July 18, 2007
"I'm having a meltdown..."
So, per Jen's suggestion, we went to see Justin Roberts in concert and had a BBBBBlast! Such a fun time. The kids loved it. Jonah was singing and dancing (some..it was rather hot) to all the songs he knew. We met up with Angela and Alyssa there too! The show is really entertaining and Justin is quite witty. He is a cutie, too! ;) Felt a little nervous getting his autograph and totally spaced getting a picture of the kids with him. He was so welcoming and warm to everyone he met. And he looked you straight and deeply in the eyes. I liked that. So, Thanks Jen for introducing this to us.
Here we all are (except Shawn, he's taking the pic).
July 18, 2007 in Nicole | Permalink | Comments (2)
March 30, 2007
Puppy love
I have to share this little story that just happened today. I had a parent/teacher conference today with Jonah's teachers. He's doing wonderfully, they say. Only continuing thing that he's still working on... being chatty, especially with his friend Ella. They proceed to tell me about an excursion to the park a week ago. Jonah and Ella selected each other as "park buddies" as they walk from the school to the park. Jonah was very responsible and took care of her the whole way there. Very gentlemanly, they say. Oh, and he kissed her. How sweet! Wish I could have seen that. So, I bring up the topic later with him because I'm unsure of how the teachers reacted to it... hoping they didn't say anything to make him feel like he did something wrong. So, I asked and he said "Yes, I kissed her, on the cheek. The teachers didn't see me. They tell <other kid> to save their kisses for their mommy and daddy. <big pause> Ella and I will have to figure something out." As in, sneaking in kisses?? Then he proceeds to tell me that he's always thinking about her and that he always sees her in his head. Hmmm... this girl has something on him. It's sweet, but at the same time...isn't he too young? Again, 4 going on 14. My little sagittarian ladies man.
March 30, 2007 in Nicole | Permalink | Comments (1)
January 10, 2007
I have a life!
Hello all... It has been a long time since I last posted. I feel that I should catch everyone up with what's been going on the past few months. But, I won't bore you with the details. The exciting news is that I went out for the first time in a very very long time on New Year's Eve. Both Jonah AND Gabriel spent the night with their grandparents! It was the first overnight away from mama for Gabriel. And he did great. The grandparents came by at 5pm new year's eve to pick them up. Gabriel was pretty excited to get in the car since we'd been home all day. Then, he realized I was on the outside of the car and gave me a bit of a worried look. I just smiled and waved....you know, have to give the appearance of confidence so he'll feel secure with it. And apparently he was.
So, get this.... we were kid free from 5pm till about 1pm the next day. GASP!!! We were able to go to an awesome new year's eve party, listen to great music, and I danced my ass off (so glad to see I still could!). And then, was able to get uninterrupted sleep and SLEEEEEP INNNN. I'd forgotten how that felt.
So, this year begins with a big breath of liberating fresh air... a breath of "me" returning.
Wishes for a rockin blessed year for everyone!
~~Nicole
January 10, 2007 in Nicole | Permalink | Comments (1)
October 26, 2006
Lunchbox love
So, I don't normally do endorsements, but I feel compelled to since Jonah and I love this sooo much. This lunchbox rocks! I know most of you aren't yet to making lunches for school, but when you are this is the greatest lunchbox around. Lead free, no waste, completely reusable. Jonah loves it ....LOVES IT! And it makes lunch making easy...just throw it all in, fill the bottle with a drink, insert cold pack, and zip it up. Fork and spoon provided also. Kicks ass! ;) Here's the website
October 26, 2006 in Nicole | Permalink | Comments (0)
October 04, 2006
Here I am...
Ok, so I'm inspired and motivated to write. I, too, have had a post wanting to come out for some time now. And I am proud to say that I am officially the mother of 2 toddlers. I'm reminded of a friend/coworker of mine who had 3 teenagers. When the clock hit 5pm and she'd get ready to go home, she'd say, "Now... my day begins". I relate already. My day begins in the morning when I'm getting everyone awake, washed up, changed, fed and out the door to take Jonah to school. Then, it begins again when I pick him up in the afternoon. And it's non-stop until Jonah goes to sleep. It's a balancing act, definitely. Everyone's giving out demands and needs that need to be met immediately, then having to intervene with a toy battle or hitting/rough play or getting the baby down from standing on the kitchen table (the boy has no fear). Ahhh, the life with boys. It's interesting how their playing of climbing on top one another is some form of affection. I see this look of admiration in their eyes toward the other, then the next thing I know, Jonah's laying on top of Gaby or Gaby is poking Jonah or hitting him on the head and the squeals of laughter turn to screams or crying. Ahhh, boys.
October 4, 2006 in Nicole | Permalink | Comments (0)
June 23, 2006
Our Cosleeping Story
I too always felt that co sleeping just felt like the right thing to do. This is what tribal societies did long long ago. So, this is what we will do. If there's some "problem" that comes up from it, I'll deal with it then. That whole "deal with it as it comes" is one of the biggest lessons I've learned as a parent. And it feels so good to never have to worry about "what may be later on". Just deal with what is now.
In preparation for Jonah's birth, we borrowed a Co-Sleeper from some friends. But, some piece was missing so we couldn't use it. Then, when Jonah was born, I never even thought about anything else besides having him beside me in bed. As a newborn, it worked fantastically. And once I could nurse him lying in bed...heaven. As he grew and started moving around, we set up 2 futons together just so there'd be extra space. But, we all still slept on one bed.
Then, I started having sleep issues. I never felt like I could touch him when he was sleeping because it would always wake him up. Or, whenever I'd move, he'd move and eventually wake up. I know this is just the flow that happens when mama and baby sleep together. They get into eachother's sleep groove...sleep when the other's asleep and wake when the other's awake. However, he was just waking up soooo much and it would take a long time to get him back to sleep. I needed to not wake him up. So, in trying not touch him, I'd stay in the same compact position all night long with no room to move. And would get very little sleep. Sleep deprived Nicole is no fun. So, someone said to me, "why don't you put him on the other futon and get some space?" Aha! So, moved Jonah to the other futon and Shawn and I slept on the other. I'd nurse him on his bed, then move back to mine. Or, I'd fall asleep next to him then move when I awoke. Aaahhh.... sleep again.
So, it stayed like that until I was pregnant with Gabriel and Jonah was almost 2. I initiated weaning then which Jonah took to pretty easily. So began our bedtime ritual of reading books and falling to sleep during the story or to my singing after.
We set up a full size mattress on the floor in his room, which had already been his play room. My thoughts were that once the baby came, he would need to be already comfortable sleeping in his own room because the crying baby might keep him up. This, however, goes against all recommendations that you NOT move the older kid now because they'd feel dejected. Well, ya, but he needs to be at least comfortable with it as an option. So, one night I said "hey, why don't we sleep in YOUR room tonight?". He thought this was a fun idea, although you could see it in his face that he was a bit unsure. So, he started sleeping in his room. However, he'd wake up during the night and want me in there with him. I ended up falling asleep with him for the night, or would wake up then move back to my bed. But, this became really old. The bed was not all that comfortable for my pregnant body. I wanted my own bed. I wished he would just ask me if he could come back into my room whenever he'd wake at night. But, I didn't want to encourage it by initiating it.
And then it dawned on me that when the baby was born, visiting grandparents would be sleeping in his room anyway for almost a month and Jonah is probably going to want to be with us anyway. And, dammit, I want him to be in the room with us when the baby's here. So, he started sleeping in our room on his old bed again.
Gabriel was born and here we were, Jonah on his futon, shawn next to him, then Gabriel and I on our bed. Things worked out just fine, for a while. Then, Jonah started taking up just tooo much space and flopping all over and ending up on my bed and leaving me and Gabriel little room. So, we tried again. This time, we went out and purchased a new bed for him. It was a big deal. We all went bed shopping then we all assembled it. So, then it became "the bed that mama and papa built" for him. He was sooo excited about it and slept in it willingly.
Then we move. After a few months, he begins coming into our room and wants to sleep there. That's fine. Really, it is. Here's your spot. Now papa has someone to snuggle with. Hey, this is nice. We're all together.
And to this day, this is what he does. He generally gets put to sleep
in his bed, then wakes up sometime and comes to the family bed. Or,
sometimes he goes directly to the family bed when he falls asleep on
the couch or car for the night or if Gabriel wakes up while I'm
getting Jonah to bed. And what's great about those times, when I can't
read to him because I'm getting Gabriel back to sleep and the room is
dark, Jonah lies down in his spot, and puts himself to sleep. And it's
just wonderful to have us all in the same room. And Jonah and Gabriel
have totally gotten used to hearing each other and don't wake up if the
other makes a bunch of noise. Oh, and it's so cute to see them
snuggling each other, legs touching or heads really close together. Gabriel generally wakes up
before Jonah and crawls over to Jonah and lays his head on Jonah's arm
or something and says "aaahhhh". It's so darn sweet.
June 23, 2006 in Nicole | Permalink | Comments (1)
June 14, 2006
3 going on 12
So, one evening, Jonah is watching this dancing show "So you think you can dance" with his Papa (yes, my husband is a reality show junkie and likes this). He's lying on the floor, watching this couple dance and says "Hey Papa, she's cute. I like her."
I could hardly believe I heard those words come out of his mouth. And she WAS cute. Lively blond girl with a pink, sparkly outfit on. Crazy.
June 14, 2006 in Nicole | Permalink | Comments (1)
May 07, 2006
I'm so Tired..
of never having any time for myself. There's just no way for me-time while the kids are awake. And by the time I get the kids to sleep, it's 11:00 and I'm sleepy. Then, I have all these things pulling at me that I want to do, and those things I must do, and my husband. I'm so tired of being needed. I'm the only one that can do it, apparently. Ya, I have a bit more time during the weekdays while Jonah's at school. But, that time is getting used more by Gabriel's toddler needs. And the 1-2 hours during his nap go by so fast and most is taken up by my kundalini yoga practice...one thing I'm glad to have etched into my schedule. Yoga is about the only thing holding me together these days. It gives me the necessary energy to carry me through the day and night, it works my body to get rid of that baby fat that's taking forever to go away, and it clears my mind..keeps me sane, gives me some patience. But, if I don't get my daily dose of it, watch out!...here's the bitch. (Do I have an addiction problem?)
And I'm so tired of having to get after Jonah so much to get him to do what he needs to do. Can't he just brush his teeth without my having to threaten throwing away his astronaut toothbrush? Can't he just lie there and listen to me read him stories at bedtime instead of kicking his legs all over the place, making all kinds of sounds and pulling at my hair and making me have to threaten leaving his room? Can't he just stop whining?
I know all this will pass and I know it's' only for now and only for a short time in the grand scheme of things...but AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! <sigh>
May 7, 2006 in Nicole | Permalink | Comments (4)
April 21, 2006
Wow..
So, this past weekend spent with my family, I *just* learned that my grandmother (my dad's mom) birthed my dad and my 2 uncles (but not my aunt) at home with a midwife, breastfed them and didn't circumcise them. So cool! My grandmother died 13 years ago, so, I couldn't discuss this with her. But, why wasn't I told this 4 years ago? It would have totally helped...ya know?
April 21, 2006 in Nicole | Permalink | Comments (1)
March 23, 2006
Birthing Advice
So, in the spirit of Jen's post about labor tips, I thought I'd post this quote from my kundalini yoga video:
Even when you want to stop, that's exactly when you do NOT stop.
Even when it gets hard to do, that's exactly where you want to be.
You want it to get hard.
You want it to get challenging.
And then you go through that challenge to what we call the other side.
You go to your edge...you pass your edge.
And yet you're able to live in that space.
This is the one thing that stuck out in my head when I was pushing Jonah's head out. (one of these days I'll write up is birth story.) I was dead tired (30+ hrs of labor) and in the surreal moment of it all, I remember hearing my friend and midwife telling me to see that edge and go passed it. I think I actually visualized the edge of a 3D plane (yea, getting abstract here), like a cliff, and thought that going beyond that was like going to the other existence, the pre and post existence place where our spirits live, and getting my baby. Hard to put into words. Definitely a visual thing.
So, ya, I know that this is Becca's second, but you still have to go there.
~nicole
ps. today is Gabriel's 1st birthday. It's amazing and sad. I'm pretty sure we're done having kids. So, knowing this, it's hard to see my baby is growing up.
March 23, 2006 in Nicole | Permalink | Comments (2)
