So I tried a new recipe tonight and was a dud. It was this Turkey Bean Chili – had way too many onions and bell peppers (4 and 3 respectively). Anyway, Chris and I ate it, but as Chris said “it wasn’t a keeper”. I pride myself on making yummy dinners. After all, if I am going to cook them, I want to enjoy them. Anyway, Chris and I finished our dinners, but Tyler obviously wasn’t impressed after about 5 or 6 spoonfuls. He resorted to some pretzels on this tray. And this is the kid who eats EVERYTHING!! Hey, at least he made a good effort.

Anyway, I made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I also told him that when he is older he will be expected to eat the food set before him, but in this case we will make an exception. (Cuz ya know, we love making all the parenting mistakes these days – like buying him a See N Say when he was upset because we put a truck back at Target).

Anyway, it reminded me of something that happened when I was a kid. My Mom also tried a new recipe – some quiche. Well we didn’t like it and didn’t want to eat it. We were worried that we going to have to eat it, but thankfully my Dad didn’t like it either!!! In fact, I don’t even the dog would eat it!! I think we ended up eating pizza that night.

Just reminded me of tonight.. I figured if Chris and I didn’t like it, he totally gets a “Get out of dinner FREE pass”.

He seriously loves to have conversations with people! We will call my mom and they will converse. He says some stuff and she says some stuff. He will go on like this for several minutes. Of course, after a while, he has run out of things to say why Grandma is still talking, so he just sits there and listens.

Anytime we are on the phone and say “bye” it is soon to be followed by Tyler saying “Ba!” if he is in earshot! It is too funny.

He finds playing with phones (real or fake) a real downer when there isn’t anyone on the other end. It is pretty funny! A great thing though for out-of-town family.

If you need your Tyler fix, just give us a call and you can hear from the boy himself!

Tyler is Walking!!
It is official! Tyler is on the move. He will toddle around, fall on his butt, grunt several times and he gets himself back up, and then does it all over again. He seems very pleased with himself. It is really fun to watch him. It is so funny how it seems to happen overnight. It is as if one day he just decided “I think I will let go and head over there.”

Tyler Biting Again
Day care folks said that Tyler is biting again and getting more aggresive. I know he gets frustrated when other kids try to take the toys he is playing with. I also wonder if he is now getting his bottom molars. It seems that all this biting activity (biting me when we nurse, biting Chris and I’s shoulders and other body parts, and biting other kids all spiked when his two top molars were coming in and seemed to calm afterwards. I certainly hope so. It is no fun having a biter.

Ch-Ch-Changes Or Disdain for the diaper kind
Have I mentioned that Tyler absolutely despises diaper and clothes changes? About 80% of the time these times are filled with tears or screaming. I sing any song I can think of or try to find something for him to play with that he hasn’t seen before. These days I kind of dread them especially when he is in a good mood. Just another phase I am sure.

Nose Picking Entertainment
Classic parenting mistake, but so hard to avoid. Child does something that probably isn’t a behaviour you want to encourage, but it is so funny, you have to laugh hence reinforcing the behaviour. At dinner time, Tyler loves to stick his finger up his nose because it entertains his Daddy so. Sometimes if there is a lull at dinner, Tyler will start putting his finger up his nose to get the good times going. He only does it around his Daddy. It is pretty funny, but we should probably stop laughing before it is seriously reinforced.

Daddy Thinks This is So Funny!

Projects Galore!
So a few days ago I blogged about monotony and busting my butt to get things done. Well, I have just started some fun projects and I am having so much fun! I am so excited! We started painting our “new” master bedroom this amazing shade of olive green. I also found the fabric that I am going to use to make tabbed curtains for the room. I am actually kind of making a pattern off one of my sewing books. God help me that they come out well. One sewing class and here I am – on the loose and dangerous! I think they are going to look amazing! Chris also framed some of his amazing photography is these classy black frames which will also look amazing in the room.

Chris is removing wallpeper in the bathroom as we will be repainting the ensuite bath as well. Chris hates removing wallpaper, but eventully, I wouldn’t mind if all the wallpaper in the house was gone.

We are also cleaning out the attic and trying to sell all furniture and other goodies we don’t want on Craigslist. I am an awful judge of value judging my me offers. I either go too high or too low. A friend mentioned that eBay would be better as in an auction the highest bidder wins. Good point, but these days I do not have the time to worry about shipping things – especially furniture and framed art with glass. Oh well. Most of this stuff was given to us, so any money is better than nothing.

Five Days of Sleep Heaven
For five days, Tyler slept like a dream enjoying long stretches and only waking for short periods. He does wake up early though – around 6am to 6:30am, but if you have had a good night, that is just fine! Saturday he slept from 10:30pm to 5am. He was up for an hour, but then fell asleep nursing in bed with me and Chris until 8am. First of all, he rarely sleeps that late, but he also rarely will fall asleep nursing with me and in bed with us. It was nice.

Granted last night, he was up twice with the last time being for 2.5 hours. Sigh. But hey – I appreciated the reprieve. Hopefully, it is a glimmer of what is to come one day!

Thankful, Sad
Ya know, I have a great life and I am so lucky. Yes, I have bad days like any Mom will. But I think about the single Moms out there. I think about the homeless Moms and children and I get so choked up. They don’t deserve that life. It makes me feel guilty. I keep thinking about what I want to do when I do go back to work and I keep coming back to working with single Moms and children. I don’t know why. Maybe I see just how much support a Mom needs. I have every means of support available to me including both parents being nearby and a helpful brother. What about these Moms who have none of that and on top of that have to work insane jobs that keep them from getting to spend quality time bonding with their children? I don’t know. It just really breaks my heart. Don’t know what I will do in the future, but I would like to help provide support systems for these Moms.

Random Thoughts
As you can tell, my head is busy this morning. I guess all the projects have me energized. I am so excited to tackle my new sewing projects post-class. I feel I have some great new knowledge that can help me create a really nice final product. Thanks for indulging all of my emotions and ramblings!

Oh, and Congrats to Susan – Half Marathoner is some Damn Cold Weather!
My friend Susan has balls, to be blunt! She ran a half marathon yesterday in drizzly, 30-degree weather. This is Texas people! She has had some trouble with her IT band and other obstacles kept popping up. Well, obstacles be damned, she was going to run this thing! I don’t know if I could ever run that far. I was so happy because I got to see her run right near our house. I thought I had missed her, but 5 minutes before I was going to head back inside, she came by! Woo-hoo and congrats Susan!

This is a song by Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails. It got me thinking about my days and the purpose of each one. Routines are good – they are very good for babies. It makes them feel secure, safe and gives thier lives a little predictability which probably gives them some feeling of control in a world they have little control over.

What do I do every day? I feel like in addition to caring for my child, my aim is to get everything I have to get done on a daily basis (cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen, etc.) and then taking the extra time if there is any to get extra projects done. Every day I want to get as much done as possible; I want to try and get this project completed so I can get it off my list. Ultimately though, I just add more projects. When you step back, it kind of seems like some twisted loop that keeps me endelessly busting my butt to get things done.

The question is – am I deriving pleasure from getting these things done or am I keeping myself from enjoying aspects of my life from being so task-focused? It is a good question. Am I living in the moment like my child does everyday?

It is something for me to ponder. Obviously, there are things that need to be kept up with lest they spiral out of control – the upkeep of a house, dishes, bills, laundry. And I need to make time for the projects I am excited about. But I can’t let the pressure of getting these things done overtake me to the detriment of fun. I need to carve out time for it all….or at least realize the times where I need to put down the broom and just play and have fun with my kids or have fun with my hobbies. Not all projects are the same. Caulking the tub vs. sewing curtains if you know what I mean. Just got me thinking this morning.

I feel like I am doing a weather report – because Tyler’s sleep is like Texas weather – always changing. I would say it was now about 6 days ago where I say that Tyler “broke me”. It sounds so viscious, but what I mean is that I lost my patience with him. I was upset, I was turning on lights – I almost wanted him to get up and just go play or something. But he wanted sleep, probably didn’t feel good, and wasn’t happy about it. After that, every time I wake up with him – I expect to be up for at least an hour. I have to low expectations about getting back to sleep. I think I have blogged about this before.

Well, I guess the last two nights Tyler has been building me back up – he slept really well and even though he woke two or three times – they were for a max of 15 minutes and usually less. Then, he miraculously slept from 1am to 7am one night and the next straight from 2am to 7am. I actually woke up before him those mornings, took a shower,put on some makeup and ate breakfast!

I am enjoying these breaks, but still go to bed early (9pm – 9:30pm) just in case. Acutally, that is probably a good bedtime for a pregnant momma. I don’t expect this to last – especially with more teeth on the way. I sometimes joke that perhaps because of the pain of his recent earache, he is like “teething pain is nothing – I am going to sleep.”! It was right after his ear stopped hurting that he has slept so well.

I don’t know. It is always changing. I just feel so blessed that every so often he give me some sleep. It really does help keep me going and helps my mood and outlook.

So it is Valentine’s Day…..and I am going to be pretty sappy here (my own blend of sappy Jolt soda), so if you don’t have the stomach for it, I would turn away now or scroll past to read about my recent Ding Dong binge and Tyler’s love of PB and J!

On One of our Amazing Adventures in the Mountains

Ten years….it has been ten years that I have been with Chris. They have been the best ten years of my life. We have had our ups and down and there have been some doozies, but we have always come through them better for it, closer, more in love, and with a deeper understanding of each other. We are so lucky in that we are both only 30 years old and have so many more amazing years ahead of us!

Every dream I could have imagined has come true and they just keep coming true. He is my partner in life. I don’t know how I not only got so lucky to find him, but that we found each other so early. Not many couples have the luxury of spending 7+ years enjoying being a couple doing crazy things and going on several adventures before they got down to the business of making a family. I feel so blessed to have all these great experiences and memories which have helped to build such a sturdy foundation for us.

I personally think Chris is devastatingly handsome to which he time and again rolls his eyes. One of the many things I love about him is that in these days of mammahood, I can stand there in a ratty t-shirt and shorts, hair totally dishoveled, no makeup, bags under my eyes, legs not shaved and he wants to go upstairs and have “nookie” (sorry for the TMI). But it is that feeling knowing that he loves me so much, he doesn’t see that unkept outside and just sees the woman he loves. I can be the biggest grumpasaurus sometimes – so cranky and negative – and he will put up with me. He loves me unconditionally, and it just amazes me – it is such a powerful thing – it makes me feel so safe. When life is hard and I get scared – he is my rock, he is always there.

So on this Valentine’s Day I just want to give thanks for him. We have made a beautiful baby together and have another one on the way. There are tough days and there are days we make jokes and laugh our heads off. What I know deep down, what I have known for a long time is that we will always be together. There is nothing in life that we can’t handle – we love each other too much.

I have had sooo many cravings with this pregnancy. Many have been nostalgic things like Mrs. Baird’s apple pies, buttercups, and chocolate cupcakes. I have had my fill of those, but had one thing left…Ding Dongs. I couldn’t find individual packages to save my life. So, Target had them on sale and I bought a box of 12 individually wrapped Ding Dongs. I polished off 7 yesterday and by 11am will probably have the rest knocked off. And guess what – I am still not gaining that much weight!!! I am on target, but geez, and I eating 10 times worse this time around….

But don’t worry in between the crap there has been lots of fruit, tempeh, and things like beans, polenta and broccoli for dinner. All in moderation…well except for the Ding Dongs over the last two days! :-p

I can just assume that Quinn will have a pretty good sweet tooth like her mama! Anyway, I see it as one last harrah. This is probably the last time in my life where I will have the excuse to consume mass quantities of empty calories….and I plan to enjoy every moment! :-p