Merry Christmas!

It really was a fun Christmas eve getting ready for Santa. MG got carrots and cookies ready for the reindeer and Santa. She insisted on carrying the plates over to the little table by the Christmas tree.... all the while tripping along in her Elmo slippers. I think that she had as much fun getting ready for Santa as finding the gifts under the tree this morning.

It was a nice Christmas. It feels like it's going by too fast, though. I'm truly dreading going back to work. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble enjoying my job right now, but I won't wreck the happy spirit of the holiday by talking about that. But I sure wish that I didn't have these feelings about my work. :( I suppose I'll probably write about it here soon so that I can sort things out and get some objective opinions from you guys.

Best Christmas Gift Ever

MG has decided to finally start using the potty! She loves having choices, so it really helped when we got a potty seat and step stool for the big potty that she can flush. So she can choose the little potty or big one and pull-ups or cotton undies. This is a great Christmas gift for me! Less diapers to buy!!!!! And let me tell you, a 2 and 1/2 year olds diapers are the worst to change. Very disgusting.

All I Want for Christmas

It's really fun celebrating Christmas this year. MG is so excited about everything. It really brings back the magic of the season for me. She told Santa that she wants trains and lollypops. MM and I got the wooden train set out last night and put it together.

We also decided to take all those annoying horrid wires and packaging for the other toys. I spend about 15 minutes on a leapfrog train set for MB. Phew! I'm glad that I took care of that early instead of waiting till Christmas day when they open their presents. It's so ironic that the toy itself has to meet all kinds of standards to make it safe for kids, but it's packed into the box with 50 choking hazards. It makes sense that a parent needs to take it out of the packaging before giving it to the kid, but it's so easy for any one of those small wire twist ties or plastic pieces to fall into the floor.

Tomorrow we're going to make one simple kind of cookie and easy easy easy chocolate covered pretzels. I've learned that staying simple is best at this point. For Christmas day, I'm going to make Pretzel Strawberry Salad! It's sooooooo goooood! And very pretty! Crushed pretzels are the crust, then there's a layer of cream cheese w/coolwhip and a layer of strawberries & strawberry jello. I decided to make it after MM dropped a container of pretzels on the floor, crushing them...just perfect for my recipe!

Christmas shopping is finished! Thank goodness. I had to do grocery shopping today, and it was pretty wild...especially in the meat department. They had boneless chicken breast for $1.00 per pound, so everyone was trying to get at it. Then MG decided to run down the aisles yelling "Mommy! Mommy!" from the next aisle over. She was pretty good though, and entertained the other customers in our check-out line by singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" at the top of her lungs. Then she notice that people were looking and got embarrassed. It was cute.

Well, take care! Hope that you're all enjoying the holiday season too!

Santa's Spies

We've been warning MG everytime that she's "bad" that Santa is watching, and that he will only bring her toys if she's being good. Yesterday morning she believed us. There was a huge deer buck out in the field in front of our house. When I told her to come and see him, she said in awe "It's a reindeer!" I told her that he was really out there watching to see if she's being good. :)

Christmas Crazies

My wild toddler girl has been acting just awful and wilder than wild during the last two weeks. It has been pretty terrible and crazy at times. I was really getting worried and stressed out and wasn't thinking clearly because of lack of sleep. I talked to a friend about this last night. She's a mother of three boys, so she laughed when I told her about MG. She was not shocked at all and said simply "It's because of the holidays." It really does make sense when I think about it. It's not a complicated issue of knowing right from wrong or anything like that. It's just that we're all acting so unusual talking about Santa and Christmas presents and breaking so totally away from the routine normal everyday things that she is so used to. It's all very extra exciting. So I deleted my last gotta go to church entry. I do want to go, but that's a separate issue from MGs wild holiday antics. Thank goodness!!!

As you can guess, I had a full night of sleep last night!!!!! MB got me up only once around 2 or 3 am. It was a real miracle! I can't tell you the last time he only got me up once. The norm is 3 or 4 times. We had such a good day. I felt so alert and uncrazy. What a relief! I had begun to fear that I might be losing my sanity. :) It's amazing how sleep deprivation affects me. It's not pretty. I need my sleep.

I had been giving MB baby medicine for the terrible teething, but he is such a big boy. I was giving him the highest dosage on the package...for a 2 year old, but the doctor told me that I need to give him more because he's heavier than the typical 2 year old. So last night was the first time he had the bigger dose. His teething is so painful, and his gums bleed every time. Poor little guy. I'm glad the medicine helped him sleep last night.

I forgot to tell you that MB stood up on his own for the first time on Saturday! He did it at the library where there's a little table with Thomas trains! He stood up so that he could play with the trains. This is exciting since we got them a wooden train set for Christmas. He stood for a long time, fell down once and then pulled himself up again to get at the trains. And lucky me, I had my camera! I will post a picture of this exciting event soon! I'm so happy with my digital camera. I printed out the pictures today, and they are so beautiful. The Christmas pose turned out so good in front of our tree.

Well, that's it for me! Have a great rest of the week! If you have kids...tell me, do they get wild and crazy during the holidays? I need to know that I'm not alone! :)

MG's Fashionable Blankies

MG has been asking me to paint her nails, so yesterday we bought some new fingernail polish. I asked MG to choose three colors . Her first choice was minty green. I said "Oh, that's so pretty." She explained, "It matches Green!" (Green is the name of her favorite blanky) Sure enough, it is the exact shade of green as her blanky. When we got home I had to paint her nails, and she grabbed "Green" to compare colors. A perfect match! :)

Weaning

Yeah, it's definitely time to wean Mr. Mommy Milk Boy. He's started biting me! On top of getting me up several times last night, he topped it all off by biting me as hard as he could! That was a rude awakening. He drinks formula from a sippy cup, so the only problem I anticipate is nighttime feedings. Soon he'll be able to drink whole milk anyway.

I have an early Christmas present. We finally decided to get a digital camera. I really love it. It's so nice to be able to erase pictures that don't turn out good. And then I can print out only the ones that I want. We were a little behind in the times still using our film camera. Although, there still may be occasions where I want to use it.

Well, that's it for me. I have kids waiting for the Mommy Show Entertainment hour. :)

Tagged by Two!

I was tagged a few days ago by Linda and have been waiting around to post because I don't know how to tag people. I've also been tagged by Barbara. They're both really fun Christmas themed topics, so I'm going to go ahead and post. Later, I'll get MM to show me how to tag people and then I'll do that tomorrow. Or....pretend that I tagged you and let me know if you put it on your blog! :)

Tagged by Barbara...
Top 5 Christmas Songs-
1. Jingle Bells
2. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
3. Away in a Manger
4. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
5. Happy Christmas (War is Over) by John Lennon

Tagged by Linda...
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Presents from Santa are wrapped, but not so when I was a kid.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? We have colored lights on our tree.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, but I think it would be a fun tradition.

5. When do you put your decorations up? We usually put them up right after Thanksgiving. This year we actually put some Christmas decorations up before Thanksgiving. I've gotten extra excited about it this year.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I really love cornbread dressing if we have turkey on Christmas. This year we're having ham, so I can't think of a way to work in my dressing.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? We used to go to my maternal grandparents' house on Christmas eve. It was so much fun. We'd stay there till very late at night and then arrive back home to discover that Santa had visited a little early.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I was in third grade. I remember knowing for a while, but didn't want to admit it.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I think that we sometimes do. I can't remember if we did last year though.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Our tree has some of MM's ornament's from when he was a kid...like a homemade angel from his grandmother. There are a few homemade ones and other fun things for the kids. We collect Snoopy ornaments.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I really do love the snow, but I'm so inexperienced with driving in it. I try to stay off the roads.

12. Can you ice skate? I have gone ice skating once and fell so many times! I love to watch ice skating on TV.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I think that my favorite gift was a special doll from my grandmother when I was a little girl. I think her name was Dancerella or something. She was brunette (like me) and could dance on her toes and twirl when you turned a pink tiara on her head.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending time with family and enjoying our children.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I love Christmas cookies, but my Mom always makes cheesecake with cherry topping. That's my favorite!

16. What tops your tree? A Red Velvet Bow.

17. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving. It's so much fun to surprise the people I love.

18. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I've always loved "Jingle Bells" and "Away in a Manger".

19. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?? Yum.

20. What do you serve for Christmas dinner? We usually have dinner at Mark's parents' house, and it's either ham or turkey with sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, corn bread dressing, gravy.

I Should Be Sleeping

Well, today was like being in the middle of a tornado. I went to help out at MG's preschool today. We got off to a hint of a bad start when MG didn't want Mommy to take her to school. I guess the change of routine wasn't a good thing for her. She wanted Daddy. Things seemed ok except that she kept telling me that she was sleepy on the way over. She did great during story time until a little boy decided to tickle her during group time. Then she kept leaving the group to "visit" with me. She proceeded to have a tantrum, pull toys off shelves with a bang, hit me on the head with her fist (something she never does), and yell "NO! NO! NO!" at me in front of everyone. Then she calmed down, but I was so embarrassed. I'm sure my face turned several shades of red. Things didn't get much better after we got home. She wouldn't take a nap and she bit me, drawing blood!! Whew....it was as bad as it gets. She hadn't been to school for two weeks due to illness and then the holiday, so I suppose the change in routine wreaked havoc. She also wasn't feeling too good after eating too much chocolate. I can think of all kinds of reasons for her brattiness. Anyway, I sure hope she's feeling better tomorrow. She even put herself in timeout because she knew she was being bad.

Crazy Moments

Unfortunately, I tend to get blue during the holidays. It must be bad habit. It really is better with kids because I get to do extra fun things for them. When I was young, my mom had severe depression...especially during holidays. It really had an effect on everyone around her... especially me and my brothers. Now holidays are happier for me. I love doing special things and making traditions with my family, but I start getting a little blue anyway. It really must be habit. I got so used to feeling this way for years and years.

Tomorrow I'm the parent helper for my daughter's preschool class. This is a big event for me! I'm taking off from work to do it. Mark has been taking MG since I work on Monday mornings, so I'm excited to spend time with MG and her friends. I'm actually a little nervous about it too, which is very silly. I can't remember all her classmates names!

Speaking of work, I've felt so burnt out with it. This is really terrible because it really isn't a bad job at all. By the time my work shift rolls around, I just feel very drained emotionally. It's hard to care enough about my work for some reason. Maybe I'm still trying to balance my job as a Mommy with my part time "real" job.

Well, I think it helps to write about things to sort out my feelings! Usually I feel so much more positive about everything after actually getting some sleep. MB is cutting another tooth, and I should've learned by now that he really needs medicine. He got me up every two hours for the last three nights. I gave him the children's motrin tonight, so I think it will be better. His gums bleed with these top teething coming in! Poor little guy. It seems to bother him (and me!) most at night.

Ok! I'm done sounding off! Thanks for reading my "crazy moments" post!

Thanksgiving Snow

One Thanksgiving that I remember from the 1970s was a snowy one. I was very young...probably 3 or 4 years old. We always went to my maternal grandparents' house for lunch, but this year was different. Since we had an early snow, my family decided to go to my great-grandmother's house instead since it was centrally located and easier for everyone to get there. I remember stepping into the snow and onto the porch or Mamaw's tiny little white bungalow. I'm sure that it was difficult to cram everyone into that tiny house, but we had so much fun. Some of my cousins that we normally didn't share Thanksgiving with were there. I remember the warmth and laughter of family being together on a cold snowy day.

How do you like your pizza?

Last evening we decided to order pizza so that I wouldn't have to cook. I asked MG what she would like on her pizza, expecting her to say ham and pineapple which seems to be her favorite. Instead, she announced that she wanted popcorn and turkey on it! So what toppings do you like on your pizza?

Family Kicked Off Flight for BF

I just read this story about a woman who was kicked off a flight (along with her family) for breastfeeding her 22 month old daughter in public. Apparently, the flight attendant felt offended by it and asked her to cover up with a blanket. She refused, and the flight attendant had the family kicked off the flight. You can read the story and see a picture of the mommy and baby here. http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061114/NEWS/61114002

I think this is pretty pathetic of the flight attendant. What an idiot. Also, I don't blame the mother for refusing the blanket. I'd like to see a 22 month old who would be content to have her head covered up with a blanket while nursing! My two never liked being covered up. Also, it's supposed to soothe a young child go be breastfed for the flight! She was keeping her child happy and calm...something I'm sure the other passengers would appreciate! Can yo believe this?!

Today Got Better

What an awful last few days. I'm still learning when it comes to taking care of sick kids. MG had the stomach virus so bad. I've never seen anything like it. I thought that it was getting better yesterday, but it got a whole lot worse during the night and this morning. I was feeling a little panicky. I called the doctor today and was told that basically she shouldn't be eating anything but plain noodles and dry bread and drinking water and pedialite. Yum. We had been trying apple juice and water and mild foods, but some of those things were making the diarrhea worse! After eating noodles and cereal, she seems to be doing better tonight. Mark had it almost as bad as MG, but he is finally getting better too. He said that it's one of the worst sicknesses he's ever had! I think that MB has a touch of it. I've had to feed him plain rice cereal with water and mommy's milk since he's a little queasy. I had a touch of it too. Whew..taking care of MG took a lot out of me. We changed so many diapers and it was so gross that we had to put the diaper pail in the basement. What an experience. She has actually lost some weight and her legs look so thin.

I have to confess that I went on a little shopping spree because of the stress. I did a little Christmas shopping. I didn't go overboard, but it made me feel so much better. I felt a little helpless with making MG feel better after trying so many things, so it made me feel good to buy some things for her for Christmas. I did go ahead and give her a "fishing" game to give her something fun to do while being confined. She loves it. It was also nice to get out of the "sick" house for a little while. Hopefully this week everyone will be feeling normal again!

Sick Days

During my 7 years of working at my current job, I've rarely taken off sick except for the 6 months of maternity leave. I had to take off last evening and will take off again tomorrow. Tomorrow is our "staff day" where everyone in the organization goes to special workshops and we have a nice lunch. Well, I'm missing it for the first time and that feels very strange. MG is mostly better, but she is still sick enough that I can't have a babysitter tomorrow. The person who was going to take care of her has a child of her own who doesn't need to be exposed to the stomach virus.

I was actually kind of looking forward to being away for the day and have a mixture of feelings about it. Maybe I really need to make time for MM and I to go out somewhere just the two of us. We haven't done that since before MB came along and only once after MG came along! I love being with the kids and love that they are not in childcare, but it would be good to have a few hours to see a movie or go hiking or do something that we can't normally do with the kids. I guess it's kind of sad that staff day was the one day that MM and I were going to have time away from the kids together. I've been a little depressed about it.

I think I'll try to take the kids somewhere fun tomorrow if they are both feeling well enough. MB hasn't caught the virus (yet), but I think that mommy milk might help protect him from some things. If that proves true, I'm very glad that I've continued nursing him this long. We may have trouble with weaning, but I feel that he's a healthier little boy because of it.

I've had fun Christmas shopping this year. It's been a little tricky though. We have bought most things with the kids in tow. MG is getting a wooden train set with Thomas characters and a Cabbage Patch Kid newborn doll. MB is getting a LeapFrog train set and Barney shape sorter. He loves Teletubbies, but you can't find them in stores anymore!! I may order one from eBay for his birthday...which is right after Christmas! I have such nice memories of Christmas when I was a little girl, so I hope that I can make it magical and fun for my kids.

I really want to use a real tree this year. We're thinking of getting one that we can plant in the Spring. Our yard needs some trees! We only have one! When I was a little girl, my dad used to cut down a cedar tree every year from my great grandmother's farm. I can still remember the smell of cedar that permeated the house mingled with the smell of warm Christmas lights. Those old fashioned kind with big bulbs. My brother and I would scoot up under the tree, lying on our backs to look up into the branches. It was so pretty and we imagined that we were small and could dance among the little angels, santas, snowmen and elves. My brother would fall asleep under the tree.

Well, I'd better go. I need to think about Thanksgiving instead of skipping right over to Christmas. I think that my next post will be about my best Thanksgiving memory. When I was about 4 years old, we had a big snow on Thanksgiving. Instead of going to my grandparents' house, we had to go much closer...to my great-grandmother's tiny house. It's a fun memory. Take care! I'd like to hear about your holiday memories from when you were a kid!

Stomach Virus

Yuck...yuck...Yuck...yuck! Poor MG had a stomach virus that started last night. She was alternating throwing up and diarrhea all night long until 4 AM. We camped out in the living room in sleeping bags. She was really good about telling me each time that she needed to be sick or had a soiled diaper. She had a little pillow that she kept wanting to put on her stomach to make it feel better. Today she's much better. It may have been something she ate, but it seems that she's been picking up every little germ. She never had a high temperature with this, so I really don't know what it was.

MB was a little hyper today. He figured out how to open the boxes of puzzles to pull out the pieces to chew on. He distinctly said "kit cat" when he saw our cat Abner today. He has such a sweet little voice. It's hard to believe that he will be a year old in a couple of months!!!! He still seems like a little baby to me! I was looking back at pictures of MG when she was his age...it made me teary-eyed.

Someone asked us to be in a Christmas play to be Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. Uh...MB will be almost a year old by then and may very well weigh 30 pounds by then!! People will be saying "Look at big ole baby Jesus". I hope that they can find a younger baby to play the part. Or they might very well find an older baby who is smaller than MB!

Cussing Problems

I really do need to adjust my language. MG repeats everything that we say. I'm still trying to replace curse words with "Shucks!" especially if the other "sh" word starts to come out. If something wrong does slip out and it gets repeated, I tell MG that Mommy shouldn't say things like that. I told her that a few days ago, and she nodded her head and said "Shucks, Mommy". I don't know why it's become so easy to slip into the bad habbit of cussing. Got to find other ways to work out stress!!! :) I think that the hardest place to stop cussing is in the car when encountering people driving dangerously. It's so easy to scream out the horrible "Sh%# Far!" when someone does something dangerous that almost causes a wreck. That's southern cuss for "Poop Fire!" I feel really bad about this.

Full Moon Morons and Coffee Bean Poo

Today was an ok work day for me until I talked to an irate customer who was making threatening remarks. It was very odd, so I attribute it to the full moon. I sorted out his problem and he seemed to calm down after that. It was very bizarre, so it's hard to even describe. And I really don't want to talk about work on my blog!

MM laughed when he changed MB's diaper today. All that he had in it was a little tiny poo bean that looked exactly like a coffee bean. I must really be drinking way too much coffee lately to result in my son pooing a coffee bean!

On to more sane topics.... MB learned to do the following things this week! CRAWL, SIT UP UNASSISTED and ROLL A BALL back and forth with MG! We had begun to worry whether he was delayed in doing these things, but he doesn't do things gradually. It's all at once! It's amazing that he has made this giant leap. It all happened within the week. He's also trying to say kitty cat and push. I say "push" when trying to wrestle him into his clothes, so he was trying to say it this morning.

MG has learned her shapes and was identifying them for me today. I was surprised that she even knows diamond and rectangle. Mark really works with her on it. It really goes to show how important reading and books are to learning. She loves books and one in particular about shapes and dogs fascinates her.

I think that I've been a little down because of winter coming. It's not my favorite time of the year, although I do love the holidays. Oh well! I need to find a little sled so that I can pull the kids around in it when it comes a big snow! Having kids makes all kinds of weather more fun, so I'll quit moping about it.

"Too Much Sh#@!"

Today I was trying to get MG to come to the table to have lunch. The table was covered in toys, books and papers. I shoved things over and put her food in a clear spot and asked her to come over. She looked at the table and said, "No! There's too much shit on there!" Hmmm...I wonder who taught her that? It wasn't me this time! We decided that it was a good idea to clean the table before we ate.

A Ghost on the Stairs?

When I was a senior in college, my supervisor Judith asked me to house-sit for her. She had a beautiful old Victorian style home that had been renovated. I also got to take care of her sweet golden retriever named Perry. I was very excited to have some time away from my dorm room. It was a nice and brightly lit home, so ghosts were the last things on my mind when I agreed to stay there.

On that first night, I stayed in the guest room upstairs. I was reading a book and resting in this big soft comfortable bed, and Perry was sleeping on the rug beside the bed. Suddenly, I distinctly heard the sound of someone running up the stairs. The stairs were right there outside the room, so it was very loud and distinct. I leapt out of the bed and felt like my heart was leaping into my throat. I thought that a burglar was in the house and that I had just heard him run up the stairs and he should be right there in the doorway. Perry had jumped up too and was barking at the stairs. It was extremely scary.

But nobody was there. I know that I heard something. I don't think that I believe in ghosts, but I just don't know about this. It was definitely the sound of someone running up the stairs in the house. The dog sensed something too, unless she was just following my lead. After I looked around the house and made sure the doors were locked, I got Perry to get in the bed with me. It was hard to convince her to do so... I think it was a no-no with her owners.

There was another room in the house in which the doors would not stay shut. It was my supervisor's step-daughter's room. If I shut the door, it would pop back open. I thought that maybe it could have something to do with air pressure, but I watched the door after shutting it. I saw the door knob turn! Then Mark came over and he saw the same thing happen. It was very strange.

Later that year, we were visiting my supervisor at this same house for a Christmas party. We heard a few little bumps upstairs and my supervisor said "Oh, that's our ghost." Apparently, she felt that the house had a ghost!

If it wasn't for this incident in college, I would say that I don't believe in ghosts. I can explain away the door opening, but it's hard to think of what I could've heard coming up the stairs. I wasn't dozing off, so I don't think that it was my imagination. The houses were close together, so I tried to think that maybe someone in the house next door was running up those stairs. But it sure sounded loud and I thought someone was right there with me. I actually felt a presence. What do you think it was?

The Rat

When we first moved to Maryland and lived in the 100 year old farm house, we had a severe mice problem in the house. Then, when we had two cats, someone must have told the mice because they disappeared. We were surprised one winter when we heard scratching in our kitchen closet.

At first we thought, oh, it's just a mouse. We opened the closet door and our cat Tansy immediately ran into the closet. Then, we looked up at the top shelf. There was a big rat inside of a container standing up on his hind legs! He wasn't very scared of us either.

I believe that Mark grabbed a broom and I climbed up on a chair. I think mice are cute and I don't like to hurt animals, so I think that we were going to try and chase the rat out. (Rats aren't quite as cute as mice) He wouldn't cooperate, though, and ran out of the closet and hid. We couldn't find him anywhere.

We went upstairs at bedtime thinking that we would be fine since the rat was downstairs. Then in the morning hours around 2 am, I heard this horrible loud squeaking. He had somehow got up the stairs and was in the hallway outside our room! We closed the door so that he could not get in after being unsuccessful once again at catching him.

I won't go into detail because it's sad for the rat, but we could hear the cats after him all night. Then the next day, I couldn't find the rat anywhere. I eventually found the deceased rat later that afternoon. Then we never saw any more rats or mice for the rest of the time that we lived in that old house! It was a creepy experience with the rat. Maybe he wouldn't have, but I kept having visions of him getting in my bed! Yikes!

Even though our house was old and rather haunted looking, I never felt any strange presence there (besides the mice, bats and rat). I've never really believed in ghosts , but I house-sat for someone while in college and had a very strange experience. Something happened that made me seriously wonder about the existence of a ghost. Maybe there is a logical explanation for the strange things that happened. I'll write more about it tomorrow and see what you think!

Spooky Stories

In the spirit of Halloween fun, I'm going to write about "scary" things that happened to me in the past few years. For tonight, I'll write about our "pet" bat.

When we first moved to Maryland, we lived in a 100 year old farm house. I had stayed up late watching a movie, so it was past 1 AM when I walked up the creaky stairs to our bedroom. As soon as I turned on the light, something swooped down at my face and I could hear it squeaking. A bat had found a way from the attic through a hole in the closet ceiling.

Mark and I looked around for the bat that was hiding in some other part of our house after he flew from the room, but we decided to go back to sleep when he was nowhere to be found. Then later, I felt him swooping at my face again while I was in bed! I pulled the covers over my face, but could still feel him swooping at me!

We ended up closing off part of the house and chasing the bat around towards the front door. Mark was chasing after the bat with a laundry basket over his head...very cute. We finally got the bat out, but I looked around and couldn't find Mark. I looked outside and there he was sitting on the front steps with the laundry basket still on his head. It's such a funny memory now, but it's very creepy to have a bat swooping at you!

Tomorrow I'll write about The Rat. On Halloween, I'll write about a haunting incident that made me wonder if there really are ghosts!

Cleaning the House

I had company today, so I got up at 7am this morning to clean the house. The carpet had to be steam-cleaned because it had spit up stains all over it...very lovely. MB has been spitting up more with the teething. I cleaned only the living room and kitchen, but that was enough to wear me out for the rest of the day. I still have a problem with lack of energy. I know deep down that regular exercise would help me, but I have yet to get started. I think that I'm going to have to get a few exercise dvds to get me going and give me a way to start without leaving the house. Sigh.

New Clothes

I finally broke down and bought some new clothes after my only two pairs of jeans that fit split open at the seams! At first I assumed that it happened because of my excess baby weight, but they really were just worn out. I actually bought them to wear when I was in the early stages of pregnancy about three years ago. So I feel like I've been wearing maternity clothes for three years!!! I don't think that I will fit into my before the babies clothes ever again, so I will be getting rid of those. I had been holding onto some things, but I think I would feel better jut getting them out of my sight. If I do get my weight down, I'm still going to be shaped differently as a mommy, so those things probably would never fit right. Besides, it will probably make me feel better about myself NOT to come across those certain items when rummaging around for something to wear. It's silly, but I am looking forward to wearing my new clothes. Kohl's had a big sale, so I really found some good deals.

That's really not my most exciting news. We went on our mini-vacation to Strasburg, PA and stayed in a red caboose that had been converted into a motel room. It was really like staying in an RV, and MG really loved it. MB had a good time, too. He rode on his first little kids' ride... a Thomas engine that played music and rocked back and forth. We visited the National Toy Train museum and rode the train at the Strasburg railroad. It was fun even though MG wouldn't sleep much the first night. Metal Mark and I had to drink lots and lots of coffee to stay awake the next day!!!

MB has four teeth now! He only woke me up once last night, so I'm feeling much better and getting more much needed sleep. Yay!

Goin to see the trains

We're going to take a second trip to Strasburg and Lancaster to see the trains in a few days. MG remembers our first trip and talks about it all the time. One day last week we needed to go to the grocery store, and I made the mistake of saying "We're going on a quick trip." She thought that we were going to see the trains right then! Now I've started liking trains a lot too.

I've made a few changes to try to help MB through his teething extravaganza. I've been giving him orajel during the day unless it's very bad. Then I give him infant tyenol. Then, at night I have to give him infant motrin since it lasts eight hours. Linda brought to my attention that he may need protein added to his diet. I've done that too. The combination of things is working. He got me up only once last night! For the past 5 weeks he has been getting me up at least 3 times a night. Three of his teeth have just poked through at the same time, and he's working on another. Poor kid.

Two Sweeties

This is the most recent picture of my two sweeties!! We recently went to the zoo and saw zebras and giraffes, so MG had to hunt out all of her stuffed zoo animals for the picture!

Melt My Heart

Today MB said "Ma-ma!" very distinctly when he saw me earlier. He's said it a couple of times before, but this was the best and I knew that's exactly what he was saying. It's so very sweet when a baby first says your name. It melts my heart. He's been saying "Da-da!" for MM too. It's very sweet.

No News is Good News

I've made it without looking at any major news web sites today. It probably helps that we weren't at home. Today was MG's trip with her preschool to the zoo. MM took off from work and we all went. It was fun, although I was walking around like a zombie. MB got me up four times last night!

Here is a positive news web site that I just found today. I'm going to read it for a change. It's www.happynews.com. I do like knowing what's going on in the world, but it's just been overboard on the horrible things, and I got extremely sad about it. Most news sites do not report many (if any) positive stories.

Well, I think it's time to break out the baby motrin for MB. I've tried baby tyenol and orajel, but neither seems to be strong enough (or last long enough) for a kid who is getting all of his teeth at the same time! I feel bad that the teething hurts so much, but also feel sorry for myself feeling exhausted all of the time. Sleep, sleep, sleep....oh how I love thee.

Randall Update

I heard from my brother that Randall (the little guy who was shot in the arms accidentally) was interviewed by the news recently. Here is a link to the story with a picture of him. He was very excited to be on TV.

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?s=5450920

Tired of the Violence

I'm so very sick of the violence going on. The murders of the little girls in Lancaster is just sickening. I really truly hate guns for many reasons. A gun in the hand of a maniac is devastating. A gun in the hand of a hunter not paying attention can kill or maim a person or livestock. A gun in the hand of an aggressive idiot can shatter a little boys arm or a life.

Hunting has started back up here, and I cringe every time I hear a gun go off... especially if we are taking the kids on a walk down the road. It's not that I'm against hunting...although the idea of killing a defenseless creature in this way isn't at all appealing to me... it's just that I've had too many acquaintances and family members who have had close calls. And none of these were people intending to cause harm! So many accidents!

Now I don't know what the answer it to keeping guns out of the hands of a mentally disturbed person. I guess if a person really wants to do such a horrible thing, he or she is going to be able to get a gun and do it. I have read some discussions on this stating the importance of recognizing signs of mental illness in order to try and help a person before they go off the deep end. People who let intense depression go on for years and years can actually have hallucinations. Some people are very closed minded to getting help when they really need it (and when they are able to do so). Then it gets so bad that they might lose touch with reality and can't do anything about it then. I don't know if this is what happened to the person who murdered the little girls or not. It's really hard not to feel hatred toward him whether he was mentally ill or not.

Fun at the Farm

Today we took MG and MB to a farm that had all kinds of Fall activities. MG got to pick out a "great" pumpkin, ride a horse (for the first time) and play in this bouncy slide thing. Oh, and I almost forgot the pedal tractors.

The funniest part was when she got in the bouncy slide thing. She had to go through it by herself and didn't know what to do when she came to a rope ladder. We kept looking in the windows and trying to explain how to climb it. Eventually, a brother and sister about 5 and 6 years old, got behind her and started lifting and pushing her up the ladder. Then an older girl came along and was cheering her on. It was just so funny and cute. Those kids were very sweet to her, helping her and showing her how to do it.

It's fun seeing MG get so excited about Halloween. I always had such a good time going trick-or-treating and to fall festivals when I was growing up. I want to make holidays fun and special for my kids too.

We all ended up with that stinkin cold. I think that maybe the kids had two different colds that ran into each other. I've felt like the grumpasaurus today. We're catching more colds now that I'm taking the kids to more activities with other children. I'm still nursing MB, so I never really take anything for a cold. So my sinuses feel like they're going to explode. There's probably something that would be ok to take, but I'm always afraid that it will get into my milk and bother MB.

Well, I'd better go! Hope that you all have a great week!

Grumpasaurus

There's a new kind of dinosaur living in our house now. His name is MM Grumpasaurus because he caught MG and MB's cold. I normally wouldn't say anything about him, but I can't help myself in this case. I do feel bad for him catching this cold, though, because it is a really awful one. He has to talk a lot at his work, so the sore throat part of it is pretty bad. I've managed not to get it.... yet. As long as he and I don't have it at the same time, we'll be ok!

Road Trip?

A couple of nights ago, we went out to the store. MB doesn't like the dark, so he was crying all the way home. MG decided that it would be funny if she also added ear-piercing screaming into the mix. This made MB even more upset, so it was one crazy ride home. This is one example of why we choose not to make the trip to visit my family in Tennessee right now.

I've been actually feeling sad about not visiting. My mother and brothers all want us to visit and have no understanding that this would be difficult. They've really been giving me a guilt trip. My brother tonight "Mom really needs you to come. All she talks about is those kids." It's not just feeling that the kids aren't ready. It would be a rushed trip because I used up so much time for maternity leave. We choose to take several small vacations nearby to conserve leave time. Well, sitting around worrying is no way to spend my precious free time is it?! Sigh. This is really the major thing that's bothering me.

MG is doing well in preschool. It's helping me to be able to attend it with her, too. She's improved with helping clean up her toys at home now that she has to do it at preschool. I think it's really going to help her be ready for kindergarten so that it won't be such a shock to her. Especially since we'll have all day kindergarten by that time. It's helped her socially too. Usually when I take her to my work, she looks down at her feet when my supervisor tries to talk to her. Well, not anymore!!! When she walked into the office, she said "Hi Mr. Gregor!" right to my supervisor. He was so surprised. It's so wonderful to see her growing in this way.

I got to hold a friend's little 9 month old girl today. She feels like a little feather compared to MB. My friend hasn't got to hold MB yet, but I can't wait to see the look on her face when she gives it a try. I swear MB feels twice as heavy. I'm getting something called a hip hammock to lug him around in. I do love love love his adorable chubbiness, but my poor back is having some problems with it. He has been sick for a couple of days, so I've really been holding him and rocking him a lot more. I have a carrier that just puts too much pressure on my back... it's just not made for a big baby.

Well, despite getting worried about things sometimes, I'm overall very happy. I'm much happier since having kids. It's just so much fun raising kids. They're both so sweet and funny...just like their daddy.

First Words!

Today MB talked!! I really wasn't expecting it this early...he's just 8 months old. I was in the kitchen with MB in his walker. He likes to start out at the sink, and then he walks backwards to the hallway. Whenever he does that, I always wave at him and say "bye-bye!" We've been doing this for several weeks. Today he answered me, and said "bye-bye". Then I got MG to say it to him, and he answered her too. I was so surprised! It made me cry, too. It's very bittersweet. They don't stay babies very long.

Today MG said something new, too. She was putting together a puzzle, and she said, "Chris, I need help." I thought that I was hearing things, and then she repeated it. The teacher was calling me Chris at the pre-school, so I guess that's where she picked it up. I said, "I'm Mommy! I'm Mommy!"

I've been remembering MGs first words. The very first thing she said was "Oh!" Then a little later she started saying "Wow!" I think that she started saying "kitty cat" soon after that and then "Daddy". It's funny the first words that they end up saying. Hmmm...I wonder if first words hint at the kid's character. MG is very curious and inquisitive and full of wonder of the world "WOW!" MB is ready to go go go, just as soon as he can get those chubby legs moving. "BYE-BYE!"

Preschool 2nd Day & Update on Randall

The second day of preschool went fine except that MG was a little sleepy this morning. She's not used to getting up and doing things that early in the morning. I need to work on getting her to bed earlier. She didn't want to stop playing with the toys when it was time to listen to her teacher's lesson and storytime and was the only kid standing over next to the toys looking at her feet. The assistant teacher was really good about talking her into joining the other kids. She tricked MG into thinking that she made the decision herself to join the group. She told MG that she could not play with toys, but she could stand there if she wanted to. But she wouldn't be able to hear the teacher or see the wonderful things she had brought to share with her. She finally went over and sat down with everyone else and did fine the rest of the class. I was a little embarrassed, but feel that this is all part of learning to listen to teachers and follow directions. I'm sure she'll do better as we move along.

Poor MB has a cold and a tooth coming through his gums. He's not a happy bobo right now. He has thrown up solids twice and formula once today, but is keeping down mommy's milk. I guess that must be the gentlest thing on his tummy, so I'm glad that I'm still doing that. Poor little guy. That reminds me, I held a little girl today who is 9 months old. She felt like a little feather compared to MB. When I hold or see other kids under a year old, I realize just how big he is. All kids are different and are adorable thin chunky or in-between!

I talked to my brother and found out that, Randall, (the little boy who was accidentally shot by a neighbor in TN) got to go home from the hospital last Wednesday. He is in quite a bit of pain as he heals, but he has had so many visitors and well-wishers. That has kept his spirits up. He has several critters to take care of too. He has an aquarium full of fish and two turtles to take care of. My mother went to see him and said that he is using his right arm (the one that had the mildest injury) and was feeding his turtles. His left arm is having to be reconstructed. It's very interesting. They have put part of his abdominal muscle into his arm and have actually sewn his arm to his abdomen during this process. I think he has to have it like that for a few more weeks. He's not to happy about not getting to wear clothes. He is in great spirits, though.

I'd better go. My rare hour of free time is about up. Both kids are napping, but I really had better wake MG up so that she'll go to sleep at a normal hour tonight! Have a great week!!!

First Day at Preschool

MG loved her first day at preschool. This was really a day to decide if we want to enroll her. It went really well. MG has been showing just a little shyness, but they were able to get her to participate in the activities. She was very excited about it. All the way there, she kept saying "Goin to school!" I think it will really help her.

I think that having the mothers stay at first is a good idea to help the kids make the transition. I really underestimated my supervisor. I was able to work it out just fine to take some time off to go with MG to preschool. We did experience a very small tantrum at the end because MG wanted to do her own thing, but I think it will get better as she gets more used to the routine.

Now I'm extremely tired because MB got me up twice last night. I may have to give him a little infant tynol for those teeth...poor pudgkins. He was very good for Daddy while I was away. Metal Mark is getting some father/son time which is really nice. It's also nice for MG to get some special time with me and time doing something without little bro tagging along. I think it will be really good for us all.

Chocolate COFFEE Chocolate COFFEE Chocolate COFFEE

I've kind of lost track, but I'm sure it's been more than two weeks since MB has slept through the night. And MG has got up during a couple of these nights too! What's going on here? I feel pretty zombie-like. I need some miracle zap of extra energy. I've tried to obtain extra energy from CHOCOLATE and too much COFFEE, but it is not having hardly any affect on me. I guess nothing can substitute sleep.

Getting up isn't so bad, but I have too much on my mind and then I end up not being able to go back to sleep right away. Sigh! I have noticed two teeth just barely barely poking through MB's gums, so this waking in the night must be due to teething.

It's downright cold here today!!! It feel good, but the cold weather caused me to rush out to the store to get MB something to wear. This is no easy thing. He's big for his age with thunder thighs. Very adorable, but I have to get size 24 months in pants made of stretchy material. He's tall, but not as tall as a two year old, so these pants will have to be rolled up or hemmed. Anyway, I panicked because I had very few warm things for him to wear. I did find several things today. MG has actually lost a lot of baby fat, so she can wear some things from last year.

I found a preschool that I think we like for MG. It meets just once a week and does not require the kid to be potty trained right away. The only thing we have to work out is that they like for a parent to stay with the child the first few times without siblings. I work that morning, and will have to see if I can miss a few hours of work here and there. Not so easy if your supervisor doesn't always understand about kids. Wish me luck! I think it's a very important thing for MG.

I haven't heard anything more about Randall, but I plan to call my brother to see if he got to come home today. I'll keep you posted. Take care!

Another Poopy Incident

It seems that ever since I've had kids, I'm more scatter-brained than ever. I also make lots of silly mistakes. This happens when I'm especially trying hard NOT to do something awful. Like tonight, MB had an extremely poopy diaper. He was sleeping, so I was trying to quietly change the diaper without waking him and without getting any poop smeared on anything. Well, I managed to wake him up and get poop under my fingernails. I only do things like this when I'm specifically trying not to. Poopy incidents can be really gross, but I'm getting used to them...especially since I have two kids in diapers.

The funny thing about baby poop is that prior to having babies, I would start gagging if one of the cats missed the litter pan. Now I'm immune and have become an expert at cleaning up any type of poo ball that can be thrown onto the floor...just kidding. I'm sure there's a kind that would find a way to completely freak me out. Getting it under my fingernails almost did it tonight. I really had to scrub and scrub under them with dishsoap, and I'm still considering cutting them all off! I keep sticking my fingers up my nose to try to detect if there's any slight scent of poopy. Don't ya love it?

Watching What I Say

Well, everything gets repeated. I think I've gotten better with my language, but sometimes "damn-it" slips out anyway. This is not good, because MG has started saying it when she drops something. I told her that it's a bad word and that Mommy shouldn't be saying it. It's hard to tell her not to do something if I'm constantly doing it. Teach by example, right? I've got to really really really work on my foul mouth again.

Despite that, things are going well. I'm checking into getting MG started in preschool soon. One more reason I don't want her saying "damn-it" or anything more colorful. We're still not potty trained, so I'm trying to find a preschool class that doesn't require that. Many do. I think that she would love playing with other kids and learning new things.

Kind Kids

I talked to my brother on the phone tonight to find out how Randall is doing. He's going to be in the hospital till at least next Wednesday depending how a surgery goes. He has been getting lots of "well wishes" from other little kids, and I wanted to share two of them with you that are really sweet.

One little girl from his school broke into her piggy bank and insisted that her parents give all the contents to Randall. Another little boy who has several pet turtles called to say that he wants to give them all to Randall just as soon as he gets to feeling better. Isn't it neat that these kids want to "give it all" away to help a little boy feel better?

Disturbing News

Well, two terribly sad things have happened in the last few days. My brother's 8 year old brother-in-law was shot by accident on Saturday. He is the epitome of Huckleberry Finn...always playing in the creek and woods catching turtles, snakes and frogs. Around 3pm on Saturday, he was out in the woods looking for turtles. Somehow, a neighbor shot Randall. Both of his arms were injured. His right arm is going to be ok, but his left arm was hurt badly, shattering the bone and severely injuring the muscle. He was in serious condition and will be in the hospital for a while. The doctors don't know if he'll lose his arm or not.

This little boy is a tough little guy. I feel that he'll make it through this, but it really makes me upset that this happened. I don't know all the details, but it sounds like the neighbor thought he was a stray dog and was trying to scare away from his property. Please keep this little guy in your prayers. He's going to have a tough time staying inside and resting while his arms try to heal.

MM and I had been discussing what books and dvds to send Randall to help him feel better and give him something to do. Of course, we talked about The Crocodile Hunter show. Randall is one of his biggest fans.
It really was a shock when I learned that Steve Irwin died. It made my heart hurt just to think about it, and it was so upsetting especially after hearing about what happened to Randall. We really liked Steve Irwin too. He was just so funny and so wonderful in his work with animals and educating everyone ...especially kids...about them. I feel sad for his wife and kids. I'm also worried about how it'll affect Randall.

I feel better writing about all this. Both things are weighing heavily on my mind. I am very thankful that the little boy wasn't shot anywhere worse. It's a miracle that he wasn't killed. We are going to send him the books and a dvd about reptiles. I hope that will help him. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

***I wrote in green for all the lovely crocodiles, snakes, frogs, turtles and other slithering crawling things that little boys love.

Groggy Bloggy

I'm finally getting a chance to post! Mr. Pudge has been getting me up during the night again...usually once, but sometimes twice...for a nighttime feeding. He usually doesn't want very much, so it may be his teething waking him up. He's having some quiet time right now chewing on a bathtime book.

I had trouble sleeping besides the baby waking me up. My mom hasn't sent anything for MB...no card or anything...and he's 7 and 1/2 months old! It really is strange and hard for me to understand. I don't care about material things, but a card would have been special and nice. I kept poor MM up last night discussing this. He doesn't judge other people, so he helped me feel better about it. MM is one of the fairest minded people I know.

We've been talking about taking a trip to see my family down South, but think that it would be extra difficult taking a baby that far. Plus, we wouldn't have enough time to take off from work for such a long trip right now. My brother is expecting a baby next Spring, so we'd definitely like to come in after little one arrives. I really would like for my kids to get to know my family.

Well, that's about it. I'm still a little sad about my mom. I know that she cares, but she's not so good at long distance communication. She gets sad because we don't live closer to each other. Oh well.

On the bright side of things, we're really enjoying our kids. They're just so funny. They love each other. MB laughs big belly laughs at MG. It really cracks us up. MB continues to roll in order to get places. He sometimes scoots on his tummy, too.

I took them to the storytime at the library last week, and MB loved it. He likes for me to hold him up while he bounces his legs on the floor. He likes to dance or bounce to music. After the storytime, MG played at the wooden train set. A set of triplets were playing with her and offered her some of the trains. MG smiled really big and said, "Thanks Kids!!" I thought that was so cute. She's been really good about saying "Thank you."

Well, I'd better go...gotta lot to do today! Hope yall have a great week!

"Mommy Has a Big Poo!"

We were coming back from our walk out our road, when all the coffee I had drank all day (to stay awake) caused me to have to run ahead of MM and the kids in order to make it to the potty. I guess I was walking funny up the hill to our house, because I heard MG say "Mommy has a big poo!"

MG loves that we are growing pumpkins in our garden. When I got back outside after the potty, I found MG sitting on "the great pumpkin" in the little pumpkin patch. She loves the Charlie Brown halloween movie and watches it year round. It was even cuter a couple of weeks ago when she found a ripe "jack be little" pumpkin which is the size of an apple. She was proudly carrying it around calling it "the great pumpkin". She insisted on taking it to the store with her and carried it through Target.

MB is trying to crawl! He can scoot across the room on his tummy. Sometimes he rolls to get where he's going...like a ball. He's such a chunka-munka! I love him that way. He is starting to drink from a sippy cup too. This is funny, because he also refuses to drink from a bottle. I had to go in to work all day , so we were a little worried about his refusing the bottle. The sippy cups with the soft sipper are perfect for him, and MM was able to get him to drink from it several times that day.

That's about all that's going on with us right now. Saturday evenings and Sundays are our special family time. MM and I have sort of opposite schedules so that neither kid goes to childcare. It's definitely worth getting quality time with the kids, but makes it difficult to get cleaning done. Especially when I'm such a messy person to begin with! MM is actually the clean one! Well, hope you all are having a great weekend!

Whenever I talk to my brother Andy on the phone, we end up reminiscing about growing up so close in age...like MG and MB. Since I'm the older sister, there were times when I was quite stinky to my brother. Right now, MG is so sweet to MB, but I wonder if there'll come a time when she gets him in trouble.

I used to tell Andy to do things, and he would do it! When we were about 8 and 9 years in age, he got a brand new bike for his birthday. I was jealous because my bike was a hand-me-down from a relative. First, I told him to drive it around the yard like a drunk person. He did that. Then I told him that it he peddled as fast as he could and headed straight into the tree trunk, he would roll right up the tree and back down again. So, he went really fast and rammed into the tree head on. The plastic fender on his new bike broke in two. Thank goodness he didn't get hurt! I can still remember Andy saying "She told me to do it!" and my grandmother saying "If she told you to jump off a bridge, would you do that too?"

A couple of days ago, MG gave MB a big hug. He thought that was so funny and kept letting out the biggest giggle every time she gave him a hug. It was so sweet.

Pictures!

These are a few pictures from our vacation! This first one is of an Amish farm taken from the train ride. Next, you will see MM and MG on the train ride. The final photo is of MB enjoying the swing at the Inn! Enjoy!

Make that...TWO sick punkin heads

Yes, both kids are sick now. Poor MG barfed today and has a high temp. MB is feeling somewhat better, but is mad at me because he's not getting as much food as he wants. We're trying to take it easy with the solids, but I'm going to give him some more cereal in a few minutes. Glad they weren't sick while we were in Lancaster!

Sick Punkin-head

Our poor little punkin-head MB is sick. He threw up several times last evening, and had a temp of 102. It's always scary to me when your baby is sick. His temp went down after giving him infant tynol. Today he threw up again, but his temp has been below 100. He's sleeping now, but I will go check his temp again soon. The nurse has been called. He's on a diet of Pedia-lite and Mommy's milk for now.

MG was having trouble sleeping last night, so I had to go in and help her get comfortable. She asked me to sing to her. Then she asked about MB. She was worried about him. I explained that he's going to be ok.

I'll try to post some vacation pictures at work on Monday. We have dial-up here, so it's so slow uploading the pictures that it logs out on me in the middle of it! The pictures turned out really cute! You may even get to see what MM looks like! You will not be seeing any of the extreme close-ups of Metal Mommy's lovely red face... lovely pictures that MM took after I'd been in the 100 degree heat!!

By the way, you can get miniature scrap-booking albums at Wal-Mart. MG and I already put together a cute record of our vacation complete with Thomas stickers! It really turned out nice. I wanted her to be able to remember it!

Take care and have a great weekend!!!! Love that it's cooler outside!!!!

Toot-Toots!

We're back, and we have a happy toddler talking about the toot-toots that she saw. Toot-toot is her word for train. We had such a fun time, and it was fun to go to a place that we could all enjoy.... even little MB. It was great to relax and not have to think about work.

The first night was a little rough for MG. We put her between us in the big bed. That was crazy... she tossed and turned and woke up every few hours. Finally, she turned side-ways and kicked me right out of the bed!We bought a sleeping bag the next day, and she slept great on the floor with her blankies.

We're going to get our pictures today, so I may try to post one later. We're going to relax for a few more days before returning to work. I'm going to work on redoing the kids' rooms. MG is going to graduate from the crib into a big girl bed, and MB is going to move from the bassinet to the crib! He's really outgrown the bassinet already.

Take care and have a wonderful day!

First Family Trip

We're leaving for our first family trip together this week. I made this horribly huge list of things we need to take. You'd think that we're going away for a month! I am looking forward to getting away from work and the house for a few days! I started packing tonight, but will have to finish in the morning.

We're not going far...just 1 and 1/2 hours up the road. We're going to Lancaster, PA and plan on visiting a little kids' theme park and we're going on a train ride... both things MG is already excited about. This will give us practice for longer and further trips.

We are hoping to visit TN sometime, but are not looking forward to a 10 hour drive with a toddler and an infant. My family really is bugging us to come, but do not understand how difficult it will be. They haven't met MB yet, either.

One thing that I'm a little nervous about is that I may have to NIP (nurse in public) since we'll be out and about doing different things when MB will get hungry. I've done it a couple of times in public, but it's been in places that I felt comfortable doing it. I really am shy about doing it, but I will if needed. Feeding my baby is much more important than a little embarrassment.

Did you all hear about or see the front cover of the BabyTalk magazine for August? It's a picture of a baby on mommy's breast. I think that it's a beautiful picture. You can tell that baby must be looking right into mommy's eyes. Anyway, there are some people who are very upset by it.

Ah, well. It's past time for me to get to bed! After midnight! Oh no. I just thought of something that I have to do for work before we leave tomorrow. Yuck. I guess I'll have to do it in the morning...too tired now.

Flashback...a Sad One

Warning...this is a little sad, so you don't have to read it! I want to write about this because it kept me up late last night. When I was driving back home with the kids, I noticed a man trying to take his riding lawn mower up a very steep bank. He was having trouble getting it to go, so he kept backing up closer to the road to get up speed to try to get up the bank. I prayed a quick prayer for him, because it looked like an accident waiting to happen.

I was lying in bed trying to sleep, but this earlier thing made me flashback to the day of my dad's death. He was instantly killed when he was trying to drive a tractor up a steep hill and the tractor flipped on him. He was a little younger than I am now when it happened.

The flashback is remembering how I felt when I knew that I'd never see him (in this world) again. I was lying on my bed on my back and kicking the wall above my headboard over and over again. I could hear my younger brother doing the same thing over in his room. It was just so horrible and I was alone. Eventually my grandmother came in to talk to me.

It's weird that something that happened so long ago still brings heartache. I think that the worst thing is that this was a terrible thing for my mom. She was left with three kids (including one under one year of age) to raise alone. She has been through so much. She loved my dad so much and for years kept fresh red roses on his grave during the summers, cut from the rosebush he'd planted for her. She tried going back to school, but had to discontinue that because of lack of money. She also went into a deep depression, and that went on for years. I've had times of getting upset with her over things, but she's one strong person to have been able to raise three children alone. And none of us turned out that bad! She also took care of her dying mother when we were still kids.

Sigh. I don't dwell on this stuff and have come to terms with it, but sometimes something triggers the memories... like the guy trying to drive his mower up the steep bank.

Brave Mommy!

I took both kids to the park today for a picnic and play. This is the first time I've done it on my own. I felt pretty brave! We managed to get the baby fed and he was very happy the entire time. The park has a baby swing that he loves. MG was extremely excited and slid down even the biggest slides! She really had a ball playing in the sand and on the swings too. There was one strange encounter with another Mommy from outer space that I have to write about.

There were two Mommies sitting in the pavilion watching their kids playing in the sandbox. I could hear them in a deep discussion about something. I parked my double stroller in a level spot in front of the sandbox so that it wouldn't roll away while I got MB out and put him on a blanket nearby. Meanwhile, MG was already playing when I heard weird Mommy yelling at someone to "Move over! Move over!" Well, I didn't realize that she was yelling at me! Next, she was running past me and to the sandbox to get onto my daughter for throwing sand. I didn't see it happen, so I asked what did MG just do? Alien Mommy said "Oh she was just tossing lots of sand up into the air." Interesting. Then I saw MG taking a small shovel of sand and flip it up in the air. Ok, not SO horrible. I did take her aside and explain that flipping sand could hurt someone or get into their eyes and not to flip sand up into the air. I am glad that she wasn't throwing it at anyone on purpose.

Even though I was ticked off at this Mommy for being quite weird, I think I handled things ok. The sand thing wasn't what got me so irritated though. It was that I realized that she had been yelling at me for having my stroller in her line of vision! It's too bad that she wanted to sit up there and gossip instead of moving closer to watch her kids or interact with them.Oh well! I did move my stroller even though she didn't ask me nicely. I have actually seen this mother at the park several times, so I guess I may have to look forward to more encounters. What fun!

We did have a wonderful time despite this. MG was very sweet to the younger children on the slides. One little boy was scared to go down a double slide, so she went down it with him several times. It was very sweet. She's definitely showing off her big sister skills! This same little boy lost his shoe on the slide. MG ran over and retrieved it for him and was trying to put it on his foot. Very cute!

Since we haven't been to the park in a long time, MG pitched a terrible temper tantrum when trying to leave. I tried to reason with her when she threw herself into the floor of our car and wouldn't get up. I had to wrestle her into the seat and buckle her in after failing at reasoning with her for ten minutes. She was ok once she got cooled off in the airconditioning and had a drink. Then we came home and I had to carry her sleeping and she slept through me changing her diaper and washing her off. Then she woke up and wouldn't sleep during her nap.

When I finally went in to get her up from her "nap", I found that there was a ST (Stinkin Turd) in the middle of the floor. I asked "How did that get there?" because I thought that it may have been one of the cats! She said "I pull out and throw!" I hesitated and looked at it, and she yelled out in delight "Mom's a chicken! Cock-a-doo! Cock-a-doo!" Remind me to tell her about this when she's a teenager.

Sigh. I'm so tired! I needed a nap, too, after all of that!

We are the Chunk Muffins

Not only do I have to worry about my chunkiness, now I'm concerned about Mr. Chunk Muffin himself. At Metalboy's six month check-up today, we found out that he weighs just under 23 pounds!!!!!! That's quite big for his age. He's very adorable in all his chubbiness, but I don't want him to have weight problems later on. I do think that he'll thin out some once he gets mobile. His regular doctor has said not to be concerned about it, but we saw the Nurse practitioner today who thinks that we're feeding him too much.

We're having a heat wave right now. It feels pretty unbearable outside. I filled up Metalgirl's paddling pool last evening when it finally cooled down and got shady. She played in her pool and ate popsicles. She also got her first set of wheels over the weekend.... a shiny new red tricycle. She loves it and is trying to figure out the pedals. She grabbed her toy monkey, hopped on her trike, and said "Goin to the zoo!" and she drove over to the door and was trying to get out. Later she was riding around saying "I a big girl!" and "Thank you Daddy!" She's so funny.

I'm looking forward to our vacation coming up in a few weeks. I really feel the need to escape and get away from work. I've started feeling a bit burnt out. We're having some problems at work that's affecting my schedule, and that's getting old fast.

I'd better go now. Sorry my blogs are a little blah!!

Battle of the Pudge

I think that one of the hardest things to deal with after having two babies is my flabby body and new aches and pains. I really try to avoid looking in the mirror except to fix my hair and makeup, and to make sure I don't have my shirt on backwards or something-which does happen sometimes. It's just proving to be hard to lose weight as easily as it used to be. I've never had much of a weight problem till now, so it's a little depressing.

Other than the pudginess issue, I'm really feeling happy. We had a fun July 4th day off from work. It was great to spend time MetalMark, Metalgirl and Metalboy. We stayed home and relaxed, and I think that was the best way we could have spent the day.

Rain Drops Falling on My Head

We're getting some much needed rain here in the Mid-Atlantic, but UGH! Unfortunately the gloomy weather really affects my mood. I still feel like I have to fight off the depression. I really hate it. Sometimes it catches me off guard. I have to always stay prepared to fend it off .

I've been trying to locate a sandbox for our toddler. I've called around to every store in the county that I can think of, but so far no one has any in stock! It's been a little frustrating. Ordering one online sounds easy, but the shipping charges are insane! I'm going to call Toys-R-Us tomorrow to see if they have any left in stock.

I made puppets with Metalgirl today. I was getting ready to draw a circle for a frog head onto green construction paper. She grabbed the pencil from my hand and drew the circle herself! I thought that was pretty good for a two year old! I have to brag on her. She's very artistic and loves it when we make things. Sometimes she will go running to the table saying "Make! Make! Make!"

Well, it's after midnight now so I'd better go to sleep. I know that I will sleep better now after having this time to write. Have a good night!

Successful Outing

I took the kids to a puppet show at the library today. They both did so well, and I was surprised that even the baby enjoyed it! He was grinning and laughing. It also made me feel better to get out, especially since it turned out so well. There was a little boy who was about four years old who wanted to talk to the baby. He started to pat him on the head, but stopped himself and said "Is he nice?" I thought that was so funny...it was like when you start to pet a strange dog but stop short and say "Does he bite?"

This evening at bedtime, Metalgirl pretended to read to Metalboy. It was very sweet. She turned the book around as she "read" it so that he could see it. I thought that was pretty neat. She has also suddenly taken an interest in one of her baby dolls! He's a boy baby doll, so she must associate it with Metalboy. It also happens to be the cheapest dolly that I've bought for her!

It was wonderful to have such a happy day. I had been a little depressed over the eye-poking temper tantrum throwing episodes of recent days. Today was much better.

Happy Father's Day

Watching Mark take care of and interact with our children has really made me realize how important a good father is. He is a wonderful teacher and role model. Sometimes I know that I take him for granted, and I shouldn't. Especially since I know what it was like to grow up without a father.

I do have some cherished memories of my dad. He died in an accident when I was 7 years old. He was a fun daddy who let me help him plant vegetables in the garden, put together a swing set for me and helped me learn how to tell time. I also remember that he loved watching wrestling on TV. My mom used to say, "Why are you watching that awful stuff" and he would say "There's nothing else on!"

I also have nice memories of my grandfather. (My dad's dad!) He kind of stood in as a father after my dad died. I especially grew close to him after college when I lived with my grandparents for a couple of years. I sure miss him!

I'm especially blessed to have such a caring and sweet father-in-law. He is just wonderful. He loves his grandchildren, and he always stops in to help us in so many ways. Mark is just like him in that he loves children and has a caring and gentle nature.

Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful fathers out there! I truly appreciate the fathers in my family. Thank you for all that you do and for being such a good role model to our kids. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Terrible Twos and Boredom

We're working on helping our toddler be nicer to her brother. I'm also going to keep her nails very short! It has been such a rough week with her. I think that she needs more active play outside, so we're going to find a sandbox and possibly a playhouse or slide for her.

I had to go to Wal-mart today, and it was pretty stinky. Little Miss "I want to walk by myself" kept trying to pull away from me in the parking lot on the way out. I'm so sick of Wal-mart anyway, so I'm going to avoid it for a while. One of the cashiers was a little fussy with us because of my toddler grabbing everything. I told her that it was no easy thing shopping with an infant and a toddler.

I really want my kids to be happy. It just hurt so bad to think that something I did may be causing her to want to hurt the baby. I want to make sure that she gets enough attention and doesn't feel that she needs to compete with him. I love her so much.

Sad

My toddler scratched the baby's face again today. It was near his eye again. I'm going to take a vacation from writing here until I can get this straightened out. It's very upsetting.

Wishy Washy Babyland

Don't Poke Your Brother in the Eye

Yes, this unfortunate event actually happened twice today. "Jelly Bean" decided to do this out of the blue while I was cooking supper and had the baby in the kitchen beside me. JB had been good to him all day, so I was shocked when she went up to baby and poked him near the eye, slightly scratching his eyelid. She would not take a nap earlier, so I immediately put her in her bed to rest. Sometimes she acts up when she's really tired. I also did not realize that she did it on purpose.

She did the same thing later. It happened so quickly and then she tried to pretend that she didn't do anything! She made his eyelid bleed this time. We put her in time out and you would have thought by her yelling and crying that we had done something much worse. She said that she was sorry and was nice to the baby the remainder of the night.

Needless to say, I am deeply disturbed that this happened. We're lucky that she did not scratch the baby's eyeball. I tried to think of anything that would have caused her to act out for attention. I did extra things with her today, so I don't think that's it. It must simply be that she was tired and really needed that nap. I'm just going to have to insist on that nap every day even if she's lying there awake for an hour. She needs a time of rest every day no matter what.

I've cried about this today because it upsets me that she would deliberately hurt her baby brother. She's only two though, and must not completely understand. I had just been bragging about how sweet she has been to him lately... always giving him kisses when he's upset or bringing him a blanket or toys. She is very sweet with him the majority of the time, so I was really taken off guard with what happened today. Sigh.

Moms-a-butt

I was trying to use my pump this morning and discovered that it needs new batteries. Before I thought about it, I said "What a pain in the butt". My toddler heard me and went running through the room singing loudly "Mom's-a-butt! Mom's-a-butt! Mom's-a-butt!" over and over again. I couldn't help it and had to laugh. It was especially funny because she doesn't know what the word means.

Yayee...the Screech of a Teething Baby

Poor unhappy bumpkin is teething big time. It must have hit him full force today. He has been screaming and biting anything that comes near his mouth, so it sounds like this "Yayee!Yayee!Yayee!Yayee!!!!" but much worse. It's giving me a HUGE headache, but it must be really hurting him. I'm taking a break from it right now. Somehow MM has gotten him to calm down, so I'm going to lie low for a little while. I've given the baby some infant tyenol, so hopefully that'll help. I think that when he was trying to eat, it was making the teething pain hurt worse. So whenever I walk back into the room, it reminds him that he's hungry, so he's not a happy little guy right now. Once the tyenol kicks in, hopefully it won't hurt him so much to eat. I'm thankful for this time alone so this crazy mommy won't get any crazier tonight. MM has just yelled out to me that little teether is sleeping now. Thank you thank you MM!!!

Breastfeeding in Public

Yesterday, I fed my baby in a public place. It was a new experience for me . I was at the library with both kids. We had stopped by to play with their wonderful wood train set in the children's section. I had asked my toddler where she would like to go, and she had said "kids Toot-toot", and I knew that meant the library.

The kid's corner is semi-private, so I decided to go ahead and feed the baby when he got hungry. That was a much much easier than trying to get them both to the car....especially since my toddler wasn't finished playing. It worked out fine, especially since no one came back there while we were "busy". I did use a blanket to cover up, but the baby kept pulling it off.

I don't mind one bit when I see a Mommy feeding her baby in public. Babies have to eat whether they're breast-fed or bottle-fed. I think that it's a normal, necessary thing and people shouldn't be shocked at someone for doing it.

With my first baby, I did experience some of that negative attitude towards breast feeding. I worked full-time, so I would have to use the pump at work. There was nowhere clean to do that in private, and I was told to pump in the bathroom. Can you imagine? It would be the same as preparing a meal for someone in a public restroom. Pretty disgusting. I did pump in the restroom, but I made sure that my pumping equipment did not touch anything. On the same note, sometimes mothers are expected to feed their baby in a public restroom. Would you like to eat your dinner in a public restroom? Yuck.

It will be interesting to see what you all think of breast feeding in public. I do try to schedule my day so that I'm at home during baby's feeding times, but some days I can't predict it. I'd rather be feeding him on my comfy couch than scrunched up in a corner or in the car. He's been extra hungry lately and eating more frequently.