Want Some Cheese with the W(h)ine?

Tyler is going through a VERY fussy and whiny stage right now.  Of course, like any toddler, he hates to be told no and he has an EPIC meltdown if you do have to tell him no.  I'm trying very hard right now to not just tell him no and to redirect him to something else, but it's not always easy to redirect him when I'm cooking dinner and he's at my feet trying to touch the hot burner.  He also melts down when he doesn't get what he wants right away.  He thinks that if he doesn't get it right now that he's not going to get it at all.  Like last night when he wanted ice, I had to get a cup for him and then get some crushed ice out of the dispenser.  Then I asked him to follow me to the living room to sit on the couch and he dropped to the floor and started bawling.  I just left him in the kitchen to cry and then when he was done he walked over to me and asked for "more please" (he signed it).

I'm really working on his vocabulary and his sign language.  I really think that all his frustration stems from his communication skills.  He understands us, but he has trouble communicating his wants.  When he wants something, he usually just signs "more please".  It's a guessing game as to what he wants more of, especially when he hasn't had anything yet.  Kaitlyn had A LOT of words when she was his age so we didn't have the same difficulties as we do with Tyler.  I try to give him lots of words, but it's not working.  He has a handful of words, mamma, dadda, more, dog, duck, nut (Peanut), ball, all done, and no.  He can also sign more, please, thank you, and all done.  I really need to step up the sign language with him because I think he'll be more successful with it now that he's really taken off with his motor skills.  He WANTS to communicate with us but he just doesn't know enough words to do it.

I think I'm going to print up a bunch of signs for all kinds of objects in our house and also make a poster of some common signs and put them up everywhere.  This will be more of a reminder for me on what particular sign goes with what.  It may even help Kaitlyn learn to read since I'm going to put the written word on them too.  Hopefully this will stop the whining and crying and me totally losing my shit.

Easter

We had such a great Easter.  It was really fun because both kids were able to participate in the egg hunt.  I'm hoping for all the little cousins to be able to come down and have a huge egg hunt like we did back in the day.  I seriously have so many memories of eggs hunts with my cousins...maybe another post.

Kaitlyn came into our room around 7:15 and just stared at me from my side of the bed.  (It was kinda creepy when I opened my eyes and there she was just staring at me.)  I told her to come up on the bed so I could get more sleep snuggle with her.  She jumped in between me and Jerry and flipped and flopped until I couldn't take it anymore.  We went and got Tyler and I made french toast for breakfast.

Then we took the kids into the playroom and opened Easter baskets.  They were stoked to say the least.  I've never seen Tyler try to hold so many things in his little hands before.  He didn't want to put any of it down for a second.  Kaitlyn was over the moon excited when she saw her bath tub Ariel doll.  She wanted to play with it right then but I told her to wait till we got in the pool.

We colored eggs after baskets because I am a horrible very busy working mommy.  Kaitlyn really dug it but the fun didn't last that long because we only colored a dozen eggs.  (I can only eat so many egg salad sammies.)  As we let the eggs dry, I got them dressed in their Easter outfits and tried to take pictures of them...fail.  I got a few pictures, but nothing that I'm going to frame any time soon.

Then we let the kids hunt their eggs that the Easter bunny hide for them.  Kaitlyn was super excited and ran from egg to egg screaming "I found one!"  Tyler kept opening every egg he picked up instead of putting it in his basket so he lost a few jelly beans to the ants.  He didn't care what was in the eggs, he just wanted to open them.  We opened all the eggs after the hunt, Tyler's most favorite part.  He would shake them, then open them.  Cutest thing ever. 

We swam before nap so we could get the kids good and tired.  Nap time was a little longer for Kaitlyn and a lot longer for Tyler.  They hated the brisket that we had for lunch even though it was the best brisket ever!  I guess they prefer hot dogs and spaghetti...eh what do they know? 

My brother got his first start for FSU baseball as the DH.  He was 1-4 but he scored the go ahead run on a sac fly.  He also got a second sac fly RBI and the K he got was total BS because the ball was literally outside and at his ankles.  He's 6'3"...he's not swinging at the low ones.  He was so excited and you could really see that he was happy. 

All-in-all it was a great day!

To Pray or Not to Pray

My grandpa had surgery yesterday to fix his aneurysm in his stomach.  He's not doing well.  My dad went to Orlando to see him after surgery and didn't get the chance because he's not allowed to have visitors.  I'm not sure of all the details because I had to get them from my mom and she's never sure of what people tell her.  (I'm not being mean it's just part of that language barrier my mother has.)  I'm hoping he pulls through this because it was supposed to be no big deal.  However he is old and it's much worse than anyone could have imagined.

I feel like I should say a prayer, but then I feel like I'm being a hypocrite.  Why do we only pray in times of need?  I'm not sure of my relationship with God right now.  I think it's because of what is going on with my aunt and how she uses God as an answer for everything and it just drives me bat shit.  I don't go to church, nor do I really have the desire to go to church.  I feel like that's just one more thing "those" people want me to do to prove my worth to God.  I really don't feel my relationship with God is anybody elses business but my own.  I do feel torn though that I don't show God enough that I am a believer in Him.  I try to live a "good" life and teach my children the basics of what the Bible preaches.  I teach my children to be good to others and treat them like they would like to be treated.  I just don't insert God into our conversations.  I don't want to make any decisions about religion for my children.  It's the one area where I would like them to explore, with my help of course, other religions and beliefs and find something that they want to believe in.  I've seen time and time again where children rebel against their religious upbringing because it was forced on them and now they are resentful of it.  I don't want that for my children.  I want to teach them to make decisions for themselves and to help guide them to know what is best for them.  I believe that only then can they have a true relationship with God, or whoever else they choose their deity to be.

Spring Break

Spring break was some much needed time off from work.  It was also some much needed time to spend with my babies so we pulled them out of daycare.  (It didn't hurt that we also took vacation from daycare and saved $400 that week.)  Jerry was in Vegas for the first part of the week and then I went to meet him in Tahoe for the weekend.

It would have been a marvelous spring break but it rained the entire time I was home which ruined my plans to spend every waking minute outside with the kids.  It was too cold to do water table, even though I did let them splash around after Kaitlyn begged me for the millionth time.  It was too wet to do sidewalk chalk and sit outside to eat our snacks at their cute little Toy Story umbrella table I bought special for spring break.  Kaitlyn and I did get to play with her new play-doh set she got for Christmas while Tyler was napping so that's a plus.  We spent a lot of time snuggling under the blankets on the couch watching the Disney version of Robin Hood over and over and over.  That girl LOVES her some Robin Hood.  She can pretty much recite the entire movie word for word and recreates the pretend fight scene between Lady Clucky and Skippy all.the.time.  (Yeah, that's how much we watch the movie; I know the name of the chicken and the little bunny.) 

Thursday night my cousin came in to town to help watch the kids on Friday and Saturday while I was in Tahoe with Jerry for the weekend.  My mom and dad watched them on Sunday.  My mom took them to daycare Monday morning and we picked them up Monday afternoon.  I was kind of nervous with leaving the kids with my cousin, only because she's never really been fully responsible for any kids for any amount of time.  I had to teach her how to change a diaper and prayed my whole trip that Tyler would wait for my mother to come home before he pooped.  She's great with my kids and she loves them to death and I was comforted by the fact that my parents are only 5 house away and my mom would get off of work in a heartbeat if there was an emergency.  Of course it helps that Kaitlyn LOVES her some "Windsey" and I left before either kid woke up in the morning to avoid a meltdown.

Tahoe was beautiful!  We got to stay at the Ritz Carlton at Northstar courtesy of Jerry's company.  It was a reward for a contest that his company sponsored for the resellers that he works with.  Let me tell you his company was out to impress!  We were all wined and dined and hopefully the resellers were impressed enough to look out for more of these contests in the future.  There were multiple excursions for everyone to enjoy: skiing/snowboarding, spa, snowmobile tour, snowshoe tour, etc.  We chose to snowboard the first day and get the hour massage the second day.  Originally we were going to board both days, but we were WAY too sore to go down the mountain the second day.  It had been 5 years since we last boarded and let's just say we were VERY much beginners this time around.  (Although I do have to say I improved my boarding skills by about 80% from the last time I went.)  Tahoe is beautiful and I'm so glad that we had the opportunity to go courtesy of his company because we can not even dream of affording a trip like that right now. 

Even though I had a lot of fun on the trip, I was very happy to get my babies.  I missed them so much!  They grew on me too!  Kaitlyn is at least a half inch taller, even her teacher noticed her growth, and Tyler looks like a little man with his new haircut.  It's nice to get away, but it's so much nicer to get back home.

Terrible Threes?

For the most part, Kaitlyn is an angel.  I'm not saying that because I'm her mom and I think my child can do no wrong, but it is the truth.  I always get compliments about how well behaved she is and about her manners, etc.  For example, the other day when she got in trouble at daycare, which is RARE, she cried and another mommy was surprised that she was 1) in trouble and 2) she cried because "Kaitlyn never cries."  It always amazes me when other mommies think that my child is perfect because she is far from it.

Lately though, she has been testing out her new devil horns.  She is especially testing her daycare teacher, which is something she had NEVER done.  She will challenge me, daddy and even grandma, but NEVER Miss *Susie.  (I was dying for Kaitlyn to turn two so she could be with Miss Susie because she is an amazing teacher and I'm glad that she will stay with her until she turns four.)  Anywho, Miss Susie has had to put Kaitlyn on the wall twice in the last month.  They are not allowed to put them in time out, it is against school policy, so they must sit on the wall if they are outside to "think" about their actions.  Kaitlyn does NOT like to get into trouble at school which is probably why she's rarely in trouble.  She LOVES positive attention so mostly she acts all cute and cuddly because every single teacher will love on her for being good. 

Since she's acting out at school I'm wondering if she's getting bored.  Right now I think her room is maxed out with kids which makes the ratio 13/1.  That one teacher has to deal with the same 13 kids all day long, and for the most part, BY HERSELF!  Can you imagine?  Working with 13 three to four year olds every day without regular adult conversation.  I for one cannot.  Sometimes I don't even want to be left alone with my own two children for more than an hour by myself.  Anyway, Miss Susie is so busy with 13 kids, and she does a stellar job, that sometimes I wonder how much learning is going on.  Right now there is only one little girl that, from what I have seen, is on par with Kaitlyn developmentally.  (I think this little girl is either already 4 or is VERY close to 4.)  Kaitlyn has always been advanced intellectually.  Other parents seriously asked me every day if she was reading yet...at 18 months old!  She was already speaking in full sentences by then and knew all her colors, shapes, body parts, etc, etc.  I know that Kaitlyn is learning things because she still amazes me with the things she says and does and I know she gets it from daycare.  For example, she can spell Tyler, she's knows what letter sounds are and she can determine what letters words start with and most other things that are on considered 4 year old things.  I did not teach her those things; mostly because I didn't know that she should have those skills yet.  Right now, though, I just wish that Miss Susie had the time to take her to the next level.  I am not blaming Miss Susie at all, I just wish the daycare had the resources needed for Kaitlyn to really excel.  God knows we spend enough money there to get those extra services. 

I know this is selfish, but I'm hoping that the class will thin out with kids leaving and the older children moving on to pre-K before we take the kids out for the summer.  I'm going to ask Miss Susie about some skills that we should be working on over the summer so Kaitlyn won't be behind when she returns in the fall.  I'll just have to reinforce that Miss Susie is the boss at school and that what she says, goes, no questions or arguments.  Hopefully, like all other things children do, this is just a phase.

*Name has been changed.

Migraines

Wednesday was the first time I have ever experienced a migraine and let me just say that I hope it's the LAST time too!  That sucker knocked me on my ass...literally.  It came with no warning at all and took me out for a day and a half.  I'm still not 100% and I have been taking frequent breaks today at work.

It started with a slight headache when I left work.  I thought I was just hungry since I only ate a banana and some biscuits all day.  I know, I know, very bad, but I was so busy with getting the subs last two weeks of lesson plans done I didn't stop to eat.  I figured I'd just grab a smoothie on the way home after I got the kids.  (I've been dying to sneak Kaitlyn some ice cream on the way home but I know Tyler will scream for some and he's SO not ready to eat ice cream by himself, let alone in the car.)  I stopped at this dollar store to see if they had any glass candle holders so I can make some hurricanes to display.  (Damn all you craft blogs out there that have me thinking I'm Martha freaking Stewart!)  I went down the candle aisle and the smell hit me like a ton of bricks.  I have been super sensitive to smells lately and that one just sent me over the edge.  I quickly left that aisle and continued searching for junk treasures.  I noticed that I was seeing spots and I really thought that I was going to black out.  On my way out of the store the spots turned to these translucent star burst things.  I could see through them, but they did create some weird blind spots if I turned my head too quickly.  It was affecting both eyes and I was contemplating calling Jerry to pick up the kids.  I decided that I was ok and headed to daycare.  That's when the headache started.  It was a dull pain, not overpowering at all. 

As soon as I walked into the daycare, the star bursts turned to spots.  I was having a hard time focusing, and quite frankly, seeing.  When I walked into Kaitlyn's room, I always pick her up first, I must have had a strange look on my face because her teacher asked me if I was ok.  I said I was, just seeing some spots and I quickly got Kaitlyn, I never just grab her an go, and went to Tyler's room.  He was eating snack, so I knew it was not going to be a grab and go situation.  I leaned on the changing table for support because I was starting to feel wosey at this point.  His teacher offered me a chair; she thought my knee was bothering me.  I declined because I didn't think I would make it back up.  Luckily Tyler ate his snack quickly and he didn't throw a fit when we left.

As we were driving home, I was desperately fighting back the nausea.  I was looking in my car for something to vomit in just in case.  I made it home and gagged as soon as I opened my car door.  I had to drag Tyler in the house kicking and screaming because he wanted to walk in on his own and I NEEDED to carry him as fast as I could.  I forced myself to get the kids some drinks and a snack and gobbled a breakfast bar and water for myself.  I seriously thought I was hungry or dehydrated.  WRONG.  As soon as I finished my water I had to run to the bathroom and vomit, and vomit, and vomit.  I couldn't stop.  I eventually had to call Jerry to come home so he could watch the kids.  I could not pull myself away from the toilet. 

He came home and asked me if I needed to go to the ER...that's how bad I looked.  I said no, just take care of the kids.  Luckily my mom wanted to take the kids to the park so Jerry got a reprieve because he really needed to get some work done.  I was done for the rest of the night.

I took the day off work Thursday because I just could not pull myself out of bed.  I ached all over from throwing up so much.  I also had the chills even though I was freakishly hot.  Jerry asked if I wanted the kids at home and I was all HELL NO.  He took them to daycare and I slept until 10.  The nausea stayed around a little longer and technology was my worst enemy.  I couldn't even tweet because looking at the screen made me want to vomit.  I did manage to keep down toast and some chicken noodle soup so that was a big win.

I still feel like ass today, but am grateful that the marathon vom-a-thon is over.  I swear that I will sell my soul to never have a migraine again.

Sidelined

So this sucks really bad and probably only happens to me.  I mentioned earlier that I started C25K in my effort to get healthy.  I was committed to sticking with the program and I'm proud to say that I did.  I was really starting to enjoy running and looked forward to my runs at night.  I ran after dinner clean up so I would have something in my belly and not wear out too quickly during my run.  It really was the perfect time to run because I would leave the kids with Jerry and he would have quality play time with them and I would have quality alone time.  All was good in my world until I hurt my knee.  I don't know what I did to it, probably just a sprain, but it KILLS!  I seriously want to chop off my leg at the knee just so I can stop hurting.  I'm trying to rest it as much as I can, but really how well does that work when you work full-time, have two young children and have to keep up with house chores?  I have to take Tylenol for the pain just so I can get up and walk around.  I have been putting heat and ice on it and have been using icy hot at night and at work.  It's been a little over a week and it still hurts like a bitch. 

I'm really disappointed because I really did enjoy running.  I'm probably not going to continue running even when I do heal because I don't want to reinjure my knee.  I will start biking instead since it's a low impact sport.  I want to get a trailer for my bike to put the kids in so I can take them on rides.  I think they would enjoy that.  I will try running again, when I am a little less heavy because I truly believe that it's the best way for me to stay healthy.  Running is not a hassle and that's what I need to stick with exercising.