The ultimate backfire

The kids and I have been battling runny noses the last few days. Yes another cold...ugh! Well to help battle this I have been using this a lot:




What would I ever do without one of these things?!?!

Saffryn can now blow her nose, but still needs the occasional suction just to get everything. Anyway Pierce pretty much acts like you are torturing him and Saffryn tries to sit still but always ends up moving around too much. It's not a lot of fun.

So que my brilliant idea.

I will let Saffryn have a turn on my nose. I will model the appropriate behavior which should help both of them! I tell Saffryn she can have a turn and she sits so still while I do her nose so she can have a turn. This is already working out great, I think to myself. How bad could this really be? Surely my kids are just being dramatic.

So step one. Put one to two drops of saline in the nose first. This is supposed to help loosen the mucus and make it easier to suction. Saffryn gets the drops and gets about 10 in my eyes. I am wiggling around and sit up to try and help her. She says in the sweetest voice, "don't move momma." so I lay back down and she manages to find my nose and give me lets just say more than the one to two drops. That's ok. I try and be calm, push through and set a great example. After all I am stubborn and I am going to set a good example!

Step two. Squeeze the bulb while putting it in the nostril. Let go and suction out the yuckies. Saffryn takes the bulb and shoves it far in my nose. Like as far as it can go. I have never experienced something being that far in my nose. It. Really. Hurts.

So I it straight up and try and stay calm explaining that was too far in my nose. Saffryn sweetly replies, "mom you have to hold still. It's ok. We just got to get the yuckies out." hmm where do you think she heard that? So trying desperately to prove my point and set the example I lie down again.

Again she jams the bulb in my nose. Again I wiggle around in pain. After another round of this I exclaim..."You got them all! Good job." I would have said or done anything to end the pain! She seemed satisfied and proud and we put the things away.

I am seriously laughing as I type this. This is one of the few times in my life that I wish I was on a reality show so that could have been filmed. I would have loved to have seen that! Here I was trying to be a good model only to have wiggled and screamed out in pain maybe more than the kids. Hahaha...seriously!


Can we say BLONDE MOMENT! Hope you enjoyed a little chuckle. Also, never under any circumstance let your children suction your nose...you will not set a good example, and will probably end up in a lot of pain!!!






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Saffryn's Hair

My sweet daughter's hair has a life of its own! I'm sure you have noticed in several of her pictures! Well she has recently started letting me fix it! Woo! Here are a couple of pictures!




Her first French braid! Looks pretty darn cute if I do say so myself!



Cutie pie!



Yay!!!



Piggy tails...while saying, "cheese". Hahah

I am so excited to keep trying more hair styles!



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Splash Party

For Pierce's first birthday I wanted to plan something that he loves to do. I also wanted to plan something that could be fun for a variety of ages because we would have kids ranging from ages 5 to birth. So after a bit of thought we decided to plan a splash party! Pierce loves to splash...he is king of the splashes!!!

My grandparents came out to celebrate with us and were such a help getting the party set up. We put out a kiddie pool with some toys, a water table, some little cars, balls, chairs and spray bottles. The weather was PERFECT! So thankful for that!




A picture of all the toys



Birthday boy and his big sis trying out the toys before their friends got there!



The kids in the pool!



In the pool!!!



Momma and birthday boy!



Playing in his car with his Aunt Abbie!



Eating a piece of watermelon! His favorite!!!



Relaxing!



Saffryn playing with her good friend!



Pierce off playing by himself...lol!

A big thanks to my mother-in-law and Aunt Abbie for making his adorable cupcakes! Thanks to everyone who made it out to celebrate my baby boy. He had a blast!!!

Happy Birthday Pierce!


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1 Year

My sweet boy is 12 months old!

LIKES:
Guacamole, all fruit, bread and special drinks, balls, trucks, water play, snuggles, Saffryn and Crash!





WORDS:
Bye, uh oh and bubbles.

SIGNS:
More, all done, milk




MOVEMENT:
Walks/runs, climbs fireplace and bench in room, spins around, claps, picks up small foods with fingers, dances




DISLIKES:
Eggs, cheese, holding still, being told no, raised voices, waiting




OTHER:
He screams...a lot, he has 7 teeth, he loves to be the baby boy, he loves paci, he loves bottles still, throws everything, laughs easily, sweetest temperament yet still stubborn, has lots of blonde hair with a tint of red in the sun and bright blue eyes!




Playing with his new trucks from Aunt Becca and Uncle Brian in his new outfit from his Aunt Abbie!!! He is all boy!




Special special love! Happy happy Birthday Pierce!



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Baby Boys

I think it is fair to say I am fairly girly. I am not one of those girls who feel more comfortable around guys. I am not a tomboy and truthfully enjoy spending time with girls. That coupled with the fact that I am close to my mother made me always know I wanted a little girl. I was thrilled when we found out Saffryn was a girl. I imagined all the things we will get to do throughout her life time. I still imagine and look forward to all that lay ahead of us: prom dress shopping, spa days, wedding dress shopping, phone calls, special drink dates to name a few. I know right now I am a mother role but I pray so hard that she will always want my companionship and that we will be close her whole lifetime. My mom was the first one I called when I got engaged. She was there at my first birth. I still call her to talk through different things. I hope that's how it is for Saffryn and I. She is such a special girl!

When we found out I was having a boy when I was pregnant with Pierce we were so excited! Yay!!! Now one of each! Everyone said, "Dan must be so excited!" of course he was...boys and their dads...easy for me to picture! Then as my pregnancy continued on my panic started. I remember asking Dan, "What do I do with a boy??? Will I bond with him? What is my role?" I was looking forward to meeting him, but truthfully did not know what to expect with a son. I don't have any brothers and am only close to one of my male cousins. I saw my friends have sons and of course i love them...but me having a boy...what would it be like?

I finally went into labor and waited 15 hours for him to come into this world. I remember the second I heard his scream my heart forever changed. He was perfect. Dan and I could not stop talking about how CUTE we thought he was! It sounds so silly but I didn't know my son would be so precious to me.

As the hours turned into weeks our bond intensified. I held him constantly. I nursed him all the time. I loved every single second. He only wanted his momma and I was ok with that! There is such a special bond between a momma and her baby boy.

I have been reflecting on why and I think it is because it only lasts a short time. Of course guys can be close to their mothers and under special circumstances have a very close bond. But usually boys grow up and want to talk to their dads and their friends. They become interested in girls. They slowly learn to let go of their mother's so they can one day break off and lead their own families.

It is a very normal and God given desire for them. I think subconsciously us mothers know that. Which is why we have a special bond with our baby boys. But I want Pierce to be a man one day. I want him to have a wife he desperately loves. I want him to be a strong man with strong convictions. And in order for that to happen I will have to let go. I will have to remember he still loves me and I have a special place, but he needs to make decisions independent of me. I will have to respect his wife and know that she is the first woman in his life.

BUT NOT YET!!! I will rock him to sleep every night if he wants. I will let him prefer only me. I will try and cherish every hug and kiss and whiny clingy behavior. Because it is only for a short time. I love this "momma's boy" time!

What a journey motherhood has been! It has been full of surprises. I am learning so many new things. I am excited to see how my role with my sons and daughter will change as they grow up. I love that God gives us such special times with our children. I love that Dan gets the chance to show Saffryn how a man is supposed to treat her. I love that I get the chance to show Pierce how to treat woman.

I am not sure if this is making any sense. And maybe you don't agree with this at all. That's ok too! Basically all my hormonal ramblings are trying to come to this conclusion: baby boys are so precious. I was not sure what to expect but I sure love having a boy and look forward to welcoming another!

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Taking it Personally

So my next blog posts were going to be about Pierce's first birthday and his 12 month update...however some sweet friends were asking me how tantrums at my house were going (remember this post?). So now my mind is thinking and I wanted to write it down while it was fresh in my brain...

I have a unique experience as a parent because I spent a lot of time with young children before I had my own. I absolutely LOVED (and still love) being an early childhood educator. It is my passion and my calling. Being a teacher is something that makes my heart beat. So I expected parenting to be very similar to teaching...and over the last few years I have realized for me being a teacher is MUCH easier than being a parent. This is for several reasons, one of them being this: as a teacher you learn not to take things personally.

Let me elaborate. When I am in the classroom and a child throws a tantrum I look at the behavior as a sign for something else. Are they frustrated? Are they hungry/tired? Do they feel out of control...meaning is this a power struggle? Then I try and give them the tools to help solve the problem. I see the behavior for what it is and I leave it at that. Now please don't get any funny ideas that  I (or other teachers) can't have bad days or don't second guess myself but I generally didn't take it personally.

As a parent it is a totally different story for me. I am not sure exactly why but when my child throws a tantrum (especially in public) it feels like a reflection on me. Am I doing something wrong? Why is she disobeying ME? She is deliberately pushing MY buttons. She knows I don't want her to do that. Everything becomes very personal. Once it becomes personal my emotions are quickly tied into it and frustration easily kicks in. I then react out of frustration and the tantrums usually escalate and leave me drained, upset and guilty.

Remember when I said in my last post (see above) that they suggested staying calm...and I was kind of annoyed about it...because it is HARD. I have been reflecting on that and realize it is hard because I have been taking it so personal. I have not stopped and thought about the behavior for what it is. Is she hungry? Ok, then give her a snack. Is she frustrated? Ok, help talk her through the problem? Is she upset because she didn't want to leave her friends house? Ok, give her a hug and sympathize...it does suck to leave when you were having fun. Is it a power struggle? Ok, how can you give her some power back? Is she just being difficult? Ok, how can I break this down in manageable sections to get the results I need from her?

I have been practicing this a lot more the last few weeks and it has been helping tremendously! Have the tantrums stopped...NOPE. HAHAH! Has my energy increased...YUP! Why???? Because I am more focused on helping her than I am on wondering what I am doing wrong...then feeling guilty and frustrated. It is still hard...oh yes. Am I still humiliated when she throws a huge tantrum in public....of course. But if I just take a step back and try to focus on the behavior alone I feel like I have so much more control on the situation. I am then able to help give her some control of the situation and the tantrums are manageable for BOTH of us.

Anyway that is how tantrums are going at my house!

Watch Him Grow!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest baby boy!




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NYC Day 3

The last day of our trip...

Well before I start that I want to give a big THANK YOU to my amazing and generous in-laws for planning and arranging such a fun trip. It was so great to be able to spend a weekend with all the ladies and enjoy such an amazing place! THANK YOU!!!!!
CENTRAL PARK:
We woke up and walked to Central Park! We stopped and had breakfast at a nearby cafe first. Then we walked to the park.Once again I was blown away!!! I am so silly and I was basically just expecting a big lawn with some trees....wrong! It was so beautiful! Full of little hills, water, a bridge, lots of flowers and a curved walking trail! So wonderful. We couldn't stay long unfortunately but I would have loved to walk through the whole park. We only got to see a little glimpse. I loved it!!!






Beautiful ladies at the park




The buildings behind the park.




Meredith walking along!




At the park!




Resting on the bench.




Beautiful bridge




Girls on the bridge!

BRUNCH:
Dan's Aunt and Uncle and Cousin and her husband live very close to the city and met us for brunch! So nice of them!!! It was great to see them and catch up a little bit. Then it was off to the airport to fly home. Good by New York....I will miss you!




SURPRISES:

So there were a couple of things that really surprised me about the city!
1) There was never a time I felt unsafe. This really really surprised me. Now I wouldn't go looking for trouble and walk around by myself late at night, but as a general rule it was a safe place to be.

2) It is SO easy to get around the city! The city is basically a giant grid so it was easy to find your way around! We did a lot of walking and that got us to a lot of places! I could not believe that! When we had to take a cab to get some where it was easy and overall not as expensive as I was expecting. We didn't have a chance to take a train or subway but have heard those are surprisingly easy, too! It was over a weekend which probably helped with traffic, but still being able to walk everywhere was a lovely surprise!

3) The buildings are gorgeous! I was expecting lots of tall modern buildings, but was so surprised to see so many beautiful buildings. The architecture there blew me away! The churches and other older buildings are so so beautiful! What a fun surprise!

4) With a city of millions of people I was 1 out of the other 5 people who were noticeably pregnant in the city! Lol!!! I am probably exaggerating...but I don't think by much! During the first day people kept stopping me and asking if I could take their picture. Hmmm..strange I thought. I must look super approachable with my tummy and a cheesy smile plastered on my face. Well as the times people approached me increased I started looking for other preggos and didn't see any! The whole time I was there I saw 2 other pregnant women. What a surprise!

My favorite pregnant story is this:
After dinner one night we were walking back to the hotel. Abbie, Becca and Meredith were in front and Karen and I were a few paces behind. A sketchy looking guy comes up and starts hitting on the girls and is kind of obnoxious ...no surprise they are gorgeous! Well they ignore him and keep walking. He then walks on and approaches us...and says to me, " congratulations!!!" hahah! Can you believe it?!? So I give him a big smile and say, "thank you so much!" he then gives me a big smile and says, "You are welcome. Have a good night!" LOL! It is very interesting being pregnant in NYC!

EXPECTED:
Well as I expected the city is HUGE! There is a lot of people. And it is very expensive! There is so much to do and so much excitement.

I am already planning another trip in my head....New York City is basically the coolest place!

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NYC Day 2

Day 2 of our girls trip!
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART:
We woke up and ate a good breakfast at the hotel. We then took our first cab of the trip to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Can I just say....WOW! I wasn't sure what to expect at all. But the place is HUGE! Every gallery is just full of amazing pieces and is so so big. I do not consider myself someone who appreciates art to its fullest and I still loved this place. We did a one hour basic tour which just touched on a few highlights and that was really nice! I would recommend doing that to get a very basic look at the museum. They have so many different galleries that range from modern to 100 b.c. They have paintings, sculptors, jewelry, instruments...and the list goes on. I would consider this place a must see! We spent all morning there and just barely scratched the surface!

The front of the museum.

Waiting for our tour to start.

Marble sculpture.

Meredith and I

Buddha

4 girls!

You can get an idea of the scale of the museum! HUGE!
WORLD TRADE CENTERS:
After the museum (and lunch) we split up and Becca and Abbie went shopping and Meredith, Karen and I went to Ground Zero. We took another cab to get over there and saw more of the city. At one point I saw The Brooklyn Bridge in the background with a small baseball field being used by a little league in front of it. It felt so picturesque!!! Well when we got to the site it was packed full of people in a line. As we made our way to the line we saw signs mentioning having a "visitor pass". Well we didn't have a visitor pass and had no idea what they were talking about. Oops. After talking to one of the workers we learned that they are now working on the new towers. The new towers sit right next to the memorial site...so the fact that they are on a construction site means they have to limit how many people can be on the site at one time. To control and count the people they are giving out free tickets that tell you what time you can get in line for the memorial. We were there at 1:30 and the next time slot was at 4. Which didn't give us enough time to get back and ready for our dinner/evening plans so we couldn't stay. They did however have a memorial site in a building a few blocks away. It was nice. They had a whole section of memorial for the families and people affected. They had the plans for the memorial and towers. It was very very humbling to be there. I can't imagine what the city and all those who were there had to experience. I am truly sorry for them all.

Meredith and I in front of The Freedom Tower.

Karen and I in front of it.
DINNER AND BROADWAY:
After we spent some time at the memorial we took a cab to Saks 5th Ave. Just looked around for a bit and went to the hotel to freshen up. We then went to dinner in the Theatre District at a Cuban Restaurant called Victors Cafe. Yummy! We then went to the show Wicked!!!! It was so funny and the performers are so talented!

Dressed up and ready for dinner!

At dinner!

Karen, Becca and Meredith at the show!

Abbie and I at the show!

My 22 week photo in front of Mamma Mia at Times Square!
We walked back to the hotel and ordered desserts and relaxed! What a long and super fun day!!!


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