I'm a "Green & Clean Mom" and More!!

I recently discovered this new website on a fellow blogger's page - Green & Clean Mom. It's where "being 'green' can be sexy, sassy, and fun!" ;) It's a place to share tips on being "green" and what have you, just as the title suggest (well, outright says). They have a feature blogger for each day, and *I* am now doing the feature blogs for Fridays. Whoo-hoo!

Today was my first, and I blogged about the green cleaner that I recently mentioned on here. This stuff is awesome, and I love to share it. Anybody that has ever made it has liked it, from what I have been told. (I seriously doubt anybody would lie about being excited and impressed by a homemade all-purpose cleaner...)

Here is the website if you want to check it out. Just scroll down a tiny bit, and you will see my pic and my feature blog!

I have some ideas for future posts there, but I'm looking for more! It has to deal with being "green," obviously. Any ideas? Anything you want me to research some? Let me have it!

Visit Green and Clean Mom

Friday Fill-Ins (Thanks, Connie!)

My friend, Connie, does these "Friday Fill-Ins" over on her blog. I've read quite a few that she has done and always seem to learn something new and interesting. I'm not sure mine will be very interesting. At the moment I'm not in the thinking mood and would rather be on the lying on the couch. That's where I'm headed next...

Here is where the Friday Fill-Ins come from. They include a list of words and blanks for you to fill in on your own. My answers are in bold. Hope you enjoy!



1. I'm coughing, I'm sneezing, I am hoping this won't turn into a sinus infection.

2. Why do I have good organizational skills and not good keeping-it-organized skills?

3. How does this video sharing website work, anyway? I'm trying to find a good way to share our short family videos with family and friends that aren't nearby. I think I found one that will work perfectly, but a couple of the videos I made with our small digital camera are not uploading, even though they fit the requirements... I haven't heard back from them yet.

4. Every morning, I put Aiden on my hip. The first thing I do always has to do with him. I pick him up and take care of him before doing anything else. Besides the fact that I WANT to, he's been in that diaper all night. We need to clean that tushie!

5. I consider myself lucky because I have three wonderful guys in my life, my husband and my two beautiful boys. I really have been blessed and need to remind myself of that more often.

6. One day we’ll see Paris. One of my dreams is to go to Paris, France and visit the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and the Virgin on the Rocks, two of my favorite paintings, both by Leonardo da Vinci. My hubby says we'll make it. :)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing on the couch, next to my hubby and hopefully getting to bed a little early (or at least not too late, as we usually do), tomorrow my plans include having Aiden's 6-month pictures taken (even though he's almost seven months! shhh...), along with some of the rest of us and Sunday, I want to go to Marbles, a children's museum here in Raleigh, one we haven't been to visit yet. We told Camden we would take him b/c he wants to see this Imax feature about the ocean (and it's basically the same price to see the movie and visit the museum as it would be just to see the movie). We'll be taking Aiden into the viewing, even though we don't have him watch tv. It's only 45 minutes, so hopefully he will do well (and not get scared by the huge screen and sounds)!

Lent is Here!

We participate in Lent by choice. Our religion doesn't call for it necessarily. I grew up in a church where it was encouraged but not required, and I just think it's a good idea. Camden's learned to participate in it, too. He's been joining in for quite a while now and has done really well with it. Actually, he was the one to remind me yesterday that it was indeed that time again. "What are you giving up, Mom?" Giving up? OH, yeah....

He decided tonight that he will give up ice cream. ("But I can still have brownies!" he reminds me!) I wonder how he will feel when he is reminded that the rest of us can also still eat the ice cream, even if he is around.

I'm thinking...maybe cookies? I've been making a lot lately, and it will be hard to resist. It's either that or give up my anxiety about driving in unfamiliar places. Someone gave up something similar once, and I thought it was a neat idea - giving up a feeling rather than an actual thing. I have a huge issue with driving in places where I'm not 100% certain of where I am going. BUT as great as that would be (and as challenging!), I can't think of many places I will go between now and Easter that will require me to be challenged by that. And this should be a challenge that I have to deal with more than just once or twice during this time...

Back to the cookie thing... I actually already had a recipe that I wanted to try out like now, as soon as I get one more ingredient. Hmmmm....so maybe I should do the cookie thing. Is it ok to make some cookie batter and freeze it for later??? Oh, and we still don't have our Girl Scout cookies - so that will be in my face soon! I gave up cookies once a number of years back - I remember it being a challenge, especially once those GS cookies came in. I'm thinking the cookies might be it.

Ryan still hasn't decided on his thing. We'll see what he does. I think he should give up losing his patience with Camden.... ;) Or sarcasm with me. That could work - those funny remarks he makes trying to joke about something when I know what he really means. (Those things that can be funny but also annoying after the thousandth time - you know what I mean. Like I never annoy him, right? Ha.) My luck, I would probably end up missing those remarks if he did that. I think it is probably harder for Ryan to come up with something. He's one of those good guys who doesn't have much that he struggles with. He's not perfect, but he's closer than I am. Must be nice, huh?

Anybody else participating??

My First Born (and Second!!)

So, here's another one of these things going around on facebook. This one's for the mommies! Thought I would share it here, as well. Enjoy! And hope to see some of yours! (Email, blog, comment, etc...)

This is supposed to be filled out about your first born. I did both kids. :)

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED???
#1 Not really
#2 Very planned. Very.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME???
#1 Engaged. (stupid and young...)
#2 Married

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS???
#1 We were thrilled! (again…stupid and young)
#2 Thrilled beyond measure

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU??
Never.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU???
#1 19
#2 28

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
#1 Home pregnancy test
#2 My boobs felt different right away; we took a pregnancy test a few days later (had to wait for it to be accurate - and we took one of the "early" ones)

7.WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
#1 Pretty sure it was my mom
#2 Camden (Ryan was there with me to read the test and when we had it confirmed at Duke, so no need to tell him)

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX???
Absolutely. Too much of a planner.

9. WHAT WAS YOUR DUE DATE???
#1 June 29th, 1999
#2 August 10th, 2008

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS???
#1 All day, every day through the 5th month.
#2 Same thing, but it lasted throughout the entire pregnancy. Found out I have hyperemesis gravidarum, which is a potentially serious condition that means you get severe nausea/vomiting when pregnant. Was on medication up until the c-section (and then afterwards, too!)

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE??
#1 I couldn't get enough Coke (caf free, of course!), and I just loved Jazzman's chicken (those from Winchester will understand). But they weren't cravings really.
#2 Once I had meds and could eat a bit, I wanted pancakes or burgers – something about the breading in the pancakes and then the protein with the meat. I couldn’t eat enough strawberries (hard to find in the winter, but we managed), and I had them for lunch every day for most of the pregnancy. Later I craved other fruits, too – cantaloupe, watermelon. Would love to say how healthy I was eating, but I also ate lots of chocolate cupcakes and brownies…

12. WHO IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
#1 Nobody really
#2 Rude people that wouldn’t make room for the preggo lady to sit on the bus on campus…

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD’S SEX?
Both are boys

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE HAVING??
Didn’t wish for either sex. We kind of thought #2 was a girl at first, but we didn’t wish for one more than the other.

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
#1 Almost 50. It really was all baby, though.
#2 24lbs
(but the end weight was about the same for both!)

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER???
Yes – a few each time

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW??
Mostly knew. One with #1 was a complete surprise.

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY???
#1 All the morning sickness. A month before he was due I had a lot of bleeding and stayed in the hospital overnight b/c I had placenta previa. The baby also always measured large, and the dr kept telling me he would induce labor early... first it was a month, then moved to three weeks early, then two, then one... he was actually induced and born a day before the due date. He was backwards, so I had back labor. And I had gone into labor so quickly that it was all withOUT medication (which had not been the plan). And the baby was too large to have naturally. His head wouldn't fit through. I had an emergency c-section (during which I threw up – the entire time and the days following).

#2 I had bleeding early on, and we were concerned about the placenta issues b/c it was low at first (sign of placenta previa), so I had to minimize all activity for a couple months, but it ended up being ok. Then, I had really bad pelvis and rib problems and had to go to a chiropractor for a couple months. The morning sickness lasted the entire pregnancy but was managed (for the most part) with meds.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
#1 Clark Regional, Winchester, KY
#2 Duke Hospital, Durham, NC

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR???
#1 I’ve never really counted. Induced the night before...went into labor in the middle of the night...c-section around noon... I pushed for over 2 1/2 hours before they finally realized he was not coming out.
#2 No labor. Planned c-section. This was much better than the first time around.

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL???
#1My husband at the time took me in the night before to be induced. We went straight from my Papaw's funeral an hour and a half away right to the hospital in Winchester.
#2 My hubby, my mom, and my older son; my mother-in-law and her boyfriend met us there.

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH???
#1 Originally, I only wanted my mom and my husband...but once you're in the process, you don't really care...so my mother-in-law and my friend, Patricia joined in. (I think this was a good form of birth control for Patsy for quite a while!)
#2 Too many to count. My hubby, tons of nurses, pediatricians, a couple anesthesiologists, and the ob delivering.

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION???
#1 Emergency c-section. The poor kid couldn't fit b/c his head was too big. Once they made the incision, they started to pull him out then had to push him *back in* and make the cut another inch longer. My scar showed it.
#2 Scheduled c-section

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN???
#1 I went into labor too quickly for meds and had to do it naturally. They did end up giving me some morphine b/c I had back labor, but it hadn't kicked in when they decided to go for a c-section. I had a spinal for the c-section. The meds made me very nauseous, and I threw up the entire time he was delivering. I was so sick and throwing up for the rest of the day from the meds, and that’s not so much fun after a c-section.

#2 Spinal for the c-section, plus Zofran b/c we realized I have bad reactions to morphine (why I threw up the first time around). We later found out I have problems with other narcotics, b/c the Percocet they gave me following surgery caused nausea/vomiting, which led to more Zofran being given. The nurses kept telling me I was fine when I said I was nauseous – until they found me on the floor in the bathroom after I got sick and my mother explaining to them how bad it really was. After three days of this, they finally switched my meds but were really uncool about it – once giving me Phenergan that knocked me out, and they let me sleep through getting my nausea & pain meds (so I didn’t get them) and I woke up very sick and in lots of pain. (Like I said, throwing up after having your abs cut open – not fun.) We finally figured it out, but we were not too happy with the nurses for a while… We know what to ask for next time, though!

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD'S BIRTHDATE???
#1 June 28 1999
#2 August 6, 2008

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH??
#1 10 lbs 15.2 oz (less than 1 oz away from being 11 lbs)
#2 8lbs, 11oz (I actually said “that’s all?” ha! We all expected larger.)

28. DID YOUR CHILD HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS???
#1 Nope....Happy healthy baby boy! He was perfect.
#2 Yes – read here for details (http://daisyryanadkins.blogspot.com/2008/11/aidens-medical-issues.html). He was also jaundiced.

29. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
#1 Camden Lee
#2 Aiden Joseph

30. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
#1 9 ½ years
#2 6 months

I posted about Aiden's birth here if you're interested:
Brief birthday info with pics.
Our birth story.

Ok - your turn!! Email, blog, whatever floats your boat. If you blog about it, let me know so I can be sure to check it out!

Video-O-Rama

Does anyone know of some great sites where we can upload video clips to share with family? Places where we can limit viewing to people we share the videos/link/etc. I have uploaded some to youtube and can have as private, but this means only 25 people that I invite are allowed to see my videos. Plus, they have to have a youtube acct. That's another annoyance - how about a place where they don't have to have an account? Any tips would be great! We would love to be sharing more videos with some of our friends and family that aren't nearby (more than 25 of them, too)!

Enjoy these videos!! They're all really short, so it isn't as bad as it looks!



Aiden was just about to turn 5 months old in this clip. He's sitting up and finally able to grab the butterflies on his play gym. He thought they might taste yummy. ;) I especially love the sigh at the end. He does that all the time, and it's just as adorable each time.



Here Aiden (5 months) spent more than five minutes spinning this frog over and over. It was too cute. He starts to get mad at it once when it doesn't turn just like he wanted.(I didn't tape five minutes, though.) ;)


This was taken on Aiden's six-month birthday. These are two of his most favorite things - making that "brrrrr" sound and bouncing up and down - which he does just about anytime his feet touch something - including when he's nursing and his feet touch the side of the chair. I won't be taping that, though... ;)


Valentine's 2009, Aiden is just over 6 months old. He falls asleep usually by playing with his feet - sometimes it keeps him up, though! We can't put him to bed with socks on - or they'll be pulled off, chewed on, then strewn about! Once he rolls to the side - that's how you know he's actually falling asleep. It's a matter of seconds until he's out once he does that!

And please let me know of any good websites for videos! Thanks a bunch!

Cheap Eats!

With groceries, gas, and lots of other things costing more these days, many people are trying to save where they can. One area we're working on is our grocery bill. I realized earlier that we haven't had salmon in a while, and that's typically a weekly thing. Hmmmm - might need to make a trip to Trader Joe's (it's usually cheaper there!). Anyway... In light of lowering the grocery bill, we've been looking through our recipes to see what "cheap" meals we can make. I typically go the homemade route and making things (mostly) from scratch. One of our favorite "cheap" meals happens to be a family recipe that we all just can't get enough of!! It's inexpensive, easy to make, and a definite favorite in our home.

What I want from you is this... I know I have a bunch of readers out there. How? B/c many of my friends and family will say "I saw on the blog..." but we don't have a lot of comments. That's fine. Really. But this is one time we want some! We're sharing one of our favorite meals, so we want you to also share a favorite (inexpensive and simple meals are preferred - but whatever you want to share is up to you!). And for those of you that are familiar with the meal we are sharing (Mom, Bobbie, anyone else in the family?), please share any of your tips, variations, etc. :)

This meal is one that my grandmother, Bobbie, used to make. My mother learned it from her and passed it on to me. So, the extras I have learned - I'm not sure if they come from my mom or from Bobbie (or whoever else). This is a relatively quick dish to make, BUT you will want to do some of the prep work earlier (boiling, peeling, and chopping the eggs) and will need to find a time to do the other parts of the meal b/c you can't walk away while this dish is cooking. You need to stay with it and stir. But it is quick to make (aside from all that).

Goldenrod Eggs
Serves 2-3

Hard boil 4 eggs

White Sauce:
1/3 c flour (If you use all-purpose, add a bit of salt, to taste, once you get the sauce thickened)
1/3 c butter, or less
1/2 c milk + 1/2 c water to = 1 1/2 c total (yes, 1/2 + 1/2 = 1, but just do equal parts or however suits you based on taste)

Melt butter in sauce pan. Mix in flour. Add milk/water a little at a time. When thick enough, turn to low or off. (You need to stay with the sauce and constantly stir it to prevent clumping and sticking.)

Melted butter, adding in the flour. And stirring it all in until it's thick.

Chop egg whites (reserve yolks for later). This can be done ahead of time. Mix egg whites into white sauce.

take your BIG bowl of egg whites, chopped...and add to the white sauce.

Optional:
Melt cheese into sauce (about 2 slices)

Add in dry mustard (or regular mustard in a pinch!)
Add in chopped onion (I've never done this one)

Pour white sauce over biscuits or toast. (We usually use biscuits, but sometimes prefer toast.)

Yummy homemade biscuits!

Crumble egg yolks and sprinkle some on top.

And voila!

Breakfast
(or in our case, dinner b/c we love having breakfast for dinner)
is served!

Notes:
I always double the recipe (or more) b/c we need enough for at least two meals. We love this stuff! I started out always boiling one extra egg (just in case), and have just kept doing this. When doubling the recipe, I'll use between 8-10 eggs. I also no longer really measure the flour, milk, water - I just add until I have enough to get the taste and amount I want. (I hate when people give me a recipe without exact measurements, but once you try it a couple times, you can change it to suit you.) I always add in the cheese and dry mustard - makes it taste really yummy! (Even if it doesn't sound like it would.)

When Camden was younger he did NOT like this. I think it was just the "different" factor, at first. But he is a convert and loves, loves it now. He also loves to help make it. :)

I've made this for a number of people, and everybody has always loved it (or at least said they did - and ate plenty!).

So - here's what you need to do now...

• Leave a comment with a favorite recipe of yours. Bonus points if it's a "cheap" meal (and easy!). Some of you comment on facebook where my blog posts show up in the notes and some of you reply via email b/c you subscribe that way. Please leave a comment here so we can all see the recipe. :) (Or if you want to on facebook, that's fine - more people can see it there.)
  
• Let me know if you make this dish. And tell me what you thought about it!
• Let me know if you make a dish someone else posts (and say what you thought).
  

Can't wait to hear from you! I LOVE collecting recipes from other people!! (Seriously - LOVE it!) But this way, not only will I get some new recipes, but all of you can see what others post and get some new recipes for yourselves!

This is the time to comment - all of you non-commenters!!! ;)

Funny Faces II

Here are a few more...

I love looking at his funny faces. Reminds me not to take everything too seriously and to stop and have a good chuckle every now and then!

Sittin' Pretty

Last night Aiden took his first bath SITTING in his little bathtub. It has one end sloped for the baby to lie on and the other side is for sitting. He was all about that.

When lying on the other end, he kicks to make splashes and has a grand ol' time at it, too. But he immediately figured out that he could make even bigger splashes with his hands if he was sitting. He would smack them down as hard as he could! Notice the water all over his face and head - that's from his splashes.

He also found out how easier it is to play with his toys while sitting. The only problem is - they seemed to all want to float to the other side of the tub, so he had to reach for them. Yes, he did get his face in the water once when reaching for a toy. Mommy acted swiftly and picked him right up and hugged him close. He cried a bit but more because he had gotten scared from bumping his head on the side of the tub (he didn't fall forward - more to the side). He very quickly got over it and was ready to return to the fun, fall all forgotten.

He really liked having the visor on his head and watching the water pour down, but I wasn't able to get a picture of that. Hopefully next time. He was just grinning and laughing - it was so cute and he had tons of fun!!

German Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

I haven't posted lately about anything I've baked. That's because I haven't baked much lately. But I thought I would do a little something tonight. Bakerella had this recipe for Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies (well, it's not really a recipe) that looked yummy, and I had a box of German Chocolate cake mix in the cupboard, so I figured I would try it out. And yes, I said a mix. Is it really called baking if you use a mix?? Mixes are something I typically scoff at. That said, I haven't ventured into making cakes from scratch yet; that's next on the list.

So, tonight I whipped up some German Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. I thought it would be better than just making the cake or cupcakes because Ryan doesn't like the coconut frosting. I am able to use that in some of the cookies and then some plain ol' chocolate icing in between some others. (Not that anything is wrong with just chocolate - there's never anything wrong with that!)

This was too easy to make. Take the mix (any cake mix you like), add some butter, some eggs. You need to use your own muscles to mix it up, though. I started out using my KitchenAid mixer and soon found out that it was so dry that wouldn't work. Manual stirring is necessary - but not much. Then make balls and put on a cookie sheet. I used a small scooper for that.

Before baking

And after


And this is what you get after adding the icing and then...sandwiching.



Enjoy. Mmmm...

Even if it was from a mix.

Mm-Mm Good

Aiden tried his first green veggies today - peas! He ate them like they were nothing new. And eagerly. Just like almost every single other food he has tried (both things - like they're nothing new and eagerly). Out of all the foods he is now eating, there is ONE that he hasn't been in love with -- pumpkin. I don't really blame him, though. Plain pumpkin isn't all that tasty. It happened to be the one food we had the most of, though. BUT I already had a plan. If he didn't like the pureed pumpkin - we have plenty of it for pumpkin pies (and some other pumpkin desserts that I have recipes for but didn't make this past fall, as planned).

Here's a list of his faves (meaning everything he's tried other than pumpkin!)

• Sweet Potatoes (of course! What baby have you heard of that doesn't like sweet potatoes?? It's like THE baby food!)
• Butternut Squash
• Avocado (yes, it IS green, but it's a fruit - so peas ARE the first green veggie)
• Bananas (another duh)
• Applesauce
• Prunes (oh my! The first time he had a bite of this, I had to feed him three times what I planned b/c he loved it soooo much! Ryan -and Camden!- said to enjoy that diaper when it rolled around. Nice of them...)
• Peas
• Oatmeal (we use steel cut) - esp with bananas or applesauce on the side

Oh, he wasn't a big fan of the rice especially, either. But it really doesn't have much taste to it, so I don't blame him there, either. I'm not a big rice fan myself - not by itself, at least. (But put it with some battered and fried chicken pieces with some red sweet & sour sauce on it - Yum-O.)

I've noticed another pro to making our own baby food. Well, for one, it tastes good (b/c it's just regular food, steamed/baked/etc and pureed) so if he leaves a bite or two, we can eat it, too. But that doesn't often happen. He loves to eat. But the part I was getting at...I eat a tad bit better, too. That's b/c when he eats avocado or banana, he's not eating the whole thing. So, I snack on the avocado some and finish off the banana. I *love* avocado, but nobody else in the house does, so we don't get it much. But now there is another fan!! :) And I go through phases with bananas. I love them, but I'm just not always that into them. I'm like that with yogurt, too; don't know what that's all about. But anyway - a little side benefit for me. :)

I also like the benefit of trying foods on the fly. Like - hey, there are some prunes - how 'bout we puree some of those and see how he likes it?! Not always a lot of thought going into it. We see what we have in the cupboard, freezer, fridge, on the counter, etc and go with it! That's what we did with the peas tonight. Lots-o-fun!

Stainless Steel Straws?

Yep, that's right... I came across these mentioned in an email earlier today. Something I hadn't seen before. Thought it was kind of interesting.

Now you can buy these (4 for $9.49) and not add any more little plastic straws to the landfills.

Well, except for the ones you use in restaurants. Oh - except for the ones at Ted's Montana Grill - their straws are made from paper (according to their website - Ted's is 99% plastic free!! How 'bout that?!). Ted's is also nice to nursing moms - at least the one we've been to in Durham was.

Not sure if WE would really go this route - b/c we really don't use straws much. But -eh- who knows. Maybe. Especially once there are more kiddos milling around... ;) There were lots of other kinds of reusable ones, too (such as glass and bamboo). Just search at amazon. If you're interested.

Why Oh WHY Did We Ever

move Aiden into his bedroom to sleep at night?! We waited until he was five months for various reasons...

For one, we traveled a lot during Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we didn't want to transition him during all of that, so we waited until returning from our two weeks of Christmas travel.

Number two - that's all Mommy, well, mostly Mommy... With an infant waking every couple hours during the night to nurse, it's a heck of a lot easier for Mommy to get up, take a step or two to the bassinet, and get baby to nurse than it would be to walk to a different room to do so. I could also check on him without getting up - all I had to do was sit up, and I could see him to know if he was just making noise in his sleep, actually waking, etc. Plus, when he was just a few months old, Mommy simply wasn't ready to not have baby within arms' reach.

People say that when you move the baby to his own room, often he'll start sleeping longer and better. Well, some say this. Others disagree. I'm not saying either is true, especially after seeing how it worked for us! Aiden sleeps fine in his crib. He's been napping there since he was a couple months old. So sleeping during nighttime wasn't a big deal for him. He didn't wake up more, but he certainly hasn't been sleeping more, either! BUT now Mommy has to get up from bed, walk across the apartment to his room, and sit in there to feed him. Then I have to lie him down...and wait. I don't want to leave until I know he's out. WHY? Because I don't want to get all the way in bed, get nice and comfy, just to have to get right back up because he's fussing or needs something. It's easier to stay and wait a few moments. That's usually all it takes. Not always, though.

Sometimes Aiden wakes for a typical nursing session - 10 minutes - and goes right back to sleep. Sometimes he thinks it's fun to stay awake a little longer, anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. Those are the times I usually do end up going back and forth between rooms because he's asleep, then he's not, etc. Those are the times Mommy can't help but thinking why did we think this was a good idea?? Why did we ever put him in his room at night??

Aiden might be sleeping the same. But Mommy is getting much less sleep. Something about that doesn't add up right... With Camden, it was better having him in his room. I slept better b/c I wasn't constantly worried about him and checking on him. He spit up a lot, and after one week of having him in the bassinet in my room, I had to move him to his own room so I could sleep! He also slept through the night by this age. But with this child...not the same at all.

Well, Aiden just woke from his nap (a little early this time - his sleeping is not always so consistent, even with consistent routines!), so I'll end this already-too-long-post that was simply meant to say maybe this was a bad idea! Why did we ever do this??? (And what to do now?)

What's that smell? Dinner!!

In light of all the diaper talk lately, I thought this was pretty entertaining...

Gotcha!

I am pretty sure that's what Aiden was saying all night long (and into the morning).

Let's see, after the most wonderful night the night before, he did sleep one four-and-a-half hour stretch without getting up. Well, he woke once after an hour but didn't even need to be picked up. He was awake for maybe 2 minutes and went right back to sleep once I was next to his bed.

But then, once he woke up around 1, he was back to the every-two-hours schedule. And then at 5, well, he just decided he would STAY up. I ended up bringing him to bed with me since Ryan would be getting up soon, and he STILL stayed up - for at least an hour and a half. He fell asleep shortly before 7 and slept for a while longer.

I'm learning to keep my mouth shut when things actually go the way I want. Otherwise, they go right back to what I don't want. That's what I get, huh?

I'm not all that surprised. I was hopeful but not expecting a whole lot... But hey - at least there is a little improvement. That four-and-a-half hour stretch and not needing to get up shortly after bedtime - that's improvement. That's something!!

Funny Face, I Love You!

Aiden has the funniest expressions sometimes. Every now and then, we get lucky enough to capture a few on film (er...well, not film, but...). Case in point...

This is not an upset face - this is Aiden spitting and making the "pbth" noise. He has lots of fun doing this - and drenches everything nearby!


We get this kind of face a lot. The "What are you thinking?" face.
He raises that one eyebrow and scrunches up his mouth - it's funnier in person!!


This doesn't really capture it, but when Aiden laughs, he often looks like he's about to cry!
Esp when he laughs REALLY hard!


"Ok, if I must"


"Seriously, another picture?!"


This is his "I'm bored and too good for this" look


He seems like he IS interested in something here.


And a look of shock here, maybe?

And this is my favorite at the moment...

Caught helping with the laundry (his diaper inserts - CLEAN, of course!).
You might need to click on the picture to enlarge it so you can better see the expression - it's worth it, we think.
How can you NOT laugh at this expression??

Honestly, these pictures don't begin to show the hilarity that are some of his facial expressions! (Or the cuteness.)

He certainly keeps us entertained here!

Oh Wow!

So, we've been having a hard time with Aiden sleeping through nights lately - lately meaning since he was about three months old. He was sleeping wonderfully, waking once or twice during a 12-14 hour period from two-months until three-months. Then he suddenly started waking every two hours again, and we've been going back and forth between every two-three hours ever since. Sometimes he starts to go a little longer, then BAM, back to waking every two hours. He's been in his own room since after all the Christmas travel, but he's not sleeping better in there. It's the same for him, but harder on me, since I'm having to go farther to feed him (and sometimes wait until I know he's settled in his bed before coming back to mine). So, needless to say, I haven't been getting much sleep lately! It doesn't help that Ryan and I often don't get in bed until around midnight, which means I'm not getting to sleep until after 1 or 2am - b/c of my insomnia and the fact that right about the time I'm nodding off, Aiden wakes up. Strange how they know when to do that, huh?

I've posted about his sleep before and stated how we don't do the cry-it-out method. One book I found extremely helpful was The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. You might be thinking, obviously it wasn't that helpful. Actually, when we got it, it was to help with naps b/c bedtime wasn't an issue. And it worked wonders for naptime!! And since his bedtime sleeping has not been improving much, I revisited the book recently for bedtime help, too.

Now, one thing she says in the book is this... You really need to decide if you, the parent, are really ready to make changes and to have your child learn to sleep through the night. Sounds silly, huh? Well, it's not. One reason I didn't use it for bedtime for so long - b/c I haven't been in a rush! Let me explain...

For one, I have concerns about milk supply. I want to do any and everything to keep it up (esp after it went away when Camden was 6 months - the same age Aiden is now). Yes, I do worry that if Aiden sleeps ALL night without waking to nurse once or twice, it might affect my supply. They say it shouldn't, but I still worry.

Two, I actually love our time together at night. It's kind of nice when the home is quiet, everyone else is asleep, it's dark and calm, and just the two of us are up, rocking in his room and snuggling close. It can be a very sweet time. I know that before long, we won't have that. And I'll miss it.

But lately, I have been TOO exhausted, and it's really starting to affect my daily life. So, back to the book we went. And we changed a few things with how we do nighttime feedings. I still feed him, but we're working on making some of the feedings shorter. We did this a while back, and he was ok with it, but then he decided no more and wouldn't have it. But things are getting a little better once again. My goal is not to have him sleep all through the night, from the time he lies down until the morning. My goal is for him to wake only once or twice to nurse through the night.

Aiden often wakes shortly after lying down, crying out like he's scared, it seems. We've been working on him not nursing then b/c he really doesn't need to, and the last couple nights, we've been successful. Remember, we're doing this with NO CRYING, so if he cries, we pick him up. If he is insistent on nursing, I nurse him. We want nighttime to be relaxing for him, and we want him to know we will respond if he needs us. So, being able to not nurse during those first couple hours of sleep the past couple nights has been great! He's doing so well.

Now why is this post titled "Oh Wow!"?? Because last night we had a different pattern... Aiden always goes down for bed at 8:00pm. We're having him nurse before storytime now, so he falls asleep on his own in his crib - instead of falling asleep nursing. He didn't wake up fussing until 11pm!! And didn't need to nurse. I picked him up, and he actually took the paci (he hardly EVER does this!). I put him back in bed, and he laid there, looking up at me calmly, and just drifted back to sleep. There's the first Wow! Then, he didn't wake again until 2:30!! Nursed for a little while, went to bed still awake and fell asleep on his own. THEN, he woke again at 6:45! He nursed and was up for a while, so I brought him to bed with me while the other boys got ready for the day. Thought we would snooze a bit before getting up, but he fell back asleep! So, we slept for another couple hours.

WOW, WOW, WOW.

This kind of thing HAS happened randomly a couple times lately, but this has been the biggest stretch. Usually after the first waking, Aiden is up every two hours. So, we'll see if it continues. Either way, this is a HUGE deal for us!! Waking every 4-6 hours compared to every 2 or less.....Wow.

I still need a few nights of this to feel like I'm getting caught up on some of my sleep, but this is an awesome start! (And hopefully telling about it won't jinx us...)

Shout Out

So, I just wanted to say a big, huge thanks to some of our friends (and even some people we don't know!). After some not-very-nice (and some not-very-true) things were said the other day during the debate, many of you responded to us via email, instant messages, and facebook, etc. (No need to go and read them if you haven't.) Obviously differences will come out during a "debate," and that's what it's all about, but some personal things were (unnecessarily) thrown out there. You all said some wonderful things in response, and they were all very appreciated! :) What a great reminder of all the positive people in our lives - and where our energy should be focused.

THANKS!!

That was my big, huge thanks.

This is what happens when...

...you ground your nine-year-old from any and all media.

He gets all creative and makes his own fun. :)
How 'bout that?



(Idea courtesy of Highlights)


He didn't have anything that looked like a baseball (or a marble, like the magazine suggested), but he DID have this tiny soccer ball, which was just as good, as far as he was concerned.

Being grounded is such a drag, huh?

Oh, and then he spent the rest of the day playing outside.
Harsh.

Cutest Blog on the Block :)

I'm a little excited - I figured out how to get new backgrounds for my blogger page! I like to be able to personalize things a little bit, at least, and have been bored with blogger's lack of more layout options since we started blogging, basically. I know many of you might be rolling your eyes b/c you've known how for a while now (or forEVER...) how to do this, but I just figured it out, so I'll be excited. :) And I found one that didn't completely rearrange my other stuff and take out my gadgets (pictures and other things on the side) - some I had found before did, and I wasn't going to redo everything. There's a little marker up at the top that says "cutest blog on the block" - that's where I got my background from. Lots of cute ones there (as the name would suggest). I wanted the one on the website page but couldn't find it. Bummer. But I like the one I have now, so...

Yipee!

If you have favorite background sites, feel free to share!

Six Month Weigh-In

So, I forgot to post Aiden's weight & height from earlier this week. We were in the dr office Monday for his 6-month appt (and for Camden's follow-up on his ear, which is all better now).

Weight - 17.5lbs
Height - 26inches