Fun with Gramma and Poppa

The time is just slipping away. I feel this more so now that I have a job and a start date and therefore an end date to my fun, carefree time at home with the boys. I am both excited and sad, to start this next chapter of our lives but we still have a lot more things going on between now and then.

Let's catch up first.....

Two weeks ago Gramma and Poppa made the 2 day drive to see us for a few days. We were so excited to have them back in SC and get to have so many days to share with them. They arrived late on Saturday night and stayed with us until Thursday morning. Our time together was very relaxing. We had little planned and let each day unfold as it wanted to. I was lucky to have them here so that I could take the morning to go to my interview and run a few errands as well as hit the gym each morning and let the boys stay home to play. The weather cooperated while they were here with temperatures in the low 80's but no humidity and a nice mix of rainy days and nice days. Poppa and Tom drove up I-85 to "the best place to buy fireworks" (per Tom) and bought out the store. They are crazy! We went downtown on Sunday afternoon to check out a Greenville Drive baseball game (they are a class A affiliate of the Red Sox-how perfect!), grab some dinner and an ice cream treat. Tom and I also enjoyed a date night out for dinner and it happened to coordinate perfectly with me accepting my new job! We tried out a restaurant in downtown Greer called Bin 112. It had great atmosphere and a stellar menu. An added bonus was 25% off bottles of wine on Wednesdays (the day of the week WE WENT!). The wine was delicious and we finished the meal off with S'Mores at our table. We will definitely be returning! This also gave us an opportunity to check out downtown Greer a little more. The downtown is very small, maybe 5 blocks total with shops and restaurants. Everything we saw was very cute and clean too. Again, I am sure we will venture downtown (about 5 minutes from our house) a little more to check this out with the boys in the future.

Now that is a man on a mission.

Go Drive!

 And how hard is it to get a family shot...I am including all of these to demonstrate....:)

Maybe with my new Photoshop I can somehow make these 4 shots into ONE good one of all of us!

Thank you Poppa for those pictures on your new camera!

And here are a few more from MY camera.

All the boys....

Reedy Rip'it, the frog mascot (Wally's distant cousin?)

Poppa and Jack

Perfect for a little 7th inning stretch (although we only made it about 3 innings).

Jack did NOT miss this fun on the way out. The whole play space is shaded by the canopy so the equipment was actually nice and cool. 

Gramma and Poppa made a nice little vacation of the ride back to RI too. They stopped overnight in Virginia Beach and then again in Baltimore for an Orioles game at Camden Yards. We were so happy that they came down to see us again. It seems like we have had a very steady stream of visitors since we moved. To the point that one of my friends remarked-"You should start granting Meehan Rewards Points." This has definitely helped us acclimate and be excited about our new area. We are at the 6 month mark since we moved here. I can't believe that much time has already gone by! All in all we are loving living here. Certainly we miss our friends and family back in RI, but SC has welcomed us with open arms and we have sunk right in for a big hug. We truly love downtown Greenville and have tried to take advantage of all that it has to offer. The weather makes it very easy to love life here too. Our community is very family oriented and coupled with the friendliness of the people we have really been made to feel welcome. The boys and I enjoy the Y we joined almost everyday and have really made some nice friends through there. Our pool always has some new faces (but it never seems to be super busy) to meet and play with. So even though my time off is quickly coming to a close we have definitely made the most of our move and will continue to be excited to see what SC has to offer us. We want to be here and are happy that it has been such a nice fit.

Miscellaneous updates...

Miscellaneous....

So we have had another wonderful week. We were blessed with a visit from Poppa and Gramma who drove from RI to SC to visit us for a few days. There will be more about that in another post. I am just clearing my mind of clutter and adding in a few pictures I have taken prior to our visitors coming.

First, I have to share my big news. I had an interview this week and was offered the job! I am thrilled to have accepted this position. I will be working at Spartanburg Regional Hospital. A level 1 Trauma center about 30 minutes from our house. It is the farthest I will have ever commuted to work, but still very, very manageable. I will be working in the PACU (recovery room) and cross train to work in the pre admission holding area too. I have had the opportunity to take this position as a per diem-I do not have set hours, but essentially fill in the 'holes' in the schedule. This gives me the flexibility to pick the days I want to work and to work as little or much as I want. I am happy to hear from the staff that they do use the per diem staff a lot and that there will be enough hours for me to pick up. It is definitely a different kind of nursing than working in the ICU, but I am excited for the challenge and the change. I start July 23rd. More to come.....

I have to also take a minute to thank my friend Julie of Letters to My Little Love for giving my little blog a shout out on hers after I made and sent a dress to her daughter Emma. I am so happy to hear that Emma loved her dress! I was happy to put the love into it to create it for her.

Second, an update on our post Binky Fairy life. Week one was.....challenging. As I mentioned here, one of MY issues with taking the binky away was the change that would be made to our nearly flawless bedtime routine, but it had to be done. So here we are....one week with NO BINKIES. There have been a few (a very few) tears, a singular request at bedtime (phrased as a reminder, really) for the binkies, and MANY, MANY trips down stairs followed quickly with "I can't sleep, can I stay up a few minutes longer." In the end, one of us ends up laying down with him in his bed until he falls asleep. Looks like we have just traded one bad habit for another. The good news is he is sleeping in his own bed (not migrating to ours at 2am) all night. The bad news is he isn't falling asleep until extreme exhaustion has set in between 9:30 and 10:00pm, while Tom or I also fall asleep in his bed. It doesn't help that the sun does not set here until after 9pm and so the bedroom is filled with light even at a normal "late" bedtime of 8:30pm. These late nights have a bad side effect-the afternoon crankies the next day. Whining-one of my favorite forms of communication and tears seem to start at about 2pm but can be put to rest with some clever distractions. I know it is only a stage and we will make it to the other side and look back at this and laugh some day. Some day.

Have I mentioned that we have a blankie boy? Will is obsessed with this soft, but thick and HOT fleece blankie. He pulls it through the rungs of the crib and lays with it on the floor. He drags it everywhere. It is so cute. If he is having a bad day a little snuggle is all he needs to feel better.

Lastly, I have been trying to remember to write down all the crazy, cute and shocking things that I hear Jack say as well as a list of what Will says to us now. Of course there are many, many more that I just can never seem to remember when I am sitting here staring at the computer screen. So here it is....

Jack says:

"Can you get out the guitar so I can jam?"

"GO Jack, Go Jack" (as he is dancing)

"Isn't that strange..." (referring to something "not seeming right" to him)

"Mommy, we don't say that word, do we?" (pointing out someone else 'misbehaving') (usually in reference to the words stupid, idiot, or shut up)

"Look at this kid" (Will misbehaving)

"Last-derday"= Yesterday
"....junk in the trunk..." (I found out he was quoting a line from Gnomeo and Juliet)

Will says:

"Cheese" (especially upon entry to the grocery store)

"Hi-E"

"Da-DEEEE"

"Mommy"/ "Mama"

"Ja" (for Jack)

"Shoooe"

"Che" (Cheers, while holding his sippy up for a 'clink', followed by a sip and "Aaahh")

"This" while pointing to EVERYTHING

"Whose that?" (but i don't know how to write it out like he says it, that is what he means anyway)
"What's this?/What's that?"

Here are some pictures of last weeks shenanigans....

Completely IN the water table, taking a 'nap'. If you look closely there is a 'water blanket' on him. 

Jack's favorite part of the pop-the joke. Even though he doesn't get the puns, he still laughs.

Relaxing....

And a quick preview of a few from the photo shoot I tried to do for Will's One Year pictures. Now I just need to figure out how to work Photoshop!

Have a great weekend!! I will be back to share our visit with Gramma and Poppa!

Our dirty little family secret....

Pacifier, Binky, Paci, whatever you call it, they are the most amazing and habit forming item on your baby registry. We started with them early. The first thing parenting books tell you is that if you are breastfeeding, a binky will cause nipple confusion and only provide you with problems when nursing. I wanted to give breastfeeding a fair shot. I wanted to do it right. So no binkies. That lasted about 12 hours in the hospital. I caved to a crying little face that didn't want to eat but just needed some comfort. Here we are 3 1/2 years later and we have created a full blown addict. I have watched enough Intervention on A&E to know that for every addict there is an enabler. I AM THAT ENABLER (but don't give Tom too much credit here....he has been known to push the binkies at the right moment too). Let me back up a second....that fateful night in the hospital did NOTHING to change how successful Jack was at nursing. He was a champion. No problem and so the binkies got pushed and pushed. They mostly were saved for bedtime/naptime, meltdowns in the car, horrible procedures (staples to the back of the head, for instance), etc. We quickly cut out the car binky and the day time binky use. I thought I was super mom. All that was left was the nap/bedtime binky....how hard would that be. HA HA HA. This is where the enabler in me came shining through. Tom told me that when Jack turned 2 we HAD to get rid of those binkies. We had a new baby on the way. They had to be gone before Will arrived. Ok I said, but in my heart I knew I couldn't take them from him. His 2nd birthday came. Tom was ready to take them away. I gave up every and any excuse I could find.

Jack receiving his binky in the mail from Kay Kay after we left it in Florida. Made his day!

"I am 6 months pregnant, I am exhausted, I can't be up all night with Jack crying for his binky, We just moved him into a big boy bed, there is so much that is going to change, they are his source of comfort, what is the real difference between him having a binky and a blankie?, No one has to know, He only uses them at night.....and the list went on and on. Tom gave in. Jack kept the binkies. We continued to ENABLE his addiction.

Will arrived and promptly got started on the path to a binky addiction of his own. No trouble with nursing this kid. I bought more binkies. We got to the point where we decided we were no longer buying Jack binkies-if they got lost, that was it, they were gone. And then he started chewing on them so much that they got these big holes in them and I was afraid a piece would fall off in his sleep and he would choke. I broke down. I bought 2 MORE BINKIES. Pirate ones, no less, to ensure he would NEVER give them up, I guess.

My stance on keeping them was strengthened when at Jack's 3 year well visit the doctor and I had this exchange.

Doctor: (after looking in Jack's mouth) "Does he suck his thumb?"
Me: (VERY PROUDLY) "No, HE DOES NOT SUCK HIS THUMB."
Me: (head lowered and in a whisper) "but he does still use a binky-BUT ONLY AT NIGHT"
Doctor: (looking from Jack to little Will) "No big deal. You have much bigger things on your plate. He will give it up eventually."

I was ELATED!! I was waiting to be scolded and here I was ALMOST praised. No need to stop using them now. Then we moved. And the excuses and bad timing just kept piling up like old junk mail.

Here we are today-Jack gets his binky at bedtime ONLY. They are otherwise stored in a drawer in my dresser so he can't "steal" them for a fix during the day. He comes into bed with us each morning, has some milk and watches a show until Will gets up. All the while barking orders at us through a clenched teeth, binky mouth. IT MAKES ME CRAZY!!! "Take those binkies out when you want to talk" I have been known to bark in the early morning hours. I have finally reached MY breaking point....THEY HAVE TO GO!

Enter BINKY FAIRY!

Jack currently has 3 binkies that he holds near and dear to his heart, the green one, the blue one and the pirate one. He is allowed 2 at a time each night. One he sucks on and one he first rubs on his eye lids to help him get to sleep and then it falls into the covers or ends up under the bed. The reason this has been something I have delayed is very simple....

At bedtime, we brush, we read, we get the binkies, DONE. Why mess with something so easy and wonderful?! I know that 4 is fast approaching and I am fearful of what the dentist will say when we go. I know he can't have it forever. Tom and I decided that this was going to be it, we were just going to do it. I read a little online about "plans of attack" and "protocol" for getting rid of the binky. The binky fairy seemed like a great choice for us. We started talking about it 3 days before by giving him a little chat in the morning and then again at night-each time counting down the days until the binky fairy would come and reminding him what a big boy he is and that the binky fairy would leave him a special surprise if he gave up his treasured binks. At first he was ok with it. On day 2 when I said "....in 2 more days...." he promptly  refuted, "but you said...'in 3 days'". Yes, I explained, that was yesterday, now it is only 2 days and tomorrow it will be ONE more day. His other gem of a response- "Why doesn't the binky fairy just go buy the babies NEW binkies? They don't want my old ones." Aaaahh the little germ-a-phobe. Another favorite of mine, "So when the Binky Fairy takes my binkies and Will's binkies..." "He is only taking yours." "WHAT?!"

And so here we are....THE DAY HAS ARRIVED!! (or it did YESTERDAY)

We made a special envelope and put the binkies inside. Jack said "How about we just put ONE in this time?" but in the end he put all three. We put 2 special stickers on the envelope and walked as a family out to the mailbox to put them inside. A brave face the whole time.

Into the envelope they go...1, 2, 3...

Are you serious about this? 

Off to the mailbox

In they go...see you later binks!

Oh My GOD, what did I just do....

High fives!

At bedtime we did our normal routine, but at the last minute, the little bottom lip began to quiver and he asked if we could go to the store tomorrow to get him some "big boy binkies." Good try, but NO.
"but I need something to chew on to keep me warm."
"Here is your sheet and blanket, good night."

He got up once to check that the binkies "were safe" and gave them a pretend snack for their trip with the binky fairy. There were some tears, but they didn't last long. Tom laid in his bed with him until he fell asleep. He came into our bed at 2am. Never once asked for the binkies again and fell right asleep. Night one was deemed a success. A pile of presents with a special note waited downstairs for him and he was so excited. Tom and I both told him how proud we were of him. He said he was proud of himself too. This kid cracks me up. Since it is "Free donut with a drink day" at DD, I caved and got him a chocolate donut to reinforce his "braveness" about giving up the binkies. I am trying not to think about bedtime tonight. We will cross that bridge when we get to it! Wish us luck. In the meantime, I am sure to further the habit of our other child so that I can be writing this same post in 2 more years.

Thanks Target $1 bins!

The LOOT

Here is a screen shot of the letter from the Binky Fairy.

Have a great and binky-free weekend!