Sunday, January 29, 2012

busy weekend

This weekend was pretty busy, Daddy worked on Saturday and the boys and I ran some errands, then headed over to Newton so Spenny could spend the night with Grandma Jean and Poppy Steve.

We were super early, so we took a detour and drove through the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge.  We didn't see any animals, but Spenny worked on describing things we saw--yellow grass, brown mud, white clouds, blue sky etc. We are also working on learning right, left and straight. He is doing pretty good at that, but soon enough, he was ready to just go see his Grandma, so we headed over to Newton. I think someday we might actually plan to go there and check out the wildlife center itself and see what else we can see.  (side note: We were all at the table and Spenny was saying there were 5 of us, including Grandma Jean, then he turned around and told us there were 3 boys and 2 girls...when he does stuff like this, it makes me so proud :) )

We hung out with Grandma for a while then E and I headed home. I had a concert to go to, Lady Antebellum with Darius Rucker and Thompson Square for the openers. I'll post more on the show later, when I can put the pictures up, but it was a good time over all.

Today was Daddy's day to sleep in, so Emerson and I ate breakfast then we hung out. He watched Tangled and played with his toys and sat in the big chair.

 Spenny came home around noon , then it was lunch time and nap time. Mama got some stuff done, mostly small projects, like using the baking soda/vinegar in a bag trick on the shower head. I haven't tested the shower yet to see if it makes a difference, but it does look better. I also cleaned out some drains and did some other chores around the house.

For dinner I made pancakes from scratch for the first time. They were just...ok. They were super fluffy and easy to make, but the taste was just...off.  I'll research some of the reviews on it and see what I can come up with for next time.

I also made a menu plan for the week, which I've been slacking off on, but with Daddy being back at work late now, I need to plan ahead to prevent us from eating crap every single night.

This week we will have:

Chicken and Gnocchis
Chicken Tacos
Goulash
Date Night
Boys Choice--likely pizza, they have been a big fan lately, and while I've been using the frozen ones (Spenny likes to pick them out) I think we'll try our hand at making one instead. He does really well at helping me cook. E got to try his hand at it tonight with the pancakes:


Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

We were pretty lazy on Sunday, The most that we did was Spenny got a hair cut...

Before:

After:



Haircuts in the past have been a challenge, but recently he has decided that it is ok to get your hair cut, as long as you get a toy at the end. Sunday's score was a 10 pack of Heros that are now scattered about the house.

For dinner we made some bbq pork that had been cooking in the crock pot all day, followed by some homemade potato salad. It was my first try at that, but it turned out delish.  I also made some egg salad for J to enjoy as well, and Emerson actually ate an egg salad sandwich as well!

Mama also made some changes to herself...

First, I did my pin of the week, a honey-brown sugar facial scrub, which s why my face s so red. It was nice, but today my face is dry as heck.  Please note, I did not intend on my shirt matching the wall, it just happened and I wasn't about to change it. I also have a hard time taking self portraits which is why my face always looks like this:


What do you think? (besides I need to clear the mirror...)

Spencer's verdict was that my hair is very "Brown" and "beautiful".

Yesterday morning we had a surprise, my car wouldn't start and it is now at the dealership getting looked at. It's likely an alternator issue, so hooray for that. Gotta love unexpected car repairs, but hopefully it'll be taken care of.  We are blessed to be able to have family near by that was able to rescue me and the boys from the side of the road as well as loan us a vehicle for a couple of days while we figure out my car.

Other than that, it's life as normal around here. 

Headed to bed, so good night!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Low Key

It's been a pretty low-key week. Mama and Daddy have been recovering from the colds they got from E and Spenny, so not been up to much.

Monday we had leftover night, Tuesday was breakfast for dinner, both of which were followed by bath, Shaun the Sheep and bed. Wednesday Grandma Jean came over for dinner so we hung out with her for a while and Thursday was Nana and Papa night. Spenny took his new Green Lantern for show and tell, which he was really excited about.
Friday we went shopping at Target and Mama got some new shoes (yay shooes!). Target was having a HUGE clearance event, so I got $50 boots for $12, can't really beat that!

Today I've been cleaning and laundering and whatnot to catch up from this week. Clean bedding all around!

Also, I forgot my pin of the week last week...It was a homemade cold remedy that actually seemed to work! 1 tsp honey and 1/4 tsp cinnamon, mix (i actually put them in the microwave for just a few seconds to make softer before I mixed) then ingest somehow, recommendations were put in tea, on toast or just by the spoonful. I didn't care for it in my tea, but I did enjoy it just on the spoon, and it made me feel better right away! Much better than cold meds, which I always react to badly anyway (well, by badly I mean makes me feel like I'm 2 margartias in).

Daddy is off at a card tournament today, so the boys and I are spending some quality time together watching Disney movies and cleaning. It's currently nap time so once I'm done with this, I will be enjoying some Gossip Girl :)

Enjoy your Saturday!


P.S.

I have always loved Etta James, who passed away yesterday. In honor of her...


Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Weekend of the Cold

The last time I posted, the boys had a cold. Thursday it started hitting me, and Friday J got it, so we spent the weekend pretty low key. Saturday I made homemade Chicken and noodles and we went to bed early. Today we felt a little better, so we got a little more accomplished. Daddy and Spenny went with Papa to the gun show.

Mama and E hung out and watched some Gossip Girl (Just finished Season 3 and starting episode 1 of season 4...so excited for more drama). 

Spenny and I then headed out to Walmart to get some groceries, but first we played in some puddles...

and then we came home, fixed dinner and come Chocolate Chip cookes, made with Ghirardelli chips and now the boys are in bed and just finishing winding down our weekend. Here's to starting off a new week :)


Wednesday, January 11, 2012

A Dr Visit

Well, we made it 11 days into the new year without a dr visit. Both boys were up multiple times last night, Spenny for his coughing and Emerson because...well, just because really.

We couldn't get in to the ped's office and I didn't want to wait until tomorrow, so I swung by Urgent Care on the way home. After a long wait where we entertained ourselves by being silly, we met with the dr who prescribed some amoxicillin for each boy, Spenny has a sinus infection brewing and Emerson has a double ear infection. We spent a pretty low key evening, as evidenced below. Boys are both in bed and I'm headed there now. Night!

Waiting isn't much fun...but we can be Pirates and Power Rangers :)


Yeah, don't judge. we still have our Christmas tree up...but look, there's still presents under it! 
Ok, MOSTLY a low key evening...Viktard and Lola battled.


Daddy played games

Emerson lounged while watching CareBears (his choice, not mine!)
 Wait, you're taking pictures? Never mind then, I'll be cute!
 And, last but not least...
Emerson's first self portrait

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The day he wore big boy underwear

Potty training is something we struggled with here. Spenny would go when you reminded him, but that was it. He RARELY pooped in the potty.

We tried everything.
Candy? Nope.
Toys? Not so much.
Stickers? Who cares!
Anger? If you're mad, so am I!
Tears? nothing.
Literally, we tried EVERYTHING we could.

Finally, we talked to our pediatrician about it and not just in passing, but really had a conversation about it at his 4 year (and 5 months, but who's counting?) well child visit. She recommended Miralax, as she had suggested in the past, but this time she suggested we give more and follow up in 2 weeks.

2 weeks came and still no real progress, so she decided on an X-Ray. Daddy got to do this, as Mama was at work (oh darn!) but Spenny handled everything like a champ. He was a good boy, got his x-ray taken of his belly and we found out he was FULL OF POOP. As in so full of poop he had no idea when he needed to go pee OR poop, and overall was very likely uncomfortable and possibly even in pain. She suggested we up his Miralax intake to 3 times a day and make him sit on the potty after each meal.

This appointment happened just a few days before Christmas and within a few days, he really started pooping a lot.  (I'll spare all the gory details, but he lost a total of 4 pounds in those few days).

Throughout this, something amazing happened. He started knowing he he had to go. Usually he made it to the potty, sometimes he didn't, but we went with it and never got angry, in fact, I felt relieved that we finally knew that there WAS a reason that everything else wasn't working and that he was able to be potty trained.

We have been accident free, day and night, at home and in public, for well over a week now, maybe even longer. We took a chance and let him wear his big boy pants (Batman and Robin was the choice of the day) and he did fantastic! We are so proud of him and tell him so often (which he always follows up with, "Mommy/Daddy, I'm proud of you too."

I'm sure someday he'll hate me for writing all of this, but I first off, wanted to remember the best half-birthday present I ever got (Hooray for no more pull ups!). I also wanted to write this because I hope that maybe someone, in search of help for their child that refuses to potty train, will stumble across this, and find hope. I know that I found boards and blogs discussing this topic and it was nice to know I wasn't alone, as it's not often you hear someone else saying their 4 year old isn't trained.

And as a side note, if your pediatrician makes you feel uncomfortable, find a new one! Our first one was...ok. She was kind of a hypochondriac, which is NOT what we needed as first time parents. She was also a flake, was always late to appointments, no matter what time you were there and was CONVINCED E was a girl until she took off his diaper at his newborn check up.  Eventually, Dr. R moved away and was replaced by a Dr. F.

At first, I was like OMG this lady is CRAZY. She was LOUD. She had this silly laugh. Then I talked to her. I told her I was breastfeeding still (at a 6 month check up). She praised me and said it was amazing and was super supportive. At 10.5 months when I decided to stop, she praised me again and said I did an awesome job, and gave me some samples of formula to help get us to when we could switch to whole milk.  When I said I thought E needed to go to an ENT she said, when? I'll schedule you. When I said there's something wrong and I don't know what it is, she spent the afternoon checking on us between patients while she ran all kinds of tests, to confirm that yes, while it was a virus, it was also pneumonia, ear infection and influenza (That was a rough week). She never makes us feel like a burden, always is supportive of our choices (didn't even blink when we said no to the flu shot) and just...gets it. (Even Batman gets a check up when needed!)

And with that, I am headed to bed, early day tomorrow and both kids are still fighting this cold. Sorry about all the rambly poopy post :)

Sunday, January 8, 2012

One week down

Well, the first week of the year is coming to a close.

Quick recap:
Wed: Groceries and Early(ish) bedtime.
Thur: Mama and Daddy ate Chinese in bed while watching Episode 1 of the Pacific.
Fri: Tried something new for dinner...Annie's Homegrown Annie's Homegrown Totally Natural Arthur Macaroni & Cheese. The boys thought it was really good. I wasn't a huge fan (I'm really really a Blue Box girl). Maybe I'll acquire a taste for it?

Saturday was a pretty low key day, especially since the boys (ALREADY?!) have colds from starting back at daycare. We had a nice visit from Aunt Jordan and her friends, then our friends A and J came over for dinner and fun times. We had ham balls for dinner then later, A and I made Brownies Enormous, but added some crushed up Ande's mints on half. YUM! Add some vanilla frozen yogurt on top and deeelish!

Today I was busy cleaning and was very excited to do so, as I have made my very own cleaning products. While I was on Pinterest I found some DIY products for cheap. I made DIY Foaming Dish-soap and DIY 409. I didn't try the dish soap yet, as I filled up my refill bottle with it, however I used the 409. I did learn a little goes a long ways, (the counters were very soapy for a while) but it smelled nice and did a great job, even in the shower. It's nice knowing that I know EXACTLY what is in the product (ok, I guess I don't really know what Borax is but I know that I put it in there, rather than a bunch of chemicals that I can't pronounce) and while it may have been slightly more expensive buying everything to make it (We're talking like $8, including the spray bottles and a GIANT bottle of vinegar)  I have a TON of left over of everything so I'll be able to make a lot more, plus other things (Window cleaner, laundry detergent, ice packs...it's amazing the things you can make withe a few cheap ingredients!).

After that was done, Daddy and E went to spend some time together. Spenny and I cleaned out some stuff from the garage, played some soccer and drank some cocoa.
  (Yes, he's in his pajama pants still lol)



After dinner E and I spent some time together being cheesy...


After dinner, we did baths and mommy decided to clean the lint trap screen on the dryer (it needed it!) and now it's WAY past bed time, so I am going to get those two down and go to bed myself.

Have a good week!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

And it begins...

Today was the first day back to daycare aka "school" for the boys.

Daddy left for Iowa City early this morning so it was just us, and even though I overslept, we made it to daycare at a reasonable time.

First, some pictures of their "We're so cute, come on lets go!" faces:



Spencer did great, I don't even think he cared once we were there, all he did was yell "BYE!" and that was it. He got to see some of his old friends, which was nice, they were all talking and playing. The recap I got was that he played Wolverine, dinosaurs, and colored. He was excited to see his friends, but was disappointed that his friend H wasn't there.

E had a tough time...he cried, I cried, but when I called about an hour in, they said shortly after I left, he was calm and back to normal. He had an overall good day, however all he had for lunch was a banana. He did, however, eat 3 huge bowls of spaghetti tonight and a gingersnap for dessert.

Work was super busy today and Daddy had a long day so we're headed to bed shortly. I have to be there at 7 am tomorrow, so Daddy will get the drop off, I'm sure it'll be much smoother for him than me!

Have a good night!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Jan 1

The holiday season is officially over...well, technically tomorrow is the end, since it's a Sunday and everyone is observing on Monday....buuuut anyway.

Christmas came and went, we are blessed with huge families that love us and spoil us. Mommy got a new house for her Christmas village and a new phone as well as some chickens for her kitchen. Daddy got some new cards he was looking for, lots of Yoda things and other various manly things. The boys got...toys. Seriously, they have so many toys I don't even know where to begin! They also got some clothes and electronics. Spenny's favorite is by far his video game and E loves his Diego and Air boat. They are also getting a ton of use out of their new dress up box, and look a lot like the Village People meet the Superheros at the moment:







I made some New Year's Resolutions.:


1. Follow through on my Weight Watcher's Goals. If I fall off the wagon, start over on the next day, don't wait a full month.
2. Make something from Pinterest at least once a week. Doesn't matter if it's a craft, a recipe, a present or even just printing something out, but I will make something from Pinterest. (and If I get REALLY ambitious, post about it.)
3. Stop drinking soda as a beverage and treat it like you should with any bad for you sweet--something to enjoy in moderation once in a while. 
4. Strive to improve all areas of my life. (It sounds kinda lofty, but really, I just mean do what I can to improve myself, putting forth an effort rather than just gliding by because it's what works).

Also, we have a lot of changes coming up in the next few days...Daddy is transitioning back to work full time, the boys will be headed back to daycare and Mama Cass's busy season starts on Tuesday, so it'll be an adjustment for all of us, but I think we're ready for it!


Last but not least, here's my pin of the week:


Homemade Biore Face Strips

Fresh from the bowl:


Starting to tighten--Please be aware the duckface is not intentional so much as my face was tightening and it felt odd.

And here comes the peeling:



My face is all soft now, however I skipped Step 1...wash face prior to starting...oops! Next time, Gadget, Next time.

I'm off to put the boys in bed an hour past bedtime, here's hoping they sleep in for us tomorrow!

Have a good night!!!