Time for something new

It is a new year which calls for a new me! I am done breast feeding, my body is getting back to normal finally, and I can finally do whatever I want and not worry about harming my baby. It is a great feeling knowing we are done having kids and it makes me want to focus more on my self now. SO.... with the new year that is what I am going to do!

I have decided I want to grow my hair out, maybe just to around my shoulders. That is long for me! Then maybe add in some highlights, who know where I will go but my hair style needs a change. I also want to start cooking better things for my family. I love to cook but I need to start healthier recipes. I say this as I have chocolate chip cookies in the oven. Sweet treat are still important though, occasionally!

I am excited for the new year!

Out of the mouth of a toddler

Brandon and I took the kids to the park the other day because it was fairly nice outside and we wanted to do something that didn't cost money! So, we went to the Dennis the Menace Park. Kayle loves it there, they don't have typical park things. There is a huge train to climb, a rolling slide, and a huge bridge to cross. The last thing Kayle wanted to do was cross the bridge. So, Brandon went out first and then Kayle started to go. Brandon all of a sudden starts running and jumping, basically freaking Kayle out! All of a sudden, Kayle yells, "STOP YOU IDIOT!!!" While that is not a bad word, it is not something we want her to be saying to people. She was clearly scared but we felt that was unnecessary.

That was not the first time she said a not so good word. She called something stupid once and it about nearly broke my heart. Now we try to work on saying silly instead of stupid. I need to remember that my 3 year old is listening to EVERYTHING I am saying. It may seem 'silly' to some that we are scared for our daughter to be saying these words which are harmless but maybe we want to still hold on to some innocence! Also, she should not be calling us idiot! We laugh about it now but then,not so funny.

New herbal medicine

I have never been one to try herbal remedies but after months of being sick I am trying something new. I started Makenna on WishGarden herbs cough and cold for children and she all of a sudden in doing better. It smells nasty and she doesn't really like it but I force it down because I think it is doing something for her. Today, I went back to the pharmacy to get something for myself because I have a sinus infection! I finished my last dose of antibiotics yesterday but still feel crummy. I looked into the WishGarden products and found a herbal medicine specifically for sinus infections and upper respiratory problems. The wellness practitioner that I was talking to also suggested probiotics to help. We will see if it helps!!! I am sick of being sick and I want to be back to normal, whatever that is.

The website is www.wishgardenherbs.com and it has a lot of different things to offer for general health, pregnancy, and even a tone of children's herbs that range from colic to teething help. I seriously recommend it to anyone looking for different ways to get healthy after a cold or cough or just general well being. (I was recommended this product by a pharmacist and the wellness practitioner!)

month of germs

Pardon my absence for the past month. Makenna, Kayle, and I were sick practically the whole month of November. Actually, I think we were sick towards the end of October, it is all beginning to blend together. We have all been to the Doctor several times it seems like. Definitely catching up on my quota for seeing the Doctor!

It started with Makenna, she had a cough that wouldn't go away, then Kayle started coughing, sneezing and had a yucky nose. Makenna went into the Doctor for her well baby visit and that was when I found out she had bronchiolitis. Basically it causes her to wheeze, the medicine they gave me did nothing. She went back into the Doctor and they said to try Benedryl, that too has done nothing.

The weeks went on and suddenly Kayle is not acting happy and barely eating a thing. I took her into the Doctor to find out she had an ear infection and bronchitis. That meant 10 days of antibiotics... UGHHHHHH... this is not easy, even the good bribes wouldn't work. Somehow, we made our quota each day and she finished the antibiotics! I think she is doing much better, still coughing but it sounds better.

Meanwhile, I was coughing and coughing and feeling horrible. I went into my Doctor and after chest xrays they determined I had pleurisy. That is an infection of the fluid that lines the lungs and rib area. Painful breathing problem and coughing problem. So, I got put on antibiotics too.

Somehow Brandon has not gotten sick through all of this (knock on wood), I hope he doesn't. That also leads me to believe that there are a few scenarios to why just the girls are sick.... A) something in the house is affecting us, possibly a hidden mold problem. B) We are not use to the moist conditions like Brandon is (he grew up in the bay area). C) It is allergies. I wish I knew so I could make everyone feel better.

I hope December brings us a healthy mind and body!

Makenna is starting a new herbal medicine that will hopefully help her cough!! We will see...

Swine flu scared world

I think that most people are really taking this swine flu thing too far. Forgive me for my naive opinion but I think with proper hand washing and common sense people could avoid it. I guess it is also kind of the mind set to me that it won't happen to me! Isn't that what everyone says anyway, I am sure they do. Where was I going with this post....

On Thursday I had to take Makenna to the hospital for some hip xrays. Her Dr. is concerned about how her hips are lining up and wants to make sure there is nothing wrong going on. So, we are at the hospital and I am not sure where to go so I headed to the emergency area first. An important point to this story is that I am holding Makenna in my arms the entire time. The nurse at the ER sent me upstairs to an information desk where I was then directed to the radiology department. They then sent me to registration because I had to be registered, (DUH). Makenna and I sat there waiting patiently to be called while doctors and staff walked by smiling at us. After Makenna was registered we then proceeded back to the radiology department where I was stopped! This nice old lady yelled at me, "STOP! She cannot be in here". Thinking she was joking I smiled. "She is under 18, she is not allowed in the hospital" said that not so nice lady now. So I responded with, "we are here for xrays, I just registered and I have been walking around the hospital and nobody has said anything to me!" The lady demanded that I have someone hold Makenna while I go get xrays, (funny lady, I am not going to leave my child with some random person while I tour the hospital anyway). As I tried to explain that Makenna is the patient, SHE is registered, SHE has doctor orders, the lady finally tried to get us to our destination quickly. She explained to me since the swine flu epidemic, no children are allowed into the hospital.

I do understand the theory behind that new rule BUT there is no children's hospital in the Montrery area, therfore children will need to be seen at the hospital. That is a silly rule and they need to figure out other precautions besides banning kids from the hospital. We did end up getting xrays and we were fine. I, being a smart parent, made sure that Makenna did not crawl around the flor, eat things that fell and washed her hands when we left. People, stop over reacting and just use common sense and don't yell at people. I will not take my kids to the hospital unless there is a reason... come on!!!!

Let the holiday season begin... I guess

It seems the day after Halloween, Christmas decorations have to come up. I went to Target yesterday and the store had decorations everywhere. We still have Thanksgiving people, remember. As much as I love Christmas time I feel that Thanksgiving is getting slided. BUT nothing I can do about it.

Halloween was great. Kayle went as Tinkerbell which was what she chose. We bought the costume about

a month ago so she has been really excited about wearing it. Well, on Halloween she decided to throw a fit and didn't want to wear the costume, (I made her), who knows why. I have learned that for next year, I will wait to get the costume closer to Halloween so the excitement is still there and we don't have any issues.

Makenna went as a strawberry. I found it online and thought it would be easy to make. We stuffed some socks into her shirt to make it round and then sewed on some felt leafs onto a adorable hat that my friend Zoe made. Makenna made an adorable strawberry!

Pacifier VS. thumb

I have touched on this topic before and it has been on my mind lately so I thought I would share my thoughts! For any of you mothers to be or curious readers out there I feel the need to express the difference between them, for me there is a huge difference.

Kayle sucked her thumb AND still does at 3 1/2 years old. She never took a pacifier or had any sort of interest in it. Makenna took to the pacifier right away and is not real dependent on it but does enjoy it for nap time and bed time. The easiest way for me is to list pros and cons of each, so here you go!

Pacifier

Pros:

-Easier to get rid of (So I hear)

Cons:

-Once they fall out of the mouth they drop down to the dirty floor

-They can get lost a lot easier

-at night time it is hard to keep track of them

Thumb

Pros:

-Attached to your hand so it cannot get lost

-Child does not loose it at night therefore easier to get the sucking sensation needed

Cons:

-Harder habit to break

-Teeth are starting to protrude

Ok, so I know that is not a lot of pros and cons, however that is all I can think of at the moment and those are very important points! What I am leading to is that Makenna has been sick a lot more than Kayle was as a baby and I do believe it is because of the pacifier. One other point and a very important one at that, is that Kayle slept great and had no problem self soothing herself back to sleep. She knew where her thumb was and when she wanted comfort she didn't have to cry and scream and wait for me to come in and find it for her. Lets be honest, that wouldn't have happened! Makenna sleeps horribly and I will blame it on that darn pacifier. I guess you can see what I lean towards.

*I have tried to add images of pacifiers that we use but I have no clue how to right click and save things with this mouse. Sorry for the lack of images :)