Taking Advantage of the Sunshine

Since moving to the Pacific Northwest sunny days are few and far in between.  So when the sun shines I try to make as much use of it as I can.  Today was absolutely beautiful!  There were clear blue skies that you find after a good rain storm.

We started the day early with breakfast and people watching at the local Starbucks.  With a full tummy, my baby "dare devil" took her like trike for a spin warning off other drivers with her Dora the Explorer bell.

After lunch we got in kicking the ball around, making chalk master pieces on the drive way and monkeying around at the playground.  I would have thought that would have tired her out. No such luck, she's still a ball of energy.  How did you enjoy the day?

Craft Time

It's Sunday Fun Day in our house hold.  The sun is shining from last night's rain storm but everything is too wet to play at the park.  So it's arts and crafts time and maybe we'll go biking later on today.  Right now she's painting mommy and daddy a picture.  The only color she wants to use is purple so I'm curious what story she'll come up with.  What are you doing for your Sunday Fun Day?

*I'd like to thank the person who invented washable paint.  My walls and carpet thank you!!!*

Happy toddler!

Apparently this is a picture of mommy, daddy, Izzy and Oscar

Bad Words

It seems that I find myself surprised with all the milestones my little three year old makes every day.  She grasps concepts I thought were too complex for her age.  Recently she showed me that she knows some bad phrases and understands how to use them in the correct context. Yesterday I scolded her for kicking my chair and overheard her say "Jesus Christ".  After letting her know that isn't something nice to say she waited a few minutes and whispered it to herself.

On one hand it was frustrating to deal with correcting her bad language.  On the other i was proud that she was able to use the phrase in the right context.  Mind you, it's not something i want to hear again.  I know kids her age repeat words they hear, but do they understand context at this age too?

At what age did your child begin using phrases in the correct context?  Was it ones you didn't want to repeated? 

Tantrum

Tantrums.  Yes, that one would can in fact strike fear in a full grown adult.  When I was a new mom I would hear horror stories about toddler tantrums and the terrible twos.  I also saw many frazzled parents dealing with their own terrible two year old.

As my own daughter began developing her tantrums my parenting strategies changed to take into account her bad behavior.  Some days it seems like whatever it is I'm doing is working.  While other days, I want to crawl into a dark hole and hid.  What's even worse is the more my child is developing her language skills and motor skills the tantrums are only getting worse, not better.  WHY, WHY, WHY?!?!?  Shouldn't it be the other way around?  Now that she's able to tell me what she wants shouldn't the her frustration go down?

Today's tantrum was in epic proportions.  I had an unexpected day off when my day care called to say the are close for possible mold.  So I thought it would be a great idea to check out the child's concert in the park at Silver Lake.  Tim Noah was there and the concert was free.  I never heard of the guy but I guess he's this big singer of children's songs.

Izzy had a great time singing, dancing, and jumping around during the concert.  We even stayed after to play on the amazing play ground.  I would have let her play longer but it was very crowded and I had a big bag of things I couldn't lug around while chasing after her.

Once I told her it was time to go, she flipped.  This child screamed nonstop for 40 minutes.  She screamed on the way out of the park, through two time outs trying to leave the park, in the car ride home, unpacking the car and refused to take a nap.  I have never seen her THAT bad.  She has here moments but never screamed at FULL volume the entire tantrum.  I was so surprised that I didn't get flustered and kept me cool the entire time.  I even stuck to my guns and had her sit in a time out and made her say sorry to get out of it.  She thought she was off the hook and when I kept trying to leave the screaming continued.

What was your child's worse tantrum?  Was it at home or in public?

Cheese with that Whine?

I don't know what changed.  Whatever it was it started 2-3 weeks ago.  My two almost three year old has a consta-whine.  She can turn it on at the drop of a hat for no reason at all.  It's almost as if the more her vocabulary grows the less she uses it and just whines for what she wants.  There aren't even words mixed in, it's just a low level "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........."  The more I ask her to use her words or try to guess what she wants the more she mumbles and whines.

Has this happened to any other parent out there?  Has your toddler taken a step forward in development just to jump back down the cliff?  Let me tell you that at times it have to just remove myself to scream.  No it's not that bad.  The whine to me is like nails on a chalk board and can get frustrating because I know very well that she has the vocabulary to ask for what she wants and she just doesn't.

What is your experience?  Does this stage last long?  Will it end?  Please say it will end, gah!

Wordless Wednesday - Princess

Mini Bully

I picked my daughter up from day care yesterday and was my daughter crying.  One of the girls had just pushed her at the playground before I walk in.  A few days before I was called at work and told my daughter fell off a bridge onto the concrete face first.  Today I watched the same girl push her down.  I know they are toddlers and they can be prone to hitting and pushing from their raging emotions. (rolls eyes)

When is it too far?  Last night and today when I picked her up Izzy has been saying more and more often that Brooke pushed her and she fell down.  Today she even told me in a full sentence "Brooke pushed me and I fell down. It hurts."  During the ride home I asked her if Brooke pushes her a lot and she said yes.  "Brooke pushed me... bridge... I fell down, it hurt."  Is my almost 3 year old really telling me that she's being frequently pushed from one particular girl?  I don't know if I should be concerned at this point.  When should you really take the "message" a 3 year old tells you as what it sounds like?

Have you experienced a "mini bully" at that age?  How much of it is a true personality trait and how much is toddlers with raging emotions?

Mommy's Bed

My child knows that every night she has to go to sleep in her bed.  If she wakes up in the middle of the night from a nightmare she can climb into mommy's bed for some cuddling and to chase away the monsters.  Most nights when the bed routine starts she asks nonstop to sleep in mommy's bed.  Well, she doesn't say it in a full sentence she just repeats "mommy's bed?" over and over and over again.  On rare occasions when I just want her to fall asleep right away or I want some extra cuddling time she can sleep in my bed.

Tonight was one of those nights.  Bad mommy pushed back bed time too far.  For some reason I was in a cleaning kick and decided to tackle a few more moving boxes from the mountain that was known as my garage.  When I finally looked at the time it was close to 7:30pm and I still had to get her dinner and a bath.  This time when she started in on mommy's bed I said okay.  This girl was so excited and scared I would change my mind that she wouldn't take to step pass the doorway into her room to take her pillow and dolly to my bed.

I didn't have to do anything extra before she knocked out either.  I just plopped her in my bed, kissed her good night and gave the dolly to her and left the room.  I was walking in and out picking up toys, cleaning up a little and setting out clothes for tomorrow.  Not one peep the whole time.  I love nights that bed time isn't a fight, it's a breath of fresh air.  I even had the time to write this post before I have to go to bed myself.  I guess mommy's bed is a special place after all.

Parenting Compliments

As a parent you question how you are raising your child and you hope at the end of this journey your child grows up to be a well adjusted, contributing member of society.  My child didn't arrive with an instruction booklet or a pair of glasses the see into the future.  So I don't know if what I'm doing now will result in a positive thing or negative thing.  My daughter is going to turn 2 in two months and she is a Toddler with a capital "T".   There are days that she makes me so frustrated that I need to take a moment to myself to regroup.  While other days my eye get misty and my heart skips a beat because I feel so thankful I'm her mommy.

Since the "terrible twos" and the "toddler tantrums" have made an appearance in our household I've tried different tactics to see what works best with my toddler.  I definitely did not want my daughter to think it was okay to scream, whine, or throw a tantrum to get what she wanted.  I made it a point from the very beginning, that she had to say "please mommy" if she wanted something.  As her vocabulary increased I helped her through simple sentences to ask for what she wanted.  For example, "More milk please mommy." 

These days she's been using the whine/scream/tantrum tactic first and it's been tough to shake her from that bad habit.  Now in the face of all that screaming I keep saying, "You have to use your words, mommy doesn't understand you when you scream like that" until she gives me enough hints to figure out what she's screaming at.  Once I figure out what she wants and she starts to calm down then I prompted her to stand in front of me, cross her arms and use her words to ask mommy nicely for what she wants.  I tell her "It's NOT okay to scream at mommy like that, when you want something you need to use your words and ask mommy nicely."

I really think whatever I'm doing is really working.  We were at that vet today and she started whining.  We went through the steps, stand in front of me, cross her arms, ask nicely, and follow up with thank you.  The vet gave me the BIGGEST COMPLIMENT on my parenting.  She said she's never seen a child with such good manners.  She really liked how I handled it and even said she wants to use that when she has children.   How awesome is that! Toddlers are tough and I'm sure I have more white hair from the stress but that little pat on the back gave me the validation that I just might be doing the right thing after all.  :)

Have you received any comments that made you feel the same?  What were they?  Have you given anyone else positive parenting comments?  What did you see to make you share that compliment?

Dare Devil

Toddlers are climbers, jumpers, runners and miniature daredevils.  Fortunately, they approach each new adventure with a fearless attitude.  How else will our mini me's master all the things their bodies can do.  On the other hand that fearless attitude can put our hearts in our throats each and every time we see where their antics leads them.

My little climbing, jumping, running daredevil is no exception.  In the past two days she has fallen on her head at least three times.  Once was from jumping on the couch while spinning and she ended up flipping off it.  Another was from dancing right off the coffee table right onto her shoulder and head.  This time she decided to body slam the dog from off the couch and he moved just in time to save himself.  Izzy wasn't so lucky.

I don't know about you but I could talk until I turned blue and it wouldn't make a difference to my crazy kid. Actually, I feel like an old fuddy duddy for telling her she can't jump on the couch.  I LOVED jumping on the couch and my bed when I was a kid.  Sigh, what to do?  I'll probably just try to relax until the crying starts.  All bets are off if she starts running around with a knife or attempts something that will land her in the hospital. What has your kind done recently that your heart practically stopped when you saw them?

Wordless Wednesday: Owies

Discipline

There are times when nothing I do seems to work with my toddler.  It's as though as her confidence grows so does her willingness to talk back.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm no expert at discipline.  I just try my best to reinforce consequences for bad behavior.  Izzy can throw a tantrum like the best of them with the tears, the screaming and even flailing legs for an added affect.  That said I still think that generally Izzy is pretty well behaved.

We had another play date today with our neighbor and her two year old.  It seems a little harsh to say but I think she is out of control.  The first two times I could chalk it up to her being overly tired.  At this point I want to say it's just her behavior.  I watched as she repeatedly did things against her mother's wishes when the consequences weren't enforced.  At one point she came to whisper to me a request that her mother just told her she couldn't do.

I felt for the mother, she genuinely seemed frustrated at her child's behavior. I only reinforced what the mother already told her.  I smiled and inwardly cringed at the havoc she was doing to my house.  I still want the two girls to become friends but I don't' want Bella's bad behavior to rub off on Izzy. Have you ever been in the position where you wanted to jump in but didn't think you should?  Did you ever stop going to a play date in the chance the behavior would rub off on your child?

Little Girl Bike

I can't decide when to purchase Izzy her first bike/trike.  Once in awhile we make a trip out to Toys R US to play.  It gives her the opportunity to play.  We make a two hours of it just to window shop and try things out.  The last time we were there was the first time she wanted to sit on a trike and was able to pedal around the store with it.  I'm sure there are some at her Day Care but until that day I didn't even know she knew how to use one.  She had a little problems steering but I'm sure she'd get better the more she played with it.

So I'm left with the question of when I should get her one.  The one she rode was the smallest Radio Flyer which only last up to age 3 for the weight limit.  She's still a little on the small side but I wouldn't make any sense to get her something she could out grow in the next year.  The store didn't carry the next size up tricycle and the smallest bicycle with training wheels was too big.  Her legs didn't even come close to the petals.

 I've been looking at some reviews online and I've decided on the Radio Flyer Girls Classic Dual Deck Tricycle in Pink.  It's not too expensive I just don't know if she's tall enough for it yet.  WA is only blessed with a few months without consistent rain so I want something she can use right away.

Any other moms buy a tricycle for their little one?  Any recommendations?  Izzy is about 26 lbs and 35 inches.

Sleep Please Come Back

I'm starting this day with a significant lack of sleep and I don't know what happened. For the past two months I have been working with her during bedtime for the process to go quicker and smoother. I knew that I was eventually going to return to the work force and at the time I didn't know what shift I would be gone. I wanted to remove all the "mommy have to haves" before I started working.

We got to the point that she was no longer nursing, sleeping in her toddler bed without a fuss, sleeping over 8-9 hour stretches and no extra interventions needed besides a kiss good night. Now, I start work next week and everything has changed. She's waking up multiple times during the night, throwing a fit for the boob and not falling back asleep. I don't think there are any signs for her to "know" I'm going back to work. Our daily scheduled hasn't changed. I wish I knew what to do to fix this. It's hard enough staying home without enough sleep. I can't function at work like this.

Signed - Sleep Deprived

Reminiscing

As my time as a stay at home mother comes to an end I've been reminiscing. Today, I've been thinking about what I did so I didn't get "stir crazy". I found that even a short trip to the store was enough for my daughter and I.

During the car ride, the time walking to and from the car as well as walking the aisles I would point out objects and ask/tell her what shape or color they were. We would wave hi/bye to people we came across. My silly girl even applied that to the trees, animals and the objects too! My favorite was when she kept saying hello to the bread at the grocery store.

What do you do to maintain your sanity as a stay at home mom? Do you have any tips, favorite memories you would like to share?

Toddlerdom

What do you always hear about toddlers? I'm sure "terrible twos" and tantrums rate at the top of the list. Sure, that is definitely a part of raising a toddler. My toddler is two, she has tantrums and sometimes she can be terrible.

Why isn't all the great things at the tip of everyone's tongues? I'd rather celebrate how amazing my toddler is. At least that's what helps me deal with the stress when my toddler is a little "terror".

It absolutely amazes me how quickly she learns. She's able to say words, phrases and even sentences that I never realized she was able to do. She's walking, running, climbing, and jumping. She able to successfully tell me what she wants, most of the time. Even in a week I'm able to see amazing differences in my little baby.

Toddlers are a handful. Toddlers can make you pull out your hair and count all the extra grey ones. Toddler moms, let tomorrow be the day we celebrate how amazing our little terrors are.

Miniatures

I mentioned in my last post some of the balls I've been juggling COMPLETELY solo. Those were just the major highlights. I didn't mention the smaller ones like weaning, potty training, transitioning into the toddler bed and the millions of other things I do for my toddler.

I'm blogging right now on my phone as I sit next to my toddler sitting on the potty. I'm here for emotional support, I guess. You see my daughter had a lengthy problem with constipation which we finally solved with the new pediatrician. So now, she still gets a little nervous when she feels the urge to push.

I commend all the mothers out there. Motherhood isn't a job that has sick days, vacation or even a pause button. I'd love that last one! We struggle every moment to raise healthy, smart, and adjusted miniature members of society. Okay, pat your backs, you're doing an awesome job!

New Adventures

The first month of 2012 isn't even over yet and our family already has a number of new adventures waiting for us.  I've been neglecting blog land for a lot of real life juggling.  We've been house hunting and found one that we absolutely love.  So now we're jumping through the fire hoops, dotting all the "i's" and crossing all the "t's" in a race to be ready for closing.

I've been job hunting.  That's right after a year and a half of spending one and one time with my little girl as a stay at home mother I'm ready to rejoin the work force.  I've been pleasantly surprised how easy the process has been to receive endorsement here as well as the overwhelming response to my applications. The first two interviews I had were my top two choices and I received offers from both.  I accepted my first choice which is a job that makes me excited at the prospect to grow in my career.  It also comes with day shift so that made the next piece easy to find.

I found an affordable day care at a fraction of the cost I would spend outside of the military and I am extremely impressed with the facility.  It's not just a day care but they treat it as a school with a curriculum.  Izzy also seemed very interested in the classroom and the instructors when we went for the tour and the orientation.

The last ball was formulating a family budget, learning how to save through couponing and tailoring my spending for the best use of my money.  My favorite site is the The Coupon Project for all the local, realistic "how to" advice.  I've learned a lot and I still feel like i have a lot to learn to make changes.

How has your 2012 been treating you so far?  Any big projects you're working on?

Tears Don't Describe

I wanted to share something with you today that our family has been dealing with for the past year and a half. Ever since I started Izzy on solids we've had a love/hate relationship with the potty. Initially, it was just constipation but now it's developed into a psychological problem. She was so afraid of it hurting that she started holding in her poop as long as she could. It just made she problem worse because by the time she would finally poop it was hard as a rock.

We've been working with her old pediatrician from the beginning by changing her diet, increasing her fluid intake and even adding fiber supplements. No matter how many times I went to my pediatrician about it she opted for a conservative approach. Every well check, every drop in for colds I always told her Dr. that she still was having painful poop. She kept assuring me that I was doing everything right and she didn't think it was a good idea to be too aggressive.

I felt SO helpless. Every time Izzy would try to poop she would scream in pain. All I could do was rub her back and tell her "mommy was there". It's been a year and a half of everyone ELSE (family) telling me what I was doing wrong. DON'T YOU THINK I F-ING KNEW THAT ALREADY?!?!?!?!  I did everything the doctor told me and still I couldn't convince my baby girl that it was okay to poop.  I could tell that all the changes I made to her diet made a difference.  I could see every time she felt that urge to push and she would stop and wait until it passed.  I could see all the looks of fear on my baby's face every time she couldn't hold the urge to push any longer and she was scared of the pain. I felt so frustrated that I couldn't make it better.  I felt so angry that EVERYTHING I was doing wasn't working.

We have a new pediatrician since we moved and I brought her in for a cold this past Wednesday. Fortunately, I mentioned to her Izzy's poop dilemma. The Dr. gave me a plan and explained why the other one didn't work.  She explained the WHY! Within 36 hours she has her 1st poop without tears.  At day 5 she's poops SOFT stool every other day. I can't begin to explain how relieved, grateful, and emotional I feel. It doesn't hurt anymore.  She's still a little scared right before she starts pushing but she doesn't SCREAM in pain. That has been the BEST Christmas present I could have gotten.  Merry Christmas!

Meal Time Success

Okay, I'm been MIA from my blog. I hope it isn't a case of outta site outta mind with those of you and are following me. I have an excuse though, really. My family has been living out of our suitcases for the past month while we were taking a road trip to our new home. It was a long road trip with stops at both of our families.

But that's besides the point. I'm back and I had the best mommy moment that I want to share with you. My 2 year old is a picky eater. I know, NOT big news since most are picky eaters. Today for lunch I made chicken adobo, which is slow cooked chicken drummetts with soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and pepper. The chicken is cooked until it falls off the bone. I mixed her dish is a little bit of rice and from the moment I put it in front of her she got down to business. She ATE and I mean really ate without any pleading, negotiating, yelling or anything on my part. By the time I sat down with my own bowl she was more than 1/2 way done with hers. How awesome is that! It gets EVEN better. After some milk to top it off she went down for her nap in less then 5 minutes.

Hello I'm doing the happy dance over here! What's better than seeing your child love your cooking. Do you have a great mommy moment you'd like to share?