Naptime Blog

One night my son was playing along in the house when he hit his head pretty hard on a piece of wood from our computer table, and started crying a lot. Shaughn isn’t a cryer really and if he hurts himself he will get right back up and dust it off, but this time it hurt and you could tell.  I rubbed his head and he calmed down. There was a little bit of a bump afterwards but he was fine and his behavior was fine and normal.

Two hours later was his bedtime and he went to bed easily like usual. The next morning he was just very strange while I was getting ready for school. He was wimpering and laying anywhere I put him crying. I placed him on the bed while I was changing and he was just limp almost. Very very odd behavior and unlike him. The first thing I thought of is the night before and how he hit his head. Hoping there was no connection, I wanted to be sure and take him to the ER, so I called out of school and went straight there. They brought us in right away, started asking questions about losing conciousness, etc. I told them he didn’t lose consciousness and he wasn’t throwing up he was just very odd and for it to be the next day after that head injury I wanted to be safe. The doctor comes in, with an attitude that he thought I was a loony, and asks me “So you brought your son on because he’s misbehaving?” I wanted to cry! Of course I did not bring him in here because I can’t discipline my child, I brought him here because he has no behavior. I have been with my child every day of his life and know that not once has he ever acted the way he did that morning. He then asks me what I wanted to do and informed me “we could do a cat scan but he will be exposed to radiation which can stunt his cells” Right, because that’s what I want to hear. My mother called her friend in NY who is a doctor and reassured her that having a catscan would eliminate the question of any head trauma or brain swelling and that it wasn’t going to be damaging to him. I thought this over and decided to go with the catscan. Thank goodness, everything came back normal, but its better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to my child.  Have you ever had an experience like this where it seems the pediatrician has poor bedside manner or made you feel like you were going nuts?

-Krystle

We always wanted a family dog that would grow up with Shaughn and us and just be a great addition. We came across a 4 year old Border Collie named Zappa, who lived next door to my parents. He is fully trained, wonderful with Shaughn and loves to swim. Zappa has been everything we were looking for in a family pet and when we found out his owners were looking for a new home for him, we thought it was good timing and for us to adopt him.  My husband , I can’t tell if he really likes the idea of having a dog or not, he doesn’t say much and I’m left to try and read his mind. So far it seems to be working out well and now I start a job on top of school ,  so I personally won’t be spending as much time with the 3 of them as I would like but hopefully it can still work out. How did you go about finding the perfect family pet for your home?

-Krystle

Even though it’s a day most get off from work, and is usually associated with barbecues and perhaps some alcoholic beverages with great friends and family, one must also take the time to remember why we celebrate Memorial Day.

Taking a little time to show appreciation for all our men and women in the armed forces and some who gave their lives for this country. Whether you support the war or not, men and women are still over there fighting for us as a country and risking everything they have.

This year, we honored my husband for the time he served with the Air Force and had the traditional burgers, ribs,& beer cookout with my family. It was a beautiful day out, so we were able to take advantage of the pool and cool down. I tried to keep a patriotic theme, and I think it worked out well! I hope everyone had a great day!

Krystal

Every few months, since Shaughn was born, I would go through all of his clothes and sort out what he could fit into at the time and what he would grow into within the next three months and keep them in his closet until he outgrew those “3 months from now” clothes. I’ve been keeping it up so that anything I grabbed from his drawers or closet I’d know would fit him at the time.

Now as he’s very comfy in 18 month clothing and is wearing some of his 24 month and 2T, it is that time again to sort through and put all the things he no longer fits in into his storage bin filled with other clothes. The good thing about him growing into all these clothes is that my sister in law had given us tons of clothing our nephew grew out of which are all 18 months and above. I grabbed that huge bin and began sorting through what needed to go in the washer and what would be perfect for cooler weather as there were a lot of jackets/sweaters, warm clothes, and even a cute windbreaker.

While going through this bin, we found a Halloween costume of Yoda which is too adorable, especially since the Spike channel had a Star Wars marathon all Memorial Day weekend that we watched. Shaughn grabbed the headpiece and tried to put it on so I helped him and put it on the right way. He had a big smile on his face so I put the rest of the costume on to see how it looked. Still a little big, but he really liked having the headpiece on, even the next day he was running around upstairs wearing it.

I’m so sad that he’s outgrowing everything because he’s not my little peanut anymore, he’s becoming a mini man, but at the same time I am very thankful he is growing up so wonderfully. At least we have a lot of clothes to last him well into his 3Ts thanks to our great families, and family friends!

Krystal

Thank goodness my son has inherited some of my cleaning control!! Between school, looking for a job, taking care of our son, taking care of the house that seems to be always dirty (well to me, at least) and doing laundry and cleaning up after my husband, sometimes I just need a break or a little help.

The great thing about Shaughn watching my every move is that he picks up on things that I am doing and is beginning to differentiate items that are garbage and items that are not. Yes, even a 21 month old child helping me in that way means so much and does lift off a very small portion off my shoulders. He puts his go-gurt wrappers in the trash or he will take it from the table and hand it to me to toss out. He dumps out his cheerios all over the floor, looks at my reaction, and them smiles while picking them all up and putting them into the container to hand to me.

Another thing he does which is so funny to me and I didn’t even realize I was doing this; if he has a shirt, pants, or pajamas on the floor he will pick them up and sniff them and then put them in his hamper. Of course he doesn’t know what smells good or bad, nor do any of his clothes smell, but when I sort the laundry I do a smell check to make sure the shirt I pick up has been worn or not. This isn’t a stinky test, I assure you, but both Brent and I wear some type of body fragrance so it’s very easy to determine what needs to be washed.

Shaughn has picked up my little habits and I love it because he’s being such a helpful little guy. He closes all the doors, drawers, and cabinets if he sees that they’re open and looks at me with a smile. If he could only train his daddy, that would be great….

Krystal

My son Shaughn is now a big fan of Dora the Explorer and when I say big fan, I mean it. He LOVES his Dora and can stop doing anything, even destructing the house, when he hears her voice or when they start to sing a song. While the show plays, I will catch him trying to sing along to it almost perfectly. I’ve heard him say clearly “backpack” and “I’m the map!” He has created his own fun dance for the “We did it!” song that just gets him going. I especially like how shows such as Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go teach spanish also. This is a learning experience for the both of us because while I am Puerto Rican, I do not know any spanish!

Ni Hao Kai-Lan is another good program that grabs his attention for a little while but not as well as Dora captivates him. We have to continually pull him away from standing right in front of the television when she comes on… maybe he thinks she will hear him if he’s right there? Haha. A boy can’t have a Dora only themed birthday party so I think for his second birthday we will have Diego with a hint of Dora in the picture also. Are there any programs that your child just absolutely has to watch?

Krystle

Much like his mother, Shaughn loves bubbles. There can be so many just floating around him and he seems mesmerized by them. Once he snaps out of the bubble’s hypnosis, he goes into destruction mode. Yes, that means every bubble must come down. He pokes at them, swats them, hits them to the ground and smears the soapy bubble all over the ground, all while laughing. I certainly hope that bubble beatings are not a sign of violence, lol.

Even when he is in the bathtub, he goes crazy over his bubble bath and then covers his face in bubbles and laughs. It’s not funny when he tries to eat them, though. Alright, maybe it is funny but I can’t show him that because then he will think it’s okay to eat things like that. One of our pool excursions while my mother in law was in town included bubble blowing, because it was $1.99 for a big bottle at Walgreens with two wands. I accidentally dropped it on the concrete in the pool area breaking the dipping tray, so I had to squeeze it together to make sure it wouldn’t leak. Shaughn was already in the pool with his daddy just kicking and splashing away.

You can never get this kid out of the pool or bathtub, he loves being in water. That is, until we started blowing bubbles. He had to get out of the pool and be right there with me and Brent’s mom watching us blow the bubbles, and watching them float away. He observed us for a good minute and decided he was ready to try. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, he put his heart and soul into the next one and made it. In the picture I took, you can see his dedication along with his bubble floating away from the want. I was so proud of him and he was too! We all clapped for him and said our “Yay”s and “Good Job’s”. That was the end of the pool for that day, he left daddy stranded alone to go blow his bubbles.

- Krystal

We all have it; some manage it far better than others. I am not one of the people who can handle stress very well! I like to try to take control of the situation and hopefully change it, but a lot of times that is simply not possible. My husband tells me not to stress out about the things we cannot control because of just that – I can’t control it so getting upset over it is pointless and frankly, a waste of time.

Is it because I am a woman that I get so worked up over these things? I have been applying to jobs like a crazy woman. Jobs that will work greatly around my school schedule and still allow me to bring in a decent part time income, with having time for my little boy as well. Now it seems harder than ever to find that job. The only positions I see and apply to that do contact me back right away are all sales positions, and I cannot sell something if my life depended on it. I feel that while so many people are suffering with money problems, I am unable to talk them into buying something especially if it is a product or service that isn’t a necessity in life.

There are a lot of scammers out there as well who go around feeding off these people who are hurting. Not to sound like I am bragging, but when I applied to a job 2+ years ago, I was immediately contacted back, and if a personal interview was scheduled, I always got the job, and now it’s like pulling teeth with some employers to even give me a consideration. Who knows if they even read my emails anymore with so many unemployed people looking for work. The search continues, and I pray every day that something will finally come along and give us the break we need.

- Krystal

As you may know, I often shop at Wal-mart and talk about their prices and how much they have helped me and my family when it comes to purchasing items as “store brand.” Today, instead of Great Value, I will talk about Equate. This seems to be the generic name of their medical supplies; vitamins, feminine needs, over-the-counter products, etc.

I am still working on losing weight, which we’re so far doing really good on, and wanted something that I could have quick – maybe take on the run – while feeling good and not shaky or having jitters from lack of food or nutrients. I thought “Slim Fast shakes!” I went over to the section where they normally have them, in front of the pharmacy, and checked out their selection. While they had slim-fast shakes there, they also had the Equate regular shakes, and some called the Ultra. When looking at the ultra, I saw that it had even less calories than the Slim Fast shakes, which really threw me off. I got a couple of cases of Equate, chocolate and vanilla (they had others, I am just very simple with that) and put them in the fridge. I have to say, they tasted really good and I felt good.

Anything in my stomach would feel good when I was used to leaving the house on an empty stomach and would fight on till the afternoon. Now I have 2 shakes, one in the morning on the way to class, and one after school around 1:30pm, while snacking in between on granola bars, 100 calorie packs, yogurt, fruits, veggies, etc. and then have a nice 500 calorie or less dinner. I feel pretty good and hopeful so we’ll see how it works!

I also take the Equate version of the Women’s One A Day Weight Smart vitamins in the morning, and enjoy this lifestyle. Of course, it will take some time to get used to it, but it’s all about positivity!!….right??

- Krystal

Well my husband turned 29 on the 14th of April and is rather sad! It is his last hear in his 20′s and he feels like he is much older than he actually is. It’s funny to see a man freak out about aging because it’s normally the women who worry about things of that nature.

Before the day arrived, he talked a lot about it, but now I think he is completely over it. That is, of course, until his birthday comes around next year. No turning back, the big 3-0. I’m going to have to plan something for that event !

This year we got a few of our closest friends and some family to all go out for dinner and some drinks at an amazing Polynesian restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale called Mai-Kai. This was the second time I had been here and had the best time. The food is great, and the show is even better! The price range is a little up there, but worth every penny, especially if you opt for the 3 course dinner & show combination. That night is most memorable for me because it was the first time I ate snail! Escargot, I have to say,delicious! I don’t know if it depends on how different places prepare and cook it, but here was awesome. I never thought I would have tried anything like it, but I did!

During the show, they do fun dances while telling a story of the islands. In the middle, the host announces all special occasions being celebrated that night, including Brent’s birthday. Everyone received this neat fruit volcano with a sparkler sticking out of it, except us, which I was puzzled by. It wasn’t an extra feature that I had failed to order, I think they just really forgot. Right after that, the dancers had to have 2 audience participants. Two WILLING participants, however one of the girls came straight for my husband (unwilling) and pulled him on stage. I thought it was really nice and figured it was them taking care of us since we did not get the fruit. Thank goodness Brent had a couple of drinks by then because he would definitely have NOT gone on stage to dance, but he did a great job and that just added to the great night well shared!

- Krystal