Texas

*Note: You may have not noticed that I have changed the background of the blog. Take note of my awesomeness and the incredible things I can do with Microsoft Word and Paint. That’s right, I rock!*

In the past, visiting Texas has been a pain. So many people demanding to see my time and not enough people pleased with the time I’m able to give them. I typically have a “out of body” experience. I go where ever I’m demanded to be and while there I count down the time until my next visit. It has almost always been a miserable experience for me.

This trip has been different. I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent with others. I focus less on where I need to go next, and more on the time I’m currently spending with people. You may be wondering what has made such a difference. There have been sever major changes and one of those changes is that we are able to be here for a month. In the past, visits haven’t been longer than a week and a half. Three and a half weeks has allowed us to take our time and visit all kinds of people. I am LOVING it!

So here is a small play by play of how the first week has gone.

Dec 29th: We went to the mall and did a photo shoot.

                                    The Great Grandkids: Jay Bear, Quino, Feathers and Hulk

Dec 30th: Another small photo shoot with Quino and a real tree

Jan 1: More Family, More Photos

                                 Cousins

Neecie, Jay Bear, and Quino

Me Being Mobbed by Raqi and Hulk

Giving the Memaw Kisses                              

What I’ve learned this year

New Years is such an exciting time. I love setting goals for the next year and reflecting on things that I’ve learned from the past year. I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned this year.

1) We teach people how to treat us.
                Gone are the days of allowing people to walk all over me. I now am more open with others. I express my feelings and opinions. When people can’t treat me with respect, then I spend less time with them. No one is ever entitled to mistreat me. This does not entitle me to be mean to others, but it does allow me to stand up for myself, my family, and my parenting style.

2) Change takes time
                This has been a difficult but important principle for me to learn. I want change to occur immediately. After years of not exercising, I immediately want to be consistent at it. I get frustrated with myself when Quino goes through a growth spurt and I barely have the energy to cook dinner. So I remind myself, change takes time. It allows me to be more patient with myself; it gives me room to err. It also reminds me that, even though it does take time, I have to be actively working towards change.

3) Set small reasonable goals
                Having Quino in my life has been one of the most rewarding experiences ever! It is also the most draining. I have big plans and dreams for how our house will look, be organized and run. This often leads to disappointment, because Quino is only 5 months old and is still very needy. Whenever I get discouraged, I look at my goals and I change them. There is nothing wrong with small, reasonable goals. They allow me to do bare minimum some days without feeling like a failure. Other days I can go above and beyond and feel like a champion! Either way, I feel successful

This has been a year of great change for our little family, some hard and some good. What matters most is that we strive to learn from our mistakes and become better people. We surround ourselves with things and people that uplift us. We show love and compassion to others. We continually grow and improve as a family. I’m grateful for what I’ve learned in 2011 and I’m grateful for a new year with new opportunities, joys and learning experiences.

Happy New Year from Feathers and Quino!

Conversations We've Had

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I’m not sure how people with kids blog on a regular basis. Around Thanksgiving Quino stopped sleeping for 12 hours a night and I’ve been running on fumes! LOL! As a result, we haven’t had anything exciting happen so I’ll just share snippets of conversations we’ve had over the past couple of months.

Me: I’m seeing Dr.Romulan
Greggars:  It’s Dr.Rammel
Me: That’s too hard to say, I can’t say it
Greggars: Try! Dr.Rammel
Me: Dr. Romulan

Then there was the one night where I exploded because Greggars tends to not put the diapers in the diaper pail. He felt bad and sat on the floor (he was sick) and started putting the diapers in the pail. Then in a moment of sleep deprived anger, I opened Quino’s door and threw a diaper in Greggar’s general direction. Since I wasn’t aiming for him it hit him square in the chest. He was not appreciative.
*I did apologize two minutes later after God pointed out that that was an incredibly nasty thing to do!

A few nights ago, Quino woke up around 3am. This is the conversation I had with myself.
Me: I’m gonna wait fifteen minutes and see if he goes back to sleep <Counts to 15 seconds> Ok, fifteen minutes, time to get  him!

The things one thinks when sleep deprived

4am, Quino’s crying
Greggars: I’ll get him
Me: No, I got it
We both fall back asleep

Greggars: we’re almost out of wipes
Me: Did you look behind the bins in his nightstand
Greggars: Yes, that’s how I know we’re almost out

<Later that night>

Me: (happens to glance behind bins and see a brand new pack of wipes) GREGGARS!

Greggars: I bought the baby food like you asked
Me: Let me see! Awwwhhhhh, bananas! Where are the other jars?
Greggars: I only bought the one
Me: How is one jar supposed to last until next week?
Greggars: I don’t know, I’ve never done this before!

Pumpkin Pictures

Note: Sorry it’s been so long to update everyone. I never thought that putting a baby on a schedule would be so TIME demanding. So first a post about today and then onto past things

A while ago I found a pic of a baby in a pumpkin. I LOVED it and decided we’d do one with Quino.

Early last week I went and found the BIGGEST pumpkin possible and brought it home. Today we did all the prep work before taking him outside for the pictures. I set the camera to take multiple pictures within a few seconds, Greggars carved the pumpkin and we stripped Quino down and took him outside.

Then we put Quino in the pumpkin… and his leg got stuck on the way in! Determined that this was going to work AND be a memorable experience I forced his leg through, which of course ticked him off. As a result we got pictures such as these.

I suppose I deserved this.

That left us with this one good pic, spit bubble and all! LOL

We then brought him in and tried to take him out of the pumpkin.

Remember how I forced him into the pumpkin? Greggars couldn’t get him out.

So he carefully cut out a portion of the back and RIPPED the pumpkin apart. I guess his Daddy Bear instincts kicked in. This is what was left of the pumpkin...

...and that’s what happens when you take baby outside for pumpkin pictures!

Tough Day

Today was one of the hardest days that I’ve had in a while. It started off unlike any other day; Quino went to bed after 1am instead of midnight. Now normally he’d sleep for 5-6 hours, but today he woke up at 3:30am due to intense gas. This typically wouldn’t bother me because Greggars is always there to take the baby around 6am and let me catch up on my sleep, but today Greggars had work.  So I stayed up with Quino until 6:30am. Throughout this time period, I found myself pondering over why Quino had been suffering with gas the past several days. Then it came to me, I had been eating candy bars over the weekend and it was messing with my son’s stomach. Goodbye candy bars. L

                Mercifully, Greggars took Quino at 7am (because Quino did wake up again with gas again) and let me sleep for another hour and a half (thank you, Greggars). After Greggars left I took Quino downstairs, and rocked and patted his back for two hours allowing him to sleep longer.

Throughout this time I found myself obsessing over his cradle cap. I had read and heard that I could put olive oil on his head and comb out all the dandruff looking stuff. So after he woke up I began to do just that, but then he became angry and unleashed his angry side! So I quickly gave him a bath and took him downstairs to nurse. That’s when I looked down and saw that he still had oil on his head! It looked like I had taken grease and smoothed his hair down (I’d show you a pic, but it doesn’t do it justice). At this point I’m upset because the WHOLE reason I did this was so that he’d look cute for the WIC appointment, and now he looked like I hadn’t bathed him in weeks! Grrr!!!

                After nursing and getting myself ready, I began to load Quino up in the car seat. For those of you who don’t know, Quino DESPISES the car seat. So he starts screaming. Again.

Throughout all this I discover that I lost my keys. Once I had finally found my keys I began installing the base of the car seat into my car. I’m slipping the seat belt through base, but I’m having a hard time getting it to stretch far enough to reach the buckle. Like any true Potter, I continued to pull it until I finally get it buckled in. I take Quino, who is still screaming, and begin to put him into the car, only to discover I had installed the base in backwards! CURSES!!! I fix it, put him in and head on my way.

                Meanwhile, Quino’s screams become even more intense. I look back and see that the car seat has toppled onto its side!!! No wonder he’s hysterical. At this point I’m late for my WIC appointment and have no idea how to fix the base so that it won’t tip over. I’m the oldest of 6! Why can’t I install the base in properly!!!! I then call Greggars and ask him to leave work and meet at WIC so that he can properly install the car seat! Grrr…!

                Then at WIC I flash the whole world while nursing, but at least Quino stopped screaming! Greggars comes and installs the base in properly and tells me where I went wrong (apparently my car has latches for the car seat. I didn’t know that my car was so advanced). I finally get home and start nursing again, eagerly waiting when he calms down so that I can eat for the FIRST time all day!

                Life calms down until dinner time. Greggars is still gone, so I begin to prepare dinner. Right when it’s time to pull everything out so that it doesn’t burn Quino starts screaming hysterically, again (I may never eat another chocolate bar L). So by the time Greggars does get home, dinner isn’t burnt, but it’s also not ready to eat.

             

So to sum up, Quino did a lot of this

  I did a lot of this

And Greggars also got to do a lot of this

                There are also some morals to be learned. 1) If it’s not bothering anyone then leave well enough alone; 2) If you’re breastfeeding and you’re kids super gassy for more than a day, evaluate what you’ve eaten so that you don’t have to deal with a fussy baby all weekend; 3) Installing the base of the car seat is difficult for all Bia’s; and 4) It’s going to be very difficult for me to adjust to not having Greggars around all day to help out! Why can’t we just get paid to stay at home and raise our kid?

Today's gem

Greg: The store had your Dr.Pepper on sale: two 12 packs for $9. Me: ok Greg: To give you a reference point a 20 pack costs $5. Me: So the four extra cans cost you a dollar a piece ~~~pause~~~ Greg: DANGIT!!!

Yellowstone

On Monday Greggars and I went to Yellowstone for the first time EVER!!!! I’ve lived in Idaho for years and I can’t believe that I have never gone! We were invited by the Kerr’s (Greggars teacher and his wife).I was a little weary about going though, since Quino’s only six weeks, but it was a great trip.

We saw Old Faithful,

mud pots

and bison.

I wanted to honk at the bison but nobody would let me! They were afraid that the bison would attack the car, but I think that it would've just ignored us. Some people just have no sense of adventure! LOL.

Getting out of the house was a welcome relief for me but an all day trip proved to be a bit rough! The next day I was in a lot of pain and ran a low grade fever. My body is always out to get me! We brought a stroller, but I just carried Quino around in the ring sling all day.

That kid weighs 13 pounds! No wonder I was in pain the next day!

Quino wasn’t a big fan of the whole trip. He had to drink formula all day and he was outside. He’s used to nursing and being snuggled lots while indoors at home. He managed though.

Now when we have company come visit, we’ll have to make sure to stop by at Yellowstone.