2.5 Years

I was thinking the other day about what I did before you came along.  Whatever it was, I must not miss it if I can barely remember it.  That was only 2.5 years ago, but it seems more like eons ago.  I've always felt like I had an old soul, and now it just feels wiser.  You've re-invigorated my life and gave it a new sense of purpose which sometimes causes me to worry.  I worry I may lose myself in a world of choo-choo trains, dinosaurs, and space guns, but in the end the final prize of a World's Best Mom tea cup is just too alluring!  I complain a lot about how tired I am, but I never tire of your face... especially your huge, enviable doll eyes.  You're my crazy kid, and I love you.

Here are your 2.5 year tidbits:

• You're data in support of the terrible twos statistics.  You have a regular temper tantrums and you love to say "No" or "Nononononoooooo"!  One time I kept asking you if you wanted rice (because you're so flighty with your responses) and on the third time you said in the most annoyed tone, "Noooooo!" and a sourpuss face.  I swear I had a split-second flash of a teenager.  All it was missing was the infamous eye-roll. And suddenly I was THAT mom.
• You love your Kindle Fire.  You and your dad can have vegging out contests on the couch with each of your tablets in hand.  Most of the time you fight with your dad for his Ipad because everyone knows that the Ipad is just plain cooler.  Dad usually ends up on your Kindle.
• You're more accepting of bathtime.  Earlier this year I got you to accept sitting in a bathtub without crying bloody murder.  That is - until I poured water on your head (being careful not to wet your face). Let the wailing commence!  Lately we've reached a somewhat happy medium where you're sort of calm in the tub, but you won't sit anymore.  You MUST stand for your entire bath.  Teenage thoughts enter my mind again.  This boy is meant to take showers instead of baths.  If only we can get him to wet his head.
• Two is your favorite number.  Is it because you're two?  I don't know.  But you use it to count "Two, Two, Go!" and you use it to describe a second item when there are two of them.  It's awesome.  I'm trying to get you to respond to the question "How old are you?" but you've been non-cooperative (Please see the first bullet).  Maybe by the time I succeed, you'll be three...
•  You are obsessed with dinosaurs, Dino Dan on Nickelodeon, Godzilla, and sharks (yeah - I have such a boy)
• Tooth brushing is a daily struggle but it becomes World War 3 when I focus on the top teeth.  You say, "No up. Down!"  I haven't checked but I think your molars came in because you like to pull the front collar of the shirt you are wearing and bite on it until the front of your shirt is soaked.  Your favorite T-shirt (Go-Diego-Go) now has a hole.  
• You scream "Mama!" so that I watch and respond to every little thing that you do.  
• We had a small bout where you fought us to go to bed. We tried lots of tactics like tricking you into bed, making a game out of it, and just plain leaving you in the family room.  One night you were having such a major temper tantrum that I tried the unspeakable:  treating you like a human being and talking to you!  I got down on my knees to your eye-level and began to rationalize why it was bedtime.  And you know what?  It worked!  Only for about a week, but your tantrums were never as intense again.  Nowadays we've found that sticking to our guns and having you cry it out, with a little bit of us rationalizing with you has made bedtime a little more palatable.
• You are a Daddy's boy and your dad gloats about it
• Sometimes you just bust out in this hysterical laugh that seems forced and fake (and a little nerdy).  Like yesterday when you rolled your car window down and stuck your hand so that it was flying in the wind. You kept forcing the laugh, which in turn made me crack up, so you forced it even more, which cracked me up even more.  We were forcefully laughing all the way home.
• You wear a size 9 shoe and all your 2T pants are floods.  I need to buy 3T.
• You like to ride your tricycle around the house.
• You love your little brother but you also use him as a scapegoat and he sometimes annoys you.  "Did someone go caca?"  Diego: "Brother, caca!"; "Diego, do you want to take a bath?"; "No!  Bubble brother!".  The other day you hauled your brother in his walker all the way to the kitchen and left him there so he would stop annoying you while you played with your toys.  Problem solved.
• You've been going to weekly speech therapy for about 6 months now.  The therapist got you to stop saying "Gah" for "Yes"  now you say "Ya" except when you fall down and you're stunned.  Are you OK?  "Gah!"
• The picture below is mostly for me to compare when your little brother is 2.5 but these are all the words you know how to say (although you understand so much more):  

I swear I didn't mean to highlight Row 22 on purpose, but yeah it's an important word.

Enjoying every crazy minute of motherhood thanks to you! - Shirley

Perspective: Rough Night

1:30 A.M.  The sleep train finally arrives.

I had a rough night last night while experiencing the "joys" of motherhood to two boys and sleep deprivation.  It was the domino effect of Child A not wanting to sleep, Child B waking up crying due to Child A,  Adult A home alone as the caretaker, and Adult B coming home at midnight being generally loud and instigating the vicious non-sleeping, crying cycle all over again!  I felt alone in the parenting role; no- worse- because "alone" would have been fine.  I could've handled feeling alone, but the fact that Adult B made things worse - well THAT got under my skin.

I had a rough night, and frankly I woke up pissed off and running off of 4 hours of sleep (give or take).  I had to get ready for work and dropping off the children and EVERYONE was asleep.  Adult B was snoring which caused me to feel a mixture of jealousy and hate.  I'm being brutally honest with my feelings and emotions here.  I had a rough night...

BUT


Life always finds a way of putting things in perspective for me at just the right time.  While I had the luxury of taking the photo above and posting it on Instagram at 1:30 in the morning to bitch and complain about what a rough night I was having; it turns out that other people in Colorado were literally having the worst night ever.  In learning the news this morning of the Batman Screening Rampage, my feelings of anger were suddenly squashed and the new emotions of pity and sadness, respect and love began to refill my heart.  It was further nurtured after learning of a child victim.  A CHILD victim!

I don't care if a man marries a man.  I don't care.
I don't care if you choose to circumsize your child or pierce their ears.  I don't care.
I don't care whether you believe in God or nothing at all.  I don't care.
That's your prerogative...

But once you cross the line of deliberately inflicting unnecessary pain, and possibly death, unto another person.  Well - then I CARE.  What gives you the right to determine another persons' time on this earth?  Who are you to terrorize people that you don't even know just because you can't get your own life together?  Nobody... That's who you are... Nobody.

And sadly nobody is anybody.  Anybody could terrorize anybody off a whim.  It's just the world we live in, and that's why life is too short to be stuck in a state of anger for too long.  I'm not saying that Adult B is getting a hall pass.  I'm just saying that it turns out that I didn't have such a rough night after all.

Life is too short - Shirley 

DIY: Growth Chart (Modern & Trendy)

The moment I saw this project, I fell in love.  It was the perfect blend of functional, sophisticated, and creative all in one.  It was a fine piece of decor that I would gladly display on my family room wall, and yet all it was, was a piece of wood marked up with a Sharpie!  Yet, I love staring at it now that it's showcased in my house.  I love it, I love it, I love it.  Did I mention that I love it???  I know it'll be something that will travel with me forever no matter where I live and for each birthday, we will freeze yet another memory in time for each of my boys.

And it was sooooo easy to make!  I was able to complete it in one day in between my kids' naps and stuff.  I want everyone to have one!

MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED

• 1 1x8x6 board (Bought mine at Lowes)
• Wood Stain (I chose Red Oak because it matched the warm decor in my house)
• 1 Disposable Brush
• 1 Normal Ruler (not a ginormous human-sized one - LOL)
• 1 Pencil
• 1 Black Sharpie
• 1 Ball Point Pen
• The numbers 1-6 printed on a piece of paper (I used Century font at 200 pts)
• 1 Sawtooth frame holder or Wall Screws and Wood colored putty

DESIGN NOTES

1. This ruler is marked and designed to be hung exactly 6 inches off the floor.  If you want it to be based at ground-level, you will need different tic marks and numbering along your giant ruler.
2. Although I included the sawtooth frame holder to hang the board, after a little disagreement with my hubby, he won and we screwed the entire ruler to the wall.  He was worried about the safety of our tots since they find trouble around every corner.  He had a point - that's the only reason he won.  I didn't like the screws to show, so he filled the holes with some wood-colored putty.

MAKE YOUR RULER

Using your brush, stain the wood.  The longer you leave it, the longer it will stain.  I left mine on for 5-10 mins tops before I wiped the stain clean with a paper towel.  Allow the stain to completely dry.

Using your ruler and a pencil, mark a pattern of 2 one-inch lines for every 1 two-inch line.  The lines should all be one inch apart.  When you are happy with your lines,  trace over them with a Sharpie and a ruler.

With a pencil, trace over your number on the BACK of the paper.  Flip the paper over (face up) and strategically place on your ruler.  Take a ballpoint pen and trace over the TOP of the paper, this will transfer the pencil lead and indentation of the number shape onto the ruler.  Then simply trace over on the giant ruler with a Sharpie!  (I took my time with this because I'm a perfectionist, and I found it therapeutic - I know, I'm weird)

Secure the giant ruler onto your wall.  Remember - it must be hung exactly 6 inches from the ground.

And that's it!  Easy-peasy, right? - Shirley

7-Month Update!

Yes, he does take a big whiff of his socks above...  Boys will be boys.  Created with Gifboom

Last Friday as I was marking up my Lansinoh Mother's Milk bag with the date, I realized it was Friday the 13th.  That lead me to realize it was also Mateo's 7-month mark.  Already!

What can I tell you about Mateo lately?  Well how about how awesome it is that he can now go forward in his walker?!  He finally switched gears from Reverse to Drive and off he went!  According to my dad, he can spend an hour in his walker now, but as soon as either my mom or I get home, he'll start crying and wanting to be held.  We need to do something about that!

I need him to spend more than ten minutes in his walker at MY house!  Crying babies are not conducive to cooking dinner, and I've been dealing with it for 7 months now.  

Matayto Potato has also been epicurious lately.  With his newfound mobility, he's been wheeling himself to one room in the house in particular: the kitchen.  There you can find him begging like a puppy (did he learn from Mokee and Qori?) for "scraps" while my mother is cooking.  It's a hilarious sight.  Yesterday he scored a red kidney bean.  He was all dimples....

I don't want to jinx anything, but on the sleeping front we've had a semi-success.  I've experienced a total of two nights where he's gone to sleep around 8:30 pm and not woken up until 5 am.  If he DOES wake up in the middle of the night, I have increased the bottle from 4 oz to 6 oz and that has helped him sleep longer.

Other Tater Tidbits:

• Now that he's more mobile, he doesn't sit still on laps anymore.  He's very fidgety and kind of annoying but if you sit him down next to you he starts to cry because he wants to be held. (It's yet again, like a dog.  Let me in, let me out, let me in....)
• He likes to hold his own bottle, but still needs a lot of help in understanding how the laws of gravity works with liquids in a bottle.
• While laying in his crib, he's been scooting up his body as he cries to the point where if I don't get to him fast enough, I will find the top of his head touching the crib railing and possibly hurting him.  This worries me, so I have fastened the crib bumper back onto the crib, despite SIDS-related recommendations not to use a crib bumper.
• He's intrigued by the tags on his stuffed toys. (He's become a label Nazi -- much like his brother at that age)
• He doesn't need his Boppy pillow when sitting anymore, but he does need soft flooring for the occasional goof-up.  And now that he's better at sitting, he doesn't need to be in his carrier when we go out anymore! Yeah!

Mama's 7-Month Tidbits

• I'm not sure why (hormones normalizing?) but my hair is suddenly less frizzy and therefore more manageable.  I'm LOVIN' it.  I feel like a normal person again.  (Despite all the baby hairs due to the hairloss)
• Milk supply went down since our vacation and I'm working on stimulating it back up.

Hope you had a good Friday the 13th! -Shirley

Fashion Friday 7/13/2012 - Lil' Dude Threads

My little dude looks better than me this morning so I decided to revolve this Fashion Friday post around him a bit.  Since fate gave this mother a second little boy, I've decided that spending a little more of my monies on "cuter" boy clothes is now somehow more acceptable.  I know these threads will one day be handed down to Mateo so I can spend a little more.  I still plan to shop consignment, but it gets harder to find good stuff as your "baby" morphs into a toddler and then, gasp! A kid...

Rockin' the skinnies better than his mama!

Spending was temporarily on hold for me as I tried to pay off debt from our house remodel, and we started spending on our vacation trip.  Then I got this little doosey in the mail, and I CRACKED!

I had been so good at resisting an urge to shop, and then a letter like this comes along telling me that I'm even more in the hole than I thought!  This might sound counter-intuitive but since I was already in the hole, and since the installment plan (lasting 4 months) doesn't start until next month, I decided to just give into my shopping urge now before things get even worse.

So off to Mommy Disneyland Nordstrom Rack I went, and came back home with these threads. 

Most of these clothes I found in the clearance section but a few things (like the shoes and pants) were worth spending a bit more money on.  I debated on the white shirt because it wasn't his usual style, but then I thought:  That's the point!  Plus it helped that "28" is my birthday number.  I considered it a sign.  Ps.  Diego is really into Dino Dan on Nick Jr.  He watches it over and over On Demand, and I need to explain to him that there are other cool shows out there!

Walking into the store my goal was to buy myself accessories only (thrift first for clothes), and I failed when I saw this Vince Camuto dress.  It screamed "Take me home!"  So I did..  Maybe next Friday I'll have pics of me actually wearing it.

Wish me luck for the next few months while I'm poorer than usual! Yikes! - Shirley

Shirley's Cancun Top Ten!

Here they are!  My top 10 photos of our Cancun Trip in no particular order.  You don't know how hard this was.  I literally brought the number of vacation photos down to 386.  386!!! 

If you read this post, you'll know that smiles (even half smiles) are hard to come by during our vacations.

This photo was taken via Iphone and I love the color richness and moment frozen in time as Diego performs one of his million jumps at the resort.

Also taken via Iphone.  Another great freeze frame when Diego actually willingly touched water.

Instagram shot of Diego falling asleep while floating down the lazy river in Xel-Ha.

He would not leave this children's park in Xel-Ha!  One of the few things that brought him extreme joy during this trip.

Hubby's smile:  Not just any smile.  This is the smile he gives when Diego only has eyes for him.  Those two are like PB&J.

Need I explain why this is a top ten photo?

Love the angle and rich colors in this shot.

Reflections

Not the best quality, but a picture is worth a thousand words.  Or in this case - two super cool words. 

Since I had sooooooo many photos, I've included the

RUNNERS UP:

People would NOT get out of my Reflection shot.  Going to have to Photoshop them out.  I felt like I was posing for a fashion blog, and Diego takes a crap in the middle of the Mayan games court, LOL!

Can there ever be a family portrait where EVERYONE looks good???

All of these just didn't make the cut... but close!  Noteworthy:  Diego walks on sand.  Amazing!  A picture of what I think is a volcano in El Salvador -- beautful, One of Diego's many temper tantrums

Two, Two, GO!

I took Diego to the park the other day and I think he's almost ready for the concept of counting.  He would climb the big boy play structure (I don't think it was meant for 2 yr olds, but he was up for the challenges) and when he reached the top, he got in the Starting of a Race pose.  He screamed, "Two, Two, GO!" and ran a one-kid race to the slide, slid down it, and experienced a little bit of static electricity as a result.

It may be time to start learning to count.

It may be time for a haircut. - Shirley

Traveling with a Toddler

I don't know how socially-acceptable it was to buy my two-year old a Kindle Fire for his birthday, but can I just say, "THE KINDLE FIRE IS AWESOME!"  Last year, I had the worst time traveling with a 1 1/2 year old. The worst.  I thought that bringing along tons of new toys would keep him entertained....  WRONG.  Here's a formula for you:

New Toys + Airplanes = WMD targets launched at neighboring airplane travelers.  

Couple that with the kicking, screaming, not wanting to stay in his seat, only wanting to play in the airplane bathroom, AND IT WAS A 9-hr RED-EYE, etc.  THE. WORST. FLIGHT. EVER.

This time around, I only brought along the Kindle Fire.  There was still screaming, screeching, and kicking but IT WASN'T COMING FROM MY CHILD!  Halleluiah!  Pity for the other parent emminated from deep down in my gut.  Partly because I've been there before and I knew what that parent was enduring and partly because I have another baby at home who will one day put me through this agony again-- I'm not in the clear just yet.

Although the Kindle is awesome, it still wasn't a cure-all.  Here are a few things:

• It has a pretty good battery life, but still eventually dies in a 7hr flight, but now-adays there are plently of places to charge your electronics on and off the plane.
• He did get bored occasionally and still wanted to walk in the aisle
• The Toddler & Handheld Device pose:  slumped in the seat with fidgety legs up on the seat in front of them.  (This leads to kicking and annoying the front traveler selected to sit in the WORST SEAT ON THE PLANE).  Lucky for me, Diego generally understood when I said, "No kicking"
• You settle your hyperactive toddler in the plane just before take-off by handing him the Kindle.  He's into his game.  The flight attendants prepare for take-off, "Could you please put away all electronic devices?"  Umm, no.  Unless you want to start an unnecessary tantrum before we even hit the air.  
• Apply the bullet above to landing as well.

 I survived traveling with my 2 1/2 yr old and we made it to our destination.  Now as for surviving a tropical vacation with a kid who hates sand and water?  That's a different story entirely.

Take for example this lovely photo of a father and son enjoying the pool...

Or this one of proud, happy parents and their baby in the water:

------------------------------------------------





Diego would have NONE of that!  Please see exhibit A, B, C through X,Y, Z!

Maybe if they make the Kindle water proof??? - Shirley

Note:  We DID have some good times which I'll show in a different post.  But my son is definitely a lot of work, and I'm not one to clout your minds with pictures of roses and lollipops, before you see the pictures of the sour lemons first!  Plus, it's just plain funny after it's all said and done!

Pump and Dump

I'm in the pit of despair.  I'm all alone in this world, and I don't know what I'm doing with my life.  Life is just sad for no reason.  Sad... sadder... saddest.  I'm just so sad.  - No-- wait.  I'm OK now.  Life is cool!

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I have to be honest with you guys.  I think I've had a little bit of post-partum depression but it only occurred while I was pumping.  It's the weirdest thing!  As soon as the pump left skin contact, voila!  I was back to my old, cheery self.  The change in mood was so extreme, that I had no idea how to blog about it because I could not feel the depression if I wasn't pumping, and pumping and typing simultaneously is hard.  Even now, I don't think I'm doing a good job at describing it.

Luckily, I have been able to overcome the depression by making pumping into a psychological, competitive sport.  The Great Mother's Milk Race!  How much can Shirley pump in this round?  Can she pump more than the other mom's Lansinoh bags in the Mother's Room refrigerator?  She did!  Haha! Suckers!

Unfortunately, during my recent 9 days of vacation sans baby I needed to do a lot of pumping and dumping while I was in Mexico.  We had itineraries chock full of activities and there were some days when I could only pump once in the morning and once at night.  As a result, my milk production significantly reduced during the 9 days.  I remember reaching our hotel on Day 1 after a 7 hour flight with extra hours in connection flight times and my chest was rock hard!  Fast forward 9 days later and reaching home after the same number of hours and my chest was perfectly fine and barely producing anything it all.

Now I'm back in the mother's nursing room at work, and losing The Great Mother's Milk Race.  I'm a loser who doesn't produce over 2 ounces at the pump (It used to be at least 4-5 oz).  The mothers look at my Lansinoh bag and scoff.  'What a loser!' (OK - maybe that's just in my head)  A new depression sweeps over me to realize that at 6 months Mateo has been transformed from a breast milk baby with supplemental formula, to a formula baby with supplemental breastmilk.  :(

This can't happen.  I really wanted to last longer this time around.  Around 9-12 months was my goal.  Not 6 months!  I didn't overcome pump depression just to dry up due to a 9-day vacation to Cancun!  So my new, immediate goal is to stimulate milk production back to a somewhat acceptable level (without breastfeeding because Mateo's teeth have come in - Ouch!).  What does this mean?

• More frequent time at the pump (my boobs will NOT be hybrids)
• Stimulation by continued pumping even when there is no more milk
• Mother's Milk Tea (Hey!  I'll give it a shot)

I will give an update on the Mother's Milk Race score in a followup post.  Wish me luck!

For now it's Other Mothers: 1, Shirley: 0    --- Shirley

Fashion Friday: Vacation Romp

While I go through my 100s of vacation photos to choose the top 10, would you settle for a vacation pic for Fashion Friday?  I tried to wear something I never dared before: a romper.  I'll admit although I wish I could be trendy, I feel like such a doofus when I actually follow through.  I'm hit with these feelings where I think, "Oh God!  Everyone must be thinking:  what is that lanky boy wearing?".  I'm too tall and skinny and have no curves.

$14.99 Romper from TJ Maxx

I tried on this romper before I went on vacation and only felt a little awkward in it, so I threw it in my luggage wondering if my mind would change during our flight to Mexico.  I decided to wear it while visiting ruins.  I wouldn't be swimming that day, so a romper made sense for this type of activity.  I paired the romper with a natural toned belt, comfy walking shoes, and chandelier earrings.  Suddenly, the outfit was transformed and I was actually very surprised when I reviewed the pictures on my camera.  Not bad!  Fashion success!  And I wasn't even expecting it.

Don't you just love when and outfit comes together? - Shirley

A 6-Month Update

I really need to post this 6 month update before Mateo turns 7 months!  LOL.  I think my biggest disappointment this month is that Mateo is still not sleeping through the night.  In fact, he still wakes up twice in the night and sometimes three times a night.  I can' believe it's been half a year since I've had a full night's sleep (OK so I did when I was on vacation, I just like to sound dramatic).  I go back and forth between mental frustration and patience:  "Why won't you just go to sleep?!" and then "It's fine, take as much time as you need.  You're my baby, and I love you."

My attempts at various sleep methods are just as mixed from coddling him to sleep, to crying it out, to hoping that starting him on solids would keep him full through the night, to keeping him up later before bedtime (~9:30pm), to finally moving him out of our room and into the nursery.  As you can see, nothing has really done the trick.  I really don't have much faith that the 7-month update will be any different, but I do have hope that I will be wrong about that.

But enough of my complaining, there have been a lot of milestones this month too!

Mateo's 6-month Tidbits:

And we have teeth!

Mateo's favorite foods are banana, sweet potato, and Baby Mum Mums crackers

Uses his walker now, but only goes in reverse and lasts 10 minutes, tops

20.5 lbs in his 6-month check in

The most hilarious thing ever is when Mama blows raspberries on his tummy

Sits very comfortably with his Boppy pillow and is therefore a little more independent and easier to manage

Likes to move objects on the Ipad screen (Cause & Effect)

Has taken a liking to Qori and aunt's dog Mokee

Mama's 6-Month Tidbits

Sleep-deprived

Has decided to start exclusively pumping since Mateo's teeth have come in

Pumping about an ounce less milk per pump than last month (Mateo receives supplemental formula)

Thought it was over, but hair continues to fall out

New hair growth as evidenced in the tons of baby hairs that stick straight up in pony tails.

Tummy stretch marks are slightly faded

Could probably stand to lose a lb or two in the gut area, but won't really start an exercise routine until Mateo is a little more hands-free

Trying to eat more healthy, and sucking out loud at taking vitamins

Hoping to be awake for the 7-month update! - Shirley

Wordless Wednesday

Diego doesn't like dolphins.

 

Wishing you a happy 4th of July! - Shirley

Month In Phone Pics - June Recap!

Hey all!  I've been MIA for the past week because I was on vacation and the days caught up with me before I left.  If you follow me on Instagram (@goldendreemz), then these pics are old news but you get a sneak peek of our vacation at the bottom.  More vacation pics to come later!

Matayto Potato cuts his first tooth and starts eating solids.   My mom's botched May birthday present finally comes in (sea horse necklace).  Diego and Mateo start playing together - aw so cute!  Father's Day canvases come in the mail for my Hubby.  My parents vacation in Europe for 2 weeks and send us a post card (who still sends postcards?).  I start getting ready for our own vacation by water-proofing my Iphone.

Arts & crafts:  I make Instagram photo canvases, Matayto Potato eats my parents' post card (he's taking this eating solids thing very seriously), Happy Father's Day (My father and me!) Diego enjoys sunny days on the deck with his Kindle Fire, Working from home means the boys need machines of their own, volunteering at the San Francisco Food Bank.

Senor Frogs!  Snorkeling in a coral reef.  Pirate cruise, Arg!  Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza

Aquatic parks of Xcaret & Xel-Ha.  Day trip to Isla Mujeres.

Enjoying our last day at the resort (with a few temper tantrums here and there).  Someone makes a mistake because we fly first class all the way back home (Score!).  Cancun: Arial view.  Re-united with my little cherub back in SF (all smiles)!

What does July have in store for us? - Shirley