Walk Away

My "office" is a cube. A corner cube with a window, but nevertheless, an open cube.

The across the way cube is occupied by an older, more experienced woman. Okay, to be blunt she is elderly, in her mid to late 80s.

This wonderful, wise, fascinating woman was a well-regarded PhD in archaeology in her previous life. Now she does data entry for my company. She has been here a long time (20+ years) and made the dramatic career shift for personal reasons.

She has watched the world change dramatically and has worked hard to keep her skills at the necessary level. To go from being part of a typing pool for VPs to each person having their own computer was obviously a game changer to someone in her position (or really anyone working anywhere).

That being said, she is not necessarily the most tech savvy person. She is very good at her job and has all of the technical capabilities necessary for her position. But she focuses on those systems and programs that are required to accomplish her job. I just heard her on the phone for half an hour (cubes rock!) trying to give someone direction on how to get a client's email address from our database. She spent 20 minutes taking them down one path to learn that they didn't have access to the same things she did, "Okay, let's try something else. Can you go to Google? Do you know how to Google something?..."

Please Don't Be Spies

After picking the girls up from school yesterday, we went over to Stew Leonard's. We visited the animals, toured the store and grabbed some samples before paying for our items and returning to the car.

As we neared the car, AK, who was in the front basket of the cart, decided to try her hand at surfing and stood up. I was aware and grabbed her before she could do any damage, and LP quickly climbed out of the main part of the cart to take her place. None of this is safe or recommended. At this point I noticed a nice older couple sitting on a bench right in front of my car watching the fiasco. Awesome mommy moment one.

Immediately AK sees the people through the front windshield and starts making eyes at them and waving like crazy. No one can resist, so they start waving back.

In the meantime, LP is in the car making her way to her seat. I remind her to get in her carseat and start putting her straps on while I put our bags in the car. When I am done putting the bags in the car, I close the door, get in the front seat, put on my seatbelt and start the car. LP then yells out,"Mommy! My straps aren't on!"

I get out of the car, leaving it running, and making sure the doors are unlocked (that would be an awesome mommy moment, wouldn't it? Locking my kids IN the car with it running). I open LP's door and start strapping her in. She leans out and announces to the lovely couple still waving at AK, "My mommy keeps forgetting to put my straps on!"

As I shush her she makes it clear she isn't done. "Look at my gum! I have my very own gum!" she shouts as she waves a chewed stick of gum out the door so they can see.

So there you have it - a hat trick of mommy awesomeness. Start throwing squid Detroit!

Shoot Me Now

Saturday after ballet I took LP for her seasonal flu shot. A few weeks ago she received her first dose of the H1N1 vaccine as a flu mist and in about 4 weeks (hopefully, if the vaccine is available) she will get her second dose. She cried a bit as she was getting the shot, but in general she handled it well and quieted down as soon as she popped the lollipop the doctor provided into her mouth.

Approximately an hour after leaving the pediatrician's office, I was back. With AK.

AK had spent the morning with the Hoos and he didn't think she looked right. They got home from a local outdoor sports store shortly after LP and me and I concurred and bundled her back into the car. We will ignore the fact that the Hoos passed the pediatrician's office on his way home from said sports store, especially since their only purchase was a pair of really cute clearance shoes for me.

Poor bunny had a fever and the snots and the start of an ear infection. They tested her for the flu (both the Flu A and B? Not sure if this is swine flu and regular?) but she was negative, despite her fever and rosy cheeks. We left with a prescription for antibiotics for her ear and the advice to give her Motrin and Tylenol to control her fever.

By Sunday morning she was on the mend and the fever was broken. But let me tell you, having a baby with 102 for a prolonged period is nerve-wracking enough, I have no desire to watch either of my children suffer with any kind of flu. This totally reinforces my decision to vaccinate the girls. I keep hoping that the H1N1 vaccine will be available for those under two soon. I always feel so helpless when wither of my babies are sick and if vaccinating them will decrease their chances of being knocked down and out for a few days - count me in!

Carve It Up!

Today while AK napped LP and I prepared two of our many pumpkins for Halloween.

NOT What a Mom Wants to Hear

"She had some diarrhea, but we think it is because she ate some paint."

Is that supposed to make me feel better? It is akin to saying, "She isn't sick, but we are obviously not prepared to pay extra attention to the tiny 16-month old addition to our classroom."

Sequential II Would Come in Handy

Let's have a round of applause for AK! She actually napped yesterday. Okay, so it was only for 45 minutes, about 20 minutes LESS than her big sister, but you have to start somewhere. She also was not crazy ravenous when I picked her up, although she did start eating dirt which ended our trip to the playground.

I am going to have to figure out how to adjust out home might-time schedule. However, this is complicated. I feel like it is one of those logic games we used to do in math class in junior high: Jenny, Susie, Mikey and Joe all want to go on a horse-drawn hay ride. Jenny and Susie want to sit next to each other. Mikey can't be next to Susie, Joe hates horses...

1. Tue-Thur I pick the girls up around 5
2. The girls need to be eating dinner no later than 6:15
3. AK needs to be in bed BY 8 (as exemplified by her mini-meltdown at 8:05 last night)
4. The Hoos gets home around 7:15
5. Baths need to be done by 7:45
6. The Hoos and I need to eat dinner
7. I need to make the girls' lunch
8. I need to digest for at least 15 minutes before walking on the treadmill
9. I spend 20 minutes on the treadmill
10. I should start getting ready for bed by 10:15

I know it would help if I didn't feel the need to make dinner every night. But I just can't see myself making and freezing meals on the weekend and I try to limit take-out to one night a week.

Want to plan my evening?

Not Ready to Let Go

AK had her first full day in the Toddler I class yesterday. I hope that things improve.

First, the Hoos said that drop off wasn't pretty. In her old room, as long as the Hoos was doing drop off, she would wiggle out of his arms and run over to her favorite teacher, waiting to be scooped up in her arms. In this room, AK didn't want to be put down. He had to carry her as he put away her things. Then he had to hand her off to a teacher (and not one of her teachers, a fill in teacher she is familiar with; I am not clear on if her teachers were in the room but not available to/interested in taking her or just not there) as she cried.

Fortunately, when the Hoos checked back in a few minutes later she was no longer crying and was walking around playing. He got the okay sign from the teacher that had calmed her down.

I called to check in toward the end of nap time (3pm) and was told that AK was doing fine and had just woken up from "a short nap." I didn't like the sound of "short nap," especially considering last Friday she didn't take a nap at all, but I was happy she wasn't screaming. The teacher also didn't give me the details I might have liked, she was more vague, but maybe that is a function of the room? I know as the kids get older, their daily sheets become less detailed. At this point, LP's sheet is basically a photocopy given to the entire class with her name written on it and a sentence specific to her.

Much to my chagrin, when I picked AK up and actually saw her daily sheet, a "short nap" didn't begin to describe it. She slept from 12:30 - 1:15! Nap time STARTS at 1. And I called at 3 and was told she was just waking up. "I was mistaken, I meant to just say that she was awake." NOT inspiring confidence here.

Baby girl was also a bit out of sorts. As we walked to the playground to enjoy the gorgeous weather she was kind of pulling at me and she nodded emphatically when I asked if she was hungry. Fortunately I had a "juice box" of milk in the car and a container of applesauce. She drank half the milk in one continuous suck. She has a water cup in class and her sheet said that she ate all of the offered snacks (Kix for am snack, cheese and crackers for 3pm snack and Cheerios for 5 pm snack), but who knows? Likely they were just setting up the 5pm snack and had prefilled in the sheet.

In general, last night was fine, although AK definitely was tired. She didn't eat much dinner, preferring to decorate the floor with it (why, oh, why did I try to serve her rice?!). At 7 she walked to the bathroom door and pointed at the tub, ready for her bedtime ritual to begin. After the bath and some playtime with her big sister, she was walking toward the stairs, indicating that she wanted to brush her teeth. By 8 she was asleep.

I don't mind the early bed part, but I am definitely missing my relationship with her Infant Room II teachers. I hope that we all adjust to the new room and schedule soon.

Left in the Dust

Apparently my girls celebrated birthdays or at least jumped ahead a few years in terms of their development and forgot to tell me.

After reneging on wearing underwear to bed Thursday night, LP has been wearing it every night since! And as she will tell you, "I don't pee in the middle of the night and I stay dry!" HOORAY!

She has also become a gum chewing expert (I know, she shouldn't really have it, but it is the ultimate inexpensive bribery tool for her), she hasn't swallowed it or gotten it in her hair - yet.

We also finally picked out her Halloween costume. Shockingly, she will be Tinkerbell. Before buying it for her I made her understand and repeat that she will have to wear a shirt and pants under the pretty, light-weight dress (it was in the 30s here this weekend!!!). I think what really sold her on it were the cheap plastic clip-on earrings that came with it,"Mommy, do they stick in my ears? No, they do on like hair clips? Oh? Can I get real earrings? Not till I'm big? But Isabella has them and she is three like me."

Not to be outdone, AK has enjoyed sneaking sips from my iced coffee (LP took one taste when she was little and spit it out, never to try to drink from my cups again, AK is apparently a decaffeine fiend). She also has this awesome new thing of telling us when she is ready for bed, climbing out of my arms, sidling up to the crib, and pointing.

AK is also eagerly attempting to repeat words. One of her new favorites is, "Yesssssh!" Which is much better than "No". Actually, I am not sure that she uses "No" yet, not that I am complaining. There will be plenty of time for her to use that word - just ask LP...

Mama?

Monday night I decided to DVR Aladdin which was playing on the Disney Channel. While we continue to sloooowly plow through Snow White (skipping any remotely scary scenes) I figured this might be a nice alternative to Tinkerbell (apparently there is a straight-to-DVD Tinkerbell movie coming out later this month, I may have to be first in line).

Once again, I was shocked, but not surprised to realize that once again, a Disney movie has an absent mother. Yes, I have seen Aladdin before (I think as a camp counselor it was a rainy day trip, although I am not and was never above going to animated movies without this type of incentive), but I guess I just forgot.

Then I went through my mental list of Disney movies:

• Cinderella - no mom, just evil stepmom
• Snow White - see above
• Beauty and the Beast - no mention
• Aladdin - see above
• The Little Mermaid - see above
• Bambi - killed pretty early
• Finding Nemo - see above
• Dumbo - torn away from her child (the most positive role model of the Disney moms, although violence is not the answer)

Of course this list is not comprehensive and there are dozens of Disney animated classics, but, dude, cut a mom a break...Daddies are cool and all, but little princesses need their mommies too!

One More PullUp

For the last couple of weeks LP has been waking up dry. Yes, despite the fat that she has been toilet trained - without barely an accident - since last December, she continues to wear pullups to bed, so waking up dry is a big deal. Several times over the last few months I have tried to accelerate the wearing of underwear to bed with not so great results. Instead, I just go out and buy more pullups.

Tuesday morning LP once again woke up dry and told the Hoos, "Daddy, just two more pullups!" despite the fact that she actually had a huge stack of them in her special princess pullup box. Yesterday she woke up dry again and she insisted on calling me at work to tell me, "Mommy, just one for pullup!" she yelled from the back seat of the car into his cell phone. We have no idea how or why she set this deadline, but heck yeah, I am all for reducing my diaper bill.

Now if only we can convince her to pee as soon as she wakes up. The Hoos has been struggling to get her to take a "morning pee" for months. Especially since she refuses at home and then as soon as they walk into day care she insists on using the bathrooms there.

Tonight should be interesting. I am hopeful that her track record for dryness has boosted her confidence and bladder capacity and life (and sleep) should be uninterrupted.

A Trip, Her Trap, No Naps

Yesterday was LP's first school trip. I was not able to go - a girl has to work sometimes, you know - but I was fortunate that 1. several of my friends chaperoned and 2. LP is quite talkative. Between the reports from my friends, their pictures, and LP's perspective, it was almost like I was there.

From DM: It was fun, the farm is nice & the field trip is pretty well organized. WE got there & hopped right onto a hay/tractor ride & went through the apple orchards, then we got to pick a pumpkin & run around a little, then is was onto the petting zoo & snack time. I thought [LP] was going to feed the animals a few times, she got close to the deer, but she faked me out & just threw the food at them!

From MLH: My fave [LP] moment was when she was walking around covering her ears b/c she didn't like peacocks!? Are peacocks noisy?

From LP's friend CS: I rode on a tractor

LP on the drive: I drove with [DM]. We had Pirate Booty in the car in case we got hungry.

LP on the farm: I almost fed a deer. But the lady said 'don't feed the buffalo.' They can get...sad because no one feeds them, but you can't feed them.

And more insight from LP from back in the classroom: When we were eating pumpkin pie and Miss Miller was putting more water in the fish tank, I said 'POOP! POOP! I smell poop!' And it was [so-and-so]. He pooped in his pants.

And reflecting on the trip to the Hoos: Daddy, it would have been nice if you came on my field trip. It would be fun to drive in your car to the farm. [NOTE: I might have cried if she said this to me]

After all of this hoopla you would have thought that LP would have been exhausted and napped like a superstar. Alas, no nap was enjoyed. Even better, when I picked up AK she had decided that napping was beneath her as well. SHE IS 16 MONTHS OLD! SHE IS NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE UP NAPS.

Proving that miracles do happen, even without naps, and with the Hoos working a bit late - there were NO meltdowns in our house last night. The girls ate dinner and played and enjoyed each other. I did put AK down at 7:30 - half an hour earlier than usual - and she went right down. It was actually a pretty drama-free night - dare I say, better than some others that include naps?

Can't Get Enough

Here is AK eating an apple as big as her head and showing off her mad word skills.


Don't despair if you are missing an update on LP. She is doing great - I hope to have fun stories from her field trip to the farm. Worst case, I am sure she will say something ridiculously silly that I can blog about tomorrow.

Too Soon

I can't believe we have already hit the point where AK has determined she does not need to nap. She does, and she will eventually. But it is 3pm and she is nap free...and she thinks she is a 3 year-old princess...

You should see her walk in the heels! She is better than LP!

That Really Burns My Butt

Last night a little before 1, AK woke up SCREAMING. Since she hadn't gone to bed until 10PM - two hours after her usual bedtime - this was very strange and incredibly jarring. I went in to her room and decided to change her diaper. As soon as I pulled it open, I saw the problem. Poor muffin had a most unfortunate poop and the diaper rash from hell.

This required reinforcements.

The Hoos joined me, bleary eyed, but at the ready. I held poor munchkin's little legs while she writhed in pain as he attempted to clean her off.

AK is at the end of her course of antibiotics for her ear infections and apparently Cefdiner/Omnicef has the reputation of being a tush killer. I have honestly never seen such an awful looking heiney (not that I have seen many, mind you). The pediatrician recommended a course of thrice daily Nystatin for the rash (which appears to be a yeast infection ALL OVER her private cheeks), baking soda baths followed by some hair dryer action to make sure she is nice and dry, and Mylanta. The Mylanta part was weird to me. I am to pour the antacid on her cutie patootie. Hey - we like this pediatrician because she is a seasoned veteran, if she says it will make baby girl feel better, I am all in.

Right now AK is sleeping. I can't blame her since she was up late, intermittently, and early. Hopefully all will be right with the world in the next day or so. I needed a reason to visit the pediatrician anyway - trying to determine if I should show up to the flu clinic tomorrow so LP can get her first round of the H1N1 flu mist...which means, TWO DAYS IN A ROW AT THE DOCTOR! Rock on!

Question Everything

Ever have someone that you think has questionable taste compliment you? And then it makes you question your own taste, "Oh, wow, she likes these shoes? Are they butt ugly?"

Although the idea of me as a fashionista is and should be laughable to those that know me, I think it has been a while since I totally embarrassed myself (like the time I wore a skirt that had the glue from a size sticker embedded down the front of it and I pretended I didn't care), not including any critique by the Hoos.

The thing is, at this point, so few of my clothes don't have permanent stains from snot or Vicks vapor rub or who-knows-what, that I am very protective of those items that are still in decent shape. Like shoes. Which happens to be what this woman complimented me on.

Thankfully I am planning an outlet shopping excursion with some friends soon, so I can replace the lovely brown flats that are very comfortable and very cute with something that hasn't been tainted by my colleague's opinion -- or my kids' body fluids.

It's That Time Again...

TRANSITION TIME!

We received the word that my little AK is moving up to the Toddler I Room at day care. No longer will I have a preschooler and an infant, my baby girl is a bona fide toddler!

In some respects, I am totally psyched:

1. My weekly day care expenses will go down!
2. The room only has one nap time (from 12:30-3) instead of two, which jibes perfectly with baby girl's schedule. Meaning she won't just have woken up two minutes before I pick her up.
3. They have gym every day. More exercise = more energy expended = better night's sleep for everyone!
4. You don't have to take your shoes off to go in the room! AK's current room is considered an infant room, and as such there are some crawlers. For safety purposes all parents have to remove their shoes before entering the room. My toenails still have remnants of the bright pink pedi I had months ago - so embarrassing! And really, barefoot parents isn't really more hygienic than shoes sometimes...

In other ways, I am a bit worried:

1. The Toddler I room has the reputation as "the biting class." Not the current students in particular, but in general. The 18-24 month period is when kids are the most frustrated about their inability to express themselves and the most likely to bite others. I can't even tell you how many incident reports we got when LP was in the room that she was the recipient or perpetrator of such an attack.
2. The kids sleep on cots - the days of the crib are over. COTS! Have you seen my AK? She is a tiny little peanut! I can't even picture her on a cot. Note to self, get a teacher to take a picture.
3. AK is my baby. She can't talk (although she has started shaking or nodding her head in response to questions - adorable), she is still a little love bug that craves attention and love...how is it even possible that she is ready to be considered a toddler?

Too Scary or Too Soft?

The Hoos has been complaining about the nightly viewings of Tinkerbell. I saved it to the DVR a couple of months ago and it has become required viewing as part of the bedtime ritual. LP still loves it.

Fortuitously, I received a copy of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the mail Monday. I was stoked for some new entertainment. I couldn't wait to tell LP when I picked her up from school. I also thought it would be good to show her that Snow White was more than just one of the princesses on her Pull-Ups or a type of Barbie. We watched a few minutes during dinner, but LP requested that I turn it off right around the time that the Hunter considered killing Snow White as per the Queen's demands.

When we put the movie on again before bed (at LP's request), I skipped ahead to Snow White's first encounter with all of the lovely little animals in the woods. From there on LP was transfixed. When I returned to the living room after putting AK to sleep, LP caught me up, "The little men think it is their house, but it is Snow White's house! And they didn't want to wash their hands!" We had to promise we would watch more of the movie tomorrow in order to get her to bed. Of course, we haven't gotten to the part where the evil queen shows up disguised as a crone bearing an apple. I am a little concerned at how LP will react to that scene, but I think (hope?) a lot of the scary parts go over her head.

Admittedly, it has been a while since I watched Snow White. And it is kind of scary. Back in the day (it came out in 1937) I have to imagine that kids were so excited to see a movie that they were more willing to tolerate parts that were frightening. Or, maybe they were made of tougher stuff. Also, the art of movie-making has changed. Nowadays it is all about action and capturing a kid's attention for the duration of the film. Snow White tells the story at a more measured pace.

So, what do you think? Were kids better equipped to handle scary stories back in the day? A friend recently commented on some characters in Dumbo being less than pleasant and we all know how things worked out for Bambi's mom...

By the way, the art of animation has come a long way in the last seven decades! While the DVD pack I got comes with both DVD and Blu-Ray versions of the movie, we don't have Blu-Ray (which apparently is quite high-def and awesome - in addition to being kid proof; key since LP inserted our DVD and it skipped because she smeared cheese on it), although I can't really see how any high-definition would actually improve the quality, since the original movie animation doesn't have a lot of detail. Snow White doesn't really have a chin and is sort of blobby. Then again, maybe the scary parts are more palatable because Snow White doesn't look realistic - the way characters in more modern animated films might.

Check it out for yourself (the DVD/Blu-Ray pack comes out today) and let me know what you think - too scary for a three-year old? Or do you have any memories to share of being frightened by a seemingly benign Disney classic?

As I am sure you are well aware, the DVD did not magically arrive at my home - it was sent to me by One2OneMarketing to review.

I Never

Remember that drinking game where you would go around and announce things that you had never done and anyone who had done something you hadn't would have to take a drink? Well, this is like that, but not really.

I never thought:

• I would let my one year old eat candy (and then I had a second child)
• Bribery would be my primary strategy (and then I had to try to get a three year old to take Dimetap)
• Sleeping until 8am would be considered late (and then I had children)
• Chasing would be my main form of exercise (I never was much of an exerciser though)
• Singing in public wouldn't be embarrassing (especially when you have a trio)
• I would be one of those moms that opens items in her grocery cart while still shopping (until I had to keep my one year old occupied so she wouldn't bust out of the grocery cart)

Really, I never thought it would come to this.

Cram It In

This weekend I feel like we had a whole bunch of different activities going on. While hectic, I loved it.

Friday night was dinner in the sukkah at my in-laws, which both girls loved, even if it did mean that AK was a disaster, running all over the place.

Saturday morning LP had ballet. I have determined that 9am is too early for my family. The downside of everyone sleeping past 8 I guess? Regardless, LP had a wonderful time.

Later in the morning the Hoos had to get some work done, so I took the girls to Stew's for a hayride. We had never been before, and, while it only cost $1 for the three of us to ride, it was very weird. It is in their underground parking gargage and they have a variety of scenes laid out - some related to Halloween - like a haunted grave yard with skeletons - and some are just odd, like cardboard cutouts of Pat Sayjak and Vanna White in front of a Wheel of Fortune wheel with cutouts of "H. Simpson" and "B. Obama" as the contestants. Fortunately, the scary things did not impact either of my little monkeys. When we got off the ride, LP told me it was "fu-uhn!" and her favorite part were the "light-ups" (the Christmas lights they use to decorate the graveyard vignette).

And the day wasn't over!

After lunch, we all piled into the car and headed down to Long Island. We were off to visit my best friend from high school and her husband and two little boys. Both of my girls slept in the car - yay for naps! The kids all had a great time once they warmed up and the weather turned out to be very nice. After Chinese take-out dinner we were off again - fortunately this time we only had a 20 minute drive to my parents' house where we spent the night.

The girls were very wound up and excited to be at Grandma and Papa's house. It took a while to get them to bed, but fortunately once they were down they slept through the night.

The next day the girls ran my parents ragged while the Hoos and I ran some errands. He got a new jacket and I got my birthday present - a wireless router. Woo-hoo! It is amazing how much easier shopping is without little muffins in tow.

Once again, timing a trip for after a meal (lunch), we headed back to Norwalk. Once home I set up the router - which works wonderfully - and the Hoos replaced a sensor on our garage door so that the garage door opener actually works.

Last night was another dinner in the sukkah. Pizza was easy, the weather was fantastic and the girls enjoyed their cousins. Crazy to think we crammed so much into one weekend. I am betting that it will make our next lazy, do-nothing weekend even more appealing.

This is How We Do It!

I had a doctor's appointment this morning (my first physical since before college I think) so I sent both girls to day care. My 9 am appointment was over by 10:15 so I had a large part of the day all to myself. This is obviously highly unusual. So, what did I do?

• Grocery shopping
• Changed the sheets on all the beds
• Two loads of laundry
• Went to Home Depot to purchase a replacement glass globe for a light fixture
• Put the globe up in the bathroom (and learned a lesson - do not attempt to swat flies with a towel near breakable things)
• Bought the girls some winter clothes at Kohl's
• Purchased myself some clearance items at Old Navy
• Worked
• Watched last night's Project Runway
• Made lunch (shrimp and rice) with leftovers for tomorrow
• Packed the diaper bag for what we hope will be a fun (but cold) dinner in my in-laws sukkah

Now I am off to pick up the girls and think of the things I could accomplish if I was left to my own devices more often!

Not For Nothing

Okay, this has totally nothing to do with anything, but I am excited by a new feature that my bank recently introduced - ATM deposits that don't require an envelope or deposit slip!

Today was the first time I encountered this. After scouring my house for a deposit slip (I have pretty much used all of the ones up from the backs of the check books), I made my way to the ATM on my way to work this morning. When I first pulled up I was PISSED because there were no envelopes. Never fear! As I looked at the ATM I noticed it was new and different. And AWESOME.

Basically you press the buttons indicating you want to make a deposit, select the account the deposit is going to and then insert the checks in a certain orientation (up to 30 at a time - I did two) and the machine automatically scans them and confirms your deposit amount. You don't enter your deposit amount - it reads it and tells you! You can then get your receipt printed with the scans of the checks (for those paranoid about new technology going bad, this may mitigate some concern).

I know, I am silly to be excited about this. But it makes me like Chase bank even more. Now if only they would give me free money...

Lucky Like a Charm

AK is cute - adorable really. Which is really very lucky for her. Because she has stopped sleeping through the night. Really, stopped sleeping at all it seems. Last night we were up with her on and off from 11:45 until 3.

She has a cough, so the Hoos is hypothesizing that she is sick.

I think it is teething.

Unfortunately it is impossible to provide her relief because she refuses to let you put Orajel on her and continues to clamp her mouth shut when we try to give her tylenol.

Once again I am reminded about the importance of looks. If AK wasn't cute, she would for sure be at risk for being sold on eBay.