The habit has been kicked!!! Yeah, no more pacifier!!! I really started to feel like we would have to do it soon. If Baby K comes in May and is a pacifier baby and we tried to kick the habit too close to her arrival we might have a relapse. I think with her anticipated arrival being four months out, we are safe!
Big Girl J has been slightly obsessing about her birthday. It is three months away, well more like two and a half now. However, that doesn't stop her from asking daily how many more months till her birthday!
I had a theme idea back in the fall, possibly before Thanksgiving, and told her about it. She was so excited, and that excitement has not faded at all! I think that means I have picked a good theme. One that really fits her. We are going with a 'super hero' theme! I suggested to her that we could make capes for all of her friends. This was suggested before I realized that my sewing machine had been packed up and stored in the in-laws basement! This should be some very easy, simple stitching, however getting to the foot pedal and accessories will probably be the difficult part.
I will go into more details about the party plans as we get closer, but I am getting a bit excited myself!
As a rewind, side note, our house is currently on the market. We put it on the market just over three months ago, so the reference to 'packed up' was the de-cluttering of the house. I made multiple comments of how we needed to make sure certain things stayed reachable, but when multiple trips had been made, boxes that were once reachable, are no longer. I have already had to go digging three times, and now to get my sewing machine, four. Oh well, I guess we can consider this a lesson learned.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Bunny Diaries Day 2
I feel like the worst is yet to come. Could it seriously be going this smooth?!? I know she is old enough in comparison to others who have kicked the habit, but she is also only 2 1/2. She is still my baby!
Last night I didn't hear a peep from them, after they finally fell asleep, of course. But there was no crying, no whining, no temper tantrum. Just me at 3am, finding it difficult to fall back asleep after the dogs woke me up. Maybe I had just overly prepared myself for a rough night. And of course, when it feels like I finally fell asleep, Wonderful Husband's alarm goes off. I am sure I got more than a half hour of sleep, but it certainly felt that way.
Little Miss O even slept in. Came out of her room carrying the Bunny, but never mentioned the missing piece. Even for nap, she went to her room, without mention of the missing pacifier. After nap she did bring out Bunny and mentioned a few times that something had been cut off.
As the 'avoid the subject' type of person, when she lifted her Bunny and said something to me along with the scissor hand motion, I looked at her and said, "Is Bunny dirty, do we need to wash him?"
She would scowl at me then hold Bunny close and would mention something cut off the Bunny for at least a half hour.
Now we are on night 2. And I must say, WE ARE ROCKING THIS!
Of course I may have jinxed myself, but I think I am far enough in to this that I am not afraid. Yesterday I was afraid, today, I feel invincible. Well not really invincible, but I am loving that the Bunny theory that I had from the beginning worked.
Who has two thumbs and is happy? This momma!
Last night I didn't hear a peep from them, after they finally fell asleep, of course. But there was no crying, no whining, no temper tantrum. Just me at 3am, finding it difficult to fall back asleep after the dogs woke me up. Maybe I had just overly prepared myself for a rough night. And of course, when it feels like I finally fell asleep, Wonderful Husband's alarm goes off. I am sure I got more than a half hour of sleep, but it certainly felt that way.
Little Miss O even slept in. Came out of her room carrying the Bunny, but never mentioned the missing piece. Even for nap, she went to her room, without mention of the missing pacifier. After nap she did bring out Bunny and mentioned a few times that something had been cut off.
As the 'avoid the subject' type of person, when she lifted her Bunny and said something to me along with the scissor hand motion, I looked at her and said, "Is Bunny dirty, do we need to wash him?"
She would scowl at me then hold Bunny close and would mention something cut off the Bunny for at least a half hour.
Now we are on night 2. And I must say, WE ARE ROCKING THIS!
Of course I may have jinxed myself, but I think I am far enough in to this that I am not afraid. Yesterday I was afraid, today, I feel invincible. Well not really invincible, but I am loving that the Bunny theory that I had from the beginning worked.
Who has two thumbs and is happy? This momma!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
The Bunny Diaries Day 1
As any other good mom, I occasionally like to find random, pointless ways to be mean to my children. Like today, I decided to sneak into Little Miss O's room and cut the pacifier off her bunny stuffed animal while she slept. Maybe I should back up just a little.
Before Little Miss O was born, I saw a display of soothie pacifiers attached to little stuffed animals. I thought 'what a fabulous idea!' but then I saw the price tag and changed my mind. Moving forward a few months, after Little Miss O was born I realized she would be a pacifier child. I have always been OK with pacifiers, it is perfectly fine and even healthy for a child to want to suck on a thumb or pacifier (or so I read in a book somewhere.) I remembered back to the display and got excited, then I remembered the $14.99 tag. Amazingly these particular pacifiers are some of the best out there and they only cost $5 for a 2 pack. Since Little Miss O is a second child, we were already stocked on stuffed animals. I dug through the giant pile and found a perfectly lightly stuffed bunny. I sewed a pacifier on the ears of the bunny and Little Miss O was hooked.
There were several benefits I saw to this. Early on she would loose the pacifier while sleeping, but with the stuffed animal attached it stayed right next to her mouth and was easily retrieved most nights without waking me up. A few months later, while out and about if she spit out the pacifier it would stay in the car seat, or would be easily caught before hitting a dirty ground, parking lot or unseen area. We added a monkey to her addiction after one night of searching for the bunny and found it behind the couch, where big sister had hidden it. I decided two would be handy for those times that might become more frequent, and they did.
Eventually the monkey packed up and left. We really don't know what happened to it. I realized it was missing a day that we never left the house, so I figured it had to be around here somewhere. But after a week we gave up hope, and figured it must have ran away the day before I realized it was gone.
After another night of searching for the bunny, I decided to add another pacifier to the collection. An elephant, given to her by Aunt Awesome (or at least I bet that is what they call her due to all the spoiling.)
We don't have silly names for our pacifiers, or stuffed animals for that matter. Little Miss O was attached to 'Bunny' and 'Elephant'. They both went through the washing machine on opposite weeks, sometimes they 'bathed' together. Little Miss O was usually upset with me for a half hour on those days.
Shortly after Little Miss O turned two, I found a hole in Elephant. Well that sounds weird. Basically she chewed through the pacifier and it became unsafe. So we cut off the pacifier and didn't replace it. Then we started letting her take elephant out of the house but Bunny (the one that still had a pacifier attached) had to stay home. This worked, surprisingly well, considering all the reasons I thought the attached stuffed animal idea would be good weren't supported by anyone I knew.
Around Christmas, like Christmas Eve, I washed Bunny. After that bath, the stitching started to come undone, and the pacifier was dangling. I reattached the pacifier that evening and then realized there was a small hole in it from her bottom teeth. Knowing that in the coming days would be a room change (we combined the girls into the same room) and there would be lots of family coming in and leaving, we decided to watch the hole. Then after things settled and became more routine, we would attempt to ditch the pacifier.
Today, Little Miss O handed me her Bunny while playing. I saw the hole was much larger and becoming a problem. We decided today was the day.
I asked Little Miss O if we could say goodbye to the pacifier and she promptly grabbed the bunny and wouldn't let go. So I decided to sneak in during nap and let the pacifier fairy make it go away. This way big sister wouldn't tell on me.
Little Miss O did not nap for more than a half hour after that. She came out of her room very sad and upset. She came straight to me telling me that 'Bunny doesn't work.' I just cuddled close to her, it broke my heart. I had bought a back up pack, so that if she substitutes her thumb for the missing pacifier we could remedy that problem, and quickly.
Knowing I had those and hearing her tell me that Bunny doesn't work, made me want to jump up and give her both from the pack. But with great restraint, I just cuddled with her. It took a good 45 minutes before the random whining and awesome cuddling stopped. She hoped down from my lap and started playing. With no regard to where the broken bunny was. She even allowed Big Girl J to play with it!
As we speak she has been put to bed with the broken bunny. Amazingly it has been her sister who has gotten out of bed too many times. Without getting myself in trouble, so far so good.
I do understand that at this age it only takes 3 days to make a habit, or I guess break a habit. I knew the first day would be rough, so I am prepared for a long night. But I will be happy if it that is not the case.
Before Little Miss O was born, I saw a display of soothie pacifiers attached to little stuffed animals. I thought 'what a fabulous idea!' but then I saw the price tag and changed my mind. Moving forward a few months, after Little Miss O was born I realized she would be a pacifier child. I have always been OK with pacifiers, it is perfectly fine and even healthy for a child to want to suck on a thumb or pacifier (or so I read in a book somewhere.) I remembered back to the display and got excited, then I remembered the $14.99 tag. Amazingly these particular pacifiers are some of the best out there and they only cost $5 for a 2 pack. Since Little Miss O is a second child, we were already stocked on stuffed animals. I dug through the giant pile and found a perfectly lightly stuffed bunny. I sewed a pacifier on the ears of the bunny and Little Miss O was hooked.
There were several benefits I saw to this. Early on she would loose the pacifier while sleeping, but with the stuffed animal attached it stayed right next to her mouth and was easily retrieved most nights without waking me up. A few months later, while out and about if she spit out the pacifier it would stay in the car seat, or would be easily caught before hitting a dirty ground, parking lot or unseen area. We added a monkey to her addiction after one night of searching for the bunny and found it behind the couch, where big sister had hidden it. I decided two would be handy for those times that might become more frequent, and they did.
Eventually the monkey packed up and left. We really don't know what happened to it. I realized it was missing a day that we never left the house, so I figured it had to be around here somewhere. But after a week we gave up hope, and figured it must have ran away the day before I realized it was gone.
After another night of searching for the bunny, I decided to add another pacifier to the collection. An elephant, given to her by Aunt Awesome (or at least I bet that is what they call her due to all the spoiling.)
We don't have silly names for our pacifiers, or stuffed animals for that matter. Little Miss O was attached to 'Bunny' and 'Elephant'. They both went through the washing machine on opposite weeks, sometimes they 'bathed' together. Little Miss O was usually upset with me for a half hour on those days.
Shortly after Little Miss O turned two, I found a hole in Elephant. Well that sounds weird. Basically she chewed through the pacifier and it became unsafe. So we cut off the pacifier and didn't replace it. Then we started letting her take elephant out of the house but Bunny (the one that still had a pacifier attached) had to stay home. This worked, surprisingly well, considering all the reasons I thought the attached stuffed animal idea would be good weren't supported by anyone I knew.
Around Christmas, like Christmas Eve, I washed Bunny. After that bath, the stitching started to come undone, and the pacifier was dangling. I reattached the pacifier that evening and then realized there was a small hole in it from her bottom teeth. Knowing that in the coming days would be a room change (we combined the girls into the same room) and there would be lots of family coming in and leaving, we decided to watch the hole. Then after things settled and became more routine, we would attempt to ditch the pacifier.
Today, Little Miss O handed me her Bunny while playing. I saw the hole was much larger and becoming a problem. We decided today was the day.
I asked Little Miss O if we could say goodbye to the pacifier and she promptly grabbed the bunny and wouldn't let go. So I decided to sneak in during nap and let the pacifier fairy make it go away. This way big sister wouldn't tell on me.
Little Miss O did not nap for more than a half hour after that. She came out of her room very sad and upset. She came straight to me telling me that 'Bunny doesn't work.' I just cuddled close to her, it broke my heart. I had bought a back up pack, so that if she substitutes her thumb for the missing pacifier we could remedy that problem, and quickly.
Knowing I had those and hearing her tell me that Bunny doesn't work, made me want to jump up and give her both from the pack. But with great restraint, I just cuddled with her. It took a good 45 minutes before the random whining and awesome cuddling stopped. She hoped down from my lap and started playing. With no regard to where the broken bunny was. She even allowed Big Girl J to play with it!
As we speak she has been put to bed with the broken bunny. Amazingly it has been her sister who has gotten out of bed too many times. Without getting myself in trouble, so far so good.
I do understand that at this age it only takes 3 days to make a habit, or I guess break a habit. I knew the first day would be rough, so I am prepared for a long night. But I will be happy if it that is not the case.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
A Halloween Surprise
I'm sure the cat has been let out of the bag... Of course I don't think it would be something I could hide much longer. We are expecting out family to grow in the spring!
I am 12 weeks along. I have made it through the first trimester, without telling my family. I can't believe it was my idea to tell everyone with our Halloween costumes. I was dying trying not to say anything, and wearing baggy shirts around my mom!
The best part was watching the Grandparents try to figure out my costume! The Grandma's only took a moment, however the Grandpas were in need of a hint! We told the girls about their future the day before Halloween, in hopes they would give the ultimate hint to the Grandparents. Maybe Big Girl J would say something like, "There is a baby in Mommy's tummy!" But no, she said trick or treat, got her candy and was ready to move on to the next house.
Little Miss O could care less about our big news. Big Girl J is very excited, as long as it's a girl. She even got Little Miss O on her side of wanting a sister, not a brother! Of course we keep telling her we won't know till Christmas, and she will have to deal with a baby brother, if that is the case.
The biggest problem I am having with Big Girl J being so curious about the baby and wanting to watch videos of how the baby is growing, is the big question. Not how did the baby get in there, but how does the baby get out? I often respond with, "Do you want a cookie?" or "Hey, what was that, let's go look!" Those responses last me a day or two, but I think I may have to tell her soon...
So back to happy thoughts. I didn't put a lot of effort into the girl's costumes this year. The t-shirts were purchased months ago, but the blue hair was a last minute effort. But I think they pulled it off. Also, Big Girl J, really wanted to be a bat for Halloween this year. So in order to tell the family in my fun way, I talked her into wearing a cape with her Thing 1 costume and going as Super Thing 1. And it worked. She also wears the cape on a regular basis since we got it. She loves it!
They had a blast trick or treating and I enjoy my job of candy inspector. This holiday is only evil if you are on a diet, and obviously I am off my diet for the next 6 months!
I am 12 weeks along. I have made it through the first trimester, without telling my family. I can't believe it was my idea to tell everyone with our Halloween costumes. I was dying trying not to say anything, and wearing baggy shirts around my mom!
Little Miss O could care less about our big news. Big Girl J is very excited, as long as it's a girl. She even got Little Miss O on her side of wanting a sister, not a brother! Of course we keep telling her we won't know till Christmas, and she will have to deal with a baby brother, if that is the case.
The biggest problem I am having with Big Girl J being so curious about the baby and wanting to watch videos of how the baby is growing, is the big question. Not how did the baby get in there, but how does the baby get out? I often respond with, "Do you want a cookie?" or "Hey, what was that, let's go look!" Those responses last me a day or two, but I think I may have to tell her soon...
So back to happy thoughts. I didn't put a lot of effort into the girl's costumes this year. The t-shirts were purchased months ago, but the blue hair was a last minute effort. But I think they pulled it off. Also, Big Girl J, really wanted to be a bat for Halloween this year. So in order to tell the family in my fun way, I talked her into wearing a cape with her Thing 1 costume and going as Super Thing 1. And it worked. She also wears the cape on a regular basis since we got it. She loves it!
They had a blast trick or treating and I enjoy my job of candy inspector. This holiday is only evil if you are on a diet, and obviously I am off my diet for the next 6 months!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Really, I might start doing this again!
Most days I don't feel I was that busy, but I am tired enough to believe I must have. Also, many days, I think if I actually were being paid to be a 'homemaker' my family would be starving. It's probably a good thing I can't get fired from that job!
My awesome garden went a little down hill when my new puppy (he may be a puppy but he is about the size of most full grown dogs) got into my garden, multiple times, and pretty much destroyed many plants. I tried to put up fencing to block him, but then he jumped the fence in a different area. I again tried to block him, thinking the only other place for him to try is so blocked by very large plants, he won't jump because there is no place for him to land... Unless he is not afraid to land directly in the middle of my pumpkin patch. The Jerk!
I still have many and very large tomato plants, however the crop seems to be struggling. First, I kept those plants very well labeled and I am most certain I did not put grape tomatoes in my garden, yet I have very red and ripe looking grape tomatoes on the same stem as large tomatoes. So I am struggling. How could I have expected a great veggie year my first go around?
Also our house is up for sale. So depending on when it sells, my second go around for a veggie garden might not even be a consecutive year! Let's hope that is not the case, because my little girls are loving helping me. Big Girl J has been very involved in helping me in every step. And she loves those little grape tomatoes while she is playing outside. And so does Little Miss O. At least someone will eat them if I can't get enough tomatoes at once to can them.
Speaking of canning, I purchased two boxes of apples and have been (slowly) working on making applesauce. I have already made some plum jam (Christmas presents) and today I made 7, 12oz, jars of grape jelly. I hope to add tomato sauce to this list, of course finishing the apples before that wish comes true would be helpful!
My awesome garden went a little down hill when my new puppy (he may be a puppy but he is about the size of most full grown dogs) got into my garden, multiple times, and pretty much destroyed many plants. I tried to put up fencing to block him, but then he jumped the fence in a different area. I again tried to block him, thinking the only other place for him to try is so blocked by very large plants, he won't jump because there is no place for him to land... Unless he is not afraid to land directly in the middle of my pumpkin patch. The Jerk!
I still have many and very large tomato plants, however the crop seems to be struggling. First, I kept those plants very well labeled and I am most certain I did not put grape tomatoes in my garden, yet I have very red and ripe looking grape tomatoes on the same stem as large tomatoes. So I am struggling. How could I have expected a great veggie year my first go around?
Also our house is up for sale. So depending on when it sells, my second go around for a veggie garden might not even be a consecutive year! Let's hope that is not the case, because my little girls are loving helping me. Big Girl J has been very involved in helping me in every step. And she loves those little grape tomatoes while she is playing outside. And so does Little Miss O. At least someone will eat them if I can't get enough tomatoes at once to can them.
Speaking of canning, I purchased two boxes of apples and have been (slowly) working on making applesauce. I have already made some plum jam (Christmas presents) and today I made 7, 12oz, jars of grape jelly. I hope to add tomato sauce to this list, of course finishing the apples before that wish comes true would be helpful!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Still figuring this out
I know, it has been yet another month since I last posted. I am mostly posting currently to let you know I have changed my comment settings. I was getting comments that sound like spam with links that I wouldn't even try to click on. I change the comments allowed to only members. I wanted to make sure my family who wants to keep up with me (when I get back around to posting regularly) still can. I also changed the comments to be previewed by me before they will post.
At first the comments were on my cake picture posts, and they were odd, but at least sounded like the person read my blog, but then had a link to plastic surgery sounding link. Then recently the comments were on random post and had nothing to do with the post. So I am fed up. I do not need plastic surgery. You spam people ruin everything. EVERYTHING!
At first the comments were on my cake picture posts, and they were odd, but at least sounded like the person read my blog, but then had a link to plastic surgery sounding link. Then recently the comments were on random post and had nothing to do with the post. So I am fed up. I do not need plastic surgery. You spam people ruin everything. EVERYTHING!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Little O turns 2
Little Miss O has turned two! I know it's hard to believe. My little one is already two, but just wait, in week my next post may say she is turning 16! It is amazing how fast the time goes.
Everyone has hear of the terrible twos, and I think Little Miss O has perfected it. She has been practicing her temper tantrums for months now. Her best fit is the one she throws while I am cooking dinner. She waits for me to open the pantry, stands in the way so I can't close it, then begins to demand animal crackers. Her tantrum involves real tears, that seem to claim I starve her, screaming, I'm sure there are words but I can't understand them, and most importantly the stamping foot, because if you stamp your foot it gets results. If I open the freezer while she is in the kitchen the tantrum is over ice cream rather than animal crackers. No matter the scenario, my two year old has defiantly perfected it. She has also learned to over dramatize when her sister is mean to her. In many case her sister is pulling her hair, because Little Miss O has already done so to her. The real problem is Big Girl J does not pull Little Miss O's hair in the same vicious manner as what is done to her. However, the result seems to be the same, crying, yelling, and foot stomping.
As horrible as I might be making this sound, it really is. Just plain maddening! Lucky for me this is not a constant event. This at best is a once or twice a day happening. Usually resolved with a threat of no chocolate milk with dinner, or taking the number of books we read before bed down a number. Some nights the book count has gone from 4 to 1 and it seems the lesson still isn't learned, because both children throw a fit when I say no more books because they didn't behave earlier!
Alas, the real reason of this blog post, show off the cake! I attempted a topsy turvey cake. I am concerned that my decorations were a bit too big and took away the effect of a purposely slanted cake, so it just looks crooked...
Little Miss O seemed to enjoy her birthday, with minimal crying. I made the bottom tier chocolate with chocolate chips, the most popular by far. The middle was a homemade cherry chip with the lesson learned, this cake is wonderful fresh and does not freeze well. The top was white almond sour cream, I thought was very tasty, but still not as awesome as the chocolate cake!
Wonderful Husband and I had decided when Big Girl J was one, that we don't like to force people to bring gifts, and his dad can be a little overwhelming with gifts for the wrong age range. So we asked for no gifts at the party, just for people to come and have fun.
Grandmama thinks she is an exception to the rule, and likes to torture me, by bringing presents. At least the gifts are either homemade or good educational, needed toys.
For the record, on the no gift policy. My favorite part, now, is that my girls do not expect gifts. They do not open the door for their friends with the words 'where's my gift.' I have been to many birthday parties with bratty little kids. I have also found my least favorite part of the parties we have attended is the forcing of sitting a child down who was happy playing to open presents and having to thank people they don't really know. It makes me glad I don't do that. I understand why people do it, it was in all fairness the way we were raised. I just want my kids to want to have their friends to celebrate with, and be happy with that!
Everyone has hear of the terrible twos, and I think Little Miss O has perfected it. She has been practicing her temper tantrums for months now. Her best fit is the one she throws while I am cooking dinner. She waits for me to open the pantry, stands in the way so I can't close it, then begins to demand animal crackers. Her tantrum involves real tears, that seem to claim I starve her, screaming, I'm sure there are words but I can't understand them, and most importantly the stamping foot, because if you stamp your foot it gets results. If I open the freezer while she is in the kitchen the tantrum is over ice cream rather than animal crackers. No matter the scenario, my two year old has defiantly perfected it. She has also learned to over dramatize when her sister is mean to her. In many case her sister is pulling her hair, because Little Miss O has already done so to her. The real problem is Big Girl J does not pull Little Miss O's hair in the same vicious manner as what is done to her. However, the result seems to be the same, crying, yelling, and foot stomping.
As horrible as I might be making this sound, it really is. Just plain maddening! Lucky for me this is not a constant event. This at best is a once or twice a day happening. Usually resolved with a threat of no chocolate milk with dinner, or taking the number of books we read before bed down a number. Some nights the book count has gone from 4 to 1 and it seems the lesson still isn't learned, because both children throw a fit when I say no more books because they didn't behave earlier!
Alas, the real reason of this blog post, show off the cake! I attempted a topsy turvey cake. I am concerned that my decorations were a bit too big and took away the effect of a purposely slanted cake, so it just looks crooked...
Wonderful Husband and I had decided when Big Girl J was one, that we don't like to force people to bring gifts, and his dad can be a little overwhelming with gifts for the wrong age range. So we asked for no gifts at the party, just for people to come and have fun.
Grandmama thinks she is an exception to the rule, and likes to torture me, by bringing presents. At least the gifts are either homemade or good educational, needed toys.
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