Merry Christmas from Heaven

Ironically, my sister had prepared this poem last Christmas as a gift for her dear friend Nancy who lost both of her parents to cancer that year. She had ordered (or wanted to order) a special tree ornament and printed this nice poem on cute stationary to go with it. I'm not sure if Nancy ever got the ornament or poem but I found the poem in Kathy's stuff. It was written by John Mooney after the death of his mother and is now distributed at funeral homes across the country.

As you all know, Kathy loved Christmas. She loved all things Santa and homemade cookies and giving presents. She was always dressed for the festivities with cute holiday socks, pins or a red sweater. I'm confident that she is enjoying this Christmas in Heaven more than the last three that were spent in the hospital.

Merry Christmas From Heaven
By John Mooney, Jr.

I still hear the songs

I still see the lights

I still feel your love

On cold wintry nights

I still share your hopes

And all of your cares

I'll even remind you

To please say your prayers

I just want to tell you

You still make me proud

You stand head and shoulders

Above all the crowd

Keep trying each moment

To stay in His grace

I came here before you

To help set your place

You don't have to be

Perfect all of the time

He forgives you the slip

If you continue the climb

To my family and friends

Please be thankful today

I'm still close beside you

In a new special way

I love you all dearly

Now don't shed a tear

Cause I'm spending my

Christmas with Jesus this year.

Refocus

Sorry I've been MIA...I've shifted my focus to my sister's blog for a little while. Come visit over there.

www.CancerKat.com

Tummy Time

Experts recommend so many minutes of tummy time per day. How many? Well actually I don't know. I guess you can tell I'm not a big fan of expert recommendations. But we try to incorporate some tummy time into our routine at least a few days a week. In fact unlike most babies Thomas loves tummy time. He's pretty strong at holding his head up and can already roll from his tummy to his back and one time last week he went the other way from back to tummy.

Sophia, on the other hand, disliked tummy time. We would have to force her to stay on her tummy. The poor thing would cry and fight us every time...even on the cool tummy-time surfboard mat. I know. I know. Mean parents.

Now before you call us tummy torturers rest assured that eventually she learned to like it.

Don't Say the M Word

One of the most anticipated events in a mother's life is the day when her offspring says "Mama" or "Mommy" for the first time. I remember when Sophia first started talking she would say "Dada" all the time. Everything was "Dada" this and "Dada" that. As her primary caretaker I completely felt left out. Hell-o! What about me? What about Mommy? Say "Mama." Say "Mommy." "Who am I?" I would beg all day long, every single day for those two measily syllables. I even tried sign language but all I would get in return was a clear and concise "Dada" or a hand to the forehead (sign for daddy). So much for Mommy. Chopped liver, I guess.

Well I'm happy to report that times have changed. Well...sort of. You see Sophia has finally learned that we (her and I) are two different people. I'm not sure if it's my recent, frequent absences or a developmental thing. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. All. Day. Long. Mommy this. Mommy that. I find it very odd how I couldn't wait for her to call me Mommy and now I'm ready to hand over the Thesaurus to my doting 21 month old. But honestly is there a better word for me than Mommy?

Some Bunny Fun

Late last night I remembered that I had to put our Easter baskets together. Every year I give Dan a very thoughtful basket full of useful stuff and a little bit of special candy. Same for Sophia. And this year Tommy and Mommy too. The only problem is that I didn't really have time to go shopping this year. Oops! What was I going to do? The Easter bunny couldn't let everyone down. Plus being the bunny is half the fun.

Surprisingly, I lucked out. I rummaged through the house and filled four Easter baskets. I did buy a couple of things for Sophia at Target the week before but the rest of it was either a re-gift (sorry) or something I bought recently but didn't intend to put in their Easter basket. Here's a picture of my great last-minute Easter basket creations.


Hopefully my children will never find out. So Thank You to my friend for the wonderful chocolate Bunny and Peeps - they worked great. And who would of thought that the baseball onesie I bought for Thomas would double as his basket filler. And the Speed Stick and pen refills for Dan. And the Big Red chewing gum and nail polish for me. Oh and don't forget our new iPhones!!! More on that later...

We hope you all had a blessed and Happy Easter!!!

My Portrait Nightmare

Lately I've been sort of sidetracked (in case you haven't noticed by my lack of blogs) so it came as no surprise that I did nothing to prepare for the Easter holiday in advance. (I barely have time to take a shower and comb my own hair these days). But today I mustered up all my energy to take the kids to the portrait studio for the first time. I wanted to get some Easter portraits for the family but mostly for my sister. Plus I wanted some cute 8x10's for our stairwalls.

In order to make things a little easier I called on my 12 year old niece to accompany us. Luckily for me she was free and coincidentally a mallacholic (according to my sister). First mission was to find two spring outfits. We ran into JcPenney found a beautiful yellow dress for Sophia. Next, we hopped on over to BabyGap for a plaid jumper for Thomas. Mission one complete.

Second, we had to get both kids dressed and looking cute. The portrait studio has a bathroom and comfy couches so we were able to get both kids cleaned up and ready. Mission two complete.

Lastly, we had to cross our fingers and hope both kids cooperated. Mission three - FAILED.

Sophia had a complete meltdown despite the snacks and juice and toys and distractions. She hated having her picture taken. She wanted nothing to do with her brother Thomas during the combo shoot. She just wanted to run all over the store and out of the store. Is there a reason why the kid's portrait studio is directly across from the big, giant, fun carousel? Seriously! The carousel marketing people are probably brilliant and racking in the dough. But the Portrait studio can't be doing that well. Because honestly I could barely keep Sophia in the store long enough to buy one single pose. I was so worn out, frustrated and tired we left without buying a thing. I felt completely defeated.

Later that evening when Dan came home from work I went back to the store to buy the prints. As I was waiting I sat down and stared at the beautiful family portraits hanging on the walls. How in the world do all these families have the perfect portrait? They make it look so easy but for me it was SO hard. Now I realize why I put it off for so long. It was a major nightmare for me to get two kids dressed, ready and more importantly happy at the same time even with my little helper. I think it will be awhile before we try that again!!!

P.S. I do have to admit that once I got home and framed the portraits - they look effortless and perfect after all...just like the ones in the store.

Just Like Mommy

I'm starting to realize that I have to watch what I say and more importantly what I do. There's a new copycat in town and she's just like her mommy. In fact it's kinda flattering that she wants to be like me.

I can't believe she's already driving. I thought I had at least 15 more years before I had to hand over the keys. I guess it's never too early to start teaching her. Maybe it will ease the pain of drivers ed and permit training!

Another Lesson Learned

For those of you who remember the last time we ate out, little Miss Sophia had a public tantrum and we had to leave before the food came. Tonight we avoided the tantrum by going to a very kid-friendly restaurant: The Souplantation.

The food is relatively good. There's something for everyone. They have salad, soup, pasta, baked potatoes, muffins, fruit and more. The best part is that you get it all right as soon as you sit down to eat. Which eliminates the waiting time or as in our case meltdown time.

Plus they have little miniature ice cream cones. And nothing is cuter than watching your baby girl eat an ice cream cone. Even if she's somewhat sensitive to dairy products.

Spring Gala

On Saturday night I fulfilled another wish for my sister. She really really wanted to go see her son perform at his high school's annual fundraiser. The Spring Gala was held at the Four Seasons in Westlake Village. It included dinner, a live auction, tons of raffles and prizes, and the senior class provides the entertainment.

Someone donated two seats at a table close to the stage just for us. And luckily my sister was feeling well enough to go so I decided to take her. She is very strong and very determined (if you haven't noticed).

First, I had to figure out transportation. I decided that if I were dying I would want to travel in style so I rented a stretch limosuine. Plus I figured it would be easier to transfer her from the wheelchair to the bench seat and vice versa.

Kathy in the limosuine. I think she was very anxious and excited to get on the road.

Next, nurse and bodyguard in the limosuine. My sister Maggie is a nurse so she went with in case there were any problems. My brother John went with us too...I guess to help Maggie and I lift her into the car/chair. The two of them were like two kids in a candy store. I'm not sure if they had been in a limo before or at least not recently. That made it all the more fun. Plus the driver was kinda creepy so I'm really glad they came with us.

Me and Kathy at the table.

Kathy cheering and clapping at the performance. Gotta love that smile.

The real reason we went...Kathy and her son after the performance.

Picture Surprise

For lack of time...today you get a couple recent photos. Thomas is 3 months old and growing very fast. He smiles all the time now and coos and gurgles. He is a perfect little boy.

Sophia is almost 21 months and growing intellectually more and more each day. She has a ton of new words but "Okay" and "No" seem to be her favorites right now. She received a lot of attention the other day at my nephew's graduation party. Too bad all four of us didn't get a family photo but Thomas was inside the house staying warm.

Dirty vs. Clean

I hate doing dishes. It's my least favorite chore. I don't think that Dan really likes to do them either but he is very good about rinsing them and leaving them in the sink (on the non-disposal side). Me...I like to stack the other side (left-hand side) with dirty dishes and then squirt a little dish soap (Dawn) on them and use the faucet spray feature to hose them down. So basically the dishes are clean before I put them in the dishwasher.

But we still use the dishwasher. Kinda like how we wash the baby bottles and then use the Avent microwave sterilizer thingee to sterilize them. They are perfectly clean and usable with hot water and soap but we like to go the extra mile and "sterilize" them.

Well today Dan did some light cleaning and he unloaded the "clean" dishes from the dishwasher and put them away (thank you?). The only problem is that yesterday I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher but I forgot to change the magnet from Clean to Dirty. Oops! Yes we have one of those silly reminder magnets even though we have a stainless steel dishwasher that is non-magnetic. The magnet is just resting on the counter and we flip it when we load or unload. Clean. Dirty. It's that simple.

Now most of you will probably never want to drink from a glass at our house again knowing we use "dirty" dishes. But rest assured they are probably clean enough. You see I never did believe those ads where the dishwasher or magic detergent gets the crusted food off the plate - no rinsing required. I'm one of those weird people who always washes the dishes with soap and hot water before they go in the dishwasher. Luckily my husband is one of those weirdos too. So when I commented that the empty dishwasher had never actually been turned on - neither of us were worried. It's just one of the downsides to the magnet method. Next time I will make sure he checks the top rack for wet tupperware. That's a sure sign of extra clean!

Snap, Crackle, POP

Picture this: it's 3am. I'm tired. In fact I was asleep and dreaming. But Thomas is hungry and has a dirty diaper. I crawl out of bed and sluggishly make it to his room. I take him out of the crib. Plop him down on the changing table. Proceed to change his diaper. I unbutton the pajamas, get the wipes and fresh diaper. So far so good. Except he's screaming and wiggling all over the place because he's still hungry. I mean it sounds like he's starving. What I don't get, is why he just won't hold still so I can finish the diaper change? He should know by now that if he just stayed still and would stop kicking - he would get the food faster. I promise.

You see at 3am I cannot manage to snap the pajamas. There are like a million snaps. And no matter what they always get snapped wrong and I have to start over. Why do pajama makers insist on snaps for infant pajamas. Here in the Paine household we do not like snaps. We like zippers. Much more easy. Snaps not easy. Snaps make mommy crazy. One more snap and I will probably snap, crackle and eventually POP!

Baby Number Three

Please welcome the newest baby to our family. Baby Number Three. He's rather large. About six foot six. Two hundred pounds. And all baby. I'm not sure about you but when daddy is sick - it's like having another baby around the house. Sometimes even equivalent to two (or three) more babies. I'm not sure why but men seem to be extra needy when they get sick. (Of course that's just my opinion not to be confused with all men).

For the past week Dan has had a terrible cold. It seemed like it got worse and worse with each passing day. The poor guy still went to work sick and just wasn't getting enough rest. I finally forced him to take a sick day on Tuesday. In the almost six years that I've known him - he has only called in sick three times. I think I called in sick three times in one month one year. I'm sure it had nothing to do with me hating my job.

Unfortunately as a stay-at-home mom I don't really have the luxury of calling in sick anymore. I have to be a mom...sick or not. But when daddy is sick it's like working overtime. I have had to experience single-parent parenting for a week. And let me just tell you that with everything else on my plate right now...it is really really hard. Hopefully daddy will be feeling better soon! And more importantly...I hope I don't get sick!!!

He Made My Day

I had a pretty busy day today. I started around 9am and was nonstop running around like a crazy chicken until 1pm. (I had a babysitter so I was able to get A LOT done). I put Sophia down for a nap and did some laundry and cleanup around the house. When Sophia woke up it was time for a few more errands (this time with kids).


When we were finished I decided to stop by the MOMS Club monthly meeting. We were an hour late but I figured it would be a nice break to just stop by and say hello to everyone. I was really tired and kinda stressed out from the gazillion things on my to-do list. But as soon as I walked in the door I felt better. I actually felt REALLY good.


I got to the meeting and the hostess' son immediately recognized me. "It's Paula," he said. I was in a complete state of shock. I think his mom was too. I've only known him for 16 months and we don't really see each other that often. But it was so neat today when he looked at me and knew my name. It put a smile on my face and made me feel really special. Thank you N.R.

Never Wake a Sleeping Baby

Never wake a sleeping baby. I've heard this saying a few times before. In fact I pretty much abide by the rule whenever I can. I relish naptime and don't really mind that my kids sleep in until 8:30-9am every morning. I've said it before - all four of us LOVE to sleep. If they are both sleeping, I'm sleeping (or at least trying).

Well, today for some silly reason, Dan woke Sophia up from her nap. He says she was dead asleep. It's no wonder. I mean it took me almost 2 hours to get her to nap in the first place. It was getting kinda late and we needed to eat dinner. We decided to go out to a local favorite - kid-friendly, delicious and close to home - so he woke her up. He's such a rule-breaker.

So we get to the restaurant and order our food. We let's just say we got the food TO GO as soon as we lifted our forks. Paine Toddler Tantrum #1 was in full effect. The poor thing. She was so tired and we had no business as parents taking her out to dinner in that kind of mood. I think we have finally met the day when eating out is no longer an ability. Sad but true. I guess we will just have to rely on babysitters to get our restaurant fix. That or takeout.

Needless to say, we came home and Sophia went straight to bed. I'm pretty sure she will wake up in the middle of the night. Probably not at the same time as Thomas - probably an hour after or before he wakes up. Which means I better get to bed ASAP to prepare for the long night ahead.

An Ounce of Comfort(er)

So I have this twin-size comforter. I call him Little Blue. He has basically been my "blankie" since I was a little girl. And yes he still brings me comfort. He's the perfect crying blanket since he's so soft and thin. He's broken-in and has had his fair share of tears.

When I was three my dad transferred his job to Seattle, Washington. So my mom, two sisters and two brothers (I think), and I moved with him. They kept the house where they live now and rented it out. When my dad got to Washington he fixed up the "new" house for our arrival. He bought three matching comforters for the girls' beds. They were light blue with white flowers. Hence the name Little Blue.

Over time I got a few new blankets and comforters. You know how teens love to redecorate. And when I went to college I got a new set for my dorm. But no matter how many new bedding sets I acquired...I always kept Little Blue. Eventually Little Blue became sort of ragged. In fact my mom has sewn him up several times after he tore and the stuffing disintegrated. Today he's essentially two sheets sewn together without stuffing.

(On a side note I also have a reddish pink blanket that belonged to my Grandma Neat. I still have him too. I always called him my Pink Blanket. He is super, duper hole-y. He's not as good for crying but he's VERY soft).

Well anyone who's known me knows the importance of my two blankies. Once my mom even tried to replace my dearest Pink Blanket with a new pink one that she handmade. I cried. Honestly tears rolled down my face. I mean it was the thought that counts but my old raggedy Pink Blanket is irreplaceable. The same thing holds true for Little Blue. IRREPLACEABLE.

So the other day when I found out that I will NEVER see Little Blue again - I was exceptionally calm. In fact it still doesn't bother me at all. I had taken him to the hospital to be with my sister who is dying of Ovarian Cancer. And knowing that she used it, if only for one day, brings me much happiness and comfort.

So rest in peace Little Blue. I think your purpose on this earth was finally fulfilled the other day. You could never have made me happier than the smile on Kathy's face when I gave you to her that day. Thank you for being there for me for more than 25 years. I will miss you dearly.


P.S. Little Blue was accidentally taken with the hospital laundry when the nurses changed the sheets on Kathy's bed.

The Best Kind of Tired

Sometimes I worry about my little baby when I'm away. I get nervous that he's crying the whole time or hungry and out of milk. I guess I figure he's so good for me all day long that it has to end sometime, right? Well last night when I got home from the hospital this is what I found....

Two exhausted leprechauns asleep on the couch watching TV. Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day!!!

Roller Coaster Ride

If you've ever been on a roller coaster than you'll understand what my life is like right now. You know the part where you are climbing toward the top - anxious, scared, nervous - there's no turning back and no matter how many times you've been on the ride before it's still the same. Well these past few days have been my own personal roller coaster. Full of emotions. Twists and Turns. Up, down, Up, down.

I mean what do you do when a loved one has only two months to live? Or in my case two weeks? or two days? What do you do when you have two healthy normal children and a husband at home that you have to take care of but you can't...because your world around you is crashing? And crashing fast.

Well me? I'm relying heavily on others for help. Mostly on friends. I don't think I could make it right now without the help and support of my friends. Friends, new and old. Friends that have been there for years. And friends that I just met when I joined motherhood. Without my friends I don't know what I would do. Because right now I'm on a roller coaster approaching that huge steep hill that's about to drop suddenly and fast. I know it's coming. But unlike the actual roller coaster I don't know when...but I know it's soon. I just hope that after this ride is over that everything will return to normal. And that I'll never have to ride it again!

For My Sister

My sister. My best friend. My hero.

I dedicate today's blog to the strongest person I have ever known. She has fought so hard for her life. Unfortunately the cancer has taken over. The doctors have given her just a few short months to live. But naturally no one really knows for sure. I do know that she will be greatly missed. Her smile. Her laugh. Her spirit. I wish her strength and comfort in her final days. I love you sister!

Nap Time is Sacred Time

At our house sleeping is priority #1. All four of us LOVE to sleep. Dan requires at least six hours a night to "function" in the ER. He claims he needs ten but there just aren't enough hours in the day. I think I require six. Being a mommy is a very hard job. Sophia usually sleeps close to twelve hours every night. And Thomas is turning out to be a good sleeper too. He likes to go to bed around 10pm and wake up once to eat around 4am and he falls right back asleep until 8am or so. Which means I usually get two solid spurts of four hours. Last night I lucked out and got nine solid hours of sleep!!! I really needed it so I am very thankful to Thomas for the generous gift.

Daytime sleeping is also vital in our household. Dan will usually take advantage of any downtime to fall fast asleep. Me...I'm not a big fan of naps. I try when I'm really tired. But usually I just cherish the quiet time to be by myself and get stuff done. Sometimes I wonder if I'm putting Sophia down for a nap for her benefit or mine? I have to admit there are days that I feel like I'm begging her to nap. Today was one of those days.

She was very resistant to the whole nigh-night. She refused to sleep. After about thirty minutes of her protests and screams I went upstairs and let her free. I tried to put her down again an hour later. She protested again. Remember how yesterday I mentioned that we took away her beloved paci. Well now I'm partially regretting the decision. She won't sleep without it. She's crying and crying. Begging and pleading. But I held my ground. I didn't give in and eventually she fell asleep without it. Fast asleep for two hours or so. I checked on her around 6pm tonite and she was passed out. It reminded me of the good ol' days when I could walk in her room without waking her.

And today...in the same crib

From twenty inches to twenty months...big change, huh? Notice that she still sleeps with her arms above her head.

She Quit Cold Turkey

Today is the fourth night that we have withheld Sophia's beloved Paci from her at bedtime. It's really hard when she asks for it in her sweet little voice and pouted lips. I mean how can you deny such a cute face? Well so far it hasn't been too terribly rough. The only problem is that she's not falling asleep as quickly. And today she didn't take an afternoon nap. It was either cave in to paci-desire or deal with a napless toddler. I chose the napless one.

Now I'm not addicted to anything (unless you count cookies) so I can only imagine how hard quitting a habit can be, especially cold turkey. Poor little Sophia had no warning that we were going to take away her Paci. She just went to bed one night and it vanished from the routine. Cold turkey. "Sorry, no more Paci. Pacifiers are for babies and you're a Big Girl now."

I'm wondering if we were allowed to treat adult addicts like little kids if quitting would be a lot easier. Too bad it's near impossible. But it would sure be nice.

The Perpetual To-Do-List

Do you have something on today's to-do-list that's leftover from yesterday's list? I know I do. In fact I have a couple of things. Every day I make a mental note to fix this or that. And I don't. I forget. Or I just run out of energy.

For example, every night when I'm rocking Thomas to sleep I look at the twin bed in his room and swear I'm going to fix it one of these days. All I need is the staple gun. Click. Click. Click. The fabric on the bottom of the box spring is loose and it needs to be stapled back on. So easy. So simple. And yet every night I sit there and stare at it. Sometimes I even tell myself that I will just tuck it under the metal frame. Nope. Still hanging there.

Another example. Every night I lay in bed and check the progress of our little ceiling bug. Yes, we have a tiny little bug in the corner of our ceiling. Maybe a spider. I'm not quite sure. He barely moves but an inch or two each day. And he's not causing any harm. But his presence really bugs me! I always tell myself that tomorrow I will get our little friend. But no. He's still up there.


They say that the best way to get yourself to do something is to make a list. Write it down. I'm actually a huge fan of to-do-lists. I love making them and I especially love crossing things off. Each day I make a new list and carry over anything from yesterday to the new one. But for some reason I can never seem to finish everything on my list. Well I'm hoping today's blog will help me with at least these two things. Hopefully tomorrow I will staple the lining back in place and squash that silly little ceiling bug. If not...well, it'll just be on the list for the day after tomorrow.

Too Cute to Care

My baby girl is growing up SO fast. Almost right before my eyes. It seems like every day she's a little bit taller, a little bit bigger, and a little bit smarter. So you can only imagine how I felt today when I caught her sitting in her old Fisher Price Rainforest Bouncer. I remember how she used to sit in it for hours as an infant. And now here she is a toddler who can barely fit and is probably going to break the chair with her weight. But it's just too cute for me to care. I'm sure Thomas won't mind. He's not a big fan of the chair anyways...he likes his swing.

Sophia at six weeks in the same bouncer

Thomas in the chair last Friday (ten weeks)

And Thomas in the chair at five weeks old.

Always Pack a Change of Clothes

Today we had the pleasure of going to San Diego to visit with Great Grandpa Don (Dan's grandfather) for a belated birthday lunch. We woke up early, fed the kids, packed the mini-van and headed South. Thomas, being the newest baby that he is, slept the majority of the car ride. Sophia, on the other hand, was a little restless. I tried my best to distract her with lions, zebras, elephants, crayons, goldfish crackers, a Baby Einstein DVD, whatever I could do. About two-thirds of the way down, she had had enough so we pulled off the freeway for a pit stop.

We found a McDonald's and headed inside to share some french fries and let Sophia run around and stretch her legs. While I was feeding Thomas, Dan and Sophia went outside to play on the grass. Suddenly, I heard it. I heard the burst. For my fellow mom friends - you know what I'm referring to. For the rest of you...it's the newborn digestive system working out its kinks. I actually think burst is an understatement. This time it was a full-on explosion.

As soon as I heard it I knew. I rushed outdoors holding Thomas with questions on my mind. Is it running down his leg? Why is my hand wet? I was sorta freaking out and a little embarrassed. Did anyone else hear it? Or see it? I got Thomas to the car, grabbed the diaper bag, and laid him down to inspect the damage. Yep, full-on explosion. He had just pooed all over himself and it had run down his leg and all over MY jeans too. So much for Huggies.

By this time a few tears were running down my cheek. I was covered in fluorescent yellow poop and we were miles from home. Of course I had a change of clothes for Thomas but what about me!!! I tried my best to clean my jeans with baby wipes (an entire package) and proceeded to change his diaper and outfit. Did I mention it was a super cute meet-Great-Grandpa-for-the-first-time outfit? Yes that's the one. After I was finished I went inside to, one, scrub my hands, and two, rinse off the soiled laundry and get a plastic bag. Here I am in the women's restroom trying to rinse poop out of Thomas' outfit and hoping nobody walks in and the water pressure is awful. Of course, McDonald's has gone green and installed those water saving faucets. Clog our arteries but save the earth! Just great!

Anyways, I eventually get the job done. We load up the car again and proceed down South for a very nice lunch and fun trip to the park with Jiji (Dan's dad), Baba (Dan's mom) and Great Grandpa. Now the funny part is that right before we left the house in the morning, I ran back upstairs to grab an extra shirt. You see, Thomas loves to spit up. I figured I better grab myself a clean shirt just in case. It never crossed my mind that I would need an extra pair of pants too! Next time, I think I'll just pack an entire outfit for everyone.

White Steak

What is it about fish that gives it such a bad name? Maybe it's the stinky smell. Or the whole pet goldfish thing. Or the slimy scaly skin and bulging eyes that creep me out. Whatever it is, I don't really enjoy eating fish (or any seafood) unlike my husband, who on our honeymoon ordered a dish in Italy that I still refer to as giant bowl of friends. I think it was some kind of fish stew or cioppino.

When I was a little girl I loved tuna sandwiches. My mother would make them for me all the time. Then one day, Grandma Neat (that's what we called her) offered me a tuna fish sandwich. Tuna fish? Yuck, I don't eat fish. Now before you compare me with Jessica Simpson, rest assured that I was way too young to know the difference. My mom simply never called it fish. Kinda like how my older sister called it "white steak." I think I ruined it for her kids when I spilled the beans and refused to eat it. By this time I was wise to the color of meat and had never heard of "white steak." It sounded (and smelled) fishy to me.

Now that I'm an adult, sometimes I will order some nutty mahi-mahi when we are in Hawaii because it's festive and I know it's fresh. I also eat tuna sandwiches again. And in recent years I even started eating sushi but it's limited to tuna and salmon. I mostly eat fish because it's deemed healthy but I don't really like the taste. I just can't seem to shake the fish tank image from my mind. I guess it's kinda like how a vegetarian sees the whole cow and not the scrumptious Filet Mignon steak.

Tonight I completely shocked myself. We went to dinner at Wahoo's Fish Taco restaurant and I ordered Sophia a rice bowl with grilled fish. At first I hesitated because she probably wouldn't like it, right? Even Dan questioned my menu choice. But I figured if she didn't like it we could trade. (Funny note: neither Dan nor I ordered fish at the fish taco place). Luckily for me, Sophia ate the whole thing and I think she really liked it. So I'm wondering...do I tell her it's fish whenever she eats it? Or do I call it white steak?

When Spontaneous is Best

As a stay-at-home mom with two little ones you can imagine how boring and lonely it gets at our house. Well, okay, it's anything but boring and I'm never truly alone. But after a few days of the daily routine, it suddenly dawns on me that I haven't had an adult conversation in days and I'm beginning to sound like a toddler. When I do get a chance to meet with a friend, I feel like there is so much to talk about and never enough time. The same is true when Dan gets home from work every day. I talk and talk and talk and he listens and then it's time for bed.

Now you know why playdates are SO important for the stay-at-home mom. I'm pretty sure they are more beneficial for the mothers than the kids who are playing, especially at Sophia's age. As much as she loves her friends, she would be completely content to play toys alone or with mommy at home. But I am not content being home all day. By the time lunch comes around I must get out of the house. At this point even ordering a sandwich at the deli counter can fill the void. Therefore, I try to schedule playdates every week when we have a free day.

Today a friend called to see if we were busy. Nope, come over. After I hung up I sorta felt like I was begging. I was so excited to have a friend over both for myself and Sophia. The best part, however, is that I didn't have to plan it a week in advance only to cancel at the last minute. It was spontaneous, spur of the moment, and just what I needed on an otherwise boring Thursday.

The Stroller

Walking is about the only exercise I get these days. I mean who has time for the long lines at the gym? Not to mention the pressure of all those really fit people in super cute matching workout clothes. It's hard to compete with them after you've just had a baby. It's much easier to just stay home and eat bonbons all day. However, that's not a very healthy lifestyle. So I choose to walk instead. It's not my ideal exercise but it's fun and I'd like to think that the kids enjoy it. Therefore you can only imagine how important it is to have a good stroller.

Strollers have evolved a lot in recent years. There are so many different brands and styles...they are almost like little cars. A few even have hefty price tags like a car. I have no doubt that there are plenty of moms with "stroller envy" because just when you get yours a newer, cooler one comes out that is so much better. For this reason, you can also get a used stroller on Craigslist or eBay if you don't mind someone else's dirt and grime.

Now when I had just one child the stroller choice was easy. I went with a very popular brand in the pattern that I liked best - a black and white toile print. It came with a matching car seat and was very easy to use. When I found out I was pregnant the second time, I wasn't sure what type of stroller to get. The main choices were tandem and side-by-side. At first I really liked the tandem stroller because you could easily snap the car seat in the rear and Sophia could sit in the front. But I also liked the side-by-side because both children would have a view. Since Sophia and Thomas are relatively close in age I knew that she would be walking by the time he arrived, but I also knew that she wasn't going to walk all the time (and I certainly wasn't going to carry her). So I definitely needed a stroller but which one?

While I was researching I was really surprised to find there were a lot of tandem strollers (used) for sale for all the same reasons. "Stroller in excellent condition; barely used; only used a few times; my oldest likes to walk, etc." After reading multiple ads like this I contemplated if I really needed a double stroller myself. I mean if all these moms were selling practically brand new strollers...would I be next? At last I decided to get a side-by-side jogging stroller instead of a traditional stroller. It would be great for walks, perfect for the zoo and the kids could sit next to each other rather than fight for shotgun (when they get a little bit older). I figured the rest of the time Sophia could walk and the baby could ride in the single stroller. Or I could carry the baby and she could ride when she got tired..

So far I absolutely love my decision. I LOVE our double jogging stroller. It was the BEST present I ever received. It's like the SUV of strollers. Very lightweight and easy to maneuver and pretty good-looking too. Even Dan likes to push it and Sophia loves sitting next to her brother. My only complaint is that I don't get to use it often enough because the weather has been so bad lately. But hopefully it will get warmer soon!.

Dan pushing the stroller on our walk by the nearby lake. Thomas is in his car seat for now but when he's a little bit bigger he can sit forward in the real seat like Sophia (although I kinda like having him look at me).

Scary Teenagers

Am I the only one afraid of teenagers? I'm serious. They are so scary and mean. They always travel in packs and I could easily be outnumbered should a confrontation arise. I'd be squashed trying to protect my two little ones. As a mom I just want to know how an adorable toddler like Sophia becomes the underdressed, loud-mouthed, teenager at the mall? More importantly I want to know how to avoid that from ever happening.

Now of course not all teenagers are scary and mean. I happen to know several nice ones. So is bad parenting, peer pressure or the broken educational system to blame? Maybe it's a combination of all three. I'm thinking back to when I was a teenager. Was I scary and mean? Sometimes my friends and I would go to the mall after school or hang out in parking lots but I don't think we were causing harm. Were we? Were there moms around with little kids who were worried to be around us? I doubt it. And when I think about it, even if there were, I would have never noticed. I was too busy having fun.

So maybe that means the same holds true for today's teenagers. They have no idea that I exist. They are in their own little world. They are testing the limitations of their new found freedom. For the first time in their lives they are allowed to be unsupervised. As a mom, in my early thirties, I'm not sure what scares me more. Am I afraid of my own kids becoming teenagers and growing up too fast? Or am I afraid that I'm growing up too fast and can more easily relate to my parents than my teenager days? Either which way...I think next time I see the scary teenagers somewhere I'll sympathize with them a little. If they only knew how much better it gets...

My Food Challenge

Humans need food to live. It's a simple known truth. So in our house it's not unusual that we eat six meals a day: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner and sometimes dessert. It feels like we are always eating. Which means that someone around here is always cooking. Yep, you guessed it. It's me.

Now in order to get all this eating accomplished I have to do some grocery shopping. I buy the everyday items like cereal, milk, juice, fruit, salad, and soda. When it comes to dinner I sorta buy the same thing every time and hope for the best. Maybe the food will magically turn itself into something great. I don't know about you but I tend to make the same dishes...tacos, spaghetti, lasagna, enchiladas, soup, chili, pasta, grilled chicken, etc. I never really think ahead of time unless I'm trying a new recipe. Have you ever noticed how that almost always requires an extra trip to the store. Last night it was your basic can of diced tomatoes. How could I be out of those?!?

As a side dish we always have a finely chopped green salad with candied pecans, dried cranberries, and Girard's light champagne dressing or steamed veggies. Occasionally I try to make steamed rice but it never turns out well. No matter what I do the rice is either soggy or totally burnt. I mean even with a rice cooker somehow I manage to fail. All of our other food is cooked on the stove or in the oven. We used to have a barbecue but we got rid of it when we moved. I really miss its convenience so hopefully we will get a new one soon. Plus, it's the only way to get Dan to cook!

When Thomas was born my wonderful friends provided us with several weeks of meal delivery. Every night around 5pm a delicious warm meal was brought to our door already cooked and ready to eat. This was a truly a blessing and helped ease the transition from three to four. It also opened up a world of new meal ideas. I realized how "boring" my cooking was getting. I realized that I need to step it up a notch.

You see I really do enjoy cooking. I even have a kitchen full of fancy gadgets from The Pampered Chef. I have perfectly good intentions. I want to try new recipes. I swear. I just don't have the time and energy. New recipes are SO hard. So time consuming. You have to read the directions, pay extra attention to the timing, read the directions again, and carefully follow step-by-step to avoid disaster. It's also almost impossible when there's a toddler clinging to your knees, a hungry baby crying in the other room, and a husband getting home late from work.

So how do I shake this boring food feeling? I'm not quite 100% sure, but for now I've made a promise to my family to try at least one new recipe a week. Since I like to have dinner ready and on the table when Dan gets home (we sit down to eat as a family every night), I decided that I have to experiment on his day off. I'm hoping that in a month I will have four new meals to turn to. I'm hoping that I can break the cycle of same-old, same-old. So watch out cookbooks because MommyPaine is on the loose and ready for the challenge!

Enjoy the Moment

You know how they always say that the dishes can be done later but the kids will grow up too fast and you should enjoy every moment. Well today was one of those days. It really seemed like my children needed me more than any housework or pressing tasks. So even blogging will take a back-seat. Be back tomorrow!!!

Baby Clothes (and Laundry)

I spend the majority of my time clothes shopping, buying baby clothes. In fact I can hardly remember the last time I bought myself something nice to wear. I've already told you how much I love Carter's but I have a few other favorites too. I really like to shop at Gymboree and Baby Gap. It's pretty easy since in our mall they are directly across from each other. I don't have to walk very far and I get a lot accomplished. I'm also a sale-rack shopper and coupon user. At Gymboree, for example, I only buy from their sale stuff (which is practically everything in the store) and I always have a coupon like 20% off entire purchase, or GymBucks which are $25 off for every $50 you spend. I rarely buy anything full price because it will eventually go on sale and honestly, do my kids really need it right now?

I also take really good care of our clothes. I enjoy doing laundry - it relaxes me. I usually spend an entire day doing ours rather than a little each day. However, this week it took me 3 days (even with my little helper).




I'm a little obsessive compulsive but this is how I do it. First, I sort everything. All the baby clothes get washed separate from mine and my husband's. We have several loads including baby whites, baby lights, only burp cloths, baby towels and washcloths, adult towels, darks, blacks, reds & pinks, scrubs, and sheets. After I sort, I inspect everything for stains and use stain remover or soak if necessary. With the baby stuff I usually do an extra rinse cycle. It might be a waste of water but it's worth it to me. After it's washed and dried, I LOVE to fold it all. I dump it on the couch and go to town. I make perfect little creases and pretty much fold it like the store clerk has to.

Now that I have 2 kids it seems like the laundry has tripled. I prefer to do the laundry myself but am getting much better accepting help. You see, I fold shirts in thirds and then in half, whereas he folds them in half and then in half again, leaving a crease down the center. The end result is the same - the shirt gets folded.

As for ironing - I hate it! I only iron when I have to. I'm so lucky that my husband wears scrubs because I don't have to iron dress shirts and slacks each week. Although I'm sure there are some people out there who iron scrubs.

So back to the baby clothes. After the kids grow out of a particular size I put them away nicely in a bin for storage. With Sophia's clothes, I saved them until I found out I was having a boy. Then I offered them to a friend who had a baby girl recently. She looked through them and kept one bin's worth and returned two full bins. So now I'm stuck with two full bins of baby girl clothes. I debated long (very long) whether to donate them, sell them on eBay or Craigslist, or take them to the children's consignment store. I finally broke down yesterday and took them to Children's Orchard here in Valencia. After looking through them, she bought one bin's worth for $83 store credit or $65 cash. I took the cash. I do shop there occasionally but rarely spend more than $20 at a time. When I got home I started to feel like I made a mistake. I basically just sold at least $250 worth of clothes, if not way more, for only $65. I could probably have sold them on Craigslist or eBay individually for a better profit. Oh well, live and learn.

Friday Playgroup

Today we hosted MOMS Club playgroup at our house. It happens every Friday but rotates homes each week. It usually lasts an hour and a half. Today there were five moms, five toddlers and four infants. For us that's a larger than usual crowd. I think we were all happy to finally have healthy kids and nice weather. It has been raining a lot in SoCal and there have been so many viruses going around that we haven't had a chance to get together.

As you can imagine it's really loud and hectic with lots of little kids running around your house. But it's fun to watch them play. Luckily, the weather was beautiful and they played outside on the jungle gym and slide we got for Christmas. Inside, they shared the toys nicely while the moms talked about adult things like dinner dates, vacation plans, and of course...our kids. All in all it was a typical Friday morning - the kind we look forward to each week.

The Missing Kidney

How much can one mom handle? In the past few years I've had my fair share of burdens and it seems like they keep popping up one after the other. Supposedly God only gives you what you can handle, but does he know I'm not a superhero? Does he know that one more thing might push me over the edge? I mean, does he really want to meet me that soon? Lately, I'm not sure but for some reason I'm being tested in a big way.

You can only imagine my complete state of shock when the pediatrician told me that Sophia may have been born with only one kidney. Her left kidney could not be found on the ultrasound from the previous week. I took the sheet from her hands and sorta chuckled. Yes, I chuckled. I mean one kidney? C'mon, she already has a weak heart. The doctor suggested a CAT scan and that was that. I didn't ask questions. I didn't worry like a frantic parent. I was actually pretty calm. For those of you who know me...I didn't even cry! I left the office, paper in hand, and kept looking at it over and over. It read, "The left kidney was not seen, possible congenitally absent left kidney." Hmmm...now I know that you can live with only one kidney. People do it all the time. Some people even generously donate one kidney so a loved one can continue to live. But being born with only one kidney - that sounded silly, medically probable, but silly.

After the initial shock wore off, I suddenly remembered that Sophia had an ultrasound at another office when she was three months old. They never mentioned a missing kidney. I rushed over to that office and requested the medical records. There it was - "the left kidney measured 5.4 cm." What a relief, right? Well, not yet. Maybe the left kidney never grew? I asked my husband if this was a possibility. He too thought the whole thing sounded silly but wasn't sure what to make of it. He called to schedule another ultrasound.

So this morning my starving daughter (she had to fast) and her daddy went to get another ultrasound. And I'm happy to say that Sophia has two perfectly normal healthy kidneys. Thank You God, I really wasn't ready to meet you either!

Nothing Compares

All kids are different. You always hear people saying this and finally I've witnessed it firsthand. It's so funny how you could be telling the pediatrician your baby never sleeps or that he sleeps all the time and the doctor will say "That's normal." How can opposite behaviors both be normal? Lately I've found myself comparing my own two children with each other. And now I get it. They are completely different, yet both normal.

Sophia was the perfect baby in every way. She would just sit in her bouncer chair for hours, quiet, content, eyes wide open, staring the world in the face. She hardly ever cried. Thomas is very different. Of course he's also a perfect baby. But whenever he's awake, he's anything but quiet. It also seems like his eyes are always closed unless he's in his swing or being rocked.

So just for fun let's compare. Feel free to pull out your baby books and add your 2 month checkup results in the comments.

Sophia at 2 month checkup
10 pounds, 9 ounces (50th percentile) and 21.75 inches (25th percentile)

Thomas at 2 month checkup
12 pounds, 11 ounces (70th percentile) and 23.5 inches (67th percentile)

A Day in the Life

Apparently there are people out there who still don't know exactly what the stay-at-home mom (SAHM) does all day. I mean when I "applied" for this position I had NO IDEA HOW HARD IT WOULD BE but I had a vague idea of what I'd be doing all day. I'm dead serious. It is so much harder than sitting in a square cubicle crunching numbers in Excel, cataloging frozen blood, analyzing monkey pee, manufacturing life-improving cancer drugs, and even bartending in a crowded bar on my feet all night.

Today a friend of mine forwarded an article from the Washington Post where a lady (without kids) wrote in questioning the typical mommy day even going so far as to say that stay-at-home moms probably have kids as an excuse to stay home, relax and enjoy. Relax? Are you serious? I can't tell you the last time I relaxed. I know it's important but there's just not enough time. Enjoy? Yes I am enjoying the time I'm spending nurturing and teaching my children. But it's no day in the park (no pun intended).

In response to the article and for those reading my blog, wondering what I do all day, here's a quick list off the top of my head.

* Prepare three meals a day (includes meal planning, recipe scouring, grocery shopping, cooking or acquiring takeout, and storing leftovers)

* Feed baby every 4-6 hours (that's about six times per day...and night)

* Laundry for four people including clothes, sheets, and towels (sort, wash, dry, fold, put away)

* Dishes for three meals and four people

* Get kids dressed in the morning (pick out clothes, wrestle and wrangle to get pants on after shirt before she runs off pantless)

* Change many diapers

* Pick up toys ALL day long in various locations throughout the house and return to playroom

* Rock, cuddle, swaddle and try to calm baby down multiple times a day

* Play with kids (i.e. educational hour)...includes learning numbers, ABCs, animals and their sounds, colors, sign language, words, sentences, climbing, singing, dancing, jumping, etc. I am their primary teacher and they have A LOT to learn.

* Sometimes we go to the park or for a walk or to a playdate at a friend's house

* Go to Target for necessities like paper towels, diapers, and lotion forgetting to buy medicine for the fourth time this month

* Wait patiently for daddy to get home from work so we can ask him to help with bathtime and bedtime because by the end of the day I'M EXHAUSTED.

So for anyone who thinks being a mom is an excuse to relax and enjoy the day...please don't have children or you will be very surprised. It's a hard job whether you stay home or go to work. I can only imagine what it's like to be a working mom because I'll probably never wear those shoes. But the shoes I do wear are those of the job, Mom. Being a mom is hard no matter which path you take but can be very rewarding. I wouldn't trade it for any other job out there!

Phone vs. Email

When I was a teenager I would talk on the phone all night. I remember using the time-lady and call-waiting to my advantage. My friends and I would plan our late-night calls ahead of time. We would both call the time-lady at the designated time and then one of us would hang up and call the other person at exactly the right time and the phone would never ring, waking up the parents, because the call would come in as call-waiting. Genius. Maybe.

The funny thing is that now that I'm a mom I can't stand talking on the phone. I just don't have the patience to carry on a conversation while wiping spit-up off my free shoulder, protecting my phone from toddler theft, and straining to hear (or talk) over the background noise of two kids. So often times I find myself emailing friends and family for quick questions that could be answered in a quick two-minute phone call.

Today I realized I might have a communication problem when I started to email my husband about this upcoming Friday. I mean he did just work seven fourteen hour shifts in a row but it's not like he's out of town or even reads email at work. He's probably going to read my email in the kitchen on the same Dell laptop I'm using right now. So why do I have to email him? Why can't I just ask him when he gets home? Well I'm a mom. By the time he gets home I'll forget to ask. And I don't like to call him at work especially because I know he'll want to talk about it when he gets home. Instead I emailed him as a reminder to discuss it later this evening. It felt silly nonetheless.

In the wonderful world of all things technological it's amazing how we are able to reconnect with long-lost classmates and coworkers on sites like Facebook and MySpace. Teenagers don't have to rely on the time-lady and call-waiting. They have vibrate mode, text and instant messaging, as well as email at thier fingertips. Somehow we are closer than ever to those far away, yet distant to those closest to us. I'm just wondering if and when email will completely replace phonecalls? I know for me, sadly, I'm almost there.

Children's Hospital

Whenever I think of Children's Hospital my heart skips a beat. And sometimes even tears fill my eyes. You can only imagine how I get when those free address labels come in the mail. I have to send in a donation, even if it's only twenty bucks. And when my MOPS group asked for fuzzy slippers as a donation, I went a little crazy and bought 8 pairs of the cutest ones I could find. Because for those of you who have never been there (it's worth a visit) it's a special place that makes you realize exactly how lucky you are to be alive and healthy. And more importantly they sort of saved my daughter.

When my first baby was born in July 2007, I never imagined there would be something wrong with him or her. Ten fingers, ten toes, right? Right. But unfortunately Sophia was born with a congenital heart defect - pulmonary stenosis - and we were completely surprised. She was rushed by helicopter to CHLA where she stayed in the NICU for the first 9 days of her brand new life.

Now 19 months later, she seems perfectly healthy in every way. She's super rambunctious, full of energy, eats well and is starting to speak in sentences. After three balloon valvuloplastys, countless echocardiograms and tons of medical bills...I'm hoping that we are finally in the clear. We don't go back until May but it's never too early to starting hoping for the best and preparing for the worse. Because every time I enter those glass doors I am all too aware of the possibilities and very thankful for the doctors and nurses on staff.

Then (hours after birth) and...

Now (19 months later)

The Weekmiddle

In the wonderful world of medicine there are no holidays, no three-day weekends, and generally no weekends at all. Accidents happen. Sickness never sleeps. And the emergency room goes on. Surprisingly, Saturdays are meaningless to me. Today is just another stay-at-home-mom day.

Remember when weekend meant fun? It was a two-day break from the monotony of the everyday routine. No work and no school for two whole days! Well here in our household everyday is exactly that - EVERY day. As a stay-at-home mom I never really get a break - let alone two whole days! My darling husband works in the medical field and often works entire weekends, most holidays, some nights and yes even the beloved Saturday. This makes our Saturday quite depressing because in reality there are no play dates on Saturday. Most of our friends seem too busy with family to get together and the usual hangouts are too crowded with families. All of this makes Saturday kinda boring...it's just another day of the week.

Now on the bright side...my husband doesn't work seven days a week (that would drive me insane). Usually he gets Wednesdays off (my favorite day of the week) and this week Thursday and Friday too. So for all of you waiting in line to see the baby gorilla at the zoo this weekend, we'll be there on a weekday without you...enjoying our three-day weekmiddle. I guess I consider us lucky to be bored today.

Brand Loyalty

As a stay-at-home mom I am usually conflicted on whether to save money OR remain loyal to the brands we love? For years I have been using the same products day in and day out. Although I could probably save money using other products or generic brands - but I'm not and probably never will.

Here's a list of the brands we love:

Diapers: Pampers for Girls and Huggies for Boys
When Sophia was born I started using Pampers Swaddlers because I received a huge box at my baby shower. Then when she got bigger we switched to Pampers Cruisers. With Pampers we rarely ever had a leaky diaper except the rare times when she would have a "blowout" (in which case no diaper would have worked). So Pampers work well and we love them.

However, when Thomas was born...we started using Swaddlers (brand loyalty) and found that the free Huggies from the hospital were better! Yes, I denied it at first and kept trying to use the Pampers. But when you have a newborn (remember when you first brought them home how scary and fragile they seemed) the umbilical cord cutout was a lifesaver plus they just seemed to fit better and were more stretchy. So Thomas wears Huggies Supreme and we love those. Now to be fair, we have never tried Huggies for Sophia in the bigger sizes.

Baby Wipes
For wipes we use Pampers Sensitive wipes. I'm not a big fan of fragrances and these are very mild and since my husband has sensitive skin...I just assumed my kids would too.

Baby Lotion and Bath Wash
A friend of mine suggested we use AVEENO Baby Products when my daughter was born. She even sent me a gift basket with all their products. Now I grew up with Johnson & Johnson baby products but read something online about their products containing possible carcinogens! The thought of using products on my children that could potentially cause cancer was unthinkable. So we stuck with AVEENO - more specifically the Calming Comfort baby wash and lotion. We also use AVEENO sunblock for baby (and adults).

The funny thing about parenting is that once you find something that works - you don't dare change in fear that your child will change too. The "Calming" lotion did exactly what it was supposed to do - calm baby - so we've been using it every night before bed for 19 months, 1 week and 3 days. I don't know what would happen if we skipped a night but I'm not about to find out!

Baby Medicine
As a former employee of a major pharmaceutical company I find it very hard to use generic drugs even though as a scientist I know the active ingredients are the same. So for medicine we use the major brands like Children's and Infants' Tylenol, Children's Motrin, Infants' Mylicon, Little Noses Saline Spray/Drops and Little Tummies Gripe Water. We actually never used the Gripe Water until Thomas was born. It has been a lifesaver when nothing else worked to calm him.

Formula and Bottles
Both of my children are exclusively breastfed. Well obviously Thomas is still nursing but I am planning on nursing him for a year (or at least six months). Sophia was switched to formula right before her 1st birthday. We used Enfamil NextStep because we received a free sample in the mail. It worked so like all my products - we stuck with it. She is still getting one 4 oz bottle before bed but we are trying to wean her in the next few days or weeks completely.

We did use bottles occasionally with both children. When you're nursing, it does get kinda tricky when you first introduce the bottle. Some "experts" refer to it as nipple confusion. I think it's probably "flow" confusion. Afterall, I'm a mom therefore expert, right? So we tried five different brands of baby bottles - Gerber Nuk, The First Years Soothie, Philips Avent, Adiri and Dr. Brown's. Luckily Dr. Brown's worked!!! I can't tell you how excited I was to be able to finally pump some milk and leave the house knowing the baby would take the bottle. As for the pump - I have Medela's Swing breast pump.

Pacifiers and Sippy Cups
Sophia got her first Soothie pacifier in the NICU when she was extubated and she liked it. Otherwise I'm not sure I would have been a "paci" mom. Once she outgrew the Soothie pacifier we switched to Gerber Nuk pacifiers. They are the #1 selling pacifier brand in the USA and have been around for ages. However, with Thomas we tried to use the Gerber NUK ones but he actually prefers the Soothie ones. Eventually he'll graduate to the Gerber ones.

We use Playtex sippy cups - the Sipster and the Insulator. We tried other brands but these are by far the best and truly leak-proof. There was another brand that we tried and Sophia quickly learned how to take the lid off!

Baby Food
We used both Earth's Best Organic baby food and Gerber baby food. Sophia also loves to eat Gerber Graduates Veggie Puffs and Yogurt Melts.

Mom Food
Diet Pepsi or Diet Coke - thought I'd throw that in

Onesies
We absolutely love Carter's onesies! Well we love Carter's period. Pajamas. Pants. Socks. Bibs. Towels. It's actually a good thing for us that the closest Carter's store is 17 miles away!

Laundry
Oh my gosh laundry, where do I start? In the beginning like all new moms I used Dreft. I really didn't love it and I didn't hate it either. But once I switched from Cheer to Cheer Free & Gentle for Dan and I, it didn't make sense to buy Dreft anymore. So I use Cheer Free & Gentle on all our clothes and Bounce Free dryer sheets. I still haven't found a stain remover that I love so please send your success stories to me.

That's it for now. If have a product that you think I would love - send me an email. I'll try anything once unless it interferes with our sleep routine!

Blog-o-block

So I'm suffereing from blog-o-block. I haven't quite decided where I going with this blog yet. Part of me wants to write about the past and part of me wants to write about the present. I'm torn...I'll let you know when I've figured it out.

Welcome!!!

WELCOME! Thanks for visiting my site. I've decided to start writing about my daily adventures in motherhood so that I can help others in the same boat, share some of my experiences and even learn from my own mistakes.

I am a stay-at-home mom and wife to 2 beautiful children and an amazing, hard-working husband. My husband works a little over 45 hours per week at a nearby hospital in the emergency department. We have been married for almost 3 years. Our oldest daughter was born in July 2007 with a heart defect (more on that later). We also have a son who was born in December 2008. I always knew I wanted to stay at home when I had children but I never knew it would be SO hard. Now I know and soon you will too!