Off to Retreat!

I am headed to women's retreat! I'm so sad about leaving Ryan, even though I know he'll have fun with daddy! His latest thing has been to say, "no Mommy, with you!" when I go somewhere and he wants to come! I'm hoping he doesn't do that today! Deep breath--I can do it!!

Still here, still swamped!

You might wonder by the title what I'm doing blogging, when I obviously have way too much to do! This is the first semester that I have taken 2 classes, and it is kicking my tail! All the due dates are on the same weeks--one class has Monday due dates, the other Tuesday! I'm trying hard to get it all done, and do everything else. Plus, I am going to women's retreat tomorrow--which I am super excited about, but just keep thinking of what I need to do first in order to leave! I'm not sure yet if my house is getting cleaned before I leave, because every year when I come home it is a complete disaster. So, do I clean it now, or clean when I get home, or both? I like to think that Jamie might be more mindful of his mess if the house is clean, but I'm not holding my breath! Yikes! I better get in gear!

Time Out Update!

Ryan got a timeout this morning and cried the entire two minutes! (Why am I excited about that?? Makes me feel so mean!) So, it looks like they are still working! We did watch Supernanny last night and realized that we were not giving him a talk before the time out started. We talked to him on the way to time out, but not when we sat him down. This seemed to have the desired effect of making timeout unpleasant again!

Any one else?

Now, I will say, that we have our fair share of time outs in the Brulotte house. Ryan spends his 2 minutes in the hallway against the wall and cries, we do the whole spiel (ala Supernanny) we give hugs, he says sorry, and all is better! Right?
Well, lately, if we have to give Ryan a warning, he has been putting himself in timeout. We'll tell him to stop and let him know it is a timeout if he does it again and turn around and Ryan is gone--sitting in the timeout spot in the hall!
It gets better! Last night, Jamie asked Ryan to come to his room so we could put him in bed. He turned and ran, but then obeyed and came to his room. Then, he starts throwing this huge fit, because he wants to go to "mimeout!" (timeout) Now, this makes me think that we are doing something wrong! Anyone else's kid throw fits because they don't get a timeout???? Ryan may have been trying to delay bedtime, but seriously? If he really wants to go to timeout, is it really having the desired effect??? Timeouts have worked really well with him, but this is making me wonder!

Week in Review

Since I've been lazy in posting this week, here is a re-cap!

Monday--found out Ryan had an ear infection, didn't get home from the doctor's until 5:30 and raced around like crazy people until bedtime. Seriously, I was so exhausted by the end of the day!

Tuesday--pretty normal day for us--not much to report!

Wednesday--I woke up feeling AWFUL. Fever, headache, nausea, dizzy, chills, aches. So, I stayed home and slept and Jamie did pretty much everything else. Seriously, he took Ryan to daycare in the morning, picked up Ryan, took the afternoon to work from home, took Ryan to church, made me lunch--everything! What a guy!

Thursday--I stayed home again--just wasn't feeling 100%, but I was able to handle the afternoon with Ryan. I did take him to Mindi's in the morning and I took a 2 1/2 hour nap!

Friday--I went to work and unfortunately, the grumpy teacher showed up today instead of the usually nice Mrs. Brulotte. I feel like I often have to start over with my little ones after a sub, and today they were pushing the limits! Jamie took Ryan back to the doctor this morning, and it sounds like the steroid is working and he is doing much better! No wheezing today! Madison came over this afternoon to nap and Ryan decided that screaming for a half hour would be a good way to help her nap better. They had fun playing when they got up. Later, Ryan played by himself and I actually got to cook dinner without a child hanging on me! We went to church to "help" Jamie set up the Grand Prix tonight. (we were not much help) Ryan had a blast watching the Upward games and throwing his ball all over the place.

Seriously, what a week! I'm exhausted and am ready to get my jammies on and watch a movie!

Seriously?

We were about to go to dinner with friends last night, and as I was getting Ryan ready to go, I noticed his ear was goopy. Which in the world of ear tubes, means an ear infection. SO, back to the pediatrician's office today and another $20 co-pay, just so they could confirm that it was in fact infected. The best part about the tubes is we only have to do 3 days of ear drops, and do not have to do an oral antibiotic. The worst part is that Ryan HATES the drops and three times a day, I have to hold him down to put them in! Hopefully this will clear up quickly and his breathing will also get better. I am trusting the Lord for His healing and that He will help take away my anxiety! It is really hard being a mommy of a sick little one!

This explains it...

Ryan has had a cough for about 10 days now. It went away totally for a few days and then came back with a vengance on Thursday. I decided to call the doctor and we took him in last night. Our appointment was at 7:40--ten minutes after Ryan goes to bed, but I felt like we needed to get him in.
The doctor listened to his breathing very closely and it seemed like she listened for a long time. She said it sounds like he has a mild case of asthma that might only flare up when he has a cold. This might be why it takes him so long to get over a cough. Anyway, this was obviously not what I wanted to hear, but at least there is a remedy. So, we are doing nebulizer treatments with the albuterol twice a day until the cough is gone, and will probably need to do this with every cold.
Poor little guy! He hates the mask with the inhaler, but doesn't mind the nebulizer at all, so at least that makes it a little easier.

Whew!

I don't really feel like I have a lot to blog tonight--I am SO exhausted! Ryan and I had a fun day, but it was also a day where he wanted to be picked up all the time, and he just kept saying, "mama?" over and over again! He is in his crib right now, continuing to say it! He definitely has a mind of his own, and his ideas often don't match with mommy's!

He is such a cutie, that he smiles and I have to really try hard not to smile or laugh when I am trying to discipline him! Tonight, he had a time out for running away and not coming when Jamie asked him to come to his room for bed, and after it was over, he just wanted to give us kisses! He is a sweetie, but he can be exhausting!

Back to Reality!

Tomorrow, I go back to work! Now, I have had a true vacation! Ryan and I spent the first week at home, mostly snowbound and I will admit that we both got cabin fever! But, the second week, (despite the travel drama) was spent in Washington with family and was fairly relaxing. The best part?? This last week, Jamie took the entire week off and we had a whole week at home! Can I tell you how great it was??? I got organized, I cleaned out closets, I ran kid-free errands, I slept in, we went to Gilbert house, etc, etc. It was a real vacation--just spent at home! I will admit, that I wondered if Jamie would drive me nuts being home all week, but it was FABULOUS!!! Just not having to be the only parent home was great and I actually was able to use the restroom uninterrupted ALL week! It is going to be hard to get back into our routine and be back at work this week, and I'm wondering how he'll do after missing 3 weeks of daycare! (Although, they did get a puppy at Mindi's, so I'm thinking that might make the transition easier!)

Resolutions

I am a resolution maker! I don't always succeed, but I feel if I don't make a resolution, then I am even less likely to stick to it!

1. 365 days of daily devotions in 2009. If I miss a day, I tend to have a hard time getting back into the routine, so I'm resolving to make time for God every day and to spend more time in God's Word this year!

2. Eat better and exercise more! I know this is so cliche--and it is on most people's list, but it is something I need to improve on!

3. Keep up with my household clutter. It seems like one or two busy days happen and my house has turned into a pit! I have been de-cluttering and organizing things for the past few days, and am hoping to do better this year. One step I am taking is to go paperless for most of our household bills. I'm so tired of filing statements, shredding and trying to decide what needs to be kept. So, by going paperless, I eliminate some of that extra mail I don't really need around the house.

Here they are--I realize that by making these public, that I am more accountable, which is good for me!
Happy New Year!

2 for 2!

Ryan has made it to midnight every year so far--he's 2 for 2 on seeing the ball drop, but not by mommy and daddy's choice!! Last year, he woke up around 11, and would not go back to sleep, so he rang in 2008 with us and some friends. This year, we had a great time with friends who came over, yummy snacks and a sick little guy. He had a slight temperature in the late afternoon, and we could tell he wasn't himself. He was a trooper and had fun with our guests, but when bedtime rolled around he MELTED! Tantrums and crying and trying to run from me when it was time to brush teeth. He wouldn't go to sleep, so I laid down with him for a bit. (remember, we still have guests!) He slept maybe 45 minutes and then was up again. By this time, he was burning up--about 100 ish. Of course, we are out of motrin and only have tylenol! We got him up since he was not going to sleep and I rocked him while we all played board games, and he was miserable. He was chewing hard on his sippy cup and he pointed to his cheek when I asked what hurt. More teeth?? I will say that we have had VERY easy teething experiences up until now. Jamie and Chris went out to get the Motrin once Ryan hit 101, while we watched a movie. I kept rocking, hoping he would crash--no such luck. At midnight, Ryan was still up and was starting to feel cooler. He wanted to play with his ball, but we decided that if he was feeling that good, bed was the place for him!

He slept until 6:00 a.m. and we told him it was still night night time! He ended up sleeping until almost 10 this morning, but we have been feeling the effects of his sleep deprivation ALL day! Its been tantrum central at our house. I'm hoping tomorrow goes better!