thanksgiving morning

Thursday [Thanksgiving Day] 1am.

I had made a giant pan of mac & cheese the night before. I had the oven set to heat up at 9:45. We had to leave the house at 11 to be at Mathew's mom's side of the family's Thanksgiving thing by 12. but I couldn't sleep. I laid there, checked my email, facebook. Showered, laid there, checked my email, facebook, twitter, angry birds, laid there. FINALLY fell asleep [I'd say around 3am].

At 5am Douglas came in and over to my side of the bed crying "I'm all wet!! my clothes are wet! Oh no! I gotta poop! I'm gonna poop! Oh no!" I take his pee clothes off and rush him to the toilet. Diarrhea. Nasty, super stinky, doesn't appear to have an end diarrhea. ugh. I went back to bed while pooped. He yelled for me to get him a book. I told him to just sit there & to call me when he was done. I surprisingly was still partially asleep. "I'm done!!" got him some clean underwear & shorts, and then I let him go back to sleep in our bed.

At 7am I almost fell off the bed so I switched ends, praying mathew wouldn't kick me in the face.

8:45am [ish] - Douglas- "mommy! it's wake up time! I'm hungry!" I make him stay in bed, we're sleeping in as long as we can! 

9:45am - "Come on MOM!!" ugh. I got him some food and some for Isabella while I was at it. Then checked the oven, not heated to 350 yet. I went down stairs to get Isabella who I heard waking up. Douglas ran down the stairs with me. We opened the door & the smell that hit us was disgusting. "mom! I think Isabella pooped" It was dark [basement bedroom] so I asked D to turn the lights on "NO! I'm getting out of here!" Then She started the grunt/cry wanting me to hold her, but I turned on the light because I wanted to see what I was messing with. I was horrified. 

This is how her bed looked. But her back was covered in it. head to toe. When Douglas was pooping at 5am I heard her let out a cry. nothing alarming I assumed she did it in her sleep. Now I think that's when her butt exploded. 

Mathew started the bathtub, I cleaned her up without puking. Although I guess I did a little in my mouth. I had the gagging, the watery eyes, all that! I dressed her and Douglas then headed downstairs to clean up her shiz. literally. I threw her sheet's & pillows away. She's in love with puppies and stole D's pillows my grandma made him that have dogs on them, those weren't bad so I threw them, the blanket, her clothes & the doll in the washer. 

10:45- luckily Mathew had remembered the mac & cheese & took care of it. I on the other hand only had 15 minutes to get ready. I wasn't even wearing pants, just a shirt. I threw on my "back up dress" and we made it there just in time! 

Can't wait to tell her boyfriends about the [hopefully only] time her butt exploded.

let's do the twist!

Thursday we went on a "field trip" to Petland with The Joplin Mom's Meetup Group. D's got a thing for lizards

& snakes at the moment.

so it was kind of perfect.

We also bought The Lion King. Can you say awesome sauce?! cause it is. the voices! James Earl Jones!! The music! The nostalgia! D saying, "I can't marry her! she's my friend!" over & over. Isabella laying on her belly touching her feet together in the air like the little teenager that she thinks she is.

i want to watch this over. and over. and over.

today, the kids will too. we may even do a little twist. not that we dance around the house all day or anything.

can you clean without music? I can't. I even have a playlist on my iPod dedicated to it. It's called "messy". This Friday I think we'll dance, and clean, and just have a good, fun & productive day.

Enjoy your weekend!
and don't forget to enter to win store credit to my shop via moxiemandie.com!

Isabella

last thursday Isabella had her 15 month check up!

the office we used to go to was umm... blown away, destroyed... is gone. May 22nd Tornado. so glad it was on a Sunday, it was bad but it could've been so much worse. now when you go to joplin and you're on "the edge" of the destruction area it looks like... well, you know when you go to the beach and you see buildings but nothing behind them, that's when you know the beach is just right there! well, this is what joplin looks like. everything's there around the outside, but the middle, is just gone. when you're at the edge of it it looks like the world ends just past that building. i guess for so many it probably felt/feels/seems that way.

her doctor is at a temporary location. it's nice to see everyone come together. so many donations. one of the things in the rooms we were waiting in was this book. pretty sure we need it. lol

she got a couple of shots, but also a sucker and a goose? duck? swan? whatever it is she calls it "da da" which is her version of "quack quack" {can you tell i'm a farmer's wife? cause i am. i should know farm animal species right?}

doctor said, "she'll be 5'8, maybe 5'9" what?!! that's like another person taller than me! ok a "little person" but still! {I'm 4'8 if you didn't know}

the doctor looked in her mouth & said, "whoa! all 4 molars at the same time! that's one way to do it!" one of them has come through, the other 3 are on the brink.. The doctor said, "feel free to give her tylenol if she has trouble sleeping or anything". i didn't. i don't. i hate giving her things if she's not miserable. if she's not complaining or acting like it bothers her then she'll be ok without it. i do give her  popsicles, and wash rags and things to chew on. she's been sleeping ok. not too cranky, but last night. last night was a little rough.

12:30am-
fake crying. the crying that you know is just to get attention. the "crying" she does with just her voice, no tears, no actual crying. i pick her up change her we diaper. love her for a few minutes. i put her and her teddy back in bed. i hear her talk and sing over the monitor for a bit then we both fall back asleep.

1:38am-
horrible ear screeching crying. as i jump out of bed & run downstairs i think "crap she fell out of her crib! but how?!". her leg is stuck. in the last slat. the one that's the part of the dresser that's attached to her crib. i "save" her. she's screaming. her shin has a dent in it & some of the skin looks like it's been peeled off. it's a little purple, but no blood. no broken leg. i take her to mine & mathew's bed because i need to get her ice. he holds her and calms her down while i get the ice. he's a great daddy. i put ice on it, once she's feeling better she starts standing up on the bed, wanting to smack us, sing, talk, etc. so i tell her it's night time, bed time. she can do that in her own bed if she'd like but the rest of us are sleeping. i put her and her teddy back in bed. i hear her talk and sing over the monitor for a bit then we both fall back asleep.

5:41am-
fake crying again. i'm exhausted. i go to her room. climb up into her crib and lay with her. she tries to go back to sleep. but she's hungry. her mollars hurt her. we get up. she eats a banana, a couple of graham crackers and has some water. AND SOME TYLENOL. i put her and her teddy back in bed {with the water on the dresser where she can reach it}. i hear her talk and sing over the monitor for a bit then we both fall back asleep.

brothers are a girl's best friend

the {now} 1 yr old

I can't believe its been a year.

she's developed such a sweet & loving relationship with Douglas.

like how to:

 {play, crawl, make a mess, swing, be gangsta, road sleep, stand on her own, & found her favorite TV watching spot}

had lots of laughs

we've enjoyed watching her grow but are proud & happy to watch her become independent!
She had a great birthday "weekend"

isn't she lovely?!

health update, Isabella, & some really cool prints

doc did an ultrasound during which he said: "might be enlarged ovary. i can't find you're right ovary. looks normal from what i can see. we'll do blood work. might be pituitary gland. over productive ovaries...."

yay! nothing scary. blood work WILL be good. I'm hoping.

 if  when blood work is cleared we'll try a few things to regulate my crazy body.

I am feeling good today. not great. but better. I still need to catch up on some sleep. it turns out Isabella WON'T sleep anywhere else even at night time when she {& I} is exhausted.

this is her today.

the now 1 yr old!! crazy. will get birthday pics up soon. gotta do some editing on those.

anyway. today I watched Gone With The Wind looking through caught up on some of my favorite blogs.

I was looking through some of maggy's old posts.

I saw this

and then spend a long time looking through all of the prints. maybe a little too long?!

{keepcalmgallery.com}

thanks Maggy!

if it's not one thing it's another

all weekend I've been thinking I might bleed to death. being a girl, with girl problems is a pain. literaly. I've felt useless. paged my doc, because everything has to happen on the weekend, & he helped me feel a little less "freaked out". still gotta call him on Monday to follow up though..

now this:

swollen eyes. stuffed/runny nose. clingy. allergies? a cold because of this crazy weather? who knows.

she's a cuddle bug & I'm kind of incapable of doing anything that takes more than 10 or 15 minutes. that is if I can get 10 or 15 minutes without having to wipe a nose, butt, feed someone, eat something so I don't pass out, or clean up a mess. I don't mind. cuddling with this one is one of my favorite things to do. she's beautiful. she's almost one. unbelievable. the only thing I regret, is being in the middle of "spring cleaning". I have stuff out. just out. because I was organizing. now it's just out there. a picture is leaning against the wall in the hallway, just looking at me. wondering why i took it down 4 days ago & haven't done anything with it. sheets need to be put away, things need to be organized, cleaned. I was half way done with the upstairs. now I'll have to start over. weird thing is. I'm kind of looking forward to it. I also want to plant a small garden (D's idea). who by the way is the best child ever. he's a great helper. a great brother. my favorite little boy.

I've read the next 2 chapters in Created To Be A Help Meet, just haven't had a chance to type up my commentary for you. I will though. I promise. it's just kinda difficult with a1 yr old pounding on the keyboard!

with Douglas next to me.....

I don't get to do a lot of things by myself. Well, besides dishes, cooking, & cleaning. I always have Douglas next to me, Mathew talking to me (if he's home) & recently added, Isabella on my hip. I go out maybe once a week to grocery shop, then the occasional hair appointment and play date. I do those things with the kids. The few things I do do "on my own" (with Douglas next to me, Mathew talking to me, & Isabella on my hip) include this blog, it is my getaway, I just get to ramble about whatever I feel like. I also LOVE sewing. I'm not patient so when I pick a sewing project it's gotta be a quick one that I can pause in the middle of, you know, in case i have to change a dirty diaper, clean gum out from the carpet, administer first aid, or if, God forbid, someone needs to eat something. I also enjoy crafts, I can spend hours making invitations or decorations for a shower/party, or homemade gifts. Then, reading. I love reading, but it's gotta be a good book. But my all time favorite thing to do is to decorate cakes and cupcakes! I could do it all day long, actually i have before. I haven't decorated a cake in so long. I can't remember how long. I did decorate the cupcakes for Maria's baby shower but they weren't that intricate. I really enjoyed doing it though & wished I had more to do. Tuesday I think it was Nancy called me & asked me to make a cake for her daughter's birthday on Friday!!! I'm so excited! You probably won't hear from me tomorrow because I'll be busy doing that (with Douglas next to me, Mathew talking to me, & Isabella on my hip). On Saturday we have a bbq we're going to & I am taking some chips & queso dip but also some mini cupcakes! I'm not sure what designs and how I'll decorate everything yet exactly but that's part of the fun! If you want to see some of the cakes I've decorated in the past you can click here or on "my cupcake" at the top of the page.

I looked some cakes up online for inspiration and these are some of my favorites! I could never be this good but maybe one day I will get close.

Have a great weekend!!

infant potty training

This week me & Douglas are going to start potty training Isabella. Yes she is not even 2 months old but she is holding her head up very well, even scooting a little bit when I lay her on her belly, and I can usually tell when she is going poop.

If you don't know about infant potty training, you should. Have you ever wondered what people in other parts of the world do with their babies? The ones with babies strapped to their backs, I mean they don't just let them poop on them do they? I didn't learn about infant potty training until Douglas was around 9 months old. I wish I would have known about it sooner. My main source was "To Train Up A Child" by Michael & Debi Pearl. They also have a website, www.nogreaterjoy.org, where I also did some research. Now I don't agree with all of their teachings or everything they believe but when I hear something like this or like what "On Becoming Baby Wise" teaches I can't help but wonder why I hadn't thought of it myself. Why this kind of thing isn't common knowledge. It just makes sense. I think, "Duh!" With the help of Baby Wise now with Isabella when she gets tired I go put her down in her crib or playpen. I can walk away and she goes to sleep with virtually no fussing or crying. She just tries to go to sleep on her own. With Douglas we can be almost anywhere, I can take him aside, tell him it's nap time & that he needs to try and go to sleep & he will. It's awesome! It took a little bit of work but it was definitely worth the effort! It's so nice to not have to worry about fit throwing, crankyness, or anything like that. Don't get me wrong, they aren't perfect and things still happen. (tired kids are cranky kids) But knowing what to expect for the most part is so nice and I can enjoy my kids so much better, and so can everyone else. Don't you just hate it when you can't/don't want to hang out with a friend because you don't want to be around their kids. It's sad isn't it?

Here's an excerpt from one of the articles I read prior to starting with Douglas:

"Starting a habit is so much easier than breaking one. As adults, we have the will power and the understanding to change a habit. Yet, even so we find it difficult to go against a habit and are always tempted to fall back to the former ways. Think how hard it would be for a two-year-old to break a lifelong habit. It was okay for two years to soil a daily diaper or two or three, and suddenly their parents are looking down at them and saying, "Stop going in your diaper; I want you to teeter over this great big hole that if you are not careful you might fall into and get flushed down." I can easily see why an untrained child would be afraid and fight against it." {via nogreaterjoy.org} Now that you read that aren't you thinking, "well that makes sense, I never thought about it that way?!" That's what I thought.

In chapter 11 of To Train Up A Child entitled "Potty Untraining" Michael Pearl begins with a section called "no more diapers":

"On a missionary trip to Central America, we were amazed by the practice of the primitive Maya Indians in not diapering their babies prior to stuffing them into a carrying pouch. Their infants were all potty trained. After experimenting on our own, and after further observation, we discovered that infants are born with an aversion to going in their "nests". Parents "untrain" them by forcing them to become accustomed to going in their clothes a child instinctively protests a bowel movement. He kicks, stiffens, and complains. Being sensitive to the warning signs (after having changed 17,316 diapers with the first three), my wife tried it on our new arrivals. When she sensed that the child was about to "go", she would go to the toilet and place the bare infant against her bare legs in a spread-leg sitting position. Dribbling a little stream of warm water over the child's private parts helped provoke the start of an impending "tinkle". As the child began urinating, she would say, "pee pee". On other occasions, if she missed the signs and a bowel movement was in progress, she would rush the child to the bathroom to finish on the toilet, while occasionally saying, "do do". Even if the child was through with his elimination, she still set him on the pot in order to reinforce the training. He came to identify the sound with the muscle function. Our children became so well trained to the voice command that we had to be careful not to say the words at the wrong time. We could be bragging to our neighbor, say the magic words, and induce a release."

To me this made so much sense, and even if it didn't work what could it hurt? I was determined to try it! Guess what, Douglas learned in about 3 or 4 days what if felt like to poop and what he needed to do when he felt he needed to go. If I though he needed to go I would put him on the toilet and say "try and go potty" and he would strain. He still does that when I think he needs to try. Like before we go to the store, or I have him try before his bath, or before bed. The rest of the time he lets me know when he's gotta poop (for the most part) and I try and ask him frequently if he's gotta pee. He's doing pretty good and getting better. I believe that maybe if I had started trying to train him earlier he might already be potty trained.

On their website they also make the comment that "It is more the parent being trained than the baby. You just have to be consistent in "your" training." It just takes you paying attention to your child and "going with your gut"


Another thing to understand is that it's not a discipline thing. When they have an accident it's okay. All you're doing is trying to start the habit early and get them comfortable with sitting on an uncomfortable place for someone so small. Here's are links to other articles they have on the subject on their site: ("potty training answered", "baby-potty-training","one-more-time" )

There is also another website I kinda liked called diaperfreebaby.org. This is the page on their website I got some of my info from. I'm not crazy about their site, but they do have some good info, they are just a little "earthy" for me. I guess earthy would be the word lol. I believe we'll be practicing what they refer to as

{Part-time EC
Part-time EC'ers are generally committed to practicing EC consistently, but not necessarily round-the-clock. They practice EC to whatever extent they feel able to accommodate, and they and baby benefit by remaining aware of elimination.

Part-time EC'ers may use diaper backup but also employ some "diaper-free" periods, perhaps once a day or several times a week or whenever they feel they are in a situation which will allow them to enjoy a stress-free, enjoyable bonding experience - for instance, in a carpet-free part of the house or outdoors. Even by just catching some catches every day, parent and baby can remain remarkably aware of elimination and patterns.

Part-timers may begin to practice EC on a more full-time basis when baby is older and going longer between elimination, signaling more overtly to be taken to the potty, or showing signs of approaching toilet independence.}  {via}

I guess we'll see how Isabella does and I'll keep you updated. 

good night

this is kind of boring but I'm up so this is what you get. 


I had a good night so far. Get this, BOTH kids were in bed, in their own rooms, fast asleep, by 10:30pm. The last couple of days have been late days up with Isabella, and Douglas was up until midnight the night before because he had a hard time falling asleep for some odd reason. I was so happy that I was finally going to make it to bed before midnight! I went to "Mathew's bathroom", the one with the stand up shower, and walked to the hamper. There I stepped in cold water that soaked through my socks. I got aggravated but threw a dirty towel on it and let it go. I jumped in the shower real quick... A shower is supposed to be relaxing, specially after a day of "bouncing", climbing, and sliding, but my shower didn't last long enough to be relaxing. My hot water didn't last because it was after Douglas' bath & Mathew's shower. Also because all I was thinking about the whole time was just getting to bed. After my shower I got dressed in the bathroom because Mathew was already asleep and  I didn't want to disturb him. I put my glasses on and then went to the other bathroom, my bathroom, the tub only bathroom, or as Douglas likes to call it, "Douglas' bathroom". I needed to brush my teeth, get deodorant and lotion on and everything before bed. When I put lotion on I usually start like in my temple area, last night I did the same thing except I found my glasses there. I went into shock, it was like I didn't realize what happened. lol then I cleaned my glasses up and went to bed. Mathew was in the middle of the bed, not really a big deal, I don't take up a lot of room but the position he was in was weird, he was on his stomach with his left foot stretched out to edge of the bed on his side but his elbow is almost to the edge of the bed on the other side, my side. I slipped into bed, my back toward him which means his elbow was right in the middle of my back. NOT comfortable at all. So I asked him for some room. In his sleep he says "Emma, there is plenty of room". I contemplated going to get the camera to show him proof tomorrow when he's conscious but instead I turned around to face him and laid in the shape of an S so that his elbow didn't even touch me. Despite the cool shower, the lotion, and the elbow I think I was out in about 30 seconds. That was all that mattered; that's what made it, like I said, a good night.

little diva

if you take this 

and these

and put them together, you get this

oh, and this

aren't they great?!

abuela x2

I hadn't seen my grandma in over 2 years. She lived in California but has now moved in with my mom about an hour and a half from where I live! Monday her & my mom came for a visit.

this is my mom playing with D. he loves it when someone else swings at the same time as him.

This is my abuelita meeting Isabella.

According to her, she is the most gorgeous little girl she's ever seen (i think she forgot about me when i was a little girl.. ha! just kidding!). My mom mostly played with Douglas & fed & held Isabella, they are the main reason she comes to visit. But my grandma spent most of her time with me. I love visiting with her. We both have a love for sewing, though we are both amateurs. Of course her sewing is all done by hand (CRAZY!! I know!). I got to show her my "sewing area" and tell her about the shelves & desks & sewing everything I want to work my way up to. She told me stories about giving birth to 5 kids, a stillbirth, and a miscarriage. I told her about my crazy ordeal when Isabella was born (I still need to share all that with you don't I?). We made plans for her to come stay for a few days some time & sew together. I love my grandma. I've missed my grandma.