The saga of a 4 year old

I'm in tears right now. 

Tears!

Tears because my four year old is refusing to get dressed for the 1 MILLIONTH TIME!!!  And I just don't have the energy or will to fight her anymore.  I just can't. Everytime we need to go somewhere it is a fight with me yelling and her yelling and finally time-out and toys taken away.  My patience is gone people!

This morning I wanted to take her to story-time at our local library and return a few books.  But does she want to get dressed for that?  No!  Yesterday, she went to school at our church.  Did she want to get ready for that?  No!  It is always a fight with her to get dressed, brush her teeth, and comb her hair, which usually results in us being late wherever we go (even though we start about an hour ahead of time).  And I am just done.

Done. Done. Done.

I love her to death, but this phase we are in right now where she has to fight me every step of the way is getting old.  My patience is gone, and I hope someday it will return.  Maybe that will be the day E stops fighting me and starts getting ready on her own... when she is like 16.

Breastfeeding and Me

In a few days M will be 6 months old.  That totally blows my mind!  But what really blows my mind is that I have breastfed him for 6 months. 

6 MONTHS! 

Woohoo! 

I made it.

I really didn't think I was going to make it to 6 months this time.  See, I haven't really enjoyed the breastfeeding thing this time around.  I have felt more tired, more emotional and just more trapped with it this time.  When E was a newborn,  I remember how hard it was to even get the breastfeeding down.  How I cried and cried for two weeks after she was born, because she had jaundice and just wouldn't wake up to feed.  But once she got over it, she was great.  I was great.  She breastfed for 13 months.

With M, it was easy in the beginning.  He was a pro at it and his jaundice was much easier to handle.  It was/is me that is the problem. I don't know what it is about this breastfeeding experience that I am not enjoying.  I really think, and this is me being truly honest, that I just feel so tied down with it.  I feel like I can't leave and go have some alone time without worrying if M is going to scream his little head off because he wants the boob.  Sigh...

I know I should be thankful that it has been easy for me, and that I have the milk to even do it.  And I know that he is getting lots of good antibodies from me.  But I am REALLY ready to stop.  And I would, except that I have a crazy, irrational fear of him getting sick (which is a whole different blog post), and it is FREE! 

Sigh....

So, I am going to celebrate that I made it to the 6 month mark again.  And I am going to keep at it, because I know the breastfeeding process will only get easier as he starts to eat more solid food. I hope that I can start to enjoy it more.

E at 6 weeks old

M at 1 month

Grandparents

When I was growing up, my brother and I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house in Dalworthington Gardens.  It was a beautiful house on a big lot... and I mean big!  The backyard was enormous and proved to be a great place for the imaginations of young children.  I have such fond memories of those years at their house and all the wonderful things my grandparents did for us.  They really were wonderful to us!  

I remember how my Grandma used to french-braid my hair (or try to) and make us milkshakes using vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup (that we never had at home by the way).  I remember cutting out biscuits for breakfast from the handmade dough, and how she used to sneak candy and drinks for us in her giant purse when she took us to the movies.  I remember her old station wagon and how we used to play in the back of the huge trunk (or on top of the car....cough, cough Andrew).  

I remember Granddad's office, playing with his printing calculator and rolling around in his "business" chair.  I  remember helping my granddad clean the fish he had just caught, blood and guts and all on the tailgateof his white chevy truck, and how he always using an electric knife. I remember listening to his old country albums in the gameroom and playing on the old 1960's pinball machine. 

It was an exciting time for us kids, being at the "Grands" house, and I am so thankful that I had that time with them.  

As I type this, E is spending the night with my mom and step-dad, aka "Grammy" and "Pawpaw".  E ADORES my mom and step-dad.  She usually can't wait to see them and always has such stories to tell when she comes home.  I am so glad she is making these memories with her "Grands".  I know they will have a lasting impression on her as she grows up.  My hope is that, like me, she will grow up and look back on the times she spent with Grammy and Pawpaw and remember them as fondly as I remember my childhood adventures.  

Grandparents are awesome!  And I am so glad that my children have THREE sets to make memories with.  What a blessing!  

  

(Side note:  My grandparents are still alive and E and M are currently making memories with their great-grandparents as well!)