Cookies!

Princess Red Chief and I made Snickerdoodles! So yummy . . .



Rolling the dough into balls



Dipping it into the cinnamon mix



Monkey chilling on the floor



Ready to go in the oven!



Cleaning up!



Yummy cookies! We had a lot of fun and the nice things about Snickerdoodles is they only take 10 minutes to bake. By the time we cleaned everything up they were about ready!

Life is nuts and so is Mama

My little baby boy is pulling up on the furniture! As my sister said, "Lock the doors, put up the cats, the little man is on the move!" Yesterday I was pregnant and huge and ready for him to be born. Now he's here and about to take off.

Princess has been driving me crazy. There is non-stop talking and from the moment she wakes up she is asking to "go". But then when we're out she ends up having melt downs when Mama does something she doesn't want. Drives me NUTS! Can we just have a quiet, obedient child? (What am I thinking?) Between Little Man wanting constant attention and Princess Red Chief misbehaving Mama doesn't have time for anything. Life is hectic and I might be rethinking my original request of 4 kids . . . :(

Falling . . .

I love the fall. Nothing better then cool, crisp air, crunchy leaves and gorgeous views. The tourists flock up here in October to see the leaves changing - they do give us an incredible palette! The kids and I played outside in this beautiful weather. Monkey tried to eat leaves and Princess Red Chief ran around like a wild thing. The proof:



I can't believe how big they are getting!

Best Milestone Ever!!!

Yesterday Monkey tried to give me a kiss! I just melted. Nothing better then big, slobbery baby kisses!

Rain, Rain, Rain

It has now been raining here (and when I say raining I mean pouring!) for days! I walked down to the basement to put some laundry in to step right into a puddle. Yep, the basement is flooded. My husband has been down there with the shop vac, but it's supposed to rain all week and I don't know how we will keep the rain out! The storage room will need to be cleaned and aired out and all the outgrown baby clothes that I had in cardboard boxes will need to be rewashed. I think I need to go buy rubbermaid containers! Ugh. Fun, fun.

Fun Day!

Well, today I worked at my mom's coffee shop/cafe for the first time. Miss Red Chief stayed with my grandmother (her namesake) and loved the one on one time. They fed the fishes in the pond, had tea time and played with the dollhouse. Monkey came with me and spent 3 hours contentedly on my back in my Mei Tai carrier. He was a big hit. I was able to make lattes, frappes and dish out pastries with a little helper on my back! It was fun! Now I'm tired and need to get home chores done!

Oops

So sorry it's been so long, but Monkey is apparently going through a growth spurt and I have had NO SLEEP! Due to sleep deprivation my brain is unavailable. I know what you're going to say - "why don't you take a nap?" Well, Princess Red Chief is boycotting naps this week. Yup, that's my life. Hopefully my witty self will be back soon.

Already?!

My precious baby boy turned 6 months old today. I can't believe it's already been half a year! I feel like just yesterday was the eventful day he was born!

A recap for those not in the know: On Thursday, February 26, 2009 I went to the hospital to start an induction after being dilated at 4cm for 4 days. It was 3 days before my due date. I was 5 cm when they checked me when we arrived. They gave me the Cytotec and we walked around the hospital with very mild easy contractions. At noon I was 6 cm and we decided to break my water. There was light merconium in the water and they started monitoring him a little closer, but he sounded fine. At 1pm the contractions really started intensifying and I got in the tub (keep in mind I had had no drugs, I didn't even have an IV in). Towards the end of pushing it suddenly got way harder. My midwife yelled, "It's shoulder dystocia!" After what seemed like an hour later (which later turned out to be almost exactly one minute) Monkey was born at 3:33pm not breathing. The nurses were running all over the place and telling my husband to talk to him. They intubed him and he started breathing, but wouldn't keep breathing on his own. His APGAR scores were 1 and 3. They called for an airlift to the nearest NICU and he had his first helicopter ride at 2 1/2 hours old. I got to hold him for a few minutes before he left - one of the hardest things I've ever done. After spending 6 days in the NICU (me sleeping on the little closet size sleep rooms they have for family) we got to bring our baby boy home!

Six months later we have a happy little boy who is sitting up well on his own and developing a little temper. His pediatrician was laughing at me today at his check up when he was screaming when laying on the table, but all smiles when I picked him up for her to listen to his back. It was like flipping a switch. Sure, she thought it was funny! She doesn't have to deal with a baby screaming on the floor who just wants to be held and a 3 year old desperate for attention who's acting out. :::sigh::: But this time will go too quickly and someday I'll miss it. Then I'll read this and smack myself! :)

Finally!

My daughter is incredibly picky when it comes to her food. If you ask her what she wants to eat the first thing out of her mouth will be "mac n cheese!" "No." "Umm, crackers, cheese, pickles!" (unsalted saltines, cheddar cheese and gherkins). You can't get her to name anything different. She will always eat a good bread (Italian, foccacia, etc) or fruit - I haven't found a fruit she won't eat, but anything else . . .

For breakfast I can usually get her to eat oatmeal. For lunch pretty much anything other then what's above is left on her plate. For dinner anything other then mac n cheese, plain egg noodles, spaghetti, or chicken nuggets she won't even try. So after she got down from the table without even taking a bite last night I made a decree. No macaroni and cheese or crackers and cheese until she starts trying other things!

This morning breakfast ended up being a banana. And for lunch . . . drum roll please . . . she actually ate 4 pb&j cracker sandwiches! She never eats normal pb&j, so I got the bright idea to put it on her saltines. Big hit! I made 3 and then she asked for another! Between that and her glass of milk I think she actually had a decent meal. It might sound silly - but I'm thrilled!!

Why don't people mind their own business?

Why do people always comment on other people's children? Why are parents not allowed to parent on their own? (Now obviously I am referring to in reason. No beatings or abuse, etc) A few weeks ago as I was putting Monkey in the car little Princess Red Chief kept playing on the cart return after I told her not to. I am of the mind that once I told you not to do something if you get hurt it's karma. (Obviously, again within reason) She started to get caught and a man walking by came to her rescue. As he kept walking the woman with him looked back at me with a dirty look and said, "And her mother was right there!" Now first of all, I was less then a foot away and saw the whole thing, I was going to let her figure out how to get out on her own. Second of all, when did a scrape or bruise become such a horrific thing? Since then she's started listening to me when it comes to the cart returns. Small pains can be a good teacher and she's at the age where I want her to start figuring out things on her own. I don't need to always come to her rescue. Can you tell I'm not a helicopter parent?

I don't know if I've really communicated this well because it's been a busy day and my mind's a jumble. Monkey only took one nap and it wasn't very long, so there was no time to clear my head. Hopefully I made my point!

My son should work at Gitmo

It's true. His plan of sleep deprivation nearly has us under his complete control. He has been planning carefully even before he was born. I think he has us just where he wants us, because we will do anything he wants right now. Last night he kept us up past midnight and woke up at 6am to eat. The night before he fell asleep at midnight and woke up screaming at 2am, fell back to sleep at 3am and woke up to eat at 7am. Mama and Daddy are dragging. Princess Red Chief slept though the night at 3 months and has always slept well - in the last 24 hours she's had more sleep then her brother! Right now he is sleeping - thank the heavens! So nice!

In other news I got the first haircut since I got pregnant with Monkey today. I also put my contacts back in for the first time in a year and put a little eyeliner on! I'm feeling very good at the moment!

My Children

I've debated about what to call my children on here. For some reason I don't want to use their names, but just saying "son" and "daughter" is boring. I think I've narrowed down on nicknames for them, but I think I need to tell you a little more about them for it to make sense.

Have you ever read the O. Henry story "Kidnapping of Red Chief"? That is my daughter. She's 3 years old and knows everything. Her favorite response when I ask her to do something she doesn't want to is, "I don't think so." She wants to go somewhere and see something new everyday. She can drive me crazy. But the things that drive me crazy about her are also the things I love about her. She's smart, active, opinionated (I have no idea where she gets that!), and can talk your ear off. She's never met a stranger and is at home everywhere she goes (which can be embarrassing for mama!) She's funny and affectionate and knows what she wants to do and when. She loves going to my mother's coffee shop and meeting and greeting the customers. When at home she is either spreading her craft box all over the coffee table or is in her room "reading" her books. She's growing into such an interesting little person and I can really appreciate that when I'm trying not to lose my temper with her! In honor of Mr. O. Henry (my daughter gets her bookworm tendencies from me!) I dub her Miss Red Chief! Or Miss Red for short.

My son will be 6 months old next week and we are just starting to see glimpses of his personality. He's a very happy little boy, loves to cuddle and is happiest on my hip. Not so happy in a swing or bouncer. He wants Mama or Daddy all the time. He had a rough start at birth and had his first helicopter ride at 2 hours old when they airlifted him to the nearest NICU. He spent 6 days there, but does not seem to have any major long term effects. Last week he started being able to sit up on his own for extended periods and he was so proud of himself as evidenced by his big, gummy grins. He just started solid food and has had brown rice, avocado and sweet potato so far - all homemade by mama. I had a hard time deciding what to call him since most of his little pet names would sound pretty stupid in a year or two. I've settled on Monkey for now. He clings to me like a little monkey and loves when Daddy plays adventurously with him.

I love my children and being home with them even when they run me ragged . Most days if I'm lucky I get a nap overlap in the afternoon and I usually do some quick housework, but I have to sit done and have some "Mama Time" and this seems to becoming part of it. I usually leave it quiet in the house and read or go on the internet to "see" my mommy friends. But I need that time to preserve my sanity and all mothers do. Some get it in different ways, but we all have to have time to use for ourselves. We will always have naptime/quiet time in this house!

Well, here I go

I don't know what I'm thinking, but I'm starting a blog. Like I don't have enough on my plate! I am a 27 year old mother of two. I have been married for nearly 7 years to my husband the carpenter. We have a 3-year-old girl who's my little wild child and a 5-month-old boy who is still a little cuddle bug. I stay at home with my babies, work part-time (3 nights a week) as a waitress, and do the books for my mother's coffee shop.

I named this blog what I have because I'm tired of mommy labels. Do what's best for your child and your situation. I am or have been formula-feeding and breastfeeding, stroller pushing and babywearing, working mom and stay-at-home-mom, my baby sleeps in a crib in his own room and co-sleeps with us, I bought baby food and made it at home (seriously, I think at home was just as easy and cheaper!) and everything in between. I will warn you I will probably use this as a soapbox every now and again and my husband will appreciate not having to hear about it.

AS I'm just beginning I'm not sure how to end this post - but to say thank you for reading and to promise it will get better! ;)