Sugar Monsters

I LOVE Christmas! The while season just swallows me up. My halls are sufficiently decked, we have hosted a party with another to come, gifts are bought and wrapped and baking is DONE! In general I don't bake but this year I have gone to the dark side :) The last few days were spent in the kitchen. My baby was underfoot the entire time picking up crumbs of who knows what nastiness and stuffing them into her little mouth.... Up to this point she has only had a few fruits and vegetables, her cereal and some egg yolk but after yesterday, you can add cookie bits, artificially flavored sprinkles and brownie dough :( She was just so fast- every tiny particle went onto her mouth and after awhile I stopped going in after them. I would turn and see her tiny little mouth chomping up and down with a sly little grin- oh well I guess. My 3 year old popped in and out all day stealing cookies from the baking rack and being generally "helpful" with the mixing and stirring. With two small children, each dozen cookies is a triumph in itself, so I give myself a big pat on the back for this one. And after arguing with my sugar induced maniac of a son and stepping over the particle thief all week, I am pretty darn tired.

I had forgotten how insane it is to diaper a crazy crawling/flipping/laughing baby..... that is all :/

A Tale of Two Nightimes

Sometimes I cannot believe just how different night parenting can be from one night to the next. My last thought before drifting off to sleep is usually a plea with the Lord above to send angels to sleep with my babies and keep them safe and ASLEEP.

For months we dealt with my 3 year old ending up in bed with us 2 or 3 times a night. I would either wake to find him mouth breathing into my personal face space or else spread over my feet inviting propulsion off the bed like Max the family dog. I am happy to say that the sleep chart with stickers that I blogged about previously has been a rollicking success (I hope I am not jinxing myself) and he happily sleeps all night alone in his room again.... thank you sleep angels :)

And then there's my little one, the "good" sleeper. I know from my first child that things change month to month and sometimes night to night depending on teeth and bowels and separation anxiety and weather and the volume of the hubby's snores but it is never any easier when those changes sleep deprive momma!
I am writing this relatively rested. She nursed to sleep last night at her newly chosen 8:30 (which is a relatively new thing for us- we tend to keep them up a little later than the "sleep experts" recommend but they sleep longer in the morning and we see them more at night and it just works for our family) and did not wake to eat until 6:00. She promptly fell to sleep at the breast and is still happily snoozing away next to my husband who is home on a snow day (and it is 9). Way to go baby girl- that's the stuff books are written about!

Except that the night before she was awake pretty much the entire night! My husband took her into the spare bedroom for a few hours so I could get some sleep and then I took her to reciprocate the deal. She was whiny and restless and refused to sleep in her crib. I suffered through yesterday with sleepy dusted eyelids and a crabby countenance. Did I want to reach for a pillow? Yes. Did I want to reach for a sleep book? No.

Like I said before, it's all about stages and changes and really truly they figure it out. As long as there are a few nights of uninterrupted sleep and iced coffee drinks, I can make it- after all, when they are too cool for me I will be aching for those nighttime snuggles!

??why oh why??

why does madness attract madness?? i know that "the secret" is that whatever energy you put out into the universe is likewise returned to you. i.e think that you will be successful and you will be successful. i once heard someone say that the people that believe that they will be successful will go out and do whats needed to be successful and not just sit around and wait for it- i have to agree.
but what about things breaking/getting ruined? why do things BREAK all at the same time. is it because we think that other things are going to break once something kicks the bucket and therefore we put that idea into the universe.
regardless- you know this happens! this weekend i sat in my dining room chair and it collapsed.... insert snide fat comment here.... actually they are apparently cheap chairs and all four of them need repaired. my chair just happened to be the one that went first. unfortunately we were just discussing how we wished we could afford some new bedroom furniture- that is definitely not going to happen now that we need new chairs! you have to have chairs :( last week my husband had a flat tire but we didn't have time to take it in to get repaired so he had the spare on it. well- yesterday he got another flat tire so now one half his car is flat! keep is mind that we never drive his car other than him taking it to work- unfortunately, the tires cannot be repaired because the tread is too thin. now we must purchase FOUR new tires right before christmas/property taxes/license plate renewal/etc. finallly the output pipe on the washer froze in this cold weather because our laundry room has no insulation- water was backing up out of the washer all over the floor. thankfully my husband was here to come to the rescue but because he was in the midst of cleanup, he threw all my non-dryable clothes in the dryer...... ladies you know how this turned out. i am now down a pair of jeans, two pairs of sweatpants, two shirts and a brand new sweater :( 
please make it stop!!! why is this happening? i shouldn't have bad karma (unless this is because of accidentally walking out of target without paying for the coke awhile back) i don't want things to break and i was not worried about breakage (shrinkage) before it happened, so did the universe do this? i think NOT- there universe, i think that you are not controlling the breakage....what i mean is please universe don't let anything else break!

Saturday Shout Out #2

I am thankful for many things- today it is my removable shower head. Honestly, if it were not for this genius contraption, I would only get to wash my hair once a week... maybe. It is super useful for showering piece by piece in the small 5 minute increments that I am allowed for personal hygiene. Thank you shower head- everyone needs one of you :)

Today I opened my weekly email from Babycenter.com, a quick few paragraphs to tell you if your perpetual teething machine is "normal". Rather it gives things to expect this week, developmental milestones, games to try, how your life as a woman is changing (as if I don't already know that I as a fun spontaneous person with a life outside the home has ceasted to exist).
Anyway- at the end of the email, a question is always posed to three professionals who answer with passionate opinion that is misconstrued as factual information. It is usually a hoot.
Today was no surprise. The Earth-Shattering topic today, wait for it...... "Is it okay for my baby to eat food that falls on the floor?" Really babycenter, that's the best topic we could come up with this first week in December? I would have perhaps found something about holiday travel, flu season, or winter weather exposure to be more informative.
So what did these experts say? Now obviously, the best place to serve dinner is not on the concrete patio or your kitchen floor but listen to these responses.

Dr. Kelly Ross, a pediatrician from St. Louis says that "Food that falls onto the floor collects germs as well as any toxins that may have entered the house on your shoes. It's okay for the dog, but not for your baby!"

and my favorite from Child Psychologist Leslie Gavin:

Even at home, it's probably not worth the risk of germ exposure to save that one bite of food.

What we have concluded here is that even though your eight-month old may be crawling around on the floor all day long (if he or she is on par for the developmental stages that babycenter says are coming) that he or she would become gravely ill from the evil carpet germs if food that touched the floor also touches the tongue. Never mind that their HANDS are on the floor all day long and anyone who has ever had a baby knows that the hands are in the mouth all day long as well. Or in their noses or touching their eyes. All of these places are packed with viral receptors that pick up germs. If baby doesn't get sick from carpet cruising, baby is not going to get sick from eating a cheerio that fell under the table. The digestive system is packed with immune cells to keep such things from happening.
It is not that I would let my child lick the supermarket floor or eat a spoonful of yogurt scraped off the mat in the car, I just thought that the emblazoned cry against the three second rule was a bit of overkill. Anyway, no truly important news to share, just a little rant in my post-45 toddler tantrum evening. Hope everyone has a good weekend and by all means, make sure the dropped spoonful of bananas goes to the dog.

Saturday Shout-Out #1

There are some things that I could not live without! This morning as I mopped dried up sticky juice from a toy, grime off the rubber corner edge protector of our kitchen step (the entire room is elevated up one step) and last nights lentils off the highchair, I realized just how much I love my seventh generation wipes! They are AWESOME- just the right amount of liquid on strong wipes- all natural so they won't hurt the babies, kills 99.9% of ickiness and in a handy dispenser. I can't live without them. They get my weekly shout for this week. SO tell me- what am I missing- is there anything that you moms absolutely swear by?? I don't like to be behind in anything so hook me up!

'Tis the Season

Aaaahhhhh the weekend! A time to rest and play.... more like a time to cram in all the housework that you didn't get have time for this week and fold and put away the laundry that has been piling up outside the dryer- hey at least it's clean :) Nevertheless, I do love my weekends! It is so nice to be able to tag team the kids with my husband and stay in our jammies until lunch, at least on Saturday. This time of year, though weekends are dangerous- too cold to play outside much- an approaching major holiday- stores are calling my name! As you moms know, a day shopping can tear up a paycheck pretty darn fast. Besides gift purchases, there are snacks and drinks to be bought if you are not packed and prepared, lunches out, and impulse buying because that darn santa hat will be the perfect 8 month-old photo op! I offer no advice- if you are a mom, you have a system that works for you and who am I to act like a parenting expert?? I say good luck! Enjoy your families, the madness and maybe even a calorie and preservative-laden mall pretzel. Oh yeah, and I hope you find some bargains!!!