The other night Karsyn was having a rough time. She was tired, it was very close to bedtime and she was having a little meltdown/tantrum. So...I decided to just put her to bed. I carried her to her room (of course she was crying), gave her a hug and kiss and laid her down. I leave her, go upstairs and begin reading Sydney a bedtime story. Still can hear Karysn crying and making a fuss. I was going to be bringing Syd to bed in a few minutes so I was going to let her be and check on her when I brought Syd to bed. But before I knew it I could hear sniffing in the entryway and I looked at Sydney and I couldn't believe it....that stinker climbed out of her crib!!! This is the first time I had encountered this (with either of the girls). Wasn't sure what to do so I just carried her back down and laid her down again. AND she came back up AGAIN!! So a third time I carried her back down and laid her down. This time I waited in the hallway to see/hear what she was doing. After a few seconds I could hear her saying, "I get out" (sniff sniff) "I stay wake". Like she was having a pep talk with herself and then she was out again for the 3rd time..... I explain to her its bedtime and I'll see her in the morning, love you and hugs and kisses. I go up to get Sydney to bring her to bed and before I get back down she's out again!! So I took both girls downstairs and put them to bed and I didn't hear another peep out of Karsyn after that. When Patrick got home that night I told him what happened, he laughed about it and we didn't really think much of it again. Told the story at work the next day and had some laughs and that was that. Then a couple mornings later I'm getting ready for work and out of the corner of my eye I see a little person coming in my room, first thought was Sydney's up....but it was KARSYN!!! So Patrick and I decided it was time to change her crib into a toddler/big girl bed (before she climbs out and hurts herself). So that was a Friday and we were headed out of town for the weekend and decided to wait til we got back to change it. Talked about it all weekend with her, how she was a big girl and was going to have a big girl bed and all. She was excited....or so I thought... I changed her bed Monday morning as we got in late Sunday night. It was a big production she "helped" and it was fun. She crawled in and out of the bed and was loving it. She took her nap in there and went fine....when bedtime came she freaked out!! "I want crib!" Was very upset about the change. So I changed it back to a crib and she was very happy and went to bed fine. She has climbed out one other time since then and it was after nap one day. I told her sternly that if she wants to keep the crib she has to stop climbing out because she could get hurt. Been good ever since.....
All that got me thinking about Sydney at that age. She was much younger for the transition to a toddler bed and didn't have a choice in the matter, as I was pregnant with Karsyn and needed the crib for her. So she was in a toddler bed by 21 months and in her big girl bed downstairs by 23 months. So...did I wait too long for Karsyn's transition?? She will be 3 in March and Syd was a few months shy of 2 when she had the transition. There is no rush to get Karsyn out of her crib, no baby on the way this time... I've heard, don't make the transition until they start climbing out and it becomes a problem. It was a problem and now its not, so should I have stuck to my guns and left it a toddler bed?? Or is it better to wait until she's ready??
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Obsessions....
My girls have some obsessions, some of you may think I'm raising a couple of girls that are a few fries short of a happy meal after you hear them.
1) The one for this week is GUM! So a couple weeks ago we were at my Dad's and the girls got into some gum and had a grand ole time. Ever since then Syd has been making comments here and there about it. She says to me a couple days ago. "Mom at Grandpa Steve's when we had gum, Karsyn had some and she didn't even swallow it." "She chewed it the whole time!" So on Monday after we dropped Syd off at school Karsyn and I were off running errands and she says to me, "mommy I have gum?" So I thought I'd test her and see if she would swallow it or what would happen. I explained the gum rules first: the gum must stay in your mouth, when you are done with it put it in the trash, and lastly do not swallow it. So...I gave her a piece and she chewed it the whole time in Kohl's and was very proud of the fact that she actually was chewing gum. I am now aware what a big mistake that was.... Ever since that day every five minutes she is asking for gum, just like she used to ask for fruit snacks. She digs into my purse for it, and even tries to get her big sister to get it for her. I tell you its like an addiction for her. So I am currently thinking of a plan to rid this problem in our house.
2) BAND-AIDS. If my girls get the slightest scratch, bump or whatever they consider to be an "owie" they need a band-aid! I used to give in to it and say, whats the big deal its just a band-aid, but now that there's two of them wanting band-aid every five minutes it gets expensive. Band-aids aren't cheap, at least the ones that stick aren't cheap anyway. So if it's not bleeding, it's not getting a band-aid! Something my husband said from day one...
3) TACOS. I'll ask the girls often what they want for lunch, or I'll say what should we have for supper? One of them usually says tacos. They LOVE tacos, and would eat them for every meal if I'd let them.
4) MEDICINE. I have heard stories from a few people that they have a hard time getting their kids to take medicine. Not my kids, they absolutely LOVE taking medicine. I have never had a problem getting them to take it, when its medicine time they are RUNNING to the bathroom first to take it. Often fighting over who gets it first or who is the most sick. And their fluoride vitamin is what they look forward to most at bedtime, its their bedtime "treat".
5) BRUSHING TEETH. I have also heard stories from people that they have a hard time brushing their kids teeth or getting kids to brush their teeth. Well....brushing teeth is a hot commodity at our house. First its who gets to go first, then picking the color of flosser, and finally the VITAMIN! Karsyn is way more obsessed than Syd, I'll find Karsyn in the bathroom throughout the day, randomly, trying to brush her teeth. Your teeth are clean girl, give them a break! =)
Now that you've read a list of my girls obsessions, are they really that strange? Are they a few fries short of a happy meal?? Tell me, I can take it.
What are your kids obsessed with??
1) The one for this week is GUM! So a couple weeks ago we were at my Dad's and the girls got into some gum and had a grand ole time. Ever since then Syd has been making comments here and there about it. She says to me a couple days ago. "Mom at Grandpa Steve's when we had gum, Karsyn had some and she didn't even swallow it." "She chewed it the whole time!" So on Monday after we dropped Syd off at school Karsyn and I were off running errands and she says to me, "mommy I have gum?" So I thought I'd test her and see if she would swallow it or what would happen. I explained the gum rules first: the gum must stay in your mouth, when you are done with it put it in the trash, and lastly do not swallow it. So...I gave her a piece and she chewed it the whole time in Kohl's and was very proud of the fact that she actually was chewing gum. I am now aware what a big mistake that was.... Ever since that day every five minutes she is asking for gum, just like she used to ask for fruit snacks. She digs into my purse for it, and even tries to get her big sister to get it for her. I tell you its like an addiction for her. So I am currently thinking of a plan to rid this problem in our house.
2) BAND-AIDS. If my girls get the slightest scratch, bump or whatever they consider to be an "owie" they need a band-aid! I used to give in to it and say, whats the big deal its just a band-aid, but now that there's two of them wanting band-aid every five minutes it gets expensive. Band-aids aren't cheap, at least the ones that stick aren't cheap anyway. So if it's not bleeding, it's not getting a band-aid! Something my husband said from day one...
3) TACOS. I'll ask the girls often what they want for lunch, or I'll say what should we have for supper? One of them usually says tacos. They LOVE tacos, and would eat them for every meal if I'd let them.
4) MEDICINE. I have heard stories from a few people that they have a hard time getting their kids to take medicine. Not my kids, they absolutely LOVE taking medicine. I have never had a problem getting them to take it, when its medicine time they are RUNNING to the bathroom first to take it. Often fighting over who gets it first or who is the most sick. And their fluoride vitamin is what they look forward to most at bedtime, its their bedtime "treat".
5) BRUSHING TEETH. I have also heard stories from people that they have a hard time brushing their kids teeth or getting kids to brush their teeth. Well....brushing teeth is a hot commodity at our house. First its who gets to go first, then picking the color of flosser, and finally the VITAMIN! Karsyn is way more obsessed than Syd, I'll find Karsyn in the bathroom throughout the day, randomly, trying to brush her teeth. Your teeth are clean girl, give them a break! =)
Now that you've read a list of my girls obsessions, are they really that strange? Are they a few fries short of a happy meal?? Tell me, I can take it.
What are your kids obsessed with??
Better Late Then Never....
Today I took Karsyn to her first eye exam, and I had my eyes checked too. Generally they like to see babies during their first year of life, in the Infantsee program (which is free if they are in the age range). I took Syd when she was about 9 months or so. Karsyn's 2 1/2...well beyond the 12 month cut off for the Infantsee program! Well better late then never right?? So like the Dentist appointment I wasn't sure how she'd do, so we thought it would be best if I go first and let her see how it is. Being I am not a fan of going to the eye doctor, I put on my brave face and let her see its really not a big deal. (really I hate it more that than going to the dentist) She sat on my lap and watched everything very closely. Then it was her turn. They had me put an eye patch on her so they could check one eye at a time. She did well with that and matched most of the pictures they showed her. By this time she wanted to be in the chair by herself and be a "big girl". Then the sneaky Doctor dilated her eyes without her or I knowing what was happening. She used a spray instead of drop...weird. She first sprayed it in her hand so she could feel what it was going to be like. Then sprayed each eye quickly and had Karsyn rub her eyes to make sure it got in her eyes. Takes about 15-20 minutes for eyes to dilate so off to the waiting room for a snack and check out the toys. When the doctor called us back to check her eyes she told me something I wasn't expecting.... Can't remember all the eye lingo exactly but Karsyn's eyes are at "zero", she usually sees kids having a "plus" (farsighted) or "minus" (nearsighted) and then as they grow it self corrects to become "zero". Since Karsyn is already at "zero", the Doctor says its likely Karsyn will need glasses later (like 1st or 2nd grade). Of course my husband says, "So Karsyn got your eyes, huh?" Yep, its looking that way. The Doctor did say its possible she might not need them, each kid is different and we'll just have to see. So she wants to see her before Kindergarten and go from there.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Favorite time of year
Things I am looking forward to this fall....
~ Leaves changing colors. (the girls and I love finding the "pretty" ones.)
~ Pumpkin patches.
~Carving pumpkins. (We haven't done this before, as I am not a fan of messes.)
~ Sweatshirts and jeans back in my wardrobe.
~ My Birthday.
~ Cool, crisp air.
~ Halloween.
~ Football.
~ Sleeping with the windows open.
~ Pumpkin spice capachinos.
Chatty Girls
Some of the things that have been coming out of my girls mouths.....
SYDNEY:
Syd: "I know what we should do." Me: "What?" Syd: "Get Dad to dance at the wedding."
"I'm yours and Karsyn's mom OK?"
"Karsyn, are you going to cry at Jim and Sally's?" (our neighbors who watched them the other day)
"Mommy, how many more days until I get to go to school again?"
"Mommy, I miss our old car." (me too Syd....me too....)
"Mommy, I'm pretending I'm Karsyn's friend."
"We should go to dounce (bounce) depot sometime."
"NO Karsyn!"
KARSYN:
"Sydney Frericks!!"
"Heyyyy!!"
"I read story."
"You all done on puter, mommy?"
"I want mommy do it!" (dad can't do anything for her these days)
"I do it, OK?"
"I wike it!" (usually follows when Syd says she doesn't like something)
"Daddy's home now!" (whenever she hears a truck drive by)
"NO Sydney!"
SYDNEY:
Syd: "I know what we should do." Me: "What?" Syd: "Get Dad to dance at the wedding."
"I'm yours and Karsyn's mom OK?"
"Karsyn, are you going to cry at Jim and Sally's?" (our neighbors who watched them the other day)
"Mommy, how many more days until I get to go to school again?"
"Mommy, I miss our old car." (me too Syd....me too....)
"Mommy, I'm pretending I'm Karsyn's friend."
"We should go to dounce (bounce) depot sometime."
"NO Karsyn!"
KARSYN:
"Sydney Frericks!!"
"Heyyyy!!"
"I read story."
"You all done on puter, mommy?"
"I want mommy do it!" (dad can't do anything for her these days)
"I do it, OK?"
"I wike it!" (usually follows when Syd says she doesn't like something)
"Daddy's home now!" (whenever she hears a truck drive by)
"NO Sydney!"
Monday, September 12, 2011
A day of firsts
Today was the big day for Syd. She's been waiting for it, asking often when she gets to go. Preschool started today! We had orientation last Thursday so we knew where to go and who her teachers were going to be. We get to preschool, go to her classroom, hang up her back pack and one of her teachers and I start chatting. (since it was the first day I expected it to be crowded, so I had planned a quick goodbye with Syd) But before I knew it she was gone and in the classroom finding her "shape" on the rug for group time. OK then bye Syd....have fun at your first day of preschool.... =( When I picked her up I asked her how the first day was and what she did. She said "we had popcorn for snack and milk....white milk, and we got to pour our own milk." "OK so what else, did you make art projects?" She said "no, we played outside and played in the gym." She had a great first day and she can't wait to go back. She is already counting the days til she gets to go again! =)
So after Karsyn and I dropped off Syd at preschool, we had to do some paperwork on the way out and we were off to Karsyn's first ever Dentist appointment. I had wanted to take her without Sydney along because I figured she'd be a bit fussy and non-cooperative (as brushing her teeth at home can sometimes be difficult). We got there and went back with my friend Michele and got started. She hopped up in the chair and Michele showed her all the cool stuff and even let her play with it a little. So I waited for it....the fussing....the wanting mommy.....the non-cooperative Karsyn I was expecting.....but....NOTHING!! What!? This can't be, she was the most COOPERATIVE patient I had ever seen (and I'm a Dental Assistant)!! She did great!! She let Michele clean ALL her teeth and she didn't even fuss one second. She wore some super duper purple sunglasses and just laid there and did amazing!! What a relief!! A great day for both my girls!!! =)
So after Karsyn and I dropped off Syd at preschool, we had to do some paperwork on the way out and we were off to Karsyn's first ever Dentist appointment. I had wanted to take her without Sydney along because I figured she'd be a bit fussy and non-cooperative (as brushing her teeth at home can sometimes be difficult). We got there and went back with my friend Michele and got started. She hopped up in the chair and Michele showed her all the cool stuff and even let her play with it a little. So I waited for it....the fussing....the wanting mommy.....the non-cooperative Karsyn I was expecting.....but....NOTHING!! What!? This can't be, she was the most COOPERATIVE patient I had ever seen (and I'm a Dental Assistant)!! She did great!! She let Michele clean ALL her teeth and she didn't even fuss one second. She wore some super duper purple sunglasses and just laid there and did amazing!! What a relief!! A great day for both my girls!!! =)
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
My "Big Kid"
Summer is winding down pretty quick and soon my 4 1/2 year old will be going to preschool 3 days a week for 2 1/2 hours a day. She is pumped, she LOVES school! I am glad for her to start but also a bit sad. My little girl is growing up. I just hope Karsyn doesn't get too bored without her big sister. The days she has to go to daycare and Syd goes to school will be interesting. Karsyn hasn't ever been to daycare without Syd before. I am predicting that the first few days will be tough....but it will be good for the both of them to have sometime apart and do their own thing. Along with school starting there are some friends leaving daycare because they will be in kindergarten and now Sydney is going to be the oldest kid at daycare when she goes. She is pretty excited about being a "big kid". Being I only work 8 days a month and my days home with the girls are pretty relaxed, we have our little routine. But, now with having to get Syd to school by 8:15 3 days a week is going to be a change. Karsyn often times will sleep til 8:00 so she might be coming along in her jammies to drop off Sissy. Karsyn and I don't get much one on one time, so it will be nice to have scheduled time to do that. Sad that my girls are growing up, but excited to see what new things are to come.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Growing up!
Hi! Yes it's me! No I haven't forgotten about blogging I just been having a hard time making time for it. So its 10:00pm on a Sunday night and I can't sleep, most likely due to these three reasons, I took a 20 min snooze with Karsyn today, I had a Dr. Pepper at 3:00 and my husband is snoring. :) So thought I'd do something productive. So here's a bit of what we've been up to lately....
Sydney's gymnastics classes have ended......but at home they haven't. She pretends she's the teacher and does reenactments of the classes. And of course tries to teach Karsyn but that doesn't always go well. ;) She is now taking swimming lessons every Monday afternoon and LOVES them!! She can't wait to go every week and tries to do reenactments of those in the bath tub.....mopping up lots of water these days!! I tell ya that tub is getting a little small for the two of them together some days. We also had a milestone with Sydney yesterday. She is riding her bike without training wheels!!! She has been begging me for about a month now to take off her training wheels and well....I just wasn't ready for that and didn't think she was either. So yesterday I took them off and we started practicing. I couldn't believe how well she took off with it. We worked at it for about an hour or so and even the rain didn't stop us! She did great at going straight and then when she tried turning she'd put her feet down and stop afraid she'd tip over. She was so proud and couldn't wait to show Daddy when he got home. Today we worked on turns and starting without me helping or without her hanging on to something. I thought for sure she'd get frustrated and ask me to put the training wheels back on but she didn't and is loving it. Can't believe she's ditching her training wheels!!
Karsyn is really becoming a "big girl" lately and has let me know it too. The other day I called her "my little baby girl" and she said "NO! Big Girl!!!" OK...big girl it is... =( She has been doing a pretty good job of keeping up with her big sister. Does or tries to do anything Syd does. Like climb UP the slide instead of using the steps. She can get on and off her swing all by herself! Climbs the rock wall on the swing set with ease. Karsyn has been into bugs, spiders, and anything creepy and crawly. Pretty much anything that makes me squirm. Oh, and tonight after supper I called out "Karsyn where are you?" "Are you with Daddy?" (he was in the bedroom changing) Patrick says "No." Then I hear her yell something I couldn't make out right away so Patrick relayed it to me. She said, "On puter, be there second!" Yep, she was on the computer, pretending to be Mommy telling me she'd be there in a second! ;) A phrase the girls may have heard me say a few times... =) Her vocabulary is getting so big and yet has a language all her own. "Wort" = dessert, "fursty" = thirsty, "u nacks" = fruit snacks....cute!!
My girls are growing up so fast, I need to remind myself that the dishes, laundry and housework can wait and take the time to really enjoy them while they are little and while they still like me! ;) Before I know it they'll be 13 and I'll be embarrassing.....
Sydney's gymnastics classes have ended......but at home they haven't. She pretends she's the teacher and does reenactments of the classes. And of course tries to teach Karsyn but that doesn't always go well. ;) She is now taking swimming lessons every Monday afternoon and LOVES them!! She can't wait to go every week and tries to do reenactments of those in the bath tub.....mopping up lots of water these days!! I tell ya that tub is getting a little small for the two of them together some days. We also had a milestone with Sydney yesterday. She is riding her bike without training wheels!!! She has been begging me for about a month now to take off her training wheels and well....I just wasn't ready for that and didn't think she was either. So yesterday I took them off and we started practicing. I couldn't believe how well she took off with it. We worked at it for about an hour or so and even the rain didn't stop us! She did great at going straight and then when she tried turning she'd put her feet down and stop afraid she'd tip over. She was so proud and couldn't wait to show Daddy when he got home. Today we worked on turns and starting without me helping or without her hanging on to something. I thought for sure she'd get frustrated and ask me to put the training wheels back on but she didn't and is loving it. Can't believe she's ditching her training wheels!!
Karsyn is really becoming a "big girl" lately and has let me know it too. The other day I called her "my little baby girl" and she said "NO! Big Girl!!!" OK...big girl it is... =( She has been doing a pretty good job of keeping up with her big sister. Does or tries to do anything Syd does. Like climb UP the slide instead of using the steps. She can get on and off her swing all by herself! Climbs the rock wall on the swing set with ease. Karsyn has been into bugs, spiders, and anything creepy and crawly. Pretty much anything that makes me squirm. Oh, and tonight after supper I called out "Karsyn where are you?" "Are you with Daddy?" (he was in the bedroom changing) Patrick says "No." Then I hear her yell something I couldn't make out right away so Patrick relayed it to me. She said, "On puter, be there second!" Yep, she was on the computer, pretending to be Mommy telling me she'd be there in a second! ;) A phrase the girls may have heard me say a few times... =) Her vocabulary is getting so big and yet has a language all her own. "Wort" = dessert, "fursty" = thirsty, "u nacks" = fruit snacks....cute!!
My girls are growing up so fast, I need to remind myself that the dishes, laundry and housework can wait and take the time to really enjoy them while they are little and while they still like me! ;) Before I know it they'll be 13 and I'll be embarrassing.....
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Hot Hot Hot!!
For the past few days or so its been HOT. The kind of hot that you don't even want to go outside because its hard to breathe hot. Just before it got hot it rained for a couple days and we had our share of indoor activities (which Syd had planned out), paint nails, playdoh, finger paint, coloring, making cookies...etc. So to keep the girls from going stir crazy we have been venturing out in the heat. To keep ourselves cool we've been spending lots of time in the girls inflatable pool. They would spend all day in there if I'd let them. We have a little slide they love to go down into the pool, backwards, sideways and sometimes by accident head first. Also squirt guns have been a hit...just when you sit down and relax here comes, that little stinker, Karsyn out of no where and gets ya. She's tricky too cause she attacks from behind!! She thinks it hilarious!! Sydney on the other hand is rather careful about squirting us because she doesn't want to get squirted back and gets mad when we squirt her. We have been going though freezies like crazy, just something about a hot day and freezies...AHHH!! Fun times! =)
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Summer catch up!
It's been almost 3 weeks since my last blog post. So here's a "summer catch up" blog for ya.
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The girls and I met Sarah and the boys, Susan and her boys at the Pine Grove Zoo in Little Falls. Its was a great day for it! Sunny and warm. It wasn't very busy at the zoo....at first. It was my first adventure in the last 4 years that I didn't take a stroller to, as Karsyn would rather walk like her big sister. It went fine...except for the time I almost lost Karsyn.....I'll explain. After everyone was done eating lunch and us mom's were cleaning up, the kiddos were playing by a tree nearby and were content. After a minute I looked up and checked the kids and Karsyn was not there. Panic set in and my eyes quickly glancing every which way and she was NO WHERE!!! I got a sick feeling in my stomach...then after what seemed like FOREVER (really only about 10 seconds) Susan says, I hear someone on the steps and I see some pink shoes. Thank goodness!! That was about the longest 10 seconds of my life!! Scooped her up and smooched her and then scolded her a bit for wandering off. After that we did one more loop around the zoo and headed home. Over all a fun day!
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Fourth of July weekend we stayed around home and Grandpa and Grandma came and stayed the weekend. Saturday Ron, Patrick and I headed to Target Field and met my Dad and watched the Twins/Brewers game, while Grandma stayed back and watched the girls. We had a great time even though the Twins lost. I had fun just watching my Dad enjoy himself as a Brewers fan at Target Field. He's a sports fanatic and it was hilarious watching his reactions to things (very animated). We arrived home about midnight and headed straight to bed as we had a big day ahead of us-staining our deck. Which was a couple years overdue..... It took the whole day and finished just in time to have supper, clean up and head out to watch some fireworks. I was a little nervous as Karsyn is afraid of "bunder" (thunder) and didn't think she'd do well but thought we'd try it and see. She actually LOVED them and called them "sunshine" and said "come by me" as she reached her arms up and tried to grab them. It was fun!
We had our first camping adventure of the summer last weekend. We went to El Rancho Manana in Richmond. Our favorite campground. We stay in my in-laws camper as we don't have our own camper yet. It was fun we spent a lot of time at the beach, as it was sooo hot and the water was fabulous! Saturday morning Patrick and Mike went on a bike run and left after breakfast. Then Sarah and I took the kiddos to the beach. We had the beach to ourselves for the first bit and the kids had fun playing in the sand and running around. We headed back to the campsite for a snack and nap time. ALL the kids napped leaving Sarah, Doris and I a chance to visit and relax a bit. Once the kids were awake we headed back to the beach again and got in the water this time. The girls loved it!! Sydney hasn't had swimming lessons yet but was trying to keep up with Kayden who had them a couple weeks ago. Trying to go under water and being very brave (the making mommy nervous brave). Karsyn was also enjoying the water, as the water was pretty shallow, she thought it was a riot walking on her hands instead of her feet (with her head ABOVE the water) and went out til the water touched her chin (which also made mommy nervous). We headed back to the campsite, made supper, fed the kiddos and got them cleaned up for bed (which the girls didn't fight, they were pooped). Sunday we had breakfast and then headed back to the beach one last time before we headed home.
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During the month of July I signed Sydney up for gymnastics and she loves it! Her second night was Tuesday. The first night she did a lot of "mommy watching" making sure I was watching her, and making sure I was still there, as she was rather shy for the first 15 min or so. Therefore, not paying attention to the instructor and missing stuff. Before class this week I let her know that she needs to watch the teacher and not look at mommy so much. I went on and told her that if wanted to keep going to gymnastics she had to watch the teacher and pay attention..... She didn't watch mommy so much this week and did much better. Ever since we started gymnastics my living room has become quite the obstacle course....more than usual I mean! =)
Karsyn, Kayden, Sydney, Tyler and Blake checking out the bears at the zoo.
The girls and I met Sarah and the boys, Susan and her boys at the Pine Grove Zoo in Little Falls. Its was a great day for it! Sunny and warm. It wasn't very busy at the zoo....at first. It was my first adventure in the last 4 years that I didn't take a stroller to, as Karsyn would rather walk like her big sister. It went fine...except for the time I almost lost Karsyn.....I'll explain. After everyone was done eating lunch and us mom's were cleaning up, the kiddos were playing by a tree nearby and were content. After a minute I looked up and checked the kids and Karsyn was not there. Panic set in and my eyes quickly glancing every which way and she was NO WHERE!!! I got a sick feeling in my stomach...then after what seemed like FOREVER (really only about 10 seconds) Susan says, I hear someone on the steps and I see some pink shoes. Thank goodness!! That was about the longest 10 seconds of my life!! Scooped her up and smooched her and then scolded her a bit for wandering off. After that we did one more loop around the zoo and headed home. Over all a fun day!
My Dad and I at Target Field.
Fourth of July weekend we stayed around home and Grandpa and Grandma came and stayed the weekend. Saturday Ron, Patrick and I headed to Target Field and met my Dad and watched the Twins/Brewers game, while Grandma stayed back and watched the girls. We had a great time even though the Twins lost. I had fun just watching my Dad enjoy himself as a Brewers fan at Target Field. He's a sports fanatic and it was hilarious watching his reactions to things (very animated). We arrived home about midnight and headed straight to bed as we had a big day ahead of us-staining our deck. Which was a couple years overdue..... It took the whole day and finished just in time to have supper, clean up and head out to watch some fireworks. I was a little nervous as Karsyn is afraid of "bunder" (thunder) and didn't think she'd do well but thought we'd try it and see. She actually LOVED them and called them "sunshine" and said "come by me" as she reached her arms up and tried to grab them. It was fun!
We had our first camping adventure of the summer last weekend. We went to El Rancho Manana in Richmond. Our favorite campground. We stay in my in-laws camper as we don't have our own camper yet. It was fun we spent a lot of time at the beach, as it was sooo hot and the water was fabulous! Saturday morning Patrick and Mike went on a bike run and left after breakfast. Then Sarah and I took the kiddos to the beach. We had the beach to ourselves for the first bit and the kids had fun playing in the sand and running around. We headed back to the campsite for a snack and nap time. ALL the kids napped leaving Sarah, Doris and I a chance to visit and relax a bit. Once the kids were awake we headed back to the beach again and got in the water this time. The girls loved it!! Sydney hasn't had swimming lessons yet but was trying to keep up with Kayden who had them a couple weeks ago. Trying to go under water and being very brave (the making mommy nervous brave). Karsyn was also enjoying the water, as the water was pretty shallow, she thought it was a riot walking on her hands instead of her feet (with her head ABOVE the water) and went out til the water touched her chin (which also made mommy nervous). We headed back to the campsite, made supper, fed the kiddos and got them cleaned up for bed (which the girls didn't fight, they were pooped). Sunday we had breakfast and then headed back to the beach one last time before we headed home.
Sydney just before her first gymnastics class.
During the month of July I signed Sydney up for gymnastics and she loves it! Her second night was Tuesday. The first night she did a lot of "mommy watching" making sure I was watching her, and making sure I was still there, as she was rather shy for the first 15 min or so. Therefore, not paying attention to the instructor and missing stuff. Before class this week I let her know that she needs to watch the teacher and not look at mommy so much. I went on and told her that if wanted to keep going to gymnastics she had to watch the teacher and pay attention..... She didn't watch mommy so much this week and did much better. Ever since we started gymnastics my living room has become quite the obstacle course....more than usual I mean! =)
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Moving Karsyn
So we are about 80% done "changing it up". When you walk into the office it looks like the office, when you walk into Karsyn's room it looks like Karsyn's room....until you open the closets. Karsyn's clothes are in the office closet and the office supplies are in Karsyn's closet. It was a bigger job that we had anticipated moving the rooms and decided to skip the closets for today. So....I plan to do a little here and there as I get time, as the items in the closets I should be able to move without help. I plan on painting Karsyn's room at some point, as soon as I figure out how I want to decorate it. I asked her what color paint she wanted in her room and she said "back" which means black....um no sweet girl I'm not painting your room black. Then she said "pink", you'll have to talk to Daddy about that one, he has been "pinked out" for a while now. Very doubtful he'll let that fly. So that will be a project another day not anytime soon.
Tonight is the first night Karsyn is sleeping downstairs in her new room. Karsyn really didn't have a reaction when I put her in her crib in her new room. Just the same as usual. With Sydney I had to do some explaining how this was going to work. For tonight I moved Sydney's monitor in the hallway (Patrick is making me try and "see how it works") for a trial run. Patrick isn't convinced we need another monitor. I explained to Sydney that not much is changing, I'll still put Karsyn to bed first and then I'll put her to bed and do our usual routine: the quick preview of the next days events, hug, kiss, and I love yous. I also explained that if she needs me she'll have to come and get me cause if she yells for me she'll wake up Karsyn. The the part that made her smile was when I told her that her and Karsyn were "neighbors" now. I thought that might be a deal breaker, turned out to be the best part for her. =)
So as I sit here and type my first blog in our office upstairs I wonder what the night will bring. Will I hear the girls if they wake up? Will I toss and turn "waiting" for them to wake up? I'm sure I'll blog about it! ;)
Tonight is the first night Karsyn is sleeping downstairs in her new room. Karsyn really didn't have a reaction when I put her in her crib in her new room. Just the same as usual. With Sydney I had to do some explaining how this was going to work. For tonight I moved Sydney's monitor in the hallway (Patrick is making me try and "see how it works") for a trial run. Patrick isn't convinced we need another monitor. I explained to Sydney that not much is changing, I'll still put Karsyn to bed first and then I'll put her to bed and do our usual routine: the quick preview of the next days events, hug, kiss, and I love yous. I also explained that if she needs me she'll have to come and get me cause if she yells for me she'll wake up Karsyn. The the part that made her smile was when I told her that her and Karsyn were "neighbors" now. I thought that might be a deal breaker, turned out to be the best part for her. =)
So as I sit here and type my first blog in our office upstairs I wonder what the night will bring. Will I hear the girls if they wake up? Will I toss and turn "waiting" for them to wake up? I'm sure I'll blog about it! ;)
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Changing it up
Last week Patrick and I were talking about moving his office, currently its downstairs in the room next to Sydney's. The plan (from way back when we built the shop) eventually was to have the office moved out to the shop, (he has a special area designated for it, just would have to make the walls for it). Then when the office was moved out to the shop we'd move Karsyn downstairs in that room. Then we'd have a spare room for visitors and what not, instead of using air mattresses. Knowing that its just not in the budget right now to make the office in the shop Patrick had another idea....maybe we could move the office upstairs and move Karsyn downstairs. That way I'd have the computer upstairs, where I've been wanting it for a while and Patrick thinks that might help him get paperwork done (not sure about that but I'll go along with it). With both the girls downstairs maybe that would cut down on the toy clutter upstairs and keep the toys (for the most part) downstairs.... :) Since I mentioned a few times that I'm kind of LOVING that idea, and he does too, he says since we have some company coming this weekend we would have some help moving the heavy stuff upstairs. So....that means, according to Patrick, I'll have to paint that room before the weekend (since he doesn't want a green office). Plus, I can maneuver the furniture in that room around by myself, if the office furniture was in there I wouldn't be able to maneuver it to paint. I have the girls in daycare Thursday so I guess I'll do it then!! Patrick is leaving it up to me what color to paint. YIKES!! I'm no good at making decisions like that!! So I've spent sometime today looking online at colors and getting ideas. Wish me luck!!
On another note. With both the girls being downstairs there is a dilemma I'm facing. I have a monitor in Sydney's room now so I can hear her if she wakes up in the night. I know she could find me if she REALLY needed me but, I like the peace of mind with having the monitor in there. So, do I put the monitor in the hallway between the rooms and see how it works?? Or, do I go buy another monitor to put in Karsyn's room?? I'm thinking it will be worth it to buy a new one for my peace of mind, for that's priceless. :)
On another note. With both the girls being downstairs there is a dilemma I'm facing. I have a monitor in Sydney's room now so I can hear her if she wakes up in the night. I know she could find me if she REALLY needed me but, I like the peace of mind with having the monitor in there. So, do I put the monitor in the hallway between the rooms and see how it works?? Or, do I go buy another monitor to put in Karsyn's room?? I'm thinking it will be worth it to buy a new one for my peace of mind, for that's priceless. :)
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
This and That...
As we start another summer, i wanted to jot down a few things the girls are saying/doing before the summer gets too busy and I forget.
SYDNEY:
She can load her toothbrush with toothpaste (I have to check the amount of toothpaste on it before it goes in her mouth) and brush her teeth (followed by "mommies turn" and inspection of course). She actually does a very good job brushing too.
She can get her own water from the fridge dispenser when she's thirsty.
On a good day, she can get dressed by herself (depends on her mood), sometimes when she sees me dressing Karsyn she gets too tired or can't do it. =)
She can go potty by herself and do so without me knowing...until I hear "mommy I'm done" which means she went poo.
Put her hair in a pony tail.
Can reach things in the fridge I didn't think she could. Helpful when setting the table. Otherwise not so much! =)
Is all of a sudden not wanting to sleep downstairs by herself. I then explain to her that we are going to move Karsyn downstairs someday, (hoping that would cheer her up) she then is predicting that Karsyn will wake her up!!! OK.... All she ends up needing is a stuffed animal usually "Goldie" her unicorn and she's fine. =)
Randomly dances and sings around the house. Just need to get that video camera out. =)
Is obsessed with chewing gum, asks for it every chance she gets!
NEEDS to stop bossing her little sister around before she decides to stop playing with her all together.
********************************************************************
KARSYN
Tries to be as big as her big sister.....
Says she's 4 when asked how old she is. =)
Wants to go potty all by herself "I self mommy!"
Doesn't want help with ANYTHING...especially help from her big sister!!
Insists on buckling herself in her car seat (which she can't do) and then unbuckles her chest buckle when I'm driving....yeah....not cool!!
Tries to ride her sister's bike....
Asks for fruit snacks and treats about 1,000 times a day.
Says "mommy watch me" about another 1,000 times a day.
Attempts to dress herself, most of the time she gets too frustrated and asks for me to help. She is a pro at taking off her clothes though. =)
Her vocabulary is improving more and more each day, I still have to ask Syd sometimes what she is saying. If I don't answer her right away she gets mad and just keeps repeating herself VERY loudly and gets mad. Its just because I'm trying to figure out what she's saying, I'm not ignoring the poor girl!!
SYDNEY:
She can load her toothbrush with toothpaste (I have to check the amount of toothpaste on it before it goes in her mouth) and brush her teeth (followed by "mommies turn" and inspection of course). She actually does a very good job brushing too.
She can get her own water from the fridge dispenser when she's thirsty.
On a good day, she can get dressed by herself (depends on her mood), sometimes when she sees me dressing Karsyn she gets too tired or can't do it. =)
She can go potty by herself and do so without me knowing...until I hear "mommy I'm done" which means she went poo.
Put her hair in a pony tail.
Can reach things in the fridge I didn't think she could. Helpful when setting the table. Otherwise not so much! =)
Is all of a sudden not wanting to sleep downstairs by herself. I then explain to her that we are going to move Karsyn downstairs someday, (hoping that would cheer her up) she then is predicting that Karsyn will wake her up!!! OK.... All she ends up needing is a stuffed animal usually "Goldie" her unicorn and she's fine. =)
Randomly dances and sings around the house. Just need to get that video camera out. =)
Is obsessed with chewing gum, asks for it every chance she gets!
NEEDS to stop bossing her little sister around before she decides to stop playing with her all together.
********************************************************************
KARSYN
Tries to be as big as her big sister.....
Says she's 4 when asked how old she is. =)
Wants to go potty all by herself "I self mommy!"
Doesn't want help with ANYTHING...especially help from her big sister!!
Insists on buckling herself in her car seat (which she can't do) and then unbuckles her chest buckle when I'm driving....yeah....not cool!!
Tries to ride her sister's bike....
Asks for fruit snacks and treats about 1,000 times a day.
Says "mommy watch me" about another 1,000 times a day.
Attempts to dress herself, most of the time she gets too frustrated and asks for me to help. She is a pro at taking off her clothes though. =)
Her vocabulary is improving more and more each day, I still have to ask Syd sometimes what she is saying. If I don't answer her right away she gets mad and just keeps repeating herself VERY loudly and gets mad. Its just because I'm trying to figure out what she's saying, I'm not ignoring the poor girl!!
Monday, June 13, 2011
WI bound again!!
This past weekend we made the road trip, again, to my dad's. Thankfully no puking! =) We made the trip the past two weekends to see my brother Kris who was home on leave from the Navy. This past weekend the guys planned a fishing outing for Saturday. We hauled our boat down for the event. So after lunch on Saturday Patrick, Kris, my Dad, and Steve (my sister Robyn's boyfriend) headed out to Lake Eau Claire. Knowing they'd be gone the rest of the day til dark, us girls (Robyn, Sara, Sami, Ady, Sydney, Karsyn, and myself) hung out at my Dad's and did a project for Grandpa for Father's Day. We planned on making stepping stones. The original idea was to make the girl's hand prints in them and have them paint them how they wanted. Well....we didn't anticipate the fast setting plaster (which the box said 10 minutes, which ended up being 2 minutes) and quickly carved the girls names in their stones instead. We let them sit over night and the girls painted them in the morning. The girls loved painting them and it was fun seeing how they turned out. After getting that mess cleaned up we made breakfast and said goodbye to my brother, as his leave had ended. It amazing with my brother gone so much serving in the Navy and all, I thought my girls wouldn't "know him" and warm up to him very easy, but that's not the case. They always run to him and are always very excited to see him!! Very sweet!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Worst road trip EVER!
Over the past 4 years its been interesting traveling with kids to say the least. As my family lives in WI we are on the road quite a bit. I've made the trip alone with Syd when she was little. I've also made the trip alone with both girls. It goes without saying that going alone with the girls isn't my first choice. But I'll do it if that's my only option. Mainly because its a lot of reaching in the back handing out snacks and drinks. Picking up dropped blankies and toys. Not to mention hearing "mommy" 10,000 times and "are we there yet" gets asked a couple time before we leave town. Just alot for one person to handle when battling traffic. I did make the trip alone a few weeks ago and it went OK. The last hour is the worst as the girls can't wait to get our of their seats, they get a little loud (whiny) and antsy (Karsyn has learned to unbuckle the buckle that goes across her chest....awesome).
This past weekend we went to my Dad's and thankfully Patrick was able to go with us. We have a routine, Patrick ALWAYS drives for a couple reasons: 1) he gets motion sickness and can't even look in the back without getting dizzy, 2) he handles the cities traffic better than I do. We headed out of town about 5 on Friday. We grabbed some McDonald's and we were off. The trip was going OK, Karsyn was a little whiny but didn't think much of it and just dealt with it. Tried giving her toys, snacks, I even let her hold my had for a few minutes here and there. Then about an hour before my Dad's I heard "the sound" that put our road trip into chaos. The sound of puking! Are you kidding me! Look in the back and Karsyn is covered in puke. Now what?? I look over at Patrick, who is gagging, obviously he isn't going to be ANY help. Wishing I had some gloves from work, I got Karsyn out of her seat and peeled her clothes off and wiped her down with wet wipes and handed her off to Patrick who got her dressed. I got stuck cleaning the car seat....oh joy. After it was cleaned the bestwe I could get it (with wet wipes), put the seat back in and tried to have Karsyn sit on a sweatshirt so she wasn't sitting in a wet seat but she insisted on sitting on her "seat". OK, then fine and we resumed our trip. She fell asleep right away and the rest of the trip was quiet. Pulling into my Dad's driveway I hear "the sound" again. Ugh!! I wasn't sure what to think of all that. She continued to puke until 12:30am. Was it the flu? Was it motion sickness? I wasn't sure until today. Found out my niece Ady is sick today, so the flu it is.... Sorry Ady!! To sum it up it was the worst road trip EVER!!!
This past weekend we went to my Dad's and thankfully Patrick was able to go with us. We have a routine, Patrick ALWAYS drives for a couple reasons: 1) he gets motion sickness and can't even look in the back without getting dizzy, 2) he handles the cities traffic better than I do. We headed out of town about 5 on Friday. We grabbed some McDonald's and we were off. The trip was going OK, Karsyn was a little whiny but didn't think much of it and just dealt with it. Tried giving her toys, snacks, I even let her hold my had for a few minutes here and there. Then about an hour before my Dad's I heard "the sound" that put our road trip into chaos. The sound of puking! Are you kidding me! Look in the back and Karsyn is covered in puke. Now what?? I look over at Patrick, who is gagging, obviously he isn't going to be ANY help. Wishing I had some gloves from work, I got Karsyn out of her seat and peeled her clothes off and wiped her down with wet wipes and handed her off to Patrick who got her dressed. I got stuck cleaning the car seat....oh joy. After it was cleaned the best
Monday, May 9, 2011
Mother's Day
So yesterday was Mother's Day. It's a day where Mom's are supposed to be celebrated and pampered, NO cooking, cleaning or laundry. Usually, Mother's Day falls on MN fishing opener and my husband is living in his boat all weekend. Not much pampering goes on when that happens, plus my kids are too little to realise what the day is about and it ends up being just a normal day for me. Every few years or so they fall on different weekends and this year was one of those years.
Saturday morning the kids wake up (not too early like 6:30/7ish). As soon as my girls wake up they want to eat (or they think they'll die). So I start breakfast (pancakes, sausage & eggs), while Patrick snoozes for a bit longer. Just a soon as I finish cooking Patrick comes walking out and sits down with us and eats. After we finish he heads into the bathroom to give himself a haircut and take a shower. I clean up breakfast, give the girls a bath, all by the time he's done with that. He heads off to work.... It then dawns on me....that's what I want for Mother's Day! I want to sleep in, have breakfast made for me, take a shower and find all the mess is cleaned up! Because lets face it taking the whole day off of cooking and cleaning just isn't realistic for me. So later that night I tell Patrick my "dream Mother's Day". I want to sleep in, have breakfast made for me, have breakfast mess cleaned up by the time I'm done with my shower. Just like he had Saturday a normal (not Father's Day) day....he doesn't say anything about it and we go to sleep.
Sunday morning the kids wake up (early 5:50). Are you kidding me!! I thought for sure Patrick would not get up and my "dream Mother's Day" was not happening. I was pleasantly surprised as he got up with them and did his best to keep them out of the bedroom. They did make a few attempts at coming in and trying to wake me up, but soon gave up as I heard stern orders from Patrick to let mommy rest. I fell back asleep and woke at 7:20 with the house quiet and made my way out to the kitchen, to find the girls making me Mother's Day cards. I also smelled a lingering hint of burntness in the air, windows and patio door open. As some of you may know my husband isn't a multitasker to say the least. Whenever he cooks something always gets a little burnt. :) I ate my french toast and burnt potatoes (with lots of ketchup) happily. I did end up cleaning up a bit after breakfast, as I am a little anal about my kitchen cleanliness. :) It was a wonderful start to a great Mother's Day!
Mother's Day is a bittersweet holiday for me. Of all the holidays in the year Mother's Day is by far the hardest to get through. I spend quite a bit of time thinking of my mother who passed away a couple years ago. Wondering if she knew what a great mom she was and if I told her that enough. I don't think a person could ever tell their mom that enough. Everyday you have with your mother is precious, make sure you tell her how special she is to you, because one day you'll be wishing heaven had a phone.....
Saturday morning the kids wake up (not too early like 6:30/7ish). As soon as my girls wake up they want to eat (or they think they'll die). So I start breakfast (pancakes, sausage & eggs), while Patrick snoozes for a bit longer. Just a soon as I finish cooking Patrick comes walking out and sits down with us and eats. After we finish he heads into the bathroom to give himself a haircut and take a shower. I clean up breakfast, give the girls a bath, all by the time he's done with that. He heads off to work.... It then dawns on me....that's what I want for Mother's Day! I want to sleep in, have breakfast made for me, take a shower and find all the mess is cleaned up! Because lets face it taking the whole day off of cooking and cleaning just isn't realistic for me. So later that night I tell Patrick my "dream Mother's Day". I want to sleep in, have breakfast made for me, have breakfast mess cleaned up by the time I'm done with my shower. Just like he had Saturday a normal (not Father's Day) day....he doesn't say anything about it and we go to sleep.
Sunday morning the kids wake up (early 5:50). Are you kidding me!! I thought for sure Patrick would not get up and my "dream Mother's Day" was not happening. I was pleasantly surprised as he got up with them and did his best to keep them out of the bedroom. They did make a few attempts at coming in and trying to wake me up, but soon gave up as I heard stern orders from Patrick to let mommy rest. I fell back asleep and woke at 7:20 with the house quiet and made my way out to the kitchen, to find the girls making me Mother's Day cards. I also smelled a lingering hint of burntness in the air, windows and patio door open. As some of you may know my husband isn't a multitasker to say the least. Whenever he cooks something always gets a little burnt. :) I ate my french toast and burnt potatoes (with lots of ketchup) happily. I did end up cleaning up a bit after breakfast, as I am a little anal about my kitchen cleanliness. :) It was a wonderful start to a great Mother's Day!
Mother's Day is a bittersweet holiday for me. Of all the holidays in the year Mother's Day is by far the hardest to get through. I spend quite a bit of time thinking of my mother who passed away a couple years ago. Wondering if she knew what a great mom she was and if I told her that enough. I don't think a person could ever tell their mom that enough. Everyday you have with your mother is precious, make sure you tell her how special she is to you, because one day you'll be wishing heaven had a phone.....
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Stir Crazy
So after our long week of icky sickness I was looking forward to a fresh start. Ready to get back in our routine. Needless to say after a week of sick kids and a sick husband I was ready to return to work today. Then a small tinge of the flu bug was lingering. Sydney woke up Monday night puking again..... What!! This can't be happening again!! I was a little concerned because this was her 3rd puking episode in about a weeks time. So I called the triage nurse and explained what was happening. She said it sounded like Sydney was contracting the same flu repeatedly. She went on to say that if the puking continued to bring her in, but for now just wait it out and keep her on fluids. OK, so I spent ALL of Monday morning CLEANING EVERYTHING. Toys, doorknobs, light switches, etc.... Finally I got a shower, we had lunch and we spent the remainder of the day OUTSIDE!! When Tuesday passed and no one else had gotten sick again I was certain I'd be at work today with no problem. .....then I got a call from our daycare at 8pm last night saying they would be closed today due to a family emergency. OK....so counting only weekdays (not weekends) I have been home with the kiddos for 8 straight days in a row. My husband who has been so busy with work, leaving the house by 7 am and not returning most nights til 9pm or later, isn't able to help much to say the least. I'm going a little STIR CRAZY and need some adult conversation. I am realizing now that I don't think I could ever be a full time stay at home mom. I really do LOVE my kids, but also really LOVE my job. I am lucky to have found such a great balance between the two. :)
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Mommy what if....
Mommy what if....
* eyeballs were on your feet?
* milk came in a juice box?
* two girls get married? (followed by) can i marry you?
* your face was on your butt?
On a daily basis I get asked about a zillion "what if" questions by Sydney. Just wanted to share a few I could remember of the top of my head. =)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Easter Weekend
So this past weekend was jam packed with festivities. Saturday morning I did a small run, (4 miles) due to the fact I am training for a half marathon (i don't know what I was thinking when I signed up for it...UFDA!). Then we were supposed to head to Paynesville for Patrick's Mom's side (Fleischhacker) Easter, which ended up not happening at the last minute because Patrick had to work. We did make it to Patrick's parents Saturday night for Easter dinner (immediate family). Spent the night there, went to church in the morning, which was followed by Patrick's Dad's side (Frericks) Easter at the Blommel farm. It was a fun day. The kids played on the swing set, visited some cows (many times), had a hayride, bunny bingo, and an Easter egg hunt to end it all. I tell you we have enough candy to last my kids till Halloween and then some. Not to mention the candy I bought for the kids Easter eggs that I didn't even use! Ugh! Also I'm pretty sure both my kids ate their weight in candy/sugar by the time the day was over. I mean MAYBE a bite of actual food was ingested here or there but not much.
Then it was off to Grammy Kitty's for Tyson's 1st birthday party. We hung our there until it was time for jammies thinking on the way home they'd be OUT! Sydney was out within 5 minutes of leaving.....Karsyn on the other had jabbered the WHOLE way home!! She didn't show the least bit if sleepiness until we pulled in the driveway (due to her nap in the car at 4:00). So put the kids in bed with their teeth coated in sugar and off to bed we were too....ahhh....for a couple hours at least. 12:45am Sydney wakes up covered in puke. Not surprised, remembering her diet was 90% sugar that day and chalked it up to that. Cleaned her and her bed up and decided to lay with her and have a bucket handy in case more was to come. But by the 2nd hour of puking I changed my mind to definite flu bug. I think it was about 3am when she finally fell asleep and was one puking/dry heaving. I fell asleep in her bed and woke to my alarm for work at 5:15, sent a text to work saying I wouldn't be in and crawled in my bed until the kids woke me up. I also found out that Patrick was up from 3am on with the "other end" acting up. {I'm sure he appreciates me sharing that with the world ;)} He is still dealing with it tonight yet. Sydney had a spell of it yesterday for a bit. After Karsyn woke up from her nap she'd went poop about 4 times before supper and then a few more after supper yet. So I'm waiting for it to find its way to me, hoping that some miracle happens and skips me....not likely. It'll probably hit me just in time for my half marathon Saturday....awesome...... If I end up looking like Patrick does tonight there will be no way I would even try running it. My book I got yesterday from the marathon organization recommends not running if you become ill a few days prior to a race due to dehydration issues. Crossing my fingers and using LOTS of hand sanitizer in the mean time. =)
Then it was off to Grammy Kitty's for Tyson's 1st birthday party. We hung our there until it was time for jammies thinking on the way home they'd be OUT! Sydney was out within 5 minutes of leaving.....Karsyn on the other had jabbered the WHOLE way home!! She didn't show the least bit if sleepiness until we pulled in the driveway (due to her nap in the car at 4:00). So put the kids in bed with their teeth coated in sugar and off to bed we were too....ahhh....for a couple hours at least. 12:45am Sydney wakes up covered in puke. Not surprised, remembering her diet was 90% sugar that day and chalked it up to that. Cleaned her and her bed up and decided to lay with her and have a bucket handy in case more was to come. But by the 2nd hour of puking I changed my mind to definite flu bug. I think it was about 3am when she finally fell asleep and was one puking/dry heaving. I fell asleep in her bed and woke to my alarm for work at 5:15, sent a text to work saying I wouldn't be in and crawled in my bed until the kids woke me up. I also found out that Patrick was up from 3am on with the "other end" acting up. {I'm sure he appreciates me sharing that with the world ;)} He is still dealing with it tonight yet. Sydney had a spell of it yesterday for a bit. After Karsyn woke up from her nap she'd went poop about 4 times before supper and then a few more after supper yet. So I'm waiting for it to find its way to me, hoping that some miracle happens and skips me....not likely. It'll probably hit me just in time for my half marathon Saturday....awesome...... If I end up looking like Patrick does tonight there will be no way I would even try running it. My book I got yesterday from the marathon organization recommends not running if you become ill a few days prior to a race due to dehydration issues. Crossing my fingers and using LOTS of hand sanitizer in the mean time. =)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Frustrating 4's.....
I've heard of the "terrible 2's" and heard form others that it should really be "terrible 3's". I did agree that the 2's weren't bad and the 3's were definitely.....worse. Well now having a 4 year old for the last 5 weeks I'd go back to the "terrible 2's" or "terrible 3's" cause the (as I call them) "frustrating 4's" aren't treating me so well. I've had people tell me that 4 is a great age, the kids know so much but, not tooooo much. (I think that's the problem) Here is a taste of what its been like lately.....
* "Mommy, you made the WORST supper EVER!"
* "I don't like you anymore, I'm just gonna play with Daddy and Karsyn!"
* "When I get bigger, I'm not gonna marry you I'm gonna marry Daddy cause I'm mad at you!!"
* "I'm mad at you!" "I'm not gonna talk to you anymore!"
* She's also using the phrase "I feel" a lot. "I feel like I want someone to lay with me when I go to bed."
(often times using "i feel" when it doesn't make sense)
* Lying is been a issue also. Blaming Karsyn for EVERYTHING.
......just to name a few. =)
It's kind of funny sometimes and I have to hold back my outburst of laughter but then I think, is she saying that kind of stuff to other kids/people?? I hope not!! When she has these moments I make her take a deep breath and calm down, if that doesn't work she has some quiet time away from the rest of us until she is calm and can use "nice words". Don't get me wrong here, most days are fine, and most of it is normal for a kid her age I'm sure, its just I hate to hear those hurtful words coming out of my sweet girls mouth.
She's also been waking up at night, crying about "bad dreams". The most common one is a ghost chasing her, then one of a dog barking at her. I try and talk about them with her but she says "I don't know". So I'm not sure if she really doesn't remember or if she doesn't want to talk about them. I feel bad cause those would scare the daylights out of me too!
Hopefully the 4's will turn around....soon! =)
* "Mommy, you made the WORST supper EVER!"
* "I don't like you anymore, I'm just gonna play with Daddy and Karsyn!"
* "When I get bigger, I'm not gonna marry you I'm gonna marry Daddy cause I'm mad at you!!"
* "I'm mad at you!" "I'm not gonna talk to you anymore!"
* She's also using the phrase "I feel" a lot. "I feel like I want someone to lay with me when I go to bed."
(often times using "i feel" when it doesn't make sense)
* Lying is been a issue also. Blaming Karsyn for EVERYTHING.
......just to name a few. =)
It's kind of funny sometimes and I have to hold back my outburst of laughter but then I think, is she saying that kind of stuff to other kids/people?? I hope not!! When she has these moments I make her take a deep breath and calm down, if that doesn't work she has some quiet time away from the rest of us until she is calm and can use "nice words". Don't get me wrong here, most days are fine, and most of it is normal for a kid her age I'm sure, its just I hate to hear those hurtful words coming out of my sweet girls mouth.
She's also been waking up at night, crying about "bad dreams". The most common one is a ghost chasing her, then one of a dog barking at her. I try and talk about them with her but she says "I don't know". So I'm not sure if she really doesn't remember or if she doesn't want to talk about them. I feel bad cause those would scare the daylights out of me too!
Hopefully the 4's will turn around....soon! =)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The dentist.....
So last Tuesday I took Sydney in for her dental checkup. She did really well at the last one so I wasn't sweating it a bit. Even brought Karsyn with to let her have a ride in the chair and see what it's all about. I also explained to Syd how she has to show Karsyn how easy it is because next time Karsyn will have a turn. We got there and she did great, let my friend/coworker, Michele, count her teeth and things were going fine. Then Michele asks how old Sydney is and mentions that it would be great if we could get some pictures of her teeth (x-rays). That's where things go a little nuts. Michele takes Sydney to a different chair and I follow with Karsyn. She starts the x-rays and Syd does well on the first couple. I couldn't see Syd's face but I could hear her gagging on the next ones. She wasn't crying or putting up much of a fuss at that point. After that was done we head back to our chair and then Syd loses it. Starts crying and saying she doesn't like the dentist anymore and doesn't want to come back here ever again. While the x-rays are developing Michele cleans her teeth as Sydney is sobbing LOUDLY and making a HUGE fuss. Then after a couple minutes the x-rays are done and we look and one didn't turn out, Syd must have moved it because it was blank, nothing on it. So had to redo it. Great.... So off Sydney went with Michele and did it again, this time I stayed back and let Karsyn have a ride in the chair and check things out. The x-ray was better, she had opened her mouth a bit so it wasn't perfect but they were able to see what they needed. Thank goodness!! Upon reviewing the x-rays with the Dr she discovers, to my surprise, she has a couple "watch spots", the start of a couple cavities in between a couple of her teeth. She goes on to explain that if they stay how they are they won't have to do anything and that if they get worse they'll have to do something about them (fillings or what not). We are very religious brushers at our house and would floss here and there. But now we floss EVERY night and hopefully those "watch spots" stay as they are. ;)
On a different note Karsyn loved the ride in the chair and I had a hard time getting her out of it when it was Sydney's turn again. It was funny she was saying "I dodee, I dodee" (I do it, I do it). Hope that keeps up when its really her turn. :)
On a different note Karsyn loved the ride in the chair and I had a hard time getting her out of it when it was Sydney's turn again. It was funny she was saying "I dodee, I dodee" (I do it, I do it). Hope that keeps up when its really her turn. :)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Funny Things
~ Karsyn was getting dressed the other day and after she gets her pants up she pulls one side down and says "bye bye Dowa!" (she is wearing Dora the Explorer undies) At the same time she is also waving.
~ Karsyn's birthday was March 7th (she turned 2) and we are having her birthday party this weekend. Sydney was talking to my dad yesterday and tells him Karsyn is going to be 3. It took some explaining but after a while she agreed that Karsyn will still be 2 at her birthday party and not 3. She was so certain she was going to be 3. It was cute!
~ We were outside yesterday and Sydney was pretending she was a zookeeper and was naming the animals in her zoo. I asked if she had any deer in her zoo and she said "yup, we have deer in Ninnesota." She also added that at her zoo they make milk out of snow! =)
~ Since Karsyn has had a couple little birthday celebrations (one on her birthday at home and one at daycare), she is understands that there will be cake and blowing out candles. Today we went and bought Karsyn's birthday stuff, cake mix and decorations. Every time she sees the cake box she says "burshday" and pretends to blow out her candle. Then when I try to get her to say "burshday" she pretends to blow out her candle!
~ Today Karsyn is wearing her "meow" outfit (as she calls it). Its a leopard print fleece shirt and pants for those of you who aren't familiar with it. She chooses to wear it whenever its not in the laundry ends up being worn once a week for sure. Well today she was running and she tripped and fell. I was waiting for her reaction....cry....or laugh.....nope she started crawling and meowing like a cat!! What a character!!
~ Karsyn's birthday was March 7th (she turned 2) and we are having her birthday party this weekend. Sydney was talking to my dad yesterday and tells him Karsyn is going to be 3. It took some explaining but after a while she agreed that Karsyn will still be 2 at her birthday party and not 3. She was so certain she was going to be 3. It was cute!
~ We were outside yesterday and Sydney was pretending she was a zookeeper and was naming the animals in her zoo. I asked if she had any deer in her zoo and she said "yup, we have deer in Ninnesota." She also added that at her zoo they make milk out of snow! =)
~ Since Karsyn has had a couple little birthday celebrations (one on her birthday at home and one at daycare), she is understands that there will be cake and blowing out candles. Today we went and bought Karsyn's birthday stuff, cake mix and decorations. Every time she sees the cake box she says "burshday" and pretends to blow out her candle. Then when I try to get her to say "burshday" she pretends to blow out her candle!
~ Today Karsyn is wearing her "meow" outfit (as she calls it). Its a leopard print fleece shirt and pants for those of you who aren't familiar with it. She chooses to wear it whenever its not in the laundry ends up being worn once a week for sure. Well today she was running and she tripped and fell. I was waiting for her reaction....cry....or laugh.....nope she started crawling and meowing like a cat!! What a character!!
~ This one is sad for me but still made me smile. The other day Sydney was looking at a picture of my mom and asked, "is Grandma Liz going to be in heaven forever?" I said "yeah." She says, "What does she do there?" I said, "Whatever she wants." She says, "Does she work there?" I said, "Yeah, she works there as an angel watching over us and helps keep up safe." =)
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Check-ups
It's that time of year, after the girls birthdays, time for well child check-ups. I made the appointments a couple weeks ago and after a little debating of taking them together or making separate appointments decided to do them together. Today was the lucky day. I wasn't sure if Karsyn needed any shots or not but remembered at Sydney's 3 yr check-up that they said she was good until kindergarten. So she would be easy and even if Karsyn needed a shot it would be fine to have their appointments together.
I have to always prepare Sydney, so I have been talking about going to the Dr for a couple days now and she asked if she was going to get shots. I said nope but Karsyn might have to get one. She was fine with it and was excited to go. So after Karsyn's class we headed to the clinic. We are talking with the nurse and she starts out by saying Karsyn is due for her Hep A #2 and a finger prick to check for lead. OK, she moves on to Sydney saying she's needing a HIB booster that she was supposed to get last year but they were out of....and a PCV 13 a new one....great. How do I tell my 4 year old that she now has to get TWO shots when I told her she wasn't having ANY. Yikes!!
So the Dr comes in and after a little small talk I start asking my questions, one about Sydney's paleness lately and that maybe her iron was low or something. He says we can check that with a little finger prick. OK, so now we're up to 2 shots and a finger prick..... So he leaves and the nurse comes in to give the shots and Sydney's finger prick. I decide to have Sydney go first because if she sees Karsyn getting a shot and crying to follow I'm going to have a hard time getting Syd to do anything. The nurse does the finger prick first and Syd did great! (she watched karsyn get her finger prick earlier and with no crying so that was helpful) The actual shots went ok, there was crying and tears for both girls but as soon as the nurse mentioned stickers the crying stopped immediately and you could hear a pin drop! Then there was smiling and giggling, I had a couple of very happy girls. The affects of the shots showed its ugly face the rest of the day mainly for Sydney. Karsyn's reaction being a 3 hour nap (the mild reaction). They gave Sydney her shots in her right arm. BIG mistake!! All day she was complaining of her "shots hurting". She had trouble eating, drinking, going potty, anything she tried doing she needed help with, also very emotional about EVERYTHING. It made for a very long day. I do realise that a lot of the "shots hurting" is in her head she just needed some mommy cuddle time, but I felt and do feel so bad for her (considering she was thinking she wasn't getting any shots). I did question the shots in the arm with the nurse and she said that if they can walk they give the shots in the arm....ok Sydney has been walking since she was 9 1/2 month old and has NEVER had a shot in the arm before. Karsyn can clearly walk and the nurse gave her shot in the leg just after telling me that. Not the end of the world, I just think I'm a little irritated that they made a liar out of me about Syd needing shots. Oh, well......
I have to always prepare Sydney, so I have been talking about going to the Dr for a couple days now and she asked if she was going to get shots. I said nope but Karsyn might have to get one. She was fine with it and was excited to go. So after Karsyn's class we headed to the clinic. We are talking with the nurse and she starts out by saying Karsyn is due for her Hep A #2 and a finger prick to check for lead. OK, she moves on to Sydney saying she's needing a HIB booster that she was supposed to get last year but they were out of....and a PCV 13 a new one....great. How do I tell my 4 year old that she now has to get TWO shots when I told her she wasn't having ANY. Yikes!!
So the Dr comes in and after a little small talk I start asking my questions, one about Sydney's paleness lately and that maybe her iron was low or something. He says we can check that with a little finger prick. OK, so now we're up to 2 shots and a finger prick..... So he leaves and the nurse comes in to give the shots and Sydney's finger prick. I decide to have Sydney go first because if she sees Karsyn getting a shot and crying to follow I'm going to have a hard time getting Syd to do anything. The nurse does the finger prick first and Syd did great! (she watched karsyn get her finger prick earlier and with no crying so that was helpful) The actual shots went ok, there was crying and tears for both girls but as soon as the nurse mentioned stickers the crying stopped immediately and you could hear a pin drop! Then there was smiling and giggling, I had a couple of very happy girls. The affects of the shots showed its ugly face the rest of the day mainly for Sydney. Karsyn's reaction being a 3 hour nap (the mild reaction). They gave Sydney her shots in her right arm. BIG mistake!! All day she was complaining of her "shots hurting". She had trouble eating, drinking, going potty, anything she tried doing she needed help with, also very emotional about EVERYTHING. It made for a very long day. I do realise that a lot of the "shots hurting" is in her head she just needed some mommy cuddle time, but I felt and do feel so bad for her (considering she was thinking she wasn't getting any shots). I did question the shots in the arm with the nurse and she said that if they can walk they give the shots in the arm....ok Sydney has been walking since she was 9 1/2 month old and has NEVER had a shot in the arm before. Karsyn can clearly walk and the nurse gave her shot in the leg just after telling me that. Not the end of the world, I just think I'm a little irritated that they made a liar out of me about Syd needing shots. Oh, well......
Monday, March 7, 2011
Karsyn's 2!!!
So my little stinker turned two today! I had to work today so she spent the day at Tammy & Trevor's (our daycare). They always have a little birthday celebration for each of the kids' birthdays. They have fun games and always have cupcakes for afternoon snack. They get a little present for the birthday boy/girl. Today Karsyn got a puzzle. This morning when I was at work I got a text message from a number I didn't know, (I recieved from a text from an unkown number the other day so I was kind of annoyed) then a pic of Karsyn came up playing bingo and one of her opening her present. It made my day! So after work I ran to target to pick up Karsyn's present, (bean bag chair like her sisters) picked up a Papa Murphy's pizza for supper, then picked up the girls. We had a fun night with just the 3 of us, Patrick was out of town working but got home in time to smooch the girls goodnight. Her birthday party is March 19th so there's more to come!
It's funny how much I thought about what happened two years ago today, how vivid most of the details still are.
March 6, 2009: I went into work a couple hours late that day to rest due to the busy afternoon schedule. I worked until about 4. I called Patrick on the way home and he said he got a call from his friends Bill and Tiffany (who just had a baby a couple weeks before that) to come see their new baby. After a nice visit we decided to head back home and get Sydney to bed about 9:30 or so. On the way home I told Patrick I thought I was having contractions and he didn't believe me at all. So I put Syd to bed and told Patrick I was going to throwsome last minute things in my bag and go to sleep inase this was "real". He continued his internet surfing and didn't think much of what I had just said. So it was about 10pm when I went to sleep. I woke about midnight and the contractions were worse. Patrick had come in the room just as I woke and I told him that it was "real." He said he was just gonna go to bed. Ha! He should have listened!
March 7, 2009: we spent the next couple hours timing contractions and made arragements for someone to stay with Syd. Finally about 3am we headed into the hospital, we were in our room by 3:30 and by (this is where it gets kinda fuzzy) 5 or 6am I got a spinal tap and relaxed for a while with no pain, then it was time to push. About 4-5 pushes later she was out, 7:30am. When she came out they put her on my chest and no one said what she was for a couple minutes. Then they asked me if I knew what "it" was and I said no we haven't looked yet. Then we looked and saw we had another beautiful girl on our hands!!
It's funny how much I thought about what happened two years ago today, how vivid most of the details still are.
March 6, 2009: I went into work a couple hours late that day to rest due to the busy afternoon schedule. I worked until about 4. I called Patrick on the way home and he said he got a call from his friends Bill and Tiffany (who just had a baby a couple weeks before that) to come see their new baby. After a nice visit we decided to head back home and get Sydney to bed about 9:30 or so. On the way home I told Patrick I thought I was having contractions and he didn't believe me at all. So I put Syd to bed and told Patrick I was going to throwsome last minute things in my bag and go to sleep inase this was "real". He continued his internet surfing and didn't think much of what I had just said. So it was about 10pm when I went to sleep. I woke about midnight and the contractions were worse. Patrick had come in the room just as I woke and I told him that it was "real." He said he was just gonna go to bed. Ha! He should have listened!
March 7, 2009: we spent the next couple hours timing contractions and made arragements for someone to stay with Syd. Finally about 3am we headed into the hospital, we were in our room by 3:30 and by (this is where it gets kinda fuzzy) 5 or 6am I got a spinal tap and relaxed for a while with no pain, then it was time to push. About 4-5 pushes later she was out, 7:30am. When she came out they put her on my chest and no one said what she was for a couple minutes. Then they asked me if I knew what "it" was and I said no we haven't looked yet. Then we looked and saw we had another beautiful girl on our hands!!
Catch up
So I realised I haven't blogged for a while and need to catch up on all the things happening with us.
A couple weekends ago we went to our nephew Kayden's 4 bday party. It was at the bowling alley in Albany, Sydney was way excited (anything involving Kayden is so exciting). We took the kids bowling, which Sydney and Karsyn enjoyed ALOT!!! I had to tear them away form the alleys. Telling them it was time to have pizza and juice boxes did the trick and both came along with no problem. Later as we walked past the alleys for potty breaks Karsyn would say "I bowbing, I bowbing!" Also, they had a blast playing the arcade type games there. Pretending to drive and who was going faster contests, trading seats, giggling, it was fun to watch them. Oh and thank goodness they don't realise yet that those machines take money to actually play! =) I'm sure they will figure it out sooner or later but for now its great, cheap entertainment!! It was a fun day!
This past weekend we were at Patrick's parents house. His cousin Phil had a fish fry saturday at his farm not far from Patrick's parents house. They had planned a fishing outing in the morning to catch fish for it. Patrick asked me if he should take Sydney with and I said that I had heard Mike and Kayden we going to be coming to Grandpa and Grandma's before fishing so good luck getting out the door without taking her. =) He agreed to take her with (not very excited about it tho). His past outings with just him and her haven't been very successful. She has been know to fall in holes and gets kinda antsy AND we haven't mastered potty breaks out on the ice yet. =) So off they went. Later that morning I hadn't heard anything form them so I text Patrick and asked how syd was doing. He said I assume she's fine...she's been in Mike's house all morning. Sydney had fun and didn't even fall in any holes!! She went again the following morning with Daddy, Grandpa, Uncle Mike and Kayden. I think Patrick is making her his little fishing buddy, which is just fine with me!! Before the fish fry we took the kids on a tour of the farm. Sydney and Karsyn loved seeing all the animals and tried to get the calves to eat some straw. We went in the barn to see some "big cows" and some bunnys. Then Phil hooked up his horses to a sleigh and took all the kiddos on a sleigh ride. Afterwards Syd asked "horses wear shoes?" It was funny!! She looked so confused.
A couple weekends ago we went to our nephew Kayden's 4 bday party. It was at the bowling alley in Albany, Sydney was way excited (anything involving Kayden is so exciting). We took the kids bowling, which Sydney and Karsyn enjoyed ALOT!!! I had to tear them away form the alleys. Telling them it was time to have pizza and juice boxes did the trick and both came along with no problem. Later as we walked past the alleys for potty breaks Karsyn would say "I bowbing, I bowbing!" Also, they had a blast playing the arcade type games there. Pretending to drive and who was going faster contests, trading seats, giggling, it was fun to watch them. Oh and thank goodness they don't realise yet that those machines take money to actually play! =) I'm sure they will figure it out sooner or later but for now its great, cheap entertainment!! It was a fun day!
This past weekend we were at Patrick's parents house. His cousin Phil had a fish fry saturday at his farm not far from Patrick's parents house. They had planned a fishing outing in the morning to catch fish for it. Patrick asked me if he should take Sydney with and I said that I had heard Mike and Kayden we going to be coming to Grandpa and Grandma's before fishing so good luck getting out the door without taking her. =) He agreed to take her with (not very excited about it tho). His past outings with just him and her haven't been very successful. She has been know to fall in holes and gets kinda antsy AND we haven't mastered potty breaks out on the ice yet. =) So off they went. Later that morning I hadn't heard anything form them so I text Patrick and asked how syd was doing. He said I assume she's fine...she's been in Mike's house all morning. Sydney had fun and didn't even fall in any holes!! She went again the following morning with Daddy, Grandpa, Uncle Mike and Kayden. I think Patrick is making her his little fishing buddy, which is just fine with me!! Before the fish fry we took the kids on a tour of the farm. Sydney and Karsyn loved seeing all the animals and tried to get the calves to eat some straw. We went in the barn to see some "big cows" and some bunnys. Then Phil hooked up his horses to a sleigh and took all the kiddos on a sleigh ride. Afterwards Syd asked "horses wear shoes?" It was funny!! She looked so confused.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Now that I'm 4....
It's official my little Sydney is 4! We had her birthday party last saturday. My family arrived friday night, Gandpa, Robyn, Sara, Sami and Adyson. We started the day by giving her a much needed haircut. My sister Robyn did the honors like usuall and did a great job, considering Sydney wouldn't hold still at all. She cut about 2" which made for a pretty dramatic change. Then after that we headed out to the garage to get ready for the party. After getting tables arranged Robyn, Sami and I headed into town to get some balloons and some last minute decorations. Soon after that Mike, Sarah and the boys arrived. We had a quick little lunch and put the little kids down for a nap. A little bit later the rest of the guests arrived: Grandpa, Grandma, Rhonda and Troy. We spent most of the day in the garage playing cards and chatting. As I mentioned in a previous blog, we had planned to have tacos and mint chocolate chip ice cream cake for dessert. The taco idea was a hit and was easy to do. We ended the night with Sydney opening her presents and the kids running crazy in the garage playing until they ran out of gas. =) Now in a little under a month we'll have another birthday party for Karsyn as she turns 2!! CRAZY!!!
This might sound weird but Sydney turning 4 was harder on me than her turning 1. 4 just seems so big! Here are a couple of Syd sayings now that she's 4.
"Now that I'm 4....."
* "I can lift heavy things." (including her sister)
* "I don't have to hold your had all the time."
* "I can help Karsyn go potty."
* "I can open the car door." (from the outside....didn't go as well as she would have liked today but she tried, we won't be trying that again anytime soon)
I begged her to stay 3 but she just wouldn't! Before I know it she'll be in kindergarten and....yikes.....I'm gonna stop there! Don't want to even think about that other stuff just yet. ;)
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sydney's turning 4!!!
Last weekend we spent at home trying to get ready for Sydney's birthday party for this coming weekend. Gettng the garage cleaned out, being thats where the festivites will be held again this year. Which worked out great last year its roomier and cooler than the house. (Not too cool though, we have a heated garage.) So while Patrick worked on the garage I worked on stuff in the house: cleaning bathrooms and some major dusting. Last year we had the girls parties together being their birthdays are a couple of weeks apart. Which ended up being waaaaay overwhelming to say the least, and to my surprise Patrick agreed....thankfully!! So we decided to have them separate this year, having Sydneys a few days before her actuall birthday and Karsyn's a couple weeks after her birthday. Sydney has picked a "Dora the Exporer" theme for her party, which as some of you know wasn't my favorite in the past. =) Her absolute favorite meal is TACOS so we are doing a "taco bar", and she has requested "chocolate chip mint ice cream cake". I still can't believe she is going to be 4!!!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Mommy guilt!
I signed Karsyn up for an ECFE class and her first class was last week. I have to work the first wednesday of the month so I was just going to skip the first class and that would be fine. After talkng to Patrick one night before that he mentioned he didn't have much going that week so I threw it out there and asked if he'd be willing to take her to class. I told him what I thought it would entail, being there the whole time with her, signing up for a snack day and a rough idea what the class would be like. He said that he could handle it asked where it was and what time. I kinda had an idea that he was going to be the only dad there and made him aware of that. I was kind of suprised that he agreed so quickly and was fine with it. So anyway I left for work and he took Syd to daycare and Karsyn to her class and we didn't get a chance to talk about it until late that night. He let me know what day I had for snack and what kinds of foods to bring, and of course gave me a quick story of the "naughty" kid in class. Glad it went well for him so next month he can take her again if it works out. =)
So this week I took her to class and during her class I take Syd to sibling care which I renamed "the playroom" for Syd's sake. Sounds more appealing, I think for Syd. =) Karsyn is one of the older kids in her class, the kid's ages range from 13 months to 24 months. Class went well, we got to make some valentine themed things and played in the gym (which was the highlight). I and am proud to say that Karsyn was one of the best behaved kids in the class! Now that I say that she'll be the "naughty" one the other mom's talk about next week. =) So....then I went to pick up Sydney from "the playroom" feeling good about how well Karsyn's class went.... I get there and one of the ladies says to me "can you bring a snack for her next week?" I said "sure, was I supposed to this week?" She says "yeah, just something little." She went on and said, "while the other two kids ate she just watched cause they weren't sure if she had allergies to anything." OMG!! I felt HORRIBLE, like I was the worst parent EVER! I was trying to think back it this was info that Patrick was supposed to pass on to me but no.......he didn't even take Syd to sibling care last week she was a daycare. Even the little pamphlet he brought home expained sibling care and didn't say one iota about bringing a snack for her to eat there. I was a little irratated to say the least. Poor thing, her favorite time of day is snack time so having to SIT there and WATCH the others eat....wonder what she thought?? So when we got to the car I asked her how it went and she said, "good." I said "what did you do?" she said, "watched two kids eat snack." Geez, I felt bad already but her saying that did it in and guess what the kids got for lunch that day....yup, MCDONALDS!! Mommy guilt big time!!!
So this week I took her to class and during her class I take Syd to sibling care which I renamed "the playroom" for Syd's sake. Sounds more appealing, I think for Syd. =) Karsyn is one of the older kids in her class, the kid's ages range from 13 months to 24 months. Class went well, we got to make some valentine themed things and played in the gym (which was the highlight). I and am proud to say that Karsyn was one of the best behaved kids in the class! Now that I say that she'll be the "naughty" one the other mom's talk about next week. =) So....then I went to pick up Sydney from "the playroom" feeling good about how well Karsyn's class went.... I get there and one of the ladies says to me "can you bring a snack for her next week?" I said "sure, was I supposed to this week?" She says "yeah, just something little." She went on and said, "while the other two kids ate she just watched cause they weren't sure if she had allergies to anything." OMG!! I felt HORRIBLE, like I was the worst parent EVER! I was trying to think back it this was info that Patrick was supposed to pass on to me but no.......he didn't even take Syd to sibling care last week she was a daycare. Even the little pamphlet he brought home expained sibling care and didn't say one iota about bringing a snack for her to eat there. I was a little irratated to say the least. Poor thing, her favorite time of day is snack time so having to SIT there and WATCH the others eat....wonder what she thought?? So when we got to the car I asked her how it went and she said, "good." I said "what did you do?" she said, "watched two kids eat snack." Geez, I felt bad already but her saying that did it in and guess what the kids got for lunch that day....yup, MCDONALDS!! Mommy guilt big time!!!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Grandpa Steve
Last weekend my dad made the journey up to Brainerd to visit us. On the way he made a stop in Albany to visit his brother Baylen for a night. He arrived Satruday about 12:30 just in time for Karsyn te see him before her afternoon nap. We spent the afternoon supervising Patrick grouting the tile in the shower for the downstairs bathroom and chatting. That took longer then we has anticipated, but it looks great! (we started this tiling the shower project when just after Karsyn was born, she will be two in March!) Next project is to finish the rest of the bathroom!! One step at a time, maybe in another couple years there will be a vanity with a light. =) So anyway after that was done we decided to head into town for some mexican food at Poncho and Lefty's. Yum! The girls did great, it was nice leaving a restaurant not exhausted and I was able to finish my meal! Got home from there and had ice cream for dessert and the girls got spend some time with Grandpa before bed. We actually put Karysn to bed at 8 and let Sydney stay up for a little bit and we played games: slapjack, a matching game and go fish. Sydney did well and won most of the games (we didn't even "let" her win). A very fun night with lots of laughs and giggles!! In the morning, after breakfast, my dad and Patrick decided to tackle hanging a bi-fold door downstairs to seperate the bathroom from the laundry room. Not a hard task but without directions turned out to be quite the challenge. (they somehow got lost after sitting around for a couple years.....imagine that, I picked up on a subtle hint they blamed me for that) Anywho it got done a also looks great! After that we were all hungry so I made some lunch and then Grandpa headed home to WI. Oh, of course Grandpa couldn't come without gifts. He picked up Sydney a Green Bay Packer outfit, being she had nothing Packer themed for the SUPERBOWL next weekend, and brought Karsyn a cute shirt. Karsyn has plenty of Packer clothes that Sydney used to wear. What a fun productive weekend! The girls had a great time with Grandpa and were sad to see him go.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Almost 4 and almost 2!!!
SYDNEY:
*Has most books in our home library memorized so forget about skipping pages, a word said wrong and she corrects you before you can even blink. I do it on purpose to make sure she's listening sometimes. ;)
*Loves going outside to play in the snow and as of this year I have to drag her in cause Karsyn and I are cold and want to go in. She wasn't much of a outdoor girl when it came to snow and cold last year, she used to be the one begging to head in.
*Can go potty all by herself these days. With the exception of yelling for me to come and wipe her when she has gone poo.
*Loves to do anything that I call a "project". Could be anything from crafty to taking out the garbage. As long a I call it a "project" she is in.
*Every night when she goes to bed she needs a summary of what we have going on the next day. Where we'll be going or doing, who's coming and so on.
*All of a sudden whatever I make for supper is something she doesn't like and we have daily battles on getting her to eat. She gets caught up on, how many bites she has to eat or if the bites have to be big or small. She gets her plate and immediately asks how many bites she has to eat. Its exhausting to be honest. Our Love and Logic tips are helping us on this issue and as of tonite made great progress.
*She has super long hair right now and when its wet hangs almost down to her butt. I should get it cut/chopped but don't have the heart to do it right now. I don't want her to look older, cause she acts old enough! =)
KARSYN:
*Is 80-90% potty trained. She has yet to master the pooping. Usually starts going in her pants then finishes in the potty. Last night we gave the girls a bath and while I was gathering jammies quick heard Syd yell "mom Karsyn pooped in the bath tub!" First time she's ever done that.
*Wants to do everything herself. Such as getting dressed and taking off her clothes. Monday I went to get her out of her crib in the morning when she woke up and she was naked! Yup jammies and dipaer too! Awesome......
*Loves to wear her snowpants around the house cause they make a swishing noise when she walks.
*Is kind of a neat freak. When something isn't in the right spot or if I leave a cupboard door open she points at it for me to close or put away correctly. Yikes!!
*Is saying new "words" everyday in her own language anyway. "Wawer"-water, "suppo"-breakfast, lunch, dinner or whenever she wants to eat she says that, "sissy"-Sydney, just to name a few.
*Wants to drink out of "big girl" cups. Water only goes in those....=)
*I should really get her first....I mean second hair cut (sydney gave her her first one last summer so i have a hard time counting it as her "first haircut"). She never leaves ponies or braids in so her hair its always hanging in her face and getting crusted with food. Yummy.....
*I think she loves her "blankie" more than me. Thats ok, I'm sure I'm a close second anyway. ;)
Can't believe Sydney is almost 4 and Karsyn is almost 2. Time flying by so fast makes my head spin!! WoW!!
*Has most books in our home library memorized so forget about skipping pages, a word said wrong and she corrects you before you can even blink. I do it on purpose to make sure she's listening sometimes. ;)
*Loves going outside to play in the snow and as of this year I have to drag her in cause Karsyn and I are cold and want to go in. She wasn't much of a outdoor girl when it came to snow and cold last year, she used to be the one begging to head in.
*Can go potty all by herself these days. With the exception of yelling for me to come and wipe her when she has gone poo.
*Loves to do anything that I call a "project". Could be anything from crafty to taking out the garbage. As long a I call it a "project" she is in.
*Every night when she goes to bed she needs a summary of what we have going on the next day. Where we'll be going or doing, who's coming and so on.
*All of a sudden whatever I make for supper is something she doesn't like and we have daily battles on getting her to eat. She gets caught up on, how many bites she has to eat or if the bites have to be big or small. She gets her plate and immediately asks how many bites she has to eat. Its exhausting to be honest. Our Love and Logic tips are helping us on this issue and as of tonite made great progress.
*She has super long hair right now and when its wet hangs almost down to her butt. I should get it cut/chopped but don't have the heart to do it right now. I don't want her to look older, cause she acts old enough! =)
KARSYN:
*Is 80-90% potty trained. She has yet to master the pooping. Usually starts going in her pants then finishes in the potty. Last night we gave the girls a bath and while I was gathering jammies quick heard Syd yell "mom Karsyn pooped in the bath tub!" First time she's ever done that.
*Wants to do everything herself. Such as getting dressed and taking off her clothes. Monday I went to get her out of her crib in the morning when she woke up and she was naked! Yup jammies and dipaer too! Awesome......
*Loves to wear her snowpants around the house cause they make a swishing noise when she walks.
*Is kind of a neat freak. When something isn't in the right spot or if I leave a cupboard door open she points at it for me to close or put away correctly. Yikes!!
*Is saying new "words" everyday in her own language anyway. "Wawer"-water, "suppo"-breakfast, lunch, dinner or whenever she wants to eat she says that, "sissy"-Sydney, just to name a few.
*Wants to drink out of "big girl" cups. Water only goes in those....=)
*I should really get her first....I mean second hair cut (sydney gave her her first one last summer so i have a hard time counting it as her "first haircut"). She never leaves ponies or braids in so her hair its always hanging in her face and getting crusted with food. Yummy.....
*I think she loves her "blankie" more than me. Thats ok, I'm sure I'm a close second anyway. ;)
Can't believe Sydney is almost 4 and Karsyn is almost 2. Time flying by so fast makes my head spin!! WoW!!
Post Love and Logic
So last thursday Patrick and I took a Love and Logic class, which was great. The speaker Dr. Charles Fay was hilarious. Patrick even had fun. =) After a few days of implementing just a few of the strategies, they have made a huge change. The girls are responding well and mommy is very happy. The hardest part is figuring how and when to use the information. To read more on it go to http://www.loveandlogic.com/ . I am looking forward to the girls misbehaving so I can use what I've learned. I just hope when they misbehave I know what to do! =) Its been great not having to repeat myself as much because they are learning to listen the first time.
A few Love and Logic tips:
*No warnings, set limits without anger, lectures or threats.
*Hand the problems children cause back to them in loving ways. Use empathy, "This is so sad", "Oh man. Thats too bad", "What a bummer", etc...
*Our favorite "The Uh-Oh song". We are using this on Karsyn. When she's having a tantrum or not listening we use this. "Uh-Oh time for a little bedroom time, you may come out when you're sweet". Put her in her crib and when she is calm/not crying we go get her out. When getting her out we don't explain what she did wrong just get her out give her a kiss and its done. (I know it seems weird that you don't exlpain what she did wrong, but it works!! )
*When kids are arguing with you use a "one-liner". Such as: "I know", "Love you too much to argue", "Nice try", or make up one that works for you. The less talking/explaining the parent does the less arguing there is. (this one is kinda tough but is effective when used consitently)
There are more but I could go on all day with it so I'll stop now before I bore you to death! =)
A few Love and Logic tips:
*No warnings, set limits without anger, lectures or threats.
*Hand the problems children cause back to them in loving ways. Use empathy, "This is so sad", "Oh man. Thats too bad", "What a bummer", etc...
*Our favorite "The Uh-Oh song". We are using this on Karsyn. When she's having a tantrum or not listening we use this. "Uh-Oh time for a little bedroom time, you may come out when you're sweet". Put her in her crib and when she is calm/not crying we go get her out. When getting her out we don't explain what she did wrong just get her out give her a kiss and its done. (I know it seems weird that you don't exlpain what she did wrong, but it works!! )
*When kids are arguing with you use a "one-liner". Such as: "I know", "Love you too much to argue", "Nice try", or make up one that works for you. The less talking/explaining the parent does the less arguing there is. (this one is kinda tough but is effective when used consitently)
There are more but I could go on all day with it so I'll stop now before I bore you to death! =)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Mr. Mom
Last weekend my hubby got to experience a weekend home with the girls, while I went to my Dad's to help my sister-in-law, Sami, celebrate her 21st bday. Here are some of the struggles he had:
1) Satruday AM. Patrick was cleaning the garage, the girls were "helping" and going in and out of the house playing and what not. Sydney asks from the door way if she could have a sucker, (she had the sucker in hand already mind you) Patrick said no. Sydney took the news very well (not usuall) and without blinking an eye asked if she could play downstairs. Patrick said sure. A minute later Karsyn comes up to him whining and saying "uck, uck". After a bit he realised she was trying to say sucker, and then realised that she must have seen one to want one. So off to find Sydney...... She was found downstairs behind the couch loudly enjoying her sucker. Patrick was not happy and threw the sucker in the garbage and proceeced to have her scrub the floor from a crayon mess that occured earlier that moring.....
2) For some odd reason Saturday was also "pee pants day". By 8:00am Sydney had peed on the rug in the bathroom and Karysn had peed her pants at least once. By noon Karsyn was on pants #3 and needless to say Patrick was losing his patience. Later that evening I recieved a text from him stating that he was going to start peeing his pants too cause it must be fun!! Yikes!! He got the girls bathed and in jammies and before he got Karsyn to bed she'd peed her diaper. As of lately Karsyn has maybe one or two accidents a week and as for Sydney I can't even tell you the last time she had a accident. Not sure what that was about.
3) When I arrived home Sunday about 4pm I was greeted by a couple very excited girls. I noticed that Karysn's hair looked wet. Upon further investigation I discovered that it was in fact lotion. I had to ask Sydney how that happend because Patrick was on the phone when I arrived. I say, "whats in karsyn's hair?" She says, "lotion." I say, "from where?" She says, "your room." I say, "what was daddy doing when you playing with the lotion?" She says, "watching TV." Hmmmm......I see. =)
I'm sure there are more struggles/mishaps that occured over the weekend that will come up as they are remembered. =)
1) Satruday AM. Patrick was cleaning the garage, the girls were "helping" and going in and out of the house playing and what not. Sydney asks from the door way if she could have a sucker, (she had the sucker in hand already mind you) Patrick said no. Sydney took the news very well (not usuall) and without blinking an eye asked if she could play downstairs. Patrick said sure. A minute later Karsyn comes up to him whining and saying "uck, uck". After a bit he realised she was trying to say sucker, and then realised that she must have seen one to want one. So off to find Sydney...... She was found downstairs behind the couch loudly enjoying her sucker. Patrick was not happy and threw the sucker in the garbage and proceeced to have her scrub the floor from a crayon mess that occured earlier that moring.....
2) For some odd reason Saturday was also "pee pants day". By 8:00am Sydney had peed on the rug in the bathroom and Karysn had peed her pants at least once. By noon Karsyn was on pants #3 and needless to say Patrick was losing his patience. Later that evening I recieved a text from him stating that he was going to start peeing his pants too cause it must be fun!! Yikes!! He got the girls bathed and in jammies and before he got Karsyn to bed she'd peed her diaper. As of lately Karsyn has maybe one or two accidents a week and as for Sydney I can't even tell you the last time she had a accident. Not sure what that was about.
3) When I arrived home Sunday about 4pm I was greeted by a couple very excited girls. I noticed that Karysn's hair looked wet. Upon further investigation I discovered that it was in fact lotion. I had to ask Sydney how that happend because Patrick was on the phone when I arrived. I say, "whats in karsyn's hair?" She says, "lotion." I say, "from where?" She says, "your room." I say, "what was daddy doing when you playing with the lotion?" She says, "watching TV." Hmmmm......I see. =)
I'm sure there are more struggles/mishaps that occured over the weekend that will come up as they are remembered. =)
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Life Resolutions
Over the last week or so I've been thinking of some ways to better myself/my family, some would call them "new years resolutions", I might call them "life resolutions" maybe that will help me actually stick to them. I can honestly say that I have never followed through with ONE of my many "new years resolutions" over the years. Which I'm sure is true for many. I have heard that writing them down and being specific is key. I'm assuming "blogging" them will suffice.=) Also I'm thinking with y'all reading them will help the chances of me sticking to them. Here we go......
1 Excercise at least 3x a week. (of course should top the list)
2 Learn how to cook healthier. (take a cooking or nutrition class possibly)
3 Find some hobbies for myself. (i seemed to have lost them nor can I remember what they were)
4 Watch less TV. (find other ways to relax)
5 Be more money conscious. (my husband will love this one)
6 Become more adventurous and open to new things.
7 Learn how to "go with the flow" better.
8 Stop freaking out over messes. (i'm slowly getting there)
9 Pay attention to politics. (not excited about this one in the least, but its something i need to do)
10 Blog at least once a week. (hopefully more)
11 Take more pics of my girls and get the video camera out more. (life is flying by)
12 Last but most certainly not least.....arrange for date nights or date lunches with my hubby. (without talking about kids) =)
Well there they are.....YIKES!!! I'll take one step at a time. Wish me luck!!!
1 Excercise at least 3x a week. (of course should top the list)
2 Learn how to cook healthier. (take a cooking or nutrition class possibly)
3 Find some hobbies for myself. (i seemed to have lost them nor can I remember what they were)
4 Watch less TV. (find other ways to relax)
5 Be more money conscious. (my husband will love this one)
6 Become more adventurous and open to new things.
7 Learn how to "go with the flow" better.
8 Stop freaking out over messes. (i'm slowly getting there)
9 Pay attention to politics. (not excited about this one in the least, but its something i need to do)
10 Blog at least once a week. (hopefully more)
11 Take more pics of my girls and get the video camera out more. (life is flying by)
12 Last but most certainly not least.....arrange for date nights or date lunches with my hubby. (without talking about kids) =)
Well there they are.....YIKES!!! I'll take one step at a time. Wish me luck!!!
Love and Logic
So during the last few weeks (with the holiday craziness and such) I've come to notice that we have lost it......I'm talking about kid control. The whining at our house is at its highest volume, the fighting over toys has become unbearable, listening in general is well.....nonexistant to say the least. The girls have taken over and run this house and I've decided to put an end to it ASAP! I took a class a couple years ago called "Love and Logic". Its a parenting class to help "raise responsible kids without raisng your blood pressure". This class targeted on kids birth to age 6 (there is one for older kids too). The techniqes I used on Sydney (back when I just had one child) worked great! She listened and life was good. Patrick was unable to attend the class with me so there was a lot of me telling him how to do it. (which you can imagine didn't go over well) Of course I've offered him to read the workbook they handed out but he never got to it. ;) Last week at Sydney's school they gave out information on a seminar about "Love and Logic". The speaker is a son of one of the founders of "Love and Logic", Dr. Charles Fay. It's a two hour seminar (instead of the 6 week one I took a couple of years ago) and Patrick has agreed to go with me! (after much pleading) I think he will respond better if he hears it right form the people who educate about it then from me. Then we can decide how and if we will use the techniqes they recomend and more importantly have a consistent way of discipline.
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