Why, What and Wow!

Kaylin's personality has come back full force since recovering from her horrible, lingering cough. (I know I just did an update a couple weeks ago, but she's already doing new, cute things - even since then.) Her naps are now at a reasonable 2 hours and she doesn't sleep in until 8 or 8:30am anymore, so I think she's finally feeling better. Some of her new "things"...

- She's walking all the time and is a little parrot...she repeats everything you say to her, missing certain sounds and letters, of course.

- She says "t" for "k" so milk is "milt," okay is "otay," cookie is "tootee" and work (as in "Daddy is at...") is "wert."

- Her other newest thing is saying, "Why?" after I tell her "no" to something. She uses it appropriately, too, never asking "why?" if I've already given her an answer to explain myself. And it appears she even knows what it means because if I don't respond, she'll repeat it: Why?

- She also says, "What?" if she doesn't hear me. I'm not 100% sure she actually needs something repeated, I think she's just mimicking what she hears Ryan say.

- The other adorable new thing she says, usually in awe of Ryan, is "Wow!" I finally figured out today that when he says, "Hey Mommy, watch this..." my response is either, "Good job" or "wow." So when he's showing off for Kaylin or runs into her room and throws himself onto the floor to make her laugh, she says, "Wowwwwwww!" It's adorable.

- Whenever I ask her to do something or put a toy away, she's suddenly started responding, "Thoo" which I figured out means, "Sure."

- This week, she also started saying her first 4 word sentences: "Up on the chair" and "Up on the couch."

- And her whining is starting to subside. Unfortunately, I didn't correct her much while she was sick, so the habit formed really quickly. She's also super clingy now, but we'll deal with one issue at a time and I can handle clinginess more than whining! (she's even sitting on my lap coloring as I type this)

Such a busy week

This will be boring to most, so feel free to skip this post. (hey - that rhymed!) Periodically, I like recording a "Day in the Life" or "Week in the life" because I'm likely to forget these crazy days in the years to come.

Friday...nearing 4:30, I called a friend to see if they wanted to get our families together after dinner. They had already invited another family over that night, but asked us to join them. After hanging out for a while, she was showing off some 70% off post-Valentine purchases and we decided to put the kids to bed, leave the guys watching their man-movie, and go shopping. We didn't return until 10:30...that's when I bought my blue pillows from the blog a few days ago. I love shopping with girlfriends and only seem to do it a few times a year, if that. It was so fun!

Saturday...after our normal routine of breakfast, gym, lunch and naps, we went to my cousin's daughter's 3rd birthday party at 3:00. We left early to go to a housewarming party for a friend in our neighborhood. Seeing her newly decorated home inspired me to make use of some of the things around my house and make the (small) space above my cabinets look more homey. She told me about Home Goods that just opened...it's a Marshall's store without the clothes. I wanted to drop everything and go visit like I'd done the night before, but no such luck. At 9:45, we realized that Ryan and Caleb had never fallen asleep in Caleb's room 2 hours earlier. We decided to head home.

Sunday...this was the first Sunday (since Ryan's been alive!) that Mike went to church at the same time as us on Sunday morning. We've gone together occasionally on Saturday nights, but for 4 years, he has gone to church before us at 8am each Sunday. As of last week, he is officially no longer working at the coffee shop anymore. It was fun to go as a family. Great message on adversity, right on for where we're at in our lives. Check out my friend's blog for details. After lunch, I still had the shopping bug (with some of my money from selling stuff on Craig's List) so I called a friend to see if she wanted to check out Home Goods with me. We returned 2 hours later and she spent more money than I did! Except that I bought a mirror from her to put in our front hall over the table my grandmother just gave us. I came home and started decorating with my new purchases. At 3:00, we loaded the kids in the car to go play volleyball at church. Ironically, our team was playing my mom's team (I didn't even know she was playing!) and we were invited over to her boyfriend's house for dinner. Went home, more decorating, went to dinner,returned home, put the kids to bed, my friend came back over to help me with the finishing touches over my cabinets, went to bed.

Monday...a nice, quiet, boring day. The only one this week. I needed a refresher day...it was perfect.

Tuesday...let the whirlwind begin! Got up and showered before the kids woke up (which I never do), got everyone dressed and fed and was out the door by 7:55. Dropped Ryan at school, went to church to set up for 2 Hour Time Out, had a great meeting (we had a panel of "been there, done that" moms who discussed discipline...I may blog the highlights later), left the meeting, picked up Kaylin from the daycare (where she was bitten), picked up Ryan from school, came home, made lunch, relaxed for an hour, then my cousin came over to babysit. I was selected for a market research study that afternoon that paid $50 an hour for 2.5 hours. Except that I had to take into consideration that it was 45 minutes away, in no traffic, and ended at 5pm, which means I'd be driving home in traffic. Paying a babysitter all the while. I did it, enjoyed it, took my $125 cash and drove home for an hour and 15 minutes. Got home, ate the dinner I geniusly stuck in the crock pot that morning, then left for Bible study. Came home at 9:00 exhausted.

Wednesday...my cousin came back over at 8:15am because I am getting extremely behind with work since Mike's mom has been out of commision and unable to babysit. All the while, my mom is on day 10 with larygitis and needed to explain a project to me side by side. So I hopped in the car, drove toward her house (15 miles away) and got there too early, ran a couple of errands, had a brief meeting, then came home. Ate lunch, worked, worked, worked, watched Curious George with the kids until Mike came home, convinced him to take us out to dinner, put the kids to bed, worked some more until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, went to bed at 10:00.

Thursday...started the day with a funky-haired baby. Her hair's getting so long now that I actually have to DO it instead of just pulling it back in a clip. (*sigh*) We got dressed, ate, then I volunteered at Ryan's school. His teacher had SO MUCH planned today! There are visuals below (click on them to see each one a little better), but they started the day painting and mixing the primary colors to make secondary colors. We cleaned up from that and had playground time. Then snacks, then an activity where they made fruit and cheese kabobs. (in addition to their snacks!) There was also a foam art activity available. Then they went outside and made volcanoes. Finally, another teacher had extra supplies for birdfeeders, so Ryan's class got to make those, too. I came home, exhausted. Lunch and naps, I worked, of course, then I finally made it to the chiropractor and the gym at the end of the afternoon. Came home, met someone buying something from Craig's List, made dinner, Mike took the kids to the park while I made snacks for our Neighborhood Group (I didn't have enough ingredients for the first recipe I made, so I had to make pumpkin muffins to make sure we had enough food), we ate dinner (while eating, Ryan randomly said, "Hey Kaylin, did you know that Jesus is in your heart?" I love that!), cleaned up and put the kids to bed in a matter of 25 minutes before everyone arrived at 7:00. During the video we were watching, we had our doors and windows open (it's been in the 70s and beautiful this week!) and I heard a kid crying. I ran upstairs to make sure it wasn't Kaylin and noticed that Ryan's door was open. I went in and told him I was going to close his door and turn his nightlight on and he said, "No, I want it open because when I come into your room in the morning, you sleep with your door open." How can you say, "no" to that? Though I have no idea how he slept with all of us talking and laughing downstairs. Anyway, today...was...crazy.

Tomorrow I have so much work to do and no one to watch the kids because my cousin has inteviews throughout the day. I need to cram in 5 hours of work into a 2 hour naptime. AHHHH! The insanity should stop soon, I hope. I think I'm just feeling so stressed because I'm out of my routine and am fitting in work stuff in every nook and cranny. If my cousin gets a job soon, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. This, too, will pass!!! If busy-ness is the worst of my issues right now, especially because I'm working and able to earn money to keep Mike's stress level down, than I need to keep quiet and not complain. I just needed to log this crazy week because it has felt like a blur.

Our favorite afternoon snack

Sometime last week, I decided to make popcorn after the kids woke up from their naps. It was a huge hit, so now this is the scene you can see in my house each day at 3:00: Kaylin and Ryan each on their own chair with their own bowl of popcorn, watching Curious George. I don't know why I think this is SO cute?!? Probably because Kaylin still seems so little to look this mature in her chair, just like her brother.

And poor Kaylin actually was a tasty snack for another child at our church daycare yesterday. I'm thinking about suing. (I'm kidding Lisa...she's fine!) I have an unusual amount of grace toward this particular subject, since I have another friend who has been helplessly dealing with a biting child for months and months, trying absolutely everything she can, to no avail.

Then this morning, to make matters worse, Kaylin tripped and fell into the tv, getting a fat lip. The swelling went down, so you can't see it in the pictures as well as the bruise from baby Jaws. Now that everyone's well and the facial rash is gone, I was hoping to get a cute updated picture of the kids together, but I think we'll wait a few more days. Getting a flawless skin picture with these guys is quite the chore!!! (Kaylin even had a purple-turning-yellow bruise right on her forehead in our adorable Christmas picture...it's always something!)

Tim Hawkins video

I've never heard of this guy, but he's hilarious! Someone forwarded me this video on you tube. Check it out when you get a minute. The other clips of him that I watched were funny, too. They should be in the "related videos" section on the right. Enjoy a laugh today!!!

A little perspective, please?

I just got done watching a great reality show called Jon & Kate + 8. I caught this family on Oprah, learned about the show and felt drawn to peek inside their windows. What happened was the couple had twins and "wanted to know what it was like to have just one baby" so tried for a 3rd. After going through fertility treatments, they got SEXTUPLETS. So they're 30 years old with 7 year old twins and 3.5 year old sextuplets. WHOA. She does 5 loads of laundry a day, they eat totally organic foods, and they go through 1200 paper plates a month while still running the dishwasher 2-3 times a day.

The show I just watched was them going skiing in Utah. Traveling with that many newly potty trained kids across the country (from Maryland or Pennsylvania or wherever they live) was nuts. You've gotta watch this show sometime. Whatever your situation, you'll realize how GOOD you have it! It's very real and totally unscripted, she refuses to let them plan or set up specific situations outside of interviewing them and letting the parents narrate.

Recently I've been thinking about the future. Many of you have asked, so I decided to blog where I am in my current thinking of extending our family. For as far back as I can remember, I always assumed I'd have a few kids and adopt a few kids. Likely being a foster parent somewhere along the way. Mike didn't share that vision, so fostering and adopting may or may not ever be in the cards for us. He has always been fine with 2 kids, without adopting, I felt better about 3-4. I've always seen myself with lots of kids. I don't see the momentary chaos of the pre-school years as much as I see Mike and I, old and gray, doing big family dinners and holidays with lots of kids and grandkids everywhere.

Whenever I share that idea, I get lots of feedback. Positive and negative, but everyone has an opinion. As soon as Kaylin was born, I had it in my head that we would wait until Ryan was in school before having #3, especially considering that Mike would need that long to be open to whether or not he even wants a third Roose running around. So we have time to discuss and agree on what we'll be comfortable with. A friend of mine who has 4 kids under 4 years old (with no twins!) mentioned that she doesn't "feel done" and that describes me exactly. I just don't feel done. Does that make sense?

Now that I can really see Kaylin's personality coming through, I'm realizing how alike she and Ryan are. Of course, she's much more sensitive and is already becoming a girlie girl, but I see some major similarities. For instance, they both love routine, like tidiness, wake up happy (and even each sing when they wake up), they're both friendly and outgoing to strangers and warm up to others quickly, they have what I see as "first born" characteristics where they like order, they want things done a certain way or want to sit in a certain spot to put their shoes on, stuff like that, along with so many other little things that are escaping me just now.

I hear people say that they thought they had the parenting thing down to a science until their second born came along. I've also heard people say that they thought they were the best parents ever until their third came along, then realized how little control they actually had. Kids can turn out totally different with the same two parents. But mine seem very similar so far. This sounds weird, but I'm thinking it's my turn to have a strong willed little rebel if we have another. Or a shy guy that gets lost in the mix because Ryan and Kaylin have such big personalities. That's my first concern, and I feel totally petty even saying it publically.

Then there's the issue of finding a babysitter for a large family. I have another friend with four kids 5 and under who hardly ever gets a real break because she can't find child care - and she's even willing to pay good money! They went out of town to a wedding a few weeks ago and farmed all 4 kids between 3 different homes for the weekend. This may seem selfish, but the thought of not having our coveted date nights scares me. As it is now, my mom calls occasionally to ask to babysit because she hasn't seen the kids in a while and (when she's not having eye surgery issues) Mike's mom comes over every Wednesday so I can work and use my big girl brain in the corporate world.

All that said, I'm starting to see the effects of my kids growing up and playing together. Ryan is even starting to help out around the house. ("playing" with the vacuum and sucking up crumbs under the high chair, setting the table or putting his laundry away is all less that I have to do!) I watch friends with older kids who do chores and contribute to the household, play together, don't need to be entertained or carried around and who don't say, "Mommy? Mom-mmmmmeee? MOMMY!!" all day long. This is a phase. I get that.

Being in this phase is just tough sometimes. There are days that I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Not that I want this time to go quickly...someone smack me for even inferring that! Someday soon, Kaylin won't let me eat her alive with kisses and Ryan will be too cool to sit on my lap while watching a movie. Kaylin will get her balance and won't look like Frankenstein (she's walking 95% of the time now, by the way) and Ryan won't need supervision to play in the front yard with his friends. I love my kids, right where they are. Today. I want to soak in every moment and remember every detail. So for now, I guess we're just happy with the four of us and don't need to make any other decisions just yet. Not yet.

How could new pillows make me THIS happy?

Look at my cute new pillows!!! I got them on clearance at Target and I LOVE them. I started converting our bedroom from browns to blues last fall when I bought navy curtains, then I got a new down comforter and duvet for Christmas, but the comforter and curtains desperately needed something to pull the colors together. And these pillows did the trick! I think I want one more giant navy pillow and I'll be pillowed out. My friend Jen suggested that I detach my headbaord and mount it to the wall and putting the bed frame on risers to add height instead of doing a piece of art up there. I'm embarrassed to say that it's been almost 2 years and I'm finally read to do it! (I've always loved the idea, but somewhere in there, I had a baby and became distracted away from decorating) I can't wait for you to see it when you come to visit Jen!!!

I'm a sellin' fool

I recently discovered Craigs List. LOVE IT! I have sold SO many things in a matter of days and have made over $200. And most of it was junk that has been taking up space in my house for months, even years. I even sold a couple of items that I bought at a garage sale for Ryan for more than I paid for them. I threw the price on there and thought I'd just see if anyone was willing to pay for them and voila. Not that I'm trying to stick it to anyone, we're just really in a position where every penny counts these days, so an extra $5 here and there makes a difference.

I also bought a bunch of nice 4T clothes for Ryan today. Not that I care much, but they are all Polo, Nike, nice items. There were also some PJs in there and just in time! Tomorrow is "pajama day" at his school so now he has PJs that actually fit him and I can send him without feeling cheap and guilty for making him wear shrunken jammies. I've been in search of 24 month clothes for Kaylin, but the girls clothes seem to be HOT on Craigs List. They're few and far between. The cool thing is that they have a "wanted" section, so I might post a plea listing for some clothes for her.

What doesn't sell on Craigs List, I've been posting on eBay. And so far, only one or two items hasn't sold. Obviously, its a much more annoying process to figure out shipping, start the price low and wait for the auction to increase over a week, then pack it up and schedule a pick up with the post office after the sale, plus there are the fees associated with every step of the process...I'd much rather sell locally on Craigs List for free. I'm never having another garage sale again! Long live Craigs List!

So THAT'S why Ryan has a bad attitude!

I took Kaylin for her 18 month checkup today (see ** addition in yesterday's blog for details) and to ask about the rash on her face and while we were there, gave the office even more of our money to do a follow-up appointment on Ryan after his trip to Urgent Care this weekend. All is well, he sounds better, good news.

But I happened to mention that he has been beyond horrible the last couple of days. Acting out, running away when we ask him to "come here," melt downs, tantrums, talking back, deliberately disobeying, very unlike him. Honestly, I thought it was because Mike was stressed and was being a little hard on him, but in hindsight, I'm seeing that Ryan was acting up and Mike (being stressed) was reacting to that. Yes, he was hard on him, but still. I'm not placing blame as much as I am un-placing blame (on my unsuspecting husband). Anyway, the doctor said that many kids respond that way to the steroid he was given for his bronchitis. DUH! I've seen how Hollywood depicts athletes on steroids, it would make sense that kids would respond aggressively and negatively, too. Whew! My kid's not crazy. She said he should be back to normal by Thursday, since today was his last day to take the medicine. That knowledge (theoretically) should give me more patience with him tomorrow because WOW he's been exasperating to deal with these last 2 days!

On a side note, we had a park day for 2 Hour Time Out today and one of the moms arranged a surprise with her firefighter husband to have a firetruck arrive for the kids to look at, climb in and play all over. They were SO excited! All except Ryan, who ran over there, waited patiently in line to get into the truck, then proceeded to push kids out of seats and snarl at me when I spoke to him or tried to take pictures. I talked him into smiling once and he blinked. Oh well. I got a cute one of Kaylin "driving" though.

After that (it was a busy day!) I had a friend come over (thanks Jess!) and watch the kids while I attended my first parent/teacher conference. I am seriously impressed with this school. She gave me a breakdown of how he's doing socially, linguistically, creatively, with his initiative, with math and science, motor skill development, you name it. He's the youngest in his class and she's very pleased with where he his for his age; right on in some areas, ahead in others. It was a great meeting and in the "report" she had some cute stories about Ryan and how those stories related to the certain categories or showed his problem solving skills. You know I'll be scrapbooking her notes!

Kaylin's post-18 month update

Some things I didn't mention last week that are either new or that I recently remembered:

• Kaylin has spent 80% of today finally walking. She took a break from walking when she didn't feel well the last couple of weeks, but she's been all over the house today. She'll usually walk when prompted, but she has seriously spent all day walking whether we're watching or not. When we pulled her in the wagon when we went around the block tonight, she was whining and I asked if she wanted to walk? She held my hand for a little bit, then let go and walked alone for the length of 4 houses, only falling twice. She even bent down to pick up a rock and said, "Hee-oo" (see a few bullet points down for explanation on that one)
• Speaking of not feeling well, for some reason, she threw up in her crib during her nap yesterday. Then she was fine. We just can't get a healthy break around here. The only weird thing she ate at lunchtime was orange slices, so I'm wondering if she's too young for or allergic to oranges?
• For the last several days, she's had re-appearing spots/a rash around her mouth. It looks like acne, but I can't figure out if it's a reaction to something she's eating or what. It's very sporatic. I made an appointment with the doctor tomorrow to check it out.
• **2/19 Dr update - Kaylin is 24 lbs 12 oz and in the 50-75% for weight and 33 inches tall and 75-90% for height. The Dr gave her a breathing treatment today, which she bawled through for 15 minutes, and it hardly helped her sound better. We got Singular for her cough at night and an antibiotic for her face rash, which has now spread to just below one of her eyes. The Dr told me what it is, but I forget...nothing serious, though, meds will clear it up. As a precaution, she also wants me to get an ultrasound on her hips to make sure they're growing properly. No rush, just whenever I get around to it. (Apparently there aren't many 1 year olds who do the splits and it has them all puzzled.)
• Kaylin actually went poo on the potty after bathtime last night. (she only ever goes potty ON the potty about 1/2 the time anymore) I think it was a coincidence and I'm SO thankful that she waited 5 minutes instead of doing it IN the tub.
• She also tells us when she goes poo now. (sorry this is gross for most of you) She'll come up and say, "Mommy...pee-ew poo poos!" It's hilarious.
• I think I've mentioned this before, but she says, "I love you" whenever she gives kisses. She thinks they go together...kisses and saying, "I ya yooo."
• When she has something on her hand or finds something small on the ground, she'll hold her hand up and said, "Hee-oo, hee-oo!" (imagine "here" from a kid who can't say her R's...but she only has this impediment with this word. She says R in every other word)
• This morning, she asked for a bow for her hair and when I picked out a white one, she started throwing a fit saying, "nooo...NOOOO!" I pointed to the other white bow and she smiled and said, "Yeah..." Now she's picking which accessories she wants?!?!?
• She's been a total Daddy's girl recently. (it was bound to happen, it just came on suddenly last week) I think it might be because he's been home since Thursday, mostly sick in bed, and she's eating up this extra time at home.

It seems today that we're all healthy. Mike's back to normal, Kaylin's acting normal, Ryan will be finishing up his meds in the morning and should be fine. Our first healthy day in weeks. The whole family. What a concept!

So SICK of getting SICK!!!

This is getting ridiculous. At any given time, at least 2 of us have been sick in my house for over a month. WHAT is going on??? Ryan is now sick for the 2nd time. He had a little cold about a month ago, then developed an ear infection right afterward, and today we ended up taking him to Urgent Care (it was almost an ER visit...we arrived at 4:56 and they closed at 5:00) because he woke up from his nap wheezing with a dry cough and was panicked because he was having trouble breathing. The office gave him a breathing treatment and a couple of meds to take. That began the wild goose chase for an open pharmacy.

We made the mistake of stopping to get dinner as all of the pharmacies across the Phoenix area began closing for the day. First we went to Walmart. Closed. Then I dropped everyone at home and tried Walgreens. Closed. I called Mike to look up 24 hour pharmacies on Walgreens.com, but he was in the middle of giving the kids baths. So I drove down the street (since there seems to be a Walgreens every mile or so) to another Walgreens. Closed. By that time, I just started driving.

I finally found a 24 hour pharmacy about 15 minutes away. The drive thru had 3 cars waiting, so I decided to "save time" and go inside. I was 5th in line and when I finally got to the counter, I was told that it would be an hour and a half until the prescriptions were ready. I looked at the clock...8:00. I didn't know what to do, since I was no where NEAR my house, so I drove even further away and went to the mall. When I went back at 9:30, they still weren't done filling the prescriptions, so I had to wait even longer. I just got home and it's after 10:00. Not how I envisioned spending my Saturday evening. And what's worse is the car wash place did something last week to short out my radio and phone charging area, so I drove all over town in complete silence!!! (I know that's a stretch, but I obviously need to vent...thanks for hanging with me through my negative rant.)

This entire time, I keep hearing the words, "Wow - you guys are sick all the time!" ringing in my head. I beg you...PLEASE don't ever say that to me! I just might flip out on you. It's not like I want my family to get sick. Quite the contrary! I'm starting to feel pretty defensive because I don't know what to do differently. (that's not an invitation for suggestions, by the way...I've gotten so much conflicting advice that it makes my head spin, so I'm choosing to ignore most everything I hear)

Anyway, we do both proactive and reactive things to avoid illness around here. We make healthy food choices, take amazing vitamins, go to the chiropractor, we do baths almost daily, just before bed, so the kids' thumbs are germ-free as they go to sleep, and of course, we wash our hands before and after cooking and meals, after using the restroom, after touching grocery carts, you name it...without being compulsive, of course. The biggest issue that I see is that the kids are in some sort of part time, short term child care situation at least once daily. The gym, church, the grocery store kids club, Ryan's school...all of those places have little kids with germy little hands. And unless I'm willing to be a hermit (which I'm not), I can't control what goes on in those places. It's mandatory at many of them that all of the kids use anti-bacterial stuff before and after and when it's not required, we wash our hands when we leave. I really am at a loss.

Most people I know with small kids that do the short-term daycare thing (not full time daycare kids and not my home-body mommy friends) are sick pretty frequently, too. But somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better. I guess spending 4:30-10:00 tonight either in the car, in a waiting room, or in line somewhere just wore me down a bit. And I'm finally at a point where my upbeat personality and "this will pass" attitude are starting to fade. I disinfected this house from top to bottom today. That was a last ditch effort to make sure germs aren't hanging out in unsuspecting places. Every light switch, door handle, even the mouse and keyboard, are now squeaky clean. I'm just ready for our family to be healthy again. Mike was doing a little better tonight, Kaylin's cough is finally going away (we're on week 3...that poor kid), I'm really 100% better, but am growing physically and emotionally weary from taking care of everyone for weeks and weeks, and Ryan should be back to normal by Tuesday after taking his 3 days of meds. Can I hang on until Tuesday? Somehow, I'm not sure we'll all be back to normal by then, but here's hoping...

Halfy Birthday, Kaylin!!!

I went virtually all day without acknowledging that Kaylin is 18 months today. I realized it when she was sleeping and planned to sing when she woke up, but was pretty overwhelmed. Mike's on day 2 in bed with a nasty bug and I'm the only parent in the house. If it's anything like mine, he needs to get comfy for the next week.

Anyway, I couldn't go to sleep with out officially announcing to the world (if not to my baby girl)...
~~ H A L F Y ~ B I R T H D A Y ~ K A Y L I N ! ! ! ! ~~

"Hmmm...I'm one and a half, now how do I show that on my fingers?"

Ryan's Valentine Party

I just love Ryan's teacher!!! She organized the Valentine's Day party in his class today around a fondue theme. All of the moms brought stuff to dip (apples, strawberries, bananas, pretzels, marshmallows - regular and pink/strawberry and pound cake) and we taught the kids about a buffet line. The other volunteer mom in the class suggested we put their chocolate in Dixie cups, so the teacher's "double dipping" speech wasn't necessary. So many of the other teachers poked their heads in to see the fun and another mom with children in 3 different classes said our party was by far the best in the building.

After snacktime, the kids passed out their Valentines. That was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. A bunch of 4 year olds (Ryan and one other boy are the only ones who are still 3) matching their Valentines to the names on the goodie bags. Almost all the moms attached candy of some kind, so kids were sporatically coming up to us asking if they could open the treats. (like they needed MORE sugar after the fondue) I just had a blast watching these little guys. (Ryan's Valentine is in the post below this one - I put the picture on red patterned paper and addressed them to his friends) The batteries ran out on my camera during snow day last month, so I brought extra batteries with me today...and left the camera on the counter at home. CURSES! A couple other moms promised me to email pictures, though.

So this is all of the loot Ryan ended up with. Quite a stash, considering there are only 8 other kids in the class. To add to the fun of the day, I made heart-shaped sandwiches for lunch.

We came home to find Mike home from work and in bed. He's really getting sick, so I made him a Valentine lunch. How Martha is this tray?!?!?! I need to do this fancy-ish stuff more often, not just when he's sick on Valentine's Day.

Don't JUST tell your loved ones that you love them today, tell them WHY you love them

Talking in her sleep

Okay, that was about the cutest thing ever. After posting my last blog, I continued checking my email and I heard Kaylin softly calling my name. I'm the only one awake (at 9:00!) so I could hear it clear as day. I poked my head into her room, said, "Yes, Kaylin?" then walked over to look in her crib. She was fast asleep, still saying, "Mommy? Mommy?" I waited a few seconds to see if she was really asleep and sure enough, she never woke up or realized I was even there. I hear "Mommy? Mommmmm-mmmmeeee..." all day long from both kids. To the point where I want to pull my hair out at the end of certain days. But that just cracked me up. She's so used to calling my name over and over and over that she's now dreaming about it. She's such a sweet little thing!

Oh, what a day!

Mike's mom is feeling a little better and came over to babysit today for the first time in weeks. I really should have taken full advantage of the day and caught up on some neglected work, but instead, I decided I needed a true day OFF. Thanks to a Christmas gift from my mom (I think from 2006??) I got a massage after my workout this morning, then on my way to get my hair cut (also a pampering thing for me) I stopped by Paradise Bakery and got a panini for lunch. The day just kept getting better and better.

After 3 hours out and about, I finally made it home and still got a bunch of work done in the couple of hours before Barb returned home. Then it was "Patient Appreciation Day" at my chiropractor, so at 5:00, I picked Mike up from work, we went to the office and ate a catered Italian dinner. I didn't have to cook OR clean! What an amazing day. BTW...the pictures below are before and after shots of my hair. Yesterday on the left, today on the right. Not the most flattering pictures in the world, but look at my new cut - tons of layers and flippy curls - I love it!!! (this new mousy blonde color, however, I have GOT to do something about...not to mention the new white hairs I find sporatically...)

Mike, on the other hand, went to bed as soon as we got home. He had the chills and is starting to feel sick. After a month of passing around germs in our house, I thought he was out of the woods, but it looks like his body finally decided to give in and get sick, too. It looks like it will be a low-key Valentine's Day tomorrow! That's okay, last night he brought me flowers (a beautiful iris and tulip combo) and we went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary, so my romance tank overflow-ith!

Valentine Challenge

In the spirit of LOVE and Valentine's Day, I want to challenge you. Sit down and make a list of all of the things that you admire about your husband. Your can list a few that are Dad-related, but really appeal to his self-image and need to be respected as a man. Make a top ten list...or top 20 if you're feeling sassy! Put it in a card or love note. Just please don't email it to him!!!

Kaylin's pre-18 month update

I was on such a roll last night when thinking of cute and funny things that Ryan's doing lately that I literally blanked when I went to write an update list for Kaylin. (it was also very late and we were simultaneously watching a movie) But throughout the day today, I've thought of many things to write about. Let's see if I can remember them all...

• Kaylin's really into whispering lately. And the other day, a friend commented that she has a really quiet cry. She might just be a quiet girl; time will tell. Instead of her cute, "Yeah!" that she did for a couple of weeks, she now whispers, "yeah" when she agrees with something. Sometimes, I literally can't even hear her. "Do you want some milk?" "yeah..."
• I finally figured out what she means when she whispers, "hess, hess." I think it means, "watch" as in "Mommy, watch this." She'll say, "hess, hess, LA LA LA LA LA LA LA" or "hess, hess..." then walk across the room. It's finally apparent that she says it just before she's going to perform some cute act.
• I'm so in the habit of reminding Ryan to say, "Yes, Mommy" when I tell him to do something, that I started accidentally saying it to Kaylin. So now she will easily repeat, "Mess, Mommy." I guess it's better to start the habit young!
• Mike let her loose on the playground down the street from our house a few weeks ago. Now that it's been nice again these last few days, we've gone down there and she crawls around in the woodchips and all over the place, getting filthy. She loves playing on the huge contraption, though. She still crawls around in the backyard, too. The dirty patio, the wet grass...it's an anal mother's nightmare. I've had some nasty stains to get out of the knees of her pants. We've also had some near-splinters in her hands from the park.
• I bought some teeny rubber bands to try to make pig tails in Kaylin's hair. Man, those things are a chore! I got one in the other day and covered it up with a bow. It stayed in all day, so I'm finally at a point where I can play around with "doing" her hair. Fun times ahead!
• Almost everything she eats is with a spoon these days. She's getting really good! And it's so wonderful to have free hands during meals and snacks. She even eats chicken noodle soup. It's pretty impressive. She no longer favors her left hand, but uses both, like most toddlers do.
• Kaylin's newest thing (since being sick) is that she hardly eats anymore. I refuse to be a short order cook, so I'll give her a few choices and if she doesn't eat what she's given or another choice (usually an easy last alternative, like a banana) then she doesn't eat. When I was sick, nothing tasted good, either, and I finally figured out that I was so light headed and weak because I was barely eating. Oops! She's drinking a ton of milk, though, and she can eat as much as Mike for breakfast, so she is actually consuming some calories. Lunch and dinner, she mostly just picks and pushes food around her plate.
• Also, in the last week, she's stopped walking as frequently. When she falls, she bursts into tears, so I don't know if she's getting frustrated or still isn't feeling well and cries because...well, falling hurts when you're sick.
• Oh, but she loves "pea peas." Ryan loves when she asks for them because she asks for peas ("pee-pees") and a spoon ("poo") so she says, "pee-pees, poo?" It's our pre-schooler's funniest moment of the day.
• When Mike takes the kids to get the mail after work, Ryan rides his new bike with training wheels and Kaylin usually rides in the wagon. Well, I took them the other day, and she begged to get on Ryan's old tricycle. Her feet don't reach the peddles, but she sat and balanced herself the entire trip around the block to get the mail. (I pushed and steered her with the long handle on the trike)
• Kaylin's definitely going to be more sensitive than Ryan. When I speak firmly to her or discipline her, she always cries...and her cry kills me. What's so horrible about it is that she tries desperately NOT to cry at first. She looks away, purses her lips, and fights back tears for a full 20-30 seconds before she just can't handle it anymore and she breaks down in her quiet little cry. Don't get me wrong, her face is still all contorted, like she's wailing, so you know she's genuinely sad. It's so hard to consistently stick to my guns and continue with the punishment by not coddling her, but all I want to do is scoop her up and comfort her. She's just so sweet. I need to make a conscious effort not to condition her to that response. "I cry, Mom comes running." She could train me like a dog in no time!
• Since I've been waking Kaylin up many mornings, I'm discovering that she's a morning person, just like Ryan. She hardly wakes up cranky. Usually, she'll stretch, smile, and either point to her mouth and say, "eat?" (she thinks that is the sign for "eat" since I went through a phase of doing that at mealtimes), ask for Daddy or "Rya" or say, "Ba-bye ba-da!" (bye-bye blanket)

Ryan-isms and new developments

I haven't bored you with updates in a while, so I think it's about time. I wish I'd write these things down more often because Ryan is seriously hilarious lately. These are just a few things that come to mind as I type this. (it's late, so these are in no particular order)

• Ryan's doing great on the Accountable Kids program. He still has bad days sometimes, but our house is so much more peaceful and I am so much calmer than ever before. And he feels so proud of himself for doing his "chores" throughout the day. He's even in the habit of handing me a ticket when he wants to watch t.v. He hardly needs any prompting anymore.
• I'm finally back on the bandwagon to teach Ryan to read and he fought it at first, but is back to loving it. What he likes best is the end of the lesson when he gets to write on the dry erase board. He's getting really good at the letters we've worked on so far. Along those same lines, I introduced him to a learning book where he can practice drawing the line from one end of the "maze" to the other and he mastered each one flawlessly, completing the maze and turning the page to do the next one, page after page, I was so proud of him.
• Ryan figured out a few months ago that his grandparents are my mom and Mike's parents and he is amazed. Recently, when I get off the phone, he'll say, "Was that your mom? Did you call your mom; Grandma Cindy?" Then last night, he asked if Grandpa is Mike's dad.
• After that, Ryan announced that he has a little boy in heaven and that his name is Sly. He asked if tomorrow, when it's summertime, we could go meet him. I let him know that he wouldn't get to meet his little boy until he was big and tall like Daddy and he's out of school and married. A few minutes later, he said that Sly has 2 little sisters in heaven with him. His sister's name is Jack. I asked, "What's his other sister's name?" He said, "Sly." I said, "So Sly has a little sister named Sly?" He looked at me with a serious face and said, "Yes, Mommy. In heaven, the little babies are mostly named Sly."
• For Christmas, my grandmother (who has decided that Ryan is a genius) bought Ryan his first video game. Instead of getting him a V-smile which is for ages 3-6, she got him the 6 year + version. He plays it as best he can, but a lot of the games involve spelling or reading and, well, he's NOT SIX!!! So the poor kid can barely play it. He doesn't know what letter is missing from the "F_OG" little green animal.
• I picked him up from the gym Friday and he called me over to show me that he was doing an activity on the computer, properly using the mouse and everything, pointing and clicking the right areas to fill color in on a picture on the computer screen. My kid knows how to use a mouse?!?!!? And what's more...he learned this at the gym daycare?
• On Wednesday, Mike had a meeting at lunch and told Ryan that he wasn't coming home. A little later, Ryan told me that when he grows up and Daddy is a little boy that when Daddy says, "Ryan, are you coming home for lunch?" he would say, "Yes, Daddy, I'm going to come home every day for lunch." Then he announced that they're going to work together and Daddy's going to work over here and he's going to work over there (pointing to the left and to the right) of his chair.
• When we're not around, Ryan pulls chairs up to the counter, climbs up, and gets his own plates and vitamins now. I think it makes him feel like a big boy that he doesn't need to ask for our help.
• Speaking of independence, he's able to buckle his own seatbelt now. It's so nice to have only one kid to buckle in and get out of the car. Not only that, I've made him responsible for carrying his own backpack to and from the house and to and from the car into school, so I have even less in my hands. (remember, I'm still carrying 22 lb Kaylin and a diaper bag, purse, and whatever else needs to be carried)
• Friday at Trader Joe's, a nice man asked Ryan's name while we were in line. Instead of telling him, he said, "R...Y...A...N." I had no idea he could spell his name!!!! When I asked him again when we got home, he also spelled his last name. He's learning all of these things at school and I had no idea. I've seriously got to teach this kid our phone number for emergencies. He's memorized scripture at Sunday school, he announced last week that there are 66 books in the Bible, he can certainly learn his phone number.
• Later that night, my mom was coming over to babysit and he explained to me several times what would happen when she arrived. Every situation involved him telling him something (that he thought was fun or exciting) and her reacting by gasping (which of course, he demonstrated by inhaling all of the air in the room) and she'd respond by saying, "WOW Ryan! That's so great!" or something like that. It was so sweet. He was so excited that she was coming over that every 15 minutes or so, he'd come up with a new, "When Grandma gets here..." situation.
• One last thing: since Kaylin jabbers so much lately, Ryan gets really irritated when she talks while he's trying to talk. Then the kids "fight."

This is the conversation:
(Ryan says something to me and Kaylin starts saying a string of her own words)
Ryan..."Kaylin, I'm talking...PU-LEASE don't talk."
Kaylin..."Bada bah boo milt Raya."
Ryan..."KAYLIN...it's my turn. Please don't TALK!"
Kaylin..."Bammana Raya."
Ryan..."KAY-LIN!!!" That's usually when I jump in.

He also tries to enforce rules that I've explained.
(Ryan's standing next to Kaylin in her high chair)
Kaylin..."Too-tee?"
Ryan..."You can't have a bite of Daddy's cookie until you're done with your dinner."
Kaylin..."Too-tee." (leaning in closer to Ryan to instigate a fight)
Ryan..."Not until you finish dinner."
Kaylin..."Too-tee!" (almost touching noses now)
Ryan..."KAYLIN!" (it always ends with Ryan's ultimate frustration)

Wow - I'm so glad I remembered some of those! This blog is also my journal, so I want to keep these things documented. This kid seriously cracks me up. Who needs to rent movies with this kind of entertainment???

Ah, the power of grace

Oh man, I feel like I screwed up big time tonight. Let me set up the situation for you: Mike and I went to a Love and Respect conference last night for 3+ hours and all day today from 9-1:30. Mike learned how to better express love to me and I learned that what he needs more than to feel loved by me is to feel respected by me. The things we heard about were huge light bulbs for us and I know our relationship will never be the same. If you've never heard of this book, check it out. It's only $20 and it will make a difference in your marriage, whether or not you have major problems. It's really amazing stuff.

Anyway, yesterday before the conference, a girlfriend called begging me to come to her scrapbook workshop from 4-6pm today. She offered to pay the fee as a gift to me since she's gotten so much out of our 2 Hour Time Out program and she knows how hard I work for the moms in our group. I was pleasantly surprised when Mike gave me the green light to go with no guilt or annoyed comments. As I walked out of the house, he asked if I could be home closer to 5:30 so we could eat dinner together and I said I would do my best and leave as soon as my project was completed.

I was happily working away at the workshop when I glanced at the clock. It was 5:45 and I wasn't very close to being done with the assigned project. I thought about calling Mike, but decided to just hurry to get it done and race home. Before leaving, I made him a plate of goodies from the buffet: she had fondue set up, so I dipped a couple of strawberries, marshmallows and pineapple in chocolate, then added 2 kinds of cookies and a handful of Reece's cups and Hershey's kisses. I knew he'd appreciate one thing or another on the plate and in the back of my mind, I was kind of hoping it would get me out of the doghouse for running late. I got in the car and it was 6:30. GRRRRRR! I had no idea it was that late. Luckily, the friend lives in my neighborhood, so I was home in no time.

I walked in the door and Mike and the kids were finishing up dinner at the table. Ryan said, "You forgot your cell phone!" and Mike said (a little exasperated), "Next time, could you please give me a courtesy call if you're going to be late?" I felt really bad...until I learned the details. Mike had made dinner (chicken on the grill and corn) and set everything up for us to eat on the back patio as a family. The kids were happily playing in the backyard while he cooked and enjoyed the 70 degree afternoon. They waited patiently for me to come home, then finally decided to eat without me, eventually moving inside when it got dark. (*gulp*) I felt about 2 inches tall. I asked Mike's forgiveness (Ryan piped up that he forgave me, too) and laid a bunch of kisses on him to let him know I'd make up for my mistake. I gave him the rest of the night off, cleaned up the kitchen and bathed and put the kids to bed while he relaxed. And I'm still feeling a little guilty, so I must announce my mistake to all of you to keep me accountable from screwing up like this again! Okay, it's time to go apologize to Mike again...time for me to get off the computer. Thanks for letting me vent!

My newest twin

Over the last year or so, I've heard a dozen or more times that I "look like that girl on Grey's Anatomy." Then suddenly, Katherine Heigl started appearing in movies and developed a name. Yesterday, one of the kids in Ryan's pre-school saw his mom's Cosmo magazine on the table and said, "Hey! That's Ryan's mom!" Now 4 year olds think I look like her??? I looked up the cover for this month's magazine and although our bodies are truly identical (*smile*), I think people usually think we look alike in the face. What do you think??? My hair is darker than hers these days, but if that's who people think I resemble, THANK YOU!!!

Routine

I feel like I've blogged about this before, but I need to say it again: I am a person who requires a routine. I can't keep up with my life (not well, anyway) without it. With the kids and me sick lately, it's been tough to stay caught up and I have felt SO out of sorts!

I started getting myself back on schedule this week, which has been great, but we're still not 100% there. Mike's mom always comes over on Wednesdays so I can work for my mom and I usually bring the kids to her house every other Friday so I could attend a staff meeting at my mom's office. But Mike's mom recently had eye surgery and has been out of commission for a few weeks, so that's one major area of difference in our schedule. The timing was actually pretty good considering we've all traded being sick, but not having that time to get caught up has taken some adjusting on my part.

Then there's the obvious: when I was sick, I couldn't run errands and I completely stopped teaching Ryan his reading lessons. When any of us were sick, we couldn't go to the gym. (sick kids can't go to the Kids Club, sick moms can't workout) So in the last few weeks, I've lost virtually all lung capacity, muscle tone and strength. It takes months to build up to where I was physically and just weeks to lose. Lovely.

And on top of it all, my sleep schedule is all messed up. I'm now in a very uncharacteristic pattern of going to bed at 11pm and dragging myself out of bed at 7:30, sometimes 8:00. I used to sleep from 9:30-6:30 like clockwork (yes, that's 9 hours...I love my sleep) but I've been staying up too late recently and am obviously overtired in the morning. Ryan used to wake up and climb into bed to watch Disney channel while snuggling with Mike and me, but when I was sick, Mike taught him how to turn on his shows on the downstairs tv to let me sleep in peace. Now he does it all on his own. (and bless him - he's also started climbing onto the counter and getting a bowl and pouring dry cereal in it until we come down for breakfast) So now, the room is so quiet and calm while Mike gets ready for work and Ryan is downstairs...it's a little too easy to sleep in. Kaylin's also gotten into the habit of sleeping in, since no one was going in to get her at 7:00. I have to wake her up at least every other day at 8-8:30.

So I'm ready to get back to my routine. I desperately need it! Mike's mom should be back in the swing of things next week and in the meantime, I'm back at the gym first thing every morning. Unfortunately, "first thing" is making it to a 9:45 class, not an 8:30 class, but at least I'm there. And truth be told, it's kind of nice not rushing out of the house in the morning by 8am. I get home later and it throws everything else off a little, but hey - I've been a little more relaxed!

VICKS Vaporub works!

Have any of you seen the email circulating about putting Vicks Vaporub on your feet at night? I looked it up on Snopes a few weeks ago when Ryan had a cough and it's still "undetermined." But let me tell you...IT WORKS.

We've been using a vaporizer in Kaylin's room for about a week to help her cough, but she just can't seem to beat it. I tried the Vicks and it didn't seem to make much difference. Then yesterday, I ran into a friend at the chiropractor who said that she read that you put Vicks on your feet, then wet socks (warm water), then dry socks. She did it on herself and she said she slept SO well. Then last night at 2am, Kaylin got herself into such a coughing fit that she was choking and gagging and actually made herself vomit. I went in to change her sheets, changed her PJs and did the Vicks trick with the new wet-socks-technique Sally told me about. Within 2 minutes, the coughing stopped. I rocked her a bit and put her back to bed and seriously, it was...dead...silent. Nothing. The coughing was completely gone. I, on the other hand, was wide awake and took over an hour to fall back to sleep. But wow, I'm so glad Kaylin was able to sleep peacefully. She had been having coughing fits for 2-5 minutes all night long, poor thing.

What's weird is that Kaylin's wet diapers in the mornings (after putting Vicks on her feet) smell very strange. I've heard that this works b/c the Vicks absorbs into the bloodstream, so I guess that's how it exits the body. Beware of odd smelling diaper changes if you try this, but if your family is coughing, DO try it.

More organizing...the bookcases

Our bookcases have been SO useful for us, but since getting them a little under 2 years ago, they've been organized, yet very unsightly. They were purposed for storing dozens of books and resource guides, definitely not for decoration or appearance. I wish I would have taken a "before" picture to make myself feel even more accomplished for having pulled this off because the transformation is amazing to me. I did take a before picture of a few shelves, just to get the idea of the hodge podge of stuff that was on there. (notice there's Scotch Guard, old journals, index cards, boxes, catalogs, a scale, really random stuff) I bought a few baskets with a store credit at Ross, but everything else is from elsewhere in the house. I'm proud to announce that I did this little project for $6.20!!!

So here's what got me started: in my quest to declutter and streamline things in our house, I decided to take my many, many pre-2002, pre-digital camera photo albums (not to be confused with my scrapbooks) and move them into my craft room closet. Pictures stored where I scrapbook...makes sense. The biggest reason they were in the office bookcases before was because we had the room and they fit well. Again, functionality. They are all mismatched, various sizes, and are not attractive to look at, so into the closet they went. Unfortunately, my craft room closet door is always open, so I still see them.

I googled "decorating bookcases" (because I'm design-challenged sometimes and I found myself among piles and piles of books, seperating them by category, but not knowing where to go from there) and I came up with tips on the HGTV site and the DIY site. (click on the links to see the tips) The coolest tip I found was to cover mismatched photo albums with patterned contact paper to give them a uniform look. Check out the before and after pictures below...

Accountable Kids

I am completely hooked on this new program. It's called Accountable Kids and Ryan is a completely different kid since we started it a few weeks ago. A friend recommended it when I sent out that plea for "what do I do" to get Ryan on the right track at school. I read the book and we ended up buying the whole reward chart system. I originally wanted to recreate it on my own, but decided to get their system...it's done, it's easy, it works.

The idea is that you decide what "chores" your child will have to complete in the morning, afternoon, and nighttime. For Ryan's age, his chores include brushing his teeth, making his bed, taking his vitamins, things like that. Things we were having him do anyway. BUT with this chart, he is responsible for doing them himself. We don't nag him about "have you brushed your teeth yet?" and he is held accountable for doing his chores all on his own. When each set of chores are complete, he gets a ticket, which he turns in for things like watching tv, getting a piece of gum or playing his video game. Again, things he was already doing, but now he earns the right to do those things. Also, if he does something above and beyond, he gets extra tickets or if he does something he shouldn't, tickets are taken away.

Can I just say that our house is SO MUCH calmer now!!! I don't get nearly as emotional when he steals a toy from Kaylin or gets an attitude when I ask him to do something. I just say, "Go get me a ticket." And because the tickets hold value to him, he is very careful about behaving because he doesn't want his tickets taken away. He only gets a handful each day and he works really hard for them, so he truly understands.

There are also incentive cards to encourage a positive behavior (one of the things we're working on is having Ryan ask to be excused from the table and clear his place without being prompted) that help get desired behaviors parents want. It also reminds Mike and I to give praise for good behavior instead of falling into the "well it's about time...that's how he should act anyway" type of rut. So Ryan's not only working toward getting tickets and cards, but he's also hoping to get our praise. Eventually, you take away the reward and the behavior becomes a habit. And something new becomes the desired behavior that is rewarded.

I was putting all of my eggs in this basket because nothing else seemed to be getting us desired results. And this is actually working!!! We no longer spank or swat Ryan, no more time outs or toys or privileges taken away, we just take tickets. And it seems to sting even more. When he wants to watch tv and doesn't have any tickets, he has a little stack of extra chore cards that can earn him tickets. So he's asking me to vacuum the crumbs under the kitchen table or help set the table for dinner or put away his laundry.

If you have kids 3-14, you have to check this out. There are dozens of chore cards for kids of all ages, it's such a great system. I'm sold!