Weekend Report, Featuring LauraC!

I'll start with the weekend highlight first--Seth and I got to meet up with LauraC at Ikea this weekend! She and her friend, Julie-with-twins, had some shopping to do so they drove up to DC for a quick weekend getaway. It was so great to see her again, and I was happy that she got to meet Seth. We laughed at how disjointed our conversations were as we cruised around Ikea and shopped. She was shopping not only for herself, but for several friends, and I, of course, had Seth with me. We might as well have had all 3 toddler boys with us for all the focus we could give to our conversations. LOL. Despite the distractions, we managed to talk and laugh as if we were old friends. Like the first time we met, I left wishing we had more time to spend together, and thinking about how she is just like she "appears" on her blog--funny, smart, thoughtful, happy, confident, friendly, and very down-to-earth. I feel very lucky to have her as my friend! Can't wait until we can hang out again Laura!


The rest of our weekend went pretty well, except that Seth is sick AGAIN! I feel like a broken record. On Thursay night, his cough started picking up a bit, and on Friday his nose started running. On Saturday afternoon he was running a fever, and he's had a fever off and on every since. Ed will stay home with him tomorrow morning and I'll come home for the afternoon. Poor guy--he just can't catch a break. I'm just hoping that William stays healthy.

Despite being sick, Seth's appetite hasn't diminished. So on Friday night, we started cereal. He loves it! He's pretty messy, but I can't believe how much he eats. On Saturday and Sunday nights, I use 1/4 cup cereal mixed with breast milk and he ate every last bite. I can't wait to start fruits and veggies! This is such a difference experience than what we had with William. William never really liked baby food, and he would barely eat a couple of tablespoons. He never ate an entire jar of anything. To this day, he doesn't like mushy foods. I had a feeling that Seth was going to be an eater. He's always watching me eat with rapt attention. And he tries to grab at whatever I'm eating or drinking and put it to his own mouth. He likes William's sippy cups, too. Unfortunately, eating a good dinner did not help him sleep any better. That may be because he's super congested, but it's more likely that he's become a bit too dependent on the pacifier and can't get back to sleep unless I put it back in his mouth. Whatever the reason, I'm still getting very little sleep. But such is life. I know it won't last forever.

In William's world, it's getting harder and harder to get him to nap at home. He's surprisingly good in the afternoon/evenings despite not napping, although by dinner and bath, he's much more prone to crying fits and not listening. But I'm reluctant to let him give up his naps altogether because he's just not getting enough sleep at night. He didn't nap today, and by the end of his bath, he was having a crying fit over everything that Ed was trying to do--whether it was washing him, draining the bathtub, drying his hair, getting him in his pjs, etc. etc. When I finished nursing Seth, I took over. William was just so pathetic with his huge brown eyes, rimmed with tears, so I started singing "It's alright to cry," a song from Free to Be You and Me. (If you don't know it, it was a 1970s movie/show for kids with lots of different skits and songs. It's awesome! Check out the song on YouTube.) He just stared at me as I sang, completely absorbing the song and the words. When I finished, he asked me to sing it again. After I sang it again, he was back to his cheerful and bubbly self. We read two stories and he went right to sleep. Even though he was being a total PITA up until bedtime, I had one of those moments where I was able to completely empathize with being 2, and how it must be when you're so tired, and you don't even know it, and you have no control over anything, and you just need to cry. Now that I write that out, that's kind of what I experience all the time! LOL.

Anyway, time for bed, but tomorrow is Seth's 5 month birthday. Can you believe it? And I'm also planning a post on some of the differences between Seth and William. So stay tuned!

Moving On

William got offered a spot at the new daycare center this week. It happened much sooner than I expected, and although I'm apprehensive about the transition, we quickly accepted. He'll start at the new center on October 1. Woo-hoo!

The double drop-off (dropping the boys off at two different centers in the morning) really hasn't been too bad, but it will be much more convenient to have them both at the same place. And the new center has absolutely lived up to expectations. I'm very excited for William to have this opportunity and I think he will love it.

In fact, two days ago, I picked William up from daycare first (I usually get Seth first and then get William) and brought him with me to pick up Seth. We went to his new classroom and met his new teacher. She squatted down to greet him and he went right up to her and gave her a hug! My shy, reserved child! I was floored. Then he started exploring the classroom right away (the kids were outside on the playground so he had the room to himself) and asking what everything was. Then he noticed the playground outside and his eyes totally lit up. They have two jungle gyms and a sand box and a train that kids can climb inside and all over. We went outside and met some of his classmates and William was ready to play. He even got upset when we had to leave to get Seth.

So, although I know it won't be a breeze, I think the transition will be easier than I was anticipating. The only really crappy thing about the whole situation is that we will have to double-pay two weeks of tuition. That really hurts--it's like throwing money out the window. But sometimes you just have to suck it up. It's only money, right?

I'm feeling guilty about leaving our current center. I feel like I'm abandoning them. I know they don't really care--kids come and go to daycare centers all the time. But it's hard to end those relationships. And I'm very sad that William won't be seeing Michael every day. I'm committed to staying in touch them, and getting William and Michael and their other friend Owen together for play dates "on the outside." I hope William will bond with some new friends the way he has with Michael and Owen. Change is always hard, but moving on is part of life.

Mom and Me Meme

I got tagged by Laura to do this meme. What a great excuse to figure out the timer on my camera!

First, post a picture of you and your kid(s):

1. How many children do you have?
Two--William and Seth

2. What are their ages?
William is 2 years, 4 months, and Seth is 4 months (close to 5!)

3. What time do you start your day?
This makes me laugh because I feel like I'm living one continuous day. I'm up and down all night. But I guess I "start" my day by showering at 5:30 or 5:45 a.m.

4. What do you eat for breakfast?
I have a DanActive yogurt drink when I first get downstairs, around 6:15 or 6:30 a.m. Then I drink a cup of apple juice on the way to work. And at work, I usually eat a bowl of oatmeal or cereal around 8:30 a.m.

5. Do your kids watch TV?
We don't have cable, so they don't watch TV per se, but William has a lot of videos, and I downloaded some Backyardigans episodes on iTunes. William loves Mighty Machines and a few other construction videos.
***ETA: I forgot that William watches Between the Lions on PBS almost every morning at 6:00 a.m. He doesn't usually watch the whole thing, but it's a nice diversion while I'm trying to nurse Seth and get ready. He also really likes Super Why, but he only gets to see that if we're home during the week and not doing something else.

6. What are their favorite activities?
Seth loves watching William. William loves playing with his trucks, playing in the sandbox, playing with blocks, playing at the sink, playing with playdough, and writing with pens.
***ETA: I forgot to add reading! But that comes behind all the other activities.

7. Do you get a break during the day for some you time?
I consider work my "me" time, but at home, my "me" time is usually when I blog.

8. How do you end your day?
Either by blogging, or talking to Ed while zoning out in front of the TV. Sometimes I read, but it has to be a very compelling book. I'm usually too tired to concentrate.

9. What is your best parenting advice or tip?
I would say keep an open mind; lose your perfectionist tendencies; learn to accept help; remember that nothing is forever!

I tag
MJ
Megan
Maria
Julie
Mountain Mom (Happy Birthday!!)

Thanks Laura! This was fun.

For Your Reading Pleasure

Since I can't come up with my own interesting things to write about, here are some other articles I found interesting. Happy Reading!

6 Food Mistakes Parents Make

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Published: September 15, 2008

Most parents can relate to the daily challenge of finding foods that children will eat.

[I must have missed this next one when it came out. But in my case, it makes sense! I especially laughed at the part about eating cereal. I could live on cereal! I almost always eat it as a snack or dessert!]

Well: Boy or Girl? The Answer May Depend on Mom’s Eating Habits

By By Tara Parker-Pope

Published: April 23, 2008

A male embryo may be more likely to thrive in a woman who eats more calories.

These next three are my attempts to get political. I must admit that while I have some pretty strong opinions, I have not been as "into" politics this year as I usually am. The cynic in me keeps getting stronger. Still, these are worth reading.

Blizzard of Lies

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: September 12, 2008

Anyone with an Internet connection can disprove many assertions of the McCain campaign.

Making America Stupid

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Published: September 14, 2008

Unless we make America the country most able to innovate, compete and win in the age of globalization, our leverage in the world will continue to slowly erode.

Why Experience Matters

By DAVID BROOKS

Published: September 16, 2008

Governance, the creation and execution of policy, is hard. It requires prudence. How is prudence acquired? Through experience.

McCain’s Radical Agenda

By BOB HERBERT

Published: September 16, 2008

John McCain’s health plan is a monumental change in the way coverage would be provided to millions of people. Why aren’t we paying more attention?

Proud to Be an Elitist
by Cathy Arnst (Business Week Online, Working Parents Blog)

A Pirate Says Arghhhhhh

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

William has been watching the Pirate Adventure episode of Backyardigans during his nebulizer treatment. He's quite taken with it, as you can tell.

In other news, Seth and William are better, thank goodness. Seth's fever finally ended on Friday night, but he still slept horribly on Friday and Saturday night. Not sure what was up, but here's hoping tonight will be better. Not much else to report, so I'll end here. I'm hoping I'll get more sleep this week and be back on my game again. Send sleep dust our way!

Seth's Turn

Seth's daycare called me at 11:00 a.m. to let me know he woke up from his nap with a fever. So Ed picked him up and spent the rest of the day with him, and I'm staying home with him tomorrow. Around 6:00 tonight, his fever was 102.5. Poor guy! He's in a pretty good mood, though, considering. He's developed a cough, which has me a bit worried. But for now I'm just giving him Motrin and trying to nurse him a lot. Hopefully this is the worst of it.

I was going to take William to daycare tomorrow so I could give Seth lots of TLC, but the Pentagon is unveiling its 911 Memorial tomorrow and the HOV lanes that I take to work will be closed. So I think we'll just all stay home. William has been super whiny lately, which may make things tough tomorrow. But I'm hoping we'll have a good day.

Besides getting sick, Seth has been working on rolling over (from back to stomach; he figured out the stomach-to-back flip about a week or so ago), and he's having a growth spurt. I'm struggling to keep up with him milk-wise. I have not been pumping enough and have been delving into the frozen stash. He's been drinking 4 5-oz. bottles during the day at daycare--about every 2.5 hours. Meanwhile, I've only been pumping about 12-15 oz. at work, and maybe another 3-4 at home. He's also been frustrated with my slow let-downs. I really want to stick it out and continue exclusive breast milk for at least 2 more months, so I'm taking Fenugreek and eating oatmeal and drinking lots of water. And I'm trying to nurse him as much as I can. And to pump more often. I'm thinking that maybe he'll settle into drinking 3 6-oz. bottles a day, about 3 hours apart. I think I should be able to handle that, if I keep up the pumping.

Finally, I wanted to make a note of something funny William has been doing lately. Since he has started talking, I often repeat what he tells me to make sure that I understand him correctly. Early on, and even now most of the time, he would repeat what he was saying until I repeated it, just to make sure I knew what he was saying. But lately, if he makes a request and I repeat it, he says, "Okay!" So he'll say, "I wanna go Target." And I'll say back, "You want to go to Target?" And he'll happily say, "Okay!" Pretty clever, huh?

Discovering a New Toy

I discovered a new toy! (Yes, this post is about me, not my kids!) Many, if not most, of you are probably already aware of Delicious, a social bookmarking site. It's really kind of cool. You can put all your bookmarked Web sites on your page and then it will show you other people who bookmarked the same pages, and then you can click on the users and see what other Web sites they have bookmarked. And you can create tags for your bookmarks and explore other tags. I was really hooked.

The reason I found Delicious in the first place was because I stumbled upon this post by Simple Mom: Make a Deli.icio.us Coo.kbo.ok. You bookmark your favorite recipes and then add your descriptive tags, and voila--an on-line cookbook that is instantly indexed! You might notice the new feature on my sidebar that lists my Delicious Tags. So you can see my cookbook, too! I even included a tag that indicates whether or not I've tried the recipe (untested recipe). I can see this sucking up lots of time in my future!

Speaking of recipes, I made a really good casserole for tonight that Ed actually liked! It's Bruschetta Chicken Bake and it's really easy and quick. I made it last night and put it in the refrigerator and then put it in the oven when we got home from work today. But it wouldn't be too hard or time consuming to assemble upon getting home from work. It's also made with pantry staples (Ed LOVES Stove Top stuffing so I always have it on hand), so it has potential for a last-minute dinner. The only thing I did a little different, though, was that instead of using plain canned diced tomatoes, I used diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil (and I left out the garlic called for in the recipe). It was very tasty! Also, I get the 12-oz. canister of stuffing, rather than the box, so I used 2 cups of stuffing. Oh yeah--and I used 2 cups of already cooked, shredded chicken, rather than raw chicken (which made it much quicker. I keep chopped or shredded cooked chicken in the freezer almost all the time. Whenever I made chicken breasts, I make 2 or 3 extra and chop or shred them and put them in the freezer.)

So there you have it! Hopefully you can watch my on-line cookbook grow. I'll be watching out for you on Delicious!

Adding Insult to Injury

It doesn't look like I'll be getting much sleep in the near future. William's nose started running on Friday and by Saturday afternoon, he was wheezing, despite his daily Pulmicort treatments. We started doing Albuterol treatments every 4-5 hours, but he started coughing--the tight, non-productive type cough that he always gets when he starts wheezing--and seriously coughed ALL night last night. I felt so bad for him. We went to the doctor today (yay for weekend hours!) and she added an oral steroid to his repertoire. Not sure if this is just a vicious virus, or if we're in for a long winter.

And today, guess whose nose started running? Yep--Seth's. So as William starts to get better (the oral steroid is definitely helping--he went right to sleep tonight and I haven't heard him cough at all), Seth will likely start feeling miserable. And I'm sure there are many sleepness nights in my future. Hopefully it won't hit Seth too hard, but time will tell.

This isn't the blog post I had planned for this weekend. Yesterday we spent a marathon day indoors, never leaving the house once, thanks to Tropical Storm Hanna. Actually, that's not entirely true. The weather finally cleared up in the early evening, so before bed, we put the boys in strollers and took a quick walk around the block. William got out of his stroller about halfway through and discovered the joy of jumping and splashing in puddles. But prior to that, I exhausted my rotation of indoor activities. We played with playdough, drew with markers, made chocolate chip cookies, played at the sink, built a fort in the basement, played with blocks, played with trucks, read books, and tried to make Seth laugh. Good times!

I'd write more, but I'd better go to sleep while I have the chance. Hopefully my next post will be a bit more upbeat!

One Tired Mommy

I have been wanting to write interesting and thought-provoking posts lately, but I just don't seem to have any interesting or thought-provoking thoughts. I'm guess I'm too damn tired. It has been one week since the last pacifier broke, and William is still having a difficult time adjusting. It takes him forever to fall asleep, he gets out of bed multiple times, he stalls and stalls, asking for "somp-in to drink," or for "a-nudder story Mommy," or for "Mommy lie down." Some nights have been more successful than others. Most nights have ended with tears or a closed bedroom door or both. I keep having to remind myself that we'll get through this--it won't last forever.

Seth, in the meantime, has some pretty good nights, and more not-so-good nights. He's definitely not as bad as William was, in that all I usually have to do is put his pacifier back in his mouth and he'll go back to sleep. With William, I had to pick him up, rock him, or nurse him. When Seth has a restless night, I think it's usually because he's gassy. That baby has the smelliest gas ever. I didn't know a baby's gas could smell that bad! I was hoping that by 4 months, his digestive tract would have matured a bit, but no such luck yet. I should probably try to spend more time figuring out if it's something I'm eating, but that requires way more effort than I am willing to spend right now. Maybe when he starts eating solids, things will move along better, literally. Right now, he's only pooping every 3 or 4 days, so that might be part of the problem. I think we'll start on cereal when he turns 5 months.

So this is the best I've got right now. No deep thoughts or moving anecdotes or funny stories. Just one tired Mommy who wants nothing more than to crawl into bed and turn off the light and not have to worry about the bottles and pump parts that need cleaning, or tomorrow's bottles that need assembling, or tomorrow's lunch that needs to be made, or tomorrow night's dinner that needs to be prepared, or the ironing that needs to be done so that said Mommy can stop wearing the same freakin' clothes over and over, or the husband who's grumpy because of the piles of clothes that Mommy has been making trying to sort through what fits and what doesn't and summer clothes and fall clothes, or the daycare newsletter that she just remembered needs to be photocopied. Shit--gotta go. Blow lots of sleeping dust my way so you won't be stuck reading boring posts anymore!

Tagged-: From A to Z

A. Attached or single? Happily attached
B. Best friend? I have 3--Tina, Morgan, and Mistie--who I have know since I was 12.
C. Cake or Pie? Either one--yellow cake with chocolate frosting, or banana cream or pumpkin pie
D. Day of Choice? Saturday
E. Essential item? Oil of Olay Complete face lotion
F. Favorite color? Yellow
G. Gummy bears or worms? Bears
H. Hometown? Jacksonville, FL
I. Indulgence? Oreos
J. January or July? July
K. Kids? Two boys--William and Seth
L. Life isn't complete without? My boys (including Ed!)
M. Marriage date? August 14, 2004
N. Number of brothers and sisters? Two brothers, Two sisters (all older) (Ed has two sisters, younger, one older)
O. Oranges or apples? Oranges
P. Phobias? None that I'm aware of
Q. Quotes? "This isn't buying the baby any shoes." (I am a life-long procrastinator, and I always think of this quote when I'm putting something off or need to do something. It comes from an old roommate's grandmother.)
R. Reasons to smile? Too many to list, but I'd start with my boys
S. Season of Choice? Autumn
T. Tag some peeps: MJ at It's Not All About Me and Lindsay at Crawford House (I know you're both super busy, so no worries if you don't do it!)
U. Unknown fact about me? I love romance novels about cowboys
V. Vegetable? Asparagus
W. Worst habit? I bite my fingernails
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound
Y. Your favorite food? Sugar
Z. Zodiac sign? Cancer

No More Pacifier

On Thursday morning, William's pacifier broke. The silicone literally tore, and it was William's very last pacifier. So we said goodbye to the pacifier! I had been planning for his pacifier to "break" in the not-too-distant future, but sometimes, you have to play the hand that life deals you.

Well, I think I greatly underestimated how dependent William was on the pacifier to help soothe him to sleep. On Thursday night, we did the usual bedtime routine, but when it came time to turn out his light and go to sleep, William simply couldn't fall asleep. He never asked for his pacifier and he didn't cry (at first). He just couldn't fall asleep. He kept playing and getting out of bed. We both tried laying in bed with him, but that didn't work. Ed tried taking him downstairs to the basement, but that didn't work. They came back upstairs at 10:30 p.m., and William was still awake. By now he was tired, though, and soon, the tears started. Still, he never asked for his pacifier, and never even realized why he was having such a hard time. After lots of crying and getting put back into bed lots of time, he finally fell asleep at 11:30 p.m. Whew! It was like transitioning to the big bed all over again.

Friday nap wasn't too bad because he had fallen asleep in the car. Friday night wasn't as bad as Thursday, but it still took over an hour for him to go to sleep, and there were tears and several rounds of putting him back in his bed and trying to lay down with him. On Saturday we spent the day with Ed's parents. We tried to put him down for a nap, but he cried for 15 minutes and we let him skip nap that day. That night, he fell asleep in the car on the way home, so putting him to bed wasn't a problem. But he woke up multiple times throughout the night. Nap on Sunday was pretty brutal. We ended up having to close his door and he cried for 15 minutes before finally going to sleep. Sunday night was a little better--no tears, but it still took an hour and several rounds of "back into bed" before he fell asleep. Today's nap time wasn't too bad. It took about 30 minutes for him to fall asleep, and I didn't lie down with him at all. Finally, tonight, he fell asleep pretty quickly, and only got out of bed once. Whew!

****ETA (at 8:30 a.m.): I shouldn't have spoken so soon about last night. He fell asleep with no problem, but woke up at 1:00 a.m. and came into our room. I didn't even hear him until he was right in my face whispering, "Mommy." I brought him into our bed, but he wouldn't settle down, and then Seth woke up, and William was none too pleased that I had to tend to Seth, so then Ed got annoyed and put William back into his room. He got quiet quickly, so I assumed he went back to bed. And Seth was super restless, so I stayed in his room and dozed on the rocking chair. At 4:00 a.m., I went back into our room and climbed into bed. After I few minutes, I heard William snoring. I looked over the side of the bed, and he was curled up on pillows on the floor. He had tiptoed back into our room, and rather than wake up Ed, he just decided to sleep on the floor, even though I wasn't in the room. What a crazy kid! ********

So it wasn't what we were planning on doing this weekend, but I'm really glad it happened over a long weekend, so we had the luxury of not having to worry about getting up and getting ready for daycare. I had expected lots of whining and crying for the "paci," but we haven't had any of that. Every once in a while, he asks for it, but I remind him that it broke, and he's fine with that. Go figure.

Besides weaning from the pacifier, we had a great weekend with Baba visiting. Of course, I didn't get the camera out once. I get so busy when Mom is around, I forget to take pictures! Mom and I did some shopping today for fall clothes for William. And the weather was gorgeous yesterday and today, so William got to play outside a lot. Seth was his usual, cheerful self. He did lots of talking and smiling for Baba. It was a short visit, but she'll be back before we know it.

So tomorrow it's back to work. And it's our first day of having to do drop-offs at two daycares. We'll see how it goes. I have a feeling I might be a wee bit late to work!

"What's Dat Over Der?"

William's favorite new phrase is, "What's dat, Mommy?" And I say, "What's what, William?" And he says, "What's dat over der, Mommy?" And then I have to guess what he's pointing at. Sometimes he's just testing me, and sometimes, he really wants to know what something is. It's lots of fun, especially in the car, when I have no idea what he's pointing at. Sometimes I'll say, "You tell me, William. What's that?" And he'll tell me what it is. "Dat's a radio tower." "Dat's a cement mixer." "Dat's a biwiding (building)." I guess this is the precursor to "Why?"

In other news, Seth has had a great week at his new daycare. The teachers seem to love him and they keep telling me what a good baby he is. That's always nice to hear! I'm very glad we switched him, and know that we made the right decision.

Baba is coming to visit this weekend, so my goal is to get some good pictures. She hasn't seen the boys since June, so I'm sure she'll be surprised at how much they've grown and changed in such a short period of time. Stay tuned!

Fun in the Sun

I took William and Seth to the pool on Sunday and the boys had a really good time. William was more interested in playing in the huge sand area than playing in the water, which was fine with me. Seth just enjoys people watching, so he doesn't care where he sits. I thought it might be a challenge with both boys by myself, but they were both perfect. William is cautious by nature and is not interested in straying far from my side. So that certainly helps. The most stressful part of our visit was making sure that the other little vultures kids didn't swoop in and take William's bucket and shovel. I was also a little worried about having to nurse Seth and keep tabs on William, but it was no problem. I wish we had done this more often this summer. I have a feeling it might be a little harder next summer, with a one-year-old and a three-year-old. And Seth will probably be the crazy, no-fear toddler that William definitely is not. But I'm going to remember that I wish we had done it more often this summer and make more of an effort.

Here are a few pictures I took. I couldn't get pictures beside the pool because I was holding Seth and I don't have four hands (unfortunately). And as you can see by the last picture, the sun and fun totally wore them both out.

Too Cute Not to Post

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

First Haircut

William got his first haircut today. We went to Cartoon Cuts and although William was a little wary, he did very well. (I, of course, forgot the camera.) He sat in the chair by himself and stayed very still while the stylist cut his hair. I had brought along fruit snacks and handed him two as he sat in the chair, but he just held one in each hand during the cut. He didn't eat them until after it was over. Thomas the Tank Engine was on the TV, but he didn't really follow it. He got a little nervous when she brought out the clippers, but once he realized they didn't hurt, he was okay with it. The whole thing was over very quickly, and I was very proud of him! I think we can go to the regular barber from now on, and he'll be fine with it.

I did manage to get some before and after pictures. I was definitely torn about cutting off the little curls in the back, but he's a big boy, now, and it was time for a big-boy haircut.

Before:
After:

Seth Is Four Months Old!

My baby is four months old today. How did that happen? Here's where we stand:

• He's discovered his feet and can now grab onto them and pull his socks off.
• He enjoys the exersaucer and the Bumbo (although he quickly tires of the Bumbo).
• He's laughing now, mostly at his big brother.
• He's decidedly not sleeping through the night, usually waking up twice a night to nurse.
• He enjoys grabbing toys and putting them into his mouth.
• He especially loves his Tinkle, Crinkle, Rattle & Squeak toy, and his Elephant Jittery Jungle pal.
• He does not enjoy tummy time.
• He sleeps well only if he's swaddled. I'm very dependent on the Miracle Blanket.
• He LOVES his big brother and is perfectly content to sit and watch William, whether he's outside playing in the sandbox, or building with blocks inside, or taking a bath, or eating. He smiles and laughs when William smiles and laughs, and likes to grab onto him if he can.
• He weighs around 13 pounds, but I'll know his official stats on Sept. 3, when he has his next doctor's appointment.
  

I only managed to take two pictures of Seth in the chair today before William figured out what we were doing and insisted on taking part in the photo shoot. By the time I convinced William to come help me take pictures of Seth, Seth had had enough. So here are the results:

And here are some pictures that didn't quite make the cut:


(And yes--that's a huge bruise on William's forehead. He got it in one of his genius moments, when he ran into the cement wall at school while running a race.)

So He Does Listen!

Ed and I have this running joke about what a genius William is. Ed's mother goes on and on about how smart William is, even though she doesn't really know what is age-appropriate and what is advanced. And while everyone likes to think their kid is brilliant, William has always been pretty much in the middle of the pack when it comes to development. So Ed and I like to talk about how brilliant William is whenever he does something, um, not-so-brilliant (like running into doors, or always saying "red" when you ask him what color something is, etc.).

One thing that does have me slightly worried, though, is how he doesn't seem to understand questions. Any time I ask him an open-ended question, he says, "Huh?" I'll ask, "What did you do at school today?" He says, "Huh?" "What did you see at the zoo with Daddy?" "Huh?" And on and on. Sometimes I want to scream, "JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION! It's not rocket science!" I know he's processing the question, because I can see the little wheels spinning in his head, the way his mouth hangs open a bit, and his forehead lifts up just a fraction. But he's not making the connection to the information that I'm seeking.

Last night, however, I felt very reassured with his cognitive development. He gets a nebulizer treatment every night before bath, and for the last two weeks or so, he's been watching a digger video during the treatment. The video shows about a dozen or so different construction vehicles at work, and as each one was featured in the introduction, William proceeded to call out their names. "Front loader! Bulldozer! Skid steer loader! Backhoe! Compacter! Motor grader! Scraper! Excavator! Cement mixer! Crane!" (Or as William says it, "Cwane!")

He is also quite adept at learning words to songs and knows the Mighty Machines theme song by heart. So I needn't worry quite yet. He does pay attention, and he is processing information. He is learning. And even if he doesn't know his colors (except for orange--go figure), or answers "Huh?" to every question, he's still brilliant in my book!

[BTW--If you have kids who are really into construction equipment, I highly recommend those videos! The Mighty Machines videos feature 3 vehicle-types each (fire trucks, garbage trucks, city sanitation trucks, and construction equipment, demolition equipment, and rock quarry equipment). ]

Little Monkey

I've been trying to catch William singing this on video for ages. What a little monkey!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

First Laughs and a Spontaneous Night Out and Feeling Human Again

After work tonight, I was munching on Seth's chin and cheeks, just trying to gobble him up, and I heard his first giggles! It was super cute. He smiles and coos and talks and even screeches quite a bit. But this was the first time I've heard him really laugh. I know it won't be long before William makes him giggle like that.

Then, as if first giggles weren't enough, we were out in the front yard talking to our neighbors, who have a 4-year-old boy and a 2-month-old baby boy (six weeks younger than Seth, but a whole pound bigger!). We were talking about what to do for dinner and we decided to go out to dinner together. Ed thought for sure that the evening was going to be a disaster. But it was the best evening out with the kids that we've ever had. We went to a local restaurant and they ended up giving us a table in the "private party" room, which was perfect. There was another large group there with young kids, so we didn't have to worry about the annoying factor (wherein we might be annoying the other customers). I was less noisy than the main dining room, it was well-lit, and we had plenty of room. Seth and Hunter (the other baby) drifted off to sleep in their car seats and slept through our entire meal (both of them woke up just as we were finishing), and William sat in his booster the whole time and colored and played with play dough and ate bits and pieces of our dinners. He got a bit antsy at the end of our meal and we let him down, but because we were in the back room, we didn't have to worry about him straying or annoying other diners. And Matt, the 4-year-old, was very well behaved, too. I got to chat with Dana, and Ed got to chat with Shawn, and it was one of those times when I really felt human again.

Having a newborn can do strange things to your psyche, and until certain things happen, I feel like I'm living in some kind of weird bubble. But then you have your first bottle of beer or glass of wine, and pop! You start feeling human again. Or you eat an entire meal without interruption, at a leisurely pace, and pop! You start feeling human again. Or you (gasp!) read a book. Pop! You're a human again! I guess it doesn't just have to be having a newborn that sends you into the bubble. Parenting, in general, can do this to you. So what do you do that makes you feel human again?

Happy Anniversary!

Today, Ed and I celebrate our 4th year of marriage. Four years doesn't sound like a long time, but after having two kids, it feels like a lifetime! (But that's in a good way, of course.) Having kids has definitely challenged our marriage in ways that I never expected, but it has also humbled me in that I've realized that I can learn so much from Ed. Together, we are way better parents than we would ever be on our own.

It has taken us a while to get into the groove of teamwork, but I have come to depend on him and appreciate him in so many ways that I never did before. He is always there for me when I need him, and he's there when I don't even know that I need him. I admire his strengths--he is dependable, driven, analytical, conscientious, confident, thoughtful, funny. And I love that I get to see a side of him that many people don't--silly, loving, questioning. There have been many times over the past four years that I thought, (dare I say it?) he's actually right. Whether it's parenting or politics or personal insights, although I've initially disagreed, I've had to concede.

Ed thinks that our family is very complete with our two boys, and while I'm not so sure, he may very well be right again! If that's the case, I'm really looking forward to reclaiming the "us" time as the kids get older and less needy. I have loved watching his relationship with William deepen and evolve as William has gotten older, and I can't wait to watch the same happen with Seth. I couldn't ask for a better role model for the boys.

So happy anniversary Ed! I love you and feel so grateful for your love, companionship, friendship, humor, and for all the little things that you do every day for our family. You are the best husband and father I could ever hope for. And I promise that next year, we'll get our vacation!

What's For Dinner

I'm still managing to get dinner on the table every night, although the last two nights, we haven't eaten until closer to 7:00. BUT, we've all eaten together, AND we've all eaten the same thing. That's pretty exciting. William has become my little carnivore. Tonight he ate top sirloin steak. Last night it was chicken breast. Monday night was the beef, cheese, and noodle bake. His other new food find is bread. As in a slice of whole wheat bread. Plain, not toasted, not cut up. He's been eating it before dinner, kind of as a snack to tide him over (since we've been eating a little later than I'd like). That's fine with me! It's pretty nutritious, so by all means, he can have his bread!

Last night, I made Lemon Mustard Chicken--a recipe I got from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. This recipe has become one of my staples, because I always have the ingredients on hand, and it is so versatile. I can use it for chicken or pork (any cut--tenders, boneless breasts, cut-up pieces, chops, tenderloin, roast), and even on salmon. I can use it on the grill, in the oven, or in a sauté pan. And it only takes a few minutes to put together. Here's the official recipe:

Lemon Mustard Chicken

2 to 2 and 1/2 pounds meaty chicken pieces
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 and 1/2 tsp. lemon-pepper seasoning
1 tsp. dried oregano or basil, crushed
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper

1. Skin chicken. Rinse chicken, pat dry. Place chicken pieces, bone sides up, on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat, about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. (For boneless breasts, I usually do 10 minutes.)

2. Meanwhile, for glaze, in a bowl stir together oil, mustard, lemon juice, lemon-pepper seasoning, oregano or basil (I often use both), and red pepper. Brush chicken with glaze. Turn chicken, and brush with remaining glaze. Broil for 5 to 15 minutes more or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.

When I'm cooking on the grill, I cook the meat first and then add the glaze at the end. I do the same when I'm sautéeing the meat on the stove. Lower the temperature and add the glaze at the end. It's really, really good!

Weekend Report--A Day Late

At the end of last week, I thought the boys were getting over their colds, but I should have known better. Both of them got worse, and none of us got much sleep this weekend. Friday night wasn't too bad, but I can count the hours of sleep I got on Saturday and Sunday night (combined) on one hand. Both boys got really stuffy/runny noses (William's has been like a faucet), and Seth got a horrible-sounding, hacking cough. And then William started coughing the tight-sounding cough that usually precedes wheezing. Seth was up and down during the night, and last night, William woke up at 3:30 a.m. and could not settle back down. He started the coughing at 4:00 a.m., and never could go back to sleep. He kept crying and I thought for sure he was going to throw up. He never did, thank goodness.

So needless to say, we stayed home today and I took both boys to the doctor. Seth is fine--just a bad head cold. His coughing is from his nasal congestion--not in his lungs. William, it turns out, has an ear infection. I feel so bad for not figuring that out after he kept crying like he was in pain every time he tried to lie down. Duh. I guess now that he's talking, I just expected him to be able to say what hurts. Poor guy. So he's on Amoxicillin now, and both boys got Motrin before going to bed tonight. We did all take a long afternoon nap today, so I'm not feeling too drained. Plus, the weather today was absolutely gorgeous, so we got to take advantage of it since we were home. I even took Seth for a walk this evening after William went to sleep. We hardly ever take walks because William is not really into walks, and the opportunities just don't seem to present themselves. But tonight's walk made me realize that I really miss it. Ed and I used to take William on evening walks when he was a baby, and it was such a nice time.

Anyway, so other than being sick, our weekend was nice. Ed and I went to a wedding on Saturday and Ed's parents babysat the boys. It was our first "date" since Seth was born and it was so nice to spend that time together. The wedding was at 2:30 and we didn't have to be at the reception until 5:15, so we had some time to kill in between. It was relaxing and the food was delicious and the wedding itself and the reception were both beautiful. On Sunday, Ed took William into DC for the morning (they visited the Natural History Museum and walked around some of the monuments), so I took advantage of the time by getting all the laundry washed, folded, and put away, and I went to the grocery store. It was nice to get a lot done, but it was too much time away from William, considering we had been gone the whole afternoon and evening on Saturday. It's hard to strike that balance on weekends--time with the family together, time for just you and your spouse, one-on-one time for each parent and child, and time to do chores and run errands.

So that's the weekend report. When I took Seth for his walk tonight, I saw the first star twinkling in the sky, so I immediately made a wish (you know--"star light, star bright, first star I see tonight . . . ). Can you guess what it was? Yep--I wished that both kids would sleep all night. I guess that's why they call it "wishful thinking."

Sneaky Little Devil

Our air conditioner is on the fritz and when we got home this evening, it was 80 degrees in the house. Yuck! We couldn't get someone out to look at it until first thing in the morning, but fortunately, it's not too hot or humid outside right now. So we decided to open all the windows and make do for one night.

In William's room, we normally keep shades over his windows, and mini-blinds over the shades. The shades are cheap and don't really spring up, so they've been covering his windows since the time change (in the hopes of blocking out morning light and thus keeping him in bed longer). Tonight we rolled up the shades and pulled up the blinds in order to open his windows. I figured that with this change in his bedroom, he might have some trouble going to sleep tonight. He didn't protest going to bed at all, though, and Ed and I went downstairs to clean up and do the usual routine.

At 8:30, I heard Seth crying, so I went upstairs to put his pacifier back in his mouth. Ed was in William's room. When he came out, he said, "Did you know your son was in our room, in our bed, watching TV?" I guess after we had gone downstairs, William had come into our room, turned on the TV, pushed a chair next to the bed, and climbed on. I'm sure he was quite proud of himself. I wish I had seen his expression when Ed busted him. Ed took him back to his room, and William didn't fuss or cry. His only request was for Ed to turn the bathroom light on. It really takes me by surprise, sometimes, how independent William is becoming. He's quickly moving from a toddler to a little kid. While I certainly don't condone him getting out of bed after we've said goodnight, there's a part of me that is proud of him for doing something all by himself.

Wordless Wednesday

Mealtime

Since I've been back to work, I've been doing an incredible job of getting dinner on the table every night, if I do say so myself. Of course, it might not be something that Ed and William will both eat. But it's dinner, nonetheless. I've been able to get the prep work done the night before, and have somehow managed to keep both boys entertained and content while also cooking whatever needs cooking. I haven't always managed to get dinner on the table by 6:30. Some nights it's been closer to 7:00. And we haven't necessarily been sitting down together each night. Ed worked late all last week and wasn't getting home until closer to 7:00. So some nights, William and I have eaten together, and Ed has come in on the tail end, or William has eaten his dinner and then played while Ed and I ate our dinner, once Ed got home. There may have been a few nights that Ed and I didn't actually eat until after both boys went to sleep. As for Seth, I usually end up holding him while trying to eat with one hand. Sometimes I nurse him at the table (so everyone eats except me), and sometimes--every so often--he's content to sit in his bouncy seat while we eat.

My meals have been pretty simple. I've done all kinds of marinated meats, where I make the marinade the night before, and then either grill or bake the meat as soon as we get home. I've made steak, pork tenderloin, chicken thighs, pork chops. We did pizza one night with the Pillsbury ready-made crust. One night we had a chicken casserole and we've done hamburgers a few times. Last night we had meatball subs. Tonight I made Grands Taco Melts. My sides are usually salad or some kind of frozen veggie (peas, broccoli, corn, etc.) and a dinner roll (also from the freezer). So again--nothing super creative or fancy or crazy delicious. Just basic food that tastes pretty good and enough variety to keep things interesting. I'm mostly just so impressed with myself for doing the prep work the night before (it takes discipline!) and being able to get dinner on the table without having to ignore my children. I have so little time with them during the week, and I refuse to spend the time that we have in the kitchen with some over-involved meal that requires a lot of attention. It's really just not possible with both boys, anyway.

It's very rare that I can serve one meal for all us. William will eat parts of what I make for Ed and me, but I usually always have to fix something else for him, to include with whatever I make for Ed and me. I always put what we're eating on his plate, but I also make a standby--something I know he'll eat. He's really good about trying new things. But he rarely likes new things--at least not right away. I've been trying and trying to get him to eat sweet potato fries, and every time I've put them on his plate, he takes a bite, but then spits it out. I never make a big deal out of it. And I usually have both kinds of fries. But last night, I tried the sweet potato fries again, and he actually ate a couple! He also ate a whole meatball, which doesn't sound like much, but it is for him.

Tonight, I made the Grands Taco Melts. I had made the seasoned ground beef the night before, so I just had to roll out the biscuits and fill them with the beef and cheese. I decided I would enlist William to "help" me roll out the biscuit dough and sprinkle the cheese over the meat. So I talked it up quite a bit in the car, and when we got home, he stood on a chair and I gave him a biscuit and some flour and a rolling pin, a knife from his kids cutlery set, and a fork, and let him have at it. He played and played with his dough while I rolled out the other biscuits next to him and filled them up and got them in the oven. (I did all of this while holding Seth!) William got some of his matchbox cars and diggers and then I gave him some of the shredded cheese in a cup. He had a blast. The best part, though, was when the melts were done and I took them out of the oven, he said, "Mmmmm, good!" And he ate almost a whole melt on his own. This is almost unheard of! Anyway, it was a really nice and different way to spend our after-work time. Of course, tomorrow, he'll probably want to play with biscuits when we get home. It's very hard to explain a special, "one-time" event to a two-year-old!

Tomorrow I'm making chicken and dumplings in the crock pot. And I might make a ground beef/noodle/cheese casserole for Thursday night. Or I might go with French Bread pizzas. I've been making a loose plan in my head for each week, and so far, that has worked pretty well.

Switching gears here, William and Seth are both recovering from their colds. Seth is still pretty congested and has a bit of a cough, but it's not too bad. He hasn't had a temperature and hasn't been too cranky, thank goodness! William's nose is still goopy, and he's coughing a little, but the wheezing has gone away. And his spirits have been pretty good, too. He wasn't eating anything over the weekend, but he seemed to have gotten his appetite back on Monday. Seth is grabbing onto things much more deliberately these days, and is starting to bring things to his mouth. He loves looking at people, mostly, and making eye contact. He loves his brother and will stare at him and smile and giggle. He's such a delight! I just love having two boys!

Blog-worthy Moment

We had one of those moments this morning that I made a mental note to blog about, even though I can't possibly capture the humor and absurdity in writing.

William was up several times last night and at 3:00 a.m., he was running a slight temperature. I gave him some Motrin and we did another nebulizer treatment because his breathing was sounding labored. Of course, once he fell back asleep--in our bed--Seth woke up (it was almost 4 a.m. by now), so I went to Seth's room to nurse him, and woke Ed up, who was sleeping in William's room, to go back into our room to sleep with William.

All of this to say that we played musical beds again, and none of us got a whole lot of sleep (except Seth, who's been sleeping pretty well lately!). So this morning, William was hanging out in our bed with Ed, and I was in the middle of changing a big blow-out poop on Seth. William had been coughing a bit, and it made me think that he might throw up. This is a common side effect from the wheezing, as the diaphragm puts pressure on the stomach. Sure enough, as I was trying to wipe the poop off of Seth's feet (because he managed to stick both feet into his dirty diaper), I heard Ed say, "Mommy!" And then I heard him start to retch. That's because William had thrown up all over himself, the bed, and Ed. So I yelled "Hang on!"

I got a diaper on Seth and wiped the poop off his back as I quickly walked down the hall to our bedroom. I put Seth in the bassinet in our bedroom, and Ed and William were just sitting in the bed with these awful looks on their faces. Ed was clearly trying not to puke. William was starting to get upset. So I grabbed a washcloth and gpt it wet, told Ed to get up and take care of himself, threw William's pacifier in the sink, and then started to wipe down William. He started crying by that time, Seth was crying in the bassinet, and I could tell that Ed wanted to cry. Fortunately, it only took a few minutes to strip William and strip the bed and get everything to the laundry room. William was fine, Seth was fine, and Ed was fine. Just one of those mommy moments that made me laugh and made me sure that I'm right where I want to be in my life. (And it made me think that my blog-friend Cathy is my hero! She faced this morning, times six!)

Anyway, we went to the doctor not long after that and she put William back on Pulmicort, once a day. She didn't think he needed the Prednisone, just Albuterol treatments every four hours this weekend. I'm a little worried, though. Even with the treatments, his breathing still seemed labored throughout the day. We watched a lot of videos, just to try to keep him resting. (I bought two Backyardigans videos on iTunes, and we both loved them!) He took a good long nap in the middle of the day. And played outside in the afternoon for a little while. But he didn't eat anything all day--just drank apple juice and chocolate milk. And he was shaking when he woke up from his nap and for the rest of the day. Ed thinks it's because he hadn't eaten anything, but I'm not so sure. I might be taking him back to the doctor tomorrow.

After the doctor, we went to Target and I caved to popular opinion and bought a copy of Twighlight. I'm in the middle of another book, but will start Twilight as soon as I'm done. Read Bridget's review if you haven't already!

And the Decision Is . . .

. . . to move Seth to the new daycare center. I spoke with a few people who have their children at Daycare A, and they spoke glowingly about it. They were candid about shortcomings and issues that have come up, but they had nothing but wonderful things to say about the teachers and quality of care their children receive. I gave notice at the current center, and the teachers were actually very nice and understanding. At the end of the day, I am not feeling anxious about our decision and I'm not having second thoughts. Seth's first day at Daycare A will be August 25. That just happens to be the week that our current daycare is closed for teacher training, and Ed was going to stay home that week with both boys. Lucky for him, it will just be him and William, now. Actually, it works out because we can use the week to transition Seth slowly, and we can also introduce William to the new center. Maybe by the time William gets offered a spot, it won't be a strange place to him, and the transition won't be too tough.

Anyway, there's no turning back now. I'm excited about, actually, so I think that's a good sign. In other news, William came down with a cold yesterday and tonight, he started wheezing. He's currently not on any medication--no Singulair or Pulmicort--and we were hoping that he would start to outgrow these wheezing episodes, but no such luck. We gave him a nebulizer treatment with Albuterol before bed, and we'll go to the doctor in the morning to see if he needs a steroid, and to see if we need to put him back on a medication. William's class recently had a week of learning about doctors and being healthy so when I mentioned that we would go to the doctor tomorrow, he got pretty excited.

I also wanted to note that William has finally figured out that if and when he wakes up in the middle of the night, or the wee hours of the morning, he can actually get out of bed and come into our room. I was wondering how long it would take before he realized that. We used to close his door and we had a child-proof handle so that he couldn't get out. So when he woke up, he called for us and we went to him. But he had a bit of a sleep regression not too long ago and insisted on us leaving the door open. So this past week, I woke up one night to hear his little feet padding down the hallway, his blanket dragging behind him. It really hasn't been much of an issue, because it's been early in the morning, and usually when he's up for the day anyway. I pick him up and bring him in bed with us, and he hangs out until we get up. But last night, he didn't sleep well (I guess because of his cold), so he came into our room a few times. The first time, I went back to his room with him and lay down in his bed for a little while. In the early morning, I put him into our bed, but then Seth woke up, so I went to nurse him and when I got back to our room, William had taken over my spot. So rather than wake him, I went back to his room and slept there for the rest of the morning. (I think it was a whole 50 minutes before I had to get up for the day!) So this might be turning into a bad habit that will require some remediation. But I have to admit that I think it's pretty cute--although a bit startling--to wake up and have this little face staring at you. And he's so proud of himself that he came into our room all by himself. He says, "I wake up! I come Mommy Daddy's room." Yes, William--we see that! That's great, sweetie.

Daycare Dilemma

When I got pregnant with William, we applied to four or five daycare centers, not knowing which one would have an opening when we needed it. Our number one choice was Daycare A (don't want to give too much away on my blog, here!), but the wait list for that center is notoriously long--unless you have an older child at the center, you're pretty much not going to get your baby in--so that was a long-shot. We ended up putting William in a center near our house initially, but then moved him to his current center about a month later, when a spot opened up. We weren't thrilled with the first center, so we were happy with our move to the current center.

There have definitely been things about the current center that I haven't liked, but overall, I've been very pleased with the teachers and have felt like William has been well-taken care of. I mostly had issues with the mobile infant classroom, which holds babies from 8 months old to 18 months old. First of all, I think the developmental differences are too much between those ends. It makes it very difficult for the teachers to provide quality care for all the kids. You have babies who still need to be hand-fed and who nap in cribs, and still take two naps a day, and then you have toddlers who walk and run, feed themselves, nap once a day, etc. Also, the room has too many kids--twelve total. Even though they have four teachers in the room, it's still too many kids.

Once William moved to the toddler room, however, (ages 18 mos. to 2 yrs.) I had no complaints. The teachers in that room run a tight ship and really seem to know what they're doing. There are 12 kids in that room also, which again is more than I would like, but because the kids are more developmentally advanced, it works so much better. I also love the Two's room, where William is now, for the same reasons.

So back to Daycare A. We "fell off" the waiting list after William got into his current center because I forgot to pay the annual "corporation" fee that keeps you on the waiting list. But the next year, when William was 1 and 1/2, I got him back on the list. When I got pregnant with Seth, I put him on the waiting list at Daycare A as well, just thinking that it's nice to have options. Well, guess what? We got an offer today for Seth. The infant room has an opening beginning
August 25. There is not an opening, however, for William. So that means if we accept the spot for Seth at Daycare A, I'll have to drop off the boys at two separate places for who-knows how long. As the sibling of an enrolled child, William will move to the front of the list and get offered the next available spot. But who knows when that will happen. Aghhhhh!

My first reaction was to turn the spot down, but to stay on the wait list, just to have options. I love the teachers at the current center and have established good relationships with them. It will be very inconvenient and time-consuming to do two drop-offs. It will probably add at least 15 or 20 minutes to both the morning and afternoon. It will likely be a bit traumatic to move William if a spot opens for him.

But then I re-visited Daycare A today, and I remembered why it was our first choice in the first place. For starters, the facilities are so much nicer. The playground has a separate area for the younger kids and older kids. The infant room has a separate kitchen and diaper changing area. The lead teachers in all of the classrooms have been there for at least seven years or more. The center was recently re-accredited from NAEYC and passed with flying colors. The whole place just seems so well managed compared to our current center. The center is better supported by its sponsoring institution than our current center, both financially and in other ways. The infant, young toddler, and toddler classes are all smaller than the current center.

To be fair, our current center has a new director and a new board and things are definitely improving. The center is up for re-accreditation this fall, and that can only make the center better. The new director is more supportive of the staff, which I think will make a big difference in terms of encouraging continuing education for the staff and improving morale and motivating the staff and inspiring enthusiasm. (And while I know the teachers at Daycare A are better trained and have more opportunities for training, I don't know if they're enthusiastic and motivated.) And it's possible that we (parents) can really push the issues with the mobile infant room and try to get enrollment down and the ages changed.

BUT, do I want my children to be in a center that might improve, or one that is already where I want it to be? If I think Daycare A is a better center, and I want what's best for my children, then maybe it's a no-brainer. The reasons I would stay at our current center would be the relationships that I've formed, the convenience, and some measure of sticking with the devil I know. Maybe I'd just be trading one set of problems for another. No place is perfect. There will always be issues that come up. But my gut keeps telling me that Center A is a better center.

I guess for Seth, it is a no-brainer. If I didn't have to worry about William, I think I'd move Seth without thinking twice. It's William that I'm more hesitant to move. Ed thinks he'd adjust pretty quickly. I'm not so sure. He's so hesitant in unfamiliar settings, with people he doesn't know. He doesn't join in right away--he hangs back and just watches. So how long would he do that before he felt comfortable? Would the change traumatize him at this age? I guess I'm also thinking that even though Daycare A seems like a better center, how much better is it? Is it worth the hassle to go between two daycares for a while? And worth it to go through what could be a tough transition? If I don't move them, though, will I regret it? Will I think that I didn't do the very best for them that I possibly could?

I'm leaning towards switching Seth to Daycare A and hoping that a spot will open for William soon so I don't have to go between the new centers for long. And who knows--maybe once we establish a routine for the two drop-offs, it won't seem so bad. It will be hard to leave the teachers that I have come to know and trust. But I'm sure I'll establish new relationships, and in the end, it's about what is best for the kids. And I forgot to mention that Daycare A is actually less expensive than our current daycare. So we'd be getting a lot more bang for our buck. You can't beat that!

Ed is leaving the decision up to me. He thinks we should go with Daycare A, but understands it will be more difficult with the two drop-offs, and since I'm the one that has to deal with that issue, he's not pushing it. He feels comfortable enough with the current daycare that he could leave them both where they are.

Decisions decisions. I have to let Daycare A know our decision by tomorrow afternoon. I plan to sleep on it, and make a few more inquiries tomorrow. As one of my good friends said, no matter what I decide, there will be the good and the bad. Possible regrets either way. Why is life so complicated sometimes?

Troublemaker Already?

This is what William's "My Day" sheet said today:

"We began our morning outside before it became too hot. Ms. Tasha [the Spanish teacher] arrived shortly after snack and everyone was very excited. William sat down and enjoyed the songs and working with the puppets. Then he and Michael began to pull each other to the floor and laugh. They had lost their focus. We walked over to the table to watch how our other friends were following her directions. William was very sad he had to leave the group. Once he settled we went back. He followed along for about 5 mins. then he and Michael started all over again. We left again and watched the group. . . . "

The rest of his day seemed to go pretty well, so at least he wasn't a total disaster! I just love they way his teacher lets us know what's going on. Her descriptions are wonderful, and she really pays attention to each child and notices the little moments and the way they learn, and she writes with such detail. When you work full time and don't get to spend the bulk of your day with your child, these daily reports mean a lot.

As for William getting in trouble--it's that Michael! William's hanging with the wrong crowd, I'm afraid. No, no, no--I'm totally kidding. Michael is William's best buddy and the two of them definitely egg each other on. Michael is a few weeks older, but more advanced than William both verbally and physically, and he's also fearless. William is more of a follower than a leader, and is much more hesitant, but give him some time to warm up and get going, and there's no telling what he'll do. So the two of them make quite a pair. When William gets to his classroom in the morning, the first thing he says is, "Michael?"

William and Michael have been together since their earliest days in the infant room, and Michael's mom is one of those rare friends you make in adulthood who you feel an instant connection with. My friendship with her and a few other moms from daycare have been an unexpected bonus--something I didn't expect to get out of daycare!

Two in Tow, Part Two

I realized as I re-read yesterday's post that I don't have the talent to capture in writing the chaos that accompanies life with two small children. When I'm in the thick of some crazy situation, in my head I think, "This will be great for my blog!" But at the end of the day, when I face my computer and try to recreate the scene, I never seem to get it right--the sequence of the events, the accompanying emotion, the humor that makes everything bearable. With that in mind, I'll continue with my attempt to record our typical--or not so typical--daily routines.

I think I left off at the end of my workday, when I go to pick up the boys from daycare. I leave work at 4:30 p.m. and walk the two blocks to the daycare. I have to remember to get my breast pump, the breast milk out of the refrigerator, and the ice pack out of the freezer. This seems like a no-brainer, but believe me, it's very easy for me to forget these things. When I get to the daycare, I get the stroller and car seat out of the buggy room. I stop at Seth's room first. I have to pick up his bottles, get his My Day sheet, and sign him out. Then we go to pick up William. I sign William out and get his My Day. Sometimes, William is playing outside at the end of the day, so Seth and I go outside to get William. Then we head to the elevators and down to the parking garage. I get both boys in their car seats, put my purse, the pump, and the bottle bag in the front seat, and then stow the stroller in the back of the van. We usually pull out of the garage around 5:00 p.m. (give or take 5 or 10 minutes).

The commute home takes about 35-40 minutes, so we usually get home some time between 5:30 and 6:00. Usually it's closer to 5:30, but tonight, traffic was a little heavy, so we didn't get home until 5:45. Seth usually falls asleep for a 30-minute cat nap on the way home. He often gets fussy before falling asleep, though, so I've usually got my arm stretched out behind me so Seth can suck on my pinky. He has a pacifier but he can't seem to keep it in his mouth, so it's easier to let him suck on my pinky. For the past week or so, William has been watching Thomas videos on the portable DVD player. I don't normally like him to do this, because I feel like we should be using this time to talk, but I have to admit that it's made life a little bit easier this past week. It's given me a bit of time to just decompress before getting home. And even with the video on, William still chats it up a bit.

Once we're home, I get William out of the car seat and put him inside. If Seth is sleeping, I get all my stuff out next. If not, I get Seth out and put him inside and then get my stuff. If Seth stays asleep when I get the car seat inside, then I run upstairs to change my clothes. William has been staying downstairs when I do this, so I try to be as quick as I can. William immediately wants to go outside when we get home, so he tends to gather cars or toys that he wants to play with outside while I change. By now, Seth is usually awake and fussing. (If he was already awake, then I take him upstairs with me while I change.)

So this is where things are usually kind of crazy. I've got William downstairs saying, "Outside? Outside?" over and over. Seth is usually fussing, if not full-on crying, and he's also usually ready to nurse within an hour of us getting home. I'm trying to change, and I usually try to get the bottles and pump parts in the sink soon after arriving home. If I've planned ahead, I've also got to get dinner in the oven or on the stove, and this might involve a bit of prep work. The cat is also usually meowing because he wants attention or he needs to be fed or God-knows-why-else. And it's close to 6:00 p.m., and I usually try to have dinner ready by 6:30 for William. Ed usually doesn't get home until 6:30 at the earliest, so it's kind of a crap shoot whether or not we eat together as a family. William has become a pretty picky eater anyway, so he usually eats something different than what we eat anyway.

So back to the routine, once I'm changed, I let William go outside and I douse him with bug repellent. Our yard is fenced now, so I can go in and out of the house for short periods of time without having to worry too much about what he's up to. He usually plays in his sandbox and then mows the lawn with his bubble mower. He also has a garden shovel that he likes to dig with in the dirt. And he has a bubble gun that he's been playing with lately. So if Seth is not too fussy and seems to be enjoying the bouncy seat, I'll get dinner together while keeping an eye on William outside. If Seth is fussy, I'll hold him and try to get dinner together. But if that's a lost cause, then we'll go outside and just hang out with William. If Seth needs to nurse when we get home, I'll sit on the back step and nurse him while William plays. Tonight, William decided he wanted to eat outside, so I served him leftover steak (which I managed to cook on the grill yesterday when we got home from work--while holding Seth and keeping an eye on William), raisins and lima beans on the steps outside the door. After he ate, he wanted to play in the car, so I let him do that until Ed got home. Seth and I just hung out in the garage and front yard while William played. When Ed got home, we went inside and Ed and I ate a quick dinner of leftovers while William played with his trucks and Seth visited with his toucan friend on the bouncy seat.

Sometime around 7:00 p.m. (sometimes more like 7:15), we head upstairs for bath. I usually get the bath going while Ed gets William stripped. Ed and I are both in and out of the bathroom as William bathes, but lately, Ed has been doing most of the bath. He's been drying William off and getting him into his PJs, too. I've been changing Seth and nursing Seth around this time. When his PJs are on and his teeth are brushed, Seth and I give William a goodnight hug and kiss, and then Ed reads to William and I go to Seth's room to finish nursing and to put him to sleep for the night. Both boys are usually lights out and asleep by 8:00 p.m.

Some nights, this is when Ed and I will get to eat dinner. If we've already eaten, we clean up in the kitchen and family room, and then it's time to wash bottles and pump parts, get the next day's bottles ready, make the next day's lunches, and do prep work for the next night's dinner. It's exhausting, but I've been able to get everything done in about an hour. I've also enlisted Ed to do some of the prep work for the next night's meals, too. I think I'll continue doing that. I've found that there's really no way I can make a meal on the fly these days. I've got to have it planned ahead of time, and it has to basically be ready to go in the oven or on the stove the minute I walk in the door. Tomorrow night, for example, I'm making baked chicken thighs in a lemon/garlic/honey sauce, so I trimmed the chicken thighs and put them in the baking dish and made the sauce and put it all in the fridge. So when I get home tomorrow, I pour the sauce over the chicken and put it in the oven and that's basically it. For sides, I usually nuke frozen veggies. It's boring, but quick. We'll probably have Stove Top stuffing with the chicken, too. Who knows if we'll all eat together, though. Probably not.

So, around 9:15, I can finally go upstairs and relax. Sometimes I'll blog, sometimes I'll watch TV, sometimes Ed and I will lie on the bed and talk. Or read. Some nights I've just gone to sleep (which I should do more often!), but I also try to pump around 10:00 or 10:30, so I try to stay up. So that's it--that's our day! It seems quite mundane. But truthfully, at the end of the day, I'm usually quite impressed with myself that we're all still in one piece, things seem to be in order, we've all managed to eat something that isn't fast food (even if it is ready-made chicken nuggets or Kraft mac'n'cheese), and we're ready to do it all again tomorrow.

I'm sure things will change a lot--as things always do--when the traffic gets bad again, and as Seth gets older, and as the weather starts changing, and we switch back to standard time. But I'm pretty confident that we'll continue to maintain some measure of order, despite all the monkey wrenches that get tossed into our days. Of course, it's only week two of me being back to work, so I could have a false sense of security right now. Maybe it's been too easy. Hmmmm . . .