Solution to back talking

Ahhh, I’ve found a better solution for a boy who likes to talk back to me. Until recently, I put soap in his mouth when he talks back, or screams ‘NO’ at me. It didn’t seem to be working. So I tried Tabasco sauce. The first time he had it was about 3 weeks ago. He screamed. I thought, great, its gonna work. And for the next 2 weeks, it did. Just the threat of me saying ‘do that again and you’ll get tabasco sauce’ seemed to work. Then on Tuesday he got it 2 times. Because of his reaction to it, I decided I should try it as well. Its not too bad. Yeah, its hot and burns on the tongue for a little while, but it went away after a couple of minutes without me even drinking anything.
What do you do for kids who talk back??

Wordless Wednesday (one day late)

Surgery

Well, they’ve figured out the problem and the solution is surgery. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Caden has had trouble with his hearing lately. We had his follow up appointment on Monday. His ear infection is gone. They did a hearing test on him. He did not score well at all. There was a box in the middle of the paper, and the line was supposed to come up into the box and go back down again. Well with both of his ears, the line barely moved from the bottom of the paper, let alone get anywhere near even the bottom of the box. His doctor sent a letter to the specialist in Winnipeg, who will send us a letter telling us when to come in for an appointment. From there, he’ll schedule the surgery to put tubes in his ears.
In the mean time, Cadens Dr. decided to try another round of antibiotics, as well as a nasal drop. Apparently, the passage from the nose to the ears can become blocked, which is part of why he can’t hear, along with his ear drums being pushed back.
It scares me a little bit to think of my little boy having surgery. I know its not a big deal, and they do it all the time, but its still my baby.
My Dr. said that once he has the surgery, it’ll be about 6 months till the tubes fall out on their own. They are so tiny. She said I would notice them on a Q-tip one day. Also, she said that he likely won’t be able to go under water. I don’t like that idea, as summer is coming up and Caden likes to swim. However, I talked to a friend who’s nephew just had this surgery done and the specialist had told him that he could go swimming to try it out. If he gets an ear infection, then he knows that he can’t go under water anymore. Apparently it doesn’t happen to all kids, that they have issues with going under water with tubes in their ears. Lets hope.
Anyway, I’ll keep you posted as to what happens with that. We go back next Thursday to see if this medication has done anything to improve his hearing. Then, we just wait for surgery, which I hope can be soon. Its driving me crazy to hear him say ‘what’ after everything I say to him. How nice it’ll be to have a boy who can actually hear me. Tuesday he was playing outside by himself. I went out to check on him and called his name, loudly, 3 times. No response. So I went looking for him. Turns out he was right beside the house, playing, but he didn’t hear me call his name at all. Scary.

Holiday inn

Caden with his Papa
What an awesome hotel. We went with Robs parents and sister Jess. They have a huge play structure that is 3 levels. It has a slide, things to climb through, and air guns that shoot out foam balls. It was great for everyone. Even I got in on the fun. Caden had a blast. Happy Valentines day to us.

Not too big

Sure, the tag on the jolly jumper says not to be used past 20lbs, or when child is walking. But hey, who says I can't put my 38lb 2 1/2 year old who's been walking for nearly 2 years into it. He had a great time in it. Didn't work as well as it should have, since I couldn't get it high enough, but he still enjoyed it.

3 months old

misc. pics

Ahh, the time has arrived that having kids is usefull to me...lol. I've been waiting for this. And he loves to do it.


I hauled out Cadens old clothes to give to some friends who have 10 month old boys. Caden found the pile of pants and thought it’d be fun to try them on. Surprisingly, they fit him great in the tummy, however not so good in the length…lol. Daddy's big boots

Avery's first time in the jolly jumper

Cadens' words, 'Grandma, take a picture of me with my nice jacket on.'

Caden can you hear me???

Over the last 3 weeks or so, I’ve really noticed a problem with Cadens hearing ability. At first, I thought he was just being 2, and not listening. I’d hear, ‘what mommy’ after everything I said. I started getting really frustrated with him over this. When he’d be playing by himself, and I’d call his name, he wouldn’t have any response. I could say his name 3-4 times and still nothing. Eventually he started coming up to me and every so softly saying ‘what mommy’, with his head turned to one side (the right). I figured this must be more than not listening.
I took him to urgent care on Wednesday morning and explained the problem. The doctor took a look in both of his ears and told me that his left ear looked really red. She figured he must have complained about it, or have been pulling at it. I told her he has done or said nothing. I’ve even asked him if his ears hurt and he says no. So she prescribed some medication for him and we are going back to see his doctor on the 22nd. From there, she will take a look to see if his eardrum is able to get sound or if we will need to go see a specialist. Today is day 3 of the medicine and so far I’d say its only getting worse. But I’ll keep going with it and hope that I see a change soon.

Stubborn as a mule

I never knew how stubborn my son really was until the other day. It all started when he decided he wanted to dump his tub of wooden blocks. I told him he could dump them, as long as he knew he would be cleaning them up by himself. He agreed. Well, after playing with them for about 5 minutes, he decided he was done. I asked him to clean them up and he said no. I told him he wasn’t leaving the living room until he did. Well, let me tell you, it was a hard day for him. It was 10:00 when he dumped the blocks. It took him until 7:00 that evening to finally clean them up. Other than his nap and lunch, he stayed in the living room ALL DAY!!! I couldn’t believe it. We fought all day long over those stupid blocks. He’d play nicely for awhile, then decided he wanted to come out of the living room, so we’d go over the whole thing again. I refused to give in. I was gonna win no matter how long it took. After 6 spankings, 4 times slapping his hand (he’d get mad at me and throw the blocks) and 3 times of having soap in his mouth (for screaming or saying NO to me) he finally did it. He was so happy with himself after he had cleaned them up.
The next day, it started off the same. He dumped a different tub of toys and pretty much before they had all hit the floor, he told me he was all done playing with them. I again told him he had to clean them up. This time it only took an hour. Ahhh, success.

Christmas card collection 2009

I had the opportunity to make a bunch of Christmas cards again this year. I'm pleased with how they turned out. Plus, it was a good way for me to make a little bit of extra money, because I do charge most people to make their cards. Enjoy

Pictures and stuff

It came and went. Feels like Christmas was forever ago, even though it was just 2 weeks ago.
We had a great Christmas week. Spent a lot of time with family. Caden thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to say it gets better every year with him. He was so into it this year. He played so well, both with other people as well as by himself. I was so proud of him. He got some great gifts on both sides of the family. The favorites being a foot powered scooter from my parents and a remote control truck from Rick & Amy.

hmm, who's new toy is it boys...??

enjoying crab and shrimp with papa

its santa

Last weekend we went to Grand Forks with my family. This is now the third year we’ve done this. It was so much fun. I had some shopping to do, both for myself and for Avery, but we spent a lot of time at the hotel. I prefer it that way. I hate feeling like we haven’t spent any time at the hotel when we leave. It often seems like it’s just a place to sleep and rest in between shopping. Saturday my mom and I went out for 2 hours, with out any kids, and got a bunch done. Then we spent the rest of the day in the hotel, swimming and eating. Caden absolutely loved the pool. He spent hours in there. Jumping off the side of the pool was his favorite thing. He’s becoming quite a little swimmer. As the weekend went on he got more and more brave in the water. I also took Avery in the pool. She did super well. Didn’t cry or anything. It actually even seemed as though she was enjoying it.

flying with uncle Rick and uncle Randy

yup, thats Caden flying through the air

Well, with January almost half over already, I am beginning to look forward to summer. I know the month will fly by, as it’s a pretty busy one. We have our last Christmas gathering tomorrow, followed by a week of full evenings. Because of the cold weather, I’ve spent almost this entire week at home so next week I’ll be heading out a little more. I’m feeling cooped up. Another reason why I hate winter.

Looking ahead there are a few things to look forward to. February is pretty much empty, but in March my friend Pam is expecting baby #2. April my baby brother is getting married and in May is Cadens 3rd birthday, as well as a new niece or nephew for me. I am so excited about that one. By the time all these things happen, it’ll be summer. Yeah.

Avery is doing so well. She’s 2 months old now. We still don’t have a complete schedule down, but we’re getting there. She has been sleeping through the night though which I am so thankful for. Usually from 11:30-7:30 or 8. She’ll then have 2-3 1 hour naps, and one 4-5 hour nap. I really can’t complain. She now will also go to sleep all on her own without needing her suckie put back in a thousand times. I’m not one to rock my babies to sleep. I like to be able to put them down and have them go to sleep on their own. For a long time, she’d need her suckie put back in so many times, it was ridiculous. I let her cry it out a couple of times and now it’s much better. Every once in awhile I have to go put it back in once.
She’s also been fighting a cold for the last week which makes her really stuffy. Caden and I are also working on getting over our colds. When it hits, it hits hard.

Well, that’s all the catch up for now. Hope you all are having a wonderful start to 2010.

1 month

Yup, she is 1 month old. Well, by now she's already 6 weeks, but these pics are from a month. Its gone by quickly. We still don't have much of a schedule, which drives me crazy. But we'll get there. She is sleeping great at night. Usually from 11-5ish, and then till 9:30 or so. It's never the same. Naps are never at the same time either, or the same length. Hopefully we'll get that all figured out soon. I need a schedule.
She has started smiling a little in the last few days, although not as much as I'd like...:-) I'm looking forward to her being 3 months old, when she can interact more. I've never been much of a baby person.
We are all ready for Christmas. The gifts are all wrapped, as of yesterday. I'm getting excited. Tomorrow we leave for Emerson till Thursday night. Then home where we'll have Christmas on Christmas morning. Then we come to my parents house, where we'll be until the 27th, with the exception of an all day gathering on the 26th. I'm looking forward to good food, and spending time with family. I do love the holidays. And I'm especially excited for Caden to experience Christmas in a different way this year. Last year he was still a little too young to understand, but this year he is excited about his presents, he knows that its Jesus' birthday, and we are going to see Santa this evening. I love it.
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Hope your holidays are everything you hope they'll be.

Shaving

Yes, he has 2 uncles. I don't very often talk about Uncle Randy, because he has very little to do with my kids. Only recently has he started to interact with Caden a little bit. I'm hoping it will continue.

Randy was going to go shave, and Caden saw the razor. So, Randy first 'shaved' Cadens whole face, and then Caden wanted to do the same to Randy. With the cap on of course.

My kids

I know, I'm a bad blogger. So, for those of you that still read my blog, here are some pics for you.

4 generations

Here I am with my Mom and Grandma. Oh and Avery of course. Yes, I know, Caden made 4 generations, but this is all girls. On my Dad's side, we were so close to getting 5 generations. My grandma passed away 1 year before Caden was born.

She's a month

Well, we are 1 month old, and sorry, I don't have any pics right now. Avery is doing great. Sleeping mostly good still, although not so much with the sleeping through the night anymore. Which is ok. She is only a month old after all. I usually get a 6-7 hour stretch and then another 3-4 hour stretch so I still can't complain. Caden has also been sleeping in longer as a rule. Till at least 7:30, often closer to 8. Its been wonderful.
I'm needing to get my but in gear and finish my Christmas shopping but with the weather being so cold, I really don't like hauling 2 kids out. It really makes a difference in that way, having 2 kids. Some carts...mainly dollarama, are not made for 2 kids and I sure don't trust Caden to walk by himself. I'd be buying a whole lot more stuff then. But I have been able to leave the kids with my mom, which is awesome. Errands get done so much faster. I even went out for supper and to a movie with my friends and left Avery with my mom. I just pumped and left her a bottle. Love to know that I can have a little bit of freedom if I need/want. With Caden I couldn't pump...it just didn't work. This time it works. I did also give her formula yesterday for the first time. She didn't notice a difference. I really don't enjoy nursing. I do it because I know its good for her, and its free. I nursed Caden till he was just over 5 months. My goal is to make it to 3 months with Avery. 1 down, 2 to go... :-)
Well, i hope everyone is keeping well, inspite of the freezing cold temperatures.

Ahhhh, sleep.

Can I really be so lucky. I know, i shouldn't jinx it by telling you this right after it happened, but Avery slept through the night last night. She fell asleep at 11:30 and didn't get up until 7:30. It was so needed. I was getting between 4-5 hours of sleep a night. On Sunday night I switched her to sleeping on her tummy. What a world of a difference. And you can judge me, and tell me that babies are not supposed to sleep on their tummies, but mine do. Caden did, and he's fine. I've been lucky to have my mom and my brother and sil take Caden for a night each, so that I could sleep when Avery did. Its a lot different having 2 kids when it comes to sleep. When you only have one, you can sleep when they do. When you have 2, and the older one wakes up at 7:00am, you have no choice but to be up, even if you only got to sleep at 2:30am.
It's also been so great to have people bringing us meals. Not that I can't cook, because I do have a good baby and have time. But there's just something special about having supper brough to you. Last night we had our 4th meal come, and today and tomorrow are covered as well. I am definitely going to start doing this more often when people I know have babies. Its not difficult to double the meal that you are making for your own family, and its such a blessing to be on the receiving end of it.
Christmas is now just a month away. I would say I'm about 1/3 done my Christmas shopping, for 1/3 I know what I'm getting and just have to go buy it, and the last 1/3 I have no idea. Good thing I have a month, although I'd like to be done soon. I hate the last minute scramble to find the perfect gift when everything is picked through and you don't feel happy with your purchase. Its so satisfying to be done, and have gifts you know people will love.

Labor & Delivery story

Well, for those of you who want to know the whole story of Avery’s labor and delivery, read on. If you don’t want to know the details, skip this post.

I went into labor at 2:30am Sunday morning. I woke up to a contraction, and they continued every 10 minutes, all night long. In the morning, I had Caden tell Rob that we were gonna have a baby today. My contractions continued, although I spent a lot of time lying on the couch, and it seemed that they slowed. If I would walk around, they would be more consistent.
At 1:00, Caden went down for a nap so I decided to try as well. I did manage to get some sleep, in between the 10 minute contractions. I got up at 3:00. At that point, the contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes apart. I called Joder to ask if she was ready to have Caden. She came to get him at 4:10. We got to the hospital at 4:30pm.
They brought me to my room right away, and the nurse hooked up the fetal monitor. Babies heartbeat was good. She checked me at 5:30 and I was 5cm. She also told me that she had called my Dr. and she wouldn’t be in till 7. This disappointed me. With Caden, the doctor broke my water as soon as we got there, and the next contraction was so much stronger. I was upset that I would have to go through the next hour and a half of labor without my water broken, thinking that things wouldn’t be progressing as quickly as they could be.
My contractions continued, although not consistently at all. It’d be 10 minutes in between sometimes. It was so different that with Caden. With him, I was walking around the room the whole time, having contractions every 2 minutes. This time, I was wishing that we had brought a game or a movie because nothing was happening.
At 6:45, the contractions were getting worse, although still not very frequent. The nurse suggested I take a shower, as the warmth can help. I was willing to try it because with Caden, it did help. Well, I had a contraction while in the washroom, and because I was so incredibly hot, I ended up throwing up for about 5 minutes. At that point, I decided a hot shower was probably not the best idea so I went back to the bed.
At 7:10 I had 3 contractions almost in a row. I hardly knew where to leave myself. I was ready to ask for drugs. However, with the last contraction, I was feeling the urge to push, so I sent Rob to get the nurse. She came right away and checked me. She said I was ready to go, and to keep pushing. My doctor walked in right after. She broke my water. During the next contraction, I pushed. After it was over, they told me I was doing great. I didn’t believe them. I pushed for 2 hours with Caden, and they kept telling me that it had been a great push. I would ask if the head was out and they said no, but it was still a good push. I got frustrated. I felt like yelling at them that until the head was out, don’t tell me it’s a good push.
So with Avery, when they said that push was good, I asked if they could see the head. She said yes, 1 more push and baby will be out.
Next contraction hits, I push. The head comes out. She tells me to stop pushing so she can check for the umbilical cord. Then gives me the go ahead to continue. 1 more push and she was out. Born at 7:18. 2 pushes. I was amazed how quickly it all went. From us sitting there passing the time, and 8 minutes later we have a baby.
They put her on me right away and cleaned her off. Then took her to do all the things that they do. Apgar score was 9 and 9. She was 8lbs 10oz and 22’’ long. A whole pound less than Caden, but only a ½’’ shorter. No wonder she just slid right out…lol.
All in all, I’d say it was a pretty good experience. A lot different than last time, but I managed to do it without drugs again.
We went home on Monday evening. It was nice to have a night at home, because hearing the constant beeping and the hospital, mixed in with a screaming woman giving birth, doesn’t allow for a lot of sleep.
Avery is doing great. Eating great and sleeping mostly great. She’s a little mixed up with days and nights, but we’re working on it.
I feel completely healed up. And, I only have 10lbs to go to be back at pre baby weight.
Now I’ll leave you with a few pictures, as well as Avery’s birth announcement card.

Avery Dakota Jade

We had a baby girl on Sunday, Nov. 8. She was 8lbs 10oz and 22'' long. I will share more details soon.