Hooray! Lots of hugs and praise for Princess! We finally got her into the toddler bed! It wasn’t easy but we did it and I am so proud of her. She was really comfortable and secure in her crib so I was hesitant to move her, esp. with a bunch of other things going on in her life. But, Baby was moving around so much already I felt that it would be best to get her out of the cosleeper and into the crib. Finally, I told Mr. MaD that we just need to take the crib down on a Friday so that she can have a couple of days to transition. I needed the weekend just in case we would have to put the crib back in her room.

Bedtime came and we entered the room and Princess was fine…until it was time to go to bed! She was very upset and kept saying “bed, bed…sleep, sleep…” and wanted out of the room. For one thing, we put the toddler bed in a different location than where her crib was. After about 15 mins. of intense crying, I told Mr. MaD that we needed to move the toddler bed into the same place as where the crib was.  Well, Princess was still crying but we were able to get her into the bed. We stayed with her a little while then Mr. MaD left the room first. I stayed a little longer and sang to her and patted her back. Yes, she was still crying. After about 10 minutes, I told her, “I love you. Remember to stay in the bed. If you need mommy, call me. Goodnight.” Then I left the room. We could hear her crying on the monitor for  a while longer. It was tough and I felt sorry for her.

The next morning I got her out of bed as soon as she woke up. Mr. MaD and I went in to get her so that we could be sure to give her lots of hugs and praise.  Since that day, we continue to hug and praise her for being a “big girl” and staying in the bed.

Whew! One more step towards growing up…for Princess and for me.

Double strollers - okay, we finally invested in a double stroller. We narrowed it down tothe Graco double stroller with “stadium” seats or the Baby Trend Sit ‘n Stand. After doing some research online and trying out the Graco in the store, we decided to purchase the Baby Trend.  Why?

Well, the Graco was pretty roomy and I did like the basket for storage but it felt so difficult to open and close. Also, the infant seat didn’t seem to secure properly even after reading the directions. I think those straps that are in the seat are supposed to secure the car seat but the straps were too short.

The Baby Trendwas actually stumbled upon by my husband. My cousin purchased a Baby Trend Sit ‘n Stand stroller at a local store but I was really looking for a stroller with 2 seats since I felt Princess would like sitting facing the back on the jump seat. Come to find out, Baby Trend makes a double stroller that has 2 seats. The back seat can later be removed so that you can use the jump seat. Yes, it does weigh a little bit more, approx. 35 lbs. but I think it is worth it.  Our local store didn’t have it in stock so we checked online and it turns out that the price would be almost the same. We ended up getting the one from One Step Ahead that’s made by Baby Trend.  It is a little big especially when you put the infant seat on it but it’s working out well for us. Princess really enjoys sitting in back of her sister. She can even touch her feet.

Preschool - I’ve mentioned the preschool process in an earlier post. Well, of the 3 preschools that we applied Princess for we decided to pull our application for one of them since we felt it wouldn’t be a good fit for Princess.  As for our 1st choice preschool, Princess didn’t get it. There were only a few slots (less than 5 openings) and a ton of applicants. She is on the waiting list but it looks grim. The 3rd school just called us to let us know that they have a slot for Princess but she has to be toilet trained. As of right now, she is not so we are paying our deposit to hold her slot and hope that she will be completely potty trained by August. In the meantime, we were searching for other options for Princess. Again, we dished out a lot of money for more preschool applications. We filled out many comprehensive applications asking very detailed questions with many paragraphs written to answer them.  We were asked to take part in parent interviews as well as child observations. Whew, did I mention that Princess is only 2 1/2 years old!  We looked into academic programs, less academic programs, Monetessori and Waldorf, just to name a few. As of now, she will start in June at a private preschool (quite expensive) for 1/2 day. She does not have to be potty trained if she starts in June. Their program seems a little academic but is extremely mindful of each child’s individual development. They aren’t fully focused on “academics” until age 4. The use portfolios to report to parents about each child. We are hopeful that this program will be good for Princess. We are hoping that she gets potty trained by August so that we can switch preschools to the one that we paid the deposit to (the 3rd school). We liked that program too but since she isn’t potty trained we couldn’t start her in June. This preschool is way less expensive than the one she will start at. Yes, I know that switching preschools may not be the best for her but we’ll play it by ear and see what happens. 

The only other thing that I’m worried about it her adjustment to being away from me.  Remember, she is clingy. I think I’ll have a hard time adjusting too.  I’ll keep you posted as it gets closer.

Sometimes I have a bad attitude.  Okay, maybe more than sometimes. Recently, I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed with things going on in our family (with Mr. MaD’s health and with Princess). Without getting into any details, I have to confess that rather than “looking at the glass half full” I’ve been looking at it as half empty. I have to remember that my attitude affects my family, especially my children. Then I remembered a quote that I read by Charles Swindoll. I am sharing it here today so that it may bless you.

Attitude  by Charles Swindoll

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.  We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only think we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me an 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

I’ve been working hard to remember how blessed I am. Yes, I do grumble. Unfortunately, probably more than I should. At church on Sunday, our pastor was speaking about not being envious because it really opens the door to the enemy. I don’t want to say that I’m envious but maybe I am. Sometimes I do think about how my life could be “easier like so and so’s life” or how I wish “baby would be a better sleeper like so and so.”  I guess that does sound envious.

I recently heard a story on the news about a family who lost their 3 year old son in a car accident. The drunk driver ran head on into their car and the little boy’s car seat flew out of the car. The parents were injured but alive and their 1 year old daughter only received a few minor scratches. Sadly, they went home  with one less child. I pray that God would give them peace and help them heal during this tragic time.

I really have a great life when I think about that family. I should have NOTHING to grumble about!

So, I am asking for God’s forgiveness today as I do everyday.

Instead, I will keep my thoughts on all the blessings I have in my life. Rather I shall meditate on this verse, Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

I believe God wants the best for our lives and he wants me to be faithful in all things. Trusting God in all our circumstances is the most difficult part of having a relationship with God but I am so blessed to have a merciful Father who is full of grace and love when it comes to my limitations.

So, today I proclaim that I am truly blessed with a terrific husband and 2 beautiful daughters. I am blessed that I am alive and able to take care of my children as a stay at home mom. I am blessed that I have a home to live in and  a car to drive. I am blessed for all the supportive loving people in my life. I really do have a lot to be thankful about.

I hope you take the time to remember how blessed you are today and everyday. God bless you!

When Princess was younger, around 1 year of age, I remember our pediatrician asking us about tantrums.  At the time her behavior was pretty good, so I told the doctor that she does get upset but usually doesn’t stay upset for very long. She didn’t really do some of those tantrum-like behaviors that I know other kids have - kicking or stomping their feet, banging their heads, pounding their hands, etc.  Our pediatrician told us that it’s okay for her to get upset and cry and fuss but if it doesn’t last too long and if she doesn’t get really worked up then she probably isn’t having a tantrum. He also mentioned that since she wasn’t doing it at age 1 then she probably wouldn’t do it later.

Yeah, right!

Recently, Princess has been showing us the dreaded tantrum behavior. When she gets upset, especially if she doesn’t have her way, she lies on the ground and starts kicking her legs. Sometimes, she’ll kick her toy. Usually if I scold her about the kicking she stops. I’m not sure what’s going on but I don’t like it. The interesting thing is that is just started appearing within the last month or so…she’s already 2.5 years old.  I told Mr. MaD that I must be spoiling her since she knows that the tantrum behavior will probably get her what she wants, that’s why she continues to do it. (Yeah, I know, I need Supernanny!) I mentioned to Mr. MaD that sometimes when I’m home alone with the 2 girls (which is everyday) I can’t fight every battle with Princess, esp. if Baby is crying and fussing too. I also realized that we need a new time-out spot since we will soon give the crib to Baby. I’ve used the crib as her time-out spot in the past and that worked well because I didn’t have to force her to stay in one place. She doesn’t try to climb out of her crib.

It just so happened that I recently read a comment left by Deg on my post “To Discipline or not to discipline” and that reminded me about the book 1-2-3 Magic that I need to reread again. I know that I spoil Princess, I am the first to admit it. Yes, sometimes it is easier to just give in esp. when I’m feeling stressed. Sometimes I just feel sorry for her since Baby arrived too. Yep, I’m a softy when it comes to Princess. How ironic is that? I used to be such a critic of spoiled children…and look at me now! I apologize to all those parents who I ever passed judgement on.

So, I’m back to the drawing board when it comes to discipline. I’ll keep you all posted on my progress.  Obviously, the parent needs more training then the child!

It’s sure been a long time…so long that I noticed that WordPress has made some changes to my blog dashboard. I like the changes since it gives you a glance of everything on one page. Pretty cool!

Life with an infant and toddler has been keeping me very busy. Yes, I know it may not seem like I could be so busy with 2 children especially if you are a mother with more than 2 children. I have said it before and I will say it again…motherhood is the hardest/toughtest job around.  A lot of people told me that having 2 children is tough since you have to learn to multi-task. Geez, I thought I was already pretty good at multi-tasking but it’s not the same when you have 2 little ones who need your attention. Since Princess and Baby are over 24 months apart, I thought that would be a pretty good age difference between the 1st child and the 2nd. Not too mention, fertitlity was an issue. I probably mentioned this before that my doctor said you’re most fertile 1-2 years after giving birth so we used that time frame. Anyway, a couple of people have told me that 3 years between children is a good range. Then others tell me that it doesn’t matter what the age range is because your children just have different needs at every age.  So, who knows what the best age range is for having children.

Baby update…Baby is doing better with sleeping. Usually she gets up twice a night for feedings. Recently, she has been not too happy about getting a bottle. We try to give her a bottle a couple times a week just to keep her flexible. Well, she gets very upset when Mr. MaD tries to feed her. Princess was actually easy when it came to bottles. She was mostly breastfed but did receive bottles so that she could be babysat if we needed. I think as she gets older I’ve finally begun feeling more connected to her since she interacts more with us. She is smiling, laughing, cooing. It’s so cute! She enjoys pat-a-cake! Last night she slept for most of the night and only woke up once! I’m hoping that this is the new trend for night time sleep.

Princess update…Unfortunately, Princess did not get accepted to the preschool that we wanted her to attend. It was a Christian preschool with very small classes.  We were very disappointed since they only had a few openings and of course, many applicants. We only applied for 3 preschools and decided not to try for one of those schools. So now we’re waiting to hear from the last preschool. If she wants to attend this school she will need to be toilet-trained. Right now, Princess is not toilet-trained and doesn’t appear to be ready.  Mr. MaD and I have been frantically looking into other preschools but of course we are very late already. We’ve been thinking about Montessori schools or Waldorf. Any thoughts on those? They both sound very good and seem to take into account the individual development of the child. Both seem to be very hands-on and not so structured. One of the things that has bothered me about this preschool process is that when you apply for each preschool you need to submit an application fee of usually $50. That wouldn’t be so bad if they really had openings. Most times they don’t but they don’t tell you that. They say to just try because there may be openings, or it’s not too late yet, or she can be on the wait list. Ugh! We’ve spent a good sum of money only to be disappointed and frustrated. Recently, I received a phone call from a preschool saying that they received our application. Then I was informed that the 2 year old class just filled up and has a long wait list so would I like to try for the 3 year old class.  And yes, Princess would need to be toilet-trained. The phone call upset me because just the week before (Friday) Mr. MaD called that school to ask if there were openings and he was told that we  still have a chance so we should submit the application. He was also told that Princess would be in teh 2 year old class because of her late birthday. So we frantically worked on the application and mailed it on Saturday. Then on Monday I receive the phone call saying that class just filled up! Hmmm….

Okay, that’s about all for now. I have to get some stuff done around here. I’d really like to post more often but it’s really tough. I’m so bummed that I can’t even read some of my favorite blogs too. Hope you are all doing well. God bless you all!

Okay, we moved the toddler bed into Princess’s bedroom. We kept the crib in there too since that’s what I read as a suggestion in a book or magazine. We decided to try to see if she would sleep in the toddler bed for her nap. Nope! Before reading her books, I explained to her that she could sleep in the big girl bed today instead of the crib. So after finishing reading, we said, “Okay, let’s sleep in the bed!” Princess walked straight to her crib. When I tried to guide her to the bed, she refused loudly! We ended up letting her sleep in the crib. I think she feel secure in it.  Oh well, we’ll try again tomorrow. I wonder if it would make a difference if we position the toddler bed where the crib is and then move the crib? Hmmm…transitions are so difficult!

Let’s see how long this one will take!

Recently, we purchased a toddler bed for Princess. At first we weren’t going to get one since most people told us to use a twin bed mattress on the ground. But since Baby has arrived, we decided that a toddler bed is a good investment since both children will use it. Then it’ll leave the twin bed available if we need it.

Right now we have the toddler bed sitting in the living room just to get Princess used to it. We also wanted to air it out (with the mattress) before putting it in her bedroom. Princess loves to lie on the bed and she tells us to pray while she is lying on it. Too cute! The question is…how do we get her to want to sleep in the toddler bed rather than the crib? I have to say, she loves her crib. I think it’s because she feels safe and secure in it. I tried to put her stuffed animals on her toddler bed but she took them off and put them back into her crib. My next strategy is to get some really cute alphabet crib sheets from Pottery Barn Kids. I’m thinking that it’ll encourage her to want to sleep in her new bed. I’ve been telling her that she is a big girl and can sleep in the big girl bed. I’m not sure if she’s convinced of that yet.

I hope to get her in that toddler bed within the month. I’m not sure how she’ll take to the change since it probably seems like there are so many changes since Baby came. I hope that Baby can use the crib soon so that I can put the mobile up. Right now, Baby is sleeping in the cosleeper but I want her to get used to the crib and spending some quiet awake time in the crib with the mobile.

So that’s one more change for Princess…not to mention the next upcoming transition. Potty training! Actually, I hope she gets admitted to preschool, esp. the one that takes children who are not potty trained. I heard they learn to be potty trained very quickly while in preschool because they see their peers going to the potty.

Another concern is that Princess has been having trouble with naps too. Yes, since Baby was born. For one thing, she will not go to the bedroom is Baby is up and in the living room with us. So, we have to put Baby into her room first before Princess will go to her bedroom to nap or sleep at night. I think Princess thinks it isn’t fair that Baby is staying up and she has to go to bed. As for naps, Princess used to nap approx. 2 hours per day but now it’s down to 1 hour or less. Sometimes it takes her 45 mins. to 1 hour to settle herself down. Often, she wakes up from her nap fussing and crying or screaming. When I get her out of the crib, her hair and face is wet with saliva and snot and perspiration! Yuck! I really thought we were past all those sleep issues a long time ago. Not even, esp. when a new baby joins the picture!

I still believe that motherhood is one of the toughest jobs out there! Okay, maybe not for all you mothers out there but for me it is! I still pray daily for Gods’ strength and mercy because without it, I know I couldn’t do all the things that need to get done esp. when I am sleep deprived! I thank God every day for blessing me with my husband and my 2 beautiful daughters!

Anyone out there  know of where I can find some cute free fonts and dingbats?

I did get some a while back from Two Peas in a Bucket. I don’t know if you can get them there anymore. I know that their website has changed. I also found some from a site called Moms Corner 4 Kids. Unfortunately, that site seems to have disappeared.

So…I’m on the search for some cute fonts or dingbats that are free of course. Anyone out there know of some good sites?

Okay, so most of you know that Baby has arrived already! Yes, I am exhausted! If you read my earlier post you know that my baby was large, over 9 pounds.  My doctor said that I seem to just have large babies. He doesn’t think that my baby’s size was due to the gestational diabetes since I kept my blood sugar under control. This pregancy I gained less than 30 pounds.

Anyway, since the birth of Baby, I have lost all the pregnancy weight and a little more (approx. 35+ pounds total).  I recently had to take another glucose test to see if I had diabetic tendencies prior to pregnancy. This glucose test was a 2 hour test. I had to drink about 75 ml of that orange drink. My blood was drawn prior to the drink and 2 hours after. My doctor called to tell me that my 2 hour reading was borderline ( I don’t know the number and I forgot to ask). He said that he is not worried, esp. if I keep my weight under control. He thinks that I will continue to loose weight since I am nursing. He also encouraged me to exercise. I still need to talk to the g.d. nurse to see what she says. Right after the birth, she encouraged me to continue with the g.d. diet, esp. since my baby was so large.

Right now, I’m not really watching my diet. In fact, my doctor told me not to diet since I’m nursing. I’m sure he doesn’t want me to go overboard and eat everything. The funny thing is that I was telling Mr. MaD prior to giving birth that I really wanted to eat doughnuts after the birth of Baby…well, I haven’t had any doughnuts yet. I guess you just want to eat stuff when you can’t have them! I’ll let you know if I ever get those doughnuts!