Parenting

I'm wondering where my parenting has gone awry. Or if two year olds are just little miniature Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde's.

I am at a loss for what to do about Aidan's behavior, specifically (and most importantly), towards his sister. One minute he is sweet & playing and the next he is throwing a bat at the back of her head. Seriously. One minute they are rolling cars back & forth, the next he is hurling cars at her because she rolled it the wrong way. Today I babysat our friends Tasha & Adam's daughter Riley. The kids had a wonderful time together. Everyone was sharing, everyone was taking their turn & all was peaceful. You'd think with 3 kids things would get more hectic, but they didn't. Aidan is as sweet as can be towards Riley and then turns on Ivy in a heartbeat. Riley and Ivy are the same age (birthdays just a week apart), and it really baffles me. I feel like I am simply wasting my air & creating more CO2 anytime I tell him not to do something, because usually, he follows that up by doing the same thing, harder and more furious than the first time. I have got down on his level & talk to him eye to eye, I have yelled, I have done time-outs, I have resorted to spanking a time or two. And all to no avail. The kid actually thinks a spanking is fun. "Aidan, next time you do _____ you are getting a spanking" I say, and the next thing he does is walk to me, turn around and stick his butt out & say "spank a butt mommy". Sometimes he gets the crazy look in his eye & you can see the outburst coming. And all I can think of, all I have left is attempting to ignore him after he does these things and direct my attention to Ivy or to something not concerned with him or his behavior. But then, that seems like a complete lack of parenting.

Another thing I am ignoring about his behavior lately is when he spits out his food. Chew and spit. Where do they learn these things?!?

So now that the kids are snug in their rugs, err.. beds, all I have left to do is contemplate a new level of dealing with Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde toddlermania. And a new method of birth control. :)

I went to the lab finally to have my blood tests done and they all came back normal from hormone levels, cholesterol, liver enzymes, thyroid, blood sugar... all normal. Which means I will most likely need to stop the Depo-Provera 3 month birth control shot and figure out a way to remember to take a BC pill everyday. bleh.I'm so not excited. But, if it means my hair will stop falling out of my head and growing in on my chin, I suppose I'll be happy. I'll be happier if it prevents any more babies in the near future. :)

Good Night everyone!

Bedtime! & other stories.

Post numero uno. I am back on track with Aidan's sleeping routine after falling off the bedtime wagon around Christmas. Last night was a success, and after just 15 minutes Aidan was snoring. Yes, he snores. Tonight after teeth brushing, another peeing in the potty success, bath, jammies, and 2 stories, Aidan & Ivy are well on their way to some super dream, I'm sure. Ivy was tired after a short midday nap (she stuck her feet (with boots on) through her crib bars & failed to maneuvere them back through & woke up just a little over an hour after falling asleep. Aidan took a short nap on the couch until Ivy came downstairs & started poking him. :)

Did I mention that Aidan loves his new book 'Corduroy'? I love it too. That's why we have it. I want to eventually get the classics I remember were read to me as a child. Next on the list is Make Way for Ducklings. This month we got Corduroy and Curious George. Aidan's new love to do thing is go to the library. We went a few days ago & sat in the children's area and read a few books before picking out some to take home. I know we are going to have to buy Chicka Chicka Boom Boom since that is also one of his favorites, not to mention that it is helping him to learn his lower case alphabet. He knows all the upper case letters... forward, backward, upside down & inside out. I am amazed. He can also "read" Brown Bear Brown Bear to Ivy. He has it memorized of course but it is still very cute.

Ivy has finally returned to the bathing world. After a few months of bath strike, she is all in now. Her favorite part of the day is bathtime I think... "bash.. mommy? BASH!" (bash=bath in Ivy talk). She now sticks her head directly under the faucet, face first when I am filling the bath. She blows bubbles in the bath, she fills up her big cup with her little one. She is growing leaps and bounds. She wants to be one of the big kids too. I am constantly chasing her up the slide/play thing at the park. She wants the biggest slide, the highest slide, the big-kids one. She is communicating better everyday. Her vocabulary is crazy big. Probably because she has a big brother to model after... couple of jabberjaws, sun up to sun down... and then some. I don't know how I could possibly have kept them entertained & happy in our old apartment.

Our new house is wonderful. We all have a little slice of home here, our own space, somewhere to retreat. The kids especially love the backyard. They rarely play upstairs in the playroom.. usually only Ivy while I read with Aidan, since she couldn't be less interested in a story. And I am proud that we have done it. We have a home, a family. I mean, that's pretty much what it's all about... the hokey pokey of life. I am proud of Patrick for accomplishing all he has. For doing and sacrificing. For growing. For everything. We may not 'have it all' but we really have all we need to grow and become.

Goodnight for now!

The Beginning

I thought since blogging seems to be the thing to do in this internet era, I ought to get in gear. I stopped actually putting pen to paper a year ago and have failed to document anything on a regular basis. So here's the beginning. I'd like to remember my days a year, two years, ten years from now & be able to look back. I would like to share the real-ness I live day in & day out. Good, bad, hard, easy. I want to remember it, and not have to go digging through boxes in the garage. :)