Quit the Addiction-Cold Turkey

So Friday night was the cutoff. We're talking cold turkey here, possible withdrawal symptoms, no 12-step program, no "milk patch" available.

NO MORE BOTTLE.

I have to admit, with Kolbe we were really good about his bottle routine, he never had one in bed, and he had no problem stopping at a year. Now with Nickolas, I don't know if it's because we felt more tired, or were lazy, or he was just a hungrier boy, but we gave him one at night and gave him a bottle when he would cry. It got to the point where he was sometimes taking a bottle 3 times a night which I knew he wasn't calorie-deprived, so we had started a very bad habit.

So needless to say I was worried going into the weekend, and thankful I had the upcoming week off to catch a nap during the day if I needed to, but Nickolas has done amazingly well. He takes a cup during the day, and no bottle anymore. He was up the first night and cried for 23 minutes (which felt like 223 minutes in Mom time), but went to sleep on his own and slept until 6. Then last night was up for maybe 5 minutes at midnight and slept until 7:15. No problems napping either.

Signed,
Bottle-free happy home!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICKOLAS!

Yes, I know it was yesterday (Bad Mom, Bad Mom), but we were in San Antonio and I had no way to post so please forgive.

I think Nickolas had a good birthday. We spent 3 days with Keith's brother and his family. So yesterday we decided to all head over to the zoo. Nickolas isn't quite old enough to get it, but I think he still had fun. Then after dinner he had his own birthday cake that his Aunt Dorys made for him, and we sang Happy Birthday!

I can't believe my baby is a year old now!

Nickolas' First Birthday Celebration Video

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

What could be better than sitting at home on Christmas Eve, with a warm fire going, watching "A Christmas Story" on TV, drinking some hot chocolate, and walking into the kitchen to find....

YOUR SON'S CHAINSAW IN THE FRIDGE!

Hope your holiday is filled with pleasant surprises as well!

Kolbe's First Christmas Program

His program was last week after school, and he had been practicing his songs for weeks. My Mom, sister and grandparents drove all the way over for the show too. Which was very nice of them.

Kolbe did a great job. He was carrying a set of bells that I really think entertained him the whole time. At one point during the program, I saw the bells fly across the stage and him run to get them. And in the middle of the next to last song he saw us in the back, smiled really big and left to come sit with us. He had decided he was done.

So we all sat there and watches the rest together. I'm so proud of him!

Your Typical Garage Decor

I promised my friend Keri I would put this picture out for the world to see, or at least for the 3 people who read this blog.

So as a woman of my word, here it is...the picture that is A.K.A. a heart attack in a 20x20 room called the garage that belongs to Keri. Why anyone in their right mind would have this just sitting in a place anywhere remotely close to where they sleep is beyond me. I wouldn't be able to lay in bed at night knowing that this was within the same walls as I am. I think I might actually be welcoming evil into my blogspace by doing this, but that's what friends are for.

You 3 people enjoy!

Had to Grab the Camera!

Okay.

Note: My sister is 18 and doesn't look kindly upon small humans.

I did not put my child on my sister's lap.

I actually witnessed this with my own two eyes. Nickolas was crawling on the ground, and sat kind of near my sister's legs. He wasn't crying, and he didn't need anything. She looked down, and without looking at anyone reached down with her own two hands and physically lifted him from the ground....nicely!

HAD TO GRAB THE CAMERA!

This is a first!

Car Seats

Nickolas is almost a year old, so we went ahead and got Kolbe a new booster seat and switched Nickolas to the forward facing seat Kolbe used to use.

What a difference when you look in the back and see both of them facing forward. I feel like we reached a milestone as parents for some reason. Now all the things that happen that are "turning points" are starting to hit me. The car seat, stopping the bottle, walking, no more diapers. Before you know it, I will have a 5 year old and a 3 year old and no more babies in the house.

Part of me would really miss that, but the other part thinks RELIEF!

The Boys Saw Santa!

And don't they look thrilled? =)

Kolbe was actually very interested this year and really understand what was supposed to happen when he saw him. Well, the important part in his world which is candy and presents. So he asked for new choo choos.

Nickolas was very perplexed by Santa's beard, and wouldn't stop trying to grab it. Neither one of them cried though, so that's a bonus.

Santa looks a little tired, but he was nice and it was a good experience.
Kolbe was so excited about it afterwards he was walking around the mall telling everyone what he asked for. He even told a lady in the store she could have the necklace she was looking at "if she was good".

Better make sure you behave!

Fun Lessons From GrandParents

Now that I have children of my own, and a bank account that realizes I have children of my own, it takes me back to when I was growing up and all the extra activities I was involved in, and hobbies I had.

Guitar, banjo, oboe, clarinet, flute, gymnastics, soccer, volleyball, the list goes on and on.

I remember every Saturday morning, my grandfather would take me over to to my guitar lessons, where if I played the song I had practiced for the week perfectly I would get $5.00. In the meantime, my grandfather was probably easily paying $60-$100 a month for those lessons. 7 years of lessons, just to be able to say I can play some Christmas songs and a few country tunes.

I mean, that's almost $1200 a year. Over the course of 7 years that's almost $8400. I really don't think my guitar skills are worth $8400, but, I now understand why they did that for me. And that was just for that one hobby.

They wanted me to have the experience. Which is why I will eventually shell out thousands of dollars for whatever musical instrument, sport or other hobby my kids are interested in, so that they can say they were able to try it.

So thank you to my Mom, my grandmother and my grandfather. I appreciate it now!

Good Luck, Florian & Lissette

On Friday night we were thankful to be a part of Florian and Lissette's Going Away Dinner. They are headed off to Germany on January 6th!

We had a wonderful dinner at Trader Vic's near Mockingbird Station. Great atmosphere and good company. It was Lissette's brothers and their wives (that sounds bad, they each only have one wife), and a few people from Fossil, including Linda. Flo announced that they are expecting their first baby in July.

I remember the days when Florian had just joined our group, and was new to the country. During a "younger" and more eager time, we spent many hours up at work learning new things, hanging out and goofing off. Last night we talked and reminisced about those days, and the differences in the cultures, and the wonderment of being in a new place. I will never forget all our conversations, Dr. Pepper, "How are you" and "JA".

It's only Good-Bye for now...

Over-Planning....Do I?

After a lengthy discussion with my friend Jill several days ago, and some other occurrences in my life the last couple of days, I started to question some of my actions and whether or not I am an over-planner.

If you ask anyone who knows me well, I think a few of the terms that would come to mind and out of mouth for them would include things like worrier, work-a-holic, soft-spoken, organized. At least I like to think that's what they would say.

So as I am laying in bed last night, debating this topic with myself, I realize that my mind quickly drifts to Sunday, where I have 3 things planned for the day already. At 1:00 I have my sister's birthday party. At 5:00 I have a Girl's Groups gathering and at 7:00 I have a date with Keith. The point isn't that I have those things planned, it's that it is Wednesday night, and I am lying there thinking about every detail of the day. If the boys get up at 7:00 in the morning, I will be able to make them breakfast, get them dressed, start to get ready, lay Nickolas down for a morning nap at 10:00, he will sleep until 12:00, then pack everyone up and head over to my Mom's for the birthday party. We can stay there until about 2:30 or 3, and then Keith can head out to drive the boys down to the lakehouse. They will be able to nap in the car that way. While he's doing that I can go to my friend's house and visit. Then get home and he will be there for our date that night. On top of that I'm planning what I will wear, the boys will wear, what kind of food we will have that day, what time I think I will be in bed that night, the list does on and on. And that's just one day out of the week....

While referencing the handy dandy webernet, this stood out to me...

"In an attempt to exercise maximum control over his world, the worrier tries to anticipate every possible occurrence and plan for it – in minute detail. What makes this kind of planning inappropriate is that it is constant. It is not a plan that is mapped out at the onset of the journey and occasionally updated if warranted. It is a plan that is constantly being revised from moment to moment. The entire journey is spent deliberating the next move."

Here's what they say is a step to take in order to help with overplanning:

If you do find yourself engaging in overplanning, then each day discipline yourself to refrain from overplanning one ‘event’ – whether it be the commute, the trip to the dentist or the grocery shopping. Just force yourself to conduct that ‘event’ on the fly.

I have to say, I think it will be hard for me to stop planning out the grocery trip. I have my coupons organized by department and synced up with my grocery list, which is also written out in order of the path I take through the store. I plan my grocery list according to which meals I will be making in the next 7 days. I plan my meals based on the budget I have put in place for the week, and I am constantly working on the budget, I look at it and keep it in check every single day. Poor Keith can't get a penny through without me asking questions.

So I have come to the reality that I may have a problem here, and I think I may have to make out a list of actions to take in order to plan to resolve it.