Either this (see photo) or deployment...

Smarter?

I was checking my e-mail tonight, eating miniature candy bars (thank you Hershey's -- miniature makes my tummy think I can eat more than a few). I received a weekly e-mail about Meredith's developmental progress and saw a very interesting link...."How being a mommy makes you smarter."
Of course I clicked on it!

Lately, I feel the brain cells going down the tubes. I watch cartoons or dramatic series - I read children's books or decorating magazines (Yes, I have read a few books in the past months, but for some reason, I am not excited about the ones sitting on my nightstand). I don't think of how to change the world. I really don't think that a person on the street would meet me and think I am one of the adults with higher education, much less a Master's Degree that I received with my eyes closed. They see me as a young mom that doesn't know how to control her kids. I misprounounce words, forget necessary descriptive vocabulary, and speak in slang. I think I most noticed that after a visit from my friend, Carla - she would ask Lucas "What would you like?" So polite! So educated! I get right to the point with "Whaddu you want?

Anyways, the article speaks on a book that is about the increasing intelligence of mommies. Being smart is defined in many different spheres, and in terms of a mommy, she gains strength in perception, efficiency, resiliency, motivation and emotional intelligence. I am still working on the efficiency one, but hey, I am a procrastinator at heart! And interestingly enough, I did my senior project on emotional intelligence in preschoolers!

Even more interestingly, statistics show that you lose at least 700 hours of sleep during the first year of your child's life! Maybe I can catch up on those 1400+ hours once Rich comes home... And you feel tired because your child is stimulating a part of your brain that you typically don't use. The joys of children!

Reading this really makes me feel better about myself for the time being....

New Bed...

Dixie prefers to sleep in people beds. But Lucas thinks Dixie bed is great. He has officially kicked her out.

Rich made over...

Excuse her face...Lucas gave her a green crayon.

Again!

Dixie is going to hate us, as another child is finally big enough to terrorize her!

Sharing is Caring!

Lucas rides a lion (a toy designed to help babies learn to balance and walk) around upstairs. He was REALLY upset when Meredith wanted to play with it. I was trying to encourage him to let her try, but he was pissed! I don't blame him -- this lion was his first!

102*

Lucas came home on Friday with diarrhea, a red bottom and a fever. His symptoms have continued throughout the weekend. This is how he spent most of Saturday.

Rainy Day

Yummy!

Lucas was eating a frozen fruit ice thing - very hilariously.

Break Out!

Meredith tries to escape her crib. She will bang her head against the side trying to crawl out (note the red mark on her head in the photos). Typically she cries, but I was playing with her so she stopped and began to laugh!

Cranky

Today, there was a father picking up his child at preschool when I arrived. Lucas saw me and immediately wanted me - so they passed him off and then showed me a few things that I had to take home. I had requested to take artwork home to send to Rich and she was asking me how often I wanted it and so on...asking when Rich left for Iraq...well they are just super nice to my situation and I appreciate it.
So the father butts into the conversation, "Your husband is in Iraq? When we he be home?" So I answer with July. He responds, "Oh, that isn't that long!"
I looked at him and said, "It's a year, but really he has been gone 15 months when he finally returns home because of training (I raised my eyebrows all furrowed when I told him this...if you know me very well, then you can imagine the look I gave him.)
He smiled and walked away. I really wanted to say "My husband is away from his family for a year so you can say crap like that to me. Maybe you should leave YOUR family for that long to see how the time flies!"

My neighbor Melanie came over to sign my absentee ballot -- since you have to have a witness and all. I swear, I really thought she was a better friend that she was tonight. When she left, I looked in the mirror at the bottom of our stairs, trying to choral kids up to bathtime, and I totally had food in my teeth. Don't you think she would have told me? I will have to remember never to eat corn around her.

Besides that, I just don't feel well. Something has bitten me, and made me feel bad. I am achy and tired, congested and runny, and my throat is sore on the inside and out. I really think my glands are swollen. INFECTION! Fabulous. That is the last thing I need....I feel like crap.

Well, the kiddies are sleeping, so I should go rest. Last night was not a lot of fun, and Mere was really clingy today.

Oh and besides that I am FREEZING! I think our furnace is broken or something - I sleep in flannel or fleece pj's with THREE blankets, one of which is a down comforter and I still freeze. We have electric heat now, which blows cold air to heat the house. I still haven't wrapped my brain around that one. I really appreciate the warmth of my husband at night... he would totally keep our heat bill lower.

She finally stands!

Are you sure?

I promised Richard that I would not cut Lucas' hair until he returned home from his deployment....

Bedtime Slideshow

Billy Goat?

No! I am just teething!

Mere pooped FOUR times today.

Okay, so these photos are not of her poop....but it explains why she is not wearing any pants!

Sleep Walking

Since we have reached Meredith's six month birthday I decided to kick her out of my bed. I was hesitant, but since Lucas is away during the daytime, I had time during the day to nap if I happened to be up all night with her.

So Sunday night we began. She did great. I woke up every four hours to feed her (still can't convience myself that I don't need to feed her during the night.) But when I woke up in the morning, Lucas was in my bed. I really don't remember bringing him in my room. But obviously, Meredith was ready to sleep on her own since she did so well.

Then Monday night...I went in her room several times before I was even ready for bed. She was not a happy camper. I finally got to bed, exhausted - I remember getting up with her, but I don't recall the times or how often. I do know that when I woke up this morning, both Lucas and Meredith were in my room. Again, I don't remember bringing Meredith in my bed. I vaguely remember getting Lucas - but I don't really know when...

I wonder if they sneak in themselves. There was to be a way they are tricking me to get in my bed. I know it is comfortable and all, but really...

It is so strange how I can remember getting up to let Dixie out in the middle of the night (yes, I still do this, I just stopped complaining about it)....

By the way, I am still interested in getting rid of her. Please let me know if you want to give her a good home.

Lucas' Room

When we first moved in to our home, Lucas' room was a mix of blue and baseball field green. The colors were great enough to match his bedding, that we left them as is. However, the previous owners had painted a baseball scoreboard on the bottom - featuring the Boston Red Sox.
You can sort of see the lettering at the photo here.
It has always bothered me, but Rich wouldn't let me paint over it.

But he is deployed, so frankly, I did it anyway.


With Lucas in preschool, and Meredith napping, I got to work. Priming, then painting. Two days and the project is complete!

I left the white stripe to separate the two greens. I am not sure if I should have used the blue from the rest of the room instead of the lighter green (leftover from Mere's room), but I am not displeased with the end result.

Also featured is a new storage unit I picked up on sale at Target. I was envious of it in a friend's playroom, and got one that was a bit different - as it has more holes! And it gets all of Lucas' stuff off the floor, with room to grow!

Here he is trying to reach his stuffed animals (I was so tried of picking up those dumb things. He is not even 2 and owns more stuffed animals than I did in my entire lifetime.)














In this photo, please notice the photo frames - (empty, as I haven't decided what to put in them) I picked up the pair - yes, both, for a total of 1.25 at Target as well. Clearance, yet a perfect match to his decor!

Preschool update...

Lucas survived. He actually took a nap, which is just amazing!
He made a pumpkin out of cutouts (he just glues, the teacher cut it out).
I wish I could be a fly on the wall to watch him interact with everyone.

He was pushed, pinched and had a toy thrown at him. He responded well or they would have written more about the incident.

I watched him play outside when I arrived, and he just wanders around the playground like he does at home - not really interacting with the other kids.

He cried when they made him come in from outdoors. He never calls me momma at home, but when he finally saw me he said Mom! and started crying for me. That is so fun.

I had a busy day, but feel as if I didn't complete enough around the house. The to do list is super long.

Ugh.

Preschool

Today is Lucas' first day at Preschool. I was lucky enough that they had a position open, and I have been waiting for two weeks for him to begin! The interaction will help develop him socially, and I hope that it will do wonders for his attention span. He goes from one thing to the next so suddenly that I am unable to keep patience with him for very long. He gets that from his daddy though. Rich is such a busy body - always has to be doing something.

I am totally not a morning person, so it was incredibly hard to get everyone fed and dressed and out the door by 8:15, but we managed. (Their AM snack is at 8:30, so I wanted to make sure he was included in that!)

We arrived and he went right to the classroom, running in and grabbing toys. I was able to sneak out without him noticing me. I worry about him though. I hope he does okay there.

So now, I am really beside myself, and don't know what to do. Meredith just went down for a nap without any fussing - usually she fights sleep for hours.

So I have time to myself.

Wow, it has been six months since I had time to myself....

Best Dressed

A few weeks ago, I was reading (looking at the pictures) the latest issue of mommy magazine. There was a spread for fashion knockoffs for celebrity moms. I looked at photos of Jennifer Garner in her jeans and t-shirt, who still looked pulled together and realized I needed to stop wearing my husband's Army brown t-shirts. I was not going to pay 90 dollars for a t-shirt though...damn celebrities.

Nonetheless, realizing that your children are better dressed than you are is pretty sad. Sure, I love shopping. So why had I neglected myself? Being that I have been pregnant for the past two winters, I wanted to overhaul my wardrobe. Over the webcam, Rich asked me if I was wearing a new shirt -- nope, I was wearing a maternity shirt. Why am I still wearing maternity clothes?
Even the pajamas I have on now, I wore throughout both pregnancies. Wow. I really need to let go.

Lucky for me, my mom came to visit for a while and I went shopping. I was actually able to take my time and look, try things on and come home satisfied with my selections without being all stressed out! Thanks mom!

Hopefully, I will be able to make due with what I have until next go around.

So much for Child Safety...

Meredith totally took this off the cabinet...She is a freaking genius.

Meredith is pulling up!

We watched for a long time, but she never stood up...She is thinking hard about it though. I hope I get it on film.

EWW!

In today's mail, shoes that I bought Lucas arrived, (on E-bay, of course), never worn and totally cheap - really really a steal. He gets sooo excited over shoes, and immediately wanted to try them on.
In the meanwhile, he was sniffing my candles (I taught him how to properly smell a Yankee Candle, which is why he is holding the topper below. We smell things when we are out shopping. ) He doesn't particularly like this candle, so he pinches his nose and says EWW!

Ebay...

I have an addiction. It comes in spurts, but when it comes, you better watch out.

I think of an object I need, then I obsessively shop on e-bay. Then, that leads to something else I need, and so on and so forth. For a while, I was all about buying scrapbooking supplies. I bought what I needed, and sold the things I owned that I no longer needed. It has been almost a year since I have gone back, but I did....

Lucas was in dire need of pants. He is a skinny mini who needs to wear one size for the waist and another size for the length. There are certain brands of pants that he wears that fit him wonderfully, so I began my search.

Instead of updating my blog at night, I searched ebay. First it began with pants for Lucas, then I wondered what cute things I could find for Meredith. The world of shopping on the site is endless, and it is sooo much easier than going out with the babies. I found pants and dresses and shoes and sweaters....

I finally found what I thought I needed for the time being and didn't know what to look for....
So what did I decide to do instead? List my own things on ebay! I have a huge box of winter clothes from Lucas, many are not hurt and are named brand. I have watched auctions go up, up, UP. People flock to brands because they understand the value and quality of things.

I sold my first item yesterday. I am super excited to get rid of some things. One man's trash is another's treasure, right?

6 months old!

Meredith had her 6 months well baby exam today. She is 14.2 pounds and 21 inches long, or maybe 22 - I can't remember for sure. I do know the doctor called her "robust for her height" - which I translate to mean: Your kid is short and fat.

Maybe I am being a bit extreme here, but she is following her own curve. I am sure it will even out eventually. And well, I love her no matter what. She is adorable....


The shots were terrible though. She had to have 4, and she started crying before the nurse even administered them. She knew what was coming I think.

She had her first flu shot, and advised that mom and dad get one too! So, Rich, make sure you take care of that. I think I forgot to tell you....

Getting Ready for Bed