New Friends

As I said in my last home tour post, we have already met some wonderful godly friends here---and friends for Addison too!!!  We had the chance to watch a friend's little girl for a couple hours and it was a BLAST, I think I had as much fun as the girls!  Can you tell they had fun??

We do not have any chick-fil-as here but there are TWO opening within 10 minutes of us over the next couple of months.  YAHOOOO!!!!!

Lets cover up

No lets cover you up

Ok...I will get covered up!

11 Months

Happy 11 months to our Caleb Asher!!

As Addison so eloquently says "here comes mischief" 

Weight:  I am guessing 26 or 27 maybe (Addison weighed 28 lbs after her bad stomach bug so he may outweigh her now)

Height:  29 inches?

Diaper size: 4 during the day and 5 at night (as a side note, Addison never wore a size 5 diaper)

Clothing: 18-24 month, unreal

Overall:  He is the most huggable little boy ever!  Every time I pick him up he wraps his arms around me and gives me a big hug and even makes an "awww" sound.  Caleb's general demeanor is very happy, energetic, loving and curious/mischievous.  However, when he does not get his way he is very vocal about it and is not easily consoled once he IS finally upset (except mommy---and it even takes me a little while to console him).  

Description:  Here are words I would use to describe our little Asher: mischievous, lovable, charming, vocal, temperamental, curious, kissable, energetic, distracted, content, meek, solid, admires big sister

Separation/Stranger Anxiety:  We are also still struggling with it quite a bit.  Earlier this week we went on a "meet the doctor" visit for a potential pediatrician.  We mentioned his stranger anxiety and she said it is VERY common for babies who went through much pain for very long during early to mid infancy to experience more intense separation/stranger anxiety.  I felt much better!

Food:  Up until Tuesday I would have said he was a fantastic eater but he stopped eating almost everything! We are blaming his teeth because he won't chew anything harder than a banana.  So teeth---COME IN!

Liquid feedings:  Today we started replacing liquid feedings with almond milk in a cup.  Lunch is now a cup with almond milk.

Teeth:  He has about 6 teeth all cutting right now; and once his come to the surface they take an eternity to come all the way in.  Poor little dude.

Mobility:  In the past month he went from barely crawling to speedy Gonzales on his hands and knees!

Verbal:  He said his first sentence---kinda:  "Hi Dada" :) He babbles constantly but he can say mama, dada, bye bye, boo (as in peek a boo), piper, hi, ball, baby.  I am actually surprised he can say this much!

Schedule:

• 8:00-8:30 am:  Wake up, liquid feeding, get dressed
• 8:30-9:00 am:  Breakfast (takes a while to get him and Addison up and dressed and ready for breakfast)
• 9:00-10:00 am: Mon & Wed Sibling time; Tuesdays Baby Play at the library (Aj at school) ; Thursday Mommy time (AJ at school)
• 10:00-11:30/12:00 pm: Nap
• 12:15-1:00 pm:  Lunch
• 1:00-1:30 pm: Independent Play time
• 1:30-2:10 pm:  Structured Play time with Mommy
• 2:10-4:30/5:00 pm:  Nap
• 5:00-5:30: Daddy Time
• 5:30-6:00 pm:  Liquid feeding then Dinner
• 6:00-7:15 pm:  Family time (play ground, errands, walk, etc)
• 7:15-7:50 pm:  Bath, Bible time, prayers
• 7:50-8:00 pm:  Bedtime feeding

Nebraska Home Tour: Outside

Here is the outside of our new home here in Nebraska......we are still LOVING IT!!  And we have met some really wonderful people already

I think our favorite part might be the garage!  

The window on the right is Caleb's room and the window on the left is Addison's room.

The bay window is the "adults only" living room.

Front porch....I love that now I don't have to get soaking wet unlocking the front door!

One of two giant Christmas trees in the front yard.  Everyone has them...I hate it!!  LOL!

Back patio...perfect for grilling, but we had to give our grill and patio furniture away when we moved; It wouldn't fit.  So sad...oh well!  The sliding door leads to the play room.  We LOVE playing back here and covering the patio with chalk!  The slide is over there because nectarines kept falling on us when we would slide :)

  

Back of the house.  The window in the upper left is the master bedroom and the smaller window on the second floor is the master bath.

Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom: Enjoy the Moment

After a challenging day when I just feel like I need a break (aka last confessions post), the following day I always try to simply enjoy my children. Forget the cleaning. Forget the schedule (well for the most part). Forget the cooking. After my September 25 post, I did just that--enjoyed the moment. We went to the zoo with some other friends and I am so glad we did; that's the most fun I have had in a while. Caleb missed his morning nap completely. He went down way too late for a marathon afternoon nap and Addison's nap was also monumentally late. All that was forgotten as I watched the the smiles and heard the infectious giggles of not only my children but my friends little ones as well.

What a wonderful way to follow a challenging day! I know I sound like a broken record, but wow...I am so thankful. The challenging days make these sweet moments even sweeter. I can't imagine missing these moments. I fall short so many moments out of the day, but I am thankful for our Father's forgiveness and teachings.  It is amazing how much an 11 month old and a 2 year old can teach me each day; I never though I would learn so much from such young children!  I sure do love my sweet babies!

Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom: Declaring Sanctuary

I confess that today, today I wish I had a job to find refuge from the fussy fanatics that were my children today.  "SANCTUARY, SANCTUARY" is what I was lamenting in my head today.  I will not go into the details of why, but it was just one of those challenging days.  I just wanted to get away from the fussing and when I looked at my watch I realized, if I worked I would be working right now rather then listening to the gut wrenching cries of my little ones (I know some of you are very against cry it out, but just go with me here).  I also thought about how I would be talking to adults at that very moment instead of tired babies that cannot rationalize anything.

In hindsight I always realize it was not as bad as it felt in the moment but it does not make the moment any easier.  It is also in hindsight that I can rationally look back on the moment and realize, although I will always experience more bad moments being around my children 24/7 I will also experience more good.  Missing first words, first steps, first sentences, first scraped knee, first trip to the playground, first time to get stuck standing up in the crib, etc would break my heart.  I cannot imagine missing those sweet first moments and that also means, I get to experience the not so fun ones too.  I will take it.

Perhaps I am alone in occasional moments like this.  But it is moments like this that make me realize how blessed and yet incredibly challenged I am to have the privilege of being home with my children.

I am thankful for a friend who reminded me today that the lord renews us each day.  Today was the pits, but He renews me tomorrow.

Peek a Boo

At baby play at the library we read "peekaboo baby" by Margaret Miller. As soon as Caleb saw the first page depicting a baby playing peekaboo, he instantly copied. Everyone in the room could not stop laughing! So of course I had to check out the book to show Matthew and catch on camera. Excuse my night time attire :)

Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom: Its Official. I Am A Mom

I was not fully initiated into motherhood until last weekend when the first stomach bug hit a Grant Gang kid and I was forced to handle it---alone. Just a few days after Matthew's departure are when symptoms began to appear and they did not fully subside until two days before his return.  He missed all the stomach bug fun! Before this lovely initiation exercise, I only thought I was a real mommy--NOT SO.  I feel like I have seen most of the fun and not so fun mommy experiences.

For those of you who know me well, you know I have a HUGE phobia of throw up.  I get light headed, racing heart, everything when I hear, smell or even think about puke.  I remember asking my mom "What will I do when I have kids that puke, I won't be able to handle it!".  Like many mothers speaking to inexperienced mothers or mothers to be she responded with "It is different with when it is your own child".  I assured her she was incorrect in this particular instance.  As is frequently the case---she was right :)

Matthew left on a Sunday and by the following Wednesday Addison's eating was very off.  She was putting up a fight eating, not eating much (VERY unlike her), being picky, etc.  After being up in the morning for only an hour she was begging for a nap.  I chalked it up to Daddy being gone....I was wrong.  By Friday, she was eating next to nothing.  And Saturday, lower stomach symptoms appeared and Sunday morning my biggest fear became a reality--she threw up!!!!!!!!!  My mom was right, it was much different than I expected.  I did not flip out.  Instead I was calm.  All I could think about was 1) she is terrified 2) she is confused 3) I want to do anything and everything to make her feel better and more comfortable 4) please do not let Caleb crawl into it.  Since it is a phobia for me, I got an adrenaline rush which made me get shaky, LOL!!!  I immediately called MY mom to see what to do hahahaha!!!

Addison's appetite was not back until the following Thursday and when it came back---BOY did it come back.  Since then she has literally been eating non stop.  She has fully recovered aside from some lingering potty training issues that popped up from being sick.  It was bad timing because potty trips was JUST becoming a non event to her.

I am thankful she is better---it broke my heart to see her sick for over a week.  She is almost 2.5 years old and this is the first REAL illness that she has had.  The rest has been little colds here and there (which probably really started with bad allergies).  THANK YOU BREASTFEEDING--I BELIEVE IN IT!!!! So far Caleb, my brother or I has not gotten sick.  After hearing news of two food product recalls that Addison ate, think this may have been salmonella poisoning.  Honestly---who knows and who cares because we have our healthy Addison back!!!

Sunday Morning just before the puke :(

My pukey princess...she has a different shirt on than she did in the picture above, can you guess why? 

Little plain toast hoping it would stay down

Caleb's quarantine

Notice the vacuum and resolve in the background

Puke bucket doesn't do much good like that

He still seems fine!!

Fresh air and coloring always makes you feel better

Daddy is Home!

After TWO weeks away on a business trip, Daddy finally came home and boy did we miss him!!!!

There was a ball in the vase for everyday Matthew was gone and Addison took one out for everyday that he was gone; when it was empty--that was the day he came home.  She loved it!

Matthew sent me these one week into the two week.  It was so unexpected and so thoughtful.

Painting to give him in the car at the airport

Sign in the dining room.

 Dairy free cupcakes I made with Addison.  It doubled as a test run for Caleb's birthday cupcakes and a welcome home happy for Matthew!

These were supposed to be a surprise when we got home from the airport but Addison spilled the beans within 2 minutes of seeing Matthew.  Like Mother like daughter :)

When I was turned around making the frosting, the Cupcake Monster attacked!

Making cupcakes is fun!

Dairy free frosting is tricky, it melted within 30 seconds out of the fridge.  BUT I learned something...it's all in the spirit of learning for Caleb's birthday :)

Her "cupcakes"

Welcome home dinner at Chilis

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

All Done Sign

Caleb is really starting to get the hang of signs and pick them up quickly.  I need to be more consistent with his signs now that he is picking them up so well.  Addison LOVES teaching him signs, thats what I was hoping for!

Fun in a Tunnel

This does not do it justice.  He was CRACKING up his first time through but my other video wont upload, sill windows 8 beta version :/

Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom: Boys will be Boys

I confess.....Caleb ate dirt today.  Not one fleck, but a fist full!  Guess, I need to step up my game :)

Boys will be boys and boy is he a boy.  Messy.  Dirty.  Mischievous.  Cannot multitask.  A.D.D.

Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom: Business Trips

I confess that when Matthew first started going on business trips I was jealous.  I was jealous that he got a break from the monotony of life. Jealous that he could eat dinner when he pleased, be temporarily relieved of   his Daddy duties, come and go as he pleased, not worry about waking up in the middle of the night, have no diapers in sight, not be covered in stickers, simply be alone, not hear phantom cries or tantrums, relax...you get my point.  I think I felt particularly like this because unlike working moms, I do the exact same things EVERY day.  EVERYDAY with no change in the day when Matthew is out of town.  I do the same thing from 7 am to 8 pm with little to no change of scenery or people or venue.

But, something changed.  I am no longer jealous.  I have only been away from Addison for two nights (non consecutive) and never from Caleb.  The two nights away from Addison all I could think about was that sweet precious little girl.  I thoroughly enjoyed the time away, but there was a piece of my heart that was missing.  A piece of me was with her.  And even today, when I leave my two babies for the day or evening, part of me stays there.  Again, I enjoy and relish the time away but life is not the same without those two beautiful blessings.

I have a very tiny glimpse of what it must be like for him to leave behind his loves.  Part of him must be left behind.  Almost as if you are not whole when you are away.  I find myself thankful that no one is asking me go away for two weeks (which is how long he is gone for currently).  No matter how hard every day is raising children as a full time job, I could never ever imagine not being here.

Don't misunderstand me, I would love a get away---especially with Matthew since we had a mere 11 months as newlyweds before our Blessing Addison arrived.  BUT now I feel like I have a learned a little something about how hard it must before Matthew to leave.   I was too self centered to see that leaving us for trips must be hard on him!  I cannot imagine two weeks without my babies so I am grateful that he willing to leave a piece of himself behind in order for him to provide for us.  I am blessed.  Blessed.

Potty Training: Day 10

Continuing on my quest to review our potty training adventures (and hopefully help a few of you NOT make the same mistakes I did) I bring you---Day 10.  I blog day 10 because we made a change to the reward strategy   My other blogs on potty training are:  Method, Prep and Reward Strategy, Day 1 and 2, Day 3 through 9

Goal:  Transition out of instant gratification type rewards and into longer term rewards.

New Reward Strategy:  Using a chart (see photo below), Addison places stickers leading up to a reward.  As time goes on, it requires more and more stickers to get rewards and the rewards get more exciting.  I am always looking ways to make things fun for everyone in our family and with the chart---everyone can join in on the fun.  And potty training needs some fun involved...lets be honest.  We also want to take every opportunity to teach the children about setting goals and achieving them.  I think this is something my parents really taught me well and I hope to continue to foster that in our children.  The rewards were very inexpensive because the point was NOT about getting her the coolest toy.  Here are the different rewards:

• Prize Bags:  Basically special looking stickers and/or something from the target dollar bin; there were nine of these and they took 4-5 stickers which generally takes her 1-1.5 days to earn (total cost about 6 bucks)
• Library Trips:  Two of these requiring 10-14 stickers and should take 2-3 days to earn (cost: free)
• Berenstains's Bears Book:  One of these requiring 12 stickers and should take 3 days to earn; she recently got into these books and LOVES them (cost: $4)
• Zoo Trip:  One of these requiring 20 stickers and should take about 5 days
• Pizza Party:  This is basically like a bigger chucky cheese that is fun for adults and kids.  When my parents visited, they took us there and she had a BLAST getting tickets.  She can hardly wait to earn the pizza party.  There is one of these requiring 24 stickers and it should take 6 or 7 days.

Treats:  Disconinued.  She only asked one time for them after we started the chart.  They give her a treat at school IF she goes :)

Accidents:  None since the first two days.

School:  She finally went potty at school!!!

Naps:  In total, woken up wet once and dirty twice

Bedtime:  She wakes up wet everyday, dirty once.

Success Rewards:  Since we ended the treats we give verbal praise for this.  She accepts it now---strange.

We are on day 15 as I type this and I am satisfied with the progress, proud of Addison and impressed with how well she has done!

What would I do differently?

As I write this, we are still on the prize bag portion of the chart, so I cannot say for sure that this has/has not been successful.

The one thing I would do differently, but I am not sure how is number 2.  She goes on the potty but I have to be creative about WHEN I ask her about needing to do this.  She never wants to sit long enough to actually go because it takes more than 10 seconds to go, unlike pee.  The time of day she goes varies so she is going when she needs to, but I have to figure out a way to get her to sit long enough to go or to be sure she doesn't need to go.  I hope that makes sense.

Spider Wars

This is how we kill spiders in Nebraska....

Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom: Luxury??

Let's see if I can stick with this series...I would like to start posting random confessions of this stay at home mommy. A place to vent. A place to exult. A place to share an opinion. A place to replay my mistakes. A place to reflect.  So be warned.

Today I vent and I confess...I am tired of hearing: "I wish I had the luxury to stay at home with my kids." How do I generally respond?

• "Oh, anyone can do it"
• "It's not without sacrifice"
• "It's the life we chose from the beginning"
• "Oh yeah"

Some variations of those programmed responses. My replies are mindless because I do not share my true thoughts on that question. I do realize that the statement is sometimes made in a fleeting moment and other times it is not. This is venting about the ladder.

What do I want to say? Luxury. Interesting word choice. It means "the state of great comfort and extravagant living." Extravagant, is the furthest from the way we have to live in order for one of us to stay at home with our children. We chose to have one of us stay at home with our children before we got married. This meant that never ever did we rely upon two household incomes to survive. This meant and continues to mean that we must be mindful of our spending. Very mindful. We will never have the nicest house (we rent) or the nicest cars (we have a new one now but that is because we keep cars until they fall apart) or the nicest clothes (we buy second hand) or the best toys or vacations or nice furniture. That is the very antonym of extravagant. Do I mind that we cannot live extravagantly? Of course not. I cannot imagine missing a moment of my children's early years.  It is corny, but we make up for it with laughter, love and time.  Don't misunderstand me, my children have far, far, far more than they ever need.  And I pray that we will be able to continue to provide with one income and still save for the future (college, retirement, weddings, etc). 

When I hear that comment I often want to retort "You chose to live a lifestyle that can only be sustained by two incomes. You bought the house that carried a mortage requiring two incomes.  You bought the new fangled whatever.  It is all a matter of choice.  We all chose whether we knew it or not." 

Before too many of you have steam blowing from your ears......I have NO PROBLEM with both parents working.  Zero.  NONE.  Zilch.  Those of you who know me well, know this to be very true.  In fact, there are many days I contemplate going back to work full time.  I am venting about the people who say this to me as if they are trapped and cannot escape from the need for two incomes; they are the ones who may arguably live extravagantly (of course by the standards of any other country I live extravagantly).  

I also know there are truly unfortunate events which necessitate the need for two people to work. It saddens me when things like that happen and if you are in Nebraska and this happened to you---call me, I will watch your children for free!!!!!!!!!   So hear me----I am venting about the situations where it was a choice.  Sometimes there is, sometimes there isnt.  

That was a much longer post than I wanted.  Next time I wont spend so much time justifying my opinion.  Because it is an opinion after all; some we listen to, some we disregard.

First Day of Nebraska School

Addison started back to school on the second day of school since we had just started potty training.  She was very excited to go back to school, but I was not quite sure how she would react considering all the changes recently (big move, new room, no paci, potty training, new school, new church, etc.). 

This year Addison will attend Tuesdays and Thursday 9-2:30.  She is right in the middle on the ages in her class.  Our goal for her school program this year is the same as last year, learn to experience life outside of mommy/home, socialize and be loved on by christian women.  Next year, our focus will be a bit different.

Upon arriving, she was VERY confused where Ms. Sandy (last year's teacher) was.  She looked everywhere.  Distraught, she started tearing up and told me she wanted to go home.  Clearly that was not an option so I kissed her and assured her I would return just like I did with Ms. Sandy.  She fussed and teared up, but within one minute she forgot about me completely.  

When I picked her up I learned she went ALL DAY without going potty, YIKES.  BUT no accidents, I can't complain right?  Her teachers could not stop talking about how well behaved she is and how well she can write her letters.  We were very proud!!!  I consider it a successful first day!!!!

She was excited I assure you, but she does not know how to do anything but a CHEESE BALL smile these days!!