Tired and Sore.. and not necessarily in that order

Its been a few, very loooong days, since my last post, a longer blog coming about all of that once I have control of my arms and hands again and it doesn't hurt to move!  A bunch of manual labor was done over the weekend and I have to say I am one out of shape mama.. lol

Trumans been fighting that same cold all weekend and it took a turn for feverville Sunday afternoon :(  The little man actually slept 14.5hrs last night and while that would be awesome on a weekend (when he's not sick)... on a Monday where I know its not going to have a good outcome, isn't much fun.  So we stayed home today and Doc says ears look good and chest sounds fine so hopefully he'll continue to fight off the bug.. fight Truman fight!

- back at it tomorrow mama (hopefully)

Runnin around like a.....

Chicken with my head cut off... which I've actually seen live and in person (story for another time)!  Quick post, Truman's cold has stayed a cold.. booyah! working hard at keeping his head dried up with decongestant and antihistamine (they might be the same thing but you get what I"m saying).  Drop offs to school have been way better this week so that's been nice!
Work is busy, kids are busy, hubby is busy, life is busy.. shuwee!  more to catch up on later just wanted to let my blog peeps know I'm still alive and kickin'!

- just breathe mama

Happy Father's Day!

Truman has thankfully marched through this weekend with no-fever but definitely yet another cold from the petri-dish I like to call daycare! 

The Pendleton fam made the trek on Friday and we've had a busy yet fun weekend all ending with Grandma LaVerne getting to attend a Mariners game today with Mom and Dad.. they even WON.. bonus!  Fathers day was pretty low-key, Truman delivered his 'wake-up daddy...take it' card this morning which was melt your heart cute of course and then Miss Evelyn came over to spend the afternoon with dear ol' Dad and she brought some yummy homemade sweet treats and a very nice card with some authentic Evelyn art.. awesome!  We will be celebrating a belated Fathers Day on Tuesday with Hankers, some boys bbq bonding time with football throwing I'm sure - probably a little x-box thrown in there for good measure ;)

In honor of Fathers Day I want to share the following thought that came to me this weekend in thinking about a situation that is clearly different for mama's and daddy's (disclaimer, those who don't like over sharing should probably stop reading now)  When a Daddy has to use the restroom they go in, lock the door, possibly read an article or two and then come out refreshed and rejuvenated... when a Mama has to use the restroom it usually involves sneaking into said bathroom, door slightly cracked in order to hear what's happening on the other side, she'll have 30sec to a minute maybe 2 if she's really lucky and then usually ends up cleaning up and flushing with the little one standing in front of her chanting.. 'mama potty, mama potty.. I flush?' leaving the bathroom quickly making sure she and the little one get their hands washed and wondering... 'did I remember to flush?'

Happy Father's day to my Papa (Lonnie Read), my Grandpa (Charles Chandler) and my Big Daddy (Rodney Bullington) ;)  I am so lucky to have each of you in both my and Truman's life!

- get some rest, Monday will be here soon mama

Another fever...

UGH.. was hoping to make it through at least a week without a fever but alas that is not my fate :(  Truman slept like poop last night and I had a sinking suspicion that he was fighting off something, low and behold this morning he has a little temp of 99.  So I stayed home with him right? (you might be asking yourself) and my answer is (as Truman would say) 'Nope'... loaded him up and took him to school - oh the guilt!!

My reasoning is as follows (translation: how I'm making myself feel okay with taking him to school this morning): rules at school are temps below 101 are okay, he ate/drank fine, had a wet diaper and was active this morning and most importantly, being sick is part of growing up (taken me a long time (19mo) to be able to say that)!  I remember the rule at our house was 'no puke, you're going to school'!  Well, with that said, I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a call this afternoon to come pick him up but until then I'm being strong, getting some work done and sending 'be strong' vibes to Truman <3

- he'll be fine mama

BUSY!

Work has been crazy busy this week!  I was supposed to be in class Monday and Today but 'site-up' work kept me in the office and runnin :)  My people skills have been working double time with my technical skills, and sometimes one doesn't always go with the other... shuwee, only Tuesday and while I enjoy the challenges and being in the middle of the action when I close my eyes at night I definitely enjoy the get away (via dreamland) lol

On the sleep and school front I think we have turned the corner, no tears at drop off two days in a row and laughing and smiling at pick-up... very little screaming/tears at bedtime so I'd say progress all the way around!

I swear there are days where I pick him from daycare and he has grown or changed in some way, today was one of those days... he was happily standing at the gate on the playground waiting for mama and talked me through the normal things we do... go in and pick up his lunchbox and grab his blankie... then wave goodbye to Ms Rita, wash our hands at the gate and say goodbye to Shadow (the donkey)... one of those days today for sure!

-growing right before your eyes mama

Family weekend - ROAD TRIP!

After getting everything packed up and kids loaded in the car we hit the road Friday morning.. it was a long first leg to Yakima... Truman didn't nap so he was pretty crabby, Hank and Evelyn were getting their car-legs under them so we got a few "are we there yets" and we were all anxious to get to Pendleton for the big surprise! 

Had lunch at Miners in Yakima with Rodney's dad Grandpa Harold, was good seeing him and was great feeling the sunshine on our newbie skin ;)  Hit the road a little later than planned but Truman crashed out and slept all the way into Pendleton (wuhuu) because mama was loosing patience with the crabby-kins!

Mom's retirement party was awesome and operation Jeff surprise was even better!  Mom was completely in the dark, she screamed and cried and did all the things a great surprise will bring ;)  Lots of people showed up to show their appreciation for Mom and it was very cool to be a part of it.  The kids and Rodney did great after being stuck in the car for 5hrs, in a place with strangers and no other kids.  Rodney came to the technical rescue getting the slide show up and running - with a little Ptown and coke help!

The weekend was great, the sunshine was fabulous... we hung out outside a bunch, played ping-pong,had squirt gun battles and had Big Johns Taco Pizza.. THE BEST!   The most important part was that we all got to spend some quality time with each other - a little more, at times, than some really wanted to but that's all part of being a family and being on a road trip! (Don't cross this line... quit touching me... stop making that sound - all phrases heard this weekend)

Was hard to load up and head back home this morning but the drive back seemed easier, still trying at times with everyone tired and not real excited about being back in the car, but overall easier (travel-wise).  Rodney made a wonderful dinner tonight, Truman went to bed without much fuss and now we are sitting eating chocolate chip cookies that Miss Evelyn just pulled out of the oven.. WINNER!

Back to work tomorrow, 2 days in class - Effective Technical Writing

- rest up tomorrow we start all over mama

Time for a break

Work was TOUGH today but its funny that on days like today I seem to enjoy my job the most.. whats up with that??  Just wrapping some stuff up for work before signing off and heading to P-town to celebrate Mom's retirement!! Should be an awesome weekend and we are all looking forward to getting the road-trip behind us tomorrow ;)

Truman actually had a great drop off this morning, NO TEARS, of course just in time for a 3-day weekend to start all over on Monday.. lol

Tonight was a very big night for Hankers (Henry), we all loaded up and joined Michele (his mom) and Gammy (Michele's mom Gail) for his Montessori Kindergarten graduation! It was so cute and surprisingly emotional, the teachers did a great job of putting together photos from parents into a nice slide show and darnit if those tears didn't jump out of nowhere when Henry's pictures showed up... we are all so proud!

Fighting a cold (UGH), laundry is going, Rodney cleaned the car out so its ready to roll in the morning, now its just time to VOTE FOR TRUMAN and then head to bed!

-looking forward to sleep mama

Sleep oh sweet sleep

Well the turned around crib seems to be working like a charm... we still have the initial freak out of me leaving the room BUT its very short and the sleep that comes after it is so worth it!  Still struggling with the drop offs at school but had another day without Paci there and didn't ask for it until bedtime last night. progress on that front!

Had a good time last night with the Cruiserheads (Land Cruiser peeps), the boys played and ate BBQ and the mamas got to chase kids and talk.. all in all a good Tuesday night~

- made it to Wednesday mama

Superstitious

Last night Truman, for the first time in months, actually slept through the entire night... It was something out of a fairy tail;). Given it was of course a weekday I didn't sleep in but did get to get up and take an uninterrupted normal length shower and then was able to make breakfast at my leisure (overall an A+ morning!)

Drop off didn't go to well so I'll take points off for that today but he did go all day at school without his Paci so I'll keep the grade up there... When I got to work I had an email in my inbox from Parents.com letting me know that Trumans picture is in the running for a cover contest we submitted him for! Fun to know that I'm not the only one who thinks he's cute ;) (you never know!) and then to top it off I heard back from the bank with some news regarding a loan modification (anything is progress at this point) we've been working on this for months now!! All of this happened before 9:30am! The superstitious side of me almost packed my stuff and went home...it's been awhile since we've had that good a day! (knock on wood)

On the crib note...still crying out when i put him down for bed but it's only for about 4min and no escape attempts yet..but I can see him eyeing those side rails;)

- don't wash those socks, they might be the key mama

Take a breath...

Over the past couple of weeks on the tail end of a month plus of sicky and now this sleep (or non-sleep) phase I've noticed myself on edge and mostly about Truman; him being safe or doing or not doing something etc... to the point where I'm even telling myself, "Kelli he'll be okay, just take a breath".  Rodney has been telling me for the past week that I need to relax or I'm going to give myself an early heart attack (in a nice constructive way of course) ;)

It's TRUE, I'm going to make a conscious effort to just let him be a boy and let he and Henry be boys together.. UGH, its so hard to step back and let him learn on his own - but apparently taking a dive out of the crib and breaking his arm was okay ;)  I want to make sure that I'm not adding to his separation anxiety!

I want him to exert himself, put himself out there, feel confident and competitive, pick himself up when he falls down etc... its my/our job to start teaching him those things now!

- not always all knowing mama

Patience and sleep deprivation are like oil and water

Over the past few days we have entered a new phase here at the Bullington house...Truman no longer wants to be in his crib and makes multiple athletic attempts to flee said crib! If memory serves, the last time this happened he ended up with a cast on his left arm for 3weeks...soooo out of the crib we went, mattress on the floor, gate on the door and screaming for mama before passing out curled up in his blankies next to the gate:(. Rough stuff to sit through again but I know that teaching him good sleep habits now will benefit him in the long run so I push through! 2.5 hrs the first night, 1 hr the second night and up from 1-3am with mom in the floor and then 45min for nanny last night but ended up back to square one due to a lack of patience and sleep!

Had a fun girls night out with my ladies Mamajito and Kiddy, went to The Loft in Edmonds for drinks, appies and some much needed and appreciated girl time:). Because I caved and Truman slept in the bed with me I actually got to sleep until almost 8am ahh sweet sleep how you are needed!

I've really been stressing about what to do, not sure Truman is really ready for a big boy bed, stressing because he's been sick and not getting good sleep etc etc. But today as I was getting ready to put him in his crib for nap trying to hit the reset button seeing if maybe I pretend the last week hadn't happened he would to. I look up and notice that the back part of Trumans crib that sits up against the wall is quite a bit taller (good 6-8in) than the front and something so simple that had eluded me for the past 4 days clicked! I turned Trumans crib around so the tall part is in the front, did our normal routine and put him down for nap...he cried for about 7min and is sleeping soundly!! Wuhuuu!! Small victory, I'll take it!!

I've officially bought us a few more days until he figures out his next escape route, (which could be a doozy) until then I think we will all sleep a little easier, including Truman...a little;)

- time to relax a little mama

Another milestone!

How does this happen so fast?? One minute I'm wondering if the two lines mean I'm pregnant and the next he's crawling out of his crib ready for a big boy bed!  Last night Truman tried 4 times to escape the dreaded crib, 3 successful and 1 not so successful concerning me that he was going to fall in a bad way and end up with another broken bone or bump on the head... SOOOO I yanked the crib mattress out of the crib, put it on the floor, gave him his blankies, made sure the gate was up and tight and we entered the milestone of BIG BOY BED!

Now it wasn't all rainbows and puppy dogs, not by any means... 2.5 hrs of screaming at the gate with the only calm quiet time being when either Daddy or I was in the room with him.... BUT in knowing that he needs to learn that its okay when we leave the room and that he re-learns how to fall asleep on his own in his big boy bed, in the end we just let him get out of the bed, stand at the gate with his door open screaming at us.. lol - we would respond from downstairs with a, "we love you Truman, go nigh-night," and after about 20 (hard) minutes of that all was quiet!  I went up later to see where he landed, expecting fully to see him asleep on the other side of the gate on the floor but wouldn't you know it he had made it back over to his mattress and fallen asleep half on and half off (his way of telling me that I hadn't necessarily won the battle) ;)  Only one wake-up during the night that required me to go in and put him back to bed but after that he slept really good until 7am - way to go TRUMAN! 

The first time around we did sleep training with him I believe it took 4 (rough days) - I'm hopeful that this second round in his big boy bed won't take as long... but I've been wrong before ;) (once)

- milestones are sometimes hard (for everyone) mama

Too tired to blog

Looong day, ear infection in both ears, gagging on the new medicine that we get to take twice a day for the next 10days..gee excited about that! A 30min nap in the car which led to him passing out on me from 3:30-5pm! Note to self, wake sleeping babies!

Truman had fun with Daddy, burning off some energy before our first attempt at bedtime. After 35min of hysterical screaming and a successful escape from his crib (sans broken bone) we got him out of bed and he snacked and danced to music videos, hilarious!!

Gate is up, baby is down (for now) and I'm ready for nanny to take over for the day tomorrow..pretty sure Truman is too;)

- go to sleep mama!