Good Things

I'm depressed today. I haven't felt this down in quite some time. I've been down since Friday. All I wanted to do last weekend was sleep. I thought it was cuz my thirtieth birthday was on Monday. I AM bummed about being 30. There is something different about being in my thirties as opposed to my twenties. But now my birthday has passed and I am still down. So, to try to lift my mood, I am going to list five happy things.

1. Jonathan. Jonathan and the potty. My boy is getting it. He really is! He finally pooped in the potty yesterday and today. I think it's finally clicked for him. Thank God. I was SO sick of cleaning poop out of underwear. That is nasty. People that cloth diaper their kids are much more tolerant of poop than I am apparently.

2. Kensington. Kensington and the Exersaucer. My girl loves it. We finally broke it out yesterday and within a few minutes, she had figured out how to turn to check out the other toys. Smart, smart girl. Since she loves to stand so much, the Exersaucer is her new best friend. The poor Bumbo has been replaced. The Bumbo is now her second best friend. But who wants to sit when one can stand?!

3. It's summer! That means longer days and that definitely lifts my mood. It also means being able to go to the park, the pool, and the freedom of not wearing a dozen layers. That's one shitty thing about Wisconsin winters. In order to go anywhere, you must dress in layers. That means much bundling of myself and my offspring. It also means warming the car up before we go anywhere. Said layers are then removed as we are in the car and then replaced when we get to our destination. Once inside, remove layers again. Before departure, replace layers. Repeat. PITA if you ask me. Now the most my kids need is a hat and some sunscreen and we're good to go!

My bad mood is making it impossible for me to think of any more. Hmmm....

How about some pics instead?

Here is Jonathan riding his new bike that replaced the one that was stolen. (Thanks Gramma and Pop-Pop!):



Here is my sassy girl, enjoying her Exersaucer:



My kids are gorgeous. I know.

I don't wanna...

J cracks me up. He is so negative these days. We will ask him to do something and he will reply, "I don't wannna [insert request]". It's I don't wanna go to bed, I don't wanna wash my hands, etc. Lately it's been that he doesn't wanna go potty.

Tangent....

J is doing awesome with his potty training. No accidents for days now. However, he refuses to poop in the potty. He's done it. But he'll hold it in. He'll say, "I gotta go poop." We'll tell him to go poop and he'll say, "I don't wanna go poop." Who cares if you want to? If you gotta go, then frickin' go! Anyway, he now holds it in until after he goes to bed at night. He'll then go in his diaper. When I go to check to see why he hasn't fallen asleep yet, I will discover he's pooped. It's beyond frustrating.

Anyway, the other night he and I were in the living room. I was tired and crabby at that point cuz it had been a long day. This was our conversation:

J: I gotta go poop.

Me: Then go poop.

J: I don't wanna go poop.

Me: If you need to poop, go poop.

J: But I don't wanna go poop.

Me: Just go poop, J!

J: I don't wanna go poop!

Me: I don't give a shit!

J: I don't wanna I don't give a shit!

I lost it. I totally cracked up. That was the first time he's ever said a swear word and he had no clue what he was saying. Too cute.

I hate people

J wanted to play outside tonight. So, I took him out and he played in his sandbox for a long time. He was playing in his playhouse for a while and then came out. He said to me, "Mommy, where my bike?". We looked all over for it. We looked in the whole yard, in the garage....I asked Chris if he had seen it. We finally came to the conclusion that someone swiped it. J is so sad about it. How do you explain to a two-year-old, who is struggling to learn not to take things that don't belong to him, that there are dishonest people in this world who steal? I can't believe someone would steal a toddler's ride-on bike. J got it for his first birthday and loved riding it. He kept it parked next to his playhouse. That means that the thief had to come into our yard to take it. I feel violated. I feel mad. I feel angry. But I mostly feel confusion.

Holy crap!

And I mean that literally! J pooped on the potty this morning! He said to me, "I pooped." I replied, "You did?!" with dread and then checked his Pull-up. Nothing was there, so I put him on the potty and he went! I was so thrilled and almost took a picture. Cleaning the potty chair with poop inside? Beyond nasty. But to have poop in there to clean? Beyond wonderful.

J has gone three days now with no accidents. Well, he kinda had one tonight. We were at Noodles and Company (J's current favorite restaurant) and he told me he had to pee. When we got to the bathroom, there was a line. Of course, no one would let this poor kid go first (Bitches), so he peed in his Pull-up. I knew that it had just happened, too, cuz the wetness was warm. He still sat on the toilet, though, and peed a little. I didn't bring up the wet Pull-up and neither did he. I am so proud of my little man.

We have had a busy weekend and I am beat. I will write more tomorrow.

My kiddos

I took this picture of my kids tonight. I think it's super cute. Please ignore the food on J's face....and the fact that Kensie looks less than pleased.

I'm ba-ack!

I can't believe how long it's been since I last blogged. So much has happened. I am not going to go back and write about everything. Just the important stuff.

The biggest thing is, of course, our little girl. Kensington Leigh was born on February 8. She was born via repeat c-section. I developed pre-eclampsia again and was put on bedrest for a few weeks. Just like with J, it got to the point that she just had to be born. Luckily, Kensie didn't have the same breathing problems that her big brother had.

Kensington is a much different baby that Jonathan was. She is particular and fussy. She's not as fussy as she used to be, but she still is very particular. When she was a newborn, she would have several hours every night where she would scream and there was no consoling her. It was so annoying. I struggled with adjusting to two kids. J struggled with adjusting to having a sister. I felt so over-whelmed. Still do sometimes. There were times that I would think I made a huge mistake. But it's getting better.

Kensington is doing better, too. She is happier now and much more interactive. She seems to find being a baby to be boring. She tries to sit up all the time and gets mad because she can't. The Bumbo is her best friend. She is a spitter like her brother was and is a good night sleeper like he was...and still is. She naps terribly, but seems to be doing better on that front, too.

Jonathan is wonderful. He is my joy. He's funny and fun. He still adores him some choo-choos. He also loves Matchbox cars, dinosaurs, music, playing outside, the water, and books. He begs to go to the park daily. He is a typical two-year-old and has tantrums. He is being potty trained right now and is quite proud to be wearing big boy pants. J will not poop on the potty, though, and always goes in his pants. That frustrates the hell out of me. I tell him and tell him to use the potty and he just won't. It's so gross to clean poop up out of underwear. J still goes to music class and swim lessons. He will also be attending nursery school this fall and is psyched about that!

We are all looking forward to this summer. We have lots of plans. We're going to Door County, the Milwaukee Zoo, all of the local zoos and farms, Day Out With Thomas, and lots more. It should be a blast.

Overdue update and bentos

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted! Let me see if I can remember everything that's happened lately.

My pregnancy: I'm in the 2nd trimester. Morning sickness continues. I was given IV fluids again last week. It sucks. However, I am hopeful that things will get better soon. I have good days and bad days. Today, for example, has been great. I have been ravenous all day long. It's like I can't get enough to eat! We heard the baby's heartbeat at my last appointment. It was about 160 beats per minute.

Jonathan: What can I say about my little boy? He's just the greatest thing ever. We gave him his birthday present a little early. The child is in HEAVEN. He loves his train table and plays with it constantly. It's so cute to watch. J is doing well in all regards.

Chris and I found J a cozy coupe on clearance at Wal-mart a few weeks ago. J loves, loves, loves it! This is what he did when watching TV for the first few days after he got it:







It was his version of the drive-in movies, I guess.

I recently stumbled upon the idea of bentos. (For more information, visit this blog.) I tried the first one today and J loved it! I am now going to start serving him bentos regularly. This was my first bento attempt:




The items are clockwise from the top: Tortilla wraps with cream cheese. Pepperoni. Applesauce with wheat germ mixed in. Cheese stars.

J can be a picky eater, so I am hopeful that this will help him start eating better and possibly trying new things.