Pee

Mommmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy -- I go pee.

Atticus is getting very good at now telling me when he goes pee. While this is a good thing in theory -- it's not so enjoyable at 5 am. For the past few nights, after bath, we've sat on the potty before books/bed -- but none the less, within 20 minutes of me leaving the room, I'm being paged back to Atti's room to change his diaper. The nighttime diapers are expensive too. Last night/this morning.... I was paged at 5 am to change a diaper.

Oy.

I should go to bed, but I really want to see the end of the Oscars. (I know that appears to have nothing to do with potty training - but it does sort of in a weird way because I'm tired. :) So I should go to sleep before one of my kids wakes me up... but I want to see Best Picture!)

S-T-R-E-S-S

I know I'm stressed because my face is breaking out. I have good skin. Low maintenance. I don't get zits. Grrrr.

My list of to-dos for tomorrow and this week is crazy long. Crazy long.

I'm going to need a caffeine drip to get through it all. And maybe a magic wand. Anyone have a magic wand I can borrow?

And The Oscar Goes To

I miss movies. I have a degree in Radio, Television and Film from the University of Texas for crying out loud. Sigh. While I love my current job - I miss movies. I forget that sometimes. I'm happy that I've renewed my Netflix account... but I miss the behind the scenes stuff, the filming, the editing, the guts that go into the finished piece. Watching some of the acceptance speeches tonight just reminded me of all the good things about movies....

Snowing. Still.

I took Atticus outside this morning for another romp in the snow. For the first time this winter, I was able to convince him to wear mittens. We got the left one on properly -- and had all five fingers in the main part of the right mitten -- but we headed out anyways. We shoveled, we stomped on the snow, we marched in the snow, we knocked over the "frosty-man" that Greg had started to build on the back porch. We had fun. I tried to get Greg to come out with the camera, but he was inside showering and didn't hear us calling to him. Sigh. Atti looked awfully cute with his red little runny nose, skull cap, puffy jacket, mittens and snow boots BUT I am soooooo ready for spring.

It's started snowing again. Oy. Wasn't the 12" yesterday enough?

Peas Please

Oh the irony.... Wren hasn't been a big fan of peas since the get go, but Atticus was having them with dinner last night so I tossed a handful on Wren's tray -- and she ate them! Woot! Today, I think we'll try black beans and maybe some pieces of cooked carrot.

Snow Day

So yesterday was another snow day. About 12" give or take fell at our house. AGAIN. Is it spring yet? The only good news is that for some unknown reason yesterday, Atticus decided that he would actually venture out into the snow. He donned his snow boots, scarf, and puffy coat and out we went. We "helped" Daddy shovel snow, we "built" a snowman on the back porch, we tromped through tons of snow with our neighbor Zoe. It was fun - at least until his little fingers started turning red and freezing. He still refuses to wear mittens, but I was able to get the lightweight sweater type gloves on his hands. It took a while for the fingers to come back up to temperature...but after all was defrosted, it was a good time. :)

Of course, I was so busy running around outside that I didn't snap any photos! Oy.

I'll try to get some today -- he's ready to go out again!!

Wrong Side of The Bed

Holy moly did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I heard Atticus babbling in his room this morning just before 7. I finished getting dressed, grabbed Wren and headed into his room. Everything went downhill from there. He was just screaming about everything... literally screaming at the top of his lungs. He wanted the light on, he wanted the light off, he wanted a tissue - but not the one I gave him, he wanted in bed, he wanted out of bed, there was no end. It took about an hour for me to get him dressed, teeth brushed and get downstairs. It was awful. I don't know what crawled up his tush today but it was NO FUN.

Then, we got to school and he was clinging to me like I was the best Mom ever! Oy.

New Words - New Foods

Wren is now babbling quite a bit more. There are a lot of ya-ya-yas... and I swear she's saying baby, Atti and Daddy. The latter two sound pretty similar -- but I really think she's using words.

We've also been trying out some new food combinations as of late. There was a blueberry/beet/banana mix yesterday and apples/cherries today. Over the weekend she had mango for the first time. I think she's pretty ready for "big girl" food too. I had made some roasted veggies in the oven over the weekend - carrots, broccoli, zucchini with olive oil and some spices. I gave Wren a carrot to chew on/taste and she actually chowed threw 2 carrots. Not bad I thought! I saw an easy tutorial on how to make apple teething rings - I may have to give that a try over the next couple of days too!

I'm going to try and do better with this one and keep up her wide variety of foods and not cater to the toddler diet!!

Will We Ever Sleep?

My guess is no. I'm now resorting to drugging my child. I've just given Wren a dose of Motrin in the hopes that whatever it is that's ailing her will ease up and let her sleep. She's fed, she's clean - and she's now swaddled and back in the bassinet in our room... and she's still crying. Always crying.

For the love of all things sane -- please go to sleep!

Edited to Add: Perhaps it is the teeth... after about 30 minutes and some cuddling - Wren went back to sleep in her room and slept in until almost 6 am. Yay! Note to self -- just give her some Motrin before bed again tonight!

More Craftiness

I have crafty "start-itis". I love crafty projects and want to start a million of them. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have "finish-itis". Must work on that.

Seriously. How cute is this little turtle guy? I know I don't know how to sew - but it's still stinking adorable. And maybe someone reading is both crafty AND has a sewing machine?

Taggie Turtle

Birthday Wreath

I so need to make one of these even though I'm not sure if/when we'll have a party at the house!

Stumbled upon this blog post and just thought - how stinking cute!?! And - bonus, it can work for boys or girls. Yay!

Balloon Wreath

Puffmaster

Wren is now a master of the puffs. She's figured out the eye-hand coordination and was going to town over lunch today with the puffs. She's growing up so fast!

Totally unrelated to eating... but she's also super ticklish. I'll ask Greg to film a little bit maybe over the weekend. All you do is look at her with a devilish look as if you're about to tickle her and she starts laughing! Laughing is a nice change of pace from the screaming. :)

Explaining Great Britain, England, Scotland etc

Borrowed from a friend who found it on JMG - I found this quite enlightening in it's speedy presentation. :)

4 a.m.

I'm not really sure I'm going to miss this... I think I'll be OK with this portion of Wren's beautiful life coming to a close.....

Sleep is a good thing. Why do my children fight it so?

Still Screaming

She's clean. She's fed. She's still screaming. And screaming. And screaming. With no end in sight. Miraculously -- it's only keeping Greg and I awake, although I doubt Atticus is resting very soundly. We have a doctor's appointment in 12 hours to make sure there isn't another ear infection...

Jeanne -- how did you survive your screamer? I'm at wit's end!

Well... I suppose 3:45 am is a good time to do some work.

You're Going To Miss This

That's the title of a Trace Atkins song. The chorus goes:

You're going to miss this
You're going to want this back
You're going to wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it know
But you're going to miss this..

I've been repeating this chorus over and over for the past 2 hours as we try to get Atticus to sleep. Sigh. I think it's finally quiet now which means I can finish my work from this afternoon and hopefully get my report sent off to the boss before the little one wakes up.

Weather

Some more "good" news... it's supposed to get above freezing every day this week! I could not be more excited. Seriously. Please melt away all this frozen tundra outside my house. My child needs some outdoor time. I do too... I have been wanting to take the kids out for a walk something awful!

Baby Talk - 1st Words

On the positive for the weekend, Wren has been babbling quite a bit more. I'm convinced that her first word is "baby". We haven't had the ma-ma-ma or da-da-da or even ba-ba-ba, but it sure sounds like she's saying BABY!

What Next, Locusts?

Really? Really? I know they say, you never get more than you can handle, but I think someone upstairs is trying to test my limits.

Last night Atticus and Wren both started with the runny noses. Both kids woke early from the afternoon naps, so it was early to bed with both little ones. Wren went down without much fuss, and Atticus seemed to have one "need" after another. He needed a tissue. He needed me to put the blanket back over him. He needed one more hug. He needed some music. He needed a sip of water. Finally got Atticus to fall asleep about 10 pm.

10: 30 ish -- Wren wakes up SCREAMING as if being tortured. In an attempt to keep her from waking the remainder of the household, I brought her downstairs for a few minutes after my attempts in her room to calm her down were useless. She was so upset that she was making her nose gush -- so then I had to use the nose sucker to get out the snot which sent her into more of a tizzy. Finally got her to breathe and nurse a bit and calm down. Changed her diaper and took her back to her room and put her in the crib.

Midnight ish -- Atticus wakes up crying for a tissue.

3 am ish -- Atticus wakes up again fussing for a tissue and who knows what.

4 am ish -- Wren wakes up. Bring her into my room to nurse her and calm her down. She's flailing about so I put her in the bassinet in our room and she finally falls back asleep about 4:30.

5:15 am -- Atticus wakes up again needing a tissue. (Mind you I've already put some in his bed next to his pillow, but he wants me to hold it!)

6:40 am -- Alarm goes off. Atticus stirs and I try to shush him for at least another few minutes.

6:47 am -- Alarm goes off again. Greg gets up and I give in and go get Atticus.

8:00 am -- Wren wakes up.

9:30 am -- MacKenzie comes upstairs to the office to tell me that there was a loud crash and that something is now trying to claw it's way out of the chimney.

I mean really? I'm running on a severe lack of sleep. Do I look like I'm in the mood for injured/stuck/maimed/troubled animals?

Then, I couldn't find the landlord's phone number (not sure why it wasn't saved in my contacts, but probably because it's just the day I'm having...) and I tried Greg, but of course he wasn't at his desk. I did some googling and found where the landlord worked on LinkedIn. Googled the company's website and gave them a call. Now the landlord (the husband) is going to come over sometime today and attempt to remove the squirrel from the chimney before we have to call animal control.

Oy vey.

And... I'm waiting for the phone to ring from Atticus's school and to hear that he's sick or in need of a doctor. Wouldn't that just take the cake? Wren has her 9 month "well" check on Wednesday. Perhaps she won't be so well for her visit. Ugh. Well, at least she's already scheduled!!

Exhausting

This morning was just plain exhausting. Some days are all sunshine and roses with Atticus and others are a constant battle. I know I'm not alone in this battle - my kid is 2. Welcome to the "terrible twos". With his high comprehension level, I sometimes forget that he's only 2.

Our morning routine is the same everyday. We get up, we change the diaper and get dressed and then we brush our teeth. Lately, the change the diaper and get dressed part of the day has been a HUGE battle. I'm talking full on tantrums of screaming, hitting, throwing, tears, you name it... Today, he was so mad that he actually hit me. That was the straw. Then it was time out - which is hard to do when he's screaming and flopping like a fish out of water. Oh... and throw in a poor little 8 month old who has no clue what's going on!

Finally got him dressed - gave up on the brushing the teeth for today, and went downstairs after much to-do.

Sallie, one of the therapists who's organizing Atticus's treatment plans was supposed to be here at 9 am. The nanny is also due to arrive at 9 am. Wren goes down for her morning nap normally about 9:15. Does this sound like a train wreck waiting to happen yet? Temperature this morning was -5 with a wind chill of -20. So... they delayed most of the public schools for two hours - why - not quite sure. As if a kid can tell the difference when waiting for the bus between 0 and 3 degrees??? But I digress. Nanny is running two hours late - but calls to say that her neighbor is going to pitch in and let the girls stay at her house and she'll drive them to the bus stop in a bit and that she'll be here by 9:30 am. It's now 9:17 am and there's no sign of Sallie. Wren is ready to lay down and Atticus is running around out of control. I went to the garage to unlock the door for the Nanny when I see Sallie sitting in my driveway in her car on the phone! G'ah. Seriously? On the phone? You're 17 minutes late and I've got a million things to do! I just look at her, shut the door and go take Wren and Atticus upstairs. I attempt to coral Atticus and have him play in his room while I put Wren down. Atticus comes in and turns on the light - lovely - get him to turn it back off, go back to his room, calm down Wren who's now looking around saying "hey, what's going on", talk to Atticus and convince him to wait for me and to NOT go down the stairs head first on his stomach, swaddle Wren and grab Atticus and head downstairs. There, we run into both Nanny and Sallie who then tells me, oh - it's mostly paperwork today, you could have taken Atticus to school, your call. G'ah.

Nanny takes Atticus downstairs and Sallie and I have a pretty productive session and I should have Atticus enrolled in OT (occupational therapy) very soon. Fingers crossed. I've been waiting for her recommendations and the list of OTs in the area for a couple months. I still need to call insurance and see what paperwork is needed before our first session. I need to find a therapist with availability. I need to schedule dentist appointments for Atticus, Greg and I -- I know, totally unrelated to therapy, but still on the list of doctor to-dos. I need to call the ENT back and find out what's involved in having his ears cleaned...

Sigh. I'm pooped and I haven't even begun yet....

Daddy's Bible

This is just kind of funny.... Atticus has been reaching for a book on the bookshelf in the den. He keeps saying, "Daddy's Bible" and pulling down the book " Get a Financial Life". Our cover however is slightly more exciting than the one I've linked too -- more colorful. We just laugh - because, for a while, that book well -- it pretty much was a bible. Things to live and abide by for sure!

Sleep Training Part Deux

Well... some success and a some setbacks. The first night went pretty well. Wren cried for just a moment or two at 1 am and then went back to sleep on her own until about 4 am. I got her then and brought her back to our room.

Night two -- she cried off and on for just over an hour from 1 am to 2 am and then I went to get her. We nursed and then she slept in the bassinet for the remainder of the night.

Night three -- she cried off and on for a little while, but to be perfectly honest, I was so tired, I can' tell you how long! She did fall back asleep and stayed asleep in her bed, in her room, until 7 am! Woo hoo!

We're hoping night four goes well and that there's less middle of the night crying and more sleeping until 7 am!

Sleep Training

So... while the Daddy's away - I've decided to do a bit of sleep training with the little one. Now that she has her own bed in her own room -- I figure it's about time she's sleeping for longer stretches. I need to look up how long she should be sleeping (funny how quickly you forget these things), but I know it's more than 4-5 hours at a stretch!

Of course last night was a bit wonky because of the Super Bowl party -- but I put Wren down about 7:20 and she woke up at about 1 am. I didn't go to get her -- and it only took a few minutes for her to settle back down and go back to sleep. Yay! Granted, I was ridiculously tired, so she may have cried for longer than I think... but the results were the same. Atticus didn't wake up and she went back to sleep. She woke again at 3:30 on the dot (quite typical) and this time I did go get her. I figure no sense traumatizing her completely on the first night....

She is napping better in her crib - so hopefully we're well on our way to a happy, sleepy baby!

Wow. Rape vs Rape Rape

I'm never up late enough to catch The Daily Show on Comedy Central these days -- but I saw this clip on a friend's site. Clearly I need to do a bit more research, but REALLY -- this is how we're supposed to save the country money?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Rape Victim Abortion Funding
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> The Daily Show on Facebook

Snow.

Enough already. I get it. I live in Ohio. Mother Nature is pissy. Blah blah. No more snow. I mean it. According to the cheesy local news - we're already 8 inches ahead for the month of February. Woo hoo. Aren't we lucky? (That's pure sarcasm.) Greg managed to shovel the snowfall from today - all 8 or so inches. Cheesy local weather dude says we're due for some more tomorrow afternoon around Super Bowl time and again Monday night. I'm not happy. Snow is only good when you're skiing. Otherwise it's pointless.

In other news... Wren is still screaming for no apparent reason when we're home. Usually she saves the all out wailing for when Atticus is sleeping. I've got an appointment with an ENT to have Atti's ears rechecked on Tuesday. I'm going to ask the doc to peek in Wren's ears too while we're there. Figure it can't hurt. It'll save me from making another appointment with the pedi to see if her ear infection is gone. Goodness knows what I'll do if he says no! I keep hoping that the screaming is related to teething, but you never know.

I'm off to do a bit of work while Greg packs. Maybe looking at financials will put me to sleep. Ha.

Loud.

Wren is a loud baby. She's always screaming. Always. It's exhausting for us -- I can't imagine she likes it much either. I really really wish I knew WHY she was screaming. Even when she's not screaming, she's not really babbling much. She screeches. Loud high pitched screeches. And then she screams. Today it's just screaming, no screeches.

The past 4 days have been filled with a lot of screaming. And Advil. And more screaming. This is what drives some parents over the edge. I can see how it happens.