Never a dull moment

So the morning started out like any other; kids waking, milk being poured and cartoons being turned on.  Then the excitement began to build when the kids learned of church friends coming over to play.  Pj’s came off, clothes went on and my shower began.  Once we were all dressed and my kids resumed their play I decided to tidy up.  So I turned from the bathroom to start my chores.

Turning my back and warning the kids to “chill out” while fighting over a toy was not my best decision as a mother.  Next I knew I had a four year old screaming for mommy and a two year old looking quite smug.  When I ran to see what was the matter Sam screamed to me through tears and hyper ventilating cries that Mary had bit his arm.  This takes place 10 minutes prior to our guest’s arrival, I prayed this wasn’t a bad sign.

After the first set of two kids showed up I put on a pot of coffee for us mommy’s and sat down to some adult conversation all the while talking over kids playing in toy heaven.  As us two mommies waited for the coming arrival of two more tots we continued to talk about Christmas preparations, travels and baking needs.   

Not only were my mommies happy to see other adult faces and voices but the kids were having an absolute blast! Pulling out this toy and Sam showing off that toy, the fun was non-stop.  About two hours went by when the littlest of the group started to get tired and fussy and the time started to show we had to shove off for our afternoon outing.  

As the mommies departed with their little ones I had forgotten to package up some cookies for them so I asked them to hold on while I ran to get the cookies.  I heard the kids outside running and playing while my kids looked on from the front door.  Then all got quite and screams started to emit from the front yard.  Sam said “Are you ok?” then the next thing I knew a mommy came running up the stars with her two and half year old daughter full of blood.  She had tripped and fell on our cement front step and hit head first. 

Between sobs and screams from the little girl my son started to cry and say “I don’t like this!” Sam was very afraid for his little friend. So, with too much blood which was nonstop and it being in the front of her head, her mommy prompted me to call 9-1-1.  Luckily we live 1 block from the fire station and they were at my house in a matter of minutes.

As the sirens grew closer my son, who LOVES fire trucks, started to cry and sob again as my daughter stood watching doing her best impression of a siren.  I started to chuckle because of my sons sobbing.  I was confused, I figured he would get a big kick out of the fire truck coming to our house but instead it scared him.  He said he was scared because his little friend was hurt; he likes to see them drive by, not stop at our house!  The firemen gave her a once over and decided she didn’t have a concussion, gave her mommy instructions to watch her pupils, make sure she doesn’t become lethargic or start vomiting and she would be just fine; she may have a nice size bruise and a headache. After the firemen drove off I realized they didn’t get her a band aide like they said they would, so I went inside and fetched one and placed it gently on her head.  After the commotion settled the mommies strapped their kids in their seats and headed off for their homes.

I went inside, got coats and shoes on and we headed out the door as well to play Santa to daddy’s co-workers.  I had hand dipped strawberries in dark and white chocolate and made the girls some bracelets.  Upon our arrival to the bank where daddy works, Sam spotted a Target and shouted with excitement that he wanted to go in.  I had to get diapers so I shrugged and said “Sure, why not.” 

Once inside Target, Sam was overjoyed at the $1 Spot selections and wanted me to purchase just about everything! After about 15 minutes of “No’s” he finally gave up and decided to walk towards the baby section.  Of course you know it’s Christmas time and there can’t be an aisle without a toy in it right? Same goes for the diaper section.  Sam spotted this Spiderman shaving kit for kids.  It had shaving foam, a fake razor, a badger brush and a comb.  He immediately thought of the scene in “Home Alone” where Kevin McCallister is singing “White Christmas” into his comb in the mirror.  He begged and begged and begged for it.  I was giggling and figured it’s only $3.49 what the heck, it will be entertainment for both of us!

Once home and Mary was napping the shaving shenanigans began.  He had to have a mirror, check! A step stool, check! A towel around his waist, check! He was ready to begin his shaving and grooming! I of course got pictures and video of him singing “White Christmas”.  He starts out with “Doot doot, dootie dootie do” and then finishes off with “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree!”  He had a blast and I had several laughs.

So, even when a scary situation arises, my son can always be counted on to bring comic relief.  And of course a big glass of red wine once kiddos are asleep helps as well!

God Bless

~Andrea

Visit with Santa 2011

It’s that time of year again where Santa has come to town to hear all the little boys and girls requests, not matter how large or small.  He parks his reindeer, grabs his bag of yummy goodies and maybe even takes a gulp of hot cocoa before sitting down in his oversized red velvet chair to greet hundreds of wide eyed children.  Unfortunately some of the wide eyes are eyes of fear and tears and no one was a more perfect example then our little Mary Tuesday when it was her turn to see Santa.

Yep, you guessed it, Mary was TERRIFIED of Santa!  The terror came quickly and most unexpectedly.  She was just waiting patiently in her Pooh Bear umbrella stroller with her big brother by her side, she even waved to Santa at one point; then it was her turn and she just lost it.  I went to unbuckle her from her stroller and I hear “No, No, NO, NO, NOOOOO!” Sam on the other hand had practically ran to sit on Santa’s lap while Mary was left behind leaping into daddy’s arms full of sobs and dread.  She wouldn’t even take her head of daddy’s shoulder to even look at Santa.  So daddy strapped her back in her stroller and away they went.  As daddy strolled away, giggling at his daughter’s dread, Sam just sat up on Santa’s lap rambling off his requests.  High priority on the toy list this year is a remote control car. 

Now, we’ve seen Santa two times prior to this visit in hopes of dispelling any sort of apprehensions the kids may have,  get familiar with Santa so that we wouldn’t have tears on the day we dressed up and took the official Santa picture.  Can we say BACKFIRE!? Well each time Sam saw Santa he always a bit shy, putting his fingers in his mouth and talking almost inaudibly all the while wrapped up in excitement to tell Santa his toy list. 

As a side note; the first time Sam saw Santa he said he wanted a remote control car but then the two following requests got weird, I think out of nervousness.  He mentioned he wanted a dancey guy (which I knew was this dancing elf he saw at Home Depot) and a horse.  A horse!?!?! Really? A horse?!?!?! Second time we met Santa he opened with wanting a remote control car and the rest was too faint to hear due to other kids nearby.  Third time, this past Tuesday, he said again he wanted a remote control car, 5 cars and 2 ramps? Aaaah, the idea’s that run through a 4 year olds mind.  I even found an app on my phone that “calls Santa” directly and you can leave a message for him and he mentioned the 5 cars and 2 ramps.  We’ll see if Grandpa can whip something up.

So we left the mall with a picture of Sam smiling on Santa’s lap, a sobbing toddler girl and two disheartened parents.  But we figured maybe she was just tired and we’d try again when Grandma and Grandpa came the next day. 

So when grandma and grandpa arrived yesterday we left for the mall immediately to get there right at 10am.  Well everyone must have had that thought as the line was about 50 people long.  So to keep things (or I should say kids) under control, grandma and grandpa walked them around the mall a few laps.  After about 20 minutes in line we were next.  I had grandma and grandpa stand over to the side of the Santa exhibit and when it was time for the kids to sit with Santa we did a “Mary handoff”.  Before Mary knew what was going on the handoff was made, I immediately felt arms squeeze my next and screeches of fear emit from my babe’s mouth.  Once we reached Santa’s lap I placed her in his arms and the wiggling to be free began.  I coaxed her into sitting still and Santa helped with his friendly “Hello” and Sam even chimed in with an “It’s ok Mary, Santa loves us”.  After about 3-4 minutes, she calmed down, relaxed and even smiled long enough to get a good photo!

So after two days, many tears and a few screams of sheer terror we had achieved success! Its times like these I’m thankful I started up my blog once again.  These are the memories we tend to forget and that I’ll children will love to hear once they’re older. 

Merry Christmas and God Bless

~Andrea

P.S. Here’s our successful Santa picture!

Old Posts below

About two years ago I started blogging here on Blogger, but ran into some issues with retrieving it so I decided to start again. But before I just dive right into the craziness of The Crandell Life, I thought I would post some of the old blogs starting with the first, ending with a new one and a few funny, cute and frustrating blogs in between! I am going to post them again in chronological order. (scroll to the bottom and read up) From this post on they will all be current.

To recap quickly..........
My son Sam is now 4, my daughter Mary will be 2 next month already! WOW! Samuel is in preschool at Gahanna Christian 2 mornings a week and loves it! He just did his first Christmas program and did so well! Mary is still my little angel even with 2 approaching, she is one smart cookie and is also absolutely beautiful! (Yes I'm slightly bias!)  Sam's behavior has been less then stellar but we are getting there. 

George and I have joined New Life church here in Gahanna and also were baptized this year the weekend after Thanksgiving. George's mom from Texas was able to be in attendance along with my parents.  I have also joined 3 different women's bible studies during the week to keep us and my mind occupied.
Christmas is only 6 days away and it's been hard to keep the kids away from the presents as their excitement level is high! It will be a Christmas full of memories I am sure! More to come in the next few days!

God Bless!
~Andrea

Santa's Arrival! (November 20, 2010)

Santa’s Arrival 2010!

As we all know every year Christmas comes earlier and earlier.  This year I either just now noticed or it’s always been this way but the department stores like Kohl’s and Sears had there Christmas decorations up the week of Halloween!  I always, always remember Santa arriving to the malls on the day after Thanksgiving or “Black Friday” but this year (and maybe last year who knows, I don’t remember) Santa arrived to our local mall, Easton, the week BEFORE Thanksgiving and Sam, Mary and myself went to Easton to watch his arrival in a horse drawn sleigh. 

Prior to our departure from our home to Easton I took on a few “projects” in the house while the kids slept and before I knew it, it was 3pm and the shower beckoned.  Mary was waking up from her longest nap to date and I had to wake Sam up to get them both ready to go.  I had to stop and drop a package off at FedEx and I was going to treat Sam to a hot dog and french fries.  Trying to get two mobile kids ready by a specific time can be difficult so I had a time frame set in my mind to strive for, at that time was 4pm, we left at 4:30pm, not bad right?! Just before we left I asked Sam what presents he wanted to ask Santa for and he said, most enthusiastically, that he wanted a racecar!  He also told me that he wanted Mary to have a dolly princess.  When I told him to go and get his coat from his closet got overly excited to see his skeleton Halloween costume and begged to put it on, and I quote “I have to wear my skeleton costume so I can tell Santa, RAWRRRR!!!!”  

I dropped my package off then headed to Steak and Shake for a bite to eat and then head to the mall for the “perfect” parking spot as I knew it would be difficult to get out of there without a strategic exit plan.  We arrived at Easton about 4:50 and that must have been the exact time we needed to arrive as I found the ideal parking spot!  We ate our meals in the car and then, what I refer to as the “unloading process”, began.  Stroller, check; Mary in back of stroller, check; Sam and his fries in front of stroller, check; Mommy bag with phone, camera, wallet, and baby essentials, check.   

Once we were strolling away we turned the corner and there was the massive Easton Christmas tree just waiting to be lit, men dressed in jester costumes juggling and the sweet sounds of Christmas music. (I love Christmas music.)  As most of you mommies know pushing a double stroller is always a bit difficult so navigating in such a crowd as the one at Easton wasn’t easy.  We had to go in and get gloves for Sam because all he has are some hand-me-downs that were intended for Mary and those gloves are purple. I first went to Gap Kids to scope out their gloves and not only struck out, because I wasn’t paying $12.50 for something I knew he was going to lose, but because Gap is NOT stroller friendly and couldn’t not wait to get away from the impolite and oblivious public. 

Here is where I will go on my “I’m pushing a stroller people look out” rant.  How many of us mommies have experience rude, inconsiderate, selfish people when it comes to people of the shopping mall attendees?  I would answer that question that we all have and last night was no exception.  First of all when pushing a double tandem stroller with a 30lb child in the front is like trying to drive a bus, there is no turn radius!  Second of all since it is like driving a bus it’s not like I can weave in and out of shoppers like I’m on skate board or roller skates, so therefore MOVE!  Not only are the people inconsiderate in their unwillingness to move but the stores have managed to make themselves stroller unfriendly.  Trying to steer around the unstrategicly placed display racks and tables full of sweaters is almost impossible, and then factor in those obliviously selfish people standing near and next to those displays.  

So after a 15 minute ordeal of steering, standing in line and get back out of the store I finally got Sam a pair of gloves.  Not just any gloves but black ones with pretty pink bows and a jewel in the middle.  Surprise!, I couldn’t find a little boys glove anywhere that wasn’t $13.  I got the pink bows off and the gloves on his fingers and we continued on our way to the nights events. 

We finally steered our way to the area where Santa, the parade and the lighting of the Christmas tree were take place.  As we took our positions on the curb by Barnes and Noble the jester dressed jugglers started their entertaining routine which involved juggling on a balance ball, unicycle and bringing in a volunteers from the crowd; Sam loved it!  As you can imagine it was a very cold night, for the kids, so keeping them bundled is a chore at times especially Mary who won’t keep anything on her head.  I had to keep returning their hoods to their heads all night.  After Mary drank her bottle she began to fuss, she was tired, and the parade hadn’t even started yet.  In order to keep her happy I opted to hold her instead of strolling her for fear we’d loose our place on the curb for Sam to see everything. 

Remember when I mentioned the inconsiderate shopping mall walking crowd?  Well, apparently they are also the inconsiderate “I’m sitting right in front of your son” crowd too.  As soon as the parade started two people sat down right in front of Sam and he turned to me and said with the saddest little voice “Mommy, I can’t see”.  So I said as loud as I could trying not to sound rude, “Awe honey you can’t see?”  As soon as I said that the MOTHER that sat in front of my child said “Oh I can move”. Gee, thanks!  

The parade started about 6:05 and my camera of course wasn’t working right.  For some reason the flash is going off but the pictures are still dark, so I hardly got any of the parade and none of the tree lighting because the battery died, of course.  I wish I could have captured the look on my sons face when the oversized balloons of gingerbread cookies, a nutcracker, snowflakes and Rudolph all came around the corner.  He was so overjoyed that I got a little teary eyed just watching his pure child joy that we all had when we were kids.  My heart was so warmed by his excitement that it made a moment like that all worth being a mommy.   

After the parade and the arrival of Santa on his sleigh commenced the lighting of the grand Christmas tree ceremony began.  Santa and Mrs. Claus did the honors and not only did the tree light up but ALL of Easton came to life.  It was gorgeous! Next thing I knew fireworks were going off and Sam’s face lit up brighter then Easton village.  Mary couldn’t stop swiveling here head to make sure she got to soak in everything she was seeing.  This is Mary’s first Christmas and with her being an older infant I am sure she will enjoy everything she experiences.  I was so proud to be a mommy at that moment that the tears sprang bag to my eyes.   

After what seemed like the longest, yet joyful, 45 minutes ever, I finally put Mary down in her stroller seat and headed back to our van.  The “unloading process” began and once the kids were strapped in their seats, we were homeward bound to see daddy and tell him about all the fun stuff we saw.  Once home and Sam’s candy cane stained fingers had hugged daddy, bath time stared and Sam’s sugar high reached its highest level.  Mary was so tired by the time we got home that she was in bed by 7:45 and after Sam’s sugar crash he was in bed by 8:30; the perfect end to a perfect day.  And to think I wasn’t going to take the kids because of the cold night air, glad I listened to my heart and took them. 

In the past week there has been some very unhappy and gruesome news being reported from the community where my parents live and being with my family tonight made me love and appreciate them more then I probably ever had.  Make sure to always love and cherish your family, friends and children; especially during such a magical season as Christmas.

Thanks for reading

~Andrea

Zoo Day! (September 29, 2010)

Zoo Day!

So with having such wonderful weather today and a zoo membership about to be useless for the year, the kids and I headed for the Columbus Zoo.  At first glance out the window today it didn’t look as if the day was going to be this gorgeous! So I wrangled up my kids, got them to the breakfast table, spoon fed them both, packed a bag of diapers and snacks and headed out the door about 10:30am

The whole ride on I-270 West consisted of Sam’s excitement for the endless trucks he’d seen and asking “We go to da zoo?” about 80 times as Mary slept the time away.  Once we exited the expressway to finish our last leg of the 20 min journey the demands of what animals to see first started.  Of course the #1 animal of choice was the polar bears then the alligators, monkeys and the elephants.  Those four animals are a must see every visit.

Once I found a parking spot the unloading ritual begins. Anyone who’s a mommy or was a mommy of little ones knows where I’m going with this. First thing to unload is the ever obvious parent trademark, the double tandem stroller.  Luckily this stroller is super easy to open, but unluckily quite a chore to push, especially up hill.  Second step of the unloading process, the kids.  Sam was first, in the front then Mary, in the back.  Third and finale step, at least for this mommy, is getting the little pouch attached to the stroller handles ready; phone, camera, wallet, glasses and zoo membership card.  This third step makes life much easier to have these items ready at a moments notice to avoid stopping the stroller to dig through the “mommy pack” under the stroller all the while missing that perfect “Kodak moment” or an important phone call. 

Of course Sam, the whole time I was going through the unloading ritual kept demanding “I wanna go!”  So with the 3 steps to unloading finished, the brakes came off the stroller and away we went.  Sam was overjoyed to see the entrance, while Mary was completely oblivious to the fact we were at some place that has animals for show just smiled and bounced in her luxurious stroller seat.  

First question from mommy to son; “What do you want to see first?”  Sam shouted “ALLIGATORS!” So with out further a due the alligators were our first stop.  From there we just followed the path around and saw flamingos, fish, manatees, penguins, and gorillas all before lunch. 

Lunch as many of you may know from past entries is usually the toughest meal of the day, especially when Sam’s mind is over stimulated by fun and excitement.  Well he must have been hungry because he said he wanted a hot dog without me asking what he wanted to eat AND he ate the entire hot dog along with apple sauce and french fries.  Mary’s lunch was a little less tasty, well for mother and son that is.  She stuck to her banana flavored puffs and an always beloved bottle. 

After lunch tiredness was setting in for both kids and mommy.  So I suggested that we go see the elephants and the polar bears and then head home.  For mommy this was a long trek pushing the stroller from the food court to the polar bears and knew that I would be exhausted and so would Sam.  Without protest off to the elephants we went, then to the polar bears.  By the time we go to the polar bears Sam started to get unhinged with tiredness that the hitting, screaming and being 3 had started, so instead of looking at more animals I opted to take him to see the inside of the van.

Remember the unloading ritual? Well do that in reverse with two diaper changes in the back before loading the massive stroller.  Once in the van the a/c roared to life even though the temp outside was only 77 degrees.  I knew Sam was tired and I prayed that he wouldn’t fall asleep in the car on the way home.  Despite the fact there were horrific screeches coming Mary’s lips and my talking on the phone to my mom he fell asleep.  “Shoot!”  This was the last thing I wanted because for some strange reason when he falls asleep in the car, even for 10 minutes, he thinks that’s his nap and refuses to go back to bed once home.  So the nap time struggle began around 2pm and finally was resolved by 3:30pm with him falling fast asleep! THANK GOD!  But of course mommy didn’t get her rest as hoped because as soon as Sam settled, Mary stirred in her crib! “Shoot!” 

Soon the day will end and I must say it was a great day with a few fits from the kids and maybe one from mommy.  I still have dinner to cook and baths to give but I know that my kids will have had a great day and mommy, albeit exhausted, will have more mommy memories in her memory bank.

Thanks for reading

~Andrea

Wow! (September 9, 2010)

Wow! It’s been awhile! 

So I noticed that the last time I had a blog entry was June 3^rd! Well as you can imagine a lot has happened since June.  Busy doesn’t even scratch the surface.  My jewelry business had a fine summer at the Gahanna Farmers Market, my son, Sam, turned 3 and my daughter, Mary, is now 8 months old and growing way too fast.  I will give you the best recap I can. You can be sure that I will have forgot to mention something such as a funny Sam story or some cute thing Mary did but here’s the gist of the last 3 fast paced, busy months! 

Sam as I’ve mentioned is 3 and full of energy and willfulness.  I’ve heard from several mommies that age 3 is worse then age 2.  I thought to myself “There’s no way 3 could be any worse then year 2”.  Well I was seriously wrong! Don’t get me wrong I love my son, he is so bright and he is our little comedian; but my goodness his strong willed nature and I have been butting heads and I have a headache.  When Dr. James Dobson wrote his book “The Strong Willed Child” he was writing about my child for sure.  I have yet to read this particular book because I am currently reading another of his books, “Dare to Discipline”.  His willfulness has even made meal time a not so wonderful time of day.

Sam has always been difficult when it comes to meal time.  He’s never been a good eater, going back to when we introduced table foods to him at 9 months he’s done nothing but pick and push his food around.  And now it seems that ever since I have been spoon feeding Mary her baby food Sam has regressed and will no longer feed himself.  So now I have three mouths to spoon feed three meals a day; Sam’s, Mary’s and mine.  I was starting to get worried that he may not be growing properly.  So one bit of good news I received during his 3 year check up was that he is in the 75% height and weight, which is average.  Phew! But his pediatrician wasn’t too thrilled with his regression back to needing to be spoon fed and his constant unwillingness to eat, anything, so she made an appointment for him with a food psychologist at Columbus Children’s Hospital.  Yes, you read that right, a food psychologist, as in “mental”, as in “behavioral”, or as in “your problems stem from your parents”; because let’s face it most psychotherapists always want to blame the parents for behavioral issues.  Why not? I am the sole person who takes care of him, yes he has a father but I stay home with him day in and day out, I’m the one that has fed him his 3 meals plus snacks everyday since he was born.  We are still waiting on the food psychologist’s phone call to make an appointment; you’ll be sure I’ll keep you posted on what goes down with that visit!  

As for Mary well she’s our 8 month old little angel.  Don’t get me wrong, she can be a little devil at times too.  She has a scream/screech on her that could wake the dead and pierce your ears.  (and no, I’m not exaggerating about that)  I was even told by the child care staff at the YMCA that she “runs that place”; that every time she screams or screeches the whole place stops and looks at her.  She’s a girl; she needs her attention, right? Oh and don’t take anything away from her, oh your ears will bleed from the shrieks that emit from her mouth.  I do have to brag a bit that she has been a very wonderful baby.  She’s well mannered, doesn’t fuss much and has been hitting her milestones right on time if not early.  She just turned 8 months on September 18^th and since then she has learned to get up on her knees in attempts to crawl, which right now is army style, she can get to sitting position by herself, gives kisses, wave, holds her own bottle and can just about pull herself up to standing on her own two little feet. 

Sam and Mary together are getting so cute that the video camera is always on stand-by.  Just the other day Mary crawled into Sam’s room while I was cooking dinner and she stayed in there for almost an hour with out so much as a whimper.  She usually has at least one or two fits because Sam has hit her, pushed her over, rolled over her or taken something from her.  But this time none of that happened and they were playing so well together that I stood in the doorway of Sam’s room and just watch silently until Sam spotted me and took my hand and made me sit down with them and play.  Those are the moments that tug at a mom’s heartstrings and make me realize why I stay home with my kids.   

My kids are both very independent little creatures that also love mommy and daddy’s attention along with our hugs and kisses; I wouldn’t want it any other way.  Even though sometimes Sam’s independence can be a bit hard to handle, he is my funny little fireball.  Mary’s personality has been started to get defined lately and it’s so much fun watching her explore the new world around her.  She is a curious little angel that is sweet; show’s off her cuteness and loves to bounce the day away.  And to answer everyone’s latest question; No! We are not having any more children.   

Thanks for reading

~Andrea

The Binky Project (June 3, 2010)

The Binky Project 

The binky; it can be both a blessing and a curse.  When your little one is first born you struggle with the decision (or at least I did) to breast feed or bottle feed.  I tried breast feeding with my son but it didn’t go so well so I decided it would be best to offer the bottle.  He did very well so we stuck with the bottle; for then next 19 months! 

Sam started right out of the gate with a binky.  Since he had reflux; that at the time we were unaware of, he was eating non-stop along with crying! So with the crying and the constant eating the “4 S’s” came into play a lot! Swaddle, Swing, SSSHHH and sooth; and soothing was what worked best.  Not only was the binky used to sooth but it was also used to stretch out his feedings.  After the reflux was gone and he was doing well with having long stretches between feedings the binky was really only used to put him to sleep.  We thought we were so lucky to have a baby that only wanted the binky for night nights.  Well that all changed around the time he turned 18 mos. 

As I mentioned before Sam did much better with the bottle then the breast; too well in fact.  We were told by Sam’s pediatrician that he needed to be off the bottle by 15 months.  So after his 1 year check up we decided to start introducing the sippy cup; Sam wasn’t having any of it. He pitched fits and being new parents all we wanted to do was keep baby happy so the bottle was given quickly back.  When it came time for Sam’s 18 month appointment the pediatrician warned us that if we don’t get him off the bottle his teeth are subject to rotting.  Well that did it for me so we gave him another month and then like a smoker quitting cold turkey the bottle was gone. 

Taking the bottle away cold turkey from a 19 month old proved to be difficult; a week of difficult.  We tried all the different tack ticks prior to going cold turkey.  We tried watering down the milk in the bottle which he was kind of confused with but he drank it.  Strike one.  We tried only giving a bottle only at night before bed and sippy cups all day. He fooled us; he wouldn’t drink his milk all day until his night time bottle which was not good because he still needed 24 oz of milk a day.  Strike two.  So I said I’m not striking out on this and I made him go cold turkey! It took a whole week but he finally decided to drink his milk, warm, from the sippy cup and not the bottle and has never looked back since.  He is now almost 3 and still has to have his milk warmed in the microwave.  After “The Binky Project” and potty training has their successes the milk is going cold, for good! 

So we broke him of the bottle, phew! Well he’s not a stupid kid so he said in his little mind “I’ll show them!” He picked up the binky to replace his bottle.  We were compliant at first.  We just kept saying “He can have it since he just gave up the bottle” Or “It’s a way to help wean him off the bottle”.  Well the joke was on us!  

It has been 15 months since his last bottle but only 15 hours since his last binky.  I finally said “That’s it! You’re almost 3 years old the binky has to go!” When thinking about how to get rid of the binky I said to myself “Its cold turkey just like the bottle”.  I had made a trip to my favorite store to get a few items and thought to myself I need to give him a prize for giving up something so dear to heart.  I knew he would give up his binky for any kind of car, truck or train.  I steered my cart down the isle with all the trucks and found a remote controlled Jeep.  Perfect! 

I got home late that night so I didn’t want to introduce such a fun toy AND take the binky away so close to bedtime.  The next day every time he asked for his binky I gave it to him with a warning “today is the last day for your binky so enjoy it”.  When daddy got home at 6pm we scooped him up, took him in the garage where the garbage cans sit waiting to go to the curb and let him hold his binky as we showed him the Jeep.  We said either the binky or the Jeep.  He didn’t even hesitate, he wanted the Jeep.  We told him that he had to toss the binky in the trash to get the Jeep.  He chucked the binky in the trash like a hot potato and grab the Jeep right out of my hands.  With Sam only being 2 ½ we figured he didn’t quite get the gravity of his present decision so we kept explaining that the binky was gone for good.  He didn’t seem to care at all; he had himself a remote controlled Jeep and about 2 hours to play with it.    

I started getting a little concerned that a meltdown may take place closer to bedtime so I went into a stash of stuffed animals hanging in Mary’s room and picked out a really fun bear I bought years ago that had dread locks and a knit cap.  “Rasta Bear” as I had dubbed him was now Sam’s night time bear to take the place of his binky or at least I hoped.   

Very near Sam’s bed time our area experienced a tornado warning so we had to keep Sam up past his bedtime until the storm had passed; he was getting tired and the playing with his hair bit started.  To my surprise he never asked for his binky, just played with his hair and watched the storm.  After the storm was over he wanted to watch T.V. in mommy’s room so up the stairs we went and climbed into bed to watch “Wonder Pets”.  After his program had concluded the T.V. went off and Rasta bear in hand we headed down the hall to his room.  Once in bed the routine of reading his favorite books started and never once a peep about his binky.  I was beyond surprised he never asked for it.   

It was 9:30 and all was quite in the house with both kids down for the night.  Around 10:00pm my husband decided he had had enough of the day and escaped up to our room for his “night nights”.  I stayed in the basement watching the last of a program I had DVR’d when I heard Sam on the monitor asking for daddy.  We quickly learned our lesson that when daddy’s name is being called after bedtime hours that mommy goes in and checks the problem; otherwise a toddler meltdown occurs when daddy leaves the room.  So I headed up to see what the problem was; he hadn’t gone #2 all day so I figured that was the issue. An hour after he was put to bed I walked back in his room to find him upset and wanting to watch more T.V. in mommy’s room.  I had to tell him no as he crawled in my lap and hugged me; clearly missing his binky, but he never mentioned it.  After tucking him again I left the room to return to my show.  He asked for daddy for the next half hour until he finally fell asleep.  It was evident that he missed his binky and having a hard time sleeping with out it. I felt bad, but not bad enough to give it back. 

Sam woke at 6:45 this morning and the first words out of his mouth then and since has been “Where my binky go?” with lots of whining behind that question. We reminded him that he chose his Jeep over the binky and that the binky was now in the trash.  So far it’s been a rough morning as I figured it would be a rough week like when we took him off the bottle cold turkey.  I have now dubbed this week and quite possibly the days after “The Binky Project”. 

“The Binky Project” will most likely be updated as the struggle happens.  If any of you mommies out there would like to share your stories of a binky loss please leave your comments as I, along with other mommies may need your suggestions and funny stories to help us through this tough time.  I say this as if we just lost a family member but to a 2 ½ year old it may feel as if a death has occurred.   

Thanks for reading

~Andrea