Prayer time

Lacy decided that it was her turn for family prayers tonight and that we couldn't help her at all. So here's the gist of what she said: After the basics (HF, thank you for the day, family, etc), she talked about nursing it all gone, blessed our friend/houseguest Tuana several times, jabberd on for a little while, and ended by saying, "okay, bye." We had to remind her how to end the prayer right! Dave several times tried helping Lacy but she wouldn't have it. "No, I say it by myself!"

At the babysitter's, Lacy will often tell them that she can have something or do something because "my mommy said yes." During the day, Chris or Melissa would ask her to do something and she would ignore them, but finally they would say, "Lacy, your mommy said yes" and she would do it.

Lacy had a dentist appointment today to try to fill two cavities. Unfortunately those didn't get filled, but Lacy did a great job otherwise. She followed the instructions of the dentist very well. I just kind of sat back, observed, and kept my mouth shut. We scheduled an appointment for July just before her 3rd birthday for some sedation dental work. She needs to have two cavities filled and some discoloration on her front teeth fixed. I'm a little nervous about it because it says to make sure they don't sleep on their backs if they're sleeping because they can choke, and some other things that just made me leery of the dental work. Dave gets insurance April 1 and he has a different dental insurance plan so I might get a second opinion and perhaps find a treatment a little less scary for mommy!

Speaking of teeth, Rose is cutting two more teeth. I'm hoping they'll pop through soon. She has a runny nose, a rash, congestion and a cough, general irritability... all the classic signs of teething for my children!

Tonight I went and spent my gift card at the mall. I almost spent the whole thing and only got 3 outfits, but BOY are they cute! I shopped at Christopher & Banks. I love that store! I got a cool patchwork skirt and an orange shirt to go with it, two casual work shirts and a pair of pants that will work for the weekend or the office. I'm so excited! Dave also got the girls two dresses at Gymboree but I'm feeling a little buyer's remorse about those ones... they were full price. Yikes.

Rose is climbing!

Yesterday Dave was home with the kids. He called me at noon to tell me that while he was making mac and cheese for lunch for the girls, he looked back into the living room and Rose was standing up on the couch. She was on the floor when he left her in there. Dave asked Lacy how she got up there. "She climbed," she said, nonchalantly. He kept pressing and she demonstrated how Rose got up there. So I have another climber! *sigh* I'm in for it.

We've been having a heckuva time with sitters this week. My regular sitter is sick with strep throat (actually her whole family is) and today my other sitter called to tell me her kids were all sick. That wasn't a big deal until Dave got called in for a drug test for work. He will be starting a new job on Tuesday but before he can start he has to get a drug test but he needed to leave immediately. So I'm home with the girls, again. But at least he'll be home with them tomorrow and Friday so I won't have to worry.

Lacy has been really clumsy lately and falls off chairs (which she uses as step stools because she insists on helping me make food in the kitchen). She fell off the other day and landed hard on I believe her pubic bone, and now I think it is bruised and it hurts her a lot. She's been complaining a lot about it and last night she woke up at 1 in the morning (and therefore waking up Rose, who had to pee anyway-- she had a dry diaper and wanted to keep it that way). After giving her Tylenol, Dave gave her a blessing, which Lacy was enthusiastic about receiving. She would repeat some of the words in the blessing and afterward, she said, "Thank you daddy, I'm all better now." She cuddled down with Dave and fell asleep that way. Then another time in the night she woke up and thanked Dave again. What a sweet heart. She's not totally better but the fact that she wanted a blessing and has so much faith that blessings work is so humbling to me.

We've decided we're going to set a quit by date and get as much stuff taken care of before then. It will be sometime in the range of June-September I think. Afterward I'm going to start an online business. I have a new idea for a great diaper that would work awesome if you're ECing, but would also be a great diaper for kids who aren't EC'ed as well. I'm trying to make the prototype and have the basic design figured out but I need to make some changes still. I also have to figure out how to market things on the internet and set up an online business! I'm going to be one busy mama!

Night time troubles

Lacy's sure been a handful in the last 24 hours. She was pretty good for most of church, but Dave had to keep going out with the baby so any misbehavior on her part I blame on lack of parental supervision (I'm the chorister so I'm only with the family during the "meat" of the meetings).

She took a nap okay, but since church gets out at 2:30 she didn't fall asleep until 4. We were considering skipping the nap but she was being pretty naughty so I decided that was a bad idea. I decided that I would wake her up before 5. Well, she just wanted to cuddle and nurse for a half hour or so. Finally she got up and we had a pretty good evening. We had to get Dave's mower from Tom's house, so we drove there and I followed Dave home in the car with the hazards on.

Dinner was simple-- nachos. Yum. Lacy and I had made cookies earlier so we had some of those for dessert. Rose ate papaya baby food. I don't give her baby food much anymore but since I had some in the pantry I decided I may as well use it up. She loved it. Bed time was a challenge. Dave needed to be on the road by 4 today so we were all in bed by 9 (which is pretty good for us, plus we thought it would be better because of the time change and Lacy's late nap). Ugh. It was awful. I was so sore from nursing Lacy so much that day, but that's all she wanted to do. She was FREAKING OUT. I took her into the other room several times and she cried a lot. She screamed a lot, too. I kept taking her back in and she was naughty and wouldn't settle down. Finally Dave took her in the bedroom and eventually she fell asleep. She kept drifting off then waking up with a start. Dave thinks she was scared of something, we just don't know what. I do know that she's been having nightmares a lot lately. Dave only got about an hour's sleep. He has to be in Seattle by 6 to hopefully find work from the Union so he's really hurting today. I prayed for him for about an hour this morning. Hopefully he's doing okay. He left with an energy drink and lots of cookies.

As a consolation for last night being so crappy, at least Lacy was really cute yesterday. She loves this Young Ambassador's program that we have on the DVR. She insisted upon having her hair done up in a ponytail like the girls on the TV (though she screamed when neither Dave nor I could get it right... after 5 tries!) and wanted to wear a twirly dress to dance in. She really loved the song Shapoopy and asked for us to play it over and over (and over, and over, and over...). She was spinning and dancing all over the place last night.

A little Rose story that I've been meaning to post... Rose crawled over to the bathroom toward her potty the other day. I thought maybe she was trying to tell me something. SHE WAS! I put her on the potty and she pooped instantly. YEA ROSE! Also she has 6 teeth now... did I mention that? She cut a bottom side tooth on the right. She has neither of her side left teeth but both the right ones! That's a little out of order there! Hopefully the other two will come in soon so her rash will go away.

A to Z: All About Me!

A to Z: All About Me
Available or not: In August I will have been married for 7 yeras
Best friend: Dave, my sweetie
Cake or pie: CAKE, especially chocolate cake
Drink of choice: Water
Essential items used daily: Toothbrush, hairbrush, scriptures, pump
Favorite color: Red
Gummy bears or worms: Bears
Hometown: Lacey, WA for the most part
Indulgence: Chocolate
January or February: February, Dave and I celebrate our birthdays in February
Kids and names: Lacy 2, and Rose 9 months
Life is incomplete without: My wonderful husband and my sweet girls
Marriage date: August 5 2000
Number of siblings: Dale, Leslie, Mark and Kurt
Oranges or apples: Depends on my mood! Both are yummy
Phobias or fears: Heights
Quote (favorite): "Mommy, I lud jew so much" -Lacy
Reason to smile: My kids getting into giggling fits together
Season: Spring, because I'm tired of this terrible winter weather!
Tag 3 people: You, you and you!
Unknown fact about me: My daughter Lacy is probably the only girl named Lacy who was born in the city of Lacey, WA. There is no hospital in Lacey but we lived in the city limits and had a planned homebirth with her. The home she was born in is now actually owned by a childhood friend of mine.
Vegetables you don't like: Are mushrooms considered a vegetable? Cause I can't stand them. I also dislike canned peas.
Worst habit: Procrastinating
X-rays: Most recent was for my teeth.
Your favorite food: Lately, I've been craving salmon. I also love Hawaiian Haystack.
Zodiac sign: Pisces

So, which is it?

I do elimination communication with my 9 month old. Have since she was 7 weeks old. It is a gentle type of infant potty training that relies a lot on instincts, timing, and in the beginning luck. It is a great way to learn to communicate with one another before verbal communication begins. But it is very misunderstood by many people in the western world. Someone recently accused mothers who potty train their infants of trying to make them grow up too fast (she later recanted when she realized what EC actually is, but many people feel this way and don't recant).

I also practice extended breastfeeding, based on the World Health Organization's recommendation of breastfeeding for a minimum of two years. Not something that a lot of people know about, but not something that I hide, either. But I've seen arguments where extended breastfeeders are accused of trying to keep their children infants and not allowing them to grow up.

So which is it?

Am I keeping my children babies by nursing them well into toddlerhood (and possibly into childhood)? Or am I making them grow up too fast by potty training them early? Or do they cancel each other out and they're growing up just exactly as their non-EBF'ed non-EC'ed peers do?

It just really bothers me that something that is different than societal norms is considered wrong just for the fact that it is different! I think my children are growing up perfectly, just exactly as they're supposed to. I'm so lucky to be their mother.

My parent's house was robbed

My brother Dale called me last night but I was not home. Apparently when he went over there to check on the house (they're in Hawaii), the front door was unlocked, which is not a good sign. He went in and the entire house was ransacked. They apparently only stole a bit of my mom's jewelry and a router for the computer. Hopefully nothing of value was destroyed or taken away. I'm going to ask around at local pawn shops about my mom's jewelry.

Singing in church, new tooth, mama...

I forgot to post that on the 18th I sang a solo in church. I sang "I feel my savior's love" and "I wonder when he comes again" with Brother Carpenter in my ward. I sang the first two verses of "I feel my savior's love" then all of "I wonder when he comes again" and finally the last verse of "savior's love." Brother Carpenter did a great job on the piano. I frogged up in the beginning and couldn't quite hit the high note, so I had to clear my throat, but I was okay after that. I think I did a good job. The good news is I am officially over my stage fright and didn't get even a little bit nervous. I think having my calling as ward chorister helps a lot.

I also played piano in church last sunday (the 25th). It was last minute so I didn't get to practice. I guess I haven't lost it all because I was able to fake my way through the songs pretty well, and the first song I had never played before. Yay for sight reading!

I noticed this morning that Rose cut a new tooth! I'm sure the 6th tooth will be soon to follow. It was on the top right side.

We achieved a wonderful milestone on Sunday! Rose said, "MAMA!" Dave was holding her in the other room at my folk's house. She saw me through the door and said it. It was so clear that I thought Lacy had said it. I looked around and realized that Lacy was downstairs playing with Marilyn (not aunt Marilyn, Lacy's future cousin who is 4 years old). Rose had said it! It was so sweet. Of course she hasn't said it since, but once is enough for me for now. I know she knows what it means. Rose has also been doing very well at pulling herself to standing lately, for about the last two weeks. I'm not sure if I wrote that down and I would be upset with myself if I forgot to keep track of that!