Awesome preschool curriculum

I have been working on preschool activities with Destructo on a regular basis.  He isn't in preschool because with me not working we just can't afford it.  So I am doing home school preschool.  I scour the internet regularly for ideas and am working on a letter of the week.  (Which ends up being letter of the weeks since I have had trouble doing as much since Owl came along.)  

I stumbled upon this curriculum during one of these internet searches and it is awesome.  Destructo is obsessed with anything with wheels and so this one was right up his alley.  It is called the Zoomin Moving Alphabet and features different vehicles for each letter.  This week is D is for dump truck.  It is free to print and does letters, numbers, cutting practice, writing practice, opposites, colors, etc.  I love them as they are the first curriculum I have found that really holds Destructo's interest.  He loves to "drive" the trucks to the construction site which is encouraging him to work on his fine motor skills (and since he is behind in this I love it even more.)

Check it out over at Royal Baloo.  

Six month Old Ollie

Weight-- 16 lbs

Height-- 26.5 inches

Medical Issues--  Same old reflux and food sensitivities although they both seem to be getting better slowly but surely.  He had roseola last week.  That wasn't fun.  He also seems to be teething which also sucks.

Sleep-- Bwahahahahahahaha you notice the two week lapse between my last post and this one.  Yeah that is a direct result of Owl's sleep patterns.  They suck.  He goes down easy on his own around 8.  He sleeps well until 11ish.  You know just about the time I finally go to bed after Destructo fighting sleep for hours.  Then he wakes up and refuses to go back to sleep without eating.  Not just comfort nursing either.  He full on eats.  Then he goes easily back to sleep.  And wakes up around 1 to 2 AM and demands to eat again.  If I feed him, he goes right back to sleep.  If I refuse, he plays in his crib while whining and fussing long enough to keep me awake.  I eventually feed him out of exhaustion and then he goes to sleep.  He wakes again around four unless it is already four.  Then from 4-8 he sleeps great.  Any of my lovely readers have any suggestions?  I am not totally against cry it out but prefer him to be closer to a year.

He doesn't want to be a leaf and I don't want to wake up a million times a night

My poor roseola stricken boy

Cutest pumpkin in the pumpkin patch

Clothes Size-- 6-9 months or 9 month stuff mainly although you fit in 12 month pretty well at the end of the month.

Diapers size-- He has moved up to the second snap rise setting on all but the biggest of his cloth diapers. I also am starting to double stuff his diapers as I stuff new ones.   In disposables, he is in a size three but we are going to be moving him up to a four next time I order diapers due to blow outs.

Diet-- All the boob milk and Zantac in the world.  He is eating solids really well and thus far he eats everything we let him try.  We are doing baby led weaning but taking it slower than we did with Destructo because of his food sensitivities to something I am eating.  So far so good.  He likes fruits and most veggies and chicken.  He is just eh on avocado but loves guacamole.  Only thing he hasn't liked thus far is eggs.

Baby Gear I Love-- 

Playskool Busy Poppin' Pals Toy
  Musical Toys MP-200 8-Inch Mini Rainmaker Shaker
  Fisher-Price Luv U Zoo Jumperoo

Milestones-- He is actually tolerating tummy time more and pushing up on his arms.  He can even inch worm a bit to reach for toys.  His fine motor skills are crazy good.  I have got to get this house cleaned up and more baby proofed soon.

Likes/Dislikes--  He likes eating, waking me up, his brother, father, and any chewy teething toys.  He dislikes waiting to eat, me sleeping, and his daddy's whiskers.

Things I Don't want to Forget--  How Oliver gets so angry when things don't fit in his mouth.  How he adores his big brother and no matter how crazy Destructo acts it cracks him up.  How much of a momma's boy Oliver is.  I don't want to forget how Ollie likes to hold onto my amber necklace while he nurses.  It is so sad how fast this first year is flying by.  My last baby is growing up way too quickly.


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Favorite 0-6 Month Toys Ollie Edition

I published this post way back when about Captain Destructo's favorite toys from birth to six months. It was interesting to look back and see which toys Oliver likes and which ones he doesn't.  So I decided to do a second post about his favorite toys and include new ones just to give readers more ideas of toys in case anyone is getting ideas from my blog.

Poor Sophie had to be humanely euthanized after he ate a hole in her neck

Sophie giraffe is a huge favorite of Owl's.  He likes it far more than Destructo did.  In fact, he likes it so much he gnawed a hole in it's neck and I had to buy Sophie the giraffe version 2.0.  I also found that he really likes this Sophie teether.  I actually lucked out and got this in a value pack with my replacement Sophie giraffe.  It is vanilla scented and he loves it.  

Destructo loved balls of all types.  The only ball Owl really likes is the  Oball Rattle.  But even that is just tolerated.  He gets furious that he can't get it into his mouth.  Any toy that he can't fit in his mouth is not a toy he makes a favorite.  He throws the funniest little baby temper tantrums about not being able to fit things into his mouth.  Temper temper I tell ya.

Ollie really like his play mat, exersaucer, and bouncy seat when he was four months and under just like Kai did (you can see which ones I had in my original post if you want recommendations.)  He also liked the rainmaker tube and B. One Two Squeeze Blocks that Kai liked.

So what toys does he enjoy that Kai didn't?  Anything that is rubbery and chewable.  He is a chewer mouther type of kid.


 All three of these are very high in Owl's book.  You can click any of them if you want to find out more about them.  Such strange looking teethers.

Owllie also really likes wooden teething toys.  He chews all over this fish toy that he stole from his cousin.  I want to get him a few more wooden teething toys for Christmas.


So there you have it.  Officer Owl's favorite ways to pass the time other than laughing hysterically at everything that his big brother says or does.  What toys are or were your baby's favorites at that age?

Oh but how could I forget to mention that Ollie's very favorite possession of all is his monster taggie security blanket.  This never leaves his side and he refuses to sleep without it.

This post contains affiliate links which compensate Adventures with Captain Destructo with a % of the sale. Using these links doesn't cost you anything extra, but it helps support this blog and my family. Thanks!

Mommy Confessions

So Mr. Destructo is on second shift now.  It is making me crazy.  He would probably argue that this isn't a new thing.  Maybe not.  Maybe it is just slowly making me crazier than I was already.  Who knows.  All I do know is that I detest his new shift.  

He used to work 6:30ish to 3ish.  This wasn't bad at all.  The kids typically sleep until at least the 7 o clock hour if not the 8 o clock hour.  Before Ollie, I used to actually wake up before Destructo and have time to read my Bible and possibly even get breakfast made all before he woke up.  Yeah now I drag myself out of bed when his screaming put your feet on the floor momma, get up it is morning, the sun is up becomes to much to bear.  Thanks child of mine who at 6.5 months still doesn't sleep through the night (or more than a three hour stretch.)  

But typically an hour or two of his being gone was over before I ever had to deal with the kiddos.  Mornings were pretty nice we would go to the library, or science center, or play dates.  Come home in time for lunch and nap time.  Then typically by the time Destructo was waking up, Mr. Destructo would be nearly home or home within an hour.  Of course Destructo is fighting naps more often than not and I don't have the patience to sit in there with him to make him sleep.  So that doesn't help matters any.  But then Mr. Destructo would be home for dinner, baths, bedtime and the never ending fussing that occurs in the evening from both kids.

But now he typically leaves anywhere between 1 and 4 depending on the day.  Some days he will cook a dinner meal for lunch, others he doesn't and I am on my own.  Destructo is up from nap by 4:30 no matter what.  So I have the kids from the time he leaves until they go to bed at 8:30/9/11 whatever the night might bring.  My house stays a mess because I have to run my errands in the morning or else bring both kids grocery shopping.  And really who wants to do that?  Then by the time he is at work and I in theory have time to clean and do house stuff, I am exhausted and Owl is a fuss head (and so is Destructo if he didn't nap that day.)  So I end up sitting outside in the backyard while Destructo plays and Owl chills on the patio swing with me.  When I eventually go in I have to deal with dinner, baths, and the whole bedtime hell.  By the time they are in bed, it is usually nine and I am so wiped out the mess just sits.  And sits and accumulates more mess.  Until the weekend when I attempt to tame it.  This also means that play dates are getting fewer and fewer since most people want to meet up during the day and I try to stay home so the kiddos can see Mr. Destructo more.

I hate it also because I get to spend next to no time with him during the week.  When he is home, the kids are demanding his time and attention or I am running errands or working on school work with Destructo.  Plus we always loved to watch a movie and eat popcorn at night after the kids were in bed and that obviously can't happen when the kids are awake the whole time.  I miss my hubby.  Plus he tends to sleep in some since he doesn't usually get home and in bed until 12-2AM.  So he doesn't get up until 11 or so.  So even less time together.  I am lonely.

So here is where the confession part comes in.  He left early for work.  I wasn't paying close attention to time though.  Destructo refused to nap.  Which means I didn't get a nap in because he also wouldn't stay in his room for quiet time and Owl woke up just as I attempted to lay Destructo down.  I took the boys for a walk like I do most evenings to escape the monotony of stay at home mom ness.  We got home and I was thinking about getting bedtime started early.  Yeah it was only five o clock.  I nearly cried at this point.  My time frame was just all messed up from Mr. Destructo going in so early.

So what did I do?  Stared at the sky beseeching God to save me from the monotony that my life has become.  When this didn't produce immediate results, I decided to put the kids in the car and go somewhere.  Because if they are strapped into their car seats, I don't have to chase them around.  And by them I mean him.  Owl is still lazy and can't go anywhere thank goodness.  So without a plan I told them we were going somewhere.  Kai immediately needed an itinerary.  So quickly thinking I told him we were going to drive by the fire station to see if the garage doors were open.  He was thrilled.

We did just that (twice) and then went through the drive through to get a Happy Meal.  I purposely picked the longer line to avoid going home.  Then I tried to strike up a conversation with the cashier out of sheer loneliness.  Then we started driving home and I realized I had gotten lucky and Owl was taking a power nap which helped combat his fussiness.  We then drove by Publix and I decided to stop and get some crackers to go with my leftover soup that I was having for dinner.  I wanted chicken nuggets said while glaring in Owl's general direction.  I so miss fast food.  And cheese.  

So I go into Publix and get Destructo his sprinkle cookie.  And we proceed to walk up and down each and every aisle.  All the store employees were so nice.  And by so nice I mean they were real live adults who said hi to me.  I was there for at least half an hour.  I went to the self checkout and realized that it is about impossible to self checkout when Destructo isn't in the cart since he kept sitting on the bagging area.  I then checked out and left my keys in the store without realizing it.

I went out to the car, noticed I had shop lifted some sausage (under the car seat), went back in to pay for it, and the cashier handed me my car keys.  I thanked her profusely, thought about asking if she was busy tonight and if she needed a mommy friend who was a little crazy, and left without doing that.  I mean I am not quite there yet.  Then as we got home (cane sugar Pepsi in tow because it is one of the few good things I can still have in my life after cutting dairy, soy, and most corn) I realize how hobo like my kids look.  Destructo picked his outfit and had his shoes with holes in the toes on.  He rides his balance bike and drags his toes so I make him wear those instead of ruining all  his shoes.  Owl was wearing a green happy camper shirt with powder blue (dirty) pants.  I didn't think all this out very well when I threw the kids in the car.  Oh and Destructo's outfit was a long sleeve fleece superman PJ top with cape, grey thick sweatpants with grass stained knees and yeah it was close to 80 here today.  

He was too busy zooming up and down the aisles like superman to stop for a picture

Sorry baby boy you are a fashion faux pas

I am not sure if I consider this a massive mommy fail or win.  Destructo did eat every last bite of his dinner tonight.  Owl did get his power nap and was happy until I got him into his bed.  I did manage to avoid crying or worse drinking.  Or is drinking better?  I don't know.  Eh it doesn't matter.  The moral of this story is second shift sucks and I am one lonely momma in the evenings. 

Ode to my Pacifiers

Oh where is my paci, oh where is my paci, oh where oh where oh where is my paci.   Who can name what show that is from?  Both of my boys have taken pacifiers and they were truly a life saver.  Especially in the car.  Owl doesn't really care for car rides that are more than an hour or less.  My parents cabin is three and a half hour away.  Let the screaming commence.

Anyways as a breastfeeding mom I do not feel pacifiers affected breastfeeding whatsoever.  I waited until the third day with Destructo to give him one.  He took it just fine.  He did not nurse well but that wasn't pacifier related since we had that problem well before the paci was intro'ed.  Owl actually got a paci before he ever got a boob.  When he went to the NICU, he was super hungry and I was having too much bleeding to go up there just yet.  So they gave him a paci to suck on.  I was concerned when Mr. Destructo texted me this, but it wasn't a big deal.  As soon as they brought him to me he latched on and hasn't latched off since.  Okay I am bitter over my six month old waking every single three hours all night long every single night (and that's a good night) to eat.  Bitter I tell ya.

With that said, make your own decision about the paci and breastfeeding since I would hate to give bad advice and have it decimate a breastfeeding journey.

What paci's do I recommend?  Well for starters I don't recommend buying more than one pack of any one kind until  you try them out.  I was all I am going to use gumdrop pacifiers.  I preferred a paci that was all one piece to avoid the baby biting the nipple part off (at least to make it harder.)  I liked these better than Soothies because of the shape and not covering a small baby's nose.

Yay Gumdrop paci.  Still my favorite.

Captain Destructo took these just fine.  Mission accomplished.  He took this type of paci until I took them away around 18 months.  (Oh and my weaning advice is after a year to only give the paci in the crib and car seat.  This really helped Destructo lose interest and I took them away cold turkey at 18 months.)

Now Owl was a challenge.  He initially tolerated a Soothie pacifier.  Tolerated was the best we ever got though and with his colic I preferred him to actually like a pacifier.  I then got some Vanilla Scent Soothie Newborn Pacifiers.  He seemed to like these a lot more and started taking a paci more regularly.  I had tried a ton of different types by this point.

One day I just happened to give him one I had tried and he couldn't care less about it.  He was screaming and it was right on the counter.  Lo and behold he loved the tommee tippee pacifier.  I hated these at first because I could only find them in clear and they are darned hard to find in the crib.  But then I found some blue ones and it was all okay.

Chilling with his Tommee Tippee paci

Now he just switched to the larger 6+ month size and while they weren't my first choice I really like them.  I mean come on how cute are these?
.  I have the zebra, giraffe, lion, and tiger styles.  

And these Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Night Pacifier glow in the dark.  I mean how cool is that?  And they really do glow fyi.  I think Destructo was farm more enthralled about this than Owl.

Owl with his Soothie paci that was as big as his head

So there you have it.  My opinions on pacifiers all in one place.

This post contains affiliate links which compensate Adventures with Captain Destructo with a % of the sale. Using these links doesn't cost you anything extra, but it helps support this blog and my family. Thanks!