The Epic of Monday...

Some days are just too fantastic to be believed...those of us with toddlers can believe just about anything though.  Which is probably why this epic will resonate with your own experiences.

We haven't been able to take the gate down at night for our toddler.  She is too independent and headstrong to come into my room and get me in the morning.  It used to be that she would just go get into anything that she normally is not supposed to so we had to put the gate back up.  In our new house there is a flight of stairs that leads to a basement family room.  She isn't used to stairs from the old house.  I was a nervous Momma, glad to keep the gate up a little longer.  Now that she tries to potty train some mornings, I can't have the gate up if she is going to be independent like she wants to be with her potty training experience.  So......

8:15AM

*calling from a distance*  "Momma!!  Me went out in the RAIN!!"

Momma jumps from her bed and runs to the living room to see Alyssa taking off rain boots and coat in the dining room looking extremely proud of her adventure and being able to let herself back in without help.

"Me no get any wet, Momma."  Grinning and pleased at how well behaved she was to get all her gear on and play out in the wet morning with her chalk on the backyard steps.

She doesn't even remember that she is NOT allowed to go outside without someone.  She probably has forgotten that just last night she was asked to not color on the steps and to keep it to the sidewalk at the bottom of the steps instead.  She hasn't even realized that it isn't raining but just wet from the rain overnight.  She is so proud of herself and I'm horrified at what could have happened.  Wyatt slept in, she didn't wake me....she went out back instead of the front, thankfully!  She was able to get back in without help, thankfully!  She put on rain gear so that her sockless feet wouldn't get too chilled....

I tell her sternly in the split second that I've had to register all of what could have happened that she DOES NOT GO OUTSIDE WITHOUT ME!  I watched her proud stance melt a little.  She looked a little confused about why I wasn't so excited about her doing such a great job with remembering her rain gear and coming in dry and 'all myself'.  The next moment is where I realize that stern time is over. She knows.  She forgets.  She is three and did some really smart things while she was being forgetful.

"I'm glad you didn't get wet, Alyssa.  Can you pick up your boots and coat?  Next time you want to go outside you have to remember to come get me first.  I'm glad you were able to open the door all by yourself to come back in!"

I don't have any idea how long she was out there.  It scares me...there will be some new toddler-proofing today though I'm not sure what yet.

----A few minutes later, I'm mixing a bottle for the little guy who is just waking up to the voices.----


**WARNING: Potty Stories are rarely pleasant...and not for the weak stomachs.**



"Me have to go POTTY!"
"Okay, go in there."
*sounds of diaper being taken off and climbing onto the toilet*
*sounds of running out of the bathroom*
"Me already pooped!"

......ALYSSA!  Ughhhh, ew.

Has it sunk in yet?  Diaper came off but she already pooped?  Yup.  My bathroom has already met with toddler grossness and thankfully survived the event.  So, after cleaning up the tub side, the floor where it landed, and the toilet where she dragged her little gross butt across...

8:28AM

Monday has officially begun.

Too Much Fun

Some days are full of fun!  We had a long day playing at drill (family day).  Our toddler had story time, art projects, and an obstacle course in the gym while the adults took care of some classes.  Then there was more playing (for everyone) after lunch.

After all this, we drove the hour home and went grocery shopping for the week.  After supper Alyssa really wanted to go outside so we took our little dog on a short walk.

Toddlers, full day of fun, tired, and won't hold hands....end result, a sad and hurt little girl.  Her face met the concrete after tripping over some invisible nothing.  Poor kid had too much fun.

How to tell if they are related...

Sometimes there are families that have the same eye color.  Others share the same mouth shape or there might be something about their ears or hairline.  My kids gave me a different clue the other night.

Wyatt, February 2013

Alyssa, February 2013

Well, are they related?

About to jinx it...

Can you believe it?  Well, actually I can.  Alyssa was doing it at 2 months.  My little brother started on day two of his life (don't you wanna slap my mother in a fit of jealousy?).  My sister and I both were under or near the 2 month mark also.  Wyatt is just over 6 weeks old.

Wyatt has slept through the night (STTN) the last THREE NIGHTS!  Yes, I am completely and totally bragging right now and I'm certain to get my butt handed right back to me tonight for it....but for now...

I'm doing a happy dance with my shorter day-time-napping son.  Next step, moving morning from 5am to 7am.

Before you ask, there is no trick; this kid likes to sleep and eat and we let him do both when he wants.  I don't believe you can train sleeping (other than times painfully, slowly shifted but not condensed) at 6 weeks old.  JMHO.  Hopefully this will continue and I'll regain a modicum of my energy (and mental acuity) in order to bring this blog back up to date.

The Woman with the "Man Cold"

I have entered 'man cold' territory since this morning.  I am totally that whiny sick person right now who doesn't have enough sleep and while I love that my toddler is feeling better (even though she still has her cold) I am having some serious energy issues dealing with her.

I love that my husband has so much patience for both of us.  I did send him a fair-warning text after lunch though.  One of those, 'feel free to come home early because Alyssa and I are butting heads like crazy' texts followed by a text with better advice: "Or find a place to hide from both of us".  He truly is a saint and I'm not sure how I got so lucky because the poor man never has man colds...he does the typical get up and get over it like I should.

On the plus side, after nap battle was conquered (read ignored), I got to take a decent nap as well!  Almost two hours of sleep for Momma today!!!  Yes, it did help with that energy issue for me to some extent and at the very least has given me an extra dose of patience for my toddler to get us through today.

While we are waiting for this bug to leave our home...feel free to mock my stuffed up head by making and sending these.  (Seriously...aren't these cute??)  I don't have an original source as it was pinned from a blogger's site who doesn't claim ownership of the idea either.  Simply put, it is adorable and whoever thought it up is a freaking genius.

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day Twenty-seven

My cold is getting worse...which means my toddler is starting to feel a LOT better.  I am thankful for our Hyland's Cold and Cough medicine that has helped Alyssa feel better so quickly!  I just need to catch up to her in energy levels now...I'm so joining naptime today!

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day Ten

I am thankful for used and abused toys who have been loved too much.  The toys that witness every stage of development that our children go through and comfort them through every bump, bruise, change and every night of good and bad dreams.  The love for a toy that can protect a child from the dark or from being overwhelmed by sad feelings.  The toys like this one:

Elephant Lovey

Great for Travel

Perfect Baby Size

Or this one:

Horsey is a very big lovey.

He is a toddler favorite.

Poor Horsey has had many paw surgeries but gets snuggled every night (and most of every day).

Fitbit Ultra--Product Review

The Fitbit Ultra

This nifty little pedometer does so much more than count your steps for you (which will explain the price difference, I promise!).  This piece of technology as a basic workout buddy seems great to one who does not workout.  It counts steps, elevation (floors climbed!), distance, calories burned, how active you were (it can sense how fast you're moving at different times of the day and break it down into % Sedentary, Mild, Moderate, Active!).  Honestly, these things are neat but not what my primary use for this device is.  I use it to track sleep.

Yes, I took a nice and not-very-cheap pedometer and I track my sleep with it.  No, really!!  It comes with a wristband to do this for me!  How??  Well, if you are in a deep sleep, you don't roll, lift your arm to swat something, bring your hand up under your chin as a pillow, etc.  If you are getting the deep sleep you need for your body to recover, you will lay still much more of the time than tossing and turning.  Seems pretty basic, right?

Over a year ago I had a medical sleep study done.  I spent two weeks with a wristwatch strapped to my arm and you press a button to tell it when you are going to sleep.  You do not press it when you climb in bed but when you turn out the lights after putting away your computer, the tv, your iPad, your books, etc.  You press it only when you lay your head on your pillow and close your eyes in an attempt to sleep.  The watch process was followed by an overnight study in the sleep clinic with wires and electrodes glued to my body and head....lots of fun.  The results however were less fun than peeling glue out of my hair for the next couple days.  I have a sleeping disorder with no discernible cause.  I spend significantly less time in REM than required by the average person.  I can sleep for 16hrs+ and not feel like I have had 4hrs yet.  My brain (according to electrode readings) wakes up an average of 13 times per hour in the night but I remain 'asleep' for them.

All-in-all I am basically constantly sleep deprived no matter how much time I spend asleep.  Fun, right?

Well, I stumbled upon this Fitbit gadget while looking for some neat gym tools for my hubby.  I had no idea something out on the market would measure my sleep like that watch did for the doctors...and I was excited!  I didn't think I'd ever get to track how I'm sleeping on my own short of filming it and watching every night for movements to get some idea of my sleep patterns.

The Fitbit has a thirty day return policy so I decided it was worth a shot to compare how it reads to how I know my sleep roughly goes.  It works just like that wristwatch for the user--press that button when you sleep and when you wake.  That was slick and the wristband that it goes into for nighttime tracking is pretty comfy too so I have no issues wearing it at night (comparatively I cannot stand to wear a watch or bracelet normally even if I'm laying down with my toddler to watch a movie).  When it came to tracking the sleep info, you get that online.  Their site has their trackers free with the purchase of the device (there are upgraded features if you buy the annual membership that seem worth the price if you are using this for tracking workouts and diets too but I figured I'd wait until after my pregnancy to start that stuff and hold off on paying the membership until then too).

I decided to start on the "normal" setting for sleep tracking first to get an idea of how well it tracks.  The first week I used it was interesting in the results.  It said I was sleeping very well.  Every tracking that it registered me as 'awake' I could remember.  That means I was both mentally and physically awake during that time.  A few of them were bathroom trips or rolling over to get my back comfortable again, others were during the time that my hubby was getting ready for work or whatnot.  This was quite accurate but not what I needed from the tracker (but I started loving the pedometer features during this first week too).  I kept it on the "normal" setting until last night and nothing really changed during my "normal" trial time.  I remembered most of the 'awake' times.  Now I am switching to the "sensitive" setting and last night it showed me that it is very similar to that wristwatch!  I am excited (and sad) to say that the results were very similar to those the doctor went over with me a year+ ago.  Now, last night could have just really sucked, or it could be exactly what I'm expecting because I haven't felt THAT different that I could be sleeping with 90%+ efficiency instead of the 50%'s that are typical for me.

I'll let you know how this next week or so goes but overall, I am super impressed with this product and wanted to share it with everyone in case you might be looking for something with any of these benefits...

**This is my own opinion of the Fitbit Ultra and I received no freebies/discounts for a review.  This blog is not affiliated, endorsed, supported, or sponsored by Fitbit or any related companies.**

*I purchased my Fitbit Ultra from Best Buy where they happen to carry almost the whole line of Fitbit products.*

Climb or Fall out of Bed

So there are days that you just don't want to leave your bed.  You think that the world could keep spinning if you slept through just one 24 hour period.  Well, you'd be right...but then there are those things that wouldn't get done if you didn't drag your butt from under your covers and brave the world that you have no interest in facing.  I mean, there are the pets to feed, meals to cook, diapers to change, hugs to give and books and toys to use-abuse-and clean up after.  There are owies to kiss, noses to wipe, hair to brush and baths to prepare.  We can't forget of course the myriad of basic housekeeping chores such as dishes, floors, laundry, tables, beds, etc.  While some of those things can easily be put on the back burner (and I encourage this be done when you need to), it can't be that way every day.  It's a good thing that my daughter gets me to drag my butt out of bed every single day.  She makes me smile even mere seconds after she has me ripping at my hair in not-as-silent-as-I-wish frustration.  She brings me a book to read to her and then runs off for another one only 3 pages in.  She takes every.single.toy out to play with before going back to the first couple options for the remainder of the messy day.  Then she throws a fit that resembles a 'you stole my favorite snack and I'll never have another one!' epicness whenever a commercial interrupts a beloved cartoon (Max and Ruby, Kai Lan, Bubble Guppies, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse).  She offers me a seat on the couch to watch a movie with her and even cleans her toys away to make room.  She snuggles in and throws herself across my lap fondly smiling and declaring 'Momma!' because I might have forgotten who I am in the last couple minutes.

She is a great reason to leave the warm covers of my bed behind on cold winter days when you just don't want to face the dishes (clean or dirty!) or the mountain of laundry needing to be washed, dried and *grrr* folded....  She is a great reason to smile through the day even if you are screaming in your head that you can't give one more lecture on not pulling the cats' hair off their stomachs or that a commercial just means that the show will come back in 2 minutes!  (Remind me often of that last one please...every 10 minutes or so...)

Just because we have those days, and most everyone does, doesn't mean we can't enjoy the day outside of our bed.  I might have to work a little harder to do so, but Morning Hugs and a beautiful 'you're my hero' smile make it a lot easier.

So those days you just don't want to face the world, climb out of bed--or fall if you need to.  Paste a fake smile on and find that reason to exchange the fake smile for a real one.  You don't need a great day, just don't let it be horrible either.  And when you get to that breaking point (I have, I admit) where even falling out of bed doesn't do it, pick a day, get some help with your responsibilities and stay in bed.  Take that day off that you need.  Close your eyes when you pass the sink full of dishes or the basket of laundry.  Good luck to us all on those days that start so tough.  I hope you have a great reason to get out of bed.

Internal Clocks vs Day to Day Life...

October....Wait, when did we switch months??  Oh good, it was just today.  Yeah, my internal calendar, clock and overall brain is on strike.  I don't know up from down, January from October or even awake from asleep at this point.  Alright, that last one happens pretty much from 2pm-5pm every day but still!

I am pretty certain that kids use naps as their 'down-time' but what about us parents?  Supposedly we are cleaning, cooking or maybe taking 5 minutes of the day to breathe finally and then nap time is over!  I almost wish that my daughter and I were on opposite sleeping schedules just to have a quiet house for longer than the span of an afternoon nap.  Does this make logical sense?  No.  Mostly because she is too little and too devious to be trusted on her own while I sleep in the other room (or violent enough to hit me on the face with something if I sleep on the couch).  Do those reasons stop me from thinking how blissful it might be?  Not a chance!

On the plus side, my child likes to take a 2+hr afternoon nap...I get those couple brief hours to regain my composure, store up a few reserve deep breaths and enter into round two swinging (mostly swinging her up into the air but you get the idea...).

This morning was exciting though, we got to skype with Papa!  Amid a few well placed squeals and many grins, we did get her to SAY "Papa"--once--but hey, we take what we get!  She also showed Papa a few things she has learned recently.  She identified her nose, eyes, ears, mouth, head, toes, fingers and belly button for him.  I'd say she had a very proud Papa at that moment.

Now that I have entered a mostly nonsensical post jumping from thought to thought, I will let you get on with your day which is probably more structured and actually follows a wall clock instead of the inner workings of a frayed Momma and an energizer child.  Good luck to us all!

Lifestyles of the Rich or Deployed...

Well, I have a few pictures from Chris of his new living situation.  They don't match what I had in my head based on description but that's because in my head there was one less wall!  LOL!  So here is a glimpse into this particular deployment.

Based on the bathroom travel bag, the last picture is Chris' locker.  I *believe* his bunk is the bottom bunk in the second picture but I'm not positive on that one.

Well, this is a preliminary glimpse into the living space he and his buddies have put together.  (In case you didn't know, this is a bay that holds 60 people.  They worked it up into a private area for 4 within this bay.  Pretty smart huh?)

Unscheduled Play Times....

By NO stretch of my (or most others') imagination is 4:20am a good time to play with Fisher Price toys.  Not only is this one of the last things I would choose to do at this time, it is most definitely in my bottom choices to do for then next 1 hour and 45 minutes from that time.

Long weeks get nearly immeasurably longer on a day following this unscheduled play time.  In combination with my sleep deprived state, I spent the day calling credit card companies, insurance agencies and health care billing facilities trying to straighten out all of the situations that magically appear when a family member deploys.  To follow the blame game, reasoning, and downright excuses given to me without either blowing up or breaking down under the pressure is an amazing feat to my mind in this state.  I think I only screamed once and it was after hanging up.  Are you proud of me--I am...!  On top of the phone calls being very time consuming and rather painful to explain everything EVERY time...Yes!  Technology rears its horribly taunting head at me again!  I am quite certain based on past experience with anything using a cord or battery that ALL technology has a distinct distaste for working near, for, or even apart from me.  To further justify this conviction, Tricare (a system which operates throughout 21 (that's TWENTY-ONE) states in the midwest, was down yesterday and this morning as I tried to contact them repeatedly.  A credit card company I had to call tonight, merely checking on an APR request process, had a single computer unable to look up not only one of our accounts but two.  No phone number, no SSN, no nothing!  Thankfully this issue was just a single computer that I caused to crash ;-)  Truly, technology hates me.  I am simply lucky that my computer generally gets along with me as I protect it from the massive amounts of drool and dropping that a toddler may unleash at any given moment.  So...here is for a better tonight leading to a good tomorrow!