Unhealthy Attachments

Wow, am I a slow learner! Why oh why did I tell the whole world that Grace is an amateur fit-thrower? Now (of course) she's morphing into an 8-month-old drama queen! She's learning that thrashing around and kicking her feet makes for a bigger better tantrum. This, combined with her new-found mobility (she's crawling... and she's good at it!) and a brother who doesn't want her to touch his stuff, is making for some interesting days here!
Meanwhile Isaac is developing some weird attachments. On Monday we had to have our truck towed. When the tow-truck arrived at our house, I immediately called Isaac to the window to see. I was expecting extreme excitement since, as you know, the arrival of the trash truck is a weekly cause for celebration. And the tow truck wouldn't just stop in front of our house but it would actually be IN OUR DRIVEWAY! And just as I expected, Isaac was very excited... for a minute. Then he realized that they were going to be taking OUR truck away with them and the whole event became devastating. We assured him that we would be getting the truck back but he wouldn't be consoled.
"Ok," I thought, "this is strange, but we did see an episode of 'Arthur' where Arthur is miserable at the thought that the family car is about to be junked and eventually saves the day by discovering that a baby rattle in in the tail-pipe is the only thing wrong with it (yes, we watch too much TV... so sue me). I guess emotional attachment to cars is just something that happens to little boys as well as grown-up ones."
Then Tuesday (our new trash day) rolled around and the trash truck came and we rushed to the window just like always. And, just like always, it was exciting. Until they started loading our trash into the truck.
"Want our trash back," Isaac said sadly. HUH???
So now I'm living in fear. You've probably heard of the recalls on "Thomas" toys lately. Of the 3 that we own, 2 have been recalled now. And twice I've been able to get away with pretending that I just can't find them for weeks on end while I wait for the new toy to arrive in the mail. But those 2 were just "Red Caboose" and "Toad". I'm terrified that Thomas himself will be recalled because I don't think Isaac could go a day without him and if he gets that upset about the trash being taken, a recall on beloved Thomas could make for a really rough 6 weeks or so! Oh yeah and the lead paint thing is scary too.

Blessings in Disguise

What am I, CRAZY?! Did I actually put it in writing that the discipline issues were just a phase? I'll put it this way; last week I learned for sure that God has a sense of humor!
The one thing that does make it all a little bit easier is that as Isaac's gotten older and more verbal, it's gotten easier to distinguish between real anguish and the times that it's purely for my benefit punishment. Mostly because he tells me. For instance, he spent one of his (many, many) timeouts last week fake crying and saying, "Help me calm down Mama. Help me calm down!" I didn't mean to actually help him calm down but my laughter may have done the trick!
Another time last week, we were in the car and tired, hungry Grace started crying. Not to be outdone, Isaac began the really REALLY fake crying (not to be confused with plain old "fake crying") and when we ignored it he called to us, "We're crying back here!"
I'm afraid that Grace has inherited a very unsympathetic Mama. I find myself daily saying to my sweet 8 month old, "Oh stop fussing. You're fine." I NEVER would have said that to 8 month old Isaac! I guess I can chalk some of that up to experience but honestly, I think that mostly it's because Grace is such an amateur compared to her big brother. Thank the Lord.
Anyway, I do want to just state for the record that even though I know you're not supposed to compare your children, I do it anyway because I really am just so wildly proud of both of them. I love each of their personalities and having them be so very different just makes me feel like I've been given a little bit of everything. They compliment each other perfectly and I wouldn't change a thing!
And in case my very positive attitude this morning is making you wonder...yes, I've just had my coffee! :)

PS

Heeheehee! I was going over animal sounds with Isaac this morning and when I asked him, "What does the bunny say?" he said, "Rabbit Rabbit"! Too funny!

Just Another Update

Soo... the kids are napping for the moment (yes BOTH of them, miracle of miracles!) and I have a thousand other things to do but the old blog is calling my name! It's been too long!
Anyway, here is what is going on with us (and why I've been MIA). We have a new (old) house, a new computer, and a new job for Hubby starting on Monday. He also started taking an online class this past weekend. Isaac is still nowhere near potty training but that's ok because I've switched Grace to cloth diapers and am in the process of switching him too. It's less expensive than disposables and less of a headache than cleaning the carpets all day long! Grace's sleep has taken a turn for the worse this past week (and you didn't think it could get any worse, did ya?) but she's currently sleeping in her playpen when she's not in our bed because we haven't put her crib together yet. I'm hoping that when she has her crib back she'll sleep better again... yes, I do know better but I'm still hoping.
Other than the new house, computer, job, and oh yeah, we're thinking about shopping for a new church sometime soon, things are basically the same around here. Well, except for the fact that the kiddos are constantly changing. Which is kinda too bad since I think they're at the absolute most perfect ages right now.
Gracie is quite possibly the most gorgeous baby in all of history and getting more beautiful by the minute. She still has that sweet disposition but is experimenting with adding a little bit of drama into the mix every now and then in the form of a shrieking tantrum. Too bad for her that next to what her big brother used to dish out, her objections sound like an angry little mouse. Ok, they're a little bit louder than that but unlike Isaac, she doesn't make me wonder if she's actually being TORTURED by an unseen force. I just laugh and tell her that "save the drama for your Mama" is just an expression and I don't want to hear it.
Speaking of my little whirlwind, all the angst I had over Isaac's discipline seems to have been for naught. It seems that he was going through the terrible two's a bit early or something. We still do occasional time-outs of course but overall he's mellowed out a lot... at least for now. In fact, I think he may actually be the most polite (or is is politest?) 2 year old in the world. He's been saying "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me" and "sorry" for quite a while (not that anybody else knows it since he still doesn't really speak to anyone outside of the house). Just this past week though, he took it to a new level. I asked him if he wanted dinner and he said, "No. Me no want dinner. Thank you though." THANK YOU THOUGH?! He really just sounds like such a little grown-up sometimes. He's also started telling us, with very careful enunciation, "I'm okay," after he hurts himself so I know that his referring to himself exclusively as "me" instead of "I" will soon be going the way of "bapple" (apple) and "chitchen" (kitchen). SIGH!!! Oh, he also asks us "How your day?" (How was your day) even when we're right in the middle of it and tells us "Don't worry 'bout me." AND he finally said "I luf (love) you" to me! Just once though and it's been "I luf ya" ever since. I guess I should savor the "ya"s though before they're gone. It's been hard not to cringe at them since I realized that he was mimicking me.
Anyway, I can't really say that nothing has changed but I guess I could say that I really haven't. Same old, same old going on in my tired brain. It's nice to put it out on the internet again though. Hopefully my next post will happen a bit sooner!

Just a little update

Wow! It's been forever since I posted! That is because, in case you hadn't heard, we got the house!!! Yippee!!! So now it's all about painting and cleaning and packing...
Also, my computer is not working so I only have a computer in the evening when Hubby is home and by then I'm pretty tired.
In other news, the no-cry sleep solution has gone nowhere! Well, we've gone nowhere with it. There's just too much going on for me to be able to focus on it. Soo... Grace's sleep is worse than ever. Also, the work we were doing on discipling Isaac has gone right out the window.
I just can't wait until we're all settled into the new house! I crave structure and routine and organization... and coffee! Not that I can't have that here; I just can't have it now because it's 3 o'clock in the afternoon... but that's besides the point.
I really don't have anything entertaining to share today. I just wanted to let you know where I've been... if anyone is even checking this anymore! :) I'm hoping to get back to regular posting again soon. Don't hold your breath though!

More nutritious lunch choices

So the good news is that we're not eating as much mac 'n cheese these days. The bad news is that now Isaac is basically subsisting on Peanut Butter and Fluff sandwiches. Peanut butter and FLUFF! I'm embarrassed to even type it.
I'm not exactly sure how it happened except that I remember walking through the grocery store one day (I think while I was still pregnant) and seeing the fluff and remembering it from my days in daycare (where the only other things that I remember ingesting were oreos and kool-aid... in case you wondered why I don't send my kids to daycare!) and I wanted some. But I didn't buy any that day. In fact I didn't buy any for weeks even though it's right next to the peanut butter (which we buy every week) and the craving wouldn't go away. Finally I caved in and bought some for a treat, resolving not to let Isaac have any. Which lasted for exactly 2 seconds after he asked for a bite. So now he's eating "P-Fuff" for breakfast and lunch most days and would probably want it for dinner, you know, if he would actually eat dinner. One day he even finished his sandwich and then, while I was busy with Grace, he ate most of mine! Isaac! Ate almost 2 whole sandwiches! What do they put in that stuff anyway? Marshmallows and CRACK?! Maybe I should start slipping some broccoli in there between the fluff and the bread. Hmmm.....
Anyway, we will close on the house on Monday IF everything goes right between now and then. So stay tuned!

My groggy thoughts

You wanna know what is the worst part about having little ones who are not good sleepers? It's not the lack of "me time" or even the sleep deprivation, although that is horrendous (there's a reason why they use it to torture people). Nope, it's probably not what you'd guess.
Without a doubt, the very worst thing about having 2 little insomniacs is the suspense! If I put her down now will she wake up? If she doesn't, will she sleep for 5 minutes or 2 hours? Do I have time to a.) blog b.) use the bathroom or c.) clean the house (just theoretical- you know I'd never pick c!)
When people have asked me what I think is the hardest part of having 2 kids, I've automatically said that for me it's naptime even though when I think about it, naptime usually goes ok. Disaster is always lurking though. Grace could decide to stay awake until it's too late to put Isaac down. Or she could wake up crying just as he's drifting off (which would mean the end of the world- trust me!) And just to make sure that I don't get too comfortable, Grace usually wakes up just as I'm leaving Isaac's room. It doesn't matter if it has taken me 5 minutes to get him down or a half an hour.
What really drives me crazy is how people don't understand this and urge me to nap when the kids do. "Even if it's only 10 minutes, you should try. Maybe you'll get a good nap." Ha! Shows how much you know! First of all, if I lay down, it's not going to be the day that they nap well. Secondly, I can only stand that feeling of being wrenched out of dreamland and into reality so many times in a 24 hour period and the 17 times (give or take) a night is about filling my quota.
Earlier this week I actually did get so desperate that I tried it. I was soo tired and feeling yucky and I thought that if I laid down with Grace that she would sleep for a while. Isaac only had 45 minutes or so left until his normal wakeup time but he'd had Benadryl right before he went down and the last time he had Benadryl he had slept for 3 hours! 10 minutes later he was awake. And I mean WIDE awake, not even groggy like he usually is after his nap!
Soo... to get to the point...we're starting the old no-cry sleep solution today. You may have noticed that I haven't been blogging much and it's not because I don't want to. I've just hit that can't-even-function-anymore level of tired and have been finding it possible to be interesting. So anyway, I could use your prayers! The no-cry sleep solution did fabulous things for Isaac's sleep but it does take patience and actually involves more staying awake before things get better.
In other news, the house buying is still moving forward. If the radon test comes back ok and the house appraises right (we'll know about both within the next couple of days) and if the current owners will agree to replace the oil tank (eek!) then we'll be in business! Again, any prayers are appreciated!
More later...