Life with a 15 year and 15 month old (my personal Twilight Zone)

I often feel like I'm suspended between two realities. I go from chasing a toddler around the house because he has once again eaten something he shouldn't have to chasing behind a teen to get off the phone and do her chores. I can go from removing poop from underneath my fingernails ,because of a diaper change gone horribly wrong, to removing head phones from my teens head so she can clearly hear and hopefully understand what I'm trying to say. From bending down to sniff a random puddle on the floor hoping its not pee (from Ethan’s nightly naked time) to bending down looking under the sofa for the remote that Shania has carelessly tossed aside. Having conversations with my husband about what developmental toys to buy E to discussions with my ex hoping to convince him that Shania has more than enough stuff and that it’s time she learn the value of a dollar. Stuck in the middle of talking to my daughter about sex and boys and trying to get my toddler to say please and thank you (showing them how to respect and be respected). Walking the tight rope between two parental worlds where All at once I am investigating the best nursery schools and universities that will foster both my children’s' developmental needs and expand their educational capabilities. Trying to potty train and woman train is challenging to say the least. With a toddler on my hip and his hand down my cleavage (he loves to rest it there) I struggle to pull down my teenager’s skirt as she teeters out the door ,on heels I am not entirely comfortable with, to yet another Sweet 16 event. Trying to keep my sanity when my toddler and teen are simultaneously vying for my attention by yelling as loudly as they can. Barely paying attention but listening for the buzz words (money, fire, boy, blood) when my teen is droning on about something she wants while once again on my hands and knees in my toddler’s room searching for the pacifier because he is literally screaming with exhaustion. Then there are the moments when both my kids are chasing each other around the house laughing hysterically. I can't help but laugh too because while they are so far apart in age it is in these moments when they are just two kids running around having fun. To me that is childhood in its purest form and I am grateful to be witness to it.

Spring 2012 Consignment Haul

Here is what we picked up at the first consignment sale of the Spring season.



I forgot to include this in the video, Ethan's first bike. Hubby picked up a Radio Flyer at the pre-sale for $15.00.



Ethan absolutely loves it and "rides" it all over the house.


I totally forgot to blog about the Fall consignment event so here are the haul videos from November 2011.

Enjoy!

Junk Food Fake Out

I am always on the lookout for healthier options to the horrible foods I crave which is why when I came across a recipe for cauliflower pizza crust I just had to try it.

I started out with a large head of cauliflower, then grated half which gave me about 2 cups. The recipe I found only calls for 1.5 cups of grated cauliflower so I put aside the rest.












Then I put it in the microwave for 8 minutes and added the following:

1 cup of mozzarella
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 beaten egg (make sure cauliflower has cooled a little before adding the egg or else it will scramble)
Spices: Oregano, Basil, Garlic Powder & Red Pepper Flakes


I combined all ingredients and spread it out on the bottom of a 9 inch cast iron skillet that I sprayed lightly with oil.


How it looked before baked.












I baked it at 450 degrees for appx 15 minutes, just until the edges began to brown.












While the crust was cooking I sauteed red & green peppers, onions and broccoli. When the crust was done I added 2 tablespoons of crushed tomatoes, a bit more mozzarella, the sauteed vegetables and some freshly grated Parmesan then baked for another 8 to 10 minutes.

Here is the final product.












Verdict: The texture of the crust is not at all like pizza dough however the taste is reminiscent of it. I don't know if it's the mozzarella but if you close your eyes you get a sense that you're eating pizza. It did not slice well, actually fell a part. I think I should have used a non-stick cookie sheet and maybe not overdue it with the veggies.

All in all I think it is a good alternative to regular pizza and will definitely make it again.

What are your favorite junk food fake outs?

11 month update - OMG He's Almost a Toddler!

In just one day Ethan will be a year old....WOW. He has grown so much both physically and developmentally in the past few weeks. He is such a BOY. I mean just all over the place, grabbing, climbing, pulling, drooling, and super energetic. I am so not used it it. I often just look at him as he does his impression of the Tasmanian devil and say "why don't you just go sit down somewhere". He loves opening and closing doors. It appears his favorite pass time is removing items from the closets. He is not satisfied until he has taken everything out of his closet or whatever closest he has access to. I try and get him to play quiet games like sorting shapes and reading a book but that only last for a few minutes and he is once again off to the races. He is still at the stage where EVERYTHING goes into his mouth. No matter how many times we sweep and mop he still finds something to pick up off the floor and put into his mouth. Now that he is walking it's a lot harder to keep track of what he gets his hands on. You have to constantly have your eyes on him and lets face it, that's not reality. I am sure he has ingested his fair share of crumbs and the occasional lint ball. Let's just be real people I am not superwoman. He also loves to put his mouth on the outlets which thankfully we have covered. If he's not licking, chewing or climbing he's kicking something. He treats everything like a soccer ball and kicks it around the house. Anything from an actual ball to a book he will kick all over until he gets bored then leaves it and walks off. I am constantly finding a toy or book lying in the middle of the hallway so needless to say we are teaching him how to pick up after himself.




He loves to play pool with Daddy.














Really while my husband plays he just runs around the table holding a pool stick.














and around...















and around...














and around again until we drag him kicking and screaming from the game room.






He still only says Mama and Dada occasionally however he communicates to us in other ways. When he does not want to eat he'll move his head to the side and push the spoon away. When he wants something he cannot reach he'll lean towards it so we know he wants his bottle, pacifier, etc... Yes he does take a pacifier. It's either that or have him attached to my boob 24/7. We don't give him the pacifier all the time, only when he is winding down to sleep. I am still nursing. We have begun slowly transitioning him over to organic soy milk. Right now we add 1 to 2 ounces of soy milk to my breast milk. So far he has not had any adverse reactions. He is eating bigger chunks of food. I am finding it harder now to figure out what to feed him since he does not have any of his back teeth yet. I am nervous about him choking so we still give him some pureed and some chopped food. His favorites are sweet potatoes, chicken, flaky fish, pancakes, eggs (yolks only) and broccoli. He currently has four teeth at the top and two teeth at the bottom. He loves to snack on crackers, teething biscuits, bananas, puffs and apples. With crackers he prefers to crush and eat the crumbs, have no idea why. The apple we'll hold while he takes small bites and he has yet to finish a entire apple. Oh and he hums when he eats, it's really pretty funny.

Ethan had his first experience playing in the snow

It took me about half hour to get all the layers on him (he hates getting dressed), only to spend all of 5 minutes in the snow. He did not know what to make of it and had a difficult time walking in it. He seemed weirded out by it until I took out the camera and he flashed that winning smile. Thankfully I was able to get a few cute shots.























He is still not sleeping through the night. He'll go down shortly after bath time around 8pm and wakes up at 10pm usually for a diaper change. I put him back down and he wakes up at 1am or 2am to nurse and goes back down right away. Then he wakes up around 5:30am - 6am for a diaper change and to nurse once more before I leave for work. Sometimes when he wakes in the middle of the night my husband will just bring him into the bed with us and he ends up staying until I get up for work. I know we are spoiling him by allowing him to sleep in our bed but at 2am when I have to be up in a few hours for work all I can think of is sleep. There are those very few occasions where he will just sleep from 10pm to 5am but then I wake up in the morning feeling like my boobs are going to explode...LOL My hope is that once he is completely weaned he will be on a more stable schedule and I can finally get some sleep. #pipedream

I won't know his measurements until his next appointment at 12 months. Some people think he looks small. Well tell that to the number of pants and pajamas that he has outgrown in the last few weeks. He can still fit some of his 6 and 9 month tops and his feet are huge. Right now he is about a 3 1/2 in infant size. It appears that his hair is finally starting to fill in. I'm happy because for awhile he was starting to resemble Doc Brown from Back to the Future. Yes I can make fun of my kids ;)

Developmentally I feel like he is right on track. He knows where his eyes, ears and nose are. He still struggles with mouth. He refuses to use his finger to point to the parts on his face. He will use my finger and bring his face to the part that I say. I guess you can call that progress. He loves the Wheels on the Bus song. Whenever he is crying and I cannot figure out what the problem is I just sing that song and he stops. He is finally learning to shape sort. I have been working with him for months and before all he wanted to do was eat the shapes or throw them across the room. Just recently has been making an effort to put the shapes into the proper compartments. Just the other day I asked him to go bring me his ball and he did. At first I thought it was a fluke until I said it again and he bought me the ball. Then when I tried a 3rd time he got sick of me and decided to kick the ball around..oh well.

He is really attached to me. When I come home from work the first thing he wants me to do is pick him up. He'll come up to me crying with his hands raised. If I leave a room we are in he will cry for a few minutes even if my husband is there. I can tell this hurts my husband's feelings but he understands it's just a phase. They have their moments of horse play. I think they play too rough but have been told that's how boys have fun. Well as long as he is laughing and not crying I'm okay.

So far it has been an amazing almost year with our baby boy. It's really cool to have a little being stomping around the house demanding attention just like our older kids. We love him so much and cannot wait to see what toddlerhood brings.



Peace

9 and 10 month update

Since Ethan is now 11 months (wow) I think its time to reflect on his 9th and 10th months. We are seeing more of his personality every day. He can be quite demanding and very emotional. He will bang the tray table of his high chair when he wants more food. He is determined to have things his way and when he doesn't a little fit will ensue. Usually I just look at him with my "have you lost your mind face" and he stops. This is probably more because he thinks my screwed up face is funny rather than intimidating. He understands that no is not something good because whenever we say it he starts to cry. After a few seconds he’s over it and on to the next thing. He is also super sweet. He loves to give kisses and l like when he lays his head on my shoulder, I’m guessing that’s his version of a {{hug}}.
He recently offered to share his pacifier with me which I thought was huge because he has shone some signs of selfishness with his toys. His two front bottom and top teeth are fully exposed and yes he has bitten me a few times. Needless to say it is definitely time to start weaning. My goal is to nurse for one year and I am merely a few weeks away. It feels good to accomplish something I set out to do. Ethan's sleep routine is still horrible. He doesn't go down until around 10pm which makes it difficult for me to prepare for work the next day. We try and wear him out so he will fall asleep early but he is so full of energy our plan hardly ever works. Often we will put him in his crib and just let him whine until he passes out. He loves music, it seems to soothe him so I’ll probably start playing soft music in his room to help lull him to sleep. We are trying to socialize him through playgroups like Gymboree and My Gym. There are no children his age on our block so we will have to depend on outside sources of socialization for him.


At 9 months he began standing with little effort and even took a few steps. When he reached 10 months he actually walked. He started out by walking the few steps from one side of his playpen to the other. Whenever he was outside of the playpen he would only walk if he had something to hold which probably provided him with security as he took those tentative steps.



Now he walks all over the entire house. Over this weekend we allowed him to walk around the mall. People could not believe how he was so small and able to walk. He was so proud of himself and smiled the entire time.

He loves to eat, even if he has just had a meal. If he sees one of us with food he has to have it. The majority of the food we give him are organic fruits and vegetables. We give him chicken (also organic) from time to time and oatmeal for breakfast. We still make his food and now that he has teeth we are introducing bigger chunks into his meals. Soon we will be able to stop pureeing all together.

He rarely says Mama and Dada anymore. He does however do a good amount of babbling. He recently started mimicking my husband when he says “uh oh”. We are trying to teach him body parts like eye, ears, etc. So far he just stares and smiles. Once I said nose and he grabbed the nose of his toy dog. It was probably a fluke but you know I gotta have hope that all this training is making a difference. I’m also working to teach him how to stack blocks. He refuses to stack but has no problem knocking them down. Even if he is on the other side of the room, if I've stacked blocks he will walk over and swipe at them until they fall then walk off. He learned how to do peek-a-boo. I was shocked how quickly he picked it up. I would do it from time to time and use a blanket or whatever fabric I had near me. I would bring it up over my face and say peek-a-boo then bring it back down. One day I was playing the game and he took the blanket and held it up then dropped it down. I said peek-a-boo and he did it again. I was so proud of my little boy.

There have been little things here and there that show me each day he is growing. He raises his arms when he wants to be picked up. When you put on a his shirt he pushes his arms through the sleeves. And he is becoming more of an independent eater using his snack trap for puffs and a sippy cup for water. When he knows he’s into something he shouldn’t he will ignore us when we call his name. We know he understands us because he’ll have a little smirk on his face as he blatantly disobeys us.

All in all E is an awesome baby and I'm excited to see what toddler hood brings.

Cloth Diapers Revisited

My last blog on cloth diapers was a little flat and didn't really provide useful information so hopefully this one will be more helpful to those interested in cloth diapers.

I am not an expert on cloth diapers but I can certainly point you in the direction of resources with expert info and those who were and continue to be very helpful in our cloth diaper journey.

Lets start with mommy vloggers on YouTube which is where I was first introduced to cloth diapers. If you are remotely interested in cloth diapers I suggest you check out these channels:

Thebubblelush

ObbsandLala

The Cloth Diaper Channel

Information Mommy

Then there is the aspect of buying cloth diapers. Where do you go? If you have a cloth diaper boutique or store that sells cloth diapers in your area then you are fortunate. You have the opportunity to touch and handle the diapers before purchasing. If you are like me and don't have any in your neighborhood you have to depend on the internet to do your shopping. It can be annoying but oh what fun it is to receive fluffy mail. Here are a few online retailers that I use:

Diaperjunction.com
Cottonbabies.com
NickisDiapers.com
Kellyscloset.com

How much does it cost? Diapers can be very expensive. It's what almost turned me off however there are ways to purchase diapers without breaking the bank. The name brands can run anywhere from $20 to $30 dollars each from what I've seen. There are brands like Doopsy, Kawaii, Imagine and Econobum that are more affordable just to name a few. Now most people think with lower cost you sacrifice quality. In this case I don't agree. You have to find what works for your family. For example I'm not a fan of minky diapers (fur on outside). For some reason the texture freaks me out. Also I'm okay with the fabric on the outside of the diaper being a little rough as long as the inside, which actually touches the baby, is soft. There are those that want high quality materials on both the inside and outside of the diaper. So there may be a cheap diaper that has all the qualities you are looking for but it takes some trial and error. It's like finding that perfect pair of jeans. You know the one that has the perfect wash and length and hugs your curves the right way, accentuates the positive and hides the negative. Its like that! So before committing to cloth diapering I suggest doing a trial run with many different types and styles. All of our diapers are one size which means they fit from birth to potty training. So far we have invested around $400.00 and that is because I have developed somewhat of an addiction :).
A number of cd retailers offer a "love em or leave em" program where you pay one rate for a number of diapers and get to try them out for a specific amount of time. If you don't like them simply return the diapers and most times you get your money back minus a small restocking fee.

Another option is to buy used. Yep, at first I felt a little weird about it but don't be afraid to buy used, irregular or seconds. Check the "gently used" or "seconds" section of the cloth diaper websites. They come to you washed and you of course will wash and prep the diapers before putting them on your baby. You can also purchase used diapers from Ebay, Craigslist as well as the websites noted above. BabyCenter.com and Facebook have cloth diaper swap/sale groups. Also the website clothdiaperswappers.com is a great resource for used diapers. Because of these options I don't pay over $14 for a diaper including shipping. Also check out Hyenacart.com and Etsy.com for cloth diapers made by WAHMS (Work At Home Moms). I find the WAHM diapers come in the most unique prints and Moms know exactly what you need in a great cloth diaper.

What do you need? Really all you need besides the cloth diapers are:
Diaper Pail - we use a trash can with a lid Purchased from the 99 cent store.

Pail liner - in the very beginning we used plastic bags which worked fine however we now have a pail liner. It is best to have two so you when one is washing you have a clean liner in the pail.

Wet bag - needed to hold soiled diapers whole out of the house. Zip lock bags will due until you get a wet bag

Diaper sprayer - we used a spray bottle and disposable liners for months before investing in the sprayer now I don't know what we would do without it.

Biodegradable liners - great option for those who don't want to deal with the poop, you just dump and flush.

Cloth Diaper Safe Laundry detergent - must use one free of additivies that can cause build up on your diapers and affect absorbancey. We use Rockin' Green but there are tons more, here is a list of all cd safe soaps. Remember you have to find the right one for your family and it may take going through a few brands.

Cloth Diaper Safe Rash Ointment - necessary to protect the absorbency of your diapers. Using non safe ointment will cause a film buildup which will reject the liquid from soaking into the diaper which means leaks for you. Plus the cloth diaper ointments are all natural which lets face it is better for baby. You can also make your own ointment.

Patience - because my husband and I both have older children we have loads of experience with disposables. Converting to cloth has been a learning experience. Trying to navigate the diaper snaps, deal with leaks and finding the right fit for our baby has caused more than a few tense moments in our household. After a little time we got the hang of it and cloth diapers have now become part of our lives. I like that our children see us using cloth diapers and hopefully one day will do the same with their babies.

Oh and just in case you are still on the fence about cloth diapering use this calculator to compare costs.

Cloth diapers are not for everyone but it's great to explore new or less traditional ways of doing things.

A Day At The Farm

During a freakishly warm October day I decided the family should get dressed and go apple picking. I'm all about exposing my children to new experiences. As a child I remember going apple picking on a school trips and bringing home a bag full of the crunchy treats to my mom who made quick work out of pies..yummy. So now that we live in an area where there are a number of accessible farms I figured why not start an apple picking tradition. It didn't take long to convince the hubby to go. He enjoys doing things with the family and loves to drive so we piled in the car and were off. As soon as we pulled up to the entrance of the farm I realized everyone had the same idea because it was packed. I hate crowds but was determined to power through. At the entrance there was a sign that read PYO(pick your own) apples, peaches, raspberries, tomatoes and pumpkins. Sweet!, in my mind we hit pay dirt and would get enough produce for a few days of meals. Alas my joy quickly faded once we got to the picking field where another sign read no more apples and peaches. Oh well there are still all the other stuff to choose from, we decided to start with raspberries.

There was a bit of disorganization which was annoying to me. There was no one to show you how to pick the raspberries properly. Not even a sign or handout with instructions. All we had was a map of the farm and a plastic bag to hold the pickings so we had to figure it out on our own. After a few minutes we had the technique down. I can't imagine how many plants are ruined by newbies. The farm was massive and the crops were really spread out plus the sun was particularly brutal, beating down right on top of us. We decided to push ahead and enjoy the experience. We walked up and down rows and rows of raspberry bushes trying to find the plumpest and juiciest berries ripe for the picking. Ethan was quite content in his stroller. He seemed intrigued with the scenery.

My husband was very methodical about his picking. He would reach down and inside the bush at the risk of being scratched and having his clothes snagged to find the perfect berry. Shania and I were breezing through grabbing what we saw on top of the bush. After about an hour we were done. Remember it was hot and are not used to manual labor..lol.

Next we decided to head over to the pumpkin patch. Turns out we could not pick any tomatoes, too late in the season. It seemed like the walk took forever and pushing a stroller over dirt and gravel is quite irritating but I kept telling myself family time, new experiences...urgh. Once we got to the pumpkin patch I was quite disappointed. There were only small pumpkins left, all the big, odd shaped ones were already gone. So we decided to try and make the best of it and snap a few pics for the memory book.





We decided it was time to go and check out. I was anxious to go to the farms general store and do my kinda harvesting, removing produce from the save shelf of a store and paying a cashier.lol. We had a little over a pound of organic raspberries and it only cost $3.00..wow! At check out I noticed a man with a big basket of apples. My mouth dropped open. I asked the cashier why he was able to pick apples and she said he probably picked them up from the ground. Had I known we all would've been on our hands and knees scrounging for apples. Oh well, I know for next time.
The general store was a total mad house, once again the organization was totally off. There were way too many people in the store at once. I barely had space to look around so I ended up getting us some ice cream. Of course we couldn't be there licking cones without sharing with E so he had his first taste of ice cream.



And Loved It!


I mean he really loved it!

First Milk Mustache



So while we were walking back to our car I dropped my cone..NOOOOO!!!!! I was so pissed, I picked it up and slammed it into the nearest trash can. To onlookers I must have looked like an insane woman. After all day in that heat the ice cream was a nice reprieve but sadly it was not to be. It's not like my belly needed the extra calories anyway :(


Although though there were hiccups, it was a good day with the family that resulted in a tasty raspberry tart for dinner. Hooray for family time and farm fresh foods.

Few more pics from the day