Separation Anxiety

Monday night my soon to be 3yo son went to his first independent activity. It was a Learn to Skate (ice skating) class with 6 other children. 

We have been ice skating since January. He got his first pair of skates for Christmas. He has been very dependent on the ice walker thing and having mom or dad with him. 

 

Skating with Dad!

Two weeks ago, we went to the Skate with the Admirals event with our local AHL Team The Norfolk Admirals. My husband and I were on the ice with our son. He was holding our hands and then BOOM! He decided to let go! It was amazing to watch! (I have a video, just have to figure out how to put it up here)

 

Standing at Center Ice. This was after he was skating all alone!

 

Getting confident just walking on ice to collect foam pucks thrown on ice from crowd! He’s so happy!

  

We decided to take advantage of the amazing milestone and sign him up for skating lessons! 

We were even lucky enough to find a Groupon! So we get to class, I’m excited, daddy’s excited, and Ethan is super excited! 

He skated on to the ice and went right to the teacher!  

Off he went

Then he realized Mommy or Daddy weren’t right behind him. He began to call for us. And not focus on what he needed to do. Because of this he wasn’t skating well. During the class (first 15 minutes) he said “I have to go potty(which I knew he didn’t because I just took him), so Daddy went to go take him. 

Now, it was time to get back on the ice. There was a little hesitation, but my husband got him to go back! He continued to call for me, but I had to stay “hidden”! I really felt terrible doing that, but I didn’t want to ruin his groove. I know I’m not the only Mom to feel that way (It made me think of moms who drop off their kids at daycare or preschool for the first time). He was finally distracted with something to do, pick up a stuffed duck, grow it, skate to it, and pick it up again! He did great! Then he learned how to fall properly(it sounds silly, but there is a way) and get himself up. He had been struggling with this while we took him skating and am impressed he picked it up in one class! 

 

Because he wasn’t focused, he wasnt skating properly

   

just before the pickup stuffed duck game

   
Once class was over, they have a half an hour to skate and practice. While this happened I got to talk to teacher for a quick second and she said “he’s good, takes a few practices to get comfortable, and I’m impressed he learned the fall and get up so quickly”. Even though the chat wasn’t that long, I felt satisfied that we did the right thing. 

He was so happy with the class! he was saying “I cant wait to go back”

That was all about my son’s seperation anxiety… Here is mine…

I am super duper excited my son likes/loves ice skating! We are hockey loving people and my goal is for him to want to play hockey! 

Now, This is the first time he would be doing something without me. I was nervous how he would behave for the teacher. I was also nervous that we were going to get harsh criticism. I’m not sure why, but that’s how I felt. 

Then there was a little lack of structure regarding the class. I think I just have to ask more questions when we go next time. 

It made me feel way better when I got to briefly and I mean briefly speak to the teacher. When she told me

She was impressed it relaxed my nerves, funny thing is that was at the end… ha ha ha! 

Looking forward to the next 8 weeks of lessons! 

Now, I know how to deal with separation anxiety a little better!(Maybe)

Till next time! 
*i am not associated with Groupon. Just took advantage of an awesome deal!

Exercise Progress

So, I am happy to report that since January 12, 2015, I am still going strong on my workout regimen and monitoring my calorie intake.

Since January 12th, I have been using the myfitnesspal app. This app is great for multiple things. It helps track your calories with a awesome database (or you can add your own if you can’t find the info), great way to track your exercise, water intake, weight. I love it!

In February, I got a FitBit Charge HR. I quickly fell in love and became obsessed with meeting my step goal daily! Plus, if your friends have one, you can “compete” with them! I also really like how it tracks my sleep. 
Here are my progress photos:

Each picture has three photos. 

Picture 1-January 26

Picture 2-March 9

Picture 3-April 11

I think the back picture shows most progress. Followed by face photo. 

    
     

  
Total pounds lost: 22.5

Inches lost: arms 1 , waist 2.5 , legs 1.5 . 

 I’m gonna keep on going! Will update later on! 

Till next time!

*I am not associated with Fitbit or myfitnesspal! I just love their apps!

Natural Beauty

I so want to have vegan, organic, and animal cruelty and paraben free, etc makeup and face wash. 

However, I am having a hard time with the prices. I know that they are better and healthier for me, but I also want to make sure I’m not breaking the bank. I WISH, like really wish I could just go to the store and buy all the makeup and face care items I want; but then I wake and realize this is real life… Haha! 

I am however making better decisions when my “bad” items run out. I am replacing them with new. I have also come to the realization that my makeup lasts FOREVER… I do not wear it as often as I used too, staying home. Which for real is real natural beauty.. Haha! 

Pretty much my everyday look!

But my face & body wash, and lotions go a lot faster! Those are the things I use everyday… Or every other… Haha! Depending on if I can squeeze in a shower… 😛

So here is what I have been able to replace:

Love this face wash! even my husband likes it, because it isnt girly smelling.

Here is my face lotion and toner,. same company as face wash! when i made the switch iI did breakout a bit(but thats common for me-especially when switching to new)

  

Toothpaste. i had been reading some bad things about glycerin and floride, so i wanted to find alternatives. im not sure im completly settled on this one, but its not bad.

  

I love this for my crows feet. I feel like it works. I just have to remeber to put it on !

  

Oh! What don’t I use this for?! Haha! Coconut oil is great! I use it EVERYDAY! This is my hair gel, deep conditioning and hair growth routine. LOVE LOVE LOVE COCONUT OIL!

  

Another eye cream. I use this on occasion., im not sure how I feel about it.

  

LOVE THIS! Best shaving gel! smells good!

   

Of course i use my doTERRA oils to make my own concotions. (i sell)

These are most of the items I have changed too over time. I’m sure there are more in my house and of course there are other items not pictured that I tried and just stopped using. but I can’t think right now… Haha! Plus, the kiddies are now calling for me! 

I just keep reminding myself “don’t buy the same chemical laced product when it runs out, buy a vegan, organic, and animal cruelty and paraben free, etc product to replace! 

I want to talk about a clay mask I use too! Next post! 

Till next time! 😄

*i am in no way associated with any company or product mentioned in post except doTERRA. I am an independent wellness advocate. 

*Grumble* Packing *Grumble*

I have a love/hate relationship with packing. Anyone else feel me? 

I love packing, because that means we are going on a fun trip, by either seeing family or someplace new. 

I hate packing, because I pretty much pack everyone except my husband (he waits till 10 minutes before we leave…lol). Everyone is myself, son, daughter, and two dogs. 

When I pack I usually have a good plan, but that always seems to get thrown off by a child screaming, peeing pants, or just wants to be held. 

Here is how I deal with packing! 

-For my daughter(13 months old): Thank goodness for baby wearing. If I want able to wear my daughter, nothing would get accomplished! Once she is up and on me, there isn’t anything I couldn’t do! 

-For my son(almost 3): The helpful tool is either the iPad or a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  I try my hardest not to rely on the TV as a babysitter, but sometimes it’s necessary for me to get stuff accomplished. The iPad- I love the apps that I have on the iPad for him. Most of them reinforce the skills we have covered in school. This is always helpful. I am mindful of how much time he is on it and I always place it on airplane mode. This way there isn’t wifi radiation waves interacting with him (some of you may think I’m crazy, but it makes me feel better). 

Even though these things help me out, sometimes it still doesn’t work. When that happens I get slightly stressed, because I want to get it done, but then realize I just need to take a step back and play with my babies. 

The packing then resumes when they are asleep. Which is definitely easier, but also means I stay up later than I should. 

When I do pack, I always pack my kids first. This way if they go for a nap or I wind up packing while they sleep. I do not have to go into their room and risk disturbing them. I learned my lesson on that the very first time we were getting ready to visit our parents with both babies. 

Before having two kids. We used to have to take all the big baby items with us as well, like the pack n play and swing. Finally after three trips like that. We asked both of our parents if they could get a pack n play. Thankfully they did! It has saved us! We also when to a kid thrift store (highly recommend! Best place for gently used clothes and toys… Kids grow so fast to have all new stuff) and bought an extra swing that we were able to leave with them. Now when we pack, its really just clothes, food, diapers, utensils, cups and a few toys. Has left us with a little more packing space. 

When the car is fully loaded now, we can actually see out the rear window! Haha! 😋

When it comes to packing clothes, I also try to pack outfits (see image).

layout outfit, then roll to pack.

By packing the outfits, it’s easier to bring what you need and not over pack. It really helps take the guess work out of what to put on each child ( super helpful for my husband to match our daughter’s clothing peices together).

Those are some of my helpful packing tips! Hopefully some of you may see something on here you haven’t done before and it helps! 

Till next time! 😄

*I am in now way affiliated with Apple, iPad, Disney, or Mickey Mouse. Just sharing my experiences and telling you what works for my family! 

Never Ending Stomach Flu…

So for some reason this year, my family was hit hard, really hard by the stomach flu. When it first showed up 4 weeks ago, we thought it was just a 24 hour strain. Boy oh boy! Were we mistaken. *A heads up about post, slightly graphic descriptions of vomit and diarrhea. If you don’t have a strong stomach stop reading now!*

It all began with our daughter(a Thursday night 4 weeks ago). She vomited once and was just upset. The next day, was our son. He vomited a few times and was uncomfortable. Then it hit me, for a literal 24 hours and then my husband. We were happy it had run its course thru us all and we were on our way back to normal life. Then the following Saturday, it started all over again with my son. 

This time there was more vomit and it was like poltergeist projectile. My husband and I had never seen puke like that before. This was a two day, I could totally tell my son was sick. We did everything to keep our daughter in the clear, but to no avail, she got it a few days later. However, she was a one vomit and fussy for a day then better. Luckily, it passed my husband and I this time.

 My son woke up for the next few days complaining of stomach pain. My first thought is immediately appendicitis(strong family history on bit sides)… So we went to the docs. Felt like I wasted my $25 co-pay to hear the doc say the same thing I’ve been doing, but it helped my son(he loves Doc Mcstuffins and he knows docs make you feel better). He was fine after this.  

   He did not like wearing “sick” mask at dr.s office

 Seemed to feel better after visit. 

Three days after that doctor visit, we were back I there with our daughter, because she was inconsolable. I could tell her stomach hurt. She was so uncomfortable.  Just crying and crying. Not nursing, I felt terrible. 

 This was only way comfortable. Around 3 AM

So we were back at the doctors office with her a few days later. Her inconsolable self lasted 3 days. On third day we went to docs. They gave her some Zantac to calm her stomach and it seemed to work. 

Then about a week later, my son began to act sick. Sluggish, sleepy, not active, just not himself. I was thinking he was just playing it up since he was getting a little spoiled while sick. I mean really, my husband and  I felt bad for the kid. He wasn’t himself. He just laid around all day (no fever). We went to bed at our normal time and then at 3:30AM, I am a woken to a blood curtailing scream from my son. I walk into his room and he is covered in vomit. He puked in the middle of the night, and slept in it, then woke up when he couldn’t open his eye because it was dry. It looked like war paint. I almost threw up just from the sight. 

So at 3:35AM there I was giving my son a shower, getting him  dressed and then snuggling him in bed with us. I did not have the patience to clean his bed up at the moment. Luckily, my husband went in and stripped it. My son took a little while to fall back to sleep, but when he did he slept in a bit which was nice. Amazingly enough, somehow our daughter slept thru all this! 

When everyone woke up, it seemed like a regular morning. We were eating breakfast, my son was eating a bowl of cereal. I got up from the table and my son screamed I turned around and he said in a whiny screammy cry voice, “it coming out of my butt!” I picked him up and ran him to the bathroom. At first I was upset? Thinking how could you poop your pants, but then I thought about his morning could tell he had no control over this at all. He definitely just sharted. So I changed him and told him next time you feel that you have to go tell mommy. He shook his head and went back to eating, he even apologized! I told him it’s ok, accidents happen! Not even 10 minutes later, the same scream. He did it again! So we started over. Then again10-20 minutes later! 

Thank goodness I had some extra disposable training pants. We just went thru 4 outfits in less than an hour. I put in his training pants, and explained to him that he needed tot ell me when he had to go. He proceeded to poo his pants 4-5 more times. Then that afternoon, my daughters poo changed from solid to mush and both of them  lost their appetite. This was not a good day… 

I called the doctor and explained what was going on. They recommended probiotics and pedialyte. They said this seems like the tail end of the stomach flu and there really isn’t much more to do. Within 24-36 hours there seemed to be a calm in our house! FINALLY! This was this past Wednesday. 

Then on Friday, I woke up, not feeling well. I felt dizzy and nauseous. This is hard to handle when I have to take care of my children. I did the best that I could…. And thankfully it was the time of day when my hubby came home. He let me go take a nap. I napped hard almost two hours. Saturday morning, I woke up feeling better, not 100% but better. We went about our day and had fun! Went and took our Easter Bunny photo! We even went to a hockey game at night! It was a great day! 

  

Sunday morning, we wake up, I still feel good, but not 100%, we go to church. When we come home and eat brunch! After I ate, I didn’t feel good. It was nap time for the kids, so it was nap time for me too! A good two hour nap! It may have been good, but I woke up not feeling good. Not at all! 

That was the end of me. It hit me and it hit me hard.  I was so angry! What have I or my family done to deserve a month of the stomach bug?!

I took the advice for the kids from the pediatrician and had my hubby go get probiotics and electrolyte water and Gatorade. 

 

Thankfully, my husband was able to stay home from work and take care of me and more importantly the kids. While he was home he was able to clean and sanitize things. Once I’m in the clear, I plan on sanitizing everything. 

I thought I was doing a good job. I was washing hands untilmraw(from washing so much), using paper towels to dry, changing the kids sheets, had them sleep in seperate rooms, Clorox wipe everything, using bath towels once, Lysoling everything, airing out the house, diffusing cleansing essential oils…etc. 

Hopefully, the weather here is finally going to balance out and I can open all the windows and bleach everything! 

Anyone have any other advice? I would love to hear it. 

Till next time! 

*i am not associated with Zantac, Clorox, Lysol, Gatorade, or any other brand mentioned. Just a mom trying to get a clean home and healthy again!