Stellar Moms

A check up for Stella

2011-12-07T14:51:00.000-08:00

It was early this fall when I got a note from Stella's preschool saying they needed an updated doctors approval for her to continue attending school. I was less than thrilled with this news since we had just been to the doctor and it did not go well at all.

At our last visit she hid from the doctor under my chair and I believe at one point she even took a swing at poor Dr. Leo. She has never been fond of the nurses but usually she tolerates our doctor. On that particular day you could say she was not in the mood.

When I found out we had to go back and experience all that fun again I knew I had some work ahead of me. I did a lot of preparation for our next doctors visit. This is a regular practice with Stella because she tends to have strong reactions about too much attention or any kind of poking, prodding or touching. So we talked a lot about what to expect with our next visit and I even threw in a celebratory trip to McDonald's after a successful doctors visit. You may call that bribery, I choose the word celebratory. I know I was probably pushing it with this one, but I figured since we were going to be at the doctors office anyway, why not get the flu vaccination too? After all, they have a mist for kids. How tough can that really be?

The big day came and my little Stella was an absolute trooper! The only thing she wouldn't do was the eye test where you look at a sign and tell the nurse what letters you see (its pictures for little kids). She even got on the big scale, which usually causes tears and screaming. I know...the scale? Really? All said and done the doctor completed her physical and signed her off for another year of preschool.

Now for the flu mist.

We waited for the nurse to come back with the mist then it was off to McDonald's. Well, we waited and waited and waited. After 30 minutes I finally stuck my head out in the hall to flag someone down. I got a nurses attention and she said another nurse would be right in with the vaccination. At that point Stella had had about enough of the doctor and enough of cooperating. When the nurse finally arrived with the mist Stella was totally done with this whole doctor business.

I was soft and encouraging at first, reminding Stella about the Happy Meal that was waiting for her. The nurse and I tried to tell her how quickly it would all be over but she she adamantly refused. I became anxious and sweaty, taking on her panicked feeling on the inside but trying to stay calm and collected on the outside.

After a good amount of reasoning, (even though we all know reasoning is pointless with any child but sometimes happens when a Mom is desperate and losing control), I became a little more stern and uttered a threat or two. The nurse was trying as well but was following my lead as to how to handle the situation. At one point, OK maybe a couple of times, we tried to restrain her but she was like a bucking bronco. It was fight or flight for Stella and I still can't believe how strong a 35lb 3 year old can be. My mother was in the waiting room with Ben and came in for the end of the festivities to try and help. We could all see it wasn't going to happen, we left. Stella and I were both in tears.

In the end what I was most upset about was that I didn't allow her to have the real victory of her doctors visit. She did so wonderful with everything else I had asked her to do and she deserved to feel great about her success. Unfortunately it was overshadowed by the trauma of the stupid flu vaccination. I have shared this story with friends that were very kind and reassured me they probably would have done the same thing. But in that moment I felt like I failed my daughter. I know what it takes for her to overcome fears and If I could do that day over again I would not have pushed her.

Good news though! This is not the end of this story. Stay tuned for part 2, it ends so much better!

Carbohydrate Heaven

2011-10-19T21:40:00.000-07:00

Isn't stress kinda crazy? It really does wacky things to your body. Usually if I am stressed I break out with a lovely cold sore. As I've gotten older they only get bigger and more painful, it's really sucky. Stress will weaken my immune system and I end up with a cold, or I just feel tired and lazy. Lately I have been under a significant amount of stress and I find myself eating horribly. Nothing fresh or healthy, just carbs, sugar and fats. I did have an apple slice today but that was probably the only remotely healthy thing I've eaten in about a week and a half. I'm not a super healthy eater but I do really try to maintain a balanced diet. I always struggle to get as many fruits and veggies in as a should but overall I eat decent.

Unfortunately it is the scale that brought the stress eating to my attention. I knew I wasn't eating great but when I went to the doctor Tuesday and stepped on the scale I realized I have gained almost 5 lbs! That may not be a huge deal to some people but for someone my size its noticeable and it goes straight to my gut! If I were going to be over weight in my old age I would be like one of those old ladies you see with chicken legs and a giant belly. I don't know why but that is just where my fat likes to hang out.

Now the hard part: stopping! Now that I have recognized what I've been doing, and think back in horror about the absolute garbage I've been eating, I have to do something about it. Stupid.

I have had to break out of ruts before but I don't enjoy it and I like to complain about it. Well, I like to complain about a lot of stuff. Anyhow, I'm not going to make a plan because It will stress me out even more if I don't follow through. My hope is that now that I can't unconsciously eat and eat and over eat, I will start making better choices like I usually do. Time will tell...and so will my waist line.

Yoga buzz

2011-10-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

I took a break from my yoga practice due to a bizarre numbness I was having in the left side of my face and body. After two weeks the strange numbness has disappeared and I am definitely feeling the need to get my om on. Yesterday I was finally able to attend a class called twisted bliss and let me tell you, that is exactly what it was. We twisted, stretched, sighed and relaxed. It was awesome! Not every yoga class is created equal and there are definitely ones I prefer over others (the same can go for teachers). But, thankfully, yesterdays class provided me with a much needed yoga buzz. I don't always feel this way after a class but when I do have an excellent practice I am rewarded with a feeling I can only describe as buzzed. I am happy, VERY relaxed and just plain high on life. I know yoga is not everyone's "thing" but everyone should find something that makes them feel this good. Namaste:)

Creative People

2011-08-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

I have never considered myself a creative person. I get obsessed with perfection and if I'm not good at something, well, I often quit doing it. I just read an article on how to cultivate the creativity that lies within us all. In the article there is a great sentence that I will now butcher but it was something like "if you are not yet creative you are still in a larvae state and you will soon become a beautiful butterfly of creativity". Cheesy analogy, yes, but inspiring none the less. I have always thought that some people are just born creative while the rest of us have to go through life admiring those creative people. But maybe it doesn't really have to be like that. One thing that I haven't tried before, mostly because I am just to critical of myself, is practicing and developing my own creativity.

Most people aren't great at something the first time they try it so why not try something a few times? Then a few more, maybe changing or tweaking it. I think creative people enjoy the process as much as the final product and that is something that I will have to learn. I just want something to turn out amazing the first time so that will be a challenge for me. I am very much like that with my writing. I have a hard time letting it flow. Blogging is a little easier but usually I analyze each paragraph sometimes each sentence before I can get the fullness of the idea out. I think doing anything like that, at least anything artistic, can really diminish the potential of the final product.

Creating something takes time and I will have be patient with the time I have available. Which at this stage of my life is very little. At least I have naptime. Thank God for naps! I am very pleased by this new realization that I don't have to be boxed in to my boring bubble. Yay for my thirties! Its really interesting the way our ideas change as we age.

One thing I must mention before I finish this post is two people that inspire me. My Grandmother Bonnie and my Aunt Irene. These two women just ooze style and creativity and are crazy talented. Thanks Grandma and Aunt Irene for being such an inspiration! I would be happy with just an ounce of your creativity!

PITA

2011-01-29T19:28:00.000-08:00

When babies start eating solids there is a brief period of time when its fun to feed them. Any first in the life of a baby is exciting but for me the fun in feeding my kids baby food wears off fast. Especially when they won't eat, then it's just annoying. Benjamin still gets the majority of his calories from breast milk so I don't worry when he doesn't eat much. All you have to do is look at the kid to see he's not starving.

Although I'm not too worried about his calories I am a little concerned about his regularity. Poor guy is a little backed up these days. I try to give him juice and water to soften things up but he hardly ever has a bottle and is not really interested in drinking it. He is not a big fan of prunes either. I can't say I blame him. So its quite frustrating when I'm trying to feed him and he clamps his mouth shut like a steel trap. I've even tried to wiggle the spoon in using gentle force but when he's done, he's done. Today I was doing my best to coax him into eating but he just wasn't having it. He pressed his lips together in protest and even shook his had back and forth. He can't even talk and his first word is still NO! He's only eight months old and already the little turkey is saying "No mommy, get that crap outta my face, I'm not gonna eat it!". You should see him stare at me straight-faced, almost taunting me like "What are you gonna do about it Mom?".

What a little PITA.

PITA is the nick name we gave Stella as a baby. It stands for Pain In The Ass. I know, we're horrible, you don't need to tell me that. We had plenty of sweet and endearing names for her too but PITA was reserved for when she was being, well...a PITA. We just like to keep it real around here. I didn't think Ben would ever earn the nickname because he is what we call our "easy baby", if there really is such a thing. But he was being a defiant little bugger today and earned himself the title.

BFF's: Healthy eating and Exercise

2011-01-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

It seems like such a simple concept, eat healthy and exercise. It's also common knowledge that you really don't get good results, inside or out, unless you do both. But something dawned on me while I was eating taquitos, followed by a slice of apple pie, and watching Rachel Ray talk about healthy eating on the Dr. Oz show. There is no way I can personally eat right unless I exercise too. It's not just about the end result it's about the whole thought process behind eating and exercise. Are you saying "well duh" yet? You should be! This is so simple, exercise and be active and you will WANT to eat better. Who wants to eat McDonalds after their yoga class? Uh, not me. You want to fight cravings? EXERCISE! It really cuts down on the cookie's I shove in my pie hole all week. Or in this particular week, actual pie. I bought an apple pie because it was on sale, and guess who is the only one eating it? Me! TGIF because I need Monday to come real quick so I can get back on track. The beginning of the week is always the best time to start something new, that's just good sense, and I need to finish my pie.

A whole new light

2011-01-27T10:31:00.000-08:00

I see so many mommy blogs about losing your sanity and desperately needing coffee, both of which I can totally relate to. But I think I'm starting to see life as a mom of two in a whole new light. Its not so crazy here. Don't get me wrong, potty training Stella after just bringing home a brand new baby almost pushed me over the edge, but I think I may be back from the brink! Ben will be eight months old tomorrow and I don't know, everything just feels more...manageable. We still have the occasional bad day but Stella is maturing so much (this really is true if I ignore the out of control fit she threw at the grocery store yesterday). She behaves much more like the sweet little girl she is rather than a grunting, wild animal.

I feel like I have a new perspective and I am really trying to embrace the saying "don't sweat the small stuff". There is just no time, nor do I want to make time for that. It's not like I never stress or worry but I just don't feel so defeated by things that are often not even in my control. I'm sure if you ask Mike he will say I'm a total worrier but I have to make up for his laissez-faire attitude. He is the king of "it will work out". Ya buddy, after I work it out! (love you honey:)

I got laid off a couple weeks ago, not an uncommon thing in this economy. I was only working a couple of shifts a month at the restaurant but the extra money really made things more comfortable. This is just another hick up I have no control over, so I'll have to roll with it. Plus I feel pretty confident that I can never get fired from my real job, being a mother. They may want to fire me sometimes but too bad so sad Wingfields, mommy is tenured for life!

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

2011-01-24T15:25:00.000-08:00

I could eat this boy up all day long! And let me tell you those cheeks are the sweetest! Benjamin Michael weighs a mere 21 lbs and will be eight months on friday...EIGHT MONTHS!! I can't believe it and it is so true what they say about the second flying by even faster than the first. He has already had his first holiday season and before I blink we will be planning his first birthday. My little Ben is such a joy and he loves his big sister and she loves him. What more could you ask for!

Growing fast

2011-01-24T14:43:00.000-08:00

Stella's third birthday and we successfully sang to her with no tears! My little girl is growing up!

Health and Safety Faire

2010-09-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Stella and I went on her first field trip yesterday to the health and safety faire. Strange as it sounds, I was really excited about it. So far I am absolutely adoring the whole preschool experience. It is so fun to see Stella so excited about going to school each morning. Every time we go she ditches me at the door without even turning to say goodbye. She can't get in there fast enough to see what everyone is doing. She can be a little nuts-o when I pick her up. Last Thursday she started rolling around on the floor in the cubby room where all the parents pick up the kids. It was a little embarrassing to have to pry her silly little self off the floor but oh well, she is still a two year old.

The faire was unfortunately not the experience that I was hoping for but it was definitely not the first time I've been disappointed trying to do something fun with Stella. It was a lot bigger than I was expecting and we really didn't even hang out with people from her school except for lunch. Even in a good mood, making Stella wait in a line for 30 minutes is not a good idea. But this day she was a bit cranky and she didn't understand why we couldn't just walk up to the fire truck and get in. After we waited in line she got to sit in the truck for enough time to take a quick look and a picture. You can see below that didn't go over very well.

Overall she got to walk through an ambulance, hop in and out of a fire truck, make a bracelet, take a train ride and have a picnic lunch with her preschool teachers. Not the best field trip ever but it was mildly enjoyable. I'm hoping the pumpkin patch next month will be better. Have you ever seen anyone where a red plastic hat so well?

School Days

2010-09-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby started preschool! She has only gone two days but I can tell she already loves it. The first day her teacher greeted her and tried to get her busy right away so she would feel comfortable. Then the teacher looked at me and whispered "now might be a good time for you to go". No! I'm not ready! I wasn't expecting it at all but after I snapped a couple more pictures I hurried out to my car with tears flowing. Stella is one smart cookie and I can't wait to see how she grows through this experience. Today I showed up a little early to see if I could observe her. They were still playing outside when I got there so Ben and I hung around the corner until the kids went inside. After I heard the teacher telling all the kids it was time to go inside I heard Stella's high pitch little voice "C'mon guys"! It was too cute, she is already a little leader and she loves her friends.

Cool new program!

2010-09-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

My brother just hooked me up with a new program from Google called Picasa. I was complaining about how unhappy I was with my pictures and he gave me a little tutorial on photo editing. This program has so many cool options and it's free! One of the options is making a collage. Here is a collage we made from our trip to the Zoo. Hopefully I will have time to do more because it's really fun!

Happy Father's day honey!

2010-06-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

I am sitting on the couch with my wonderful husband watching the U.S Open and it dawns on me... "hey, it might be a good time to check that blog I used to write". I can't believe there are actually people that still read it! Well, probably just my mom and maybe my mother in-law, hi moms!

It is no secret that life in the Wingfield household has been a little busy. That is due to the birth of our beautiful little Benjamin. He was born on May 28th at 12:57pm after a quick but insane, out of this world, crazy painful labor. I'll save the whole story for another post. But he is here, healthy and wonderful.

Stella is adjusting like any other two year old would. She is very sweet at times and very devious at times. She once decided to give him a little nibble on his foot. OK, let's just be real here, she chomped on his foot and he screamed his head off. A little traumatic but a quick introduction to life with two kids. Siblings. That, I'm sure was just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to brother and sister altercations.

Just like with Stella, Mike stepped up as an all star Dad. We were lucky enough to have him home for two weeks while we bonded with our newest family member. He mostly looked after Stella and gave her all the attention her little heart desired. He is back at work now and I am happy to say we are doing quite well. I have managed to get out with both of the kids on several occasions. I even went shopping, which went surprisingly well. Ben is nursing well and packing on the lbs.

I'll end this post by saying Happy Father's day to my husband. Our kids are so lucky to have you and you have exceeded my hopes and expectations as a father to our children. I love you!!

This roller coaster called parenthood...

2010-03-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

It has become very apparent to me that parenthood is all about moments. Each day we wake up with endless possibilities of how the day will go. Most of the time Stella is sweet with intermittent toddler moments throughout the day.

We all know what toddler moments are right? I don't like to use the phrase "terrible two's", I prefer "toddler moment". Feel free to use that if you like, its kinda catchy.

Last Friday night was a perfect example of how life with a child is made up of moments and you need to enjoy the good ones while they last. I mean REALLY soak up those good ones.

So, last Friday we had just gotten home from the grocery store, not one of Stella's favorite things but she does okay. Mike doesn't get home till around 6-6:30 so it is usually up to me to keep Stella busy while I try to get dinner together. Not every night, but many nights this is quite a challenge because she usually ends up attached to my leg whining "mommy, want mommy", and pushing between me and the counter.

On this particular night though she was an absolute angel! She played by herself for at least 30 minutes, she was totally entertained. She didn't even come into the kitchen and whine one time. It was awesome. I even sent Mike a text message to let him know what good little girl he was coming home to. Unfortunately I think that text may have jinxed the good mood because all hell broke loose during dinner.

Stella, my sweet little angel that played so well so that mommy could fix dinner, had the tantrum of all tantrums. There was screaming, tears and timeouts. It was like Satan himself had come and possessed my child. I couldn't believe how we could go from the most pleasant evening to a complete disaster at lightening speed.

Stella is what you would call a strong willed child. A little birdie told me that my father in-law said she didn't stand a chance with who she has for parents. He couldn't be more right. Mike and I aren't exactly easy going people. In fact, before we had heard he said that we said the very same thing ourselves just the day before! I guess it's no secret there are some bold personalities in our family.

Now I just try to be prepared for a day filled with all kinds of moments. Those moments can be sad, funny, scary, irritating, peaceful, stressful or sweet. You just never know. When those good moments occur I will thoroughly enjoy them and then brace myself for the next loop in the roller coaster. Aahhh, so life goes.

Hello Again

2010-03-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

Time flies when you are growing a human! I meant to post yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, and...well you get the picture. I have been buried with overwhelming thoughts of "holy crap, I am going to have TWO kids in just a few short months". I have a to-do list a mile long and the little things I get done during the week aren't that comforting. I need to see some serious progress!

The biggest weight on my shoulders right now is the baby's room. We have been using our third bedroom as an office/guest bedroom/catch-all for anything and everything. There isn't to much to to clear out of there but the problem is finding a place to put it. We don't have a whole lot of storage at our house. I am finally going to nail Mike's butt to the wall and get him to spend an hour working in there with me. I think I will feel better after that.

I am loving the extra hour of daylight and the warmer weather we are having right now. We got out Stella's water table yesterday and she had a blast, she got totally soaked of course. It's not quite warm enough for a bathing suit so we had to strip her down when she was done. I am excited for her to wear this sundress I made her. Yes, that's right I actually sewed a dress! I had my Moms help of course but I did all the sewing myself. It turned out so cute and I'm very proud of myself. I bought more fabric to make another one because it turned out so cute, now if only I could find the time to make it! Hope it's warm and sunny where ever you are!

Random Thought Thursday

2010-02-25T16:40:00.000-08:00

Uh oh, today I had pita chips with spicy hummus and a Diet Pepsi for lunch. Could this be an ugly turning point in my pregnancy weight gain?

Where does the saying "green thumb" come from?

Stella's latest thing is to sing in a high pitch voice. There isn't much of a tune but it's pretty much the cutest thing ever. Cutest ever I tell ya!

How do you shave certain areas when you can't see them anymore?

Is my dog ever going to stop peeing on the carpet?

...Just a few thoughts floating around in my noggin. Not much else goin' on up there.

Veggies galore

2010-02-23T13:05:00.001-08:00

This is the future site of our vegetable garden. Mike made these planter beds months ago but then winter set in and we didn't get to plant anything. Now we've had all this gorgeous weather and the garden is pretty much the only topic of conversation in our house, except for Stella of course. Mike is obsessed I tell ya, obsessed! He has the beds plotted out on the computer, every plant has a home.

I'm a little apprehensive about the amount of vegetables he is going to plant. I have images in my mind of counter tops filled with giant zucchinis and onions and Betty Crocker here is supposed to figure out what to do with them all! Mike assures me it will be fine because you don't plant them all at once.

This garden is definitely Mike's baby but I am really excited about it too. I think he wishes I was just as into it as he is but the reality is I've got a toddler and another on the way. I don't see to much time spent frolicking in the garden in my future. Hopefully the baby will like his swing and Stella loves to be outside, then Mike and I can work in the yard.

It should be great though, our own little farmers market! If you have any experience with a vegetable garden and how to make the best use of all these veggies please share!

Dreaded chores

2010-02-19T13:26:00.000-08:00

Like many of you I am not a big fan of laundry. I am also not that keen on washing dishes. But the chore I am really learning to despise is grocery shopping. It has become a huge pain in my... you know what.

I try to find the store with the best prices but then they don't have all the items that I need. Am I ever going to be able to shop at just one store? Unfortunately, I am finding the answer to that question is no. I fought it for so long because it is really inconvenient to try and go to multiple stores with a 2 year old. She can only take so much time sitting in a grocery cart. Plus I have to feed her almost the whole time just to keep her happy, not so great for her diet but sometimes you do what works.

I think one of my biggest issues is probably organization. I bought this really cool little organizer for coupons to try and save money. I filled it and have every intention of using it, I really do! I should probably make a better effort to go online for coupons too. I've done it before but it's not a regular "to do" of mine.

I also struggle with planning ahead. I make a list right before I leave for the store and it usually gets me by but I'm sure I can do better. It's more challenging than you'd think though because I have a couple of picky eaters. Mike doesn't think he's picky, but he kinda is. For example, I have to go to Safeway just for the kind of cottage cheese he likes. No other brand in any other store has the right kind, they are ALL disgusting except this one particular brand. I'm not a huge connoisseur of the stuff but that seems a little picky to me.

Sorry to throw you under the bus honey and, yes, I looked up how to spell connoisseur.

Plus, it's really hard to come up with meals for the week that are some what quick, delicious and nutritious. I just can't seem to manage all three all the time. I have to be tricky about the nutritious part because some people have issues with low fat substitutions. Say, ground turkey for example. I won't name any names though.

I must end this continuing saga of me and the grocery shopping. It's time to suck it up and figure something out! I am going to try and balance the pain of having to shop at multiple stores with shopping less. I have never tried to shop for two weeks before but I think it might be time to give it a go. This is going to take some serious preparation and planning on my part. But maybe, just maybe, the trade of not having to shop as often will be worth the extra effort.

I know this might seem a little trivial to gripe about but, hey, this is my life as a SAHM and these are my problems. Potty training, keeping a toddler happy and now grocery shopping. They are right up there with world peace.

Love tank on full

2010-02-17T20:57:00.000-08:00

If you've read my blog before you know that I am pretty honest about my little Stella. I know I share a lot of craziness about her because, well, life with her can be a little nuts. She is my little Crunch'n'Munch, the perfect blend of salty and sweet. Although lately it seems as if we have been sitting in the bottom of the box where all the salt has settled. Her behavior has been that of an insane person with her mood all over the place. Many times she has left me speechless, not knowing how to react.

She was sick for a few days and the amount of drool pouring out of her mouth tells me she is probably getting some new teeth. She also wasn't sleeping well and we have been trying to get her rested and back on schedule for about a week.

Basically what I've been dealing with is a child that I am unable to please. I'm sure I could have offered her an ice cream sundae and she would have screamed at me. She likes to answer any question with a scream, it's lovely. Needless to say she has been grumpy and exhausted so therefore Mommy has been grumpy and exhausted. I try to be understanding of her pain and frustration but I have been desperate for the light at the end of this tantrum tunnel.

Today, however, was like opening a fresh box of Crunch'n'Munch. In other words we had a fabulous day. Today she was pleasant, funny and absolutely sweet. She even sang! Stella does not sing. She also went on the swing at the park and Stella hates the swing. What kid hates the swing? Uhh, mine does. But apparently not today!

Even if the cranky and unruly Stella came back tomorrow it wouldn't matter. Today she filled my love tank so full. I feel like I could handle whatever she throws at me. As long as it isn't anything from her diaper, I've had my fill of that. Another thing I realized today is that just because she is acting like an obnoxious, out of control, lunatic, doesn't mean I have to too. Is it bad that I'm just now figuring that out? Don't answer that.

Thank God for today, we needed it. I'm sure it felt just as good to her as it did to me.

A family Valentine's day

2010-02-15T12:36:00.000-08:00

I am a simple woman. Mike may not agree but It's the simple things in life that make me happy. Yesterday, for example, was not in any way, shape or form a romantic Valentine's day. We went to church in the morning, it was a very nice service. We had brunch with some family, also very nice. Then we came home and I cleaned the house and Mike worked in the yard. We had pesto tortellini for dinner. After dinner I took a bath with Stella, then Mike put her to bed. We watched some of the Olympics while Mike planned what vegetables we are going to plant in our new garden this year. Then I went to bed. No candles, fancy dinner, flowers, chocolate, nothing. You know what? I could care less! The weather was nice and we had a very productive and pleasant day. I was happy with our simple day. Although, I probably would have been just a little happier with some chocolate too.

Car trouble

2010-02-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

I spent about two hours this morning trying to get my car fixed. I will spare you the boring details about the car and no, it's not completely fixed. We called the dealership and someone said they can fix it quickly, like fifteen minutes. So I brush my teeth and hair, throw on some tennis shoes and load Stella into the car. I am in exercise pants and a sweatshirt and Stella is still in her jammies. We weren't looking super cute but it was supposed to be quick.

Of course, it was not quick. Luckily they had this play room so I didn't have to entertain Stella the whole time but yuckidy, yuck. I tried to wipe off most of what she was playing with because it was covered in a layer of grime. I'm not exaggerating. Everything looked like it had been in the garage sitting in an oil puddle. I'm really not a germa-phobe mom but this was just gross. On the bright side, I was really impressed with how well Stella did. You never know with that kid! She was a doll up until the very end when she started saying "home, home, home". So cute.

I was really prepared though. I bought myself a new diaper bag recently and I didn't skimp on it. Mike thinks I'm ridiculous for how much I spent on it but it was my birthday money and it's something I use everyday. I wanted something a little more functional than what I'd used with Stella and it had to be roomy enough for two kids. I am very happy with my purchase. The print is very cute and colorful and I just love all the pockets. Get this...I even get my own pocket. Yes ladies, you heard my right, my very own pocket! Isn't that the life of a mom? The kids get the entire bag for their stuff and I get a pocket. Oh well, I like my pocket.

Eggs vs. Eggo's

2010-02-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

Stella has recently started sleeping in lately and let me tell you how wonderful it is not to get up at the butt crack of dawn. For a long time we would stumble out of bed half asleep and lay on the couch and watch cartoons. It's really hard to feel awake and ready to start the day when it's pitch black outside. So our routine was cartoons on the couch, with a small bowl of Cheerios and a cup of milk for Stella. I'm not really into cooking breakfast at 5:30 or 6am.

7am is a much more functional hour. Since we are both awake at this time, we haven't been following our noraml routine. This is good because it cuts out a little T.V. time. Another bonus with this change in wake-up call is that Stella is hungry! We have been skipping the Cheerios and by the time we get breakfast going she is starving.

Hungry is helpful when all I hear every morning is "waffle, waffle, waffle". The girl is addicted to Eggo's. It is rare I get her to eat something that's not on her 5item menu . What I would like her to eat though is eggs. She has a bizarre love/hate relationship with them. One day she will eat them and I think great, something we can add to the menu. Then when I try again it's like I just gave her poison. She yells "don't want it, don't want it"! And she cries. Really? Do we really need to cry over scrambled eggs?

Yesterday I decided to give it another try. It had been a couple weeks since I'd cooked eggs for her and I could tell she was really hungry. I put the eggs on her tray and walked away. She stared at them for a second and then just started inhaling them! She even said "yummy". I wanted to do the "I told you so" song and dance but I figured her eating the eggs was victory enough. So moms, if you want your kids to eat, just starve them! Next on the menu for breakfast: spinach. Or is that pushing it?

She has gone pro

2010-02-08T20:43:00.000-08:00

It is no secret that kids are messy. Toddlers in particular are very messy. The messes had been pretty mild until the last couple of months. Now she entertains herself by emptying bathroom drawers, dumping out baskets of toys, taking apart all of her puzzles with no intention of actually putting them back together etc. It’s quite frustrating when I'm cleaning and she is alongside me making a mess with something else. I could go on and on with the stuff she likes to get into.

I am trying to keep my sanity by attempting to have some acceptance for this stage in her life. I can't possibly spend all day cleaning up after her so I just have to deal with having a messy house most of the day. I do make her pick some things up but as quickly as she can make a mess it takes her about ten times longer to clean it up. I just try to maintain age appropriate expectations.

Up until this morning I would say Stella was a semi-pro mess maker. She was doing well but still needed to color on a few walls or smash a little more play dough into the carpet before she could really go pro. Well today she made the leap to a total professional. In fact, we are probably going to get her a uniform where we can post her sponsors: Clorox, Resolve and Huggies baby wipes. Today she made the mess of all messes. If you are wondering what it could be let me just tell you, today we attempted to begin potty training.

We have been preparing her for weeks for this day. She is very excited about the potty. She loves her Dora potty seat and enjoys sitting on the toilet and flushing. She has been showing some signs of readiness and has even peed on the potty twice. I was all set to start this morning. We had her big girl panties, Dora of course, and planned to be home the majority of the week to do the training. I fully expected to have a few accidents but what I got was beyond my worst nightmare.

Thinking back I should have known with the very first accident that she wasn't ready.

Accident #1: We were in the bathroom helping her dolly practice going potty when I noticed she was wet. She was probably wet less than five minutes but it didn't even phase her. She had underwear on and could totally feel the wetness and it didn't bother her one bit.

Accident #2: I was giving her lots of juice to increase her opportunities to go to the bathroom. We had just tried to go to the potty about five minutes before and it was a no go. We had gone back to the living room and as I was looking at her she looked down and there she went on the carpet. Sweet.

Accident #3: It happened in seconds. I heard a grunt and oh no, but oh yes she did. I tried to rush her to the bathroom so she could finish but apparently things are flowing just fine for her. Glad to know we won't be needing any reading material for the bathroom. Luckily she was still into wearing the underwear at this point.

Accident #4: She tires of pulling her panties up and down and ditches them. I figure what the heck, if she pees I'm going to have to clean it up anyway, so what's the difference? We are having issues with her snacks at this point. Lately she thinks it's fun to dump out her bowl of goldfish on the table then fling them onto the floor. Today she had Cheeze-its and after she dumped them on the floor she thought she should also smash them into the carpet. My patience was a little lower at this point and I decided this behavior needed a time-out. So what does she do? Yep, she pees all over her time-out chair. Her chair is not plastic.

This whole process had become increasingly frustrating and thoughts of self doubt and failure began to creep into my mind. There might have been a tear or two by this time. I am pregnant after all so let’s keep that in mind. Though I am losing confidence by the minute and my patience is wearing thin, I press on! This was supposed to be hard right? And that brings me to our last and most catastrophic accident.

Accident #5: She had her morning poop already, were good to go. I can focus on at least getting her trained to pee on the potty. We can do this! Wrong, soooooooooo wrong. We are playing in our play room and I leave her side for maybe a minute. I stop in my tracks, it's quiet. As I walk back into the front room I hear her say "messy, messy". OH GOD, PLEASE NO!

A little side note about me, I am not good with emergencies. I freeze, panic and freak out before I figure out how to handle the situation. A few months ago when Stella was sick she threw up all over me and my bed. Luckily, Mike was home so I just yelled "Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiike!" He looked at me like I was crazy for just standing there but I was dumbfounded.

So I am standing there looking at Stella, who is naked from the waist down, witnessing what is quite possibly the most horrific site I’ve ever seen, and I am temporarily frozen. There is no Mike to yell for. It was horrible. Let me remind you she was not wearing underwear. It was everywhere. On her toy horse, her hands, in between her toes, smashed into the carpet. Holy crap, literally, how did she do this in one minute! I finally jump into action and run her into the bathroom but she is touching me! She is touching me!!! I put her in the tub and she touches the wall. I am looking at the evidence on my arms but can do nothing because she is going to get it everywhere. I grab some baby wipes and do my best to wipe her hands and feet. I leave her in the tub for a second so I can go grab what hasn't been smashed into the carpet before the dog can eat it. Are you gagging yet? I don't know how I managed this without throwing up. I must have been in shock.

I got the situation somewhat under control and cleaned out the tub so I could get her cleaned up. I must have soaked her in that tub for a half hour. I scrubbed her down twice and double checked her finger nails. After she was cleaned and dressed I had the joy of cleaning off her toy and doing my best to clean up the carpet. My conclusion after day one of potty training, SHE IS NOT READY. I think we both may need months to get this nightmare of a day out of our minds before we will try again.

I have some feelings of guilt, failure and disappointment but now I mostly feel relieved. If we had to continue training tomorrow I might just go crazy. Seeing that I'm pregnant I'm already half way there so it would be a quick trip. Like most mistakes I make as a mother I feel bad for a while but I am forced to move on for the sake my family and my own sanity. If you dwell on these things I think it takes away from your ability to be a good mom and wife. Live and learn right? The memory of this day, and the smell for that matter, might stick with me for awhile.

Make up your mind baby

2010-02-05T18:19:00.000-08:00

We have had two ultrasounds in the last two weeks. The first one, done by the doctor, was supposedly a girl. Now we've had the official ultrasound and it's looking more like a boy. The uncertainty is driving me nuts, I really want to know! Now I'm getting excited about a boy but with a huge cloud of doubt over it. Why couldn't the kid just spread its legs and show us the goods? It was being a total prude and even crossing its ankles for a while. Sure, a surprise would be fun, if I was good at waiting. But I AM NOT good at waiting!

This baby is causing me a whole lot of craziness and it's not even born yet. I have done some embarrassingly stupid things in the last few weeks and I totally blame the pregnancy. Some people think there is truth in this pregnancy "side effect" and others think it is a myth but I am here to tell you pregnancy is like being mentally challenged. I don't really feel like sharing the specifics of my idiocy but lets just say it hasn't been pretty. It has brought me to tears multiple times and I just keep praying for my brain to return to my head very soon.

On a positive note Stella has conquered her fear of the big bathtub. She had the kind of fear that caused full on crying, screaming fits. It has been quite a while since I've tried to put her in there because the last time was so sad and traumatizing. Who knew all it would take was a little time and a really fun looking Little Mermaid bath toy. She got the toy from my sister in-law for her birthday and I have been telling her she can have it only in the big girl bathtub. Stella has been taking it out of the closet and bringing it to me to open for weeks. So I finally put it in the tub and it worked! She saw the sparkly teal castle in the bathtub full of bubbles and couldn't wait to get in.

Little things end up being big accomplishments in my household. Next thing to tackle...potty training! Wish me luck.

Baby bump

2010-02-01T21:12:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen the bump lately, here it is in all its glory (I'm taking a little video of Stella's birthday). So far still feeling pretty good. My hips are a little sore, kinda weird. Sleeping isn't all that comfortable and unfortunately it's only going to get worse. Not much to complain about but I still like to, I am growing a human after all!

Toddler strikes again

2010-01-29T19:31:00.000-08:00

Anyone remember my little vampire? Well she is back. Only this time she has almost a full mouth of tiny and very sharp little teeth. I really wish this whole teething process would end soon. She still has about 7 teeth to go, I think. She doesn't get that fussy which is a plus but she is definitely biting again. She has bit me twice in the last week so hard that she broke the skin. Tonight she thought she'd take a little chomp and I couldn't help but yell out a little profanity. I try to watch my language around her because she is a total parrot these days. But after this unexpected shock of pain to my shoulder I yelled out "s**t"! Followed by "that freakin hurt"! Both she repeated multiple times. Mike was sitting with us during the whole fiasco and we both had to contain our laughter. Of course I don't want my sweet little daughter cursing but why is it so funny to hear a little person say such naughty words? I would feel a little bad if she hadn't bit the heck out of me but I think I get a free pass on this one.

Every day is new

2010-01-28T20:34:00.000-08:00

I have to say one of the most rewarding and fun things about being a parent is watching your child learn and grow. From day one they are little sponges who absorb the world around them, just waiting to put their observations into action. Even though we know the day will come that a normal healthy child will say "mama" or "dada" it is still the most amazing thing when they do. I am such typical mom who gushes with pride and joy when my daughter says something new. Stella learning to speak really seemed like one day she didn't and the next day she did. Every day after that was a new word, then two, three and now to many to count.

From very early on Stella has loved books. Reading has always been part of our daily routine, before nap and bedtime. Now that she is a little older she brings you a book and pretty much demands that you read it to her that very moment. Although it's not always convenient can you really complain that your toddler wants to read? So I try to oblige her as often as I can. Another thing that amazes me is that she knows the entire alphabet already. I don't mean to brag, oh wait, I do, but she is barely two. I'm sure there are many children that have learned them sooner and I've seen those babies on T.V. that can read but this is MY kid. So it's pretty cool.

All this active learning happening on a daily basis has got me feeling like I'm not keeping up and I want to make the most of her learning abilities. I have no desire to push her further than she is ready to go but I feel like you can't be passive in this process. Its up to me as her mother to educate myself on her development and how I can help her learn. I find it fascinating. I think the most important thing I can do for her right now is provide her with the opportunities to learn and let her go at her own pace.

I don't think it's ever possible for me to stay a step ahead of her. Toddlers are just too darn smart and they learn at a quick an unpredictable pace. I hope her knowledge of the alphabet will translate into becoming an early reader but if it doesn't she is still my little genius. I look forward to seeing what this next year has in store for her.

My little cupcake

2010-01-27T19:46:00.000-08:00

Staying true to the fact that this little girl has a mind of her own, we didn't sing happy birthday or blow out candles and she really didn't eat her cupcake. This kid definitely has an opinion or two. But hey, she makes life more interesting. More than that she makes life wonderful. I can't believe my baby is 2.

Happy birthday Stella.

Rain, rain, go away

2010-01-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

I read months ago that this was supposed to be an El Nino year and from the weather the last couple of weeks I'm guessing they were correct. I think we've had one day where the sun broke through for a couple of hours. It feels like it's been gloomy for eternity. I know that Northern California could use the rain but I am totally over it already.

Even with all her new toys from Christmas and her birthday Stella would much rather be outside. I took her on one short errand today and I desperately wanted to find another reason to stay out so we went to the park. Shocker, it was all wet. Stella climbed around for awhile and seemed to enjoy that but she really wanted to go down the slide, it's her favorite. Luckily she understood that the slides were wet and we didn't have any problems but after awhile I realized the park just isn't the best idea in this wet weather. Boo.

As for me I think I may have Seasonal Affective Disorder because I've been kinda bummy the last couple of days. I don't think I need to be put on suicide watch but I'll keep you posted. Kidding, kidding. I think I'm just bored and I don't want to clean and I'm so not creative. What's a pregnant mama to do? At least I have yoga tonight. That's something to look forward to. Maybe I can get my aura cleansed with some sun salutations.

Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.

Sweet relief

2010-01-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

Dare I say my evil pregnant twin has left the building? Lately I have been feeling the absence of the edge that has been hanging out with me since early in this pregnancy. My evil twin would be irritated with everyone and everything around her and nobody, especially her husband, could do anything right! Believe me this drove me nuts as much as my family, although Mike probably wouldn't agree with that. I think I hate the hormones almost as much as I hate morning sickness. At least with morning sickness there is a visible reason for any crankiness, just look in my toilet. I also think, and this is a little unfortunate, that it could be because the holidays are past. Isn't that sad? Why do we stress so much over things that are supposed to be joyous?

Anyway, I feel the Lord has exorcised my demons! Or at least I'm having a nice vacation from them. Recently I decided I needed to be a little more proactive in my mental and physical health. I have taken almost a year hiatus from the practice of yoga but this week I went twice. I swear I can't even remember the last time I was that relaxed or calm. I kept making excuses about money, time etc. but no more excuses, my sanity is on the line! I hope I can continue even when I'm waddling to and from class.

Why is exercise so hard anyway? It is so good for you but most of us just don't make the time or effort, me included. I am all or nothing when it comes to exercise. I would rather be a here and there than an all or nothing because when it's nothing I mean nothing. This makes it so much harder to get started because you are out of a routine and out of shape, a very unmotivating combination. I guess pregnancy really forces you to take care of yourself it's just too bad I don't do it as well on my own. Even if my hormones do bring back the evil one from time to time I hope that the exercise will tame her to a tolerable level. Lets hope.

Family rocks!

2010-01-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

Going to bed last night I realized my family really came through for me yesterday. Nobody did anything miraculous but all the little things really helped me out a lot. Starting in the morning with my mom. Stella decided 5 am was a good time to wake up so our morning was kinda crappy. She was tired and really whiny. Yesterday was one of those days where you have a child attached to your leg all day crying "Mommy, mommy". Even when I was holding her it was "mommy, mommy"! Ahhhh! I'm right here, geez! Anyway, I was talking on the phone to my mom, or trying to talk to her but Stella was just not having it. I told my mom that I had to go. We went to play with Stella's toys in the front room and two minutes later I see my mom pull up. I opened the door with "Grandma to the rescue"! We see each other often but for her to just come right over like that was awesome. She stayed for a good hour or more and played with Stella the whole time. Thanks mom!

My brother also came over in the morning to pick up and get rid of our Christmas tree. I texted him the day before to ask him if he could and he said no problem. So he came over before work just to get my tree, so cool of him. Also my Grandma, who is 83 totally came through. I needed to go into work for a couple hours to help clean the restaurant and last minute she agreed to watch Stella for me. Needless to say I went to bed last night thinking my family was pretty awesome.

We are all pretty close but that doesn't mean we always get along. Infact we bicker and get on each other's nerves alot. Days like yesterday just make so thankful to have family I can count on. We aren't always perfect but I sure do love them.

What pregnancy?

2010-01-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

It is interesting to see how different one pregnancy can be from another. Especially from your first to your second. I don't know if this makes me a bad mother but the romance of this pregnancy is totally not the same. With the first I spent so much time day dreaming about what it would be like to be pregnant and I relished in every change of my body. Even the bad changes weren't so bad. Let me tell you that is not how its happening this time around. I'm not super excited about everything that is growing and I'm to darn busy chasing a toddler around to day dream about having another baby. Its a little sad that I don't have the same amount of time to obsess over this baby. I used to watch three different baby shows on TLC EVERY DAY. Now I have no idea when they would be on and I haven't given two thoughts to how I will decorate the nursery. This poor kid.

I'm sure as my belly and butt get bigger I will start to feel differently, and think more about this baby. But it sure is different when you already have a child that takes up the majority of your focus. I actually have a lot to be thankful for though because if this pregnancy weren't as easy as it is I'm sure I'd be thinking about it a lot more. I'm probably cursing myself as I type this. Watch, tomorrow morning I will wake up with hemorrhoids, sweet. Although I must say carrying around an almost 30 Lb kid all day doesn't feel so great on my back. So its not all roses. We should be finding out in a few weeks what the sex is which is exciting. I think after that I will be able to really imagine another little person in this house. How I'm going to do it, who knows.

Its a big one

2010-01-04T20:01:00.000-08:00

At the end of this month I will be turning 30. Surprisingly enough I'm not freaking out. I know many people that have stressed over this milestone but for me, ehh, no biggie. If I think back ten years to where I thought I was going to be at this age I'm pretty darn close. Geez, maybe I didn't set big enough goals for myself. I always knew I wanted to be married, check. And I definitely wanted kids, check, soon to be double check. I guess what I'm trying to say is I feel my age. Is that weird? I'm not sure. I guess with every birthday I've always felt younger than my actual age but after having kids I don't feel so young anymore. I'm not saying I'm old, just not 23.

So what do I see in my thirties? I guess now is as good a time as any to think about that. Obviously my first priority and what consumes most of my time is my family. Stella will be two, the day after me. Wow. And we will be having baby number 2 in early June. So its safe to say that my thirties will most likely be spent catering to every desire of their sweet little hearts. I have a feeling those years are going to fly by. I'm about to have a two year old for goodness sake, where did my baby go! I am good with that role too, wife, mother, homemaker. It works for me. However, I feel like I need to explore me. Sounds a little strange but I want to figure out what really makes me tick. Will I have a passion in life? Or find great interest in something new? These are things that aren't so clear when you spend most of your time thinking about and caring for others.

Life is a journey though isn't it? We spend our whole lives getting to know our true selves. I 'm not sure I ever want to feel like I have it all figured out but a better idea would be nice. I guess you could say I am content with being in the process. And this is new to me.

Mommy Meltdown

2009-11-18T15:03:00.001-08:00

I like to take Stella to mother goose on the loose. It is at the public library's in my area where babies and toddlers listen and interact by saying and doing hand motions to nursery rhymes. Sounds cute right? Well not if your Stella. I keep trying to take her thinking she will eventually enjoy but I give up! I look at every other kids in there smiling and giggling with their mommies, but nooooooo, not Stella. If I sing one word she starts screeching and whining like I just did the most awful thing ever, cute huh? We went this morning and after her first little outburst I took her outside to discipline her, rather than causing a scene. Then we go back in to try it again. I give up trying to participate with her and sit there quietly. But when its time to turn in their scarves Stella is not having it. Every other kid is walking up to the librarian turning in their scarves but when I tell Stella its time to turn in her scarf she starts yelling and throwing things. Not because she wants the scarf but because I told her what to do.

Its days like this when I don't even like my own kid! Don't judge me, I heard you gasp. I get over it quickly but not without a few tears myself. It doesn't happen often but I hate feeling that way. I don't think my pregnancy hormones are helping because today we both left the library in tears. I can't even sing to the radio in the car without her getting mad! I'm not trying to annoy her I promise! It feels like we've just skipped straight to the teenage years where mom can't do anything right. It is exhausting.

My mom tells me Stella thinks she "rules the roost", but she is in for a rude awakening! I am reclaiming my roost and if I want to sing 'Grease lightening' or 'Summer lovin' then I am darn sure gonna do it! Stella, my love, you are not the boss of me. You're not, you're not, you're not!!!

Early Mornings

2009-08-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

I remember the days when an early morning was 4:30 or 5am. Those days fade fast, like everyone said they would, and now an early morning is 6 or 6:30am. Its funny because I remember saying "If she would just sleep till 6am I could deal with that". Now that we've been to the wonderful world of 7:30am and even on occasion, 8am, 6:30am feels sooooo early!

I try to bring Stella in bed with us to catch a few more precious minutes of rest, but Stella has other plans and they usually include sitting on my head, no joke. Trying to get her to sleep in my bed just does not happen, she only wants to play. She enjoys jumping up and down on my stomach, its not very comfortable but at least its a good ab workout.

I must say that her greetings are pretty darn cute, she likes to say "hi" whenever we get her in the morning or after a nap. Its not just "hi" though, its more like "hieeeeeeeee", in a sweet little high pitch voice. So this morning when I brought her into bed we laid there quietly for just a couple minutes before she turned to face me and with big eyes and a big grin said "hieeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Even though I was half asleep I had to laugh. Not really a bad way to start your day, even if was a little early.

Oh The Terror!

2009-08-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

What happened to my sweet little girl? Lately she is making appearances from time to time but more often she is a pinching, hitting, grunting, screaming little brute. She is even a little scary sometimes because of how rough she is. She gave me a fat lip twice in one day, once with her big noggin and the other with her foot. Yes, my sweet little baby kicked me in the face! I believe this rough and tumble persona she has acquired has been intensified with some incoming molars. You can only imagine the chaos in my home this last week. I think I even cried during her bath the other day. She is just darn right exhausting!

Thankfully, either her tooth has cut through or the devil has left her body because she has had many more moments of sweetness. Yesterday and today she has hugged me, petted my cheek and given me kisses. Do I dare say my sweet little girl has returned? It may be to soon to tell but at least she is giving me a break. She isn't talking much yet, but I have a feeling the words are just dying to come out. Maybe then the physical abuse will end. Then she can move on to repeatedly saying "NO" and "MINE".

Toddlers are amazing to watch, they are like little sponges soaking in the world around them. But they are also like angry foreigners cursing at you in a language you don't understand. I will have to make the sweet moments last in my memory to get me through the times when I want to rip my hair out. If I start going bald, please be kind.

MOPS

2009-06-18T19:35:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you thought I forgot about my blog, but nope, I'm still here! I've just been doing the normal stuff, taking care of Stella, Mike, our house. I'm still working at Awful Annie's, play dates usually at least one a week and I've been visiting my Grandpa every Friday. So I keep pretty busy and I'm about to make myself a lot busier!

If you haven't heard of MOPS it stands for Mother's of Preschoolers. MOPS is an International organization that is a part of churches all over the world. It is a group where moms can get together and fellowship, get support and talk to other moms going through the same stage of life; raising young children. It is also a great place to learn how to teach your children about God's love. I really feel like this is an invaluable resource for young moms and since there isn't a MOPS group at my church I am going to start one! I met with one of the pastors of my church last week and they are totally behind me which is very encouraging. However, I am a little intimidated seeing as though I don't really have experience with this type of thing but I'm a people person so I think I can learn the rest. My next move is to recruit some other moms to assist me as leaders because I can't do this alone. This task is slightly daunting because I can imagine what I might think being approached with such a task. Hopefully other moms will see the benefits that a group like this will have for themselves and their families and that might inspire them to want to help other women as well. I guess we'll see what happens, keep me in your prayers please! I really am excited about this and I think my church will be too. Who knows, maybe we will even be able to reach out to the community! How cool would that be!

Update: Cleaning Kick

2009-05-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

So far so good! I have missed a chore or two but I've been really good about fitting it in on another day. Being on a cleaning schedule is keeping me thinking about how to better manage my time and keep a cleaner house. The biggest challenge, and I'm sure you can relate, is the clutter. You put it away and then it comes back! Sneaky clutter. Its only been a couple of weeks though so hopefully I can keep it going. Wish me luck!

A Fish Called Stella

2009-05-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Last summer Stella was just a few months old so she wasn't such a big fan of the water. But this summer, I think she sprouted fins! We had a play date today with our friends Susan and Karly who have a pool and Stella had an absolute blast. She just loves water! We splashed, kicked, blew bubbles ( well, really she drank the pool water), Stella even went under water twice. She was so happy, smiling and laughing, it was fun to see. I looked into swimming lessons and I think I better sign my little fishy up. Its the most fun we've had in weeks!

One of my kicks

2009-05-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

So I've been known to get on what you might call a "kick". I get all psyched about something, talk about it, research it on the Internet, and become quite obsessed for about a week maybe two. Am I flaky, or easily bored? Call it what you will but that is just how I roll. So this leads to my latest kick: cleaning. Not a bad kick to be on huh? I am just really fed up with the state of my household, its a never ending battle. My life seems to be on instant replay when it comes to cleaning up, if you have a little one you know exactly what I mean! I am so tired of cleaning up the same mess over and over and I am so busy doing that that I never get any cleaning done. So in order to bring some sanity back to my life I am trying to stick to a cleaning schedule that I made. I printed out a blank template from the Internet and filled in the tasks to complete on specific days. So far I only missed one thing, sweeping and mopping. I meant to do it the next day but decided to just wait until next week so I didn't get behind on my other scheduled tasks. So not bad for my first week, I just hope this sticks because it really would make my life much more manageable. I really am more of a binge cleaner, I work fast and get it all done in a few hours. I never have a few hours in a row to clean anymore so I have to change my plan of action. I must admit I did a much better job closing at work tonight. Maybe my cleaning kick will sneak into other aspects of my life and I will just become a wonderfully clean an organized person! I wouldn't hold your breath.

UPDATE: My house is still a mess and there is no cleaning schedule in place. Raise your hand if you saw that one coming.

My little Vampire

2009-05-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

I just let out a big sigh because, yes, I still have a biter!!! I am holding on to my patience by a very thin thread. Almost every time I take something from Stella or or tell her no she tries to bite me! It takes all I have to keep from losing it completely. I quit trying to squeeze her hand because that was a joke to her. I advanced to squeezing her fat little cheeks hoping she might make the connection but nooooooo. She actually tries to bite me again after I squeeze her cheeks; its so exhausting. I still don't feel right about biting her back, even though so many say it works, I'm not ready to give up. She will learn dang it, I will teach her! My next move is the time out. She doesn't really get it yet but I am not giving up. The most frustrating thing is that she doesn't really bite Mike. He walked hand in hand with her down the sidewalk and there was no biting. Why does she feel the need to bite me? Ugh, the saga continues.

I'm back!!

2009-05-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in awhile, I hear about it from my mom like every other day! This week I have been trying to get organized after a fun but crazy weekend. We went to Half Moon Bay for my cousins wedding, she was stunning. I was a bridesmaid so I was on duty the majority of the trip. I was really hoping to have somewhat of a weekend getaway but it didn't really work out like that. In fact I really couldn't tell you anything about the town because all I really saw was the highway and the hotel. All said and done though it was a great weekend. I got to see a lot of my family and my husband was on daddy duty all weekend, thanks honey! Seriously, he was a super trooper the whole time! When we drove into town I was supposed to be at the hotel for the rehearsal dinner so he dropped me off and took Stella to check into our hotel. We didn't stay in the fancy hotel, it was all about the luxurious Comfort Inn for us. After he dropped me off we pretty much swapped our normal roles for the entire weekend. It wasn't as if I was really free though, like I said, bridesmaid duty.

It was a little overwhelming to travel with a toddler, they need a lot of stuff. Its ridiculous how much you have to pack for one tiny person. You have to be Kate Gosselin prepared. And if you forget anything its usually stuff for yourself. Like my jacket for example, here we are heading to the coast for a rainy cold weekend and I was so frazzled about Stella's stuff I didn't even remember my own jacket.

Overall Stella did pretty good on the trip but it was no easy feat. The car ride down was fine but in true Stella fashion she fell asleep for about the last twenty minutes of the care ride. The worst part was having only one room for all of us to sleep in. If I can advise anyone traveling with a young child, especially a toddler, it is almost crucial to have a sweet with two adjoining rooms. Unless you just don't plan on sleeping. Our first night in the hotel ended in tears for Stella and I. We didn't get her to sleep until 10 pm, which is very late for her. At about 1 am someone accidentally called our room and woke Stella out of a dead sleep, screaming. She did not return to sleep until 5 am! Its really hard to get your child to go back to sleep when she can just stand up in her pac-n-play and stare right at you. It was like going back to when Stella was a newborn, tears and all. Luckily the next night she was so exhausted that she slept till 9:30 am the next morning. Praise God for that because that was sleep I desperately needed.

So, now we are back home in our own comfy beds and private rooms. Home is the best. I want to say thank you again to my fabulous husband, he is one awesome dad.

Friend or Foe?

2009-04-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

The hormone changes that accompany having a baby are pretty crazy. You experience them throughout the pregnancy but after the baby is born its like you've been hit with a mac truck of wackiness. There are a wide range of emotions and it is pretty common for a new mother to experience some postpartum depression. I had hoped that would not be the case for me when Stella was born but unfortunately I did get a bit of the baby blues. My doctor prescribed me a low dose of Zoloft (50mg). I took it thankfully, I'm not afraid of medication and I really wanted to feel better. I've continued to take it because I noticed that even beyond depression it really helped me deal with life's little struggles. I haven't had problems with depression before, other than the occasional bum day but I am a sensitive person who cries easily. I've always hated crying over little things so the Zoloft is really great for that. So I guess you could say its been my friend, my little blue buddy.

However, I have thought for a while now that it is time to go off the Zoloft. It has served its purpose and I think I can handle things just fine without it. This is definitely easier said than done. There are side effects and withdrawal symptoms that make it a frustrating experience. It is best to wean off the medication slowly which is what I have been trying to do. I cut my pill in half which reduced the dose to 25mg, I did this for about a month. Then I even cut that in half for a couple weeks. The other day I tried to stop taking the medication all together and now I just feel like crap. I feel dizzy, nauseous and seem to be experiencing a little bit of vertigo. You throw in my monthly visitor too and you can imagine how wonderful I feel right now.

My point is that while this medication is really helpful it does have a down side. I think this true for all antidepressants, your body becomes physically addicted. Although I would have still taken the medication I just wanted to share this because this is information I was not aware of. Its good to have all your info up front so you can decide what is best for your health.

So, say a little prayer for me because I'll be back to the land of the crazies real soon!

Tantrum City

2009-04-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

I don't know who is more frustrated sometimes, me or Stella. Does anyone else have a one year old who throws a total fit when she can't close the door of the fridge because you are in it? I didn't think so, its just me. I know babies like to open and shut things but come on Stell, mommy is just trying to put the freaking groceries away! Oh the joy.

Fun Run

2009-04-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

For those of you who didn't know, I've been training for my first 12k the last couple of months. I started running back in October and ran my first 5k on Thanksgiving day. I've always hated running but I really wanted to get into shape. I thought of joining a gym but since I've already had four different gym memberships I decided against it. My husband might lose it if I got one again. So I was pretty much forced to run because, well, its free. My sister-in-law was also training but since we don't live very close she ran with her friend. I tried a couple of times to find a running partner but it didn't work out for different reasons. I kept on a schedule the first month and I think the race would have gone better if I continued the schedule until the race but I got a little off track. The schedule came from a book called The Beginner's Guide to Long Distance Running, by Sean Fishpool. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to start running. It discusses nutrition, clothing, shoes, injury and a lot other things relevant to running. It has great training schedules starting from the most novice to running a marathon, which at this point is not a goal of mine. It still sounds awful!

Before the race yesterday, the farthest I had run in one session was 5.5 miles. Even though I hadn't run 7.5 miles(12k) yet, I knew I would finish one way or another! I started out feeling good and I was waiting to get in "the zone". Usually the first 20 minutes of a run really drags, even after running for months now. My legs feel heavy and I feel tired and slow but after awhile I get over the invisible hump and I start to feel good, like I can run for a long time. Unfortunately this doesn't happen every time I run but if I stay consistent and on schedule it usually does. I never did get in "the zone" on race day. Actually about 3.5 miles in I got a stomach cramp that stayed with me all the way to the finish line. Mike brought Stella to two different spots along the course to cheer me on. The first time I saw her I ran up and gave her a kiss. I heard her screaming for me as I ran away, oops. The second time I saw them I waved from a distance. It was great to see them during my run and at the finish, thanks baby! Even though it wasn't the race I was hoping for and my time was embarrassing, I am still proud of myself that I finished. When I first started I could only run about two minutes before I had to stop. I'm no marathon runner now but I've come a long way. I think my next goal will be to improve my 5k time. I'd like to improve that before I bump up my mileage. Always making goals really helps to keep me running.

Neighborhood Bullies

2009-04-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

Lately my dogs cause me much more stress than they do happiness. Tucker(4 years old) and Dieter(2 years old) used to be our babies. We cuddled with them, spent time with them, took them places and talked about them to everyone. I could have never imagined, even after being told, that once my actual baby came along that I would no longer feel the same way towards my dogs. I remember having multiple conversations with Mike saying, "that is just not going to happen to us, we love them too much". Unfortunately, just as we were told, it did. I do feel I am slowly finding my way back to them but its difficult, they drive me nuts! They bark at anything, everything and nothing. They seem to find their way out front often, usually because I'm not paying attention to what they are doing.

This morning, once again, they got out. I let them out back to go to the bathroom and went about my business. After about twenty minutes the doorbell rang. We have pretty cool neighbors that always bring them back when they get out. Thinking it was one of them I answered the door. Instead it was a lady I have never seen before, she was holding her dog, a bichon or something. This woman informed me that my dogs were running all over the neighborhood, sounds about right. What she said next though didn't sit well with me:

Lady: "Your dog attacked my dog."

Me: "What?"

Lady: "Yes, they were running all over the neighborhood and the black one attacked my dog. I had to pick her up"

Me: "I'm sorry. They have never attacked anything in their whole lives. They must have gotten out of the gate, I'm sorry"

Lady: "Well he did. I just thought you should know".

Me: "Thanks."

In all reality I was not out there, I didn't see what they did but I can only imagine. Should I have apologized? Yes. Did I like it? No. I guarantee they probably barked at her dog, she panicked and picked up her dog. I can't really blame her for being worried but I think an "attack" might be a bit of a strech. Tucker attacking another dog is not a likely scenario in this situation. My dogs will run towards another dog barking until they actually get up to the dog, then they roll over on their backs and pee on themselves. Ooh, viscous.

Even though I was seriously irritated, my "mother's love" for them came back just a bit more today because I felt I had to defend them. "Not my dogs lady! No way." That is what I really wanted to say. I can only imagine the elephant sized pill I am going to have to swallow when someone accuses Stella of something bad. It sure does bring out the fighter in a mom! Hopefully if and when that occurs I can be mature about it, hopefully.

Method to my Madness

2009-04-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a lazy day once in awhile but I'm coming off about a week of minimal productivity. For whatever reason there was a definite lack of motivation and an overall feeling of blah. Something that has been weighing heavily on my mind the past month, and became very apparent in the last week, is that Stella's diet is lacking some nutrition. I know toddlers are difficult to feed and at times I should cut myself a little slack but lately I've been feeling like even the dogs are eating better than Stella. She has gotten pretty good at sharing her meals with them.

I've realized that where I'm falling short is my planning. Every so often you have to re-evaluate what stage your child is at and what you are doing to support their development. I have to admit, I did a pretty good job when it came to baby food. I pureed tons of fresh fruits and veggies and rarely cracked open a jar. In fact, it was pretty easy. Throw some vegetables in a blender, spoon into ice trays and you've got meals for weeks! I miss those days. As mothers/chefs we have to be much more creative now because our little people are developing big brains and big opinions too. Toddlers are not shy when they don't like something. They'll be sure to find some adorable way to let you know that lunch sucks. Stella's favorite is using her hand like a windshield wiper on her tray, resulting in food every where except her mouth.

I'm attempting to approach this mommy challenge with a new attitude. Instead of looking for the easy, surefire meal successes: mac-n-cheese, chicken nuggets, diced hot dogs and PB&J, I am planning to make my life more difficult. Join me won't you?! My first plan is going to be just that; an actual plan. I will try my best to avoid the "oh crap its lunch time, what am I going to give her to eat". I'm thinking this might be a good place to start. The next step is to revert back to what worked before and that was the purees. I got so tired of putting vegetables on Stella's tray just for her to play with them that I quit offering them to her, not good. She needs those veggies! I picked up a copy of Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook "Deceptively Delicious", I'm sure you've heard of it. Her method is to stock your freezer with pureed fruits and veggies and add them to meals your kids already like.

I'm hoping that the book might help spark some creativity in my kitchen and provide some better nutrition for my growing girl. Shocking as it may seem after reading this post, I'm actually a pretty decent cook. So if I come up with any yummy recipes of my own I'll be happy to share. If you can relate to my struggles I hope this encourages you to try and find healthy, nutritious meals to feed your children. If not, you can at least laugh at how lame I am.

Little miss independent

2009-04-16T20:44:00.001-07:00

From the very beginning we've known that Stella has a mind of her own. She wants what she wants when she wants it, no doubt about it. This entertaining yet difficult part of her personality once again disrupted what I had planned for today. A friend of mine is the nanny of a sweet little two year old girl and the four of us had plans to walk at this beautiful park and take pictures in the wild flowers. Doesn't that sound just adorable?! Well that's what I tried to tell Stella but she had plans of her own and they didn't involve flowers. Actually I really don't know what they involved but she was on a mission. The first picture is my friend and her little girl sitting pretty for a picture. The next is Stella. Sitting pretty? I don't think so.

Mommy Dearest

2009-04-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when Stella is tired and whiny, or screaming for whatever reason, I just don't know what to do with her. So tonight, as I was trying to get her out of our bedroom, she let out her usual scream of disapproval. I don't have the ability to explain to a one year old why she needed to leave our bedroom, nor was she able to express her frustration with this in words. So she screamed and screamed and to get her to stop I decided to scream back. "See, mommy can do it too". She actually thought it was pretty funny and she did stop screaming, mission accomplished. Mike, doing the dishes and listening from the kitchen chimes in; "Its a good thing we don't have any wire hangers". I fell down in the hall hysterical, with tears of laughter running down my cheeks. Then I tried to do my best Joan Crawford impression. Priceless moment.

Super-everything

2009-04-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Why is it that so many women feel that they have to do it all? They have to be a super mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend and employee. Not only do you fulfill all of these roles but you have to look good while doing it. Basically we want to be perfect. If we are not, we at least need to appear that way. I tell ya, I spread myself so thin sometimes trying to please everyone, including myself, that I start to feel like a failure. Just because I didn't accomplish the fifty million things on my to-do list for the day does not mean the world is going to end. So why does it feel that way?

It really is incredible the way we stress ourselves out. Over the weekend a co-worker of mine asked me how I was doing and I responded with, "good, but a little stressed out". You know what was one of the biggest things stressing me out? Macaroni salad. That's right, you read that correctly, macaroni salad. I was in charge of bringing the macaroni salad to my sister in-laws house for Easter and with my busy weekend I didn't know when I would have the time to make it. Thinking about this now I can't believe I actually told someone I was stressed about making a dang macaroni salad! If this sounds a little familiar to you then let me suggest this: put your priorities in check. To do this I think we need to change our thought process first. Decide what is really important in your life then check yourself on a daily basis. Better yet, an hourly basis. What's on your to-do list for the day? Is it stressing you out? Is it really important or just macaroni salad important? This might help to put things into perspective.

Playground patience

2009-04-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

It is so fun to take Stella to the playground now that she is walking. She absolutely loves it and runs from one thing to the next the whole time we are there. Yesterday I went to the mall with Stella, my mom and niece. The mall in my area is great because it has two inside play areas that are rubbery and soft, so they are pretty safe for a stumbling toddler. One of the areas is supposed to be for babies, toddlers and preschoolers; at least that is what the monkey says at the entrance. Well yesterday there were quite a few kids in there that I'm pretty sure were none of the above. We were having a great time at first, Stella was bouncing around as usual. After a while it got a little chaotic with larger kids running everywhere, and not at all concerned about knocking over little ones. I could feel the anxiety building up every time another kid bumped, stepped on or raced past Stella. I thought to myself, "they are just kids, have some patience". How crappy is that though! I have to have patience all day with Stella and now I have to have patience for other people's kids too, ugh.

Stella made her way to the slide and was slowly climbing up to enjoy her little ride, so cute. After about the fourth kid walking over her I started to get frustrated. Where the heck were the parents? Most were sitting around chatting or staring off into space. Umm, hello? Come get your kid, he is blocking the slide and there is a line of about fifteen other kids behind him! Lets pay attention here folks! Even though Stella didn't seem to be bothered, I guess I didn't have enough patience for the playground that day. Next time I will remember to practice my relaxation breathing before entering a mall playground, geesh.

Bittersweet

2009-04-07T11:53:00.001-07:00

It surprises me every so often when I look at Stella and realize I love her more than the day before. I thought my heart was full and I couldn't possibly love her anymore, yet I do. I am occasionally overwhelmed by the feelings you get once you become a mother. This new expansion of my heart is not always happy though, It can feel very sad too. This morning Mike informed me that the little girl gone missing in Tracy, CA. was found dead. Sandra Cantu was only 8 years old and her life was ended in a horrible way. This news left me sickened and even though I do not know this girl or her family I shed tears for them. It is because I am a mother that I feel the sadness so strongly; my heart has changed. Even though this change has brought a stronger sense of sadness along with the joy, I accept it gratefully. I guess you don't get the joy without a little bit of pain. That is kind of what motherhood is all about.

God Bless Sandra and her family.

My apologies to the dogs

2009-04-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

At some point in our lives we realize that the world does not revolve around us. Our sweet little children don't fully understand this quite yet. This is why the new bed we just bought for our two miniature dachshunds has become Stella's new bed. She has also adopted their new bones. Our poor dogs, life will never be the same for them. As far as Stella is concerned she rules the world!

Parents-R-Us

2009-04-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

There comes a time when you have to do more than just bathe, feed, and cuddle your baby. You actually have to parent. Seriously, you actually have to be a parent! For me it has been a slow process of small realizations every time Stella reaches a new milestone. The day she started to crawl was the first time I really went “ok, its probably going to get interesting here”. You get a little taste of parenting when your baby becomes mobile because you are constantly following them around to make sure they aren’t getting into something dangerous or really messy. Then they start walking and man do they get busy! How does such a little person move so fast? One second Stella is playing with her toys in the living room and the next she is running down the hall with a bottle of nail polish. It’s all giggles for her too, especially when you are trying to take something she isn‘t supposed to have. It is one of Stella’s favorite games really; she grabs a black Sharpie and laughs while mommy chases her to get it. It doesn’t end well for her though because mommy usually wins. At this point there is a bit of screaming. It’s raspy and cute and it makes me laugh but here is where the parenting comes in. I can’t just grab things from her all day or we are going to have a day full of the raspy screaming which is only funny in small doses. Ideally the first choice would be to make her environment as kid friendly as possible. The best way to handle these conflicts is to avoid them all together, but we all know this is not always possible. Another choice is to distract the mischievous one with another toy or something else that might interest them. This way you are not always having to say “no”, which gets pretty old. “Mommy said no, mommy said no”, I annoy myself saying that all the time. Unfortunately we do have to say “no” sometimes because that is what they understand. You can’t give lengthy explanations on how you will get electrocuted from playing with plugs and sockets, you’ll just get a blank stare. What I’m learning is to find a happy medium. I try to make a nice, safe place for Stella to play and when she finds some trouble I direct her to something that will keep her busy and of course there is the unavoidable “mommy said no”. With a combination of these parenting techniques hopefully we can have a tantrum free day, or at least keep them to a minimum.

Burn baby burn!

2009-03-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

Check out the latest fitness craze! Some of you may have seen these at the gym and passed by the cannon ball with the handle. Probably thinking, what the heck do you do with you do with that thing? This medieval looking thing is actually called a kettlebell and you can do oodles of exercises with it. Some of my close friends and family may be a little hesitant to try it because workouts I've suggested in the past didn't exactly stick. Those of you who still have a mini trampoline in your living room know what I'm talking about.

I'm not alone on this one though. Kettlebells are becoming increasingly popular. They were featured in the January/February issue of Women's Health magazine. They say the reason it works so well is because all the weight is centered below the handle and when you swing it almost every muscle in your body has to work to counteract the momentum. The result is a total body work out! Awesome right! Another cool thing is the amount of metal it replaces in an at home gym. You can use this workout tool in place of most traditional equipment and not only do you save space but you save time too. You can do this at home so you don't need 90 minutes of weight training at the gym. I keep mine in my living room right along with the Stella's Little People and their farm house. Its easily accessible so I can do my exercises in between Stella's breakfast and our trip to the park. Mine looks more like a medicine ball with a handle but it works the same way. I got it at Target for around 30 dollars. I have also seen them at Sports Authority and I imagine you can find them anywhere that sells fitness equipment. Happy fat burning!

Expect the Unexpected

2009-03-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

Being pregnant for the first time is quite the learning experience. During my pregnancy I scoured many books and spent countless hours searching the Internet. I wanted to know everything that was happening to my body and the little person growing inside. But as well prepared as I thought I was, nothing could have prepared me for what was to follow.

I was certain that I was going to breastfeed my daughter. In my mind that's what a mother does and I didn't want to miss out on any part of being a new mom. Though I had been told that some women struggle with nursing, I didn't think I would. My mom said that I would be able to feed my baby just fine and mom knows everything, right? However, after an exhausting but relatively smooth labor we brought our bundle home, and I eventually went from exhausted to down right miserable.

It was about a week before the hell began. We spent the first week like most new parents delirious, joyful and doubting nearly every decision we made. But before Stella and I could really get the breastfeeding thing down I started to feel sick. Trying to diagnose what was happening to me was extremely frustrating. Every time I tried to feed my baby I became very nauseous. I was prescribed some medication that was supposed to help but the sickness got much, much worse. Did I have a mastitis? The flu? No answers. I remember the night I gave up on nursing Stella. I was totally defeated and very sad. I felt like such a failure though the relief that came with that decision was almost as strong as the sense of defeat. At this point the smell of my own baby was making me nauseous and I just couldn't do it anymore. Unfortunately my illness was caused by something more than nursing and I spent the next four days in bed. My husband was doing everything. My mom and niece came over a lot to help as well. I felt useless as a mother and sicker than I'd ever been in my life. Not exactly how I had envisioned my first weeks home with my brand new baby.

To make things worse, as if they could've been, it was almost two months before I started feeling the special bond that a mother feels to her child. Talk about depressing. I wasn't able to nurse and my illness had sucked all the life out of me. I didn't even feel like a person, let alone a mother. It was a devastating but thankfully short-lived experience.

The first weeks with Stella were nothing like I'd imagined. The wonderful part though is that there are no time limits on bonding with your baby, no deadlines to be met. I just need to love my daughter, because she definitely loves me. Seeing us today you would never know we started out the way we did. We adore each other, just like a mother and child should.

gimme gimme

2009-03-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

Before I start this post I just want to say that I am guilty, guilty, guilty! But . . . what is the deal with all the crap we buy our kids? Can you say over indulgence people! As the mother of a 14 month old and part of one of the largest consumer groups ever; I have bought my baby everything under the sun, and then some. Half of the toys she never even liked and how many toys does one baby really need? They just want everything out of your cupboard anyway! I should just give her some wooden spoons and let her go to town. But I can't risk her not having all the developmental toys right? She has got to learn how to stack blocks or else she won't learn anything in preschool and then she will be behind in elementary school and then she'll never get into college! The excuses we come up with to buy more stuff are endless. You can always find a reason why you NEED something. I am pretty sure that I am not the first new mom to participate in the baby shopping extravaganza but lets hope I learned something from it when the next one comes along.

What really gets us is when our kids start asking for stuff, that's when mom really goes off her rocker. When they see the amazing new toys on commericals or that the neighbor kid has. How do you control it then? Its like a double assault, not only do you want your kids to have everything but now they want it too! Self discipline seems like a pretty easy concept but yet it is so hard for many of us to implement. Christmas for example, if you say you've never gone a little overboard on Christmas then you are a big, fat liar! The spending frenzy of holidays can be intoxicating, exciting, stomach wrenching, and stressful all at once and we still do it every year. Maybe we should focus on making memories with our kids rather than buying them the toy they so desperately want, can't live with out and won't play with for more than a month. Do you know anyone that buys their kids gifts for Easter? I sure do! An Easter basket, a little candy, no problem. But video games and new clothes, come on.

Now don't forget, I have admitted my guilt in this area but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try to control my spending impulses. Our kids really don't need all the stuff we buy, the "moms are big suckers" industry just makes you think they do, resist! By Teaching your kids at a young age that they don't need and won't get all the stuff they want you are actually doing them a favor. Just tell them that next time they are asking for a new Barbie; "trust me honey, mommy is doing you a favor by not buying you this toy". I'm sure they will understand.

I've got a biter folks!

2009-03-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

Who knew someone so sweet could be so vicious! I've always known that babies like to chew on things when they get new teeth, but nobody ever told me my baby was going to chew on me! My husband gets a huge kick every time my little sweetie sinks her teeth into my skin. She always manages to get just a little bit too, and man those teeth are sharp!

So what are you supposed to do? Usually my instincts would tell me to swat her away like a mosquito, but my baby isn't an insect. I try to remain calm because I can only imagine what it must feel like to have tiny sharp teeth cutting through your gums, but holy cow does it hurt!

I've heard some parents say "bite her back, it worked for me!" Maybe it does work but can you really imagine biting your child, it sounds a little ridiculous. A method that I've tried, and probably will continue with is a gentler approach. I look Stella in the eyes and say "no biting, that hurts". Has she bitten me again? Of course, but at least I am teaching her something constructive! Its all about learning.

Dr. Lawrence C. Pakula of the American Association of Pediatrics seems to be on the same train of thought. He suggests explaining to the child in a concise way that we do not bite because it hurts people. The longer drawn out explanations only provide more attention to the negative behavior. To reinforce this we shouldn't allow the child to bite pets or stuffed animals either. Pakula also mentions that interrupting the behavior before it starts is helpful as well.

So even though I continue to get bit on occasion, and my husband laughs, I think I will just stick to what I'm doing. Because in the grand scheme of things this is just a phase and eventually Stella won't have the urge to bite me anymore, thank God! Hopefully in the future when she is playing with other children and gets frustrated she won't bite because she knows "biting hurts people"!

Welcome!

2009-03-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

Hello moms, friends and family. I have decided to create a blog to write about the thing that I'm most passionate about. The thing that has given me more joy in one year than I have ever experienced in my whole life; motherhood.

Since the birth of my daughter Stella I have been searching for something that allows me to stay at home but still have the ability to contribute outside the home. Going through all the trials that a new baby brings I have spent countless hours on the computer looking for ways to get my baby to sleep, eat and much more. What I noticed is that I am not alone! There are so many moms out their looking for answers, support and just someone who can relate to the challenges of motherhood. I'd love for this blog to be a place where other moms can get those things. I hope to provide some tips on getting little ones to eat, or fun activities to do with a toddler. I also hope to give some comic relief with a funny story or two.

What this blog will become I'm just not sure. You'll have to come back and see! I look forward to sharing the adventure of motherhood with you and I plan to have more for you soon.

Rita