Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Clean Freak!!!

For those of you who actually have been to my house, you know that we have one room that is blocked off from both the dogs and the boys. It is technically a dining room, but we use it as our office. I have watched a nimble 3 year old climb over the baby gate, and I now dread the day that Zach figures out that he can do it. This room contains our kitchen trash can and recycle can because Zach got interested in them and I was too lazy to keep him out of them. It also has two desktop computers and a separate desk with an attached bookshelf. Under that desk, there is an extra old-style computer monitor, CPU, and the shredder. My cookbooks are on another bookshelf as well. This room is about as far from baby-proofed as you can actually get.

Now and then, I've seen Zach attempt to climb over the baby-gate. I've always been able to stop him and direct his attention elsewhere. But I know there will be a day when I'm otherwise occupied, and he'll figure out how to get in. Thus, I must clean up this room. It just so happens that this is the room that everything that isn't safe for a baby, toddler, or dogs gets dumped in. So, there really isn't much in the way of floor space right now either. All I can ask of you is that you wish me luck. I promise to post after pictures....hopefully in the next few days.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Presents, presents, presents!!!





Well, here are a few of the presents he got. He was very interested in the Curious George cars that Nannie and Grandaddy gave him. And, the table and chairs that didn't get wrapped were a big hit as well. Oh, and the last one is of him eating one of George's ears. LOL!!!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Happy Birthday, Zach!


Happy Birthday, kiddo! Here's his Curious George cake. More stuff to come, but wanted to make sure I got this out to you all.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

I knew it was just a matter of time

It's true. Ask any mother with more than one child and a toy called an exersaucer and you'll hear an affirmative response. Did your older child ever try to get into the saucer? Yep. And here's the proof! I heard him playing with the stuff around the outside, but didn't realize he had tried to get in it. He wasn't very successful, and as such, was very unhappy when he tried to get back out and couldn't. I actually took the picture right before helping him out. Oh, and I didn't know until he moved just like this that he had not gotten both legs where they belong. LMAO!!!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

It's called a toilet, kiddo.

Well, I can see the beginning of what I'm afraid might be a very long road. Zach is showing the first few signs of being ready to use a potty. Woohoo!!!! Oh, no!!!! Now I'm gonna be cleaning up pee spots on the carpet, and the upholstery....ok, maybe I'll actually be one of the lucky ones whose kid actually gets it right away. Hope for the best, plan for the worst? Yep, that's the idea.

Mom bought us a few books to help us figure out a plan for teaching Zach how to use the potty and what it's for. I already have 2 books I bought for him. He has a potty chair that's his size that he plays with. Heck, he's even put the floppy-eared yellow thing called Bunny on it to play. That's definitely a good sign.

We have 7 pairs of underpants that have Elmo on them and 3 pairs of training pants....not sure if I'll want to use the training pants or not, but I have them, just in case. I haven't shown them to him yet. I need to get myself prepared before I try asking him if he's ready. Yep, we need to make a plan...and that needs to not be the royal we in this case. Oh, and part of the plan will require that I buy him some more shorts that just pull on and off...no zipper, snap, or button.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Terrible Two's?

OMG!!! I can't believe that Zach is being such a pain. Well, yes, I can. But, the point is that everything I've ever heard about the terrible two's is that they are supposed to be coming to an end as the kid reaches 2. My guess is that he is having the hardest time telling me what he wants and just getting frustrated beyond all reason.

Over the last few days, he started being a fusspot out of the blue. I'm in the room with him. He's doing his own thing. He's not chasing after the dogs with one of his ride on/push toys. And just starts screaming like there is something very, very wrong.

I honestly don't know how many days in a row of this I can take. But, I'll take Mom's advice. Start playing 20 questions. Do you hurt? Are you hungry? I gotta remember to be more specific with him. What's wrong? doesn't get an answer....just more crying. And, he's getting really strong!!!! If he's throwing one of these fits, he can pretty easily break from my arms.....guess it's time to hit the gym again. *sigh*

Monday, July 14, 2008

Growing Food


Garlic
Originally uploaded by ZJ&TS mom
Well, we had some garlic that started to sprout before I cooked with it...I know, I know....so I decided to plant it. It's going gangbusters now!

Zach doesn't like diapers

Wow! OK, so Zach doesn't always take a nap when he's been put in his room for one. This really isn't a big deal because at least he's getting some quiet down time and so am I. Usually, he doesn't nap because I don't know that he's got a poopy diaper until I go to get him up from the nap that he didn't take. Sometimes, he just doesn't nap.

I heard him talking away last Friday and figured I was in for another day of not a nap from him for no obvious reason. Then, I heard a rather ominous sound...velcro ripping. Yikes! OK, so I had already changed a poopy diaper. I can clean him up later if I really need to. Maybe he'll go to sleep without the diaper on and maybe I'll be lucky enough to not have a crib to clean and sheets to change and a carpet to clean. Turns out, it wasn't his diaper that I heard.

This is how I found him when he woke up.

Friday, July 11, 2008

The obligatory poop talk



Well, it occurred to me that many of you who might be reading this didn't know that we (that's probably the royal we) switched to cloth diapers. It's nowhere near as difficult as I had thought it would be. I started by using gdiapers in an effort to start leaving less of a footprint and live a little greener. (More on greener living in later posts, I'm sure.) Turns out that our plumbing is a bit sensitive to the flushable liner. It wasn't too expensive a lesson, but it was definitely learned quickly. So, we started flushing only part of the liner. The part that breaks down faster than toilet paper. But, that still left us with a smelly pail. Yeah, I know...mom talk. So, in an effort to get the smelly pail out of the house, I researched my options and man are there a LOT of options these days. I decided that to not have wasted the money on those very cute gdiapers covers, I would just buy what would normally be stuffed into a pocket diaper. So, now both boys are wearing those adorable covers stuffed with an insert made of 55% hemp and 45% cotton. Here's to hoping that Zach will learn that being wet is just as uncomfortable as being poopy and will at least start telling me when he needs his diaper changed, if not telling me when he needs to go potty.


I started this this morning because I changed a messy poopy diaper of Tom's. Man, breastfed baby poop is just plain messy. Thank goodness it doesn't really stink much. Zach's, on the other hand, is easy to clean up. Just dump it in the toilet, then put the cloth insert into the pail waiting for laundry day. I guess I prefer the stink and ease to the non stink and 5 minute routine of trying to get it all rinsed off into the toilet. They do make handy contraptions for rinsing cloth diapers. I don't know if they had them when my mom was changing my diapers, but I do know that she got down to the toilet and actually put her hands in the bowl to rinse out mine and my sister's. Our toilet happens to be close enough to the shower that I just use the shower head that's on a hose to get them rinsed off. Yay for modern technology!!!


And just for good measure, I've put in a couple of pictures of both boys in their diapers. Yeah, they are a few months old, but that's what I have available right now.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Gosh, I'm starting to feel old


It's funny. I don't really feel old....I'm just looking at Zach and thinking that I'm amazed at how much he's grown. His vocabulary is jumping by leaps and bounds. He can even point at his nose and tell me that it's his "nnnnohss." That one is kind of difficult to spell phoenetically. And his mouth is "mmmouf." I think he really likes the way the m,n and s sound. Anyway, he will be 2 years old in less than 3 weeks. That's crazy! I must be doing something right...he's still alive, and thriving at that.

Dan and I have gone back and forth about whether or not to have a big party....well, I've gone back and forth in my head about it. Dan doesn't seem to care too much either way. Zach's birthday is on a weekend that my dad has to work, so he won't be around for it no matter what. We've settled on a small party with no extra guests. He won't remember and we'll all be way less tired this way. I'm still going to make him a Curious George cake. I guess I'll have to post a picture here when I make it. Oh, and this picture is about a month old.

Smiling Tom

This is actually kind of old considering that he's an infant. I gave away the clothes he's wearing in this picture today. I was happy to make the room in my house, but sad that I won't see any more of my babies in them.
It's gonna take me a while to get used to posting here....hope you all don't mind this format.


The beginning

Well, it seems that I've been pulled into this by other people. I read lots of blogs, but I never really thought about doing one myself. I guess the best thing I can say is that I can put pictures up and let my whole family see them. I'm sure that I'll get behind, like all moms seem to, but I want to get started at least.

Life as the only girl....well, I have 3 boys in my house. My husband, and my two sons....thus, I am the only girl. I don't count the animals. So, there you go.