Officially a Suburban SAHM

Today I sadly handed over the keys to my faithful Honda CR-V.  We bought this SUV brand spankin' new in February of 2008 with only 5 miles on it.  We bought it with the intention of starting a family in distant future.  This vehicle has endured many road trips to PA, Ocean City, and North Carolina.  She witnessed a zillion trips to Target, Costco, and Trader Joes, fights over driving distance between us and the car in front of us, babies crying in the backseat, snacks dumped over the floor, out of tune singing, laughter, good news (I still remember where I was on 695 when my sister told me she was expecting), and tears.  A lot happened inside her safe mold.  The CR-V suffered minor hail damage on her hood and some scraps from doors opening into her sides.  She never failed me even when I tested her to go under 0 miles until empty.  She drove like a car and managed to get me home those *few* times I maybe had too many beers or glasses of wine.

It's been a great seven years of driving my CR-V

The kids won't remember this vehicle most likely.
Both of them were brought home from the hospital in it.

Out with the SUV, in with the mini van!

My brand-spankin' new 2015 Honda Odyssey!  It has so many bells and whistles that it might take me another 7 years to figure it out.  I only wanted white with gray interior.  I only wanted a Honda again.

Why a mini van?  I love, love, love the Honda dealership in Ellicott City.  I was only going to buy another Honda.  With two big car seats in the backseat, it's very difficult to sit an adult between them.  We often take MeMa with us to NC and that isn't going to work for 6 hours.  I would like to be able to cart other kids around and that's just not possible in my CR-V.  The bigger SUVs with the 3rd row are just too big. Can you imagine me driving one of those?  I am lucky to have a husband who is not ashamed to drive a van, so it didn't take any convincing to get him on board for a van.

So two days after my 34th birthday, I officially own a mini van.  I can join the rows of mini vans at MOPS, Target, and Costco.  I truly feel like a suburban Baltimore stay-at-home mom now!  We are excited for our first road trip and for the many adventures in our Odyssey.  

Never say never :)

January "Snow" Days

This winter has been a little lacking in the snow department, yet somehow there have been a zillion delays and closings.  I can joke and bust on Maryland for shutting down for 1/4 inch of slush, which I do, but honestly, I like that I live in a place that shuts down for snow.  We live at the bottom of a fairly steep hill which usually does not get touched until everything else has been cleared.  I don't have anywhere to be that important that is worth risking an accident.  Plus, I love going to bed with anticipation that Jason might stay home and "work".  Who really wants to go to work when you can sled with your kids?  I do, however, get frustrated when I pay money for Evie to go to preschool and it is canceled due to wet roads and the treat of icing.  That makes me curse Maryland county based decisions.

Three years ago we had zero snow.  Therefore, there were no snow pants from Hannah in size 3T.  Luckily Paula got some for Evie for Christmas.  At the end of December, though, I was curious if she would even wear her hot pink suit.  Braylen and Evie have beautiful matching coats and snow pants, boots, high quality gloves, long johns, and hats.  We are ready!

Thankfully we have worn the snow gear two times.  With small kids, even 1 inch is enough snow to sled on.  This was the first year that I didn't sweat and fight the kids to get dressed.  In fact, Evie got undressed, dressed, undressed, and redressed (follow all that?) all. by. herself.  

 

Braylen still needs help, especially with his snug fitting cuddle duds (if that's what they are called)

Cracks me up

Evie got to shoveling right away while her brother tried to figure out how to hold a shovel with his hands in mittens

While Daddio is at work, Evie picks up the slack

There are three tasks every snow day- clear off the sidewalk, clean the cars, and sled with Emily.  Evie shoveled with me, Bray helped with the cars, and all of us went sledding with Emily and Lisa.  Check.  

I am still waiting for the big snow that keeps Daddio home with us.  President's Day weekend usually brings a big snow.  Fingers crossed for that.  If nothing else comes, at least we used the snow gear since none of it will fit next year!

My List of Toddler/Preschooler Must-Haves

Each season of raising two kids brings new challenges, joys, and frustrations.  I learn so many good tips by going to play dates at other family's homes.  I don't "do" Pinterest, so I rely on my mom friends to show me little things that make life a tad easier with little ones.  Here are ten "must-haves" for this season in my life.  Many are stolen from others (well, Liz).  I hope some parent out there in blog space can be an ounce more sane from using one of these.  It's the little things that can make a big difference in the mood of everyone!

1.  The Tot Clock

This clock works like gold for Evie.  She will not come out of her room when it is blue, which is the color used for nap and bed.  She knows to stay in bed until it is yellow.  I use it for "room time" and time outs as well.  The clock face can be set to different colors and will always go back to yellow when she can leave her room.  It works really well for Evie.  Braylen, well, we are working on him.  We started using it when they were in cribs so they couldn't escape.  Braylen can tell us he can't come out until his clock is yellow, but sometimes doesn't follow that rule.  We use life saver #2 to help us...

2.  A double video monitor

We had a Sony sound monitor until Braylen was born.  I enjoyed not watching every move Evie made.  I think it made me less crazy, if that was possible.  I don't need to see my babies when they sleep.  It's when they are a toddler that I do.  I can monitor who is sneaking out of bed and what they are doing in their rooms without walking over the squeaky floor outside their rooms.  I love that I can see both rooms at the same time. Notice Evie took it upon herself to check on Braylen at the end of his nap.  I can watch and listen to the entire thing.  I know who hit who :)

In addition to seeing them, I can also talk to them through the camera.  Evie and I have conversations while she is in "room time".  We scare the $h!t out of Braylen when he gets out of his bed.  Seriously, Braylen screams like the ax murderer is coming into his room when we talk through the camera.  So now we put the fear of "the camera" into him at nap and bed.  Solid parenting right there.

3. Foam door stops

My kids are obsessed with opening, closing, banging, hanging on, swinging on, pushing, slamming doors.  It drives me bonkers.  I know you can cut foam noodles, like the ones you use in the pool, but that sounds like a mess and time consuming to me.  And Liz gave me hers.  Duh!  These cute little foam animals can easily be put on your door, high enough so they can't reach, and voila!  no more door slamming! (and fingers being pinched)

4. Extended light switches

This genius invention saves me going up and down the stairs to turn on lights for the kids.  It relieves that workout, yet it also means they are turning the lights off on each other.  The verdict is still out on these, but I think I like them more than I hate them.

5. Hair Bean

My mother-in-law is the queen bee of shopping.  She found this probably on some infommerical.  It works like a gem on Evie's knotty hair, wet or dry.  It even got through her nasty beach hair.  Good thing to have for girls, especially ones that twirl their hair.

6. IKEA paint set

This is a recent discovery.  I bought it looking like this at IKEA.  It advertised it had a nice storage container for paint brushes.  Ok, sure, I'll buy it.  Little did I know that it also had little indents for the given water bowls

I mean how many spilled water cups have we had so far thanks to Braylen?  Too many.  This is brilliant.  Evie is allowed to paint more often now that we have this toddler approved watercolor paint set.

7. A bin of books in the car

We are holding out on technology in the car as long as we can.  Our kids love to look through books in the car.  We have a bin with books, tissues, and blankets that I can easily reach from the driver's seat and hand off to them.  I rotate books every few months to give some variety.

8. A low positioned coat rack and shoe bin

At the bottom of our steps we hung a coat rack at the appropriate level for our kids.  Under it is a bin filled with shoes.  They don't need to wait for me to grab their coat anymore.  We are still working on hanging it up, but at least the shoes and coats are near the area they should be.

9. Steep stools in every bathroom

Not only step stools, but step stools that make the kids high enough to reach the water.  Holding kids up to wash hands annoys me, anyone else?  I end up more wet than their hands.  I know my kids can wash their hands in any of our 4 bathrooms.  Spend the money, get lots of step stools!

10.  Toddler Kitchen Chair

Thank you again IKEA for making life easier with growing in independence children.  This chair is a great transition from the buckled in booster seat to a regular kitchen chair.  

As you can see, Evie is positioned as high as the booster seat that Bray sits in.  Evie would need to sit on something to be high enough at the table on a regular chair.  It is a major temptation to stand instead.  I love the toddler chair because it's seat is small enough that they can't wiggle around too much. It also helps to have an extra regular kitchen chair available for visiting grandparents or other adults.

There you have it.  These 10 things keep my blood pressure a bit lower each day.  Comment with any other good "keep mommy sane" tricks!

Two to None

There was a period of time, about one year, when we had two in cribs.  We lugged two pack-n-plays to the beach, we rearranged furniture to fit two pack-n-plays while traveling, and most importantly, we had two places to safely put our children where I knew they would not escape.

Those days are over.

Braylen is so proud of his new bed, he wanted to take
pictures of it too.

Look who is free to miss up any kind of nap and bed time routine we had going!

Braylen methodically escaped over his crib rail multiple times in the past few weeks to prompt us to remove the high rail for the toddler rail.  If he is already getting out, why make it a dangerous exit?   So first I have my three-year-old drop naps, now I have my toddler in a bed with an area that screams "make a run for it!"  I wanted that crib rail up for a long time.. for selfish reason.

Last night was night one for Braylen in his toddler bed.  He slept in his normal corner and slept all night.  He did get out of bed in the morning, but only once his clock turned yellow.  Will the clock work miracles a second time?!  We are hoping!  So far nap is going ok.  He got out once to tell me he wanted a snuggle, but as soon as I sat in the chair, he wanted his bed.  I reviewed the rules with him about the color of the clock face and needing to stay in his bed.  So far, a sleeping Braylen.  

Sweet dreams my big boy!

Just Your Average Toddler

Braylen was "the most cooperative two-year-old" Dr. Burke saw today.  He let the nurse measure his height on the paper without moving (seriously, can't believe this is how they measure height...), sat still on the "boat" for his weight, and let Dr. Burke check him out with no wiggles or objections.  Now, the time he wasn't spent getting examined was a different story.  Needless to say, it was another sweaty appointment at the pediatrician.

Braylen's measurements at 2 years, 1 month:

Height:  35 inches (58%)

Weight:  26 lbs, 14 oz (32%)

I don't need 90 percentile kids, I just want one number to be average.  Normal range numbers are such a blessing to me!  He is also on track developmentally.  

Just your average toddler

Since he's two, I'll name two things in each category about our two-year-old

Favorite Toys:

1. Duplo legos.  We enjoys making towers and knocking them down.  (I think these are also Daddio's favorite toys since I will find the kids upstairs playing and Daddio downstairs making castles)

2. Trucks.  My friends have passed on any trucks they weren't using because they know how much he likes to push those things around.

Favorite Activities:

1. Looking at books.  I will find Braylen in his room with his bookshelf nearly emptied.  He will flip through books for an hour.  He knows most of the titles too, so he will say each one he picks.

2. Playing with Evie.  The two of them are best buddies.  I need a separate blog post to gush about how much joy it brings me to see these two asking to play together all day long.  

Favorite Foods:

1. Trader Joes boxed mac and cheese. Judge all you want.  It's from Trader Joes, so it has to be somewhat safe and healthy, right?  :)

2. Pretzels.  A true Stefany.

Favorite playmates:

1. Evie

2. Ms. Liz.  (also Mommy's favorite playmate)

Mommy's concerns about having a boy:

1. Late talker.  Nope.  Braylen has exceeded our expectations in the language department.  He is a great little communicator, which has kept the tantrums to a minimum in this area.  He uses 3 word sentences and has an extensive vocabulary.  

2. Destructive, dirty behaviors.  Braylen has picked up a few bugs and knocked over his share of towers, but for the most part, I think he is a rather calm boy.   I give credit to his sister for modeling clean, tidy habits to him.  She also regulates when he is doing something that is repulsive to her, like picking up worms.  He is now afraid of ladybugs.

Braylen seems to be taking the role of the comedian in our house.  He does silly things, like wrap his place mat around his face, and will look around with this mischievous grin until someone notices him.  He make-believes with Evie, comes up with creative play ideas, and loves a good game of hide-and-seek.  The simplest things make him giggle.  

Braylen is a trooper staying with unfamiliar caregivers at church, MOPS, and at home.  He doesn't mind giving his "lady friends" lots of snuggles and hugs good-bye.  

Like his sister, Braylen is a huge thumb sucker.  He has a big callus on his thumb to prove it.  I have some work ahead of me!

It's hard to believe this little, somewhat goofy-looking boy

has become a blossoming toddler.  We love our Bray Baby so much!

#1 and #2 for number 2

After putting off potty training with Evie until she was three, mostly from laziness on my part and lack of interest on her part, it appears Braylen might be on a more accelerated timeline.  He hears the word potty all day long ("Evie, do you need to go potty?"  "Go potty, Evie". "Are you sure you don't need to use the potty?"  "go potty before we leave."), so it was only a matter of time before he answered "yes" to all my potty-using questions to Evie.

Braylen has impressed us with his ability to use the potty every time we sit him on it.  I don't like potty training too early because it's a lot of wasted diapers and for Evie, it was a smile on the potty and a quick hop off as soon as I sat her down, no productivity.  Braylen seems to be a different story, thankfully.

I am learning how to help a boy go pee.  I feel like holding it down has worked, but the last two days I have found a puddle at the base of the toilet on the floor and one time on my pants.  Is it coming through the seat?  I am confused.  I need Daddio to help with proper bathroom etiquette of boys sitting down to pee.  I am not really in the mood to buy even more potty seats with guards.  I am learning along with Bray.

Am I potty training Braylen?  Absolutely not.  But I will gladly sit him on the potty when he requests to go because he has proved he will try even if I can tell he just wet his diaper.  We are starting to put him on before bath and before we change his diaper if it's a convenient time (ie not when we are trying to get out the door in a hurry). Let's be honest though, we only change pee diapers like 3 times a day now so there aren't many opportunities.

Yesterday made us really excited about Braylen moving beyond diapers- he told us his belly hurt and needed to poop.  He walked to the bathroom.  Sadly, he had some pain because he appears to have some kind of tummy bug, but thank goodness that mess was in the potty, not in a diaper.  Pooping on the potty HAS to feel so much better than in a diaper.  I hope we can continue to catch him and keep this poop train going.

After hearing so many horror stories of potty training, I am counting my blessings that maybe potty training will be an easy thing for both of my kids.  We certainly struggle in other areas.  I am proud of my buddy for using his words to communicate with us about his potty needs.  He has a big cheerleader in his sister; she will gladly take over my role as potty nagger.

Gosh, I filled up with $2.05/ gallon gas this week and the end of diapers is in sight in 2015.  I feel like we got a raise!  Time to stock up in boys underoos.