Toys and Crafts

This cute little guy is actually a prize from one of those claw/crane arcade games at Kroger. We usually take a minute to play a crane game if we spot one. Tiegan gets a kick out of choosing which prize to go after, and pushing the button. A win is rare, so this one was pretty special. She won't go to bed without this guy now, who she named "Stuffty Gluffty".


I love the hilarity of finding Tiegan's toys in silly places after she's done playing with them. The other day, I was heading toward her dollhouse to put it up, and noticed that she had put her dollhouse-people to bed in the garage.


This is Tiegan playing around with her new craft supplies after we were already done & working on picking everything up. Last night, we took a trip to JoAnn fabrics and got some things we thought would be great for Tiegan to make crafts with. Kid scissors, Elmer's glue, glitter glue, some acrylic paints, an alphabet stencil & stencil brushes, pipe cleaners, and colored popsicle sticks. So far, she LOVES crafting and has decorated a tote bag to keep all her supplies in. She also made a picture frame, decorated a big letter "T" for her bedroom door, and created a mask which I posted below.


OK, so this was more my creation than Tiegan's. I'm having fun with her crafts too... so sue me!

I Thought I Saw Your Face Today

Some of my latest musical favorites...

She & Him

You might recognize singer Zooey Deschanel from such movies as Yes Man, Failure to Launch (she's the crazy roommate trying to kill the mockingbird), and Elf. I saw her as an actress first and loved her, then when I learned she was the voice behind She & Him I was thrilled.


Lily Allen

She's a goofball and I love that. I kinda liked her hits when they first came out a while back, but I've been listening more to the rest of her albums the past couple days. The songs that haven't made it to singles are just as fun. I think she might be the reason, subconsciously, that I chose to chop myself some monster bangs.


Sia

I don't even care if Some People Have Real Problems is on the top 100 "pop" albums on iTunes. I don't usually listen to music that such authorities as iTunes categorize as "pop" (with the exception of Lily Allen, but you have to admit she's just different). But this chick has a voice that might surprise you. So powerful when she really lets loose. Such songs as The Girl You Lost to Cocaine showcase her talent.

This has been a chick-fest. Next time I write a music-related post, I'll try to show more variety. ;)

Lake Sweet Home

I still can't believe that this is my view every morning. I can't believe that we live on a lake. Jason grew up on/around lakes, but I'm a city girl. I always wanted to live on a lake, but thought it wouldn't be possible for some time when we both were working amazing jobs and making 6 figures. Hey, we can all dream, right? Living in this house, for the price we pay... well, we're lucky.

This photo is a little cloudy because I took it through the sliding glass door, which really needs to be cleaned. The lake gets much wider if you go out further to the right.

The sunrises and sunsets out here are amazing. Every day it's like a show. I even enjoy the cloudy days out here. It's not like we're out in the middle of nowhere, but having so much open space right in front of us is great. And you know what else is great? Usually, the smaller/cheaper houses on lakes are packed tightly like sardines. Our house isn't even that close to our neighbors. We have room to breathe.

Kudos to Jason, because he chose it all by himself. He moved in here with a roommate while we were separated over the summer, and I had been staying with my parents for a spell (at least they have a pool). When we decided to get back together, it was kind of perfect timing because his roommate had recently moved out and left him scrambling to find someone else.

Anyway, that's the gist of the story. I'm just glad to be where we are right now. This home is great (with the exception of little quirks), and even if we don't renew the lease in August, I'll enjoy every minute we spend here until then.

Potty Training Nightmare

Is this an OK blog subject? Eh, this is a family/friends blog. Why not.
We're a little bit behind. I don't know what to do anymore.

Over the summer, when Jason and I were separated, Tiegan went into a huge regression. She completely stopped using the potty and showed absolutely no interest. She went from being in training pants all day and diapers at night to pull-ups all the time and never using the potty. I felt so guilty, because I know it was a tough time for her. Not only did she go back and forth between me (at my parents' house) and Jason (who was in the process of moving to the lake), but she also spent many days and nights at Judy's house. Between 4 different "homes" over the summer, there were tons of inconsistencies. I completely understand why she didn't want to bother anymore.

At our old house, when we were still together, she had a routine. She knew exactly what to expect and how to go about doing things. Then we created this hurricane and she was here, there, and everywhere. Predictability went out the window and it was just easier for her to give up for a while.

When we made amends and I moved back in with Jason at the "lake house," everything started melding back together in perfect harmony.

Everything except Tiegan's potty training.
We've tried ditching the pull-ups and putting her in real, big-girl panties all the time. That doesn't work. By day's end we need to resort to pull-ups until we can make it to the laundromat. (By the way, not having a washer/dry in-house STINKS.)
I encourage her and take her to the bathroom with me when I go. I don't push too hard, but her lack of interest is a little bothersome. Not only that, but it's getting expensive! I don't think my wallet can handle 2 kids in diapers if this is still going on by summertime.

Everyone says "she'll go when she's ready." But she WAS ready, and she WAS going. Will she re-try someday, or has something happened to make her never want to go again?

Home Photo Shoot

Today I decided to create Tiegan's 3rd birthday party invitations, since my goal date for sending them out is only a few days away. What's the typical advance-notice required for birthday party invitations? I couldn't remember, so I figured 4 weeks ahead was pretty adequate.

I wanted to have as recent a photo as possible on the invitations, so T and I had a mini photo-session today. I wanted a shot of her with a sweet, imaginative smile on her face - not necessarily looking right at the camera. I wanted her picture to show her in the dreamworld that she's usually in. Let me tell you -- staging that shot was a nightmare. So I just told her to look out the window and I went with the flow.

I thought the result was OK - not perfect (her eyes are squinty and you can tell she's about to talk), but how perfect can you get with an almost-3-year-old?

New Baby Cold Feet...ish

14 weeks today! At first I thought this was going to be an easy pregnancy, simply because for the first few weeks I had absolutely no symptoms and hardly had a headache.

Boy, was I wrong. In no way am I unhealthy, but I am living in Headache City. I really wish I could take Excedrin Migraine. Tylenol Extra Strength doesn't even touch this pain.

Other than that, I really have no complaints. Just a few minutes ago I was excitedly making an Amazon wishlist full of baby necessities that we, for some reason, have gotten rid of in the past couple years since Tiegan was born. Trying to remind myself that it won't just be the three of us anymore. We are going to have to totally adjust our lives. We did it once, and we can do it again. I'm pretty flexible. Sometimes I wish we had Tiegan in more of a concrete schedule so that we could work around that when the baby comes. Other times, I'm kind of glad we don't have a very rigid schedule. Sure, we mostly do the same things at the same times every day, but there's variation and that's OK. It's not like she wakes up at 7:42 and goes to bed at 8:58. Her adaptability will probably end up making it easier when the baby's needs take precedence. I hope she doesn't feel slighted. I also hope she doesn't feel too much pressure to grow up right away and become a fully responsible big sister. She's still practically a baby herself.

That, I think, is one of my main fears: having the capacity to treat both children equally and make it so that I have enough one-on-one time for each, while still making time for myself.

All that aside, I'm excited. Our little family will finally be complete. before I had Tiegan, I never really thought of having children. I saw it as some far-off thing. But then she came, and I love my life as a mom and family woman. I thought our little family of 3 was complete. I had just started getting used to things the way they were, when I realized that another child would only bring more love into this family. No matter how difficult it may be, we will all have each other. Our Christmases will be bigger. Our laughs will be fuller. Our family will only get better.

Two is the limit, though! After this baby, we're done. And I mean it this time. ;)

What's more frustrating than being ignored?

Any tips on how to get a toddler to listen?

My biggest problem with Tiegan's behavior as of late is that she doesn't listen to/pay attention to/remember what I tell her. I work so hard to explain things in a way that she'll understand, but she can't just be serious for 2 seconds. I realize that settling down and listening through a short "lecture" is difficult for someone so little. I don't expect her to completely resist temptation to look around a little or drift off a bit if I'm talking too much.

I'm NO expert on the subject, but I think she should be able to at least repeat a sentence 2 seconds after I say it.

TV is a big factor. It pains me to say so, because I always swore I would never let the TV raise my child(ren). When we drove to Briarwood mall today, she knew exactly what Macy's was by the big red star, because she had seen the commercial on TV. This happens a lot. She repeats practically everything she sees/hears on TV. She has an extremely sharp memory for details, even with things outside of the tube. Sometimes I think she even has a photographic memory. (But that's probably just pride or biased motherhood sneaking in).

But when I get down on her level and try to explain why I scolded her, or how something works, or why we do what we do... in one ear and out the other. She makes faces and silly noises while I'm talking. I have to repeat myself: "Please look at me. LOOK AT ME. Quiet. Look at me. Listen. Be quiet." I explain that making faces and noises at someone who's talking to you is rude. I explain what rude means.
Me: "Do you understand?"
Tiegan: "Yes."
Me: "Were you listening?"
Tiegan: "Yes."
Me: "What did I say?"
Tiegan: "I don't know."