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To cut or not to cut . . . that is the question

Posted on July 27, 2008 10:27 pm by TheAngelForever

I love baby hair. There is nothing softer and sweeter than baby hair and it is never quite the same after it is cut.

*sniffle* *sniffle* . . . . Can you see where I am going with this?

Here is a clue:

And clue two:

JL is starting to ~~demand~~ insist that JSL gets his hair cut. I am in denial that my little guy is ready for a hair cut. When it is washed, combed nicely, and lacking breakfast in it (as in the photos above) JSL’s hair is very controlled. The problem lately is JSL is starting to use his permanent napkin as we call it in our family. He finds it hilarious to put his dirty, greasy, slimy, nasty hands through his beautiful and curly blond hair.

I suppose I will give into JL and allow the little guy to get his hair cut before he is two!

Categories:
decisions jsl milestone photos vent

We are not tired Mom

Posted on July 19, 2008 6:30 am by TheAngelForever

As previously mentioned, I just started to do a mandatory rest time in the afternoon. JSL is exhausted, but he will not settle in his own crib. This is partially our fault, but more or less thanks to sharing a room with his big brother. NHL goes to sleep slightly before JSL. We never wanted to put an awake JSL into his crib while NHL was already sleeping. Now 14 months old, trying to teach a little one new tricks is very tough. He screams and hoots and has full blown temper tantrums at the sight of his crib.

Thanks to this I had an idea. I wanted to try a rest time for both boys in their room. I figured if NHL was in the room reading/resting (not holding my breath about napping) perhaps JSL would settle and nap. It certainly could not hurt to try. I knew it would not work right away, but was hoping for the best.

Wednesday was my second try at this. JSL stopped screaming a lot faster. He stood up the entire time looking and watching NHL. Tuesday when I tried this he actually cried himself to sleep standing up. Unfortunately I did not get a photo since NHL heard me coming to the room and said something and woke up the little guy.

Back to this past Wednesday. After quite a long time I admitted defeat, for the day, and went into the room. This is what I was greeted with.

Not sleepy, not one bit

Clearly they were not giving in – stubborn little boys! Hmmm. . . I wonder where they get that from?!?!

I asked NHL if he would go into the crib to show JSL how to rest. He thought that was a fun idea and allowed me to put him into the crib. He was quite impressed with the job and quickly got to work.

Here is NHL being a positive role model to his little brother.

Now we just need to work on trying this out when they are both in their own bed/crib. Hopefully they will work with me on this. Tired cranky boys in the afternoon are no fun. When they have energy to play they are much more fun and do not fight. Yes, even at their age they get into arguements and have tantrums to each other. I will enjoy these while they last and do not involved wrestling and physcial additions to the mix.

The one nice part about no naps, both boys go to sleep quite easily at night. Check out how sweet and peaceful they are. Awwwwww!

Categories:
brothers jsl losing my mind nhl photos sahm vent

Packing adventures for a family of 4

Posted on July 3, 2008 8:41 am by TheAngelForever

Do you like to pack? Stop laughing at me! I was being serious and asking a legitimate question.

Later today we are heading to visit my brother, sister-in-law and sweet little niece for a long weekend. We have a four hour trip ahead of us. Please insert the *groans* here! To be honest I am not sure what worries me more with the upcoming trip – (1) Packing for our family of four, or (2) The trip on a holiday weekend with a 4 and 1 year old in the car.

Last night after I was done packing up all of our clothing in one small suitcase I sat down by my computer to make a list of all of the other sh "stuff" that we will need. I was multitasking at the same time. It was the perfect time to reply to comments on my blog via e-mail. Candi at ~~All Day Night~~ mentioned in a quick e-mail (followed by instant messaging) back that packing before kids was bad enough, but with them she feels like she is moving. AMEN!!!

We are lucky with this trip that the arrival of my niece means we do not need to haul some of the otherwise essential items for a baby, you know like toys and a pack n’ play. Still we have plenty of other items to remember. I am also lucky that we can pack up without worrying about FAA regulations since this is a road trip.

Here is my list:

Snacks for the car ride – must feed the natives or they are more likely to get restless on the adventure.
Toys/books for the car – another sanity saver
MP3 player – filled with music for the adults and kids.
Wii Fit/Game/CD card – crucial or my brother and sister-in-law will not allow us in their house!
Sun lotion – must have in case we spend time outside, especially if we go to the zoo.
Cameras/batteries – we must capture a photo of the three grandchildren for my parents., otherwise we are not allowed to come home according to my mother.
Medicine – need all of our allergy meds and fluoride pills. Other items also being taken along for the ride since someone ALWAYS gets sick when we go to see Uncle I and Aunt M.
Cooler – although we may not need this it is good to have in case we want to haul anything back from Wegmans.
Kid essentials – this includes diapers, wipes, butt cream, sippy cups, binkies, toothbrush/paste, buddies/blankets.
Phone charger – the cell phones never hold their charge well, so we must be prepared.
Razors – hubby needs to control his face and me the legs.
Makeup – can you believe I actually forgot this once and have to actually write it down?
Pillows – we all sleep a lot better if we have our own pillows and they are easy enough to take with us.
Knitting – need to continue to work on my projects in the car if I am the passenger.

This is most if not all of the list as it stands now. The only other items are reminders to take our garbage out and vacuum before leaving. The booster seat and stroller are already in my car. Are you tired yet? I know I am ready for a nap (some of which has to do with a certain little teething monster being up a chunk of the night in our bed). Too bad I need to run some errands today before we hit the road.

Categories:
losing my mind road trip vent weekend

Kindergarten and Mommy’s denial

Posted on June 30, 2008 12:03 am by TheAngelForever

Denial is a hard thing, especially as a parent. As much as we want our children to stay little and innocent, they inevitably grow up. No matter how many times I have asked both of my boys to slow down, they seem to be growing in leaps and bounds.

I admit it, I want my little boys to stay just the way they are. I love that NHL is exploring the world around him, anxious to learn to read and write, talking about video games with Daddy, and learning to love chapter books. What I am in denial about is that my baby, yes he technically will always be my baby, is hardly a little boy anymore. Before my eyes my little boy of four has morphed into an almost five year old boy who will be off to kindergarten this fall. I am in major denial that my little boy, my first born is old enough to be in "real" school.

The reality partially hit Thursday which was NHL’s last day of nursery school.

It came at me quickly and right between the eyes. This is the last summer before my little man goes to school and has homework, before our lives as a family will really change. I feel like I lost so much time with him when I went to work for three precious years of his life . . . time I will never get back. Thanks to this guilt I am going to try to make this a great summer for NHL. I want to make sure he has fun, gets to be a kid, and most importantly does not have time to worry about kindergarten. My poor little guy is a worrier and change of schools is upsetting to him.

Last Wednesday when we were driving home from school NHL and I had the following conversation:

NHL: "Mommy I want it to stay June."

Me: "Why NHL?"

NHL: "I don’t want to leave my school"

That tugged at my heart. I so wish I could have stopped time for my baby and let him stay in the place that helped to make him believe in school again after the horrid start in the fall.Unfortunately, I can not push the pause button and before I know it September will be here. I just pray that things go well. I really fear that another bad start could ruin NHL’s desire to learn and he has so much potential and is thirsty for knowledge.

What I am not going into now is a phone call from NHL’s kindergarten teacher for the fall. I cried on Friday after the conversation and was beyond upset. Heck, I have tears in my eyes now. I really hope that my first impression (over the phone) is wrong and we will not have any issues, but I guess I am quite pessimistic after the start at the other school in the district back in September. I truly hope I am making something out of nothing.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

More on the denial front is that my baby technically is not a baby anymore. JSL is a toddler now, although he will always be my baby like his big brother.

This week JSL has learned so much and had so many milestones. His first molar FINALLY popped up during a nap one afternoon. Now the poor little guy has three more of those and the four canine teeth to work on. Words keep flying from JSL’s mouth. If he wants something he now has words to use for many. A favorite is "Wah-wah" for water. Saturday night while out with family friends and my parents, JSL wanted my mother. He knew that we were all leaving and he said "Nana go bye-bye" while waving to her. Then as he saw her move away from her he started to cry and throw his body to her.

Temper tantrums are another big milestone. When he does not get something he wants JSL has learned to use his voice to show discontent. Not only does the little guy scream, but he will also stomp if standing and jump up and down. JSL will throw his body at the object he wants and hoot and holler hoping to get the item of desire. The other night while NHL and JL were playing Mario Kart on the Wii, JSL decided he wanted to play and/or get NHL’s new hair brush. Neither of these was an option and we had our first real temper tantrum. I sat there watching all of his antics. I was a bad mommy – I laughed so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes. It was just too much seeing such a little person make such a fuss.

JSL is also very close to walking on his own. He lets go of items for long periods of time and is starting to walk holding onto the wall, letting go and thinking about taking more steps. We all are curious to see if those first solo steps may come at Uncle I and Aunt M’s house since that is where NHL finally walked on his own. Perhaps it will be a tradition – update to come soon.

I guess I need to get used to milestones coming and going with both of the boys. I can not imagine how much of a mess I will be in Setpember, no less on JSL’s last day of nursery school in four short years.

Will watching my boys grow and become more independent ever get easier?

BTW – Here is a photo of me the summer before I went to kindergarten.

Categories:
decisions jsl kid talk milestone nhl photos school teething vent

I Give Up – Sickies Win

Posted on March 25, 2008 6:14 am by TheAngelForever

Would someone PLEASE give the message to all bacteria and viruses that I officially give up?!?! They win and can go the H-E Double Hockey Sticks away! Seriously it is now technically spring (not that you would know from the weather here) and we can not seem to shake being sick here. OK – so technically we went about two weeks without anything, but now BAM it is back in force.

Saturday night NHL was not feeling well. He woke up throughout the night with a barking/hacking croupy cough and fever. We gave him meds and kept him quiet most of the day. Sunday I was in agony. Before going to bed Saturday night I told JL that my right breast was killing me. It felt a little warm and if anything brushed up against it I was ready to scream. I went to bed and hoped for the best. JSL woke up during the night thanks to NHL being sick and nursed on it (something he never does in the night) and it was horrible. The shooting pain just kept getting worse all day and I ached all over. Needless to say we were quite a group on Sunday. Sunday night JL helped me to hot compress my breast to try to help it in case it was mastitis starting to settle in. At this point I was ready to try anything since I was in tears and had chills.

Yesterday we took NHL to the doctor. His fever would not stop climbing if he did not have Tylenol or Motrin in him. We got there and got a virus diagnosis, but he did have fluid in his ears. *sigh* I went to my doctor to have myself looked at since they wanted to see me. The NP said that she could tell from me still being swollen that there was definitely a very clogged duct at one point. She was very happy that I was able to keep the mastitis away at least at this point. She told JSL to stop biting me and causing the cracking on my poor body and told me she would look into something else for me. She also gave me a prescription for an antibiotic just in case I need it for mastitis if it comes back.

Fast-forward to last night. NHL’s coughing woke up JSL. We decided to keep JSL in our room and not expose him any further to the night coughing of NHL. NHL’s fever was soaring high and Motrin and Tylenol are not controlling it – not even together. I ended up sleeping in NHL’s bed with him for 3 hours to keep him in bed. I am sure I am in for this next thanks to the coughing exposure. Right now (5:30) his temperature with Motrin (6-8 hour medicine) given at 2:00 is 101.8. We gave Tylenol and are hoping it kicks in. He has not had a febrile seizure since he was 11 months old, but the scare is always there. . . especially since I will be home with both of the boys alone today (JL was home yesterday).

On that note I am off. JSL just woke up and now he is coughing too. *sigh*

If you could please help me to reinforce the message to the sickies to GO AWAY!