Fail.

Um. So. Yeah.

That whole "less TV thing"? Total, total fail. I still watch just as much TV. Does it count that I've been reading a book while the TV is on? *guilty face*

In other news, my kiddo is growing ridiculously fast. He's up to 11 pounds (!!!) and smiles and grins all the time. Unfortunately, he's had his first cold for the last week or so. He's finally on the mend but oh man, mommy's heart was breaking the first couple days as he snorted and snotted and sounded absolutely miserable. Breaking news: babies hate having saline sprayed up their nose. And they also hate nasal aspirators. I can't say I blame him...I don't think I'd like someone shoving some sucky thing up my nose, either. I came down with a cold a couple days after him but mine is almost totally gone other than a tiny bit of congestion on the right side. Thank goodness for my trusty Neti pot.

It looks like I'm going to be doing an elimination diet once I've used up the delicious mac n' cheese in my pantry. Rowan still has a little rash on his face and chest. It looks like little teensy red pimples; I would think it was heat rash if it wasn't there all the time. It still doesn't seem to be bothering him, but I can't figure out what's causing it, so out dairy goes. I've been casually doing the elimination diet, cutting out big stuff like milk and cheese, but it hasn't helped so I'm going to have to go hardcore and actually cut all dairy, including hidden dairy. (Hidden dairy is stuff like bread made with milk, milk chocolate, etc.) Not going to lie, I'm really intimidated. My husband is a super picky eater, and I don't have the energy to cook two dinners to keep him happy. This will be a rough transition for us, but I told DH that we only have to do it for a couple weeks to see if dairy is the culprit behind Rowan's rash.

And now a little whine. (Can't have cheese with that...har har.) I cannot stand status hijackers on Facebook. You know what I mean...the people who come along and use your status/wall as a chance to talk about themselves. There's one girl on my friends list who CONSTANTLY does that. I posted a status about what a good dad DH is, and she somehow used it as an opportunity to talk about how her daughter used to have trouble falling asleep. Um...what? Post that mess on your own wall. Honestly, if I didn't use FB as a way to post pictures of Rowan for my grandma and keep in touch with some far-away friends, I would just delete the thing. People be cray.

Can't miss an opportunity to shamelessly AW my kiddo, so here ya go. I took these yesterday. (For the record, his shirt is open because we were between a diaper change and a bath, so I had him unzipped and laying on my bed.) His facial expressions are a constant source of entertainment to me.

The Boob Tube

Ironically, this post has nothing to do with boobs. Which is, again, ironic, since I feel like my entire life revolves around breastfeeding and pumping and milk production right now.

Instead, this post is all about television.

I've come to the conclusion that I watch way too stinkin' much of it. I don't like admitting it, but I probably watch a good 8 hours of TV a day. *hangs head in shame* I usually give up trying to sleep in with Rowan around 9:00 in the morning, head into the living room, and turn on the box. (Can a flat screen be called a box? "Turn on the square" just sounds dumb.) And I leave it on. All day.

To be fair, I try to watch educational stuff sometimes. I'm a sucker for Jeopardy! and I like NatGeo and the History Channel. But there are also Friends reruns, The Big Bang Theory, etc. I'm pretty sure I'm rotting my brain, and possibly Rowan's.

My excuse for being a lazy blob

I really want to break myself of this habit, but it's just SO easy to keep myself entertained with TV. It's hard to read when I'm nursing a flailing baby, and crocheting encounters the same obstacle. I just don't want to raise Rowan in a TV-centered household, where he sits in front of the tube all day and never plays outside or uses his imagination. I see that happening with too many kids I know and I think that's part of the reason that American kids are fattening up at an alarming rate.

Combating this won't be easy. DH likes to come home and kick back in front of the TV until bedtime to relax. Granted, at this stage, interacting with Rowan pretty much consists of holding/burping/rocking, but what happens when he becomes play-with-able? So, my new rules for fighting our excessive TV habit are:

-No more eating dinner in front of the TV. We will sit at the table, with the TV off, until the meal is done. Anything that's on at the moment can get paused or DVRed.

-No more all-day TV for me. (This one will be HARD.) I can play music, read when Rowan naps, and get a little more housework done than I have been. My housekeeping skills have been sadly lacking since the arrival of bebe.

-The TV needs to get turned off at least half an hour before bedtime. We need to start winding down on our own instead of staring at the screen until we're in a stupor.

Wish me (and us) luck! I get the feeling I'm going to need it.