Oh Happy Day!

Today has been a really good day! We got to Skype with daddy and the kids were very excited and so was I!  Today is day 5 with no binky and he has been doing great!!!  When he had the bink it was a little easier to get him to sleep but now it just takes a few extra minutes of precious quality time between the two of us and I love it!  He gets in bed, snuggles up on his monkey pillow pet, grabs his soft monkey blanket and we read (listen) to one of daddys books.  Then we pray, I sing him a few songs while massaging his head and then we read a book! Tonight we read Curious George and the Puppies and he was snoring by page 5!  Awesome lil man!  Yeah its not as easy as before but I love the sweet lil routine we are making and love the time we get to spend one on one with sister already asleep!

Speaking of sister she has been sleeping 8-9 hours then another 3 to 4 and sometimes even another 1-2 after that! Of course I have been feeding her when she wakes up! First its been a good 8-9 hours and second she is waking up with a hungry cry.  Sometimes she wakes up randomly and starts babbling and does it for about 10 minutes, I ignore her and she goes back to sleep all on her own.  I understand not feeding her if she wakes up 3, 4 and 5 times a night but I also am learning to just pay close attention to her cries.  I know, and have known for a long time, what her cries mean and her hungry cries are very obvious!  She is making such progress!  She has been sitting up for about 2 months but she has always been very wobbly and would fall over pretty easily, but the past few days she has just suddenly gotten super sturdy!  She is a crazy rollie pollie! She rolls everywhere and is trying sooo hard to crawl! Cant wait till she just takes off! 

Right now having 2 so close together seems to be working great, things seem to be flowing well!  When I get super stressed I just pack em up in the car, head to sonic for a drink then go for a long drive.  They are very calm in the car and I don’t have to deal with anything. Haha!  Princess is getting WAY too heavy to lug her around in the infant car seat!  I want to move her to the bigger one rear facing but we tried one day and she screamed NON stop! She NEVER cries in the car! She wasn’t hungry, wet or anything else she simply just didn’t like this new seat??? I guess we will give it a few weeks and try again but OMG she really is just too heavy for this prego to be lugging around in that bulky carrier.

I sometimes don’t know how on earth I will ever manage getting out of the house with 3 babies under 2 but I know we will figure it out.  One day at a time!

To end here are some fun lil pics of my babies!!!

Their first bath together

He loves to splash himself!

first time in a high chair

He always tries to pick her up lol

Convience vs Necessity Training Mommy

Today was 6 mo check up for Princess and 18 mo checkup for Monkey!  It actually went really well!!!  Monkey weighs 26.9 lbs and is 33 ¼ inches tall and is in the 50^th percentile for everthing!  Princess is 20.6 lbs!!!! OMG! And surprisingly is only in the 75^th percentile!  I was shocked at 4 months she was in the 98^th percentile! So that’s good, but still, OMG 20 lbs! I knew she was heavy bc lugging her around in her car seat is a serious work out!!! 

Monkey 18 Months Old

Princess 6 Months Old!

He thinks she is his pillow!

During our appt the Dr. asked what kind of questions I had for her.  For Monkey, How do I get rid of this binky? And for Princess, How do I get her not to wake up 5 times a night???

For Monkey her suggestion now that he is old enough to understand is to have him throw it in the trash and for that to be that and not to give in and not to keep one for emergencies etc but to get rid of it all together and that it would probably be rough for a few days but eventually it would get better…

We tried to take it away a few months ago and after 5 days of heck I gave it back.  I simply couldn’t the fussing and crying among everything else I had to deal with at that time. I tried cutting the end, he didn’t care he still sucked away!

So today I asked him to throw it away after he threw away a diaper and he was like heck no! He shook his head no and went to hide! Haha! I wasn’t gonna force it, I just figured I would keep asking and eventually he would throw it away, someday.  Well the hubs called and Monkey was sooo exited! He grabbed the phone and took it to his sister and started telling her all about dada being on the phone! Soo cute!  Daddy said will you throw away your binky and he did!!!  We clapped and said YAY!!! And MUCH to my surprise 5 hours later he hasn’t even looked for it!  He is very binky dependent so I am seriously surprised!  I decided I wouldn’t fuel the fire by putting him in his bed alone with no binky right off the bat, so right now hes laying beside me watching Tangled, our favorite movie! Usually he cries and looks all over for it until he finds it but he hasn’t even cared! WOW, maybe this is gonna work!

Ok on to Princess, Dr. said a few things.  First, she asked if I was feeding her each time she woke up? Well, not always an entire 6 oz but, yea at least 2 if not 4 to 6. She said she is at the age where she shouldn’t have to eat through the night.  And said if she wakes up go in an check on her, change diaper etc but don’t feed her. 

Though my princess hates the binky she is very bottle dependent and that’s pretty much how she falls asleep EVERY TIME!

Then she asked how much she eats during the day.  Typically 6 to 8 oz every 3 hours.  Which, if shes awake for 12 hours that’s only 4 bottles so that’s ok but if shes getting another 12-18 oz a night that’s really too much. 

When I think about both of these problems they are really created to soothe me just as much as it is to soothe them.  For example, the binky, its so much easier for me to pop a binky in his mouth and not have to hear the fussing, whining etc.  At a point we had him down to only having it in bed but then when daddys deployment began, I was simply overwhelmed with everything going on and didn’t wanna deal with fussing on top of that. So, it became easier to just let him have it whenever he wanted it.  Bad Mommy!!!  I do agree that its easier now that hes old enough to understand and hes actually the one throwing it away Im not just taking it and hes left looking for it wondering where it went.

I am very hopeful that he will continue to not care and remember that it went to the trash.  Now he is fast asleep and seriously hasn’t even looked for it! WOW

For Princess, It boils down to the same thing.  Its much easier for me when she wakes up half a dozen times to change her, pop in a bottle (she wont take a bink) and she will fall back to sleep after eating and within 10 mins tops shes back asleep and me within 15.  I never even looked at it as how much formula does she need a day, or maybe shes not hungry.  Ive always read, been told etc, that babies wont eat if their not hungry but I don’t think that’s the case with my princess.  Right now she is 6 months old and weighs 20 lbs! She isn’t overweight at this point but if I keep feeding her a ton extra than she needs she probably eventually will be. 

People have been talking to me about attachment parenting, which I agree with.  I am not going to just let her cry it out.  I never have and im not going to start now but I hope I can soothe her and retrain her with out running to the convenience of just feeding her each time.  Now obviously if she sleeps 8 or more hours and wakes up early morning I would feed her and let her go back to sleep but when she is waking up every 2 hours thats prob not the best answer. 

I think so many times its much easier for us to grab the quick solution and not think it through.  I really didn’t think it through of how many oz per day she eats etc.  Now if she was being breastfed it would be totally different.  But shes not and I do know each baby is different but at the same time I as mommy have to look at the big picture and not always run to the easy solution. Like popping in a binky so I don’t have to listen to fussing or making a bottle every time she wakes up crying. 

This is the beginning of our journey and even having an 18 mo old and a 6 mo old number 3 is 6 months old I will still be learning even more things.

We will see how it goes.. This is night one of training mommy!

Monday Blog Hops!

         

my creation! Mojito Lime Chicken Enchaladas with Sour Cream Sauce

Tonight I decided I wanted to be creative and cook something yummy so I invited my parents over and created a super yummy dish!  I’ll call it Mojito Lime Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce! MMMM it turned out FANTASTICLY Yummy!!!  Here it is…

This was inside Mixture

Finished Product

Mojito Lime Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

5 Boneless Chicken Breasts

2 Packets of Mojito Lime McCormick GrillMates Marinade (and all that it calls for – oil, vinegar, water)

2 cans of Mexican Lime and Cilantro Rotel

3 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup

1 can Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

16oz Sour Cream

1-2 Limes (for squeezing)

Half a bunch of Cilantro

TONS of Mexican Jack Cheese (as much as you want, I used TONS!)

1 large Onion

Tortillas (I used large flour ones, wish I had gotten smaller ones! They were massive!)

if you have not yet tried these diff marinades you are missing out! Tons of yummy flavors!!! The ONLY way i will eat chicken!

Mix mojito lime marinades and pour into skillet and dice up chicken breast, squeeze ½ to whole lime over chicken and cook thoroughly

While Chicken is cooking in a separate skillet chop onion to your liking and cook till brown in a bit of the mojito lime marinade squeeze half a lime in while cooking

Once chicken drain excess oil from marinade and add can of well drained Rotel, cooked onions, chopped cilantro and squeeze ½ to whole lime over mixture and cook to soften cilantro.  Add desired amount of cheese and stir together till melted

For Sour Cream Sauce – Mix 3 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup and Sour cream along with can of well drained rotel and half the can of green chile enchilada sauce and sit aside (I actually warmed mine to speed the cooking process)

I took remainder of enchilada sauce and spread over each tortilla before I filled it with chicken/cheese mixture.

Fill Tortillas, Roll and place in baking dish.  Once all rolled cover with desired amount of sour cream sauce and top with cheese.  Bake for 10 minutes (or until all cheese is melted and tortillas are warm)

ENJOY! We served with Refried Beans and Spanish Rice Super Yummy!!!!

Homesick...

Well we are 2 months down and 10ish to go!  So far it hasn’t been too bad. Since he’s still stateside for a bit for training, we can text throughout the days and I get a phone call just about every night.  I am definitely not ready for what comes next.  I am hoping that we still get to talk often but I am not going to plan on it so I won’t be disappointed. 

To help prepare for the next phase I am very excited to join in on the Tour of Duty Online Bible Study.  http://www.wivesoffaith.org/next-steps/grow/tour-of-duty/summer-study-registration

You can also purchase the book at: http://www.lifewaystores.com/lwstore/product.asp?isbn=1415869332&mscssid=MDV1KV1WRGDF8KKCT857RWVX1BRS2DM2

I am hoping that it will help me deal and also connect me with some amazing Christian mil wives! 

Also I am trying to work on some deployment goals.  Hope to have some hashed out this weekend. But, honestly goals are hard for me because im often to guilty of setting unreasonable goals then just feeling like a failure but I am gonna attempt to make a list of some goals/wishes. 

I am hoping with an 18 mo old, a 6 mo old and a baby due in November that our time will pass quickly.  Though so far this past 2-3 months of training has seemed like an eternity!  I did wear his shirt for 3 days and jump everytime my text tone goes off hoping it will be him.  My lil monkey now grabs my phone and hands it to me and says DaDa every time I get a text! Haha! 

I heard a song the other day that has a whole different meaning but to me it seemed to speak to me. It talks about missing someone and says if home is where your heart is then im out of place and that’s exactly how I feel.  My heart is with my soldier and though life goes on I still somehow out of place without him close to me.  The song is Homesick by Mercy Me and it says:

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

Help me Lord cause I don't understand your ways
The reason why I wonder if I'll ever know
But, even if you showed me, the hurt would be the same
Cause I'm still here so far away from home

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

In Christ, there are no goodbyes
And in Christ, there is no end
So I'll hold onto Jesus with all that I have
To see you again
To see you again

And I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

I've never been more homesick than now