Category: Kids & Parenting

Somehow I Missed Monday

Published by dee on July 10, 2007

I feel like all I have been doing lately is talking about how busy I am. Even when I’m not busy, I’m busy, if you know what I mean. Every little bit of down time I have is taken up with Zach, trying to spend some time with Hubby, trying to catch up on my summer tv shows, or trying to keep up with my favorite blogs (which I’m doing a very poor job of). That stuff is important and I’m getting really behind. I didn’t even watch Big Love last night!

Zach and I had a great trip over the weekend. We got to Springfield early enough on Saturday to take the kids for a swim in the hotel pool, then cleaned up and headed over to my Aunt’s house for the big party. It was great seeing my Aunt, Uncle, and my cousins. The fireworks show my cousins put on was great. The best part of the night, as usual, was after the crowd left and it was just family sitting around. As an adult, I appreciate the time I get to share with them so much more. After we left my Aunt’s house, we went back to the hotel, put the kids to bed, then my mom, sister, brother, sister-in-law and I sat around for a while chatting, drinking, snacking on junk food, and just generally having a good time. When 2 a.m. rolled around we finally decided to call it a night and went to bed.

In the midst of the chaos of unpacking from the weekend, cleaning, and re-packing for our trip next week, I’m also having to search for a new day care provider. Zach’s current provider is changing her day care to infant only care, which means that Zach has to go elsewhere. I’ve got about two months to find a new place, but I would rather get it done sooner than later. I’ve spent the last couple of days searching online and making phone calls to day care centers and the costs are quite astounding. They seem to have increased quite a bit in the last two years. I expected an increase in costs because I’m actually looking for a day care center this time around instead of home care. I think Zach is ready for a little more intellectual stimulation and some organized activities. He’s a really smart kid and I don’t want to stifle that by not giving him the opportunities to use it. We’re going to visit the cheapest center I have found so far and it is still $40 more a week than I am paying now.

Tonight my friend Amy is coming into town for a quick visit. I have tons to do but I certainly don’t want to miss a chance to hang out with her. I’m really looking forward to some margaritas and a Monterey burrito at Manny’s while she’s here. I have no idea why, but the only time we go to Manny’s is when Amy is in town. I guess the experience just wouldn’t be the same without her.

Between now and Friday I will be washing load after load of laundry, shopping for last minute items, and frantically packing in preparation for our trip. I always get so stressed out just before we leave trying to make sure I’m not forgetting anything important. Sometime in there I also need to upload the pics from the weekend, load up my mp3 player, make sure everything is charged up, and update some blogs. We’ll be taking off as soon as I get home from work on Friday and I imagine I’ll let out a huge sigh of relief as we head out town.

p.s. I signed up for Pownce this morning and have 6 invites if anyone is interested. It’s kind of like Twitter, but better from what I’ve heard. I’ll be playing around with it some more this week and would love to have a few friends on there to play with me. 🙂

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It's Nice to Have Him Gone, But I'll Be Glad When He's Back

Published by dee on July 6, 2007

I never thought I would say it, but I have actually enjoyed having a couple of kid-free days this week (although I’m ready to have him back). Zach has spent most of the week at my sister’s house. With a 30-minute drive each way, it just makes more sense for him to stay overnight instead of me driving back and forth twice a day. I’m sure he’s having a great time anyway. They have gone swimming several times and even got together with some other kids from our church to hang out for a bit. My sis posted some cute pictures of them playing in the water yesterday.

On Sunday, we started “Operation Potty Training” with Zach. I say “we” but I really mean my sister. She has done most of the work since he has been at her house four of the six days since we began. He is doing really well so far, except that he can’t seem to get to the bathroom fast enough when he has to go. If you put him on the potty, he’ll almost always go and then exclaim, “I did it!” I just hope he can keep it up. I’m a little worried how the potty training will go while we are on vacation. I don’t want him to regress and have to start all over.

Since Zach has been gone, I have been getting a lot of stuff done. I cleaned up my desk and computer room last night, paid bills, worked on my sister’s web site, did tons of laundry, a little bit of knitting, did a quick pick-up sweep through the house, and actually got some sleep for a change. It has been really nice to not have to rush quite so much in the mornings to get out the door.

This weekend my mom, my sister, and I are all heading to Springfield with the kids for my Aunt’s annual 4th of July blowout. There will be lots of food, family, fireworks, and hopefully tons of fun. We missed out on fireworks on the 4th due to the weather, so I’m anxious to see what Zach thinks of them. It will be fun to show the kids off as well. It will be the first time that most of the family has seen Brayden, and the other kids have grown a lot since the last time we were down there. Unfortunately, Hubby and my Brother-in-law both have to work, so they’ll miss out this time around.

Then, one week from today, we leave for vacation. I am so ready to get away and relax for a bit. My sister and her family will be joining us for this trip so it will be even more fun. We plan to get in some beach time, pool time, a day trip to New Orleans, visit family, and just relax.

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Happy Birthday to Zach (again)

Published by dee on July 1, 2007

Well, the weather did not cooperate and it rained and poured all day, up until about 10 minutes before the big birthday party. Instead of an outdoor party with sprinklers and sunshine, we ended up staying in but had a great time anyway. Everything went really smoothly and it seemed like we had just the right amount of guests.

My sister did an awesome job making Zach’s Blue cake. It really turned out great. There is no way I would have the patience to make something like that so I’m glad she volunteered. She also helped me come up with a great game idea when we had to change the party plans. The party wouldn’t have been nearly as fun without her around.

Zach got some really great gifts at the party has so many fun things to play with that he can’t seem to make up his mind. He has spent all morning switching from one thing to the next.

We are having a lazy Sunday today, which is nice for a change. Zach is napping. Hubby is playing his video game. I am procrastinating from doing the things I should be doing like laundry, cleaning, and writing my tottvwatch posts. I’m very tempted to go take a nap, but I’m sure Zach will wake up soon and then I’ll just have to get back up anyway.

I am very much looking forward to having the week broken up a little this week. The holiday on Wednesday will be a nice break from work. Zach is spending the week with my sister and her kids since his day care provider is on vacation. He’ll spend at least two nights this week over there. She’s going to attempt to potty train both Zach and Ryan this week while the boys are together. We’ll see how that goes. I’ve tried to get a head start with Zach today. So far he has actually used the potty once and has had two accidents. I hope she has better luck with him.

I suppose I should get back to those other things that I should be doing. That pillow sure does look inviting though…

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Is The Weekend Here Yet?

Published by dee on June 28, 2007

I’m in serious need of a nap today. For some reason this week has been really bad for sleeping. If Hubby’s phone isn’t going off in the middle of the night, Zach is waking up, or I just can’t shut my brain off and actually sleep. I don’t think I’ve gotten a solid night of sleep all week.

I’ve finally recovered from the fact that my baby is two and is most definitely not a baby anymore. He has apparently decided that he must prove his two-year-old status by throwing tantrums and being completely disagreeable the last couple of days. He even managed to get put in time out twice within about a 5-minute span last night. The scary part is that I know it is only just beginning. The hardest part for me is making sure that I stay consistent with the discipline when he starts acting up.

On Saturday, we are having Zach’s big birthday party with family and a few friends. My sister is making a Blue’s Clues cake for him (because she’s much better at those things than I am). Now I’m just hoping the weather clears up before then because I was planning on everything being outside and was going to set up a sprinkler for the kids. Plus, we were planning on a little after party barbecue with just family afterwards. If it rains it is really going to ruin the day.

In other news, I have decided that my car hates me. Even after giving it brand new brakes and tires last week, it still was not happy. On the way to work yesterday, the windshield wiper on the driver’s side quit working. As in, it stopped swishing back and forth (and that is kind of necessary for clearing the windshield). Fortunately, it was only sprinkling a bit so it wasn’t a big deal at the time. On the way home, however, it was pouring. It was not such a fun drive home last night. By the time I got home I had a massive headache from trying to focus through the blurry windshield. I’m just thankful that I made it there without having an accident. My awesome Hubby managed to get it all fixed up for me though, which is good since it was pouring again this morning.

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Two

Published by dee on June 26, 2007

Dear Zachary,

Two years ago today, your Dad and I were sitting in a hospital room anxiously awaiting your arrival. You surprised us about 12:00 the night before, letting me know you were ready to start your journey into the world. It was a moment we had been waiting for for so long that it almost felt surreal. Words cannot describe the joy we felt when we finally were able to see your beautiful face.

In two short years, you have grown from a helpless infant who required constant care into a very independent little boy. You still need Mom and Dad quite a lot, but you are doing more and more on your own these days. I’m no longer allowed to close doors or feed the cats when you are around. If I don’t let you do those things, you become very unhappy. One of your favorite phrases here lately is “Do it!” meaning, “I want to do it and you better let me!” If I don’t let you do it, you break out into tantrum mode, which is not pleasant.

You are getting closer and closer to speaking in full sentences. You can string several words together now and repeat after Daddy and I when we help you say your prayers. It is still amazing to me when we have an actual conversation with each other. I love that you can tell me what you want and need most of the time. I haven’t quite managed to translate all of your words though, and when I don’t understand you it gets pretty frustrating for both of us. I’m still working on it and one of these days soon we’ll get it all figured out.

I miss your baby days already, I am really enjoying watching you grow and learn. Just this last weekend, we took your crib/toddler bed apart and stowed it away. Now in it’s place stands a set of bunk beds, where I’m sure you’ll spend many nights chatting with your cousins, friends, or possibly even a little brother or sister in the future. You look so tiny in that big bed, but I know you are ready for it. You were so excited when we brought them home and even took a nap on your new big boy bed before I could get the sheets on it.

The next big step we have to make is to get you potty trained. You are getting closer and closer every day to being ready. In fact, just last night you did so well that you got to wear real underwear for the first time. You were so proud of yourself that you promptly peed in them. You have to learn somehow though, right? After that, you stayed dry until bedtime when I changed you back into a diaper. I have a feeling it won’t be long, but I’m sure I have my work cut out for me for a few more months. One thing I won’t miss is changing diapers.

One of the things that I really love about you right now is the way you enjoy music. Your favorite song right now is “Boom, Boom, Ain’t It Great to Be Crazy” and every time we get in the car you ask for “boom boom”. You sing along whenever you can, which is most of the time since you seem to learn the words very fast. When you aren’t listening to music, you are creating it. You love to strum your guitar (or Mommy and Daddy’s guitars) and make up your own songs on the spot.

It seems that you learn something new every day, and believe it or not, I’m learning right along with you. Watching you play and enjoy life has taught me that I need to slow down sometimes and just enjoy the moments that surround me. It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day routine that I tend to forget what life is all about. You, my son, are teaching me constantly to stop and laugh and just enjoy the time that I have. Sometimes, when I sit back and just watch you playing, I am just so in awe. It is hard to believe that I created something so amazing.

I guess I can no longer call you my baby, although in my heart you always will be. You are now my big boy, a big boy who jumps, sings, dances, jokes, plays, laughs, and loves (and gives great zerberts!). You are my big boy, who can melt my heart with a simple hug and kiss and make my heart ache with a single cry. Being able to watch you grow into the man that I know you will someday become, is the greatest gift I have ever been given. I love you. Happy Birthday, my big boy!

Love always,
Mama

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Big Boy Bed

Published by dee on June 25, 2007

I mentioned last week that I wanted to get Zach a “big boy bed.” I’ve been thinking about it for a while and decided that we were both ready for him to move up. Once I get an idea like that in my head, I’m just not satisfied until it is done.

I spent days searching online stores, checking craigslist ads, and debating whether we could afford it or not. I convinced my dad to pitch in a little bit towards the bed as Zach’s birthday present. I had a really nice looking oak day bed picked out that I thought would be perfect for Zach’s room. Then the car fiasco happened. While I was dealing with that, the day bed apparently sold and I missed out on it. At least that’s what I think happened since the guy selling it quit answering my calls.

After I picked Zach up Friday night, his day care provider called and told me that there were some bunk beds for sale at a garage sale down the street from her. I took a chance that the sale would still be open and drove down there while Zach and Hubby were eating dinner. They were still there and I bought them on the spot. They are very sturdy and are pretty much exactly what I wanted but had ruled out due to cost.

Hubby and I spent the rest of the evening transporting the beds, taking them apart, moving them to Zach’s room, and then putting them back together (damn my skinny hallway!). Then we had to start searching for some cheap mattresses. Saturday morning we checked around and ended up buying some really cheap, thin mattresses for $50 a pop. They won’t work long-term, but we can always buy better ones after the potty training is done. For now, they are keeping Zach happy.

We had the bed up and ready to sleep in by nap time Saturday and Zach could not have been more thrilled. He slept solidly in his new big boy bed the last two nights. I’m sure the newness will wear off eventually, but for now he is loving his big boy bed.

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