Sunday, September 25, 2011

Poop!

My best poop story was when I dropped poop out of a dirty diaper right next to Jake when he was around 7 months and he grabbed it in both hands and tried to eat it. that was gross.
Well, Friday after I got home from MOPS I put Jake down for a nap and didn't bother to put a pull-up or even underwear on him since he just peed and I thought he had pooped at the church that morning. Ten minutes into his nap he called me in and told me he pooped. It was only a little so I cleaned him up really fast and told him to go to sleep. 30 min go by and he was very quiet. I start to hear him chit chatting and walked in his room to find his mattress, his hands, his feet, and the bed rails covered in poop! Not only that but he managed to pull his pull-up off and throw it on the floor with a big clump of poop! I guess once you are potty trained you don't like the feel of poop on your butt and he thought he could clean it off himself!
I only wish I had taken a picture of his poop painted bed to show you just how gross it was! The only thing that would have made this even worse would be poop in his hair!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Things I wish I were better at, or knew how to do it.

There are some things that I really struggle with and thought it might make for a interesting blog. (I'm trying to work my way out of the boring blogger category)!

I like making lists because they really reduce stress for me. I always have a list of some sort. Grocery lists, To Do Lists, Wish Lists...etc. As good as I am with making lists I am not the greatest at completing them. I may have a to do list but won't get it done until weeks later, or have a grocery list but forget to bring it with me, therefore resulting in a couple of trips to the store rather than one.

I like to stay organized and keep a clean house. Keeping the house clean isn't that hard for me. I just do my best to stay on top of laundry one day per week and make sure the kitchen is cleaned every night before bed. Vacuuming and sweeping is a must every other day because of how anal I am about dirty floors and when you have a dog your floors can really never be considered clean enough. Organizing is one thing I would like to be better at. I find myself re-organizing things frequently, which isn't always a bad thing but it certainly uses up a lot of time I could spend learning something new. My biggest disaster is trying to keep all my documents and random papers organizied rather than left on my counter tops. I really hate clutter! I would be perfectly happy if the only things I my counters were my kitchen aid mixer, coffee maker and cutting board. Clean counters look so nice! I know how to organize, I am just too lazy to get it done. Which brings me to another thing I am horrible at.
I am a procrastinator! Especially with things like studying, preparing for a class, getting a project done, making phone calls, trying to learn something new, getting my lists done, reading a book(unless it is so good I can't put it down). I don't know why I procrastinate because I like to see things get done and it stresses me out when I put it off. Why would I want to add more stress to life when I have plenty of time to do it? Strange isn't it?
I would also like to be a better host. I like to be hospitable, but I feel like I suck at it. I am a horrible planner. Most stuff happens at the last minute and since I don't prepare myself for last minute events I don't want to be hospitable because I have nothing to offer anyone. Mostly food that is. I never seem to have the right foods stocked away for last minute opportunities for me to have people over. I really like making people feel welcome so this is the one thing I am really working on improving becsuse relationships are more important than getting a stupid list done.
I am also horrible with relationships. I love people! I know it doesn't always seem that I do because I am mostly an introvert but being married to an extrovert can change you a little when he wants to be around people all the time. I recharge when I have alone time. Joe recharges when he hangs out with people. This is a good thing. I want to have people in my life but because I tend to hide in my cave sometimes I feel a little intimidated to come out and socialize. I really have to force myself to come out of my shell. I am typically a very open person and know how to have a conversation, but there is something about relationships that causes me to freeze up. I have always wanted to have that one friend that I feel I can share just about anything with, who I can pray with, call when I am hurting, have similar interests and share the same beliefs about different things. Sounds almost impossible right? Like I have made up this perfect girlfriend that doesn't really exist and I keep searching for her. I have great friends. I have imperfect friends and I myself and imperfect so why am I looking for that perfect relationship? Maybe it is because of all the movies I watch and we all know that most movies are a fantasy. Kind of like watching a sex scene in a movie. Not that I have a habit of doing so, but I will not lie and say that I haven't seen a sex scene. Sex is always protrayed as this mind blowing, going to have an orgasm multiple times per night, always incredible, never disappointing... you get my drift, unless you are a virgin of course(please stay a virgin until you are married). Sex is great, but not always like the movies make it look. Same with a lot of things.
Wow, that one was a long one. I might like some feedback on that one if you have something profound to say or are in the same boat as me. Bottom line, if you are my friend and consider me a good friend I consider you a great friend too. I don't know how else to put it. I don't want those who are my friends to feel like you have disappointed me. I think I just disappoint myself in how I preceive my relationships. I don't get the girl bonding time that I so desire I guess is all I am saying.
I would like to be better at giving people compliments. Joes' main love language is words of affirmation. I might think he is amazing, and hot, and my hero, but it means nothing when i keep those thoughts to myself. I need to do a better job at telling him how great I think he is. I want to give other people compliments too. I want people to feel good about themselves, to know that I approve of them and love them, and think they are beautiful!
I wonder if other introverts struggle with the same things that I do. I bet they do, but sometimes I feel like I just suck and everyone else is great! I say this as a way to poke fun at myself. Not having a pity party, or seeking out a self-esteem boost. I am a pretty secure person, just wondering.
The last thing I can think of that could use some improvement is planning parties. Sometimes I think parties are dumb. I like to get together with people, but planning birthday parties is such a drag for me. I would rather someone else plan the party and tell me what to bring rather than doing the planning myself. I lack creativity. I just recently threw a small party for Jake. I planned dinner, and made a tractor cake. Invited a few people and asked them not to bring gifts. No decorations, just a simple dinner with cake. Boring right?! Hopefully I will get better at this as the kids get older but at the same time I don't want them to expect every birthday to be this big production with tons of decorations. Growing up we had small family parties and sometimes invited a few close friends. My mom would let us pick our meals for the day. Mine was usually some sort of sugary cereal or swedish pancakes. Lunch was usually something like mac and cheese, and dinner was usually BBQ Chicken with white rice. I loved rice and still do! Yum! We were able to pick out what kind of cake we wanted and got a present or two. Rarely would we let our guest buy us presents. I remember being annoyed at my mom for telling people not to bring presents, but now here I am doing the same thing!
Wow. I am bad at a lot of stuff. Maybe I should start a another list and this list will be stuff I am good at cause now I feel like a loser! Ha ha ha ha! Not Really. Just being open and honest about myself.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

"How to Land your Kid in Therapy" by The Atlantic

Several weeks back our minister at church read a paragraph from an article that intrigued me and I asked him if I could have a copy of the article. He gave me his but I found it online too and wanted to share it with you. Feel free to comment whether you agree or not. Here it is if you are interested in reading it.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/07/how-to-land-your-kid-in-therapy/8555/

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

He's 2, but not terrible!

Really? I have a two year old? Someone pinch me cause I don't feel like 2 years has gone by already!
I love this kid though! He lights up my life and gives me more JOY than I ever thought a kid could give me!

Jake has taught me a lot about being a mom!
I thought it would be fun to write about those things I have learn over the last two years being Jake's mom.
1. Hold my tongue when it doesn't matter. This one's is referring to keeping my opinion to myself when it doesn't matter. I've learned to accept others in the way they raise their kids. I am learning to have good relationships with others despite our differences.
2. Always check water temp before putting your kid into the tub!
3. Go on dates with Joe as often as possible! This one keeps Joe and I sane! If we start getting grouchy we know that we need a date night and try to go on one at least once every couple of weeks!
4. Breastfeeding is great cause it's free and so much easier that bottle feeding but when I stopped breastfeeding Jake around 12 months my hormones made a return for the better and our sex life went from good to great! I will be glad when Wade is weened in about 6 months!
5. Time to myself is a requirement! I have done a really bad job at this one! I can sort of consider the boys 2-3 hour nap time to be that time but hardly since I am usually doing housework during that time. I need to find ways of getting out more with my girlfriends!
6. It's nice to have a dog as a vacuum! He saves me from having to clean up having lots of food messes! I would rather have to vacuum dog hair ever other day than have to clean oatmeal or sticky rice off the floor
7. Disciplining with love, a calm heart and not raising my voice. I do this so much better than I thought I ever would! I have a temper. Not a terrible one, but when I am annoyed with repetitive foolishness my heart rate increases and I have worked really hard at being firm without raising my voice and remaining calm!
8. Praying for and with my kids on a daily basis has helped my personal prayer life grow! I have always struggled to be consistent in my conversation with God and having kids has taught me to stay more consistent as I pray often with them.
9. Finding ways to be more frugal by way of garage sales, couponing, and borrowing from others!
10. kids forgive a lot faster than adults do! I've messed up as a mom plenty of times and amazed by how quickly Jake moves on when hurt his feelings.
11. Always keep pants on a toddler when going down for a nap so you don't have a poopie mess to clean up later!
12. shopping for my kids is way more fun than for myself!
13. I never thought I would enjoy watching Elmo's world.
14. Kids hear, see and understand a whole lot more than we give them credit for!
15. I drink more coffee now than ever before!

He doesn't know it yet but Jake really has changed me in so many ways! I certainly don't want to get any older but I really do look forward to seeing him grow older and getting to develop more and more of a relationship with him.
Here he is! My favorite 2 year old! Isn't he a stud!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Boring Blogger!

Yep I am one of those people. I blog only when I feel excited about something and then disappear for a few months. I wish I liked to blog more, but I have been way too busy to even try right now.
To fill you in a little on the last couple of months.
We(my boys and me)just returned home this Labor Day evening from my parents house up in Northern IL. We were there for 10 whole days living it up on their new cute lake home! I can't say that it was relaxing, as traveling with two kids can be hectic, but it was so nice to be with family for those 10 days. We have only been up north twice this year and this was Joe's first time there since January! Joe and I were able to get away for 1/2 a day in southern Wisconsin to go mountain biking on some really awesome single track trails and spend an afternoon out on a speed boat skiing and tubing. Jake LOVED tubing with us! He showed no expression of course, but when we were done he kept saying, "more tubing!" I got up on ski's for the first time in a decade along with my sister Heather and bro-in-law Ben! It is not as fun as tubing for me. Skiing takes too much skill and I have a few bruises that show I am not as good as I once was. On the other hand Joe and John(my sister's husband as of this past Sunday), thought they would both give skiing their first try. Poor guys were unable to get out of the water and suffered with inner groin pulls for the next couple of days as a result. Maybe next time you guys will show up the girls in something! Ha ha ha ha!
My sister Heather is now married to a wonderful guy! The wedding turned out to be a perfect outdoor wedding and our family is complete! No more sister's to be married! Yahoooooo! That also means no more weddings for me to be in! Double Yahooooooo! I like weddings, and I liked being in both my sister's weddings, but I am free of feeling obligated to being in any more weddings.
Now that we are home I am focusing on organizing the house room by room. My amazing husband built a huge set of sturdy wood shelves in our garage for me to be able to clean out my overly- cluttered closets to make room for things that belong in closets. Now I just have to figure out what all needs to come out and then go in those closets!
Next week is Jake's 2nd birthday. Since I am not a party planner and not into having lots of people over for birthday's don't feel bad if you didn't get an invitation. We like things small and simple! I am going to attempt to make a fun tractor cake for Jake!
I will try to post some pictures soon and update my header picture!