Jealousy

Have I mentioned before that Michael is jealous of Elli?  Well he is.  Just like how all siblings are jealous of each other.  Well Michael was jealous that because Elli made such a mess eating she got a bath when he didn't.  I turned to throw her diaper away and this happened

I can't really blame him, he just wanted to play in the tub too.  I'll just wait until they are teenagers and want none of my attention, then the jealousy will end.

22

Last week I turned 22.  So old, I know :)

Since mine and my mom's birthdays' are a week apart, we celebrated on the night of her birthday by going out to dinner.  It was a fun dinner and the kids weren't too crazy.  Then again, I've apparently learned how to successfully tune them out, so who knows if they were crazy or not.

The day of my birthday wasn't too exciting.  Except my dad took me and the kids to lunch, which was a really fun outing!  Michael loves his Grandpa, and his truck.  The truck wasn't there but Michael kept asking for it every few minutes.  We laughed at Elli eating faster than we could tear up chicken tenders and fries.  It was fun to spend time with Grandpa.  Josh had to work and had a late class so we didn't see much of each other.

Last Saturday my parents watched the kids so we could go to dinner and a movie.  We went to the Mandarin, a great Chinese place in Bountiful.  Then we headed to The Hobbit.  I really wanted to see the second Hunger Games, but there wasn't a good show time, so Josh got to see the movie he's been wanting to see for a while now.  It was pretty good, except pregnant me really wanted to fall asleep the whole time.

Josh got me Ticket to Ride Europe for my Birthday.  We've played twice now.  We had to change the rules so that the game went faster, but it's been fun.  Also, despite how competitive we can be, no one has slept on the couch yet.

Overall it's been a good Birthday.

On my last Birthday I wrote a list of 22 things I wanted to do before I turned 22 and was shocked to see that I've done about half (originally I thought I'd only done two or three).  I've been thinking I should write up a list for next year, but maybe I'll make the tasks a little simpler.  Like #1 have a baby - can't really avoid this one!

The big boy bed

A week or two ago we took of one side of Michael crib and converted it into a toddler bed.

We have a little checklist of things we need to get done before the new baby comes.  Here are the main points:

• Get Michael out of his crib so we have a bed for the new baby
• Get Michael potty trained
• Get Elli to sleep through the night

Potty training might not happen.  I think he needs another 6 months.  He's great at telling us when he has gone, but not when he needs to go.

Elli is partially sleeping through the night.  We have given up this one until we are in our house.  It's too hard with loud neighbors and paper thin walls.  

So we decided to change Michael's bed.  It has gone fairly well.  He sleeps great at night without a problem.  Nap time can be difficult though.  Some days he lays down without a problem and goes right to sleep.  Other days I hear him playing with toys, opening and closing his dresser drawers, and playing with his diaper pail.  I have to get him, put him back in bed, and listen to him scream for a good ten minutes before he either goes to sleep or starts playing again.  This has been difficult because only 3 months ago he still took two naps a day, now we fight him to take one.  He still needs his nap, I just wish he realized that.  

I think he likes his bed though.  When he's looking through a book or doing a puzzle I tell him to get on his bed so Elli can't steal puzzle pieces or turn the page to soon.  He seems to like having a little space of his own.  Once he gets a little taller we'll get him his own twin bed, but he seems to like his little bed.

Tired

Some days you are just tired, like I've been every day.  I've been falling asleep everywhere, like in the car, any comfy seat, and laying on the floor while the kids play around me and climb on top of me.  Josh so lovingly pointed out to me once that I'm not a cute sleeper.  That's okay, my children are.  That, or they are hilarious when you find them sleeping in weird positions.  Like this:

She was sitting up in her crib and fell asleep leaning forward against her bumpers

Why can't we all be this adorable when we are tired and fall asleep in weird places?

Oh primary

Josh and I teach a CTR 6 class, so a bunch of kids that are mostly 7 now, all but one.  They don't usually listen during class or sharing time.  Some of them are really quite smart while others make me wonder a little.  Despite my wonderings, I wasn't prepared for this conversation.

Me: Do any of you know why we refer to Jesus as our older brother?

*blank stares from all of the kids*

Me:  No?  Well he is the oldest spirit/soul.  He was the first Heavenly Father created.  Then he created the rest of you

(I'll just assume this child was thinking about how old Santa was)

Kid #1:  So Santa and Jesus are the same person?

Me:  .....no?

Kid #2:  Really?  But they do the same thing!

Me:  No, I guarantee you they don't.

Baby, oh baby

I'm sure most of you already know this, but we are expecting baby #3!  I wanted to announce it in some cute way...but let's face it, I still haven't uploaded the pictures from Michael's birthday a month ago, so there is no hope for me to do it in some cute way.  I'm just too exhausted.

Anyways...I've gotten a lot of questions about this pregnancy and about other things in our life that I thought I'd address (now I can just refer people to the blog instead of answering the same questions!).

• When am I due?  I do not have a due date yet.  I will find out next Monday.  Some time at the very end of June, maybe beginning of July.
• Am I having twins?  Okay, I ask this, no one else does.  I'm huge.  Yes, huge!!!  I look like I'm 20 weeks pregnant instead of the ~10 weeks I am.  I can also feel my uterus...it's slightly above my belly button, which is quite big.  So no, I will just assume no twins.  I'm just huge. 
• How much have I gained?  To go along with being huge.  I've gained 4 pounds this far.  Not much, and most of that is probably because of 1) the holidays 2) I'm working less 3) I don't go to the gym much anymore because I'm too busy sleeping.  
• Where are we having this baby?  At home.  I've found a midwife who works with my insurance and I'm seeing her.  We're planning a home water-birth in a blow-up tub.  Josh wasn't exactly on board with it at first.  He wanted us to try a midwife, but didn't know about having it at home.  He's decided that I get to win this battle (smart man) as long as I promise to not get anything on the carpet.  
• Was this baby planned?  Yes, and no.  To me trying for a baby involves counting days and maybe taking temperatures.  I didn't have any day to go off of.  But we weren't preventing.  I was almost finished breastfeeding and was about to get on birth control when I decided to take a pregnancy test just in case.  I was surprised when it came back positive, but not shocked.
• How can we afford this baby?  You'd be surprised how often I get asked this question.  It might be mostly because all of our kids are close together.  Maybe because Josh is still in school?  No idea, but I'll enlighten you a little.  First off, we are building a house and paying the down payment right now, but our apartment is fairly cheap.  Second, we no longer have a car payment (even though we might need a new car sooner than later thanks to a little accident last night).  Third, we haven't had a vacation in almost 3 years.  Where do you go with babies??  When we first found out I was pregnant with Michael Josh found a full-time job with insurance.  He's worked full-time ever since.  His job pays well right now, even though he doesn't have a degree yet.  It helps that he chose engineering.  I've been working a little bit to get some bills paid off and have some extra spending money.  We are also going with a midwife for a reason.  Our deductable is very, very high, and a midwife is very, very cheap.  
• Can we take care of another baby?  Well we seem to do fine now with 2.  I manage when Josh is at work and class.  He manages when I'm working.  We are used to being outnumbered.  Sure, it will take adjusting, it always does, but we will figure it out.
• Is Josh living up to his new nickname, Josh Duggar?  No.  I'm thinking 3 is my number.  Josh is thinking 4.  I told him if I do have twins then we are officially done.  We both love babies, but I get very sick and unable to function.  
• Girl or boy?  I'm leaning towards boy, Josh towards girl.  Either way, we are not finding out.  I want a surprise this time.  Plus, we already have everything for either one so why bother?

Recent Talkings

(I did write Michael's birthday post on his birthday...but I haven't yet taken the pictures off of my camera so it is coming eventually!)

Here are a few of the funny things Michael has said lately

Michael:  Cars?  Trucks?
Me:  Yes, there are cars and trucks.  They are picking up people from school.  During the day these people go to school.
Michael:  People go school!

Ever since then I've heard endlessly about people going to school.  When I say we are going shopping Michael says, "no, people go school".  This lead to another conversation...

Michael:  Daddy?
Me:  Daddy's at work
Michael:  Daddy go class?  Daddy go school?  People go school!
Me:  Daddy is at work today.  He has class tonight.  Yes, people go to school.
Michael:  (horrified) Elli go school
Me:  Elli is too little to go to school
Michael:  Ok, Michael go school
Me:  You are too little, too.  You are two, you go to school when you are three, almost four.
Michael:  Five!  Michael go school!


This next conversation now happens every time I need to change Michael's diaper.  I can say that I'm proud he's learned to count, even though it took me threatening him with time out...
Me:  Michael diaper change
Michael: NOOOOO!
Me:  Michael come lay on your pad now
Michael:  No diaper change!
Me:  Come on
Michael: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!
Me:  Really?  Just come lay down!
Michael:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5!
Me:  1, 2, 3
Michael:  Come here!
Me:  Come here now!
Michael:  Time out?
Me:  4, if I get to 5 you go to time out
(Michael runs over to me happily and lays down)
Michael:  5!
Me:  We didn't get to 5, you laid down before we got to 5
Michael:  NOOOO! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!


Michael has a little piano that has 5 keys that are numbered with different colors.  He can set it to the piano mode or the learning mode which tells you the number on the keys and the color.  You can also change the language on it.
(Michael picks up some of his colored puzzle piece shapes and hands me a yellow one)
Michael:  Jaune
Me:  Yes, jaune, where is vert?
(Michael hand me the green piece)
Me:  Good job!  How about bleu?
Josh:  What the crap are you saying?
Me:  Michael knows his colors in French
Josh:...Michael where is the yellow piece?
(Michael hand him the green piece)
Josh:  No, that's green, how about blue?
(Michael hands him the yellow piece)
Josh:  No, that's yellow, buddy.  Why are you teaching him colors in French if he doesn't know them in English?
Me:  I'm not!  Michael turns his piano to French mode and gets upset if I turn it to English.  So now he knows his colors in French.
Michael:  Mama, rouge!  (handing me a red piece)
Me:  Yup buddy!  Good job!
Josh:  What have you done to our son?

Two

Aww, two is finally upon us.  Or better yet, another birthday is upon us!  It seems so recent that we celebrated Michael turning one...

While so much has changed, so much hasn't as well.  He's still our cute little guy.  He still loves cuddles and back scratches.  When new situations occur he is always cautious, then dives head into whatever it is.  He loves singing, especially pat-a-cake, head shoulders knees and toes, and a little hello song with clapping.  He loves naps and milk.  Water is still his favorite thing, the bath has always been a go-to, but he loves pools, water slides, and sinks.  Elli is still his favorite person (even though she technically didn't come around until he was 14 months).  So not much has changed that way.

Now for things that have changed.  Michael speaks all the time, ALL THE TIME.  It's actually hard to get him to quite down for a few minutes, but he's always been hard to quite down.  He has learned to listen and help around the house.  He loves the trash.  Whenever I change Elli's diaper he puts it in the trash.  Whenever he sees a wrapper on the ground he puts it in the trash.  He loves to sweep, even our carpet.  The hamper is always full of some dirty, but mostly clean clothes he has pulled out of his drawer and added so he can help.  The dishes and laundry are his favorite.  When he needs a diaper change he informs me and then lies down on his pad.  He loves people.  Anyone and everyone, from the family members and friends he asks for all day to the random people at the grocery store he says hello to.  If he hears anyone saying good-bye, he will also say it.  He loves the park and the slides, he has slowly grown out of running straight to the slide and started looking around to see what else the park has to offer.  He loves grass and snow, stomping leaves, and playing with dirt.  Our favorite place to go to is the zoo, and he has a book at home of all the animals and can point a lot of them out.  He can't decide if he prefers the giraffe, the rhino, the elephant, or the polar bear.  His favorite toys are his Lego's, which he even sleeps with.

A lot of this has changed in the last year because he wasn't walking then, but now he is.  And running everywhere.  Oh, and skipping, marching, and as of today, hopping.  He also spins around in circles on demand.  He dances by shuffling his feet really fast, shaking his head, and swinging his hips.  He climbs all furniture and chairs, any way he can.  He climbs my dresser by pulling out drawers and then climbing into them.  He runs away with my shoes, spoons, and utinsels, and hides them from me.

He is a cute little guy and we love him very much.  His baby is fading a little more every day.  We see his stomach going away, his arms and legs thinning and getting longer, and his facial features become more defined as the days go by.  He has a head full of hair and a mouthful of teeth.  Next year he won't have any baby left to him.  I'll try not to focus on that too much and enjoy everything new he's accomplishing.

Happy Second Birthday Michael!

Michael with his partner in crime, Max

11/11/11

Two years ago today I begged for the little baby inside of me to come out.  Prayed.  Then begged the doctor to induce me.  Yes, I wanted an 11/11/11 baby.   But that wasn't the only reason.  Mostly I just wanted a baby.  I wanted to sleep more than 5 minutes without having to pee.  I wanted to roll over in bed without asking Josh to push me.  I wanted to walk without waddling.  

So I prayed some more.   Then begged some more.  I had an appointment that morning, so I asked my doctor as logically as possible to induce me.

First off, I had PUPPPS, which he usually induced people for.  At that point he looked in my chart and realized he had never written down that I had PUPPPS.  Nice.

Secondly, to have enough time to recover I really needed to have the baby on a Friday so I could have the help at home over the weekend.

Third, I had extra fluid, possible IUGR, a possible infection (which I did, why don't people believe me when I say my water partially broke, it can happen!), was on partial bed-rest, and had a subchorionic hematoma.  At this point I needed a whole hospital staff to deliver this baby (instead I only had a nurse when he was born).

Fourth, and extra important.  I was dilated to a 4, A 4!!!  I had been for 3 weeks.  So technically I had been in labor for 3 weeks already, so let's get this thing over with.  Isn't that what hospitals are known for?  Pushing labor as quickly as possible.

Fifth, and probably most important.  I had two due dates.  One on 11/13/11 and the other on 11/20/11.  Ummm, with how massive I was shouldn't you error on the side of caution and assume I'm almost due anyways?

He laughed and walked out of the room.  Never to be seen again.  Okay, well he showed up when the hospital discharged me, but I kinda wish I'd never seen him again.


My plans were spoiled.  Massively spoiled.  Josh worked late that night and I went on a long walk.  Okay, so I walked for a half hour and only went about a mile.  You should have seen the stares I got from passing cars.  I was surprised none of them stopped and asked if I needed a ride to the hospital.  I was crying when Josh came home.  No, crying doesn't cut it, bawling.

Poor, poor, poor Josh.  He did what any good husband would do, he took me to dinner.  To an authentic Mexican place.  He lured me by saying that spicy food could help.  Then he found funny shows to watch convincing me that I could laugh it out.  Or maybe if I laughed hard enough my water would break.  If you had to ask then you don't know a very pregnant me very well, yes, I cried myself to sleep.

Little did I know when I sat down to eat my tamales that I was 12 hours away from going to the hospital, and 20 hours away from having a baby.  Here is a little bit about Michael's birth.  A lot of things went wrong.  But I'll never forget how small he was when I first held him.  Happy almost Birthday buddy.  I'll write a post only about you tomorrow.

How?

See what's in his crib?  It's a play mat.  In the very edge of the picture you can see the bottom of Elli's crib, it is perpedicular to Michael's.  The play mat was folded behind it.  I put them down for a nap in their room together.  Not my smartest idea, I know.  But I had stuff to do and they were both tired.  After a half hour I couldn't figure out why neither one was sleeping.  I walked in on this.  A happy boy with a play mat unfolded in his bed (however he reached it and got it in there) and a grumpy girl who wanted to play with the toys hanging from the mat.

They don't take naps together anymore, no matter what.

Where have the shoes gone?

Lately we've had a big problem in our house.  We've been unable to find shoes anywhere.  We'll find one in the living room and another under our bed.  Sometimes one will be in the bathroom.  It's not uncommon to find one in the kids room hidden under a pile of legos.  Why would we have the problem?  Well this is why:

He wears our shoes around day and night.  He even tried on some of Elli's shoes but was quickly frustrated and gave that up.  Some days I'll hear him whining and asking for shoes, I'll go find him and see that he is having a problem walking while wearing one of my shoes and one of Josh's shoes.
It's a real dilemma for this little guy.

Thankfully he hasn't tried my heels yet.  I'll just keep the doctor on speed-dial for whenever that happens.

Moops

Michael loves spoons, or moops as he calls them.  He has one he stole from a picnic set from my grandmas house and he won't go anywhere without it (he will only leave the spoon if he has two legos instead).  I'll be doing dishes after lunch and I'll find him stealing dirty spoons out of the dishwasher to eat the rest of his lunch with....yeah gross.  Josh and I find our measuring spoons hidden in his room.  Thankfully we have 6+ sets of them.  If this wasn't enough to convince you of Michael's love affair with moops, I photographed it

Oh Today...

It all started when Elli had a blowout diaper.  I decided to put her in the tub.  Well Michael wanted to get in too, so he dived head first into the tub, fully clothed.  I caught him mid-dive before he smacked his head.  It doesn't help that ten minutes before this whole thing started Michael dumped at least 20oz. of water on the carpet in my room.

Then he started trying to bathe her, all while sucking on the washcloth while doing it.  

Don't worry, Elli had her own toy to suck on.

Then he kept making her laugh.  Unfortunately Elli is a little camera shy, but here is what kept happening.  

When Michael got bored of bathing her he thought he'd bathe me, again, fully clothed.  He would stick his hands in the water and then rub them on my jeans.

Sometimes I'm so frustrated, but I still have to laugh at these kids.

Halloween

I know, I know, I'm behind on this.  Last week was so busy and hopefully this week slows down a little.

Here are my cute kids

Michael is woody, even though he wouldn't wear the hat.  Elli is a cute spider.  I think her eyes might be bigger than the eyes on the hat...

Like usual we went to my sisters house and had dinner then went trick-or-treating in her neighborhood.  Michael has learned all about candy now.  He kept asking for a cookie or a treat all night, and still is if he catches a glimpse of his candy.  Currently it's sitting on my kitchen counter with a dish towel over it so he doesn't see it and ask for it every 5 seconds.  Poor boy, all I let him have was some marshmallows and suckers.  I'm thinking I'll save the rest of his candy to bribe my primary class.  This little guy doesn't need any more sugar, I can't keep up with him now.

Next year he will probably want to pick out his own costume.  Hopefully he loves Toy Story because we can just reuse the costume.  I bought the shirt big so he can wear it as a church shirt for the next year...okay, he's so little, maybe the next 2 years.  Maybe by then he'll be able to say "there's a snake in my boot".

To Milk, Sleep, and Dry Diapers!

Milk-drunk baby pictures are always some of the sweetest.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

She just wanted to cry.
He just wanted to tickle her.
She didn't know what to think.
He knew to go straight for her toes.
She smiled at him.
He laughed.
She kicked him.
He laughed harder.
She got annoyed and started crying again.
Rinse.  Repeat.

What my blogging teaches my kids....

If I can sit in front of my computer seemingly doing nothing, they can sit in front of their computer seemingly doing nothing as well.

What we do for toys

Sometimes a girl just wants to play with her toys...even if it means dumping the whole basket on herself and getting stuck in it.

The Pumpkin Patch

So we went to a pumpkin patch....3 weeks ago.  Josh was awesome and uploaded the pictures from our camera when he realized I hadn't in over a month.  Thanks honey!

Back to the pumpkin patch.  It was a fun little outing, but the mosquitos were crazy the day we went.  We were only there for fifteen minutes.  They had a maze that Michael wanted to go through, but he got upset when he discovered there wasn't a slide at the end of it.  Why did he think there was a slide at the end of it?  Well he's a toddler, and toddlers must think that mommy and daddy wouldn't take them somewhere unless it had a slide.  That would be so cruel wouldn't it?

Michael wanted to be pulled around in the cart

We got Michael one pumpkin, but we have yet to carve it.  The last month has been a little hectic.  We will probably carve it on Sunday.  Yup, we are very behind.  That means the holiday season has officially begun.

If you haven't noticed

On the side of my blog is a picture of two lovely people hoping to adopt a baby, Karissa and Jayson.  They are not able to have children on their own, and adoption is the right way for them to go.

As many of you may know, adoption is a painfully slow process.  They have a profile on the LDS Family Services website.  These great people have done everything they can, and are now just waiting, and waiting.  If you know anyone who is thinking about placing a baby up for adoption, please have them check out the profile, and you can even read her blog here.

At times I've wondered why some people cannot get pregnant and others find it impossible to prevent it.  The only conclusion I've come to is that whatever our trials are, we end up the better for it.

In my case, I know I can be a very selfish person.  Some of that I blame on age, but the rest I just have to blame on me and deal with it.  For me, having kids has been a bigger trial than not having kids.  I've learned more patience than I could ever imagine.  I've learned more about unconditional love than anything else in my life has taught me.  Most importnantly, I've learned about putting other people above my wants and needs.  Or at least that's what I call it when I'm feeding Elli baby food, trying to do the dishes, making Michael eat his vegetables, and then realize I haven't had a bite of food.

In the case of Karissa and Jayson, I know they will be amazing parents.  I've heard other people remark that it's a shame the adoption process is taking so long because they would be incredible parents.  They are loving and caring in ways that I can only dream of.  I think because they will be such amazing parents is why they've had this trial.  Karissa will put me to shame as a mother, without a doubt.  I'm more than willing to let that happen as soon as possible.

So please, if you know someone thinking about adoption, please tell them about this amazing couple!

A Day In The Life: Elli

I wake up to the sound of the front door closing.  Daddy must have gone off to work again.  Should I cry?  No, I have better things to do.  Like chew on the side of my crib.  This wood tastes so good.  I hear movement so mom must be up and coming to get me soon.  She will walk in and make fun of me being a beaver, whatever that is.  She walks into the kitchen and I hear the water going.  She must be making me a bottle!  I'm trying to tell her how hungry I am, but she just says "oh, don't cry it's okay."  Just give me the bottle!  Some days she just doesn't get it.  She finally brings me my bottle and I chow down on 5 oz of iron-tasting milk formula.  Yum.

As I'm eating I keep thinking about how great today is going to be, then I hear my brother running into the room.  No, I don't hear him running, I hear him screaming my name over and over again as loud as he can as he runs into the room.  I'm trying to concentrate here Michael!  He runs up to me and bangs his head against mine, the usual greeting from him.  It hurts, but I know he means well.  When he tells mommy repeatedly that I'm drinking my bottle (and driving her a little crazy) I can't help but smile and laugh.  Formula starts dripping from my chin and mommy takes my bottle away, but I'm not done with it!!  I cry until she gives it back.

During breakfast I'm stuck in my high chair watching everyone eating good food.  On top of all of this I have to listen to Michael scream every time I get a good bite of anything.  I love my brother, but some days I would like to eat in peace, or do anything in peace.

After breakfast we play in Michael's room while mommy reads Harry Potter to us.  Don't tell anyone this, but I think she does it so she doesn't have to sing patty-cake to Michael twenty times.

Mommy puts me down for my nap in my crib.  Before I can sleep I have to roll over and chew on the post just a little bit more.

"Mama go lunch!  Mama go bye-bye!  Elli!  Go Elli!" wakes me up from my nap, and every nap.  Mommy comes in and gives me a warm bottle.  It helps calm my nerves while Michael runs around screaming.  Half-way through my bottle he comes over and puts his face right next to mine, he tries to whisper (but really shouts) "Elli sleeping?"  Mommy tells him no and he shushes her.  Mommy gets annoyed but I think it's funny.  Michael can be a funny big brother.

After lunch we run errands.  No one seems to understand how boring it is to be facing backwards.  I can't see or do anything.  Most days, like today, I pull off my socks and start chewing on them.  Mom always gets upset at that.  It seems like we are never done, then the next thing I know I'm waking up to the smell of dinner.  At some point I must have fallen asleep in the car.

We're all gathered around the table and daddy is home.  This meal smells like it will be amazing!  I'm all ready for my plate when I see mom pull out...can't you guess?  The most boring food in the world, baby food.  Sometimes I wish my parents understood what I was saying because they don't seem to understand my screams.  This is so frus- oh, that's apples!  And a think a hint of chicken.  Oh, and they bought me the dessert peach cobbler again!  Wait, what was I saying?  Haha, Michael doesn't get any dessert, all he had was rice because he wouldn't eat his carrots.

After dinner daddy plays with us, which usually means we end up watching some tv show while he plays peek-a-boo with me.  I'm awesome at peek-a-boo, I can always get the blanket off of my head.  Wait, is that a binky??  I can see it hiding under the couch, I can almost reach it.  WAAAHHH!  Daddy rushes to grab me but it's too late, I've already hit my head.  Michael comes over and sits by me, giving me kisses and hugs.  He does annoy me sometimes, but I love the hugs and kisses.  At that point daddy says it's time for bed.  He gives me a warm bottle and lays me down.  It's been a decent day, a normal day, but decent.  Maybe tomorrow I can have pineapple upside down cake...humm, I wonder if they side of my crib tastes like pineapple upside down cake.

Just for a smile

I smile every time I look at this funny picture.  She's sure cute!

Week's Worth of Groceries

Have any of you seen this picture on pintrest before?

Sorry I can't make it any bigger, but here's a link.  It really interested me to see what some of these cultures eat and drink.  I laughed when I got to Germany and saw all of that beer.  When I saw Japan I thought maybe most of that bagged stuff was tofu, but that would be a lot of tofu.  I expected to see more of...well anything from France.  I pictured more bread and wine.

So I thought I'd compare my week with the week from the US.  The only thing I left out is 2-3 meals out a week for Josh or the kids and I (since we rarely go out together).  

Yes, I know that's a lot of tomatoes, I'm making homemade tomato sauce.  

What's funny is that Elli's portion is the smallest and probably the most expensive, but I'll blame that on the formula.  See the bananas, apples, and grapes?  Well if you picture that with the whole milk, half the eggs, half the cheese, and the bread, you have Michael's food for the week.  You might think I'm joking, but I'm not.  That fruit might not even last the whole week with him.  

Originally I was going to write this post to say that I don't think these pictures are really accurate.  Then I realized they probably are.  If you look at the US family, take away the pizzas, chips, and soda, and then add a couple fast food meals to my picture they look similar.  I don't have as much food as they do, but my kids are just that: kids.  They are not teenage boys.  When Michael is a teenager half of my table will be devoted to him, and I'll need a much bigger table.  

Anyone else want to do this and see if they don't fit the stereotype?

Bath Time

We love bath time around here.  The kids love splashing each other and chewing on the bath toys.  Josh and I love the break from all the crankiness that happens after 6pm every day.

Now this video doesn't show then getting too crazy, but it does show a little of the splashing and laughing.

More Cheese

As a mom I think a lot about what my kids eat.  As a crazy health nut I'm constantly thinking oh no, you can't eat that!  That has too much salt for a little kid.  No more crack-a-wahs (Michael's way of saying crackers)!  Then I'm looking up homemade, organic recipes.  Like my homemade chicken broth, but that stuff tastes awesome.  Also, being a health freak doesn't mean I can't eat cheesecake whenever it's in sight, health rules don't apply to the amazingness of cheesecake.

Some days I decide to give up and let Michael enjoy food.  Or I'm too lazy to make anything.

Like this little beauty.  Michael didn't need freshly steamed veggies on brown rice, or salmon with mashed cauliflower, he needed crackers with cold pepperoni and cheese.

Oh, and an apple.  I have to feel a little better about the meal.  Of course Michael didn't like the pepperoni.  So he just ate the cheese and a couple crackers.  Then he asked for more and more cheese.  I guess he inherited that trait from both parents.  We were hoping it skipped a generation.  Cheese is really expensive at the rate we go through it.

We also have another cheese lover here.  I offered her cheese and puffs, she went for the cheese.

Don't think the steamed veggies and salmon happen at lunch here very often.  They happen maybe once a week if I'm feeling productive or guilty.  The guilt that comes when I realize Michael's had a peanut butter sandwich for lunch the last 4 days in a row....  The health nut in me wishes they happened more often, but who has the time?

Being a parent...

....means the wins are few and short lived.

I don't mean for that to sound like parenting is horrible.  It is the exact opposite, but the statement is still true.

A few weeks ago we went to the grocery store and discovered Michael was picking grapes out of the package we hadn't paid for yet.  When we took them away he had a complete melt down in front of everyone.  That was a fail for us.

I took Michael to the zoo alone last week and let him walk around while I had Elli in the stroller.  For those of you that know the zoo you will laugh when I tell you we only made it to the elephants.  He wanted to do his own thing, climb on everything imaginable, and stare at the baby elephant for half an hour.  He didn't respond to me asking him nicely to stop climbing on the benches, he didn't respond to my threats when he was climbing up fences, and he didn't follow me when I walked away hoping he would come after me.  That was a big fail for me.  I became the mad mother at the zoo instead of the one who gently controls her kids, and encourages them to do things by positive reinforcement.

Then there's the fact that Elli is 8 months old and still doesn't sleep through the night.  Yup, big fail right there.  Of course, there are other factors involved in that, but still a fail.

Then yesterday happened.  Something just went right yesterday.  We went to lunch with Josh and the kids were happy, well mostly.  Josh had a class so he stopped home and we all headed up to campus.  I dropped him off and I took the kids to the zoo.  Michael walked the whole time and Elli was in the stroller, and both kids were completely content.  Michael loved it.  Elli was happy and smiling.  Everything was great.

Even though there are a lot of fails, I still find try to find the joy (or the humor) in them.  No, it wasn't great for Michael to be yelling at the grocery store, but I couldn't stop laughing when I noticed him sneaking grapes.  The zoo was painfully boring when he stared at the elephants for half an hour and tried to climb in with them, but it was adorable to hear him call them puppies every 20 seconds.  I don't love the fact that Elli still wakes up at night, but I do love holding her in my arms when she falls back to sleep.

Parenting is full of mistakes, fails, headaches, embarrassment, shock, and diapers.  It is also full of love, laughter, joy, and to make you feel like you can really do it, occasionally a win.

Family Pictures

So...I have the best sister ever!  She took these amazing pictures even though Michael was a having a little fit and couldn't stay in one place.  Oh, and of course Elli didn't smile.  Anyways, we are happy to have some new family pictures!...okay these we're taken a while ago but they are still somewhat new to us.

Michael didn't look too happy

This is my favorite picture of Elli!

Wordless Wednesday

Michael's words

Michael speaks a lot these days, as in non-stop.  He's always jabbering on about something.  I understand him about half of the time.  Josh is about the same but we understand different words.  What has Michael been saying lately?  Well....

grandma, boat grandma, grandma go boat, grandpa boat
Jenna (denna), Mandy (Manny), Summer (summa), Aunt Melissa (sicka), Dusty
JB, Max, Shelbie (sell-bee)
water (wader)
puzzle (pussle)
frosty grandma (fwosty)
fries, milk, pizza, cookie, banana (nana), grape, apple, cheese, quesadilla (dia), peanut butter (budder), bread, egg, cracker (crackawa), spoon, it's hot, cereal (cer-ul), cheerios (cheer-os), chicken, eat, bottle,
Elli, sister, peanut - this one meaning Elli, mama, daddy, Kim, Josh
nap
church
Jesus - always said loudly
Charlie - when he wants to watch good luck charlie
Carlie - a dog
puppy - every animal
park, slide
side - for outside
walk
shower
diaper, shirt, short, shoes, socks, dressed
nose, eyes, mouth, chin, cheeks, head, toes, piggies, arm, tongue, teeth, lips, ear
off
dishes, flush, chair, sweep, pot, spoon
pee, poop, no poop, wipe
blanket, teddy, night-night, book
wanna go bye bye, see ya, hi,

These are the words I hear at least ten times a day.  There are more he says once or twice that I can't think of.  He's also putting more words together.  Like "grandma go boat".  I also hear a lot of "go bye-bye, wanna go bye-bye, see ya".  We can even have little conversations:

Michael:  where dada, want dada
Me: daddy's at work
Michael:  go daddy, see ya mama
Me:  wait we can't see him yet, we'll see him later
Michael:  no go dada, bye-bye

This is where I run to the front door to make sure he hasn't unlocked it again.

He's one cute little guy who is learning so much.  Hopefully he keeps that love of learning.

Chicken Broth

We are all sick here.  On top of this cold Elli has been teething.  Homemade chicken broth was exactly what we needed.

I used this recipe from a cousin of a cousin

Here's what it looked like when I first put everything in my slow cooker.

The way it works is you put the whole chicken in with the onions, celery, etc.  After 24 hours you can take the chicken and half of the liquid out.  The first night I got 4 cups of broth out and enough chicken for dinner and some leftovers.  Every 12 hours you add more water to it.  Tonight I got a few more cups.  I think I will do it for one more night.

The broth is very good, and it's amazing to see how watered down the kind you buy at the store is.  When my sense of taste is completely restored it will be interesting to see how much better it tastes.

The only downside to this is that the house smells like chicken.  My clothes smell like chicken.  Since none of us can really smell it isn't too bad, but I became very self conscious of it when I went to work last night.  Then again, it probably isn't as strong as the smell of roast so I shouldn't be too concerned right?

I know why most people read this blog, it's to see cute pictures of my kids doing weird things.  So here you go...

Whenever he sees the hat he insists on wearing it, even when he only has a diaper on

He got in a fight with my purse and I think the purse won

My Crunchy Side

I am still crunchy.  Very crunchy.  Lately I haven't acted on it as much.  Probably because I live in a tiny apartment and my cloth diapers still don't absorb anything.  So to most of the world I appear normal, but I know I'm not.

One of my dreams is to own a hobby farm and grow all of my food.  I want a few cows to milk, chickens to lay eggs, a few pigs, even a sheep would be fun if I learn anything about spinning wool.  I want to learn to make my own cheese.  I already know how to make butter from milk, I just haven't done it yet.  Yes, I know this is a crazy dream.  Most people dream of moving to Hawaii or Europe (even though I will always dream of visiting Europe, I wouldn't live there).  I guess I'm just different.

While I still feel too busy to be as crunchy as I would like I'm going to start doing a few more things to get back to my crunchy ways.  This week I'm making my own chicken broth.  I already bought a whole chicken and plan on starting that maybe tomorrow.  I'm also going to start using more homemade cleaners.  For now it will probably just be vinegar for general cleaning until we use up a few of our other cleaners.

I'll let you know how it goes!  Don't worry, I'll post some cute pictures of the kids soon.

Grape-fest

Yesterday Michael and I had a very difficult day.  For some reason we were against each other the whole time.  Neither one of us was very happy.  After many timeouts and bribes we had called it a day.  Josh got home late from class but took the kids outside so I could make a quick dinner.

Michael had already had a sandwich, but he doesn't like to be left out, so we gave him some grapes to eat.  He looked at me and held his little hand out with a grape and said in the cutest voice "here you go".  I opened my mouth so he could feed me thinking aww how sweet.  Instead of placing the grape in my mouth, or even shoving it in, he quickly plops the grape in his own mouth and starts laughing hysterically.  

This happened a few more times.  So I decided to do it back to him.  Finally he started putting the grapes in my mouth.

 I don't know exactly what happened but then he started shoving many in my mouth at a time.

attractive I know

Then at one point they started falling out of my over stuffed mouth

Michael started laughing his head off.  We've never heard him laugh so hard.  So I let him shove my mouth full of grapes, then I would shoot them at him.  Sounds weird right?  Well it made him happy.  Even Elli was happy.

So I kept doing it.  Michael tried it too.

Just so you can hear his laugh.

Want's and Need's

There are days I just stare at this screen for a while not knowing what to write, but wanting to write everything.  I think (hope is more like it) that both of the kids are asleep.

What I want more than anything is a nap, but I know these crazy little ones won't let that happen.

What I need to do is the dishes.

What I want is to not make dinner tonight.

What I need to do is make something healthy that Michael will eat and Josh won't complain about too much.  I also need to hide the frozen pizzas behind the frozen veggies, that might help.

What I want is to cuddle up with my book that I've been reading for 9ish months and finish it.

What I need to do is fold two weeks worth of laundry.

Hopefully some day soon my want's and need's will be the same thing, until then the house will remain a mess and I'll be out to dinner!

Evolution of a Smile

WARNING:  DON'T READ UNLESS YOU WANT A BABY, WILL CAUSE BABY-HUNGER

I wrote about how I could not get Elli to smile for a picture, well over the last couple of weeks a mini evolution has taken place.

First it started out as this

Then a slight side smile

She was thinking about it

Then she tried to eat me

Then it happened!

Then she laughed!

And kept doing it

Morning, afternoon, evening, and night!