A Shoe Update

Alright.  Since y'all had to hear me complain about my shoe dilemma and my sweet girl's wide feet, I thought I better give you an update.  I have found the answer.  Go ahead.  Sing "hallelujah".  I know I did. :)

So we ordered three pair of shoes for Olivia.  One is a Mary Jane type tennis shoe from Stride Rite.  I was looking for something that could go with most of what she wears.  This is a cross between a dressier looking shoe and a comfy sporty shoe.  We went with silver so it matches more.  We got it in a 7 wide.  It works.  Olivia likes them.  They are plenty big on her, but it didn't  come in half sizes and I knew a 6 would be too small.

Next up is a slip on type ballet shoe.  It is also from Stride Rite.  It is a 6 1/2 wide.  It is big on Olivia, too.  The first time I put them on her, she took one very awkward lap around the room, came back crying and asked me to take them off.  The toes are hard and she's use to very soft shoes.  We've yet to figure out if something is hurting her or if she's just not use to them yet.  We put them on her again the other day.  She still walked funny in them, but kept them on for a bit.  We haven't worn them outside of the house yet, because I still haven't decided if we are keeping them or not.

The real find was Squeaker Shoes.  Now, here's the thing.  I've known about squeaker type shoes for quite  a while now. I think I first heard about them before Olivia was born.  I guess I just didn't pay much attention to the details of them. But in my long search for shoes I saw that it said they are made wide in the toes.  You don't have to order special shoes or get them 7 Wide.  They are just 7.  The soles are flexible, but also supportive.  They can squeak when worn, but you can also take the squeakers out.  The squeaker is meant to teach them how to step down correctly.  Olivia already does this, and we'd prefer not to hear the racket so we took them out.

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Out of the three pair of shoes we got, these are Olivia's favorite.  Not only does she like them, but they fit the best. They were also reasonably priced.  She also walks the best in them.  For all of those reasons, I am a fan. I think the original squeaky shoes are from China and are just called "Squeaky Shoes".  Now days there are tons of different brands, but they all have the same general form to the shoe and concept behind them.

She will be needing sandals before we know it.  I am going to be looking for squeaky type shoes!  I will no longer be spending hours searching high and low for cute, affordable, "wide" shoes.  I am just going to go with what works.  I've already looked online and there are quite a few sites who have these type of shoes for decent prices.  Not only that, but I know baby steals has Wee Squeaks on sale for 50% off at times.

Age 9 months to 20 months--Pediped loyal
Age 20 months to ???-- SQUEAKERS! :)

"I Love You Through and Through"

by:

Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak

 

I love you through and through.

I love your top side

I love your bottom side

I love your inside 

and outside

I love your happy side

your sad side

your silly side

your mad side

I love your fingers 

and toes

your ears

and nose.

I love your hair and eyes

            your giggles and cries.        

I love you running 

and walking.

Silent

and talking.

I love you through and through.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, too.    

(Currently this is one of Olivia's favorite bedtime books.  She like to say "silent and talking" and then adds "yesterday... tomorrow too". :)

Five for Friday

ONE

Did anyone else see this?  Harper Beckham's shoes for the year costs $2,200.  I don't really care about celebrities and their children interest me even less.  But when I saw this on my yahoo homepage the other day, I thought to myself "And I was complaining about the cost of Olivia's shoes."  I know there is a big difference there.  They don't care if they have to pay $55 for shoes.  Obviously.  Although, one should not make so much money that spending $2,200 on a babies shoe collection for a year is perfectly normal.

TWO

I have some pretty fun news... Well, fun to me.  I am going to be on the MOPS steering committee next year.  (It runs the school year, so by "next year" I mean starting in August.)  I'm excited about it.  I will be the co-coordinator for crafts.  The MOPS group that I attend has 120 ladies, which I guess is sort of big.  The steering committee is basically the leadership team.  Since our group is so big, there are like 18 people on the team.  Since every other meeting is a "craft" meeting, my roll will be one that is going to be a little bit more involved.  But that's sort of why I picked it.  I'm excited to stretch myself, make deeper connections with a fun group of girls, and use some of the talents God has given me. (hmm... "journey"?)  I don't know many of the details yet, but let me know if any of you fellow MOPS moms have a fun craft to share.  I heard it can be kind of tricky to come up with a craft, in budget, for that many women that spans the depth of the skill set.

THREE

When it comes to dessert, Michael and I are about as polar opposite as they come.  His favorite is chocolate cake.  I hate it.  My favorite is cheesecake. He hates it.  Even when it comes to things we agree on, like ice cream, we like the complete opposite flavors.  Oreos are one treat that we can agree on.  After being questioned by the Superbowl commercial if we liked the cookie or the cream, we both said the cream.  We prefer the double stuffed cookies for this very reason.  So when I saw the mega stuffed, I thought we should give them a try.  Let me tell you---DON'T.  It is TOO MUCH!

FOUR

I am sick.  I have no idea where I got it from, but I have a cold.  It started as a sore throat on Monday morning, but then I was fine most of the day.  I thought I might have lucked out, but that was not the case.  By Wednesday morning it was a full on cold.  I'm taking my vitamins and hoping it  passes quickly.  Unfortunately, I think I already gave it to Olivia.

FIVE

Olivia's sleepy time separation anxiety is starting to cause me anxiety!  It is not getting better. Now she starts getting upset when we even begin to talk about going to bed.  She stalls and gets whiney.  Then once she is in bed, screams bloody murder.  She asks for as many hugs and kisses and "hold you"s as she can get.  I've started trying to go back to the sleep training method.  I go back in and do "checks".  As of right now, I've been doing every ten minutes, but I probably need to to the stair steps of 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and so on.  Wednesday night it took her at least 45 minutes to calm down and go to sleep.  Last night it was 55 minutes.  Yesterday was just a rough day all around.  Probably the hardest I've had as a parent.

A Sleep Situation

We are having some issues with sleep.  It started a few weeks ago.  Up until then, Olivia has been a pretty good sleeper.  We had that lifetime small phase when she was a baby where she only napped a half hour, but after that we've been good.  She was sleeping 12 hours a night.  More recently it's been about 11, which I think is pretty normal.  She naps once a day, and while I would love for it to be the 3 hours Little Man use to sleep, it's usually about an hour and a half--two hours on a good day.

It started with her waking up in the middle of the night screaming.  I thought it was a one time thing and addressed it the best I could.  She wasn't sick.  It wasn't too hot or too cold.  I thought maybe it was a nightmare and went on with things.

Unfortunately, it has progressed.  She use to go down to bed with no issues.  We have our little routine that includes reading books, singing songs, praying, and giving hugs and kisses.  We'd put her in her bed and she'd say, "Sweet Dreams" to us. :)  Now, she kicks and fights and screams bloody murder.  This happens at bedtime and nap.  Delightful, right?

Once she falls asleep for nap, it's usually OK.  Although, last Sunday, after screaming for over 45 minutes (with period check ins from us) and even attempting to have her nap in bed with us, she ended up with NO nap at all.

Nighttime is a different story.  She will wake up and just scream.  It's not night terrors, because you are still asleep for those and she is definitely awake.  The minute I pick her up, she's fine.

I'm thinking that it's a form of separation anxiety.  Because now at night, even after we've done hugs and kisses, she will ask for another hug through her sobs.  I always give her one, and then while we are hugging I pray out loud for her to have peace and to have a good nights sleep and to not be scared.

Anyone have any suggestions?  I've started keeping her closet light on and it filters out through the cracks of the door.  We need to get a new bulb for her night light.  We haven't used it since she was itty bitty.  She has her music and light thing still attached to her crib, but she almost gets mad when we turn it on.  She sleeps with lots of friends.  Nothing else has changed.... Except that Michael is not there some nights.  It may be related to his new job, which is heartbreaking, but our reality at this point.

All I know, is that Mama is ready for some uninterrupted SLEEP!  Thankfully she isn't waking up EVERY night anymore. It's just here and there.  I'm trying to find a pattern, but have yet to figure it out.  Any help all you mommy experts out there have would be greatly appreciated. :)

Consignment Sales--Take 2

Friday morning Olivia and I hit our third consignment sale of the season.  I debated back and forth about going, but I figured it was at least worth a look.  I probably could have skipped it and been fine, but the bargain hunter in me couldn't pass up a potential deal. :)

I walked away with five outfits and a shirt.  I also bought 2 DVD's at $3 a piece-one Elmo and one Clifford.  Total I spent about $34.  The prices were a little higher than I like, which is why I didn't walk away with much.  I did like that I was getting basic shorts and tops that could be mixed and matched.  There were some Gap and Children's place in the mix, but most of the items are from Target.

Saturday night was the sale I was waiting for.  It's my all time favorite.  It's the biggest, most organized, with the nicest things, and the best prices.  The way consignment sales work is, if you volunteer then you get to shop early.  Then if you are a consignor you get to shop after them.  After that, first time moms get to shop.  Oh, and all of those people get to bring a friend.  They also have an early shopping event on the morning of the general public sale.  You can pay $10, get breakfast, and get to shop an hour early.  So if you wait until it's "open to the public", HUNDREDS of people have already shopped!  My friend was consigning some things, so I was lucky enough to go to the consignors pre-sale.  She heard that there were over 500 people consigning this year.  That is insane.  It's at a local convention center and it's spread out down the hallway and into multiple rooms.  It's crazy!

After trying on some of the clothes that I bought Olivia at some of the other sales, I decided to stick to size 2T.  My plan was to do that first and then look for bigger 24 month items, but it was so exhausting searching through those racks and my bag was packed full, so I didn't make it that far.

One consigning tip I've learned, is try to go through everything in your kids size.  If it looks like something you want, throw it in your bag/cart.  Don't stand there and inspect it for stains/rips.  After you have finished your scavenger hunt, take it to the sorting table.  Weed out what you want, don't want, and what isn't really up to your standards.  I think I ended up putting half of what I originally grabbed back.

I was trying to stick to a budget, and I probably could have kept some of the items that I first picked out.  I was just trying to really get a deal for the items.  Isn't it sad when $6 seems like a lot?! :)  I know.  I've been spoiled with these sales and the facebook pages!

So I got all of this....

and this

and these

for $80 exactly (including the $6 I paid for tax-ugh!).  Not bad, huh?  Besides the two extra shorts and the OSU outfit, I think there is only one other outfit that isn't Gap, Old Navy, Gymboree or Children's Place.  The purple Old Navy dress still has the tags on it!

I'm pretty pleased with my sale finds.  As long as she doesn't grow too much (but grows enough), we should be set. :)  Some of my finds from the first sale last week might have to be re-sold as they are a little tight for her, but I'll still end up with plenty.  I'm going to get her a sweater to go over the dresses and a few capri leggings to go under some of the dresses and we'll be good to go.

Since there is SO MUCH at this sale, my friend is actually heading back on Monday night for the half off sale.  It's tempting, but Michael will actually be home so I think I'm going to count my blessings with the finds I have and enjoy my family.

Yep, I'm officially "THAT" mom!

After this post you can talk behind my back... or roll your eyes... or call me a hypocrite.  It's OK with me. :)  I am now posting the "Oh my gosh, my child is a genius" post that I hated so much before I had kids.  I don't really think she's literally a genius.  I think she got blessed (and cursed) with a really good memory.  Regardless, I was beyond impressed so I'm sharing!

The other night Olivia was playing in the bathtub.  She has those foam letters that everyone has and she was handing them to me or putting them on the tub ledge.  Even though she loves the alphabet, we haven't really even scratched the surface when it comes to letter recognition.  She's more interested in the pictures that go with the letters and I am not interested in pushing it.  So when she handed me the letter "S" and called it by name, I was pretty surprised.  Next, she handed me the letter "B" and called it by name.  Now my mouth was hanging open a bit.  Most of the letters she was just calling "A", but I decided to go through and see what other letters she knew.

There were only one or two more that she actually recognized, but then I was given the second shock of the night.  I held up the letter "E" and she said, "Elephant".  Yes, we do flashcards, but not for the purpose of the letter.  I rarely even say the letter names.  It's usually just about naming the picture, so this took me by surprise.  Next I held up the letter "H" and she said, "hippo".  Well hippo isn't even on the H flashcard, so now I was really impressed.  I held up the "B" again and this time she said, "Queen Bee" and then quickly changed it to "bumblebee".  I knew exactly where she was getting these from.  Her laptop.  The fact that she made the connection was still amazing to me.  I held up the "S" and she said, "Seal!" and then "Mr. Sun".  That's one answer from the flashcards and one answer from the laptop.  I held up the "N" and she said "Newt".  Come on. Is no one else impressed that when my newly turned 20 month old sees an "N" she says newt?!?  I mean, I know it's just memorization at this point, but still!!!!

So after bath I pulled out her laptop.  She got it for Christmas.  I was sure she'd learn from it, but our main objective at the time was to give her something to pound on.  She was thinking that mommy and boppa's laptops were fun toys and we were not loving that idea.

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It has a couple of different modes, but since animals are her favorite it mostly stays on that mode.  You push the button and it asks you a question.  Then you have to push the paw button to get the answer.  Shortly after she got it she had elephant hippo and iguana down.  I'll hear her answer animals here and there, but never paid too close attention.  She doesn't  play with it every day, and it's one of those where she'll be into it for a few minutes and then she moves on.  So I went through each letter and she knew the answers to EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM except one.  And here's the impressive part to me--when you push the letter a question mark comes up on the screen.  Then when you push the paw print to get an answer, the picture of the animal comes up on the screen. So she is having to make the connection between pushing the letter button and what the computer is saying/showing her.  The letter itself never shows up on the screen.

Check out these questions/answers....

A- "Who has a big mouth?" ... alligator
B- "Zzzz... who makes that sound?" ... bee
C- "Meow... who makes that sound? ... cat
D- "Who's extinct?" ... dinosaur
E- "(trumpet)... who makes that sound?" ... elephant
F- "Who has scales?" ... fish
G- "Who has long arms?" ... gorrilla
H- "(stomp stomp) ... who makes that sound when he walks?" ... hippo
I- "Who's a lizard?"... iganua
J- "Who has tenticals?" ... jelly fish (Olivia just said fish)
K- "Who has a belly pouch?" ... kangaroo
L- "Who has a mane?" ... lion
M- "Who loves bananas?" ... monkeys
N- "Who's an amphibian?" ... newt
O- "Who has eight legs?" ... octopus
P- "Who's black and white?" ... penguin (Didn't know this one)
Q- "Who lives in a hive?" ... queen bee
R- "Who hops?" ... rabbit (Olivia said rabbit, then changed it to bunny)
S- "(bark bark) ... who makes that sound?" ... seal
T- "Who lives in a shell?" ... turtle
U- "Who has big feathers on his head?" ... umbrella bird (Olivia just said bird)
V- "Who has a long neck?" ... vulture
W- "Who has a blow hole?" ... whale
X- "Who moos like a cow?" ... ox
Y- "Who has big horns?"... yak
Z- "Who's black and white?" ... zebra

I mean, we love the thing, but a vulture? Really?  And I think the reason why she doesn't know P is because it asks the same question for penguin and zebra.  Confusing!! 

Then last night while I was babysitting at the church, Michael said that she brought him her magnetic letters off the fridge one by one and told him the coordinating animal.  So even though it is memory at this point, she is definitely making connections.  She connected the bathroom foam letters with the animals and then also the magnetic letters. This is advanced, right?  I'm not one of those mom's who thinks her kid is smart but they are really just average, am I?  You can tell me.  Honestly.  I can take it. :)

Indoor Safari Park

Our MOPS table had a play date this week to the Indoor Safari Park.  I had been once before with Olivia and Little Man, and in my opinion it's more suited for kids who are old enough to climb through playscapes by themselves... but that's where the group was headed, so we joined them.

They do have a toddler section. It has this little slide and some foam blocks.  Olivia was interested in it for about two seconds and then we were out of there.

There are two different playscapes.  One is for kids age 2 to 5 and the other is for kids ages 5 to 10.  Obviously Olivia doesn't fall into either of those categories, but she's pretty close to 2, so I put her in the 2 year old ball pit.

That lasted until a little boy--whose mother was nowhere to be found--starting shoving her down and hitting her.  HUGE pet peeve of mine.  Watch your kids people!  So I had to climb in the ball pit (shoes still on) and rescue my child.

We headed to another little play area after that.

It had train tables and kitchens and things like that.

Again, it didn't hold her attention too long.

She played in this little tunnel thing for a bit

She really liked all the ride on toys.  Especially this truck

I'm not sure why since I didn't pay for them to "go".

Our admission (which thankfully was purchased through a groupon) included one train ride and one animatronic animal ride.

 

Only one adult can ride the train at a time and they only run it every half hour, so I sent her on the train with my friend Shaye and her little girl.  This picture cracks me up because it's so "Olivia".  She looking at me like what the heck are you doing out there and I'm in here?  She had fun once it started moving.

She loved her ride on the creepy fun, animatronic elephant.

Her choices were a zebra, a giraffe, or an elephant.  That's a tough call for little Miss O, but she went for the elephant.  Her first animal love. :)

Even though some of the kids were a little older, most of us ended up hanging out in the toddler room towards the end.

Olivia had fun.  We'll probably take her back when she's a little bigger, but it was good to socialize.