Febuary 16, 2006 is the day that I packed two suitcases and boarded a plane bound for Las Vegas. I left my husband of just 6 short months in Michigan to finish out his teaching contract for the year and I ventured on ahead to start my own teaching career. I had never been in Vegas before and I would be living with my brother-in-law. I was extrememly nervous to start this new chapter in my life, but I knew more than anything I wanted to have kids and Gavin had told me that we couldn't even think about that until we both had full time jobs. Well, after dozens of interviews and still no job, I decided to look outside of our comfort zone in Michigan and within days of submitting my application to the Clark County School District I was on a plane!
And exactly five years later on February 16, 2011, we brought our third child, the completion of our family home from the hospital, our daughter, Lyla Anne.
***I know this post is late, it would have been nice to post it on February 16th, but I was a little busy that day!***
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Grandma Swap
Last night Grandma Debbie arrived in Vegas and Grandma Sue departed. Grandma Debbie flew in around 5:30, Grandma Sue didn't need to be at the airport until 8:00ish, so we decided instead of picking Grandma Debbie up, then turning right around to drop Grandma Sue off, we would cram everyone in the van and go out to eat in between.
Owen was super excited and couldn't stop talking, Max wasn't sure what to think, and I couldn't help but document having two grandmas in Vegas at the same time!
Thank you Grandma Sue for all your help the past four weeks. Welcome Grandma Debbie, hope you are ready for all our craziness!
***Before leaving for the airport, I went to put a sleeper on Lyla, there was no way I was going to zip it up, I had to get out a size 3-6 months! My baby is growing so fast!!***
Owen was super excited and couldn't stop talking, Max wasn't sure what to think, and I couldn't help but document having two grandmas in Vegas at the same time!
Thank you Grandma Sue for all your help the past four weeks. Welcome Grandma Debbie, hope you are ready for all our craziness!
***Before leaving for the airport, I went to put a sleeper on Lyla, there was no way I was going to zip it up, I had to get out a size 3-6 months! My baby is growing so fast!!***
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Mommy's Frusturation Part 2
Apparently Lyla knew that she pretty much had me at my breaking point, because the last couple of days she has been a much better baby! Although, I am writing this before 5am, we just had a great night's sleep.
Sadly I think it is all due to me cutting chocolate out of my diet. She had been so fussy and gassy at night, so I got to thinking, what am I consistently eating that may be upsetting her? Chocolate and coffee were the answer. My next question was how long does it take a food to reach my milk? I decided it was easiest to cut out chocolate for a little experiment.
Well, two days without chocolate has equalled two good nights of sleep.
Anyone who knows me knows, that I am a chocoholic, I seldom go a day without chocolate. I keep chocolate chips on hand in the fridge for when my kids are stressing me out or for an evening snack. Eliminating chocolate from my diet is going to be hard, but if it makes for a happy baby, I guess it is a sacrafice I will happily make.
Can babies outgrow a reaction to a food mommy eats?
(Here's an article I found that proves my theory that she could be affected by the chocolate).
http://www.babycenter.com/404_are-there-any-foods-i-should-avoid-while-breastfeeding_8906.bc
Sadly I think it is all due to me cutting chocolate out of my diet. She had been so fussy and gassy at night, so I got to thinking, what am I consistently eating that may be upsetting her? Chocolate and coffee were the answer. My next question was how long does it take a food to reach my milk? I decided it was easiest to cut out chocolate for a little experiment.
Well, two days without chocolate has equalled two good nights of sleep.
Anyone who knows me knows, that I am a chocoholic, I seldom go a day without chocolate. I keep chocolate chips on hand in the fridge for when my kids are stressing me out or for an evening snack. Eliminating chocolate from my diet is going to be hard, but if it makes for a happy baby, I guess it is a sacrafice I will happily make.
Can babies outgrow a reaction to a food mommy eats?
(Here's an article I found that proves my theory that she could be affected by the chocolate).
http://www.babycenter.com/404_are-there-any-foods-i-should-avoid-while-breastfeeding_8906.bc
Monday, March 28, 2011
Hidden Camera?
Sometimes I wish we had a camera constantly running in our home, so that we could catch funny moments or sweet converstations among brothers. This morning was a prime example of why I wish we had a camera hidden.
Lyla was sitting in her carseat sleeping, which is where she slept all night. The handle was up because I had just carried her downstairs. Max was bent over so that he could fit under the handle to give Lyla a kiss. He was just about touching her forehead with his lips when she let out a very loud fart. Instantly, Max backed out of the kiss, looked up at me with a very surprised look on his face and said, "she fart!"
Hilarious!!!
Lyla was sitting in her carseat sleeping, which is where she slept all night. The handle was up because I had just carried her downstairs. Max was bent over so that he could fit under the handle to give Lyla a kiss. He was just about touching her forehead with his lips when she let out a very loud fart. Instantly, Max backed out of the kiss, looked up at me with a very surprised look on his face and said, "she fart!"
Hilarious!!!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Mommy's Frusturation
I know that while on maternity leave my "job," is to take care of the baby. My life is revolving around feedings that take a half hour, followed by a diaper change, if I'm lucky that follows by a peaceful hour and a half sleep or playtime until the next feeding. However, more times than not, this hour and a half involves long burping sessions, or walking/bouncing around the living room trying to get her to calm down.
On days that the boys don't go to preschool, I spend my time breaking up fights, driving them to the park, museum, or library. All of which, is time well spent, but there is no product to show for how we spent our time at the end of the day, which makes me feel unproductive.
Even though, I know, that everything I do for them is productive, I just can't help think that I am getting nothing accomplished for the day. I keep thinking that I am "wasting," time. I know I shouldn't get frusturated, it is just so hard to get out of the working mom frame of mind, where productivity is measured by grading papers, completing homework, ect.
Although, I do enjoy every minute of spending time with my kids, it is afterwords that I feel an overwhelming sense of stress, because I don't have my homework done yet, or I didn't get a chance to print that picture I wanted to put in the baby book, or I didn't get around to paying a bill.
Do all stay at home mommies feel such frusturation?
On days that the boys don't go to preschool, I spend my time breaking up fights, driving them to the park, museum, or library. All of which, is time well spent, but there is no product to show for how we spent our time at the end of the day, which makes me feel unproductive.
Even though, I know, that everything I do for them is productive, I just can't help think that I am getting nothing accomplished for the day. I keep thinking that I am "wasting," time. I know I shouldn't get frusturated, it is just so hard to get out of the working mom frame of mind, where productivity is measured by grading papers, completing homework, ect.
Although, I do enjoy every minute of spending time with my kids, it is afterwords that I feel an overwhelming sense of stress, because I don't have my homework done yet, or I didn't get a chance to print that picture I wanted to put in the baby book, or I didn't get around to paying a bill.
Do all stay at home mommies feel such frusturation?
Thursday, March 24, 2011
An Apple a Day keeps the Doctor Away
Ahhhh, finally we have made it through a whole week of not going to the doctor!
Since Lyla has been born, I feel like all I have done is run the roads back and forth from the doctor's office and home.
First, of course, was an appointment for me, to get my staples removed. Then Lyla had to have her check-up a week after we were home from the hospital. We combined her check-up with Owen's 4 year well check. Owen got a clean bill of health, but we were told that Lyla did not weigh enough, and she would have to come back a week later to be weighed. So, the next week we went for a weigh in. Before that, however, we had to take her back to the hospital to have her new born hearing test re-done because she didn't pass it the first time in the hospital. (She passed it this time). On Saturday night, I spent the evening in the ER with an infection in my arm from my IV. The next week, on Monday I had my post op appointment and on Friday, Owen woke up with red eyes, so we headed in with a concern of pink eye. Then the following Tuesday, we took Lyla to her one month well check and combined that appointment with Max's 2 year well check. The next day, Owen woke up with a terrible cough that sounded a lot like croup to me, so I took him in, but apparently he was in perfect health. So that was a trip we could have done without.
Finally, we were able to enjoy a week of zero doctor's appointments!!
Since Lyla has been born, I feel like all I have done is run the roads back and forth from the doctor's office and home.
First, of course, was an appointment for me, to get my staples removed. Then Lyla had to have her check-up a week after we were home from the hospital. We combined her check-up with Owen's 4 year well check. Owen got a clean bill of health, but we were told that Lyla did not weigh enough, and she would have to come back a week later to be weighed. So, the next week we went for a weigh in. Before that, however, we had to take her back to the hospital to have her new born hearing test re-done because she didn't pass it the first time in the hospital. (She passed it this time). On Saturday night, I spent the evening in the ER with an infection in my arm from my IV. The next week, on Monday I had my post op appointment and on Friday, Owen woke up with red eyes, so we headed in with a concern of pink eye. Then the following Tuesday, we took Lyla to her one month well check and combined that appointment with Max's 2 year well check. The next day, Owen woke up with a terrible cough that sounded a lot like croup to me, so I took him in, but apparently he was in perfect health. So that was a trip we could have done without.
Finally, we were able to enjoy a week of zero doctor's appointments!!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Ice Cream, Ice Cream, Do you Want some Ice Cream?
For Christmas, Max received a wooden ice cream set, by Melissa and Doug. It came with two ice cream cones, two ice cream scoopers, and four scoops of ice cream. All of the pieces are magnetic, so he can use the scoop to pick up the ice cream, and then once placed on the cone it sticks on the magnet, it is really cool. He also received a grocery cart, because he loves to push things around.
Well, these two gifts have merged into an ice cream cart. The ice cream kit is always kept in this cart and Max will push it around and serve us ice cream out of it.
I thought it was cute a few weeks ago, when I was at the kitchen table working on my homework and he came and served me some ice cream. Then he fixed a second cone, turned around to give it to Owen only to discover that Owen wasn't there. He asked me where he was, I said, upstairs, so he grabbed the cone and headed up the stairs yelling, "Owen, ice cream!"
As if that wasn't cute enough, a couple of weeks ago, I walked into the family room to discover that Max was serving his sister ice cream.
I am very happy that he already wants to include his sister in his play.
Well, these two gifts have merged into an ice cream cart. The ice cream kit is always kept in this cart and Max will push it around and serve us ice cream out of it.
I thought it was cute a few weeks ago, when I was at the kitchen table working on my homework and he came and served me some ice cream. Then he fixed a second cone, turned around to give it to Owen only to discover that Owen wasn't there. He asked me where he was, I said, upstairs, so he grabbed the cone and headed up the stairs yelling, "Owen, ice cream!"
As if that wasn't cute enough, a couple of weeks ago, I walked into the family room to discover that Max was serving his sister ice cream.
I am very happy that he already wants to include his sister in his play.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Big Accomplishments for Owen
Obviously there have been some changes in our household with the introduction of our new little one. Thanksfully, the biggest change is that Owen is becoming more independent. Some may think that what they are about to read is not much of an acoomplishment for a four-year-old, because a lot of younger kids can do this, but Owen is just one of those kids who can do things, but refuses to be independent, so I am excited that he is becoming a little more independent these days, it is a big help for me.
To make room for Lyla in the van Owen has to sit in the way back seat. This means that it is very difficult for an adult to reach back there and buckle him. I told him one day that he is four years old and he should be able to buckle himself. After a couple of days he mastered being able to buckle himself into his booster carseat! He even makes sure that the car does not move until he is buckled.
While Uncle Chad was here at the end of February, he made Owen put on his own socks before Owen could go for a walk with him. I sat on the couch feeding Lyla watching Owen put on his socks and my jaw hit the floor. Of course, I am at fault for not making him dress himself in the morning, because if I did, I would be over an hour late for work. But now that I have witnessed that he can do this, I am trying to work it in to our routine. I tried it out yesterday, when we were trying to get out the door to the doctor's office. I was still feeding Lyla and we needed to leave as soon as I was done. So, I told Owen he had to put on his own socks and shoes (of course I would tie them). I did have to promise him a dum-dum sucker for this accomplishment, but he did it!!!
I have already known that he knows how to put on his shirt and pants, but again, the refusal to do it and the time constraint for getting out the door, meant that I just helped him. The other day, a delivery man showed up at the door and Owen was only wearing his underwear (I don't remember why). I looked down to realize that he only had underwear on and said, "you better get your pants on or you can't go out and look at the delivery truck." He was back to the door in less than 30 seconds with his pants on. So, not only can he do it, he is a pro at it.
Lastly, Owen has become so independent with his use of technology. He can completely run the remote control (all three of them)! When he wants to watch a DVD he knows to get the black remote and push the input button until the screen turns to the channel to view a DVD, then he knows exactly which buttons to push to run the DVD player, complete with selecting the episodes, or turning the DVD to a new language (for some reason he is in to watching his DVDs in Spanish).
Yesterday, he wanted to play his SmartCycle game, which is upstairs and has to be plugged into the TV and turned to the correct channel. I was feeding Lyla and couldn't help him right away. I told him to go upstairs and try it on his own. At first he said, "I can't." When I insisted he try, he went upstairs, and to my surprise had the game up and running all by himself and played for over an hour!
I often sit back and wonder, where did my little baby go and how could he possibly have turned into this child that can hold a coherent converstation and follow complex directions, in just four short years!
I couldn't be more proud of all of these little accomplishments and discoveries he makes!
To make room for Lyla in the van Owen has to sit in the way back seat. This means that it is very difficult for an adult to reach back there and buckle him. I told him one day that he is four years old and he should be able to buckle himself. After a couple of days he mastered being able to buckle himself into his booster carseat! He even makes sure that the car does not move until he is buckled.
While Uncle Chad was here at the end of February, he made Owen put on his own socks before Owen could go for a walk with him. I sat on the couch feeding Lyla watching Owen put on his socks and my jaw hit the floor. Of course, I am at fault for not making him dress himself in the morning, because if I did, I would be over an hour late for work. But now that I have witnessed that he can do this, I am trying to work it in to our routine. I tried it out yesterday, when we were trying to get out the door to the doctor's office. I was still feeding Lyla and we needed to leave as soon as I was done. So, I told Owen he had to put on his own socks and shoes (of course I would tie them). I did have to promise him a dum-dum sucker for this accomplishment, but he did it!!!
I have already known that he knows how to put on his shirt and pants, but again, the refusal to do it and the time constraint for getting out the door, meant that I just helped him. The other day, a delivery man showed up at the door and Owen was only wearing his underwear (I don't remember why). I looked down to realize that he only had underwear on and said, "you better get your pants on or you can't go out and look at the delivery truck." He was back to the door in less than 30 seconds with his pants on. So, not only can he do it, he is a pro at it.
Lastly, Owen has become so independent with his use of technology. He can completely run the remote control (all three of them)! When he wants to watch a DVD he knows to get the black remote and push the input button until the screen turns to the channel to view a DVD, then he knows exactly which buttons to push to run the DVD player, complete with selecting the episodes, or turning the DVD to a new language (for some reason he is in to watching his DVDs in Spanish).
Yesterday, he wanted to play his SmartCycle game, which is upstairs and has to be plugged into the TV and turned to the correct channel. I was feeding Lyla and couldn't help him right away. I told him to go upstairs and try it on his own. At first he said, "I can't." When I insisted he try, he went upstairs, and to my surprise had the game up and running all by himself and played for over an hour!
I often sit back and wonder, where did my little baby go and how could he possibly have turned into this child that can hold a coherent converstation and follow complex directions, in just four short years!
I couldn't be more proud of all of these little accomplishments and discoveries he makes!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Summer Reading List
For the past few months, we have been making weekly trips to the public library to get more DVDs for Owen. The DVDs can only be checked out for a week, which forces us to make the weekly trip to turn them in. Of course, he insists on getting more each week, which has resulted in a never ending cycle!
My point is that these trips to the library make me really want to check out a book. I absolutely love to read, however, with working on my Master's, working full-time, and raising a family, my spare time is limited. Well, and I love my sleep more than I love to read!:)
When I took Owen to the library on Monday, I decided to go ahead and get a book, I have a little bit of time every two hours, to sit and read a book, while I feed Lyla. Finally having a good book to read, leads me to think about all of the spare time I will have once I have finished my Masters, in just 5 more weeks!! (Who's counting)?
I am always reading books by the same author, Mary Higgins Clark, Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts. I would like to branch out a bit and try new books, but never know where to start. So, I found a summer reading list that Random House puts out. I think I will select a couple from this website and maybe fall in love with a new author! http://www.randomhouse.com/
My point is that these trips to the library make me really want to check out a book. I absolutely love to read, however, with working on my Master's, working full-time, and raising a family, my spare time is limited. Well, and I love my sleep more than I love to read!:)
When I took Owen to the library on Monday, I decided to go ahead and get a book, I have a little bit of time every two hours, to sit and read a book, while I feed Lyla. Finally having a good book to read, leads me to think about all of the spare time I will have once I have finished my Masters, in just 5 more weeks!! (Who's counting)?
I am always reading books by the same author, Mary Higgins Clark, Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts. I would like to branch out a bit and try new books, but never know where to start. So, I found a summer reading list that Random House puts out. I think I will select a couple from this website and maybe fall in love with a new author! http://www.randomhouse.com/
Sunday, March 13, 2011
New Playground
In December we moved to our new home. This house has a significantly larger backyard then we had before. I thought it might be nice to splurge on a playset for the kids. I thought they would enjoy it and it would be something to keep them occupied for hopefully long periods of time!
We ordered it about a week ago and it was just delivered on Friday. I didn't tell Owen what was coming, but he knew that we were waiting for a delivery guy to come between the hours of 1-4 p.m. When the guy finally got there, Owen and I were standing in the garage waiting for him to get the two big boxes off the huge semi he had parked in the middle of our street. During this time, Owen was pestering me to tell him what the surprise was. He kept asking, "what is it, Mommy?" to which I would reply, "just wait, it's a surprise!"
At one point while he was waiting he just couldn't stand it anymore, he turned to me tugged on my shirt and said, "TALK TO ME, WHAT IS IT?!?!" I just laughed at this, and still did not spill the surprise!
When the delivery guy finally brought the boxes into the garage, Owen happily declared that it was a playground!
Here is a picture of what it looks like.
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1630458
It is taking a long time to put together, to which Owen and Max are being very patient. They are enjoying sitting on top in the treehouse part, while Daddy works on the rest of it!
I think we will get lots of use out of this in the upcoming years, and I am very excited to finally be able to push one of my babies in a baby swing in our backyard!
***Sunday afternoon on our way home from a friend's house, Owen asked, "Daddy, when we get home do you wanna help me put the playset together?"***
We ordered it about a week ago and it was just delivered on Friday. I didn't tell Owen what was coming, but he knew that we were waiting for a delivery guy to come between the hours of 1-4 p.m. When the guy finally got there, Owen and I were standing in the garage waiting for him to get the two big boxes off the huge semi he had parked in the middle of our street. During this time, Owen was pestering me to tell him what the surprise was. He kept asking, "what is it, Mommy?" to which I would reply, "just wait, it's a surprise!"
At one point while he was waiting he just couldn't stand it anymore, he turned to me tugged on my shirt and said, "TALK TO ME, WHAT IS IT?!?!" I just laughed at this, and still did not spill the surprise!
When the delivery guy finally brought the boxes into the garage, Owen happily declared that it was a playground!
Here is a picture of what it looks like.
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1630458
It is taking a long time to put together, to which Owen and Max are being very patient. They are enjoying sitting on top in the treehouse part, while Daddy works on the rest of it!
I think we will get lots of use out of this in the upcoming years, and I am very excited to finally be able to push one of my babies in a baby swing in our backyard!
***Sunday afternoon on our way home from a friend's house, Owen asked, "Daddy, when we get home do you wanna help me put the playset together?"***
Monday, March 7, 2011
Birthday Season in Review
Since Owen's 2nd birthday, I have been getting more and more creative with the cake decorating and I must say I have been getting better and better at it.
Now that the birthday season in the Romzek household has officially ended, I thought I would recap and display what I think is my best cake decorating yet!
Owen Thomas, turned 4 years-old on February 4th. He reguested a Thomas the Train themed birthday party, so I decided to give it a try and create a Thomas the Train birthday cake. I was pleased with how it turned out, and Owen was thrilled, as well. He ate Thomas' eye!
On March 3rd, Maxwell Turner turned 2 years-old. We had a monkey themed party for him the Saturday before his official birthday, but the poor little guy wasn't really feeling good. So, although I made a monkey cake for his birthday party, I also made him an airplane cake on his actual birthday, since he is obsessed with airplanes.
Next year, we will add a another birthday party and birthday cake for Lyla Anne. She was our surprise Valentine, so I am thinking I may need to make a cake with a Valentine's Day theme. I am also already planning her second birthday to be a daisy shaped cake since her room and bedding is decorated with daisies. I know that is as far as I can plan ahead, because once kids turn three they start to have their own ideas of what kind of birthday they want.
I look forward to making more cakes and cupcakes for all different occasions in the future. Although, sometimes I get ideas in my head, but am not quite sure how to execute them. That's when I look to the internet for some ideas. Even if I do not copy exactly from an image I find, it does help me brainstorm my idea.
Here is a link to a website with lots of ideas and helpful tips that I think I will be looking at for ideas in the future.
http://cake-decorating.lovetoknow.com/Category:Cake_Design_Ideas
Now that the birthday season in the Romzek household has officially ended, I thought I would recap and display what I think is my best cake decorating yet!
Owen Thomas, turned 4 years-old on February 4th. He reguested a Thomas the Train themed birthday party, so I decided to give it a try and create a Thomas the Train birthday cake. I was pleased with how it turned out, and Owen was thrilled, as well. He ate Thomas' eye!
On March 3rd, Maxwell Turner turned 2 years-old. We had a monkey themed party for him the Saturday before his official birthday, but the poor little guy wasn't really feeling good. So, although I made a monkey cake for his birthday party, I also made him an airplane cake on his actual birthday, since he is obsessed with airplanes.
Next year, we will add a another birthday party and birthday cake for Lyla Anne. She was our surprise Valentine, so I am thinking I may need to make a cake with a Valentine's Day theme. I am also already planning her second birthday to be a daisy shaped cake since her room and bedding is decorated with daisies. I know that is as far as I can plan ahead, because once kids turn three they start to have their own ideas of what kind of birthday they want.
I look forward to making more cakes and cupcakes for all different occasions in the future. Although, sometimes I get ideas in my head, but am not quite sure how to execute them. That's when I look to the internet for some ideas. Even if I do not copy exactly from an image I find, it does help me brainstorm my idea.
Here is a link to a website with lots of ideas and helpful tips that I think I will be looking at for ideas in the future.
http://cake-decorating.lovetoknow.com/Category:Cake_Design_Ideas
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