What We Learned (February 2nd Edition)

Every week we review, reflect, and recap our weeks. Tell us what you learned in the comments!

Liz:

1) After months of taking a "wait and see" approach to Sage's not talking, I went to his doctor and asked for a hearing evaluation. He assessed his hearing, his ears, and his behaviors and agreed that Sage is delayed in expressive language and gave me the Early Intervention (EI) referral I was willing to fight him for (without a fight). We have his EI evaluation February 13. After working for EI in MA for a while I'm excited to see what happens next.

2) Speaking of what happens next, you know how you take your car to the mechanic and it doesn't "make the noise?" Well Sage was true to form at the doctor's, no talking, no pointing, screaming fit if you said no...BUT the day after his appointment he said 3 words and now it's 1 or 2 new ones every day. Wednesday he waved and said, "Bye-ee Da-ee" as we left for school. Friday he said "football" and Saturday he chased a "ball ball." Thursday he brought me a toy and made an "Ehh?" sound as if asking me to play with it. This is also brand new. Apparently he now realizes I'm serious about this "you need to talk" bit.

3) I am so very glad every day that I have a job that I enjoy and that I can have fun at. While my students and I were chastized for disrupting other classes (OK, I was), we had fun competing for the title of Loudest Class and I think we did it with the most style.

4) When you're doing kickboxing at home don't do it on the carpet if you're wearing sneakers. It seems like a "No duh" but for weeks I couldn't understand why I couldn't move my feet as well as I could at my actual class. Der Liz.

Robyn:

1. I've learned that I need to associate public breast pumping with people. I've been so used to pumping at home, that I have no need to cover up! I should get used to it again, because the dude with the briefcase that walked by and looked in and smiled while I was pumping in the car...you're welcome, if you're into that sorta thing! 

2. I've learned that the smell on coins isn't actually the 'smell of money'. It's the oils and skin cells from everyone that has touched it before you. 

Lisa:

1. I went out on a date!! On an impulse, and thanks to Pixy having a half day, I took the three spawn to the Frozen sing along. We had a blast singing at the top of our lungs. Thankfully, Cubby slept throwing most of it. It helped me break out if the weekly routine. Here they are after we got home:

Girls post Frozen sing along

2. Animals, like children, know who they can trust. That's a saying I've heard many times over the years and this week, Nature proved it to me again. Cubby was screaming his head off at Kennedy Krieger, so I took him out to the truck to calm down and so he wouldn't disturb anyone. While I was nursing him, we had someone spy on us:

Bird watchER not watchING

Mr. Mockingbird braved the cold breeze and came to check that Cubby was all right. I sent him on his way quietly and assured him everything was all right. Nature rocks.

3. We've enrolled Pixy in aftercare at her school because I can't make it down from the city to pick her up at dismissal. I'm prepping her again on what to expect, just so she doesn't get sad. Unfortunately, with all the schedule conflicts, poor Pixy is the one dealing with the discrepancies. The cool thing is, she has friends at aftercare to play with and it is run by the most grandmotherly and sweetest nun ever. Just what Pixy needs to ease her abandonment issues. She's been having a tough time since my father's death. Hopefully, she will forgive me not being able to teleport places or have octopus genetics: "Mama, I'm always the one having to wait for you and Banshee and Cubby. Can we make them wait sometimes too?" You're breaking my heart, kid. Wish us luck!!

Now it's your turn - comment with something you learned below. We look forward to reading about your week!

What We Learned (November 24th edition)

Another week closer to the holidays? What did you learn this week? Big or small, it's all interesting!

Lisa:

Robyn and Liz learned that Lisa's been havibg contractions all week and completely off the hook. Love you!!!!

Robyn:

1. I've learned something new about men: "Having toe hair is masculine!" (Anonymous source) *Eww! Gag!*

2. I've learned that the saddest thing to see at the grocery store on a cold Saturday night, is a single elderly man (no ring on the finger) with a frozen lasagne and garlic bread, with a 40 of bud light in line waiting to check out. 

3. I've learned helicopter rides ROCK! My son turned 6 this week, and I took him on a helicopter tour of the city. He absolutely loved it! From now on, I'm convinced that memories should be made, instead of toys being given out for such occasions. 

Liz:

1) It's not something I just learned but something I observed firsthand - 3 year olds can hear it once and use it correctly. A family friend used the s-word at our house without thinking about small ears and Silas said, "S^%# my car's stuck" later that night. We asked what he just said and he replied, "Help? Help my car's stuck?" So he knows. He knows.

2) If you work hard people will ask you to do more work. Sometimes that's good and sometimes it's annoying.

3) I have found the crock pot love. I've been using it a lot in the last few weeks and Mike said, "Whatever comes out of this thing is really good." Sold! If you have an awesome recipe for me to try, leave a link in the comments. I'd love some new ones to try!

What about you, our lovely readers? What did you learn this week? Comment below and let us know!

What We Learned This Week (Sunday, September 29th Edition)

Where does the time go? It's yet again time for the weekly round up. We hope you enjoy reading these (or at least they entertain you) because we enjoy writing them! So Mamas, what did you learn this week?

Robyn:

I've learned Saturday mornings are Wild when I step back and observe...The kids came in (at 730...c'mon, seriously!) our room, wrestled us outta bed, and proceeded to follow like ducklings. Here we go! Into the bathroom. As the baby is strapped to my hip, I brush my teeth with the other hand, and the boys prep for Sean's haircut. Kasen got the broom and dustpan (riding it like a witch at times), while Dad cut Sean's hair into a Mohawk. "Gawwww, I'm BEAUTIFUL!," Sean says. And yes, picture day is this week folks. 

I've learned just how tacky people can be. Kasen had his opening day of baseball this week. At the game, all sorts of people show up. Classy, sporty, and everything in between. While Kasen was batting, I noticed a grandma with her granddaughter sitting in fold out chairs. The grandma was changing the granddaughter (who was atleast 3). The granddaughter was standing up, and taking off her pull up in plain sight! I was disgusted that the woman didn't know better to atleast cover up that poor child. With all the pervs, pedophiles and molesters out there, you would think that more common sense would be used! SMH.

I've learned that every girl needs 'her girls'. My bestie is in North Carolina, and I miss her everyday. She knows me in and out, as I do her. We don't have to talk everyday, but when we do...it's like nothing has changed between us! I've learned to never trust that girl that doesn't have atleast 1 close girlfriend. There's a reason she can't keep any close confidants. She'll spill your business to get what she wants, destroying everything in the path. Be aware, these women don't change. Just be careful: these girls (mommies too) are PTA members, girlscout moms, home room moms, teachers or anywhere else women go! They are a Red Flag, Ladies! SWIM AWAY, SWIM AWAY :D

Lisa:
1. I was able to get Banshee a medical ID bracelet that is waterproof and little kid proof!! WOOHOO! She keeps it on every day and likes wearing it because it is "pink". It has the basic information on it and I feel better knowing that there is information in there that will help out a first responder. Go me!

2. I learned to give in and buy myself some maternity clothes. I am just not fitting into any of my regular clothes now and I kept putting off going to the store to grab a couple pants. Sigh..why do I make things harder for myself? Happy to report that I am now more comfortable and so is Cubby.

3. I learned that it is good to be teaching again, in any capacity. I volunteered to help out with the girls' Sunday School and it felt nice to be in the classroom again as an assistant. I feel like I take on a lot sometimes because I like to help but I had a blast today. It was cool. :)

Liz:
1) I learned that children's watches aren't necessarily waterproof. Silas got a watch because he used the potty. He wore it in the bath. It's now in a bag of rice on the counter. #Mommyfail

2) I figured out how to do some pretty cool stuff on the blog. Never too old to learn about coding I guess!

3) I heard Roo (Sage) say I love you back to me for the first time this week. Makes a Mommy's heart melt :)

What did you learn this week? Anything fun and amazing? What do you think about our learnings? Tell us about it in the Comments area!

What We Learned This Week - September 8th Edition

Another day another dollar...what did you learn this week?

Robyn: 

1. I've learned about a gadget update: I receive deals via email for local stuff. This week, I opened my inbox to find a car seat swivel tray on sale. Are you thinking car seat for a child? That's what I thought! So they can sit quietly in the backseat and eat their happy meal while mommy is driving with hands at 10 and 2, playing her favorite tunes! Hold up, that's not what's going down...EVER! (Just trying to be real here) Seriously, But NO! This is a seat swivel tray that attaches to the cup holders, that the driver can vegetate off of while commuting. To the purchasers of such ridiculousness: Eat up Fatties. Nobody will be surprised if you drive off a cliff while texting from your swivel tray, either! SMH.

2. I've learned how much busier life can get in the matter of a week. I got a call with a really good job offer starting in a few weeks (which puts 3 out of 4 kids in daycare, and time for running errands on the weekends, and finishing up my degree next year...) teenage turd has extra curricular stuff 3 nights a week, husband is finishing his masters degree (2 nights a week), and T-Ball starts in 3 weeks for kinder turd. I guess that leaves one thing for me to do...put on my cape and rock this! 

3. Last but not least, I've learned to take time for myself. Even if it's while the baby is napping during the week (that 'sleep when the baby does' advice is not for me!) 30-45 minutes of Insanity has given me a huge burst of energy throughout the day. Plus, i notice that the floor needs to be swept while doing pushups! Right after, I am like jello going up the stairs. But, it's motivation to not be a dent in the couch while lactic acid is building up in my muscles (that's where soreness comes from) I push through the workout and hmm...the house has been cleaner and laundry has been done since Tuesday! Imagine that! Plus, a mani-pedi Sat morning totally went down! Ahhh(sigh of relief), clean house and polished toes...this mama's in total bliss!!!

Lisa:

1. The girls were having a hard time with this move. They were very sad about the old house, so we got them to help with packing things into the truck, so they could get some sense of closure. They said their goodbyes to the house this morning and are asleep now in their new room in the new house. Feels good to know just how resilient they are. 

2. It's ok to take a break. Part of being pregnant is getting easily exhausted and for me a huge problem. I feel like I don't do enough, that I could be doing more to help out, and I find myself on the brink of exhaustion. With everything going on here, I realized that I was doing a lot and I should take it easier. I took some breaks but still a managed to help a bit. Now, if I could only find a long-lasting cure for cankles!! Yeah right. 

3. Neighbors are interesting people! Our old neighbors, which were awesome, could barely say bye to us today as we loaded our last boxes into the truck. We didn't realize how good we'd been as neighbors, until half our block came to wish us good luck. It was intense to say the least! At the new house, we met the new neighbors en masse and they were wonderful! They even brought us a treat as a welcome to the neighborhood. It felt nice but overwhelming to be welcomed that warmly. Always a good thing to learn that there are still really good people around. Now, if I could just figure out their quirks, we're in business.

Liz:
1) I've learned that I can sometimes be a hypocrite. My completed dissertation was due Friday (a schedule that I created myself at the start of this quarter). I got it submitted Friday at 4:22 p.m. I busted butt working on it all this week (even though I did work on it for about 30 minutes a day for the two weeks before that). A former student heard that I had submitted it just under the wire and said, "Huh Liz, you always tell us not to procrastinate but..." And she's right. For most things I'm not a procrastinator but for some reason I'm just tired of this dissertation. I'm ready to be DONE.

2) Sage (14 months) is droppin' the science on us - this kid is spitting out words left and right like it's no 'thang. This past week? Chicken, Mickey (Mouse), dog, ball, go (used contextually correctly), down...that's all I can think of for now. It's amazing how different two children from the same household can be. Silas said "ball" at 12 months and that was it for a while. Child #2 has the advantage of having three role models for language (and behavior) rather than just the 2 that Child #1 had.

3) After going back to work full time (after a summer of teaching just two online classes) I've realized I cannot keep up the pace I had during the summer. Laundry, dishes, cooking, diaper laundry (including wool washing and lanolinizing), grocery shopping, cleaning...after working 40+ hours (many from home at night) is not as simple as it was during the summer. I feel badly, but I'm considering finding someone to come clean the house once a week. Why do I feel bad? For some reason I feel as if I should be able to cut it myself (those damned "shoulds").

4) I need a motivator. Our race got cancelled (the race Robyn and I were supposed to run next Saturday). I'm bummed. Now we need to find another one to register for. I have to say this has slightly decreased my motivation to go running and work out in general. Bummer.

What about you, what have you learned this week?

Life With Two - Little Boys Updates

I've had a lot of friends and readers ask, "What's life like with two kids as opposed to just one?" Mike jokes that we're "real parents" now because we have two, but I don't think that's really the case. The challenges and enjoyable moments with two kids are different from one, for sure, but it's all parenting.

Having two kids feels like triage - you look around and see who needs attention more right now and you help them now. Is anyone bleeding or damaged? If so, they're first. After that it's kind of "the one who makes the most noise wins." Because face it - with two kids (almost three and 7 months) there's a lot of noise to be made. I don't know about you, but for me constant noise ups my anxiety level exponentially. So if you continue to make noise (and it's not a happy playing noise) you'll get help from me super quick. Daddy for some reason can block it out.

Getting so big

There's always something going on. I think they've both napped at the same time once. As they both get older there's different challenges. For example, Sage is trying to crawl and has his first tooth poking out. There's lots of frustrated crawling crying and pain crying. But when he's not crying he's a smiley and sweet little boy. He's almost there with the crawling...almost there. I think he still needs to work on his upper arm strength. We played on our hands and knees last night for about 10 minutes and by the end he was wobbly. And that tooth, man. It's poking out to the point where you can feel a point but it's just a little above flush with his gums.

I think as a younger brother he's learned quickly that a big smile will get you attention. If he's playing in his Exersaucer and you pass by he'll give you a big smile and see if he can attract your attention to pick him up. He especially loves Silas. Si gets the biggest smiles and the most "cat calls" from Sage. Sage REALLY wants to be his friend. The sad part is Silas ignores him. But when Si does smile back at Sage, Sage's smile gets that much bigger.

Don't let the smile fool you...

Silas, being almost three, is all about helping me ("I help you Mommy!") by bringing laundry to the washer (one sock and one blanket), picking up his toys, stirring brother's formula, and trying to pour his own milk (which freaks me out). As someone who usually tries to control everything, it's hard to give up some control to him, but I'm making myself do it because he needs to learn how to put on his own socks and wash his own hands. It's hard to predict now what he can and can't do by himself. I generally just ask, "Hey can you do X?" and observe from a distance. If he's having trouble I'll offer some help. Otherwise I just marvel at what he can do. He can identify all of his colors (except pink for some reason), most of his shapes, can sing songs he's heard often (we heard pieces of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Rain Rain Go Away" the other day on the way home from school, and I heard him singing bits of "When she loved me" from Toystory 2 today), and he can say his numbers 1-10 (and sometimes higher). He will repeat almost everything you say (sometimes creepily similarly to how you said it) and remember most of what you've said. The other day Daddy hid Si's favorite blanket (Blue) and told Si he needed to say "The Magic Word" to get it back. He said, "Abre." Daddy just looked at me, confused. I tried to not spit out my water. "Just give it to him," I said. "What did he say?" Daddy asked. "Open in Spanish." Toddler parents will probably recognize that my son's a Dora fan.

While I may feel overwhelmed some days (and feel relieved when the kids go back to school on Monday) I would not miss everything they're doing for anything. There's nothing better than when someone comes up to you on the couch with Blue and says, "I sit you Mommy" and cuddles up to you. Sure buddy. Cuddle all you want.

"You're right Prospector, I can't stop Andy from growing up. But I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The Word of the Day is “Diaper”

My son’s gotten to be a professional walker now, and even tries the running thing sometimes. He’s getting better at that too, but still takes some spills. Now that the locomotion deal is good, he’s started really crackin’ on the language bit. We’ve heard a few random things here and there, and we’ve definitely heard some things that sound like something but we’re not quite sure what “that” is.

The first thing we heard was “oww” (owl) and then “bihr” (bird). It was 2 a.m. and we were up taking an underarm temperature because someone was screaming bloody murder. We sat on the couch and he pointed to the owl statue on the bar. “Owl,” I told him sleepily as I wrestled him to keep the thermometer under his arm. “Oww,” he repeated. “Yes, owl. Owl’s are birds,” I added. “Bihr,” he repeated. Sure, great, words, now go back to bed. Come to find out he had an ear infection (f.y.i., for anyone who hasn’t seen a baby ear infection, waking up in the middle of the night screaming when they usually sleep through the night is a sign of ear infection).

Next came “Ja Ja.” Jasmine is our small Chihuahua. He’ll chase her around the house grinning and yelling, “Ja Ja!” We of course say Mama and Dada, and we’ve heard “buh” (book) and “baah” (ball). One day I frustratingly told him, “No, that’s mine” when he reached for the remote (he was going to push buttons and I really wanted to watch the rest of NCIS). He paused, looked at me intently, and repeated “mine.”

Today? “Dipe” as he reached for a diaper on the top of the cloth diaper pile. “What color is that?” I asked about the one he had grabbed. “Boo!” (blue). And he was right, it was blue. My child amazes me to no end. You know, you talk a mile to this child that you’ve been toting around for months and you wonder, “Really? Are you hearing any of this? Does it matter to you that I pretty much have diarrhea of the mouth talking to you about everything around us and what we’re doing?” We label things, we look at books (which he closes on me), we point and talk about things, we talk about what we’re eating, and what the dogs are doing, and…some days I’m just tired of talking to this little boy who doesn’t talk back. But now he’s starting to talk back.

Right now we’re working on “more.” Knowing this word would make life so much easier. “Do you want more fish?” (Goldfish crackers) – I would love an accurate answer to this question, rather than giving him more and watching him turn them into crumbs because he’s “all done.” Yesterday he was in his seat and I was putting away dishes a few feet away. He was staring intently at me with an empty tray. “Do you want more?” I asked. The brow furrowed. “More?” I repeated more slowly. The lips moved in an almost “M” motion. “More?” I asked even more slowly. “MO! MO!” Close enough kiddo, have some more fish. We’ve also been working on “please” which comes out as “eeeeese!” with a huge grin. I love please.

Sometimes I wish that we had tried out the whole baby sign thing. My suggestion for anyone with a new little one is check out baby signs that would be useful and work with your kiddo at least 30 minutes a day to practice the hand motions and the meanings of the words. Keep in mind that as their vision gets better, they start watching your lips and imitating your sounds. This is when you need to start watching your language, not later. It’s a good idea to clean up your language even before they start watching you, but truly unless you want your kid’s first word to be a cuss word you have to watch your mouth. Most of the time they imitate the last word of whatever you just said, so keep that in mind too. They’re already learning where the end of sentences are even at 6 months. Kind of crazy.

This brings us back to the idea of intentional parenting. Your child is going to imitate your facial movements and emotional reactions to stimuli. They’re going to imitate your language and how and when you use it. Look in the mirror as you’re talking – is that what you want to see from your kids? If so, kudos to you and go be a great parent. If not, think about it. Your kiddo is the combination of you and your partner (if you have one). How’s that going to work out in the long run if you don’t think about it now?