Tantrums
Mark Sometimes throws tantrums and today he is cleaning up all the books and shirts he threw in the floor last night. This boy sometimes gets his own room because he can't stop screaming.
Baby Mark
Mark tells us he is not baby Mark any more. Just Mark. Not Marker, his most common nickname.
Just Mark.
he tells us by yelling of course, since that is his primary mode of conversation.
He decided last week to leap onto his face on the driveway. That same day he leapt off the table onto his face.
I think he has finally decided he prefers to land on his feet, because today when he leapt off the bed he chose his feet.
I knew he would have a hard time adjusting to baby, because he was my little baby up until the day baby Andrew was born. He loves Andrew. he plays with him.
But wow I am ready for Mark to settle down and know that I love him. I'm sick of the yelling. I'm sick of waking up in the middle of the night because Mark woke up. I love cuddling him but not right after his nap if I don't brush his teeth, because wow that is some bad toddler breath.
Mark has been going on the potty about half the time during the day. I'm proud of him. But I'm frustrated with the screaming. and the mass destruction.
He yelled at me for a solid month after baby was born. now he doesn't seem quite as mad at me.
My little man will be excited when he realizes he finally has a brother to wrestle with.
Sunday Thougts...
Baby Mark turned two on Sunday. He still seems like my little baby to me. We celebrated Saturday since John had to work Sunday and it was so nice to see our little family together. It was a little hard for me not to plan a huge party with friends but Mark isn't as social as Danielle so I think he had a good day. He likes other kids but if we have too many over Mark goes and plays alone. mark got a Hokey Pokey Elmo. and some pets that he has been carrying with him ever since. He got clothes. He was a happy boy. Since he loves Elmo lately we had an Elmo themed family party.
There was much joyful yelling.
After cake and presents Mark was a tired boy. the elmos we also put down for a nap in the play tunnel. In our family we have a tradition that when it is your birthday you get everyone presents and Danielle was thrilled with the idea. Also happy about: Mark doesn't like to rip open the presents to she got to do it. Parties are a big deal to Danielle. She even changed her clothes to prepare for the party- I guess she wanted a "party dress."
On Mark's actual birthday I was having a rough day (read: barfy pregnant lady) and three people came over- Adrienne did my dishes and I almost cried. Then Carrie came and the kiddos got to play. Then Stephanie came and we all had fun. It was so nice to have people over when John was gone all day. For some reason I'm unbelievably tired. My doctor said it was normal when you had a parasite of this size lol. I don't know how some moms do it-I wish I lived closer to family a lot of the time. but I'm glad I have friends.
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| tired from partying so hard |
My mom asked for lots of photos, so here they are. Also you might notice that Halloween has started in our family. I love Halloween. More decorations will be added. I like to check out Halloween decorations after the season is over- but this year the decorations are sadly lacking. I guess that's what happens when the economy is struggling. Read more...
Marky is Turning Two Soon, and his mom is a crazy pregnant lady.
I just realized I haven't done much crazy pregnant ranting in a few days. In case you wonder why I never write and have dropped off the face of the planet, it is so I can avoid other people being exposed to the joy that is me in my full pregnant glory.
Just wait until I'm in my third trimester and not just 25 weeks. Did I mention that the way I realized I was pregnant was that I lost my temper and told Danielle I quit being her mom?
yes I just pray that my kids will forgive me and other people won't notice me. And that my mom will come visit me and let me take a nap. again.
Anyway Mark is almost two, which reminds me of being crazy and thinking about stuff I want to get for him and for the house and the new baby. This takes a lot of my time.
The other day John said his mom wanted to know if Mark needed anything. I couldn't think of why someone would just randomly think of Mark- until I realized soon his birthday is approaching. OK maybe that came out funny- well whatever the point is I have a good mother in law. She isn't super invasive but she's nice and a good listener. And she plans things in advance. I know a lot of people who wouldn't ever ask and she even thought of it before Mark's own mother. Which is surprising since we already have a few Halloween decorations up and I've purchased some Halloween candy. Maybe she wasn't thinking of Mark's birthday. I didn't ask- you can't ask stuff like that when you are just trying to listen in on a conversation in the next room over.
anyway I was unprepared- because I just always think "nothing" because he has lots of stuff. he has lots of generous people sending him clothes. And he has a tickle me elmo that he takes with him everywhere and tries to bathe with. I feel like we are blessed to have stuff that our kiddos need.
I couldn't think of anything Mark needs, except maybe some toys to play with that aren't my little ponies or pink. Should I care if my boy has girl toys? Now that there are going to be two boys maybe I should try to get some boy toys that someone hasn't given to me. Maybe. It's just that when I am faced with a truck toy or a barbie I just want to go with my gut. He likes duplos and trains though, which I am totally on board with.
The next day I realized that Mark really wants some sewing fabric for his mom. we thought up this great idea that on your birthday you get smaller presents for the other members of your family. Actually I think someone else did it and I liked it a lot- it softens the blow a bit for the openly greedy souls of my children. And my secretly greedy one. I couldn't really tell someone else that Mark really just wants to buy a pressure cooker for his second birthday though- they would probably just get fed up with me and Mark would ultimately be the one that suffers. I had this great plan to make a blog post of a fake birthday list of stuff for "Mark's birthday." because I think he needs THIS ottoman from Ballard Designs in the Malabar Gray Ikat fabric. needs. Who doesn't? I know I need it. I'm always looking for ways to hide all kid toys and as I write this i want to put my feet up on an ottoman- out kids wouldn't bang their heads on it like with a coffee table.
Then the idea of the list bored me to death and I thought it wouldn't be cool as much as annoying so I scrapped it. half way. Well the creative cool part disappeared because I kept thinking about the question four or five days after it was asked.
Totally normal I think.
Mark loves his light up shoes, so he always needs more of those. Size 8 or larger. The child has enormo feet.
Then today I finally realized it- Mark still has no dresser. But until I learn to build one I'm most likely not going to buy one. We spent all the extra money we didn't really have this month on preschool and now Mark is getting a card from me for his birthday. Maybe I'll put a truck on the front. I never know what to tell people when they ask what you need. The answer in my family is usually "whatever you like buying." John's family is different though- they don't just shop for the joy of it and they don't only want to shop for specific things so I'm not sure how to handle these questions. It's just interesting to see how different families work- I'm never sure about the gift system in his family and I fear that I'm failing miserably at it. because I told John he was in charge but I don't know if he thought I was serious and it is still something I feel guilty about. I never realized how different the present giving dynamic can be in different families. I like the presents I get from them. but they are hard to shop for. hard. (well some of them)
Please tell me I'm not the only one going through this present adjustment still after over six years. And that I'm not the only one who starts thinking about this when someone is just making conversation with John.
Anyway Mark needs a dresser. I am getting sick of folding up Mark's clothes every day after he throws them off his bookshelf onto the floor. Not that he always the one doing the throwing. Originally I loved the idea of a bookcase for his clothes- mainly because we already had it and I didn't want to buy one. This idea has been destroyed by my mom. Because she is sending us cute little things for Madsen number three. and I don't know where to put them. I cleaned out my room and basement and found one of those clear plastic drawers. Boy Madsen's cute little guitar clothes live in that bin.
So in a few months I will be behind two dressers- not just one. boo. A dresser just never seems like something I want to buy. EVER. They are not fun to pick out. They all seem either too ugly for words or too expensive. Before Mark was born I thought about the dresser thing. We were going to get Mark Cherry stuff and give him our dresser and maybe get a new one but after about two days I realized I wanted my dresser and didn't want to buy a new one so I took it back. he never found out he was so close to getting a dresser and I don't know if he would care. I think two of those hanging sweater organizers will fit in my closet for new baby.
I guess when I'm pregnant I feel the need for more drawers. What do you need.
I need to call one of those friends that seems to be able to get things at the Salvation Army for almost free. I'm always jealous of how good those people are at what they do. then I go and don't find anything and get frustrated and buy a stupid Tshirt I don't really like just so I can say I found something.
I cannot find the dresser I want at the Salvation Army, and I cannot bring myself to go to the pottery barn kids outlet with my kids in the car. Oh wait- or charge the dresser I would find there. Maybe someday this will bring me a sense of financial freedom and joy. My refusal to drive with my kiddos is saving me from making irresponsible financial decisions.
Eventually I will go get the cheapest dresser at ikea and get over the fact that his frames and the crib and bookcase don't match. Mark doesn't have a twin sized bed to it's not like I'm breaking up a set.
right now it just makes me want to go on ebay and buy one of the My little Ponies from before they went all ugly.
Or better yet, go to bed.
good night blog friends.
End Of Summer
I died a little.
Where did Danielle learn the color of Dinosaurs? Dino Dan. I was grateful that she didn't learn it from Dinosaur train. sometimes I wonder if I should be watching these kid shows a little closer- because honestly was that on the show? Danielle started school and her first day she had sports. She was so excited to go.
Then when I went to pick her up she cried because she didn't get to go to the daycare after preschool. Some of the kids go to daycare after the classes. It also took me a while to convince her that she would be able to swim eventually, even though it didn't happen the first day.
I totally have one of these children that wants me to work so she can go be with all the other kids in daycare. At least Mark likes being with me.
Sunday Thoughts
Yesterday at church Danielle told everyone in Primary her mom did drugs. I guess they were having a lesson about what to put in your body. I'm glad I could help with the lesson. I'm still not sure if Danielle knows the different between illegal "drugs" and "medicine" from your doctor, even though the teacher tried to explain it. Probably my fault there... At least she didn't come home and tell me how bad I was for taking drugs.
This is not to be confused with her offer to show other people her boobs. This was the second time this week, so I decided I should tell her you normally don't show people your boobs. She seemed disappointed that boobs weren't something to share. I'm disappointed that I taught my child to say "boobs" so strongly. Maybe I should have used some odd euphemism so people would just be confused and think the silly child is trying to take her clothes off for no reason. Also I have no idea where she would come up with this stuff. She complimented someone's boobs the other day. I don't think any small child has ever told me I had nice boobs before. This can't be a common practice.
It was actually adorable, which is good since his dance routing was accompanied by a lot or yelling. as is much of Mark's monster lifestyle.
Read more...
Maybe
Maybe I shouldn't have told my daughter that the reason that I have metal teeth is that I didn't brush my teeth enough. But she does always seem to remember to brush her teeth and I'm happy about that. I wish she liked using the big kid toothpaste more than she does. and that her hair didn't always look greasy lately. Why does it look that way? Sweat? her daily play in the sprinklers? As far as I can tell the number of showers she takes a week has gone up but her hair doesn't look that great.
This week has been full of interesting things. Like today when Danielle introduced herself to someone at a restaurant and told them they have great boobs. She said she only has small boobs but she still loves them. That was a new one. I wonder if she will get obsessed with my boobs again when I nurse the new baby- she did with Mark. How do you explain that just because mom feeds the baby with her boobs doesn't mean you should go around talking about them all day? We already worked on the no touching thing. I like to think that things with Mark will be different. Danielle was born without normal boundaries. I thought stranger anxiety was a made up thing for parents who wanted to feel special.
Mark has stranger anxiety though, which is of course a double edged sword. It's nice to feel like your child loves you, but not as nice to carry Mark around three hours a day. Lately Mark has a death wish. He wants to get hit by a car the most. The other day though he wanted to do away with Danielle. I had gone upstairs to use the restroom and Danielle decided to climb in the washer- which she does frequently. I came back downstairs and heard Danielle yell "mom." The problem was the voice was so far away- I looked outside and downstairs and I was starting to panic- until Mark started laughing. Danielle was shut in the washing machine. Mark had turned it on but hadn't started it. I have to tell you that was terrifying.
Maybe it's wrong that I want to be able to go to the bathroom alone. and shower alone. and get dressed alone. every day. actually for the bathroom one I would say several times a day even. It has certainly become an unreasonable and even unsafe expectation lately. It's just not super fun to use the restroom only to come out and discover your child is on the front porch locked out of the house. OK that happened a while ago but it wasn't fun then either.
Maybe I should also consider getting those anti nausea medications. Last week I threw up quite a bit- why is it always mostly water or my medicine? Anyway by Saturday I realized I hadn't worked out since Wednesday because I was starting to have panic attacks. Sedentary Lifestyle plus nausea plus anxiety does not equal success. Also I feel like when I am pregnant I have a hard time not getting wrapped up in negatives like that. I know- such a surprise for those of you who know and enjoy my sunny and always positive disposition. I went to spin class on Tuesday and my bottom is a little bruised. They keep telling me I will build calluses but it's been a few weeks and it still hurts to sit down the day after I go. Of course I'm planning to go tomorrow in response. I like it. I feel like I've worked really hard- and I'm sorry but spin class is a million times easier than running.
So I thought of things that could be worse than my pregnancy grouchiness. Maybe a bug could come and lay eggs in my ear- or even worse belly button- and I could try to clean it out but it wouldn't work. I thought of that just today. One of my new greatest fears I guess. I would way rather have a child with me while I go to the bathroom than have bugs crawl out of my belly button. Tomorrow we are going to the baby shower of someone who had to have surgery a few weeks before their baby was due- that would be way worse.
Now when the baby moves I will have to go check for bugs you know.
Maybe I should give up on this positive alternatives thing for a while...
Sunday Thoughts: Grandpa Berg
We spent last weekend in New Hampshire with my family. My grandfather passed away and we were able to drive up to the funeral. I was glad that I went up to visit when my mom was still here. Grandpa seemed like he was in so much pain every day. I still wake up in the night feeling sick so I would hear grandpa. He sounded like he was choking in the night. He had Parkinson's disease and I guess the difficulty swallowing is part of the disease. I didn't know about the pain, or if that was from something else. But I felt glad that Mark got to meet him and that my mom got to see him before he passed away. I also felt glad that he was in a better place, and wouldn't be in so much pain anymore. It's heartbreaking to see someone slowly suffer from a disease that will never get better. I remember my grandpa being so smart and amazing and kind. He always had the best candy stashes and loved presents. I'm honored and lucky that I got to know him.
Baby Mark was very interested in Grandpa. He probably spent the most time hanging out with grandpa. He would go and sit in the chair next to grandpa's bed and watch shows with him. Once he stole grandpa's flashlight and grandpa was concerned he wouldn't give it back. It was interesting to see how much Mark wanted to go hang out and watch shows with grandpa. Mark would tell grandpa about the shows and in his little style it wouldn't make any sense but I don't think Mark noticed and grandpa didn't say anything.
We saw my grandparents on their 54th wedding anniversary. Grandpa reminded him the date and grandpa remembered it was their anniversary. Grandpa or Mr. Ed as we used to call him was bedridden when we visited and he would come out and eat the table with us but he has a hard time eating and after a few minutes he would looked like he was in horrible pain so he would want to go back. I was glad that he got to come sit with us when he wanted and the kids seemed very interested in him. On their anniversary he was out and sitting at the table and grandma made strawberry shortcake. Grandpa reached across the table and held her hand, which looked really painful. I almost started crying because at first Grandma didn't realize what he was trying to do.
It broke my heart a little when Danielle wanted to to with grandpa. I didn't realize how upsetting it was to a child when they loaded the coffin in the car. I wondered if I should have told her about grandpa dying. She wanted to see him and say goodbye but then when he was leaving she was very upset that people were stealing her grandpa.
I didn't cry at the funeral because I was worried I would have a hard time since I'm pregnant and I didn't want to get started. Danielle was very sad. She loved grandpa. I tried to prepare the kids before we drove up there and I've heard that small children don't really understand what death means. I don't remember anyone in my family dying until my grandpa Sharp died, and I was a teenager.
Danielle loves grandpa a lot. She wanted to draw him pictures so he could see them from heaven. She drew him some beautiful mermaids and princesses in New Hampshire and when we came home she drew a happy family.Miraculous.
Today I went to a wedding.
I LOVE weddings.
then I came home.
Mark was asleep.
In his bed.
Not on the floor by his door.
And the babysitter cleaned up the playroom area by the fireplace.
weddings are the best.
and the fruit tart I ate on the way home from this one rocked my world.
almost as much as the sleeping toddler. Read more...
Hello New Bed
Did I mention I have planned several other building projects in the near future? well I do.
I have to admit that our little bed cost more than the plans projected. I got the stuff for about 90 dollars, including my new POWER SANDER. I can add that to the cost, right?
Next time I might blow the projections with a jigsaw...
I just had to add the picture with our great prints for Mark's nursery aka the only completely decorated room in the house. Speaking of which mark needs a dresser. Maybe I will be able to build one soon.
I got these fantastic prints from FALLDOWNTREE on etsy. I LOVE them. if you go to falldowntree.com they have printable coloring sheets.
I love the internet, don't you?
Read more...
I love the internet, don't you?
The Younger Helper.
Danielle likes to help me pick fabric and pick a few combinations. Mark has decided I shouldn't make blankets for other people. all the fuzzy blankets are his. sometimes he wants to steal blankets from other children because he knows that blankets are for cuddling and Mark is also for cuddling. he also loves to lay on the canvas board or color on it. Maybe some time we will go to the store together to buy a new one. Or some white paint.
that's my little helper.
Good Morning Insomnia
and awesome.
bruises. that's all i can say.
I'm totally going back tomorrow.
I don't know if I just didn't hold my stomach in quite enough but I have some evil bruises. I used to do this a lot more. Plus then I just went home and discovered I was starving so I ate a bowl of cereal. and a handi snacks.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels like Handi Snacks are like crack addictive. I asked John to get them for the children but now I realize I just wanted them for myself.
I bet spin class would make me lose tons of weight- if it didn't make me crazy crazy hungry.
also- am I the only one who wakes up at 5 in the morning and has lots of energy- then goes back to sleep and wakes up at 7:30 totally exhausted? Twice this week I decided to just stay up and do the dishes or laundry (or blog and make lists of all the things I need to do to finish every home project in the world) then go back to sleep around six. It's super nice to have some quiet time. I think I should start going to bed earlier.
baby Mark is currently in love with my special K protein shakes. I got them in the morning so John would eat something before school because there isn't a lot of time. Then I started having them since the mornings are a bit of a whirlwind train wreak with the kids. and now they are Mark's favorite food.
My darling boy is inheriting my expensive tastes, just like that.
Have a great morning today. If I leave right now I can make it to the morning spin class. Read more...
Steps
Did I mention Danielle had planted these flowers by herself? We tried for a while to have mandatory Sunday naps. This happened after we visited Mark and Sara. They do it and their lives seem wonderful so I wanted to copy them. Who doesn't want a Sunday nap? Well we kept falling asleep and waking up to a Danielle adventure. Like Danielle leaves the freezer open day or Danielle spreads all the cookie cutters around on the floor or Danielle eats an entire jar of nutella day. Now the nutella lives on the fridge and we don't have mandatory naps anymore. One day she opened the Disney Princess seed kit we bought her at home depot and put the entire thing together. I thought she had planted the seeds with John but she did it herself. Unlike all the seeds I plant the Disney seeds are flourishing. So today we put them in larger pots and planted some herbs for an herb garden.
if anyone needs seeds for their herb garden they should let me know because those seed packets have a lot of seeds in them. also looking around for seeds has helped me get more steps. I have been trying to get at least 10,000 steps a day with a secret goal of 15,000 steps a day that I usually don't get. I take Sunday's off which doesn't matter a ton because I get lots of steps at church since I am the copy girl- I mean secretary. It seems like I'm the only one who has never been a primary secretary before because everyone knows how to do it. I like making copies and walking around but it can be hard to work with some people. Children for instance.
Anyway I like getting my steps and I have a little system- every day I try to go somewhere since it is cold outside. I like walking down all the aisles in target. That is a lot of steps. I straighten the house for at least an hour. I also try to take the dog on walks- and when I say walks I mean one walk if I need the steps. seriously it's freezing outside. Also part of my step plan- I try not to take any naps. So I have more time to do fun projects with my little Danielle. She's getting so much bigger. I am a little nostalgic for her being a tiny baby. She was always in about the 10th percentile for height so it was adorable when she learned to walk at 10 months. a little fat midget baby running around. My little man skipped slow walking and loves to run. I guess that's what happens when you start walking around 14 months.
Both of my kids can walk, and one can plant flowers by herself and water them without even waking me up. adorable. Read more...
Chores for Children
Mark has many baby chores. Most of them involve buttons.
1.Scream
2. Press all the buttons on the washing machine and turn the knob.
3. Turn off the computer.
4. Steal the computer mouse.
5. Take dad's computer mouse.
6. Empty the cabinet with no child lock.
7. Use the kid laptop.
8. Change the language of the laptop on the floor.
9. Throw things in the tub.
10. Turn on the computer.
11. Get the remotes and sit in my car using them.
12. Move a chair to get the remote off the table.
13. Also get the scissors on the table.
14. Climb up to see dad's sleep mask.
15. Take mom's pedometer. Throw it in the trash.
16. Throw my sippy cup in the trash.
17. Scream really loud.
18. laugh at how loud I can scream
19. Turn off the baby monitor in my room. Break a piece off.
20. Unlock the cell phone. Call people.
21. Pull out chair. Climb on chair. Change settings on the sewing machine.
22. Scream.
23. turn on the dishwasher. Or turn it off if mom forgot to turn on the child lock.
24. Play with the buttons on the area heater.
25. Empty the cabinets in the bathroom.
26. Take the toys out of the bin. put the toys back in the bin.
27. Sit in my car.
28. Play basketball.
29. Screech. then scream.
30. Play fetch with myself.
what are your chores?
Merry Christmas!
First of all did I mention this year we finally found the perfect tree topper? I am in love with it. So Christmas was destined to be perfect.
Mark kept coming back to climb on different parts of his car. He got stuck once but then he got free so he was OK.
I loved this Christmas. I loved my presents and the whole day was great and best of all I loved my kiddos! Whoever said I wish I was Santa Claus was right. I loved it. I also learned that Danielle never stays still, so we don't have as many pictures of her. I tell her I am going to take her picture and she starts running around in circles. Can't so much capture that.
Less awesome- my struggling camera not wanting to get the kids in focus. It's hard to tell kids that they need to sit still so you can get a picture that may or may not be in focus. It's especially discouraging since baby Mark smiles so infrequently to begin with. I'm so frustrated my camera is supposed to be nice :-(
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