Sunny Days

There is something about Sesame Street that makes my son stop in his tracks and stare at the TV. Is he thinking that it is interesting? Or, is he thinking the same thing as me... What the heck is a wooly mammoth doing hanging out with a gigantic yellow bird and talking to people 'in the neighborhood'?

I've also wondered what the reason is for all of the puppets being monsters? Is it to try to show children that monsters are ok? I just really don't understand!

Elmo drives me insane, but once again, Cooper is fascinated by him. Why is it that children are attracted to loud, obnoxious, brightly colored puppets, but are completely panic-stricken upon the sight of Santa Clause?

Oh well... whatever gives me five minutes of peace.

Its Not Like Buying a New Pair of Pants...

I go to the store and I hate shopping for pants. I can never find the perfect pair and once I do find some that fit me better than the rest, aren't ridiculously priced, and are almost the color I wanted, I start my search over looking for a pair that are just a little bit closer to perfect. Then, I start comparing them to the comfy old jeans that I have at home that fit well, just have so many holes that my underwear have started to show. They're comfy, but just not good for me anymore. Eventually, I buy the first pair I found.

Its not like that...

What I'm talking about is making a huge life change. Making a decision that eventually, will be in the best interest of the whole family, but really stinks in the beginning. Taking a huge pay cut is difficult. We've learned to live with the money we make now. I'm a stay at home mom and don't want to send my kids to day care. I would miss them way too much. We will learn to change our spending habits and to count every penny. We will make it. Eventually, we'll think back to this time and be glad that we made the decision. We'll wonder why it took us so much debate to make this sacrifice. In one year, Jerry should be making what he makes now... or at least close. The job he has now offers security and is safe. The new job is uncertain and new... and he's just unsure of the 'fit'. He's been looking for a long while and now the time has come to make that decision. He will take the new job and it'll turn into the comfy secure job that he has now...

Just like that pair of pants... next year, they'll be the comfy pants... next year we'll be pants shopping again and dreading that comparing all aspects to make sure they fit all the wrong places in all the right ways...

I guess it is like buying a new pair of pants...

1/4

Tomorrow I will officially be one quarter of a century old. Twenty-five seems so much older than 24. Its closer to 30 than 20! I already feel old enough being 25 with two kids!

The thing I don't understand is how people, well adults, always dread their birthday. To me its an accomplishment! I SURVIVED ANOTHER YEAR! Now that I have a toddler, every night when I go to bed I think, I survived another day! But anyhow, I really love my birthday! I get to go out to dinner where I pick. It doesn't matter if its kid friendly or if my hubby doesn't want to go there. I get to pick exactly where I want to go and I get to eat exactly what I want. AND, I can get a dessert if I choose (which I always do).

Birthdays are fun! I know I'll enjoy mine!

What are you doing to save the planet?

I used to think that people who wanted to save the planet were a bit off their rockers. They were optimists and pessimists all in one. They thought they could save the world and they also thought the world was coming to an end. These so called 'green' people were more of what I thought a hippy to be. I just thought that it was bit much for me.

Then, one miraculous day I had a child. I, like every other new parent, wanted to give my child the world. How on earth do I attempt that? I would sit and think of all the things I did as a child -- playing in the marsh at the end of my street as a child, exploring the neighborhood for all the creatures I could find, collecting snakes and tadpoles in buckets to watch them... then letting them go, getting down on my hands and knees and enjoying nature and enjoying what the earth had to offer. I don't remember getting a barbie for christmas or a bike for whatever birthday. In order to give my children the world, I have to save the world. I have to make sure that the same mother nature is still around for my kids to explore and I have to make sure that my grandkids have the same opportunites... and their children and grandchildren. It may not affect them today or tomorrow, but all things take planning and preparation.

This is what we are doing with our planet. Instead of fields of green, we're seeing this...

I don't know about you, but that shouldn't be the future of our planet. A lot of people are selfish and have the attitude that they won't see the ramifications of their actions, so why care? My answer is simple.... You have been blessed with a wonderful life. You have happiness in children or work or whatever your passion may be. You are able to do so without worry because our planet is ok... for now. Wouldn't you love for your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and on and on to be able to experience life and happiness as well? If you wish the best for your children, then why not your great-grandchildren's children?

There are so many ways that you can help. You can switch to energy star appliances, recycle more than you dispose, purchase organic items, switch to high efficiency light bulbs, use cloth diapers, instead of plastic bags at the grocery store you can bring your own from home or use paper. There are simple, everyday things that you can do as well! Turn down your thermostat a couple degrees in winter and up a couple degrees in the summer! Turn off lights and unnecessary electronics when not in use. Dispose of your used batteries at appropriate facilities. Use your recycle bin more than your garbage can. Turn the temperature down on your water heater. Instead of using paper towels, use a kitchen towel to clean. Grow your own garden and eat what you grow. There are so many ways you can help.

Personally, my husband still thinks I go overboard. He doesn't initiate any of my ventures, but he does go along with them. He has found that many of the things we've changed have actually made our lives easier. We spend less money and we feel healthier.

Please help save our planet! We want to see THIS!

Look for a cloth diaper blog soon to come! :)

Lies!

Lets face it... It keeps going and going and going is just a lie! Otherwise, my infant swing would still be swinging and my daughter would be asleep. Thank you for NOTHING energizer bunny!

Banishing the Binky

Cooper was a binky addict. Around 7-8 months of age, I realized that it was a bigger problem than we thought. It was then that I ruled the binky a sleepy time item only. It was also then that I told myself that the binky would be gone before Cooper's 1st birthday. Well, I obviously need to stop making rotten promises to myself. Cooper is 20 months old and we've just banished the binky. Its been a hard go and he is toughing it out.

Last Monday, I decided that I didn't want to bring any binkies for him on our next weekend getaway to the cottage. I don't want my two year old walking around with a binky. There was no particular event that led to Tuesday being 'the day'. It was a thought I had on Monday and I figured if I didn't do it just then, I probalby wouldn't do it for a while.

Tuesday was horrible. Although, he did nap for me. It was Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday... Oh yes... Friday... where we had the problems. I'd love to put Friday in my book of days I'd LOVE to forget for the rest of my life. It was one of those days where you actually think about serving yourself a shot of whiskey or drinking an entire bottle of wine. I did neither just for the pure fact that I didn't want to have to explain my sloppiness to my hubby when he came home from work. Crawling in a hole would have been a good option too... it was just too hot to do all that digging. The actual events of Friday weren't all too different from our normal day, except the difficult patches were 10 times harder and seemed to never end. Cooper decided that since I wasn't giving in and giving him a binky, he was going to rebel and get into every single thing that he could. Not a good day for mom. Poking Belle in the eyes was his new hobby just because he knew he shouldn't be doing it. Too bad he's learned to scale the sides of the pack n' play and escape... otherwise that would have been a good tool.

Tomorrow will be a week without the binky. Cold turkey. I see an end in sight although he is not going gently.

I promise... Belle will be done with the binky by her first birthday so I do not have to go through this again. (Don't quote me on that though, k?)

Impressions

Have you ever noticed that you never really know the intentions of others when you are reading things rather than actually seeing a person's face, looking them in the eyes, and seeing their sincerity?

I have found that lately, my comments have been taken out of context several times and I'm really not sure how to handle it. If I try to protect myself and explain, I come off as defensive and if I act like it didn't happen, it just sits in the pit of my stomach because now I know that someone has a skewed vision of who I am. What's even more difficult is when you know these people are talking about you amongst each other. If you've ever had the feeling that you're standing in the middle of a crowded room shouting, then you may have an inkling of how I feel. I want to redeem myself. I want people to know that I am an honest, trustworthy, friendly, open, curious, fun, caring, and sincere person. I want people to know that my intentions are never bad. I wish the best for everyone and just because I do not like someone does not mean that I do not wish them all of the happiness in the world. Everyone deserves the best. We are all God's creatures and we all deserve to enjoy the best of what He has to offer us.

All I can do is the best that I can do.

Friends are hard to come by and the best of those friends will stand by you in your worst time. Friends will defend you when all others are standing by and joining the croud. Friends will not jump to conclusions, they will find out the root and help you get through the rough patches.
True friends... now those are diamonds. Where are my jewels?

Catching Up

I'm taking the time to catch up on my blog. Now you see the adventure of a stay-at-home-mom is never easy. There is always SOMETHING to be done or something that you're neglecting (at the moment, it is the laundry). Sorry in advance for the random thoughts and I try to catch up. I'm also posting a preview to topics I'll be posting about in the near future (children willing). The topics are in no particular order!

• Sesame Street
• Cloth Diapers
• Traveling with 2 under 2
• No More Binky
• Yogurt and other Healthy Snacks
• Starting Solids
• Staying Sane
• Baby Gear and Gadgets
• First Fotos
• Cars
• Terrible Twos

And now for todays blog...

Once again, Cooper takes the majority of my thought in how to creatively discipline him at times where I would love to burst out laughing. He has gotten smarter at his old age (20 months) and he's learning how to do bad things and not get punished. We need to nip this in the bud or I think we'll have T-R-O-U-B-L-E on our hands as he gets older.

Now, we normally shut Cooper's door and leave it shut throughout the night as he is in a toddler bed and we're afraid that he'll wander. That night, we didn't shut his door per usual as the heat was not circulating well through his window (plus, I'm very nervous about leaving his window open and his door shut at the same time in a first floor bedroom). Anyhow... no big deal, right?

Jerry and I wake up in the morning and are laying in bed talking. Jer tells me that he hears something in the family room and we immediately know that it is Coop. Jer gets out of bed and goes to the family room where he tells me that I have to come and look. Well, here is what we found...

We've sinced learned that child locks on drawers do not always work. They are a pain the butt for us and obviously are no match for a curious toddler. He found a permanent marker and drew all over his body. I think the markings in his ear were the most creative spot he decided to 'decorate' himself. In the second photo, you can see where he becomes shy and knows that he did something he shouldn't have. I think that pulling out the camera immediately and taking pictures may have given him the wrong idea about what he did. When he does something he shouldn't, I really need to stop laughing my butt off and taking photos. I think he's sensing that this is how to make mommy laugh. While it does make me laugh, it makes me cringe thinking about how to clean up his inventive creations.

I've just realized that this is my second post about my little boy with something all over his body. This does NOT happen every day (unless you count mealtimes), but the once a month that this does happen is quite funny and unpreventable at the current time. There are so many things that as a parent, you think you are protecting your children from. You then realize that your chidlren are way smarter than you ever thought that they would be and you have to adjust your gameplan. Each day is a new day for your child to explore, learn, and create... while you chase them around and try to figure out how to stop them! I'm guessing that this is a lifetime sentence.