Trick or Treat!

My son loves to paint.  I decided that we would start making art to decorate the house for each holiday. I used 5x7 canvas and then painted the background on prior to letting my son dip his hands and feet into the paint.  As you can see by the little ghost, my daughter got in on the action too.

 

 

The spiders and ghosts are still in need of some eyeballs, but this momma is a little too busy to get to the store.

Hand Print Art

I was in need of art to match the kids' shower curtain and when I couldn't find anything I liked, I decided to have the kids make some.



Blake did the hand art and Ainsley did the feet.

Back to daycare

After 7 months home with my children, I am headed back to work tomorrow and my children are entering a new daycare.  My son has developed some bad eating habits, probably my fault, but this is creating some difficulting with getting him to eat healthy.  He is also going to be in a peanut free classroom, this is causing it's own challenges.  I am determinded to find healthy, yummy foods that my child will eat that are also peanut free.

This first meal we will be attempting (thanks to a friend for suggesting it) is pasta salad filled with veggies and meat tortilini.

Meat tortilini
Tri colored pasta
Steamed broccoli
Steamed carrots
Red pepper
Tomatoes
Provolone cheese cubed

Itchy Skin

My poor baby girl has eczema.  I had been putting Aquaphor lotion on her skin for a few days when I took to doctor because it wasn't clearing up enough and she was miserable.  The doctor had me begin using dove soap during bath and only giving her a bath for the sake of getting clean.  She does not spend any extra time in the water "playing".  After washing her body with dove (I use sensitive skin) I put the Aquaphor lotion on her.  I use the lotion twice a day.  I have seen such an improvement in her skin and she is a much happier baby.

Two bulldogs and a baby + 1

It's a girl!!! Ainsley James arrived Feb. 1st at 10:12 a.m.  After having contractions for a few days I took matters into my own hands to get her here.  Heavy lifting, a spicy chicken sandwich and a serious pedicure had my baby on a one way ticket to meet her anxious mommy and daddy .  We left for the hospital around 2 a.m. that morning :) and a few short hours later our baby girl arrived.  Here is my beauty.

I read many blogs about how difficult it would be to bring a new baby into the home with a toddler.  Many of the blogs had me anticipated days and weeks of crying and jealousy.  My anxiety only increased when I found out that the hospital had band children under 18 for the maternity ward due to the flu.  I immediately started crying, but there was no turning back, I was already hooked up to the IV and baby monitors.  I immediately regretted trying to get her here and basically tossing my son out of the car in the middle of the night.  I would have tried my hardest to labor at home longer and kissed him goodbye a few more times.  Not only did I just disappear in the middle of the night, he wouldn't be able to see me for a few days.  My husband and mother reassured me that it would be okay and that I would be able to facetime with my son whenever I wanted.  This only comforted me slightly.  I was very excited to meet my baby, but knew I'd miss my son terribly and didn't want my son to be angry or hurt.  It was challenging to keep my focus on bringing a new life into this world, but the painful contractions kept reminding me what I was there to do.

The second I was allowed to leave the hospital and pick up my son; I did.  My stomach was in knots with the anticipation of our son meeting our daughter.  When I walked into my parents' home (where he was staying) he gave me the cold shoulder.  I expected that, but didn't let him know it bothered me (even though I was crying inside).  He saw the baby and walked right up to her and pointed and said "baby" in his cute little voice.  We immediately headed home to begin our journey as a family of four.

When we came home he did have a few tantrums, but it wasn't the nightmare I had pictured in my mind.  It was typical 17 month old's frustrations.  I held him and cried with him.  He needed mommy's hugs and undivided attention.  We immediately began to include him in the care and excitement of the new baby.  This seemed to help ease what I can only imagine might have been fears of being replaced.  After a few days home and daddy headed back to work and Blake was falling into his roll as a big brother, perfectly.  I am one proud momma.

Valentine's Day Daycare Fun

My son's last day of daycare is today!  He will be staying home with me while I am on maternity leave with the new baby.  His daycare told me they'd be throwing him a little going away party.  I wanted to contribute as well as include his Valentine treats for his little friends.  I borrowed the idea of melting crayons into heart shapes to make his Valentine's, but the directions weren't the best.  Here are step by step instructions.

1.  Use old beat up crayons or go out and buy new ones, if you must.  Use quality crayons.  Crayola turned out much better than the dollar store brand.

2.  To peel the wrappers of the crayon, use the sharp edge of something, like a pair of scissors or a knife.  I began by peeling them with my nails, which was way too time consuming and made my fingers raw.  Wish I would have figured out or thought of this simple solution much earlier in the night.

3.  Place broken bits into a silicon mold of any shape you desire.  This one was purchased at Michael's.

4.  Place in over.  The original directions said 230 degrees for 15 minutes, but that didn't work for my oven.  I melted them at 245 degrees and watched them closely.  When they looked like the picture below, I removed them.

5.  I then let them sit over night.   I flipped the mold over and peeled it back.  They came out of the mold much easier than I was expecting.

6.  I used a little hot glue to hold them on the piece of paper.  The glue didn't stick as well to the cheaper crayons.

7.  Finished product!

Expecting Unexpectedly

Surprisingly, I'm expecting again! And very, very soon. I found out at the end of May that I was carrying another bundle due to arrive Feb 4th. That puts me currently at about 37 and half weeks! This was a complete shocker to my husband and I. Neither of us took the news very well; although, my husband hid it better. I was scared beyond belief about how we would afford the baby, what would work say and most importantly, what would my little baby boy think? I couldn't get over my mom guilt and still haven't. He was still a baby and deserved to be my (only) baby for at least another year or two. Finding out I was pregnant to me was like taking his babyhood away. He loves to snuggle with me and kiss me. I didn't want either of us to lose that bond because I'd be caring and focused on a newborn in a few short months.

Wow! was the first trimester difficult this time around. Not only was I extremely sick, but I had a soon to be 1 year old who never sat still for more than a minute. By the end of July he was up and down the stairs and even walking. Let me tell you throwing up and keeping your baby out of the toilet at the same time was no easy task.

 The second trimester was a pleasant surprise. I was able to relax and get as much sleep and rest as my son would let me. He still doesn't sleep through the night and he is 16 months old. I've decided anyone who says their baby is a good sleeper is a liar! Anyway, it gave me a chance to get excited about having another child.  My husband and I even decided or (I decided for us) that we weren't going to find out the sex this time around.  That has definitely kept things interesting and saved some money in my wallet.

Now, that I am approaching the final count down, I am beginning to have a lot of anxiety. I remember the hormones after childbirth and I was a blubbering mess, now mix that with mom guilt all the blogs tell me I am bound to feel and I can only imagine the wrath that will be unleashed on my husband for sure.  Sorry Hubby!