I have no real purpose for this blog, just wanted to put all the thoughts going through my head "out there", well, out HERE anyway.
I know I just posted about Joey turning 9 months and things she could do at this age, but I swear every time I post something about her she learns ten new things. She is CRUISING now. She can also climb really fast up the stairs. We have to make sure we are right behind her when she does though because she still doesn't understand that she can't just stop and sit down or turn around or she'll fall down the stairs. Yesterday we had lunch at Del Taco and she ate half of Shelby's cheese quesadilla. She was getting mad at Jeremy because he wasn't tearing the bites up fast enough for her.
Also, I know I said she was done with bottles, but that was before I weaned her. I decided for the good of everybody that I would wean Joey. We started off trying formula. She hated it. We tried soy milk. She didn't like it. So then I just decided to pump. I was surprised she put up such a fight because when I gave her a bottle before at like 3 or 4 months she had no problems taking it. I guess it was my fault for not having given her more bottles so she was so used to nursing. Thursday night was a struggle. She resisted her bottle but FINALLY she was so tired she gave in, drank it, and went to bed. Friday I was really strong. I still had some guilty feelings about not nursing anymore- there's something about the bond that you just don't want to give up. But really, once babies get to a certain size I think it is just weird and awkward to nurse them. So I just made up my mind that I would not give in and nurse her. She did pretty well all day until about 4 pm. She was SOOOO tired and did not want a bottle. She cried for about an hour until she finally just fell asleep without eating. I felt so bad but I knew that if she were really hungry she'd take the bottle. Saturday she did great, and I even went out with friends and was gone for like 7 hours. That is huge! I am really not the type of person that is away from my family long. I am a worrier. And I love my family and want to be around them! But that was a good break. Sometimes you just need something like that to recharge your batteries. Joey did awesome today with her bottles and is now reaching for them and pulling them to her- so I think she's pretty much weaned. Pumping is hard- it's a lot of work, but that's ok. I am going to try and pump a lot and get some milk stored so that if I do have a migraine I can take my medicine, then "pump and dump", and not worry about the medicine effecting her.
Shelby has been on my mind a lot lately. Well, of course she has been on my mind, she's my child- but so many things have been weighing on me. I am terrified that my child is going to be the class clown and not care about school. I was always a great student. I knew the importance of making good grades. And in church I understood that you are to sit reverently and listen to the teacher. If anyone has ever taught in Primary, you know there is always the one kid you dread being in class. I think that Shelby is that child. She does not sit still. And if she is at church anything like the way she is here at home-she doesn't stop talking. I know she is only 3 1/2. I know this! I just don't want this to be a sign of things to come.
On a positive note for Shelby, she continuously cracks us up. She is still infatuated with my hair and when I don't have it in a ponytail she will tell me, "Mom, you look pretty when your hair is not in a piggy tail", as if she is trying to persuade me to leave it down more so that she can play with it. Tonight at dinner she wanted some Magic Mommy Milk (Ovaltine). I told her she could have some if she finished all her rice. She looked and me and Jeremy very seriously and said, "But I don't like rice. It makes me toot".
The thoughts are out of my head now. I can go to bed.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
9 Months in Hattiesburg
Since we didn't go to Hattiesburg for Christmas we decided to make a trip this weekend. We loaded up the car and left at midnight Thursday night (Friday morning). It is so much easier to make the drive at night when the girls are asleep. It stinks for Jeremy and me because we end up exhausted the next day, but I will take exhaustion over listening to Joey cry because she can't get out of her car seat or listening to Shelby ask us 6,037 times if we are there yet.
We had a wonderful time in Hattiesburg, as usual. It is always good to see family. While we were there the girls got to open Christmas presents from everyone.
On Friday, Joey turned 9 months old! She has not had her 9 month checkup yet so I don't know exact stats, but I do know that Tuesday when I had to take her to the doctor after she fell down the stairs (a whole 'nother story), she was 19 pounds (with clothes and diaper on). That is kind of crazy to me because Shelby was almost 25 pounds at this age. Obviously Joey is healthy, so I am not worried. She is such a fast crawler and pulls up on everything. She is learning to climb the stairs. She can say "mama", "dada" (and she knows who we are), "baby", and this weekend she learned to say "papaw". She will also look for Shelby when you ask her "Where's Shelby?" or "Where's sister?". She has kind of skipped bottles altogether. She has had maybe 5 total ever. She doesn't want anything to do with them now, she only wants sippy cups. She hates baby food and loves big girl food. She loves her puffs, rice, avocado, and potatoes. She loves to play patty cake and peek-a-boo, and loves to wave hi. She is still the smiliest baby and loves people, although lately she does the super cute "let me bury my head in mom's shoulder when someone says hi to me". Love it!
We had a wonderful time in Hattiesburg, as usual. It is always good to see family. While we were there the girls got to open Christmas presents from everyone.
On Friday, Joey turned 9 months old! She has not had her 9 month checkup yet so I don't know exact stats, but I do know that Tuesday when I had to take her to the doctor after she fell down the stairs (a whole 'nother story), she was 19 pounds (with clothes and diaper on). That is kind of crazy to me because Shelby was almost 25 pounds at this age. Obviously Joey is healthy, so I am not worried. She is such a fast crawler and pulls up on everything. She is learning to climb the stairs. She can say "mama", "dada" (and she knows who we are), "baby", and this weekend she learned to say "papaw". She will also look for Shelby when you ask her "Where's Shelby?" or "Where's sister?". She has kind of skipped bottles altogether. She has had maybe 5 total ever. She doesn't want anything to do with them now, she only wants sippy cups. She hates baby food and loves big girl food. She loves her puffs, rice, avocado, and potatoes. She loves to play patty cake and peek-a-boo, and loves to wave hi. She is still the smiliest baby and loves people, although lately she does the super cute "let me bury my head in mom's shoulder when someone says hi to me". Love it!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The problem with America
I am so annoyed that there is such a huge problem with illegal immigrants and people who abuse the welfare system, yet it seems all the government does is cater to the problem rather than fix it.
I have been researching preschools for quite some time now. The problem is that the only preschool (and by preschool I mean a school that actually has a curriculum, with set days and drop off/pick up times- not just daycare) decently close to where we live is $500 a month. Any other place that I would even consider is about 20 minutes away. 20 minutes there, 20 minutes back....then 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back again in the afternoon...just doesn't work when you have a job. Yes I work from home, but I can't just up and be gone whenever I want.
Anyway, so I was very excited to learn that the elementary school by us is adding pre-K next year. I packed up Joey and Shelby tonight (Jeremy went to sleep as soon as he got home from work since we plan on leaving around midnight to drive to Hattiesburg) and headed over to the school for a meeting. And then...WAH, WAH, WAAAAAAH. I found out that in TX (not sure if this is the rule in all states), there are certain requirements you must meet in order to qualify for public pre-k. Basically if English is your first language or you make a decent living- sorry! You have to pay tons of money for preschool. I understand that the reasoning is that pre-k is to help those children that they don't think will do well in kindergarten. I think a lot of people (me included) see it as a way to get a head start as well as to help develop social skills, whereas it is really designed for kids who need extra help. I just don't think the requirements are fair. First of all, they are presuming that any child who speaks English as a second language is going to be delayed. Ummm...not true. I have two brothers who are married to Spanish speaking girls. The children learned Spanish first, but they are extremely intelligent and know English just as well. Second, just because we have good jobs, why should we have to spend $500 a month on preschool?
I know this is not the end of the world. It just annoys me because I would like Shelby and Joey to have the opportunity to go to preschool. I guess I will just have to buckle down and really start doing my "lessons" with Shelby. Today I ordered a book from Amazon.com that Ree from The Pioneer Woman recommended.
What are everyone else's thoughts on preschool?
I have been researching preschools for quite some time now. The problem is that the only preschool (and by preschool I mean a school that actually has a curriculum, with set days and drop off/pick up times- not just daycare) decently close to where we live is $500 a month. Any other place that I would even consider is about 20 minutes away. 20 minutes there, 20 minutes back....then 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back again in the afternoon...just doesn't work when you have a job. Yes I work from home, but I can't just up and be gone whenever I want.
Anyway, so I was very excited to learn that the elementary school by us is adding pre-K next year. I packed up Joey and Shelby tonight (Jeremy went to sleep as soon as he got home from work since we plan on leaving around midnight to drive to Hattiesburg) and headed over to the school for a meeting. And then...WAH, WAH, WAAAAAAH. I found out that in TX (not sure if this is the rule in all states), there are certain requirements you must meet in order to qualify for public pre-k. Basically if English is your first language or you make a decent living- sorry! You have to pay tons of money for preschool. I understand that the reasoning is that pre-k is to help those children that they don't think will do well in kindergarten. I think a lot of people (me included) see it as a way to get a head start as well as to help develop social skills, whereas it is really designed for kids who need extra help. I just don't think the requirements are fair. First of all, they are presuming that any child who speaks English as a second language is going to be delayed. Ummm...not true. I have two brothers who are married to Spanish speaking girls. The children learned Spanish first, but they are extremely intelligent and know English just as well. Second, just because we have good jobs, why should we have to spend $500 a month on preschool?
I know this is not the end of the world. It just annoys me because I would like Shelby and Joey to have the opportunity to go to preschool. I guess I will just have to buckle down and really start doing my "lessons" with Shelby. Today I ordered a book from Amazon.com that Ree from The Pioneer Woman recommended.
What are everyone else's thoughts on preschool?
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Swamp
Nope, not talking about a taking a trip to Louisiana, I'm talking about our backyard. When we first moved in we noticed the very back left corner of our lot was always a little wet. The problem has continued to grow until now the entire left side of our backyard is so wet that we couldn't get a lawnmower through there if we tried. Here's a couple pictures I took a few months ago:
The previous owner was apparently aware of a drainage problem and installed a few drains- one at the back corner, a few along the middle of the yard, and one at the front corner of the backyard. They are all supposed to flow out to a spot in the side yard and then out to the street. We are clueless as to how this whole setup was setup, and didn't know there was a place in the side yard where this drained. And since the previous owner let it get covered up with dirt and grass, we were really unaware of it. It was finally uncovered, but that didn't help. After many phone calls and emails to the county engineer, city manager, our builder, and my dad, we realized no one was going to take responsibility and we were going to have to fix it ourselves.
So Jeremy set out digging a ditch this morning. We decided to add two more drains up by the retaining wall and have them connect to the existing "system". HOPEFULLY this will drain all the water that is coming from our neighbor. (Supposedly he is only watering once a week, but you don't get yard of the month only watering once a week now do ya?!)
Two trips to Lowe's, a trip to Home Depot, and a few calls to my dad later and we still aren't done. The drains are there but now we need to fill in the yard a bit and then adjust the height of the drain in the side yard...and THEN hopefully we'll be done. Ahhh...home ownership.
The previous owner was apparently aware of a drainage problem and installed a few drains- one at the back corner, a few along the middle of the yard, and one at the front corner of the backyard. They are all supposed to flow out to a spot in the side yard and then out to the street. We are clueless as to how this whole setup was setup, and didn't know there was a place in the side yard where this drained. And since the previous owner let it get covered up with dirt and grass, we were really unaware of it. It was finally uncovered, but that didn't help. After many phone calls and emails to the county engineer, city manager, our builder, and my dad, we realized no one was going to take responsibility and we were going to have to fix it ourselves.
So Jeremy set out digging a ditch this morning. We decided to add two more drains up by the retaining wall and have them connect to the existing "system". HOPEFULLY this will drain all the water that is coming from our neighbor. (Supposedly he is only watering once a week, but you don't get yard of the month only watering once a week now do ya?!)
Two trips to Lowe's, a trip to Home Depot, and a few calls to my dad later and we still aren't done. The drains are there but now we need to fill in the yard a bit and then adjust the height of the drain in the side yard...and THEN hopefully we'll be done. Ahhh...home ownership.
A Sunbeam
Last Sunday was Shelby's first day of Sunbeams at church. She has been so excited to leave the nursery and join the older kids in "big kid primary". Her teacher said she was a little crazier than usual, which I expected. She is a squirmy kid. Hopefully she will grow out of that and learn to listen and sit still. I was proud of her because she was one of the only kids that didn't cry when I dropped her off.
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