Feeding A Picky, Stubborn Toddler

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I am at a loss as far as feeding Sweet Pea goes and I have been for a while now. First, he is an extremely picky eater. He won't eat ketchup or barbecue sauce. He won't eat many meats. What kid won't eat hot dogs? Mine! The only meats he will eat are chicken nuggets and corndogs. Yes, you read correctly. He won't eat hot dogs, but he loves corn dogs. He will drink until the cows come home, though. He will drink an entire sippy of juice in five minutes flat if you let him. He would much rather eat snacks than actual meals. He refuses to feed himself using his utensils, but if I try to feed him he will throw a fit. So, it's finger food or nothing. I don't know what to do. I want him to be healthy, but if I can't get him to eat then I am failing. I give him pediasure just to be sure he's getting the nutrients he needs, but I'd rather if I could just get him to eat. Have you ever dealt with anything like this? Any advice?

Naming Your Children

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The other night I was talking to a friend about the names of my kids and how they got their names. I realized that both of my kids had meaningful names. I fought so hard to get my first. I experienced loss before I got him. However, finally I got pregnant with him and gave birth to him on October 22, 2009. Due to my struggles, his name means by the grace of God. Basically meaning by the grace of God I was finally blessed with a child. I had a lot of attachment issues when I was pregnant with my second. So, his name has a lot of meaning. His first name is after my best friend who was killed in 2009's biggest influencers, my other best friend's angel baby, and my paternal grandfather who raised me. His middle name is after the husband of my best friend who was killed. Lil' Bean was basically my baby for my best friend who was killed. The other meanings came with time as I finally settled on a name. I was well over 8 months pregnant before I had settled on a name. Are there meanings behind the names of your children? How long did it take you to decide on a name?

Why I Want To Homeschool

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I was watching the news the other night, this story came on. A young boy is minding his own business when two boys make a plan to attack him. The young boy defends himself to the other two boys when the mother of one of the other two boys gets on the school bus and starts yelling at the boy who was being attacked.

There are so many bullying situations and a lot of violence in schools today. There was Columbine, which was a huge deal. I was living in Virginia when the Virginia Tech incident happened. There are bullies, fights, and murders happening within our schools today. Nowhere is safe. I know I can't protect my kids forever, but I want to protect them for as long as I can.

Aside from the violence that is happening in our schools today, I remember not getting the one on one help I needed growing up in school when I was struggling. I blame the school systems for me still struggling in math. I think had I gotten the help I needed, I would have gotten to understand math much better than I do.

For all of these reasons, I would like to home school. There are many great benefits of homeschooling. My kids will get the one-on-one attention they will need educationally. I will have the ability to cater the curriculum  to their needs. By homeschooling my kids, there will be less opportunity for peer pressure. I will also be able to decide what my kids are exposed to and when. I don't want my kids learning about sex in a public school. That is a parent's job, not a teacher's. There are a ton of homeschooling enrichment activities that I can do with my kids and involve my kids in. Schedules would be more flexible with homeschooling. I can also form a curriculum that compliments our faith, morals, and values.

Now, I do not plan on keeping my kids sheltered away from the world. I plan on having them in activities such as a self defense class, sports, or whatever else they may have an interest in. So, they will still get social skills. I will also find enrichment activities going on with other homeschooling parents in the area. I think homeschooling will be fun and beneficial for all of us. This is something DB and I agreed upon at least 6 months ago. However, when I see stuff like this on the news; it really makes me realize how glad I am that I will be homeschooling my kids.

Two Under 2: How I Do It

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I went from having a 17 month old to having a 17 month old and newborn. At first, I had no idea how I was going to do it. Sweet Pea became super jealous and even violent. Luckily, that was short-lived. He still gets jealous from time to time, but not nearly as bad as he was in the first week of my bringing Lil' Bean home.

I struggled a lot. I couldn't seem to find a schedule that worked for me. Right now, I am basically a single parent. So, I had to find something that worked for both kids and with fitting in my working from home.

I breastfeed, so I found that co-sleeping with Lil' Bean worked best and got me the most sleep. I get maybe one 3 hour stretch. Otherwise, he is up every 1-2 hours at night to eat. He's my lil' hungry boy. He seems to think he owns my bed. Where I used to sleep is now his spot. He won't even nap in the bassinet. Apparently, I wasted my money on a bassinet. It's just there for looks.

Sweet Pea generally doesn't get up until 10am. So, I get up at 9am and get ready for the day. Once Sweet Pea gets up, I change him and we eat breakfast together. Sweet Pea likes eating his meals with me. I make sure to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with him at the table. Even though he's not really talking, we have our conversations at the table together. Lil' Bean is sleeping during breakfast and lunch. At dinner time, he is next to us in his little rocker.

Lil' Bean is still sleeping a good amount during the day. So, in the morning I spend time playing with Sweet Pea. He really likes his mommy time because he's always been a mommy's boy. After lunch, Lil' Bean is wanting to eat and is ready to spend time being awake. So, we hang out in the living room and watch shows with Sweet Pea. It's a family event I guess you could say.

Once Lil' Bean is done eating, I put him in his swing for a while. Then, I get Sweet Pea ready for his nap. While Sweet Pea naps and Lil' Bean relaxes in his swing or lays beside me, I get some work done. Sometimes Lil' Bean and I will take a nap during this time too. It all depends on how tired I am. I make sure Sweet Pea is up by 4pm and he spends his time after waking up playing while I get dinner prepared. Then we eat dinner and feed Lil' Bean before we start the bedtime routine.

Our bedtime routine is probably the best part of the day for them. They are both really relaxed and know what's coming. Sweet Pea gets his bath first. Then he gets his baby massage and into his pajamas. Then, I sit on the couch with Sweet Pea and Lil' Bean and read them Sweet Pea's baby Bible. That's the only book Sweet Pea will sit down and let me read to him. Then I give Sweet Pea a bottle of water and lay him in his crib and put a dvd in his dvd player for him to fall asleep to. Sweet Pea is in bed at 7:30pm each night.

Once Sweet Pea is in bed, I take a bath with Lil' Bean. This is how I have found easiest to give babies a bath. Sweet Pea always hated the infant tubs, so I didn't even bother to try this time around with Lil' Bean. I like the bonding of bath time with Lil' Bean anyway. I liked it just the same when Sweet Pea was a little baby. After bath time, we go into the bedroom and he gets his baby massage and his pajamas put on as well. Then I swaddle him up and either sing him a lullaby or read him another story. I lay him down in the bed and surround him with pillows. My mom is currently crocheting a baby nest thing for in the bed, so I don't have to worry about him going anywhere once he can roll and whatnot. Lil' Bean is in bed no later than 8:15pm each night.

Once both kids are in bed, I work. I write up my articles for my various articles on oDesk and I work on my blog. I do this while I catch up on my shows. I love American Idol, CSI: Miami, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Bones, Criminal Minds, Colbert Report, and Super Nanny. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday night I tend to work extra late since Sweet Pea is with his dad while we're not living together until after May. Wednesday through Saturday, I generally only work until midnight. I am one of those who can survive on little sleep. I know it's not healthy, but I have to make a living somehow.

After May, when DB can live with me again things will be much easier. This is the schedule I have finally found to work while DB is not here. DB maintains the same or at least similar schedule for when he has Sweet Pea.

I think this schedule and being able to give each child their one on one time with mommy has helped out a lot. When Sweet Pea has his moments where his misbehaves, I utilize the naughty step technique from Super Nanny. He knows how to sit on the step and he knows he did something wrong. He can't apologize yet, but I do give him hugs and kisses after he's sat for his minute.

The other thing I have found to help me are my baths I tend to take once both kids are in bed. If it's been a tough day where both kids have been crabby or Sweet Pea didn't listen much, I take a bath before working. It really helps to calm me down and relax me.

I am not going to lie and make everyone think that it's super easy; it's not. I have my struggles from time to time, but I manage. I know in the end, it will all be worth it. I look at my kids and know that they deserve the world. That is why I work so much and stay up late. They deserve everything I can give them and more. They may have their days where they're crabby. Sweet Pea may not listen all the time. I never yell. It doesn't get me anywhere. I have learned that using a stern voice with Sweet Pea is sometimes okay. It took a lot for me to get to that point. I had a rough upbringing and always wanted my children to feel loved. I had to learn that disciplining with timeouts and a stern voice won't make them feel unloved. I learned that it will help them, not hurt them. I do not, however, believe in spanking or any sort of physical punishment. Timeouts and stern voices is as far as I'll go.

Patience is definitely key in dealing with two under 2. There have been times where they're both crying at the same time. It can definitely get to be frustrating, but I remain calm and patient. I deal with each of their issues one at a time.

Dealing with two under 2 has definitely taught me a lot. I continue to learn new things every day. I love being a mom. I love my boys. I wouldn't trade any of this for the world. However, I am not planning on adding any more babies to the mix for a few years. I do want more, but not right now. For now, it's just my Sweet Pea and Lil' Bean.

Nauseous? Hungry? Oh no...

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I know, I know...I only had my c-section a month ago. I know I'm not supposed to be having sex for another two weeks. I guess I've just never been one to follow a doctor's orders. I feel fine. I've felt fine. Well, with the exception of the possible tool they may have left inside of me that I'll find out about in the morning.

Well, earlier tonight I was feeling really nauseous. I never got sick thankfully, but I did clean my bathroom haha! When I feel sick I hate feeling like the toilet is dirty. So, after I realized I wasn't going to be sick; I cleaned the toilet first and then the rest of the bathroom. Weird, I know. I never said I was normal!

I know I have nobody to blame but myself if I am pregnant. I just hope I'm not pregnant right now. I have an 18 month old and a 1 month old. If I'm pregnant, I will have a 27 month old, a 10 month old, and a newborn. Am I nuts?

I had this plan to go on birth control when I'm 6 weeks postpartum, which is in 2 more weeks. The birth control method everyone recommends, we tried. It was just a big, fat FAIL on my part.

I just really hope I'm not pregnant. I have a lot to look forward over the next year or so. It was my plan to start a diet and an exercise routine to get in shape and tone up.

So, I guess here's to praying that I'm not pregnant. It will grow on me if I am. It's just not ideal right now. I wanted to wait 3 years before having another baby. I wanted to have pairs. I have my pair close together right now with my Sweet Pea and Lil' Bean. I would like to wait 3 years and then have another pair close together and then shut down the baby factory. So, here's to hoping for the best.

Lil' Bean had his 1st complaint-free bath!

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Since Lil' Bean was born he has hated bath time. This included his sponge baths. Well, we haven't done a sponge bath since he was two weeks old because his weewee was healed and his umbilical cord had fallen off. How I do bath time with him is I give him a bath with me, but it's not my bath time; it's his. I hold him in lukewarm water  and take his washcloth to wet him and then lather him up and rinse. I try to be quick about it because usually he is crying. He has been like that since he was born for some reason.

Well, not tonight. Tonight he was quiet and happy during his bath. I'm not sure what was different about tonight. Honestly, I don't think anything was different. Same time, same routine, same everything. I'm definitely not complaining. I hope he starts enjoying more baths. Lord knows I enjoy a relaxing bath. Heck, he just has to lay there. I do all the work!

He always loves his baby massage I give him after his bath. I always put lotion all over before getting him dressed and to bed. He seems to love that. Well, I also recently got this stuff called Badger Balm Night Night Balm. It's lavender scented and it really calms Lil' Bean and gets him right to sleep. It works like a dream! So, if your little one has trouble with bedtime, I would totally recommend giving that stuff a shot. You can find it on the Diapers.com website. If you order from the Diapers.com website, be sure to enter the code CXLE3246 so you can save some money! 

He was all relaxed and ready for bed. He's my sweet Lil' Bean. I am so thankful for him every day. I really and truly can't picture my life without him now. He is such a blessing. Anyone who knows me knows what I went through during my pregnancy. I struggled with attachment issues and all of that. It seems like now I'm making up for all of that. He is my little blessing #2. With Sweet Pea being so attached to me and me being so attached to him, I wasn't sure how I'd handle having another. I think I've done well. I love my boys and truly could not imagine my life without either of them. They are my pride and joy.