Life lessons on Racheal Ray

I was watching Racheal Ray the other day (see what I did there?) and she had Leah Remini on from King of Queens on. It was interesting because she wasn't interviewing her so much as sharing her story about her daughter.

See, her daughter is 3 1/2 and is STILL ON THE BOTTLE!!

She made many self-deprecating remarks about how she and her husband are horrible parents and they do everything wrong. For instance, her daughter has THREE rooms, yet where does she sleep? Right between Mommy & Daddy in their bed.

Not only that, but she goes through SIX bottles filled with water every night. Six bottles every hour or two - all night long.

Leah made the comment that she's very consistent; she gives in all the time. She seemed proud of the fact that her daughter ruled the house.

She kept saying that she had to "follow her heart" and having her daughter cry because she wanted the bottle seemed wrong. "After all", she said, "what could it hurt?"

She talked to her pediatrician who only addressed the fact that most children are off of the bottle by 12-18 months. (Remini was aghast at that and didn't seem to believe it.) She even let a 'regular' mom come in and give her some pointers about taking the nipple off of the bottle and giving it to her daughter that way.

It didn't work. Remini couldn't bear to listen to her daughter cry. She was happy at least that they went through 2 less bottles that night. Nobody informed her that the daughter still won.

What struck me through the whole show - and what nobody else was saying - was the real issue wasn't bottles; it was who was in charge. The daughter is indeed ruling the house and her parents seem oblivious that this shouldn't be the case. She has figured out how to get her way and she has become a master manipulator in the process.

Don't get me wrong - I don't blame the child one bit. She's figured out how to get her own way and her parents are reinforcing this message every minute of the day.

I see a burgeoning Paris Hilton in our midst.

My new hobby

There have been some really good comments on the "Hospitals are our friends" post. If you haven't read the post or the comments, please take some time to check it out.

And I always welcome comments!

Change of pace now.

So I'm at the gym this morning at the unholy hour of 5:15am. I know, I know, I'm weird. But if it doesn't get done in the morning, it doesn't get done.

I am a completely inappropriate people watcher! That is what I've learned about myself in the past month since joining the gym. I cannot stop watching other people.

There's a guy there who is strangely flexible. He leans over with his feet out and puts his face between his knees so it is touching the mat. Meanwhile I'm struggling at an 84 degree angle. I look like I'm merely resting, while my hamstrings are on fire. Sweet mother.

I always wonder what people are up to when I see them at the gym. Where do they work? What time do they have to be there? How long have they been working out? Is their spouse taking care of the kiddoes? Do they return the favor in the afternoon and let him/her work out then?

There's a few older women who are there regularly in the morning. I think that's awesome and I hope I'm in that good of shape when I'm their age. Heck - they're kicking my tail now and I'm probably thirty years younger than they are!

It's a good thing I'm so self-confident because if I see one more 7-month-pregnant woman kicking my booty on the elliptical machine, I'm going to scream! So far the count is up to three. I had no idea so many pregnant women - REALLY pregnant women - worked out so hard on the cardio. I think Stan walked around the block with me a few times and that was it. Of course, that thinking is probably what got me so out of shape in the first place!

I would do it completely differently

My wedding, that is.

I wouldn't have the extremely traditional wedding dress. I got married in July for pete's sake & I had the whole poufy shoulders, long sleeves, and cathedral train.

Good grief.

I wouldn't have the corkscrew curls that hairdressers do so generically. I would have something more soft and natural - more me.

I wouldn't get married inside of a church. I would do it outside under some trees and near water. Not sure where this perfect location is (or how much it would cost!) but I would definitely try to find it.

I would get married in the evening. The July sun was a killer and under a shade tree at 8:00 would've been much better.

I wouldn't care how my bridesmaids did their hair. I can't believe I wasted valuable time worrying and thinking about that.

For that matter, I wouldn't care about their dresses. I would give them a color and tell them to go get what they wanted.

I would've had a 'food' reception. We were trying to save money, but if I could do it over again, I would have some kind of buffet set up - again, very casual.

Anything you would do differently???

Uncle Terry uncled his nose...

Isn't Anezka's little dutch girl dress precious???

Saturday was one of those days to relax, reconnect, and laugh with family. We had a blast at my in-laws' house. We got to spend time with Stan's sister, Sheila - not an easy feat since she married a navy man. We got to laugh at Gerrit, Caden's older cousin by 4 months - he and Caden had fun running around being silly. And we got to snuggle with Anezka, the newest cousin, who's 6 months old.

We found out when we got there that Uncle Terry and Gerrit had been in a go-cart accident a few days before. Uncle Terry had stitches in his nose (hence the title; that's what Caden said today when I asked him if he had fun yesterday!) and Gerrit hurt his right arm a bit. He didn't want to use it too much, but then he and Caden would get to wrestling and he would forget that it was hurt.

The goal was to get all of the grandkids together for a nice picture before Sheila and Terry move to Washington (state), but alas, the two older cousins had prior commitments. So...we decked the remaining 3 out and snapped pictures outside my in-laws' house. It was a hoot. A 3-year-old, a 2 1/2-year-old, and a 6-month-old - can you imagine? We'd get one set up and looking good and then Caden or Gerrit would jump up to see what the picture we had just taken looked like. Sheila was trying to hold Anezka because Caden and Gerrit were having none of it. Gerrit didn't want to get dirty so we couln't put them in front of the tree. Nobody would be still and smile at the same time, and the adults barely got in any good pictures because we were laughing so hard!

I miss spending quality time with that part of the family and I wish they lived closer - BUT! - it is fun to travel and visit them wherever they are stationed. So far, we've made it to Pensacola, FL; Charleston, SC; and Memphis, TN. We had tickets to go to Connecticut to see them there, but that was the day after the BIIIG power outage across the country and it was a big rigamarow, so we had to cancel that trip. I'm still a bit bitter.

So...even though we wished they lived closer, we are already planning the Washington trip to go visit them!

We love you Uncle Terry, Aunt Sheila, silly Gerrit, and snuggly Anezka! We'll see you soon!!!

Getting closer!

We have been working. Working. So. Hard. Trying to get Caden potty-trained. The reason we've been really working on it is because we can tell he knows what's up; he's just being stubborn. He goes at school, so ergo, you would think he would go at home, right?

Not so much.

Until Friday night.

He had been in bed until I got home late from a district UIL meet and I walked in his room when I got home at 9:00 pm. He was awake so I laid down with him and I could tell he was NOT going to go to sleep anytime soon. So...we let him up for a little while longer.

At 10:05 (I know - we're horrible parents) I told him it was time he really went to bed for the night, and I asked him if he wanted to go potty. He said (screamed), "NOOO!"

I then had an epiphany.

I asked, "Caden, do you want to go potty on the BIIIIG potty?"

He said, "Uh uh" and walked off. He got his stool and told me to turn the light on. He pulled his shorts and his pullup down, stepped on the stool, and lifted the seat - such a big man. He stood there for a few seconds and let out a few sighs. I thought it was a no-go, but then - he grinned at me real big and I saw the stream going in the potty.

CADEN WENT POTTY!!!! For the first time at home!!!!

I was so excited. I then gave him a little toy that I had been saving for this auspicious occasion. Stan wouldn't let me take a picture, much less post that on the blog. Doo-doo head.

We didn't have such luck yesterday, but we bought him some sidewalk chalk today and I told him this afternoon that if he wanted to play with it, he needed to go potty again. He tried to tell me a few times that he had gone potty, but he flushed before I got in there so I don't think he really did.

I told him I had to see it before he could play with the chalk.

He said, "OK" and walked in there. Same routine as Friday ending with him peeing in the big potty. Proof, I tell you, that he is just stubborn and pig-headed.

I went outside with him and we played with the chalk!

Now what do I use for incentive now???

Can't get offended

Last night at the Aalbers' house...

I'm sitting in my chair when Caden drives up to me on his digger. I put my foot up to make sure he didn't run me down.

Caden: (pointing at my foot) That's yucky.

Me: laughing my patooty off

Caden: Yucky, yucky, yucky!

Me: Caden, that's mean!

Caden: It's OK. (Pointing to his own foot) Yucky too.

You can't pay for entertainment like this, folks.

Hospitals are our friends

I was lurking on a blog the other day - one that I frequent - and the post really made me stop and think, and the more I thought about it, the more irate I became. You see, the author is pregnant with her 2nd child and this time around, she's doing the whole midwife / home delivery thing.

I could not disagree with her more.

When I was pregnant with Caden I gave about 10 minutes of thought to the idea of a home birth. Enough time to say, "Gee, I guess that's an option; what would that entail?" After a few minutes, I decided that no, that most certainly was not for me.

And it's a good thing, too.

Because if I had? I wouldn't be a mom right now. I wouldn't have had a baby to bring home from the hospital. I wouldn't have ever known Caden.

We had a prolapsed cord situation and 5 minutes after my doctor discovered it, my son was born via emergency C-section. We're talking straight off an ER script - my 8-months-pregnant doctor is riding on my gurney with her hand holding Caden's head off the cord; nurses are yelling "STAT"; doctors and nurses are running from every direction in the hospital; cords are flying. The last thing I remember is them POURING iodine on my stomach and asking me how much I weighed so they would get the anesthesia right. (I was oh so tempted to lie and say "a buck twenty", but you don't want to lie when numbing is at stake).

The doctor looked at my husband afterwards and said, "That's why you have babies in hospitals."

So I feel mighty strongly against the whole home birth thing. Isn't that what people in the 1800s did??? Didn't we have a lot of babies and WOMEN die in childbirth???

My stomach churns when I hear someone say they are more "comfortable" giving birth at home.

Me? I'm more "comfortable" knowing life-saving equipment and a staff of medical personnel are there to save my baby if needs be.

A long overdue 'thankful' post

It's been awhile since I last did one of these, so without the alliteration, here's my 'Thankful Saturday'.

1. An extremely well-adjusted and happy child
2. Kids who make me laugh all day
3. A very fulfilling job; I get to feel like I'm making a difference
4. Great teachers to work with
5. Spring Break - mine is THIS week!
6. Good friends I'm still connected with
7. A husband who enjoys talking to me
8. Parents who will drop what they're doing to watch Caden when necessary
9. Never having to have paid anyone to watch Caden
10. Digital cameras
11. Nora Roberts books
12. A husband who will let me enjoy Nora Roberts books
13. A son who loves reading as much as I do
14. Franklin Covey planners
15. Golds Gym
16. Quality time on my best girlfriend's porch
17. A car that has 96,000+ miles (in 3 1/2 years!) on it & gets AWESOME gas mileage!
18. The writers' strike is over - bring on 'House'!
19. Upward season is over & I have my husband back on Saturdays!
20. There's a chance the dirt is on the way out of my driveway - stay tuned...

Incentive

Today a friend brought her new baby up to school to show her off and she is absolutely precious.

But I was more interested in the stroller.

That and the matching diaper bag are almost enough to make me want to have another baby.

Today

Want to know what I did today?

I kept nineteen 17-year-olds absolutely quiet - not a peep - for FIVE and a HALF HOURS! With only a small 30-minute break for lunch in there.

Why would I ever attempt such a feat?

TAKS, my darling - the wonderful test of all tests.

Now I just have to convince them that we still have to work for the rest of the year...

Ode to Monkey

A few weeks ago, I had school and Caden's school was closed, so we called our bestest babysitter ever, S, and she agreed to babysit. She has 3 wonderful kids - I'm convinced they do no wrong - and they're usually happy whenever we let them babysit Caden.

Stan picked him up and said that he had a great time over there as usual and he even brought home a souvenir - Monkey. Now, we have bought Caden bears and other stuffed animals, but he has no attachment whatsoever with them - only Monkey.

He sleeps with Monkey. He watches movies with Monkey. He even eats with Monkey. Every Friday at his school, they have 'Show & Tell'. He's taken Monkey ever since he got him. Stan lets him take Monkey in the truck with him on the way to school & he'll leave him in the truck when they get there. Not so this past Wednesday. He would NOT leave him in the truck! Thankfully Ms. Beth said that he could bring him in to school that day.

So thank you S & little L for giving Caden Monkey! Our lives would be so empty without him, and we love him so much!!

This is how we work

Our weekends lately have consisted of much basketball.
Well, maybe not mine so much - directly - but my life has definitely had to shift because of it!

Case in point, Friday nights. I go straight home from school and Stan & I pick Caden up together. We then make the all-important stop at Wendy's to ensure that our boy's stomach gets full of food as soon as possible, and then make the trek to the school to set up for Upwards basketball the next day.

Caden eating with Monkey, whom he has taken to 'Show and Tell' the last 5 Fridays! He also took him to school on Wednesday when it was NOT 'Show & Tell'


That's when the workin' starts according to Caden. He LOVES to work and if his daddy is doing something, he needs to be helping him. Stacking chairs and pushing the dolly is better than going to the park for this kid!


After the work is done, there's always a bit of playing that needs to be done.

This is our family's Friday entertainment. I'm more worried about the end of Upward season than I was the end of football season! Here's a great picture of my 2 most favorite boys in the whole world.