Lots more random

Because I'm so sleep-deprived (see random bullet #1 below), I've apparently been stripped of all ability to write in coherent posts or even paragraphs for that matter. So random is what you get.

• BAD. My child refuses to sleep through the night. And is now getting up every 2-4 hours, just like he's a newborn again. It is killing me and Marty, even though we take turns. We are trying everything we can think of and we are taking suggestions, too. Basically, Will is in the throes of teething (his 2 bottom teeth are almost completely "there" now and he will move his jaw like he's chewing gum at many points during the day, like there's more gum activity going on and it's driving him batty) and I think it's just messing up his sleep cycles and restfulness altogether. New technique to try for tonight: cereal right before bedtime. Puppy refuses to take a bottle at bedtime but I haven't really ever seen him turn down actual food. Also, per my mom's suggestion, a jar of meat (ICK) at dinner. Has anyone else gone through this? Do you have any help to offer two very exhausted parents?
• GOOD. My amazing husband has insisted that we go ahead and buy the desk I've lusted after for over a year from Pottery Barn. Marty says I've "had to hodge-podge it long enough" and I certainly deserve a "real" desk after all the months of pregnancy I've gone through. He's even hinted at more presents, per the children contribution I have made (hmm...maybe I will have more kids after this!). So we ordered her last night. Here she is:
  I didn't get the hutch/organizer thingey on top, nor the chair. I'm opting instead for a slipcovered Parsons chair from Ballard Designs. Oh yeah, I get to order that, too!
• INSANELY COOL. My friend Mary won second place for her "Paranormal Romance" novel in the Chicago-North Romance Writers of America 12th Annual Fire and Ice Contest. I am simultaneously ridiculously proud and ridiculously jealous. Mary hopes to get her novel published and I'm certain that this award will open plenty of doors for her; fingers crossed, my friend!!! You rock my world (and give me hope that, like you, I can be a mom of 2 kiddos AND be a writer)!!!
• GETTING THERE. Once upon a time (in December), this girl and her Hubby and Baby Boy moved from a 3-story townhouse to a loft apartment (downsizing by 1 bedroom and 1.5 baths, and also losing a very large storage room). A lot of things went to a storage unit, but a lot of things (too many things) came to the loft. Just before Moving Day, this girl and her Hubby discovered that Baby Girl was on her way. Ultimately, this girl helped move in some boxes, cleaned a countertop or two, then promptly collapsed into bed with "The Illness" that claimed the next 2 months of her life. During this time, Hubby took over primary care of Baby Boy while this girl attempted to nourish herself and Baby Girl (rather unsuccessfully at many times). Nothing got accomplished and many things went undone. We were in survival mode. Around the beginning of March, this girl began to emerge from "The Illness," looked around at the mess and the unpacked boxes, and almost went BACK to bed in defeat. Instead, this girl somehow managed to find the courage to promise to herself to do at least a little bit each day until it got done and the loft was not only liveable, but decorated and clean and comfortable and cozy -- and ready for its 4th occupant come August! What has transpired in the 2 months since that time has been countless hours of very hard work: lots of purging, lots of organizing, lots re-thinking and re-organizing. And I am proud to say that we are almost there. Almost. I wanted to take a break from the loft last weekend but our plans fell through, so I ended up doing even more, and I'm now within just a few hours of finishing. And because I want to be accountable to a deadline of some kind, I am hereby promising to post pictures when all is complete. My desk needs to be delivered, we need to make a couple more storage unit and Goodwill runs, and a big, final clean needs to happen before then, but I promise, I shall post pictures of the finished product, hopefully in the next month or two. Wait for it.
• UPDATE. We will be having our follow-up to the follow-up ultrasound on May 13th. Please say a prayer with us that Lucy's heart is perfectly visible to this doctor. We would very much appreciate it.
• RANT. Why did baby clothing manufacturers decide that if a baby is over 20 pounds, he is no longer entitled to go to bed in sleepers anymore? (Yeah, I'm talking to you, Carter's.) Personally, I think as long as a baby is still in diapers, a onesie-type shirt with pants or what-have-you is more appropriate than 2 pieces, whether it be play clothes or sleeping clothes. We have a few 2-piece pajama sets but I end up using a plain white onesie with the pajama pants because otherwise, Will ends up sleeping with his tee shirt rumpled up under his arms! So I've been on the hunt for larger-sized (12, 18, 24-month) sleepers and have only found moderately expensive and very expensive brands. The former is Hanna Andersson, and we just ordered 2 sleepers at $25 each from there. I choked on the price a bit, but not nearly as much as when I bought sleepers in the latter brand category (very expensive). That would be you, Kissy Kissy. The children's boutique just a few doors down from us sells this line, and I coughed up the money for a couple of these sleepers (starting at $33 apiece!), but then immediately began looking for alternatives. And I'm still not finding anything cheaper than Hanna Andersson. Does anybody know of any other brands that offer sleepers in larger sizes?
• OTHER. You know, I had other random items floating around in my head but I'm just going to stop here because my brain hurts from the sleeplessness. Please leave a comment if you have any helpful hints to offer on any of the above!

April is Autism Awareness Month

As many of you know, my precious nephew Ethan has autism, and it is my privilege to talk about him and to let you all know that April is Autism Awareness Month.

My sister might correct me on this, but I do believe Ethan was about 18 months old when the diagnosis of autism was first floated as a possibility. Immediately Sarah signed up for early intervention therapies, and Ethan has been in therapy (now at Riley Hospital for Children) ever since. My whole family can attest to the fact that early intervention is KEY. Ethan is doing as well as he's doing because of the hard work he's done in therapy. So "autism awareness" isn't just a nice thing to talk about it, it's vitally important! According to the Autism Speaks website, autism is now affecting 1 in 70 boys. Which is just CRAZY to me. What is causing this epidemic??? We need answers now. We need to find the cause and we need to find the cure.

Just last weekend while we were visiting in Indiana, I had the chance to play with Ethan for awhile at my parents' house. We got on the kitchen floor and put together an A-B-C floor puzzle. When he was done assembling it (lightning-fast in my opinion!), Ethan went down the row and said aloud the vocabulary words on each piece. He messed up "V is for violin" (he said "guitar," but hey, easy mistake!) and he couldn't pronounce (X is for) "xylophone," but really, what a dumb word. :) Other than that, his reading comprehension was perfect, and I couldn't stop hugging him when he was done. I'm so proud of him. I have extremely high hopes that he will conquer autism and its associated challenges and live a beautiful, healthy, and fulfilling life.

My Buddy, Auntie B loves you and can't imagine my life without your bright light in it. Keep growing and learning and getting stronger and stronger. I love you so much!

Ethan doing the Easter Egg Hunt. Yes, my sister makes her kids wear bunny ears while they hunt for eggs. I think it's hysterical.

And I can't resist sharing pictures of my other nephew and nieces, because without a doubt, they are just about the funniest kids I've ever known. Like my sister Katie and I have always said, watching them is "Better than TV!"

Only Ada knows for sure what's going on here. But she's taken to adopting a rock star pose when cameras are out. I could have died laughing when she did this.

Abby posing with her loot. Again, only one of my sister's kids would think to pose with her face in the Easter egg basket.

And last but not least, the irrepressible Elijah. Because he's the baby he has to show us how tough he is. Mission accomplished, little boy! :)

Big money, big money!

Yeah, that's right, I'm quoting Wheel of Fortune. And yes, you'd be correct in assuming that there are nights on which the "Wheel and Jeopardy" hour are viewed in my household. No, we are not senior citizens. But yes, I also knit and drive slowly (when my child is in the car with me).

Anyway -- on the subject of big money, I'm actually going to talk about little bits of money that you can save. If you've never visited the Mommy $aves Big Printable Coupons site, let me please point you in that direction! The site offers an array of coupons for major department stores and some smaller stores, and even some major name brands (sometimes I can get a $5 off coupon on Enfamil cans of formula!). Right now there's a couple of great coupons for Macy's, SteinMart, and Barnes & Noble. Speaking of B&N, let me also encourage y'all, if you're big book readers like me and Marty, to get the B&N membership card. It's a one-time cost of $25 and it pays for itself almost immediately, and then you start reaping in all kinds of savings. I even get a couple dollars off lattes in the coffee shop! This especially comes in handy around Christmas-time, when I seem to be haunting the aisles of B&N for nearly every person on my list.

And I can't forget to mention one of my favorite sites for saving money: RetailMeNot.com. They offer mostly online coupon codes, but I love to do some of my shopping online (Bath and Body Works and Drugstore.com are probably my two faves).

The greatest thing about these sites is that you can easily find a coupon, print it off (or copy the code), and save some money. None of that buying a newspaper just to clip coupons just to save money on Cocoa Puffs that you'll never eat. I hate clipping coupons, but my mom does it religiously and saves boatloads of dollars, so I'm envious of anyone who has that kind of patience.

Happy shopping!