I'm so done!

most things about having baby #2 is better ... not the baby himself, but on the parent side of things.  having experienced baby #1 has given me more confidence; I'm smarter and much relaxed about everything.  it feels good.  my boys are very similar - they look alike, both good eaters, good sleepers, early walkers (don't thing that actually means anything, wishful thinking maybe), fiesty, and overall happy kids.

all this is off subject of what I want to vent about ... I'm so done nursing this baby!!

with baby #1, we hung onto that feeding right before bed for awhile.  I think he was 15 months or so.  I'm a huge breastfeeding advocate, and I strongly believe every mom should do it if possible.  there are just sooooo many benefits!

baby #2 turns out to be a biter!  I don't know if it's because he got his teeth later than "normal" or what.  typically babies will get their first 2 at about 4 mos (right?), but he got all 4 at 9 months.  what a week that was, actually is was a few weeks ... that was not fun for anyone.

I've sternly told him no.  I've stopped nursing and set him down on the floor, I guess kind of like a time out.  I've smacked his hand - lightly, but enough to get his attention.  I've pretended to cry in front of him.  I don't know what else to do to make him stop.

a couple days ago was the last straw; he bite me so hard it made me bleed. OUCH!  does that give you shivers or what?!

he's 11 months now, and when he turns 1 year he can drink cow's milk and eat whatever.  1 month and I'm done; I've officially decided.  

today, I've started the process.  I nursed him when he woke up and right before bed, so just twice ... compared to 5x just yesterday.  he was VERY upset with me at his morning naptime, but otherwise did pretty good the rest of the day, considering.

my poor boobs!  lanolin is my newest best friend.

if you have any weaning tips, PLEASE send them my way!!

I scream, You scream

for ice cream of course!

you've probably heard this already ... but just in case you've been under a rock or something, let me give you some yummy news!

Baskin Robbins is having their 31 cent scoop night this Wednesday, 04/29.  click here to find a location near you.

whoo hoo, I'm there!

sweet tooth

specials for 4/21

who loves iced coffee?  

check out Dunkin' Donuts, iced coffee for 50 cents!

10% of every sale goes to supporting our troops.

who loves ice cream?

go to Ben & Jerry's  for a FREE scoop!

enjoy!

my people

we're all from the mid-west, but moved to sunny, southern CA about 12 years ago.  my sister and I both met our hubby's there and eventually moved away.  she went back to WI and I went ... all over the place!!

my parents never ever want to see snow again and haven't owned a real winter jacket in years, but they took a chance and came out for a visit in March.  turns out they came the only beautiful week we've had in the entire 6 months we've been here; they lucked out!

we haven't all been together in years, at least 3.  seems strange to see "your people" everyday, then go years without.

so I set up pictures ... at Target of all places!  1 more reason for me to love Target!

fyi - the downside to their portrait studio is that it took 10 days to get them back.  so if you're in no rush, go for it!  you can get a coupon on their website too.

getting this done with my side of the family means we'll be getting one done of hubby's side of the family.  now if only our parents could get along long enough, we could get one big shot together ... simply not gonna happen.  guess I'll just have to put them right next to each other on the wall.  ha!

snowy Easter

in Colorado, mother nature is a little confused!  it has been snowing since I woke up this morning.  can you see the size of those snowflakes?!  they were huge!

 

I told Sam that the Easter Bunny, along with Santa Claus, 

shows up to help celebrate Jesus.  Santa gives us gifts in honor of Jesus' birth, just like the wise men gave gifts.  and the 

Easter Bunny hides eggs and gives gifts also to honor Jesus and the resurrection.

I do not know how a bunny and eggs got involved with Jesus.  do you?  somehow, Santa and Jesus work for me.

I don't mind playing the games that come along with holidays, just as long as they know the REAL reason too.

I sent Sam on a scavenger hunt, ending with his basket in the dryer!  I did a hunt last year too; it's a hit! all you do is cut out pictures from old magazines of things you have in your house.  for example, I found an apple, so in the fridge I put a few eggs and on one taped a picture of the next clue, which was a bookshelf.  so off to the bookshelf to find more eggs and the next clue, a picture of a toothbrush, so off to the bathroom ... you get the point.  here are the boys with all those plastic eggs.  I put jelly beans in some, pennies in some, and left others empty.  the fun is the hunt itself!

I also made a bunny cake.  last year's turned out much better (you'll just have to believe me on that one)

 but this one is recognizable ... right?  it was yummy none-the-less.

Happy Easter ... that is ... Happy Resurrection Day!!

easy giving

I have the tendency to hang onto old magazines; there is so much information in them, it's hard to just throw them away.

I recently came across one from Christmas time and found some great resources for anytime of the year.  whatever the economy, we shop simply because there are things we need, and it's the things we want that need to be under control!

so since your going to shop anyway, check these out -

here you will be able to shop many major retailers, while a portion is donated to a non-profit organization of your choice!  over 20,000 to choose from!

here you can shop and 35% will go to the charity of your choice.

and here you can purchase pre-paid visa or mastercard gift cards, and 10% goes to a charity of choice.

happy shopping!

reduce, reuse, recycle

I need to shower everyday, not only to be clean, but it wakes me up in the morning.  it always feels good to turn it on nice and hot, and just stand there.

you know how your thought process is so fast, you begin thinking of one thing that leads to another and another and another?  it doesn't necessarily make sense, but with your own experiences, associations, and triggers it leads you to an a-ha moment of some kind.

so I'm standing in the shower and my thoughts to go recycling and living green.  what else can I do to make a difference?  see, I believe one person can make a difference.  honestly I don't always want it to be me, but I also know my kids watch me and I believe being an example is essential.

so just standing there in the shower with all that lovely hot water at my disposal, I think of all those documentaries I've seen on families going to the river to wash their clothes, to bathe only once in awhile, to not have filtered drinking water, and not enough water to grow food.  can you imagine living like that?  think of that next time you're in the shower.

currently I'm recycling everything that I can - plastic, aluminum, tin, paper, cardboard, glass - not necessarily to make money.  have you watched shows on recycling?  I think it's pretty amazing how one thing can turn into something else entirely!  when the ground isn't so hard, I'm going to start a compost.  did you know you can just dig a hole in the ground and have it there?  how easy!  we also plan to grow some veggies this summer; again, we have to wait until the last frost.  I would like to get a clothesline in the backyard to eliminate the dryer on most days.  I only use lights if I need them.  I save any plastic grocery bags, to either recycle back at the store or reuse them for 100's of different things.  and I'm trying to get in the habit of bringing my reusable plastic Costco bag everywhere I go; they're huge and work for everything.  what do you do to live greener?

Earth Day is coming up on 4/22.  similar to Valentine's Day where you should tell your honey you love them everyday, you should liver greener daily too, not just one day in the spring.  the boys and I will be on litter patrol that day in a local park.  I'm sure there is a park clean-up in your area too, if not, then you start one!

playdough

I just made playdough for the very first time and I must say it was so so easy!  if your little ones love playing with playdough, try making it yourself before you go buy more.  I think it's much better than the store-bought stuff; it's smooth and doesn't have that smell.

mix the following ingredients in a big 6 quart pot.  cook on low heat.  stir constantly until it thickens and forms a ball, you know, the consistency of playdough!

2C flour

2C water

1C salt

4tsp cream of tartar

4tbsp veggie oil

once done, take it out and knead it.  depending on how many different colors you want, divide it up and add any food coloring.

this is very simple and easy so the kids can help make it too.  try it out and let me know how you like it.  enjoy!

look what I found

so looks like I'm in trouble!  no Elliott did not open the fridge himself, but his accomplice did.  I have a feeling there will be plenty more of this tag-teaming.

he didn't grab anything this time, but I'm going to move the eggs anyway!

side note - when these type of pictures are taken, do you look at the food in the fridge?  or is it just me?  I suppose now, you're looking, right?

Elliott was almost 1/2 up the stairs when Sam and I discovered him.  scary!  as you can see, the stairs continue past the wall, so I can't really put up a gate there.  there is one at the top of the stairs, but now while we're downstairs, I guess I need to start watching him a bit better!

I miss having a 1 story house - partly because I'm lazy, but also I hate having to worry about the boys falling.  we're not the most graceful bunch around here!

my favorite word

bittersweet

it's not as fun to say as other words are

- like sassafrass! -

but for me, it's the meaning.

life is full of bittersweet moments

good and bad, highs and lows

I just took Sam to school today.  we found, in my opinion, THE perfect school for him.  if it was up to just me, I'd have him go to this school up through highschool, Elliott too.  he's beginning now because it's time for him to start something.  he's been ready for school for awhile now ... I've been ready for it too!  he's smart and wants to learn, social and wants to play, and now that he's finally a big boy, it's time.  all sport activities begin later on this spring and summer, but besides that we figure, what better place to put our money than into this school.  so we asked and we received! we got approval to finish out the remainder of the school year.  whoo hoo!  so that's the sweet part.

I dropped him off knowing he was in good hands ... but I cried on the way home.  I don't know if it's a mom thing or a parent thing, but it's on the verge of heartbreaking how fast our kids grow up.  now that he's in school, he'll be in school for what seems like forever.  it's just a big part to letting go.  I miss him already.  this is the bitter part.

Elliott is doing great, although I have the same bittersweet feeling for him.  he's cutting 4 teeth pretty much at the same time, so he hasn't been the most pleasant baby.  he won't quit biting me while nursing, so I want to stop, but he's not a year yet to drink regular milk.  why put him on a bottle with formula for less than 2 months?  bitter bitter bitter

on the other hand, he's so darn cute.  he'll be walking soon; I've caught him standing by himself for about 5 or so seconds, he's a pro at "furniture walking."  he laughs.  he loves his brother.  LOVES  bathtime, just like Sam did.  he's starting to point at things.  says dada a lot, and says mama only when he's crying and crawling to me in desperation.  good eater, good sleeper.  growing just as fast as he can.  all this is so so sweet.  to see all his milestones is truly priceless.

I find many things of God are bittersweet.  you go through many tests and trials, only to come to this shining light at the end of your tunnel.  His plan is always for the good of the kingdom, I believe that.  no matter how bitter, the sweet always comes.

love your kids, they won't be kids for long

it may seem like it will take forever for them to grow up, but it truly doesn't

may God bless every parent with sweetness,

because YOU have an amazing job to do

gotta go now, Elliott is crying with a very poopy diaper

oh joy!  priceless, right?

operator error

wow.  I haven't blogged in awhile.

I've come to realize that I don't blog/journal to process, but only to vent.  I'm very introvert, so when something is going on, I keep it inside.  I was once taught this is bad and toxic.  I agree, it definitely can be toxic, if you keep it bottled up.  you're then a ticking time bomb ... and that's who I used to be.

so I'm not bottled up (not to be confused with being constipated!) but I don't necessarily want to air my dirty laundry here for you all to read.  it would make me feel like you're reading a gossip magazine ... not that my life compares, but you know what I mean.

I initially said this is my blog to vent whatever ... but turns out that's harder than I thought.  I guess for now, it will stay a "happy blog."  one day I'll get some you-know-whats and say what I really want to say.  one day.

updates on the family to come ... I'm trying to get my scanner to work ... I'm sure it's operator error!