Planning the summer...

So, Claire had strep in February.  Then a cold.  Then the Flu and Strep again... at the same time.  Then a stomach bug. How much illness can life throw at a kid in such a short time?!?!?

We've been pretty stressed out here in the household.  Claire hasn't gotten a ton of time outside, but when she feels up to it, we go outside and enjoy the weather.  Recently, she loves "gardening" with Dada.  Bryce is weeding the front patch of grass so we can try and get some actual grass there instead of weeds and mud. We have flowers out; it's looking quite pretty.

We just planned out the next few months of travel.  Bryce is going to Dallas the weekend of April 22nd to spend time with a couple friends.  It's a birthday present from me to him.  A weekend with the boys.

Grammie and Poppy are coming to town on May 5th.  Why? Because Bryce and I are headed to London on May 10th to 18th! We're starting to make a trip to Europe a yearly thing, and it is so nice! When I come back from those trips, I can't wait to hug and kiss Claire, so it's quite worth it.  I'm not as burned out as I get about this time of year when I've been cooped up indoors for months due to the winter. Although, we are coming back during the NATO/G8 protests.  Hurray.

Pictures for Claire's 3rd birthday in early June; then we head to the Caymans end of June for the yearly Caymans trip. Then to Grammie's house for Claire and I for two weeks.  Hopefully, she'll have closed on the new place by then and Claire (and I) can see it and help her unpack!

For the first time in a few years, I'll be here in Chicago for the entire month of August.  Good thing and bad thing.  It's hot here, but it's hotter in Florida, so I don't mind it too much.

Grammie should be coming for her yearly October trip, but that's a bit farther down the line, and we haven't planned that yet.

I'm getting rid of all my baby stuff.  I'm not sure if we are having any more children, and I don't feel like keeping tons of stuff around that may or may not get used.  The only stuff I'm keeping stashed are my baby carriers.  Claire will still be worn occasionally, and they have been invaluable in the past.  She fell asleep in the ring sling when I visite my mom in January! It was a lifesaver since Claire was refusing to nap the whole time we were there.  The whining was unbearable.  Ring sling to save the day! And that was a loaner.  I just purchased another one (inexpensively), so that I have something for this summer in case we have a repeat of the last trip.

Claire is getting so big and so beautiful.  She is so smart and makes me laugh every day.  She makes incredibly detailed observations about things; We were out for lunch yesterday, and had just parked the car.  She looked and said, "Look! A frozen yogurt place!" Bryce and I could not see the place because of the "noise" of all the other business' signs and flashy lights, but when I focused in, I saw it! She is really great at recognition and processing.

Claire still has issues with sound.  We bought a noise reduction headset to help with it.  I am hoping it helps her process a little easier when we go to concerts or music classes.  She seems to want to do music oriented events, but all the noise is so overwhelming.  But we've seen some progress.  We went to a Justin Roberts concert in between illnesses this past month, and even though the first two songs were a little intense for her, when it got to "Gym Class Parachute," she started rocking out!

That's it for my current update.  I'll try to keep up with this more.  The time just escapes me!

February

So, it's been a crazy time in the Wittekind household.  Claire got strep, then a cold, then we had my in laws visit, then we realized we needed all new pots and pans because the nonstick was ruined (and we're done with nonstick, by the way).

Bryce was soooo emo about turning 34.  Seriously.  He didn't have a problem with 30, but 34 made him feel elderly.

Valentine's Day was the next day, and Claire and I made valentines for all her friends and for Daddy.  And then late in the afternoon she started feeling really crappy.  Went to the pediatrician's the next day - Strep!  Boo.  But she got antibiotics... and then a sniffly, fevery cold.  But she has survived to destroy another day.

In laws came, not a bad visit!  Went really well.  C was pretty well behaved for dinner the first night, great behavior for the babysitter the next night, and terrible at the hotel the last night.  Ahh, well, can't have perfection from a two year old.

Daddy had a fabulous dinner at the Capital Grille before the babysitter contacted us to tell us it wasn't going so well with Claire.  And he got to try out the Jalapeno Vodka (which was apparently tasty) at the hotel we were in, the Trump downtown. I also got an amazing pair of shoes purchased by my mother-in-law.  Seriously AMAZING pair of shoes. Claire got hooked up from Carter's.  Everything turned out pretty well!

Pots and pans have gone to hell in a handbasket.  We are working on replacing them now.  I've already thrown out the two worst ones.  Now, Bryce has to decide on the best ones to get. Leave it to the non-cooker to pick pots and pans! LOL!

We are finally working on barstools for the kitchen island.  Only has taken over a year.  Oops.  And our TV needs replacing ASAP.  The picture keeps dying. Looks like Bryce's bonus is going to be going to some good use very quickly!

And, everything has been set in stone for a trip to London.  Grammie and Poppy are coming up to watch Claire, and Bryce and Megan are going to England.  Woo hoo!

...Lest Ye Be Judged

So, today I had a big realization.  And it was epically big.  And shameful.

I am such a snobby judger.

Sure, apparently some things I am very open-minded about.  Breast vs. Bottle.  Co-Sleeping (not my thing, but do whatever you need to to get more sleep!).  Parenting styles.  You know, all the little things us moms stress about on a daily basis.

And then I read an article linked on Facebook.

It started off talking about judging others.  And the first paragraph pissed me off so much, I wouldn't read farther (where she apparently talked about how you shouldn't judge others). It made me so angry.  How dare she judge my decision to formula feed when she had no idea of my health needs?  How could a person be so nasty!

And, that would be a big freaking arrow pointing right at me. Judgy McJudgerson.

I make snap judgments all the time.  All the freakin' time.  I assume I know what other drivers are thinking, or why my neighbor upstairs has to use the darned vaccuum cleaner on her hardwood floors (I love you still, Sarah!), or why people would go to Walmart vs. the infinitely cleaner Target, or why people drink themselves into oblivion, etc.  I could totally go on, but you are already getting an idea of what a crappy person I am, so I don't need to go any further.

So, there I was, judging this writer, and not giving her the time to hear her whole story out.  And I judged her on the first paragraph alone. I was pretty sickened by my behavior.  I couldn't even read the rest of the comments because I was so ashamed.

What have I learned from this?

1.  Give people some time to get their words out before making up your mind about them.  Sometimes, things don't start out too well, but they can get better.  Not all relationships are going to start out as great as they did with your husband!

2. When making a snap judgment, figure out if it is based on facts, not just stereotypes, past experiences can created a bad judgment situation.

3. Just because a situation looks crappy or easily judged on the surface, that's not always the case.  Not everyone who is poor is unhappy and miserable, not everyone who is rich is happy and successful.

And I'll have to keep practicing these mantras every day. Because if I'm not being fair to all the people around me, I am sure as heck not being fair to myself.

So... Wow, January.

Literally the day I made my last post, we realized my brand new laptop had a major sound issue.  I spent a couple hours on customer support and it was unfixable.  So it went back to HP, and we *just* received this one a couple days ago. It was, to say the least, a tad bit annoying. Any way!

So the weather has been crazy here, as well as our lives.  We did New Year's Eve with two other families.  Everyone went back to their respective homes at 9pm.  We're big partiers! Then, the following week, I got sick.  And then Claire got sick.  And our refrigerator/freezer went out right after we bought a load of groceries. I got up at 2:45 in the morning to clean out the broken fridge and freezer and stayed up watching Glee and Portlandia.  I thoroughly enjoyed at least part of that. But I got no sleep, and that was the day C started really getting sick with my cold. Claire's already crappy sleep got even crappier.  The next day - Friday - I finally couldn't take it anymore.  Claire was running a fever, puked everywhere, and I was feeling terrible.  I called Bryce and made him come home from work and provide some relief. What a crappy week that was.

I talked to my mom this weekend and she decided she was buying a house - not on a dirt road, and within city limits.  Wow! I think it's awesome! Finally out of the boondocks (relatively).  I'm so proud of them! So, Claire and I are going to Florida next week so I can help my mom with choosing a house.  Pretty cool, right? Except I had to find a cheap flight.  I was so excited to find Spirit had super cheap fares and flew out of the nearest airport (O'Hare).  So, I went through the booking process.  Ugh!  I was so angry and annoyed by the time I finished, that I almost didn't go with them.  They were still marginally cheaper than even Southwest, so I did it.  But really? I had to pay to even choose the cheapest seats so I could ensure that I sit next to my 2 year old.  And their bag fees were ridiculous. Who makes you pay for a carryon?  Oh, that's right. Spirit. I fly a lot, and I found the Spirit website misleading at the very least.  So, even though I grudgingly went with them because I am flying last minute, I will not use them in the future.  Oh, and $111.00 in fees on a $136.00 trip? I call bullshit.  Sorry. (This is not including the BS baggage and carryon fees)

We bought a Sleep Buddy for Claire.  It hasn't arrived yet, but I am eagerly awaiting its arrival.  Sleep has become such a trial for us, that it makes me doubt that we'll ever have any more kids. She is a mess if we try to take out the nap, she's a mess if we put her down at bedtime.  She literally takes hours to go down.  I am at my wits' end, really. I'm hoping the Sleep Buddy does the trick.  It basically is a programmable light that turns on when they are supposed to be in bed - and stay there - until it turns off in the morning.  I hope Claire is sold on it.  I feel like I've tried everything. This is payback for 2 years of good sleep from her.  Ha!

We're considering preschool, but Holy Moly! It's expensive.  And our local public school just shuttered it's tuition based preschool program due to growing pains.  They needed an extra Kindergarten classroom, so the tuition based program got cut.  So, I have to start hunting down an affordable program.  Anyone have any ideas?

I'm back!

Ta da!  I'm back!  I have a new laptop, so this should be a whole lot easier than me trying to update from my phone with a yelling Claire in the background saying, "Play with Mommy's iPhone, please?"

So the Christmas trip went swimmingly! We flew down to Jacksonville on December 19th, and spent a few days with my parents.  Claire was very excited to see everyone - which is a vast improvement over her being terrified of my Dad's beard. I'd say that "Gammie," "Poppy," and "Uncle Sef" enjoyed their time with the munchkin and seemed pretty sad to see us go.  Uncle Seth got Claire a super cool Astronaut suit, which Claire was terrified of at first.  After we went to Nana Jan's house in North Palm Beach, though, she loved it! Grammie and Poppy got Claire a Kid Camera (VTech Kidzoom).  Talk about a hit!  We now have hundreds of pictures of blurry Claire legs.  She is in love!

So, the big hit with Daddy.  My mom got EVERYONE this helicopter that can be flown around - inside.  Bryce was seriously so amazed by it, he went out the next day (literally) and bought one for himself.  And broke it within hours.  (side note, we took it back and found out that the possession of the aircraft was user error - first on, last off when it comes to Remote Control).  But it wasn't too hard to fix - just a bruised ego and a $4 piece of plastic.

I gave my parents a new coffee table.  Or, at least, I tried.  It came in before we got there, and was damaged.  Not sealed properly, and gouges galore.  We got the company to make it good, and my parents got a new one delivered - it was screwed up, too.  So, total refund of monies, and I'm back in the coffee table hunt.  We will make this good, darn it!

We didn't get to see any friends in Gainesville this time around.  Audra was sick, Lorrie was not in town yet, and no one else was coming in until the weekend.  *insert sad face here*

We drove down to North Palm Beach on Thursday, the 22nd.  Wow.  The drivers were absolutely terrible.  Freaking awful.  So many people sitting in the fast lane going way under the speed limit, while everyone had to pass them in the SLOW lane.  And then, someone wasn't paying attention (and didn't seem to give a crap), and ran us onto the shoulder.  They were going extra slow in the passing lane, realized they needed to get over two lanes, and just did.  Without looking at who was in the lane.  And we were driving a boat of a rental car.  I can't figure out how they could've missed us.

We got to see Grandpa Gary in Ocala at Cracker Barrel.  Claire was a little shy, but eventually warmed up.  He has the Grandaddy of all RVs.  That thing is huge and fancy!  Claire got a Beanie Ball Bumblebee which she loved on the entire trip down to North Palm Beach. She loves editions to her stuffed animal collection!

We got to North Palm Beach and went out to dinner.  Claire was so darned exhausted that she was in her unreasonable state.  Nothing could please her, nothing was good enough.  So all during dinner, Bryce and I took turns going in and out of the restaurant, observing the fountain, the stars, the rocks, the Christmas lights.  She even loved the squishy fake grapes on the polls outside the restaurant. On reentering the restaurant, however, her obsession with Christmas trees ended up with an ornament tragedy. Apparently, nice trendy restaurants in North Palm use CRYSTAL freaking ornaments on their trees, all within little kid grasp.  So, a certain curious monkey touched a blue fishy ornament, and CRASH! Tinkle, Tinkle! Dun, dun, dun. The restaurant was awesome about it - I apologized, (I made) Claire apologize, but they were more worried that Claire didn't get cut by the glass.  Pretty cool.

Friday, Claire got to ride the carousel with Auntie Shana and Nana.  And then rode the Tot Train!  She loved it!  Of course, she had to wave to me every time the carousel went by my location.  It was precious.  And seriously, that was the coolest music I've ever heard from a Tot Train.  Nana saw a doggy boutique after we got done and bought herself a doggy stroller.  She received quite a bit of ribbing for that.  But we tried it out later, with Claire in her little umbrella stroller, and the doggies in their little stroller, and everyone was pretty happy.

We got to see Bryce's friend Andrew on the 24th, before the Christmas party at his mom's.  We went to the beach at MacArthur State Park.  Claire was so darned excited by it all.  We received an epic tantrum when we had to leave.  Part tiredness and part excitement fueled quite an embarrassing flip out on her part.  I didn't realize until I had walked past this Muslim family, but my bathing suit had slipped and I had flashed them.  Oi.  Well, when you have a toddler sobbing uncontrollably on your shoulder, some things are bound to be missed.

The Christmas party was strangely subdued this year. The pictures were done by the same people who did Claire's pictures a few weeks ago.  They looked awesome. Claire got a cute tea set from Bryce's Aunt's sister (Claire - she's been partial to my munchkin of the same name). Bryce made the filet mignon this year (with some help from Ed), and he did an amazing job.  Dinner was super late, though - 10 pm.  Claire went to bed right after. I think I did as well.

Christmas Day, Bryce, Claire, and I were up at 8:30 with his mom.  Nobody else rolled in until 10:30ish. We didn't open presents until 11:30.  That was rough trying to keep Claire entertained until everyone showed up. Santa and Nana got Claire all the Thomas the Tank Engine trains and sets she could ever want.  Auntie Shana got Claire a Twilight Turtle, which, at the moment, might beat out Thomas.  Every single night, she has to turn on the turtle and display the night sky on her ceiling and walls.  And when she wakes up in the middle of the night, the same thing.  She adores it.   Although, it's becoming a bit of an issue when she wakes up crying, saying, "My light up turtle! My light up turtle is broken!" Then we have to go down, turn it on, put her back to sleep. Does anyone know where they sell adapters to keep that thing on all night?

The flight back was totally not cool.  I'm done with American Airlines.  Totally done.  On the way down, the person announcing allowed families to board, which is crucial for us because we have a car seat to install.  It takes a bit of time with the tightening down, then getting Claire strapped in.  Well, on the way back, they didn't give us family boarding.  They announced First Class/Priority Access.  Then the chick just totally didn't pay attention to what the ticket checker person was doing.  He went ahead and scanned everyone and their brother in that walked up.  So all these families are waiting, and it gets down to just the families and ten other people when a lady pipes up, "Who is boarding now? Because I just saw 2 Group 2's board, and I thought we were doing First Class/Priority Access." The lady rushes over, confers with her ticket person, and then allows all the groups to board.  Awesome.  Thanks guys.  So helpful for all the families to have to wade through everyone because you guys are uncoordinated.  Then, we get on and get to Row 31 (2nd to the last row), and. we try to install our car seat.  I mention to the flight attendant standing a row back that we really need a seat belt extender to install the car seat properly.  He just kind of blinks his eyes at me and motions that he'll get it (and keeps standing their slumped over the last seat).  Claire is screaming because she can't get in her seat, I finally say, "Claire, we can't put you in until your seat is installed properly.  We have to have the extender.  I hear a jingle, and the guy is literally shaking an extender in my face when I look up.  WTF?  Shaking it at me like I'm cattle? Moo. Then, when we put the extender on, it won't install the seat without unlatching itself. So we have to have the seat extremely loosely installed because the seat belt extender is a POS. We put Claire in it (and I'm cursing audibly at this point), they push away from the gate, and then we sit for 30 minutes in the same spot, unmoving.  When we finally take off, our flight attendant back in our area sits in his jump seat for 90% of the flight, picking his nose and dozing.  The other flight attendants took care of the whole plane, but I guess he couldn't be bothered. I'm so done with American.  I've been noticing during the last several trips how awful their service has been becoming, but this takes the cake.  Shame on you all, American Airlines.

When we got home, my laptop had arrived.  Yay! So here I am, typing away at it.  Couldn't be happier to not be typing up a post on my phone.

Strep and Halloween

Goodness, it's been a little while and that shouldn't have happened. The Plague, AKA Strep, hit the house, and that took me out for awhile. I took B down with me. I'm awesome like that. C avoided it *somehow* and my mom who is visiting has shown no signs of the Good Ship Strepipop pulling up to the dock yet. So, back to normal life we return. C will be celebrating her third Halloween this year! First Halloween she was a kitty cat; second a butterfly. This year, she will be a ... Garden Fairy Princess! Yes, this is what happens when Mommy says, "That cat costume is cool," and Daddy takes one look at the selection and (almost) squeals, "That fairy costume is perfect for her!" Some things you have to let Daddy win. I'm sad to report that I'm getting my butt kicked in Words with Friends; actually, it's about 50/50. Some people are so competitive; I love to play to build words. So whether you win or lose against me, I'm always having fun. Lame, but true. I need a good recipe for caramel apples; I'm off to search!

Decluttering

So, I've taken on the challenge of organizing. It's called The 40 bag challenge, or in my case, the 21 Bag Challenge. You list every area of your house to declutter. Then, once a day, you complete a task, from that list by removing a bag of crap from that area and throwing it away. I've gotten rid of so much junk. I think that Bryce is a hoarder. Maybe I was in a past life as well, but within the last couple months I've come to my senses and can't stand the crap anymore.

So far, I've decluttered:

Master bath
Kitchen sink
Claire's bath
Claire's closet
Claire's drawers
Guest closet and crawlspace

These were serious tasks. I'm taking on the pantry and kitchen cabinets and drawers next. But I feel like a battle hardened warrior now. I can conquer all!