Rowan's 4 Month Check Up!

Rowan had her 4 month check up today.

Weight: 13 lbs. 13 oz. (51%)

Length: 24.3 inches (48%)

Head: 16.4 inches (67%)


Here is a recent favorite picture of Rowan


We were doing Mom and Rowan pictures, and Liam came and sat down next to me. Usually we have to pin him down for pictures, but he's starting to get the hang of it now : ) I love this picture...although, we do need to get someone to help us get a whole family picture next time!

House of Cards

Back before kids, which seems like a lifetime ago, the time change affected me for a day or two...these days with a toddler AND and an infant it seems like I'm still trying to get back to normal a month later?! Raising young kids feels like building a house of cards, and if you take out one little card, the whole thing just falls apart! Anyway, I've never been a fan of debt and sleep debt isn't any different...I hate it! Hopefully in another month or so we will finally be back to normal : ) Another thing I've noticed about the time change is, it seems like toddlers are not on 'time' schedule, more on the schedule with the sun. Liam tends to be ready for bed when the sun goes down...which will make for an interesting summer when it doesn't get dark till after 9 pm!

The Owl Box

I heard about this link on one of my podcasts. It is live streaming video of a mother owl. As of today, 2 of her eggs have hatched, and 2 more will hatch soon. I thought it was pretty cool!

(Click Link Here to See Owl and her Babies)

2 Isn't All Terrible

We had a pretty good day on Sunday. Mike made breakfast with blueberry pancakes, hash browns, and 'sausage'. It really depends on Liam's mood if and what he will eat on any given day. We usually give him a little syrup with his pancakes, sometimes he will eat it, sometimes not. Same with the hash browns...although he does like the veggie sausage! This particular morning he asked to try the ketchup...he actually liked it with his hash browns and ended up eating ALL his food. Then for lunch he had a little ketchup with his veggie dog.



After breakfast I was feeding Rowan, and Mike was watching Liam. He likes to go in our bathroom and turn on the water to the tub. Then he asked to take a shower. He LOVES bath time, but generally doesn't like water in his face, so we were unsure how he would react to the shower. Mike decided to give it a try. We both figured he would want out as soon as he got in, but to our surprise he actually enjoyed it, and did very well with the water in his face. He spent the time in there using the squeegee on the glass, pretty funny! After that we took him to the aquarium. He hadn't been there since his birthday party in November. He usually just wants to run around like a mad person, today wasn't any different, but he actually stopped a few times to take a look at the fish this time. Anyway, 2 is definitely a difficult age, but they have their good days too!

Bender Ball Review

After our first baby, I did not start to work out regularly till he was about 9 months old. After about 4 months of working out regularly, I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but not my ideal weight goal. The tummy area was not where I wanted it to be either, but I didn't stress over it because by then we were planning our 2nd baby. This time round I worked out a lot more during my pregnancy, and it really has paid off because I am almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight and it's only been 4 months! I am not stressing too much about getting to my ideal target weight right now because I am still nursing/pumping and I don't want to mess with my production, but I am focusing on my trouble spot, the tummy! I HATE doing crunches because it hurts my neck and back. I have seen other products that claim to help with the movement, but they often had mixed and/or negative reviews, and were pretty spendy too. So when I saw the 'Bender Ball' infomercial it really caught my eye. It was fairly inexpensive, and overall had decent reviews online. Although I do have to mention that a lot of people said NOT to buy it from their site because they will automatically sign you up for their monthly DVD program, and the customer service to fix the problem stinks. Amazon carries it online...but I was also able to find it at our local Target. The ball was about $20 and it came with 3 work-out DVDs. I have done crunches on my own with it, as well as the program a couple of times, and I have to say I am already feeling a difference. The ball is nice because it supports you enough to where your neck isn't getting bent, but you still need to use your abs so they get a good work out. I will keep it up and report again in a few weeks!

Turbo Snake Review

I don't know why, but I often get sucked into those 'As Seen On TV' type ads on TV. Even if I have no interest in them, for some reason I find them entertaining. I rarely buy the stuff, but if something catches my interest, I will get on google or Amazon and read reviews on it. My husband generally thinks if it's on an infomercial, it is generally crap, and he teases me for watching it sometimes...I do admit, most of the time he's right, but once in a great while you will find a decent product. I have found a couple lately that are worth mentioning. The first one is called 'Turbo Snake'. I have long hair, and my bathroom sink tends to get clogged. We have both tried to get the drain to come out so we can fish it out, but for some reason it won't come out, and we don't want to break it or cut our self, so I have tried Draino several times. It helped a little, but did not fix the problem for good. I also hate the idea of using harsh chemicals that go down the drain into our water system. So, when I saw this infomercial for the Turbo Snake I was pretty interested. It works around the drain, so that was a plus. I decided to get on Amazon, and read several reviews. It was pretty mixed, but overall positive. I figured for $10, it would be worth trying. It took several attempts to get the gunk out, but I was able to get quite a bit out, and my sink has been working well for several weeks now.

3 Piece, Turbo Snake Set, Includes: Sink Snake, Shower & Tub Snake & Storage Hook, Slow Drains, Fixed Fast, No More Chemical Drain Cleaners, Instantly Clears Slow Moving Drains, Flexible Design No Need To Remove Drain Stopper, For Bathroom Sinks, Showers & Tubs



I also noticed it is on sale on Amazon.com for $1.49 plus S&H. I would definitely recommend having this product around your house!

(The other product I saw on TV was the 'Bender Ball'...I will write a review soon)

Update on Life

So life has been pretty busy since I returned to work a month ago. The first couple of weeks were pretty hectic, but it seems we have settled into a good routine now. The shorter work days have been really nice because Liam falls asleep very easily on the ride home, and I just take him up to his room when we get home and he sleeps for a couple of hours. This gives me a couple hours to get some housework done, get ready for the following day, and have some bonding time with Rowan.

During my time off with the kids Liam got REALLY bored, and I felt bad because 1. We had a newborn, and 2. it was winter, so I really couldn't do much to entertain him. He has the 3 B's; he's Bright, he's Busy, and he gets Bored easily. Just a few days ago, Mike and I got to talking about how Liam's birthday is so late in the year, and how he would be turning 6 shortly after starting Kindergarten, and we both agreed that since he has those 3 B's that maybe if we got him into preschool sooner rather than later it would prepare him socially to be able to bypass the age cut off and start Kindergarten when he's 4 turning 5 a few months later. Anyway, that got me online looking at preschools in the area, and I found a super cute, reasonably priced, and very highly rated preschool that is close to my work. I stopped in yesterday with my mom and Liam to check it out. They have several different rooms, and a variety of classes that they offer including; music, art, cooking and even Foreign language! Mike and I discussed it last night, and ended up registering him today! He will start next fall in the Little Sprouts class. We are pretty excited for him, and look forward to seeing him learn and grow there.