Need a new workout?

Here's what you do...

Get a baby sling, a 12 lb. baby and a two year old. Strap the baby to your chest. Turn on the Backyardigans. Follow the steps the characters are doing and at the same pace. Try not to pass out.

The Naptime Wars

Last week when I went into Little Man's room during naptime, I found this:
Of course, I couldn't get mad at that face. At least not until this continued throughout the week. We had to take out the top drawer so he wouldn't jump in it and one day the green box of wipes you see was completely emptied into the crib. This weekend we changed the crib to the toddler bed. Unfortunately, now there's not anything keeping him in bed during naptime. So the big question is, "how in the world do you convince a 2 year old to stay in his bed during naptime without the use of duct tape or benedryl?"

Becoming Babywise

When we had Little Man this book was recommended to us. We both read it and liked the concepts that it taught. It really helped us get Little Man on a schedule and to help me know what his crying meant. Knowing where we were in our routine helped me to figure out what he needed.*

I'm having a more difficult time with Baby Bear. I have a much harder time letting him "cry it out". There are days when he spends so much time crying because of the reflux that more crying is more than I can handle. So I "cheat". He has to sleep elevated, for naptimes that usually means the swing. At first I would turn on the mobile but not the swing. On "bad" days the swing got turned on, then it went a step further to almost always being on. Now he's moved to the sling. He wants to sleep strapped to my chest. And I let him because it's easy and I can still get something done. (He's there right now.) I feel like instead of making progress to a happy healthy independent sleeper, we're back tracking to a point where he has to be rocked or cuddled to sleep all the time. I know that at some point he's going to have to learn how to sleep by himself in his crib and I would love to make that transition as easy as possible. I just don't know how to do that and maintain my sanity.

I'm really good at telling friends that you have to do what's best for you, because your sanity is priority. Why can't I cut myself the same slack?

*While I was looking for the picture above, I found some other websites/opinions on Babywise. Apparently it has caused some controversy.

General Conference A/V NetCasts!

For years now I have been downloading General Conference MP3s from the General Conference pages on LDS.org. Each time I pull the files, I have to import them into iTunes and rename and label and all that jazz. This year, the guys in the Church IT department made things easy peasy!!!

They now have 2 feeds for iTunes or any other audio player that can pull NetCasts [a.k.a. Podcasts]. If you go to the most recent General Conference page you will see both links at the very top of the page! The first link is for audio and the second link is for video. The Priesthood Session is not included; however, they did include the General Young Woman's Session.

I am happy to see these links and have it much easier to get and listen to Conference

Reflux and the Naptime Wars...

may just be the end of what little sanity I had left.

Seriously, between sleep deprivation, a very fussy baby, and a strong-willed two year old, I think I might lose my mind.

Dinner with Friends

A few weeks ago, while online on conference Saturday [I think], a friend appeared in my contact list and I hopped right in there to annoy him, only to find out that he lives near us. I also found out that another friend of mine lives close by also. Both were friends of mine in SA, that I hadn't seen in years and Lauren had never met. We made plans to meet for dinner at Hellas, a Greek family restaurant that has fantastic food!

We made the drive up to find BT and his family already there and as we were getting seated, we saw Raz and his family walking up to the restaurant. Greeting and introductions were made and we sat down to catch up on each other. Raz at one point said, I was in SA in 2001 & then I realized that it had been about 7 years since we had seen each other. I was shocked, because that much time had passed, I didn't say anything . . . I just marveled.

[Side Note: I am always pleasantly surprised by friendships that transcend time and distance]

Over all, the food was good, the conversation was good, and the company was great!!! We live far enough apart to make it inconvenient to see each other often, but we are already hoping to do it again. Maybe we will have them down to the house.

So So Yummy (and without the guilt)

Zizi brought home a box of granola tonight. It looked so yummy that she kindly gave me a baggie to bring upstairs. Craving something sweet that wouldn't throw off the quest, I opted for a strawberry sundae. "How is that being good?", you may ask. It was 1 cup of fresh strawberries, 1/2 cup of light vanilla ice cream and 1/4 cup of granola. Wow. It was good! It almost tasted like more, but then there would be guilt.

Naptime, Round 3... A New Twist

Life as I know it is changing again. Little Man figured out how to climb out of his crib onto his changing table. Hopefully the nose dive onto the wood floor will deter him from trying again for a little while, but I doubt it will take long before he figures out how to climb down the shelves. Which also means that he won't be stuck in the crib for 3 hours to play on the days where he refuses to sleep.

I'm going to miss naptime.

Naptime, Round 3

I was talking to Zizi on the phone a few minutes ago and told her that I needed to go get Little Man ready for his N-A-P. Hoping of course that the spelling of the word would keep the naptime tantrum at bay for a few minutes. Nope. The next thing out of his mouth was, "No naptime, mommy!". Oh well.

He does really well with pretend naps though. This was earlier today...

It could have been the novelty of a nicely made bed with the new purple pillows. Notice too the Lightening McQueen slippers that haven't left his feet in days.

A Spoonful of Sugar

Medicine makes a happy Baby Bear

Rock-A-Bye Baby

We found out yesterday that Baby Bear has reflux. This explains a lot of the stress from the last week (increased feedings, LOTS of crying, not a lot of sleep and wanting to be held upright all the time). I think it might also be behind the Mr. Serious face that Baby Bear has been sporting since he was born. Now we have an never ending prescription of Zantac for him and he has to sleep upright. The car seat has a new spot next to our bed and he's in the swing during the day. Hopefully this will help to calm his chest and get rid of the yuckies. If not, I have to start pumping all of his meals and adding cereal. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

The Quest for the "Skinny" pants, Week 2

This week was really successful! I lost a LOT more than I had expected for the first week and I feel even more motivated to do well this week too. Even though I know I can't expect something as dramatic next week. But at this rate I will need to get new pants sooner than I had expected. Plus I'm really happy with Weight Watchers this week for a few reasons...

1. I get to eat real food. I can cook what I want and make it work within a healthy eating plan.

2. I'm more aware of what I'm putting in my mouth. Yes, it is a pain sometimes to have to figure out points, but it's nice to be able to plan for dinners out and the treats I crave.

3. When I'm done paying for their help and advice, I can still put it to good use because I don't have to buy their food or cut out whole food groups.

Right now I'm just happy that my clothes are getting too big.

(And can you tell that both kids are sleeping at the same time? Hence all the posting at one time.)

Naptime, Round 2

We are experiencing technical difficulties with naptime again. I think it's coming from cabin fever this time. We don't have a car during the day and are often stuck at home with very few options when it comes to playing outside.

Friday we were in the midst of Battle Naptime, when I had decided to surrender. It was 4 pm. Little Man was going to win this one and be freed from his crib. So I got his fresh sippy of juice, a clean diaper ready and walked into his (very quiet) room. This is what I found:

It was hard not to wake him up as I was trying to hold in the laughter and take pictures at the same time. I couldn't believe when he woke up that he managed to stay dry and not pee on anything.

200 Posts!

I know I should do something to document this occasion, but I'm just too dang tired to come up with something cute and fun and all that stuff. Maybe for 300....

The Quest for the "Skinny" pants, Week 1

Between morning sickness, the stomach flu and chasing a 2 year old, I was only 6 lbs. above my pre-pregnancy weight when I gave birth to Baby Bear. Believe me, this was not something I was trying to do and when I wasn't feeling sick, I ate whatever and whenever I wanted. This has never happened to me before and I'm sure it won't happen again soon (if ever).

When I went to the doctor for my 2 week check up, I had lost about 20 lbs. I couldn't believe it. I was SO happy. I'm wearing pants that I couldn't fit in before I got pregnant! It's amazing. So why the quest for skinnier pants? Because I'm nursing.

This might not sound like a problem to most, but for me it's huge. When I nurse, I am hungry ALL THE TIME. I get the munchies and cravings worse than when I'm pregnant. With Little Man, I gained 20 lbs while I was nursing and never could get it back off. Now it's off and I'm so afraid of putting it back on again. So... after much thought and consultation with my bestest husband, Weight Watchers is the answer. It lets me snack when I need to, cook our own food, control the grocery bill and still "cheat" if I'm really feeling the need. Hopefully the effects of trying to be better about what I eat will rub off on Wil as well. Mostly cause I do the shopping and cooking, so he doesn't have much choice (hence the consultation before doing this).

My goal isn't huge. For now, I would like to take off about 24 pounds. If I hit the 24 lb. mark and feel like I can keep going, I will. If not, then I want to maintain that weight until we decide to have another baby.

So now you will understand if I'm a little crazier than normal.