My Kiddo Is Mean

Alright, so my perfect, sweet, loving baby boy has a mean streak...and I don't like it one bit.

This kid has taken to hitting. He will hit me, the hubs, the dog - it doesn't matter - when he's mid-tantrum or just frustrated. At first (and we are talking just a few times) we laughed when he did this. I think it just caught us both by such surprise that we thought it was funny. Now? It definitely ain't funny.

And not only does he hit, but he throws things when he's mad too. And hard. Of course, we've taught him how to throw - like a baseball, a basketball, normal stuff - but we never intended him to use his throwing skills against us. And this kid can really throw a ball well...and hard! We have practiced with a real baseball and after a couple close calls, I've been hiding those real baseballs.

And these tantrums. Let's just say mama isn't pleased. When he isn't done playing with something and you try to pick him up - he arches his back and goes limp so he just about slides right through your hands. And now he's started kicking his legs. I thought this wasn't supposed to happen until like the terrible twos or something...not 14 months?

The other night I was the unlucky one who was caught in the middle of one of his little tantrums. I picked him up and he threw his head back HARD and caught me in the lip. Immediately, I could feel my lip swelling up. I mean, I've always wanted some Angelina Jolie lips, but this wasn't how I figured I would be getting them.

Any tips on how to make this stop? Do we ignore it? Hit him back? (Ok, I'm not really going to hit him back. Kidding here.) Tell him no? Help, please.

Why Didn't I Think Of That: Pool Noodles

I am in love with this idea.

Seriously...I was at TJ Maxx the other day looking at one set of boot inserts that cost $9.99. And when you have at minimum 10 pairs of boots that gets expensive.  Pool noodles? Well I'm not sure how much they cost but they have to be much less than $9.99 AND I can get a couple sets out of one noodle.

Now, if only I could find some of these bad boys. Unfortunately, in Nebraska we are out of the "pool" weather and the stores I've checked don't carry them. And even worse, you should see the looks I get from the store workers {store workers? Sounds so prehistoric, but what do you call them when they aren't clerks?} when I ask for them.

This is definitely on my to-do list.

Photo courtesy of Skyz Boutique

Doggy Woes

I have dreaded writing this post for some time. I feel like such a flake and a bad doggy mom and a quitter, but at this point in our lives, the hubby and I are looking for a new home for Maya, our puggle.

When Maya came into our lives six years ago, she was our first "baby." She was my Valentine's present from the hubs and I remember the day I saw her in the pet store and fell in love...so much so that I drug Nick down to see her that very day.

She was three months old, so she was considered "old" I guess as far as pet shop dogs go thus she was on sale. Our little "on sale" pup. I've always had a soft spot for the runt of the litter - whether it be a little piglet not getting love from her mama when I lived on the farm or the kid who wasn't the most popular growing up in elementary school...so this little nugget fit right in.

But she didn't make the best impression. When we got her into the play area, the first thing she did was pee....then a few minutes later, a nice poop. Really, dog? You can't just turn on the charm for 10 minutes?  She was just lucky I loved her enough to coerce him into getting her for me. Back then, that wasn't very difficult. =)

Soon after we sent her to doggy boot camp to get her initial training. And she came back just as naughty. But we didn't care. We were in love. I mean just look at this face...

Her first five years? She was the center of our lives and we spoiled her rotten. We sent her to doggy day care on certain days to get some play time. Every run or walk we took was for her. We added a doggy door so she could get out into the backyard easier. And we even celebrated her birthdays. 

Then, this happened... 

We were concerned when we found out I was preggo - how would Maya react? How would we react to Maya around our newborn? We tried to get her ready for his arrival...well, half-assed but the effort was there. And don't get me wrong, she's not terrible with him, it's just the dog hair and her hounding him when he has food in his hand and the barking when the doorbell rings or the front door opens and her licking his face All.The.Time. Sometimes it gets to be too much...and we get frustrated with her.

After long consideration we decided we would look for a new home for her. It's not to the point we are going to place a Free Dog ad on Craigslist or anything, but we figured we would get the word out and if someone we knew was interested, then perfect.

In conversation at work, I was talking about our doggy troubles and a co-worker overheard. He just happens to be IN LOVE with his puggle, Jax - seriously, he has two (now three kids) but all we ever hear about is the dog...he even mass texts pics of this little guy. And when he heard we may be looking, he mentioned that they had been talking about getting another dog to help calm down Jax....and that they really wanted a puggle. (Hello, could this be more perfect?)

In December, we took Maya over for a play date...and girlfriend was on her best behavior. Jax made her look good and I hear that she was the best cuddler with his then-preggo wifey and she loved her. The kids - they adored Maya and loved watching the two puggles run in the backyard together. So we chatted about what they were looking for and since they were expecting a baby in late December (have since had the little guy), they aren't looking to add another dog right away, but are very interested in bringing her by for a weekend here in the next month or so and potentially could be ready in March.

I don't know, folks, but we may have found the perfect home for our pup...as much as I feel like a big ole failure for giving up, it's really the best thing for her and for us.  And, come on, just look at how stinkin' cute they are together.

Jax & Maya

If I Had Unlimited Time

If I had unlimited time, I would...

Lay on the couch and read through my preggo blog. I find myself reading through the blogs of my family and friends who are pregs and I can't remember how I felt or what I was focusing on as they hit certain milestones.  I would also love to catch up on my fave blogs and find some new ones.

Clean and organize every drawer, cupboard and closet in our house. This started in January and we've done damn good at keeping up with it, but there's oh-so-much more to do.

Lord knows I'm no cook, but I do find I enjoy trying new recipes - cuz a girl's gotta eat - and I've picked up a ton of Cooking Light magazines in the past few months, but once they get home they sit on my side table and collect dust.

Speaking of magazines, I love reading magazines but never find the time to sit and read one. Unless you count the fact that I read every single US Weekly I get during the mornings as I blow dry or curl my hair. I cannot miss out on my celeb gossip. Actually, if there was a job that required knowing the most random things about celebs - like their kid's names or what they wore to the SAG Awards or who they cheated on whom with - I would be the bomb. I can't remember pertinent life information, but I  know that Gwen Stefani's kids are named Kingston and Zuma.

I have a massive list of DIY projects just waiting to be done. Some I've snagged from Pinterest and others from blogs I follow. People inspire me. They are way more creative than I will ever be. But I will do my best to copy them and pretend I am too.


Go visit my friend Clint's second baby girl. Major bad friend alert - she was born on the 9th and I have yet to meet her.


I'm also no Ansel Adams, but I love taking pictures. And I wish I took more pictures with my DLSR. The only pictures I seem to take any more are from my iPhone and posted onInstagram.

I desperately need to paint the upstairs guest bathroom. I was in there the other day and questioning why I ever thought the ugly pea-colored walls looked good. I also want to have the entire upstairs painted - this doesn't seem to fit in this post, because why can't I just hire that out - I just think about the time to take everything off the walls and moving all the furniture and that is a major undertaking.

Get a massage. This girl has some knots...and even if I didn't? It just sounds good.


Would it be bad to schedule the nanny on a Monday or take a couple days of PTO so I can rock some of these things out?

Sleep...Precious, Beautiful, Wonderful Sleep

Coming off a fun slumber party Saturday night where Nick, the babe and I laid out blankets and pillows on the living room floor and just chilled while watching a movie.  It makes me think our sleep problems aren't such a problem.

But they are....

I think Cruz is duping us. Playing us if you will...At night the kid will just not go to sleep. And it's more than likely our fault, we've created a bad environment where one of us will lay down with him on the couch (or in our bed...I know, I know) and try to coerce him to sleep. He drinks his milk or a water/juice combo and lays with us. Very rarely does he just automatically fall asleep. Oftentimes, he is passed between the hubs and I where we both try our hardest to get him to sleep. And the kid fights it. And its about a one hour process minimum. And it sucks.

I was talking with the nanny on Friday and she said that Cruz has done great with the nap plan they have been working on. At 11am each day, she lays him in his crib, pats his back for a few seconds, shuts the door and leaves. No crying, fighting it, nothing.

Huh? We "tried" this process once. Little man was dead tired and we knew it was minutes before he'd be sleeping. I put him in his crib, rubbed his back and then walked away. And the sobbing started. I shut to door - hard as it was - and it got worse. It took all of our might not to walk into his room, scoop him up and soothe him. "Let's give it 20 minutes," I said. The crying never even seemed to fade, he wasn't falling asleep, he was waking himself up more and was miserable. As soon as that 20 minutes was up, we rushed into his room and cuddled our boy.

So I dug in with J (the nanny) - "what exactly do you do differently?" She went through her process and it was exactly the same as what we had tried.

See, this is why we think the kid is playing us. He knows he has two suckers for parents. I'm sure you could say we spoil him - well, shoot, he's our first one. Give us some slack.

But now it's time to start getting him into a night time sleep habit. What's different nap time to night time? It's dark. We are introducing a nightlight - well bringing back the Cloud B Twilight Constellation Night Light. Sound and noise. It also features the same noises that the hub's iPhone app does.

Any tips from the mamas out there?

Tonight's the night. Wish us luck.

On My Mind

It's time for a little brain dump of what's been going on in my world lately...

Weather...has been kicking my ass this week. It really needs to commit to being cold or warming up, I'm tired of this fluctuation. Case in point, on Tuesday morning it snowed {traffic was a B and it took me 1 1/2 hours to get to work that morning, but that's beside the point}, on Wednesday I ran outside, on Thursday the minute you stepped outside it felt as though your fingers were going to fall off from the cold and yesterday I walked around without a coat. wth?

Work...as you know it's been quite the month at work and we just finished our 2013 plan presentation last week so I feel like this week I've been able to breathe a bit. While it's been major craziness, all of the work and time is justified when you receive an email like this {it came from the head of VIP marketing for the company...a woman I've idolized since I started working here 9 years ago}.

Luke Bryan....we got our tickets and are coming to see you in March. Can't wait!

Speaking of music...I had a chance to update my iTunes music the other night and I'm so excited for some new music and the new "running" playlist I created.  An eclectic mix with a little Hunter Hayes, Jay-Z, Maroon 5, Biebs, Lee Brice and Taylor Swift....how can you not be excited about that??

Date night....finally came to fruition last night and we had a really good night together. Of course, we could only stand each other long enough to endure pre-dinner cocktails and dinner at Jams and then had to meet up with the crew - what can I say, we're social butterflies. Highlights include cappuccinos and turtle cheesecake for dessert, the new bar scene in Benson {Beercade, Krug Park, and some bar in the back of a convenience store} and a full night's sleep with no little someone to wake us up early. Beercade is def a cool concept - who doesn't love beer and old school video games - except that as soon as you stepped foot in the bar itself it smelled like a guy's college dorm room mixed with a strong case of BO and fried food. And was filled with boys who I can guarantee have only seen a naked girl on the internet, never in person.

Lot's-O-Beer at Krug Park

Brother's wedding...was an absolute blast. And so were making memories like these - candid with mom and my sistas, cake fight with the groom and bridesmaid, laughing so hard with my sister as we managed to cover our faces and dresses in delicious cake.

Little Man Update

Little dude's learning and development are on overdrive lately and I find it hard to keep up on all of the new things he is doing, learning and saying.

Juice is a new word for us lately (yep, we've introduced juice, I know bad mom alert) and it's just about the most adorable thing ever to watch his full, little lips pucker out as he says "jeeew-ce" (extra emphasis on the "eeew").

I'm not sure where he learned it, but he now does the "I don't know."  When I ask him where Maya is - hands out to the side as if to say "I don't know" while looking around for the dog. Where are your shoes? - hands out. It's so cute.

It's also been like Dance Party USA up in here. If there is music on, Cruz will bounce up and down and shimmy his hips to the music. He loves to dance.

And, he has started giving Eskimo kisses. The other night I showed him what they were and he never looked back. He was walking all over the living room giving Eskimo kisses to me, the hubs and even trying to land one on the pup - she wasn't having it though. This is a welcome gesture since he has recently stopped giving us kisses when asked. Instead, he leans his forehead down expecting us to kiss him there instead of the lips. It's enough to make this mama sad...so the enthusiasm for Eskimo kisses has been welcomed. 

Here are a couple of other things I'm loving:

Major photo overload from J, the nanny

The best thing while I'm working is to get a pic or video of little man while he's hanging with J. It brightens my day and makes me feel like if I can't be there with him, at least I can see him enjoying himself. 

 

Daily notes from the nanny

She also leaves a detailed note of their adventures, which is awesome. I love reading up on what they did all day long and what they worked on. She is really great (have I said that before?)

Helping mommy with laundry

Lately he has been quite the little helper - we do laundry, dishes, fold & hang his clothes and clean up together. He loves to help, though, most often the task takes double the time to complete, and I may complain outwardly to the hubs, but internally I love it. 

Eating mama's cooking We struggle to get him to eat much meat unless it comes in the form of lunch meat or a turkey dog, so imagine my surprise when he loved him some shredded chicken. I had intended it to be for our dinner that night - chicken taco salads - but after he tried it and then dramatically banged his hands together for "more" and rubbed his chest rapidly for "please" - it quickly become part of his meal that night too. 

Speaking of crock pot chicken - my SIL gave me this recipe for a quick and easy way to whip some of the yummiest chicken up for tacos, etc. Thaw out chicken breasts, toss them along with a small jar of salsa and a packet of taco seasoning into the crock pot on low for 6-7 hours (stirring periodically). The house will smell super yum and you will be wife of the year for making one of your hubby's favorite meals (well, at least I am - thankfully for me my husband's expectations of my cooking skills are very low).

Sneak in the good stuff

I'm not sure if others have problems with this, but little man does not LOVE all parts of the meals we prepare for him, so we find ourselves having to be a bit creative. For one thing, if you start him off with veggies he doesn't love (basically anything but peas) to ensure he eats them before the better part of the meal comes, you cannot let him see the yummy stuff. If he catches a glimpse of any fruit or pasta, you're screwed. He will not eat any of the veggies and will continue to beg for "more, please."  The other night, though, I outsmarted him and just stuck the veggies in the good stuff. He loves him some shells & cheese, so I threw in some steamed broc and voila! - he ate it. Score: mom 1, Cruz 0.

I feel like I'm kind of getting the hang of this mommy role. Some days are better than others, of course.