I've been a little MIA from the blog lately, but let's just say that the last few weeks have been...ehrm...challenging. C and E (who has the energy to type out full nicknames anymore?) are in cahoots and on a mission to drive me to the nuthouse. Okay, so it's not that bad, but C is exerting her little *extremely strong* will and decided a few weeks ago she doesn't want to take a nap or go to bed at night. She cries and cries, "Mommymommymommymommy!" (or Daddy) until one of us goes into her room and then wants to play. It's like that preview for Family Guy on TBS where Stewie says, "Mom! Mommy! Mama! Mama!" over and over until the mom finally says, "What?!" and he replies, "Hi," and evil giggles. No bueno. Thank goodness she's still in a crib. It's getting better, and although she doesn't happily lay down anymore she only fusses for a minute or two now and then crashes. And this is just one example...I was hoping the terrible twos were a myth because I have no patience for fit-throwing, but I'm having to learn it as my child tests it daily.
On top of this, E is currently cutting four upper teeth. Seriously, four AT ONCE? Yep. She's been much crankier and clingy than normal. I really hate that she doesn't feel good and wish I could make it better, but we're just riding it out (along with some Tylenol and cold cloths to chew on). We've had a breakthrough, though...the past four nights E has slept all night (with no prompting from me, one night she just slept through her normal night feed and it's continued all week)! This is huge. Mommy like. I'm trying not to be too excited in case we have a regression, but so far so good.
I think we've finally turned a corner, because this week's been much better and I feel like I can breathe again and enjoy the girls. So here's what we've been up to the past month or so...the mundane, dramatic, silly, etc.:
*I earned my "mom of the year" award by letting C and E play on the trampoline together while I sat in a chair to read for a few minutes. I looked up and C had unzipped the net and E was crawling out. I couldn't get there in time and she fell right on her head. Awesome. A quick trip to the doctor confirmed that she was just fine and there was no damage other than a scrape above her eye...but I think I earned a few gray hairs and maybe developed a heart condition from it.
*C has become really interested in silly songs. Out of the blue one day when I was singing to her before naptime she requested "Itsy bitsy Ellie". Once I sang that she followed with "Ellie bitsy spider", "Twinkle, twinkle little mouse" and "Twinkle, twinkle little mommy" for all of which I made up verses on the spot. I was super proud of my skills. Her favorite the last few days has been "Twinkle, twinkle little sheep". I have no idea where she comes up with this stuff, but I love hearing her giggle while I sing.
*We've made trips to the splash pad, water park, and Kiddie Park, which the kids loved! E thinks she can swim by herself and C always asks for "the blue one" when choosing the car/plane/boat/swing at the park. She'll settle for purple, but the world will implode if she has to sit in a pink, yellow, orange or green one. We also go swim at the grandparents' house, and C really likes their "little pool" aka hot tub.
*I hate potty training. Enough said.
*Took C to her first Drillers baseball game. She called it faceball and wondered why she didn't get to play. They have some awesome things for kids to do, though, so we hope to go back again!
*E is a big girl now and eats three meals a day...if you changed her diapers you would understand this significance and why I'm not super stoked about it.
*We have reached the point where C and E can play together, but if they're playing nicely and it gets quiet, you better see what they've gotten into. My bathroom cabinet is a popular choice.
*Lots of visiting with family, friends, cook-outs, etc. We don't have hot dogs often, but when we were at the store yesterday C saw the display of them and pointed saying, "I want all dat!"
Not a whole lot else going on except Team Brown (the hubs and myself) working together and tag-teaming trying to not screw up at being parents/spouses. It's trial and error. :)
Speaking of hot dogs and on a completely different note, my friend Lindsey introduced me to this great blog about eating "real" food (cutting out the processed stuff, etc.) which led me to do some more research and try to make some changes with our eating habits. We weren't exactly junk food junkies before, but there's definitely room for improvement. I mean, I saw Food, Inc. a while back but I guess I lacked the motivation to change anything. At first I was like, "is this even possible for a family with two little kids and seemingly NO TIME?!" And for my family, I'm trying to set some realistic goals and do what I can (which is a little different than what I really want to do, but I have a lot on my plate and can only do so much).
Right now, I've decided to cut out white flour (replaced with whole-wheat) completely except for special occasions/treats and try to buy as little processed/boxed snacky-type foods (not everything, though...I think I would have a mutiny on my hands if I banned Cheerios from the house), which are my weakness, and concentrate more on real fruits and veggies. I'm having a lot of fun trying new recipes and sharing them with my family, and I feel good that I'm being aware of what goes into my/husband's/kids' bodies. Obviously I can't control everything and I'm not trying to (I have a huge sweet tooth and plan to indulge it!). But it's all about moderation and doing the best I can with my time, budget, abilities, etc. I can't do everything, but even small changes can make a big impact. If you're interested, check out the blog and even if you're not, I encourage you to find out what you're eating...and don't trust the FDA to decide for you. What can I say...I have a bit of my dad's conspiracy theory-ish brain! :)
