Vacation Day 7 & The End

Saturday. Ah the reason I came in town...Jamie's wedding shower!! Dad kept Donovan & Nolin so that we women could relax & have fun. She really racked up the gifts! The food was amazing, the company was awesome & the games were fun (even though I couldn't play most of them since I knew her too well lol). I sure hope she had fun. I know how she hates being the center of attention! Unfortunately I was taking pictures on her camera so maybe someday I'll be able to add those. Otherwise the only picture I have from that day is of my little buddy...Who entertained everyone, especially while he was eating & slurping lol!

Sunday we headed to church. Nolin was surprisingly well-behaved...Til he spotted D's train under the pew. Then all hell broke loose!! He didn't understand (or care) why he couldn't play with this obnoxious toy in church. I tried to distract him by asking if he wanted to color but he thought I said "car" so he tried to dash out of the sanctuary!! Luckily I had some friends running the nursery that morning with their little boys that were his age. It was fun to see him playing with other boys his age. And catching up with old friends!

Nolin wouldn't stay still so I had to wait until he passed out to snap one!

After church we headed to Cheddar's. I had been begging to go there all week & Mom had requested it as her belated birthday lunch. There are just certain restaurants in KY that I miss dearly up here in OH :( That's one of them!

Once we had eaten I packed up the car, we said our goodbyes & hit the road. Luckily the trip home was a little smoother but not by much. Nolin slept most of the way while Mason alternated between sleeping & screaming. At one point I couldn't take it anymore so I pulled over at a rest area to check on him. Of course he had pooped lol. And then figured he would eat since we were already stopped. Booger. When we finally came home...It was to a house without power. Awesome. So we unloaded, re-packed some essentials into a duffel bag & headed to a hotel. That was probably the best sleep we had in months haha!

All in all, it was a great trip. It was no vacation by any means but it was nice to see my family & friends again after 9 months. I missed Adam though. Hopefully some day we can actually take a family vacation together!!





Vacation Day 5 & 6

Ah...These 2 kind of blur together! Since Nolin kind of lost his marbles that Tuesday when Donovan was at daycare, Jamie was awesome enough to let D stay home with us the rest of the week! Man do these boys play hard! It was 2 days of non-stop wrestling, tackling, balls flying through the air & car engine noises lol! But they play very well together. And bonus? Nolin came home with a TON of new words & phrases...Which included "yes" & your basic manners. Score!

Thursday, Jamie's friend Katherine & her little boy Landon stopped by for some adult conversation & to let the boys get together & rough house. I miss hanging out with girls. And talking to adults in general! But it was especially nice to hang out with her since she's jumping into the healthy lifestyle with both feet! We had tons to talk about & different ideas to bounce off of each other! Unfortunately the boys were like blur so I don't have any pictures of them.

Friday, my friend Jessika drove in from Lexington. It was SUPER awesome to see an old friend & catch up. Plus she's a behavior analyst so she evaluated Nolin for free (take THAT stupid old babysitter!) While many of her suggestions sound time consuming & complicated they make sense. And overall I was more than happy about what she had to say, the different techniques she suggested & her observations. It was nice to have my belief validated that my kid wasn't a psycho lol!

Both days the boys were obsessed with movies. The hot ones were Toy Story 3, Madagascar 2 & Rio. Side note: Quite possibly the most entertaining thing I've ever seen? Nolin & D doing the samba & acting out the monkey vs bird fight scene in Rio! Complete with them attacking each other at the end hahaha! Oh how I wish I had captured that on video!! But I at least managed to capture them eating breakfast together one morning. LOVE these boys!

Vacation Day 4

Yeah, I'm a little late finishing this series since it was 3 weeks ago but I needed the computer to do so & I can only get it out when Nolin is sleeping since its broken :( You MAY get the rest of the posts by the end of the year haha!

Anyway...This was the one day we had playdates scheduled. We had one for each morning & afternoon but end up only having one. Ahem Nikki...Distracted by Phoenix's birthday party that weekend haha! Oh well, we'll catch up another time! Our afternoon playdate was with an old high school friend who happens to have an absolutely adorable little girl Lucy.

Isn't she beautiful?!

After discussing several possible options my friend Sarah & I finally settled on meeting at Puzzles Fun Dome. We thought this would be a good place for the kids to run & jump around while we caught up on some Mommy conversation. We could not have been more wrong...

While Lucy was an absolute ANGEL, Nolin decided to play DEMON. I should've known when Nolin refused a morning nap & only slept for 20mins on the way there. Once we were there he had no desire to eat lunch despite starving. I strapped Mason to my chest & headed in to find Sarah & Lucy. As soon as we entered the building his eyes went wild & he tried to rip free from my grip & take off. We were warned that there was a HUGE group of kids from the YMCA there that would be leaving within the hour...But things were loud. And crazy. I was immediately concerned that Nolin would soon be over-stimulated.

Things were fine for about 30mins. They happily bounced around together in the Mickey Bounce House (which came complete with inflatables for Nolin to tackle) & attempted to play in the soft play area but they were both too short to climb on it & reach the slide.

Nolin attempting to climb up the soft play while Lucy thinks thinks he's nuts lol.

They both quickly became bored & headed back to the bounce houses. Lucy was content to go back into the Mickey one but Nolin was determined to explore. The problem was that with so many kids there, most bounce houses had a line. Nolin has never had to stand in line or wait his turn for anything so he had no concept of this & immediately tried to just crawl in. Several older kids protested, one tried to shove him down & before I could make it over there a YMCA camp leader had picked him up & removed him from the line...Which of course cause Nolin to freak. Note to others: Don't pick up a child you don't know. Unless they're in immediate danger. Just explain to older kids that he's younger, doesn't understand & then find the mother. Otherwise, don't get pissed when the kid you don't know & picked up freaks out & kicks the piss out of you. Use common sense people.

Then he spotted it. The giant bouncy slide...This was the beginning of the end. He had a hard time climbing up the inflatable ladder since it was so steep which held up the line. Once at the top, the look of pure JOY on his face was undeniable!! But once he came down...He realized it would be easier to just keep climbing back up the slide to come down lol. So while the attendant (a funny, patient young guy) & I both tried to coax him to come down & wait his turn to go back up, the kids waiting to come down the slide are yelling at him which pisses him off. Finally, the attendant has to go fetch him & drag him back down (with my permission of course since I can't with Mason strapped to me). That was it. Nolin lost it. It was non stop kicking & screaming as I dragged him across the floor. At that point I knew he was hungry, over-stimulated & pissed off so all I wanted was to calm him down. And all he wanted was either to go back on the slide or be held by me. Without Mason being there. Which was not an option lol.

I take him over to the food stand & stand there FOREVER with a screaming, hysterical toddler while the guy behind the counter ignores me & goes on to prepare his own lunch. All I want are some freaking mini corn dogs!!! While waiting for our order Nolin spots the candy, which of course I won't allow. It all has food coloring & his hysterical rage induced tantrum is evidence that he has already consumed something within the last 24hrs that contained dye. Once we get his food & head back to the table he starts to calm down. Meanwhile, Lucy is staring at him like he's possessed hahaha! Thank God Sarah was so sweet & level-headed since I was about to lose it. And of course, as soon as Nolin calms down Mason wakes up & wants to eat. Good. Grief.

The rest of our time there was a little better. The YMCA kids left which made everything more bearable. Nolin & Lucy found a bounce house with a slide inside & had a blast! But after chasing each other around for awhile they each wanted to do their own thing: Lucy wanted to play games, Nolin wanted to conquer the big slide again.

This was the best Sarah could capture of them since Nolin never stopped moving haha!

Nolin was cracking me up on the slide!! The fact that 1/2 the time he rolled head over heels down the slide made no difference to him (which I had a great video of but its only the 1st 4sec of a minute long video of some one's leg...Yeah, I won't be winning any contests any time soon lol). I just prayed he didn't break his neck!! He was able to play on the slide for a good 20mins before other kids (bigger kids) started bullying him & we had a repeat of our earlier episode. But thankfully he just got pissed & walked off...

lol!

Once he walked away he found an empty bounce house to go nuts in while we waited for Lucy to finish playing games.

Kinda resembling a blurry demon-possessed kid here. Not too inaccurate lol.

Afterwards they played together a little more until Nolin kept getting bored & walking off while Lucy complained that he wasn't playing with her lol. Sorry Lucy...Next time we'll go somewhere you pick so that you guys can actually play together!

Vacation Day 3

Jamie & Dorie both had to work early so they brought Donovan to the house so my Dad could take him to daycare when he left for work. However, when Nolin woke up at 630 & saw his cousin...He went [excited] bonkers!! Which resulted in a major tantrum when D left. And he asked for him allllll day. And then another tantrum when Mimi left to take D the shoe he somehow left in the driveway (see a pattern?!)

We had 847 things to do. But after his tantrum Nolin fell asleep from 930-1230. Our plans of going out to lunch for my Mom's birthday got thrown to the wayside & we ended up at Skyline. Where, since he never gets cheese, he eagerly devoured a bowl of it. That's right, just a bowl of shredded cheese...

Next we had an appt to view Jamie's wedding venue so that I could get an idea of setup & decorations needed. That lasted all of 10 minutes...Mason was screaming for food & Nolin was running around like a lunatic yelling (just to hear his echo).

Then we headed to Mom's work to visit all of her friends so they could see the boys. Luckily Nolin behaved...Since he was the center of attention & all! He rearranged Mimi's desk, scattered her sticky notes & made sure he took down her despicable UofL doll hahaha (that one was COMPLETELY unprovoked). After making our rounds we headed home for pizza & to wait for Jamie to get off work before heading for ice cream. Although Nolin's favorite flavor of EVERYTHING is banana, because Graeters doesn't add dyes to their food (thank God) it wasn't yellow & he wouldn't eat. Round 2 brought chocolate. Too bad I don't have a picture of THAT mess <insert eye roll>

Lastly, we headed over to check out Jamie & Dorie's new house. Nolin made himself right at home by running around, acting like a troll (including escaping the tub during bath time to run around wet & naked)  before passing out watching a movie. We finally headed to my parents' house around midnight where I finally mastered the whole "carrying 2 sleeping kids inside without waking them up" thing. Super pumped about that one ;)

Vacation Day 2

The Zoo

Of course, when I want Nolin to take a nap at his normal time...He doesn't. Its pretty much a law of physics! So by the time we arrived at the zoo, we had to BOOK IT to avoid being caged with the animals for the night lol!! Here's the basic run down of that evening's events...

• While taking the curvy road down to the zoo, the boys felt it was necessary to say "Whoooa!!" & wave their hands in the air like they were on a roller coaster. Smart asses.
• Nolin did every thing Donovan did. If D jumped on the dinosaur track, Nolin did. If D climbed on the stone wall, Nolin did. 
• While climbing on a fence Donovan lost his sandal in an animal cage. Luckily it wasn't an animal that ate sandals! Jamie had to find someone to fetch it out while D stood by crying hysterically about his shoe.
• Nolin decided that he was SO hot that just standing in the misters wasn't enough. He had to roll in the mud & splash in the puddles.
• Poor D kept trying to point out cool animals to Nolin who had ZERO interest in anything other than running around in circles like a lunatic or the above-mentioned mud...Until a camel farted.
• By the time we made it to the lions, Mason was screaming for food. He HATES his breastfeeding cover...Especially in heat like that. So guess who whipped out her bare boob in public?! Yep. This girl.
• 1/2 way through Nolin's chubby little legs couldn't keep up so we had to carry Mason & put Nolin in the stroller. Muddy & sopping wet. 
• Jamie lucked out carrying Mason...Who was so hot that Jamie had to strip him down to his diaper. He thanked her by drooling mercilessly down her back. I hope it at least kept her cool haha!
• Every drink machine was sold out. Seriously?!
• We were more or less escorted to the gates by employees at closing time
• Luckily we returned home just in time for dinner! The boys only ate corn on the cob though lol 

 

Vacation Day 1

Our first day of vacation began on Sunday...And with me driving a 2 year old & a 2 month old to Louisville. By myself. We were doomed from the moment we pulled out of the driveway.

I'm not sure when Mason decided he hated the carseat but lately he resists being strapped in & then screams NON STOP until you either take him out or he screams himself to sleep. The latter of which he did not give into this time. At all. For 2 1/2 hours. Did I mention I was by myself?!

Nolin was pretty content watching his movie for the 1st 45 minutes. But right about the time we were crossing the bridge into KY he decided that he had had enough of Mason. So in addition to Mason's screaming, I was now listening to a toddler scream "SHUT UP!!" at his baby brother while holding his hands over his ears. 20 minutes later they both passed out. Halle-freaking-lujah! Did I mention I was by myself?!

Ah, but the peace only lasted a short while. My gas gauge started beeping to remind me I was low on fuel so Mason quickly resumed his screaming. Meanwhile I just prayed Nolin would sleep through it. And he did for awhile. But alas, the last 30 minutes of our trip involved more screaming & the back of my seat being kicked mercilessly. I was actually relieved to leave the car to stand on hot pavement inhale fumes to pump gas lol. Did I mention I was by myself?!

Can't wait to do it all over again this Sunday <insert eye roll> Aye yi yi.

I'm such a push-over by Friday...

Yup. I gave in. He ate a vanilla almond ice cream sandwich for breakfast :/ Then got pissed because I took his picture. But not pissed enough to throw it haha! It was gone in seconds :)

Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!

Ridiculousness.

This is what $70+ in diapers looks like. Can you say we need CLOTH DIAPERS?! Good. Grief.

Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!

The Situation...Part 2

{I feel like I should have posted a forward for this series. I should definitely preface that I know Nolin can be handful. I also understand the need for rules & order, particularly when there's more than 1 child involved, as well as the fact that violence is unacceptable. I am by no means in denial that my child often exhibits unacceptable behavior. But I also know that patience, love, acceptance, understanding, attention & simple behavior modification techniques can go a LONG way.}

I've really struggled with whether or not I should post this next part. On one hand it was a private correspondence. On the other hand, its almost too ridiculous NOT to post. And since we have now severed ties both professionally & personally I'm not too concerned. I also do not feel that I have anything to be ashamed of other than my failure as a mother to stand up for my child. So if she somehow, some day happened to find this series...Then I hope it causes her to stop & consider her behavior as an adult...

After Nolin's doctor appt last Friday, I received a text from the sitter asking how things went. I gave her general information about the appt (which I will post at another time) but she responded that she specifically was interested in what she had to say in regards to his behavior. I told her that we could discuss it at length when we were there this week but that we were told to stay away from processed, sugary foods with red dye & were given some behavioral techniques to try. The following is an email on Facebook that I received over the weekend in response:

And, with your last text I wanted to let you know that I can no longer care for Nolin, effective immediately.

We have discussed this at length and have come to the conclusion that he is a danger to the other children. I convinced my husband to wait until after his Dr. appointment, but there seems to be no resolution.

We don't have the ability to constantly correct his behavior here while caring for other children.

We have put a lot of thought into this over the past few months and really don't know what else to do. We need to look out for the welfare of the children I care for, our family and us.

I'm sure you will understand the position I'm in.

Thanks.

Reading it again makes my blood boil. Like, "punch someone in the face" boil. I guess we can safely assume Nolin gets his temper honestly lol.

Let's break it down...

• "effective immediately"  I find it interesting that I would have had to give a notice to discontinue services but she can just call it quits. I guess she equates this to her being an employer & I the employee when in reality its the other way around. Thanks for screwing us over knowing that Mason had 2 appts this week, I had 1 & a job interview.
• "there seems to be no resolution"  I'm curious. What type of "resolution" was she expecting? Medication for ADHD as she had mentioned once before? If I'm not mistaken, NO doctors will prescribe such potent medications until a child is of school age & has been formally tested. Not to mention that is all beside the point since neither myself or our pediatrician are willing to medicate ever. I will do OT, PT, ST, counseling, diet adjustments & behavioral modification before I ever medicate my child. End of discussion.
• "We don't have the ability to constantly correct his behavior here while caring for other children."  Well there never seemed to be a problem before you took on all the extra kids. Once you had to divide your attention between more children you lost the ability to provide adequate attention to ANY of them. Nolin just happens to be a tad more needy when it comes to wanting attention & you were too busy to provide it. Having the ability to provide adequate attention would have greatly decreased your need to provide constant correction. Yet you still seem to make plenty of time to provide attention & correction to your "favorites" Go figure.
• "We have put a lot of thought into this over the past few months"  Well that's news to me!!! The 1st time this was brought to MY attention was mid-May. Which means, if you had been considering this for MONTHS you should have said something. Particularly in regards to your inability to continue providing your services in the event that your expected "resolution" was not achieved. And especially because I have been on maternity leave since the end of March which would have left me 3 MONTHS to find a new provider. Not instantly. Its not magic. I don't have a damn fairy Godmother...
• "We need to look out for the welfare of the children I care for, our family and us"  I mean, he's 2. Did you think he was going to bring a gun to school? Or mysteriously become tall enough to reach your counter & grab a knife? Or pummel you all to death with his tiny chubby little fists? Seriously, someone PLEASE help me understand this statement.
• "I'm sure you will understand the position I'm in"  This perhaps makes me the most angry of all. No, no I don't understand your position. I don't understand how you can be willing to provide your services to other ill-behaved children but not my own (Fact: Nolin

But alas, I left all of those things unsaid. Instead of defending my family, my child, I bowed out gracefully. In my defense though, when I received this email I was so angry that I had to stop & pray. I prayed that instead of acting like a child that God would give me the ability to handle the situation gracefully, like an adult (Which I admit, is not usually a strong area for me. I often behave like a spoiled rotten 13 year old who didn't get her way. I have enough self-awareness to realize this is a fault of mine lol) I prayed that He would give me the words to respond. So this is what my response looked like...

We understand. Adam & I have talked it over frequently the last few weeks & had actually decided to give you a 2 weeks notice this coming week anyway. While you guys have been great over the last year, it has become increasingly clear that Nolin was no longer happy over there. While we disagree that he is a danger to others, we do agree that perhaps at this time it is not in his best interest to be in a group setting. I have also been presented with several job opportunities that would require us to either move entirely out of state or at least require different services as far as a sitter goes. Either of which will allow us to better control his nutrition & resulting behavior. Thank you for your services thus far. They've been greatly appreciated.

Coward.

A Wednesday Snapshot

I promise that I will continue my story from yesterday during nap time later. But here's a quick post for entertainment purposes in the meantime lol!

I've been up since 4am feeding Mason & pumping. Nolin has been up since 530am...Right as I was crawling back into bed :/ Here's a snapshot of our day thus far:

• We've watched 3 movies: Finding Nemo, Rio & Cars 2
• Nolin has re-enacted the monkey vs bird fight scene from Rio with startling accuracy & performed the Samba
• We've cooked breakfast. Twice. Cause when you get up at the butt crack of dawn you're apparently starving
• Nolin has scaled or crashed through every single baby gate I have put up to attempt to contain him in one room (& keep the dogs from eating diapers out of the bathroom trash)
• We've decided that we are going to live in the dark as hermits today because quite frankly its too hot to open the shades/curtains. Yet Nolin wants to go on a walk. What the crap.
• Nolin has demonstrated his knowledge of opposites by running back & forth opening the oven ("Mommy. HOT. No touch" And no, its not actually on) & the freezer ("Mommy. Cold. Brrr.")
• We've had a discussion about why ice cream sandwiches are not an appropriate breakfast food. I feel that I made my points very clearly but I'm pretty sure I somehow lost the argument. I'm about 99.9% sure that's what we're eating for breakfast tomorrow just because I'll be too tired to argue
• Nolin played in poop. His own of course.
• Apparently we're going to have to find a new end table for our reclining rocker. The current use of an old whiskey barrel is just too tempting for Nolin. Earlier it was upside down & filled to the brim with toys. A few minutes ago it was rolled across the room...With a pair of chubby legs sticking out of it. Sheesh.
• Nolin is now playing his guitar like a rock star...Which means its on the LOUDEST volume setting & he repeatedly mean-mugs me while he throws it on the ground & stomps on it.

Its going to be a fun day y'all!!! I can't wait to see what the rest of the day holds haha! Stay cool in this ridiculous heat wave. We'll be in the pool by 10 :)

After time-out for playing in poop. Ick.

The Situation...Part 1

Hmm...Where to even begin...

We found our sitter on Care.com when Nolin was 8m old. I had actually originally found her shortly after he was born but she did not have any openings for a baby at the time. She came highly recommended both on the site & by a co-worker who was using her a couple days a week. When she contacted me to let me know that she had an opening we were thrilled! At the time, her home was located very close to our apartment & my job, she had several kids his age for him to play with, her home was IMMACULATE with a fenced in yard, swing set, a neighborhood park, a basement playroom complete with a storybook nook & tower under the stairs, wall to wall shelving of toys & a stage with lights & karaoke...She seemed very sweet, a little rigid, but sweet. Her husband was an EMT & was often there with her due to his flexible schedule. She herself had 2 school age girls. She was very organized, thorough & laid down the rules for parents & child immediately in our interview. She had no problems with him being unvaccinated & neither did the other parents (other children there were on alternate vaccine schedules or vaccine-free as well). And for the past year....She has been a God-send.

So what went wrong? It was evident from the beginning that she played favorites. And that Nolin being a boy, would probably never be on the list. But she was never mean. When I went on bed rest during my pregnancy with Mason we dropped him down to 3 days/week for financial reasons. Which worked out well since upon my return to work I was only cleared for part time, per the doctor. Having lost the additional income those 2 days she set out to find replacements. And succeeded in finding several...All part time. All who came on randomly assigned days through the week since the parents did not have set schedules. She had a total of 10 kids but as far as I know she never had all 10 on one day. Eventually 2 left...The only other boys besides an 8m old which meant that Nolin was back to playing with all girls again. In the early spring she approached me with some concerns about his vaccination status saying that it had suddenly interfered with her ability to get new kids. She asked if we would consider beginning his vaccines. I said no & asked if we needed to look elsewhere for a sitter. She replied that she would have to think about it & develop a policy. We were later told that it wasn't a big deal, she was able to find other kids but from now on she would have a policy in place. The subject was dropped.

In the meantime, I begin to notice things. Little things like they would invite the other children & their families to their kids' birthdays but not us. Or other children were allowed to stay later (until 6pm) while we were always told Nolin had to be picked up by 430pm. Or when parents would be sick she would offer to keep the kids overnight but the one time I asked when Adam was still on 3rd shift & I was ill, I was told it was not her policy to keep kids overnight. Or when the other Moms had new babies she would offer to watch the babies for free for a couple hours so the new Mom could catch up on sleep...I had to pay $5/hr for her to keep Mason while I went to a job interview. Or when other kids would be sick with fevers & vomiting but could come the next day (provided they were fever-free) but when he had a fever he had to wait 2 whole days after being fever free to come back. Finally, when my maternity leave began she started asking that Nolin be picked up in the afternoon when he woke up from his nap as this was the time he was most unmanageable. See a pattern?

Around mid-May she approached me concerned about his behavior. She said that he was throwing several tantrums a day, didn't like to hear the words "No" or "Wait please" or "In a minute" & felt that his outbursts were beginning to affect the other kids. She asked that I talk to his pediatrician about it & that was that. But apparently she expected me to do so when were at Mason's checkup (like I didn't have enough questions for the doctor as is concerning Mason's issues!) I politely told her that Nolin had his own checkup coming in 3 weeks & that I would discuss the matter with her then but could almost guarantee what her response would be: Nutrition. I told her that we were limiting sugar (which I had told her many times) & were also looking into the effects of certain dyes in his diet. I requested that she limit red/orange/purple foods in the next few weeks. Every day when I picked him up...He was eating orange jello. Or a red popsicle. Or red/orange/purple fruit snacks. Seriously?!

Finally, after alllll the reports on how bad his behavior was...I started asking for specific examples every day. Here's a list of the examples I was given:

• He was running in laps around the house (she has a no running indoors policy...completely understandable)
• He ran down the hill in the backyard & knocked a little girl over
• He slid down the stairs (he goes down feet 1st on his belly) & knocked the little girl over who had gone down before him resulting in a gash in her forehead
• He threw a ball into the street
• He refused to eat
• He kept throwing his cup
• He would hit another child if they took away the toy he was playing with

She also told me that he was becoming increasingly aggressive & that she felt she couldn't leave him unsupervised around the other children if she had to use the bathroom or change someone's diaper, etc. She said that he would scream in kids' faces when they took his toy, scream at parents if their child was crying when they picked them up for the day & would scream at her in general. Never once was I told that there was a chance she couldn't continue to watch him.

I started dropping him off later & picking him up earlier as well as sticking around in the morning to observe. I noticed that as soon as he walked in, he was getting in trouble...She would ask him not to run inside (he would excitedly run down the hallway to enter their kitchen every morning...Just like every other kid did). She would tell him to leave his shoes on cause they were going to the park but then sit down to feed the other kids & give me "the look" when he would throw himself on the ground & start crying because he thought she meant RIGHT THEN. I made note of my observations.

Then 2 weeks ago he suddenly got rave reviews the whole week. But when I picked him up in the afternoons, while happy to see me, he was in a hurry to leave. And in the evenings he seemed a little down. At the time, I chalked it up to being tired from the heat & being up with Mason & I for midnight feedings. I now know that his poor little spirit was beginning to break :( Thankfully his birthday party was that weekend so he would be surrounded by people who loved him! He was the most well-behaved he's ever been that weekend! He had so much fun wrestling with his cousins, running around the backyard blowing bubbles, swimming, playing cars with the boys...Then back to our regular week. I warned her that he had spent the weekend playing with boys & would have to be reminded to be gentle with the girls.

Which brings us to Thursday. Nolin & I had a long talk on the way over about how he needed to be gentle. He had 2 very bad days already & I could tell she was pretty peeved with him when I picked him up Wed afternoon. She wouldn't talk to us & didn't say her usual spiel of "Bye, see you tomorrow buddy! Have a good night!" & actually kind of just ignored us when we were leaving. And he was in a pretty big hurry to leave...Once we arrived he walked in, told the girls "hi" & picked up a stuffed toy from the floor. He excitedly starting spinning it in a circle yelling "weeeee" like we do with him. Another little girl happened to walk past him while this was going on & the toy hit her in the face. Immediately, the sitter starting riding Nolin about hitting. The little girl wasn't hurt, wasn't crying...Nolin apologized to her & then ran to me crying. I told her it had been an accident but she insisted that it was another one of his "acts of aggression" to which I replied "He's a boy so he's naturally going to be more aggressive. He was excited to be here. It wasn't on purpose." This statement spurned a dirty look & a lecture about how she has rules, gender shouldn't matter & that she had cared for boys before & none were as aggressive & angry as Nolin. He should be kind, calm & gentle. Bottom Line. I immediately text Adam to tell him I was fed up & a discussion was in order.

Stay tuned for Part 2...

Ma-Ma-Masonite is 2 Months!

Don't ask where that nickname came from. Its been ringing in my head for weeks now. And its not even very clever lol. But he seems to think its funny :)

Mason had his 2 month checkup this week *gasp* I can't believe how fast he's growing!! He is SUCH a happy baby. And so easy going...

This was the 1st time I put him in my wrap...See how happy he is?!

2 Month Stats:

• Weight: 13lbs 5oz. This is up over 4lbs from a month ago!! Sheesh!
• Height: 23in
• He's so full of smiles & loves to talk to you.
• This kid loves country music. Nothing calms him down more than taking him outside & jacking up the volume.
• He will spend allll day outside in his swing if you let him.

So peaceful :)

• He's pretty much mastered holding up his head & is anxiously attempting to master rolling over. Anything to get back on that belly of his!
• Despite eliminating dairy from my diet, he's still having stomach issues. He had blood work drawn for an allergy test earlier in the week & a consultation with a chiropractor as well. We go back to the doctor on the 23rd to follow up on his labs so hopefully we'll get some answers soon!

Poor baby after his lab work :(

• He's a snuggler, that's for sure! Which is a good thing because the only way this Momma can handle 2 kids is to wear one of them! And Nolin is too heavy...And never liked to be worn. Luckily a friend gave me instructions to make my own Moby wrap so with my Mom's help...Voila!

He will sleep for HOURS like this!

That's all for this month until we get more information on his stomach. I'll keep everyone posted on our progress resolving that one!

The Nolinator

So my Mommy-brain has lost a significant amount of brain cells between 2 pregnancies & I fear that I'll forget the little moments with my boys. I'm hoping to do an update on each them monthly, if not more often (especially Nolin since every week he's up to something crazy lol!)
1. Nolin officially talks in his sleep. Things I routinely hear him say/do...

• Uh oh
• Mommy, no!
• (laughing hysterically)
• And some gibberish but its in his yelling voice

2. He's started doing this weird thing where he eats his food but refuses to swallow it. So after he's chewed it into a nasty ball he spits it out on the table. Ew.

3. We've officially reverted back to his discovery phase. You know, the one where he played in the toilet, flushed his toys & splashed in the dog water bowl.

4. Every day he finds more inventive hiding spots. I've been missing several cups & articles of his clothing. His favorite hiding spots at the moment? Under the reclining chair, inside floor vases, behind couch cushions, under the crib in the nursery, inside the stove of his play kitchen, end table drawers & floor vents.

5. The only #'s he cares about when we practice counting are 2 & 9. He knows the others...He just doesn't care lol.

6. He apparently HATES the TV now. He never wants to watch tv. Only movies (specifically movies about animals...Rio, Chicken Little, Barnyard, Alvin & the Chipmunks...Oh well, at least he's over Cars for now!) He has also started throwing things at the tv during movie scenes where he's mad at someone (which by the way, it AMAZES me how much he comprehends in movies!)

7. Despite his near-death drowning incident...The kid is still obsessed with water. We turned our lopsided pool into a slip & slide 2 weeks ago! He thought his fat Momma hurling herself across the yard on wet plastic was freaking hysterical! Luckily Adamhad a chance to level out part of the yard so we can actually use the pool as a pool lol. And just in time for Nolin's party!

(Haha! You thought you were going to get a picture of my fat butt sliding across the yard didn't you?!)

8. His latest "Drive Mommy Nuts" move is keeping his hand in his pants. Specifically the one with his sucking thumb. Mmm. The other day he woke me up with his hand & mouth covered in poop. Awesome. I panicked. I have no idea if he actually ATE any but I scrubbed him down raw & brushed his teeth til he gagged. It still makes me shudder to think about...This has also resulted in him loosening his diaper while in bed with us the other night so that he ended up peeing all over me. Super awesome.

9. I absolutely LOVE that Nolin has developed his "pretend play" skills!! He loves to cook you food & you had BETTER pretend to eat it. And like it lol. He also likes to play "pizza delivery man" where he pushes you into a room, closes the door, knocks & yells "PIZZA, PIZZA!!" Hahahaha! God I love this kid...

10. Current interests are: cars/trucks, music, dancing, tools, swimming or anything associated with water, bubbles, balloons, movies, swinging (like a big boy) & bugs. For his birthday we filled the hallway with balloons for him to run in. My original idea was to have him wake up to a room covered in them but he won't stay in his own room!

I sure wish I had this idea a year ago! It would've been nice to track Nolin's development within his 1st year (which is probably what Mason's blog will be doing lol) but also to record all of his silly antics. Many of you have said that I should write a book about all of his craziness so I guess this will be a good start!

Homemade Organic Popsicles

Popsicles. They're pretty much a summer staple right?! I mean, we grew up on those bad boys. Especially the Fla-Vor Ice. The problem with these for our family is Nolin. All the sugar (high fructose corn syrup), chemicals, dyes (specifically red 40)...They make him bonkers. Like, absolutely lose your marbles bonkers. He literally becomes a tantrum throwing, defiant, emotional basket case (more on this in a later post). Its sad really. So I decided that we would make our own this summer!

I've been sorting through tons of homemade popsicle recipes on Pinterest for about a month now. Most have added sugar or use a dairy base such as yogurt...Both of which make them a no-go for this household! In the end I decided to take the basic fruit recipe and replace the sugar & dairy with our typical household replacements. The results were FANTASTIC!!

Yummy!! See that chubby little hand trying to snatch one already?!

I found these colorful molds at Target in their Dollar Deals bins for $2.50!



We used all organic products but feel free not to. We also used fruits that we already knew Nolin loved but I'm sure you could substitute different ones. I'm working on a mango recipe next (its my rave fave flavor lol) Also, if your kids have an aversion to textures I recommend leaving out the blueberries as their skin, even when blended, still adds texture.

The recipe:

1 banana
1 kiwi
1/2 a carton of strawberries
a handful of blueberries
4T local honey
2 cups Vanilla Almond milk

Blend all ingredients together on high & pour into your molds. Make sure you leave about 1/2 an inch at the top so they don't overflow when you insert your popsicle sticks! Freeze & enjoy!

Nolin LOVED them...But he got a little overwhelmed once it started melting & abandoned the last 1/3 lol.

Now THAT'S how you enjoy a popsicle! Find a shady spot & make sure you end up covered in the sweets!

The Story of Mason

I mean, its only been almost 2 months right?! Hey, that's WAY better than the 2 YEARS I waited to record Nolin's story haha! Baby steps people, baby steps :)

The Beginning:
Mason was not planned. In fact, he was quite a shock. Apparently not to SOME people (ahem, Adam & Jamie) but he was to me. I was 7 weeks along before I took a test to confirm. I was convinced that my PCOS was back & that those 2 were making a big deal about nothing. The 1st test I took in the morning malfunctioned so Adam made me take another when I got home from work that evening. While he sat in the living room rocking Nolin, I stared in utter disbelief at my pee stick. I kinda wandered out to where they were & stood in the doorway with shifty eyes. Adam just smacked his forehead & started laughing. It was his fault after all :) My primary physician confirmed it & 2 weeks later I met with a new OB office (can you BLAME me after the debacle that happened with Nolin?!) They were AMAZING. They came highly referred by my friend & former co-worker Katie (btw, she has an awesome blog...check her out here) & she hit the nail on the head. They quickly scheduled an u/s for the following week & we got to see our little nugget! I spent the rest of my 1st trimester trying to hold food down...Until I found the prenatal vitamin of my dreams (seriously, check it out even if you're not pregnant Garden of Life RAW Prenatal)

Our Nugget :)

The Middle:
Once the nausea had subsided (thanks to the best vitamin in the world!) this officially became the easiest pregnancy. I had so much energy, was sleeping great, had no problems working full time or keeping up with Nolin, I wasn't in pain or starving to death all the time like I had the 1st time around...I felt fantastic! Then December came. What IS it about that month when I'm pregnant?! I was at work instructing my SLP to write up a cognitive workup on a patient when all of a sudden I thought I peed my pants. I was so embarrassed. I quickly excused myself & rushed to the bathroom. But what I found was NOT what I expected. I called the OB office in a panic, crying hysterically, to report that I was gushing blood at 19w6d. They told me to get to the ER immediately. Luckily I had a fantastic group of coworkers at that job (man I miss that job & those people!) & my dear friend Kelley rushed me to the hospital. They refused to send me to L&D because I wasn't 20w so I spent the entire day in the ER undergoing exams, u/s, tests & labs before I was finally discharged that evening with no news. I was told that I was in preterm labor, was to be on bed rest & had an appt with my doc the following day. The only possible cause they mentioned was that I had an incompetent cervix (which turned out to be FAR from the truth). The next day, even the doc was puzzled. He thought maybe I had an infection, prescribed a ridiculous amount of antibiotics (which I didn't take...I'm not an idiot lol) & referred us to a high-risk OB that afternoon. (Side note: I LOVED my high-risk OB! She was the cream of the crop as far as I was concerned!) Not long into the u/s the doc (who had been viewing from the other room on a jumbo screen) came rushing into the room. I was immediately told that I had a clot in my uterus, that it could compromise the baby's life & was put on bed rest. WORST MONTH OF MY LIFE. Do you know how hard it is to be on bed rest when you have a VERY active, heavy, needy toddler at home?! A few of you do. They decided to start monitoring the baby weekly to ensure his safety & proper growth. A couple weeks later he decided to flash his parts around on-screen...Another boy!

How we announced the sex :)

I finished out my 2nd trimester on part time bed rest while working part time with restrictions. My company had changed hands so I was forced to sign on with a new company & relocate. Awesome. We also got wind a month later of layoffs within Adam's company which resulted in him changing jobs as well. Which meant we changed insurance too...Sound familiar?!

34 1/2 weeks...Pretty much the only pic I have lol

The End:
Luckily I know myself. I know that my body NEVER cooperates so to avoid being caught off guard I scheduled my maternity leave to begin 2 weeks prior to my scheduled c-section date. Smart move. That 1st week (of April) I had contractions on & off so I just took it easy. I had my 37w checkup scheduled for that Friday & was told I was already 3cm but since the baby had been growing great, the risk of complications was limited & I wasn't in active labor they were going to try & hold out til my scheduled date. Yeah. Okay. It was Easter weekend, and Adam's birthday so his whole family was coming in town. By the time they arrived that evening I was having some pretty intense contractions. I was unsure of their timing & not convinced that I wasn't in false labor. I never went into active labor with Nolin so I was pretty clueless. My MIL offered to take me to the hospital but I ultimately decided against it. I didn't want to rack up another bill if it was false labor & figured if I was still having them the next day then I would go. (Not to mention that Adam had celebrated his bday a tad excessively & I didn't want him to miss the birth of his child haha!)

I slept like a rock that night but woke up to the same contractions the next morning. And the more active I was, the worse they got. That afternoon as everyone was leaving, they rearranged their travel plans so that my MIL could stay behind & take me to the hospital. Nolin was being a handful so I really wanted to get him down for a nap before we left...For Adam's sake. I curled up with my baby boy & held him in my arms until he fell asleep...When we snuck away. I had no idea that would be the last time I held my baby for a few days. On one hand it makes me sad to think that he woke up to find neither of his parents there (apparently he freaked out) but on the other hand I'm glad that being calm & curled up in my arms was our parting memory. As soon as we arrived at the hospital they told my MIL to go home & switch places with Adam cause there would be a baby in 45 mins! Holy Crap. I was 5cm (almost 6) & in full blown labor! NOT what I expected lol. The contractions were intense...They took my breath away...But they weren't painful like I expected. I totally could've done natural childbirth...Booyah!

I was quickly prepped for surgery while they waited for Adam to arrive. The nurse & nurse anesthetist rocked my world. They were witty & personable which totally put me at ease. The doc talked me through everything while Adam watched, holding my hand. I swear, it was the most fun surgery I've ever had LOL! The doc told me not to freak out, that he was going to almost lay on top of my & when he did...Out popped Squirt. He just shot up out of my belly! Coolest trick ever :)  The doc held up the placenta & showed me the "clot" It looked like a giant kidney. Bizarre. He immediately informed us that it was not a clot & that they were sending everything off to pathology. Creepy. Who wants to be the guy that looks at slimy placenta with kidney shaped knots in it under a microscope?! I guess someone has to do it! The nurse grabbed Adam & the baby for all the typical APGAR, cleaning, measurements, etc.

Mason Daniel born 4/07/12 at 4:31 pm weighing 6lbs 9.5oz & a whopping 19in long

Next we were taken to recovery where Mason literally inched his way up my abdomen to inform me that he was hungry...Perfect moment :)

The Aftermath:
The day we were scheduled to go home...Actually, as Adam was pulling out of the driveway to come get us...A team of nurses & doctors rushed in to stop us. They had done one last heel prick that morning to check for jaundice & the results were in. They were also concerned because his weight has dropped down to 5lbs 15oz. They informed us that I was still being discharged but Mason couldn't leave yet. I had to decide to leave or stay as a guest. Basically, this was a private hospital so there wasn't really a nursery. Everything was private rooms...Even the NICU. So my room was being retained under Mason's name & I would be treated as a guest of his (in the same way my mother had been treated as a guest the nights she spent with us to help out). So that was a nice option! Mason was put under 24 hrs of phototherapy which he was NOT a fan of. He showed his manipulative side by deciding to attempt to nurse for 24 hrs straight as a way of getting out from under the lights lol!

Luckily it worked & we were released the next day. We had a series of follow up appts with his pediatrician (thank God that was better this time around...LOVE that woman!) & soon found out that he was having stomach issues. At this time, they have still not been resolved but we are working on diet elimination to determine the exact cause of his distress. Hopefully its nothing more serious than a sensitivity to something in my diet!

So far Mason has been the calmest, sweetest, most cuddly baby ever! He only cries when he's trying to pass gas or poop & gets mildly fussy when he's hungry. He loves to coo & smile. He's definitely a snuggler & for the 1st 6 weeks would only sleep in my arms. He has no signs of prematurity anymore & was up to 9lbs 1oz & 21in at his 1 month checkup! He's definitely a keeper :)

Sorry for another novel...But since I slacked on blogging through my pregnancies I had a lot of ground to cover! Future posts should be much more manageable :)