I (We) Have Literally Created a Monster

The past few weeks I have noticed my pug becoming irritated with me and wanting my attention & affection more than usual. He is annoyed that he can't sleep right next to me like he used to, because I need the comfort from a body pillow it creates a barrier between he and I that he was not used to. He cannot fall asleep without being right next to me (touching). When I was on vacation I found that it is hard for me to sleep without him by my side. I find his snoring to be soothing, I just adore him. He is the pack leader in our house, that can be a problem because when he feels threatened by another person he exhibits one behavior that makes me angry -- the marking of the territory.

The first time we noticed it was when my cousing Ryan stayed with us last summer. Ryan is a very tall guy - he is about 6'7 and wears a size 17 shoe. Pugcheesy was threatened by his large stature and began to pee all over any belonging Ryan left on the floor in his room. We got smart and decided to keep the doors closed after we realized this. But he is starting to do it again now, and I'm pretty sure it's because of Baby Cheese. Pugcheesy peed in the bathroom the other day, which was weird.

I know he thinks he's really macho but he is going to end up wearing a diaper if he keeps this crap up. He was neutered a long time ago, when he was 6 months old.
Because he is small and nice (has never even threatened to bite anyone in his 4 years of life) I can tolerate him as pack leader. I just want to know how to stop his pee issue.

When the baby comes I'm sure he'll be put out, but he has Cheeseador Retreiver to cuddle with if I am not available. Also, he loves kids, especially toddlers and up - when the baby begins to walk and crawl he will become her best friend, I'm sure of it.

Courtyard Obsession

Last weekend I was obsessed with making the courtyard "hibiscus heaven" - notice my prego shadow beyond the blossom :)

The courtyard is under construction - constant improvement is needed.

Mr. Cheese = Total Sweetness

A while back I posted photos of my doggies to the right hand side of the blog. Mr. Cheese asked why he wasn't represented. I informed him that I didn't know he had an active interest in this blog and didn't know he wanted to be "represented". He then told me that he would like to be featured as part of the blog, and I was honored. I then placed a cool photo of him with his snowboard in Steamboat, and he was not happy with that photo. It seems that he doesn't mind having his face featured on the blog, so I finally updated it to show him as my favorite, little businessman :)

I was happily surprised that he wanted a photo of himself up here. I guess I'm the one who has an issue with my face showing, I'm sure I'll get over that soon. I always find Mr. Cheese to be so sweet. With this pregnancy he just grows sweeter by the day!

We just got over a very eventful weekend. I had a girls night out on Friday, and he had a Guys night out. We pulled into the garage at the exact same time (about 11pm) we came home and crashed - hard. These days I sleep LIKE A ROCK. It is wonderful. On Saturday we rested up and then went to a birthday celebration for one of my most excellent co-workers. Mr Cheese was shocked to see how happy these people are (and they don't even drink a lot!). These are the kind of people that my mother always wanted me to hang out with - that even play charade games! On Sunday I felt bad for not cleaning and accomplishing much on Saturday so I went to church at 8am - went to Home Depot, Target and the produce market. I bought lots of flowers for the courtyard and managed to work outside quite a bit. By the end of the day my back was killing me and the house was better off. Mr Cheese vacuumed and studied.

This work week isn't bad so far, but I am certainly busy. I'm trying to manage the stress better and feel that I'm doing a better job of it. I just have to remember that I can only accomplish so much in one day. I will give it my best shot, but I refuse to get emotional or stress over it. We'll see how long I can stick with this mantra. I probably have one of the most stressful jobs out there (aside from police officer and EMT). A stressful DESK job is what I have.

Wish me luck!

25 weeks along!

Ok, I can so see the growth here, it's been about 1.5-2 weeks since the last photo.

Is it Friday Yet?

Last weekend was great! Last Friday, June 13th was Mr. Cheese's birthday and there was some serious fun to be had! I took him by his request to Rafain. He was tired on Friday because he enjoyed a happy hour after work, in honor of his birthday on Thursday evening. Before we went to Rafain he went to the movie theatre to see the opening of "The Happening". For his birthday I gave him, The Office Season 3, and a Sigg Water bottle. He seemed super happy, I think I did okay :)

On Saturday night we went out with a friend and his new fiance! I was able to meet her for the very first time and I'm convinced that they already make an amazing couple! They brought along their 2.5 year old boy and he behaved like an angel. They informed us that this behavior is not unusual for him. Now I know who to seek advice from! Saturday night we did family style at Maggiano's -- uhhmm can't go wrong there - the fried zuchinni is THE best! I love to see awesome people find each other! Yay!

I think Mr. Cheese had a great weekend/week. He simply LOVES to be fussed over, whether he admits it or not. Lucky for me, he is very fun to fuss over :)

What Kind of Diapers Should I Use?

So now that I'm going to be a new Mom in approximately 3 months, I've been seriously thinking about what kind of diapers I should use. I want to analyze every angle and find out which would be best for my baby. This is one of the reasons why I'm having my first child now, a few years ago, I would not have really given this matter much thought.

I have always thought that disposable diapers seem wasteful, but I also feel that I shouldn't judge others for their choices. Don't most people use disposables anyway? It seems that most people don't think about diapers very much. But I saw a post about saving money and cutting costs and the author mentioned cotton diapers, they also mentioned that the disposable brands (for the most part) contain chemicals like dioxin which certainly can't be good for anyone, especially baby. I also read an article that linked disposable diapers with asthma and allergies. All of these factors make me feel pretty upbeat about cloth diapers.

Not to mention that you can now find cloth diapers in cute patterns, and nice bright colors and there are some brands that make a one size fits all that allow the diaper to adjust from 8lbs to 35lbs! Also, children that wear cloth tend to potty train quicker.

Disadvantages would be that I will be doing more laundry! One would think that it would be grosser but, I've read that some Moms think the disposables smell worse and are grosser, so that appears to be subjective.

I think my baby would want me to do cloth diapers, because it is what is best for her. I didn't know that some tampons have dioxin in them (if not all?) I just found this out from reading about diapers, so I'm going to have to change the products that I use as well. If my baby is anything like me,(and heck, she has my genes!) then I know she will be happy with this decision. The chemicals in disposable diapers alone have me running for the cloth at this point.

I will also get the added plus of knowing that I am not being wasteful and contributing to the gross, massive diaper landfill! The upfront cost of using cloth diapers is more, but the overall savings really adds up. Especially if I can use them for baby #2 if and when they should ever come along!

Doe anyone else have any diaper advice or recomendations?

*Note: I ended up going with bum genius 3.0 "All In One's" - It was a GREAT decision!

Baby Belly -- 23 Weeks

Probably not much difference from last week - but here it is!