Don't get me wrong..I LOVE sleeping till noon and rolling out of bed in my pjs...and staying that way all day. But the reality of the situation is, I have a ton more energy and "good vibes" when I wake up early and meet the day head on. With two kids who I can keep in bed till about 10am or so on a good day, having a few hours in the morning without them is AMAZING. Mary-Anne didn't go to "sleep" last night till around 1am. I was gonna finish the LO I was working on, but decided I would just go to sleep. When Aeryn woke up this morning at 6am (Third night, in a row, she has gone to bed kinda early and slept in her bed ALL NIGHT! WOOT!) I couldn't really go back to sleep, so I said "Screw it, I'm just gonna get up". In and hour and half I have enjoyed two cups of coffee, cleaned up the kitchen a little bit, surfed alot of internet (I've been doing that ALOT lately), read all my blogs, entered in a few RAKs, cleaned out the kiddy pool so it can dry and be packed later, and well, I'm writing this blog post! That's a long list for me to have completed before 8:30AM. Maybe if we can keep this up, I'll start sneaking in a work out and getting rid of all this extra poundage!
I've got a whole list of goals I want to start doing everyday, and one of them needs to be "being in a good mood" and "not throwing temper tantrums". I feel so bogged down and tired and cranky all the time, being home with two kids (which don't get me wrong, I LOVE, and starting this week, things have started getting easier) with noone around that I can really "relate" too. So if I can't get 8+ hours of sleep a night, and a shower by myself, I really need to find another way to rejuvenate. And apparently watching the sunrise is just that.
It's at times like these that I remember the good things in life, like Pandora. I've got music playing that I've never even heard before, while in the background I get to hear the morning rain beating on the canopy we have over our little porch. Reminds me of that David Gray song. I don't remember which one, but you can hear the rain in the background where it was recorded in his home, with the doors open in a storm. Beautiful stuff. I need to remember things like that more often.
I took the liberty this week of starting Mary-Anne on "solids". Yeah I know, she's only three months, but so far she is LOVING it! I gave her some of the Yobaby yogurt last week, and it was a big hit. I mixed up some applesauce and terribly over-ripe bananas and that was a success as well. So I bought some rice with apple cereal, mixed it with whole milk (GASP!) and some applesauce.....and she ate and ate and ate! NOT that she NEEDS to eat more, goodness no. The little porkchop already weighs in at 17.5 pounds, so no worry that breastmilk isn't enough for her, it's just that, sometimes, my boobs ache for a break. And while I am not opposed to formula, Mary-Anne is. I don't blame her, it's nasty. I can't stand the way it smells, much less taste. So I don't blame her. So I'm not gonna give it to her. And yes, I know you're not supposed to give infants "cow's milk"...I say "meh". I'm not allergic, Aeryn wasn't allergic, the DH isn't allergic, and really a dab or so in her cereal isn't that big of a deal. And it's just more cost effective.
But hey...at least I'm not smoking and breastfeeding like my ex-sister-in-law.
That's right smoking and breastfeeding. I'm furious. And to top it all off, her baby is three months old, and only weighs 8 pounds. EIGHT POUNDS! And they act like it's perfectly normal. Granted, she was only 5 1/2 when she was born (guess smoking while pregnant really IS bad!) but STILL.
I should feel guilty for throwing her under the bus just now, since she can't really defend herself but I needed to rant. And I don't really feel her opinion has any merit.
I also dug Aeryn's old exersaucer out of the closet for Mary-Anne to use. I was a little apprehensive about it at first. Not for Mary-Anne's sake, but for Aeryn's. Of ALL the toys she owns that were "baby" toys, this one had to be her favorite. When we lived in the house and I had stored it in the basement, any time we were down there, she has to play with all the toys on it, or anytime I moved it from one place to another, there was always a brief time period where I had to leave it out for her to play with, then sneak it into it's new home. Putting it in the top of the closet in the apartment was a challenge, especially since she could still see it. There were times where I had to politely remind her that it was a baby toy, and she was a big girl, and didn't need it anymore. So I was very conscious to ask her if Baby Sister could use it before I went and got it out of the closet. She paused for a minute, but then nodded and said "yash" (her way of saying "yes", so cute!) so I went and got it out. She was SO excited to see it again, but was perfectly ok for me to put sister in it. I guess really, she just likes playing with the toys, and isn't really interested in sitting in it. Amazing, there were no tantrums when I put sister in it at all, and Aeryn actually pulls it out so I can put Mary-Anne in it whenever Mary-Anne is awake for more then a few minutes.
So far, they are playing together pretty well in it ;) And just in case you are wondering, yes, that is an ENORMOUS Hello Kitty standee in the background Mary-Anne is staring at in awe. DH brought it home from work a few nights ago. Since the Largest Retailer In The World is now carrying Hello Kitty stuff, they are making a big deal about it, and had a little event to celebrate. Apparently you could get your picture taken with Hello Kitty in front of this backer. I thought about taking Aeryn, but I really didn't feel like walking all the way down there just for her to be weirded out by it and not get her picture taken. So DH just brought the backer home instead. It was alot more fun. He brought stickers and a crown too, so she had fun putting her stickers all over it, and then coloring on it. Hello Kitty and the Poodle even got kisses goodnight that night.
Speaking of goodnight, I've been trying to get Aeryn in bed around 10pm each night, in her room. So far, it's been working. I take her upstairs and we get in bed and read a story, then lights out and she is out in like 5 minutes. Other then maybe a few stirrings at night (most of the time I don't even have to go in there) she sleeps till 6am or 7 without calling for me. And most mornings I can refill her milk cup and lay back down in her bed with her for a few and she is back asleep till about 10. If Mary-Anne is awake it gets a little trickier. I never thought I would have so much trouble convincing Aeryn to sleep in the "big bed". I don't think she likes sharing it with baby sister.
We've been working on the potty training (notice the temporary tattoo on her arm). I can generally get her on the potty, but she won't go very often. I have the most success in the mornings, since she keeps waking up dry. But forget it during the day. It doesn't matter how often I take her. I thought we were doing good yesterday. She got to the potty in the morning, I didn't even put a pullup on her for a few hours, with no accident, so I put her training pants on her. And she peed. And then again an hour later. You'd think peeing on yourself would make you want to use the potty, but no dice. So back in a pullup she went and I let it go for the day. She won't tell me when she needs to go, nor does she really remark that she's peed or anything, and while she likes the tattoos, she isn't really bribed by them, so maybe she isn't quite ready yet. I've got my hands full enough as it is, so I'm not pushing it.
I really need to get to packing. We are leaving to go to Kentucky to stay with my family for a few weeks (I say "we" and I mean me and the kids, hubby is coming back to work :( ) I'm excited to be able to stay more then just a few days to visit. We generally only make it over there for a few days after christmas, so I'm really looking forward to visiting in the summer! I really hope to make this a tradition, since I really want the kids to know my family, and I'm just not sure we will ever be moving closer. But while I am looking forward to the visit, the drive is going to be a nightmare. I think we have about decided to get up at 4am and give it a go. What's the worse that can happen? Mary-Anne will stay awake and scream in her carseat the whole time? She's guaranteed to do that if we leave later in the day, so I'm willing to take my chances. I'm also a little unsure as to what to take. A few weeks, out of their comfort zone, out of the house, is a big deal to the kids. I don't want to be at Mimi's and realize that I forgot something super important. But I also don't want to over pack the vehicle lol. Guess we will just have to make do!
Anyhow, I hope you have enjoyed my "one helluva blogpost" but I need to mosey off here and get something done!
