Broadway shows and screaming kids

I am not one to pass judgement on any parent that has a screaming or crying child in public, I get that it happens BUT not if it happens during the Lion King and I paid good money to watch a show that ends at 10:30pm on a weekday AND left my kid at home.  Let me begin by saying that my day started off shitty, literally..Liko (our dog) although house trained decided to poop all over the house as Ricky innocently followed him trying to grab it. There I was chasing both of them, did I mention it was 6am?!

We eventually got it together and I managed to make some coffee only to spill it all over the floor when Ricky rammed his walker into the back of my heels. Fast forward to the "relaxing" part of my day when I got to take these awesome pictures at the beach. This action shot below sums up what he did the entire time. There was sand in all sorts of places and I had to get it out of his mouth a couple of times.

By the time we got home I was beyond exhausted and ready for Paul to walk in the door, when he finally did we both managed to shower and get ready while going through the bed time routine with Ricky. Once the babysitter was here I was ready to pass out but instead drank a cup of coffee and regained some enthusiasm to see the show.

As soon as I sat down all I really wanted to do was scream WT%^*#?! not only were there school aged kids there (which was fine) but there was tons of toddlers and babies! Now before you say anything or form a negative opinion hear me out. For one the show ends late and I know for a fact there are not many two year olds out there who can make it a whole 3 hours without getting restless and are cool with loud noises in the dark.  Secondly if you are going to bring your toddler to a show like this please don't get the best seats in the house, and finally if you know for a fact your kid will cry and does start to cry (loudly) were we can hear it over the orchestra and the actors... please have the courtesy to get up and walk out!

Maybe it's because I was already having a long day and I was tired or because it never occurred to me for a second that I could bring a 9 month old to see a Broadway show, whatever the reason it was  suppose to be relaxing and entertaining. Instead it was like trying to watch it with Ricky right there on my lap :/

What do you think about bringing kids to the theater?

Breastfeeding update

Looking through my blog pages the other night, I realized that my breastfeeding page sucks! yeah it was late at night and it was quickly thrown together this is it, eventually I will fix pictures in there and re-write it. For now here is a quick and dirty on it. Ricky was born via c-section not my choice but it's just how it went down so I didn't get to do all the good skin to skin and having baby latch on right away. Instead about 3 hours later ( he had to get some antibiotics) when I attempted to finally feed him he was not interested and exhausted. It took me a whole day, sore breasts, and lots of patience to finally get him to latch on.

He is now almost 10 months old and still breastfeeds, he is down to three solid feedings a day and the rest of the time he has solids. We only use the breast pump when traveling or he stays with a babysitter. I plan to stop breastfeeding when he turns one, I've a cocktail here and there since he was 4 months old and always waited until he had nursed and made sure we had a good 2-4 hour break in between.

The only solid pieces of advice I could give any new mom who is planning on breastfeeding is be persistent and patient but most importantly if it doesn't work out it's ok! don't stress, your still an amazing mom.

Here are some essentials that I have found to work great and are MUST haves if your a full time working mom.

1. This stuff is amazing and safe for baby.

2. Put these in the fridge and put them on in between feedings.

3. I only got 3 good ones, they are about $26 each so splurge and rotate. This is were I bought mine Nursing bras

4. This was a life saver, it's fast and convenient.

Just some extra tips, drink plenty of water and don't waste your time with buying some expensive breastfeeding cover. Babies hate those things! Use a large baby blanket, like a swaddle blanket and just tie a knot in it. Saves money and it's convenient.

Bed time troubles

We know that 9 months is a little late for self-soothing but hear me out, we tried it for a while back when he was 6 months old and it was a royal pain in the A. Then we had a house guest and had to move him back into our room because we didn't want them to be woken up by his crying, when we went to visit family for a whole month it was virtually impossible to leave him in a room to "cry it out" I didn't feel it was fair because it was a new place and the time difference was messing with his schedule. Now that we are back and in a new place we decided to give it another try, yesterday was the first night he got a bath,  lullaby and was nursed then I placed him in the playpen (his crib was not up yet) and let him cry for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes all I did was go in and pat him on the back while I sang to him and he went right to sleep.

My heart broke for those whole 10 minutes by the way, tonight after  spending all afternoon fixing up his room in the new house we did it again and he didn't even cry. The poor little fella just sat up in his crib until he passed out face first into the crib, it was a heart breaking sight. When Paul went in there and saw him like that, he picked him up and laid him flat on his back. Ricky woke up! I almost killed Paul and after another round of soothing he fell asleep again just the same way. Ricky actually did a great job he didn't cry himself to sleep but after a little talk between Paul and I we felt more comfortable bringing him back in our room.

We are some softies! Ricky will never leave our room at this point, he is currently in bed with us ( we have been co-sleeping since he was about  3 months) yes I know it can be bad but hey, he is able to fall asleep on his own, literally he touches the bed (our bed) and he is out and he naps on his own. Don't worry I know one day we will want him out of our bed, but right now we say F you Ferber method we just love having him with us too much and look forward to rocking him at least until he leaves for college (JK) ;)

Sweet, naked baby sleep 

12 in 2014 ( February)

This month I am cheating, we just got back to Hawaii last weekend and we are adjusting to living in a new home, with no A/C (gasp) no grandma :( and jetlag. Hoping this week is smoother because just in case we didn't have enough going on, Ricky started teething. Usually I don't use this fruit pouches but he has been refusing to eat the real things because his gums are sore and I seriously just unpacked the blender so this will do for a couple of days.

Our love story

It was during my LPN (licensed practical nurse) training at Ft. Lewis, in Washington. I had just re-enlisted to serve 3 years in the Army (I was serving year 2 of my initial enlistment), I was 23 and the world was mine to enjoy. School was hard, five days a week of nothing but books and studying so on the weekend my friends and I ventured out to Seattle in search of spirits and fun. It was on one of those nights, while taking a break form dancing to smoke (it's disgusting and I've quit since then) that I heard a southern accent followed by a contagious laugh outside of a bar. Paul was the friendliest person there,  of course we immediately began talking and found out his home town (Columbus, GA) just happened to be my very first duty station. This sparked a conversation that lasted several hours and ended in him asking for my phone number. I left the bar that night thinking he was a nice guy with a great sense of humor and good looks, that I would probably never see again.

                                              Our first Christmas together in Washington

Fortunately I was wrong, the very next morning he called. He asked me to lunch, the problem here was that he was in the Navy, he was a diver and he was stationed 45 minutes away from me. Either way, I didn't stop to think about it and drove the 45 minutes, paid the fee to cross the bridge from Tacoma to Bremerton and found out he had just broken up his engagement ( she did, not him and it was long before we knew each other). Needless to say I was cautious to enter a relationship with someone who had been in a relationship for seven years and was engaged but it was too late, the minute I stepped out of my car and saw him chasing the ice cream truck, with no shoes on, I was already falling.

We dated for about a month before I realized he still had to tie up some loose ends, we parted ways and didn't speak again for several weeks. One day out of the blue he sent me a Facebook message and asked if I had a phone he could buy ( he is forever loosing cell phones) it turned out that I didn't but one of my friends did so don't 'you know I bought that phone just so I could see him again (pathetic). He came over and right then and there I decided we needed to give it another shot.

It has been 5 years, one of dating, one spent apart because I was deployed and 3 of moving as a dual military couple we have dealt with the hardships of military life and the ones that come from every day life/. We have moved 3 times, had a crazy huge (inexpensive) weeding in his parents front yard.

Valentines Day craft

I saw this adorable banner over at Kacey Marsh Norris photography, she was graceful enough to share the instructions for making this with me. Here they are:

1. 1/2yard of pink burlap at Hobby Lobby and that is enough to make 2 banners.

2. cut a triangle out of card stock to use as a template. It was 6" across the top and 7 1/2" long. I also cut a heart out of card stock to use as a template.

3. Once I traced the triangles on the burlap and cut them out, I ironed all of them. I also folded the tops down about 1/2" and ironed them down as I was going.

4. Next I used my heart template, red acrylic paint and a sponge brush to make the hearts. Make sure you blot the paint on instead of strokes, it just makes it easier & have some paper under your burlap b/c the paint will bleed though.

5. After I finished the hearts, I used a pencil eraser to make the polka dots. Just dipped it in a little bit of paint and dotted it on where I wanted them.

6. When they dried completely, I attached them to twine. I put the twine in the fold I made when I was ironing and used a drop of hot glue on either side to hold the twin in place.

These are the triangles I traced

    This is the template

This is the end result:

I am so looking forward to making it myself and taking pictures of Ricky. 

Eating solids

Ricky just turned 9 months old and is now only nursing 3 times a day, eating solids and snacking. He is in a walker, running all over the house. He loves to play peek a boo and clap his hands, he has also mastered opening cabinets and doors. I initially had a hard time deciding what kind of solids to start him off on, introducing foods and how often to feed and how much. I can say we are in a good place now and all my fears about feeding him too many different foods is gone, he is such a great eater and nothing he has tried has made him sick. Here is what his typical menu looks like:


Breakfast: Banana, toast, eggs

Lunch: Apple slices, baby rice crackers, carrots

Snack: baby cookies or orange slices

Dinner: A veggie like sweet potato or green beans

Other favorites are jello, pears, rice and grapes, mac and cheese, waffles and pancakes.

I cook most of it but the fruits I just cut up small enough for him to hold, he does great and only has two teeth. The best thing about starting solids is how fast they learn to eat any food you give them, don't stress about the food being super mashed up as long as it's soft they figure it out. I would also not even bother with baby food, they really will just start eating food off your plate. Which brings me to my next point, ever since Ricky started solids I really watch what I eat because I know hes going to want some of what mommy is having.

Rice and strawberries 

Here is another good example that I looked at when I started feeding Ricky solids.

Breakfast

• 1⁄4–1⁄2 cup cereal or mashed egg
• 1⁄4–1⁄2 cup fruit, diced (if your child is self- feeding)
• 4–6 oz. formula/breastmilk

Snack

• 4–6 oz. breastmilk/formula or water
• 1⁄4 cup diced cheese or cooked vegetables

Lunch

• 1⁄4–1⁄2 cup yogurt or cottage cheese or meat
• 1⁄4–1⁄2 cup yellow or orange vegetables
• 4–6 oz. formula/breastmilk

Snack 

• 1 teething biscuit or cracker
• 1⁄4 cup yogurt or diced (if child is self-feeding) fruit Water

Dinner 

• 1⁄4 cup diced poultry, meat, or tofu
• 1⁄4–1⁄2 cup green vegetables
• 1⁄4 cup noodles, pasta, rice, or potato
• 1⁄4 cup fruit
• 4–6 oz. formula/breastmilk

Before Bedtime

• 6–8 oz. formula/breastmilk or water (If formula or breastmilk, follow with water or brush teeth afterward.)

Update

It's been several weeks since my last post and since then we have traveled to another state. We are now in Georgia visiting Paul's family. Ricky is trying to get use to the idea of cold (which he hates) and it even snowed. He experienced his first snow day, meeting all his aunts and finally getting to see his future home state and his grandpa Rick held him for the first time.

Grandpa Rick 

Cousin Charlotte 

Making a mess in grandmas kitchen 

His "attempt" at a snow angel

We love being around so much love and I personally love the snow but we are ready to get back to daddy and some sunshine.