Hi there and goodbye!
I've quit using my blogger site in lieu of a new and improved site, mommyinthemidwest.com.
Here's why I quit Blogger.
I hope you'll follow me on over to mommyinthemidwest.com and enjoy your experience there!
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
laying low and potty stuff
Wow, it's already been 2 weeks since my last post. I keep thinking it's been awhile but never seem to find the time or the inspiration to come here and write. I don't know why. The boys have been super cute and fun lately. I haven't been taking many photos either...lame.
They are so smart. I'm surprised every day by something they say or do. Theo just seems so OLD lately. He's still super obsessed with Legos. He just loves taking the guys apart and mixing and matching their bodies. We build whatever came in the lego set and then he takes it apart and attempts to rebuild it. He's pretty good at it! What I love the most, though, is his creativity. He builds his own little ships and guns and I literally don't know how he comes up with this stuff. So neat to watch him.
What's not so neat is that he is also obsessed with pee pee and poopy. Like, the words. Not the things. He thinks it's soooo hilarious to call people "poopyface" or "fartface." I guess it was funny the first time, but now it's just pretty obnoxious. I'm not sure if it's just his age or something that he's picked up from school.
Dexter, on the other hand, might turn out to be our goody-two-shoes. A lot of the time when Theo is trying to get Dex in trouble (by telling him to say or do something inappropriate), he'll say "No Tee-o, we don't say that." He's got a little conscience on him. Theo is starting to tell white lies, denying that he did something or blaming things on Dexter. He's not a very good liar.
Speaking of peeing and pooping though, for the longest time Theo wore a diaper to bed just because we were so paranoid that as soon as he started wearing underwear, we'd be back to the newborn days of getting up 5 times a night. Before he wore underwear to bed for the first time (on Nov 2), he had NEVER in his life woken up dry in the morning. I was curious if he was just peeing when he was awake because he knew he could or if he was actually peeing in his sleep. We've pretty much figured out in the last three weeks that he CAN NOT and will not make it through the night unless we wake him up to take him to the bathroom before we go to bed (about 3 hrs after he does). We've experimented and he always has an accident in the middle of the night if we don't take him. Sometimes he'll have 2. So, what do you do? Do you wake him up every night (a nuisance for everyone) to start teaching him or do you blow it off and let him keep sleeping in diapers? For now, we're taking him to the bathroom at midnight and celebrating successes every morning that he wakes up dry - which is the majority of the time. I figure he's going to be four in a little over three months...we've got to get a handle on this. Right?
We've been lazy with Dexter's potty training. We need to be more consistent but here's the thing. He consistently pees on the floor almost every time he wears underwear. He has some GREAT days, but he has some bad ones too. I know that's too be expected. Does it make me a bad mom if I just don't want to clean up pee off the floor or risk him peeing on the carpet or the couch? Yeah? I kinda thought so. We've got a little time with him - I'd like for him to be trained (at least for the daytime) by the time he's three...still six months away. Dexter is more than happy to tell you after he's gone but very rarely asks to use the potty before he goes. I think with more consistency on our part, potty training him will be easier than it was withMr. Stubborn Theo.
That was a lot of potty talk, considering I didn't even know what I was going to talk about.
I think that's all for now.
xo,
~C~
They are so smart. I'm surprised every day by something they say or do. Theo just seems so OLD lately. He's still super obsessed with Legos. He just loves taking the guys apart and mixing and matching their bodies. We build whatever came in the lego set and then he takes it apart and attempts to rebuild it. He's pretty good at it! What I love the most, though, is his creativity. He builds his own little ships and guns and I literally don't know how he comes up with this stuff. So neat to watch him.
What's not so neat is that he is also obsessed with pee pee and poopy. Like, the words. Not the things. He thinks it's soooo hilarious to call people "poopyface" or "fartface." I guess it was funny the first time, but now it's just pretty obnoxious. I'm not sure if it's just his age or something that he's picked up from school.
Dexter, on the other hand, might turn out to be our goody-two-shoes. A lot of the time when Theo is trying to get Dex in trouble (by telling him to say or do something inappropriate), he'll say "No Tee-o, we don't say that." He's got a little conscience on him. Theo is starting to tell white lies, denying that he did something or blaming things on Dexter. He's not a very good liar.
Speaking of peeing and pooping though, for the longest time Theo wore a diaper to bed just because we were so paranoid that as soon as he started wearing underwear, we'd be back to the newborn days of getting up 5 times a night. Before he wore underwear to bed for the first time (on Nov 2), he had NEVER in his life woken up dry in the morning. I was curious if he was just peeing when he was awake because he knew he could or if he was actually peeing in his sleep. We've pretty much figured out in the last three weeks that he CAN NOT and will not make it through the night unless we wake him up to take him to the bathroom before we go to bed (about 3 hrs after he does). We've experimented and he always has an accident in the middle of the night if we don't take him. Sometimes he'll have 2. So, what do you do? Do you wake him up every night (a nuisance for everyone) to start teaching him or do you blow it off and let him keep sleeping in diapers? For now, we're taking him to the bathroom at midnight and celebrating successes every morning that he wakes up dry - which is the majority of the time. I figure he's going to be four in a little over three months...we've got to get a handle on this. Right?
We've been lazy with Dexter's potty training. We need to be more consistent but here's the thing. He consistently pees on the floor almost every time he wears underwear. He has some GREAT days, but he has some bad ones too. I know that's too be expected. Does it make me a bad mom if I just don't want to clean up pee off the floor or risk him peeing on the carpet or the couch? Yeah? I kinda thought so. We've got a little time with him - I'd like for him to be trained (at least for the daytime) by the time he's three...still six months away. Dexter is more than happy to tell you after he's gone but very rarely asks to use the potty before he goes. I think with more consistency on our part, potty training him will be easier than it was with
That was a lot of potty talk, considering I didn't even know what I was going to talk about.
I think that's all for now.
xo,
~C~
Thursday, October 31, 2013
feelings
It's been a long time since I wrote much about parenting. About my babies. My kids. They are hardly babies anymore, but they are. Still. I've had a heart bursting with feelings and a head full of thoughts. I don't know how to organize it into anything meaningful on this blog anymore. I can post pictures and recap our fun adventures, but that's not all there is to it, is it? There's this feeling, this tug at my heart. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe because vacation's over. Maybe it's because I haven't taken a picture on my DSLR since we got home. Maybe because I just don't know what to say sometimes. I don't know - I feel like I'm missing something. Or that I'm going to miss something. Do you ever feel that way?
Theo. Theo is so big now. So smart. He is starting to understand things that are more complex. I can reason with him sometimes, where Dexter is the exact opposite. Theo knows how and when to use his manners. He thinks ahead. He was using the bathroom the other night and while pondering life, sitting on the potty, he flicked the loose side of a bandaid on his thigh repeatedly, mumbling under his breath. He'd gotten his flu shot earlier. He didn't want me in the bathroom so I was kind of hanging around in the hallway and caught this glimpse of his reflection in the mirror, looking so grown up. I stopped and listened to him grumble "I'm never getting another stupid flu shot again." Automatically, my bad-word radar went off and I said "What'd you say!?" He looked up like a deer in headlights and said, "nothing! I said I'm not getting another flu shot." He knew he'd been caught.
And this silly, simple moment became something bigger to me. My kid, who was so brave for his flu shot, was so ticked off about it 12 hours later that he was "cursing" (for all he knows) under his breath about it when he thought I wasn't around. But he knew that he couldn't kiss his mom with that dirty mouth, so you better believe he cleaned up his language when pressed about it. He says please. He says thank you. Granted, he doesn't do it all the time but at least I've taught him something, dammit. Some common courtesy.
I love him.
Sometimes I just look at his innocent face in the rearview mirror while he's looking outside and feel this swelling sensation inside. Time is flying by. I think about how small he was when we brought him home. I think about his extensive vocabulary now and how he's telling stories and jokes (bad jokes, and he doesn't really understand the whole punchline thing, but still). And I think about how he still asks me to sing to him at bedtime, like I did when he was just a few months old. I think about how he still sucks his thumb when he's tired. Sometimes I yell at him and wish I hadn't. I am becoming painfully aware that you only get one chance to raise your kids and it flies by.
Dexter. My little blonde bear. He's such a busy body. He's becoming such a big boy too. He looks up to Theo in every way, but he's so different from him. He's not a deep thinker like Theo. He blows whichever way the wind does. He doesn't stop moving long enough to process things. He's sweet. He's loving. He carries stuffed animals around like they're babies. His language is also expanding rapidly. He doesn't like the dinosaur costume I bought him for Halloween so I asked a friend about borrowing an old costume of theirs, a Donald Duck. When I asked Dexter if he'd like to be Donald Duck for Halloween, he said "Ummmm, probably I'm gonna be Goofy." Ha. He is goofy.
I love him.
What he doesn't know is that I would do anything in the world for him. That he'd probably get whatever he wanted if he just asked with one of his big bear hugs. Sometimes after he falls alseep in his big boy bed, I go into their room to make sure they are covered up. Just to stare at my boys for a few more seconds that day. Because I know they will never be this young again. Soon enough, they'll spend the night with a friend. Before I know it, they'll be on their own. They won't need me to brush their teeth. Dexter wore underwear to a restaurant for the first time this week. No accidents. My big boys are getting bigger. They're still so little, but not as little as they once were. It's kind of sad. I will touch their faces and kiss their heads and pick them up and carry them around for as long as they'll let me and as long a I am physically able. They'll be bigger than me in no time at all.
Man, I love them. No one tells you that motherhood is about one of the most beautiful, heartbreaking things you'll ever do.
xo,
~C~
Theo. Theo is so big now. So smart. He is starting to understand things that are more complex. I can reason with him sometimes, where Dexter is the exact opposite. Theo knows how and when to use his manners. He thinks ahead. He was using the bathroom the other night and while pondering life, sitting on the potty, he flicked the loose side of a bandaid on his thigh repeatedly, mumbling under his breath. He'd gotten his flu shot earlier. He didn't want me in the bathroom so I was kind of hanging around in the hallway and caught this glimpse of his reflection in the mirror, looking so grown up. I stopped and listened to him grumble "I'm never getting another stupid flu shot again." Automatically, my bad-word radar went off and I said "What'd you say!?" He looked up like a deer in headlights and said, "nothing! I said I'm not getting another flu shot." He knew he'd been caught.
And this silly, simple moment became something bigger to me. My kid, who was so brave for his flu shot, was so ticked off about it 12 hours later that he was "cursing" (for all he knows) under his breath about it when he thought I wasn't around. But he knew that he couldn't kiss his mom with that dirty mouth, so you better believe he cleaned up his language when pressed about it. He says please. He says thank you. Granted, he doesn't do it all the time but at least I've taught him something, dammit. Some common courtesy.
I love him.
Sometimes I just look at his innocent face in the rearview mirror while he's looking outside and feel this swelling sensation inside. Time is flying by. I think about how small he was when we brought him home. I think about his extensive vocabulary now and how he's telling stories and jokes (bad jokes, and he doesn't really understand the whole punchline thing, but still). And I think about how he still asks me to sing to him at bedtime, like I did when he was just a few months old. I think about how he still sucks his thumb when he's tired. Sometimes I yell at him and wish I hadn't. I am becoming painfully aware that you only get one chance to raise your kids and it flies by.
Dexter. My little blonde bear. He's such a busy body. He's becoming such a big boy too. He looks up to Theo in every way, but he's so different from him. He's not a deep thinker like Theo. He blows whichever way the wind does. He doesn't stop moving long enough to process things. He's sweet. He's loving. He carries stuffed animals around like they're babies. His language is also expanding rapidly. He doesn't like the dinosaur costume I bought him for Halloween so I asked a friend about borrowing an old costume of theirs, a Donald Duck. When I asked Dexter if he'd like to be Donald Duck for Halloween, he said "Ummmm, probably I'm gonna be Goofy." Ha. He is goofy.
I love him.
What he doesn't know is that I would do anything in the world for him. That he'd probably get whatever he wanted if he just asked with one of his big bear hugs. Sometimes after he falls alseep in his big boy bed, I go into their room to make sure they are covered up. Just to stare at my boys for a few more seconds that day. Because I know they will never be this young again. Soon enough, they'll spend the night with a friend. Before I know it, they'll be on their own. They won't need me to brush their teeth. Dexter wore underwear to a restaurant for the first time this week. No accidents. My big boys are getting bigger. They're still so little, but not as little as they once were. It's kind of sad. I will touch their faces and kiss their heads and pick them up and carry them around for as long as they'll let me and as long a I am physically able. They'll be bigger than me in no time at all.
Man, I love them. No one tells you that motherhood is about one of the most beautiful, heartbreaking things you'll ever do.
xo,
~C~
Friday, May 3, 2013
i put down the camera
I don't know what happened. I was rarely seen without my camera in my hand for months - maybe even a couple years. Lately, I don't know what it is. I just haven't wanted to lug it around. And when I do, like the other night when I took it to a new park, I snap a couple of pics and then put it in the diaper bag. This sucks.
I definitely WANT to keep taking pictures but I'm not sure when my passion fizzled. Maybe it's partly because the kids are so hard to photograph lately. They never stop moving, sure don't want to pose, and in no way think that their mama taking their picture 500 times is a priority. Also, my hands are full of kids or I'm literally chasing after kids, which makes it hard to carry a camera.
So then I hate blogging all the time with no pictures to share. So then I don't blog as much, which I hate. I guess maybe going to the gym and/or running outside after the boys go to bed has also cut into my "me" time. Time that I would have spent uploading and editing and blogging. Can't have it all, can we?
Quite a conundrum. I know. If this isn't a first world problem, I don't know what is.
xo,
~C~
 |
| Canon Rebel T2i {source} |
So then I hate blogging all the time with no pictures to share. So then I don't blog as much, which I hate. I guess maybe going to the gym and/or running outside after the boys go to bed has also cut into my "me" time. Time that I would have spent uploading and editing and blogging. Can't have it all, can we?
Quite a conundrum. I know. If this isn't a first world problem, I don't know what is.
xo,
~C~
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
did you hear!?
My most embarrassing moment post (remember the one where I peed in a sippy cup that wasn't big enough?) was determined to be funny enough by Mrs. Hilarious herself, Julie over at I Like Beer and Babies, to be featured on The Confessional today, a gut-busting series of parenting blunders that she hosts.
I'm so tremendously flattered! And if you don't read her blog, well... why not?? What's wrong with you?
excited,
~C~
I'm so tremendously flattered! And if you don't read her blog, well... why not?? What's wrong with you?
excited,
~C~
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
twenty.thirteen
But this is January 1, 2013, so it's time to move on and get back in the swing of things. Last year I attempted a Project 365...taking/editing/posting a photo each day. Failed after about 100+ days. It was fun and I really loved it because it forced me to pull the camera out EVERY DAY. Now, weeks go by without me using my fancy camera to take a picture of the boys. I try to catch a cute pic here and there on my phone and post them to Instagram but we all know that's not the same.
There are so many things I want/need to improve in 2013. It's a long, long list and I know it's unrealistic to believe I can make a dent in so many areas of my life. Instead of calling them resolutions, let's call them areas for improvement.
--------------------------
~My Health~
My body...Top priority. Simply put: I've let myself go. I've never been super pre-occupied with my appearance (and it shows). My current concern is about more than how I look. I weigh about three pounds less than I weighed the day I gave birth to Dexter. YUCK. I feel disgusting. 2012 was stressful; it was all about selling our old house and buying a new one. We spent a lot of time working on the house and eating fast food. I also quit nursing in March. There are lots of excuses, but the bottom line is that I've gained twenty pounds this year. Twenty miserable pounds. I don't like myself when I look in the mirror. Partly because my clothes don't fit. Partly because I don't look or feel healthy. But mainly because I'm ashamed of myself. I feel like a failure. Total loss of self-control. If I can't/won't/don't take care of myself, how can I ever be an example for my kids of a healthy lifestyle? I have become completely sedentary. I'm exhausted all.the.time whether I sleep enough or not. I'm powering my body with complete crap and I wonder why I feel like complete crap. Why I look like complete crap. Also, I have a predisposition for Type II Diabetes. I had gestational diabetes with both pregnancies. I don't want to drive down Diabetes Lane so the time is now to start moving towards healthier choices every day. I have to make this a priority.
Taking care of myself...I would add that I desperately need to take better care of my hygiene. Okay, that makes it sound like I'm gross and dirty. What I need to do is floss daily....okay weekly would be an improvement. I need to take my contacts out (because I rarely do). I need to wash my face every night before I go to bed (because I'm tired of having teenager skin).
~Personal/Recreational~
Blogging... I love doing it but I don't make time for it. This relates to the one above, but after the kids go to bed at night, I'm so tired, fat, and lazy, that I end up laying on the couch with some dumb t.v. show on in the background while I play on my phone. Facebook. Games. Whatever. Time wasters. Sure, it's fun and I do enjoy those things to unwind but for hours? That's pathetic and I know it. I enjoy blogging and editing photos. So why am I not doing that? Laziness.
Photography...I love pictures. My fear is that my children will grow up and I won't remember their sweet faces, that mature so much from week to week and month to month. I got a DSLR camera two years ago and have vowed ever since to learn how to use it in Manual. But I haven't and I don't. I really want to do this for myself and for my kids. I want to take pictures of my kids at least once a week and I want to start printing and framing up current photos of the boys more regularly.
Me time...I am terrible about budgeting time and money for myself. I will spend on the boys and groceries and things for the house, but I rarely buy anything for myself. New bras. Make up. Haircuts. Clothes. Massages. The list goes on. I do not take care of myself. Period. I would hate my fashion sense if I had one. The clothes hanging in my closet are a sad excuse for the wardrobe of a 32 year old professional woman. I need to branch out, accessorize, and try some new styles every once in a while.
~Relationships~
Friends... I put so much energy into my family life that I have severely neglected other relationships. This dumb texting generation has all but ended voice to voice conversations with my friends. I'll be the first to admit that I'm the world's worst about picking up the phone and calling someone just to say hi or see how his or her day was. It's come to the point that I'd just rather send a quick text so I can sit my phone down and go play with my kids or load the dishwasher or play Words With Friends and check to see if said friend has responded when it is convenient for me. Even sending an email seems like too much to ask anymore. Takes too much time. This is so sad to me and I'm so guilty of it. I'd like to make a goal to call at least one person per week just to say hi...this does not include my hubby or mother, the two people that I do talk to on a regular basis. In addition to calling them on the phone, I would like to make some time to spend time with friends WITHOUT kids. I love playdates as much as the next crazy toddler mom, but there's something to be said for spending time with just grownups from time to time.
Love... I do love my husband. Wow, just re-reading what I've already written here, it's safe to say that I don't put much effort into impressing him. I think it's important to continue dating and flirting and trying to impress your spouse. We're going on 10(!!!) years of marriage in 2013 and still going strong. I love our life together with the kids. But our life as a couple leaves a lot to be desired. Our lives revolve around our kids. I know they will not be little for long but maintaining the spark we had before they came along has to take priority at some point. Because ... they won't be little for long. We won't live with them forever. We will live with each other forever so we need to like, not just love, each other forever. Don't get me wrong, our relationship is not troubled. We are fine. But we can't let life get in the way so much that we don't ever feel the way we did 10 years ago. We need to go on a date at least 1 time each month. Even if it's just a couple of hours. We need to be able to stare at each other, hold hands while we walk through the mall, and hug in the middle of the store for no reason. Instead of always catching that sippy cup Dexter just launched before it hits the waitress. Instead of pushing the stroller or chasing Theo through the furniture store. So I need some help on this one. I need some babysitters to watch these kids every once in a while so we can just have an evening to just. BE. without being stressed. I am totally up for a kid swap with friends...take turns watching the others' kids to get a date night in? Any takers?
~Household~
Organization... I want to organize and de-clutter this house. Get rid of junk that has no purpose. I read a good tip on facebook....turn all of your hangers around the wrong way but hang them up correctly after laundering and in a year (I think it said six months but I'd give it a year), any clothes that are still backwards get donated. I'm good about going through the boys clothes and cleaning out their dressers, but that's because they are perpetually outgrowing. I'm terrible about doing this with my clothes. I want to throw away trash (mail) daily and keep our bill-paying area clean. I don't want to waste another second in search of stamps, checks, or envelopes. Yes, we still pay a lot of our bills by mail. Nutty, right!?
Groceries & Cooking... I really, really, really, really (is four reallys enough to get the point across?) want to start menu planning and grocery shopping accordingly. I recently started doing some grocery shopping online and I LOVE this. You can review what's in your cart and how much you are spending before you check out -- something I am TERRIBLE about at the store. You can print off coupons and use them before your delivery -- I always forget coupons when I go to the store. Also, they deliver the groceries right to your countertops... priceless in the blizzard we had last week! Anyway, I want to use a lot less boxed/frozen/processed stuff and a whole lot more ingredients in what my kids (and us grown ups too) eat.
Style.... this kind of goes along with the fashion thing I mentioned before. I don't know what my decorating style/taste is. I see a million things on Pinterest or displays in stores that I love but I have no idea how to create a comprehensive design for my home. I have a huge canvas but no clue what to do with it. I want my house to have a wow factor when people see it for the first time. Not just a oh, this is a big room, but a WOW, how cool and unique and colorful and fabulous. We are not anywhere close to that. Just something I want to work on a little bit at a time this year.
--------------------------------
And with all of that being said, and if you are still reading, thank you. And I'm sorry for being absent for the last six weeks. I'm going to try to do better. I don't even know where to start with all of this, but I'm thinking about joining the gym again. Gotta start somewhere. Any help, support, fingers crossed, well wishes, etc. would be appreciated.
happiest new year to you,
~C~
Sunday, October 21, 2012
if you really knew me
You'd know that I suck at crowds and I'm not great with strangers. I have some social anxiety, which I guess is linked to my not-so-fabulous self esteem. You'd know that I'm incredibly shy and if I feel awkward around someone, I'll probably just make an excuse to slip away. I'm good one on one, or even talking to a couple new people at once...but only if they're more talkative than me. No crowds of new people please. I hate the spotlight. Being the guest of honor at a party or event gives me bubble guts.
You'd know I hate onions and Brad Paisley, but I love chili and Sugarland. You'd know I met my husband at Disney World and that we were in a long distance relationship for almost four years before we got married.
You'd know I sleep on my stomach, I love animated movies (Little Mermaid especially), and I'm grumpy if I don't wake up on my own. You'd know I used to want a little girl so bad that I said if I had two boys, I'd try one more time for a girl (and you'd know I've changed my mind).
You'd know that I didn't have my first kiss until I was 15 and that I have never used drugs. None. Never. You'd know my 2 bestest friends from high school are both named Emily and that I spent so much time with them that they became an entity known as "the Emilies" for years. You'd know that my mama treats those girls like family.
You'd know I love my babies more than anything in the whole wide world and that I'd do anything to make them smile. You'd know that I'm quick to lose my patience and that I often second guess my parenting. You'd know that my little family is my world and I'm doing my best for them.
Thanks to Sarah for the inspiration.
xo,
~C~
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