I fed NikkiZ for the last time a little before 10pm last night. Then, we curled up and went to sleep. I woke up about 3am and tried to feed her again, she ate for MAYBE four minutes and we both fell back asleep and she didnt eat again until 5:45am. Then, she ate a full 10 minutes, but only after I forced her to.

This is not normal is it?

It is almost like we have gotten her on a schedule and I can’t believe it! She was waking up for 2-3 hour chunks of time every night. If we have actually gotten her on a normal Day v/s Night schedule, I need to know two things.

1) How in the HELL did we do that?

2) How in the HELL do we make sure it sticks?

Either way, I feel pretty damn rested today, considering. Now, not rested by PRE-baby standards, that would mean a solid, uninterrupted 8+ hours, but by the current standards? I feel like a new woman. And I like it. And I want it to happen again but I know it won’t unless I make some sort of pagan sacrifice to the gods of sleepy babies.

Which, of course, I’m totally willing to do if anyone can vouch for its effectiveness.

Well, we’re back!! We had to have a war with Atlanta traffic on Friday, but MrZ came out the victor, having worked in downtown Atlanta years ago. He was a seasoned veteran whereas I was balled up in the fetal position crying and begging for backroads.

I do NOT handle big city driving well. Or at all, for that matter.

We had a great visit and I’m really glad we planned the trip. It was great seeing MrZ’s grandparents again and I look forward to visiting again at Christmas. They still are not very close to having a home back in Slidell to move into, but they have settled into their new situation in Georgia and seem to be doing really well. NikkiZ did well both on the road, and staying in a new home. We invaded MrZ’s 14 year old cousin’s bedroom for the weekend. We tried our best to not leave any evidence behind that we had been there. However, we did come VERY close to leaving our garbage bag full of diapers under her Jesse McCartney (sp?) poster, which I’m sure was a subconscious move on our part. Before we walked out the door I said, “MrZ! You have to go throw that bag of diapers away! If we leave that in her room we’ll never be invited back.”

Close call. How would YOU like lending your room out to family and coming back to a giant garbage bag full of dirty diapers?

We’re glad to be home, and now it’s time to get ready for Thanksgiving and all of my family to come into town. I love the Holidays. They make me crazy, but in a very good way.

MrZ’s cousin took LilZ’s riding on a go-cart thingy through the woods. I told them anything dangerous enough that I needed a helmet? You would NOT catch me doing. But LilZ had a great time.

This is Toby, the world’s biggest Teacup Poodle. I love Toby. Don’t tell my dogs.

Look! She’s starting to smile!!!

I’ve lost 25 of the 50lbs I gained, this is the FIRST post-pregnancy picture I’ve posted of myself and probably the ONLY one for another 10-15lbs

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was truly excellent last night. I won’t post any spoilers here, but I will say a few things NON-spoilerish. Viktor Krum was EXACTLY how I envisioned him, both physically, and in terms of her personality. Brilliant casting choice. In general? I loved it. There were a few nit-picky problems I had, but overall? Good adaptation if you are going to put a 800 page book into a 2 1/2 hour film.

MrZ got to feed NikkiZ while I was gone to the movie. With the milk that I pumped! She only ate about and ounce and a half, but we have NO idea how breast feeding translates to ounces. Sure, we could have asked Dr.Google, but we were too lazy. He said he really enjoyed feeding her and once we get past the six week mark, we will probably try to make more of a habit of it.

We are going out of town today until Sunday. MrZ’s grandmother (the one displaced from Slidell, LA to Atlanta, GA due to Katrina) turns 80 today and we are having an impromptu gathering. Since LilZ spends this weekend with his Dad, who is also in Georgia, it works out best for us to stay the whole weekend while LilZ goes to his Dad’s. I am taking my laptop but doubt I’ll have internet access. If you don’t hear from me until Sunday? Don’t panic. Just gaze at these gorgeous photos below and remind me how freakin’ lucky I am. Like I need reminding.

I bought some GIANT potatoes this weekend so we could have loaded potatoes one night for dinner. Well, tonight was the night and I was feeling ALL RIGHT. I was so looking forward to the yummy potatoes because I had all the toppings for them waiting to be eaten. Cheese…bacon bits…butter…yum. Well, I nuked them in the microwave in a pyrex dish covered in cellophane for 15 minutes first. That’s how I cook my potatoes. Then, after the timer went off on the microwave, I took the dish and put it directly into the oven.

Do you see where this is going?

And then, about 20 minutes later, I smelled something burning and it hit me. “Shit! I left the cellophane on the dish!” and sure enough, when I went to get the Pyrex out of the oven, the cellophane was MELTED to the potatoes. Essentially? I poisoned our dinner. The dinner that I was SOOO looking forward to.

Resolution? Quick trip to the local BBQ joint for 1lb of BBQ and 3 baked potatoes. They actuallly were better because we had BBQ to put on them too. Unfortunately, I think the pyrex dish may be permanently ruined. And our house STILL smells like burning plastic.

This is Zoot’s brain. This is Zoot’s brain on no sleep. Any questions?

I am finally listening to those of you who told me I need a “Poop” category, and I’ve got a GREAT story to christen it with. Last night? MrZ really wanted NikkiZ to wake up so he could hang out with her, so he decided to give her a bath. She was so sleepy that she made it through the bath relatively well. Afterwards, he was holding her in her towel as I was cleaning up the bath stuff. I heard the sound of her pooping in her diaper and turned to MrZ to say something about her bowels being awake.

But when I looked at him? The look on his face told me ONE THING.

NikkiZ was NOT wearing a diaper.

The pandemonium that followed was filled with us dying of laughter. There was poop all over NikkiZ, all over the counter where we were giving her a bath, and all over MrZ. It was truly awesome and while we were desperately trying to clean up and get a diaper on her before she did anymore damage, we were also dying laughing because the scene was just THAT DAMN FUNNY.

Lesson learned. The cuter the face? The mightier the poop.