Thanksgiving Rewind

Okay I've started to write this post 3 times now. Just writing it is boring me...I can't imagine anyone cares about the boring details of my holiday. Let's just say my parents came for Thanksgiving, my Mom can be difficult sometimes, babies should really sleep in their own room, Hayden doesn't like taking pictures, I'm sick of someone telling me what my baby needs, and I'm tired.

All I want to do now is play WoW (World of Warcraft for you normal folks), and pig out on leftovers. (I can do that now that our family portraits are done - we did them today and it was hell).

P.S. Our family portraits came out awesome and I spent way too much money on them - but it was worth it.

Why Do I Do This To Myself?

PROCRASTINATION

Why????


Parents get here in 11 hours...I'm NOT ready.

A Season of Thanksgiving

I am thankful

• for the freedom to worship my God without persecution
  
• for the peace of God that soothes me when times are difficult
  
• for my gorgeous, sweet, wonderful, joyful, and loving husband Mark
• for my two precious children that are sweetly sleeping in their beds
• for our lovely home that I hope to raise our boys in
• for the opportunity to stay home with my boys
• that we can afford to have a bountiful Thanksgiving dinner
• that my parents will travel 16 hours to visit us
• for our amazing friends who've made all the difference in our lives
• that my husband provides for our family every month
• that today, we are all together and able to enjoy this moment

What are you thankful for today?

Motherhood: A Definition

Position: Mother
Salary: $0
Hours: 6am-9pm, on call 24/7

Requirements:

• Must be trained in the art of cooking. Knowledge of food preparation, storage, and presentation a must. Will also need to guard stove top, pots and pans, knives, and breakable dishes from the "customer" you are cooking for. No appreciation, thanks, or compliments will be given for efforts.
• Must have working knowledge of nutrition. Each meal must meet the fruit, vegetable, dairy, meet, grains, vitamin, and mineral requirements for your "customer".
• Efficient housekeeping techniques are needed. Must be able to vacuum while being followed around; sweep with someone walking through your dirt piles and stealing your broom; clean tubs and toilets without allowing your "customer" to drink unsanitary or poisonous liquids; do laundry while someone clicks the light switch for the dryer off and on; and dusting is optional.
• General knowledge of childhood development. Including, but not limited to speech, social skills, gross motor, fine motor, and physical development.
• Medical training preferred. Must memorize medicinal dosing per pound; understand complex medical conditions; administer daily medications; and any other health related needs.
  
• Must have previous experience in event coordination. Tasks include, but are not limited to designing toddler parties without toy sharing problems, finding locations suitable for 2 year old play, party decor and treat bag coordination, invitations, and scheduling.
• In depth knowledge of the child psyche. Tasks may include soothing, dealing with tantrums, persuasion techniques, and anger management.
• Previous experience with personal assisting. Goldfish, and sippy cup must be on your person at all times and ready for retrieval at a moments notice. You will keep records of all doctor and playdate appointments. You will serve each meal of the day and may possibly have to return for more desirable food if deemed necessary.
• Professional singing training a plus. At any moment you may need to burst out into the Alphabet song or Elmo's La la la la song to calm a situation.
  
• Teaching certificate preferred. You will be instructing your "customer" how to roll over, sit up, crawl, walk, talk, eat, behave, patience, kindness, table manners, morals, faith, and anything else deemed necessary to live.

Additional skills or duties:

• At any time this list may change or be added to without notice or explanation.

Bonuses/Rewards:

• Immense joy
• Endless laughs
• Intense love

7 Quick Takes Friday

I saw this on Conversion Diary and loved the format, so I thought I'd join in on the fun:

--1--

Thanks to the freezing weather we're expecting tonight our camping trip has been canceled. I'm totally bummed about this. This is the second time this year our camping efforts have been thwarted. Two babies + 32 degrees + burn ban (no campfire) = no camping + 36 bucks down the drain.

--2--

I'm having fish sticks for lunch! I had fish sticks for the first time in 15 years last week and I'm hooked. You need to eat some fish sticks too...they are truly addicting.

--3--

Early intervention came by today to do Hayden's evaluation. Hayden scored a 10 on communication. I believe the scale goes to 50 or 60. Obviously, we have some work to do. They are coming back on December 29th with a speech therapist for some further evaluations. The girl was really nice and had an awesome name - Heidi Lovejoy. I feel like I'm in a movie or something. How must life be like to have a name like Heidi Lovejoy! She was super sweet and her name made my day. HA!

--4--

I LOVE gmail's new themes. I have the ocean one rocking right now and it's so peaceful. If you have gmail you MUST try this.

--5--

I wish I had a cool camera so I could take beautiful pics of my kids...or maybe just Photoshop...or more creativity and talent, he he. My old computer had Photoshop on it, but alas, I cannot find the install disk to put it on my new one. I keep submitting my mediocre pics to the Blogging Baby Flickr group, but how can I compete with such stunning shots? When Hayden was a baby I submitted pics all the time and now my interest has been renewed after reading about it again on AndreAnna's blog. I believe one of my fav bloggers {wink} has gotten picked twice this month!! Wow. Of course, she takes amazing photos - I need to get creative!

--6--

I just read on parent dish that I should have started thawing my turkey (that I haven't bought yet) yesterday. I guess I should go buy my turkey today. If the weather holds out we're going to deep fry our turkey this year! Of course, my luck...the forecast is saying rain...hmmm

--7--

Last night I was complaining to my sweet hubby about my incredibly bad luck. (Mostly I was whining about our canceled camping trip). So to "test my luck" he bought me 10 scratch offs. I won 24 bucks which put us 4 dollars ahead. I sarcastically told him - I don't call that luck...I only made 4 bucks!

So what are your 7 quick takes?

Overwhelmed

Today I'm just feeling incredibly overwhelmed. I'm feeling anxious, worried, and tired. I feel like crawling under the covers and sleeping the day away.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Okay, I started this post yesterday...I feel better today. But still. Yesterday I was overwhelmed, and this verse always helps me breathe. Its helped me through all kinds of trials and heartaches in our family, and it helps me again now. Thanks God.

Hayden had his 2 year checkup and as I knew already, his speech is behind. The boy is just not a talker. He says a few things, but all in all, he's just not where he probably should be. So we got referred to the early childhood intervention program here so he could get his speech evaluated. They are coming on Friday.

This kind of bummed me. But what's new? I've learned to expect problems when it comes to my boys (including their Papa). The day we breeze through a doctor's appointment with no worries, I'll probably die of shock.

So today I feel better. Now I just need to clean my house so I can look like a "good" mommy on Friday.

The Best Walk Yet

A big "Thank You" to all of our wonderful friends!

You made this our best walk yet.

27 Walkers (including kids)
4 strollers
8 kids
3 of those babies

$990 raised!!!!

Walking in Support

I was just folding some tissue paper (yes I save tissue paper), when I realized something - I'd totally forgotten to give some love to another walk we're doing tomorrow: the Autism walk. It's also at the Dell Diamond this weekend (10:00 Opening ceremonies, 10:30 walk) and we'll be there!

So if you want to do something that truly makes an impact in your life and others - show up to the walk and support the cause!

Toddler Wars

Today has been a classic "Tough Hayden" day. His shrieking and screaming could drive anyone crazy, including his own mother...

He shrieked at his Aunt's house, he screamed at the restaurant, he yelled all the way home.

So when we got home I could only think of one punishment that would even affect him...to put him down for his nap without "the" blanket.

He'd already had a bazillion timeouts and chastisements and I'd raised my voice...

This punishment hit home.

And as I sat on the couch in all my smugness, listening to the defeat of my toddler, my inner devil was saying "Take that toddler! I win."

And then...after 1 minute...I thought, "You may have won the battle Mom, but you're going to lose the war this way. One upping your two year old in no way proves your superiority or authority. HA!"

So I grabbed that nasty, stained (but washed last night thanks to him barfing on it) blanket and went into his room. His smile was so HUGE I couldn't help but feel like a jackass for keeping it from him. Then I handed him his blanket, he hugged and kissed it...then me.

And I closed the door so he could nap .

Then I heard...him shriek.

I guess we'll have to work on this problem a bit more. It must be Friday because me nerves are shot. Why am I "battling" with a 2 year old anyway? He he he.

VICTORY IS MINE! (ok just kidding)

Okay AndreAnna rocks!! I recently blogged about battling the dreaded eczema. The exact problem Hayden had - that he was PRESCRIBED steroid creams for. She gave me a recommendation for Bert's Bees Baby Bee Buttermilk Lotion - and it works!!! It friggin works. I'm shocked and amazed and oh my goodness.

This is something Hayden suffered with for months, even with the steroid creams he could only use for 2 weeks at a time and blah blah.

And Corbin's eczema is gone.

THANK YOU!!!

MS Walk Sunday!!

The MS Walk is this Sunday!! Let's all meet at the registration tent before the walk begins! If you haven't picked up your shirt yet, I can bring it Sunday or you can stop by to pick it up. Final shirt price was $9.05

New Toys!!

Outside Time

A glimpse at our "outside" time:

Getting More Than I Gave

A few years back a good friend got me involved in the Conversational English Program at our church. It's been a blessing to be apart of it, and I am constantly reminded that it's me who is learning as much as them.

Today was our Thanksgiving Lesson. We read about the Pilgrims coming over on the Mayflower and feasting together with the Native Americans that helped them survive that first year.

Once we finished reading the lesson, our students, Tammy and Tinh shared there own journey to America and thanksgiving stories. They told us every thanksgiving they share their stories with their children so they remember what they experienced to get here.

Tammy and Tinh are from Vietnam. After America pulled out of Vietnam, Tammy attempted to leave South Vietnam as a refugee on a small fishing boat. She was seven months pregnant and also had another daughter with her. During the voyage, the boat started taking on water. They were sitting in water up to their necks. They all thought the boat had sunk and that they were going to die. They also lost their compass and the engine broke down, they drifted for a month. As each person died they would throw their bodies into the ocean. At one point Tammy had gotten very ill and was unconscious. The other people wanted to throw her off the boat thinking she was dead. A woman with her convinced them not to.

During her unconscious state, they told her she woke up and told them, "We must stay together. God will protect us if we stay together." Finally, a Philippine fishing boat found them and saved them. Unfortunately for Tammy, by this time her baby had died (in the womb) and her daughter had also passed away.

Tinh stayed in South Vietnam after the US left and was sent to a concentration camp, or what were called "reeducation" camps. He was there for 11 years. He finally got to come over to America after the Reagan administration entered into an agreement with Vietnam to free political prisoners. Tinh was able to come to America in 1993, some prisoners were released as late as 2000. Many had been there since the fall of Saigon in 1975.

To listen to their stories was an honor. Despite our arguments about why we get into wars and conflicts or what our country's policy should be on this or that, listening to their love of America and what America means to them and how thankful they are to have lived through their struggles and found a safe place where they could live, speak, and worship freely - increased my love of our country.

So this month as we give thanks for our many blessings, I'm giving another thanks to this wonderful country we live in and the men and women who fight to protect it and protect those who no one else will.

Mooooooo

Okay people! I just pumped 4 ounces! I know, I know, most of you Moms could probably pump 4 oz out of one breast after nursing 10 babies - but this is not something I could previously do.

At one point I could only pump 1/2 ounce. Half an ounce?!! Ugh.

Now I'm up to 4 ounces. For me, it's a small victory in pumping and production.
I know my difficulties are not over, but it feels good at this very moment to know these boobs CAN make milk.

I'll just keep plugging along...or pumping along...he he he.

How Can I Use This?

This my new question:

How can I use this?

For instance, go look in your pantry right now...I'll wait...

How much of that has been in there over six months? A year? More than that?

With food, I definitely noticed some "hoarding" tendencies. Not like, rotting food and stuff from 1984, but I'd buy things for "one day I'll make..." and then never use it. Or maybe I bought it for a special diet I was doing at the time. Or whatever. Yet there it is on my shelf, neglected. And I paid money for that!

With the economy like it is, I just feel like I should start learning how to use (and use up) what we have. Who knows what the future will be like, and I'd like to be prepared for what might come. Part of that preparation is learning the skill (yes the SKILL) of using what you have. I say it's a skill because it definitely doesn't come easy to me, but if I practice this skill I seem to get better at it.

On the flip side, if I'm not using and don't plan to use it, I need to give it to someone who will. And yes, I said GIVE. Not throw away, and if I can help it, not even goodwill it. There are people in my life right now who have a use for it, why not give it them? Or if you think you might need it later, just let them borrow it!

So in the past month or so I've been trying to use all the food we've "collected". It started with the unexpected moth invasion I talked about a few months ago. After throwing away TONS of food, I felt sick about all the waste. If we hadn't had so much in our pantry, the moths wouldn't have had so much to get into. Now we only have the can goods and other ingredients that we will be using that week, or at least that month. I have a lot more room in my pantry too! HA!

Then I started expanding it to what I usually throw away. Here's an example. I love using the slow cooker to make really juicy and tender chicken. Generally, I throw in some water, chicken broth and let it cook all day. Then I use the chicken for whatever recipe. But what about all that broth? Typically, I'd just pour it down the drain. Last week I looked at it...what could I do with it? It had loads of flavor from the chicken and it seemed a shame to waste it.

Soup! I put the broth in the refrigerator for the next day. Then for dinner the next night, I took the broth, added a bit more water, some potatoes, corn cobs cut in half, sausage, onions, some seasoning, then noodles at the end! It was delicious!!! And I was able to "use up" and "recycle" something I'd previously wasted! Now every time I cook chicken, I know the next night I can throw together some soup. Tonight I'm making chicken noodle soup! (I don't have any more sausage or I'd make that again, it was soooo good).

And this isn't just for food, but all kinds of things. I'm a "craft starter" - i.e. I love to go buy craft projects to do, and I may start the first step, but that's it. Off into a basket or drawer it goes. For like years. These would make wonderful Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, or "just because" gift. Why do we need a reason to give? And wouldn't it be better to use what I already have, instead of adding to the waste of this world? Especially, if all I'm going to buy are the standard bath product gift basket we all seem to fall back on when we don't know what to give?

I LOVE homemade gifts, and what I love MOST about them is that they are NOT perfect. They are made with love and time. Time is more valuable than money - if you haven't figured that out I'd learn it quick. You can "print" money, "earn" money, but no one can create more time. The fact that someone spent their finite "time" to make me something makes me feel special. Of course I accept all gifts - I love me some shower gel. A girl has to keep clean.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share that because it's made a big impact on me. I'll probably post more ways I've learned to "use" things as I get better at this!

NOW GO USE SOMETHING!!!

Just Another Monday

This week I'm trying something new. Instead of my "whatever goes" routine (i.e. no routine), I'm actually planning out our day and activities. I'm even starting a few new activities for Hayden. "Book time" - where he sits on a blanket and can quietly look at books. "Room time" where he can move around and play, but only in his room. "Free time" - pretty much what he used to get to do all day. And when the weather is good we go outside.

Corbin had his first taste of solids today. We had bit of rice cereal. It went about as well first time feedings go.

Diapers are still hit and miss. The green color is off and on but they are back to normal texture wise.

Nursing is always a struggle of course. Today my chiro also mentioned that Raspberry Leaf Tea can also help with production. I hadn't heard that before. I'd only been recommended Mother's Milk tea. I already drink Raspberry during periods (it's really awesome for that), but now I'll drink it the rest of the month too!

Corbin is beginning to get eczema just like Hayden had around this age. I've been putting Eucerin Aquafor on it which helped a lot with Hayden. Although the facial eczema is more difficult to get a handle on. As babies, they are always touching their face, which irritates the skin further. With eczema behind the knees or on the arms I could always put lotion on it and wrap it in gauze so it could heal. Hayden was eventually prescribed both a topical steroid and non-steroid cream. I'm hoping to avoid that with Corbin, but if I can't get it better this week I'll have to go in.

Hayden has started a cute "new" game. He grabs whoever is closest and makes us all go in the closet under the stairs. Then he closes the door and says "Kna Kna" (Knock, Knock) while knocking. Then he'll open the door to see "who knocked". Fun for him...a little claustrophobic for me, HA!

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to being home all day and not going out at all. I know...I'm a hermit.

Two Years On This Earth

How to have an easy , stress-free, and inexpensive 2 year old's birthday party:

1. Instead of the very expensive bouncy house/inflatable place, have it at the park for free. Springwoods park on Anderson Mill has a miniature pavilion that you don't have to reserve. (They also have a giant pavilion that has a huge deposit if you need space). Decorate with balloons from last year! We found Cars party stuff for 50% off and it's Hayden's favorite!


2. This park has a great toddler play scape - free entertainment! Bring the uncles and grandma to help corral the crazy birthday boy! Thanks Brian, Michael and Mom Z!


3. Make your own cakes! Yummy fat-free chocolate cake.



4. Have super friends and family that get Hayden all kinds of loot!! Hayden opened the first gift (a remote control Mater) and runs off with it. He doesn't get back to presents for twenty minutes.





5. Finally bring Hayden back to continue gift opening. We made it through a couple more before he got distracted by another gift.

6. Make sure your toddler doesn't wander off. Have Uncle Brian keep an eye on him.




7. Have little brother behave like an angel and just chill.

Strrrresss

Stress, stress, and more stress. I'm stressed about

• Corbin's weird green poop and the doctor's inability to give me an answer about why?
• Having to wait until Sunday to see if the green poop goes away
• Possibility of gather a stool sample to test said green stool and having to await the results form that
• Being able to breastfeed Corbin as long as I want
• Making sure Corbin is being fed enough between breastfeeding and supplementing
• That supplementing makes me produce less, but he needs to be supplemented because I don't produce enough
• The constant worry that Corbin could develop a kidney infection
• Trying to prevent kidney infection by breastfeeding him the first 7 months (studies have proved that nursing can help prevent infection during those months)
• Hayden's birthday party tomorrow - we tried to keep is very small, but of course it is slowly growing
• Needing to make a cake (actually 2 cakes) for the party tomorrow
• Needing to clean the house before my MIL gets here
• Hayden's continuing cough and congestions
• My Mom's upcoming colonoscopy and the possibility of more "bad" polyps
• How much I suck at pumping
• Trying to get my house organized and just not having the time to do it
• My weight
• Figuring out what to wear everyday and not looking like I'm preggo while still wearing my maternity clothes
• Getting more unwanted news about Corbin - nothing "serious" but still another thing to think about and add to the list.
  

How easy was life when I only had to worry about myself? Now, I don't even think about myself that much. It's all about them. I look at Corbin and I just want to cry. My beautiful baby, my Smiler, so snuggly, so sweet, yet the source of so many of my worries and heartbreaks. I don't want a single day of his life to be dark, yet I have no control over that.

These two darling boys are the light of my life and the source of many of my joys. They are blessed gifts from God that have made something out of my nothing.

A Zavala Evening

First, I procrastinate making dinner by admiring my new tile square:


Throw some dishes in to soak:


Defrost some ground turkey for Chili tonight.




Oh yeah, plants need water...guess I better do that.



Time to water...





Missing Mr. Zavala...




He may or may not be watching a Disney movie...I'll never tell.


And that's where the camera is set down. Evening race has begun. Make dinner, do dishes, changed lots of diapers, feed Corbin, feed Hayden, go for a walk, change more diapers, put on PJs, do more dishes, give medicines, put critters to bed, and DROP!!


And we get to do it all over again tomorrow!!!

Oh my aching...everything

It's the end of the day and I feel like I've been run over by a wild pack of toddlers. I'm not sure why, maybe just because it's Wednesday?

The day started with me running late to get to Conversational English. I needed a shower and Hayden needed a breathing treatment and Corbin needed to be fed.

I get to the parking lot and discover Hayden has made me a present. I don't want to be one of those Moms that drop off their kid at the nursery dirty so I change Hayden in the back of he Explorer. Only adding to my lateness.

I drop off Corbin and as I'm passing him to the nursery worker I notice his diaper has leaked all over his outfit. Luckily, I have one more onesie left in my bag. I used the other last night when Corbin leaked all over my skirt. His diapers have been runny lately. :( I'm hoping it's just his antibiotic. It separates and you have to shake it up before you dispense it. I'm wondering if the dosing is off when you get to the end of the bottle. We got our new bottle for the month today, so I'm waiting to see what happens. Otherwise I guess it's just a virus that has to run its course through his system.

Once I get everyone dropped off I head upstairs only to find out both of my students are not coming today. Heh. Another group asks if I'd like to sit in with them, but I decline. They asked me, "You'd rather spend time with your kids than us?" And I think about and, Yeah I would rather be with my kiddos. I don't see them as a burden, I love being with them. I hate when I'm away from them. I need a break every now and then like anyone else, but I don't want to be anywhere but home these days.

I grab both the kiddos - which was nice for the nursery workers since Corbin was the only baby and they got to go home too. I get all the way to the parking lot and discover Hayden's sippy cup got left behind. I am NOT loading the kids back in the stroller, walking back to the building, up the elevator, around the halls and then back to get a sippy!! We'll get it tomorrow when we go back.

We did lunch at home with a friend and enjoyed a relaxed afternoon chatting. I threw chicken in the slow cooker to get ready for dinner.

When Hayden woke up from his nap, I set up the laptop to watch classic 1930s cartoons on YouTube. He loved them. Mark had to work late, so it was nice to have something fun for Hayden. And it wasn't Finding Nemo which we've seen a bazillion times.

Then I started dinner. Using the now tender chicken, I threw together some tortilla soup. At the last minute I thought I'd surprise Mark with that pumpkin pie I'd been promising him. The fat free version of course.

The kids are down at last. My leg has been aching all day and the tongue injury has still not healed completely. Time for tylenol and the next Star Trek movie. I believe we're on VI now.

10 Things

1. I got my teeth cleaned and a cracked tooth fixed today. He also buzzed my tongue with his teeth grinder thingy. Ouch! Every time my tongue touches my tooth (which is about every, oh, 3 seconds) it hurts.

2. Corbin and I "hung out" this afternoon. I.e. he nursed and snoozed while I relaxed on the bed. I know...so un-Babywise (gasp!). But chillin with my bubba is my favorite thing in the world. So nurse-a-thons are allowed!

3. Corbin's diaper leaked all over my skirt tonight at Community Group. Uh huh.

4. While at the dentist I got to watch "The Mummy Returns" with those cool movie goggles! It was pretty cool, except when I noticed some weird guy on scaffolding right outside the window watching me. Then he started to "work" making drilling and banging noises. "Hello?! I'm trying to watch a movie here." Sheesh.

5. Mark proved yet again to be my hero by watching both kids this morning while I went to the dentist. Isn't he the best?

6. After the tongue grazing disaster I treated the munchkin and I to Jack in the Box. Curly Fries + injured tongue = death.

7. Mark rocked my world by switching cars with me on the way home from Community Group. He got the cranky screaming kiddos, I got 20 minutes of Muse. Ah.

8. Mark must be racking up brownie points, cause after that the poor man went grocery shopping for us. In fact, he's still shopping as I type this.

9. I still have my nightly/morning sore throat. :(

10. Obama wins the race for president. No matter what your political views, you have to admit it rocks to finally have a black man elected president. Now it's time for a woman!

A Fresh Start

Today began our new ways of doing things! I decided that the best way for me to actually get up early would be to just stay up after Corbin's early morning feeding (around 4:40am). I stayed up and read, prayed, then went back to bed for some more Zs after that. And it worked really well! I think that's how I'll get myself up and going every morning. I have to get up to feed Corbin, and since I'm up already it's easier to keep myself up.

We watched no TV all day. No movies, no PBS shows - and it was great!!! I got much more done, spent more time with my kiddos, and also felt a lot more rested. I even got to rest for 30 minutes while both kiddos snoozed in the afternoon.

I also didn't get on the laptop much at all. Maybe 10 minutes the whole day. That's probably where I spend most of my free time these days. Between that and TV I was able to get in enough time to do the questions from the Ladies Bible Study. I usual show up without having put the effort in to doing the outside work. That shows me that I do have the time, I just am spending it unwisely.

Hayden successfully learned and used the "Please" sign today. This has been something we've tried to teach him before, but mainly got screams and non-compliance. I'm so excited that he now understands and uses the sign.

Mealtimes did not go down without a fight, but I handled them like I had planned. With time-outs for misbehaviors and not giving in to his picky eating. Lunch was more successful than dinner. He wouldn't even try any of the foods I set out for him. So he'll have a grumbly tummy by morning. Of course he got his night time milk, but still. Hopefully, by us not giving in to his whims, he'll learn that he must at least try the foods we set out.

Tantrums I handled with 2 minute time-outs today. By the end of the day he was doing very well. Hardly any whining or tantrums. I used the pack-n-play for time-outs and let's just say he'll probably grow out of it soon. He learned if he rocked back and forth he could make the pack-n-play "walk" where he wanted it to go. Uh huh. So eventually I had to institute the "you must sit down" and not stand in the pack-n-play. Hehe. Smart cookie.

Outside time was cut short by repeatedly trying to push buttons on our grill. As this is a safety issue, after the second time we went back inside for the day. The button he likes to push lights the grill! We can't have that.

Corbin seems to have a little bug. His diapers were strange all day. The finally got back to normal around 5pm, but then the diaper we just changed was back to the green color. :( Hopefully, he'll back to normal tomorrow. Hayden's chest cold still sounds pretty icky. Although he's not coughing much anymore, but you can hear all the congestion. Ugh.

Today I did a bazillion dishes - but at least they are done now. They had really stacked up from the weekend. I'm not a fan of dishes...at all.

And I'm still bummed that Heroes isn't on tonight. Instead they are doing a special 2-hour SNL show on the election. Bah!!

Soon we'll know who our next president is!!! Hopefully, it's not a big fight with recounts and such. Either way it goes, I'll support our new American president! Exciting times. History shall be made either way. We'll either have our first black president or our oldest president and first female vice president! Okay, I'm not sure how "oldest" impresses me, but a female vice president or black president is definitely a monumental occasion.

I'm feeling chatty....so...

External Musings:

This week will start our working with Hayden on "first-time obedience". Basically, the first step is to come when his name is called. He's already decent at this I'd say 50% of the time. I also want to work on his highchair manners. Screaming, throwing food he doesn't like on the floor, and being picky are just not acceptable behaviors for him to continue. I don't think it's unreasonable correct these kinds of issues. So those will be the two areas I will be concentrating on.

Considering my munchkin is very strong-willed, hehe, this will be an interesting week. Now that my routine with Corbin is more solid, we can establish a routine for all 3 of us. Hayden desperately needs routine. At present he roams around the house aimlessly, usually whining or wanting the TV turned on.

If I'm not mistaken this is National Blog Posting Month - where you post once a day for a month. I think I'm going to take the challenge. But I don't think I'll bother with signing up on the site and what not. Just a personal challenge for myself. I think I will also reserve posting for an evening-only activity. Too much of my time lately is being taken up by the computer when it should be directed to our home or the kiddos. So the month of November will also be "Internet Savings Time", hehe. AKA I'm staying off line during the day. ACK! What a concept. I think I'm already going through withdrawals in anticipation of it. Let's see how I do.

I seem to have a lingering bug. Every night/morning I have a sore throat. Ugh. Perhaps my allergies are kicking in early this season? I usually don't start that until January, but this drainage is killing me. Poor Hayden is sick still/again as well. He's got a cough that just doesn't seem to want to leave. I'm hoping to avoid a doctor visit, but if this doesn't start to clear up I may have to go in. We've been doing breathing treatments now for 3 weeks with one week in the middle of wellness and no treatments. I'm praying that Corbin stays well!

Mark and I had our first date night in FOREVER. Instead of going the restaurant route, we did something we don't get to enjoy when we have the kids with us. We browsed for Christmas decorations! Toddlers and babies don't enjoy lingering in the aisles of Garden Ridge and Walmart while we talk about what our themes are this year. HA! So we grabbed some drinks at Sonic and headed to the stores to browse.

We bought a few Halloween things on sale for 50% off. Hayden got really cute Halloween Crocs (or imitation crocs, haha) for $2.50. They are black with a purple strap. The holes are in the shape of little bats. They are super cute and he LOVES them. He won't take them off. I got some Tinker Bell Halloween PJs, which fit a little odd. I guess it's the breastfeeding. The bottoms fit normally, but the shirt screams porn star (i.e. a little tight around the top, hehe). Whatever, it will fit normally in a few months. We also found some cute pumpkin decorating stuff for kids (stickers and Mr. Potato Head-style parts) so we're all set for next year when we have a 3 year old and an 18 month old wanting to decorate their jack-o-lantern. And of course, Mark snagged a few more tombstones for the yard.

Breastfeeding is still a struggle. Production is just not easy for me. I read that oatmeal can help your milk production so I'm going to start eating it every day for breakfast. Supposedly that's what they feed cows and other animals to get them to produce more milk. MOO!

And I'm still maintaining on the weight loss front - although with this weekend's candy SPLURGE, along with finally getting that rogue period I may have gained a pound or two. With all the sickness in our family over the last three weeks, I haven't gotten any walks in. :(

Internal Musings:

I was recently directed here from another blog I read regularly, and I've been consumed in her letters ever since.

She writes about her homemaking, her time with God, her family, and much more. The insight she gets from her daily quiet times are inspiring. She really puts what she reads to heart and applies it in her everyday living. It's inspiring.

When I think of my own non-effort, it doesn't shame or guilt me, but instead gives me an eagerness to do more and give more of myself.

One habit I've always wanted to start, but always had a good excuse not to do, is to rise early and give God the first part of my day. Man, that's really hard. I am NOT a morning person. I love my sleep. And I love my cozy, warm bed in the cool mornings. And I have no interest in getting out of it. But I think it's something that I need to discipline myself to do. Oh how I love my sleep!!! This will be really difficult for me.

Part of me wants to make a list of 50 things I want to do and just start doing them! But I know that's the surest way to fail. One thing at a time. I'll start with the most important first and work down from there.

Well, if you're eyes aren't bleeding yet from reading this excessively long post - you must be a true friend, haha. I don't know why I'm so chatty today. I'm stopping now...I swear...right...now

Halloween Highlights

1. Hayden decided today was "Clothing Optional" Day. I spent 15 minutes trying to catch him.

2. I wrestled Hayden in and out of his monkey costume twice. Once for Mark's office, once for trick-or-treating.

3. Our fog machines at Mark's office set the fire alarm off. The whole building had to evacuate for 5 minutes. During that time the kids got hot so we had to take off their costumes. We had only been there 5 minutes in costume, spent the other hour without.

4. Hayden was enamored with another child at Mark's office who was dressed as Tigger. With a HUGE grin on his face he followed the poor kid around, sniffing him, and trying to give him kisses. The kid eventually flipped out and almost started crying. Heh.

5. On the way back home Mark and I decided to "split" the kids, now that we have an extra car seat in Mark's car. Unfortunately for Mark, when he got out to his car he found the carseat had been messed with. All the straps were in backwards. A practical joke of someones? We still don't know. Took him 15 minutes to correct it.

6. Hayden trick-or-treats at only one house, but manages to have a complete meltdown and tries to jump in their fish pond. Both me and our neighbor are yelling at him at one point. Ugh.

7. We bought treats, juice, and sodas for the trick-or-treaters and parents in an effort to get to know some neighbors. However, the conversations went mostly like this: "Hi I'm Mark, this is my wife Melissa." "Hi Mark, hi Melissa". Somehow the fine art of introductions has been lost in this day and age. Oh well.

8. Corbin hated his banana costume because it had no openings for his feet. He prefers his feet "loose"!

9. During the madness fire alarms and passing out candy, we didn't get one picture of our kids dressed up.

10. I ate way too many Reese's Cups.

11. After trick-or-treating was over, Mark and I threw on Star Trek IV and passed out 30 minutes into it.