Miscellany Monday

Not linking up but posting with Carissa at lowercase letters:

 

1. At swimming lessons today E was a crazy girl.  We took last week off because we were at the zoo and I think she has refound her love of swimming.  My little crazy fish kept trying to join the older kids, she jumped and jumped like the swim club kids doing dry land training and she did one mean version of "If You're Happy and You Know It".

 

2.  My poor furry first born, Maddy, has been to the vet twice in the last month.  She is on her second round of antibiotics.  Hopefully she feels better for her birthday on Wednesday.  Little Girl will be 9 years old.  She LOVES Halloween.  I just need to dig out her costume.  

Last Year

3.  This year I attempted to make costumes for S and E.  I have a hard time buying something for one day, and not really finding something I liked.  Last year we got a dog costume from the second-hand store and a skunk from a friend.  This year the kids will be gnomes.  We did a trial run on Saturday and the kids did a great job.  E's costume needs a little bit more decoration though.  They both kept their hats on and E enjoyed the extra attention.  Now we just have to figure out what we're going to DO for Halloween.  Do you take almost 2 year olds Trick-or-Treating?  I know WE don't need the candy.

 

4.  Is it bad that I drink a cup of caffeinated tea at 8 pm so I can make it until 10 pm awake? 

 

5.  S is on a roll with his words lately.  Tonight he was talking about the frog (the slide at the pool looks like a frog), his socks, and new in the last week or so is eat.  I think the boy wants to eat all day now that he can tell you about it.  He is constantly bossing the dog around too.  "Maddy sit."  "Maddy down."  "No Maddy No"  Someday she might realize he is talking to her. 



First Born

This is me and my first born.  (Sorry for the extreme close-up.  It was the best I could do tonight.)  We had been married less than 6 months and had barely lived in our new house for a month when I found her.  The backyard was begging for a dog and I was lonely. 

She was an eight week old puppy who had been surrendered at the humane society where my sister was working.  They didn't think she's pass the temperament test.  She was possession aggressive.  My sister wouldn't let me see her until she had passed. 

She did and she became my LBG, little baby girl.  She was nameless for a few days.  My husband wanted to name her Dizzle and I just couldn't let him do it.  One great attempt at convincing him I said, "Do you want to be a 30 year old yelling for your dog named Dizzle?"  He reminded me when he was 30 that he would have been just fine yelling for a dog named Dizzle.  At any rate she is Maddy. 

Maddy has been a spoiled dog for most of her life.  She got a lot of attention and went on a lot of walks, and runs during the 3 years I pretended to be a runner.  She slept on couches and sat in my lap without any competition.  She got to go for rides in the car and was chased around the house.  She got to sleep on the bed. 

She has always been my "brown shadow".  She is a mama's girl.  I often trip over her because she is always there.  She has been my crying buddy when we couldn't get pregnant.  She was my baby when I couldn't have my own.  She was/is my wintertime companion when my husband is gone most evenings coaching basketball.  She slept next to me during most of my three day bed rest after IVF.  She was the one thing I missed when I was stuck in the hospital on bed rest.  I cried into her fur when I came home baby less. 

She has done great with S and E, as I expected she would.  But she is getting older and grumpy.  The hardest part is everyone wants to be near me.  The kids want to be on my lap and Maddy wants to be right next to me, but she doesn't want the kids to touch her.  I think having two toddlers around has aged my little baby girl.  She will be 10 at the end of October.  (We picked Halloween to be her birthday because it is her favorite holiday.  She LOVES the little kids who come to the door.) 

We still see glimpses of the crazy Maddy she used to be.  Tonight she found a green tennis ball.  (Poor girl, all her toys are still packed away.)  She ran around the house like an 8 week old puppy.  Silly dog.  The kids thought it was hilarious and were a little bit afraid she was going to knock them over.  She'd run into the family room and back through the kitchen into the playroom and back again.  It was so funny.  I tried to get S and E to chase her but they weren't so sure about that.  They did get to throw the ball and she bounded after it.  I hope as the kids get older they get to play with Maddy.  She does love to be chased and does a great job of dropping the ball.  I hope they love her as much as I do.

I sit her typing while she lays next to me on the rug...always my brown shadow.

Time Out

Since E turned 18 months we have been trying timeout to help with her hitting. When she gets mad or frustrated she just reaches out and whacks someone or anything that is nearby. Unfortunately it is usually S. S is so easy going to he rarely reacts anymore, unless she happens to have something in her hand when she hits. I hate that S cowers when she raises her hand and that he so easily gives up what he has to her. She still sometimes hits me but that is becoming less frequent.

When we first started timeouts I had to physically hold her in the chair. She wouldn't stay and would try to squirm away. Now she sits in the timeout chair and talks to herself. From what I gather it sounds like she is telling the story about what happened and why she is there. Most of the time there is a lot of babble and then a "no, no". (I really should get it on video... it is pretty cute even though she is in trouble.)

I'm not sure timeout is really working. I know she needs to learn other ways to get rid of her frustration and since she is not REALLY verbal, like S, she doesn't really have the words yet. I know the timeouts are designed to help her regulate her emotions and to calm herself down. I like that it also makes it so she doesn't get what she wants when she is hitting S. I also know that this is likely a stage and she will grow out of it. I sure hope it is a stage...

We have tried redirection. We have tried telling her no and redirection, but she can be very difficult to redirect once she has her mind on something.

We have definitely moved to the parenting stage and it is hard to know if what you are doing is "right".  Tonight we had friends over for dinner, while both our husbands are away at outdoor ed.  She has two little girls.  One is five days younger than S and E and the other is five.  E started out with two timeouts for hitting almost right away.  After that she didn't have any trouble.  I have noticed that when she is hungry she has shorter fuse, if I want to call it that.  She is quicker to hit.  Most days I feel like it is getting better but I just wish it would go away completely.

Next we need to work on S and his throwing of EVERYTHING.

Midweek Confessions

with E, Myself and I

 

 

I always think I have a lot to confess until I get started then I can't think of ANYTHING.  We'll see what comes to mind.

 

• Last night I went to the grocery store.  Tuesday is my late night with the babysitter.  She drops the kids off with Mr. P when his practice is done and he watches them and lets them run around his classroom then takes them home.  Is it bad that I always pick up a donut or two...or three as a treat for myself when I'm at the store?  So much for free cookies for kids, how about free donuts for moms?
• Tonight I was sure I was going to make dinner.  Something good from Pinterest that I found yesterday.  Well I finally decided on these

http://www.bettycrocker.com/Tips/TipsLibrary/Cooking-Tips/Create-Your-Own-Signature-Mini-Pie

Well the recipe for the actual pot pies isn't there so I had to make it up.  In the meantime, while I was trying to decide to stick with a made up recipe or move on, my husband came home.  We had a quick what do you want for dinner discussion and he then headed out to get pizza.  Well I had already starting dinner so I finished it.  The dinner I made was ready before he made it back but we STILL had pizza for dinner.  On a side note mini pies aren't bad...

• Mr. P took S to get pizza and left me with my baby girl.  She doesn't get much alone time because she sleeps longer than her brother.  It is the few times I only have one kid that I realize that only having one is totally different than having two.  And I think to myself, "I could do this."  Then I remember that I will NEVER just have one child.  Not that I would want to get rid of one of mine just that I think I could handle it a little bit better.
• I've realized why teacher's kids are so bad.  After dealing with almost 200 kids a day between Mr. P and I, the two of us are all out of consequences and rules when we get home.  We need to work on that.  I don't to have THOSE kids.
• The babysitter is still amazing and my house is never cleaner than when I get home from work.  How does she do it?  Maybe she isn't as distracted during the kids' nap time as I am.
• We had our first swimming lesson on Monday.  We made it, on time... but with one mad little girl.  She cried through the introduction meeting and in the locker room when we were trying to clean up.  S wouldn't even let the swim instructor hold him and he about hit her in the face with the water ball a few times.  Man that kid has a good arm and unfortunate timing.

 

 



A Case of the Mondays

It isn't Monday yet but I already know that I'll have a case of the Mondays.  The end of the weekend is hard for me.  Some weeks are easier than others.  This weekend was pretty quiet but it was good.  The hardest weeks are when we have weekends like this past weekend.  I got to spend good quality time with my kids.  We didn't really have anything planned for Saturday or Sunday, we didn't have too many errands to run and our house is FINALLY to a point where we don't have to work on it every free moment.  I spend most of my time today sitting on the floor with a baby toddler (or two) in my lap or at least within a few inches.  We read books, we played with cars, we made things out of blocks and then we did it all over again.  There wasn't much fighting (except when I left the room for too long) and everyone was pretty happy.  E even ate the chicken we had for dinner.  Overall it was a success.  These are the days I imagined when I thought about being a mom.  Quiet, peaceful days full of reading, playing and little people walking in between my legs.

**Of course I am choosing to block out the 10 minutes yesterday when I went upstairs to change and when I came back down, Mr. P , who I thought was watching the kids, didn't know where they were and we found them in the study playing with my camera.  Needless to say I now need a new lens.

Transitions

Last weekend we put S and E into their own rooms.  Mr. P wanted to separate them as soon as we moved into our new house but I felt like they needed a bit more of a transition.  Throw in back-to-school and I thought it would be better for everyone if we waited a while. 

The thought was that in their own rooms the kids would sleep more soundly and longer.  Well, nothing much has changed.  The hardest part of having both kids in the same room was how to react when one was screaming their head off not wanted to sleep.  You really can't go in and put them back in and tell them it was night night time because they'd both be up.  The other issue was that little boy is an early riser.  He starts his morning by talking in his crib.  The talking would eventually wake up his sister.  One more I heard him calling her name, well the nickname he calls her.  It was really cute but I knew it was interrupting her sleep.

Well now they really haven't had any changes in sleep.  They usually go down to sleep easily and are waking up within a few minutes of each other... still.  S does walk by E's room and will say her name as in to ask where she is.  They don't seem to miss each other but they have a Jack-n-Jill bathroom so they can see each other through the bathroom.  Once they are asleep I close it to keep out the noise. 

Overall I think the transition was really hardest on me.  I was worried they would be lonely.  They never shared a crib because S had to sleep in a Tucker Sling at at least a 45 degree angle for the first few months he was at home.  It wouldn't have worked to have them both in there.  But E slept in our room until S came home and they have been in the same room every since.  I am glad that they seemed to adjust just fine.

Sleeping S in his sling in their old nursery (He is about 3 1/2 months old in this picture.)

Failure

Today was one of those days that I feel like a failure.

The morning started off pretty good.  I got up.  The kids got up.  I finished drying my hair and getting ready and the kids played in our room.  No one lost an eye.  S didn't stick q-tips in his ears.  I made the kids breakfast.  The babysitter came and I managed to get to work on time.

Once at work I realized and remembered the feeling...failure.  I wasn't ready for the day.  I for sure wasn't/am not ready for my class to show up tomorrow.

I got home and the kids were happy.  Not so happy to see me but they were happy with the babysitter.  S was trying to get the babysitter to hold him instead of me when she was trying to leave.  I thought your kids are supposed to want you not who watches them all day... failure.

We had to go to the grocery store.  I really don't like taking both kids alone.  It is hard, really hard.  After I strapped a screaming, hitting, back arching littler girl into her car seat we were off.  (Little miss is super attached to my purse.  It is the first thing she does when I get home.)  On another note.  My little baby girl is a hitter.  Big time.  Me. Her brother. The dog.  I don't know where she learned it but it is bad.

Made it into the store.  Managed to get one child into the car cart.  When I tried to put S in with his sister I was met with more screaming...fail.  So S just got to sit in the cart and talk to me. 

We made it almost through all the shopping.  Once we hit the check out things really fell apart.  I just don't understand what they expect those of use who need the cart with seating for more than one child to do once we take them out.  Nineteen month old twins don't listen very well and it is very hard to find my shopper reward card while trying to contain the two of them.  Not to mention the fact that they didn't have a cart for my groceries to go into so I couldn't put one child in there.  And then they sent the bagger to a different line.  Argh... fail for them? 

So after corralling the two kids and trying to pay and look some what sane I attempted to put an uncooperative child into the cart.  It took only 3 tries.  Fail.

While putting E in the cart and carrying a 30 lb. S we slowly made it to the car.  Once I put S into the car I returned to the cart to find that E had found the grapes and was helping herself to them.  After yet another fit, since I had to take the grapes to put her into the car, every one in and safe.

Hitting, screaming children at the grocery store = a feeling of failure.  It was really just E, and she was hungry.  I should have avoided the store but with kids showing up at work tomorrow and back-to-school night on Thursday there just wasn't another day to do it.  Needless to say I'm going to be avoiding the store for a few weeks.