When I got pregnant with Kelvin and realized I was going to have two kids only 18 months apart, one of my top concerns was sibling rivalry.  How would Ava react to having a little brother coming along and kicking her off of her only-child-throne?  How would she exhibit her jealousy?  Would she ever learn to love him?  Would they ever get along?

Thankfully, I never had to deal with any of that.  Ava has been awesome with him since Day 1.  She’s never showed any jealousy towards him and she just told Daddy the other day that she’s glad she has a Babycake (her nickname for Kelvin).  Obviously, I breathed a sigh of relief that I had dodged that bullet.

But I shouldn’t have let my guard down so soon.  Because it appears Kelvin has developed some sibling rivalry towards Ava!  He’s always been a really needy baby and he still wants to me to be within arm’s reach at all times.  But lately he’s been really nasty…he wants me holding him ALL. THE. TIME.  Heaven forbid I even think about setting him down, or worse, walk in the other room!

I finally put it all together when he started getting up a little earlier than Ava the last few days.  He doesn’t want to eat breakfast first thing because he’s used to eating with Ava, so I take him out by his toys and sit on the floor with him.  Let me tell you, it’s like a breath of fresh air!  He sits there and plays independently (even though I’m right there, he ignores me) and there isn’t even a hint of fussing.  But as soon as Ava gets up, he throws a fit when she sits on my lap and he insists on being held again.

Am I the only one who thinks this is weird?  I’ve never heard of this kind of sibling rivalry on the younger sibling’s part.  But I have no idea what to do…I’m about ready to take off in a motorhomes just to escape the 24/7 fussing!

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I saw this meme over at Coordinated Chaos and thought it would be fun to play along.  Like Miche, I don’t like tagging people to do these, but if you post it on your blog too, leave your link in the comments and I’ll come visit you!

Here are the Rules:

1. Must thank the person who gave you the award and list their blog and link it.

Thanks, Miche!

2. Share “10 Honest things” about yourself.

See below.

3. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you. *Which I’m not doing!*

4. Tell those 7 people they’ve been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

So here are my 10 things:

1. I’m hopelessly addicted to reality TV.  The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are my biggest weaknesses, followed closely by Dancing With The Stars.
2. I’m also addicted to babywearing.  Especially since Kelvin is a very needy baby.  He’s already 14 months, but I still wear him for at least a little while almost every day.  It’s a good thing I sprang for the comfortable baby carriers!
3. I don’t scrub my floors nearly often enough.  We have hardwood floors everywhere except the stairs, so I really should be scrubbing them more often than once every couple months.  But they hide dirt so well (unlike my kitchen floor, which gets scrubbed a bit more often!).  I really want to get one of those steam mops, but they’re pretty expensive.
4. I really want a puppy.  Bad.  Chad actually brought a puppy home last week and ended up returning it the next day because it was an impulse decision and he didn’t realize how much it would affect our lifestyle.  This incident did not help the puppy-fever.  In fact, it intensified it considerably.  Especially since it was a short-haired dog that could be in the house, wouldn’t shed and would follow me all over the place and be my buddy.  Chad’s lucky he didn’t find himself in the doghouse because of this!
5. I get a “natural high” from getting amazing deals on products using sales and coupons.  And I also feel a little bit stabby when cashiers mess up my deals by forgetting to scan coupons.  I had this happen today and I literally obsessed over it for several hours.  Apparently I’m still obsessing, since I’m talking about it now!
6. I love winter, but only when I can look at it from inside my cozy warm house!  I do not enjoy going out in the cold and I enjoy it even less now that I have two kids to keep hoods and mittens on.
7. Every couple weeks, we have a roast chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies kind of meal.  Then the next day, I make tons of chicken broth with the carcass  and the next day I make about half of the broth into cream of chicken soup.  I freeze it all and it saves us lots of money…not to mention it’s much better for us than the canned stuff.
8. In the very near future, I have a feeling that I will be in over my head with the terrible two’s….times two!!  Ava won’t be three until March and Kelvin seems like he’s entering his terrible two’s early.  When something happens that he doesn’t like, he throws himself facedown on the floor and screams.  Classy, huh?
9. I love horses and horseback riding.  Most people wouldn’t know it, though.  I only get to go horseback riding every few years, but I would totally do it more often if I had the opportunity to actually learn to ride.  But I wouldn’t be caught dead in breeches, FYI.
10. I have to go to the municipal court tomorrow to deal with a ticket I got for expired registration….on CHAD’s van!  I am not amused.  Especially since I mailed in the paperwork to renew registration on both of our vehicles, but then forgot about it and never realized they didn’t send us our new stickers.  So now I get to drag myself down there at 8 am sharp.  Yuck.  At least Chad will keep the kids so I don’t have to bring them with me!

Can you tell I was having a leeeeeeetle bit of a hard time at the end?  Because I was.  And now it’s your turn!

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If you’re wondering why I have dark circles around eyes so often lately, it’s from keeping up with two active toddlers!  That’s right…Kelvin is walking a lot now!  He probably walks about 50% of the time at this point.  He does fall every 5-10 steps, but picks himself up almost every time and keeps walking.  He’s getting so big!!

However, I’m not getting all weepy about him being a toddler quite yet.  This little guy is still a baby in many ways.  He’s a really needy baby, so he insists on being held (or worn in one of my baby carriers) quite a bit.  And he still wakes up 2-5 times a night (on a good night).  Until I’m sleeping through the night on a regular basis, I still have a baby, as far as I’m concerned! 

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This week, one of our MOMS Club events was a craft day.  We made snow globes and the kids had such a blast that I thought I’d share it with you, too.  It’s so easy and cheap (you won’t have to dip into your health savings account for this one!).  Sorry I don’t have any pictures.  It’s been a bad day and I’m feeling super-lazy and it’s my blog so I don’t have to if I don’t want to!  LOL

What you’ll need:

1. Clean, empty baby food jars (with the labels peeled off)
2. Waterproof super glue
3. Distilled water
4. Fun items to put in the snow globe (we used foam shapes, buttons, and glitter)

First, we had the kids fill the jars about half-full with whichever items they wanted.

Then we poured enough water in to fill the jar.

Finally, we glued the lid to the jar.

Voila….a snow globe!  We also let the kids paint the lids, put foam stickers on them and tie ribbons around it if they wanted to.

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Readers of my other blog know that being cooped up indoors with the kids is starting to drive me a little crazy.  Which is sad because this is only our first snowstorm.  Something tells me we have a long winter ahead of us!

Part of what makes it so hard is keeping the kids busy.  I definitely don’t want them sitting in front of the TV all winter long, but I don’t want them swinging from the light fixtures either.  Here are some ideas for keeping kids active in the winter that I’m planning on using:

1. Get a children’s fitness DVD.  I have to admit, I haven’t tried this yet, but I plan on getting one.  Ava loves doing my workout DVD’s with me, so I think she’ll be thrilled to have one of her own!
2. If you have a nice basement (doesn’t have to be finished, just not really yucky), move your outdoor toys down there.  This week, we went to a friend’s house and she had tricycles, ride-in cars, a toddler basketball hoop, and a toddler jungle gym in her basement!  This time of year, you might even be able to snag a low price online.
3. Turn on upbeat music and get everyone dancing!
4. Take them to an indoor play area.  We have one at the mall, but several fast food places also have them (McDonald’s, Sonic, etc.).
5. If the temperatures aren’t too extreme, take them outside, even if it’s just for a few minutes.  The fresh air will do them good!

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Well, it is now the season of “being-sick-every-few-weeks”, isn’t it?  Like I just posted on my other blog, I am sick…again.  The kids have also had a couple of colds so far this season.  I am not against using over-the-counter or prescription medications when necessary, but I like to try natural remedies on colds and minor illnesses first.

Here are some of my favorites:

1. Sore throats and coughs – Use lemon juice and honey.  Mix a Tablespoon of each, microwave it for about 20 seconds, and then swallow it.  Keep in mind that babies under 2 should not have honey.
2. Stomach or Neck Pain – Rice and a sock.  Fill a sock with uncooked rice, tie it closed and heat in the microwave for about a minute.  Makes a great, inexpensive substitute for a heat wrap!
3. Headache – Ice and a bandanna.  Wrap the ice in a dishtowel and place on your forehead.  Keep in place with a bandanna.
4. Colic – Chamomile tea.  Chamomile is known for its relaxation benefits, and it works well on babies’ intestinal muscles, too.  Give it to the baby an ounce at a time and don’t give them more than four ounces a day (so that they’ll still have room for their breastmilk or formula).
5. Nosebleeds – Cayenne Pepper.  Sprinkle some on a q-tip and swab the nostrils with it.  Shockingly, this doesn’t sting and it works great for clotting.

Keep this list handy (be sure to include it in your online backup…you don’t want to lose this! ) and try these remedies next time you or your child aren’t feeling well.  You’ll be surprised at how well they work!

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