Thursday, April 24, 2014

My morning with Riesling

We're off to a bit of a rough start with some crying and screaming over wanting "Mommy's milk" and not wanting to go pee pee in the potty.  This results in her peeing all over my lap.  Thankfully Jim has not left for work yet and is able to help with the situation.  She calms down, gets panties on for the day but refuses a new pair of pants, and snuggles up for a little morning milk.  Winnie wakes up get a fresh diaper and starts her long nursing sessions while Riesling settles into a corner of her room with us and we read a dozen or more books including the new stack from our library visit yesterday.  There are several that she really likes and requests repeat readings of.  Jim was sweet enough to bring me a cup of coffee before he headed out for work so I catch a few sips between books.

With a little convincing we head down to the kitchen for breakfast.  Winnie takes a spot in the swing while I make breakfast: oatmeal with flax seed, raisins, & almond milk and some sliced strawberries.  Riesling is actually pretty content and sits at the island quietly while I clean up dishes from last night, eat my oatmeal and finish up my coffee while standing.  After she finishes eating she gets cleaned up and we take our vitamins together.  It is on the warmer side but VERY windy outside.  I commit to keeping the girls inside for the morning. Winnie has fallen back asleep in the swing so I decide its a good time to make some 'cookies' with Riesling.

She requests "Happy Birthday Easter cupcakes" (Uncle Tim's birthday was on Easter this year which I think has led to some confusion).  I convince her that cookies are a suitable replacement.  We mix oats, ground flax seed, chia seeds, raisins, peanut butter, and maple syrup then form into little balls.  These little energy bites are the cookies Riesling knows about in our house.  We make variations of them quite often.  She has a set of small plastic type bowls that she mixes and pours ingredients back and forth in.  She is very excited to help and is a very messy kitchen assistant.  When we finish the project we immediately ditch her shirt which is caked with peanut butter.  She quickly takes note of the spilled oats and flax seed on the floor and heads off to the closet for the broom.  I sweep and she uses the Swiffer.  She has a true passion for cleaning.

While sweeping we find a little bottle under the island.  It is typically used as 'soap' in her play kitchen.  As I am sweeping I notice that she has the bottle held up to her chest.  She informs me that she is pumping for some milk.  She heads off for the basement where all her dolls are.  I finish up sweeping the kitchen and foyer, check in on her, then throw in a load of laundry.  One baby is getting milk from the pump, another held straight up to her chest to nurse and another has a bottle.  She is quite skilled in caring for multiple babies.  She decides one baby needs a diaper change.  While searching for a diaper she spots the towel that was in the Easter basket from Grandma and decides on bath time for them instead.  She uses a laundry basket and cup and is sure to provide Baby with a few toys.

Looking for bath toys lead her to her ABC stacking blocks.  One has a picture of a gorilla on it.  We get out stuffed Gorilla because he "is like the same".  We work on ABC's and matching pictures on the blocks with actual items in the basement.  Winnie wakes up and joins us, sitting on my lap.  Riesling thoughtfully shows her the pictures and items we've collected.  "Her eyes are open!  Look at that Baby Winnie" (she can not pronounce W sound so it sounds like In-e and is so darn cute).   Gorilla is a keeper for an extended period of playtime.  They take a trip to the grocery store.  She informs me that they bought apples, bananas, and avocado.  Riesling shows him the "boo berrries" and robins outside the window, requests a cloth diaper (I have one with a hole in it set aside for just this reason) for him, then he joins Winnie on the playmate.

As a good big sister, Riesling fetches the orange bin with all the soft toys for Baby Winnie.  She show every single item to Gorilla and Winnie, using her baby voice and making sure that both have a chance to view the item.  After emptying sister's orange bin she decides she wants her orange bin. It contains a hand me down circus train set that is actually pretty cool.  She hasn't played with it in awhile so she becomes pretty absorbed in it.  I nurse Winnie and change her diaper.  I put Winnie back on the playmate and get about 50 crunches in while laying beside her before she poops and needs another diaper change.  Sometime during this time periods Riesling has lost her underwear.  If you are keeping track she is now only wearing socks. 

Riesling has invited all her Little People to the circus and museum.  She has lined them all up holding hands and decides they need a picture taken.  She finds her phone but quickly decides the battery is dead and it needs charged "like Daddy's".  She gets a little out of sorts with this activity because she wants to use the CD player cord and is trying to plug the wrong end into the wall.  I am refusing to let her execute her plan due to safety concerns.  She is not happy.  I help her come up with an alternate option and put on an audio book which grabs her attention and calms her down considerably.  We follow with a banana and almond butter snack. 

We color a picture for Aunt Becka and make some fairy art with the stickers she got for Easter.  We clean up most of the toys she has gotten out and have some general quiet time.  We head back to the kitchen for lunch.  She has a few gluten free crackers and hummus which she makes into "sam wiches" but quickly starts playing with them more than eating them.  She starts crushing the crackers into an empty spice bottle with her spoon and dripping water in from her sippy cup.  I let the activity go on for awhile.  She declares her creation is "like pop".  I inquire who drinks pop.  I already know the answer because pop is not a term used in this area, so it has come from the Ohio family and my sister was recently visiting.  She replies, "Aunt Jenn.....and Papa".  I wasn't expecting her to say Papa because he hasn't been to visit in a few months.  She proceeds to tell me that Papa gave her pop....oh really......what kind, wondering if she just confused.  "Green one."  BUSTED Dad!  (He drinks Mt. Dew like it's water).  She continues to offer me information without asking, something about the type of cup she drank from, although it wasn't clear whether she drank from the bottle or her own cup.  She continues talking about "Papa cheese" and making blankets for her rabbit snacks.  This is a true event that happened on his last trip in town, leading me to believe her recollection about drinking pop is true and not a dream or toddler mistake.  I will have to take this one up with Papa.

She decides she is not really hungry and request lunch after nap.  I am nursing Winnie so she sits at the piano and flips through a song book, singing wheels on the bus and her ABC's.  After Winnie is settled down we head upstairs. She is obviously tired and throws a fit about this, insisting that she wants to do yoga instead  (the yoga mats are next to the piano).  We put on a pull-up and head to the rocking chair with a few tears streaking down her face.  She nurses quietly and quickly closes her eyes.  Today she falls asleep without much resistance.  It has been a busy morning.

It is 12:10

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Escape

A few weeks ago we had the worst no sleep week EVER around here.  Riesling was cutting a molar and NOT sleeping.  Winnie had some kind nasal congestion going on (not to mention she was only 6 weeks old and still very much a newborn) and was NOT sleeping.  All of this meant that Mommy and Daddy was NOT sleeping.  Since Jim has to get up for work and I'm nursing the babes, I took the brunt of it.  I was seriously getting 2-3hrs a night in short little 30-45 minute segments for 4 straight nights.

Along with general grumpiness throughout the house, there was various amounts of crying, tantrums, coughing, gagging, and general fussiness all day long.  Jim and I were both tired and starting to take it out on one another, the kiddos were just miserable, and there was just way to much negative emotion all the way around.

Thursday night brought an improved nights sleep and lifted everyone's spirits slightly, but the weekend forecast was rain, rain, and more rain meaning everyone cooped up in the house.  Friday morning I decided we all needed a change of pace.  I booked a hotel room in the city, made arrangements for Sofee dog,  packed up overnight bags and loaded up the car.  Jim works in the city so I sent him a text and told him we were picking him up for a surprise.  He thought we were going out for dinner.  I knew if I consulted with him he wouldn't want to go.  He would worry about the money or the list of things he had to do at home, which is exactly what I didn't want.  I made an executive decision and just hoped he would be happy to come along for a little family adventure.
 
It ended up being just what the doctor order.  The hotel was super nice with a luxurious king size bed, fluffy bath robes (even for Riesling), a candy station in the lobby, and a nice swimming pool and hot tub.  It was very kid friendly and accommodating to any of our requests. It may have been the best 24 hours of Riesling's life.  After dinner Jim took her swimming until the pool closed down. She did not want to get out of the water.  She got to wear her little robe and slippers and stay up late watching Finding Nemo (her first movie ever!) and eating popcorn in bed.  She woke up to banana pancakes in bed (we ordered room service) then headed out to the Please Touch Museum for the rest of the morning.  She seriously talked about it for days and days.

 Heading to the pool with Daddy.  She hasn't stopped talking about swimming since!
 "Cheese"

In some ways I felt a little guilty about the whole thing.  How spoiled are we to be able to just run away from a week of minor little troubles? But I realized it really was a special adventure.  We spend a lot of family time at home, in the garden, at the library or walking the block or our local parks. We don't spend a lot of money on activities.  It has been such a long miserable winter and a big transition for everyone with Winnie's arrival.  Not to mention I had travel points for the hotel, a gift card that covered part of dinner, and 2 passes for the museum, so it actually wasn't that expensive.


















 
We were only gone for one night it felt like we had been on a weeks vacation. It was just nice to step away from the mundane day to day household parenting stuff.  We still had to take care of both kids obviously but it was somehow refreshing non the less.  Take away the laundry, cooking, cleaning, and everyday worries for just 24 hours and it really can clear your head. Not to mention we all had a magnificent nights sleep.  I have been shopping for king bed every since!

Thursday, April 17, 2014