Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Things I need to write down

I've been telling my mom A's funny statements and she was like, I hope you have been writing this down! Of course, I haven't. So... here are a few recent funnies from my little lady.

New Baby, her beloved doll, does not wear clothes. If I put them on, A takes them off. Anyway. She's been fighting sleep for weeks - stalling with cries that she has to go to the bathroom, she wants water, and anything else she can think of. One night, I knew she was still awake when she had been put to sleep a while ago, but it was too quiet....I walked in and saw that her hands were all shiny - and she had that look on her face. Guilt.
Me: Allie, what's going on?
A: New Baby had a boo boo. I gave her medicine.
Me: What happened?
A: I put medicine on her bum and 'gina. I'm a good mommy. Her my baby.

And I don't know how she reached it but, yes, there was aquaphor all over New Baby's bum and 'gina. And Allie's hands. And hair. And bed.

Since we moved her to a twin bed (out of the crib) in April or May (ish), we've had a gate at her door. She's pretty much potty trained, but has a diaper on at night still, and will often hold her poop until the diap is on. Inevitably, after an hour of sitting on the toilet, she says she doesn't have to go, we get her ready for bed, put the diap on, turn off the light and within 5 minutes we hear ... "Mommy? I went poopy in my diaper. Get a bag." hahaha. Because we bring shopping bags upstairs to throw out soiled diapers. And she knows it.

Anyway, with the gate up, she gets pissed when we want her to go to bed and has peed in her room on the floor several times - basically just to spite us. That's my kid.  Finally we decided to gate the hallway/stairwell, our room, and the guest room, but allow her to walk from her room to the bathroom if she needed to go. We knew this would cause the bedtime shenanigans and stalling to continue for a little until the novelty wore off. But we were sick of cleaning pee multiple times, going up and down the stairs 30 times between 8 and sometimes 10PM until she finally fell asleep. And yes, we tried the "don't look her in the eye, put her in bed without a word" bit. It didn't fly with any of us. The gate's finally down, and we often hear the water running in the bathroom. Oh well, let her play, she'll get bored. Or so we thought.

Last night, C goes up and apparently finds A with her shirt off in the bathroom.
C: Allie, what are you doing honey?
A: Putting toothpaste on my pits.

Yup, my kid rubbed toothpaste all over herself, and in her pits.

Today, she had a poop blowout in her undies at school - a rare thing for her. As I said she'll either wait till she has a diaper on or go in the potty (at which time we throw a PARTY and she gets a prize and tons of praise, high fives, hugs & lots of cheers and fist pumps). Anyway, I picked her up from school and asked her about it as we were getting into the car.
Me: Did you have a poopy accident today?
A: Yeah.
Me (trying to ascertain if it was solid or diarrhea): What did it look like?
A: A small dinosaur.

I didn't even know what to say to that!

We love to go blueberry picking & we go several times a summer. One time we picked peaches, and she pulled them out and lined them up on the ground & made a train...then a rainbow. She just sat there with her peaches. She will also pick pounds of blues and eat every single one - leaving a completely empty bucket.

She "hides" from C --which means she just puts her head down and curls up on the couch so she can't see him....or puts a blanket over herself while giggling & moving around. Its so cute that she thinks if she can't see us, we can't see her.

She calls Jethro her brother.

In tonight's stalling techniques, she said she had to poop. So I was sitting on the side of the tub and she says: You don't love me. I love New Baby.
Me: I love you AND New Baby but I love you more than anything in the world.
A: No. I love New Baby. I'm her Mommy.
Me: You're a great mommy to New Baby.
A: Who's New Baby's Daddy?
Me: ::Dearinheadlights:: I don't know honey. But you're a great mommy.

She calls things "grody" and I love it.

I know there's a million things I promised myself I'd remember but don't... so sometimes I may just write a stream of consciousness post so I really don't forget.


Friday, July 27, 2012

Realty confusion

C's bike was stolen out of our garage last weekend, while we were home. Actually, C & A were outside and I was inside the house. C had just mowed the lawn & the garage was open...someone came and rode his brand new, gigantic bike out of our driveway. Now, it could have been worse - I get that. But it doesn't change the feeling of violation we have. We were never going to stay in our town long term, but figured we'd be here another 4ish years or so - max. C has decided he wants out ASAP instead of waiting. We talked with our realtor & she came back with comps and thinks we can actually list a little higher than we bought for, but expect to get what we paid basically.  I was sure she was gonna say list for 100k less, so didn't have hopes up for anything, figured we were stuck for a while, so this changes everything.

We have nothing saved for a downpayment or closing costs (well, we have savings, but a downpayment would drain them completely & I'm not comfortable having 0 in the bank). If we were lucky to make 10k off the sale, it still probably wouldn't be enough to put down on a new house. So financially, I don't know if this is even a real possibility. But just the thought of being somewhere new, where we know we're going to stay & actually put down roots makes me excited (not the stressful moving part, just the HOME vs. house part). I've told C wherever we go, I want it to be our forever home. He doesn't care at this point, he just wants out of our town now vs. later.


Realistically, I think we have to stay & reassess in a year. Save like crazy, pay down some debt (how the hell do you do both??) do some minor stuff to the house, declutter like crazy & just be patient. But now that the thought is in my head, it's all I want to do.  GET OUT.  I don't know if I should even continue talking with my realtor. I haven't called our mortgage guy, I just don't want to hear the answer. I guess if he comes back and says - no way, you can't do it - at least I'll be able to put this to bed. But what if he says it's doable?

Friday, May 11, 2012

On the topic of mom wars

What a GREAT response to the TIME article.

This author, Nancy Holtzman, hits it on the head as far as I'm concerned.

Especially...

"What if we talk more about helping parents to support one another through the challenges of raising children, and less about criticizing those who have different ideas about how to nurture their children? Why is our society so concerned and fascinated with parents who (in society’s opinion) “over” parent (the “helicopter” mom, “hockey-dads”, over-scheduled kids, extended-breastfeeding) , rather than focusing more on those who “under” parent?

Why is providing breastmilk to a three year old weirder and more harmful than providing a three year old with a steady daily diet of unhealthy food and drink that is shown and known to lead to diabetes, obesity, heart disease and colon cancer? Which is truly more controversial? What about parents who smoke, or allow smoke around their home and children? This is a known risk factor for SIDS, asthma, respiratory infections and cancer. What about parents who don’t buckle their children into booster seats or require seat belts when driving, or who allow their kids to ride bikes on the street with no helmet?


All of these are known to be harmful practices. But no, let’s focus on parents who choose to take nurturing, nutrition, bonding and attachment “to extremes”, it’ll make the rest of us feel better about the less-than-ideal ways we all parent."

Sing it, sister.









Make it Stop - a link

I never link to other blogs...well, except Soul Sistahs. Because I have to, out of love, loyalty and mostly fear.

However, this post or article really spoke to me today.

I belong to an online community of women, some I've "known" for over 5 years, since we were planning our weddings and 'met' on the knot, some of whom have actually become my friends in real life, much to the surprise & snickering of my husband. There is no way to ever agree on all topics, some are more controversial than others, and it is fine and normal to get into debates. But lately there's been some hatin' going on on the board I belong to, where if your opinion doesn't jive with a few of the more vocal ladies... well, you're just plain wrong.

HELLO. It's an OPINION. Yours is yours, mine is mine. Now I know I lean farther to the left than some, as far as political issues go. But I don't care about politics or religion or any of that crap right now. I get that I may be seen as naive, but to me, you're entitled to your view on an issue and I'm entitled to mine. I'll hear your side, and respect it as your view, but I don't have to agree with you any more than you have to agree with me. Unless it directly affects my life or that of my family, it's not worth arguing over. And dude, people get HEATED. About stupid shit like child leashes/harnesses. Organic vs. non organic food & milk. Giving children juice. When to take your kid to the dentist. Rear facing vs. front facing carseats and what age to change. VBAC vs. Repeat C-Section. Breastfeeding vs. formula feeding (OY). What ever happened to a) do unto others as you'd have done unto you and b) to each their own??

It's not just my little microcosm of women that is affected (afflicted?). There are some haters - SO many of whom are just plain ignorant - that feel the need to spew their hate on perfect strangers on a national or large scale forum, like facebook, cnn, local news channel websites, etc. in the form of comments beneath an article. The TIME article & cover photo about extended breastfeeding is a perfect example of this. Man, that photo is awful. So tasteless and I think that mom will grow to regret it, if she doesn't already. BUT. The comments calling her a child molester, incestuous, etc. are revolting. Do I want to see a 3-4 year old breastfeeding openly? Nope. I don't. That is my opinion - it makes me uncomfortable. But I'll be damned if I fault a mother for choosing to do this for her child. And child abuse? Come on. That's just absurd. I don't even understand why people feel the need  to post their comments on articles like that, or facebook stories, or whatever the case may be. Other than to garner attention & stir a pot, what purpose does it serve?

Anyway, the hate out there is just too much. My little online community is not exempt from it, no matter how much people claim to be there for each other, supportive in times of need, open minded, and accepting. And this article summed it up really well for me, so I wanted to share.





Friday, April 27, 2012

I still hate diapers...and other randomings.

But that isn't the point of this post. But if I may... I said I'd never use pull-ups, but we are. And she is treating them just like diapers instead of using them as a next step. Its awful. I hate diapers.

Anyway.

C & A planted seeds for our garden. We got a different seed thingy with a little plastic greenhouse top (vs the saran wrap I used last year...yeah...) and C decided it was a good idea to put it in the sun one warm day - WITH the top on. He killed 1/3 of our damn sprouts. I don't even know what they were, but our garden will be a bit smaller than expected. Well done, former landscaper husband. Well done.

So we'll have blueberries (hopefully!), maybe tomatoes, basil, peppers, zukes, watermelon...and I don't know what else.

In other earth related news.. I'm allergic to like everything. Had an allergist appointment today, and basically I should stay inside in a sterile environment. In a hypoallergenic bubble. Maple, Birch, Ragweed, Dustmites all had immediate, strong reactions. So yeah, seasonal allergies...big deal, right? Well, when coupled with Oral Allergy Syndrome, I have awesome fuzzy tongue and itchy lips when I eat strawberries, pineapple, pear, cherry, raspberry...basically any awesome fruit that I love. And it is only going to get more annoying from now on, adding more foods to the list I can't eat (or at least get a reaction to and deal with it). I blame a) Allie because it only started after having her and 2) Dad because he developed all the same allergies later in life...including an anaphalactic (sp?) reaction to Almonds, which I'm sure is not too far down the road for me. Honest to God the doc said today - 'eat & enjoy them while you can!!' Great.

But, Allie does NOT have allergies, which is good. The bad part is, we dont know why she's been sick basically since Jan 5. She's had a decent last week or so, but she's back to being congested, and I'm assuming the cough will be back by this weekend. Too bad, because we are surprising her and taking her on a ride on Thomas the Train... She loves Thomas, but we were in the mall last night and they have this dinky little train kids can ride on and she FREAKED out. Like screaming, made me pick her up, freaked. So.......Thomas could be disastrous. Maybe I'll even post a picture on this blog if I get a good one (I did after all take the class at Tunxis Community college, so I'm an expert photographer now).

We'll see how it goes! I'll be armed with Zyrtec and a helmet.

Friday, March 30, 2012

I hate diapers

We've entered Potty Training Hell. A did SO great for a couple weeks. Then she got super sick and had to stay home for a week. With constant attention (my mom watched in the mornings, then the ILs relieved her in the afternoons), she had very few accidents because she could be asked every 5 seconds if she had to go and rushed to the bathroom when she said yes. Once she got back to daycare it was all downhill. Accidents every day, and the poor kid still will.not.poop in the toilet. She's like scared and embarrassed by it.

I really thought we were done with diapers. Ok, I am done with diapers. But I have to admit that A isn't... she has regressed, and we're going to keep her in diaps for a little longer till she is truly ready. She hates wearing diapers, so hopefully that'll be the impetus for her, but we'll see. Also, we're putting up her big girl bed this weekend...my BABY is getting a real bed... so we'll play that up too. Bribery is also on the table. Not surprisingly, my kid loves chocolate, so she gets a sticker and m&ms for the bribe prizes when she pees, and we have a basket of real prizes (um, dollar store stuff) for if she ever poops on the potty.

I hate diapers. But I also hate how expensive undies are, and with daycare throwing out undies with poop in them, I can't afford that anymore than I can keep buying diapers.

So, that's where we are with potty training. Back to square one.

Done with Whole30!

I did it! 30 days of gluten, soy, dairy, sugar, preservative and pretty much everything else- free eating. Lost 11 lbs, slept like a baby, no headaches, stomach relatively normal (for me)... It was pretty awesome. Lot of prep work on Sundays and planning for every meal and snack was time consuming, but it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I ate new things I'd never tried, esp since I so rarely eat red meat and I had no choice but to re-introduce it. I didn't miss cheese like I thought I would...I missed carbs & chocolate though. So Wed morning, day 31, I had a blueberry muffin, and had some mini eggs at night. Sad and pathetic, I know. Oh well!

I learned a lot... I always read the labels for calories/fat/protein/carbs/fiber, but never really the ingredients. Holy hell do they put a lot of crap in stuff that it has no being in. I don't understand it! So I will surely eat better and cleaner than before, and with more knowledge behind my decisions. I think the headache free month was the most enlightening part...that is a miracle for me, and I know it's because I didn't have all the junk in my system. I also now know how badly gluten affects my gut...so as much as I can, I'm cutting out breads, cereals, pastas, crackers, etc. I'm not going to hate myself if I eat it, but I'm going to give myself better choices moving forward. As for dairy... I always knew it messed with me, so other than chocolate (which I proclaim a NON dairy food...in my own world...) and the occasional ice cream or frozen yogurt, I'll be dairy free I think.

So, a new leaf has been turned. For now :)

Thursday, March 8, 2012

I need to make this blog more interesting...

So, Jess of Soul Sistahs opened my eyes to the fact that she has people from all over the world viewing her blog. I may be her only follower, but I never even knew I could track who saw what I wrote.  Um, Indonesia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Netherlands....Really?? This is an amazing thing...but also pathetic because no one reads this. On the one hand, I don't care - this is mostly a journal for me and for A down the road. But on the other, sometimes I have funny shit to say (well, I think I'm funny...) and I don't usually blog it because no one reads it. So there's my dilemma...no one reads me because I don't say anything pertinent or funny to anyone else, but I don't really write everything I think about or frequently enough to make a difference in my viewership.

So maybe I'll turn over a new leaf and write more often, more detailed, and more random crap. Like about my annoying coworkers...and the Whole30 cleanse/jumpstart diet I'm on right now...and Jethro getting bit at camp, my poor baby boy...and Allie still pooping in her pants... I have endless things to write about, though not endless time to write. So, there may be an influx of posts coming from Cartzy soon. or, more likely, I'll forget about this new found motivation and come back in a month for another 'sorry i'm a crappy mommy/blogger/journaler' update type post. Yeah, that's probably what will happen. But it's a good thought...

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

A little PTing update

A stayed dry all day yesterday!! Now we have to work on the fact that she's hitting and pushing her friends. I don't want my kid to be a bully!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Potty trained!

Well...almost. A is in big girl undies at school and is doing so well! She had one pee accident yesterday, when they were outside playing... I'm wondering if they didn't ask her if she had to go before they went outside?? And of course... poop. Poop is her nemesis. She is nervous and embarrassed about it, and tells us right AFTER she's gone...in her pants... And she's on antibiotics for this awesome month long cough/cold, so it was nasty. Glad she was at school when it happened yesterday, because C & I dealt with enough poopy pants this weekend, thankyouverymuch.

Side note: wasn't getting her tonsils out supposed to help her not be sick as much? Yeah. Guess not. She is sleeping better, not snoring, and all that jazz. But she's ALWAYS sick. poor little nugget.

Here are some of her cute sayings..mostly for me because I am awful at keeping any kind of record of her milestones.
pota dots - polka dots
ruckie duckie - rubber ducky
i ate my (insert food) all - she always puts all at the end. my little yoda.
cool dude!
It no fit -- with a scrunched up little face - as C tried to put on one of her necklaces over his ginormous head.

She counts to 10...then says thirteen. Ha!
Her ABCs-- mishmash of letters, mumbles... I have to get it on camera because it's hysterical.
Twinkle Twinkle - she says 'uppa buppa' for 'up above the' - This kid can't get any cuter.

the other day she said....
i so proud of you  -- to me, when i blew my nose.
hi little boy -- to C as she rubbed his head. It's what we say to Jethro. Hilarious.

Ok, thats it for this installment of - please dont forget how cute your kid is at this moment...

Monday, February 6, 2012

I'm an awful blogger.

Wow. November 2011 seems like a million years ago. Oops. I don't have much of an exciting life, but I'm sure I could have found things to write about...
Yes, Aunt Carol passed away.
My best friend Apryl started working with me - like at WORK work. It's pretty awesome.
A turned 2 years old, and we had a Nemo party for her.
I made peppermint bark & hot chocolate mix for people for Christmas gifts.
I got my first Uggs for Christmas.
A actually enjoyed Christmas this year.
She also then had her tonsils & adenoids out on Dec. 27th. That was fun.
She's talking up a storm, full sentences, and is adorable. She sings her ABCs..sorta.. twinkle...sorta.. itsy bitsy spider..sorta. Hilariously entertaining, but also shows how smart she is!
She also may be getting bullied by one girl at school...there are incident reports every week, and A is also the offender at times, but more often than not, it's A who comes home with a scratch on her face, bitemarks, etc. Not quite sure what to do about it...
I just turned 29.3 last week. A sang to me and it was amazing. I also refuse to tell anyone I'm 32. I don't have a reason, I'm not scared that I'm old and dying or something... I just like to think of myself as 29 instead.

I will try to post more - if for nothing else than to have some sort of record for Alexandra... I really should be better about it!