Earth Day!

Uhhhh... Happy Earth Day... a day late....

Earth day was pretty busy for us so I'm just now blogging about it. Connor really didn't have a concept of what Earth was up until a few weeks ago. I picked up a book from the library about Earth day.



Connor: "What's Earth"
Me: "Its where we live. We live on earth"
Connor: "No, we live in Pasadena."

Damn kid... you're smarter than I thought.

So yesterday when we woke up I told him it was Earth Day and after daycare and dinner we would go to the library for some Earth Day celebrations.

On the way to daycare we talked about what was on earth. Clouds, trees, people, animals, water, and Lightening McQueen (I'm sure you can guess who thought that one up).

We ventured over to the Riviera Beach Library Branch and had a great show put on the by Ukulele Ensemble from George Fox Middle School. Connor couldn't read the words to the music provided but he swayed to the music with me and mumbled through the chorus parts of the songs. In between songs the library read stories. Of course Connor's favorite book, The Lorax by Dr. Seuss was read.

At the end of it all they had little pots of dirt and you could pick out which seeds you wanted to plant. Due to the reading of The Lorax, Connor thought we were planting Truffula Trees..... I kept telling him it was squash.

When we got home from work/daycare today he ran over to his pot of dirt to look for a seedling, looked at me and said, "There's a Lorax in here, I just know it."

Hope everyone takes the time this week to get back in gear with respecting the planet and what keeps us alive and well from day to day. Take care of Mother Earth and she'll take care of you! Because........"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing going to get better. It will not."

Waffle Maker Fun

Before leaving on my AZ trip I was doing research on (aka googling) processed food and weaning them out of our diet as Connor was having major stomach issues. Then I was reading articles on food dyes and how they are banned in some countries and yet the good old U.S.A. allows them.

That got me thinking about food stuff I've never really paid attention too. I looked at the waffles that Connor eats almost every morning for breakfast with fruit. BOOM... red dye and blue dye. I looked at french toast sticks I had bought him for a while and BOOM.... yellow dye. I kept looking and and looking at everything in the freezer aisle. Package after package had food dye and other random stuff in it. Now... I grew up on Eggos and Toaster Strudels and turned out just fine. I also grew up on Apple Jacks and Fruit Loops... yep... that's me... just fine. Well mostly... I do have funky stomach issues to deal with off and on.

The only waffles I could find that were "all natural" were the waffles that stated natural/gluten free. That's great... but there's only 6 in a box and cost just as much if not more than the other brand of waffles I had been buying.

So.... I go out to AZ with all this turning around and around in my head. When Connor was a baby and starting on solids I made all his baby food. Jarred food did not come into our house. Why? Well it grossed me out and if I could just take the time in making it why spend money on jarred food? I also made batches of pancakes and french toast to freeze and grab for his breakfast. At some point... Connor got hooked on waffles and it was easier for me to just buy them then make up batches of the other stuff.

I talked these thoughts out with my mom during my trip and before I left she actually gave me money for half of a really nice waffle maker. As soon as I got home I ordered it and it was in our house in no time. So here I had this awesome, shiny, brand spanking new waffle maker... what do I do with it??? I've never made waffles before!!!!!

I tracked down a quick recipe online (god I love the internet) and swapped flour for gluten-free flour, added flax meal, used coconut milk rather then regular milk and then tossed some strawberries in the food processor and added them to the mix. WOWWOWOWOWOWOWOW were they good.

So as the next couple of weeks went by I got to thinking.... French toast on a waffle maker? Why not? Grilled cheese on a waffle maker? Why not? And yes everyone reading... you can make french toast waffles and grilled cheese waffles!!!

I just whipped up my standard french toast egg mixture, dipped the bread and tossed it on the waffle maker. YUM! Connor tore those up. For the grilled cheese I just made the them like I would for the griddle but put them on the waffle maker instead. Connor tore those up too.

What didn't Connor like? He isn't a fan of the waffles! I've tried all sorts of different things since my first batch but I think he's partial to the red dots from old strawberry waffles and told my aunt at one point he wanted her to take the brown off of his waffles... I guess he's used to the yellow coloring? UGH. At least its a start.

Conquering the Ice

Kev and I had the great experience of watching our little man grow up a little this weekend. I'm pretty sure it was our first time just letting him go and watching him figure it out.

This weekend Connor started ice skating lessons. Being a the big hockey fan that Kev is..... we decided to put Connor in some ice skating classes to see how he did and that way it could open up to playing hockey if he wants too later.

Kev helped Connor with getting his skates on. The first thing Connor asked for was his hockey stick. It was comical watching him trying to walk around with the skates on his feet. The class started and as soon as Connor got out on the ice he froze stiff with his walker. He wouldn't move. The teacher was trying to get all the kids to march their feet and push the walker. Connor would not and did not want to. You could see he was uncomfortable and wasn't sure of what was going on.

He fell.

The teacher helped him up and tried getting him to move some but he was insistent on standing still.

He fell again. Tears.

The teacher helped him off the ice to us. I gave him a little pep talk about how brave he was for getting out there on the ice and wiped away his tears. He went back to his walker. Then slowly with the help of his teacher she got his little legs marching. As she moved on to working another kid, we watched him slowly and then faster and faster moving his walker around the ice. The teacher turned around and was surprised to see how far he had gone. By the end of the class he was falling without fear and pulling himself back up without any help.

At the end of the class he was on the other side of the rink and the teacher held his hands and had him skate back to get off the ice. He was so excited with himself he wanted to go back out.

Connor has always had a sense of hesitation when it comes to doing something that could be dangerous or hurt him. He's never been one to climb on counter tops or jump off of stuff really high. He's just content at what he's got going on. Going out on the ice and slipping and sliding all over the place as a huge step for him. Watching him out there and afterward Kev and I were so happy for him. I can't put it into an exact word to describe what my heart filled up with emotion wise. It was different than anything thing I've felt before. It was a combination of pride, love, excitement, happiness and awe. It was just filled to the brim of awesomeness for him watching him conquer the ice.

The Greatest Show on Earth

The circus came in town and at the last minute Kev and I decided to take Connor. I'm NOT a HUGE circus fan but felt I couldn't deny my son the experience just because I'm not a fan.... well maybe... not gonna lie... I thought about it.

Connor loved it. At one point when the lights went low and the music got quiet he yelled, "The circus is awesome!" Sometimes I thought he was more interested in the light up spinning toy we bought him but his favorite was the motorcycles in the big round cage. At that point he had moved to my lap due to sleepiness setting in but as soon as those motorcycles hit the ring... boy oh boy did he light up.

All in all it was a good trip. With Connor being 3 years old there were some tears and tantrums but all minor. I think next year he'll understand more of what to expect so the nervous tantrums won't even show. But this year, he was enthralled with the whole experience.

For the last week Connor has now been asking us over and over about what was our favorite parts and then we have to ask him his favorite parts. He's also been telling me that I sat in seat one, he sat in seat two and daddy sat in seat three. He remembers the Moon Bounce down in the ring I wouldn't let him in (it was crazy crowded with kids and my wallet was up with Kevin). He remembers the clowns, the elephants and MOTORCYCLES. We might have started him on something.....

 

Goodbye Winter

I cannot tell you how happy I am to say goodbye to winter. I know most of us are but man oh man did the Sachs house have a rough long winter. This winter left me down, out of the count, burnt out, stressed out and with all sorts of not being able to sleep. What was the cause? Cold weather? Lots of snow? Change of weather depression??? No. A stomach bug. A ridiculous stomach that would not leave our little boy alone!

From the last week of January to the first week of March, Connor was having digestive issues at least once a week. There is nothing more awful than guessing if your kid is actually better and waiting for shit (or throw up for that matter) to hit the fan. Toward the end I was loosing my mind. I was missing a lot of work and falling behind, not sleeping because every time Connor sighed, whined or rolled over in his sleep I'd jolt awake thinking he was going to be sick. This was new territory for our family. As the 4 to 6 day mark of being sick free crept closer and closer I worried more and more waiting for the impending doom. It sucked. Bad.


Thankfully I can say that with the Spring that is slowly starting to show its face and bring us hope the stomach issues have left my son (***KNOCK ON WOOD***).


So here we are. I haven't blogged in over a month. I really lost sight of myself as we dealt with what was being thrown at us this winter. I'm back, rested, and have found the part of myself that isn't just mommy.

Keep Calm and Eat Dinner

Helping me cook dinner

Oh man.... I have a confession. Dinner routine in the Sachs house has totally gone off course. What used to be a special treat of movie night and eating in the living room watching TV has become the norm. What's worse? I started cooking Connor his separate dinners as he was starting to refuse what I was making him. I took the easy way around things because by the time the end of the day rolls around I just want to keep the peace. I've been up with him getting ready for daycare, most likely sat in traffic with him getting to daycare, worked all day and then by the time we get home we have almost 3 hours to spend together as a family.

The last three weeks have been up and down. Connor has been fighting a nasty imbalance of bacteria in his belly since having the stomach bug at the beginning of this month. I didn't realize what crappy food we were feeding him until I was trying to wean him off it to help balance out his sour belly!!! Talk about being disappointed in yourself.

Sooooo yesterday we started... I cleared off the cluttered kitchen table... made us ALL tacos (one of Connor's favorites). While he barely touched the taco meat he tore up some avocados and we all sat together as a family, eating dinner and gasp.... TALKING! It was a Christmas miracle for sure. I don't know how long we've been in his rut but its officially over. No more cluttered kitchen table making the living room look more enticing. No more!

I knew it was bad when tonight when I had the following conversation with Connor as I asked him to help me set the table....

Me: Connor come help mommy set the table.
Connor: Is Diva coming for dinner tonight?
Me: No. Its just the three of us.
Connor: Well who's coming over for dinner?

This is a total sign that we only eat at the table when we have company! Eek!!!! Sigh....

Sooooo tonight was evening two of eating at the table. Connor ate the same chicken as us (with a little bit of a fight) and I made him noodles tossed in coconut oil and green beans since I knew that was easier to eat than our asparagus and baked potato. At least its a start!

A New Year

So wow. Long time no see. Soooooo how are you? We're doing fine.

A new year is here and I can't wait to share with everyone what we've been up to and our future adventures.

Let's see... since we've been gone... my parents visited from AZ, I turned 30, Christmas came and left in a whirl and Connor turned 3.

Lots and lots.

Check it out!

I turned 30 and we had an awesome birthday party for me. The decorations were adorable, the cake was yummy and cute, and I had my favorite people around me for a crock pot cook-off. Later in the week my mom and step dad took me out to dinner and the theater to see Billy Elliot.

This was the first Christmas where there was finally Santa magic. The whole thing clicked with Connor this year and he excited and happy waiting for Santa and waking up every morning to the elf on the shelf.

Sigh.... my little baby is becoming a big boy super fast. Jan 2nd he turned 3 years old. How did that happen?! How did time go so fast? He's so smart and witty it blows our mind. His cuteness can be just too much and his love for Lightening McQueen and his gang is stronger than anything.

Horse Appreciation Day

The day after Movie Under the Stars we (Lindsey, Hunter, Connor and myself) ventured over to Dublin's farm for Horse Appreciation Day. It was perfect weather, felt like a gorgeous fall day and Connor was having a melt down over almost everything single thing. At least the pictures make him look super happy.

Before leaving the house Connor looked so cute and the weather was so nice we decided to do an impromptu photo shoot. He's such a ham these days.

We took a look at the horses when we got there and then headed over to the pony rides. Connor had a blast riding the ponies. From there we stopped by the ambulance that Lake Shore Fire Department had for the kids to get in and look at. Connor did not want to get out. He was fascinated.... future EMT on our hands? Maybe....

From there we saw and pet a few animals and then Connor saw it.... the holy grail.... the...... MOONBOUNCE...... once he got inside he did not want to come out. The attendant had to go in and "help" him get out when his turn was up! From that point there was a bunch of screaming and yelling and a lot of tantruming. I decided we needed lunch. While buying lunch they played the National Anthem.... my son screamed and cried through the WHOLE National Anthem. Lindsey swore she couldn't hear him from where she was but I felt like everyone was staring.

We got lunch, played on a tractor and headed BACK to the ambulance because they now had a fire truck there too. More tantrums, another pony ride, more tantrums and another few bounces in the moon bounce and mommy was DONE. I couldn't handle the meltdowns any longer... it was time to go. Sooooo I dragged my screaming toddler out of the event, into the parking lot and took him home. Nap time didn't come soon enough that day. Whew. So, like I said, at least the pics make it look like he had a great time!

Movie Under the Stars

In mid-September I took Connor to an event at the college where I work. Each year they host a Movie Under the Stars. They have an inflatable screen and you sit out in the atrium under the stars and watch the movie. I used to go in my early 20's when they did the drive-in movies out in the parking lot.

I was very excited to take Connor. While daycare has taken Connor to the movies many times, Kev and I have never taken him! We had friends coming to meet us and some of Connor's friends came too. We got there early to get a good seat and we were right up front. I had packed us chairs, blankets, dinner, snacks and they sold huge bags of yummy kettle corn. We were totally ready for Movie Under the Stars!

Even though it stated that the movie was going to start at 7 it didn't really start until 7:45. But that didn't matter, we had plenty of entertainment watching the kiddos running around and dancing to the music they had playing.

Connor did so well watching the movie. Even though he hopped from his chair to my chair and back a bunch of times he did awesome. We saw the movie Brave. I really didn't know what the movie was supposed to be about beside changing your fate but I figured Pixar was safe and Connor would be ok. I also had no clue about the huge angry bear that was in the movie either. The bear gave Connor a little bit of a scare and when you asked him what the movie was about he said, "Her mommy turn into bear. Angry bear."

I already can't wait for next year!

Beautiful Fall

Beautiful fall is upon us. Football is back in season, Baltimore got to experience October baseball,  the cool weather is around every morning and most of the day, wonderful colors in the trees, my open toed shoes have been put away, I bought my first huge pack of apples and made apple sauce, and I'm already planning on cooking my first batch of chili for the season very very soon. The Renaissance Festival / camping trip has come and gone. We've hit up the pumpkin patch and now Halloween is right around the corner. Next thing you know Thanksgiving will be knocking at our door! Slow down Amanda, slow down.

Our busy fall season is surrounding us! We've been doing soooo much and having soooo much fun that well... again I fell off the blogging bandwagon. If I could just hang on when we get busy!!!

So what have we done since Labor Day? Hmm... I went to a Ravens game with my dad, I took Connor to a movie under the stars, we went to a horse appreciation day event in our area, completed our annual camping and Renaissance festival trip, Kevin and I went away and celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary and my mom and I took Connor to the pumpkin patch.

Since Labor day I also completed my four credit eight week Javascript class that seemed to suck the life out of my evenings between reading, homework and quizzes. Totally thankful that is over and I walked away with a 90/89%

Next couple of days I'll do a post for each big thing that has come our way this fall! Stay tuned!

Labor Day Love

Labor day is one of my favorite long weekends out of the year. Don't ask me why... I've just always looked forward to this particular weekend at the end of a long summer.

This summer didn't go by too slow. I thought it was going to when it got super hot early in July. I was worried it was going to be THAT HOT alllllllllllll summer long. Thankfully.... mother nature got my memo and it cooled off. Not a lot but enough to make it tolerable. If only she'd get my memo about my dislike for humidity, life would be just fabulous.

So what did we do???

Well... Friday evening I picked up pizza and after dinner I went and got a hair cut. A much needed haircut. It was lovely. I came home to find Kevin slowly being taken over by the cold/virus that hit our house earlier in the week. Boo.

Saturday Kev got his sick butt up and out of bed to go to a softball tournament. I wished him good luck and off he went. Connor and I had plans. BIG plans. Plans to party.

Every year my dad's side of the family and another side of the family get together. We grill and cook up really yummy food and BAM! the party gets started. This year we had Alligator and Crabs on the menu. SCHAWEET!

Sunday..... Ahhh... Sunday.... I was supposed to get together with a girlfriend to do a yard sale. Late Saturday night we decided to cancel because it was supposed to rain off and on all morning long. Well.... the rain was off all morning long. OH WELL! All three of us pretty much vegged around the house like a lazy bump on a log. It was wonderful.

Monday Connor met up with our friends Taran and PJ for a play date. Apparently the air port in our area has an inside viewing area that the kids could watch the planes. There is also plane pieces for them to play on (if I read the website correctly). We got to the air port with toddlers in toe. Dodging people and their bags, down escalators and looking for air planes. When we asked someone where this awesome place was.... we were informed it was closed for renovation! OH NO! Toddlers wanted to see air planes! It was rainy outside so we couldn't do the outside viewing area!  Luckily we found an area off to the side with windows and a beautiful glass crab statue. The kiddos could see some planes and were memorized by the crab. From there it was off to the mall for lunch and playtime.

Our Labor Day weekend wasn't over the top, we didn't travel somewhere exotic or party hard.... but we spent time together and with people we care about. Those....are the BEST kind of weekends for sure.

Ker-Plunk

Connor adding the marbles.

Ever played the game Ker-Plunk? Take all that time putting the sticks in to place. Like A LOT of time because towards the end none of the sticks want to find another hole on the other side. Only to pull the sticks out one by one and wait for the marbles to fall in less than half the time it took you to put the sticks in! We had the game growing up as kids. I played the game many times with my sister.

As I grew up and moved out of the house I packed up most of my games from when I was a kid and took them with me. In our early 20's we did a lot of drinking and partying. We turned Ker-Plunk into a drinking game. However many marbles fell when you pulled the stick... that's how many drinks you too. SIMPLE!

Now I STILL have that same game in our game closet. It hasn't been played with for years... regular or drinking way. Being home with Connor this afternoon on his sick day I thought about the game. We could TOTALLY play that game. I've come full circle.

The toddler's patience isn't very great for waiting on putting the sticks into the game. Thankfully I was able to keep him preoccupied with the marbles (even though I watched him like a hawk to make sure he didn't stick any up his nose, ears or mouth). Once I got the sticks in Connor took joy in putting the marbles in the top and then the game was over within 30 seconds.

With this game we worked on patience, taking turns and counting. Pretty simple!

Did I Set Myself Up??

I'm sitting here totally thinking I set myself up for the sick day with Connor that we are going to have tomorrow....

Last week I finally got access set up at work so I can log in and work from home if needed. I should have done this sometime in the last year and a half since I started working at this job BUT I thought it was this big mysterious thing to accomplish... requiring many steps and contacting many people.... NOPE! A simple email to one person got me the form needed. I filled it out... had it signed off on and then sent it to technical support. The next day I had an email telling me it had been complete. Hmmm... it was THAT easy... so there I set myself up with the ability to work from home if needed.

THEN this weekend... I was cleaning out Connor's room. Pulling out and putting away clothing that no longer fits him, dusting and reorganizing. I found his humidifier under his end table. It hasn't been used since the Spring and has just sat under his end table collecting dust and waiting for the winter season to hit us with the dry heat circulating through the vents. I figured this weekend would be a great weekend to wash it out and soak it in vinegar and prepare for the upcoming winter. That way I'm ahead of the game.

Well... right after cleaning out the humidifier.... it happened... Connor's nose started sounding stuffy... then it started to run a little. He was still his happy toddler self so I was just hoping in the back of my mind that it was just a little allergy and all would clear up in a day.... or two.

Yeah... no. At lunch today I got a call to come pick up Connor from daycare... he had a fever. I pretty good one at that, 101 - 102. I usually just monitor anything lower than 101 but this kid was going to need some ibuprofen.

So far he's in good spirits with some tired spells. The ibuprofen makes the fever go away but it comes right back after its worn off. Connor has to be fever free for 24 hours before returning to daycare and I'll be doing part sick day and working from home because... last week I had the whole work from home thing set up.... and the humidifier is in the closet waiting to clear up a stuffy nose....

See... I've totally set myself up for this. UGH. Here's to a quick resolving fever!!!

Summer Fun

Catching up on what we did over the summer.....

We went camping out in Western MD at my dad's trailer at Little Orleans Campground. Everyone had a great time and getting away with family was perfect. I even discovered Chocolate Chip Cookies S'mores.... YUM!

This summer we've had many trips to the park with our new friends we met in gymnastics this Spring. Our second trip to Tick Neck Park with PJ and Blake found us fixing boo boos, playing t-ball, and looking for tigers in the woods.

We celebrated 4th of July with family swimming and cooking out. It was VERY hot and we were thankful for the pool and still having electricity after the Derecho storm that came through. Connor enjoyed eating a burger the way you normally eat a burger for the first time and had fun with sparklers.

In mid July, Connor and I met up with three of my mom friends at Sandy Point State Park. Two of whom, I have talked to on an online forum for the last two and half years but never met even though they live in Maryland. Three of us mom's have toddlers born in January 2010 and the other two infants were a month or so apart. The trip was a success and it was great to FINALLY meet each other.

Taran and I took Connor and PJ to the Chesapeake Beach Waterpark in Chesapeake Beach, MD. It was A LOT of fun and perfect for kids Connor and PJ's age. Connor was in rare form that day and was only happy when he was in the pool. So when it was time to eat lunch and wait to get back in the pool there was lots of melt downs and he ended up in time out. Time outs aside everyone had a great time and ending the day in the Lazy River was perfect. I also was able to enjoy a Sonic shake for the first time EVER. Since Connor didn't pass out with PJ in the backseat Connor also enjoyed a Sonic shake.

 
Our Staycation about 3 weeks ago was what it sounds like. Kev and I took off work and kept Connor home from daycare. We stayed home but went and did something almost every day. Monday we took Connor duck pin bowling, Tuesday we took Connor to play mini golf, Wednesday we took Connor to the Baltimore Aquarium and Thursday we took Connor to the Science Center. It was really nice being home together as a family and spending all our time together. We made the most of our time together and I felt like we it was a success as I headed back to the work the next week.

And of course there were random Pig Roasts, a Welcome Home party for my brother in law as he was able to have a short visit home from his station in Afghanistan, and other summer fun.

Soooooooo I think that wraps up what we've been up to.... Just a little bit of summer left, I can hear fall activities calling my name already.

How We Said Goodbye To The Bink...

Why and Preparation:
So the time came where Connor would loose his Bink (pacifier) in the middle of the night and then whine until on of us (most of the time me) ran into his room to search through his blankets, under the bed or along the floor to find the missing Bink to stop the whining and put Connor back to sleep.

This started to get OLD. We had a toddler not an infant. I should not have to be getting up in the middle of the night to try and get this kid back to sleep with something a baby uses. So I decided it was time to say good bye to the Bink.

I decided it would be easiest to pull the Bink when we were home on our Staycation so he can get his addicted self off the Bink without having to involve daycare at nap time. I printed off a calendar from a template in Word and put a star on the date that the "Bink Fairy" was going to come to our house. Yes... we lied to our child and invented the Bink Fairy.

I then put the calendar in Connor's room and explained to him that he was fast approaching becoming a big boy and that the Bink Fairy was coming to the house. I explained to him that the Bink Fairy would ask him for all his Binks and in return he would receive a present. He liked this idea. 

He was so excited he wanted to see her right then and there for his present. Since I did not have his presents YET I explained to him that she wasn't here just yet and he had to wait. He demanded to see a picture of her.......... um.... he's way too smart for mommy! I opened my lap top and started to think about where I would find a pic of the Bink Fairy..... then it popped in my head.... FlyLady.com! Hehehe!! He believed me and all was well.

Each night we crossed off a day on the calendar and counted how many bedtimes we had left until the Bink Fair came. Through the week he would talk about how she was coming to our house and he would get a present if he gave up his Binks.

Day Of:

The Letter from the Bink Fairy

The morning of I left a letter from the Bink Fairy explaining to him that today was the day he stepped in the shoes of a big boy and gave up his Binks so she could give them to other babies that needed them and put an empty basket beside the letter.

He woke up and came out to the living room and I read him the letter. Immediately he ran to him room and gathered all the Binks in his room and put them in the basket. We placed it on the front porch like the letter asked.

While we were eating breakfast, I snuck out the backdoor through the backyard and pulled the presents out of my car. What presents did he get you ask??? Well... he got a Cars themed scooter that I found on Craigslist (the big boy toy), a Mobi Glomate Junior so he had something at bedtime to replace the Bink (we call him Buddy), Cars stickers and the Professor car from Cars (yes I spoiled him). I took the Binks and hid the in the glove box of my car. I snuck back through the back door. After breakfast we peeked out and saw the presents. He was very excited.

Checking out his scooter...
The basket is empty!

He played around with his scooter in the house for a little bit and then it was time to get dressed and go bowling for the late morning/lunch time. We figured if we went and did something that would wear him out MAYBE nap time would go smoothly....

We had fun bowling (I'll post pics of them later), but once we got home and nap time arrived... he was not a happy camper. It finally sank in what he did with his Binks. I felt bad because I feel like I tricked him into giving up his Binks for a dance and a song... and he did.... but at the same time it needed to be done. He screamed for a good 45 min, we went in every so often to console him and then all of a sudden it was quiet. He went to sleep!

An hour later he was up again screaming. UGH! Nap time cut short!

Then came bedtime. We adjusted bed time routine a little different. He got a bubble bath and I lathered him up with lavender lotion. Instead of reading books in his room with one of us, we read books as a family in the living room. After books he got into his bed but didn't ask for his Bink. He was whiney and sad looking so talked with about which friend he wanted to snuggle with and after he was settled down with his new Buddy and snuggle partner I was out the door. It took him an hour to fall asleep and he slept through the night.

Days Following:

Nap times can be a bit of a struggle sometimes. I think the Bink just helped him fall into a relaxed state and he hasn't figured out how to do that yet. He now prefers to sleep on the floor instead of his bed or tries to talk us into random things when he should be getting ready for taking a nap. We noticed his naps went from two hours to one. Slowly but surely they've been getting longer again.

Bedtimes a fairly easy but again... he's trying to talk us into sleeping on the floor of delaying bedtime as long as he can. Bedtime is a little more hard work than reading a book and getting into bed these days. You never know which Connor you're going to get. Happy helpful Connor.... or "I don't like my bed" Connor..... I guess it all goes with that thing called parenting that we signed up for. MOST nights he's sleeping through the night again.

He really hasn't asked for the Bink flat out. Every once in a while he mentions the Bink Fairy and how she took his Binks. I remind him that he gave them to her. The other morning he asked when she was bringing them back and I told him she wasn't. So far its been almost 3 weeks and we're moving along fine.... ***knock on wood***

Middle of June... Say wha?!

How did June creep by so fast? I mean I know evenings were passing by without me blogging but I didn't realize HOW MANY!!!

So what happened this month?? Well we started off the month with a camping trip to my dad's trailer in Little Orleans, MD. I actually started a blog about our trip but never finished it. Soooo more on that to come.

Connor is still blowing my mind left and right with his imagination. I mean.... he's just a big ball of awesomeness. Pure awesomeness.

This past weekend he decided he wanted to sleep in the play tent that we have. I let him sleep in it for nap then he wanted to sleep in it for bedtime and then he was hooked. I felt bad for letting him sleep in the floor. I mean, we had a nice comforter folded up under him but it was the floor for crying out loud! Tonight I constructed a blanket fort around his toddler bed and he finally climbed back up in his bed. I was even able to move the tent out of his room. Whew. A blog post on this is coming soon as well.

Me? What's going on with me you ask? Nothing really new really. I haven't been running at all and I really need to start. Like yesterday needed to start.

I decided to stop reading the autobiographies, biographies and memoirs for now. They were boring me and I was beginning to dislike reading. It was feeling like homework. I started reading Dark Legacy by Anne DeStefano. It was a book I downloaded on a Free Download Friday through B&N. Not bad I suppose. I took a break to read the first book of 50 Shades of Grey by E. L. James. It was steamy but I couldn't get passed the writing style AND then once I found out it was based off of Twilight Fan Fiction it was all over for me. The characters also drove me nuts.

We also celebrated Father's day which I hope to blog about soon as well. Father's day totally snuck up on me as well. The Tuesday before I was sitting on the couch and BAM! it hit me.... UGH. June is usually one of my favorite months but I feel like it is flying past me in a whirl wind.

I'll end with this cute recording/video of Connor and his new found love of Knock Knock Jokes.... we were in the car and I was driving so I couldn't just record him... I turned on the recorder and dropped it in the cup holder.

HAPPY JUNE!!!

Carnival!

Still catching up from my time away from blogging. In the time that I was gone we went to the Riviera Beach Carnival. We went last year with Connor and he did ok. He didn't really understand what was going on but he enjoyed getting on rides with mommy and daddy and playing the ducky game.

The Riviera Beach Carnival

This year... was different. Since the carnival was in direct sight of us when leaving our neighborhood and coming home, Connor could see the top of the Ferris Wheel and kept asking me, "What's that?" He was very excited when he asked and we told him AND he got to ride it.

We ventured over to the Carnival with some the Dena's Finest of Pasadena's local neighbors. We dropped 20 bucks on tickets and brought our son much happiness that evening. The first ride was of course the Ferris Wheel. He watched as he waited for his turn to ride and started to tantrum off and on because of the excitement.

Once on the ride, his face lit up as we went AROUND and AROUND and AROUND. He absolutely LOVED it. I totally love it when we can make his face light up and see him experiencing things for the first time. Yes... we went on the Ferris Wheel last year... but he doesn't remember it so it's like the first time.

On the Ferris Wheel

From there Connor got on his first ride ALL.BY.HIMSELF. OMG. It was the Alligator ride. He walked right up to his Alligator, let me put him in, buckle him in and walk away. My inner mommy was sad that he was growing up to be such a big boy and then all at the same time my heart was melting with seeing the excitement on his face. Being a mom is totally tough on the emotions!

Riding an Alligator named "Fred"

After the Alligator ride, Connor and I went on this car ride that is bumpy and attached to a train track. Not my idea of fun and made me feel kinda sick but his little face was just as happy as can be!

Riding Jalopy Junction.

Me wanting to barf and Connor doing the jig.

We ventured over to the games and let Connor pick some duckies and win a prize. After a while we circled back and let him play again. We were able to trade in our small prize for a big prize. Connor picked out a stuffed animal cow and named him Steven.

Before leaving, Connor and I rode the Merry-Go-Round. Last year we rode this and he had a complete meltdown at the end because he didn't understand that his turn was over. This year... it went much smoother. He rode it, loved it and then got right off like a big boy.

More going around and around and around.

This was such a great trip for him that the rest of the week whenever we drove by it, Connor pointed out the "Carminal" and told me he rode the purple one. Hot damn he has a good memory because we DID ride in the purple cart on the Ferris Wheel!! After it was packed up and gone, he noticed right away and asked me where it went! I told him the Carnival had to pack it up and move to the next fun place. He replied, "Oh ok, Mommy. I like the Carminal." Ahhhhhhhhhhhh what a wonderful child. <3

Mother's Day... Finally

Finally gonna tell you about Mother's day weekend! Better late than never I always say :)

That Saturday morning was Connor's last day of gymnastics. Kevin and I both went in hopes that he'd be up for playing and following directions. He did pretty good and we got some cute pics. He wasn't a fan of the mat exercises but he walked the balance beam, hung from the bars and ran/jumped on the mat like a pro that day. Kevin and I were super happy he enjoyed himself.

Walking the balance beam with Mommy

Cheesin it up waiting for the hanging bars

JUMP!

From there Connor and I were going to hop in the car and drive an hour and a half up to Elkton to visit family. Kevin stayed at the house since he was on call for work but Connor and I had a nice drive up 95 in the new car. Connor didn't get antsy until the last 15min on 95. He started begging me to get out of his seat and come sit next to me. :)

We spent the afternoon in Elkton playing inside, outside, eating lunch and visiting my Aunt and Uncle's Garden Center. Afterward we packed it up and drove back home. Connor napped allllllllllllllll the way back home. I drove with the music up and the sun roof open. I came home to find that Kevin did a ton of yard work, the dishes AND started laundry. He also ran out and got me my Mother's Day flowers.

Checking out the trees in Elkton

Mother's Day morning I woke to a pancake breakfast made by Kevin and it was yummy. After breakfast I opened my cards and we relaxed until it was time to go to Kevin's mom's house for lunch. Lunch was nice. We enjoyed yummy sandwiches, mac n cheese, cantaloupe, strawberries and a yummy dessert. We left with just enough time to get us home in time for nap time.

During nap time Kevin and I watched a movie from his very large collection of movies (I'll have blog about that at another time). The movie was longer than we anticipated and Connor just kept on sleeping. The next thing we knew the movie was ending, Connor was just waking up and it was 5pm!!! We threw together/packed up a picnic and headed off to Ft. Smallwood Park for a picnic. We ate our dinner... We being Kevin and I. Connor was way to distracted to eat his dinner. From there we went to the park. IT WAS CROWDED. I'm guessing everyone had a similar plan to what we were doing for Mother's Day. Our time at the park was spent avoiding children who's parents weren't watching them unfortunately.

Connor started out wanting to be in the swings. When we put him in the swings another little girl's mom had put her in the baby swing next to Connor, gave her three or four pushes and then walked away...... after a few minutes the little girl came to a stop and she started asking Kevin and I over and over and over again for us to push her. I kept telling her that I was playing with my son and her mommy should push her. WHERE WAS HER MOMMY?? It finally came to a point where I just flat out told this sweet little girl that I wasn't going to push her. I felt bad but these days you never know whose parent is going to get pissed at you for trying to help... plus why should I have to step up for this girls mother???

Sigh... ANYWAY. We enjoyed the rest of the time at the playground and then headed off to Kevin's dad's house to visit for a bit. From there we ventured home, it was getting to be almost bed time, Connor STILL needed a bath and we STILL needed to Skype with my mom. We tried Skyping with my mom on my new MacBook Air that I had JUST got but since my connection kept dropping in and out we couldn't have a decent conversation. Sooooooo I tossed Connor in the tub and then into bed with just enough time left to relax before my bed time.

My flowers and cards

Woman of the hour :)

The reason I'm mommy and the man I love :)

At the playground!

Soooo Mother's day weekend was jam packed, busy but very memorable and lovely. It took me most of the next week to get caught up on everything I didn't do over the weekend but totally worth it.

Visitors!!!

We had visitors last week! Diva and G-Bill came to visit last week. We had a great time this trip and Connor LOVED having them visit.

I was able to take off work on Monday and Friday so my mom and I had two full days to go and do as we pleased while Connor was in daycare. Connor was also home sick with a fever on Wednesday so we had some extra time with the grandparents as well.

Monday, Diva and I ventured to Bedazzled in downtown Baltimore and then made our way up to The Owl Bar for lunch. Diva bought me two cute owl beads to make earrings out of. As soon as I'm done this blog I'm going to put them together...... we'll see... I just yawned.

During the week we played games, blew bubbles, went for walks down to the beach and played lots and lots and lots and lots of Nertz. By the end of the trip we had our fill of Nertz. Diva was zoning out and my wrist was getting sore and achy.

Friday Diva and I ventured to London Town Gardens in Mayo, MD. It is an old historical town that has archeology sites, old buildings, the William Brown House and beautiful gardens. The William Brown House was pretty interesting and I learned about how they treated poor/mentally crazy people back in the 1800's/early 1900's. From the London Town Gardens website, "In 1828 the Brown House and 10 acres were acquired by Anne Arundel County for use as an Almshouse. It continued operation as the "poor house" until passage of the Welfare Act in 1965. In the 1970s, it became part of the Anne Arundel County parks system." CRAZY!!!

We walked through the gardens even though the we could hear thunder getting closer and closer. There were some beautiful flowers, trees, gazebos and views.... not to mention huge home across the South River. When we started to see lightening we made our way back to the main area, took a few more pics and then hopped in the car right before the rain started coming down. From there we wandered Annapolis mall and grabbed a late lunch before picking Connor up from daycare. It was a very very wonderful day.

Saturday I participated in the Fiesta 5k and then came home to relax. Saturday evening Diva, Connor and I went out for pizza and then headed over to Down's Park for some outside time with Connor. We stopped by the turtle pond and saw how huge the turtles were BUT we didn't have any food to throw over to them. Soooooooooo Sunday we came back with all the left over rolls from Monday's dinner and they had QUITE the feast.

Sunday evening came way too fast and I found myself driving them to the airport with a heavy heart. Sigh.... there's just NEVER enough time. This trip didn't FLY by but it sure wasn't long enough.

Enjoy our pics!

Learning how to use the iPad

BUBBLES!

On our way to London Gardens... doggy riding in style....

The cooking house at London Town Gardens

Butterfly!

My fav spot at the gardens

Pretty cool!

Love it!

At the neighborhood beach :)

Connor was here so was G-Bill...

Connor's first snowball with Diva

At the park... it's allllllll his.....