Humbled...

Last week, we found out we needed to find a new daycare. While we found a new daycare quickly, there were a few days this week that there wasn't space for Alden.

I wasn't really sure what to do. Technically, we could have taken Alden to Mindy's, but I just felt like if we're going to be done there, we just needed to be done. And Mindy had been struggling with the two babies, so I didn't want her to have to deal with that any more than necessary. 

So I was a little stressed about what to do. Thankfully, I have some amazing friends and family members in my life who offered to help us. 

My sister-in-law, Melinda, took him on Monday and said she could take him other days if needed. My mother-in-law offered to take him on Tuesday, but we didn't end up needing her because Julie had space. And my friend, Emily, offered to take him Thursday and Friday. Again, we didn't end up needing her because Julie had space (which didn't matter anyway because Thursday and Friday were both snow days).

I had other friends offer to help if we needed it. They actually offered to take days off work to watch my kid(s) since I am out of days in my leave bank and Dave doesn't get paid days off. 

I am beyond grateful and humbled that people are willing to help us out in these types of situations. It may not seem like much to them, but to me - to know my baby is safe with someone who cares about him, so that I can focus on teaching - it's a huge deal. Saying thank you doesn't seem like enough.

Sometimes in life, it's easy to get caught up in all the responsibilities and feel a little alone. Alone in your problems/conflicts. This week I was reminded that I am not alone. Dave and I are not alone. We have amazing friends and family members that are there for us through it all. 

This week also reminded me the impact an act of kindness can have on someone's day. I am reminded to think of others first and offer help when I am able. 

I've been touched by acts of kindness this week. And it reminds me to continue spreading kindness to others. 

First Few Days...

We've now had two days at our new daycare, and I am beyond thrilled with how things are going.

I was really worried about how Leland would transition to a new place. I knew he would have fun, but I was worried he would be scared at drop off or have a hard time the first few days. That has not been the case so far.

Yesterday, when I dropped him off, he walked right in to play and didn't care at all that I was leaving. My friend/co-worker, Sarah, told me that when she dropped her daughter off a few minutes later, Leland was playing and acting as though he had always been at Julie's. Julie texted me throughout the day letting me know how he was doing. She said he played great, had fun with the other kids, and ate great as well.

When I picked him up, he was in a great mood, and on the way home, he kept saying, "Nee Nee happy." (Nee Nee is what he calls himself.)

Today, Alden was able to join him at Julie's, and they both had a great day again. Again, Julie texted me throughout the day to let me know how they were doing. She also sent me pictures. Julie said that Alden did well, and she said she got some good cuddle time with Leland. Leland is a very active boy; he loves to run and play and explore. But he also really enjoys one-on-one time - reading, rocking, snuggling, etc. So I am glad that he is getting lots of play time as well as some down time.

I was most worried about how the first couple of days would go, and aside from Leland being a little extra tired in the evenings, it seems things are going very well. I think he's tired just from the change in general - he may be enjoying his new surroundings, but I imagine it's still somewhat exhausting and stressful to be somewhere new and trying to figure things out. On the plus side, he slept until 6:30 this morning, instead of 5:45 like he's been trying to do the last few weeks. And I can handle a little crabbiness. I'm glad he's happy during the day.

I am so thankful for how well Leland (and Alden) are taking this change. I was so nervous, but as with most things, I was more worried than I needed to be. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the week goes.

Wedding or High School Reunion?

{Sorry for photo quality - all pics from phone}

This weekend, Dave and I attended my oldest friend's wedding.

Ryan and I became friends in the fourth grade, and then we "went out" for the next four years. We were best friends; we sat next to each other on the bus, played basketball in our driveways, rode bikes together, and just hung out pretty much every day. We had the same circle of friends all through junior high and high school.

Over the years, we haven't hung out, but we have kept in touch. When I went away to college, he was the first friend I called from my dorm. He and his whole family attended my wedding, and we enjoyed catching up at our reunion two years ago.

Ryan is pretty much the nicest guy I know, and I have always hoped he would find a girl as nice as he is. Well, he finally has. Andrea seems to be such a sweet girl, and she and Ryan truly seem perfect for each other.

Ryan is still super close with the boys from our high school crew. I mean, we all keep in touch and get together when we're all in town, but these guys still hang out on probably a weekly basis. So going to his wedding was sort of like a mini reunion. Better than a high school reunion because it was only the people I actually hung out with.

Dave and I enjoyed an afternoon/evening out, and I enjoyed seeing one of my oldest friends marry the love of his life. And seeing his family was awesome, because they were my second family growing up. One of them said to me, "Wasn't this supposed to be you?" Meaning, it was supposed to be me marrying him, since he proposed in sixth grade. Ha! We would be an awful couple, but I'm happy to call him and his sweet bride my friends.

Stressful Few Days...

...But at least the week seems to be ending well.

Tuesday morning, when I was dropping the boys off at daycare, I got the news that we needed to find a new daycare. Mindy, our daycare provider, said that she was having a difficult time with two infants and she didn't feel she could meet everyone's needs. And since the other infant there is her grandson, that left us needing to find care elsewhere.

Initially, I was really angry. Then I was sad. I cried a lot on Tuesday. The mama bear in me was worried about Leland's transition to a new place - he has already experienced so much change in the last few months - and I was livid that she let it go this long. That she didn't make this decision sooner.

The more I have thought about it, the less angry I have become. Because, quite honestly, we saw this coming. We knew she was struggling, and we knew that if a choice had to be made it wouldn't be us. And I know the reason she waited so long was because she really wanted to make it work - she didn't want it to come to this.

Dave and I have been feeling for a little while now that perhaps this wasn't the best place for our family. Not that we don't love Mindy and not that there's anything wrong with the daycare, but for reasons I will not share here, it's just not the right fit for our family anymore. However, because of our relationship with her, and because we didn't want to put Leland through that transition, we were hoping to make it until summer. So, really, Mindy was just the one that was brave enough to say it first.

So Tuesday I was freaking out. I searched for daycares online and couldn't believe the cost of some centers - $400 a week for 2 kids? I don't make much more than that (anyone who thinks teachers are overpaid is delusional).

I asked friends for suggestions via Facebook (thank goodness for social media), and several friends responded. But it was really hard thinking about taking my boys to someone I didn't know. 

Then I got a message from Julie, Leland's old daycare provider, saying she had openings (or would soon). He went to her for about 6 weeks when he was itty bitty. We loved her and she adores Leland. We left when Mindy had an opening because she was like a second mom to Dave - her son and Dave were best friends for years - and she lived 30 seconds away. We didn't want to make the switch, but how do you turn down someone that's practically family?

So anyway, when Julie said she had room for my boys, I didn't need to look any further. Like I said, we loved her. She is so loving and the general feeling you get at her home is cozy, loving, and friendly. What I loved when we went there before was that the kids all really seemed to love each other. They may have their little spats, but they mostly seemed to get along really well. I think that says a lot about Julie and the environment she creates.

I'm still pretty nervous about Leland's transition. Even though he's been to other daycares, Mindy's is the only one he really knows. I worry about taking him that first day (or week) and him being confused or scared. But I know that Julie will do everything she can to help him adjust. Once the shock wears off, I know he will love it. 

I'm excited that there will be more kids Leland's age. There is a girl 6 months older, a boy a few months older, and a boy a few months younger. There's another girl too, but I don't know how old she is. Right now, Leland spends his day with two older girls and two babies, so he's like the middle child with no one to play with. And with him being so social, that's probably a little difficult for him. 

Although I was angry at first, and this situation is somewhat stressful, I think that it's for the best, and I look forward to them starting with Julie. She has one opening right now, and one in a week or two, so Leland will be starting on Monday, and Alden will start soon after.

4 months...

Dear Alden,

Today is February 17, 2014 and you are FOUR MONTHS OLD!

You have grown so much in the last month. I'm anxious to see what you weigh at your 4 month check-up, which is in a few days. You are such a little chunk. Well, you're heavy, and you're big, but your weight seems proportionate to your length. You currently wear size 6-9 month clothes if they're separate pieces, but your sleepers/one pieces have to be 9 month size, because you're so long. I just switched you to size 3 diapers. Size 2 still fits, but they don't last all night, so we made the switch a few days ago.

You are developing a pretty predictable routine. You usually take two naps in the morning - one short one and one longer one. And then you take a long nap in the afternoon. You also take a little catnap in the evenings, for about a half hour, before your final bed time at night.

At night, you fall asleep between 7:00 and 8:00, and you sleep for about one hour. After I nurse you, you go back to sleep for your longest stretch of about four hours. After that, you're up every two hours to eat the rest of the night. You are a hungry boy, hence your size.

In couple of weeks, you have decided that you like to sleep on your own sometimes. Sometimes, you squirm when I'm holding you, so I put you in your rock 'n play, and you sleep fine. Then about halfway through the night, you have a hard time sleeping in there, so I bring you back to bed with us. It's a good system, I think. I love sleeping with you, but it's nice to have a little extra space in the bed for part of the night.

About three weeks ago, you decided you liked the pacifier. I wasn't pushing it, because I was totally fine with you not taking it {I'm worried you'll be obsessed with it like your brother}, but you started seeming to want/need it for sleeping. Sometimes you need it to sleep {usually for your first big stretch of sleep}, and sometimes you spit it right out. You also love to suck on your fingers. Your hands are always in your mouth and you're a little drool factory, which makes me wonder if you're going to get teeth soon. {Oh, you also like to clench down sometimes when you're nursing, so that makes me wonder about teeth too.}

You are the happiest baby ever. You are full of smiles and giggles and we rarely see you cry. When you cry, we know you're either hungry or tired, or getting tired of the car seat. Those are seriously the only times you are ever upset. I love your giggles. You get going and you just keep laughing and laughing. Daddy gets you going pretty good every night.

You love to watch what's going on around you, especially your big brother. When he's around, your eyes lock on him. I look forward to seeing all the fun you two will have as you grow up together. I know you'll be buds.

Sweet Alden, I couldn't possibly put into words the joy you bring to our family. You have filled our hearts with such love and we simply adore you. I am so thankful that God chose us to be your family; we are blessed beyond measure to call you ours.

Happy 4 months, my precious boy! I hope you always know how much you are loved and cherished.

Love,
Mama

Teacher's Kids...

As a teacher, I see kids with lots of different needs and various accommodations. There are kids who have special needs and their accommodations are written in their IEPs, which teachers are required by law to follow. Other students just have different needs and we accommodate their needs, not because it is required, but because it is the right thing to do to help them be successful in school.

For example, active students may require a movement break, or movement activities worked into the lesson.

Sometimes, I catch myself looking at my own kids through my teacher eyes. And it usually is really comical. When I imagine my kids going to school, the way they are now, I see a few accommodations being used.

Leland is very, very active, to put it lightly. The kid doesn't ever stop moving. I see him needing movement breaks. And a T-stool - a special chair that is shaped like a tee, so kids have to have both feet on the floor to use them - because he is always climbing on things. A t-stool will help him sit still. Or it will make him fall a lot.

Leland also has to touch everything. He relies on touch to "see" things - he needs that sensory input. So he will need a fidget. Like, putty, a koosh ball, or just something to "play" with so he can focus on the teacher. Oh, and he'll also need to take his "green" with him {he calls his blanket his "green"}.

Alden is constantly sucking on his fingers and fists. I see him being a very oral child. He will need to chew gum in class to keep from chewing on pencils and other gross things. He's also hungry all the time, so perhaps the gum will help with that.

Oh yeah, and he also scratches the HECK out of his face and head - see the scrapes? He may need some kind of fidget activity too.

Obviously, kids change a lot between baby/toddler-hood and when they go to school, but it's funny to me to think about my kids going to school the way they are now.

Winter Festival...

I am the first person to say I hate winter. I hate the cold. I hate how much snow we get. And I really miss the beach. This winter has been awful. I have never seen temps this low that lasted so long. And our snowfall for the year so far is insane. I'm so over winter.

But this weekend, I dug myself out of my "I hate winter" funk and took the boys to the winter festival in downtown TC. Dave had to work this weekend, but my mom joined us for the fun. 

The winter festival is a combination of a comedy festival and fun kids' activities. There were several comedy shows over the weekend, including famous comedians like Rosie O'Donnell and a couple of former SNL actors. I didn't go to any of the comedy shows - just the kids' stuff. 

I bundled up the boys and we headed to Front Street {our "Main Street" downtown}.

The street was blocked off to traffic and they had all kinds of activities, like...

{Pardon the photo quality. Some pics were taken with my phone, and others were taken with my mom's camera - I didn't feel like lugging my DSLR around, but I wish I would have, since my phone died from being so cold.}

A sledding hill...
 

Leland LOVED this!

A Ferris wheel...

I wasn't sure how Leland would like it, but I figured we'd give it a shot. I thought if he hated it, the guy running it would surely stop it for us. But Leland had so much fun. He giggled the entire time and kept saying, "Up high!"

Leland and I at the top of the ferris wheel

View of Grand Traverse Bay and the rest of Front Street from the top of the ferris wheel.

Miniature golf

 

Ice sculptures...

Thank goodness I wore some yoga pants under my jeans...that ice was COLD!

 

A pancake breakfast...

Leland chowed down on some sausage and fruit. He wasn't interested in the pancakes.

Ice skating {we didn't partake...maybe next year}, and all kinds of other activities. For FREE!

Leland had a ball. And I did too. I was so glad the sun was out, since it was only about 15 degrees. But the boys were bundled up nicely. My mom carried Alden most of the time and used her scarf to block the wind from his face. He stayed totally comfy the whole time - he even fell asleep for a bit.

Oops. Got a pic of my mom when she was talking so her facial expression is a little funny.

And Leland never complained of the cold. His cheeks were quite rosy, but the rest of him stayed warm. In true toddler fashion, he cried when it was time to leave and then fell asleep when we were about two minutes from home.

I'm so glad we decided to venture out today. Even though winter isn't my favorite, we all enjoyed it, and we all needed a little pick-me-up.

Love is in the air...

In continuing my acts of love for the month of February, here are a few acts of kindness I did over the last week. I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures this week though.

I had been wanting to bring treats for the office ladies at school, so when I had extra cupcakes from the ones I made for my class, I took them to school to share with a few of my favorite women.. Even though I really, really wanted to eat them {they were the best cupcakes I had ever made myself}, I was glad to share them with the amazing ladies that pretty much run the school.

For Valentine's Day, Leland brought Valentines to his friends and caregivers at daycare. I wasn't really sure what to do for Bennett, the other baby there. Bennett is three weeks younger than Alden, so obviously, he couldn't really enjoy a hot cocoa treat like the bigger kids. So I ordered a board book from Scholastic with my bonus points {man, I love Scholastic book clubs} and gave that to Bennett. It didn't cost me anything except points.

I also ordered two Valentine books for the daycare. I like to give them books whenever I get a chance, because as a teacher, I always enjoy things like that. It's something small on my end, but the kids can enjoy them for years to come.

In my Scholastic order, I was accidentally given an extra book. I called Scholastic and they said to just keep it. It was a Lego book, which all of the boys in my class would love to read, but it came with a little Lego guy. I considered putting it on my bookshelf, but all I could picture was students arguing about that little Lego man and I didn't want to deal with it. So I decided to give it to a student. I gave it to a boy who doesn't ever order from the book clubs. I wrote a note that said it was from a secret friend and placed it in his cubby. This boy is pretty well-liked by his classmates, but he often has low self-esteem and doesn't believe people like him. When he got it, he asked me who it was from, and I told him I wasn't sure. He was so happy. He held that little Lego man all day {until he lost it towards the end of the day...we found it a couple days later}. I was so glad I could do this small thing to make him smile.

On Friday, I went out to lunch with a few co-workers to celebrate my dear friend Courtney's birthday. I was planning to give the cashier $5 for the next order, but he didn't understand what I was talking about. Apparently, he's out of the loop when it comes to random acts of kindness. So I just paid for Courtney's order {which was the next order behind me}. 

I bought a bag of Hershey's Hugs for my math and reading groups for Valentine's Day. I didn't make them Valentines this year, but they all enjoyed a small treat during class. I had about 10 leftover, so I decided to place them in random staff mailboxes. I mean, who doesn't love a surprise chocolate treat in their mailbox?

Valentines for my Sweeties...

When I was a kid, my mom always got us little boxes of chocolates and sometimes a stuffed animal or something for Valentine's Day. It always made me feel special, and now that I have kids, I want to do special things for them on Valentine's Day too.

For Leland, because he is still very much into Chuggington, I got him two die cast Chuggington characters. He got Brewster for Christmas from Dave's sister, so I bought him Action Chugger {his favorite} and Wilson.

He's also getting two books...

A little treat...

Heart-shaped marshmallows. Leland loves marshmallows...and also anything heart-shaped. Hearts and stars are his favorite shapes to point out.

And some vitamins - the kid loves vitamins. I have to get them after school tomorrow because I forgot to get them last weekend.

Alden is still too little for a lot of things, so he's getting new pacifiers and a book...

This is one of my favorite children's books, but somehow we don't own it. I have it at school, but never bought it for my own house.

And while I'm out getting Leland's vitamins, I think I will get Alden some new socks. My littlest Valentine has chunky feet/ankles, so his socks are really tight.

And I can't forget about Dave!

We don't do a whole lot for Valentine's Day for each other. Basically, I can count on chocolate and/or dried cherries {my favorite treat, but so expensive}, and Dave can count on his favorite snacks too. Dave's favorite thing in all the land is turkey jerky. So I stopped at a local market to get the good stuff for him. He also loves peanut m&m's and Mike & Ike's, so he got those too.

Now that we have kids, I want to start family traditions with them. Things that they can look forward to, and that they can remember when they are older. Valentine goodies are just one small thing that I look forward to sharing with my sweeties for years to come.

School Valentines...

As a kid, I loved Valentine's Day. Who doesn't? You get all the cute little notes from your classmates accompanied by candy.

As a teacher, I still love Valentine's Day. I love preparing Valentine cards and treats for my students. And seeing how excited they are about it is pretty exciting for me as well. 

For years, I bought Valentines from the store and attached a goody bag or treat of some sort. Last year, I made my own Valentines - just simple paper owls and I taped some candy to them. I liked making them myself, and so I think I will try to continue doing that from now on.

This year, I found this cute little printable on pinterest and used them for the tags.

Then I bought a big box of hot cocoa mix packets and some heart shaped marshmallows.

A little assembly...

And I have some adorable Valentines for my students.

The boys' valentines. 

I actually had enough leftover for Leland and Alden to take them to daycare for their friends and Mindy. They're also giving a couple of books to daycare.

I have so many bonus points on my Scholastic Book Club account, so I'm enjoying giving books to daycare and friends at no cost to me.

I'm also going to bake cupcakes for my class. Any excuse to chow down on sweets for this girl.

The Missing Sock...

In all of my years of doing my own laundry, I have never lost a sock. It's a bit of an area of pride for me. Lame, perhaps, but when I was growing up {in a house of five kids}, my socks went missing all the time. I pride myself in always having a mate for my socks.

Once in a while, a pair of socks will get into two different loads of laundry, so a sock may be without a mate for a short time, but once the next load is done, it's no longer lonely.

About two weeks ago, I was folding the kids' laundry and one of Leland's socks ended up lonely. I thought maybe the other sock had gotten mixed up in another load, but I didn't find it when I folded the next load. I looked behind the washer and dryer, checked under furniture, but I just couldn't find it. It had vanished.

I was a little bummed that my "no lost sock" record was no more.

Until today when I was folding laundry and it fell out of a pillow case. It must have gotten caught up in there the last time I washed it.

So my record lives on. No more lonely socks!

More Acts of Love...

Last week, I started my February Acts of Love a little early. I just couldn't wait. Here are a few things I did this week.

1. Leland loves to ride Sandy, the pony at our grocery store.

It only costs a penny, but I know there are times when people forget to bring a penny in. For those times, there is a little container with extra pennies so that kiddos can still get their ride. We have had to use one of those extra pennies once before, and I was glad it was there. So this month, every time we ride Sandy, I'm going to put extra pennies in the container - just whatever I happen to have in my wallet. Sunday was the first day, and I had about 5 pennies in my wallet.

2. I made Dave's lunch for him. This is something I used to do a lot before we had kids. He has the hardest time getting up in the mornings, and I liked to help make his day a little easier by making his lunch. Since we've had kids, I haven't really had time to do this for him in the mornings. But I made it a point to do it once this week. I should do it more often, because Dave really appreciates it.

3. I sent a surprise package to a friend.

She has a little girl, but is expecting a boy this spring, so I wanted to send her a couple of boy outfits and a book, since she isn't having a shower, but will still need boy things.

I also purchased some things for future acts of love, but haven't done them yet.

I just want to note that acts of love don't have to be expensive, or even cost anything. Many of the acts on my list will be cheap or will be purchased with gift cards/store credit that I already have. I don't have a lot of money to spare, especially these days when I'm not getting full paychecks {and I don't have any more days in my sick bank at school, so every absence now costs us money}. It doesn't have to be costly.

Pumping Problems...

This week has been a little tough for this breast feeding mama. Actually, it was only two days that were rough. But honestly, it was somewhat comical {now that it's over}.

On Wednesdays, I don't have a morning break, so my first chance to pump is at lunch time. I'm supposed to have someone take over my classroom for me so that I can leave for 10 minutes to pump. Well this Wednesday, at 12:20 {20 minutes into lunch}, no one had come yet. There was only 10 minutes left until my kids had to switch for reading, so I started my class on a game of "Around the World" with Spanish vocabulary, told the teacher next door to listen for any problems, and I ran off to pump. 

Ten minutes later, I was back, my kids were rocking their Spanish game, and we switched for reading. 

Then on Thursday, I headed down to pump while my kids were in PE. On my way there, I was stopped by three classroom parents who wanted to talk with me about their kids. It didn't take very long, so no big deal. I got into the office where I pump with 10 minutes left of PE, only to realize I had left the breast shields {funnel things} at home. 

Needless to say, I started freaking out. I immediately called my mother-in-law, who lives next door, to see if she could bring them to me, but she had already left for work. 

So I took to social media and made a plea for anyone who might be near my house to bring them to me. We have a code for our garage door, so it's not like they would have to get my keys or anything from me. 

Thankfully, an amazing friend/classroom parent came to my rescue and brought me some of hers to use. Thank goodness! So I couldn't pump in the morning, but I made it to lunch. 

Then I wasn't paying attention while I was pumping, but I was so full that it overflowed and dripped all over my pants. 

Then, I was a little distracted when I got home and I forgot to put the milk bottles in the fridge. They ended up staying in my pump bag overnight, so I had to dump them out. Cue the crying. 

Thank goodness I am basically a dairy cow and the 10oz I dumped out is easily replaced. But still. What a week!

Classroom Observation...

At my school, teachers are observed a lot by administration. It's pretty much always unannounced. You'll be teaching and suddenly there's someone in your room watching you. Sometimes it's just for a few minutes. Sometimes for forty minutes. You just never know. While I'm still not exactly used to it - I still get major butterflies when they come in - I am much more comfortable with it than I used to be. 

This year, we have a new system for observations. We are required by the state to have a "formal" evaluation once during the year. So, when the administrator comes in and takes notes, those notes are now sent to the state. And besides that, we also have to do a self-evaluation and a peer evaluation. 

Our peer evaluation is due March 1, so people are starting to set up their observations right now. My co-worker that was assigned to observe me came in to see my reading group today. Even though she's my friend, I was a little nervous. Maybe I was more nervous because she's my friend. I don't know. But I know that part of my anxiety was because of the class she was observing: my reading group.

My reading group has been a challenge for me this year. They are a great group of kids - very bright, very fun, very sweet, but they talk a lot. It's really difficult to keep them focused and on-task. Quite honestly, I'm slightly terrified that my formal evaluation will be during that time. I have pretty good classroom management in my opinion. But I just don't feel like I have it together with this class. We get our work done, and we learn a lot, but it's not easy. I feel like I'm constantly trying to reel them back in.

So anyway, my co-worker came to observe me during reading today. One of my students approached her and asked why she was in our classroom. She replied, "I'm just here to see how Mrs. Nowak teaches you."

The boy responded, "She does a really good job. But sometimes kids don't listen."

When she told me that, I about died! The boy speaketh the truth!

Well, at least he thinks I do a good job.

Breakfast of Champions...

Sunday morning, when Leland woke up, the first word out of his mouth, before I even got him out of his crib, was "Doh-wah?" He was asking for a doughnut.

While I would have loved a doughnut too, we didn't have any. When I told him we didn't have any doughnuts, he said, "Candy?"

"No, we don't eat candy for breakfast." {Well, mommy might sometimes, but I don't need him following in those footsteps.}

Leland then responded by asking for a "bah-muh-min" {vitamin}.

As I was getting him a vitamin, he opened the refrigerator and pulled something out. Before I could see what it was, Leland said, "Hot sauce?" Ha ha.

I think it was safe to say that Leland was hungry.

In case you're wondering, we settled on some peanut butter toast and an orange.

Weekends are Good for the Soul...

Even though we enjoyed a five-day weekend last week, thanks to our ridiculous weather, I was still excited for this weekend and the way time with my little family rejuvenates me for the week ahead.

I like to make big breakfasts on the weekends. Most of the time, pancakes are involved, and Saturday was no different. Leland loves blueberry pancakes, but we were out of blueberries, so I went with chocolate chips instead.

Leland loved them! He kept giggling and saying, "Candy?" Oops...he probably thinks it's okay to eat candy for breakfast now.

Then we visited the children's museum. Leland was all over that. He explored, built towers with magna-tiles, climbed, and best of all, he ran and ran and ran.

He took a great nap, which meant I got a bit of a nap as well.

Alden got some new clothes in the mail. He's already outgrowing his 6 month pajamas. His 6 months clothes fit okay, but anything that's one piece is too short. So I ordered him some new 6-9 jams and they came this weekend. They are so stinkin' cute.

Sunday, we went grocery shopping. Not the most exciting thing ever, but we did enjoy a Sandy ride.

Later, we made a cake together and just hung out.

I love weekends with my family. I wonder if this week will be a full week for me. I haven't worked a full week since before Alden was born because of Christmas break and snow days. Students haven't had a full week since Christmas break {I think we only had 10 or 11 days of school in January...CRAZY!}.

Cradle Cap...

GAH! Cradle cap. It just might be the death of me.

When it first reared its ugly head {no pun intended, since my baby still has an adorable head even with cradle cap}, I tried to ignore it. I had heard not to pick at it, and I'm a picker, so I tried to just not pay attention to it.

But it was driving me bonkers. I wanted to pick it so bad. A friend suggested using coconut oil and then combing it. While that worked in the short term, the flakes kept coming back. Alden's head would be clear for a couple of days, but then the dry scalp would reappear.

I've noticed that Alden scratches his head a lot. Like, a lot. It's hard to tell if he's itchy or if it's just a self-soothing technique, but he really digs at his head. No matter how much I trim or file his nails, he stills scratches the heck out of it and it bleeds. I've started dressing him in hoodies so that he can't scratch it so hard.

I'm hoping that if the cradle cap clears up, he will stop scratching so much. But I'm at a loss with how to clear it up. Dave read that using oil makes it worse. And since it really wasn't fixing it, I gave up. I read that shampooing every day can help, but that makes the rest of his body dry.

I'm going to ask his doctor when he goes for his four month well check. But until then, does anyone have any advice for me? Leland never had this issue, so it's totally new to me.

First Shiner...

Last week, we had three snow days in a row - connected to a weekend. Which meant several days of hanging out at home. Which meant a bit of cabin fever for the two year old.

To combat the fever, Leland and I baked cookies on Tuesday. He loves helping add ingredients and helping hold the mixer. But I think what he loves most is standing on a chair at the counter so he can reach everything his heart desires. 

When we were done with the cookies, I made Leland get off the chair. As I was picking it up to put it back on the table {yes, we still have to keep the chairs on the table}, Leland dove for it and ended up smacking his cheek. Or, I thought it was just his cheek. It turned red, but later in the day, you couldn't even tell that he bumped it. 

But the next morning {Wednesday} was a different story. He had a big bruise on his eye and all down his cheek.

It didn't look good, but it wasn't awful. The worst part to me was that it was swollen. 

Mom, stop taking pictures of me and just let me eat my banana. 

Later that day, it got darker.

And then the next day {Thursday}, it looked like this.

It's hard to see in the picture, but besides the giant black mark under his eye, there is a bruise that goes all the way down his cheek and back up in a half circle.

Today, the black mark is still there, perhaps slightly lighter, but now most of the area is some shade of bruise - some purple, some the yellow-ish/healing color. But it still looks awful. 

Funny story, Wednesday morning, Dave left for work before Leland woke up, so I texted him a picture of Leland's shiner. Dave's response was, "That'll teach him."

Probably not, hon. Probably not.

With Leland, I'm used to his bumps and bruises - the kid is an adventure-seeker for sure. And with two boys {perhaps another in the future}, I'm sure to see lots more bruises. But this first shiner of his has been hard for me to see. And when he touches his cheek and says, "Nee-Nee owie," it just tears at my heart strings. Poor dude.