I suck at blogging...

So....it's been forever since I have written a blog. Working full-time, momming part-time and being pregnant full-time do not leave a lot of spare hours. But, that is besides the point. Here is an update for the last few weeks (okay months.) I have gone back to work as a kindergarten teacher. I really do love the idea of teaching but have decided that I just don't have the time and patience for it anymore and will be looking for a new job at the end of this school year. I want to be more than a part time mom. I have three more school days left to work and then I will be out on maternity until February.

I am still attempting to VBAC this baby whenever he or she feels like cooperating! Paul has been a fantastic support and Will is delightfully unaware of how his life is going to change in the next month. He has started school and really loves it. He learns something new every time he goes and his language has grown leaps and bounds from just two months of school. The potty is still going strong and he is not in pull ups AT ALL. He is even going at school. Paul and I couldn't be happier. Facing two in diapers was very scary for a while!!

Christine, Vincent, and Michael at the finish line!!

My nephew, Vincent, ran the Baltimore Marathon this last weekend in 4 hours and 4o minutes! I am so proud of him and really want to try to run some part of it next year. I will have a whole year to get myself back in shape and I want it to be a go!! The only thing that might get in the way is that Paul and I have put three kids back on the table. I just keep having this nagging feeling that I might want one more. Paul wants to get through this one and I agree. I guess it is a wait and see situation! Here is a couple pictures of the shirt I made out of Will's handprints, me at 37 weeks and a close up to see the sparkles!! Happy Halloween!

Will's First Days of School

How can it be that Will is old enough to be going to nursery school?!? I am so proud of him for going right into the classroom, sitting at the table and starting coloring without as much as a wimper. Paul got to take him on his first day and here are the photos that he snapped. I was at work all day and a nervous wreck for most of the morning. My poor kindergartners did not get my full attention until Paul texted me that they were safely at home and Will was napping. I didn't realize how nervous I was going to be on his first day.

As I am writing this, I am officially seven months pregnant. I can remember being pregnant with Will. I remember bringing him home to Sonie Lee and Al's and bringing him home to our first house when he was four months old. I remember him rolling over and sitting up. I recall his first tooth and his first steps. After that, it all becomes a blur!! What happened to his second year of life. It went by way to fast....I'm hoping that his third year will be better documented through this blog. Even though, I have taken a few weeks off to get me ready for school and Will back into rotation of daycare at all the family members' houses (Thank God for family!!)

Today, I took him for his second day of school. He did just as well. Not even a look back to see where I was or what I was doing. He was excited to see his new friends. I did find out from another mom that Will seems to have a crush. Eloise and Will were hugging last week and this week. Those two were the only ones not crying at some point, so they could of just been huddling for safety in a sea of tears. :)

Here is the terrible picture that I snapped today with my iPhone by putting it around the corner, spy-style, so Will would not see me!! I suspect that the little girl in the pink is the infamous Eloise.

I promise to try to post more often now that I am in the swing of things at school and home.

Step One on the Green Path (Green Cleaners)

So here is the short story of how I got sucked into the whole green movement. When I first got pregnant with Will, I was letting everyone know how I was fully intending on using drugs for childbirth, I had no idea about disposable diapers, and was truly the biggest fan of bleach and anti-bacterial anything (thanks Bath and Body!!)

Well, after using the theknot.com for planning my wonderful wedding, I took the next step to thebump.com (used to be part of thenest.com.) I started out on the first trimester board and moved to the second trimester board without incident. Then there was an explosive debate about cloth diapers vs disposable during my second trimester. I never really considered it, but got completely sucked in by the drama! (Very easy to do on discussion boards!!) I ended up being redirected to the Eco Friendly Family Discussion Board and started to do my research. I was hooked. Paul and I decide to cloth diaper and my first step was to get greener with our cleaners!!

I wish I knew where I found this list but it now is copied to my notepad on my iPhone and I use all the recipes constantly! Sorry to the website I got this list from, I wish I could credit it! But, here is the list, hope someone can use it! Ok, I don't know how to cut and paste on blogger. So, I just did it in the comment section. If someone would like to school me on it, I would love the help!!

Potty 101

While this is not a very interesting post for those not in toddler land. I would like to at least document this for Baby #2 when it comes time to hit the potty up again. I am now declaring Will potty trained. We are still having an accident or two a week, but most of the time he is communicating his needs and making it to the potty in time. So here is the run down. First, we spend the first two weeks of summer vacation in cloth diapers ONLY. And really starting to talk about feeling wet or having poops in your butt. And I start the mantra, your pee goes in the potty. I will say this about 1,295,697 times in the next four weeks.

July 5th - Potty association day - Will sits on the potty every 1/2 hour and receives an M&M for each attempt. He left the diaper on for most of the day. This was just for him to associate the potty with something good. Before this, he wouldn't really sit on the potty and didn't have much interest. He really seemed to be into this compensation thing.

July 6th-8th - We go pantsless. Will is now naked for these days. Diapers at night and at nap time. I am now STARING at Will's penis ALL DAY LONG! I am trying to catch him in the act and get him to the potty in time. We have a huge celebration if he gets a drop of pee in the potty. This does not happen too often, but once or twice a day. Enough to keep me motivated to keep trying. We also continue sitting on the potty every 1/2 hour with the M&Ms. We spend most of the time down in the family room playing and watching TV. At this point, if we leave the house he wears diapers.

July 9th-19th - I bite the bullet and he is now in training pants. I found that Gerber training pants (Target) worked the best. NO PULL_UPS!! They also have plastic pants that the kids can wear at night. I found that these were WAY too big on our skinny little two year old. So I only used them once and still have to clean up the mess. I will pass on plastic pants next time. But the Gerber cloth training pants are great! They have enough absorption for the start of pee to buy you the 5 seconds needed to get him to the potty and the pants off. So, we did get to the potty more often in this time period but he was still "wetting" his pants each time. We had about 8 pairs of pants and I did laundry every day. During this time, Will made it to the potty at least once a day and was starting to "tell" me that that he needed to go. "Poo, run!!" Each day got better and he seemed to really be making the connection. I was getting excited that my experiment was working and I was going to be able to ditch the diapers for good.

July 20th - My give up day. We wake up. Will is dry. He then pees in my bed and as soon as he is dry and we are down stairs, he pees again! AGAIN, and doesn't say a word, just goes over and starts playing with his trains. At this point, I am T-I-R-E-D! I have lost my patience. All my good vibes from the last two weeks are gone. I throw Will's butt in a diaper and we leave the house. I go up to my sister's house. I don't take the potty with me or a change of clothes. I just pack the diaper bags full of diapers and head out. THANKFULLY, my sister talks some sense in me. She tells me that I am a good mother and Will has made amazing progress and I would be a fool to throw it all away. I promise her that I will try again tomorrow. THANK GOD FOR SISTERS!! In retrospect, I think I needed this day. I needed a break. I needed to give Will a break. I needed to really look back and see what worked and what didn't. When we got home. Paul took over potty training for the evening and amazingly Will used the potty twice and stayed dry till bed time.

July 21st - July 31st - Full time big kids pants. I am back on the prowl. The break seems to give me and Will a new focus. He really starts getting it. We start going out of the house. I learned to sit Will on public toilets sideways. That way he is not falling into the potty and can put his hands on either side. to stabilize himself. A word to the wise, take the pants all the way off. Will tended to get excited when he peed and it would splash a bit. He really started to communicate and even went in his potty with my sister and mother-in-law watching him.

August 1st to present - He has now gone accident free for a week! I am SO proud. He is giving me time to get him to the potty and we don't use the little potties at home anymore. At home, he sits backwards on the potty. That way he can lean forward and flush and still see what is going on. Thankfully, we never had the issue where he didn't want to poop in the potty. It all happened for us at the same time. I know that we are lucky with Will. He seems to take to things pretty easily.

I am worried about the transition to me going back to work, him going to preschool and the new arrival of his sibling. I hope that we take these events all in stride. I guess I will blog about that as we hit them!

Big Boys and Babies!!

Well, there is a lot of baby news flying around the last few weeks. The biggest for me is that I will be a great aunt somewhere around February 8th! That's right, my NIECE is pregnant at the same time I am. Her and her husband are thrilled at the news and I can't be happier to help Christine and Micah as much as I can through this awesome journey! Also, my dear friend, Becki, is in the "safe zone" with her twins by reaching 35 weeks. Her OB has told her that the likelihood of them all coming home at once is very good! Lastly, my far away friend, Katie, just revealed that she is having a baby at the end of January. I can't be happier than with all the ladies that are around me that are knocked up!! And gasp, I have only one more week left in my second trimester (wow 26 weeks went fast!!)Lastly in baby news, Paul got asked to start training as a Respiratory Therapist for the NICU (babies) and the PICU (kids.) He is really excited to already be asked to do something new after only two months on the job!! I love that man of mine!

AND THE BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL......

We have a potty trained little boy (not a baby anymore!!) Will has been very successful with the potty! I can't believe how well he has taken to the big (scary) potty in the outside world! He is awesome for only being 27 months old. He still has accidents every once in a while, but has spent the last two weeks in underwear full time. That's right...during naps and night time!! I will devote a whole post this week to my ups and downs (and trust me there were downs!) of potty training a barely two year old later this week. I just wanted to catch up on the blog since I have been MIA (for many reasons) for the last two weeks!

My sad news is that I only have three more weeks home before I have to go back to my paying job as a kindergarten teacher. I truly do love this job, but am finding myself being pulled to stay home. I have loved this summer with Will. He truly makes me laugh and smile about a hundred times everyday!

Why is this so hard?!?

This is going to be a short post, but one that I think I will revisit often. Why is parenting so hard now!! Parenting is just not the job of making sure you raise a bright, respectful human anymore. (Don't get me wrong, I want Will to be bright and respectful and human!!) It's just that every time you turn around there is something to be worried or literally frightened about that I may or may not have control over. So the "normal" mom might worry about their child eating sweets, getting kidnapped, getting a disease, or getting hit by a car. I worry about all that plus what pesticides are used on the fruits and vegetables, what is in the meat we eat, what is in the diapers, cleaning supplies, shampoos and soaps, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the list goes on and on. There are certain changes that Paul and I have made since we have had Will. We cloth diaper as much as we can. I make all of our cleaning supplies. I try to buy organic or local as much as possible. (I am so excited to start ordering from South Mountain Creamery next week:) But it never seems like enough to keep Will safe.

Parent (strike that) Living in this day and age is getting harder and harder. I am on information overload. Don't even get me started on advertising and commercialization... :)

Fresh Fun - Baltimore Farmer's Market

Baltimore Farmer's Market is the one place it has taken Paul and I seven years to visit. We have lived in Baltimore since 2003 (except for a short jaunt to the county to have a baby and house hunt!) We talk about going probably once a month on average, but today was the day and IT. WAS. AWESOME!!!!

We spent a little over $40 for:

Parking

2 pit beef sandwiches (YUM!)

2 water (will bring our own next time)

2 pints of blueberries

1/2 dozen corn

1 gallon organic milk in reusable containers (Thanks South

Mountain Creamery and I hear that they deliver, I will be

looking into that since they had some delish looking cheeses

as well)

1 loaf of homemade bread

2 lbs of peaches

All and all a good haul for about an hour of shopping and checking out all the fun booths and local growers. I really enjoyed going and it really helped to take a break from the potty!! We will definitely be making this a routine stop. I am pretty sure that everything we bought at the market will be gone by next Sunday. Woo-hoo for local, sustainable farmers!!

Grown up...

Will is doing great, me not so much....
We have been potty training for about a week now. Will seems to have grasped the concept of going "poos" in the potty. (Poos means pee or poop.) He is now onto the stage of wearing the big boy pants during the day (diapers still at nap and night.) He really likes them and is making big efforts to keep them dry. We only had two accidents yesterday and even then he put part of it in the potty.

Me on the other hand....
I'm having a tough time with my little boy growing up. Seeing him in his big boy pants just smacked me in the face that he is not a baby anymore. As excited as I am about the Baby U, I just wish the time would slow down a little for Will and me. I feel like I just don't remember enough of the last two years (even though I have 10.000 pictures.) I am all for independence and Paul and I have him take as much responsibility for things as we can, but where did my baby go......

A Penis Here...A Penis There...Here a Penis, There a Penis, Everywhere a Penis, Penis

Ahhh.....Day 4 of potty training and I'm pretty sure I have seen more penis in the these last four days then my whole life but together! But, I have to say I have been very happy with the whole process so far. Will turned 2 years and 2 months this week, so we are starting Attempt 1 at the potty. I am hoping that we will not have to make too many tries but who knows. I am being positive so far. Here is the plan:

Two weeks before - Full time Cloth diapering and talking up the potty and pees and poops! So fun! I love that I am cheering for a potty, ie "putting your pees in the potty is awesome," "watch mom put pees in the potty, she is a big girl," "dad uses his penis to push out the pee into the potty," "ughhhh, see I pushed the pee out," (so embarrassing!)

Monday: Diaper on and sit on the potty every hour to earn an M&M. Try to associate the potty with a positive consequence (Yeah...Pavlov)

Tuesday-Friday: Pantsless Party. Still sitting on the hours but trying to "catch" him going and then get him to the potty so he will understand that the pee goes in the potty. I'm not even touching POOP! (SO SCARY)

Nada on Monday, I was thinking that it was going to really be a hard and uphill battle.
Tuesday - I think I got more pee on me than in the potty, but we did have one success and luckily Paul got to see it!
Wednesday - I had enough of the heat and went to the pool. No success in the morning but we did have some in the afternoon after a 3 1/2 hour nap (SCORE!!!)

Then we were getting ready for bed. Will sat on the potty (no action) and then ran into his bedroom still pantsless. At this point, Paul and I were chatting and not paying too much attention. Then, we hear a big bang( uh-oh!!) and a scream. Will had peed on the hardwood floors and then tried to run through it. He ended up slipping and falling all in his pee! He was soaking wet, hurt, and yelling at the pee! Owww poos, owww poos!! Thankfully, Paul came in and got Will all cleaned up while I cleaned up his room. We called it a day, but a diaper on and his PJs. Enjoyed some Thomas and then off to bed! Today is a new day!!!!!

M&Ms=Sanity

So....I started potty training Will today. This is a child that when we first got the potty would sit for a second and then start to cry like we were torturing him. So, I am resorting to bribery and I will say that today was a success. Will sat on the potty every 1-2 hours. M&Ms are my SAVIOR!! We had no "action." Action meaning peeps or poops. But there was also no tears! Tomorrow, we go pantsless!!

Are You Happy To See Me Or....

is that a shoebox under my shirt. Seriously..SERIOUSLY...I do not have that cute little beach ball pregnancy belly. Instead I have this ridiculous boxy belly. I'm okay with that for the most part until yesterday morning. My husband informs me that just because it is a holiday that I should really bathe. I agree (I guess...) to take a quick shower because I really shouldn't put the guests at the BBQ later through pregnancy stench. So, I do my normal routine of shampoo, conditioner, soap up the bod and then finish with a face wash. I rinse and then grab my towel and step out of the shower. I walk over the the sink and proceed to attempt to towel off until I notice....that I have suds all in my nether regions. Now, I realize that I can't see that area from a standing position any more, but in my defense I thought that the water would still get there during the rinse cycle of my shower. Obviously, my shoebox shaped belly just creates a kind of waterfall action that exempts my area from water impact. Ahhh...the joys of pregnancy!!

Peeing...

Can be the funniest thing. On Friday, we were walking our little family through the Patterson Park. This is a daily event that I love to share with Paul, the dogs and Will. This is a time that Paul and I usually catch up on our days, exercise the dogs and let Will run around and interact with dogs and people alike. We also let the dogs off leash (I know it is illegal, but these girls need to run!) We did so on Friday. The girls were running and Will has chasing. Another man walked up to the unofficial off leash area and let his collie off. The dogs interacted as Will watched. Well, this dog was obviously male and decided to relieve himself. Will was very interested. So interested in fact that he ran right up to the dog midstream. As quick as all three adults were my son still got peed on! Paul and I laughed, the guy was basically mortified (even though he did not apologize.) So keep a look out for this guy...

In upcoming posts...I am starting potty boot camp. The peeing should get funnier! Wish us luck!

Flexibility

Flexibility

Everyone thinks that they are flexible. I am in that boat! I really do think that I am patient, understanding, and giving.

Part 1 - Then, I had a conversation with my husband last night about how I would like this second delivery to go. I am attempting a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean.) I have changed doctors and hospitals to truly try to make a run at this the right way. I went from an OB at GBMC (they have a 42% c-section rate!! I didn't know!!) to a midwife at Mercy (they have 24% c-section rate. Not great but better.) I have told Paul that he has to read a book about the Bradley Method of natural child birth. And I am now preaching to anyone around me that will listen to me about drug free birth and women's right to knowledge about childbirth and delivery. I know that I am getting on everyone's nerves, but I feel like my "flexibility" and willingness to compromise led me to the induction and c-section.

Part 2 - My inability to be flexible has also led me to realize that I am NOT working out AGAIN this pregnancy!! REALLY...REALLY...why can't I just do something little. I have the Wii Fit, I could do the yoga or the weird step aerobics on there. I live a block from Patterson Park. I could go for a walk more often. So really, I am going to try now that I am off for the summer (teacher's one bonus..well that and snow days) that I will try my hardest to work out and increase my flexibility! I'll update later about my new workout strategy.

Second Chance - Good Pregnant, Bad Pregnant

Here is the thing, no one really talks about being pregnant for the second time. The first pregnancy is so overwhelming, that it is all you can think about, talk about, and dream about until you deliver. Your job becomes secondary, your social life decreases, your time online increases, you might consider your mate's role in this, if he is lucky. But then, there is the second time around.....

Good Pregnant-

1. You just aren't as worried about EVERY LITTLE THING! You aren't constantly thinking about miscarriage (not that it doesn't pass through your mind), every morsel of food you put in your mouth (even though, you swear you will not gain as much this time), and you aren't reading 101 books about pregnancy (that scare the living poop out of you!)

2. You already have pregnancy clothes. You are already ready for how ugly and unflattering they are.

3. You've MOSTLY dealt with the fact that you are not cute pregnant. But you will at some point return back to almost normal looking in the next two years or so.

4. You don't have time to eat as much food and focus on your weight gain because you are chasing a toddler around all day. And yet somehow I am gaining the same amount as the first time around (so far.)

5. I have most of what I need on hand or at least the knowledge to deal with most of the pregnancy downfalls. Unisom and B6 for nasty morning sickness, Tums for heartburn (even though, my sister swears by honey..WHATEVER! Just made it worse last night,) BellaBand for 1st trimester and so forth.

Bad Pregnancy

1. No one really gives a rat's ass that you are pregnant the second time. I feel like they will be excited once the baby gets here, but not really about this 10 month phase I am going through. The one exception is newly pregnant women, they are fascinated by all your knowledge, wisdom, and insight related to all things pregnant!

2. Your husband just isn't that excited or as accommodating the time. He cares, but the foot rubs are OUT THE DOOR!

3. You can't put your career on hold like you did the first time around, they cut you slack the first time. That's where the gravy train ends.

4. No shower to look forward to, but if you are lucky (and I am) you will have fantastic friends and family that will through you a sip and see when they baby arrives. Further details on that later.

5. You get fatter faster.

6. The baby will most likely be larger not smaller!

I'm sure there are tons more goods and bads, but I hear Will waking up from his nap (I know I have a two year old that naps -YEAH for me!)

Why When Things Get Better, I Make Them Worse...

Here are three examples:

1. Paul and I are finally both working, saving money, and stable in our relationship. At this point, we have been dating a little over a year. On my first "lady-only" camping trip, I take and ruin that by bringing home a puppy that was in a cardboard box.

My defense: The puppy was only five weeks old, at a yard sale for free, and was being fed hot dogs by children. I couldn't just leave her there. Enter Seneca into our lives.

Result: Much added tension to our relationship as we puppy train a dog and take on pet owner fees. (Bonus: Paul and I decide at this point that we are a family:)

2. We finally get Seneca potty trained and loved by the block we live on in the city. She is off leash most of the time and will stay on the sidewalks. We love her and she loves everyone else. We decide to get a second dog.

My defense: Seneca was awesome when we were home. She played and listened most of the time. She loved being with us. When we went to work, it was a whole different story. She HATED her crate. She would paw at it until her paws would bleed. She would cry and whine and whine and cry. It drove us crazy to think that our "baby" was all alone and missing us. Our solution was to get her a pet. Enter Ruby into our lives.

Result: More tension due to puppy training two dogs and vet bills. The rescue that we adopted our second dog from said she had a case of kennel cough. It ended up being a severe case of pneumonia and about 20 vet visits (CA-Ching!) Our little family is now complete for the time being. We have two beautiful coon hounds that love each other, we love and love us. There just isn't anymore room for love in our hearts. Until......

3. Fast-forward to 2007, a year after we get married. I am infected with baby fever. I see them everywhere! Pregnant ladies walking in the park. Strollers in all colors rolling down the sidewalks. All of them glowed!! Baby and mother looked deliriously happy. Paul and I had just recovered from paying off our wedding and were starting to put money aside for a house.

My defense: I really didn't think I would get pregnant THAT fast. And I really thought we would be buying a house in the near future...Enter Will into our lives.

Result: I was POAS (peeing on a stick) two weeks later and saw the two pink lines. I was ecstatic! The bad news: The housing market plummeted and my husband got laid off from his job as a real estate appraiser. The house would have to wait as I endured my first pregnancy living with my in-laws and my husband went back to school to become a respiratory therapist.

You would think after these three events in our lives that I would learn my lesson. But NO, we decide that during the last blizzard (there were three the winter of 2o10) to throw caution to the wind.

Result: Three weeks later POAS - Here comes baby #2 somewhere near November 8th!!

Thankfully, Paul graduated in May 2010 and quickly got hired by University of Maryland Medical Center.

Why???

Why am I doing this now?

I have talked about starting a blog for a long time. I am terrible at keeping up with all the firsts in motherhood and raising children. A lot of friends have started them to keep track of all the little and big events in their familis' lives. I just want to keep track of Will's and this next baby's childhoods and about our scrapes and bumps as parents along the way.

Speaking of...

Last night, Paul decided to put the dog food away upstairs in the bathroom (which is where we have to keep it since Will decided that it is his favorite toy) which he has done dozens of times. Instead of just dumping the bag in the container and carrying on with his day, he decided to fight with the towel rack. In his words, he fought the towel rack and the towel rack won. He ended up in Mercy's ER with two stitches. At least it is never boring around here....