Monday, August 31, 2009

Just Another Monday

Delete. Delete. Delete. I had started this post off with some ramblings on my back spasm issue which has reappeared after a 6 week hiatus. But it sounded kind of whiny, so I will just say that I'm grateful for the 6 weeks of pain-free days I had and hope that they return soon! I'm also grateful for muscle relaxers and all pain killers - I hope they always do the job. I will now work hard not do do anything too strenuous or just plain dumb and just let the healing begin.

I think part of that regimen should be working on stress relief - I know for a fact I tense my back muscles when I'm irritated or stressed and I should learn how to release and relax.

So a few tidbits from our life right now:

The boys are fighting colds - but actually winning (should I say that out loud? I might jinx them). Hayden had a running nose for about a day, Corbin's is still a little runny but seems better today. We'll see if they are ok for taking to community group babysitting on Wednesday. Two days can make quite the difference.

I'm gritting my teeth for the season to come - seems like the boys were sick every couple of weeks from September to April. With two it seemed like that season was 4x as bad. They both got their own colds (x2) and then gave them to each other (x2 again)! If we ever decide to add three to the mix, I think sickness will be the norm not the exception.

We are officially done with formula!! Even though we bought the cheaper Costco brand, it was still costing us about $60 a month. That's $60 I could really use right now. Especially, since the raw milk we buy has gone up $2 because of the extreme drought we're experiencing. I can definitely understand their position, my parents felt the same crunch at their farm last year when KY was in such a drought. Everyone needed to supplement their feed for the cattle and prices were high!

But an extra $12 bucks a month vs. $60 is still pretty good!

We may also be done with the bottle!! So far, Corbin has been pretty adamant about getting a bottle, not a sippy cup, when he wakes up. But this evening he drank his milk from a sippy cup - so this may be the end!!! I certainly won't miss washing all those bottle parts!! Sippy cups are so much easier to clean and keep track of.

The brothers are becoming fast friends and at times enemies. Corbin has learned the fine art of swatting at his brother when he does something he doesn't approve of. But they have their own "games" and keep each other quite entertained. Poor Corbin doesn't know what to do with himself when Hayden is napping - he kind of just mopes around the living room, constantly going towards Hayden's door when he thinks I'm not looking. He's never been the "only" child so all he knows is having his brother around.

There is definitely a preggo epidemic going on at our church! I could name at least half a dozen who are pregnant or just had babies. I'm trying hard not to catch baby-itis! Yet somehow it feels like I'm missing something. Like I'm not in the secret society or something - HA! It feels a lot like last year when Corbin was born - I think there were 8 of us pregnant at one time. But I know I have my hands full right now with just two!! I don't think I want them spaced as closely as Corbin and Hayden were - that was a handful. But I definitely want to go for three as soon as we're ready.

Speaking of babies, I have TONS of boys baby clothes just taking up valuable closet space. Corbin has grown out of most of the 6 months and smaller size. If anyone would like to borrow some and then return them when they grew out of them, let me know - I'd love to save some space and help a friend out. As Hayden grows, our clothing stash just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I really need to figure out a way to store all this. And I'm NOT getting rid of them - with my luck we'll have another boy! P.S. I also have an excersaucer and a glider thingy that are taking up a lot of room as well. And one of those infant activity mats - actually two! I'm sure a bunch more, just come over - HA!

My mommy duties have just about wrapped up for the day (minus any midnight wakings), the dishwasher and dryer are humming, the leftovers are put away, and a good book is calling me.

'Night.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Menu


August 31st - September 6th Menu

Breakfasts:
Monday: Oatmeal & peaches, english muffin
Tuesday: Steel cut oats & plums, bagel
Wednesday: Omelets, bagel
Thursday: Oatmeal & granola, english muffin
Friday: Oatmeal & granola, bagel

Lunches:
Monday: Grilled cheese, grapes
Tuesday: Chicken Nuggets, apples - Ramen noodles for adults!
Wednesday: Jelly sandwiches, cheese sticks- leftovers for adults
Thursday: Quesadillas, rice and beans
Friday: Bagels w/ egg & cheese
Saturday: Shredded chicken tacos
Sunday: Eat Out

Dinners:

Monday: Grilled seasoned chicken quarters, quinoa, asparagus, homemade bread
Tuesday: Chicken fajitas, rice and beans
Wednesday: Leftovers + community group snacks
Thursday: Spaghetti
Friday: Layered mexican casserole
Saturday: BBQ Chicken & artichoke heart pizza
Sunday: Chicken & potatoes

Snacks: Grapes, graham crackers, saltines, cheese sticks, apples

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Letting Go


It rained tonight. Rain we've desperately needed. Well, I don't think it rained much at our house - but it was storming over near our community group, which is where we were at the time.

Tonight I hurried to the car because I had my baby in my arms, but it brought back another memory...

I was still in college, and had just gotten out of class. It was pouring and didn't seem like it would let up anytime soon. I didn't have anymore classes that day, so all that was left was to make the 45 minute drive home. The sooner I got going, the sooner I'd be home.

There was only one problem - that morning I had to park insanely far away from my classes. My truck was a good 15 minute walk from where I was. Fifteen minutes of torrential downpour away...

I had no choice but to just do it. I started walking. At first, it was uncomfortable - cold, wet, stinging sprays. I dodged the puddles and walked quickly. But, soon it became clear that there was no way I was going to be able to come out of this anywhere near dry. My jeans soon became soaked from the bottoms all the way up to my calves. My clothes were completely soaked through. And I still had 10 more minutes of walking.

In that moment, I let go. I let go of my need to keep dry, to play things my way. I took my flip flops off - which brought me another inch down in the puddles. I felt the water rushing around my feet. I pushed my hood back and felt the water dripping down my face and hair. I smiled. I felt the freshness of the cool rain, and it was almost cleansing.

I just let go.

I think there are a lot of times in my life where I could apply that same lesson. Letting go of what's behind. Letting go of what's ahead. Letting go of my incessant need for a plan. Letting go of my expectations.

The present is all I have. Right now. This moment. And I need to be present while it's here.

Photo credit: [jeremy]

Monday, August 24, 2009

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Yesterday, Mark and I dared to take the kids to a Round Rock Express game. We had scored 10 free tickets so we took the kids and invited some friends along for the fun.

At this season in our life, it's either you brave the inevitable craziness that accompanies outings with the kids or become hermits. I choose craziness!

It was kids night and they were giving out free lunchboxes with the RR Express Team on them. Hayden was very excited to get his own "munchbox" and he's still playing with it this morning. I have a feeling I will eventually find it outside filled with dirt - as that is his favorite activity now, playing with dirt.

Corbin got his first taste of corndogs!!! He loved them and slobbered all over my corndog. I then got to eat slobbery corndog...uh yum. He also snagged a few sips of my Dr. Pepper when I wasn't looking.

We had tickets for the stands, but if we go again I'm definitely getting tickets for the grass. I saw lots of families there and the little ones were just running around having a great time.

Hayden really enjoyed the playground there - we stayed there for at least 3 innings I think.

Of course, there were tantrums...

Hayden decided not to take a nap after church and the game was at 6:05 - not a great combination. Add the heat and you have a recipe for tantrums.

We dressed the kids in cute baseball shirts/outfits they were adorable - I was so tempted to buy a T-shirt there for Hayden, but I resisted this time.

Hayden enjoyed popcorn and ice cream - and went through about 3 bottles of water. We spent way too much money on concessions, next time I'll bring more snacks.

By the eight inning the kids were at their limits as it was past 8pm, so we packed up and headed home.

Overall, it went ok and I'm glad we went.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Don't Grow Up Too Fast

Tonight, my baby is sick. He has a fever and is having a restless night. I can look at this two ways:

1. He's interfering with my "me" time. I'm not going to get good sleep tonight. I'm tired.

Or...

2. My baby needs, no, wants me. One day he won't need the comfort of his Momma's warm arms. He won't fit neatly on my chest, with his little arms curled close. One day his little chubby baby legs will turn into long lanky little boy legs. Instead of curling those little legs around my belly, they'll be dangling down by my knees.

His troubles will be bigger than the soft, soothing touch of his mother. His desires will surpass the offerings of what I can give him.

Right now he wants Momma. Momma to hold him. Momma to love him.

And that sounds pretty good to me.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Role Models? Please Step Forward.

This womanhood gig...where's the manual? Did I miss the hand outs? Can I get a bulleted list please?

Is there anyone doing it right? Or at least honorably?

Honestly, on a day to day basis - I don't know what the heck I'm doing. I just make it up from TV, books or maybe what I heard once at some women's church conference or study.

I know I mess it up completely on a day to day basis. I yell at my kids, push my husband away (cause dude, I'm busy and tired), and I just don't know where people find time to connect with others.

Sometimes I end my day with the mommy cocktail if it was really bad, which I usually regret - I'm just not a drinker, never have been. I generally can't get through my beer or wine - somewhere past half the glass it starts tasting like crap, sorry.

And this motherhood gig is SO not what I thought it was. Of course, I seriously had some messed up perspectives - somewhere between Cabbage Patch dolls and Barbies Dreamhouse - who wouldn't want that! Dude.

Today my kid threw up and I caught it in my hand (on purpose) so it wouldn't get on his shirt. Ewww! Who am I? Barbie would never have done that. And I still don't see a doll on the market with "puke" mode. The worst I ever had was when I fed my peeing doll chocolate milk - and I threw that baby away in disgust.

And connecting with God? I'm somewhere around Magic Genie and "Make a Deal" - grant my wishes! HA. I'll say that again - ha. Even if I "reword" them by adding "if it's your will" at the end, I think I'm not fooling anyone. Accepting His will? Yeah right. First, I throw a mini tantrum, stamp my foot, and complain about why He didn't do it MY way. Then, once I've had my rant, I move on to - Your will be done, not mine. Why can't my first reaction be - Your will, not mine?

Even today, when a job for Mark didn't come through - my first reaction was - it's not fair, why us God? Even though Friday I wasn't sold on the job, but Mark and I sat down and said - we'll leave it in God's hands. We'll pray. If this is not His will, then the opportunity will close and others will arise. And it looked pretty solid that this was it, and then poof! Suddenly, it dissolved before my eyes. God literally closed the door in multiple ways, and then opened another. And my reaction? No God! You can't do that. I thought this was it, I don't want to accept your plan. I had already started making my plans.

I know this can be so much more than we make it. Homemaking is NOT about wiping noses and changing diapers. There is so much more here. And yet, so many people look at it with a mixture of contempt and envy. As if not getting a paycheck and validation for our efforts and work means we are worthless and lazy. And the sad thing is, sometimes we believe them. Comments like we should just get a job if being at home is so hard. So that's the answer? If it's hard, just run away. Give the job to someone else. Some of us are called outside the home, but if I am called to be home, running away to another job is not the answer. But that's the negativity we get. Our importance in the home is trivial. The work we do there can be done by anyone...NO. It can't. Our children. Our families. Our homes.

And if you're at home, we're told that we're bored and have no mental stimulation. I say, crap to that! I know less about running a home than about networking theory. Seriously. I've got LOTS to learn. You could spend a lifetime studying and practicing skills needed to run a home and care for children. I've got books piled to the ceiling with amazingly useful information I need to read as time allows. Sitting around watching the Lifetime network (which I don't even get, but whateva') is not how I want to spend my time or brain. I can continue learning and growing as a person, even if I have days where a little 3 footer is ordering me around.

So what am I saying here? Heck, I don't know. I got kind of stirred up by some comments I read somewhere about mommy hood and such. I don't know the answers and I don't claim to. I'll probably never know how to do any of this right. I hope I don't ever put myself into another persons shoes and give them a judgment. God help me if I do. Just like I don't know squat about what it's like to be a single person, or a man, or a working mom, or whatever - if you haven't been a mother there's really nothing to say. About every idea I've ever had prior to having these two babies has been completely rewritten or erased. I just didn't know.

We're all at these different stages.

Like:

"Baby is an accessory I wear under my shirt" stage
"Baby will go well with this cute Pottery Barn crib set"
"I love baby stuff"
"Wait, where does it come out?"
"I changed my mind, I don't think labor sounds that fun"
"That hurts, I'm never doing that again"
"I don't know what I'm doing"
"What if I break it?"
"He's hungry again?"
"Sleep, please just sleep"
"Don't leave me alone with this thing"
"I could totally have another"
"What was I smoking, I should have stuck with one"
"Mommy needs relief"
"Where's the wine bottle"
"Ack! There's two of them now"
"Where did nap time go?"
"So if I put one in the grocery cart, the other one goes where exactly?"
"Okay, so REALLY LOUD can be a tolerable noise level - or I'm going deaf"

Well, those were my stages at least - and of course those are up till now - I'm sure there's a million more. The point is, we don't stay in those stages. So one person's reality may not be mine. I may have gotten past the "Wine bottle" stage, but big deal. So I'm a few feet down the road. That doesn't make me the great wise one. Passing judgment on someone still struggling in a stage you passed or even skipped is just wrong.

Okay this post is all over the place. Back to my original thought. There are role models out there that do "it" with grace. My sidebar is filled with blogs from real women who have perspective on what it means to be both a mother and a woman. And if you have more you go to for inspiration and a little "uplifting" I'd love to know those too. Start with TamraGirl and Nie, my personal favs.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Firsts

For the first time in my life, I screamed in terror.

I didn't care how loud my voice was or how horrified I sounded.

I didn't think about who was looking.

I just screamed "No".

Hayden was messing around in the front yard after getting down from the car.

Mark was going after him, scolding him for not going straight to the door like he always does.

I was getting the baby down from the car.

And in a flash Hayden changed directions and headed for the street, at the same moment a truck was coming down the road.

I screamed. Mark yelled. The truck slowed down. And Hayden stopped at the sidewalk.

My body trembled at the thought - what if he hadn't?

I put my head down and cried those tears of terror and relief and fear.

The first time I've cried for what could have happened.

Friday, August 14, 2009

One Year Olds

I completely forgot our seriously messy one year olds are. It's all coming back to me now...

I think I vacuum twice a day (when I care) and still the night ends with cracker crumbs everywhere!!!

I'm not used to the constant mess. Hayden has gotten pretty neat over the last year or so - how good I had it and didn't even know.

Friday Morning in Pictures














Thursday, August 13, 2009

I was in Heaven!

Teacher Heaven that is...I love that store! It totally feeds into my love of learning. I could SO have my own preschool. I'm so energized by all that. And yes, I was the kid who liked school - well to a point - the teacher had to be good and interesting.

With Hayden's speech delays, our days together often are morphed into learning times. Hayden wasn't picking up speech like a normally developing child would, so every word and phrase was deliberately taught and scenarios are set up with the specific purpose of making him use his words.

I'd like to continue that same learning with other topics now that he's getting older and his speech has progressed.

I'm really excited about all the new "tools" I bought to get him interested and learning.

I'm leaning toward a Montessori-style approach - setting up stations for different activities and letting him rotate through. This will work well as Corbin gets older and wants to be involved more. It would be fun with more kids rotating through the stations, but for now I'll have to be content with just Hayden.

So far we have a "Cutting" station, a puzzle/matching station, "Coloring", and a new station I will be adding, a "Sorting" station. I love the counting bears and I found a set that came with sorting cups that matched the different colors of the bear. For those that haven't seen these, they are small plastic bears of different colors which are often used for counting, sorting, pattern and color skills.

I bought lots of other things for future "stations". But we will be starting with only three at this time since Hayden's attention span is limited. As he learns to focus on each station we can increase time or number of stations.

Today we cycled through the "Cutting" and "Coloring" stations with NO tantrums. Whoa! In fact, he very politely gave me the scissors and said "No more, all done. Color?". So we moved on to coloring. A big step in the right direction for us. Coloring has really helped his vocabulary. Coloring begins as independent play but ends with Hayden identifying different objects and shapes in the books. Today he learned about squares.

The next stations was a "Play" station with lots of little army troops, but which really works on his hand eye coordination and balance skills. He loves his army men and threw an enormous fit at the end of this one - but only because it was nap time too!! I'll have to come up with a better transition for that. Perhaps moving into book time in his room to get him settled for his nap.

Oh the endless possibilities of things you could do! It's all so much fun. I wish I had loads of money - I would have really come home with some stuff. As it is, I spent way more than I thought I would - but it's so worth it.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Hail to the King and then something disgusting

Hayden's antics are forever cracking us up. At church they've been doing a lot of kings and queens stories for the kids, this month we're on Esther.

Yesterday, Hayden found one of the crowns we used in the classes and put one on his head. Taking it on and off was complete with his own bugle sounds "Dum ta dum!" Each time he placed the crown back on his head "Dum ta dum!" followed. It was all very "royal".

And for something disgusting...

Our current high chair we've owned since Hayden was about 4 months old. If someone were to ask me if the seat cover came off I'd quickly say yes. But if someone had ever asked me if I ever took the cover off to clean under it, my eyes might quickly glaze over and if there was a screen on my forehead it would read (in big red letters) "Does not compute".

Somewhere in my subconcious, I knew I could clean under it - but it never really occurred to me...at all.

The other day I was rounding up some crumbs Corbin had left in his seat when I noticed some crumbs in the cracks that opened up for the seat straps. Hmmm...guess I should get those out too. And then it hit me. Do I really want to look under that thing? I mean, uh, who knows what's under there...I haven't even peeked in 2 years. There could be gross food....or a monster!

Ewwww! Okay, it wasn't that bad honestly - it could have been A LOT worse with my crazy eaters. But I cleaned that sucker like a 9 month preggo nester on crack. And no, no preggo here - I'm currently on my period and bloated thanks for asking, you preggers really have it good - it's really not fair. Your kid is IN your belly, not smacking you in the face and yelling "NO GO!!!" at the top of his sweet little lungs while dropping kicking you AND you don't have a period???!!! Pfft.

So yeah, I cleaned. This coming from the Mom who just today plopped her baby into the high chair with this morning's peaches and crackers in the seat - what? He was wearing a diaper and that crap is gooey. I can't properly clean that up with one hand!!

It's Magic

As anyone who's talked to me this summer knows, we've spent quite a bit of time dealing with Hayden's napping and all things related. For 2 months after he mastered crawling over his baby gate we dealt with constant 5am wake up calls, random visits in the middle of the night, etc. It was horrible and we got no sleep.

At my wits end, I headed down to BabiesRUs to find the tallest prison, er, baby gate I could find. And I found it! Since then we've had loads of glorious sleep (minus the 1 month "brothers sleeping together" trial which has since failed).

And then...the day I'd been dreading...today.

Hayden was in his room "napping" hahahaha, or standing by the gate saying "Hi" to anyone who came into view. Corbin had just gotten up from his morning nap (why oh why can't he be an afternoon napper so I could get some alone time???!!) and was heading towards Hayden's room like usual. Hayden will hand him toys and such from the other side of the gate and Corbin loves this "game". Note this is a similar game to the one that caused us to end the room sharing experiement.

Today I was in no mood to constant move Corbin from the gate a million times and since I had some sewing I wanted to get done I said "Heck with it" and let them play "prison" or whatever their game is called. So Corbin happily played with each toy Hayden tossed over the gate and all seemed well.

Until...dum dum dum...out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw not one but TWO kids in the hall...uh WHAT?

I walked over and looked around the corner and there was Hayden out of his room and gate and playing in the hall corner, trying to go undetected. When he saw me, he looked up, smiled and said

"Tada!"


Later both children decided it was time to attack mommy and her sewing machine...so much for that.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Natural Consequences

Today is of course one of those monster days. Days where Hayden doesn't nap. Days where Mark is on the phone interviewing all day - in Corbin's room so he can have some peace. Days where Corbin is waiting impatiently for a nap he needs but doesn't want. Days where Hayden throws everything out of his room instead of napping.

And where I feel like screaming and even do throw my own mini-tantrum when Hayden's train tracks keep falling apart while I try to "create" the perfect railroad. ARGH! Doesn't help that Corbinzilla is dismantling all my hard work behind me. At one point I do the 3 year old frustration tantrum and just tear up all the tracks when I can't get them to balance on those stupid blocks.

My former explitives now turned into child friendly-ish statements like "this is stupid!!"

And then God threw me a softball...

I had just finished up my lunch - leftover fries which were "loaded" with cheese, jalapenos, and other good stuff. I had placed the plate in the middle of the table so the kids wouldn't mess with it.

Hayden being "unstoppable" at least by things like table tops and things accessible by chairs let his curiosity get the best of him.

I look over to see him spitting something out and stating the obvious "HOT!"

"Yes, kid - jalapenos are hot."

And then I laughed.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Activity Pouches

Activity Pouches have been something I've wanted to try for awhile. I'd seen them over and over on preschool sites or blogs and they sounded great. But my first few tries at even finding the pouches flunked! They had pencil boxes but not the soft pouches!! Now that it's back to school time, I've been able to finally find them - and on sale.

Our first activity pouch - Cutting!! I put to use some of our old paper and cut it into four squares. Then I bought a pair of safety scissors and voila!
It's an easy and cheap activity that he's been doing now for 30 minutes. At the end I grab a plastic bag and we "clean up" all the paper. Today's transition wasn't without a tantrum, but the tantrum ended quickly when I pulled out the Buddha Board.

I'm hoping to make several of of these activity pouches, including some that work well in the car.

Anyone else done this? I'd love suggestions for what to put in them!!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Brothers

Lately, the brothers have been becoming more of cohorts than enemies fighting over the last goldfish (although that still happens).

During Hayden's bath tonight, Hayden was handing Corbin (on the other side of the bath tub) foam letters one by one. Then the floating fish, then the boats, then...

SPLASH!!! An entire cup of water smack in his face.

I was about to start scolding, when I hear insane cackling coming from Corbin - who thought it was hilarious he just got doused by 30 oz of water.

What could I do? I just started laughing too.


Saturday, August 8, 2009

Lessons Learned

I'm a slow learner, but I AM learning about this whole "mothering" and "homemaker" thing. And I've only been at it for a little over 2 years. So obviously, these lessons only go through age two of child raising. HAHAHA!

Things I learned:

1. I don't clean up the toys until nap time and bed time. It's a losing battle and a complete waste of time to pick up toys while children are still up and playing.

2. If you want to have a good nap time, have a really fun (and exhausting) play time.

3. When it's over 100 degrees, the best thing to do is just to give in and pull out the wading pools and sprinklers. Don't forget the popsicles and sunscreen.

4. Children learn by watching. Not eating dinner together deprives them of valuable skills. I learned this one the hard way. Within one week of us all eating together (with or without Daddy) Hayden learned to drink from a cup, use a spoon and fork, and sit in a regular chair (not a high chair). Lose the high chair as soon as possible. It might save a little mess, but it's not teaching them much.

5. Toddlers don't need bathing suits just to hang out in the backyard.. Just send them out to the wading pool fully clothed. This is so much easier and protects them so much better from the sun than some skimpy swimming trunks.

6. Most of the baby gear is optional, even unnecessary.

7. You only need to buy one good sippy cup per child. Since I've done this I've saved myself TONS of dishes and finding weird stuff growing in cups. If there is only one, they know which one is theirs, and you'll never leave anything in there if you know you need to wash it each night. Hayden has the green cup and Corbin the orange version - simple.

8. Just give them water. I stumbled into this one through Hayden's intolerance of juices. He got horrible diaper rash with anything acidic so we avoided juices. Hayden's cup always has water in it, he only gets one other drink and that's milk. Saves a lot of money in the food budget and probably the dentist trips down the road. Since Hayden only drank water, we've started the same thing with Corbin now, and he's just fine with it.

9. Pay attention to what you put in their crib that first year. That random blanket or stuffed animal just might be "THE" blanket or "THE" dog they drag around with them for years. It better wash well because it will be poop and pee covered at some point.

10. Learn to laugh at them and yourself. It's cheaper than drinking.

And an extra...

11. Sometimes you might just need that glass of wine at 5pm - and that's ok.

Trials and Errors of Parenting


This week has been rough. Let's face it, most weeks are rough, haha.

If I suck this much at parenthood now, imagine how suck-tacular I'll be at it in 10 years.

I've been blessed with one of those "strong-willed" children. If you don't have a strong-willed child I'm sure you're throwing on your judging hat right now and getting ready to spout the usual rhetoric about disclipline and consistency. Cause obviously, it must be lacking right?

My answer to that is HA HA HA. Hahahahahahahahaha. I hope your next one is just like mine.

The word stubborn doesn't even fully describe Hayden's personality. By the way, I threw in a pic of Corbin because Hayden's in a phase where he doesn't want his picture taken. Most of my pics these days are of Hayden's back while he runs away.

Just about every parenting advice or philosophy flunks on Hayden. He is a unique child.

For example, we'd been increasingly concerned over how picky Hayden was becoming over food. His dinners often go picked through with only the bread, fruit or cheese eaten. He would only try new foods through force. So I applied the old "Keep serving it until he eats it." So when he didn't eat it at lunch, we served it for dinner, etc. Yeah, he would rather STARVE himself than give in. He got so hungry he woke up early talking about his belly and then still wouldn't eat. When he did finally eat it (through force/coercion) he threw it up. His stomach couldn't handle any heavy foods. So that TOTALLY backfired. He spent the rest of the day eating whatever he wanted - puffs, crackers, bread - all his favorites

Last month we attempted to put the boys in the same room together. Hayden thought it was entertaining to put every toy in the room into Corbin's crib. Including dangerous things like pillows and blankets. He scolded him very seriously about this, but he continued to do it every night from that point on. We went three weeks and still he was doing it every morning. We have now moved Corbin back out of the room.

Don't get me wrong, Hayden is a sweet and extremely loving child. But if he gets something in his mind - no amount of chastisement is going to change it. What I've heard from others is that you have to find their "button" - something they love that is punishment to take away. With Hayden's current communication level this isn't something I can utilize fully right now. Explaining consequences of a more abstract level doesn't click with him. Hopefully, as his speech catches up I'll be able to use some of those techniques. But as of right now - my hair is all pulled out...I hope I make it through this stage.

My new attack plan is to establish a firmer routine, since Hayden responds to routines well. It will also help him with transitions if he knows what to expect each day. With Mark being home right now job hunting, this has been hard - every day seems to be different. But I'll figure it out.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Cheap Meals

It's been awhile, but I haven't forgotten about my "Money Saving Food Tips". I just want to make sure it's a good one before I add it.

Money Saving Food Tip #2:

HEB Seasoned Chicken Leg Quarters! Right now these are going for $1 a lb. Which means you get 4-5 leg quarters for around $3-$4!!! Last night we had a friend over for dinner and it was enough for Mark, our guest, Hayden, and myself to each get a leg quarter and we still had one left over! Well, I ate it later that night it was so good - but does that really count?

They are pre-seasoned and delicious. We grill them out back and then serve them up with whatever veggies we have in the house. I had just purchased a bag of red potatoes at the farmer's market for $2. So our meal cost a whopping $6 dollars for all 4 of us.

We loved these so much (that was the second time we cooked them) that I stocked up on 3 more trays of them this weekend.

These have been a delicious Godsend for us since we're watching money right now - but I just had to pass on the info to you!!