Preschool Moms week of Aug 15th

[cchhbb]

I don't think the church officials told this woman not to talk to me, but I'm not sure. I do think she is the one who breached confidentality by going to the nursery director and telling her what I said during my small group session during bible study. I think I'm just going to let it go. It seems like this issue will not die. For my personal mental health, I just can't keep thinking about what happened. Her version of what happened is better than the one that I heard about. Instead of Garrett ending up in the parking lot he had just walked out the door and went down the side walk. Frankly, I don't think I will ever find out the truth about what happened. No 2 year old could accurately describe what happened. All I know is that he is safe.

I do think my church implemented some great security procedures after what happened to Garrett. I have spoken to the leadership many times about security. In the spring, I told them that I didn't think they had done enough and they then implemented some more significant security procedures.

Becky, I would have cried too. I think it is good to let kids see you disappointed you. It is also nice that she had some empathy and tried to comfort you. I totally understand what you are going through. Garrett had a tough time adjusting after Griffin was born. He does act out a lot more than before, is more clingy, has less patience. I think some of it is due to getting less sleep. I do think he has grown in so many ways though. He plays really well by himself, is starting to do little tasks and follows simple commands. Today we were at Costco and Garrett actually walked right next to me without trying to run away when we went back to buy and icecream. Garrett never asked me to take Griffin back to the hospital though. He just didn't really care about him until recently.

Joanne, I do like the idea of a play room and a sleeping room. Friends of ours implemented that several years ago. The kids seemed to like it. I saw something in Better Homes and Gardens a few months ago where they used storage stuff and curtains to make two rooms. I thought it was a great idea. I don't think I have the magazine though. Maybe you could hang a curtain down the center of the room that could be pulled if someone needed some privacy.

I did a Costco run today to prepare for the baptism party. I really need to get the house whipped into shape. I need to run to Pubix and buys some stuff for spinach balls and get them made and in the freezer. I ordered the shrimp tray today. I will send DH back to Costco on Saturday to do another shopping trip while I made cakes and all the food. I think I'm crazy to be having a party for 25 adults and 15 kids the week of the consignment sale. I also want to get Griffin's birth announcements printed up this week. They need to be manually fed through the printer so maybe I can get my dad to do that on Friday.

I spent an hour this morning calling people to work on getting enough volunteers. I played phone tag with a number of people. I still need about 15 volunteers to make the sale run efficiently.

Cheryl

[cchhbb]

Becky, we were posting at the same time.

Griffin ate about 3 ounces at a month. I agree with pumping right after the morning feeding worked great for me. It was tough to squeeze in a pumping session during the day. I often would feed Griffin at 5:30 or 6:00, bring him up to DH and take a shower, then go pump, then DH would get ready for work.

Becky, Griffin still eats every 2 1/2 - 3 hours during the day, and he's almost 4 months old. I think it works out to about 6 - 7 feedings a day. He does sleep a long time at night. Sometimes 12 hours straight, but usually 10 - 11.

I haven't been exercising at all since I had Griffin. I really need to get back into shape. Once Garrett is back in school, maybe I can squeeze in a session while Griffin is napping.

Griffin is being a pill about napping lately. He used to fall asleep on his own. Now he wants to nurse to sleep and then he wakes up after one sleep cycle. I went back to swaddling him this afternoon and he is doing much better. Frankly, I needed some time to get some stuff done. I really don't want to encourage the suck to sleep habit. He only wants to do it for naps. At night, we lay him down awake and he falls asleep really quickly. I think his reflux is bothering him during the day and he finds comfort by sucking, but I'm not sure.

I need to check if Garrett is asleep. I can't hear him in my office unless he's yelling. The printer hum drowns him out when he's talking to himself.

Cheryl

[BeckyM]

Kim -- (1h) Thanks for the info. I sure hope Megan doesn't eat that much at one feeding! I'd really like to avoid pumping after the mid-nighttime feeding! I can barely stumble back to bed after that.

Becky

[BeckyM]

Cheryl -- thanks for your info too. With Katie, I usually pumped between the first two feedngs of the day too. I think I actually increased my milk supply by doing it at that time consistently. I think I used to get 3-4 oz at a pumping once I had that established. It's just right now that I don't have my body used to that, and I don't want to pump too close to the next feeding and then not have enough for Megan when she's ready to nurse. Though I definitely think it's worth it, breastfeeding is much more complicated than I ever thought (before having kids) it would be!

Good luck with the baptism & consignment sale!

Becky

[nori]

Becky, I am sorry to hear about Katie's room wallpaper torn down. It does sound like Katie wanting to be a baby again, which is normal. When Noah was very much in baby-mood, I used to say things like, "But babies can't eat a pizza/ice cream etc. etc." "Babies can't play in the sandbox." to let him know that being a big boy is fun thing. And if he wanted to "act" like a baby for a while, I just let him. I also held him like a baby, or cuddle, whenever he wanted. But then, tried to remind him that being a big brother has it's own advantage, too. I can imagine it's very hard on them to have a new baby in the house...I am the oldest (I have a younger brother) and my mom told me that I used to say "Bring him back to the hospital! I don't want him!" which I don't remember. Noah's getting better to be a big brother and now he likes to be called "big brother".

Cheryl, tha'ts very disturbing. I'd either talk to her personally, or as you said, I'd let it go, since Garrett was safe, and good thing came out of this (better security system at the church). Sorry to find out about what your friend was holding all this time...I know how stressed you were over that incident, and it's very strange for her not to tell you anything (if she was a very close friend).

About sleeping issues......DH does story time, but I'm the one tuck him in the bed. And Noah always asks me "Do you want to sleep with me?" or "What are you doing???" Some nights I'd just rest next to him, but when I do that I'd eventually totally fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the night. Not that I don't like it, but the truth is I can't do that everynight...(I wish I could, htough) Some nights after kids go to sleep is the only time I can do some stuff around the house etc., so then I'd tell him "mommy has to go and get some stuff done." If Mary Ann is still awake, I'd tell him that I have to go to put her to sleep, then I'd come back. He started to skip naps more lately and when he doesn't nap, he fall asleep at night pretty quickly. Julia, is Abigail still taking a nap? Hope last night went better for all of you.

Lori, somehow I can't see the picture...but sorry you found out about the discount now. I hate that when that happens. :mad:
About shoe size..Noah's didn't grow much faster either. He didn't go through shoes like other moms described here on board. He's now wearing size 9. ON the other hand, Mary Ann's feet must be already bigger than Noah's were when he was her age. I got Robeez shoes (6-12months), which Noah used until he was pretty much close to 16 months but she already outgrew those, and has been wearing 12-18 moths since she was 11 months or so. I guess each child is different. I don't think you need to worry about it, though. As Kim said, it's nice not to have to buy too many shoes!!

Hi Erin!! How cute Hanne playing /reading in moonlight! How independent she is!!

SusanR, have a nice trip!!!!! And good luck about the closing. We're looking forward to hearing some good news.

Oh, and I googled Thomas and found the web site. Unfortunately they're not coming to where we live in near future...I'd bet Noah'd love it, though. For now, he has to be happy with the small red engine we have in town.

Joanne, playroom/sleep room idea sounds good. Hopefully boys buy that idea. Glad to know that it wasn't strep, and your family is again back on normal routine!

Haven't seen Helene for a while...is she on vacation or something?

Today I had a bad mommy moment. I guess I was physically tired, and Noah didn't take a nap although we tried. I just felt so overwhelmed and felt such a resentment toward him for no reason. He was just doing fine, not cranky, only my problem was he wasn't sleeping. But I should know better than that, that he'd probably getting close to outgrow his naps. Anyway, about 5 min. or so if I opened my mouth I was afraid I'd say something very mean, so I ignored him. He was asking for something to drink, but I just kept on doing things around the kitchen. I didn't even look down on his face. I was VERY mean. I needed a timeout then, but I couldn't even think of that at that time. But eventually I apologized him being such a mean mommy, and he was so sweet and he forgave me. Good thing kids are so forgiving. But sometimes my feeling gets out of control. Sigh....

We went to the grocery store today. He's a good friend with a guy who works at the produce section. Last time he asked what's his name, and we found out that his name is John. So he was calling him "Mr. John." Well today we got to the produce section and he loudly said, "Where's Mr. John?" I dodn't even think he remembered! There was another store clerk there, who's also nice, and she said he should be around, and she'd go check in the backroom. Then she came back with him, and "Mr. John" came to greet Noah. Noah was so excited to see him!

[HRJ]

Hey, I'm here! (Waving wildly). I've been lurking, but haven't had time to post -- things are very busy at work, with the academic year about to start, and,, for some reason, at home, too.

Every time I come to this thread, there's more and more I want to respond to, so I keep putting it off until I have more time .... (and, I ended up using a big chunk of my BB time getting involved in a "lively" discussion over on Other Stuff, probably against my better judgment ...) Anyway, will try to be back soon --

Take care, everyone!

Helene

[RunnerKim]

Nori that's so sweet about "Mr. John" I bet Noah has made his day. Nori I don't think you give yourself enough credit - you knew you needed not to talk and you didn't - that's not "very mean" in my book.

Cheryl you are a brave woman to be doing the consignment sale and Griffin's baptism/open house at the same time and still in "new mom" status. Impressive! I completely understand you need to vent and move on. As long as the church has implemented measures you're satisfied with, not much can come of rehashing the whole thing.

Had Jamie's 4 month appointment last night. He weiged in at 19lbs 11oz and 27" long So we're switching out his carseat this weekend. We had Lainey step on the scale while we were ther - 36 lbs. 12oz. I think that puts her around the 90%tile. At home I've quickly measured her with DH's tape meausre at 36".

We talked to the doctor a lot about asthma. She said that there's no guarantee Jamie'll will get it too but said she thought it likely (he had a wheezing episode a couple of weeks back). She thinks it's genetic factors even though there's no family history (I think asthma is much more readily diagnosed these days). Jamie has very mildly rough skin (mostly on his belly) -- I think she called it atopic dermititis. She says unfortunately that's one of the 3 indicators of asthma and even more unfortunately means he's less likely to outgrow it at age 6 as many kids do. I think Lainey had that same thing, she certainly had a handful of mild skin issues/ecezema. The 3 related things are wheezing, atopic dermatitis and hay fever (which doesn't present until kids are older - around 8 I think). Oh well. She reminded me that even Olympians have asthma and that the kids can and should do everything normally. If not then she's not treating it right. She cautioned against "coddling" (although she said she sees no signs of us doing that) she says some parents will overly-protect kids (with asthma or some other condition) and thus they grow up with lower self-esteem (feeling something is wrong with them) or believing they're sickly etc. I don't think we could coddle Lainey if we wanted too. She also made me feel better that it's highly unlikely that a life threatening situation would come on - it tends to build gradually. So I feel better about that.

Kim

Editing to add: Hi Helene - I've been reading the adopiton thread you're referring to and wanted to say I thought you've posted very helpful and insightful comments (and on the trollish person).

[Julia1Pin]

Kim - I can't beleive how strong you were with Lainey. I think I'm too weak to let the girls cry for an hour. What a great mom. I'm serious - it must have hurt you WAY!!! more then it hurt her.

Cheryl - That's great that Garrett will occupy himself for so long. That must be a total help with Griffin. And about your "firned" who didn't give you the full story. She doesn't sound like much of a friend. And I may be talking out of turn - but I don't know how much confidence I'd have in a church that tells someone to "stay away" from something like this. sorry, just my opinion, even though it could be wrong.

Becky - Bringing a 2nd baby home when your little one is still your "baby" is sooo hard. I'm sure the girls will get through it but it won't be too easy. Have you tried to bring a few of the "baby room" familiar toys or objects back into Katie's "big girl" room? Do you think that might help? Congratulations on being cleared for exercise (af all kinds ).

Joanne - Let us know how the room saga works out. What a dilemma. Would Colin want to share a room with Caitlyn?

Kim - how cute on the Thomas pull-ups! Abigail is soooo into princess (some other girls in school are too) and loves her princess big girl underwear! I'm assuming she'll want to be a princess for halloween.

Nori - Abgail takes nap everyday at school. All the kids do. It is getting harder to get her down on the weekends though
How sweet about "Mr. John". I'm sure the that made "John's" day

My Abigail saga:
First off, thanks to everyone for your advice. The first thing I did wass remain calm (thanks to you all). I think that probably helped the most We started getting read for bed at about 8:15pm. I told Abigail that we would read books. She said she wanted to read 5 books. I took 6 books and asked her where she wanted to sleep. She said our bed. That's fine for right now because it's fairly easy to move her into her bed once she falls asleep. Once I've got the crying out of the way I'll move this routine into her room. We read the 6 books together then I told her that if she still wanted to read that she could read to herself while I read my own book. She did that for 10 minutes or so. the she started saying that she wanted to watch Barney for 5 minutes. I told her no, that Barney was sleeping (I think TV watching in the evening may rile her up). She started whining and crying so I went and sat in the living room. After about 5-10 minutes I came back into the bedroom and held her and she laid on my and starting to fall asleep. I lay her down next to me and she fell asleep. This ended at 9:30pm. Yesterday was a bit better but she still started crying about Barney. She was asleep by 9:30 again. Hopefully I can start working on shortening our night time routine for her to be asleep by 9pm.

Again, thank you everyone!!

[JoanneOR]

Hi Helene! Glad all is well! I stopped over at that adoption thread you mentioned and OMG. What a horrible, nasty person. I can't believe that last comment she made. Anyway, I didn't want to post over there - but had to get that off my chest! I loved your insight in adoption.

Julia, sounds like bedtime went a bit smoother last night! I'm also taking my inspiration from Kim! Actually, last night Caitlyn asked to go to bed. We were outside and she started to get whiny so I knew she was tired. We get in the house and she started yelling at me that she wanted to go to bed. Quite a change of pace. And, she slept through the night till 7:30 this morning. I know better than to get my hopes up that this is a new trend, though!

Cheryl, you're right, what's important is that Garrett is safe and it's all behind you. You need to do what makes you feel most comfortable. If your friend had a different story that was actually worse, then I would be more concerned. It is kind of strange though, that she said she was told to "leave it alone."

Kim, sounds like Jamie and Lainey are both getting big! I think Caitlyn is around 30-31 pounds; I'm not sure how tall. I'm sure it's discouraging to hear that Jamie may also develop asthma, but it sounds like your doctor is really on top of things and will do what's best as far as treatment and preventive measures.

Thanks for the room advice. We've haven't decided what to do. The play room/sleep room is a good idea; I just don't think any of the rooms we have are big enough for all three to sleep together. Ian and Colin have bunkbeds, so we can't really separate the room into two. I did suggest to DH that Colin and Caitlyn could share, but he said "boys and girls can't share a room." I think it would be fine as long as it didn't bother them. Once they get older, I'd switch them, but for a few years at least I think it would be fine. Actually I think Caitlyn would really enjoy it. But, DH doesn't seem to want to budge on that one.

Nori, that's cute about Mr. John. I'm sure "Mr. John" was very flattered to have Noah asking for him. And, like Kim, said, I think you did the right thing by not saying anything when you were feeling like that with Noah. You stopped yourself from saying something that you might not have really wanted to say or didn't mean and instead stayed quiet until you felt better. That's a good thing! Sometimes when I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, like when the kids are all asking for different things at the same time, I'll tell them Mommy needs a time out and I'll go into another room for a few minutes.

[LA98]

Julia, you did great! (So did Abigail!) Even though she did some fussing and crying, it sounds like it was much calmer than that really bad night you had. Last night I was thinking I had jinxed myself by talking about Brian making progress because he had a tougher time falling asleep than the last few nights. He fell asleep at 9:30 (I had turned out the lights at 8:30), he woke up crying an hour later for just a few minutes, and then he woke up at around 6:30 this morning! YAY! Now if I only I could've slept through the night. I am just sooo programmed to wake up after all this time.

Kim, did the doctor explain what the link is between eczema and asthma? I just don't get what a skin condition has to do with respiratory issues. Brian doesn't have that, but I always get asked if he does and I've wondered about it. And wow, what a big boy Jamie is!

Nori, I think the Imagestation site is down, that's where I put the photo of the excavator. Hopefully you'll be able to see it when it comes back. And in my opinion, I think choosing to "ignore" for a couple of minutes instead of saying something you'd regret is what a *good* mommy does. And I like that you called it a time-out, I'm going to remember that the next time I need a "Mommy time-out"!!!

Helene, just wanted to say that you wrote an eloquent and informative post on that adoption thread. I was so outraged, I was working on a reply when I noticed that it had been closed off. Just as well, I guess -- a plea of common human decency wouldn't work on a person like that.

One happy note for us: Brian's speech therapist this morning said that she thinks we'll be ending therapy relatively soon (he was supposed to continue until age 3). The words are flying out of him fast and furious lately, so whatever the reason for his delay, it doesn't seem to matter anymore. I am having a ball listening to all his new words, it's so much fun. Well, except for the one he came out with last night in the bath: the dreaded "no!"

[RunnerKim]

Julia- I'm so glad your nights have gone better!

Joanne - I asked DH more about his room sharing as a child and he said they changed about every year or so, with each person getting to have the bedroom to himself on a rotating basis. The girl didn't get a turn until she was 8 when FIL agreed it was appropriate. DH thought he and his older brothers got the room by themself twice but the youngest child (boy) only got it once. There's 5 kids within 7.5 years, the girl being the 2nd youngest - so the youngest boy didn't have much opportunity to be by himself. I remember sharing a room with my younger sister and desperately wanting my own space (and my parents were able to work it out) so I can sympathize with Colin. Hey you could have 2 more kids and then everyone would have to share!

Lori - you got me thinking so I did a little research (love the Internet!). The 3 linked things are: asthma, eczema and hay fever. (I had in my mind as asthma being the big thing and there were 3 predictors for it - but that was my own bias making me misunderstand what the doctor was saying). Hay fever does not show up until kids reach around age 8. They're related because they are all allergic conditions. Atopic dermatitis is a type of eczema (skin inflammation). I never would have said that either of my kids had skin issues (not like I know Nori's talked about with Noah for example). Some minor skin irritations, but nothing that has needed treatment - the doctor noticed it though and was probably looking for it because of the asthma history. So although one seems to respiratory, another skin they're both allergy issues that appear to have a strong link. It's a little confusing to read about all this because I think there are different terms that mean basically the same thing. I think eczema and dermatitis are equivalent for example. And I think allergic rhinitis and hay fever are the same thing. Anyway I think that should answer your question. And the good news for you is if Brian doesn't have either of the other 2 conditions then he's much more likely to outgrow the asthma (age 6 - and I also think the teenage years/puberty is antoher time when kids outgrow it).

and Yeah on Brian's speech progress!
Kim

[Molli526]

Joanne - I am one of 4, 3 girls & 1 boy.

The 3 girls always did the room rotation of who shared, and who got their own room. Maybe since Colin doesn't care, he can always share unless he asks to have his own room. We would switch rooms ~ 4 months. It was always fun b/c we arranged furniture etc. I think if you explain it to Jameson that it is Ian's turn and in so many months, he can his own room again, he wouldn't think it was so bad.

[Julia1Pin]

Kim - That's great that the kids are getting so big! It seems like they are pretty much leading the pack in all indicators (at least I remember thinking that Lainey was for more advanced verbally than Abigail) so it's doesn't seem like their wheezing and asthma has hampered them at all. Having said that, I am sending you a virtual hug because as a mom I know you never want your kids going through anything unpleasant <<<<hug>>>>

[cchhbb]

thanks for the insight on the person bringing a new version of Garrett's getting lost. I don't really consider this person to be a friend of mine. We were in the same small group of our Bible Study last year. I don't think it was the church officials who told her not to mention things. I have decided not to speak to her about it, but part of me would really like to know who advised her to stay out of it.

Julia, I'm so glad bedtime went better last night. I think you did the right thing by deciding on your limits up front.

Yea, on Brian sleeping through the night.

Kim, I'm so sorry about the asthma diagnosis. Jamie is huge though. Garrett didn't weigh that much at 1 year. I'm holding out hope that your kids outgrow it. I remember when Garrett grew too tall for his infant seat and couldn't sit up that well. I mourned the loss of the infant car seat, although it must be heavy carrying him in it.

Garrett is getting so independent. Thank you for suggesting putting him in the underpants and putting away the training pants. Since we have done that he's stayed dry. We are on 5 days straight. He also pooped in the potty today. Twice he took himself to the bathroom all by himself. I just found him in there sitting on the potty. The second time he told me he pooped and I was so surprised when I looked in the toliet and saw it. I think you all could have heard how happy I was. Now if I could just teach him to aim properly I'd have it made. Thanks for the encouragement. I think he will do just fine at preschool in September. I was worrying for nothing.

DH is coming home at 5 today to take Garrett to the pool. Our pool is on limited hours due to the lifeguards being back at school. We're trying to squeeze in as much swimming as we can.

Garrett and I got haircuts. He was really tired and didn't want to sit still. He came home and asked to take a shower. I put him in there before his nap so he could get the hair off him. He would have stood there all day if I let him. I can only imagine the amount of hot water he's going to go through when he's a teanager.

Cheryl

[HRJ]

My mother's helper was supposed to come this afternoon/evening, so I thought I'd be able to get in some time to post, but turns out she's not feeling well. So I'm going to try getting this post done, and see how long I can manage. Sorry if I don't get a chance to respond to everyone. (Actually, at this moment, my child is throwing a tantrum, and I'm determined not to pay attention .... )

Kim, wow, your kids are big!! Sorry you're worried about Jamie and asthma -- but it does sound like you're doctor is on top of things...


Oh, this isn't going to work -- I'm going to go take care of what's going on here. Hope to be back later!

H.

[tbb113]

Cheryl - they make 'tinkle targets' to help little boys (or big boys for that matter) with their aim. You can probably do the same thing with pieces of tissues torn up for Garrett to sink.

[tomboy]

Hello, everybody!

I had no idea ya'll were over here. I usually just check out the recipes, KWIM? Do you mind if I jump in? My name is Shelley and I have 3 kids - my youngest is 3 y/o. I'm a Texas SAHM chasing Marie around all day while my boys are at school. You'd think while the boys are gone there'd be some down-time, but not with Princess Marie!

I have recently started compiling quality website for preschoolers; especially educational websites. There ended up being so many great free sites out there, but in such an unorganized mess, that I created a preschooler blog. Each day I'm posting a great find website that Marie really digs. If you are interested, please feel free to check it out. Again, this blog will be updated at least once daily:

http://prekabc.blogspot.com/

Anyway, I look forward to getting to know ya'll!

Shel

[valchemist]

Hello, everybody!

If you are interested, please feel free to check it out. Again, this blog will be updated at least once daily:

http://prekabc.blogspot.com/

Anyway, I look forward to getting to know ya'll!

Shel

thanks, shel! I am all over your blog. found lots of stuff my 3 1/2 year old will like.

[tomboy]

thanks, shel! I am all over your blog. found lots of stuff my 3 1/2 year old will like.

That's great! Thanks for letting me know. I've got a bunch of other quality stuff to add, I'm just pacing it a bit. I figure if I put too much at once (like more than one or two posts a day), then it'll get too long for moms to really explore.

Thanks, again,

Shel

[nori]

Welcome Shel, and thanks for sharing your site. That looks very useful, and I'm looking forward to browsing when I have more time. It was so cute about Marie's comment about purple crocodile!

Hi Val!!! Um, haven't seen for a while and didn't have so much time to read through other posts....congrats on your second baby!!! How exciting!!

Helene, I had to go over to Other Stuff board to read THAT thread. How awful that person was!! :mad: I think it is important and should be a rule to not to hurt someone's feelings and insult someone like that. That's different from stating your own opinion. I loved your insights. Well said!

Yay Garrett!!! I wish I cuold say the same about Noah soon....

Julia, glad to hear that your night went better. Just remember to be patient, and I'm sure Abigail will get it soon. Seems like in her case delaying the bedtime works better? Crossing fingers for more smooth bedtime routine!

Kim and Lori, I used to have asthma as a kid and I also have atopic dermatitis. I outgrew asthma but I still have dermatitis and it IS annoying. As for my kids, as you know Noah still does have some itchy spots here and there but not as bad as I used to have as a kid. And cream the doctor prescribed has been helping, and the rash won't appear so often. He seems to itch his neck or back of knees, especially when he's hot and sweating. But he hasn't had any major sign of asthma yet...oh, that's not true, last Thanksgiving he had wheezing and coughing in Texas while visiting families there....but not as often that we had to take him to ER or even doctor visit for that. Mary Ann hasn't shown any sign of anything yet which I'm very glad, considering my history. But I believe she has more tender skin. I know it's very stressful and overwhelming to think of dealing of those with your kids, but as they get older, it gets better (from my experience). Sounds like, Kim, you have a good doctor and I'm sure she's going to make sure Lainey and Jamie are going to get a proper care.

Yay on brian's progress on his speech!!

Joanne, I had to do "mommy timeout " today, too. It was just a few minutes but I went in my room and locked the door (while Mary Ann was napping, and Noah was getting too much, trying to get my whole attention which I can't blame). I told him I just need some timeout. He didn't complain, but looked sad, but didn't bother by banging the door etc. When I came out, he was sitting outside of the door and a bit weeping. I felt bad, but as some of you here said, it was better than speak up some regrettable words or being nasty unreasonably.

Today I took kids to Picture People (I know this place isn't all that popular, but we had a coupon and I wanted to try it once, at least) to take birthday picture. August is both their birthdays and I thought it's a good time to do studio photo. It was morning appointment, and kids were happy, playing around. But once the session started, it turned out that they weren't so used to the setting or something but Noah didn't really smile, until they took the plop(firetruck) out, and he seemed uneasy while I was on teh camera side. As for Mary Ann, she was so clingy to me and didn't want to be there alone or with her brother. Somehow she managed to take some shots before she started to crawl toward me, but I was a bit dissapointed....not that those pictures didn't turn out well, but I thought the photos I take casually at home are better showing their characters than ones we got today...I don't know, I guess I was expecting more "Happy smile, all the way" from both kids. Oh well. The experience there was okay, not super. I thought the staff (the lady who took the pictures) could have done a bit better, entertaining kids, though. She probably did her best, but didn't talk to me much to talk about how/what kind of pictures I had in my mind etc., and she scared Mary Ann to death by that colorful feathers they had and made her cry. Okay, it's probably not her fault, though. I guess my kids can't be models.....not really cooperative for photo shots!!

[cchhbb]

Nori, I wouldn't be too upset that Noah isn't interested in using the potty. One of the preschool teachers told me she rarely sees a boy potty trained before 3. My bestfriends twins turn 3 next week and they aren't interested in using the potty either.

I'm so sorry that the picture session didn't turn out very well. I'm taking the boys on Monday to Sears to get some pictures taken. I need to schedule that appointment today. I decided to wait until my mom was here to help me manage both kids. With Garrett wearing underpants we need to be ready to run to the bathroom with very little notice.

Question to you all: Garrett was invited to a birthday party on Tuesday and isn't going since I have set-up for the consignment sale. Should I still send a gift? It's the son of my neighbor and frankly, we rarely see them. I don't think Garrett has had a playdate with the boy since last year since they attend preschool on different days.

Shel, Welcome. I need to check out the website. I want to find some crafts for Garrett to do.

I still need to clean the porch up before the party. Garrett loves to play out there so I'm waiting until tomorrow to whip it into shape. It has been raining so much here that he rarely gets outside to play.

I also need to go grocery shopping before the party. I have a ton of stuff to buy. I expect I'll have to make 2 trips to Costco, one to Publix and one to party city before the party. Plus make a ton of food. My mom and dad will be here by lunchtime so they should be able to help with some of this stuff. The cleaning lady is coming sometime today.

I want to set the table today for the party and cover it with a sheet. I won't get home from church until 12 on Sunday and the open house starts at 1:00. I'm still waiting on the final count too. I have 15 families who haven't responded. The RSVP is for today so hopefully they will call. Frankly, I think most of them will not attend.

Tomorrow will be a very busy day. Hopefully, DH will keep Garrett and Griffin entertained, but I know he wants to stain the window frames in the great room before the party. He also needs to mow the lawn and blow.

Tyra, I have a friend who uses cheerios for her targets. Garrett is still sitting and when he gets himself on he doesn't always move back far enough so he's peeing on the seat.

Helene, we've missed hanging out with you. Hope Victor is doing well. My mother's helper went back to school this week and doesn't want to work in the afternoon.

I can't wait for Garrett to get back into the routine of preschool. I think it will be really good for him and I want to have a little time to myself and Griffin. During Griffin's morning naps during September, I want to clean out the basement. It's a major disaster. We just keep putting things down there. I still have unopened boxes from when we moved in 4 years ago. Our town has a big trash clean-up October 1 and I'd like to have the place whipped into shape by then.

I probably won't be posting much over the next week with the baptism and the consignment sale going on. Talk to you all soon.
Cheryl

[RunnerKim]

Whaddya mean Cheryl - no time to post? Not like you're doing that much next week Have a great week and I hope it all goes smoothly and that Griffin cooperates with the bottle and your parents!

Welcome Shel! Looks like a fun and very useful resource, thanks for sharing.

Nori thanks for sharing your personal experiences with asthma. It's comforting to hear. Your trip to the photo studio is why I haven't done it yet. Lainey has had her picture taken once when a photographer came to her daycare and it was a neat photo (taken in the park across the street, in B&W) so I bought it. In my *not so* humble opinion I get pretty good photos of the kids. One thing my kids are not is under-photographed. I just sent a packet of photos off to my MIL that's for only half of this month (normally I do it monthly) and there were over 2 dozen photos in it. I keep telling myself to take less photos but I can't seem to help myself.

Helene - wasn't that the last day your helper was going to be able to make it too? (with school starting). Sorry you didn't get it. Hope today is more sane for you.

Happy Friday everyone!
Kim

[LA98]

Kim, just a quick thank you for clearing up my confusion about eczema and asthma. It makes a lot more sense now knowing that eczema is an allergic condition. Here's hoping our kids will grow out of it!

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Lori

[BeckyM]

Hi All! Just a quick note while I have a moment. Katie is in her room for her nap, but she's not yet asleep. Megan is on the boppy pillow on my lap sleeping -- I'm trying an experiment so I can actually type two-handed while still "holding" her. So far so good. She could wake up hungry any moment though, so I may have to end this post quickly.

Helene -- after everyone's comments, I just had to check out the thread you all had mentioned. I too thought you had some very eloquent thoughts & explanations. I especially appreciated how you explained that couples going through adoption often first need to go through a grieving process for the biological child they won't have. That had never occurred to me before. Your posts definitely have given me a greater understanding and appreciation of what couples who adopt are going through. And phooey on the person who posted all those insults! I come to this board because people are so nice and understanding. If that person thought so poorly of everyone else here, why bother posting at all? Anyway, we've missed you -- sorry your mother's helper couldn't come. Hope once the school year gets going, things will settle into a routine, and you'll be able to post more.

Cheryl -- good luck with all you have going on this week! You sound very well-organized.

Nori -- I think the mom's time out sounds like a good idea. I agree it's much better to recognize when you need a moment to yourself and to actually take it rather than saying something you'll regret to your kids. I'll need to remember that when I find myself losing patience.

By the way, I brought up the idea of Katie's birthday with Katie today. I told her that her birthday would be coming in about a month (though I'm sure she doesn't really know what a month is). She got excited and asked if she could have ice cream and cake. I told her that when her birthday gets here, she can definitely have cake and ice cream. I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, telling her I could make it in a shape like an animal or something else she might want. She said, "Can you make my cake shaped like a goat?" I told her yes, though I thought that was a pretty odd thing to come up with. We discussed it more later, and I told her I could make another animal too, like a lion. She was pretty excited about that and told me she wanted a lion instead of a goat. I'm sure she'll change her mind several times, so maybe I'll find pictures of a few cakes I think are cute, then ask her to pick from them. I bet that will make it easier.

On the "potty" front -- we're thinking about trying underwear with Katie soon. DH and the lead teacher in Katie's room at daycare were discussing it the other day, and they both think (and I agree) that Katie has enough physical control to use the toilet if she wants to. We were thinking maybe if she has an incentive (like not wanting to get her underwear and clothes wet), she can do it. She actually does fairly well at night -- often waking up with a dry diaper, or waking up in the night to use the toilet (with a dry diaper) and then having a dry diaper in the morning. This morning she didn't want to use the toilet when I asked her (I think she may have just gone in her diaper), but then she went all morning until her nap with a dry diaper. I think she just needs the proper motivation, and DH and I need to be committed to reminding her and TELLING her rather than asking her when it's time to use the toilet. I'm not sure exactly when we'll try this, but DH was thinking of this weekend. I think when he said that, he forgot he'll be alone (for the first time) with both girls tomorrow morning for a while. That may curb his enthusiasm.

I'm actually doing a pretty cool thing tomorrow morning, that some of you might find interesting. There's a business that just started here in town called "Dream Dinners". Apparently it's a franchise that's at least somewhat national, though I'm not sure how widespread. Anyway, they have a set-up where you go prepare entrees to put in your freezer to have ready-made meals during the month. Each month they have a new menu of options, so you order ahead which ones you want and which date & time you want to go. When you get there, they have stations set up for each dish, with all the pre-cut & prepared ingredients just waiting for you to put them together. They supply freezer ziploc bags, aluminim pans, labels with instructions, etc. I went last month and made 6 entrees (you can do 6 or 12), and so far we've liked all of them. They're fairly healthy, and as you're making them, you can leave out ingredients if you don't like them. They also use lower fat dairy products, chicken breast, etc. Anyway, I'm going tomorrow morning to assemble 12 entrees. It will be so great to have them in the freezer for nights I just can't come up with the time or energy to make something (which has gotten to be most nights). If you're interested, you should maybe check and see if there's one in your area. The website is www.dreamdinners.com.

Oh, and I almost forgot the most exciting thing -- my sister is coming to visit for a week. She arrives Saturday evening and stays until the following Saturday. She lives in Montana, so we don't get to see her very often. She's coming to meet her newest niece and to help us out for a week. It will be fun to spend time with her! Usually when we're together, there are all sorts of other family members to consider (like her husband & step-kids, our parents, etc.), so it will be nice just to have some sister bonding time. She also has gotten into a very good fitness routine and is quite disciplined about it, so I'm hoping some of that rubs off on me!

Oh, and welcome Shel (tomboy)! I haven't had a chance to check out your blog yet, but I'm sure it will be helpful. Glad you could join us! Hopefully you'll start posting more often now and get to know us.

Megan is starting to stir, so I'd better sign off. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Becky

[HRJ]

I'm back. Whew.

Kim, at this point my mother's helper is planning to stay once school begins, as long as she can fit it into her schedule and it's not affecting her school work. (She's in junior high school.)

She's also been babysitting for us occasionally in the evenings -- we've got her scheduled for tomorrow night, because we want to go see the "March of the Penguins" movie.

BTW, I was in an independent bookstore near my office, and saw they carry "Simple Scrapbooking" -- I think that was the title? So I'll keep my eyes open for that fall issue you mentioned.

Cheryl, I'm late chiming in on this, but I agree it's probably best not to pursue the issue with the woman from your church. Good luck with the baptism party, and your consignment sale -- what a lot to tackle. Sounds like the party is going to be very nice.

And congrats on Garrett's potty success. When Victor was peeing sitting down (he's now standing), DH spent some time with him showing him how to point himself downward and aim into the toilet. Maybe your DH could give Garrett a couple of "lessons"?

For the birthday party -- I wouldn't feel it necessary to send a gift. There were several kids who were unable to come to Victor's b'day party -- they didn't send gifts, and I didn't expect them to. Frankly, I was relieved that they didn't -- most kids end up getting so much "birthday loot" that another package, arriving from someone they don't even know that well, just adds to the overall "stuff overload," I think.

Lori, congrats on Brian's speech success! It's so great when they overcome whatever was holding them back, and the words start pouring out.

Joanne, I have no personal experience with room-sharing (only two kids in my family, and we had a 3-bedroom house), but it sounds like moving Jameson in with Colin, at least for a while, might be a good idea. And, at their ages, I don't think there'd be anything wrong with Colin and Caitlyn sharing a room. My friend who has boy/girl twins has them in a room together, even though there are other bedrooms in the house.

Susan, you've probably already closed on your house in Virginia by now -- Good Luck!! Wishing you and your family much happiness as your adventure moves to the next phase!

Nori, thanks for asking about me. Sorry you were having a bad day the other day -- there are definitely times when we need a "mommy time out." And sorry the pictures didn't come out as good as you'd hoped. We've never taken Victor to a studio for pictures, but they do take professional pictures at the day-care once a year. Both times they've done it, they have come out really, really well -- a pleasant surprise. (The photographer comes to the school and takes the pictures outside in the playground.) They also take a class picture, which is a nice keepsake to have -- in this year's picture, Victor is right in the center of the front row (probably because he's the shortest boy), and he's got this great big smiling grin on his face -- he told me it was because the photographer pulled out a toy bear and put it on his head. A lot of the kids didn't really laugh at that, but Victor is still amused by that kind of thing.

Julia, haven't had a chance to read way back to the beginning of this thread, but it sounds like you've been having sleep problems with Abigail. Sorry to hear that -- sleep issues are something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Becky, sorry about Katie's wallpaper -- as an older sister myself, I can understand where she was coming from, though (not that that excuses it ....). My brother and I are 2 1/2 years apart, and I apparently spend much of the time after he was born telling my parents to either take him back to the hospital, or, more often, to "trade" him for a sister!

Shel, good to "meet" you. Can't wait to check out those links!


After going for a very long time without significant tantrums or meltdowns, Victor has re-discovered them. The past week or so, he's had a major event at least once a day. I'm wondering if he's going through some sort of developmental stage or something that's getting him all agitated? Yesterday (when I was trying to post), it was a tantrum over wanting another snack. Lately, he's gotten into this habit where he asks for a snack (which he can have, as long as it's something healthy) -- then he takes like two bites, and throws the rest in the trash, and then asks for something else a few minutes later.

So this afternoon, he had his regular snack when he got home from day-care, and then about 15 minutes later he asked for an apple. I give it to him; he takes two bites and goes to throw it in the trash. I told him: "if you don't want to finish the apple, put it down for later, but if you throw it out, you can't have anything else until dinner." He gets this look on his face, and throws the apple into the trash really forcefully. Then not 10 minutes later, he comes over and asks for peanut butter & crackers. I told him no. He launches into a full-scale tantrum.

I am puzzled, because he hasn't acted this way for a while -- it's like every afternoon/evening, he's looking to "pick a fight." (not always about his snack, but usually about something that I didn't think was an issue anymore) :mad:

Took Victor and his friends bowling for the first time the other day -- they had fun, but lost interest after 2-3 frames. The other kids' mother and I ended up finishing the game, while the kids played hide-and-seek under the chairs. Here in New England, they have something called "candlepin bowling," which is played with short, narrow pins (think tapered candles) and a small ball, a little bigger than a bocce ball. It's much easier for kids, but adults play candlepin, too.

I've signed Victor up for T-ball this coming fall -- it's on Saturday mornings; his best friend frpm preschool will be doing it with him. I hope he likes it.

This weekend Victor has a b'day part to attend on Saturday. Sunday, there's a "bees and butterflies" program at a botanical garden not far from here, and also a "corn and tomato festival" at a nearby farm -- I'd like to do either of those things. I think Victor/DH would prefer the bee/butterflies thing, but I'd also like to pick up some heirloom tomatoes -- maybe we can squeeze both in.

Good to be back -- have a good weekend, everyone!

Helene

[RunnerKim]

Cheryl - I forgot to answer you about the gift until I saw Helene respond. I agree that you don't need to provide a gift. I haven't for parties Lainey's been invited to but we didn't go.

Helene you also reminded me that I should look in to soccer for Lainey in the fall - since she'll be 3, I think there's classes for her. I did sign her up for her first "real" swim class. My sister signed her boys up for the same time slot so I'm hoping I can go over to the lap pool and swim - I'm thinking it would be better for Lainey if I'm not right there b/c she'll either want me in the pool with her or will refuse to get in.

Becky - I want to see you make a goat cake! That is kind of a funny selection. I think showing her a few choices is a good idea!

Kim

[tbb113]

Both soccer and t-ball are really fun to watch at the 3 and 4 year old range. Soccer was loving known as 'bunch ball' since none of the kids would stay in a position and everyone runs after the ball at the same time (except of course for Alex who refused to move AT ALL ... he didn't play again ). T-Ball is fun too, especially for the kid that runs to 3rd instead of first, or the one that runs straight to 2nd (through the pitcher mound). Or the out fielders that turn their backs to the game to watch something else.

God, I'm glad I'm past that stage Really ehjoy it while you can.

[lhall]

Joanne,

My older brother and I shared a room for a couple of years. My little brother was a surprise, so we shared a room while he was little. We were 7 & 5 when he was born.

Leigh

[BeckyM]

Kim -- if I make a goat cake, I will DEFINITELY post pictures. Maybe I could find instructions for a horse and modify it slightly? I have no idea where she came up with a goat. We haven't even been talking about goats lately. I'll have to see if I can get her excited about something else, like the lion.

Cheryl -- I agree a present is not necessary if Garrett is not going to the party.

Hmmm, soccer. I think we'll wait at least another year. I can just see Katie stomping her feet at the coach, saying, "I don't WANT to kick the ball! Want to THROW it!" We've contemplated some sort of "tumbling" class for her, but we haven't really looked into it yet.

Speaking of little kid soccer, we have a fairly un-athletic neice who played soccer at about age 4. When DH asked her what position she played, she would always tell him "louderback". We were never sure if she just misunderstood, or if the coach made up that position for her because she talked so much. And when asked how she liked soccer, she would say, "I like it all except for the hustling!"

Have a great weekend, all!

Becky

[HRJ]

Oh, BTW everyone -- I was at Costco the other day, and they had lots of Halloween costumes for $10.99. I looked them over, and figured I'd tell Victor about some of them and ask which one he wanted -- I thought he'd like either the dinosaur, dragon, bat or bumblebee. He told me he wants to be the bumblebee, so I'll try to stop by again next week.

They also had a rack of Disney Princess costumes for about $15.

Becky, I'm interested to hear how you find Dream Dinners. Somone posted on Great Food about a new Dream Dinners that opened not too far from me. I looked at their website -- I'm thinking of going, was thinking of posting to see if any other Boston-area BBers wanted to go at the same time. But I think I'd only do the package of six dinners, instead of 12 -- there just didn't seem to be 12 different things on their menu that I was interested in making.

H.