Tricky Toddlers

My three year old girl, “Princess”, is generally well behaved but has a few tricks up her sleeve.

The other day I noticed her sitting in the pantry, I looked in but she didn’t seem to be doing anything. A little while later she went back in there and again I couldn’t see anything she was eating but thought I should investigate further. After some searching I found a hidden juice box that I almost missed because she had stored it behind some boxes. We then had a little talk about asking mommy’s permission. While one juice box isn’t a big deal there are things she shouldn’t be eating and if she hides more stuff from me it could be dangerous.

Sometimes when I’ll tell her not to do something she tries to get her 1 year old sister to do it anyway. While I try to be discipline them equally, I think Princess has caught onto the fact that Sweet Pea gets away with things because she’s too young to understand.

Sweat Pea can open our front door if it’s unlocked so we always keep it locked. But if Princess wants to go outside she’ll just unlock the door and tell Sweet Pea  to open it. When I get mad at her she tries to argue that it was Sweet Pea’s fault.

It’s not just limited to her sister though, we had a playdate the other day and Princess found another juice box (can you tell she’s not allowed to drink them very often?) to play with on her pretend picnic. I told her she could play with it if she didn’t open it. She then handed it to her friend and asked him to open it. I then asked him nicely not to open it either. Then right in front of me she whispers to him, “open it!” And now the juice boxes are going to be stored higher!

I’m not sure if I should take these sneaky tricks as a sign that Princess is a genius or future manipulative teenager. I can’t even imagine the trouble I’m in when Sweet Pea is old enough to be a co-conspirator!

Moving Update and Upcoming Trip

Hello. I haven’t been posting for the last week because I’ve been busy packing and moving all our stuff to the new house. There are still boxes of random things that need to be put away but other than it is finished. Moving took a lot longer than expected because we were supposed to have cleaners come clean up all the construction dust on Friday morning but they never showed up. So I had to dust down all the walls, vaacum and wipe down everything. The new house is great, it still hard to believe we are finally moved in.

I may not be posting for a while again because I’m leaving for Mexico tonight. My brother-in-law is getting married so we had to go. I’m excited for a vacation since it’s our first one together without the kids. But at the same time I’m nervous for how the kids will do without me for a whole week, especially the youngest. I’ve only ever left Princess twice overnight and have never been away from Sweet Pea for more than 8 hours at a time. Princess is old enough to understand we are coming back but Sweet Pea doesn’t talk or understand much yet. I’ve made little gift bags for them every day which will hopefully give them something to do and make them think of us. They are going to sleep in their own beds and will be with their grandparents.

I’m also curious to how my parents will do watching the girls. They see them almost daily but usually only for a few hours at a time. They’ve never looked after them for an entire day, much less a week. I’m sure they’ll do fine but they’re going to be tired.

I may be blogging while in Mexico but I’m not sure. I’ll be sure to tweet though.

2 Going on 13

Princess is about to turn three in August but sometimes it seems like she is about to turn 13. Her love of fashion and dressing up is well documented. She already asks to put on my make-up and likes sunglasses and purses. All very cute things that girls of all ages like. But recently we’ve experienced the attitude of a teenager.

When I send her to her room for disobedience or other incidences she slams her bedroom door and yells out “Fine!”. It’s a good thing she can’t see me laughing. It’s much harder to keep a straight face when she rolls her eyes at me. I thought I had a few more years before experiencing attitude like this. Another thing she does is over-exaggerate and act like we are the worst parents ever. When I stop her from doing something she indignantly cries out “You Never Let Me Insert activity here“.  She knows how to manipulate us and likes to tease us by saying “I don’t love you”

At least we don’t have to worry about boys yet because she has announced that she is going to marry Dora the Explorer. If this is what almost 3 looks like I’m scared for 13.

Summertime Fun

I’ve been anxiously awaiting summer but now that it’s here I’m reminded of some of the not so fun things about summer. We are having a really hot period right now and it’s almost uncomfortable outside. I hate being overly hot and it tends to make me frustrated. In order to avoid the hottest sun, I try to get the kids outside early in the morning. Usually that tires Sweet Pea out and she takes a nice long nap. It’s still really hot and it even tires me out.

I envisioned summer with lots of trips to the park and sitting on a blanket in the grass reading a book while my kids played peacefully. But I’ve discovered that it’s hard to read a book when you are looking up every few seconds to see where the kids have wandered off too. And when I see my youngest trying to climb the play structure, my book is instantly abandoned. I do love getting outside though since my girls have a lot more freedom to roam and it’s generally less cluttered than my house. But I worry about them getting too much sun exposure. I use sunscreen and hats but the hats don’t always stay on.

And even if they’re not getting sunburnt, the heat can make them grumpy and sick. Like last week when I took the kids to the park. About halfway around the path Sweet Pea started crying. I couldn’t calm her down, not even when I tried to breastfeed her. She rarely ever cries so I think it was the combination of being overtired and hot. I didn’t want to leave her screaming in the stroller so I was forced to walk 15 minutes back to our car holding her while attempting to push the double stroller. Thank goodness, I went with a friend who helped me out. Sweet Pea calmed down once we got home and she breastfed and was able to have a nap in her crib. The experience makes me nervous to stray too far from home though. So much for trips to the beach.

It was super hot again today but we turned the sprinkler on to cool down the kids. Sweet Pea avoided the sprinkler at all costs, which is odd because she loves the shower. She was perfectly content to play in the play house. Princess on the other hand loved it. I was worried about the water rinsing off all her sunscreen.

This intense heat wave should pass soon and then I’ll be able to go on walks and stay outside longer. In the meantime, I’m very thankful for air conditioning. If only I could have the space of the outdoors with the convenience of a gigantic air conditioner.

What are some of your favourite things to do in the summer? How do you make sure your kids don’t get too much sun exposure?

My Perfect VBAC Birth Story

A year ago today I delivered my 2nd perfect baby girl. As I mentioned in my post about waiting for labour my first was born via c-section because she was breach. I had to go into labour on my own because inductions raise the risk of uterine rupture during vaginal births after c-sections.

I went into labour late Sunday night at 40weeks and 4 days. I had some very mild and infrequent contractions that kept me up so I cleaned the whole house. I started timing my contractions at 7am and they were between 5-10 minutes apart but only about 10 seconds long. The hospital told me stay at home until I was having contractions 3-5 minutes apart lasting a minute long. Since the hospital was an hour away we went anyways, but not until I made my husband vaacuum.

We walked around the hospital for an hour and then my husband wanted me to check in. I didn’t want to hear that I was barely dilated since the contractions still weren’t regular or longer than 15 seconds. But we decided to just check. Once I walked into the admitting room around 12:45, they handed me my gown and I had 3 quick contractions. I laid down and then threw up. They checked me and I was only 2cm. I had 2 more contractions in the next few minutes and during the 2nd one my water broke. They checked me and I was fully dilated! I immediately felt like pushing so they rushed me to a delivery room. After about 20 minutes of pushing my baby was there! Sweet Pea arrived at 1:18pm barely 30 minutes after being admitted.

I did get a 2nd degree tear and used gas while they stitched me up. I was surprised to find out she was 8lbs 11oz since my first had only been 7.5lbs. I’m glad I didn’t know how big she was since it might have scared me and hindered my labour.

It was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I didn’t follow medical advice and get a repeat c-section. My recovery was so much better. I don’t know how I would have been able to take care of my toddler if I had a c-section.

I don’t have any pictures of my labour since it was so quick but this picture is 5 minutes after having her.

This picture is the first time Princess met her baby sister. The outfits were not planned at all surprisingly

I’d love to read your birth stories. Feel free to add the link to the stories in the comments section.

1 Year Ago- Waiting for Labour

This was me exactly 1 year ago. I was 40 weeks and 4 days pregnant with Sweet Pea, desperately hoping that I would go into labour on my own before a scheduled c-section at 41 weeks. My first was born via c-section because she was breach (Now that I know more about breach babies I wish I had tried different methods to turn her) but I was really hoping to experience childbirth naturally with this one. It was a bit of a struggle to get a doctor to agree to let me have a vaginal birth after a c-section (vbac) but I had found one who agreed to let me have a vbac if it was before 41 weeks. I agreed to the 41 week timeline only because I was sure I would go into labour early since my water had broken 4 days early with my first. At this time last year, I had all but resigned myself to having another c-section and was going in the morning to get bloodwork done for the surgery.

Luckily, I went into labour that night. Come back tomorrow to read my perfect vbac story.

Leaving the Baby Stage Behind

Sweet Pea woke up an hour after going to bed tonight and refused to go back to sleep. As much as I like my free time, it’s sometimes nice to play with her at night. I hardly ever have time just with her. Playing at night is quiet and relaxing, I’m not worried about making dinner or cleaning or doing anything other than just playing with my baby.

Tonight, I watched my sweet pea toddle around the house. She’s been walking for a few weeks now but I can’t get over how cute it is. I can’t believe how old she is. She turns one next Tuesday. I don’t even really believe it’s been a year. I’m in denial. She’s still almost bald and until the recent addition of four new teeth looked like a baby. But now she is walking. There’s no denying that my baby is a toddler in every sense of the word.

Some people say they don’t like the baby stage but I love it. I love having a sweet baby sleeping in my arms. I like not having to chase her around and take her off the coffee table. I miss the days where she wasn’t stealing her older sister’s toys. When there were no such things as temper tantrums and messes to clean up.

I liked being the only one able to feed her. Now she is too busy and distracted to sit still and breastfeed very long. At the same time, I enjoy being able to get out and not have to rush home to feed her. My baby is growing up before my eyes. I love the baby stage but I also love the toddler stage.

I have her first words (besides mama) to look forward to. I am excited to have conversations with her and figure out what is going on inside her head. She will learn to dance like her older sister. The thought of the two of them dancing is precious. My girls are close together and I hope they’ll be the best of friends. Right now, they struggle to understand each other and take turns but as they get older and can communicate they will have even more fun than now. I know Princess will enjoy having an older sibling to help her take care of her dolls and play dress-up.

I’m looking forward to this stage in Sweet Pea’s life but I can’t help but wonder when I’ll have another sweet newborn in my arms. At least I have one more baby to look forward to. I’m going to be even sadder after the next since it will probably be the last time I experience the baby stage. Time flies and I feel like I didn’t take enough time to just enjoy Sweet Pea’s first year. Hopefully, I remember that when I have a third and will treasure every moment.

American Idol- Bikini Girl

I spent two hours last night watching the American Idol. It was fun to see all 13 semi-finalists again. I won’t even try to comment on who should have won since I’m tone deaf and can’t really tell who is singing well. I was surprised that Kris won but after thinking about it, it makes more sense. The Danny Gokey fans would have naturally switched their votes over to him. Also, I think that Adam is a polarizing contestant. People either loved him or hated him. I suspect there were a lot of votes for Kris just so Adam wouldn’t win. Or possibly Adam did not want to win so he wouldn’t be tied down to an American Idol recording and asked friends and family not to vote.

One part I remember very well is when the Bikini girl was given an award. It’s so sad that I don’t even know her name. Sure, appearing in a biking for the audition is a good way to get noticed. But wouldn’t she rather get noticed for her voice? Save the bikini for America’s Next Top Model. Thankfully, she didn’t make it too far but was invited back to the finale. I couldn’t believe she came out in a bikini again. Is that how she wants to be remembered for the rest of her life? Why was she willing to put up with the embarrassment just to be on a show? And it looks like she has had implants. As if she didn’t have a good enough body to begin with. Doesn’t she know that the boobs will get messed up once she has kids and it could impact her ability to breastfeed? She already had a body that most women would kill for but obviously still felt inferior.

Then Kara came out to sing. A smart woman who can write and sing. When she whipped open her dress at the end to show her bikini she immediately tried to cover up her body again. Why is she so embarrassed of her body? It looked fabulous, especially considering she’s 38. I don’t know many woman who look that good in their 20’s.

Why are these two beautiful women not satisfied with their bodies? It makes me worried for my girls in the future. They are going to be bombarded with images of super-thin models and airbrushed images. How can I ensure that they have a healthy self-esteem? Sadly, I already have to do deal with this on a small scale. Princess likes to watch me put make up on. She always asks for it and sometimes I oblige. Other times I tell her that she doesn’t need it, she’s already beautiful. I’m dreading the day when she asks me why I wear make-up. How do I explain that I need make-up to feel pretty? How can I expect her to be happy with her face and body when I rely on a product to fix myself? And I know that there are going to be tougher questions coming as they grow up. Somehow I need to teach them that looks are not everything and that while looks fade, character doesn’t.

Raising girls is complicated. If you have any suggestions on promoting healthy self-esteem or books on the subject, please let me know.

Potty Training Princess

I’m so embarrassed that Princess isn’t potty trained yet. I started “training” her over two years ago. When she was just 8 months old I started putting her on the toilet so that she wouldn’t be scared of it. We’d sit there and read books soon after breastfeeding. She would eventually pee and we’d make a big celebration out of it. At only one year old we could go entire days in the same diaper. Granted, I was putting on the toilet but we were getting there. There were even times at 14 months where she would lead me to the bathroom when she had to do #2.

So what happened you ask? Well at 14 months we went on a 24 hour road trip (never again!) for a vacation (if you can call chasing after a toddler all day, a vacation). Then when we got back I started my winter semester and took 5 courses so I would get them out of the way before baby #2 came in May. Princess was too distracted at the babysitters to sit still on the toilet so we let it slide. Then when her sister came along I didn’t have time to concentrate on it. Then I went back to school and potty training was still on the back burner.

When I finished my last semester I was sure I would be able to potty train her quickly. I’ve let her wear pretty big girl underwear but she has a lot of accidents. I’ve bought cloth diapers so that she can feel when she goes pee but not make a mess. But I think they’re doing too good of a job. She isn’t bothered by sitting in a wet diaper. I could keep putting her on the toilet every hour but I’m not sure that is actually teaching her to control it and recognize the urge herself. Not to mention that is a huge battle to get her to sit on the toilet. According to her, once you’ve done it once already that day you don’t have to go on the toilet anymore.

So my current plan of attack is to let her wear underwear and ask her to go to the bathroom every hour. I hope that helps her make the connection. If that fails I might just have to read some books on potty training.

Can you suggest any potty training methods or books?

Mother’s Day Recap

Some people have asked how my mother’s day went. It wasn’t anything spectacular but I was happy with it. I wish I had done more for my mom. She has done so much for me that I can never truly repay her. I had been planning on making her a photobook but I ran into difficulties with too many photos on too many different computer, cds and photo sites. I did organize my siblings to make a fruit crepe brunch on Saturday morning though. My sister also bought her an outfit from all of us. I didn’t even see her Sunday and forgot to call her. She wasn’t upset at all though since we had celebrated on Saturday.

I was hoping that when I came home from work on Saturday night my husband would surprise me with a clean house (especially since I had told him that’s what I wanted). Instead I found a sweet card and nice leather purse. Earlier, I had jokingly told him that I wanted a designer purse for Mothers Day. It’s a nice purse but I think I’m going to return it. I feel almost guilty about spending so much on just a purse. There are a lot better things to spend the money on. Besides it doesn’t even have a designer label, and what’s the fun of having an expensive purse if nobody else knows it’s expensive?

Sweet Pea’s gift was to let us all sleep in until 8:30 on Sunday. Then we had a quick breakfast and got ready for church. The sermon was a nice tribute to mothers. I especially liked the part where the pastor said that mothers need a supportive partner. That touched my husband as well and he apologized for not being home more often. And then he left to run some errands! I didn’t actually mind too much since I like to have my traditional Sunday afternoon nap. By the time I woke up from the nap, I only had a little while to feed myself, feed sweet pea and get ready for work. I’m a waitress so I got to serve all the families celebrating mother’s day. It sucks to have to work on a holiday meant to honour you.

When I got home that night I was surprised with a clean kitchen and freshly baked cookies. That was the best present of all! Anything that gives me more free time and involves chocolate is a great gift. I’m looking forward to the next Mothers day when maybe my kids will actually understand what’s going on.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

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