It definitely did not help that Thing One just kept telling me how bored he was. Thing Two wanted to take every customer by the hand and show them around.
He would even ask them to close their eyes, and then would try to lead them around the store....
When I put Thing Two down for his naps, I take him into my bedroom, feed him, and then lay him in his bed.
I am in there for about 10 minutes.
I usually set up a show or some toys for Thing One, and ask him to just play quietly so I can get Thing Two to sleep.
Sometimes I will come out to find him getting into things he shouldn't; but usually he is really good.
And then sometimes, I find out about things AFTER they have happened. Like when I went through my camera the other day, and found all these pictures of Saydee.
It started with pictures of Saydee just laying.
Then, suddenly a bunch of jelly beans appeared in front of her.
As the pictures progressed, it showed Saydee eating all of the jelly beans!
I do have to say that it's pretty cool how into photography Thing One is. He gets right down on the floor to get the picture he wants!!
Our doctors appointment went alright.
They couldn't find anything wrong with us, so they just figured that we had a virus. Since I have been sick for so long they think I must have caught a couple of virus' back to back.
I'm hardly ever sick. So I doubt that, haha.
While there though, the doctor noticed that Thing Two's left ear was completely clogged with wax.
He decided to try and clean some out, with a tool that looked like a little spoon.
As soon as he tried to get some wax out of the ear, Thing Two SCREAMED. Worse than shots.
It must have been a very sudden sharp pain.
He wasn't even able to get much out, because right when he started, Thing One fell down and landed on his face. He bit his cheek pretty good, and has a big bruise on his cheek.
So, now both boys were crying hysterically. I'm trying to comfort them both and the doctor says "Ooookay, I'm going to go now, I'll be right back." And he just left! He obviously does NOT have kids.
He never even finished Thing Two's ear and now Thing Two keeps tugging on it.
I think I'm going to try the bulb syringe method: gently squeezing some warm water into the ear, and then suctioning it out.
I might also try letting the ear soak in some hydrogen peroxide. I've heard that works really well.
I could always take him to urgent care, but they would probably use the spoon again, and I'm worried about them just pushing the wax in further since the entire ear was clogged.
Okay- time to update you guys!
Thing Two can stand holding on to things now! He is "cruising" as well, along the furniture.
He is getting so big!! Only 3 more months and he is going to be a year old.
He is eating mainly what we eat now. He does not like his baby food anymore.
He has two teeth! His two bottom teeth. He loves using them to bite peices of food.
Thing One is going to be 3 this May. In less than a month.
I can't believe it.
He is such a good boy! So helpful to me.
This weekend Pops installed a dog run in our backyard. This way when the dogs go outside to use the bathroom, they will have an isolated area, instead of being able to tear up our whole back yard!
I cleaned and raked the entire backyard this weekend as well, and we are going to put some nice grass seed down.
It will be nice to be able to sit on our grass!!
I want to be able to play out there this summer.
This weekend I also go my hair done.
A friend of mine who works at a Salon did it, and I think she did a great job!
There will be more soon; lots of pictures of the kids!
Due to our little emergency yesterday my menu plan has been pushed back a day. So, instead of starting Monday, we will be starting Tuesday.
Tues: Pizza Burgers with Carrot Sticks. Wed: Deep Dish Chicken Cordon Bleu with Sweet Potato Casserole Thurs: CrockPot Chops with Stuffing and Green Bean Casserole Fri: Pizza and Salad Sat: Stuffed Shells with Garlic Bread and Salad (Pops is making this!) Sun: Ham and Onion Mac and Cheese with Salad
For an update on Thing One:
We ended up going to the ER yesterday at about 3pm. He was getting really dehydrated since he was unable to keep anything down. At the ER they were able to rehydrate him enough for him to get some of his energy level up.
When we left the hospital it was about 7:30pm. Both Thing One and Thing Two went right to bed. After I got both kids to sleep, I went right to bed as well.
The doctors said they couldn't be sure exactly what it was the Thing One had; either food poisoning or the stomach flu.
Today he's doing a lot better. We're still taking it slow with food, but he's able to drink water and juice now.
Thing One was very sick last night. Sicker than he's ever been. Before I tell about it, I'll give a little background.
Yesterday, the 27th, was Pops and my anniversary. We have been married for a full year! The 27th of February is also the day we first started dating, 5 years ago. So, we get to celebrate two anniversaries in one.
We celebrated by going out to dinner Saturday night with family, and then going to a hotel for the night, with out the kids. I was so excited just to get a night of sleep without interruptions!
Sunday, we checked out of our hotel and went home, but only so we could check on the kids and I could feed Thing Two. We then went out and did a little bit of shopping, and out to dinner.
When we came home, Thing One was acting a little different, and asked if I would just hold him. So I just carried him around for awhile, when he started to tell me that his tummy hurt. He said he was ready for bed.
So, I got his bottle ready, and him and I started heading to his room when all of a sudden... he threw up. Twice.
He then walked to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet a couple more times. He then got up into bed.
Once he was in bed, he was sounding better, and so I gave him his bottle and told him goodnight. I then went and put Thing Two to bed, while Pops cleaned up the mess.
After both kids were asleep, and the mess was clean, Pops and I played some video games together. We played for about 15 minutes when we heard throwing up again.
I went into Thing One's room and he had thrown up again. It had gotten on his arm and face, and so we started running a bath. When we came back in his room to get him, he was asleep. I didn't want to wake him, so I got a washcloth and cleaned him, and the mess. He stayed asleep the whole time. I took his bottle away.
After that, Thing One woke up every half an hour, throwing up.
I ended up laying down with him, and saw that he would fall asleep, and would then start throwing up in his sleep. :( He would wake up very confused.
I was then ready for bed, and so I brought Thing One into bed with me. He kept asking for something to drink, so I gave him a little bit of water. He fell asleep right away.
Right as I was falling asleep, he threw up, again!
So, that was our night. Going back and forth between his bed and mine, changing sheets and towels over and over and over.
This morning he still has a fever, and we're taking it slow with food and drinks, but he's doing good. He doesn't want anything to eat, he just wants water or lemonade. I'm afraid it will make him sick, but I did give him a little water in a sippy cup. Hopefully he will just keep getting better through out the day.
It was so hard seeing him in so much pain from dry-heaving.
So, my plan for today was to plan my weekly menu and to do my grocery shopping, but I think instead I will be tending to Thing One, and cleaning puke.
I'm starting with meal planning again. I had tried before Christmas, and it went well, but when Christmas came, I stopped.
I'm going to start again, but I'm going to do things a little differently this time. Last time, I would just pick random meals and would asign them to a random day of the week.
This time I am going to try "theme nights". For theme nights, each night of the week will be asigned a specific theme, and I will then figure out a meal to fit into that theme.
This will give me direction when I need it.
Here is what I've decided our themes will be for now:
Monday: Meat and Potatoes
Tuesday: Soup, Stews, Chili
Wednesday: Pasta
Thursday: Slow Cooker
Friday: Pizza Night
Saturday: Breakfast for Dinner
Sunday: Chef's Choice
This week is going to be a little different though, because I already had meals planned for today and tomorrow.
Today, we are having Chicken Korma, an Indian dish served over rice. It is made in the slow cooker. A recipe will be coming soon!
Tomorrow, we are having fajitas. I still have to figure out meals for the rest of the days...
A couple days ago, Thing One accidentally hit Thing Two in the face with a toy. Thing Two started crying.
Thing One jumped up on the couch and held his arms out and said "Give him to me, let me see him."
So I picked Thing Two up and set him in Thing One's lap.
Thing One then started stroking Thing Two's hair and giving him kisses on his cheek, saying, "It's okay, I'm sorry."
It was so sweet, I had to get a picture!
Today, I will be maintaining the kitchen and dining room, and I will be cleaning and de-cluttering the living room.
That is where most of my papers are; usually coupons, newspapers, and magazines that I haven't gone through yet.
I have a closet full of magazines because I always felt like "Well I might want to read it again later!"
I am just now able to recycle my magazines. There's no need to have all this extra..... stuff.
Thing One's hair has been getting super long.
So long that it wasn't even curling anymore!
Even though I love his hair, I decided it was time to cut it.
He was mad at me for cutting his hair!
But he warmed up once I told him how handsome he was!
At first it looked really frazzled after I cut it. But now that it has been washed a couple times, it looks great! His curls are coming back in now that the hair is a little bit shorter.
Thing One doesn't like to eat breakfast.
He just wants to drink strawberry milk (pink) and not eat anything. He would do that all day if he could.
I had heard about other moms making a "breakfast cookie" for their kids.
Supposedly, it tastes just like a cookie, but is totally healthy for you.
I decided to try it.
I wasn't sure how to make breakfast cookies, so I made breakfast bars, and just called them cookies.
Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats, uncooked
1 cupoat flour (can be made by pulverising rolled oats in a blender or food processor) or 1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup raisins or 1 cup chopped prunes or 1 cupother dried fruit
1 cup apple juice or 1 cuporange juice (you could also use 1/4 cup molasses and 3/4 cup water)
1/4cup white or brown sugar
1/2teaspoon cinnamon
1/2teaspoon salt
1/2cupvegetable oil or applesauce
1/4cup chopped nuts (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan, or two 8 x 8 pans.
3. Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix well. It should be moist enough to form a ball, without any extra liquid.
4. Spread mixture evenly in bottom of prepared pan.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove bars and cut while still hot. Wait until they cool to try and remove them.
This will make 12 bars. Each bar has 242 calories and 3.5 grams of fiber! I love fiber.
Thing One had a lot of fun helping me make these. We used chopped prunes and whole wheat flour. When they were done, I was excited to see how much he was going to love them and...... he didn't like them. He tried a tiny bite, and then wouldn't have any more. I LOVED them. The whole pan was gone in about two days and I was the only one eating them!
The week has started off really well for us. Hopefully it will keep going like this all week!
Over the weekend we went sledding on a large hill near our house. It was a lot of fun!
Thing Two stayed home with some family, so it was just Pops, Thing One, and I.
Pops and I took turns going down with Thing One. It was exhausting after while climbing up the hill over and over!
Right near the end, Thing One decided to go down by himself!
He went down the hill all on his own twice.
He's getting so big!
We had Lasagna Soup yesterday for dinner. It was just as good as the first time I made it!
I updated the post with pictures, so you can click on the Lasagna Soup link above to see them.
This past week the Robins were out.
Whenever we would open a door or window, a huge flock would fly out of our yard.
I tried getting some pictures, and this is the best one I was able to get.
Every day is a battle with a toddler. I've been thinking this for awhile. If every day I wake up expecting a battle, I will be dressed in my battle armour. And when you are dressed to fight, then a fight is what you will get. It's time to change my thinking.
Let's try....
Every day is full of learning opportunities with a toddler; for the parent!
I cannot help but feel like it must be something I am doing wrong to cause Thing One to be getting upset every day, over such little things. Then the more tantrums Thing One has, the more I lose my temper. Which leads me to feel guilty, making me even more stressed. And the more stressed I am, the more stressed Thing One is going to be; leading to more tantrums!
I decided to do some research. Gina Mireault, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Johnson State College, in Vermont, explained it like this: "Kids this age (18 months to 4 years) think magically, not logically. Events that are ordinary to us are confusing and scary to them. They don't understand that the bathtub drain won't swallow them, or that their uncle can't really snatch their nose."
Think about it... if you thought a simple bath would end in your demise, you would feel pretty confused and anxious everyday too.
This feeling of heightend arousal causes our bodies to release cortisol, the "fight or flight" hormone.
So, when Thing One needs to come into the house because it's cold, and he wants to stay outside, he doesn't understand that you can get sick from being out in the cold too long, making him confused. This then releases the cortisol, causing the fight or flight reaction (aka a tantrum!).
So it's not entirely my fault! He's not just being bad!
I've always told myself "he can't help it, he's only 2." But how could I know for sure? I didn't want to just be ignoring him throwing a toy and screaming at me, but I also felt like it's just what kids do. Having the research to back it up helps. Next time Thing One is having a tantrum, I will try to remember how scary HIS world is, instead of how difficult he is making mine.
Turning tantrums from battles into opportunities to learn can teach a parent so much. I'm learning to be more patient and compassionate, something I think everyone can have more of.
Thing Two has a doctor's appointment today. That means shots. He skipped his 4 month appointment, which means he has to catch up on his shots during this appointment. That means a lot of shots. :(
Does it ever get easier to see your kids get shots?
I think it's harder when they are babies. They are sitting there, smiling at you all happy, not expecting a thing. The next thing they know, they are being stabbed by something and are in pain.
On the other hand though, once they are toddlers they have to deal with the anticipation of knowing that they are about to get a shot.
The nurse has us hold their arms across their chest tight, and she holds their legs down. She then gives them their shots. Last time Thing One got shots, he was 2 years old, and got scared when we started holding him down.
The next time he gets shots, he will be 3 years old, and we are going to tell him that he is going to get shots, so he's not just suddenly getting held down for no reason.
I'm pretty sure I get much more upset about it than the kids do.
In Europe they are developing a patch for immunizations.
Is it ready yet?
I'm afraid have fallen into the dreaded caffeine curse.
In the morning, if I do not drink something caffeinated, I am in a bad mood all day; short tempered and lazy.
If I have just one cup of coffee, I am perky and happy all day; looking forward to playing with the boys and getting housework done.
I hate to be like that.
Caffeine is addictive.
And I feel that if I NEED one cup of coffee in the morning to be in a good mood, that one cup is going to turn into two, then three, then five.
Then one day it's going to just do nothing for me, and I will be grumpy and SOL!
Excuse me while I get some coffee.
Thing One is still using his camera. He can take pictures all day.
Here are some more of his pictures.
I'm great at making super yummy dinners. What I'm not great at is making breakfast and lunch. I just have no idea what to make! Maybe I will start making a meal plan for breakfast and lunch.
I started doing meal plans for dinner, and then the holidays came and I just stopped. It's a new year though, and time to start back up.
One lunch that I do make a lot, and is super easy is Baked Spaghetti. If we have spaghetti for dinner and have leftovers, I will either refrigerate or freeze them. If refrigerated I will use them the next day, if frozen, I can wait as long as I'd like.
What I do is simply put the leftovers in the bottom of a baking dish (thaw the spaghetti if frozen), and then I top it with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, or until heated through and cheese melts.
Super yummy and super easy!
Thing One recently learned how to peel a clementine! He was so proud of himself that he was able to not only start it, but to peel the whole thing on his own!
After it was all peeled, I broke it into sections for him. He put one in his mouth, spit it back out, and said he was done.
The newest thing that Thing One likes to do is to wear a pair of my high-heels, and to walk around in them pretending to be me, and I am him.
He shares a lot whenever he is Mama!
The other day I had gone to the mall and bought some new shoes. I got some of my other pairs out, and put them all away in boxes. I started doing dishes, and when I was finished I found this:
Thing One had taken all the shoes out of the boxes, and lined them up neatly! He loves sorting and organizing things, and HE is teaching ME how to organize things well.
