Potty Training Day 1

The day started out fine. Alex and Trevor each threw away a diaper signifing "NO MORE Diapers!" And Alex was getting little dribbles of pee in the potty but Trevor was completely opposed to it. However, Alex was wetting himself a little before he would tell me that he needed to go so he went through quite a few pairs of underwear today. While Trevor stayed dry.

Right after their nap Alex woke up wet and Trevor was dry. We put them both on the potty and Trevor peed on the potty, a lot too, not just dribbles. Alex just dribbled. Then went and played and got wet again and came to me crying and dribbled some more. During dinner they both said they needed to potty so we went potty again and again Trevor had a really good one and Alex just dribbled.

Then after dinner Alex kept acting like he needed to poop. But every time we sat him on the potty he couldn't/wouldn't poop. He still hadn't pooped by bed time. So we'll see how tonight goes. At bed time again Trevor had a really good pee and Alex just dribbled.

I'm thinking that Trevor is getting this, which is weird based on the morning. But the rest of their milestones have all been Trevor starting out really well and Alex perfecting it and passing up Trevor. So hopefully, we'll have 2 potty trained toddlers in a few days. If Alex continues like today though we may have to abort his mission and try again later. Meanwhile, I have said, "pee", "poop" and "potty" more times today than the entire rest of my life.

Happy New Year!!! Come back tomorrow for more updates.

Christmas Time

I know it has been so long but it's just crazy that's all I can say. We have had a very busy Christmas holiday season. We are pretty much celebrating Christmas 6 times this year. First on Christmas Eve with my family, then Christmas Day with Kris' mom and the next day with Kris' dad. Then miscellaneous get togethers with friends and my cousin's family. Plus we plan to start potty training next week. Anyway, Christmas morning was a blast. We think that the boys actually understood the concept of Santa this year. We didn't take them to see Santa because they still are not talking and I assumed that they would just scream anyway. But they definitely know who Santa is and whenever they see him they say, "HO, HO, HO" It's cute. So Christmas morning Santa got them an indoor trampoline (small don't worry) and Legos and a toy vacuum. Kris and I got them some books, Mr. Potato Heads and a big cardboard playhouse that they can color themselves.

Alex and his Legos and Mr. Potato Heads.

Trevor and the vacuum

My kids are actually deathly afraid of the vacuum right now. So Santa got them this toy hoping that they would see that there is nothing to be afraid of. (Santa is a smart man.) When they opened it Alex knew right way that it was a vacuum and was starting to get upset. So I turned it on and made it make silly noises. And he got used to it and likes to vacuum the whole house now. They are still afraid of the real vacuum though. But hopefully we've made a start.

The boys also got some good stuff in their stockings. It took them a while to get everything out of them but they finally dumped them all out.

Alex cleaning up with his shovel, Trevor playing with his Magnadoodle.

Christmas Eve was spent at my sister's house with my family. The boys made out pretty well. They each got a Magnadoodle, and they got a V-Tech laptop, a LeapFrog word builder for the fridge, a shovel, and an exercise bike. The boys had a blast. And I got Kyle and Brennan a big cardboard playhouse too so we set that up and the boys were having a great time in there. It was actually big enough for all 4 boys to play comfortably.

Aunt Lacey and Alex

Trevor, and Alex and Mommy Goofy smile

We're still getting presents trickling in and the boys are having a great time. They also got a V-Tech Motion video game system (they don't quite understand this yet, but we should be able to get the full age range of use out of it), and an art table and a folding table with little folding chairs. Mommy got a Wishblade (she still needs to figure it out) and Daddy got a PS3. So everyone is having fun with their new toys.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I will blog my potty training experience for those who are interested.

Halloween

I know its been a while. But things are crazy and I can't do this at work anymore... (hmm, hope no one from Jacobs reads this... but then again...) Anyway, October was a pretty hecktic month. We took our annual trip to Blake's Orchard and have passed on the tradition of taking a bite out of the apples before you pick them to make sure they are good. So after Kris showed them this they decided they could pick any apples off the trees and just take a bite...I hope they didn't get any worms. Yuck!






We also pick our pumpkins while we were there. The boys were allowed to pick their own pumpkins. They were so proud of their pumpkins that they insisted on carrying them themselves to the stroller which then took them to the truck. Trevor's face was just so determined to get to the stroller without falling or breaking the pumpkin.




I then found some "Mr. Potato Head" type pieces the boys could use to decorate their pumpkins. They had a blast with them and a loved putting all the pieces in. So their pumpkins looked a little creepy but that's allowed for Halloween right?



The boys also had many occasions to put on their costumes. We had our Halloween party with my Moms of Multiples group where Kris and I dressed up also as Fred and Wilma Flintstone. Most of the kids don't remember that cartoon though because I don't think its on anymore. But Kris won for best adult costume. Yeah!

















Then the boys and Kris went to the Berkley Moms Group Halloween party. He didn't know at the time but they have voted him in to be included in the group. YEAH!!! (to see why I'm so excited see My SAHF Frustrations Continue).

Then that same night we went to the Zoo Boo with my sister and her kids and my parents and my friend Stephanie with her niece Briana. Check out Briana's hand she was getting very friendly with Alex. She kept trying to hug Alex all night. It was just so adorable. Here's our picture of them all, Briana, Alex, Trevor, Kyle and Brennan.

If you've never gone to the Zoo Boo it is a must for little kids. And at the end there is a show for the kids which was the same as last year but my kids didn't remember so it's okay. But the star Witchy-Boo-Boo actually took a picture with the boys after the show. All the kids were completely infatuated with the show basically because of the bright lights and colors but that's okay. They had a great time.

We also did Trick-or-Treating we walked all along our 3 block street. The boys were whipped afterwards but that's good too. That means they sleep well. :-) All and all it was a very successful Halloween season. We got to do everything we signed up for without getting any sicknesses. Yeah.

My SAHF Frustrations Continue

Why can’t stay at home mom’s except stay at home dad’s as equals?

I need to understand. I am a working mother while my husband stays at home with our 2 year old twins. He has been trying to find play groups in our area since the boys were about 8 months old (we didn’t go out that first winter because they were preemies and the risk of RSV.) However, every group my husband found either ignored his inquiries or decided that they needed to “vote” on whether he could join or not. Do these women understand that my children deserve just as much playgroup time as their children? Just because our situation is reversed in our household shouldn’t cause my children to suffer in their social skills development. Now since I am the only one working we can’t afford daycare, not to mention we wouldn’t want the medical bills to go with going to daycare. We also can’t afford Gymboree classes, or other structured playgroups that cost money. And the playgroups that we have paid for usually are not worth it because we miss so many of the sessions because the instructor gets sick, our boys get sick or we get sick or something else comes up.

Here is a direct example of a situation my husband just went through recently. It was a beautiful day so my husband decided to take the boys to a park. They were having a good old time and there were 3 other mothers and their kids there. The mothers were talking and one of their little girls came over and was playing with my boys. After about 20 – 30 minutes my boys came over to my husband and got a drink of water. That is when the mother of the little girl came over and picked up the girl and said, “You can’t play with them.” My husband asked her, “Why? They were have a good time.” She wouldn’t give an answer. The little girl proceeded to scream because she wanted to play with my boys and was having fun so the mother left instead. Why was it okay for that little girl to play with my kids before the mother knew they were there with their dad? Why are dads just bad guys when they are playing with their kids and taking care of their kids? Why does it have to be so “strange” when a father is out with his children? This should be becoming a more prominent issue given the economy and some many husbands are losing their jobs. I live in Michigan so I think we’re even seeing it more than the rest of the nation. Have any of these women seen “Mr. Mom”?

I’m only going to mention this not the full story. But we have a little girl that lives right next door who is 1 month older than my boys. They have never played together. For her first 2 years she was home most days just this school year she started preschool everyday. When I asked her mom when my husband could come over with my boys so the kids could play together, nothing. She had to back pedal and try to stir us towards groups at the library…WHATEVER, you live right next door and you can’t trust my husband?!

If anyone has the answer I’m open ears. All I know is that I’m EXTREMELY frustrated and wish that our roles were reversed so that my kids could get the social development that they need and deserve. Do you know how hard it is to go to work everyday knowing that your kids would have better chances of being social if I were the one at home? I shouldn’t have to have this stress added upon the stress of being the sole provider for my family. Especially in this economy when no one knows if their job is secure.

Hopefully, there are some mothers out there that read this and maybe I can swing their opinions a little and they will allow the next father who asks to join their group to join. I understand there are concerns of sexual abuse and whatnot but guess what, background checks are easy enough and you can check the sex registry for free. And another bit of information, there are a lot of women on that registry as well as men. Do new moms have to jump through the same hoops to join your moms’ group?

Or maybe there is a stay at home father out there in the South-East Oakland County, MI area. Please contact this paper and ask to start a group with my husband so that all of our kids can get the social playgroup time that they deserve.

Or maybe you are a working mother in the same situation and you can just let me know that I’m not alone. I can’t believe the stress and frustration this has caused me. I’m actually hoping that my children will still have issues speaking next year so that they can get into the free preschool for early development next year. At least then they can play with other kids.

My husband has also set up a Yahoo group, a Google Group and a Meetup group so you can search for stay-at-home-dads in Oakland County, MI on those 3 groups webpages and you should be able to find him. All three of these groups haven’t had a single hit, so I’m curious to know if dads just aren’t looking of if truly there are no stay at home dads in our area.

Thanks for listening.

The whole house is sick

Well September has been a crazy month for the Partlan household. I decided to quit my job of 9 and 1/2 years for a better opportunity for advancement. I hope. However, I have had plenty of sleepless nights over it. I am currently working through a contract house for General Dynamics Land Systems. It is an excellent job and I'm actually doing engineering work again, yeah but that doesn't mean that I'm not freakin' out. While I'm contract I don't get ANY vacation time and I can't take any sick time. Which leads me into my next crazy September story.

Since I'm at a new job there is the whole I'm prone to getting sick for about 3 months. For me it took 2 weeks. My boys have also started speech therapy so they have been in a school twice a week which carries its own germs. So this weekend my entire family is sick. Meaning on my Friday off yesterday I slept ALL DAY and my poor husband who is also sick and takes longer to recover than the rest of us was trying to take care of the kids all day who were crabby because they are sick as well. They just have a bad cold though. I have a sinus infection or bronchitis or something but luckily I was able to get antibiotics without going into the doctor. One lucky thing about my sickness hitting me hard and quickly was that I'm still on my old insurance which is better insurance, as of Wednesday almost everything is out of pocket...

So one more crazy September is almost over. And I still think I'm crazy being a new mom and not being able to take any time off... Luckily I get every other Friday off so that will help. This is a better opportunity though I just have many concerns and I'm really nervous and this was just me venting. So if you read it thanks. And I'll be okay. Hopefully, my head will be less phlegmy tomorrow. And I can let Kris have a good restful day before Monday. And I hope the kids are good to me so that I can handle Monday too.

Torch Lake 2008

Our vacation was last week. We went back up to the cottage at Torch Lake. The boys had a good time and we had a lot more fun with them this time. They were able to do more so it made it more fun for us. One very exciting thing about a vacation is that I get to see Kris with the boys all day not just at night so I get to experience how he plays with them during the day. I took this video of some of the things he’s teaching my children throughout the day.

Wrestling is just such a good quality for boys. We also started teaching them to clap for the really good burps. Kris had a really spectacular burp and I had to clap for it so the boys caught on pretty quickly.

We also played by the “beach”. The beach of our cabin is all rocks. Though it didn’t matter all the boys wanted to do was fill their buckets with rocks and water, dump and repeat. They really weren’t interested in going out into the water. I did get them to come out once a little past the man made reef but I think the waves were too big so they were getting a little scared. Trevor also got a mouth full of water trying to drink when a wave came up.

The sleeping arrangements were similar to my (camping trips). There were beds but we brought our travel beds and the boys slept on the floor. Trevor was freakin’ out the first night. We’re not sure why but he was acting like something spooked him and we couldn’t do anything to calm him down. So we finally just held the door closed and let him cry for a little bit. After some time had pasted (since the crying stopped) we checked on them and this is how they were sleeping.

We were so proud of Alex comforting his “little” brother. It was just the cutest thing. Course them sleeping on the floor also caused other issues. For instance, on Tuesday morning Trevor was under one of the beds and stuck. He was completely under the bed and just a foot was sticking out. I had to ask Alex where he was and Alex pointed to the bed. It was freakin’ hilarious. It’s hard not to laugh sometimes.

The boys also learned about some bugs during this trip. There was a caterpillar crawling across the sidewalk and I pointed it out to the boys. They giggled over it and Alex started doing his “voodoo” on it. I’m not quite sure where he picked it up or what he thinks he’s doing but he does it to the dogs too. He just flaps his hands over the object, this case the caterpillar, and starts talking gibberish. Course gibberish is all he says right now so I guess he may think he’s saying something meaningful… Unfortunately, I missed getting a picture of the caterpillar, it crawled super fast, but Alex continued doing voodoo after it was under the truck.

Speaking of gibberish we also had our first word from Alex then Trevor this weekend. They each said, “No”. We were so excited. They weren’t telling me no either so they weren’t talking back… So we’ve been trying really hard to get them to look at our lips while we teach them new words like, “Yes!”