Birthday Party preparation

I am trying to make some good progress for the birthday party preparations, but it's not easy when daddy is on a trip and I am doing everything from dawn till dusk. I only have a couple hours to work on the party stuff when Aaron is asleep at night. I have quite a bit to finish before the party on Sunday. Things still need to be done -

Water bottle stickers
Party favor bags
Organize party supplies
Pick up balloons
Pick up party food

I hope everything will go smoothly this year as I remember I got everything done pretty late last year and I felt so rush and disorganized. But when do I ever not feel disorganized? Never, right? ;) I don't know how I always live such a chaotic life yet being such a control freak. Oh well...

Aaron's favorite Pororo :D

Single mom days

Daddy went onto the leadership program trip at Cornell and I have been doing everything with Aaron 24/7 like a single mom. It's definitely tiring watching a toddler non-stop all day long. I don't know how single moms do it and I have so much respect for them. You won't know how hard it is until you have to do it yourself. I am lucky that I know daddy is coming home in a few days. I can't imagine taking care of a little one alone without any support.

I have to be honest that taking care of Aaron alone involved some screaming, yelling, crying, and time outs. I don't know how others stay calm when their kids throw a fit and wouldn't listen. I don't know how long can I stay sane taking care of him alone, but I am trying, learning, and listening. I think all SAHMs need a good shrink. =P

time out doesn't seem to work

more screaming and crying

Losing my thoughts

Nowadays I really have to write down my thoughts before I lose them. I am not sure what it is. Is is the lack of rest? Or just being a busy mom? I am forgetting things ALL the time and that's so not me. Or is it? hehe ;)

I have so many things on my mind lately and they are mostly related to preparing for Aaron's 2nd birthday party. I still have quite some tasks to work on before the party. I hope I can get everything done on time and won't be as rushed as last year. Daddy will be going to NY for a week before Aaron's birthday, which means I will have less time to work on things when I have to take care of Aaron solely. I am so not looking forward to daddy going to NY, but what can I say when it's for work? At the end of the day, daddy is working real hard for us and it's unfair for me to whine all the time.

woke up happy seeing his new Pororo toy :D

Feeling defeated

We officially moved into our home for a little over a month now and let me tell you this place is still a mess! I got the kitchen completely unpacked and organized. It's operational and all, but that's pretty much about it. Nothing else in this house is cleaned up yet. I look at the mess everyday and I feel tired already. I don't even know where to start. There are so many boxes laying around and I only have 2 hours tops each day to clean up (given that if I even have the energy after taking care of Aaron, cleaning up the kitchen after each meal, and/or other miscellaneous administrative things). To be honest, I am usually exhausted after putting Aaron down every night. I rarely have the energy to do anything else.

It's so frustrating to see the mess every day though. It definitely doesn't make you feel good waking up seeing boxes everywhere or have to treasure hunt clothes/essentials from a gazillion boxes. This is a vicious cycle that I can never end. I wish I could hire someone to just clean up all the mess for me, but the reality is it WON't ever happen. I better get myself together and start working harder on my own mess. Feeling totally down. :(

What a mess within 2 minutes, literally!

Weaning off the pacifier

I have been thinking about weaning Aaron off binky when he turns 2. He asks for the binky every time before he goes down for a nap. He's been quite attached to the binky since day 1 he was at the NICU. I guess it might be a tough habit to break.

I put him down for a nap as usual today and then I saw him waking up after a couple hours without a binky in his mouth.  I didn't think anything of it as he might have just dropped the binky on the ground or something. Then when I went into his room I noticed the binky was actually on his dresser, which means I didn't even give it to him in the first place. How amazing that he didn't ask for it and went down for a nap normally. I guess I should start not giving him the binky from now on and see how it goes. I hope it won't be too painful for both of us. ;)

guilty!

First Easter Egg Hunt

Update - Aaron has been crying right before going to sleep in his own room. He wouldn't want us to leave him there alone and wouldn't stop crying until I give him the binky. I think he must be scared and needed some sort of security, so I gave in and let him have the binky at night. Daddy has been taking it back out before going to bed so he doesn't have it all night long.  Amazingly, Aaron is already getting more comfortable sleeping alone and hasn't used the binky at night! I love how kids adapt to new things/environment so quickly. 

Auntie Melissa was so kind to invite us over to her place for Easter Egg Hunt. Aaron had such a blast running around the house and the backyard. He was actually kind of interested in hunting for the Easter eggs for awhile before moving on to playing with the water. I can't believe how wet he got by the time we left Melissa's house. I guess that's what kids do right? I guess I need to start bringing a change of clothes for Aaron in case he gets wet/dirty (which seems to happen more and more often as he grows).