Stickers on Mommy

Nadia likes putting stickers on me - my nose, my forehead, my cheeks, my clothes, etc. I don't care how ridiculous I look since usually Nadia and Ian are the only ones who see me. Well today I accidently went to the grocery store and hardware store sporting two VeggieTales stickers. I was wearing Jimmy (the gourd) on the front of my Steelers t-shirt and Junior (asparagus) on the back of my t-shirt. OOPS! Paul pointed this out to me when I got home. I guess the people who saw me figured out that I'm a mom, LOL.

Out of the past five days, four of them Ian has had one long nap each day (averaging about 70 minutes long). Some days it was his first nap, and other days it was his second nap. I am thrilled! He's also continuing to make progress at night with sleeping longer. Way to go, Ian!

I'm done grading papers for the summer! I am glad to have the next two weeks off from doing school work aside from a little more preparation for the fall semester. YAHOO!

I can't do it all!

I had a bit of a meltdown on Tuesday. Every spare minute had been consumed with my online classes - holding office hours via Wimba while taking care of a 25 and 7 month old isn't easy. I kept trying to keep the kids entertained with as little interaction from me so that I could grade, grade, and grade some more. By the time I went to bed at 9:30pm I felt like I had spent more time grading than with my kids. Periodically I tell Paul I just want to stay at home with the kids. I was at home with them (aside from my trips to the doctor's offices) the past 6 weeks. What I mean is I want to quit my job. I would never quit without a reasonable amount of notice, so I was trying to figure out if I could become a SAHM in January. I looked over the budget to figure out how much we typically spend in a year (not counting expenses like trading in my car this year). I was trying to see if Paul's $20K annual stipend plus our savings would be enough to carry us through until he graduates. I came to the conclusion that we'd have enough for me to stay home for 2 years. The problem is that we wouldn't have any savings for things like trading in Paul's car or possibly doing ivf again (I still toy with the idea of doing it once more). The bigger problem is that we don't have a guarantee that he'll finish in 2 years. Then we'd really be in a pickle. I haven't put in any requests for leave for spring 2011 or beyond yet. I had been given 50% off for the fall, but I'm actually going to be working full-time (three nights plus one online class from home). I don't need to continue to work FT. We can definitely survive with me just working PT. Anyhow, I finished most of the grading last night and also made a lot of progress for getting everything ready to go for the fall courses. I woke up this morning not feeling overwhelmed.

However today was a busy day. I was asked (on Tuesday) to attend a 5 hour meeting at another university (about 50 minutes away) today. I was gone for 6.5 hours including driving time. It was the longest I've ever been separated from Ian (not counting while he sleeps at night). It was hard, especially when they asked me about him. I had brought Ian to a similar meeting in May, so several told me they were expecting to see Ian today. He's too active now to sit quietly in a meeting for 5 hours. When I got home I decided to take advantage of the MUCH cooler temps and take the kids to the playground. The carseats weren't in my car (so Beth could take them with her to the mall) so I took them via the stroller. If the stroller could go over train tracks, the trip would be much shorter. It's still not too bad (about 20 minutes each way). In fact on days it's not raining or super hot, I'd like to make this a regular part of our daily routine as it's a great way for me to get 40 minutes of exercise. They were both content on the way down, and Ian took a short, late 3rd nap on the way back.

The meeting hadn't been on my calendar for long. What had been on my calendar for MONTHS for today was to attend a FFH concert at Knoebels this evening. I was going to meet my friend, Cheri. I was going to leave at 6pm. When Paul still wasn't home at 6:15, I called my friend to cancel. I was disappointed as I haven't done dinner or a concert or lunch with a friend for more than 8 months (aside from Paul). Part of the reason I cancelled was because Cheri and I do also have plans for next Friday night. Tonight's concert was free. I bought our tickets for next week. I'm not going to cancel those plans unless I really can't go. The other reason I cancelled was because I was tired. I had left at 8am this morning and wouldn't have gotten home until after 10pm this evening if I had gone to the concert. I also would have spent over 3 hours on the road. Right now I wish I was at the concert, but I'm going to be able to go to bed earlier than I would have if I went. Deep in my heart I know I made the right decision. I can't do it all!

I am trying to think of ways to make life manageable over the next few months. I am definitely going to do another freezer cooking day sometime over the next 2 weeks and continue to do that once a month. Yesterday I had Nadia play in her room during Ian's morning nap while I was in Paul's office (right across from her bedroom). It was a win-win situation. She had fun, and I was able to just focus on schoolwork. Yes, I am capable of multitasking, but I'd like to do less of it. I'd like to have more time that's devoted JUST to my kids. I feel like I'm physically here but many times am working on my laptop rather than finger painting or playing with PlayDoh. I spent a lot of time with them Wednesday and Thursday, and it felt great. I had planned to try to add aerobics into my schedule. I am delighted with the idea of walking to the park several times a week instead. That plan won't work in the winter, but it should work in the other three seasons.

I need to keep brainstorming ways to make my to do list manageable. Sometimes it means saying "no." I just recently added one thing to my plate in that I agreed to teach (on a quarterly rotating basis) the 5th and 6th grade Sunday School class at church. I'm definitely not ready to have any other fruits or veggies growing on our property. I made apple butter yesterday. It's very tasty, but these apple projects are time consuming. I still have a LOT of apples sitting in my kitchen waiting to be given away, made in applesauce, made into apple crisp, etc. I've always been one to buy shredded cheese. I know it would be cheaper to shred it myself, but I don't care. Saving money is not always most important. Sometimes saving time is more important. Plus I'm not the greatest with knives anyhow. I often manage to cut myself. We are going to pay someone to install the garbage disposal. Paul has done that before, but he can't do it all either. I also have been trying to schedule someone to come clean our ducts. I'm hoping this might help my allergies. I've also (for over 2 months) been seriously considering paying people to come clean the house. That totally goes against my penny pinching tendencies. I also have this sense that I shouldn't need that help. That I should be able to juggle all these balls, but we can afford it (I think - I don't know what it costs). If I was a SAHM I wouldn't even consider it. If I tell myself that doing this will enable me to have more time with my kids, then it totally seems worth it, and it's true. Lots of things to consider, but my kids are one of my highest priorities - not my job or the cleanliness of my house or flowerbeds.

8 Months Old!

Over the past month here are 8 ways Ian has changed:

1. His ability to sit independently has improved dramatically. It's very rare for him to topple over any more. It's so nice to be able to sit him down in any room on the floor with a few toys.

2. He's now only taking 3 naps (instead of 4) albeit it's still rare for them to exceed 30-45 minutes. One nap on Tuesday was 70 minutes long. I wish that would become the norm! I'm trying to have his naps be at 9am, 12pm, and 3pm so that there will be at least 30 minutes overlap between thhis 2nd and Nadia's only nap.

3. His head smell is becoming more and more faint. It's so sad. :-(

4. He's getting better about eating solid foods, but he still has a LONG way to go in that department. His favorite foods thus far are sweet potatoes and carrots.

5. He's not nursing as much, but he's still nursing at least twice a day, which is better than nothing! He's not "chucking" quite as much although he certainly still has reflux.

6. He's sleeping MUCH longer at night. He usually sleeps until about 6am. He often goes down around 6:30 and then gets up 1 or 2 times for feedings. I try to make sure he's down for good by 8pm. I am trying to wean him off these initial feedings so that he can sleep 11-12 hours straight at night. I am soooooooo grateful to be able to sleep from 9pm-6am!

7. He's playing with toys a lot more. He's outgrown his swing, plays in his gym a bit longer than before, and still likes to play in his bouncer or highchair.

8. He gained 1.25 lbs as he now weighs 18lb 7oz (wearing only a dry diaper). This means he's up to the 32nd percentile! He's wearing 9 month size clothing 100% of the time. He generally wears 3 outfits a day not counting what he sleeps in at night. Lately his diapers (no matter which brand I use) haven't done a good job of containing his poop - it manages to go up his back. Yuck!

Ian received a gift in the mail this week. Paul's Aunt Marlene (who lives in CA) made him a quilt. It's beautiful and it goes really well in his room as there are a lot of pieces with green in it. It meant a lot to me. Nadia received 3 handmade quilts - two from Paul's aunts and one from my former handbell choir director (Carol).  Up until this week, Ian hadn't received any. As a side note, the one Carol made is large so when I transition Nadia to a bed, I plan to use the quilt Carol made as the bedspread for her bed. The colors in that quilt match her room perfectly!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Today we are celebrating 9 years of marriage and Nadia going 8 days (thus far) without an accident. I'd say we are officially done with potty training, wouldn't you? YAHOO! Our date last Friday night was our anniversary celebration. I gave Paul a card and a Duke NCAA 2010 Champions polo shirt on Friday. Paul gave me a lovely card on Saturday.

This too shall pass

Although Nadia says many things that I find amusing or endearing, of course I don't feel that way about everything she says. What I have been reminding myself lately is that these stages seem to be short lived. It's really not worth getting worked up over them, not that I don't try to teach her why she shouldn't say it. A few months ago she went through a phase of saying "OW!" or "THAT HURTS" very frequently and very loudly. She said it when I'd do something awful like dry her hands with a towel. We kept telling her not to say it if it didn't really hurt. Paul was trying to explain the concept of "crying wolf" to her, lol. She still does this occasionally, but thankfully far, far less than she did for a little while. I also didn't like it At All when she was calling Paul and I "honey." I know it sounds really sweet, but it annoyed me! I often call Paul "hon" or "honey," which is I'm sure where she got that from. Only recently has she started to say "no" upon occasion in a defiant manner. Sometimes she says "stop" in a really unkind way. I've been teaching her to say "no thank you" instead when Ian does something to her that she doesn't like. The most annoying thing she said last week was "I don't like xyz." She was saying it all the time - even with Mommy or Daddy or Ian being the last word. She said it when we checked the garage and Daddy still wan't home. Obviously what she meant was that she didn't like that Daddy wasn't home yet. Thankfully she hasn't been saying that this week.

I know I've said it many times, but I am always blessed by the laughter and smiles of my kiddos. When I'm snuggling Ian, I feel such an overwhelming sense of love. I felt the same when Nadia was little. It's hard to describe, but there's just something unique about the overpowering love I feel when holding a baby. At moments like that, I don't want them to grow up, but then I think of the delight I feel when they learn new skills.

Vegetables Take Three

Yesterday Paul's parents came up to visit. While they were here Paul blew up Nadia's new wading pool, and I made more applesauce (click on the recipe tab above for more details). I served the manicotti I had made on my first freezer cooking day as well as some Texas toast and mixed vegetables. I served Nadia the vegetables first. I am not sure if it was because that was the only thing on her plate OR because she saw four adults happily eating their vegetables OR if it was because she remembered that Mommy doesn't give up on insisting that she eat a few bites of vegetables, but whatever the reason, it was no big deal. Whew. The mixed veggies had green beans, lima beans, and carrots. She ate more veggies than the previous times when I only required three small pieces to be consumed. Overall she did a great job of eating last night. She loved the manicotti. She kept asking for more! She also enjoyed the bread as well as the dessert Paul's mom had made using fresh blueberries. It was a messy but yummy meal for Miss Nadia! Ian ate a few bites of carrots, but he's still not interested in eating solid foods.

A Park and a Date

This morning I took the kids to a state park. Sarah had invited us to join them there a few weeks ago, but we weren't able to join them the last time. Today we did! Several moms (plus one dad) from church brought their kids to the park this morning. The kids enjoyed playing in the sand, swimming in the lake, and playing on the playground. Ian thought the water was too cold. Nadia did at first, but then she got used to it. Really for a lake in PA the water wasn't that cold, but compared to the temperature of the water in her kiddie pool or the ocean in FL, it was cold. We met Sarah at her house around 9am. I thought Ian would sleep in the car since he had awakened at 6:45 and usually goes down after he's been up for 2 hours. He screamed until we got there (about 9:35am). We put the portable DVD player in the car so at least Nadia was content. We stayed a little less than 2 hours. I had planned to stay a bit longer, but since Ian had been awake for amost 5 hours straight, it was time to go. He fell asleep immediately and slept for over an hour (the final part of his nap took place while the car was parked in our garage). I wish I had been able to get some pics. Ian looked so cute in his swim suit, sitting on a blanket on the sand playing with a toy. It was impossible to take pics while watching 2 small kids without Paul there. Thankfully some of the other moms helped me out since the next youngest child there was 4 years old. It was a gorgeous day. Not too hot, not too cold - just perfect for a day at the lake!

I thought Nadia would eat lunch when we got home, but instead she went down for her nap because she still refused to eat three bites of sliced carrots. The scenario was similar to the tale of 3 green beans from 2 days ago. She refused to eat any carrots last night and again refused this morning. She only had water before leaving for the state park. Some kids were eating crackers around 11am at the park, and I didn't want to create a scene so I let her have 3 peanut butter cracker sandwiches. This evidently was enough that although she was hungry and thirsty, she still wouldn't eat the carrots at noon when we got home. After her nap, she started to refuse again, but then finally she ate her 3 small carrots and ate a late lunch (around 3pm). When she's a little older, I do plan on allowing her to have a few foods (maybe 3?) that she can always refuse to eat. I got this idea a couple of years ago from my sister. She said her husband's family had that policy growing up. I like the idea. If my parents had used that rule, I can guarantee you that the number 1 food I would have put on my "do not eat" list would have been brussel sprouts. Although there are many veggies I'm not keen on eating, that is the only one that makes me throw up. Thank goodness my mom didn't serve it often! YUCK! If there are other things she doesn't care for (beyond the 3 or however many we decide to allow to be on her "list"), I won't mind just giving her a small portion of those, but for now I want her to try a little of everything. She ate carrots and green beans and such without any problem when I was making her baby food from frozen veggies. I hope she does end up liking green beans and carrots as those are the two I serve the most often because Paul and I like both of them.

Then the babysitter arrived around 4pm. We went out to celebrate our 9th anniversary, which will be next Wednesday. I had a coupon for buy one meal get one free for TGIF, plus we have gift cards for that restaurant, so that's where we went. It's funny but there was a span of at least 12 years when I never went to a TGIF and now in the last year I've been several times. The prices at Olive Garden and Red Lobster have gone up a lot in the last few years so we've been going to Applebee's and TGIF more as we also like the food at those places. Paul got his usual - steak and mashed potatoes. I got a salad that had strawberries, pecans, and chicken. It was tasty! I splurged and got dessert. It was too rich (a brownie dessert). In the future I'll stick with their peanut butter pie if I get dessert there. Then we went to Lowe's and bought 12 quart size glass jars for my applesauce making endeavor, 2 gallons of light blue paint for our bedroom, and a garbage disposal for our kitchen. Our last stop was at Target for a new swimming pool for the kids as ours got a hole in it this week. I know that Target and Lowe's aren't exactly romantic places, but it was nice to have 3.5 hours alone with my hubby.

Yay for Sleep!

I am sooooooooooooooooo grateful to be out of the sleep deprivation stage. This week I've had to let Ian cry twice because he's awakened prior to 6am (on Sunday morning he woke up around 4:30 and yesterday morning around 5:00). Both times I let him cry, he then slept in until around 7am! WOW! That definitely reinforced by decision not to let him get up before 6am. It's rather easy to let him cry right now because all I have to do is lie on my left side, and then I can't hear a thing (since I can't hear out of my right ear). Tuesday night was amazing. I did get up at 5am to make sure none of his limbs were outside the crib. He keeps pushing the breathable bumper down and then his arms or legs get stuck. I went back to sleep, and he didn't wake up until 6:55. AMAZING! I can count on one hand the number of times I've been in bed that late over the past two years. Part of what made this a miraculous morning was that Nadia didn't get up until 7:30am. She usually gets up at 6:30. Considering she had gone to bed earlier than usual on Tuesday night (due to the green beans), it was particularly unexpected that she'd sleep in so late. This morning Ian got up at 6:15 and Nadia got up at 6:30. Ian had gone to bed at 7:15 so he slept 11 hours straight! Way to go, Ian! His naps are still usually only 30 minutes long (sometimes as short as 20 minutes!), but at least he's now doing much better at night.

Because Ian usually gets up before Nadia, I've been nursing Ian in our bed right after I get him up. I love that. I went to Walmart yesterday to stock up on formula as we were almost out. Most of the time I don't feel badly about bottle feeding Ian, but buying formula still is a rather emotional experience. I get frustrated because I really, really wanted him to be primarily or exclusively nursed. What I kept reminding myself was that at least he's still getting SOME of my milk every day. Some is better than none! I also remind myself that he'd probably still be a super skinny baby if I wasn't supplementing. I am grateful that he still nurses a few times a day. Hopefully we can continue for four more months!

The fact that Ian is sleeping more means that I have now been staying up later. I am really grateful to no longer need to go to bed at 8pm. I am not a night owl, but I don't like going to bed THAT early. I'd like to go to bed around 9pm, but the last few days I've actually been staying up later than that (last night I went to bed a little after 10pm). Even though I went to bed that "late," I don't feel tired today. PTL! After months of having horrible headaches, it's really great to not feel awful when I get up in the morning. Now that I am getting enough sleep, I want to start working on adding a few things into my weekly routine including exercise. I still need to lose more weight. My class ends next week and then I have two weeks off before the fall semester starts.

3 Green Beans

I've said many times that one area I know I have been delinquent in as a parent has been serving Nadia vegetables over the past year. When she was eating baby food, I had her eat vegetables every day (mostly corn, carrots, green beans, and peas). Over the past year, she had vegetables very infrequently. I am going to try very hard not to make that mistake with Ian. Part of the reason I had my first venture with freezer cooking was because I want Nadia to eat more hot dinners, and I want those to include a vegetable. Last night we all ate dinner together (YAY!). Ian ate a tiny bit of carrots (orange veggies are all I can get him to swallow thus far). Paul, Nadia, and I were having grilled chicken, macaroni & cheese, and green beans. Nadia was shoveling down the macaroni and cheese but wasn't keen on eating the chicken or green beans. I decided to lay down the law and require her to eat 3 small green beans. We started eating a little after 5pm. After many tears at 6:30 she asked if she could go to bed. She had been sitting there refusing to eat any of the green beans that whole time. So I got her ready for bed and she was in her crib about 6:40pm (an hour earlier than usual).

This morning I got out three new green beans from the freezer, warmed them up, and said she had to eat them before she could eat or drink anything else. Many tears ensued. She kept repeating "I don't like beans." After a couple of hours I did offer her some water, but she turned that down. That's something else we need to keep working on. She only likes to drink milk. Anyhow by 11:30 she was obviously rather hungry as it had now been 17.5 hours since she had eaten anything or had any milk. I suggested that I would give her a bite of applesauce with one green bean in it. She ate her three green beans this way. Finally. Then she ate a rather large lunch. She asked for oatmeal for dinner. Since she had eaten 3 green beans for lunch, and since green beans don't really go with oatmeal, I decided not to insist on any veggies for dinner. She does eat fruit every day - bananas, grapes, apples, etc. Tomorrow though I plan to insist again on veggies being eaten. I also am going to start insisting that she eats whatever we're having for dinner (such as chicken). I want her to eat a healthy diet, enjoy a wide variety of foods, and also learn that she needs to obey Mommy and Daddy. Hopefully it won't take 18 hours to get her to eat green beans the next time I serve them. It wasn't pleasant!

Cooler Temps

I am finally fever free for the first time in 10 days. PTL! I'm also able to breathe through my nose again, and I get to wear my contacts tomorrow for the first time in almost a week. I still have a pretty bad cough, and more importantly have very limited hearing. It's so frustrating not to understand what Nadia is saying to me simply because I can't hear and she doesn't understand the concept of speaking louder like Paul does. I am oh so very appreciative of being able to hear right now!!!

It also has been cooler outside, which is something else I have really appreciated! I am not a fan of being outside when it's 90 degrees out unless I am in water. This morning we went for a walk. Both children were very well behaved. What a delight!

Ian has improved with eating solid foods, but the only thing I can get him to eat right now is sweet potatoes. He doesn't want to eat fruit or cereal. I've said many times that he seems to be like his daddy - laughs easily, easy going personality, etc. Paul is a pickier eater than I am. Maybe Ian has inherited that from his Dad? Nadia didn't like to eat solid foods at first, but once she started eating them she ate almost everything I offered her for more than 6 months. She's gotten a bit pickier now, but still she eats almost everything I eat. I hope I can get Ian eating something else in the near future as a boy cannot live on milk and sweet potatoes alone! :-)