Let the Countdown Begin

Today marks day one of twelve.  It is the twisted marathon that I like to call spring break. 

We kicked it off in style yesterday with soy ice cream and water color painting after school. 

This morning we cuddled in bed a little longer than usual and then headed out for some sandal and short shopping.

By 12:30 p.m. my children were hysterical and showing off their screaming voices and their ability to physically intimidate one another (my favorite being I'm going to smash you and dash you which comes with a karate kick for extra effect).  I kept my cool until I didn't. The kids threats of physical violence were becoming more than just threats.  That's when I showed off my screaming voice.  And that's when they managed to talk it out over bagels (so mature, my kids).

The little people didn't sleep well last night.  Spring fever or hay fever...not sure which.  After a prolonged lunch (the babe now eats as much as a grown man), I got them upstairs in pajamas.  There was no way I was going to deal with their nuttiness all day without an attempt at napping.  An hour later, after three separate trips up the stairs, I made it downstairs to safety.

And once that kitchen was all cleaned up, I went a bit nutty myself and made a "mocha" with my fancy dancy coffee maker and sat on down at my ancient desk top so I could type out a quick hello.  Now I am ready for a screw driver.

As always, I miss you.  I miss my writing.  But I am, as always, just trying to keep my head above water.  Hope that if you, like me, are not a fan of spring break, that you make it through the next chunk of time in one piece.  Spring break sure ain't what is used to be. 

The Little Things

I figure if I stop writing, you're going to stop reading, and I certainly don't want that.

Home ownership is hard when you are trying to schedule a ton of work and don't know what you're doing.  It is all consuming, like a newborn baby.  When I do get to sleep, I dream about it.

But what I wanted to share was my favorite moment of the day. 

We were all really tired, especially the little guy.  After bath time I was holding him in his little brown bear towel when the babe came in.  The little guy was crying so she decided to cheer him up with a little goofy dance.  She started bouncing around in the buff with her fingers in the sides of her mouth and her tongue hanging out.  Before I knew it we were all laughing and both my naked children were bopping their heads around with their tongues hanging out.

After the babe left us for her bath I got to play peek a boo with the little guy and it was awesome to just relax and laugh together.  The last 4 days have been incredibly overwhelming for all of us and I'm so grateful we had such a blissful moment right before bed time.  I'm going to have to remember it whenever I get overwhelmed and wonder how I'm supposed to move to a new house with a 3.5 year old and a 1.5 year old.  In the end, we'll finally be in our own home, and I know it's going to be worth it. 

I'm going to ask you to bear with me over the next month and a half until we can get ourselves into the new place.  My writing may be a little less frequent, and possibly more centered on how to pack and move with kids, but I know things will settle into a "new normal" before ya know it.

It's a Love/Hate Thing

I don't talk about it in public, but the babe still uses a pacifier at night and at nap time.  She has 3 at all sleep-related times.  She's got one in her mouth and one in each hand.  Then there is a back up one on her dresser, just in case.  This kid has an oral fixation, no doubt.  Sometimes during the day, she'll go upstairs claiming she's tired, and I know she's just going up for a hit.  It's like she's a closet smoker.

We have thought about cutting her off so many times.  We've had a few short experiments but haven't held out.  The pacifiers, which she calls "baas," are her security blanket.  She never had a favorite stuffed animal or doll.  But she has always had her baas.

I find them gross as they get smelly and make her face crusty in the morning.  And I find the addiction annoying as she comes into our room at night when she can't locate all of them.  In fact, we can't even put her to sleep if she has momentarily lost sight of any of them.  But they calm her down and make her happy, so what are we to do?

The dentist has reassured us that it's OK.  She's going to need braces regardless, and there's no point going through the agony of cutting her off.  So, we are just going to wait for it to happen naturally.  She won't go off to college with a baa in her suitcase.

We tried to avoid creating another pacifier monster with our second child.  But the little guy has liked his pacifier since day one.  He used to be OK with 1 baa.  Then he upped it to 2.  And now we are at 3.  When I sit with him in the rocking chair after bath time, he points at the pacifiers on the table and whines until I pass them to him.  He will transfer the baa in his mouth into his hands when he wants milk, and then plug it right back into his mouth when he's done. After our bedtime reading, he lies down in his crib with a baa in his mouth, and one in each hand, just like his sister.

The pacifier has an amazing ability to make our life better, even if our children's dependence on it is frustrating.

Apparently it will be a love/hate thing for us for some time to come. 

Sister and Brother

I managed to get both kids down for an afternoon nap at the same time the other day. The little guy didn't last more than an hour and after hearing some stirring on the monitor, I went up to check on him. I glanced into the babe's room and noticed she wasn't in her bed. My heart stopped. Even though I logically knew that the doors to the house were locked and she had to be up there somewhere. I scanned my room and didn't see her. I quickly popped my head into the little guy's dark room and did not see her. I then checked out her room again and the bed was still empty...as was her tent (a favorite hiding place). My heart was pumping quickly at this point while the logical part of my brain was trying to keep things under control.

I went back into the little guy's room and there I found her crouching on the floor next to the little guy's crib playing with him. It was ridiculously cute and I had to break down and give her a huge hug. It scared the you know what out of me, but it also made me melt a little. These 2 are going to have their own relationship independent of me, and that is a cool thing. They really do get along most of the time and can light each other up in such a beautiful way. They are brother and sister and nothing can take that away.

I suppose I'm not always going to be in control of everything in their little worlds and will have to get used to that. And I suppose I'll be confronted with many more similar situations in the future. I'm glad they have each other, just as I am blessed to have my brother and sister. It's good to have a partner in crime, isn't it?

A Love Story

The little guy will soon be 6 months old (June 24th), and as every parent has said at one point or another, I don't know where the time has gone. He is truly delicious and I am in awe.

A few exciting developments:

He has successfully begun eating carrots (7 days with no signs of any allergies). Yesterday he successfully ate green beans for the first time (6 more days to go until he is "clear"). Maybe next week he'll have some squash. The little guy is really liking his "real" food and gets all riled up at the prospect of eating. In fact he is pretty inpatient at times. All I can say is that his new style of poop is proof that we are making dietary progress!

This morning I went to give him a bath and realized he's pretty darn big and doesn't need the infant insert anymore. So he went in his tub in an upright position and even had a duckie to play with. He seemed quite pleased with the whole experience. I was too.

His little co-sleeper is still attached to my side of the bed. For some reason I can not take it down, despite the fact it has been over 5 weeks since he slept there (although I still see him twice a night to feed him!). I guess I can't face the fact that when I take it down, it will be for good. There is no turning back, and I truly am pleased that he is in his own room. It's just that I know it's the end of an era. We will not be setting up the co-sleeper again, and that's what gets me.

On another note, the little guy continues to become increasingly interactive and is quite in love with his big sister. She has an amazing ability to make him smile/laugh. And this, in turn, makes me smile/laugh.

I could go on and on but will spare you. I fall more in love with him every day and just wanted you all to know.

Little Towers

The little guy is now at the age where he can sit in his bumbo chair, watch his sister build Lego towers, watch the Lego towers fall down, and burst into little giggles. It is the cutest thing in the world and makes me one proud Mama. It really is cool to watch their relationship grow, despite the fact that the babe is still randomly hitting and throwing things at the little guy. She also gives him lots of kisses and hugs, and that's what counts!