This is my second post in the Wednesday Confessional series started by Courtney. My first confession? I'm late for this week's confessions.
I brushed my teeth the other night before bed and then promptly went into the kitchen to make a bowl of cereal. (Mommy brain?) I had to brush them again.
I took a bunch of boxes out to the curb for trash pick up on Thursday night. Trash pick up is on Monday.
I drove to the store to buy chicken (and chicken only) to make dinner, and I came home with chicken, chocolate hostess donuts, and a box of brownie mix.
I ate most of the bag of hostess donuts on the drive home. The only thing that really stopped me from eating all of them was that they were melty and getting all over my fingers.
Tully's second day of school was terrible. He cried when I left, cried when I got there, cried on the way home, and did the end of cry/hiccup like breath while sleeping when he got home. World's worst mommy for sending him to school yesterday. Poor, poor Tully Bear.
To add to Tully's already terrible second day of school, he had a major diaper blowout. I failed to mention this to John the day it happened, and when I told him this morning, he said I HAD to put it in writing somewhere, so he could remember to tell Tully's future dates that he pooped his pants the second day of school. John just got his first nomination for Daddy of the Year.
I had someone tell me today that I didn't have much of a baby bump and that it looked more like I had just eaten a cheeseburger. Compliment or insult? You decide.
I got a spam comment a day or so after lecturing everyone last week for having CAPTCHA enabled. It was easy to delete, so I have not turned it back on, but still...you can all say, "I told you so!" now.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
"C" is for Child (cont.)
Time for another Tully update. He is 16 months old and has 16 teeth. All four eye teeth have pushed through and are on their way in. Next up? Two-year molars!
Words: hot, hat, ball
Signs: hot, hat, cat, airplane, more, please, where is it? (palm up, questioning look on face, usually in reference to the ball)
Sounds: vroom (car/truck), moo
Signing/saying duck and mama have pretty much stopped. He still gets really, really excited about the puppy, but sometimes he just points, yells, and smiles instead of signing.
He has learned to fake laugh. He knows when the time to laugh is, but he makes it really loud and obnoxious. Like he knows what he is doing is funny, so he repeats the action and fake laughs at himself.
He knows where his nose is and will sometimes point to ears, if asked, too.
He is following simple commands (put the ball in the basket, bring your shoes to mommy). I'm hoping this continues and he is helpful when the new baby comes!
When I tell him it's time to go, he follows me out the door to the garage and goes to the car door where his car seat is located. For the longest time I always had to carry him to the car, and I was starting to wonder how I would possibly get both kids, my stuff, and their stuff loaded in a reasonable amount of time. Life is much easier with him walking and following simple commands, since it gives me two free hands.
The baby gate was secured to the staircase on one end with zip ties (classy, I know...), and they popped off. We didn't get the gate put back up right away, so it has stayed down. It's awesome because we don't have to open and close it every time we go up and down the stairs, and Tully really only goes upstairs or downstairs when we do. He's always been a good, steady climber too, so I've never really worried about him falling. I think we'll leave it down for a while.
He is on a fantastic sleep schedule. Also, we're able to put him in his crib before bedtime, and he goes to sleep on his own without a peep. We never really "sleep trained", but we did slowly move away from nursing to sleep or rocking to sleep, so he could go to bed on his own. He transitioned from two naps to one (12-15 months), so here's how our day looks now.
7:15 - 7:30 awake, he "reads" small board books in crib, sits and talks quietly to himself
7:30 start day
11:35 read book to him, wind down
11:45 in crib
11:45 - 12:00 he falls asleep
1:30 - 2:30 awake, he "reads" small board books in crib, sits and talks quietly to himself
7:15 give him a bath
7:35 read book, wind down
7:45 in crib
7:45 - 8:00 he falls asleep
Tully weaned sometime after 15 months. I could write an entire post on what an emotional roller coaster that has been for me, but after having him squirm out of my lap and vigorously shake his head "no" a million times, it's safe to say he is finished. I've dealt with nursing strikes before, but this time was definitely different. Although I'm sad (understatement of the year), weaning has provided some freedom. We have multiple trips to Texas planned, along with my work trip to DC, so Tully will be spending quality time at Grammy's pool this summer. We're stacking on all of the Tully-free trips we can before the next baby comes!
Tully started half-day school this fall. Here he is at 16 months ready for his first day. (Good job hiding mommy's almost 5-month bump with your knee, T.) Grammy was here to share in the excitement and take some pictures.
Pick-up was scheduled for noon, but they called me just after 11 to let me know he was melting down. He had a fantastic morning playing, but it was getting close to lunch and nap time, so I got him early. After a quick diaper change and lunch in the car, he went to sleep at his normal time as soon as we got home. I'll probably have to pick him up at 11 for a few weeks until he adjusts to the new school schedule. He is definitely the youngest in the pre-primary class (2-3 year olds), but I think he is fine, developmentally. He just needs to catch up to the big kid schedule of taking a nap at 12:30 or 1, and I'm sure school will be less overwhelming and tiring as the year progresses. Today was a big, big day!
Below is the picture the teacher, or guide, as they call it, sent me today of Tully doing "work". Part of the way they teach at the Montessori school is for the kids to choose their own "work" from a shelf. They take it to a table or the floor to practice a skill (moving objects, counting, matching, etc.) and then clean up that project before picking another. Tully runs around like a mad man at the house from one toy to the next most of the time, so it's always good to see him sit down and focus on one thing. Way to go, little guy!
Words: hot, hat, ball
Signs: hot, hat, cat, airplane, more, please, where is it? (palm up, questioning look on face, usually in reference to the ball)
Sounds: vroom (car/truck), moo
Signing/saying duck and mama have pretty much stopped. He still gets really, really excited about the puppy, but sometimes he just points, yells, and smiles instead of signing.
He has learned to fake laugh. He knows when the time to laugh is, but he makes it really loud and obnoxious. Like he knows what he is doing is funny, so he repeats the action and fake laughs at himself.
He knows where his nose is and will sometimes point to ears, if asked, too.
He is following simple commands (put the ball in the basket, bring your shoes to mommy). I'm hoping this continues and he is helpful when the new baby comes!
When I tell him it's time to go, he follows me out the door to the garage and goes to the car door where his car seat is located. For the longest time I always had to carry him to the car, and I was starting to wonder how I would possibly get both kids, my stuff, and their stuff loaded in a reasonable amount of time. Life is much easier with him walking and following simple commands, since it gives me two free hands.
The baby gate was secured to the staircase on one end with zip ties (classy, I know...), and they popped off. We didn't get the gate put back up right away, so it has stayed down. It's awesome because we don't have to open and close it every time we go up and down the stairs, and Tully really only goes upstairs or downstairs when we do. He's always been a good, steady climber too, so I've never really worried about him falling. I think we'll leave it down for a while.
He is on a fantastic sleep schedule. Also, we're able to put him in his crib before bedtime, and he goes to sleep on his own without a peep. We never really "sleep trained", but we did slowly move away from nursing to sleep or rocking to sleep, so he could go to bed on his own. He transitioned from two naps to one (12-15 months), so here's how our day looks now.
7:15 - 7:30 awake, he "reads" small board books in crib, sits and talks quietly to himself
7:30 start day
11:35 read book to him, wind down
11:45 in crib
11:45 - 12:00 he falls asleep
1:30 - 2:30 awake, he "reads" small board books in crib, sits and talks quietly to himself
7:15 give him a bath
7:35 read book, wind down
7:45 in crib
7:45 - 8:00 he falls asleep
Tully weaned sometime after 15 months. I could write an entire post on what an emotional roller coaster that has been for me, but after having him squirm out of my lap and vigorously shake his head "no" a million times, it's safe to say he is finished. I've dealt with nursing strikes before, but this time was definitely different. Although I'm sad (understatement of the year), weaning has provided some freedom. We have multiple trips to Texas planned, along with my work trip to DC, so Tully will be spending quality time at Grammy's pool this summer. We're stacking on all of the Tully-free trips we can before the next baby comes!
Tully started half-day school this fall. Here he is at 16 months ready for his first day. (Good job hiding mommy's almost 5-month bump with your knee, T.) Grammy was here to share in the excitement and take some pictures.
Pick-up was scheduled for noon, but they called me just after 11 to let me know he was melting down. He had a fantastic morning playing, but it was getting close to lunch and nap time, so I got him early. After a quick diaper change and lunch in the car, he went to sleep at his normal time as soon as we got home. I'll probably have to pick him up at 11 for a few weeks until he adjusts to the new school schedule. He is definitely the youngest in the pre-primary class (2-3 year olds), but I think he is fine, developmentally. He just needs to catch up to the big kid schedule of taking a nap at 12:30 or 1, and I'm sure school will be less overwhelming and tiring as the year progresses. Today was a big, big day!
Below is the picture the teacher, or guide, as they call it, sent me today of Tully doing "work". Part of the way they teach at the Montessori school is for the kids to choose their own "work" from a shelf. They take it to a table or the floor to practice a skill (moving objects, counting, matching, etc.) and then clean up that project before picking another. Tully runs around like a mad man at the house from one toy to the next most of the time, so it's always good to see him sit down and focus on one thing. Way to go, little guy!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
"C" is for Confessions
Last week Courtney started doing "Wednesday Confessional" posts. For the most part I think mommy bloggers post only the good things online, which sort of gives the impression that life is perfect. It's not, but no one wants to sit around listening bad news all the time either. I think a weekly confession provides a good balance. Here are my spilled secrets for the week:
- I ate some cool whip with frozen dark chocolate chips for dessert last night. I told myself the cool whip was healthier than ice cream. John looked at me like I was from another planet when I made the bowl. It was random but good.
- I let Tully watch Baby Signing Time videos on the mini-DVD player while he eats. I know kids under two aren't supposed to watch TV, blah, blah, blah....but the kid is quiet, and he is learning sign language. He hates the regular TV anyway, unless it's on Toddler Tunes music channel.
- I get easily obsessed with finding THE perfect (insert item you would buy: stroller/coffee maker/vacation resort) and can spend hours or even days researching. I stayed up until 3am the other night looking into double strollers. I found what I thought would be the best "everyday" double stroller for us, only to talk to John the next morning and decide we would use a double jogging stroller more.
- It drives me nuts when people baby talk, especially to toddlers learning to talk. High-pitched voice for an infant? Fine. Fake or shortened words combined with the high-pitched voice for a toddler? STOP IT!
- I'm ready to cut Tully's hair. He has these crazy curls in the back that make a mullet, and there's this one long piece that curls up on top. John and my mom said to leave it, but I might get out the clippers before he starts school next week.
- I like to eat Lucky Charms for dinner sometimes.
- I get mad when blogs make you type the CAPTCHA phrase/number thingy to prove you are not a robot when posting comments. I NEVER get it right the first time. Unless you are Ree Drummond from The Pioneer Woman or Glennon from Momastery, you probably aren't going to have spammers leaving comments on your blog, so go ahead and remove that for me. Please and thank you.
Monday, July 16, 2012
"C" is for Cooking - July Edition
Chicken, spinach and artichoke calzones (Cuisine at Home magazine). Similar recipe here.
Chicken and leek stuffed biscuits (Little Pink Monster blog).
Pineapple steak with spicy potatoes (Real Simple magazine). I'll spare you the recipe, since it wasn't good.
Week 2:
Mexican casserole. Cook 1 lb ground beef in skillet. Layer refried beans, beef, small can of corn, salsa or pico de gallo, and shredded cheese in 8x8 baking pan. Bake in oven at 375 for 25 minutes. Serve with sour cream and tortillas or chips.
BBQ pork and baked potatoes.
Honey mustard chicken and baked sweet potatoes.
Three meat calzones (Cuisine at Home magazine). Similar recipe here but used ready-made pizza dough.
Week 3:
Buffalo chicken pasta.
Mojo pork tenderloin and grilled onions.
Crock pot lasagna and Caesar salad.
Mac-n-cheese & hotdogs. Boil 4 cups pasta. Combine with 8 oz melted Velveeta cheese and a splash of milk. Salt and pepper to taste. Microwave or grill hotdogs. Put on bun. Done.
Week 4:
Spaghetti. Boil noodles. Brown ground beef and add Ragu.
Turkey wraps with cucumber and cream cheese
Crock pot Thai Peanut Chicken and rice
Goulash and salad
Week 5:
Pineapple chicken quesadillas
Turkey sausage and Zatarain's rice
Grilled pork chops and salad. Marinate pork chops in soy sauce and a few sprinkles of ginger and parsley.
Beef tacos. Brown ground beef. Put on tortilla with cheese, sour cream, and whatever veggies are on hand.
"C" is for Canine Cut
John got the brilliant idea to shave our dog. His original plan was to shave, shave him and leave the fur around his neck, so Zach looked like a lion. Luckily I intervened and convinced John that a short haircut would be more appropriate for the summer and would prevent sunburn. I cannot imagine if our poor dog was sunburned because we cut his hair too short. So John bought some trimmers and got started. Zach sat still the whole time like the good boy he is. Tully's bath time rolled around about the time John was finishing up, so I agreed to do the last little bit while he took Tully inside to get ready for bed. John had left Zach's tail fluffy, so I cut all the hair off except for the end. Zach had a little poof like a lion, and I thought it was hilarious. Unfortunately, John didn't even notice when he came back outside, but he agreed it was funny once I told him. Hey...I try. It's almost impossible to tell that his hair is shorter in the pictures, but we really did trim a lot off. I'm hoping it helps with the shedding inside too.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
"C" is for Craft (Door Wreath)
Last week Rachel@InNoSimpleLanguage linked up with Sherry@YoungHouseLove for a Pinterest Challenge. Aren't we all guilty of pinning, pinning, pinning and not doing, doing, doing?! Well, Rachel got on the ball and made a hydrangea alphabet wreath.
I absolutely love how it turned out, so I decided I needed a summer wreath on my front door too. If you read my blog regularly, you know I am not a crafty person. Most of my craft ideas involve thinking up something and having my husband or a contractor finish it. Luckily this craft only took two trips to Hobby Lobby and maybe an hour of my time. Here is how mine looks!
Shopping list:
- Wreath
- Fake flowers (apparently I bought the most expensive ones with the thickest stems known to mankind...ugh!)
- Wooden letter
- Acrylic paint
- Foam paint brush
- Glue gun
- Wreath hanger
- Scissors
- Wire cutters
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| magnetic wreath hanger |
Friday, July 13, 2012
"C" is for Calgary
We started our trip here in the States and made a little detour through Utah for Kristen's wedding before flying to Canada. Zion was beautiful and so was Kristen. We spent a some time hiking and exploring Zion National Park when we weren't visiting with friends at rehearsal dinner or at the wedding. It was fun to have most of the Nerd Herd in one place at one time too.
To get to the wedding in Utah, we flew through Vegas. We had a few hours to kill before we needed to be at the airport when we were leaving, so we visited Circus Circus and the Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. Tully really enjoyed looking at all of the rides and watching the kids play at Circus Circus, and John and I had a good time checking out the sharks at the aquarium. Vegas with a one year old is waaaaaaaay different than a normal trip to Vegas. I've been to Vegas twice now without really drinking. I think I'm going to make it a priority to go back in a couple years and do Vegas right!
From Vegas we headed off to Calgary. John had to be in Canada for the Global Petroleum Show for work, so Tully and I were mostly tagging along. I have family in Canada, and our friends from Texas, Sarah and John, live there too, so I figured I could make the rounds while he was tied up with co-workers. We did visit the petroleum show with John one morning for a few hours. Tully did pretty good riding around in the stroller checking out all of the big equipment. I also stopped by to see my Great Aunt Louise, so she could meet Tully. When we weren't at the hotel or visiting family, I ended up spending basically the entire trip at Sarah & John's house. It was perfect because they have a two year old son, so we had a place to play, eat, and nap, if needed. Sarah was an absolute lifesaver because there's no way I could have done that week in the hotel by myself. We visited parks, ran errands, and shared lots of mommy stories while the kids played. Sarah and John even babysat Tully while John and I made the quick drive out to Banff National Park. We rode the gondola, bought me an overpriced t-shirt, ate, and headed back to Calgary. It was a really short trip but a great little break for us to spend time together. We also got a babysitter one night for both kids while the adults had a double date at a really nice French restaurant. We didn't get home until after 11, and we kinda didn't know what to do with ourselves! We never go out and come home late. John and Sarah were fantastic hosts, and we really enjoyed our time in Calgary with them. I hope we get to see them in Texas soon, or maybe Sarah's John will get a random work trip to Tulsa, so they can come visit!
To get to the wedding in Utah, we flew through Vegas. We had a few hours to kill before we needed to be at the airport when we were leaving, so we visited Circus Circus and the Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. Tully really enjoyed looking at all of the rides and watching the kids play at Circus Circus, and John and I had a good time checking out the sharks at the aquarium. Vegas with a one year old is waaaaaaaay different than a normal trip to Vegas. I've been to Vegas twice now without really drinking. I think I'm going to make it a priority to go back in a couple years and do Vegas right!
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| Taking a break outside at Circus Circus |
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