I think I'm going to go private here - not that I've been blogging much but there is a ton of crazy S going on (we stopped swearing cause of the kiddos so now we just use letters - S, F, A, etc.).
Anyway, rather than put it all out there for anyone to stumble upon, I think I need to go invite only to ensure that only the people I want to see it actually do.
So... that said, I think I need some e-mail addresses to add people. If you want to, that is.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
The End
As we close in on Reese's first birthday, we also close in on another event. The end of breastfeeding.
I'm extremely proud that I've been able to nurse both my girls to basically one year, and have never had to use formula. Not that formula is bad, but I truly think it's one of the best things I could possibly do for them.
The funny thing is, I don't remember weaning Addy. I don't remember how it went, but it seemed to go very smoothly. I know I stopped pumping at work and continued to nurse morning and night and we just eventually dropped both of those feedings as well.
Reese will be 11 months on Sunday and as of Monday I will no longer pump during the day. I'm so ready to stick my pump in a closet and forget about it for a while. Perhaps even give it away, or lend it to someone. Pumping has been a struggle at times, definitely a love-hate thing. There were days where my ounces were low and I stressed about what I was going to do and there were days that I relished in the 30 minutes of quiet time during a busy day. There were also days that I struggled to fit it in my schedule.
In just over 3 weeks, I leave on a work trip to Italy and I am bound and determined not to take a pump with me. To have Reese off the breast and on to bottles full time by then.
Most of you moms know that you can't just go cold turkey or you risk ending up in quite a bit of pain and mastitis. So, next week means no pumping, only morning and bedtime feedings. The week after that we'll drop to only night time feedings and the week after that, switch to bottles. Hopefully a week is enough time for each transition.
I have approximately 40 bags of milk in my freezer that we'll work our way through and then we'll be all done.
It's the end of an era, but a good end I think. I'm proud of what I've accomplished.
I'm extremely proud that I've been able to nurse both my girls to basically one year, and have never had to use formula. Not that formula is bad, but I truly think it's one of the best things I could possibly do for them.
The funny thing is, I don't remember weaning Addy. I don't remember how it went, but it seemed to go very smoothly. I know I stopped pumping at work and continued to nurse morning and night and we just eventually dropped both of those feedings as well.
Reese will be 11 months on Sunday and as of Monday I will no longer pump during the day. I'm so ready to stick my pump in a closet and forget about it for a while. Perhaps even give it away, or lend it to someone. Pumping has been a struggle at times, definitely a love-hate thing. There were days where my ounces were low and I stressed about what I was going to do and there were days that I relished in the 30 minutes of quiet time during a busy day. There were also days that I struggled to fit it in my schedule.
In just over 3 weeks, I leave on a work trip to Italy and I am bound and determined not to take a pump with me. To have Reese off the breast and on to bottles full time by then.
Most of you moms know that you can't just go cold turkey or you risk ending up in quite a bit of pain and mastitis. So, next week means no pumping, only morning and bedtime feedings. The week after that we'll drop to only night time feedings and the week after that, switch to bottles. Hopefully a week is enough time for each transition.
I have approximately 40 bags of milk in my freezer that we'll work our way through and then we'll be all done.
It's the end of an era, but a good end I think. I'm proud of what I've accomplished.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Roomies
I haven't posted in 2 months?! Crazy. And weird to think that not that much has changed. The girls continue to grow - Addy is doing amazingly well in preschool and Reese is going to walk any day now. She also has 5 (!) teeth and is growing much faster than I'd really like.
But on to the topic for today's blog.
We're getting a roommate. As in, someone is going to come live in our house for approximately 6 months. She's actually going to live in our basement which was her choice; she could have had the guest room.
I suppose I should back up.
So... my aunt is like, borderline certifiably crazy and an alcoholic and her 7 (!) kids want pretty much nothing to do with her. She has a 19-year old daughter who used to live with her until she lost her house and then the daughter, M, went to Florida to live with her dad & 2 younger sisters but didn't like it and missed MN so she came back. BUT, since her mom lost her house and is currently dating (and engaged to and living with) MY DAD she ended up staying on her older sister's couch. That was all about 8 months ago.
Are you still with me?
The older sister (and couch owner) is pregnant and due in early Sept. and I think both of those girls were stressing about what would happen when the baby came and there was someone living on the couch. So I made the comment that M should come stay with us for like 2 weeks after the baby came to let the family adjust to having a baby around and have their couch back.
M e-mailed me and asked if there was any way she could come stay with us sooner, and for longer and C & I talked about it and decided it would probably be ok and we invited M over for dinner to chat about it.
We had a big talk about "boundaries" (I don't want to call them rules) that basically boiled down to, "We're not going to tell you what you can and can't do because you're 19 but you need to be respectful of the fact that we have 2 small children and always be conscious of what they might see or hear." Which means, you can have friends over but they have to be gone by 10 and you can't be too loud. And you can have your boyfriend over and you 2 can do what 19-year olds do, but there are kids around so be mindful of that.
I think we're all on the same page and she seems excited about it and everyone keeps telling us how nice it is of us to do and what a good thing we're doing. But honestly, I think it's really sad that she can't depend on her mom for anything and I think you should always be able to fall back on your parents if you're at the end of your rope, you know?
And to answer all these questions I'm sure are in your head, Yes, my dad is going to marry my mom's sister. No, I'm not exactly happy about it. I'm not sure if I'm going to the wedding. Yes, it is weird.
But on to the topic for today's blog.
We're getting a roommate. As in, someone is going to come live in our house for approximately 6 months. She's actually going to live in our basement which was her choice; she could have had the guest room.
I suppose I should back up.
So... my aunt is like, borderline certifiably crazy and an alcoholic and her 7 (!) kids want pretty much nothing to do with her. She has a 19-year old daughter who used to live with her until she lost her house and then the daughter, M, went to Florida to live with her dad & 2 younger sisters but didn't like it and missed MN so she came back. BUT, since her mom lost her house and is currently dating (and engaged to and living with) MY DAD she ended up staying on her older sister's couch. That was all about 8 months ago.
Are you still with me?
The older sister (and couch owner) is pregnant and due in early Sept. and I think both of those girls were stressing about what would happen when the baby came and there was someone living on the couch. So I made the comment that M should come stay with us for like 2 weeks after the baby came to let the family adjust to having a baby around and have their couch back.
M e-mailed me and asked if there was any way she could come stay with us sooner, and for longer and C & I talked about it and decided it would probably be ok and we invited M over for dinner to chat about it.
We had a big talk about "boundaries" (I don't want to call them rules) that basically boiled down to, "We're not going to tell you what you can and can't do because you're 19 but you need to be respectful of the fact that we have 2 small children and always be conscious of what they might see or hear." Which means, you can have friends over but they have to be gone by 10 and you can't be too loud. And you can have your boyfriend over and you 2 can do what 19-year olds do, but there are kids around so be mindful of that.
I think we're all on the same page and she seems excited about it and everyone keeps telling us how nice it is of us to do and what a good thing we're doing. But honestly, I think it's really sad that she can't depend on her mom for anything and I think you should always be able to fall back on your parents if you're at the end of your rope, you know?
And to answer all these questions I'm sure are in your head, Yes, my dad is going to marry my mom's sister. No, I'm not exactly happy about it. I'm not sure if I'm going to the wedding. Yes, it is weird.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Goodbye to 2012
I can't say that I'm sad to see 2012 go. While it was better than 2011 by far, it still had ups and downs and I'd really like things to calm down a little more.
I've seen other bloggers do kind of a year in review and I though it was cool. I'm going to try and re-use pictures I've uploaded to fill out this post.
Here we go!
January - In January I was a stay at home mom (SAHM) for approx. 3 weeks before I went back to work! I'm proud of the fact that I was only laid off for 2 months (to the day!) before finding a job.
February - Corey & I celebrated 4 years together, from the day we met. I think, for both of us, that when we met we both kind of knew that was it for us. Neither of us ever dated anyone from that day, even though we weren't "official" until 2 months later.
March - Addy turned 3 and Corey turned 31 and we had a small celebration at our home.
April - I started interviewing with 2 companies for a permanent job as opposed to a contract position. It was intense with phone interviews, 2 formal interviews, a skills test and an evaluation by a occupational psychologist, who walked me through my entire career for 2 hours asking me about details and decisions. Corey, Addy & I enjoyed our last month or so as a small family of 3.
May - Reese was born! Also, I got job offers from both companies I had been interviewing with and accepted one.
Additionally, Corey & I celebrated one year of marriage, in the hospital. Reese shares our anniversary.
June - We spent June adjusting to life with a new baby. Corey finished up school for the year and we looked forward to our summer together.
July - We went insane and decided to fly to California for a wonderful friend's wedding and then straight to Ohio to see extended family and friends. We were on the road with a 3-year-old and an 8-month-old for 10 days. After this trip we decided to potty train Addy during my last week of freedom.
August - I started working again! While my official start date was July 30, I consider it August. We registered Addy for preschool and found Reese a great daycare. Corey prepared to return to school for his 3rd (and tenure!) year.
September - We spend Sept. finding our rythym with work and school and kids. Furlough days started at work so I had 2 Fridays off. At the end of the month we took another quick trip to California for another wedding but left Addy with family.
October - I turned 33 (ugh) in October and had some high-stress days at work where I got approval for my project. Reese turned 5 months and started army crawling. We decided to sleep train her at the end of the month and it worked... for a while.
November - Reese's first Thanksgiving! I wish I had more to say about November but really, the highlight was Thanksgiving I think. Also, I had my last 2 furlough days and spent one wth Addy and one getting my hair done. I started attempting to use the treadmill more and was successful for most of November.
December - December pretty much means Christmas! Reese's first Christmas! This year we started the Elf on the Shelf tradition which was ok. As the girls grow we will probably have more fun with it. We spent Christmas in Michigan and Ohio, visiting family and friends. I fell off the treadmill (not literally) and am struggling to get back into it.
To sum up:
Jobs: 2
Kids: 1
Books read: 80+!! I credit pumping and reading on my phone. I doubt this will be as high next year.
My wish for 2013? I'd like a peaceful year. I'm working very hard to let go of something things and just be. I know the summer will be crazy at work and we're talking about another addition to our family but I hope that in one year I can say that 2013 was a great year.
I've seen other bloggers do kind of a year in review and I though it was cool. I'm going to try and re-use pictures I've uploaded to fill out this post.
Here we go!
January - In January I was a stay at home mom (SAHM) for approx. 3 weeks before I went back to work! I'm proud of the fact that I was only laid off for 2 months (to the day!) before finding a job.
February - Corey & I celebrated 4 years together, from the day we met. I think, for both of us, that when we met we both kind of knew that was it for us. Neither of us ever dated anyone from that day, even though we weren't "official" until 2 months later.
March - Addy turned 3 and Corey turned 31 and we had a small celebration at our home.
April - I started interviewing with 2 companies for a permanent job as opposed to a contract position. It was intense with phone interviews, 2 formal interviews, a skills test and an evaluation by a occupational psychologist, who walked me through my entire career for 2 hours asking me about details and decisions. Corey, Addy & I enjoyed our last month or so as a small family of 3.
May - Reese was born! Also, I got job offers from both companies I had been interviewing with and accepted one.
June - We spent June adjusting to life with a new baby. Corey finished up school for the year and we looked forward to our summer together.
July - We went insane and decided to fly to California for a wonderful friend's wedding and then straight to Ohio to see extended family and friends. We were on the road with a 3-year-old and an 8-month-old for 10 days. After this trip we decided to potty train Addy during my last week of freedom.
August - I started working again! While my official start date was July 30, I consider it August. We registered Addy for preschool and found Reese a great daycare. Corey prepared to return to school for his 3rd (and tenure!) year.
September - We spend Sept. finding our rythym with work and school and kids. Furlough days started at work so I had 2 Fridays off. At the end of the month we took another quick trip to California for another wedding but left Addy with family.
November - Reese's first Thanksgiving! I wish I had more to say about November but really, the highlight was Thanksgiving I think. Also, I had my last 2 furlough days and spent one wth Addy and one getting my hair done. I started attempting to use the treadmill more and was successful for most of November.
December - December pretty much means Christmas! Reese's first Christmas! This year we started the Elf on the Shelf tradition which was ok. As the girls grow we will probably have more fun with it. We spent Christmas in Michigan and Ohio, visiting family and friends. I fell off the treadmill (not literally) and am struggling to get back into it.
To sum up:
Jobs: 2
Kids: 1
Books read: 80+!! I credit pumping and reading on my phone. I doubt this will be as high next year.
My wish for 2013? I'd like a peaceful year. I'm working very hard to let go of something things and just be. I know the summer will be crazy at work and we're talking about another addition to our family but I hope that in one year I can say that 2013 was a great year.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
You're killin' me Smalls!
My crazy baby is going to be the one who breaks me. But in a good way, you know?
Reese will be 7 months old in 3 days. In her 6th month she:
Never having had 2 children before, I wrongly assumed that we knew what to expect from Reese because we'd had Addy. While I knew deep down that no 2 children are alike, I expected that Reese would develop roughly the same as Addy.
But no, Reese is in a hurry for everything apparently. I wonder if this will be an indication of her personality later in life. Wanting to blaze her own path and prove herself to be different than her sister and her own woman.
The tone of this post probably doesn't convey how in awe I am of my baby. We hit the 5 month mark and she turned into a new baby. Suddenly happy almost all the time and HUGE smiles! She loves Addy more than anything, you can tell. She's always crawling over to her and watching her and Addy can make her laugh more than anyone. I desperately hope that their relationship only grows as they do. I always longed for a sister but never got one unfortunately and I'm so happy that my girls have eachother.
Reese will be 7 months old in 3 days. In her 6th month she:
- Has started crawling for real - she has been army crawling for a good month now but she's up on her knees and moving
- Has a tooth! My doctor said that you take their age in months minus 6 and that's a guideline to how many teeth she should have.
- Can sit up on her own - not for long periods of time but she can do it!
- Has stood up a few times. She managed to crawl to something, put her hands on it and continue to move her feet. Then she got her feet under he and was basically standing while leaning on the ball. Fortunately, she hasn't figured out how to do this in her crib yet.
Never having had 2 children before, I wrongly assumed that we knew what to expect from Reese because we'd had Addy. While I knew deep down that no 2 children are alike, I expected that Reese would develop roughly the same as Addy.
But no, Reese is in a hurry for everything apparently. I wonder if this will be an indication of her personality later in life. Wanting to blaze her own path and prove herself to be different than her sister and her own woman.
The tone of this post probably doesn't convey how in awe I am of my baby. We hit the 5 month mark and she turned into a new baby. Suddenly happy almost all the time and HUGE smiles! She loves Addy more than anything, you can tell. She's always crawling over to her and watching her and Addy can make her laugh more than anyone. I desperately hope that their relationship only grows as they do. I always longed for a sister but never got one unfortunately and I'm so happy that my girls have eachother.
Monday, December 3, 2012
It's A Date
In an effort to put more... effort into our relationship, C & I came up with an idea for this coming year. Well, really I stole the idea from something I saw on Pinterest and C & I modified it to suit us.
We divided up the next year into 2 groups of 6 months, we each get every other month and we each have to plan a date for that month. The date can be anything from very simple to quite elaborate, there really aren't any rules.
By Christmas, we each need to have our 6 date ideas in envelopes labeled by month and we'll put them up somewhere to keep them safe. At the beginning of each month, we'll open that envelope, see what the date idea is, get the calendar and actually plan the date!
For instance, I have January. My date idea for January is for us to go to a museum together (nerd alert!) of his choosing and then to lunch or dinner or do lunch first and then the museum. Either way.
So in January we will open the Jan. emvelope and read the date description then we will pick the day we'd like to go, contact our babysitter and make it happen!
I'm very excited about this and hope that it works and isn't something that we just abandon after a few months. The idea of the envelope is that we're supposed to plan as much as possible ahead of time. So for the museum & food, I might pick up a gift card for a restaurant we can go to.
Here's a quick list of my months and ideas:
January - Museum & lunch/dinner
March - I have already registered us to run a 5K together and then we will do brunch
May - This is our anniversary month...I think I will try to plan a fancy dinner where we get dressed up & maybe an overnight
July - Kayak trip in Cannon Falls & either a picnic lunch or grabbing something after
September - Segway tour of Minneapolis
December - I'd love for us to both skip work and spend a day together Christmas shopping but I'm not sure that will work. I might make it the main idea but have a back up in place just in case.
Other date ideas I came up with are: Dave & Busters, a brewery tour, catching a show at a Theatre, a cooking class together, just going to Happy Hour to spend time talking, Wine tasting, rock climbing...
I did buy a groupon deal for a wine tasting that I need to work in there somehow but it's kind of out of the way for the other things I have planned. Perhaps I can work it into May.
Here's to building our relationship in 2013!
We divided up the next year into 2 groups of 6 months, we each get every other month and we each have to plan a date for that month. The date can be anything from very simple to quite elaborate, there really aren't any rules.
By Christmas, we each need to have our 6 date ideas in envelopes labeled by month and we'll put them up somewhere to keep them safe. At the beginning of each month, we'll open that envelope, see what the date idea is, get the calendar and actually plan the date!
For instance, I have January. My date idea for January is for us to go to a museum together (nerd alert!) of his choosing and then to lunch or dinner or do lunch first and then the museum. Either way.
So in January we will open the Jan. emvelope and read the date description then we will pick the day we'd like to go, contact our babysitter and make it happen!
I'm very excited about this and hope that it works and isn't something that we just abandon after a few months. The idea of the envelope is that we're supposed to plan as much as possible ahead of time. So for the museum & food, I might pick up a gift card for a restaurant we can go to.
Here's a quick list of my months and ideas:
January - Museum & lunch/dinner
March - I have already registered us to run a 5K together and then we will do brunch
May - This is our anniversary month...I think I will try to plan a fancy dinner where we get dressed up & maybe an overnight
July - Kayak trip in Cannon Falls & either a picnic lunch or grabbing something after
September - Segway tour of Minneapolis
December - I'd love for us to both skip work and spend a day together Christmas shopping but I'm not sure that will work. I might make it the main idea but have a back up in place just in case.
Other date ideas I came up with are: Dave & Busters, a brewery tour, catching a show at a Theatre, a cooking class together, just going to Happy Hour to spend time talking, Wine tasting, rock climbing...
I did buy a groupon deal for a wine tasting that I need to work in there somehow but it's kind of out of the way for the other things I have planned. Perhaps I can work it into May.
Here's to building our relationship in 2013!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
6 Month Check Up
Reese had her 6 month check up yesterday and I wanted to record her stats here so I remember them!
Weight: 15lb 8.5oz
Length: Almost 27 inches
Head Circumference: About 17.25 inches
Reese is doing well/advanced in: Gross Motor Skills - meaning that she is almost crawling which really impressed the doctor and she's able to feed herself crackers. Both are above her skill set.
Reese is still developing in: Language skills - meaning that she is apparently supposed to be babbling but she isn't. She makes sounds, two syllable sounds, but she does not repeat them. No sounds like "ba-ba-ba-ba". The doctor seemed concerned for a moment that she might have a hearing problem but Reese responds to her name and other noises so it's not an issue.
Other notes: Reese still has a clogged tear duct in her right eye that hasn't cleared up. While it's not a huge concern, if it's still present in a month, we'll probably have to see a pediatric optometrist and we'll discuss probing the tear duct to clear the blockage. That sounds like it will suck but if it makes her better I guess.
The doctor was overall very impressed with Reese. The fact that she's moving (army crawling) is super advanced. We also spoke about the fact that Reese only takes one nap per day but she's gaining weight well and seems overall happy so she wasn't too concerned. She was actually impressed that Reese goes from 7pm to 6am without food or waking up (now that we re-trained her) because apparently that's also advanced. She said she would expect 6-8 hours, not 11.
All good news for Reese!
Weight: 15lb 8.5oz
Length: Almost 27 inches
Head Circumference: About 17.25 inches
Reese is doing well/advanced in: Gross Motor Skills - meaning that she is almost crawling which really impressed the doctor and she's able to feed herself crackers. Both are above her skill set.
Reese is still developing in: Language skills - meaning that she is apparently supposed to be babbling but she isn't. She makes sounds, two syllable sounds, but she does not repeat them. No sounds like "ba-ba-ba-ba". The doctor seemed concerned for a moment that she might have a hearing problem but Reese responds to her name and other noises so it's not an issue.
Other notes: Reese still has a clogged tear duct in her right eye that hasn't cleared up. While it's not a huge concern, if it's still present in a month, we'll probably have to see a pediatric optometrist and we'll discuss probing the tear duct to clear the blockage. That sounds like it will suck but if it makes her better I guess.
The doctor was overall very impressed with Reese. The fact that she's moving (army crawling) is super advanced. We also spoke about the fact that Reese only takes one nap per day but she's gaining weight well and seems overall happy so she wasn't too concerned. She was actually impressed that Reese goes from 7pm to 6am without food or waking up (now that we re-trained her) because apparently that's also advanced. She said she would expect 6-8 hours, not 11.
All good news for Reese!
Monday, November 26, 2012
VICTORY!!
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. We did. It was made even better by 2 things.
1) Reese was born on 5/21. Since June of this year, I have been fighting with Aflac to get disability money from them on a policy that I had prior to getting pregnant. There have been all sorts of reasons why they didn't want to pay me and I've been wading my way through their paperwork and call center trying to get this taken care of. Mind you, Reese is 6 months old now.
The issue is that approximately 6 days prior to Reese's birth, I stopped working. See, I was going to have a baby and wanted a few days to myself. Since this was a contract position and I had already accepted a full time position elsewhere, I was no longer employed by K Company.
Even though I wasted numerous breaths and hours explaining this to Aflac, they still needed an Employer statement filled out despite the fact that I did not have an employer at the time of the "incident".
I finally got someone at K Company to fill out the paperwork for me and submit it. I got a letter from Aflac on Saturday and was sure it was telling me my claim had been denied yet again for various stupid reasons. You can imagine how pleased I was to find a check! Victory is mine!
*Side note: If you are planning to have a baby but are not yet pregnant, I suggest you talk to an Aflac agent. At the very minimum, get Hospital Indemnity coverage which paid me right around $3K for my hospital stay with Reese. It doesn't matter what your current insurance covers, they don't even ask. You submit the hospital bill along with some claim forms (does not require an Employer statement) and they send you a check. Your amount may vary depending on how much you pay in and you have to pay for 10 months prior to having the child but in the end we got roughly 2.5x what we paid in.
2) We re-trained Reese to sleep through the night. I know, I know, it was like 1.5 months ago that I was talking about training her and how successful it was and now I had to re-do it all. She started waking up once a night at like 3am and I started going and nursing her then. I told myself that she was growing and hungry and gave in.
Well, enough is enough and we put a stop to it over the weekend. We've had 2 nights in a row of solid sleep and it's great. I will probably eat my words in a few months when she's teething but for now, it's great.
So yes, I was able to claim victory over 2 things in my life and I am happy to do so!
1) Reese was born on 5/21. Since June of this year, I have been fighting with Aflac to get disability money from them on a policy that I had prior to getting pregnant. There have been all sorts of reasons why they didn't want to pay me and I've been wading my way through their paperwork and call center trying to get this taken care of. Mind you, Reese is 6 months old now.
The issue is that approximately 6 days prior to Reese's birth, I stopped working. See, I was going to have a baby and wanted a few days to myself. Since this was a contract position and I had already accepted a full time position elsewhere, I was no longer employed by K Company.
Even though I wasted numerous breaths and hours explaining this to Aflac, they still needed an Employer statement filled out despite the fact that I did not have an employer at the time of the "incident".
I finally got someone at K Company to fill out the paperwork for me and submit it. I got a letter from Aflac on Saturday and was sure it was telling me my claim had been denied yet again for various stupid reasons. You can imagine how pleased I was to find a check! Victory is mine!
*Side note: If you are planning to have a baby but are not yet pregnant, I suggest you talk to an Aflac agent. At the very minimum, get Hospital Indemnity coverage which paid me right around $3K for my hospital stay with Reese. It doesn't matter what your current insurance covers, they don't even ask. You submit the hospital bill along with some claim forms (does not require an Employer statement) and they send you a check. Your amount may vary depending on how much you pay in and you have to pay for 10 months prior to having the child but in the end we got roughly 2.5x what we paid in.
2) We re-trained Reese to sleep through the night. I know, I know, it was like 1.5 months ago that I was talking about training her and how successful it was and now I had to re-do it all. She started waking up once a night at like 3am and I started going and nursing her then. I told myself that she was growing and hungry and gave in.
Well, enough is enough and we put a stop to it over the weekend. We've had 2 nights in a row of solid sleep and it's great. I will probably eat my words in a few months when she's teething but for now, it's great.
So yes, I was able to claim victory over 2 things in my life and I am happy to do so!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
A Brazilian for your Head
Friday was my last furlough day at my company and I spent it as a Me Day. Both girls went to their respective daycares/preschools, C went to work and I did whatever I wanted to do. You should know that doing what I wanted to do included running on the treadmill, getting my hair done, doing laundry and spending time cleaning the house. So a little Me time and a little House time.
A while ago, I bought a groupon for a Brazillian Blowout which I have been DYING to get done. For those who don't know me IRL, I have wavy, frizzy, thick hair that can be hard to manage. I usually would end up either spending 30 minutes blowdrying & straightening it or spending 10 minutes putting mousse and other crap in it and scrunching it to wear it curly. It was extremely rare that you would ever see me with wet hair since I hated it in its air dried state.
I bought the groupon (Note: I say groupon to mean any daily deal thing. I think this one was actually from Living social.) and decided to treat myself. I really had no idea what to expect, I only hoped that it would make my mornings easier by reducing the amount of time I spend on my hair.
The process took about 2.5 hours - it varies based on how long your hair is and how thick it is. They wash it twice with a clarifying shampoo to remove any products or oils that might be present. Then they apply the solution in sections which seems the same as applying color. It's then blowdried completely and flat ironed in tiny sections to seal in the chemicals and finally washed again to remove any excess chemicals.
After it was finished, my hair looked so healthy and shiny and felt amazing. It was 100% straight, something I've never had before.
I waited 48 hours before washing it which was difficult and I felt icky. My hair seemed to hold up pretty well but I wouldn't have gone anywhere the 2nd day until showering. I also avoided putting my hair in a ponytail just to be sure I wouldn't introduce any kinks.
I was finally able to wash it on Sunday and I blowdried it afterward and was amazed. There's almost no need to even use a flatiron now. Just to touch up the ends I suppose and curl them under. It's insane and SO much faster than it used to be!
I want this to last as long as possible (max 3 months) so I'm only washing it every other day, which is taking some getting used to. I put some baby powder on my roots today to get rid of some oil. I think my hair needs to adjust as well so things should be better before too long.
All in all, it was an amazing treat for myself. If it didn't cost so much normally, I would absolutely do it every 3 months. As it is, I can maybe see myself doing it once a year, maybe when summer starts so that mornings go faster and to beat the humidity.
Absolutely, 100% recommend!
A while ago, I bought a groupon for a Brazillian Blowout which I have been DYING to get done. For those who don't know me IRL, I have wavy, frizzy, thick hair that can be hard to manage. I usually would end up either spending 30 minutes blowdrying & straightening it or spending 10 minutes putting mousse and other crap in it and scrunching it to wear it curly. It was extremely rare that you would ever see me with wet hair since I hated it in its air dried state.
I bought the groupon (Note: I say groupon to mean any daily deal thing. I think this one was actually from Living social.) and decided to treat myself. I really had no idea what to expect, I only hoped that it would make my mornings easier by reducing the amount of time I spend on my hair.
The process took about 2.5 hours - it varies based on how long your hair is and how thick it is. They wash it twice with a clarifying shampoo to remove any products or oils that might be present. Then they apply the solution in sections which seems the same as applying color. It's then blowdried completely and flat ironed in tiny sections to seal in the chemicals and finally washed again to remove any excess chemicals.
After it was finished, my hair looked so healthy and shiny and felt amazing. It was 100% straight, something I've never had before.
I waited 48 hours before washing it which was difficult and I felt icky. My hair seemed to hold up pretty well but I wouldn't have gone anywhere the 2nd day until showering. I also avoided putting my hair in a ponytail just to be sure I wouldn't introduce any kinks.
I was finally able to wash it on Sunday and I blowdried it afterward and was amazed. There's almost no need to even use a flatiron now. Just to touch up the ends I suppose and curl them under. It's insane and SO much faster than it used to be!
I want this to last as long as possible (max 3 months) so I'm only washing it every other day, which is taking some getting used to. I put some baby powder on my roots today to get rid of some oil. I think my hair needs to adjust as well so things should be better before too long.
All in all, it was an amazing treat for myself. If it didn't cost so much normally, I would absolutely do it every 3 months. As it is, I can maybe see myself doing it once a year, maybe when summer starts so that mornings go faster and to beat the humidity.
Absolutely, 100% recommend!
Monday, November 12, 2012
Losing It
You know that commercial on TV with the cartoon couple where the wife talks about losing weight? And she talks about how she & her husband give up carbs together and he loses like 20lbs and she loses 3?
This is my real life.
It's not like I expected the baby weight to melt off right away, I've done this before and I'm older now. I know that it takes time and some effort. But I also know that breastfeeding should be helping this journey.
I've beentrying meaning to work out but it's hard with 2 kids. I get home from work, after picking up both girls and feed/entertain them while we wait for C to get home. IF he gets home at a reasonable time and IF it's not my turn to make dinner and IF the girls are cooperative, then MAYBE I'll have time to run. And you ladies know that getting ready to run takes time to change into workout clothes, remove make-up, and stretch all before you can actually get moving. Add in finding your water bottle and headphones and finding something that you can actually listen to, while, most nights it just doesn't even happen.
C always says that if I want to work out then I'll make it happen. He certainly does. He runs 2-3x per week with one of those being a long run on the weekend. I admire his dedication and the fact that he truly does make it happen.
Back to the commercial, weight is like melting off him. He complains all the time about his pants being too big or shirts ballooning on him. I only feel a little sorry for him.
I've actually told him not to lose any more weight, not because I'm jealous (mostly), but because I don't think it's healthy for him. He weighs something like 165 and I think that's low for his frame.
In the mean time, I lost 20lbs in 5.5 months but those last 10 seem determined to hang around. And it's not that I weight a horrible number (142) but it's more than I'd like.
I managed to run 3x last week, including one family trip to the Y. I'd like to keep it up and see if I can get the scale moving again. I'd like to at least set a good foundation before the holidays hit.
Unlike the commercial, I won't be taking supplements.
This is my real life.
It's not like I expected the baby weight to melt off right away, I've done this before and I'm older now. I know that it takes time and some effort. But I also know that breastfeeding should be helping this journey.
I've been
C always says that if I want to work out then I'll make it happen. He certainly does. He runs 2-3x per week with one of those being a long run on the weekend. I admire his dedication and the fact that he truly does make it happen.
Back to the commercial, weight is like melting off him. He complains all the time about his pants being too big or shirts ballooning on him. I only feel a little sorry for him.
I've actually told him not to lose any more weight, not because I'm jealous (mostly), but because I don't think it's healthy for him. He weighs something like 165 and I think that's low for his frame.
In the mean time, I lost 20lbs in 5.5 months but those last 10 seem determined to hang around. And it's not that I weight a horrible number (142) but it's more than I'd like.
I managed to run 3x last week, including one family trip to the Y. I'd like to keep it up and see if I can get the scale moving again. I'd like to at least set a good foundation before the holidays hit.
Unlike the commercial, I won't be taking supplements.
Monday, November 5, 2012
You Get What You Pay For
JC Penny is running a promotion right now with their photo studios where you get free sitting fees, a free 8x10" picture and a free (low resolution) digital image just for coming in. Their hope, I assume, is that you'll spend lots of money buying pictures from them to make up for all the things they waived.
One of the things I wanted for my birthday was to do a nice family photo shoot to get an image we could use on a Christmas card. My thought was that we'd get a photographer to come do a family shoot and end up with precious photos of our family and the girls to put in our home.
Instead, after seeing the promotion, we decided to give jcp a shot.
I had misgivings because they're a corporation after all. It wasn't at my home, it was a big studio. But I expected that the photographer would take time to ask what we wanted and have creative poses for us.
I told them that we wanted to get some good family photos and some nice pictures of the girls. We all wore our Converse shoes so I thought it would be fun to use them in some way. We brought cute hats for the girls to wear as well.
Now, I understand that children are unreliable. That they don't always co-operate and that they don't understand what's being asked of them. Especially a 5-month old. But, given what I asked for you would think that I would get ONE useable picture of both girls together. I did not.
I wish that they had had the multiple shot feature where it would have taken 3-4 shots each time the button was pushed. This one could have been good.
I cropped this from the above photo - it was the only way to get a good shot of the girls together!
I think we ordered a larger one of this size for our wall, though I feel like she framed it poorly. There's a lot of empty space above our heads.
So now that you've seen them - here's my thoughts. The photographer did not suggest any poses other than us standing and holding the girls and seating Reese in a basket with Addy next to her. I suggested we sit and it was like she'd never thought of that. I mentioned our shoes and she apparently thought I meant I wanted them cropped out (which she did anyway). Why would we ALL wear the same shoes if I didn't want them in a picture?
All-in-all, we got what I wanted which was a nice-ish family shot plus a Christmas card photo. Plus, grand total spent was $12 for the entire thing - sitting fees, digital copy, 2 8X10", 1 5X7", and one 10x13".
We'll try again next year.
One of the things I wanted for my birthday was to do a nice family photo shoot to get an image we could use on a Christmas card. My thought was that we'd get a photographer to come do a family shoot and end up with precious photos of our family and the girls to put in our home.
Instead, after seeing the promotion, we decided to give jcp a shot.
I had misgivings because they're a corporation after all. It wasn't at my home, it was a big studio. But I expected that the photographer would take time to ask what we wanted and have creative poses for us.
I told them that we wanted to get some good family photos and some nice pictures of the girls. We all wore our Converse shoes so I thought it would be fun to use them in some way. We brought cute hats for the girls to wear as well.
Now, I understand that children are unreliable. That they don't always co-operate and that they don't understand what's being asked of them. Especially a 5-month old. But, given what I asked for you would think that I would get ONE useable picture of both girls together. I did not.
Don't they look thrilled??
I don't even know what Addy is doing here.
And here are some good ones:
This will likely be our Christmas card picture.
So now that you've seen them - here's my thoughts. The photographer did not suggest any poses other than us standing and holding the girls and seating Reese in a basket with Addy next to her. I suggested we sit and it was like she'd never thought of that. I mentioned our shoes and she apparently thought I meant I wanted them cropped out (which she did anyway). Why would we ALL wear the same shoes if I didn't want them in a picture?
All-in-all, we got what I wanted which was a nice-ish family shot plus a Christmas card photo. Plus, grand total spent was $12 for the entire thing - sitting fees, digital copy, 2 8X10", 1 5X7", and one 10x13".
We'll try again next year.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
The Day of My Birth
Was yesterday. I turned 33 yesterday and woke up with a sore hip. I joked to C that perhaps I was turning 60 instead of 33.
I love my birthday. I always have high hopes for it to be a special day and now that I'm older and have kids and everyday life to deal with maybe the expectation should be lowered. I mean, other than a few family members, friends and my own husband, who really cares that it's my birthday.
That said, I did expect a little more than what I got. I should start with a disclaimer though. C is a wonderful husband and I consider myself lucky every day that he chose me. He is thoughtful and kind and absolutely the love of my life.
However, I did expect him to do something special for me. He ended up buying me a present because I never made up my mind about what I wanted. And that's fine. He bought me something that I've wanted that have never bought for myself due to cost. But he gave it to me 5 days early, in the bag from the store, unwrapped with no card or fanfare.
And yesterday turned out to be just another day. Nothing special for dinner, no flowers or special dessert, just a typical evening at home. It wasn't a bad evening at all, it just wasn't special.
For his birthday I not only bought him a present but snuck a card into his lunch and made him a special dinner followed by a homemade dessert. The dinner was not on his actual birthday but I planned it and told him in advance that I was doing it.
And the other thing that sucked? I made cookies to bring to work for my own birthday and not a single person even asked why I did it. The guys all just grabbed cookies and ate them without even questioning why they showed up. So not a single person in the office even knew it was my birthday - not that I wanted it to be a huge deal but it would have been nice to at least hear a few Happy Birthdays.
First world problems, I know. But it's been bugging me. I suppose it's time to lower my expectations.
I love my birthday. I always have high hopes for it to be a special day and now that I'm older and have kids and everyday life to deal with maybe the expectation should be lowered. I mean, other than a few family members, friends and my own husband, who really cares that it's my birthday.
That said, I did expect a little more than what I got. I should start with a disclaimer though. C is a wonderful husband and I consider myself lucky every day that he chose me. He is thoughtful and kind and absolutely the love of my life.
However, I did expect him to do something special for me. He ended up buying me a present because I never made up my mind about what I wanted. And that's fine. He bought me something that I've wanted that have never bought for myself due to cost. But he gave it to me 5 days early, in the bag from the store, unwrapped with no card or fanfare.
And yesterday turned out to be just another day. Nothing special for dinner, no flowers or special dessert, just a typical evening at home. It wasn't a bad evening at all, it just wasn't special.
For his birthday I not only bought him a present but snuck a card into his lunch and made him a special dinner followed by a homemade dessert. The dinner was not on his actual birthday but I planned it and told him in advance that I was doing it.
And the other thing that sucked? I made cookies to bring to work for my own birthday and not a single person even asked why I did it. The guys all just grabbed cookies and ate them without even questioning why they showed up. So not a single person in the office even knew it was my birthday - not that I wanted it to be a huge deal but it would have been nice to at least hear a few Happy Birthdays.
First world problems, I know. But it's been bugging me. I suppose it's time to lower my expectations.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Starting Solids
Reese turned 5 months on Oct. 21 and she has seemed more hungry lately so I decided it was time to start solids.
When Addy was ready (also around 5 months), I followed everything by the book. Started with rice cereal then moved to jarred purees. I did sneak some mashed up avocado in there but she pretty much ate jarred purees for months. Veggies before fruits to avoid a sweet tooth. Addy was our first, so of course we didn't question anything.
With Reese, I'm more interested in getting to the good stuff and doing as few purees as possible. Right now, she's getting oatmeal once a day (we're only on day 5) but I want to do things differently this time. I want to be able to give her things that we're having for dinner instead of making her a seperate meal. I want to put some cooked mushy pasta on her tray and let her go to town instead of spoon feeding her everything.
I know it takes time to reach that point, but I think we'll move a little faster than we did with Addy.
One thing that I did with Addy that I think helped her develop a wide palate was to give her chewed up bites of our dinners. If we were having chicken, I would chew some of the chicken and then give her the mush. I know it sounds gross, but other than pureeing it (ew) or buying the chicken in a jar (double ew), it was the only way she would get to taste it. And I like to think that is why Addy is not a picky eater today.
So we will see what actually happens with Reese and solids. I've heard it called Baby Led Weaning (BLW) but I need to do more research into it. I don't actually want her to wean until a full year has gone by so I need to see what it's all about.
When Addy was ready (also around 5 months), I followed everything by the book. Started with rice cereal then moved to jarred purees. I did sneak some mashed up avocado in there but she pretty much ate jarred purees for months. Veggies before fruits to avoid a sweet tooth. Addy was our first, so of course we didn't question anything.
With Reese, I'm more interested in getting to the good stuff and doing as few purees as possible. Right now, she's getting oatmeal once a day (we're only on day 5) but I want to do things differently this time. I want to be able to give her things that we're having for dinner instead of making her a seperate meal. I want to put some cooked mushy pasta on her tray and let her go to town instead of spoon feeding her everything.
I know it takes time to reach that point, but I think we'll move a little faster than we did with Addy.
One thing that I did with Addy that I think helped her develop a wide palate was to give her chewed up bites of our dinners. If we were having chicken, I would chew some of the chicken and then give her the mush. I know it sounds gross, but other than pureeing it (ew) or buying the chicken in a jar (double ew), it was the only way she would get to taste it. And I like to think that is why Addy is not a picky eater today.
So we will see what actually happens with Reese and solids. I've heard it called Baby Led Weaning (BLW) but I need to do more research into it. I don't actually want her to wean until a full year has gone by so I need to see what it's all about.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Birthday
My birthday is in less than 2 weeks and C told me that I needed to make a decision. He said that I could either have a gift, or we could do something. But it's up to me to decide what I'd like to do and I for some reason can't.
Do you do the thing where you won't buy things for yourself but you'll allow them for your birthday or Christmas? Like right now I want some boots. I always want boots in the fall. But I think that spending money on boots that, let's be honest, I won't wear that much anyway is kind of frivolous so I won't actually buy them for myself.
But my birthday?? Perfect excuse to spend $50 on some boots!
But then again, there's something to be said for a night out with my hubby. C & I kind of got thrust into this life. I would absolutely not change a single thing but it all happened so quickly. It's so important for us to take some time for ourselves, to remember why we're in this. That it's more than kids and jobs and obligations. We chose this.
I think it's easy to get bogged down in every day life. To focus on what the kids need or getting dinner on the table or to focus on some problem or project at work. And those things need to happen, absolutely. But every once in a while, its nice to get dressed up, to compliment each other, to walk hand in hand with no strollers in the way and to spend some time together.
Well, this post didn't end up where I thought it would. I still don't know what to do for my birthday but I know C will make it a great day no matter what I choose.
Do you do the thing where you won't buy things for yourself but you'll allow them for your birthday or Christmas? Like right now I want some boots. I always want boots in the fall. But I think that spending money on boots that, let's be honest, I won't wear that much anyway is kind of frivolous so I won't actually buy them for myself.
But my birthday?? Perfect excuse to spend $50 on some boots!
But then again, there's something to be said for a night out with my hubby. C & I kind of got thrust into this life. I would absolutely not change a single thing but it all happened so quickly. It's so important for us to take some time for ourselves, to remember why we're in this. That it's more than kids and jobs and obligations. We chose this.
I think it's easy to get bogged down in every day life. To focus on what the kids need or getting dinner on the table or to focus on some problem or project at work. And those things need to happen, absolutely. But every once in a while, its nice to get dressed up, to compliment each other, to walk hand in hand with no strollers in the way and to spend some time together.
Well, this post didn't end up where I thought it would. I still don't know what to do for my birthday but I know C will make it a great day no matter what I choose.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Sleep Training Break Down
No, I didn't have a break down. I thought I'd break down how it all went.
We almost didn't start on Thursday because we were having a rough evening at home. I had at least one clogged duct (I suspect it was 2 or one really big one) and starting to have body aches and not feel well. Addy isn't napping at preschool which makes her extra... pleasant when we get home and C had to work late.
Fortunately, Reese was able to help with the clogged duct issue and Addy cheered up and C got home eventually and we ordered a pizza for dinner.
I took Reese upstairs and got her in her pjs. I nursed her in the glider in the nursery with the lights off and only a night light on. She was pretty tired, having been awake for 4+ hours so she actually passed out when I put her in the crib.
She woke up 3 times that night and each time I went through the 5-10-20-40 method, though we never actually made it to 40. Each time I went in and rubbed her back while making the Shhhhhh sound. The first few times it actually seemed like it was pissing her off more than helping but she eventually gave in each time.
The next night we did the same thing (though I think she had a bath first) and she fussed while going to sleep but didn't last long. She only woke up once the entire night, around 3:30am and fussed for a few minutes and then fell back asleep. I never even had to get out of bed!
Saturday night was the same story.
And the kicker of the whole thing, Sunday night she never woke up (that I know of)!
I should also point out that each morning I've had to wake her up. So she's sleeping around 11-12 hours each night which is amazing.
She did wake up this morning at 4:45am or so and I did go in and shush her and she eventually went back to sleep. She also woke up again before I was ready, around 6am but basically around when I would have gotten her up anyway.
I joked that I feel like a new woman with the uninterrupted sleep I'm getting. In reality, I'm still tired at night but I think it will start to feel better the more she sleeps.
So we are officially moved into the nursery with a baby who is mostly a great sleeper (knock on wood)!
We almost didn't start on Thursday because we were having a rough evening at home. I had at least one clogged duct (I suspect it was 2 or one really big one) and starting to have body aches and not feel well. Addy isn't napping at preschool which makes her extra... pleasant when we get home and C had to work late.
Fortunately, Reese was able to help with the clogged duct issue and Addy cheered up and C got home eventually and we ordered a pizza for dinner.
I took Reese upstairs and got her in her pjs. I nursed her in the glider in the nursery with the lights off and only a night light on. She was pretty tired, having been awake for 4+ hours so she actually passed out when I put her in the crib.
She woke up 3 times that night and each time I went through the 5-10-20-40 method, though we never actually made it to 40. Each time I went in and rubbed her back while making the Shhhhhh sound. The first few times it actually seemed like it was pissing her off more than helping but she eventually gave in each time.
The next night we did the same thing (though I think she had a bath first) and she fussed while going to sleep but didn't last long. She only woke up once the entire night, around 3:30am and fussed for a few minutes and then fell back asleep. I never even had to get out of bed!
Saturday night was the same story.
And the kicker of the whole thing, Sunday night she never woke up (that I know of)!
I should also point out that each morning I've had to wake her up. So she's sleeping around 11-12 hours each night which is amazing.
She did wake up this morning at 4:45am or so and I did go in and shush her and she eventually went back to sleep. She also woke up again before I was ready, around 6am but basically around when I would have gotten her up anyway.
I joked that I feel like a new woman with the uninterrupted sleep I'm getting. In reality, I'm still tired at night but I think it will start to feel better the more she sleeps.
So we are officially moved into the nursery with a baby who is mostly a great sleeper (knock on wood)!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Tonight We Dine In Hell
In reality, tonight we sleep train. God help us.
We were probably ready to start sleep training weeks ago but put it off for various reasons. I wanted to see the doctor for her 4-month check up and make sure she was at a healthy weight and that there was no medical reason for her to nurse 2-3 times during the night. I also wanted to get his take on our process. With the trip we made over the weekend, I didn't see the point in starting before completely disrupting our schedule.
Mentally, I'm torn. I have been ready for this for at least a month. Ready for a full night's sleep. Sweet baby Reese wakes up 2-3x per night and even though I go right back to sleep, it is most certainly taking a toll on me. (Most evident by my crashing on the couch around 9:15pm last night...)
But listening to my baby cry in the middle of the night? That's going to be a challenge.
Our doctor recommended we do a modified Ferber method. Tonight we will put her in her crib and come back at 5-10-20-40 minute intervals. He said that we are not allowed to even pick her up and if we must make physical contact that 2 quick pats on the back or rump will suffice. We are to say in a firm but soothing voice, "Reese, it's time for sleep. Mommy and Daddy love you very much. Good night."
She will evenutally pass out and will wake up again probably around midnight if she follows her schedule. We follow the same pattern as above, and again when she invariably wakes up around 3am.
If all goes well,she won't get up for real until 6:30-7am, but we'll see.
The next night, we repeat but do 10-20-40 instead. The third night I think we do 20-40-60 (if she makes it that long). Hopefully there won't be a fourth night.
We chose tonight because I'm off tomorrow and can recoup and then its the weekend. I suspect this will be harder on me though we did it with Addy. It's not that C doesn't care, but he's more practical about how this is not a selfish move, she is ready too.
After this weekend, assuming it all worked, there will be no more baby stuff in our room!! Bye bassinet! See ya changing pad and diapers! Hello our room, back to the way it was.
Wish us luck!
We were probably ready to start sleep training weeks ago but put it off for various reasons. I wanted to see the doctor for her 4-month check up and make sure she was at a healthy weight and that there was no medical reason for her to nurse 2-3 times during the night. I also wanted to get his take on our process. With the trip we made over the weekend, I didn't see the point in starting before completely disrupting our schedule.
Mentally, I'm torn. I have been ready for this for at least a month. Ready for a full night's sleep. Sweet baby Reese wakes up 2-3x per night and even though I go right back to sleep, it is most certainly taking a toll on me. (Most evident by my crashing on the couch around 9:15pm last night...)
But listening to my baby cry in the middle of the night? That's going to be a challenge.
Our doctor recommended we do a modified Ferber method. Tonight we will put her in her crib and come back at 5-10-20-40 minute intervals. He said that we are not allowed to even pick her up and if we must make physical contact that 2 quick pats on the back or rump will suffice. We are to say in a firm but soothing voice, "Reese, it's time for sleep. Mommy and Daddy love you very much. Good night."
She will evenutally pass out and will wake up again probably around midnight if she follows her schedule. We follow the same pattern as above, and again when she invariably wakes up around 3am.
If all goes well,she won't get up for real until 6:30-7am, but we'll see.
The next night, we repeat but do 10-20-40 instead. The third night I think we do 20-40-60 (if she makes it that long). Hopefully there won't be a fourth night.
We chose tonight because I'm off tomorrow and can recoup and then its the weekend. I suspect this will be harder on me though we did it with Addy. It's not that C doesn't care, but he's more practical about how this is not a selfish move, she is ready too.
After this weekend, assuming it all worked, there will be no more baby stuff in our room!! Bye bassinet! See ya changing pad and diapers! Hello our room, back to the way it was.
Wish us luck!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
This Isn't Math
When I first lost my mom, I was ANGRY. I was angry at the way that my work at the time treated the whole thing (which I blogged about) and I was angry at anyone who dared to complain about life. I probably should have taken a break from Facebook at the time because anytime someone had the audacity to say anything negative I thought, "Oh, you think you have it bad? My mom is dead."
This manifested in many ways like, "Oh, you had to put your dog down? See above." And, "Oh, your baby kept you up all night. Mom."
And then I lost my job and I just felt like my world was crashing down. I was 4 months pregnant with no job, no mom, and a brand new house to pay for.
For those of you who were following me, you know how this story ends and I'm happy to say that not only did I survive, but I'm in such a better place now except for still missing my mom.
For a while I thought that the only people who were allowed to complain to me were people who had suffered similar or worse. People who had lost either a baby, a parent, or a spouse. Because no one else knew how bad it could be. I was on a different wavelength when it came to suffering.
But then my friend got diagnosed with cancer and that sucked. And then, within 5 months, her grandma passed. And I started to think about how she felt. And first I thought, well, it was her grandma and my mom trumps her grandma so NBD. (Not really NBD, just comparatively.)
Then I saw that new show, Go On, where Matthew Perry's character is dealing with losing his wife and he joins a support group and they all start comparing stories. And as stupid as it is to learn a life lesson from a sitcom, I did.
You can't compare grief. You don't know how people process or cope. Sure, maybe losing my mom was a bigger blow than my friend losing her grandma but how do I know? Maybe her grandma was like a second mom to her. And what about my poor brother, who in the span of 2 years lost both a baby and a mom?
At 32 (almost 33), I'm still learning. Fortunately, no one got hurt while I learned this lesson.
I've been missing my mom a lot lately and blogging offers a little release. So you might see more mom entries for a while.
This manifested in many ways like, "Oh, you had to put your dog down? See above." And, "Oh, your baby kept you up all night. Mom."
And then I lost my job and I just felt like my world was crashing down. I was 4 months pregnant with no job, no mom, and a brand new house to pay for.
For those of you who were following me, you know how this story ends and I'm happy to say that not only did I survive, but I'm in such a better place now except for still missing my mom.
For a while I thought that the only people who were allowed to complain to me were people who had suffered similar or worse. People who had lost either a baby, a parent, or a spouse. Because no one else knew how bad it could be. I was on a different wavelength when it came to suffering.
But then my friend got diagnosed with cancer and that sucked. And then, within 5 months, her grandma passed. And I started to think about how she felt. And first I thought, well, it was her grandma and my mom trumps her grandma so NBD. (Not really NBD, just comparatively.)
Then I saw that new show, Go On, where Matthew Perry's character is dealing with losing his wife and he joins a support group and they all start comparing stories. And as stupid as it is to learn a life lesson from a sitcom, I did.
You can't compare grief. You don't know how people process or cope. Sure, maybe losing my mom was a bigger blow than my friend losing her grandma but how do I know? Maybe her grandma was like a second mom to her. And what about my poor brother, who in the span of 2 years lost both a baby and a mom?
At 32 (almost 33), I'm still learning. Fortunately, no one got hurt while I learned this lesson.
I've been missing my mom a lot lately and blogging offers a little release. So you might see more mom entries for a while.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Potty Party
We waited until Addy was over 3 (like 3 years, 4 months) to hop on the potty train. In some respects, it was too long but really we needed to wait until she was ready.
Signs your child is ready:
We had to wait until after Reese was born to avoid any regression and also we waited until after our 9-day trip to avoid complications. We got home on a Saturday and started training on Sunday.
We did some reading and decided to just do the naked plan. We stripped her down and gave her juice and basically headed for the potty every 30 minutes. We made a "Potty Prize Bowl" full of stupid stuff from the Dollar Store and every time she went successfully, she got a prize. We didn't want to do solely candy as that didn't sound to healthy.
We tried putting her in underwear but something about having something on made her think she could go in them. It didn't matter that it was underwear and not a diaper so we evenutally resorted to the naked plan.
The third day of training, we felt like leaving the house. We'd been cooped up for two days and Addy was kind of starting to get it. Being naked helped a lot. So we waited til she went, set the timer for 1 hour and went for a walk. Addy wore clothes on our walk but was commando.
While we were out, she had an accident and while that wasn't a big deal, she didn't seem to even react to it. She wasn't worried about it, she just kind of tried to wipe it away with her hand and carry on playing. That was probably our mistake, to let her play and get distracted. So we went to the bathroom, changed her and then cleaned up the mess.
It's important to note that every time she had an accident, we stretched out the changing and cleaning process so that she couldn't just go back to playing. She needed to know that it was a big deal and unpleasant to deal with.
We spent the week following the same pattern. Potty, 1 hour on the clock, errand. Sometimes we ended up visiting potty at Target and sometimes she was just fine. She only had one accident in the car. At home, naked, she was great. Something about being naked allowed her to feel the urge more than in clothing.
After one week, Addy went to daycare and honestly, that seemed to really help. It probably had something to do with having other potty trained kids around. The first day we sent her commando but our daycare provider didn't like that so we did panties the other days and she was just fine.
Addy has been "potty trained" for over 2 months now with mostly successes. Her first week of preschool was a challenging one in that she had an accident almost every day. She seems to have figured that out now and is having a great week so far.
However, poop is a different story altogether. She has pooped in the potty exactly 3 times with much screaming and crying and becoming hysterical every time. She does NOT like it. She will wait until bedtime when she gets a diaper on most days instead of going. No amount of promises/bribes of ice cream, toys, candy, etc. will get her to go. We have let it go, assuming that she will eventually get over it.
And that is our potty training saga. I wish you better success with yours!
Signs your child is ready:
- They recognize that their diaper is dirty
- They know the difference between pee & poop
- They wake up dry from naps & nighttime
- They express interest
We had to wait until after Reese was born to avoid any regression and also we waited until after our 9-day trip to avoid complications. We got home on a Saturday and started training on Sunday.
We did some reading and decided to just do the naked plan. We stripped her down and gave her juice and basically headed for the potty every 30 minutes. We made a "Potty Prize Bowl" full of stupid stuff from the Dollar Store and every time she went successfully, she got a prize. We didn't want to do solely candy as that didn't sound to healthy.
We tried putting her in underwear but something about having something on made her think she could go in them. It didn't matter that it was underwear and not a diaper so we evenutally resorted to the naked plan.
The third day of training, we felt like leaving the house. We'd been cooped up for two days and Addy was kind of starting to get it. Being naked helped a lot. So we waited til she went, set the timer for 1 hour and went for a walk. Addy wore clothes on our walk but was commando.
While we were out, she had an accident and while that wasn't a big deal, she didn't seem to even react to it. She wasn't worried about it, she just kind of tried to wipe it away with her hand and carry on playing. That was probably our mistake, to let her play and get distracted. So we went to the bathroom, changed her and then cleaned up the mess.
It's important to note that every time she had an accident, we stretched out the changing and cleaning process so that she couldn't just go back to playing. She needed to know that it was a big deal and unpleasant to deal with.
We spent the week following the same pattern. Potty, 1 hour on the clock, errand. Sometimes we ended up visiting potty at Target and sometimes she was just fine. She only had one accident in the car. At home, naked, she was great. Something about being naked allowed her to feel the urge more than in clothing.
After one week, Addy went to daycare and honestly, that seemed to really help. It probably had something to do with having other potty trained kids around. The first day we sent her commando but our daycare provider didn't like that so we did panties the other days and she was just fine.
Addy has been "potty trained" for over 2 months now with mostly successes. Her first week of preschool was a challenging one in that she had an accident almost every day. She seems to have figured that out now and is having a great week so far.
However, poop is a different story altogether. She has pooped in the potty exactly 3 times with much screaming and crying and becoming hysterical every time. She does NOT like it. She will wait until bedtime when she gets a diaper on most days instead of going. No amount of promises/bribes of ice cream, toys, candy, etc. will get her to go. We have let it go, assuming that she will eventually get over it.
And that is our potty training saga. I wish you better success with yours!
Monday, September 17, 2012
A Typical Day
I think a lot of my readers have only 1 child at this time and are probably planning on another. I thought it would be interesting to document a typical day for us to give you an idea of what happens when you add a second child to the mix.
Take this all with a grain of salt though - Reese is still a baby and requires more than Addy. In about 8 months this will look completely different.
Some time around 2-3am - Reese wakes up so I lurch over to her bassinet, grab her, return to bed, nurse her and then put her back down. She usually fusses for a minute but goes back to sleep.
5am - Alarm goes off - I hit snooze and hope it was just a bad dream
5:06am - Nope, I'm not getting back to sleep, up and in the shower to start getting ready.
5:30am - Wake up C and try not to wake up Reese
5:35am - Reese is awake, sit and feed her and hope she can hang out til I finish getting ready
6am - Wake up Addy and tell her to get dressed. Head downstairs to get breakfast and pack up to leave.
6:05am - Addy comes downstairs naked and carrying her clothes. That's fine as along as she dresses herself.
6:20ish - Nurse Reese again
6:32am - Leave for work
7am - 4pm - Work - 3 pumping sessions squeezed in around meetings and lunch.
4:30pm - pick up Reese, chat with daycare lady to see how she was during the day
4:50pm - pick up Addy, chat with teacher to find out how Addy did and if she had an accident
5pm - Nurse Reese. Depending on her day she may take a snooze or not. Depending on the day I might have to start cooking dinner (C & I take turns cooking). Depending on how all this works out I *might* be able to get on the treadmill but probably not. During this time Addy is supposed to play by herself but mostly ends up asking me to watch "Addy shows" or play "Addy Games" on the kindle or phone. She also wants a snacky and a drinky. Get the mail. Check facebook and whatever else while nursing. Wash pump parts.
6:30pm-ish - sit down to dinner. If we're lucky, Reese will sit in the "shakey chair" while we eat but most of the time C & I trade off holding her and eating. Reese usually wants to eat sometime in here again.
7pm-ish - finish dinner and clean up. Every other night is bath night so either we head upstairs to start baths or we hang out for 20 or so minutes. C & Addy usually use this time to throw Addy on the couch and tickle her.
7:30pm - start getting both girls ready for bed. Addy in pjs with brushed teeth and Reese in her pjs and swaddled. We try to pick out clothes with Addy for the next day too. C & I take turns reading to Addy so if it's my turn I nurse Reese while C helps Addy get ready and then I read, otherwise we divide and conquer.
8pm - at this point both girls should be down for the night. Usually after Addy has been in bed for approximately 20 minutes she will come tell us she pooped in her night time diaper (I am thinking of writing another post about potty training but for now all you need to know is that Addy is scared to death of pooping in the potty and holds it until she's in a diaper again - or goes in her underwear...)
8-9:30pm - C & I finish cleaning up dinner, pack things for the next day and finally get to sit on the couch and relax.
9:30pm - start getting myself ready for bed as quietly as possible so Reese stays asleep.
11-12ish - Reese wakes up for a snack.
Lather, rinse, repeat!
Take this all with a grain of salt though - Reese is still a baby and requires more than Addy. In about 8 months this will look completely different.
Some time around 2-3am - Reese wakes up so I lurch over to her bassinet, grab her, return to bed, nurse her and then put her back down. She usually fusses for a minute but goes back to sleep.
5am - Alarm goes off - I hit snooze and hope it was just a bad dream
5:06am - Nope, I'm not getting back to sleep, up and in the shower to start getting ready.
5:30am - Wake up C and try not to wake up Reese
5:35am - Reese is awake, sit and feed her and hope she can hang out til I finish getting ready
6am - Wake up Addy and tell her to get dressed. Head downstairs to get breakfast and pack up to leave.
6:05am - Addy comes downstairs naked and carrying her clothes. That's fine as along as she dresses herself.
6:20ish - Nurse Reese again
6:32am - Leave for work
7am - 4pm - Work - 3 pumping sessions squeezed in around meetings and lunch.
4:30pm - pick up Reese, chat with daycare lady to see how she was during the day
4:50pm - pick up Addy, chat with teacher to find out how Addy did and if she had an accident
5pm - Nurse Reese. Depending on her day she may take a snooze or not. Depending on the day I might have to start cooking dinner (C & I take turns cooking). Depending on how all this works out I *might* be able to get on the treadmill but probably not. During this time Addy is supposed to play by herself but mostly ends up asking me to watch "Addy shows" or play "Addy Games" on the kindle or phone. She also wants a snacky and a drinky. Get the mail. Check facebook and whatever else while nursing. Wash pump parts.
6:30pm-ish - sit down to dinner. If we're lucky, Reese will sit in the "shakey chair" while we eat but most of the time C & I trade off holding her and eating. Reese usually wants to eat sometime in here again.
7pm-ish - finish dinner and clean up. Every other night is bath night so either we head upstairs to start baths or we hang out for 20 or so minutes. C & Addy usually use this time to throw Addy on the couch and tickle her.
7:30pm - start getting both girls ready for bed. Addy in pjs with brushed teeth and Reese in her pjs and swaddled. We try to pick out clothes with Addy for the next day too. C & I take turns reading to Addy so if it's my turn I nurse Reese while C helps Addy get ready and then I read, otherwise we divide and conquer.
8pm - at this point both girls should be down for the night. Usually after Addy has been in bed for approximately 20 minutes she will come tell us she pooped in her night time diaper (I am thinking of writing another post about potty training but for now all you need to know is that Addy is scared to death of pooping in the potty and holds it until she's in a diaper again - or goes in her underwear...)
8-9:30pm - C & I finish cleaning up dinner, pack things for the next day and finally get to sit on the couch and relax.
9:30pm - start getting myself ready for bed as quietly as possible so Reese stays asleep.
11-12ish - Reese wakes up for a snack.
Lather, rinse, repeat!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The First and The Last
C has declared that we will not have more babies. To me, that remains to be seen but he has stated his case. We can have more kids, but no more babies.
So that means that Reese will pontentially be my last baby. And it's sad! As frustrating as babies can be, I love the baby stage. I love the big grins, the cooing, the snuggling. I absolutely loved taking a nap with Reese snuggled up on my chest, so tiny. I don't know if I treasure it more because it could be the last time or if I just love it that much anyway.
I love Addy too, but in a different way. I will be honest and admit that I'm not a huge fan of the 2-3 year old stage. I think that's actually a reflection on me and the amount (or lack) of patience I have. Some times I just can't handle the Whys and the questions and the flat out ignoring/not listening. I hate yelling at her but it happens more than I care to admit.
C is the opposite, he dislikes the baby stage (obviously) and loves this current stage. He loves that Addy can tell us what's wrong or what she needs, that he can play with her and make her laugh and actually talk to her. And yes, I like those things too, but well, you saw how I feel up there.
Addy started preschool this week and the biggest thing was that it hasn't even seemed to phase her. I want to chalk it up to our preparation at home with talking it up for a few weeks and making a big deal of packing her backpack and picking out her outfit and everything, but I really think Addy is just kind of unflappable. The first morning, she just ran off, eager to explore and play with all the new toys. I had to force her to hug me goodbye.
I have no doubts that we will have rough mornings and she'll do some clinging, but for the most part she's ready to head off into the world with hardly a glance back.
I firmly believe that it will be even harder with Reese, knowing that its my last. I know C will be so excited to have them grow up but a little piece of me will always miss the babies.
So that means that Reese will pontentially be my last baby. And it's sad! As frustrating as babies can be, I love the baby stage. I love the big grins, the cooing, the snuggling. I absolutely loved taking a nap with Reese snuggled up on my chest, so tiny. I don't know if I treasure it more because it could be the last time or if I just love it that much anyway.
I love Addy too, but in a different way. I will be honest and admit that I'm not a huge fan of the 2-3 year old stage. I think that's actually a reflection on me and the amount (or lack) of patience I have. Some times I just can't handle the Whys and the questions and the flat out ignoring/not listening. I hate yelling at her but it happens more than I care to admit.
C is the opposite, he dislikes the baby stage (obviously) and loves this current stage. He loves that Addy can tell us what's wrong or what she needs, that he can play with her and make her laugh and actually talk to her. And yes, I like those things too, but well, you saw how I feel up there.
Addy started preschool this week and the biggest thing was that it hasn't even seemed to phase her. I want to chalk it up to our preparation at home with talking it up for a few weeks and making a big deal of packing her backpack and picking out her outfit and everything, but I really think Addy is just kind of unflappable. The first morning, she just ran off, eager to explore and play with all the new toys. I had to force her to hug me goodbye.
I have no doubts that we will have rough mornings and she'll do some clinging, but for the most part she's ready to head off into the world with hardly a glance back.
I firmly believe that it will be even harder with Reese, knowing that its my last. I know C will be so excited to have them grow up but a little piece of me will always miss the babies.
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