Jaiden came over to play today and brought princess tattoos! Audrey chose Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) and Sleeping Beauty--one for each arm!
20 May 2010
Puke, Puppy and Playdate
Last Wednesday I went into Audrey's room bright and early when she was screaming for "daddy!" I guess it was more like, "dadeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!" and found her in a mess of her own puke. This was 10 minutes before her friend Jaiden was scheduled to arrive. I stood there for a moment at the side of her bed forming a strategy, as to not touch any of the puke myself...if at all possible. I hate puke. Audrey seemed pretty cool and collected--normally she's an emotional mess when she pukes. I begin to ask her questions of when it happened, did her stomach hurt, etc. She'd been fighting a cold and terrible cough. I finally conclude that she coughed so hard that she puked in the middle of the night and had been laying in it for hours. Gross, right? I am not above throwing out items of clothing or sheets if they are too soiled or if I think I might puke cleaning them up. Consider it my bad luck that one of her favorite stuffed puppies got the brunt of this upchuck. Crap. (heavy sigh)
I'm moving fast at this point, hurrying to get everything stripped and washed out before her friend arrives. I throw everything into the washer, after rinsing it out in my laundry room wash tub. Jeremy has now made his way downstairs to go to work and I say, "I would seriously rather clean up poop than puke." He replies 'oh, not me, I'd much prefer puke." I offer for him to come and unclog all the partially digested food pieces from the wash tub drain. He turns me down.
Audrey is well aware that puppy is in the washer. She stands there and watches the tub rotate and the suds begin to form until she finally spots him amoung the sheets the princess blankets. "Mommy, I see puppy!" A not so brief 2 hours later--you know I steam santizied that load! ---we put puppy into the dryer and I hoped and prayed he made it out in one piece. He did. The delighted look on her face was worth the disgusting partially digested food I washed down the drain 4 hours prior.
Jaiden came and everything was fine. They played with Jenny and Bitty, watched Cinderella, ate Goldfish, colored and went "shopping" with their babies and shopping carts. Too cute!
visit to see Dr. Emm
The girls went into see Dr. Emm to rule out strep throat and because Audrey was complaining that it was hurting when she went potty. (sigh)
The verdict: No strep throat and Audrey's urine was ok. Meaning the sore throat could be from drainage caused by allergies or because they'd both gotten over a nasty cough the week before. Audrey's sore bottom area--lose the diapers! I'm always anxious to see their weight when we go to the doctor. Allie weighed 18 pounds and 9 ounces and Audrey is 35 and 3/4 pounds!
Here's the story:
The walls on the doctor's office have the most entertaining job, I think. Watching mothers of multiple children drag everyone and everything into the office. manipulating the doors with a bigger than life diaper bag with an 18 pound baby on one hip (which isn't nearly as bad as lugging the infant carrier) and steering the toddler in the right direction with the other arm. Then, of course they always ask for your insurance card even if you were just there last week! So, with one hand they fumble through their wallet sort through the million plastic cards as a line of other patients line up behind them. Its got to look hilarious.
Audrey looked rather cute this day, albeit her being "sick." The nurses always comment on the baby she brings. This day though, she brought two babies. I guess one just wasn't comfort enough. She was complete with ballet flats a jean jacket and her brown beret walking down towards the exam room with her babies.
When the doctor told me they'd need to do a urine sample I looked at him and said, "oh, you want us to do that here!?" Checking Audrey's throat is a battle, I couldn't imagine getting her to pee in a cup in a strange bathroom. That process is hard enough when I have to do it. If we didn't accomplish this mission we'd have to go home, capture it in the morning and bring it back.
When Dr. Emm left the room I knew i had to pump this up to be really cool. I pour on my best psychology and tell her she gets to potty in a cup like Mommy does when she's pregnant! I then promise chocolate milk for results.
We opt to do the urine sample before the throat cultures. Allie is laying on the scale, in nothing but her diaper. Audrey is in a diaper and t-shirt. The nurse tells me the bathroom is right across the hall. Ok. No way can I take both girls with me. I say, "I feel kinda weird leaving her (Allie) in here....I know you're a nurse but I've heard stories....." I mean really, did I think she was going to take her? But, as a mom, those thoughts run through your head. Luckily, I had an understanding nurse who agreed to take Allie into the hallway outside the bathroom while I helped Audrey.
Note: Allie was/is going through separation anxiety and Audrey hasn't peed in the toilet in over two weeks. Here was hoping she still remembered how!
Audrey and I enter the bathroom and I put the toilet paper down on the seat, sit her on it and pause. I look at the cup and look at her, and she's looking at me, like "Ok mom, now what!?" I put the cup into position and say, "Ok Audrey, go ahead and pee." To my sheer delight, she does! Whew! Thank God. By this time I hear Allie start to scream in the hallway. She's now well aware her Mommy isn't in view. We hurry and wash up. Urine sample, check! Up next: throat cultures.
I held Audrey in my lap and helped hold Allie down on the table as the nurse swabbed their throats. They both cried briefly, at one point they were both crying at the same time. (sigh) It's times like this I wish I had a body double.
12 May 2010
Audrey's Pink Toes
I made it nearly two and a half years without painting her toe nails! I probably would have sooner but we got busy and she never asked. After I got my pedicure last week and came home with pretty red toes, she wanted hers painted too. She's since seen several friends with pink fingers and toes which only heightened her curiosity. So, today at lunch she ate her chicken nuggets and I painted away. So fun! I hadn't gotten my finger nail polish out in years. I managed to find a pink that looked little girl enough but realize I need to beef up my barbie pink and purple taffy line! My OPI colors: "I'm really not a waitress" and " A man in every Port-ugal" don't really scream Princess Pink! Her nails are "It's all Greek to me" adorable. And she was precious walking around the house afterward so careful not to mess them up. I caught glimpses of her stopping to look at her feet, and later at nap time, she'd sit up, bring one foot up to her eyes and rub her toes, admiring her new step into girly land.
Our next step? Mother-Daughter pedicures!
11 May 2010
More Cheese, Please!
In the midst of making Mother's Day Brunch Jeremy and I lost track of Audrey, and the cheddar cheese. We found her, right around the corner, with the entire bag of shredded cheddar cheese. What was she doing? Putting the cheese on her pizza of course! If you look close, you can see the cheese on top of her play pizza. And then you can see the extra that landed on the floor.
Sarah
Mother's Day
a day that brings back memories posing with my brothers on the front steps of our old farmhouse for a picture. A day that my Father would remind us every hour that it was Mother's Day and to not act up! Going to church and making cards for Mom or getting her flowers to wear that day. The one day a year that we were to say, "thanks for being my mom." Now that I'm a mom, I realize that once a year is simply not enough!
I love pictures. And even though it pains me on a deep level that I'm not as put together (and i mean, skinny) as the picture I'd like to be that is only seen in my head, I needed to take a picture, perhaps only for documental purposes, of me and my girls. My job. My life.
I thought all week about a Mother's Day blog. What I'd write, what I enjoyed most about my job and being a mother. Frankly, I'm too tired this year. Allie and Audrey and I have had the same cold for almost two weeks. Between the coughs and abundance of mucus no one has been sleeping well.
So I'm going to bullet the top 10 of Mother's Day 2010
1. I love being a mother of two beautiful girls. It is the hardest job I've ever had. It challenges me on many levels.
2. I love it that Audrey bounced into my room Sunday morning and proudly said "Happy Mother's Day, Mom!" and gave me a big hug.
3. I love that my husband got me flowers and had them delivered on Saturday.
4. I love the stepping stone the girls made me with their handprints! Audrey did this my very first mother's day. Love to see how they grow.
5. I love my family's attempt at making brunch, my husband did a great job frying 2 pounds of bacon.
6. I love that my sisters (in-law, but who's keeping track of that anymore) did all my dishes after our Sunday night dinner for my mom. Hannah and Autumn, you rock!
7. I love the flowers that Drew and Autumn got me for Mother's Day--and their thoughtfulness.
8. I love that Allie fell asleep during praise and worship at church and slept through the entire service.
9. I love that Allie woke up happy today. She by and large is a happy baby, but never seems to wake up and coo. She just cries.
10. I LOVE that for the first time in 3 years I'm not pregnant or breast feeding on Mother's Day! 2007 = pregnant with Audrey, 2008 = pumping for Audrey, 2009 = pregnant with Allie.
I think when you're in the trenches of motherhood--changing diapers, temper tantrums, midnight or 3 o'clock feedings, potty training, etc no one tells you that you're doing a good job on a regular basis and it's the little things that give you the most encouragement. Most of the time around here I ask what am I doing wrong!? How can I fix this? Why is she acting up or why won't she stop crying? Why can't I get anything done or where is the kitchen island--I've lost it in all this clutter! So when someone does something unexpected, whether that be flowers or a cup of coffee, I'm thrilled! It may not mean I'm succeeding at this job, but it sure brightens my day knowing someone thought of me.
03 May 2010
Just a regular Monday
So far, today has been a regular Monday. I woke up at 5:30 am to a screaming baby, did about 8 loads of laundry, I clipped coupons, got in trouble for spending too much over the weekend--good thing I didn't go to the Gymboree while in Lafayette, I can't imagine my morning email if I had!--and tacos are on the menu for supper. I've grown to love Mondays around here. No schedule to keep, just a day at home with my girls (and my laundry room), and I always know what's for supper.
Trip to IN
We conquered our first trip out of IL as a family of four this past weekend when we went to visit Sean, Gina and Hannah. All Audrey could talk about was Hannah's house the entire 2.5 hour trip. Any desolate farm house on the way was "Hannah's house!" And we'd reply, "No, Audrey, Hannah's house is still a long way away." All in all, Audrey and Allie survived without a DVD player. I ended up in the second row between the car seats more than once, usually to feed Allie. We were all ready to get out of the car by the time we got home that night.
I didn't take any pictures of this trip, even though I lugged my entire camera bag. I was nursing a sore throat, headache and mild case of the stomach flu so at the time I just didn't have the energy. Audrey and Hannah played really well together. So well that the next day on the way to church Audrey asked, "Hannah's house?" And then, today, she wanted to go to Hannah's house again. Amongst playing with trains, doll strollers and driving Hannah's Barbie Jeep, Audrey enjoyed playing with Hannah's Bitty Baby and wearing a pair of Hannah's red shoes. She didn't take them off the entire time we were there. The girls jumping on the bed resulted in a big thud during dinner, in which both sets of parents froze mid bite, dropped their forks, pushed back their chairs and waited for the cries. Hannah fell off the bed and hit her head. Silly monkeys! I found it interesting that Audrey reenacted the entire scene for me. I felt a little CSI like when I interrogating her about what had happened.
I was glad we went even though the day was rainy and cold, as the next time we see Sean, Gina and Hannah, they will be a family of four.
Potty Training attempt #2 on hold
It's funny how children teach us lessons. We learn things about ourselves, how we act, react and why. I've always known I was competitive. I always knew that I exhibited many of the first born characteristics and personality traits. I also knew that Audrey would be the child I clashed with the most because we're both first borns and as stubborn as a mule. I didn't understand though how hard it would be for me to sit back and wait for her to do things while other kids her age are meeting and excelling at milestones. Comparing yourself to other moms is hard not to do in our society and it's natural to compare your child to other children--although it often either provides a false sense of accomplishment or false sense of guilt. This will be a lesson I have to continuously remind myself throughout her upbringing. She is her own person, and I am proud of her. Comparing her successes to others is simply unfair to her and to me. And really, it's peeing in the potty. She'll eventually get it. Who really cares when she does!? There are more important things.
Did I push her too early. I don't think so. She was exhibiting the signs way back when she was 18 months old. And she got the concept. She's had a lot of life changes the last year and a half and is just not ready for that responsibility yet.
I'm actually starting to think she may have a physical problem that is limiting her ability to determine when she has to go. She's told me this. Last week (Wed, I believe) she pooped in her panties for the first time in 8 months. The next morning she did it again. I was furious and confused. Why!? Why now. Perhaps she was experimenting? Acting out? After cleaning it off the floor for the second day in a row--I'd had it. This has to be her choice, not mine. I have no desire to chase her to the bathroom 18 times a day and continuously ask her if she has to go. Or constantly clean up messes. That is not potty training the child, it's potty training me.
So, we put her back in diapers. She didn't seem to mind too much. In fact, the diaper gets so wet that she leaks through it without a care in the world. And these are overnight diapers. Super absorbent!
Twice over the weekend she asked for panties. What to do? Let her wear them and make a mess or hold off and make her wear diapers and put a negative connotation on wearing panties. I decided no more panties for now. Once I think she's getting uncomfortable in her diaper, she lets it get so wet she leaks through to her clothes.
And then just this morning in between diapers she manages to pee on the floor. We were getting dressed for the day and I was changing her overnight diaper and she proceeds to pee as she's laying there to get a new diaper--right there on the floor. She realizes this is wrong, stops it, goes to the bathroom to finish but can't get her stool over to the toilet in time and finishes peeing on the floor. Uh.
Seems no matter what I do, panties or diapers I'm cleaning up pee.
I've seriously had it. And i don't know what to do at this point. I told her that the other day, right after I apologized for perhaps making her do something before she was ready. I told her that we weren't going to potty on the potty again until she was ready. She would decide. She was fine with that.
For some reason, even though many of her friends, some younger than her even, have been trained successfully, she isn't ready. I think she's ok with that. I'm still working on it.
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