I am a worrier. If you don't know this about me...well, I don't know how you missed it. It's a pretty prominent part of my personality most of the time. I come by it honest. My great grandmother (whom I have a lot in common with I think) was a worrier. I loved my great grandmother. Everyone I knew called her Ma Mary. And she was a worrier. She would dream up stuff to worry about. Would call to ask you if your car tires were okay and would fret over you if she heard you were sick. She was an incredibly sweet woman. And she was a worrier. Hard core. And so am I. Some how this worry gene skipped the two generations between me and Ma Mary. But I inherited a healthy helping.
Sometimes though, worrying is just necessary. Okay, maybe not helpful, I admit. But nonetheless, I feel that a moderate amount of worrying isn't just my nature but a realistic response.
(If I'm overly verbose in this post, I apologize. For some peculiar reason I have been struck with the notion to read Hamlet. So I might wax a bit poetic...)
Yesterday my husband found out that the company he works for has been sold. Who knows what the future will hold for the hundreds of employees.
Needless to say, I'm kinda freaking.
We've already been dealing with a cut in hours over the last couple of weeks but that was supposed to end next week with a transition back to Josh's original store. Now, we don't know if he's moving back or staying where he is.
He will have to reapply for his job. The new company doesn't know if pay rates will stay the same. If everyone will be rehired. They don't know what the insurance situation will be. They don't know what kind of hours employees will have. There are just dozens and dozens of unknowns. In fact, about the only thing that is KNOWN is that there will be a lot of changes in the coming months.
Needless to say, I'm kinda freaking.
While my husband doesn't think it's a huge concern (the company claims that the reapplication process is just for paperwork, that if employees want to keep their new jobs there will be no problems), basically it all sums up in my mind to we don't really know if my husband is going to have a job. And that is terrifying.
I have been through a lay-off, no income situation before. It was several years ago. I voluntarily left my previous employer to start training at the 911 center and the week after my husband came home really early from work and told me that he'd been let go. Suddenly we went from great income to no income. I was terrified. But another week later, Josh had gotten a new job working for the convenience store chain. Over the years the pay has been really good, the benefits have been good. It seemed to work out for the best. Back then, we had some savings. And we didn't have kids. The only ones going hungry if we lost our jobs was us.
Fast forward to today. No income now would be disastrous. Since I just finished Christmas shopping our savings account is kind of depleted. We only have enough to get by for maybe a month if Josh lost his job. And in today's economy, it's hard to find a new job in less than a month. We could lose our house, lose our cars...the possibilities are just...well, just typing it brings tears to my eyes. I don't know what we'd do.
And I know you should really have more saved than that, but with our finances, I'm pretty proud that we have a month's worth. There's not a lot of extra and we do a pretty awesome job sticking to our budget and putting at least SOMETHING in savings every month.
Even if he keeps his job, which in all honesty, he probably will. It's more often the ones at the very top and very bottom who go when these kind of company acquisitions happen. And Josh is comfortably in the middle. But even with him still employed there are so many things that we just don't know. Like insurance. Both of our kids are on his insurance. Because, honestly, we cannot afford to have them on my insurance. And with kids you really have to keep them insured. And pay. Even if he keeps a job, if his pay goes down much we still won't be able to make ends meet. They might move him to a store that is so far away that we can't afford the gas. They could put him back on thirds and we'll never see him. We have two kids to feed and clothe and shoe and those are EXPENSIVE things to do.
I'm just hoping and praying and cringing and crying and keeping my fingers crossed that everything turns out for the best. In the long run it always does, but it's the path in between that gives me indigestion. Too much to struggle with.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Goal...met?
Well, I did it. It took me about a month longer than I had originally hoped. But I lost all of my baby weight.
I cringe to admit this, but I gained 70 lbs when I was pregnant with Elly. However, I managed to lose it. All of it. It just took me seven months instead of the six I had hoped for. I am so excited! I have done way better this summer than I ever thought I would. Not only did I lose the weight. But I'm actually several sizes smaller than I was the last time I was this weight. The downside is that most of my clothes are kinda baggy. But ah well.
I have even surpassed my goal, losing four more pounds in the month since I made pre-Elly weight. I am officially within one pound of my ultimate goal weight. Every morning I step on the scale, crossing my fingers to see that little ticker stop on 120. While simultaneously praying it hasn't gone up. So far, I'm just sitting on 121. But considering how frequently I've been cheating on my diet lately, I'm just tickled that it hasn't gone back up.
While I'm overjoyed to have made it so far in my weight loss in less than 8 months, I am kinda afraid to lose the last pound.
It sounds dumb. I know. But I have spent like, 3 years now either losing or gaining weight. I don't have the slightest idea how to just maintain.
One solution is to continue trying to lose another 5 lbs. But if I make it down another 5 lbs then I will be borderline too skinny. Heck, I will be too skinny. Granted, being "too skinny" will leave me some room to gain a couple of pounds. But I don't particularly want to start a vicious cycle of working to lose 5 lbs and then eating haphazardly until I gain 5-10...I just hate that.
I'd like to just stay a weight, give or take a few lbs either way. Because, let's face it, as women our weight doesn't just STAY the same. Hormones, stress, sleep patterns, fiber intake, etc rocks that scale from week to week. Seems like trying to lose weight is about the only way to get the scale to not budge. So I guess I need to figure out what my give or take a couple of pounds weight is. That's just a hard number to pick.
Even harder than picking a number will be maintaining the level of exercise that I'm at currently. Else the pounds will just pile back on. With winter fast approaching, it will be so difficult to get myself outside and walk. And I don't have a treadmill or anything. So, what to do?
I cringe to admit this, but I gained 70 lbs when I was pregnant with Elly. However, I managed to lose it. All of it. It just took me seven months instead of the six I had hoped for. I am so excited! I have done way better this summer than I ever thought I would. Not only did I lose the weight. But I'm actually several sizes smaller than I was the last time I was this weight. The downside is that most of my clothes are kinda baggy. But ah well.
I have even surpassed my goal, losing four more pounds in the month since I made pre-Elly weight. I am officially within one pound of my ultimate goal weight. Every morning I step on the scale, crossing my fingers to see that little ticker stop on 120. While simultaneously praying it hasn't gone up. So far, I'm just sitting on 121. But considering how frequently I've been cheating on my diet lately, I'm just tickled that it hasn't gone back up.
While I'm overjoyed to have made it so far in my weight loss in less than 8 months, I am kinda afraid to lose the last pound.
It sounds dumb. I know. But I have spent like, 3 years now either losing or gaining weight. I don't have the slightest idea how to just maintain.
One solution is to continue trying to lose another 5 lbs. But if I make it down another 5 lbs then I will be borderline too skinny. Heck, I will be too skinny. Granted, being "too skinny" will leave me some room to gain a couple of pounds. But I don't particularly want to start a vicious cycle of working to lose 5 lbs and then eating haphazardly until I gain 5-10...I just hate that.
I'd like to just stay a weight, give or take a few lbs either way. Because, let's face it, as women our weight doesn't just STAY the same. Hormones, stress, sleep patterns, fiber intake, etc rocks that scale from week to week. Seems like trying to lose weight is about the only way to get the scale to not budge. So I guess I need to figure out what my give or take a couple of pounds weight is. That's just a hard number to pick.
Even harder than picking a number will be maintaining the level of exercise that I'm at currently. Else the pounds will just pile back on. With winter fast approaching, it will be so difficult to get myself outside and walk. And I don't have a treadmill or anything. So, what to do?
Hello Autumn!
It's beginning to look like life with two kids is just hectic all around. I thought maybe it was going to just be a summer thing. Really, I did. But now it's looking like that's just life. Plus, I keep finding myself addicted to random apps on the iPad. And that really cuts into my blogging time. My horse needs to be fed, groomed and trained regularly dang it!
I dunno. I have had all these things I wanted to blog about. But haven't been able to find the motivation to actually TYPE. It's sad.
But hey, as of last week, Autumn 2011 is officially upon us. What are you most excited about this fall?
First off, I'm super stoked for our very first Dowd family vacation. Josh and I haven't really done a lot of vacation since we have been together. Something I absolutely REFUSE to continue now that we have children. Most people find it easiest to travel BEFORE you have kids. For me, there is more inspiration to travel with the kids. Plus, it's going to be way more fun! So we're heading to Myrtle Beach the last week of October. The whole Dowd crew. All four of us, my husband's parents, and my husband's sister and her family or that's the plan. We're going to the aquarium and the beach and shopping...etc etc.
Second, two family holidays are coming up. Well, heck, three really. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Yes, that third one is a holiday. An exciting one at that! Especially since this year, we will be celebrating our Thanksgiving that day. I have to work on Thursday and it's just easier to not try. If I got off at a normal time, like 6 p.m. or worked nights, I probably could. But with my shift, it'll just be easier to take off Black Friday. That way the other employees who need to come in late or leave early to celebrate Turkey Day with their families can do so. My people have already been advised and are fully prepared. Another plus to celebrating Thanksgiving the day after? I will get to go shopping without coming into work dead tired from being up all night! WOOT!
But I'm pretty excited about Halloween. It's always fun and it will be exciting to take both girls trick-or-treating.
I'm really looking forward to the leaves turning and falling. The crisp autumn mornings. The cooler weather before it gets to being really COLD. I don't like cold so much. Especially not after December 25 (Up until Christmas cold and snow seem seasonal, afterwards, I think they're just depressing). But fall is such a fun time. The smells, the tastes, all the activities to get into. I'm going to teach Evie how to rake leaves and jump into piles.
And I have some great ideas for fall pictures. As soon as the leaves get good and multicolored. I think we'll take a drive up the Parkway one morning and do a photo session with them both. It's funny the things you look forward to once you have kids, huh? haha.
I dunno. I have had all these things I wanted to blog about. But haven't been able to find the motivation to actually TYPE. It's sad.
But hey, as of last week, Autumn 2011 is officially upon us. What are you most excited about this fall?
First off, I'm super stoked for our very first Dowd family vacation. Josh and I haven't really done a lot of vacation since we have been together. Something I absolutely REFUSE to continue now that we have children. Most people find it easiest to travel BEFORE you have kids. For me, there is more inspiration to travel with the kids. Plus, it's going to be way more fun! So we're heading to Myrtle Beach the last week of October. The whole Dowd crew. All four of us, my husband's parents, and my husband's sister and her family or that's the plan. We're going to the aquarium and the beach and shopping...etc etc.
Second, two family holidays are coming up. Well, heck, three really. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Yes, that third one is a holiday. An exciting one at that! Especially since this year, we will be celebrating our Thanksgiving that day. I have to work on Thursday and it's just easier to not try. If I got off at a normal time, like 6 p.m. or worked nights, I probably could. But with my shift, it'll just be easier to take off Black Friday. That way the other employees who need to come in late or leave early to celebrate Turkey Day with their families can do so. My people have already been advised and are fully prepared. Another plus to celebrating Thanksgiving the day after? I will get to go shopping without coming into work dead tired from being up all night! WOOT!
But I'm pretty excited about Halloween. It's always fun and it will be exciting to take both girls trick-or-treating.
I'm really looking forward to the leaves turning and falling. The crisp autumn mornings. The cooler weather before it gets to being really COLD. I don't like cold so much. Especially not after December 25 (Up until Christmas cold and snow seem seasonal, afterwards, I think they're just depressing). But fall is such a fun time. The smells, the tastes, all the activities to get into. I'm going to teach Evie how to rake leaves and jump into piles.
And I have some great ideas for fall pictures. As soon as the leaves get good and multicolored. I think we'll take a drive up the Parkway one morning and do a photo session with them both. It's funny the things you look forward to once you have kids, huh? haha.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
New Car Seat Recommendations
I think all parents would say that keeping their kids safe is important to them. Sometimes I think I would like to put each of my girls in a little bubble, to keep them from ever being injured or sick. To never get their feelings hurt or feel disappointment. It breaks my heart when they cry. I wish I could take their pain and their sickness upon myself. I, along with probably every mother, can say without hesitation that I would give my life for either of my kids.
So what does this have to do with a car seat?
Well, back in the spring, the American Academy of Pediatrics released new recommendations regarding child seats. Because of them I am seriously reconsidering my current car seat situation and definitely postponing the ever-exciting forward-facing debut for Elly.
So many people have responded to delaying turning car seats with annoyance or disinterest. People complain that their child's legs are touching the seat and they can't be comfortable. Or that their other children were turned at age one without problem. Or their kid is big for their age so they don't even want to wait til age one.
What is more important than your child's safety? If it comes down to being a little less comfortable in the car versus dead, are you really going to choose dead? Really? It blows my mind than anyone would even consider not following the new recommendations.
Although Evie meets the age and size minimums to be forward-facing, the statistics show that rear-facing is SOOO much safer, that I'm strongly considering turning her back rear -facing. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in children under age twelve. One reason is that people disregard car seat safety.
Yes, car seats are a pain. The five-point harness is a big hassle and with a wiggly kid it can take an eternity to get them buckled it. And with the new recommendations saying that children should ride in a booster seat until they are 4'9" (a height I probably didn't reach until middle school honestly) more parents are likely to shrug them off. But this is your child's LIFE.
None of us plan to get in a car accident. We don't hop in the car and hope to risk our lives and the lives of our children. But think about this statistic...if you are going 30 mph and are in front-end impact accident, everyone in the car continues to go 30 mph. An impact to your child's head at that momentum is the same as dropping your child head first off a three-story building.
Children in a rear-facing car seat are 75% safer than forward facing. This is because 72% of auto accidents are head-on (car meets object with forward-moving impact). Children are born with softer bones than an adult. They are still growing and developing. Between ages 2 and 5 the bones in their spine begin to harden and fuse and can withstand more impact without damage. Until those bones are fully hardened your child's spinal cord is very weakly protected. Whip lash for a child can be the same as internal decapitation. That's right DE-CAP-I-TA-TION.
So what about rear-impact collisions? Where someone hits you or you back into something. Well, these accidents only account for about 4% of all accidents. But even in the case of this type of wreck, a rear-facing child's head and neck are usually cushioned by the recline in the rear-facing seat, dramatically reducing the force on their head and neck. Also, in that type of collision, the cars continue to go forward, distributing the momentum of the accident over the car instead of on the passengers.
I seriously doubt that a child who had never been forward facing would complain about their legs being cramped. As adults, we have a much different opinion of what "comfortable" is. Toddlers sleep contorted and twisted up. After all, it wasn't that long ago that they were wadded up inside their mom's belly. They're still incredibly flexible. And children are more than happy to prop their feet up or sit cross-legged. As for a child's legs being injured by being rear-facing when their legs touch the seat, a leg fracture is very, very rarely fatal. Yes, a femur fracture can be life threatening. But the majority of the time, it would be one of the more fragile lower leg bones that would break before the hefty femur. And a leg fracture leads to a cast. Breaking your neck though? Well, a cast can't fix a spinal cord injury.
And the new recommendations do make exceptions for children that are especially big for their age. While they don't budge on the one-year requirement, there are allowance for those children who exceed the limits for their seat's rear-facing height and weight limits. In those circumstances, parents are told to turn the child forward facing. So, if your convertible car seat sets 30 lbs as the weight limit on rear-facing and your 15 month old weighs 31 lbs, you should go ahead and turn them forward. Most children however, do not hit the 30 lb mark until after their second birthday.
I have all these dreams for my children. I want to see them start school, ride a pony, play sports. I want to help them do their hair for school dances and help them with their grammar homework. I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child. It is something I would give anything and do anything to prevent from ever happening. I would like for it to be something no one has to go through. And to experience that loss and to know that you could have prevented it? That would be a guilt that I cannot imagine living with.
I have read the complaints and the arguments against waiting until age 2 to turn your child forward-facing. And I don't feel that any of them are worth a grain of salt when you're talking about the safety of your children. It isn't a law. Yet. Though there is a tremendous push from a lot of groups to enact more of the car seat and booster seat recommendations into law. Which, for the record, I think is a great idea.
So, to all the parents out there, please read the AAP's new recommendations. Take an honest look at your child's car seat situation. I'm going to start telling my girls early that they'll probably be in a booster seat when they get their driver's license. I'm only 5'3" and my husband isn't giving NBA stars a run for their money in the height department. There are some tall genes in my family somewhere because my younger brother is 6'2" but my kids shouldn't count on inheriting any of that. And their safety is far more important to me than whether or not they look cool getting out of the car. haha!
I don't feel bad for turning Evie forward facing at age one. I'm glad that she wasn't one of thousands of children injured under age 2 by a car accident. But at the time, doctors, scientists and pediatricians all said 1 year and 20 lbs was okay. My 6 month old met the 20 lb requirement, but I assure you that turning her car seat around hasn't even flitted across my subconscious. Let alone surfaced in my conscious thoughts. I won't be turning her til age 2, regardless of the fact that Evie survived.
So, my second day back to blogging and I have a seriously biased rant. Sorry guys. I just feel really strongly about child safety. I work in emergency services. I hear too many stories about children killed in car accidents. I don't want any of those stories to be about your kids! I want those stories to stop completely. So please, take care of your children. They are precious gifts.
Links for more information:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Time article
American Academy of Pediatrics
So what does this have to do with a car seat?
Well, back in the spring, the American Academy of Pediatrics released new recommendations regarding child seats. Because of them I am seriously reconsidering my current car seat situation and definitely postponing the ever-exciting forward-facing debut for Elly.
So many people have responded to delaying turning car seats with annoyance or disinterest. People complain that their child's legs are touching the seat and they can't be comfortable. Or that their other children were turned at age one without problem. Or their kid is big for their age so they don't even want to wait til age one.
What is more important than your child's safety? If it comes down to being a little less comfortable in the car versus dead, are you really going to choose dead? Really? It blows my mind than anyone would even consider not following the new recommendations.
Although Evie meets the age and size minimums to be forward-facing, the statistics show that rear-facing is SOOO much safer, that I'm strongly considering turning her back rear -facing. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in children under age twelve. One reason is that people disregard car seat safety.
Yes, car seats are a pain. The five-point harness is a big hassle and with a wiggly kid it can take an eternity to get them buckled it. And with the new recommendations saying that children should ride in a booster seat until they are 4'9" (a height I probably didn't reach until middle school honestly) more parents are likely to shrug them off. But this is your child's LIFE.
None of us plan to get in a car accident. We don't hop in the car and hope to risk our lives and the lives of our children. But think about this statistic...if you are going 30 mph and are in front-end impact accident, everyone in the car continues to go 30 mph. An impact to your child's head at that momentum is the same as dropping your child head first off a three-story building.
Children in a rear-facing car seat are 75% safer than forward facing. This is because 72% of auto accidents are head-on (car meets object with forward-moving impact). Children are born with softer bones than an adult. They are still growing and developing. Between ages 2 and 5 the bones in their spine begin to harden and fuse and can withstand more impact without damage. Until those bones are fully hardened your child's spinal cord is very weakly protected. Whip lash for a child can be the same as internal decapitation. That's right DE-CAP-I-TA-TION.
So what about rear-impact collisions? Where someone hits you or you back into something. Well, these accidents only account for about 4% of all accidents. But even in the case of this type of wreck, a rear-facing child's head and neck are usually cushioned by the recline in the rear-facing seat, dramatically reducing the force on their head and neck. Also, in that type of collision, the cars continue to go forward, distributing the momentum of the accident over the car instead of on the passengers.
I seriously doubt that a child who had never been forward facing would complain about their legs being cramped. As adults, we have a much different opinion of what "comfortable" is. Toddlers sleep contorted and twisted up. After all, it wasn't that long ago that they were wadded up inside their mom's belly. They're still incredibly flexible. And children are more than happy to prop their feet up or sit cross-legged. As for a child's legs being injured by being rear-facing when their legs touch the seat, a leg fracture is very, very rarely fatal. Yes, a femur fracture can be life threatening. But the majority of the time, it would be one of the more fragile lower leg bones that would break before the hefty femur. And a leg fracture leads to a cast. Breaking your neck though? Well, a cast can't fix a spinal cord injury.
And the new recommendations do make exceptions for children that are especially big for their age. While they don't budge on the one-year requirement, there are allowance for those children who exceed the limits for their seat's rear-facing height and weight limits. In those circumstances, parents are told to turn the child forward facing. So, if your convertible car seat sets 30 lbs as the weight limit on rear-facing and your 15 month old weighs 31 lbs, you should go ahead and turn them forward. Most children however, do not hit the 30 lb mark until after their second birthday.
I have all these dreams for my children. I want to see them start school, ride a pony, play sports. I want to help them do their hair for school dances and help them with their grammar homework. I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child. It is something I would give anything and do anything to prevent from ever happening. I would like for it to be something no one has to go through. And to experience that loss and to know that you could have prevented it? That would be a guilt that I cannot imagine living with.
I have read the complaints and the arguments against waiting until age 2 to turn your child forward-facing. And I don't feel that any of them are worth a grain of salt when you're talking about the safety of your children. It isn't a law. Yet. Though there is a tremendous push from a lot of groups to enact more of the car seat and booster seat recommendations into law. Which, for the record, I think is a great idea.
So, to all the parents out there, please read the AAP's new recommendations. Take an honest look at your child's car seat situation. I'm going to start telling my girls early that they'll probably be in a booster seat when they get their driver's license. I'm only 5'3" and my husband isn't giving NBA stars a run for their money in the height department. There are some tall genes in my family somewhere because my younger brother is 6'2" but my kids shouldn't count on inheriting any of that. And their safety is far more important to me than whether or not they look cool getting out of the car. haha!
I don't feel bad for turning Evie forward facing at age one. I'm glad that she wasn't one of thousands of children injured under age 2 by a car accident. But at the time, doctors, scientists and pediatricians all said 1 year and 20 lbs was okay. My 6 month old met the 20 lb requirement, but I assure you that turning her car seat around hasn't even flitted across my subconscious. Let alone surfaced in my conscious thoughts. I won't be turning her til age 2, regardless of the fact that Evie survived.
So, my second day back to blogging and I have a seriously biased rant. Sorry guys. I just feel really strongly about child safety. I work in emergency services. I hear too many stories about children killed in car accidents. I don't want any of those stories to be about your kids! I want those stories to stop completely. So please, take care of your children. They are precious gifts.
Links for more information:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Time article
American Academy of Pediatrics
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Hiatus...
So, I took an unscheduled, month-long hiatus from blogging. I can't really say why, I just didn't feel up to writing. I certainly had plenty to write about, PLENTY of issues going on lemme tell ya, but I just didn't feel like writing about any of it.
So, what changed?
No clue. Just driving to work today I felt like blogging. So here I am.
A lot has happened in the month I've been gone.
We celebrated Evie's second birthday. It was a great party. I felt so blessed and grateful for our wonderful friends and family. So many came out to celebrate her special day and it was just spectacular! I loved it all. From the crazy, frantic rush of trying to get everything ready in the morning to the unbelievable exhaustion of the afternoon when I FINALLY got to sit down. Then I realized again that in six months I will be throwing yet another birthday party. And I felt a little dizzy. Eesh.
Also in the last month, Evie has decided to go on strike against pooping in the potty. She is accident-free on the pee front. But she simply does NOT want to go poop in the potty. It is probably the most frustrating thing in the world. I don't know why she's doing it. She certainly hasn't explained it to me. She just doesn't want to do it. Everyone tells me it's a phase and soon she will resume her potty regimen. I just have to be patient...but gosh, it is hard!
Let's see...Elly has decided NOT to pursue crawling. She wants to skip that milestone and go straight to walking I guess. Just like Evie. There were a couple of weeks where she was creeping and doing this funny inchworm thing around the living room. And then I guess the light bulb went off as she was watching her sister skip, hop and tumble about. Up is the way to go. Leave all this belly-business to the lizards! So now she's pulling up and trying to take steps and wanting to cruise, etc. She gets so mad that she can't just walk like her big sis. There's so much that Elly sees Evie doing and she can't do yet and she gets so mad when she tries! It's kinda cute.
My nephew celebrated his first birthday during the last month. It was a precious birthday party and made me realize I totally need to solicit my mother-in-law's input for Elly's party. The theme was cowboys and she got red-checkered table cloths for all the tables, mini hay bales, cowboy hats and an adorable banner. There was a bounce house for the kids. And the party favors were bandannas, badges, stickers and miniature plush horses! It was so cute! The cake was shaped like a big cowboy boot and Hunter's smash cake was a yellow badge. So adorable. So now I've set my goals really high for Elly's first birthday. I don't think I'll get that in-depth for every party, but the first one is a big one. Her birthday is close to Valentine's Day and since she's just going to be one and doesn't really have a preference on characters or themes, I was thinking of doing a Valentines theme. It will certainly be easy to find appropriate decorations and what not!
Like I predicted earlier, Elly has turned out to be a talker. She already says "mama," "dada" and "hi." She actually said "Dora" yesterday. And she tries to say lots of things. It's so interesting to see how different two kids can be.
In the last week, fall has officially settled on us. It is cold! We went from upper 80s, playing in the pool, running the AC, to 60s and wearing coats with the heat on at night. It is wild! But I am so excited. Because that means that our beach vacation is soon, followed by Halloween. And then Thanksgiving and Christmas will be right around the corner. Woot! I cannot wait! The holidays are going to be so much fun this year. Three babies at the Dowd family stuff and two babies at the Schmoll family stuff. Kids really MAKE the holidays.
Other than running around like crazy (we've had three birthday parties, including Evie's in the last month) and working weird schedules, that's about it for my hiatus. Sorry I haven't written. I hope to do better! Thanks for reading!
Love,
G
So, what changed?
No clue. Just driving to work today I felt like blogging. So here I am.
A lot has happened in the month I've been gone.
We celebrated Evie's second birthday. It was a great party. I felt so blessed and grateful for our wonderful friends and family. So many came out to celebrate her special day and it was just spectacular! I loved it all. From the crazy, frantic rush of trying to get everything ready in the morning to the unbelievable exhaustion of the afternoon when I FINALLY got to sit down. Then I realized again that in six months I will be throwing yet another birthday party. And I felt a little dizzy. Eesh.
Also in the last month, Evie has decided to go on strike against pooping in the potty. She is accident-free on the pee front. But she simply does NOT want to go poop in the potty. It is probably the most frustrating thing in the world. I don't know why she's doing it. She certainly hasn't explained it to me. She just doesn't want to do it. Everyone tells me it's a phase and soon she will resume her potty regimen. I just have to be patient...but gosh, it is hard!
Let's see...Elly has decided NOT to pursue crawling. She wants to skip that milestone and go straight to walking I guess. Just like Evie. There were a couple of weeks where she was creeping and doing this funny inchworm thing around the living room. And then I guess the light bulb went off as she was watching her sister skip, hop and tumble about. Up is the way to go. Leave all this belly-business to the lizards! So now she's pulling up and trying to take steps and wanting to cruise, etc. She gets so mad that she can't just walk like her big sis. There's so much that Elly sees Evie doing and she can't do yet and she gets so mad when she tries! It's kinda cute.
My nephew celebrated his first birthday during the last month. It was a precious birthday party and made me realize I totally need to solicit my mother-in-law's input for Elly's party. The theme was cowboys and she got red-checkered table cloths for all the tables, mini hay bales, cowboy hats and an adorable banner. There was a bounce house for the kids. And the party favors were bandannas, badges, stickers and miniature plush horses! It was so cute! The cake was shaped like a big cowboy boot and Hunter's smash cake was a yellow badge. So adorable. So now I've set my goals really high for Elly's first birthday. I don't think I'll get that in-depth for every party, but the first one is a big one. Her birthday is close to Valentine's Day and since she's just going to be one and doesn't really have a preference on characters or themes, I was thinking of doing a Valentines theme. It will certainly be easy to find appropriate decorations and what not!
Like I predicted earlier, Elly has turned out to be a talker. She already says "mama," "dada" and "hi." She actually said "Dora" yesterday. And she tries to say lots of things. It's so interesting to see how different two kids can be.
In the last week, fall has officially settled on us. It is cold! We went from upper 80s, playing in the pool, running the AC, to 60s and wearing coats with the heat on at night. It is wild! But I am so excited. Because that means that our beach vacation is soon, followed by Halloween. And then Thanksgiving and Christmas will be right around the corner. Woot! I cannot wait! The holidays are going to be so much fun this year. Three babies at the Dowd family stuff and two babies at the Schmoll family stuff. Kids really MAKE the holidays.
Other than running around like crazy (we've had three birthday parties, including Evie's in the last month) and working weird schedules, that's about it for my hiatus. Sorry I haven't written. I hope to do better! Thanks for reading!
Love,
G
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