On The Mend

Our little family of three is finally on the mend after a two-week cold bender. Man, being sick stinks ... especially while being being pregnant and caring for a little one who's also under the weather. I *may* have clocked my worst parenting days last week while I laid in bed and let Tory watch endless hours of Disney. A little Doc McStuffins never hurt anyone, right? (I hope not. She has been repeatedly asking to "watch show?" since then, so maybe I'm wrong). I was seriously living in fear of going into labor while being sick, so I was determined to recoup by whatever means necessary. Necessary = zoning a sick toddler out with television. I don't feel bad about it. Andi was really sweet by coming home early from work several nights to help with Tory. He even slept downstairs on the couch so Tory and I could snuggle up together in our big bed to get some rest. Okay, maybe he was dodging my admittedly annoying cough and germs ...  and if so, I don't blame him.

Unwilling to take any "traditional" cold medicine because I'm pregnant and cautiously being aware of what I was giving Tory, I tried some new (to me) cold remedies which helped soothe our pain and discomfort.

For Tory, I picked up both versions of Hylands Cold and Cough and saw a noticeable difference in her demeanor after dosing her with the daytime and/or nighttime versions. Highly recommend. She didn't seem to mind the taste either, as noted by her requests for "Tory, need more medicine." (Gosh, kid).

Andi also bought Little Remedies Cough Elixir and this really seemed to help Tory's cough. It's completely natural so I felt better about giving this frequently/as directed. Tory was licking the dosing cup clean so obviously the natural honey taste was a pleasant one.

Of note: kid's medicine is a sensitive topic (not interested in stirring up a debate on kids and medicine), but I also like hearing mom's testimonials when things work like they should, so thought I'd share my new discoveries on the topic.

Mid-cold, I finally broke down and called my doctor's baby phone line to see if there was anything I could give myself for cold relief. I was surprised when the nurse rattled off a list of "safe to use while pregnant" OTC medicines. (Obviously, everyone is different. This is what the nurse suggested I take given my personal healthy and pregnancy). Suggestions included Claritin, Robitussin, Tylenol, Vicks Vapor Rub and cough drops without menthol. I couldn't bring myself to use anything but cough drops and running a Vaporizer for fear I would hurt my babe, but it was nice to know there were dire-straights options if I really couldn't hang any longer. One thing I did do was purchase a Vicks Warm Mist Vaporizer. This version takes the Vapor Mist liquid or these Vicks Vapor Pads which really helped me cope. Though admittedly as I was packing up all this stuff this morning, I was gagging on the trademark Vicks scent. Vicks vapors are now equivalent to 7-Up and chicken noodle soup for me -- commonly, they all remind me of feeling like death.

Speaking of chicken noodle soup, I made a homemade version for dinner one night last week. (Don't worry, this recipe didn't taste like death. Chicken noodle soup only sounds good to me when I'm feeling under the weather. I can't stomach the condensed soup-in-a-can version, so it's go homemade or go home for me). This stove-top recipe was a quick, comforting meal to pull together.

Anyway, on the mend (thankfully!) now and looking onward to the birth of our baby son. Here's hoping we all steer clear of more sickness this winter and if we aren't as lucky, at least I have a few new tricks up my sleeve to help us through.

Weekend Happenings (No Baby Yet)

I'm 39w5d pregnant and running out of things to occupy my time. My house has been cleaned top to bottom. I've organized the front pantry closet, wiped the inside of the refrigerator clean, packed the hospital bag, sanitized Tory's toys and swept the garage floor. Both our freezer chest and regular refrigerator / freezer are plum full of make-ahead meals. Andi trimmed all the shrubs back for winter. It was on my to-do list, but he beat me to it. The only thing left to do is rake the massive amount of leaves in our yard. (I'm not so crazy I'd tackle that at nearly 40 weeks pregnant. Hiring that done for sure).

Since having a baby this weekend wasn't in the cards, Andi and I kept ourselves busy with visits to see family and friends, housework, cooking and a trip to the indoor water park. Andi was itching to make a quick trip to the cabin on Saturday, but I didn't feel comfortable risking it. My luck, I'd end up being one of those ladies who gives birth on the side of a highway. Um, no thanks.

The indoor pool was insanely busy Saturday night. Apparently, that's where suburban parents take their kids on the weekend. Who knew? Tory and Andi had a blast swimming together while I watched from the sidelines (can't be anyone out there itching to see my gigantic pregnant self in a swimming suit).

If there's one great thing about dual parenting, it's how differently Andi and I give Tory room to grow. As her mother, I probably shelter Tory more than needed and take far too long to realize she's perfectly capable of doing some things on her own. Andi is more willing to give Tory space to spread her wings. I nearly had a heartache from my chair by the pool when I saw Andi let Tory go down the water slide unassisted. (For the record, it was a small slide with padding at the bottom). But, you know what? She did just fine. In fact, Tory was a crazy little thing scurrying up the slide, sliding down and doing it over again x 100. She was having the time of her life.

I

This afternoon, I dug down deep into my bucket list of things to do and decided to make homemade Runzas. I invited my sister-in-law Lindsay over to help. The simple recipe fools you to believe homemade Runzas come together in a snap, but they're actually quite time-consuming and messy. I always forget that part until I'm half way into the process. Totally worth it to make them once or twice a winter though. There's something about the first bite of a piping hot homemade Runza that takes me right back to my childhood. So delicious. Andi loves to pop one out of the freezer for fast meals. (My mom's homemade Runza recipe here).

This was Tory's first time making Runzas and she was a big fan. I knew there was a little Nebraska in my girlie! She helped Lindsay and I roll out the dough and insisted we all wear aprons while we cooked. When I dumped flour on the counter top, Tory said, "Mommy made a big mess!" That's okay, Tory Girl, it's all part of the process.

With two dozen homemade Runzas tucked away in the freezer, I've officially crossed everything off my baby to-do list. You're welcome to make your arrival anytime now, Baby Aden! If he's not here by mid-week, I'm going to pull my Christmas tree out of storage and start decorating.

Must. Keep. Busy.

Take This Cold and Shove It

The only thing worse than a Man Cold is a Pregnancy Cold and, ugh, do I have a doozy. I just knew this pregnancy was moving along too smoothly, dang it. When Andi came home a few weeks ago and complained about feeling under the weather, it suddenly occurred to me it's "cold and flu season" and any one of us could come down with some sort of bug before the baby's born. I immediately went into Operation Disinfect Everything mode. Andi never did get sick, but last Wednesday I woke up sneezing and my cold has progressively grown worse since then.

Normally, I proclaim to have a fairly high pain tolerance but being sick while pregnant is the pits. I don't like to take any medicine while pregnant, so this decision forces me to fight through the symptoms. The last two days, Tory has been out of sorts with coughing as well so it only complicates things by having to shower her with extra care while nursing myself back to health. I did call my doctor's Baby Line hotline this weekend to see if there was anything I could do to make myself feel better. The nurse suggested a few over the counter medications to take if worse comes to worst. In the meantime, I'm hydrating with lots of hot tea, non-menthol cough drops and the vaporizer running 24/7.

Yesterday during my weekly babysitter time, I went to a local coffee shop to write out our meal plan and grocery list. The minute I sat down, I was overcome with a coughing attack that I just couldn't kick. A nice older man was sitting next to me and kept asking questions about my pregnancy. I've talked with him at the coffee shop a few times before and it was sweet of him to show concern, but good lord man, I couldn't breathe! I finally packed up my stuff to leave because I was seriously dying and the man told me he said a prayer that I'll get well before the baby arrives. He melted my heart. People can be so kind.

On the bright side, I'm thankful this cold took hold before the baby arrives and not after he's born. Better to be sick while pregnant than sick with a newborn. Or worse, for Aden to be sick in his first few weeks of life. I keep telling myself that if I've been sick for a week already, this cold has to be almost through. And just in time ... today, I'm 39 weeks pregnant so Baby Boy could make his arrival any day.

Tory's New Room and the Big Girl Bed Transition

The final step in our "musical rooms project" to prepare for Baby Aden's arrival is complete. Tory transitioned to a big girl bedroom about two months ago now. It's been an interesting process, that's for sure. The physical act of changing from a nursery to a toddler girl's room was easy. Transitioning one Miss Tory from sleeping in a crib to sleeping in a "big girl bed" ... well, not so much.

So, the room make-over part first:

I originally decorated Tory's nursery in a subtle lavender color with white and black accents so nothing was too "baby-ish" and needed to be replaced. (Of course, that hasn't stopped me from making updates here and there over the last two years). Here's a few pictures of her previous "baby nursery" for reference, taken shortly after we moved into this house in July 2011. 

Items which have changed in the last two years -- I removed the cube bookshelf (seen above) and replaced it with a glider rocking chair which has since moved to our living room. I also added white floating shelves on the wall in place of the cube bookshelf.

When designing Tory's new room, Andi and I went back and forth deciding if we wanted Tory to have a twin-size or a full-size bedroom set. At one point, we decided to go full-size and use an extra headboard and frame we have in storage, but then Andi measured and realized it's actually a queen-size bed. I thought a queen was too big for Tory's room so the decision was made to go with a new twin bedroom set. I wanted white, but finding a "girlie white twin bedroom set" proved to be somewhat difficult. We couldn't believe how much junk was out there for options! Some larger, fairly reputable furniture stores in the Twin Cities don't even carry white bedroom sets for girls. Amazon.com has some, but reviews about shipping damage deterred us from that option. We looked on Craigslist and a few garage sales, but nothing was just right. Finally, quite near the end of our shopping rope, we found the perfect set. 

Tory was as much over furniture shopping as we were

Here is Tory's new big girl bedroom, complete with a new white bedroom set and some of her favorite toys previously kept in the play room.

New bedroom layout

I adore all things monogrammed so with this set of room updates, I did treat myself - err, I mean, Tory - to a new wooden wall initial sign to hang above her dresser. This replaced the black, white and lavender name plaque I'd originally made for the room. With new pink and white twin bedding, the old lavender fabric and black frame didn't tie to the room anymore and I'm much happier with the monogrammed wall hanging. 

Previous name plaque

New monogram wall hanging

I splurged on new pink bedding from Pottery Barn Kids. When I first designed Tory's nursery, I was determined not to have a typical pink nursery for my girl but now two years later, I actually love how the pink compliments the lavender walls. The quality of the sheets, quilt and duvet are very nice, so hopefully she'll have this set for years to come. The white twin bed skirt was purchased separately from here. The safety bed rail is a hand-me-down from one of Andi's co-workers. 

I left the vinyl wall decal we originally printed to showcase three 8x10 photographs above Tory's bed. Every year around her birthday, I replace the photos with updated shots of my big girl. Still waiting on images from Tory's 2 year shoot in September to add to these frames ....

Finally, Tory's transition to actually sleeping in her new big girl bed:

Coincidentally, Andi was scheduled for work travel most of September so the pleasure of transitioning Tory to a big girl bed was all mine. By confession, she wasn't the greatest sleeper in her crib. Tory has always woken up 1-2 times a night and I usually had to soothe her back to sleep again. We've tried all the Cry It Out methods and sure, they work for a while but something (sickness, traveling, spending weekends at the cabin, etc.) throw us right back into an evil crappy sleep pattern. 

Back then, however, Tory was confined inside her crib. She'd started to climb out if I left her in there to cry but I never rushed right into her room to reassure her of my presence. I knew Tory wouldn't be one of those dream kids who stays in their big kid bed and calls for the parent to retrieve them. She's a little monkey by nature and has had no problem scaling Andi and I's fairly high master bed for some time. The minute Tory's new bed arrived, she climbed in and out on her own with no problem.

So, mixing Tory's light sleeping patterns and her ability to get in/out of bed on her own means I've been getting up with her 1-4 times a night to re-direct her back into bed ever since the dang bedroom transition in mid-September. When Tory wakes up in the night now, she doesn't even cry out for me. Instead, she grabs her pillow, sippy cup and a few toys, then high-tails it into the master bedroom for a sleepover. Since I'm already up with pregnancy insomnia half the night anyway, I do a pretty good job of re-directing Tory back into her bed. It just stinks I have to get up with her several times a night. I also have to wait until she falls back asleep again, or she follows me right back to my room. Naps seem to be going okay in the new bed. Tory will sleep 60-90 minutes in her bed which is comparable to what she slept in her crib. 

Our lake cabin throws an interesting twist into the big girl bed transition. We moved Tory to a full-size bed there (she was sleeping in a pack n' play before) and she has yet to sleep past 11:00pm in that bed. Since August. It's hard to develop a consistent routine of familiarity because we're only at the cabin on weekends.

So, in summary, the big girl bedroom transition is: rough going. I think we made the right decision in transitioning Tory from a crib to a bed before Baby #2 arrives but, man, I wish she was a better sleeper. Really, I've been wishing that for the last 26 months! I hope Tory grows out of this light sleeper / up several times a night phase and eventually, I know think she will. I mean, teenagers love sleep, right? Eventually she'll love to lay in her bedroom all day ... I just have to hold on until then.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about bringing a newborn baby home in a few days AND dealing with Miss Up All Night at the same time. How I'll nurse a baby and put Tory back to sleep several times a night will prove interesting. Usually, all bedtime routines in our household fall to me since I'm the stay-at-home parent, but Andi has agreed to help when the new baby arrives. Tory, on the other hand, may have another thing to say about that as she screams for "Mommy" when Andi or anyone else tries to help. (Maybe waiting nine days before my due date was a bad time to work Andi in the bedtime mix)? I'm trying not to worry about it because the new baby is coming (soon!) and we'll have to figure it out. So is the life of being a parent ....

Halloween 2013

We had a very happy Halloween this year. In fact, I think it was one of my favorite Halloween holidays to date. Celebrating any special day through the eyes of our little girl is just THE BEST.

As I mentioned previously, I wanted Tory to be a sheep for Halloween. At two-years-old, I thought I could get away with dictating her costume for one more year and she loves sheep, so I thought it'd be a big hit. Plus, it was both warm and adorably cute; perfect in every way. 

Tory's trilled to wear this ... can't you tell?

Silly, Mommy. I was able to convince Tory to try on the sheep costume one afternoon earlier in the week (by bribing her with M&Ms, of course), but on Halloween night she was insistent on being Minnie Mouse. My mom sent her this dress-up outfit at the beginning of October and Tory's been wearing it near daily ever since. "Minnie Mouse. Beautiful dress!" she insisted on Halloween and how could I say no to this sweet little face?

We invited Andi's parents, sister Lindsay, and her boyfriend, Kyle, over for dinner and an evening of trick-or-treating at our house. Bless my mother-in-law Janie's heart, she volunteered to prepare dinner so I didn't have to the cooking or clean-up at 38 weeks pregnant. She found a festive recipe for Dinner in a Pumpkin which was perfect for Halloween night. Janie served the warm hot dish casserole inside small pie pumpkins and individual winter squashes. The dinner presentation and casserole itself were fantastic! I'm definitely adding this recipe (minus the pumpkin shell) to our winter menu repertoire.

After dinner, we snapped a few photos with our #1 pun'kin, then headed out for an evening of trick-or-treating. Having six grown adults following one two-year-old trick-or-treating isn't overkill, is it? Our girlie had quite the posse behind her. Tory seemed to really understand trick-or-treating this year and had no problem marching right up to our neighbor's houses, knocking on the doors and saying "trick-or-treat" for candy. We only trick-or-treated on our street since it was chilly outside and Tory didn't really know the difference. She had a ball visiting the eight or so houses with lights on and it was a good chance for Andi and I to re-acquaint ourselves with some of the neighbors.

Dressing up my little Minnie 

Tory and Grandma Janie

Kyle, Lindsay, me, Tory and Andi before trick-or-treating

Ringing a doorbell with Lindsay

Trick-or-treating with Daddy

We were back home by 7:45pm and ended our night with freshly baked apple crisp and vanilla ice cream. As soon as dessert was finished, Tory waved to everyone, tugged on my hand and said "Nite nite. Read books, Mommy." Girlfriend was TIRED after the day's excitement.

I hope celebrating Halloween this way becomes a new tradition for our Minnesota family (at least until Lindsay has kiddos of her own and then we'll have to swap houses each year or something). It's the closest I've felt to the Halloweens at my grandma's house when I was a little girl. There's something about family coming together, little kiddo(s) in costume and trick-or-treating together which makes Halloween so much fun. I'm already looking forward to 2014 when we'll have a new little man to add to the mix.

Mommy Comes Back

Time for another update regarding Tory's progress in the toddler program at preschool. I want to have documentation of our journey through this stage in Tory's development as her interest in "school" seems to evolve every week. It's now been eight weeks since we started our school district's ECFE program and yesterday was the first day Tory didn't cry the minute she realized where we were spending our morning. Progress!

One thing the parent educator (whom I love, by the way) said to me a few weeks ago is that staying home with Tory everyday isn't a bad thing. It's a good thing, I just have to be more planful in creating opportunities for Tory to experience the world without me. Now, I know staying at home with my child(ren) isn't a bad thing, but at the beginning of this program I felt discouraged watching Tory's fellow classmates easily handle separation from their parents while my child struggled. As trying as the last eight weeks have been for both of us, Tory's slowly making progress in learning how to function independently in a school setting.

To recap, the first four weeks were the most difficult. Period. Tory sobbed uncontrollably anytime I mentioned the word "school," and repeated "Mommy, stay! Mommy, stay!" in a frantic voice until I reassured her I wouldn't leave her. She'd cling to me for days after class because she was fearful she'd be left behind. School was difficult for her, and it was hard on me as her mother. I felt like I was pressuring Tory to do something she wasn't ready for and I was also mentally exhausted by the excessive whining and clinginess.

After a month of serious drama, I made the executive decision not to separate from Tory during class time. Tory associated all things "school" with separation and the minute she figured out where we were going on Tuesday mornings, she burst into tears. She cried before, during and after class. She cried if we read a book about school or saw her blue school bucket sitting in the closet. I decided it was better for Tory to have a positive experience at school in general than to focus on parent / child separation. I reassured Tory I would stay with her the entire class time. I would not leave her. And, I didn't. At first, she clung to me like glue, but eventually started to relax a bit and interact in her class. With me in the classroom, Tory also became more familiar with the toddler room teacher and some of her little classmates.

Last Tuesday at school (Week 7), Tory seemed interested in playing with toys when parent / child separation time came, so I told her I'd be back in a bit and left. She cried, of course, but I never got called back to the classroom. Tory made it through the entire 45 minutes of separation time by herself. When the parents came back to the classroom at the end of the session, Tory was beaming from ear to ear. Her face was red so she'd obviously been upset but she wasn't crying at the moment. The teacher said they read Tory's favorite book during snack time and Tory was able to (mostly) hold it together during class. I'm pretty sure the teacher comforted her most of the time.

Yesterday for the first time, Tory didn't cry in the car on the way to school. She told me she didn't want to go to school when she saw me load up her school bucket into the car, but she wasn't too upset. We arrived at school and Tory used the bathroom before class, as has been our routine. They have a kid-sized toilet which Tory really likes and it provides good motivation to get her inside the school building. After using the bathroom and washing her hands, Tory marched right down the hallway to her classroom door and picked up her name tag. She walked inside the classroom on her own (!!) and immediately started to color at the easel station. I was so impressed! Even the teachers commented how happy Tory seemed to be at school. Tory happily played during free time and was engaged in singing and dancing during circle time. When it came time for me to leave for the parent / child separation portion of class, I kissed Tory on the head and told her Mommy would be back soon. She started to cry and the teacher came over to console her. I waited for the call to come back to the classroom, but it never came. At the end of class, Tory was beaming with excitement when she saw me at the door. "Mommy came back!" she said, wrapping her arms around my neck and planting a big kiss on my cheek. "Yes, Mommy always comes back," I said. After eight weeks, Tory is finally getting it! The teacher reported that none of the kids cried during the session and they sang, danced, read books and ate a snack as a class.

It's been interesting -- the "Mommy comes back!" -- phrase. Tory says it regularly now, whenever the world "school" is mentioned in passing or even when she has a babysitter at home. At night when Andi comes home from work, Tory says "Daddy came back!" when she hears the garage door opening. I know it's on her mind quite a bit because randomly she'll say to me, "Tory school. Mommy comes back." It's taken two months of practice, but Tory's developing the recognition and memory associated with a parent leaving and coming back to her again. I'm so proud of my little girl and how far she's advanced in this journey. There were times I questioned if we were doing the right thing for her, but now I'm confident signing Tory up for toddler preschool was a good thing. Plus, I'm gaining some valuable insight in the parent-portion of class by listening and learning about toddler development. I'm excited to watch Tory's progress through the remainder of the year.

Weekend Recap

Busy weekend 'round these parts. We're officially sticking close to home until Baby Aden arrives, so Andi, Tory and I filled Saturday and Sunday with activities around the Twin Cities. (Not that I believe Baby Boy is planning an early entrance into the world. No, sir, I do not). It's so weird for us to be home on the weekend since we're usually at the lake cabin. Strange to wake up with breakfast on Saturday morning in our own kitchen; fun to have play dates with friends and attend family gatherings.

Saturday, we met up with our friends Val and Brionn to watch our dear Nebraska Cornhuskers take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium. I've been looking forward to this game for months since it's a rare treat we actually make it to a game...especially one in our own town. All week, Timehop reminders pumped me up for the game with photos of past Huskers weekend shenanigans.

Like this pic of Andi and I at a game six years ago in Lincoln. Babies! More hair! So young and kid-free!

Or, this one from 2009. Another pre-kid trip to the game in Lincoln with our Nebraska friends. This couldn't have been the last time we were back for a game, but maybe it was? Having babies definitely throws a curve-ball into weekend road-trips to Lincoln these days.

I will say, it was waaay more fun attending a game at TCF Bank Stadium than working it. I ran into quite a few of my old co-workers on Saturday and received several "Having another baby? Weren't you just pregnant?" comments. It's been 11 months since I worked at the U of M and I guess it would seem like I just had a baby if you haven't seen me in a year's time. My beloved Huskers lost to the Gophers on Saturday (first time in 50+ years!) but our crew still had a great time together. The premium seating tickets Andi scored didn't hurt either.

Here's Brionn, Val, Andi and I at the game on Saturday. Sorry, Andi, you barely made the pic! Guess those in-seat photos are never the greatest. It was a chilly 40 degrees on Saturday morning at the game, but thankfully I had my little baby heater cooking inside me. For the first time in my entire life, I was actually HOT (or just the right temp in a long-sleeve tee, vest and scarf) while everyone else was freezing.

Then on Sunday afternoon, Tory and I granted Andi a hall pass (which he used on working - lame!) and met up with our friends Lindsey and Ashley at Como Zoo for their Halloween Zoo Boo event. I prepped Tory all afternoon about wearing her adorable sheep costume but when it came down to the moment, she refused to put it on and opted to dress up as Minnie Mouse instead. This mama was a little disappointed because the sheep costume is so warm, unique and absolutely adorable but Miss Tory knows what she wants. My little Minnie was still cute ... even though twenty million other little girls at Zoo Boo were dressed up as the same thing. (Stab in my mama heart). Luckily, Sunday afternoon was a beautiful fall day so we were able to get away with Tory not wearing a coat over her costume. Tory's friend, Ashley, was dressed as Elmo and kids and parents alike were going ga-ga over her get-up.

The girls trick-or-treated throughout the zoo and collected lots of goodies in their pumpkin pails. It was nice how not all the treats were candy. Tory really liked the stickers, coloring pages and even a fun Domino animal game we've played a few times since Sunday. I was pretty surprised Tory seemed to "get" the whole process of trick-or-treating. She had no problem walking up to adults dressed in costumes, holding out her pail and saying trick-or-treat. She even said thank-you to everyone who gave her something and stood there a little confused when costume characters didn't have anything to offer (like the fairy in the photo above). As we drove home from Zoo Boo, Tory begged for "one more trick-or-treat" over and over. My friend Lindsey said Ashley chanted "again! again!" during their drive so I'm glad the girls had a fun night. Hopefully Tory will be just as excited to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood on Halloween night.