Living in Crazyville

I'm not sure, but I'm beginning to think Crazyville isn't just some silly name I came up with when I was designing this blog. I'm pretty sure it's one of the more accurate labels I could put on our life.

Working in the school district, I get spring break off. During spring break, it became abundantly clear how desperately I'd been craving some downtime. We didn't go anywhere and just being home, with no games, meetings, appointments, dance classes, work functions, WHATEVER was amazing. It was probably more time together, as a whole family - maybe ever. Crazyville.

Then, school started again and immediately we were right back up to our eardrums in all of the above. I woke up Tuesday morning after spring break and that knot at the base of my neck was back. In less than 48 hours. Crazyville.

Then, you come to something like our crazy day today. (incidentally, from the time I posted the diagram of my afternoon to now, the picture has changed three times) Crazyville.

How do we simplify? Coach can't stop being a coach. Well, he could but that's like telling me to stop singing. I tried that for a season and all the color went out of my life. Not an option.

I can't stop doing my job. Well, I could but what would I be gaining other than some free time? And, who's to say it would work? I am a high-octane personality who tends to grow my job into a high-octane job; no matter where I am. My job today is significantly bigger than when I inherited it - I did that.

We could stop taking Munchkin to extra activities but I don't think anybody would accuse us of overscheduling our kids with extra-curriculars.

And Princess Crybaby is just a toddler along for the ride.

This may just be a season that we'll grow out of (or just have to live through). All in all, we have a great life - just a busy life. Crazyville.

Where is John Madden when you need him?

Normally, most afternoons are not THIS nutty. Today is a special case, though, so I thought it appropriate to post it; for safe-keeping. That way, when people say to me, "boy, you look tired," I can point to this and say, "well YEAH."

Short weeks are fun, aren't they?

When it rains....

In meetings all. day. long. 
I can smell the smoke coming from the piles of "OMG get it done RIGHT, NOW" smouldering on my desk. 
I can feel that knot forming right at the base of my skull. 
2:30 comes and my meeting is over.
I sigh a small sigh of relief because I have 30 minutes to do a couple of very small tasks before I have to leave.
The phone rings.
A reporter comes over to get confirmation on rumors.
The daycare calls and says Princess Crybaby is running a 101.7 degree fever.
I was hoping to go to the bank and store.
Coach is in College Station tonight with soccer. 
Munchkin and I have to be at the theatre at 6:30.
*sigh*

I heard a young pastor a few years ago say, "if you aren't in the storm, keep your umbrella handy because it's coming."

preach on brother.

Excuse me, do you have gruel on the kids' menu?

I have beautiful children.  Would you like one (or both) of them?  *giggle*

Just kidding.  Yes, really.    Although Princess Crybaby has started screeching at us.  Now, I know you're saying to yourself, "but Mom, you've been talking about your pterodactyl for almost two years.  How is this any different?"  And to that I tell you "meat, madam.  Meat." (that's from Oliver)

Meat, madam, meat. You’ve overfed him, madam. You’ve raised an artificial spirit in the boy unbecoming of his station in life. If you’d kept him on gruel, madam, this would never have happened.

Really.  I think the key to docile children must be how much meat they eat.  There might be something to that gruel diet after all.

Y'all know I'm kidding, right? 
*arching eyebrow* 

Christmas is over - thank goodness!

*whew* Thank goodness that's over! 

Christmas IS my favorite time of year.  It is an amazing opportunity to rest, recharge and reconnect with family and friends.  It is a time to celebrate the birth of our Savior.  It is a time to enjoy good food, the cutest decorations of the year and PRESENTS!  *giggle*  (sorry, channeling my inner 9-year old)

Monday we go back to work; the kids are back Wednesday.  On one hand, I'm ready to go back.  The kids are getting stir crazy with only boring mommy & daddy for entertainment.  And mommy needs something to do all day but pick up KIX cereal and bananas off the floor. 

On the other hand, I love being home.  This is the only time of year I see so much of everybody.  During our regularly scheduled craziness, there just isn't time to sit on the couch and watch a movie together, or play a playstation game together unless we schedule it. 

Munchkin is sitting on the couch, practicing her cursive in a notebook.  She's ready to go back too.  She's excited and curious to meet her new math/homeroom teacher.  She's been reading like a true crazy-viller. 

Princess Crybaby is currently wearing her coat.  Not that we're leaving; she just wants to wear it.  She's got her cup in her hand and she's dragging her ride-on whateveritscalled around.  We should have gotten her a wagon. 

Coach is playing his online game.  He's like a level 75 super-hunter.  I am a wimpy little level 22 (almost 23). 

And yours truly is sitting on the couch, touching her blog for the first time since...well, before Christmas.

So, while I'm glad the cooking, endless cleaning (because you never know who's coming over) and wrapping and cleaning up presents is over, it's been simply heavenly to rest and recharge. 

Tonight is New Year's Eve.  As a family, we are setting goals tonight.  Wellness, family time, and whatever else we think of.  More on that later. 

For now, toodles!

Cereal Diaries - Another Christmas Story Reference

I know I've blogged before about this movie and how it was never funny until I became a mother; then it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen.  Ok.  So, here's a new one for you (because I didn't truly appreciate this scene until Princess Crybaby came along). 

I NEVER thought this was funny...until NOW.  Princess Crybaby used to eat everything you put in front of her.  EVERYTHING.  Now, it is a chore to find ANYTHING she will consistently eat.  Even *gulp* mac and cheese is a toss-up.  Cooked veggies - forget it.  We have to hide them in something else.  But before I get all frustrated because she won't eat anything resembling healthy, she won't really eat much that falls into the other category either.  *sigh*

So, we've resorted to making noises and funny faces and whatever else we can think of to get her to give us her best little bird impression and gobble up her breakfast, lunch, dinner - SOMETHING. 

Too bad she isn't old enough to teach the little piggy move. 

Yes, mommyhood also has two purposes: to inform and entertain.  And now, if you'll excuse me, that's my cue.

The Urge to Cut

I'm growing my hair out. Yes, I know it looks nicer, more professional, etc at a chin-length, stacked bob. BUT. I'm planning to audition for Oliver at the Temole Civic Theatre in (I guess) December and I don't think chin length was "in" back in Dickens-era England. The growing process is EXCRUCIATING. I have a lot of hair and this fluffy mess is very tedious to get together in the mornings. I know this is the worst part. I will survive. Speaking of musicals, Munchkin made the Honor Choir at her school! YEAH, Munchkin! Now there will be even more singing in the house. And dancing, too since she's taking dance. Now before you go all over-scheduled on me, dance is thirty minutes, twice a week. In this awful, unending heat, it gives her a way to get active in a way she loves and it furthers HER goal to be a Kitten at Temple High School. She still has plenty of time to do homework, play and relax after school. Coach was invited to work with goalkeepers in the local clubs and thats a huge win for him. He's been working on that a while now. So to be invited to a regular gig is a huge success. He talked about, maybe in the future, taking on a team but he's got a lot of after school responsibilities with Yearbook that sometimes just pop up so having a regular gig outside of school isn't really possible right now. So Munchkin is watching Jem and the Holograms. It makes me laugh to see her watch a show I enjoyed so much as a girl myself. *laugh* Ok, it's time to get everybody corralled for the morning. Have a great day!

Spotty

Princess Crybaby had a spotty week. It started out well enough. Sunday, we went to Summer Fun with about half our church. By Wednesday, she was running a fever. Thinking it was teething, we started advil to keep her comfortable. Going into Thursday, she started refusing food, preferring an occasional bottle. Still going with the teething theory, I figured her gums were sore. I knew she wasn't getting dehydrated and I wasn't all that worried about the not eating.

Friday, the fever was gone but we noticed a small number of bumps on her legs and a runny nose. Now I knew we had something other than teething. Saturday morning, (Matt's birthday) the rash had spread all over her legs, onto her arms and her palms and soles of her feet. She was amazingly grumpy and had a really gross diaper, despite ating very little in the past few days. Have I mentioned how much I love google? I put in all her symptoms and came up with roseola; a virus. The symptoms matched. I wasn't alarmed, it's pretty minor and passes quickly, but I knew we needed to go to the doctor. The daycare would take one look at those bumps and freak out.

Fortunately, our pediatrician was working the walk-in clinic. He took one look at her and said it was Hand, Foot and Mouth. Same type of illness as roseola, so I was close. He said she was already on the back-end of it and would be fine for school Monday.

Apparently, if roseola is the harmless cousin of measles, hand-foot-mouth is the harmless cousin of chicken pox. It is called a "summer disease" and is easily spread in swimming pools. It is harmless and passes quickly.

Thank goodness.

So much fun - a letter to Princess Crybaby

You just turned 11months old and every day you astound us with some new discovery. You are walking like a pro, you love your sippy cup, you and the dog are regular buddies now, you love to "talk," point and, in general, charm everybody you meet.

Yesterday, you tried out your first real temper tantrum; complete with tears! Your little face was so red! You didn't know it but I wasn't really ignoring you. I watched you the whole time, out of the corner of my eye.

I can't wait for your sister to come home and see how much you've grown. You and she will be like peas and carrots, I bet.

Some people say that the toddler years are the hardest. Some people say it's those rocky preschool years, or elementary, or middle or *gulp* high school... You get my drift.

You know what I think? I think every stage will have hard parts. I think there will times in every age that will scare us, hurt us and make us mad. There wil be phases where it will seem we are forever at odds and, I'm sure you'll inform us, we must hate you (that will NEVER be the case, my baby).

But. Do you know what else I think? Most of the time will be a lot of fun. Watching you make new discoveries, learn new things, meet new people, learn new skills and, in general, set the world on its ear.

I am so glad I'm your mommy and I have a front row seat at the greatest show on earth. Barnum & Bailey doesn't have anything on our Family Circus. I love you.

I spoke too soon

We are still trying to figure out the magic combination of rocking, singing, stories and other bedtime routines that will help her get to sleep at a decent hour.

CONCLUSION #1: She is some kind of night-owl/morning person mutant.

She won't go to sleep before about 10 but she wants to get up with me at 6. Um, that would be ok if she was five or six but she still needs more sleep than that. So, by 10, she's ready to nap.

I know the right answer is the one that works so I'm trying diligently not to stress about this (as Coach likes to say).

Everything else is going super well. She screams like a velociraptor from jurassic park, eats anything you put in her mouth and is starting to walk!!! She's hilarious and affectionate and funny and exasperating. (does this remind anyone of descriptions of Munchkin?)

CONCLUSION #2: I see a trend in the personalities of my children: brilliant little whirlwinds that can make you want to laugh, cry, pull your hair out - all at the same time...

Yesterday, I started putting the spoon in her hand and letting her feed herself. Yes, it went right in her hair. It was great fun. Getting the spoon away from her to actually get some food into her mouth wasn't so fun [insert velociraptor screams here].

CONCLUSION #3: Bananas might not be the next big thing in hair gel but maybe they should be. They are quite...effective at freezing hair.

I intend to fill up her little pool this morning so we can put her in it later today. She loves the water.

Life is good.

Update on sleeping

Ahhh...the sweet sight of a peacefully sleeping baby. There is nothing quite like it. Especially when it wasn't achieved the hard way; with 30 minutes of wailing and gnashing of teeth. And that's not counting what princess crybaby was doing. Haha

Tonight, i tried something different...

I gave pc her bottle, read her a bedtime story and said prayers with her (like always), and then sat there, rocking, until she was calm enough to put in her crib. Then, instead if leaving the room, I sat back down in the rocking chair while she played quietly another 20 minutes, or so. When she was ready for sleep, she began to fuss in that whiny, "mommy I'm so sleepy but I need a little more cuddling" cry. I picked her up and rocked her in the rocking chair about 10 minutes. She was out.

I'm about to go to bed - it'll be the first night in a week without a headache.

For the birds

I have officially given up on letting Princess Crybaby cry it out. It feels wrong and cruel and , frankly, Scarlett, I don't give a damn what the "experts" say. We're done subjecting ourselves and her to nightly torture rounds.

I sat on the floor, in front of her crib, and let her look at me until she fell asleep. she was hiccuping from crying son hard, but she was peaceful. When I picked her up to soothe her, her little body was clammy from the exertion. This is not the right way. At least, not for us.

I never let Munchkin cry it out and she is a great sleeper. There are some lessons about sleep we might have to wait to teach until she has more language. For now, we will work to find a more peaceful solution.

I downloaded The No Cry Sleep Solution by elizabeth pantley to my kindle app. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Here's hopin'!

This is nuts

I'm just sayin'. 

Waiting is fine.  A lesson in God's timing?  Maybe?  I'm totally ok with that.  But this is bananas. 

In other news: Princess Crybaby has her first tooth!  A little white tooth is poking through her tender little gums and giving her no end of fodder for whiny-ness. 

In other, other news: The day after I soak the grass (which hasn't been watered since, oh, NOVEMBER) the sprinklers are working and the grass gets watered.  It wasn't long so I don't know how much good it did.  I imagine I will still run the little sprinkler a few days to help the ground soften up. 

I've had an idea about putting paving stones around the "patio" in order to create little more usable space for the grill and maybe a couple of chairs.  It would delay the need to replace dead grass that was killed by 1. sitting water last fall, 2. a total lack of water through the winter and spring and 3. the high traffic area by the back door (i.e. "patio). 

I think we've decided to stay in our house, rather than taking over Mom's house.  I know it would be a little more affordable and would have an extra bedroom (HELLO OFFICE!) but the drawbacks, while they are minor, would add hassle to our lives and that is counter-productive. 

So, we're looking to improve on our great little house.  YEAH!  I love a project.  (a major reason I love summer)

Cereal Diaries - well kinda

She's crawling!!! About two weeks ago, she decided she'd had enough of this sitting around business, by golly, and started scooting around. Fast forward two weeks and she's crawling and pulling up to standing on anything sturdy enough to hold her weight.

She really is remarkable. It's so fun to watch her. it takes me back to the wonder of watching munchkin discover things.

I love being a mommy. It's the very best job in the entire world.

Munchkin is in the Easter Pageant at UMHB today. She's missing school which is against my personal policy, but this is a really great opportunity and she's only missed three days all year and we are down to the last six weeks of school and it's the last non-testing year and I'm rationalizing. Haha. Can you tell I work in school administration?

Ok, it's time to get ready to take the kiddo to Belton. Y'all have a great day!

Cereal Diaries - meat!

Ok, so I chickened out on the squash and green beans.  THEY ARE AWFUL.  I can't stand the smell of pureed squash.  haha

But, we DID try meat.  And she loves it! 



Only one store in town carries this brand *sigh* so we are pretty limited.  The word from other moms in the aisle is the gerber stuff is pretty icky.  This stuff is a combination of chicken, sweet potato and brown rice..  Pureed it tastes like....sweet potato grit.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure this is primo for baby food meat (let's be honest, chicken by itself tastes awful).  Most importantly, Princess Crybaby thinks it's fantastic so I love it and we stick to this brand exclusively for our meat consumption.. 

Otherwise, eating is going well.  She's not as roly-poly as she was because she is starting to scoot around.  Not quite to crawling but she's getting really close.

Speaking of, I'd better jump off and check on her.  Tata!

Cereal diaries - you tell me!

Ok blog lurker peeps: I need you to weigh in on the baby food meats.

I think we've done a great job with fruit and veggie picks but I can't remember what I did for meat. Not to mention baby food tastes better than it did when Munchkin was a baby.

Help! 

Cereal Diaries - no, we're not counting anymore

We've now introduced:
Rice Cereal

Fruit:
Bananas
Peaches
Pears
Apples

Vegetables:
Sweet Potatoes
Carrots
Peas

Table food - we've tried a saltine cracker (or two) and little bites of plain mashed potatoes. She wasn't crazy about the potatoes at roadhouse but she liked my mashed potatoes just fine (probably because mine are finer and have butter).

She can sip (with great mess) formula out of a cup but she doesn't really understand what (or why) she's doing it.

She's truly a Corley - there isn't a food (so far) she hasn't liked. Now, we haven't tried green beans, squash or any of the other "hard core" vegetables. Or meat. I've been trying to stage into those, as her palette matures. I'll probably pick up a squash and a meat this week to try over Spring Break. (next week)

Wish us luck.

Bunny

The choice has been made. Princess Crybaby has a Beloved.  Before she was born, we found a bear made of the same nubby fabric as Munchkin's Bears. She likes him but her Beloved is Bunny.

Bunny is a girl, I guess.  She used to have a pink bow but I cut it off because it didn't look safe.  It goes everywhere we go; except for school. 

I look forward to having conversations with and giving night-night kisses to Bunny.

Ah, sweet joys.

Cereal diaries - NO NAP! Edition

OH this baby. She naps like a pro in the morning. But, come afternoon, when Mommy wants to nap, there comes a battle of wills. Oh, she's sleepy. There is much ado with yawning and eye-rubbing but she firmly refuses to actually go. to. sleep.

*sigh*

Good parenting tomes direct me to put her safe and snug in her bed and let her fuss it out. They've never met the iron will of my little tyrant.*laugh*

Cereal diaries - day - oh we've been at it a while.

Successfully introduced cereal, bananas and now sweet potatoes.
She loves to eat. I am still figuring out the right amount to give her and when to time formula. Today, it felt like we either ate something or made a bottle every couple of hours.

Not an easy schedule when I stayed home sick today. But, it's still the best job in the world.

I had so much fun today, even though I felt awful.