Monsters, Squash, and Crankies, Oh My!
I haven't done well with updating my blog, and I miss it. Gracie has been, well...rather less than prefect lately, and it ties up most of my time.
It has become clear to me that all the extra time I use to take care of baby Emma is really starting to wear on Gracie. I will be the first to admit that by the time Emma heads for home I am so exhausted from the two of them I actually have to catch my breath (and extra energy) before starting dinner. My lack of one on one time, during the day as well as the evenings, with Gracie is hurting the both of us. I really miss my time with Gracie, and she has become even more outspoken about the lack of "Gracie time."
My toddler has become almost impossible these days. She throws temper tantrums, she pouts, she is irritable and cranky most of the day. I am starting to wonder if I can get my little angel back at all.
I know what she needs. She needs more time from me, more family time with just the three of us, and a nice little weekend where Grandma and Grandpa can dote on her profusely. She will get her weekend of spoiling starting this Friday as we head to Lynchburg. As for the other parts, I will have to plan my days even better making sure that there is more scheduled time for Gracie and mommy to do things. I am thinking of re-making the schedule, only this time a little less structured. Last time I had a minute by minute time frame and we just couldn't stick to it. As for family time, I am thinking of borrowing an idea from Jill, who borrowed it from someone else. On the days when she has deserved it, she will get to draw an activity from a jar for the 3 of us to do for family time. I have made squares of paper that say "Go For A Walk," "Puzzles," "Board Games," etc. At the end of the day she can draw, and that's what we will do. I think this will help as she will get to pick and we are hers for some of her favorite activities.
In another turn of events to deal with, picking Monsters Inc for family movie night=bad idea!! With Kathy's topsy turvy schedule this past week, there wasn't any time to go to the library, so we didn't have a pre-picked movie. We let her choose from the cabinet. After saying no to Baby Einstein I suggested Monsters Inc. We made it through the first 5 minutes I think. She kept telling us she wanted to do something else. We tried to encourage her and we held her. But after the 5 minutes I told Garren that I thought she was really scared and we should watch something else. We picked Disney's Robin Hood. That was not the end of it though. She woke up around midnight and needed to be cuddled. At 3 am she was in the bed with us. The remainder of the weekend she kept talking about ink monsters. It took me a while to get she was trying to say Monsters Inc.
Gracie has been going through a scared phase for a while now. She has no problem telling you she is scared, and she even pretends to be scared sometimes to get extra snuggles. She runs up to you nearly laughing and says "I am scared momma, hold me!" Other things she is terrified of: having her face covered up (" Don't cover me dark!!!!!!!!"), water on the face (although she is getting better at it), and now Monsters Inc. And, for the record, when she starts talking about monsters now and before I always tell her that monsters don't have to be scary. We talk about Elmo and Grover and cookie monster and all the funny things they do. This does help.
On the lighter side of my week, I have even more veggies spouting about. I fixed my first ever squash from the garden Wednesday for dinner, yum! I now have 2 more squash, a baby carrot (very tiny), and strawberries. I plan to show the girls and give them each a taste today around 12:30. I have invited them up from a little taste-and-tell. I will hopefully post about that later today.
It has become clear to me that all the extra time I use to take care of baby Emma is really starting to wear on Gracie. I will be the first to admit that by the time Emma heads for home I am so exhausted from the two of them I actually have to catch my breath (and extra energy) before starting dinner. My lack of one on one time, during the day as well as the evenings, with Gracie is hurting the both of us. I really miss my time with Gracie, and she has become even more outspoken about the lack of "Gracie time."
My toddler has become almost impossible these days. She throws temper tantrums, she pouts, she is irritable and cranky most of the day. I am starting to wonder if I can get my little angel back at all.
I know what she needs. She needs more time from me, more family time with just the three of us, and a nice little weekend where Grandma and Grandpa can dote on her profusely. She will get her weekend of spoiling starting this Friday as we head to Lynchburg. As for the other parts, I will have to plan my days even better making sure that there is more scheduled time for Gracie and mommy to do things. I am thinking of re-making the schedule, only this time a little less structured. Last time I had a minute by minute time frame and we just couldn't stick to it. As for family time, I am thinking of borrowing an idea from Jill, who borrowed it from someone else. On the days when she has deserved it, she will get to draw an activity from a jar for the 3 of us to do for family time. I have made squares of paper that say "Go For A Walk," "Puzzles," "Board Games," etc. At the end of the day she can draw, and that's what we will do. I think this will help as she will get to pick and we are hers for some of her favorite activities.
In another turn of events to deal with, picking Monsters Inc for family movie night=bad idea!! With Kathy's topsy turvy schedule this past week, there wasn't any time to go to the library, so we didn't have a pre-picked movie. We let her choose from the cabinet. After saying no to Baby Einstein I suggested Monsters Inc. We made it through the first 5 minutes I think. She kept telling us she wanted to do something else. We tried to encourage her and we held her. But after the 5 minutes I told Garren that I thought she was really scared and we should watch something else. We picked Disney's Robin Hood. That was not the end of it though. She woke up around midnight and needed to be cuddled. At 3 am she was in the bed with us. The remainder of the weekend she kept talking about ink monsters. It took me a while to get she was trying to say Monsters Inc.
Gracie has been going through a scared phase for a while now. She has no problem telling you she is scared, and she even pretends to be scared sometimes to get extra snuggles. She runs up to you nearly laughing and says "I am scared momma, hold me!" Other things she is terrified of: having her face covered up (" Don't cover me dark!!!!!!!!"), water on the face (although she is getting better at it), and now Monsters Inc. And, for the record, when she starts talking about monsters now and before I always tell her that monsters don't have to be scary. We talk about Elmo and Grover and cookie monster and all the funny things they do. This does help.
On the lighter side of my week, I have even more veggies spouting about. I fixed my first ever squash from the garden Wednesday for dinner, yum! I now have 2 more squash, a baby carrot (very tiny), and strawberries. I plan to show the girls and give them each a taste today around 12:30. I have invited them up from a little taste-and-tell. I will hopefully post about that later today.
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