I'll take diarrhea of the mouth with a side of insomnia for 200, Alex.

When I talked about getting my priorities straight and not feeling guilty if certain things (i.e. the blog) had to take a back burner, I really didn't think I'd go two weeks without writing at all. But, I did. And I survived. And so did you. And here we are again.

I haven't written much because - well, I'm tired. Seriously tired. As in dragging all day and feeling like I could take a nap at any given moment, and frankly - I haven't had the brain power to write anything that really makes sense.

So, instead, I've been reading a lot. Reading books by people who were, at one point, getting enough sleep to write interesting and entertaining things that actually made sense. (I'll be doing a post about some of the great books I've been reading at some point in the hopefully-not-too-distant future...)

I'm working with my doctor to get this sleep thing figured out so I can feel like a normal person again. For several weeks, I'd fall asleep with no problem at all, but I'd wake up pretty much every two hours on the dot. Can we say annoying? Ugh.

Then my doctor switched me to a different antidepressant (fondly known in this house as ABPs for any of you newbies out there) that didn't put such a huge dent in our budget that I had to wonder...hmmmm, do we buy mama's happy pills and wipe our butts with newspaper this month, or do we buy toilet paper and skip the pills?

Joking...

About the toilet paper thing, anyway. We've never really had the meds vs. toilet paper dilemma, but seriously, what I was on was crazy expensive, so we decided to give something else a try. Plus, I think Dennis and I would both agree that we'd take out a second mortgage on the house and give up the internet, TV and chocolate if it meant I could keep my ABPs.

Now, I was having the sleep trouble even before I started the new stuff, but now, instead of waking up every two hours, I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow at 10, but I wake up anywhere between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. and never fall back asleep.

It's torture.

So, we're decreasing my meds for a week to find out if that change alone will improve my sleep while still managing my anxiety/depression. Oh, how I love the waiting game!

But, in the meantime, I have a prescription for what I hope is something wonderful - Ambien, my friends.

Unfortunately, though - I'm on call at work for the next two nights, so it's like someone is dangling a Kit Kat bar in front of my face and every time I think about having a bite, they snatch it away...I've got the prescription in my hot little hands, but I don't suppose driving into work at 2 a.m. to deal with a psych patient while I, myself, am under the influence of Ambien would be a fantastic idea. So, two more nights and then hopefully I'll get a solid 8 hours in a row thanks to yet another little pill that will hopefully contribute to my happiness.

So - on top of this whole I'm not frigging SLEEPING thing, Kaylee got sick last night.

Crappity, crap, crap.

Congestion, nasty cough, snot, crankybuttedness, the whole 9. And I freaked out. It drug up everything we went through when she was so sick and ended up in the hospital, when she got sick again just after being released from the hospital, facing doctors who didn't understand the severity of her recurrent illness, and eventually taking her in for emergency surgery. That whole thing began with a simple ear infection gone really, really bad, so you know there was a part of me that was wondering if it might happen again.

This is the first time she's been sick since her surgery, and I know kids are more prone to ear infections when they've got colds. So, I'm just praying it doesn't get worse.

In other news (hey, I go two weeks without writing - you can pretty much count on getting a smorgasbord of random thoughts that I've had bottled up for 14 days...), the whole cooking healthy meals with fresh ingredients thing is still going really well. I continue to try new recipes, and Dennis is patiently going along with it. I know it's gotta sound crazy, but I have found that I love the mindless monotony of chopping vegetables. Isn't that ridiculous? But I'm being serious! I get so excited when I've got an entire meal that's cooked and I realize that I chopped every little carrot and potato and bell pepper.

It's the little things, ya know?

Mama Kat occasionally does a feature on her blog called something to the effect of "What's for Dinner?" where she has pictures and/or video of the ingredients she uses and how to make a certain recipe.

I'm pretty seriously contemplating a food-themed week coming up soon here with some ideas for healthy yet delicious cooking based on some of the recipes we've tried and loved, and some of the ways we're saving money on the good stuff. And, of course I'll have a couple giveaways to go along with all of my sage advice. Ha ha ha.

And, that's probably enough for now. This is why I shouldn't go 2 weeks without posting - I get diarrhea of the mouth and can't shut up. So, if you're still reading, do what Kaylee does when she coughs, and pat yourself on the back. You deserve it.

Imparting my wisdom upon the infant

It's my job as a mother to pass along life's important lessons to my daughter.

As she grows, I'll teach her lessons like The Golden Rule, always look both ways before crossing the street, always say please and thank-you, and why it's probably not a good idea to do cartwheels while wearing a dress.

But, she's only 10 months old. She's a little young to be grasping such concepts, dontcha think?

So, for now, we'll start with something simpler, and perhaps even more important than the lessons learned above.

Today's important lesson: shopping, shoes, and days at the mall are a girl's best friend.

Kaylee was sick last week, so the days that I was home with her were not filled with fun, games, and domestic recreation. Instead of chasing her around the house on my hands and knees in hopes of hearing those high-pitched squeals and deep belly laughs, I was being told by my family members that I had green poop on the back of my forearm and on my pant leg - about a half an hour after said poop had claimed it's residency upon myself.

(And, for those of you who are not putting two and two together in regards to the words "Kaylee," "sick," and me having poop on myself, let me just clarify. It's was Kaylee's poop, not my own.)

Simply put, last week was not fun.

Hands down, today has been the highlight of my week so far. Monday and Tuesday I had to work. Barf-a-roni. But today? Today we were going to have fun.

Kaylee and I hung out here at home in the morning and I did such stimulating and fun activities as putting dinner in the crock pot (tonight's dinner - Easy and Delicious Chicken - click here for the recipe. Very yummy, but next time - no thyme...) and paying bills.

I let her loose in the office while I balanced the checkbook, and before I know it, I hear her little coos and giggles. She makes this certain giggly sound when she sees something in the distance that she knows is off limits, and then she just goes in for the kill.

I turn around and see her reaching for papers on the top of the garbage can. Garbage cans are off limits - so, that explained the whole up-to-no-good giggling she was doing. She crawled away long enough for me to get back to what I was doing on the computer, and then suddenly I hear laughter, the crinkling of paper, and the sound of her feet repeatedly hitting the floor due to sheer excitement on her part.

This is what I saw when I looked down from my chair.



I friggin' cracked UP!

So, not long after the human paper shredder crapped her pants for the 4th time that morning, we set off on our merry little way.

I was about to teach Kaylee all about the importance of a deep and undying love for shopping. I am convinced that it is never too early to start learning this lesson.

We stopped by the salon so my hairdresser could meet Kaylee (by the way, I got a new haircut on my way home from work last night - fab.u.LOUS - I feel like a new woman!), went to Barnes and Noble so she could play for a bit, and it just so happened that there was a SHOE STORE on the way to the car. Could life get any better? Surely I could not properly impart the wisdom of the day upon my child without taking her into a shoe store!

Let me just back up for a second and tell you that before Kaylee was even born, I was determined to make sure she would one day share my love of shoes. I could hardly wait for the day when I could buy her cute little Mary Janes and sparkly pink shoes, and - in fact - when Dennis and I left my OB appointment after the ultrasound where we found out we were having a girl, the first thing we bought for her was a pair of shoes.

Anyway, so - we hear the angels singing as we open the doors to Payless Shoes. Great store, but you need to know that the infant shoe options at Payless are scarce, and I am highly disappointed. But, I still managed to find a totally cute pair of fashionable black boots (on sale for six bucks, thank you very much...) that zip up the side. They are so versatile, and versatility is something every 10-month-old needs in a pair of shoes.

Seriously - they'll go with a pair of jeans, they'll go with a dress and some cute tights, heck - if she's half as cool as I was as a young child, she'll even wear them over her her footie pajamas.

Anyway, back to reality here. So, we finish at Payless, and we're off to the grocery store. Well, ROSS just happened to be on the way to the grocery store, and that's where I got my very first apron not long ago.

I figured there might just be another one there with my name on it (and I still had Christmas money to burn), so of course, we had to stop. And thank heavens we stopped! I found the cutest apron, and it was just 8 dollars - heck YES!!!

Check it OUT! So cute, right? It's got a frilly hem and a cute little pocket - I just love it. And, because this post is already overloaded with pictures, I did a two-for-one and put her new shoes in the picture, too, just because I know you want to see them.

It was such a great day. I really feel like Kaylee is starting to understand the fact the shopping is so utterly important. You may think she's too young to really understand, but as we approached the register at Payless, she would not let go of her new shoe. She was in love. She held that shoe close until I pried it out of her little hands. And then I gave myself a pat on the back for being such a freaking awesome mom. I may not have a clean house and my child may go in public with squash in her hair from time to time, but I know what's important, and teaching my baby girl to love shoes is VERY important.

Well done, Sera. WELL. DONE.

Mama Kat is also an apron fanatic, and she's giving away another apron this week - head on over and enter her giveaway, and while you're there, be sure to check out the other Writer's Workshop posts.