Frustrated Mom, Medically Healthy Child

So, Ryan has been showing us a different side again. Over the past 4 days and nights, he hasn't been eating or sleeping as much. Instead of sleeping from 6-5:30 am, he decides to wake up every four hours cooing and laughing and not going back to sleep. During the day, he won't sleep more than 1 hour. He's eating only half of what he was. But, he smiles, plays and is a joy to be around. He has really red eyes and yawns a lot, so I'm in a dilemma. Seeing as my body has finally adjusted to 6 consecutive hours of sleep, waking up every 3 or so isn't sitting so well. Plus, my sinus are still not fixed so I'm not feeling physically 100%. Anyways, I finally called the pediatrician and explained it all: He's not eating or sleeping much but he doesn't have a fever, rash and isn't fussy. So, they still wanted him to come in. So, I got there a few minutes early and within 30 minutes I got called back. Then another 30 minutes went by in the room before a doctor shows up to say " Well, he's medically perfectly happy". So, home I went on the verge of tears thinking, "I'll never sleep again".

Well, last night he went to bed around 8 or so and didn't make a peep all night. In fact, I got concerned that something was wrong because he wasn't making any noise so I did get up in the wee hours of the morning to check on him. He didn't wake up till 6 and my wonderful husband fed him and put him back to back. It's almost 9 am and I'm not hearing him. So, maybe we're back on schedule.

New Toys

I just wanted to make mention of my 2 new favorite kitchen toys. I recently purchased, at a very decent cost, a motion sensor soap dispenser. It drives me nuts to work with raw meat and then have to touch the soap dispenser with yucky hands when I need to wash. With my new soap dispenser, I just put my hand under the spicket and out comes some soap. It looks nice and takes up less space than my big container of soap. Anyways, you can find them at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

My next favorite toy is a digital meat thermometer. This one has a termometer that you stick in the meat and connects to an outside temperature reader / timer. It has some sort of heat resistent cord that sticks out of the oven. You set the desired temperature and estimated time and it beeps when it's ready. No more opening the oven door and getting your glasses all steamed up and nose hairs burned. That was from Target for $13.99. Quite worth the $14. Anyways, my new favorite toys.

Food, Food and more Food!

I guess the holiday feeding season starts out on Halloween when you stuff yourself with all sorts of candy. Then for us it continues in November with 2 birthdays, Thanksgiving and our Anniversary. Then further down the road, it's Christmas. So, starting to watch what you eat is never good in the fourth quarter. Anyways, I have it pretty easy. I get to eat Thanksgiving at my in-laws, so I don't have to cook a lot. This year for Thanksgiving, I cooked my first roast beef which turned out pretty well. I also cook a Bavarian Apple Torte and pumpkin bread. But that was just in 1 day. For James' birthday we just had leftovers, but I spent all morning baking and decorating a cake. There's no real point to this blog other than to talk about food. So, I have a great apple cheesecake recipe that I would be happy to share. But I am officially baked out for the next few weeks.

It's Great to be 2!!

Oh yes, when opening presents is fun and yet you're not quite sure why you're getting presents... James turned 2 today and made out like a bandit. He received a Radio Flyer Scooter which his little legs have a hard time pushing. But give him time and he'll get the hang of it. He receive a bunch of matchbox cars, tractors, Rescue Heroes and more cars. In case you couldn't tell, he loves cars and tractors. I made him a Firetruck cake which he enjoyed but didn't show quite enough appreciation for the 3-4 hours I spent putting it together. I'll remind him of that one day. I'll say "It took longer to make that cake than it did to deliver you". Maybe that's too much information for him. But anyways, it turned out pretty well. Except for the black icing. Apparently the black icing tastes a bit lit licorice and it turns your teeth and mouth black. Other than that, it was great, but nobody wanted to eat the tires anymore.

So, while James sat on Alex's lap opening present after present, he officially turned 2. So, I begin to think of the past 2 years. So much has happened and coming up on our 3 year anniversary (the 27th) we have made many life adjustments. So, here's a few:

1. I moved from my hometown of 25 years to Charleston

2. I had several jobs while living in Charleston

3. I moved once and am preparing to move again

4. Been through 2 pregnancies and births

5. Have been through the death of a family member

6. Have lived in 3 houses

7. Have travelled to Barbados, Bahamas, and Okinawa

And that's just the easy stuff. Needless to say, I am turning 30 in April and have been through and done a lot. I love my husband so much more now than I did when we got married. I love 2 little boys more than I ever thought possible. I see my more and more of my faults but I also see God's grace and mercy day after day. So, on that note, I'll end this blog. Enjoy the pics!!

Holdgate Island

Well, that's the name until we come up with something better. Alex and I just signed a contract for a 2 acre property with house in Charleston. It is a mini-island because it is surrounded by water and a little creek. We're surrounded by hard marsh and beyond that is the Stono River. "I didn't know you were looking to move" you might be thinking. Well, neither did I. Alex and I both agree that in the future we'd like a house with some land for the kids to play. We weren't actively looking but checked out areas every now and then if we saw something. Well, Alex saw a sign this week saying "Island for Sale". and checked it out. Later that day I got a call saying "Get the boys ready" to which I responded "Uh-oh". He then said "You're gonna love it". I do. We get to drive over a little wooden bride and it feels like you're in Gone with the Wind. Although, it's not a plantation or a mansion.

The story is, the builder got into too many projects and wants out of this deal. It's 3 lots and a house is built on one of them. We can build 2 more if we wanted, but that would take away the view and land. The house is 80% complete, so we get to pick our own colors, cabinets, fixtures, etc. We're very excited and are looking forward to design this house to our liking. So, I took some pictures today that I hope show the nice points of this house.

Discipline

Well it appears that James is entering the "Terrible Twos" stage. So now I am forced to acknowledge the fact that I need to get my facts straight when it comes to discipline. James has been such an easy child that Alex and I gave him a lot of room to explore and just be. Since bringing Ryan home from the hospital, we've been getting "He's still here?" looks from James. Well, just the first 3 months. He's used to him now. In fact, when I tell James we're getting ready to go out, he'll walk over to wherever Ryan is and try to pick him up. I guess he figures that Ryan isn't going anywhere but wherever we go.

Back to my point, James is also teething. This is the worst it's ever been for James. He screams, yells and fusses. Usually teeething gel works for the pain, but not the temper tantrums. So, today, for really no good reason, James decided to pull my hair, hit Ryan and throw things around. When he doesn't like my answer of "No" (which I try to use only when necessary) he will either 1: throw himself on the floor and do a snow angel sort of dance or 2: throw some item down or around the house. He has a really good arm and can hit things most of the time. Anyways, for most throwing issues we just smack his hand after he won't listen to us. However, there is a time for bottom spanking and these are those (in my opinion)
1. Outward defiance
2. Doing something that could hurt the child i.e. crossing the street
3. And in James' case, actions that occur when angry i.e. hitting, throwing, biting. For the time being, since he can't talk yet, a few yells are permitted since he's learning to express himself.

So, anyways, he had a rough 2 hours this morning but settled down later. So I'm in the process of finding some discipline books and books on potty training. Any ideas and thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Sock Monkeys

What can I say?? They're fun! The hard part is telling the difference from their lips and their bottoms. I'm not sure why they made them look the same.

Grandma's Taking Us to the Zoo Tomorrow...

We got to go to two zoos while visiting my mom and dad in Texas. We went to an exotic zoo where you're pulled around by a tractor feeding all the exotic animals that stick their heads in the trailer. It was a lot of fun. We met up with my friend Leslie and her daughter Maya. Maya talked the whole time and James was content lining up the food pellets in the gap in the seat. The other trip to the San Antonio zoo wasn't as exciting. Being able to be up close and personal with exotic animals at one zoo and far away at another, doesn't compare. But both were nice. I think our favorite part of the exotic zoo was the mother kangaroo with her little joey hanging out of her pouch.