Growing Pains

Today, my baby boy transitioned from a crib to a toddler bed. I am so proud! Hubby put the bed together this morning and C was able to sleep in it at naptime. He was very excited about it, and did surprisingly well both at naptime and at bedtime. I use the sit in method (from one of those "Nanny" shows) and it took a grand total of only 20 mins for him to fall asleep at nap and 15 mins tonight at bedtime. I only had to lay him back down about three times. I was very impressed with him.

My daughter seemed just as excited as C was about his new bed. I actually had to calm her down before both nap and bedtime tonight. With the two of them sharing a room, I figured things would be quite crazy at this point, but surprisingly it's not. They're getting so big. I can't believe they're going to be turning 5 and 2 soon.

H's birthday is next month, so we've been asked for a list of what she wants. Gigi (my mom) suggested we let her look online at a toy website and write down all of the things she would like to have. So we went to toysrus.com and let H browse the pages (category: age 5-7, subcategory: girls). I have a list so far just shy of 30 items. I think we have enough.

My furbaby, Onyx, is getting big too. She's seven months old now and probably just shy of her full size. She still has a lot of kitten in her, so she's very mischievous. There have been several times in the past week or so that she's gotten out when we've come in or out of the house. She's not "fixed" yet, so we don't really want to let her outside just yet. She's also very intrigued by water, and will make a mess in the toilet, sink, etc at any chance she gets. Just a bit earlier tonight I heard a crash coming from our bedroom, and found that she had knocked the top of the gerbil cage off. Luckily only the top came off, and Scamper is doing fine.

Hubbs and I are planning to get her fixed soon and hopefully that will help with some of the mischief. Overall, she really is a sweet cat. She's cuddling with me right now as I type. She loves to play and cuddle with the kids, too - as long as they're nice to her. I guess she understands somehow that they are little like she is.

All three of my "babies" are getting bigger. And the best part? I don't have to sit back and watch. I get to be a part of it. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Here a Tooth, There a Tooth...

Molars. They're necessary for chewing, of course. But what a pain! Literally! For the past couple of days my son has been cranky, throwing things, barely eating, and very much wanting to be held by Mommy. It dawned on me this afternoon that he must be getting his molars. He's nearly 21 mos, so it's about that time. I even felt around in his mouth a bit and he said "ouch!" as my finger ran across his gums. Nice. I feel so sorry for him... especially when he tells me "I hongry, Mama! I want!" I know he's hungry, but eating hurts right now so he ends up only taking a couple of bites, if any. I read about these "teething tablets" that dissolve in the kid's mouth and relieve the pain. I wonder if they're any good? They're supposedly all-natural, which translates to "costs an arm and a leg." Anyone have any experience with these? It's been about three years since I've had to deal with this. I feel like such a noob! *Sigh* Well, here's hoping that the crankies end soon!

Mr. and Mrs. Fix it?

It's been well over a month since I've blogged. But I do have an excuse. :) We've moved. Across state! I know this might not seem like a big deal to some of you (if anyone actually reads this), but it's a big deal to me! I have always been in the same area my whole life. I grew up with all of my aunts, uncles, and grandparents within driving distance. So moving across state is a huge move for us. I'm pretty proud of myself. So far, so good. It helps to be able to keep in touch via phone calls and facebook.

That being said... You remember the day when you were younger and your mother said to you, "I hope one day you will live in an old apartment where nothing works! Maybe then you'll be grateful for what you have now!"? Remember those times? Yeah, well.. I'm pretty sure Mom jinxed me when she said that. Either that, or she really is able to perform feats of magic! (Just kidding, Mom.)

We knew this new place was an older place, and expected to have a few problems upon moving in. It's a duplex that's about 10 years older than I am. Well, to make a long story short, here's a list of things we've had problems with:
*heat/thermostat
*leaky faucet
*leaky pipes under sink
*dishwasher (still haven't had this one fixed - hubby wants to "look at it")
*oven is filthy (on my "to do" list!)
*knob on stove (we have to check it regularly to make sure it's "off")
*washer (hose leaked)
*fuse (shorted out when light switch was bumped)

That's all I can remember right now. Know how long we've been here? Two weeks! Haha.. But I'm not complaining. Every time something else happens I just laugh. I'm pretty sure it drives my husband nuts when I laugh about the escalating problems. He says, "I'm glad you find this funny" as he tries to fix x,y and z.

All in all, we are glad to be here and we are loving it. I think the times we spend together asking "does it work now?" will keep us from asking the same question about our marriage later. So, I'm not too concerned about the problems we face, because I know we'll be stronger because of them.

Well, I'm off to clean the oven! Wish me luck!

My Bucket List

A friend of mine tagged me in a note on facebook, and inspired me to write this. Like my friend, even before I watched the movie "The Bucket List" I have had a list of goals to accomplish before I die. I suppose I've always had this list with me, but I've never written it down. No, I'm not terminally ill, and I don't plan on dying any time soon. But God's plans are different from my own, and none of us knows how much time we have left. So, that being said, here's my "Bucket List" in no particular order. Some are things I'm afraid of but want to do before I go, and others are huge dreams of mine. Here goes!

1. See my kids graduate college
2. Get at least one tattoo
3. Go to each state in the US:
•Alabama
•Alaska
•Arizona
•Arkansas
•California
•Colorado
•Connecticut
•Delaware
•District of Columbia
•Florida
•Georgia
•Hawaii
•Idaho
•Illinois
•Indiana
•Iowa
•Kansas
•Kentucky
•Louisiana
•Maine
•Maryland
•Massachusetts
•Michigan
•Minnesota
•Mississippi
•Missouri
•Montana
•Nebraska
•Nevada
•New Hampshire
•New Jersey
•New Mexico
•New York
•North Carolina
•North Dakota
•Ohio
•Oklahoma
•Oregon
•Pennsylvania
•Rhode Island
•South Carolina
•South Dakota
•Tennessee
•Texas
•Utah
•Vermont
•Virginia
•Washington
•West Virginia
•Wisconsin
•Wyoming
4. Go to the following places outside of the US:
-Australia
-Spain
-Mexico
-England
-Italy
-France
-Virgin Islands
-Galapagos Islands (to see the turtles!)
5. Do at least one of these:
-Skydiving
-Parasailing
-Bungee Jumping
6. Help someone to better himself
7. Volunteer my time to those in need
8. Become a nurse/health care professional
9. Witness a heart transplant
10. Become fluent in another language
11. Eat at least one strange and exotic food in each foreign country I visit
12. Swim with dolphins
13. Learn to sew on a machine
14. Learn to drive a stick shift
15. See "real" snow
16. Go snow skiing
17. Write a book.
18. Fire a gun at a nonliving target (and hit it)
19. Shoot a bow and arrow and make a bullseye
20. Ride in a hot air balloon
21. Take ballroom dancing lessons with my husband
22. Eat the best pizza in the world

That's all for now. I plan to cross off and add to this list as needed. What does your list look like?

Goals for Winter

There are so many things I would like to do. I want to learn to sew, I want to travel, I want to be able to give to people the way celebs do. We all have goals, don't we? I enjoyed having my list of goals for fall, and with my husband's help, I have been able to accomplish those goals:

*jump in piles of leaves with my kids; check!
*find a church home; check! - well, we have found a church that we enjoy attending!
*have a bonfire; check! - hey, a fire in the fireplace counts, right?
*make s'mores with my hubby (who had never had them!); check!
*have a halloween party; well, I didn't throw one, but I did go to one!
and *make something great to bring to Thanksgiving dinner; check! -brownies!

Since I met (or somewhat met) all of my goals for fall, I have decided to keep this up and make some goals for winter 2010:

*If we get enough snow, make a snowman with my kids
*Take more pictures
*Have a date night with my husband
*Give to someone else on my birthday
*Get a tattoo for my birthday

Meeting these goals for myself, as simple as they are, gives me such a sense of accomplishment. If you are reading this now, I emplore you to set a few goals for yourself. Whether they're goals for the week, month, season, or year, make a list of things you would like to accomplish. Then tell someone about your list. My husband read my list of goals after I wrote them and, either consciously or subconsciously, he helped me to reach them. Perhaps the same can happen for you. To my hubby - Thank you for always supporting my goals and for helping me to accomplish the things I set out to do. You're the most amazing man I know, and I love you very much!

Loving My Child in the Mess

Babies are sweet, and each one is a miracle. A woman spends nine months wondering what her baby will be like and anticipating holding him. The day comes when he is born, and she feels overwhelmed with love for him. And then one day she wakes up and realizes that her life now revolves around... poop. Does the baby poop too much? Or is he constipated? And later still, when the baby becomes a toddler, she enters his room only to discover that once again her precious child has decided to smear his poop all over himself, the crib, and the wall.

This is how I feel today. Like my life now revolves around poop. My son has decided that poop = paint. So one can only imagine the fun times I've had as of late. It seems that no matter what I do differently, at least once a day I am cleaning up his "artwork" that inevitably comes in one form or another. Ah, the life of a stay at home mom. But as I was saying to my husband, it's all worth it. Even if I'm cleaning up poop every day, at least I get the chance to stay home with my kids, loving on them and teaching them.

I get to teach them patience, because apparently that is one of the lessons God is wanting me to learn. I teach them manners ("No yelling inside. What do you say? Don't bite your sister!"). I teach them love. To me, love is the most important. I must be somewhat of a decent teacher, because my kids really do seem to love each other. So, I remind myself, amidst the arguing kids and the "paint removal" resides a sweet family that I wouldn't trade for the world.

What to do?

Ruined Slumbers
Well, here I am again with a grumpy toddler at naptime. I'm starting to believe that our apartment staff knows my children's nap schedule and decides to do lawn care during those times at least once a week. Of course, as soon as nap time is over, lawn care ceases. How frustrating! Maybe I can build a sound-proof room for naps? And the kids aren't the only ones missing out on their sleep. Hubby and I have been tossing and turning 'most every night since we've moved (well, more him than me). I'm sure some of the restless nights are due to stress, but we're beginning to think that maybe he has a touch of insomnia? Looking into buying melatonin. Hopefully the all natural sleep aid will help.

Pet Woes
I'm not sure what to do with our gerbils. One of them has an open sore on her belly that just isn't healing. It's been there for at least a couple of weeks, if not longer. Some days she seems fine - up running around, eating, drinking, etc. - and other days she just rests and seems sickly. Her sister gerbil is doing well. We haven't seen any sores on her or noticed strange/sick behavior. But last night, I watched for a few minutes as Scurry (the sick gerbil) closed her eyes took in labored breaths while Scamper sat nervously beside her. Scamper knows something is up.

Dark Thoughts
The life span of a gerbil is 3-5 years, and we bought the two gerbils together almost three years ago. So, we don't expect them to live much longer. Hubbs has suggested we just let them go outside. But I'm sure they would be attacked almost immediately by one of the neighbors' cats. The only person who shows any remote interest in them anymore is C, and I highly doubt he would miss them terribly if they were gone. H will occasionally ask to play with them or feed them, etc. But mostly she has nothing to do with them. Basically, and I can't believe I'm saying this, we're just waiting for them to die. They are very sweet pets, and I know it sounds awful, but we just can't give them the attention they need and deserve - medical or otherwise. So, my question is, What should we do with them? Just continue to take care of them and see what happens? Let them go somewhere and hope they survive? I'm not sure. I am sure, however, that if something isn't done soon, Onyx will find a way to get the cage open. She has already discovered how to jump to the top of the bookshelf where the gerbils reside. I'm waiting for the morning we wake up and find two gerbil carcasses outside of the bedroom door.