Stubborness Part II

Ryleigh is so much like me it's kind of scary. The one personality trait she's been showing lately is that she hates being wrong.


Here's an example:

We were reviewing the alphabet and Ryleigh called a "Y" a "V". So, I corrected her.
Her response: "looks LIKE V". (i.e. "Well mom, that was a simple error because both letters look very similar") And she's right, they do look pretty similar... she just wanted me to know that anyone could have made that mistake. Haha.

It's official. I'm a control freak!

I am a control freak.

Actually, I've kind of always suspected I was a control freak, but I've been able to hide it.

For instance, I prefer to drive rather than riding in the passenger's seat. I have hidden this fact with carsickness. I actually really do get carsick pretty bad, and even if I got carsick first thing in the morning I would still be feeling miserable throughout the entire day. But, aside from that, I prefer to drive, or else I go insane if the person who is driving doesn't brake when I would, or doesn't slow down as much as I think they should.

And nothing would ever prepare me for how much I need to control everything in Ryleigh's life. Today was a prime example. We went out to eat and I decided to take a break from feeding Ryleigh, so I made Ryan sit next to her high chair. And guess what happened? I spent the entire meal either telling him what food to give her, or just reaching (very rudely) across him to put stuff on her plate! I just could not reliquish the control even though I really did want a break from the feeding responsibilities!

Of course, part of that stems from the fact that for the first few months of her life, while I was exclusively breast feeding, I was in control and I guess I got used to be the only one who could feed her. Then, add to that the fact that doctors are concerned about her weight, and I am the only one who went to every doctor visit, read every book, and heard every bit of advice.... so, I kinda feel like I am the only one capable of making the right food choices.

I think in the next 24 weeks I really need to work on allowing Ryan to help me with Ryleigh, and to trust that he knows how to care for her just as well as I do.
And if I don't learn that lesson I am certainly going to have a rough time juggling 2 babies, and myself!

So, here's to a swift self-improvement!

Pictures coming soon

I have been dying lately because our camera broke. It seems as if Ryleigh does extra cute things when I can't take her pic. Plus, I want to take pictures of my baby belly and compare it to how "big" I was with Ryleigh. Just for fun. I don't plan on showing anyone.

But, thankfully, my wonderful husband secretly bought me a new camera. ( he kinda went against our "rules" of buying something for more than 50$ without consulting each other, but I guess it's okay since he was trying to make it a surprise). So, now I just have to wait for the wonderful FedEx man to come give me my new camera, and then I can start posting pics again!

I'm the mom

Do you ever have moments when you realize, "I'm the mom now"?

Today as I was making french toast for Ryan and Ryleigh I was thinking about how everyone (usually) thinks that their mom cooks everything the best. For example, I love my mom's meatloaf, and I'm pretty sure no one cooks it as good as she does. Even when I use her recipe my meatloaf still doesn't taste as good as hers does (although, I have to admit, my meatloaf is pretty darn delicious). And Ryan loves his mom's peanut butter french toast, which I won't even attempt to make, because I know I won't get it just right.

So I was picturing, 27 years down the road when Ryleigh's feeding french toast to her kids, will she be remembering how I used to make it just right? Will she always strive to cook dinner "just like moms"?

Just a fun little thought to think about on days when sometimes the last thing you feel like doing is cooking dinner... Someday that dinner may be the comfort food your kid longs for when they're all grown up!

Finally!!

I can't wait for next week. I am going to be a much happier person next week.

My Bible study is resuming, and my Mom's Time Out is resuming. Yay! Oh how I have needed opportunities to socialize without chasing Ryleigh all around. Today was the last straw. As I was trying to enjoy a birthday party I kept starting up conversations, and then abruptly having to run away from the person I was talking to in order to grab my kid before she got into something she shouldn't. I love her to death, but man do I need a  break every once in a while.

Also, as pathetic as it sounds, I am so happy about all my favorite tv shows returning. When you have a kid who goes to bed at 7:30, you're pretty much limited to your nightly activities, so Ryan and I watch a lot of evening tv. I can't wait for House, Glee, The Middle, Cougar Town, Modern Family, Grey's Anatomy, CSI, and Fringe.

Now to just get through tomorrow which is going to be super boring because we have a ton of laundry to do, and Granny and Pop-pop won't be around to entertain Ry and give her momma a break... but at least I get to cheer on my sexy husband during his soccer game :-)

The World According to Ryleigh

I love the interesting perspective kids can give to the world.

Today Ryleigh told me that the moon is a big balloon that flew away. :-)

Hello in there!

Today I had another OB appointment. The baby's heartbeat is nice and healthy at 160. Yay! What a relief.

But one thing I am not relieved about is my feelings towards this baby. Yes, this baby was planned, for those of you who might assume it wasn't from my last statement. We meticulously planned it out actually, because I am going to be the maid of honor in my sister's wedding, and I really want to have time to lose the baby weight before then!

But despite trying to get pregnant and all that, my feelings towards this baby are SO different than they were when I was pregnant with Ryleigh. Today, as we listened to the heartbeat, rather than tear up and marvel at the wonder going on in my womb I was more concerned that Ryleigh hear the heartbeat. She's gotten into listening to my heartbeat, and her heartbeat, and we've tried to find the baby's with our heartbeat monitor, but this particular brand says it won't work until I'm 20 weeks along. So I wanted her to hear it, so she could understand my pregnancy a little better.

I just feel so guilty that even though I am growing a new baby all of my focus is still on Ryleigh. We don't even have a cutesy nick-name to call this baby..... we just call it "new baby", and that is so not fair to it. And I hate using the word "it" to refer to a precious new life.

I dislike how all the wonder, and newness, and excitement has worn off :-( This baby deserves to be super loved, just like Ry was before she was born...... but I'm just too busy chasing around "Big Sister" to even take time to enjoy it.

I'm probably not the first second-time mom to feel this way. I know. But, I'm just expressing my crazy, whacked out, hormone driven thoughts :-)

A Parenting Pet Peeve

I have come to realize that one of my pet peeves about being a parent is having to answer questions that are directed at my child.

For example, someone will ask, "Ryleigh, are you hungry?", (or tired, or happy, etc.).... and then look at me for the answer. Why? If you start a question with my daughter's name in it, then you should expect her to answer, not me. If you would like me to answer then you could phrase the questions as such, "Micayla, do you think Ryleigh is hungry?"

And the key part to that phrase is "Do you think". I hate when people ask questions like, "Is Ryleigh hungry?". How am I supposed to know? Yes, I am her mother and I am in charge of feeding her and such, but really, do any of us really follow a normal eating schedule? There may be times when lunch time rolls around and you just aren't hungry. There may also be times when we are hungry 30 minutes after eating. How am I supposed to know if my child is hungry? If she is she will tell you.

And my personal favorite is when people ask, "Ryleigh do you need a diaper change?". Really, if you can't smell something foul then there is only one way to find out if she needs a diaper change, and it isn't by waiting for me to answer that question, because I do not know what is going on in my kid's diaper 24/7. The only way to find out is to look in the diaper! It's the same method I would use too, but if you're that interested in knowing, then you can be the one to look :-)

stubborn vs. stubborn

Parenting a child whose genes from both her mother and father have pre-programmed her to be extremely stubborn is tough. Haha. Thankfully I think I am the most stubborn out of the 3 of us, so when it comes to discipline I never give in.

But I am proud to say I had some success last night. Ryleigh wanted to walk to the duck pond in our complex, and go feed bread to the ducks. So I said, "ok, just sit down so I can put your shoes on and we can go".

You would think a simple command like "sit down" is easy to do.... not with my kid. Anytime I try to get her to sit still to get dressed or do her hair she runs off and wants me to chase her. It was cute the first couple of times, but I refuse to chase her around every time we need to leave the house.

So I said, "Ryleigh if you do not sit down we are not going to feed the ducks".... she continued to run around. Until I went in the kitchen and started cleaning, and she realized I was serious.

Then she turned on the water works. So I gave her one more chance. Thankfully she sat down and let me put her shoes on. But I also sat and explained to her that she needs to listen to me when I ask her to do something.

Well, this morning I knew I did something right because Ryleigh saw the loaf of bread sitting on the counter and repeated the "lesson" I gave her. She told me that she had to sit nicely so I could put her shoes on, so she could go feed the ducks some bread, and to be a good girl. She remembered everything from last night! I guess my disciplining actually worked. Woohoo!

Did I go to elementary school?

Today I had the not so fun task of getting pre-natal bloodwork done... I'm pretty sure it's one of my least favorite parts of being pregnant.

When I arrived at the lab there were about 3 people in line at the receptionist's desk, but the sign-in sheet was off to the side. So, I walked right up and wrote my name and appointment time down. Well, apparently a woman in line didn't realize that she could just sign-in, without waiting in line. So she picked up the sheet, and went up to the receptionist and said, "This girl, Micayla, just cut in front of me."

Really? A grown women "telling on me" to the receptionist because I "cut her in line". Wow. I didn't realize I had walked into an elementary school instead of a lab. Part of me wanted to resort to childish ways and explain that I did not cut her, she was just stupid for not paying attention to the sign that said to use the sign-in sheet. But, then I remember I am a grown woman and did not need to stoop that low.

At least it provided me with a chuckle during a not so fun task.

Growing by leaps and bounds

This Saturday, at out church picnic, we got to witness a brand new baby Alpaca who had been born right before we arrived. Cutest thing ever. We all stood around in wonder as we watched it take it's few steps, and learn how to nurse. I'm pretty sure I fell in love with alpacas that day.

Me and another girl couldn't help but notice the difference between animals and human babies. Ryleigh took 14 months to learn how to walk. This alpaca had it down in just a few hours! It's kinda crazy. I see so many of my friends getting upset because their kids are entering kindergarten/1st grade/etc. for the first time, and thinking kids grow up so quickly. Just be glad you're not an alpaca! haha.

As a little side-ish note. My little bundle of joy is growing by leaps and bounds too. For example, just now she asked if she could watch tv. I said "no" because I have strict tv rules, and she does not get to watch tv during the day. She looked at me and said' "tv, little bit?". Haha. She was totally trying to bargain with me!

She's also learning so much every day! She now knows most of her letters, all of her zoo/aquarium/farm/backyard animals. She knows her basic shapes.... and we're working on her colors, but she pretty much just says that everything is green. haha.

We're still working on the potty training thing, but right now she's having trouble telling the difference between when she has to "toot", and when she really has to go number 2. haha

Labor Day fun

We had no plans for Labor day because we thought Ryan was going to work. But, turns out, they didn't need him (which was somewhat ok, because he was just trying to pick up extra work, it's not like he missed a real work day). So, we randomly decided to head to the shore.

                        Ryan stayed in all his regular clothes and sneakers the whole time! Crazy.


                                                                Ryleigh loves the beach!

Yes, Ryan buried her in the sand. She loved it. We kept asking her if she wanted to get out, she kept saying "no".

So Long Summer

I do not think I could express in words how happy I will be when this summer is completely over. It has been such an incredibly difficult summer!!

I know everyone loves summer time because it means a chance to sit around and do nothing. To me, sitting around doing nothing is worse than my worst nightmare. I hate doing nothing!! I have to be active 24/7 to be happy.

During normal times like the fall/winter/spring I have a lot going on. I work in the evenings, and that alone makes everything more hectic. But I also have social groups like Mom's Time Out, and I attend weekly Bible studies, which not only provide a social outlet, but also helps me stay more on track with doing my daily devotions. Thankfully we do have a children's program at our library, but even that ended 4 weeks ago. Therefore I have been left with absolutely nothing as far as set weekly plans go. And for me, that is the most depressing reality to face.

Plus, during fall and spring the weather is sooo much nicer to actually go out and do things. I have been such a hermit this summer because I didn't want to face the heat!

I am very thankful for the fun play dates we've had with friends and family. And I have definitely gotten lots of use out of our zoo, museum, and aquarium memberships!! But I hate waking up each day trying to think of things to do to stay busy. I'd rather have set days with everything planned out already.

However, I understand I'm pretty much the only one who hates to see summer go, especially since so many people I know are teachers. So I know lots of people disagree with me... but, too bad. haha