Dear Link

You are 18 months old now my sweet boy!  Even though the doctors are worried because you aren't talking, your Dad and I are not.  It's disconcerting of course when the pediatrician acts worried about you and of course whether intentional or not, making your parents feel like they are failing.  Let me tell you how much you are accomplishing.  You can figure out how almost anything works.  childproofing is a joke with you.  It doesn't even take you a long time to figure out how to manipulate items or the people around you.  If something is too high for you to reach, you have the intelligence to go to one of the rooms with a stool in it and carry it over to the other room where you desire to get higher.  If someone hands you an object and says "take this to (insert persons name here)" you know who it is, and you take it straight to them.  You are proficient in using utensils and can drink out of a normal cup.  Although you can get a bit messy with those ;o)  Following in your parents and your sisters footsteps, you are showing OCD tendencies already.  You usually will close doors if they are open when you pass them.  If you've opened the door, you always close it behind you.  If the puzzle pieces are out of their spots, you will attempt to place them where they belong.  We are still working on turning them until they fit in their spots properly but you know where they go for sure.  If given a crayon, you enjoy doing scribbling a bit but, then you prefer, collecting all the crayons, throwing them on the floor and picking them up again.  When I'm sweeping, it's imperative you have a broom of your own so you can sweep as well.  I'm very impressed by your balance.  I've been impressed with this for quite a while.  A perfect example and when I realized just how steady you can be is when you take a bath.  Getting you to actually sit down in the bath can be a chore and has been from the moment you could stand.  Most of the time you and Gwendolyn take your bath together.  Naturally, Gwendolyn is "swimming" and moving all over the place making some serious tidal waves in the tub.  You almost aways manage to stand through it all.  You can walk all around the tub and manage to stay on your feet.  Another area I'm thrilled you seem to be proficient at is the stairs.  Up and down you go without having any trouble.  Even with the dogs flying past you, you manage to always remember to turn around and go down backwards.  That said, you have fallen from the last step or 2 twice but, I say that isn't bad at all when you think about how often you are on them.  As far as playing goes, you would rather have a non-toy any day over some big expensive woop de woop toy that's all the rage.  Nope, all you want is whatever, is around you that you shouldn't be playing with.  At times, I can appease you with a wooden spoon but, usually it's a major disappointment since Daddy's telescope looks like a lot more fun.  At the park though, you LOVE the swing!  You'll stay on a swing for way longer than I will push you.  Bring on the music!!  You can't get enough of it!  Especially if someone is playing an instrument live for you.  When Duncan plays his viola or Daddy is playing his guitar, you are completely mesmerized by it.  Of course, you can't wait to try it out yourself.  You are enjoying food more and more.  Like your Daddy and your Sister, you have major texture issues although, you are very tolerant of many different flavors and spicy is not a problem at all.  It's a good thing too because almost everything I cook seems to be spicy ;o)  Aside from breastfeeding your favorite drink remains to be ice water but, you are liking milk a bit more all the time.  Your size at 18 months old is continuing to move closer to average.  Your weight is now 60th percentile and your height remains to be 50th percentile.  At 27lbs you are only 3lbs from matching your 4 year old Sister.  You'll be surpassing her I'm sure within the next year.

Yes, my sweet boy you are high maintenance but, I love every running hug, kiss and cuddle you give me.  Which, lucky for me are several a day.  Link, you are a lover and I love being the woman of your affections.

I love you the most!!!
Mommy :o)

"Show me the money"

Always into some kind of mischief

"Mommy, if I do this, can I have a treat?"

There isn't a day that goes by that Gwendolyn doesn't ask for a treat.  She usually asks before she's even had breakfast.  When she started getting "treats" (ie: any consumable that's not good for you) we were diligent about telling her that it was a treat.  We thought it would help her identify healthy items and realize that when she was a listener she would get a reward, often times being a treat.  Now, I'm regretting this approach.

My first problem is that I feel like I've already given her an unhealthy association with food.  It's not fuel for her body necessarily.  She definitely associates good behavior with getting a cookie or etc...  She basically expects that she will get a treat everyday.  Yes, we limit treats in that she doesn't get 5 cookies or a giant bowl of ice cream.  She'll get A cookie because she ate enough "good for you food" first.

My second issue is there is always a reason for a treat!  It may be that we're at a birthday party, it's a holiday, family or friends have come over for a visit, we have gone to someone else's house for a visit, we are traveling....etc....etc....etc  Also, since we unfortunately made it a reward for good behavior and for success with potty training, there isn't a day that goes by she hasn't earned a treat.

We've certainly expanded the definition of a "treat".  It's no longer just consumables.  It's getting the opportunity to watch a show or movie.  She may be able to get a little princess toy at the store checkout.  All of that is great except the damage is done and she wants that ice cream!  Not too mention, getting little toys aren't good for our pocket book or the clutter situation in our house.

My hope going further is to encourage a healthy relationship with food for not only Gwendolyn but for all of us.  Trying to find a good reward system that feels like a reward to the child but still something the adults can handle and be consistent with.

It snow's in central Texas

It's been snowing all day here.  We took the opportunity to have some family snow fun

Gwendolyn didn't want her picture taken but we did manage to snap a couple shots

Our Texas snowman :o)

Link was not really into it but, stayed long enough to show the size of our snowman ;-p

He enjoyed the jeep for about half a second 

A lucky shot of Gwendolyn, my camera shy girl

Indy had the most fun but even Lucy had a little fun

....and Link says we're done now.....

Looks like doing a mobile blog post with a picture isn't working for me. I'll figure it out someday but, I don't feel like doing the research now.

Here is my first mobile blog post. Hope it works....

Missed my calling???

As a child, I always said I was either going to be a singer/actress raking in grammy's and academy awards and/or I was going to be a mom.  Luckily, I knew the first was a pipe dream and didn't cling onto fantasies.  I focused hard on being a mom.  It was not only important to me to be a mom but, to be able to stay at home with my children.  I remember telling Ken while we were still dating and having the discussions of what we wanted for our future that if I couldn't stay home with my children, then I wouldn't have any.  Of course, this was easy for me to say knowing that I would never actually have to make that choice.  I already knew Ken would support me in staying home with our children.  I was thankful to find out that he not only supported me in that choice but, felt the same on the matter.  We did wait a while to have children though so, after high school, I did get some higher education and worked in the medical field for a while.  However, I never focused on a big career.  I said as a child, I was going to be a mom and never seemed to really consider anything else.  Was that a good choice for me??  Did I miss my calling?  Was being a stay at home mom really the best choice for me or more important for my children?

One of my big personality flaws in my opinion is, I get a bit of tunnel vision with certain decisions.  They are usually harmless like I set it out in my mind what I need to get done before we leave the house and I absolutely have to complete those things regardless of how late it's going to make me or how silly the tasks are.  That's the harmless part since it doesn't really matter if I get to the market 30min later than I expected because I had to pick up toys and do the dishes before I left the house instead of when I came back home.  It's OCD and luckily, doesn't keep me from having a good life.  However, I do wonder if it helped put me down a path that maybe wasn't "my calling".  As stylish as I am in the photo above, I'm not thinking I should've chased a singing/acting career but, was being a stay at home mom the right dream to chase?  Was my OCD causing me to be blinded to another career that would've enriched not only my life been created a better life for my children?

This question has been weighing on my mind for a while now.  I felt like a decent stay at home mom after Gwendolyn was born.  Then she wasn't an infant anymore and I found out I'm terrible at getting on the ground and playing with her.  Coloring and doing puzzles seem to take a patience, I don't possess.  Setting up crafts never happens because I never want to deal with the frustration of doing the project or the mess that follows.  Luckily, she is in school 10 hours a week where she gets to do all those things but, I feel terrible that it's only 10 measly hours a week when she gets true enrichment of play and learning.   Her friends are writing their names and my daughter isn't.  Poor Gwendolyn has already shown signs of her own OCD and certain things stop her dead in her tracks.  She's paralyzed and can't move on unless things are done a certain way.  Might this not be so, if I had been a working mom and my Gwendolyn had a daycare and school to give her the enrichment I've so clearly failed at everyday?  It's only gotten worse of course as Link became a toddler.  Now, I feel like I'm failing him as well and since patience is clearly my biggest problem, I end up frustrated most of the time, causing my children to be distressed and unhappy.  It's not all the time of course.  I would still consider us to be a happy family and my children aren't neglected but, could they have better??

Regardless of the answer to those questions, the fact still remains that daycare and preschools are expensive and unless you've planned to be a working mom all along, it's doubtful any paycheck brought home would cover those costs.  So here I am, thinking about what my future holds but, more importantly, what my children's future holds and how have I set them back due to my blindness.  I don't write this post as a plea for sympathy.  I write it only because, I think the best way to move forward with certain things in life, you need to own up to your own short comings.  Announce that yes, I acknowledge that I was wrong, I'm a putz for being the way I am and only hope that by owning up to it, maybe I can change and set us out on a new path.

Naps suck....but I love'em

Here I am as usual stuck because, of poor time management with a list of errands that will have to wait as the children nap.  Before I had children I knew I wanted to take my infant everywhere in hopes that the baby would get used to sleeping when they were tired regardless of where we were.  This worked wonders until Gwendolyn was 2.  Then the environment was always more exciting than going to sleep.  I felt pretty great in keeping my "freedom" for so long and not having my schedule ruled by "nap time".  By that time, Gwendolyn was only taking 1 nap a day so, at least I had that going for me.  Fast forward to when Link was born.  I kept to my system of just taking him everywhere and he's done pretty well.  Link will wake more easily so his "out naps" are definitely less restful than Gwendolyn's were.  Gwendolyn will still take a nap even though she's turning 4 next month.  Both of my kiddos will fall asleep in the car.  This is both a blessing and a curse.  There are times when I just want them to stay awake until we get home but, usually, I'm okay with them taking a nap in their car seats as long as the weather is not too extreme.  I'm lucky enough in our floor plan that I can leave the kitchen door open to the garage and it just extends my home interior allowing me to let my children stay secure in their seats while they nap.  That doesn't work when it's too hot of course which, takes me back to, I need them to stay awake until we get home and nap inside.

Anyway, back to my whole point.....I love naps in that with the kiddos asleep, I have at least a short time to either get some housework, waste time on facebook (this happens too much I admit), or just watch some TV (also happens more than I want to admit) and relax.  However, there are many times when, I just want to get my errands done.  I don't want to worry about the kiddos being harder to handle because the friends or family that don't have napping children have scheduled some fun action during the usual "nap time".  I'm ready to not worry about "nap time".

I have friends who are very strict about "nap time".  Naps are at a very specific time.  They need to be home and ready for their children to go to their rooms, with the right lighting, stuffed animal or blanket for comfort etc...  I'm sure these friends have found this system to be the answer for harmony in the family.  I certainly know there are children who thrive with rigid routine.  Maybe mine would to and I've proven to be too selfish to give them that much control over our schedule.  The reason I write all this is to say "I MISS MY FRIENDS!"  I feel like I hardly ever get to really spend time with my friends because nap time awaits.  When we are together, we of course can only be half there since we are watching our children with at least 1 eye and making sure they are "sharing" etc.....

I guess in the end, my post title really sums it up for me.  I'm so conflicted.  It's great to have time awake when I don't have a child calling to me or needing me for some reason.  However, I just want to be able to go where I need to go and not watch the time and of course I want to spend time with my friends and family without cranky children of no friends to spend time with at all since they are home for their naps.

Of course, as it goes with growing children, when naps are done, school is in so, my friends will undoubtedly be doing something responsible like their errands or housecleaning during that time.

Oh, woe is me.......ok I'll get over it......I'm lucky to have the family and friends I do even if I don't get to spend the time with them that I want.......and of course.......I'm so lucky to have my beautiful and wonderful children when I know there are people would give anything to have to worry about "nap time" and can't have children for one reason or another so, LUCKY am I!!!!

Here we go again

Once again, I'm going to try and fire it up with blogging.  Even though my posts are few and far in between, at least I have intention and eventually do come back ;o)

Ken news; Astronomy is what makes Ken's heart tick!  Aside from his family of course.  He is currently making the switch from visual astronomy to complete astrophotography.  He's enjoyed all the visual astronomy he's done and certainly learned a lot.  When he started taking images, he really found his nitch!  He loves every aspect of the hobby and looks forward to every clear night we have and makes the most of it.  The one bummer for sure, is that we can't control the weather and this winter hasn't been very forthcoming with the clear skies.  That aside, when he has been able to go out and image, he's gotten some really beautiful pictures.  He enjoys not only the process but sharing it with people!!  That's right, you read correctly, my husband has found something he loves to share!  Although, I still wouldn't say he's the socialite of the party, if you want to talk astronomy in any way, he'll socialize all night with you.  He maintains a flikr account where he uploads his completed images.  Flikr has a great accessory for astronomers so, it's widely used in the field for sharing.  For those who've expressed interest, Ken has created a distribution list so, when he's finished an image, he adds a write up explaining what you're looking at and how he made the image.  It's all amazingly interesting and very eye opening.  Let us know if you want to see Ken's astro work :o)  Here is one of my personal favorites;

Molly News; In my life, I never seem to have enough time or sleep but, I'm managing what I can.  Gwendolyn and Link fill my day with wonderment and craziness.  Somedays I love it and other days, I just wish I could get even half way through my todo list!  It's not all their fault.  Facebook is not on my todo list and Gwendolyn and Link certainly don't force me to get stuck on it.  I need to seriously check myself!!  I need to find a system with a routine I can stick to.  I manage to keep my children clothed, fed and socialized but, I can't say I do it well.  Crossfit is a huge passion of mine outside of being a wife and mother.  I enjoy all of the many things it has done for my life.  Eventually, when I can make it happen, I intend to get my certification and train at Ginger and William's gym "Crossfit Georgetown"  www.crossfitgeorgetown.com.  Book Club and the occasional Girl's Night Out with my Playgroup friends are things I really look forward to.  I wish they both happened more often ;o)

Gwen News;  It feels like Gwendolyn is almost 4 going on 20.  Everyday she says things that leave me in awe.  She never misses a beat.  You may think you're hiding something from her but, usually she totally knows about it and she'll call you out on it.  Gwen is very particular about almost everything.  We are certain she has OCD and plan on getting her evaluated to see if there's something we can do to help her life be less stressful for her.  Particulars aside, she's a happy girl who enjoys people.  Her family, especially her cousins are at the top of the list.  Anytime, she knows she's going to see her cousins, she's ecstatic about it.  Gwendolyn goes to school 2 days a week.  Even though it starts at 9am, it's still tough to get her woken up and in the mood.  She usually tells me at least once that she doesn't want to go to school but, glad in the end that she went.  She's just not a morning girl that one.  She comes by it honestly ;o)  At school she gets to go to gymnastics and cooking class.  She's really thriving in all she's learning and being able to get that structure in her life.  Gwen is still a pipsqueak.  Although, she'll be 4 next month, she is not wearing 4T clothes.  In fact, she wears a lot of 2T clothes still.  For Gwendolyn, it's still all about princesses.  She would wear a "sparkley dress" every waking moment if she could.  We are lucky to have a decent assortment handed down from Delaney.  They are slowly getting very tattered as she plays in them so, I'll probably need to invest in some more soon.  A  pass time that Gwen really loves is singing!!  She likes to find a microphone but will sing without one if she must.  Her favorite songs are still ABC's and Twinkle, Twinkle but she's been singing "Pants on the ground" as of late ;o)  Gwen really loves to teach you things.  Everyday she comes up to me with a new lesson I need to learn from her.  Her favorite color has switched to pink.  Although, she says yellow is second.  I can't believe she is turning 4 years old next month!!  It will feel like a flash and I'll be dropping her off for her first day of kindergarten......Pass the tissues please!!!

Lincoln News; Oh, my love bug Link!  At the end of this month Link will be a year and a half old.  He is very near out weighing his sister and has already managed to push her down a couple times.  Gwen can be rough at times with him and I think it'll be sooner than later that she may be getting "pay backs" ;o)  He is amazingly strong as he can hold his own body weight for a decent amount of time.  He likes to pull himself up on the table and will hang on the fridge doors (as you may have seen from a recent facebook picture) :-P  Link will climb anything he can, get into whatever trouble he can, run to any open door that he sees and do his best to run me ragged.  At this point Gwendolyn and I were signing to each other and communicating quite well.  Not so with Lincoln.  He knows many of the signs I do but, will only sign back to me on a rare occasion.  I feel like he cries and fusses a lot more than Gwendolyn did but, I really attribute to the lack of communication.  I wish like anything we could communicate better so, I'm really looking forward to him talking since he seems to want to skip the whole signing thing.  Link was in "feeding therapy" for a short time.  He basically refused to eat almost everything.  If he didn't breastfeed, he wouldn't have had such a nice layer to live off of while we figured out his food aversions.  After only about 6 weeks he went from eating nothing but puffs and goldfish to eating quite the array of food.  He's still particular about many things but, is eating enough of an assortment that we don't need to worry much at this point.  His favorite foods are eggs, goldfish and yogurt covered raisins.  His favorite beverage is ice water.  He doesn't like cows milk much but sometimes, if I make it ice milk he'll drink a few swallows.  Above all, breastmilk trumps anything on the menu, he prefers that to any consumable.  Link is proving to be a big time mama's boy but there's no question he adores his Dad and recognizes the loved ones around him.

Lucy and Indy News;  Our furbabies are still doing well.  The addition of Indy to our family was a good thing.  Lucy will play with her and she submission pees less (I think).  Indy is a very sweet girl and as she's nearing the end of puppyhood, I'm finding less destroyed toys of the kiddos which excites me greatly.  She still shreds her toys up in no time at all but, I certainly don't mind that.  Indy has a lot more energy than Lucy so, she definitely tries to herd us everywhere and hopes desperately we'll play with her.  I can't believe how tolerant both of our pooches are to our children's abuse but, luckily, they do seem to love them and know that Ken and I will have their back when they need it. ;o)