Without a lot of time to catch up on all of life, here are a few highlights:
Cole had ear tubes placed last week after 3 ear infection and 4 drugs (3 different drugs essentially back to back). The ENT said he had quite a bit of fluid behind his ear and we are hoping this creates a much happier baby!!
The little guy started crawling on Valentines Day and hasn't done anything but speed up from there! He loves to get into his sister's toys, the dog's water bowl, and now the bathrooms are his favorite place to race to! He's standing up and has pretty good balance, but hasn't showed any interest in walking yet (fine with me!)
Elizabeth turned 3 on the 16th and is such a big girl! We leave for Disneyland on Saturday and she cannot wait to see the princesses, and what a treat she is in for! I can't wait to spoil her and see the excitement on the kids' faces.
Here are a few 'funnies' she has said the past few days that I need write down, otherwise I will forget all the cute and funny stuff!
* I was sitting feeding Cole in his highchair while Ellie was eating some yogurt at the table. She looks at me and asks, 'Mommy, can you lick me?' I look at her slightly confused, 'what hun?' 'Can you lick me mommy?' She comes over to me, sticks out her tongue to try and lick off her cheek, 'I can't reach it, can you get it?' Cracked me up as I used my hand to wipe off her cheek.
* On our way to daycare yesterday morning we were talking about how many days there were to Disneyland and Ellie's response was, 'Tuesday, Saturday, Friday, and Christmastime.' Um, not sure what day Christmastime is, but okay. :)
* During her 'stalling' phase of going to bed, Ellie requested to go to the bathroom again after being put into bed. Mark took her to the bathroom, where, after a few minutes of sitting there, exclaims that she didn't want to sit like that to go poo. She proceeded to hop off the toilet, turn around, stick out her hips and try and pull her girly parts up so she could go potty like daddy. Mark gently told her that only boys go potty like that and girls get to sit on the toilet.
* For her birthday Elizabeth received a cash register from Grandma and Grandpa and she uses it all the time. This morning she told Mark about the 'Casterator Room,' and he looked a little nervous. He asked me if I knew what the 'Casterator Room' was and asked Ellie if she meant 'Cash Register' and she said 'Yes, over there' and pointed to her new Cash Register. I think Mark was quite relieved when he realized there was no special room in the house that contained God knows what! :)
I wish I could remember all the silly little things she says because it absolutely cracks me up what she comes up with! She is also starting to push back quite a bit and as frustrating as it can be, I have a feeling it's in response to her little brother becoming mobile, getting in to things, and taking a new amount of energy and attention from mommy and daddy. It is going to be a challenge, but giving her some alone time at night is going to be key to overcoming this wave of defiance (at least I hope so). Let's hope it passes quickly.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Where to begin?
So many things on my mind and on my plate right now I don't even know where to begin. I have all these great blog ideas in my mind and by the time I get through my work day, or find the time to do it, I have completely forgotten what I was going to write about!
Cole is now 10 months old. I can hardly believe it! He is HUGE and loves to eat, but is very picky about what foods he eats with his fingers. Elizabeth was much better at eating toast or macaroni or peas and carrots as finger food at this age, but Cole sticks to the cheerios, puffs, graham crackers, and the chicken, sweet potatoes, avocado, broccoli, etc to me spoon feeding. I don't mind it, but I guess it's also a reminder that he didn't start his solids until 2 months later than Ellie (close to 6 months). He has 3 teeth now and working on two more, it's crazy to watch him morph before my eyes into this little toothy-grinned little boy instead of my gummy-smile baby. He doesn't yet crawl, but has some curiously creative ways to get what he wants and where he wants. I love watching his little mind working out how to get there!
We are, unfortunately, working on ear infection #3 in the past 2 months. Mark took him in about 3 weeks ago and he had a double ear infection. 10 days of meds and a re-check on Friday and he had another ear infection in one ear and fluid behind the other. We are on drug #3 right now, but noticed him STILL poking at his ear a little today (he is following after mommy and doesn't show many signs that he is uncomfortable or fighting anything until it's really bad). We go back next week to discuss possibly seeing an ENT and having tubes put in as well as possibly discussing the removal of his adenoids. None of that scares me as I had tubes as a child and would rather have a healthy boy who can develop his verbal skills properly than to put it off and push him back due to hearing issues.
Elizabeth is such an independent little girl, loves playing with her dolls (Barbie, Ariel, Rapunzel & Flynn Rider) in her bedroom, and I love the moments I can just stand in her doorway, without her knowledge, and watch her play. Along with the independence though is quite the little attitude, and it's amazing how quickly it morphed. We have good days and bad, and it's all about how I have been able to creatively attack the situations without 1) getting upset at her, 2) not putting her in timeout too many times, and 3) saying something I won't follow through on.
She will be 3 in just a matter of weeks and it's crazy to look back at pictures and bring myself back to the day she was born. She is now reading letters (no words yet, but points out letters on signs, on our shirts, in magazines ...), counts, loves puzzles and has an amazing memory for books and songs!
Mark is currently awaiting the ballot casting time. SPEEA will be sending out the ballots on Feb 4 and they have 10 days to respond. We should know middle of the month what is going on with the strike, but it's going to be close no matter which way it goes. He is also talking with another group about taking a position elsewhere that would give him more work and more constant work to do which would be nice, so we will see how that goes. If Cole DOES have surgery though, the strike won't matter so much because he will pretty much HAVE to work for medical insurance. The kids are on his policy as I am on my own here at Precor and it doesn't make sense to move Cole to my policy and have to deal with the off and on and possible issues with moving him from one to the other, and we also can't afford to pay for Cobra. So, secretly, I am praying Cole needs to have the procedures done, so the crossing of the picket lines won't be an option.
Life is crazy, but it's my life, and in a few years I'll look back and wonder how I got through it all!
Cole is now 10 months old. I can hardly believe it! He is HUGE and loves to eat, but is very picky about what foods he eats with his fingers. Elizabeth was much better at eating toast or macaroni or peas and carrots as finger food at this age, but Cole sticks to the cheerios, puffs, graham crackers, and the chicken, sweet potatoes, avocado, broccoli, etc to me spoon feeding. I don't mind it, but I guess it's also a reminder that he didn't start his solids until 2 months later than Ellie (close to 6 months). He has 3 teeth now and working on two more, it's crazy to watch him morph before my eyes into this little toothy-grinned little boy instead of my gummy-smile baby. He doesn't yet crawl, but has some curiously creative ways to get what he wants and where he wants. I love watching his little mind working out how to get there!
We are, unfortunately, working on ear infection #3 in the past 2 months. Mark took him in about 3 weeks ago and he had a double ear infection. 10 days of meds and a re-check on Friday and he had another ear infection in one ear and fluid behind the other. We are on drug #3 right now, but noticed him STILL poking at his ear a little today (he is following after mommy and doesn't show many signs that he is uncomfortable or fighting anything until it's really bad). We go back next week to discuss possibly seeing an ENT and having tubes put in as well as possibly discussing the removal of his adenoids. None of that scares me as I had tubes as a child and would rather have a healthy boy who can develop his verbal skills properly than to put it off and push him back due to hearing issues.
Elizabeth is such an independent little girl, loves playing with her dolls (Barbie, Ariel, Rapunzel & Flynn Rider) in her bedroom, and I love the moments I can just stand in her doorway, without her knowledge, and watch her play. Along with the independence though is quite the little attitude, and it's amazing how quickly it morphed. We have good days and bad, and it's all about how I have been able to creatively attack the situations without 1) getting upset at her, 2) not putting her in timeout too many times, and 3) saying something I won't follow through on.
She will be 3 in just a matter of weeks and it's crazy to look back at pictures and bring myself back to the day she was born. She is now reading letters (no words yet, but points out letters on signs, on our shirts, in magazines ...), counts, loves puzzles and has an amazing memory for books and songs!
Mark is currently awaiting the ballot casting time. SPEEA will be sending out the ballots on Feb 4 and they have 10 days to respond. We should know middle of the month what is going on with the strike, but it's going to be close no matter which way it goes. He is also talking with another group about taking a position elsewhere that would give him more work and more constant work to do which would be nice, so we will see how that goes. If Cole DOES have surgery though, the strike won't matter so much because he will pretty much HAVE to work for medical insurance. The kids are on his policy as I am on my own here at Precor and it doesn't make sense to move Cole to my policy and have to deal with the off and on and possible issues with moving him from one to the other, and we also can't afford to pay for Cobra. So, secretly, I am praying Cole needs to have the procedures done, so the crossing of the picket lines won't be an option.
Life is crazy, but it's my life, and in a few years I'll look back and wonder how I got through it all!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Keeping my thoughts positive
Last year, right about this time, Mark made one of the biggest decisions/choices he has made in his career, EVER. He chose to leave his job here at Precor of almost 14 years and begin a career at Boeing. With better pay, paid health insurance, and a great amount of room to both grow as well as slide around to different groups, it really was a no brainer.
Well, until right now. He is currently a part of the SPEEA union, the ones having not-so-productive talks regarding their contract which is currently no longer active. He informed me today that there is a very good possibility of a strike, and that it could actually be longer than the longest one SPEEA has ever had (40 days).
This scares the crap out of me. We have a savings account which will last us a good while and we've already talked with daycare about what would happen if this were to happen, but I don't want him to be out of work for almost 2 months. Not that he can't take care of the kids, but for his sanity (and mine), this could be a big bump in the road on the highway called life. I just pray that if a strike does happen that it will be short lived, that things will fall into place for us both financially as well as for Mark being home with the kids, and thank goodness for our yearly pass to the Children's museum ... might be seeing a lot of that the next few months.
*sigh* as the wise Dori once sang: 'Just keep swimming, just keep swimming ...'
Well, until right now. He is currently a part of the SPEEA union, the ones having not-so-productive talks regarding their contract which is currently no longer active. He informed me today that there is a very good possibility of a strike, and that it could actually be longer than the longest one SPEEA has ever had (40 days).
This scares the crap out of me. We have a savings account which will last us a good while and we've already talked with daycare about what would happen if this were to happen, but I don't want him to be out of work for almost 2 months. Not that he can't take care of the kids, but for his sanity (and mine), this could be a big bump in the road on the highway called life. I just pray that if a strike does happen that it will be short lived, that things will fall into place for us both financially as well as for Mark being home with the kids, and thank goodness for our yearly pass to the Children's museum ... might be seeing a lot of that the next few months.
*sigh* as the wise Dori once sang: 'Just keep swimming, just keep swimming ...'
Friday, January 4, 2013
Birthday Party Planning - ugh
I am already way behind in the preparation and planning of themes, cakes, decorations, etc for both kids' birthday parties. I went to Pinterest to get some ideas, and there were lots of them, but man, it sure makes you feel like you have to have the perfect party, the most meticulous cake, themes all the way down to the toilet paper in the main bathroom, and it was honestly giving me a little bit of an anxiety attack.
There is nothing against the people who can make incredibly gorgeous cakes, or have the time/drive to die-cut perfect letters for the birthday banner, but it is a little intimidating for a working mother. The kids' birthdays are close together, but far enough apart that I really need to do 2 parties (plus, our Disneyland trip is right in between the 2 birthdays this year). I could just pay and have Elizabeth's party at a location, but when I start writing the list of people to invite, I feel horrible that she really doesn't have that many little friends. So, do I pay $200 for a party that I could do in a few more years and it would be so much more fun? And what about our friends coming to the party(ies)... maybe it would be better to combine them so people didn't feel like they had to come to both parties. Why did my kids have to be born with such an awkward spacing? :)
But really, I know that once I finally decide on what I want to do that I will have a ton of fun planning and creating, I'm just having a hard time getting to that point right now. T-minus 6 weeks until Elizabeth's 3rd bday, and only another 5 after that until Cole turns 1. CRAZY!
There is nothing against the people who can make incredibly gorgeous cakes, or have the time/drive to die-cut perfect letters for the birthday banner, but it is a little intimidating for a working mother. The kids' birthdays are close together, but far enough apart that I really need to do 2 parties (plus, our Disneyland trip is right in between the 2 birthdays this year). I could just pay and have Elizabeth's party at a location, but when I start writing the list of people to invite, I feel horrible that she really doesn't have that many little friends. So, do I pay $200 for a party that I could do in a few more years and it would be so much more fun? And what about our friends coming to the party(ies)... maybe it would be better to combine them so people didn't feel like they had to come to both parties. Why did my kids have to be born with such an awkward spacing? :)
But really, I know that once I finally decide on what I want to do that I will have a ton of fun planning and creating, I'm just having a hard time getting to that point right now. T-minus 6 weeks until Elizabeth's 3rd bday, and only another 5 after that until Cole turns 1. CRAZY!
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