Ah well fabulous.
I swear, I really do try to find something positive to talk about on here, but it just seems darn near impossible right now.
Sorry.
My sweet little Port man is in teething h-e-double-hockey-sticks again this week. My poor, poor baby. He has not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4!!!! teeth (one of those is apparently a MOLAR) coming in all at once.
The teething poop started today.
Good Lord.
I don't think the skin on his hiney will ever be the same.
And my Kiddo - who has been sniffling right along with me for the past few days with all of these allergens in the air...
I took him to a play date this morning with no less than 10 other children, and brought him home 2 hours later and discovered he was running a 102 fever.
Poor guy. Strangely enough though, he seems fine. It didn't really bother him a bit. He only complained of being hot and then cold, and then he was fine. Very weird.
So hopefully we didn't infect anyone with anything. The one time I actually make it to a play date...
The play date was really fun though. It's so nice to get some time in with a great group of ladies. I really enjoy hanging out with them.
Though after bringing my sick kid over they may never ask me to come play again. ;)
Maybe they will still meet me for coffee...
See, I found a positive! yay!
Until,
D ;)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Will It Grow
After the hail storm we had last week, I have been wracking my brain about what to do about the garden. I thought for sure it was toast - it was pelted hard and covered in ice for several hours, then chilled to nearly freezing 2 nights in a row. I just knew it was all gone; all the seeds, all that time spent. And now that "planting" time for seeds has pretty much passed, I was scouring the recesses of my mind (and bank account) to figure out how we could possibly afford to go buy plants for our garden. I thought about visiting the Coinstar machine again, and this time selecting a Lowe's gift card, but unfortunately the $15-20 we have lying around in change now won't get us very far in the garden center there.
*sigh*
We are preparing our house for an onslaught of visitors this week. The whole fam is coming in to celebrate little Port turning 1 (sob!). I don't have a party planned, just all of us getting together and hanging out. I am sure I will go overboard as usual making lots and lots of food and sweets - I haven't even *thought* about what to do for Port's cake yet. Gracious.
Hubby was out working on the back deck yesterday and while Port was napping I decided to take a walk through the back yard and inspect what was left of my garden. I hadn't been out there since last Wednesday; too afraid to look.
But look what I found...
These are either peppers, zucchini or cucumber....not sure which. lol! Below is what I *think* is brussel sprouts!
Those are BEANS!!
And this next one; I think it might be spinach??
The one below is, I believe, the first of the corn.
These are chives. Can you see them??
And this is another herb...not sure which one. Maybe basil??
I am so EXCITED!!!!
In other news, replacement of our skylight would cost at least $150, so for now we are going to go ghetto and put a nasty looking fiberglass patch on what is left of the old one. At least it is on the back of the house so it's not visible from the street, and only people actually in my home will see it, should they happen to look up while in the kitchen. Oh well. While Hubby was working on the yard our leaf blower/sucker/mulcher finally gave up the ghost. The lawn mower is being held together with 2 parts duct tape, 1 part zip ties and 1 part rubberbands (you think I am kidding?) and Hubby's lap top is trying to die a slow death.
So any day now I expect to come home and find nothing but a pile of dust in my driveway...
Lala lala lala lala laaaaaah!
Yes, I might be a bit nutso this week. Maybe >< this much.
But I'll soon have veggies!!! So it's all good, right?
Until,
D :)
*sigh*
We are preparing our house for an onslaught of visitors this week. The whole fam is coming in to celebrate little Port turning 1 (sob!). I don't have a party planned, just all of us getting together and hanging out. I am sure I will go overboard as usual making lots and lots of food and sweets - I haven't even *thought* about what to do for Port's cake yet. Gracious.
Hubby was out working on the back deck yesterday and while Port was napping I decided to take a walk through the back yard and inspect what was left of my garden. I hadn't been out there since last Wednesday; too afraid to look.
But look what I found...
These are either peppers, zucchini or cucumber....not sure which. lol! Below is what I *think* is brussel sprouts!
Those are BEANS!!
And this next one; I think it might be spinach??
The one below is, I believe, the first of the corn.
These are chives. Can you see them??
And this is another herb...not sure which one. Maybe basil??
I am so EXCITED!!!!In other news, replacement of our skylight would cost at least $150, so for now we are going to go ghetto and put a nasty looking fiberglass patch on what is left of the old one. At least it is on the back of the house so it's not visible from the street, and only people actually in my home will see it, should they happen to look up while in the kitchen. Oh well. While Hubby was working on the yard our leaf blower/sucker/mulcher finally gave up the ghost. The lawn mower is being held together with 2 parts duct tape, 1 part zip ties and 1 part rubberbands (you think I am kidding?) and Hubby's lap top is trying to die a slow death.
So any day now I expect to come home and find nothing but a pile of dust in my driveway...
Lala lala lala lala laaaaaah!
Yes, I might be a bit nutso this week. Maybe >< this much.
But I'll soon have veggies!!! So it's all good, right?
Until,
D :)
Friday, March 27, 2009
So I Thought
Happy Friday!
I have a fresh pot of coffee and some cinnamon vanilla creamer. There is also heavy cream and half and half in the fridge if that is your thing! Has everyone had a good week? Ours was pretty eventful (see the post below titled Hail, Hail). My poor kitchen is so dark now!
Anyway, have any of you experienced this? When I had my second child almost 4 years after the first, I never imagined that I would pretty much have to have 2 of everything in order to keep the peace around here. It is amazing to me that two boys 4 years apart can fight over so much! Port wants everything his brother has, and Kiddo is not always keen on sharing or worse, giving up what he has for the sake of our sanity. I could understand if they were twins, or even if they were closer in age, but gracious it is so hard to keep everyone happy right now.
It has gotten even more difficult now that Port is walking pretty much exclusively. He gets to Kiddo much quicker and tries to take everything away from him. If Kiddo is playing a video game, Port wants the controller. We even have a couple of those and most of the time even if I give him one, he gets mad because he wants the one Kiddo has. *sigh*
So Port's 1st birthday is next Friday - I am so unprepared. I still have no clue what we are going to do for him. The family is all coming in. I am trying to keep things very small (re: CHEAP). He won't really know what is going on anyway. Right?
It looks like we are going to get yet another storm today. I am praying for no more hail, but 'tis the season in this part of Texas so I am not going to hold my breath. I just hope the tarp over the skylight holds...
So a few weeks ago I mentioned I had a new adventure coming my way. Well, I am pleased to report that things are in motion! I would like to introduce you to my first ever Podcast!! (For those of you that are unfamiliar with Podcasts, they are just like radio talk shows except they are hosted on the internet)
{Logo Design and Tag Line are still a work in progress!}
Our show is called Musing Mommies, and it is a show about all things related to motherhood. Most of the shows will have a specific topic or two that we talk about, some product reviews, tips and tricks, and a little bit of current events (fun stuff) and maybe some local happenings. Our first show is more of a "getting to know" us kind of thing, so there's not much content there, but it was fun nonetheless. Anyway, I would love some feedback if you have the time - you can give us a listen here. Please keep in mind that it was our very first time, and things will get better. I am working on some of the technical stuff (getting a better mic for me so I don't sound like I am talking into a tin cup) and we had a great meeting last night where we worked out a lot of the kinks. I am confident next week's show will be much improved! If you would like to comment on the show you can post here, or you can send us an email at musingmommies AT gmail DOT com.
Well, I am off to finish our taxes and put my camera batteries on the charger. I am shooting an Art show at our church tonight and doing a client session in the morning. Hopefully next week I can share some art show images with you! Thanks so much for stopping by. Though I may not always comment, I do visit every single blog on Mr. Linky every week. I so enjoy our time together!
Until,
D :)
Well, I am off to finish our taxes and put my camera batteries on the charger. I am shooting an Art show at our church tonight and doing a client session in the morning. Hopefully next week I can share some art show images with you! Thanks so much for stopping by. Though I may not always comment, I do visit every single blog on Mr. Linky every week. I so enjoy our time together!
Until,
D :)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Hail, Hail
So we had some excitement today...
The biggest I saw in my yard was maybe slightly larger than golf ball size, but the news reported baseball size. The way it was coming down, so hard and fast and in all directions,
made us all fear the house was about to cave in. When it really picked up I gathered the kids in the living room.
It was so loud the baby was screaming and the boy was starting to panic. The sound was deafening, and I looked into the kitchen just in time to see something falling. I ran the kids into the bathroom and the three of us along with the dog hung out in there until the storm had passed.
When we came out, I looked up to see this...
Here, let me give you a closer look.
Joy.
Until,
D :(
The biggest I saw in my yard was maybe slightly larger than golf ball size, but the news reported baseball size. The way it was coming down, so hard and fast and in all directions,
made us all fear the house was about to cave in. When it really picked up I gathered the kids in the living room.
It was so loud the baby was screaming and the boy was starting to panic. The sound was deafening, and I looked into the kitchen just in time to see something falling. I ran the kids into the bathroom and the three of us along with the dog hung out in there until the storm had passed.
When we came out, I looked up to see this...
Here, let me give you a closer look.
Joy.Until,
D :(
Brand New Day
I suffered through a completely pooptastic Sunday (and when I say pooptastic, I mean that literally) where I woke up and walked into the hallway just in time to see Kiddo stumble sleepy eyed out of the bathroom and step in a gigantic, horse size pile of doggy don't; and then watch him try to scrape the "don't" off of his sock by smearing it all over the concrete floor. After air lifting him to the nearest scrubbing facility to wash his feet, I carried him safely to the living room and then spent the next hour trying to clean the mess out of the concrete floor.
Did you know concrete is rather, uh, absorbent?
*shudder*
The rest of the day went down hill from there. Demon possessed children on top of many small annoyances left me completely frazzled by just after noon. Port took an early nap, and I was hoping Hubby would be back from his trip in time for Port to go down for a second nap, and therefore give me a break to go run some errands alone. Unfortunately, Hubby was running late and so I opted to suck it up and take the kids with me, hoping the fresh air and running around would do us all some good.
Boy was I wrong.
At the store, Kiddo whined the whole way through about bring there and then whined at the check out counter that he didn't want to leave. Another lady in line took such pity on me that she let me go first, even though she had been waiting longer. And honestly, he wasn't being loud or drawing attention to us, he was just. that. pitiful.
We got to the next store and things were a bit better until Port started cranking up. And given no other choice I so did NOT give him a chew toy from the pet section to occupy his time in the store, NOR did I not realize he had dropped said toy somewhere in one of the isles for an employee to find later on in all it's slobbered and chewed on glory. Nope. I absolutely did NOT do that.
Did I mention he is cutting 2 more teeth??
Anyway we made it back home, Hubby made it home and dinner was fairly odd. I was not about to cook after the day I had so we did the "we're having left-overs so find what you want in the fridge and eat when you want" thing. I put Port down extremely early because his early nap that morning and no nap that afternoon left him spent by 6:30pm.
And then came bed time for Kiddo.
Oh goodness.
I do not know what child took over the body of my 4 year old, but I have never had such a difficult bed time experience with him (except for the time he didn't sleep from oh, birth to 2 1/2 years old)! He fussed, he cried, he whined; he didn't want to go to bed and he refused to put on his pajamas and he refused to pick up his room - it was a disaster. We pretty much had an all out war ending in me forcefully putting on his clothes and tossing him in the bed without so much as a good night.
He and I both cried for a while.
Once he had calmed down I went in a talked to him, and though he continued to protest (though much more calmly) he was out within just a few minutes.
Hubby and I went to bed early and I tossed and turned for a couple of hours before falling asleep.
Then,
the sleep gods smiled on me.
Port slept the next morning until 9:40am. I was actually worried about him and opened his door at 8:30, just to make sure he was alright. Even with the door open and commotion in the house he still slept for another hour.
Once he was up and we were ready to go I took the boys to run a few errands. Before we left I grabbed my jar.
My jar sits on a shelf above the washing machine. It collects the loose change and other odds and ends that end up in my washer. It's been serving me well in that location for a few years now. I figure if I have to be the one to dig the coins out of the washer, then I get to keep them. Fair enough, right?
One of the errands was a run to HEB. When there I located the Coinstar machine. I pulled out the assorted buttons and safety pins from the jar and dumped it along with the contents of my change purse into the machine.
Lots of noise and several minutes later, out popped a Starbucks Gift Card.
$29.10!!!
I see some lovely evenings in my future!
Until,
D :)
Did you know concrete is rather, uh, absorbent?
*shudder*
The rest of the day went down hill from there. Demon possessed children on top of many small annoyances left me completely frazzled by just after noon. Port took an early nap, and I was hoping Hubby would be back from his trip in time for Port to go down for a second nap, and therefore give me a break to go run some errands alone. Unfortunately, Hubby was running late and so I opted to suck it up and take the kids with me, hoping the fresh air and running around would do us all some good.
Boy was I wrong.
At the store, Kiddo whined the whole way through about bring there and then whined at the check out counter that he didn't want to leave. Another lady in line took such pity on me that she let me go first, even though she had been waiting longer. And honestly, he wasn't being loud or drawing attention to us, he was just. that. pitiful.
We got to the next store and things were a bit better until Port started cranking up. And given no other choice I so did NOT give him a chew toy from the pet section to occupy his time in the store, NOR did I not realize he had dropped said toy somewhere in one of the isles for an employee to find later on in all it's slobbered and chewed on glory. Nope. I absolutely did NOT do that.
Did I mention he is cutting 2 more teeth??
Anyway we made it back home, Hubby made it home and dinner was fairly odd. I was not about to cook after the day I had so we did the "we're having left-overs so find what you want in the fridge and eat when you want" thing. I put Port down extremely early because his early nap that morning and no nap that afternoon left him spent by 6:30pm.
And then came bed time for Kiddo.
Oh goodness.
I do not know what child took over the body of my 4 year old, but I have never had such a difficult bed time experience with him (except for the time he didn't sleep from oh, birth to 2 1/2 years old)! He fussed, he cried, he whined; he didn't want to go to bed and he refused to put on his pajamas and he refused to pick up his room - it was a disaster. We pretty much had an all out war ending in me forcefully putting on his clothes and tossing him in the bed without so much as a good night.
He and I both cried for a while.
Once he had calmed down I went in a talked to him, and though he continued to protest (though much more calmly) he was out within just a few minutes.
Hubby and I went to bed early and I tossed and turned for a couple of hours before falling asleep.
Then,
the sleep gods smiled on me.
Port slept the next morning until 9:40am. I was actually worried about him and opened his door at 8:30, just to make sure he was alright. Even with the door open and commotion in the house he still slept for another hour.
Once he was up and we were ready to go I took the boys to run a few errands. Before we left I grabbed my jar.
My jar sits on a shelf above the washing machine. It collects the loose change and other odds and ends that end up in my washer. It's been serving me well in that location for a few years now. I figure if I have to be the one to dig the coins out of the washer, then I get to keep them. Fair enough, right?
One of the errands was a run to HEB. When there I located the Coinstar machine. I pulled out the assorted buttons and safety pins from the jar and dumped it along with the contents of my change purse into the machine.
Lots of noise and several minutes later, out popped a Starbucks Gift Card.
$29.10!!!
I see some lovely evenings in my future!
Until,
D :)
Monday, March 23, 2009
Baby Stellan
Please, if you pray, if you believe in a higher power, karma, fate, good will, whatever - if you have just a moment, please say a quick prayer for a little 4 month old baby named Stellan.
Stellan has an amazing story. It's a story of devastation and certain death; a story of a miraculous healing by God and a story of the cutest little baby you've ever seen. And suddenly this weekend, sweet little Stellan became horribly sick and once again needs our prayers, good thoughts and well wishes.
I do not know Stellan and his family personally, but for some reason I am so upset by this and I can't get them out of my head. Please join me in sending as much positive energy as possible to him, to slow his heart and calm his body.
Thank you.
D
Saturday, March 21, 2009
On A Saturday
More conversations with Kiddo:
"Mommy, when we are up in Heaven it will be wonderful."
"Yes Baby, it will."
"When we are in Heaven, I'm gonna pick you a flower. I'm gonna give flowers to you."
"That will be lovely Baby."
On our way to meet up with Aunt A and Uncle W - a surprise for Kiddo.
"Mommy I am excited about the surprise! I am getting so excited!!"
"That's good! I think you will like the surprise."
"What is the surprise? What surprise is it?"
"I can't tell you or it won't be a surprise. You will find out when we get there."
(looking out the window of the car as we pass different stores and landmarks. talking to himself.)
"That's not the surprise. That's not it either. Nope, not that one. Not that one either."
Something I forgot to mention the other day... we had our first night of putting Port to bed and there was no crying!!! He just laid down and went right to sleep! I couldn't believe it. We've been doing the "training" for about a month now??!? and Port is sleeping from about 7:30pm to 8:00am every night. And actually, I could probably put him down for the night at about 6:30 or 7 because that is when he gets really sleepy. Unfortunately, if I do put him down that early, he is up before 7 and Momma can't deal with that AT ALL. Sorry, I don't function before daylight. So anyway, he went to bed and didn't even fuss. The next night he did his usual crying for about 30 seconds, but I think it was because we had a kind of messed up quiet time. He sucked down his bottle way too fast and wanted more, so I had to get up and go fix him another bottle in the kitchen. All the shuffling and whatnot kind of took him out of the "zone" and he was not happy when I put him in the crib. Thankfully he doesn't cry long though.
Naps are getting much better - I put him in the crib at nap time with his bottle and he is usually out in under 5 minutes. Sometimes he will wake up and cry about 45 minutes later, but if I leave him alone he will go back to sleep for another hour or so. He does not do well with just an hour nap so I try to make him stay in his room for 2 hours at least.
So yesterday I managed to score a nice long, hot shower by myself with no screaming children in the room and no interruptions whatsoever. It was absolute Heaven I tell you! Until...I turned my back to the sprayer to rinse conditioner out of my hair and *CLUNK!*
the ENTIRE
shower head
fell off the wall.
ugh.
And wouldn't you know it, my Handy Dandy Live In Handy Man is off riding his motorcycle with other HDLIHMen in the National Forest somewhere. So guess what I get to do today???
You are absolutely correct. I am sitting around drinking Dr. Pepper and a grape slush from Sonic.
Oh yeah, and replacing the shower head. Well, I installed the original one (and nooooo, that's not why it broke!) so I guess I should be the one to replace it, right?
[Dr. Pepper and grape slush in separate cups; not together. That would be gross. Maybe. hmmm, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try it...]
I hate doing stuff like this. But, I guess if I want to take a shower in my own bathroom this weekend, I'm going to have to replace it myself.
I have also been meaning to blog about this too... For about 3 or 4 months now (ever since he learned to crawl) Port has been making car sounds when he plays with anything with wheels. At first, I thought he was just doing his regular baby noises; he grunts and groans and makes all kinds of sounds throughout the day. But this sound is different, and it is reserved for only things with wheels (or flat objects he can push around like a car). He will push something around and make this deep guttural sound in his throat - it is the coolest thing!!!
And oh boy is this kid a charmer. Today we met up with Aunt A and Uncle W on their way back home from spring break. They haven't seen the kids since Christmas. Port was all smiles and flirty and being silly. He showed off and pranced around and grinned that ornery toothy grin that lets one know he is definitely up to something! He was a hoot.
I am so scared.
lol!
Today after we got back from the park I planted the basil, rosemary, chives and dill in my little planters. Man I hope something grows from all of this. I went back to Home Depot this morning and picked up some of the $1/bag mulch.
{I got there right as they opened and that place was a ZOO! Hello! I think everyone is doing a garden this weekend!}
So, my gardening experts out there - when am I supposed to add the mulch? After I have plants or now before everything sprouts? It seems like it would mess things up if I did it now...right?
I am so clueless about this stuff. Help!
And the worst thing happened to me this week. Brace yourself.
I
ran
out
of
Starbucks
gift cards
!!!!
What am I going to do??? I had a whole stash of them from birthdays, Christmas, client thank-yous, friendly gifts. etc. and now they are all gone.
sadness
Did you know that some of those Coinstar machines will take your change and spit out Starbucks gift cards in exchange - for NO fees?
OH YEAH!!!
Except none of the ones around here do. BOO! {OMG - I totally take that back!!! I just checked and the one right by my house DOES have the Starbucks gift cards!!! YEEEEEEE!!!!!!}
I have seen a widget that I can put on my blog that allows people to donate to a registered Starbucks gift card (a dollar here, a five spot there...it all adds up)...but I don't know if I can do that. It just seems, it seems, I don't know. Kinda weird I guess. I may try it anyway - I am so *that* desperate. I love Starbucks, but man their coffee is expensive! lol!
Ahh the predicaments I am in! Tragic! ;)
Until,
D :)
"Mommy, when we are up in Heaven it will be wonderful."
"Yes Baby, it will."
"When we are in Heaven, I'm gonna pick you a flower. I'm gonna give flowers to you."
"That will be lovely Baby."
**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**
On our way to meet up with Aunt A and Uncle W - a surprise for Kiddo.
"Mommy I am excited about the surprise! I am getting so excited!!"
"That's good! I think you will like the surprise."
"What is the surprise? What surprise is it?"
"I can't tell you or it won't be a surprise. You will find out when we get there."
(looking out the window of the car as we pass different stores and landmarks. talking to himself.)
"That's not the surprise. That's not it either. Nope, not that one. Not that one either."
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
Something I forgot to mention the other day... we had our first night of putting Port to bed and there was no crying!!! He just laid down and went right to sleep! I couldn't believe it. We've been doing the "training" for about a month now??!? and Port is sleeping from about 7:30pm to 8:00am every night. And actually, I could probably put him down for the night at about 6:30 or 7 because that is when he gets really sleepy. Unfortunately, if I do put him down that early, he is up before 7 and Momma can't deal with that AT ALL. Sorry, I don't function before daylight. So anyway, he went to bed and didn't even fuss. The next night he did his usual crying for about 30 seconds, but I think it was because we had a kind of messed up quiet time. He sucked down his bottle way too fast and wanted more, so I had to get up and go fix him another bottle in the kitchen. All the shuffling and whatnot kind of took him out of the "zone" and he was not happy when I put him in the crib. Thankfully he doesn't cry long though.
Naps are getting much better - I put him in the crib at nap time with his bottle and he is usually out in under 5 minutes. Sometimes he will wake up and cry about 45 minutes later, but if I leave him alone he will go back to sleep for another hour or so. He does not do well with just an hour nap so I try to make him stay in his room for 2 hours at least.
****~****~****~****~****~****~****~****~****~****
So yesterday I managed to score a nice long, hot shower by myself with no screaming children in the room and no interruptions whatsoever. It was absolute Heaven I tell you! Until...I turned my back to the sprayer to rinse conditioner out of my hair and *CLUNK!*
the ENTIRE
shower head
fell off the wall.
ugh.
And wouldn't you know it, my Handy Dandy Live In Handy Man is off riding his motorcycle with other HDLIHMen in the National Forest somewhere. So guess what I get to do today???
You are absolutely correct. I am sitting around drinking Dr. Pepper and a grape slush from Sonic.
Oh yeah, and replacing the shower head. Well, I installed the original one (and nooooo, that's not why it broke!) so I guess I should be the one to replace it, right?
[Dr. Pepper and grape slush in separate cups; not together. That would be gross. Maybe. hmmm, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try it...]
I hate doing stuff like this. But, I guess if I want to take a shower in my own bathroom this weekend, I'm going to have to replace it myself.
<--->---<--->---<--->---<--->---<--->
I have also been meaning to blog about this too... For about 3 or 4 months now (ever since he learned to crawl) Port has been making car sounds when he plays with anything with wheels. At first, I thought he was just doing his regular baby noises; he grunts and groans and makes all kinds of sounds throughout the day. But this sound is different, and it is reserved for only things with wheels (or flat objects he can push around like a car). He will push something around and make this deep guttural sound in his throat - it is the coolest thing!!!
And oh boy is this kid a charmer. Today we met up with Aunt A and Uncle W on their way back home from spring break. They haven't seen the kids since Christmas. Port was all smiles and flirty and being silly. He showed off and pranced around and grinned that ornery toothy grin that lets one know he is definitely up to something! He was a hoot.
I am so scared.
lol!
~~~>~~~>~~~>~~~>~~~>~~~>~~~>~~~
Today after we got back from the park I planted the basil, rosemary, chives and dill in my little planters. Man I hope something grows from all of this. I went back to Home Depot this morning and picked up some of the $1/bag mulch.
{I got there right as they opened and that place was a ZOO! Hello! I think everyone is doing a garden this weekend!}
So, my gardening experts out there - when am I supposed to add the mulch? After I have plants or now before everything sprouts? It seems like it would mess things up if I did it now...right?
I am so clueless about this stuff. Help!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And the worst thing happened to me this week. Brace yourself.
I
ran
out
of
Starbucks
gift cards
!!!!
What am I going to do??? I had a whole stash of them from birthdays, Christmas, client thank-yous, friendly gifts. etc. and now they are all gone.
sadness
Did you know that some of those Coinstar machines will take your change and spit out Starbucks gift cards in exchange - for NO fees?
OH YEAH!!!
Except none of the ones around here do. BOO! {OMG - I totally take that back!!! I just checked and the one right by my house DOES have the Starbucks gift cards!!! YEEEEEEE!!!!!!}
I have seen a widget that I can put on my blog that allows people to donate to a registered Starbucks gift card (a dollar here, a five spot there...it all adds up)...but I don't know if I can do that. It just seems, it seems, I don't know. Kinda weird I guess. I may try it anyway - I am so *that* desperate. I love Starbucks, but man their coffee is expensive! lol!
Ahh the predicaments I am in! Tragic! ;)
Until,
D :)
Friday, March 20, 2009
Empty Garden
Gosh is it Friday again already??!? Well welcome back! As usual, I am late to post, but honestly I enjoy coffee with friends more at night time rather than in the morning. I know, I'm weird like that.
Anyway, today was an exciting day. I got the boys all dressed and fed early and we all went out in the back yard and planted the garden. Kiddo (4) was a great helper - I was actually kind of surprised. Sometimes he gets a little carried away when he is excited about something, but he listened really well and did everything I told him to do. I think he was getting a little bored with it all toward the end, but getting to water everything real good was fun for him. Of course, he wanted to go back out a couple of hours later to "see all the vegetables"! (we planted all seeds - no plants) I had to do some serious explaining on that one! I hope he doesn't lose interest before the sprouts show up.
In our little 4x8 we planted green beans, assorted bell peppers, corn, cucumber, zucchini, yellow onion, green onion, tomato, spinach and brussel sprouts. I have a feeling we won't get much out of the spinach and brussel sprouts; it's a bit too late for them this season. In individual planters I am going to plant basil, rosemary, chives and dill. I will have to get some more dirt and do that tomorrow.
Port did pretty good out there. I laid down a big sheet and put his walker on top of it. I didn't want him in our mine field of a yard (darn dog!). He can't roll the walker on the rough ground, so he got pretty annoyed with being stuck. I eventually had to take him out and hold him a bit while we planted, but after a few minutes I just set him down on the sheet and he stayed put long enough for us to finish up.
I just hope we get something soon! I am excited too. :) Thanks for coming by tonight. I hope you all have a great weekend!
Until,
D :)
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Heaven Give Me Words
Conversations with a 4 year old:
On the way to Walmart this afternoon; I'm not sure how we got on the subject but Kiddo asked me "what is Heaven?"
[Why, oh why do I get the HARD questions?!?]
So I explained it to the best of my ability. After a slight contemplative pause he says "can we go there?"
I told him that yes, we will go there some day.
"Will we go on Sunday?" [he often confuses some day with Sunday]
Me: "Gosh I hope not. That is really soon" [well, he caught me off guard!]
Kiddo: "How about Friday then?"
:)
After controlling my giggles...
Me: "well Baby, I don't know when for sure. Only God knows, but hopefully we will both get to live a long happy life here on Earth, and when our bodies are old and tired, God will decide it is time and we will go to Heaven."
Kiddo: "I like that idea."
Kiddo: "Mommy, Grandma Goldie is dead."
Me: "WHAT??!?" [Grandma Goldie is my maternal grandmother, who, as far as I know, is still alive and kicking in a nursing home.]
Kiddo: "Grandma Goldie is dead. She is in heaven now."
Me: "No Baby, she's not dead. I'm pretty sure she's still alive."
Kiddo: "No Mommy. Her body was old and tired and God called her home*. She is in Heaven."
Me: "Who told you that Grandma Goldie was dead?"
Kiddo: "Heaven told me. Just now."
*where did he get that phrase?? mercy!
A few minutes later...
Kiddo: "Mommy, when I am a man and I live in Austin, where are you and Daddy going to live?"
Me: "Well, I don't know. We may still live here."
Kiddo: "In a different house?"
Me: "Perhaps."
(short pause)
Me: "Don't you want to live with mommy when you are a man?"
Kiddo: (excitedly) "I can?!? Oh yes, that would be fun if I could live with you when I am a man!"
Oh boy, what did I just do???
Until,
D :)
On the way to Walmart this afternoon; I'm not sure how we got on the subject but Kiddo asked me "what is Heaven?"
[Why, oh why do I get the HARD questions?!?]
So I explained it to the best of my ability. After a slight contemplative pause he says "can we go there?"
I told him that yes, we will go there some day.
"Will we go on Sunday?" [he often confuses some day with Sunday]
Me: "Gosh I hope not. That is really soon" [well, he caught me off guard!]
Kiddo: "How about Friday then?"
:)
After controlling my giggles...
Me: "well Baby, I don't know when for sure. Only God knows, but hopefully we will both get to live a long happy life here on Earth, and when our bodies are old and tired, God will decide it is time and we will go to Heaven."
Kiddo: "I like that idea."
**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**
After a minute or two, things take a weird turn. Uh Mom, if you are reading this, you may want to brace yourself a little.Kiddo: "Mommy, Grandma Goldie is dead."
Me: "WHAT??!?" [Grandma Goldie is my maternal grandmother, who, as far as I know, is still alive and kicking in a nursing home.]
Kiddo: "Grandma Goldie is dead. She is in heaven now."
Me: "No Baby, she's not dead. I'm pretty sure she's still alive."
Kiddo: "No Mommy. Her body was old and tired and God called her home*. She is in Heaven."
Me: "Who told you that Grandma Goldie was dead?"
Kiddo: "Heaven told me. Just now."
*where did he get that phrase?? mercy!
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
A few minutes later...
Kiddo: "Mommy, when I am a man and I live in Austin, where are you and Daddy going to live?"
Me: "Well, I don't know. We may still live here."
Kiddo: "In a different house?"
Me: "Perhaps."
(short pause)
Me: "Don't you want to live with mommy when you are a man?"
Kiddo: (excitedly) "I can?!? Oh yes, that would be fun if I could live with you when I am a man!"
Oh boy, what did I just do???
Until,
D :)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Walking Man
Ok, so I finally got the baby walking on video - please excuse my voice and the noises I make. Lordy, it's embarrassing! He has started turning now; walking a little in a straight line and then turning around and walking the other way. Slowly but surely he is figuring out how easy it can be to get from one place to another if he walks. I'm expecting his first run any day now! ;)
I am a little down today. Some sad news last night about my sister in law combined with a far too early wake up and clingy, whiny baby today (he is getting in another tooth - joy) has left me with a cloud of crank on my head.
[What, you've never seen a cloud of crank?? Well believe you me, they are ugly. Mean and ugly.]
Anyway, I am having a hard time focusing on anything. I guess it's not the best day to try to do my taxes, huh? Oh well.
On the good side - a wonderful, fun, exciting opportunity has been laid in my lap and a meeting last night about it left me giddy for hours. My hubby asked me if I was sure I drank decaf at the coffee shop. lol!
Anyway, I will reveal more later, because it's probably gonna take some 'splainin' and I am not ready to get all into it right now.
So that's the good and the bad for the day. Join me on the roller coaster, will you?
Until,
D :) :/
I am a little down today. Some sad news last night about my sister in law combined with a far too early wake up and clingy, whiny baby today (he is getting in another tooth - joy) has left me with a cloud of crank on my head.
[What, you've never seen a cloud of crank?? Well believe you me, they are ugly. Mean and ugly.]
Anyway, I am having a hard time focusing on anything. I guess it's not the best day to try to do my taxes, huh? Oh well.
On the good side - a wonderful, fun, exciting opportunity has been laid in my lap and a meeting last night about it left me giddy for hours. My hubby asked me if I was sure I drank decaf at the coffee shop. lol!
Anyway, I will reveal more later, because it's probably gonna take some 'splainin' and I am not ready to get all into it right now.
So that's the good and the bad for the day. Join me on the roller coaster, will you?
Until,
D :) :/
Monday, March 16, 2009
Dirty Dancing
We totally scored yesterday!!!
After church, we were on the hunt for dirt for our garden. Unsure of what to get, we decided to price a couple of places. We perused the offerings at the local Walmart, and from what we could tell, we were going to need many a bag of the only thing labeled for vegetable gardens, at a hefty $4 a bag. So, we were thinking we were about to spend close to $75 on just soil, not even including fertilizer and mulch. The day before we decided to go down to a local garden center and price the dirt there. They didn't sell dirt, but thankfully the place next door did and for a yard of garden dirt we would pay about $45. Of course the loose dirt seemed like the better deal - way more than we would need, but much less expensive. Unfortunately along with the cheap price came the inconvenience of having to actually get the dirt from our driveway to the back yard; and we do not own a wheelbarrow.
We flopped back and forth over what to do all Saturday night and Sunday morning. So after church we decided to go price everything again and see if we could come up with a better deal. We went back to Walmart and priced everything again, and then on a whim Hubby suggested we try Home Depot (we had priced Lowes a couple weeks before - way more expensive). We drove over to HD and actually found some things a bit cheaper than Walmart, but not as cheap as the loose dirt. One of the sales associates asked if he could help and we told him what we were looking for.
Thank goodness! He informed us that we really only needed a few big bags of the pricey stuff (the bigger bag was about $7.50) and then the rest of the soil could be a mixture of their $1/bag top soil and plain ol' manure. Yippie! There were only a few big bags of the pricey stuff left in the slot, and he said he was about to get another pallet down - but, if we would buy the bags left (they were torn in a couple of places) he would give them to us for almost half price.
Half price!!
THEN, he informed us that the mulch we were looking at is going on sale next weekend for $1 per bag.
$1 PER BAG!!!
I was so excited! We got out of there for a measly $35, with easy to transport bagged soil and almost everything we needed. We did have to go back for a few more bags of the soil/manure combination, but even with that we stayed under $50.
I am thrilled to say the least.
So the dirt is in the box and once I get it all planted I just have to buy mulch and we are set.
This is so exciting!
Until,
D :)
After church, we were on the hunt for dirt for our garden. Unsure of what to get, we decided to price a couple of places. We perused the offerings at the local Walmart, and from what we could tell, we were going to need many a bag of the only thing labeled for vegetable gardens, at a hefty $4 a bag. So, we were thinking we were about to spend close to $75 on just soil, not even including fertilizer and mulch. The day before we decided to go down to a local garden center and price the dirt there. They didn't sell dirt, but thankfully the place next door did and for a yard of garden dirt we would pay about $45. Of course the loose dirt seemed like the better deal - way more than we would need, but much less expensive. Unfortunately along with the cheap price came the inconvenience of having to actually get the dirt from our driveway to the back yard; and we do not own a wheelbarrow.
We flopped back and forth over what to do all Saturday night and Sunday morning. So after church we decided to go price everything again and see if we could come up with a better deal. We went back to Walmart and priced everything again, and then on a whim Hubby suggested we try Home Depot (we had priced Lowes a couple weeks before - way more expensive). We drove over to HD and actually found some things a bit cheaper than Walmart, but not as cheap as the loose dirt. One of the sales associates asked if he could help and we told him what we were looking for.
Thank goodness! He informed us that we really only needed a few big bags of the pricey stuff (the bigger bag was about $7.50) and then the rest of the soil could be a mixture of their $1/bag top soil and plain ol' manure. Yippie! There were only a few big bags of the pricey stuff left in the slot, and he said he was about to get another pallet down - but, if we would buy the bags left (they were torn in a couple of places) he would give them to us for almost half price.
Half price!!
THEN, he informed us that the mulch we were looking at is going on sale next weekend for $1 per bag.
$1 PER BAG!!!
I was so excited! We got out of there for a measly $35, with easy to transport bagged soil and almost everything we needed. We did have to go back for a few more bags of the soil/manure combination, but even with that we stayed under $50.
I am thrilled to say the least.
So the dirt is in the box and once I get it all planted I just have to buy mulch and we are set.
This is so exciting!
Until,
D :)
Friday, March 13, 2009
Change My Heart
Hello Lovely Ladies and Gents!
Welcome to Friday Company Girl Coffee! As always, I have fresh coffee in the pot and today I even have hot oatmeal raisin cookies coming out of the oven as we speak!
It is cold, cold here today. About 38 degrees according to my thermometer, but it is also raining and windy so I think it feels much colder. It wouldn't be so bad if it hadn't been in the mid 80s all last week. Texas weather....it is quite the saucy minx.
Anyway, I am pleased to report that despite the fact that I have been dealing with a sick baby the past few days I am actually in a decent mood. Don't get me wrong, if the 4 year old asks me one more question I may have to throw something, but overall I think I am in a good frame of mind. ;)
I have to admit I have been pretty down lately. I have tried to not sound like it in my posts, but I don't think I was very successful. I really was holding back a lot of what I have been feeling, but when my husband made mention that I had been "kind of a downer lately" it made me take some notice. But of course, the pessimist side of me says - well I haven't had much to be happy about lately.
Of course, there is so much going on in the world right now, so much sadness and tragedy both near and far. And I try not to think on those things much, because well frankly it's depressing, but also because I feel so helpless to do anything about it. But now of course as with many of us, things are getting bad in our personal lives - you know with the economy and all - we have had our share of cuts and now it seems that the worst of it is yet to come.
But overall we are still very blessed - we have what we need, we do not suffer. And every day I try to remember that and thank God for that. Every day I try to see some good in it all.
But sometimes, like lately, I get down about things; about life in general. About my lack of successes, my lack of close friendships and my lack of time/talent/ambition - the list goes on and on and gets more ridiculous with each passing self pity session. But this week things kind of came to a head and I have to say I hit a low.
My biggest issue right now aside from the obvious financial woes is in the friendship department. I'll probably address it in further detail some other time, but things in that area have really been bothering me. So the other night I got pretty upset and when I went to bed, my usual prayer took an unusual turn. I'm sure I'm not the only one that gets in a prayer "routine", right? Thank you for this day...please watch over and protect us...thank you for my loved ones and the blessings you have given...please forgive me my sins...thank you for coffee... oh what, you don't thank God for coffee??!? ;)
So anyway I decided to do something I should do more often; something I first learned from Miss Rachel Anne; I asked God to take away my worries and fears and anxiety over the friend situation. I asked Him to take away my hurt feelings and expectations and provide me with a peace and an acceptance of the way things are. I asked Him to change ME; change my heart, not the people I was upset about - to change me and make me the person He wants me to be, and to provide me with the support and companionship that will enable me to succeed in His will.
It was a hefty prayer - but I am so tired of thinking that others are going to change; that some how people were going to stop playing games, that I could finally make it into the inner circle...it just isn't going to happen. Some of the relationships I desire I have come to realize ultimately are not good for me, and will only serve to bring me down in a continuous spiral. So I prayed for change for me, change to focus me on the right path and to have peace and patience that He will provide the contacts and the companionship that I need. And that in the times that I feel lonely and isolated I will be reminded of the true friends in my life, the wonderful family I have and that if I just focus on Him - well it will simply be alright.
I don't know if that is a good way to look at it or a good way to pray. I only know that is what I was moved to feel, moved to plea for and moved to think at that moment.
And wouldn't you know it - God is Good!
The very next day I awoke with a huge sense of peace. I connected with someone that I have known for a while, but have not had the opportunity to really hang out with - someone who is very much like me, has the same interests and background and beliefs, someone I could really see myself connecting with. I stumbled upon a couple of great opportunities that I have been looking for - and over all I have a wonderful feeling about the days ahead. I have also been blessed with well placed Bible verses and sentiments, emails and blog comments.
The power of prayer - how wonderful it is!
So my Company Girls and beloved regular commenters, what good things have you been blessed with this week? I want to hear of your joys and successes!
Here are two wonderful things that have caught my eye this week:
1) from an amazing blog called Lots of Scotts, this quote: "Comparison is the Thief of all Joy" - such a true statement. With my current Facebook addiction, I really need to keep this one in mind. ;-)
2) the verse of the month at Home Sanctuary
Amen! Oh how I needed this verse this week. Thanks again Rachel Anne!Thanks for coming by my little blog for coffee! I hope to see you all again soon!
Until,
D :)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
In The Garden
We have decided to try our hands at gardening again this year. A couple of years ago I bought some tomato and pepper plants and tried to grow them in containers - it was a disaster. I think I may have gotten 3 tiny tomatoes off of the plants and a couple of misshapen peppers and didn't actually eat any of it! My tomatoes got those annoying green worms and the peppers were eaten by the birds and ants.
This time I had Hubby build me a 4x8 raised vegetable bed box and we are "doing it right" in the back yard, in actual garden soil with fertilizer and mulch and the like. I really, really want to do this - not only for the benefit of my grocery bill, but also to give me and the boys an excuse to actually use the mammoth back yard that has been sitting there lonely all these years.
Kiddo used to be a backyard baby. He would wander out there for hours, digging in the dirt and exploring everything. Nowadays I can barely get him out there for more than a few minutes blowing bubbles or running with the dog. The backyard has lost it's luster. Of course, it would probably help if the swing set wasn't broken, but that is another post for another time.
Anyway, the box is built, we just need to prepare the ground it will sit on and steak it all together. Then we need to buy the dirt and mulch and a few bags of fertilizer and/or manure and we should be all set. I bought some seeds yesterday - my intention was to plant them indoors first to sprout and then transplant the little plants a few weeks later. However, apparently you should grow most of these things for 6-8 weeks before transplanting them into the ground. So I have scrapped that and will plant the seeds directly once we are past this latest cold snap. Hopefully I will get something out of this. I will be pretty upset if I can't grow anything again.
So, if we get a break in the rain this weekend we will be shoveling and raking and tilling and whatnot - whee! Oh, how I love physical labor...
I know, I know, it's good for me. ;-)
Until,
D :)
This time I had Hubby build me a 4x8 raised vegetable bed box and we are "doing it right" in the back yard, in actual garden soil with fertilizer and mulch and the like. I really, really want to do this - not only for the benefit of my grocery bill, but also to give me and the boys an excuse to actually use the mammoth back yard that has been sitting there lonely all these years.
Kiddo used to be a backyard baby. He would wander out there for hours, digging in the dirt and exploring everything. Nowadays I can barely get him out there for more than a few minutes blowing bubbles or running with the dog. The backyard has lost it's luster. Of course, it would probably help if the swing set wasn't broken, but that is another post for another time.
Anyway, the box is built, we just need to prepare the ground it will sit on and steak it all together. Then we need to buy the dirt and mulch and a few bags of fertilizer and/or manure and we should be all set. I bought some seeds yesterday - my intention was to plant them indoors first to sprout and then transplant the little plants a few weeks later. However, apparently you should grow most of these things for 6-8 weeks before transplanting them into the ground. So I have scrapped that and will plant the seeds directly once we are past this latest cold snap. Hopefully I will get something out of this. I will be pretty upset if I can't grow anything again.
So, if we get a break in the rain this weekend we will be shoveling and raking and tilling and whatnot - whee! Oh, how I love physical labor...
I know, I know, it's good for me. ;-)
Until,
D :)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Eleven
With all the hullabaloo with birthdays and whatnot last week, I totally missed mentioning that my little Port turned 11 months old! I really just can't believe it. I also failed to mention that yesterday was my dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Daddy!! Your card, uh, got mailed, uh....today. Sorry.
Anyway, Port is 11 months old!! Here he is at a play date last week.
He is doing great! He walking a little more and more each day, and now I am catching him walking when he is by himself. He is developing quite the little personality of course. He is so much more aware of things and he also has begun anticipating things too. He knows when bed time is rolling around - will even take me to the bathroom for his nightly bath. When the bath is over, he starts fussing and getting sad because he knows I am about to put him in his jammies and tell him goodnight. He always calms down during our quiet time, but will often look at me and crinkle his little eye brows and whine because he remembers that our time together for the day is almost over. It breaks my heart every time. The look, my God the look he gets on his face! It's sad and pleading and pitiful...ugh.
He absolutely loves his daddy. Every day when Hubby comes home he crawls from where ever he is and goes straight for Hubby. He has this sweet little noise he makes only for him, and most of the time when Hubby enters the room Port will greet him with a "heyyyy!" lol
He is eating a lot better now. He's still not a fan of veggies, but I am able to get a bigger of variety of fruits in him. He pretty much is running on cheese and chicken right now though. We are working on it. I just keep putting it on his tray and thankfully he keeps trying it, making a face and throwing it on the floor. Every now and then he decides he likes something new. Recently it's been pears, grapes, .......oh and there was more but I am suddenly drawing a blank.
He loves music, and much prefers the toys that light up and make noise (oh my aching head!). When he dances, he is a toe tapper - Kiddo was a booty shaker, Port taps one toe and also does these weird little Elvis moves. He's all about wiggling the legs!
It is so amazing to me that people still think Port and Kiddo look alike. Every day I think they look more and more different; Kiddo a copy of me and my dad and Port an almost exact replica of his daddy. I found Hubby's baby book the other day and could not believe how similar Port and Hubby look. Hubby just has a much larger forehead. tee hee! So just for comparison, here are a couple of pictures of Kiddo at 11 months...
Kiddo -
Port -Kiddo -
He was a baldy until he was almost 2. Look at those thighs!!!! eeeee!!
Port - his legs are not as chubby, but I don't have a pic of them. They have a similar expression though...
So, I see how they are definitely related, but I really don't think they look much alike.
Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Until,
D :)
Anyway, Port is 11 months old!! Here he is at a play date last week.
He is doing great! He walking a little more and more each day, and now I am catching him walking when he is by himself. He is developing quite the little personality of course. He is so much more aware of things and he also has begun anticipating things too. He knows when bed time is rolling around - will even take me to the bathroom for his nightly bath. When the bath is over, he starts fussing and getting sad because he knows I am about to put him in his jammies and tell him goodnight. He always calms down during our quiet time, but will often look at me and crinkle his little eye brows and whine because he remembers that our time together for the day is almost over. It breaks my heart every time. The look, my God the look he gets on his face! It's sad and pleading and pitiful...ugh.
He absolutely loves his daddy. Every day when Hubby comes home he crawls from where ever he is and goes straight for Hubby. He has this sweet little noise he makes only for him, and most of the time when Hubby enters the room Port will greet him with a "heyyyy!" lol
He is eating a lot better now. He's still not a fan of veggies, but I am able to get a bigger of variety of fruits in him. He pretty much is running on cheese and chicken right now though. We are working on it. I just keep putting it on his tray and thankfully he keeps trying it, making a face and throwing it on the floor. Every now and then he decides he likes something new. Recently it's been pears, grapes, .......oh and there was more but I am suddenly drawing a blank.He loves music, and much prefers the toys that light up and make noise (oh my aching head!). When he dances, he is a toe tapper - Kiddo was a booty shaker, Port taps one toe and also does these weird little Elvis moves. He's all about wiggling the legs!
It is so amazing to me that people still think Port and Kiddo look alike. Every day I think they look more and more different; Kiddo a copy of me and my dad and Port an almost exact replica of his daddy. I found Hubby's baby book the other day and could not believe how similar Port and Hubby look. Hubby just has a much larger forehead. tee hee! So just for comparison, here are a couple of pictures of Kiddo at 11 months...
Kiddo -
Port -
Kiddo -He was a baldy until he was almost 2. Look at those thighs!!!! eeeee!!
Port - his legs are not as chubby, but I don't have a pic of them. They have a similar expression though...
So, I see how they are definitely related, but I really don't think they look much alike.Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Until,
D :)
Monday, March 09, 2009
Circus
Yesterday Kiddo was pretty whiny. He did well in church, but fussed quite a bit on the way home. We did our usual routine, stopping at a Walgreen's on the way for a Sunday paper and a gallon of milk. When we got home, I dissected the paper and gave Kiddo the comics section. In the past he has stared at the pictures for a while and then gone on to something else. But yesterday he actually sat down and read the cartoons. I was so proud of him! I listened to him sound out and read every word of almost all of the strips.
He reads a lot. Every sign, every box and package; every piece of paper that comes in the house that even looks remotely kid-geared, he reads. I am constantly amazed at the words he recognizes and even more amazed at the ones he figures out all on his own. I have never really been sure of his comprehension though, because it seems like I have to do a lot of explaining of some of the things he reads.
That afternoon he was getting more and more irritable and when I reprimanded him for something he snapped back at me "I'm tired!". He often will toss that back at me as an excuse for his behavior, and after dealing with his excuses and backtalk all afternoon, I told him that if he was tired then he should go to bed and take a nap. He of course protested (he hasn't taken a nap - well, EVER really) but I insisted, walked him into his room and instructed him to take off his shoes and get in bed. He starts yelling at me "But I don't need a nap! I'm too old to take a nap!!". I was thinking to myself, "where on earth did he get that??" I mean, we have never said anything to him about being too old or too young - especially in regards to napping - I was totally thrown.
I put him in his bed and shut his door. A few minutes later I was picking up the newspaper and the strewn about comics section when this caught my eye...
My Kiddo did not sleep, but he certainly did make me proud. For him to read this AND comprehend it AND apply it to his life - well, I am simply amazed.
Until,
D :)
He reads a lot. Every sign, every box and package; every piece of paper that comes in the house that even looks remotely kid-geared, he reads. I am constantly amazed at the words he recognizes and even more amazed at the ones he figures out all on his own. I have never really been sure of his comprehension though, because it seems like I have to do a lot of explaining of some of the things he reads.
That afternoon he was getting more and more irritable and when I reprimanded him for something he snapped back at me "I'm tired!". He often will toss that back at me as an excuse for his behavior, and after dealing with his excuses and backtalk all afternoon, I told him that if he was tired then he should go to bed and take a nap. He of course protested (he hasn't taken a nap - well, EVER really) but I insisted, walked him into his room and instructed him to take off his shoes and get in bed. He starts yelling at me "But I don't need a nap! I'm too old to take a nap!!". I was thinking to myself, "where on earth did he get that??" I mean, we have never said anything to him about being too old or too young - especially in regards to napping - I was totally thrown.
I put him in his bed and shut his door. A few minutes later I was picking up the newspaper and the strewn about comics section when this caught my eye...
My Kiddo did not sleep, but he certainly did make me proud. For him to read this AND comprehend it AND apply it to his life - well, I am simply amazed.
Until,
D :)
Friday, March 06, 2009
Times Like These
Happy Friday Everyone!
Well, I am actually writing this on Saturday, but don't tell anyone, ok? I started to write this post last night (Friday), and my computer started wigging out on me! I made several attempts to write a post - but my cursor kept jumping around and messing everything up. I think the touch pad is about to go out on my laptop and it is making everything screwy.
In the past two weeks I have had so much trouble with this laptop. I suppose it is about time for it to be retired. I've had many a "tech" person tell me that most laptops (that are heavily used) only last about 2 years. This one is nearing the 3 year mark. Unfortunately, I can't afford to replace it. Hubby's laptop is about 5 years old and it is LITERALLY being held together with rubber bands! lol!
So anyway, I was hoping to write my coffee post from the brand new Starbucks that opened up (on my birthday!) right up the street from my house! I am sooooo excited about this Starbucks being so close. I am already envisioning running away in the evenings for a few minutes of coffee shop quiet with a steaming cup after a long hard day with the kiddos. I am hoping to be a "regular" and get to know the baristas. Yes, I lead an exciting life! *wink*
Well, we are a week into the sleep training and I think it is going pretty well. Port is now sleeping from about 8pm to almost 8am every night. He goes down and cries for about a minute now. Naps, well those are all messed up, but I am confident we will figure it out. He really needs 2 a day, but he is very resistant to the morning nap.
The biggest problem I am having is that when I put him down at night he makes me feel terribly guilty. He starts screaming now before we even get in his room; he's so tired he knows he needs to go to bed but he doesn't want to be put in the crib. We have quiet time in the chair next to the crib and he almost always falls asleep in my arms while I am giving him his bottle. If I make the slightest motion like I am about to stand up and put him in the crib, he immediately starts wailing. It is so sad and makes me feel absolutely awful. I wonder how long it is going to take for him to get used to and accept the idea that this is how it's going to go; or if he is always going to react this way.
I suppose only time will tell. :)
Well, I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! If you are bored, the post below is about my birthday - I turned 35 this year. woo hoo! lol!
Thanks for stopping by!
Until,
D :)
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Good Day
I woke up way too early this morning to the sound of Kiddo talking. Loudly. Way too early. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk....who the heck was he talking too?? After about 30 minutes of trying to tune him out I staggered into the kitchen to find him on the floor with his arms wrapped around the dog's neck and he was just telling her all sorts of interesting stuff.
geeze.
I asked him to please be quiet because Mommy and Port were still trying to sleep - he grumbled and fussed a bit and I staggered back to bed. A few minutes of sleep later and I hear Port crying in his room. Figuring I wasn't going to get any more sleep I got him up and we played for a few minutes quietly in my bed. Once Kiddo discovered us it was too loud for me to endure without coffee so I herded the wee ones to the kitchen.
I asked Kiddo if he knew what day it was; of course he said no. I told him it was my birthday.
Kiddo: "It is? So it's March? We can flip up my calendar!!!"
Me:"Oh yes, we can flip up your calendar. So aren't you glad it's Mommy's birthday?"
Kiddo: "yes, let's go flip it! I want to see Eve!"
So we go flip the calendar and I ask him "so what else should you do on Mommy's birthday?"
Kiddo: "I don't know"
Me: "Don't you want to wish Mommy a happy birthday?"
Kiddo: "yeah."
~pause~ ~pause~ ~pause~
Me: "you can say it now if you want."
Kiddo: "happy birthday Mommy"
[like pulling teeth I tell ya!]
So the day started out pretty nice; the kids played well together, Port was being super cute and walking a lot. People called and emailed and wrote on my Facebook wall - it was all good.
I even got a call from one of my old high school friends; we share a birthday, and it was such a pleasant shock and surprise to hear his voice after oh, gosh, I think it's been about 10 years??? It was great talking to him again!
While Port was taking a "nap" (re: screaming in the crib) I managed my yearly birthday photos.
Anyway, I decided that it might be ok to venture out into the world - my fear of something bad happening was still there, but I figured a trip to Sonic would be ok.
Warning - this story is about to get dreadfully scary. I apologize in advance for the frightening things I am about to tell you. If you do not want to read of my tragedy, please click over to the next blog.
I'll give you a moment to ready yourself.
...
...
...
I KNEW the day was going to be horrible. I just knew it.
I got us all dressed and ready to go, and just before we left I remembered that I had left my auto insurance card mixed in all the paperwork from the van registration. If there was any day that I might get pulled over, this would be it; so I was glad I had remembered to get the insurance card. Crisis averted, I drove over to the Sonic nearest to me.
It took some time to figure out what we wanted, and while I was waiting for Kiddo to decide I glanced around the parking lot. It seemed pretty empty for the lunch rush, but I figured maybe we were a little early or something. Finally Kiddo made up his mind and I pushed the red button. After what seemed like forever, the order taker asked me for my order. After rattling off everything we wanted, there was a long pause.
"uh, ma'am? I'm so sorry but...
our soda machine is not working. Can I get you a water or an Iced Tea?"
*blink* *blink*
wwaaaahHHH!!?!
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!
OH the horrors!!!!!!
...
...
...
Sorry, I needed a moment. It still gives me shivers to think about it.
I canceled our order and drove away. {sadness}
THANKFULLY - there are about 5 Sonics within a 5 mile radius.
HOORAY for development!!!
I headed to the next nearest Sonic, but on my way I discovered something terrible!
When Hubby had put on my new TX license plates, he forgot to affix the registration sticker to the windshield!!!!
eeeek!!
I did a power slide across 2 lanes of road to make a right turn back toward my house and called Hubby to fuss at him.
[ok, so I didn't really power slide. Is it even possible to do that in a big ol' van?]
[and yes, I did call Hubby to fuss - wouldn't you?]
I drove back to the house and found the sticker and put it on the windshield. Yet another crisis averted, we headed out again to the Sonic.
{Mercy this is exhausting.}
Lunch was great - we even scored an extra stick of string cheese (free!) for Port because the server forgot to put Kiddo's in the bag. Everyone was happy and full and we made a quick stop in Target for some booty cream for little Port. He had poopied the night before and slept in the dirty diaper {I KNOW! I felt SO bad!!} so he had a terribly burned bottom that morning.
Target was fairly uneventful and we made it home safely. After the Sonic fiasco and the sticker near tragedy I decided it best we stay in for the rest of the afternoon.
Hubby got home from work early, just as I was getting Port down for a much needed afternoon nap (around 4ish; we still haven't worked out regular nap times). We decided to let him sleep for an hour and then head to dinner early. Now that we have done this sleep training thing, dinner has to happen before 7:30 or our schedule gets completely thrown off.
Thanks to a timely gift card from my parents (thanks again Mom and Dad) we dined at Olive Garden. The food was great as usual (except the bread sticks were a bit overdone) and the service, as usual, sucked. When we walked in there was no wait - thank goodness - but at first they tried to seat us at their overflow tables right in the middle of the isle. We've had to endure those tables twice before, and with empty tables in other sections I was not about to sit there on my birthday. I asked the hostess if we could be seated somewhere else, and so she took us to a bigger table in a different section.
Our server was bad, bad, bad. We couldn't hear her when she spoke. She forgot things we asked for more than once, she had no personality whatsoever. When she would bring something, she would just dump it in the middle of the table. When she cleared our plates she didn't ask if we wanted dessert or anything. (and the reality was, I wanted to order a couple of desserts and get them to go because I hadn't made a cake for myself) The manager brought us the check while I was looking at the dessert menu! They are promoting some feedback survey so the manager brings all the checks to the table and explains the survey. After going through his spiel, he then asked me if I was interested in dessert. By then I was just annoyed and Port was extremely antsy - I think I mumbled something and he said to "let him know". Hubby and I both had taken turns walking Port around the restaurant so I was no longer in the mood to wait for anything else. I was very annoyed that the server didn't even ask us if we wanted anything else, so I scrapped the idea of dessert and paid the check.
I decided to stop at the HEB on the way home and pick up one of their yummy cream cakes (one of my PMS TOTM features way back in the day) as my birthday dessert and so we stopped at the one on the way home (the same one I went to the other day - ugh). I left the boys in the car (the big one too - don't go calling CPS on me) and ran in to pick one up right quick.
Now, HEB always has Cream Cakes. And they always have Chocolate.
Well, not always I guess.
*sigh*
I settled on a Pina Colada version and we took it home. It was ok, but not exactly what I was looking for.
So my day was horrible, tragic, disaster-ific....yeah no it was great really! I was so blessed by all the warm well wishes, the phone calls (I may never get the sound of my inlaws serenading me out of my head) the emails and sweet notes, the IMs and the wall postings. Never have so many people remembered (thank you Facebook reminders!) and never have I heard from so many people on one day. And the minor catastrophes, er, uh, annoyances were nothing in the overall day. They just made it that much more interesting.
Interesting I can handle. ;-)
Until,
D :)
geeze.
I asked him to please be quiet because Mommy and Port were still trying to sleep - he grumbled and fussed a bit and I staggered back to bed. A few minutes of sleep later and I hear Port crying in his room. Figuring I wasn't going to get any more sleep I got him up and we played for a few minutes quietly in my bed. Once Kiddo discovered us it was too loud for me to endure without coffee so I herded the wee ones to the kitchen.
I asked Kiddo if he knew what day it was; of course he said no. I told him it was my birthday.
Kiddo: "It is? So it's March? We can flip up my calendar!!!"
Me:"Oh yes, we can flip up your calendar. So aren't you glad it's Mommy's birthday?"
Kiddo: "yes, let's go flip it! I want to see Eve!"
So we go flip the calendar and I ask him "so what else should you do on Mommy's birthday?"
Kiddo: "I don't know"
Me: "Don't you want to wish Mommy a happy birthday?"
Kiddo: "yeah."
~pause~ ~pause~ ~pause~
Me: "you can say it now if you want."
Kiddo: "happy birthday Mommy"
[like pulling teeth I tell ya!]
So the day started out pretty nice; the kids played well together, Port was being super cute and walking a lot. People called and emailed and wrote on my Facebook wall - it was all good.
I even got a call from one of my old high school friends; we share a birthday, and it was such a pleasant shock and surprise to hear his voice after oh, gosh, I think it's been about 10 years??? It was great talking to him again!
While Port was taking a "nap" (re: screaming in the crib) I managed my yearly birthday photos.
Anyway, I decided that it might be ok to venture out into the world - my fear of something bad happening was still there, but I figured a trip to Sonic would be ok.
Warning - this story is about to get dreadfully scary. I apologize in advance for the frightening things I am about to tell you. If you do not want to read of my tragedy, please click over to the next blog.
I'll give you a moment to ready yourself.
...
...
...
I KNEW the day was going to be horrible. I just knew it.
I got us all dressed and ready to go, and just before we left I remembered that I had left my auto insurance card mixed in all the paperwork from the van registration. If there was any day that I might get pulled over, this would be it; so I was glad I had remembered to get the insurance card. Crisis averted, I drove over to the Sonic nearest to me.
It took some time to figure out what we wanted, and while I was waiting for Kiddo to decide I glanced around the parking lot. It seemed pretty empty for the lunch rush, but I figured maybe we were a little early or something. Finally Kiddo made up his mind and I pushed the red button. After what seemed like forever, the order taker asked me for my order. After rattling off everything we wanted, there was a long pause.
"uh, ma'am? I'm so sorry but...
our soda machine is not working. Can I get you a water or an Iced Tea?"
*blink* *blink*
wwaaaahHHH!!?!
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!
OH the horrors!!!!!!
...
...
...
Sorry, I needed a moment. It still gives me shivers to think about it.
I canceled our order and drove away. {sadness}
THANKFULLY - there are about 5 Sonics within a 5 mile radius.
HOORAY for development!!!
I headed to the next nearest Sonic, but on my way I discovered something terrible!
When Hubby had put on my new TX license plates, he forgot to affix the registration sticker to the windshield!!!!
eeeek!!
I did a power slide across 2 lanes of road to make a right turn back toward my house and called Hubby to fuss at him.
[ok, so I didn't really power slide. Is it even possible to do that in a big ol' van?]
[and yes, I did call Hubby to fuss - wouldn't you?]
I drove back to the house and found the sticker and put it on the windshield. Yet another crisis averted, we headed out again to the Sonic.
{Mercy this is exhausting.}
Lunch was great - we even scored an extra stick of string cheese (free!) for Port because the server forgot to put Kiddo's in the bag. Everyone was happy and full and we made a quick stop in Target for some booty cream for little Port. He had poopied the night before and slept in the dirty diaper {I KNOW! I felt SO bad!!} so he had a terribly burned bottom that morning.
Target was fairly uneventful and we made it home safely. After the Sonic fiasco and the sticker near tragedy I decided it best we stay in for the rest of the afternoon.
Hubby got home from work early, just as I was getting Port down for a much needed afternoon nap (around 4ish; we still haven't worked out regular nap times). We decided to let him sleep for an hour and then head to dinner early. Now that we have done this sleep training thing, dinner has to happen before 7:30 or our schedule gets completely thrown off.
Thanks to a timely gift card from my parents (thanks again Mom and Dad) we dined at Olive Garden. The food was great as usual (except the bread sticks were a bit overdone) and the service, as usual, sucked. When we walked in there was no wait - thank goodness - but at first they tried to seat us at their overflow tables right in the middle of the isle. We've had to endure those tables twice before, and with empty tables in other sections I was not about to sit there on my birthday. I asked the hostess if we could be seated somewhere else, and so she took us to a bigger table in a different section.
Our server was bad, bad, bad. We couldn't hear her when she spoke. She forgot things we asked for more than once, she had no personality whatsoever. When she would bring something, she would just dump it in the middle of the table. When she cleared our plates she didn't ask if we wanted dessert or anything. (and the reality was, I wanted to order a couple of desserts and get them to go because I hadn't made a cake for myself) The manager brought us the check while I was looking at the dessert menu! They are promoting some feedback survey so the manager brings all the checks to the table and explains the survey. After going through his spiel, he then asked me if I was interested in dessert. By then I was just annoyed and Port was extremely antsy - I think I mumbled something and he said to "let him know". Hubby and I both had taken turns walking Port around the restaurant so I was no longer in the mood to wait for anything else. I was very annoyed that the server didn't even ask us if we wanted anything else, so I scrapped the idea of dessert and paid the check.
I decided to stop at the HEB on the way home and pick up one of their yummy cream cakes (one of my PMS TOTM features way back in the day) as my birthday dessert and so we stopped at the one on the way home (the same one I went to the other day - ugh). I left the boys in the car (the big one too - don't go calling CPS on me) and ran in to pick one up right quick.
Now, HEB always has Cream Cakes. And they always have Chocolate.
Well, not always I guess.
*sigh*
I settled on a Pina Colada version and we took it home. It was ok, but not exactly what I was looking for.
So my day was horrible, tragic, disaster-ific....yeah no it was great really! I was so blessed by all the warm well wishes, the phone calls (I may never get the sound of my inlaws serenading me out of my head) the emails and sweet notes, the IMs and the wall postings. Never have so many people remembered (thank you Facebook reminders!) and never have I heard from so many people on one day. And the minor catastrophes, er, uh, annoyances were nothing in the overall day. They just made it that much more interesting.
Interesting I can handle. ;-)
Until,
D :)
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Shattered
{no, I did not take this picture. I just thought it was neat}Last night as I was cleaning things up and winding down in preparation for bed, I noticed that one of the socks I was wearing had something sticky on it. I kept sticking to the floor in various places. I took the sock off and inspected it and saw nothing that would indicate there was anything sticky. I checked the floor and saw nothing as well. Our kitchen floor is still torn up in certain places, so my feeble mind chalked it up to the sock catching on the rough spots. I took the socks off, put them in the hamper and went to bed.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Yesterday we had to go register the van and do a title transfer and licensing as well. I gathered all the paperwork I needed and loaded the kids up. After finding the building and taking a number in the waiting area, I thought we were in for the dreaded government building wait. Surprisingly though, the whole process took only about 15 minutes (wait and all) and we were happily on our way. I decided to stop at the nearest HEB (grocery) to pick up a few much needed items.
[why is it that even when I go in with a list of only a few things, I still end up spending 50-100 dollars?]
The HEB was not one that I normally shop at because it is very old and small and dingy. Directly across from a WalMart, it is usually pretty crowded as well. I don't like the parking, the smaller shopping carts or the arrangement of the isles, so I only go to it when absolutely necessary. Or in this case when going to one of the other locations was ridiculously out of my way.
So we went, and I squeezed my poor Kiddo in the basket behind Port and hoped the few items I needed would fit in there with him.
As usual, the people were cranky, the shelves were a mess and they were out of a couple of things that I needed. We got into the shortest check out line I could find and I was pleased when the cashier started playing peekaboo with Port while she was checking out the lady in front of me. When we got up to the front of the line, she gave Kiddo a Buddy Buck (it's a little fake dollar that the kids can use to play one of those annoying grabber games) and then pulled out her cash drawer. Her shift was over. The kid that replaced her was nice too (unusual for this location) so I didn't mind; though Kiddo was sad that she left. Generally if someone engages him in conversation he is in love with them. When we were almost done, she suddenly appeared with two red balloons for the kids. It was very sweet.
[of course, Kiddo instantly remembered what happened the last time he had a red balloon from HEB]
When you get a balloon at HEB, it is weighted at the bottom of the string with a sucker. When we got home, I let Kiddo eat his sucker and I popped the balloon it was attached to and threw it in the trash. Kiddo got upset that I tossed the balloon, so I told him he could play with Port's balloon instead. He proceeded throughout the evening to use the balloon as a punching bag; beating it all over the living and dining room of the house.
**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**
This morning I was sitting on the floor with Port and in front of me I noticed a little purple shard of something glistening in the morning sunlight. Several inches from that, another, bigger shard glistened and sparkled as well. I moved closer to inspect these foreign objects, and the aroma of grape sugar teased my nose. I touched one of them, finding it stuck to my still somewhat new wood floor. I pried it up with my fingernail and figured out what it was.
HEB grape sucker.
The sucker I gave Kiddo the day before was green. I quickly turned to inspect the anchor still holding the now semi deflated balloon that Kiddo punched around yesterday and my heart sank when I saw it. The purple sucker that once held weight in it's plastic bag was nothing more than a stick and a few chunks of hardened sugar. I lowered my gaze and my head level with the floor and what laid before me were thousands of microscopic shards of shattered sucker.
Stuck.
All
Over
My
Floor
*sigh*
Parenting tip for today. Do not ever allow your child to bat around a balloon from the grocery store on a hard floor if the said balloon is attached to a cheap piece of candy.
Aren't you glad I'm here to help you learn from my mistakes?!
Until,
D ;)
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Cut My Life Into Pieces
Freekin' Fabulous.
So Hubby just informed me that his company did another round of layoffs (that's round 5 people) and a pay cut across the board (5% Joy). Thankfully Hubby still has a job, but a pay cut??!? Lord, I don't know what we are going to do now. We are barely making it as it is and we are still $300 in the hole each month when I factor in our annual property taxes (no, we do not have escrow on our mortgage account).
So a lot of you know that my birthday is coming up on Thursday, and I have a very strong feeling it's going to be absolutely horrible in some way. Call me psychic, call me psychotic, whatever, but I do not want to even acknowledge it. I have a feeling it is going to be something like my 30th - if any of you recall, I got fired from my job a few days before my 30th birthday because they found out I was pregnant with Kiddo, and therefore was "not a team player". uh huh.
So anyway, I really don't want to "celebrate" my birthday - it's not the age or anything, it's just our circumstances. I don't want to get my hopes up daydreaming about any kind of celebrating or dinner out or pampering of any sort because it just isn't going to happen. I'm not trying to throw a pity party either - I am just trying to be practical. If I treat it like any other day then I won't be tempted to spend any money. Right? Right.
So yeah, I am going to be 35 - it doesn't seem real. I think part of my problem is that I've been on Facebook so much lately, talking to "old" friends and thinking about things that happened 15-20 years ago...I am back in that young adult mind frame again (sort of). Then I look at pictures of my family and I think, "how the heck did that happen? Look what I did!" lol. It's a strange feeling for sure. Even more strange is seeing people I went to high school with that have kids that are or are almost teenagers! My boys are still so young, and some of my friends are preparing their kids for the high school years already (and a couple for college! yikes!). I just can't imagine it.
I still feel like in many ways I am just starting out. Like this is just the beginning. When will I feel like I am in the middle of it?
When will this headache go away?
Until,
D :/
So Hubby just informed me that his company did another round of layoffs (that's round 5 people) and a pay cut across the board (5% Joy). Thankfully Hubby still has a job, but a pay cut??!? Lord, I don't know what we are going to do now. We are barely making it as it is and we are still $300 in the hole each month when I factor in our annual property taxes (no, we do not have escrow on our mortgage account).
So a lot of you know that my birthday is coming up on Thursday, and I have a very strong feeling it's going to be absolutely horrible in some way. Call me psychic, call me psychotic, whatever, but I do not want to even acknowledge it. I have a feeling it is going to be something like my 30th - if any of you recall, I got fired from my job a few days before my 30th birthday because they found out I was pregnant with Kiddo, and therefore was "not a team player". uh huh.
So anyway, I really don't want to "celebrate" my birthday - it's not the age or anything, it's just our circumstances. I don't want to get my hopes up daydreaming about any kind of celebrating or dinner out or pampering of any sort because it just isn't going to happen. I'm not trying to throw a pity party either - I am just trying to be practical. If I treat it like any other day then I won't be tempted to spend any money. Right? Right.
So yeah, I am going to be 35 - it doesn't seem real. I think part of my problem is that I've been on Facebook so much lately, talking to "old" friends and thinking about things that happened 15-20 years ago...I am back in that young adult mind frame again (sort of). Then I look at pictures of my family and I think, "how the heck did that happen? Look what I did!" lol. It's a strange feeling for sure. Even more strange is seeing people I went to high school with that have kids that are or are almost teenagers! My boys are still so young, and some of my friends are preparing their kids for the high school years already (and a couple for college! yikes!). I just can't imagine it.
I still feel like in many ways I am just starting out. Like this is just the beginning. When will I feel like I am in the middle of it?
When will this headache go away?
Until,
D :/
Monday, March 02, 2009
Peace Train
I think what I am going to do is just start opening the "create a new post" window every day and see if it gets me to blog more. Then I pretty much have to put something down, right?!?
Well the sleep training is going as expected I guess. As I said, the first night; 30 minutes of crying then pretty much nothing for the rest of the night. He was not very pleased with me when I rescued him at 7:45 the next morning, but boy was I a happy, well rested momma! We debated on whether or not Port needs two naps and determined that it would probably be best to try to do just one - especially since the "morning" nap (if there was one) would fall right in the middle of the time we go to church each Sunday. Now, I suppose we could try to go to the early service, but if you know anything about me and my brood...well you would know we don't do early morning very well. So, we decided to put him down awake for the nap time, and he cried for about 10 minutes before going to sleep. He only slept about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, and then was a happy guy. However, he was sleepy again at about 4:00 - really too late for another nap before bed time. We went out to dinner that night (early) and Port of course fell asleep as soon as we put him in the car seat. *sigh* His 20 minute power nap on the way to the restaurant made for a nice dinner, but I thought for sure it was going to wreck our night time routine.
That night, he started whimpering and fussing before I even got him in the crib. He knew what was coming. However, he only cried for about 10 minutes. I told Hubby that it was too easy; the other shoe was going to drop. Boy, did it ever.
Even though he was out at 8:30, he woke back up at about 11:30. And the screaming began. He screamed and screamed and screamed for about 10-20 minutes at a time just about every 30-45 minutes ALL. NIGHT. LONG.
It was brutal. Hubby and I both were concerned. I fretted, my stomach in knots. I stared at the ceiling and lay in the dark worried about my poor baby. Hubby even got up once to check on him just to make sure he was ok. When he went in the room he accidentally woke Port up and the screaming began again. The next morning I picked him up out of the crib; his eyes were puffy and red from all the crying. He didn't have a smile for me, but gave Daddy all kinds of grins and giggles. We played in the bed for a while before we got up.
He fell asleep on the way to church, and then again on the way home. When we got home I just transferred him from the car to our bed and he slept for almost 3 hours. I definitely think he needs two naps still. Especially after a night like that!
Last night (night #3) he fell asleep in my arms during our quiet time before bed. I put him in the crib and he curled up on his pillow, but then just a few seconds later realized that he was in the crib and quickly tried to stand up and reach for me. I told him I loved him, kissed the top of his head and said good night. As I walked out he screamed for me as loud as he could. It was heart wrenching. But, he only cried this time for about 5 minutes and then was out. I didn't hear another peep from him until almost 8 this morning. By 9:30 though, he was already showing signs of being tired, so I tried to feed him a bottle in our quiet spot and sure enough he was very sleepy. I tried to let him nap in our bed but he just wanted to play so I put him in the crib. He cried for about 10 minutes then took and hour and a half long nap. Later this afternoon he fell asleep in my arms at about 2:00 so I let him sleep in our bed. I know he naps better there.
I guess the "training" is working - at least we are getting some sleep where before we were not. I am going to have to retrain myself not to wake up every couple of hours though - my body is still going through the motions of having to be awake all through the night. And now of course I also have to get used to the idea of being home at 2 certain times a day for his naps - not that I go a lot of places, but I like to have some flexibility when I do.
Hopefully tonight will be even better.
Until,
D :)
Well the sleep training is going as expected I guess. As I said, the first night; 30 minutes of crying then pretty much nothing for the rest of the night. He was not very pleased with me when I rescued him at 7:45 the next morning, but boy was I a happy, well rested momma! We debated on whether or not Port needs two naps and determined that it would probably be best to try to do just one - especially since the "morning" nap (if there was one) would fall right in the middle of the time we go to church each Sunday. Now, I suppose we could try to go to the early service, but if you know anything about me and my brood...well you would know we don't do early morning very well. So, we decided to put him down awake for the nap time, and he cried for about 10 minutes before going to sleep. He only slept about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, and then was a happy guy. However, he was sleepy again at about 4:00 - really too late for another nap before bed time. We went out to dinner that night (early) and Port of course fell asleep as soon as we put him in the car seat. *sigh* His 20 minute power nap on the way to the restaurant made for a nice dinner, but I thought for sure it was going to wreck our night time routine.
That night, he started whimpering and fussing before I even got him in the crib. He knew what was coming. However, he only cried for about 10 minutes. I told Hubby that it was too easy; the other shoe was going to drop. Boy, did it ever.
Even though he was out at 8:30, he woke back up at about 11:30. And the screaming began. He screamed and screamed and screamed for about 10-20 minutes at a time just about every 30-45 minutes ALL. NIGHT. LONG.
It was brutal. Hubby and I both were concerned. I fretted, my stomach in knots. I stared at the ceiling and lay in the dark worried about my poor baby. Hubby even got up once to check on him just to make sure he was ok. When he went in the room he accidentally woke Port up and the screaming began again. The next morning I picked him up out of the crib; his eyes were puffy and red from all the crying. He didn't have a smile for me, but gave Daddy all kinds of grins and giggles. We played in the bed for a while before we got up.
He fell asleep on the way to church, and then again on the way home. When we got home I just transferred him from the car to our bed and he slept for almost 3 hours. I definitely think he needs two naps still. Especially after a night like that!
Last night (night #3) he fell asleep in my arms during our quiet time before bed. I put him in the crib and he curled up on his pillow, but then just a few seconds later realized that he was in the crib and quickly tried to stand up and reach for me. I told him I loved him, kissed the top of his head and said good night. As I walked out he screamed for me as loud as he could. It was heart wrenching. But, he only cried this time for about 5 minutes and then was out. I didn't hear another peep from him until almost 8 this morning. By 9:30 though, he was already showing signs of being tired, so I tried to feed him a bottle in our quiet spot and sure enough he was very sleepy. I tried to let him nap in our bed but he just wanted to play so I put him in the crib. He cried for about 10 minutes then took and hour and a half long nap. Later this afternoon he fell asleep in my arms at about 2:00 so I let him sleep in our bed. I know he naps better there.
I guess the "training" is working - at least we are getting some sleep where before we were not. I am going to have to retrain myself not to wake up every couple of hours though - my body is still going through the motions of having to be awake all through the night. And now of course I also have to get used to the idea of being home at 2 certain times a day for his naps - not that I go a lot of places, but I like to have some flexibility when I do.
Hopefully tonight will be even better.
Until,
D :)
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