Breaking the habits

I think I'm crazy stupid for doing this, but it had to be done. As of this week, I am breaking each of my little darlings of one of their habits.

(Keira with her post-ba-ba belly. Explains the Buddha nickname).

It all started with Keira and her ba-ba habit. She is 22.5 months old and still takes a bottle in the morning and one at night. Though she's happy with only 4 oz each time, I want her off the bottle. As her mother, I can only assume complete and full responsibility if her teeth turn black and fall out (well I guess Matt would have to take half that responsibility). Yes, I make her (and her sisters for that matter) brush her teeth with Matt or I assisting so she gets all the gunk brushed away, but I do know that milk sits on teeth and rots them away. And I don't want my my brown-eyed beauty to be ashamed to smile.

When she woke a few mornings ago without uttering her usual mantra "I want ba-ba," I took it as a lead to stop ba-ba cold turkey. I offered her cheerios with milk and she happily obliged. All was well until Daddy came home that evening while I was in the other room. The girls ran to him with hugs and the first words out of Keira's mouth were, you guessed it-"I want ba-ba." At 5 in the afternoon? I don't think so dear! But nice try. Of course Daddy said no, but that didn't seem to phase her. She threw a fit for at least 15 minutes.

My darling dear is smart. She knows which one of us is wrapped around her cute little finger. You see, Daddy is usually the one who gets the girls up and ready while I finish getting ready or do my workout. And he is the one who gives Keira her ba-ba. So, yesterday when it was Mama who got up with her, Keira knew not to bother asking me for her bottle. She knows I don't give in easily (on important stuff). She knows I'm just as stubborn as she is (when I have to be).

But I can happily say the girl hasn't had a bottle since I decided she was done. I know she doesn't think she's done, and she lets us know this every night as she screams and cries and throws her body about declaring emphatically that she wants her ba-ba. But eventually she drifts off to sleep and doesn't think about it again- until morning when Daddy gets her up. Apparently, in her eyes, Daddy is associated with ba-ba.

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(Just a cutie smiling on her beloved swing).

While fighting the good fight with Keira and her bottle, I decided that Kenli, almost three, needs to drink out of "big-girl cups" for the majority of the day. She was easy to get off the bottle. Down to one a day at 15 months and completely off by 18 months. But, in hindsight, I think she substituted the comfort of a bottle for the comfort of a sippy cup. The girl would nurse the cup all day and I eventually had to start telling her to slow down on her drinking. Then one day, I'd had enough. I decided that Kenli needed a big-girl cup with each meal or she too would start rotting those pearly whites. I told her that she could still have one sippy cup a day- half full in the a.m. and the other half after nap. We've been doing this a few days, but not with perfection. She is handling the big cup so well and I'm very proud at how she is taking the change. Not only is she fine with it, but she thinks its neat to have her BG cup and meal time. In fact, she's had to remind me a few times at dinner to fetch her a regular cup. I've also stopped carrying a sippy cup for her if we run errands-which means if I'm just taking Kenli with me somewhere, I don't have to take any "diaper bag" items with me. And I appreciate this new stage in her life.

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("Ummm... you don't plan on taking this from me? Do you?).

Now on to baby Kaelyn. She is already showing signs of needing a bottle to fall asleep, and I'm going to stop it right now. I do not want her to develop the same bottle-sleep dependency that I've been fighting with Keira. My goal is to have her off of all bottles by 12 months. It still sounds so early to me, but I think she'll survive it. Just two nights ago, I stopped in at Walmart to pick up two "training" cups. After comparing the different brands and what they offered with their "uniquely designed" cup, I decided upon Dr. Brown's. They have the handles, soft spout, and they are completely leak-proof (yeah!), but my princess just doesn't know what to think of them.

I got home with her two new cups and washed them. Since it was her bed time, I put her formula in the new cup and decided to give it to her. I held her in my arms and put the spout up to her mouth. She took it and tried to suck on it like it was her bottle. She got too much formula in her mouth and pushed the cup away. But I put it back and she just played with it. She rubbed her gums all over it and that was about it. In the time it would have taken her to finish her normal night bottle, the girl had only taken in an ounce of formula from her cup. But she fell asleep anyway and I decided I'd try again in the morning.

When she woke the next day, she only drank an ounce or two. She nursed that thing all day. Seeing her struggle with this, I've decided to give her a bottle in the morning and one at night for now. During the day she'll get the cup- at least until she gets used to it. Then I'll ease her into no bottles at all. We'll see how this goes over. Maybe she and Keira can compare notes about mean mom is. But I know that I'm doing what's best for their health.

Living simply, so that others may simply live

As some of you know, I am concerned with creating a healthy environment for my children to grow up in. I read labels, try to use organic ingredients in cooking, and get a 30 minute daily walk (most days). I'd like to say that I was doing this before it became the "in-thing," but I honestly didn't know much about organic foods or healthy living until it all picked up momentum in the media. I am slowly learning little things here and there that I can add, delete, or just change in my family's life in order to make it better and longer. So, when I encountered a simple spiral-bound book the other day about cleaning the "green way" I decided to give it a few quick glances.

Upon our last weekly family visit to the book mobile, I picked up Green up your clean up, by Jill Potvin Schoff. My original intentions were to use it as a boredom buster on the treadmill and maybe find an easy green-solution to cleaning my kitchen counters, but it quickly became a little companion of mine.

The book opens with something every good book possesses- an opening hook- something that will capture the reader's attention and keep him plugged in. Try digesting the awful news that you are more or less poisoning your family with every chemical you allow in your house. While I'm no chemist, I do understand this startling fact pointed out early in the reading:

"A study by the Environmental Working Group tested the umbilical-cord blood of 10 American babies born in 2004 and found and average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in each baby's blood."

And I also understand what devastation long-term exposure to chemicals can have on the multiple systems that make up the human body. The statistic mentioned above combined with others just as startling persuaded me into wanting to pursue living a "greener" life with more enthusiasm than I originally intended. The fact is, I don't anticipate this being a fad for my family. I plan to slowly implement new and healthier ways to clean my house, in turn giving my family better functioning bodies and better lives. It's more than just cleaning your house with natural products- it's a way of living. You almost have to retrain your brain to think about what you're doing and how it'll affect your family and the earth.

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Once I finished a good chunk of the book, I felt my first task was to sift through the information and create a shopping list of ingredients and supplies I'd need to start this adventure in eco-living. Quite a time-consuming chore, but that's where I had to start in order to get to the fun part. Armed with my list I hit Akins, Hy-vee and Walmart. I probably didn't need all of those stores, but I'm by no means a pro at this yet.

The first house-hold chore I took on was laundry. I chose laundry first not only because it didn't scare me, but because clothes touch our bodies and the chemicals in traditional detergents can penetrate skin. I tried out the laundry soap recipe (1/8 c liquid soap, 1 T. washing soda, and 1/4 c vinegar) and it works just fine. The only tricky thing is trying to stop the cycle at 'rinse' and drop in a 1/4 cup of vinegar to aide in rinsing and softening the clothes. One of these days I'll get around to timing the different wash cycles and set a timer to go off at the start of the rinse cycle.

I took my "simple" approach a step further when it came time to dry the clothes. I decided to save on energy and money- so I line dried outside in my back yard. This was the first time in my life that I dried clothes somewhere other than the dryer or a rack in my room. I actually enjoyed not feeling rushed and taking my time to hang clothes on the line like many generations of women before me have done- although I'm sure a few of those women would have appreciated an electrical dryer. I'm glad that I don't have to line dry, but even using that method once a week can make and impact on the environment.

I view this green lifestyle as an adventure, a process, a journey. I know I can't be perfect with it all, and I'm sure I'll use commercial detergents in a pinch. But I can't tell you how rewarding it is to know that I can make a positive impact on the planet and lessen the toxins that enter my children's' bodies while they're in our home.

I hope you'll find good information and a few laughs as you read upcoming posts. I plan on trying new recipes and techniques in the weeks and months to come and posting my honest to God feelings about it all. And know that if it's easy enough for me to do, then it's easy enough for you to at least try- which I hope you do. After all, we all deserve to live on a healthy planet with healthy bodies.

*pictures are from google

Crazy Panting Flapper

As the video shows, Kaelyn has started what I call, "Crazy, Panting Flapper." She'll stick her tongue out to the right, pant, and flap her arms up and down rapidly. She takes it one step further by playing "Monkey See, Monkey Do" with this trick. If I do it first, she'll begin to mimic in a matter of seconds. She is such a fun baby!!

Here are some pictures I caught of her in the "CPF" act.

Sister Act

Sporting pigtails

These two have such crazy fun together. I can't wait until my littlest peanut can join in the sisterly fun!

P.S. The girl loves her ice cream

New Surroundings

We'vebeen taking walks here and there- whenever the weather permits between rain and heavy Kansas humidity and heat. Other than the park, the girls' favorite walking path leads right to this little pond near our house. It is a beautiful sight. All who enter must walk beneath this willow.

Then stumble upon a little garden that the owners of the adjacent house planted.

And the girls join hands while they begin their search for duckies.

But not before they pose on an old tree stump overlooking the pond.

And I lose their attention just as the duckies swim by on their own family "walk."

We attempt to feed them, but the mama duckie says "let's leave."

So we do the same.

Better Late than Never

Well, we've officially kicked off our "BUSY" season. It all starts with our anniversary in early July. Then we celebrate all 5 of our birthdays from July 29th through October 22nd- we end just in time to start the holiday season. So, as I'm sure you've noticed- I really haven't been keeping up with the posts. And since I use this as a "family keepsake" site, I'll go ahead and fill you in on some of our activities from the past few weeks.

The weekend of July 4th was not so much fun. We had great plans with friends, but our babies were smacked hard with the summer stomach flu. My poor Keira was sick to her stomach all day on the 4th. This little gal definitely got hit the hardest. I was really disappointed that she didn't get to experience any of the fun things we had planned for her on her first "real" Independence Day. Kenli had just gotten over the bug and Kaelyn was going to get hit the next day, so at least these two little firecrackers could get out do some sparklers and other small fireworks.

She loves her sparklers!

She's just happy to be out with the family.

Ahhh, I' can't look at the smoke bomb!

Those two really enjoyed watching the "show" together.

Ewww, it won't go off in my hand... will it?

Answers

For those of you wondering, I thought I'd let you know the answers to the who's who collage.
Starting at the top left and going across the top row
Kaelyn, Kenli, Kenli
Next row starting at the left
Keira, Kaelyn, Kenli
Next row starting at the left
Keira, Keira, Kaelyn

Who's Who

There are three pictures of each girl at various ages in this collage. If I weren't their mama, I might have a hard time telling who's who in these pictures!!

Cousin ZBC

Cousin Zada and her mama came to visit us this past weekend. There was too much fun to be had. They all loved running through the living room-entryway-kitchen "circle" path in our house.

All four Copeland girls spent the weekend giggling and playing hard. We were able to pause for just a few minutes and have the girls sit and pose for some pictures. They are quite silly when they're all together!!

*click on one of the pictures to see them enlarged!

Ice Cream Girls

We are participating in the library's summer reading program. The girls are reaping the benifits by enjoying their ice cream prize. Much enjoyed by all!

Funny, Funnier, and Down Right Scary Funny

Funny:

When Kaelyn gets excited or anticipates food, she pants like a little puppy who just got done retrieving a ball. This has been going on for a few weeks, but lately it's just gotten out of control. She seriously sticks out her tongue and breaths real shallow and fast. She makes me laugh just by being her silly, crazy self.

Funnier:

Today when I was changing Keira's poopy diaper, I discovered a tickle spot. I was simply whipping her little tushy cheek when she broke out in a hysterical laughter. I was confused at first because usually the only noise I hear while diapering is a few screams-- definitely not laughter. What a nice change of pace.

Down Right Scary Funny:

Okay, I had one of those conversations with my eldest-the one where I'm stunned and amazed at what she knows. Here's the little synopsis of our morning conversation:

Kenli is sitting at our dining room table in her little red booster seat eating her breakfast quietly. I am busy doing something at the adjacent kitchen counter when I hear, "Mommy, when my boopies grow?"

I look over at her little face quizzically staring at mine. "What," I say as she peels her spaghetti strap off of her shoulder and reveals the right side of her chest.

"When my boopies grow like mommy's," she asks as she inspects her "boopie."

My mouth gaping open now, I tell myself 'keep it short and simple."

"Well, honey, they'll grow before you're a mommy."

"Oh," she said.

Whew, that wasn't so bad. I know there will be plenty more to come. This one just completely caught me off guard--so much so that I was really too stunned to laugh when it happened. I am laughing now.

I just love how they make any old boring day-- well, not so dang boring.

Celebrating Dads- a Bit Early

In the new Parents magazine I came across an article, "The New Face of Fatherhood." It focuses on the slowly-changing role of dads in the 21st century. Dads today are cutting their working hours or quitting altogether to stay home or to at least help raise a family. Today's dad is quite different from his predecessors and he wears the spit-up badge of honor proudly on his sleeve.

If we look into the homes of today's family, more and more often we're seeing women and men working, or women working and men staying home to raise children. As the article points out, "lots of today's young dads are the sons of working mothers and grew up with more flexible views about gender roles." So naturally, they are expected to help with home and family.

Dads used to be the one who brought home the bacon, raised his hand to discipline, and was responsible for decision making. The way he is depicted almost makes him seem like a third wheel to the mother/child couple. And this isn't something from the 1950's; just 30 years ago dads were spending an average of 2.6 hours per week with their children. I'm still trying to figure out what they were doing with the other 125.4 non-work hours of the week.

Although the numbers aren't high enough to say it's common, more and more new dads are taking active roles in their children's lives and staying home with them. Others are choosing to work and still spend their time playing tag or giving a bath and not working extra hours or fishing. Now spending an average of 6.5 hours a week (still low if you ask me and my hubby), children today rely on their dads and moms equally. Now he is not just a financial supporter on the sidelines; today's dad is just as proud to actively participate in child-rearing as his wife.

Diapers, burping, feeding, laundry, grocery shopping, dishes, cooking, and doctor's appointments, are all typical motherly duties-- especially 30 years ago. Yet dads with young children today are stepping up and helping, or even taking over these roles. And I can assure you that my husband has fulfilled every one of those duties a number of times in the past 2.5 years.

It all began when we made the decision to go to all of my ob checkups together. I never thought of it being any other way- it never even crossed my mind. Yes, this child was growing inside me, but she was our child. Her well-being should be a concern to both of her parents. According to the article, this is how "today's" dad starts off on his active-role path.

He continues by cuddling his new baby, cooking when his wife is too tired, getting up with a sick child, coming home early just to take the kids to the park, and even sharing in the joy of snot, poop, spit-up and urine stained clothes.

To me, this is what a father is- someone who shares in the ups, downs, and everyday life of loving and raising a family. Whether he is married, divorced, widowed, or single- dads can be as active as they want to be. And I'm thankful everyday for my 21st century, chore-sharing, bath-giving, snot-wiping, grocery-shopping, loving husband.

A Whole Dang Year!!!

It hit me today that it was about a year ago that I started to blog. So I checked it out and my first post was a year ago yesterday. And I know that I'm not the most consistent blogger, but this will be my 54th post. I suppose I can say that I average about one post per week.

Originally, I wanted to start blogging to serve two main purposes- 1) to keep a "scrapbook" of my family's lives and 2) to keep friends and family informed and updated. These hold true today as well, but I have included a third reason- to maintain a part of myself that I thought was once lost.

Writing has always been a stress relieving, mind clearing, enjoyable passion. Upon entering motherhood, I discovered that I could very easily lose part of myself with the upkeep of day to day child-rearing and house maintenance if I did not make time to write. I did not want to forget something that I used to practice freely everyday, so I fit it into my life.

I began writing in a journal for each girl after they turned one (before they turn one I keep daily notes about their development on a calendar) telling of funny stories about them, life lessons, stories from my past, or just to tell them how much I love them. My disability to put my thoughts eloquently on the page kind of disgusted me. I do have two degrees in education for language arts and I couldn't begin to open the thesaurus that once occupied my head. I was at a loss for words. My creativity was slipping away from me.

As the past year has flown by, I realized that the third reason for writing this blog was disguised by what I think of as my motherly duties. I feel as if there is something more though. In addition to keeping notes about our family for all to see, I have allowed myself to continue with a passion that I had long before I became a mother. Writing has been a part of my soul since I can remember. So whether I'm ridding myself from stress, telling you a funny anecdote, or describing one of the girls' milestones, I am fulfilling one of my needs-- to write.

Thank you to all of my readers for putting up with my entering the world of writing again. I have no idea who reads this or how many of you there are, but I do know that this is one of the best and easiest things I love to do.

Wow, has it really been a month since I've sat down to write? And really, I can't claim that last post as much writing- I was really just bragging.

Since the last time I posted we have move into our new house. It is still not "settled" by any means, in fact we are separated from some of our stuff that remains at our old house. I did, however, reunite with my sewing machine. I have not had time to make anything yet, but I did buy the fabric for my next piece- KG's pillow.

There have been some changes I've noticed with the kids since we made the move. Kenli stopped sleeping through the night and she started to have more "accidents" with pottying. She's had so many that I'm thinking she can control what is going on. I'm cutting her some slack because I feel like we uprooted her from the only home she's ever had (that she can remember), and I think she is a bit confused. She has mentioned a few times that she wants to go "home," which I'm guessing means our old house. This makes me sad for her, but I think she really does enjoy her new surroundings.

As do the other two girls.

Kaelyn celebrated her 1/2 year birthday as I sat there and tried to remember where the last 6 months have gone.

Life gets so incredibly busy once babies arrive, and it gets busier the more you have. It makes sense when I write it all out, but really I didn't realize how much busier going from 2 to 3 would be. I would even make the argument that the last 3 months with three kids has been much more hectic that the first three months with three children. Not just because we've had our house on the market and I started back to work, but simply the sheer responsibility that comes with raising three kids instead of two. In the past, if one was down for a nap or out with dad, I would have one child with me. And once you have two or more children, having just one with you for a while is stupid easy. But if I take one out of the equation now, I still have two children who are young and begging for my attention! But you know there's no way I'd ever have anything different. They are the loves of my life!

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!!

My boys are goin' to the big game. We ain't Roy's Boys anymore- we're too good for that name. We took Roy's Boys and we ran them to the ground. What a sweet victory.

I'm not one of those bitter fans who is still hanging their head about Roy's choice to go to UNC. In fact, when he made that choice I was sad and mad to see him leave, but who am I to tell a coach where to live out his dreams. But I am so thrilled to show him just exactly who and what he left behind.

I was born a Jayhawk and I've always been one, but what a great time to bleed red and blue.

I wish I could've been in Lawrence tonight, but the atmosphere still surrounds me while I sit in my own living room. Just minutes after the game ended I heard what I thought was my daughter falling out of bed. Turns out KU fans were outside shooting off fireworks. I could even see a few pre-teen boys down my street with red and blue lights singing "Roooock Chaaaaalk, Jaaaaayhaaawk, KU!"

The spirit is around- and it's alive louder than ever. Yeah, we've been in the championship game before, but we've been waiting to play Roy. The chance to play him could've only been better if it were the championship game. But I'll take this for now!!!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk Go KU!!!