Cute Moments from Boo

Here we are at almost 3 1/2 years old. It seems so impossible that he could be this old.

He is this bundle of energy that exudes joy and laughter. His favorite thing right now is to throw the word "poop" into random words and laugh hysterically. This must be a boy thing! Another favorite thing is climbing on and hanging from mommy as though mommy were a piece of playground equipment. While it's cute that he loves me so and wants so much closeness, I have to admit that this favorite drives me a bit nutso some days.

He was so excited to decorate the Christmas tree, not as into it when we had to put it up a second time (long story). But when I was all done with the second Christmas tree decoration, he hugged me with all of the joy and life of a three year old and said, "I love it. I'm so proud of you!" Now if that doesn't make a mom melt, I don't know what would.

With all of the Christmas tree kerfuffle, hubby decided to get me some flowers. He took Boo with him to pick out the flowers and of course Boo chose the most expensive bouquet in the store. When daddy explained that he wasn't going to pay for that one, Boo said, "I'll pay for it. Give me the card!" Ah - the simple reasoning of a three year old. He then went on to choose a different bouquet. He found one that he told daddy mommy would love. When daddy asked, "How do you know?", his reply was, "Because I'm her baby." Boy does he have me pegged!

His favorite Christmas movie right now is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Yes I realize that this might bite us in the butt when he decides to try out some of the fancy words in this movie. But he LOVES the part where Clark falls off the roof. He laughs with such delight and asks to watch it again. He's so much into slapstick humor. This reminds me of his daddy very very much.

This Christmas season I'm so thankful that I get to experience cute moments with Boo. It's easy to get frustrated with the mischievous antics of a three year old - very easy - but I know that I am so blessed to have him in my life. My prayer this Christmas season is that through all of the hustle and bustle that comes with the season that I could truly truly appreciate the blessing that is my family.

Barefoot Books - Place Your Christmas Orders!!

It's time to place Christmas orders for loved ones. Consider giving the gift of reading this Christmas. Barefoot Books has beautiful literature for children. The artwork in their books as absolutely amazing. There is nothing mediocre about their titles. Click on my marketplace to browse and buy!



The last days to place orders to guarantee holiday delivery are as
follows:
USPS - Monday, December 13, 2010
UPS:
o Ground - Wednesday, 15th December, 2010
...o 2nd Day Air - Tuesday, 21st December, 2010
o Overnight - Wednesday, 22nd December, 2010

Happy Birthday Angelbaby

I am thinking of angelbaby. Her given name is Ani Lucille Tribbett. Who knows - maybe there's a little boy in heaven going "Why did I end up with a girl name?" I don't know - is there even gender in heaven? I guess to keep things simple and concrete, we chose a gender. Female made sense since anatomically all babies are essentially female when they start out in the womb. She would be around a year old right now. I didn't know her, so I guess I can't really say that I miss her personally. But I miss the idea of her and the fact that I didn't get a chance to get to know her. I know that someday I'll get to see this angelbaby. But I really don't know how such things work in heaven. Will she know me and know that I thought about her a lot? Or perhaps she has some window into my life from her place in heaven. Perhaps she'll feel that I don't think of her enough?

I am sad for the sibling that Boo never got a chance to know. Someday he'll know about her, but I would've loved to see him with her.

Happy Birthday Ani. You are loved and never forgotten.

Estimated Due Date - 9/5/2009

The Unknown...Here We Come!

Well, we are heading into the unknown. This is a bit frightening for us as we have started to have some awesome stability in our lives this year. But, isn't that the way things go? Can't get too comfy now. And I will say that unlike other times where something happened to us, we are choosing to do this to ourselves and for some reason there's comfort in that.

It's true that sometimes you have to move backwards temporarily in order to move forward. And that is just what we are doing. Tom has said "so long" to his employer of four years, ADT. He has ventured out of the world of fire and security systems, something that he has been dying to do since he fell into this career in 2003. Yes he has attempted school a couple of times in the past, but always while married to the fire and security industry. And well, that marriage just didn't work out. The fire and security industry was always the "other woman" that never wanted him to make it to class or have time to study. So for the first time hubby will get to go to school without this obstacle in his life. There will be other challenges of course, such as paying all of the bills every month. But there is no gain in life without risk. I wouldn't have a successful daycare business if I hadn't taken the leap at some point and quit my job. I had no clients when I did this, but I also knew that my current position took so much of my time that the only way to focus on building my business was to have that time available. Life is like that sometimes. You stay with what you know where it's semi-comfortable and settle or you decide that there is more to life than "settling".

Hubby has had this dream for several years. In fact, this dream is a good part of why I built my business. It's all been part of the plan from the beginning. It's still very scary to step out even though this has been the plan. But here we are. Who knows what will happen? I know that we will not see very many of our "wants" in the next few years. And some of our "needs" will move to the "want" category. Funny how that happens when living depends on frugality. But this will all be worth it in the end.

I am thankful that we have family and friends who support our vision. Our newfound church family is of immense comfort and I'm thankful every day that we've found a home at Grace Church in Galesburg. And not to be pushy, but if you're looking for a church you just might try it. I'm just saying!

What the?

So this is going to be a venting post. Consider yourself warned. But just imagine this for a minute.

You join weight watchers and stick to the program. Things are going great and you're losing weight. Then all of a sudden your body just sticks. One weight, down to the ounce. Day after day for an entire week. However, you continue to be faithful to your program, knowing that if you just eat within your points the weight will come off. That week your muscles ache all over for some unknown reason. Then, on the seventh day of being stuck on the same weight, you get a bad migraine that lasts for ten hours. You lay on the couch all evening and do not fix a nutritious dinner because it hurts to move your eyes. So hubby orders pizza and you indulge. And yes, you eat a few more pieces than you should. The next morning you step on the scale and find that you have gained 2 1/2 pounds. From one freaking night of pizza. Really?

You may have guessed that this is not an imaginary person. I must admit that I feel like screaming and throwing something right now. But I won't. I'll just take my shower, get ready for my day, and stick to my program today.

I'm seeing my doctor in less than a month and if my weight loss progress isn't sufficient given the fact that I'm doing weight watchers and I'm now on thyroid medication for hypothyroidism then she's going to discuss putting me on an additional medication for insulin resistance. This would be in addition to the pile of vitamins I'm on along with my progesterone. GAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Okay. I guess that's rant enough for one morning. Time to get ready for my day!

And Sometimes You Walk Away

"AGH!!!" The cry of protest reverberates throughout the house as I shut the gate to the playroom and walk away. The cry continues as though it's chasing me as I go into a different part of the house. I try desperately to get away. Sound like a bad nightmare? This can be reality for mothering in the worst times. Sometimes your child is having one of "those days" and you've exhausted every gentle discipline technique, anger management resource, as well as some not so gentle discipline techniques (i.e. yelling). This is when a momentary retreat can be so much more helpful than trying to continue in the moment.

If I had to name the hardest thing about being an "Attachment Parent" it's that I can't be just that when it's most needed. It's an ideal and a set of great ideas to strive for, but the reality is that many of us fall short when we've been pushed to our limit. And I can say for myself that falling short is something that I do on a regular basis. But I like that I have a goal of who I want to be as a parent. AP ideals are for me a sort of guide or road map. When I take a detour I at least know the main road that I want to get back on. I've realized as my child has really started to grow into his "threeness" in the last month that I will need to reread some things that I read when he was younger. We have hit a hump. But I firmly believe that it's not every little moment that counts but the overall picture and the continued striving to be more empathic, more nurturing, more understanding, more considerate, more respectful, and well the list could go on and on.

Well, it's been a good five minutes and my child is repeating in a sad voice from the playroom "I want my mommy." My heart rate has slowed, my breathing is more relaxed, and I feel now that I am in a state of mind to give an honest effort at finding out what exactly my child is trying to communicate to me in his moment of tantrumy tears and frustration. Time to go!

The Weight Loss Plateau

Anybody who's ever tried to lose weight knows that there is one thing we all dread. The big bad scary plateau. I was expecting to hit one at some point in my weight loss journey, but it honestly seems a bit soon to be hitting one. I feel that's where I'm currently at. I've been stuck on the same weight down to the ounce since last Thursday. I've followed weight watcher's like a good girl. I admit that I haven't worked out as much this week. I've been super tired for some reason. I did walk last night. But even without working out I should be losing a little just by sticking with my weight watchers plan. Blah. Perhaps my body weight is shifting around. Although I'm not sure. I don't feel like I'm exercising enough to chalk it up to muscle gain or anything.

I know the best things for breaking through a plateau are shaking up the routine. Perhaps I can throw some more effort into getting up early and doing my yoga. I'm not doing so hot at that one for the moment.

Hopefully this plateau breaks soon because I'm ready to continue on my weight loss journey. It's a bit frustrating because I'm an immediate results sort of gal. So I guess I'll just have to be patient!

What Attachment Parenting Is

I've been asked by people whenever the topic of attachment parenting comes up, what exactly that is. As much as it's instinctive and wonderful for me and my family, it's not always easy to describe. Sometimes I feel that I end up stuttering around words trying to explain. Perhaps after years and years of practice I will become better at explaining this concept to others. I hope so. I can honestly say that I feel lucky to have stumbled on the ideas of attachment parenting prior to having my little one. I think that it has already made a lot of difference in how my son is raised and it will continue to have an impact for years and hopefully for generations.

So here's a link that covers the basics anyways. There's nothing profound or earth shattering in this article. It's just basic description and definition of all that is attachment parenting.

What Attachment Parenting Is

Weight Loss Challenge - Update

Well, I have absolutely no idea what day I'm on of the weight loss challenge. My goal was to keep a journal and write in it every day of the challenge. Hahahaha - it was a nice thought!

I will say that this challenge is exactly the kind of kick in the rear that I needed to help myself focus and get on track. I'm down 10 pounds since the start of the challenge. Woo woo! I hope that I can continue to stay on track. I've also got my healthcare provider involved. I met with her this past Monday. She's been working with me on possibilities to get my body functioning properly. So it all kind of goes together. I've started on protein shakes as I rarely get in my protein intake for the day. Also, she's going to start me on some Vitamin D as my levels of vitamin D are low. She's going to be speaking with the doctor today about putting me on some meds to help my thyroid function properly. So, one step at a time. I really like that even though I'm seeing her for another issue, her goal is to get me healthy - not just quick fix me. I am starting to believe that my body will fix itself if given what it needs. I guess I feel hope and feel that I'm on my way to a healthier me!

World Breastfeeding Week

It's World Breastfeeding Week - woo hoo - hurray for breastfeeding! I long for the day that moms everywhere at least try. I think back to Boo as a little baby and all of the out and about nursing experiences we've had. Some were great and some were pretty rough. But it was all worth it!

So cheers to all who are breastfeeding and/or have breastfed!

A Camping We Did Go

What a lovely time we had this weekend. I feel as if I must write before the memories fade too much. The family and I packed up on Saturday and headed to Johnson Sauk Trail for camping. We would've liked to go on Friday evening, but we were zonked. I had my DCFS address change licensing visit for the daycare on Friday and that always makes for a long day. But I was 100% in compliance and the visit went really well. So that was really nice. But my intention was to pack my stuff Friday night as hubby was working on getting the camping stuff together. Instead I climbed onto our bed at 9:00pm that night to look at a book Boo wanted to show me and fell fast asleep. Oops! So the next morning was a mad dash to pack and I do admit that we are wanting to become way more organized with the packing/unpacking/planning process when it comes to camping. So we are planning to make a master packing list and laminate it sometime soon while the experience is fresh in our minds. There were a few things that we forgot, but mostly we were okay.

It took us forever to get our tent set up. It was a new tent and like all disorganized campers we did not practice setting it up prior to leaving. So we looked like a couple of buffoons until we figured out our new tent, which is exceptionally nice I must say.

After tent set up we took Boo in a paddleboat on the lake. He loved being on the boat, but I've forgotten how tiring a paddleboat can be. It was good fun though. I love being on the water. There's something amazingly therapeutic and relaxing about water. Well, mostly. Hubby and I did bicker a fair amount of time about how to properly steer the paddleboat - I guess we truly are an old married couple!

Anyways, after that we went back to our site and grabbed Wally - yes, even the dog came camping - and headed out for some hiking. I planned on Boo tiring soon and brought my Ergo carrier for him. So hubby, Boo, Wally, and I set out for an hour and a half or so of hiking the trails. It was loads of fun - I LOVE to hike. It's one of those forms of exercise that just doesn't feel like exercise to me - it's just too stinking fun! Anyways, after that we headed back to the campsite for that staple campfire dinner - hot dogs!

Poor Boo covered his eyes while the fire was going. He's a bit sensitive about some things and a big bright campfire is one of them! He conked out pretty much right after dinner and hubby and I took turns treating ourselves to a shower. Ah - the luxury! Then we did smores while Boo slept in the tent.

It was a pretty short trip and we would've liked to do more. We realize that we need to be more organized to maximize our time camping, but we'll get there. We just need more practice. So we're already planning more trips for this year before the weather gets too cold.

The morning was pretty uneventful, just breakfast and packing up. I will say the highlight of the morning was hubby accidentally spraying shaving cream on himself instead of deodorant. He has spray deodorant and I guess when you're tired from a full day the day before it's easy to mix it up. It was a bit funny though!

Mostly Boo loved it. But I did have to explain to him Saturday night that we were going home the next day because he looked a little worried that the tent was our new house. He didn't care for the bugs - I can't say I blame him. We put bug spray on him, but he was still bitten quite a bit. I think he'll be happy to go back, but he's not ready for more than one night just yet. We're pretty sure he would've had a complete melt down if we had told him we were staying a second night. He had fun, but he was definitely excited to come home. Wally did fantastic camping! We were so proud of him. Only a few times did he get extra "barky" and that was right around bedtime of course. But it was all new to him. Overall I think he was in dog heaven. He was calm and relaxed and definitely in his element. Those who have met my dog know that calm and relaxed are not usually words that would describe him. I even think hubby and the dog bonded a bit which was pretty great.

Anyhoo, we have lots to do. I have the day off tomorrow, but I'd like to get unpacking and cleanup done so that other than doctor appointments tomorrow, it's just kind of a rest day. That sounds utterly fantastic!

A Little Recognition Today!

Today we finished half of the necessary work we want done in order to have our dishwasher up and running. We had the plumbing hook-ups installed. Hurray! The plumber was here for quite a bit this morning and as the children played in their usual boisterous ways I found myself wondering if I should have warned him to bring ear plugs. When I mentioned that to him, he did say that he remembered that I did daycare so he knew there'd be kids running around. He did work for us on our water heater when we first moved in. Prior to leaving he told me that I had the patience of Job. I'd love to believe that, but unfortunately my patience is limited to certain people and situations. My patience with my kiddos during the day is okay most days. My patience in other areas of my life? Hmmmm...not so great, but it was a nice compliment anyways. He also told me that I deserved an award. Then he paused and thought for a second and said that I deserved several awards! I have to admit that made me feel good and smile. I have parents who are pretty appreciative of what I do. But I have definitely had run-ins with people who don't "get" what I do, that I'm not sitting at home with my feet up watching kids destroy my house five days a week. I've thought of all the things that go into my job and the list is quite extensive. I'm a....

nurturer
boo-boo kisser
diaper changer
early childhood teacher
cook
dishwasher
busboy
first aid provider
music teacher
program director
bookkeeper
secretary
project manager
inventory specialist
marketing director
activities director
scheduler
janitor
child development specialist
behavioral consultant
researcher
purchasing agent
entrepreneur

...well, that's a decent start! ;) Anyways, it was just kind of nice to get that little boost today.

Current Happenings

There are so many things that I've been dying to write about, but I am seriously lacking in the time department. I will say though that life is much better lived interactively with my family, friends, and business than getting sucked into cyber world, which is so easy to do!

I tried a new book series and so far I'm liking it. The Number 1 Detective Ladies Agency by Alexander McCall Smith is the new author/series that I'm trying. I get nervous when it comes to series fiction. Sometimes I think writers get lazy when they have a money-making series, so I wasn't sure if this was going to be quality literature or junk. I've only read the first book and started the second and I'm really enjoying them. It's no Dickens for sure, but it's enjoyable and engaging.

I've been working hard at getting back on track with Weight Watcher's and overall motivation. I'm still working hard on the getting up at 6:00am thing. I'm getting better, but I miss a lot of days. I'm trying to not put too much pressure on myself to do this perfectly right away. Eventually when I'm getting up consistently I would like to see myself at the point where I'm consistently walking the dog every morning and consistently doing my yoga at least 2-3 mornings a week. I love yoga. I have discovered a new love - ZUMBA. I won't go on and on, but it's just lovely!

I've been taking my temperature constantly in order to gather data for my doctor regarding my thyroid since my TSH levels on my blood test were high. My next appointment is August 2nd and I wish it would get here already. I've suspected that I have hypothyroidism for quite some time. I was able to go through the symptoms checklist that my doctor gave me and check check check away. It's frustrating to know that there's something medically in your body working against your health and not being able to get properly diagnosed. Apparently, after reading around a bit, hypothyroidism commonly goes undiagnosed because many doctors are using dated levels for diagnostics. It's sad really, seeing all of the ways that an underfunctioning thyroid can impact health. Anyways, so I'm hoping to get the help that I need soon.

Boo is growing up so fast. I continue to be amazed by the gift that he is in our lives. It makes me sad to think that there are families where children are not appreciated and undervalued, where they are left to their own devices while mommy and daddy do whatever they want to do. I'm not saying parents can't have things that they own in their lives, but I think there's a healthy balance. I know that for myself I've been sucked into kiddieland in the past with no outlet for myself. This past month has seen huge changes in that area. I now attend a woman's group with people from my church on Thursdays and I attend Zumba on Mondays. Two nights a week to myself! Well, actually, Boo often joins me on Thursday, but that's okay because we walk as we talk, so he just rides in the wagon. But I guess I've always felt like my evenings belonged to Boo, since he shares me so much through the day. But the problem with that mentality is that I never did anything in the evenings because I felt guilty. The daycare business had its time and Boo had his time and hubby had his time and I had none. So I'm taking time for myself, just a little slice of time each week, so that I can be a healthier me for those that I love. And it's felt wonderful so far!

I really want to write a post commemorating Boo as he is now three years old. But there are so many words that I want to share and so many memories and so much love. I haven't had the time to think it out and put it down as perfectly as I can. I feel I need something that does justice to what a wonderful three year old boy he is. So perhaps in the next week or so I'll create a slice of time to share about my little Boo.

On Tuesday I...

...went for a bike ride. It felt so exhilarating to be on my bicycle. It's been far too long. This year has just been odd. We haven't been riding like we did last year.
...practiced deep breaths with daycare kiddos.
...helped children explore their creative side using finger paints and blank paper.

All About a Monday

I've decided that I'm going to try to post every now and then on positive things that I accomplished, sort of a self recognition thing I guess.

On Monday I....

....got up at 6:00am and walked the dog. I ran out of time for morning yoga, but being up and around was an improvement.
....resisted emotional eating during the day.
....resisted the stray thought that I should NOT attend Zumba. I did in fact attend Zumba. I'm glad I went. Rarely do I smile during a "workout class". I hesitate to even use the work workout, because this class is so far removed from the typical aerobics scene.
....stayed within my weight watcher's points

Weight Loss Challenge - Day 0

I'm copying something out of my weight loss challenge journal to kind of jump start my blogging.

It's the day before the beginning, the beginning of a journey, a competition, an evolution, and a revolution. The journey is a quest really, one in which the end result is greater insight into one's psyche. The competition is among friends/acquaintances, all striving for better health. A little cooperation to create a financial pot is a great motivator for all and will be sweet reward for a few at the end of four months. The evolution is my mind and habits, evolving towards inner peace and health. The revolution is inevitable as I fight against the lies that I've told myself over the years, the depression that knocks at my door persistently waiting for that moment of weakness when it might be allowed to enter, and the need for perfection in my life that prompts me to consume every edible thing in sight when others have let me down or I've let them down, or even worse let myself down.

Journey. Competition. Evolution. Revolution. The next four months are bound to be exciting, frustrating, tiring, exhilarating, maddening, and frightening.

I guess in sharing this journal entry I'm inviting everyone along for the ride.

Operation Backyard and 3 Year Old Boo

Well, Operation Backyard has seen some progress. I really wish that I had a digital camera so that I could post some pics right now. I think the space is really looking great. We have the climber up and the kiddos love it. Also, the playhouse was finished as of approximately 10:00pm last night. If standing outside in the dark finishing the playhouse by flashlight while the bugs eat us for late night snack isn't dedication, then I don't know what is! The sandbox is still a "pretend" sandbox while we wait for funds to put play sand in it, but oh well. We'll get there. I feel like my daycare space, both indoors and out, has seen more progress in the past two month than in the past close to two years that I've been open. It's great to see the place start to look as I've always envisioned. Of course I still have more wants and ideas for my business, but we'll get there!

On another note, I can't believe that my child will be 3 years old a week from Monday. It hardly seems possible. He seems so much a baby to me still in a lot of ways. But he is definitely Mr. Independent. His potty skills are coming along nicely in spite of a regression period after moving. Today he told me he had to use the potty while he was outside playing. That was a FIRST. Usually if he's outside playing he could care less about running inside to use the potty, so I was very thrilled. I've been hanging a package of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse underwear that he wants very badly over his head. I first showed them to him at Target last week. He has definitely stepped up his efforts to get to the potty on time since being told that we would buy his Mickey Mouse Clubhouse underwear if he pees and poops in the potty all the time. He really wants that underwear. He gets excited when he talks about it!

One thing that's kind of fun about our new location is that we're a few blocks from a local ice cream shop. I thought it would be horrible for me, but I've not been terrible. They have a kid sized cone that's only $0.70 and they even put a face on the cone. How cute is that!? So we walk there every now and then. We went last night while daddy was working on the playhouse. Boo was very excited because he got to bring "his own" money (i.e. my money that he claimed) to the ice cream shop. He kind of gave me a funny look when I told him he had to take his money out of his pocket and give it to the lady at the ice cream shop in order to get his ice cream. But I guess the lure of ice cream was too strong, so he gave in without a fight! After we got home he informed me that he wanted to go "bye bye to store and get money." Oh, really? That's how that works? Well, I've been getting it backwards all these years. Ah - the mind of a child. Everything must seem so easy and simple to them. I envy their ignorant joyful existence!

Because I Need to Be Busier

Well, those that know me well surely know that I need more things to keep me busy like I need a hole in my head...but yes...life is about to get busier for me. I just enrolled two little ones into the daycare - a six week old and a 13 month old. I'm really happy about it though. It seems like a good fit and I'm hoping that this will be a long-term thing as I really don't like having a revolving door on my business. But times will be hopping. Goodbye to my peaceful nap time break and hello to more juggling - just what I need in my life! I love my chosen career though and wouldn't trade it for anything. Yes, taking in new kiddos, especially infants, is always a bit rough at first, but once I adjust I find that I get into a rhythm that works. I have a wonderful group of toddlers and preschoolers who will adjust beautifully to younger ones in the home.

What caught me by surprise is that I started thinking about my daycare family. There's a 6 year old, 4 year old, 3 year old (in two weeks), 2 year old, and now a 13 month old and a 6 week old. It hit me that my son is in the "older" group. WHAT??!! When did that happen? He was 15 months old when I, and subsequently he, started daycare. He's growing up so fast. It's all just a bit nutty. And someday he'll move from the older daycare group to the school-age group and that will just be very strange.

Life - it all goes so very fast. But at least I'm not sitting around bored!

Blah Blah Blah

It's NOT raining today. Hurray. Hubby is outside now putting up the climber. Playhouse is still in a pile in the garage. If we get one thing up today I'll be happy. Progress would be nice. Speaking of progress, I really need to make progress on some things inside the house. It's kind of like we busted our butts to get the downstairs ready for daycare and DCFS compliant and once that was done we just kind of stopped. It's not been on purpose, but I guess we've been having fun, hanging with friends, and trying not to feel too stressed about the piles of boxes in other parts of the house. I have a few garbage bags in the kitchen that I would like to go through by week's end. It's plastic kitchen stuff. Some might even be garbage, as in tupperware with no lids. I'm definitely not hanging onto those things. So perhaps I'll start on that today. I also want to start cleaning stuff out of the garage - my nice lovely garage that I was so excited to get that I've been unable to park in because we have piles of crap in it. Blah - it will get there. But it's absolutely driving me nutso!

Of course what I really want to do today is dye my hair. I've never done my hair myself though. Hubby has always done it for me. Before hubby my mom dyed my hair for me. But he's busy and I kind of don't want to wait, so I may just say "to hell with it" and hope that it doesn't turn out too terrible if I do it myself. I'm going blonde. Hubby has been wanting me to go back to blonde for a loooong time. It's been forever since I've gone blonde. I usually prefer some shade of brunette. I would say that my worst shade was black, but that was even fun for awhile. Actually, no, my worst shade was ashy green - ash blonde gone wrong. I definitely don't use any color with ash in the name anymore. I go for golden, bronze, or neutral shades. Nothing with a cool tone.

So I guess the choice is dyeing my hair or unpacking some things. Either way I have the unpleasant task of some dishes and sweeping/mopping awaiting me. So perhaps I should do something fun and go for the hair. Hmmmm....Yep. I think I'm going to find some grungy clothes and go for the hair option. Blonde bombshell here I come.

Good Times with Grumpy Neighbor

Well, it's been a crazy week. Hubby has been sick all week thanks to an antibiotic that he was put on. He might be getting better. He did go back to work, but that was more because he just had to. He still feels like crap. We had a busy weekend and consequently I've been behind on dishes all week. We now have a dishwasher which is nice. I now get to stare at it when I do the dishes by hand and think what a nice looking appliance it is. Hopefully we'll get it hooked up soon. That will be a happy day for sure!

I had another run-in with grumpy neighbor today. He came knocking on my door this morning about the hose that has been moved. In case you're wondering, it's the hose that drains the sump pump from the basement. When he trespassed into our yard the other night he threw it up on the patio so that all the water could drain down into the soil right by our basement. That was thoughtful of him, wasn't it? So hubby moved it over a bit, still pretty stinking far from his fence. Also, I will say that his house is pretty far from the fence, so even if water seeps under his fence it's not soaking into the ground right be his house. But anyways, our yard slopes towards his. It's just the lay of the land. We didn't create it. Honestly, no matter where we put that hose the water is going to make its way down the slope. It's not my fault that it's been raining nonstop and the ground is saturated. Maybe if I could control the weather grumpy man would be happy. Eh - probably not! Anyways, our conversation did not go well. I started out trying to be polite. Really I did. I responded that we were working on it. He continued and continued and continued. I do remember telling him that I didn't appreciate him knocking at my door at 10:00pm at night due to my struggles with insomnia at which point he informed me that he didn't care about my insomnia. And then I snapped. I told him he wasn't allowed to knock on my door late at night and that he was absolutely not allowed to come into my backyard. Of course he kept talking as I was telling him these things. So since I couldn't get him to listen to a word that I had to say I ended the conversation by telling him repeatedly to get off my property. I think I even pointed and snapped toward his house a bit. Yes, my wrath came out! But you know, we love our house so much and even though we're still trying to get hubby's career squared away, in a lot of ways I feel like we are living the "American Dream". So what American dream would be complete without the grumpy neighbor? They go hand in hand.

Anyways, we're camping with friends this weekend and probably taking Boo to see Toy Story 3. And I'm hoping that there's a constructed playhouse in the cards this weekend, but we'll see. I'm not sure that hubby's going to be up for it. He's really had the life knocked out of him. I think he's just trying to function right now.

Insomniac Awareness

Hubby and I were watching a movie earlier this evening - some Star Trek film - something about some guy named Kahn. I don't know. Anyways, it was perfect. It put me right to sleep. So up up up the stairs I go. I'm laying in bed about to drift to sleep and then BANG BANG BANG on the door. It's 10:00 at night. I insist that hubby go downstairs to see who is banging on our door this time of night, especially when I look out the window and see that some man is walking around the side of our house.

So hubby heads downstairs to find out that the hose for the sump pump that he had been working on earlier this week shifted in the yard and was sending water to the neighbor's yard. Since this neighbor didn't get a response when he knocked at the front door, he walked around the side of the house, let himself in our backyard gate, and moved our sump pump hose. Okay - I get why he was upset. Yes, the hose needed to be moved. Apparently he was "trying to get a hold of us all day"?? Ummm...we were HOME all day long!! I struggle with insomnia. I was drifting peacefully to sleep when this man banged on our door. I'm sure that anyone who struggles with insomnia can appreciate my angst here. I am going to have to bite my tongue hard not to be mean and nasty the next time I see this man - hubby says I should be nice. Ugh - now I'm WIDE AWAKE and it will take forever for my body to settle back down again. I'd drink a beer but I've used all of my weight watcher's points for the day. Ugh. Anyways, I guess we've now found something we don't like about our house - THE NEIGHBOR. Who pounds on somebody's door at 10:00 at night to tell them about a damn hose? I mean, really, was it flooding his yard? I don't think so. It definitely could've waited until morning. Then he proceeded to come through our fence and into our yard and move our hose. I'm feeling so extremely violated here. I'm going to buy a padlock for the fence asap. Sorry old grumpy man - your access will be denied next time. And if you try to jump the fence you'll probably break a hip.

Focus on the positive.

I'm trying to focus on the positive as this week started off kind of crummy with hubby being sick as well as some other things. Sooo...I guess I'll dwell on what I can come up with.

Well, I've lost a few pounds after rejoining Weight Watchers. I did attend my meeting on Saturday morning like a good girl and it felt good to be back. Yay for that. Also, a friend of mine has talked me into trying this class at the YMCA. So I'm going tonight. All of our clothing is still a huge mess - the closets haven't been organized yet - so I had to dig and dig and dig, but I finally found my sports bra. Yippee!

Today has been a good day with the kiddos. We had a great walk and enjoyed the sunshine playing outside in the backyard this morning.

I still like my house and am so excited to no longer be renting.

I had some great girl time Saturday night and ordered some fun things at a friend's party.

A dishwasher that we bought from a friend is being delivered today.


Boo's birthday is coming up. As sad as it will be to see my baby turn three, I'm looking forward to celebrating him for who he is. He's such a wonderful blessing and I feel so lucky to have him in my life.

Well, that's my list. I'm going to attempt this type of blog more often, especially when I'm feeling a bit down!

Buzz Therapy

Well, ever since we've moved we've been working on getting Boo to sleep in his own bed. It's not been going great. It took us forever to get his bed set up for one thing. When we did finally get it set up, of course he didn't want it. I'm not a fan of cry it out. I won't stick him in a room and just let him cry and be miserable until he wears himself out and falls asleep. I'm okay with a little protesting given his age, but not all out sadness/terror.

Anyways, I was at the store the other night and we found a Buzz Lightyear flashlight that he liked. So before he put it in the cart I explained to him that it was for night night, but he had to sleep in his own bed in order to play with it and that he'd get to play with it until he fell asleep. So he said okay because he wanted the flashlight. Two aisles over he looked at me and said, "Mommy. I don't want flashlight." Well, I bought it anyways and we're three nights out and it's worked like a charm. He lays in bed and plays with it and I go in and shut it off after he's asleep. The last two nights he's crawled into bed with his flashlight as opposed to my having to place him there. Hurray for progress! I've been so lax about his sleep routine and I'm really at a point where I want him in bed by 8:30 every night. I feel like I need some down time and hubby and I need this time as a couple. So we'll see if this continues to help him be okay with going to sleep by himself. Here's to hoping!

Operation Backyard

Well, I've started working on the backyard even though there's a zillion things to do inside of our house. But we really want to get the kiddos set up for their outdoor play. However, the rain needs to GO AWAY!!!! Every day that we've wanted to work on our space it has rained. This is a huge problem, especially since we can't just plop play equipment outside and call it done! Due to DCFS licensing standards for the daycare we have to till and mulch the area for the equipment first. Then we can put the equipment out. It's not like it's going to be too terrible as far as the amount of work is concerned, BUT we need a rain free day in order to get anything done. Our playhouse is still a lump of wood in the garage because of all the rain. We now have a climber that has joined the playhouse in the garage. The sandbox still has no sand in it because that will also be put in the mulched area.

So hopefully someday soon all of this rain will stop and we can get something done. When it does stop, we'll have a sandbox, Clubhouse Climber, and playhouse. So we'll have a lot of great things when it's all done.

We do have a nice new grill to go in our backyard. I bought a bunch of meat from America's Finest Steak and so hubby got a new grill to go with our meat. Yeah - you know how that goes. We could use a deep freeze to go with our meat too!

Anyways, hopefully the rain will clear soon so that Operation Backyard can officially begin!

When Peace Like a River

When peace like a river attendeth my way...it is well with my soul. Okay, so the hymn is about God, but this is what popped in my head when I think about the fact that we own our home and are no longer dealing with landlords. For those who have rented and/or are currently renting, I'm sure you know what I mean. Some people are fortunate to have great landlords. Awesome - glad you are in that position. Since we moved to the Burg we had a so-so one and a really crappy one. I feel so at peace knowing that we are not at the mercy of how someone else wants to maintain a property. At our last place, I remember feeling frustrated day after day just trying to complete simple tasks. For example, trying to take a shower and the hardware would fall off while I was trying to use it (that's after the landlord "fixed" it), walking down the back stairs and remembering NOT to use the railing (the one my landlord "fixed" by shoving a heavy rock in front of the base of the rail), opening a cabinet in the kitchen to get something out and having the cabinet fall off on one corner. These are things that I do not have to deal with, or when they do come up I can ensure that they are fixed properly. If they are not fixed properly I will have only myself, and maybe my husband ;) , to blame. I guess it feels less stressful to know that we're a bit more in control of the situation. Not that we can control what may come up in terms of necessary repairs, but that we can work to find a solution that we're happy with.

I also feel much more confident in the space that I'm able to provide for my daycare and hope that this makes a difference when it comes to filling vacancies in the daycare. We have big plans for the backyard. So far the rain has really gotten in the way of those plans. But it is the middle of June after all. The rain has to dry up sometime soon!

Third Time is a Charm

Well, here I go again with Weight Watchers. This is my third attempt in the last year and a half. Attempt #1 was short and sweet. I did great, but got pregnant and quit since my goal was no longer weight loss. That pregnancy of course did not end in a baby, at least not one on this earth. I still firmly hold to the fact that my angel baby is in heaven waiting to meet me someday. Soooo...attempt #2 was started two days after I miscarried. For me, it was easier to grieve if I could do something positive with my body. This attempt was great. I lost 24 pounds on this attempt. That was early to mid last year. Then I got lazy with counting. I always seem to sabotage myself when I start to do well. I continued to stop and start. Part of the problem is that I was struggling to attend meetings regularly. Hubby took a summer class and worked Saturdays for awhile and I admit that threw me off and I never quite got back on track after that. The choice was drag Boo to my parents' house early in the morning or drag him with. Neither choice was appealing. For the first I had to get out of bed earlier. The latter choice meant getting grumpy looks from people who felt that I was not keeping my 1 year old quiet enough. So I never got back on track after that, even after hubby no longer had a Saturday commitment. My fault entirely. Then I decided early this year to exchange my weight watcher's membership for a family gym membership. I figured I'd use free online calorie counting software and get to the gym more. Well, it's not enough for me. I'm not successful at all with the online calorie counting site. It's not the site. It's me. Truly, the times when I was successful with weight watchers is when I attended my meetings regularly. So, I guess I'm one of those people that needs to be humiliated on a scale week after week in front of a perfect stranger in order to be motivated enough to stick with good eating habits. Hubby and I have talked and I have decided to join again. I need this to be the time that I make it all the way to my goal. So I'm hoping that in this case third time is a charm. I know that based on my past success I can do this. So here's to getting healthy. Cheers!

Oh...and in case anyone's wondering. I'm discontinuing my blog that was devoted to this. Life is too short to have five million different blogs!

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

I just finished reading The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer and I must say that I'm very unimpressed and kind of wish I could have the hours of my life back that I spent reading this novella. The characters were uninteresting and underdeveloped and Bree was an absolute idiot. There was just nothing overly interesting or surprising in it. Granted, if you've read Eclipse you know how things end for Bree, so it was bound to be predictable in a sense, but the writing seemed uninspired and amateurish. It came across as poorly written fan fiction. Anyone else read it?

Here We Are

Well, here we are in our new house. And I must say that we're loving it. The moving in process was exhausting and time-consuming, but we had some great help, including some dedicated friends that helped me peel contact paper for four hours one night (and it still wasn't finished after that). If I never see another roll of contact paper in my life, it'll be too soon!

We busted our butts the first week to get through the maze of boxes downstairs and get the place organized for daycare. We were tired, grumpy, and sore, but we had daycare up and running by Thursday of last week. Granted, not everything is in place, but we are in compliance with all of the DCFS licensing standards. The kids have a pretend sandbox in the yard right now because we haven't had the time or money yet to dig a hole and fill it with sand (our sandbox is bottomless). So I've just told them to play in the pretend sandbox for now. We have a pile of wood in the garage that is a playhouse that we ordered. We had to wait to put it together because some of the pieces were damaged when it come. Of course we've had the replacement pieces since Friday and it's still not done. We've been busy and I admit we've been kicking back a bit now that we've had a few moments to breathe. So hopefully sometime this weekend the playhouse will be put together. I don't know when exactly, but I really really hope it's finished before next week rolls around.

I LOVE the new daycare space. It's a zillion times better than the old space. It looks nicer, seems better organized, and has a cleaner look due to the seller's tasteful wall colors and window treatments. I've changed some of our routines in order to adjust to the new space and definitely feel like those changes are working out great.

I love my backyard, fenced in with a patio area. Wally has made friends with the two dogs next door and they like to run laps along the fence together. So he gets a lot of energy out that way. He's had a complete personality change with having a backyard to run around in. He's mellowed out so much that he gets to join me and the daycare kiddos on walks and during outdoor play. He also gets to have space in the kitchen during the day when he's indoors. Of course he still gets upset that he can't join the kiddos in the daycare area indoors. But he's way too excitable for that. He'd be on top of all those little kiddos! He does great with them outdoors though. They love to pet him and throw sticks for him to run after.

Our family room is also awesome. It's pretty small, but I like to think of it as cozy. We've got a fireplace that the seller's left (a portable electric one) and we mounted our t.v. above it. I admit that we did splurge on a flat screen because we realized that trying to fit our huge dinosaur t.v. and entertainment center into such a small space would've ruined the room. So we love it. We can turn the fireplace on, watch a movie, turn the lights off and it's instant ambiance. I'm all about ambiance. It must be the Cherrington in me - must have candles for meals, that sort of thing.

Now, our upstairs is another story. It's piled floor to ceiling with boxes in pretty much every room. Our clean clothes are piled everywhere because our closets are due for makeovers before we can begin to put things away. So it's a bit overwhelming to look at for the moment. But we'll get to it!

I guess the next big thing on my agenda is to start making phone calls on my waiting list to fill one daycare opening. I admit I'm dragging my feet a bit because I'm enjoying the momentary lull and I also want time in the new space with my already established kiddos before adding a new family/child to the mix. But I will not be able to procrastinate forever on this. So I will probably start making phone calls by the end of this week. I will say that I think it will be easier to fill openings now that I have a much nicer space. I tried to do the best I could with the previous space that I had, but it just doesn't compare to what I have now.

So, now here we are and I'm just feeling grateful and happy and peaceful in our new home.

Yes Jesus Loves Potty

Boo likes the "Jesus Loves Me" song and loves to insert every word that he can think of for "me". It's funny all of the things that Jesus loves. According to Boo, He loves potty, Wally, mommy, daddy, his daycare friends, poo poo, Mickey Mouse Cluhouse (b omitted on purpose), tv, movie. The list could go on and on. I know I'm forgetting a ton here!

Speaking of potty, Boo continues to do excellent. I would say that his poo goes in the potty 95% of the time. His pee is probably about 80%. Many of the clothing changes he has are due to his aim on the potty versus wetting himself. So he really does pretty great. Weekends are hard. I don't know if it's because he started potty training on a daycare day and perhaps associates it with daycare, but he does much better on daycare days. The other reason could be that I'm very structured during the daycare week and very unstructured on the weekends. When we're out and about he doesn't really do great. Although, I did borrow a fold-up potty ring for big potties from a friend and he used that at the new house the other day. That's the first time he's cooperated with going on the big potty. I was so excited. I clapped my hands, jumped around, and pretty much looked like an idiot, all to the amusement of my two year old! Ah - the things we do to potty train our children.

Oh, and this has nothing to do with anything. But it wouldn't be my blog if I didn't ramble. Boo loves to name his body parts, especially the parts of his face. I always giggle when he gets to his "forkhead". And I NEVER correct him. I'm usually that parent that's vigilant to model appropriate pronunciation as opposed to encouraging the baby talk, but I just can't help myself with this one. It's just way too cute. He'll learn that it's called a forehead someday, hopefully before he goes to college!

Anyways, I need to run. Boo is supposed to be sleeping on his cot as his friends are doing. Instead, he's sitting in my glider telling himself a story that I made up when we started potty training in order to get him to sit on the potty long enough for something to happen. My child. He always gives me a rough time over napping! Once he's out though, he's out and he's a good sleeper. So it is worth the effort!

The Journey

I've been having fleeting thoughts of ending my blogging days and so I started reading past blogs. I feel a bit stunned by what I've found. My blog is a chronicle of my journey as a young mother at a time when I was changing from the inside out.

When I started my blog I realized that I was changing in some ways and I wanted a way to not only chronicle such change but to challenge myself to live a better, more responsible life. Motherhood is something that changed me deeply in some ways and not at all in other ways. I will say that motherhood brought out my hippy/crunchy side for lack of better terminology. But it's not as if that wasn't inside of me all along. I do think I've maintained the same core personality, and those who've known me for years can probably attest to that fact. I'm still the introverted girl whose goofy side comes out in a big way once I'm comfortable.

Motherhood brought me more in touch with my creative and crafty side. However, I will say that with all of the busyness in my life in the last year, I risk losing this. I'd like to find ways to bring this back into my life. I'd like to scrapbook, sew, and create as I did that first year or so of Boo's life. I know that I had so much more time for this sort of thing prior to starting the daycare. But there is a way to return to more balance in my life and I need to find it. I'd especially like to tackle Boo's scrapbook. I miss sitting with his photos and putting them on paper in a thoughtful way. There's something about the process that helps me feel connected to the memories that way. Does that sound weird? I have fabric and patterns that I bought when I was on my sewing kick. All I can say is that all of it is still sitting in the bags. I have piles of yarn and needles for all of those hats that I was going to make. I will find a way to create again.

Motherhood brought out an earthy side to me. From cloth diapering to aromatherapy to organic food choices, I have tried to learn to live on this earth a bit more gently. Some changes have stuck and some are a constant struggle. I adore cloth diapering and have no doubt that any future children will be cloth diapered. Yes - the laundry is hard to keep up with - but absolutely worth it. And today's cloth diapers have such a cuteness factor to them that it's actually a bit addicting. Aromatherapy is a constant in my life. I use my essential oils to scent my cleaners, soaps, breathe in during a cold, spray on the dog when I can't take his stench anymore, and many other ways. I really want an essential oil diffuser for the new house, but we'll see. I've actually considered several times taking an aromatherapy course so that I could be a certified aromatherapist, but that's something that would only be a blessing in the right time I think and that time is not now. Organic food has been a struggle. It's expensive. Especially now that the daycare is more full, I go through so much food and keeping things organic just doesn't happen around here the way that it used to. I continue to try, but I admit I've allowed a lot of processed junk back into our diets. Even if I could get back to more whole foods, organic or not, that would be a big improvement. This, as in the lack of creating, is also partly a busyness issue. It can seem so much easier and less time-consuming to toss something processed into the oven. However, I don't think this fact is as true as we think. It's not like it takes long to broil some tilapia or steam some asparagus.

Spiritually there has been a journey also. While spirituality and religion has never been the focus of this blog, it pops up enough times here and there for me to see the journey of where I've been and where I am currently. Even in the wandering I believe that God was leading me.

Looking back and seeing where I've come from makes me think that this blog is worth carrying on. Who will I be in two more years? Very likely I will be absolutely the same person when it comes to core personality, but I hope to be very different in terms of virtues and actions.

I hope that I can live more gently not just with Mother Earth, but with other people. I realize that my high expectations for myself I often extend to others. I may not be the most gentle person when someone lets me down or when I perceive that I've been stepped on. This is probably even more true if I feel someone is stepping on a friend of mine. I know that I have a very protective instinct when it comes to my friends. While overall I think this is a good thing, I'm working on being much more responsible and gentle with my reactions. I want to see more balance in my life, finding time for a crafty project or two every now and then. But I also want to be more involved in my church. How will I ever balance it all? I don't know, but I think it's in the process of trying and failing that I will eventually find the way. And I will continue to blog through it all so that in a few more years I can once again see a journey out of the layers of random events, thoughts, and links that I've posted about along the way.

This Mother's Day and Moms I Admire

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I can't help but to reflect on how wonderful everything seems right now.

I adore being a mom and spending time with my little one. I love that I have wonderful children in my care that I get to "mother" through the week so that their moms can go to work or wherever it is they are going and feel safe and secure in the knowledge that their little ones are loved while they are away. I am thankful for my own mother who taught me how to nurture and to love.

There are so many other things in my life that are changing and/or have changed in the course of the last year. These things aren't really related to Mother's Day, but as I reflect on life I am thankful nonetheless.

After years of being a church gypsy, I have found a place where I can love and serve and grow in faith. In the past year I have seen friendships in my life change and evolve. Some of the change has been hard. Some has been very positive and uplifting.

I guess some of those changes in a way reflect on motherhood in that I feel I can be a better mother when I have support and friendship in my life.

There are so many supermoms in my life who inspire me to be better.

There's hippymama - She works outside the home, then lovingly makes dinner for the fam - often grilling a feast outside and sending her kiddos in the yard with nets to catch anything their minds can imagine. She knows when to step back and laugh or sing a song when a child has gone off the "deep end" and uses humor in a way that I only wish I could in the heat of the moment. She is sensitive to the needs of her children and won't let others push unrealistic expectations on them. She is a true giver to everyone she comes across and her presence is truly refreshing.

There's wondermama - She cooks, she cleans, she homeschools her kiddo and keeps track of a high energy toddler. She knows what it means to be the great wife that loves, supports, and respects her hubby, probably more than I ever will. She gives wings to her daughter's creativity and ideas by helping her write her own stories. She sees the value in letting her kiddos know that their creative ideas matter. She is a writer and works to sharpen her own creativity, thus striving for balance by allowing time for her own personal growth.

There's hipmama - She's willing to do anything, move anywhere, in efforts to create a better life for her family. She seeks out opportunities for her children to get them out and about. She is amazingly creative and uses her creativity along with her sense of humor to help her children succeed. She sees the value in turning garbage into "treasure" just to encourage a child to complete the task of picking up, something I could definitely work on. She is a writer and her words touch others. She is a gem of a friend and loyal to the core.

There's moonmama - Like the moon she doesn't seek to shine for herself, but reflects light to others. She gives her time, knowledge, and wisdom to other moms seeking answers for nurturing care and comfort for their children. She has a busy household of kiddos, but seeks to provide loving care that is respectful of each child. She supports and inspires moms to find the strength to mother in ways that might be different from how they were raised. Her support kept me going at a time when I was really discouraged as a new mom.

There's huggymama - She knows how to love, love, love and nurture. She would move a mountain if she could if it would help one of her kiddos (or grandkids). She has the world's biggest heart and her sensitivity and compassion towards others is insanely admirable. She is supportive without being invasive. She provides surprise coffee delivery at times when her daughter is feeling overstressed and overtired. She makes the best damn chicken dumplinoodles I've ever had. Happy Mother's Day mom!

Okay - so the names are cheesy. Give me a break. It was hard to come up with so many names. There are so many moms I admire in so many ways. So I hope no one is offended for not "making the list". These were some people that are in my life right now on an ongoing basis that I wanted to acknowledge.

I know that as a mom it's easy to be so self-critical. We see all of our faults. This Mother's Day I hope to give these specific mothers the gift of seeing themselves through someone else's eyes!

The Potty Situation

Well, we're ten days out and I figured I'd give an update. We breezed through the constant reward stage. Boo no longer receives potty candy for sitting on the potty or for having dry pants. He is consistent enough with using the potty that I felt it was time to get rid of that reward. We have continued potty prize for when there's an actual deposit in the potty. He looks forward to that. Some days bring more accidents than others, but he definitely knows what to do. I don't force him to potty. I remind him where pee and poo goes every now and then and that's about it. Sometimes he jumps up and announces he needs to use the potty and sometimes he waits too long and has an accident. Either way he's learning from the experience and I can see that he is progressing nicely.

I do think that it's been a bit stressful on him. He's been a bit clingier and restless than usual. This makes sense to me though. For years he was able to just let it go whenever. Now he has to constantly try to figure out what his body needs to do and when it needs to be done. So I'm trying to be as supportive as I can. Now that we're done with Kindermusik, we don't have many evening commitments. I'm trying to be very choosy about how we spend our time so that he gets plenty of down time and one on one time with mom and dad through this process. It's such a HUGE milestone though and I'm so very proud of him. Hurray Boo!

Giving All to God?

How does one give all things to God? There are those who would answer with a witty, christianese statement that simplifies the entire process. There are those who would quote a verse as though the verse in itself is the process. But if it were that easy, would Christ have prayed to God that his cup pass from him if that were at all possible? By cup, meaning his torture and eventual death on the cross.

What if the very depth of a person's soul and what they believe to be the greatest part of their existence is in jeapardy? Will a simplistic remark and/or bible verse set things right in a hurry? I think not.

The best answer I can come up with is that it's in the process, tears, begging, denial, anger, grief, and endangered hopes that we walk a path similar to the one of Christ, with a cross unique to our own life and situation. In the process, perhaps somehow we learn to stop begging for a different path and accept the cup which we are given and peacefully resign ourselves to whatever may come. I guess that's the best I can come up with for now.

Another Potty Post

I'm sure I'm beating a dead potty horse by continuing to post about this, but I'm just such a proud mama!

Last night hubby and I decided to do away with the practice runs that are a part of the PTLTD method. It just seemed a bit much. The idea behind it is to educate him on what he can do next time in order to prevent the accident, but I think no matter how positive I try to make it, it comes across as punitive. We've continued the pants checks for now (roughly every hour) and he gets to pick out a candy every time his pants are dry at a pants check. This has gone well and he has even volunteered a few pants checks when he knew he was dry! Starting tomorrow I'm going to decrease the amount of pants checks and eventually phase them out.

We've continued the potty prizes. Boo gets sooooo excited when he gets a potty prize and is very proud to tell daddy that he got his prize for peeing in the potty. He got 2 potty prizes the first day that we had potty prizes available, which was day #2 of potty training. He got 3 potty prizes yesterday and 2 so far today! We'll probably continue these for awhile until he's having very few accidents.

Every time he comes with me when I use the potty he is very proud to tell me that "[Boo] puts pee pee in the potty too!" He's very proud of his accomplishments and I'm so happy for him in that.

I think there are more updated versions of the potty plan that we used. I know there's some that have done a 3-day plan and there's other 2 and 1 day plans out there. The one book that I used is older and I think maybe that's part of the problem I have with it. When I reflect on it, it gave me a great plan, but only because I worked to soften it and modify it and incorporate some things from the "No Cry Potty Solution" into it. I wonder if it's because authoritarian parenting was more of a norm when the book was written, versus most parenting resources leaning more towards authoritative parenting in this day and age. The book definitely comes across as a bit harsh at times. My gut tells me that some of the newer 2 and 3 day methods are probably better written and gentler than the resource I used. However, I say that without having read any of them. I'm not knocking the plan completely, because it was definitely the foundation of what we worked on when we started training. I guess if I'm knocking anything, it's the authors recommended implementation of the plan. I wonder if I'm making sense or just rambling?

Anyways, hurray for potty training. It's actually more fun than I thought it would be!

Potty Day #2 - Update

Well, so I was wrong about the diaper thing. Boo woke up after sleeping in and insisted on his underwear instead of a diaper. So, hacking and feverish, he chose to continue the potty training. He was definitely a bit groggier and less energetic and I can tell he's not feeling well. Although, I have to wonder if the lower energy actually helped with the potty training! Less bouncing around meant more focus during the teaching.

I must say that thus far I'm impressed with the "Potty Train in Less Than a Day" method, which is mostly what I went by. I did incorporate some of "The No Cry Potty Solution" also. I do think that the implementation of PTLTD method could make a huge difference. I think it could be very harsh and insensitive if implemented in an impatient manner. I don't like the author's use of the word "reprimand" simply because that word has a negative connotation. If you ever read the book, you'll see where it's used. However, I think a person could easily take the ideas and methodology and soften the plan a bit, which is pretty much what I did. One thing that was not in PTLTD that I added was a potty prize box. I picked up stickers, $1 stuff at Target, party favor toys, etc...to make the potty prize box. I decided that potty prize would ONLY be for a deposit in the potty, not for an attempt. For an attempt, I still gave candy in the beginning. However, towards the end Boo forgot to ask for the candy after attempting and I didn't offer. I don't plan to offer anymore candy at this point, only praise for attempts. I do want to continue with the potty prize box for now because he's very proud of this.

We spent about 3 hours in the kitchen on potty training. Then his yawns and fussiness increased, so we settled in for a movie. He picked out "Up Down" or "Up" as it's known to most people. I reminded him often that "mommy likes dry underwear" and if he "has to pee pee, that needs to go to the potty." Towards the end of the movie I noticed a potty dance. I reminded him that "pee pee goes in the potty". He started heading towards the kitchen potty area. I followed and sat down on the floor as he started to potty and then subsequently got sprayed with urine. I feel bad because I kind of jumped a little and had to reassure him that what he was doing was wonderful and mommy was so proud. He was very proud to retrieve his potty prize after that and showed it to daddy when daddy got home shortly after that.

So now that he has the concept down and has successfully peed in the potty on several occasions, I'm supposed to remind him every once in awhile that "underwear stays dry" and we put "pee pee in the potty" and other such things. Also, I'll be conducting a dry pants check every hour. At this point I'll still give him candy for the dry pants in order to reinforce how important dry underwear is.

Then tomorrow, according to the book, I should just be doing dry pants checks prior to events that occur regularly, such as meals, snacks, before nap, etc...I will also be sending out constant reminders of where pee pee and poo poo go as well as reminders of the expectations of wearing underwear. There is a procedure to follow for accidents whereby a child practices using the potty 10 times in a row after an accident. We did this for the one accident that Boo had today. He was reluctant of course, but with some encouragement he completed all ten trials very quickly. The point is to do it quickly so that the child practices rushing to the bathroom. So it was easy to make it more fun because we got to run to the potty. So if he has an accident that is the procedure to follow for now. I will still be putting him in diapers for nap time and nighttime. This is a completely different skill that is more dependent on his physiological development and not something he has direct control over. So for now, I'm not going to worry about nap time or night time wetting.

So I feel like we've gotten a great start on our potty training journey. I'm looking forward to seeing how things go. Of course Boo will have accidents. Many people misunderstand the PTLTD method and think that the author is claiming that a child will be accident free after a day. That's ridiculous! Accidents are part of the process of learning. I would definitely recommend this approach, even just as a catalyst to start training or to mesh with other methods. There's just a lot of great ideas. There a few things that sound a bit harsh that I think a person must wade through and soften up a bit, but overall I think it's very great.

And on another note, I'm so proud of Boo for working so hard despite being sick. I'd love to get inside his head and figured out what motivated him all of a sudden to make the switch. It seems like a lot of work for just a few pieces of candy!

Potty Training Day #2

Well, we spent much of last night listening to Boo cough. He's now passed out on the couch and wakes up to have a coughing fit now and then. So, I am pretty sure that we'll be back in diapers today. I did find some cotton training pants and plastic covers last night. I bought quite a few of them so that my lackluster laundry habits wouldn't get in the way of plenty of dry underwear. I really am so proud of him. Despite being tired when we got home from grandma and papa's house last night, he wanted to sit on his potty. And we caught our second pee of the day then! Woo hoo! I got some other snacks to go along with the candy - chips, dried fruit, nuts, etc...I don't think he responds well to that much sugar during the day. Also, I bought a few cheapy toys in the $1 section at Target and in the party supply section for a potty prize box. When there's an actual deposit in the potty he'll get to pick something out of the prize box. So he got this little plastic car last night after peeing. He was so proud to show daddy the car he got for putting his peepee in the potty!

Boo Pooed and Peed on Potty Today!!!

Well, I wasn't planning on "officially" beginning the potty-training yet. I put the word official in quotes because I have been doing pre-potty training stuff with him ever since he was about 15-18 months old. I've always shown him the process, talked about it, let him sit on the potty seat, etc...He's been able to watch his older daycare friends, some of who are completely potty-trained and some who are working on it. But I've never actively instructed him in it. I personally wanted to wait until he was older as I felt he would get through the training process more quickly that way. I especially didn't want to train now since we're moving in a month. I guess I figured why train him now if we're just going to have a huge change in a month (moving into the new home) that could cause him to regress. BUT today he handed me his own plan. He told me this morning he wanted to potty and get potty candy (my daycare kiddo that's training gets potty candy when he uses the potty). I just happen to be in the middle of "The No Cry Potty Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley, so I stripped him down and sat on the floor while he sat on the potty. Then he told me he wanted a pull-up. I told him we don't have pull-ups, so he'd have to do diaper or underwear and I let him choose. Well, he decided he wanted underwear. So I had to run upstairs and climb over boxes in his room to get to his dresser and pull out his underwear stash (thankfully I already have an underwear supply for him). Since I'm doing daycare today I couldn't really just put him in underwear, so I used one of my cloth diaper covers over it to help contain the leaks. They don't keep all the leakage in as I later saw, but they reduce the mess. So he's spent the morning in just underwear and a cover with no other clothes. I pulled out my "Potty Train in Less Than a Day" book by Nathan Azrin. This is the method that I have planned on using for quite some time. However, I do not yet have my potty doll, so I find that we've now started a hybrid of "Potty Train in Less Than a Day" and some ideas in "The No Cry Potty Solution." I'm going to run out after work today and get Boo some more underwear and perhaps a few plastic covers if I can find some. He has pooped in the potty twice today and peed once. He was sad about putting diaper on for nap time, but I only have normal underwear, not cloth training pants, so diaper was our best choice for nap time. But I did promise him that he would go back into underwear as soon as he woke up. Now that he's initiated his own potty training, I won't go back to diapers (with the exception of nap time and nighttime) unless he really resists and insists on the diapers. So I guess we'll see where this goes!

From One Stress to Another

Well, our funding for our home loan was officially approved. YAY - that relieved a huge amount of stress. Now on to packing, which is another big ball of stress. I am trying hard to think positively about the opportunity that we have to get rid of a bunch of JUNK. YAY! It's crazy to think that in all of the times that we've moved since we've been married we've gotten rid of a ton of stuff every time. The junk just comes back after you move!

So packing will be the family activity of choice for the next month. Once we move I'm going to have to obsess over getting the house daycare ready, in other words DCFS compliant. There won't be a ton to do to accomplish this, but enough. Safety locks, fire extinguisher, safety gates, etc...Fun times. Then DCFS and the fire marshall will be showing up sometime and I get to go through that bundle of fun again.

So while it's all good things, it's still going to be stressful. I'm going to do the best I can to find ways to relax and relieve stress when necessary, but it's going to be hard with so much that must be done.

Bring on the coffee

Five thirty came this morning and instead of slumbering peacefully I was awakened by my hubby "Crystal.Get up. Crystal! It's time to get up. You have to get up. Come on. Hurry up and get up so I can go back to sleep!" sigh, wiggle wiggle go my toes, groan"Crystal. Get UP!"sigh, roll,groan, stretch. And on that went for about 5 minutes or so until I finally forced my body to move, wiggling out of bed most ungracefully. I had a 6:00am appointment with a needle at the hospital lab this morning, just the kind of thing that makes a person burrow further into bed as opposed to jump out. But get out of bed I did. And now I'm back and of course there's no going to sleep now. Where's the coffee? sigh Guess it's not going to make itself. I'll have to drag my body into the kitchen and put the water on, grind my coffee, and get the french press ready to go. But the rich coffee aroma and the warm roasted bean thickness in my mouth will really hit the spot this morning.

Babywise - some things to consider

It's been awhile since I've posted on something that I'm passionate about.

Prior to Boo being born I was so fortunate to read Dr. Sears "The Baby Book." I will say that this book laid the foundation for the type of mother that I have been, am currently, and will evolve to be. Dr. Sears is well known and has a ton of books out on a variety of subjects regarding raising children. He is a strong supporter of the style of parenting that I wholeheartedly agree with - attachment parenting.

There is a style of parenting that Dr. Sears is an opponent of. And he's not alone. The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) News has printed an article with concerns regarding Babywise.

AAP News

In some Christian communities Babywise techniques have been elevated to "the" Godly way to raise children.

Train Up A Child

An AAP Media alert asserts the actual position of the AAP regarding scheduled feedings.

AAP Media Alert

Cue Feeding v. Parent Directed Feeding

This page has some good comparisons of Ezzo, The Baby Whisperer, and AAP recommendations.

Anyways, it's late. I need to get to sleep. But that's probably enough food for though.

What's Up

I've somewhat neglected my blogging as of late. I think it's partly that 2010 rolled in like a freight train and has been chugging along ever since.

On a personal note we're in the midst of purchasing a house. That's new and exciting and somewhat frightening all at once. This was not in our original plan for this year or even the next. But so far nothing in our lives has really gone according to plan, so why this? I don't mean that in a terrible sense either. Of course owning a home is a wonderful thing. I guess this just wasn't our preferred time line. But circumstances have led to this being the right time and the right decision for us. Once the decision to buy was made we found a house that seemed right almost immediately. So we have a contract to buy and everything is moving along as far as that goes.

Boo is growing and changing and becoming more child-like, as opposed to toddlerish, every day. It's a bit frightening to me how fast it all seems. He's such a precious and wonderful gift in our lives. I can't imagine life without him. To watch his face light up with joy in the most mundane of tasks is amazing and heartwarming and beautiful. Now that the weather has warmed up his favorite past time is riding his bike. He likes to create his plan for the day and tell me what he plans to do each day. Riding bikes is always thrown in there, as is going to see grandma and papa. Speaking of which, no matter how much I try to tell him about "mommy, daddy, and [Boo]'s new house" he continues to insist that it's "mommy, daddy, [Boo]'s, and papa's new house." I've informed him repeatedly that grandma and papa will NOT be living with us. He even threw Santa Clause in there one day. I'm sure it'd be every child's dream to have Santa live with them. Who can blame a kid for throwing it out there?

The daycare is hopping. After months and months of frustration and anxiety, the daycare finally filled up over fall and winter last year and has stayed full. That's such a huge blessing. I'm very lucky to have great kiddos and families and no anticipated openings until at least next fall. It's so nice to have the same group of kiddos consistently. They are becoming solid friends and play so well together - as well as that age group can play when it comes to peer relations! For the most part I think Boo enjoys the daycare and having his friends over. Of course he has his days where I can tell that he's not in the mood for it and that's understandable. But overall he just has a ton of fun playing.

Mixed in with the home buying and moving fun and the daily grind of daycare, I'm working on medical issues this month. So that's always fun. Hubby and I have been meeting with a practitioner since December learning a new method of fertility care. Creighton Model
I don't think I have any male readers, but just in case you might want to skip over the rest of this paragraph. It was founded by the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction. I actually like that it's founded by the Catholic church because from a moral standpoint my views are probably pretty similar to those of the Catholic church when it comes to reproductive technology. Anyways, so we've been attending these meetings to learn a new way of charting my cycles so that we can address some issues with my hormones. Yes, it's always nice to learn that your body is hormonally imbalanced. It makes it harder to convince hubby that I'm always right. :) So this month is going to focus on finding out the details of my hormone imbalances. I will be getting blood drawn between 9 and 10 times this month. Doesn't that sound fantastic? But it's for good cause. At the end of the month we'll know which hormones are doing what and when they're doing it. Then hopefully we can work on taming those naughty hormones and getting them to do what they're supposed to do.

So, there's a lot of stuff intermingling in my life right now and a lot of unknowns. It's a bit overwhelming at times. But I really am just trying to enjoy one day at a time, laugh at the silly things that my little one and all the daycare kiddos do and say, enjoy the warmth of the sun as it reminds me day after day that winter is over and spring is here, and delight in a marriage that has lasted through 7 trying years and will persevere through 50 more (if we live that long).

Breastfeeding Information

I just read this article and thought it was really great. I'd love it if there was more information available for parents regarding extended nursing. Anyways, here's a link to the article.


To Wean or Not to Wean

Clarity - a religious post, consider yourself warned

Well, that's it. I'm officially done "visiting" church. We've been visiting one since Septemberish, with a break in the last month or so. But I feel lately that some great clarity has come upon me and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. I have decided on some things.

1. Whining about the fact that christians continually let me down is getting me nowhere. I will never commit to a church or stay at a church for any length of time if I expect christians to act like non-sinners. I mean, the very faith of christianity says that all sin. So, if I buy into that, and I do, then I must accept that people will disappoint me and let me down. The flip side of that is I will let others down and disappoint them. So I guess we will have to have grace with one another. Perhaps this is why there are commands in the bible that we should be in regular fellowship with christians. Maybe it's in the dealing with our own and others imperfections that we must practice that thing that C.S. Lewis, an amazing christian philosopher, refers to as "Mere Christianity." I guess it's easy to practice our faith when people behave as we'd like them to. But true faith in God is loving the unlovable. Christ himself said something like that. I realize how very self-righteous this attitude is. God knows how I am often that "unlovable" person and I probably need to be reminded of that often.

2. Waiting until I 100% understand and/or agree with a church/denomination before getting involved and making some sort of commitment is asinine. Honestly, with that criteria, I'd be 90 years old before committing anywhere, if I ever commit at all. Granted, there are extremes here. I do believe that a person can commit to a church/body of believers too soon and end up in "too deep" upon realizing that it is not the place for them. My husband and I have made that mistake with a couple of past churches (several years prior to now) and we were careful to keep our distance this time around. However, I believe there is a happy medium and I feel that continuing to distance myself would be going beyond the happy medium and heading to the opposite extreme.

3. I am going to let go of my fear and skepticism at leaping into something that is different from what I was taught for the first 30 years of my life roughly. This fear in addition to my commitment phobic nature when it comes to churches has made my recent decision HUGE for me. But here's the deal. While I am experiencing a new kind of christianity, it is the same old faith for me. The faith that believes in Christ and centers around him as the source of salvation. It's always been about Jesus for me and it always will be. It's just that there are things in this different but same faith that upon reflection make absolute sense to me. There are things that leave me in awe of God's sovereignty and reveal in my heart a new reverence for my Creator.

I feel free and unburdened and this feels wonderful. These revelations were slow to come about, but slow is sometimes best. I've heard an argument against Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings that the hobbits could've simply rode on the back of an eagle all the way to Mordor and back out and the process of tossing the ring into fire would've been simpler and easier. But that's not the point of Tolkien's story. The hobbits were forever changed in the journey. Perhaps spiritually, I could've come about this with less journeying, or without being a church gypsy as I once referred to myself, but God changed me in the process. I wouldn't have been ready for this change several years ago or even 6 months ago. Less change happens often in the moment of decision than in the journey that led to such a decision. At least I feel that's the way it's been for this in my life.

I realize that I haven't gotten overly specific about certain things in this post, but I guess that's because the point of my post is that I feel happy and unburdened and excited about this decision, not because I wish to invite and partake of any debate in this, which I don't.

Anyways, wishing clarity to all in such matters. God Bless!

I Love You Mama

Boo has been responding to "I love you" for awhile now with his own little "luf too" or something like that. BUT, he has never spontaneously initiated such love talk. Well, up until last weekend anyways. I was changing his diaper and he leaned in and hugged me and said, "I love you mama" clear as a bell. It took me awhile to gather my mushy, melty heart off of the floor. He's been telling daddy also. What a sweet and loving little boy I have. I'm so thankful for him!

Raising Your Spirited Child

I just finished reading a great book called "Raising Your Spirited Child" by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. She is an educator in Minnesota's Early Childhood Family Education Program and author of several other books. She also founded Spirited Child and Power Struggles workshops.

This book is amazing. I imagine that I will return to this book many times throughout the years as I'm raising Boo and any siblings he might have. This book is applicable not just to the age that Boo is at now, but to many ages.

One thing that this book does a wonderful job of is encouraging parents to really consider who their child is as a person. Kurcinka speaks about the different aspects that make up temperament and the challenges that are unique to children who seem to be a bit "more" in one aspect or another. Specifically, she discusses extroversion versus introversion, intensity, persistence, sensitivity, perceptiveness, adaptability, regularity, energy, first reaction, and mood.The extroversion/introversion chapter alone provided me with so much insight regarding my child.

Boo is without a doubt an introvert. I never quite realized it until reading Kurcinka's chapter comparing the two. In fact, I kind of knew that I tended towards introversion myself. Reading Kurcinka's chapter on introversion versus extroversion gave me greater insight into myself and into my child. I've often wondered why so and so can go to one thing after another, bouncing from one activity to another all week long, and I start to go nutty if I go out more than two nights a week. I used to think that maybe something was wrong with me for not being able to handle as much activity or a higherlevel of busyness. The reality is that I'm just not wired that way. Just as an extrovert feels like they're dying inside if they don't get enough time to socialize, the introvert feels incredibly drained by constant social commitments and activity. Introverts feel energized by spending time either alone or with a favorite friend. I have always tended towards one on one outings with friends in lieu of large group activities. I can feel energized going for coffee with a good friend that I trust, but if I go to a party involving lots of people I need time to recover afterwards. What I find energizing as an introvert is a night in with a good book! Anyways, this book of Kurcinka's is about children, right? So, getting back to that, I've realized why Boo clams up when we go to Kindermusik and the teacher prompts him to count or point something out in a book. I admit that I'm sitting there watching anxiously and thinking, "I know he knows how to do this. Everyone's going to think my child's behind. Why won't he perform??" But the reality is, being an introvert, it's hard for him to go to Kindermusik and participate in the activities and follow the instructions. But being put on the spot to answer a question or pointing something out in a book - well, that's just beyond him as a little introvert. Granted, as he gets older he'll be able to do more despite his introversion. But his personality will more than likely lead him to draw back a little bit. And the great thing is, that's OKAY. In our culture, I think we prize extroversion a bit. I love how Kurcinka's book draws out the strengths that introverts possess. And the reality is that pushing him to act like an extrovert will only cause him to feel bad about the way he is. Instead, I need to accept him for who he is and nurture the strengths that are inherent to introversion.

I realize that I'm going on and on about this one point. But it was a huge eye opener for me. Boo attends my home daycare by default that he lives here. Recognizing that he is an introvert gives me insight to notice when he's trying to communicate that he needs time to himself. In fact, I've been frustrated by Boo for not wanting to join in on art projects when I'm in the kitchen with all of the other children doing some fun sort of painting, coloring, or whatever the art is for that day. But you know what he's doing while we're in there and he's refusing to join? Playing with the toys by himself, perfectly content. Thinking about him with this insight made me realize that this is how he finds time for himself in a busy home with friends around constantly. Knowing this I was able to relax today when he didn't want to join the finger painting fun. I didn't ask him nearly so many times, "Are you sure you don't want to come and paint?" Now I know that he's doing something that makes him feel energized and happy. And I can always paint with him on the weekend. And when we respect who our children are as people, we give them the space to have their needs met, which ultimately leads to a happier and better behaved child. And don't we all want children who behave well?

I think that's what I liked about this book. The end result is that we all want our children to "behave" for lack of a better word. This book has so much information about getting to know who your child is as a person and then respecting that. We can respect their unique personalities and set them up for success in different situations rather than forcing them into something that sets them up for failure. Of course we can't control every situation and our children will be faced with things that go against their personality that they must deal with. But if we set them up for success as much as we possibly can, they will have more energy to deal with those situations that are less than ideal. I like how one parent in one of Kurcinka's groups put it. "We don't teach children how to swim by throwing them in the deep end." We shouldn't do that in their daily lives. Very young children have few coping skills and need years to learn how to cope with a variety of situations. It's okay to do what we can to make it easier on them as they get their feet wet and start the learning process.

I feel like this has been terribly rambly, but this book is awesome. There's so much more that I could go into, but I risk writing a novel about a novel. So I probably need to stop. I highly recommend that any parent look into this book - and not just if you feel your child is in the "spirited" category. I think any parent of any child could benefit from this book!

This is the Way We Wash Our Hands

Let me start this post by saying that I LOVE that Boo is so independent and loves to do things for himself.

However, I will say that I find myself taking a lot of deep breaths these days because I'm battling my own impatience. It's much quicker for me to wash Boo's hands at the sink than to stand by and let him do it. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad except that he can't yet reach the nozzle on the faucet. But he is of course so offended if I turn the water on for him, so I have to pick him up so that he can turn the water on himself. Then he must push the black button that turns the water to spray and he can't reach that either. So I have to hold him while he does that. So once that's done he's content to put his hands under the water while I hand him the soap. Once he receives the soap he promptly pushes me away and says, "Mommy. Go o'er dere." This is where I take a very deep breath because I know that he can't figure out how to pump the soap (it locks if you turn it the wrong way), yet he insists on trying for a bit each time. After he's tried and grunted and become frustrated with it I'll offer to help and he'll grudgingly accept help from mommy to pump the soap. But then I must immediately move away again while he rubs his hands together under the water. Usually I have to prompt him to turn the water off or we'd be there half the day while he plays in the water. And once again, even though he can't reach it, he must push the black button that turns the water from spray to pour. Then he turns the faucet off and I must lift him up for both tasks. After that he will happily climb down the stool and wipe his hands and face with his towel and then throw said towel into the garbage.

And some people say that extended nursing, babywearing, and refusing cry it out methods will cause a child to be overly dependent. Hahaha. I simply have to laugh at that as I care for my stubbornly independent 2 1/2 year old!

Awimsing We Go

Well, we've tried the pool at the YMCA a couple of times. I even found a swimsuit over the weekend that's not insanely huge on me and a maternity suit at that. So when we went tonight I got to wear my new, properly fitting, non-maternity swimsuit. That was nice!

Boo did great. The first time we went swimming, or wimsing as Boo calls it, he clung to me mostly and was a bit leary. Although even then he told me "I like a water!" and "That fun!" after I spun him around in the water.

We went again this afternoon and he's definitely showing signs of wanting to be more independent with it. I'd like to find him one of those vests that's stuffed with flotation devices. Anyone know where I can get one of those in the dead of winter? He told me when we were done tonight "I like a blue water." But he does NOT like the shower. We shower before and after and he's not a fan! Also, he's afraid of the swimsuit dryer thing. AND he HATES getting his hair dried by the dryer in the locker room. It's a bit scary for him.

If he's comfortable enough I may put him in the independent swim lessons at the Y after he turns 3. That means he would be on his own with the swim instructor and mommy would be sidelined. Eek - how is my baby almost old enough for that??!!!

Anyways, my goal is to go swimming, er..I mean wimsing, a couple of times a week so that he really gets used to the water. And, it's just plain old good family fun. It beats sitting on the couch in the evenings!