Ferg Friday: Best.Dog.Ever.

My dog is wonderful.

I can't even believe that she's going to be four in June.

She is sweet and cuddly. And she smiles.

She follows us around all day long and when I leave the room and a little lady remains, she remains with them.

Never once has she snapped at Lila, Vivienne... or anyone, for that matter.

And she just knows when she's needed.

The past week Lila was having a rough day.

So at nap time, Ferg was there for her, listened to her read, let Lila cover her up and slept with her.

I adore her.

--

I've never quite cut it this close.

It appears that I had low fuel today.

I went back to work, and I'm not kidding - it didn't even OCCUR to me to check how much gas Lola had.

Throughout my entire maternity leave, I bet I filled up my car 4 times? Maybe?

So I'd be lying if I didn't say that I turned off the 'ole air conditioning and prayed that I'd make it to the gas station.

Whew. I made it.

With 8 miles left to go. (A new record for me.)

--

Aren't there just some things you don't want to deal with? I don't want to worry about filling up my gas tank and I want there to always be milk in my fridge. Easy as that.

You? What do you hate worrying about?


--

Potty Training. Post #2.

It's been exactly one week and five days since we started this nightmare journey. (Dramatic much? Absolutely.)

Last Friday, my last day of maternity leave, I had a total, "Go-buy-some-pull-ups" breakdown. (But was I willing to use them? No.)  I had to call both of my sisters and share with them that I was losing it. Lila had THREE accidents within a 45-minute period and within a four-foot walk to the potty. One of those times she just stood there, started at me and peed like, "SEE???? THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU STRESS ME OUT."

Thankfully, Saturday was INCREDIBLE. She went in the potty FIVE times and had TWO accidents and one-maybe-accident. (I'm not sure. We were outside and she was playing with water... was it water? Was it the alternative? Was I willing to smell it to find out? No.) We even took Lila to our friends' house for an Easter Egg hunt and I was PARANOID she'd have an accident inside. She didn't. It was outside. In the grass. (Yessss....)

Sunday - a good day.

Monday - an ok day. Craig took her to beach and she didn't even have an accident there - you know, in the world's largest toilet. She waited until she got home, rinsed off her sandy feet and went in her potty chair. WAY TO GO LILA!

Tuesday - a so-so day.

Wednesday - only ONE accident all.day.long!

:)

SO, we've BOUGHT the pull-ups but we haven't used 'em still. She's still doing naps and nighttime in big-girl underpants and for the most part she's successful. (We limit all liquids about 2 hours before bedtime.)

Thoughts on the process: She's definitely getting it. Sometimes she tells us she has to go. (She yells, "PEE PEE!!!!!!!" with such urgency that I have to laugh.) And most times she doesn't tell us - we just make her take a break at a logical time of the day: after lunch, before nap, etc. Does she fight it sometimes? Yes. Do we make her sit there sometimes for a few minutes? Yes.

My frame of mind: At this particular moment, "This just might work after all." The stress has lifted. We're over it. This is merely a process and we're getting through it. I'll be happy if he's trained before we fly in July. I think she will be. But we'll see.

Things I think you need when potty training:

1. The Baby Bjorn potty chair. Here's why I like it: It's simple. There are no hidden weird crooks and crevices  where anything can get caught, so I feel like it can really be cleaned well. About $24.00 on amazon.

2. The ultimate crib sheet. THESE ARE FANTASTIC. It's a waterproof cover that snaps over your child's crib sheet. When they have an accident in the middle of the night, you very, very simply in a half-awake stupor unsnap it and snap on a new one. You don't have to change the crib sheet. Buy at least two of these. They're $15+ all over the interweb. See here.

(That's not my child. Or my crib. But you can kind of see how it snaps and lays on TOP of your regular sheet.)

3. Muchkin disposable changing pads. We fold these up and place them in Lila's highchair. They work out perfectly for example, when she has an accident during lunch. (Um, that was her one accident yesterday.) $6.99 on drugstore.com.

I'm waiting on a couple of other products that I ordered on line - I let you know my review after I get 'em.

We're keeping truckin'. Go Lila.


--

Finally I can sleep.

My question has been answered.

(Where were we without the google? I'll tell you where: at the library.)

Stop putting tomatoes in the fridge.

I never know which fruits and vegetables to put in the fridge.
I absolutely put my mandarins and my apples in there because in my opinion there's no better way to eat them than freezing cold.

But tomatoes? They've confounded me.

Conventional wisdom says: put 'em in the fridge. They'll stay fresher longer.

But apparently, this is a misconception. Check out this website, or see below.

See:

"Tomatoes really shouldn't be stored in the fridge - if they're fresh, they'll last for up to a week in the fruit bowl, and they shouldn't be kept any longer than that. The tart taste of tomatoes is due to a chemical called Linolenic Acid converting to Z-3-Hexenel, and this reaction is disrupted by cold. If you must store tomatoes, bring them out of the fridge for at least an hour before eating to let them warm to room temperature. Tomatoes are disadvantaged to begin with, since they are picked long before they are ripe, when they are still green all over, and then ripened in large ripening rooms using ethylene gas. Even vine ripened tomatoes are treated in this manner."

And there you have it.


--

Online shoe shopping highs and lows. Welcome to my world.

I have been trying to find these shoes in my size for about 3 weeks now.

First, they had 'em on nordstroms.com. I weighed the purchase (as all good online shoppers do) and went back the next day to buy them and they were SOLD OUT.

GASP.

I clicked-to-chat with a nordstrom's representative (of course I did) and she was of no assistance. "My computer shows that we have no intention of having them back in stock. I'm sorry."

HUH? "Intention?" Ok.

So I waited.

And checked back everyday.

(I had looked EVERYWHERE on the interweb and only found ONE pair in some boutique in Canada that I was not willing to deal with. And the TOMS website? They only have the shoe in a size 11. Fyi.)

So then, I finally decided to buy them in ORANGE off of another site - but alas - they disappeared in a day, too. (WHAT?)

I started thinking I might have to cave and buy other options.

THEN, last week they were available again on Nordstroms! (YAY!)

But wait, they were only available in a 5.5, 6, 6.5 and 7.5 and an 11.

WHAT???

I WEAR A SIZE SEVEN.

So guess what?

Today they were there.

And I bought them.

Yessssssss....

...and they all lived happily ever after.


--

Awareness.

So there I was sitting at my desk at work yesterday going through a bazillion work emails and in my inbox I ran across one from a friend. A friend whose sweet little boy is just 3 months younger than my Lila.

He's precious. And ridiculously cute. And is the youngest brother of three.

And, he has cystic fibrosis.

Now, I asked Aidan's Mom if I could write this post - and I want to explain very clearly that it is being written to do one thing: to spread awareness.

See, I had no idea that cystic fibrosis affected about 30,000 people nationwide. And more importantly, I had no idea that because it's considered an "orphan" and "rare" disorder and is therefore not offered ANY federal funding.

GASP.

Imagine that.

Go ahead, put yourself in those shoes, my friend. Or, put your baby or child in those shoes.

No government funding? Why, this is where we need to help out.

Watch this movie about Aidan. And I dare you not to tear up.

Again, I'm not writing this post in an attempt to exploit this situation, but in an attempt to celebrate this little sweetie's determination and to support him. It takes a village, doesn't it?



So if it behooves you, please give $5 in honor of Team Aidan in the 2011 Cleveland Great Strides walk.

It'll be the best $5 you spend today. FOR sure.

Aidan's Mom and Dad have reached 50% of their goal as of Monday... (see below).

(You can click to make larger.)

Oh, and here's a little note from Aidan's Mom about his health:

"Aidan is doing really well and we actually go into the CF Clinic Tuesday for a visit and to see how his weight is progressing. He is on lots of meds, but they are helping and he seems to be getting used to it."

GO TEAM AIDAN!

For more information and to donate, click here:


--

Happy Birthday!

Now, what does someone who has 623 friends on Facebook need for her birthday?

Why, a personalized greeting on my blog, of course. :)

Sarah, I love that you're one of my favorite friends in ALL of the world's best friend and that when we're all together we get along so well. I see why she loves you, because I do, too.

You're so strong. And beautiful. And funny. And you're such a great Mom. And you're a giver. And you have great hair.

I'm so glad you were born. Happy birthday!

love,

ky

--

I made it.

Work went well.
Coming home to the ladies went even better.
Lila smothered me with, "mmmmmm" kisses (that's what she says when her lips are on mine) and Vivienne cuddled with me and smiled a ton.
Even The Ferg missed me, I think. (The feeling was mutual. She's now sleeping above my head on my pillow._

I'm pumped for 5 pm on Friday.

But I'm vowing to make every second, ok -- MOST seconds count with my sweet little family.

Must sleep now.
Goooooodnight.

Kb
Sent from BlackBerry® Wireless

I love smiling babies.

Sent from BlackBerry® Wireless

Farewell. An [annoying] right of passage. Again.

Who wants to leave that face?!

I've done this before.

I've returned to work 12 weeks after experiencing the most momentous life-change I could ever imagine. And I just want to get it over with already.

I'm writing this on Sunday... and all day I've been thinking about my imminent return to work. Part of me, the part that always wanted to carry a briefcase and wear business suits (as if, I live in Cabo - who wears business suits?) is ready to sit at my desk again. To feel like me. (I don't even remember my office phone number - but to my credit - I moved to a new office location shortly before I went on leave.)


But the other part of me, the part that is led by my heart and cries at every little thing, just wants to stay at home with my babies. Forever. And ever. And ever. And hold them. And snuggle them. And smother them.

So what am I feeling at this very moment? At 9:44 p.m. the night before I go back to work?

I'm feeling calm.

Now, I may cry in the shower, but right now I'm calm.

Here's why:

There's comfort in knowing that I did this before. In fact, I did this about 19 months ago. With that one. Below.

I know what to expect. I know that I'll be schlepping my breast pump (with bottles and ice pack), my purse, my U.S. phone and my MX phone, my computer and my bottles of water to work. Again.

I know that I will invariably forget something every.single.day.

But I also know that this time is fleeting. It's true: I will not in fact be tied to my breastpump for six years. Nope - more than likely about 9 more months. (Gasp. Omg. That's all?)

I work so close to my home and I can work from home throughout the week, as well. I'm literally approximately 2 miles away. I'm fortunate enough to live in a cultura that values family above all things. I'll be coming home each afternoon (I hope) to feed Vivienne around 1 or 2 p.m. (My lunchtime.) She'll get just one bottle from her caregiver because then I'll race home to feed her again at 5.

This is all do-able.

Rushed, but do-able.

And the caregiver. She's pretty fantastic. She's an all-Spanish speaking mother-of-four who came into our lives at the beginning of the year and has proceeded to be awesome for Lila. Don't get me wrong, it was rocky at first. The language barrier, the fact that she was new - it was tough. But now? She and Lila are like peanut butter and jelly, or corona and lime. She'll be taking care of the two ladies all day, every day. (God bless her.)  Craig and I will come and go throughout the day, which is awesome, too. We always get to keep an eye on everything.

When I went back to work with Lila, I struggled with so much guilt. The idea of missing **anything** she was doing and not having control of her daily schedule/routine was almost more than I could bear. This time around, I'm still uncomfortable with it - but I know it's necessary. I need to work and Vivienne (and Lila!) will be fine without me.

In my experience, I worry too much before something happens. I create undue anxiety and then wah-la, the reality of the situation presents itself and I'm calm, cool and collected.

I imagine tomorrow will be the same way.

Perhaps it'll be the best of both worlds?

I get to be, "Kylee, marketing director" at work and, "Mommy, cruise-ship director" at home.

I'm not saying this is going to be easy, OR that I can do it all. I'm just saying, I will be content in all circumstances and realize that this time is only a season.

I will miss playing with Lila and Vivienne all day, though.

I mean, it's far too much fun helping Lila dress up her little sister in build-a-bear clothes...

(Here's Vivienne sporting the genie/belly dancer outfit. Much cuter on her than on Lila's stuffed bunny.)

Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.

As C. said, "You know what? When you get home, they're going to be right there waiting for you."

True that.

Love them.


--

Reese's eggs, peeps and Jesus.

This is a big day for those of us who believe in God, Jesus and the whole resurrection.

As a parent, I'm in shock and awe that anyone would allow His child to die for someone else. Sacrifice. However, I believe that's precisely what God did. Allowed his son to die and to be raised again to show the peeps that He was true to his word. On today. On Easter Sunday.

Incredible.

Happy Easter, ya'll.




--

Seriously? Another birthday? It's true.

April is a VERY busy birthday month!

A happy, happy day to my friend over at Snappy Tulip.

Friend, I hope this day is filled with LOTS of sleep (for you and the boys) and wonderful things.

You're a great Mom and a thoughtful friend. I'm glad you were born.

Ky


--

Birthday! Birthday! Birthday! YAY!

A very heartfelt wish for a happy birthday to my dear, dear friend, Wrestling Kitties.

Your heart, oh friend... you're one of the kindest souls I've ever known... you're a treasure.
I am so excited that next year at this time, there's going to be a little Henry here to share your birthday with you.

I love you dearly, friend. Thank God for Owens for bringing us together. :)

Happy birthday and I'm so glad that you were born.

With love (and so much happiness for you)
kb

--

Lightbulb idea: Easter egg coloring for little ones

I read about this idea last year in some Parent magazine and thought it was clever. Have I ever done it, no? That's because last year my child was about 10 months old and wasn't big on dyeing eggs.

For less mess with little ones, put an un-colored, hard boiled egg in the center of a whisk and have your child use THAT as the dipper. The egg will still get colored, yet won't fall all over the place.

...do-do-do... "The more you know."


--

Sweet friend! It's your birthday.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear... I'm terrible with birthdays these days - I blame my children.

SWEET Metacognitive Musings, I couldn't let this day pass without telling you that I think you're great.
I hope that this birthday was fantastic and I am so thankful that you were born.
I miss you.
And I wish that we were sitting in my kitchen laughing with Trophy life eating salsa.
I'm soooo glad you were born and I love you.

It's really that simple.

You make math cool.

xo,
kylee


--

Potty Training. Post #1.

(Those are the flowers and leaves that Lila picked for me today. Um, precious. She was so proud.)

What's the best thing to do the week before you're due to return back to work?

Start potty training!

[smile]

Here was my goal: to potty train Lila.

Why: because I thought she was ready, I was tired of buying diapers and because I'd rather train her earlier than later. I've heard far too many horror stories about stubborn 4 year olds still in pull-ups.

So there. That's where I was starting from on Friday when we began this process.

Next, let me tell you my parenting style: I have learned that I can NEVER push anything on Lila. Ever. My firstborn is an independent, spirited child. She's by no means ill-behaved, instead she's methodical, quirky, imaginative, surprisingly intense and staunchly and fiercely unconstrained - a maverick, if you will. [hee hee].

I should have known that she would thumb her nose at the idea of potty training in "three days."

Yep, after some chatting with friends and with several people who have done this program successfully, I bought the PDF for $24.00. It's all about how to potty-train in 3 days. (See here.)

While this method does work for some children, I think this is yet another one of those parenting lessons. You know what I'm talking about: all children are different and what works for one, might not work the same way for another.

The premise behind the training is this:

• The child must be 22 months. (Lila was 6 days short of 22 months when we started this. Sue me.)
• You throw away all diapers with the help of your child. (We put ours in a garbage bag... um, Vivienne will be using them.)
• You put your child in underpants. You explain to them that the underpants are DRY and that they need to keep them dry.
• You introduce her to the potty chair and tell her that's where she needs to potty. The potty chair is to remain in the bathroom and is NOT to be moved.
• THEN, you stay on your child for THREE DAYS STRAIGHT like white on rice. I mean, ON your child. You're attempting to learn their bathroom "cues" and to never miss one of their accidents. You're supposed to do "fun things" like bake and color. (Right. Try baking with an almost two-year-old. I'm assuming the 3.5 yr-old's are baking...)
• You're not supposed to go ANYWHERE. No leaving the house. At all. Again, ALL of your attention is on your child all.day.long.
• ALL the while you're supposed to say, "Tell Mommy when you have to go potty, ok!" a ba-jillion times -- like a hundred times a day. (You get tired of hearing yourself say it. So you know your kid is tired of hearing it)
• When they have an accident, you scoop them up, run them to the bathroom and try to get them to go at least a LITTLE on the potty.
• If they go - you make a HUGE DEAL. (Yay! You're such a big girl! How awesome! Wah-who!)
• If they don't go - you remind them them to tell you if they have to go potty.
• You're supposed to remain positive and upbeat throughout the three days. And, never say, "No! No! No!" or anything even remotely demoralizing.
• Note: There are no pull-ups involved in this process -- you're going straight to underwear.

So, that's the jist.

Day #1 (Friday) - She went potty in the potty chair ONCE and peed on me 48 million times. She woke up dry from her nap and even slept through the night without any accidents. All day I feared her doing #2. (She never did it.) She was completely wigged out by being wet, though. (Which, I think is the point.) She napped horribly and it was just a not so great day.

My frame of mind: "Well, today was rough, but tomorrow is BOUND to be better... right?"

Day #2 (Saturday) - Total flop. Pee ALL over the floor. All over me. Went #2 in the potty. (Thank you, Jesus.) Was beginning to be a nasty cranky child. 

My frame of mind: "...Wow. This is harder than I had expected. I had no idea I'd be this wet. Tomorrow is her day. She's totally going to have this down. I mean, tomorrow is Day Three."

Day #3 (Sunday) - (The day she was supposed to be trained.) - I don't think she made it to the potty once, except to go #2. (Thank you again, Jesus.) Her attitude was TERRIBLE. Craig and I were annoyed. It as awful.

My frame of mind: "Omg. This is terrible. I wonder if we should put her back in diapers."

Day #4 - (Monday) - Shoot me. Terrible. Accidents everywhere. Lila was in a terrible mood. We were in a terrible mood. 

My frame of mind: "This sucks. She's never going to get it."

Day #5  - (Tuesday) - Still had NOT made it to the potty ONE TIME on her own. Craig and I re-thought our strategy and decided to implement some change on Day #6.

My frame of mind: "I don't want to emotionally scar this child. We have GOT to try something new." Craig and I decided to give it at least 2 weeks total.

Day #6 - (Wednesday) - She had four accidents early in the day and went to the potty THREE times at home, then TWICE at my sister's house. She even got out of the pool to go potty at my sister's house. 

My frame of mind: "I'm optimistic. I feel like she's starting to get it. Backing off of her is the BEST thing we can do."

--

Here's the deal...

There are some incredibly useful ideas in the 3-day potty training PDF. And, I think it would definitely work for some kids. (I know people who it has worked for!) It's reasonable and possibly do-able.

Here's why it isn't working on my kid:

Lila cannot ABIDE having someone on her so closely. Telling her to, "Tell Mommy when you have to go potty, ok!" a ba-jillion times a day was KILLING her. Following her around to play with her was annoying her. Asking her if her underpants were dry all the time was killing her. It was just too much. She was melting down, breaking down and losing her mind.

So were we.

So, I had to take a step back. Breathe. And realize that my child, bless her little heart, needs to do this her way.

I'm not going to emotionally scar my child by potty training her or by putting her back in diapers. But I AM going to do some damage if she sees how frustrated and annoyed her Daddy and I are getting...

So on Wednesday, we backed off. And when I say we backed off, we backed off.

And everyone's mood changed.

And we moved the potty.

Here's what we changed:

1.) We stopped asking her all.the.time. if she had to go potty or telling her to, "Tell Mommy when you have to go potty." Of course we still ask when she looks suspicious. And, we've started taking her to the potty at times that make sense: when she wakes up, after breakfast, before lunch, before her nap, etc.

2.) We moved her potty chair. At night, it's in her room. When she was helping me give Ferg a bath in my shower, we moved it to our bathroom and she used it there. In my opinion, she's far too young (22 months today) to know how to control her bladder. She's learning. That potty needs to be close.

3.) We aren't afraid of messes. If need be, rugs will be rolled up and Lila can pee all over our tile. She will learn. We will mop. No harm, no foul.

4.) We reward. We dance, we sing, we eat marshmallows WHENEVER she does her business. 

5.) We don't force. If she doesn't have to go, then she's free to get up and move around. No one's glueing her backside to that potty.

Here's what I have learned about potty training in just five days:

1.) The idea that it could be done in three days is a fallacy. It can't be. I don't believe it. No child is potty trained (sans any accidents) in three days. It's just not possible. Can they get a good foundation for potty training in three days? ABSOLUTELY. But completely trained? No.

2.) I thought there'd be a few messes. Um. There aren't a few - there are a few times 20. But, it's no bigs.

3.) Potty training is a journey. It doesn't happen over night. She's going to have good days and she's going to have bad days.

This, much like child birth, was something that no one ever told me the truth about. It's hard. It takes a tireless amount of time and attention and it's monotonous. But, it can be done.

I hope that a week from now I can tell you that we've made strides.

But if we haven't, it's ok. We'll figure it out.

--

All good things must come to an end...

... it appears that I'll be back in my office working full-time in less than a week.

I'm sure you'll excuse my lack of [quality] blogging for a day or so, won't you?

I believe I'll write more later about this topic. I haven't quite let my mind go there about my return and my not being with my ladies 24/7. I think with two, it's hard to have much time to think about anything.

I'll tell you what, though - I think I need my hair dyed (WHERE DID ALL OF THIS GREY COME FROM?) and I think I need a massage. (Will be making an appt. for one on Saturday, I think.)

Anywho, I'll say this: maternity leave is a gift.

And I'm truly, truly, truly thankful for it.

♥


--

It is very tough being Vivienne. You don't even know.

Sent from BlackBerry® Wireless

As impressed as I am with Boom, Boom, Pow...

...and in other news, the Black Eyed Peas are still attempting music domination one ridiculously inane song at a time.

Oh, the Black Eyed Peas...

[I shake my head as I type this.]

I don't get it. I don't understand the popularity. They're an enigma.

WHY are they everywhere?

Sure, their lyrics are catchy (at best), but if I hear, "Tonight's going to be a good night... Tonight's going to be a good, good night" one more time I'm going to lose.my.mind.

Because Black Eyed Peas - you can't be going across the land telling people that tonight is going to be a good, good night because not every night IS a good, good night. (Hear me on that. I have a newborn AND am potty training a toddler.) Sometimes nights are so-so. Sometimes they're great. So shut it.

My opinion: the black eyed peas' music ABSOLUTELY belongs in gyms worldwide and on every runner's iPod. They should always be part of Jock Jams compilations and be audible on sports fields and courts. But what's this? They're on awards shows, talk shows, New Year's Eve shows, performing at charity events, on commercials, etc.

Enough.

I think I can safely say that I don't ever need to see them perform again on t.v., too. I say this to protect your ears, as well as mine. Fergie's voice, oh, Fergie's voice... could it be any worse? (Note: I may or may not own her solo album.) She's just one of those "singers" who sounds better all voice photoshopped.

So, all this said:

Black Eyed Peas? Peas go away.


--

Perfection.

Chocolate covered pretzels are a gift from God.

A crispy, salt-laden carb shrouded in the lightest layer of milk chocolate?

Does it get better?


--

Tee hee.

--