Wordless Wednesday: Blueberry picking

Bad Behavior

Oh.my.goodness! I need help dealing with toddlers who are acting out. Mostly it's just Evie and I'm concerned that it's because she's maybe feeling like she's not getting enough attention. Maybe? I don't know. But the bad behavior has got to stop. Everything we've tried so far has failed. She just laughs any time she gets in trouble! Must I point out how frustrating that is? If we tell her not to do something, she does it anyways with a grin on her face. I've tried to incorporate more positive reinforcement but that doesn't seem to be working either. I've tried packing our days with activities thinking maybe she just needs to expend more energy, but that doesn't work (and sometimes has a negative effect). I've tried keeping our days free of activities thinking she's just been overstimulated but that doesn't work either. We've also tried earlier bedtimes thinking maybe she is over tired but, nope, that doesn't seem to be it.

It's also gotten to the point where she is instigating bad behavior in Lex. For example, let's say I tell them not to go down into the basement. Evie will sit there and tell Lex that he just has to go down there and get the ball she can see. He'll then do it and they both get into trouble (I punish her too if she talks him into doing something he shouldn't). He's gullible enough to do pretty much anything she tells him...and he's also starting to follow her lead when it comes to laughing off any punishment.

They both do things knowing full well that they're not supposed to be doing them. I know they understand right verses wrong, good verses bad behavior. Well, Evie more than Lex, but Lex does to a certain extent. Another example: we went to a birthday party this weekend and it was getting time to leave. Evie didn't want to leave and didn't want her -friend? teacher?- Stisha to leave either. So she declared that she had to go to the bathroom and wanted Stisha to take her. When she gets back from the bathroom, after an incredibly long time during which I mentioned she was just stalling us leaving, Stisha tells me that Evie told her that she was going to pee very slowly so that she wouldn't have to go home! Grrrrr! The kid is too smart for her own good and pushing all the wrong buttons with me and Shaun at the moment.

So, does anyone have any tips? Any magical tricks that can make this trying time easier? Better yet, how long will this phase last?!?

Check it out!

You might notice the new little gadget on the right hand side of the page flashing at you. It's a link to GetSwabbed.org, an initiative to get people on the national bone marrow registry! Click on the gadget and it will bring you to the site where you can determine your donor eligibility, submit your information and sign up to receive your registry kit in the mail.

While you're at it, get out there and donate some blood too :) Find out where here: Red Cross

Sometimes it just hits me

I really don't know why I do it, but sometimes I get wrapped up in stories that make me cry. I'm sure you've all done that before...ok, maybe not ALL of you, but most. You pick up a book (umm, Jodi Picoult anyone?) or turn on a movie (geez, A Walk to Remember?) that really brings on the tears. But do you know what's 1000 times worse? Getting caught up in a real life story that just breaks your heart.

If you've read my blog since the early days you'll probably remember Maggie. Her's is a story I will never forget. I think about her often to this day. I never thought I'd know someone who lost a baby. I was naive enough to believe that infant death was just a statistic that happened to unknown people out there somewhere. Today I read another such story from a mom in my June '11 group. I knew that she had gone through a loss but today was the first day I felt strong enough to get to know her and her family better through our virtual world connection. I just marvel at the strength these women have. They're not able to turn off the computer when it gets to be too much emotion to confront.

Sometimes it just hits me how unbelievably lucky we are to have the three wonderfully healthy, happy children that we do. I try not to take any day we're together for granted. Even the days like today when my patience has been pushed to the max.

Extra hugs and kisses all around tonight!

"It's too windy in here daddy"

For those that hadn't heard, our basement flooded last weekend during a major storm we had (think 6+ inches in less than 3 hours). It was lovely to wake up to 2 inches of water covering our newly remodeled basement floor. It was also convenient that it happened on our busiest planned day of the summer. We were supposed to head out to two birthday parties and a housewarming party (scaled down from the 2 birthday parties, 2 weddings and 2 housewarmings we had been invited to, June 16th is a popular day!). Me and the kids ventured out while Shaun worked to get 80+ gallons of water from the basement. He then headed out to help the company our neighbor works for in exchange for some professional drying out of our basement.

Yesterday they came over, vented our walls, looked for mold and sprayed a cleaner on our floors to protect from mold. They also put up these huge fans, in addition to our dehumidifiers, to further dry out the basement. It finally doesn't smell so mil-dewy in here!

Evie has been sleeping downstairs with Shaun so that I can use the upstairs room for me and Sophia (alternating between co-sleeping and her sleeping in the swing). Shaun also has the monitor from Lex's room down there so he can take care of any sleep issues with the older two while I focus on Sophia. We all get the most sleep this way. Anyways, so last night we laid Lex down to sleep and then Shaun took Evie down to tuck her into bed. Shaun had to run an errand and I settled in to feed Sophia. About 5 minutes before Shaun got back home Lex started screaming his head off. I was stuck feeding Sophia so I just let him cry it out. When Shaun got home he tried (unsuccessfully) to get Lex back to sleep before remembering that he had left the monitor on next to the bed Evie was sleeping in downstairs. Oops! So he headed downstairs to turn it off and had this conversation with Evie standing at the bottom of the basement stairs -

Evie: Daddy?
Shaun: Yes, babe, did Lex wake you up?
Evie: Yeah, I'm sorry daddy.
Shaun: Oh hun, you have nothing to be sorry about!
Evie: It's not my fault.
Shaun: No, it's not your fault.
Evie: It's your fault daddy!
Shaun: *laughing* Yes, I suppose it is.
Evie: It's too windy in here daddy!

So, in a completely random wrap up of two seemingly unrelated topics, yes it is windy in here but the basement is drying nicely. A shout out to Restoration Professionals for doing a great job and convincing my husband that he wants a second job (as if he's not gone enough as it is!).

Wordless Wednesday: Miss 'phia

Holy Cow: breastfeeding edition

With Evie I managed to feed her breast milk right up until the day she turned 6 months old with help from the freezer stash I had developed. I got pregnant with Lex when Evie was only 4 months old and the pregnancy greatly affected my supply. Originally I had planned to breastfeed for a year. I also had major problems trying to pump for her prior to getting pregnant. I just didn't have the hang of timing it to get the most milk into a freezer stash. I also worked 9 hour days and pumping that much is just not the same as feeding a baby directly. It hurt my supply big time.

Lex received breast milk until he was 10 months old. I had also planned on breastfeeding him for a year but because I had enlisted into the Guard again I was leaving for OCS right after he turned 10 months old and I wasn't able to pump at all while I was gone. I was much more emotional about having to stop with him than I was with Evie because this time it was my choice to stop and I was choosing a job over feeding him the way I had intended.

This time, I WILL make it to a year. There's no reason (as of right now) why I shouldn't. I'll at best be working part time and the rest of my days will be spent with Sophia. The longest I will spend away from her are my 3 day weekend drills at Camp Ripley. The first one is coming up in September. As of today I will have 200 ounces of breast milk stashed in our extra freezer. I can't believe it! In the grand scheme of things it's really only just under 7 days of milk but I've never had a freezer stash so large. By the time I go out of town in September I may be close to 500 ounces saved up!

I do have to admit to feeling a bit like a dairy cow, though, with being hooked up to the pump 2-3 times a day in addition to feeding Sophia, lol.

And the decision is...

(this is a part 2, read here if you missed part 1)

I'm not going to take the preschool teaching job. As fun as it would be the cons really do out weigh the pros. All the teachers who currently work there have been there for 10+ years. I don't want to make a commitment to working with them and have to quit if I get into nursing school or if Shaun gets selected for warrant officer. I'd rather she hire someone who plans on sticking around for the long haul. In the mean time I'll be a stay-at-home-mom to Sophia while the older two attend preschool until December and I'll pick up as many shifts as I can at Life Time in the evenings and on weekends. Then, hopefully, I'll start nursing school. If not, I'll start working on my MBA. Might as well if we're going to get $1300 a month in GI Bill benefits and my schooling paid for by the National Guard.

Best served hot

Coffee, that is. In the past almost 3 years I haven't been able to get through an entire cup of coffee (decaf at the moment) while it's still hot if it's a typical morning at home. How old do the kids have to be before I'll get a hot cup of coffee again to start my day? I'm thinking not until they're all school age at least. Or at least until I can get them to sleep past 6 am. Ah, but really, what's better than waking up to these three? BTW, the older ones fight constantly over who gets to hold baby Phia (as Lex calls her) and it's almost cute. The solution is use #472 for the boppy.

The work dilemma

To work or not to work (outside the home that is)? Ok, well it's really a matter of do I work full time or stick to the two part time jobs I've got (National Guard and Life Time). One of my co-workers at Life Time is also her church preschool director. Not really expecting the response I got, one day I asked her if she was hiring any teachers anytime soon. She said yes! An hour long conversation ensued about my qualifications (I have 2 years of early childhood ed schooling and was previously state certified as a preschool teacher with that other awful company). She was sold and asked me to come into her office to discuss the job further. Today I met with her and, honestly, would love the job. It's a before and after school care program, the school being 4 hours of preschool, so I would work 7-9 in the morning and again 1-5 in the afternoons. With prep time it's about 35 hours a week but some weeks would end up being less. The school runs on the same calender as the local schools so there are plenty of holidays and summers off. The pay's not bad for a preschool teacher either. Originally she even said she'd be ok with me bringing Sophia (or Evie or Lex) into work with me if I needed to.

So what's the problem? Well, today she seemed less than keen on the idea of Sophia being there, which I completely understand. The youngest kid at this preschool is 3 years old and she's not sure licensing would be on board with an infant being there. However, because of the schedule she would want me to work, the kids would end up in daycare from 6:30 am to 5:30 pm on the days Shaun was out of town (4:30 pm when he's around). The older two would be ok with the longer days occasionally but there's no way I want Sophia in someone else's care 11 hours a day even if it is just when Shaun's gone. Also, the weeks where I'd end up working less that 35 hours we'd at best be breaking even with what we owe daycare. Essentially I'd be working for free. Lastly, what happens if I am accepted into nursing school? I'd be starting in January and she's looking for someone to work the entire school year.

So I'm not entirely sure what to do. The extra pay a full time job would bring in (although I'd only bring in about $1000 per month after daycare costs) would be nice to have. I'm just not sure about all the other stuff. Shaun wants me to treat all decisions we make as if he's not going to get selected for warrant officer and I don't want to plan my life around the 'what ifs' of nursing school. Annnnnd...come January I'll be getting Shaun's GI Bill ($1300 per month) if I just stay in school. So really we'd only be short my income for 4 months if I don't take the job. Argh!

What would you do?

Sophia Jayne, 7lbs 1oz

On the morning of May 31st I woke up at about 3 am with a very bad back ache. So bad that I wasn't able to get back to sleep. I walked around our bedroom, leaned over the bed, swayed, etc...pretty much everything I could think of to get the baby to turn. I figured she was facing the wrong way and I was having contractions - both together causing my back pain. After about an hour she did seem to settle into a better position and I started having regular contractions anywhere from 4 to 12 mins apart. None of them were bad but I couldn't get back to sleep either. Around 6 the entire family got up for the day. We finished some last minute prep as I figured our little girl would be coming today. I headed out for my midwife appointment at 8.

At my appointment I was checked and found to be 3 cm dilated. Since I had been contracting all morning Fern (my midwife) offered to hook me up to the monitors and see about breaking my water to get things going. I agreed and called home so Shaun could get the kids dropped off with my sister and meet me at the hospital. Around 9 am Fern broke my water. Unfortunately, my contractions just about stopped at this point. After about an hour and a half they started up again. We walked the halls, rocked in the chair, bounced a bit on the yoga ball, etc. Closer to noon my contractions started picking up in intensity. I shoo'd everyone (Shaun, my mom and my MIL) out the door to grab some lunch while Fern came back to check my progress. Sadly, I was only at 4 cm! The rest of the afternoon the contractions continued on anywhere from 2-6 mins apart, increasing slowly in intensity. As 3 pm, and shift change, approached I requested to be checked again (I wanted my current nurse to place an IV if I needed one since everyone said she was the IV guru and the last time I have an IV it took 5 tries). I was only at 5 cm. At this point Fern suggested a small dose of pitocin. She figured I'd go from 5 to complete in about an hour with the pitocin. I said sure, but I was definitely getting the epidural first.

Que the the IV fluid push for an hour. Then the Dr showed up to start the epidural. Not going to lie, the experience getting an epidural was worse than the contractions. He tried numbing my back first but I felt everything as he had to try twice to get the dang thing placed. By 4:30 the epidural was in place and only slightly working. It took a minimal edge off the contractions on one side of my body. Seriously, I should have just continued it all natural because then I could have at least been out of bed. The pit was started at 4:45 and by 5:15 I sent everyone off for some dinner so I could try to relax a bit. The atmosphere in the room was just a little too intense for me to handle and I wanted everyone gone. Considering I also started to get the shakes, I should have noticed that I was hitting transition. By 5:30 the contractions were back to above pre-epidural pain, I was shaking uncontrollably through each contraction, and I felt "gassy". Letting my body push a bit felt good during the contractions. I didn't actively push, since I was completely alone in the room, but I didn't stop the slight pushes my body was doing either. After the water birth I had with my last baby I was afraid of the pushing phase with this one. I wanted to labor down as much as possible so I was in a bit of denial that I should probably call for a nurse.

At 5:45 Fern showed up anyways and said "I think you're ready to push, let me check." Sure enough, I was about 9.5 cm with a little lip. Now I freaked because everyone had just left for dinner! As they were getting the room prepped for delivery Shaun, my mom and my MIL returned. Go time! Two contractions into pushing Fern had me reach down and feel the baby crowning (I had asked her to tell me when - so cool!) and on the third contraction I got to reach down and lift her up onto my belly! Sophia Jayne was born at 6:15 pm May 31, weighing in at 7 lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long. It was my longest labor, shortest delivery and smallest baby. Her cord was short so she stayed on my belly until Shaun cut the cord. We took a few pictures and cuddled while waiting for the placenta. It finally delivered and was so tiny, about the size of Fern's hand with her fingers extended. It had also started to calcify. Fern said she was glad we had decided to break my water that day. Shaun took Sophia to cuddle a bit while Fern repaired a very minor tear that I had at the sight of my previous tears. Afterwards Sophia came back to me and nursed for an hour straight. We're in love.

I'm baaaaaaaaack!

OMG this blog has sat unused for almost a year! Eeeeks!

No more! I'm going to start posting again. I promise. No, really, I will.

So, what has happened in the past year you ask? In short, a ton. In September of last year I got pregnant again and on May 31st our newest addition joined the family. Sophia was born at 6:15 pm, May 31st, 2011 weighing 7 lbs 1oz at 20 inches tall. Lex is now 21 months old and ever much the typical boy. He's into anything rough-and-tumble, anything mobile (cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, planes, etc), and anything food. He's talking up a storm with full sentences (his first sentence being "I love you", directed at me of course!). He spends most of his days doting on his sisters, playing with or tormenting Evie. Evie, on the other hand, is fast approaching 3! She's potty trained, ever inquisitive (I here "why?" 100 times per day, I swear!), mothering, and a total girly-girl (nothing dirty touches her without a fit ensuing, lol).

Non-kid related...I attended school full time again in hopes of getting into nursing! Still working on that, but kind of in a hold pattern at the moment with applications submitted but no decisions reached yet. I enlisted into the Army National Guard again, got a job at Life Time Fitness, and may be headed back to work as a preschool teacher this fall. In January I totaled my car and then got a van (works so much better for 3 full sized car seats). Shaun's still working like crazy. He's submitting his application to become a warrant officer. If he gets it we're headed to active duty and moving around this time next year to who knows where. I'm excited about that and welcome the changes it would bring.

Anyways, that sums things up in as few words as possible. Here are some

recent pictures of the kids:

The day Sophia was born

Loving big sister and big brother

Daddy reading a bedtime story to his girls

Summer time fun

Or not so fun

Sophia napping

Evie on the kayak

Lex on the kayak

Our sweet Sophia!