I have small kids

They weren't born small. (T was 8lbs 2oz, D was 8lbs 7oz) They both eat well. They are just small.
When T was a year old her pediatrician asked me to try to make her gain weight. We increased her caloric intake and she gained enough to get back on the growth chart. And the pediatrician was happy.
Ever competitive with her sister, D managed to get the pediatrician to tell me the same thing a month ago at her 9 month well baby visit. Weighing only 15lbs 6oz D needed to gain weight.

Flash forward to today.
I haven't slept. I've barely slept all week. Baby D wants to nurse every 1-2 hours at night. Last night she didn't want to be put down. She screamed all night, nothing I did helped her in anyway. At 6:30am I had to give it up and let her cry. I hate that I did it. But I was so worn down from the entire night of it. I told my husband that we would call the pediatrician in the morning. By 7:30 hubby got up with her and I actually managed to get a little bit of sleep. At 9am I called the pediatrician who fit us in at 9:45.

The first thing they do at a pediatrician visit is a weight check.
After a month of stuffing D full of fattening foods (She ate so much tuna casserole the other night that I watched my 10 month old almost pass out in a baby carb coma.) it was finally time to know how successful we were. The moment of truth.
Fifteen pound and seven ounces.
I was floored. Nursing every hour at night, eating a diet of cheese, french fries, pasta, baby food...
She gain an ounce. ONE. In a month.

The pediatrician figures the sleeplessness and general jerkfaceness is because she's got 4 teeth coming in. But the weight issue has gone from a we'll keep an eye on it to a we're going to have to see a specialist.

To start we need to do some blood tests and a urine analysis. So after a long night of screaming all night Baby D got a catheter and a blood draw.

And then a nice long nap in the car.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Alright my American friends might be looking at me weird but it's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend. It's the harvest celebration, so it only makes sense that a northern country, which experiences the harvest earlier would celebrate it earlier.

I decided I'd take the time to say what I'm thankful for. I would encourage you to do the same. Where everyone can see.



I'm thankful she's not sleeping through the night yet. She's forcing us to spend quality time together, alone when the entire house is still and peaceful.

I'm thankful that our nursing relationship has evolved to a point where I'm a drive thru. It allows me space and time to finish simple projects but encourages me to stop and enjoy the time with my kids. Frequently.

I'm thankful she sees diapering and dressing as a game. Trying to get her to hold still for an entire diaper change is a challenge. I wish I could make a game of every simple task life hands me.




I'm thankful that she feeds snacks I intended for her to her sister as well. Even when they're choking hazards. It shows what a generous big sister she is.

I'm thankful for hugs that cause Dahlia to cry. While she doesn't know her strength yet, she does know that she loves her sister dearly.

I'm thankful for the "I don't like it" phase she's going through right now. It means her vocabulary is developing along with her independence and her self identity.





I'm thankful for a wonderful partner. In everything we do we are better as a team. I learn this every time I try to do something we normally do together by myself. Like my recent adventures trying to do baby bedtime without him.

I'm thankful for being able to be a stay at home mom. I think it's really benefited our kids.

I'm thankful for our great communication. I'm glad we can tell each other exact what's going on in our internal worlds. I'm glad we don't ever say "if you don't know, I'm not going to tell you" to each other.




I'm thankful for my Mom.

I'm thankful for someone to watch the kids while I soak in the tub. I'm thankful for meatloaf (even if I don't like meatloaf).

I'm thankful for a freezer stocked with ice cream sandwiches.


I'm thankful for my entire family. I learn from them all the time. Whether it's learning the compassion it takes to cycle across Canada for charity or learning that sometimes you don't know your cat is pregnant until it has kittens...

I'm also thankful for
* massage envy (and my father-in-law for the means to maintain my membership)
* the ability to return home regularly
* amazing kids consignment stores
* creamy garlic dipping sauce (oh pizza pizza how I miss you)
* wholesale club memberships
* movie night with snuggly kids who are paying attention to the movie!

Miniature Milestones

When you have little ones they hit milestones on a regular basis. Smiling is one of the first with laughing following shortly after. Sitting up, crawling, walking, talking. They all provide hours of entertainment and a real source of pride no matter when they are reached.
The miniature milestones that aren't on any development chart can also be very entertaining. Sometimes however they are only entertaining to the child who's learned them. (and maybe her sister.)
Last night was the perfect example. Now, fresh-headed from a night of sleep, I realize it was rather funny. At the time I did not.
D (10 months) learned a new skill last night. The girls share a bedroom. After putting them down D stood up and started crying in her crib. We usually give her a couple minutes before going in because sometimes she settles back down immediately. After a minute the sounds over the baby monitor changed, to laughter.
We could hear the girls playing together. T was busting a gut laughing. There were some concerning mysterious sounds which prompted me to return the toddler to her bed.
I walk into the room and aside from the laundry basket laying on its side and the toddler out of bed, something was wrong.
D was standing in her crib, smiling. I could see it clearly. Because:
The light was on.
At first I assumed the mysterious noises were the toddler climbing in and out of the crib. I figured T was responsible for the light. I turned it off, returned everyone to bed. A few minutes later the same party was going on in there. Justin went in to settle them. Upon his return he says "I didn't realize you left the light on" Which confirms it.
D has figured out light switches.
T thinks this is the greatest thing ever, given that D's crib is near the light
switch.
I was not amused.
It was 11:30 before we got the girls to sleep.

Today I'm moving the crib.

It's amazing how the little things can have such a profound effect on your life.

In the orchard

In the orchard, originally uploaded by katherine.hoos.

If you're looking for something fun to do with your kids this autumn, try heading to an orchard. Many of them have a you pick set up. T really enjoyed collecting apples and putting them in the baskets on the ground.

Plus the apples are so juicy and delicious when they're fresh like this!

Meal Planning

I've tried to follow a meal plan in the past but the notes and calendars I put on the fridge never materialized into real food.
I've recently discovered Simplemom.net she suggests using google calendar to organize a meal plan.
Now THAT's something I can get behind.
I just sat down and create two weeks of weekday meal plans. I set it up to repeat every two weeks so that I've basically planned my meals forever. Don't get me wrong, I'll be going in to edit it and add different meals in before we get sick of eating the same things over and over. But realistically eating the same thing once every two weeks is not as repetitive as things are when we are left to make the decisions while we are hungry.
I even set it up to remind me 3 hours before my husband comes home from work. Wouldn't it be great if I could be one of those has-dinner-on-the-table-when-he-comes-home-from-work kind of moms?

The other advantage is that I can create the routines I want my girls to remember and enjoy. For instance, every Friday night I have Pizza on the menu. I'm hoping we can make making homemade pizza a family tradition.


Photo by Stephycupcake on Flickr


Do you do a meal plan? If so, how do you set yours up? If not, why not?

A life-altering event

I've had many life altering events happen in my life.
I'm married, I have two beautiful daughters.
But this particular event I want to talk to you about happened last Thursday...

I've been mixing marshmallows with a handheld electric mixer. If you've ever done this you probably have forearms like Popeye. Between carrying the girls around and making marshmallows I'm surprised I'm not significantly more buff.
Anyway, Back to the mixer. Thursday it quit. And not one of those polite, hand in your two weeks notice type resignations...
One of the spokes on the whisk popped off and marshmallowed everything in a 5 ft radius. Warm, gooey, whipped sugar oozed down the side of the toaster oven, the sink, the stove, a brand new dish towel, and, of course, Me.
Still covered in slime, I told my husband over IM that we need to go get a new one.
He suggested we get a stand mixer.
A *gasp* Kitchenaid.

I spent hours ogling stand mixers and decided that I didn't NEED the brand name one. J spent hours reading reviews and decided I did.

So Thursday night we hit up Sears to buy one.
The people who have one assured me that my life would never be the same, they asked questions like "what color?"
The people who don't have one asked me "a what?"

While the color options available online are staggering. (What other kitchen appliances can you get in 5 different shades of blue? Or two shades of black?? How is that even possible?) In the store we didn't have much choice. But they had the color I wanted. White.

No, I'm not a boring White-type personality. In fact just the opposite. I know that I'll be taking this into many kitchens in the future. And while I am all about a bright red one now, it may not fit in the kitchen of my 30s... or my 40s.

Several friends recommended naming it. So here she is, I present to you Doris. Named after my grandmother and my mother. So glad they didn't pass that middle name down to me.

Our Winner!

And we have our Winner! Congrats to Blushie Go check out her shop! So far I've only tried 2 of her soaps but they are so fabulous. They smell so good Dahlia tried to eat one...