Category: life in general

Probiotics

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Baby girl is an easy baby the majority of the time, but we have had some trouble getting her to sleep through the night. I guess we lucked out when the little guy started (and continued) to sleep through the night at 8 weeks! She is also not one for taking naps and getting her on a regular nap schedule has been difficult. With 6 months of sleep deprivation catching up with us, this was a major topic of discussion at her 6 month check up yesterday.

After letting the PNP know what the issues were at night (fussiness and gassiness keeping baby girl from sleeping soundly…which prevents US from sleeping soundly, too), she suggested that we try probiotics to aid in baby girl’s digestive issues.   

24 hours on probiotics and I am thinking positive about them.  Last night was a good night…she woke at 11 and cried for a bit until she fell back asleep, but then slept until 4 am when I got up to feed her.  Today, she took a 3 hour nap!  Unbelievable!  Tonight, she actually fell asleep on her own ( I put her in her crib drowsy, not sleeping) and is still sleeping 2 hours later.

I even went to Whole Foods this evening to buy some probiotics for myself.  I would love to hear some of your thoughts/comments.   Have you used probiotics for you or your children?  How have they worked?

A Tuesday Drive

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Last Tuesday we were all feeling a little under the weather.  The little guy had a cold, baby girl was at the pediatrician’s the day before for RSV, and mommy was worn out and sick, too!  We had to get out of the house to do something, so we went for a drive. 

One of the awesome things about where we live is that it doesn’t take long to get “out into the country” and feel like you are in another world!  We drove down to Newberg through a thick fog and then up to Bald Peak (elevation: 1629 feet).  The following photos are from the top of Bald Peak!

the itsy bitsy stink bug

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Some of you are familiar with the stink bug invasion of aught-nine.  Well, they keep  crawling out of the woodwork.  About once a week, I still flush a stink bug, ever so carefully, down the toilet. A couple of weeks ago, the Little Guy was screaming, “Mommy, HELP!” from his bedroom.  I thought, “Here we go.  Another excuse for me to come into his room!”  I ran up the stairs in case he really was in trouble and here is how it went:

Little Guy:  “Mommy, HELP!”

Mommy:  “What’s wrong?’

Little Guy:  “Mommy, stink bug!”

Mommy:  “Stink bug?  Where?” (I was sure he was making this up!)

Little Guy:  Points to his pillow from a safe distance across the room.

Mommy:  Walks over to the bed to investigate. 

I did not see a stink bug, but peices from his blanket that looked like they could be an imaginary stink bug.  And then I spied it!  On the corner of the pillow…A BIG FAT STINK BUG!  I freaked out in my mind and grabbed the pillow and put it on the floor, went to to bathroom (shaking the heebie-jeebies out) and grabbed some tissue, came back into the room as calmly as I could and grabbed the bug. 

Mommy:  “Say goodnight stink bug!”

Little Guy:  “Goodnight stink bug!”

I took the stink bug into the bathroom, stuck him in the toilet and flushed…lid down!  Then, I walked back into the Little Guy’s room.

Little Guy:  “Mommy sing a song.”

Mommy:  “OK, what song?”

Little Guy:  “The stink bug song.”

Stumped, this is what I came up with…

Mommy:  “The itsy bitsy sting bug…” 

You know the rest.  YUCK!!!

Grown up looking storage solutions for kid friendly spaces

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If you are anything like me you long for a space in your home that can be designated as a “Playroom”.  I dream of a room like the ones I see in the Pottery Barn Kids catalogs that can be dedicated to my children and all the toys and activities that keep them occupied.  In reality, we share all of our space with them.  Our “Family Room” is exactly that, a FAMILY room.

Recently, we made some very big changes to our “Family Room” that have made it a comfortable space for all of us to “play” in.  Using Markor storage solutions from IKEA, I have created a “grown up” look to store all of our childrens toys.  In addition, we have storage for DVD’s, video games, books, accessories, and our new flat screen TV!

Reminder: I am an interior designer, not a photographer!

While I still long for a designated “Playroom”, I am happy with the solutions that we have put into place in our “Family Room”.  What storage solutions have you implemented in your “Family Room”?  What would be on your wish list for a dedicated “Playroom”?

{milestones} the little guy is two and a half and baby girl is four months

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This week the little guy turned 2-1/2 and baby girl is now 4 months old!

The Little Guy at 2-1/2:

  • Has all of his teeth and cannot use them as an excuse to get “medness” (medicine) and prolong the bedtime routine.
  • Fed ducks down at the park and the “mommy duck” ate bread out of his hand.
  • Loves to watch himself in videos made on the Flip…loves to sing, dance, and mimic his favorite TV character (of the moment), Caillou.
  • Has gone 2 days in a row this weekend without a wet diaper…we may be moving on to underpants!
  • Is an awesome big brother and very patient and kind to his little sister…except when she needs to eat.  He says. “Mommy no feed baby girl.”

Baby Girl at 4 months :

  • Eats all the time and gets mommy up multiple times a night…I hope she learns the benefits of sleep, too!
  • Rolled over from her tummy to her back 3 times in a row yesterday.
  • Smiles A LOT…she is such a happy baby!
  • Had mommy laughing tonight after her bath because she was giggling as I was putting lotion on her face!

2010 Goals

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I’m all about goal setting.  I have always set goals as an individual…my parents taught me to do that at a young age.  It is satisfying to set a goal and reach it…with a straight path, or many detours!  Each year I write goals for myself.  We also write goals as a couple and, now that I think of it, should write goals as a family.

On a smaller scale, I am a list maker.  I consider these micro-goals.  Each day there are micro-goals and they will probably help to achieve the larger goals that have been set.  That’s a whole other post in and of itself!

At any rate, one of the goals I have for myself is to post to this blog on a regular basis.  If not for you, the readers (made up of mainly family and friends), but for myself and my kids.  I don’t keep baby books, journal only occasionally, and want to make sure that I document as much of their young lives as I can.  Here, I can do that, and share it with you.

So, in addition to uploading photos to Shutterfly and sending out a link once a month, I also have a goal to post to this blog at least once a week.  I’m putting this in writing for all of you to see.  Hold me to it!  That is your goal!

Green Tree

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Did you know that cutting (or buying) a real tree that is “farmed” just for Christmas is greener than a fake tree made from plastics?!

Here are some photos from our annual trip to Sleighbells to cut our Christmas tree.

Ryan and the little guy in search of the perfect Christmas tree!

Photo op…or as close as we are going to get!

Our personal lumberjack!

Timber!

Saturday Morning

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Ryan went into the little guys room on Saturday morning. All I heard was, “Mommy?”
The little guy came running into the room I was in and said, “Mommy kiss!” and planted a big smooch on my lips. It was a beautiful way to wake up!!

Everchanging Emotions and the Terrible Two

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When I was pregnant with the little guy I kept myself up to date on the stages of my pregnancy by receiving a weekly e-mail and reading the books that tell you exactly how the baby is growing, how you should be feeling, and what is next.  This time around, I have glanced at those books to double check things that I think are OK, or to check on things that I don’t remember experiencing the last time.  In addition to occasionally reading about the pregnancy, I have been reading A LOT about toddlers.  I think I have read about 4-5 different books in the last week!

This period that we are going through with the little guy is a an amazing and frustrating  period called toddlerhood.  And, it has me boggled most of the time.  For instance, this morning, the little guy and I started out just perfect.  He was happy when I went into his room this morning, we waved goodbye to Poppa as he left for work, we shared some scrambled eggs and ham together, he didn’t thrash around as I changed his diaper and got him dressed, we played with stickers, read books, and even colored in a coloring book (which is not something he used to be fond of). 

The morning was going so smoothly, I decided that we should venture out to the craft store to get some things to finish up some projects for the kids rooms.  I armed myself with jelly beans in my pocket should I need to bribe the little guy to sit in the cart, and we were off!  Yes, I had to give up a couple of jelly beans, but the outing was also a success.

Lunchtime came earlier than usual, but that was no big deal.  He ate a good lunch, and cooperated for the most part when I reminded him that sitting at his little table was a priviledge and he needed to stay in his seat.  He played nicely while I cleaned up the dishes and then all h-e-double-hockey-sticks broke loose!

He came running to me to tell me he had poop in his diaper and his head started spinning around, his arms started flailing, and his legs started kicking!  For the next hour, I fought with him (mind you, I am not as able bodied as I might be when I am not 1-month away from giving birth) to get his diaper changed.  He kicked, screamed, weasled, hit, ran away with the diaper, ran away with the wipes, knocked over furniture…I was in tears.  He would come to me like he was sorry and wanted to give me a hug and then he would hit me and turn away running and laughing!!!  I called Ryan, but what was he going to do 3 hours away in Seattle?!  All he could say was he was sorry and I was not happy with that answer.  Eventually, I was able to get his diaper changed, and he is now in his room for naptime/quiet-time.

A couple of the books I have read compare being a toddler to having PMS or being pregnant…all of which only a mother can understand.  So, here I am frustrated with a toddler who I cannot understand because he has no control over his everchanging emotions while I have no control over my own everchanging emotions.  While I sit here and feel sorry for myself, I should really be feeling sorry for my husband, who lives in a household with both of us!  Now wonder he “has” to be in Seattle every week for work…I would want to get out of the house, too!  Forget the “terrible-two’s”, he has to deal with the “Terrible Two”!