Let's get controversial.
Actually scratch that. I just want to know what works for your families without being mean to each other.
Here's my sitch: (that's short for situation)
Macie is 2. Macie will be playing with something (the light switch, kicking the drivers seat in the car, a doll, anything). I ask her to stop. She doesn't stop, she gets time out. I generally put her in the hallway for 2 minutes, on her bottom. She is silent. Just waits. When I come and get her after 2 mintues, I try to talk to her about what happened. She says "sorry momma". We hug.
5 minutes later, she does something else she shouldn't do. More Timeout. More 'sorry momma'.
Now, obviously she doesn't understand 'sorry' fully. But she doesn't mind time out. Today I used a specific chair that is her size and called it the 'naughty' stool. She loved it.
As she was about to earn her third time out she said "Macie time out?" I asked her, "do you like time out?" she very sweetly and innocently said "yeah, macie like-a-time out".
Um. Where do we go from here? I'm not opposed to spanking, but not for something like playing with the lights. I'm thinking that is saved for if she does something like run into the street.
Do any of you do a marble jar? Or a star chart? Or happy faces? Is she too young?
What do you do for discipline?
HELP!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
2 months etc.
We had Penny's 2 month exam and everything looked great! She's 11 lbs 6 oz, 23 inches and doing well. It's hard to imagine that her sister was 24 1/2 inches and 13 lbs 7 oz at the same appointment. I do think Penny will catch up, it's just that she had further to grow (starting almost a pound smaller and loosing all that weight).
We've been getting the hang of having 2 kids around here. Things have changed for the better for sure. In fact, last night Penny slept from 9:30 until 4 AM (I got up and re-swaddled her) and then from 4 to 7AM. People, are you reading that?! She slept almost 10 hours. And that is the 3rd time she's done that. It's fantastic. I feel human again. I really forgot how bad no sleep is. For those of you who haven't slept since 2009, I can only imagine the pain you're in.
Typically Penny eats around 8am and I try to feed her sister around 7:30, because if I'm feeding Penny while Macie is eating on her own, my cleanup factor jumps 3-fold. Then Macie has a snack around 10, Penny eats at 11 and Macie and I eat lunch around noon. Macie naps from about 1-3, Penny eats at 2. Macie has a snack around 4 (depending on what time dinner will be), Penny eats at 5, and we eat somewhere around 6. Bathtime all around by about 7:30 and then we read to Macie while Penny is eating again at 8. Macie to bed around 8:15 (we try for earlier...) and Penny when she's finished eating, which could be around 9.
One of you bloggers wrote an awesome comment that I'm going to butcher, but it goes like this:
What did I do today?
1. Got up
2. Survived
3. Went to sleep.
I feel like mine should be:
1. Got up
2. Fed everyone
3. Went to sleep.
That's what we're up to. How about you?
We've been getting the hang of having 2 kids around here. Things have changed for the better for sure. In fact, last night Penny slept from 9:30 until 4 AM (I got up and re-swaddled her) and then from 4 to 7AM. People, are you reading that?! She slept almost 10 hours. And that is the 3rd time she's done that. It's fantastic. I feel human again. I really forgot how bad no sleep is. For those of you who haven't slept since 2009, I can only imagine the pain you're in.
Typically Penny eats around 8am and I try to feed her sister around 7:30, because if I'm feeding Penny while Macie is eating on her own, my cleanup factor jumps 3-fold. Then Macie has a snack around 10, Penny eats at 11 and Macie and I eat lunch around noon. Macie naps from about 1-3, Penny eats at 2. Macie has a snack around 4 (depending on what time dinner will be), Penny eats at 5, and we eat somewhere around 6. Bathtime all around by about 7:30 and then we read to Macie while Penny is eating again at 8. Macie to bed around 8:15 (we try for earlier...) and Penny when she's finished eating, which could be around 9.
One of you bloggers wrote an awesome comment that I'm going to butcher, but it goes like this:
What did I do today?
1. Got up
2. Survived
3. Went to sleep.
I feel like mine should be:
1. Got up
2. Fed everyone
3. Went to sleep.
That's what we're up to. How about you?
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Debt Free
Something else that we've been doing for the past 10 months is follow Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. It's a 13 week course we took last summer that tells you how to get your finances together. There is nothing revolutionary, it's just good money advice. Well, we had a monumental event around here last night. We made our last student loan payment! When we started last July, we had just over 36 thousand in student loan debt. This was combined from my undergrad, my masters degree, Dh's undergrad and his masters degree also. So since last summer, we were able to pay the WHOLE thing off. Can you believe it?!
I love talking about FPU because it's just so exciting. Dave walks you through the 'baby steps' of how to get out of debt. The first is to have a 1000 emergency fund. The second is to pay off all your debts, smallest to largest. The third is a fully funded emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses. There's a lot more to it of course, but really, I'm just so thrilled that God has blessed us with our finances and we FINALLY paid off our debt!
What drives me nuts is that we didn't do it sooner. If we had started this a few years ago, there is a possibility I could've stayed home with the girls. But God's timing is perfect and I'm just going to rest in that. If you're sitting here thinking 'that's great for her, but I'll never get out of this debt', you're wrong. You can! Dave is on the radio in most areas, just go to http://www.daveramsey.com/ and look for his station. And I am NOT being paid to write this, I just believe strongly in his principles and want to share them.
So now, we get to build our emergency fund, plan for retirement, plan for the girls college, pay off the house...and give our money to valuable causes...and enjoy the paychecks we bring home every month, instead of having them already be spent on debt.
And in other news, Penelope will be 2 months tomorrow! Dr's appointment in the morning. I can't wait for her stats. I'm positive she is big like her sister (and her mom and dad, who am I kidding). But hoping she's healthy and looking good. Happy Tuesday everyone!
I love talking about FPU because it's just so exciting. Dave walks you through the 'baby steps' of how to get out of debt. The first is to have a 1000 emergency fund. The second is to pay off all your debts, smallest to largest. The third is a fully funded emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses. There's a lot more to it of course, but really, I'm just so thrilled that God has blessed us with our finances and we FINALLY paid off our debt!
What drives me nuts is that we didn't do it sooner. If we had started this a few years ago, there is a possibility I could've stayed home with the girls. But God's timing is perfect and I'm just going to rest in that. If you're sitting here thinking 'that's great for her, but I'll never get out of this debt', you're wrong. You can! Dave is on the radio in most areas, just go to http://www.daveramsey.com/ and look for his station. And I am NOT being paid to write this, I just believe strongly in his principles and want to share them.
So now, we get to build our emergency fund, plan for retirement, plan for the girls college, pay off the house...and give our money to valuable causes...and enjoy the paychecks we bring home every month, instead of having them already be spent on debt.
And in other news, Penelope will be 2 months tomorrow! Dr's appointment in the morning. I can't wait for her stats. I'm positive she is big like her sister (and her mom and dad, who am I kidding). But hoping she's healthy and looking good. Happy Tuesday everyone!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
8 Weeks
Miss Penelope you're 8 weeks old!
Here is when we went to th zoo. You can tell she was really excited.
Here are some general stats at 8 weeks:
You are out of newborn clothes and almost out of 3 month clothes! You wear size 1 diapers. You are a super sleeper, thank you! You eat 5 times a day (you've been on a schedule for the past 3 weeks or so [breastmilk first for 5 min on each side and then 2 oz of formula, except 8pm when I give you 4 ounces) and once at night, generally around 4 or 5 am. But that's still a nice night sleep you're giving me, from about 9pm until 4 am! Once you slept from 9 until 8 am, I can't wait until that becomes regular. When we're out late and you come home in your carseat I will leave you in there in your bedroom and you love it. You sleep a lot longer than when we swaddle you (from which you break free pretty quickly).
I can't wait to get to know you better and get to enjoy your fun personality. So far you fit in just perfectly.
What else will I want to remember about you? You smile freely. You burp easily. You spit up only a little at a time, but pretty regularly after each feeding. You've started cooing and your daddy loves it.
We love you Penny, you are a joy.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Macie is 2!
She's the apple of my eye, and has the glasses to boot.
And before I get into the post, I really want to remember that I actually made this cake. Poor Penny had to be in her swing for just a few hours (which she was asleep most of the time for) so I could make this cake. It took me longer than anticipated. There was no party theme (it was just a family party this year, Dh's family and my family, done.) but Macie is so into Mic.key Mouse clubhouse that I thought a Mickey cake would go over well, and it did.
My favorite part of the party was that this is the first time Macie figured out what presents were and that she can open them by herself. Although then the hard part was her opening something, only to have it taken away so she can open something else! She only had about 7 presents to open, I'm imagining if we'd invited everyone like last year! That may have been overwhelming to open so many presents. It was just so much fun to have her enjoying herself.
Yesterday was her 2 year old Dr. appointment. Her stats are weigth: 32.4 pounds (95%). Height, 36.5 inches (96%). All molars are coming in nicely, she speaks really well (for a two year old). We talked about Potty training (coming soon!). The Dr. watched her walk and said she's doing great. Overall, I praise the Lord for this little girl and the good health she has experienced these past two years. I pray it continues and that her little sister has the same.
We went to the zoo a few saturday's ago. How precious is this Daddy picture!
This is what we've been up to. Things are getting better (my last post was long!) and I'm feeling like we're getting a bit of a routine. One thing that is hard to do is look at pictures, so I haven't printed any pictures out in a while. I need to get on that. How often do you all actually go and print out the pictures? Or are you like me and they sit on your computer forever?!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
This is:
Hard! I'm telling you, staying at home with an almost 2 year old and a 5 1/2 week old is HARD! I love my girls. Wouldn't change them for anything. But this job is not for the weak. I don't want to forget the details, so this is just a description of our day yesterday. Nothing out of the ordinary.
1:30 AM - Penelope wakes up for her feeding (3 oz, no breastmilk - my theory is that formula helps her sleep a little longer). We both go back to sleep around 2:30.
4:30 AM - Penelope wakes up. Takes another 3 ounces plus breastfeeds for about 5 min first. I go back to sleep around 5:30.
7:00 AM - Macie wakes up. I heard her crying a few times during the night (not huge crying, but enoug to know that she was awake). She is still in her toddler bed and so far (fingers crossed) hasn't gotten our of her room. She will sometimes be found on the floor with her blankets in the morning, and once or twice I've found her reading/playing with her books, but mostly she is staying in her bed. I go get her. We get dressed, change diaper, and get breakfast started (toast with Jelly and a banana and milk). I eat the same thing at the same time she does.
8:00AM - Peneleope has been awake for about half an hour and cried off and on for some of that. But it's time to eat. She breastfeeds for about 20 minutes and then eats about 2 ounces (each feeding after this is just about the same thing). This still takes about an hour. While she's eating I let Macie watch TV (this has only really started since her sister was born. Lots more TV than I want, but it's SO hard to entertain her while her sister is eating). We started with Sid the Sc.ience Kid.
9:00 AM- We start getting ready to go to Tar.get.
9:30 AM - leave for target. Go to the bank first. I have to use the double stroller and apple slices to keep Macie entertained in the 15 minute line. Macie is talking to everyone else in line. Penny sleeps.
10:00 AM - Get to target. Put Penny in the Erg.o carrier and Macie in the cart. It's really hard to lift a toddler when you have an infant strapped to you (b.t.w.). Target is relatively easy, EXCEPT that Macie has taken to pinching me. It's not a real pinch (she doesn't squeeze) but I don't know why she does this and I'm obviously trying to shut this down. At home I'll give her time out, but in a cart in the middle of target when I have Penny, how on earth do I reprimand her (I told her No very sternly). She didn't seem to care.
11:10 AM - get home. Feed Penny, Macie watches a little more TV (Mickey M.ouse club - the Hot Dog dance at the end is my favorite).
12:00PM - Put Penny in the swing, feed Macie and myself (PB&J - yougurt and peaches for Macie. Mostly the same for me).
12:45 PM: Macie goes down for her nap. Penny is still in her swing. Can I get anything done?
1:00 PM: Nope. Penny is fussy. I let her cry for about 20 minutes to get a few things done, but then I feel bad and get her. We hang out until 2:00 when she eats again.
2:00: Penny eats.
3:00: Play with Penny and have a snack. Penny falls asleep and I think to myself that I could maybe take a bath?
3:30: Bath! Book!
3:38: Penny has been crying the whole time. Macie has been awake since about 3:15, but I am letting her lie because she was so cranky this AM and didn't sleep well last night. She's not crying, just singing. Out of the Bath.
3:50: Macie is up. Start thinking about dinner. Let's make sloppy Joe's. Macie plays with Play-dou.gh on the counter. This girl is in a much better mood. She can now climb onto the barstools by herself (yikes!). She loves the play dough. But lots of it is dropping onto the floor as she plays. I make dinner. Penny is in the bouncy seat. Sit down to the computer to try to order legal forms (we realized we don't have a will but need to take care of that in case something happens to us). Penny is now fully awake and has been crying for about 10 minutes. No computer time now.
5:00: Penny eats
5:45: Mom and Macie eat (Dh has a coaches meeting after school today or we'd wait for him for dinner). Penny needs to be held for most of mom's meal.
6:15: Dh is home and we pack the kids up to go to costc.o.
6:30: leave for co.stco. Use two carts (that's why I watied for him. I don't really love shopping with both girls by myself if I can help it. I feel like such a tar.get for bad people).
7:30: head home.
7:45: put stuff away, bath time for Macie (thank you DH for bathing her!)
8:00: Feed Penelope - this time 4 ounces of formula before breastfeeding. She eats it all (just slowly). She is wide awake. usually she can be put right to bed, but not tonight. Dh gets some cuddles in with her while i make a snack for us.
8:15: Read Macie two books (again Dh takes the lead on all of this while Penny is eating. But we read together. Pray, put Macie to bed.)
9:30: Penny is double swaddled (she wears just a diaper and then is wrapped in two blankets. this is sometimes successful at helping her sleep longer - not as easy to break out of the swaddle).
10:00: Me to bed (no idea what time Dh hit the hay, I was out).
Penny didn't wake up until 4:15 (Horray!). This gave me almost 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I fed her and then realized I should try to get a few things knocked off my to do list while both girls are sleeping. I just felt so tired and emotionally spent yesterday. I don't know how this reads, but it was a fairly average day. Tuesdays I have my mommy's group from my church (which I LOVE) and a creative meeting on Tuesday afternoons for my church. I take Penny to that, but my mom watches Macie for that. I was so tired last night that i called my mom and asked her to come over today to help me. I may go to the gym for a little bit and then come back and try to get some laundry done while my mom helps me watch the girls. It's not that I can't get the laundry done,b ut it takes 3 times as long and that makes my mind go crazy.
And now, onto some lighter fare:
Here are just a few pictures of how awesome my girls are. Macie will now leave her sunglasses on and it's hilarious. Penny is going to be 6 weeks tomorrow! And of course, matching dresses from Nana.
I hope this post doesn't come off as a complaint. I love my girls and love holding them. But as I said, this is HARD, Hard work. I don't want to forget what each day is like, mostly because I know that in just a few weeks everything will be different again. What an adventure we are on. I'm grateful for those around me who can help.
Happy Thursday everyone. Here's hoping you are all getting more sleep than me!
1:30 AM - Penelope wakes up for her feeding (3 oz, no breastmilk - my theory is that formula helps her sleep a little longer). We both go back to sleep around 2:30.
4:30 AM - Penelope wakes up. Takes another 3 ounces plus breastfeeds for about 5 min first. I go back to sleep around 5:30.
7:00 AM - Macie wakes up. I heard her crying a few times during the night (not huge crying, but enoug to know that she was awake). She is still in her toddler bed and so far (fingers crossed) hasn't gotten our of her room. She will sometimes be found on the floor with her blankets in the morning, and once or twice I've found her reading/playing with her books, but mostly she is staying in her bed. I go get her. We get dressed, change diaper, and get breakfast started (toast with Jelly and a banana and milk). I eat the same thing at the same time she does.
8:00AM - Peneleope has been awake for about half an hour and cried off and on for some of that. But it's time to eat. She breastfeeds for about 20 minutes and then eats about 2 ounces (each feeding after this is just about the same thing). This still takes about an hour. While she's eating I let Macie watch TV (this has only really started since her sister was born. Lots more TV than I want, but it's SO hard to entertain her while her sister is eating). We started with Sid the Sc.ience Kid.
9:00 AM- We start getting ready to go to Tar.get.
9:30 AM - leave for target. Go to the bank first. I have to use the double stroller and apple slices to keep Macie entertained in the 15 minute line. Macie is talking to everyone else in line. Penny sleeps.
10:00 AM - Get to target. Put Penny in the Erg.o carrier and Macie in the cart. It's really hard to lift a toddler when you have an infant strapped to you (b.t.w.). Target is relatively easy, EXCEPT that Macie has taken to pinching me. It's not a real pinch (she doesn't squeeze) but I don't know why she does this and I'm obviously trying to shut this down. At home I'll give her time out, but in a cart in the middle of target when I have Penny, how on earth do I reprimand her (I told her No very sternly). She didn't seem to care.
11:10 AM - get home. Feed Penny, Macie watches a little more TV (Mickey M.ouse club - the Hot Dog dance at the end is my favorite).
12:00PM - Put Penny in the swing, feed Macie and myself (PB&J - yougurt and peaches for Macie. Mostly the same for me).
12:45 PM: Macie goes down for her nap. Penny is still in her swing. Can I get anything done?
1:00 PM: Nope. Penny is fussy. I let her cry for about 20 minutes to get a few things done, but then I feel bad and get her. We hang out until 2:00 when she eats again.
2:00: Penny eats.
3:00: Play with Penny and have a snack. Penny falls asleep and I think to myself that I could maybe take a bath?
3:30: Bath! Book!
3:38: Penny has been crying the whole time. Macie has been awake since about 3:15, but I am letting her lie because she was so cranky this AM and didn't sleep well last night. She's not crying, just singing. Out of the Bath.
3:50: Macie is up. Start thinking about dinner. Let's make sloppy Joe's. Macie plays with Play-dou.gh on the counter. This girl is in a much better mood. She can now climb onto the barstools by herself (yikes!). She loves the play dough. But lots of it is dropping onto the floor as she plays. I make dinner. Penny is in the bouncy seat. Sit down to the computer to try to order legal forms (we realized we don't have a will but need to take care of that in case something happens to us). Penny is now fully awake and has been crying for about 10 minutes. No computer time now.
5:00: Penny eats
5:45: Mom and Macie eat (Dh has a coaches meeting after school today or we'd wait for him for dinner). Penny needs to be held for most of mom's meal.
6:15: Dh is home and we pack the kids up to go to costc.o.
6:30: leave for co.stco. Use two carts (that's why I watied for him. I don't really love shopping with both girls by myself if I can help it. I feel like such a tar.get for bad people).
7:30: head home.
7:45: put stuff away, bath time for Macie (thank you DH for bathing her!)
8:00: Feed Penelope - this time 4 ounces of formula before breastfeeding. She eats it all (just slowly). She is wide awake. usually she can be put right to bed, but not tonight. Dh gets some cuddles in with her while i make a snack for us.
8:15: Read Macie two books (again Dh takes the lead on all of this while Penny is eating. But we read together. Pray, put Macie to bed.)
9:30: Penny is double swaddled (she wears just a diaper and then is wrapped in two blankets. this is sometimes successful at helping her sleep longer - not as easy to break out of the swaddle).
10:00: Me to bed (no idea what time Dh hit the hay, I was out).
Penny didn't wake up until 4:15 (Horray!). This gave me almost 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I fed her and then realized I should try to get a few things knocked off my to do list while both girls are sleeping. I just felt so tired and emotionally spent yesterday. I don't know how this reads, but it was a fairly average day. Tuesdays I have my mommy's group from my church (which I LOVE) and a creative meeting on Tuesday afternoons for my church. I take Penny to that, but my mom watches Macie for that. I was so tired last night that i called my mom and asked her to come over today to help me. I may go to the gym for a little bit and then come back and try to get some laundry done while my mom helps me watch the girls. It's not that I can't get the laundry done,b ut it takes 3 times as long and that makes my mind go crazy.
And now, onto some lighter fare:
I hope this post doesn't come off as a complaint. I love my girls and love holding them. But as I said, this is HARD, Hard work. I don't want to forget what each day is like, mostly because I know that in just a few weeks everything will be different again. What an adventure we are on. I'm grateful for those around me who can help.
Happy Thursday everyone. Here's hoping you are all getting more sleep than me!
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