Something she WILL eat!

Lately, little Miss Brynn has taken to not consuming anything she doesn't want... I have tried everything to get her to eat something, anything, but she won't. While I don't push her to eat, she does know that if she doesn't eat anything I find healthy, she does NOT get dessert. I stand firmly behind this and she knows it. With all that being said, when I stumbled across this I was very excited to try it on her. I am all about the fast, easy and somewhat healthy meals and I was curious to see if she'd eat it, and she did! She even had it the next day for lunch and loved it! Of course, I had sour cream in the fridge, so I plopped it on top. And on top of that, I had Taco Bell Mild Sauce and added that on top also (we ALWAYS have Mild Sauce in the house!) With the things in it that she already loved, I knew by adding two more loves, the meal would all go down, and boy did it!

So, when I find something that we love, I will post about it for you to try... Go ahead, I dare you ;)

Annnnnnd, she's 2!

Knock-knock... Who's there? It's me, the terrible two's and I am here to take over your child! Um no thank you, please don't return! As I'm closing the door, that little bugger slithers in and grabs a hold of my child and makes it self right at home.

While these terrible twos are absolutely upon us, they however did not come to the door on Sunday. They have been hanging around us for a couple of months, but now that she is officially two, they deemed it appropriate to stay put. Oh joy for us!

When Lauren isn't being brat-as-tic, she is full of laughs and energy. We have gotten to do the fun fall outings with the final two right around the corner before the Ohio could sets in. We have been to the Pumpkin Patch (where Laruen decided to make dirt angels in the gravel and run from location to location for hours) and her Birthday Party (which was small and fun) and we have to get through Halloween (she hates her costume, she sees it and runs away or throws herself onto the ground) and then the last will be the clean-up (and playing in) of the fallen leaves.

Here are some fun pictures, enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a beautiful rainbow to end her special day!

 

Oh, I almost forgot... Our newest addition! He was found in the park late at night and was given to us. No one went looking for him, no flyers, no ad in the paper, nothing. We decided he must have been a drop off dog, because the park in which he was found is notorious for that. He has a clean bill of health and is about 15 weeks old. He is a Black Lab/Border Collie mix. And since he was a "Lost" dog, his name is "Sawyer" James!

 

Goodbye Babyhood....

Hello Big Girl! Last week I got to experience the grand escape from the crib :( Thinking it was a fluke, I though nothing about changing Lauren's bed from a crib into a toddler bed (don't blame me for wanting to hold on to babyhood a little while longer.) Then, over the weekend, Aaron got to experience it as well, twice! Lauren awoke from her nap and climbed out of her crib, opened her door and proceeded to yell downstairs! Lovely. We had a good laugh and thought nothing about it, until later that evening. After putting Lauren down for bed, she took to her escape route and out of her bed she went, time and time again. I went in to "try" and correct it with no avail. I just threw my hands in the air and said "I'm done with it!" Out came the mattress lift and the mattress went onto the floor, still in the crib. That didn't work either, she still climbed out! I then made a makeshift bed out of blankets on the floor and would just let her sleep there if she got out again. She did, and I found her asleep on her floor a couple of hours later. Toddler bed it is... first thing in the morning because I felt I could deal with it better the next day. I fretted having to make this transition, but really, it was nothing! Lauren loves her toddler bed and for that I am thankful! At least now she can get back into bed when she escapes!

Can this day be over?

Today has been one hectic day that started at 7:15! Since the weather here has been WONDERFUL, we undoubtedly sleep with the windows open in our bedroom! A nice cool breeze last night made for ideal sleeping conditions... ahhh, just the thought of it makes me want to crawl back into bed to continue what got disrupted this morning.

Well today is Thursday, also known as garbage day, and that is what my day is, garbage! I wish I could just ball this day up and throw it in the big, noisy, squeaking braked truck and have it hauled to the dump! So yes, at 7:15 this morning I was rudely awoken to the loud @$$ garbage truck who decided to ride his squeaking brakes all the way down our street and in the process decide that while in front of our house was the ideal time to throw the switch and have everyone else's crap pushed to the back just so I can stew in my own crappy day that he created for me. All the while this is going on, the dog decided to jump out of bed and bolt downstairs to attempt to attack this absurd creature through the window... barking, growling and all! In fear that this dog (who will be shipped to China in the next few days) would wake the child, I then jumped out of bed and bolted down the stairs to shut her up and bring her back up to bed. This worked until the truck decided to depart it's location from in front of our house and continue to ride those squeaking brakes the rest of the way down the street, stopping in front of every house, just to have it turn around and come back down the other side of the street! This carried on for 30 minutes or so! Lucky me! Side notes: City of Toledo, since you insisted on automated pick-ups and this wonderful "leap-forward" system, please retain some of the money to properly maintain your vehicles. And, Kristi, SHUT THE WINDOWS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHTS! And Aaron, I now know why that plastic bag was on the floor in front of the open closet door last night, so you wouldn't wake me with the crinkling of the plastic and the removal of tags in the a.m. (and prolong my already cranky state.) I got it now! While it seems you might possibly have been "born in a barn" it was my error for neatness!

After all that fun stuff, I finally was able to close my eyes for 30 minutes and enter back into sleepville; there it was a wonderful bang on my front door! The gas company has decided, last week, that our street needs new gas lines, everywhere on the street! So since last Tuesday I have been hearing pounding, drilling, chipping, tractors, back-hoes, trucks and the wonderful "back-up beep"ing, EVERYDAY! Then this a.m. that bang at 8:40 was one of the wonderful men who continue to litter in my yard and the surrounding yards asking to come in and see where our gas meter was (didn't they just switch the meters out in the Spring?!) So in my groggy/crabby daze, I though about saying "come back later" but I decided to let him in now so he wouldn't bug me later. Enter muddy shoe macgee! While I understand that rugs in front of doors are intended for the purpose of wet/soiled shoes, I however, do not like when those wet/soiled shoes are wiped clean on my brand new rug! M-effer, there goes that rug!

And just when you think the fun for my day is over, it has only just begun! At the point, I am wide awake and first cup of coffee down, I had to get Lauren up… yes, at 9:15 she was still sleeping! Lucky girl, oh how mom wishes she were in your shoes, err, PJ’s! I go into her room and she is sitting in her bed and by the light of her aquarium happily reading her book, again, lucky! I proceed to get her ready and cart her downstairs for breakfast. She is now eating her breakfast while I get ready for work. I call my mom, who is to watch Lauren and she says she is not feeling well but is going to come down anyway. I’m a little apprehensive about this because she was in the hospital last week for anxiety, but she assures me she is fine and on her way. Ten minutes later, she calls back and tells me she has gotten worse and that she almost blacked out while driving down and I told her to turn around and not come because I don’t want her getting hurt. This then leaves me in a predicament about getting a sitter for Lauren so I can go to work… I call my neighbor, no answer (that’s not a shock) but I go outside and their cars are gone, oh hell, when am I going to do. I see my other neighbors car is home, text her, but she can’t watch her, call my sister-in-law, no answer and Aaron’s parents are busy with work out of the area as well. This leaves me my only option, one that I highly dislike doing, I called work and told them what was going on and she told me not to worry about it and things like this happen and she understands and will find someone to replace me. Phew, thank goodness this woman has a heart and understands and knows my family! Crisis averted.

All the while I am trying to figure out what to do with Lauren, her nap time approaches. I love usually LOVE LOVE LOVE this time, but not today! Lauren has decided that today, she just isn’t going to nap. I put her down at 11:30, she screaming the bloody murder scream, and I go in and tell her she needs to nap and make sure she has all of her items. She is quiet for 15 minutes and then screaming again. I go in, check her diaper, check her for a fever, nothing, she has her things, she has her water, but she just doesn’t have me. I try to leave the room and she leaches onto me like I am going to leave her forever. At this point I figure she just isn’t tired and take her downstairs and give her a snack and we watch Barney (for the 3rd time today, oh lucky me) and she is yawning and rubbing her eyes. It is now 12:30 and I put her back down, she screams and talks and gets quiet in waves for an hour. Come 2:00, just when I am about ready to go get her, she goes silent! I check on her and she is out like a light! Just in time for the wonderful thunderstorm to roll in!

Now, thunder, rain and lightening in the background, I type this blog to those soothing sounds! No construction, no garbage trucks, no screaming child and the dog, well she is still a pain, but quietly sleeping next to me, and with that, I am happy!

But now I hear a siren….. And it starts again!

Well Holy Guacamole!!!

Again, I have been missing in action, big time! The entire summer has passed us by and I have not posted a darn update of photo yet again! While our summer wasn't jam packed with great fun outings, it sure did have awesome times, aside from my returning to work at the Country Club. Before I returned to work my Bestest Friend in the world, Bird, came into town to visit and I got to meet Megan and Bird got to meet Lauren, for the very first time since both of the two children had been born! We didn't manage to get any pictures of her and me, but we did get some of Lauren and Meggers! In between working, we did manage to get Lauren to the pool on several occasions, tomato plucking from the back yard (her FAVORITE, and yes, she sometimes knows the red ones taste better than the green ones!) the Monroe County Fair, Soak City and yet to come, Cedar Point! I can't wait for her to experience Cedar Point for all that it is, and based off of her reaction to the fair and the roller coasters she got to see while at Soak City, she will defiantly have a BLAST!

Also, Little Miss Lauren Brynn is almost 2 YEARS OLD! Where in the heck did the time go?!












Adios Summer, Welcome Autumn! The BEST TIME OF YEAR!

The fun in clicking "next blog."

Lately I have been in a blogger's "block" and I have turned to clicking "next blog" at the top of the page for inspiration. This is really fun and I suggest you try it if you are bored! I have come across some really neat blogs and very interesting stories and it is just a great way to pass the time. What I find really weird is how if you continue to click you will start to see some of the same types of blogs. The past few days have taken me to runners blogs, Chinese blogs, wine blogs, quilting blogs, etc. While I can't really relate to those- aside from the wine ;) -they are still interesting. I have even jotted the page addresses down for future reference. Since I don't have their permission to link them here, I suggest you try it and see where it takes you...

Happy clicking!

Crunch-Time

Well... I believe my time as a stay-at-home-mom may be coming to an end. :( After nearly a year and a half of unemployment, I may be returning to work. While the employment front here in Northwest Ohio hasn't really changed, I do have to find something due to unemployment ending.

While being unemployed, I have scoured the help wanted ads in the newspaper and everything under the sun on the internet, with no avail. While I did come across a few things, I was either too qualified for the position or I didn't have enough experience while other positions were only mediocre. It is now down to crunch-time and things do seem to be looking up, slightly. I have an interview later this evening (odd, I know) but I am optimistic about it.

While returning to work is what most SAHM's dread (I know I do) I do understand it needs to be done, financially. Along with being gone at work for 40 hours a week, I am driving myself batty thinking about Lauren. I know that we have her grandparents to help look after her, but I don’t like feeling like I am burdening them by asking. My mom is retired and I know she would watch her for us, but I can’t ask her to drive 25 miles each way all week. We also have Aaron’s wonderful parents that tell me “don’t stress about it, we’ll figure it out” I can’t ask them to put their lives on hold for our sake. Therefore, I think I might try and find her a part-time day care program so she can interact with other children as well as learn to cope without mom always being around (this is another sore subject for me.) This way, I won’t have to ask others to up-root their lives for our sake.

Back to the topic of leaving her: I. AM. SO. NOT. READY. FOR. THIS. I can only imagine that it will freak her out! I mean, it has been Lauren and I everyday, all day, for over a year and half then to just up and leave her all day, she’s going to HATE me! I know I am being over dramatic because women do this day in and day out and they manage, but for me, I’m still processing it.

Anyhow, here’s hoping… Please wish me luck and send prayer’s for my sanity this way.

Ahh!! A small taste of summer weather!

Holy moley! We all wished for the warmer weather of spring but we didn't expect to have the summer-like days so soon! Every chance we get, we are outside running around and playing! I even have Lolo knock on her buddies’ door (next door) to get them to come out and play!

Since the warmer weather has been coming in and out of the area, we have been taking advantage of it! Lolo is one brave little munching because she love, love, loves water and doesn't mind if it is as cold as ice as hose water usually is. She even puts her face right into it and doesn't flinch. I would like to take credit for this because I have never really baby'd her and it doesn't stop when she is in the tub. Since I was a diver in high school and a fish in the summer I felt I couldn't let me little one be afraid of the water. In the bathtub, the water gets poured over her head and she doesn't react, just holds her breath and then shaky-shakes it off! I love this about her. She has recently taken to laying on her belly in the tub, yes, it took 17 months for her to realize she could do it, and she loves it! She even loves to dunk her face into the suds... with or without moms help. I figured she has to learn sometime... and that sometime is now. You bet I will be teaching her how to swim this summer. I taught swimming to the little ones when I was in high school and those lessons stuck with me so I could pass on to my child (ren).

You can tell Spring has Sprung....

When the blog gets neglected! We have been busy with Spring cleaning projects as well, so at the end of the day, I don't feel like doing to much! Here's a quick run-down of what has been going on:

~ Easter egg hunt at Church
~ Massive house cleaning/reorganization
~ Privacy fence installed (can't wait for the driveway gate)
~ Visiting family/holidays
~ Outside... every. chance. we. get.

Here are some photos to share!