Think Family.Net

I’m sorry I have been such a slacker lately and not written much. School and a few other things are kicking my butt and taking all my time. I’ll try to explain more later . Right now… I have a house to clean, a disgusting dirty diaper to change, food to eat, a nap to take, a princess to pick up, and a huge mound of laundry that is refusing to do itself. I just wanted you to know that I hadn’t forgotten about you and that I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. ( I know how much you care!)

In case you get bored while I’m busy try Netflix - Only $4.99 a month. No Late Fees. Try it for Free!  It’s really great. We use it. We received a years subscription for Christmas. I love how the movies come to your house in the mail. You can watch them when you are ready and then send them back. Give it a day or two and a new movie appears in your mail box. You control what you want to see and when. I highly recommend it.

Ok, now… I’m off to get busy……

Wow… Jax turned 18 months last Wednesday. We were sick and it slipped my mind. Just in case you were wondering, here is an update on achievements.

• Jackson has now been boob sober for 6 whole weeks. He does still find them amusing though, and takes every chance he can get to give them a pinch.
• A few new words have been added to his vocabulary. Most of which are NOT English though. He now says: Hola, Ci, Salto (jump), Migo (Amigo), and shi shi(thank you in Chinese, I think). He has also perfected the use of the term “ball” AFTER he throws the ball at your head. “Oh wow” is still a frequently used term as well.

Other than that he’s getting bigger and more strong willed with each passing day. Here are the most recent photos of both the kids on Friday. After school treat!

Yesterday, Ashton and I went to see The Spiderwick Chronicles all by ourselves. It was a great movie. I was a little worried that it might be too scary for her, but after careful research and the opinion of a few people who had already seen it… I took her. It wasn’t bad at all. She is 8 and can tell the difference between “fact and fiction,” she says. So we ate way too much popcorn and sour patch kids and had a good ole time. Afterwards we went and bought the books that the movie was made after. She got the field guide or the manual from the movie, too. Then we got some new headbands and earrings. Next, we sat by the fountain and enjoyed the beautiful day until it was time to go get my hair did! (yes I realize that’s not good English, but I like it! So live with it!)

A video of Ashton acting goofy

While I was getting my hair done Ashton let me know that I had, “mustard colored hair” and it was a good thing they were fixing it.

She also decided that I looked like Rudolf because I had “antlers.” She proceeded to take pictures of me. Yes they are kinda embarrassing, but she’s requested that I put them on here. I’m secure enough in myself to show you all, what I go through to make myself so stunning! HAHAHA Beauty is pain!

My “mustard” hair (scary, I know. Please bare with me.)

My Rudolf “Antlers”

She even took a close up for you. (yes the lady, dyed my forehead. It did eventually come off with lots of scrubbing)

My hair turned out very dark (though it’s not what I asked for) so I might have to go back. I haven’t decided yet. I don’t have any pictures yet… and I’m not taking any today… I’m sick, remember? Soon!

Well, we had a blast. We always do together. She’s MY princess.

I struggle daily to keep my house clean and keep up with my kids. In a desperate attempt to get my house cleaned on Friday, I resorted to child labor. Luckily the child did not mind. I highly recommend this to any mother who finds herself in my situation. It works! See the following.

And a Video…

Feeding Jackson has been a struggle from the very start. He wanted the boob and nothing but the boob for the longest time. He would accept no substitutes. No pacifier, no bottle, nothing. I mean we tried every brand on the market and the child wasn’t having it. Little did I know that his picky eating habits would carry over into his toddler life.

I waited until he was close to 6 months to start him on solid food because I have a history of food induced tongue itching and swelling. Some called me over protective, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want my kids to suffer life long throat itching because I wanted to jump the gun and feed him carrots or some other disgustingly smooshy food too early. (While there may be no truth to my fear, it’s still my fear.) Anyways.. he pretty much refused to eat any of the previously mentioned mash that they can and call baby food. He only wanted those puffs and the dried fruit. I sustained his existence for many moons by nursing him at night and drowning him in puffs by day until I discovered his favorite food to date. FROZEN PEAS. Yeah, pull them straight out of freezer and plop them on tray. Baby like!

Now that Jackson has 12 teeth he is eating a few more things but he’s still very picky. I’ve been worried lately that he isn’t getting all the nutrition that he needs because he’s so dang picky. Here’s his current list of foods that are acceptable to place on his tray:

• Vanilla Silk/Soy Milk(since we weaned nearly 1 month ago!)
• Bananas
• Watermelons
• Grapes
• yogurt with fruit in it (he insists that he must feed himself)
• cups of mixed fruit/apples/peaches/pears/mandarin oranges (what ever I happen to have)
• Gobs of multi grain Cheerios
• Mounds of Frozen Peas
• Graham Crackers
• Gold Fish (Changed his mind, doesn’t like anymore)
• Ice Cream
• Bread sticks or bread (Only if we are out to eat)
• Cookies of ANY kind

Notice anything? Where’s the meat? Yeah, I’ve tried on numerous occasions to sneak some chicken or turkey into is mouth. He holds it on his tongue, sticks his tongue out and begins to wail like someone has just fed him poop or something. He then proceeds to scrape it off his tongue and is very upset. It’s the craziest thing.

I’ve done some research and come to find out that he’s not eating all that unhealthy. He’s actually doing a pretty good job getting what he needs. According to the THIS SITE the average toddler the following per day:

• 1300 calories
• Protein-16grams
• Vitamin A-400 ug
• Vitamin C 40mg
• Calcium - 800mg
• Thiamine - .7mg
• Riboflavin - .8mg
• Niacin- 9mg
• Vitamin B6 - 1mg
• Folate - 50ug
• Iron - 10g

He’s getting plenty of protein from his soy milk, yogurt, FROZEN peas, and graham crackers. All the other vitamins he’s getting from the fruits. If you would like to look up the nutritional information on a certain food, the USDA has a great website for that.

Some people have asked me why I worry, when he really eats pretty healthy. I guess I’m not really worried anymore now that I’ve looked this stuff up. BUT… have you ever ate a diet of fruit and fruit and fruit and only fruit? It does a number on his hiney. All the acid or something burns him right on the bottom. I mean, come on kid, eat some more bread and soak it up so your tush isn’t always raw.

Something else I came to realize in my research is that ALL of our food is saturated in sodium and sugar. Maybe… that’s the culprit for the sore hiney and not the poor innocent fruit… I don’t know. I’ll have to work on eliminating some of his salt and sugar intake and see. I’ll let you know.

I found this interesting site, Toddler Dish, with great recipes for picky eaters. I’m going to try some of the recipes soon.

Gosh that was long… I can’t believe you are still reading….

Jackson has now been boob free for 3 whole weeks. He’s sleeping through the night now (mostly) and so are we! Yeah for sleep! Now that he’s kicked that habit, he’s decided it’s time to redirect his stubbornness and be a little more independent in other areas.

The Jax Man is now spending a lot more time with Daddy on the weekend. The two of them have taken strolls around the mall together. They enjoy sharing ice cream and cookies. He also, doesn’t mind taking his naps with Daddy. (This is a BIG accomplishment - Up until 3 weeks ago, Mommy was the ONLY way to sleep for Jackson)

Lately, Jackson has decided that he doesn’t need help feeding himself. If you try to feed him, he lets you know in no uncertain terms that it’s not necessary. He’s 17 months and a big boy, right? This morning he fed himself yogurt. I am very proud of him. Only half of it didn’t make it to his mouth. It’s a start! (Sorry the pics are fuzzy. They are from my phone.)

He’s a mess!

When all else fails, do like the doggies do. Use your tongue!

Wanting to feed himself is only part of the new found independence. He also wants to turn the lights on and off. He thinks it’s his job to make trash so that he can pick up the trash. He wants to clean his own high chair tray when he makes a slimy mess. The list goes on.

This is all great except for when he doesn’t get his way. He is very opinionated and let’s you know that he’s GONNA do it. We’ve had many conversations regarding this issue usually resulting in a nice little temper tantrum(consisting of him flopping out and screaming until he realizes no one is paying attention.) It’s funny how the tantrum isn’t worth throwing, if no one cares or is paying attention.

It must be hard being a 17 month old!

I ran across this piece of advice on a friends BLOG. (Thanks for sharing!!!) It’s so true! Enjoy!

Thinking of Having Kids?
Do this 11 step program first!

Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their…
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child’s breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel…
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can’t get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive) Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out…
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out. Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don’t think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don’t look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store.
Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week’s groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air. You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you’re thinking What’s ‘Noggin’?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying ‘mommy’ repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each ‘mommy’; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the ‘mommy’ tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

Still want kids?

Kids are great. I can’t imagine life without them!

My “Goats”

It has come to my attention that blogs are one of the favorite ways that sexual predators find their victims. They read through blogs and find pictures they like. Sometimes, they are able to find their prey just from the innocently posted information contained in blogs or online chat rooms. This is very scary to me. So why have a blog then, you might ask? Well, I think that blogs can be a great way to get the information out to your readers. I enjoy writing and putting up pictures for my friends and family to see. It is a great way to vent your frustrations or just get your random thoughts out there.

I went through my site this morning and did a few quick things to help protect my family. I would encourage everyone reading this to do the same thing. I got these ideas from the FBI’s National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. READ MORE

1. First go through your blog and look at each picture. Make sure that the pictures don’t contain any license plate numbers, street addresses, phone numbers, the name of your kids school, or any other identifying information that could potentially bring your loved ones in contact with someone who may wish to harm them. Delete the pictures that are in question or simply blur the part of the picture using a simple photo editing software.
2. Read each post. Make sure you don’t give out any personal information. Don’t name your work, your location, your kids school, the gym you hang out at, your frequently visited restaurant list, or anything that might point directly to your neighborhood. You also shouldn’t talk about future plans. For instance, don’t say you will be out of town next week, or you will be going to Joe Schmoes on Tuesday. Keep your posts informative but vague.

Following these simple rules you are helping to protect your family.

Oh and pass along the word to all your blogging friends… Let’s all be safe–rrr!

Yesterday was girls day. Ashton and I had this planned for weeks. After getting our chores done around the house, we set out for a little alone time. First, we hit Chipotle for some quick eats before the real fun.

Then we posed for some goofy self-portraits in the car!

Then Ashton wanted to take me ice skating. She’s taken lessons so she is somewhat able to stay vertical. I on the other hand had never been so I was scared. My first set of skates were so dull and slippery that I might as well have been skating on spoons. I traded them in and got some sharper ones and I wasn’t too bad. I guess all those hours spent roller skating back in the day paid off. Ashton found a friend and pretty much ditched me half way through. Go figure! I was happy though because my skates hurt so bad that I was HAPPY to take them off and just watch.

Afterwards, we headed to the beauty salon for a little make over for Miss Ash E. Poo. She’s been trying to grow her hair out long, but the ends needed a trim. So we tapered the front and left the back long. So basically, just a trim. Here she is playing video games while she’s getting her hair cut by Keda.

Here are the after pictures.

I think she looks adorable. She’s growing up so fast! Spending the day together was great. WE had so much fun. It was much needed time to reconnect. I learned a lot about her today! I look forward to the next opportunity that we have to have girl time!!

This is so exhausting but so true….