Gratitude

Well I am not sure who to thank first? My Mother (it is her birthday today!) for being the best, EVER! My Husband (pampered me today to an ALL DAY Spa Day as an anniversary gift) for being the best, EVER! Or Candice (who watched the girls ALL DAY today so I could go be selfish and get pampered) for being the best, EVER!

Lets start with the woman who brought me into being. Because, of course, she is to thank for pretty much everything in my life!

Dear Mom,
I just want you to know, on this very special day, that you are my angel. You are my hero. You are everything I hope to be as a mother. You are a strong woman. You support your husband with a humble yet sturdy heart. Your love for your children is unwavering, no matter what dumb things we may have done to break your heart. You not only raised me..you LOVED me. And you showed me what love really meant. What it meant to be good person. What is meant to make good decisions. And you were there to let me know what it meant when I made bad decisions, too. Being a new mother, I can only imagine how hard those moments must have been for you. But you did it anyway, and without hesitation. You are the kind of women I hope to one day be. And I hope with all my being that my little girls will look up to me the way I look up to you.
Love,
Your (one and only) Daughter

My Loving Husband,
You never stop surprising me. No matter how far away you are, you always seem to know what I need and when I need it. Even if it is against my will sometimes. I want to thank you for being so patient with me over the past two years of marriage (plus a few months before it). You have been so graciously loving and caring, even though I know I didn't always make it easy for you. I want to thank you for reminding me that I am not ONLY a mother but that I am a women. A women that deserves to be taken care of. A women that deserves to feel pretty...to BE pretty. You are an amazing AMAZING man...And I love you very much. I cannot wait to see what life throws at us next (because...who are we kidding, things are THROWN with aggression, not handed over nicely)
Much Love,
Your Wife!

My Dear Friend Candice,
What can I say? I didn't think I would be able to make friends here. At least not one like you! I am so glad you happened to be my neighbour! And that you happened to have a little princess, too! There is something very special about making a real friend. As we both know, those don't come around very often. You have been ever so willing to help out when we are in need (which seems to happen often), even when you probably don't actually want to. Thank you for being so gracious and loving as a friend. Thank you for your words of encouragement as well as your words of honesty. I know I can count on a true opinion even if I am not going to like the answer...I am going to miss you and your little one! But, hey, who DOESN'T want to vacation in Hawaii!?
Love,
Your Pesky Neighbour.

These arrived at the spa during my lunch!

How to be me..? Right.

So, I was sitting down writing a "guidebook" for the girls (+dog) and the house. I am going out of town  for a couple weeks and we flew my wonderful and lovely mother out to care for the kiddos, the house, and (I suppose) to feed my husband ;) . After I finished writing, I thought it was rather interesting how easy it was to write down all the little details about the average day. Thought it might make for an interesting blog post...not to mention I am watching Adrianna purposely fling herself off the couch, crashing onto the ground, and laughing hysterically. Or maybe she is doing that weird laugh where she should probably be crying but instead she is laughing like she is clinically insane..This started a couple days ago and, to be honest, it kind of freaks me out.

Anyway...the day (and a couple funny videos). Sidebar: I kind of think that telling someone else how to care for your children is like asking your mother how she makes "that one dish". Mom does her best to write down every important detail..but there is something about a mother's touch...Lets be honest though, after reading the directions, it doesn't sound that hard, does it?

Poppy

Food: Fill bowl in the morning. That should last all day.

Water: Normally I fill it fresh every morning

Crate: Fully crate trained. Feel free to put her in her crate for any reason. I have had her in there for about 8 hrs (other than sleep) if I am out of the house.

Bathroom: First thing in the morning, two more times during the day, and right before bed. I just let her out and, ALMOST always, she will come back to the door within 5 min or less. In the mornings, I will usually let her out before I get the girls. I will get the girls changed and dressed and then let Poppy back in the house to eat.



Rebecca

Food: 8oz 3x a day (usually first thing in the morning, after her morning nap, and around 6pm). 1-2 jars of food a day. Feed whenever. She can eat fruits through her “fruit mesh feeder” and some are soft enough to eat without it. She will also gnaw on soft veggies or bread.

Drink: She can have water or VERY watered down juice

Sleep: Wakes up between 0730-0830. Goes down for a nap between 1030-1130 and sleeps for a couple hours and down at about 1600 for another nap. She goes to bed between  1930-2000

Bathroom: She doesn’t poop every day. She wears “nighttime diapers” (in the closet) for overnight (heavy wetter)

Hygiene: Bathe every day or every other. Clean ears often (she gets lots of wax) and brush teeth. It is MUCH easier to bathe her in the sink. She has a lot of trouble with water going over her face and head and she thinks she is choking. So I find it easier when I can control the strength of the stream.

Behavior Notes: She has been having trouble falling asleep so I have been giving her some cuddle time before I put her down. I think she might be teething. She loves her jumper. Also, if she is upset, the dog usually makes her happy right away.



Adrianna                                                                                                                                    

Food: Eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes she skips lunch because of a nap so I just give her a snack before dinner.

Drink: Milk for breakfast and juice/water throughout the day.

Sleep: Wakes between 0830-0930 and naps at the same times as Rebecca. Naps are not required, but they are suggested.

Bathroom: She poops at least once a day and is learning to notify when she is about to or is going poop. Take her to the potty seat if you want to!

Hygiene: Bath daily or every other. She LOVES to brush her teeth throughout the day. She also loves to clean her ears. She likes to bathe in the sink, too. But it really doesn’t matter. Whatever is easier for you.

Behavior Notes: Pacifier is only if she is lying down or going to sleep. She sits in a normal chair and should ask permission to be excused before she gets up. She likes to ask for a napkin and will clean her hands, face, and table. If you are cooking or prepping, she shouldn’t be in the kitchen. She can normally clean up after herself and can clean up her own room (more or less). If you tell her something is “rubbish” she will throw it away. She will also put dishes in the sink. Sometimes she gets confused between the sink and the trash, so keep an eye out for things in that trash that shouldn’t be there. She will probably follow you everywhere and shut all the doors in the house. I have little kid movies you can put on for her if you want to. She doesn’t like veggies but she will eat the mixed veggie baby food that I give Rebecca. She will eat green beans, corn, and sometimes broccoli and cauliflower. She LOVES: fruit, eggs, goldfish, string-cheese, milk, juice, raspberries, blueberries, popcorn, and toast.



The House

Will be clean upon your arrival

Trash goes out on Tuesdays

Turn AC off if unneeded

Differences Between The First Child and The Second

I know I am practically SPAMMING your FB and E-mail with two (now three) posts today....sssoooryyy. But, if you appreciate humor as much as I do...read on and carry on...This post is so RIGHT ON that I can't help but share it..

I love my kids :)

15 Differences Between The First Child and The Second

1. Celebrating
-The first child: When we were expecting our first child, people celebrated me as though no woman had ever had a baby before. I was showered with gifts and attention by family, friends, family friends and friends of family friends’ dogs. Upon arrival of the baby, visitors crowded the waiting room and lined up around the block. You have never seen so many homemade lasagnas in your life.
-The next one: Umm…where did everybody go?

2. Documentation
-Your first child: Photo documentation began before my pregnant belly was even visible and continued weekly (more like daily) throughout the first two years of our daughter’s life on the outside.
-The next one: Any pictures that captured my second pregnancy were inadvertent until near the end, when we decided we had better take a few shots on purpose just to prove it happened.

3. Illness
-The first child: The baby was sniffle free her whole first year of life.
-The next one: Due to the infectiousness of her older sibling, now in preschool, the baby has had a runny nose since the week after her birth. She can see us coming with the snot sucker from across the room and it takes all three of us to hold her down to use it.

4. Time Management
-The first child: There was no time to do anything but care for the baby. Outings were carefully timed so as not to anger the gods of Nap. I could not commit to any plans without a caveat regarding the likelihood of my cancelling them, because one day’s schedule could not predict the next.
-The next one: I cannot conceive how I ever felt busy caring for only one child and though I continue to respect naps, it would be impossible for me to make the world stop spinning in order to always accommodate the baby at the exact moment she is ready. (By ‘the world’ I mean my preschooler, by ‘spinning’ I mean spinning.)

5. Nursing
-The first child: I had great big hopes that my breasts would rebound post nursing.
-The next one: All hope is lost. But I’m still pulling for pelvic realignment.

6. Attentiveness
-The first child: We rushed to respond to night time crying for the baby’s sake.
-The next one: We rush to respond to night time crying so that she won’t wake up her sister.

7. Cleanliness
-The first child: The baby got a complete wardrobe change upon receiving the tiniest drop of spit up.
-The next one: Wipe slobber and spit up off with other parts of the clothes she is wearing, the clothes I am wearing, rub it off (or rather in) with my thumb, dangle her so she launches it onto the ground. In short, use whatever method of cleanup is most handy and carry on. Spit up and slobber are nothing compared to what her sister uses to dirty clothes. Exponential laundry increase is one of the great shocks of having a second child.

8. Development
-The first child: We encouraged motor skill and ambulatory development. Praised all accomplishments.
-The next one: Have strapped to the floor with duct tape knowing what difficulties baby mobility brings. I try every day but still cannot physically move in two opposing directions at once. Once the baby starts running around, I will have to decide which child to sacrifice in order to chase after the other.

9. Safety
-The first child: Any baby proofing done was to protect from the dangers of the house.
-The next one: How could anyone think a house is dangerous compared to a three year old? This baby climbs the stairs by herself on the way to her daily sibling self defense class.

10. Closeness
-The first child: I wanted to hold her all the time, she was my first. Her sleeping on me was bliss and I had the leisure to doze at random with her at any point during the day.
-The next one: I want to hold her all the time, she is my last. Her sleeping on me is rare because her sister does not recognize my right to be still.

11. Productivity
-The first child: On the weekends the family ran errands together. It seemed we had all the time in the world and every trip was novel. There were two of us and one of her…nothing could impede our progress.
-The next one: Divide and conquer. This took a few trips to figure out. Inevitably, one of us would have to make an emergent potty run into a store with the toddler, while the other sat in the parked car nursing the newborn. This left no one to accomplish the errand. (To ease your suspense, it was me in the car.) As I write this I realize that during the week, I run the errands by myself with both girls. Hey wait a minute, that’s not fair…

12. Organization
-The first child: The house became increasingly scattered with baby gear and toys. I was excited when she grew out of all those clunky baby gadgets such as the activity mat, exersaucer and high chair, until I realized bigger kids have bigger stuff.
-The next one: Minimal adult possessions remain. However many attractive receptacles I can find, they are not enough.

13. Benefits
-The first child: Had the benefit of all my attention. Good thing because I had no idea what I was doing.
-The next one: Has the benefit of my experience. Good thing because I am busy explaining to her sister why she doesn’t get all of the attention anymore.

14. Life Impact
-The first child: The shock of parenthood was tremendous and the realization that I couldn’t turn back was scary like I swallowed a boulder and jumped off a bridge.
-The next one: Times two.

15. Lovability
-The first child: Brought the most powerful of all love into my life for the first time.
-The next one: Brought the most powerful of all love into my life for the first time, again. (My apologies if the sentiment makes you throw up in your mouth, that is just the way it is.)