7 Quick Takes: Dairy, Sleep, Cabin Updates, First Haircut

1. Well, I'm back on the dairy train. That didn't last long. I cut dairy last week, then re-introduced it with some cheese over the weekend and it didn't seem to affect Aden either way. Now, I'm thinking the pediatrician was probably right and Aden's skin irritations are caused by the dry air / cold weather. I've been diligent about applying lotion several times a day and Aden hasn't had any skin rashes or redness since the one incident at the beginning of last week. See, this is what parenting's like inside my head. I go back and forth on topics until I've hashed them to death. Is the rash from something I'm eating? Is he getting enough to eat? Is there something I'm missing? Maybe it's not a big deal at all? Gah.

2. Dare I say we're moving in the right direction re: sleep in our household? It's been a tough month(s) in the sleep department with multiple wake-ups from Tory and Aden every night. Andi started sleeping downstairs in our spare bedroom so he could be semi-functional at work during the week and giving me extra time on the weekends to catch up. Our family's entire method of function was off-kilter from lack of sleep. There was a gray fog cast on every aspect of life. Luckily, things seem to be on the up-swing and Aden's pulled a few 3-4 hours stretches at night which isn't perfect but feels heavenly in comparison to the previous few weeks. Best of all, I don't feel like stabbing someone at every waking moment. The world moves on.

3. Andi's mom has been babysitting the kids on Sunday evenings and it's been wonderful. We're often driving home from the cabin on Sundays and since her house is on the way, she's offers to keep them for a couple hours from the time we drop them off until bedtime. One week, Andi and I ran to the Apple Store together (something I loathe doing alone when I have the kids) and two weeks ago, Andi went to dinner with friends while I shopped and went to a coffee shop alone. This past Sunday, we celebrated Easter with Andi's family and his parents offered to keep Tory overnight. It is such a breath of fresh air to have a break at the end of the weekend and to start the week with a fresh slate. So thankful for that.

4. We amped up to a new level of redneck at the cabin this past weekend: Andi bought car seats for the Ranger ATV so we can take family "truck rides" together. Driving around the countryside is one of our favorite things to do on the weekends. Now the kids are safe and secure inside the Ranger and I just feel so much better about taking them on trails and country roads. Excited for it to warm up a bit around here so we can all get out there.

Andi and Tory out for a 'truck ride" this past weekend

5. We're hoping to do a few cabin remodeling projects before summer officially begins in Wisconsin. Last fall, we replaced the appliances and added a sauna and outdoor shower. This spring, we're hoping to update the countertops with granite and put in new flooring on the middle level to replace some mis-matched carpet. Excited to see how it all comes together. All I can think about when I watch TV or flip through magazines these days is back-splashes, cabinet colors and countertops.

6. We also bought a canoe for the cabin. Andi has grand plans to take family canoe trips this summer on a few of the rivers by the cabin. We did one on Father's Day last year and it was really fun, but it was bit challenging with a constantly-moving toddler. I held onto Tory most of the time while Andi paddled us the length of our trip down the river. Our new canoe has a trolling motor, so problem solved! We'll just turn on the motor and zoom down the river when Andi doesn't feel like paddling his entire family in a canoe! Wish us luck canoeing this summer with two small children. Life's all about the adventure, right?

7. Aden got his first haircut this morning. I'm still somewhat embarrassed / shocked I let a hairstylist come near my baby boy's head with a pair of scissors, but Aden's hair was seriously out of control. There were some very long baby hairs on the top of his head and a few random ones sticking out the sides. Elsewhere, Aden has peach fuzz just starting to grow in so I thought it'd be best to even it all out. Tory, Aden and I were at the kids salon for Tory's haircut, so I politely asked the stylist to clean up Aden's hair a bit, too. She snipped away the long hairs on top and gave me a baggie with his tiny blond strands. People probably thought I was crazy, but oh well. He really does look better.

Little buddy, 21 weeks old today

Bye, Bye Dairy

Since birth, Aden has had dry, sensitive skin and in the last few months, he's battled a nasty rash on his neck, chest, armpits and head. I've tried all the over-the-counter creams and lotions and nothing seems to truly remedy the issue. His pediatrician chocks it up to the harsh climate we live in, saying he sees babies and kids all day long with irritated skin caused by the dry, cold weather.

It's one thing to have dry skin (I think everyone has some level of this in the wintertime), but Aden's re-occurring rash is different. My poor boy breaks out in a rash a few times a week and itches his face, head, neck, chest and legs so badly he's left with bloody scratches all over his body. I keep baby mittens or socks on his hands 24/7 to prevent him from injuring himself, but now Aden's learned to bite the mittens off to free his hands. Clearly he's finding ways to scratch despite my efforts.

I might sound a little crazy, but I also worry about the development of Aden's hand/eye coordination because we wears mittens/socks on his hands all the time. If his hands are covered, he can't practice grasping or holding onto toys and the few minutes his hands are free, he looks at them like they're foreign objects. But, every time I take his mittens off, he scratches himself something fierce.

The doctor recommended an over-the-counter anti-itch cream to treat rash flare-ups and doses of Children's Benedryl to relieve Aden's discomfort. It works - temporarily - but I can't keep treating his symptoms this way every other day. My poor baby is suffering!

A friend of mine said her pediatrician recommended eliminating dairy when her son went through something similar as a baby. I've never thought much about what I eat and how it may affect Aden. Two days ago, I made a pot of my favorite Tomato Tortellini Soup (which is full of milk, cream and acidic tomatoes) and the next morning Aden woke up with a horrible rash on his head. Coincidence? Maybe.

So, I thought it might be worth a try to eliminate dairy from my diet for Aden's sake. What can it hurt to try it and see if dairy's the culprit for all his skin irritations. Yesterday was my first day cutting dairy and man, it's challenging. I never realized how many things contain milk until I tried to avoid it.

For breakfast, I usually have a bowl of oatmeal and coffee (black, so no issue there). Sometimes, I'll eat peanut butter toast and a banana. Those are my typical breakfast staples, so no big hardship there.

Dinners are fairly easy because we tend to eat a lot of baked chicken, shredded beef/pork in the Crockpot, etc. served with a steamed vegetable on the side. Cut out my occasional glass of milk and dairy's fairly easy to avoid during that meal.

It's lunchtime that's really throwing me for a loop. I'm a big soup and sandwich girl, and Tory and I usually have grilled cheese and tomato soup, turkey and cheese sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, or a cheese quesadilla with a side of sour cream during the week. Ranch is my favorite salad dressing, so even my go-to leafy green selection (lettuce, cottage cheese, croutons and Ranch) is out of the question.

So, I need some lunch ideas! What are some of your favorite dairy-free lunch meals? Preferably something quick and easy to prepare. Toddler-friendly ideas aren't mandatory, but ideally I wouldn't be preparing two lunches for both Tory and I on a daily basis.

Ready, GO! Leave me a comment; I'd love to hear from you. And hopefully, kicking dairy from my diet proves to be the answer to Aden's skin issues.

Tory-isms

One of my favorite things about Age 2 1/2 is language development. Tory cracks me up on a daily basis. Sometimes, it's not even the phrase she said that's so funny, but the fact that such a little person is saying such a grown up thing.

Here's some classic Tory-isms lately:

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Me: Ah, man! I can't believe it's snowing again.

Tory: (shrugs shoulders in an off-handed way) We have a lot. Sorry.

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Me: (coughs)

Tory: Sounds like you need go to doctor.

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Tory: What you doing?

Me: I have to put this medicine on Aden's rash.

Tory: (sounding exasperated) I sure hope this works.

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Tory: Mom, can we go on abenture today?

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Tory: Do you want some?

Me: No thanks.

Tory: Okay, tell me you want one.

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(unexpectedly finding a toy in the bathtub)

Tory: Molly? That's weird.

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(during a dinner conversation between Andi and I)

Tory: Hmm. Uh huh.

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(attempting to comfort Aden crying from his swing)

Tory: Mom, I try my best.

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(whining before nap time)

Tory: I want my mom!

Me: I am your mom.

Tory: I want my dad!

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(stalling before nap time)

Me: Tory, put down the toy phone.

Tory: I just texting.

Weekend at Home

Andi and I made the call last Thursday to stay in the Twin Cities this past weekend. We rarely miss time at the cabin if we're available, but the forecast threatened a foot of snowfall on Thursday night / Friday morning and with snowmobile trails closed for the season, there's not much to do at the lake this time of year when temperatures aren't nice enough to be outdoors.

We did get 9 1/2 inches of heavy, wet snow as predicted and the roads were pretty rotten to drive on Friday morning. But, by 2:00pm, the sun was shining and the snow melting. I suspect it's similar to living in Colorado, where it snows but temperatures make it manageable to live. Unlike you, Minnesota. Ahem.

Anyway, we totally could have gone to the cabin after all but by then, we'd made plans for dinner with friends Saturday night. Andi and I decided to make the best of a weekend at home.

Though, it turns out weekends at home are hard for us. It's sounds strange, but Andi and I are like passing ships during the week. He leaves for work before I even wake up for the day (lately, it seems like 5:00am - 7:00am is the only time my children actually sleep so I am passed out from exhaustion). In the evenings, Andi returns home from work and we tag-team the kids' bedtime routine until collapsing into bed ourselves. Since I stay home, I do almost everything to manage the kids and household so weekends at home feel like another weekday to me. Like when we went to the Science Museum of Minnesota on Saturday morning and I shouted at Tory to "freeze" by the car as we were unloading Aden and the stroller. Clearly Andi is very capable of removing his daughter from her car seat and ensuring she doesn't run full-speed into parking lot traffic. I guess I'm so used to doing everything on my own when we're running around town during the week, I have a hard time relinquishing some of the responsibility when Andi's along. Having all of us home together throws our whole system out of whack.

We had a nice morning at the Science Museum. Tory was a little young for all the exhibits but two year olds can enjoy themselves just about anywhere. I laughed when Andi weighed Tory on a giant scale comparing people to the weight of fish in the Mississippi River. The dial barely moved when she stepped on and Andi said, "You weigh as much as a carp!" Ha. So random.

We brought lunch over to Andi's grandma's house since we were on her side of the Cities and then went to dinner at our friends Lindsey and Dan's house Saturday night. We had a blast over there. The little girls played dress-up and watched Cinderella and never squabbled once over toys. The babies had fun jumping in their respective gadgets and the adults drank wine over stories and take-out. It was really nice to see some of our "in town" friends on the weekend.

Aden (4 months) and Taylor (10 months)

Tory and her best friend Ashley

The weather warmed up enough to go for a walk outside on Sunday (!!!) which was quite the shift from Friday's snow storm. That's springtime in Minnesota. We stayed up far too late on Saturday night (11:00 pm) for people who are up with kids half the night. Andi, Tory and I were all tired and cranky Sunday morning (again with the being at home on a weekend thing messing with our mojo) so we brewed some coffee, packed up the kids and drove over to our friends Krista and Josh's house to take a stroll around Lake Minnetonka. Tory and her other BFF Hannah splashed through puddles and we all got some much-needed fresh air.

Sunday evening, Andi's mom and sister volunteered to babysit for a few hours, so Andi went to dinner with friends and I had to stop myself from squealing my tires out of the drive-way for some alone time. I love my husband and my kids, but staying home for a weekend really flips life upside down for us. It was a good weekend, but a busy one and very similar to my everyday. I'm exhausted starting my week today and miss the quiet retreat and slower pace of life our lake cabin provides us every weekend. It's a gift; it truly is, and I think Andi and I take our magical place for granted sometimes. I'm already counting the minutes until our return on Friday.

Little Photographer

I'm taking weekly photos of Aden next to the zebra, just like I did every week during the first year of Tory's life. I love looking back on these photographs to see how much Aden (and, then Tory) grew in a week's time. It's amazing how much (she did, and) he is changing week-over-week (i.e.: 19 weeks, hello little neck!).

It was a lot easier to take photographs of Tory because Andi and I took all the pictures together. He was the photographer and I posed / caught her every time she fell over, or booked it out of the chair as time when on. This time around, I've been taking the photos myself. Well, with the help of my little photography assistant, Miss Tory. The perfectionist in me wants Aden's weekly photos to be taken on the exact day he turns another week older, and Andi's not always around to help with photos on that day. It's ridiculous, but it completely stresses me out having Tory "help" me. I'm performing multiple tasks as I pose Aden, catch him from falling over (little dude has the roundest butt, I swear), keep Tory outside the frame of the picture and bat away any toys she throws into the mix. Usually, I snap a few photos and call it good because I lose my patience quickly.

Anyway, the other day I was taking photos of the kids in the living room and Tory asked me if she could have my camera. It's just a regular point and shoot, not a big fancy one, so I handed it to her. Tory walked over to the brown chair where I take Aden's photo every week and snapped this picture of her little dollhouse figurines. She'd set them up all by herself.

I mean, isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Monkey see, monkey do.

It was one of those parenting moments that stopped me in my tracks. While I've never gotten mad at Tory for "wrecking" my weekly photo sessions with Aden, I do become internally frustrated and stop with a huff under my breath. And really, why? Because I didn't get the best shot of Aden with his zebra on his weekly birthday? How silly.

Little eyes are always watching and imitating what they see. My little photographer taught me a good lesson on this day.

What The Easter Bunny Is Bringing This Year

We're headed to my parents' house in Nebraska for Easter. We usually fly there (though we just decided to drive this time, so heads up on the Instagram pic I'll undoubtedly post illustrating the regretful decision to drive 7+ hours with two kids and a dog), so that means I've already planned and purchased goodies for my kids' Easter baskets to bring along.

My personal Easter basket requirements are they not be filled with candy (because my children are too young for sweets and then we have candy in our cupboards no one eats) and they not be filled with trinkety toy junk. Really when it comes down to it, the Easter Bunny brings my kids things I would have purchased anyway, festively presented in a cute pastel basket.

Last year, I bought Tory this personalized Easter basket and I've already ordered and shipped a similar version for Aden to my parents' house so he'll have it on Easter morning.

Each Easter basket will include:

Tory - Age 2 1/2

Minnie Mouse Tattoos -- found in the Dollar Spot section at Target.

Doc McStuffins' Doc and Donnie figurines -- Tory loves Doc McStuffins and she plays with her dollhouse figurines (that's a weird word, but I don't know what else to call them?) everyday, so I hope these little guys will be a big hit with her.

Doc McStuffins' Lambie stuffed animal -- bordering dangerously close to "things that end up at the bottom of the toy bin," but I thought her Easter basket needed something Easter-y and a lamb fits the bill.

Sunglasses -- another Dollar Spot find.

Speedo Swim Shoes -- a summer at the cabin necessity.

Fubbles Mini Bubble Blaster -- Tory goes crazy for those automatic bubble blowers at our library's Storytime sessions, so I think this one will be a big hit ... if it works correctly.

Goldfish Crackers -- for a treat.

Beach Towel -- I bought each of the kids their own personalized beach towel, and I am in love with them. So adorable, and I know we'll get a ton of use out of them at the cabin this summer. (Not pictured because I shipped them directly to my parents' house). Tory got the pastel-colored one with her name on it.

**I love how Tory's Easter basket last year included a potty training book and training pants. Oh, overzealous Heather. That one really bit me in the rear ...

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Aden - Age 4 1/2 months

Pat The Bunny Book - Classic bunny book for Easter. For some reason, I got this for free when I purchased from Amazon. Something about a settlement credit? No idea, but I'll take it.

Puff Snacks - He's not eating real food just yet, but soon!

Sophie the Giraffe Teether - Every kid needs a Sophie, right? Tory had one, but it was loved a little too much to pass along to Aden, so he gets his very own squeaker.

An outfit -- Because this poor growing child is running out of things to wear.

Bowls & Plates -- Replacements for the tired ones we currently have in use. Let's hope he'll share with his sister.

Bibs -- Food! Soon!

Beach Towel -- Aden's own personalized beach towel in primary colors.

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I went a little crazy and ordered the kids matching handmade Easter outfits this year. I know! Too cute (and slightly over the top). I haven't dressed Aden in his little jon-jon jumper yet, but Tory's dress with her initials on the chest is absolutely adorable. I can't wait to see them together.

CERP: Letter of the Week "B"

It's been a few weeks since Tory and I worked on our Letter of the Week activities. We've still talking about letters while we read books or play with magnets on the refrigerator door, but it wasn't until this week we finally had time to complete other activities on my CERP (Craft / Eat / Read / Play) list. That's okay; I don't have a specific timeframe to complete these activities. My goal was to talk about letters of the alphabet as we're engaged in things we already do around the house, as it fits into our lives.

Here's the entire lesson plan for the Letter B:

Craft: Make a "B" Bumblebee (source)
This bumblebee craft is fairly self-explanatory. Follow the link for detailed instructions.

I copied the suggestion of Mama Tully and began collecting our Letter of the Week crafts in a three-ring binder for Tory (and someday, Aden) to flip through.

Eat: Banana Bread
It seems like I always have ripened bananas on the counter and Tory loves to bake, so making banana bread is a no-brainer in our house. Tory and I bake in the kitchen together at least once a week, so our conversation over the mixing bowl on this day included making the "ba" sound for banana bread. One of my favorite banana bread recipes is Buttermilk Blueberry Banana Bread (muffins - because we always make ours into muffins; easier for little hands to eat). The buttermilk keeps the banana bread light and fluffy. I like to toss my blueberries in the flour mixture before mixing the wet and dry ingredients together so the blueberries don't sink to the bottom of the batter. Recommend.

Read: Books we read together: Lila Leapfrog's Ballet Jitters, Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See and Alphabet Under Construction.

Play: Stringing Beads
I bought these Melissa & Doug Stringing Beads a while back to help Tory's hand/eye coordination when I noticed her little friends were far better at those lace activities than she was. Tory likes making "necklaces" with these, so we did this activity together one morning. I just love Melissa & Doug products and this one's no different. Tory's gotten so much better at threading these beads (and working closely with her hands) thanks to this little activity.