We Officially Have A Teenager

 We've been busy. At home, at work, no sleep, no rest...
We've been helping my (amazing) mother-in-law after her hip surgery and she's been doing really well. She's already moved back upstairs to her room and has been given permission to walk with a cane. She has discomfort but not massive pain which is a huge relief for all of us as we were worried about her recovery.
The first couple of weeks we all alternated staying with her to make sure she had what she needed. That was so hard for me as I want to do everything for her but I had to step back and only interfere when asked.

I finally finished my big project. Waiting for it so I can brag about how awesome it is. Also waiting for my sister's birthday gift. She wasn't too happy that I changed her birthday from May to June but I'm sure she'll get over it and eventually accept her new found Cancer.
If she doesn't like it, then she can bite me... I'll mark a spot.

Work has been busy and I've enjoyed the responsibilities given to me.. Kind of.
It stinks that when I screw up, I only have myself to blame. Or if I drop the ball, there's only me. People expect more of me and I know I can do it but can I at least one lazy day every week? Please? With sugar on top?

Chunko's birthday was a whirlwind and it was fantastic all around. I was nowhere near excited about doing his party at Chuck E Cheese but I knew when we walked in and were stamped with "426" that it was going to be awesome! And it was. Not running to do it anytime soon but it was a good first birthday party.

(duh 4/26 is our wedding anniversary)

And then the whole point of this post...
The teenager.
The most feared species in the jungle.
And the female teenager is so dangerous that all who cross her path turn to stone!

Okay, maybe she's not that bad... But it sure hasn't been pleasant.
She was allowed Facebook and texting as part of her happy (holy shiv you're 14) birthday present. We warned her of the rules that go with the phone and kept a close eye on the FB.

Then it started.
First it was texting after hours. Then it was FB after hours. Lying, sneaking, boyfriends saying inappropriate things (still get cold sweats from that), bad attitude, arguing and lastly, bad grades.

So she was grounded. She was restricted with massive limitations and threatened.
And threatened again for not listening.
And threatened again for ignoring the rules.
And threatened again.
We were done.
This weekend, I'm not proud to say but I put the fear into her. I told her that she was being so rotten that soon I was going to be the one punishing her and there were no warnings in my world.
My teen years I spent grounded.
Grounded to my room, grounded from the phone, grounded from my friends, grounded from the phone, grounded to the kitchen table (I can laugh about that now but it sucked at the time).
Being a teen sucked.
I know how to make it real bad (learned from the best, with certain twists to allow for technology) and if she keeps pushing, I will show her the light.

I think it clicked but one can never be too sure.

The thing that really set me off was her blatant disrespect for her mother.
Regardless of how I feel about her or her parenting skills (good or bad) I was not okay with her hurting her mom like she was. The woman is doing all she can to make her happy, keep the peace and raise her as a single mother. The Teen will respect that and not take advantage of it... Period.

It's been rather stressful, keeping an eye on things from afar but on the positive side, his ex has been communicating with us and cooperating. I've been acknowledged as my name and not referred to as "her" or "she" or "his wife"...
Little weird but it seems to be going really well and I hope it continues to do so.

She's called with each incident and my love and his ex have agreed on what the next step should be and I have to admit that it's been nice knowing what's going on at "the other side."

Another little bonus is his oldest daughter is leaving us in peace. It's been a bit and we're finally starting to relax. Is it the outcome what we would have liked, definitely not but if we can't have what we'd like, being left alone is the next best option.
Who knows maybe in another few years, she'll try talking to him...
You never know what the future holds.

Oh, and Chunko is now popping all four molars at the same time... Someone please explain to him that he doesn't need to crack four teeth at a time? Goodbye sleep, gone way too soon...

Smart (ass) Baby

This morning, as the baby destroyed our room and I got ready for work, Chunko ended up with the TV remote. He kept changing the channel to static and then chasing me down to make me fix it.
He once again changed the channel to "98" and said "Num?" and tried to give the remote to me... I said, "No, baby, change it to four."

He held up the freakin remote and kept pushing the number "4"!!!

I know it was by some random freak accident that out of all the numbers he pushed it was the exact one I told him to, but holy cow! I darn near fainted!

Later today, we were eating dinner and Chunko was screaming for his next bite. I showed him the sign for "more" and asked if he wanted more... He screamed at me. I again showed him and again asked if he wanted more. He screamed at me, and then he said "More?"

We are freaking out now. He's saying "banana" and "more" and "uh-oh" (in context) and doing all these exciting new things!
Of course I won't be saying this in a couple of months when I can't get the kid to shut up, but for now it's really cute.

Happy 1st Birthday!

Today is my lil baby boy's first birthday!

I'm trying not to have a nervous breakdown but it's incredibly hard.
Tomorrow, for his party, I will be a wreck, guaranteed...

I can't believe it's been a whole year since I gave birth to the amazing 11 pound baby and our whole lives changed.

Sorry if TMI, but I need to get it written so I'll never forget these special moments...

It's a year since I sat in the hospital room, numbed from the epidural, watching Spike TV and making "Release the Cracken" (<----from Clash of the Titans movie) jokes.

I remember being bored and just plain mad that every woman that was in after me had already delivered. We watched all of the screens and saw as each woman gave birth. My nurse did all she could to help progress the labor. She tried breaking my water and managed to pop two of the three before Chunko literally jumped up into my upper abdomen. The nurse had never had such a hard time breaking someones water and had definitely never seen a baby jump away. He really did not want to come out (we found out later that he was a week early and not a week late).
The nurse was patient but she had to assist with an emergency c-section. She didn't want to leave us but we still had a bit to go... Or so she thought.

I had been numb for about 12 hours and all of a sudden I felt something. It honestly felt like I had to poo and all I really wanted to do was push it out. Thankfully, more experienced mommies warned me that this meant that I was about to deliver (thank you sister!)...

I called the mean ass nurse that was covering for mine and she told me I still had plenty of time. There was another girl starting to push and they were going to help her first. She said I had at least another hour of pushing before I got anywhere.
Challenge accepted!

At the last second my doctor decided to come do our delivery as I was a second time mom and the other girl was only a first timer. He thought I might go a little faster. Everyone got into position and it was time to push.
I pushed for 15 minutes and there his head was! Everyone spazzed out over his head size and then it was time to get those football shoulders out... I had the doctor and nurse at the tail end, my love at one leg and a nurse practically straddling me pushing my tummy. We were getting this kid out now. I'm surprised that he didn't come dragging my uterus out, he really didn't want to come out... The whole team went silent when he came out (they were stunned by his size but I thought there was something wrong).

He was so quiet at first that I panicked. They wrapped him up and laid him on my stomach.
So silent, so still.
I started freaking out and wondering why they would put my dead baby on me. I kept asking if he was ok and why wasn't he breathing. They put him in the incubator next to me and his eyes met mine... Stared right at me and I calmed. He was calm, mellow and just watching me.

He was beautiful and we all marveled his perfect coloring, shape, and massive size.
My love cut the cord but it was so thick, it was more like sawing and the doctor had to help just a bit.

They put him on the scale and called 11pounds... Then he pooed and it went down 2 whole ounces.
My love was so enamoured with him that he forgot to take pictures until the nurse asked him if he wanted to get a picture. Most of the first couple of pics are blurry because he was so excited to meet his baby boy.
The nurses all poured in to meet the 11pound baby and see how beautiful our big boy was. No misshapen head or discoloring... Just perfect. Someone had to run down to the ER to get us diapers because all of theirs only went up to 8 pounds (9 at most). His hat kept popping off and all he wanted to do was eat.

Our stay was filled with nurses stopping in to meet him. They kept asking if I was sure I wasn't diabetic, if I seriously delivered him and if we had taken any hormones... Yep, yep and nope!
When they came in to do the final check-up before we left, they weighed him and he managed to gain a whole pound. Mass majority of babies do not gain weight at the hospital their first days. You're lucky if they don't lose weight. Of course Chunko did and we left with our now 12 pound baby....

He barely fit his going home outfit and the only reason we didn't have to make a run to the store at midnight before we left was because he didn't straighten his legs...
 

Chunko, you have completed our family and have brightened our lives with your crazy antics. You are a little hurricane of trouble and very lucky that you're the baby of the family or you would be getting away with half the trouble you've caused.

We love you and cannot wait for your party (especially your smash cake) tomorrow!!!