My Other Two Babies

So as you know I have two babies.  My Munchkin who is 2 years old, and my Little Bear who is 9 months old.  Well I also have two other babies, Pink and Blue.  Pink and Blue are both blue nose American Pit Bull Terriers.  Blue nose just refers to their coloring, a bluish gray color.  Blue is solid blue nose and pink is blue brindle.  

Years ago (I guess 4) my husband (at the time boyfriend) said he wanted to get a Pit Bull.  Even though I was a dog lover I had some biased about the breed and was totally against it.  I was really annoyed and thought he was just trying to be a tough guy.  But he/we did a lot of research.  DH brought me to meet friends of his that owned a pit bull along with having 3 small children.  This dog was huge and as he lay his head on my lap and drooled while I pet him, all I could think about was how he could probably rip my head off if he wanted.  With that said he was a great dog.  He was gentle with the kids, and very obedient.  His owners emphasized the importance of responsible dog ownership with any dog, and while they trusted their dog.  He was still a dog and was not ever left alone with the kiddos.  After much more research we decided with a breeder in California (we didn't want to risk adopting a Pit Bull with a questionable past).

Blue arrived in January 2006.  We had to pick him up from the airport.  He was such a cutie.  For some reason I can't find any of his puppy pictures but trust me... it was love at first sight.  I guess the reason for his name is Obvious.  His full name is Blue Eyed Bandit.  He is the biggest lap dog ever (well at least that I know).  He can be pretty rambunctious at times.  But as Ceser Milan says "a tired Pit Bull is a well behaved Pit Bull."  and this is true.. so a quick run outside will settle him.

We brought pink home in April of 2008.  I was getting the itch to be a mommy so I decided to settle for a new puppy.  Funny how life works, 2 1/2 months after we brought her home I found out I was preggo with Munchkin.  I always joke that she almost never made it to our family.  We purchased Pink from the same breeder since Blue was such a good boy.   This is the picture the Breeder sent us.  Look at her face... I love it!!!

When Pink came home to us she was a teeny tiny thing but she still held her own with Blue.  It's funny cause even though she's smaller and younger than Blue, she is the Alpha dog in our house.  "Who run's the world? Girls"  in my Beyonce voice... hehehe.  Pink is very gently with Munchkin.  I think since she's a female she knows he's a baby and she treats him like it.  We don't let Blue play too much with Munchkin, like I said he's rambunctious and might accidentally hurt him.  It's all about responsible dog ownership.  Pink prefers to keep to herself most of the time and she is very protective.  I always tell hubby, if I ever have to walk down a dark ally (probably never) I want Pink, as Blue is likely to run away from an assailant.

When we first moved to our new house, the dogs moved to our basement.  I had a small baby (Munchkin) and a monster commute, close to two hours each way.  I just couldn't take on the responsibility for them.  We bought huge kennels to contain them and give them room to walk around (and to ease our conscience for leaving them down there.)  Recently we decided to re-civilize them, they'd started to just go when they felt like it instead of waiting for a walk, and I just felt horrible about their quality of life.  2 short walks and only a few minutes of play time with us (they also had lots of toys since we felt bad about not playing with them).  A few weeks ago we moved them upstairs into the laundry room.  I think everyone is happier.  Munchkin loves having them around.  The doggies love to hang out, and once in while I let Blue climb in my lap and lick my face to his hearts content.

At the Zoo!!

So as I said in Best Day Ever, we went to the Zoo this past weekend, and as promised here are some pics.   Remember I said my hubby isn't comfortable with pictures of our babies on the internet, well these are some that made the cut.   It was an amazing day.  We all had so much fun.  Hubby and I kept commenting on how days like these are what life is really about.

 I keep laughing and thinking about my trip to the Zoo last summer.  It was August on one of the hottest days, I was 7 1/2 months pregnant, and with a friend who had her own stroller to push, so I basically was on my own walking and pushing my own stroller up hills.  Needless to say it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as this trip.

First we took a trip in a hot air balloon.  The view was great, and because of a random act of kindness from a stranger... my whole family rode for free.  

After the balloon ride we walked around leisurely, the weather was in the 80's I think, so it wasn't unbearably  hot.  My husband tried to get me to leave the double stroller at home cause it takes up so much room in our trunk.   Puh-leese!!! Yes, Munchkin can walk, but he is only two and needs a place to be contained when necessary.  I'm glad we brought it.

When I showed this to my mom, she thought this was a real lizard... it's not!  But don't you love Little Bear's fat feet.  I do : ).

 Munchkin had to be sure this thing was not real.

This year Munchkin was old enough to really look for the animal behind the glass.  At each exhibit he scanned the area until he found whatever animal was on display.  I think this was the big cats.

This Zoo also has a children's zoo inside, so even with all of the cool wild animals, I think Munchkin preferred the bunnies and little turtles.

These two are  my Favorite Non-Face Pictures.  

Until next time...

Best Day Ever!

Today was a wonderful day!!!! I mean these are the days my hubby and I will look back upon and just smile. We visited the zoo today! I don't have pics up yet... But I promise they will come soon.. And it will be tricky since I promised hubby not to post pics of the kiddos on the Internet anymore :( He is extremely untrusting of the world and I respect that.

Okay so back to the best day ever. First my son, Little Bear, slept from 8:00 until 6am. This is unheard of. He hasn't ever slept that long well maybe once... No nope never!!!! I mean the kid didn't didn't even fuss and wimper. Usually if he doesn't actually wake up, he fusses or cries for a minute or two and falls back to sleep (which means I wake every hour or so even if only for a minute) But last night, last night he slept! God seriously answered my prayer. I literally was close to crying as I lay my head down exhausted looking forward to another night of either sleeping on the small couch in our room holding Little Bear or walking back and forth down the hall to comfort him when he wakes. So I prayed. I don't always pray, sometimes I pray for other folks, but last night I prayed for myself, I just wanted to sleep. I needed a night, I wished / prayed for Bear to sleep until at least 6. And he did. The crazy thing is here and there he'd sleep till like 4 or 5, but I'd keep waking since I've been so conditioned to wake up at hourly intervals. Anyway... The kid slept and I slept and too.

In the morning I drank coffee, we dressed, and happily drove to the zoo. Munchkin had a wonderful time, but I think my hubby had an even better time. This is one of things I love about him. He is such a kid at heart. The weather was perfect... PERFECT!!! We got some pretty good pics (like I mentioned, I'll get some up ASAP) Munchkin doesn't do pic very well. He mostly just stares with his mouth open, or he starts to cry... So most of our family pics are well kinda of funny.

After a great day at the zoo with only one minor melt down from munchkin (at his nap time) we headed to a local nursery to pic up some plants. We used some coupons and got 50% off... yay!!!

Back at home we had a great chat outside with some neighbors that reminded me why I love where I live so much. After getting the boys in pj's, hubby and I enjoyed some frozen PF Cheng's (btw... Love these for a quick meal)

I am now laying next to my sleeping husband on the couch, eating a 100cal popcorn, watching 2012, and blogging... Oh yeah... And hoping I get another good night of sleep ;)

Look What I Found!

A couple a weeks ago I decided to complete the chore that I hate doing... Cleaning out the car.   For anyone out there who has children or lives in their car (with a long commute), you will understand. I used to clean out the car every week over the summer (when I had one child). Wash down the dash, radio, and steering wheel with lysol wipes, and vacuum all the stray Cheerios. I haven't cleaned the car in months and this is what I found.

Every time I look at this picture I giggle to myself.  There were no less than 7 empty juice boxes, probably a zillion old cheerios (small exaggeration), a  Mary Kay card, coffee cups, toys, empty water bottles and so many other things.  You could look in this picture and play Where's Waldo.  LOL!! Can you find the mitch matched mittens? or the crumpled Dunkin Donuts Bag?  While it is slightly embarrassing to post this, I know I'm not the only one who has a car that gets a bit out of control.  

Next I will clean out my purse, and may or may not post a pic ; )

Teething Troubles!!!

Little Bear is teething, and he's teething hard.  Two nights ago my poor baby was miserable, and for those of you who don't know...  miserable baby = miserable mommy.  It breaks my heart to see him so upset. It's also frustrating to have tried so many different strategies and your baby is still not himself. Add in wee hours of the morning and it's worse.

I've  been up researching everything from symptoms of teething to ways to sooth him.  I figured I could put my research to good use and share some of the things I've found.  Please take all with a grain of salt. I'm not a doctor nor do I claim to be.  But here are some things I've found.

Symptoms:

Dooling
rash on cheeks/chin (usually from the drool)
gum swelling/ sensitivity
biting and chewing
refusing to eat
sleep problems
irritability
coughing
other cold like symptoms
pulling at ears
Low grade fever
Diarrhea

I think it's important to point out that not all of these symptoms have been proven to be linked to teething... But many of you will agree that they are.

My first Munchkin had a fever, drool, and diarrea (TMI?) Little Bear is going through it with drool, chewing, refusing to eat, irritably, coughing, fever, and he's pulling at his ears, and trouble sleeping.    My poor baby. Some days/ nights are worse than others. The following are some strategies I've found online, some I've tried, some I haven't.

Cold bottles
Teething rings/toys
Teething gel
Infant pain relief drops
Cold or frozen washcloth let baby chew on it
There is always the handy finger (one of my son's favorite)
Cut a banana into strips and freeze, let baby chew
There's always infant pain relief... Tylenol or motrin (or similar)
Some more natural remedies include teething tablets from Hyland or Borion
Formula frozen like an ice pop
Unfinished wooden toys

With everything, common sense plays a big role... Be sure you monitor baby closely, and be very careful about choking hazards.

You can find some more useful tips here and here

With boy number one I only used a few teething toys. As I mentioned before he didn't teeth very hard. With boy number two, I've tried cold bottles, cold teething toys (I think he likes this best), oragel(This didn't really work so great so I've stopped using it), my finger, infant acetaminophen drops for fever and pain. At night the infant drops worked well for me, Not everyone is into medicine but if it makes my baby feel better, I'm all about it! He also likes to chew on the cold washcloth... He didn't like holding the frozen one.

Fresh from the fridge!

The very first night I couldn't console Little Bear, I didn't realize his teeth were bothering him. I tried nursing, then a bottle, walking, rocking, and even just patting on the back and nothing worked. When I finally got him to sleep he shortly woke up again crying. By the end of the night we were both in tears and I had snapped at my husband.

The next night I was prepared with some Pepperidge Farm cookies (hey shouldn't I be rewarded for staying up all night?), along with infant drops, and cold teethers waiting.  Fortunately for both of us he had a much better night, and only woke a few times and was easily soothed back to sleep.

At this point both bottom teeth have poked through so I think the worse is over.  I hear that each new set of teeth come in easier... lets hope so.

The damn bugs!!

 Last week I saw a humming bird, an actual humming, hovering, tiny humming bird! This may not be exciting to you, but I had never seen one before then. Once in a while I see foxes, and pretty often I see deer in my yard. I've seen lots of different colored birds (sometimes makes me think of getting into bird watching... maybe not), and the butterflies are gorgeous. I can't be sure, but I think I've seen a hawk. I've never seen a bear, but my neighbor said they did. I say all this to say how awesome it is to live out in the country. I get go see so many beautiful living things, and I love pointing them out to my son. I love love love it, except... for the damn bugs.

I've seen an equal number of insect species as I have cute furry and feathery ones. I'm not particularly afraid of bugs... I just don't like them. At the risk of sounding to girlie... They're gross. Spiders, beatles, flys, stink bugs, ants, mosquitoes and all the other little critters are just one big ol' pile of yuck! Luckily, they tend to stay outside and I can tolerate them out there. But here and there they make there way in the house. I take serious offense when they are in one of my babies' rooms. The pest will quickly receive a sentence of death by shoe, or rolled up magazine. Uggggg... I get the hebbee gee bees just thinking about them. One the other hand...

I also love the view from just about every side of my house, especially the back. The first time my husband and I walked through our home, I imagined sipping coffee at our table and gazing outside. I am happy to say I've done it many times. In the fall the colors are frickin' amazing. After a good snow, it looks like a winter wonderland (remember when Lucy first went through the wardrobe... Yeah, like that). in the spring and summer the hills are covered with thick greenery so bright it makes me truly believe God must have been an artist.

If only I was a good photographer, perhaps I could do the view some justice... sigh.

If it weren't for the damn bugs, this place would be utopia (small exaggeration). The bright side of thousands of bugs... (I really try to find the bright side of everything) lightening bugs, or fire flies for some of you. On any given spring evening it looks like a thousand tiny camera flashes all firing at the same time. Think super bowl during the winning catch. I love it, and wish I had a camera that could capture it. I guess the damn bugs aren't all bad...

My Little Mater

Have you ever seen the movie Cars? There is a lovable character named Mater as in Tow-Mater.. Lol. Any how... Little Bear is quickly earning himself the nick name Mater! Hubby started calling him Mater when he was about 4 1/2 months old and pushing himself backwards in the walker. 4 months later he still hasn't gotten the hang of moving forward in it. His latest antics are even better. On the floor he used to wriggle around and for some reason always end up going backwards. Now a hefty almost 9 month old he's up on all fours and yes... He's still getting around backwards.

A few months ago I was reading an article about milestones. I remember it mentioning something about babies crawling backwards and I thought... Hmmm.. How funny. Well, it is! It's hysterical, and kinda sad. My Little Bear gets so frustrated when he's trying to reach something and he just gets further and further away. I have to be very careful with him...he's constantly backing himself into or underthings.

For now I will rescue him and keep him safe and when he gets older I can embarrass him with stories of his backward start.

The Reality Is...

When I first started staying at home with my boys, I had major plans. The TV would hardly ever get turned on, we'd have 5 star dinners every night, and my house would be immaculate. This is not the case. I had no idea this new role of mine would be so challenging. When my first son was born, I stayed home for seven months before going back to work. We lived in a house only a fraction of the size of our house now. My son was sleeping through the night by four months, and we had the luxury of two cars (meaning errands could be done while my husband was at work).

Things are different this time around. For one, my house is huge. No, I am not complaining about it, I love my house, I love my development, and I love the country scenery I get to look at while sipping my coffee. However, a house three times as big, takes three times as long to clean.

On random nights when my little munchkin sleeps through the night (that means 8pm till at least 5am), I feel like a domestic goddess. I'm up before my husband, the dogs get walked, coffee made, and I might even be inclined to make a hearty breakfast. Unfortunately those days are few and far between. I am often so tired after the night, that when 7:00 roles around I can barely open my eyes. I drag myself around, changing diapers, making quick breakfasts (good thing Munchkin loves cereal), walking dogs. The rest of the day is similar, my patience is running low for two year old antics, and I resort to the TV to keep him occupied while I clean up.

Then the guilt sets in. I made a new years resolution to spend more time with the babies. The cleaning after all can wait, but their little legs, and fat feet, will be grown before I know it. I started this post with the idea that I'd be confessing that things aren't always as rosey as they seem. However the more I write, the more I realize that I am once again putting too much pressure on myself.

My husband doesn't seem to notice if dinner takes me 30 minutes or 2 hours, and of course Munchkin seems to enjoy less complicated meals. I don't even think my husband is bothered by mess unless he knows someone is coming to visit. I guess the truth is, I've concocted this image of the perfect stay at home mom and I've been trying to emulate this made up person. I think I'm afraid if I'm myself I won't be good at this stat at home thing. The reality is, I need to focus on the reasons I at home, and that's my boys!