Anything goes Thursday: 18 month / 5 month update

Phew! We made it through Christmas and the kids were champs. It was a nice holiday. We felt a bit rushed and actually Maisie didn't open her presents till the 26th because of us rushing around visiting family.

Our kids were of course spoiled by family and Calan is loving all cars, trucks, and trains. Total boy. Maisie has discovered her feet, so little is competing with those, but I am sure that she will love all of her toys as well soon enough.

We are visiting my parents right now, finishing up our holiday celebrations. And of course, Calan is sick. I had a good 18-month streak of healthy kids, but yesterday Calan had some kind of stomach bug and today he is just whiny. We are surviving and he seems to be doing much better. And thank God for baby Tylenol.

Here's what the kids have been doing this month:

Sleeping

• Calan -He is still half waking up a couple times in the middle of night, so between Maisie and Calan I am up quite a bit for short periods of time. It kind of stinks, but not sure what else I can do other than ignore it. However, when he got sick the other night, I did not rush in at all and wish that I had. I am so use to him waking up that it is hard to know when something is really wrong. Because of the holiday, his naps have been a bit off too. I am hoping when we get home they go back to being 2.5-3 hours. He needs it, and so do I.
• Maisie - She successfully sleeping in her pack-and-play for all naps. She is longer sleeping with a blanket on her head. She sleeps so well for naps. I love it. I just wish her night sleeping was as good has her day sleeping. She wakes up each night at 2:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. mostly to just comfort nurse. I am realizing that now that she is gaining weight and eating a lot during the day, it is officially time to start training to get her to sleep through the night. We are hoping that it is just going to take a few nights and are going to try this weekend. Fingers crossed.

Eating

• Calan - Veggies are still a struggle, but I just keep offering them and I just don't give him more of what he likes unless he eats some of the veggies. He is doing better. He isn't starving to say the least. Over the holidays, he obviously was not eating very well and was pretty distracted with all the people around. With him still a little sick today, we are sticking to the BRAT foods (Banana, Rice, Apple, Toast).
• Maisie - SHE IS GAINING WEIGHT! Yeah! Maisie is breastfeeding and drinking formula at most meals. She nurses and then drinks a 4-oz. bottle. In the middle of the night I am just nursing and if we are out, she just gets formula. Our doctor would like us to start solids, but I think that we are going to hold off a little longer. She just doesn't seem ready to me. Probably by the end of January though we will start. Calan was 5.5 months when we started with him and I am going to probably wait till at least then too with her.

Milestones

• Calan - He is learning every day. He just seems like a toddler and not a baby anymore. His vocabulary continues to expand by leaps and bounds. He is getting really good at following simple instructions. We have really started to utilize time-outs for him, which isn't a milestone that I am too happy about.
• Maisie - Maisie's feet are her pure enjoyment right now. Little is competing with her feet. She is loving her voice as well and is laughing and smiling all the time. We are loving it as her parents. She just gets so excited and happy that she shrieks with joy. Love it. She is so close to rolling over back to stomach. She gets 3/4 of the way over, but just can't seem to get her arms out of the way to get there completely. Hopefully soon she will be rolling all over the place. I can't wait till she is taking toys from Calan.

Activities

• Calan - I have been doing a lot of little crafts with Calan. Some he has likes like bath paints and some he has not. But I have noticed that he is getting better with painting and coloring than he was in the past, so something is working. He is pretty cute with his toy golf clubs. We say "1 hand, 2 hand, Swing," and he holds the club with two hands and hits the ball. He is so cute looking like a little golfer and Bob just loves it. He even lets the club slide through his hands like his dad. Love it.
• Maisie - She is getting really active with her floor mat and hanging toys. She loves to grab toward them and batting at everything. We have tried the exersaucer, and she likes it a little bit, but still looks a little uncomfortable in it, so we haven't been using it much at all.

Schedule

• 7 a.m. - Maisie wakes up and eats.
• 7:30 a.m. - Calan wakes up
• 8:00 a.m. - Calan eats breakfast has milk.
• 8:30 a.m. - Calan playtime in his pack and play. Maisie starts her nap.
• 9:30 a.m. - Calan dress, helps with some chores with me.
• 10 a.m. - Maisie eats, Calan sits and "reads" books or puzzles
• 11:30 a.m. - Maisie naps / Calan eats lunch
• 12 p.m. - Calan blanket time
• 12:30 p.m. - Calan naps;
• 1 p.m. - Maisie eats / Maisie & mom time
• 2:30 p.m. - Maisie nap
• 3 p.m. - Calan wakes up / snack
• 4 p.m. - Maisie wakes and eats
• 4:30 p.m. - free time (this could be errands, dinner prep, sibling time, anything to fill till dinner)
• 6 p.m. - dinner
• 6:20 p.m. - bath time
• 6:40 p.m. - Calan gets ready for bed; drinks milk
• 7 p.m. - Maisie eats
• 7:30 p.m. - Calan and Maise bedtime
• 10:30 p.m. - Maisie eats
• 2:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.- Middle of the night feeding for Maisie

Overall

• Calan - Calan was so good during the holidays and with so many different schedules and environments. We were a little exhausted chasing him around, but with everything said and done, he was so god for an 18-month-old.
• Maisie - Love her and love the fact that she is breaking out of her hermit shell. She is full of smiles and laughs. She is growing so quickly now there is no stopping her. I can't wait to see all the milestones she hits this month. Can't believe that next month she will be 6 months. Crazy.

Wordless Wednesday: Hanging out in the U.P.

Toddler Tuesday: Tasty Snowmen

Raw sugar, marshmallows, corn syrup
skewers, and decorations.

What better way to get Calan excited about crafts then to add sugar? Last week, we made some marshmallow snowmen. It was a simple craft that was messy, but tasty.

What you need:
Skewers
Marshmallows
Corn syrup
Sugar crystals
Food markers, black and orange sprinkles, or anything else to doctorate your snowmen

Take three marshmallows and put them on a skewer. Then paint with corn syrup and roll in sugar. Add decorations, which should just stick to the corn syrup too.

Calan did really well putting the marshmallows on the skewer. But because he started to paint anything other than the marshmallows with corn syrup, I ended up doing that part. He helped dress the snowman in sugar and I added the face with frosting gels.

He started to have a little bit of break down when the corn syrup and sugar stuck to his hand until I finally got him to lick it and then it was pure joy. I let him take one bite and then it was clean up time.

We didn't do anything with the snowmen this year. We just looked at them for a few days and then tossed them. But next year, maybe we will package them up and give them out as hot chocolate stirrers. Sounds delicious to me.

    

Monday Game Plan: U.P. bound

I can't believe that it is already 12:30 on Monday. I have been running around like a crazy person trying to get us all packed for our trip up north to my parent's house. It is about a 5.5-hour trip without kids; with the kids it takes us little over 6.

We are officially in the car on our way up. Praying Calan falls asleep quickly and stays asleep for most of the trip. I am hoping to only stop once, but we usually have to stop twice. Once we are up there, it is pure relaxation. I mean, who takes better care of you than your mom?

So here is the plan:

Goal: To have fun and relax as a family and hopefully have fun in some snow.

Monday: Packing and driving up to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to visit my parents and relax.

Tuesday: Take the kids to Tequanimum Falls.

Wednesday: Go visit my grandfather (who is in a nursing home up there) and head to Grand Marais for dinner at Bob's favorite brewery.

Thursday: Relax and pray that there is snow to play in. We will head home at some point depending on weather and what we are doing.

Friday: I have a doctor appointment in the morning and then just spending the day at home catching up. Probably grocery shopping and laundry.

Saturday: Pack up Christmas decorations. Probably just staying home for New Year's Eve. We just use family members for babysitters and hate to ask them so we can go out, so home it is.

Sunday: Home sweet home. Relaxation. Our church is not having services, so we will have a well deserved pj-type of day.

I don't have meals planned for this week since we are obviously on vacation. But, I will be making us at some point the baked egg muffins I made for us on Christmas Eve. I am seriously in love with them.

Have a good week!

Baked Muffin Eggs

Christmas Eve breakfast. Mom's Baked Egg Muffins, cinnamon roll, and oranges. 

One of my favorite things right now is eggs baked in a muffin tin. They are the perfect size for Calan and so easy to make. I tried these breakfast cupcakes awhile back and they were really good, but Mom's baked Egg Muffins are amazing. We had them about 2 weeks ago and I just had to make them again for Christmas Eve morning. 

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 6 slices bread, crusts removed
• 6 eggs
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 6 tablespoons heavy cream
• 6 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese, or as desired

Directions

1. Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate; crumble and set aside.
2. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups.
3. Combine the melted butter and maple syrup in a small bowl. Flatten a piece of bread with a rolling pin. Brush the bread with the butter mixture. Line the muffin cup with the flattened bread. Repeat with the remaining bread slices. Bake in a preheated oven until the bread crisps, about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Sprinkle crumbled bacon into the bottom of the toast cups. Crack an egg into each cup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top each egg with 1 tablespoon of heavy cream and 1 tablespoon cheese. Bake until the whites are just set, about 10 to 14 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to your taste.

Grateful Friday: Peaceful Holiday

So I totally should have saved yesterday's blog for today, but oh well, I could probably write a new blog every day about things that I am grateful for, but I won't. I will save them for Fridays. Today, I am most grateful for a peaceful holiday. 

I say it every year. (Don't we all?) That next year I won't let the holidays get the best of me. That each year, I will enjoy Christmas and that it won't get out of control. That Christmas won't get the best of me and that I will remember what Christmas is really about. Christ and family. 

I am happy to say that I have never felt more at peace and excited about Christmas. We have a busy few days, but everything seems so manageable and (dare I say) fun. I usually have something that I am stressing about that is usually out of my control, but has me worried anyways. 

I can't quite pinpoint why this year is different. Why this year is more peaceful than years past. But it is and I am thanking God for the wonderful feeling. It is great. 

I am enjoying each day we are spending as a family. I am loving Bob being home. I am loving Calan and Maisie and all the laughter that is filling our house. I wish I could bottle this feeling and saved it for a rainy day when I want to throw in the in the towel. But today, I am grateful for peace of mind. 

Merry Christmas. 

Anything goes Thursday: Partner parenting

I remember telling Bob when I was pregnant with Calan in a pretty urgent, emotional, hormonal, crazy pregnant tone that I didn't want to be a stay-at-home mom who was afraid to leave her children home with her husband. While the thought was pretty irrational since I know Bob and knew that he would never be "that" type of dad, I still worried about me, my control issues, his passive issues, and how we would work as parents.

I love the father that my husband is to our children. I love that we are true partners when it comes to raising our children. He doesn't leave all decisions to me. He doesn't expect me to do everything. He doesn't expect our children to be perfect. He doesn't expect me to be anything more than I am. 

I think that we work so well as parents together because we realize without an us - our marriage, our husband and wife relationship - there is no us - our family, our happy home. 

Now, I know that many families know that and that I am not saying anything new here and that by saying it, I am not trying to say anything more than how happy I am that I have that. 

I was not raised in such a household because of many circumstances and I think when I told Bob in my urgent, emotional, hormonal, crazy pregnant tone that I was just afraid. I know how quickly things change and how quickly partner parents become solo parents. 

Last night we went out shopping and to eat and I just couldn't help but sit back and enjoy the fact that we can do those things and enjoy doing those things because we get to do them together. 

OK, enough kumbaya blogging. Have a good day!

Wordless Wednesday: No longer little bug

Toddler Tuesday: Bath Paint

Ingredients: White/clear soap, corn
starch, and food coloring. 

I have mentioned before that I have been on the search for toddler activities to do with Mr. Calan. Some activities have been a success and some (like our sad lamb) have been complete failures. Yesterday, I created some bath paints for Calan to play with. It was a huge success. He painted for about 30 minutes, which is huge in toddler world, and then we just cleaned up with a bath. Calan, Bob, and I all had a great time. Calan kept saying wow and ohh and wow again as he painted on the walls.

Makes about four 1/4-cup paint jars.
I got the cute bear containers from
the  dollar store. 

To create your own bath paints, all you need is white or clear soap, corn starch, and food coloring. I found the recipe at a fun mom blog Meet the Dubiens. Take 1 cup soap and mix well with 4 tablespoons of corn starch. Divide the mixture among 4 small containers with tight lids. Mix in a few drops of food coloring and viola, you have your own bath paints. 

We are going to take our paint with us up to my mom's house after Christmas. She kind of lives in the middle of no where, so I have been trying to plan some activities that I know Calan will do while we are there. I can see bath tub painting as a favorite for years to come. 

Monday Game Plan: Holiday week is here

All Christmas shopping is done, all presents are wrapped, and now it is time to get all loose ends tied up before Sunday. Bob is on vacation this week and next. This week we are getting some loose end items taken care of and getting ourselves ready for the holidays.

Here is this weeks game plan:

Goal: To stay organized and not feel rushed through the holidays.

Menu

• Monday: Italian sausage with sauteed green peppers and onions over brown rice. 
• Tuesday: Baked chicken with butternut squash and sliced apples
• Wednesday: Chicken tortilla soup
• Thursday: Leftovers
• Friday: Chinese takeout after church
• Saturday: Christmas Eve
• Sunday: Christmas 

Events

• Monday: Wilson/Hewines' women cookie exchange. (I made Peanut Butter Oatmeal cookies. The easiest cookies to make and a family favorite.)
• Tuesday: Meeting Eleanor M., friends' daughter who is a week younger than Maisie. Also, my parents fly back from Boston and are spending the night.
• Wednesday: Search for Christmas outfits for myself and Bob. (Of course the kids are all set.)
• Thursday: Clean house and start packing for our trip to the UP (we leave Monday). 
• Friday: Visit with the Pisano/MacLachlan family. Christmas service at Kensington Church.
• Saturday: Christmas Eve. Morning exchange with Wilson siblings. Evening dinner at Bob's aunt's with all of my father-in-law's family.
• Sunday: Christmas. Brunch with my mother-in-law. Finish packing for UP. Dinner with my mother-in-law's family. 

Here's to a good and busy week! Merry Christmas.