Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

"May all who have walked in darkness today welcome the light: Jesus Christ, Emmanuel!"
~Rev. Richard Veras

Ryan's letter

This is Ryan's letter to Santa. I wrote it for him yesterday. He said the words and I wrote them on the paper. Then we signed his name together and he drew a picture of a cookie for Santa. There are a few things I really love about this letter because they really are so "Ryan." First, he asks Santa to "hurry up." He just can't wait for Christmas. Secondly, he signed it Ryan Alexander Mr. McGee. This is what he calls himself. These are some of the things about Ryan I don't want to forget.

It's not the heat...

Adam and I enjoyed a sleigh ride in Freeport yesterday. We had a small date mixed with lots of Christmas shopping in which we purchased two items. It was cold. The night before we'd had our first snowfall of the season in Maine and everything was beautiful.

While we waited to get on the sleigh, we took a quick walk to the British store each purchased a Cadbury Crunchie. Yum! Then we got on the sleigh and took the little ride around town. From the website's description we'd exected to see more than the loading docks to the stores in Freeport, so Adam made lots of fun about this. But it was festive and it was really good to be together without the kids.

Poor Adam wasn't wearing a hat. His hat seems to have gone missing since we've moved. When we got back to the car we were pretty frozen and I leaned over and said to him (with the movie Cool Runnings in mind), "It's not the heat, it's the humidity that will kill you." He started laughing and then I asked if there was some idiotic saying that people who live in cold places like Maine say about the cold weather. We came up with nothing.

Does anyone know some really stupid remark that people make to others when it's cold out? Just curious.

Hope

The first week of Advent is coming to a close and we get closer to celebrating the birth of Christ. Every year I pick up a devotional at church. I LOVE the Advent readings and am amazed that each year I get something so new out of them.

This week, it was the words in a prayer that left my thinking about the coming of Christ and how so many people have the reason for this season completely wrong.

Here is the prayer (taken from The Magnificant 2009)

"Even in the darkness that lies between despair and hope, we dare to pray:

O God our Savior, you are the hope of all the earth.

O God, when hope flickers and faints, rekindle within us the fire of your Spirit: that we may burn with desire for your promised salvation.

O God, when despair overtakes the human spirit, fan in us the one desire to pray: that we may find in your fidelity the source of all true hope.

O God, when the darkness threatens those who have forgotten your goodness in the past, stir once again the memory of grace: that, remembering, we may dare to hope once more."

And the scripture reading that went with that prayers was Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope."

Christmas Carolers

Ryan and I made these carolers today. Aren't they cute? You can find the instructions here.

New Moon

I've had four hours of sleep, but I don't care. Last night I went to a New Moon party and then went to see New Moon. It was worth not getting much sleep. It's not something I do at all, but was so glad that Jenni first got me hooked on the Twilight Saga and then dragged my butt to see the movie last night.

Jenni's party consisted of watching (well kinda) Twilight and making Team Jacob and Team Edward shirts, a Jacob tattoo hunt and a trivia game. Then we drove to the theater two hours before it started and were glad to sit in the perfect seats!

New Moon was WAY better than Twilight and I loved every minute of it. I loved how the audience was really into the movie to keep it quite and really watched. There was NO talking, just lots laughing and sighs and ohs at different parts. We laughed and just had a blast! Can't wait for June 30, 2010 when Eclipse comes out!!!

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New website love

I have a new website I love and I wanted to share it with you guys. The site is called No Time for Flash Cards and it had some awesome crafts and awesome book lists for kids. I can see us spending some time at the library this week looking for these books.

There are other craft websites that I go to often like Enchanted Learning and DLTK's crafts for kids. For a few months now I have also been borrowing Pack o Fun magazine from the library and I also subscribe to Family Fun, though I will say that most of the crafts in these magazines are for older kids. Ryan likes to glue, so I often do a lot of the work and just let him glue.

I really love doing crafts with the kids, though Tim is still at the stage of putting EVERYTHING into his mouth. He also likes the glue stick and has kind of figured it all out. Winter is a big craft time in our house since we can't stay outside running around at the park for hours on end.

A big thanks to Sarah for asking about crafting sites on Facebook because it got me thinking about this post and a big thanks to Val for sharing No Time for Flash Cards with us!

Mommy Tip

When Ryan was first born, my mother gave me a tip that I use a lot. She said I shouldn't worry too much about keeping the house clean while he was little, but that maybe I could do one thing every day to keep things some-what nice. I've used that tip right up until now and it works wonderfully for me.

Growing up I hated how mom left all the chores until Saturday and I didn't want to do that to my kids. It makes for a boring Saturday, though in my mother's defense I will say we always had time for the beach every Saturday, unless it was raining.

Today, I cleaned the bathroom and washed all the laundry. The laundry is not all put away yet... that may be for tomorrow as well as sweeping the kitchen floor. I've found the one thing a day is nice. I still get the house clean, but I don't get worn out trying to do a marathon cleaning event nor to I ignore the kids for an entire day. A few minutes here and a few minutes there and my one thing is usually done.

Got any mommy tips for me? I'd be interested to hear them!

Updates

Jaxson is out of the hospital, at home and playing! I am so excited about this bit of news.

I got a free Dunkin Donuts breakfast on Friday. Told you Friday the 13th is my lucky day!

We're in Manchester having an awesome time with friends and, therefore, I do not have time to write.

Happy weekend to all!

Friday the 13th

I like Friday the 13th. I consider 13 my lucky number. Nothing bad will happen today...

Wikipedia has lots to say about Friday the 13th and the superstitions that surround this day. This About.com article was rather interesting to read about Friday the 13th and how that day might be considered hazardous to your health. There are tons more sites with lots more about Friday the 13th, but I won't list them all. They had lots to say and were all equally interesting.

Happy Friday the 13th. May it be a happy day for you!

**********

On a separate note, some of you have asked about Jaxson. I haven't had an update as of this early morning posting. I hope to know more later. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for the little kiddo.

Jaxson

This little cutie is Jaxson. He's my friend, Merri's little boy. He needs your prayers. He's in the hospital with H1N1. He hasn't had a very good couple of weeks and I know poor Merri must be exhausted and worried and all of that stuff that goes along with having your BABY in the hospital. Last night, they removed his IV, but once they did, they had to put him right back on it. Apparently he's also on a respirator. It sounds scary. Please pray for little Jaxson and his family.

Thyroid

I can't believe I missed a NaBloPoMo post because I fell asleep at 8 p.m. Okay, I can believe it, simply because my thyroid is doing new things these days.

The latest update on that little butterfly-shaped gland of mine is that the radioactive iodine treatment I received four months ago is finally working! Adam and I were worried that I'd need a repeat dosage of RAI or that I'd need surgery. I'm so thankful that it appears I will need neither.

Right now I am tired a lot...again. I was taking meds to lessen the side effects of having hyperthyroidism and now I can't take anything for the start of my hypothyroidism until I get blood test results back next month. So, I'm back to going to bed with the kids until then and should really do my NaBloPoMo posts in the morning. It's clearly too early in the month to be missing posts!

Picky eaters update

In case you missed this post and the one before it, I should mention that my kids are picky eaters. They like hot dogs, chicken nuggets, anything you can dip and candy. That's about it. It's rather frustrating for someone who like variety in her food life to have to deal with two picky eaters.

I've tried lots of things with them over the months since I made those posts about how my kids were picky eaters and how I was going to try that list of things to see if I could get them to eat. Sometimes they were great and other times they were just plain awful.

While my parents were here, Ryan said all the food "stinks" and refused to eat a lot of things. If we sat him down and told him he had to have three bites, he'd gag and throw up. It was so frustrating. Eating at the table every night while they were here did not help him one ounce. He still ate his chicken nuggets and hot dogs the best and left the rest.

Since Halloween, Ryan has asked for candy A LOT. I tell him if he eats the tiny portions I give him... eats all of it, then I will give him ONE candy. It's like magic! The kid actually does eat! I mean, he isn't eating everything, but he's eating. He's trying. The other night he gobbled up his noodles so fast, I wasn't sure this was my kid. He's tried foods I thought he wasn't interested in and asked for more! It's all because of some candy in a jack-o-lantern like bucket sitting on a shelf in the basement loaded with candy.

I will say I have learned a few things over the past few months.

1. I cannot force another bite if the kid says he's full. It will result in him throwing up.
2. Carrots and celery dipped in ranch dressing is a great "side" to any of his meals. He gobbles them up and they are good for him.
3. Promised treats after a meal make him eat the meal.
4. His portions are WAY smaller than ours and that's okay.
5. Sometimes eating in front of the tv is a great reward, especially if it's with dad and a new movie.

Turkey

Ryan, my mom and I all worked together to create this fall turkey to decorate the house. Ryan loves projects and is really good at them. He likes seeing his finished work. This craft idea came from Pack o Fun which we get at the library most months. I like the different crafts they have in their magazine. Ryan was really happy with the finished product. Next on our project list are pilgrims to join the turkey.

I enjoy these times with Ryan doing crafts because I love listening to him problem solve and hearing what he thinks will work. He likes it because it's time with just him and mommy. We usually do these crafts during Tim's nap. I can't wait for Tim to be able to join us, but I know that's at least a half a year away. I can vividly remember doing crafts with my mother and grandmother during my childhood. My mum and I had a good laugh about some snowmen we once tried to make. It was a disaster, but we still have that memory. I hope Ryan (and eventually Tim) will look back on these projects and smile someday.

Favorite Fall Fotos

Well, this one doesn't look like Fall, but it was taken just last week when my parents were here. Tim in his car seat smiling for his Nana.

I like this one of Ryan next to this HUGE real pumpkin outside of Mike's Clam Shack.

Chicken Soup

We've all been fighting a cold here, so I thought I'd share my friend Kristin's recipe for a really yummy chicken soup. It's a twist on the old chicken noodle version and I love it because it gives me something else to choose from when I just don't feel like the old standard.

Kristin's Easy Chicken Soup

1-2 chicken breasts (literally just one or two from a package)
1/4 cup flour
32 oz chicken broth
15 oz Italian Diced Tomatoes (garlic, oregano, basil)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil.
Diced celery, carrots, onions and potatoes (I used one large of each)

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and coat with flour. Place Olive Oil in soup pot and brown chicken. Remove chicken and add celery, carrots and onions and cook till tender. Add chicken and potoatos and broth. Cook till potatoes are done.

Kristin serves this with homemade garlic bread and tops the soup with freshly grated parm.

Enjoy.

Tired

The sickies hit our house this week. We've all had some form of cold. After at day I work, I'm just beat. I will write more tomorrow.

Crochet

In an attempt to save money and have a cute sweater that no one else is likely to have, I started crocheting a sweater for myself.

Today, I had to rip it all out. I swear there is some unwritten rule that says you'll have to rip out an entire project at least once before it's done.

Frustrating...

Coupons

Another great way to save is with coupons. At work, we do a coupon swap. First, I get the coupons from my mother-in-law who gets the Sunday paper. She usually cuts out the ones she wants and then gives the rest to me. I take my turn and cut out the ones I will use and then pass them on to one of my co-workers who does the same thing. It's a great way to save. She brings in coupons for me too, usually for diapers.

You can also get coupons online for a large variety of things. A great site to check out is this one from Parenting.com. They have a list of about 1o different sites that have coupons. I will say, be careful, though. I was looking for Stride Rite shoes for Tim (he has super wide feet and we can't just buy Walmart brand ones) and it said "get 20% off plus free shipping" but there was no 20% off with that code, just free shipping.

Happy coupon shopping and clipping!

Giveaways

I have never been a big believer in giveaways, especially the ones where there is "no purchase necessary." I always enter and never win. Okay, so that's not quite true.

In high school, my mom bought gas for the car and I entered the ticket to win a free turkey. I won. They called and asked to speak to me. I'd filled out the form and I won a turkey.

Back in the spring, I entered a parenting.com toy giveaway. It was one of those enter every day to win one of our thirty prizes. I only entered on the days there were things I thought I'd like to win. Last week, a package showed up at the door of our friends' house. I'd won a ball collection for the kids. One soccer ball, one basketball and one football.

Today I signed up for a few more giveaways at parenting.com/giveaways. There are a host of different things to sign up for, toys, vacations and book, just to name a few. I'm hoping I'll win again!

Saving

Today is the official start of NaBloPoMo. I can do a month of posts. Yes I can!

I've been working at a local bank for about three months now. I really love it. What I think I love most is that I learn things from customers who come in and chat with us ladies. My favorite tip so far was from a lady who was making a deposit for a trip. She's saved up all her rebates, coin and any money saved from using coupons and was planning to take a trip.

The idea behind her plan is that any money you save you put into a savings account. I'll give you an example. This week, I did grocery shopping and saved $6 in coupons and another $6.28 with our Walmart employee discount. That $12.28 will be going into our savings account. My parents were also here for two weeks. I normally spend $70 in groceries each week so we put that same amount aside, too. It's not a huge amount of money, but it's better than not saving at all. Our savings account is starting to look nice. There wasn't a lot in it just two weeks ago.

There's my two cents...maybe it will help you save a few yourself.

Universal Health Care

I was opposed to universal health care until this afternoon. I was not in favor of this proposed plan simply because I've heard some stories about it in other places. I had a doctor who worked in the UK who said he had the same patient every day simply because she thought he was cute. There was nothing wrong with this particular lady, but because she had access to a doctor she abused it. He told stories of the elderly worrying that they had every disease or that they were dying. The husband also convinced me that we might have to wait in long lines because we have fewer doctors than people living in the USA. It all made sense to me.

And then I went to pick up Ryan's prescription for GERD today and the lady says, "your total is $167.90."

"Is this a three month supply," I asked.

She didn't know so she went to find out. When she came back and informed me that our insurance no longer covered the meds, I wasn't too happy. In case you were wondering, we didn't purchase the meds. We left them there. There's no way that we could pay almost $200 every month (she also informed me that for some reason we were getting this at a discount and that the actual price is $205.25!).

We're waiting to see what the doctor says about what Ryan may be able to take in it's place. He was allergic to the wonderful $4 drug and we'd adjusted our small budget to fit in his needed med... now we don't know what we'll do.

It breaks my heart to think my kid needs a medicine and I can't afford it. Seriously does it cost them this much to make it? Drug companies are handing out samples of their latest work in doctor's offices, so why does this medicine cost so much? I just don't get it.

But I do get what people complain about when they say they just can't afford their meds. So, universal health care has my vote.

Insipiration

A few things have been inspiring me lately. The first is the Nie Nie Dialogues have really been an inspiration. These are the blogs of Stephanie Aurora Clark Nielson, a mother of four, a wife and a plane crash survivor, who was burned over 80 percent of her body. She's an inspiration because she could be wallowing in self pitty, but she, instead, always seems positive. Thanks Annie for the introduction!

My second insipration is fall. I love it. It's beautiful outside. Yesterday, we ended up at the apple orchard again and we took lots of photos.



On a completly different note, Timothy has begun sleeping in his big boy bed. He's doing quite well. We decided to move him from his crib because he was attempting to climb out. The fall would have been awful. The first two nights it took 40 minutes of repeatedly putting him back to bed to get him to stay. Last night it was just 15 minutes. He puts himself to bed for naps (this kid is awesome!)

Awesome apple pie

I made an awesome apple pie today with Ryan. I wanted to share my recipe finds with you.

This is where I found the pie crust recipe. It was the first pie crust (for an apple pie) that didn't taste like cardboard. Yay! I don't have a big food processor and just used my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Apple pie filling is pretty easy to make, but I used the apple pie recipe featured on McDougal's website (it's down the page a little). McDougal's is where we pick our apples. The only thing I changed was how I cut up my apples. Thin sliced cooks down too much for me. I don't like apple sauce pie, so I cut my apples a little thick.

Enjoy!

Timmy!

This afternoon, we tried to put both kids down for a nap at the same time. Tim protested. He threw out everything in his crib. His beloved blanket, his bear, Duke, pillow, sippy cup and even his diaper. Yes, his diaper. He took it off and threw it out of the crib. I would have never known had he not been screaming "mama," which made me want to go check on him. When I got there, I was shocked to see a bare-bottomed kiddo in his crib. I took a photo and sent it to Adam on his phone. He noticed Tim was missing a sock at first, not that he was missing his diaper.

Websites

Here are two websites that I go to often, for two very different reasons.

The first is Letter of the Week. My mom told me about it and we've started the three year old curriculum for Ryan. We're only on letter B, but he seems to be very excited about "school work." I hope it lasts! There's ideas for things to do with younger and older kids and I love it! I wanted to do some preschool stuff with him this year. Workbooks don't excite him as much as reading, field trips and arts and crafts do. This site has some great ideas for all of those things and even more. I had considered doing an expensive preschool reading program, but then my mom found this. I've also discovered some of the books on that expensive program at the library and get them there. I didn't think Ryan would be interested in a book about art (i.e. sculptures or paintings) but he really loves looking at the different types of art.

The second site I find myself going to a lot lately is the People of Walmart site. I laugh every day because of them and because I have seen the same types of people during my time at Walmart. I'm sure these people are seen in many places, but it seems like they all go to Wally World at some point. I am also amazed at how many people glue things to their car... not something I would ever think of doing.

I just thought I'd share a few of my favorite things with you guys.

Enjoy!

Iowa was fantastic!

I loved being back in the Midwest this past weekend. It was so nice to see Elizabeth and spend four days with her family. I felt right at home. I love her parents, John and Mary Jane, who made me feel just like a part of the family. While I missed the kiddos and Adam, I really did enjoy myself and had a blast. There were a lot of late nights, but it was well worth it.

Elizabeth's wedding was so beautiful. They had a brass band play and it suited her so much. So much of the wedding showed her personality. She and Chris are so happy! I am so happy for them. God really blessed them in finding each other.

Oh, and the only thing I missed having in the Midwest was biscuits and gravy...

Here are my two favorite photos of the trip..
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Iowa here I come!

I can't believe that tomorrow it will be September! The year has gone by so quickly. I cringe when I think of all the scrapbooking I haven't done yet and the journaling I should have done to remember things my kids have said and done this year.

I am also excited when I think of this month! It seems like a long time ago that we started planning for me to travel to Iowa for the wedding of my second college freshman roommate! Now, it is upon us... and in less than a week Elizabeth will be a married woman! I am so excited to meet Chris for the first time and so excited that I can be a part of their special day.

For four days I will be away from the kids and hubby while hanging out with Elizabeth, her family and friends. Adam will have his hands full with our two little boys, but I have full confidence that he will do just fine and that the boys will have a great time with their daddy.

I have a lot to do this week. Clean, iron, plan meals, pack. I also have to hang out with the kids and make these things that I have to do fun for them. We're going to the beach tomorrow with a cousin of mine (I am excited about this!) and maybe heading to the pool at the in-law's house this evening. I expect to be tired when I hop on the plane on Friday morning, but intend to come home well-rested!

Iowa, here I come!

Ryan says funny things

Today, Adam and Ryan were playing on our bed when Ryan pinched Adam's nipple.

Adam: "Ouch, don't pinch my nipple, that hurts!"

Ryan: "You don't have nipples."

Adam: "Yes, I do and so do you."

Ryan: "NO!"

Adam: "Lift up your shirt and I will show you."

Ryan: (slowly lifting up shirt and points to belly button.)

Adam: "That's your belly button silly."

Ryan: (lifts shirt all the way)

Adam: "These are your nipples."

Ryan: "No it's not. It's a mustache!"


And in the car earlier this week, Adam was asking Ryan a bunch of things to hear his cute responses. He asks Ryan, "Who is God." Ryan doesn't hesitate and says "He's the guy that makes it rain all the time."

Don't you just love kids?

Property update

The neighbor's wall is not on our property. Yay!

Property drama

We are having our property surveyed because we want to put up a fence in the backyard. We live in-town on a relatively busy street and it'd be wise to have the kids in an enclosed area.

I am not too happy with the preliminary findings of the surveyor. One of our neighbors appears to have stuck her fence on our property. It's about a foot on our property. This same neighbor cut down one of our trees about three years ago. When we called the cops on that incident, nothing happened. They said they weren't going to deal with such an issue. Both the neighbor behind us and I were so upset about this whole thing. Since when can someone just come and cut down your tree on your property?

In the end, we didn't like the tree anyway and didn't do anything about it. Well, at that same time she had her land surveyed and placed a temporary chicken-wire fence up to keep her dogs in her yard.

While our house was rented out, she put a wooden fence up. Our nice neighbors said they think they noticed her moving her survey markers one night. We couldn't be sure because at the time we had no extra money to do a survey of our own.

I'm really not up for this drama. I hope the guy is wrong and that he just made a big mistake today. I don't want to fight this neighbor in court.

Observations

We spent the afternoon at Funtown/Splashtown and had a blast! We are all tired and I'm not sure what I am still doing awake...


Anyway, I came away with a few observations from our time in the Splashtown area.


1. Bathing suits that are white should be lined. If they are not, you should not be wearing them. The rest of us don't want to see all of you, nor do we want to answer our child's questions about the parts of you that are showing.

2. Bathing suits with skirts at the bottom are not flattering. They just draw the eye to that part of your body and make it look bigger.

3. Too many tattoos just aren't attractive. We saw a lot of really ugly ones and just a few tasteful ones.

4. It's kinda funny to see a guy with a tan that outlines his wife beater!

5. Being too tan is actually kinda gross. We saw some people who were just orange and well, clearly too brown from spending too much time in the sun. YUCK!

Changing my picky eater

In the August Parenting magazine that arrived at my door yesterday, there was an article especially for me.

"Food for thought" by Celia Barbour gave five suggestions for the parent of the picky eater.

1. I am not a short-order cook. We never have been, though we will allow the kids a hot dog if they don't eat anything. I found it interesting that she quoted the Guide to your Children's Nutrition "Children will not become ill or suffer permanently if they refuse a meal or two, but parents sometimes act as though youngsters might shrivel up and die." I guess since Ryan has been considered underweight for awhile, I do wonder about him shriveling up and dying. She basically said what my mom has been telling me all along, "Ryan will eat when he's hungry."

2. I can spice things up. Kids shouldn't be subjected to bland food. I haven't done this and I won't. I like my spices and I want them to like them too.

3. I should give veggies the hard sell. If I mix the veggies with the main course, they will eventually eat them. She suggested if I put it on the table first, when they are the most hungry, they may eat them first too.

4. Eat dinner together. We try to,but often, Ryan and Tim are hungry before Adam gets home. It's just the three of us some nights.

5. My kids have to try one bite. Just one. If it makes them gag, they shouldn't be forced to eat every bite.

6. If all else fails, I should bribe them.... no dessert, no seconds and suggest giving it to the other brother. They hate sharing. This one, might actually work.

7. Make them save room for dessert.

I'll let you know if any of these work my picky eaters.

I have a job!

My interview on Tuesday went incredibly well. Being the good GC grad that I am, I prepped for this interview. I got my resume all pretty and my references all set up. I practiced answering online sample interview questions. I mean, I was ready.

The only question that I had to answer that I practiced for was "so, tell us a little about yourself." The rest of the time we just talked and laughed. I even commented during the interview that this was the first time I recall not being nervous on a job interview.

I left feeling really awesome. This morning I got the call I'd been praying for. I have the job!!!! I actually jumped up and down after I got the call. Ryan was a bit confused, but I had to express my excitement without waking Timothy, who happened to be having a nap.

I can't wait to start. I just have to find a babysitter for two weeks while I get my training. We're hoping family will be able to help.

Picky eaters

My boys have become picky eaters this summer. Ryan's kinda been a picky eater all along, but Tim would normally eat whatever you put in front of him (except eggs and cheese... he spits them out).

I've been reading online about picky eaters. I'm not sure I agree with sneaking healthy foods (like fruits and veggies) into foods for kids. I'm not sure that's teaching them the importance of eating healthy, especially when they get their broccoli or squash from brownies and breakfast cookies.

I'll be the first to admit it took a long time to like all the veggies that I do enjoy eating (I've been known to eat cookies, cake and brownies for breakfast and have had to stop this now that I have an example to set). There are few I refuse to eat, but I wonder if that is because mum always gave us veggies and we were required to eat them. I can recall only eating the tops of the broccoli and not eating asparagus, but these days I love my veggies... more than I love fruit.

Now, little Tim will eat any fruit... many more than Ryan will eat. I've begun to wonder if that's because we mainly fed Ryan bananas and apples when he was a baby. Those are by far his favs, though he loves blueberries, grapes and recently has started eating strawberries. Tim only likes corn and peas for veggies and spits out green beans and the rest, though he'll usually eat one or two and then decide that's not what he wants to eat. I think I can win him over.

But with summer being here, it's so hot to cook and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for healthy summer meals for us and how to work with my picky eaters? HELP!

Job

I'd hoped by now I'd be babysitting for Adam's cousin. However, their loan fell through and they're working on getting another, or possibly renting in another town in the opposite direction from Adam's job.

I talked with her last week and told her that we really need some money, so I'd have to start looking for another job. If their loan comes through before I get hired somewhere else, I'd be happy to start working for them, but we just can sit around hoping that things will work out.

This week, I looked online at many different job postings. I applied for a part-time bank teller job and a job as a before and aftercare person for the YMCA. I also found out my dear old WM is hiring again and will apply there again this weekend.

On Thursday, within hours of post my resume online for the bank job, I got a call back for an interview. I really like this job idea. I love the part-time hours and so does Adam. It'd be Thursday all day and Friday and Saturday half day, which could work out with a schedule for Adam at his job. I asked Adam if he thought I would get the job and he said, "no." He said his feelings are not based on whether I am qualified or not, it's based on the fact that almost four years ago I applied for a bank teller job and was turned down. But, we're both hoping this job works out. We wouldn't need a second car and the kids wouldn't need day care (though we are considering signing Ryan up for a few programs at the Y because he is behind in his social and emotional development...that to come in a different post).

For those of you who pray, we'd really appreciate the prayers for a job. This job interview is Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. Thanks!

Creativity

I'd love one of these for our kids play room. I think they are awesome, but at $600, the cost is just too much. We're on a tight budget these days.

We thought about what we could do. We could build one ourselves, but that still would cost money. Then I remember the guinea pig cages sitting in the basement. (We made our own guinea pig cage out of those cubes most college kids make bookshelves.)

We went to work.

This is what it looks like and I am happy with our creative results!

Weaning

We are weaning Tim from the bottle. He loves his "baba," so this hasn't been so easy.

This morning I gave him one of these sippy cups and he opened it and spilled the contents on the kitchen floor. Protesting? I think so.

Then I gave him one of these cups and he drank a little and then cried a lot.

I hate the crying part. He asks for his "baba" often. I know it'll be a few days of cranky and then he'll be happy, but I hate this part.

How have you guys made it through this part of toddlerhood?

We're here!

We moved all our furniture on a rather rainy day, but we made it here and just about everything is inside. I can't say the boxes are all unpacked, but that's okay, too. Things will slowly get put into their places.

The first night here, my brother arrived after midnight. His flight had been delayed and then Adam and I realized we needed a shower curtain for the morning showers. We were tired the next day, but the kids were up early and made sure we made it to our 9 a.m. appointment for the rental truck. It was pouring when we were moving things. It'd stop when we'd take a break and then the heavens would open up and more rain would descend upon us!

We made two trips of a full moving truck and called it a day, though I made great attempts to set up the kitchen.

Adam and Gillie came to visit, played with the kids, moved some boxes, washed dishes and then had dinner with us.

Yesterday, the kitchen was finally set up and the house was starting to look more like our home. We're really happy to be back and really thankful for friends and family. We were lucky to have my in-laws take us in for almost two years and are blessed to have Nathan here to help with so much. He's mowed the lawn, scrubbed the stove, fixed the tv and so much more. We're grateful to have wonderful friends, too.

More to come when the house looks better and I have more time to write.

Moving

Yes, we're moving in about a week. I am so excited to be getting back to our house. I hate packing though. I hate how I am confronted with just how much junk we've managed to collect, even when we've tried not to do that very thing. It's not all quite ready to go yet, but most things are in boxes.

Ryan is excited about our move. When we told him he wanted to go to our "new house" that very minute. He often asks if our tenants have moved out and when I tell him they haven't he says "tell them to go, mom!"

Basically, our tenants found a new place with more room, which is good becasue they now have five kids. When they moved into our three bedroom house they had four girls. The older girls shared one room and the younger ones shared the other. Then baby Noah came along and he's been sharing the master bedroom with his parents for about a year now. They really need more space.

I'll be going back to work. I'm going to be taking care of two other boys along with my two. I'm excited and have daycare lesson plans already worked out for a few weeks. I'll see how these ideas work out and then we'll move on from there. The extra money and potentially two full days off with Adam will be wonderful. The four children will be a challenge, but I'm sure I'll find my groove.

I did miss the boys the last two days, though I must admit, I enjoyed my time alone. I got to sleep in past 6:30, which was awesome and I got to do things without worrying about bottles, sippy cups, diapers and changes of clothes. It's nice to be able to be around them again, even if I can't hug and kiss them. Just a few more days and I'll be able to enjoy those hugs and kisses again.

Radioactive Woman

Adam is calling my radioactive woman today because I received my radioactive iodine treatment today for my messed up thyroid. My morning experience left me wondering if I'd made the right choice, but it's too late to change things now.

I was up early with the boys and gave them lost of kisses and hugs before I left for the endocrinologists office. I won't be able to give them kisses for a week :( They then left to go to Manchester with Adam where they will be away from me until tomorrow night. The doc said the first 48 hours are when the iodine is most concentrated, though I will have to follow some precautions for the rest of the week.

Anyway, I made it to my appointment in the rain (will it ever stop?) and was brought into a little metal room where the doctor opened a metal safe and took out a metal canister. Inside the metal canister was a vial of one horse-sized pill that I had the joy of swallowing. I was then escorted out the back door. I felt a little like a leper.

It's okay for me to be around other people, but I can't share food or drinks and I should limit my time with pregnant women and children for the next few days. I had a nice relaxing day. I went to Borders and looked at tons of different kids of books... even read some magazine articles. I walked around the mall and had a pedicure. Yay for pedicure. I have pretty feet now ;)

Tomorrow I spend the day visit my regular doctor for a follow up, picking up prescriptions for both Ryan and myself (he started a script for GERD and broke out in a rash from it so we have to change the med) and then I get to go to a movie with my friend Jenni. This has been a nice break from the kids, but I do miss Adam and the boys a lot. It's soooo quite here without them. I am getting a lot of reading done!

In six weeks I'll have some blood work done to see how things with my thyroid are progressing. In most cases, people end up hypothyroid after this treatment and have to take thyroid replacement drugs for the rest of their lives. Some end up having their thyroid work like normal again, but that percentage is really low. The blood work will let them know how much replacement drugs, if any, I will need.

I love my kids

Some days Ryan can be a handful. There are days when I'm so ready to pull my hair out because he's cried all day about nothing. Yesterday wasn't too bad, but he did have a few moments where I could feel my blood pressure rising.

He was up late waiting for his daddy to come home. He's always wanted to be with his daddy at bedtime since he was little. He'd just wake up at the time Adam was supposed to be home and wait. He was so excited to see Adam last night. I love how they get when they're together.

Anyway, at bedtime, Ryan was playing with these magnetic balls and sticks and Adam made two microphones and started singing. I love how Ryan gets into the music and tries to sing. He sways from side to side and bops his head and sings the lyrics a bit late. I couldn't help but laugh last night because he has this little southern drawl when he sings. I'm not sure where he gets it from, but it's funny and cute at the same time.

I also love how Ryan will say "uh huh" when he doesn't know the answer to something and the default color of everything is green. We have these Brain Quest flash cards that we sometimes play with Ryan. I'm always surprised and humored at the answers he gives us. Last night was no exception. There was a picture of a mouse yawning and it asks "what should you do when you yawn." Ryan's response was "go night-night." Then there was a card with the letter "R" on it and we asked if he knew what it was. He said "uh huh" and we try to help him by saying it was the letter his name starts with. And he then goes, "Oh, it's MY letter." We kept trying, but only got answers like "it's my name letter." Of course we told him what it was and then moved on, but I just love these moments with him.

The other day at the grocery store he attempted to pay for the groceries with an expired LL Bean gift certificate. How cute! He wanted to pay with his money because he "eat(s) too."

All of these moments make up for those days when he's most difficult. They make me smile when I think of them and I'm trying to write as many of them down as possible so I can show him later just how cute he was.

Of course, Tim is also a lot of fun these days. He's my little talker and yesterday when we were leaving the park he started crying and pointing at the park and saying "park" in his little Mainer way. He's doing so much right now and it's a lot of fun. He's walking and trying to do everything Ryan does like jumping on the bed.

So while there are days where I feel overwhelmed, I love that I have days when they are angels and we have tons of fun together and they just make me laugh.

Photos and an update

The guys playing TMNT... I think.

The girls outside Shain's.

Can you see his chocolate ice cream mustache?

I love this photo of my boys. Right before I took this photo, they were all sitting in a row.

My update is that I will be having radioactive iodine treatment on my thyroid on June 24. The endocrinologist said this would be his best suggestion, though we did talk about going back to PTU (really not good long term for my heart) and surgery (not very cost effective and does have some risks). I knew my options because I had the same ones about three years ago. I took the PTU option because I wanted to be sure we could have a second baby. Adam and I had both decided that when the options were put on the table this time, we'd go with RAI and get life back to normal. I'm so ready for that, even if it will take 1-4 months to feel like a regular person again. Because I will not be able to hold the kids for two days after the treatment, Adam will be taking two days off with me and hanging out with the boys. I'll be packing to move back to our house, which we do the weekend of July 4! (that's some big news I haven't yet blogged about).

beach time!

Tim really didn't keep the hat on, but we tried!

Katy would have wandered right into the ocean if Sarah wasn't watching her. She loved it!

I love this photo!

Isn't she a cutie?

Ryan would not let the sand get on him. He stayed on the towel the entire time. Tim was covered in sand, went crawling in it, ate it... he had a blast!

Five minute photos

Yesterday, I went to the nuclear department of the hospital and swallowed two pills which were in a plastic bottle and the plastic bottle was in a metal vial. The pills contained a trace amount of radioactive iodine... Adam called me radioactive woman all day.

Today, I had photos taken of my thyroid. I lay in this thing that looks like a CT scanner with a cone-shaped camera while four photos were taken. Each photo took five minutes. Five minutes of only breathing and swallowing. The weird thing is that my nose, neck, chin and other parts of your face itch when I have to sit still for five minutes at a time.

I also had a test in which this robotic arm looking thing tested how much radioactive iodine was in my body versus the amount in my thyroid.

I am awaiting test results (which the nurse at my doctor's office says she'll let me know as soon as she does!) and I see the endocrinologist next week. I bet this week will drag on, but that's okay since Kyle, Sarah and Miss Katy are in town.

Thyroid Update

So, here's the update on my thyroid. The ultrasound I had last week shows that the nodules on my thyroid have grown and my blood tests indicate that my thyroid is producing too much thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism).

I'll go to visit my old friend, the endocrinologist, who I like as a doctor, in two weeks. But this week I get to take a thyroid uptake scan. Basically, I show up on the day of the test, take a pill with radio active iodine in it and then return to the hospital four hours later to have images taken of my thyroid. I'm told that this test will show whether my nodules are the reason for my thyroid being nutty or if it's just my thyroid all by itself.

I've done lots of reading about this test. I worry about radio active iodine and being around the kids. I won't be able to hold them on the day of the test and will have to do extra cleaning of the toilet after I use it (since the radio active iodine will be eliminated from my body this way). Adam is taking the day off to be with us, but I still imagine I will have to find time to do things outside of the house or away from the kids. They are both mama's boys. I think Adam will have his hands full with the two of them. Ryan constantly wants to play outside and Tim just always wants to be held these days (he has a cold again!). I'm sure he'll do fine.

That's my update.

Here we go again

I thought about making this a good, bad and ugly post, but then it just didn't say enough so I'm making it a longer one.

The last few weeks I've been exhausted. Like sleep for 12 hours at night and nap during the day and still feel beat, exhausted. It stinks because I want to do things with the kids, but I go outside and yawn while I watch Ryan run around and Tim is attached to my hip.

I scheduled an appointment with the doctor. I just couldn't take being tired anymore. I was convinced it was my thyroid.

The good news: I am not pregnant! While I knew that I wasn't, I hate taking that test "just in case" because I would hate to be blindsided by a pregnancy. I especially would hate to be blindsided with that info when Tim is just one and I don't think I want more kids.

The bad news is that I was right and my thyroid is being bad again. So today I had an ultrasound which revealed I have two nodules on my thyroid (I think I had two three years ago, but I'm not sure) and I had more bloodwork done on thyroid hormones.

The ugly is that I have to be tired probably until Thursday when I have my follow up visit again.

At least we have a diagnosis!

Potty Train Part Two

Ryan finally gets the whole using the potty thing! For a long time he's known what to do when on it, but this week it just clicked that he can tell us when he has to go. I am so proud! I am also so very excited that he just gets it.

About a week ago I told him I wouldn't be purchasing any more pull ups simply because they cost too much money. I told him I believed he was my big boy and that he would do awesome using the potty. The first few days were hard. He wet himself often. We changed a lot of pants and did lots of loads of laundry. But we'd go on trips from Manchester to Maine and he would stay try, not wanting his car seat to get wet. I just knew he could do it. I didn't scold the accidents, though I kept reminding him he could let me know when he had to go so I could help him get to the potty on time.

Today, he stayed dry all day. I want to do the happy dance! It was so cute to see him doing that "potty dance" when he had to go and saying "mom, I don't want to be wet.'" and he'd run to the bathroom.

The only pull ups we buy now are for bedtime. He wears Imse Vimse training pants when we go out of the house (these things are worth every penny!) and regular training pants or underwear when we are at home. He loves picking out Mater or McQueen underwear to put on.

Ford Fusion

We are now the owners of a 2009 Ford Fusion. I was so stressed yesterday as we went through the whole car buying process. I was exhausted mentally when we got home and I couldn't believe how long the whole thing took.

Adam left right away to go back to work and I stayed behind to figure out what will happen with the Passat which is still sitting at a local repair shop. I will be taking care of that on this rainy Thursday.

I have no photos, but I hope to post some soon. Ryan likes the new car, which is good, not that it really matters. I'm just glad he won't keep saying "Mom, our car is broke and is at the doctor's office to get fixed." He's said it about a million times since Sunday night.

Yay for a new car.

grrr

We were on the way to Wal-Mart to buy Ryan new shoes, since he keeps telling us his feet hurt in the ones he currently wears, when the car broke down. I was the driver and I looked at Adam and said, "I'm pushing the gas, but we're going slower."

We just made it to the side of the road as it died on us. Something smelled like it was burning. We called our friend Kristin (we're again in Manchester visiting) and she hooked us up with th towing company and local mechanic that Enterprise uses (that's where she and her husband work). The towing was cheaper than I expected (Kyle, I was thinking of you and Adam's late night break down in college). Now we wait for the repairs.

We're all trying to think of the positive stuff instead of the cost of the towing, the rental and the repairs. For one, at least this didn't happen at 8:30 this evening on the way home. We'd have gotten there a lot later than planned. The towing did not cost $300. We are all safe. It didn't happen when I was alone in the car with th kids. I tend to panic and not know what to do. I love that Adam is so calm during these situations.

That said, it still doesn't make me happy that we broke down, but we do have a lot to be thankful for.

good day

We had a nice Thursday together as a family. Adam took four days off to spend with us, mainly because he needed time off, but also because Ry has been acting out because he misses him. I should first mention that Ryan wanted a new piece of his train set and we told him he could get one if he stayed dry all day.

We took Ryan to the Foxrun mall and let him play on the cars and at the little indoor playground. The big kids (Adam and myself) enjoyed some Gloria Jeans. Yum! Ryan used the family restroom kid potty... we were shocked! The pull up was dry.

Ryan then asked to go to Jokers so we took the trip there while everyone except me napped. We played there for a few hours and then decided to go grab dinner with the kids. We went to Famous Daves and let me just say the food is so yummy, but not in anyway diet friendly. I enjoyed my chicken, ribs, corn bread, corn on the cob and spicy green beans. I highly recommend this place.

And we got home and Ryan asked for his train and we said he could get it if he was still dry. And he was dry! He peed on our little potty at home and had been clearly holding it for a long time. Of course, the following day he did not stay dry, but we think we're moving in the right direction.

Ohio

We were in Ohio last week for my grandfather's funeral. I decided to go because I wanted to be with my mom on the loss of her parent (I missed grandma's funeral about two years ago because we had no money) and also to have that possible one last time to see all the aunts, uncles and cousins.

I can now say that I have performed with my Uncle Tom. He sang a beautiful song called "If you could see me now" and I did sign language for it during the service. I liked this type of funeral since just about every member of the immediate family did some part. It felt special more than just having a service done by a pastor.

I was nervous about flying by myself with two kids. The flight there was perfect. Both boy fell asleep during takeoff and woke up when we landed. The flight back was awful. Ryan cried for 40 minutes straight about a car that didn't exist. He then fell asleep. The guy next to me was really nice, but I wanted so badly to crawl under a rock. I was so embarrassed because it wasn't just crying it was screaming as loud as he could.

I had fun with my aunts, uncles and cousins while in Ohio. My aunt has a new dog named Nessarose and she is so sweet. Ryan was scared of her the first few days (he's been scared of dogs since a pug jumped on him and took his chips), but by the end of our stay he was telling me he liked Nessa and wanted a dog like her. We got home and he was still talking about her and telling me his dog is going to be named Presto. Nessa is a toy poodle and costs about $300... I don't think we're getting one anytime soon. Even Tim liked Nessa, except when she barked at him.

We spent afternoons at a local park and Ryan loved it. It was huge and awesome. I even liked it.

And now we're back and enjoying some warm weather in Maine and wishing to be with family again.

A good Friday

We had a lovely Friday this week. Adam, the boys, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law and niece all went to Old Orchard Beach to enjoy the nice weather we were having. The pizza and pier fries were yummy. I have to admit I was pretty upset when I dropped my Lisa's Pizza on the train tracks and then had to settle for Bills because we were crossing the street. I am a Lisa's fan.

We took the kids for a walk on the beach. Tim wanted badly to get down and explore, but I could only imagine having to take handfuls of sand out of his mouth. Ryan wanted to go home, apparently sand is not his thing, especially when the wind is blowing.

We had an amazing time. The sunshine on my skin and the sand between my toes made me feel at home.

Adam and I then went to dinner at the Steakhouse in Wells. We both had baked stuffed lobster and steak. Oh so yummy! I love the Steakhouse and was so glad we were able to have a date night. Neither of us could really recall a date night since maybe my birthday in January.

We also had to go to the opening night of Big Daddy's ice cream shop. I ended my perfect day with Kahlua brownie ice cream.

Four days

I am really excited for the next four days. Adam is here with us in Manchester. On Saturday, we take Ryan (and Tim, but mostly Ryan) to see the Easter Bunny and do an Easter egg hunt. I think it will be so much fun. Today is supposed to get sunny and warm and we'll play outside and bbq our dinner! It will be nice to go to church together on Sunday. It seems like a long time, but I'm sure those four days will fly by.

It's hard being away from Adam for a week at a time, but being here in Manchester has been so refreshing. The sunshine has been awesome. Change has been good.

Ryan draws and paints for Adam and hangs his artwork up to show daddy. He says, "Daddy be so happy of my work!" He's growing into a boy. He's not my baby from a year or two ago. Since we've been here he's managed to tuck himself into bed. He "reads" his books to his Uncle Vince instead of the other way around. And last night he said, "I have to go potty." Then he went in and did the whole thing himself!

And Tim.... he's just getting into trouble while here. He LOVES the cats, but they hate him. He chases them and they run away. He tortured Princess one day till she swiped at him. He isn't allowed to be near the cats or their food. He teases Ryan by stealing his toys and he fights back when Ryan hits him or takes his toys now.

And me....I've gotten to read books during the afternoon because I have managed to get both boys to nap at the same time every day. I've also been working on my Wii skills. Adam brought a new workout game for me so we can continue to work on those stubborn 20 lbs.

And for the next four days I get t hang out with my husband and the kids and have like a mini vacation here in Manchester.

Hmmm...

So I was in a store today where the woman asked to see my ID so I could use my debit card as credit. I gave it to her and she said, "Wow, you're from Nevada?"

WHAT?

How do you get Nevada out of a driver's license that has MAINE printed right across the top? Did she even read it?

Getting Tim to sleep

Timothy has been a great sleeper since we brought him home from the hospital. We put him in the crib and he goes to sleep sucking his thumb.

Lately, that hasn't been the case at all. He gets up in the middle of the night and will not sleep in his bed. Being on a higher dose of meds lately has made me extra sleepy, so instead of getting him back in his bed, he ends up sleeping in mine. I needed a solution.

I attempted the Ferber method for going to bed so I wouldn't have to rock him and also for night time wakings. But Tim would cry for an hour if we let him and get all worked up and literally covered in snot and tears. This method worked great for Ryan, but it wasn't working at all for little Tim. He knows what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it.

So I started searching for other methods online and came across a blog in which a mother praised the Super Nanny's gradual method of being in the room as they fall asleep and then eventually not being there at all. I kind of modified it a little and I stand next to his crib while I tell him I'm there and that he doesn't have to worry and can go to sleep. Once I hear somewhat relaxed breathing I start to move out of the room. Tonight I won't be standing next to the crib as he starts that relaxed breathing. I'll be a little bit farther away. It's worked in the middle of the night without waking Ryan up since the boys share a room and I'm happy with our progress. The only time Tim was in our bed last night was for a middle of the night feeding because he didn't finish his bottle before bed.

I guess it's true what they say... every child really is different and requires different styles of parenting. The sure keep me on my toes!

Growing up

My boys are growing up. For the last two nights, Ryan has put himself to bed. He doesn't want to be tucked in or anything. He just says good night and goes to bed :(

And Tim tries to climb the stairs! YIKES! We have to keep close eyes on him.

Vacation in Manchester

The boys and I have taken a vacation in Manchester. We're with our friends Vince and Kristin. I had lots of photos to post, but apparently, blogger is currently not allowing me to do that. 

We've had fun this far, though we do miss Adam who is still in Maine working hard.  His store has a remodel and he'll be working long hours, which is the main reason for this trip. I at least get to see people my own age and have someone to hang out with in the evenings. 

The other reason for this trip (which will be a much more detailed later post) is for me to have some change in hopes of having my PPD get a bit better. I don't think I've ever posted here about my postpartum depression, but I am one of the many women who are on this journey. I will recover. I will be myself again. 

The boys are having lots of fun and we're on our way to do more painting. I'll post pictures as soon as blogger lets me!

A fun week

I can't even being to post about how much fun we had this past week. On Saturday and Sunday it was so nice out. The kids and I were able to get some much needed doses of warm weather and sunshine. Then it snowed on Monday and we had freezing rain on Tuesday, or was it Wednesday? I discovered that Tim LOVES the sled. He laughed when I pulled him around and cried when I stopped. It was really cold out the day we did this and we didn't stay out long. We came in and had a warm bath. I think he's so cute here!

We spent a few days in Manchester with our friends Vince and Kristin. This is Tim playing in Ryan's Police house thingy. He's saying, "yeah, I'm in here, what you gonna do about it?"

We had such a good time at Vin and Kris' place, even though every one of our girl night things kept getting ruined. First, the salon closed at 6 the night we arrived and there was no pedi and eyebrow wax with facial massage (wicked cheap), so we went to Big Lots instead and bought stuff, mainly for the kids. The second night we were going to do one of those paint your own pottery things and the place was PACKED. The lady said it is never like that. Just our luck. We did more shopping, this time at Wal-Mart and Target. Sigh.


We also went to see the train come in on Friday. Vince's friend John was coming for a visit and Ryan was super excited to see a train again. It ended up being way colder than we thought it would. When we left it was sunny and 50 and when we got to the train station the wind had picked up and it was like 40 or something crazy like that. Here's Tim wearing Ryan's Elmer Fudd hat. Sooo cute!


Ryan freezing with Vince while waiting for the train.

Ryan on Wednesday driving his car in the slush. This was the day Tim came down with this horrible bug. Snotty nose, horrible cough and diarrhea! Not fun at all!!!

Ryan didn't want to leave Manchester. Lucky for him, we'll be back very soon (coming in a post later this week).

Oh and I'm reading The Historian. It's so good and I don't want to put it down, but we did painting today and tried to play outside. And we had to play with Play Doh and drive trucks on roads too and neither of my kids too an afternoon nap. Now Ryan's fast asleep and Tim is kinda asleep. He keeps moaning and then crying... poor baby. I hope he gets better soon.

Crusin'

I can't belive how fast Tim is learning new things. He's been crusin' the furniture all week. Not only can he slowly make his way from one end of the couch to the other, he can also move from the couch to his activity table (as long as it's close). He goes from Ryan's fire truck to the activity table to Ryan's ride-on Mater and then to the couch. It takes time, but he's really getting it.

I tried to get a video of this, but he just stood there and smiled.

I'm afraid I'll be posting in a few weeks that he's walking! Then the fighting will really get bad. Ryan doesn't want Tim touching his stuff. He just takes stuff away and then Tim cries. We've done time-out, taken things away and instead it's gotten worse. Today he was hitting Tim. Of course, Tim was doing lots of crying. So, we need to figure this out.

It's funny because some days he keeps asking where Tim is and when he is coming to play (if he's napping) and then there are days like today where he doesn't want him around.

Kids...

Sleep talking

Last night Ryan asked for two cookies in his sleep. Guess he was hungry.

Cute

I wish I had a photo to show you how Tim fell asleep last night. Since he was born, we've been putting him to bed awake, but sleepy. He's never given us much trouble unless he was still hungry or had a diaper that needed changing...until recently, that is.

Now that he can crawl and pull up to standing in the crib, he crawls to the edge, stands up and screams. We have to go in occasionally and lay him back down, tuck him in and leave the room. After two or three times, he'll settle down and go to sleep.

Last night was the same as it's been for the past two weeks. I put him in bed knowing he was tired and then went to read Ryan the new books we took out of the library. Tim was okay for a bit, but could hear us reading so he started crying. I finished one book and went to put Tim down again (Adam was upstairs talking with his parents). We were interrupted while reading the other two books quite frequently, but Tim refused a bottle and did not need a new diaper.

Then Adam came down and dealt with Tim while Ryan and I finished books nine and 10 (since they were new we had to test them all out...after the first night he has his favorites and we just read those over and over again for the week). Tim settled down and so did Ryan.

When I walked Ryan to his bed, I didn't see Tim. Of course, it was dark, except for the dim night light, so I walked closer to see where Tim was hiding in the crib. I couldn't find him and started to panic a little. He really couldn't get far right? I looked a little closer at the blankets and discovered that Tim was asleep sitting up... head on lap, thumb in mouth. He looked just like the rest of the crumpled up blanket that he sleeps with.

I called Adam over so he could see, and then gently pushed him back on his side and tucked him in again.

Like I said, I wish I had a photo to show you....it was cute.

Done with winter

It's official. I am ready to be done with winter. The snow was fun in December, but it's not so fun now. I'm ready for the big thaw. I want spring flowers. I want lots of warm days spent playing at the park with the boys. But this is Maine and I'm afraid it will still be snowing in April.

On Sunday when I went to work it was raining. I was okay with that. An hour into my shift it was snowing big wet snowflakes and were sticking to the ground and piling up. Two hours into my shift I was one of two cashiers left in the store. And three and a half hours later I was being sent home since I was the cashier who lived the farthest from the store.

I made my way out to the car in what seemed to be about 6 inches of snow and started cleaning off the car. By the time I was done there was snow on the parts I'd already cleaned... quite a bit of it actually. I took a photo on my cell phone and sent it to Adam (I'd already called him and told him I was on my way home in almost white-out conditions).

It took an hour to drive what normally takes about 20 minutes. That's an hour of me in a silent car (when it's snowing I don't turn the radio or my mp3 player on) with super white knuckles attempting to see the road and hoping to get home safely. It was slow going.... like 20 -25 mph slow. There was one car off the road (there had been reports of two cars that had flipped over on route 4, but I was going in a completely different direction) and the police and a tow truck were working to get it out of the ditch. At times, I couldn't see which direction the road was going.... that wasn't fun at all. But I made it home safely.

To think of more snow next Sunday night doesn't make me happy at all. It's so cold we can't really enjoy playing in it, so that means I'm done with it.

Spring, please do your thing and make an early appearance this year!

On Marriage

Today I was browsing Facebook when I got a message from an old friend. It said she needed to talk with me right away. She'd left her husband.


My heart sank.


Since we've been in touch over the last few months she's told me about how her marriage of seven years hasn't been all that she dreamed it would be. Now, I don't consider myself a marriage expert at all. All I really know is that it takes work by both people. At times it takes a lot of effort and at other times it just is right and easy.

Of course, I am just getting one side of the story from this friend and there are always two sides to a story. From what she tells me her husband is stuck in the 1940s or 50s where the wife does all the work and he sits in his favorite chair and watches the news or game. But it's not the 1940s and generally, both husband and wife work. When both people work it makes a wife feel like she's doing it all. Working, doing the household stuff and taking care of the kids. That's a lot on one person's plate.

Of course, I am a stay-at-home mum. I just work two days a week for maybe 10 hours total in a week. I do a lot around the house, but I consider that my full-time job. When we both worked, things were split down the middle as best as it could be. We both helped with washing and putting away the dishes, we both did the laundry and we both shared the cleaning of the house. Then there were things we did separately. Adam mowed the lawn and shoveled the driveway (while I can shovel the driveway, I can't start a lawn mower to save my life). I cooked the dinner and ironed the clothes. I've also always been the bookkeeper.

Then when I came to stay at home, things changed. Probably the only things Adam still does is mow the lawn, shovel the driveway and help put the dishes away. I do the rest. Like I said, I consider that my full-time job these days and I don't mind. When I really need help, I ask and I get it.

Before we got married we always said divorce was not an option. There is counseling, things can be worked out. We'd sort of laid out this plan, too. It was THE PLAN and in the original PLAN, I wasn't supposed to work at all while staying home, but things change and you adapt.

Now, all that said, things haven't always been all roses. There have been times I've been so frustrated with Adam and his idea of the floor being a "low shelf" on which he stored clean and dirty laundry that I wanted to scream at him. But I didn't. I'm sure he's been annoyed many a night when he comes home and finds that I haven't bothered to cook dinner and suggest he have a hot dog or sandwich. And I'm sure he's been annoyed on days when he goes to get dressed for work and can't find a shirt or pair of pants. But he's always been gentle with me, even to the point of wearing wrinkled clothes, much to my pure horror.

That said, it's not like we've never yelled or fought, but we have always been able to resolve things. In fact, our first fight about a dust pan being in the sink is now the biggest joke between us.

So it breaks my heart to know that my friend has given up. But I get that she's been talking to a wall for over seven years. I just hope things will sort themselves out. I want the best for both her and her husband and their little boy.

While the distance separates us, I am glad she was able to talk to me. I just hope I was a source of encouragement.

So after our conversation yesterday, I had this song running through my head. "Can you reach my friend, you're the only one who can. Lord, I know that you love her, help her understand...."

Mommy workouts and cute Ryan sayings

So this mommy wants to know how other moms find time to work out. I can never seem to find a good time. I'll take any advice I can get. It's like 9 p.m. and I am just now getting done all the stuff that I do. Ryan didn't nap today so there was no time for that. I'd love to take a walk outside, but it's too cold. So, how do you workout in the winter inside when you are always with the kids?

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Ryan asked to read The Hungry Caterpillar before bed tonight. We have nine other books we've checked out from the library, but each time we check this one out, we read it a lot. So, tonight we were going through the book and I was letting Ryan fill in the pauses in my sentences. "He ate through one...." and Ryan says, "apple." "He ate through two...." and Ryan says, "Mushrooms!" (if you've never read the book, the pictures are of pears. I couldn't stop laughing. Ryan laughed, too.

Then we get to the part of the book where he eats through everything under the sun. The second to last picture is of a muffin and what does Ryan say? You guessed right: mushroom! At least I could get how he could get a mushroom out of that one. What a funny kid.

Da Boys

I love that you can see Tim's eyelashes really well in this photo!

Ryan always wants to take baths with Tim. He's getting better at playing with him in there rather than rushing me to get him out. Tim loves to splash at the drain.

Tim's official eighth month photo... almost a month late uploading it here.