Phoenix Family Fun

2011-03-24T04:31:00.000-07:00

Wow,

its been over a year since I blogged last! Time really fly's by.

Stew and I have settled down - we bought a house. Never did I ever think that I would settle down in Dublin, buy a house in Dublin! I also never thought it was possible for me to have bought a house this early in my life. Things just sort of, fell into place.

With a generous loan to use as a deposit, and a friend of the family able to approve us for a mortgage, and house prices at the lowest they have been for a while - everything just worked out.

I love MY house (well, its not much mine, the bank owns it really!) it is in a nice small estate, an estate that has a residents notice board! an estate who organise summer games for children, and Halloween parties and other such stuff. My house faces a big green, and I am on a cul de sac, so I don't need to worry too much about the children.

I knew that this was the house i was going to buy, before we had even seen it. Before I had seen the neighbourhood, or the green it faces. I just knew. I don't know how, I just did. That didn't stop me from looking and looking at plenty of other houses. I had to make sure.

It is a three bedroom house, so nothing fancy. The attic is converted, so that makes another bedroom. The icing on the cake - it has an extension built onto the kitchen, and it was used as a play-school. Now, ever since transition year in school, where I did work experience in a Montessori that was joined to the house, I knew that this is what I wanted. My own little school off the side of my house. The house has its faults, but for us, it is perfect. I am like a mad woman trying to get MY Montessori ready - no PERFECT - for September.

My parents have built a log cabin in my back garden, and it is perfect for them, and for me. I love having them around, I love the help they give. I miss them when they are gone. I like a busy house, I like having people buzzing around.

My two little misses - not so little any more. Chloe started going to preschool full time in January, and since then, she has finally started talking. She is not as shy as she used to be, and has made friends. My shy baby has come out of her shell. She loves preschool, I'm so glad. We had a great 3rd Birthday party for her, in my new house :)

Megan, finally off of the bottle at 21 months (sound familiar - Following in Chloe's footsteps), The reasons for banning the bottle, she wasn't eating much and she still wasn't sleeping through the night. It was a hard 2 or 3 nights, but we all got through it, and she now sleeps from 7.30pm until about 7am. Sleep deprivation is no joke, and getting my sleep back now, I really don't know how I did it. Megan will be 2 in less than three weeks. 2 already??!!! I cant believe it. She really is still my baby, when Chloe was 2, she was a big girl. You know??

I tried to toilet train Chloe in January, she is three, she should be trained by now (says my public health nurse) no luck, I kept at it for a month, but I couldn't do it longer, so back to nappies. Perhaps I will try again soon.

The Price of 20 Minutes Peace

2010-02-14T05:42:00.000-08:00

I was tired, I wasn't ready to get up. So I did the unthinkable... I brought the children downstairs, I turned on the TV, gave them a packet of biscuits, gave Chloe a yogurt and laid out some toys.

I went back to bed. It was about 20 minutes before Chloe came up and literally pulled me out of bed.

That night I spent over an hour cleaning up the mess that had been created in that 20 minutes.

Was it worth it? Its hard to say. Sometimes, peace is priceless. But I hate cleaning up...

Good Day

2010-02-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

This morning, I looked out the window and the sun was shining, but the clouds were threatening to cover it up. It being Ireland and all, I bet that the clouds would win, so I took my time getting up and getting the girls ready for the day.

That meant that Chloe gave me a chance to remember why I love her so much (its been tough as of late, the two of them riding my last nerve). While Megan was crawing around (yes, she is finnally crawling at almost 10 months) Chloe climbed into bed with me and we had some fun. We sang, "If you're happy and you know it, Ticklce Chloe/Mommy" and we played "Peek-a-Boo" under the covers, and we just laughed. I really needed that reminder, you know, that its not ALL bad :).

Then it was apparent that the sun had won the battle! So as quick as lightning I threw shoes, hats and coats on the girls and chucked Megan into the buggy and we went for a walk before I had to leave to go to work.

Well, what fun! Chloe decided to chase the birds, what a sight, it made me smile. Then Chloe decided to play chase with me. She was running away with the best laugh ever. Megan and I ran after her, and Im sure that the boys who play in this particular football field wont be too pleased with the nice big marks my heavey 3 wheel buggy made right through the middle of their field. Oh Well!

It was just a great morning all round!

Then to finish off the day, Chloe was insisting to go into Megans door bouncer, and she just looked so funny! So Cute.

Good Day (Ill just leave out all the tantrum throwing, screaming parts)

"Young People" and Technology

2009-12-14T09:39:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up, I was one of the lucky ones that had a computer in the house. So in First Year of Secondary school, in Computer class, I found it very funny when the teacher was explaining how to turn the computer on, and teaching us about double clicking the mouse. After that though, computers became very popular and I grew up with all the teens knowing more about "technology" than our parents or grandparents. When i say technology, I mean computers, CD writers, mobile phones and mp3 players.
I will admit that I am not a wizz with MP3 Players, because I never "got" the idea of buying music, when you could just listen to it on the radio! Teens a few years younger than me would know more about wireless Internet and other stuff than me.

Recently Stewy got his hands on (as in he BOUGHT it second hand, not stole it!!) an iPhone, and gave it to me. While it might be a little wasted on me, I still love it just the same.

For those who don't know, its a touch screen phone. To unlock the screen you have to slide your finger from one side of the screen to the other, but in a specific spot. Imagine my surprise when Chloe held my phone for one of the first times, and was sliding her finger in the exact spot to unlock it, and she succeeded! Yes, younger people may be more "in" with technology than me, but that just takes the biscuit!

Chloes 2nd Birthday Party

2009-12-09T06:27:00.000-08:00

I had been planning it for weeks. Picking up bits and pieces for it as I went along. The day finally came for Chloe's 2nd Birthday Party.

I had invited family, and Chloe's little friends from nursery in Church. I had invited 13 children under 3! I knew 2 weren't coming, so expecting 11. We made up 14 party bags "just in case". Well, I needed them! I forgot to count Chloe's Aunty (who is 8) as a child, even though she really still is one. Stewy had invited a little boy and I forgot to count him as Stewy had done the inviting.

Anyway, with some people not coming, some bringing more of their kids than just the one, we ended up having 16 kiddies including Chloe (not including Megan who thankfully slept through most of the party!) Chaos? Madness? No, it really was great fun!

As the children arrived I had them colour in a big Christmas Tree that I had drawn. They loved it! Then we played pass the parcel. All the little gifts were Christmasy. They really loved that as well.

Then, the hit of the day, I got them decorating cup cakes. This is something that I did as a kid at all my birthday parties. I had smarties and other sweet for them to stick on their cakes. And of course, icing. Red, green and white icing, to keep in the Christmas theme. They had such a good time making them and eating them.

After that they pulled their Christmas crackers, ate sandwiches and just ran around having tons of fun!

I had decorated a small cake into a Santa face, and we sang happy birthday to Chloe. She didn't blow out the candle, but was fascinated with it.

Then as people were leaving the children got to have a party bag. Now the party bags were mini Christmas stockings with chocolate decorations and candy canes inside. They were also a big hit.

When people left we finally got to open all the presents she got. She was spoilt! She got clothes, and shoes (she loves her shoes) and endless amount of jewelry. Bags, colouring books, crayons, activity books and story books. A fairy dress, a pink bouncy ball, a toy phone. A few babies (dolls) and a barbie. She loved them all! One of her favourite things was a card! :) The card sings happy birthday, and it actually says Chloe!

All in all, it was a really great birthday party. I loved having so many children here, running around having fun. I loved that Chloe wasn't being shy, and enjoyed herself. And Chloe's Great Granny Betty did most of the cleaning up (Betty couldn't stop cleaning if she tried!) So I didnt have much to do afterward. Great. :)

Locked In

2009-12-03T02:49:00.000-08:00

I had just gotten in with the girls after been out shopping. I put Megan down in the living room and went to the downstairs toilet to do my business. Megan is screaming as she does not like it when I leave the room. Chloe is playing in the hall way.I come out of the bathroom and go get Megan. Meanwhile Chloe wanders into the bathroom and closes the door. With Megan I go to play with Chloe, knock on the door, shout "Helllooo", that kind of thing.

SHOCK

Chloe locked the door! Its a new house and I didn't even realise there was a key in the door! All I'm thinking is, "shes not even 2, HOW am I going to get her to unlock the door and come out!?". I look through the keyhole, the key is slightly turned. I txt Stewy and my sister. Stewy says to take the handle off the door and see if I can get to the key to turn it. Sister says to put a paper under the door and try shimmy the key out the door, hoping it will land on the paper.

Just then my Mother in Law arrived, she was coming to get Chloe to go out for a few hours. HA! she starts laughing at me asking what I was doing sitting on the hallway floor. All the while Chloe is playing happily away, hears her Nanny and says "Hello". My brother in law is with Mother in law (he is 16) and thinks Chloe is very funny saying hello and knocking on the door.

We finally are able to shimmy the key out the door (with much difficulty) but Chloe picks it up! We try to tell her to put it under the door (shes just 2 for goodness sakes..), no luck. Then, the crying starts. Uh oh. the key is on the floor and we get a wire hanger and put it under the door (we can see the key) Chloe freaks out at this wire thing almost poking at her and is kicking it. When we manage to hook the key on the hanger, she freaks out even more and grabs the key and throws it! This happens a couple (hundred) more times when Chloe starts to get tired. She hadn't napped yet that day and it was past nap time. She sits on the floor just bawling her little eyes out. Now we cant get to the key as she is in the way. We need a new plan. We have to take the door off its hinges.. anyone know how to do that?? No, nobody there had a clue.. So we need to break the frame of the door enough to be able to pull the door open without having to unlock it. I talk to Chloe and tell her to lie down and close her eyes to have a rest. She does and falls asleep. All the while my Brother in Law is busy wrecking the door frame!

We finally got it open and poor Chloe was fast asleep. I picked her up slowly but she woke up and wouldn't let me go for the next hour. Poor girl.

Long Time

2009-11-25T14:35:00.001-08:00

Its been a long time since I have been able to blog.
What has happened?

Well, Stewy was finishing the programme he was doing with work at end of October, and we didnt know where he would be working (or even what he would be doing!). So we decided to hand in our notice at our apartment as we decided that even if we were staying in the same county, we wanted a house, with a garden! The week before we were due to move out we STILL didnt know what the story was with Stewys job. We decided to move into the already full house of Stewarts "Ma". It was crowded, and hard to be all on top of each other, but mother in law was a great help with the girls. After 2 weeks (still not knowing what was happeneing with stewys job) we decided we needed to move out, we looked for a house and found a lovely one. We moved in over a week ago and we are still unpacking. :) Stewy finnaly starts his new job tomorrow!

Megan is sick :( She has a cold and is just misreable. Chloe had it mildly, but got over it quickly. (Shocking since she spent 3 quaters of the last year sporting a runny nose!) I said to Megan, "Oh, look, we need to clean your nose" and proceeded to do so. Chloe came over to me whinging and pointing to her nose... she wanted HER nose cleaned! Of all the things to get jealous over, she got jealous of me cleaning Megans nose and not hers!

Chloes birthday is coming up! She is going to be two. I cant believe how big she is getting, I have no idea where the time has gone. Same goes for Megan, she is just too big! Anyway, since Chloes birthday is so close to Christmas we decided to have a party a week before. I dont know where I got the idea to have a big party for her, but I am! A bunch of children from nursery at church are coming, and some family aswell. Its going to be fun! Im excited and nervous. (WHAT was I thinking!)

Oh, and other news, while all this moving out and in and out and in, our computer died :( Not so bad, Stewarts uncle is a wiz at fixing computers, and he did fix it. But we lost all our files, including all of our pictures. We didnt back them up, so they are all gone. A very hard lesson for us to learn.

I hope to start back blogging more regularly. I hope I remember my blog...

The Clocks go Back

2009-10-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

So this weekend the clocks went back. All over rollercoaster.ie there were/are Mums querying the clock change, and how will they change their little ones routine. They just have it sorted and now they've to change it! Pretty much the same posts every time the clock change comes around, whether its forward or back. Stewy was delighted about the change, all excited about our extra hours sleep. That's also how everyone else was describing it, radio, TV etc.

Well, whoever came up with that one, must never had had infants sleeping in the same house as them. WHY didn't anyone tell the children that we were supposed to sleep an extra hour.

Last night was a little tough as Megan is teething so she just wanted to be snuggled into Mummy. I really don't sleep well with anything/one snuggled into me. Then she woke up for the day quite early this morning, like she has since starting this teething thing a week ago. At this point I had forgotten about the clock change, so it was in fact an hour earlier than I thought. 5.30am! Chloe then woke and came into our room at what I thought was 8.30am, right on time. Stewy was whinging at her, telling her to "go back to bed" "give Mummy and Daddy a break". (Yeah, like that was going to work!) I asked him why he was being so hard on her, and he informed me it was actually 7.30am. I tried to explain to him that "how is she supposed to know that she should have slept an extra hour? do you think her body would just know it was that time of year?" Response - "Yeah...."

Fast forward the rest of the day and its around bedtime. Bedtime here is between 8.30pm and 9pm. This is where it gets confusing. Stewy says looking at the clock that hasn't been adjusted yet,
"Put the girls to bed at 8" (Thinking it was 7.30pm)
"At 8? no, they must go to bed at 9, to get used to the time change"
"OK, well then 8.30pm, in an hour"
"Its 6.30pm Stewy..."
"WHAT? It cant be, are you sure. It feels much later."

I did NOT get an extra hours sleep... I got an extra hour in the day. Whoever said that there are not enough hours in the day is WRONG. I am wrecked tired! I feel like I have been up for days. Its 9.15pm, and I am definitely ready for bed.

"Shes too Young!"

2009-10-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

It was Sunday morning and Stewy started saying "She's too young, too young!". What?!

Chloe had, yet again, gotten a hold of my make up bag. Yes, I have a make up bag, the make up is either rarely been used, or never been used, but that's not the point! Chloe was investigating the eye shadow, the brushes, the lip stick. She found her usual favourite, the lip gloss, and came to me so I could open it and put it on. On her, that is, not me!

The other day in Penny's, I found us (Chloe, Megan and I) hanging out at the children's accessory stand. Chloe wanted to try the hair bands, hair clips and hair bobbles (that was difficult, considering she is still practically bald!) She finally decided which packet of hair clips she wanted and we were on our way. Next, we stopped at the necklaces, with beads, big and small. It was like a girly girl heaven. Then she found a bag and was all set for the rest of the shopping trip, where I had to buy vests for the girls. Exciting, I know!

Another day, I was in a clothes shop with shoes. No sooner had Chloe seen the shoes, she was on the floor taking off her own to try on the shoes there. At peoples houses, if she spots a pair of shoes abandoned, she will try them on! She walks better in high heels than me!

In almost every shop we go into, we have to find some sort of a bag for her to carry around. I know what you are thinking, I should buy her one. But once we are out of the shop she isn't interested anymore, and if I bought her every bag she fancied in the shop, she would have a collection that would rival her Aunty Mel's!

Yes, Chloe is turning into the ultimate girly girl, and she is not even 2! Now, lets look at me... I am not the ultimate girly girl. WHERE did she get this obsession with shoes, bags, make up, and accessories in general? It just goes to prove that she has her own personality. It wasn't me who shaped it into what it is now, she is just like that.

Stewy has some life ahead of him! Hehehe. He couldn't stop saying "She's too young, she cant be into all this stuff yet, she's too young!".

My Heart Stopped

2009-10-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

So after such success of our last walk to the park, I decided to go again. Chloe walking along with her little buggy, she got a little bit ahead of me. Well, we came to a part in the path where you have to step off the path and then back on. Instead of stepping back onto the path Chloe started to wander onto the road. AHHHH.

You know when your Mom used to say "I've got eyes in the back of my head!!". Well, I don't know HOW I saw it. But I knew there was a truck coming from behind me. I didn't know how far away the truck was, I didn't know how fast it was going, I didn't know if the truck driver would be able to see my little dare devil or not. All I knew was there was a truck coming and MY little girl was in the road, completely oblivious to the dangers.

I let go of my buggy with Megan in it (bear in mind, that buggy could have also rolled right into the road as we were on a slope, but someone was watching out for me and my family) I ran into the road, grabbed Chloe by the arm and practically chucked her off the road. She started bawling crying, poor girl didn't know what had just happened. The truck drove past, and was going quite slowly, so I don't know if the truck had waited for me until I got my baby, or what had happened. All I know was, we were all OK! Phew. We were also right by the playground, so Chloe wasn't crying for too long.

It's funny, I had just been thinking about what I would do if Chloe walked into or fell into the road, I of course decided that I would do exactly what I did.

I'm pretty sure my heart stopped!

Sharing

2009-10-07T13:34:00.001-07:00

No this isn't going to be about the "joys" of teaching Chloe to share, now that Megan wants to play with all the toys.

This is about teaching Mommy to share.

So after over an hour of particular stress and chaos created by two very unhappy girls I eventually got them calmed down and playing nicely. (Still have no idea what was actually wrong with them!) I decided I deserved a treat. Since I'm trying (notice I said trying...) to enforce the rule "Strictly no junk in the house" I got a yummy yoghurt from the fridge and sat down to the computer. No sooner had I opened the yoghurt, Chloe had stopped playing with whatever it was she was playing with and was clearing the seat next to me. Megan was sitting on the floor in front of me and she was also soon looking around to see what all the fuss was. Now, I have no problem sharing! But Chloe inhales food that doesn't require chewing, and Megan has taken a liking to being spoon fed FAST. Me, on the other hand, I like to slowly eat my treat, and really enjoy it. Some for me, some for Chloe some for Megan. By the time I get back to me, Chloe is getting excited about her next spoonful and is bouncing a little, and Megan is whinging "more, now more more now now now now more". I just stopped and starting laughing! I couldn't help it, the two girls just looking at me in anticipation for their next bit of yogurt! It was too funny. Chloe started laughing with me, like she knew why I was laughing, and Megan soon followed.

I continued to share my yoghurt, I didn't get much of it :) But as soon as we were finished, Chloe took the yogurt pot from me, and brought it to the bin, calling herself a "Goo Gir" (Good Girl).

I love my girls :)

Fab Cold Morning

2009-10-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

Never thought I would say that!!

Well, it didn't start out so great. Megan woke at some awful hour and I fed and fed her until she was back asleep, but wouldn't release me. Then I could hear it, the cries of my other little girl. That feeling of disappointment that I wouldn't get to sleep just another 20 min came over me. Then I carefully pulled away from the "one" who was holding me prisoner. Phew, she didn't wake. Brrrrrr IT'S COLD! Straight to turn on the heating, for the first time since moving in here, run around the house turning on the radiators, only to find that most of them have been on the whole time, but not actually getting hot! Brrrr.

I get on with the morning routine, feeding, changing nappy's and getting dressed. It was cold out, but the sun was out, it was a fresh Autumn morning. I decided to put the warmest of coats on the girls and go for a walk. I only had the single buggy, as Stewy had taken the car with the double buggy to work. I brought along Chloe's little buggy and we set off on our "adventure".

It was today, while walking, that it hit me, Chloe is not a baby anymore.Of course, I've known for quite a while that she is getting all big and grown up, it just really hit me today. She was so so cute, waving at everyone that passed, "chatting" to me, and to strangers.

We arrived at the park, and she pointed with glee. Of course, I forgot that just yesterday it had been lashing! So everything was soaking wet, I look in the baby bag, "I have to have something in here that will dry the necessary playground items, a bib maybe?" No nothing, just one last nappy! Perfect I thought, its made to soak up wetness. Not so perfect. Chloe was soaked by the time we were finished! She also decided to clean everything in the park with this nappy! Funny site, I was the only one there, so I wasn't embarrassed into stopping her.

Great, Megan needs a feed... its freezing out here. I manage to hold her in her giant coat and feed for a while. Brrrr. Chloe announces its time to go by grabbing her buggy and saying "Cum-om" (Come on). Off we go and wave "Bye" to the park. We walk past a wall and some trees and Chloe looks around and sees a playground! She points with glee, and protests until I give in and follow her to this "newly" found park. Her buggy gets "stuck" in the grass a few times and she needs "help". When we get closer to the "new" park she looks in disgust and says "nooo ***pause*** NO!!", turns around and is ready for the walk home. :)

We passed a man playing the accordion, and she was looking at him, very concerned. She wasn't brave enough to start dancing until we had passed him a couple of feet. She inspected every window and doorway. The dogs that passed got a scream of delight from her. The people that walked by were waved at.

It was a lovely morning. We got home and I made some soup, after changing Chloe out of her wet cold clothes, we sat at the kitchen table drinking our soup, chatting.

What a big girl she is...

Multi Tasking

2009-10-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

Us women are known to be able to multi task :) You know, talk on the phone, cook dinner AND feed the baby, that kind of thing! Time is of the essence. Well, very early on in Megans life, I taught myself to feed her, and to use the computer at the same time. It was my time to check up on my friends, posts questions, and problems on my favourite website, rollercoaster.ie.

Megan was about 3 weeks old, and while feeding her, I posted on the above website, telling all the other breastfeeding Mums telling them I was in absolute agony. Toe curling pain! I got quick replies, and by the end of the feed I had latched Megan on correctly, and was in much less pain! Megan also got such a satisfying full feed. So my multi tasking was win win for both of us.

Now, however, Megan has decided that feeding time is time for her. Nothing else! If I try talk to someone, she stops feeding, and gives me a look. Similarly if someone else tries to talk to me... they get that look. I've started to put a blanket over her while feeding in public, to stop her pulling away, and exposing me to the world. So you can imagine how she reacts if I start tap tap tapping on the keyboard. I have the keyboard on the armrest of the couch. She pulls away, has a look at what I'm tapping on, gives it a couple of smacks until it falls off the arm rest and continues her feed! She even gives out to me if i dare move my arm to use the mouse!!

My multi-tasking days seem to be over.

Two Big Bright Blue Eyes

2009-09-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

In the "beginning" Megan would sleep anywhere, for as long as she liked. I, nor anyone else, could do anything about it. When I took the girls to get a picture done together, I literally could not get Megan to wake up. We shouted, picked her up, moved her around. She opened her eyes for a second or two, and then back asleep. The photographer did her best to catch the eyes open, but of course then it was done quickly, resulting in not so great pictures.

Well, its not the "beginning" anymore. Megan has become such a light sleeper. Its not even funny. She now will only sleep in the car, in her cot or nursing. That's it. Even then, she will only nap for 20 min's max at a time. Something will wake her, noise, a light, or possibly silence! In fact, I think she sleeps less than Chloe sleeps. Chloe can nap for up to 3 hours a day, and not usually less than 2 hours. Megan is having 4, maybe 5, 20min naps a day. Crazy!

Last night, Stewy and I decided to get a movie and some ice-cream (sooo good, but soo bad). We were debating whether to risk watching the movie in bed (Megan is in the cot in our room, she wakes about a billion times a night, no way I'm walking further than our room). Well, we thought, we have watched a movie with Megan in the room before... so it should be OK, right?

Well, Stewy went in first, tip-toeing. He turned on the TV, turned down the sound and started to set up the DVD. I walked in next, as I walk past the cot I just have a peek in (like most Mom's instinctively do, I think), there she lay, faced towards the TV. Two big bright blue eyes staring towards the light. I daren't move an inch, I whisper, "She's awake!". She doesn't budge from looking towards the light. I tell himself to "abort the mission, quick", as quietly and quickly as we possibly could, we got out of the room and closed the door. We listen for a few minutes, and sigh a big sigh of relief when we don't hear anything. :) She went back to sleep.

Stewy and I watched the movie on the couch.

Football

2009-09-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well, what can I say?

Everybody who knows Stewy knows that he is football MAD. Most people also know that for him to come home after playing footie WITHOUT an injury is quite unusual. So when Stewy limped in from his game last Saturday, I didn't look twice. I just carried on as usual, I didn't even ask him what happened. I didn't ask when he said he thought he would go the A&E. He sometimes overreacts (like insisting on going to the doctor on our honeymoon because he had very very bad sunburn, the doctor literally laughed) so, I still didn't bat an eyelid. He continued to moan as the day went on, then I asked. He had fallen while running and trying to turn around. Nobody tackled him, he didn't trip on someone/something, he wasn't even on the ball. He just fell.

After a chiropractor friend said he was pretty sure Stewy had damaged his crucial ligament, Stewy went to the A&E. That was about 10pm at night. Luckily, I had to go home, you know, to take care of the girls. Stewy arrived home at 6am!!!! (His Mammy drove him to and collected him from the A&E!)

The Doctor said he also thought it was his crucial ligament, but because it was too swollen, he couldn't tell for sure. It could also be his tendon, but a x-ray confirmed it was not the bone. Stewy has been booked off work until Thursday, when he will have another x-ray, and all shall be revealed. Until then, I am waiting on him hand and foot. OK, not really, but I do have to help him out quite a bit. But if I'm honest, I 'm delighted Stewy is at home with me for a few days.

Sleep and Routine, take 2!

2009-09-18T02:01:00.000-07:00

So a week had passed, and Megan had slept through 3 out of 7 nights! Great, you may be thinking, well, they were not 3 nights in a row. So now I know she CAN sleep through the night. She would just prefer to wake me up! So one night (maybe night 9/10) I gave in to her, although she wasn't hungry, I could tell, because she was just whimpering, not actually crying. I fed her anyway as I knew that it would put her back to sleep. (At this point I would like to point out that Megan never once was crying hysterically, I am not that cruel, her cry was just, "I'm tired, I want to sleep, but I want to be nursing")

Anyway, after that night we haven't a full nights sleep yet. In fact, we are slowly, but surely going back to what it was like before. I don't know if I can handle waking every 2/3 hours again. I'm at a loss at what to do. I'm thinking about it so much that I'm actually loosing sleep over it!!

I cant help but think back over Chloe's last couple of months and remember the absolute exhaustion from her STILL waking in the night. The comment the Public Health Nurse said at Chloe's 6 month check up "She doesn't have a need to be waking in the night anymore, it's just comfort". I knew she was right, but I didn't know what to do. You would think I would know better second time round, but I'm still clueless.

After letting Chloe "cry it out" at 19 months old, she is now sleeping 12 hours a night! I didn't think it was even possible. It was hard, but worth it. She needs that sleep, we, as a family, need that sleep. She goes to bed now, and without a peep, waves "night night" and goes off to sleep on her own. Why cant all babies just be able to go off to sleep without any comforts? Why does it have to be so so hard? Why are parents all around the world tortured with little sleep (except for the lucky ones...)?

Since we are there, why is it that everything you do, seem to be the wrong thing? No matter what you do, you feel like a bad parent. Ignoring a child throwing a tantrum is wrong, entertaining a tantrum is wrong. Letting the child "cry it out" is wrong, letting the child develop the routine of waking during the night is wrong. Feeding baby jar food is wrong. Feeding baby before 6 months is wrong, not feeding baby when they are clearly interested in food, and are hungry for food , is wrong. Not letting your child pick out their own clothes is wrong (they might look terrible), not giving your child some Independence, is wrong. Vaccinating your child is wrong, NOT vaccinating your child is wrong. Putting your child into a creche is wrong, not putting your child into a creche is wrong (don't get to socialise, therefore be socially retarded for the rest of their lives). Letting a child run around a shop is wrong, restraining them in a buggy is wrong. Giving them a dummy is wrong, not giving them a dummy is wrong. Having too many plastic, colourful, noisy, lighting up toys is wrong, not having enough stimulation around is wrong. You see, every choice I have ever made, seems to be the wrong one, but then, the opposite choice is also wrong. No wonder I feel like an inadequate Mother, there are too many theories out there saying that every which way, is the wrong one. And they also have "research" to back their theory, and discredit the other theory.

If only children came with an instruction manual.

Win a House on FM104

2009-09-14T04:49:00.000-07:00

OK, the radio station that I listen to here in Dublin is FM104. They are currently running a competition where you can win a house! WIN A HOUSE!

Of course, if you're not in, you cant win. Therein lies the catch. Its easy to enter. Very easy questions. However, it costs €2 per entry, and to be in with a chance of getting to the grand finale, you would have to enter 3 times a day. Not to mention that they have not announced when the competition is over, or what the finale will be.

All they are doing is waiting until enough people have entered that they have made back (or more!) their €250,000 that they paid for the fully furnished/designed/kitted out house.

Got me thinking... ALL I have to do is get 125,000 people to donate €2 to me, so that I can buy a house. Hmm.. cant be that hard! Right? OK, how about 50,000 people to donate €5. Or, 25,000 people to donate €10. OR 10,000 people to donate €25.

Not going to happen? No, I didn't think so...

The questions remains, should I enter this lottery, I mean competition, or not?

Sunny Weather

2009-09-14T04:30:00.000-07:00

Well, the regular September sunny weather eventually showed its face this past week. I really enjoyed it!

I didn't have to go anywhere, or do anything, or plan any elaborate activities. All I had to do was bring the girls and their chairs outside. Add a ball and some food, and its fun fun fun for the day.

I enjoyed it so much, that I would even consider moving to somewhere it is sunny regularly. Somewhere near the beach. Just imagine, walking from your house to the beach, just sitting making sandcastles, playing in the water, eating "sand"wiches. Huff...

A Trip Down Memory Lane

2009-09-10T03:49:00.001-07:00

Last night, Stewy and I went to his Aunt's house, to see his cousin off on his deb's. Apparently it's a big thing, and they had invited tons of people and there was tons of food (score, I didn't have to cook dinner!) It was good fun, and I got to chat to another Mom from church and get to know her a little better.

It also got me thinking... It was 6 years, almost to the day, since Stewy and I were the ones going off to Stewy's debs! We even left from his Aunts house. It was so strange. I was so nervous as I didn't know any of the people there, and I was very very shy. I hardly even knew Stewy.

Earlier that day, I was in school, in Cork. During our lunch break one of my best friends did my hair in the school bathroom! She was a pro, there were millions of clips and tons of hair spray. It looked fab! I think she also did my makeup? I then got picked up from school and got a train to Dublin, I have a sneaky feeling that my sister Jenna was there with me? Maybe on her way up to see her Dublin boyfriend (yes, we were suckers for long distance relationships) I put on my fake nails on the train and all that was left to do was put on the dress. We arrived in Dublin, and that's when it started. No, not the debs, but the beginning of Stewy being late to everything, all the time. He was late and I was even more nervous. He finally arrived, his Aunt had brought him to the train station to pick us up. Stewys little cousin was in the car (the younger brother of the cousin that went to his debs last night, are you keeping up?) and he proceeded to tell me embarrassing stories about Stewy. Like about the time that Stewy was playing football (nothing new there) in his brand new WHITE football shirt, and he slipped and landed in a pile of slippery dog poo! His back was covered, so I was told, poor Stewy was very embarrassed.

We got to the house, there wasn't anyone there yet, I was led upstairs to the main bedroom, the main bedroom of a person I'd never met before that day. A strangers house, very nerve racking. I ironed my dress and put it on, This dress was the backup dress for quite a few different debs of different girls! Stewy had invited me about a month before hand, and I didn't have the money to buy a new one and my Mom didn't have enough time to make me one. Then I did the walk, the walk down the stairs, I felt like something out of a movie! Everyone staring at me, (people had arrived) and saying "Oh wow, you look lovey". Mortified! Stewy gave me a corsage and a box of Galaxy Chocolate, how did he know that it was my favourite type of Chocolate? It was meant to be!! He got me a drink, and introduced me to people, it was all a bit strange for me, like I said, I was very very shy. Then the promised "limo" arrived. Not much of a limo if you ask me, sorry Stewy! It was just a fancy car, Stewy had to sit in front, while I sat in the back with the other couple, again, complete strangers.

We arrived at the "Red Cow", this is where the debs were being held, we hung around outside, Stewy chatting to people. Then we went in, and I saw the photographer but Stewy didn't, and I didn't want to be rude and say "Are we going to get a picture taken?", so no formal picture! We were hardly in the door, and Stewy had taken off his jacket and tie, typical!

We had dinner and then moved onto the disco part, fights started to break out, so Stewy and I decided to go and sit somewhere quite. This was the first time we got to chatting properly. This was the first time he asked me "out", as in if we could be exclusive boyfriend and girlfriend. I said "I'm not sure". Hehehe. It was a big decision, a long distance relationship is not something to be taken lightly! He didn't give up though, he kept asking me throughout the night.

We decided to leave and go to the leisure plex. We waited around for a taxi, where Stewy asked me out about a million more times ;). When we got to the leisure plex we played pool and some other computer games. I had a giggle at the pedestrian traffic lights, there was a voice that said "STOP, please wait until the green man shows", well, DUH! Stewy said, isn't that for the blind people? Uh, how are blind people supposed to be able to see when the green man shows?

The sun was up, and it was time to head home, well to his Aunts house. We decided to walk! Stewy later told me that he walked me home the long way! So that we could spend more time together, and so he could ask me a bunch more times to go out with him! I still didn't say yes! Poor guy. We got back and we cuddled on the couch where we continued chatting, and i eventually said yes! We went to (separate) bed and slept for a few hours. Got up, dropped his suit off, went to pizza hut and then I had to get the train home. That was our very first date. :)

A few months of seeing each other on weekends, and Stewy being completely broke, as he was in college and spending all him money traveling to see me, Stewy moved to Cork.

Just 6 years after that night and Stewy and I are married with 2 children. Who would of thought it. Not us, that for sure. Stewy whispered in his cousins ear, "Just think, Cath and I were here just six years ago, now we are married with 2 kids!" Poor guy, at least he didn't let the girl hear!

Sleep and Routine

2009-09-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

Well Chloe had her first night in her new bed on Monday night. She didn't really seem to notice the new bed. Or the fact that her cot had mysteriously disappeared while she was out with Daddy. She went to bed as normal and woke up as normal. She hasn't attempted to escape from the bed yet, but I'm sure she will figure it out soon enough that she actually CAN escape! So the switch is going well... on to the next daughter.

Poor Megan, I feel sorry for her, Chloe got a whopping 19 months out of getting a bottle in the middle of the night. Megan is not so lucky. This feeding every 2 hours at night is going to stop! And soon! I was always of the mindset that those babies that sleep through the night have some lucky parents. I was jealous, but those babies only come around once in a blue moon. Well, I am going to change MY luck. It was ME that got Chloe addicted to the bottle, it was ME that got Chloe used to waking in the night for a bottle, so it is going to be ME that gets Megan to sleep a decent amount of hours. Something she is well capable of! So I started the "pick up put down" method yesterday. For those who don't know, this is a method to get baby used to putting themselves to sleep, without any other form of "comfort". You do exactly as it says on the tin, you put baby down, let them cry for a certain amount of time, pick them up and calm them, and repeat until baby is asleep. So far so good, the HARDEST part is doing it during the night, when baby is used to being picked up and fed. Yesterday I also decided that I am going to feed Megan at 4 hour intervals, I figure its not fair to feed on demand during the day and then be strict during the night, too many mixed messages. She did fine with the method during the day, and being put down last night... but during the night was a different story.

Stewy was banished to the spare room (actually he begged me to let him sleep there). Megan was put down at 10pm, no problem. Then it started at 1am, she whinged but put herself back to sleep. At 2am she was now getting cross, as the minutes dragged pass, she got more and more cross. I picked her up, but a few minutes later when she realised I wasn't heading towards the bed, she got very very cross. I offered her a bottle of water (bearing in mind she hates the bottle anyway, never mind water coming out of it!), I wanted her to know that this is all she is getting if she wakes in the night. I put her down, very very very cross baby. I waited about 20 min and picked her up again. Put her down, this time I turned on her mobile which has very soft lights that go around, she switched from concentrating on the lights to crying every so often, and then she drifted off to sleep when the mobile stopped. (3am - not too bad me thinks!) She then woke at 5.40am, and I fed her, I told myself I would feed her after 5am, went straight back to sleep after I put her down awake and she then woke at 8, she went back to sleep and woke at 9.45!!! SUCCESS. Recently she was going to bed at 11pm, feeding every 2 hours and waking up for the day at 6/7am. I will see how the next week goes, I am not such a hard ass and if she doesn't get used to this after a week then I will feed her at night and try again in a month. But no way am I going to have a 19 month old waking at night again, not going to happen! Sorry Megan.

What a Weekend!

2009-09-06T06:28:00.000-07:00

Well, my weekend started on Thursday this week. My biggest sis, Keri-Anne came to visit from Seattle. She was coming over for the wedding of her Maid of Honour. She arrived Thursday morning, and left this morning, Sunday. So the trip was short and sweet, well mostly sweet! I picked her up on Thursday morning and we drove straight to Cork from the airport. Megan was not too impressed with the long journey and we stopped twice on the side of the road to calm her. When we got to Cork, we just chilled out with the rest of the family. It was great to have the full set of the “Spear Clan” together all at once. It was strange though to have Keri-Anne here, and not her daughter Emma. Friday, Keri-Anne had the wedding. Jenna and I tried to go out with the kids, but they were all cranky! So the trip was cut short and we went home.

Its Friday night that the “fun” began. A few of us sat up till 1am just chatting, it was nice. Then it was at 4am that Jenna was rudely awoken by shouting and windows smashing just outside. Understandably she was a bit freaked out, especially since there had been a stabbing very close by the night before. She gave her hubby, David, a kick, but he just grunted and rolled over! Typical! She then thought about our little sister who had gone out the night before and she wasn’t sure if she was home yet. Jenna didn’t want her to come home in the middle of what was going on outside, so rang her but it turned out she was already asleep downstairs on the couch. The Garda FINALLY arrived. (The Garda station in one of the biggest suburbs of Cork City is NOT open 24 hours so the Garda had to come from somewhere else, that’s a whole other rant).

It was the next morning that the bad news got to me, MY car, and innocent bystander, shall we say, had its window smashed. Glass everywhere! In the car seat, on the road, ALL over the car! Well, this SUCKS big time. I phoned the Garda, again, not open until 10am, and I reported it. Then got hold of my insurance company. I just renewed my policy with a broker, my insurance before would have covered it, my insurance NOW… of course it doesn’t cover windscreens, that would be too easy. I start ringing around, a new window will cost €160 odd, and I won’t get it for 5/6 days. Well, I’m due to make a 3 hour trip that day! UGH. I start ringing car dismantlers, not a chance, no window for me L. Then one of them says they do have one, for €35! Yippee, the day is turning around. I ring them back to ask when I can pick it up…

I say – I rang about the window for the Citroen Piccasso

He says – No, it was for a Citroen Xsara

I say – Yes, a Citroen Xsara Piccasso like I said to you earlier

He says – no, that’s a people carrier

I say – Yes?

He says- don’t have a window for you then

****beep beep beep***

NOOOOOOOO

Meanwhile, Jenna and my Dad are cleaning out the car, so much glass. In the boot, other side of the car, in the front. My dad then cuts a hard piece of plastic in the shape of my window. Thank you Dad, it was perfect. The car wasn’t cold on the journey to Dublin, it wasn’t noisy, just perfect. But what a way to spend Keri-Anne’s only free day in Ireland. Sorting out my car that was wrecked by completely selfish scum.

I just don’t understand, why oh why do people do these things! It was just a royal pain in my ass (pocket) and it didn’t do them any good to have done it. They don’t even know me, nor I them. Ugh.

Yummy Mummy v's Frumpy Mummy

2009-09-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

So I went out today to meet up with a few Moms that I met from rollercoaster.ie. They are all Mums to baba's about the same age as Megan. We met in a Starbucks Cafe. Well, didn't I feel right out of place. They are all dressed so well with their hair and make-up perfect, with the top of the range buggy's, baby bags and baby clothes. I on the other hand have a sports bag as a baby bag, a second hand (top of the range mind you!) double buggy, and baby clothes from Penny's. I am not dressed well, and not a hint of make up on, and hair all scraggly. To top it all off they started talking about the "must-have" baby toys, toys that I can assure you are WAY too expensive for me to even look at! Don't get the wrong idea, they are a lovely bunch of women, and they don't judge me for being frumpy (well at least I don't think they do!?). I did feel right at home when they were talking about things like, sleeping through the night, addicted to the boob/dummy, not eating enough/too much, and hitting milestones. They are all just such yummy Mummies, and I couldn't help but feel a little envious.

Of course there is always the fact that even if I did have a clue of how to apply make-up, I would probably be too lazy to apply it every morning. People at church would be lucky if I decide to apply a little bit of eye make-up. But I would like to think that if I knew how to do my hair, that I would. I like my hair to look good, but really how do women manage to keep their hair down and for it to not get all tangled and look scraggly!? Without it looking like there is a ton of hair products in it? I would also like to think that if I knew how to dress like a yummy Mummy, that I would get good substitute clothing for cheaper in Penny's and Dunnes and still look great. I would love Trinny and Susannah to tell me "What not to Wear" or more importantly, What TO Wear!! Without making a TV appearance of course, how embarrassing.

So I did what I do best when I need a pick me up, I went shopping! Not such a great idea considering the last post, need to save money, not spend it! I bought my very first pair of skinny jeans (although I'm not sure they can be called skinny jeans unless you are a UK size 10 or under, like my skinny sister Jenna!!) They seem to be popular at the moment, and I wanted to feel like I was "in-fashion". They were only €5, so not a huge spend. I then had to buy boots (kind of like Ugg boots, but not) to go with the jeans, but they were only €9. (I'm trying to justify buying them by saying they were a bargain, but in reality I don't really NEED them). Then I noticed that its mostly teens that seem to be wearing the above items. Am I trying to be a teen again? So what if I am! I'm only 23, I deserve to dress young and not like a frumpy Mummy!

On a completely different note, Chloe is biting her nails! She is biting them so short that I'm sure that it's got to hurt. I blame myself, I very rarely cut her nails with a nail clippers because the first time I did, I chopped the tip of her finger off, no joke! So, I bit her nails and now she bites her nails. Even her toe nails!! (not so much her toe nails, but still, I have seen her do it!) So I went to the chemist to get that stuff that you put on kids nails to stop them biting them, but she is too young for it, as I suspected. Have no idea what to do, I want her nails to grow strong like her Daddy's, not weak like mine.

Megan is waking quite a few times at night, I am getting exhausted. She is waking for a suck on the boob, not a drink, just a suck. I have no idea what to do! I put a blue outfit on Megan today (something her Aunty Mel brought her back from America) and it looks lovely! Her eyes are so blue, so it looked really well. Must remember to take a pic.

Saving Money

2009-09-01T05:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are all at it. Thinking about where we can save, what we can cut down on. It's been on my mind as well, I'm not stressing about it, the thought it just always there, at the back of my mind - "Do we need this, should we spend this, can we get it cheaper somewhere else".

Well I didn't realise how much it was on my mind until yesterday. We were at a shopping centre (I know, not a great place to be when you are trying to cut costs) and I needed to pee. Me being the lazy person I am was thinking "Ugh, the toilets are ALL the way over there, I'll wait till we get home". Then we passed a McDonalds... so in I went thinking "Oh well if I use the toilet here, its saving on using toilet paper at home". WHAT? Did I just think that?? Did that thought seriously just enter my head!!?

OK, we were running out of toilet paper at home, and I had made a mental note that I needed to buy more. But we are certainly not that badly off that I need to use the toilet in public places to save a little bit extra. How much would that save anyway? A few cents? Probably less.

I was also thinking the other day about how much money we are saving since I am breastfeeding. We spent SO much on formula with Chloe. A box of formula that cost €13 would get us just over a week. That's for a whole year! Plus the cost of bottles and the cost of new bottle teats as she got older. Its quite a bit of money added up! Maybe the terrible breastfeeding rates here in Ireland will get better in "the current economic climate". Maybe the formula companies realise this, they have already reduced their prices. That box that cost me €13 a few months ago is now €10!! I was really being ripped off, as were plenty of other Mothers, shame on them!

We have started to see a hole in the "wean Chloe from bottles" plan. She is waking up at 6 or 7am, she hasn't done that in quite a while, but when she used to we would give her a bottle and she would sleep for a few more hours. These last few days she has been wrecked. I lie in bed thinking, should I give her a bottle to go back to sleep? Or is that just going backwards? She is so tired, I don't know what to do! She is also constantly hungry. Always pulling me to the fridge, but I don't know what to feed her. She doesn't like sandwiches, and I don't have much of an imagination, so any suggestions welcome. :)

First Post :)

2009-08-31T05:09:00.000-07:00

I have never blogged before! I'm not even sure if this will last past a week or a month. I may not write in it often, and sometimes I may write more than once a day. This will mainly be to keep my family (Spear Family) updated on the Phoenix Family! The Spear Family, who are living in various parts of Ireland (and USA). My parents who are preparing to go on another mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, so in a few months they could be anywhere in the world. Leaving the "Spear Clan" completely separated from each other **sob sob**.

To update on where I am right now in life, I have two beautiful girls. Chloe, almost 21 months and Megan almost 5 months. Stewy is working in a cafe in Guinness (Dublin) and at the end of October he could be offered a job anywhere in Ireland. I wish we knew now where we are going to be, its scary not knowing.
A recent "big" event in Chloes life - We "weaned" her from the bottle. Not so much wean as taking it from her never to be seen again! That first night without the bottle might have been the worst night EVER! She cried for almost TWO hours! But, 3 nights later and she only cried for a few minutes. She now goes to her cot with Daddy, who reads her a story and says prayers with her. Daddy leaves, and there's not a peep out of her! WOW didn't think it was possible. Its a little different if Mommy tries to put her to bed. :) Nap time during the day she can cry for up to 10 min (usually only 2 or 3 mins) and if I put her to bed at night it can be a few mins of whinging aswell. The sudden need for "bedtime routine" was brought about when we realised that Megan was quickly growing out of the moses basket. Next step will be to put Chloe into the beautiful new bed we bought for her and giving Megan the cot. I think Stewy will do the switch this weekend while the girls and I are in Cork (I don't want Chloe actually seeing her cot being brought into our room for Megan.) Will let you know how the move goes.
Megan- Well she is growing WAY too fast! :( I had a chat with her, and begged her to stay little, and be my baby forever, but no chance. Pretty mean of her! ;) She also rolled over a few weeks ago, a few times, but hasn't since. Its something Chloe never did (lazy girl) so it was really exciting for Stewy and I. We just bought her a mobile for her move to a big girls cot, I tried it out with her the other day and she went straight off to sleep! Without a dummy, or a breastfeed, or me rocking and singing to her, amazing. Chloe was never interested in her toys, so we never saw a need to get one for her, but Megan is just fascinated.
Have I mentioned that Chloe and Megan are completely different babies! They are so different, its like being a first time Mom all over again. Chloe absolutely adores her baby sister, if Chloe has been away for the day with Daddy or Nanny, when she gets home she cant wait to see Megan and give her kisses, forget Mommy! :) Its cute. At the playground, if another child tries to even look at Megan, or if they are just passing by, Chloe will stand by the buggy and snarl at the poor child. Chloe is protective.
Me - I am trying to loose the baby weight, from both babies :) I am getting there, slowly. If I could motivate myself to do more exercise (which I do with sparkpeople.com -love it) I would lose it faster. Just need motivation, anyone else have any to spare??
Stewy- Has just set up and started playing in a football team "Ongar Rovers". Ongar is a village (town??) in Dublin, but funnily enough, most of the team don't even live in Ongar, including Stewy! The team is not doing so well yet, they have won 1 out of 3 games, I wont go into the scores, I might get into trouble! :)

Ok, well, until next time (whenever that may be, tomorrow, next week, next month??)