I've Jinxed Myself!

Me (THIS afternoon to the sitter):  Addison has been sleeping SO well since about last Thursday!  We did the old "CIO" thing and it took her about three nights to get straightened out.  And by Friday night last week, she was snoozing like a pro!

The Sitter:  Oh, that's great! 

Tonight...  Lauren was a mess, laying on everything and was obviously sleepy.  She probably slept well during the day and was just her normal sleep-craving self and needed even more beauty rest.

So, we put them down and Lauren cries like a mad woman.  Mostly probably because daddy wound her up with his horseplay shenanigans right before bedtime.  Are your husbands like this?  He is their jungle gym, and they laugh and giggle and he wears them out.  Yep.  He's going to be the fun parent! 

So of course at bedtime, Addison cries because Lauren is crying.  And cries.  And cries.

All that drama was over in about 40 minutes (knock on wood), but still.  Ugh!  That will teach me to brag!

But you guys were right, she was playing us. 

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Anyway, so yesterday I was on my way out the door for work.  I plopped down my purse, laptop bag, and my lunch bag so I could put on my coat.  The girls are a little obsessed with my lunch bag, and Lauren hauled off with it.  So I grabbed it, and Lauren promptly sat down and BAWLED her eyes out!  Addison grabs a passie and put it in Lauren's mouth and patted her on the head, ever so gently.  SOOOO cute!

I know that later that day, they both probably took turns beating one another up, but still the one minute of sweetness was precious to watch!

They hug now also.  And then wrestle.  And then hug.  Pretty much, you can catch a hug amid the wrestling. 

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Last night Lauren pulled her pajamas down but couldn't figure out how to get them off of her feet.  So, she tromps around with them around her ankles, which Addison found HIL AR IOUS!  Addison followed Lauren around for about 20 minutes laughing and pointing at her! 

They are so fun!

Mostly.

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Mealtimes continue to be torture challenging. 

I think we've worn out chicken nugget's welcome, but I can't think of many other things that are healthy and "main" courses and are easy to do.  I love just nuking frozen chicken nuggets for a minute, chopping them up, and serving them with either ketchup or ranch dressing.  I need more easy go-to's like that!  Wink. Wink.  Hint. Hint.  Tell me your secrets!  

On the upside, we almost always try to feed them what we are eating, and about half the time they take us up on the offer.  And just to keep it real, tonight we had McDonald's burgers and fries, and clearly we should have bought them each their own Big Mac and Giant Fry. 

But last night I made cheese, bacon, and mushroom quesadillas and they vetoed it.  Which was ok because, hey... more for us!

Earlier this week, I made these Pizza Muffins   which were awesome!  And again, vetoed.

Also, Tyler Florence's Mac and Cheese (which is amazing!), vetoed.  And it's sooooo yummy!

I've had some luck lately with broccoli, smothered in ranch dressing, and mild cheddar slices. 

Anyway...  just fishing for ideas, I think.  Let me know if you think of something.  Trying to get my Fruitarians to eat more meats and veggies.

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Earlier this week, my husband accidentally closed Lauren's fingers in the closet door.  We totally feared that would happen.  He didn't even really know he did it, until he turned around and she had that silent screaming face.  He felt horrible, but her fingers appeared to be ok - she could move them, etc.  And later the sitter said she seemed fine.  No swelling, nothing.  He must not have closed it all the way.  But still... the guilt. 

And then later that SAME day, I accidentally bonked Addison's head on the roof of our van while inserting her into her giant carseat.  She just patted her head and said, "uhoh"!  More parent guilt.

Anyone else accidentally bonk their children?  Do you have any ideas on how to avoid the fingers-in-the-door situation?    

Sorry to ramble...

Bedtime Tantrums: A Shameless Call for Help!

So, my girls have been pretty good sleepers for quite a while.  I should count my blessings, and deal...   however I am old and tired so I'm going to complain and beg for help.

Addison's new thing as of the past FEW weeks has been to start screaming about 15 to 20 minutes after we put her down at night.  Seriously, the little stink can scream so loud that the little muscles in my forehead twitch with pain and my eardrums want to run away from my body.

And so, dummies that we are.... we bring her into the living room to hang out on the couch with us. 

Which, of course she LOVES.  And she's usually very good, just hangs out and baby talks a little.  Stays put.  Sometimes she snuggles up to us. 

Then we try every once and a while to put her back in bed.  When it started, she'd go back in about 20 minutes.  But lately, it's LATE.  Like, last night I think it was 10:30ish. 

Tonight, I finally stuck to my guns and said I'd give it a solid 20 minutes of screaming before I'd break.  Guess what?  At around 19 minutes, she stopped crying.  Like, instantly.  Seriously, it was.... SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS, and then_____________ silent.

Hopefully, she's ok!  Do I go check?  Yea, probably not. 

Anyway, so bedtime is around 7:30.  We have a good routine.  Dinner, play, jammies, sleep.  Sometimes there is a bath in there.  Pretty normal, and like clockwork.  Consistent.

I'm thinking that she just wants to hang out with us, and she's asserting her "toddler authority".

She's also thrown a few humdinger's for tantrums lately.  Like tonight, she screamed because I offered her our chicken.  It was so bad, I had to remove her from the room to let her calm down.  Haha, and then so I tried cheese, yogurt, green beans, (no!, no!, no!), and she ended up eating mangoes.  And then, just for kicks, I tried a donut.  Mostly because I wanted to see if she'd EAT something, anything - trying to rule out that she was sick.  Guess what?  She ate the whole thing.  Little stink.  Also, I realize that I am mother of the year for doing this.

Anyway...  I feel bad for her sister, who is the AMAZING master of sleep.  Like, she should win awards for her sleep aptitude!  Also, for dealing with her sister's screaming.

There is also the issue of naps.  They turned 19 months today (OMG!).  And over Christmas break we tried going to one nap, and what we had were two tired babies.  I even tried alternating days, and it didn't seem to work.

But I do think Addison is more ready than Lauren for two naps. 

Anyway, maybe that has something to do with it.  But even on the mornings after she does her night owl thing, she is super tired and cranky.  When she is staying up with us, she's yawning and floppy like she's tired.  So, I don't really think she's just getting too much sleep.

So, what do you guys think?  Are we being played?  Would you let her cry it out?  Is this a phase?  A developmental thing?  Any ideas?


Thanks and...    yawn.

Now, For A Very Serious Question...

Not really.

OK, maybe.

So, Lauren's hair is in her eyes and I do NOT want to cut it.  So I got these cute little metal clips, the kind that bend to close.  But it occurred to me that they are small enough to be swallowed.  Yet, I notice lots of little girls have clips or bows or rubber bands that could be swallowed.  So what do you do?  Do you just let them do hair stuff when they are with you and you go out?
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Also, to follow up on my last post about cleaning and eating.  I don't think I'm a schedule person, at least not at home.  I think I have too much of that already at work, and it would stress me out to do it at home also.  And to be realistic, I am exhausted when I get home from teaching all day and commuting 40 minutes each way.  Most nights, I also cook dinner (husband does the dishes!) and every other night I feed the girls, which is a feat in and of itself.  A few nights a week we also bathe the girls, which is a joint effort.  Very often, I drag work home to grade or prep for the next day of teaching.  Oh, and also I play with my girls and read to them every night.  So... I think the deal will be that if I find I have some energy about mid-week, I will throw a load of laundry in to be washed.  If I get home early on Friday (which I do often because I am ready to bolt by Friday afternoons), I'll get a head start on laundry.  But every day, just won't work. 

I guess we're on an upswing with the food, because they haven't thrown food on the floor for me in several days.  Just as I type this though, I know I've jinxed myself!  :)
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The babysitter is "off" today because she and her whole household are in a barfy state.  Mr. PJ and I generally take turns taking off when things like this happen, but apparently his work was more important than mine today (am totally not bitter about it, can you tell?).  Anyway, we had a lovely day, except Lauren has been clingy, which makes me super nervous that she is getting sick. 

Meanwhile though, let me tell you I am all caught up on laundry and dishes!  WOOHOO!  

How sad is that?  haha!  Oh well...
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"Sharing":  Late October

So my dad builds things, and has offered to make this amazing dollhouse bookcase (that I found inspiration for from Pottery Barn Kids).  Is that not awesome?  Except, I need it like... yesterday.  Kids toys, EVERYWHERE!

So, when do you start teaching your children to clean up?  My sitter has been working with mine, and they CAN actually do it, but it takes a LOT of cheering and congratulating to get them to do it, which for me at the end of the day is hard.  Do you think 18 months is a good age to start cleaning up?

   

The Cleaning Bits and the Feeding Bits

Cleaning Bits

I have been a laaaaaaaaaaazy bum this holiday.  Well, that's not entirely true, since caring for toddlers makes being absolutely lazy, well, impossible.  But still, that first day I had off I was all, OHMYGOSH I'm going to get so much stuff done!  It's going to be great!  And like, huge projects too!  And what did I do?  I played with the girls.  I watched movies.*  I cooked, like... for pleasure!  And I read a good book.  But cleaning?  Didn't happen.

I saw on Pinterest this person had a whole FLOW CHART for her weekend cleaning.  A flow chart!  For cleaning!  How absurd!  And beautiful, because oh how I love me a chart, but absurd! 

Since the girls were born, it's really hard for me to keep the house as clean as I'd like.  And I know that's normal, but sometimes just keeping up with the necessary mundane, MUST DO stuff is difficult. 

At home, I am pretty darn laid back.  But I do know that when it gets overwhelming at work, my organizational side kicks into overdrive.  And  maybe, just maybe, a chart isn't such a bad idea.

Also, this person mentioned doing laundry every time she accumulated two loads.  Does anyone do this?  I kind of like doing it in one shot, and then being done with it.  But we have SO MUCH, that I then feel like I've devoted an entire weekend day to laundry.  Which bites! 

Does anyone have a set schedule or a plan for cleaning?  Flow charts, anyone?  Do tell!

Feeding Bits

So, we have made some progress in the feeding of the children.  But I feel like we make two steps forward, and one step back... constantly. 

Yesterday, (at their high chairs, in the dining room) my husband tried Uncrustables (PB&J), and they were having none of that!  Even though, a day or two earlier, they gobbled it up.  So basically, their lunch was fruit. 

The night before, I made them plain cheese quesadillas, and they totally rejected it.  This is what I usually order for them when we are out at restaurants, and it's usually a hit.

So after their lunch, I heated up my leftovers from the night before.  It was these SO YUMMY Bacon and Jalapeno Jack Quesadillas.  Notice, it has avocado (which I substituted store bought Wholly Guacamole because, it's easier!), and garlic, and spices.  I went ahead and cut some up into bite size pieces.  I marched into the living room and started eating.  And you know what those stinkers did?  They ate like three wedges of the stuff, complete with guac and sour cream and jalapeno goodness!

So this age, I've figured out, is ALL about "Asserting their Authoritaaaay (authority)" and exercising their independence.  Seriously, like EVERYTHING they do has that whole psychology in it. 

Stripping, for example.  Good Lord, the stripping!  Like, every day!!!  How long does this phase last? 

Anyway, better get back to cleaning...  If I did a cleaning "plan", I'm not sure blogging should be embedded into it!  :)

Happy New Year All!

*you know, it takes about 5 hours to watch a movie these days, IF we actually get through it.  Last night, AFTER they went to bed, we tried from about 8:30 - 10:00 to watch the latest Harry Potter, and it did NOT happen!  While on break, we actually got  to GO to a theater (first time since, September?) and it was so good to actually get into the movie without any interruptions!

My Parents are Dummies

Addison has been saying the sound "puh" for days!  Literally, she will up and say it and be very animated and exuberant about it. Over and over again, "puh, puh, puh". 

And we're all scratching our heads.  We repeatedly tried to guess, "passie?  puzzle? paper?"  And nothing.  Even her grandparents didn't have a clue.

Usually both girls get the beginning sound of words, and if they don't say the entire word, they say that beginning sound.  So, I was pretty sure it began with a "p".  I'm usually pretty good at this.  But we were all stumped!

And then  finally, I got that it meant, "diaPER".  PER=Puh!  I asked, "diaper"? 
Addison proudly marched me into her room and pointed to the diapers.  Eureka!

Apparently her sister knew what we meant, because later I held a few objects in my hand and asked Lauren, "Can you bring me the PUH?" and sure enough, she brought me the diaper. 

Haha!  They must think we are total dummies!  :)  SO FUNNY!  Ok, maybe you had to be there...

Infertility and Thankfulness

Like a gazillion people, I recently read "The Help".  There's a storyline that involves infertility and miscarriage. 

Friends have told me that this book made them cry, and I can't say that I cried.  I can say that I internalize things, and so the miscarriage and infertility in this book made me reflect a lot on our own personal story. 

Also, my husband's closest friend just went through a miscarriage with his girlfriend, and he (who normally seems like such a rock) was devastated.  And so, he's been in my thoughts a lot.

And then, a fellow blogger posted about her twins turning three, and it taking that long to conceive them.  And another fellow blogger asked if I could have even imagined...  and the truth is, I couldn't!

And then, two years ago I had an IVF in early December, was pregnant and then miscarried in Early January... 

Just, lots of reflecting going on...

I look at our girls with awe.  They are so amazing. So delicate.  So FULL of life and personality and potential.  It is overwhelming sometimes how blessed we are.  This morning I went to wake Addison up, and she was sitting up in her crib with her clothes off, giggling!  Then we had so much fun at the park as a family this afternoon...  and while every moment isn't a Kodak moment, it's pretty GOOD stuff! 

And I think sometimes I forget how we got here.  I am amazed that four years of infertility and miscarriage is all so long behind us.  I am amazed that we survived and are apparently stronger for having done so.

My husband wondered today why we'd have to go through so much to get here.  But I don't wonder.  I just know that it is what it is.  If we'd have gotten pregnant on the first try...  we wouldn't have our girls.  Yes, we'd be happy, but THESE babies are who we were meant to parent.  There was a plan.  I'm not questioning it.  I'm grateful. 

I'm not very philosophical.  I did grow up going to church a lot.  I do pray.  I do believe.  But I wouldn't call myself religious. 

I feel strongly though that things happened for a reason.  For what, I'll never know.  I would never wish that hardship on anyone.  I do wish I'd have had a glimpse that this would all work out, because I know there were times when I thought we were destined to be childless. 

And in retrospect, I know we'd have been alright without children.  We would have probably trudged on and perhaps taken some new paths.  But, THIS is what I dreamed of...   and I am thankful.

 

18 Months and Lemme Tell Ya...

I'll tell ya just what I've been doing since November 22nd, when I last posted.  And it's shocking and provocative and awe-inspiring...

Well, maybe notsomuch.

I've been working and teaching and in my spare time, I've been reading a lot.  A lot for me, is an hour or so every evening.  And I'm a slow reader, but I must admit that I so enjoy the escape these days.  Not that life isn't great, it's just, well, hectic and tiring. 

The girls turned 18 months on Saturday.  A year and a half.  Amazing.  I took the day off and took them for their checkup.  Doc says they are right on track, 50th percentile in weight for Addison, slightly lower but still uphill for Lauren.  75th percentile in height.  Lauren seems so SKINNY to me. 

I'll be honest.  They are still picky pain in the you know what, eaters.  I mean, some days I want to run away from the kitchen table.  We're talking screaming MORE, MORE, MORE, or smacking the food you're offering by spoon out of your hand and thus splattering it all over the dining room.  And sometimes, I'm good and can predict and defer their actions.  Sometimes I say "no" and they listen.  But sometimes, they are just little devils.  And I'm good.  I'm a teacher. I'm no pushover, and I've got that "never let 'em see you sweat" thing down.  My children are just seriously stubburn!  One day they love something, and the next day they hate it.  If I didn't color my hair, I bet there would be lots of grays from this!

Other than that though, mostly they are awesome.  Oh the signing and the new words and the silliness!!!  The animal sounds!  They are hilarious!  And smart!  And energetic!

Addison could walk months ago, but I think she just didn't want to.  And then about two weeks ago, I think she up and decided it was about time.  So, she toddles everywhere now.  She is still so stiff.  She has the funniest gait.  But she is so stinkin' proud of herself!

I told them that daddy was going to give them a bath, and Addison said, "bath?" and started undressing!  And so, Lauren did the same.  The communication is soooo much better than it was a few months ago.  I remember how frustated they used to get because they couldn't communicate with us. 

Two more days of work...  and it can't go fast enough!