I hope my child looks back on today, and remembers a Mum who had time to play
There will be years for cleaning and cooking, but children grow up when we are not looking
Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow, cause babies grow fast, much to our sorrow
So settle down cobwebs, dust go to sleep, I'm cuddling my baby, and babies don't keep
(Song for a Fifth Child)

Sunday, April 29, 2012

If you give a toddler a cookie...

...he'll end up with a sugar high and not want to go to bed.  Which means he'll sing at the top of his lungs from his crib, pause, say "more," continue, and then cheer himself on.  He'll finally fall asleep an hour later than he should.  Which means he'll probably be getting up extra early.

He'll decide 5:40am is a good time to rise but not so much to shine.  He'll remember that misery loves company and want Lady Bug awake to join him. Lady Bug will wail because she won't like the early morning kisses from her brother.  So you'll have to bounce and shush and hope the neighbors don't come knocking on your door. Then your toddler will wail so that you'll carry him around as well. When he realizes you only have so many hands, he'll momentarily wail, throw himself on the ground, and then go about his merry away as if none of it ever happened.

When you're not looking, he'll get as riled up as possible.  This will lead him to attempt far more ridiculous stunts than the norm, like playing superman on the couch. Superman stunts will end with a bloody nose.  They bleed a lot and this will scare him.  He'll cry, wipe his nose, see more blood, and cry harder.

This will require a change of clothes.  You'll ask him to pick out a new shirt because you know that will calm him down. Toddlers like to make their own decisions. He will come back with the one shirt in his drawer that doesn't fit.  He will ask you to make it fit.  You will have to pull and stretch to get on, which will result in ripping not one, but two large holes in that shirt. This will produce a massive flood of tears as you have now destroyed his prize possession. You promise you'll fix the shirt tomorrow, but really you'll probably hide it.

You'll start counting the hours to bedtime and realize it's only 10:30am.  So instead you count until nap time. Which won't go well anyway, so you might as well have counted until bedtime.

Not nearly as fun a story as Ms. Numeroff's mouse and his cookie, and tragically all fact and no fiction. none. zip. zilch ::sigh:: 

So we'll look at happy photos (clearly not taken today) and hope for a better day tomorrow.

Monday, April 23, 2012

What's yours is mine and...

...What's mine is mine.  June Bug's not really into sharing. Doesn't seem to matter if he's about 10lbs too heavy and a foot two long, all the baby stuff he DIDN'T like as an infant is suddenly fantastic and awesome as a toddler.  It's a charming stage to say the least when I find him lounging in the bouncy chair like it's some sort of beach lounger and he's violently bouncing up and down until he's literally slamming it to the ground.

Another prime example is the tummy time mat.  Little Lady Bug was attempting to get some tummy time in, when June Bug decided to show her how it's done. He was happy to demonstrate on a blanket but she was none to pleased to be face down on a towel. The actual  tummy time mat is now a diaper changing station per June Bug's demanding request. Whatever keeps him from trying to wrap his legs around my arms in some sort of wrestling vice grip to prevent said change means I won't argue.

But that means Lady Bug doesn't get to use the actual  tummy time mat.  I'm avoiding putting my newborn face down where...well I'm sure you can imagine why.














Tummy time on the couch however, 
was a big hit!




Tuesday, April 17, 2012

How to Reason with a Toddler

Rolling laughter

If you thought I was actually going to have words of wisdom, then you've never had a toddler before.  June  Bug will politely hear you out, before going on his merry way as he wishes.

Does this look like a face that cares what I'm saying? He was picking flowers that specifically had bees in them!  Why???!!!!!!!!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Male-patterned balding....

June Bug, 4 weeks
What in the heck does this have to do with with my kids?  They both suffered this fate as newborns.

I was really really hoping Lady Bug would keep all that pretty, soft, dark hair.  Nope.  Receding like an 80-year-old man a la Peter Boyle.  ::sigh::  If she's anything like June Bug she'll be bald until at least 15 mos.  So sad.  Good thing she owns like 387 hats.

The one upside, my babies look like babies just a little bit longer.  And that makes this mama happy.

Lady Bug,  3.5 weeks

Monday, April 9, 2012

Easter Blessing...

Making it through church with a 22 month old and a 2.5 week old, that was a HUGE Easter blessing for the Bug household.  We've had to vacate mass early when June Bug decides to melt down beyond the point of no return.  The last time it happened Daddy Bug felt so bad, asking if I was sure I wanted to leave pre-communion.

Me:  yes, I think God understands and everyone else in this building is silently thanking God for our departure.

Yesterday, Lady Bug slept through most of mass, wonderful!



The bigger challenge  is the toddler...how do you keep a 22 month old entertained during mass??  Well of course I pack a diaper bag full of books, toys, snacks and other crap; none of which is of any interest to him.  Lucky for us, June Bug LOVES music.  And by love I mean, when a song ends in church and it is completely and utterly silent, June Bug throws up his arms and cheers:  "YAAAAAAAAAY!!!" at the top of his lungs and claps enthusiastically.

And of course being the stellar mother that I am, only encourage said behavior by giggling like a school girl.  Luckily everyone around us was just as amused by June Bug's love of church music.

On a side note, I always said if I had a baby girl I'd never put giant-ass bows and flowers on her head.

Yeah, well I lied.  They're so much fun and so damn cute, even if they are a bit ridiculous!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Back to Blogging...

Where have I been??
Puking my brains out...I wish I were kidding.  I mentioned many moons ago that June Bug was going to be a big brother and that put blogging on the back burner. Morning sickness came on strong at 6 weeks and didn't chose to depart my entire pregnancy. Luckily I stopped throwing up around 34week.  Only to continue puking for 18 hours after delivery.  Mama Bug + Anesthesia= A Hot Mess.

June Bug still thinks the toilet is for puking...so much for potty training early, he'd rather open the lid and pretend to gag. Awesome.

As for little one #2, we were what people call "Team Green" aka we didn't know the sex of the baby.  We did have an ultrasound tech write it down on a card, but we never opened it. Which was shockingly easy to wait it out.

Our team of doctors/nurses knew we didn't know and held up the little one after birth and let Daddy Bug share the news. The look on his face was priceless as he exclaimed "It's a girl!!! It's a girl right???"  To which a nurse replied, "yep, I think we can confirm that."

So June Bug is joined by our little Lady Bug (who was not so little compared to her brother at a 1/2lb bigger and a full inch longer).  She was a lot of baby for this little mama. Thanks to my favorite soccer mom for inspiring her blog name :-)



And now begin the trials and tribulations of Two under Two!!! June Bug was more interested in the drug scanner than his new sister --------->
And has on several occasions said "baby go". 
Yikes.