My top ten for 2007

Here are my top ten best accomplishments for 2007 (in no particular order):

• Becoming a mother for the second time in two years
• This is the funny one.  Although it wasn't what we expected, it could certainly be one of the greatest accomplishments ever to get pregnant again while on birth control.  No missed pills, taken the same time ever night, no antibiotics.  Apparently, as I've always said, I never stick with the statistics.  I fall into the 0.01% where birth control just isn't effective for me.
• Getting my first manuscript rejection (maybe not an accomplishment for some, but I was just excited I got a request for a partial!)
  
• Reconnecting with old friends on myspace and facebook
• Celebrating 6 years of marriage (especially since I didn't think we'd even make it to the first one!)
• Getting hubby something he loved for christmas (any of you who know us know that we have an impossibly hard time buying for each other) - I got him an ipod Touch
• Losing almost 7 pounds on Weight Watchers.  With hormone issues and being a picky eater, it's really hard for me to lose weight.  Those seven pounds had me so motivated...then I found out I was pregnant again.
• While its really my hubby's accomplishment, it was an honor for me, too, since the wife has responsibilities and requirements, too. - Hubby was picked to be a deacon in our church.  
• Getting my dream car - a silver mustang convertible with a mach stereo system.  Now we're about to trade it for a mini-van and I'm ready to cry, but it was awesome to have that car, if only for a little while.
  
• And my biggest accomplishment for the year?  STAYING SANE WITH TWO KIDS UNDER TWO...OH ANNNND BEING PREGNANT AGAIN!!!
  

Bad Mommy....

So our Christmas was....different this year I guess you could say.  We all came down with a cold around the time of my last post and mine turned into 2 ear infections and a sinus infection on Friday.  I got some antibiotics and felt better almost immediately.  Then the kids came down with it Sunday.  Sleep was difficult up until last night for Chicken.  He seemed to have the worst of it Christmas Day, too.  I felt bad for him, he was so tired and cranky all day.  Punky was too, but her new kitchen kept her occupied.  She's always been abnormally good when she's sick with a cold...no sleep interruptions (at least, they're rare if she does have them), and usually just good as gold.  Our morning went normally except we found out that Chicken was terrified of the sound of ripping paper.  Now Punky was my sensitive one and she loved ripping into packages (that's my girl!) but Chicken proved to be...well, a chicken.

So we wound up opening all of his gifts while he chased after ribbons and wrapping.  How typical!  Punky refused to open any more gifts after discovering her kitchen and doesn't really play with any of the other stuff I got her.  I'll be interesting to see once the newness wears off what she favors the most.  And with her birthday coming up at the end of January, there will be more toys.  If we weren't having #3, I'd be doing some serious cleaning house with all these toys.  I'm desperate to get rid of some of them!

And that brings me to yesterday.  When I became a bad mommy.  Of course, I guess that description means everyone woman is a bad mommy at some point because I believe what I did happens to just about everyone at some point.

Chicken has decided to start pulling up as of Monday. He's really perfected the art yesterday and today.  However, he's also start cruising a little in the process.  So while I was getting ready for church last night, he was in the bathroom with me, pulling up on the tub.  I was ready to leave, so I grabbed his arm and pulled him up, for some reason thinking I would let him "walk" out of the bathroom with me.  Well, I must have pulled a little too hard.  He screamed and cried for over an hour and wouldn't move his arm.  If we moved it he screamed.  If he accidentally moved it, he screamed.  I put him in the floor to see if he would crawl, he put a little weight on it and screamed, just sitting there looking so pitiful.  I decided to call the pediatrician to see if it warranted a trip to the hospital to get checked out or if it was just a pulled muscle.  She told me this happens a lot and his elbow probably popped out of place.  She walked me through the process to get it back in place.  As soon as I turned his hand palm up, I felt his wrist pop but his joints do that a lot and she told me I was looking for his elbow to pop.  I did what she told me to do twice (turn his arm palm up and bring it back to his shoulder).  He still cried and she suggested taking him to an urgent care just to make sure something wasn't torn or broken.

So I was gathering everything I needed to take the hospital/urgent care for his nightly routine and I noticed he was moving his arm a little bit.  I reached down and rotated it and he didn't scream.  I did it again.  He just looked at me like I was a fool.  I told him he better not be tricking me because if I spent the next 4 hours in an ER to find out nothing was wrong after all, I'd really break his arm.  He grinned.  I rotated his arm a little more forcefully and bounced it.  He did it on his own after I let go.  I decided he was well enough that I wasn't taking him anywhere.  I'd go in the morning if he was still acting funny.  I figured either that pop I felt was his arm going back into place or the Motrin we gave him was working REALLY well.  I put him down in the floor and he took off, never to whine again about his arm.  Not even a whimper.  AND he slept all night with no night disturbances from his cold.

I always knew I should have been a doctor.  Who knew I'd have to be a bad mommy and try to break my kid's arm just to figure that out?

Lots of nothing

Nothing new to report on my end.  Just nausea and more nausea from #3 cooking.  I've always been in my third trimester with my previous two during this time of year so its a catch 22 to be so nauseous right now.  It sucks that I can't eat Christmas food...especially all the candy.  But on the bright side, my butt won't be expanding as much come January.  All I'm craving is savory/salty things and sweets are making me (in general) nauseous.  But I would love to pig out at least Christmas Day, but unfortunately small amounts are key and no pigging out will be on my agenda any day in the near future.  I'll choose to look on the bright side for that one since I was on a diet just before I found out I was pregnant again.

We took our Christmas pictures on Saturday.  They turned out really cute.  Punky and Chicken are getting cuter by the minute.  Both were in foul moods by the time we got everything set up, but a little Yo Gabba Gabba dancing and shaking of the booty in Hubby's face got a few desired grins.  Needless to say I'm glad no one was taking pictures of ME!

Speaking of which, I took my 8 week belly shot.  It's definitely true that you show earlier with subsequent pregnancies.  Here's me only 8 weeks pregnant. 

So I'm not too excited about being uncomfortable earlier, but hopefully once the nausea goes away and I can eat some more, at least I won't have to hide my stomach any more.  Right now I just look fat if I try to pull off maternity clothes.  Hopefully in a few weeks, I'll have a big enough bulge I can justify a few extra cinnamon rolls.  ;o)

As far as developmentally for the kids, Chicken is now crawling all over my house, clucking his tongue and shaking his head like crazy (in a game) when I say no.  It's cute, but when I say no I mean no and I will smack that fat leg of his, regardless of that heart-melting smile he has on his face.  He's a good boy but I can tell he's definitely got a stubborn streak worse than Punky's.

Punky is continuing on with her vocabulary and her ability to put words together.  She can now say things such as "hold me" "want this" "blue one" (for a specific color cup or marshmallow she wants) "clue's clues" (blue's clues) and "Doo Bops" for her TV requests.  Her latest development is singing.  She now knows twinkle twinkle and can sing a few lines of it...it began a couple of weeks ago when I was having some one on one time with her before bed and she got a serious look on her face and said, "Tinkle tar!" I was confused for a few seconds and then I realized I normally sing to her and she was requesting my rendition of "Twinkle Star".  I sang it to her and ever since she's been running around "How wonder are!  Up up up up up up high."  It melts my heart, especially since I'm a singer, but more because she's learning and growing up.  She'll be two next month and Chicken will be one in February.  Good thing another one is coming in July because I won't know what to do without infants in my house. 

Both are good kids and require minimal discipline now that the foundation has been set from the first year.  I'm quite pleased with how they're turning out.  Punky shares her toys easily, even though there is the occasional "NO!" outburst if Chicken is bothering her.  Usually I can tell her to share and she'll find one of his toys to give him or give him what she's playing with all together.  Chicken is beginning separation anxiety I believe as I'm unable to leave him without a blood curdling scream and him following me pitifully through the house on all fours.  He's fine when I'm around, so I believe, my friends, my sanity is about to end.  Of course, him falling and hitting his head three times a day because he's trying to pull up on everything isn't helping either.

He currently has a purple goose egg on his forehead from his clumsiness.  Punky didn't do that much so I'm finding I'm getting easily panicked over head bumps when I know I shouldn't.  But man, when they cry for an hour it's hard not to get worried!  But I think I'll make it and so might my kids...maybe.

Well, I'll wrap this up and go.  Chicken is in my lap right now trying to type, making it increasingly difficult, even more so with him chewing on my arm - that tickles.

Things will be hectic the rest of the week, so I'll close with MERRY CHRISTMAS!  Hope everyone has a great holiday and gets lots of fun presents!

Stephanie

Santa or no Santa?

I'm not usually one to knock other's beliefs or parenting choices.  In fact, I'm VERY conscious of not saying a word unless asked about how I feel on certain things.  Sleeping is the only area in which I give my advice freely.  But I'm finding it VERY difficult this season on how I should handle the whole Santa thing.

When Hubby was small, his family went to great lengths to make Christmas fun.  A neighbor friend of theirs would dress up as Santa and come visit them.  Those times were fun for him but he was too smart for his own good.  Eventually he realized this Santa guy just couldn't exist.  When he finally found out the truth, it quite simply devastated him.  He felt lied to in a home where lying was said to be sinful.  So he's ordered no Santa in our home.

To which I've fervently fought and argued with for almost two years until I realized he was right.  When I grew up, Santa was in my home, too.  He was the most magical part of Christmas for me.  I would have been happy to never find out he didn't exist.  But when a snot-nosed brat friend of mine spilled the beans, I was devastated too.  Not only from that, but I realized that if Santa, whom I've never seen didn't exist, God probably didn't either.  And then when I listened to Christmas music one year, particularly Santa Claus is Coming to Town and heard the lyrics:

Oh you better not shout

You better not cry

You better not pout

I'm telling you why 

Santa Claus is coming to town.

He sees you when you're sleeping

He knows when you're awake.

He's knows if you've been bad or good

So be good for goodness sakes.

I began to think a lot and remembered the Bible saying that God knows how many hairs are on my head and everything about me.  Santa was just another word for God, right?  I can remember very clearly having these thoughts because I was about 9 or 10 and we had just began attending church.  I felt guilty going because I wasn't sure if I believed in God or not.  For awhile, I wasn't sure.  It took years of learning and reading and praying for me to find the answers I needed to be at peace with things.

Now, maybe Hubby and I are extreme cases and most children don't go through these thought processes, but I believe most have some form of these thoughts.  Matthew 5:37 tells us our yes should be yes and our no should be no.  So what happens when our kid comes and asks us if Santa's real?  "Yes, honey, of course he's real."  Well, no, he's actually not.  Or, if you decide to wait until they ask if you they're real and tell them then, have you not indirectly lied to them by letting them talk about what "Santa" is bringing them and going along with it?  A lie is a lie is a lie.  And what about those of us who decide not to let them "believe" at all?  Do you want us to tell our kids to lie and do the very thing we're trying to prevent?  I have very close Christian friends who are choosing to allow Santa in their home and I'm having a hard time with it.  I don't want my kids to feel left out because "Santa" isn't bringing them anything.  Nor do I want them to feel the disappointment Hubby and I felt and Christmas lose all magic.

I recently read a post on Amazon.com about this and some seemingly sweet woman had posted wondering how she should deal with no Santa and other kids.  A person had replied that she was fooling herself if she thought she could get by without lying every single day.  Well, apparently that person had some serious problems because I can honestly say I don't lie every day or even most days.  Sure there are the embellishments, "Man, I changed 400 poopy diapers today!"  But as far as non-embellished statements, I'm crucial with my truth.  I expect no less from my children, even with others are involved.  I will NOT ask them to lie to other kids, although I will ask them to NOT talk about it at all.  I don't feel like it's my responsibility to tell other kids their parents are lying to them, but I could never ask my kids to go against what we're trying to teach them either.  I'm overwhelmed by the amount of people who choose to lie about it all.

Now don't get your panties in a wad and say "You're crazy if you think you can keep your kid away from Santa!"  Nope, I'm not trying to keep my kids away from Santa.  In fact, Punky is having fun identifying "Santa's" on TV or in people's yard.  Santa is a part of Christmas that's undeniable, but it's like pumpkins and witches at Halloween to her.  There is no talk of what Santa is bringing her for Christmas, unless the stranger asks her in public, when I turn grimace and try not to make a big deal of it.

I was my number one enemy when it came to this at first.  I was being selfish and argued until I cried and tried everything in the book to get Hubby to change his mind.  Now I'm glad he didn't.  Now, I can see that Christmas will always be special to them because there's not an element that's being taken away at a certain age.  They will appreciate and respect the fact that we looked past our own selfishness and told them the truth from day one.  In turn, this will strengthen their faith and help them to see that even though it might take a little fun out of it, we're striving every day to do what's right and not lying is doing what's right.

Merry Christmas!

Hope this finds everyone in a cheerful, giving mood.  I'm excited because I actually finished up all my Christmas shopping last night.  Of course there are a few things, like candy for Punky's stocking and Hubby's gift, but if nothing else gets done this year, it won't be the end of the world.  Hubby wouldn't mind if his was late, and while that's not my plan and a simple click on amazon.com will complete his gift so I'm in no hurry today.  Tomorrow maybe, but not today.  No, I'm chillin' today.

BOTH my kids are still getting their first round of teeth.  Punky has 2 of her cuspids to go and one is about to come through.  I've heard these are the worst to come through and she's proving that theory right.  She's been waking up at 6:30 every morning (as opposed to her normal 7:30 or 8) and Chicken is waking up around the same time.  I keep looking and while I keep thinking I see something, he's still a toothless baby.  That's why I'm chillin' today.  I'm hormonal with this pregnancy and find that the littlest things just set me off royally.  And when you've literally got two kids screaming (I'm not exaggerating) at the same time every day pretty much all day long when they're not sleeping your patience WILL run thin, no matter how saintly you are.

Now I still maintain that having two is much easier than people will admit.  Everyone told me horror stories and had me convinced having two was the worst thing I could have ever done, but I realized very quickly if you're disciplined with their schedule and keep their world predictable -- as a result your world becomes predictable and you have (in general) very happy children.  So on days when they're teething, yes it's rough but it mostly the pregnancy talking.  With both Punky and Chicken I was pretty laid back and felt pretty good after the first trimester, but with this one, I'm feeling pretty green all day and irritable and ready to just scream.  Nothing but me has changed in the whole equation, so I know it's me.  It's frustrating but I'm trying to remember when Punky bursts into tears when she doesn't get her way I'm NOT overreacting when I spank her.  That's the hardest part in all this is to try to figure out what's hormones and what's real rebellion with the kiddos.

Anyway, I better go, Chicken has learned to crawl and he's disappeared into the laundry room and is crying because he can't find his way out.  HA!