My Daddy Helps People

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Mae

Life in our house is returning to normal after the holidays Preschool is back in session and all our regularly scheduled activities have started back up. However, normal is about to become ‘different’.

We were blessed that Rand McNally was able to have nearly 2 straight weeks of vacation over the holidays. It was AWESOME. We did some fun things out and about, but mostly we enjoyed being home together as a family.

When McNally returned to work Peanut kept saying “I miss my Daddy.” She has the sweetest voice and hearing it reminds me of what the next year will be like.

Daddy is deploying.

It wasn’t something we had on our radar but it is going to happen. When McNally recently left on a trip to prep for this Tour, I explained to the girls that Daddy is in the Army to help people, and sometimes people in the Army have to go away.

I am not the only person who has had their husband deploy. In fact, this will be a second tour for us. However, it is our first with kids and that changes things.

I have been ‘Pinning’ all kinds of ideas and getting strategies to manage the next year from my MANY experienced friends. I figure as I come up with ideas and find things for our family I will blog about them to share with other families.

For starters, we have ordered both girls Daddy Dolls. These are great for a boy or a girl! You email them a full length photo of the Dad or Mom and they Photoshop the background out and create a doll with the picture. They are going to be amazing for the girls!!!

Here are some examples from their website!

Another fun thing my husband has been doing is recording a few of the Hallmark Recordable Story Books. You can purchase them at Walmart, Hallmark stores, even grocery stores! We bought a few of the Christmas ones on Clearance so we could record them and put them away for next year!

This is one of my favorite books and we will be getting it for the girls. Hearing McNally reading it will probably make me cry, but the words are PERFECT!

A perfect recordable book

I have a bunch of other ideas I plan to share here in the next few weeks. I am sad. The girls will be sad too. We haven’t told them. No point until we get closer. The military is constantly changing dates and times. We don’t want to them to worry that every time Daddy goes to work he is ‘leaving’. We are strong family and this will strengthen us.

Can I Eat a Successful Meal at a Restaurant with a Toddler?

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Mae

Here is the answer you wanted… YES! A local store asked this question and I was quick to respond with an answer. I decided to elaborate with a full post on the topic!

The key to a perfectly lovely meal in public with your toddler is to set your child up for success in a restaurant environment.

Munchkin is 3 1/2 (how did this happen!) and she has only been removed (by us) from a restaurant one time (we found out the next day she was SUPER sick- double ear infections/bronchitis ugh!). I think it is VERY important to set your child up for success out in public. Set the boundaries early and you won’t have to do much to have a well behaved child in public. I have taken the girls a bunch by myself and they both behave well (most of the time!).

Here are my tips that have worked over the last almost 4 years!

Do Not Attempt a Meal when your Child is Tired

I don’t care how hungry everyone is… this is why some one invented the drive thru. No kiddo is going to happily sit through a meal if they are overtired. I would also NEVER attempt a full shopping trip at the grocery store when they are that tired either. This can happen at nap time or bedtime.

Do your best to get to the restaurant before you child believes he/she is starving!

Is your child actually starving.. no! But haven’t we all been there… believing there was no way the waitress was going to make it to our table before we ate our arms off! Now explain to a toddler who has limited verbal skills that the sweet guy or gal is doing their best to get the food out. We try and get to a restaurant around 11/11:30 or right around 5pm to avoid the busy times too.

Bring snacks!

See above… It is quite possible you have a starving child on your hands. Having your own provisions to avoid this is key. Cherrios, squeeze apple sauce, anything will do. This should give the waitress/waiter time to find some bread to entertain your kiddo for a minute or two!

We LOVE these in our house! Both girls can eat one in about 2 minutes

Order your Kids Meals ASAP

We always order the girls’ meals with our drink order. This gives them a start on it in the kitchen. Also, tell the wait staff to please bring out their meals first!

This Menu is from LoneStar Steakhouse ... looks yummy!

Entertainment is Crucial to Success

You can’t expect idle chatter to entertain your toddler. Nor can you expect 3 crayons and paper menu to be the golden ticket. We had a bag of quiet toys that could be easily wiped clean ready to go in the car at all times. Some favorite toys are- puzzles, links with toys attached, color wonder markers, little plastic figurines (any character your kid likes), some little matchbox cars, extra crayons and paper , stickers, mini Slinkies, and some books. These toys may seem run of the mill but… they are special because they are only in the bag! A dollar store/bin is a great place to find most of these items. Let’s face it they will be near food and it is highly likely they will end up in ketchup. Plus, if you forget one at a restaurant it isn’t a huge deal.

These markers are great because they can't stain fabrics or wood!

Smart Phones, Tablets, and iPads OH MY!

I am going to start this by saying I have a smart phone and a tablet, Munchkin has an Innotab kid’s tablet. So I am in NO way against kids using technology! But there is a time and place for everything! I have had the occasional meal where things moved slower than molasses. However, a typical meal is on the table within 15-20 Minutes. So if you pack a bag of toys there should be plenty for your kiddo to stay occupied during the wait time. Munchkin rarely gets to use my phone. However, she enjoys a puzzle app and some matching games from time to time. This usually happens when I am finishing up a conversation or my meal. She doesn’t watch movies on it because I want her to be part of the family… kids should be able to talk and communicate during the meals too!

The iPhone

What do I do if all of the above fails…

Nothing is fool proof… there I said it! Now before you start mumbling “I thought she said we could have a successful meal out with our toddler”… give me a second to explain. There will be a time or two your child will test you… even if you have set him/her up for success. This is when you provide the Exit Strategy. Yup I said it… EXIT! There is no point tainting someone else’s dining experience. Let’s be honest you aren’t enjoying your food either if your kiddo is acting this way.

The way I see it… You have two options:

1. Get everyone’s food to go. If you are with your spouse/or a friend remove the child, while boxes are packaged and the bill is paid. You will feel much less stressed eating your burger reheated at home instead of fighting off glares from the booth next to you.

2. This works great if you have multiple children… Have one parent take the offending child to the car. They can eat there. While the other parent is in the restaurant with the other children. Now my parents did this with us when we were little (I ate in the car at Friendly’s and my sister had to at the Coach Diner- Left a LASTING impression on me over 20 years later I can vividly remember it!). My parents then rewarded the behaving child with a dessert! They didn’t say you earned this… but guess what?!? When we got into the car we were soo excited to share. Made the other sibling think twice about misbehaving in the restaurant. Never know what you are going to miss out on… when you are eating in the car!

What are some of your tips or tricks for eating out at a restaurant with kids?

YesterYear Soap Company Review and Giveaway!

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Mae

Let me start this post by saying all the women in this house have crazy skin. The girls are blessed with their mothers super sensitive skin! Before Peanut was born I went out and bought a huge bottle of super sensitive, no fragrance, all natural, no additives, no NOTHING soap… and she was allergic . Yes that is how things work in our house.

I was sent an awesome 3 pack sampler from the YesterYear Soap Company. They have some amazing All Natural soap. Their website says it best: Surprisingly, there is no clear definition of ‘Natural’. However, we take a common sense approach to the term. Quite simply, we add no artificial substances to our soaps, such as dyes, parabins and preservatives, and where possible, we use organically grown products. Our products contain no detergents, alcohol’s, propylene glycol and other chemicals commonly found in commercially blended ‘soap’. These are the ingredients… ready… Shae Butter,Coconut Oil, Palm Oil and Olive Oil. that is it! They are scented with either essential oils or blends of natural aroma components. No weird stuff!

YesterYear Soap not only smells amazing, it is truly beautiful to look at as well! It is packaged in a super cute box. Each bar is a perfect color matching the scent! This was my sampler.

I decided to try the Green Tea Mint. I LOVE mint… the smell really wakes me up in the morning. It is such a fresh scent and it seems to linger but isn’t over powering.

I have the soap in my shower and it holds up. I know that might sound crazy but sometimes all natural soaps sort of fall apart in the shower. Not YesterYear’s soap… it really held up well!

As I mentioned before I am super allergic to the world of soaps, lotions, and detergents. I tested it out on a small patch of skin first. (This isn’t the first time I have done this! I made the mistake once of using a product everywhere… and ended up on steroids to help heal my skin!!) I was excited when there was no rash! I can’t explain how awesome this soap feels on your skin! I love the texture it almost has a mini exfoliating type feature to it!

The girls have also tried it and haven’t had a reaction! So there you have it… If our crazy allergic skin doesn’t react then chances are yours won’t too!

Most natural soaps aren’t pretty.. YesterYear smells good, looks good, and all around ROCKS!

Now you are thinking…why don’t I have some? Can I order it online? Where can I get it? Well first you can try and win some! I am giving away a bar to one lucky winner! You can enter below I have a new giveaway system I think you will LOVE it!

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Becoming a Mother… Part Two

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Mae

Let me start this out by saying in almost exactly 12 hours (at the time written) I will have a toddler, a one year old, no ‘babies’ in my house. Weird. Everyone with more than one child in their house will tell you, it goes faster the second time. They aren’t lying!

So here is comes… the Birth Story! Again it might be ‘graphic’ to some readers, so here is your warning!!!

Peanut’s Birth Story

It started a couple days before New Years Eve. I was having crazy strong contractions. These were not Braxton Hicks and I knew it. They never stayed for long enough but got pretty close at times (7 mins or so). I wasn’t due until Feb 4th so this made me pretty nervous! Another concern was that our hospital was about 45 mins or so away (much longer with traffic). These contractions continued just about every day until I delivered Peanut.

Each week I was checked from 36 weeks on. The OB was pretty sure she would come early… but there was NO guarantee! When I was checked I was progressing about a centimeter a week. I knew it meant nothing. I was a big fat ZERO when I was checked 4 days before I had a beautiful baby girl named Munchkin.

I took Munchkin to a story time that Monday and we had a pretty typical day. That night I was SUPER bummed because I wasn’t having the time-able contractions like I had for WEEKS! Rand McNally was working swing shift so he wasn’t home. I decided to head to bed at about 10pm. I tossed and turned. Rand McNally came home around 1AM. I had just taken a Tylenol PM hoping that would make me sleep! Then I realized I couldn’t sleep because I kept having to get up to pee. It dawned on me… maybe those were contractions… I told Rand I was going to the basement to time them. I figured I would let him get some sleep in case it was the real deal.

I used this website called the Contraction Master. It is pretty cool and easy to use. If you have ever been in labor… clocks, watches, and telling time are practically impossible when you trying to continue to provide oxygen to your baby. I lasted about 15 mins before I realized they were LEGIT! I went upstairs and woke up a sleeping Rand and said..”Guess what buddy I am pretty sure this is IT! ”

Things weren’t as easy as just heading to the hospital… because we had Munchkin! I had about 400 plans depending on where/when I started labor. My dad was going to come down but he had a 2 hour drive. In the meantime one of me best friends here had offered to come over and stay with Munchkin. I hopped in the shower and realized they were getting closer and closer, not to mention REALLY painful! Just after 3 Rand called my Friend Miss B. and she was awesome… gathered her things and was there about 4ish! When she came in I was packing Munchkin’s school stuff and making her lunch! I wanted to make sure she knew I loved her even if I couldn’t wake her and hug her.

We arrived at about 5am (after what seemed like the LONGEST ride of my life) and made our way up to labor and delivery. There was another woman (NOT having a baby) and I swear it took forever to get signed in! In triage, I was checked and was a good 5-6cm. There was a monitor in the room scrolling pictures of food… all I wanted were the pancakes for breakfast ( I mentioned this SEVERAL times in labor ). She asked me if I was interested in medication and I told her I was not. This was the ONLY time anyone asked me. I let them place a heplock and that was it!

I labored in my tank top and it rocked! I spent most of my time on the labor ball and about 45 mins in the shower. I had reserved a labor tub but never asked for it. My placenta was on my stomach this time (anterior) and because of this Baby 2.0 was sunny side up. Obviously, at this point this wasn’t confirmed however the back labor was enough confirmation for me! I made Rand use counter pressure and that was one of the things that made it bearable. I also got on all fours as the nurse suggested and and that helped too!

It was about 630ish when I was checked at about an 8 or so… needless to say… things got busier in my room. People set up things for baby to be but it was still dim and quiet. It was pretty sweet. My doctor wasn’t on call but had been called in, she was on her way. Next thing I know I knew it was time. The partner in my practice was there to catch the baby and it was FINE by me! My water had never broken so as I began pushing the OB sliced it. It went EVERYWHERE… on the right side, all over the NURSE. Rand was glad he chose the left!

5 contractions later…. out came a Beautiful crying baby girl! McNally and I saw she was girl as she rested on my chest. It was amazing the amount of skin to skin time they let us have! Peanut came into this world screaming like her sister. She was 7lbs and 20 1/2 inches.

I tore again but not nearly as bad as the first time. I was also repaired much better!!! She was an 8/9 on the apgars but I guess the nurse said it is the best they typically give! My OB never made it because she was stuck in traffic and I had Peanut really fast!

So no epidural, no medications (just some pitocin after to control some clotting I was having). The experience was different than Munchkin’s but the end result was still an amazing healthy baby girl! I had great nurses, and really enjoyed time at the hospital they were helpful!

Watching Munchkin meet Peanut for the first time was pretty amazing! Words really can’t describe it She was so excited and couldn’t get over how ‘bitty her hands and feet were”. She also thought her belly button was GROSS and broken. :)

Breastfeeding went much easier this time. Peanut was a little jaundiced so we spent several days getting her levels tested. I was pumping to try and increase my supply (which came in on day 2!) She took a bottle to try and drop her bili levels.

Tonight I am going to sleep knowing I am waking up to my toddler. She can walk, climb, talk (I wish I could remember all the words!), sign, and give a hug/kiss like no other 11 month old. We are blessed…. and in love with her. I am probably going to cry… okay I am crying.

Being a Mother is hard… But that hug, that glance, that time they look at you and say Momma… it is priceless.

Oh… I wanted to add… I got my pancakes!! They were amazing… but I think ANYTHING would have tasted awesome at that point!

Happy First Birthday Peanut!

Becoming a Mother…. part 1

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Mae

This is going to turn into a birth story. There, I gave you plenty of warning. So you can stop reading here in the next few sentences to avoid anything that might creep you out.

In two days Peanut is turning one. How did this happen? It has been a busy couple weeks preparing things for her party (a HUGE post to come!!). However, she didn’t make me a mother for the first time. Munchkin gave me that honor. Their births’ are very different but both hold a HUGE place in my heart.

I am what some might say crazy… but my goal was a non-medicated vaginal birth (ok I said vaginal… if you are still reading and that word made you freak out… STOP now!) Tonight’s story is about Munchkin’s birth and the LONG ordeal that happened. Tomorrow I will fill you in on Miss Peanut’s story.

The Birth Story (Last chance to click the x in the top right corner!!!)

Well it all started on a Wednesday in 2008. I was definitely having contractions, which had been occurring irregularly for a few days. I had an NST (Non-stress test) the day before and the nurses told me I was definitely having some contractions but they were not close enough together.

Back to Wednesday, I called my husband at work and asked him to try and leave early because I wanted to get things set around the house. We were having my Dad and sister in law arriving on Saturday. On his way home from work his radiator hose popped off… resulting in me having to bring him fluid and help him fix it (thank God he was not far from home) in the sweltering AZ afternoon heat. I must add I was LESS than thrilled about this!!!

When he got home he helped me bring in the groceries from my trip to the store. He brought in the dog food and as we were talking about his day in the kitchen, I felt water dripping around 5:30pm. I looked down and said “Uh, I think my water broke!” to which he replied, “I think so, seeing as it is hitting the floor!” I put on a pad and waited a bit- not wanting to go to L&D if I just peed myself. I made some dinner and we ate, I took a shower and we left for the hospital. I got all checked in and was in triage about 7:30pm. They did a preliminary test to see if the fluid was amniotic. Nope (great I am here and all I did was pee myself!!!)… but they did a second test and this one came back positive. Sure enough… it had broken!!!

All night I labored I was 3cm and barely effaced when I got there. I wanted as natural a birth as possible. They were ok with just a heplock, until our baby started having a bizarre heart rate. Nothing terrible but they thought fluids would help. I wasn’t too cool with it but I would do anything for the baby. I got 4 bags of fluids in about 18 hours. Needless to say I was swollen! Then they put me on Oxygen to try and help the heart rate as well. I was able to get up every hour though which really helped me get through the contractions- even attached to the IV pole.

By 6am I was 6cm…. by 9am no change… then they started the Pitocin.

Here is where I am going to insert a disclaimer…. Pitocin is a TERRIBLE drug! It caused my body to RUSH through labor and let me tell you it was more painful than the delivery!!!

I didn’t want this and was pretty upset. They also inserted an internal monitor to see if my contractions were intense enough (oh let me tell you they were). It didn’t take much Pitocin to get them moving. By 10 I was begging for meds. My husband knowing how I really wanted a natural birth was such an amazing coach. I ended up with a little bit of Stadol- that really just allowed me to relax. But by a little bit after 11am I was fully dilated.. . I pushed for 37mins and out our surprise Baby came… a beautiful girl! She was crying before I could get her shoulders out! It went so fast!!! Then the Dr. stitched and stitched (He did this for longer than I pushed)… who would have thought my 6lb. 9 oz. baby would do such damage! She was a 9/10 on her APGARs.

My husband was an amazing coach. He helped me through all the contractions. The Doctor who delivered Munchkin was someone I met that day (my OB was in Cancun!)- he wasn’t my favorite but he brought her into the world. Oh, and because of the full moon there were so many woman giving birth the night after I delivered we got moved @ 2:40AM to another room across the hospital! It was more than slightly annoying. My husband and I ended up sharing my hospital bed!!! The staff tried really hard to encourage me to get an epidural and thought I was nuts (many expressed this too me through out the course of my stay!), I am proud that I didn’t cave under their pressure!

The last week or so has been great. We had to go buy some clothing because NOTHING fit her. Breastfeeding was tough at first but each day we both get better. We finally got to use our cloth diapers the middle of the week and LOVE them. My husband commented on how much easier they are then disposables.

Though I didn’t deliver completely med-free I am very glad I didn’t get the Epi. It was amazing to feel in control. I can say though I understand why someone would choose it! In the end… no matter how it happened there was a beautiful baby waiting!

This was written a week or so after Munchkin came into our lives. Now over 3 years later she is a beautiful, intelligent, and caring little girl. I am proud to be her mother. I am really thankful she chose to have us as her parents. We are blessed… I can’t wait to see where she takes us!!