Product Review Friday - Cloth Diapers (The Early Stages)

A few weeks ago, I actually ordered something from BabySteals.com - three GroBaby shells with 150 of their disposable liners. Once they arrived, I also bought a dozen Gerber Diaper Service Quality PreFolds. And so the cloth diapering began.

So far, I am not minding the change. We still use disposables for night time and if we are going to be out of the house for more than an hour or two. But, I am saving at least 4 disposables a day this way. So, in about 4 months I will have paid for what I bought (about $100 so far). I have 15 prefolds (had a few already that I used as burp clothes) and three covers, and I have realized I need more. I want at least two more covers and another dozen prefolds (or other reusable liners) so I don't have to do laundry each day. I can reuse the covers if the kids don't get too soggy or have a blow-out, but often I am ending up with both kids needing a new cover within an hour or two of each other. It takes 3-4 hours for the covers to dry (hanging up), so I either have to use a disposable or throw a cover in the dryer most of the time. I am waiting to see if BabySteals has any good steals in the next week or so though before I spend about $60 on what I still need (there are hints they are having cloth diapering things up soon).

As for work, it isn't a lot more effort for me to cloth diaper. I do have to rinse off some of AJU6's dirty diapers, but other than that, it might take me an extra 15-20 minutes a day to load the washer, take everything out and hang it up, and then fold the prefolds so I can just put them in the covers.

One thing I do like about the GroBaby covers is they are one-sized. I can use the same cover for AJU5 and AJU6. I just have to use the snaps to make it a little shorter for AJU6, and that is easy to do. I also fold the prefolds differently for each kid. The Gerber prefolds are a little too long for the covers "naturally", so I fold them the other direction for AJU5. This gives her extra material to fill where a girl natural needs it. For AJU6, I just fold down 1/3 of the diaper, giving him more absorbency where boys need it. I will probably buy the Green Mountain prefolds next, and they might be a little smaller. Hopefully they won't be quite a bulky on AJU6, as some of his shorts just don't fit over the diaper well.

And now I know some of you might be wondering why I changed - I was tired of having to buy diapers for AJU5. She is resisting potty training, and spending about $40 a month on her diapers alone was getting to be a pain. Now my diaper purchases go at least twice as far, meaning I don't have to buy them nearly as often!

REJECTED!

At church on Sunday, I was sitting in the pew with AJU5 and AJU6 during the first song. AJU6 was asleep in my arms, and AJU5 was looking at the hymnal. Then I hear the paper tearing. AJU1 had just come to sit with us, so I give him a look and point him towards AJU5. He takes the hymnal from her, and she goes crying and running to the back of the church. I hand AJU6 off to him and go after her. I am able to calm her down, and we return to the pew. I hold her for the songs, and before too long she is asleep in my arms. All is good! Then AJU6 wakes up. And he is hungry. And I didn't pack a bottle for him. So, I try to lay AJU5 down in the pew. No luck. Before too long AJU6 is really hungry (whining), so I have to trade kids with AJU1. I lay AJU5 down next to AJU1, take AJU6, and head to the back of the church to feed him. AJU1 tries to grab AJU5 and hold her, but she rejects him. She moves to the opposite side of the pew - as far away from him as she can while staying in the pew. I return from feeding AJU6 to this picture.

It has been like this a lot. Whomever has been playing or caring for AJU5 is the only parent she wants. There is no substitutions allowed in the game supposedly in her mind. The "funny" thing is that it isn't always mommy or always daddy. But, rarely will she allow us to tag in and out as needed.

I better go. AJU6 is making circle on the floor trying to get to toys. He is starting to learn that if he turns around, he can go backwards to the item he wants. This is not good....

Almost Went Crazy

So, we found out Tuesday that Jersey #2 might be discharged Wednesday, and if she wasn't discharged then she would most likely be discharged on Thursday. So, we thought we had until Thursday to get everything ready to surprise them - food, welcome home banner, etc. So, yesterday (Wednesday) morning we made plans to deliver everything Thursday morning. It was still a rush because we originally didn't expect them until Saturday at the earliest, but it was do-able. We could work on the decorations during Wednesday evening service, and we still had about 24 hours to cook. Around noon, Coach Mom posted that she was being discharged. She had also posted a question on facebook to another friend (who I knew was out of town), so I started a chat with her to answer the question. I subtly tried to push for them to return Thursday, and I was elated when she agreed. She got off Facebook, and I thought everything was fine. Then my husband called. He said they were flying back in a few hours!* I didn't believe him. So, he sent me the email with the information. I checked for myself. Then I started to panic a little. I called my two main helpers. The first one didn't answer her phones, so I called the second and relayed all of the information. We both were ready to rush and get things done and delivered in time. I called the other friend back - left a message on her cell and a message with her mom at home. Then I got to work. I have about 10 letters to make in the Welcome Home sign. Luckily, both kids were asleep! I barely got them all done and my enchiladas put together before it was time to meet to decorate/deposit food. Luckily we made it!

Of course the AJU's didn't sleep through all of my prep work. AJU5 wanted to help, and I wanted to let her play some with the paper. So, I left her in my closet with everything I didn't need and I took everything else (and AJU6) to the office to work. Unfortunately, I forgot to check and see what she could get into. She found my ink pad (for stamps), and had covered her hands. Luckily, she didn't get any on the carpet! Other than that, she had just spread things out.

It was a little crazy, but we had fun! They didn't get all of the food we had planned, but we can just deliver things as they are ready. We could have decorated more, but this means less mess for Coach Mom to clean up. We are just happy Jersey32 recovered so well that she was able to return home only 5 days after open heart surgery. We did laugh last night at church that the next time we pray for a fast recovery we will stipulate the length (let them recover in 7-10 days). We definitely learned (relearned) that God likes to laugh at our plans!

*We donated one of AJU1's free frequent flyer tickets to their family. So, when the flight was changed, the airline automatically sent AJU1 an email with the changed itinerary. It gave me about 30-45 minutes advanced notice before Coach Mom could update the journal with the news. I was very thankful for those 30-45 minutes!

Feeling Good!

First, Jersey #2 is feeling pretty good. She even startled the nurses this morning by getting out of bed all by herself (and tried to get back in alone too, but they caught her). She is really recovering well from everything, but there are still a few hurdles to cross before she can come home!

Second, a friend and I have been walking on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It has been great. The walking is making both of us feel better, and having a chance to talk to another adult is also nice. We stop at the park near the end to let the kids play, so there is an added bonus for AJU5 there.

In other news, AJU6 can now roll over. This is a mixed blessing. First, once he crawls he will be truly mobile (and he is getting close). Second, when I lay him down to sleep, he rolls over. And of course he doesn't want to sleep on his stomach, so he cries. I had to flip him three times this afternoon before he finally fell asleep. At least he isn't cranky like he was yesterday. What ended up being a 2.5 hour visit to the service shop for my car got him off schedule. He was cranky as all get out yesterday afternoon - refusing to eat because he was so tired but refusing to sleep because he was hungry.

What has been making you feel good lately?

Ramblings

First, thanks for the prayers for Jersey #2. She made it through surgery just fine, and just a little while ago she had her breathing tube removed. She is showing her strength and joy with lots of smiles and requests for food and drink (no drinks for a few hours and no food until tomorrow).

Second, AJU6's second tooth popped through yesterday. Hopefully we will have a little break before the top teeth come in. He handled the teething fairly well, but a non-teething AJU6 is less work for sure!

Third, my brother-in-law is giving me a little bit of a math work-out. He is taking college Calculus I, and I am tutoring him. We spent 3 hours last night on Skype working problems together. Unfortunately I didn't know how to do one problem (well, one part of one problem) and it wasn't in AJU1's or my calc books. Oh well.

AJU5 wants a bath - so I am bring pulled away. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Prayer Request (and Milestone)

If you ever read the comments on my blog, you might recognize the name Coach Mom. She is an IRL friend. Tomorrow, her daughter (Jersey #2) will undergo a five hour open heart surgery to replace a heart valve. Jersey #2 was born with Tetraology of Fallot, and underwent an even longer and more difficult surgery at almost 3 months old. Now she is 6.5 years old and in need of another surgery so she can be active again. Please pray for this family. Tomorrow many of us are wearing either crazy socks or rainbow colored clothes in honor of Jersey #2, as this is the type of clothing she loves to wear. If you join us, send me a picture so I can pass it on to her mom. They are going to show Jersey #2 all of the pictures to pass the time when she is stuck in bed.



In other news, AJU6 has a tooth now. You can't see it really yet, but I can feel it. I knew it was coming, but I was still surprised to feel it this morning. Hopefully he will sleep well tonight...

Injustices

Yippie! I finally was able to steal Mommy's computer so I could write a post. It is me - AJU6 - and I am here to tell you about all of the injustices in my world.

First, why is it that I can't move forward? No matter what I do, I only can spin in circles or move backwards. Occasionally I can move maybe an inch forward, but that doesn't really help. I just want to get to my toys or Mommy and Daddy!

Second, why is it that no one understands me? I say all these things, and all I get out of Mommy is "that is a good story." Hello. I am trying to tell you what I want. I am not telling a story!

Third, where is my food? I see everyone else eating around me, and all I get is plastic spoons to chew on. Why isn't there food on my spoons? Mommy was nice enough to let me suck on an apple Saturday night, but I want more!

Those are the big three. Occasionally there are other small ones, but I don't want to sound like my life is that bad.

Love,
AJU6

Busy Day

So, here is how our day went:
4l30 - AJU5 comes ot my side of the bed and hands me her duck, a blanket, and her water cup. I tell her to hold on a second so I can put AJU6 back in his bed (he is out). She goes crying to her room. Moments later AJU1's alarm goes off. After one snooze (10 minutes), he is up and getting ready for work. His plan is to take our "work" truck and pick up a trencher so he can work on the backyard in the afternoon. But, he notices that the back license plate is missing (most likely fell off), so he has to take his car and go to the DMV on the way home.
6:00 - AJU6 is awake and wants to be out of bed, so I am up for the day.
7:00- AJU5 wakes for the day.
10:00 - Head to story time. Today's topic was robots, and we got to make a robot for AJU5 to wear that had "wings" (arms).
11:30 - Leave the library and head to Costco for a few things.
1ish - Get home from Costco and try to get the kids to nap. AJU6 agrees, but AJU5 stays up until 1:45
4:00ish = AJU1 gets home after spending an extended period of time at the DMV because the computer system went down. AJU5 also wakes from her nap and AJU6 is back down for his long nap.
4AJU5 and I help AJU1 in the back yard until 5;30. Then we come inside, clean up, and get ready to go.
6:00 - Leave for an evening of indoor miniature golf with our churches "youth" group. It is more the children's group, but it was a fun evening none the less.
8:30 - Head home and get AJU5 into bed.
AJU6 is still up since he napped at the golf place, although he is about ready to crash. His bottom middle teeth are about to break through, so he is having a hard time falling asleep these days.

My Purchases

Here are the shirts I bought. I didn't iron them or anything, so that is why there are some wrinkles. Tell me what you think.

Deals?

So, I became a "fan" of BabySteals and KidSteals on Facebook a few weeks ago. I like to see what is for sale, but I have yet to buy anything. Some things I don't think are real steals. Hats for $20? No thank you. I bought one for AJU5 for $4 today at Wal-Mart. It may not be "name brand," but she doesn't care. Fancy diaper bags? Nope. Already have a few diaper bags, and I still just use the one because it is too much of a hassle to switch bags.

I am surprised by the number of people who buy multiple times a week. Yes, the stuff is about 50% off, but do you really need it? I guess I am just cheap. I have a hard time buying most stuff. I think that because we are getting by with what we have that we don't need more.

I still splurge occasionally. I buy things for the kids that we don't need. I am very guilty of buying lots of cheap things - like the 8 plastic baskets I bought today at Wal-Mart for $4 plus tax. Luckily my husband is the same way. He buys big things occasionally, but normally he spends very little (except for basics like gas, etc). We don't eat out much because it is more work some times and costs so much more than homemade food. It has allowed us to have the big things we want.

Today I also bought four new shirts. The ladies over at All Kinds of Pretty have made it very obvious to me that I shouldn't we wearing my unisex t=shirts (that I got free) all summer. And, since I am bigger than I was 3 years ago when I bought most of the short sleeved shirts I own, I needed a few new ones. The one I like the best my husband thinks is ugly though. He hasn't seen it on me though, so maybe then he will change his mind (it was a clearance shirt, so I can't find a pic online). Actually, there was only one shirt he didn't make a negative comment about - the most basic shirt. Oh well. He likes solids and that is about it. So, It doesn't surprise me he doesn't like the ones with a little color on them.

Now - those four shirts cost me under $60 with tax. So, I am happy! I do know how to find deals. I just have to decide I need to buy something first...

Product Review Friday - Wrap & Tie Carrier

So, I bought an Infantino SlingRider when AJU6 was born. I read about possible suffication, but because of how I planned on using it, I wasn't worried. I would walk around with im in it (and my arms under him) until he crashed, and then I would sit down and let him lay in my lap. Doing that, I wasn't afraid of him suffocating because I wasn't keeping his neck pushed to his chin. But, when they were recalled, I decided to send it in. I wasn't using it anymore, so why not get something different? I chose the Wrap & Tie because the other options we either already had (shopping car cover) or didn't need (plastic toys). Our other carrier was showing signs of wear, and this one was cuter and had a higher weight limit.

I am happy with the new carrier. I have only used it around the house, but it is very cute. I first tried it out with AJU5 because she is still about 8 pounds litter than the max weight and AJU6 was asleep. She rode on my back for a good 30 minutes and loved it! She has gotten in once or twice since then (because she asked). AJU6 isn't so quick to go for a "ride," but he is still fairly happy it in. One thing I don't like is the amount of fabric at the legs. It is fine for AJU5 since she is bigger, but I have to do a lot of adjusting so I am not making AJU6 do the splits. It has a band to wrap around this area for when the baby faces out, and I have to use that when he faces in as well.

It some ways it is easier to use than my Snugli, but in other ways it is harder. I have found it is easier to put the straps through the loops before putting it on, and then I just slide AJU6 in once I have it on and tighten it. It was a huge challenge to put the straps through the loops and balance him the first time! I do love the amount of adjust-ability. I found the buckles and straps on the Snugli to be a pain to adjust because there were so many places you could adjust them.

The Ergo or other carrier might be better, but for the price, I like the two I have. They work well for us, and that is all that really matters!

No Wonder People Are Confused!

In the past few weeks. I have read, discussed, heard, etc a lot about how much babies and young children eat. One thing I have concluded is that there are a lot of mixed messages out there about what to fed, when to fed, and how to fed our kids.

Some women are told to start solids at 4 months (or earlier).
Others are told to wait until 6 months.
Some moms chose to wait even longer and never spoon feed.

Some doctors are very concerned about children becoming over-weight.
Others seem to not worry either way.

Some doctors push to move kids to skim milk at 2 years.
Some doctors recommend changing to 2% milk.
Others don't say anything about the kind of milk a child drinks.

No wonder moms are going crazy!

A friend on Facebook was told her 4 month old was over weight. The boy was only drinking bm, and the doctor recommended the mom switch to formula and to start solids. Other friends and I were astonished! It seemed so counter-intuitive to us. In my opinion, I was glad the mom didn't take all of the doctor's advice. She did start solids, but she didn't switch to formula (and she switched doctors for her son).

I know childhood obesity is on the rise. But, I think we have gone too far in preventing it. As moms we need to make smart choices as to what we feed our kids. But, we don't need to be so rigid that we put our kids on a true diet.

With AJU5, we let her have as much milk as she wants (normally 2 tall sippy cups), and it is whole milk at this point because she is fairly slender. I don't limit the glasses of juice she has either, but I do water it down a lot (about 1 part juice to 5 parts water). We don't keep too many sugary things in the house, so she doesn't get a lot of sweets. If we have cookies, she gets one or two (depending on size) a day. She loves chocolate chips, but again we limit how many she gets. We are lucky that she loves raisins and peas and cheese. I have made choices on what I buy again after reading some labels, but I won't interfere if someone else offers her those things.

So, I bet I have rambled some. Where are you on this food debate? Are you worried about childhood obesity in your kids? Or, do you ever worry you child isn't eating enough or might be too skinny?

Abort and Other Short Outtakes

We have aborted potty training at least for a few days. Here is what happened yesterday:
At 9, I got AJU5 dressed and we got ready to go outside. AJU6 woke up, so I ran to get him while AJU5 lingered in the bathroom. Next thing I know she comes up to me and her pants are wet. So, I change her and we go outside. After 45 minutes, we sat on the potty. Then we repeated 30 minutes later. Almost 30 minutes later, AJU5 was ready to go inside. She was clearly tired, so I told her she needed to sit on the potty and then we would go inside and she could nap. She very reluctantly agreed - crying during most of the experience. I of course put a diaper on her because I didn't want a wet bed (there had been no success with the use of the potty). She was almost completely dry when she woke up, so I tried to get her to sit on the potty. But, she wasn't having it. AJU6 was asleep in the same room, so I couldn't push too hard (for fear of waking him). She didn't want to wear a diaper, so I eventually succeeded in putting her in undies, pull-up, and then pants. She uses the pull-up and doesn't care that she has the wet undies up against her skim. I tried to get her to sit on the potty again (because I can tell she isn't done), and it was a battle with tears. So, potty training is aborted. I am not going to force her to sit on the potty if it is making her that upset. We will keep trying to get her to sit ont he potty when we go and before bath time. Maybe in a week or two she will be ready.

Last night she confirmed to me that this was a good idea. AJU1 and I asked her if she wanted a bath. She said yes, but insisted he take her to the bathroom. Reason - he doesn't make her sit on the potty before baths, and I do.


In other news - AJU5 was a dare-devil on Sunday. She tried to scale her dresser. The result was in falling down on top of her. Luckily, her TinkerToy can was there to support the dresser. The only damage to her was a few very tiny little pink/red marks. But, it sure did scare everyone!

AJU6 has been a handful. I think the boy is teething. He is demanding to be rocked to sleep AND stay in my arms for the whole nap (other than his first morning nap). Yesterday I was finally able to get him to sleep in the crib at 5pm. He took one nap in the stroller for about 30 minutes after I walked and walked and walked him to sleep. It made for a long day.

Now to write my last final. Then I just have to do some grading before the term is over. I am so ready for 2 weeks off! Well, I will have to get my classes ready for the summer, but that isn't too hard to do.

Quick Update

Great grandparents left this morning.
I almost got the house cleaned before they got here (didn't get the family room mopped - that is it).
Had a great visit with them.
AJU6's dedication was wonderful.
Trying to potty train AJU5 today.
AJU6 turned 5 months old yesterday.
My semester at work will be before next Friday.

Will write more when i have time...

Keeping Up

First, a little AJU6 update since I don't talk about him too much on here. The boy is growing like crazy! And he is quite active. He plays with toys on the exersaucer that AJU5 never did because they were harder to reach. He is also slowly creeping a little bit. I can lay him on his belly, and he will inch (truly - only about an inch) forward to grab toys. He is also trying to master sitting on his own and spinning on his belly. He has no desire to roll from his back to his belly yet though (AJU5 didn't do that until she was crawling, so I am not surprised). He still wakes a bunch at night to eat, but that doesn't surprise me either.

Now for the keeping up part. The great-grandparents (AJU1's maternal grandparents) are coming this weekend. We were given about 2 weeks' notice on this, although we had been asking them to come for a while. Great-granddad is a preacher, and will be dedicating AJU6 at our church on Sunday. He dedicated AJU5 at what was his church almost two years ago, so we wanted him to dedicate AJU6 as well. That means I have to get the house cleaned! And get ready for finals! All this week!

My plan is to clean the kitchen and finish the laundry today. Tomorrow I will do the bathrooms. Wednesday I will dust, and Thursday I will do the floors. I picked up AJU5's toys and tried to organize those this weekend. So, now I just have to keep those picked up as well. Hopefully I will get it all done... We will see... Having my in-laws come is always stressful because I want the house to look nice... So, if you don't hear from me this week, you know why!

Product Review Friday - Store-Brand Diapers

Like I said before, I love the Kirkland diapers. They are soft, hold quite a bit, come in a huge box, and are fairly cheap. One big problem is the diaper sizes though. They start with a Size 1-2, and there is no overlap is weight sizing between this size and Size 3. So, we had to start with other brands for AJU6, and we are using another brand now for him as well. I initially bought Pampers newborns, because I love the wet indicator line. We also had some other samples (free) that we used. After going through a box of newborns and a box of Size 1 Pampers, I decided to try the Parent's Choice brand at Wal-Mart. They worked, but I didn't like them. They were very stiff and had no softness to them. Luckily by the time we had used all of those, AJU6 was big enough for the Kirkland 1-2's. So, we stuck with them until recently when we started to have a little leakage with big explosions. He leaks around the leg openings, so it is a size issue mainly.

I realized the Size 3's were just too big. I knew I could go with Huggies (like I did with AJU5), but I thought I would try the Up and Up diapers (Target brand). They seem to be working well. I like the pattern on them (blue and green dots), and they are somewhat soft - not as soft as Pampers and Kirkland, but no where near as abrasive as Parent's Choice.

Enjoying the Outdoors

AJU5 and I are outside. AJU6 is inside asleep (window open so I can hear him), and AJU1 is getting composite for the backyard (run 2 of 4 most likely). And I am enjoying it! Today is a practice to see how spending the day outside would go. In a week (or 3 or 4), I plan on potty training AJU5. We will spend out days outside to avoid accidents inside. So, I just need to make sure my plan will work :)

AJU5 has played in the dirt. She has played with water. She did a little short stint on her cars, andnow she is walking around upset because I won't let her push buttons... I may need to come up with a few more distractions though - any ideas?

At least she loves me...

AJU5 has become a complete Mommy's girl lately. She rejects AJU1 often, which I don't think he likes. She hasn't completely rejected him luckily, but he has mentioned that he hopes AJU6 doesn't hate him when he turns 2.

She insists I put her in the car. She sits behind the driver seat, so if we are all going somewhere these means that we have to put our respective children in and then walk around the vehicle to get to our seat. Annoying...

About 75% of the time she insists on getting out on AJU6's side - i.e. where I am. I took Sarah's suggestion from way back and unbuckle AJU5 first when it is just me and the kids.. Then, I go get AJU6, the diaper bag, and finally AJU5 out on his side. Now she insists on this order even if AJU1 is the one unbuckling her. Well, unless I am fast enough and get AJU6 out and the door shut before she is out of her seat that is.

During Sunday morning service, she insists on sitting with me/on me. This is fine until AJU6 is hungry. Yesterday we tried to get her to sit with AJU1 when she was 90% asleep, and she just screamed. So, I had her snuggled up next to me while I fed AJU6. It didn't work so well as she decided to rest her head on his head. Luckily he was no longer too hungry...

There are other times she insists on me, but it isn't consistent as to what those things are. Luckily during the middle of the night she normally goes to AJU1's side of the bed! Unfortunately on days like today, AJU1 is already out of the house when she comes looking (i.e. 5:30). I thought she would sleep in since she didn't give up and sleep until almost 10 last night...

And to think just before and just after AJU6 was born she was a total Daddy's girl. Jealousy has sure set in!

Change of Plans

I was going to do a little review of another diaper we are trying with AJU6 (since he is between sizes for the Kirkland ones), but I am not in the mood. Maybe next week...

The ick may hopefully have finally left our house. AJU5 had an ick free night last night, and she seems to be 100% today. So, that is a huge relief! After almost a week of all variations of stomach issues, I am ready to be over with it. The big thing we have to deal with now is retraining AJU5 and ourselves. AJU5 got more juice in her juice because I just wanted her to stay hydrated. Now she is refusing her juice because I am trying to bring it back to the 1/3 juice- 2/3 water combo we had. She used to even drink it more diluted sometimes, but not now. She has also figured out that "oh-no" will get a quick response from us. This is what she said often when she need assistance with ick, so I would run to her whenever I heard it. This morning she used the same tone when she spilled water on herself. Now, I know to her it might be just as bad as ick, but to me it isn't!. A wet shirt does not require me to run as fast as I can to her side...

But the most frustrating thing right now is a student I have. After the first exam, he went on a tirade in an email to me about how unfair the exam was. He also complained on the course discussion board, where other students (thankfully) voiced their disagreement with him. I did my best to deal with him politely, and he chose not to do most of the work for Exam 2. He did take Exam 2, but of course he bombed it. Then Saturday he emails me asking if he can still pass the course. Well, I had already posted the grades and explained to the course how many points are left. So, he could easily calculate his current total and see that yes, technically he can still pass the course but he has to do very well on everything from here on out. I didn't get a chance to reply to the email because of the ick on Saturday (and I take Sundays off from work). During this time period AJU5 restarted my computer, so I forgot about the email. So, this morning I had two emails from him. One asking if I was still around and the second saying I was the worst teacher ever and he was going to set up a meeting for us with the dean. Luckily I had already talked to our associate dean about the Exam 1 issues. I am fairly certain they will not make me sit int he same room with this student after what he said in some of those emails... I did email him back and explained that I was sorry I had not gotten back to him and it was because I had been dealing with sickness in the family, etc and he could have answered the question himself. Oh, and of course the end of the email I got from him was again not something any student should say to his/her professor. He went off on how I had been scammed into being a Christian. Now, I don't expect all of my students to agree with my beliefs. Actually, I expect many to have different beliefs. But, even if you don't agree with what I believe, it doesn't mean you have to basically say I am stupid as a result.

So yeah, I am glad I got that off my chest. I am glad I don't have to see this student face to face. Although, I bet if we were face to face, he either would not have said these things OR I would have gotten him removed from my course. Hopefully he will either get over his issues or the dean will back me up.

Wordless Wednesday - Helping Daddy

More Fun

So, after the ick of Saturday morning, things looked up. AJU5 returned to her normal self by 11am, and we were able to run a few errands in the afternoon. Easter Sunday started off great. AJU5 loved her basket and found a few of the eggs before heading to church. Church went well, and we came home to enjoy a nice dinner with a recent widower in our church. After he left, we all ended up napping. When AJU1 woke up, he didn't feel good. It only got worse. He spent about 8 hours running to the bathroom every half hour to hour. Luckily, by Monday morning he was starting to feel better. He spent yesterday home in bed, but today he made it to work. He even survived watching AJU5 last night so AJU6 and I could go to class (he normally goes and we watch at home, but since he wasn't 100% he decided to let me go). Then 12:30am came, and AJU5 woke up throwing up again. Luckily it was a once and done sort of thing. Later today I am taking AJU6 to get his 4 month shots, so hopefully we will all stay healthy...

I actually have a hypothesis as to why AJU5 threw up yesterday. I think she had hidden a pickle somewhere and found it. That girl is getting very sneaky about things, and she LOVES pickles. Based on what I saw last night, it was what she threw up and neither AJU1 nor I had given her one yesterday...

Here are some pictures from Easter. I took the easy route and didn't dye eggs with the kids this year again. We went with the plastic eggs with fun foam stickers (which AJU5 likes to peel off the eggs). Maybe next year I will be ambitious enough to let the kids dye eggs...

Ready!

Baskets are done and out.
Eggs (plastic) are hidden.
Clothes are clean and ready to be worn.
Two parts to dinner are made (deviled eggs and orange jello salad).

Now to wait until morning!

Ick!

AJU5 came to our room early this morning - probably around 4:30 or 5:00. She went to AJU1's side and talked to him. She agreed to climb into bed instead of going downstairs. The next thing I remember was him asking her if she wanted to go back to her bed. Then it happened. And AJU1 asked for help. AJU5 threw up all over him (and the bed). I got up and took her to the bathroom. I stripped her down and waited to make sure she was done. Then we went to her room and put on new jammies. She asked to g back to her bed, and then asked for me to sleep with her. I went and got AJU6 (he had been eating when all of this happened, and AJU1 was taking a much needed shower). AJU6 was not hungry any more and so I took him back to his bed. AJU5 asked for juice and milk at this point, so I went and got those for her. And we snuggled in bed and fell asleep.

Then I noticed she was stirring. And then it happened AGAIN. This time it was all over her bed. So, I called for AJU1 to come help. We convinced her to take a bath, and we started stripping both beds. She didn't stay in the bath too long, and then she wanted out. I wrapped her up in a towel, and I noticed she was hiccuping and didn't look great. So we snuggled for a while. Then we got up to go downstairs and watch some TV. We stopped at the linen closet to get a sheet to protect the couch. And it happened AGAIN.

This time it was on the floor mostly. I took her to the bathroom to finish up, and then we headed downstairs to watch TV. I got her some juice (after seeing what came out the previous two times, milk wasn't allowed for a while). After I thought she was okay (i.e. after 2 showers), I went to take a shower. On my way back downstairs, I saw her coming up. I gt t her and picked her up. And it happened AGAIN. This time on my shirt.

I hope we are done for a while...

At least AJU6 is basically all better now...

This could lead to the end of co-sleeping if I wasn't so lazy...

Albuterol.
That stuff can really make a 4 month old jittery!

AJU6 has RSV and bronchitis. So, at his 4 month appointment, his doctor prescribed Albuterol syrup. If his O2 sat level was lower (it was 95%), he would have got the nebulizer version, which comes with the cute fish masks. Instead, we just have to give him 1mL of syrup every 6 hours until he stops coughing and wheezing.

Last night he woke up to eat around 1:30. I fed him and tried to get him back to a peaceful sleep. He was really congested, so I brought him downstairs so we could camp out in the recliner. After a little baby nose-blowing, he crashed on my chest. Well, crashed is a relative term. He was completely asleep yet completely active. The boy would not stay still! He was attacking me with little ninja moves, probably a lot like he did to me before he was born. After an hour of this (i.e. about 2.5 hours of being mostly awake), I brought him back upstairs and put him in his bed. He slept for another couple of hours there until he was thirsty again luckily.

When the nurse called this morning to tell me he did test positive for RSV and to check on him, she laughed when I mentioned the jittery-ness of AJU6. I wasn't concerned about it because his doctor warned me that we would probably notice it especially while he was sleeping. But when she asked how he was, I felt like sharing that point :) Today he is about the same as yesterday. Last night he coughed more than normal, but this morning he is wheezing a little less. The doctor thinks we are past half way, so maybe in another 2-4 days he will be well. I can't wait to rejoin society then! It has been a while since I got to hang out with other moms (with spring break and then this week of ick)...

Product Review Friday - Joovy Caboose

So, I went with the Caboose. Price wise, they were almost identical. I could get the very very basic Baby Trend Sit-n-Stand for $99, a "standard" Sit-n-Stand for about $130, or I could order the Joovy Caboose online for $129 with the parent organizer, free shipping, and no tax (from Joovy itself). I ordered it Tuesday morning, and it arrived yesterday. That means they do indeed ship the item the day you order it (as we are a two-day shipping on UPS and Fed-Ex from their shipping locations). I almost immediately put it together, and at AJU5's request, we took it for a test drive.

It was fairly easy to put together - attach wheels and canopy and put the parent organizer on. I have left the kid tray and car seat adapter off for now as AJU6 is big enough to sit upfront out of his car seat but isn't big enough to make any use out of the tray (and it would just be in the way of getting him in and out easily). The opening and closing are a tiny bit harder than the Sit-n-Stand, but it is still fairly simple. It just takes two hands instead of just one...

As for size, if I were to take the canopy off, the Caboose would be an inch or two taller than my single Graco stroller (part of the travel system). It is narrower than the Graco, so it takes up just about the same amount of space. Unfolded, it is a little longer than a single stroller of course, but it is still easy to steer. I had no problem making the 90 degree turn on our side walk nor spinning the thing in circles to entertain the kids. It did get a little hard to push over our very beat up side walks (i.e. read falling apart), but I was still able to get through the gravely mess.

One common con of the Caboose over the Sit-n-Stand seemed to be the size of the basket underneath. I think it is pretty big actually. It should fit our diaper bag and a blanket/coat with no issues. Plus, as someone said in a review online, you can use the kid handles in the back to hang bags off of if you are taking it shopping. Another common con I read was about the back seat sliding. Yes - it does slide, but it takes force to get it to move. It did not slide while AJU5 was on it unless I intentionally was moving her forward. I like that I can move it so she has more room when the front seat is reclined.

So, overall I love my new stroller. I can't wait to test it some more - probably at the zoo and mall in the next week or so! And yes - mine is yellow...

How Many...

When AJU1 and I got married, we were certain we would have two kids - no more, no less. We still said we were going to have only two kids when AJU5 was born. Then we got pregnant with AJU6. It changes to maybe we will have three, especially if AJU6 would have been a girl. Now I don't know what I want.

While skiing last week, I wanted to be done. I want to be able to ski as a family and not worry about child care. I know that is 3-4 years down the road, if we are done, but that seems reasonable. If we have another kid, then it will be 5-8 years before we can ski as a family like my sister will be able to next year.

But then I am reminded of:
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;
so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
they shall not be ashamed,
but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
Psalms 127:3-5
It was brought up in our Bible class this week. The teacher didn't say we all have to have 19 kids like the Duggars. He even said that some families are meant to only have one child for a variety of reasons. But, he also said that children are a blessing and we should want that blessing.

Right now AJU1 and I are at the point that we want to prevent a pregnancy for at least another year, so AJU6 and a possible third child will be over two years apart. At that point, I think we will just see what happens. All three of our children where in God's hands - we never tried to get pregnant nor really prevented the pregnancies. He chose to take Junior #2 home before we got to meet him/her here on earth. But if we have a third, are we going to be done? AJU1 and I are both one of four children. Although we have no issues with the family size we grew up in, we have always said we don't want to have that size family ourselves. But, will our minds change if/when we get pregnant again?

I know others have struggled with this decision as well. It is not an easy one. Sometimes the decision is made for you medically. Other times it is not...

Thanks for Sharing...

AJU1 and/or AJU5 has shared a little too well for my liking. They shared the crud with me, and Mommy no like! AJU6 is a little under the weather too, but he got it after the two of them. So, yes, technically he could have given it to me, but if he did it was because they gave it to him first.

We are dealing with stuffy noses and coughs around here. AJU5 and AJU6 have had some very mild fevers (under 100) as well. AJU5 seems to be on the mend now, so hopefully the rest of us will feel good in a few days too.

This is not what I wanted AJU5 to learn to share!

Decisions, Decisions...

I am trying to decide what stroller to buy. It is between the Baby Trend Sit n Stand and the Joovy Caboose. They are about the same price and have basically the same child seats (AJU6 will get the front full seat while AJU5 gets the back bench or can stand). The Baby Trend (BT) is a little longer supposedly but a little more flimsy. But, the BT has a better basket underneath and a better parent organizer. Unfortunately, there isn't a Joovy in town, so I can't test drive it...

Anyone used either one? I need a double stroller that will fit through a normal doorway because I take the kids to work with me. I don't want a huge stroller because, well, they are just HUGE! And, AJU5 likes to stand in strollers anyways :)

Ugn... I hate making decisions but I need to soon! I want to take the kids to the zoo, but I don't want to have to have AJU6 in the carrier the whole time (because it gets hot and uncomfortable after about an hour)...

Pictures from the Trip

In the car on the way up.

View out the windshield on the way up.

The mountain

Breakfast one morning

Everyone but one sister (who left the day before)

That was fun...

So, if we are friends on Facebook, you already know we made a road trip this week and went skiing with my family. That part of the trip was fun. I got to ski 1.5 days, while AJU1 skiied for 3 days. We got to spend time with the family, and AJU5 did great around her cousins. She actually left AJU1 and I many times to play int he other room with the big kids. She also loved walking around the lodge - we made many trips for walks!

The trip to the ski resort was not so fun. It snowed most of the way there, so we only stopped for one potty/gas/diaper change. It took us about 7 hours,a nd the kids did just fine. I sat in the back and pumped and fed AJU6 bottles. He seemed to take the trip okay. Then we got to the lodge and got him out of his car seat. I handed him to my sister K who had n ot met him yet. And he screamed. I tried to hold him - he screamed. I tried to feed him, burp him, bounce him, etc, and all he did was scream. My dad tried to take him, my mom tried to take him, AJU1 tried to take him. All he did was scream. After about 30 minutes of this, he was worn out and slept for about an hour. He woke up and was himself again.

Nights were a little bit of a battle. AJU5 did not want to go to sleep a few times, and we were both tired and wanted to sleep. And of course she woke at least once a night needing something... But we survived.

Wednesday night everyone else went out to eat. We decided to just grab Subway because we didn't want anything too heavy (after skiing, etc). Well, it turned out that it was a very good thing that we didn't go out to eat. AJU5 threw up just after we ate. It was mostly post-nasal drip stuff, and she was fine once she got it all out. We deposited her in the bath tub for a while, and when she was done with that, she was ready for bed (and slept well). We thought it was a once-and-done sort of thing...

We hit the round around 10am on Thursday (yesterday). After about 45 minutes, AJU5 asked for a diaper change. We were about 15 minutes from the next town, so we told her we would stop soon. She kept asking for a diaper change. There was no way she had filled her diaper yet, so I thought she might have to stand to take care of business. So, we just kept on going. About 2-5 miles outside of town, we figured out why she wanted us to stop. She threw up all over herself. And her car seat. We got to a Pizza Hut parking lot and started the clean up. She got new clothes on, and we wiped down everything else with a bunch of baby wipes. It was not fun! I also gave her some Benadryl and Motrin, and she was happy after everything was clean.

Today she has been cranky, but I don't think she is sick. The car incident probably wasn't helped by some very windy roads for the first 30 minutes (big switchbacks). Today she is cranky, but I think it is more of her getting back to rules and order than anything. We will see... Now to get the laundry done, grocery shopping done, and get everything back in order...

Almost Lost It...

Today has been a battle. I had planned on taking the kids to story time and then running some errands. But, AJU5 didn't want to go to story time. I decided not to fight her on it because if she didn't want to be there, she wouldn't behave. But, we still had errands to run regardless. So, After her nap, I started to ask her if she wanted to go. This eventually moved to telling her we need to go. But, she was resisting. Again, I don't want to force her because shopping with a screaming toddler is not fun. I knew we had until 3pm to leave. Everything would be busier, but we would survive. But, she was testing my patience. First, she decided to try to climb on the exersaucer while AJU6 was in it. Then, she started to demand things (I forget what). Finally around 2:30 she refused to put her jacket on. I almost lost it. I put her on her bed, shut the door, and went into another room. Oh course a few minutes later AJU5 was happy to listen and get ready to go, but it wasn't fun until then.

Some times I think my issues come because I have plans and I "have" to stick to them. God has tried to teach me that He is in control numerous times in the past, but I am a slow learner. I think having a toddler is getting that point across now. If only I could keep my temper back while I learn this lesson!

Wait, Where Did She Go?

AJU5 has changed a lot in the past few weeks. She went from a little girl who didn't want to socialize much at all and slept like a champ to one who does great at the library and won't go to bed at night.

A few weeks ago, after she refused to sit for story time and threw a big tantrum at the library, I decided to let her have a voice in what we do. I didn't expect her to want to go to story time or do much of anything except play outside or stay in the house. The next week she chose to go to story time two days in a row. Both days she sat with me and somewhat listened to everything. Then, this week she has even been happy to stay after story time is over and the instruments are put away. Yesterday we stayed for almost an hour, and she played with three other two year-olds most of the time. Today we only stayed for a little bit, but she happily read a book or two by herself and then played in the snow. She followed some big kids in the snow. Now, she is just as content to be by herself, but she isn't nearly as shy and reserved in public as she was just 3-4 weeks ago.

As for going to bed at night - it is a nightmare! She stays up until about 9 each night, when we finally give up and just put her in the crib. She will lay down 1-3 times before than in her big girl bed, but she gets up after about 15-30 minutes. Closing her door may work, but when I tried that for naps a month or two ago, she screamed the moment the door was shut. So, we haven't done that just yet. But, we are definitely missing our quiet evenings! AJU6 has been going to sleep around 7 or 8 each night, so if she would sleep we would be able to get in a couple of TV shows before our normal 9pm bedtime. Instead, we have been staying up until almost 10, watching the shows in little bits when she is up in bed.

I feel like i talk almost exclusively about AJU5 these days. I think that is because AJU6 is so laid back and not up to too much. He sleeps fairly well, so I don't have that to complain about. He isn't hitting any major milestones, so nothing to write about there either. But, he is such a great little guy! He giggles and coos and smiles are us. He wants to be where we are, so we have put the high chair in the reclining position so he can sit at the table with us. But, I can't think of anything that is "worthy" of a blog post for him just yet. But, I know in a few months he will be the "center" of attention...

Prayer

AJU5 has begun to "pray" at dinner time. We know at this point she is just mimicking us, but it is so cute! About 6 months ago we started praying aloud at meal time. We used to pray quietly because we didn't sit down at the exact same time. I was normally getting the last few things on the table or AJU1 was still getting his drink when AJU5 was already "chowing" down on her food. But, we decided that prayer was important to us and something we needed to teach AJU5 more about. She had started to request that we pray, and even told us whose turn it was to pray. Then, last week she prayed herself. She started after one of us had already started the first time. Since then, she normally just does it herself. It is so cute to hear her! I can tell we say "today" and "church" fairly regularly in our prayers, as these two words appear a lot in her prayers. Other than that, we don't know what she is saying most of the time.

Last nigth she decided we have to pray twice. First time was when we sat down (like normal). Then I got up and went to get AJU6 who had woken from a nap. When I sat back down, I got myself a little more enchiladas. She said "pray" and started praying again. So, it was either because AJU6 was now at the table or for my seconds...

We are just glad she has learned to say "amen" at the end. The first few times we sat there trying to decide when she was done praying. We would eventually guess she was done and say "amen." Now she says it so we don't have to guess!

ZZZZ...

I have had about 2.5 hours of sleep in the last, um, let me do the math, 31 hours? But, it was my fault and worth it!

Yesterday around 5:30pm AJU6 and I arrived at church for a night of scrapbooking. AJU1 had AJU5 for the night (and survived luckily). I started laying things out and slowly figuring out how I wanted to get started. By 6:45ish there were 12 of us ladies there, and we had some dinner (pizza and salad with soda and dessert). Then it was time for some scrapbooking! As the night wore on, the crowd diminished.

By about 1am, there were four of us left, and we were staying the night. None of us are night owls, so as the night progressed we kept commenting on how surprised we each were that we were still going. AJU6 of course gave me a distraction every 3-4 hours, but other than that I was getting pages done. By about 5am, we were all getting tired. Three of use decided to lay down and rest. I was down for a little over a half hour. Another lady was down for about an hour, and the last was down for about 2 hours.

Around 7:30 am, I had finished the kids' books (as much as I could of course), and decided to just start organizing all of my mess. I knew I had to leave by 9:45 (as I said I would be home by 10), and we had breakfast coming around 8. Three ladies returned for breakfast (cooked by a very nice man in our church), and we had a good time of fellowship before the morning began. As I was getting ready to leave, two ladies I didn't know showed up to crop for the day (we opened to the public at 8am), and others might have come after I left.

Once home, I was good for about an hour. Then AJU5 laid down in bed. I laid down with her and began to dose off. Then AJU6 was hungry (and was in our bed napping), so I laid down to feed him. Two hours later, I woke up. After a shower, I am feeling a little awake now. The plan is to stay up until 9pm (or a little later). Hopefully I will make it...

A few of the collages I scrapbooked - AJU5's 19-21 month collage and AJU6's 3month colleague.

Insurance

We have had to fight our health insurance company following the births of both kids. AJU5 spent a week in the NICU due to infection during labor and delivery, and AJU6 had a NICU doctor present at delivery due to fetal distress (his heart rate dropped in half). I have a network OB and delivered both of them at a network hospital. I had no idea that someone taking care of them would not be in-network when AJU5 was born. Then, I had no idea that it was even a NICU doctor when AJU6 was born.

It turns out that all of the NICU doctors at our hospital are out of network! That just was a complete shock to me when AJU5 was born. We got a letter from the doctors group the day I was discharged after AJU5 was born informing us of this. They said they would work with our insurance, but I don't know what they mean by "work." I had to call them MANY times with AJU5 to get things down to where they should be. Initially they wanted us to pay everything at the out-of-network rate. This would be more than twice our in-network out of pocket by the end since some things were still in-network (like the actual hospital bill). Eventually I got it so we paid less than $50 more than our max in-network out of pocket, and I was content.

So, when AJU6 was born and we got a similar letter in the mail, I was ready for a fight. I finally realized why I recognized the second doctor in the room when he was born since he was one of AJU5's doctors as well. But, I had originally thought it was another OB, not a NICU doctor. We got the first bill - about $750 for him to be in the room while AJU6 was born (i.e. about 30 minutes). We are fairly certain he didn't even tough AJU6 after he was born since he was perfectly fine. Well, since that is less than our out-of-network deductible, insurance wanted us to pay all of it. So, I called and got it reviewed. Then, they wanted us to pay about $375 dollars - $350ish that wasn't "customary" and then 20% of the remaining amount. Today I called and got them to review it again.

For the first time in all of this, I had a very nice lady who knew some things. She looked at our plan and saw that in the case of ER visits, etc. that they will pay 80% of whatever is billed. Since this was an emergency situation, she is having them review it under this clause. Hopefully it will work!

If we have three kids, I am just praying that there are no out-of-network issues to deal with!

Up and Down

Why is it that when on kid is being easy, the other one makes life difficult?

Recently AJU5 has been having a hard time going to bed. She has been staying up past 8pm, when she used to go down by 7. Last night after she had worn AJU1 out, we let her take a bath to wear herself out! Well, it worked. After she was done int he bath, I got her out and into her jammies. She immediately climbed into her big girl bed. I got her her juice and milk (I know - bad habit - but it gets her to sleep), and I expected to see her downstairs before too long. She has been laying in her big girl bed each night, only to come out, play, and eventually go down in her crib for the night. But last night, she stayed in her bed and went to sleep! I did hear her at 2am. I am fairly certain she came to our room, but I am not sure she was awake. She was saying "Where did it go?" By the time I got out of bed and to her room, she was in her bed looking for her pacifier. I got her another one from the bookshelf and asked her if she needed anything else. She requested more milk and juice, so I went and got her refills. By the time I got back upstairs, she was OUT.

So, I was very happy and proud of AJU5 last night. Aju6 ont he other hand...

I think eating chili with beans yesterday was a BAD idea. He was not a happy camper yesterday afternoon and evening. He would not sleep on his own! But, he also had a hard time sleeping in our arms. He was just very squirmy and obviously dealing with some belly issues. AJU1 and I tag teamed holding him until evening. We did get him down in his bed for about 2 hours around bedtime, but he stirred just before 11pm and refused to go back into his bed. So, he spent the night sleeping on my arm. Sleeping any other way just was not acceptable. Luckily, we both ended up sleeping, although my arm was very sore this morning!

Now to see how tonight goes...

Frustrated

So, we didn't make it to story time today. I let AJU5 decide if we were going, and she wanted to stay home. I wish toddler activities were spread out throughout the day. Everything I have found has either been morning or evening. There is nothing in the afternoon. And guess what - afternoons are the best time for AJU5. She is more willing to do things then. Yeah, I know most toddlers nap in the afternoon. I get that. But, I am "stuck" with one that naps around lunch time. So, activities starting at 10 or later are almost doomed from the start. She is getting tired and cranky by then most days, and doing anything out of the ordinary around those times is just not a good idea!

Add to that her new whiny-ness, and you have a recipe for a frustrated mommy. I have been having to "give" her a bath every afternoon just to keep my sanity. She will play for an hour or more each time, and I get a chance to breathe. I have used that time to grade, do laundry, and just relax.

Going for a walk on Wednesday was nice, but unfortunately it wasn't so pretty outside yesterday. It snowed a little bit and was breezy all day - not a good mix for trying to take kids outside for sure. Today we have to make it to Costco for a few things, but I am hoping for either another bath or a trip to the park.

I think half of my battle is crazy hormones. I just get to a boiling point with AJU5 some times. I have to leave the room so I don't snap at her. I am really looking forward to next Friday night when I get a Ladies' Night. We are doing another scrapbooking night at church. I haven't done any real scrapbooking since last year, so I am really looking forawrd to getting caught up. Plus, a night with a bunch of ladies I love with only AJU6 sounds like heaven. Hopefully it will be...

Okay, enough of "Debbie Downer"... AJU6 is three months old today, and I need to be in a good mood when I "help" him write his letter to the our friends and family.

Whine and Storytime...

I am about "over" this whiny stage AJU5 is in these days. Anytime she doesn't get her way she goes crying uncontrollably through the house. This started on Monday, so I think it may be something she "figured out" while we were traveling. Needless to say it is not something I want to encourage.

So, for today's story...
About 10 minutes before we were "scheduled" to leave for storytime, AJU5 got a hold of my camera. Because she LOVES to push all of the buttons and ends up smugging the lens, I took it away. I went downstairs to grab a quick snack. Well, she took that opportunity to climb up on my desk and get the camera! But, I decided not to fight it because I just wanted to get out of the house. On the way to the library, I noticed a couple of flashes. At first, I thought it was coming from the bus next to us. Then, after we were no longer next to the bus, I figured it out! I told her to stop. But, unfortunately the one time I would have liked a red light we didn't hit any! Finally, after she had taken about 10 photos, I had had enough. The flash was very distracting, so I pulled over and took the camera away from her. Of course, she started to whine like crazy. But, we made it to the library. As I pulled into a parking spot, I asked her if she wanted to go to storytime or go home. She said storytime, as we went in. Things seemed to be going okay. She was upset I wasn't taking the diaper bag in (because I never get stuff out of it anyways), but she didn't cry. She even sat down with me for a while. Then, she grabbed a piece of paper off of a table set up for the kids to color. Not a problem. Then she brought the crayons over to the storytime area. I tried to explain to her that the crayons needed to stay on the table. I was willing to let her keep one crayon with us, but she was not going to monopolize the whole drawer of crayons. She of course threw a tantrum at this and ran around the library. She stopped at the water fountain and calmed down because she wanted to drink. After 3-4 drinking periods, I said it was time to either go home or go back to the storytime area. She chose to go home. But, along the way back to get our jackets, she noticed the computers. I had to drag her away from them and take her to a corner and remind her of the rules. Then we got our jackets on and AJU6 back in his car seat. She wasn't 100% sure about leaving I think. Then, she made her final decision to leave, but wanted to be carried. In order to avoid even more of a scene, I carried her out of the library. But, once we got outside I put her down. And again, the whining ensued. She eventually calmed down and was willing to walk to the car. Then, about 1 mile from the library she wanted to go back to storytime. Of course, we didn't. Maybe tomorrow...

We normally ignore the tantrums at home. Sometimes we ask why she is upset, but that is it. Almost all of the time they are because she is not getting her way, and there is no reason for her to have her way (like with the camera). I hope she outgrows this stage soon... I miss my happy-go-lucky little girl!

Decency

Yesterday Facebook recommend a group to me - something like "If you are offended by my breastfeeding, put a blanket over your head." I decided to look and see what the group was all about and saw some of the pictures. Now, in no way do I think these photos where pornographic. But, some of them were more than I would want to see!

A few were fine - you could see some skin and the baby eating, but it wasn't obvious it was the breast. Yeah, if you look close enough, you will figure it out, but it is just some normal skin and the baby's face. These I am fine with. Others were more zoomed in. Some women didn't have a shirt on at all. After seeing one or two like that, I was done with the group.

I have breastfed in public - I do it most weeks at church actually. But, I try to be as discrete as possible. I cover up with a blanket as best as possible. I try to not make a scene nor show much skin. Once or twice with AJU5 I had to feed her without a blanket. But, I found a quiet spot to do it where very few people would see.

Yes, breastfeeding is natural. But, so is going to the bathroom! Personally, I feel that if you are going to breastfeed in public you should take steps to not be completely out there. If you have issues with covering up, then find a place out of traffic. Don't just "pop it out" where the whole world will see it.

Some proponents of bfing in public say that it is a bonding time. Well, I bond best when I can give the person I am bonding to my full attention. That means I am not shopping or walking around the store. Yes, there are times you have to multi-task, but do you have to do that in public? I don't think so...

Thoughts?

Survived!

We made out first road trip with the kids this weekend (which is why I haven't blogged in almost a week). We went about 4 hours away to go skiing with three other families. We were blessed with almost continuous snow while we were there, making the skiing GREAT!

Both kids did great on the ride up. AJU6 slept for about 3 hours straight, waking just before we got to where we needed to stop to pick up dinner. While AJU1 and another parent grabbed all fo the food we needed, I was able to feed AJU6 and change him. He was then content all of the way to the town homes we stayed at (a mile away from the slopes). AJU5 slept some of the way and was happy to just sit or play the rest of the way (with a break to play driver while everyone was getting food).

There were 8 adults and 11 kids (almost 7 to Amos) on the trip. It was certainly crazy when all of the kids were together! AJU5 often found the quietest spot to just hang out, as she doesn't like too much noise. The last day when everyone was in our townhome she went and played int eh closet or laid in bed half of the day just to avoid the noise. I think a lot of the noise came from the fact that were were only 4 girls! Five boys between the ages of 2 and almost 7 can be very loud.

I did leave AJU6 for the first time with AJU1 so I could ski (Dads skied in the morning and Moms skied in the afternoon). His biggest challenge was trying to keep AJU5 happy while AJU6 wanted attention too! I was just happy that AJU6 had 0 issues taking a bottle since we had only given him one once before (and he had no issues then). I guess he is just happy to get food regardless of where it comes from!

The trip home was a little fun. AJU6 again slept well. But, there was about 1.5 hours of the 4 hour trip that we were driving through almost blizzard conditions. Luckily it hadn't stuck to the ground yet, so we were still able to make good time. AJU5 was alos a little less compliant because it was evening. She did sleep for some of the trip, but then it was too dark for her to play when she was awake. She also soaked through a night time diaper because she had been drinking so much (probably because every time she laid in bed she emptied a sippy cup). So, the last hour or so was met with little fusses. AJU6 woke up just as we were getting to town. A pacifier calmed him for the first 15 minutes, but the last 15 minutes were met with screams.

So, that was our trip. We have another one planned next month - skiing with my family about 6 horus away. Hopefully it goes just as well!

Big GIrl Bed

All of a sudden AJU5 has been willing to nap in her big girl bed. A few weeks ago we started to play with her on her bed. We would lay down with her when she just needed a little rest. We would help her get on and off on her own. Then, Monday I convinced her to nap there. I had to lay down with her first, but I left before she was asleep (AJU6 cried, so I had an excuse to get up). The last two days I have only had to tell her that is where she is going to nap - and there haven't been any complaints. Today she brought her milk and juice cups up while I was int he shower and just laid on her bed until she heard that I was out. A few minutes ago she climbed up (because I said we were done playing on the computer) and put herself down!

Advantages: She can put herself to bed.
She can get out when she is ready.
When we travel, I don't have to worry about how she will sleep.

Disadvantages: I can no longer keep her out of bed when I want her to stay awake.
She isn't forced to give up her pacifiers before she gets out of bed.
I can't "force" her to rest a little longer.

Hopefully once she makes the complete transition to the big girl bed we can end the pacifier use. Then, we can SLOWLY start getting AJU6 ready to sleep in the crib...

THey are growing up too fast :(

Not My Finest...

This morning was not my finest hour. I had no patience with the kids. AJU5 was crying for her pacifier, which she knows is just for bed time (and she had just gotten up from a nap). AJU6 was crying because he was hungry, but he refused to eat. I was tired because for some reason I tend to stay up whenever AJU1 is out of town (for work - on the plane home now). Luckily, I held it together some. I laid AJU6 down on the chair for a minute while I tried to figure out how to get him to eat. He was obviously hungry, but he had stopped to burp early on and wasn't sure about starting back up again. I eventually got him into a good position and calm enough to get him to eat. AJU5 did get one spanking, but that was for totally not listening to me at all. We needed to go shopping, and she refused to put on her shoes. She ran away from me three times - which is the most chances I give her to listen. So, I got the spoon (plastic, easy to bend, etc) and she got a swat on the bottom. She tried to run away after that too, but I successfully forced the shoes on her feet, carried her to the car, and got her strapped in. Less than 10 minutes later at Costco she was totally fine. She wasn't asking for her pacifier. She wasn't upset we had to go to the store. She was happy because she got pizza and "juice" (berry smoothie) as well as Mommy's attention while we ate. Oh, and I totally forgot the issue with lotion this morning. Let's just say AJU5 emptied an almost full bottle on the floor and then tried to clean it up - just because she wanted to clean up. Yeah, that wasn't fun either.

Things have been better all afternoon. There were a couple of cries for bed (at 3pm which is passed the allowed bed time), more shows, and because she was FREEZING after a bath. But, those I all expect/accept. AJU6 slept most of the afternoon, so it was nice to just relax with AJU5.

Hopefully before too long AJU5 will learn to listen and not throw tantrums when she doesn't get her way. This is something AJU1 and have been trying to teach her, but it isn't easy. She is 2, and her behavior comes with the age. AJU6 is allowed a few cranky times occasionally, especially since he doesn't do it too often. I think some of his issue was that he is a little stuffy right now, so laying back isn't totally fun.

Here is praying tomorrow is a better day - especially since we are going to try to go to story time!

Intellectual Development

So, I post back here that AJU5 has most of her letters down. Jen L. asked how I was "teaching" her the letters. Well, I give Word World credit for some of it. The show teaches phonics, and as a result repeats the letters. This got AJU5 interested in letters. We also bought her the foam bath tub letters. These were first just a toy she would stack and dump. But, whenever she would bring me one, I would repeat the letter. Before too long, she had a few letters down. Around that time (late October/early November), she also got interested in the Alphabet song. She used to hate it, but then she wanted me to sing it for a few days. Now, it is only slightly liked, as others keep taking its place at the top.

In the November/December time period she also got very insistent that we write letters for her. To start out she just wanted me to write, so I would write words and have her point to them. Then, she started to ask for specific letters. We have lots of pages of letter floating around the house in spiral notebooks! Because I have gotten "tired" of writing the same letters over and over again, I have started to ask her what each letter is for. She already knows C is for cookie, W is for Water, F is for Frog and Fish, etc, mainly from Word World again.

So, that is how we are doing it. I have tried flash cards some, but she isn't very interested in those. I tried a page of letters in a train, but it only interested her for about 2 minutes (and then it caused screaming any time I would show it to her). She will point out letters in other places of course, and we just encourage her (unless we are in church) with praise.

Now, before you wonder if your kid is falling behind - does he/she know the colors? Or can he/she identify most of the shapes? Or does he/she count? I think what they learn at this age is based primarily on what they like/are interested in. AJU5 hasn't picked up these things much because they aren't interesting to her. We are pushing these skills a little more now because she has the letters down fairly well and others "expect" her to know them.

So, what is your kid good at? What do you wish he/she was better at?

Thud!

Can you guess what went Thud around 7pm last night?

Take a guess!

Did you guess someone falling on the floor?

Did you guess someone tried to climb out of her crib on her own?

Yup - AJU5 tried to be an escape artist last night. She was cranky and tired at 6:20, so we got her ready and in bed without any protest. Then, about 15 minutes later she started to call for us. She wasn't crying, so we just let her stay there. I eventually went downstairs (the office is right nest to her room) with AJU6 to feed him and snuggle. Then I heard a huge THUD and ran upstairs. AJU1 had already gotten her, so I tired to put AJU6 in his bed (he was sleepy but not quite ready to be in bed) and then went and held her. AJU1 of course had to get AJU6 since he was now crying. AJU5 wanted to go back to bed - probably because that is a place of comfort for her. I got her her pacifier and her blanket, and she calmed down a little. She wanted to play on my computer (PBS Kids games), so we sat down in my chair. I little touched all parts of her body, waiting for her to scream out in pain somewhere. After asking her something like "Where does it hurt?" she said "I fine." And, we went about our playing for about 30 minutes. Then, I decided it was time for her to go back to bed. She was yawning and obviously tired. Again she was willing. I went downstairs to get her some more water (she had drank all she had in her cup), and came back up. She was content until I shut the door. Screaming ensued, so I opened the door to see what the problem was. I think she was scared. So, I moved the egg crate mat we have next to the big girl bed over next to the crib so she had a padded landing if she chose to escape again. I also lifted the side of the crib to make it harder for her to attempts an escape. Then I left. She cried a little, but it was never more than one cry at a time. Eventually she went to sleep. Until 4;45. When she woke for the first time. Luckily she put herself back to sleep until about 5;45. Then, she was up for the day. At 4;45, she cried for Mommy and Daddy. At 5;45, she happily requested Mommy and Daddy. I knew the day had begun...

Rant... Maybe... I Don't Know...

Today we went to the big story time at the library a little farther away from our house. The library just down the street from us is closing for renovations, so I thought we would try the music one again. Results - MIXED!!!

The story time had changed in the roughly 4 months since we had last gone to it. There is a new librarian and a new format. The format is just fine - I have no issues with it. But, it wasn't what I expected, so I wasn't able to fully prepare AJU5. It started off with the librarian walking around and letting everyone ring the bell to start "class." Then, there was a welcome song. After the welcome song, everyone got a wand. There were actions to do with the wand - like make circles and hearts in the air. AJU5 had a lot of fun playing with the wand. But, then they had to be put back... As one might expect, AJU5 did not like this. She melted down when a nice little boy took hers to give back to the librarian. She laid on the floor and kept crying "Not yours" - her normal response when we take things away (probably from me telling her things are not hers). She was quieting down but still laying on her stomach when a grandma tried to talk to her. The grandma was well-intentioned, but she just made AJU5 more upset. Then, the librarian told me I could take her out of the room and bring her back later. Umm... this would just cause more of a scene because I would have to get AJU6 into his car seat (in the stroller) and then pick up AJU5 and carry her out. Luckily, AJU5 started to calm down some more. Eventually she was willing to sit and look around. This was all during a book reading. Next came the instruments, the part AJU5 always liked. And, like before, she was willing to participate. She went and got two instruments on her own and sat down next to me playing with them while the music was on. She even put them back without a fight, maybe because she had done that before.

I don't want to teach AJU5 that crying gets her out of things. She already cries and tries to get us to put her in her bed when she is upset (because she didn't get her way). So, I didn't just want to leave because she was upset. And, when everyone left her alone, she wasn't being disruptive. Yes, a few of the kids were wondering why she was laying on the ground, but it wasn't because she was loud. Hopefully next week I can prepare AJU5 for having to give back the wand so there is no melt down...

Good and Bad

Bad: AJU5 woke up at 6am yesterday
Good: AJU1 got her out of bed, giving me at least 15 more minutes in bed
Bad: Spilling an entire cup of apple juice on the floor as we were getting ready to eat breakfast.
Bad: AJU5 taking me telling her to stay out of the juice badly (read tantrum ensued)
Good: Both kids resting before church, giving AJU1 and I time to clean the family room.
Good: AJU1 sitting with us at church, allowing us to get both kids asleep for most of the service!
Bad: AJU5 napping during church meant she didn't want to nap when we got home (so no naps for us).
Bad: AJU1 and AJU5 having a stand off over cleaning up a large mess she made in the family room.
Good: After AJU5 finally gave up and was willing to help pick up the mess, she was ready for a nap!
Bad: On the way into evening church service, AJU5 spotted a ball outside she wanted to play with. Being told no led to a 10 minute scream-fest in the playroom at church.
Good: We had popcorn for the third night in a row. It is so cute to watch AJU5 sit in her little chair and eat popcorn!
Bad: AJU6 had some belly issues and had a hard falling asleep. It meant multiple runs up and down the stairs to get him down.
Good: Running up and down the stairs was good exercise.

And that was our day yesterday...

Almost there!

AJU5 has almost all of her capital letters down. The only ones she has any issue with are N, U, V, and Z. For U, she always says double u, but when asked to bring the U, she will bring the U (and not the W or M). Yesterday she did the Z all on her own, and the N is sometimes correct (although pronunciation is a sticking point - it comes out a lot like M). She also knows some of the lower case letters like a (and those who have basically identical upper and lower case letters). So, I think we will have no problem getting them all down by the years end. She also knows two numbers - 2 and 8. I think as AJU6 gets older (and I use the numbers for his month birthdays), we will easily get the others down.

So, AJU5 had been saying "circle and line... line and circle" for a while. I thought she was referring to shapes, as she knows what a circle is. Finally, I realized where she got it from - Word World! On the "Bed Bugs" episode, Frog gets a new bed, which of course comes as the letters b, e, and d. He is showing the bugs how to determine which is the b and which is the d (lower case) and sings a song: "Line and circle is the letter b, ... circle and line is the letter d." Now, I don't know if she has the letter part in her mind, but she knows circle and line!

Okay, now to deal witht he toddler who is trying to climb on my lap while I type... more later - someday - I don't know when...

All Good Things Must Come to an End...

Diaper changing AJU6 is no longer a safe experience. The boy peed during a diaper change for the first time this morning. He did make it over two months, so I am not complaining. And, he waited until I had almost gotten the new diaper on to do it, so I take half blame (I was having issues getting him all cleaned up because the wipes where just not picking things up). Luckily, I was over to the side so he didn't get me. He got his jammies, the changing table pad, the cabinets, and the floor though. Luckily everything is either a solid surface or washable!

But what a way to start out the morning...

Snug as Bug

A few tidbits about sleep around here:

Yesterday AJU5 fell asleep on our way home from church. I successfully got her up to and into her big girl bed asleep. This was no small feet! It involved me crawling onto the bed with her in my arms, making sure she was still asleep, and then crawling out. Unfortunately, she work about 15 minutes later and refused to nap the rest of the day. It made evening service "fun" because she was exhausted!

So, she fell asleep on the way home from evening service. But, since she was still in her nice dress and hadn't had her diaper changed in a few hours, we couldn't just drop her in the crib. So, my husband tried to wake her when he got her out of the car with no luck. He deposited her on the couch when they got inside, and I went to work changing her. She was so out that she laid ont he couch with her feet hanging out for a while. She did stir a little because getting her out of her dress was no small feet, but she never fully woke. And she slept 12 hours, so I am not oging to complain one bit!

AJU6 has had issues falling asleep the last two night. The only thing that has worked to get him asleep and to stay asleep is to lay down with him. He lays with his head on my arm, and we just snuggle for 10-15 minutes. Then, I can "deposit" him in his bed for the evening. I can get him asleep standing and rocking, but I can't keep my arms in the same exact position for 10-15 minutes, so he wakes. Luckily, the laying down works and I don't mind the snuggles!

So, I think that is it.

How have you been sleeping lately?