys (which I LOVE and totally need to start collecting for the boys):

But I also wanted to see if there were other unique toy treasures out there, so here are a few new and used toys I have found that I just adored:

I had to start with my favorite because it's just too precious to resist. I seriously want this...if not for the boys, then for myself.

Jonas recently expressed pure joy over a jack-in-the-box. I am not really a huge fan of scary clowns popping out of a box to an eerie chiming melody...so I found a less abrasive version that is complete with a sock monkey (2 birds with 1 stone!).

The next thing I go out to buy for Jonas is totally going to be a wheelbarrow. I can just picture him pushing it around the yard picking up rocks, sticks, and lizards while pretending to help daddy.

I think little tiny pianos are just super sweet. I've already went out and purchased an actual full-size keyboard for the boys to bang on, but Jonas and Dylan will look like little Schroeders when tapping on these keys!

Ok, so this is actually a knitting pattern to make this octopus doll...and I totally do NOT know how to knit (one of my top things to learn in the next 2 years), but I am willing to beg any of my friends that can work magic with knitting needles to make my kids one of these!

This is so simple, yet I feel like Jonas would be insanely into watching the little penguins go round and round, and up and down.

I love old tops, and Jonas loves anything he can spin and twist...so I thought this was perfectly adorable.

I just feel as though every kid should have a cool tin robot toy.

In fact, tin toys are just cool all around.

Jonas already loves flash cards...and how charming are these?!

Tim would love for the boys to have this little wooden set.

As my search continued I came across some not-so-lovable gems. These were just plain FRIGHTENING!

This is just wrong on so many levels.

I am already having nightmares.

This would cause my baby to never drink from a bottle again!

I don't even know where to begin.

Why is Donald on a hamster wheel, and why is he staring at me?

All in all I think I have a pretty good start. For now I will stick to beginning with the easy-to-purchase/less-expensive finds.

P.S. during my search I found someone who makes vintage inspired toys and sells them for CHEAP! Check it out: http://www.etsy.com/shop/RedMarionette

binkies, boobies and poopies

Oh the weekend....a time when I plan to catch up on some much needed sleep and actually sit down for a minute, but alas, another weekend has come and gone with such a sucker punch that I am left with a pulsing black eye.

Originally, Tim and I were supposed to leisurely wake up Saturday morning and drive out to Tampa with the kids. All of that got thrown off course when we got a call from a friend with FREE tickets to a Dropkick Murphys concert in Tampa Friday night (how can we resist?! - Tim and I still like to take opportunities to act like a bunch of hooligans in a pit every now and then).

So, coming home on Friday night went from me gearing up to plop down on the couch, to me rushing around the house like a homeless person dumpster diving on crack. I literally was just throwing items into a suitcase without even considering clothing color coordination, population control, and hygiene (I totally forgot deodorant AND my birth control!).

To make things even more stressful, I am in the process of trying to wean Dylan from breast-feeding. A task that appears to be easy, but leaves you with aching swollen breasts, an infant who releases a high pitched squeal when he doesn't get boobies on-demand, and a heart that just can't give up the closeness just yet. I decided to get the ball rolling on beginning to ban the breast for a few reasons:

1. Dylan is now 6 months (so excited I made it to the 6 month mark this time around!...Jonas wasn't so easy)

2. I am not one of those super psycho moms who thinks that feeding your baby formula is like making a pact with the devil

3. At work, not only am I super busy, but I have also been reduced to hiding under my desk to find some pumping privacy (a place I have actually come to kinda enjoy ala Costanza style....see below), while trying to not scar my college level interns by having them see me transfer breast milk into baggies

Take note of book and leg room....plus, no interruptions!

Basically what I am getting to is that this has made for one cranky baby and extremely sore boobies. My only saving grace has been Dylan's binky, which produces an even higher pitched squeal from him when not being sucked so hard he practically swallows it (another habit I am going to have to wean him from shortly).

The remainder of the weekend was spent recovering from Fridays concert and coming home late Saturday from in-law family time in Tampa, then spending Sunday morning scrubbing toilets while arguing with Tim who was trying to plan a skateboarding session with his friend during what was going to be our family day at the park (whew! I need to catch my breath). We then proceeded to visit my mother who held us hostage until 6 at night, bringing us home at almost 7pm, which left us with just enough time to bathe the children and fit in some story time before hitting the sack.

To top off my Sunday evening, my bed time got held up by 2 stench ridden diapers (Tim and I seriously spent time analyzing which kid had a smellier poop). In my exhausted haze I somehow managed to get Dylan's uncommonly solid poop all over his belly, arms and feet (solid poop is supposed to be easier to clean!).

I have consequently begged Tim to do absolutely NOTHING next weekend....including seeing no one but each other and our own 2 kids (I swear I say this every week!).

cheeseburger in paradise

My latest venture down to Key West was incredible (as always). The last time I spent a few days in the land of laid back was for my wedding (way too long ago), and Jonas was just starting to walk.

This time, not only were Tim and I traveling with both children (our first official family vacation), but we also were heading down to visit my sister (whose husband happens to be stationed there for the navy....lucky) and spend some time with my nieces (both adorable and the same ages as the boys).

As we were driving down Tim and I had a few laughs about the other times we had been in the keys during a whole different time in our lives. A time when we were getting completely obliterated and even crashing a scooter here and there. But alas, those days are far behind us, and now we party hardy with diapers and crayons.

There are although, some things that will never change...and those things are the attributes of the keys that bring us back time and time again. From the insane crazies roaming the streets, to the vintage homes and kitschy sights...we love it all.

To shed some light on the subject, I am going to break down a few of the things that make the keys so wonderful (I know, I know....not ANOTHER list!).

The Old and Colorful Houses

The Amazing Sunsets

The Beautiful and Hilarious Drag Queens

The Fun Places to Eat

The Cool Places to Stop on the Drive Down

The Crazy People Performing in Mallory Square

The Eclectic Colors

The Cheesy Tourist Attractions

And....a little cuteness to round it all out