Sleep… ah, sleep… do we ever sleep the same way again after having kids? I don’t think that is possible… maybe when they are 30, then I will truly sleep again… but in the meantime can we at least get a good night’s sleep?

My oldest was a baby that cried, wailed, until midnight every single night, then went to sleep and only woke up to eat and then right back to sleep until about 9 in the morning. Then when it came time to teach him how to go to sleep on his own I followed the advice of others and developed a routine and got him to be by 8 pm and everything was great…

Then came Tanner… wow… that is another story altogether!!!

He woke up off and on all night long, for hours at a time… when I tried a bedtime routine he simply didn’t follow like Riley had. He played for 2 hours before finally falling asleep. To this day (he’ll be 3 in 2 months) I have to stay in the bedroom until he falls asleep for his nap otherwise he plays in there and never takes a nap. At night, after going through our routine, he plays (and bugs his brother) for 2 hours before finally falling asleep. I’ve tried everything the books and the “experts” say to do, but unless I sit next to the door, he plays and plays and plays.

Anybody have any suggestions?

Like I said at the top, I don’t ever expect to truly sleep like I once did… my ears are always listening to see if someone wakes up, but for his poor brother’s sake, it would be really nice if he’d just stay in his bed and fall asleep so Riley can too

TAGS: Toddler Sleep Problem, Baby Sleep Problem

I wanted to simply take a minute to wish all you moms out there a happy mother’s day!

This “job” is the most amazing thing I’ve ever done… I have my career, my husband, I’ve traveled and seen and done many things… but this is amazing!  My boys (all three of them, including my husband) are my world.  Sure there are days when my world isn’t always fairytales and dreams, but who really wants that so called perfect life… we are a family, an amazing family that comes complete with pure happiness and overwhelming pressure.  We are happy, sad, mad, relaxed, stressed, silly, serious and every other emotion you can imagine.  We simply have an amazing life together and who can ask for anything more?

I’m sure your amazing family deserves some reflection today as well… so think about them and really feel the feelings you have about your family… it truly is amazing!

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

We have a 4-month-old Australian Shepard. He is adorable, very smart and very playful. If you know anything about Aussies you know that they are intelligent and do need “jobs” to keep them busy. We were having problems with the puppy biting my boys (2 and 4) so we had to look into and find a solution fast.

Keep in the mind that Sodor, the puppy, wasn’t biting to mean or aggressive. He was doing it as a means for play. Nonetheless, it had to be stopped! I had purchased a dog obedience training course when we got the puppy but only went through the first couple of videos. After Sodor started biting so much I decided I needed to look into a “stop puppy biting” program. Wouldn’t you know that the program I bought initially has a section on dog manners and specifically to stop your dog from biting. Yes, I know I should have already known that because I should have watched the whole program when I got it… oops!

Anyway, I have followed the stop dog biting advice in the program and am happy to report that Sodor is now playing nicely with my boys and there are no more scratches and bite marks all over their little arms and legs. If you are interested in learning more about this program, go to Dog Home Obedience Training.

The thing I like about this program is how it is in video format… no boring book to read… and she does a great job covering all the areas you need to know about to train your dog… even how to stop puppy biting… you just have to be smarter than me and watch all the videos (about 5 minutes each) not just some of them.

TAGS: Stop Puppy Biting, How To Train A Puppy To Stop Biting, Puppy Training Biting

We went to the dentist yesterday. Riley, my 4.5 year old needed his 6 month check-up and some x-rays and I decided I wanted to get Tanner, the 2.5 year old, in to have the dentist take a look at his teeth and also to address one of my concerns.

Tanner’s teeth have all come in late. He didn’t get his first tooth until 9.5 months old and until about 3 months ago, only had 10 teeth. In the last couple of months, he has gotten 6 teeth boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Literally back to back to back. He is still missing 4 teeth, two molars and the two small teeth that sit next to the two front top teeth (the little ones between the front big teeth and the eye teeth). Because the front two teeth and the eye teeth are already in place and there is only a small space between them I was concerned that there isn’t enough room for the two missing teeth.

Well, while the dentist was looking at the teeth, he stopped to tell me that he doesn’t think Tanner even has those teeth, that there is an indent in the gums and it doesn’t seem he has any up there at all. So he has what is known as hypodontia and the oh so interesting thing about that is that it’s presence in primary teeth is less than 1%… less than 1%… ugh!

So I guess there is really nothing that can be done until he is about 6. We just need to keep an eye on things, but chances are that he is going to need extensive orthodontic work… man, what kind of luck is that? At least we are on top of it early so we can address it as soon as possible!

Please leave comments if you have any questions or any suggestions!

TAGS: Hypodontia, Toddler Missing Teeth

My oldest son, Riley, who will be 5 in about 2 1/2 months, learned how to ride a bike (without training wheels) over the weekend. He is so excited, so proud of himself. I took the training wheels off about a month ago and he has kind of been practicing in the backyard in the grass so he had had some practice before this weekend, but not much.

I actually wanted to do this a few weeks ago, but I was waiting for a time when someone would be here to stay home with our younger son and that didn’t seem to be happening, so I finally decided that Tanner could simply stay in the stroller while I helped Riley. Not my ideal situation, but sometimes our families and the way things happen isn’t exactly how we wanted right

We went over to a parking lot that is just across the street from us. To start with I had to balance him and give him the initial push. He was running into fences and trees and only balancing for short periods, falling quite a bit. Within five minutes, he was balancing better and starting to figure out how to turn and still stay up. He kept getting better and better the longer we were there. Yes, he fell quite a bit, but it didn’t take long for him to figure out how to fall so that it didn’t hurt. Yes, he did run into things quite a few times because he didn’t quite have the depth perception figured out. No, he couldn’t figure out how to use the brakes to stop for quite a while. And yes I had to give him the initial push for a while. But…about 25 minutes into trying, practicing and simply getting back up, he was riding around the parking lot yelling…

I’M DOING IT!!! I’M DOING IT!!!

We went over again on Sunday and there was no falling, no running into things, he used his brakes, he understood depth perception, he simply rode and rode and rode in circles around that parking lot. No help from me whatsoever! He was even getting brave.. rocking his handlebars back and forth and making sharper turns. He is pedaling as fast as he can and gliding, realizing that he will still stay up. He did not fall… not even once!

He is so excited, so proud of himself! He as a lot of be proud of, but this one actually gave him a natural high. I think he surprised himself and now simply wants to keep going and going and going… this accomplishment has made him happier than any toy store could. He is amazed at what he is doing and is so excited to get out there and do it some more.

I guess what I’m trying to get across here is that teaching a child to ride a bike can lead to a few bumps and bruises… but all you have to do is get out there and try… he/she will pick it up faster than you think and will be so excited, so proud and have so much fun! Helping your child learn how to ride a bike is so much fun. Just get out there and do it!

TAGS: Teach How to Ride a Bike, Learning to Ride a Bike, Learn to Ride a Bike

Today is our anniversary… one of them anyway! My husband and I have been together for 14 years today… we are high school sweethearts and I can still remember the day we made our relationship “official.”

I worked at the movie theatre in town (this cool old theatre that is on the national list of historic places… it is really cool so if you are ever in Anaconda, Mt make sure and stop by the Washoe Theatre) and on Sunday evenings the high school kids all go to the show. When I got off, I found Matthew and we sat on the couch to talk. He asked me to “go steady” and I obviously said yes. That was at 9:02 Pm on May 1st, 1994… yes I have a strange long term memory that allows me to remember this very well.

Well, we have been together since that day, have been living together since Aug.2, 1997 and were considered “common law” married for many years. We did however finally make it “official” in Hawaii last November, November 1st, 2007 to be exact (exactly 6 months from today). Now our anniversary has always been May 1st… and after 13 1/2 years we decided we didn’t want to start over… so we have decided to keep both and celebrate every six months… yay!

He is amazing… my best friend… my life! I love him more every year… I appreciate him… I am so proud of him… I respect him for his love, his commitment to his family… I love him! It isn’t always easy, sometimes it is difficult. It is usually fun and amazing… but even that takes work! Of course the work is fun however… I find that is it the simplest things that make the biggest impact, so make it fun, make it simple!

I hope that everyone is as happy as we are… I hope your family is happy… is fun… is exciting! I hope your marriage is adventurous… for lack of a better word… happy. I found a fun little ebook recently that gives some interesting little tips to help you with your marriage and it is great because it doesn’t matter if you are happy like us… or currently struggling… these little tips and tricks will strengthen your marriage if you follow them. If you are interested, you can take a look at the ebook here… Have a Happy Marriage, Save a Relationship

Good luck with your marriage… if you have any tips you’d like to share, please leave a comment for everyone to see!

TAGS: Save a Relationship, Have a Happy Marriage

Welcome to my new website… my new blog.

This blog is sort of my journal to express life as a family. I chose the name “Our Amazing Families” because I really want this to become a community for not only myself but also others to share their experiences. We all have families that are absolutely amazing in their own way and by sharing this with others everyone will benefit.

I hope you enjoy this blog and get a lot of great, helpful information out of it. Please be sure to sign up for the blog notification list (the upper right side of the page, below the picture of my boys in a tree) so that you will know when new information is available for you. Also, please be sure to let me know what you think by commenting on this blog.

I look forward to the adventure this site will bring us!