Chaos

I live in a world of chaos. I seem to always forget vitally important items at home. My diaper bag is disgusting. My van is covered in half eaten crackers and dirty clothes. My appearance is often disheveled. And I am scatterbrained.

I have two small children, but all of my friends have one child. This often leaves me feeling like a complete spaz. I seem to be the only person who doesn't have their shit together. This makes me want to stay home with my rambunctious toddlers. Ugh. I hate feeling inadequate.

Yet at the same time, I feel like I can handle way more than my friends with one child. Have they ever had to console two screaming babies at the same time? Have they ever attempted to get two babies dressed and out of the house in a timely manner? Have they ever had to keep a running tally of two children's fears and phobias? Have they tried to maintain two completely different nap schedules for their children, while still making time for play dates, shopping trips, and visits to the park? I think not.

Yes, I may be disheveled and slightly confused, but rest assure that I am AWESOME.

Spoons and such

For the past YEAR, I have not been putting Porgie in her highchair. Shortly after Izzy was born, she started screaming every time I put her in it. In addition to her screaming, I was also confined to the couch, nursing my newborn for 22 hours out of every day. So it was just easier to feed her while she played, instead of putting her into the highchair. I didn't really care at first, because John and I usually ate in the living room anyways.

When Izzy started solids, I claimed that I was going to put Porgie back in her highchair at mealtimes. But that never happened. Instead, I continued to chase her around the house with food. I would not let her feed herself, because I was afraid that she would ruin our carpet. So, I had to feed her every single bite. Honestly, I didn't really mind feeding her every bite. I didn't even mind letting her run around the living room during mealtimes. The thing that bothered me was that she wasn't feeding herself. She needed to learn how to operate a fork and spoon.

This weekend I made a decision. I decided that we were going to start letting Porgie feed herself in the highchair. And guess what? She hasn't thrown a tantrum. Not even one. And she is really good with a spoon. Sometimes she whines to get down after a few bites, but when I explain that she won't get a cookie, she is usually happy to finish her meal.

I have a problem with always expecting the worst. And I am usually pleasantly surprised.

Did you miss me?

Holy crap internet! Where have I been? I would love to tell you that I have been super busy with my family and friends, but that would be a lie. Instead, my computer broke. I got the black screen of death. No fun. John has finally managed to get my desktop to load, but my monitor is still all screwy. Oh, and my battery won't hold a charge. Damn technology. We do have another computer down stairs, but that would require me to walk down a flight of stairs, and well, that just isn't going to happen.

Not having access to the internet is quite strange. At first, I was sure that I would die from boredom. Fortunately, that never happened. I have been keeping myself busy with the last season of Sopranos, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, and various crocheting projects. In case you were wondering, I seem to have fallen completely off of the eating healthy bandwagon. I have been indulging in ice cream, cookies, brownies, and unlimited amounts of Coca Cola Classic. I plan on getting back on my diet next Monday. But I am fairly confident that I am going to end up at Baskin Robbins midday, devouring a strawberry milkshake. Mmmmmm...strawberry milkshakes. Do you like strawberries? I love strawberry favored ANYTHING.

Let's see...regardless of my negative tone in the last post, we actually had a decent Christmas. I was so glad we went back. The kids LOVED being the center of attention - especially Porgie. I had the opportunity to see my family and a good friend. John got to spend some quality time with his dad. And my mother finally got to play with her grandbabies. The only real problems we encountered involved naps and my MIL, but overall it was still a good trip.

On the second day of our vacation, my grandmother fell down her front stairs and couldn't get back up. She had to lay in the -2 degree weather screaming for help, until a very sweet woman came out of her house and helped my granny get up. After the tumbled, she was having trouble walking. My family convinced her to go to the hospital, but she checked out with a clean bill of health. During the remainder of our trip, my grandma was so stiff and sore. She could barely move off the couch. I am so glad that she was able to visit with the kids and spend some quality time with them. I am really worried about my granny and her well being.

John has been on vacation for the past 2 weeks. He went back to work this morning. It was nice having him around so much. Just in the past week, Izzy began favoring Dada over Mama. He wanted to be held by Daddy constantly, which was great for me because that kid is HEAVY. But now I am back to the back breaking labor of lifting my 13 month old child. DARN!

Speaking of Izzy, we are having some napping trouble with him. The kid seems to be under the impression that he no longer needs to nap. Most days he refuses his morning nap - which is fine. But now he is resisting his afternoon nap too. He is CRAZY if he thinks that I am going to let him stay awake ALL DAY. Needless to say, there have been some tears shed over here in Cakerwakerville. Poor little guy.

Have you had enough yet? No? Well good, because I have plenty more to say. See you tomorrow!