Worst day ever!

Today was the worst day! At first I thought what a perfect day. Schedule wise the day was going great. We were up by 9 had breakfast and showered right away. Of to a great start right? Then Evie refused a nap. Christopher only slept 1 hour. So I decided to hit the town and run my errands. We have almost no food in the house. So I really needed to go to the store. The car has been acting funny. Today it had enough. The car died on me numerous times, but restarted. Then it started put-putting around as if it would die. I drove straight home, minus the groceries.

We planned on getting a 401k loan to fix it, but that takes time. My mom knew we didn't have the time. Esp since this is our only vehicle. She made arrangements for a mechanic to look at it. My brother and one of his friends came over and got it. They didn't make it. It finally died and refused to start. So it had to be towed. An extra 50$. The final verdict it needs a new fuel pump, and depending on the condition of other parts it may need more! It might be fixed by Friday. My husband had to get a ride to work. Which he hates to do. I have no idea how I will get groceries or go to my dentist appointment tomorrow morning. If it is nice I guess I can walk to the store there is one a couple blocks away. The dentist I can always reschedule.

On top of this my house phone quit working most of today. I called the company and they were sending someone out tomorrow to fix it. However, suddenly this evening it decided to work! I guess whatever the tech did over the phone just needed time to work? I have no idea. It just made the day worse.

My daughter was looking forward to seeing her aunts and uncle today. She was super disappointed when we did not go pick them up from school. She did understand that the car is broke, thankfully! Now I should be putting the kids to bed, but can't relax myself so how can I get them to settle down.

All in all the day really sucked. To top things off it was raining! I cried so much today that was the only way I could cope with things. The hardest part was that my mom tried to tell me how important it was to fix the car. I understood, but she didn't understand that I just don't have the money right now. It would be feed and put diapers on my kids or fix the car. That is a no brainer. We can honestly do without a car. It is a big inconvenience, but it can be done! It just seems like it always pours when it rains!

Long month

I didn't post as often as I like to this month. I had a busy month. My daughter turned 2 so of coarse we had a party. My sister had her baby as you know from my posts. You probably didn't know that I gave her a baby shower on the 7th. My sister in law is also due to have her baby on April 8th. I gave her a baby shower this month as well on the 14th.

If that wasn't enough my brother in law (not the one expecting the baby) had a stroke. Then they found out he had massive blockage in his arteries in his brain on both side. He had 90% blocked on both sides. So they did surgery immediately to fix that. It has been a scary ride. He was rushed to the er today for slurred speech, but they think he just over did it in therapy. Because everything checked out ok.

All of this was added on top of normal doctor visits, dentist visits, plus test and things for my husband. So all in all I am so glad March is coming to an end. I am looking forward to a more relaxing and hopefully warmer April!

Trouble in paradise.

We have been trying to get the kids off bottles, binkies, and in their own beds for some time now. The problem is I want to do it the right way. The problem with that is even experts don't agree on what the right way is. So how can I find it? I don't have the slightest clue. The older the kids get (the more I drag my feet) the harder it is getting (the more I want to drag my feet). I didn't want this to be hard on anyone. I just don't know what to do or how to do it.

Everything is telling me no more bottles, no more binkies, no more sleeping in your bed, but nothing tells me how. I guess I am supposed to just take everything away and let them cry until they can't cry anymore. I can't do that. The worst thing is that it wouldn't be 2 kids crying it would be 2. I don't know how parents of twins handle that. I have always tried to keep things quiet or at least so only one is crying at a time. I try to make sure they don't wake each other up etc...

I feel like a horrible parent not knowing how to handle such simple problems. I don't know how to get my kids off the bottle. My son still wakes up at night wanting a bottle. He shouldn't be hungry but he will drink 8-16 oz during the night. It is also mixed with cereal due to his acid reflux. My daughter insists on drinking milk in a bottle and asks for it when she is tired.

I have recently begun to refuse these requests and tell her that if she wants milk she must have it in a cup. I am having a horrible time finding cups she will drink out of though! It is slowly getting better. She doesn't like it, but she is occasionally asking for milk in a cup. She has only had 3 bottles in the last 4 days compared to her usual of 2-4 a day it is a great improvement. I am making a reward chart and going to offer a sticker a day without a bottle at the end of the week a prize from the dollar store. We shall see how this works out.

I have no idea how to get rid of the binkies, but I think I will worry about that once the bottles are gone. I don't know if it matters, but according to the dentist the bottles do the most damage to their teeth so that will be the first to go. I saw an episode of supper nanny where the binkie fairy took the binkies and brought small toys. Perhaps the binkie fairy will come here. I would prefer a visit from supper nanny, but I guess I am on my own!

The other thing is I can't get my kids to sleep. I can't get them to sleep in their own beds. I can't get them to sleep without a fight. I can't get them to take naps. I can't get them to sleep through the night either! It is a battle every day and night that never ends, and then once they are asleep I dread the night wake up. My son wakes up 1-4 times. Evie has been having more nights without waking up, but not many usually she is up 1-2 times. To get them to sleep at night I lay down with them in my bed. We watch tv with little to no volume. Once Christopher is asleep he is moved out of my arms into a spot next to me in bed. When Evie falls asleep I put her into her bed. Which is next to my bed.

I just want to sleep a peaceful sleep that lasts about 8 hours! If I stay up after they fall asleep to watch tv, clean, or spend time with my husband I am usually exhausted the next day because of how much the kids wake up throughout the night! I can go a night without getting more than 1 hour of straight sleep. It is worse than having a newborn.

Birthday girl pictures!

I finally put Evie's birthday pics on my computer! She had so much fun. She had to have the fairy wings and dress from the Disney store! The hat she picked at a party store. She made us put the hat on before she would have anything to do with the cake! The laundry basket was a present to. She loves to play in Nana's so she got Evie her own.

Lets Play Tag!

I have been tagged by Aimie at My Favorite Munchkins (http://martinezmunchkins.blogspot.com/) to list 6 weird things about myself.

1. I won't generally admit this because it sounds crazy, but I love my Irish Twins and if we could afford it I would have many many more!

2. I eat cottage cheese with pickle juice, and I am not pregnant!

3. I love hanging out with my in-laws.

4. I still love watching cartoons. Thanks kids for letting me watch with you, because secretly I love it!

5. After I start the dish washer I sit on the floor in front of the machine and eat whatever kind of candy we have. Since everyone thinks I am cleaning I'm left alone. It's the only time I don't have to share my dessert. I hate sharing sweets! I am a crazed chocoholic and I love it!

6. I can't and won't take a bath until the tub has been completely sanitized! I even have to clean myself before I will get in the tub! I also will not shower in other tubs without wearing flip flops! I am not a clean freak I just fear dirty water. I know it's not green but I won't wash dishes in a sink of water either! Sorry world.

Now that you see how weird I am consider yourself tagged and list 6 weird things about yourself. If you do leave me a message so I can check it out, and take some comfort in knowing that you are not the only one?

Chore, Behavior, Potty training chart?

I want to make a sticker chart for my kids. My son's will be just so he doesn't feel left out and to prepare him for the future. I want to have some simple chores, behaviors, and potty training. I don't know if I should use separate charts for each or one chart. I bought poster board to make them, but I don't know what to do or how to do it. I don't want to overwhelm the kids. So if anyone has any ideas I can use the feedback!

New baby.

My sister had her baby Sunday morning. World meet Mason Eugene Stone.

So that afternoon I took the kids to meet the baby. I thought that Evie would be into the baby and Christopher would care less. Well I was wrong. Christopher cried he wanted to hold the baby constantly. He kept putting his head next to the baby's head and trying to kiss him. It was so cute. While Evie didn't want to be there at all and could care less!

Christopher was very gentle.

That was enough for Evie. I wanted a pic of her holding her cousin. Well maybe another day. When she is not being a moody teenager!

It looks like he was crying, but he was just yawning. Exhausting work being born!

Christopher says, "Exhausting work being 1!"

The princess!

My daughter is definitely a princess. She is cute, independent, outgoing, demanding, and we are completely wrapped around her tiny fingers. One example is the new bed daddy got her for her birthday. Despite already having a toddler bed daddy ordered her a bed that is more fitting with who she is! She is totally into Dora right now. This is our princess in her new bed, that I put together while both her and her brother attempted to help me! Which was not fun at all, for me. After, a painstakingly (Literally, I hurt my hand during the construction, not to mention the horrific headache the instructions gave me. Since when are instructions only pictures and no words!) putting together this bed in the living room I realized it wouldn't fit into the bedroom. I had to take off the canopy. Duh, You might say, but this did not dawn on my sleep deprived brain. My daughter didn't want it moved, and at that point if we had room in the living room I would have left it there. The only thing not Dora on the bed is her Wall-E pillow.

Time for bed, Please!

Last night I though for sure I would have my kids in bed at a descent time. I was wrong. By 9 my son fell asleep only to wake up an hour later and stay up till almost 1am. My daughter just refused to sleep. She wanted to watch tv. Each time I tried to turn off the tv she threw a fit. Since I didn't want her to disturb her brother I caved. Finally after midnight I ran out of patience. I told daddy to pic a kid and help me or else. He did and within minutes each kid was asleep. He turned off the tv and dealt with my daughters pleas, while I dealt with Christopher. So they both were able to sleep without bothering each other.

I know I need to make changes, but I don't know what to do or how to do it. Every thing tells me the way things should be, but not steps to make it happen.

I always felt this would just stop and at some magic day the kids would sleep all night. That day still has not come for either of them. I'm losing my mind. Feeling like a failure and moody from no sleep.

A change in my name.

All of a sudden today Evie started calling me "mommy". So I graduated from "MaMa" to "Mommy"! I think that is a step up. I know it sounds soooo much better. Or at least it sounds like the cutest thing on Earth.

Depressed or sleep deprived or both?

Since the birth of my son I have been worried about my emotional state. I have been concerned about my depression. I think I have post partum depression. I do not and will not take drugs for it unless the safety of my children is in question. A lot of my problem could be due to a lack of sleep.

I have been doing some reading, attempting to find a way to get my kids to sleep better. The results have made me aware of how sleep deprived I am, and the side effects of such deprivation. Many of the side effects are similar to the symptoms of depression. So I wonder what is the case for me. Is the solution just as simple as more sleep or is the problem bigger than I am willing to admit.


You might find that we have many of these problems in common. Or you may be wondering what is the big deal, because some of these things bother everyone everyday. The problem is that all of these things are bothering me daily, and they are just getting worse. Really bad lately since my kids won't sleep and are really cranky all day long.

The worst part is when I lose my cool and feel like a horrible mommy, making everything much worse! I have yelled at my kids! Not a lot, but more than a 1 or 2 year old deserve. Some times I find myself telling them "Just stop crying." I haven't and would not hit them. However, still "My patience is gone!"


The best thing is that they don't hold a grudge usually within minutes of yelling I tell them, "Sorry mommy got so mad at you for...." Then I kiss and hug them. If I cry my oldest says, "Don't cry mommy!" They both usually give me kisses at this point. The greatest thing about kids is they can always make you smile and bring the sun out from behind the clouds!


One thing is that I wake up at the slightest sound. My daughter was laughing in her sleep, I rolled over and had to check on her. Another thing is that my imagination runs havic so I have to check my kids many times. Not every night but A LOT of nights! Most days I feel foggy and sluggish. I constantly misplace things and forget what I am doing or why I am in a room!

I feel like such a failure as a mother. Especially since my kids are getting older and still facing baby problems. Such as not sleeping, taking bottles, and binkies. I have decided the binkies will wait for bigger problems to be solved. I have also decided that bottles will wait until sleep issues are solved. I believe my kids will be more susceptible to the idea of getting off the bottle when they have had adequate sleep! Now how to do that I don't know since I can't even get enough sleep myself.

Teeth and Teeth!

We are up to our elbows in teeth and dealing with teeth. Christopher has 3 or 4 teeth coming in at once. He just went to the dentist and got a great check up. He didn't like the dentist looking at his teeth at all. After all was done the dentist told him bye and all he did was give the man a horrific look then bury his face in my shoulder!

Evie's check up was not so great. She is still on the bottle. I can't get her off it! I don't know what to do. I don't want to just take them away! You all know how that will go, non stop crying for days. I can't deal with that at all. It is bad enough the constant screaming lately. Most days I am lucky if I get a few minutes to myself without a kid in my arms. I wouldn't change that for the world, but I'm not about to add to the noise. My head can't take it. However, I may have to! The dentist says she has what is called "bottle rot" on her 4 front teeth and it must be repaired!

She will have to drink something to sedate her just to get her to allow them to do the procedure! Plus, the meds they will have to give her for pain. She will need 4 fillings. This will cost us around 150.00$, all because we have let her keep drinking her bottle. I think the worst is that she always has had bottles at night and throughout the night as well.

She also has the front part just under her upper lip is way to prominent, and will most likely at some point need clipped. On top of all this she has only 4 front teeth instead of 6. Two of them fused together for some reason. For this we are waiting until she is old enough for X-rays to see how many permanent teeth she will have.

I have to hold the kids down each night to brush their teeth. I wrap them in their special blankets in order to hold them still. Most nights they protest, but it is usually short lived. I also have to put special paste on Evie's teeth afterwards. It is made up of the same stuff as her teeth to help strengthen them. Then all night only water until breakfast. Which is a hard transition for both of them, and I occasionally cave in a little for my own sanity. If they are screaming for a bottle at 3 or 5 am I usually give in. I try not to, but if I feel the battle will last for ever I cave. I need sleep to! I feel horrible about it because I know its for their best interests, but still I am so tired lately!

I wish I had followed my instincts and taken her to a pediatric dentist months ago, like last year! If you have a baby take them to a pediatric dentist at 6 months to get things started. The best thing for teeth is prevention!

Evie's 2nd Birthday!

We were going to have a party at home on Sunday the day before her birthday, but my mom said I didn't give her enough notice for the party. She wants to order all kinds of stuff for the party since Evie is older. I didn't understand how she couldn't have enough notice, I didn't change Evie's birthday! However, I agreed and told my mom to order what she wanted then the party will be whenever the stuff arrives.

With nothing to do that weekend we went to Michigan, to my In-laws house. I called my husbands aunts and cousins on Sat and invited them to the party on Sunday. Thankfully Meijers had a descent cake. It was a cupcake cake with cupcakes in the shape of a dog. Almost everyone came despite the short notice.

Evie was so cute so wore a princess hat I bought her a few days prior. She loved the hat, and wouldn't do birthday cake without the hat on! She had a Disney fairy outfit and wings I bought her to. They didn't go together, but were still super cute. She loved the wings and kept flying around the house.

Evie and Christopher had tons of fun. Evie kept licking or trying to lick the cake. It was funny. They wrote happy birthday on the platter and she ate all the icing off. Good thing it wasn't actually on the cupcakes! She kept sticking her fork into all the cupcakes though. She blew out the candle this year to. I tried to video, but forgot to charge my camera batteries. Good thing my digital camera records because it was to cute!

She was so excited about her party. The only bad thing was that most of the people were older so no little ones, her age, for her to play with. She didn't seem to care. More attention for her I guess!

One of her first presents was a baby pig. It is one of those alive baby animals that moves and makes noise. She didn't really want to open any more presents after that. She only wanted to play with her pig. She got a stroller for her baby, which I assumed, quite wrongly, that it would be easily assembled! It took forever. Then both Christopher and Evie fought over it all night! I thought I should have bought two, but now it is old news and just sitting so good thing I didn't!

Both the kids had so much fun that after presents they insisted I allow them both to sit on my lap, and they both fell asleep. I put Evie in my lap with my legs crossed making her a little bed, I was on the floor. I held Christopher in my arms. It was so cute that they both fell asleep despite all the noise of the party still going on.

Honesty!

I know this honest stage will pass, but I love it.

I heard a horrible cry from my son so I rushed into the bedroom to see what was wrong. I find him rubbing his face and his sister sitting quietly near him. He runs to me crying. As I pick him up I ask, "Did you hit your brother?"

"Yeah, MaMa!" was the response I got sounding very calm quiet and matter of fact.

I told her, "We don't hit! Tell BoBo (her nickname for him) sorry!" All the while I am holding back a smile.

He was fine, and was already back to playing. She looked at him and said, "Sorry, BoBo!" As she kissed his forehead!

I just thought, "It would be nice if this type of honesty lasted forever!

Sick, Again!

I knew something wasn't right. So since daddy works nights anyways I had Christopher sleep in my bed last night. Sure enough around 1:30 he threw up all over. Then again around 10:30, and again after 8, this time it was all over me! He also has had a fever all day and diarrhea off and on. He has been so miserable all day. He slept most of the day. The rest he followed me around crying.

However, now that it is bed time he is up playing and smiling. I know he is still not well so it won't be long until he is crying and ready for bed.

The worst part is we all just got over being sick. Everybody just finished antibiotics a few days ago. We all had runny noses, coughs, etc.. I hope this one is short lived. The worst part is he will probably want to sleep in my bed from now on!