A New Baby In Our Family

Congratulations to my little brother and his wife on the birth of their first child today! Happy Birthday baby Gus, welcome to the world! I am so thrilled to hold a newborn again, and then hand him back to his parents! It seems like I am always the one to take them home (c'mon, when you have 4 kids that's usually the case), so I am super excited to cuddle and babysit him!

Oh, and today is my birthday too, so that's pretty cool!

Cold Front

It has been quite warm here for the last couple of weeks. Today, however, it is very cold (by Texas standards, anyway). So what do you do when you are trapped inside on a cold, rainy day?

***Please excuse the explosion of legos my living room.

Well Maybe A Few Words

I finally put my finger on exactly why I dislike the whole cry-it-out method. As all good things come to an end, we have not had an easy time with Maddie the last several nights. It has been difficult to get her to go to sleep, and last night she was up 6 times between 10:50 pm and 12:50 am. I don't even have the nursing to fall back on anymore when all else fails. Tonight, once again she screamed bloody murder when I laid her in her crib. I got her back up and let her play for another 30 minutes. She now actually starts crying when I turn down the hall that leads into her bedroom. I read her a book, rocked her some more, and tried again. You'd think someone was pinching her so wrenching were her cries. Two or three minutes later I went back in, laid her back down, covered her and made sure she had her blankie. She cried for six more minutes and then went to sleep. I know it ultimately worked. I know she is no longer a baby, and is old enough to be allowed to fuss. I know she was tired and there was nothing she needed. I also know I would not have let it go on for much longer had she not gone to sleep. What I figured out tonight (in following through on my 100th "attempt" at letting her cry it out) was that I don't like ending the day on this note. I like her to go to sleep tucked in, loved on, and feeling happy. I don't like her last thought of me before she falls asleep being "I'm calling to mommy and she isn't coming".

Wordless Wednesday

Who Knew...

...that playing "Super Princess Peach" on the Nintendo DS was so exhausting?

If you look closely, you can see she is still clutching the stylus in her hand!

Apple Crisp

As you can see, Maddie loved her first taste of apple crisp. Don't worry, immediately following this video she took a bath (see her hair?!). Sticky doesn't even begin to cover it!

You Gotta Love Target

We finally have a new comforter set, after spending 2 years using an oversized, thick blanket Corey got in South America years and years ago when he was in the Marines. Warm, yes. Attractive? Oh no. Target is having a huge sale in the home section right now, possibly clearing out last year's styles. For $59.99, this set came with the comforter, skirt, two euro shams (of course I had to buy euro pillows too because I have never owned a euro sham before), two regular/queen shams, and two decorative pillows. What a deal!

As for our newly-weaned status, Maddie couldn't be doing better. She goes down easier than when she was still nursing before bed. Every night she has been drinking a little warm milk, I lay her down, and she goes right to sleep without a peep. And she hasn't woken up at night since then either. Heaven!

"My Night" by Maddie

Last night I spent my first night ever away from Mommy. I have spent a few hours here and there without her, but never overnight. I stayed with my Grandma last night! Taylor and I both did, actually. I did great! GREAT! I went to bed easily for Grandma, though I didn't care much for her milk in my sippy. For some reason, even though I now drink only milk purchased at the store, I still like Mommy's better. I slept all night for Grandma, and was a perfect angel my usual active self! Mommy spent some time with an old friend, and not a minute too soon! She was getting a little grumpy, if you ask me. But she feels better, I can tell. It's amazing what a little adult time can do for her!

The End of an Era

Last night when Maddie and I settled down into our recliner to nurse before bed...nothing. And I mean nothing. She got a tiny bit frustrated, bit me, and then gave up. So, I fetched her cup of milk, and we did the usual routine of rocking and singing, only with her sippy instead of nursing. And guess what? I laid her in her crib, covered her up, and she went to sleep! Now, I'm not naive enough to believe that it will always be this easy, I mean even when she was nursing we still had bad nights trying to get her to go to sleep. But last night was a good start to a new era. I nursed Maddie significantly longer than any of my other children (the longest before her was 6 months), and this baby-deciding-when-to-stop-and-just-letting-my-milk-slowly-dry-up method is the way to go! No painful engorgement, no traumatized baby. I'm a bit sad, since she is the last baby I'll ever have (unless I fall on the wrong side of the 99% effectiveness statistic, please God no), but mostly I just feel free. Now I can ship her off to Grandma's when Taylor goes...yipee!

Things Nobody Tells You

...or, maybe they do but we don't listen. ahem. Anyway, here goes.

1) Nobody tells you how hard it is to have kids. And the degree of difficulty exponentially grows with each child you have.

2) Nobody tells you how hard it is to be married, even if you love the other person with every fiber of your being.

3) Nobody tells you that you will spend every moment before your baby walks looking forward to her being more mobile and independent, and every moment after she learns to walk wishing you could strap her back into that bouncy seat.

4) Nobody tells you that after you have kids you will never, ever be able to use the bathroom again without at least one pair of eyes watching you. Or maybe I do recall that, but I promise no one told me there would be one tiny pair of hands holding onto the toilet lid while I'm still sitting there waiting to close it when I am finished.

5) Nobody tells you that you will feel guilty when your toddler falls off the couch and bruises her forehead on a toy, even though you have pulled her off said couch and firmly told her "no" ten thousand times already that day.

6) Nobody tells you that even though you want to pull all your hair out strand by strand because you have been stuck in the house all.day.long with two young children, you will be too exhausted to escape with a friend for awhile in the evening.

7) Nobody tells you that you can have such polar opposite feelings for the same person. That you can love someone so much, and still be so annoyed/frustrated/angry with them at the same time.

8) Nobody tells you that once your children are asleep for the night, all of the frustrations of the day disappear, and only love remains. Only love.


to be continued, I'm sure...

Not Me! Monday

Not Me Monday, born of our desire to be real, to be honest, to be ourselves, without having to actually admit to all the crazy, scary, funny, sometimes humiliating things we do as mothers.

When I walked into the room and found my darling youngest in the precarious position, I most certainly did not run to grab my camera instead of immediately moving her to safety. Not me!

Of course a nearly-four year old child should be able to dress themselves. But I would never allow my daughter to choose her own outfit, and then actually let her embarass herself myself by wearing the outfit she put together all day long. Nope, not me!

As a mother, one of the most important skills we must have is the ability to remain calm, at all times. To let the little things go, and not overreact. There is no way on God's green earth I would completely lose it over a shattered eyeshadow. When Maddie grabbed my favorite eyeshadw out of my makeup drawer this morning, then promptly threw it to the floor causing it to break into ten thousand tiny pieces, I certainly did not yell, scream, cry, and throw a fit like a 2 year old. I mean, come on, it is a $3 eyeshadow. Who would lose their cool over that? Not me.

Would you like to play? Fill us in on the foibles of your day? Head on over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ and join the fun!

New Hairdo

This Weekend

This weekend feels "off"...weird... and most of all lonely. I know why, of course. My two oldest kids are in Colorado with their father. Brittany has a gymnastics meet (have I mentioned that my oldest is a superb gymnast? Seriously, we're talkin' headin' to the Olympics one day!) and I miss them terribly.


Looking at these 3 beloved faces helps, though.

I just wanted to take a minute to sing the praises of my almost-4 year old daughter. This girl has turned a corner. She has morphed from a "terror" into a pleasant young lady. 90% of the time, she listens to directions (and even follows them!), smiles, sings, says please and thank you, gives hundreds of hugs and kisses a day, and is extremely helpful. Fits are few and far between (and if you know her IRL, this is HUGE). She is polite and behaves in public.

I'm afraid the "bug" jumped from her and landed solidly on Madison. My sweet, delightful baby seems to have hit the terrible twos 10 months early.

What's that, Momma? You want to clean the yogurt off my face? With that cold, wet rag?

This is what I have to say about that...

You didn't hear me? Well then come a little closer and I'll tell you again...

Random Pics...

...because I don't have anything to say today, and I am tired of seeing that last post when I check for comments!! (and yes, I am pathetic enough to repeatedly check my blog for comments...that's what happens when you have few friends IRL!! lol)


The girls have this really annoying really creative game of dragging the kitchen chairs into the family room and playing with them.

The men in my life!

I take pride in the uber healthy snacks I give my kids every day (blueberries, pears, kiwi, peaches, strawberries, blackberries, avocado, apples...blah blah blah), but every once in awhile life calls for Cheetos!

Happy family! (please disregard the fact that 2/3 of the people in this photo are still in their pajamas)

A Ray of Hope

For whatever reason, we had fallen into the routine of me being the one to go into Maddie's room every time she woke up, or when she was having trouble falling asleep in the first place. Probably because of the exclusive nursing, or maybe because I am here all day and tend to take the reins at night too. Who knows. The problem is, when I am the one to go in there at night, she expects to nurse. "Here's the woman with the boob" I can almost hear her say. She is weaned, but does not want to give up the bedtime nursing. *TMI WARNING* There has been some serious shrinkage since we are down to one time per day, and the sheer size of her head/mouth compared to the size of the boob is starting to cause me some discomfort (both physically and mentally), but she will not go to sleep without it, and I refuse to let her scream herself to sleep. Anyway, the point of all this rambling is that if she wakes up at night, she wants to nurse to go back to sleep.
Enter ray of hope...
If Corey goes in there, in the middle of the night or just in the evening when she is fighting sleep, she will let him cover her back up and rub her tummy...and she goes back to sleep. Really? Seriously? I have tried this, because, well, I'm not stupid. I've been around the block a time or two...or four. Really? Seriously?
Like I said...a ray of hope.

Who? What? I Can't Remember My Own Name

In an attempt to blog more boldly and honestly, as MckMama has resolved to do, I have to say I.am.done.
Burned out.
Irritated.
Frustrated.
Insane.
Fried.
Bald (I pulled all my hair out).


Maddie now follows me around, fussing and complaining all.day.long. That is, unless, she is busy stuffing food into her mouth. Seriously, that is the only time she stops fussing. What happened to my content, laid back child?

And Taylor? Well, every day she tries to break her record for the number of accidents in one day. What would make a previously potty trained child backslide so dramatically?

My Little Climber

Maddie has been able to use items (such as pillows) to climb up on the furniture for quite awhile. So I have had to be careful about what is on the floor near the couches or the recliner. Now, she moves "steps" over to the couch herself.

Resolution #1 Goal #1

Look on the positive side of the situation

In deference to one of my New Year's goals: we may be bone dry and utterly broke, but at least all of our bills are paid. Not everyone can say that, and it could be worse.

I guess...

edited to add: Yes, I realize the "I guess" part defeats the goal, it is not truly seeing the positive. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

New Knives for Christmas=Sliced Up Fingers

That's all I have to say about that.

Note To Self

No more boudin for the baby. She was up all.night.long. Being that she had a blowout in the middle of the night, I can only assume her stomach was upset. I had forgotten what it feels like to be up every hour during the night. It's not quite as fun as I remember. Ha!

There's Something Unnatural About Blue Yogurt

And there's something unnatural about the behavior caused by eating blue yogurt...

Happy New Year!

I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions. To me, they are depressing....nothing more than broken promises to yourself. Just another reason to beat yourself up, just one (or more, depending on how many resolutions you make) more thing to feel guilty about. I do, however, believe in acknowledging the things you accomplished in the past year, and the things you would like to change or improve. I have to admit I have been too busy this past week to do either, but I resolve to take the time to do it tonight!!