Camper

 

 

Joseph is off camping with his cousin and my parents this weekend!  Apparently my parents didn’t read my blog post about his horrible sleep habits.

Haaaave Fuuuun You Guys! (insert maniacal laughter)

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Anyway, I did a little interview with him before he left (he is sitting next to his suitcase) and thought I’d share it with you.

Oh, it pulls my heartstrings a bit to be away from him!

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But, here is to a nice quiet weekend with just Isaac!

Probably the last weekend with him solo before the baby comes! Eeeps!

Enjoy your weekend!

REVIEW: The Goodnite Lite (light)

I love to shop.  My husband cringes as he reads these very words, but it is so true.  Oh, its truuuuuuuuue!! 

The good thing about this is, in my shopping and review-reading and Cross-country moving, I have found some pretty nifty stuff.  And I get asked a lot about different products I have!

So, my husbands despair (assuming it is shopping and not these terrible hormonal mood swings I have had for the past 4.5 years?) is your gain-

I have decided to write a few reviews!

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Is there something you have been wondering about?

A baby gift you need to buy?

A certain kind of blanket/hat/stroller/toy you have been looking for?

Chances are I am at least secretly coveting it, and I might actually HAVE it!

Ask away!

Tonight, I review one of the best things that has ever happened to me:

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Oh, Joseph.

How I love him!

But,

HE IS A TERRIBLE SLEEPER!

Seriously, oh so terrible! Haha!  I laugh a little bit with exhaustion just thinking about it!  Also because he woke me up four times last night and was up at 5:30! Ha!  And he’s 4.5 years old! HAHAHHAHAHA! (oh dear, I’m becoming hysterical!)

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You know when you are pregnant with your first child, and everyone says “Stock up on sleep now!  You’re going to need it!”

Well, that is a bunch of HOGWASH! (bringin’ that phrase back, yo!) Hogwash I say!

I slept for days and days and hours and hours when I was pregnant with Joseph, and it has done NOTHING to help me!  It wore off by, oh, about the first night in the hospital!

So, what I would say to first time moms is “You are going to be so tired that you won’t even believe that its possible.  So tired that you will think that you are going to die.  But you won’t.  I promise You won’t!”

But, I digress.

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There has been only one thing that has helped Joseph sleep at all.

(besides black-out curtains and a box fan)

And it is the Goodnite Lite!

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Basically, it is this little sunshine light with a clock on the back.  You set the clock (like an alarm clock) with the current time, the time that you want the light to shine like a moon, and the time that you want that little moon to turn into a SUN!

So, for example, my light right now is set to turn into a moon at 8 pm, and to turn into a sun at 6:40 am.

(I would take a picture of what the sun/moon looks like, but Joseph is actually, miraculously, temporarily, sleeping, so I don’t want to risk it!  The website has pictures!)

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Then, you instruct your child that they have to stay in their bed until the nightlight turns to sun!  At that time, they can come and get you and receive praises and start their day!

If they wake up, however, and it is still MOON, then they need to close their eyes and go back to sleep.  This keeps them from having to get out of bed, walk into your room and ask you if they can get up,  which gets them all cold and perky, and awake!

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Ready for the pro and con list?

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Cons:

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- It’s a bit expensive at $35

- If you unplug it, you have to turn off the unit with a switch as well or else the battery will run out quickly.

- It is tricky and time consuming to set the various times.  In fact, Brian doesn’t even know how to do it, meaning that I have to take the time to do it every night…hey! …wait a minute…he’s on to something here!  Do that!  Don’t learn and get your spouse to do it!

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Pros:

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- IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY. 

- It doesn’t make any sound when it switches from a moon to a sun!  We have checked!  Kids can sleep past it if they need/want/are able to!

- In real life, it doesn’t look nearly as creepy as it does in the pictures online.  It is actually pretty cute!

SLEEP IS PRICELESS!

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Personal-special-Joseph Cons:

- Joseph sometimes lies and comes in to wake us up, casually saying that it has turned to sun when it HASN’T.  The first few times I didn’t catch it, the next few I started checking my own clock and thinking that maybe the Goodnite Lite was broken, NOW, we just know he is lying! 

- He also went through a stage where he was afraid that the nightlight would talk to him.  But, we explained to him the whole you need a brain to talk and nightlights don’t have brains thing, and a few weeks later he was over it!

- Also, lately, he has just been straight disobeying the clock and getting up whenever he wants to.  We are in the process of threatening/punishing/reworking our system.

Or, as Joseph said to me, “What’s my punishment going to be?  If it is REALLY bad then I will obey you!”

Sigh.

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BUT, if you have a child who is…more “average” (I don’t like the word “normal”, but, ahem)…or one who wants or chooses to obey you, it will be perfect!

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Overall, this product has saved our lives!  Our it has at least made us rested enough to have 1.5 more kids!

If you enjoy sleep, but have an early riser, buy one!

Changes

 

I embarking on a parenting change.

A new way of handling the boys,

and a new way of viewing my life.

This all came about, if you are curious, after bursting into tears on Tuesday when Brian came home at 11:00pm and I was still cleaning up- having just heard my last “Mama?!” coming from the boys room at 10:30 pm.

There is only so much of me to give, and I had given it all by about 7:02.

So, here we are changing some things up a bit.

I’m not quite ready to share all the details with you yet;

partly because I’m not sure how it is all going to work

and partly because I’m thinking 99.5% of you will be saying, “Well, duh, Caitlin.  Didn’t you know that you should be doing that?”

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BUT, but, but, the good news is that it means that I will, almost definitely, be on here a whole lot more!

In what capacity, I can’t say for sure, as changing up my life is also making me want to change up this space as well! (hence the new blog header.)

So, I will be trying a few new things out, as well as some of the old, and I will be interested to hear what you all end up liking!  Feel free to weigh in!  What do you want from me??!!

Also, Thank You for everyone who has stuck with me through these sporadic months of blogging!

Every time it has been a week with no posts, my mom (the blog-alarm-clock of sorts) calls to warn me that I’m going to lose all of my followers!

And yet, that hasn’t happened!  So thanks for sticking it out!

Or maybe you are all just relieved to have a blog to follow that posts less because you have lives too! It’s hard to say.

With that, I will stop my vague ramblings, and head off to make some cookies.

Adieu!

 

Guess who is potty trained?

 

This guy!

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It actually happened a few months ago, but since he is now at 2 weeks accident free (other than a poop on the floor after going on the potty right when we are running out the door to swim lessons incident that may or may not have happened this morning) I thought it was worth mentioning.

Also worth mentioning- he was incredibly EASY to potty train!  That’s right! Isaac- EASY!

So, he may be naughty as all get out, and he might be the peskiest little brother on record (he has started trying to throw Joseph’s special toys down the heat vent)

but he is also adorable

a breeze to potty train,

and oh how he makes me laugh!

So, I will keep him forever and ever.  Muah!  Love you Isaac!

28 weeks

 

Here I am at 7 months again!

It is hard to believe that I am getting so close,

I can truly say that this is the first pregnancy that I have been in NO HURRY for it to end!  Seriously, little fella, can you just stay in there?  Where you don’t cry or poop or ask me tricky questions about the weather that I can’t answer?

Don’t get me wrong- I am sooo excited to have another sweet smelling, chubby cheeked cutie to cuddle with!  But.

I had a talk with my cousin last night in which I admitted to her: I am worried that once I have this here 3rd child, I might die.

Not for reals die (I hope.  sheesh!), but as in I-don’t-think-I-can-survive-this-you know what- getting-any-harder kind of die.

My dearest cousin offered some words of encouragement and murmurs of understanding (she has 2 boys, and I may have effected her decision to have a 3rd?  Whatever, Julie, do it!  No biggie! haha! I’m fine!) and she told me that HER friend who just had her third has found it to be no big deal!

So, that did make me feel better!

Although, I forgot to ask if her friend’s kids talk constantly, poop on the bathroom floor, take pictures off of the wall so that they can stand on them and jump off (true story), and spend their days trying to stick things in the electrical outlets?

To keep my nice warm reassured feeling, I’m going to assume yes?

 

Photos On the 2nd Day of Summer…

 

(I originally had all of this planned for the 1st day of summer- only to find out that I missed it by a day! Rats!  Isn’t it usually on the 21st?  Am I crazy?  Also, I wrote this on Thursday, in case you are confused.  I am over-thinking this one.  Carry on!)

On the 2nd day of summer, we went to swimming lessons

(remember a few weeks ago when I said that I wanted to quit because I was tired of lessons?  Well, here we are at Level 3…I told you my mom-guilt was strong!)

And then to a splash park, to appease those of us who didn’t get to swim (Isaac.)  Along with every other child in our not-that-big-of-a-town!

We ate a picnic that I was feeling pretty good about

until the family next to us pulled out their sushi and pea pods.

We created a mountain of dirty laundry,

I got a little bit more sun on my shoulders.

And my vacuum is broken anyway- so why clean up?

So here I sit with itchy shoulders,

a messy house

and a glass of iced tea.

Oh, and NO IDEA what we are having for dinner tomorrow.

It’s officially SUMMERTIME!

Home again, home again

 

We are back from our fantastic beach trip with my entire family!

I will tell you all about it soon,

as soon as I get caught up on laundry and cleaning

and stop finding sand EVERYWHERE.

 

(or “crumbs” as Joseph keeps calling them.  As in, “Mama! there are crumbs on my pillow, shoes, batmobile”, etc.)

But, it was sooo much fun

and I thought I would leave you with some positive words

and positive pictures

to look at after my last post.

Because I DO know how blessed I am!

Even when I have baaaad nights and days,

even when I am too tired to go to the store today,

and all I buy to replenish my sadly empty refrigerator is a whole flat of Oregon strawberries from a nearby farm

(strawberry pancakes for dinner, anyone?)

I am SO happy!

WE are so happy.

 

Don’t Let the Smooth Taste Fool Ya

 

These boys have not been behaving nearly as sweetly as they appear in this photo, taken this morning.

Also, I’ve heard this phrase before- but what is it really from?  I’m too tired to find out (see post below) so I apologize if it is from something really tacky like a beer ad, which I coupled with a picture of my babies.  So it goes.

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Last night was probably one of the worst nights I have ever had.

I say PROBABLY because, through some miracle of biology, mothers tend to forget the horrible things and hang on to the good.

For example, I am thinking that maybe contractions weren’t so bad after all…???

Which is why we keep having more and more babies.

BUT,

STOP THE MADNESS!

This post is for posterity- so that next time I think that having 2.5 kids wasn’t so bad and I should maybe go for 3.5 kids you will all yell at me STOP!  CAITLIN!  READ THAT ONE POST! 

I’m not saying it will stop me (I love that newborn smell), but I should at least be going in with my eyes wide open.

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The boys woke up a collective 6 times last night.  SIX.  TIMES.  And they didn’t go to bed until 9:30, which meant that I didn’t finish cleaning up and starting my packing (we are headed out of town today) until 11:30, at which time #3 decided it was, as previously posted a PAAARTAY in my uterus until 12:30.

And Joseph was up for the day at 6:20, at which time I told him politely (or ran after him down the hallway shrieking) that he had to go back to bed, and he wailed so loudly that he woke up Isaac.

My eye is so bloodshot that it looks like I have contracted some sort of terrible infection and…maybe I have?  The night is just kind of a blur, is what I’m saying.  Anything could have happened to that eye.

Anyway, after we were all up, I started explaining to Joseph how this nighttime madness has to stop. 

I am growing a baby and I need my sleep, and--- you know that glazed-eye look that men get? (except my darling Brian of course- kiss! kiss!) When they shift from listening  to thinking about…well, in Joseph’s case, super heroes?  It starts early, folks.

Basically, when it comes to sleep, I am at their mercy.  And they don’t really care about whether or not I am rested!  They just want to climb out of bed and find me and…stand there staring and breathing on my face.  For some reason.  It makes no sense!

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And so, our whole errand-filled day has been full of tears and wailing, and fighting, and stomping of feet.  (the children have done it all.  I am much too tired to have any such strong emotions)

So, now I am packing up for our trip by myself so that we can leave directly after Brian gets off work, and the kitchen is COVERED in yogurt (don’t ask) and toothpicks (seriously, don’t) but here I sit typing up my tale of woe for some sympathy and some birth control.

BUT,

I also wanted to share with you my small victories.

Because even when its bad, it’s not all bad.

There were two minutes of glory in my morning:

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1)  When I “accidentally” dropped a bag of ice I was purchasing right onto their little fighting-even-though-i-asked-them-not-to laps.  And oh!  The gasps!  The shrieks!  AHAHAHA!!  Favorite part of the day so far! haha!  Time to cool down boys!  Immature?  Perhaps.

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2) When Isaac threw his croc at me while I was driving, and Joseph was cryyyyying about something and I looked in my rear view mirror at those two and blinked my poor sandpapery eye and thought-

OH man!  In about 10 years I am SOOO making you guys mow/weed/edge our whole yard.

Every other week.

For free.

Boojah!

Paaaartay!

 

 

Guess who turned 27 today?

(hint: he works all the time, and produces extremely naughty-but yes, adorable-BOYS boys boys…)

This guy!

We celebrated with style,

meaning I hung some crepe paper streamers, blew up a few balloons, and Joseph picked out some sticky-hands and squirt-guns as party favors!  Wheeeeee!

Dear Brian,

(Brian and Isaac squirting a spider, Joseph squirting Brian’s backside…)

Happy Birthday sweetie!  Hope you enjoyed livin’ it up this evening!

I love you very much,

I even love how you have started wearing your socks pulled up with your shorts, just like my Dad always did!  I wonder if all of your leg hair will start rubbing off in the shape of your socks?  SEEEXY! 

You also know that I love you, because these two fellas of yours are still alive after a week of CHAAAAAALENGING days/nights/afternoons/evenings/late mornings.

And because I let them help me make your cake

(hope you enjoyed all the saliva-spiked frosting!  Too bad your baby didn’t let me get near it without wanting to vomit! haha! All the more for you!)

and paint your birthday cards,  which deserves a post of its own, because, well, it involved paint…and this guy

Labor. Of. Love.

Speaking  of labor of love,  I am so excited to be having another member of the family with you!  Can’t wait to see what we’ve made this time!  I bet he will be cute!  And quiet!  And sweet!  And mild mannered!  (please please please!)

I hope you have a fantastic year, my dear.

We all love you so!

Your sweetie (I promise she’s in there somewhere!  Hidden by all the hormonal exhaustion!),

Caitlin

(Quote from when he took this picture:

Me: “Brian, you took the picture from below!  That’s not a flattering angle!  It makes me look chubby!

Brian:  “Caitlin, you are pregnant and holding a giant CAKE!”

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Which I think means he finds me adorable from any angle?)