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?

Lucky

When I was starting to get frustrated Wednesday evening, I realized I am lucky. I don't end up having to do it all most days or weeks. My husband is normally home by 4:30 or 5;00. He normally gets every other Friday off (as well as Saturdays and Sundays). When he travels, it is normally for one or two nights only.

I started to think of those whose husbands have to work 60 hours a week. Those families whose husband is only around on the weekends. I think of those families who work at places that don't value families. Then I realized having to do it all for a week and a half isn't that bad.

Wednesday night wasn't fun. AJU6 had 3 shots that afternoon and was not a happy camper. He just couldn't get comfortable for long because any movement in his little legs hurt him (luckily Tylenol eventually kicked in and he started to feel better. AJU5 was back at her not wanting to go to bed until every late (8;30ish), so I had two kids to wrangle when I was getting tired too. But, that was the last night of my husband's crazy work schedule at least for a little bit.

Normally if my husband has to work extra, he will do at most an hour Monday through Thursday and then work on Friday even if it is supposed to be a Friday off. But, when I hard deadline is coming up, they end up working even more than that. And, normally I don't mind the extra hours because he still gets paid overtime because he isn't staff. But, boy, with two kids it is harder!

Oh, and a little size update for AJU6:
10lbs 3.75 oz (25th percentile)
22.5 in long (over 25th percentile)
41cm+ head (nurse measured it at 41cm, but the doctor thinks it is larger than 50th percentile by look)

Two Months Old!

That's right. My little guy is 2 months old. I can't believe it. He is getting too big. Although, I do love the smiles and coos these days. Oh, and I love the sleep most nights. But, he is growing up too quickly!

Keeping Up

So, I am able to keep up with the kids day in and day out. The basics are easy - feeding, changing, sleeping, etc. Even with AJU1 working 20 hours more than he usually does last week and not0so-nice weather that kept us inside most of the time, AJU5 seemed happy. I keep up with my work-work, grading and responding to questions as they come in. But, the house is falling apart! I make dinner every night, and i have even gotten fairly good at mixing up the menu a little bit so we aren't eating grilled chicken every night. But the cleaning - yeah, that is another story.

So, today, while the kids napped, I tackled a little bit of the kitchen. All of the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher and one countertop was cleaned. I also put stuff in the toilets so I could clean them here in a little bit. I still have to tackle the dining area, as one certain toddler drops a lot of food! We did get the downstairs vacuumed on Saturday, and of course I got the laundry done. Hopefully I can get the upstairs vacuumed this week too. Our house (other than dining area and sometimes the kitchen) aren't dirty, but it just isn't totally clean. I am not a huge fan of cleaning, but it needs to be done. It has been months since we dusted. We only mop once a month if it is a good month. The showers and tubs rarely get scrubbed.

What do you have the hardest time keeping up with?

Product Review Friday - Infant Clothing/Sizing

Above is a picture of Carter sleepers in sizes NB and 3M. Can you tell which ones are NB?


Here is a hint - there are not three NB sleepers!


Any ideas?


Answer - the third and forth from the left. The fifth one is 3M! Some of them had never been washed (brand new), but the two monkey ones on the right have been washed the same number of times. The red sleeved one has been washed the most since it is a hand-me-down.

Really Carter - can't you make clothes the same size? It is bad enough trying to remember sizing differences between brands.

Wordless Wednesday - Asleep at Church

Taken two Sundays ago...

Baby Shower

So, my friends from church through AJU6 and I a baby shower. They offered to throw one before he was born, but I decided it would be more fun for all to wait until January. Since we didn't know the gender, there really wasn't much we wanted/needed before he was born! We had fun eating, fellowshipping, and opening presents. And of course, many of hte ladies got a chance to hold the guest of honor, which they loved! So, here are some pictures from Saturday!

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Me opening presents - not the flabby belly that I so hope goes away!

AJU5 with a present from little E (in the pink dress) which big friend E helped open.

The guest of honor not sure what is going on.

FAIL!

Okay, so I have so many blog ideas these days that involve pictures. But, I am never able to get the pictures taken, downloaded onto my computer, and then write a post. I used to be able to blame my husband since he did the picture downloading, but when we changed to Windows 7 and upgraded computers, that isn't an excuse. So, it is all on me.

I want to post about AJU6's baby shower on Saturday. I want to write a post about baby clothes and how even one brand can't be consistent with size. I want to show off pictures of AJU5 at the park and AJU6 playing on his mat. But, they will have to wait. I thought about downloading the pictures today, but then I realized my battery was almost dead. So, I had to charge the battery before doing anything else (currently charging). Then I have to remember to take the pictures off of the camera later today when I have a chance. I don't like to do it when AJU5 is around because she steals the camera. Yes - it is one of her favorite toys. She loves to carry it everywhere. It really makes taking pictures of her hard unless she is distracted. And, when she is distracted, I don't get good facial shots normally.

Okay, so I think that is about it. AJU5 did do well at the meeting on Friday and fairly well at church yesterday. AJU6 is letting me sleep quite a bit at night, so I am not dragging too much. And, life in general is going fairly well.

Maybe by Friday I will have good posts with pictures...