Two Kids and a Tubal

Here are pictures of Makayla and Blaine enjoying their pudding! Children can always find pleasure in the simplest things! :)

My son is only 18 months, but he is already going through the terrible two's. If he does not get what he wants he throws an AWFUL fit. You moms know all about it. The head goes back and the kicking and screaming begin. My son will even through himself on the floor! My husband and I often carry him out of places like we are caring a sack of potatoes under our arm, because it is the only way to control him so he doesn't hurt himself. I try not to care what others think, but you should see some of the looks we get when we do this! If we are at home we simply place him in the middle of the floor where he cannot hurt himself and let him finish his tantrum. I am writing this post to see if any of you have any ideas on dealing with tantrum. My daughters NEVER through fits like this and she was never so violent with her tantrums, for example biting, hitting and scratching. We have thought about time out, but I am not convinced he will know what the time out is for yet. Any help would b...

This week's Travelin’ Thursday will tackle the big challenge of taking kids to Walt Disney World. We made this trip last December right after Christmas and I spent about 2 months preparing. At the end I'll provide links of a few pages I found helpful. Let's first talk about packing. I found this on another site, but it was a God sent during our trip. I put each of my children’s clothes into a Ziploc baggie. I labeled each baggie with the date and the child’s name. It was perfect! I just pulled out the baggies for the next day each night when we were so exhausted we couldn't even think and we were ready to go. In addition we had our son with us who was 9 months old. The baggie clothes helped because we were able to through in backup clothes into the backpack easily. Each baggie included a complete set of clothing, bib, outfit, underwear, etc. Our second "ingenious" idea had to do with food for our son. At the time he was on cereal mixed with formula. We bought ...

This addition of Why Wednesday focuses on the issue of adopting a pet versus buying one from a breeder or pet store. This is a topic very near and dear to my heart as I am very involved with a local sanctuary and see the hundreds of animals neglected and abused. Here is my list of reasons to adopt an animal: 1. Mixed breed animals tend be in better health and have less health issues than pure breeds. This can result in fewer vet bills and a longer time to enjoy your pet. 2. There are TONS and TONS of animals surrendered to shelters and sanctuaries every year. These animals are loving pets that have been left behind by either a required move or an inability to care for the animal. 3. When you adopt you are saving a life! Most shelters are forced to euthanize animals when their space becomes limited. 4. You can choose what age and often the level of training. When you adopt you can pick a puppy or a 5 year old dog who may be leash trained. The options are often endless. 5. Adopting is a ...

I thought I'd start mindless Monday and just provide some of my favorite pics of my kids. Here is one I just love of my daughter Makayla and one of our dogs Clyde. This picture was recently used in a magazine featuring the healing powers of companion animals. Enjoy! Hope you had a good Monday!

I am sure that I am not the only one with a 6 year old that thinks every subject is a debate. My daughter Makayla is constantly arguing with my husband and me over even the simplest things. We tell her five more bites at dinner and she says how about three. We tell her to go get her shoes on and she begins a dissertation on why she can't and how long it will take her. We couldn't take it anymore and have instituted the following rule. When she argues with us, she pays us $1. Please note that Makayla gets money from her grandparents and other family members all the time. At the beginning of this week she had over $60. I say had because since then she has lost $19. I thought we were making progress until she had a total melt down at the restaurant last night and lost $8 at dinner alone along with TV for a week. She is pretty stubborn, but I think last night let her know we were serious. I'm sure when she has to take the money out of her piggy bank it will hit home. That is wh...

So this time I actually got the post put on Thursday. Yea for me! I'd like to feature the small town of Greenville, TN this week for my Travelin' Thursday. You may ask why and so I'll tell you. This is the home of the national historic site for our 17th president Andrew Johnson. As I was driving back to Nashville at the end of my last business trip I stopped to see this WONDERFUL historic site. There are four key locations to visit at this site. The first is the house that Andrew and he wife lived in before he became president. You are able to walk through the ground level and see in the basement. Across the street is a modern building with a short video about Andrew Johnson's life, a small museum with many artifacts and discussion about his presidency. However, the BEST and most interesting item in this building is the actual shop that Andrew Johnson ran his tailor business. It is absolutely fascinating to see this building just as it was over 100 years ago. The next s...

My daughter starts first grade tomorrow and I can't believe how much prepartation goes into getting ready for school. The class list alone it CRAZY! There is so much stuff and it all has to be labeled. I think I spent over an hours with a fine point Sharpie labeling away. But now it is all done. The backpack is full, the school clothes and shoes have been purchased, and we have started to implement the school time bed routine. My baby is ready to go to first grade, but what about me, am I ready for her to go to first grade. I don't know about you other moms, but kindergarten was tough for me, even though I am a working mom. I have to admit that I cried the first day of school seeing my little girl with her backpack in hand and climbing on the bus. I thought that this year would be easier, but as the day nears I might have been wrong. There is something about first grade that has me just as emotional as last year. Maybe it is that this is where the real learning begins. The cla...

I am finally back home again after a long week in Alberta Canada. I wanted to start a "Travelin' Thursday" post, but Thursday came and went before I could. Sooo, we'll make the first "Travelin' Thursday post on Friday (well I guess technically Saturday as I look at the clock and it is past midnight.) This first post will focus on Edmonton, Alberta Canada. If you go to Edmonton you MUST go to the West Edmonton Mall. It is touted as the largest mall in North America. The mall includes a water park, amusement park, ice skating rink, a sea lion show, two miniature golf courses, and hundreds of stores. It also has its own Bourbon Street with several restaurants, and two separate food courts. I would plan at least one day at the mall if you want to actually see all the stores and experience the rides and attractions. For those of you with kids, I'd suggest the "Please Mum" store. They had some of the cutest clothes and I just loved the name of it, so ...

I have seen wordless Wednesday, but I'd like to do a little something different and have Why Wednesday where I probe a question. This Wednesday's question..."Why choose a tubal ligation?" WARNING: If you do not have children and are considering it and don't want to hear any "horror stories", don't read any further! Let me start with a little history. When I gave birth to my daughter the delivery was VERY difficult. My daughter was experiencing fetal distress and so the doctors decided to induce. I went to the hospital and they began "the drip". After some time the doctor came in and "accidently" broke my water. At that point I was telling the nurse to get the anesthesiologist out of bed NOW for my epidural, and because the nurse deals with crazy pregnant ladies all day, she does. Once I got my epidural, I was doing well. Then they said it is time to push, and so I did. Well I was unaware that the nurse kept calling and calling the...

So if you are a mom you know guilt. My cousin at Confessions of a First Time Mom also wrote a blog about this recently and not to copy, but I had to put my own spin on it. Her post was about mommy guilt and this week I have lots of mommy guilt because I am traveling again. I was only home for one week and then back out again. Please know that I plan my own travel schedule and then now I'm sure your saying then why complain. Well, let me explain. The reason that I have planned my travel so close together is because I want to be home for my daughter's first week of school. So I have guilt about not being home with my son and daughter this week, especially since as my son gets older the more he realizes when mommy breaks out the suitcase she is leaving. But, I have more than mommy guilt this week. I also have wife guilt. I am not sure how to describe this, but I feel badly that I have to leave my husband to take care of my two kids alone. Although he knows this is part of my job, ...

As I write my first post I keep asking myself, why have I done this. I believe the answer is to put my feelings and experiences out there for others to get validation and possibly help those in a similar situation. The secondary reason is to discuss the decision to have a tubal and the feels that result once the decision and procedure have been completed. Before I begin all of this I should probably tell you all a bit about me, so when I begin my regular posting you will know all the players. As I said in my "About Me" section, I am a 31-year old working mom. I am a marketing chemist for a company that customizes gas chromatographs (Wasson-ECE Instrumentation). So some of your eyes have already glazed over, all the fancy language above boils down to I sell scientific equipment to mostly chemical plants and refineries. My job includes travel, so you will often see posts about the places I'm traveling to and my experiences. I have two children. Makayla is my 6 year old who ...