No, the pictures aren't of the potty training.
Last week Mikey went to a Huggies sponsored potty dance party. Myself and two of our mommy group friends were all chosen as hosts. This means we were each sent 14 packs of potty dance dvds, coupons, and other things to get the kids excited about potty training. We did not have 32 kids so there are a lot of packs left over :) If anyone wants one or knows someone who might, please let me know. So after watching the dvd which highlights little kids learning about the potty, Mikey was motivated. As soon as we got home he asked to put on his underwear. Since then he has been wearing underwear at all times except sleep and school. We do still have accidents and he isn't yet great about letting us know when he has to go but we are pretty encouraged. He has been pretty calm about the whole thing and it's pretty easy to give him something to keep him on the potty long enough to go. Mike gives him the iphone games and I read him books. I am really glad we have tile though.
The other exciting thing is Ayla's 6 month old pictures. Here is the link Ayla's Pictures So this morning she and I went to the photo studio with two really cute outfits my mom has bought for her and got her all dolled up. I purchased the hair bows from and online friend a few months ago in preparation. She was really good for her pictures and I was really pleased with how they turned out. If everything goes well withthe delivery of the pictures we will use the studio, Kiddie Kandids, again. We have done Mikey's pictures at both Sears and JCPenney before. JCPenney was a bit far and so busy you have to wait a while even with an appointment. Sears lost half of the session from Mikey's 1 year old pictures so I would really like to never use them again.
And best of all, today I went to the mall without the kids. Mike took them for the afternoon so I could go pick up some new makeup. (Apparently foundation turns to pure liquid after 6 years.) I found a new pair of pants at Old Navy (impossible trip with kids) and got most of the makeup I intended (still forgot the foundation). The best part was enjoying a pretzel alone in my car after shopping. There was no one screaming, napping or expecting me home 5 minutes ago. Aaah, the bliss :)
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Lizards And Eating Solids
I'll start with Ayla's news since it is not likely to make anyone feel sick. Ayla started eating bananas this week. We had the go ahead from the doctor last week to offer her solids so we put some banana in her basket feeder and let her chew on it. She loves it and gets very mad at it when it runs out. She's been eating at least a half banana at each dinnertime while the rest of us eat our dinner. She sits happily in her high chair and gets herself super gooey. Tomorrow we are going to start baby oatmeal. I suspect she will like that as well.
On an even more exciting note (especially for me), she seems to be outgrowing her milk allergy. I've been testing with small amounts of cheese and baked goods with trace milk in them and so far she has been fine. I did go overboard last weekend with some bubble tea that had cream in it and that did seem to upset her a little. I am so thrilled! I can easily eat a diet with only very small amounts of processed milk. I can finally see the light at the end of the special diet tunnel!
Now for something really gross. And you know it's bad when I, who cuts open abscesses at work, finds it disgusting. On Thursday morning when I woke up, Mike told me he had already started the washer because it smelled bad. I assumed he meant that it smelled of his workout clothes. While it was running there was a weird mildew type smell coming from the washer closet but we couldn't find the cause. Mike took Mikey to school and I went about my morning. I went to move the wash to the dryer. As soon as I opened the washer I knew there was something dead in it. Believe me, I have smelled enough dead critters to know that smell immediately. I was horrified! Not only was there something dead in the washer, I had to find and get rid of the dead thing! I pulled the wash out, one piece at a time. I shook each piece over the washer before making a pile on top of the dryer. The clothes smelled horrible! If it hadn't been a very large load that included Ayla's favorite blanket, I may have thrown the whole load away. Knowing how frugal I am, you get the idea of how bad this was. When I got to the bottom of the washer my fears were justified. There, sticking out of one of the drain holes, was half on a lizard with the skin pealing off. I wanted to cry, scream and throw up all at once. I used a baby wipe to remove the pieces and swab the inside of the entire washer. I then ran an empty run with lots of bleach, hot water and an extra rinse cycle. I then ran the clothes with lots of vinegar, hot water and an extra rinse. And the clothes again with detergent, hot water and extra rinse. The clothes then smelled fine. As I moved them to the dryer I shook each one out to check for any more pieces. I didn't find any. Mike removed the clothes from the dryer. There at the bottom was the lizard's tail. I nearly a hysterical fit. I think he saw the look on my face because he quickly reassured me the clothes smelled good so we were okay. I think I will always shake my clothes out before washing from now on. And hopefully Mike now can smell the difference between nasty gym clothes and decomposition.
On an even more exciting note (especially for me), she seems to be outgrowing her milk allergy. I've been testing with small amounts of cheese and baked goods with trace milk in them and so far she has been fine. I did go overboard last weekend with some bubble tea that had cream in it and that did seem to upset her a little. I am so thrilled! I can easily eat a diet with only very small amounts of processed milk. I can finally see the light at the end of the special diet tunnel!
Now for something really gross. And you know it's bad when I, who cuts open abscesses at work, finds it disgusting. On Thursday morning when I woke up, Mike told me he had already started the washer because it smelled bad. I assumed he meant that it smelled of his workout clothes. While it was running there was a weird mildew type smell coming from the washer closet but we couldn't find the cause. Mike took Mikey to school and I went about my morning. I went to move the wash to the dryer. As soon as I opened the washer I knew there was something dead in it. Believe me, I have smelled enough dead critters to know that smell immediately. I was horrified! Not only was there something dead in the washer, I had to find and get rid of the dead thing! I pulled the wash out, one piece at a time. I shook each piece over the washer before making a pile on top of the dryer. The clothes smelled horrible! If it hadn't been a very large load that included Ayla's favorite blanket, I may have thrown the whole load away. Knowing how frugal I am, you get the idea of how bad this was. When I got to the bottom of the washer my fears were justified. There, sticking out of one of the drain holes, was half on a lizard with the skin pealing off. I wanted to cry, scream and throw up all at once. I used a baby wipe to remove the pieces and swab the inside of the entire washer. I then ran an empty run with lots of bleach, hot water and an extra rinse cycle. I then ran the clothes with lots of vinegar, hot water and an extra rinse. And the clothes again with detergent, hot water and extra rinse. The clothes then smelled fine. As I moved them to the dryer I shook each one out to check for any more pieces. I didn't find any. Mike removed the clothes from the dryer. There at the bottom was the lizard's tail. I nearly a hysterical fit. I think he saw the look on my face because he quickly reassured me the clothes smelled good so we were okay. I think I will always shake my clothes out before washing from now on. And hopefully Mike now can smell the difference between nasty gym clothes and decomposition.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Sick Kids...
You know it's been a rough day when both of your kids throw up all over you. (sigh)
Mikey has had a nasty cold for just over a week now. He had a fever for 4 days that only stayed down with medication. We got over that part but he still has a runny nose and a lingering cough. Now, this kid has the most sensitive gag reflex ever. Anything that makes him cough or cry too hard is likely to make him throw up. During this illness we have had full blown vomiting 3 times and minor spitups twice. It makes it really challenging to parent him while sick. So yesterday afternoon I was trying to get him ready to go to the store and he got upset, started crying and then started vomiting all over both of us. So much for going to the store. Luckily Mike was home so he could go straight to the shower while I cleaned up the floor (thank goodness for tile).
Ayla caught this nice cold from Mikey and has been pretty fussy for 3 days. Yesterday she started to get a fever. While the fever was mild she does not clam easily. In the middle of the night I went to go feed her and she was inconsolable. She was crying, screaming and thrashing around. I got some medicine into her and was trying to clam her when all of a sudden, full blown vomiting. She rarely even spits up so this was not expected. I managed to keep it puddled in my lap as I waddled to her changing table to get her cleaned off. I stripped both of us down and once she was on new pajamas I got Mike up to hold her while I showered. Not how I like to spend the hours of 2-4 am. I took her back from Mike and finally got her settled down.
Today they are both still coughing and have runny noses. I am so ready to be done with isolation so we don't pass this on to friends. I have only gone out to work, the grocery store and walks around the block. The only thing that could make this worse is if I catch it and Mike leaves town for work...
Mikey has had a nasty cold for just over a week now. He had a fever for 4 days that only stayed down with medication. We got over that part but he still has a runny nose and a lingering cough. Now, this kid has the most sensitive gag reflex ever. Anything that makes him cough or cry too hard is likely to make him throw up. During this illness we have had full blown vomiting 3 times and minor spitups twice. It makes it really challenging to parent him while sick. So yesterday afternoon I was trying to get him ready to go to the store and he got upset, started crying and then started vomiting all over both of us. So much for going to the store. Luckily Mike was home so he could go straight to the shower while I cleaned up the floor (thank goodness for tile).
Ayla caught this nice cold from Mikey and has been pretty fussy for 3 days. Yesterday she started to get a fever. While the fever was mild she does not clam easily. In the middle of the night I went to go feed her and she was inconsolable. She was crying, screaming and thrashing around. I got some medicine into her and was trying to clam her when all of a sudden, full blown vomiting. She rarely even spits up so this was not expected. I managed to keep it puddled in my lap as I waddled to her changing table to get her cleaned off. I stripped both of us down and once she was on new pajamas I got Mike up to hold her while I showered. Not how I like to spend the hours of 2-4 am. I took her back from Mike and finally got her settled down.
Today they are both still coughing and have runny noses. I am so ready to be done with isolation so we don't pass this on to friends. I have only gone out to work, the grocery store and walks around the block. The only thing that could make this worse is if I catch it and Mike leaves town for work...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
First Tooth!
Ayla got her first tooth this morning. If you have learned anything about her from my posts, it is that she is not easy going. So the past few days have been punctuated with high pitched squeals anytime something touched her mouth. And let me tell you, this girl has some good lungs on her. I'm sure the neighbors wondered what strange animal we had over here.
We are really excited to have one down and suspect there are several more right behind it :)
We are really excited to have one down and suspect there are several more right behind it :)
Friday, January 27, 2012
Ayla Is 6 Months Old Today
I'm going to use this opportunity to tell her story. Ayla was a little surprise as a result from my six weeks joining Mike in California last fall (I know, too much information). I had pretty bad morning sickness which made flying home alone with Mikey an extra challenge. Mikey and I still had 3 1/2 weeks by ourselves while Mike finished his California job. It is torture to grocery shop and cook for a two year old while you want to throw up all the time.
Most of my pregnancy with Ayla was very easy. I was tired but felt good and was able to continue being active. I had very little swelling and water retention (vast contrast from Mikey). I did develop gestational diabetes which was not fun but it did force me to exercise and eat right. I am thrilled to say I only gained 27 lbs during the entire pregnancy (45 with Mikey). I was even at the beach playing with Mikey the day I went into labor. My mother-in-law will claim it was the gorgonzola cheese but I think it was coming anyway ;)
Not too many people know this but I have become a bit of an advocate for VBACs. That is a vaginal birth after cesarean. Mikey was a necessary cesarean (placenta previa and vasa previa) but I did not enjoy the experience and really hate what strong pain medications do to me mentally. Luckily, my same doctor that I have had since moving to Miami is one of the few in Miami that will allow VBACs. We discussed it at my first visit for Ayla's pregnancy and she said I was a good candidate. For those that think it is too risky, it really is no more risky than a repeat c-section. Both are simply more risky than a vaginal birth in someone that has never had a c-section. When I went into labor my doctor didn't even mention a c-section, just if I was ready for my epidural (boy, was I). Ayla's birth went great with very minor issues (usual tearing and hemorrhoids). It was so much easier than Mikey's. I was sitting up, feeling great and happy less than an hour later. I am so glad my doctor gave me the chance to let my body do what was natural.
Ayla has been feisty from the start. They first took her from my breast to go to the nursery to be checked shortly after birth. She screamed the entire 2 hours she was away from me. This has become a pattern. She will let you know how she feels and she may change her mind in the blink of an eye. She is a total momma's girl and loves to be carried around in her baby wrap carrier (as seen in our facebook pictures). She is very curious and loves to run her fingers over new things. But if something starts to frustrate her she will scream at it and bang in on the floor. Very amusing :)
She did end up with one major health issue. After her screaming all of her waking hours for the first 5 weeks of her life we finally figured out she had a milk allergy. I feel bad it took us that long to figure it out. The poor girl pooped 15-20 times daily, had horrible gas and an ulcerative diaper rash that wouldn't heal. I would scream too. We decided the best for her (she loved to comfort nurse) would be for me to stop eating all dairy and nurse her exclusively (no formula). Nursing her has been easy (didn't work with Mikey) but no dairy can be annoying. It is amazing how many foods hide dairy on their products. There was one day that I thought I ate safe but Ayla's tummy tols me otherwise. We later food out it was a bread I had eaten. I will be thrilled when she outgrows this. I am really sick of special diets :(
Anyway... She is a very strong little girl who rolls over, sits up for a while on her own (when placed in sitting position) and acts pretty close to trying to crawl.
We love her to pieces!!!!!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Zen With A Floor Steamer
One of the reasons I love Miami is the weather. We consider it cold when it hits the 60's and it doesn't go above 100. I know a lot of people hate the humidity but I love it. It helps keep my skin moist and it just gives that tropical feel. This lovely weather means I never have to wear real shoes. Flip flops are the standard footwear here. In fact, I would love to go barefoot all day in my house. But I can't... Between a dog, a two year old, and a husband, the amount of dirt that lives on my tile floors is too much to have stuck to the bottom of my feet. So I have my indoor flip flops. Sounds like the problem is solved, right? Well, Ayla is 6 months old this week and looking like she is planning to crawl soon. If I can't stand to have the stuff from the floors stuck to my feet you know I won't be okay with it all over my baby's hands and knees.
Luckily, Mike's stepmom is as much of a neat freak as I am and had some great ideas. Since I need to be able to clean during nap time we decided stealth was essential. I ended up with a dust mop and a eureka envirosteamer. I had a dust mop before and find them very handy to pick up dog hair without spreading it through the air. I did buy a new one that has washable heads. Super easy to use each morning while everyone is having breakfast.
The steamer arrived last week. I had to wait until I was over my cold so today seemed like a good day. Mike and Mikey left for a bike ride and I put Ayla down for her nap. The assembly and instructions were super easy so I was pretty excited. I put the water in and plugged it in. Once it was hot it emitted the most gentle of hisses. I put it on the floor and started gliding away. It slid very easily and picked up the grape juice stain with one pass. Because it works better if you move a bit slowly I really began to relax and enjoy passing it across the floor.
Ayla woke up about fifteen minutes after I started. I tucked her in the wrap and we began to slowly glide across the room with the new steamer. There is no extra effort involved with pushing it so having Ayla's weight added was no problem. She loved the gentle walking and and floor was shiny and new. Who thought I could find cleaning the floor so relaxing? I think I have found my new relaxation activity. I am forced to move slowly and smoothly and there is only the quietest hiss. It reminds me of when I used to practice tai chi (yes, I really did). My mind was empty and it was calm in my house. Thank you Eureka.
Luckily, Mike's stepmom is as much of a neat freak as I am and had some great ideas. Since I need to be able to clean during nap time we decided stealth was essential. I ended up with a dust mop and a eureka envirosteamer. I had a dust mop before and find them very handy to pick up dog hair without spreading it through the air. I did buy a new one that has washable heads. Super easy to use each morning while everyone is having breakfast.
The steamer arrived last week. I had to wait until I was over my cold so today seemed like a good day. Mike and Mikey left for a bike ride and I put Ayla down for her nap. The assembly and instructions were super easy so I was pretty excited. I put the water in and plugged it in. Once it was hot it emitted the most gentle of hisses. I put it on the floor and started gliding away. It slid very easily and picked up the grape juice stain with one pass. Because it works better if you move a bit slowly I really began to relax and enjoy passing it across the floor.
Ayla woke up about fifteen minutes after I started. I tucked her in the wrap and we began to slowly glide across the room with the new steamer. There is no extra effort involved with pushing it so having Ayla's weight added was no problem. She loved the gentle walking and and floor was shiny and new. Who thought I could find cleaning the floor so relaxing? I think I have found my new relaxation activity. I am forced to move slowly and smoothly and there is only the quietest hiss. It reminds me of when I used to practice tai chi (yes, I really did). My mind was empty and it was calm in my house. Thank you Eureka.
Friday, January 20, 2012
The Glass Is Half Full... With A Crack In It
So my glass is half full, with a crack and a lipstick stain because it never got washed. In case you can't tell from that sentence I'm a pessimist, and a bit sarcastic. Most days I keep the pessimism in check but other days I embrace it and let it out full force. Today is already one of those days. Mike dreads those days because I will probably nitpick everything he does and give him a long to do list. I see it as the pessimism pots gets a little more full each day and eventually has to boil over.
So why did it boil over today? A couple of reasons (usually the case). The first is our shower. The glass door has a plastic piece along the bottom that seals the water in. That piece began to break about the time Ayla was born and finally broke off the week that Mike left on a job out of the country for a month. Why is this a big deal? The water is now funneled through that broken spot straight onto the floor. Giving a great place for mold to grow. Did I mention I'm allergic to mold? As in, have asthma attacks? This should be simple to fix. Just call the handyman and get it replaced. Yeah, sure. It took the handyman a week to find the piece. Then three weeks of excuses before replacing it. And because he was going off of the old part to measure he cut off the piece that blocks the water flow. So now I have a new part that sticks, funnels water out of the shower and it only took about four weeks to come to this point. Ugh!
My second reason happened last night. Mike and I have been trying to have a weekly date night. We did this before Ayla was born and just started again two weeks ago. We thought it would be nice to have dinner out at Cheesecake Factory. Currently I am on a dairy free diet because Ayla is horribly allergic and the only way we could control it was for her to breastfeed and me have no dairy at all. (That's a story all on it's own that will be told at a later date.) So we called ahead to make sure they have some dairy free options. We were told since each order is made individually they would simply make my dish without dairy. When we got there we asked the waitress what items were dairy free and she also said to just pick something and it would be made without dairy. Well, some of their food would just not taste the same without butter so I went with what seemed a safe choice, wasabi crusted ahi tuna with rice and stir fry veggies. That would seem dairy free, right? When my meal arrives it is the rice and veggies as promised with a unseasoned (not a single speck of even salt, pepper, nothing), seared tuna and no sauce. So I asked the waitress what happened. And she tells me, "They leave off the part that has dairy." The wasabi crust and sauce have dairy?! Well, that changes the dish just a little! She was able to find me a red pepper sauce with no dairy but come on! If the main part of the dish has dairy could we maybe mention that before I get a really bland meal? The things we will sacrifice so our kids are healthy...
Ahhh, I feel better now that that's out :)
On a more fun note I did add more cute pictures to facebook. Ayla is sitting up now and so pleased with herself :)
So why did it boil over today? A couple of reasons (usually the case). The first is our shower. The glass door has a plastic piece along the bottom that seals the water in. That piece began to break about the time Ayla was born and finally broke off the week that Mike left on a job out of the country for a month. Why is this a big deal? The water is now funneled through that broken spot straight onto the floor. Giving a great place for mold to grow. Did I mention I'm allergic to mold? As in, have asthma attacks? This should be simple to fix. Just call the handyman and get it replaced. Yeah, sure. It took the handyman a week to find the piece. Then three weeks of excuses before replacing it. And because he was going off of the old part to measure he cut off the piece that blocks the water flow. So now I have a new part that sticks, funnels water out of the shower and it only took about four weeks to come to this point. Ugh!
My second reason happened last night. Mike and I have been trying to have a weekly date night. We did this before Ayla was born and just started again two weeks ago. We thought it would be nice to have dinner out at Cheesecake Factory. Currently I am on a dairy free diet because Ayla is horribly allergic and the only way we could control it was for her to breastfeed and me have no dairy at all. (That's a story all on it's own that will be told at a later date.) So we called ahead to make sure they have some dairy free options. We were told since each order is made individually they would simply make my dish without dairy. When we got there we asked the waitress what items were dairy free and she also said to just pick something and it would be made without dairy. Well, some of their food would just not taste the same without butter so I went with what seemed a safe choice, wasabi crusted ahi tuna with rice and stir fry veggies. That would seem dairy free, right? When my meal arrives it is the rice and veggies as promised with a unseasoned (not a single speck of even salt, pepper, nothing), seared tuna and no sauce. So I asked the waitress what happened. And she tells me, "They leave off the part that has dairy." The wasabi crust and sauce have dairy?! Well, that changes the dish just a little! She was able to find me a red pepper sauce with no dairy but come on! If the main part of the dish has dairy could we maybe mention that before I get a really bland meal? The things we will sacrifice so our kids are healthy...
Ahhh, I feel better now that that's out :)
On a more fun note I did add more cute pictures to facebook. Ayla is sitting up now and so pleased with herself :)
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