much shorter post below - we all get the idea by now. :)
10:45, 1:30, 4:15, 6:15 - feedings - a bit more snacking going on last night, could not really wake him up enough to eat a full meal. He was teh one who woke up, not me...we'll have to have a talk about that this morning. :)
6:35 - 7:45 - Shower, coffee, get ready time for me.
7:45 - 8:15 - Carl works out and I get Matthew up and talk with him upstairs.
8:15 - Get John up and open his Easter basket! He liked the Dinosaur sticker book the best at first, but I think he will really like the music CD as soon as I can play it for him. The candy... no big deal. :):
8:30 - Make breakfast (dino oatmeal and an orange) while Matthew is in his swing (awake).
9:00 - feed Matthew, get John ready, Daddy get ready, leave for Nana's
10:00 - 6:00 - At Nana and Da's for Easter Sunday. Matthew slept in Nana's arms, Da's arms or in his swing the vast majority of the day. With the exception of eating every 3 hours on the dot and then for about 30 minutes while we were outside playing.
We had a great day dying easter eggs (3 dozen!), decorating easter eggs and hunting easter eggs. John laid down for a nap, but we woke him up after an hour becuase the weather was set to be bad, and wanted him to swim and hunt eggs.
Lunch was a shrimp salad with avacado, tomato and cucumbers (McDonalds for John) and dinner was BBQ chicken, potato salad, deviled eggs, and garlic bread. YUMMY!
6:00 - Feed Matthew and then head home for bath and bed. MAtthew did not want to give it up, so he slept in his swing until 10:00 and then we all went to bed.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
A Week in the Life: 3YO and 6WO - Saturday
1:45, 4:45 feedings
7:15 - 9:00 - Feed Matthew and then cuddle for a while until I hear "Mama, I am ready to wake up", the kids will NOT get out of his bed on his own. Matthew and I go up and play on John's bed for awhile, then head downstairs for breakfast (toast with PB and honey, banana and carnation chocolate milk).
9:00 - 10:00 Daddy wakes up and we eat breakfast and drink coffee. Matthew is in his swing and Daddy and John head upstairs to play. John just has this mischievous attitude this morning... could be an interesting day.
10:00 - 11:00 - Feed Matthew and then all four of us upstairs playing in the playroom. Daddy and John rough housing makes me nervous. :)
11:00 - Nap time for Matthew. Daddy hangs out and John and I go upstairs to do excerises! This is DAY ONE Of P90x for me! YIPPEE! I am ready to have a full wardrobe again.
12:00 - down stairs for lunch. Daddy and I have leftovers and John has chicken nuggets, soy beans, cheese, crackers and blueberries.
1:00 - nap time for the whiny baby that is John. Eating time for Matthew and work out time for Daddy.
1:30 - 2:15 asleep almost instantly in the swing but just for a short nap.
2:15 - 2:45 - play on the floor, with LOTS of yawns. So back in the swing.
2:45 - 3:30 - shower for me, swing time for Matthew. John is up at 3:30! Daddy went to the store to get ingredients for a dinner he is making tonight! WOO HOO!
3:30 - 5:00 - play with John upstairs. When Daddy gets home, John and him clean a WHOLE lot of mussels.
5:00 - 7:00 Feed Matthew, eat dinner (whole wheat spaghetti with tomatoes, zucchini and mussels in a white wine sauce for us and carrots, yogurt, blueberries, turkey and bagel with honey for John), spend an hour walking, rocking, laying, swinging, playing, sitting, dancing and anything else I can possibly do to make Matthew happy. Not a great evening for him. Quick bath for John, downstairs to do chores, and then he got his wall fish stickers because he did his chores all week long.
7:00 - 8:00 Matthew's bedtime routine, he did the whole screaming thing again while he ate, so I am not sure how much he actually got. He was asleep by 7:45 or so. John went to bed, Carl got the truck inside for more bad weather, I fed the dogs, went back to comfort Matthew two times, etc.
8:00 - 8:30 - clean the kitchen, make Easter basket, have an evening.
7:15 - 9:00 - Feed Matthew and then cuddle for a while until I hear "Mama, I am ready to wake up", the kids will NOT get out of his bed on his own. Matthew and I go up and play on John's bed for awhile, then head downstairs for breakfast (toast with PB and honey, banana and carnation chocolate milk).
9:00 - 10:00 Daddy wakes up and we eat breakfast and drink coffee. Matthew is in his swing and Daddy and John head upstairs to play. John just has this mischievous attitude this morning... could be an interesting day.
10:00 - 11:00 - Feed Matthew and then all four of us upstairs playing in the playroom. Daddy and John rough housing makes me nervous. :)
11:00 - Nap time for Matthew. Daddy hangs out and John and I go upstairs to do excerises! This is DAY ONE Of P90x for me! YIPPEE! I am ready to have a full wardrobe again.
12:00 - down stairs for lunch. Daddy and I have leftovers and John has chicken nuggets, soy beans, cheese, crackers and blueberries.
1:00 - nap time for the whiny baby that is John. Eating time for Matthew and work out time for Daddy.
1:30 - 2:15 asleep almost instantly in the swing but just for a short nap.
2:15 - 2:45 - play on the floor, with LOTS of yawns. So back in the swing.
2:45 - 3:30 - shower for me, swing time for Matthew. John is up at 3:30! Daddy went to the store to get ingredients for a dinner he is making tonight! WOO HOO!
3:30 - 5:00 - play with John upstairs. When Daddy gets home, John and him clean a WHOLE lot of mussels.
5:00 - 7:00 Feed Matthew, eat dinner (whole wheat spaghetti with tomatoes, zucchini and mussels in a white wine sauce for us and carrots, yogurt, blueberries, turkey and bagel with honey for John), spend an hour walking, rocking, laying, swinging, playing, sitting, dancing and anything else I can possibly do to make Matthew happy. Not a great evening for him. Quick bath for John, downstairs to do chores, and then he got his wall fish stickers because he did his chores all week long.
7:00 - 8:00 Matthew's bedtime routine, he did the whole screaming thing again while he ate, so I am not sure how much he actually got. He was asleep by 7:45 or so. John went to bed, Carl got the truck inside for more bad weather, I fed the dogs, went back to comfort Matthew two times, etc.
8:00 - 8:30 - clean the kitchen, make Easter basket, have an evening.
Friday, April 22, 2011
A Week in the Life: 3YO and 6WO - Friday
12:00, 3:00, 5:00 feedings. I spend most of the feedings checking email, facebook, words with friends, blog reading, app shopping, making to-do lists, etc. I know this is not ideal. If he is awake during the day with his eyes open, I do talk and interact with him. But if his eyes are closed, how does he know what I am doing?! :)
5:45 - Matthew back down and grunts until about 6:15.
6:30 - 7:00 Carl is up getting ready for the day. It is Good Friday and his office is closed, but he has a little work to tend to this morning. I am typing blogs, drinking coffee, doing my normal wake up, alone time thing. :)
7:00 - The grunting begins again, I decide to go get him. we cuddle on the couch. he was not ready to get up. he falls asleep on my chest and then when I lay him down at 7:30 in the moses basket, he stays asleep.
7:30 - 8:00 - John is awake. We get up and he makes another game up with these 5 little cars and racing them back and forth on the glass table. Then I head downstairs to make breakfast (blueberry waffles and a pear).
8:00 - Matthew eats and then lays back down for a bit while John and I unload the dishwasher (one of his chores for this week) and clean the kitchen up.
8:30 - 10:00 Matthew is awake and the four of us play on the floor, put together puzzles, look at photo albums, play and dance while I pump, and just be together.
10:00 - 11:00 John colors on the ipad and Matthew is having a little swing time. Once he falls asleep in 5 minutes and John and I go upstairs to play with legos and color.
11:00 - Matthew eats and John plays upstairs with dinosaurs and dragons.
11:30 - Nana calls to talk to Matthew. It was the longest and most big boy conversation I have heard him have. He held the phone and walked around the house talking and talking and talking. I only heard one side of the conversation, and it was so cute!
11:30 - 1:30 - Eat lunch (chicken fingers, sweet potato french fries and gogurt) and then play with Daddy. Matthew and I head to the store.
1:30 - we get home and Mr. Dan is here to visit Matthew and John. Then Daddy puts John to nap.
2:00 - Matthew eats and then falls back asleep.
4:15 - 5:15 - Daddy goes to get John up from nap and comes down for snack and little TV time "Dual Survivor". Then he goes to get John's medicine.
5:15 - 6:00 - Daddy gives Matthew a bottle, I pump and then make and eat dinner (Chicken Ropa over shredded lettuce and a southwest black bean salad)
6:00 - Daddy takes John to go get us some frozen yogurt! YUMMO. Matthew and I hang out.
6:30 - 7:15 - Bath time for John, then chore chart, play, etc.
7:15 - feed Matthew (hardly anything, he is crying every few minutes while he eats) and put him to sleep with no problem
7:30 - 8:00 - play with John and then get him into bed.
8:30 - Matthew is up, try to get him down, end up feeding him at 8:45. get him to sleep for a fee minutes. Wakes up again around 9:15, Daddy takes a turn and gets him to sleep pretty quick. Note: John is still wide awake in bed talking and singing.
9:30 - both of us downstairs for a relatively short evening.
5:45 - Matthew back down and grunts until about 6:15.
6:30 - 7:00 Carl is up getting ready for the day. It is Good Friday and his office is closed, but he has a little work to tend to this morning. I am typing blogs, drinking coffee, doing my normal wake up, alone time thing. :)
7:00 - The grunting begins again, I decide to go get him. we cuddle on the couch. he was not ready to get up. he falls asleep on my chest and then when I lay him down at 7:30 in the moses basket, he stays asleep.
7:30 - 8:00 - John is awake. We get up and he makes another game up with these 5 little cars and racing them back and forth on the glass table. Then I head downstairs to make breakfast (blueberry waffles and a pear).
8:00 - Matthew eats and then lays back down for a bit while John and I unload the dishwasher (one of his chores for this week) and clean the kitchen up.
8:30 - 10:00 Matthew is awake and the four of us play on the floor, put together puzzles, look at photo albums, play and dance while I pump, and just be together.
10:00 - 11:00 John colors on the ipad and Matthew is having a little swing time. Once he falls asleep in 5 minutes and John and I go upstairs to play with legos and color.
11:00 - Matthew eats and John plays upstairs with dinosaurs and dragons.
11:30 - Nana calls to talk to Matthew. It was the longest and most big boy conversation I have heard him have. He held the phone and walked around the house talking and talking and talking. I only heard one side of the conversation, and it was so cute!
11:30 - 1:30 - Eat lunch (chicken fingers, sweet potato french fries and gogurt) and then play with Daddy. Matthew and I head to the store.
1:30 - we get home and Mr. Dan is here to visit Matthew and John. Then Daddy puts John to nap.
2:00 - Matthew eats and then falls back asleep.
4:15 - 5:15 - Daddy goes to get John up from nap and comes down for snack and little TV time "Dual Survivor". Then he goes to get John's medicine.
5:15 - 6:00 - Daddy gives Matthew a bottle, I pump and then make and eat dinner (Chicken Ropa over shredded lettuce and a southwest black bean salad)
6:00 - Daddy takes John to go get us some frozen yogurt! YUMMO. Matthew and I hang out.
6:30 - 7:15 - Bath time for John, then chore chart, play, etc.
7:15 - feed Matthew (hardly anything, he is crying every few minutes while he eats) and put him to sleep with no problem
7:30 - 8:00 - play with John and then get him into bed.
8:30 - Matthew is up, try to get him down, end up feeding him at 8:45. get him to sleep for a fee minutes. Wakes up again around 9:15, Daddy takes a turn and gets him to sleep pretty quick. Note: John is still wide awake in bed talking and singing.
9:30 - both of us downstairs for a relatively short evening.
A Week in the Life: 3YO and 6WO - Thursday
2:10, 5:30 - night feedings, pretty typical, a little longer stretches tonight!
6:00 - Matthew is grunting for quite a while. I sure hope he does not think 6:00 is time to wake up, although that seems to be the pattern. I type up yesterday's blog and start today's while I have some coffee and Carl is getting ready. I cherish my morning time with no kiddos, if Matthew things 6:00 is time to get up, then I am going to have to get up even earlier... then I wonder if I will cherish sleep even more. :)
7:00 - Matthew starts to grunt again. I go up and watch Matthew for about 15 minutes while he grunts. He is asleep, has no idea I am there. When he grunts, he lifts his legs up, wiggles for about 5 seconds. Then silence for about 3 minutes, then repeat until he stays silent for longer (around 7:30). I get ready, and tootle around the house a bit doing odds and ends.
7:45 - both boys up at the same time. Yeah! (no sarcasm) Although I love my kid-free time...I really do miss them when they sleep. Get them both downstairs (told John the Easter bunny left him something which ended up being two books about Easter) and John eating (toast with PB, Greek yogurt and orange juice) while Matthew playing in his mat. This is favorite time in his mat, he talks and coos and smiles and laughs.
8:20 - feed Matthew and then swing time (asleep in 5 minutes). John and I go upstairs and we do Easter egg hunts.
9:15 - pump while John is upstairs playing with this Rio toys.
9:30 - play legos upstairs with john, have snacks, play with dinosaurs and kitchen, draw on the wall.
11:00 - 11:15 - Matthew wakes up, we try to play with upstairs but he just isn't happy. I change his diaper and feed him.
11:15 - he eats A TON, and then falls asleep in the swing in 2 minutes while I make lunch for John (chicken noodle soup, whole grain crackers, cheese and turkey roll ups)
12:30 - John is done eating (not one bite of soup actually made it down to his belly), and feeling worse, so I give him some meds. we head upstairs to play a bit before nap.
1:00 - Both boys down for nap.
1:30 - I have a couple of neighborhood ladies over to work on a project.
3:00 - 4:00 Matthew up to eat. John up about 3:30.Matthew and I go up there and John makes up a game. I had to help it along a bit, but he was LOVING making up his own game. It involved a blanket, a dog, a walrus and 2 toucans. Daddy home because I have to take John to the Dr. We sort of play hand off with Matthew for a while so that we can get John ready to go.
4:00 - 5:00 - John and I out the door to get dry cleaning and go to Dr. Bill. John likes going to the Dr. now. He does everything by himself and answers all the Dr. questions. It is so cute and sad at the same time because he is growing up.
Sounds like Matthew was awake the whole time we were gone and the time was spent trying to get him not to cry. I think these two are still figuring each other out. :) I do think Matthew is a little particular about his holds, positions, desire for paci, etc. and he will tell you about it when it is not right.
5:00 - 6:00 - cooking and eating dinner. "Glorious mess" adapted from a neighbors recipe. Basically a lightened up chili (without chili seasoning) or a stew type thing. Ground beef, pinto beans, tomatoes, and then I put in celery, carrots and corn. All with just the juices from the cans.
6:00 - 7:30 Matthew is up to have a little dinner of his own. Then I take John to bath and then back down to do chores and clean the kitchen. Daddy is hanging with Matthew, he is in and out of sleep on his lap.
7:30 - I try to put Matthew down without feeding him. 20 minutes later I hear "Mama, Mama. I just wanted to check on you" in the sweetest whisper voice ever. In comes my precious big boy. I love him. Matthew was not giving it up easily, so I took him in with us to say goodnight to John, John liked having all 4 of us in there.
8:00 - 8:30 - feed Matthew and put him down with no pacifier, just like in the middle of the night... went to sleep and did not wake up until midnight!
AN EVENING!
6:00 - Matthew is grunting for quite a while. I sure hope he does not think 6:00 is time to wake up, although that seems to be the pattern. I type up yesterday's blog and start today's while I have some coffee and Carl is getting ready. I cherish my morning time with no kiddos, if Matthew things 6:00 is time to get up, then I am going to have to get up even earlier... then I wonder if I will cherish sleep even more. :)
7:00 - Matthew starts to grunt again. I go up and watch Matthew for about 15 minutes while he grunts. He is asleep, has no idea I am there. When he grunts, he lifts his legs up, wiggles for about 5 seconds. Then silence for about 3 minutes, then repeat until he stays silent for longer (around 7:30). I get ready, and tootle around the house a bit doing odds and ends.
7:45 - both boys up at the same time. Yeah! (no sarcasm) Although I love my kid-free time...I really do miss them when they sleep. Get them both downstairs (told John the Easter bunny left him something which ended up being two books about Easter) and John eating (toast with PB, Greek yogurt and orange juice) while Matthew playing in his mat. This is favorite time in his mat, he talks and coos and smiles and laughs.
8:20 - feed Matthew and then swing time (asleep in 5 minutes). John and I go upstairs and we do Easter egg hunts.
9:15 - pump while John is upstairs playing with this Rio toys.
9:30 - play legos upstairs with john, have snacks, play with dinosaurs and kitchen, draw on the wall.
11:00 - 11:15 - Matthew wakes up, we try to play with upstairs but he just isn't happy. I change his diaper and feed him.
11:15 - he eats A TON, and then falls asleep in the swing in 2 minutes while I make lunch for John (chicken noodle soup, whole grain crackers, cheese and turkey roll ups)
12:30 - John is done eating (not one bite of soup actually made it down to his belly), and feeling worse, so I give him some meds. we head upstairs to play a bit before nap.
1:00 - Both boys down for nap.
1:30 - I have a couple of neighborhood ladies over to work on a project.
3:00 - 4:00 Matthew up to eat. John up about 3:30.Matthew and I go up there and John makes up a game. I had to help it along a bit, but he was LOVING making up his own game. It involved a blanket, a dog, a walrus and 2 toucans. Daddy home because I have to take John to the Dr. We sort of play hand off with Matthew for a while so that we can get John ready to go.
4:00 - 5:00 - John and I out the door to get dry cleaning and go to Dr. Bill. John likes going to the Dr. now. He does everything by himself and answers all the Dr. questions. It is so cute and sad at the same time because he is growing up.
Sounds like Matthew was awake the whole time we were gone and the time was spent trying to get him not to cry. I think these two are still figuring each other out. :) I do think Matthew is a little particular about his holds, positions, desire for paci, etc. and he will tell you about it when it is not right.
5:00 - 6:00 - cooking and eating dinner. "Glorious mess" adapted from a neighbors recipe. Basically a lightened up chili (without chili seasoning) or a stew type thing. Ground beef, pinto beans, tomatoes, and then I put in celery, carrots and corn. All with just the juices from the cans.
6:00 - 7:30 Matthew is up to have a little dinner of his own. Then I take John to bath and then back down to do chores and clean the kitchen. Daddy is hanging with Matthew, he is in and out of sleep on his lap.
7:30 - I try to put Matthew down without feeding him. 20 minutes later I hear "Mama, Mama. I just wanted to check on you" in the sweetest whisper voice ever. In comes my precious big boy. I love him. Matthew was not giving it up easily, so I took him in with us to say goodnight to John, John liked having all 4 of us in there.
8:00 - 8:30 - feed Matthew and put him down with no pacifier, just like in the middle of the night... went to sleep and did not wake up until midnight!
AN EVENING!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
A Week in the Life: 3YO and 6WO - Wednesday
Note the time stamp on this is Thursday - yesterday evening did not go as planned....
Wednesday
1:20 and 4:20 night feedings. pretty typical, 30 minutes, ate good.
6:00 - wake up call, but I just hold the pacifier for a bit and he falls back asleep.
6:15 - 7:00 - Carl is up, I am packing lunch (turkey and cheese, frozen gogurt, strawberries, sack of little oat cereals)
7:00 - 7:30 - feed Matthew, change diaper get him ready
7:30 - 8:30 - while I am waking up John, Matthew is in his swing. Get John up and eat, he was in an exceptionally good mood. I was loving this and hoping it meant it was going to be a good day! After breakfast, we played with Matthew in his play mat, colored, and then I pumped while John watched a show and played and Matthew was with me in his bouncy thing.
8:30 - 9:00 out the door to drop off dry cleaning before school.
9:00 - play on the floor with Matthew, then his swing, change clothes and diaper, then holding him. he can't quite seem to decide what he wants this morning.
9:45 - eat and then swing
10:10 - 12 - Matthew sleeps while I work on my projects, to-do lists, clean, shower and get ready.
12 - 12:45 - walking, holding, cuddling with Matthew while he has some serious gas and poops.
12:45 - 1:15 - eat and cuddle
1:15 - 2:00 - get Matthew and I ready and out the door to stop by the store for a couple of things. Then on to school to get John. Today, when I got there he was playing with Carson and a dinosaur puzzle.
2:00 - 3:00 - John is SUPER snotty and I can tell he does not feel well. He has a snack (whole grain crackers) and watches Babar: The Prince of Badou while I sit with him and hold Matthew. Matthew falls asleep briefly, John and I try to play upstairs, but Matthew wakes up. Both the boys are crying for me. This was the first time this has happened and I have had no Daddy here to help. It was a SUPER guilty feeling.
3:00 - 4:30 - feed Matthew and he falls asleep, so I put him in his swing. He fights it (happily though), but eventually falls asleep. I go up and play Chicken Blaster with John on the TV. Can't remember why, but he throws a fit and starts screaming... guess what...Matthew woke up. I go downstairs and have both boys crying for me again. My nerves are a little frazzled at this point. Matthew and John are both super cranky. So I spend this time trying to balance the two of them, hard job.
4:30 - Daddy is home early.. WHEW.. my night in shining armor! He brought John these little Rio movie toys (not necessarily an appropriate reward for how he was acting today, but Carl likes to buy him things when he is sick :)) . John was loving those on the kitchen floor for awhile.
5:00 - 5:30 - make dinner (Beef and Broccoli over wheat noodles for us and spaghettio's, cheese, whole wheat bagel with honey and strawberries for John (I know, random))
5:30 - 6:00 - I give Matthew a bath. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike giving newborns a bath. I do not remember being able to tolerate it until John was sitting up and in that inflatable bath thing. Not sure why I dislike it so much, but I do. Matthew has gotten a lot better, he only screams at the end now.
6:00 - FIRST BOTTLE FROM DADDY! He did great, not even a blink of an eye. He at 4 oz like it was nothing. And he had minimal over flow spit up, so maybe he is ready for 5 already.
6:00 - 7:00 - I am upstairs playing with John, it was nice to have uninterrupted time with him. We had fun, which was nice since he was having a rough day and I was praying for patience a lot. Then he gets in the bath and take some medicine for his fever, cough and runny nose.
CHORES - I had forgotten to post this on Monday, and we forgot to get our magnets on Tuesday, but this is a big part of our evenings now... he has the Melissa and Doug responsibility/chore chart that we have been using for about 4 weeks now. He picks his chores every Sunday and then in the evening, we talk about the day and decide if he has done them all and if he gets a happy face magnet for that day. He has yet to get all chores done every day all week, so we have not gotten a prize yet. I have several in the closet, ready to go. SO, I decided that this week is going to be softballs and he will get them all, so he can see what it is like to get the prize at the end of the week. I think it is working pretty well, the first wee we did it, one of his chores was to clear the table... since then, he does it on his own about 50% of the time or he will do it immediately and happily if I remind him 100% of the time.
7:00 - I try to top of Matthew and put him down. 30 minutes later he is still staring at me with bright eyes. I am not going to make myself crazy over bed time like I did with John. SO, he cam downstairs and had some swing time. Seriously, the kid did not fall asleep until 9:30 in my arms on the couch. Thus the reason for the blog a day late. :)
10:00 - feed Matthew and put him down with no fuss.
Wednesday
1:20 and 4:20 night feedings. pretty typical, 30 minutes, ate good.
6:00 - wake up call, but I just hold the pacifier for a bit and he falls back asleep.
6:15 - 7:00 - Carl is up, I am packing lunch (turkey and cheese, frozen gogurt, strawberries, sack of little oat cereals)
7:00 - 7:30 - feed Matthew, change diaper get him ready
7:30 - 8:30 - while I am waking up John, Matthew is in his swing. Get John up and eat, he was in an exceptionally good mood. I was loving this and hoping it meant it was going to be a good day! After breakfast, we played with Matthew in his play mat, colored, and then I pumped while John watched a show and played and Matthew was with me in his bouncy thing.
8:30 - 9:00 out the door to drop off dry cleaning before school.
9:00 - play on the floor with Matthew, then his swing, change clothes and diaper, then holding him. he can't quite seem to decide what he wants this morning.
9:45 - eat and then swing
10:10 - 12 - Matthew sleeps while I work on my projects, to-do lists, clean, shower and get ready.
12 - 12:45 - walking, holding, cuddling with Matthew while he has some serious gas and poops.
12:45 - 1:15 - eat and cuddle
1:15 - 2:00 - get Matthew and I ready and out the door to stop by the store for a couple of things. Then on to school to get John. Today, when I got there he was playing with Carson and a dinosaur puzzle.
2:00 - 3:00 - John is SUPER snotty and I can tell he does not feel well. He has a snack (whole grain crackers) and watches Babar: The Prince of Badou while I sit with him and hold Matthew. Matthew falls asleep briefly, John and I try to play upstairs, but Matthew wakes up. Both the boys are crying for me. This was the first time this has happened and I have had no Daddy here to help. It was a SUPER guilty feeling.
3:00 - 4:30 - feed Matthew and he falls asleep, so I put him in his swing. He fights it (happily though), but eventually falls asleep. I go up and play Chicken Blaster with John on the TV. Can't remember why, but he throws a fit and starts screaming... guess what...Matthew woke up. I go downstairs and have both boys crying for me again. My nerves are a little frazzled at this point. Matthew and John are both super cranky. So I spend this time trying to balance the two of them, hard job.
4:30 - Daddy is home early.. WHEW.. my night in shining armor! He brought John these little Rio movie toys (not necessarily an appropriate reward for how he was acting today, but Carl likes to buy him things when he is sick :)) . John was loving those on the kitchen floor for awhile.
5:00 - 5:30 - make dinner (Beef and Broccoli over wheat noodles for us and spaghettio's, cheese, whole wheat bagel with honey and strawberries for John (I know, random))
5:30 - 6:00 - I give Matthew a bath. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike giving newborns a bath. I do not remember being able to tolerate it until John was sitting up and in that inflatable bath thing. Not sure why I dislike it so much, but I do. Matthew has gotten a lot better, he only screams at the end now.
6:00 - FIRST BOTTLE FROM DADDY! He did great, not even a blink of an eye. He at 4 oz like it was nothing. And he had minimal over flow spit up, so maybe he is ready for 5 already.
6:00 - 7:00 - I am upstairs playing with John, it was nice to have uninterrupted time with him. We had fun, which was nice since he was having a rough day and I was praying for patience a lot. Then he gets in the bath and take some medicine for his fever, cough and runny nose.
CHORES - I had forgotten to post this on Monday, and we forgot to get our magnets on Tuesday, but this is a big part of our evenings now... he has the Melissa and Doug responsibility/chore chart that we have been using for about 4 weeks now. He picks his chores every Sunday and then in the evening, we talk about the day and decide if he has done them all and if he gets a happy face magnet for that day. He has yet to get all chores done every day all week, so we have not gotten a prize yet. I have several in the closet, ready to go. SO, I decided that this week is going to be softballs and he will get them all, so he can see what it is like to get the prize at the end of the week. I think it is working pretty well, the first wee we did it, one of his chores was to clear the table... since then, he does it on his own about 50% of the time or he will do it immediately and happily if I remind him 100% of the time.
7:00 - I try to top of Matthew and put him down. 30 minutes later he is still staring at me with bright eyes. I am not going to make myself crazy over bed time like I did with John. SO, he cam downstairs and had some swing time. Seriously, the kid did not fall asleep until 9:30 in my arms on the couch. Thus the reason for the blog a day late. :)
10:00 - feed Matthew and put him down with no fuss.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
A Week in the Life: 3YO and 6WO- Tuesday
Tuesday - sorry, no pictures today. I will take more tomorrow.
1:20am - 1:45am - Eat, change, sleep. Followed by grunting for the next two hours with some sleep in there somewhere.
3:45 - 4:15 - Eat, change, sleep. Followed by grunting for the next two hours with some sleep in there somewhere.
5:45 - 6:00 - Snack, change, sleep. Followed by grunting for the next hour.
6:00 - 7:00 - Shower, pump, Carl is up and getting ready.
7:00 - Matthew crying, he had busted out of swaddle. I take him downstairs and he grunts and sleeps in his moses basket for 20 minutes or so while I eat breakfast.
7:20 - 8:00 - Me and Matthew time. Change his diaper, play and talk on the changing table. I am getting smile more frequently now. Then we play in his play mat thing for awhile.
8:00 - Swing time for Matthew (was asleep in 5 minutes). I go wake up John. 15 minutes later he is playing upstairs and I am downstairs making breakfast (dino oatmeal and bananas). John takes forever to eat and the cleaners arrive around 8:30.
8:40 - I feed Matthew in our room and John watches Handy Manny.
9:15 - out the door to Babies R Us. This was the first time I have both kids by myself in public. John rode in the big part of the cart and Matthew slept in his car seat in the top. It worked this time because I only needed a couple of things.
10:00 - I drive through Starbucks to get John a chocolate doughnut for a snack (a special treat considering this the 2nd time in his life he has had a doughnut). I look back and he is asleep! WHAT? He NEVER does that. I had given him medicine for his runny nose and cough this morning, so I guess it knocked him out.
10:15 - 11:40 - Eat snack out back. John says "I really like it out here". :) Good thing buddy, because you and me are going to be spending a lot of time here this summer! Then we went upstairs (cleaners still here, but finished up there) and colored his new coloring book about RIO (the toucan movie). This boy LOVES to color and draw. Probably the most time spent on this during the "play" hours of the day. We played Zingo, played on the floor with Matthew (he was awake this whole time), read books and drew on the wall.
11:40 - I change and feed Matthew and John draws on the wall. cleaners leave.
12:00 - swing time for Matthew (asleep in 15 minutes), while I make lunch (turkey sandwich, strawberries and apple). John does not eat much at all. I think it is because of the meds and not feeling well, so I do not push it.
12:30 - Daddy is home! John and Daddy play upstairs and then I put John down about 12:45.
1:15 - 2:30 - I take Matthew to the OBGYN with me and Carl works out during John's nap. Matthew slept the whole time.
2:30 - change and feed Matthew. talk and play a bit, but he is cranky. so I put him in his swing for a nap (sleeping, grunting, sleeping, grunting)(notice a pattern here...he is in that swing a lot!, guess I should think about breaking that... na...maybe next month)
3:00 - Carl is working and I am typing this blog waiting for John to wake up.
3:30 - 4:30: John is up and we color upstairs for a bit, Carl goes down to work again. Then we realize there may be a storm tonight with hail, so Carl get so the garage to get the truck in.
4:30 - Carl and John head off to see the 3D version of "Rio". YEAH! What a fun surprise. I take a look at the to-do list and at my clean house (remember cleaners came today and I did not have to make dinner) and decide to sit and catch up on my "Parenthood" TV show. I get Matthew out of his swing and let him sleep in my arms - LOVE IT!
5:30 - eat, change diaper and clothes after an unfortunate MASSIVE spit up. Fall back asleep for a bit. Go out back, it is a beautiful evening and talk to Grammie on the phone.
7:00 - the boys are home! they had a great time. They picked up McDonald's on the way home for John. Matthew is cranky and I can tell he is sleepy, so I take him upstairs. I try to top him off, but only after a couple minutes each side, I can not keep him awake. So I swaddle, lay him down... and...WHAT??!?! No paci, fast asleep! YEAH!
7:30 - I am out in time to give John his bath. Then we go downstairs and play Toucans for awhile and let him run around crazy. Followed by his daily poo. He tells us not to come, that he can do it himself. And he can.. he is such a big boy. I still wipe though, I have yet to teach him how to do that... Where do you start?!?!?
8:00 - Bed time routine for John. They acted like toucans today. Matthew did wake back up briefly, but it is 8:20 and we are both downstairs with what looks to be a long evening for us!
1:20am - 1:45am - Eat, change, sleep. Followed by grunting for the next two hours with some sleep in there somewhere.
3:45 - 4:15 - Eat, change, sleep. Followed by grunting for the next two hours with some sleep in there somewhere.
5:45 - 6:00 - Snack, change, sleep. Followed by grunting for the next hour.
6:00 - 7:00 - Shower, pump, Carl is up and getting ready.
7:00 - Matthew crying, he had busted out of swaddle. I take him downstairs and he grunts and sleeps in his moses basket for 20 minutes or so while I eat breakfast.
7:20 - 8:00 - Me and Matthew time. Change his diaper, play and talk on the changing table. I am getting smile more frequently now. Then we play in his play mat thing for awhile.
8:00 - Swing time for Matthew (was asleep in 5 minutes). I go wake up John. 15 minutes later he is playing upstairs and I am downstairs making breakfast (dino oatmeal and bananas). John takes forever to eat and the cleaners arrive around 8:30.
8:40 - I feed Matthew in our room and John watches Handy Manny.
9:15 - out the door to Babies R Us. This was the first time I have both kids by myself in public. John rode in the big part of the cart and Matthew slept in his car seat in the top. It worked this time because I only needed a couple of things.
10:00 - I drive through Starbucks to get John a chocolate doughnut for a snack (a special treat considering this the 2nd time in his life he has had a doughnut). I look back and he is asleep! WHAT? He NEVER does that. I had given him medicine for his runny nose and cough this morning, so I guess it knocked him out.
10:15 - 11:40 - Eat snack out back. John says "I really like it out here". :) Good thing buddy, because you and me are going to be spending a lot of time here this summer! Then we went upstairs (cleaners still here, but finished up there) and colored his new coloring book about RIO (the toucan movie). This boy LOVES to color and draw. Probably the most time spent on this during the "play" hours of the day. We played Zingo, played on the floor with Matthew (he was awake this whole time), read books and drew on the wall.
11:40 - I change and feed Matthew and John draws on the wall. cleaners leave.
12:00 - swing time for Matthew (asleep in 15 minutes), while I make lunch (turkey sandwich, strawberries and apple). John does not eat much at all. I think it is because of the meds and not feeling well, so I do not push it.
12:30 - Daddy is home! John and Daddy play upstairs and then I put John down about 12:45.
1:15 - 2:30 - I take Matthew to the OBGYN with me and Carl works out during John's nap. Matthew slept the whole time.
2:30 - change and feed Matthew. talk and play a bit, but he is cranky. so I put him in his swing for a nap (sleeping, grunting, sleeping, grunting)(notice a pattern here...he is in that swing a lot!, guess I should think about breaking that... na...maybe next month)
3:00 - Carl is working and I am typing this blog waiting for John to wake up.
3:30 - 4:30: John is up and we color upstairs for a bit, Carl goes down to work again. Then we realize there may be a storm tonight with hail, so Carl get so the garage to get the truck in.
4:30 - Carl and John head off to see the 3D version of "Rio". YEAH! What a fun surprise. I take a look at the to-do list and at my clean house (remember cleaners came today and I did not have to make dinner) and decide to sit and catch up on my "Parenthood" TV show. I get Matthew out of his swing and let him sleep in my arms - LOVE IT!
5:30 - eat, change diaper and clothes after an unfortunate MASSIVE spit up. Fall back asleep for a bit. Go out back, it is a beautiful evening and talk to Grammie on the phone.
7:00 - the boys are home! they had a great time. They picked up McDonald's on the way home for John. Matthew is cranky and I can tell he is sleepy, so I take him upstairs. I try to top him off, but only after a couple minutes each side, I can not keep him awake. So I swaddle, lay him down... and...WHAT??!?! No paci, fast asleep! YEAH!
7:30 - I am out in time to give John his bath. Then we go downstairs and play Toucans for awhile and let him run around crazy. Followed by his daily poo. He tells us not to come, that he can do it himself. And he can.. he is such a big boy. I still wipe though, I have yet to teach him how to do that... Where do you start?!?!?
8:00 - Bed time routine for John. They acted like toucans today. Matthew did wake back up briefly, but it is 8:20 and we are both downstairs with what looks to be a long evening for us!
Monday, April 18, 2011
A Week in the Life (3YO and 6WO): Monday
Long post, but I want to remember these days. The rest of the week will probably not go into too much detail if I already covered it. :)
Monday:
6:30 - Carl is up. Normally, I would get up with him, but I was sleeping hard last night. I even caught myself sleep walking twice! Once I caught myself on the stairs, thinking that I was taking Matthew a piece of paper. SCARY!
6:45 - Matthew wakes up, thank goodness because I forgot it was a school day. Feed him and swaddle him back up for a short morning nap.
7:05 - 7:40 - Matthew is squeaking away for about 15 minutes, but finally falls asleep. I am packing John's lunch (PB and honey sandwich, strawberries and blackberries, honey graham crackers, string cheese), getting myself ready (thank goodness for showering last night, otherwise, it would not have happened this morning!)
7:40 - 7:50 - I go up to wake up John. I love this time because I know it will go fast, but on mornings that we are in a hurry, it is a bit frustrating. John wakes up slow and likes to cuddle in bed for a bit. If and when we hurry that kid, he is C.R.A.N.K.Y. But it is some quality time with just him and me, even if it is only 10 minutes. I make a game out of getting dressed so it is not accompanied by a fit.
7:50 - 8:05 - Dinosaur oatmeal with some dolphin and cow sprinkles added. Breakfast normally takes longer, but he ate pretty quickly this morning.
8:05 - 9:00 - Get Matthew up and changed. Matthew then plays on his little play mat thingy while John is coloring in his super hero coloring book. I talk John into coming out front to take a few pictures of his new haircut. Then we get in the car and get going. Drop John off at school with a smile!
9:00 - 9:30 - Matthew is a bit fussy, so we walk, change diapers, rock and then the swing and a pacifier seem to settle him for bit. I pick up the kitchen, check and respond to emails, work on a project, start typing this blog, and eat a bowl of cereal.
9:50 - 10:15 - go upstairs to feed him in the nursery. I LOVE that room.
10:15 - He is so tired, so I lay him in his Moses basket. He immediately wakes up and is sqeaking and grunting I give it 10 minutes, but he is still awake so I hold the pacifier for 3 minutes and he is OUT!
10:30 - I cut all the veggies for dinner tonight, pump, pick up the house, laundry, work on my project, etc. School days are really good because I feel like I can catch up while Matthew sleeps.
12:30 - He wakes. Change diaper. Eat. Fall back asleep
1:20 - Apparently he just wanted a cat nap. We play on the floor, take pictures and then get ready to go get John from school.
2:00 - Pick up John. As soon as we get home, Matthew wakes up (will not sleep in his car seat if we are sitting still), but then immediately back down in his swing. John and I open all the eggs from his Easter egg hunt at school. Then we played out front and out back for a little bit. When we were out back a simple stick was a gun, a sword and a fishing pole! If I only had half the imagination he does! He also found a lady bug and loved on that for awhile (poor bug).
3:20 - Matthew wakes up and we all head upstairs. I hold Matthew while John cooks us some soup in his kitchen.
3:45 - 4:15 - Matthew eats and I clip his finger nails (not my favorite task). John is upstairs all the while feeding all of his dinosaurs and playing dragon battle.
4:15 - 4:45 - John continues to play upstairs (this long is a bit rare for him to play by himself, but he was having fun) while Matthew is on a blanket on the floor kicking and playing. I think I captured his first smile on camera. He loves the lights and shadows in the afternoon from the trees out back. I am making dinner, while running over to play and talk with Matthew every few minutes.
4:45 - 5:30 - this is probably my favorite part of the day. John comes downstairs and the three of us play on the floor together. We read several books and sang songs and danced. Then John picks the children's devotional story book. The story he wanted to read was about Grizzly bears and how the Mama teaches them things. At the end it asks the question of "What do you think God wants you to learn" - John answers "to be kind". Warms a mother’s heart!
5:30 - swing time for Matthew, TV time for John, dinner time for Mama.
5:50 - 6:15 - Daddy gets home, we sit down to eat. (Vegetable meatloaf and green salad with strawberries and almonds. John has the meatloaf, carrots, apples and a whole wheat bagel thin with honey) Matthew wakes up and I sit and cuddle with him on the chair.
6:15 - 7:00 - I take John for bath and Carl gets some Matthew time. He is awake and cuddling on the couch.
7:00 - I go upstairs to start bedtime with Matthew. Change diaper and into PJ's, use the nasal aspirator (the kids has some serious snot issues), feed him, swaddle him, cuddle for a few minutes, lay down in bed and hold pacifier for about 5-10 minutes, slowly c.r.e.e.p. the pacifier out of his mouth.
Carl and John play and then head to bed about 7:20.
7:45 - MATTHEW IS DOWN. This is the fastest yet, hope this is sign for things to come! Carl starts his work out. I go into John's room and go through our bedtime routine - My prayers, John's "turn to talk to God" (tonight he blessed his baby brother), songs and then cuddle and talk for a few minutes.
8:00 - downstairs to start the pick up process AGAIN because the cleaners are coming tomorrow. I know it is silly, but I want them to spend their time on cleaning things, not picking up. Then writing this blog...
8:45 - Matthew woke up. Luckily, normally all it takes is a few more minutes of holding the pacifier! however, it is 9:07 and he is squeaking again and kind of sounding like he is going to work up into a cry... to be continued...
Monday:
6:30 - Carl is up. Normally, I would get up with him, but I was sleeping hard last night. I even caught myself sleep walking twice! Once I caught myself on the stairs, thinking that I was taking Matthew a piece of paper. SCARY!
6:45 - Matthew wakes up, thank goodness because I forgot it was a school day. Feed him and swaddle him back up for a short morning nap.
7:05 - 7:40 - Matthew is squeaking away for about 15 minutes, but finally falls asleep. I am packing John's lunch (PB and honey sandwich, strawberries and blackberries, honey graham crackers, string cheese), getting myself ready (thank goodness for showering last night, otherwise, it would not have happened this morning!)
7:40 - 7:50 - I go up to wake up John. I love this time because I know it will go fast, but on mornings that we are in a hurry, it is a bit frustrating. John wakes up slow and likes to cuddle in bed for a bit. If and when we hurry that kid, he is C.R.A.N.K.Y. But it is some quality time with just him and me, even if it is only 10 minutes. I make a game out of getting dressed so it is not accompanied by a fit.
7:50 - 8:05 - Dinosaur oatmeal with some dolphin and cow sprinkles added. Breakfast normally takes longer, but he ate pretty quickly this morning.
8:05 - 9:00 - Get Matthew up and changed. Matthew then plays on his little play mat thingy while John is coloring in his super hero coloring book. I talk John into coming out front to take a few pictures of his new haircut. Then we get in the car and get going. Drop John off at school with a smile!
9:00 - 9:30 - Matthew is a bit fussy, so we walk, change diapers, rock and then the swing and a pacifier seem to settle him for bit. I pick up the kitchen, check and respond to emails, work on a project, start typing this blog, and eat a bowl of cereal.
9:50 - 10:15 - go upstairs to feed him in the nursery. I LOVE that room.
10:15 - He is so tired, so I lay him in his Moses basket. He immediately wakes up and is sqeaking and grunting I give it 10 minutes, but he is still awake so I hold the pacifier for 3 minutes and he is OUT!
10:30 - I cut all the veggies for dinner tonight, pump, pick up the house, laundry, work on my project, etc. School days are really good because I feel like I can catch up while Matthew sleeps.
12:30 - He wakes. Change diaper. Eat. Fall back asleep
1:20 - Apparently he just wanted a cat nap. We play on the floor, take pictures and then get ready to go get John from school.
2:00 - Pick up John. As soon as we get home, Matthew wakes up (will not sleep in his car seat if we are sitting still), but then immediately back down in his swing. John and I open all the eggs from his Easter egg hunt at school. Then we played out front and out back for a little bit. When we were out back a simple stick was a gun, a sword and a fishing pole! If I only had half the imagination he does! He also found a lady bug and loved on that for awhile (poor bug).
3:20 - Matthew wakes up and we all head upstairs. I hold Matthew while John cooks us some soup in his kitchen.
3:45 - 4:15 - Matthew eats and I clip his finger nails (not my favorite task). John is upstairs all the while feeding all of his dinosaurs and playing dragon battle.
4:15 - 4:45 - John continues to play upstairs (this long is a bit rare for him to play by himself, but he was having fun) while Matthew is on a blanket on the floor kicking and playing. I think I captured his first smile on camera. He loves the lights and shadows in the afternoon from the trees out back. I am making dinner, while running over to play and talk with Matthew every few minutes.
4:45 - 5:30 - this is probably my favorite part of the day. John comes downstairs and the three of us play on the floor together. We read several books and sang songs and danced. Then John picks the children's devotional story book. The story he wanted to read was about Grizzly bears and how the Mama teaches them things. At the end it asks the question of "What do you think God wants you to learn" - John answers "to be kind". Warms a mother’s heart!
5:30 - swing time for Matthew, TV time for John, dinner time for Mama.
5:50 - 6:15 - Daddy gets home, we sit down to eat. (Vegetable meatloaf and green salad with strawberries and almonds. John has the meatloaf, carrots, apples and a whole wheat bagel thin with honey) Matthew wakes up and I sit and cuddle with him on the chair.
6:15 - 7:00 - I take John for bath and Carl gets some Matthew time. He is awake and cuddling on the couch.
7:00 - I go upstairs to start bedtime with Matthew. Change diaper and into PJ's, use the nasal aspirator (the kids has some serious snot issues), feed him, swaddle him, cuddle for a few minutes, lay down in bed and hold pacifier for about 5-10 minutes, slowly c.r.e.e.p. the pacifier out of his mouth.
Carl and John play and then head to bed about 7:20.
7:45 - MATTHEW IS DOWN. This is the fastest yet, hope this is sign for things to come! Carl starts his work out. I go into John's room and go through our bedtime routine - My prayers, John's "turn to talk to God" (tonight he blessed his baby brother), songs and then cuddle and talk for a few minutes.
8:00 - downstairs to start the pick up process AGAIN because the cleaners are coming tomorrow. I know it is silly, but I want them to spend their time on cleaning things, not picking up. Then writing this blog...
8:45 - Matthew woke up. Luckily, normally all it takes is a few more minutes of holding the pacifier! however, it is 9:07 and he is squeaking again and kind of sounding like he is going to work up into a cry... to be continued...
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
One less thing to do tomorrow....
Why is the house the cleanest and the chores are mostly done while I sleep? That just doesn't seem right, but it is the way it is around here. There is about 5 minutes of enjoying the semi-clean house and half-way done to-do list before it is time to shut off the lights and go to bed. Only to wake up and add the 3 "to-do's" that you thought of as you were drifting off to sleep and dirty the kitchen again when making oatmeal for the 3 year old that will cake it in the cracks of the table and drop a spoon full on the rug right before spilling his orange juice.
Another thing... it is never ending, seriously. I feel like I walk around here doing one thing after another, but never really getting anything done. Example: The events of this evening that got me to the point of writing this post.... SET SCENE: John is in bed, Matthew finally falls asleep, Carl is working on the boat outside, I decide I am going to knock out a few things on the to-do list. But first...I load the dishes and wipe of the table and counters....head to the living room to watch a few minutes of this new show to see if I am going to like it, end up picking up the living room...walk by the computer and pay the two bills we got in the mail today...while at the computer, remember to respond to a couple of emails...glance in the laundry room and see the dryer is finished, fold laundry... go into closet to get more clothes to wash, but I end up picking up the bedroom instead...start to realize that I have not really even made a dent in things that need to get done around here... start thinking about the blog and how I should write this down because these days will come and go before I know it...right??...maybe?!?!
My philosphy that gets me through it... I keep telling myself "it is one less thing to do tomorrow"
OH... NOTHING got done on the to-do list because I am off to wonder around some more and just do things as I see them.
Another thing... it is never ending, seriously. I feel like I walk around here doing one thing after another, but never really getting anything done. Example: The events of this evening that got me to the point of writing this post.... SET SCENE: John is in bed, Matthew finally falls asleep, Carl is working on the boat outside, I decide I am going to knock out a few things on the to-do list. But first...I load the dishes and wipe of the table and counters....head to the living room to watch a few minutes of this new show to see if I am going to like it, end up picking up the living room...walk by the computer and pay the two bills we got in the mail today...while at the computer, remember to respond to a couple of emails...glance in the laundry room and see the dryer is finished, fold laundry... go into closet to get more clothes to wash, but I end up picking up the bedroom instead...start to realize that I have not really even made a dent in things that need to get done around here... start thinking about the blog and how I should write this down because these days will come and go before I know it...right??...maybe?!?!
My philosphy that gets me through it... I keep telling myself "it is one less thing to do tomorrow"
OH... NOTHING got done on the to-do list because I am off to wonder around some more and just do things as I see them.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
"Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood" experiment
With the arrival of Matthew and then the overall stage of life, we have encountered some issues with John over the past month or so. Carl and I were finding ourselves getting very frustrated with him and losing patience quickly. We did not like how it made us feel or how we were reacting to John.
I remembered that I had this book "Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood" that a few people had recommended a while back. I glanced through it a week ago today and started experiementing with some of its suggestions. I have to say, I think some of the chapters are super helpful and make sense and have worked for us. Other ideas in there are a little radical and I can not embrace in my parenting.
Specifically some things that have worked for us:
- No warnings, very little talking/lecturing and a "cue" word. One thing it says is that in life there may not be warnings, so why do we teach our kids that someone will have to tell you 3 times before something actually happens. A little extreme, but I can see the point. when an offense is made, we just say "uh-oh" in a very emphatic and sincere voice, followed by "it is so sad you have to have bedroom quiet time". Take them to the bedroom (or wherever you choose), tell them they can come out when they are ready to behave (or listen, or be sweet, or whatever) and leave them there until they are calm. John looks at us immediatly when we say "uh-oh" now and knows EXACTLY what it means. When they come out, don;t spend a lot of time lecturing them about what they did, they know what they did wrong. just move on with the day as if it did not happen. I particularly like this becuase it keeps me from getting angry and using a bad tone trying to get him to behave. knowing that I should not talk and letting myself have that option changes my mind set completely. After about 2-5 minutes, we hear John say "Mama, I am ready to listen" and then he comes out and we move on with the day. An easier way to do this is if there is an object involved, becuase then you can jsut take it with no words and you don;t have to do the quiet time thing. i.e. "uh-oh, you threw the puzzle at Mama" and then take it away with no other words.
- Give them choices - I think this is in a lot of books. But by giving them choices you give them a little control. The key is to give them choices that you are okay with, so no matter what they choose, it is okay. "Do you want to squeeze the toothpaste when we go into the bathroom to brush your teeth, or do you want to hold the toothbrush?" Either way, they are headed to the bathroom to brush teeth without fighting (in theory).
- Help them think for themselves and solve their own problems - This one takes some practice, but I am begining to catch on and I really like it. Not real sure how to explain this one shortly, but basically, do not do everything for them. Let them figure it out out their own, as long as it does not hurt them. This involves asking them a lot of questions and having them practice doing things on their own without telling them what to do. "do you think that would be a good idea or a bad idea/choice?" "Why?", if they say "I do not know" say "would you like to hear some ideas"...Like I said... hard to explain.
- Using enforceable statements:
*Instead of "pick up your toys" say "Feel free to keep any toys you clean up before bed" if he does not do it, you pick them up after he goes to bed, when he asks about it, tell him that since he did not pick them up, you took them. but then let him earn them back.
*Instead of "stop yelling/whining" say "I will listen to you when you voice is as calm as mine" or "I will listen when you use a big voice".
*Instead of "hurry up, get ready we need to leave" say "I am leaving in 10 minutes" and then walk out the door when you are ready. John has YET to not be right behind me saying "I want to come".
Anyway, I am not going to summarize the whole book. It is supposed to be from birth to 6 years. I just included a few things that seem to be relevant to us right now at 3.
I do recommend the book, but only becuase I think the more knowledge you have, the more ideas are inspired that work for your family. I am not endorsing all that is in this book.
I remembered that I had this book "Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood" that a few people had recommended a while back. I glanced through it a week ago today and started experiementing with some of its suggestions. I have to say, I think some of the chapters are super helpful and make sense and have worked for us. Other ideas in there are a little radical and I can not embrace in my parenting.
Specifically some things that have worked for us:
- No warnings, very little talking/lecturing and a "cue" word. One thing it says is that in life there may not be warnings, so why do we teach our kids that someone will have to tell you 3 times before something actually happens. A little extreme, but I can see the point. when an offense is made, we just say "uh-oh" in a very emphatic and sincere voice, followed by "it is so sad you have to have bedroom quiet time". Take them to the bedroom (or wherever you choose), tell them they can come out when they are ready to behave (or listen, or be sweet, or whatever) and leave them there until they are calm. John looks at us immediatly when we say "uh-oh" now and knows EXACTLY what it means. When they come out, don;t spend a lot of time lecturing them about what they did, they know what they did wrong. just move on with the day as if it did not happen. I particularly like this becuase it keeps me from getting angry and using a bad tone trying to get him to behave. knowing that I should not talk and letting myself have that option changes my mind set completely. After about 2-5 minutes, we hear John say "Mama, I am ready to listen" and then he comes out and we move on with the day. An easier way to do this is if there is an object involved, becuase then you can jsut take it with no words and you don;t have to do the quiet time thing. i.e. "uh-oh, you threw the puzzle at Mama" and then take it away with no other words.
- Give them choices - I think this is in a lot of books. But by giving them choices you give them a little control. The key is to give them choices that you are okay with, so no matter what they choose, it is okay. "Do you want to squeeze the toothpaste when we go into the bathroom to brush your teeth, or do you want to hold the toothbrush?" Either way, they are headed to the bathroom to brush teeth without fighting (in theory).
- Help them think for themselves and solve their own problems - This one takes some practice, but I am begining to catch on and I really like it. Not real sure how to explain this one shortly, but basically, do not do everything for them. Let them figure it out out their own, as long as it does not hurt them. This involves asking them a lot of questions and having them practice doing things on their own without telling them what to do. "do you think that would be a good idea or a bad idea/choice?" "Why?", if they say "I do not know" say "would you like to hear some ideas"...Like I said... hard to explain.
- Using enforceable statements:
*Instead of "pick up your toys" say "Feel free to keep any toys you clean up before bed" if he does not do it, you pick them up after he goes to bed, when he asks about it, tell him that since he did not pick them up, you took them. but then let him earn them back.
*Instead of "stop yelling/whining" say "I will listen to you when you voice is as calm as mine" or "I will listen when you use a big voice".
*Instead of "hurry up, get ready we need to leave" say "I am leaving in 10 minutes" and then walk out the door when you are ready. John has YET to not be right behind me saying "I want to come".
Anyway, I am not going to summarize the whole book. It is supposed to be from birth to 6 years. I just included a few things that seem to be relevant to us right now at 3.
I do recommend the book, but only becuase I think the more knowledge you have, the more ideas are inspired that work for your family. I am not endorsing all that is in this book.
Friday, April 8, 2011
An Era Begins
We experienced the first of many sporting events (well, at least I think so) this past week with John. It was about as expected, providing lots of laughs and not a lot of sport. :) PRACTICE: Luckily Garrett and Elyse are on the team (made up of co-ed 3-5 year olds), otherwise, I am not sure we would have ever gotten John to participate. I use the word loosely, but the kids "stretching" was SUPER cute! I love watching John at school and in group settings where I am simply a spectator. They ran the bases and did some catching, but there was not a lot of coaching going on. Our head coach is a last minute volunteer that has no experience. Then they got on the field and took turns batting and standing (or sitting, or dancing, or walking, or whatever) in the outfield. GAME: The first game was after only 1 practice and we were playing the best team in the league with a hard core coach and they had already practiced 6 times! WHAT?!?! THREE YEAR OLDS! It is 5 innings or 1 hour long... thank goodness for the hour time limit, or it would have been a LONG morning. Carl started putting a happy face sticker on the ball and John is able to make contact with it almost every time (as opposed to contact with the T every time). Carl is a great coach. John likes hitting and running the bases, but being the outfield is not is favorite. In fact, he spends a total of about 5.3 seconds out there before coming to sit down with us. We tried everything, he had no desire. I even tried some force, but that did not go over well and I feel really bad about it and will not do it again! The hit of the game was the big red treat bucket I brought for the team after the game (thanks to Carl suggesting this to me). Not sure John is quite ready for this, but at least it is introducing the idea of a team to him. I hope to write another blog in 6 weeks when the season is over with some learned skill or excitement over the whole thing. P.S. I am doing my best not to get nervous for him or be "that parent", but man oh man, my competitive side wants to jump right out. I am learning too! Pictures:
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
One Month
Today is Matthew's one month birthday. I can not believe so much time has already passed!
As expected, Matthew is more awake now during the day than he was in the beginning, but is still a pretty good sleeper, especially at night. I am up and back down with him within 30 minutes. A far cry from John and I's hour long ventures when he was a baby.
Last night was probably the biggest change in our lives since Matthew joined us.... I moved him to his nursery. It was great, no problem at all! I had forgotten how much I love that nursery, the set up, the design, the lighting, the furniture, the chairs, the paint, the floors...EVERYTHING! Makes me happy to be in there and I thank Carl for making it so perfect.
John has stayed pretty much the same, possibly gotten a little worse with his attitude and lack of listening.... well... until yesterday that is! I am experimenting with the Love and Logic parenting book. I know I am not crazy, but I can already see a difference in 2 days. We still have a ways to go to get through this age/stage, but I am pleased and I think it is working. I will do a full blog on it next week.
I think Matthew has chunked up, especially in the face. He eats 3 hours to the minute almost every time, give or take 30 minutes once or twice a day. He poos and pees A LOT! So I know he is getting the goods. :) I do not think he really looks like any of the three of us, but I suppose he has more of my features. Brown or blue eyes is still up in the air, although if you look at John's 1 month picture, his are absolutly blue, so I am leaning towards brown.
He tolerates is swing and will take an afternoon nap in it if he is tired enough, but he does not live in it like John did. He likes to be on the floor and play and kick. Still no real smile yet, not for lacking of trying on my part!
The most frustrating part is the evenings, he is awake from the time John goes to sleep until the time that we go to sleep. And he is awake when John naps. So there really is no break for me from both of them at the same time. I know Matthew's schedule will constantly change, so I am trying to take it day by day for now. Next week I am going to do a "week in the life" series again and maybe be able to pin point some sort of pattern that I can slightly manipulate to help out this timing situation.
Here is a few pictures from today.
Just for fun....here is a picture of John at 1 month old: 
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
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