I LOVE real Christmas trees....yes, I am one of those people, those weird few who think that Christmas can't be a real Christmas without a real tree.
There are several downsides to this, unfortunately...one of the biggest is that you can't put it up sooner. Yes, I'm also one of those crazies who would not even sort-of mind putting up my tree on November 1st, or the eve of October 31st, as one of my friends did this year!! ha ha.
Alas, you cannot put it up until at least the end of November, because no one sells them that early. You also have the chance that it won't live all the way to Christmas. Another bummer is that you always have to remember to water it. This may not seem a problem to most people, but as my family knows, I'm not great with plants. Or pets. Or any living thing for that matter. Except children, ha ha, I seem to have been able to keep those alive somehow.
THE worst thing however, is not the time and energy it takes to care for it, or how it pokes you when you decorate it, or the millions of pine needles your left with everywhere....it is putting it UP!
Wow, I'm sure selling you on changing to real trees, huh? They are amazing, don't get me wrong. No matter how wonderful, life-like and full manufacturers try and make their fake trees, they will never replace a real tree. ever. Its fake, and it always will be.
It doesn't give off that wonderful aroma like a real one does. I LOVE the smell of fresh trees, its the most Christmasy smell I can think of.
Our tree is PERFECT this year! It is tall, full, round....everything you could ask for in a real tree....its amazing. It has one teeny tiny flaw however...it won't stay up! Okay, okay, this may be more than a teeny weeny flaw....but it IS beautiful!! After 3 or 4 hours of trying to put it up, watching it lean more and more...or like one time we left the living room, actually fell flat over...it is being held up with some very strong, very tight fishing line, attached to some big water jug in the front hall.
Oh yes, highly attractive, gotta love it!
Although, whenever I sit and look at it, my anger to my wonderful tree, melts away....and as I sit here on my bed blogging about her (the tree, of course its female, it smells nice, its beautiful...and difficult), I can't help but adore her! And she's not even decorated yet!! Imagine how beautiful she'll look once she is...aaahhh....I mean...ohhhhh....Christmas tree.
After all this time of trying to put her up, there is a chance Daddy might try and argue for a fake one next year. Uh-oh little tree, look what you've got us into now! lol....maybe I should come up with a nickname for her...hmmm....I'll think of a good one.
So, at the end of the day, we didn't get nearly enough cleaning done, we didn't have time to put the Christmas lights up, I haven't showered, and our poor little tree is being held up by string, temporarily....lol. Daddy has some ingenious idea on how to fix it, something about sandbags....ha ha...sounds sketchy.
Don't let my tree-putting-up blues scare you out of going real, I'm all for real...and usually its not nearly this difficult....well, except for the time that our fully decorated and well-lit 9 1/2 ft. tree fell straight down in our living room....that was precious. Well, before I change your mind more, I'm done! And I'll post some pics later. We plan on decorating it tomorrow, seems like a good family-time Sunday activity.
Oh Christmas tree, you smell loverly!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
I'm a Guest Blogger!!
So, I was invited to be a guest blogger and write a post about adoption. Which is REALLY exciting! I really appreciate this wonderful girl for giving me the opportunity to tell my story on her blog. If anyone is interested in reading it click here.
In other news....I'm having a really difficult time deciding on a pet....A has been asking one for ages!!! He even tells me all of the different kinds of pets he'd like. "Maybe a bunny, or a turtle like the ninja turtles, but not as big, or a fish! I'm not allergic to those!" Poor little guy has a severe allergy to dogs, and we don't really have the space for one anyways. I'm leaning towards a little tiny turtle, but we haven't had any luck with that. Daddy and I realized we are just not really "pet people" as we perused through the pet store on our last date. We came up with a reason for not wanting almost every pet in there...too big, too much work, too expensive, too smelly, needs to much space and on and on...so we left with nothing. The only thing we actually both agreed on liking was a Siamese fighting fish, that would just hang on the wall....ha ha....boring! The only other animal that daddy really liked was the huge sloth!! LOL...and it't not for sale, just to look at. He thinks it would be the coolest pet ever, of course, ha ha.
Daddy has a day off tomorrow! YAY!! So hopefully we'll have more time to search out some cool animals....and maybe do some more Christmas shopping. The main event of the weekend though, will be weaning R. Yes, he still nurses, and I haven't mind continuing to nurse him because he loves it, and he is just the cutest little baby ever, so its a win-win. But, we are putting him on an elimination diet, to see if he has allergies....so it seems like a good time to quit. especially because he really dislikes sleeping at night, ha ha, we're hoping this will help. I'm sure I'll have a blog post about how this weekend goes, according to the paediatrician, it will be miserable....but how much worse can it be than it already is at night?? ha ha....we shall see.
Blog out!
In other news....I'm having a really difficult time deciding on a pet....A has been asking one for ages!!! He even tells me all of the different kinds of pets he'd like. "Maybe a bunny, or a turtle like the ninja turtles, but not as big, or a fish! I'm not allergic to those!" Poor little guy has a severe allergy to dogs, and we don't really have the space for one anyways. I'm leaning towards a little tiny turtle, but we haven't had any luck with that. Daddy and I realized we are just not really "pet people" as we perused through the pet store on our last date. We came up with a reason for not wanting almost every pet in there...too big, too much work, too expensive, too smelly, needs to much space and on and on...so we left with nothing. The only thing we actually both agreed on liking was a Siamese fighting fish, that would just hang on the wall....ha ha....boring! The only other animal that daddy really liked was the huge sloth!! LOL...and it't not for sale, just to look at. He thinks it would be the coolest pet ever, of course, ha ha.
Daddy has a day off tomorrow! YAY!! So hopefully we'll have more time to search out some cool animals....and maybe do some more Christmas shopping. The main event of the weekend though, will be weaning R. Yes, he still nurses, and I haven't mind continuing to nurse him because he loves it, and he is just the cutest little baby ever, so its a win-win. But, we are putting him on an elimination diet, to see if he has allergies....so it seems like a good time to quit. especially because he really dislikes sleeping at night, ha ha, we're hoping this will help. I'm sure I'll have a blog post about how this weekend goes, according to the paediatrician, it will be miserable....but how much worse can it be than it already is at night?? ha ha....we shall see.
Blog out!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
winter oh winter....my little rant...
Dear world,
I have a love hate relationship with winter. I LOVE to look at snow, its so pretty and sparkly....and COLD! Now, therein the problem lies....if snow didn't have to be so stinking cold, or at least the weather outside have to be so cold in order to accommodate snowy weather....I'm sure there would be no hate in this love-hate relationship. Oh wait, there still would....only because it makes driving conditions to treacherous....seriously, no wonder there are SO many car accidents....on icy days like it has been the last few days, its common to see several car accidents on a short drive down town. My friend D passed by 3 car accidents just on one main road yesterday morning....crazy!!! You have to drive like an old person, just to insure that if you have to stop suddenly, you'll have time to do so.
Last winter, the only thing that kept me sane was the hope that we would get a SUPER awesome job somewhere farther south than here, and NEVER have to suffer through an Albertan winter again....but oh no, we were mistaken. Here I am in another winter, having the exact same thoughts.
What possibly might be the biggest reason I hate snow/winter is the fact that we stay inside SO much. Before I had kids, I would stay inside and have a really hard time getting motivated to do anything, and so most of the time, I just wouldn't. Winter would be a time to coop up and do nothing, well, except eat copious amounts of food, lol. Its even worse now that I have kids, because they LOVE going outside....the only thing that keeps them happy and easy to live with, is if we have something going on everyday. So usually we have swimming lessons, gymnastics, playgroup etc....something to get us out of the house at least once and day, and to promote sanity in all of us. Now, we can either decide to brave the weather (if our vehicle starts, which it wouldn't yesterday), or stay at home all day, longing to be out somewhere....
So....in conclusion, I'd like to say that I would love forever the person who could somehow invent a type of snow thats not so cold to the touch, does not need cold weather in order to accommodate it and does not land on sidewalks or driveways or roads. Or someone who finds me a job in Hawaii, either or.
the end.
I have a love hate relationship with winter. I LOVE to look at snow, its so pretty and sparkly....and COLD! Now, therein the problem lies....if snow didn't have to be so stinking cold, or at least the weather outside have to be so cold in order to accommodate snowy weather....I'm sure there would be no hate in this love-hate relationship. Oh wait, there still would....only because it makes driving conditions to treacherous....seriously, no wonder there are SO many car accidents....on icy days like it has been the last few days, its common to see several car accidents on a short drive down town. My friend D passed by 3 car accidents just on one main road yesterday morning....crazy!!! You have to drive like an old person, just to insure that if you have to stop suddenly, you'll have time to do so.
Last winter, the only thing that kept me sane was the hope that we would get a SUPER awesome job somewhere farther south than here, and NEVER have to suffer through an Albertan winter again....but oh no, we were mistaken. Here I am in another winter, having the exact same thoughts.
What possibly might be the biggest reason I hate snow/winter is the fact that we stay inside SO much. Before I had kids, I would stay inside and have a really hard time getting motivated to do anything, and so most of the time, I just wouldn't. Winter would be a time to coop up and do nothing, well, except eat copious amounts of food, lol. Its even worse now that I have kids, because they LOVE going outside....the only thing that keeps them happy and easy to live with, is if we have something going on everyday. So usually we have swimming lessons, gymnastics, playgroup etc....something to get us out of the house at least once and day, and to promote sanity in all of us. Now, we can either decide to brave the weather (if our vehicle starts, which it wouldn't yesterday), or stay at home all day, longing to be out somewhere....
So....in conclusion, I'd like to say that I would love forever the person who could somehow invent a type of snow thats not so cold to the touch, does not need cold weather in order to accommodate it and does not land on sidewalks or driveways or roads. Or someone who finds me a job in Hawaii, either or.
the end.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Life
When I first started blogging, I was determined to blog everyday, or at least, close to it, ha ha. Its harder than it looks! LOL. With decorating, cleaning, kids, callings, etc....life is just busy.
Especially this last week, I've felt like we have had SO much going on that we haven't had time to even hang out, just daddy and I. Its times like these where I see the little blessings in our lives, just as I was bemoaning the fact that the weekend is over, and I felt like I haven't spent any good quality time with my hubby....just then I realized that next weekend is american thanksgiving, and he gets american holidays off, so we have an extra long weekend! Just when we need it. To do nothing really....I just feel like sitting at home and spending time together. As much as I love being involved in kids sports and fun activities and what not, they can get a little bit cumbersome. So I'm glad that tomorrow morning is A's last swimming lesson, lets just hope that the van actually starts in the morning!
Also, a wonderful girl I know has a blog about adoption, and she has asked me to be a Guest Blogger!!! I am SO excited, but nervous at the same time...its easy to write in your own blog, but I feel a lot more self-conscious and writing a post in someone else's, now its gonna have to be good! ha ha....I was meaning to get it done this weekend, but as with a boat load of other things, it didn't get done....so hopefully I'll find some time to write it tomorrow. I'll post a link on my blog to it too.
Happy Sunday!!
Daily Gratitude: That I got a LOT of shopping done this weekend, with my kids in tow, and was able to be so sneaky about it that A didn't even realize we had bought anything!! Also, that we have been saving up for Christmas for a few months now, so that we can get the kids fun toys without spending too much.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Lego my eggo....
So A has some sweet mad skills....every time he makes something out of lego I am amazed...he is fantastic! Last night I was commenting to daddy about how A is SO good at lego, and how I think there is a chance he's already better than me at building stuff and daddy turned to me and said "no thinking about it, he is better." ha ha...thanks for the vote of confidence babe. He tried to make ma feel better by saying that I'm much better at other things, like music and stuff....great, I'm more musically inclined than a 4 year old, ha ha ha.
Anyways, back to A, since how daddy is right, as much as I hate to admit it....I'm a little shocked at A's designs sometimes. He doesn't have a ton of lego, really not much at all actually, so you'd think that he would have limited options on what to build. But no. He always builds amazing spaceships, rockets and airplanes. they are always completely symmetrical, even in color. I take pictures of his designs often, just because I am so amazed at how good they are. He has a real knack for lego, which is good, because the musical skills are slow in coming, lol.
A's sweet spaceship skillz...
He is also getting really great at gymnastics. Just last year he was in the parented class, and his coach agreed to let him go into the first non-parented class even though he wasn't in the right age group yet. I was wondering how he would do, without me there to coach him along, and because the other kids are all older than him, some significantly so. But, he has been doing awesome! He can walk across a high balance beam by himself, do semi-dive rolls down inclines, and theirs weird monkey-hanging thingy on the uneven bars. He is getting really good!
Daddy and I always thought that the easiest way to make millions was to have prodigy children, that would excel in something enough to become famous, LOL. Our plan for A was football star. Kicker to be precise. Due to his large and broad stature, and his love for physical sports, we thought this would be great. We chose kicker because I want him to be on the field for the least amount of time, so there is a much greater chance he'll stay safe, lol. I've always hated watching sports injuries...lol...I'm not gonna be the greatest sports mom, thats for sure. Anyways, you can't really practice football too well when your 2 or 3 or 4, ha ha, so that angle hasn't panned out for us so well. But apparently he'll be a GREAT lego maker, and gymnast. Wonder if we can make millions off of a lego-building gymnast?? ha ha ha...if not, at least we will have a few years of lego building fun together, and hey, maybe I'll learn a thing or two!
Another thing that A loves to do, is take pictures, and videos...lol...its pretty funny to watch him record things.
He loves decorating for christmas, and decided to take some pictures of some of the decorations we started putting up:
Anyways, back to A, since how daddy is right, as much as I hate to admit it....I'm a little shocked at A's designs sometimes. He doesn't have a ton of lego, really not much at all actually, so you'd think that he would have limited options on what to build. But no. He always builds amazing spaceships, rockets and airplanes. they are always completely symmetrical, even in color. I take pictures of his designs often, just because I am so amazed at how good they are. He has a real knack for lego, which is good, because the musical skills are slow in coming, lol.
A's sweet spaceship skillz...
A with one of his creations in the morning....
Sorry this one is sideways, lol, I couldn't figure out how to switch it yet.
Daddy and I always thought that the easiest way to make millions was to have prodigy children, that would excel in something enough to become famous, LOL. Our plan for A was football star. Kicker to be precise. Due to his large and broad stature, and his love for physical sports, we thought this would be great. We chose kicker because I want him to be on the field for the least amount of time, so there is a much greater chance he'll stay safe, lol. I've always hated watching sports injuries...lol...I'm not gonna be the greatest sports mom, thats for sure. Anyways, you can't really practice football too well when your 2 or 3 or 4, ha ha, so that angle hasn't panned out for us so well. But apparently he'll be a GREAT lego maker, and gymnast. Wonder if we can make millions off of a lego-building gymnast?? ha ha ha...if not, at least we will have a few years of lego building fun together, and hey, maybe I'll learn a thing or two!
Another thing that A loves to do, is take pictures, and videos...lol...its pretty funny to watch him record things.
He loves decorating for christmas, and decided to take some pictures of some of the decorations we started putting up:
He's pretty good, eh?
The boys also LOVE the snow...they woujld play outside all day, if I let them....but I love them and don't want them to freeze, ha ha, so I don't. Its pretty funny actually, because A asks first thing in the morning, it could be 7 am, and he already wants to go out and play. Here is him ALL dressed up to go outside...
What cutie petootie I have, huh?
BLOG OUT!!
Daily Gratitude: That my kids LOVE to play....play outside, play inside, play playdoh, play lego....pretty much anything, they just love to play!
Monday, November 15, 2010
today....
So, today I just have to quickly gush about how wonderful my children are. R started copying everything I say today...and it is SO cute the things he picks up, when I'm not even paying attention. Unless of course its saying "punch, punch, bam!" or "nope, mine now!" ha ha....he's freaking adorable, seriously.
The cutest thing ever today though, was with A....we were having a short and sweet FHE lesson...(aren't they fun? ha ha), which is basically just a night we get together and sing songs, read scriptures and play games together. We had a short little lesson, and I asked if anyone had any questions. A pipes up and starts asking all these questions, like "How is does Jesus get inside our bodies? How does the Holy Ghost too?" etc....and then he said "I know! We can never be lonely because Jesus is always with us, and so is our family...and he EVEN made the land, and without it we couldn't walk on anything, it would just be space! And he made the pillows,and our WHOLE house, or we would be really cold! And he made our bodies even! Or else we couldn't walk or talk or ANYTHING!" he went on for a while, lol. It was amazing to see him talk about it, and how genuinely happy and excited he was! He is learning and growing SO much! I definitely teared up a bit at all of his questions and the answers that he would come up with. I love my boys SO much...I kinda almost hope that I have ALL boys....just because these ones have turned out SO great, how could we ever go wrong?
On a completely unrelated note, I was really planning on putting up decorations today, and making daddy put up the lights...but of course it didn't happen. BUT....drum-roll please...instead I made 2 HUGE homemade lasagnas, one for the freezer....4 apple pies, and a whole pan full of mini meatloaf (also for the freezer)...and they are delicious!!! I was pretty proud of all that I got done, even though what I REALLY wanted to be doing was decorating.
well, I'm pretty sure that my daily gratitudes and funny quotes we're all in my post...so I hope you enjoyed them! ( I sure did!!)
The cutest thing ever today though, was with A....we were having a short and sweet FHE lesson...(aren't they fun? ha ha), which is basically just a night we get together and sing songs, read scriptures and play games together. We had a short little lesson, and I asked if anyone had any questions. A pipes up and starts asking all these questions, like "How is does Jesus get inside our bodies? How does the Holy Ghost too?" etc....and then he said "I know! We can never be lonely because Jesus is always with us, and so is our family...and he EVEN made the land, and without it we couldn't walk on anything, it would just be space! And he made the pillows,and our WHOLE house, or we would be really cold! And he made our bodies even! Or else we couldn't walk or talk or ANYTHING!" he went on for a while, lol. It was amazing to see him talk about it, and how genuinely happy and excited he was! He is learning and growing SO much! I definitely teared up a bit at all of his questions and the answers that he would come up with. I love my boys SO much...I kinda almost hope that I have ALL boys....just because these ones have turned out SO great, how could we ever go wrong?
On a completely unrelated note, I was really planning on putting up decorations today, and making daddy put up the lights...but of course it didn't happen. BUT....drum-roll please...instead I made 2 HUGE homemade lasagnas, one for the freezer....4 apple pies, and a whole pan full of mini meatloaf (also for the freezer)...and they are delicious!!! I was pretty proud of all that I got done, even though what I REALLY wanted to be doing was decorating.
well, I'm pretty sure that my daily gratitudes and funny quotes we're all in my post...so I hope you enjoyed them! ( I sure did!!)
Ch-ch-ch-changes!!!
I'm sitting here, looking at the HUGE mess in the kitchen of dinner not being cleaned up, thinking to myself that I really should be cleaning, not blogging....but blogging helps me relax after a long day much more than cleaning oodles of dishes does. So, here I am, blogging instead.
I was reflecting on changes, as today we had some pretty big changes at church with the bishopric and all. As well, the whole having new handbooks is pretty exciting too(which you can read online btw at lds.org, there are some pretty interesting changes I think!)....I LOVE change....I'm sad to see old friends go, but excited for what new changes bring.
I have always been that way. I was the type of kid who loved to move, which we rarely did during most of my childhood years. I BEGGED my parents to apply for new jobs in places like Japan or Utah....ha ha....pretty much anywhere actually. I didn't care where we moved, I just loved to do it. I'm the same way now, I love meeting new friends, new people, new neighbors, moving into new houses....LOVE it. So, because we have been here for ages, and I'm itching for some sort of change....I'm just going to have to do something to make me feel like we're changing something....I'm thinking about rearranging the furniture. I also died my hair brown, which I LOVE!!! I was planning on only being brown for a little while, but I also wasn't planning on liking it so much, so who knows when I'll actually go back to blonde....someday. Ooooh....also Christmas decorations, thats a nice change, I might do that in the next few days too.
Hopefully the next blog I post I"ll have picture of my NEW hair and decorating too....I have some fun stuff planned for this year...oh, and I buy real trees, and am waiting SO impatiently for them to start selling!!!
Daily Gratitude: the little changes in my life that keep me from being bored out of my tree, and all the exciting things that I can think about for the future! Also, all the fun activities that A and I have been up to this semester....the kids are always better behaved when we go out and do something every day!
Funny Quote: For christmas A just asked for a TV in his bedroom with netlfix on it....ha ha. Also, I was laying him down for a nap, and told him he had to sleep for one hour, which he complained about and then said "How about 1 month instead?"....LOL....no sense of time that kid, ha ha.
I was reflecting on changes, as today we had some pretty big changes at church with the bishopric and all. As well, the whole having new handbooks is pretty exciting too(which you can read online btw at lds.org, there are some pretty interesting changes I think!)....I LOVE change....I'm sad to see old friends go, but excited for what new changes bring.
I have always been that way. I was the type of kid who loved to move, which we rarely did during most of my childhood years. I BEGGED my parents to apply for new jobs in places like Japan or Utah....ha ha....pretty much anywhere actually. I didn't care where we moved, I just loved to do it. I'm the same way now, I love meeting new friends, new people, new neighbors, moving into new houses....LOVE it. So, because we have been here for ages, and I'm itching for some sort of change....I'm just going to have to do something to make me feel like we're changing something....I'm thinking about rearranging the furniture. I also died my hair brown, which I LOVE!!! I was planning on only being brown for a little while, but I also wasn't planning on liking it so much, so who knows when I'll actually go back to blonde....someday. Ooooh....also Christmas decorations, thats a nice change, I might do that in the next few days too.
Hopefully the next blog I post I"ll have picture of my NEW hair and decorating too....I have some fun stuff planned for this year...oh, and I buy real trees, and am waiting SO impatiently for them to start selling!!!
Daily Gratitude: the little changes in my life that keep me from being bored out of my tree, and all the exciting things that I can think about for the future! Also, all the fun activities that A and I have been up to this semester....the kids are always better behaved when we go out and do something every day!
Funny Quote: For christmas A just asked for a TV in his bedroom with netlfix on it....ha ha. Also, I was laying him down for a nap, and told him he had to sleep for one hour, which he complained about and then said "How about 1 month instead?"....LOL....no sense of time that kid, ha ha.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Ode to Poo
what a subject, eh? I know, highly blog-appropriate. I hadn't planned on posting anything tonight, until I began to think of poop. How wonderful it is. Not really, more like how awful it us, but how my life has somehow become revolved around poo, ever since my first child was born.
Changing it, cleaning it up, making sure it ends up in the potty, making sure it ends up in the diaper, cleaning it up, making sure its actually happening, making sure its not too runny or too hard,cleaning it up, making sure sick tummies don't leads to it(at least don't lead to it all over me, the child, the bed and down the hallway....and yes, that has happened) bringing in samples to the doctors when the kids are sick (okay that only happened once so far, but it was gross!), teaching your kids how to do it then un-teaching them how to say it(as its said ALL day), listening to jokes about it, and did I mention, cleaning it up?? THAT is the worst....
What brought to mind all of these wonderful poop thoughts was an unpleasant accident tonight, that lead to a lot of cleaning, washing and showering....oh what fun it is!!
Another interesting thought is that we teach our kids how to do it, being so proud when they finally tell us that they need to go...and can go on their very own!! And then shortly after we switch it all up on them, not letting them talk about it public or make any "potty" humor....what mean parents we are. I don't know maybe its worse with boys than it is with girls...but I doubt it, as my nieces have given me several interesting poo stories as well.
Anyways, thats the end of my rant. Oh, poo, how your loved, NOT! rather hated actually....I can't wait till the day that I no longer have to worry about my children's bowel movements anymore!!
Changing it, cleaning it up, making sure it ends up in the potty, making sure it ends up in the diaper, cleaning it up, making sure its actually happening, making sure its not too runny or too hard,cleaning it up, making sure sick tummies don't leads to it(at least don't lead to it all over me, the child, the bed and down the hallway....and yes, that has happened) bringing in samples to the doctors when the kids are sick (okay that only happened once so far, but it was gross!), teaching your kids how to do it then un-teaching them how to say it(as its said ALL day), listening to jokes about it, and did I mention, cleaning it up?? THAT is the worst....
What brought to mind all of these wonderful poop thoughts was an unpleasant accident tonight, that lead to a lot of cleaning, washing and showering....oh what fun it is!!
Another interesting thought is that we teach our kids how to do it, being so proud when they finally tell us that they need to go...and can go on their very own!! And then shortly after we switch it all up on them, not letting them talk about it public or make any "potty" humor....what mean parents we are. I don't know maybe its worse with boys than it is with girls...but I doubt it, as my nieces have given me several interesting poo stories as well.
Anyways, thats the end of my rant. Oh, poo, how your loved, NOT! rather hated actually....I can't wait till the day that I no longer have to worry about my children's bowel movements anymore!!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
The tale of the sleepless nights...
Once upon a time I was 10. Seriously, I was...it was a long time ago. It was one of my first babysitting jobs, yes, I was pretty young....but I'd been babysitting my siblings for longer than that. I was babysitting for this WONDERFUL family...and the couple was out late. I happened to fall asleep on the couch, once the kids were in bed. When they came home, they tried waking me up for 15 mins! I guess I was so out of it, she eventually shook me awake, lol. I felt SO bad....what if the kids had woken up and I didn't hear them?? Ever since that day, I started "babysitting sleeping", so I would only lightly rest, but be able to hear everything around me. As I got older, this habit of only resting started happening at night....I must have babysat a lot, lol.
This problem only worsened when I had my children, as I was always just laying awake, waiting for them to wake up. Not even on purpose either...I tried to fall asleep, it just wouldn't happen. Even though it would take me a while to get to sleep, I still would...eventually....sometimes after a few hours, but sometimes it didn't take long at all. I think being overtired so much would help me fall asleep faster at night.
This might seem like the end of my sleepless tale, but in fact, its just one tiny aspect of my sleepless nights. The biggest problem is my KIDS....I love them to death, don't get me wrong...but they are BAD sleepers. Like, THE worst....I'm not sure if anyone sleeps worse than my little R.
It all started with A, he was really colicky, which lead to him having bad sleeping habits....which he never outgrew until after R was born. He wasn't as bad as R though, he would fall asleep relatively well, but just wake up every 2-3 hours....sometimes going to sleep easily again, but most of the time, not. So, then I had R, foolishly believing the statistics that only 1 in every 5 babies are colicky, I thought I'd be good to have 4 perfect babies after all that I went through with A....I was tricked! R was even worse....well at least colicky for longer, and slept a LOT worse.
And so my sleepless nights not only continued, but got much worse. I knew things were going to be difficult from the very first night we had R, and he wouldn't sleep at all...even in the hospital, he would be up crying most of the night. I secretly hoped that maybe it was just the smell, or the huge amount of other babies, or the overall creepiness of hospitals that he didn't like....I mean, who does? But nope...he only got worse at home. I didn't mind so much in the beginning, its kind of planned on, ya know? Who has a baby that sleeps at night as a newborn, it just rarely happens....so I figured we would just get through the first few months, somehow, and it would get better.
And here we are, 20 1/2 months later going through the same thing. Guess its been more than a few months...oh how time slowly flies. We've gotten a TON of tips from everyone....relatives, friends, random strangers, a poodle...okay, maybe not a poodle, but it might as well have happened. We read OODLES (in case you were wondering, yes, I'm cool enough to say that word) of books, studies, and on and on....even resorting to seeing a paediatrician....whom we still meet with on a monthly basis. We've found some things that helped, but even more that didn't.
We even tried a rigorous 2 week program where we tried to let him go back to sleep on his own, as much as we could, and I tried nursing him a lot less at night. It was a really long few weeks, but it did help. Before we did it, he wouldn't go to sleep until around 11pm-2 am, depending on the night....we would bounce/rock/walk him to sleep several times, only to have him wake up as we were walking into his room, as we were laying him down, or 15 minutes after he was laid down. So, the major improvement was that he goes to sleep, on his own, at 7:00, and sleeps really well for the first few hours....sometimes even until 11:30. I was hugely relieved at the time, thinking that his sleeping throughout the night would gradually get better too, but it didn't. And although this was a huge step in the right direction, and gives me a lot more free time at night to relax, has not made a big improvement to my sleeping, because I don't go to sleep at 7....I couldn't even if I wanted to. If I could find a way to fall asleep then, at least I would be guaranteed 2-3 hours in a row uninterrupted, every night.
Some nights are better than others....but most aren't. Last night was extraordinarily bad, which is probably why I've been thinking about it so much today...I figured writing might help. To give you an example, last night R woke up at 10:30 and 11:30...and from them on had a hard time falling asleep again...he would sleep for a few minutes, and then cry for a long time, and the nurse...and then start the pattern all over again. So, at 2:30ish I finally got to sleep, for about 1/2 hour or so....until it started up again....and happened all night long. The last time I nursed him was at 6 am(and about 4 times between 2:30 and 6)...and then A woke up at 6:30. Gotta LOVE daylight savings!! So thats a normal night in the life of me....some are better, but not my too much.
I wish that this was one of those "Happily Ever After" sort of tales....and I'm sure one day it will be. But not yet, and not for a while, I doubt. I'm constantly asked how I do it....but how don't I do it? Is there an alternative? ha ha....if anyone has one, gladly let me in on it, LOL.
It's not all bad though, it might sound horrific, and it only is at night. By the time I actually drag my sad little(well, growing) bum out of bed, it feels like any other ordinary day. I guess I'm blessed that way....the sleeplessness rarely bothers me during the day. I always feel like I've just got a normal amount of sleep....my thinking might be a little more fuzzy, but really, I can't complain. I do get grouchy at my kids at night....but I try and stay patient, as I truly believe there is a reason that R is so silly at night...and once we can fix it, things will get better. The other up side, is that my kids are SO great! They are very independent in the morning, and know how to get themselves food, get dressed (well A does), and play with toys quietly, so can lay in the bed for longer....they are good to me.
Daily Gratitude: that I'm not a character out of the walking dead during the day...or any type of flesh-eating zombie really, i don't think I would enjoy there lifestyle...I'd probably be a vegetarian. That I can love my children SO much, even when they scream all night long, seriously, its a huge blessing.
Funny Quote: One time after A and I had a big talk about lying, and how wrong it was...he came back out from a time out, and he said a prayer to make himself feel better, and in it he asked that he'd still be able to go to heaven with Jesus, even though he lied....it was so heartfelt, I felt like laugh-crying! He is such a sweet boy.
This problem only worsened when I had my children, as I was always just laying awake, waiting for them to wake up. Not even on purpose either...I tried to fall asleep, it just wouldn't happen. Even though it would take me a while to get to sleep, I still would...eventually....sometimes after a few hours, but sometimes it didn't take long at all. I think being overtired so much would help me fall asleep faster at night.
This might seem like the end of my sleepless tale, but in fact, its just one tiny aspect of my sleepless nights. The biggest problem is my KIDS....I love them to death, don't get me wrong...but they are BAD sleepers. Like, THE worst....I'm not sure if anyone sleeps worse than my little R.
It all started with A, he was really colicky, which lead to him having bad sleeping habits....which he never outgrew until after R was born. He wasn't as bad as R though, he would fall asleep relatively well, but just wake up every 2-3 hours....sometimes going to sleep easily again, but most of the time, not. So, then I had R, foolishly believing the statistics that only 1 in every 5 babies are colicky, I thought I'd be good to have 4 perfect babies after all that I went through with A....I was tricked! R was even worse....well at least colicky for longer, and slept a LOT worse.
And so my sleepless nights not only continued, but got much worse. I knew things were going to be difficult from the very first night we had R, and he wouldn't sleep at all...even in the hospital, he would be up crying most of the night. I secretly hoped that maybe it was just the smell, or the huge amount of other babies, or the overall creepiness of hospitals that he didn't like....I mean, who does? But nope...he only got worse at home. I didn't mind so much in the beginning, its kind of planned on, ya know? Who has a baby that sleeps at night as a newborn, it just rarely happens....so I figured we would just get through the first few months, somehow, and it would get better.
And here we are, 20 1/2 months later going through the same thing. Guess its been more than a few months...oh how time slowly flies. We've gotten a TON of tips from everyone....relatives, friends, random strangers, a poodle...okay, maybe not a poodle, but it might as well have happened. We read OODLES (in case you were wondering, yes, I'm cool enough to say that word) of books, studies, and on and on....even resorting to seeing a paediatrician....whom we still meet with on a monthly basis. We've found some things that helped, but even more that didn't.
We even tried a rigorous 2 week program where we tried to let him go back to sleep on his own, as much as we could, and I tried nursing him a lot less at night. It was a really long few weeks, but it did help. Before we did it, he wouldn't go to sleep until around 11pm-2 am, depending on the night....we would bounce/rock/walk him to sleep several times, only to have him wake up as we were walking into his room, as we were laying him down, or 15 minutes after he was laid down. So, the major improvement was that he goes to sleep, on his own, at 7:00, and sleeps really well for the first few hours....sometimes even until 11:30. I was hugely relieved at the time, thinking that his sleeping throughout the night would gradually get better too, but it didn't. And although this was a huge step in the right direction, and gives me a lot more free time at night to relax, has not made a big improvement to my sleeping, because I don't go to sleep at 7....I couldn't even if I wanted to. If I could find a way to fall asleep then, at least I would be guaranteed 2-3 hours in a row uninterrupted, every night.
Some nights are better than others....but most aren't. Last night was extraordinarily bad, which is probably why I've been thinking about it so much today...I figured writing might help. To give you an example, last night R woke up at 10:30 and 11:30...and from them on had a hard time falling asleep again...he would sleep for a few minutes, and then cry for a long time, and the nurse...and then start the pattern all over again. So, at 2:30ish I finally got to sleep, for about 1/2 hour or so....until it started up again....and happened all night long. The last time I nursed him was at 6 am(and about 4 times between 2:30 and 6)...and then A woke up at 6:30. Gotta LOVE daylight savings!! So thats a normal night in the life of me....some are better, but not my too much.
I wish that this was one of those "Happily Ever After" sort of tales....and I'm sure one day it will be. But not yet, and not for a while, I doubt. I'm constantly asked how I do it....but how don't I do it? Is there an alternative? ha ha....if anyone has one, gladly let me in on it, LOL.
It's not all bad though, it might sound horrific, and it only is at night. By the time I actually drag my sad little(well, growing) bum out of bed, it feels like any other ordinary day. I guess I'm blessed that way....the sleeplessness rarely bothers me during the day. I always feel like I've just got a normal amount of sleep....my thinking might be a little more fuzzy, but really, I can't complain. I do get grouchy at my kids at night....but I try and stay patient, as I truly believe there is a reason that R is so silly at night...and once we can fix it, things will get better. The other up side, is that my kids are SO great! They are very independent in the morning, and know how to get themselves food, get dressed (well A does), and play with toys quietly, so can lay in the bed for longer....they are good to me.
Daily Gratitude: that I'm not a character out of the walking dead during the day...or any type of flesh-eating zombie really, i don't think I would enjoy there lifestyle...I'd probably be a vegetarian. That I can love my children SO much, even when they scream all night long, seriously, its a huge blessing.
Funny Quote: One time after A and I had a big talk about lying, and how wrong it was...he came back out from a time out, and he said a prayer to make himself feel better, and in it he asked that he'd still be able to go to heaven with Jesus, even though he lied....it was so heartfelt, I felt like laugh-crying! He is such a sweet boy.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
My cute little "A"
Since I don't have any exciting stories to tell in my post today, I thought I'd do a post on my sweet little A, well, actually big A....mostly because he is SO awesome...and one day when I publish a copy of my blog and give him one, he'll know how much I love him and LOVE watching him learn and grow.
A came into our family thanksgiving weekend 2006. As I've probably said before, we were quite surprised when we found out we were prego only a couple of months after we got married! It only took a few months into my pregnancy for me to figure out that A was going to be a wild child. I can remember many nights, laying awake to the beat of his kicking inside my little tummy. Scratch that, BIG tummy, ha ha...I was never little with A....I knew 3 things about him before he was born:
1-that he was going to be a boy (it was supposed to be a "surprise", but I always knew)
2-that he would be one hyper kid! He was ALWAYS kicking away...and hard too...
3-that he would be BIG (although my doctor never seemed worried, he was quite surprised when he came out as big as he did)
A has always been a big boy....big head, big feet...and difficult to shop for, ha ha. He has always been very social too. He started walking at 11 months and 1 week old...and in no time at all was a climbing and running machine. I remember one day going into his room and finding that he had climbed out of his crib, opened up all his dresser drawers and climbed up them...to turn his light on and off of course!! He also started talking SUPER early....besides the usual "mamamama"....he was 7 months old when he said his first word, as clear as a bell "Uh-Oh!"....it was SO cute. He would crawl around saying uh-oh all day long. At 11 months he started saying a lot more words until then he would only say momma, daddy, Uh-oh, no and bang-bang (thanks to his wonderful 6/8-yr old uncles who thought it would be a great idea to teach him how to shoot!!). After that his vocabulary grew and grew, until he went into nursery, already speaking in sentences! I tried teaching him sign language, but he'd always learn to say the word, before he even knew how to sign it. It was really easy to understand what he wanted, which made it easy on us...because he'd always tell us why he was upset, or what he wanted.
Since then he's been growing and growing. He's turned into quite the independent little guy. He can make his own breakfast (so mom can lay in bed with R for longer!), he loves changing in and out of different outfits throughout the day, and loves to play with any type of "weapon" as he calls it, ha ha...and ALL toys. He is still a very sociable little guy, willing to talk to and play with anyone.
He is in swimming lessons, which he loves...and is learning how to swim on his own and stay under the water for longer periods of time. He also REALLY loves gymnastics, which he has been doing for a while now. Just last week he did something on the bars all by himself! This is his first time in gymnastics on his own, and he is doing GREAT! Way better than when I was in class with him. We don't have him in preschool, as I wanted to send more time with him at home....but he has been begging me to put him in school, so we might change our minds next semester.
My favorite thing about him is talking to him, he always has the cutest and funniest things to say! He loves to talk to me, about anything and everything, all the time. I can remember one trip to visit the grandparents, and for the entire 4 hour drive home he was talking and asking us questions....with no pause!! ha ha....it was a long trip.
We love to watch him grow, and love how kind and sweet he is....especially to his little brother, R. They love each other a lot. R is always laughing at A's jokes, and copy-cating absolutely everything he does. A is never bothered by it either, he loves attention...and he loves that he always has someone to play with, even if mommy is busy.
I love you little A!!!
Daily Gratitudes: NETFLIX!! The boys love watching cartoons on netflix on my bed, while I nap beside them, or take one of those long relaxing child-free showers I love so much! That my wonderful friend N comes over to visit me during her lunch break, it always gives me something to look forward to.
Funny Quote: I have thought about making a while funny quote section devoted to our exchange students, because they say and do really funny things...so, this one is from our student, S, as we were sorting through halloween candy, she opened some play-doh and said "what is this?" we told her it was play-doh, and she started to eat it! Apparently she'd never heard of play-doh, so me telling her didn't really help, ha ha...and just this morning she was asking what lego was, "I hear about this lego thing a lot, is it a TV show or something?" ha ha...what fun it is to have exchange students, most of the time, LOL.
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