Favorite Part of The Day...

I was reminded of this while reading another blog post one night last week.... While I was still pregnant a friend told me every night before bed to ask my little ones their favorite part and their least favorite part of the day. That this would open many doors to many conversations (and well, it was fun). It's popped into my mind from time to time, but I felt the girls were too young to "get it". Last week while I was reading another blog, they mentioned when they talked about their high/low of the day. After reading this, I knew this was the perfect time.

I'm so thankful for reading that and starting it when I did. L loves it! She brings it up many times a day. Early in the day she'll ask, "Mommy, what's your favorite part of the day so far?" I love that she likes this so much. The best part is when M is thinking of her reply, she makes the best facial expressions! (I really need to record this one day) 

I've worded it many different ways and the least confusing for them is favorite and least favorite part of the day. Although the last 2-3 days I can tell by M's responses that she is a little confused by the least favorite part of the day. Yesterday we had a few moments of clarification. So now I'll ask her what her least favorite part is, before she has a chance to answer, I'll remind her that her least favorite part is the part that she DID NOT LIKE from the day. I know she understands I'm asking her what part she didn't like. Because yesterday she told me the part about the geese. She tells me often that she doesn't like geese (every since the day the goose almost attacked us at the zoo). Today she "GOT IT!" 

I typically ask L first (well unless she beats me to it). She'll tell me her favorite and least favorite then SHE will ask M what her favorite part is. After we hear what M's favorite part is, I'll ask her in the way (the new way) she understands to tell us her least favorite... Then one or both of them will ask me mine.

Tonight was great. They were both snuggling with me right before we started doing this. M had just gotten off of my lap when I asked L. Her reply of her favorite part was "sitting there right then snuggling me" her least favorite was her tantrum at the Y. M's was playing with the balls in the pool and her least favorite was when L was crying. I love them and I love doing this with them everyday!!!

Computer time...

Computer time is something I have recently started doing with both girls. At this point, M loses interest  pretty quickly. Recently we started getting on starfall.com and both girls love it; L more so than M. I now know the types of activities on there that keep M's attention. 

Yesterday we registered for 13 months on abcmouse.com and I'm so glad we did it. L loves it and gets so excited to sit down for computer time (which we sit down and do together)! Tonight I was able to sit down and explore the website a bit more in depth. Instead of following the lesson plan they make up, I am able to make my own for M. While she is at the age she is, I think this is great to be able to do to entice her and get her and keep her interested. So, that's what I did for her. I'm excited to see how it goes with her tomorrow. L on the other hand is following her lesson plan and very interested in it all!!! 

I am very excited about this; As we are only a day into it. I hope to sit down everyday for a little bit of computer time (in addition to the other things we are doing) and see there this takes!!

I am interested if anyone else has used this website and any tips you may have! Any other computer based programs that you have used/liked/disliked. Not that I want to do everything on the computer. (This is a small part that I am incorporating into our day). I would love your input on this! 

We had a few stressful hours today...

Yesterday we had our tea party with Daddy then decided to head to the zoo. While we were there, L told me she had a sore in her mouth that really hurt. I could see it. It looked like she bit the inside of her cheek (and I know that hurts). She wasn't herself and even told me she didn't feel good. I asked what was bothering her she said her tummy and her cheek. She took a bit of a nap in the stroller (and the car once we left). We did a little bit of shopping (she seemed fine) every now and again she would comment on her mouth. We played outside for awhile as Daddy grilled out for dinner. Everyone seemed okay. We had dinner and everyone went to sleep pretty quickly. 

Shortly after falling asleep L started talking in her sleep (this hasn't ever happened) then she got the chills. Both signs of something bad to come. L woke up around 9:30 running a fever. A fever is bad in any event, but especially bad because we were supposed to go to her second cousins 2nd birthday party the following afternoon. What was I going to do??? I decided not to worry about it and see how the morning played out. 

L woke up this morning running a fever and I knew I was going to have to make the phone call that we couldn't go to the party. I gave L some ibuprofen and kept an eye on her. She was playing fine and acting pretty normal. I had no idea what was causing the fever! As the morning went on, I remembered my sister saying there were going to be a total of 4 kids at the party. The birthday girl, my 2 girls and one other kid (we didn't know who it was); after remembering this, I thought we HAD to go! If we didn't go, there wouldn't be anyone there for the Birthday Girl! My husband agreed. I was trying to get in touch with my sister to let her know what was going on. My sister called at 11 (the party was at 1:30), she started to tell me she was throwing up the night before, she felt dizzy, had an intense headache and her ears felt like they were on fire. She was so upset that she was going to miss her granddaughter's birthday party. I didn't have the heart to tell her we weren't going either, since the girls were playing good and acting okay, that's when I decided we were for sure going. 

The other thing that was in the back of my mind that made me decide to go, was my brother in law. He is handicapped and needs help getting in and out of the house/and his truck/and his wheelchair out of his truck. I knew if my sister wasn't going, that he wasn't going to be able to go either and it was silly for both of them to miss it! I told them I would stop by, pick him up and I would take care of him. That I could handle my girls and help him too. 

It was 65 degrees yesterday and today 32 degrees.... As I went outside to start my car and let it warm up, it was sleeting. For something "FUN" to do, if the weather was like this, we would normally postpone whatever we were doing! There's no reason to get everyone out in bad weather if it can be avoided! I called my husband to get his opinion. I didn't want to go! I didn't want to get the girls out in the weather. My sister was sick and she was helping my brother in law get ready; I hated to call again and say we weren't coming but if more bad weather was coming, I wasn't going to risk it! My husband looked at the weather system and we decided I would go ahead and go. If things got bad, we were going to be near my sisters house we could stay the night there (but stay away from her with her being sick)... 

My girls are so good. I told them the weather wasn't good and I needed them to be quiet for me so I could concentrate. I was a little nervous about crossing the bridge, but it was alright. The drive wasn't horrible, but I everyone was still driving a bit slower than normal. Once we pulled into their driveway, L said, "Mommy, I talked a couple of times. I just couldn't help it. But I was quiet most of the time!" She's so funny! 

The drive from their house to Chuck E. Cheese was a bit slushy and slick. Once inside, the weather was all forgotten and everyone had a great time!! I'm really glad we were there for the birthday girl. The 4th little one was suppose to be there was 3 months old. She wouldn't have had anyone to play with. I'm sure she wouldn't still had fun... but still. The rest of the day was so much better. I just felt bad for my sister missing out, I know she was so sad about it. The girls had a great time, the birthday girl had a great time. The weather got a little better while we were there. It warmed up to 38 and it was just raining. As I was putting the girls jackets on them when it was time to leave, I noticed L felt warm. The girls took a back as soon as we got home. They were tired. L did't have a fever, I was surprised because she felt so warm! We ate dinner, brushed our teeth and laid down. M was tired from playing. I could see it in L's eyes that she didn't feel good one again... I checked again and her temperature was up once again. 100.8 Not horrible, but still a fever. 

My girls blew through 80 tokens in a few hours, ate good, danced, played games, and had a great time. A bad decision for going maybe. But it meant a lot to my sister and my brother in law that I helped him out and made it possible for him to go.  A bad decision and a good deed. 

Baking, Reminising About Our First Tea Party, Preparing for our Second, and Swimming

Waking up this morning I decided we would bake cookies for our swimming play date this afternoon. There's something magical for my girls about pouring a few random ingredients into a bowl; Then seeing something totally different come out of the oven as they hear the timer go off and they yell in unison, "DONE!"

The cookies didn't take long to bake and as they cooled on the island, we sat at the computer sounding out words on www.starfall.com. We recently discovered this website and they love it! Of course L is a little older; it holds her attention quite a bit longer than M's. M just think she's getting away with something "playing with the computer mouse. I do think for the time that it has M's attention, that she IS getting a little bit of something out of it! She repeats, participates and dances with the music.

We made the decision to have a surprise tea party with Daddy tomorrow morning, SO we prepared a few things for that. My mom gave the girls their own special tea sets for each of their birthdays. We carefully selected these tea sets specific to each one of the girls. I wanted them to get something that suited them both in their own way! I wanted them to have something that would last, so they could keep them forever and possibly have tea parties with their kids (if they decide to have them). The kicker when I suggested this to my mom. I wanted to have 4 place settings and I wanted a special carrier to be able to take them out and put them away (that's part of the fun, right?). This is something I've thought about for quite sometime! My mom came through, we picked out one with stripes and polka dots for L and bunnies for M. The sets are wonderful! She bought 4 total ... 2 for each of them (so they each had 4 place settings). I wanted them to have memories of their own special tea parties! 

We had a tea party the day after L's birthday party with her set. February 18, 2013 I was so emotional getting things ready for that tea party, OUR FIRST REAL TEA PARTY! The whole time I was getting this party together, it was pretty magical! As I was taking pictures and getting everything ready have it in their room (which that morning, they decided was now Pixie Hollow!) We had made special banana bread to have with our tea (we really drank milk). I wanted to dress everyone up for our tea party, L said no, that she wanted everyone to wear t-shirts and big girl panties (I kept my pants on). M pointed out that the small cups were like what Willy Wonka (the original movie) drank out of. L agreed and asked if we could eat the cups, JUST LIKE Willy Wonka did. That was a big negative! No one was attempting to eat the cups! Tiny cups, Tiny hands, Tiny forks ... they loved the tiny forks! My heart exploded many, MANY times during our party! As I said, I had pictured my girls and I having special tea parties for quite sometime ... and it was finally happening. M is VERY VERY excited about surprising Daddy with a tea party in the morning with HER tea set!!

We left for the pool, had a great time swimming as usual. We met their Mamaw and cousin there. Her cousin is 6 months younger than M. It was their cousins very first time in a pool. They had a lot of fun and were exhausted when we left (as usual after going swimming)!

As I was reading another blog last night, it reminded me of some advice I was given while I was still pregnant. I was told several things to make sure I did with my little ones, and one of the things was to talk and at the end of the day to ask them their favorite and least favorite part of their day. We did this on the way home. M said her favorite part of the day was swimming and her least favorite part was being in the locker rooms. L said her favorite part was baking cookies and swimming and she fell asleep while trying to thing of her least favorite part (we were talking on the way home from swimming). 

Waking them up to go in the house (especially when they are this tired and it's this late in the day/early evening) is never fun. So instead of taking them straight in, we played outside for quite sometime waiting for Daddy to get home from work. It was beautiful outside at this point, 65 degrees. We played a bit of soccer, ran around for a bit, got a little dirty and called it a night. 

There's nothing more cute than hearing one of them say the word appreciate, them using it appropriately, and saying they appreciate something one did for the other or something I did for them. L and myself say it often. Today was the first time I heard M say it ... in her sweet little voice. While we were outside,  L collected some acorns. M asked me to get her some. I suggested for her to ask L to show her where she got them from. L did. M was so excited to show me that L collected some for her. I asked if she thanked her, M went over to hug L and she said, "Thank you for my acorns L, I pre-ciate it!" I LOVE THEM!!! 

Bath time, dinner time, brushing teeth time, and falling asleep snuggled up in Mommy's arms singing our night time song. I lay with them, one snuggled on each side of me. I rub M's face and L likes my arm around her and she holds my hand. 

We had a perfect day. 

Our Potty Training Journey ...

I'll preface this by saying I'm so glad both of my girls and I are finished with this journey!!

I was sitting, watching L's soccer practice while listening to this mom tell about 4 others "How To Potty Train" ... then I thought about my girls and the difference between the two of them. I could hear her saying (as she hit her fist to her palm to drive this point through) "You have to sit them on the potty every 30 minutes." I have to admit, I tried this and I thought it was ridiculous! If you do this EVERY 30 MINUTES and they sit on the potty for awhile, then they are ALWAYS sitting on the potty! If you attempt to sit them down every 30 minutes and start timing from when they get off the potty, then you will miss when they have to go. This is a vicious, stressful cycle! That's what I thought about it anyway! BUT I SUPPOSE IT WORKS FOR SOME PEOPLE!

All kids are different and all moms have patience and tolerance for different things! I think potty training is just as personal for people as their individual parenting styles! There's no right way, there's no wrong way! You just have to find the best way that works for you and your little one! Most certainly what worked for L was not the same as what worked for M!! 

As I sat down to write this, I began typing about then very beginning, when L initially showed interest in using the potty. This was between 16-17 months old (she's 3 now!). I typed 3 lines and decided that was too far to go back. That was the summer before last; So I'll just start with last summer. Between those 2 summers, her interest would peak and valley. But if she ever wanted to use the potty, it was certainly available for her! Then this past summer, I WAS READY TO DO THIS!  I did sticker charts, I did small prizes, we would even bake muffing for several hours with no accidents (we made a lot of muffins, didn't always eat all of them but making them was quite the treat). Then once we got pretty good, I even took her to the pet store to buy fish for our aquarium for a few days with no accidents. Multiple trips and thirty dollars in one week for fish, it was fun for her and she wanted to do it but I couldn't do that every week .. and our tank was going to get crowded! (this was a fun week though). 

Eventually we did the run around the house bare bottom, which worked great for pee!! Although if I put panties on her she would still have accidents and when it came to poop, she would always ask for me to put a diaper on her!! That's the only time she would ask for me to put a diaper on her. I started promising her the world for her to poop in the potty. NOTHING. Then I promised Chuck E. Cheese, a trip to the park, and pink cupcakes all for poop in the potty! She did this at 5:30 one night. We're NEVER just going out that late (unless we are already out). But I made good on all of my promises!! I was so happy ... THEN she didn't do it again for 4 days. I had to give her a diaper when she asked for it. I was afraid of her getting impacted!! 

Then I remembered a dvd that was passed onto me while I was still pregnant. Potty Power. Within the hour after her first time watching it, she voluntarily pooped in the potty and never turned back. M never had this issue with pooping in the potty (thank goodness)!! They love this dvd! The songs are great and even though they are now potty trained, they still ask to watch this dvd sometimes!

L had accidents here and there and one morning early October 2012 we woke up and I asked her, "Do you want to wear big girl panties or a diaper today?" She smiled so big, said panties and this was the end of it! She had 2 accidents that week and the rest was history for her! After 2 weeks of no accidents she was able to pick out some pretty panties of her choice. She chose Minnie Mouse and she thought she was so big after that!! Officially potty trained  at 32 months! I was happy. 

M couldn't run around bare bottom because she would just pee anywhere! This may sound bad, but it was like having a puppy! If I put panties on her, she would have an accident EVERY TIME! Run around naked, pee on the floor within 15 minutes! But she would also take her own diaper off and just pee (anywhere) as well. She wanted to wear panties so bad and she wanted some Tinkerbell panties too; I didn't know what to do with her. She got to where when we were out and L would have to go potty, she would tell me after we would come back that she had to go too. It was all so silly. She knew what she was doing, she knew when she needed to go. She was just messing with me. (I have no idea why)

The first day of February this year we woke up one morning and I asked her, "Do you want to wear big girl panties or a diaper today?" Of course she said big girl panties! She had 3 accidents that week... a few days into this with her we had tickets for the circus. We went there, out to eat for lunch, then to the park and NO ACCIDENTS, we took her that day to pick out her Tinkerbell panties and no more accidents for her! Potty Trained at 26 months... Words couldn't explain how happy I was!! 

Last week M did have 2 accidents. One was when we got home from swimming, she was so tired and come to find out, she was getting sick. Then the following morning she had one more. Some people suggested possible regression. (I had no idea what to do with that). But luckily, THIS never happened again!

Potty training is so different for everyone! This is what worked for us!

Left Handed or Right Handed??

It's been so interesting watching our girls over the last year and a half (if not longer) ... from the beginning as they would scribble on their Magna Doodles or with chunky crayons on construction paper. Watching their hands as I attempted to peak their interest in writing letters or drawing shapes; I would notice which hand they would hold their pens, pencils and crayons. I remember a period when L would randomly switch her writing utensil from one hand to another trying to figure it out. 

I never interrupted this process of letting her figure out for herself which hand her pencil "felt right in." Once this became clear to me that she was going to be left handed, this is when I began to teach her how to hold her pencil/pen/marker/crayon properly. Every now and again she will try to switch (I do think she does this, because when I show how to write or draw something, I show her with my right hand). I'll gently remind her to switch hands, that she writes with her left hand. 

Today I realized that over the last 2 months I have been interrupting this process with M. When we sit down to do a craft or activity M will sometimes hold her pencil in her left hand. I've been correcting her, remember, you write with your right hand... WHAT WAS I THINKING? Well, I was thinking she holding her pencil and trying to write with her left hand just because L was. I've been interrupting her process of figuring this out on her own! Her figuring out which hand her pencil "felt right in." 

This afternoon I was taking a break, sitting on the couch watching the girls play. M was drawing faces and proudly showing me her work. L wasn't actually drawing faces or any pictures at this 26 months. Truthfully, it's just been within the last month that L has been drawing pictures. Real distinguishable pictures! M is starting this process very early in comparison. I believe this is because she see's L doing it and is really trying on her own.  I sit down (often) and draw with them too! 

But today as I was watching M draw, I noticed she would draw a face or two with one hand, switch hands then draw a few more faces. This triggered my mind, this is what made me remember L going through this process. It was most likely around this same time last year; As I've known she's absolutely left handed for several months now. I've been interrupting her process!! 

Some things you read about this says this could be obvious as early as 6-9 months. Most of the time, you can tell around 2-3 years old. But some little ones use both hands equally until they are around 5. I'm so glad I realized sooner rather than later what I was doing and that I need to stop!!! I won't interrupt this any longer until it's noticably obvious that she is right or left handed!

Is It Her Age? Or Is It Just Her??

There are so many stages of L's 3 years that I feel like I have said, "This is my favorite time!" or "This is the best time!" But those stages were the best for many different reasons. 

When we first brought her home ... THAT WAS THE BEST! 

Those smiles those newborns smile when they are sleeping ... THOSE WERE PRETTY GREAT! I have so many video clips of her sleeping "just to catch those smiles!"

Watching her start to become mobile and knowing everything was going to be so different once she could get around on her own, and the anticipation on that happening. THAT WAS PRETTY GREAT! She never really crawled, she scooted and commando crawled. 

When she started to laugh and giggle ... THAT WAS THE BEST!! For the longest time, I was the only one that could make her laugh!

Her sitting up for the first time ... Pretty cool!

Letting her discover new foods and textures. THAT WAS PRETTY AWESOME!

Hearing her say Mama for the first time!! MAKING MY HEART EXPLODE THE BEST!!

Each new word... EACH ONE WAS PRETTY GREAT!!

When she learned to pull herself up to standing and furniture walk ... it was a whole new world for her .. and THAT WAS THE BEST! She was able to discover so many things and this was amazing to watch her do this (kind of on her own).

When she discovered she could stand on her own without holding onto anything ... THAT WAS THE BEST! MY BIG GIRL!

When she took her first steps!! ABSOLUTELY THE BEST!!!

When she learned she could dance! THAT WAS THE BEST! 

Hearing her say I Love You for the first time ... I couldn't hear it enough ... THAT WAS THE BEST!

Seeing her genuinely love and want to take care of her little sister ... THAT WAS THE BEST!

There are so many more things I could add to this list!! But the way she is right now, every single day. I don't know if it is the age she is at or if it's just her. I like to think it's just her. She has blossomed into the most thoughtful, beautiful, caring, kind-hearted little girl! 

Last night while we were getting ready for bed, M was crying, she said, "I don't want her to cry. Can I sing a song for her?" She did, she made up the best song and it totally came from how she felt because she sang it over and over (I videoed it). The words pretty much the same:

I love you M. Don't cry M.

I appreciate it M.

I love you don't cry.

Let me hold you. Mommy's gonna hold you in a minute

I love you. Mommy's gonna hold you in a minute.

I love you M, don't cry, I love you!

She wants to help everyone, do the things they need to do or fix boo boos. She'll cheer someone on when they do something good! She likes to help out in situations where she can talk about doing the right thing and wanting to do the right thing and wanting to be a nice girl! She likes to pretend she's writing and in her scribbles, she always likes to read what she wrote and it's almost always something sweet to me. About her love for all of us and how sweet we  are to her, The first time I heard her (as she put her hand on her heart and said) "My heart is beautiful and I love you more than I can tell you for always." I always tell her I love her more than all the stars in the sky or that I love her more than she'll ever know... and she's trying to say something of the same sort. It always comes out, "I love you more than I can tell you for always" ... words I'll love to hear forever! As we lay down to sleep at night, she'll be silent and I'll think she's sleeping and she'll whisper that she loves me, or that she had fun that day, or that she's lucky I'm her Mommy. I always tell her how lucky I am to be her's and M's Mommy!

She makes my heart melt, she makes my heart explode so many times everyday! I love her! 

She's full of love, she knows how much she's loved ... All of this sweetness that is just so genuine THIS IS THE BEST!!!!!

We Should Have Stayed Home!

It was Wednesday when M started to develop a cough. Thursday L wanted to nap, my girls rarely nap! Friday L napped for a little more than 2 hours. Lots of coughing Friday night! Saturday we spent the day at my sister and brother in law's house. I was treating their cough, they played well AND had a lot of fun. Saturday night M threw up from all of the coughing and was crazy hot. She had a fever!! Sunday morning both girls woke up in good moods, playing and everything. It was going to be 70 degrees on Sunday. I wanted to get them out; as the rest of the week was going to be cold and raining!

They seemed okay. I told Daddy (who was at work) that I may be crazy to take them, but we were going to head out to the zoo for a little bit! I didn't tell the girls where we were going and they had a lot of fun with the anticipation and trying to figure it out on their own. Once we were about 5 minutes from there, L knew! They were screaming happy screams in the car once the surprise was out, "We were going to the zoo." They were happy and they were acting fine. I did bring our thermometer and the ibuprofen... I felt like I was making a bad decision taking them. We should have stayed home and gotten rest!! ( I know, I keep saying this!)

We went in and they were so excited! Excited because it had been about a month since we had been there (maybe a little longer), excited because I brought our wagon instead of the stroller. They normally walk at the  zoo. But sometimes they get tired and want to ride. They sit to eat their snacks, and we take a lot of stuff!! M was pulling the wagon WHEN IT HAPPENED ... we were getting close to the giraffes. M was pulling the wagon and she was walking between L and myself and I saw it coming as I started to hear L scream the most awful blood curdling screams. I heard 3 other people scream as I jumped over the wagon to get her. A goose had been sitting on the fence by the giraffes AND WAS FLYING STRAIGHT TOWARD HER. Honking it scary honk as it was coming near her. She was scared and honestly I was too. I just knew it was going to get her! I knew we were about to end up at the hospital. I didn't have a lot of time to think as I leaped over our wagon. There wasn't time to move her. I got next to her and bent myself over her body (if that makes sense) and right as I did, it flew straight into me and kept right on going. As it hit me, it jerked my head a little, knocked my glasses off of my head and it's feet (as it went by) got tangled in my hair pulling some of my hair out of my ponytail. In the blink of an eye it was over. It was gone! All I could hear were girls crying. For a minute it seemed like we were the only ones there as I sat straight to the ground, in the middle of everything and pulled both of my screaming girls onto my lap. Close to me. Safe in my arms telling them everything was okay and that I wasn't going to let that goose get them. 

I was talking in such a calm soothing voice as best as I could and I was holding back the tears! As I was telling them I wasn't going to let the goose get them, in my head, I just knew it was about to. When those things walk around, they are as tall as my girls are.  I think it really would've hurt her. I don't think I'll ever forget that scream of L's that I honestly HOPE I NEVER HEAR AGAIN! Total fear!

People just stood and watched as I soothed my girls. No one came over to see if we were okay. Only one woman made a comment after we had collected ourselves and I was giving my girls a snack to try to move on with our day. As she walked by, she said, "I bet you wish you have a video of that." Honestly, only to show my husband! But other than that, really I don't! I can hear her screams in my mind and they were awful ... and I certainly didn't want either of them to see it again. In my nicest sarcastic voice I thanked her for asking if we were okay. As we made our way to the elephants a few geese flew in the sky, honking as they do and both girls began to get a little anxious. I assured them that they were fine and the geese were way up in the air (as I pointed to them). We decided to stay and carry on. For the next 20 minutes or so, M said over and over, "I don't like birds!" In my mind, I knew we shouldn't have came!!

They were having fun. No one would've ever guessed they were sick. They had their normal appetites (which have been coming and going, letting me know they were getting sick). Now just to defend myself a bit. Walking around the zoo, we're outside not really interacting with others, it's not like I took them to Chuck E Cheese where they would be directly touching things other kids would touch making others sick. If their nose runs, I'm right on it. Just sayin' ...

A little bit of time went by. They had been playing and laughing We made it half way through the zoo and M wanted me to hold her, she was hot! I took her temperature and she had a fever. She needed some ibuprofen, I gave it to her, it was time to leave. We walked up the big hill (to cut though to leave). It is an actual paved path, and about 50 feet to the left were 2 geese in the grass. I walked on the side of the geese, telling them once again that I wouldn't let it get them (as I hoped they didn't come near us)! M was better as she walked and held my hand... I was go glad we were leaving. 

Both of the girls fell asleep before we left the parking lot, I felt horrible that I took them out; feeling like the worst mom of the year as I drove home! I knew it was going to be ugly when I woke them up to take them inside the house. It was nearing 5:00, they were tired, not feeling good, just wanting to either sleep or for me to hold them as I would take them out of the car. Daddy was working an odd shift that day AND they asked him to work late. So I was going to have to do baths and make dinner (normally Daddy makes dinner, I am very lucky!). 

The time between waking them from the car and laying down for bed wasn't pretty! L talked about the goose while in the tub. Saying it wasn't funny, it wasn't fun, and she's so cute. She's 3 and she said, "I appreciate you not letting the bird get me Mommy". I love her!! She talked about it at dinner. (We do things a little backwards than most I think with the bath before dinner, but that's what works for us!) She had a hard time falling asleep. I laid with her for 2 hours! She held onto me like she never had before! 

Early this morning (4 am ish) she yelled out in her sleep, "No mommy don't let it" She didn't finish what she was saying as I snuggled her even closer than she already was (at this moment so grateful that we co-sleep)! While I was making breakfast , there was a robin on our walkway right outside our window. I always point out the animals whenever I see them. They typically like to watch the birds and squirrels in the front yard! As I pointed it out, M responded with here normal, "where Mommy" and when she saw it, she started telling me over and over again that she doesn't like birds! We talked about it and let it be. 

They are now sleeping, they don't feel good and needed a rest! My girls that don't nap! But I'm glad I was able to write this before too much time passed...

Have you and your little ones ever had any close calls with animals? What happened?

Writing ABC's

L has been very interested in writing and trying to write her letters. We have a very cool dry erase tablet where she can trace her letters. We do different activities that helps with this too. I get a lot of ideas from Pinterest. She loves to try, she concentrates so hard and gets so excited when something clicks and she "gets" whatever it is that she's trying to do! When we are about to do a "sit down activity," I'll have a few ideas in mind and I'll ask her if she wants to do a craft, do something with letters or paint. She'll choose and we get started. She can trace all of her letters really well. Upper case and lower case. But for her to try to write the letters herself on lined paper, she gets frustrated at times. There are some letters that she writes well  ( on her own), but for the most part, "trying to make letters on lined paper without tracing" can frustrate her. This isn't something we are trying often right now (because of this). I think for her age, she is doing really well, so we do what's fun and we do what she likes pertaining to this. 

Today we got the Aqua Doodle mat out. The girls love drawing and writing on this. I don't really know why, but we haven't gotten this out in awhile. L has recently discovered her new found love for drawing so we drew for awhile, lots of characters from Monsters, Inc!! I wrote her name out and she started writing letters. ON HER OWN WITHOUT TRACING THEM. Other than an occasional letter here and there, I've never seen her do this. She was asking me to write certain words then she would re write what I wrote underneath them. I was truly amazed! Then the one letter that she's always had troubles writing ... the letter B. She wrote it perfectly, over and over and would get excited for each one! I couldn't help it, I was taking videos of her, she was so proud of herself and I was proud too!! 

My baby is growing up!! It unbelievably amazing to watch this transformation happen right before my eyes!!

Are The Terrible Two's A Real Thing??

It's not fair to compare the girls and say one went through this and the other one didn't (although that's how I was thinking earlier today). But as I sit here thinking about what I really want to say, I started to think about how "at this age" they both have had different circumstances. M is 26 months old right now and will do just about anything she can to antagonize L; When L was 26 months old, M was only 16 months old new to walking around and barely talking. L didn't have much to complain about to have to or want to do anything to M. 

Oh how things are different at this stage. M is 26 months old and L is 36 months old. M wants everything L has, M wants to do everything L is doing at the same time she is doing it. We've had some difficult times lately. M will cry and cry because she wants a toy that L is playing with and it won't take to long until L will just hand it to her. L is so kind and she doesn't want M to cry. I'm sure part of her doesn't want M to be sad, and part of her just doesn't want to hear it (honestly)! I just think M thinks L is cool and wants to do and have what she does!!

L is very interested in reading what she writes (out loud), reading a book, or simply telling you something (that she made up), sometimes it's to me, sometimes it's to M, but if she asks either or both of us to listen, M will do anything she can to be loud. It's horrible! I feel really bad, yesterday it was so bad that L started to cry because M wouldn't let her read what she wrote for me. I had to put M in her room and have a few minutes for L to tell me what she wanted to tell me! THIS IS SOMETHING WE ARE WORKING ON!! I know this is a phase, but M needs to learn that THIS NOT OKAY!! 

Earlier today M said she had to go to the bathroom, I followed her in there and she stopped, stood in the middle of the bathroom, looked at me and started to pee. I asked her why she did that, and her reply was, "I wanted to." What the heck? That's not okay!

M went through a biting phase awhile back and I thought we were past that. But earlier tonight, she bit L on her back. She went straight to her room. I talked to her (sternly) and left her to sit on her bed. After some time went by, I went back in to talk to her again and when she told me that she didn't want to apologize to L, I left her in there longer. More time passed and L came in there with me, she was so sweet and so serious. She looked at M and said, "You bit me and it hurt me. Biting is a bad decision and I won't bite you. I want to be a nice girl. If you kiss my back then it's okay". Basically she was saying if you kiss my boo boo then I forgive you. M continued to refuse to apologize and L walked out of the room while M sat there crying. Then L walked right back in and said to me, "I'm leaving because I don't want to hear her crying". Soon after, M apologized, kissed her boo boo and gave L a hug. 

More antics happened in the bath tub tonight. But I think I am getting the point across. BUT I feel bad as I re-read through this because M is really not a "bad" kid. She's really good most of the time. SHE'S JUST YOUNG AND SHE'S LEARNING!! They play really good together pretty much all of the time, but then it's like a switch! When she gets in one of these moods, it's just all down hill. I'll have to start to pay attention to see if there are any triggers. Like being sleepy or something. All of the things today that were going on were later in the day and that may have been the case. But I need to reel it in on these behaviors!! But if I can pay attention and see if there are any triggers, then I can anticipate the behavior and this will help with correcting them!

Despite all of this, it may sound rough having two so close but I wouldn't change things and have them any other way. I bet the two of them would totally agree! Already, they don't know what to do without each other. If one is sleeping, then the other one wants to wake them up, if one is in one room, then other one isn't far behind. It's fun to watch ... 98% of the time and I referee the other part of it... :)

Play-Doh vs Moon Dough

Before I write this, I just want to say that I have no other reason to write this other than, I just never knew. I didn't know the difference of the two. I got opinions of others, read some reviews on Amazon and made the decisions I did. I am not affiliated with either product in anyway, nor is either product endorsing or giving me anything for anything I say or don't say (although I would love that)!

My girls and I love to play Play-Doh. I introduced it to them when L was 24 months; M was a little young, she was 14 months old and closely supervised. The good thing is that she is so "Monkey See, Monkey Do" when it comes with L. L was pretty good about following the rules when it comes to "activities at the table."

THE TABLE: My husband made a table that's the perfect size for the girls to sit on the floor and color at, do activities, play games, etc. There are rules for most things at this table. If they don't follow the rules of said activity, then we put whatever it is away. This sounds stern and maybe mean, but it's not as bad as it sounds. I typically remind them if they need, all it normally takes is one reminder and we're all good!

Rules for coloring at the table: All crayons have to stay at the table. If they get up from the table, they aren't allowed to carry a crayon away with them. Basically the same rules for Play-Doh!

I buy the 2-packs of disposable table clothes from Target and I fold one in half, lay it on the floor and put THE TABLE in the middle. This makes for easy clean up! We are able to get most of the Play-Doh up but there's always a little that we miss. I carefully pick up the table cloth shake it out outside, fold it up and put it away for the next time! 

We started off with the Play-Doh Fun Factory. This is fun, but gets boring after awhile. While at Target one day, there was some Play-Doh sets on sale. They chose The Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe and it was fun for them, although I had to help them with making most things. Helping them with these things wasn't an issue, I always sat right there playing along side them. BUT THEY WANTED TO MAKE THE ICE CREAM THEMSELVES. Even though they needed help with most parts of this, they still had fun with it. They would still play with this (if I hadn't have gotten rid of it). The reason I didn't like it, it was so hard to clean and not have Play-Doh dry up inside certain pieces (most of the pieces). This was more ME, that didn't like getting this Play-Doh set out. They couldn't play with multiple colors without mixing them because it was so hard to clean and took so much time to clean (L doesn't like when the colors mix). 

Christmas 2012 they got The Play-Doh Fun with Food - Meal Makin' Kitchen. This was a huge set. Fun to play with (for all of us)! Easy clean up! I would recommend this for anyone! They also received The Play-Doh Zoo Shapin' Fun Set. I didn't get this zoo out until just a few weeks ago. Before opening it, my husband and I started looking at the box and it was a lot of stamps. You weren't really able to "make animals" or do much with the animals. You could go things like make kangaroo foot prints and stamp things with the alligator's mouth. We started talking about how the girls like to MAKE THINGS. They liked making the ice cream, they LOVE all the different kinds of things they can make with the kitchen! I needed to exchange this. 

While at ToysRUS I saw the Moon Dough. I didn't know much about it. I asked on twitter and received a lot of negative comments (messy, crumbly, doesn't stay together). I read some reviews (I read reviews for everything!! EVERYTHING! Several of the reviews mentioned they loved the Moon Dough sets, not the moon dough, so they just threw that stuff out and used the sets with Play-Doh. GREAT IDEA! (I thought so anyway!!

I brought home the Moon Dough Magic Zoo. This was such a hit!! When I opened it, I just put the moon Dough aside (my girls never saw it). They can actually MAKE ANIMALS with this! The crank is easy for them to turn. The animals they make can actually walk. There's a fence mold and we made some fenced in areas for the animals to sit in, they chose one part of it to be the door and they make the animals go in and out and used their imaginations and played with these animals for awhile. There's a penguin mold, gorilla mold, and a bear mold. Very cool idea but I'm glad I went into it  not even expecting to use the moon dough (so I wasn't disappointed with anything). The clean up with it, I don't know what the difference is with the moon dough sets and the Play-Doh sets, but the Play-Doh doesn't stick to any of the MD sets parts! It's pretty awesome! This set made me want to get another one!

L received the Moon Dough Snack Shack for her birthday. They also have a lot of fun with this as well. The popcorn only makes 3 pieces at a time, so that's not the best, but making the ice cream is very easy. This set, they would get bored with quickly if they were playing WITH JUST THIS BY ITSELF. But I still can't get over how easy it is to use the Play-Doh with these sets. Pretty much NO CLEAN UP NEEDED!

I wold buy more of both products! I just know to read specifically what are included in the sets with the Play-Doh. I know what it is my girls like to do/make with them. If there's JUST a lot of stamps, it's not for us. I just feel like we have more options now that I realize we can branch out and chose from the Moon Dough sets.  The Moon Dough is messy, crumbly, we just set it aside; still winning with the toy itself! We have plenty of play-doh we can use with it all!

The Most Stressful Pediatrician Appointment EVER!

M had been potty trained for a month now. Wearing big girl panties with only two accidents the first week and perfect all of the rest! She loves her pretty Tinkerbell big girl panties and of course, she wants to wear them to bed too. L went through this; her wearing her Minnie Mouse panties was big stuff and she also wanted to wear them at night. I am able to rationalize with them on why they can't do this right now. I explain that the day will come when they can wear these big girl panties 24 hours a day. They understand. L was fine with her nighttime pull-ups. BUT M, well I didn't anticipate the panties happening when they did, and I had just opened a box of diapers. The nighttime DIAPER for her wasn't good enough. For the first few weeks it was okay, but this past week, I thought she had just had enough!!

(I am leading up to this horrible, stressful appointment)

This past week (the whole week), starting right after her bath when I was getting her ready for bed (about to put on this nighttime diaper) she would start telling her "business" hurts. Throughout the week, I just thought she was just saying this because she didn't want to wear the diaper. She never said this throughout the day, NEVER! It did concern me. I would look at it, it was okay, I just knew it was the diapers. I would put her diaper on, then her pajamas and she would get upset about "this BIG diaper." I showed her that L's pull-up was also BIG and she this seemed to pacify her. 

This past Friday night/Saturday morning about 1:00 am, M woke up in a screaming fit! She was so unsettled and cried off and on for about 45 minutes. Was it her tummy, her teeth, did she have a bad dream? I couldn't tell ... I had no idea! This is about the time that she should be getting her 2 year molars but she wouldn't let me feel, see, give her Oragel or anything! A little bit into this, she started holding "her business," I asked her if she had to pee and her reply was, that it hurt. Eventually she peed. It didn't seem to bother her when she peed, but with as much as she was talking about this area hurting, I couldn't help but wonder if she had a UTI. She was up quite a bit longer and eventually got comfy snuggling with Mommy and fell back to sleep. 

(It didn't seem like the peeing was the issue)

The following morning, she woke up pretty fussy, then started the crying that her business hurt!! I looked at it really good, it seemed a bit red. I called our pediatrician. I'm so glad they have some hours on Saturday and Sunday for cases like these! Our appointment was at 11:30. Twenty minutes after I made her appointment, she told me her teeth were hurting, she let me check them and I could feel 2 of her molars coming through. I gave her some Oragel and she was a perfectly new kid! I was still taking her in to get checked. 

I knew they would want a urine sample so I had her drinking and drinking. In the waiting room she said she had to pee! This was good, right?? Well, they put the potty hat under the toilet seat to catch her urine. I sat her on, realized the potty hat wasn't sitting up where it should be; So without thinking I scooted it forward (while she was sitting there) and it pinched her leg. She let out the worst cry and that was the end of her sitting on that toilet! I felt horrible! We went back into the treatment room, I settled her down as they were bringing a potty chair in for her. 

I don't really know how to describe this potty and how it was, but the assistant didn't lift the lid and put the "bowl" under it, she just sat it on top. It sat down in the toilet (this is why I didn't notice it) but after awhile of sitting there, it started to hurt M. This poor girl had the worst ring around her bottom and on parts of her legs. Just to give you a visual, it looked like what a whipped cream container looks like sitting down in this potty. It was a medical thing, with lines for measurements, etc, it just wasn't put together properly. My poor baby, she was having such a hard time, just one thing after another!

Before this potty started to hurt her, she was having a good time sitting on the potty, Her, L and myself were singing, they brought them both a Popsicle, we were being silly and having fun while waiting for her to pee. But once she got that ring around her bottom and it started to hurt, she wasn't having any part of it. I tried to get her to sit back on the toilet and it was like trying to wrestle a wild animal.

Now the worst part of all of this, when the doctor initially came into our room, I told him that this appointment was probably all for nothing! I gave him the pantie/diaper background. I told him about the teething. (I said, I thought, even though I have over half a box of diapers left, I should bite the bullet and buy some pull-ups for her), but since she had been complaining all week (even though only at night once I put her diaper on), especially after the episode in the middle of the previous night and the way she woke up that morning, that I should have her looked at! He agreed that I did the right thing bringing her in (although he was being pretty candid about some of it). The doctor examined her and said everything look okay, just slight irritation (she does have sensitive skin and I did give her a bubble bath toward the end of the previous week, I know, not the smartest decision). But he still would like to get a urine sample with all of the complaining from her... just to be sure. I had no idea how I was going to make this happen!!

The assistant recommended that I sit her on the toilet, for me to reach around behind her and hold the cup under her. SERIOUSLY?!?!? But I really didn't see any other option. They had already mentioned a catheter and that wasn't happening! It was hard enough getting her to let the doctor look at her. I believe what he said was, "You are incredibly strong. I am proud of how strong you are" Non of it made sense lol but I believe he was just at a loss of words for how hard it was to get the look he was finally able to get. SHE IS ONE STRONG BABY!

I already felt so gross. I used to work in a hospital and I know how dirty hospital floors and doctor office floors really are! During this appointment I sat on the floor of their bathroom while she hugged me AND I sat on the floor in the exam room of the doctor's office because M wanted my arm around her... and there I sat once again on the floor of the bathroom with my arm in the toilet holding a specimen cup under my crying M. She had her arms around me so tight. L was sitting so good on the stool talking a mile a minute (but she was being so good through it all). I was just praying for some pee to come. 12:30 nothing. 12:35 nothing! The office closed at 1:00. My husband was on speaker trying to help us but nothing was working. She asked me to sing, I think it may have relaxed her. There came the pee all over my hand. YUCK!! But I managed to get some in the cup.

NO UTI. We left the office, went to Target to get pull-ups and as we were on our way into the store M got the biggest smile on her face (she knew we were going in to buy pull-ups) ... she looked at me with the biggest smile as I pushed them in the cart and said, "My business doesn't hurt anymore. It's all better!!"

I'm glad I got her checked out, it would've been horrible if something was wrong and I just blew it off thinking it was because of these pull-ups. But I think I got scammed by my 2 year old.   

Night Time Routines ... They are changing ... LOVE

March 1, 2013

There are so many things that I love about your nighttime routines these days. Both of the girls pretend so well and I love playing along! The best time is right after bath time while they are drying off and getting their pajamas on... 

A little bit of background: Both girls love Tinkerbell and lots of nights while we are getting ready for bed, we become fairies. L has named herself The Letter Fairy and M is The Puzzle Fairy (Daddy and Myself, our titles change often). While I am helping one, the other is flying around the room just talking and pretending like crazy! Last night when I was about it help M put her pajamas on, she looked at me and got so serious; She said, "Mommy, don't take my wings off!" I love it! I will pretend with them as much as they could ever want. They both have such vivid imaginations!

Tonight for example... 

They were talking on their phones while they were getting ready and pretending Silvermist (a fairy friend of Tinkerbell) was at the pediatrician's office at her 4 year checkup. L would talk on the phone about it then they would hang up. A few minutes later, she will pretend that her phone is ringing again, and of course, it is Silvermist giving the play by play of her appointment. Once everyone was dressed, we open the bedroom door and fly into the kitchen, see Daddy for a few minutes and tell him all of the new fairy news, then head into the living room to pick up toys and put them away (while still talking to Silvermist on the phone). Dinner was good. The girls were in really good moods. Several quick rounds of Simon Says, then off we were to the bathroom for brushing and flossing time. 

This time typically goes pretty smoothly. But tonight  L said she wanted Daddy to floss her teeth. After barely getting 2 teeth it's all tears. I sat on the floor, held her, let her calm down (I think she was just tired) and I got her to let me floss her teeth by telling her as soon as we were finished, that I would floss her toes.... Now, I'm not quite sure where this came from, but I knew it would make her laugh. I knew it would make her smile... and I knew it was silly enough that she would let me floss her teeth. I quickly added that the rule to flossing toes, is that it always had to be done AFTER flossing the teeth!!! ( this is a very important thing to add in there). 

She giggled the best giggles as I flossed her toes (she's very ticklish), then she asked to do mine (I am insanely ticklish), it was all a fun, goofy thing that was happening. I was laughing so hard from the tickling, she was laughing at me, Daddy and M was laughing at both of us. Then she wanted to floss his toes. (he still had his work/dress shoes on). As L "flossed his toes" she caught a little sock fuzz... and pointed out that was like getting food out from between her teeth (at least she understands why we floss) lol This all sounds pretty gross actually... Then of course, M wants in on the flossing of the toes. So that happened and we eventually ended up in bed. 

They were both really sleepy so there were a few tears. Daddy kissed us all goodnight and I laid there with them (like I always do, we co sleep and every night I lay with them while they fall asleep). Last night was really rough falling asleep. L was crazy tired and had a lot of tears. I asked her if she wanted me to sing and she said yes. I actually made up a 4 line song that I sang, slowly and quietly, over and over  (all it took was about five minutes) and both of them were out. 

Even with the tears in the beginning, bedtime was wonderful last night. I rubbed both of their faces and sang to them as they fell asleep. Tonight they wanted me to do the same thing. L started to cry and M asked if I would rub face, Although this is her way of asking that ... she would rub her own hand across her face and say to me, "go like this"...  I started to sing my four line song over and over as I rubbed their faces ... and they were once again asleep within five minutes! 

I will start doing this every night! It is a wonderful way to end the night with them!

  

                                                           Go to sleep baby ... 

                                                        Close your eyes baby ... 

                                                             I'll snuggle you ...

                                                                I love you ...  

An Update on Tantrums...

Tantrums happen.

Luckily for me, it seems that tantrums only really escalate when we are home. The kicking, turning red, horrible crying, everything you could imagine. 

There are two reasons I think they typically happen at home. One is that they know I mean what I say. I can generally talk them down from acting out. If I've given a few warnings and things aren't getting better. I'll tell them, if (whatever is happening that isn't okay) doesn't stop, then we are going to leave where ever we are (or stop whatever fun thing we are doing). I'll tell them that once. The second thing I do is tell (whichever one is acting okay) to talk to the other one because if what ever is happening doesn't stop then we are leaving ... This is the part that usually works. If we are out and something gets to this point, it TYPICALLY stops here. But if it doesn't then we WILL LEAVE OR STOP WHAT WE ARE DOING! If I don't mean it (when it comes to this) then I don't say it! So we don't typically get to the point of tantrum when we are out. 

If whining or fussing starts while we are out, something I say to them often is, "People are here to shop, see the animals at the zoo, (whatever is appropriate for where we are). None of then, including Mommy want to hear you fuss or whine. If you want to be able to stay (and/or come back), then you should think about stopping. 

This is something I think I say multiple times daily, "If you don't listen and follow the rules, then you don't get to do fun things". I have told them they should want to be good, want to take care of their things, want to follow the rules, and be proud of themselves for doing so. I explain this to them, I'm finding it hard to put into words. But then understand it, and sometimes they just need a little reminder. Sometimes if I'm saying this to L, then M will finish my sentence (and vice versa). 

The second reason this seems to happen at home is them being tired. I try not to plan late nights. We have a routine and I try to keep them as close as I can to their bedtime routine. Of course there are special occasions and we make exceptions. But being out too late (which isn't a normal thing for is) or simply being too tired will make this happen. Our girls go to bed around 7:30 and the tiredness starts to shine through between 4-5. Between my last post about this and now, I've learned some things I can do to talk them (mostly L) down from said tantrum.  

I have gotten to where I can point out to L, that this is a tantrum and the way she's acting is not okay. I can say to her, stop crying so you can  hear me (she stops, I get a pouty lip from her) but if we get to this, I can typically diffuse the situation by a short conversation about the behavior. If there is no end in site, I'll carry her kicking and screaming into her room, sit her in her bed and tell her she can come out when she stops. I leave her door open. I'm usually greeted a short time later by either a hug or a kiss.

A lot of the times, I can tell when the tiredness is extreme and has potential for tantrum activity. This is when I change up an activity or room that we are in (often) or what helps a lot is them helping Mommy. I can say, "You know, I really need help with something. Can you carry this to Mommy and Daddy's room for me?" or "Can you put this in the dirty clothes for me". Anything like that! My girls love board games! We can play a game. Sweeping the floor (they love this. I don't leave their little brooms out or they end up in the air, so they like when they get to help me sweep); they call it, "Finding the dirt". They are so looking forward to when I let them mop the floor!

This has been more of a ramble for me to remember these times. The tantrums aren't fun. I'm glad they seem to be happening less and less! I decided to blog more for myself to remember everything and that's happening while watching these sweet girls grow up! So these tantrums aren't fun, but I love the snuggles that come after! I love that I've gotten more in tune to them in the afternoon (when I am typically getting worn down from my day), I love that we changed our reading time to the afternoon because of this and we snuggle more while reading. They've always been snuggly babies, but with L just celebrating her 3rd birthday, I realize more now than ever that this time is going by so quickly. The quiet moments when we sit together and read, or they are sleepy so they ask me to hold them and rub their faces, I love these times! I love these babies! Tantrums or not, fun times and not so fun times... I love my life. It seems hectic at times, but I wouldn't change it for anything!

L's Birth Story

I started dilating with L at 29 weeks. I had a lot of pre-term labor contractions. I was in the hospital once a week (overnight) , every week in January 2010. Once because I didn't feel her move for 24 plus hours. Once because of a potential blood clot. Once because I had slid on some ice on the interstate while I was driving (and started crazy contractions right after). Lots of things. I didn't always go into the hospital from home; Sometimes I was sent there from a weekly OB appointment. I wasn't exactly on bed rest, but I had restrictions. No shopping, no excessive walking, no housework, things like that. This was to keep me from dilating more. Towards the end of my 35th week, I was taken off of those restrictions and I was so ready to have her. Thirty-six weeks was considered the safe zone (since then, this has changed to 37 weeks). At this time, I was given the go ahead to do whatever I wanted, if it made me dilate or put me into labor, it was okay at that point!

Saturday, February 20, 2010
Daddy and I went power walking at The Mall. We walked 3 times around the mall, as fast as I could go. Honestly, I think we did this Friday too, but I know for sure we did it Saturday. Saturday night I was a bit uncomfortable. Daddy was watching some UFC fights on TV and as the night went on, everything was getting worse for me. At one point I was sitting on the couch crying while he was watching the fights. There was nothing he could do for me, I don't want this to make him sound bad. He was concerned and offered to do things. There just wasn't anything that was making it better. I really didn't have anything to tell the doctor if I was to have called them. It was so uncomfortable for me to sit down. I had so much pressure. The only place I felt comfortable sitting was on the toilet, and I think this was because there wasn't anything directly underneath me. BUT every time I sat down, liquid would come out. I knew it wasn't pee. We googled so many things. I knew my water didn't break, although I thought I was leaking (and it was. I should have called the doctor and I'm very lucky nothing happened)!

Eventually we went to bed. I was able to get a little bit of sleep, but I spend most of the night sitting on the toilet (fully clothed, I was just using it as a seat, but with the top up). My pillow was on the sink counter and I laid my head on it and tried to sleep there. Finally about 6 am Sunday morning, I woke Daddy up, I couldn't take it anymore, nothing was any better, things weren't really worse, they just weren't much was different. At that point though, I for sure knew the liquid coming out wasn't pee and I was thinking my water really was leaking and I didn't want anything to happen from it, infection, etc. I woke Daddy up, I told him that I knew that when I told the doctor what was going on, she would tell me to go in. So I thought that we should get ready. Our bags were packed, but I had a list of last minute things that needed to go into them (that I absolutely didn't want to forget). I knew we weren't coming home without a baby this time. I knew this was it!!

Sunday February 21, 2010
I called the doctor right after I woke him up, knowing we would have to wait for a return call. We ate, showered, made sure we had everything we needed. We weren't rushing. Everything was very calm. I was excited.

We made it to the hospital about 9:30 am. We did go ahead and call my mom and tell her what was going on and that we were there. She came on up (we held off a little bit on calling everyone else). They did a test to see if it was amniotic fluid that was leaking. The results were questionable at first so they repeated the test and it was fluid. I was leaking. I WAS HAVING A BABY!

Not knowing any better, not knowing how long this was really going to take, we made the calls to everyone that I was in labor ... well sort of in labor.

I was leaking, I wasn't contracting at all, they hooked me up to Pitocin. There was a specific time frame that they were supposed to wait before they would increase the amount of Pitocin I was getting. Since nothing was happening in the way of contractions, they began to increase the amount I was getting to every 30 minutes until I got to 18 something or other.(maybe ml's I don't know how they measured that) ... All of our families were there, in and out of the room. I was happy to see everyone and I know they were excited to meet our little girl. I know they were also excited to find out her name; This is one part that we kept to ourselves and were planning to introduce her to everyone when she was born! I appreciated everyone BUT I really just wanted my mom and my husband, especially once the contractions started coming.

Once we got to 18 (maybe ml's) they wanted to insert the internal monitor. Well AS SOON AS THIS WAS INSERTED MY WATER BROKE.  The nurses said I went from zero contractions to moderate/severe contractions in the blink of an eye. The contractions were back to back with no break between them for 3 1/2 hours.

At that point I hadn't had any medication for pain. They asked several times but I really really wanted to try to do it without an epidural. I DID go into it with an open mind, saying I wanted to have her naturally, that I would try my best to do so. I would always say ... If at any point told me L was in danger and I needed it, there wouldn't have been any question!!

During all of this time, it was just my Mom and Daddy in the room with me. It was right under 4 hours of breathing through these horrible contractions with no break between them what so ever! I looked at my mom and asked her if she thought I could continue like I was. Her reply was, "You are doing good. Your breathing through them good". I asked my husband the same thing, his reply was the same as my moms. I was crying a bit at this point, the contractions were one after the other LITERALLY NO BREAK between them at all (I think I've stressed that part enough). I asked the nurse if she thought I could continue like I was. Her reply was, "This could go on for an hour, 5 hours, 10 hours, 24 hours. You just don't know how long it's really going to take". At that point I had to get the epidural. The contractions were so intense and I had a lot of back labor. My mom and my husband were amazing! A nurse showed them where to push on my back to help ease the pain I was having. I remember them taking turns, giving each other breaks. I'm sure it wasn't easy doing that part either. When they would switch off the one that was replacing the other had to put their hand on my back and start pushing before the other one could take their hands off or my pain would go through the roof!

I was so scared of the epidural. I was scared of being paralyzed from it. Not to mention my fear of needles and I knew how long the needle was that was going into my back. My medical background didn't help this process. I think I knew too much for my own good. I asked a lot of questions. I was trying to keep myself from being scared. Right before they put it in my back. I seriously looked at my husband and asked him if he would stay with me if I was paralyzed. I'm so glad they let him stay in there with me while they were putting it in. Once I had it, I was able to sit back. I had a bit of a break!

Family started coming in and out again. Pictures were taken. We found some movies on TV. I remember we watched Hitch. I can't remember what else. Mom and Husband were in there with me most. I felt a bit uneasy if both of them weren't in the room with me. I don't know if I was afraid something was going to happen and one, or both of them wouldn't be there. I got the chills really bad. I don't even know if you could call them chills. I was shivering like I don't think I ever have before. Mom would rub my chest and it would help. Shivering that bad was so uncomfortable. Nurses said this was a normal side effect of the epidural and I think I slept a little but not much.

Monday February 22, 2010
Once it was time to push, I was so excited. I didn't think this part of bad (I'm sure because of the epidural). The worst part was the 3 1/2 hours of those intense contractions, then the shivering. But the pushing, I don't think was bad at all. In between pushing, I would joke around saying how much closer I was to having a diet coke!! I pushed for, right under 4 hours. L was born at 3:40 am 6 lbs 12 oz 18 inches long.

We knew early on that that there was miconium and the Neonatologist would have to examine her as soon as she was born. Everything was great with the examination. Apgar scores were good! No nicu stay!!!! So we were very grateful about that. They could not put her in my arms fast enough! But as they were handed her to my husband there was a little bit of blood (I want to say it came out of her nose). They took her back quickly, suctioned her and all was well from that point on on. I had to get 22 stitches (because of the episiotomy). I was holding her and loving life as they were stitching me up!! We tried breastfeeding and had some issues with latching. We were told it was most likely because she was a bit early as well as the suctioning (she was suctioned twice). The lactation consultant worked with us A LOT! (this requires it's own blog post)

That hour in the delivery room that we had after she was born was incredible. I was smiling, I was crying, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I couldn't stop kissing my husband. L was very wide eyed and very alert during this time! I can't find the words to describe the way I felt ... But as I'm sitting here typing this, 3 years later, I am getting teary eyed. I can't explain it, but it's like I'm right back there in that moment and I can feel that feeling and all of those emotions once again ... My Mom and my Mother-in-Law were the only ones of our family that stayed through the night. They couldn't wait to come in and meet our sweet girl!

They transported L to the nursery (temporarily) and they transported me to my room. At this point, I had been up for 24+ hours and there wasn't one part of me that was sleepy. There wasn't one part of me that was in pain. Everything was perfect. So much adrenaline! My Mom and my Mother-in-Law only stayed for a few more minutes... I remember them saying they would head out so we could get some rest. All I wanted was my baby. Everyone would make comments that I looked great, they couldn't believe I wasn't sleepy but at some point, I was going to crash. Believe it or not, that didn't happen until 11:00 pm that night.

It was a wonderful day! I was a MOMMY!!!

Toddlers Flossing

Later on after our dentist appointment we took a trip to Target. Really we were only going for floss sticks (the curved ones seem to work best for us). 

When it was time to brush and floss that night, L was all for it. But my little one wasn't really on board with this. I didn't push her, I told her to let me know when she wanted me to floss her teeth. But I knew I had to come up with something. Later that night, Daddy said to me, she's 2 and if she doesn't want to do it, could we start it when she's 3 like L?? I see the point he's making, BUT we did just go to the dentist and they DID say we should. We had that talk, all of us together, and they were told that we should start doing this. I know L wouldn't understand why M wasn't doing it (or why she didn't have to) since we were told by the dentist that we should. I didn't want her to think that it was okay NOT TO DO IT!

The following day after we finished at soccer, we made another trip to Target. To get some stickers! I let them both pick them out. When we got home I started making 2 sticker charts. One with M's name and one with L's name. While I was making it I explained to her how it would work (of course M was right there hearing it all). She could choose a sticker in the morning after we flossed and at bedtime when we flossed and when the chart was full of stickers with no empty blocks, she could choose to either go to Chuck E. Cheese or Puzzles Fun Dome. After I finished, we went into the bathroom to hang the charts. L asked me why I had 2 and I replied, "One day M will be ready and she'll ask me to floss her teeth, when her chart is full, she can choose one of those two places to go as well." I never said anything to M about flossing her teeth. 

That night I brushed and flossed L's teeth. L started brushing her teeth after I was finished and while I started brushing M's teeth. When I finished brushing M's teeth, she took my face into her hands pulled me close to her. We were nose to nose and she said, "Floss my teeth Mommy!" We celebrated, made a big deal and she's been flossing ever since!!

Toddlers at The Dentist

The morning of the girls first dentist appointment, they were so excited! They woke up, ate breakfast, and in the process of getting dressed they must have asked me a million times what time the dentist opened. They were ready to go!

The girls don't watch a lot of TV, when they do watch, it's typically Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or a Disney movie. In the last several weeks, one of the things that came on right before each episode of MMCH was a small commercial (in a sense) about going to the dentist. Each time we would see this, we would always celebrate that fact that we were going to get to go there soon. In this "commercial" there are cool things on the wall there and things like that. I would ask them if they thought the dentist office that we were going to had cool things on the wall. I had them excited about every part of this appointment. Nothing about the disappointed them!

Excitement brewed as we got out of the car. Walking into the office building we had to go down a pretty cool staircase. This was a pediatric dentist that we were going to, so even the sign on the door was exciting for them! We opened the door COOL THINGS ON THE WALL, squeals of excitement! The fish tank, the train table, books, they had it all! Luckily Daddy showed up pretty quickly and was able to help me with the paperwork! The girls were so excited, wanting to show me everything, that it was hard to concentrate on what I had to do. THEN THEY CALLED OUR NAME!!

As we walked back, each of them were able to choose a new toothbrush and were shown the magical treat/toy corner that they would be able to choose a toy and a sticker after we were finished. L went first, she sat in the chair and started talking a mile a minute to the dental assistant, Mrs. Sheila. Mrs. Shelia was amazing! L is very talkative, Mrs. Sheila listened to her and showed her each one of the tools, explained in perfect terminology what it was for and what she was going to do with it, and she would let L touch whatever she was talking about. Before moving onto the next tool, she would touch that one to each of L's fingers (so she could feel it and know it doesn't hurt)!  L laid back in the chair and was given some some glasses to put on. Mrs. Sheila made sure her glasses were okay, that she could see in the mirror and ask if she was ready before just getting started! 

There was a girl in the area next to us just screaming. I was so nervous that this was going to set one of the two of mine in a frenzy. M asked a few times what was the matter, but we were able to divert her attention! L did have to have an x-ray (on the tooth that she hit on our bed, I explained this in the last blog post). She sat there like such a big girl, she sat still. I was so proud of her! I stood there watching her, seeing how brave she was being, she looked so big. It was hard not to cry! (I say that as I start to tear up)...

It was M's turn and seriously everything went just the same. Even though M watched as Mrs. Shelia went through all of the tools, Mrs Sheila went through them all again (the whole bit) with M! M did hold my hand as she got her teeth cleaned. I think it made her a little nervous, but she did incredibly well! Daddy and I were both so impressed. They even did well when the actual dentist came in. The dentist saw M first (since she was already in the chair). The funny thing, both girls had recently learned how to say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, as the dentist walked in M looked at her and began to say it. To listen to a 2 year old say that word, not only is it the cutest thing ever, it also takes a few minutes! They also thought it was the cutest thing ever, they brought multiple people to hear both of them hear it! It was very cute and very funny!

Both girls had a great check-up! I was happy to hear that we are doing such a great job with their teeth. The dentist was happy to hear the things the girls eat and don't eat/drink! Together we had conversations with the girls about some changes we were going to make to our bedtime routine (this needs it's own blog post). One thing we were going to start is flossing. They did well with Mrs. Sheila flossing them at the dentist office. I wasn't sure how it was going to go at home!

On the way out of the office, they got a goodie bag with their new toothbrush, some floss sticks and I don't remember what else was in there. As we walked out, there were able to choose their prize. I think this may have taken as much time as their actual appointment. As Daddy and I were praising them on how well they did, Mrs. Sheila was doing the same. L asked when we get to come back again. Mrs. Sheila whispered to me not to expect the next appointment to go as well??!! Really?? 

The next appointment is scheduled! We'll start talking it up once again as the time gets closer and hope for the best!!

What kind of experiences have you had with your little ones at the dentist? If you haven't been yet, how do think it's going to go? Please share your thoughts!

Preparing Toddlers for Their First Dentist Appointment

Going to the dentist has always been traumatic for me. A shot or two of Novocaine didn't numb me like it did other people. As a kid I would tell the dentist I could still feel what he was doing; I don't know if it was because I was young and he thought I was "just saying" it hurt, BUT IT HURT! It hurt and no one would do anything to fix it. As I grew older, I just didn't want to go to the dentist anymore. In my late 20's I found a dentist that listened to me. I had to have a wisdom tooth removed; it took 13 shots of Novocaine to numb me, a few hours later I was back to normal. I get sick to my stomach can't sleep at night scared when I know I have to go there! 

Of course when you have kids, you want to take all of their hurt and fears away the best you can. I will do everything I possibly can to make sure they take good care of their teeth and make sure they have the best experiences they possibly can when going to the dentist.  

Both of my girls started teething early. As soon as I saw the first bit of white poke through their gums (about 5 months old for L), we began brushing. I honestly think brushing this early has helped us, as we don't have any issues with brushing, no battles, no arguments about it (at this point anyway, I just hope this continues)!

They make toothbrushes for 3+ months as well as training toothpaste. We would sing songs while brushing. I got a couple of tooth brushing song ideas from the internet. But their favorite, is one I made up. We still sing sometimes while we are brushing. I would tell them that "I am brushing the sugars out of their mouth. If I didn't get the sugars out, those sugars would work on their teeth and make cavities." As they learned how to count, before we would brush, they would open their mouths and I would "count how many sugars they had" before I brushed. They would do the same to me. They had to let me brush their teeth good, then they could brush their own. L would tease me and tell me that I missed a sugar (she, to this day, says this every time we brush). 

When reading about taking little ones to the dentist for the first time, the recommended age ranges from 2-3 years old for their first visit. I was planning to go when M turned 2 and L turned 3. As I had been taking good care and there wasn't any known issues. 

The beginning of December 2012, L was running in our bedroom. No sooner then I said, "You need to stop running, you're going to get hurt," she fell and hit her mouth on the corner of our bed. Our bed is a very large, wooden king size bed and there is a dent in the wood where she hit her front left tooth. She cried for a bit and of course, told me her tooth hurt! Within a week her top front left tooth was visibly darker than the rest of her teeth. That was my cue that it was time to call to make their appointment. 

I called several dentists before I found the one that I was comfortable making an appointment with. I was so surprised to hear that some dentist WOULD NOT LET THE PARENTS GO BACK WITH THEIR TODDLERS! I wasn't okay with that at all. Multiple receptionist that I talked to tried to tell me that doing it this way was better. Maybe better for some, but NOT FOR ME OR MY KIDS! I found one that would let my go back but wasn't happy with the call itself. The next phone call I made was the one I chose. She didn't rush me off the phone, she answered my questions, I could go back with my kids AND my little one could go back with me and watch the big one for her appointment! SCORE! 

I called in December, our actual appointment wasn't until February. Randomly in the previous months, I had been telling both girls that we were going to have to go to the dentist soon. That there are doctors for everything. We talked about their pediatrician, the ENT (when M was having so many ear infections, the eye doctor (when L had to get her eyes examined) and that the Dentist was a doctor for their teeth. Once the appointment was made, we didn't talk about it every day, but a few times a week. 

I tried to prepare them for every part of the appointment (as best that I could). The "big cool chair" that moved up and down, the dentist would have pointers and tools that they had to look inside their mouths to tell them what a good job they were doing taking care of their teeth and getting the sugars out! I explained to L that they may want to take a special picture of her hurt tooth. 

They were ready for their appointment and they were actually excited.

My next post will be about their actual appointment.

How are you/did you prepare your little ones for their first dentist appointment?

Kids on The Internet

I don't judge anyone! I think when it comes to parenting there isn't an absolute right way. I think whatever works for you and your family is the right way for you!

There is something I struggle with all of the time. It's pictures of kids on the internet. I should rephrase this ... I love seeing pictures of kids on the internet! I love seeing the instagram pictures posted on twitter! I love seeing everyone's pictures of their little ones in their blogs! In fact, I'm a bit jealous (in a sense) that everyone isn't looking at pictures of my kids like that. My girls are beautiful and we take a ton of pictures (and there are so many that I'd love to share).

 I think I'm one of the few people left in the world that doesn't have a face book page and I've asked, and been pretty stern with my family about not posting pictures of my girls on face book (not just face book, all social media)! I honestly don't know that I have any valid reasons, other than I just don't want pictures of them on the internet! I've conjured up thoughts in my head (from watching too much news) that someone can track us down and kidnap them, some pervert could get a hold of the pictures (you know all things that you hear, THAT COULD HAPPEN).  Then there's the privacy of my kids. Anyone can take those pictures and do whatever they want with them. It's easy to save an image ... then it's someone else's forever. Those are my babies. Our pictures! I know there are privacy settings everywhere and I can put those in place. It's just something I'm not comfortable with yet! Maybe one day! 

I am so torn about this and struggle with this issue all of the time. Not in respect of anyone else and what they do. I wish I could get this out of my head and just share everything with the world. I know there are at least five pictures that I've taken today that I would share in a split second ... if I wasn't so crazy about this!

My blog would be better and I could make everyone smile with the antics that goes on here. This is nothing more then maybe a brief explanation of why there aren't any pictures on my blog. As well as, the possibility of working this out in my brain (although this didn't happen). I'm sure I will continue to struggle with this. Some say I'm extreme (and I know I am about this) ... it's just something I can't help. 

Thank you for listening to my rambles on this and I'm sorry I don't share pictures on here :(

I keep telling myself ... maybe one day! Never say never (just not right now).

Birthdays with two so close in age

M's second birthday was in December. She seemed to really understand what was going on. She knew we were going to Chuck E. Cheese for her party (and she was so excited), she knew she was going to get presents, family was coming because it was HER DAY! She loved looking the different cakes and picking out which one that SHE wanted. This WAS HER DAY COMING UP, AND SHE KNEW IT!

L on the other hand (although she is older), it had been ten months since her birthday, so she didn't quite understand "get it". We did our best explaining that HER birthday was coming up, that she would have all of the same things happening! She would have her party, family would be coming to see her, she would get to pick her cake and what she wanted on it. I told her I was also going to give her two options and that she would be able to pick where she would have her party. She was getting excited for this! I think talking about her party at the same time was helping.

It was the day of M's party. Things couldn't have went any better! The party was suppose to be from 11-1:00, and it was over at one (but we still had tokens left, the girls and myself ended up walking out of the door at 3:00). Of course the fun wasn't over, at that point we were going home to the presents that M had unwrapped and now it was time to play.

Something we really haven't ever experienced was things being "MINE". L was excited about the presents as well and couldn't wait to play with everything and there were plenty of new things to go around! As excited as L was, I explained to her that it was M's birthday and when I would open something, I would hand it to M to get to play with it first, then they could share it. This was reasonable to us and seemed to be going okay. Until these words came out of M's mouth, "That's my present," she didn't want L playing with anything. I then explained to M that L was born before her and there were a lot of toys that are here that belonged to L before M was born and that L shares everything with her so nicely. I named some of her favorite toys, told her that they really belonged to L and how would she feel if she wanted to play with them and L wouldn't let her because they were initially L's presents. M then understood and things seemed to once again be okay.

Things were okay on the toy and sharing front, but off and on throughout the day and evening, L would bring up her party, she would tell me that she wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese, just like M did. She wanted a Tinkerbell cake, just like M had. I don't know if she just had a good time and wanted to "make sure" that her party was just as fun, or what the reasoning was. I told her, if those were the things she wanted for her party, that would be perfectly fine but we could make the final decisions once her birthday was getting closer.

Towards the middle of January we started talking about themes etc. She was getting excited that HER DAY was coming. She made the decision to go to Chuck E. Cheese and she chose a Madagascar theme for her cake and things. We talked about all of this often (she was excited and brought it up several times a week). With this, M started talking about it being her birthday. Explaining to a two year old that her birthday had past and now this was L's day, over and over, was tiring (and not always easy). She became territorial of her presents again, not wanting to share. I explained that L would be getting things for her birthday and asked her how she would feel if L didn't share things with her. We had this conversation often.

Daddy and I decided the girls didn't really "need" anymore toys. With Christmas and M's birthday having both just passed. We decided to get something BIG that they would be able to use for quite sometime! We decided on a 14' trampoline with a safety enclosure. We bought it and it was put away (waiting for warmer weather).

We were having L's birthday party on Sunday, February 17, 2013 and the Saturday night before, I started thinking... L is very smart and doesn't forget a thing! When it was M's birthday, she paid attention to EVERYTHING and pointed out many times that she wanted her party to be just like M's. I started talking to my husband, saying that M came home with all kinds of presents and L has a trampoline. A trampoline (that she knows she's getting). A trampoline that is sitting in the shed in the backyard, that she's not going to open at her party and she's not even going to see until the weather is warmer. I told him the presents that she was going to open from family (I knew what everything was) and what she would be bringing home. I'm not saying in the least that any of this is about the presents, but at the same time, I didn't want my baby to be disappointed with the few things she would be bringing home and remembering ALL THE THINGS that her sister came home with. She turning 3, she's not going to understand that trampoline is in the shed... He agreed and after I got the girls to bed that night I went power shopping. I did not go crazy. But I got several small things that I knew would make her happy! She had a good amount to open and she came home with presents, she was happy! Her party was so fun and a big success!!