Quick Family Update...

Addie:  She is now NINE months old.  I'm not sure where the time has gone.  She is a beautiful, outgoing and playful little girl.  She is working overtime to learn to crawl, but not crawling yet.  Although there is no crawling, she is quite the yoga master.  She can do downward dog and other things that I'm sure are some yoga position!!  She has 2 teeth on the bottom and no signs of another tooth for a while.  She is babbling all the time, mama, dada, baba and she loves to laugh.  She is also kind of vicious!  Her nails are weapons and we have all had an Addie related injury.  

Tucker:  He is potty training with quite a few successes!  He had an accident yesterday, but we were kind of experimenting with him by not asking him to go to the bathroom and waiting for him to tell us.  He told us when, "Mommy!!!  The potty is coming out!!!"  Clean-up aisle 2.  He is doing well and responding to the potty chart.  He likes the idea of getting rewards but it also equals time focused on just him which is making him much more agreeable.  I think he was acting out to get attention...even bad attention was good attention in his eyes.  Makes me feel like a bad Mommy that my kid has to act out to get my attention.  The other day Tucker told me, "Whoa Mommy....easy!"  He was basically telling me to settle down!  SO FUNNY!!!

Matt:  Matt is in the process of going through a background investigation for a police department near Portland!  Things are looking good for the first time in months.  We still have to wait to pass through 2 more hoops, but we know this background investigation will come up clear.  He should be getting a conditional offer of employment in the next few weeks.  I will be sure to write about that...HUGE NEWS!  After the background is done he will have to go through a physical check-up and a psych evaluation, then off to the academy in June (am I getting ahead of myself?  I hope not!).  He is very anxious to find out what will happen in the next few weeks.  We are both getting excited about looking for a house and getting on with it!

Tami:  I am busy.  BUSY BUSY BUSY.  I feel more busy now than I have in a long time.  The potty training seems to take up every second of the day.  I had no idea how exhausting it could be.  I think the other thing that makes it so energy-zapping is that we are constantly backing the potty training with rewards.  Many of Tucker's rewards are outings that he enjoys so we are on the go nearly every day making good on what we call Potty Chart Rewards.  Addie is more active and so leaving her on the floor and expecting her to be in the same place when you get back is a long gone concept, so she needs way more supervision.  I finished The Secret Life of Bees, which I am very proud of because Addie is 9 months old and I've read 2 grown up books!  Tucker was 18 months before I read my first grown up book, sad but true.  The next book is the Twilight book, I'm excited to see what the hype is about.  I am also in full blown quilt making mode.  Not to mention the cleaning, laundry and cooking that just happens in daily life.  So I'm feeling tired and at the same time energized by the possibilities in our future and feeling good about all the extra things in my day that make my life my own for a little while, even if that means staying up late to feel like I've done something for myself.   

Secret Life of Bees

I just wanted to post quickly to say that if you have not read the book The Secret Life of Bees, you should just go buy it. I'm not done with it yet, but it's a really great book. I bought that book at the same time that I bought the first book of the Twilight series. I haven't read the Twilight book yet because I hear it's addicting and I wanted to get this single book out of the way before I started a series I couldn't stop. Blah, Blah, Blah...just go get Secret Life of Bees if you haven't read it.

My Mom's Birthday Party

I took some pictures of the cake and all the stuff that actually looked like a birthday party, but that was with my Mom's camera! So I only have a few pictures until I can copy her photos. Either way, we had so much fun. We all headed up to my Mom's house and ate too much. My Aunt Patti (Mom's sister) and Uncle Bob, Grandma BigFat (Mom's friend and don't worry, she knows we call her Big Fat), Connor (GBF's son), my brother Tommy and his fiance Sara, me and my gang, Michele (Matt's mom) and of course my Mom and Dan were all there. We played some Guitar Hero and had lots of fun.

For my Mom's birthday we let Tucker lose in the dollar store and let him pick out things that he thought Nana would like. One of the things he picked was these headbands! Of course, when Aunt Patti is around nothing is boring! One time when she was visiting us, my Dad made pancakes for breakfast and my Aunt was throwing them at everyone like frisbees!

(Uncle Bob, Aunt Patti, my Mom) Uncle Bob, Aunt Patti, Mom and Tucker all wearing the headbands!

Nana and Tucker wearing the headbands, and the Easter duck bubble necklaces that were her birthday present.

Nana and Addie

Tucker rockin' out!

Happy Birthday Mommy! I love you very much and I couldn't dream of having a better mom and friend. I know you will have an amazing trip next month. You deserve every bit of it...just remember your sunscreen! I love you!! Hugs and Kisses, Picks

Potty Training: Day 2 Complete

So this is Tucker's potty chart after day two! On the first day he earned enough stickers to go to McDonald's for those chicken nuggets I mentioned in the last post. I didn't really think he would be filling up one line per day! OOOOPS! I'm glad that Matt and I thought of some other rewards or we would truly be "SuperSizing" Tucker!!! The potty training goal for today was going to Pump It Up Jr (which is the logo that you see of the jumping kid) so we will be there tomorrow. The goal for tomorrow is going to Target, and I'm assuming that means picking something out! He is doing really well with all of this considering it's only day two. He woke up with a wet and #2 diaper, which was good news because #2 on the potty is total Fear Factor for him. We were worried that he would just be all blocked up because of not wanting to go! (is this too much info? Probably not, if you have been through this before! I will just never admit that I posted online about his private bathroom business!! Hello Prom Date!!) He had a wet Pull Up after nap and had an accident right before bath tonight...thank goodness those sweatpants are absorbent! Besides the accident in the underwear on the morning of day one, that's the only business he hasn't put in the toilet! I'm impressed. This is a huge leap in just 2 days.

When we got home from our big outing to McDonald's, I took him into the bathroom and he went potty right away and then got a funny look on his face. He said, "Mommy, I need to be alone please." So I told him I would come back and check on him and to yell for me if he was ready. I went and told Matt that I thought he was going #2 so Matt goes in there and says, "Hey Tucker, are you droppin' a deuce?" "No Daddy, just poopoo." It was hilarious. So besides the sticker on the chart, he got a few M&Ms and marshmallows....hey, that's a BIG deal! So as we head into day 3, I'm feeling pretty good about the effort of everyone involved. Tucker is doing such a good job and Matt and I have been dedicated to making him go. At the end of the day, we realized that Tucker didn't even wear a diaper today except for overnight. He wore 2 pullups and only one of them was wet! The economy can't get us down now...we are buying less diapers!! YAAAAAHOOOOO!!!

Parenting Challenge #532,301

Potty Training. Matt and I have our battle gear on (again) and are giving potty training everything we've got! We are throwing it all on the table, giving every bribe and trick in the book a try. Here's our battle plan: No diaper, no underwear...just sweatpants (if this backfires, it will bring us to our knees). A potty chart with stickers and rewards (both short term and long term rewards). And finally, a timer. Ready, Set, Potty Train!!!

All smiles for potty in the toilet...at least for now!

The timer is set for trying every 30 minutes...we have to stay on top of it, remember there is NO barrier between him and the carpet!!!This is the Diego potty chart! When he goes potty, he gets a sticker to put on the chart. When he gets enough stickers to fill a line, he gets whisked off to McDonald's for a Happy Meal. We may end up SuperSizing Tucker, but I'm not joking when I tell you that chicken nuggets are the ONLY thing that motivates him! He wanted to write the "T" all by himself! Whenever he sees a "T" he yells out, "Hey, that's T for Tucker!"We have had this Go Diego Go potty seat since he was about 18 months old. He has been going potty on the toilet since then, but ONLY before bath at night. We are making our best effort this time to make it all day. I think we have tried potty training before, but we have expect him to put his best effort forward, while we have waited for him to take responsibility for it. This time, we are making more of an effort and sort of forcing it on him instead of letting him be in charge of it. I think if we don't kind of force the issue, he will never use the toilet 100% of the time.

Addie Is Giving Up Baby Food!

This is what is left of a Nutrigrain bar that I gave Addie this morning. There were only crumbs left when she was done. I cut the bar into tiny little pieces and let her go to town! There was strawberry all over the highchair and her (including her hair..of course!) She is WAY more interested in real food than baby food. When I feed her while I'm eating, she screams and cries until I give her a piece of what I'm eating. Addie only gets into the baby food when there's not something better that she can see! So much of her personality is starting to show and I think she is going to be a lot like me...for better or worse!!!

Tami vs. Quilting: Round 1

After nearly a 4 year sabbatical from quilting, I am making my comeback! I haven't exactly started a quilt yet, but I did buy all my fabric yesterday (that's worth something, right?). Wish me luck and I will update you on my progress. Unfortunately I will not be able to post any pictures until the gift is delivered because I don't know if this person reads my blog or not. I am excited!!!

Love This Face

I took this picture of Tucker just about a week ago. We were outside jumping in mud puddles and I got him to stop long enough to take this picture. I just love his sweet face. He looks so much like my brother Dan, but then again, I've always thought that. I wish I knew how to do more editing to it (Angela, any suggestions??) I'd like to play with color and maybe figure out how to get rid of that gash on his nose, we have Addie to thank for that one!

Mother Of The Year...again...

Regretfully, here I am again.  Nominating myself for the Mother Of The Year.  I'm not sure these nominations will ever end, so I will embrace them with the knowledge that I am doing the best I job I can do.  We all fall short of the mark and none of us are perfect, although the perfectionist in me just doesn't want to accept that.  

Here's my latest shortcoming...

So just this afternoon I posted about thoughts of beating Tucker within an inch of his life.  He has been screaming, crying, whining and being a total pain in the behind for several days now.  He has also been sick.  For the first several days, I blamed his behavior on his cough and cold.  Who wants to think their child has turned evil over night?  So I babied him for days on end.  Finally, I just got tired of it.  The last 3 days have been so incredibly painful, both Matt and I are ready to take a permanent vacation from parenting.  

We have been giving Tucker 'Tussin and Tylenol for 7 days now, EVERY 6 hours.  On the back of the 'Tussin bottle it says that you shouldn't give this medication for more than 7 days, if the symptoms persist, call your physician.  So this morning I called our beloved doctor to get an appointment.  We got a call this morning saying that they had a 3:45 pm appointment available for both Tucker and Addie...WE WILL TAKE IT!  Three days ago, Addie started in with the same cough that Tucker has, so I wanted to get her checked out too.  

Fast Forward: In the doctor's office.  Addie gets checked out first.  Other than major snot and cough, she is fine.  There is nothing "wrong" with her.  As long as she doesn't get a fever greater than 102 and/or starts eating or sleeping less...no worries.  My poor baby Tucker, on the other hand, DOUBLE ear infection and a lung that doesn't sound clear.  NICE.  I feel like the worst Mommy.  I've been yelling at Tucker, sending him to time-out non-stop, and really wanting to just runaway from him...and he is sicker than snot!  I really, really hope that these antibiotics are the magic potion that Tucker needs to become himself again.  I'm going to assume that my child has been sicker than he can explain and that's the reason for all this nonsense.  I'm not sure how I'm going to excuse my impatient behavior, but then again, maybe that's why I'm nominating myself.  I own the fact that I've been treating my dear, sweet child like garbage for the last few days.  Why does motherhood come with a load of responsibility, two loads of love, and three loads of guilt?  

Terrible Twos...Fact or Fiction?

FICTION! Terrible twos don't exist. You might think they do while you are experiencing a "vibrant" two year old, but the depths of terrible don't hit until they are three years old. I'm not even sure what kind of word to use to describe the kind of hell that we are going through with Tucker right now. The frustration, anger and self control to not beat that kid within an inch of his life is beyond my vocabulary...not sure what to say. It doesn't matter what I say to him, his immediate response is, "No, Mommy" and it's not always defiant, but just a matter of fact. Just like you would say, "OK, Mommy" is how he is telling me no. It's almost like saying, "listen Mommy" but there is something about NO that just pushes me over the edge. He is screaming in his bed at night (let me remind you he is sharing a room with Addie) so when he starts screaming, Addie wakes up and chimes in too. When we go in the room and get him calmed down, this is what he says, "I need a hug". I haven't figured out yet if this is just a stalling tactic that tugs at my heart strings or if he really feels like he isn't getting the attention he needs. Either way...makes me feel like a failing mother. It also makes me feel like beating the the snot out of him for screaming at the top of his lungs, waking up his sister and then all he wants is a hug??!! He can't seem to listen to what we say, not a word. He has been sent to TimeOut so many times in the last few days, it's almost like that's his new hobby. He is refusing to go to the bathroom on the toilet and cries every time we try to take him in there. Does anyone else have any experience with the older sibling acting like the baby when a younger sibling is born? I feel like that's what happened. It's so frustrating. All of these wonderful three-year-old attributes coupled with the employment and living situation that we are going through is just about all I can handle. I'm about to go insane, if it hasn't already happened. Something has got to give. We have been in this situation for about 8 months now and it's WAY more than I thought I'd have to go through after getting out of the Army. Army life (minus deployments) is looking pretty sweet right now! I know we will get through this but the day to day life is just overwhelming in so many ways. As a final note, I'd like to take this time to thank Tucker for his continued support in my desire to not have any more children.

Never Want To Forget This

This is something that I never want to forget about Addie. She sleeps on her tummy now and she always has her hands up by her head or under her face when she sleeps. When she woke up from her nap the other day she had her hand prints all over her face! It was so funny. This has happened before, but not like this! I could actually see the outlines of her fingernails in that print on the side of her head! (if I were a better photographer, I would have captured that!) In these pictures, she has one hand print on the side of her face and the other is on her forehead. I love this about her and I know with time I will forget these little things...just one more reason to love this thing called blogging.