Suddenly Sandy

I am so looking forward to our move in the future (no plans yet, just dreaming) to the country. So is Scotty. We picked up a new Power Wheels Jeep for him on Wednesday and headed out to Grandpa Jeff's on Thursday. Grandpa fixed it up with a new battery and Scotty drove around the property for HOURS. We're going back tomorrow (if we're healthy) and I plan to leave the Jeep out there. It makes me nervous to have the little stinker driving it here in our neighborhood where there are too many cars speeding by!

And hopefully? Scotty will improve his driving skills. He drove into the house 3 or 4 times, hit two cars AND just about drove into the ditch multiple times at Grandpa's! He's in heaven driving it though, so it's worth it

Is it horrible that I'm incredibly relieved? Seriously, you would think that 9 months wasn't that big of a deal. With the drastically different parenting styles though? It's SO HARD! It doesn't help that before this we saw the kid maybe 6 times a year. That's being generous. It's hard for me to have much feeling toward a kid that I don't even know...and who is 2 years old and a master manipulator.

It's been so nice being able to sleep in this week (Scotty sleeps until at least 7:30, sometimes as late as 9!) Scotty has been behaving much better this week. He no longer has to share mom and dad with his cousin, so I think he's in heaven for now. We've been able to run errands as we please. I've been able to have a lot more cuddle time with Scotty, I love that! I keep thinking "I can't believe he's 3" and he's not going to want cuddles from mom forever! Heck, he's not going to be able to sit in my lap comfortably much longer!

Obviously, I'm relieved to have the nephew gone. I feel horrible for my BIL and his wife. She was laid off, her last day is the 3rd. Her sister is watching Tyler for the remaining days and then again while my SIL goes back to school. Their parenting styles are pretty much the same, so I'm guessing she has an easier time with him!

My husband and I have talked about it quite a bit, but it wasn't handled the best when we were asked to watch the nephew. We got a phone call on a Thursday saying "we're concerned he's getting spanked at daycare...can we hire you to watch him 3 days a week?" Of course I say "okay" when I hear he's getting spanked. I think what rubs us the wrong way is the fact that they started out as "can we hire you" instead of "could you help us out because you're family?" I felt like an employee and I never really know what to say to my SIL, so it was tough. I wish we felt more like family to them, but apparently even after being married to my husband for almost 6 years (6 years on Wednesday!) the feeling isn't there!

Hopefully we'll still be able to see the nephew on a regular basis. I think for now, it's a good thing that I'm not a daycare. I don't have the patience for it...at all. So now we're back to our "Mom & Me" days and I'm trying to add playdates at least once a week to our calendar!

So...I won a Vtech Reader a few weeks ago over at 3 Kids and Us. It arrived last week and Scotty LOVES it. I started playing with it and I love it too...Now I want my own reader!

So my question is...can anyone recommend one? I added up my pile of gift cards and I should have enough to go and get one. I was looking at the Nook offered at Barnes and Noble. My concern with that is the news that Barnes and Noble is up for sale. If I buy a Nook and bad things happen to Barnes & Noble, will I no longer be able to get support for my nifty reader?

Another option is the Kindle...I just know nothing about any of the readers out there. I want to be able to go and touch one and fiddle around with it before I shell out that much money (or in my case, giftcards). And can you use multiple giftcards at Amazon? I know B&N will take as many as I hand them.

Then there are the many other options out there...I saw a Sony reader and something else...my eyes started to glaze over a bit. I told the hubby he needed to research them a bit. He's the tech-nerd in this house, so he'll know what all the terms mean.

However, I would LOVE some opinions if anyone has a reader and can give me some pros and cons. I am so excited for a new toy AND to finally spend these giftcards that I'm pretty sure moved with us almost 2 years ago!

Copco Bella Enamel-on-Steel Teakettle

I got my Copco Teakettle 8 years ago for my birthday. I LOVE it. I still use it almost daily.

My Copco Teakettle holds 2 quarts of water...more than enough for my tea, my husbands and any recipe where I need boiling water! It boils the water pretty darn fast, it's not TOO loud, but it's loud enough that I hear it from the other room. My only complaint is washing it...after 8 years, it's a little grimy and I never feel like it's super clean.

I would definitely recommend this teakettle. I've had mine for 8 years and it's still in great shape and works as well as it did right out of the box!

Where to start? Well, we started time-outs before Scotty was even a year old. I know, most people are going to think we're horrible parents for doing it that early. But when your child is screeching at you because you tell them no? In this house, they get to sit in a time-out spot to calm down. I have some hilarious video of Scotty at around 9 months drumming his fingers on the time-out step while screaming every few seconds. He finally stops, gets up and gets a hug and it's over.

I believe that because of this, our life is much easier right now. Two's were pretty easy. I'm finding three a little more difficult, he's learned some of mom's buttons (dad's too). That I can deal with. Because he's my child and I love him to death and at times I can find the humor in the situation.

My nephew though? Wow. I find myself frustrated beyond belief. The parenting style differs drastically. I don't coddle Scotty at all. I never have. If he's hurt, I cuddle the heck out of him. He's very independent and always has been. He was shaking me off at 9 months saying he could walk. Sure enough, he did. He's been shaking us off and telling us "I can do it" ever since he learned how to say the words.

This week has been pretty rough with the nephew. Last week he was gone on vacation. He is at his other Aunt's house on Monday and Wednesday, here on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. That's got to confuse the heck out of the kid. He has to learn rules at three different houses. I think the rules differ greatly at our house. I don't put up with tantrums. At all. If you're hurt, I'll give hugs, of course. If you're throwing a fit because you don't want to share? You're tired? You're not getting your way? You know where your seat is, go sit until you calm down.

Nephew was dropped off at 8:30 this morning...he decided to skip his breakfast at 9 and spent most of the morning in his seat. We all tried to get him to play and he kept bursting into tears. The poor kid WANTS to go to sleep. On Tuesday I let him go to sleep early and it threw our whole day off. So today, he doesn't get to nap until nap time rolls around. Hopefully this will get him back on track and he'll go to bed at a decent hour so he's not a mess tomorrow.

It frustrates me  beyond belief because we have certain rules here...and they aren't the same at home for him. It would be nice if he were on the same schedule everywhere. Unfortunately, I don't think that'll happen. In the meantime, I feel like the mean and evil Auntie because he cries so much until he gives in and realizes that he's not the boss.

Really, I'm just venting. I keep hoping it'll get better and I'll get over being frustrated. So far it hasn't happened...and I think it's been 2 months now? Ugh. It's so much easier to just deal with it when it's your kid!



Alright, I am SUPER late on getting this post up...I tend to put it off because it's so hard to pick the Bloggers to pass it on to. A big THANK YOU to Beth at The Willis Family for giving me this award! So sorry it took me so long to post!

The Sweet Blog Award

The rules are that I have to pass it on to 10 blogs.  I'm only making it to five, otherwise I'll procrastinate another month!

Annette @ Mommy Spirit

Tammy @ Tammy's Two Cents

Kristen @ Adventures in Mommyhood

Julia @ Live, Laugh, Love

Cameron @ Ingenue Mom

Am I the only one that gets a burst of energy around "that time of the month"??? Seriously, I'm a slug with PMS for a few days...then I wake up with the need to clean, cook and bake. It's insane.

Take this last week. I was on edge and a little short with the boys all week. I got sucked into books and just wanted my space. We did a lot of sandwiches/freezer meals/hubby cooked.

Then I wake up today...and I got two loads of laundry done, 3 loaves of banana bread, a batch of banana muffins and 5 dozen chocolate chip cookies made. AND clipped coupons, wrote up my grocery list and got all my stuff ready for homemade Mac N Cheese for tomorrow. Yay me!

I feel horribly guilty when I have my sluggish cranky days...then I have a few of these and feel so good at the end of the day! My husband is the best. He puts up with my crankiness and laziness. He helps out quite a bit when I get on my domestic kick...we now have quite a few meals frozen for my lazy days! Scotty is 3...and seems to understand Mom's weird moods. Thank goodness for that!

Alright, I'm just rambling...I'm just a little wired right now and quite pleased with how much I've managed to accomplish today Now off to fold the two loads of laundry before I can jump in bed...and also on the schedule for tomorrow? Homemade cinnamon rolls! I love my new cookbooks!

30 Day Gourmet's Big Book of Freezer Cooking

Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

Scotty and I went to my dad's yesterday for a visit. We lasted from 1-9. And after 8 hours? He still wasn't ready to leave. He was starting to get a little mouthy too.

The weirdo decided it would be a great idea to "wash" in the cooler. I wish I'd taken a picture. He climbed IN the cooler and was just hanging out. This was around 8:30 and we were all getting cold so we said "Let's go inside". Scotty was having none of that. Dad told me to just go inside, he'd follow us. I chose to let him believe this and we went inside and watched from the other room. Do you know how long my 3 year old stayed out there? 10 minutes.

THEN my dad went out and dragged him inside while I loaded up the car. See dad? You may have had 4 kids, but I totally know mine better. He's as stubborn as me and completely fine with being outside by himself as long as he can sit in a cooler.

And another funny thing he did? Poured an insane amount of sprinkles on the cake we had for dessert. By insane? I mean a whole bottle...yum, huh? Ugh. It was a little much, we dumped half of them off.