I am only an aunt

So...........Thursday was the last day in my 10-day "stint" at work so I thought I would celebrate by having Miss Bella spend the night with us and then spend the whole day Friday with me.  And so it was. 

I picked her up at the babysitters on Friday evening and brought her home.  She had a lot of fun and played with Quintin and watched me in the kitchen.  She ate some food and we had a good ole time playing and then she and I took a bath.  This little girl loves taking a bath.  She laughs and laughs and gets the washrag wet, sucks some water out of it, wets it, sucks the water out..... aaaaaaaand repeat.  She seems to be obsessed with my belly button ring too.  She just can't quite grasp it.  Both figuratively and literally. 

So after the bath, lotion fest and jammies.  And to get her to lay still while putting a diaper on her is a lot of exercise for this fat woman!! Still, I was having fun.  Quintin was having fun.  Bella was having fun.... well she was for a while.  Then she got really tired, really fast. 

It is at this point that I get this vision in my head of me cradling the young child in the warm blanket and she goes to sleep with a smile on her face and a "coo" in her breath.  I don't know where that vision comes from.  But what really happens is this:  I cradle her in the blanket (the same blanket she uses EVERYTIME she comes to our house), sit in the rocking chair, and quietly talk to her.  And this is how it really ends up:  I give her to Quintin, who is laying all spread out in his recliner (because the upright position might just kill him) and he lays her on her back, on his stomach, and she goes right to sleep.  Now that's BS!

When she's good and asleep, I take her upstairs and put her in the crib that is set up in our bedroom and I turn on the nightlight.  She stays asleep so I take inventory of what I have in the room and what I don't have.....that I may need.  So back downstairs to get a diaper, wipes, powder, an extra set of clothes... yada yada yada.  I get it all set on the cornerstand by her bed and stop and just look at her.  Peacefully sleeping and get this..... she coos in her sleep!!!  That is too cute!!!

So when Q and I finally get to bed, I am exhausted.  I always tell myself not to sleep too sound because I don't want to NOT hear her.  I'm so afraid she will need something in the night and I will sleep through it.  No worries, I got this.  Off to dreamland we all go.  Lights out.

I remember dreaming about work, and then all of a sudden.....did you hear that???  Bella moved.  I heard her move.  I look over and she's still sound asleep; just changed positions.  Lay down.  Fall asleep.  I heard it again!  She moved again.  I check her.  Everything is fine.  "Ok Shellie, stop this!  You don't have to physically check her every time she moves."  This is what I was telling myself in my head.  Fine, back to sleep.

"Waaa" and I'm out of that bed like I had been shot from a cannon.  I turn on the nightlight and she has grabbed her bottle, taken a drink and is holding it COMPLETELY ASLEEP in the 1.6 seconds it took me to get from my bed to hers!!!  Unbelievable!!!  Back to bed and start over. 

Every single time that child moved, I was awake.  So it comes as no surprise that at 3 something o'clock in the morning, I am wide awake and have NOTHING to do!!!  Had it been ANY other day of the week, I would have just went downstairs and started cleaning or dusting or something but NO..... my cleaning lady comes that morning so I can't do any cleaning.  Because my wonderful husband brought it to my attention that I tend to be "one of those women" that I hated to clean houses for.  The ones that cleaned for the cleaning lady.  *sigh*

Anyway.....moving on..... there I laid.  Some of you may remember reading my Facebook status that said something to the effect of "Here I am.....3:30 in the morning and wide awake (Me, not baby Bella).  So wouldn't you know..... Bella was a perfect little angel all night.  She didn't cry again.  She didn't need anything.  Wouldn't you know!?!

I laid in my bed until 6am and then I couldn't take it anymore.  I had to get up.  I did move Bella to our bed and told Q she was there.  I think deep down, I was hoping she would wake up BUT NOOOO!  She was in a deep sleep and wasn't going to wake up just yet!  I made breakfast for her as we were starting our morning earlier than usual.  I got her clothes laid out for the day.  Got the diaper bag ready to go.  Everything taken out to the car, went to Casey's and put gas in the car for our "road trip," and started Q's pickup so it would be nice and warm when he went to work. 

When I went upstairs, I made the mistake of letting Buddy go up with me.  He jumped up on the bed and right on Bella.  HE woke her up!  And she was pissed!  She cried and looked at him like he was in some kind of trouble lol.  I took her downstairs and we got ready for our day. 

She wouldn't lay still for her diaper & clothes change.  She cried when I put her in her walker.  She wouldn't eat or drink ANYTHING I gave her.  Ugh, it was miserable.  So, I did what anybody would do.  I got her coat on her and away we went.  To Bedford we go!!!  She was asleep about 3 miles out of town.  We let Kenny Chesney serenade us all morning.  One stop in Corning and back on the road. 

When we got to Bedford, she was all giggles and smiles.  She had a good time playing with a puppy (that coincidentally is named Bella) and meeting my aunt and uncle.  She got to play with some kids at my niece's daycare for a little bit while I visited with my family.  My little great-nephew thought she was pretty cool.  He pulled her binky out of her mouth and pointed at her and said, "What's that???"  Oh man, he is too cute.  I think it threw him off to see me with a child. 

Time for lunch.  We went to the Junction Cafe and man, was it delicious.  She loved the mashed taters & gravy, cottage cheese and chocolate pudding (she really loved that).  She had some of these things while we were waiting.  They are snacks for babies that look like cheese puffs.  I didn't taste one because for some reason, I don't think they taste like cheese puffs.  And then....if they did.... I would have ate all the baby's snacks.  And that wouldn't be nice now, would it???

Back on the road.  We stopped at Kathy's house and chatted for a little while.  Bella was exhausted.  Well of course she was!  She had fallen asleep after I filled up her little belly with Junction food!!  She got a whole 20 minute power nap in.  So then we headed back north.  She got to sleep another 25 minutes or so and we stopped at my house.  (Poor girl didn't get to stick to her routine AT ALL!)

Change of clothes after a spit bath (I didn't really spit on her, I promise) and let her unwind for a little bit.  Now back to the car where we head to Des Moines to meet Kathy and Jackie, who are staying up there for the weekend to celebrate Jackie's 23rd birthday.  On the way up, I was talking to Kathy on the phone and I said, "You know, Bella hasn't pooped all day.  That worries me a little bit."  I gave her a little 50/50 apple juice/water.  She was happy and slept most of the way up there. 

Before going to the motel, we dropped off at a Goodwill store where I found some cute little overalls for Bella and a pair of black slip-ons.  They are a little big but she can wear them for a while now.  As we get in the car, I smell it.  THAT SMELL.  Oh my gosh how do babies do that???  Well, I pretty much asked for it, didn't I?

I called Kathy and asked where they were staying and all that info and headed there.  Taking a wrong turn and missing the road I was supposed to be on.....this is why I don't like driving up there.....we finally arrive.  And not a minute too soon.  I was gagging as I was carrying Miss Bella into the hotel.  Oh dear!!! 

Got her changed and she was happy then.  Man, that smell was wretched though.  Yuck!!!  I put the nasty smelling thing in a bag but that didn't really contain it very well.  Ten minutes later, guess what.  Yes!  She did it again!!!  I kid you not!!!  Thankfully Kathy took over and changed her because I wasn't going to be able to eat dinner if I had to look at poop again!!!  Poor kid.  I don't know what would have happened if we were on the road and it happened that way. 

Luckily, we got to dinner and nobody got hurt.  It was a surprise though.  I let Kathy drive us there and scared the living heebee jeebees out of me.  Dinner was at Applebees and Sheila joined us and we had a blast.  Of course, if I wasn't picking up food from the floor (yes, I'm one of THOSE) that Bella dropped while eating, I was picking ice out of my crotch because well...let's just say, Bella thought I was getting too hot in there!

So, as exhausting as it was.....it was a great time.  I love that little girl.  And I will do it again.  And again.  And again.  Ugh, I hope I lost a pound or two doing that!!!