Finally updated!

For bird, while talking to bird, in preparation of seeing said bird....tomorrow.

Terrible three's and the tantrums that follow!

I know that I have been terrible about blogging, but I am changing that as of right now! Our little "Devil and a candy wrapper" Lauren (a.k.a. Nonie, the nickname that we love and that she gave herself!) is hell on wheels! I want to document her actions to show her later in life and for me to maybe, just maybe, find a pattern to her horrendous behavior.

Today is the perfect example. The last time I took Lauren to the zoo, I just let her run, no stroller. That was a HUGE mistake. Today, I took her with the stroller. SHE WAS GREAT, until we were doing the last thing, the merry-go-round. She usually LOVES riding it, but today, she had a super sonic meltdown! Right as it was about to start, she started the pulling moms hair-pinching-hitting-biting phase of the tantrum. At this point, I jumped right off of the ride with her and hightailed it outta there! Surely it was embarrassing, but the kind man noticed my frustration and refunded my money as I was exiting the area! Holy crap, getting the kid in her stroller to get her to the car was a fete and some more pulling moms hair-pinching-hitting-biting ensued. I literally rode home with the music blaring and windows open to drown out her wailing in the back seat. Luckily as I pulled onto our street there were two police cars (who knows why they were there) and I told Lauren that they were there for her and they were going to take her away. Everything came to a halt and she stopped her actions and ran right inside.

After we were inside and washed up, Lauren said that she was hungry. She never tells me she is hungry, in fact, she rarely eats at all, so this was shocking in and of itself. She ate a great lunch of left over’s. I guess I am just going to chalk up her actions today to a low blood sugar. I don't know if that is the case, but it is something to check in to!

Slacker 101...

Yep, that's me! I know I have said this in the past, but darn, I am terrible at keeping all of you up to speed on all things Lauren. With her 3rd Birthday rapidly approaching I NEED to put these things in writing so they do not become lost in the depths of my brain!

Speaking:
Lauren has really progressed in the vocaublary department. At her 2 year check-up, Dr. T suggested I get Lauren into speech therapy just to check on what/how she was doing. While she far surpassed other in the comprehension department, she was really lacking in the expressive department. We decided to enroll her in Early Intervention program that comes to your house and suggests things to do with her to get her to speek. The main purpose of EI really was to get funding through the state for speech therapy because our insurance does not cover it (just like ALL insurance companies, but that is another discussion.) Around 2 1/2 one of the therapists said that between now and 3 is usually when the biggest change would occur, and BOY DID IT! She did a complete 180*. We got her retested and to quote the Therapist "There is no reason she should have to come back to speech!" Phew, relief. That is the background, here are some of the results:

~ Lauren has now nicknamed herself. When you ask her to say Lauren, it comes out Nonie. I LOVE IT!
~ While stubbing my toe the other night, I said "ahhhhhh" and she followed with "damnit!" Lovely, just lovely.
~

Education & Experiences:
Oh boy, I would say this is the biggest change this past year! We were lucky enough that when I got promoted that we had a babysitter that would come to our house. After A LOT of back and forth, we decided that this babysitter was no longer a good fit so we let her go. This left us in unheavel! Thankfully we had family and friends that would fill in while I hunted for a sitter or daycare. There were times that I had to put her in a drop-in day care and I hated the place! I mean, it would good for an hour or two, but not for extended periods of time. I then reached out to my friend who happens to be a pediattric nurse practitioner and very reliabe and trustworthy. She was in the same boat as I was only a couple of months before. She suggested I try her girl(s) and while I know she is as particular as I am, if not more, that if she was comfortable with her daughter (who is Lauren's buddy) being there all day, then I could be too. So I took her one afternoon to try it out and she did just fine! I signed up that very day! For the first couple of weeks, she would through screaming fits to the point that they would have to come outside to get her, but now, she slaps me high-five and away she goes!

Sometimes you just gotta...

1.) Scream! That is what I sometimes (ok, most of the time) want to do. Not because something is necessarily wrong, but because it just feels good to let it all out. The frustrations of everyday life can get the best of us, whether we want to believe it or not, they do. It is just a good way to let it all out.
2.) Throw something, anything. This usually falls into the category of a dog toy so our joyous puppy can just back the eff off of me and leave me be, but ya know, dogs will be dogs and people will be people. The end of Marley and Me, as I watched last night, sums it all up so perfectly.
3.) Call it a day. When the above two options just really aren't options, one must call it a day and hope for a fresh start in the morning. It usually always happens for me, and for that I feel quite lucky (if that's what it is and not just sweeping it all under the rug for another day, wait, maybe that's what it isn't) I usually feel better.

Coffee after 5 o'clock?

Who would have thunk it! I never would have thought of myself as an all day coffee drinker, but now, I think I am. Back in the day, caffeine used to have the reverse effect on me, the more I drank, the more tired I became. Now, I get the nice "buzz" and then it wears off and I crash, but I get another cup! It's like I need to get my "fix" or something. Is it laced with crack? Must be, because I LOVE THE STUFF!

Sheer Destruction

Boy, was this weekend fun! Not so much. Not a lot going on other than on Sunday, Lauren decided she didn't want to nap! She had some not-so-quiet time in her room. When we put her down for a nap, if she naps, great, if she doesn't but is quiet and playing by herself, we are fine with it. Until we open the door and find this...

I foresee her room being rearranged yet again!

P.S. With not napping and going to bed a little early, she awoke at 7:15 this morning. I was SO hoping she would sleep in! Not so much! Grrr.

Adios Kindle...

While great in theory, not so much needed. The $150 is going to be well spent elsewhere. Also, you can't beat the smell of a new book! Can't get that with Kindle now can ya?!

Really?! Just one Oreo?

Nothing really new and exciting going on here...So I will just ramble!

Work, back at it after a month off, yipee!

Lauren, still not eating, nothing, nada, zip, zilch. Well, that's not entirely true, she does eat some things, they are just not what I would prefer her to eat. She will occasionally put something in her mouth only to take it/spit it out one millisecond later. She is slightly anemic and needs her iron, but how can she get it when she doesn't eat meat? I do supplement with vitamins and such, but I would so much rather her eat the good stuff!

Winter, I hate it, I want it to be over, I. WANT. SPRING! (oh, and a new patio to boot!) Therefore, I have begun my Spring Cleaning in hopes that that darned groundhog was correct... Even though he determined our fate in the middle of our biggest snow storm the year thus far, I can't trust his judgement!

I'm making my lists of flowers and veggies I want to plant. I hope that the veggies will have the same effect they did last year with Lauren. She would go out, pick it and start munching on it like it was the best thing ever. Then again, she used to eat everything under the sun, but now, not so much.

Duplo-Blocks. Are. Everywhere.

Laundry never ends.

The kitchen is always messy.

The new dog is driving us nuts!

Really, did I just take one Oreo out of the package and think I would be satisfied? Who the heck was I kidding... I went back for 3 more!

Testing....

I'm making some pretty updates to my blog, this a test, only a test! Happy snow day everyone!

Desperately trying everything...

The past few months around here have been nothing short of a headache in the meal department. I mean, I am totally going to be losing my mind any second when it comes to putting something good in Lauren’s mouth… let alone her chewing and swallowing it as opposed to her spitting it out.

Since I have been at a loss, I decided to try something new, something out of me element. I have the “Sneaky Chef” and “Deceptively Delicious” cookbooks, but let’s be honest; I didn’t feel like doing all the prep work, today anyway. So I looked around the internet for some ideas on sneaking something low maintenance into brownies. Who doesn’t love chocolate? I couldn’t find anything involving what I had on had, carrots. Again, I will be honest; I gave up my search quickly. So, I went into the kitchen and just started grating up the carrots, man that is some work! I got out the necessary items for the brownies and I went to work.


I mixed the ingredients according to the package and then I just started throwing in the grated carrots. I would say I used over a cup, I just eyeballed it. In my opinion, you can’t even see the carrots in the sticky mix…

Poured into a greased pan and baked. Since there are carrots in there, you kind of have to keep an eye on the progress; I would say these took about 35 minutes to completely bake. (Just stick the toothpick in the middle to check, duh!) And this is what you get...

At this point, I would usually be done with the brownies because I for some reason am not a frosting on brownies kind of girl, but I decided they needed it! At let me tell you… it made all the difference! See…


You can barely even see the carrots, or taste them! Lauren gobbled them up, of course, they’re chocolate! But the biggest test would be Aaron. I didn’t tell him I was making them so it was a nice surprise when he got home. Me being unable to keep a secret, usually, I managed to do so this time. I didn’t say one word about the hidden secret, and let’s be honest, I didn’t want to give it away that I was up to something. After a few minutes, he tried it, and LIKED it! Jackpot! I then told him what was in them and he said “You can’t even taste it!” Bingo, my whole point!

In the end, the only that really made these brownies different was that they were more “cakey” of a brownie, but not a huge difference. I am sure this won’t be my last time making these in this house! I urge you all to try… and enjoy!

P.S. I'm hiding everything but the healthy stuff in this house...

Blogging via Kindle!

Testing. testing. we got the Kindle for Christmas and we are still trying to decide if we like it and if it's actually worth it. But, since i've discovered the ability to access the internet and the ability to blog, I might just be in heaven! though, we shall see if we keep it!

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!