Get me up, people!!

The kids are adjusting to sharing a room at night so that when new baby arrives he will have a room (later on when the newbie is sleeping through the night, he and Matthew will bunk together). It has been a tough transition. This is our second attempt...we tried it a few weeks ago and it was too painful after a few days so we quit. We are sticking it out this time and hoping they stop yacking and go to sleep.

The first night we did this was really entertaining, especially since we'd just purchased a video monitor. They had a grand ol' time goofing off together. But now, it is just Matthew who seems to yack forever and ever. Ashlyn is quiet even if she is awake because she understands she'll be disciplined if she eggs him on. What a good girl!

The first few nights, they were up waaay past their bedtime...and then do you suppose that they slept in? Not my children! No, they were up extra early. We have not made it past 5:30 AM since we made the switch. Do you see what I mean about painful? We are doing extra early bedtimes this week to help get them back on track. And I do hope that it helps.

Ashlyn has this great clock...it turns green when it's OK for them to get up, which is 6:30 for us. This results in much fussing in the morning. Mark will get them when he gets up to do potty and change diapers and then it is back to bed until 6:30 for them. Around 6:00 AM, Matthew begins to yell, "Get me up, people! Right now!" Where did he learn that??? It makes it hard for me to doze in bed when I hear all this ruckus, but I suppose it's good to get up before them anyway and pray and read or shower or just get organized for the day. It's hard to do being 8 months preggo, though. GRR. Oh, and what is my reward for putting up with all of this garbage? I get mooned every day.

Ballet and Stuff

We have been pretty busy as of late. Can it be any other way with two small children? We've been getting ready for the new baby who will make his debut in mid or late July, playing outside and taking short trips up to Annapolis a lot lately. Oh, and Mark built a swingset in the backyard for them (and sometimes when they are playing on it, they randomly say "Thanks, Daddy for making the swingset." Awwwww.) I finally finished Ashlyn's baby book...good thing now that she's almost four and am working on Matthew's. I'd love to get that done before number 3 arrives.

Matthew is such a ham...he always says, "Cheese!"

The new swingset..and just generally goofing off (below).

We've also been playing a lot with Helen and Marlee next door and going to ballet class! Ashlyn finished her 10-week ballet class this past Thursday. I don't think much "ballet" was learned, but she did have a great time. She got to dress up and dance around once a week for a few weeks...and so did her brother. Well, except for the dressing up part. He did ask to wear a tutu one day, but the teacher wisely said, "I don't think your daddy would like that, Matthew." She learned what first position is and--more importantly--to be comfortable in this kind of setting without me glued to her hip.

The first class back in May was pretty dramatic. She fell down on the way in and skinned her knee, ripping her tights. And then she was so hungry or upset about her boo-boo or something, that she did not want to join the class. She kept on saying, "I want to dance." So I'd say, "Go ahead!" Then she'd take a few steps towards the group and FALL DOWN dramatically and cry, "Noooo!" I'd say we made drastic improvement by the end of it all...check out the video from later on. She is the one in the blue leotard (of course). I smashed three short videos together, so pardon the lack of transitions. I actually know how to add them, but was just not thinking. Oh well, next time!

In other news, Matthew continues to learn new words every day and can carry on a regular conversation (at least with me, he can). You have to listen pretty closely, but the boy can sure talk--in sentences too! Our first "conversation" was way back in late April...we were in the basement playing and he heard a bird. "I hear bird," he says. "Where is it? Do you want to look outside to see it?" I ask. "Yeah." He was convinced he saw it (I didn't). "I see bird!" he says, "Bird right there!" He can count also to ten and his new favorite video is the Leapfrog Letter Factory. He asks for it by saying, "A says Ah!!" or "Toe-tapping T." Fun times. He's a very sweet kiddo and this is a fun age--new things every day.

Ashlyn is getting good at writing her name and is always saying something amusing. It's like playing telephone. You have to be VERY careful what you say. Although it doesn't seem to matter...it will get filtered no matter what. For example, I said earlier today that I would like to take the kids to the pool before the new baby comes next month and later on the phone, that became, "Mommy wants to stay in the pool until the new baby comes." Not a bad idea, actually...

About a week or so ago, we were rushing out the door to go to the grocery store. Matthew had been drinking chocolate milk, so he took his cup with him in the car. I quickly got Ashlyn a cup of water--what was I thinking? Drama ensued about five minutes later. What does Matthew have in his cup, mom? Uhhhh....oh no! She can really be dramatic. Mark and I were shamelessly laughing while she carried on about how she wanted chocolate milk, too. Poor kid. It's a good thing Matthew is so good at sharing. He willingly shared his chocolate milk with his distraught sister. Next time, I will be more careful about such things!

Ashlyn is also in love with the ice cream truck. She discovered it last month and now--almost daily--asks if it will come by tonight. She has been doing chores (making her bed, picking up her toys, helping me sweep, dust, water plants and "do windex") and getting a little bit of money for it, so the first time she got ice cream from the ice cream truck, it was her own piggy bank that was raided.

They Like Each Other!!

Everyone told me that it would happen...but I was beginning to doubt. Matthew has always adored his big sister, but since he began walking (and taking her toys) she has been mostly irritated with him. Finally, she seems to be seeing that having a little brother can be fun! She has been playing more and more with him lately, holding his hands and dancing with him to music, feeding him dinner (tonight she got him to eat curry...I don't think he'd do this for me), washing his belly in the bathtub. It's pretty cute.



Of course, eventhough they seem to be enjoying each other more now, it isn't always a picnic. For example, the last time we were at the Commissary, Ashlyn would not stop leaning on Matthew, which led to her being in "time-out" in the regular part of the cart versus the car-part, where Matthew was. Either Matthew was upset about being left alone to drive or he was taking his revenge for his sister's abuse, but he decided to throw pink bunny overboard at some point. I didn't notice until we were at the check out, of course. Then our bagger waited, impatience mounting, as we checked all three possible lost and founds (the bagger needent have worried...I planned on double-tipping the whole time). We fortunately found pink bunny and since have resolved that bunnies need to stay in the car or at home...which is good since we need to break the "bring the bunny everywhere" habit anyway.



Matthew has learned how to escape his playpen, which we affectionately call "jail." He is just full of mischief and lately has given himself some nasty bruises. Poor kid. I feel so bad, but at the same time I hope he will learn to not be such a dare devil. He surprised me the other day by counting to five after I began counting. He knows a few colors too.



Ashlyn has begun to do "chores" and has a chart and a piggy bank, which she picked out. She is sooo excited about her chores now. She makes her bed, puts her toys away, helps sweep, helps dust, and helps do "windex." She's such a great helper.



We are REALLY looking forward to the weekend since Mark has been away a lot and he won't be traveling for awhile. We will almost certainly go to IHOP Saturday morning, where the waitresses recognize us and Ashlyn acts like a rock star. Last weekend, when daddy wanted her to eat more of her eggs, she said, "But daddy, my tummy is full of eggs but it's not full of pancakes."



It is a fun season, and as long as I am in a good mood, things seem to go smoothly. Which means I need to get to bed on time...which means I need to head that way now.

A Fun Outing

Well, despite arising at 5:10 AM this morning, we had a nice day. After a mid-morning nap and lunch, we made it to the soft play area at the rec center. The kids had a great time, and so did I, thanks to poor Matthew's clumsiness. I had a few good laughs at his expense, and I needed those laughs. Ashlyn has been increasingly sassy to me and mean to her brother...she probably also resents being woken up at such an ungodly hour...not to mention that she is probably just plain tired. It sure ramps up the discipline. Anyway, here are some pictures from said fun outing.

Here is a video of the kids playing...

make sure to watch Matthew in the back...

Obsessed with Sleep

Can I just say that since I had children, I have become obsessed with how much sleep I get? It is really becoming irritating how much time I spend trying to figure out the perfect schedule that will yeild the most sleep for all. I doesn't usually work, and instead of just letting go and accepting that this is a tiring season of life, I (insanely) continue to try to find a solution. I am stubborn, I suppose. Or just hopeful. (yeah, that's it!)

I have been successful at many other things, and so I assume that I will eventually find a solution here that works. But here's the deal: apparently, God wants to teach me a lesson because NOTHING I have done seems to work. I am really praying about this right now, hoping that by God's grace I will eventually accept the sleep situation. Getting up at 5:30 AM every day isn't that bad, I guess...they do sleep all night until then...WHAT AM I SAYING?!? That is the hard part. I don't want to accept it! So therein lies my struggle. Trying to accept the unacceptable. Anyone relate?

Kids are Funny

I can't belive that Matthew only knew four words as of August 27th (last major kid update). He now can say so many things! He even combines words on occasion--do teeth--for example, when he would like to brush his teeth. He LOVES to brush his teeth....which really means just sucking off the toothpaste and walking around chewing on his toothbrush. He can say: mommy, daddy, hi, sister, down, nurse (although he's being weaned), dog, teeth, poo-poo (which he DOES say at appropriate times), book, ball, that, do that, phone, do phone, bath, socks, shoe, nose, eye, and I can't think of what else right now. He's getting easier to communicate with, that's for sure.

Yesterday, Matthew picked up my cell phone and said, "Do phone. Daddy." So we called daddy at work. It's amazing to me how much of an agenda he has already at 15 months of age. When Ashlyn was his age, I was in denial, but I see it with him. Ashlyn was doing a puzzle yesterday afternoon and Matthew went up behind her and started patting her back and laughing. She said, "He loves me. I love you, too Matthew." It was one of those sweet mommy moments (although, that VERY morning she was emphatically telling me that she did not like her brother. She is fickle).

Ashlyn is pretty funny, too. We are reading a story about Jesus' birth right now for Christmas. The book starts out saying, "Why do we give presents at Christmas? Because it's Jesus' birthday!" So she says, "Mom, do you think Jesus would give me one of his presents?" We bought a little toy nativity, and have been acting out the story. It is funny to watch her modify it.

We found a bunch of toys and books of mine in a box in the basement and have been pulling those out to play with and read. One of those toys was a rubberband gun, and she has been pointing it at me incessantly, unloaded, saying, "FREEZE!" One night this week, she wanted to take it to bed with her so that when daddy checked on her she could tell him to freeze. A little practical joker!

Gluten-Free Stuff

Well, it seems that more and more people are going gluten-free these days. It's a bummer to find out you can't eat that little protein found in wheat, barley and rye, but the good news is that there are so many good products out there now. I remember baking Christmas cookies the first year I was diagnosed and bringing them to Christmas Eve at my Grandmother's house. No one ate them. They were totally gross! Thankfully, that is not the case today.

A friend of a friend was asking for some good product info, so I'm just going to list products I know to be good.

Chebe Bread--is totally yummy, although not totally nutritious. It's a cheesy bread roll, crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. We only eat about half of it in a sitting, so we have taken to freezing the uncooked dough and it freezes well. It also makes good pizza crust, calzones, breadsticks, and if you roll it out very thin--cheddar crackers. We order it by the case. www.chebe.com

Bob's Red Mill--they make a few good bread mixes. We regularly make, slice and freeze the Homemade Wonderful GF Bread and the Hearty Whole Grain GF bread. We have also tried the cornbread mix, which is also good. I would not recommend the pancake mix or the all purpose baking mix. They taste bitter to me. The Chocolate chip cookie mix is another one I would not recommend. The dough is difficult to work with and I think the cookies are just too sweet. www.bobsredmill.com. The brownie mix is fantastic. Several people on unrestricted diets have told me they are the best brownies they have had. You can find a lot of these in the natural foods section of the regular grocery store, and the commissary is carrying them now, which is so great!

Pamela's--I buy the Pamela's GF Pancake and Baking mix in the largest bag available. It makes yummy pancakes, waffles and cakes (Pamela's also has mixes specifically for cakes, which are good as well). There are tons of recipes on their website (www.Pamelasproducts.com). You can make just about anything with this mix and everything I have made has turned out beautifully...it's great to have on hand.

Betty Crocker--I love that mainstream companies are going gluten-free also! For sweets, the Betty Crocker mixes are pretty good.

Pasta--Tinkyada is very good and so is Bionaturae. I would not recommend DeBoles.