Leo's been weird about his naps lately.
For the past three days, he's decided to skip his nap, be cranky, then pass out around seven.
Boy needs to get his nap in...

I should read these posts, but I'm skimming, because I'm supposed to be working, lol.

Apparently it's a 2 year old thing. Dillon and I were talking about it and I vaguely remember Sean (my 5.5 year old) doing something VERY similar between 2 and 3 though not as dramatic as Ellie is now. He's always kept mostly to a schedule. Even now he asks to go
to bed if it is 8.

It is something strange I noticed tonight though. If Ellie does not nap we'll she does not sleep well when bedtime comes. She is restless and wakes frequently and often extremely hard to put down. But if she has a solid nap she seems to sleep well at night. That realization baffles me!

If Leo gets a nap, he wakes up in the middle of the night, often thirsty or hungry.
When he doesn't, he sleeps through the night, even though he would not eat much before bed because he is that cranky.
But he wakes up super early then. Ugh. xD

Okay. I was worried they'd outright deny based on the loans at this point. I guess since I'm pretty sure I won't be getting this job for varying reasons, I'll just go to the bank after we know exactly what our monthly payment will be in student loans. I will do whatever we need to do, but I really don't want to live here 5+ years while we pay our loans off. The downstairs has no heat we can control. The upstairs registers don't heat enough to heat the downstairs. I'm not joking when I say it's either 75 or 60 down here. It must be heated from other apartments? Dunno. Between that and the wasp issue. D:<

Awww, Sean. <3

---------- Post added 12-14-2013 at 07:35 AM ----------

o.o Didn't see there was another page 'till I posted. Oops!

I swear it's a 2-3 thing. It will get better. :(

It is just rough even though I know it will get better it still sucks you know. Dillon is concerned with how I feel about nursing lately is beginning to think I should ween her. I am so confused on how I feel about it. Part of me wants to seen desperately, another still somewhere deep and hidden enjoys that connection, then yet another is worried I don't know how to seen someone fully capable of asking for EXACTLY what they want. When I weened Mikes he was 15 months and only night nursed and not really even that he'd wake to latch and then pass out again. So I'd just tell him no and he'd fuss and fidget a while then he would go back to sleep. I think seeming took 2 or 3 days tops. Then Sean went through what I now know is a nursing strike at 9 months and I took it for weening. Ellie's a whole new ball game! I had her go to bed without nursing last night and she did pretty well. With Dillon's help.... she also had cows milk which is not a good habit to start and I know it but she didn't fall asleep with it just drank it before bed..

I am going out to the stores on the north side of town today to do some Christmas shopping. We couldn't find a sitter for the kids which kind of ticked me off a bit... We asked my mother in law and we never ask anyone to sit for the kids EVER least of all my in laws. I ask my sister or my best friend first. And usually one can help us and usually it is for a super short time. Today we needed a significant amount of time and we found NO one. Though I didn't ask my family because of personal things that I don't need Michael sharing and me subsequently getting more stress and upset placed because they would treat me like dirt over it. And I didn't ask my friend because she has a daughter of her own and being away from home with a 3 year old as long as we needed even with her husband's help seemed like a lot to ask. So now we are splitting up. Which makes me semi sad I don't like wasting time without Dillon on days we could be together. I am such a sap! Dillon is afraid of the freeway so I am getting the area with the largest chunk of stores. I am hoping I can be home by noon so I can speak with Michael when he comes home.

I wouldn't say I weaned Terra, because she was still nursing three times a day when I ran out of milk. However, I did begin the process. She would nurse all day long if left to her own devices. She still asks now. O_o If I hadn't run out of milk part of me feels we'd still be nursing.

I couldn't have cut back without Cole's help because she had meltdowns, and I didn't want to remove a non-material thing from her that she clearly needed emotionally. He would instead distract her so that she never got a "no" answer when she wanted to nurse. I think what cut my supply the rest of the way was working long hours. Some shifts were 10 hours. It's really no wonder I dried up. I do feel guilty, but we worked on it enough after that she understood that I ran out of milk.

Depending on her understanding of little brother coming, maybe you can present it that you need to nurse less because you need to get your milk ready for brother. It's tricky though because she needs to know she can have you when she needs you, otherwise she'll probably blame it on Liam. Maybe try taking it slow and remove 1 nursing session a week and see what happens? If she tends to cry for nursing at bedtime, maybe try to keep her nursing session where you feel she emotionally needs it most, and cut back another session instead?

She is already at bare minimum nursing 2 times a day once for nap once for bed. BUT the last 2 days I have nursed her twice for nap to try to keep her asleep enough for her to be rested and not a cranky butt head! I am still unsure what I want to do with it honestly :/ She understands Liam is there to a degree. I have tried to tell her mommy milk is for babies so now she just occasionally calls it baby milk instead of booby milk :P I as Dillon pointed out have reached my goal with her. Almost a month past it now. But I think (and kind of hope) that it will get better once Liam comes. Hormones and body changes make it painful and me irritable about the idea. But those will change once Liam is born. And really we are looking at only 2.5 more months that isn't that much. I'd hate to stop her now, then to be ok when Liam comes but her to feel left out because Liam gets it and she doesn't.... Her understanding isn't there though. She just knows that she wants booby.

Today's nap was even worse. Only 15 minutes tops. :/ then she nursed for like 45 V_V

I'm not sure what I'd do. Do you think you can go the 2.5 months? It's so short, yet so long when it's excruciatingly painful. How is your supply? Are you able to express anything?

I hope you well health, Jazz!
Seems tough. D;

I haven't tried with a pump but I can't hand express anymore. :/ but I can sometimes hear her swallow, not like she use to but I know that is normal. It's weird it feels like one side is absolutely fine I have the hard time mostly when she nurses on the right side. Not only does latch on make me want to jump out of my skin but after a short period of time it feels like she is collapsing the ducts in on themselves like crushing a Milk carton with vacuum power. It sucks no pun intended but it is that side I can usually hear her swallow on so it baffles me....

I am almost done with Christmas shopping, Dillon may go tonight or tomorrow morning depending to pick up the last 3 gifts (1 to 2 for Michael and 1 for Sean). And we (read me mostly) started wrapping too! We are going to run out of wrapping paper before we can finish which is kind of interesting. Maybe we will have enough money after Christmas to maybe stock up on paper for cheap.

Dillon got the front room steam cleaned which makes me happy I will be going upstairs to clean up Ellie's room since we rented a steamer... I don't know though since Dillon wants to go tonight I think and the kids had been upstairs for a while. Hrrrmmm.. I also want to work on family gifts why is there always so much to do?

Oh and Ellie isn't getting diapers for Christmas! She's getting panties! I am hoping to psych her up about potty training! Not going to push her the diapers are still hers but I will need to get her in them before Christmas happens.... So yeah.... Oh oh oh and I got Liam a baby book finally! Now I need to find a coming earthside outfit :P

Thank you PiM it only recently got hard honestly I think it is pregnancy hormones that are making it difficult. I have a hard time in the first 1 to 2 months too I am praying Liam shows all three of his siblings up and is born pro lol.

If she's gettin' panties, she needs to get off them boobies, lol!

You're welcome. I'll probably never know the pain of nursing for so long, but I do know nursing pain.

Liam is such a good, strong name!
He'll be the pro!

Lol! I have a weird New perspective on nursing. But even with my second my goal was 2 years old. It is strange how much my parenting has evolved over the years!

Ellie isn't ready for panties by any stretch imagination she hasn't gone for us in quite a few months the potty has lost it's novelty but pushing potty and not exciting her about it isn't going to do me any good either. She will almost guaranteed regress when Liam is born but I still have high hopes that she will be potty trained by 2 and a half or at least mostly on her way!

I'm trying to potty train Leo. He was excited at first, until the move.
Now, he's being weird about it.
I'm tempted to put a pair of underwear on him, then wait until he pees himself, to see how he takes to how uncomfortable it is to pee himself.
I have read that makes it easier to train them after that.

But the mess! D:

I'm trying to remember when Terra was potty trained, but I don't. We moved to the new apartment in April, and she had begun using the potty before then. She was fully trained shortly after we moved, because I remember worrying the move would mess up what progress we had done. If anything, she made more and more progress. O_o; I want to say she was just a bit over 2 1/2 when she fully trained. We now have her transitioned from the small potty to the regular toilet in the past month, which has been AWESOME. No more cleaning poop out of a potty. XD

Yay no more cleaning poo! Michael was a little over 2 1/2 years old when he was potty trained but had night problems until well after he was 5. Sean was potty trained at a little under 2 1/2 but he showed signs of readiness long before that he stopped night wetting at around 18 months it was crazy... again this is my scheduled kid. Ellie showed signs of readiness at 15 months and we approached it cautiously it held her for a little while but not long to pee in the potty then she stopped asking to go and we stopped trying I guess you can say then she started telling us she had to poo and the novelty returned and she would poo in the potty but I was already pregnant and I definitely wanted to make sure she didn't regress I swear that is the worse part of having a baby for me trying to deal with a newborn and a preschooler (or in Ellie's case a toddler) who was doing something fine and the just NOT! 2 1/2 I'd say is a safe bet for potty training though and Ellie won't even be there at the time Liam is born so I am not worried she knows what she is suppose to do I just want to ensure she doesn't see Liam using diapers and think I took them from her or something. I want to make a big deal about her being a big girl and make her think it is essay cooler to be like her BIG brothers then like her little brother.

I've made a lot of progress with wrapping I am quite pleased with myself :) still have most of Santa's stuff but I got all the "from mom and dad's" done. I am down to 5 rolls of paper not sure how much is on each but I am hoping to run them dry before calling it quits :)

Our tree's finally up and decorated. I'm fortunate to have moved a literal 60 second drive from a tree farm! I'm going to sneak Terra's stocking upstairs tomorrow and fill it, then just put it under the bed until Christmas. I want to go through her surprise eggs and make sure a nice variety's in there. xD

Terra's going to be spoiled rotten. Mom's going to send most of her gifts up here, as my nephew didn't ask for anything beyond money and/or gift cards. So rather than Terra be the one opening a bunch of stuff, she'll just open them here. I'm fine with that. I'm getting so excited!

I used the last of the 5 rolls of paper minus some tiny strips that I didn't have presents small enough for. My kids aren't as spoiled this year as they usually are but still fairly spoiled! I am trying to teach myself to cut down but it's hard because I feel bad that I see (and they do as well) kids who get random toys throughout the year while they only get gifts really of any kind for birthdays and Christmas. It's going to suck for Ellie and maybe Liam later in life cause their birthdays are so close to the holidays Sean doesn't seem to mind so Liam might not later but Ellie gets her birthday then bam Christmas right after. So she has a looong wait for gifts again... Mikes has the perfect birthday/ Christmas separation! About half a year's wait between both but I vow nevertheless to have another summer baby lol it was an easy pregnancy and a mild summer but we get some nasty how sweltering days in some years an d just NO thank you! I think I am done having babies anyhow. I've had some really hard times this pregnancy and he has been so easy on me. Two melt downs worse then I have ever had before. It scares me to think how I would manage doing this again with a chance of my pregnancy being anywhere from Sean's most where I was misrable sick the entire time to Mike's and Liam's that were/are really super easy. I don't know... I hate this feeling :( Dillon and I agree that I should look into a longish term birth control I am thinking the nuva ring (perhaps I'll read up on it while putting Ellie down) I am terrified of the T shaped one's o.o wow random babble

---------- Post added 12-14-2013 at 08:58 PM ----------

So Ellie pooped in the potty today while I was doing presents and no one told me /sad she did it just to show me up cause I mention how she hasn't done it in a really long time earlier

---------- Post added 12-14-2013 at 11:14 PM ----------

Yay!I was able to get out of bed after Ellie went down and I got a good halfway through making the nativity ornaments I am giving as gifts this year! *Dances* and Dillon got to work on some fun background stuff for the felt board I made I think 2 years ago and still have never given the kids. Ellie has been fidgety and fussy for about 5-10 minutes hopefully she lets Dillon and I sleep. She isn't coherent she keeps saying "horsey" and "monkey" :/ I can't complain though (right now anyhow) we managed to get a few things done or started for once!

I had a Mirena to help with abnormal bleeding back in 2004. It was convenient but eventually it stopped working before it was supposed to. Sometimes the strings weirded me out, but it never bothered Cole. I'm curious about the ring. In my head I can't imagine anything staying on the cervix like that. I know it does, but I can't envision it. XD

Yay for Ellie pottying!! Yay! :D

We're officially snowed in this morning. It's 9am and we're buried. It's going to go until 10pm. I think I'll have no choice but to bail on my interview. After my talk Friday with the state I really am underqualified anyway as they need someone to clinically diagnose people. I thought I'd be taking the exam next month, which an employer would likely wait for. Six months? Not so much. xD

Geez you can't cut a break at all :( they are going to make you wait another 6 months to take the exam now too???

I am totally terrified of any of the T shaped iuds I've read some horrible horrible reviews on them. I have met a few people that have had them rupture their uterine walls *shivers* the nubs ring is really my only long term non permanent option. But I am not sure if it is breastfeeding comparable. My sister in law got the implant which creeps me out *shiver more* stuff being stuck under my skin is not my friend! The though makes me sick to my stomach. Dillon and I want to use the time to discuss whether or not we would like to wait 8+ years potentially have me in a stable career and then try again. Or if we want to look into more permanent options. I can't make those discussions while pregnant but I am treating this pregnancy like my last because it very well may be. :'( it is part of why I am driving myself to sickness to prepare for Liam's arrival I don't want to lose yet another baby's newbornness to stressing about housework that has gone unchecked for 6+ years... stupid clutter build up is hard to get through though!

Eww snow! We have another arctic blast coming that is suppose to bring more snow. We had a couple of nice 50-60° days recently that melted the last of ours off I really need to see about making my gardens more winter ready too but I don't wanna and they oddly enough seem like they are doing amazingly well without me! I hope Michael's Apple tree survives the winter it is so small I left it in a pot rather then transplanting it but he has been neglecting its watering :/

Fishing vessel stuck, taking on water in Jonesport | wlbz2.com
That happened this morning. It's my... well, you might as well call him my step-dad. Boyfriend doesn't seem right when it's my mom's partner of 10+ years, you know? He can't swim, so I was sick with worry. He's okay, but the boat may sink before they can save it. He went out because it had been hooked to our camp's wharf, which wasn't safe enough to make it through the storm. So, he had tried to get it to a safe shelter and nearly died. There's insurance on the boat, but not nearly enough to get another boat. Sigh... :/ My mom's taken too many financial blows this year, and this one would take the cake...

I'm just so glad the coast guard got him and he's home safe.

And yep, another six months minimum to be licensed, give or take.

I hear you on birth control. IF we had another child, I think two would be the final, and Cole's already said he'd prefer to have a vasectomy. I don't like the idea of Terra being my one and only, and I kept the mind frame of her being "the one" while pregnant. I was upset at the thought. I have days where I'm content, and then other days where I want nothing more than another. At this point it depends on when we get a home and a savings to cover my half of the wages because I do not want to worry about money again like I did with Terra. When I'd go back to work, I'd want the option of having a part-time choice.

Take Liam and snuggle it all in tight. No one knows what the future holds. You may find you'd like to have another years down the road, too. For all you guys know you could be surprised with another before you're ready. We just never know. xD Sex does magical things, muwahahaha.

I am going to have to 're read later I've been cleaning hard core and just taking a quick break. Mirri has been bad kitty and we are just drowning in her mess. I am not sure what I am suppose to do. We've tried everything we can think of to stop her from marking. It is getting so old... I don't know how long she may have been marking in the new spot we found but I am ready to strangle her. My mom keeps saying "I'll never have a destructive animal" which is a lie. Her dog will on the floor to mark her territory against my sister's dog :/ Mirri s fed more then well I am so at a loss and really irritated over it all.... I want to boot her outside again because nothing is making it better. But my friends act like I am abusive for not having as an indoor or at least indoor outdoor cat. Then again my friends also seem to let their animals dominate their homes my pets are family but dear God I wouldn't tolerate my kids pissing all over the place. *headdesk*

Despite my complaining I am happy we are making progress on stuff! So far we have gotten the living room, half the upstairs hallway (the new discovery of what I think was an old problem but can't be sure), and Elizabeth's room steamed with the rug doctor we are renting another day. The hallway upstairs was a disaster it took a lot of prepping to get it to being steamable. There is still a lot to go through up here. Boxes of toys we have put into storage mostly. But it makes me feel good to be moving forward! I think beyond Dillon being exhausted he feels it too! I also washed cushion covers in prep to steam the couch :) I am busy busy busy!

---------- Post added 12-15-2013 at 01:05 PM ----------

Ok got a chance to thoroughly read this time while laying Ellie down! I am so sorry Chi were they able to save the boat? That is terrifying :( but I am glad he is safe!

I am never truly content. I love babies and kiddos as much as they make me crazy lol. But I am beginning to feel beyond overwhelmed we do not have time and it is depressing. Dillon's job is unkind about family affairs and he is still very sedentary when it comes to looking for a new job. Not that there is a lot to find here it seems like good ones are so few I and far between and that you have to have connections to get anywhere. Money I can care less about as long We make bills we always seem to find a way to manage the other things. You know?

I am beginning to feel a little more confident that we will be able to just do general maintenance once Liam comes after the progress we are making today. Dillon booted the cat not sure how long or what his terms are but she isn't living healthily in here any way she does nothing but eat and lay around and the vet threatened if she gained one more pound she was going to HAVE to go on prescription diet food (she's already on diet food from the store). And if I had to tally a guess I think she has gained at least 5 lbs because the kids like to feed her "ample" meals let's say... And Ellie is really bad about feeding her and Zeus several (like 5) times a day o.o and neither seem to have any restraint. Zeus we think was starved which means it's in his psyche but Mirri is a spoiled brat and has absolutely no excuses!

Sorry about any weird missing words or words being wrong lately my kindle browser has been acting really wonky.

I think the boat will be saved. The water calmed down enough. Fingers crossed! He's okay, so that's all that really matters.

I dunno what I'd do with the kitty. I hate to say it, but I think I would have given her away. Peeing is one of those hot buttons for me. But it's hard when the pet is a family member. :( I wish she'd just stop. The more you scrub and steam clean, the more she'll mark because her scent is gone. Cat pee is so awful, too...

That is the hard part honestly. She has been around longer then even Sean! We love her despite her bitchy attitude!

I feel a lot better after a shower and I am back on chores!

Cole's being awesome and clearing off the cars so that I can be ready to go bright and early in the morning.

Oh my lord... Terra's upstairs and just said, "Soon I'll be able to stand and pee! D: I'll get a penis soon, right?" I shook my head and called back, "You won't get a penis!"

Rofl she is so stinking cute! She says the funniest dang stuff!

We just got back from a really quick shopping trip, Sean isn't feeling well poor guy he has a head ache and Michael was being a total butt to him. I told him if he kept it up I was going to repeatedly smack him in the back of the head with a shoe when he has his next headache. Sean was almost in tears and Michael was just heartless and relentlessly tormenting him. So he is banned from his room right now so Sean can get a little quiet and rest.

I am trying to get moving again but I am exhausted and sore as heck, I know I am over doing it but it is invigorating to be getting things done, and chances are we won't have this chance again until next weekend! It will be hard enough just doing general maintenance!