blog thoughts

I have been thinking about my blog a lot today. I am going to try very hard to limit my time on my computer for a bit. Blake has an issue with my doing anything with the computer when he is awake unless it is letting him play with his games. I feel that the best thing for both my little guys is for me to focus my attention on them even if they are playing quietly or watching tv. I know I'd be better off cleaning and doing things around the house during those times.

No, I'm not giving up my blog. I'm not crazy! I'm not giving up my computer time all together I'm just going to limit it for a bit and see if that helps my little guy deal with some of his attention seeking issues.

So, back to talking about what my thoughts are for my blog. When I started I began writing about how I parent based on the way I taught kindergarten, and yes I'll get back into writing a few of these posts from time to time. I them sort of morphed into realizing that it was a great opportunity to journal our daily occurrences. I began writing what was on my mind, and what was going on in my head.... I was writing for myself. Then I began enjoying gaining readers and started joining up on blog carnivals trying to get more and more readers. But, I look at how some of this effected me and I realize that I need to get back to writing what I want when I want. I need to get back to blogging for me.

So for now, I'm going to continue to do Wordless Wednesday and then my set posts (Friday videos, weekend random thoughts, and Scrapbook / slide show Sunday). I am not going to set up random weekend thoughts as a blog carnival because I don't want to set it up and not be able to visit everyone who participates.

I will still read the blogs I follow, but I'm going to go through the list and make sure I'm following the people who I "get something from". If you don't see as many replies from me, that doesn't necessarily mean I'm not reading... it just means I'm limiting my time.

I hope you all understand and enjoy the changes in my blog. If there is something that I'm eliminating that you really enjoyed reading let me know and I'll consider adding it back at some point.

rag-a-muffin!

Blake is starting to look like a rag-a-muffin. He will NOT let us cut his hair, and the last two times we've taken him to get it cut he has freaked out the they won't cut it there either. I did manage to trim it up a bit before Colby's baptism, but that has grown out and the layers are now looking very "wingy"

Any suggestions on how to get him to let us cut it??

Help I don't like long hair on boys (sorry to those who do, but it's not our style). I need to get his hair cut before it drives me crazy!

(no I haven't picked this as my siggy yet, but I'm testing them out... this is Richard's favorite)

Friday Video

Aloha Friday (week 4)

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday.

"In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response."

She then asks that you post a question on your blog for others to answer.

Go to An Island Life and answer her question and check out the other questions too! Answer mine, answer hers, answer all...your choice. Let me know if you post a question on your blog and I'll stop by and answer yours!

This weeks question is...

Do you think the groundhog will see it's shadow on Monday??

I think he will see his shadow this year... sadly I think it is going to continue to be a long winter!

layout is done!

Hope you like the new layout! Anything see off??

I just have to decide which siggy to use... which do you like best? Vote in the poll on the side


1.


2.


3.


4.

updates

Ok I'm slacking! Here are some updates on things I've talked about in the last week or so... and a bit more!

The concert Friday night... Jim Brickman is awesome. If you are saying... who is he? You probably know some of his music, but don't realize it as he doesn't sing most of his songs. Some of his more popular songs are: The Gift, Valentine, Love of My Life, Simple Things, Peace. He had Anne Cochran singing with him and she sang an AWESOME song of hers too, called Wishing Well.

Our night out at Disney was great. We were both sore Saturday night from all the walking that we did. We had lunch then spent a few hours at Disney Quest. We went to dinner and then went and splurged and shared an ice cream sundae at Giardellis. On Sunday we had breakfast at the hotel then went to a local outlet to do a bit of shopping for ourselves.

The boys did great for my mom both nights which is a good thing!

Colby's first tooth finally broke through the gum on Monday. You still can't see it unless you look hard, you know how it is, but trust me it's there! The 2nd tooth is getting really close to busting through the gums too. He is also had figured out how to get up on his hands and knees and is bouncing back and forth, but getting no where still... yes I realize that means he will soon be moblie and I will have two going in two different directions... oh joy!

The weather is the last thing I planned on updating you all on... you know how last week at this time I was complaining about the freezes we had been having? Yeah well first of all 3 days of freezes in Florida is 2 too many, and all the plants now look like crap and we aren't sure how many plants and trees we are going to lose from the frost burn. Well this week we are having above normal temperatures... got to love the swing from days where we were lucky to hit 55 to days were we are flirting with 80. Yes, we are back into our shorts and out loving the sandbox again. Oh and don't hate us too much we are going to be back into the low 60s again this weekend.

Ok I think I touched on everything but the sleeping issues and I don't want to talk about that... lol

let me know if I missed any of the updates.

(yes the new blog layout is coming soon... black, white and pink)

Wordless Wednesday

sleep issues

Well, the boys both slept well for my mother on Saturday night. But, now we are home and the sleep issues continue! Sunday night Colby woke up about 3:30am and had wet through his diaper... I had to change his diaper, his clothes and his sheet... yeah not fun. But, at least he fell right back to sleep once I got him back in bed. Last night Colby went down smoothly, but he woke up this morning at 5am. I was really tired so I brought him into bed with us, after trying to just give him his pacifier back. This is something we typically don't do but I was more concerned about him waking Blake than anything else. And, the fact that he fell asleep until 7am was a bonus.

Why was I concerned about him waking Blake... well Blake didn't sleep well at all. On Sunday night I noticed that Blake had chewed his last pacifer to shreds. I didn't want to give it to him and have him choke on the pieces. So I cut the bad part off and gave it to him. Well since we are still having the issue of not wanting to go to sleep in his own bed we knew the timing wasn't right, but I refuse to buy him any more pacifiers. Oh well... get everything done in one shot I guess! So Sunday night it took Blake about an hour to give in and go to sleep. Monday Blake did not nap at all. Last night he fell asleep after about 30 minutes. But, then he woke up screaming at 11:30pm. I went and checked on him and he was fine, but now we had to have another screaming fit to get back to sleep... ok we can deal with this (sort of). I let him work it out and calm himself down and went to move him. Well I guess he wasn't asleep enough because he was up and screaming again before I left the kitchen. At 2am I finally moved him back into his bed (no he wasn't screaming the whole time I just wanted to make sure he was sound asleep before moving him again).

So needless to say everyone is a bit tired today. I can only hope that Blake takes a nap today, but I'm not holding out hope. I put a flat sheet on his bed today and I'm going to try to tuck him in for nap time and see if that change will help. Nothing else seems to be working.

wow!

When I shut down last night I needed 40 more hits to get to 10,000... and when I checked this morning I was at 10, 010. Thank you all for visiting my blog and joining me on my journey through Mommyhood!

No one sent me information on being the 10,000th visitor... somehow I figured that would happen.
But, Erin (who has a private blog) took a picture
That was pretty close in my book. I am going to make her a siggy. If the 10,000th visitor had let me know, I was going to make them a siggy and a scrapbook page. I had planned to make siggies for anyone who took a picture, so Erin... you are the winner!

on to 20,000.... lol!

I Heart Faces (week 3 --joy -- adult)

I decided to enter an adult picture this week. If you haven't checked out i heart faces you are missing out on some great photography!

I choose this picture because I always feel that one of the most joyful thing to see is a father loving his itty-bitty. Colby was only 4 days old when this was taken. As you can see Richard is exhausted, but looking lovingly down as his infant son with love and awe.

I Heart Faces (week 3 --joy)

iHeartFaces is a photo blog that is holding a weekly photography contest. If you want to join... go here to their blog and check out the contest!

This weeks challenge is joy! When I saw this picture of Blake I knew it was the right one to use. He LOVES to play on the computer. You can truly see this joy in his expression.

Sunday Slide show

I did not make a new scrapbook page today, so I figured I'd put together a few slide shows to show you instead. Hope you enjoy

random weekend thoughs

Well... as you know this is pre-posted, but I didn't want to skip posting my random weekend thoughts. Next week I think I may make this a blog carnival... what do you think??

1. Getting out to a concert is always fun. And, Jim Brickman is a great concert to go to see. This was our second time going to see him in concert and we would totally go again!

2. Getting away is a necessary thing and something that all parents need to do from time to time. I always say that a happy mommy has time away from her kiddos and time alone with her hubby. And you know what they say about a happy house

3. Ordering pizza for dinner is always a treat

4. Being able to fit in all my pre-pregnancy clothes makes dressing a whole lot easier. I also can fit into a pair of jeans I bought that are the next size smaller... they aren't comfortable enough to wear around yet, but I don't have a muffin-top when I wear them so it's just a matter of a bit more time.

5. Watching Blake interact with the tv shows makes me laugh (I have a video of this for next week's Friday videos)

6. I so can't believe that I'm that close to 10,000 hits! You all ROCK!

7. Guess I need to start thinking about next month's blog layout and desktops for Richard and myself. I'm thinking of doing Valentine's Day, but not red or pink... what do you think about doing lime green and brown or maybe black and white... I don't know just yet

8. Colby is getting a lot more mobile... just going backwards not forwards (yes I have a video of this for you too... lol)

9. I think I have found my picture of joy for I heart faces, but now I need to find time to play with the pic in PSE... hmmm time yeah that's the challenge

10. Thank you all for your support with the sleep issues here... Blake still refuses to sleep in his room (nevermind his bed), but at least he has napped in the hallway and will stay asleep when moved at night. Colby slept better the last few nights... we will see how they do while I'm away

11. You know you are tired when you fall asleep totally dressed at 8pm and only wake up because your 2 year old wakes up in the hallway startled.

12. Oh and it is warming up again here... 3 days of temps in the 30s overnight is more winter than we need in Orlando

Friday Video

lots for you this week!

Aloha Friday (week 3)

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday.

"In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response."

She then asks that you post a question on your blog for others to answer.

Go to An Island Life and answer her question and check out the other questions too! Answer mine, answer hers, answer all...your choice. Let me know if you post a question on your blog and I'll stop by and answer yours!

This weeks question is...

If you could spend a night away from your house, where would you go?

Lucky for us Richard's sister works for Disney so we get a discount to stay there. We are staying at Disney's Port Orleans Resort (French Quarter) tomorrow night. We aren't actually going to go to a park this time. We are going to hang out at Downtown Disney for a while and do lunch and dinner there. We are looking forward to a good night sleep and getting to sleep in... and for us that means sleeping to 7am or later. On the way home we are going to stop at one of the outlet malls so I can pick up some stuff for myself and the kids, and yes probably Richard too.

Yes, I will miss my little guys, but I always say that one of the best things that I mom can do for her kiddos is get out of the house without them and find yourself again. I also strongly believe that a strong and loving relationship of the parents creates a happier homelife as well as more balanced kids. So Richard and I forgoed Christmas presents to each other in replacement of an over night away. I just hope the kiddo are good for my mom!

give-away

I mentioned this yesterday, but wanted to let you know again....

I'm getting close to 10,000 hits on my blog... I am planning another give-away at that time. If you are the person who is the 10,000th on my blog and you get a pic to prove it (if you are close and choose to take a pic, maybe... just maybe you can win too!), I'll make you a signature and a special added bonus that I'll announce later (already have one of my siggy's... we will wheel and deal with what you get).

I'll let you know who wins as soon as I do (just remember I won't be around this weekend... but there will be posts up to read so click away)

brrrr! (day 2)

ok yesterdays high here... 48! Yes, I said 48 degrees in Orlando. Ok do you believe me now that it was cold? Or wait... it was 31 here when we woke up this morning. (ok when we were done showering I don't know what it was when I gave up on sleeping at 3:30am... more on that in a minute). There was frost on Richard's truck this morning. We are still under a hard freeze warning right now and it is 8:22am. That is because the temperature outside right now is 34. But, at least they are predicting it to get to 61 today. Oh and next week we will be back into the mid-70s... welcome to winter in Florida!


*************************************************************************

As to why I was up at 3:30am.... Colby started fussing at 11:30pm and didn't stop until I finally gave up and brought him out on the couch with me at 4:15am and he slept on me until 5:55am when Richard came out to see how I was doing. At 3:30am I gave up on sleeping and that was good because between 3am and 4am I was in Colby's room 4 times. We aren't sure if it is because of his teeth (which are sooo close to breaking the gums), or the fact that it's chilly and each time he fussed the heat was just kicking on again, or the fact that our schedule has been altered that last few nights in combination of trying to help Blake's sleep issues and the fact that Richard has been at work past bedtime the last two nights. Who knows. But, after 2 days of not sleeping through the night... I'm TIRED! Oh I forgot to mention that this is the second night he's done this. And don't forget I'm not going to be home Friday for bedtime and Saturday night at all... yeah how about adding a bit more mommy guilt on this overnight trip!

If someone has connections with whomever is in charge of baby teeth... tell them Mommy is ready for those teeth to break through already. Oh and speaking of baby teeth... I figured out yesterday that Blake had one of his two year old molars break through the gum the other day... think that may have had something to do with his sleep issues too??

***********************************************************************

One more thing... I'm getting close to 10,000 hits on my blog... I am planning another give-away at that time. If you are the person who is the 10,000th on my blog and you get a pic to prove it, I'll make you a signature and a special added bonus that I'll announce later (already have one of my siggy's... we will wheel and deal with what you get). Yes, I'll remind you again as we get closer... unless it's this weekend when I'm not here... lol!

eyes!

Not my best pictures of Colby, but yes this is what his eyes really look like! (these pics are not cropped or edited or anything)

Wordless Wednesday

brrrr!

Ok people it is 7:30am and it is 32 out on my back porch... yes I said 32... yes my back porch is in Orlando, FL... hello... can we say cold? (yes I understand that some of you would be happy to see 32, but we were just in the high 70s on the weekend so the 30s is way too chilly in my book!)

update

not that you all really care, but I'm happy! Blake took a mini nap today... ok it was after a screaming bout and it was in the hallway, but he slept for a little over 30 minutes today... after a week of no naps, I'll take 30 minutes!

Random ramblings

There are lots of things on my mind right now so here's one of my rambling posts

1. Why is it that every time someone asks about Colby sleeping through the night brings about a night of no sleep??

2. I can't imagine how cold the rest of the country is going to be tonight when we have a low of 30 forecasted with the windchill it will be in the 20s... hello people this is Orlando

3. Having Blake fall asleep in the hallway again baffles me, but at least he didn't scream this time

4. Watching Blake interact with Colby makes me proud

5. Realizing that I haven't posted much positive about Blake lately made me sad and a bit mad at myself... he is a joy to be around for the most part and loves life. I love my little guy and am so proud of the boy he has already become. Now if we can just get past this bump in the road we will be fine (until the next bump)

6. I think Blake maybe getting his 2 year old molars ... he will NOT let you get your finger in his mouth, but I did get it in for a second before he tried to bite me. I think I may have felt a bump. Yes, that may explain a LOT.

7. I can feel Colby's bottom two teeth. They are so close to the top and then maybe he will be a bit less drooly, at least it doesn't seem to be effecting his mood too much (man I hope I didn't just shoot myself in the foot for saying that!)

8. The I heart faces blog contest have made me focus on taking pictures of my boys faces even more. It is hard to capture the right moment with my point-and-shoot, but I think I get some pretty decent pictures. I find myself already thinking about trying to find the right picture for next weeks contest with "joy" as the theme. I realize that since professionals can "play along" I have pretty much no shot of winning, but it's still fun

9. I decided to drop out of a few parenting boards I was on. I decided that I needed to focus on my attention on my boys and choose to keep up my blog and drop the others. I can't use the computer without a mini-helper for the most part... except times like now where I'm letting him watch tv, or when he naps... hahaha!

10. Well my mini-helper is pushing me away so I must end my list

Have a great day...

trying my patience!

Well as I mentioned last week, Blake is having some sleep issues. Yeah we are going on a week of no nap... trust me he is so not ready to give up his nap. But, I just don't know what is going on with him. I switched his nap to an hour later. I began taking him to the playground before his nap. I put him down at the same time as Colby. Nothing. I wouldn't care if he went in his room and read or played quietly, but nope... he wants to stand/sit in the hallway outside his room and scream. He does quiet down after a bit, but doesn't sleep. He is refusing to go into his room at bedtime too. Last night he fell asleep in the hallway, and Richard had to put him in his bed after he fell asleep.

I'm trying very hard to be super positive with him. I know a lot of the thing he is doing right now are attention getting for some reason. I am trying very hard to ignore the negative behaviors unless they are dangerous or destructive. I'm going out of my way to catch him being good at all the little things that he just does normally (saying thank you, pushing in his chair, being nice to Colby, giving hugs that kind of thing).

I tried taking away the tv. I tried switching the time he got tv. I tried switching his nap time routine a bit. Today I gave him a bath earlier to see if switching his bedtime routine would help them (last night he screamed as soon as he knew it was bathtime because he knew bedtime was next). I put him down early one night and then another time kept him up late. He isn't sleeping in in the mornings either.

Yes, my son went from sleeping 12ish hours at night and a 2 hour nap to sleeping less than 11 hours total... eek!

I just don't know what to try next. The worst part is Richard and I are going out not once but twice this weekend. We have concert tickets on Friday night and Saturday is our over night in Disney (our Christmas present to each other). I feel bad leaving the boys with my mother when they are having issues, but at the sametime I know it is so what I need. I'm struggling to keep my cool and not just give in and let him come out and skip his nap all together. I watch him and I know he's exhausted. I just don't know what to do to convince him that sleep is a good thing.

I need to figure this out... and soon

I Heart Faces (week 2)

iHeartFaces is a photo blog that is holding a weekly photography contest. If you want to join... go here to their blog and check out the contest!

This week's category is everything goes... here's a new picture of Colby. Got to love the toothless grins (but it looks like we maybe getting close to getting bottom teeth so there may not be many more of these toothless grins in our house!)

Sunday Scrapbook page

I finished Colby's Baptism page. I also uploaded Blake's page too. You get to see what a difference 2 years makes not only in my family, but also in my scrapbook skills