Mommy Win - Day 57

I know, I know, I've fallen off the wagon. I'm coming back, though. 

I watched both of my babies fall asleep tonight. It was really quite beautiful. 

Mommy Win - Day 56

I gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl in the world yesterday at 5:59PM.

Welcome to the world, little princess. We've been anxiously awaiting your arrival!

Mommy Win - Day 55

I was far too optimistic in that last post... Nasty stomach bug.

Yesterday was a very difficult day, for all of us. Although he managed to maintain his appetite all day, and that was good.

At one point he and I were playing hide-n-seek and I was counting while he hid. He has a tendency to "help" count to 10 with us, even after he's supposed to be hidden. It was no exception yesterday except that, after I stopped at 10, he continued on to 15 without any help! I've counted to 15 with him maybe a total of 4 times... I was highly impressed. I also had to "find" him incredibly fast so I could give him a huge hug and tell him what a smarty pants he is. It really is moments like those that make me so happy to be a mother.

Mommy Win - Day 54

The little dude has a stomach bug. We have skipped the vomiting, though. I'm kind of grateful for that. But, he has still been sick since yesterday. I've been trying to keep things positive and make him as comfortable as possible. Thankfully his mood hasn't seemed to affected by it, so we're all doing pretty well.

Today I managed to complete several things on the to do list without giving the little man too much screen time. I'll be the first to admit that I use the TV as a babysitter far more often than I should. I try not to, but it is an easy trap to fall into. And I know once this little lady makes her appearance he will get plenty of show watching. I just have a feeling that will happen... We'll see.

Mommy Win - Day 53

What a good day! Even though I didn't do anything amazing, per se, it was just a good day. For having less than a week and a half before d-day for the little lady, I felt great about what I was able to accomplish.

We made a quick run to Walmart, ate a good lunch at home (which he ate a ton of), he had a nap! We went two days sans nap... That was rough. I finished up the "big brother" gift for once this little lady makes her appearance. I made it to the chiropractor, and he ate a ton for dinner - nearly as much as me! And then bedtime was completely tear free. I love days like this. Now I just have to hope that he doesn't get sick... He was with one of his cousins this weekend who is sick. I really don't think that having a sick boy right before I give birth would be very fun, or fair.

Mommy Win - Day 52

I was able to make a cake this morning as well as scalloped potatoes from scratch! It was my mom's birthday yesterday, and I had the crazy idea that having all our family over for dinner would be a good idea. But I was still able to get the cake made as well as the potatoes, and I was pretty impressed with myself. However, I didn't have the energy to help clean up afterward... I somehow always forget about that part about throwing a party. Thankfully my sister was awesome and did a great job cleaning up.

Mommy Win - Day 51

It's becoming harder to keep up with this as the baby's due date is coming nearer (we're down to less than two weeks!).

However, before I forget, I wanted to write about a major win today. We've decided that since we're having another baby, and we will be moving shortly thereafter, we didn't want to introduce potty training to the little man until we are all a little more settled. He's been showing some interest in using the toilet, but I definitely haven't been pushing it.

This morning I was giving him a bath when he suddenly said that he was poopy (he wasn't), but I asked if he wanted to get out of the tub and get a diaper on or try using the potty. He opted for the potty. And, after just a minute or two on the toilet he started peeing. He was so proud of himself, and I was extremely proud, too. Who knows what this will mean for the time when we are actually potty training. I know there will be plenty of ups and downs, but hopefully it goes fairly smoothly.

Another big win for me today happened at lunch time. We went to the store to pick up some groceries as well as a little treat to celebrate the first potty use (no, this won't be a common thing, but I wanted to really celebrate the first time). He loves Macaroni & Cheese, which I was planning on making for lunch. He wanted one of the boxes that had the shaped noodles (which he hasn't ever had before), so I bought one. Well, in case you don't know, they have a different taste than the original. I didn't think it would be a problem, though. However, once we got home and I'd made the macaroni, he didn't end up liking the taste at all.

I was a little frustrated, but decided I'd finish his portion off and make him some of the original. I asked him to bring me his bowl - I was only about 3 feet from him - and I knew immediately I should've just gotten it myself. He ended up dropping the bowl and spilling half the contents on the floor. Initially my reaction was to just yell at him in frustration. What can I say? I am very tired today. I was up, feeling extremely sick, from 2:30-4:00 this morning and then the little man woke up way too early. Anyway, I wanted to just completely yell at him, but I was able to hold back, and not say/yell anything at him. I just cleaned up the mess and moved on. It wasn't really his fault. He's only 2 1/2, I can't expect him to do everything perfectly.

Mommy Win - day 50

It is silly how much it matters to me how well he eats throughout the day. But today was an awesome eating day.

He ate two huge pancakes for breakfast, promptly asked for more (which I didn't have), then ate crackers and string cheese. Then he ate nearly 6 inches of a sandwich from Subway. For dinner tonight he ate a bunch of refried beans as well as half a chicken flauta, which he'd never tasted before. I love that he has really been willing to try more and more things without much prodding. It makes me feel like I'm doing something right. Who knows whether it actually has anything with what I'm doing, but I'll take credit where I can.

Mommy Win - Day 49

I had the Easter baskets all ready to go earlier this week. Ours are in storage, so I made some temporary ones. They turned out awesome! All I had to do was hide them this morning. It was nice to have that stress done with well before the holiday.

Mommy Win - Day 48

We played outside today as well as playing with play dough. We also played with Lincoln Logs and Mega Blocks.

I won't go into how miserable I felt all day, but we all managed to survive. I even got the quilt I'll be making for the new little lady started. I won't be finishing it before she arrives (I don't have access to my sewing machine, and I don't think my mom's could handle it..) but I plan to have everything cut and as much of it sewn as possible. I'd say I'm just about halfway done with the cutting.

Mommy Win - Day 47

I was able to get nearly everything done in my "to do" list today. I even had myself and the little man dressed and ready for the day before breakfast!

Although I had scheduled out a different plan for how the day would go, the little guy really wanted to play outside for a while this morning. So we bounced and kicked his red ball around, ran around in circles, and colored with sidewalk chalk. And it was totally worth every minute it took me off my "schedule."

Mommy Win - Day 46

A couple of things for today:

•• He counted to ten unprompted and completely on his own. I love seeing him learn so much. And it is especially nice because he is picking things up without us sitting and "practicing" over and over. I feel like our society is a little too obsessive about making sure our kids are "ready" for school, and that your child already has to know how to read before they're allowed to start school. It's too much... But that's a discussion for another time...

•• We were singing some songs today, and although he wasn't singing the words with me, he was humming along and he was really quite in tune. I was impressed. It made my music teacher self happy.

•• Who knew playing with packing peanuts could be so entertaining and fun? We played with a bunch of then tonight and had a grand old time throwing them at each other.

•• I've learned that we can avoid a lot of possible tantrums with the little dude by just preparing him for what is coming up next. If that means that we need to clean up to go somewhere, it goes much more smoothly if we are able to give him a specific time frame, like, "in 5 minutes we're putting toys away so we can go to the store." And generally speaking it is much less of an ordeal (and more often than not, no ordeal) than if we just spring it on him. Hopefully we'll be able to keep this up once our little lady joins the family...

Mommy Win - Day 45

Today he was looking at a remote that had some letters on it, and before I even realized what he was saying he was saying the letters "R, G, Y, B" without any kind of prompting. I haven't gone over letters with him a whole lot, so it was a nice surprise to find that he knew those letters.

Mommy Win - Day 44

Today was a fun day with the little dude. He was in much better spirits which always makes it more fun. I don't remember getting too frustrated with him and even though we spent a long time driving around town today, he managed to stay awake and take a nap in his bed when we got home.

Tonight has been rough. He is using every possible delay tactic to avoid going to bed, and it is wearing me down. We started bedtime over an hour ago and he's still awake and trying to delay the inevitable. I just have to focus on the wins today so I don't get too frustrated. But honestly, I kind of want to pull my hair out right now.

Mommy Win - Day 43

A little rough day today at church. Even though we don't follow daylight saving here in Arizona, we are still affected by the change of season that makes the sun rising much earlier. He hasn't been sleeping in until his usual time, and has been waking up an hour to hour and a half earlier than usual. It's tough.

So, he got in trouble during nursery today and had to come sit with me in Primary. I had to singing time, but since he was in trouble he needed to just sit in time out, as it were. And I am actually kind of impressed that he sat, the entire time, in the chair I placed him in, without making any sort of noise or causing a distraction. A strange win, but I was proud of him.

After we got home he went down for his nap, but he woke up after only an hour and a half. I went in and sat with him for a few minutes, and helped him calm down. After just about a minute he fell asleep again in my arms. I do love having a little time when he'll sleep with me still. It doesn't happen really often, but I'm trying to cherish the time that it does happen.

Mommy Win - Days 39 - 42

So... My whole plan of posting every single day seems to have fallen short. Oh well, I am going to keep going! I really have noticed a difference in my days when I remember that I am looking for the good things to write about. It helps keep things in perspective.

We did have a run of really, really rough days though. Wednesday-Friday were tough. Although, on Wednesday I did take him to see the model train club that my dad participates in. The little man is obsessed with all things transportation, and particularly loves trains. So, I wanted to take him to see all the trains at the train club. Unfortunately he wasn't terribly well behaved and so we ended up leaving on a rather sour note. But, I was able to take him and that was something he had really wanted to do, so I will count that as a win.

I worked all day Thursday and Friday. When I work it means a few things for the little man. One, he gets to play with his cousins all day - which he really likes. Two, unfortunately it means he has to get up really early in order for me to be able to get him to my sister's house and then for me to get to work. Three, naps (if they even happen) are always in the car, on the way home, in the 4:00 hour. Four, naps are only about an hour long on these days, when he usually takes anywhere from 2-3 hours. So, he's been lacking in the sleep department the last few days. It makes the evenings really, really rough.

So, here's to kind of starting over... We'll be trying to be a little more positive. Today has been pretty good. He has been great so far and we've been having a lot of fun playing and goofing around.

Mommy Win - Day 38

I have worried about my little guy's speech for a while. I know, I know. He's a boy, he's only two and a half, yadda, yadda, yadda... The point is, I have just wanted him to be able to be understood by people besides me and my husband.

One of the things he does is speak in the third person, all the time. I know this is quite normal for children. But part of the problem with this is that he can't say his name clearly so to most people, they have no idea that he is saying his name all the time.

I know he understands the concept of "me" and "you." A few weeks ago he randomly asked me about it to see if he was right - which he was. However, he hasn't used it much since then. Yesterday, though, I noticed that, although he would start his sentence with his name (instead of "I"), he would then be using "me," "my" or "mine" quite consistently in the rest of his sentence. This really made me so happy. It also reminded me that I don't need to worry about things like this as much as I do. He's a smart kid, and he has smart parents who can help him figure it all out.

Mommy Win - Day 37

Mondays are particularly hard for the little man because he's had his dad as well as grandparents around all weekend, particularly when he wakes up in the morning. This morning he was especially sad that no one but me was home. However, we were still able to have a lot of fun this morning, just the two of us.

It helped that we got to meet up with daddy for lunch - always a nice treat. And today's lunch did not disappoint. Even though I felt a little sick after lunch (ate way too much, and there's not much room anymore) I was still able to make a stop at Walmart for some quick shopping that needed to be done. He even picked out a sweet dress for baby sister. He gave the dress a hug and a kiss and then set it on my belly and said, "here Baby da-da." Definitely a sweet moment.

Mommy Win - Day 36

He didn't eat much today. Well, ok, he ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast, but only about half a sandwich for lunch and some fruit for dinner. It is stressful and frustrating to me when he does this, but today I wasn't as bothered by it as I usually am. I am trying hard to not worry so much about things like how much he's eating because I know he will eat when he's hungry. Not to mention that he has really been trying a lot of new foods recently, and that also makes me really happy. So I definitely need to focus on the big picture rather than just one day...

Mommy Win - Day 35

Today I had gotten a little frustrated while changing the little monkey's diaper. I don't even remember why (other than the fact that diaper changes have become one of the most dramatic events in recorded history!) but he looked right at me and said - for the first time - "I love you so much mommy." It really made me so happy. And after I responded to him, he said, "mummy's happy now!" Yes, indeed little man. Yes, indeed.

Mommy Win - Day 34

We've entered the phase where the little bug always wants at least a bite of whatever I'm eating. I wanted him to have something healthy for dinner tonight, but he asked for his leftover pizza from the other night. That was fine. I did want to use the leftovers, but I still wanted him to have something healthy with his dinner.

So, I made myself some dinner and included some strawberries, yogurt, and was drinking water. Of course he asked to share some of my food. He ate about half the strawberries and ate most of the yogurt as well as having some of my water. Success!

Mommy Win - Day 33

I wasn't feeling too good this morning. I was supposed to work, but just couldn't. However, even not feeling well, I was able to make the most of the day. I got to enjoy just playing/resting with my little guy. It was a good day.

Mommy Win - Day 32

Several meltdowns averted tonight.

He finally listened and responded to the choices I was giving him (i.e. Get in your pajamas and play for another few minutes, or fight getting the pajamas on and be done playing). It was so nice to have him listen to the choices and pick ones that made him (and us!) happy.

Mommy Win - Day 31

Daylight Saving... Ugh. I am very glad AZ doesn't participate because it is already too bright in the early morning. And the little dude didn't appreciate the early morning sun today. He was up way too early, but when I went in his room to sit with him he fell asleep for another hour. It was nice to just sit and enjoy my time with him, and watch him dreaming. He smiled and laughed several times. Although it was earlier than I wanted to start my day, it was a good start to the day.

Mommy Win - Day 30

Yesterday was tough. I was in a lot of pain which made me very cranky all. day. long. I was not a fun person to be around. In any case, I guess I will count the fact that I actually made dinner at home as a win. I definitely was not much in the mood to cook, but I still did. That says something, right?

As for today, it actually just happened. The little man had been in bed for a little while, but just woke up crying. When I went in to see what had happened he told me he was scared. I asked him if he wanted to say a prayer, and he agreed.

We said a prayer together and after a minute he said, "Mommy, Boston is happy now! Jesus helped Boston!" It was so sweet and such a wonderful example of child-like faith.

Mommy Win - Day 29

The day is over. Hallelujah. I will have to report tomorrow on what my win was for today because I can't honestly think of anything.

Mommy Win - Day 28

Last night was tough. It was nice that he was feeling much better, but yikes! We had a rough evening.

Tonight was muchly better. And, with the help of my awesome husband, we got him ready for bed and in bed with very few tears or complaints. Such a nice win after yesterday.

Mommy Win - Day 27

We all survived this evening. That is all.

Mommy Win - Day 26

Oh today did not turn out as I had planned... Rarely do my days go exactly as I hope, but today was WAY off.

Here were a few things on my to do list today:
• Make/write thank you notes
• Give B a bath (yes, I have to put it on my list or it doesn't always happen. Don't judge)
• Plan music for Sunday
• Do dishes/clean kitchen
• Sew the shepherd (my mom and I are working on a nativity. Yes, in March)

As you can see, I definitely had some things to get done. There were several other things I had planned as well. I'll say it now, the only thing I managed to accomplish was to give the little dude a bath.

The day started off a little different because little man decided not to wake up until 9:40. Definitely not the norm. He usually sleeps until anytime between 7:30-8:30. I wasn't too surprised he slept in because we've been a little wacky on the sleep schedule the last few days.

However, he woke up crying and complaining that his mouth hurt. His lips were very chapped, so I put some Chapstick on his lips. He then asked to cuddle with me in the chair in his room. Not totally strange as we do this very often in the mornings. But when I laid him down to change his diaper he started to kind of close his eyes as if he was going to fall asleep. Very odd.

Anyway, he was extremely tired all morning and basically sat and cuddled with me for over an hour and a half and also slept for about 40 minutes of that time. He didn't have a fever, but was extremely weak, too. I was getting quite scared. This was definitely not normal behavior, and made me quite nervous.

I made a doctor's appointment for him, and shortly after he threw up - hence managing to get him in the bath. He started to act a little more normal after that, and was asking to eat something.

Long story short, we went to the doctor, of course she didn't find anything. He has been acting fine all afternoon and has been eating more today than he usually eats. *sigh*

So what was my win for the day? I've learned that, as a mother, you have to kind of learn how to control your knee-jerk reactions to things like spills, accidents and puking. I haven't done very good at this so far, but today with the throwing up, I felt like I handled it great. I didn't make the little man more upset by my reaction (which has definitely happened in the past) and he wasn't really even very upset after the whole episode. We got it cleaned up and got him bathed with little to no tears. A definite win today.

Mommy Win - Days 24 & 25

Yesterday was a hard day for me. I was cranky, little man was cranky... So my win ended up just being able to slightly keep my cool. I did get some crafting time in during his nap, which was nice. I think I'll need to do it more often.

Today we got to enjoy our little guy's sense of humor. He was being absolutely hilarious, and I'm sad to say I missed some of it because it happened while he was at my sister's house, but he was being very funny tonight. He was dancing like crazy and making jokes. It was a fun night.

Mommy Win - Day 24

Tonight we were able to have dinner with some friends who recently had a baby. I'll admit, I was a little nervous. My little guy has been very interested in babies recently (which is awesome), but his experience has been with babies between the ages of 4 and 8 months. Our friends had a baby 6 weeks ago...

I had nothing to worry about. The baby was asleep when we arrived, but little B wanted to see him and watch him sleep. He was completely fascinated. He kept talking about the baby sleeping, and anytime the baby made any kind of noise (as newborns are wont to do), he would run into the other room to check on him. It was so sweet.

After we had finished dinner, the baby woke up and was naturally hungry. Our friends were kind enough to let our little one sit by the baby and even bring his bottle to him, and hold it while he was eating. The look of pure joy and excitement on my little man's face made my heart melt. I was thrilled to see how he interacted with the baby, and he seemed to be in absolute heaven.

Of course it wasn't all perfect... We were getting his hands washed so he could hold the baby (which he had been SO excited to do), but he got distracted by something in the bathroom that he wanted to play with. It wasn't really a toy, and I didn't let him play with it, so he was really upset. We ended up having to leave shortly after because it was getting close to bedtime, and our little guy was not calming down. I'm sad he didn't get to hold the baby, since he had been so excited, but I was very pleased with how he was treating the baby otherwise. He even gave him some sweet kisses on the head (with parental permission, of course). It was an overall good night. 

Mommy Win - Day 23

Today I worked in the morning for a few hours and then babysat my niece and nephews for the rest of the afternoon. My little dude had a great time playing with his cousins, which was awesome.

He also managed to eat a huge amount of food today. I think I've learned something from this. He needs more little snacks throughout the day. Because today he ate: cereal for breakfast, a ham sandwich at lunch with Cheetos, another bowl of cereal about an hour after lunch, as well as another sandwich. When it came time for dinner, I was certain he wouldn't eat much at all. However, he surprised me completely by eating a good quarter of my food, some things that he's never tried before, and ate a ton without even batting an eye.

Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this little man's appetite, and hopefully I'll be able to get a good snack schedule for him. You can really learn something new about your child every day, if you're paying attention.

Mommy Win - Days 21 & 22

Yes... I forgot to post something yesterday. However, I am NOT going to beat myself up about it, since that would defeat the whole purpose of trying to rid myself of "mommy guilt."

Anyway, my win from yesterday. I did not feel well yesterday, at all. I was weak and a little cranky, and had a hard time moving. I was able to sneak a little nap in before lunch, and I was still able to make us both lunch as well as make dinner for the family.

Today's win... The little man is still having a little bit of a case of the crankies. I'm not sure what exactly is going on, but it is getting hard to go more than an hour without some sort of yelling or crying. Going to bed is the hardest part. Of course he never wants to go to bed, but when he's had an uber cranky day, it's that much harder.

Tonight I was able to get him in his pajamas, and get him to clean up his toys and ready to read books with ZERO tears and ZERO "no's!" That, to me, is a big win. Because I know that if the bedtime routine goes poorly, it makes for a cranky everybody... Not just a little boy. It can ruin an entire evening.

Mommy Win - Day 20

I completed everything on my to do list today. Granted, not everything turned out the way I was expecting or hoping, but I did it all. Whether this is nesting or medication, I don't care... I will take it! However, I hope that tomorrow brings me a much happier little boy. We had a serious case of the crankies today.

Mommy Win - Day 19

A very silly win, but I seriously feel like shouting it from the rooftops...

HE DRANK MILK WITH HIS LUNCH!!!

I know. But really, this is a big deal for me, and for him. We discovered he had a dairy allergy at around 9 months. Only eating/drinking dairy, but if I was drinking it and he had it through breastmilk he never had a problem. And thank heavens for that. I am not sure that I would be strong enough to avoid dairy...

Anyway, he could tolerate certain types of cheeses and yogurts, and we would occasionally test him with other dairy products to see if his allergy had passed yet. Shortly after two years the allergy was gone. Whew! But he would not drink milk, at all. I could very occasionally get him to drink a sip or two from my cup, but that was the extent. He will eat his cereal with milk on it, and I think that's a big deal. But this afternoon I told him that milk was my very favorite thing to drink when eating Macaroni and Cheese (true story) and he got all excited and asked for milk, too. I gave him some expecting one or two sips, but he drank almost half of what I gave him.

Hallelujah! It really is the little things sometimes.

Mommy Win - Day 18

I have a hard time not getting stressed about my child's sleeping and eating. It's always been this way. We had family dinner plans following church yesterday. It was going to be quite convenient because little dude's nap is at 2:00, which is when we are done with our church meetings. Theoretically he was going to fall asleep on the way home from church, we would stop to pick up my dad (who had stayed home due to a little illness) and then we would drive out to the family dinner, about an hour away. He'd get a decent nap in and we would all be happy and life would be perfect.

Ha.

Of course he didn't fall asleep on the way home from church. In his defense, we were talking kind of loudly. Not a big deal. I figured he'd go to sleep within a few minutes of our drive to dinner. No.

Now, for most people it would not be a huge deal that their child hadn't taken a nap. And generally it doesn't bother me too much anymore. However, for whatever reason, this was the end of the world for me. I blame it on pregnancy hormones. I was so ridiculously upset that he wasn't napping. It took everything I had not to break down sobbing. Seriously. (Again, totally blaming the hormones on this one). Anyway, I knew that if I was going to have any chance at enjoying this time with my family, and being enjoyable to be around, I had to get control of myself. Not to mention I knew that if I went into the situation assuming that he was going to be terrible because of lack of sleep, he would be. Self-fulfilling prophecy and all that.

This is all to say that I finally got control of these wacky emotions, we arrived at my aunt and uncle's house, and honestly... everything went quite well. We had the slightest bit of trouble when it was time to leave (well after 6:00 - four hours past naptime) but really, it was not terrible. And, of course, he fell asleep within a few minutes of being on the road.

Mommy Win - Day 17

I'm not entirely sure what my win is today.

It was a busy day. My sisters and mother threw me a wonderful baby shower and then we spent the rest of the day with two of my sisters. I do so love it when my little guy is able to have so much family time. He has a lot of fun with his cousins - especially his older ones - and it makes me so happy.

Mommy Win - Day 16

This may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but we went to McDonald's for lunch today, and he went into the play area completely by himself and climbed up to the top three or four different times. The fact that he went without requiring me to follow was huge! I did have to guide him a few times on how to climb up certain things, and he did get stuck on a few occasions, but he did it on his own! A huge moment for both of us.

Mommy Win - Day 15

Today was a great day for me as a mother and a person. I have been feeling really good recently. Either proof that my medicine is working, or I'm nesting... Whatever it is, I'll take it!

I was able to clean our bathroom (it's only been on my "to do" list for at least two weeks...), do all our laundry - including the folding - get ready before the monkey woke up, and play lots of games with the little dude. And I felt great all day!

I was also able to start making a tie as well as a bow tie for the little man. He was absolutely THRILLED to pick out the fabrics for his ties. It was all he could talk about before his nap. And he was helping me cut out the patterns. He was just so happy and it made me so happy to be able to do something so simple and easy that brings him so much joy. Definite win.

Mommy Win - Day 14

For the past two days, no tears while he was being dropped off at my sister's. I think I've finally found the way to do it so there is minimal drama. Hopefully it will continue to work!

Mommy Win - Day 13

We were seriously out of groceries... And have been for nearly a week. Long story, but grocery shopping just hasn't been able to happen. But today was the day. Seriously, like do or die. Unfortunately I also had to work today. I know that's not an excuse, but it does mean that I was going to be doing grocery shopping with a little boy who had yet to take a nap at 3:30 in the afternoon.

We made it to the store without him falling asleep (a miracle!) and all the way through our nearly 45 minute shopping spree with no meltdowns and even without any crying or whining of any kind. He was awesome, and I had so much fun keeping him giggling and entertained while trying to still shop quickly. My favorite was asking him what he thought we should buy. For the record, he suggested: Macaroni and Cheese, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cheese, and Cookies. Haha. I love this kid, and, I probably don't say this enough but, I love being a mom.

Mommy Win -Day 12

Total wins: 7

Today I felt very productive. It has been a long time since I have felt this productive. I was able to mark several things off my list:

• I was dressed and ready for the day before the munchkin woke up.
• I had the little dude (who slept in past 9:00!!) breakfasted and dressed before 10:00.
• I put away one load of dishes, started another, and put that one away as well as cleaning up the kitchen after lunch. The kitchen was very clean today.
• I washed our sheets and blanket AND got the bed re-made before bedtime tonight.
• Took the little monster to the park, where he showed off his impressive climbing skills to a slightly terrified mother.
• Gave the stinky boy a bath :)
• Made a pan of brownies.

I know I accomplished a few more things today, but this will suffice for now.

Mommy Win - Day 11

Total Wins - 1

He wanted to sing "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" this afternoon. Instead of jumping on the word "sunbeam," he decided to play a make-shift instrument. He hit every beat correctly, and perfectly on time. It made this music teacher mommy very proud!

Mommy Win - Day 10

After an exhausting night, and an extremely busy day today... We all survived.

Mommy Win - Day 9

I don't know why this didn't post last night...

Total Wins: 1

I went to work today, and had a really good day. And little man got to stay home and play with daddy all day. When we got home, we left for a quick trip up to Winslow for a funeral of a family member.

Little man was really good on the car ride. And even though, towards the end, he got tired and we were all a little cranky, we made it in one piece without any tears.

Mommy Win - Day 8

Total Wins: 1

I made pancakes and homemade syrup for breakfast this morning.

I had a unexpectedly long afternoon, so I didn't get to see the little dude very much today. And unfortunately by the time my afternoon ended, I was extremely cranky. It was a long day... I'll stick with the happiness of the morning, though :)

Mommy Win - Day 7

Total wins: 1?

I'm not sure how much of a win today was. Before 11:00AM I was able to accomplish several things including:

• Getting us both showered/bathed and dressed
• Both of us had breakfast
• I had two loads of laundry washed, one in the dryer
• My bed made (sadly, it doesn't happen every day)

However, it was a rough day. That list probably looks pretty impressive. But, when you consider what ALSO happened before 11:00, it's not as impressive. Because, also added to that list is:

• One time-out for the little dude (before 9:00AM - he only woke up at 8:15)
• One time-out for Mommy (given to me by the child...literally. He did to me what we do to him when he is in time-out. He turned off the light in my room and shut the door and wouldn't let me come out.)
• Two fits, complete with throwing himself on the floor
• Several instances of yelling and crying - by both mother and child

So, a tough day. Although I got a lot done in the morning it was not very pretty. Post lunch-time was better. We made some Valentines together, and he took the two little hearts I cut out and gave to him with him for his nap. That made me smile. Not a total loss today, but it sure was hard to keep a positive attitude and remain happy. I'll try harder tomorrow.

Edited to add: The day got much better after nap time. We were able to go visit the model trains that my dad does and that made the little guy very, very happy.

Mommy Win - Day 6

Total wins: 2

Win 1
My poor little guy still isn't feeling well. I put him down for a nap and he woke up after about 50 minutes, crying. I think it was because his fever broke so he was particularly uncomfortable. Anyway, he was only able to go back to sleep with me holding him. I convinced him to move to my bed, with me laying next to him. I thought I'd be able to block him in with some pillows once he was asleep and still get some things done. However, once he was asleep, he would wake anytime I tried to move. So, I just gave in and took a nap with him. It was nice. Once again, a reminder that soon things will be changing, and I won't have chances like this very often.

Win 2

We were all in an accident back on January 30th. Talk about a nightmare. We are all pretty OK, but mom and dad are both very sore. It has been extremely hard to keep up with the two-year old who doesn't stop as well as working a few days a week. Basically, I haven't cooked dinner for us since the accident. But tonight I made dinner! It was one of my favorite soups - taco soup - and it was delicious. It was also nice to be home this evening. I worked this morning in a music class (loved it!), took care of my little sicky, and was still able to make dinner. It felt really good.

Now my back is rather unhappy with me, so I am taking a break with my new medical belt that gives me a little massage as well as changes between hot and cold. It feels quite nice. Not worth getting in a car accident to be able to use one, but it is a nice little consolation prize.

Mommy Win - Day 5

Total Wins: 1

The little man didn't feel too good today. He had a bit of a fever, but he was acting mostly fine and just needed some occasional extra cuddles today. He also woke up before 6:00 AM... Much too early, even though he went to bed quite early last night.

My win today was just enjoying the time cuddling and helping him feel better. It is nice to just slow down and enjoy the time with him before our time of just the two of us is changed.

Mommy Win - Day 4

Wins today: 1

He was in bed before 8:00 and asleep by 8:30. Major, major win.

Mommy Win - Day 3

Total Wins: 1

He tried something completely new for dinner and ate it all! I had to make a deal with him (I let him have his favorite cereal bar before dinner) in order to get him to eat it, but he ate the whole thing!

What's this all about?

This whole idea for this project came from a challenge my aunt posted a few years ago on her blog. She issued a challenge to do something creative every day for an entire year. I immediately knew I wanted to participate, but I knew I couldn't commit right away as I was going to be having a baby and didn't think I'd be able to keep up with it.

Since my life has found a new normal (just in time for it to be changed again by yet another addition) I have really wanted to find a way to participate in the challenge. I've also made a decision that I want to be done with "mommy guilt." Anyone who is a parent has undoubtedly experienced some feeling of guilt or worry about how they are raising their child. "Am I stimulating my child enough?" "Do I let him/her watch too much TV?" "My child is two but they can't read or write yet... They are doomed to failure for the rest of their lives!"

Ok, that last one may be just a teensy bit over the top. But you see what I mean. Mommy guilt is poisonous. And I've decided I'm done with it in my life. So, with that resolution, the desire to do something creative daily, as well as my wanting to focus on the positive things in life, Mommy Win was born.

This is not to give the impression that my life as a mother is perfect. It is oh so very far from it. I just want to focus on the positive. It is incredibly easy to dwell on and remember the negative. But I want to choose to be happy, and remember the good things throughout each day.

I can absolutely promise that not every win will be big. I fully expect to have days where my only win is that we all got dressed and ate three meals. I will likely share some of the not so fabulous moments of the day, just to assure you that my life is not perfect.

I hope this inspires others out there to focus on the good. Focus on the little wins each day. I'd love to hear any of your wins, as well. Feel free to share!

Any win, big or small, is still a win.

Mommy Win - Day 2

Total Wins today: 2

Win 1

This isn't necessarily something I did, but it is still a win. When I dropped the little dude off at his Aunt's for the day while I went to work, he didn't cry and he even gave me a kiss goodbye. Usually it involves a lot more crying and wailing, and gnashing of teeth... But today, just a little bit of nervousness, and then he was totally fine.

Win 2

After picking him up from my sister's house and driving home with him he had gotten upset because I wouldn't give him my phone. He then proceeded to throw the single most spectacular tantrum I've seen him throw to date. Did I mention it was after 4:00 and he hadn't had a nap yet?

Anyway, he screamed, often at the top of his lungs, for the remaining 12-15 minutes of the drive. I managed to completely keep my cool, never raise my voice, and wait for the tantrum to pass. It helped to remember that he was tired and really didn't have another way to express his frustration. Sometimes I forget he's a person and has the same capacity for emotion as anyone else, just not the ability to express everything he feels.

Mommy Win - Day 1

Lunch consisted of a grain, a vegetable, a fruit, a protein, and dairy. It was served with a side of chips. He ate the whole thing AND asked for seconds (which he also devoured).