Finally a Parenting Win

Brady had a bit of a rough week last week. Daycare was closed Monday so Grandma watched him. I love that we have that option, and Brady loves spending time with Grandma, but boy does he get spoiled. It's crazy how one day makes such a difference. When I dropped him off at daycare on Tuesday he bawled. He hasn't done that in forever. I just figured it was a bad day, no big deal. I go to pick him up and there's a sheet for me to sign saying that he had bit someone for trying to take a toy from him. Seriously?! He has bit me before out of frustration, but has never even attempted it with anyone else.

I prayed the next day would be better, but we had a repeat performance. This time I cried dropping him off. It's heartbreaking to have to leave when he's bawling, reaching for you, and calling your name. I of course started questioning whether daycare was the best thing for him, and decided I needed to quit my job. Brad quickly talked me down after I had a good cry.

When I got there to pick him up that night, he had bit someone again. Two days in a row. I was beside myself, felt like I was failing at being a parent, what was I doing wrong, etc. I was later reassured that he's not the only one whose ever bit another kid. It was probably just a phase. We talked a lot with Brady that night about using his words instead of his mouth, and that he should say, "no, no friend" if someone tries to take something from him. I know he understood what we were telling him because he's since told me "no,no mommy" a couple of times. He hasn't bit anyone since, so fingers crossed the biting phase is over.

This week has been much better. We had a huge parenting win at our house tonight. (I am in no way trying to tell anyone how to parent. It is 100% your choice.) We've struggled at times with how to discipline. We will never spank our children. I'd be telling a bold-faced lie if I said I've never yelled, but I don't believe that is the answer either.

Lately when Brady throws a fit for not getting his way, or when he does something naughty, we have him go sit on the stairs by himself for a little bit to calm down and think about what he did. We usually have to stand there and watch him so he doesn't get right back up, but tonight after spilling a puree pouch on the carpet and himself, he got upset about it, and in the midst of us cleaning it up, he had gone over to the stairs and sat down all by himself. He waited for us to come over to him, we talked about what happened, and told him he could get up. It's such a relief to know that this option is working for us and that he understands. I actually had to laugh about it. It was pretty cute. 

I also wanted to share what I wore today. I tried a new combo that I liked a lot.

Blazer: Stitch Fix , Top: Kohls, Pants: Express, Necklace: Kohls

Someone wanted to be a part of the picture! 

New Bedroom Furniture

This is going to be short. I am crazy busy at work right now. We are in the midst of hiring approximately 20 new people. Yours truly is in charge of screening resumes, scheduling interviews, background and reference checks, offer letters, among other things. I'm lucky to even have a break right now to type this.

We had an exciting weekend. Our new bedroom furniture was delivered on Saturday! Hello king-sized bed. I love it, and am so happy that the comforter we picked out matches perfectly. I don't have a picture of the dresser, but it matches the nightstands. Since I have OCD, we will be spreading out the décor on the wall above the bed, even though Brad doesn't want to. We also apparently need king-sized pillows which I didn't even realize existed.

 

 

And just for fun here is a picture of Brady from Sunday. He loves wearing Brad's hats!

 



Friday Funny

Brady loves this song. He calls it "The Monkey Song". We listened to it about 4 times last night, and then a half hour later while taking a bath he asked to listen to it again. He tries to do their head movements and sing along. It's hilarious. I think it's safe to say we have a Bruno Mars fan on our hands, and I'm 100% OK with that!

Since it's Friday, my boss is on vacation, and I don't feel like doing anything, here's The Monkey Song, also known as The Lazy Song.                     

             

 

Scared to Try Again

I'm going to really put myself out there with this post. No holds barred.

Brad and I decided, before I was even pregnant with Claire, that we would like our first 2 kids to be about 3 years apart. My brother and I are 4 years apart, and I thought that was too much. Of course, after we lost Claire, we threw that idea out the window. We knew we would try again right away. I needed to be pregnant again right away. After having Brady, I really needed to give my body a chance to get back to "normal". We were back to our original plan of waiting a couple years to start trying for a 3rd.

So here we are...quickly approaching Brady's second birthday. Brad and I have talked. We're still both on board with our plan. We're going to Hawaii in May, and I definitely don't want to be pregnant for that, so we'll probably start trying after we get back. That's in 3 months (insert "oh shit" face here).

To be 100% honest, I'm excited and terrified all at the same time. I really want another baby, and actually would love 2 more kids, but I am having some anxiety this time around. After Claire, there was no time to really think about things. We just tried right away, because that's what we needed to do. This time around I've had 2 years to think about being pregnant again. I have so much running through my head. How will Brady take it? Will I be so sick/tired in the first trimester that I won't be able to give him all of the attention he deserves? What if we have another girl? What if I carry a gene and have another baby with a heart defect? There's no way I could go through that again. What if I have GD (gestational diabetes) again and that causes a problem with the baby?

I know I absolutely want more babies, but I'm just so worried about being pregnant. I know it's normal after what we've been through. And I know I will be so stinking excited the day I see those 2 pink lines again. I have 2 great midwives that will talk me through every single worry I have. I have to keep telling myself we will have another healthy baby, maybe even 2 more healthy babies. Our angel is always watching over us.

Friday Funny

I was thinking last night about what I was going to put in my 5 on Friday, but then something really funny happened this morning, so I decided to do a Friday Funny instead.

It's snowing...again...that could be the Friday Funny by itself, but don't worry there's more. Just like the American figure skater last night, I fell on my ass/left hip this morning in the daycare parking lot. I wish I had a video or picture to show you, because that would be even funnier. Good thing I have a little padding, and thank God I wasn't carrying Brady at the time, because holy shoot I fell hard. 

But with the figure skater as my inspiration, I sat there for a minute, composed myself, got up gingerly, brushed myself off, and carried on with my morning. Of course I didn't have thousands of people cheering me on, but that's probably for the better. Spring, please feel free to come any time now. This winter shit is getting old!

This is pretty much what I looked like this morning -

National Heart Month

February is National Heart Month, and this week specifically is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week. I feel it is my duty to raise awareness about congenital heart defects. Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common type of birth defect, affecting close to 8 of every 1,000 births. There are so many different types of CHDs, ranging in severity.

Here is an article from the Huffington Post on Monday about CHDs. I fully agree that the pulse-ox screen should be mandatory before a baby leaves the hospital. Many heart defects aren't detected until a week or more after the baby has left the hospital. Early detection could save the lives of so many babies. A pulse-ox test takes all of 1 minute. It seems like a no-brainer to me.

Unfortunately, there are many people in my family who have been affected by heart defects. Except for Claire Bear, they are all still here with us today. My grandpa was born with a CHD. He has had multiple heart attacks, but is still kicking. He turns 80 this year! Growing up, my grandparents lived only a few blocks away. They live in Arizona now, so I don't get to see him as much. At least I have a great reason to go to warmer weather! My grandpa is the most stubborn person in the world, but I couldn't imagine my life without him.

Just last year, my mother-in-law started getting short of breath very easily. It got to the point where she couldn't get up the stairs, and finally where she couldn't even walk from her car to the house. She used to be Brady's daycare everyday. With as much as she loved watching him, we knew there was something seriously wrong when she finally told us she couldn't do it anymore. After many tests, they found she had a mitral valve leak along with a couple other issues including fluid around her lungs. They scheduled her for open heart surgery. That was an extremely scary time for our family. She just turned 60, way too young! Thank God, she made it through and is pretty much back to normal now. She's picking up Brady, no problem, which is not an easy feat considering he weighs almost 26 pounds.

My cousin, Bailey, was born with a serious heart defect. She had all the chambers of her heart, but they were working the opposite of how they should. My Aunt and Uncle had no idea that Bailey had a heart defect while my aunt was carrying her. They had no warning and fully expected to have a completely normal delivery and get to bring their baby girl home like everyone else. As soon as she was born, the doctors could tell there was something wrong. They immediately took her away. They ran some tests, discovered her defect, and started making plans for where she would have open heart surgery. Her surgery was a success, and Bailey just graduated high school this December. She is extremely active, playing every sport possible, and pretty much has no remnants of her heart defect except for the "13 inches of proof" as she calls it (her scar).

Make sure you give extra hugs to anyone you know that has a heart defect this month. Let them know how thankful you are that they are here. To anyone you've lost to a heart problem, my heart goes out to you and them. I know how hard it is.

How We Spent Our Sunday

We had an unexpectedly eventful day yesterday. And by unexpectedly eventful, I mean horrible! The day started out like a normal Sunday, Brady slept in a little, we went down and ate breakfast, got dressed, and went to the grocery store. No big deal. We get home from the store, and usually Brady loves helping to put the groceries away. Well, Brad went outside to shovel while we were unloading, and Brady freaked out, crying uncontrollably, the entire time he was outside. We literally went through a box of Kleenex.

I thought nothing of him being that upset while Brad was shoveling. He's been having some major separation issues lately. However, Brad came back in and the crying didn't stop.  We tried snacks, lunch, holding him, etc. Nothing worked. We finally decided that either his teeth hurt or his ears were hurting. He is never like that unless, he's truly in pain. I think I failed to mention that he's had another cold the entire week. It never fails that colds lead to ear infections for Brady. We tried some Tylenol, rocked a little bit, and he fell asleep. Sometimes a nice long nap makes everything all better (for kids and adults!).

2 hours later, he woke up screaming crying. Still no consoling him. We finally got him to come downstairs and drink a little bit, but knew something was really wrong. We made the decision to go to Urgent Care as our normal pediatrician is not available on Sundays. The doctor was wonderful. He "magically" pulled stickers from behind Brady's ear, and let Brady hold the otoscope. (I had to look up what it was called. I didn't think it was appropriate to put, "the light up thingy that looks in your ears").  Brady didn't even flinch. The doctor drew us a picture of the ear and throat canal and explained to us what was going on. No one had done that before.

Sure enough, Brady has an ear and throat infection. This is his fifth ear infection this fall/winter. We've only been off antibiotics from his last one for 10 days. I think tubes are in his future, although I'm avoiding them like the plague. He is on 2 antibiotics this time. Fingers crossed it does the trick. The poor kid deserves to be healthy for more than 10 days at a time!

5 on Friday

Happy Friday!

1. We like to have dance parties at our house. Brady especially likes them. Bruno Mars is one of our favorites. If anyone is interested in going to Chicago to see him on June 20th, let me know. Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed the half time show of the Superbowl. If it wasn't for the half time show, we probably would've stopped watching. That was the most boring Superbowl ever! For your viewing pleasure, here is Brady clapping and dancing along. Sorry it goes sideways in the middle.

2. The Luke Bryan concert was last night. It was as good as expected. He can shake it for me any time. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

3. Anxiety is a real thing, and it sucks. 

4. I took a vacation day today.  I've been very unproductive, but I've loved every second of being home with Brady. It's making me re-think what I said about not being able to be a stay-at-home mom. I just love his age right now. He is talking more and able to tell me what he wants, yet still loves giving hugs, blowing kisses and cuddling with mommy. As I'm typing this he's pretending to talk to his cousin, Blake, on the phone.  He's starting to play some on his own, so I get a little bit of a break every once in a while. Which, let's be honest, we all need a few minutes to be an adult after playing with trucks, animal puzzles, and lego towers all day.

5. The Little Mermaid was on TV while we ate lunch today. I was way more excited about it than Brady. I love Disney movies. I was singing along to all the songs. It's amazing what you remember from your childhood. It also amazes me that the old Disney Movies (Cinderella, Dumbo, Peter Pan), Mickey Mouse, Curious George, etc. are just as popular today as they were when we were kids, or even when our parents were kids. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Stay warm! 

What I Wore - a favorite and something new

I just wanted to share a couple outfits from this week. One is a favorite of mine and the other is something new. I found the inspiration for the new outfit from Pinterest (of course). I was going for a combo of these two:

 

And here is my try at it:

 

 

 

 

 

Gingham Button-Up: Target, Navy Blazer: Target, Jeggings: Kohls (LC line)

This entire outfit cost me around $50 total!

 

Here is one of my favorite outfits at the moment. I love all of the pieces in it and wear them frequently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blouse: Loft, Mustard Cardigan: Target, Burgundy Pants: Loft, Necklace: Kohls (LC)

 

I'm so happy I picked up this blouse before it sold out! I paid full price, but with as many times as I've worn it, I would say I got my money's worth with this one. I got the mustard cardigan from Target when it was on sale for $15. I actually have this cardigan in black and grey as well. I love the boyfriend fit, and they are light weight enough to wear for most of the year here in the Midwest. I can't say enough great things about these pants. The fit is great and they go with almost everything.

Hawaii

Brad and I are going to Hawaii, Maui and Oahu, for 10 days in May. Most people would be over-the-moon excited to go to Hawaii. I am not. It's a done deal. Everything is booked, but I'm still having trouble getting on board. Brad's friend is getting married there and asked him to be in the wedding, so that's the main reason we are going. I think it's a little much to expect people to be able to afford that kind of trip, but that's just me. The money is a big factor in why I'm not loving the idea. We're talking probably close to $7,000. That's a large house project we will be putting off. But here are the real reasons I'm having issues with our vacation:

1. Brady is not going with us. If I had my way, he probably would have come. I know, it would have been very early nights with us having to be back to the hotel for his bed time every night, and some of the activities that we're planning wouldn't have happened, but man, 10 days away from him is a long time. The longest I've been away from him is 2 days. I'm going to bawl my eyes out when we leave. I'm tearing up right now just thinking about it.

Luckily, Brad's parents are willing to watch him while we're gone (and deal with his terrible sleeping). The plan is to keep him in daycare, so there's some normalcy, and to Face Time as much as possible. This trip will be a very good thing for Brad and I. We have our struggles still being semi-new parents, so this time alone will be great for our relationship. Please tell me we will have so much fun, I won't even have time to worry about Brady all day every day!

2. I am terrified about being in an airplane that long, and the whole flying over water thing. Yes, I've flown over water before, but never for that long. I am usually ok on the take off and while we're in flight, unless there's turbulence, but the landing is a whole other story. It's not even that I'm afraid the plane will crash. I just get extremely anxious and shaky and nauseous. It's to the point where we choose seats close to the back and close to the bathrooms just in case I have an episode. I've never been sick on a plane before, but I think it's the anxiety that it may happen that gets to me. You can trust I will be purchasing a large quantity of Dramamine before this trip.

3. How will I ever get my suitcase under the weight limit?! In case you don't get my sarcasm, I'm not really worried about this, although I have thought about it. I tend to over pack, probably taking double the clothes I need just because I don't know what I'll feel like wearing or what will be appropriate for the activities we're going to do. This happens because I'm a last minute packer. I just shove everything in the night before. Sticking to a list will probably be appropriate for this escapade.

All in all, I know we will have a great time. Just typing this out, has me a little more excited. If anyone has any suggestions about things that we must see or do while we're there, I would love to hear them!