mama bethany

PS - Do You Like the New Look?

2012-01-26T16:34:00.003-06:00

I updated the look last week, mostly because I thought it needed some freshening.

I think that the background on the header looks like a frosty winter, and then the name area reminds me that sunshine summer is around the corner.

I wish I had enough time to totally finish the tabs that are under the header... I'll post when they are done. I think its worth my time to do it, and I'll like it better finished than unfinished, but lately I've been thinking half done is better than perfect in my head and nothing to show for it.

Confession: I Tried To Sneak Skinny Jeans Into My Husband's Wardrobe.

2012-01-26T14:51:00.003-06:00

I tried to fancy up my guy a few months ago in the way of a new style of jeans.
Three of his pairs of jeans, which he wears pretty much daily with only the occasional addition of khaki pants or gym pants, had holes.
He needed replacements.

There aren't many places to buy 33x36L jeans, especially since he wants to spend less than $50 a pair.
And since two years ago I found them at a super online sale at Old Navy for $13.50.
So now he thinks that's the price to pay, which is really tricky to ever find, obviously.

I found a great pair of Levi's on an after Thanskgiving sale, and they were a slimmer bootleg. For some reason I ordered a size down, which meant that when he tried them on, though he desperately needed the pair for work, he didn't think he could swing it.

They were too Skinny Leg for him.
He called them Fashion Pants.
To mock me, I think.

He wore them one day to a conference and he said he felt self conscious the whole time.
It was an asphalt conference, so maybe the other civil engineers wearing Carhartt jeans gave him a sideways glance.

But for the record, he looked GOOD.

So to placate him, I returned them.
I told him I did it with great sadness.
I bought him the standard loose-fit painter style jeans in a dark rinse.
They are boring.
But they were $15, so he was delighted by this.

But I didn't marry him for his fashion-sense, so I guess its not that important.
And he didn't marry me so that I could do his pants shopping, it just worked out that way.

Goodbye Binky Post #4

2012-01-25T14:53:00.000-06:00

Tuesday, January 24, 2011 marks one of the worst days of my life.

On Monday evening, DHH learned that his last binky, apparently his very favorite White Binky, fell victim to Old Age.
It got old and broke.

(His dad clipped it.)

But he just knew it was old and broken.
It made him upset that it was broken, but he, on his own accord, threw it in the kitchen trash can.

He just threw it away.

TOO EASY.
This is too easy, we thought. Its gotta be worse than this.
It was.

He didn't go to bed easily, and we let him stay up on the couch and cuddle.
He seemed to enjoy The Bachelor, but of course that's a whole other #horribleparentingidea thing, right?

He woke up more than an hour earlier than normal and wanted to go find that broken white binky so I could fix it.

He didn't nap in the afternoon.

He was a terror for the most part.

By 3PM it was Fit Central around here.
Any disappointment that happened was A BIG. HUGE. DEAL.
There were rockings, cuddlings, tolerating less-than appropriate behaviors, distractions, and some cajoling.

By the time his daddy came home after 5 PM, he'd been crying for an hour and a half solid about how I wouldn't let him watch (another) Mickey movie, and by the way, he was sad about no more binky.

Dan distracted him by letting him play Duck Hunt on the very old ninetendo that we use like twice a year. This was a good thing for him.

But when that time was over, it was back to The Worst Times Ever in the Life of DHH.
"Daniel feels sad, miss that white binky! Daniel want to suck on that white binky!" he said between wails.

I don't know how we survived until 9 PM. It was just a mess of crying, trying to comfort and distract.
It was not good at all.

It was Dan putting Daniel back to bed every two minutes.
Down, up, down, up, wail, cry, pat, rock, go to sleep, buddy.
For an hour and a half.
So incredibly difficult.

For some reason, perhaps just exhaustion, he caved at about 9 PM when Dan agreed to put the old, broken blue binky in the freezer, in case that would fix it.
I don't know why he came up with that solution, but somehow that thought crossed his mind and he agreed.
So the blue binky went in the freezer, and DHH went to bed soundly.

He slept until 7:30 AM, then came to find me as I was drying my hair. "Its daytime, Mommy. Daniel go fweep and no white binky. Daniel fweep all night and no white binky!!!!!"

He was triumphant.
I praised him.
I pulled out a toy I bought long ago for him and didn't give him for Christmas because he had too much already - a trash truck. He loved it.
He said, "Daniel is so excited about new truck, Mommy! So excited!!!!!" while we opened it.

When I returned from work today, I put him down for a nap with minimal sass and relative ease. He requested a cup of water and to sleep with a Mickey book, and that was it. No mention of the binky.

Maybe its all over.
Maybe we're past the inconsolable grief of losing a prized possession and way to soothe.

Last night was so bad that I went to bed at 9 PM, too.
I had to otherwise I would have dug through the trash to get that binky out of the garbage so he could go to sleep already.

It was one of the harder moments of being DHH's mom.

**** And note that during this time, my little daughter staged a nursing strike, which added more stress.

Getting Dumped. (Out-takes From Weekly Photo Project.)

2012-01-24T04:00:00.000-06:00

For the record, these shenanigans are never MY idea.
But times like this are the reason why I am glad I keep the camera ready to shoot, on a (high) shelf in the living room.

So this little dump truck was a great $2 yard sale find. Its been hauling garden rocks and small children for two years now.

I just love her expression. She was sucking on her top lip. DHH was giggling and squealing.

We really couldn't tell if she liked it or not.

All good things must come to an end. In this case, it means getting dumped.

This was not as traumatic as you might think - the baby was comforted and the boy was scolded, but no one cried or anything.

I've only been dumped once, and I cried buckets.

I guess this is a little different though.

He decided to give himself a ride.

Life is not dull here, that's for sure.

Goodbye Binky: Post 3

2012-01-23T22:53:00.000-06:00

So a little background info about our binky situation.
(Previously mentioned here, here, and here.)

I resisted introducing the binky, like most mothers who read an excessive amount of natural parenting books. An artificial nipple? No!
A hunk of plastic to PACIFY, rather than do a good job and teach your child coping skills? No!
A germy, dirty little thing that my dad referred to as a PLUG for crying out loud?? No!!

But when I researched more about infant development and non-nutritive suckling needs, and became more resolved that I am not okay with nursing on demand and wanted to adhere to a feeding schedule, I realized we should embrace the pacifier if my son did so.

August 2009, Baby's First Binky (Avent)

But we'd give it up at four months.
We didn't. The bink let us take him all kinds of places, like church and libraries, and it gave him something to fiddle with or stay quiet. Like how a smart phone is used to pacify a teenager.

I decided that it was okay to let the binky go past six months, despite Tracy Hogg's recommendation in the Baby Whisperer book that we pretty much followed to the letter (with great success and confidence!) in raising our kid the first year. She recommends taking it away then because the transition to bink-free is easy then. I didn't follow the advice because I was more interested in a short term solution. I needed more sleep, and I was getting up twice a night with DHH. The pacifier was used to keep him asleep longer in the mornings, and thus; I got more sleep.

Being held by Aunt Ann at about 9 months. Doesn't he look like his sister here??

We thought we'd remove it at one year.
But at one year, we were FINALLY GETTING A FULL NIGHT OF SLEEP. (I mean we as in me. Dan can sleep through anything.)
So it stayed.
And more often than not, he was holding the pacifiers in his hand, not in his mouth.
And then he started to grit his teeth. Oh how this drove me crazy.
So it stayed around longer.

At one year of age, we went to binks for bed only. We made the rule that they had to be in the crib, and this rule led to a game called Toss It Over the Crib Rail. With Double Points if it bounced out and behind the crib.

Confession: we once had a dozen binkies back there, various stages/sizes, collecting dust. Now that I type it, I realize I am Binky Enabler. I bought all those guys!

At a year old, he started to use the MAM binks exclusively. He is 16 months in this photo.

So binks have been used for sleeping only for quite sometime, and only on the rarest of occasions in car seats.

At age two, many people began to nudge us away from the binky. Well meaning, I am sure.
But at that time, I was teaching DHH feeling words, coping skills, and emotional regulation.
Instead of big huge fits, we were finding ways to CHILL THE HECK OUT.
Sitting in his bed holding a book and using his pacifier was one good way for him to calm down.
He began to give himself time outs and use that bink to self- soothe.
And so the binky stayed.

I read a nice article that defended pacifier use, or at least the comments readers left seemed to support DHH's use of binkies to relax. Bolstered by the comments, I felt more secure in our parenting choice to let him choose the binky option.
And so the binky stayed.

Until now, exactly 2.5 years old to the week.

I have some exciting news to share in a future post, but as a little foreshadowing ... I'll tell you I am pretty tired. and I should get some sleep for now.

Project 52*3: Mischief.

2012-01-23T04:00:00.000-06:00

Having an older brother means you have to take certain risks in order to have a good time. Enjoying a dump truck ride around the living room is quite fun until he decides its time for him to take his turn.

Oddly, EK didn't really mind being unloaded in such an abrupt manner.

Celebrating Lives.

2012-01-22T21:26:00.000-06:00

Lately I've been thinking about what it would mean to take my children for granted.

That is to say, I do not think that I do so.

I feel incredibly fortunate to get to be with these kids, especially after the babies that I lost from miscarriage.

I get that these lives are special and fabulous and that I want to celebrate them.

Its like. "HEY EVERYONE!!! I've got these FANTASTIC TINY BEINGS! Come see them! LOOK! Be delighted by them! These little ones have infinite possibilities! Be energized by them!!"

From how nuts about my kids I am, I feel like everyone should be nuts about their kids, like its the totally normal thing to do. I also think given the chance, I'd go nuts over YOUR kid or any kid.

But I said I've thought about taking them for granted.

Some people take children for granted.

The abuse or misuse their precious gift.

They think everyone just has kids, probably before the age 30, before a first divorce, between college and a short-mom-haircut. Its just what you do.

And if that kid scenario plays out too early, you can alter that problem.

Abortion, NBD.

I do think its a big freaking deal though.

I mourn for the loss of those little ones that didn't get to experience love and life.

Its Sanctity of Human Life Sunday today.

This includes respecting life for the elderly, disabled, disenfranchised, unborn, orphaned, and unfortunate.

Its a day to pause to respect and celebrate human life.

Greta wrote a very eloquent blog post today about the sanctity of life and a call of action.
I honestly cannot write it any better myself.

So I link to her.

I especially like the quote that she includes that draws a parallel to those who disagree but are silent with those who did not work against Nazi policies. What brutal truth.

Please read this post because she makes some good points.

I really support this Be A Voice page, too.

Sewing Project: Car Seat Blanket.

2012-01-20T15:00:00.000-06:00

This WAS the current project, but I am happy to announce as of 11:30 PM last night, its officially not current!

I finished my first solo sewing project!

Maybe I shouldn't call it solo, because I had a lot of back up. Emily, Susan, Ann, and Mom... thanks for your encouragement and trouble shooting tips. The assistance came at a perfect time! It turned out that it was cheap thread, that the tension knob needs oil and still needs some TLC, that the bobbin area had some fuzz in it, and that my son had set the special switch selector dial THAT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WAS THERE to a rick-rack setting, which did make it look wrong.

Anyway, its done and is being enjoyed!

I bought the fleece for DHH because he loves all things Mickey Mouse, and now that he is forward facing in his car seat, he needs a longer blanket for the car. (You aren't supposed to have children in thick coats and in car seats because it is a safety hazard).

This project was tricky because I didn't think it through. I should have researched how to do mitered corners properly. Instead I did it as best as I could, provided that I'd already cut the binding! It also means I have to hand stitch the four binding pieces together, rather than using these REALLY good instructions.

I will also say that I feel a bit too ashamed to take close up photos of the actual sewing. There are a lot of errors. There are fewer errors as I progressed in the project, and a few of the errors are machine errors. I learned how to thread the machine and wind the bobbin a lot quicker. I learned how to feed the fabric in at a steady rate. I learned a lot.

And it looks like a seventh grade FACS student made it. But my kid doesn't know the difference. The one I make for EK might look like a 10th grader made it. Which is cool to consider!

When I finished the blanket, I went into my (snoring) kid's room and snuggled it around him. That was a rewarding feeling, and I kind of felt a kinship to those pioneer women who quilted for necessity and wrapped their children in blankets made by their own two hands.

Kind of.
They didn't use synthetic fabric with ridiculous mice on them, but I am giving up the ghost of trying to raise this kid in a commercial-free and sustainable way.

Also, note that I am allowing him to be a couch potato and watch Mickey Mouse Club while wearing Mickey jammies and using his Mickey blanket.

FYI:
Here's clear instructions for the Faux Mitered Corners.
Here are the basic instructions I followed for making the blanket from Prudent Baby.

Some Blog Face Time for EK - 9 Months

2012-01-20T14:40:00.001-06:00

I think its about time for a photo blitz of my baby. Here are three different occasions when I had my photo ready to capture how much fun this little girl is.

First up: The Tub.

She loves bath time, and truthfully, she NEEDS bath time. She's been getting so messy at dinner lately that its a good idea for us to shampoo her. Its her most active time of the day, so I think it counts as her daily work out. She splashes and carries on until her big brother decides its time for him to come in the bath and climbs in.

Next: Music Time

You can see she's still wearing that purple dress from church on Sunday. When her dad and brother went out on a little Sunday afternoon adventure, she got to play with a toy that her brother always takes away from her: this tiny piano. Elsa wanted to play and dance at the same time, and it was obvious by her shrieks that she enjoyed banging on the toy.

MY HEART MELTS.

Playing with her eggs:

This egg-toy was on my Kid Toy Wish List, and my mom got it for EK. I am so glad! This might be her favorite toy of all. She sits and bangs at the egg carton until the eggs wobble free, then she bounce them around, yells at them, sings into the shells, and basically has WAY more fun with eggs than I've ever had.

Time to sleep:

EK tells us she is tired by getting fussy. She puts her thumb in her mouth and lays down. Then we know its time to do the sleep sack and/or swaddle (still swaddling at 9 months!!) and lay that baby down!

My mom made that sleep sack. Its so pretty. I started to sew it, but couldn't finish it for lack of enthusiasm and know-how. Thank you, Nanny!

And this is what happens if she does not get her peace and quiet for a nap. She WANTS to go to sleep, and she wants her brother to go away and let her take a nap on her parents' giant bed thankyouverymuch.

Potty Training Post #1

2012-01-19T14:51:00.002-06:00

Maybe there will be several of these posts, or maybe not.

But I feel I must share the bizarre turn of events that occurred this morning.

I changed DHH from his night time cloth diaper (an Econobum cover, Flip organic insert, and small microfiber insert) at about 8 AM this morning. It had been on for 12 hours, and if he had it his way, he'd have kept it on longer.
Of course it was wet - but not SO much so.
Of course it was smelly - its toddler urine, which reeks of ammonia.

I have been saying, "Its time to change from your night diaper. Let's clean you off and keep your bum healthy." I am saying it in my most cheerful, non-confrontational way.
He has been saying, "NOOOOOOOO diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie-per change!" and doing a fit.
Then we do a Sit On The Naughty Bench For Your Unnecessary Tantrum And Calm The Heck Down song and dance. And then change the diaper like its NBD. (No big deal, a phrase I am trying to bring back into common language!)

So during that morning it was a normal, at home morning. Play dough cookie making, reading books about excavators and motor graders, a foam sticker craft, and miscellaneous housework. About the time I was sitting down to fold a load of clothes, he said:

"Mommy, its potty time."

I asked if he needed help, but he said no.
I watched him run to get a step stool.
I heard him put it down in the bathroom and say, "Huh." I could tell he needed to be reminded about the next thing to do.
"Take off those pants, DeeDee."
"Okay."
"Now unsnap that diaper."
"Yeah. Do it self."

A moment later, there was a flush, followed by hand-washing noises.
He raced into the room and requested his "Blue potty training Ms".

He ate his candy and went about his day as if it was NBD.

This was a parenting success because :
a) He was the one in charge of the whole process
b) I trusted him enough to do it alone and didn't interfere
c) There was no power struggle involved

I won't lie, I've been a bit stressed over this life-skill for DHH. We've been doing potty learning and communication forEVER (since 13 months) and he goes from dry diapers to dry undies to fits about wearing undies to refusing undies to diapers to wet undies.

(Still) Current Project

2012-01-19T04:00:00.000-06:00

The project I posted about earlier this week still looks much the same.

I can't get the machine to work properly. The thread remains knotted up on the underside of a tester piece of fabric, even though my husband and I each put an hour into rethreading it/checking tension/fooling with it.

That I'll show me for trying to take up a new hobby when I've got a perfectly good yoga DVD collection sitting -dustily, a digital photo book to complete, two books half read, and a blog that needs a bit more attention if I want to be a better blogger!

But boy, once this gets sorted out my kid is going to go nuts over this Mickey fleece car seat blanket!

Getting Ready For Valentine's Day...

2012-01-18T23:05:00.001-06:00

Love Wishes Valentine's Card

Find unique birthday and Valentine's cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

This is how I used the shutterfly gift card I got this year... I think it shows some of the love that happens in my home!

Project 52 Week 3 Outtakes

2012-01-18T03:00:00.000-06:00

Or a subtitle for this post:

Proof You Need To Take 45 Photos of Kids Just To Get An Awesome One.

I've been trying to learn to take better photos for five years, and one thing I've learned is to use the BURST or SPORTS setting on cameras. Basically, the shutter speed is fast and you can take a rapid succession of photos, thereby capturing a LOT of detail. The photos below were taken this way.

A Current Project...

2012-01-17T14:02:00.001-06:00

And its a SEWING project.

Completing it depends on me mastering the art of sewing machine thread-tension adjustment. Its not an easy thing, and I have given up three times so far.

Off to try again now.

Preschool (And Baby) Activity: SNOW Sensory Bin - With Color!

2012-01-16T21:30:00.000-06:00

Last year I tried doing a snow sensory bin for DHH. It was wildly successful. Here's a little photo memory of that time.

(Wow, hasn't he aged? Look at those sweet cheeks! The baby-sweet-eyes! The size 2T jammies that were baggy then but have been long retired.)

I don't know that DHH remembers the activity, but he does reference this photo with the whisk occasionally, and when I suggested bringing in snow to play, he said, "Wire whisk? Play fow with a wire whisk?"

There was a whisk, but there was also a squeeze bottle with (food coloring) colored water, dump trucks, various scoops.

Squeezing is a good motor skill to practice, and DHH really enjoyed seeing how the water seemed to disappear into the snow.
Which he called Fow.
(Last year, it was foof. Progress, right?)

You'll notice the same bathtub being used for this activity. We get so much use out of this guy, and its easily the best baby purchase we've made, perhaps tied with cloth diapers and Aden and Anais swaddle blankets.

You'll also notice that DHH is wearing a a stocking cap. He had mittens on, too, until they impeded his play. You might be interested to know they are a child's size LARGE, and yet there's no way he can wear it next year. This guy's got a big head. Probably for the big brains inside. But its what a child with a head in the 98th percentile has just got to get used to - not having hats that fit.

About twenty minutes into the snow play, EK woke up. I placed her near the snow tub and finished prepping dinner (which was the original reason I gave DHH such an interesting activity - so I could focus on a new recipe.)

She was curious.
She was cautious.
She observed and explored.

It was fascinating to watch, so I did.
Which led to a burned dinner.
Which led to having grilled cheese sandwiches.

The kids played/poked at the snow for awhile, and when it the novelty had worn off and there were too many puddles for me to keep up with, we ended the activity.

DHH seemed to enjoy the clean up, nearly as much so as the play.
Want to know why?
He got to give the snow toys a bath in the sink, and bathing toys is fun to him.

We also dumped the snow in the toilet.
This was delightful to him and made him giddy with excitement for his dad to come home and use the potty.
He said, "Daddy go pee and get so COLD!! Daddy get a surprise!"

And Daddy did get a surprise, or if he didn't, he played it well!
DHH even said, "BOO!" when he opened the toilet. I guess BOO means surprise.

This is a definite DO if you have a baby or a toddler.
There's so many reasons: sensory exploration, temperature vocabulary, literature tie-ins, transfering/pouring, pretend play... so good.

Lauren at Crumb Bums blogged this activity with her boys a few days ago (she obvs better at blogging daily events than I am... I am half a week behind, or in the case of Christmas, a month behind...). Anyway, they did a smart thing with adding hot water to the snow play, which lends itself to a discussion of melting.
We're totally doing that next time, if we have more snow that is.

Project 52*3: Watch.

2012-01-16T20:15:00.000-06:00

Here's the third week of the year long Project 52.

This week's photo was taken after we'd chatted with my parents online. I turned on a Muppets music video and the kids just went nuts for the puppets!

Here's the Styleberry Blog with Project 52 Links and instructions... you should totally do this! What a great way to practice taking better photos, practice collecting memories, and learn from others.

Comforting Dose of Down To Earth...

2012-01-15T11:53:00.001-06:00

While browsing on Pinterest for inspiration on the wall gallery we've finally put together for the house, I was drooling over the beautiful rooms and homes displayed.

I said, 'Wow, look at those beautiful homes and rooms."

Dan leaned over me and said, "Huh. How many kids under three do you think they have?"

Obvious answer - NONE. No toy cars, no lone baby socks waiting for their mate from the laundry, no dust or fingerprints.

I know people say a phrase like, "Well, I wouldn't trade the baby socks and sticky fingers for all the fine trimmings in a fancy house."

I will not say that.

I like my kids and my family and my life, but SOMEDAY.
I say SOMEDAY, I'll have the memories of children under three AND I'll have a Pin-worthy home!

And I totally have an Ideas for Future Home pin-board. Its good to plan ahead!

THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU: Cloth Diaper Orderer!

2012-01-14T19:50:00.001-06:00

I was so excited to get an email from Kellys Closet saying that someone clicked through the link from my blog to their website and made a purchase. That means I got a 5% commission. I am thinking I need to do a cloth diaper giveaway as a result! Well, maybe I should wait to do a giveaway until I've earned enough commission to PAY for the diaper in the giveaway. Probably. But anyway, THANKS so much for doing this for me, mysterious and anonymous cloth diaper orderer!

Okay, So I Probably Do Over-Do It. Baby's First Tooth Brushing.

2012-01-14T04:00:00.000-06:00

When DHH was just five days old, I was first told that I was over-achieving and trying too hard as a mom.
By his pediatrician.
Who is a pretty smart and funny and wise guy.
But I took offense.

He couldn't believe that I asked for him to pose for a photo with my newborn.
He was surprised by my copious notes about his feeding patterns and diaper changes.
"They send you home from the hospital because he didn't need a nurse anymore", he said.

Yes, I probably over did it. But I wanted to be responsible and I was just so keyed up. I didn't want to mess anything up, and I was so sleep deprived (both from being up to feed the baby AND when I would sit next to his Moses basket and just watch him sleep when I should have been myself!).
I was Ultra Mom.
I tried Ultra Hard.

I've relaxed some these three years into motherhood.
I didn't bring a video camera to EK's first pediatrician appointment.
But I was upset about her lack of weight gain and almost humiliated that they suggested I supplement her nursing with those 2 oz (wasteful!) pre-made (chemical laden!) formula bottles.
I didn't feel like I failed, but I did feel like I was in danger of failing.
So I stepped my game back up and go to be more intense.

Here's a little proof that I over-do it on some mothering things.
Namely, recording Firsts.

Baby's First Tooth Brushing.

Its a peach baby toothbrush that DHH helped me choose when he chose for himself a battery-operated CARS toothbrush.

For those of you who are unaware, having a toothbrush with an on and off button makes it much more interesting and therefore much more of a likelihood that that you could avoid a tantrum about tooth brushing.

And I've captured one of the few times DHH has been eager to brush his teeth, probably because he didn't want to be upstaged by his lil-sis.

And the toothbrushers together.

Note: I'll wipe down that mirror for the next time an opportunity such as this presents itself!

A Little About Messy House and Some Manicotti Mania Photos.

2012-01-13T13:22:00.000-06:00

Good Lord my house is a wreck. It is more than not, so I won't write a crap ton about that.
But -
Probably it looks like I'm a teenager instead of a nearly 30 year old adult.
Definitely it looks like I chose to do water colors and grocery shopping this morning instead of putting away the laundry.
Which I did, and I enjoyed.

The floor is half mopped. I realized it was a losing battle last night when I tried to juggle dinner making (fab Italian-ish veggie and sausage soup), playing with DHH and food coloring and a bucket full of snow, and mopping. The mopping just had to stop since we were getting piles of blue snow everywhere and flecks of carrot peel.

The internet has been perused for the first half hour of nap time, which was my distraction.

I think I'll go give internet radio a listen (trying to pump myself up into a Dave Ramsey fan to impress my husband) and then try to scrub the baby cereal that seems to be permanently adhered to the floor.

The following pictures are of EK going nuts for manicotti. She ate a full noodle/cheese/sauce! She whooped and hollered and made it clear that she'd like to have Manicotti Mondays from now on. The only other food she's been this enthusiastic about has been Caesar dressing and Oreo-chocolate pudding.

For Some Reason...`

2012-01-12T14:14:00.003-06:00

"For some reason, I need Daddy/think this smells weird/want to play Hot Wheels/drink chocolate milk/sing Holy Night song/watch Mickey Movie."

FOR SOME REASON is a phrase that my son has been using this last month, usually inappropriately (but always with great seriousness that lends itself to parental amusement).

I am going to steal his phrase and over-use it for this post.

For some reason, bed time peace hinges on if there is a fit during dinner time. Which hinges on if he's made a dirty diaper prior to dinner. If not, there's a fit during dinner so he can excuse himself to calm down/poop, which makes a tantrum of a diaper change which transition into a fit about not doing bath time which means there's problems with rude behavior and "No, not say sorry not yet."

For some reason, our 90% dry boy and potty-user has decided to wear diapers and howl when its diaper change time and freak out if we suggest toilet time.

For some reason, saying, "I'll go and set the timer on the microwave. Go lay down and if you are awake when the timer goes off, come out of your room and we'll play." This makes DHH dash to his bed for nap time.

For some reason, the length of DHH's crib AND binky AND pillow are all "6, 7, 8, 9, 11 pounds long".

For some reason, I wrote down EK's cardiologist appointment as 1-13 instead of 1-18. Which stinks because we have to reschedule for Feburary. Because...

For some reason, I couldn't handle just Dan taking her and me being at work fretting over missing the appointment.

For some reason, amber teething necklaces seem to work.

For some reason, a day that starts an hour early never ends a hour early.

For some reason, my husband's truck battery lasted eight years before needing to be replaced this week. That's longer than our marriage.

For some reason, it was hoodie and jeans weather yesterday afternoon, but it was snow suit and two pair of socks AND snow boots weather this morning.

For some reason, I still haven't written the photo captions for the Christmas photo-heavy posts and published them.

For some reason, cloth diaper laundry really doesn't bother me. But give me a laundry basket full of family socks and I flip my lid.

For some reason, a ten pound bag of pinto beans has provided more hours of fun for my kid (and presumably his trucks) than it has given me stress to pick up the tiny tan beans all over my house.

For some reason, I am blogging instead of mopping, folding laundry, calling my BFF, or taking a nap.

Brotherly/Sisterly* Love

2012-01-11T23:03:00.001-06:00

These photos were taken spontaneously in mid December
.
And are great evidence to support my claim that I don't enjoy working outside the home because I'd miss this.*

Little times like this are the reason why I am happy to be with these kids all day, most days.

And also offer proof that you should always have a camera ready to capture the unplanned adorable moments!

*Is it called brotherly love when its friendly affection shared between mixed genders? Does the masculine form work here because there's a guy involved and that trumps the female adverb? Really, chime in your opinion you English majors here!

Snow Showers Tomorrow...

2012-01-11T22:22:00.000-06:00

And I think that's good news.
I don't need to be anywhere at any time all day.
Dan will take our "good winter car".

I need some snow because I've been having spring fever lately, and its too early for that business to start. We've been outdoors more afternoons than not this January, usually without gloves or more than hoodies. Its about time for a reality check!

And these photos are from December when it was 45 and seemed chilly enough for the new fleece!

Working/Not Working Decisions.

2012-01-11T14:34:00.001-06:00

I am teaching a short term class on Mondays and Wednesdays this month. I am doing a basic English as Second Language advanced course in communication to college students. My students are all female and from Pusan National University studying child development and family studies. They are ideal students - intelligent, perky, interested in learning, and adorable. Because this class is short term, it was a good way for me to test the waters to see if I wanted to work more.

As it happens, I do not really enjoy working.

The actual teaching part is fun and I do like that. But the wage I am earning + the enjoyment of teaching does not = a big enough gain to be away from the kids and deal with the extra stress that comes from working.

I much prefer being with my kids and setting my schedule and not worrying about the children while I am gone and preparing to be gone while I am with my kids.

I also don't enjoy that my husband rearranged his schedule at work to be home with the kids on Mondays so that we only do baby sitter once per week. I LOVE having him home three days in a row, but ten hour work days feels too long as he has to compensate for the Monday off . I really miss him at 2 PM. I'd normally see him at 3:15 PM, but now its 5:15 PM. Those two hours are long!

The thing with working is that we could really use the cushion extra income provides. My husband has suggested working a second job and I balked at that. Things are tight, and we're saving for new vehicles. Extra money would be good. I feel like playing the If Only Game, wherein I wish I would have worked one more year before having DHH and saved that entire salary.

Once again, I am feeling so surprised that I prefer to be an at home mom. Its interesting to me that I have the opportunity to influence young women by sharing my feelings about how I am raising my kids. Most of these girls will be preschool teachers and all have said they want to become mothers one day. I think this class is a unique opportunity for me to connect with these women and share that they could be open to the idea of staying at home with their kids. I certainly wish that someone had shared this option with me when I was their age so that I could have reframed my idea of what success is or happiness in life can mean.

Mothering Moment.

2012-01-10T21:37:00.001-06:00

How can it be that they are the reason that I am so exhausted and two days away from being burnt out ...

and yet...

when I go into their nursery at 9:30 PM

and see the most angelic sleeping boy

and cuddly, milk-giddy daughter

the fatigue and slight annoyance and twinge of selfish bitterness I've felt all day fade fade fade

and I just feel peace and satisfaction and some sort of mother-y high.

Its not something one can really explain to others or anticipate as non-parent.

Those sappy baby lotion commercials with parents smiling towards their infant that looks like it was filmed a decade ago TOTALLY have it right.

Goodbye, Binky: Post 2

2012-01-10T21:21:00.000-06:00

So yesterday when I came home from teaching the morning class I'm doing on Mondays and Wdndays, Dan had some news for me:

He'd gotten rid of another binky!

Just hours after we'd gotten the first one out of circulation, he managed to get another one gone.

And here's the kicker, DHH CHOSE TO GET RID OF IT.

Here's the story:

We had decided to put away almost all of the Christmas gifts our kids received from relatives. Simply put, they got too much. We planned to get them out little by little, saving them for inside play day boredom busters. I guess Dan was in a pinch with this often moody guy, and he got down a Hot Wheels race track. He put the track, still in its box, near DHH. Instantly he wanted to play with it. Dan said, "If you want to do this race track, you need to trade in a binky for it. You will need to put Blue Binky in the trash can. If Blue Binky is in the trash can, we can get out this new race track."

What a clever husband I have.

DHH thought about it for a long time. Dan said he could tell he was weighing the options. He reminded him that the binkies are getting old, and one might break anyway, so this might be a good time to trade for something better.

In the end, he went to his room, got the pacifier, and put it in the kitchen trash can.

They had a great time setting up the race track and playing Hot Wheels together, and the trashed binky wasn't mentioned any more.

He didn't even ask for it at nap/bed times.

Two binkies down, one* more to go.

*Actually, there are several more, but two are in hiding, one is at my parent's house, and one is in the diaper bag. There may be some under the bed. But the important thing is that he THINKS there's only one left.

Project 52 Outtakes

2012-01-10T03:30:00.000-06:00

Its hard to choose a photo for the Project 52. I had a hard time selecting the one I posted yesterday!

Here are the other photos I took from the afternoon my son decided to share his yogurt with his sister.

Isn't her mouth tiny? She can hold it in such a way that it gets half size! That's one of the first things we noticed about her. Such a tiny mouth!

This was her first reaction to the yogurt. Its her first reaction to most foods, but its not necessarily a bad reaction. She holds the foods in her mouth, pauses, and then swallows. She did actually like this!

They laugh and laugh together.

High five! Actually, just holding each other's hand.

She pulled the hand in for a kiss.

See that sippy cup? Its a Tupperware from the 80s. Its the most popular cup in the house, and it came from my MIL's house. We had ones just like it at our house growing up!

It was loud at this point.

He was hollering at this point - imitating her saying "Elsie say AHHHHH!"

This is the one I chose because it was the best action shot.

Ah!! I just love this look.

She watches her brother intently, learning a lot.

Yum.

Silly boy.

One big glop.

This one is VERY good, too. I like how he has his mouth open, too! I think most people open their mouths when they feed the baby.

One for me...

One for you.

DDD for 1-09-12

2012-01-09T21:41:00.001-06:00

Daniel saw me chopping veggies for a salad and he decided to help,
too. He got his play food out and got to work!

Project 52: Week 2

2012-01-09T20:56:00.000-06:00

Here's the second week of my photography project!

Since I've started the Project 52 with the theme of siblings, I am more aware of the time my kids spend together interacting. They spend a lot of time sleeping in the same room and riding side by side in car seats, but they don't spend more than an hour together interacting. They just have different interest and daily patterns.

On this particular day, I needed to sweep the floor. Both children were strapped into booster seats, and DHH was having his 3 PM meal (he rarely eats lunch and I try to keep him from a full meal so he'll eat something at dinner time). He had a large bowl of vanilla yogurt, topped with sequins (aka sprinkles). I pushed EK next to DHH, and he offered her a bit.

(She has a history of a milk-protein intolerance, but lately I've been adding cheese into my diet. I don't notice the same gross effects of dairy that I noticed before, so perhaps she's outgrowing this.)

Here's a photo from this moment where a brother willingly shares something he likes with his sister, who didn't even ask.

Good Bye, Binky: Post 1

2012-01-09T20:46:00.001-06:00

So I mentioned last night that we made a step towards a pacifier free house. We've been doing pacifiers for two and a half years, and yesterday both my husband and I noticed his front teeth were looking a little affected.

Before my son was born, I was anti-pacifier.
Dirty plastic in the mouth? Yuck.
Interfering with speech? No way!
Out in public, an easy target to be judged as a mother in? Ew!

But at 2 days old, we needed an additional way to soothe our baby. He needed a little more comfort. This worked.

DHH has been nuts about binkies since he was about 3 months old. And so we've had dozens (at least three dozen, maybe more) blue and white binkes. He's preferred to sleep with three binkies - one for each hand and one for his mouth - since he was about six months old. They were like a blankie or doll to him.

At one year, we made the Binkies In Bed Only rule. This was one of the first sentences DHH could say. He'd put them in his bed before leaving the room. The rule was only difficult to enforce the first month or so, but he was pretty young and had a hard time with cause and effect.

Back in the fall when he fell and we went to the pediatric dentist, the doctor suggested we quit binks ASAP. He offered a few tips to get rid of the binkies.

He suggested the following:

1) Go cold turkey. Just take them from the child and don't give any choices. Just endure it, and it will get better.

2) Clip a bit of the binkie each night until the nub gets smaller and smaller and the child feels its useless and discards it on his own.

3) Bag up the binkies, go to Toys R Us, and allow the child to select a toy to buy. He pays the cashier with this binkies.

Our plan was to do option #3. Or a modified version of that. I bought this truck he's been wanting to have on hand, just in case.

My husband wanted to do option #2. I was horrified by this. Yuck! Wouldn't it get dirtier? Would that be too mean?

As it happened, bed times have been rough in our house. A time for unruly behavior and extreme mood swings. Even though its only 7 PM (or sometimes earlier!) its INTENSE. Dan is mostly in charge of Daniel, so I let him take the lead. He clipped a binkie last night, but only one. He put it back on the bed with the other two, and waited for DHH to notice it.

"Binky! Something's wrong! Binky's broken mommy! Daddy fix it! Daddy fix it with tape in the gararge!"

He tried sucking on it and said, "No."

Then he put the binky on his finger, like a finger puppet. Dan had to leave the room because it was hilarious.

We watched as he reacted to his dad's efforts to fix it with tape, but it wasn't satisfactory to him. We told him that it made sense it was broken because it was old. He was calm and peaceful with the idea to just put in on his nightstand and not use it during the night.

The rough patches from the bedtime last night weren't related to think clipped binky. It was just bad bedtime moods.

Today Dan did something with the second binky that is amazing to me. I'll write about it tomorrow!

Clipping the Binky.

2012-01-08T21:05:00.002-06:00

Man, oh man I wish we didn't have to do what we just did tonight.
We clipped a bink.

I'll give you more details about this tomorrow, because tonight I am going to look up what happened on Desperate Housewives that I reluctantly missed as I was fighting Elsie to sleep. I am going to watch some DVD The Office with my husband and eat a few cuties.

Perfectionism (Almost) Wins Again.

2012-01-07T23:03:00.000-06:00

Ah! I haven't written about our Christmas celebration this year, and I haven't completed the posts I started about re-caps of 2011 and goals for 2012. Those posts sit unfinished and unpublished in the drafts category.

The more days go by that I put off completing these tasks the less relevant it seems. And it doesn't help that this winter has passed so quickly. It seemed like Thanksgiving happened and then we put the tree up and then Presto! Its nearly mid-January already.

I wish I could say that I've been training for some athletic event or sewing quilts or re-tiling the bathrooms or something. I haven't been. I have been online reading, going to bed early or late as I please, soothing a teething baby, or sweeping the forever-crumb-y kitchen floor.

I do want to write about these happenings before my memory fades. I am going to block out time on Mondays to catch up. I will use The Bachelor as a perfect backdrop, and when DWTS returns for the season, I'll use Monday AND Tuesdays to blog.

I have this issue with perfectionism. I don't like doing things B+ level. I like to keep high standards and sometimes they are silly-high. I am going to relax a bit and not edit the photos for every post or worry that I've put in too many photos or re-read the post for passive-aggressive subtext.

I just can't let 2012 get too far in with these I-have-to-be-perfect-or-do-nothing type posts. Its at best a form of laziness or avoidance or at worst something that could spin out of control and lead me back to the therapist's couch and non-breastfeeding friendly medications.

Here are some more of the photos I took on Thursday after I came home from a work meeting and found my family sitting on the grass, soaking in the sun. It made me feel so happy to know they were mine. You'll notice that my son is really insisting that his sister take notice of the grass. He was trying to teach her about it, but she ignored him.

And yes, the photos need some adjusting due to the shadows cast by the late sun, but I won't be a pefectionist about it.

On Toddler Aging: Mama's Grief.

2012-01-06T04:00:00.000-06:00

My son is two and a half at the end of this month.

He's that much closer to being a KID than a baby.
He often tells me, "No, Mama Bethany, no baby. A big boy. Dan-ol Dee Dee's a big boy."
I know, baby! I get it! You ARE getting big!

I think its actually inappropriate to call him a toddler these days because he doesn't toddle.
He dashes.
He scurries.
He hops.
He dances.
He pulls little trains with wagons full of Hot Wheels through the house, reciting the first page of The Little Engine That Could.
He's more like a pre-schooler and its almost easier to squint and see him carrying his backpack for kindergarten than conjure up the memory of him being tucked into a tight swaddle.

I'm finding myself disappointed in a few of the things he's been doing lately because the baby and toddler things were SO WONDERFUL.

He's taken to calling himself Dan-ol more than Dee Dee.
He's says foo-drIber instead of foo-baba (screwdriver, of course).
He calls me Mommy more often than Mama or Mama Bethany.
He wants to use coloring books, which seem so grown-up to me.

This kid was such a neat baby and toddler.
Of course I'll love him as a boy who uses the toilet appropriately and can play a board game or watch ESPN.
Oh, but how I grieve each little bit of baby that slips by and won't ever be here again.

I didn't feel sad at the transition from babyhood to toddler because I was still new at learning how to be a mom and getting to know the wonderful little guy.

I am feeling more and more sentimental now though as he becomes more independent and the neat little things he learned to do in 2011 are being replaced by other (also neat) things. We just don't get those 2011 things ever again, which is so interesting to me because I'm basically the same as I was last year, with some new added in the mix. He's basically re-created himself in a year and is an entirely different guy.

I Came Home To This:

2012-01-05T23:10:00.001-06:00

After a meeting for work (teaching a four week class, two mornings per week this month!) and some errands, I came home to a tidy home and these three cheerful souls.

They were sitting out in the back yard, waiting for ME to get home. These perfect guys were just waiting for ME. I felt really special when I considered that THEY missed ME. Its a two way-street.

And also... I can I just mention that it was 56 degrees outside in the beginning of January!?

First Picnic Playtime

2012-01-04T13:43:00.000-06:00

On Monday when Dan was home from work, we had a few of our friends' kids over for about an hour.

DHH really wanted the girl, T, to come over to play with his new kitchen set. The boy, E, who is just a month older, came too, but wasn't as interested in playing with DHH's kitchen set as he was with his various trucks and trains. I know DHH would have liked to play those "haul items in the train cars to the scoop trucks and back to the parking garage" type games, so maybe they'll do this another day.

But Monday was Kitchen Set day. We gave the children the beloved Kitchen Set as their shared present this year. Its a HIT. DHH thinks everyone who comes to his house needs to play kitchen with him, and he wasn't disappointed on Monday.

The kids worked together to use every single utensil and bowl to make spaghetti, cake, eggs, and sandwiches. Then they cut apart all the velcro strips in the cutting food and rearranged it to make mushrooms.*

My husband supervised/gave creative inspiration to the kids while I used that time to sort out mismatched toys and random non-toys from a toy box.

He also got out a picnic blanket and helped to set up a impromptu meal.
The kids added the light up Christmas tree as a decoration and found a light up fake candle for ambiance.

It was really sweet to observe, and when it was all over, they sorted the food, put away the silverware, and washed up the dishes in the play sink.

While they were playing, the only fight was over who was going to pour the tea (which was determined to be iced-hot-sweet-tea).

We tried to teach DHH to sip his tea with his pinkies out, but that proved to be too tricky for him to master. He ended up with more of a Captain Hook than Princess Tea Fingers. It was silly fun.

These little days are EXACTLY as I pictured having kids would be like. Its the other stuff like diaper rashes and 7 PM bedtimes that surprised me.

We also noted to ourselves that we had FOUR kids in our care at this point, all four and under. It was a houseful of giggles, and I wonder if we'll have four kids under four. Since there's a year and a half and my mom is a twin, maybe there's a shot at this. I think that would be crazy wonderful, but I could be convinced its just regular crazy, too. :)

*Note: DHH still subs the word bathrooms for mushrooms. Tee hee.

Baby Games: Shake the Bells! (Video)

2012-01-04T05:30:00.000-06:00

I try to make up fun games to play with my baby.

I read so many parenting blogs and research current Early Childhood Education philosophies.

And wouldn't you know, these things are paying off?!?!

I've learned that the games I want to play for or with my baby aren't nearly as engaging to her as games that she creates herself (or with the help of her slightly older brother).

I've learned that I need to set the stage for play for my daughter, which includes providing open ended objects like scarves, cups, buckets, balls, and in this case, jingle bells and an old mayonnaise jar.

By giving my child a limited amount of "toys", she engages in an activity of her own choosing and encounters success.

Here's a video clip of EK's lastest game, of which she became the master of the last week of December.

(...and in case the video doesn't work for you, here are some stills... or actually, they are action shots! You can see her brother was charged with the role of Fetcher.)

Baby Babbles

2012-01-03T22:51:00.000-06:00

My little darling is babbling. She's been doing so for quite some time...before Halloween? but these babbles are getting INTENTIONAL.

Everyday you can hear someone telling her, "Elsie, say bababa"
or
"Elsie, say tricycle"
or
"Elsie say Dee Dee."

And usually, that's how she starts to say a new word.

For the record, her first word WAS Mama, and of course, I practically threw her a party. This happened around Thanksgiving.

Then this weekend, as my son urged her ("Elsie, say NANAS!), she did repeat the name of the fruit she was eating.

On Monday we were sitting together at the table and urging her to say BROTHER. She said, "Buh-Bah" several times.

Tonight, she said another word. This time, I didn't urge her in any way, and in fact I thought she was talking about her brother again.

A headache sent my husband to bed early, and on his way out of the living room, he kicked this electronic talking baby ball (because of course, our living room isn't toy-free). It lit up and played music and said some gibberish rhyme.

I was trying to get her to nurse and go to bed, but instead, she kept turning to the toy and saying, "Bahl. Bahl. Bahl."

"Yeah, your brother is in bed. Buhbuh is in bed. So is Daddy. You'll be there soon. And then I can watch The Bachelor episode online. C'mon baby, let's eat!".

She refused to lay down to nurse and nearly flipped off of my lap because she was so intent on getting to the toy. She looked at the toy and said, "Bahl bahl bahl."

And then I figured it out and let her go to the floor and play with the ball.
I figured it was a good idea to reward her communication attempts.

I've done a crummier job at recording EK's milestones and daily happenings in her blog, but I have so much less free time than I did with just one baby. I'm not beating myself up over this, because I know that what I lack in time I make up for in confidence raising a baby.

I have also done a crummy job of mentioning my kids growth and development on this blog because of the whole braggymommathingsherkidissoawesomeandyoursiskindofslow type mentality that seems to be par for the course with mama blogs. I also don't want to do the compare-despair cycle with my kid (or you with yours).

However, EK, when you read this as an older lady, know I DO think you are brilliant and will be a smashing success in the world. I also think you are more beautiful than any other babies. Its just not the forum to say these things over and over again on this blog site!

If you are interested in her milestones, I recently wrote about her current foods and current past time, Cup Game.

1-2-12: What Happened Today

2012-01-02T23:01:00.001-06:00

I liked yesterday's Dear Diary style of posting, so I'm back for more.

I decided to bring the laptop into bed because my nightstand lamp light is out, and rather than fiddle with changing it so I could write out a list of things to do tomorrow to feel (and be) successful, I'll jook type it and email it to myself.

Of course, that also meant logging into facebook and looking through photos from a Korean friend's sister's wedding

And reading through several items in my Google Reader, which is now hopelessly over 1000 entries.

And closing out some browser tabs that have been open for days, realizing I'll probably never get to those ideas.

+++++

My husband was home today, since its a holiday for his work. Its interesting to me that today felt like tomorrow will probably feel for me - kind of a weekend, but not really, just the same amount of work. I am glad that I don't have the anticipatory anxiety that comes with having a standard job and going back to that job after a day of rest.

So he was home today, which meant the alarm DIDN'T go off at 4:50. The baby woke him at 6:30, and he brought her to me to feed her. We much prefer laying in bed for her first feeding, probably because we've done it that way for about eight months. We get to snooze some, cuddle some. Often EK goes back to sleep and stays in our bed for a nap. She always eats more efficiently and longer laying down, with less distractions this way.

However, she had a big distraction - or at least a wiggly one - DHH had followed Dan from their room and climbed up into bed, too. Our room was dimly lit, and he just pounced up. This is kind of neat for us, since he's only done it a handful of times. He squealed and kissed on his sister before wedging himself under the covers. I felt his forehead and was SO relieve it was not scorching. He had a fever from 12-8 yesterday and was so miserable (and disagreeable).

As it happened, no one had breakfast like they normally do at our house. We were out of frozen waffles, pancakes, milk for cereal, and muffins, so we went to HyVee for donuts/biscuits and gravy and then bought breakfast food there. I thought it was fun to be out together on an errand so early on a Monday. There were a few other scraggly looking young families out, too. Moms wearing hoodies and no make up, dads in track pants and wrinkled sweaters, children in jammies (not my kids though - I dress them better than I dress myself, actually. Or maybe they just lack jeans and a college sweatshirt.)

+++++

We had some of DHH's friends over to play this morning. Spontaneous, organic play. It was fun to have Dan there, too, both to help and also to play. He put together a great play-picnic spread and cracked those kids up. He's funnier than me. At one point when I was sorting through a toy box, looking for play-silverware and pretty much enjoying the chaos, he said, "So... four kids? Wow." Of course, we wouldn't have a 4 year old, two 2 year olds, and an 8 month old, so it wouldn't be the same or anything. I'd need a playroom for my sanity, but the rest would be okay.

++++++
Later in the day, I went to JoAnn's. I think on days when I feel creative, I can either go to a fabric store OR do a project. I cannot do both. I was mentally exhausted after coming home with my spoils. I think this is why I have so many half done projects. I think I like the craft store shopping a bit more than the project-completion.

+++++
I tried to watch The Bachelor tonight as a way to totally unwind However, Miss E nursed three times in two hours and Mr. D wasn't interested in going to sleep early. Both kids required an adult's attention, so Husby didn't get to do his hobby in the garage, either. I'm thinking that I'll probably watch the episode online tomorrow because I really do need some trashy TV to make me feel a bit better about my life!

+++
All the photos on this post are actually from three weeks ago. I feel weird publishing Christmas photos since I haven't really taken any time to write about Christmas! My goals though do include to share current photos soon!

Project 52: Week 1

2012-01-02T22:29:00.000-06:00

Over the last year, I've enjoyed seeing Emily's Project 52 take shape over at her blog. I like watching children grow, and I've liked watching her ideas and photography skill blossom, too.

Since I already send out daily photos of my kids to their fan club of family members via email (and post those photos on their blog and facebook for good measure), I didn't participate in 2011.

However, I feel overwhelemed by the volume of photos and blog posts I write. I've never put together a blog book, but I'd like to. I think by participating in this project, I'll have an easier time creating a 2012 memory book that's concise (and therefore affordable!).

I decided to do a theme for the book, and that is SIBLINGS. Its not easy for me to photograph both kids in the same shot. They have slightly different routines and preferences, but at least once per day they are next to each other and interacting. I predict that this will change a bit as the year goes, and so I think there will be a neat progress in the photos of that. You can read more about the project at styleberry, who hosts link ups for others who participate.

Here's the first shot for the project. I confess I selected a less-good photo... one with the flash and auto settings... I also want this photo book to show a journey towards being a better photographer. I am happy with the progress I've made, but I am still learning.

I put both kids on my bed while I brushed my teeth. Daniel decided he needed to be "wrapped up", so he tucked himself in. He was showing Elsa The Little Engine That Could, and I heard him telling her, "Puff puff, chug chug trains, Elsiebug." She was squealing with delight!

1-1-12: What's Going On At My House...

2012-01-01T16:47:00.000-06:00

Right now,there's a kind of lull in our house.

Its somewhat clean - a few stray crumbs under the table by my son's booster chair and the almost ever-present basket of half folded but clean cloth diaper laundry.

The late afternoon sun is coming in the windows, and a strong wind is rattling the siding of the house.

My son is sleeping for his second nap of the day, but I think he's ill. I rocked and held and tried to soothe him from 2-3 PM, when all he wanted to do was disagree and moan. I went against his wishes and put him into jammies and coerced him into bed. I think the fact that he's been sleeping for an hour means I was right to win that battle.

My daughter is resting on our bed, tucked in a sort of pillow fort we have fashioned since she needs to sleep in a different room than her brother. We should probably just have gotten a pack in play, but we didn't. She was a later roller than DHH, and she sleeps SO well on our bed. I don't know if its the linens or the mattress, but she sighs with relief when we put her down on our bed and drops to sleep so quickly. She's cooing a little right now, testing out some new words she has been learning. Today we heard BUB BUB BAH, right after I asked her to say BROTHER. That was cool! She is a little tired now because she's spent the afternoon practicing talking and crawling.

My husband is lounging on the couch wearing his weekend uniform - older, non-work appropriate jeans and a faded black long sleeve T. He's off tomorrow for the holiday, too. He's got a cowboy DVD playing, on loan from my dad, and chuckles every now and then. I wonder if he would have enjoyed being a cowboy. He's pretty rugged and sturdy. I don't really enjoy roughing it, so its probably for the best that we live in a comfortable house not on the range somewhere.

I'm planning to cook a pasta tonight using a fridge full of ingredients that need to go - Italian sausage, spinach, marinated artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and a tomato. I think I might forgo sauce and just use olive oil and the marinated artichoke liquid.

I'm spending time sitting on the couch with the computer, sorting through the 1400 photos we took in December. I am behind in our DDDs and EEs for the week, so I want to get those sent.

Hopefully later we'll watch some Office Season 7, continue the chill out time, and enjoy some time with well rested and healthy children.

So I Haven't Written Much Lately...

2011-12-30T07:04:00.001-06:00

And that's probably because I have been trying to tip toe around my feelings about some of the things I noticed this holiday season.

I noticed that I tried to start traditions with my young family and felt frustrated when they didn't stick as I'd hoped. I am giving myself some slack since we're relatively new at this, but I am a little disappointed since I'd painted such a rosy picture of my expectations.

I noticed some feelings in myself that I don't want to continue as a legacy. I think having Christmas on a Sunday really helped me notice these things, such as how "doing Christmas" meant exchanging gifts. Like, we did seven Christmases. Yes, there were seven separate gift exchanges, but I really caught myself calling that a Christmas. No wonder I felt a little empty after each one. It shouldn't be based on the presents! Of course I knew that, but now I GET it.

I noticed again how easy it is to feel like a Grinch when you are toting around all that baby STUFF you need for an extended time away from their crib. Sheesh. I don't want a bigger car though, because I am sure I'd pack even heavier.

I noticed how inappropriate it is for toddlers to receive more toys than they can carry. My son got easily thirty presents, and about two thirds of them came at my husband's family's house. I am so glad we have decided to stick with the three gifts only rule for our house, and I resolved to enforce a rule like this (or even stricter) at other family's homes, too. It is totally inappropriate for him to have so many gifts under the guise of Santa or "you've been so good this year that you get ANOTHER present".

I have a dozen feelings and opinions about this, but before I write more and offend people who a) gave my son the presents from the spirit of good will and cheer or b) write myself into a corner about how I feel about presents, I think I want to talk to others' about their thoughts. Specifically, I have a small group of mom-friends with kids my age and similar values and families that I would LOVE to get together to play in my toy strewn-house. However, only a few of them live in my city. I guess I'll ask a million questions via text or facebook message. (Get ready Sara, Tiffany, Hilary, Ann, Chrissy! And if you have opinions about this topic, PLEASE share.)

I've almost culled through the photos from December, so I'll share most of them in a photo explosion. Wait, not most of them. There's 1300!

As it happens, I actually DON'T know how to use my camera and tried to do non-auto settings. Boo. The images aren't great. There are some good ones, but all around, I should have stuck to a basic point-and-shoot-flash I think. Luckily, there were plenty of photo opportunities of my kids opening gifts! :o)

PAP PAP

2011-12-29T14:00:00.000-06:00

Definition 1:

The noise my son makes when he is getting irritable and going to completely come unglued at the supper table. PAP PAP A PAP means "I am so done with dinner that I am going to start squirming so fierce I will fall out of my chair face first and scream and run over and hit my sister, so either offer a different food like a dessert cookie or get me in the bath tub."

Definition 2:

A cervical cell test that seems so dramatically UNinvasive after two child births. And what I had yesterday.

William Henry Haid

2011-12-29T07:59:00.000-06:00

This morning I had a thought.

(Since my children are sleeping absurdly and wonderfully later what I've come to expect in the last nine months, I have the chance for plenty of thoughts AND a morning shower.)

This morning's thought was about my son.
I thought up the perfect name for my DHH.
I know, 30 months too late.

Had I been given the opportunity to name my son, I would have chosen to have him be named William Henry Haid.

William Henry Haid the FIRST.
(Not D. Haid the SEVENTH)

I don't know quite why this thought passed through my mind, but it did, and I wanted to record it.

(Just like I want to have a picture record of my son's reaction to gift giving this year... it was OH BOY OH BOY A KITCHEN SET I WON'T NOTICE ANY OTHER GIFT UNTIL I FIGURE OUT THE KNOBS AND TIMER AND DRAWERS AND COOK UP SOMETHING. OH, THERE'S ANOTHER GIFT? I WILL OPEN IT ONLY IF I CAN SIT RIGHT NEXT TO THE KITCHEN SET!!)

Please Pose In Front Of the Tree for Mommy.

2011-12-22T23:33:00.003-06:00

Tonight we "did Christmas", which meant that we tugged our grumpy two year old from the bathwater

(NOOOOOOOOO! Dee Dee more bathtime!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

and kept our little girl up a few hours past her ridiculously early bedtime to show them what Christmas merriment is like.

Seriously, they have no idea about Christmas.

DHH has looked at photos of his last Christmases, but he has no concept of Santa. Which is totally fine by me since its only the 22nd, I'm not a huge Santa person, and I want him to appreciate that WE, his family, think highly enough of him to rock his world with gifts.

Plus, I am not sure I'm going to do much in the way of Santa-teaching.

I think I may even say, "Santa isn't real, dear."

You just might catch me saying that.

I haven't yet, but I have watched the Santa Claus is Coming to Town with my kids and read Twas the Night Before Christmas, and I have read tons about the pros and cons of telling kids that Santa is Real and Alive and All Knowing/Seeing and interfering with imagination.

Right now, I'm kind of leaning towards "santa is a fun cultural icon, but your family buys you presents and you can help select gifts for your family, too (!) to show you love them."

But its the 22nd, so even if we DID make a fuss over Santa, there'd be the additional fib that goes with telling your children that Santa showed up early here, in a house with no chimney, and will also come by the grandparents' house in a few nights.

So after our Christmas feast (aka just Papa Johns - no need for anything fancy since we can't have leftovers around getting funky in the fridge and since only half of the family really could appreciate my cooking)... after our Christmas feast and the baths that followed, we dragged the kids into the living room.

And they didn't even notice the gifts I'd arranged carefully under the tree.

Really, they didn't see them at all!

We aren't likely to ever have such a gimme-free or expectation-less Christmas gift exchange again.

DHH will have it figured out next year (especially after the next TWO Christmases he has in the weekend). EK will be cute and sweet and oblivious again, I 'm sure.

But this year was the year when EVERYTHING was a huge surprise for DHH.

And for Elsie, I guess it was as surprising as most Thursday nights, since I bet her memory is kind of short.

It was probably more exciting since there were more items for her to chew and teethe on (like gift tags and a Hot Wheel and a stocking.)

And so before any gifts were opened (or noticed), I propped the kiddos up on the footstool for a Classic Photo. DHH naturally grabbed his sister in a hug/headlock.

(The idealist and perfectionist in me regrets the mismatched, non-Christmas specific jammies. But the realist in me knows I'm new at this gig and there's not a budget for holiday sleepwear. The perfectionist finds wearing Christmas PJs in months other than December inappropriate, too. So... no fancy matching jammies, but maybe next year if I get my act together and get a sale!)

I'm glad I captured this moment of posing in front of the Christmas tree. Its so Classic Childhood Christmas, and I hope it conveys to my kids one day that they were enjoyed and that Christmas is enjoyable.

I have High Hopes that this will be the Merriest of Any Christmases this year.

I have much more than I've ever had, and I am very aware of that.

Last Minute Target Run and Cute Christmas Photo

2011-12-21T13:07:00.001-06:00

It was a success.

(Seriously.)

Another mom told me that we needed some sort of medal for braving it out with two little kids (she also had a 2 year old and infant).

The only non-successful thing was that I had to stoop to a gift card for a gift for a brother-in-law. I don't love giving gift cards, even though I actually DO like receiving them. I feel like a failure as a good-gift-giver.

I also picked up a few stockings items for my husband, the much anticipated (and clearance priced) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Mickey Saves Christmas, and an iced sweet tea from Panera.

It was a pretty good morning!

Here's a photo I haven't shared yet...

It was taken during that disastrous JCP photo shoot in late November. Seeing the uncertainty and reticent smiles on DHH and the obvious discomfort on EK kind of make it worth it. It was torture for them, too. And a pretty photo to boot.

Happy Christmas Elves From Jib Jab.

2011-12-21T13:00:00.001-06:00

Who DOESN'T get a kick out of putting their family photos into a Jib Jab movie?

Click to see it

Especially seeing the husband vacuuming in such a jolly mood.

And the baby being musical.

Do I love this because she's practically bald in real life?

Oh yes, go to that site and jib jab your family, okay? Share the link with me so I can laugh, too.

Merry Christmas Week!

DHH Processing/Learning Observation

2011-12-20T13:19:00.003-06:00

Its no secret that I enjoy being a teacher and doing some analysis of my son's brain at work. I especially enjoy watching him solve problems (struggle to do so) and process new information while we are reading.

this is a photo of DHH thinking, you can tell by the way his mouth is half open.

Today as we read The Snowman before nap, one of the books he's never before read from our Christmas Advent activity, I paused a few times to ask, "What do you think will happen next?". It was interesting to hear his responses.

The started off like, "Huh." Which is his typical answer to a question that he is thinking about. He says it while he is thinking, like a placeholder in the conversation.

Anyway, I asked him what he thought the little boy would see when he looked at the window, even prompting with some picture context clues.

"Huh."

"Well, what would you see out of your window? Or what would you want to see?"

"Dump trucks."

Of course. In a book about a boy building a snowman in his front yard, he expects to see a dump trucks in the yard at night time. Of course.

I'd recommend asking your children for predictions periodically and giving them time to think and respond. Its not very effective when you are reading a familiar book, but its a great thinking skill to practice with them on new books. (Or perhaps on commerical breaks? - Sarcasm...- )

Oh, and why yes we are doing a Christmas-book-a-day countdown, but why no, I didn't photograph it. I'll tell you the story on that later.

Mary Driving The Scoop Truck

2011-12-19T23:25:00.001-06:00

Oh yes, this totally happens at our house.
And yes, those ARE wise men in the bucket of the truck.
DHH said, "May-e doin some work, Mommy. Loading the wise men."

I am certainly getting a lesson on creative play from the toddler boy perspective, aren't I?

I'd fully expect to see a mini Care Bear in a cement mixer or a tractor towing a cart full of jingle bells, too.

Last night my husband made a good prediction... he predicts DHH will use EK's Barbies for farmers with his tractors one day. I wonder if that will be the case, or if we'll have "action figure" (dolls) of his
own to use with his machines?

Ketchup Time! Thanksgiving.

2011-12-19T22:00:00.001-06:00

No, I'd never put ketchup on leftover turkey... there are so many more suitable ways to use it! I made turkey salad sandwiches, turkey and rice soup, and enjoyed it with stuffing and cranberry and mashed potato and gravy stacked on top.

But I do need to play Catch Up to the end of Thanksgiving, when I took some neat photos of our time but left that camera card in my mom's computer for a week.

We went down on Thursday morning, but my son went down with my sister on Wednesday evening.
He went down binky-less, which led to some major drama and tears and major Grandparent Points for my parents (who endured two hours of soothing/sobbing until my sister ran some out to them at 10:30 PM).

My sisters, my parents, my little family spent pretty much all of Thursday together.
The meal was as you'd expect... delicious, double portions, and in competition with the Food Network.

There was Yahtzee.
And pie.
And tractor rides.
And warm weather.

I spent the evening online, monitoring pre-Black Friday sales. I was actually pretty sick, but I was healthy enough to spot some great deals and make note to shop Thursday night online! Better deals than on Friday AM even, and we got some good deals from Kohls, Old Navy, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

I enjoyed having my family around to tend to my kids (or assist or entertain) because I was so ill that on Friday AM I contemplated driving myself to the ER. I don't know how I got cured, but maybe it was just extra rest. I was feeling much better by Saturday.

On Saturday, my BFF Ann came to visit with her girls.
At one point, all our kids were napping, so we left them in the capable and kind hands of Nanny and Auntie Rachie, and we got the heck out of there to enjoy a little Panera lunch.

Let me tell you, it was a beautiful long weekend. Warm weather, full of good company, and lots of relaxation. It was medicine for my soul and a perfect close to autumn.

We went to my in-laws on that Sunday for a surprise!we're here after all! lunch with some relatives to celebrate a great-grandma's birthday. I don't have any photos because of the whole forgotten camera card thing, but it was a very pleasant afternoon. There were nine people with the last name HAID in the same room, which is probably the highest density... its a pretty uncommon last name!

Merry Christmas Week.

2011-12-19T20:58:00.001-06:00

You MUST watch this video.
I promise, its worth it.
The children are wonderful, and I can hardly stand how adorable that star costume is.

Merry Christmas.

I Try To Attain Christmas Card Perfection Instead of Facing Reality.

2011-12-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

Case in point: a Christmas dinner hosted by our church. I think it sounds like a marvelous family tradition to start. We could all wear somewhat matching Christmas outfits and then go look at the lights around town after.

Here's what happened when I mentioned it driving away from church last week.

Wouldn't it be fun to go to the Christmas banquet tonight? We could all wear somewhat matching clothes and then go look at the lights around town.

Are you kidding me? Go to the dinner with two sick kids and a wife who doesn't like to eat other people's food?

(Pause.) Oh.

My romanticized version of the evening didn't include the fact that I cannot handle potluck or that our kids had colds and would likely be snotty messes by 5 PM.

This is an unsolicited kiss. No mistletoe around, either.

Do Kevin McAlister. Wait, you are two and don't know that Home Alone reference? Then just mimic your dad and yes, you have permission to shriek in the house if you are doing the Home Alone impression because it makes us laugh and laugh.

A Baby For Christmas

2011-12-15T22:35:00.001-06:00

Isn't a baby for Christmas the most wanted gift?
Shoot, its gotta be.
It even comes with a red ribbon!

What is that you say?
The stores are fresh out?
There's a waiting list for a Christmas baby?

Sad news for you. I've got this year's model and SHE is PERFECT.

It seems a bit inappropriate or inadvsible to say out loud, but I
actually DO hope I have a baby for Christmas every single year. In
addition to inappropriate and inadvisable, I think its probably
impossible.

Yes, That Is Correct.

2011-12-15T22:30:00.001-06:00

My boy is standing on a chair instead of in his fancy Helper Tower.
He is licking a knife (!) that has almond butter on it.

And

He kept those dino undies dry all morning.
Lots of, "No, mamabethany, not pee time."
And then finally,
"Yes, pee time, mamabethany."

Of cousre, there are many messes, and he seems to like the Mickey
Mouse undies best, over the $15 padded fancy trainers from Blueberry,
which are very accident friendly. But its going.

"No Dee Dee DIE-per mommy. Undies. Dee Dee no pee in undies."
After a year and a few months of potty learning, I see some fruit in
our less than aggressive stance!

2011 Christmas Card

2011-12-14T14:02:00.002-06:00

I really enjoy sending and receiving Christmas cards.

(I got a lovely one from my bloggy friend/former neighbor Abbie the other day!)

Here's the card I made for our family this year using cardstore.com. I think they are great!

I hope to fame our little cards or otherwise display them in our home as Christmas decorations each year. I have last year's in a frame next to the photo of us as the Holy Family in the church nativity last year.

And last year's.

And the year before..

Future (Mandatory) BFFs

2011-12-14T10:42:00.001-06:00

My mom really never put pressure on us to be friends with her friends' kids. There were plenty of opportunities for fun with her twin's daughters who were loosely the same age as us girls. When we got together we could enjoy the same toys or play in the same imagination world of microphones and making up dances on a stage. But by no means were we extremely close with them.

I think I am going to put pressure on my daughter (and son, perhaps) to become extremely close with my friend Ann's daughters.

They are were born less than two months apart.

They have parents who have lots of shared history, like being in each other's weddings or living in the same residence halls in college.

They are were born less than two months apart.

They have parents who have lots of shared history.

Their dad's did civil engineering study groups together. They are all True Daughters of Mizzou.

They are all cute.

They have tough to say/spell German last names that start with H.

They read the same literature.

Aren't they just DESTINED to be pals?

I'm just going to put my foot down. They MUST giggle together.

How I Spent 12-12-11 (Today)

2011-12-12T22:55:00.000-06:00

Baby was brought into our bed at 5 AM, fussing a bit with stuffed nose, but we'd both gotten five solid hours of sleep, which is a new high record since she got a cold last week.

Husband left for work without much of a sound at 6:15 AM. I decided to continue keeping the baby in bed with me, since she just wanted to snuggle and since I wanted her to nurse as much as possible (AMAP?) since she missed three feedings because of a stuffed nose/nursing streak.

At a 7:30 while I was trying to force feed a sleepy baby (predicting that she'd skip a few meals again during the day, and trying to prevent clogged ducts from the prior day's lack of feedings), I heard the baby monitor kick on. My little boy was making wake up humming noises, binky slurping noises, and turning on his crib soother. A few minutes later, the humming turned into a song. Holy Night, holy night, shining stars, jesus christ is born, night o holy night.........

That morning was a blast. I purposely stayed in bed and waited the full half hour for my son to tiptoe into the living room, call for me, then tentatively approach my door. I called to him to enter, and he told me that "Daddy [was] workin. Workin down town. Making money." I agreed.

For breakfast, my little girl ate fruit and oatmeal (yeah! another signal she's kicking the cold bug!) and DHH did a funny, "YEAH! Doughn Nuts!" cheer.

Later that morning, my daughter slept near the humidifier for three hours.

I did some major playtime with my son while I uploaded several videos to my under utilized youtube channel.
We also did diaper laundry.
But really, the cool photos are here of our little play scene.

It started with just the scoop truck with "hydraulics arm".

And then needed something to load in the bucket. Enter a triple set of ABC wooden blocks, which are admittedly RARELY played with.

Of course its time to add the new/old Fisher Price Lift and Load Depot Play Set he received as an early Christmas gift from Pop Zekey and (Grandma) Backy.

What a gift. Its given him several hours of creative play in just three days.
Well, maybe not THAT creative, since its the same general thing Lift, Load, Move, Dump, REPEAT.

A little eBay research showed us we are missing a few key items - a box crate, some construction guys, a hi-loader, and a few other items. I think we'll be on the hunt for these, perhaps using his Christmas money for it!

Fueling up.

Its really hard for me to not get involved in the rule making of the game-play. I intentionally observe and ask questions about what I should do. Its not my role as his mother to make up a game for us to play. Its not cool for me to jump in and start bossing him around about the right way to do things. I find when I get really excited and start playing with my own ideas, he steps back and is stifled. He relies on me to direct the game and cannot play independently. Of course, it makes sense. But its tricky. I like playing too.'

By 11:30 AM, we'd managed to incorporate the Little People Nativity into the play scene.
We'd made it through four Christmas CDs all morning.
It was also time to switch the diapers over to dry.

This is the Go Tell It On The Mountain Man.

The cow is going to a swimming pool.

This was my contribution to the play scene. It made DHH laugh and laugh.

Hauling animals to the barn in the dump trucks.

Telling it on the mountain. HIS idea!!

Mary driving the scoop truck, giving two wise men a ride.

We made a little snack.
He usually avoids food like nothing else (Nooooooooooooooooooooooo! Dee Dee No EAT!!!) during the day, preferring to eat only at 8 AM and a 4 PM snack, but that's not healthy, so I tried to be super creative.

Graham crackers + almond butter + banana snowmen + powdered sugar snow

Little sister woke up.
She refused to nurse.
She played.
DHH kept dry undies half the morning with two changes, but agreed unhappily to switch to a diaper for nap.

He was getting grumpy and agreed he was tired.
He went down at 12:30.
Little sister got grumpy, but did eat for three or four minute for going to nap.

Then it was lunch time for me, leftover lasagna.
Phone call with a dear friend.
Husband home.
Baby awake.
Baby not eating.
Shower me, steam shower for the baby.
Nursing for half an hour.
Husband naps.
Son wakes at 4PM, wants to go out and wake his Deddy Dang Haid, and gave me lots of good ways he could wake him up, even saying he could pretend to be Mickey Mouse OR do some spinning to wake him up.
That kid!!
Then some family giggles.
Family sympathizing with each other for being germy.
Housework.
Baby eats squash and chicken broth.
DHH runs in circles.

I decide to take back The Help to a Red Box and take my son. We take a two hour trip to the store, driving through neighborhoods in search of Christmas lights.
He was so good he got two stickers from cashiers at the store.
We get a call telling us Elsie has been fussing for an hour, and needs me, so we end the Christmas Lights Drive.
Frozen chicken burritoes for the little guy, then a bird bath.
And uneventful bedtime routine for DHH.
A negative pregnancy test for me.
Watched home videos from May 2011 and marveled how funny our kids are and how much they've grown.

Marveled at our daughter who still refused to nurse and just wanted to laugh and move her hands up and down and shriek.
Husband goes to bed.
Daughter gets swaddled and sleep sacked against her will.
Concedes to nurse.
I turn on the end of Castle and regret not watching it all the way through.
I browse for a bit on amazon.com, wishing my prime membership had not expired so I didn't have to purchase filler items for the free shipping.
Distracted myself with some facebook.
Wrote the blog post.

Still wearing the clothes of the day, I consider forgoing pajamas and just curling up on the couch, hoping the kids sleep all the night through.

Video: Morning Playtime

2011-12-12T14:13:00.003-06:00

A little glimpse of my morning.
Notice he says five-teen when he's counting how much fuel goes in the truck!

Our House Decs for Fall

2011-12-10T22:57:00.001-06:00

Although we've had the Christmas decorations up for some time now, I do want to share a few of our November decorations because they were so pretty this year.

First is our Thankful tree.

Yes, its an idea from Pinterest! :o)

The burlap wreath was also inspired by one of my pins.

My son and I added the ornaments using a circle cutter and a hole punch. Then we added a new item we were thankful for each day.

On 11.11.11, I was thankful for a clean kitchen. More specifically, a kitchen that was cleaned by my husband, not me!! He is so good at making it spotless.

Some more examples of our thankfulness : Nanny and Poppy, Daddy's drill, and Jesus.

And a fall bunting!

We have buntings for almost every season that I've made this year.

I used a scrapbook pack and bias tape AND A SEWING MACHINE. Yes, I really learned how to sew a straight stitch.

I always keep a wreath on the door. I felt a bit uninspired for this one, and, I'll admit, lazy. I didn't want a Halloween specific wreath. So I just added an orange ribbon and some of these little bead/berry sprigs I used in a project from last year. I liked the simplicity, which says a lot, since I also love glam and going overboard.

DHH and I picked these up from "Hobby Wobby". He called them "Naked Ama Kids". I hope to find some Pilgrims next year to go with these Native Americans.

Daddy's drill is listed a few times on the tree, as well as Forgiveness.

Can you believe that boy called them Naked Kids? Ha ha.

I'll take photos of our house now for Christmas and show you them very soon. Today, my husband and I cleaned and decluttered for three hours. Well, he did it for four hours, and I did it for two and a half. He's much better at staying focused than I am.

A Few Tidbits...

2011-12-08T22:37:00.001-06:00

1.My friend Tiffany has started a Mommy Blog. Her personal blog is thought provoking and has lead me to the realization that I have totally professionalized in mothering (another post that's been in working in my mind for months). This less-personal blog is called Play. Eat. Grow and is really a classic (and classy) Mommy Blog. If you've got a kid, its worth a read, and promise, it is not one of those guilt inducing blogs that make you feel you aren't crafting or feeding enough organic produce.

2.I'm hemming and hawing over the Christmas family photo for our card. Yes, its the second week of Advent and December, and ours isn't out yet. We had quite the adventure getting these photos taken, and we had a surprise! Mom and Dad get in that picture! type moment, and so now instead of only two Haids on the card, you get four.

I'm ordering through cardstore.com, as recommended by the nice ladies on the Baby Cheapskate facebook page. Get this. They ADDRESS THEM AND MAIL THEM FOR YOU. (And for cheaper than that other site I always use.) Ordinarily, I'd say this is ridiculous and rather un-Bethany-like since I am pro-personal note on each card, but shoot. I've still got a Halloween pumpkin on my porch (yes, right next to the manger scene and a candy cane.)

Clearly, I need this extra boost from the card company elves.

3. I've been up with the kids because they are sickly. I've discovered that both kids talk in their sleep. DHH talks about tractors, turning things on and off, the colors red and blue, his parents, and himself. Just now he was saying, "Say Sundays!" over and over, about ten times. EK just laughs or moans, or as the case is now, she coughs.

4. I got a new pair of shoes Black Friday that arrived early this week (long shipping time, Kohls!). Theya re purple and Nikes and awesome. They are so great I just might run in them.

5. Oh, how did I forget to tell you? I got bangs on Tuesday. Thanks, Kara. I like them! I'm still brushing them aside though, and I probably will for as long as it takes for my eyebrows to get used to having hair there.

5. I took thousands of photos this fall. THOUSANDS. I deleted half and then I

Sleepless Night = Extra Long Nap

2011-12-08T14:56:00.001-06:00

Last night, my sweet daughter had a full nose and a bad attitude. She was ANGRY about the lack of breathing, and rightfully so. This morning she had a steam-from-my-shower therapy and some Vicks Baby Rub, which helped her sneeze, sneeze, sneeze out lots of goo.

She napped for three hours and never stirred from where I placed her. It was sweet, and I wanted to share with you.

Mom - this is the face I think that EK makes that looks like you! What do you think??

The Thing About Kids Sleeping Through The Night Is...

2011-12-07T23:31:00.001-06:00

When they don't, its unexpected and super un-fun.

(As opposed to normal and I-don't-know-any-better like it was 2 years ago.)

I'm Dreaming of a White...

2011-12-06T09:18:00.001-06:00

Coconut Cream Pie.

This one.

My mom made it for Thanksgiving, and I like this photo of her and the pie together. W-O-W it was good!

I think I'll ask her to teach me how to make that meringue. I've never done that before, though straight Cool Whip is good over the coconut creme pudding base.

In the photo below, my mom is in focus, but the pie doesn't look nearly as gigantic, so I like the first photo better!!

And, can you notice the game that's being played?

Yes, that's Yahtzee. There was a big to-do about Yahtzee over Thanksgiving, and it involved lots of dice shaking, my son doing fist pumps and shrieking YaaaZEEEE and everyone but me doing it. (I am just not into the game, but happily will support them in their gaming plans.)

Being a Mom Is Hard (er) But/And I Like It.

2011-11-30T22:51:00.001-06:00

I mean, I am totally responsible for them and their well being,
educational advancement, social and emotional development, and diaper
changing all the day, and then I share in the responsibilities in the
evening and take over for any need that might arise in the night.

Why didn't I expect it to be a challenge? I didn't think it would be
easy or anything, I think I just didn't think about it.

So heads up ladies with out children - just close your eyes and
imagine having a kid, or two or a dozen. Its YOU they are calling
Mommy, and hold up, its nursing bra and lack of glam and never eat a
meal that's hot and you'll know the words to more than five children's
books better than you know your college fight song or the pledge of
allegiance.

Its totally a good challenge. Its a worthwhile and wonderful one.

But its a real task.
"Just" staying at home? Are you kidding me?

And I do like this phase a lot.

Worn Slick. Baby Food Making Gig. Quitting Pintrest.

2011-11-29T13:37:00.001-06:00

Maybe I have negativity in my spirit because I am just so dang tired and ran ragged.
Maybe that's why I spent the first half hour of naptime vegging out reading some design and kiddo blogs.

I kid you not, this morning was the morning of tears.
DHH would cry, then his sister would cry because he was so loud.
Then there would be a break.
The Elsie would cry because she got whacked by her brother's dump truck or she was tired of sitting up and didn't know how to lay down or her brother's toy flute playing was too loud.
She'd wail, which would make him cry.

Oh brother.

At breakfast, DHH sobbed because I was using a bowl to eat my pumpkin muffin from instead of a plate like he was.

Then the world was in pieces because I broke the blinds in his room and put them in the garage for safe keeping, "NO!!! Not on Daddy's workbench! On the couch! Blinds in weeming womb!!".

As my friend Ann would say, "Gee minilly."

My friend Hilary called and asked me to make baby food for her baby, which is totally doable since its just doubling a batch of applesauce or chicken and rice when I am making it anyway. But then she said, "I don't know how you do it all and keep it all together and make your baby food from scratch."

Here's a hint: my husband folded laundry for two hours last night, and my son MAY have dropped a canister of flour on the floor, so its not that I have it all together.

I'm in pieces and I'm worn slick.

And yet, YET, I continue to pin little projects for myself on pintrest. How inappropriate! I have all this creative energy but when it comes to project COMPLETION, well, that's another story.

I think I might have to quit pintrest because getting all these ideas is getting expensive.
And its making me feel a bit inadequate that I can't do them all.
And I don't have time to do hardly any.
And I am having a hard time finishing any of them.
So, that's where I am at with that.

PS these photos are totally unrelated to the post... I would rather not show off the photos of the crying or the un-done housework, okay?

Negative Nancy

2011-11-28T23:00:00.001-06:00

Yeah, I think I am Negative Nancy lately.
Its true that I've been inconsistent with the Zoloft this last week.
Its true that I am keeping most of the snarky comments to myself.

But I feel this negativity festering in me and its like I want to take an inner shower and emerge fresh and peppy.
And this festering cloud of grouchy and rude and judge-y is no good way to live!

I've got a good idea to make things better for me for tomorrow.
But if it doesn't work, you go ahead and leave me some advice, okay?

I really want to eliminate these negative thoughts.
Its just not good way to be.
I want to keep them at bay but I would actually rather just have them be not so much here, not bottled up or anything.
I don't want them to ooze out and taint any other relationships or events.

Ugh. Sick of Cyber Sales.

2011-11-28T22:49:00.001-06:00

Shopping.
Its my downfall, I know.
Watching sales online, putting objects into my cart.
.Seeing these shopping carts with a savings of like 60% off retail makes me happy.
Then I realize the 40% would still come from my bank account.
Boo.

And if I were actually rich enough to afford all the objects (gifts, actually) for my family, I probably would be rich enough to pay retail instead of Cyber Monday prices, right?

I think this is sort of a symptom of something - I am not quite sure - but its got to be about that satisfaction vs. materialism stuff that's going on with me that I referenced in this post.

For the record, I do have boxes coming from amazon, Lands End, Kohls, and Barnes and Noble.
And for the record, they were super sales.
And for the record... I feel a bit empty even remembering that little thrill of clicking PLACE ORDER.

Thanksgiving Was Great!

2011-11-27T21:40:00.001-06:00

We went to only ONE Thanksgiving meal this year. Its pretty unusual for us.

The last nine years I've been with my guy, we have gone to two or three full sit down meals over Thursday and Friday. It was only slightly fun to do this before we had kids, and it was not fun to do this with a kid. This year we did just one, and it was relaxing.

My family loves having a decadent and Food Network-esque Extravaganza. This year was no different. We tried several new recipes, something that Martha recommends not doing for the first time when you are hosting, but they turned out great anyhow. (Sweet Potato Souffle and non-condensed soup Green Bean Casserole). There was pumpkin pie, coconut cream pie with tall meringue, my mom's new recipe super-good chocolate cream pie, and gooey butter cake. Basically, every single meal was delicious and if there is anything to complain about, its that we didn't make enough stuffing or gravy or eat enough portions of turkey!

My sister and her iBoyfriend of two years came, but my other sister's husband of seven years was out of town, so there was an odd number of adults. This meant that I sat out on the games of Yahtzee!! they played with my husband. That's okay, I 'm not really a Yahtzee!! person, even though it might come as a surprise to you because maybe I seem like a Yahtzee!! person. (I was actually stalking a few toy deals and found the BEST prices were Thursday from noon - 8 PM, FYI. Like, five to twenty dollars less than the following morning... just a hint for next year!).

What else? Hm...
There was some merriment from my daughter, who loved jumping in a baby jumper my mom has.
My son enjoyed feeding their cat he named Moe Heady.
My dad and husband went to a gun auction, one of their favorite events of the year.
My sister made some fab cut out cookies, and my son ate a dozen of them, inciting the never before seen wrath of his aunt.
My mom smiled all weekend.
I had a 24 hour sickness that had me S.I.C.K. but then I was able to sleep and rest and abstain from some parenting duties since there were subs available to care for the kids.

Oh! And this!

My BFF and her twins came to visit us!
Her husband was ill and could not come, which was a bummer. But he got to rest without doing twin diaper duty or the like, so perhaps that was for the better.
We had a great time watching our little girls sit together and take one another's toys or grab each other's ears. They didn't really seem to have as much fun together as we did, but that's okay.
She and I stole away for a precious hour and a half for a meal from Panera. It was a balm for my soul.
I admit it was brave for my mom and sister to watch all four children during their nap time. Any or all of them could have been awake and been too many hands full! We put each child down, each in a different bedroom (four beds! four rooms! four babies!!) and stole out of that house QUICKLY. When I called an hour later, everyone was still sleeping! When we arrived, two were awake (DHH, ENH), but my mom was humming away on the sewing machine and my sister was teaching my son to use the rolling pin, so it wasn't such a big thing. Both other babies slept for another hour. It was great!

Then today, Sunday, we went to my in-laws house for a family meal. His paternal aunt and uncle and cousin (a rather small paternal family, don't you think?) came for his paternal grandmother's 83rd birthday lunch. My children were fussy and not well rested, but they were welcomed by their grandparents. My MIL cooked the best vegetable soup I'd ever had (I think I saw some steak in there, however... but my husband also remarked how tasty it was) and my son sang a very soft, very sweet happy birthday song.

I was the best Thanksgiving I've ever had, but I'll wager that from now on each will top the previous. Life just gets better and better the longer I live!

Shoot! I Can't Shoot!

2011-11-27T21:35:00.001-06:00

I forgot my camera card in my mom's computer. Two hours away. Bummer! I'll be visiting her next weekend, but for now, you have to mentally imagine the following scenes:

Elsie's first Thanksgiving meal - a mash of potato, green bean, turkey, gravy, pumpkin, cranberry... pretty much EVERYTHING on the table! She was delighted by the tastes of Thanksgiving.

My son's toothy grin atop a tractor that was moving, one of his first rides without ear muffs (he's no longer afraid of the loud engine or has gained confidence).

My kids playing with Ann's twins! All three girls lined up for their photo, and at least one of them looked cute and smiled for the camera.

I hate when I do things that are absent minded like this. I thought to myself AS I WAS INSERTING THE CARD Gee, I hope I don't forget this camera card. I had better put it back so I won't forget it! And then I promptly forgot it.

Thankful #22 - Reading Others' Thoughts

2011-11-23T13:52:00.001-06:00

Being at home during the day with two children incapable of sophisticated conversations and who interrupt any friendly phone chats I may get to have is kind of isolating.

(Kind of - I'm swarmed with hands and legs and mouths kissing and wrestling in my lap, but still a bit isolated in other ways)

I am thankful for the ability to subscribe to interesting articles through Google Reader. This enriches my brain and gives me ideas to consider and mediate about while I am changing dirty diapers or in the pause of reading Richard Scarry's Very Best Word Book Ever.

Today's article that I am pondering is from the site Her.meneutics. Its about Thanksgiving becoming trivial when people include #thanksgiving and #justinbeiber or #lattes as status updates. I think its interesting. My favorite quote is this one:

Being thankful is not telling God you appreciate the fact that your life is not in shambles. If that is the basis of your gratitude, you are on slippery ground. Every day of your life you face the possibility that a blessing in your life may be taken away. But blessings are only signs of God's love. The real blessing, of course, is the love itself. Whenever we get too attached to the sign, we lose our grasp on the God who gave it to us. Churches are filled with widows who can explain this to you. We are not ultimately grateful that we are still holding our blessings. We are grateful that we are held by God even when the blessings are slipping through our fingers. (Barnes)

Thankful #20 - For a Girl

2011-11-22T14:13:00.001-06:00

I am thankful to be the mom of a girl.

I am excited to do activities with my daughter from my girlhood that just aren't as fun to do with my son... not that he and I won't have special times, but playing Barbies, hosting girl sleepovers, buying a dress for a junior high formal, and getting a pedicure.... those things are going to be SO fun to do with EK.

I am also looking forward a little to the drama that comes with having a girl in the house... comforting her when she gets a bad haircut, experiencing best friend falling outs, and has a crush on her brother's friends. It will make life exciting!

Thankful #19 - Good Relationship with Parents

2011-11-22T14:12:00.001-06:00

I am 29 and I think I have a really healthy relationship with my parents. I have a much better relationship with them than I had twenty years ago or ten years ago, in that they appreciate me and I appreciate them. Its so valuable to me to have them participate in my life.

Thank You #18 - Reading

2011-11-22T14:06:00.001-06:00

I am so thankful that my parents encouraged reading in my home.

I think my love of reading added to my ability to learn quickly and remember details.
Reading has led me to discover ideas and ways of life I wouldn't know otherwise.
Reading also gives me peace of mind because I can research topics that I am not an expert about to become knowledgeable about topics.

One of my big parenting goals is to foster a love of reading in my home and for my kids.

I am thankful that the other people in my house seem to love reading, too.

Thank You #22

2011-11-22T13:48:00.001-06:00

I'm thankful for patience.
Both ways patience - me being patient with others and others being patient with me.

I've learned so much about patience in the last two years that I've been a parent. I am just taking life much more slowly. I think experiences like going up and down on the elevator three times after a doctor's appointment because there's really no reason to say no to the toddler's request or a baby that needs to be held and soothed when I would prefer to get on with nap time aka ME time already.

Being a parent has made me more patient, and I am thankful for that because its making a me a better person.

Thankful #17 - Double Parent Household

2011-11-22T13:30:00.001-06:00

I am struck time and time again by HOW ENTIRELY hard it is to parent alone.

Not that I have lots of opportunities to parent alone, thankfully.

Actually, I am very thankful for a partner in parenting when we are both together and its a tricky situation. I am thankful that we can both look at each other across the table and smirk a private-you read my mind-expression when the little boy is going apeshit* over the fact that its actually dinner time and he must eat something for dinner instead of just playing all night.

So thank you to God for giving me a parenting partner and thank you to Dan for being my teammate.

*I rarely curse because I think its not classy. However, I do not think any other term can best characterize the level of insanity of the dinner time fits.

Thank You #21 - Sales.

2011-11-22T13:27:00.001-06:00

I am thankful that I rarely pay retail for any purchase I make.

For instance, today I scored our Thanksgiving turkey for $0.49 per pound!
I also bought a $129 gift for my kids' Christmas co-gift for $64 a few weeks ago...

I am thankful for this!

I'm Feeling Off.

2011-11-21T20:27:00.001-06:00

And that is why I haven't published the several blog posts I've composed lately.

I think I am having an issue in my life with materialism vs. satisfaction vs. clutter vs. shopping vs. gift giving vs. saving money vs. frugality vs. generosity. The best way to explain it is that I feel frustrated and overwhelmed by the amount of STUFF that is here that I do not use or really want or need, but I feel the urge to shop and acquire.

No, not like I am a hoarder like on the show Hoarders, but more like my stuff being cluttered is a reflection of how my life is cluttered now.

My Mornings.

2011-11-21T14:17:00.001-06:00

I used to dislike mornings. I would lay in bed as the radio alarm played on.

I don't necessarily love getting out of my warm, soft bed, but I do love crawling into this morning scene each day.

These siblings love each other. Every morning, DHH seeks out his sister and says, "Dee Dee kiss a Buggy". He often asks for her to lay "like dat way" on the boppy next to him. She has started to touch him - his eyes, his pacifer, his toys. This gets on his nerves.

I really like mornings at home with my kids.

Chatty Girl

2011-11-18T22:25:00.001-06:00

If I told you that life around here was noisy, would you believe me?

Its not only the sounds of her brother singing or pounding a hammer or
making engine noises.

Usually those sounds get drowned out by this small fry's squeals,
squawls, and jabbers. She loves to hear her own voice (and we really
love hearing it, too!)

Funny Malpropism

2011-11-18T22:15:00.001-06:00

Today we were talking about Thanksgiving. I took out two ceramic figurines/dolls that depict Native Americans. I told DHH that people often call these people Indians, but really, its more correct to say Native Americans because they live in American and not in India. We continued to discuss their clothing and the food they were holding. He played with them and made them to stand and dance in his box of beans. I asked what game he was playing.

He said, "Naked Kids Game."

Excuse me?

"These guys. Naked A kids. Indians. "

Oh, I get it. Native Americans. We both laughed, but I was really laughing at him and he was laughing because of the word naked!

Its really fun having a preschooler in the house!

Confession: Not Liking Coffee Makes Me Feel Like a Kid

2011-11-18T07:48:00.001-06:00

I feel like when I finally like coffee, I will be a real adult.
For now, I stick to iced tea, Pepsi, or if I reeeeeeally need caffiene, a SBux Mocha Frap, extra whip.

Coffee just makes my stomach hurt.
I tried the SBux Via, and it made me sweat and have the worst headache I've ever had.

So one day when I like coffee, I will be a real adult.
We'll be real adults with a real coffee pot in the home.

Linked up with:

A Sneaky Mascara Face

2011-11-17T14:06:00.001-06:00

Last night I was freshening up before leaving the house. DHH followed me into the bathroom, which is normal. He often uses my hairbrush after I do, attempts to use our deodorants, and goes through the drawer identifying objects, telling me now its time to use the hair spray or eye shadow.

I started to brush my teeth and noticed that DHH had grabbed some make up. I asked him to put it back in the drawer. I was in a hurry and needed to leave in the next few minutes, and I didn't really want to run around and clean up after him.

He shut the door behind him while I finished brushing my teeth. When he came back in to the room, I asked him if he had the make up, and I almost didn't even look at his face since I was kind of in a hurry.

I just so happened to glance down and shrieked. "Ah! Daniel! What did you do!! Honey, grab the camera NOW - GET IN HERE!!!"

My son looked surprised by my shock and calmly said, "Dee Dee do it by his self!". And then he started to lick some toothpaste as I clicked away.

I know this is a classic toddler activity to do things like this. Its such a cliche, isn't it? Its like a TV commercial.

I was still so surprised that he would have done this of his own accord, without any help, and actually get quite a bit on his eye lashes correctly.

He is REALLY watching and learning from us and another lesson I am learning is that he knows how to be sneaky and do things he knows we won't want him to do out of our eyesight.

My husband just looked at me and said, "We're in for some fun with this guy, right?! Watch out!"

I scrubbed and scrubbed using make up remover, but my son still had some smoky, rock star eyes when he went to bed. His hair was also spikey from the bath, and I thought he looked a little Springstein.

Fake Coughing For Attention

2011-11-16T18:04:00.000-06:00

My daughter started what I'd call fake coughing this week. Its like this: Ecgh, Ecgh! Look over here! Notice me! Egh! Food time over here! Play with me! Ecgh Ecgh!

Its pretty adorable.

After a bit, the fake coughs become fake laughs like this: Ecgh, snort, heh heh, ecgh! Heh! Ha ha ha hahaha.

If no one pays attention to her, she repeats her show, or else moves on to something else she finds enjoyable, like pulling her socks off with her mouth or sucking on a toy.

If she manages to draw a crowd over, she starts laughing even harder. Then she sings, smiles, and puts on such a good show.

My son did the same thing at six months, which makes me wonder if its a baby thing or just a Haid baby thing. Or a Douglas Haid baby thing... as the Douglas part of their family does enjoy a crowd.

Did your kids make fake coughs? Or fake laughs?
I know its pretty fun for babies this age to to listen to their own voices and experiment with volume and pitch... but I've never heard of kids doing this!

Thank You #16 - Laughter

2011-11-16T14:27:00.001-06:00

I know if it were just me and no kids and no Husby, I would not laugh too much. I am just a naturally serious person. I married up in the humor department... he can sure make me laugh. Even if lots of the jokes are recycled, the delivery of them is funny. My children are full of laughter, either due to inheriting my super-ticklish ribs or their dad's funny bone.

Today I am thankful for the laughter I hear on a daily basis.

Sibling Play in the Rice Bin

2011-11-15T22:06:00.000-06:00

I try to do a sensory activity with DHH each day, even if that means using different textures of towels for scrubbing off a mess we've made on the counter. I'm finding that doing different sensory activities, such as using a bin filled with dry beans or a bowl of water and oats, let us enjoy our time together more because DHH is involved in an activity that I've planned to be a bit messy, rather than him finding an activity that is naturally messy and stresses me out.

Plus there's all that brain research that says sensory integration is important for child development. Sensory activities can be solids or liquids of various sizes and usually involve small toys, scoops, or cups. Kids do transfer activities like dumping and scooping. They push and dig.

They often use another sense besides touch - like hearing or smell. For instance, I like to use metal only tools and toys with the rice box because its such a pleasant sound. For scent, we add something like apple pie spice to play dough. Of course there's the sense of sight, too, which is why I vary the colors of play dough or other sensory activities we do.

We don't have a sandbox here at home, but we do have a large plastic storage tub filled with Rainbow Rice. It used to be in a smaller box, one that was twice the size of a shoe box but easily a third the size of this underbed storage box, and it wasn't as much for for DHH to use. Using this large bin gives him space to work with his trucks to "build a new hiiwaaays". It also gives him space to sit inside. I am not sure why its more fun sitting inside the rice box, but if you ask him, he'll assure you it is.

On this morning he asked for his sister to play, too. That's pretty unusual, perhaps even the first time he wanted her to be involved in his play, so I placed her next to him and gave her a scoop cup that was free of rice.

EK laughed immediately and scooted her bare feet around. She noticed that yelling in the cup made a different sound than yelling with the cup farther from her face. She was learning!

DHH began to use the funnel to pour rice over EK's toes, which she loved. We also tried to bury her feet in the rice. DHH wanted to do this for himself, and proclaimed that it "tickled DD toes!".

I'm glad I had the camera close by so I could literally reach a few feet over, get it and start shooting. I don't think EK would have had any trouble being unsupervised since she's a new sitter and was propped in the corner, and DHH wasn't misbehaving at all. She was totally unaware of putting the rice in her mouth, so I feel like it was a really great safe baby AND toddler activity.

Thank You #15

2011-11-15T21:47:00.001-06:00

I am thankful that they like each other.

It makes my life much happier.

It makes me glad we have two kids, and not just one. I was worried that I couldn't enjoy two babies, but was thinking about things the wrong way. Its true that there's no way I have enough time to enjoy each child individually. I don't have 48 hours in a single day, which is kind of what I would need. Boy, I'd be tired then!

However, I do have 24 hours in each day with BOTH of them together. I really like them together. Its quite wonderful, and I was wrong to worry so.

There are only moments each day when there is a less than friendly interaction ("Dee Dee eat Elsibuggy's toes!!! followed by a scream and "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!") and I can handle those. Of course, its not my toes being bitten!

Thankful #14 Preschool Time

2011-11-14T14:43:00.001-06:00

I'm thankful I have a hand in my son's learning time each day. We do
a preschool time and he sits next to me, focused, listening, and an
obviously sponge-like brain working.

We made this poster today and practiced using stickers and putting
them in specific places which required a lot of focus and hand-eye
coordination. We also talked about colors, shapes, sizes, textures,
words and letter sounds, and up and down. He used glue, scissors,
markers, and tape. This little poster took two hours time, with a one
hour break for Sid the Science Kid and sister-playtime in the middle.
It was really a good morning.

I am thankful for the chance to be at home with DHH and be involved
with what he is learning in such a detailed level.

Thank You #13 - For Sunshine

2011-11-13T10:40:00.001-06:00

I am so thankful for sun light. Cloudy days are nice for candles and moody music like Adele, but too many of those and I feel a cloud of depression settling on me. Sun really seems to stimulate the feel-good, optimistic part of my spirit. Days like today really spur me into the week and seem to recharge my emotional batteries.

Thanks, God for this light therapy.

+++ Written yesterday when there was a lot of golden sunlight, which helps me cope with the clouds outside today!

I Faked Enthusiasm Tonight With My Husband.

2011-11-12T22:53:00.001-06:00

(Haha, this could be a pretty racy post with a title like this, but its not.)

I faked enthusiasm about deer hunting tonight with my husband when he called tonight sharing that he'd shot a deer. I even asked its gender and how many points were on it. (He counted nine, our two year old counted twelve, so I bet we're going with the higher count.)

"Good for you, honey! I'm sure you had a nice time doing that." I think I said something along that line.

I know its important for me to listen to him share about life happenings that he things are interesting, and so that's what I did.

It has been a few years since he shot one, and he does enjoy hunting.

I don't think I'd enjoy hunting very much, even though I'm not necessarily an indoors girl. Its not a hobby that I've ever chosen or forsee selecting in the future.

I know I'm selfish in that I enjoy talking more about things I enjoy than things instead of what others enjoy, but its a skill I am working on.

I don't personally enjoy eating venison, and I think it is smelly when cooking. So I'm not super enthusiastic about the meat.

I know husby does like the flavor of deer meat though.
And he's got to feel really glad about having a freezer full of high quality protein at a low cost.

It is the first day of deer season, so that means he doesn't have to go out next weekend and can spend time with me and our kids instead. That's something to be enthusiastic about, even though I am completely unintended by crouching in the woods at length and deer corpses.

Thankful #12 For My Parents' Trip

2011-11-12T16:48:00.001-06:00

My parents just got back from a trip to the Gulf of Mexico. I haven't heard all the details about it, but I heard enough to know they had a good time exploring. I am thankful they got to go on a trip like this and send back the following photos:

Its really good for me to think about other people having a good time. I am easily made jealous by people who get to do awesome things while I am doing something much less awesome (like unloading a dishwasher or mating socks). However, when I see these photos, I can just feel so thankful that they got to do this wonderful early winter trip to the coast.

Doesn't the water suit them? They've never been to Alabama together, and I hope they will want to go again!

And perhaps buy a beach house for the whole family to use. Wouldn't that be the bomb? (Yes, the bomb. Its an appropriate old-fashioned phrase for beach ownership!)

They also got to visit the lovely Miss C and Miss E (yes! they have a blog now!!). They were able to visit my dearest friend Ann in Jackson! I haven't seen the babies in so long, so yes, I am more than a little envious. But also thankful for their chance to visit and bond with MY friends!

Thankful #11 Surprises That Come In The Mail

2011-11-12T16:42:00.001-06:00

My sister sent me a surprise today via priority mail. She found some wonderful children's clothes - which she described as prep, but I call perfection - and sent them just in time for holiday photos.

A teddy bear on the cords? Adorable.

And floral corduroy dress? Perfect for winter photos! Not just Christmas!

And a red tartan plaid shirt with a woolen vest? What a lucky, lucky boy!

I am thankful for surprises like this, because I've had the itch to go cute-clothes shopping for my kids, but haven't had the urge to realign our monthly budget to add that Cute Clothes category. How awesome! God knows just what we need, and I think its a perfect example of Him providing for us.

Sweet.

2011-11-11T21:15:00.000-06:00

Both kids are nuts for Oreo cookies. No surprises there.

I think the sibling hugs are just as sweet as the Oreos.

I feel the need to disclaim that it was not my original intention to feed my six month old daughter Oreos. I was holding her on my hip with a cookie in my hand. A distraction from her brother resulted in her getting access to her first taste of cookie bliss. She loved it so much that she threw a fit when I realized what was going on and took the cookie her. I figured it was a textural and flavor experience for her, and since I was going to buy arrowroot cookies/biter biscuits soon... we just rolled with it and had Cookie Snack at 10 AM that day. Yes, they were still in Jammies at 10 AM with cookies on their faces.

Thankful #10 Digital Pregnancy Tests

2011-11-10T22:15:00.001-06:00

I am thankful that three years ago today I had positive pregnancy tests for DHH. Tests - plural. And pricey!
But that was a wonderful way to spend $22.

My husband was going away for deer season, and I took a test. Before the test result came through, he felt positive I was. But the result was a distorted two lines, a hint of a second line, a well, maybe we're squinting too hard for it to be a for real we're having a baby positive pregnancy test second line. So we figured we weren't pregnant after all.

Then I got to talking with my friend Hilary who told me that she heard any hint of a second line means a pregnancy. That she heard there's not really a such thing as a false positive, just false negatives.

Then my friend Amy did some fact checking and came back saying the same details.

So I went to buy a digital test.
(Just buy digital ones from now on... really. SO worth it.)
The mystery was solved and now the mystery looks like this:

Three years ago I was teaching high school biology and not loving my work environment or feeling a passion for life. I was unfulfilled and feeling insecure and unsettled.

I am thankful for the positive result on that digital pregnancy test and for that sweet little imp asleep in the next room.

A First Sibling Squabble

2011-11-10T00:30:00.000-06:00

Some of the first shots of EK trying to take things from DHHl. After six months of the same treatment from him, she can finally torment him!

Thank You #9 - A Baby

2011-11-09T22:11:00.001-06:00

I'm thankful to have a baby in my life.
Yes, I am specifically thankful for MY babies, but in general, I am
also thankful to be in a phase of life that allows for the
companionship of a baby.

I rest when I am with a baby because I have the responsibility to sit
and feed her. I might not sit down with my feet up and a pillow ito
support my back so many times per day for a little break if I didn't
have a baby to feed.

I delight and feel energized watching my baby shake a rattle with such
gusto. It makes me want to feel that excited about my life, too.

I feel such a profound peace when I watch my baby sleep. Her features
are soft and relaxed, and I feel myself breathing slower, the corners
of my eyes relaxing, and my soul sings.

I am thankful to have this opportunity to care for and love a baby.

Thank You #8

2011-11-09T12:19:00.000-06:00

Source

I honestly like both DP and DDP equally.
They are just different drinks for different purposes. DP for a delightful treat and DDP for thirst quenching
.
When I was pregnant with EK, the part of my taste buds that enjoyed the sweet 23 flavors of DP was broken. Fortunately, I'm back to loving the sweet DP nectar.

Unfortunately, my son has learned, "Dee Dee drink Mommy's DDP!! Drink mommy's sue-da! DP! DDP!"
I dislike him taking to this vice so early in life, and I know that its a learned behavior from me.

Writing My Way Through Current Thoughts...

2011-11-08T21:08:00.001-06:00

I've got lots on my mind lately and these thoughts aren't trivial like nail polish or mortgage or something. They are kind of big picture things that are kind of fun to think about but also kind of unpleasant to think about. Most of them are yet unanswered questions. Nearly all of the questions arise from things I've read about lately, heard others discussing, or are somehow a part of a cultural discussion.

What's our vision for our family?
What do we want out of life?
How are we going to get what we want out of life?
Are our goals quantifiable so we can know success?
Does our success look like anyone else's version of success?
Do we have role models to show us success?
Who is my mentor?
Do I think a good mother is the same thing as a Godly mother?
What is my highest purpose in my life?
How do I feel having more babies?
How many babies do I feel are right for me/family?
Do I regret how we've done life so far?
Do I live with regrets at all?
Will I ever use the education I obtained for the exact purpose stated on my degree?
Will I raise my daughter to want to be a mom?
In what ways do I need to improve in being a wife?
Can I be an effective mother and work full time?
How much longer will this phase last?
How can I get my son to eat what I've prepared for him at dinner?

Chills

2011-11-08T14:42:00.000-06:00

Today an female cousin that lives states away posted an album of scanned family photos on Facebook. They are primarily from the 60s - 80s, but with photos from each decade from the 1910s until the 1990s.

Here are a few.

My Grandpa Vallie Douglas in 1942, when he was 39 years old.

My Grandma Gertrude Catherine Price Douglas in 1965, when she was 53 years old.

My Douglas grandparents with their ten children: John, David, Alice, Roberta, Betty, Sharon, Ruth, Bob, Sandy, and June. This is at their fiftieth wedding anniversary, which was before my parents even met.

It was fun to see all the photos, but when I clicked to this photo, I got the chills.

Its obviously my Grandma Gertrude Catherine.

Its obviously Christmas. The toys shown on the floor were my gifts and were just opened.

I got chills because I realized it was ME!

I've not seen many or maybe any photos of myself and my grandmother, so this is really special.

I decided give my daughter her name because I feel like she deserves a tribute. She had such a large family and worked so hard to love them. I bet it felt so special to be in her seventies and holding her last baby's baby. I bet she was praising God for her choice to have a big family because of the love and legacy she could leave.

Another way I knew that was me is because I think it looks like a profile photo of my daughter. The same shaped head and the same minimal brown hair.

I have to also tell you that I got chills thinking about me holding my baby's baby one day. What a marvelous thing of which to look forward!

Thank you so much Lori for sharing these photos! I appreciate the work you did in scanning them.

Thank You #7 DWTS

2011-11-07T21:23:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for Monday night Dancing. I've enjoyed it for twelve seasons, but this season is unique because instead of blogging my hand written notes, I'm spending time twirling my toddler and trying to teach him to balance on one foot and kick or do a samba roll.

I'm thankful for this Monday night tradition and the joy it brings to me watching DHH yell,"ELEVEN!" after Bruno yells, "Ten!".

Here's a nice dance from tonight. This couple has been my pick to win it from the start.