Housekeeper? Yes!

Brain had been suggesting for the last month that we get a housekeeper.  However, I'd been balking at the idea because I thought, hey, I'm going to be a SAHM, things have to get better and I'll have more time to do it.  Well, today it was confirmed, we NEED a housekeeper.  Here's the play out:  Hailey has a bit of diarrhea today, so I had out the amazing prescription diaper rash cream the pediatrician prescribed a while back.  Hailey likes to grab things on her changing table so I put it on the night stand.  I then moved to on to cleaning the girls bathroom. You know, scour the tub and clean the toilet.  Yes, things we all do.  Well, without my knowing, Paige went in and got a hold of of the diaper cream.  I then went to nurse Hailey and put her down for a nap.  Brian was busy talking on the phone to him mom and all of a sudden he came up the stairs carrying Paige who was slathered in diaper cream.  It was not only on her, but all over her rocking chair and ottoman as well as some of her "animals."  (Did they have diaper rash too?!)  So as I'm finishing up feeding Hailey and putting her down , Brain is bathing Paige to get all of this cream off.  Then I run downstairs to find the phone number for poison control to make sure it's not harmful as I'm sure she swallowed it too.  Luckily it's not, it's not absorbed orally but may act as a laxative.  Great!  The stuff I use to clear up the diaper rash can create it too!  Good times.  So anyway, as a result of me trying to clean the bathroom, the two year old could have been poisoned!  Yes, we need a housekeeper with these two girls, I clearly cannot have my attention diverted for one moment. 

Phoenix Zoo

Today my aunt, my mom, Paige and I went to the Phoenix Zoo.  (Hailey stayed home with Dada to nap and play.) We had been a couple times before, but today, WOW!  They've really renovated and added in some nice exhibits with cool animals.  Paige, as I have written, LOVES her "animals."  So we thought she would be is huge amazement at seeing them for real.  But, no, not so much.  She seemed to have more fun watching the people and just looking at everything, rather than focusing on the animals.  She had a really fun time.  They have a nice petting zoo area and she really enjoyed being able to pet the goats.  They also give you curry combs to "comb" the goats and she had fun doing that too.  As a mom it was neat to see the zoo through her eyes and how she related and reacted to all of it.  Paige is growing up so fast.  I don't want to miss a moment.  I also really liked seeing the monkeys, wolves and turkeys (yes, the turkeys!), they were pretty.   

Dooce

Sometimes I get fortunate enough to read a story in the New York Times that appears on my Facebook Wall.  Yes, sometimes.  Most of the time I start reading one and must instead care for my children.  Go figure.  Today was one of the fortunate days, actually, I think I just made time to read it becasue I found the subject interesting.  It was about Heather Armstrong who started a blog called Dooce.  Her story is interesting and after reading about it, I looked up her blog.  I can can see why it's so popular.  She's very dramatic, blunt, EMO, sexy...all things that sell.  From her story it appears she has made VERY good money from the ads companies want to pay her to put on her blog which is just about her everyday life.  So good that her husband was even able to leave his job to run the "business."  Good for her (and him)!  YAY for blogging moms everywhere!  I don't plan to have mine become famous, I just think it's cool that she was able to get hers as far as it is.  I find blogging really fun and I think it's a super way to keep memories and share current events with those far away.  I also really, really want more people to comment so I know that others can relate or not.  Hint, Hint.

Reading?

We have been reading to Paige since day one, as we have Hailey.  Bedtime always consists of bath, milk and story.  We have several of the Sandra Boynton books.  Most of her books have a particular rhythm that is pretty easy to pick up as you read.  If two words rhyme I tend to repeat them to Paige and she says them back to me.  "Boat, Goat.", "Moo, Two" and so on.  Today, as I was reading Barnyard Dance, I would pause at certain parts of the verses and she would repeat what was written next, word for word.  She did the same with Pajama Time.  From what I understand these are very early signs of reading.  I suppose these hours of snuggle, cuddle, story time have paid off.  Every minute is worth it.  Pure, uninterrupted, quiet, sweet, precious time.

Swing at the Park

My aunt and I walked the girls to the park today. The weather is sunny, but still a bit windy. However after being couped up for the last couple weeks it was so nice to get out. Below is a picture of Hailey in the swing today. 10 1/2 months old.


This is a picture of Paige in the same swing at about 12 months old.


Nice day!

Play and Caring

These are a couple pictures I snapped today and over the weekend.  They are truly sisters and really like play together (most of the time).  Paige is surely taking on the "big sister" roll.  Last week my aunt cared for them while I was away doing some school work.  At one point she was trying to put Hailey down, which was rough because Hailey does not like a bottle at all so Hailey was crying.  Paige saw that Hailey was having a rough time and climbed in Hailey's crib to get her Snugglie and pacifier and handed it to my aunt saying, "She needs these, Auntie."  My aunt said it was so sweet that it made her cry. 

Crib tent

It's up.  Yes, we put a crib tent on Paige's crib because she's been climbing out.  I'm working on getting her potty trained and most of the information I have read suggests that you should not do two major changes at once (ie potty training and new bed training).  So to buy some time, we put a crib tent on her bed.  We had been talking about it for about a week telling her it would be a special tent on her bed like a princess.  Then Brian and I put it on together with her in the room.  She wanted in it before we even had it together!  She played and jumped and demanded it be zipped up.  When nap time came, she was a little uneasy about it, but went right to sleep.  This has not happened for about a week.  She had been climbing out at least three times before finally settling in.  Bed time went the same.  She really needs sleep too right now, I can tell she's been about two hours short of sleep due to the climbing out and us wrangling her back in because she's been grouchy.  The information we have read also suggests keeping them in a crib until they turn 3 years old.  I think if Paige is potty trained before then, we will start converting her bed to not having the front rail then to a double bed with the head and foot rails from the crib.  Wish me luck on the potty training...so far so good. 

Hailey: The Chick -A- Dee

Some cute things that Hailey is currently doing includes:

• Taking her sock off and crawling around with it in her hand
• Waves when someone says hello to her or when Dada is driving away
• Snuggling with her Snugglie
• Taking Paige's Snugglie for her own
• Learned how to use the sippie with a straw today
• While on the changing table she must go through the basket that has diapers, cream, combs, etc to find the perfect item to hold while getting her diaper changed
• Wants to eat solid foods herself
• Plays with toys by herself
• Pulls herself up on everything...especially the banister railing when Dada gets home
• While rocking in the rocking chair, turns over to get a book
• Points to things she wants to see
• Screams to get Paige to communicate with her...Paige screams back....they do this for minutes at a time
• Smiles all the time

She really is a cutie pants.  (We call her the Chick-A-Dee and Paige is called the Bumble Bee.)

My Ameda

I had to pull out my breastpump tonight because I'm finishing up a school project tomorrow at a jr high kitchen and I will miss a couple feedings for Hailey. It was so weird to pull it out. I have hardly used it for Hailey, but was attached to it for six months with Paige since she never latched & I was hell bent on her having breastmilk. Having experienced breastfeeding with two different children I feel that it either works or it doesn't. I'm so grateful that I've been able to have such a wonderful experience with it for Hailey. It truly is an amazing process and bond that a woman can have with her child. I will do it as long as she wants to do it.

Eating

Hailey could not get enough food today. This is such a starck difference from Paige, who eats maybe 500 calories in a day. She is still supplemented with toddler formula. But Hailey, my goodness! Today she had lunch which was yogurt, applesauce and some strawberries to chew on. Then I put her down for a nap around 3pm and she nursed. She fell asleep for about 20 minutes and woke up. I'm trying sleep training with her, but no luck today, so I got her from her crib. We played for a bit, but then she started with the hungry cries. So I fed her more yogurt, applesauce, animal crackers, strawberries & banana. That was between 4-5pm. I thought she would not be interested in dinner, but nope...she ate dinner of turkey & rice puree, strawberries, and I think a couple more animal crackers. Of course, she nursed before bed too. Wow! This is so wonderful to me to have a baby who eats! Yes, me the RD with a baby who eats! Who would have thought?


Keep the food coming Mama!

Auntie's Birthday

My Aunt Charlene ("Auntie" to the girls) finally retired from her job at the County of San Luis Obispo after over 25 years of service.  She plans to move to Arizona to be with all of us.  But, in the meantime, she made a trip over to help me out, spend time with my mom and celebrate her birthday a little late.  We had a great time at my mom's house last Saturday evening.  Brian BBQ'd ribs and the girls played & played together, with my aunt's dogs and of course with Auntie.  Here is a pic of my aunt with the girls getting ready to blow out her bithday candels.  Happy Birthday Aunt Charlene, we all love you very much. 

 

Valentine's Day

I didn't do as much for this Valentine's Day as usually do, not because I don't really enjoy the holiday and all that it means, I just ran out of time or didn't think of things to do due to my sleep deprived brain.  I did manage to get the girls matching Valentine's shirts, but they were on opposite nap schedules today so I didn't get a pic of them together.  I also got them little Valentine toys and candy.  Brian and I exchanged cards and I did buy us some chocolate and chocolate covered strawberries for later tonight.  My aunt made delicious cupcakes and brought the girls some cute stuffed animals and my mom got them candy.  Perhaps because it landed on a Monday it wasn't so exciting?  Next year Hailey will be sleeping through the night, I won't have school and it will be on a Tuesday.  Look out 2012! 

SAHM

It's Official.  I quit my job.  I was working as a Dietitian coordinating the Employee Wellness Program at the hospital where I had been a Clinical Dietitian before having children.  It really was a great opportunity as Corporate Wellness is very a hot area in healthcare right now.  But I found the job too cumbersome with trying to plan events for it in the late at night after the girls went to bed, fielding phone calls and email during the day was disruptive to our routine and then actually going in... have you ever tried to get ready with two little ones?   Our Nanny ended up getting most of what I earned too.  And because I was doing things late at night and was very tired while doing it, I was making little mistakes, like putting incorrect dates on things or typos in PowerPoint presentations.  Stuff like that just makes me look silly professionally. 

On the other hand, I'm scared!  Will I regret leaving such a cool job?  What will this do to my career?  Should I have just sucked it up and paid more attention, endured the sleep deprivation, lost time with my kids?  (Whoa is me!)  in order to maintain my career?  So scary!

My pivoting point in making this decision came with an assignment for the management class that I'm taking right now.  We were asked to read parts of the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  One of those habits was making sure that family took priority in your life.  My girls are growing so fast as it is, I don't want to miss a moment.  And I do need time with my husband. 

So after much contemplation, discussion with B and deep thought, I gave notice.  My last day will be Feb 28.  A new chapter will begin....hopefully my house, laundry, meals, grocery shopping, etc will be better for it.  SAHM for real now. 

THE Schedule

I'm a schedule mom.  I know there are moms out there who have no schedule and make it work.  But that's just not me...I'm too much of a planner.  I like it that way.  My girls have never had a meltdown in a store, they go to bed with no fuss, they are pretty happy throughout the day becuase they know what to expect each day.  I'm pretty sure I would have a meltdown too if they had one in a store.  Anyway, here's our usual routine (it's not to the minute or even hour sometimes but it works):

• 7-8am Wake
• Wave good-bye to Dada
• Play animals
• Breakfast 9am while watching either Seseme Street or Curious George
• 10am Nap for Hailey
• Play or Errands (We sometimes have a class through the City that we attend)
• 12 noon lunch and Hailey usually wakes up form morning nap
• Play
• 2-3 Nap for both girls
• 5pm Wake for Dada's arrival home
• 6-7pm Dinner
• Play especially with Dada
• 7:30pm Bath
• 7:30-8:30pm Story, Milk and Bed

Hailey is still waking between 11-12pm and then again between 2-3am.  A bit of sleep training has started now that she's feeling better, but I can't let her cry for long.  However, I have found that she falls back to sleep within the 5 minutes that I allow myself to let her cry.  Hopefully, she will start sleeping through soon. 

Also, today, I started looking at schedules that preschools use.  I think I may get a weather and calendar station to hang and do that with them in the morning time too.  Paige has also been exhibiting interest in painting, I think I need to get an easal and paint for outside.  This will be great in the Spring and Summer.  Just trying to find new things to do with them to stimulate thier growing minds. 

Configuring & Climbing

Last week we stayed home because both Paige & Hailey were ill.  As I mentioned previously Lady & The Tramp was on all day.  It had turned off for a bit and Paige went upstairs to play animals.  I came down to feed Hailey.  Paige came back down and asked for "doggies."  I told her to get me the remote control and I would turn it on.  I had no idea where the remote was located.  I continued to feed Hailey and didn't pay attention to what Paige was doing.  All of a sudden I heard something fall.  The remote had fallen from the TV stand where Paige had placed her stool and climbed up to reach the remote.  She then climbed  down and brought me the remote.  I gladly turned on the movie and we again watched Lady & The Tramp.  I'm seeing so much engineer in her these day.  Scary, very scary, since I already live with one, which is really enough.  :) 

Bella Notte

"It's a beautiful night.."  This week we have been fighting colds and ear infections.  As a result, I have two outside craved little girls.  But it's been so cold that I just can't take them out in their condition.  So, I resorted to a DVD...Lady & The Tramp.  I haven't seen the movie since I was a kid and it's literally been on all day today.  Paige calls it "doggies!"  But as I watch it, the premise is oh so true.  It's about a little dog who was the "baby" of a couple until a human baby arrives.  It goes through all the changes of the couple and how the dog gets treated.  I can't help but compare it to our own situation with our special boy, Woolly Bugger.  He was truly our baby until Paige arrived and now that Hailey is here, he gets even less attention.  But he is still so, so good.  He lays around and plays with the girls all the time.  He still manages to greet us at the door and come up for snuggles and love once the girls are down.  He is still our special boy and we love him so.  Bella Notte Woolly B!  We love you very much.  PS...he even kinda looks like The Tramp!