Monday, December 20, 2010

One of "those" days...

I had a rough day today...usually I am a very very happy person and there really isn't much that can get me down but for some reason I was in a funk this morning!  I was having one of "those" days when something is off.  Nothing in particular happened but I just felt kind of sad, a little down on myself, I am sure we have all been there!  Whenever I start to have a pity party I start thinking about what I am doing wrong and everything that is wrong with me!  I was questioning my mothering, how good of a wife I was, my personality, my looks...everything!  I really think I was just lonely!  As I anticipate seeing all of my amazing friends in MD over the holidays, I think I am also anticipating how hard it is going to be to leave them!  I miss having a bunch of really good friends around...best friends...ya know the people that really know you and they don't judge you!  Sometimes I daydream about what it would be like to raise Aiden with all of my friend's kids...that would mean Aiden would have lots of playmates and play dates and I would have Mommy friends!!!  I love my few friends here but none of them really have kids and although they welcome Aiden with open arms they really don't want to engage in Mommy talk!  Pardon me while I just vent hahah!  I know this is the life of a Navy Wife/military family but that doesn't mean I have to like it every day of the year!  So today December 20, 2010, the Navy life and I had a fight...you are sleeping on the couch tonight Navy life haha!

So enough with the "poor me" song...the best part of my day was having lunch with my hubby and my son!  I told Leif how I was feeling and he proceeded to tell me everything that I was doing right!  He told me what a great mom and wife I am and reminded me that I am making the greatest sacrifices for our boy!  It made me feel better...sometimes when you are down on your self worth...you just need a reminder from someone who thinks you are priceless!  SOOOO...Thank you to my amazing hubby for picking me up when I was having a down day!  You know just how to make me laugh and feel good about who I am...you listened while I had a pity party and then you lifted me up with just the right amount of humor so things didn't get too serious!  I love you!!!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Done, Done and Done!!

So today I finished my Christmas shopping...and MOST of my wrapping!  If I didn't know any better I would say that Santa has already been here to Gunder-Land because even the stockings are stuffed!  I slipped Santa an extra $20 and he delivered everything early!!!  Now I can just relax and enjoy my beautiful tree surrounded by way too many presents!  We went ALL OUT this year on the gift giving...the ultimate gift is going to my Aiden and my nieces...with out giving it away just yet I will just say that this gift and their reaction is going to be worthy of a commercial!  I CAN'T WAIT!!!
On another note...we had some family pictures taken!  I am really not extremely thrilled with them but they will have to do!  We had them taken downtown, on the water, the coldest day of the year, Leif was sick and Aiden had a runny nose and was preoccupied with the fountain!  OH WELL...there is always next year!  I have a great camera but cannot find anyone with a little bit of patience to take several pictures of us without cutting off one of our heads, getting irritated with a baby who doesn't want to sit still, or not clicking fast enough to catch that perfect shot!  Am I asking for too much?  SOOO....what do you think?

Monday, December 13, 2010

It's beginning to look a lot like...

CHRISTMAS!!!!

Although we started decorating about a week ago, I have kind of been slacking on the blog!  I have missed several important dates that I need to write about but I haven't had enough time to really do it justice!  I will start with an easy one!  With the help of my amazingly talented friend Krystal, I decorated for Christmas!  Krystal and I went to Michael's picked out a bunch of garland and with the magic of Krystal's talented hands and eyes, we ahem she, created several beautiful pieces!  I helped...I SWEAR!!!

BEFORE:
(here is everything spread out on the floor)
AFTER:
(Wreath, mantle, and staircase)

I love the way everything turned out and I am so thankful that my friend Krystal lent me her talent for a very very very cheap price (dinner and wine lol) because I certainly can not afford what she is truly worth!!!

I did our Christmas tree all by myself but have yet to step back and actually take a picture!  That will go on my "to-do" list...I love my tree!  We do not decorate the outside of our house because considering that we are in a new house every 1.5 to 2 years, and every home is different (# of bushes, length of railing, porch size, # of windows etc.), we would spend too much  money every year making it work!  Soon enough we will be in our forever home...ok not forever but Leif has promised me a good solid 4 years...maybe heheh!!!

OH....by the way...Aiden "HELPED" with the decorating!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The 3 B's

It always amazes me to watch the world through the eyes of my boy...or really any child for that matter!  I find it refreshing to see just how easily they are entertained and mesmerized!  Out of all of the toys that are on the market these days there are 3 items that, I believe, are hands down the most entertaining and fulfilling to my little boy.  I call these the 3 B's!
BALLS

Aiden loves to play with bouncy balls, plastic balls, nerf balls, lacross balls, footballs, baseballs and really any other kind of ball available!  I wasn't sure where this love came from but had a sneaking suspicion that maybe Daddy had a hand in this obsession.  Just when I thought that my hubby had some sort of magical power over Aiden that made him like to play ball I noticed the excitement and all out craziness that occurred when Aiden's teacher at the little gym released a trash can full of balls onto the gym floor.  Sheer pandamonium!  These little kids who are between the ages of 10-19 months go bananas when the balls come out!  You have NEVER seen a group of kids...who can barely walk...RUN towards the bouncing balls!  It is the cutest sight!



BALLOONS

I, being an anal first time mom, was very hesitant about allowing Aiden to play with balloons!  I had visions of him sinking his teeth into big full balloon only to have it pop right in his face thus causing him to fear balloons for the rest of his life.  Yes I know I am crazy but I lost the balloon battle very quickly the first time my boy laid eyes on a balloon and wanted to hold it!  Now, Aiden can spot a balloon miles away!  He points out every balloon within his eye sight and says "boon, boon"!  For Halloween I bought him a Sesame Street balloon and he carried that thing around every day for a month...just last week I threw that thing away!  Luckily, Aiden is a cutie, therefore most strangers will go out of their way to make my boy happy which means we have been given our fair share of balloons!  We even bought a bag of balloons that we carry around with us for those desperate times!  Yes....we are wrapped!

We STILL have the paw print balloon...2 months later Aiden still carries it around!

BUBBLES

Who doesn't love bubbles!  I don't care who you are, bubbles are just fun!  I mean let's be realistic...people rent bubble machines for their wedding for goodness sake!  Not really my style but hey whatever floats your boat (or bubble).  I swear that as soon as the kids at gym class see the bubble wand they automatically turn into raging lunatics!  When the room fills with bubbles the kids eyes light up like it's Christmas!  They are just in awe!  The kids point at, pinch, pop and try to pick up the bubbles!  I can't help but smile as soon as the bubbles come out...I am envious of how much joy a little bottle of bubbles can bring to a child!  Next time I am having a bad day I might just go outside and blow some bubbles...but only if I am guaranteed to look this cute...

Friday, December 3, 2010

When I knew everything...

A friend of mine wrote a blog about all the things she said she wouldn't do when she had her daughter that she now does.  It definitely made me think about my own self expectations prior to motherhood.  Before I had my son I pretty much knew everything about being a parent.  I knew how I was going to handle every situation, approach any difficulty, and I was sure that I would follow my exact plan!  My mother of the year award was in the mail before I even held my son because DUH I had so much experience being a parent!

I, of course, followed my plan to a T....that was until reality set in and I had a choice to either stick with the plan or maintain my sanity!  Here were some of my guidelines PA (Pre Aiden)...followed by the reality of AA (after Aiden)

PA:
There are toy, rattles and mobiles that are meant for babies...we said we would never let our children play with our cell phones, cameras or the remote control.
AA:
It seems like as soon as Aiden could reach for objects he was reaching for the remote.  I am not sure what the fascination was but I remember telling my MIL several times that Aiden was not allowed to play with the remote.  I was dead set that he could not play with it but that is really the ONLY thing he wanted of ours so why not!  Well then we both bought smart phones that were touch screen and could play videos.  Both Leif and I held strong for a good 6-8 months on the no cell phone rule however when he began to despise car rides, dining out, and anything else that lasted more than 2.5 minutes we found that watching videos could occupy him for more time than we could have ever imagined.  I now record things on my phone that I know Aiden will enjoy watching.

PA:
On the "toy" front... I had heard horror stories of parents searching high and low for their car keys.  I would never let my kids play with my keys...#1 I will buy them there own toy keys and #2 GROSS...do you know how many germs are on those keys?
AA:
Aiden is addicted to keys...the first thing he grabs when Daddy comes in from work?  KEYS!  I remember when Aiden was having blood drawn at one of his appointments and he was screaming his head off...Leif said "maybe we should give him the keys"...really?  In front of the Drs??? GASP!  I would never let the Dr know that we let our son suck on keys....the Dr. look at me and said MOM, give him the keys?  She proceeded to tell me that he had more than enough stomach acid to kill any germs on the keys...THANKS DOC!!!


PA:
I will only breastfeed for 1 year.  I am not going to be one of those mothers that is breast feeding their teenager haha!
AA:
OK So I WILL NOT be breastfeeding my teenager however Aiden is now 15 months old and STILL breastfed!  One of my many blessings was the blessing of Momma's Milk!  I have never had a problem producing milk...in fact, I could probably nurse the whole neighborhood if need be!  The plan was to stop or at least begin weaning Aiden at 12 months however when we found out that Aiden was allergic to milk and struggled to get him to eat solids therefore slowing his weight gain, I knew it would be a struggle.  To this day Aiden will not take a bottle and he will not drink any form of milk (soy, rice and almond).  He won't even take breastmilk in a cup...has to come straight from the tap!  So my boy is still breastfed...

PA:
I won't be such a prude about leaving my child so that I can have "ME" time.  LONG before I even thought of being a parent I just knew that I would be OK with having a sitter every now and then.
AA:
After everything we have been through I find myself extremely hesitant, maybe even somewhat fearful, of leaving Aiden for any length of time.  The most I have been away from him was probably about 6 hours and that was for an event with my husbands work.  "ME" time is a thing of the past and that is just fine by me...I am not sure if I will ever be ready to leave him...I think the more time I let pass the harder it will be but just the thought of being away from him overnight throws me into panic mode...



PA:
We will NEVER Co Sleep...this was a mutual decision that Leif and I made that we felt was right for us...some people swear by co-sleeping however we decided against it.
AA:
Despite the many sleepless nights, the hours of rocking, and the laps around the house with Aiden in tow we have stuck to our guns.  However, to be COMPLETELY honest, Aiden has joined us in the bed at 6am on a weekend...when the exhaustion set in and the choice was get up at 6am on a Saturday or let Aiden snuggle until 9...we caved!  NO, this isn't technically letting him sleep in our bed but it does go against what we said we would never do!

PA:
I would NEVER let my child walk around with food on his face or clothes!  How hard is it to take a wipe to the face or make a quick change of clothes?
AA:
Aiden is pretty good about letting me wipe his face.  Changing his clothes, well that is another task!  Aiden, like alot of kids, likes to be naked....he is a busy busy boy and can't be bothered with changing his clothes...and you know what?  He is right...he's a kid, he's a boy, and he is going to get dirty!



PA:
Being the "proper" people that we are, HAHA, we would never let our child eat directly off of a restaurant table.  We would always be prepared with and have the time to wipe down the table, let it dry and then of course we would carry a place mat to put down as a barrier.
AA:
Sometimes we have a matter of miliseconds to get Aiden in the highchair, buckled and food in front of him before he gets bored and has a meltdown.  I do carry wet wipes and try to wipe the table however in emergency situations I just refer back to the advice from my Dr...his stomach acid will kill anything that my wipes didn't.

PA:
Our house would still be "put together".  The toys would be contained to the toy room and all baby stuff would be put away.
AA:
I will refer back to my sanity...some mornings Aiden will wake up early and just coo and hang out for a bit while I "get up and get moving" and some mornings he just wakes up screaming.  On those mornings I stumble up the stairs, bring him down to our room, and let him play in his toy basket that we have in our room while I fully wake up, gather myself, go potty, you know, all of the things that you do right when you wake up.  The basket has grown and his "downstairs" toys now encompass a whole corner of our room.  As far as baby stuff...the wipes, desitin, diapers and tylenol sit out and I am OK with that...it's much more convenient that way!


I am SURE that there are many more things that I just swore I would never do...consider this post "To Be Continued"