Gelli-Baff

For Christmas last year Jack and Oliver got some Gelli Baff.  It's a product that turns your bath water into gel and it comes with a dissolver.  I thought it looked pretty neat.  Yesterday for the first time, Jack asked to have a bath with it.  I had no idea what 40L of water is in the bathtub.  I eyeballed it.  I figured it couldn't be very much.  I think I made a pretty good estimate. 

Jack hated it from the second he stepped foot in it.  He didn't want to sit down but I managed to get him too.  I scooped some up to rub on him and he was completely put off.  He was all "get it off me!  get it off of me!" Oliver thought it was pretty neat until he realized Jack didn't think so and then that was it for him too! 

Thumb Sucking

Reed is a thumb sucker.  He always has been.  He would never take a pacifier.  I tried.  I would have preferred that he take a pacifier because I've been wondering how I would get him to stop sucking his thumb.  You can't exactly take it away.
I haven't minded that he sucks his thumb.  He was pretty much only sucking it when he is tired or is in bed.  I've noticed this past week that he's been sucking it more often.
Jack and Oliver both used a pacifier.  I took it away from them when they started to walk.  Jack was just over 17 months, Oliver was 14 months old.  Why when they started to walk?  Because to me, you aren't a baby anymore if you are walking and I'm not going to lie, nothing annoys me more than seeing a toddler walk around with a pacifier in their mouth.  It is one of my biggest pet peeves.
Reed at 15 months, has just started to pull to stand and is starting to cruise the furniture.  This to me, is the time to start weaning.  The problem is, you can't wean something that is attached.  At least with the pacifier you can go from having it during the day, to nap/bedtime only, to night time only to not at all.
Today, I decided it was time to try to nip the thumb sucking.  I'm using Ecrinal Bitter Nail Polish.  It is made to deter people from biting their nails.  It can also be used to deter toddlers from thumb sucking.  The package does say safe for children 30 months and over but I'm not waiting until Reed is 2.5.

I've always found it cute that he sucks his thumb.  The bigger and older he gets, the less cute I think it is.  I do know that my sister used it with my niece and it only took about 3 days before she stopped sucking her thumb.  I'm hoping it will be that short of an amount of time for Reed too, if it works at all.  A girl can hope, right?
Do any of you have experience with thumb sucking?  How long did your kid(s) suck their thumb?  How did you get them to stop or did they stop on their own? 

Breathing A Big Sigh of Relief

Back in January Jack had gotten sick.  He had made a complaint about his hip being sore.  Upon examination, I noticed he had a lump on his left upper thigh.  It was about the length of a lemon.  It was hard and tender to touch.  With that, we hopped in the car and went to the clinic.  The Drs response there was "well that's not normal, is it?"  and sent us for an x-ray with went smoothly and we scheduled an appt for an ultrasound.  That appt did not go very well.  Jack was freaked right now.  He was scared,  uncooperative, completely irrational.  She told me she could get two assistants to come and restrain him.  I told her to do whatever it is she needed to do and I left the room.  I could not sit there and witness that.  I sat in the little waiting room, Reed with me and I cried.  I felt horrible.  I felt so helpless.  He didn't end up needing to be restrained but the ultrasound didn't show anything.  We were referred to a pediatrician.  I knew this pediatrician from working in the group home and he is also the pediatrician at work in the children's clinic.  He was not concerned.  He figured Jack had probably injured himself and it was healing.  Although it had shrunk a lot in size, you could tell there was something still there.  It didn't look right.  It didn't feel right.  It didn't bother him.  That is, until he got sick again.  Whenever he would get sick or have a fever it would swell and be tender to touch.  The Dr decided to send us for another ultrasound.  He warned if it didn't show anything he would want Jack to have an MRI.  I was really nervous about his having this other ultrasound done.  He was really, really good though.  No drama.  No tears.  He was a big, brave boy.  Despite this, the test was inconclusive.  This meant an MRI would be necessary.  He had his MRI Wednesday.  He was again really, really, really good.  He was very brave.  He did all that was asked of him.  Until it was sprung on me that there was a very big chance that they would need to give Jack some contrasting solution and this would be done with a needle.  He didn't like that very much.  Much to the technician's embarrassement, because Jack moved and resisted so much, she wasn't able to give him enough solution and would need to give him another
needle.  I went into the room for that.  I hugged him, and comforted him until he had calmed down and semi-agreed to let them give him another needle.  A bribe with a trip to the toy store helped.  Just sayin'...He may or may not have a new Lego Ninjago toy. 
The doctor's office called today with the results.  She named it something but I couldn't tell you what for the life of me.  All I heard was "it isn't anything that you need to worry about.  You can choose to have it surgically removed.  This is something to discuss with the Doctor."  Good enough for me!  I will see the doctor at the beginning of September for Reed's well-baby check up so I will discuss it with him then.
My understanding is that it is soft, fatty tissue.  All I really care about is that it isn't anything serious.  Let's face it, all kinds of scenarios were playing through my head.  That is enough of the game "what is freakishly going on in my kids body?

Back to Work

It's been two full weeks now since I've gone back to work and the transition couldn't have gone more smoothly.  It of course helps we only need someone to watch the kids one day a week.  We have been able to work it out so Shawn is home with the kids two of the days I work.  This really helps keep down the cost of daycare.  We have been lucky enough to find someone who has recently graduated from ECE to come to our home to look after the boys.  It's way more affordable paying her by the hour then having them in a daycare.  Way less work for me than trying to find a daycare who can take all 3 kids, into the evening, only once a week or on an as needed basis if I want to pick up any shifts at work.  I like her.  The kids seem to like her.  Jack says he likes her and that she is good to them.  She told me she would like to gain more hands on experience.  My house is the perfect place for that.  I've got 3 boys all at different ages and stages and all with very different personalities.
Work has been going well.  I like my job.  I like it's lack of stress.  I like that I don't have to take my work home with me.  I like the hours I work.  I like the pay.  I guess I even like the people I work with.  Although it can get to be a little monotonous at times, overall I enjoy doing my job.  That has really helped with making going back so easy.  I do miss my boys though.  I like when I'm busy at work because it keeps my mind occupied.  It's once I get home that I realize just how much I missed them.  Especially because once I get home, it's time to tuck them into bed.  Then I have to wait until the morning to see them.  I'm glad I get a 3-day weekend every other weekend. 
I'm really grateful that I was able to stay home for the full year with all three of my kids.  I'm also very grateful that I get to spend as much time home with my kids as I do.  My work-family scale is pretty well balanced and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Life is mostly pretty good right now.  Jack is asking to play a game.  Why do they ask these things of me so early in the morning?  Time to go and get my ass whopped in whatever game he decides to play.  Sadly, I don't have to let Jack win most of the games we play, he can just beat me. 

Happy 1st Birthday Reed

I wanted to have this done and posted for Reed's actual birthday which was Sunday, but then life got in the way and I didn't have time to get it finished. It's finished now and that is all that really matters, right?

Happy 1st Birthday Reed.  With tons of love! xo

My First Vegetable Garden

It finally feels like spring.  Although a little cold right now, it's nice that there is no more snow, that flowers are growing and leaves are blooming.  It's nice to look out the window and see green trees.  One sunny day last week, I was cleaning out a flower bed.  I am not greenthumb.  I don't really know a plant from a weed.  It was during this time that I thought to myself that since the flowerbed isn't being used aside from a few plants, I was going to try to grow a vegetable garden.  I dug out the few plants I knew weren't weeds and transplanted them to another flower bed, tilled the dirt, and added fresh soil.  Now it's time to get serious and plan out the garden and what I am going to try to grow.  I did buy some green beans, wax beans, carrots and baby cucumbers.  I will likely also get a tomato plant or two, maybe some peppers.  Since this is my first time trying to grow anything, I'm thinking that may be enough.  Should be an interesting process.  I'm not expecting much, if anything.  It doesn't hurt to try.  I will  have to learn through trial and error.

Helicopter Mom vs Free Range Parent and Finding Balance

Helicopter Parent:  It’s a term for parents who believe their child is so vulnerable — to injury, to teasing, to disease and disappointment — that they have to sort of hover (like a helicopter) over the child, ready to swoop in if anything remotely “bad” happens.

Free Range Parent:  Common sense parenting.  Letting your child do things he can when he shows he is ready to.

I've been really struggling lately.  Especially since the weather has become nicer.  With the weather being nicer, the neighborhood kids are out and around a lot more playing.  Although I would love to be outside for 3+hour stretches at a time, what is becoming every single day, I just can't do it.  I've started to wonder when it is okay to let  your kids outside to play in your own yard/driveway without being there hovering.  I have started to let Jack out to play without my direct supervision.  His full time supervision has been downgraded to semi-supervised.  There can be anywhere from 2-7 kids ranging in ages from 4-8 outside at any given time.  Some of these kids are neighbors and others from down the street in both directions.  They tend to congregate here at our place or next door.  I go and check on things every 10-15 minutes, sometimes with just a quick head count and up date on where the other kids have gone and sometimes I just peek out, make sure everything is okay and say nothing.  Jack has done well with this.  He stays in the yard as asked.  He always comes when I call him.  He continues to play well with others.  He enjoys himself and has fun. 
I do not do this yet with Oliver.  He is too much of a wild card.  It's hard because his time outside is a little more limited having to be directly supervised still.  Poor pumpkin. 
Some of you might not agree, and think that 6 is too young but I don't think so.  I could play the "what if" game but I don't see anything productive in playing that game because "what if nothing happens and he's missed out on all that fun for nothing".
I wonder at what age it will be okay for Jack to walk himself to school.  When is it okay to ride your bike around the block on your own?  I just don't know the answers to these questions.  While I'm sure it will be different from one child to the next, how do you know when your child is ready.   Jack has shown me through the times he has been outside on his own to play that he is very capable to do so. 
I'm neither a helicopter parent or free-range parent.  I don't know if I have it in me to be a free range parent, but I'm also working hard to put away my hover-mama tendencies. I'm somewhere in the middle, trying to find the perfect balance.  What about you -- where do you fall on the protective parent continuum?