Please Welcome Veruca Salt to the Family

Princess has been driving me BONKERS for the last 8 months or so. She used to be so sweet, obeyed really well, went right to sleep at night and naptimes. Not anymore!

Frankly, if I saw a child whining and throwing the types of fits that Princess constantly throws, I would wonder why the parents didn't discipline better. I really have to learn not to judge without knowing the whole story.  Princess has turned into one of those whiny, screaming, "Gimme NOW!" kids I always dreaded. And it's not because of lack of discipline. Lately, time-outs, removal of privileges, and spankings are all common occurrences at our house. I keep telling myself, "It's just a phase, it's just a phase, it's just a...Princess! For the 11th time today, stop pouring the milk carton out on the floor!!!"

I was venting about this to a friend the other day and she responded by asking me how much quality time I really spend one-on-one with Princess. I shrugged it off. I mean, I spend time with her every day, she's not in daycare and we're constantly together. But then I started thinking. I remember before Little Man was born and and I quit my job at the B&B to babysit four mornings a week. This meant that Princess was no longer at her cousin's house every day of the week while I worked and instead, was able to come with me when I babysat. I saw this as a wonderful change, she saw a change. Having spent so much time at Will's house ever since she was a tiny baby, the sudden change was devastating for her. She was pretty crabby and hard to manage for a while until she finally adjusted several months later.

Last May, just as Princess was getting used to my new job situation, I had Little Man. Who refused to eat, sleep or stop screaming for the first several months. He took up ALL of my time at first because he was so difficult, and I was unable to do much with Princess other than throw some food on the table at mealtimes. Not only was she not getting Mama's attention anymore, but she also had to listen to a screaming baby. Many times, she would either cover her ears, tell him to be quiet, or just run into her room and hide out in there.

Little Man finally started turning into an adorable happy baby around 3-4 months. Incidentally, this was when I also started my at-home online boutique which sucked up a lot of my time. While I still think this has been a good move for me and my family, it meant that I still didn't have much time for Princess. Now that I've got an inventory made up, I'm not as busy with that as I was before and I'm able to do more with Little Man. However, she isn't able to switch off her terrible behavior just because things are better. From now on, I plan to spend a little time each morning, while Little Man is napping, giving all my attention to Princess. Hopefully, after about a year of doing this, she will snap out of it and turn back into the sweet, loving child I had before.

Unsolicited Advice:
No matter what you have going on in your life, remember that your children will grow up quickly. Be sure to enjoy every stage (even the bad ones!) because it won't last long and soon they'll be moody teenagers who hate us.

Care To Dance?

Princess is having a ballerina birthday party for her 3rd birthday next month. Ballerina birthday supplies are surprisingly hard to come by so I'm searching Ebay and Etsy for decorations and making some myself.
Here's what I've got so far and what I'm planning to get:

Invitations from Ebay
http://bit.ly/i9MrTm

Possibly ballerina silhouette cupcake toppers from Etsy seller Two Sugar Babies
http://etsy.me/eCjLN6

Tutu Outfit
Made by Moi, of course! I'm almost finished with this. It includes a hairbow, tutu, matching tutu for her favorite doll, and applique shirt. Pics will be up on Facebook when it's done.
Here's a link to the album:
http://on.fb.me/f3fmGF

Ballerina Dress
Also made by Moi! I made one for Princess and one for her doll. I figured she probably won't want to wear a tutu for the whole party so now she has a backup outfit


Paper plates and plastic silverware
From a party store in colors that coordinate with the party theme

Ballerina Cake
Your basic bowl-shaped cake "skirt" with a barbie stuck in the top. Sounds tasty! Hope it turns out because I've never made one of these before.

Ballerina Garland
Designed and handcrafted by...Moi! Does anyone else think I'm putting too much work into a 3 year old's party?

I Told You So...

The plan for Christmas was to drive 6 hours on Christmas Eve to celebrate with relatives, then drive 6 hours back the day after Christmas. Except that we live in Minnesota where the record for the most snow in December has been surpassed this year and was added to on Christmas Eve. So we decided not to risk getting stuck somewhere with 2 small children and stay home instead. We missed spending time with family, but it sure was nice to be able to spend a quiet Christmas at home. Christmas morning, we did the stockings and gifts.  Little Man was thrilled with his toy puppy that barks and walks that Princess gave him (and that she keeps trying to take back since she loves it as much as he does). Princess got a dollhouse and accessories from Hubby and me. I had asked him before Christmas if he would help me put the dollhouse together so I could wrap it up. He told me to wrap it up in the box and we'd put it together on Christmas. Here's the conversation that took place Christmas morning after opening gifts:

Me: Didn't I tell you we should've put that dollhouse together a week ago?

Hubby: Part of the fun of (Stupid hinges!) Christmas is (These directions are worthless!) watching someone put your toys together (throws screwdriver in frustration)

Princess: I wanna play! Waaaaaa!



So yeah, next year we're assembling all toys in advance.
My kids have a very special tradition of either being sick or cranky on major holidays. Not being the kind of kids who break tradition, they were (thankfully) both healthy, but crabby.  Little Man wasn't too bad since he's easily distracted with a toy or pacifier, but Princess was....well, let's just say that if there was a Santa, he probably would've come over last night to take back all her toys.

Here's the loot. Keep in mind that these are just the gifts Hubby and I bestowed upon our little angels. This does not include gifts from friends, relatives, etc..



Big news that I'm very excited about since potty training turned out to be such a nightmare.  Princess is fully trained. I know I put that in the last post too, but yesterday (Merry Christmas!) we took the last step and let her sleep in her big girl "unners" instead of changing into a pull-up because it had been over a week since she had an accident, sleeping or awake. We're done!!!!! Just one in diapers! And this time around, I absolutely refuse to start potty training until he's good and ready. I don't care how much pressure I get from people, if they want him potty trained earlier, they can do it themselves.

Unsolicited Advice: I think this goes without saying, but assemble all toys before the Big Day. Oh, and it probably isn't a bad idea to remove all toys from their packaging so you don't have the traditional "I want it now!" tantrum.

Profound Thoughts....HA!

I had something very profound to write and then Princess decided to stand right next to me and throw a fit because I won't give her a potty treat until she actually goes potty. Profound thoughts go straight out the window when a child is throwing a tantrum near me. As you can guess, I don't have too many profound thoughts anymore.

Methinks Princess may be a bit spoiled. For her birthday I'm making her a tutu outfit which includes a tutu, applique shirt, hairbow, and matching tutu for "Mink Baby" (her favorite doll which just happens to have a pink outfit). I'm also making her a pillowcase dress and matching dress for Mink Baby. Everything will, of course, be ballet theme. She is my little Princess and my little ballerina. She loves anything frilly and girly and the pinker the better. At a garage sale last fall, I found a Disney dress that is pink with tulle for the skirt and sparkles. I held it up and asked Princess if she wanted me to get it for her. She responded by attempting to strip off her clothes right then and there so she could put it on. I managed to keep her clothes on her until we got home, but then she HAD to wear the dress. Since that time, the dress is either in the laundry basket or on Louise.

Hmmmm, I was going to insert a picture of Princess wearing the famous Princess dress here, but upon reviewing my photo records, I see that, despite how much she wears her dress, we have not taken one picture of it.

Anyways, I'm writing this blog about my children, but as of this second I am telling Princess to stop bugging me so I can finish writing. This kind of defeats the purpose. This is to help me appreciate my children more, but here I am neglecting one of them so I can write. Time to go!

Unsolicited Advice:
Now is the time of year when joy and goodwill toward men abound. It's also a good time to get back at your now-married-with-a-baby brother-in-law who gave your kids the most annoying toy in the world two years ago.

Too long

Has it really been 4 months since I last blogged? Seriously, I've been so busy I've barely had time to pee let alone, stop and write an entire blog post. I'm not kidding about peeing either. At least once a week, I'll go into the bathroom to brush Princess's teeth and realize that I haven't been in that room since before breakfast. Thankfully, this generally happens while I'm in the bathroom so there is a toilet very conveniently place, saving me from having to explain to my potty training 2 year old why Mommy just had an accident.

Speaking of a potty training 2 year old....she's potty trained!!! After 1 1/2 years of trying EVERYTHING, she decided last week that she was ready. And that was that. A very good friend of ours was around when Princess wet her pants and made sure Princess knew how disappointed she was in her. Apparently, that was all it took and I wish we'd tried that a year ago!

Ever since I got pregnant with Little Man, I've had an issue with my temper. More like I've had an issue with losing it. I've had very little patience with anyone. At first, I wrote this off to pregnancy hormones. Then I had the baby and was still frustrated with every little thing (The milk cap fell on the floor?!?! Someone must die!!!) so I wrote it off as new baby hormones which we all know can be pretty wicked. Then I stopped nursing, baby stopped screaming 21/7, and things got much easier. And I was still seeing red. Being home with me all day, poor Princess bore the brunt of my temper, although Hubby got more than his fair share as well. He'd walk in the door at the end of the day and I would realize that here was someone I could yell at without worrying about paying therapy bills in 13 years. Recently, I sat myself down and had a talk with myself (should I be worried about this?) about how I needed to get myself under control. As I sat there, lecturing myself and getting angry with myself for lecturing myself, I realize that it had been several months since I'd opened my Bible outside of church. Hmmmm.... Now I'm back in the Word everyday and things have gotten better. Why do I always let things get so bad before I turn to Jesus and give everything over to him?