Work

I returned to work when the Princess was 6 weeks and 1 day old. I started back at 1 day per week. When she's 12 weeks old, I will go back full-time. It was actually pretty easy to go to work, but probably because I knew the Hubs was going to be home with them all day.

It was quiet, no one works in the office on the weekends, so I got a full 8 hours of work done. I came home and asked the Hubs how it went and if he had a new appreciation for a stay-at-home mom. As I was doing the dishes from the day, putting the laundry in and cleaning the floor, he said to me, "It wasn't that hard." Really??? In my head I threw the soap wand from the sink at him and hit him square in the nose.

The following weekend proved to be more difficult for him. I stopped off for grocery shopping before I came home. He called me while I was in the store and while I was on my way home from the store. Perhaps the Cinco de Mayo flu hit him hard and he wasn't up to a full day of daddying.

Then, this weekend. The Princess decided she didn't want a bottle any longer. That's right, no more bottle for her - she is, after all, a princess and what she says goes. I got to work and was there for an hour when the phone call came through. What am I going to do with her if she won't take a bottle? How am I supposed to go back to work full-time (and I can't afford not to)? This is not a good thing. After trying 3 different bottles/nipples, she finally took one yesterday. Will it last? I don't know, but we will try again tonight when Daddy gets home.

Missing

I haven't posted in quite some time. The truth of the matter is, someone questioned my faith because of something I wrote. Quite frankly, it upset me and I haven't wanted to write anything since then. The hubs came up with the name of my blog. I told him I didn't think it was a good idea because I wouldn't be free to say what I was really thinking without people judging me. It took over a year, but it happened. Someone judged me.

I am thinking of two things:
1) starting over with a whole new blog, but I can't come up with a title.
2) stopping all together.

Stay tuned for what happens.

In the meantime, here is a pic of Little Man and the Princess from this morning.

Economic Stimulus

We decided to do our part to stimulate the economy. Our plan, we when heard about the check we would be getting was to put it in the bank to help pay for our astronomical property taxes ("live free or die" my tushie). I started the ball in motion when I suggested we buy a new couch with the money. Then I made the comment , "have you noticed every house on our street with kids has a swing set but us?" while driving home one day. Less than a week later the decision was made to buy the kids a swing set. Maybe we are "keeping up with the Jones's," and I am okay with that!

Here's the one we bought. The kids will enjoy it and I will enjoy sitting in the sun watching them play - perhaps with a nice glass of lemonade (spiked with vanilla vodka).

Potty Training and Pull Ups

It's Shaping up to be a crappy day.

Timmy has had 3 pee-pee accidents and it's not even 10:00am. The last one was a doozie; it was the kind that runs down the legs, gets the socks wet and leaves a puddle on the floor - which led to him walking to the bathroom in his wet socks on my hardwood floor. He took off his undies and pants, then I instructed him to go get new underwear upstairs. He didn't take his socks off, so the wet trail went all the way upstairs.

I was on my hands and knees cleaning the floor, when I got to the bathroom I found the pile of clothes. I took a break from cleaning the floor to take the clothes to the laundry. There was a load ready for the dryer, so I decided to throw that in. I opened the washing machine to switch it over to discover I washed a pull-up! Have you ever done this? All the gel that absorbs the pee was on every inch of every item of clothing in the wash...ARGHHHHH!!!!

What the F am I supposed to do with that?

Before I can figure that out, I need to clean each stair on the stair case and the hall leading to his room.

Anyone want to trade lives with me for the morning?

Underwear

We are still in the very long process of toilet training Little Man. We have tried so many things, but now we are taking a more laid back approach. Instead of getting annoyed with accidents (which, by the way, after 6 months is very difficult a task), we are laid back. We typically say, "That's okay. Accidents happen," then enlist his help in the clean up. Because of this new approach, I have taken to putting extra underwear and pants in the vanity drawer of the bathroom we use most during the day.

Today, whilst folding laundry at the counter in the kitchen, I asked Little Man to put a pair of his underwear in the drawer in the bathroom next to his pants. I had a partial view of the bathroom. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him open the bathroom door and throw his underwear inside. I then repeated my directions.

Me: "Little Man, go pick up the underwear and put them in the drawer in the bathroom. Put them next to your pants, please."
Little Man: "They aren't in here, Mommy."
Me: "What do you mean they aren't in there?"
Little Man: "They aren't in here, Mommy."
Me: "Where are they?"
Little Man: "They in the toilet."
Me: "How did that happen?"
Little Man: "I not know. Maybe they like a rocket and shot in there."

Fabulous! If nothing else, he adds humor to my day with his imagination and ability to divert blame elsewhere.

A Find Worthy of the Princess

I'm so excited about a recent purchase. I have checked out Etsy.com, but have not had a reason to buy anything up until this point. I was searching Etsy a couple of days ago for headbands for Princess. I have never been a huge fan of headbands, but I really think Princess needs something to liven up the area. Not only did I find what I was looking for, I found more than I intended to buy. I got 2 baby bands and an extra bow! Here is one of the baby bands I bought.



When they arrive, I will post pics of Princess wearing them.

The creator of these fine baby bands, who calls herself a Mommyprenuer, was a full-time career woman who left it all behind to be a wife and mother. With the help of her family, she has created a great business. Visit her Etsy Shop gibbygator and her website Rainbow Sherbet Boutique.

I love that I bought something adorable for Princess, but I also love that I bought it from a mom that was able to make staying at home with her children work for her!

Sleep

Oh how I long for a wee bit of sleep. Just a few short weeks ago I thought to myself, "this isn't so bad. I can handle this." Fast forward 5.5 weeks into Princess's life and the lack of sleep has caught up with me. I am beyond exhausted and feel as though I am walking through my days in a haze. Just 2 short nights ago, Princess woke crying in the middle of the night just 45 minutes after I put her down - I cried too.

Sleep, please be with me soon!

Bloggy Giveaway

Rebecca, the queen of BlogMommas, is giving away some bloggy goodness! She found an uplifting Dance Game and just so happens to have an extra one. Stop by Blog Mommas to check it out and enter to win! While your there, stick around and check out her site!

Martini

Yesterday was quite a day. Little Man was scheduled to have his 3 year old picture taken (I'm only 3 weeks late...pretty good in my mind) in the next town over. Because we were going over there, I decided to run by daycare. I wanted to grab an enrollment packet for Princess and let Little Man say hi to his teachers and friends. This did not go over so well. He hid behind my legs the whole time, letting go briefly to give his teacher a hug. I tried to reassure him that he was not staying, but he was still not letting go of me. He wouldn't say one word to any of his friends. Given the past month with him, it was only slightly heart-wrenching.

We stayed for only a couple of minutes, then went on for picture taking. He was a very good boy and we got several good choices for the package deal. Princess, however, was another story. I nursed her before we left and she should have napped. A 30 minute drive didn't lull her to sleep, so she was awake the whole time. By the end of the photo session, she was screaming. It was very unpleasant. (The only good thing about the experience was that it was in Kmart and I was able to get 12 month sleepers and turtle necks for Princess for next winter.)

We had a 15 minute drive home and it was almost lunch time, so I decided to stop in at the golden arches to get lunch for Little Man - he was so good for his pictures, I thought a treat would be nice...and thus began the downfall of the day. The meal was too hot to eat in the car, which did not go over well. Then, when we got home I requested that he use the bathroom before eating. That didn't go over well either. I was met with a lot of "NO" and crying and carrying on. It was really quite pathetic. This lasted from 12:00 right through to 1:00, when I was thrilled to put him down for his nap.

Upon putting him down for his nap, I requested that he sleep away his crankies. He slept, but his crankies didn't go away. He cried and carried on for the rest of the afternoon right on through to when the Hubs got home. Hubs thought I might be exaggerating and responding to Little Man in a way that showed how little sleep I got the night before. After just an hour of dealing with Little Man, the Hubs was ready to go insane!

Last night was a night for Wednesday Night Dinner, which means a night of slight indulgence. Because that's the case, I went in search of a drink (only 2 hours before our dinner guests arrived, but still after 5:00). I made myself a grape martini and it was delicious. If I weren't more held together than I am, I would have had that grape martini at 1:00, then kept having them right on through Wednesday Night Dinner.

Household Power Item

If there is one item I can't live without when it comes to babies, it's OxiClean. I'm telling you, this is one powerful cleanser. Princess Pooper struck in a big way in the middle of the night. It was an explosion that all moms can relate to. It went out the sides and up her back. It soaked through the onesie, through the nightgown and through the blanket sleeper.

There is not another stain remover out there that I have used that can get out breast milk poop. I have tried it all. A friend of mine recommended soaking the soiled items in water and OxiClean, so I figured what the heck? I tried it and she was right. The stains come out. Thank goodness my inner-blonde was smart enough to remind me to get a new tub before the princess made her arrival!

Thank You Notes

I was raised by a Mom who knew the importance and value in a Thank you Cards. She drilled the need for writing them into me, that it is now second nature for me. Not only is it second nature, but I have started drilling it into Little Man. He knows that not only do we say thank you when someone gives us a present, but we send them a card too.

Thank you notes are for more than just weddings. Thank you notes are for wedding showers, baby showers, house warming gifts, birthday gifts, new baby gifts, anniversary gifts and holiday gifts. Thank you notes are also for little things like dinner parties, summer pool parties, wine tastings and being an overnight guest in someone's home. These are just a few. Think of all the things you would like to be appreciated for in your life, then you will have your list appropriate occasions for a thank you note. People like to be appreciated, no matter how small the gesture.

When I write thank you notes, not only from me, but from my children I always do more than thank them for the particular item. I think it's important to tell them if you have already used/played with it and how much fun/useful it was. I also like to thank them for attending the event or for thinking of us/me. I try to make each note as personal as I can. For instance, If it is for family that we only see a couple of times per year, I always mention that I/we are looking forward to our visit.

There's no need to hand pick each individual thank you card you write. There are internet sources for packages of cards that will be perfect for what you need. CardsDirect.com is a great online source for packaged cards. Think it's just for corporate thank you notes? Think again. Check out the card to left - perfect for your kids' next thank you note.

I love this card because it can come from kids. Given that my life lately has been all about Little Man's third birthday thank you notes or Princess's birth thank you notes, I have found the perfect thank you card for both of them.

This is a sponsored post.

Try it Tuesday

Lemon and Garlic Chicken with Roasted Veggies and Yogurt Sauce
This has a Greek name, but I dare not type it for fear of horrible misspelling! My recipe is a modification of a recipe I found in Cooking Light magazine many years ago. It's a staple in our house.

Ingredients
Chicken Tenders
Veggies for roasting - whatever you like. We use zucchini, summer squash, mushroom, red peppers and onions.
3 Lemons
1 Cucumber
1 Head of garlic
Olive Oil
Oregano
Salt and Pepper
1 Large container plain fat free yogurt.

At least the day before:
Strain your yogurt in a cheese cloth over a colander and bowl (to catch the drippings). I like to leave a good 24 hours for straining. If you don't have cheese cloth, you can use coffee filters or even a thick paper towel. Save the yogurt container in the refrigerator to mix and store the sauce the following day.
If you have Greek Yogurt available, you can skip this whole step and just use that. It's much thicker and will stand up to the ingredients that make the sauce.

Day of meal
Sauce Chop whole head of garlic for marinade and yogurt sauce. I do this in a mini food processor to make my job a little easier. Reserve 3 teaspoons of chopped garlic for yogurt sauce. Add three teaspoons of chopped garlic to saved yogurt container. Put remaining garlic in marinade. Peel and seed the cucumber. Chop the cucumber finely (I coarsely chop it and add it to my food processor. Add this finely chopped cucumber to the yogurt container. Zest one lemon and add it to the yogurt container. Squeeze the zested lemon into the container, then add the strained yogurt. Add a dash of salt. Do this the morning of the meal, if time allows. It will give the sauce more time to develop its flavors.

Marinate the Chicken.
In a food storage bag, squeeze two whole lemons and toss in the lemon halves. Add all but 3 teaspoons of chopped garlic, a few tablespoons of olive oil, a dash of salt and fresh ground pepper to the bag. Add water to the marinade to make it go further. Then add the chicken tenders. You should marinate for at least 4 hours.
When ready to cook, pull chicken out of marinade and discard marinade.
Add a small amount of olive oil to a skillet. Brown both sides of chicken, then cook thoroughly.

Roast Veggies
Chop veggies into large chunks. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Turning once.





Plate and serve with rice or pita bread. Delish!

In the warmer months, or for those of you blessed enough to live in warm climates, this can be done as kebobs on the grill. If you do it on the grill, add tomatoes - yum!

Diaper Song

When Little Man was an infant, I made up a diapering song. It came back very naturally with Princess Pooper.

(Sung to the tune of dradle, dradle, dradle)
Diapy, diapy diapy I wear you everyday.
Diapy, diapy, diapy on my bum you will lay.
Diapy, diapy, diapy you keep me oh so dry.
Diapy, diapy, diapy without you I would cry.

She loves it!

The Week That Was

Last week flew by. Before I realized it, Sunday came along. I love Sundays; they are a day for families.

I spent my week doing many things. I started my week on a very low note. I realized that I didn't like the way Little Man was behaving nor did I like the way I was responding to him. Pretty sure there was a mental post about him driving me nuts. The night I wrote that, during a middle-of-the-night feeding, I prayed. I prayed that the good Lord would wrap His Holy Spirit around my heart and soften it when dealing with Little Man. I asked that He give me the perspective I needed to understand what Little Man is going through.

My prayers were answered. I was a much kinder, softer and gentler Mommy and Little Man was more responsive, well behaved and likable. We had an excellent week together. For me, this begs the question...why didn't I seek the spiritual help I needed sooner? Often times, I find it takes a really low point for me to seek help from God. In this situation, I heard myself talking to Little Man like an outsider would hear me. It wasn't pretty.

Little Man spent the week being snuggly and wanting to be where I was and where Princess was. Every time I put her on the floor, he was right there with her.









It was a big week for the Princess too. She got a bottle for the first time from Daddy (which meant I had to pump, but that's another issue). Once she figured out something was coming from that rubber nipple, she took to it like a champ. I am a firm believer in starting breast fed babies on bottles during their 4th week. I know too many moms that don't and have a hard time when they need to return to work or even leave the house without the baby for a few hours.

In addition to the bottle, she had her first responsive smile. I was singing Skip to My Lou to her and it just popped right up. She followed it with others. Unfortunately, I am the only one around when this happens, so the picture I took is not the best picture, but you get the idea. I'm sure I am biased, but it happens to be one the my favorite smiles ever.









In addition to all of that, we found time to go bowling, go to the recreation center for toddler play time 2 days, go to the library for story time and go for walks each day. It was a good week. It took some time to get into the swing of things, but I think I made a successful week of it.

Tomorrow will start a new week. I hope I can have the same kind of week I had this week.

The Good, The Bad and the Funny...

Sides to Breast Feeding

The Good
At the beginning of my first pregnancy, I swore I wouldn't breastfeed. I just didn't think it was for me (mostly because I know a lot of boob men and I didn't think of my breasts as a means of nutrition). As time went on, I started to warm up to the idea of nursing. I tried it and managed to nurse Little Man for a year.

When I got pregnant for the second time around, there was no question that I would nurse again. I was so much more relaxed this time around when Princess Pooper latched on for the first time just a few weeks ago. It was so easy for me and I didn't feel the need to seek the advice of a lactation consultant. Oh what a joy it was to not feel that awkwardness I felt with Little Man. To see her latch on right away was pure joy for me.

I know that I will be able to provide what she needs for the first few months of her life. Everything she needs comes from me, and I am the one responsible for her well being and growth. It's a powerful thing and what makes that special bond. (Please don't read into this as me being a breast feeding freak that thinks it's the only and best way to go - I don't think that at all. I think it's a very personal decision and one no one should feel pressured about by anyone.)

Breast feeding burns a ton of calories! Not to mention the severe cotton mouth you get and the desire to drink gallons of water each day - super weight loss aide!

The Bad
I remembered there would be pain involved, but I wasn't prepared for just how much the second time around. After a few days, I could swear blood was being sucked from my right side. Every time she latched on to that side my eyes would well up with tears and my face would contort in pain. I was sheer torture and had me questioning my desire to continue. Oh how easy it would have been to pop a top on the can of formula we have for just-in-case purposes. The only thing that kept me from quiting was the very real fact that formula is insanely expensive and we can't afford it. Truthfully, that is the only reason I stuck it out. Princess Pooper is just over 3 weeks old and the pain stopped a few days ago.

I, alone, can feed her. No one else can get up in the middle of the night and help me. It's just me and her at 2:38am. At 4 weeks she will get her first bottle, but then that begins the pumping and feeling quite like a cow hooked to a machine. I made the mistake of pumping in front of mirror in a hotel room with my last pregnancy - that vision will remain with me forever - it's not a pretty one.

The girls are enormous - like the size of large cantaloupes. Did you know there is a cup size out there bigger than DD? Yeah, me neither until now. The girls have upgraded to F! What the heck? There are no stylish nursing bras out there in that cup size. La Leche makes nursing bras now, and they are quite stylish. The problem, however, is that they don't go beyond D. For an organization so nutty about breast feeding, you'd think they would cater to women with breast of all sizes.

The Funny
The girls are large and require support, so I hold her with one hand and the boppy and I hold one girl with the other hand. If I didn't do this, I am afraid I would suffocate the princess. Anyway, I recently woke about 2:30 for a feeding. I started feeding her by the light of a ladybug night light online. I looked at the clock at about 2:35, then next thing I know it's 3:45. I looked down at her (mind you, with a severe kink in my neck, it was done with difficulty). There she is, mouth open a mere inch from my breast and sound asleep and there I am still clutching to my breast. What a picture it would have made!

The princess cries and I get let down. After several stained shirts, I learned to wear a bra and breast pads at all times. I can not go without - it's just not okay to have 2 large streaks of milk running down my shirt.


It's gonna be a long year of nursing. Will I stick it out???

Little Man is driving me nuts today. In addition to sending him to his room twice already (and he's only been awake for 3 hours), I am currently listening to him yell, "Come up here!" over and over again in the monitor - whoops...I shut the monitor off, so now it's just a dull yelling I can hear up the stairs and through his door. I have been faced with back talk and not listening all morning.

This begs the question, should I go back to work after 6 short weeks instead of 12? I can't afford to send him to daycare without me going to work. If I could afford it, his little tushie would be there are least 2-3 days per week.

I can't stand the thought to leaving my little one after 6 weeks, so there must be something I can do to make the situation better.

Edited just 5 minutes after I posted to say he came down, we talked about it. I told him we needed to go the library and he should go to the mud room for shoes. He chose not to listen to me again and said, "no" over and over. So now, he is in his room for the third time this morning.

A New Journey

Tomorrow the adults in our house embark on a new journey. A journey of weight loss. Our journey will be all about counting points (to those unfamiliar will all things diet, that is Weight Watchers - I joined and got an at home kit). We have needed to for some time. Health concerns have plagued us lately and have caused us concern; that should have been reason enough. Anyone that struggles with their weight knows it takes a lot to make us begin that journey - mostly because we have been through it before and gained it all back.

This time, we not only have health concerns on our minds, but we have a wedding to attend in the Grand Cayman about 1 year from now. Shallow? Perhaps, but it is the kick in the bum that we need to make us start. The thing is, we haven't been on a real vacation since our honeymoon. This will be our first vacation in 9 years - I want to look good (not bikini good - cause, let's face it, I've had 2 kids and my stomach doesn't have a lot of elasticity left - no one needs to see that).

I haven't decided if my blog will play a role in our journey. If it does, it would probably mean I need to be accountable to my 2-3 readers.

Yikes

Today is the first day I am completely alone with two children. My parents left on Monday (they were here for 2 weeks following the birth of the Princess Pooper, and they were a tremendous help). The hubs took this week off from work to help soften the blow for Little Man. Today and tomorrow (Sat and Sun) he is working a home show, so I am alone.

I promised myself I would shower last night because I knew I wouldn't get one this morning. I was right, I didn't get one this morning but I didn't take one last night either - yuck! I braved getting dressed, but I sit at the computer un-showered and wondering if this is what the next 9 weeks of my life will be like.

Last night, whilst planning my morning, I thought I would pump milk after Princess Pooper's 6am feeding then I thought I would put in an exercise video - blahhh! Neither of those things happened. I went back to sleep at 6:45 and woke at 7:25 to get Little man out of bed. From there, I went on to trying to juggle it all.

I brought milk, two go-gurts and a granola bar upstairs for Little Man to have while waiting for Princess Pooper to wake up, eat and get dressed. Turns out, she woke earlier than I expected so the whole thing was sped up by 30 minutes. I managed to get it all done, then plop her in the baby bjorn and clean things up downstairs a little.

She fell asleep whilst in the carrier, Timmy happily played geotrax...both things gave me a minute to sit and post. Of course, now that I am sitting, Little Man wants my attention.





For the blogging universe of stay at home moms with more than one child...I throw this question out there: How do you do it???

Reagan's Birthday

On March 14th at 1:30am, I was woken by contractions. They were strong enough to wake me, but weren't super hard contractions. They were still at the point where they felt like bad menstrual cramps. By 3:30am, I woke the hubs and we were on our way to the hospital with my mom. We got there and they stuffed me into the triage room and left me there, like an airplane in a holding pattern, for hours. I'm not exaggerating. I was there for 12 hours before they moved me to my own room.

The thing is, they couldn't measure my contractions so the nurse didn't believe me. The hubs was so annoyed and argued with the nurse about it. My face was contorted in pain and tears were brought to my eyes, but they couldn't find the contractions on their machine. The nurse actually told the hubs that I wasn't having them. Nice, huh? This, by the way, is the same thing that happened during my last pregnancy...they just couldn't measure them (even at the end when they were the hardest, they weren't showing on the machine). For whatever reason, though, they decided to keep me.

By 11:30am, the contractions started getting harder. I spent my time either lying in bed or walking around the birthing pavilion. Walking was good, by as the contractions got stronger they stopped me in my tracks in the middle of the hall - where I put on a show for the expecting parents taking a tour of the birthing pavilion. I wonder if I scared any of them?

By 5:00pm I was in my own room. The lead resident came in and checked my cervix. There was absolutely no change. I was blown away by this because the contractions were so strong - how could I have not progressed? The same thing happened with Little Man...I never got passed 4 without them breaking my water.

They decided they would break my water, but I opted for an epidural first. The best doctor in the planet came in with his numbing drugs and did his magic. He gave me a spinal first, which was supposed to provide immediate relief and last an hour, then did the epidural. The only thing is, the spinal and epidural only served to make my legs numb. It didn't numb the contractions. The happy doctor said it was normal for that to happen if the baby's head was deep in the pelvis. Great - just what I wanted - another birth without the luxury of numbing medication.

Another resident came in with the lead resident and a med student a few minutes after the happy doctor left. They checked my cervix again and I was at a 7! What you know...I did it on my own! Maybe my body just needed to relax and the spinal and epidural did just that for me. It was then, that they decided to break my water. That was at 7:48pm. The docs left after they poked that little hook in there and broke the bag of water. My nurse (a shift change had taken place and the nurse from heaven had shown up - Mary Ann) stayed in the room. A few minutes following the breaking of the water, I needed to push and needed to push right then. The nurse got the residents in there and called for the attending. At 8:08pm, just 20 minutes following the breaking of the water, Reagan (pronounced like the president's name) was born. I pushed through 3 contractions and out she came. I gotta say, it wasn't that bad. The hardest part were the contractions and feeling them so strongly.

The attending strolled in about 5 minutes after Reagan was born, saw that it had happened (hey, thanks for coming in - further proof that doctors don't really do much during the whole prenatal visit and delivery thing) and left. The residents and med student stayed in the room and cleaned things up (delivered the placenta, massaged out blood clots and stitched me up).

We stayed in the hospital until Sunday evening, but were ready to go by Saturday night. It's so boring there!I posted a ton of pictures on our family's photo blog. Check them out!

Try it Tuesday

File this one away for next year...

As many of you know, Little Man is allergic to eggs. A great deal of energy, on my part, is spent finding egg alternative. Easter is no exception to that. We can't decorate real eggs - if they break it would be a very bad thing for him. This year, I ordered some egg craft kits from Oriental Trading Company and we made rice krispies treats and molded them into plastic eggs. The Easter Bunny hid everything and Timmy had a blast.

Next year, when looking for a fun treat on Easter...try molding rice krispies treats into plastic eggs. It's fun and adorable!