Don't get me wrong, every child is awesome. The pain in the butt ones- awesome, the quiet ones- awesome, the energetic ones-awesome. Every child, no matter what their quirks, gifted areas or downfalls is awesome in their own way. This is a list of the top 10 reasons Ellie is. . . Forgive me for being biased.. I grew her, that kind of tips the scales a little. These are in no particular order and are just my favorites, there are plenty more reasons, and more will come along... I will update. =)
1. She leaves me kisses. . . On my clean windows, dirty ones too but they are less noticeable. She recently learned to shove her face up to the window and blow, leaving chunky cheek marks and licking lines all over the windows.. Adds character to the house, because if you have kids you already know that there is no one area of your house that is allowed to be clean for too long.. Unspoken house of children rule.. If you don't have children... The rest of the world wishes you a fun time!
2. She likes to feed the dog. . . waffles, puffs, sandwiches, crackers, cat food, cheese.. and just in case the dog gets tired of water she gives her a little milk here and there... you know to rinse the evidence of all the "snacks" she has eaten through the day. I no longer worry about whether the dog is hungry.. I know without a doubt that Ellie has taken care of that problem for me, and dog food is simply to make sure she does not fill up on the junk food.
3. She is teaching me to be quick, attentive and sneaky. . . Otherwise she is up the stairs before I can blink, hand in the kitty litter before I find something to block the stairs with, pulling all the clean clothes down off the table that I just finished refolding from the last time she pulled them down, or in the kitchen dumping the cat food on the floor for the 10th time because her brother has some issue with keeping the baby gate closed.
4. There is nothing she won't eat. . . bills, scraps of paper left on the floor, whatever her brother dropped, anything and everything you put on her tray, Ian's new years resolutions. The upside is she saves my vacuum from having to work so hard.. all the big stuff has already been devoured..
5. She helps me keep the toys organized. . . by dumping them all out everyday. Every bin she can reach, every shelf she can see, every container of blocks must be dumped at least one time a day, allowing me lots of time to resort the toys in case anything made its way into a bin that it does not belong in..
6. She is teaching our house patience. . . by repeatedly doing things that annoy each one of us. Touching JT and taking his food. Never did I think that having to separate my children would happen at the ages on 1 and 2. Let me tell you though, we had another thing coming.. She is the largest antagonizer I have ever met, and it has shown me that my patience level is not where I thought it was.. we are learning though.. as a whole.. not to yell, that the little things are not that big of a deal, and that sometimes what we would like to be doing needs to wait.
7. She reminds me to clean up after myself. . . I have always had a weak point here. I have been bad about leaving folded clothes (or unfolded) where they are rather than putting them away. Leaving my dishes on the table. leaving food on the coffee table for when I decide to snack later, not putting the mail away. This is a habit that is changing little by little as her little chubby hand reaches new and more important piles, and bags of things.. For instance.. The other day she got hold of a store bag that I had brought in from the car containing some odds and ends that had been left in there over time, including a to-go mug of coffee that I thought was empty. I was wrong. I now have some coffee stained notebooks, and a scarf that smells awfully nice when it gets warm... Coffee scented perfume YUM!
8. She helped me get over the fear of cutting the cats nails on my own. . . I have a 14 lb cat, he is 6 years old and until a few months ago I had never cut his nails without the help of my dad or my husband. There is something I fear worse than the sharp claws that I have 4 yr old scars from clawing into me and not releasing until I am covered in blood, and that is my daughter catching the wrath of those babies.. Fortunately for her she is fearless, and determined... we shall see who wins this battle of wills... stay tuned for Mommy's protectiveness v.s. Ellie's stubbornness.. they are bound to have it out in more than one area.
9. She finds money for me. . . Under the couch, behind the shelves, in the bottom of boxes and hampers, behind the toilet.. The advantage of having a child that actually crawls (unlike JT who army crawled) is that when they get tired they plop down on the floor for a few seconds and rest their heads, allowing them to see all the things that you have missed in your quick vacuum job, and all the things you did not know had fallen out of your pocket, and sometimes you end up a dollar richer!
10. She talks . . . in her sleep, when she is awake, not that most of it is distinguishable, but the things that are sure do crack me up. She can say about 10-15 words or phrases now.. her newest are "go go go" and "bad bad baby" this should tell you how fun it is at my house..
When I was pregnant with this amazing bundle of laughs everyone would look at JT and tell me how terrible Ellie would behave. That I could not get so lucky 2 times in a row, that Ellie would be a terror and that JT was God's trick on me to have more babies. I told them they were wrong and they were wrong. She is fast, she is sneaky, she is into everything under the sun. exploratory and loud, messy and GLORIOUS. Since she turned mobile and started talking I have rarely stopped laughing. My house is a mess because she is on my heels tearing it down, but there is nothing that this little girl can not do when she sets her mind to it. She is a problem solver, can get around any obstacle that you set in front of her, will figure it out faster than you realize she has even started working on it and she is going to be a head strong, determined, stand up for what she believes female powerhouse. This past year has opened my eyes to so many new opportunities and pushed aside so much fear in me because I know if she can do it I can.. She is a 1 yr old.... If she can do that in me at 1, think of the changes she will make in this world as an adult..
My daughter is anything but a terror, she is amazing, and your negative words can not change that, now that I have moved past your terrible advice, let me give you a piece of good advice... Don't wish something on someone just because you can't handle it. No child is a terror, each and every one of them are AWESOME.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
On Days Like Today
I try not to use the vague statement "It's just been one of those days" Today, However, I am not sure that I can come up with anything better to say.
Today, The construction across the street was especially loud. It, as I have mentioned, keeps the kids up from napping, as do the neighbors when they so considerately decide that noon is an excellent time of day to play their music at the loudest capable setting of their receiver. . . after sending their obnoxiously loud and disrespectful kids out to play on the playground since they kept them home from school.
Today, Ellie is cutting 2 molars. She seems to be especially happy about them coming in. Since she can't talk yet (save a few words) she lets me know by teething on absolutely everything, and crying and refusing to eat well, or drink anything.
Today, JT woke up in the mood to ignore everything I asked of him, also refusing to eat, hiding in the corner when he was supposed to be going to sit on the potty, and instead peeing all over my house. He also thought that since Ellie had FINALLY cried herself to sleep (for the first time in her life I might add.. and I am NOT exaggerating here) that he would go looking for me in her room since he had peed in his diaper and wanted it changed. At bed time he threw a fit and woke his sister up. A fit so bad that it warranted a spanking and going to bed without his usual movie time beforehand.
Today, both of the children decided it might be fun to follow me around and dump every bin of toys I picked up, pull down every pile of clothes I folded, and even took all the hangers out of a pile of things that I had hung up and threw them all over the living room. Both of them being cranky also felt that I needed to hold them all day, not caring if I was already holding the other, and if I did not meet their every single need at the exact moment they chose- flung themselves in the floor screaming to the top of their lungs.
Today, my children fought like cats and dogs, and my cat and dog fought just like my children. The dog never stopped barking, she barked when I set down the cleaner bottle on the counter. She barked every time I flushed the toilet, whenever she saw someone walking, driving, parking or standing outside.. Luckily for me I live in townhouses, so that never stops. My dog, Cookie, also enjoyed running off on me every time I let her out to use the bathroom.. my cat, Peaches, enjoyed throwing up every time I fed him.
Today, my husband did not want to listen to me complain. . . . Honestly I don't blame him. I have been a hormonal lazy mess all week. I have cried for no reason, I have yelled at him, I have complained and I have not been productive. (before anyone asks I can say with 100% certainty that I am not pregnant)
Today, I spent over 2 hours on the phone with someone who barely speaks the same language as me and was fairly new at their job. this is normally not that big of a deal to me, but on top of the whining kids and the barking dog and the pounding in my head, I found myself getting irritated and impatient. I found myself wanting to throw my phone.. I found myself wanting a cigarette.
Today..... I missed someone who has been gone for a few years. Someone who would have known just what to say to make everything seem trivial. Someone who I loved very dearly even though she was not related to me by blood. A very special woman who was taken way too early and who I still find myself needing. Today was the first time I needed her and could not find her voice in my head.
So today for lack of a better term was "one of those days"
One of those days where the world does not make sense, where patience and togetherness are just beyond your reach. Where it's easier to curl up in bed, or on the couch and cry than to call someone, because you know that the only way to rid yourself of all the terrible feelings inside is to release them in tissues and memories and prayers.
Now it's time to go attempt to put my daughter back to sleep, have a good long talk with God and pray like crazy that tomorrow is a bright sunny day filled with laughs and not tears. Filled with love and not frustration. Filled with Thankfulness for all of the wonderful gifts I have been given, and not resentment for the ones that have been taken away .....because I miss them everyday, but especially on days like today.
Today, The construction across the street was especially loud. It, as I have mentioned, keeps the kids up from napping, as do the neighbors when they so considerately decide that noon is an excellent time of day to play their music at the loudest capable setting of their receiver. . . after sending their obnoxiously loud and disrespectful kids out to play on the playground since they kept them home from school.
Today, Ellie is cutting 2 molars. She seems to be especially happy about them coming in. Since she can't talk yet (save a few words) she lets me know by teething on absolutely everything, and crying and refusing to eat well, or drink anything.
Today, JT woke up in the mood to ignore everything I asked of him, also refusing to eat, hiding in the corner when he was supposed to be going to sit on the potty, and instead peeing all over my house. He also thought that since Ellie had FINALLY cried herself to sleep (for the first time in her life I might add.. and I am NOT exaggerating here) that he would go looking for me in her room since he had peed in his diaper and wanted it changed. At bed time he threw a fit and woke his sister up. A fit so bad that it warranted a spanking and going to bed without his usual movie time beforehand.
Today, both of the children decided it might be fun to follow me around and dump every bin of toys I picked up, pull down every pile of clothes I folded, and even took all the hangers out of a pile of things that I had hung up and threw them all over the living room. Both of them being cranky also felt that I needed to hold them all day, not caring if I was already holding the other, and if I did not meet their every single need at the exact moment they chose- flung themselves in the floor screaming to the top of their lungs.
Today, my children fought like cats and dogs, and my cat and dog fought just like my children. The dog never stopped barking, she barked when I set down the cleaner bottle on the counter. She barked every time I flushed the toilet, whenever she saw someone walking, driving, parking or standing outside.. Luckily for me I live in townhouses, so that never stops. My dog, Cookie, also enjoyed running off on me every time I let her out to use the bathroom.. my cat, Peaches, enjoyed throwing up every time I fed him.
Today, my husband did not want to listen to me complain. . . . Honestly I don't blame him. I have been a hormonal lazy mess all week. I have cried for no reason, I have yelled at him, I have complained and I have not been productive. (before anyone asks I can say with 100% certainty that I am not pregnant)
Today, I spent over 2 hours on the phone with someone who barely speaks the same language as me and was fairly new at their job. this is normally not that big of a deal to me, but on top of the whining kids and the barking dog and the pounding in my head, I found myself getting irritated and impatient. I found myself wanting to throw my phone.. I found myself wanting a cigarette.
Today..... I missed someone who has been gone for a few years. Someone who would have known just what to say to make everything seem trivial. Someone who I loved very dearly even though she was not related to me by blood. A very special woman who was taken way too early and who I still find myself needing. Today was the first time I needed her and could not find her voice in my head.
So today for lack of a better term was "one of those days"
One of those days where the world does not make sense, where patience and togetherness are just beyond your reach. Where it's easier to curl up in bed, or on the couch and cry than to call someone, because you know that the only way to rid yourself of all the terrible feelings inside is to release them in tissues and memories and prayers.
Now it's time to go attempt to put my daughter back to sleep, have a good long talk with God and pray like crazy that tomorrow is a bright sunny day filled with laughs and not tears. Filled with love and not frustration. Filled with Thankfulness for all of the wonderful gifts I have been given, and not resentment for the ones that have been taken away .....because I miss them everyday, but especially on days like today.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Home buying ( a.k.a my meltdown)
Ever have one of those days where everything is a HUGE deal. The dishwasher was not loaded properly. Meltdown. The pants you wanted to wear are not quite dry.. Scream to the top of your lungs in frustration. The kids are being whiny. You join them.
This is what is known around my house as "Stacey needs a nap"
Generally around this time, my loving wonderful husband (these adjectives are not the same ones I use on those days) tells me to go lay down because I am getting on his nerves and obviously need some time to myself. Yesterday was one of those days. Add to all the rest... for once in my life my body decided to be normal (has to be all the vitamins I have been taking) and my friend came to town. It's more of a frenemy situation this month... Hello bloating and irritability, thanks for joining my blurred vision leftover from my eye infection, and the tension headache I have from worrying about buying a house in time for us to be out before our lease runs up.
Which brings me to the whole point of this blog. We are searching for a house. (YAY!!!) there is hardly anything on the market that meets our search criteria (BOOO!!) Now I am fully aware that I am being slightly on the picky side .. which is totally ok for me to say, but not so much when it comes from Ian's mouth. I stand firm that the house has to be at least 2 levels. Our price range seems to attract lots of ramblers, which can look really nice, but it's not what I want. I am willing to settle with 3 rooms, but I would prefer 4. It has to have at least an area for the kids toys, I want an adult living room... one where I don't step on legos and baby dolls everytime I try to get off the couch.
Up until here Ian and I really have no qualms. I mean he does not particularly care how many levels the house is, but is ok with my preference. We disagree on yards. We are currently looking at a house that has a creek running through the back yard. ...
A creek. who has a creek in their yard?!
Ian loves it. Me? Not so much. I want a yard that the kids can play in, a place where the dog can run and I can enjoy company. He wants this creek "so the kids can jump in it and play in the summer."
Insert over tired, over hormonal, sore as crap from trutching through the forest with my dad and uncle (ok it really was not that bad, I totally plan on going again next week.. mainly because it made me realize how out of shape I am, and because they don't think I can do it.. but seriously could barely lift my legs afterwards...) and 3 hours of sleep- MELT....DOWN....
My poor husband comes out of the bathroom to me sobbing on the couch incoherently about how I want a house, how everything I like he hates and I don't want a creek in my yard. Something about the hoarders who currently own the house going on the show, no seriously they should. I just want one day to myself, where I can sleep and not have to worry about stupid house hunting and cleaning (kitchen and downstairs at this point were RIDICULOUS) and then I get mad at him for trying to calm me down. As he stares at me.. most likely wondering what on earth I am saying, how that much snot scmes from my face when I cry, and what on earth he did this time that I am so pissed off at... I break down even further and send myself to bed.
An hour and half later when he wakes me up so that he can leave, I look at him and tell him to call my dad and put a bid on the house..Having a creek really is not the end of the world, and after all, he likes it, It would be our house.. which means it does not come with the whole Lowes collection of lawn ornaments that is there now, and it has plenty of space for us and then some..
I can paint, I can upgrade, I can rip out the ugly tree in the front yard if I want to. Because whatever house we buy, whether it's this one or another, will be OUR house. not somebody else's. And that's what I really want.
Sometimes our emotions get the best of us, they cloud our judgement and make us say and do things we wish we hadn't. Sometimes we just need a nap to get back to reality. Sometimes we just need our kids to take one.. thats a whole different story though.
This is what is known around my house as "Stacey needs a nap"
Generally around this time, my loving wonderful husband (these adjectives are not the same ones I use on those days) tells me to go lay down because I am getting on his nerves and obviously need some time to myself. Yesterday was one of those days. Add to all the rest... for once in my life my body decided to be normal (has to be all the vitamins I have been taking) and my friend came to town. It's more of a frenemy situation this month... Hello bloating and irritability, thanks for joining my blurred vision leftover from my eye infection, and the tension headache I have from worrying about buying a house in time for us to be out before our lease runs up.
Which brings me to the whole point of this blog. We are searching for a house. (YAY!!!) there is hardly anything on the market that meets our search criteria (BOOO!!) Now I am fully aware that I am being slightly on the picky side .. which is totally ok for me to say, but not so much when it comes from Ian's mouth. I stand firm that the house has to be at least 2 levels. Our price range seems to attract lots of ramblers, which can look really nice, but it's not what I want. I am willing to settle with 3 rooms, but I would prefer 4. It has to have at least an area for the kids toys, I want an adult living room... one where I don't step on legos and baby dolls everytime I try to get off the couch.
Up until here Ian and I really have no qualms. I mean he does not particularly care how many levels the house is, but is ok with my preference. We disagree on yards. We are currently looking at a house that has a creek running through the back yard. ...
A creek. who has a creek in their yard?!
Ian loves it. Me? Not so much. I want a yard that the kids can play in, a place where the dog can run and I can enjoy company. He wants this creek "so the kids can jump in it and play in the summer."
Insert over tired, over hormonal, sore as crap from trutching through the forest with my dad and uncle (ok it really was not that bad, I totally plan on going again next week.. mainly because it made me realize how out of shape I am, and because they don't think I can do it.. but seriously could barely lift my legs afterwards...) and 3 hours of sleep- MELT....DOWN....
My poor husband comes out of the bathroom to me sobbing on the couch incoherently about how I want a house, how everything I like he hates and I don't want a creek in my yard. Something about the hoarders who currently own the house going on the show, no seriously they should. I just want one day to myself, where I can sleep and not have to worry about stupid house hunting and cleaning (kitchen and downstairs at this point were RIDICULOUS) and then I get mad at him for trying to calm me down. As he stares at me.. most likely wondering what on earth I am saying, how that much snot scmes from my face when I cry, and what on earth he did this time that I am so pissed off at... I break down even further and send myself to bed.
An hour and half later when he wakes me up so that he can leave, I look at him and tell him to call my dad and put a bid on the house..Having a creek really is not the end of the world, and after all, he likes it, It would be our house.. which means it does not come with the whole Lowes collection of lawn ornaments that is there now, and it has plenty of space for us and then some..
I can paint, I can upgrade, I can rip out the ugly tree in the front yard if I want to. Because whatever house we buy, whether it's this one or another, will be OUR house. not somebody else's. And that's what I really want.
Sometimes our emotions get the best of us, they cloud our judgement and make us say and do things we wish we hadn't. Sometimes we just need a nap to get back to reality. Sometimes we just need our kids to take one.. thats a whole different story though.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The Adventures of Potty Training.
Let's be honest. Nobody really wants to potty train. We all swear life is going to be so much easier when our kids can go to the bathroom all by themselves, but really, is the week of pee and poop all over the place really worth it? Not to mention.. After all is said and done, you still have to remind them 90 times an hour to go on the potty so they don't forget.. and then there's still the wiping issue.
I have been potty training J.T. for about 4 days now. Really potty training, not just pretending I am by sitting him on the potty once a day (really it was once a week but I am trying to make myself look a little better here people.. help me out.) Needless to say it has been slightly on the interesting side.
By interesting I mean of course ,A PAIN IN THE BUTT.
Day one: Not bad. I was pretty impressed actually with both my ability to remember that we were actually doing this this time ( I have fooled myself a few times into thinking that we were serious and always fall through.) and his ability to realize when he was about to go, and let me know in time to rush him off to his froggy throne. We had one poop involving accident.. That one was totally my fault as I was in the middle of changing Ellie and he honestly tried to tell me and I did not get to him in time. We moved past that quickly. Over all a successful day.
Day two: FAILURE. I don't think he peed on the potty once. All over my carpet? YES. All over the kitchen floor? YES. The pile of clothes that I had just taken out of the dryer? YES. All over me? YES.
He did poop on the potty 3 times (WOO HOO!) and throw an absolute fit when I tried to put a diaper on him for nap time. None the less, I spent a good majority of the day trying to remind myself we were not accepting defeat this time.
Day three: We bought more underwear. Super cute ones too. I mean honestly.. You all know that the two things I love most about babies is their feet and their little butt cheeks.. there is nothing in this world cuter than baby butts... and now the cutest part of my son walks around sporting Mater, Buzz, Woody, Wall-E, and Nemo. I finally gave into my urge to take a picture when he was not looking.
Day four: We started out weak. He refused to sit on the potty, he screamed at me and tried to keep his undies on while sitting there.. he discovered the little pee-pee hole in the front of his underwear and kept playing with it..Half the time he went half the time he peed on my rug. When we left for the mall he tried to convince me to let him wear his underwear over his diaper.
We are getting there. It may come down to a battle of wills, but I will win. So far the couch is skating by without harm... although I personally hate this couch and would set fire to it if it were not inside my house so I guess we will just have to see how long it can slide by. I have spent more time this week wiping up pee spots from my son than I have pretty much anything else.. As parents I wonder how on earth we are so oblivious to how hard simple tasks can be. I mean I could hold my pee for hours when I was a kid just to prevent getting out of bed in the middle of the night. ( my brother had me terrified there was something hiding in my room that could only be seen when all the lights were off, and thus I had to wait til dawn to get out of bed.) My son on the other hand can't figure out how to hold his pee for 3 seconds to run to the bathroom.. Needless to say, I think the next few weeks are going to be fun.
And by fun, of course, I mean.. totally not.
I have been potty training J.T. for about 4 days now. Really potty training, not just pretending I am by sitting him on the potty once a day (really it was once a week but I am trying to make myself look a little better here people.. help me out.) Needless to say it has been slightly on the interesting side.
By interesting I mean of course ,A PAIN IN THE BUTT.
Day one: Not bad. I was pretty impressed actually with both my ability to remember that we were actually doing this this time ( I have fooled myself a few times into thinking that we were serious and always fall through.) and his ability to realize when he was about to go, and let me know in time to rush him off to his froggy throne. We had one poop involving accident.. That one was totally my fault as I was in the middle of changing Ellie and he honestly tried to tell me and I did not get to him in time. We moved past that quickly. Over all a successful day.
Day two: FAILURE. I don't think he peed on the potty once. All over my carpet? YES. All over the kitchen floor? YES. The pile of clothes that I had just taken out of the dryer? YES. All over me? YES.
He did poop on the potty 3 times (WOO HOO!) and throw an absolute fit when I tried to put a diaper on him for nap time. None the less, I spent a good majority of the day trying to remind myself we were not accepting defeat this time.
Day three: We bought more underwear. Super cute ones too. I mean honestly.. You all know that the two things I love most about babies is their feet and their little butt cheeks.. there is nothing in this world cuter than baby butts... and now the cutest part of my son walks around sporting Mater, Buzz, Woody, Wall-E, and Nemo. I finally gave into my urge to take a picture when he was not looking.
Day four: We started out weak. He refused to sit on the potty, he screamed at me and tried to keep his undies on while sitting there.. he discovered the little pee-pee hole in the front of his underwear and kept playing with it..Half the time he went half the time he peed on my rug. When we left for the mall he tried to convince me to let him wear his underwear over his diaper.
We are getting there. It may come down to a battle of wills, but I will win. So far the couch is skating by without harm... although I personally hate this couch and would set fire to it if it were not inside my house so I guess we will just have to see how long it can slide by. I have spent more time this week wiping up pee spots from my son than I have pretty much anything else.. As parents I wonder how on earth we are so oblivious to how hard simple tasks can be. I mean I could hold my pee for hours when I was a kid just to prevent getting out of bed in the middle of the night. ( my brother had me terrified there was something hiding in my room that could only be seen when all the lights were off, and thus I had to wait til dawn to get out of bed.) My son on the other hand can't figure out how to hold his pee for 3 seconds to run to the bathroom.. Needless to say, I think the next few weeks are going to be fun.
And by fun, of course, I mean.. totally not.
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