Insert clever title here

Chewie had her first spoonful of cereal at Thanksgiving dinner and followed it with the whole bowl. You know how they say start out with 1 tablespoon and go slow? No such thing with my girls. She did not gag once, she did not refuse once, she ate and ate and ate and finished a full serving. The next day she did refuse it at dinner because she was tired so it's not like she doesn't know how to say no. She's been doing good with it, except she started getting a little constipated and was up at night again (to put that in perspective, she was up at 10 and then again at 4/5. So really, who am I to complain?). I started oatmeal yesterday morning to try to help in that area. Last night was the worst in that she was crying quite a bit and then this morning during breakfast she was crying A LOT. She had poop when she woke up this morning and I don't think she's stopped since. I decided to skip the cereal this morning and give her a rest. I gave her oatmeal at lunch and might just stick with that today instead of doing the rice for dinner. She is at least smiling now and she was NOT doing that this morning. I think she really needed to get her poop out and now that's it coming all at once her little heiney is getting sore. And this sounds SO FAMILIAR does it not? I'm going to start fruits soon and hopefully she will balance out and get regular again.

Speaking of balance--the Princess started gymnastics today with her usual "Hold my hand/pick me up/help me" attitude but when it was time for the bars and a new young teacher she told me she didn't want my help, she wanted "someone different." I sat on the floor next to Chewie and the Princess did all of the bars with the teacher (a girl in her 20s I think) and didn't even look at me. It was amazing. It was exactly how I thought she would be when I signed her up in September. Unfortunately the teacher was just a sub, but the teacher who would normally be there on Wednesdays (we just switched to Wednesdays because 9 am on Fridays was too hard) is her best friend so I am hoping she is also young and able to bewitch my daughter.

I have officially given up on the Couch to 5k. I gave it up a while ago actually. It's just too hard when I have no idea if Chewie is going to wake up after 45 mins or take a whole nap. And sometimes all I have is 45 mins before I have to get SkyWalker off the bus. I can't be on the treadmill that entire time. Not to mention the fact that I just don't like running. Well, I don't like distance running or running for any length of time. I discovered when I had to chase after SkyWalker's school bus that I actually like sprinting. I'm not sure how I can really do that on the treadmill but maybe when it's warmer I can sprint down the damn driveway. Anyway, for now what I have been doing is just 10 minutes of walking on the treadmill. But to make the most of those 10 minutes I use the incline feature and walk uphill. It's working out well. I can feel that I am actually doing something and I have enough time to do other things. 

Speaking of other things-- I need to figure out how to show 3 toddlers how to make a fireman's hat. Which means I need to figure out how to do it first. I might need Vader to decipher the instructions for me.

OH and one last thing--if you used to see pictures of the jedi children and now you don't, well sucks to be you. I decided to make them viewable by neighborhood only. My husband had me sign the form at SkyWalker's school saying he can't be photographed because he's in law enforcement--my husband, not SkyWalker. And here I am with pictures on the internets. So if you were a lurker before but you know me and want to see any pictures I may post of them you'll need to get an account and make sure I add you to my neighborhood. Then you can just make sure to always be logged in when you read this blog. If you're a lurker and I don't know you, well, you're who I'm trying to avoid.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

What Month is it?

Really need to work on that brain-blog hook up. Or vox needs to play nicely with my iPod touch. 

1. SkyWalker loves school. Loves the bus. There's supposedly a bully on it, but he wants to ride everyday and gets annoyed if we have to pick him up for doc visits. He's reading to us at bedtime and is so much better behaved. I think it's a combination of him not being bored anymore and me not having to deal with it all day long. Craziness at 5 pm is much easier to handle when you haven't been dealing with it since 7 am!

2. The Princess misses him a lot but is doing really well without him. She's doing better on the potty since he is not home to distract her. She is so good about entertaining herself. And she makes much fewer and smaller messes than he does... She's definitely getting her 2 year molars and one of them is a bit bloody and has a big flap of gum. This does not please her. But I would say for 90% of the day she is happy and pleasant and funny and a joy to be around. She is "farting" with "my mouth" on my arm right now--blowing raspberries is farting in her mind.

3. Chewie is happy and done with her screaming. I think she's going through a growth spurt right now, but for the most part she sleeps all night. She does not like to nap when we go out. She doesn't scream and cry, she just doesn't sleep. It's not a problem until we get home and then she's overtired. Because of this I need to stay home at least 2 days a week. We have storytime on Weds and gymnastics on Fridays so I *really* need to force myself to stay home on Tues/Thurs. Luckily my every other Thursday preschool group is cool with always doing it at my house. It is so hard juggling the needs of a toddler with the needs of an infant. 

4. I started running again--sticking with week 2 although at a faster speed. I hope to get up to week 3 soon. 

5. I've been thinking a lot about the type of parent I want to be. This deserves a bigger post. But in short: my big problem has always been wanting SkyWalker to listen--which really means I want instant obedience. But now that he's in school I'm starting to feel differently. Do I really want him to just automatically do what's he's told--whatever he's told? No. I want him to make good choices and decisions. I'm focusing on him but really this extends to all my kids. So I have been trying very hard to not just bark commands and give orders but instead to treat my kids with a little more respect than that and try to help them understand WHY I'm telling them to do things. Instead of shouting "get in your seat" I'm saying "please get in your seat so we can eat dinner now." And I'm trying to pick my battles--there are some things that are really important--don't touch the stove, hold my hand in the parking lot, don't run away, etc. And there are some things that are not important--going to wash hands, putting away toys, etc. I want to raise smart thinking adults--not sheep who follow orders. I want to be a parent, not a drill sergeant. This is only remotely related, but I'm also trying not to focus on little things just because everyone else does. My son can say "More milk" in a nice respectful tone. Does he really have to say please? He's saying it with his tone. I'd rather have that than have him say please but in a rude way. My husband can make the words "Excuse me" sound like "Get the hell out of my way" just with his tone of voice--I'd rather him say "move" but say it nicely. But society has hammered the please and thank you in our brains and we think we have to go along. So I'm trying to really focus on my kids and listen to them and not do things just because someone else decides it's a good idea.

6. Pediatrician visit yesterday: SkyWalker is now 35 pounds, 42 inches. Chewie is 12 lbs, 5 oz and 24 1/2 inches. The Princess did not get weighed since it was not her checkup. 

7. I need to click on the arrow to see what happens with Elmo next.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Balance/Juggling/Why I need to clone myself

Balance. People. The balance, she eludes me. I strive for it everyday and everyday it slips from my fingers. 

SkyWalker is loving school. He's disappointed that he doesn't have more homework (he is so getting beat up). He has been much better behaved at home. He still has his moments but for the most part school has been the answer to everything. He peed his pants 2 days in a row and yet he still wants to go to school and enjoys it. Vader brought cupcakes to the school yesterday morning and passed by his bus. He was able to see SkyWalker smiling and laughing and having a good time. It's such a relief. 

The girls and I are doing well alone. I've filled the Princess's mornings with playdates and storytime and gymnastics. Today was gymnastics. She did much better than her brother years ago, but she did not respond the way I thought she would... maybe she was just in a bad mood. She wanted me to hold her the whole time. Didn't want to do anything. Luckily she had randomly insisted on bringing her baby doll--something I usually don't allow--and I made the baby doll do stuff and then she warmed up a little and did a little jumping and swinging. I KNOW she would love it if she would follow directions. We're going back and hopefully she will be in a better mood next week. It didn't help that Chewie started crying after only a 30 min nap. 

Chewie is doing better at night. I still dream feed her at 10ish and she doesn't wake until 7 (or  6:40 depending on how loud the boys are). She goes to bed at 7:30ish and she doesn't wake for the dream feed so that's pretty good... I'm still getting up at 5(ish) so I look forward to giving up that dream feed. 

The problem now is naps--for both of them. We had such a good routine going for a couple of weeks. I put the Princess down at 1:30, asleep by 2, put Chewie down at 2:15, asleep by 2:30 and then I was good. I could run. It was all good. Now the Princess is fighting her naps. Chewie is all over the place, 45 min naps, getting overtired. By the time I get them both down I have an hour or LESS before SkyWalker gets off the bus. Which leads me to....

Balance.

I have not run in a while. I skipped last week because school messed things up, naps messed things up, and I just don't know when I can do it. I tried on Monday but I went to week 3 when I should have repeated week 2. I couldn't do it. I walked for 20 minutes and was proud that I did that. The whole time I was watching the clock so I wouldn't get too close to bus time. AND my left ankle hurts again. This sucks. SkyWalker is in school all day and I have LESS me time than before! 

I should be folding the clothes and cleaning the house for his party tomorrow, but I needed to just sit and blog. As I type the Princess has STILL not fallen asleep (despite gymnastics this morning) and Chewie has just woken up after 20 minutes and is crying. She's been not pooping for a couple of days and then getting cranky and then pooping a lot. Who does that sound like? I know it's normal for BF babies to go days without pooping but the other 2 never did, so this is new to me. 

Something has got to give. Either I spend less time with the girls in the morning and run while they are awake, or I give doing anything else during any nap time and just run, or I don't know. I think I need to take the next couple of weeks and work on getting a consistent routine and getting both girls to take good naps and THEN fit running/cleaning/me into it. Because I am way too stressed out each day trying to get them down for a nap. 

It is now 2 pm. In 44 minutes SkyWalker will be off the bus. Chewie is crying. I would bet that the Princess is not sleeping either. 

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Week 2

I didn't think it was going to happen, but the planets aligned just long enough for me to finish week 2 of Couch to 5k and take a shower. The shower was interrupted by multiple children, but let's focus on the positive. 

Day 1:

total time: 29:38

calories: 190.8

miles: 1.88

laps: 7

1 mile: 15:43 mins

highest speed: 5

Day 2:

total time: 29:39

calories: 189.4

miles: 1.87

laps: 7

1 mile: 15:52 mins

highest speed: 5

Day 3:

total time: 29:41

calories: 196

miles: 1.92*

laps: 7

1 mile: 15:22 mins*

highest speed: 5

* lookee there. That's improvement. Now if I can only find something to fill this belly. Between nursing and actually getting off my ass I'm hungry! 

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

let me sum up

I *would* have finished the second week of Couch to 5k but my ankles are starting to hurt and I think I need new sneakers. It turned out good that I did not since I forgot to eat lunch and probably would have passed out.

I think I'm going to call it an early night. Here's my quick updates:

1) SkyWalker and Vader rode the bus together for bus safety day yesterday. The Princess and I watched them get on the bus. One of us cried and one of us comforted the other. I'm not telling who did what. SkyWalker was fine and seems to be okay with the fact that Vader will not be on the bus next week. He and his friend sat together on the bus coming back home. That is good. 

2) The Princess speaks and speaks and speaks. And yet still she whines. You'd think being able to communicate would cut down on the whining, but alas, it does not. I do think her molars are coming in though. She's doing okay with the potty training, but I need to find a way to get her to pee on a regular basis without it turning into a fight. She is a stubborn one. 

3) Chewie is doing really well. She really doesn't cry all that much anymore. No more screaming. She smiles a lot and seems so much happier. I moved her to the girls' room at bedtime now. I started on Monday and she has slept longer each night. Last night I gave her a bottle at 11 and she slept until 5:30. I've been giving her bottles to try to get her used to them. But she only takes 2 ounces, whether it's at 10 or 11. Tonight I'm going to skip it and see how she does. The girls do just fine in the same room and both SkyWalker and the Princess seem to be excited to have Chewie up there with them. I'm glad that I had the girls nap together from the first week. I think that helped a lot. I stopped swaddling Chewie since it didn't seem to be the miracle cure it was for the Princess. I just have her in a sleep sack and she's doing great. I kind of miss her at night, but she was in my room longer than the other two so it was really time. She turned 3 months yesterday. 

4) This is not as quick as I thought it would be. 

5) I ran two of the three couch to 5k days this week and I've already improved. I don't see myself ever running a race. I don't like to run in front of people. But I am enjoying the experience. It gives me the energy boost I need in the middle of the day and I am So proud of myself for sticking with it. I might have some scheduling problems once SkyWalker starts school--since the time I normally do it is nap time for the girls and that will be when he gets off the bus. And after being in school all day I don't think I can tell him to just wait for me to run... The Princess is better at entertaining herself so maybe I can actually attempt to do it while she is awake. Or try to get them down for early naps. I'll have to play around with our routines.

6) I need to hook my brain up to the internets so I can blog directly from it. I blog a lot in the shower. And then forget it when I see the screen...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I finished week 1! In week 1!

This is mostly just for me and my record keeping because I am a dork who likes keeping records (should have worked in archives I guess):

I just finished Week 1 of the Couch to 5K IN week 1. How momentous. Anyway, stats for my own purposes:

Day 2:

total time: 29:05

calories: 160.7

miles: 1.65

laps: 6

1 mile: 17 mins

highest speed: 4.5 (don't laugh Felice!)

Day 3:

total time: 28:41 (I must have hit the start on the treadmill too soon last time)

calories: 175.3

miles: 1.78

laps: 7

1 mile: 16:08

highest speed: 5

I didn't write anything down for day 1. Oh well. 

Because I am a DORK and surrounded by positive reinforcement for children, I'm totally making myself a sticker chart. 

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

A fine Monday

I should be folding towels or doing something productive. But I'm not. It's Monday. As far as Mondays go, this one was actually okay. Chewie went to bed at 8 last night and I didn't feed her until 4:30. It was miraculous. And for most of today she was right on cue--feeding every 3 hours, napping when she should, and smiling instead of screaming. We all went outside and she took her first wagon ride. SkyWalker was not nearly as crazy as he has been. He's definitely still testing me, but he actually listened a lot better today. There was no big drama. Both girls took naps at the same time, just long enough for me to use the treadmill. So all in all, not a bad Monday. 

I did the first run of the first Week of the Couch to 5k program. It's meant to slowly work you into being able to run a 5k so you don't do too much too fast and then burn out and give up. I have no intentions of actually running a 5k anywhere, but I like the structure the program has instead of me just walking on the treadmill for an indeterminate length of time. I downloaded the free podcasts for my iPod (which plugs into the treadmill) so it's easier for me to know when to walk and when to run. I managed to do a mile and a half in less than half an hour. I'm sure it will take me longer than the 9 weeks to complete it since I may not be able to do it as often as I'm supposed to. But that's okay. My goal isn't actually running a 5k. It's getting off the damn couch. 

I'm pretty sure if I go to bed now Vader will get home from shopping and the dogs will go nuts and wake me/Chewie up. And while he will put away all the fridge & freezer stuff, I will get up tomorrow morning to find all the pantry stuff still has to be put away. I'd rather just do it tonight. 

But. Yawn.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend