Teething and Clinginess

And so it begins. I knew it would happen sooner or later. Hailey is in full blown teething yet no real bumps are there to indicate that a tooth should be popping through at any time. Still though she is miserable at times. I said it before I was even pregnant with her. "Our next one would be completely different and probably be a little more sensitive." Boy did I hit that nail on the head just right!

Hailey is definately more sensitive with Ava and her feelings do get hurt a little easier. She doesnt like loud times and absolutely does not like to hear Ava cry. Teething has been no different. They dont bother her everyday which is great but when they do bother her it seems to be in the middle of the night. Which for any mom knows that that is when everything hurts: In the middle of the night.

Today has been a little worse than the other times, she has whined just about all day, been very clingy, and actually got sick after eating. My girl doesn't really get sick and hasnt really spit up since she has been here. I feel so bad, these first teeth are the worse and truth be told they still may not pop through for  months, but they are affecting her now.

Tonight was not bad, the episodes aren't bad but just not my little girl. She is such a happy baby most of the time, unless that belly is empty. Thank goodness for the mesher. It really helped with Ava and has already been used a couple of times with Hailey. Hoping the clingy goes away though, I love holding her, but when I am trying to clean, get Ava something, or getting dinner its a little hard.

Hoping for her it passes quickly.

Families Legend

"People Like Us"

PEOPLE LIKE US

DREAMWORKS PICTURES’ “PEOPLE LIKE US” AND

SPRINKLES CUPCAKES CELEBRATE FAMILY


Events Launch on Brothers and Sisters Day, May 2nd

BURBANK, CALIF. (April 26, 2012) — DreamWorks Pictures announced today that they are teaming up with Sprinkles Cupcakes to promote their film “People Like Us” with events at the ten Sprinkles Cupcakes stores around the country. The promotion will run from May 2-June 29, 2012, and is centered around five family-themed holidays: Brothers and Sisters Day (May 2), Mother’s Day (May13), Visit Your Relatives Day  (May 18), Father’s day (June 17) and National Forgiveness Day (June 26).

On the designated “People Like Us” holidays, Sprinkles Cupcakes in all ten locations will give out a free cupcake to each customer who comes in between the hours of 12 noon and 2 p.m. and says, “People Like Us.”  Any customer can vote online for the official “People Like Us” flavor and the winning cupcake will be announced the week of the film’s opening. Customers can also pick up punch cards in Sprinkles Cupcakes stores, redeemable on the selected ‘People Like Us” holidays for a free cupcake.  Follow the movie on Facebook.com/PeopleLikeUs for more details.


“People Like Us”-branded coffee trucks or carts will be at various locations on Brothers and Sisters Day, May 2, to kick off the start of the promotion with free coffee. Visitors to facebook.com/PeopleLikeUs can take the Brothers and Sisters quiz and enter the “Celebrate Family” sweeps to win a trip to visit their family.

“People Like Us” is a drama/comedy about family, inspired by true events, starring Chris Pine (“Star Trek”) as Sam, a twenty-something, fast-talking salesman, whose latest deal collapses on the day he learns that his father has suddenly died. Against his wishes, Sam is called home, where he must put his father's estate in order and reconnect with his estranged family. In the course of fulfilling his father's last wishes, Sam uncovers a startling secret that turns his entire world upside down: He has a 30-year-old sister Frankie whom he never knew about (Elizabeth Banks). As their relationship develops, Sam is forced to rethink everything he thought he knew about this family—and re-examine his own life choices in the process.

The film also stars Olivia Wilde, Michael Hall D’Addario, Philip Baker Hall, Mark Duplass and Michelle Pfeiffer.

A DreamWorks Pictures presentation, “People Like Us” is directed by Alex Kurtzman, produced by Roberto Orci, Bobby Cohen and Clayton Townsend, and written by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & Jody Lambert.

The film releases in U.S. theaters on June 29, 2012, and is rated PG-13.

ABOUT SPRINKLES CUPCAKES

Sprinkles Cupcakes opened “the world’s first cupcake bakery” in Beverly Hills, as reported by the Food Network, and is credited by the Los Angeles Times as “the progenitor of the haute cupcake craze.”  Founded by Candace Nelson, judge on Food Network’s hit show “Cupcake Wars,” and husband Charles, Sprinkles has inspired long lines of devoted Hollywood stars and serious epicureans alike.   Baked fresh in small batches throughout the day, Sprinkles Cupcakes are handcrafted from the finest ingredients and contain no preservatives, trans fats or artificial flavors.  Sprinkles has 10 locations nationwide, a traveling Sprinklesmobile - the world’s first cupcake truck, and sells its cupcake mixes at over 250 Williams-Sonoma stores throughout the US and Canada.  In 2012, Sprinkles debuted the world’s first Cupcake ATM and continued its foray into classic American desserts with the launch of Sprinkles Ice Cream.  For additional information and a list of future locations, please visit www http://www.sprinkles.com.

“Like” PEOPLE LIKE US on Facebook: http://facebook.com/peoplelikeus

PEOPLE LIKE US hits theaters everywhere on June 29th!

Upcoming Remodeling Project

So the next few months you are going to read about our remodeling of the upstairs. We are in a cape cod house, when we moved in Ava was a whole 5 weeks old and still in a bassinet. She slept in our room for the first couple months. The upstairs has 2 bedrooms and a full bath needed some work. We decided to just leave her in our room until we could work on it. We co sleep anyways so she wouldn’t be sleeping upstairs, at least not the full night. Two years later here comes, Hailey, so yes now we have four people in our master bedroom and it is getting tight.

A month or so ago Kenny and I started discussing our options. We want the girls to be in their own room but upstairs is so far away at this point too. They are only 2 and 6 months old.

Last weekend we decided that we would all just move upstairs. It was an easy choice. This way we will be up there with the girls. We can hopefully get them to sleep in their room and get out of our bed but we are also right there in case they need us. Yay for not having to climb stairs in the middle of the night to a screaming child. Also this would free up our master bathroom and master bedroom. We have wanted to remodel the master bathroom but we are using it so we haven’t started on it. This way we will be taking the million toys the girls have to the master bedroom turning that into a playroom and can block off the bathroom for our project.

Kenny has the girls room painted, it is beautiful lavender, and I hope to decorate it with butterflies and pretty girly stuff. The other spare bedroom needs a lot of work; it will need carpet, paint and curtains. The carpet being the big thing, although we have also talked about doing an area rug for now to make this process a little quicker.

I am going to have to take a day off and send the girls to Vickie’s to get the majority of what I need to get done. I have tried to do a little in the evenings when they are home, but Hailey needs a bottle or fed or just wants to be held by mommy (and I love that and want to hold her when I am home) and Ava is everywhere. I will pull something out of a box and she will say ‘oh thank you’ take the item and begin playing with it. Like I really got it out for her to play with. I usually want that item to go in the trash. I will say though we are finding stuff we didn’t even know we had, which means this time I have to organize better and label.

When we moved in with Ava, almost 3 years ago now, we just threw everything upstairs that we didn’t need at that moment because with a 5 week old, Kenny in school for his medic, and my work schedule, there was no way it was going to be a priority at that point.

This time I want to organize and clean out. Now that I am with Thirty-One I also want to utilize some of the organizing bins and bags that I have purchased. I want to get a few things this summer with personalization for the girls for their room. I want to do it right.

So have fun reading about it all. I hope to post pictures of the girl’s room soon. It is pretty and I don’t even have the border up yet.

And the Winner Is....

The Muppets Named New York City’s Family Ambassadors

The Muppets Named New York City’s Family Ambassadors

The Muppets were today named New York City Family Ambassadors by NYC & Company, New York City’s tourism and marketing organization. As part of the year-long collaboration, the Muppets will encourage family travel to New York by highlighting the best ways for families to experience and enjoy the many dining and shopping venues, cultural institutions, parks and attractions across the five boroughs. 

“I’ve loved New York ever since I arrived in New York harbor and saw that the Statue of Liberty is green. What a welcome! New York is a great place for families, frogs, pigs, bears and…uh, whatevers to visit. We can’t wait to show the world the best ways to hop around the city!” said Kermit the Frog, the world’s most famous amphibian.

Added Miss Piggy, “New York is the most fabulous city in the world. In fact, it’s almost as fabulous as moi. So don’t just sit there! Get ready world!  You’re about to take the ultimate diva’s tour of moi’s favorite city! Lucky vous!”

The Muppets will also encourage locals to explore different neighborhoods across New York City by highlighting family-friendly things to do, see, and visit. The Muppets will share their personal City preferences at www.nycgo.com/family where Miss Piggy will discuss shopping, Kermit will help visitors navigate the five boroughs, Swedish Chef will focus on cuisine and more.

“We could not imagine better NYC Family Ambassadors than the lovable and enchanting Muppets,” said George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company. “Appealing to fans of all ages across the globe, the Muppets will highlight what they love about the five boroughs and illustrate why New York City is the perfect place for families to visit this year.”

Easter 2012

Easter went really well. Kenny worked the day before so we had to delay the Easter bunny's arrival. The girls woke me up at 530 so I am glad Ava isn't old enough to be begging to open anything, she didn't even miss the fact that the baskets weren't in the living room. I had hid them in the master bathroom. Kenny got home and distracted Ava while I brought out the baskets.

She was excited, kept saying 'Rabbit came!'

Hailey slept though the visit but was in a great mood for church.

We headed to church, it was so nice to be able to go. We have fought having a newborn, flu season, colds going through our house, Kenny's crazy work schedule, and finally it all worked out and we were there. I will say having two to get ready and going in the mornings is hard. Dont know how women do it with more.

The girls in their dresses getting ready to head to Grandpas

We visited with my dad, it was a great visit, the girls had a great time. Ava loves going to my dad's because she can pretty much do anything she wants and Grandpa says its okay. She can also play hard and he is right there with her.

Hailey was awake and happy, Ava shared Easter eggs with her

We had dinner at my moms and Ava got to ride on the loader with PapPap. She got to visit with her Aunt Ashley and actually ate a good dinner. She got a few gifts, spoiled as usual. Hailey got a cute little stuffed animal to chew on. Both girls had a great time.

goofy Ava playing while we were waiting on Kenny

Finishing the day with some Jello...Jello she made!

We ended the day with some Jello. Ava and I made some for Kenny has her special gift to him. She had so much fun making it and it was easy and not too complicated for her. As soon as he walked in the door at 8am she was yelling for me to open the refrigerate door so she could show him.

Thirty One Gifts Jewelry Pouch Set

This item along with a long lists of others will be retired come April 30th, if you are interested to know whether your favorite item will be retired please contact me. If you wish to order something please visit my website www.mythirtyone.com/KMBowers

Good Luck!!!

Are my kids conspiring against us?

These past few weeks have been horrible in the Bowers house. Not days, just the nights, in particular after midnight. My youngest doesn’t get the concept that people sleep 6-10 hours at night, instead she likes to sleep 3 or 4 hours wake up, scream cry, eat, and then play and ‘talk’ for about a half hour. She screams for her bottle, like she hasn’t eat in days, then wakes up Ava who is used to sleeping  10-12 hours. Ava thinks its morning and will argue to go to the living room or wakes up smiling and wanting to play because Hailey is playing.

Only 2 years old and almost 6 months old and I am beginning to think that they are scheming this stuff during the day. ‘Let’s keep mom awake and see if she can handle going to work with only a couple hours.’ You think? It feels that way.

I am counting down until we get to the position to get the upstairs remodeled (this summer) and get them into their own room. We have been sharing with these two tiny little people for tooooo long.

I am worn down, I am cranky and it’s affecting my people skills. My youngest is still waking to eat once or twice a night, she just won’t get a lot at one time, only 4 oz instead of 6 so keep her full. I have been rolling with it. She’s only 5 months old, she doesn’t know any better, and she’s got me. They are in control at this point because they cannot do much for themselves.

So now I tease that when Ava hugs Hailey and they are together playing, that they are really talking about the night’s plan. Which one will get up when and which one will scream and which one will play. I know the RSV really screwed Hailey’s sleeping pattern up and we have to rework it but this kid has no schedule which sucks. She goes to sleep at a different time every night. She wakes up at a different time every morning, lately that time has been somewhere around 5:15 am.

I hope that when Hailey turns 1, we can put them both in a double bed and they can snuggle with each other. Right now they are both relaying heavily on momma. It is hard enough when one is in that clingy, can’t get out of my sight stage but to have both in it at the same time, MAN it’s a different kind of rough.

Praying it gets better, it usually does for a little bit at least. Hoping we get a break of at least one if not both sleeping most of the night if not all and in their OWN bed. We have definitely spoiled them ourselves and created our little bed hogging monsters; but really most of the time it’s great, its sweet, and I really couldn’t imagine it any other way. These past few weeks have just done me in. I either need a vacation to catch up or some kids that sleep.

Thirty One

So I became a consultant in February. It has been a lot of fun so far. I have had 2 successful parties. I still have lots to learn but it is all coming together. I had been looking for something for about a year now to sell to make a little extra to put in our savings account. Something I could do but still be a MOM. That is my first role and most important. I wanted something that wasn’t really a ‘part time job’ that I had set hours and had to spend a lot of time away from my girls. My sister in law chose to sell ‘Scentsy’, a flameless candle company that is great but I wasn’t really into it. I am more of an organizer than a candle person. I wanted to choose something I could be passionate about. Why should I sell something to someone if I don’t even care all that much about it? For Christmas I received a bag from my inlaws, it was a Thirty One bag. I didn’t think much about it. I love totes, can always find a use for them. When I opened it up and saw how big it was, I decided I was going to use this for the girls diaper bag. The Organizing Utility Tote is so big, I don’t exactly how much I can fit it in but trust me I have had it full and weighed down and it has held up.

I thought this is the kind of product I would like to be involved with. I did a little research and found out about the company a little and became more impressed. Here’s why:

The name Thirty-One comes from the verses of Proverbs 31. These words may be thousands of years old, but I am constantly amazed by how today's modern woman can relate to them. The Proverbs 31 woman is dearly loved and respected by her family, yet she is an individual in her own right. She manages the home and property with kindness and integrity. Her savvy business skills are partly brought about by her desire to serve others, to do good deeds and prosper.

I had originally decided to not begin until May when Hailey would be 6 to 7 months old and a little easier if someone other than Kenny would have to watch while I did a party or had to meet with someone. I did a party, on the advice of the person that is now my director just to see if I even wanted to do it. Well off of my launch party, I booked a few parties, but I wouldn’t get these bookings unless I was a consultant, so that is how I ended up starting in February instead of May.

I have had fun with it. I am a people person. I don’t mind getting up in front of people; I like meeting new people and having a good time. So now I am finding new ways of booking parties, home or catalog and meeting new contacts. I would love to eventually be doing vending events and fundraisers.

It’s a new experience and I am taking it all in. Hoping to keep the ball running and to do at least one party a month.

Milestones

Hailey is growing like a weed. She recently had a wellness check up. She is now 14 lbs 14 oz, and 26 inches long. Soon she will be taller and out weight her big sister Ava. She is now rolling over and practicing to sit up on her own. I cannot believe that this month she will already be six months.

She and Ava have grown so close to each other. She is now ‘talking’ and yelling so much. Her personality is definitely apparent now. She is laid back but really not. It’s hard to describe. She will lay on you and watch TV or Ava play and not move much, just take it all in. She will play in her bouncer and just squeal and play for over an hour.

She is still not sleeping through the night. I don’t think that will ever come. She is my whiny baby. She fusses a lot but not like its all day, it’s more at night. She loves to cuddle. She will wrap her arms around your neck, makes me feel so good.

She is now in size 3 diapers. She’s in 6 to 9 months clothes. She hates wearing socks, cant keep them on her. She is teething and drooling on everything.

She’s gorgeous. She has the biggest blue eyes.

She loves her daddy. (Both girls do, I don’t stand a chance when he’s in the room)

A Night Off

A couple weeks ago, Kenny and I got the pleasure of having a ‘kid free’ evening. One of the guys on his shift got married. Their wedding was beautiful, the bride gorgeous, and the food delicious. I had asked my mom about a month before the wedding if she would mind having both girls. I hated doing it but I also wanted it so badly. By the time the wedding would be, Hailey was 5 months old, and I was confident she would be on a better schedule.

Well a week before the wedding, Hailey was diagnosed with RSV. I was really worried about whether I should even leave her or not. But my mom and sister both told me that I needed the break and that she would be fine by that time. So the morning of the wedding, Hailey was doing awesome, her breathing was better, she wasn’t as cranky, and she was eating normal again. I was feeling more confident about leaving her with mom.

We left them about 1:30 and may our way to Charles Town. The service was nice. I held Kenny’s hand and was taken back to November 1, 2008 when we said our vows and pledged our love for the rest of our days together. We hadn’t had a wedding since this time last year.

I texted mom a few times but got no response. Made me a little nervous but figured with two of them she was busy.

Kenny and I had a ball. It was one of the best times we have had in a long time. It was really needed. The most important thing I can say about having a marriage and kids is you need to still date your husband. Yes you are married, yes you love each other, but you need to show it. You need to let that person know you are still attracted to him, that you still like having fun with him, and you still need him. The best time about that night is that we danced every slow dance the DJ played. Anyone that knows my husband knows that this is not in his character at all. At any wedding previously, ours included, I got one maybe two dances and he was done. But this time we danced, we talked, we laughed.

After having two pregnancies, two periods of newborn stage, and now having 2 its a little harder to find a sitter willing to take them overnight. I will say that we don’t do it often but maybe that’s what makes that time so special. We don’t go out much on our own without the girls. Not that we can’t it’s just that we like being with our girls. Family time is important but after this night, I think we see that time alone as a couple instead of parents is also important.

Now that Hailey is almost 6 months old it is a little easier to have someone take both of them. We are hoping to have more ‘date’ nights.