We have decided to switch blog platforms and are also switching addresses. Please go to http://www.kduluth.com/blog/ for future updates from the Ark family.
January 2011 Archives
You may have noticed that the blog is changing a bit. I got it into my head that I should update the blog software that I use and was having a bit of trouble getting everything working again. It's finally functioning as it should except that I still can't upload images and the CAPTCHA is no longer working. In the 16 hours that I haven't had a CAPTCHA enabled I've gotten at least 20 spam comments so I've deemed it necessary to bring it back! Stay tuned.
The twins are in full toddler mode these days and the tantrums are really wearing me out. Usually it's only one at a time but when it is both (or God forbid, all three) I've been known to shut my ears and hide behind the couch to go to my "happy place" just to get away. I used to think that I was a patient person but having three kids has proven me wrong and there's a lot more screaming and yelling (from all) in the house than I'd like.
When Maia was younger (around 18-19 months) I used to think that her tantrums were bad. Now that I have Juliette I know what a bad tantrum really is! Juliette will scream at the top of her lungs, hyperventilate, throw toys, throw herself on the floor, etc. all for the most insignificant of things! For example, this weekend after breakfast I was cleaning up and Juliette came over to me whining "up up up" and I told her that she'd have to wait until I was done cleaning because really, have you ever successfully tried to sweep, load the dishwasher and wash high chair trays with a heavy kid in one arm? Juliette melted down. She ran away, screaming at full volume so Ben took over and held her and she lost it even more. She was yelling for mommy and nothing he did would calm her down. He brought her into another room, tried talking softly, tried yelling, tried to get her to breath into a bag (since she was hyperventilating). She ended up scratching his neck (he was bleeding) and by the time he finally gave up, I was done and she ran over to me, hugged me with big big tears and it took probably about 10 minutes to calm her down. I'm not really sure how to handle this situation. I usually don't give in to her requests because she needs to learn patience and that when I'm busy she needs to find something else to do! She's just so high-strung and emotional that she has nothing rational going through her head in these moments. Is it an age thing? She's almost 22 months (19 adjusted) Will it pass or will it continue through the teenage years? Lord help us all.
Lily is usually a happy girl but sometimes she'll whine/cry for an hour straight when she's tired. I refuse to put her down for a nap though because she's on one nap a day and is usually fine with that. Even her incessant whining in these times does not even come close to Juliette's total meltdowns so it's certainly something I can handle.
In other news, Ben is back to work today after the week's vacation and I'm sure going to miss my every other day of sleeping in! Oh well, getting back to a routine will be nice as long as Juliette doesn't keep pulling the 5 am wake-ups. Ben also is coming down with some sort of yucky flu thing - not great timing but he came home from work today pretty miserable. He's got chills and aches and has been sleeping since 6:30. Hopefully he can sleep most of it off.
Tomorrow I start my next cake class, Fondant and Gumpaste. I love the look of fondant and since I'm taking it with my friend Stacy again and her sister Kristine I know we'll have fun - we always do! On Sunday of next week I'm also taking a "Tall Cakes" class so it'll be a very cakey week for me. Hopefully Ben's up to taking care of the girls by himself tomorrow night.
When Maia was younger (around 18-19 months) I used to think that her tantrums were bad. Now that I have Juliette I know what a bad tantrum really is! Juliette will scream at the top of her lungs, hyperventilate, throw toys, throw herself on the floor, etc. all for the most insignificant of things! For example, this weekend after breakfast I was cleaning up and Juliette came over to me whining "up up up" and I told her that she'd have to wait until I was done cleaning because really, have you ever successfully tried to sweep, load the dishwasher and wash high chair trays with a heavy kid in one arm? Juliette melted down. She ran away, screaming at full volume so Ben took over and held her and she lost it even more. She was yelling for mommy and nothing he did would calm her down. He brought her into another room, tried talking softly, tried yelling, tried to get her to breath into a bag (since she was hyperventilating). She ended up scratching his neck (he was bleeding) and by the time he finally gave up, I was done and she ran over to me, hugged me with big big tears and it took probably about 10 minutes to calm her down. I'm not really sure how to handle this situation. I usually don't give in to her requests because she needs to learn patience and that when I'm busy she needs to find something else to do! She's just so high-strung and emotional that she has nothing rational going through her head in these moments. Is it an age thing? She's almost 22 months (19 adjusted) Will it pass or will it continue through the teenage years? Lord help us all.
Lily is usually a happy girl but sometimes she'll whine/cry for an hour straight when she's tired. I refuse to put her down for a nap though because she's on one nap a day and is usually fine with that. Even her incessant whining in these times does not even come close to Juliette's total meltdowns so it's certainly something I can handle.
In other news, Ben is back to work today after the week's vacation and I'm sure going to miss my every other day of sleeping in! Oh well, getting back to a routine will be nice as long as Juliette doesn't keep pulling the 5 am wake-ups. Ben also is coming down with some sort of yucky flu thing - not great timing but he came home from work today pretty miserable. He's got chills and aches and has been sleeping since 6:30. Hopefully he can sleep most of it off.
Tomorrow I start my next cake class, Fondant and Gumpaste. I love the look of fondant and since I'm taking it with my friend Stacy again and her sister Kristine I know we'll have fun - we always do! On Sunday of next week I'm also taking a "Tall Cakes" class so it'll be a very cakey week for me. Hopefully Ben's up to taking care of the girls by himself tomorrow night.
