motherhood is so glamorous!

Once you become a parent you resign yourself to the fact that you will never again be able to leave the house with completely clean clothes (on you or on your kids) and that, at some point during the day/week, you will look down and find some sort of substance that has been smeared, soaked, sneezed, spit, barfed, coughed or drooled on you.  Last Friday, I experienced all of this within a matter of a few hours.  I came home from work and picked up my baby girl to give her a big hug only to have her soaking wet diaper soak through my shirt.  YEAH!  Then, mommy's shirt and Harper's pants changed, I caught Cayden trying to poop in his pull-up.  I excitedly grabbed him, stripped off his pants (he's going to be so happy the day he realizes that I am telling this story to the world) and took him in the bathroom.  He was not happy and after a 45 minute stand-off I got him distracted with the bathtub and looked down to see my clean shirt now covered with tears and snot from our stand-off.  Opting not to change this time, I stayed in the bathroom in hopes that Cayden would decide he still needed to poop while in the tub.  He did!  While getting him on the toilet to poop, he peed on my arm.  I guess that's what I get for making him go on the pot.  As I was in the process of cleaning up the bathroom and myself from the pooping incident, Harper decided to crawl in the bathroom to see what all the excitement was about.  I grabbed her to keep her away from the mess I was cleaning up and got puked on.  Luckily most of it ended up on the arm I had just cleaned the pee off of.  The rest of our night continued like this...Cayden went stayed in tub for a total of an hour and a half before deciding he needed to shower for 20 minutes, during which time Harper bit my toe as I was sitting on the couch and then got mad at me for moving my foot.  After his two hours in the bathroom, Cayden told me he was now hungry for supper and then proceeded to choke on his macaroni before he finally ended up in bed sound asleep.  I sat down on the couch after both kids were finally in bed, looked at my extremely dissheveled appearance and all I could do was laugh!

Here is our weekend in review:

Harper's newest ability to pull herself up and to get into anything and everything (like the curtains) definitaly took center stage this past weekend.

picky eater my you-know-what!

For the past, I don't know how long, Cayden has not wanted to eat anything.   What I mean when I say that is if we can get him to eat some fruit snacks or a handful of cheerios in between his sippy cups of chocolate milk, it's a good day.  However, in the last few weeks he has started eating more and more.  Choosing to eat chicken nuggets (I found some really awesome ones made with whole grain breading..that makes them healthy, right?), more cheerios than normal and eggs (see previous post about the incredible, edible egg).  This past week it seems as though we have made even more strides in our struggle to get him to eat and it has been pretty impressive.  Not only did he eat beef stew, homemade bread with butter and honey, and egg bake that has olives, mushrooms, onions, artichoke hearts and tomatoes but he actually liked it.  I started to realize that maybe he is NOT a picky eater as we once thought he was but that eating like a normal human being is just one more thing in the short life of this incredibly challenging, too-smart-for-his-own good 3 year old that he has to decide on his own to do or it just won't happen.  Unfortunately for us, it looks like his little sister may be following in that same trend.  At least she's still little enough to need me to do way more for her than she can do on her own (for now)!

Here is our weekend in review:



The baby gate went up after Harper took a little tumble down the stairs.  We knew she was fine when she stopped crying and smiled at everyone doting on her.

Cayden makes sure that the bathtub toys get lined up nice and neat before we get out of the tub.  We get lots of practice learning the names of the animals since he has decided that he needs to bath twice a day, every day.  I was hoping that his OCD would translate into keeping his room clean, but that is not happening, even with my labeled buckets for keeping everything separated out nice and neat (wait,is that my OCD or his?).

the best idea ever

Living in a climate where you have to stay inside for almost 6 months of the year, because it's too cold to go outside, with a very active 3 year old can make for an incredibly long winter season.  Thankfully, we decided (and when I say we decided I mean I decided to do it, looked into different lessons around town, signed Cayden up and told Jake about it) to sign Cayden up for swimming lessons.  As a 3 year old he is now considered preschool age and is too old for the parent/child class which means that not only does Mommy not have to get into a bathing suit (YEAH!!!) but he has to swim alone for the first time in a body of water other than the bathtub.  This was some cause for concern because he is such a Mama's boy but I went ahead and signed him up anyway.  He was so excited to go swimming the day of his first lesson that we couldn't even put pants on over his swim trunks, despite the below zero windchill.  I got really nervous as I was getting his coat on because my sometimes sweet little boy looked at me and said "you want to go swimming with me" (with his voice rising at the end in the cutest, most heart-melting way he has).   I told him that he would be going swimming with the other kids and with his teacher.  He looked slightly confused as to why I didn't just say "yes" but seemed to be OK.  Needless to say, my worries were completely unfounded because as soon as he saw the other kids sitting with their feet in the water he went right over to his teacher, sat down with his feet in the water, let her strap on his floaty belt and got right in.  I was both incredibly proud of my big boy and a little sad that he was such a big boy.

He LOVED his swimming lesson so much that when it was time to go, we had a complete meltdown.  He wanted to keep swimming and did not want to go home.  I am extremely glad that he is going to be swimming twice a week, every week, for the next 5 weeks. 

hey dude...the name's mommy!

In case you haven't heard this a million times before, kids grow up way too fast!  Case in point...Cayden has started calling me "Mom" and it makes we want to cry thinking that I'm not Mommy any more.  I have no idea where get got this whole "Mom" thing but he seems to like the word and even places extra emphasis when he really wants something.  All of my nagging corrections when he says it have had absolutely no impact whatsoever.  I know this is just what happens but I can't help complaining a little bit and wishing that he was still my sweet, baby boy who wanted nothing more than cuddle time with Mommy instead of this mouthy, demanding, too-smart-for-his-own-good, 3 year old with an attitude who thinks that Mom is ridiculous.  Yes, he actually told me this weekend that I was ridiculous. 

Here is our weekend in review: Harper trys to chew on the dogs, particularly Gracie,       

when she sees them laying anywhere she can get to quickly.  Molly moves away just as fast but Gracie, being the good sport that she is and the perfect dog around kids, just lets her baby crawl all over her and chew on her head.

Cayden may have a slight touch of OCD and his perfect line of left-over Christmas Hershey's kisses that Mom was instructed not to touch is a shining example of this.

You know that you had a good weekend at home with your kids when they are playing nicely together!

bathtime and bedtime

Bathtime and bedtime are two things in our house that I look forward to and dread all at the same time.  I love seeing the kids interact with one another when they are in the tub, that is when Cayden agrees to get in and with his sister in there too, but it can sometimes turn into more of an adventure than I wanted to have to deal with that night.  Our latest involved the inflatable ducky tub, a plastic cup, the iPad and Facetime with the Uncles.  Cayden decided that he wanted to see Addy and Bun so we tried to Facetime with them on our iPads but, of course, they didn't answer or call back until we were in the middle of bathtime.  During this bath, where I did answer the Facetime and have to hold the iPad the entire time so Cayden could see the Uncles and himself while in the tub, but we also had to maneuver the ducky tub at the same time.  The inflatable tub was purchased to move Harper from the infant tub but also to keep her slightly more confined than she would be just in the big tub.  That was a brilliant idea...not so much!  Cayden discovered the duck behind the shower curtain and felt that it was not only a good idea but completely necessary that he get in the ducky tub (which he outgrew about 2 1/2 yrs ago).  Pretty sure both kids don't fit in there together so poor Harper had to be removed from the duck into the regular tub, only to have her wonderful big brother decide to poor a big cupfull of water over her head and then tell me to get her out when she started crying.  Here are a few pictures to give a visual of what our bathtime was like.

Bedtime is another adventure that usually involves Cayden instructing Mommy that "you have lay down with me" and Mommy then lying to him saying I have to go potty, put on my jammies, take my eyes out, etc so that I can sneak out and he can fall asleep.  Lately, however, he has been so tired after long days at daycare that he has been falling asleep really early and staying asleep all night (most of the time).  That is why I decided that it was time to start getting Harper to fall asleep on her own and hopefully, getting her to sleep through the night.  I have been laying her down with her fuzzies (very important in our house), her blanket from the Uncles and her ladybug nightlight on shining purple stars all over her room.  She has cried a little and I have had to go back in there a few times to hold her for a minute or two but we have been successful and now have a baby sleeping through the night.  YEAH!  I say this to everyone but when it comes to the game of getting kids to sleep at night, Mommy always wins in the end!

hug your kids

Yesterday, as I was driving home after picking the kids up, I got a phone call from a dear friend of mine.  What I thought was going to be a fun catch-up call turned into a very sad one.  She told me that she has cancer; some type of lymphoma and they aren't quite sure where all it has spread too.  Over the next few weeks she has to undergo a battery of tests and procedures so that her doctors can find out where the cancer is and what their next steps need to be.  I wanted to jump through the phone and hug her.  After our conversation ended I went in the house and told Jake what was going on but didn't even get to finish talking to him about it because one of the kids needed something.  The rest of our night progressed as normal and it wasn't until everyone else was in bed that I was able to really think about how strange that whole evening had been.  Here was a very important person in my life having to deal with an unthinkable situation while simultaneously, my life was moving along just as it always does.  I'm not sure what I quite felt about all of that other than how grateful I was that I told my kids "I love you" before bed and that I made sure to say it to my family members the last time we talked.  People always say this but it's so true...time flies and life is fragile.  So, anyone out there reading this (if anyone is reading this) hug your kids and hold them a little longer, kiss your spouse, tell your loved ones what they mean to you, be thankful for your health and the health of your family and pray for those that aren't.  And to my dear friend...I love you, I am thinking of you and I am here for you.

our first solo weekend at home

We have now officially been in our house for just over two weeks and it's starting to look and feel like home.  I spent all weekend continuing to unpack boxes, of which I prioritized the ones labeled "home decor" over those labeled "groceries."  Priorities!  We have had a few hiccups hanging shelves, like when my wall anchor went all the way through the wall in the bathroom and created a big hole instead of a nice spot to place my screw not once, but twice; or when I found the spot on Cayden's wall to hang one of his shelves that would let me hit the back of the microwave vent (again, not once but twice).  Oops!  It has all been worth it though and my thought process is that I better put all my extra holes in the walls before I do paint touch-ups rather than after.  Thankfully Jake has stayed surprisingly calm during all of my drilling and hammering and only looks midly nervous each time I pick up the cordless drill.  I know what I'm doing and, in my own head, feel that I am completely capabale of hanging just about anything anywhere.

Here is our weekend in review...and yes, that is Cayden wearing no pants in January.  He

took them off at daycare (at 10:30am) and refused to put them back on.  I also have to mention that they were Vikings sweat pants and he HATES them!

Harper has also discovered that she can see her reflection in the bottom of the refrigerator so as soon as she gets down on the floor, she makes a bee-line for it and spends half her time bumping her head trying to get over to that baby and the other half sitting in front of it talking to herself. 

the incredible, edible egg

Dinner time at our house is very rarely an occasion where all four of us are sitting down to eat together at the same time.  Jake's work schedule varies and doesn't allow him to be at home every night and when we are all at home at night Cayden, who has become the world's pickiest eater, doesn't want to eat supper or Harper has just woken up from her evening nap, etc. and we end up eating at different times.  Now, I mentioned that Cayden has become a picky eater but in addition to his being picky, he also decides lots of nights that he's just not hungry and doesn't want to eat anything at all.  Lately, however, he has made a new decision...that eggs are the coolest thing ever.  He wants to buy them at the store every time we go, play with them in his room and cook them every day.  We do draw the line at taking real eggs into his room to play but he does have pretend ones for in his own little kitchen so all we have to do now, is to cook eggs every night.  Thankfully, Daddy has found a way for Cayden to be able to participate in the cooking process using the microwave.  All we need is a tupperware bowl, an egg and 40 seconds in the microwave and Cayden's breakfast, lunch and/or supper is ready any time of the day or night and he actually eats them.  Score one for Daddy!

mommy guilt and another new year's resolution

When you become a parent, especially a working parent, feeling guilty comes home with you from the hospital.  Lately it seems as though I have had more than my fair share of things that have made me feel guilty when it comes to my kids.  My guilt really reared it's ugly head when I went back to work after Thanksgiving, meaning my kids had to start going to daycare again, and I was happy to have some adult conversation and to use my brain for something other than arranging play dates and deciding what to make for supper.  I have been feeling incredibly guilty about uprooting Cayden from a life that he knew and not moving all of his stuff into our little apartment after telling him it would be here (see the 2011 recap for a description of his new hoarding tendency and how I do say it is all my fault). And the latest feeling of guilt is that my body decided (not my brain) that I was done nursing Harper.  It breaks my heart to hear her cry and to not be able to comfort her in a way that only I was able to do and even thinking about it now makes me want to cry. 

With all of my guilt weighing me down (it's no wonder I haven't lost the last of the baby weight yet) I feel like I have been doing everything, from being a mommy and being a wife to work, half way.  So last night, after Cayden decided he wanted to sleep on the floor of the hallway instead of in his bed, I made a decision to have one more New Year's resolution...let it all go, no more hanging on to feelings of guilt.  It's OK for me to enjoy being at work some days and to be just as proud of what I accomplish there as I am of my kids and having my cubicle filled with pictures of my kids helps.  Cayden now has all (well almost all) of his toys and belongings back and is getting adjusted to a new routine and finally a new, permanent home.  Harper will be fine having to be on formula for the next few months until she is drinking regular milk.  The 6 1/2 months that I was able to nurse her did more good for her body than I am sure I will ever know and there are lots of kids I know that have been raised on straight formula and who are just as happy and healthy as my kids.  My kids are happy, healthy, independent and I just know that Cayden won't have to start school still wearing pull-ups (oh yeah, potty training is another thing that I have been feeling guilty about...that he's not and that some days I just don't have it in me to fight with him about it any more).  After all of this reflection and deciding not to feel guilty, I just let Cayden sleep on the hallway floor and I think he woke up a happier kid because of it.

what was with last night?

I have been going back and forth about starting a blog after reading all the wonderful, funny and heartwarming things that I have read on those of my friends. But last night's events cemented the fact that even seemingly mundane events, like sleeping, bring a certain level of surreal craziness in the Woinarowicz household and I just knew, it was time to start writing.

So, last night's events...we have a miserable, teething baby at our house so Harper (6 months) has not been sleeping much the last few nights. I fully expected her to wake up a few times, which she did. Cayden, on the other hand, is my rockstar sleeper. When he is ready to sleep, he sleeps and sleeps soundly. He must have been tired because he fell asleep watching "Monsters and Aliens" at about 6:30. Any of you moms out there with a young kid know that panicked feeling when you realize your child has fallen asleep at a crucial time and it is not quite certain if they will stay asleep until morning or if they will wake up just as you want to fall asleep and, as a result, you will both be up until the wee hours. Thankfully, Cayden was staying asleep. Now when I say he sleeps soundly, I mean it. I vacuumed and cleaned up his room all while letting his tv continue to play its movie and he slept through it all...YEAH!

However, in between Harper's crying demands for cuddling Cayden woke up crying to tell me he was soaking wet (or "soaker wet" in his language). I went into his room fully expecting to have a soaking wet pull-up to change in addition to pajamas and bedding. This was not the case. His pull-up was completely dry while the rest of his surroundings were, in fact, "soaker wet." How does that happen? Still not exactly sure how that worked, I got him and his bed changed and settled back in for the night only to have him wake up again a few hours later telling me he was "soaker wet." Again, I went in to his room and found a totally dry pull-up while everything else was wet. How is he doing this? I know I checked the new pull-up I put on him the last time and everything was in its proper place.

I have been pondering last night's pull-up mystery all morning and I still have no clues as to what happened. Looks like this one will remain a mystery and I will be keeping my fingers crossed that this was a one time (OK two-time) deal.

2011 recap

2011 was a roller-coaster of a year fill with extremely high highs and equally low lows.  Through all of the craziness we managed to stay togetherm stay strong and stay in love with each other and our family.  Here is a little recap of what 2011 was like in the life of the Woinarowicz family.

Woinarowicz Family Top 10 Craziest Experiences of 2011

10. Jacob got an offer to run the Paradiso restaurant in Bismarck 2 weeks before our baby girl was due and we would be moving at the end of the summer.

9. Our Yukon started on fire about 7 miles south of Grand Forks while Jacob was hauling a trailer load of our belongings to Bismarck.  

8. Jacob had to use diet Mountain Dew and a pair of his shorts to put the Yukon’s fire out.

7. Gracie, our German Shepherd, became an escape artist figuring out how to jump on a section of our fence and pop out the post to get out of the back yard.  Apparently, her Houdini-like skills have stayed intact at the Four Paws Inn as well because they keep finding her out of her kennel visiting all the other dogs.

6. Cayden became a full blown hoarder.  Our theory as to the cause is that it’s due, at least in part, to the fact that Mommy would pack up a bunch of his belongings after he went to bed and then tell him that his stuff would all be at his new house.  Unfortunately, there has been a 3 month gap in time between packing and the new house and none of those things he asked about have shown up yet so he now takes everything he owns and spreads it out on his bedroom floor so it’s all in full view at all times.

5. Our builder’s crew poured the wrong type of foundation for our house.  Thankfully it was an easy mistake for them to correct and just in time for the foundation to sit with no progress for 6 weeks.  (Sorry, that one was sarcastic)

4. Cayden made a surprise trip to the ER with “Gamma” and Daddy the night before Mommy was being induced because he ate some of “Gamma’s” Correctol thinking it was candy.

3. What Jacob thought was a bad reaction to his flu mist vaccine ended up in a week-long hospital stay for blood clots in his chest.  I know this one isn’t funny either but it was one of the craziest things that happened this year.

2. We found out that our house would be done one week before we had to be out of our apartment, four days before Gracie and Molly were out of room at the Four Paws Inn and just in time to be able to have Christmas in our new house. YEAH!

1. Harper Davis joined the Woinarowicz family on June 10^th.  This event alone, although extremely exciting and a very happy occasion in its own right, is not the main reason it is number one on the list.  The crazy part about her joining our already circus-like home is that she was born with a full head of hair.  I never thought that would happen.