The hubs and I decided, a bit last minute, to do an overnight hotel stay this past weekend. The kids haven't had any pool time in a long time and we have an upcoming week-long trip coming up and I wanted to try out puddle jumpers for the girls before I take up a ridiculous amount of space in our luggage. Lessons learned:
1). An overnight hotel stay at a hotel with a "water park" (read: small pool with one slide and a kiddie area) is pricey for a family of 6.
2) Taking a trip to a hotel without my mother is infinitely more relaxing than taking a trip with her.
3) If I have to share a bed with one of our twins, I pick BW (the hubs got SB and battled for space most of the night)
4) Nugget is not a fan of the pack and play and would prefer the nice cozy hotel bed
5) Taking toddlers to the pool is more enjoyable for everyone once they can touch the bottom, because
6) My TWO YEAR OLDS can touch the bottom and keep their heads above water in 3 feet of water. Is that supposed to happen?
Seriously, being able to feel the bottom was a game-changer for BW. She is normally our risk averse kid, but once she figured out she could touch she would paddle around in her puddle jumper and even ducked her head below water a few times. We have another hotel stay planned for 2 weeks with my mom and they will get some more pool time in then -great to see them enjoying it.
So we let SB and BW stay up late and watch a movie, pumped them full of unhealthy snacks, and had a great time. The week-long trip (with my mother, see number 2 above) will totally be smooth sailing, right?
Monday, March 7, 2016
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Only two
I'm stopping by to write for a quick reprieve before jumping into work for the day. The holiday lull has definitely ceased at work and "slammed" is how I again describe my day to the hubs when I get home from work.
The hubs and I are both very tall, so we make tall kids. BW, in particular, is off the charts. at 2 1/2ish, she is almost 42 inches tall and 40 lbs - about the size of the average 4-5 year old. SB is shortly behind her at almost 40 inches tall and 33 lbs. This brings about a host of challenges, like having people mistake BW for a 4 year old and expecting her to behave like a 4 year old, and giving us the side-eye if she throws a 2-y-o tantrum. She's potty trained now, so at least the judgy looks about her wearing a diaper have stopped, but there are some days I want to have a t-shirt made that says, I'm 2, so people know that she is just acting her age sometimes.
However, I think the hardest thing is meeting the emotional and physical needs of a 2-y-old in a 4 year old-size body. I can still pick both of them up and carry them if necessary, but there are times they want to be held and cuddled by their mama, or they just need a carry because their legs are tired, or because they are TWO. BW doesn't get carried much, because (1) she's a lot to carry, (2) she isn't a good contributor to being carried - she doesn't hold on and just hangs out and makes you do all the work and (3) she doesn't seem like she needs to or should be carried because she seems older than her age. I have to remind myself, too, that she is still only 2, and sometimes 2-year-olds needs some carries and cuddles, because. Even if my back sometimes disagrees.
The hubs and I are both very tall, so we make tall kids. BW, in particular, is off the charts. at 2 1/2ish, she is almost 42 inches tall and 40 lbs - about the size of the average 4-5 year old. SB is shortly behind her at almost 40 inches tall and 33 lbs. This brings about a host of challenges, like having people mistake BW for a 4 year old and expecting her to behave like a 4 year old, and giving us the side-eye if she throws a 2-y-o tantrum. She's potty trained now, so at least the judgy looks about her wearing a diaper have stopped, but there are some days I want to have a t-shirt made that says, I'm 2, so people know that she is just acting her age sometimes.
However, I think the hardest thing is meeting the emotional and physical needs of a 2-y-old in a 4 year old-size body. I can still pick both of them up and carry them if necessary, but there are times they want to be held and cuddled by their mama, or they just need a carry because their legs are tired, or because they are TWO. BW doesn't get carried much, because (1) she's a lot to carry, (2) she isn't a good contributor to being carried - she doesn't hold on and just hangs out and makes you do all the work and (3) she doesn't seem like she needs to or should be carried because she seems older than her age. I have to remind myself, too, that she is still only 2, and sometimes 2-year-olds needs some carries and cuddles, because. Even if my back sometimes disagrees.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Turning a corner?
I am furiously knocking on wood as I type this, but I think we may have turned a sleep corner. Like Nugget has suddenly decided that she's cool with going to sleep and staying asleep, or putting herself back to sleep without needing to nurse.
If she has accomplished this without sleep training....yay. I was worried I was getting to the point where my sanity couldn't take it anymore and we'd have to do some form of sleep training.
So, over the past few days, we have gone from 3-5 wake-ups a night to ONE last night. One. If I hadn't needed to stay up until almost midnight doing work I would feel so refreshed today, haha. It also helps that SB and BW did not make a peep last night after a few nights in a row of terrible nightmares.
I'm giving some credit to her new sleep sack. That thing is AH-MA-ZING. I want one for me. More on that in another post.
If she has accomplished this without sleep training....yay. I was worried I was getting to the point where my sanity couldn't take it anymore and we'd have to do some form of sleep training.
So, over the past few days, we have gone from 3-5 wake-ups a night to ONE last night. One. If I hadn't needed to stay up until almost midnight doing work I would feel so refreshed today, haha. It also helps that SB and BW did not make a peep last night after a few nights in a row of terrible nightmares.
I'm giving some credit to her new sleep sack. That thing is AH-MA-ZING. I want one for me. More on that in another post.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
2016 goals
I want to make things happen in 2016, instead of putting them off or talking about them but not taking action or waiting for them to happen. I don't want them to be resolutions; I want them to be goals. I'm not sure what the difference is really, but I'm aiming for goals. My first goal is to make a list of goals for four areas - personal, work, household, and financial. This is my start - I'm not going to share them all, but I'm going to commit to some here, for "everyone" to see.
Personal
Work
Household
Financial
Personal
- Get on a regular haircut schedule again (It's been 5 months since I had a haircut, and it looks like it).
- Get back to being able to run 2 miles nonstop by the end of summer (this is going to be tough unless Nugget starts sleeping more, but a girl can dream)
- Finish SB and BW's "baby" blankets (luckily I made them toddler/kid size from the start; I'm cheating a bit here as I just finished SB's; I have a few more hours for BW's).
- Choose and start
"baby"kid blanket for Nugget.
Work
- Get a promotion (I'm really nervous about this one; I don't have enough confidence in myself).
Household
- Declutter and organize master closet
- Redecorate SB and BW's room to a "big girl room" (I'm super excited about this one, and have even opened my Pinterest app again to explore color ideas.
- Make our office an office instead of a storage room
Financial
- Finish paying off medical bills (still some lingering from Nugget's birth and subsequent illnesses)
- Increase 401(k) contributions 1% over yearly scheduled increase
- Commit to plan to pay off credit card debt and make substantial dent in credit card debt (this one weighs huge on my mind. We have more than I'm comfortable with due to the Hubs' stint of unemployment in 2014; the Hubs and I are still working on how to communicate financially after five years of marriage - I think this is still one of the areas that is a work in progress for us, and may be for some time.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
2016 began with a bang
Well, at least with a banging head, that is. I woke up to the New Year with a terrible migraine. We had to push off our family plans because I was unable to function for the first several hours of the New Year, likely a combination of not enough sleep and some yucky sinus virus.
We also rang in the New Year with three littles on antibiotics. Nugget on a second course for the ear infections that won't quit, and SB and BW were both diagnosed with strep just after Christmas. Thank you daycare.
I am on the mend, Nugget's last dose of antibiotics was this morning, and I am thankful that our illnesses our minor.
The hubs got me a fitbit for Christmas (I know I'm a bit late to the game). It has led to some interesting revelations.
1) The sleep function is not entirely accurate. I'm awake enough during portions of the night to have an awareness of when I'm awake (thank you, reverse-cycling infant), and the fitbit doesn't always register when I'm awake. The other morning it credited me with an extra 40 minutes of sleep because it didn't register me waking, using the bathroom, putting my contacts in, and taking it off to set it on the counter while I showered. I wish, fitbit, I wish. With the inaccuracy, I average about 5.5 hours of interrupted sleep time a night, and I'd estimate that it's crediting me with an additional 30+ minutes of sleep that I'm not actually sleeping at night. No wonder I'm tired.
2) It's a bit tricky if you are ambidextrous, as I don't have a true "dominant" hand - my hands share the load equally. - righty writes and does some stuff, but lefty does the majority of the other tasks - eating, brushing teeth, etc. Even though I now have it coded as dominant on my left arm, I still have to remove it to brush my teeth or it counts every swipe as a step.
3) It is fascinating to see how many times I climb our stairs during a weekend. Our two-story house plus my sleep-deprivation forgetfulness is certainly helping me burn calories.
4) I am terribly sedentary at work. I am looking forward to when I can get more sleep so I can get more exercise in during the week. I can easily meet the 10K steps at home on weekends with cleaning and chasing after toddlers, but during the week I barely make half that. Ugh.
I'm looking forward to 2016, although this year our babes will turn 3 and 1. What? I'm aiming to write down goals this year - personal, work, household, and financial. I want to make a bunch of things happen and I want to commit to them happening. More on that soon.
We also rang in the New Year with three littles on antibiotics. Nugget on a second course for the ear infections that won't quit, and SB and BW were both diagnosed with strep just after Christmas. Thank you daycare.
I am on the mend, Nugget's last dose of antibiotics was this morning, and I am thankful that our illnesses our minor.
The hubs got me a fitbit for Christmas (I know I'm a bit late to the game). It has led to some interesting revelations.
1) The sleep function is not entirely accurate. I'm awake enough during portions of the night to have an awareness of when I'm awake (thank you, reverse-cycling infant), and the fitbit doesn't always register when I'm awake. The other morning it credited me with an extra 40 minutes of sleep because it didn't register me waking, using the bathroom, putting my contacts in, and taking it off to set it on the counter while I showered. I wish, fitbit, I wish. With the inaccuracy, I average about 5.5 hours of interrupted sleep time a night, and I'd estimate that it's crediting me with an additional 30+ minutes of sleep that I'm not actually sleeping at night. No wonder I'm tired.
2) It's a bit tricky if you are ambidextrous, as I don't have a true "dominant" hand - my hands share the load equally. - righty writes and does some stuff, but lefty does the majority of the other tasks - eating, brushing teeth, etc. Even though I now have it coded as dominant on my left arm, I still have to remove it to brush my teeth or it counts every swipe as a step.
3) It is fascinating to see how many times I climb our stairs during a weekend. Our two-story house plus my sleep-deprivation forgetfulness is certainly helping me burn calories.
4) I am terribly sedentary at work. I am looking forward to when I can get more sleep so I can get more exercise in during the week. I can easily meet the 10K steps at home on weekends with cleaning and chasing after toddlers, but during the week I barely make half that. Ugh.
I'm looking forward to 2016, although this year our babes will turn 3 and 1. What? I'm aiming to write down goals this year - personal, work, household, and financial. I want to make a bunch of things happen and I want to commit to them happening. More on that soon.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Did you hear that?
BW is in this fun stage where she says "Did you hear that?" or "Did you see that?" and the hubs and I almost always repeat it and giggle because all we can think of is Elf and Will Farrell and the belch scene when he says "did you hear that?" It's awesome.
Christmas with 2 and a half year olds is SO MUCH FUN. They get it enough to be excited about it this year. They can sing large portions of Christmas songs and have some favorites (Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah...)
Christmas with 2 and a half year olds and an infant is EXHAUSTING. Nugget started sleeping better, and is taking bottles again (hooray!) but then got sick and therefore sleeping like poo again, plus is suddenly starvingmusteatseveraltimesatnightbecauseyoudidn'tfeedmeforafewweeksexceptforthoseyuckybottlethings.
I got a whopping 6 hours of interrupted sleep last night, some of which was on SB and BW's floor since BW must have had a nightmare and either wanted to sit in the bathroom pretending to poop with the lights blazing or have me sleep next to her on the floor. Floor it is. So, we're hosting both Christmas Eve and Christmas day at our house (thank you, divorced parents). Luckily, the hubs is the cook in the family, an this week is the week our cleaning lady comes, but still. I already don't have enough time. Even with doing nearly all of my shopping online, I am still struggling to find time to wrap the gifts. Christmas cards just got finished up last night (and in the mail today! they might make it!). Work still needs to be done and stuff, and the end of the year is looming quickly. At least I'm sort of halfway not really but its better than it was caught up on laundry.
So, I could be freaking out. I could be sleeping even less to get everything done (and I probably will tonight and tomorrow) but last night as we wrote out Christmas cards we had ice cream and DH and I teased each other and laughed and entertained DSD with our witty banter and childish behavior (there was a pen fight that drew blood and tickling and sitting on one another and otherwise acting not our age). It was a great pre-holiday evening.
Christmas with 2 and a half year olds is SO MUCH FUN. They get it enough to be excited about it this year. They can sing large portions of Christmas songs and have some favorites (Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah...)
Christmas with 2 and a half year olds and an infant is EXHAUSTING. Nugget started sleeping better, and is taking bottles again (hooray!) but then got sick and therefore sleeping like poo again, plus is suddenly starvingmusteatseveraltimesatnightbecauseyoudidn'tfeedmeforafewweeksexceptforthoseyuckybottlethings.
I got a whopping 6 hours of interrupted sleep last night, some of which was on SB and BW's floor since BW must have had a nightmare and either wanted to sit in the bathroom pretending to poop with the lights blazing or have me sleep next to her on the floor. Floor it is. So, we're hosting both Christmas Eve and Christmas day at our house (thank you, divorced parents). Luckily, the hubs is the cook in the family, an this week is the week our cleaning lady comes, but still. I already don't have enough time. Even with doing nearly all of my shopping online, I am still struggling to find time to wrap the gifts. Christmas cards just got finished up last night (and in the mail today! they might make it!). Work still needs to be done and stuff, and the end of the year is looming quickly. At least I'm sort of halfway not really but its better than it was caught up on laundry.
So, I could be freaking out. I could be sleeping even less to get everything done (and I probably will tonight and tomorrow) but last night as we wrote out Christmas cards we had ice cream and DH and I teased each other and laughed and entertained DSD with our witty banter and childish behavior (there was a pen fight that drew blood and tickling and sitting on one another and otherwise acting not our age). It was a great pre-holiday evening.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Bottle refusal
Nugget has taken me into new territory once again. About a month ago, she started getting wishy-washy about taking her bottles. Daycare was struggling to get her to take her whole bottle. Daddy was struggling at home to get her to take her whole bottle. I wasn't too worried because she was teething and was only missing out on a few ounces here and there.
Now, a month later, the little stinker is pretty much outright refusing bottles. Takes an ounce here or there. I can nurse over lunch most days, and have been doing so, but she is effectively taking in anywhere from 2-4 ounces in addition to her nursing session. If she is getting a full session, which I think she is, she is probably getting close to the 9 oz she would be expected to take in, so I'm not too worked up about it, but it makes life more interesting, as I'm supposed to have a work trip coming up, that I am seriously expecting I might have to bring my mom with me on so she can watch Nugget and I can nurse, since she won't take bottles. She's not nursing at night to make up for the low volume at daycare, in fact has dropped to one night waking, and isn't eating much for solids yet, so I'm a bit baffled. She could easily be taking in 5+ oz a nursing session though, so 5 feedings could still be 20-25 oz of milk, which isn't abnormal. SB and BW were every-three-hours during the day and 1-2 times a night nursers until close to a year, so this chubby baby who slows down her eating thing is all new to me.
Now, a month later, the little stinker is pretty much outright refusing bottles. Takes an ounce here or there. I can nurse over lunch most days, and have been doing so, but she is effectively taking in anywhere from 2-4 ounces in addition to her nursing session. If she is getting a full session, which I think she is, she is probably getting close to the 9 oz she would be expected to take in, so I'm not too worked up about it, but it makes life more interesting, as I'm supposed to have a work trip coming up, that I am seriously expecting I might have to bring my mom with me on so she can watch Nugget and I can nurse, since she won't take bottles. She's not nursing at night to make up for the low volume at daycare, in fact has dropped to one night waking, and isn't eating much for solids yet, so I'm a bit baffled. She could easily be taking in 5+ oz a nursing session though, so 5 feedings could still be 20-25 oz of milk, which isn't abnormal. SB and BW were every-three-hours during the day and 1-2 times a night nursers until close to a year, so this chubby baby who slows down her eating thing is all new to me.
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