Plea Answered!

Just as I suspected, the belt came from a friend who is equally as obsessed-no, maybe more obsessed-with MamaBargains as I am. Perhaps she is more obsessed because I never even saw the belts come up. Thanks, Ashley! We really appreciate you thinking of Kingston. He is, as we speak, as I type, walking around and around the living room with one end in his mouth with the rest dangling in front of him. Good times.

On another note, Kingston had his best day yet at Ms. Cindy's today! He screamed when I left this morning but he apparently settled down and had a big day playing, eating and napping. She even had to wake him up from his nap! She heard him say "uh-oh", "Able" and "book" throughout the day as he jabbered away without his pacifier in his mouth. (We are trying to limit his paci-time) Hooray! I'm so proud of him.

Makes me not worry so much about leaving him for the other 2 days this week while I'm in the Big City. Did I mention I'm going to NYC this week? Oh. OK.

I'm a Slacker!

Forgive me Bloggers, for I have sinned. It has been nearly a week since my last post. I really have no excuse. Well, that's not true. I always have an excuse! Let's see. . . Well first of all, I was reading a really exciting book earlier in the week so any and all of my free time was spent reading. Don't get excited-it wasn't anything that you even would want to know about and I honestly can't even remember the title of the book. I like to read all sorts of books. The favorites that circulate around High Cotton are usually crime/suspense books. That is the sort that I was reading and I got a little too into it! I waited tables 3 full days this week and was tired after I got home, made dinner and put Kingston to bed. That's excuse #2. To round things out, I really wasn't ready to post about how bummed I am about Kingston's transition to daycare. I think I'm ready now.

Tuesday was a good day at Ms. Cindy's for Kingston. He ate, he napped, he played pretty good. Thursday was not the best. He had a good morning but then only took a 35 minute nap and was a mess the rest of the afternoon. Today he needed a small nap this morning (about 30 minutes) because he was super fussy and then slept for an hour this afternoon. He seemed to have a pretty good day except for the fact that Kingston would pitch a fit every time Ms. Cindy would try to touch another kid while she was holding him. When I went to pick him up he was in her lap and another of the little boys came up and hugged me. Kingston immediately started screaming. He didn't like it! What in the world would make him that jealous? It is crazy and I don't like it. Any ideas on how to make that stop? I know he never really has to share my attention with another child but how did he learn that he doesn't like it? Silliness.

Daycare has been working out as good as it can, I guess. I'm a little disappointed that Kingston hasn't adjusted a little better. I know he has only been going to a few weeks but I don't like to worry every time he goes that he is going to have a bad day and make Ms. Cindy's day bad, too. I really just wanted him to slip right into the new routine and be no worse for the wear but it's been a bit tricky. Life at home is different, too. Kingston is even more clingy than usual and no one but me (and Nana) can make him happy. It is a bit frustrating and I hope this phase passes soon.

Next weekend should be interesting. I will be leaving for New York City on Thursday morning and won't be home until Sunday evening. Nigel and Nana are in charge and I hope they survive! Kingston will be going to daycare as usual on Thursday and Friday because I don't think we need to disrupt the current schedule and then will probably spend Friday night and Saturday with Nana and Grandpa. Wish them luck!

I hope tomorrow Kingston and I have a good day together. And I hope he will share me with some other people!

Steak Dinner

We had Ribeyes on the grill (1/2 price at Harris Teeter-wooohooo!), asparagus and mashed potatoes for dinner. Yum!

That was the best part of our day. Well, that and the fact that I was pretty busy at work today and made good tips. I made enough to pay for Kingston to go to Ms. Cindy's tomorrow, too, and pay for part of next week.

Kingston had a pretty good day at daycare today. At least he had a good morning. He played, ate a snack, ate a good lunch, napped for 2 hours. Then he fell apart. He fussed for the rest of the afternoon. Ms. Cindy suggested I take him to the Dr. to get checked for an ear infection, just to rule it out. His eyes were droopy and he seemed sluggish, even though he had had a good nap. So I whisked him down to his doctor to get a quick peek in the ears. Too bad I got there at 4:45 and was informed that they closed at 5:00 and that I could bring him back at 8:30 tomorrow morning to be seen. Huh. Not a happy mama. I almost cried. And it takes a lot to make me cry. (Nurse Karen, if you are reading this, I looked for you but didn't see you back there! I think Kingston is fine. Please don't worry.)

On the way home Kingston seemed to perk up. He has been pretty good this evening and I am back to feeling like it is just the molars giving him heck. I bought some Baby Orajel to try tonight and I'm still going to pump him with Tylenol and see how he feels in the morning. Thanks for all of the suggestions, friends! I plan on getting some Popsicles and/or frozen fruit and some Motrin for future tooth/fever issues.

The bad news came when I checked my email a bit ago and had an update from my Core 4 friend, Mere. Remember Mere? She's the one who just had a sweet baby girl 2 short weeks ago. Well, Mere's husband just got laid off from his job as a lawyer that he has had all of 1 month. They had relocated their family less than a month before the new baby was born for this job. Mere left her favorite nursing job ever to make this move. They left good friends and moved into a rented house for this job. Thank goodness they didn't buy a house like they had originally planned to do. My heart goes out to Mere and her family as they try to put the pieces together and figure out what to do. I know everything will work out for them. It just makes me sick to think about how hard this must be for them. Please say a prayer for them.

So I will focus on the good. My steak dinner sure was delicious!

Honorable MckMention

Obsessed as I am with the My Charming Kids blog, I have again participated in a Name that Photo contest. And I got mentioned on MckMama's blog! Hooray! I have arrived.

So having said that, I feel the pressure to write a really fun and exciting post, seeing as how she linked to me on her blog, which means I should get some new traffic. Hello and welcome new friends! Come back again if you are interested in reading about pretty much nothing of great consequence.

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Kingston participated in his second day of daycare today. Ms. Cindy called at about 10:30 to report that he had stopped crying by the time I had gotten in my car this morning! He did great all day. She said he needs to learn to stop freaking at diaper changing (oops) and to realize that he can't always get his way (he can't?!) but other than that he is a very good boy. She said we should be very proud of him, and we are. A good report card. Whew!

He was totally exhausted when he got home, signing over and over that he was hungry. I think when he gets tired he thinks he needs to eat to keep himself awake! We will work on that one, too. He is currently in bed and has been since 7:15. I think that is the earliest he has ever gone to bed! Worn out for sure. He goes back on Tuesday and should do just fine again.

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On a totally and completely other note, you should see the burgers that I made on Super Bowl Sunday! I could have cared less about the game but really wanted some "game day food" so I turned to a burger. I have recently gotten into reading The Pioneer Woman blog for some good food inspiration and ideas. The burger she cooked and described last week had me intrigued, so I went for it. Check it out! Her picture was much prettier, but I added homemade sweet potato fries, so I think I get a few points for that, right?

It was huge and delicious! It really hit the spot. I recommend it for a different sort of burger, although I will admit I do love a plain old cheeseburger, too. I've already eaten dinner but I really wish I had one of these burgers right this minute, and I'm sure you do too!

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An update on daycare and a picture of a good burger. Pretty fun and exciting, I think. I hope you enjoyed. That was the best I've got. And that was me showing off.

Kingston's First Day

Kingston woke up about 20 minutes early this morning. I have been convinced for the past few days that he senses that something is about to change. I brought him into our bed where he promptly pointed to the TV. Our morning ritual is to turn on cartoons for about 15 minutes while laying in the bed. Today, about 2 minutes into Handy Manny, Kingston gave me the "hungry" sign by touching his fingers to his lips paci. So off we went to have a whole bowl of oatmeal and get geared up for daycare.

We left the house at about 8:45 and arrived at Ms. Cindy's right on time. I took him inside and set him down and off he went to play with the toys. I probably stayed a little too long watching him and he started to get suspicious as I inched toward the door. Ms. Cindy told me to go ahead and leave so I did. I heard his screaming all the way out to my car and until I shut my door and turned on the radio. The poor little fella had a hard time when I left. Ms. Cindy said he stood at the door and fussed for about 20 minutes, then went with her and sat on her lap to watch his favorite movie, Surf's Up, that he had taken with him. He then climbed down and went to play with the toys again. She said he didn't eat much lunch and refused to sit in his highchair for snacks or lunch. When I peeked in the door at 4:00 this afternoon Kingston was sitting at the big boy table, eating a snack, looking happy as a clam. (I'd be happy too if I was eating Fritos and Froot Loops. I said Ms. Cindy was really sweet. I didn't say she fed the kids the healthiest foods!)

Ms. Cindy said that he did a lot better than she expected him to. He still has a ways to go, but she thinks he will adjust very quickly. For now, he will be going to Ms. Cindy's every Tuesday and Thursday. Hopefully he will grow to love it. I am sure he will. It will be so good for all of us.

I have a sneaky suspicion that Thursday will be even harder for Kingston than today was. He would not even let me out of his sights this afternoon for anything! I'll bet he starts to fuss as soon as we walk in the door to Ms. Cindy's on Thursday. We can do it, though. I just keep reminding myself that this will be so good for all of us.

This will be so good for all of us.

Everyone is Home For the Day

Which means. . . Kingston survived his first day at daycare! Details later!

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Yikes!

Today is Kingston's first day at daycare. Wish us luck. We went by to play yesterday afternoon and whenever I got more than 4 feet away he started to cry. Oh, it could be a long day. For Ms. Cindy, for Kingston, and for me! Is it possible to cry yourself to death? No. But it may be possible to be attacked by 3 boys under the age of 4 because you simply will not stop crying. Yikes.

Wish us luck. A few prayers wouldn't hurt either.