There's nothing like being sick to make you feel loved. From my little dog nuzzling me and looking at me with worried eyes while I vomit. From my little boy who will rub my back and ask how I'm feeling in such a sweet little voice (again as I worship the porcelain God). From my 11 month old little girl who pushes me out of the way so she can try to play in the toilet water. Oh wait. That's not touching. That's disgusting. And especially from my saint of a husband who has really gotten this loving thing down the 3rd time around. Coming home from work and totally taking over the children, tucking me into bed at 8 pm and then doing the dishes, picking up the kids' toys, making the bottles for the next day, etc etc etc. Yes, I feel very loved these last few weeks.
But I miss my mommy. She's not gone for good, I only have to share her with Russia for a few weeks. But there's just something immensely comforting about being sick and having your mom to worry about you. My friends just don't want to hear about it. My kids don't really care if I don't feel well (except for the few fleeting sweet moments like I mentioned above). Poor Jeff is too haggard from being a single parent to really worry about little old puking me. But when Mom is around, I can always count on a sympathetic call during the day, just to check on how I'm feeling. Even if she knows the answer is going to be, "yuck", she will still call to offer her sympathies and lend a listening ear. No mother likes their baby to be sick...and I will always be one of my mom's babies. That's nice. And healing in some sort of way.
It makes me feel really bad for those of you out there without your moms. Because I hate being without mine for just a few weeks. I can't imagine it being permanent.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Magazines
Andrew has more magazine subscriptions than I do. Which is fine. We look forward to getting them in the mail, and even more we enjoy reading them, playing the games in them, etc etc. It's a nice change from the constant reading of books.
This morning, I am not feeling well. I am fighting the urge to puke with all my heart and soul...mostly because I don't want to fix another breakfast. How lazy is that? But I already threw up my first breakfast...fixing 3 breakfasts in one morning seems a bit extreme.
What does this mean for my children? I am snippy and short and quite a bit neglectful. I made them both breakfast, got them dressed...what more do they want. I have been desperately trying to zombify Andrew in front of the tv...but he just wants to play with me. -sigh- I keep telling him to give me a little bit, I don't feel well. My tummy is sick. Finally, when he tried to shove a bucket on my head, I snapped at him, "Just a minute or two! That's all I ask! Go play by yourself!"
Andrew climbed up on the couch and began reading the new magazine that we got yesterday in the mail. This particular magazine is way too advanced for him, and has things like questionaires in it. Since it was a gift, we just keep receiving it, and we enjoy the pictures and what articles we can get through. Andrew is leafing through the magazing while I watch the Today show.
He suddenly says, "Mommy, I want to ask you 3 questions from this magazine."
"Okay," I respond.
"Who is one person that is being very mean to her children today?"
Which makes me laugh like a crazy person. What a weirdo. Now if I could just feel better...I could actually enjoy him!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Tucking me in
Last night, we did something that I think every mother should try. Andrew tucked me into bed. He had a nap yesterday, so by 8 pm, he was still WIDE awake. I have been going to bed at 8...forcing myself to stay up until 8, I should say. It's just embarrassing to go to bed at 7.
So Andrew came upstairs with me. After I got into my pjs, I climbed into bed. Andrew sat on the edge of the bed and patted my leg. Jeff turned off the light and left us alone. Andrew sang me the ABC's and then gave me a kiss. He left the room, and as he was closing the door, he said, "Have a good sleep!"
It was so cute to listen to him take ME through the bedtime routine. And he was so SERIOUS about it...a very important job to him.
So Andrew came upstairs with me. After I got into my pjs, I climbed into bed. Andrew sat on the edge of the bed and patted my leg. Jeff turned off the light and left us alone. Andrew sang me the ABC's and then gave me a kiss. He left the room, and as he was closing the door, he said, "Have a good sleep!"
It was so cute to listen to him take ME through the bedtime routine. And he was so SERIOUS about it...a very important job to him.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Questionable
Pregnancy is long and boring. Especially when it's not happening to you. Yet people feel obligated to discuss it with you...even if they have nothing to say. Which is most of the time...40 weeks is a lot of small talk time to fill. It starts even before you get knocked up. If you are married and of child-bearing years, you are subject to these repetitive questions that almost never lead to interesting conversation. I have compiled a list to help those of you out there who have not done this pregnancy thing and are curious:
Pre-conception.
-Are you going to have kids?
-Are you going to have more kids?
-You're not going to have MORE kids, are you?
Post pregnancy announcement/1st trimester.
-How are you feeling? (If you answer good, they will tell you how lucky you are. If you answer bad, they will give you 1,001 tried and true home remedies. And tell you it will be over soon.)
-Are you going to find out the gender? (If you answer no, they will ask you why because they LOVED knowing or they will say "Good for you!" If you answer yes, you will more than likely get a long winded answer about how you are ruining one of the few true surprises in life. (people who don't find out the gender have a major superiority complex. You must be prepared to deal with it...or join their club and spend the rest of your life judging the rest of the "surprise-ruiners") )
2nd trimester (aka: the most uneventful trimester).
-Are you going to find out the gender? (see rant above)
-How are you feeling? (God forbid you answer crummy. Nobody wants a depressing answer by this point. They are SICK of you answering you are SICK.)
-Isn't this the best part of pregnancy? Enjoy it, because the next one drags. (Gee, thanks. Since it's too late for me to get out of it by now...)
-Wow, aren't you really small for this far along? Shouldn't you be showing more?
-Wow, aren't you really big for this far along? How big are you going to get?
- Do you have names picked out? (If you don't, be prepared for a long list of suggestions which you must dodge judgment of with polite smiles, nods, and enthusiastic, "Mmmmmm, yes. I hadn't thought of THAT one.")
3rd trimester (aka: the longest trimester).
-Haven't you had that baby yet?
-Are you having twins? I've never seen anyone that huge.
-What names do you have picked out? (If you do, be prepared for people dodging judgement with polite smiles, nods, and overly enthusiastic, "Mmmmmm, yes. I hadn't thought of THAT one.")
- Are you scared about ______________? (3rd trimester is the perfect time for everyone's most horrific birth stories to come out. When I was 9 months pregnant with Andrew, I actually had a woman ask me if I was scared about him strangling himself with his umbilical cord. Because that's what happened to her SIL. Gee...thanks for freaking me out. I wasn't scared enough about passing this watermelon through my Hoo-Ha. Now I have to worry if the baby is going to survive? Excellent timing!)
4 days after having the baby.
-Are you going to have more kids?
-You're not going to have MORE kids, are you?
I'm sure those of you who have been pregnant can add to my list of repetitive questions. For the record, I'm not judging the questioners. I am one of them. I try not to do the more obnoxious ones, but sometimes I give in. It's like watching a car wreck. You know you shouldn't participate, but you just can't help yourself. I see a pregnant woman, and before I know it, I've popped out one of the dumb questions. It's practically unavoidable. Because if you don't ask anything, you look like an insensitive ass who doesn't care that they are busy creating a little miracle.
Next post: Am I going to find out the gender? and How am I feeling?
Pre-conception.
-Are you going to have kids?
-Are you going to have more kids?
-You're not going to have MORE kids, are you?
Post pregnancy announcement/1st trimester.
-How are you feeling? (If you answer good, they will tell you how lucky you are. If you answer bad, they will give you 1,001 tried and true home remedies. And tell you it will be over soon.)
-Are you going to find out the gender? (If you answer no, they will ask you why because they LOVED knowing or they will say "Good for you!" If you answer yes, you will more than likely get a long winded answer about how you are ruining one of the few true surprises in life. (people who don't find out the gender have a major superiority complex. You must be prepared to deal with it...or join their club and spend the rest of your life judging the rest of the "surprise-ruiners") )
2nd trimester (aka: the most uneventful trimester).
-Are you going to find out the gender? (see rant above)
-How are you feeling? (God forbid you answer crummy. Nobody wants a depressing answer by this point. They are SICK of you answering you are SICK.)
-Isn't this the best part of pregnancy? Enjoy it, because the next one drags. (Gee, thanks. Since it's too late for me to get out of it by now...)
-Wow, aren't you really small for this far along? Shouldn't you be showing more?
-Wow, aren't you really big for this far along? How big are you going to get?
- Do you have names picked out? (If you don't, be prepared for a long list of suggestions which you must dodge judgment of with polite smiles, nods, and enthusiastic, "Mmmmmm, yes. I hadn't thought of THAT one.")
3rd trimester (aka: the longest trimester).
-Haven't you had that baby yet?
-Are you having twins? I've never seen anyone that huge.
-What names do you have picked out? (If you do, be prepared for people dodging judgement with polite smiles, nods, and overly enthusiastic, "Mmmmmm, yes. I hadn't thought of THAT one.")
- Are you scared about ______________? (3rd trimester is the perfect time for everyone's most horrific birth stories to come out. When I was 9 months pregnant with Andrew, I actually had a woman ask me if I was scared about him strangling himself with his umbilical cord. Because that's what happened to her SIL. Gee...thanks for freaking me out. I wasn't scared enough about passing this watermelon through my Hoo-Ha. Now I have to worry if the baby is going to survive? Excellent timing!)
4 days after having the baby.
-Are you going to have more kids?
-You're not going to have MORE kids, are you?
I'm sure those of you who have been pregnant can add to my list of repetitive questions. For the record, I'm not judging the questioners. I am one of them. I try not to do the more obnoxious ones, but sometimes I give in. It's like watching a car wreck. You know you shouldn't participate, but you just can't help yourself. I see a pregnant woman, and before I know it, I've popped out one of the dumb questions. It's practically unavoidable. Because if you don't ask anything, you look like an insensitive ass who doesn't care that they are busy creating a little miracle.
Next post: Am I going to find out the gender? and How am I feeling?
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
First day of school
The past few weeks...no months...Andrew has been telling me he hates school and doesn't want to go. The last few days I've been gently trying to get him used to the idea...and he has told me over and over that he is nervous and doesn't want to go. At orientation last week he cried. And told me he was nervous. And almost cried every time we talked about school.
So I was understandably dreading today. Not for myself. I am a relatively non-sentimental mother when it comes to school. Last year, at the first day of 2 year old pre-school, I showed up with Andrew. I did make sure he was in a clean t-shirt. My big prep for the first day of school. I show up, and it is like high school graduation. Or college drop-off weekend. Moms, Dads, Grandparents and all these 2,3,and 4 year olds dressed to the nines. Flash-bulbs blinding as if it was the red carpet at the Oscars. Talk about feeling inadequate. I hadn't even thought to take a picture of him at home...much less at school.
So this year, I was really good. I put a clean, MATCHING outfit on Andrew. Yes, even matching socks. I took a picture of him in front of our front door. Whew! I'm getting teary eyed just thinking of it. And I drove him to school not knowing what his reaction would be. All the weeks of tears! Anticipation!
They throw open the doors...and...
Andrew runs in, without looking behind him. No hugs for Mom. No goodbyes. Certainly no tears.
I went to pick him up 2 and a half hours later. Big smiles. Oh, how he loves school! Here's our conversation post school:
Andrew: School was great!
Giselle: That is so wonderful. Did you cry?
A: (in a disgusted tone) No. (if he were born in the 90s, he would have said, "As if")
G: Did anyone cry?
A: Just one girl.
G: Did you help make her feel better?
A: Nope. I was too busy playing. (ah....already a sensitive male)
G: Well, I'm proud of you. I know you were nervous, but you went to school anyway and had a good time.
A: I was never nervous. I love school.
-sigh- Gotta love this boy.
So I was understandably dreading today. Not for myself. I am a relatively non-sentimental mother when it comes to school. Last year, at the first day of 2 year old pre-school, I showed up with Andrew. I did make sure he was in a clean t-shirt. My big prep for the first day of school. I show up, and it is like high school graduation. Or college drop-off weekend. Moms, Dads, Grandparents and all these 2,3,and 4 year olds dressed to the nines. Flash-bulbs blinding as if it was the red carpet at the Oscars. Talk about feeling inadequate. I hadn't even thought to take a picture of him at home...much less at school.
So this year, I was really good. I put a clean, MATCHING outfit on Andrew. Yes, even matching socks. I took a picture of him in front of our front door. Whew! I'm getting teary eyed just thinking of it. And I drove him to school not knowing what his reaction would be. All the weeks of tears! Anticipation!
They throw open the doors...and...
Andrew runs in, without looking behind him. No hugs for Mom. No goodbyes. Certainly no tears.
I went to pick him up 2 and a half hours later. Big smiles. Oh, how he loves school! Here's our conversation post school:
Andrew: School was great!
Giselle: That is so wonderful. Did you cry?
A: (in a disgusted tone) No. (if he were born in the 90s, he would have said, "As if")
G: Did anyone cry?
A: Just one girl.
G: Did you help make her feel better?
A: Nope. I was too busy playing. (ah....already a sensitive male)
G: Well, I'm proud of you. I know you were nervous, but you went to school anyway and had a good time.
A: I was never nervous. I love school.
-sigh- Gotta love this boy.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Drudgery
I don't know what to post about today. I feel like I just did this pregnancy thing...I just recently bored you with posts about throwing up and wanting to kill myself. About my little boy being so bored he acts out...which makes his grouchy mommy lash out at him and then wallow in guilt the rest of the day. About how I dream of eating, but in reality I am carefully looking at every meal thinking, "Yes, it will taste good going down. But how will it feel coming up?" About how all I want to do is be hooked up to an IV with nutrients and crawl into a bed for the next few months. And these all sound like terribly pathetic posts, so I will pass on all of them.
I am trying my hardest to take this pregnancy one day at a time. As in, "Okay, I only threw up once today. Not too bad" or "I felt like death would be preferable today, but I made it through managing to keep not only myself, but also my children alive." You know, one day at a time. But I find myself remembering. And having had 2 bad experiences, I find myself anticipating. Anticipating months of feeling like this. Which just makes you feel 10 times worse. Imagine having the stomach flu. Yuck, right? Now imagine you go to the doctor, and he tells you it will go away in 11 weeks. 3 months. You leave feeling infinitely yuckier.
So hard as I try, I find myself wallowing in my past experience. After 2 yucky pregnancies, I've lost all patience with well-meaning strangers and friends. Yes, I've tried ginger. Yes, I've tried motion sickness bands. Yes, I've eaten Saltines in the morning. B-6? Tried it. This is my 3rd pregnancy. The only thing I've found that helps my sickness is having the baby. So please don't offer me any advice. Don't tell me it will all be over soon. Nothing you have to say will be earth-shattering or will help me. And I should be nice and polite because they are only trying to help me feel better. But I am just impatient and short. I have even said to my playgroup, "Please don't ask me how I'm feeling. It depresses you to hear me say crappy, and it depresses me even more. You'll know when I'm feeling better...no need to be polite." Nice. Wouldn't you want to be my friend?
And the worst part? I'm scared to death about when this pregnancy is over. I STILL lose sleep over what the hell I'm going to do all day with two babies. I know, I know, people do it all the time. Heavens, people have multiples and other babies. But that isn't me. I'm LAZY. I don't do crafts or a particularly good job entertaining my kids. Jeff asked me this weekend if we would get Sesame Place passes again next summer. Uh...no? Pool...uh...no? How exactly will I keep an eye on an 18 month old and a newborn and a 4 year old by myself? What do I do with the newborn when I'm swimming with the 18 month old? When the newborn wakes up and needs to be fed, do I drag the 18 month old out and strap her to the stroller until I'm finished? And will the 4 year old be totally independent by then...cause he'll have to be. I'm convinced that we'll be doing NOTHING...but going crazy inside that is.
Damn it. This post is pathetic. Just the type I was trying to avoid. I'll go observe my children. They'll give me something else to post about. Ohhhh, I know. Andrew's first day of school is tomorrow. I'll post about that.
I am trying my hardest to take this pregnancy one day at a time. As in, "Okay, I only threw up once today. Not too bad" or "I felt like death would be preferable today, but I made it through managing to keep not only myself, but also my children alive." You know, one day at a time. But I find myself remembering. And having had 2 bad experiences, I find myself anticipating. Anticipating months of feeling like this. Which just makes you feel 10 times worse. Imagine having the stomach flu. Yuck, right? Now imagine you go to the doctor, and he tells you it will go away in 11 weeks. 3 months. You leave feeling infinitely yuckier.
So hard as I try, I find myself wallowing in my past experience. After 2 yucky pregnancies, I've lost all patience with well-meaning strangers and friends. Yes, I've tried ginger. Yes, I've tried motion sickness bands. Yes, I've eaten Saltines in the morning. B-6? Tried it. This is my 3rd pregnancy. The only thing I've found that helps my sickness is having the baby. So please don't offer me any advice. Don't tell me it will all be over soon. Nothing you have to say will be earth-shattering or will help me. And I should be nice and polite because they are only trying to help me feel better. But I am just impatient and short. I have even said to my playgroup, "Please don't ask me how I'm feeling. It depresses you to hear me say crappy, and it depresses me even more. You'll know when I'm feeling better...no need to be polite." Nice. Wouldn't you want to be my friend?
And the worst part? I'm scared to death about when this pregnancy is over. I STILL lose sleep over what the hell I'm going to do all day with two babies. I know, I know, people do it all the time. Heavens, people have multiples and other babies. But that isn't me. I'm LAZY. I don't do crafts or a particularly good job entertaining my kids. Jeff asked me this weekend if we would get Sesame Place passes again next summer. Uh...no? Pool...uh...no? How exactly will I keep an eye on an 18 month old and a newborn and a 4 year old by myself? What do I do with the newborn when I'm swimming with the 18 month old? When the newborn wakes up and needs to be fed, do I drag the 18 month old out and strap her to the stroller until I'm finished? And will the 4 year old be totally independent by then...cause he'll have to be. I'm convinced that we'll be doing NOTHING...but going crazy inside that is.
Damn it. This post is pathetic. Just the type I was trying to avoid. I'll go observe my children. They'll give me something else to post about. Ohhhh, I know. Andrew's first day of school is tomorrow. I'll post about that.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Mommy's job
I just finished reading this little girl's sweet response to the question, "What is Mommy's job?". It makes me smile and get a little teary. A very different response than what I got last week when Andrew was asked the same question.
Andrew, "Daddy is at work, right?"
Giselle, "Yes, he sure works hard at his job. Does Mommy have a job?"
Andrew, "Yes."
G, "What's my job, Andrew?"
A, "Feeding Nemo."
Yes, that's right. All the things I do during the day, and the first thing that pops into Andrew's head is that I feed the damn fish. (who is miraculously still alive, I might add).
Ah, what a legacy I leave behind.
Andrew, "Daddy is at work, right?"
Giselle, "Yes, he sure works hard at his job. Does Mommy have a job?"
Andrew, "Yes."
G, "What's my job, Andrew?"
A, "Feeding Nemo."
Yes, that's right. All the things I do during the day, and the first thing that pops into Andrew's head is that I feed the damn fish. (who is miraculously still alive, I might add).
Ah, what a legacy I leave behind.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Cheesy goodness and other randomness
Non-cheesy Lily on the move!
In a tube together at the mall
Andrew the Angelfish...not something we did this weekend.
Monday night, while the rest of the country was having their last cookouts of the season, I requested to go out to eat at a particular restaurant. When I'm pregnant, I just need to go with cravings. Sometimes it bites me in the arse, but usually its a good call and by listening to my cravings I have less vomiting. So Jeff agreed. I'm not going to tell you what restaurant, because I'm embarrassed by it. No person in their right mind actually WANTS to go to this restaurant. Unless they are 7.
I digress. We pack the kiddos in the car. Andrew is DOG tired, but climbs in willingly. Lily protests a bit, but I quickly distract her with the nearest trash. That's right, trash. I've found some of the best toys are trash. And empty fruit snacks wrapper is crinkly and crunchy and delightful. A full fruit snack wrapper has the added benefit of shaking...pure rapture for my 11 month old. Yesterday's trash of choice was an unopened cheese and cracker package. You know the type...crackers on one side, processed "cheese" on the other. All wrapped up in a non-biodegradable plastic wrapper. Nothing but the best for my kids. Lily enjoys it because of the crinkly sounds it makes.
Andrew fell asleep on the way there. I never realized how much I depend on him to be my "Lily watchdog." I never even thought to look back and see what she was up to. I figure everything is fine because Andrew isn't tattle-taling. Fast forward to unloading the kids. Jeff gently unbuckles sleeping Andrew. I open Lily's side to find....a baby covered in cheese. From just under the eyes to the bottom of chin...covered. Fat little baby hands...covered. Chunky little thighs...covered. And through all this orange goop...and huge...beaming...toothy grin. If I could have brought my camera. She was the happiest I may have ever seen her. And perhaps the messiest.
So that was our weekend. Hope yours was as good.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Professional Little Sister
I don't know where Lily learned it, but she is getting pretty darn good at the whole little sister role. She wants whatever her brother has and will try to snatch it away from him. When he protests and won't let her have it, she gets this big fake pout on her face, starts to cry this exaggerated whine, and big crocodile tears roll out of her eyes. It is so ridiculous...I laugh every time she does it. She is already gaining the skills necessary to get Andrew in trouble for the rest of his life.
Also new in Lily's repertoire...
--Climbing. She is a pro at our stairs (although she doesn't know how to come back down). And yesterday, she got up on our fireplace. One of my favorite things about babies is how stinkin' pleased with themselves they get when they do something new. The look on her face on top of that fireplace was priceless.
--Eating our food. Lily will still eat baby food. As long as no one else is eating. Because if I am eating...she discards her food to the dog and wants what I have. Even if it is the same thing. It's just better off Mom's plate. In the last week, she has sampled hot pretzels, cinnamon sugar toast, KFC, Italian ice, sugar cookies. All very healthy fare. Don't worry, she's had lots of fruits and veggies too.
--Playing with poop. Okay, so this wasn't actually her fault. Her diaper exploded while napping, and she entertained herself with this new sticky goop until discovered by her dad. That's right, I was taking my mom to the airport. Score one for me. ;)
--Standing up. She is finally pulling herself up on stuff. And now all she wants to do is stand. She is just starting to cruise a bit...but we don't really have any good surfaces for her to practice this skill.
--Dance! How much do I love baby dancing???? Lily has a TOTALLY different style of dancing than Andrew did...which I find very interesting. Andrew was the dancing man, totally bouncing on his knees. Lily doesn't like to dance nearly as much, but when she does, she shakes her head and hands back and forth. No bouncing. Still soooooooo cute.
--Talk! Lily knows the words "book", "mama", "duk" (Look! always accompanied with pointing at something), "dis" (this), and "derg" (always said when pointing at Shadow, so I take it to mean dog). And she's in the stage where she babbles nonsense, but it kind of sounds like talking because she uses influction and pauses just like we do when speaking English. So cute! She also knows the sign for more and all done...but her preferred sign is pointing. "More" isn't specific enough for Lily...she just points at what she wants on the table. Arms out to get picked up. Even though she doesn't speak English, this girl knows how to get her point across. It's so fun to take her places...like at the aquarium, she just points at everything, saying over and over, "duk!" Look, mom! Look over here! Fun!
--Mama's girl. Andrew was a momma's girl from Day 1. He always preferred me, and was very vocal about it. Lily has been a much more independent baby. She loves everybody, and never had a problem with me leaving the room, etc. Until now. I think it's because we've had visitors for 2 weeks and I haven't been feeling well...so other people have been filling her needs and her mother has been absent a lot. She is now in full-on MOMMY MODE. Jeff will be holding her and she will squirm away, pointing at me, saying "mama...mamamama...mama". Then when I take her she contentedly puts her arm around me and pats me on the back (my personal favorite). It's kind of a pain, but secretly I love it.
So that's my Lily. I have been AWFUL about taking pictures, but I'll try and take some today and post them. She is just too cute. Seriously. Too cute.
Also new in Lily's repertoire...
--Climbing. She is a pro at our stairs (although she doesn't know how to come back down). And yesterday, she got up on our fireplace. One of my favorite things about babies is how stinkin' pleased with themselves they get when they do something new. The look on her face on top of that fireplace was priceless.
--Eating our food. Lily will still eat baby food. As long as no one else is eating. Because if I am eating...she discards her food to the dog and wants what I have. Even if it is the same thing. It's just better off Mom's plate. In the last week, she has sampled hot pretzels, cinnamon sugar toast, KFC, Italian ice, sugar cookies. All very healthy fare. Don't worry, she's had lots of fruits and veggies too.
--Playing with poop. Okay, so this wasn't actually her fault. Her diaper exploded while napping, and she entertained herself with this new sticky goop until discovered by her dad. That's right, I was taking my mom to the airport. Score one for me. ;)
--Standing up. She is finally pulling herself up on stuff. And now all she wants to do is stand. She is just starting to cruise a bit...but we don't really have any good surfaces for her to practice this skill.
--Dance! How much do I love baby dancing???? Lily has a TOTALLY different style of dancing than Andrew did...which I find very interesting. Andrew was the dancing man, totally bouncing on his knees. Lily doesn't like to dance nearly as much, but when she does, she shakes her head and hands back and forth. No bouncing. Still soooooooo cute.
--Talk! Lily knows the words "book", "mama", "duk" (Look! always accompanied with pointing at something), "dis" (this), and "derg" (always said when pointing at Shadow, so I take it to mean dog). And she's in the stage where she babbles nonsense, but it kind of sounds like talking because she uses influction and pauses just like we do when speaking English. So cute! She also knows the sign for more and all done...but her preferred sign is pointing. "More" isn't specific enough for Lily...she just points at what she wants on the table. Arms out to get picked up. Even though she doesn't speak English, this girl knows how to get her point across. It's so fun to take her places...like at the aquarium, she just points at everything, saying over and over, "duk!" Look, mom! Look over here! Fun!
--Mama's girl. Andrew was a momma's girl from Day 1. He always preferred me, and was very vocal about it. Lily has been a much more independent baby. She loves everybody, and never had a problem with me leaving the room, etc. Until now. I think it's because we've had visitors for 2 weeks and I haven't been feeling well...so other people have been filling her needs and her mother has been absent a lot. She is now in full-on MOMMY MODE. Jeff will be holding her and she will squirm away, pointing at me, saying "mama...mamamama...mama". Then when I take her she contentedly puts her arm around me and pats me on the back (my personal favorite). It's kind of a pain, but secretly I love it.
So that's my Lily. I have been AWFUL about taking pictures, but I'll try and take some today and post them. She is just too cute. Seriously. Too cute.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Let's take a deep breath...
Okay, so have you all recovered from the shock yet? I haven't, but since I'm the one that will be wiping this little one's butt, I suppose I have more to get over. ;)
My favorite thing about announcing a "surprise" pregnancy that I'm really nervous about? All the, "It could be worse..." stories I get to hear. You know the type...I'm at playgroup, and the mom next to me says, "Don't be nervous. It could be worse. I have a cousin who had twins and then 13 months later had quintuplets and a goat. Can you imagine?" Or, "My sister knew a woman who had 5 kids, each just 8 months apart. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true!" Those types of stories. (coincidentally, these are the same people who potty trained their kids at 13 months...hmmm). Apparently, I've really got nothing to worry about. 18 months apart is a piece of cake compared to 99% of the rest of the population. Relieving, that what it is ;)
As you all know, pregnancy is not my favorite phase in life. If you are reading my blog, and suffer from infertility or other conditions that may make you sensitive to complaining pregnant people, you may wish to stop reading for the next few months. I am grateful to be able to get pregnant...not so grateful about being pregnant. At least the other 2 times I was preggers, I was soooooooo excited about the end result. It was a real light at the end of the tunnel. This time, the light at the end is tainted with fears of juggling two babies/how will I get Andrew into school with 2 little ones in tow/will Lily get lost in the middle/etc etc etc.
I am feeling quite sick this week...but not too bad yet. I've only thrown up twice, although I've thought I would many more times. I fear I'm anticipating the sickness a lot this time. I feel resigned to the fact that there will be much worshiping the porcelain God. Except this time, I'm going to have to keep an ear up for my 10 month old making a break for the steps (yes, it is her new favorite past time).
Um, what else? Oh, yes, my mom is here this week (THANK GOD!). Next week should be interesting. I wish she could stay for the next couple of months...but she has to, like, go to Russia or something. Selfish. How could she choose a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel in a fascinating country over doing my dishes and laundry while entertaining my restless children? Huh.
So thanks for the congrats...we'll get there. ;)
My favorite thing about announcing a "surprise" pregnancy that I'm really nervous about? All the, "It could be worse..." stories I get to hear. You know the type...I'm at playgroup, and the mom next to me says, "Don't be nervous. It could be worse. I have a cousin who had twins and then 13 months later had quintuplets and a goat. Can you imagine?" Or, "My sister knew a woman who had 5 kids, each just 8 months apart. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true!" Those types of stories. (coincidentally, these are the same people who potty trained their kids at 13 months...hmmm). Apparently, I've really got nothing to worry about. 18 months apart is a piece of cake compared to 99% of the rest of the population. Relieving, that what it is ;)
As you all know, pregnancy is not my favorite phase in life. If you are reading my blog, and suffer from infertility or other conditions that may make you sensitive to complaining pregnant people, you may wish to stop reading for the next few months. I am grateful to be able to get pregnant...not so grateful about being pregnant. At least the other 2 times I was preggers, I was soooooooo excited about the end result. It was a real light at the end of the tunnel. This time, the light at the end is tainted with fears of juggling two babies/how will I get Andrew into school with 2 little ones in tow/will Lily get lost in the middle/etc etc etc.
I am feeling quite sick this week...but not too bad yet. I've only thrown up twice, although I've thought I would many more times. I fear I'm anticipating the sickness a lot this time. I feel resigned to the fact that there will be much worshiping the porcelain God. Except this time, I'm going to have to keep an ear up for my 10 month old making a break for the steps (yes, it is her new favorite past time).
Um, what else? Oh, yes, my mom is here this week (THANK GOD!). Next week should be interesting. I wish she could stay for the next couple of months...but she has to, like, go to Russia or something. Selfish. How could she choose a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel in a fascinating country over doing my dishes and laundry while entertaining my restless children? Huh.
So thanks for the congrats...we'll get there. ;)
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Against All Odds
FACT: I suck at keeping secrets.
FACT: I am a control freak. Which is why moving is so hard for me...it is not in my control. Which is why waiting almost a year to get pregnant was so hard for me...again out of my control.
FACT: All 3 times I've been pregnant, it took 8 months of charting my temperature, supplementing all sorts of things you don't want to hear about, planned/unspontaneous/unromantic sex. All 3 times. It was WORK to get pregnant. Fun work, but work non-the-less.
FACT: Each time I got pregnant, my body gave me distinct signs that I was ovulating. Very distinct. I was convinced that I just ovulate every 8 months or so.
FACT: Jeff and I were feeling pretty secure in our "sub-fertility" as one doctor put it. I have been putting off getting on hormonal birth control (cause it makes me sick) and depending on less effective barrier methods. But who cares about "less-effective"? We're sub-fertile. Even 90% effectiveness should be good enough for us.
FACT: This is probably WAY too much information about my sex life for most of my readers.
FACT: They have probably left the computer to go barf in the toilet.
FACT: Which may be where I end up later this morning.
FACT: When Jeff and I talked about the spacing of our children...even before we had any...I pretty much couldn't imagine having them any closer than 3 years apart. After having Andrew, I could imagine 2 1/2 year apart. Not a month closer.
FACT: I regard people with kids 2 years or less apart as crazy. Sorry to all my friends who have kids with that spacing. But I've always regarded you as crazy. Gluttons for punishment. Mostly just crazy.
FACT: Jeff and I have not yet decided if we want a 3rd child or not. We have been leaning towards 2 because I get so sick during pregnancy, we live far from family, we want to travel, we have 2 really great kids, so why jinx it, etc etc etc.
FACT: I have had NO signs of ovulation since weaning Lily.
FACT: I have missed 2 periods.
FACT: I have taken 3 positive pregnancy tests.
FACT: I had an ultrasound yesterday that showed a beating heart somewhere in my uterus.
FACT: This baby is due in April...Lily will be a mere 18 months old. Andrew will be 4 1/2.
FACT: Against all odds, I am pregnant.
FACT: Jeff and I have spent the last month in disbelief. If I had a nickel for every time we've said, "How did this happen...to US?"...I'd be able to put this child through college. Well, let's be realistic. I'd at least be able to buy a college book for this child.
FACT: I am TERRIFIED. And NERVOUS. And feeling quite INADEQUATE and definitely TOO LAZY to have babies so close together. 18 months apart. OH DEAR GOD.
FACT: I am somewhere deep down below all these anxious feelings, really really curious and excited to meet this baby who has broken all our patterns and come here despite all our expectations. This kid is meant to be.
FACT: I am a control freak. Which is why moving is so hard for me...it is not in my control. Which is why waiting almost a year to get pregnant was so hard for me...again out of my control.
FACT: All 3 times I've been pregnant, it took 8 months of charting my temperature, supplementing all sorts of things you don't want to hear about, planned/unspontaneous/unromantic sex. All 3 times. It was WORK to get pregnant. Fun work, but work non-the-less.
FACT: Each time I got pregnant, my body gave me distinct signs that I was ovulating. Very distinct. I was convinced that I just ovulate every 8 months or so.
FACT: Jeff and I were feeling pretty secure in our "sub-fertility" as one doctor put it. I have been putting off getting on hormonal birth control (cause it makes me sick) and depending on less effective barrier methods. But who cares about "less-effective"? We're sub-fertile. Even 90% effectiveness should be good enough for us.
FACT: This is probably WAY too much information about my sex life for most of my readers.
FACT: They have probably left the computer to go barf in the toilet.
FACT: Which may be where I end up later this morning.
FACT: When Jeff and I talked about the spacing of our children...even before we had any...I pretty much couldn't imagine having them any closer than 3 years apart. After having Andrew, I could imagine 2 1/2 year apart. Not a month closer.
FACT: I regard people with kids 2 years or less apart as crazy. Sorry to all my friends who have kids with that spacing. But I've always regarded you as crazy. Gluttons for punishment. Mostly just crazy.
FACT: Jeff and I have not yet decided if we want a 3rd child or not. We have been leaning towards 2 because I get so sick during pregnancy, we live far from family, we want to travel, we have 2 really great kids, so why jinx it, etc etc etc.
FACT: I have had NO signs of ovulation since weaning Lily.
FACT: I have missed 2 periods.
FACT: I have taken 3 positive pregnancy tests.
FACT: I had an ultrasound yesterday that showed a beating heart somewhere in my uterus.
FACT: This baby is due in April...Lily will be a mere 18 months old. Andrew will be 4 1/2.
FACT: Against all odds, I am pregnant.
FACT: Jeff and I have spent the last month in disbelief. If I had a nickel for every time we've said, "How did this happen...to US?"...I'd be able to put this child through college. Well, let's be realistic. I'd at least be able to buy a college book for this child.
FACT: I am TERRIFIED. And NERVOUS. And feeling quite INADEQUATE and definitely TOO LAZY to have babies so close together. 18 months apart. OH DEAR GOD.
FACT: I am somewhere deep down below all these anxious feelings, really really curious and excited to meet this baby who has broken all our patterns and come here despite all our expectations. This kid is meant to be.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Slacker
So I'm a slacker. You all knew that, so what's the big deal.
My sister and nephew are visiting this week, and I've been too tired to post. Sure, my sister has, but I'm L-A-Z-Y with a capital "L". You can read about all our adventures here. I'll let her do all the work.
Having Colin here has reminded me of Andrew as a 2 year old. And I would laugh in the superior tones of someone who has passed through that "wonderful" age...except I have a little one in the wings. I watch Colin playing FOREVER with a bucket of water and some cups outside. I remember Andrew doing that last summer. It was so easy to entertain him! Seriously. Cups and a bucket. Now we need a slide attached to a pool...and that is only exciting for 10 seconds. I watch Colin say/whine little conversations like this, "I want banana. Banana, Mama. BANANA. Nooooooo, don't want banana. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH. MILK! MILK! No Milk, WANT BANANA." And on and on. Ugh...the irrational behavior of this age. And the scratching! And the biting! How quickly you forget this stage when your child moves on from it! This has been a rude awakening that Lily is not going to pass from sweet baby to fun kid peacefully. Oh, yea, we have to do the 2's. Yippee.
It is so fun to watch all the cousins together. Colin is so sweet with Lily (provided she is not eyeing his toys). He kisses her and always wants to know where she is. And Andrew and Colin have been getting along amazingly well, considering Noah is coming to pick us up in an arc later this week and we've been in each other's faces the whole time waiting for rescue from the flood. (was that a run-on sentence, or what? English teachers, eat your heart out!).
And it is fun having Kate here. It's so great to watch her being a mom. We have different styles for our different kids (my style=mean/controlling her style=fun/easy-going). In my opinion, Kate's only parenting problem? She isn't confident enough in herself. She doesn't have any idea how well she is doing. She thinks I'm being "nice" when I say this...again with the lack of confidence. Proof is in how much Colin and my kids love her. Andrew is eating it up. He so enjoys his fun Aunt Kate, and even told her she is "funnier than Pepere". Whoa...high praise from Andrew.
So that's my update from PA. It has FINALLY stopped raining today, so hopefully we'll be able to take the boys outside and away from each others' space. More later...
My sister and nephew are visiting this week, and I've been too tired to post. Sure, my sister has, but I'm L-A-Z-Y with a capital "L". You can read about all our adventures here. I'll let her do all the work.
Having Colin here has reminded me of Andrew as a 2 year old. And I would laugh in the superior tones of someone who has passed through that "wonderful" age...except I have a little one in the wings. I watch Colin playing FOREVER with a bucket of water and some cups outside. I remember Andrew doing that last summer. It was so easy to entertain him! Seriously. Cups and a bucket. Now we need a slide attached to a pool...and that is only exciting for 10 seconds. I watch Colin say/whine little conversations like this, "I want banana. Banana, Mama. BANANA. Nooooooo, don't want banana. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH. MILK! MILK! No Milk, WANT BANANA." And on and on. Ugh...the irrational behavior of this age. And the scratching! And the biting! How quickly you forget this stage when your child moves on from it! This has been a rude awakening that Lily is not going to pass from sweet baby to fun kid peacefully. Oh, yea, we have to do the 2's. Yippee.
It is so fun to watch all the cousins together. Colin is so sweet with Lily (provided she is not eyeing his toys). He kisses her and always wants to know where she is. And Andrew and Colin have been getting along amazingly well, considering Noah is coming to pick us up in an arc later this week and we've been in each other's faces the whole time waiting for rescue from the flood. (was that a run-on sentence, or what? English teachers, eat your heart out!).
And it is fun having Kate here. It's so great to watch her being a mom. We have different styles for our different kids (my style=mean/controlling her style=fun/easy-going). In my opinion, Kate's only parenting problem? She isn't confident enough in herself. She doesn't have any idea how well she is doing. She thinks I'm being "nice" when I say this...again with the lack of confidence. Proof is in how much Colin and my kids love her. Andrew is eating it up. He so enjoys his fun Aunt Kate, and even told her she is "funnier than Pepere". Whoa...high praise from Andrew.
So that's my update from PA. It has FINALLY stopped raining today, so hopefully we'll be able to take the boys outside and away from each others' space. More later...
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
"Comfortable" house
We have visitors coming next week! Yippee! Cousin Colin and Aunt Kate are flying in on Saturday and staying the week.
Having lived out of state for my entire married life, live-in visitors no longer stress me out. I am who I am. But there is a list of chores that I do so that people will come back and visit again. Here's an excerpt of my list:
1- Go to grocery. Probably should have more to offer guests than water and Cheerios. Perhaps water, Cheerios, juice, AND lunch meat.
2- Chisel new life forms off kitchen floor and table. I hate killing, but there is no need to infect my guest with some strange bacteria.
3- Change sheets in guest room. Dust in guest room. Vacuum in guest room. Basically, make guest room a haven away from the chaos, dirt, grime, and clutter that is the rest of my house.
The results of my lack-luster performance as a hostess are pretty good. I have many repeat visitors. I highly doubt it is due to my hostessing skills, and more to do with the cute little people that inhabit this disgusting abode. But whatever. They keep coming back.
I receive many comments from guests that make me wonder if I shouldn't really sharpen up my skills, though. They go something like this:
"Oh, I feel so welcome here. Sometimes it's hard to be a visitor because you feel like you're putting people out, but not here." Translation: I don't feel guilty for coming because you obviously did nothing different to prepare for my arrival.
"It's so nice to come to someones house and just relax." Translation: I truly go home relaxed/bored to tears, because you plan NOTHING for us to do.
"Visiting you is just like being at home." Translation: You make me serve myself, find my own towels, watch the children, figure out what to do to entertain myself, etc etc. You know, just like at home.
"I just love thistle flowers. They are so pretty." Translation: This poor dear has no gardening skills at all. Just focus on the only green thing alive in the yard. Grasping for polite comment.
I know all these comments are meant well. But maybe it's time to change things up a bit. Improve my hostessing skills. Maybe just a little bit at a time. Like, in preparation for this weekend, perhaps I'll move the mountain of discarded shoes out of the front hall. Or wash the mirrors in the bathroom. Or serve food in platters on the kitchen table.
This makes me tired just thinking about it. It's just my sister, right? Maybe when dignitaries come to visit...
Having lived out of state for my entire married life, live-in visitors no longer stress me out. I am who I am. But there is a list of chores that I do so that people will come back and visit again. Here's an excerpt of my list:
1- Go to grocery. Probably should have more to offer guests than water and Cheerios. Perhaps water, Cheerios, juice, AND lunch meat.
2- Chisel new life forms off kitchen floor and table. I hate killing, but there is no need to infect my guest with some strange bacteria.
3- Change sheets in guest room. Dust in guest room. Vacuum in guest room. Basically, make guest room a haven away from the chaos, dirt, grime, and clutter that is the rest of my house.
The results of my lack-luster performance as a hostess are pretty good. I have many repeat visitors. I highly doubt it is due to my hostessing skills, and more to do with the cute little people that inhabit this disgusting abode. But whatever. They keep coming back.
I receive many comments from guests that make me wonder if I shouldn't really sharpen up my skills, though. They go something like this:
"Oh, I feel so welcome here. Sometimes it's hard to be a visitor because you feel like you're putting people out, but not here." Translation: I don't feel guilty for coming because you obviously did nothing different to prepare for my arrival.
"It's so nice to come to someones house and just relax." Translation: I truly go home relaxed/bored to tears, because you plan NOTHING for us to do.
"Visiting you is just like being at home." Translation: You make me serve myself, find my own towels, watch the children, figure out what to do to entertain myself, etc etc. You know, just like at home.
"I just love thistle flowers. They are so pretty." Translation: This poor dear has no gardening skills at all. Just focus on the only green thing alive in the yard. Grasping for polite comment.
I know all these comments are meant well. But maybe it's time to change things up a bit. Improve my hostessing skills. Maybe just a little bit at a time. Like, in preparation for this weekend, perhaps I'll move the mountain of discarded shoes out of the front hall. Or wash the mirrors in the bathroom. Or serve food in platters on the kitchen table.
This makes me tired just thinking about it. It's just my sister, right? Maybe when dignitaries come to visit...
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Hey! It's dark in here!
We put our kid to bed early. Every night.
Yesterday, Andrew took a 3 hour nap! Not surprising, since he had a hearty dose of Benedryl after being stung by a bee (on his forehead, poor guy!). God bless Benedryl. If only it wasn't evil to dose your child every day...
Anyhoo, due to the 3 hour nap, I figured I should let him stay awake a bit later than usual. We went outside to look for fireflies...which there were none. I'm sure I'll be getting an e-mail from my hippy playgroup friend about how cell phones are killing fireflies. I jest...kind of. We looked for fireflies just last week...they were alive and well. We didn't find fireflies, but we found a HUGE scary looking spider crawling through the grass. I'm proud to say I didn't shriek and run inside to put on a haz-mat suit. I just calmly told Andrew to LOOK at the spider, not pick it up (all the while clenching my teeth to hold back my screams of terror). I don't like spiders. We also enjoyed watching the bats fly around our backyard. We have a TON of bats that fly around. They are Cool with a Capital "C".
Came inside. Played our new favorite game, Guess Who, for a while. At ten till 9, Andrew finally went to bed. And after Jeff tucked him in and closed the door, we hear this through his monitor:
"Hey! Hey, guys! It's dark in here! I can't see anything!"
Okay, it doesn't sound funny when I type it. Jeff and I were ROLLING. How sad that he is so used to going to bed when it is friggin' daytime still. He didn't know how to react to a darkness at bedtime. I hate to disrupt his patterns. I'll be sure to put him down at 7:30 again tonight. :)
Yesterday, Andrew took a 3 hour nap! Not surprising, since he had a hearty dose of Benedryl after being stung by a bee (on his forehead, poor guy!). God bless Benedryl. If only it wasn't evil to dose your child every day...
Anyhoo, due to the 3 hour nap, I figured I should let him stay awake a bit later than usual. We went outside to look for fireflies...which there were none. I'm sure I'll be getting an e-mail from my hippy playgroup friend about how cell phones are killing fireflies. I jest...kind of. We looked for fireflies just last week...they were alive and well. We didn't find fireflies, but we found a HUGE scary looking spider crawling through the grass. I'm proud to say I didn't shriek and run inside to put on a haz-mat suit. I just calmly told Andrew to LOOK at the spider, not pick it up (all the while clenching my teeth to hold back my screams of terror). I don't like spiders. We also enjoyed watching the bats fly around our backyard. We have a TON of bats that fly around. They are Cool with a Capital "C".
Came inside. Played our new favorite game, Guess Who, for a while. At ten till 9, Andrew finally went to bed. And after Jeff tucked him in and closed the door, we hear this through his monitor:
"Hey! Hey, guys! It's dark in here! I can't see anything!"
Okay, it doesn't sound funny when I type it. Jeff and I were ROLLING. How sad that he is so used to going to bed when it is friggin' daytime still. He didn't know how to react to a darkness at bedtime. I hate to disrupt his patterns. I'll be sure to put him down at 7:30 again tonight. :)
Thursday, August 09, 2007
The HEAT the HEAT
Why do I forget this heat every year? Why does everyone, for that matter? Every year, we are in our houses facing brown-outs and heat advisories, and every year people say the same thing..."I haven't seen heat like this in years. It used to be so pleasant in the summer. Damn global warming." Except that 8 years ago it ended, "Damn El Nino." I promise I have this conversation with EVERY checkout person at EVERY store I've been to for the last 10 summers.
How soon we forget the seasons. Every January, I sit in the house bored to tears and think, "If it were just summer, I could play with the kids outside all day." Fast forward to August when the mere THOUGHT of going outside makes armpit rings on my shirt. I don't even want to go to inside activities, like the mall, because when we return to our car it is like entering an active kiln. And we bake like pretty glazed pottery. All for the privilege of going to...the mall? I think not.
So I sit inside the house bored to tears and think, "If it was just winter, we could play in the snow and lick icicles and get cozy under blankets."
Ah! The joys of seasons! Even in California, where it was just pleasant all the time, I managed to complain. "Oye! Sunny AGAIN? I just can't go to the park one more day! I need an excuse to watch movies all day."
Tough to please, that's me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go stop ignoring my bored children.
How soon we forget the seasons. Every January, I sit in the house bored to tears and think, "If it were just summer, I could play with the kids outside all day." Fast forward to August when the mere THOUGHT of going outside makes armpit rings on my shirt. I don't even want to go to inside activities, like the mall, because when we return to our car it is like entering an active kiln. And we bake like pretty glazed pottery. All for the privilege of going to...the mall? I think not.
So I sit inside the house bored to tears and think, "If it was just winter, we could play in the snow and lick icicles and get cozy under blankets."
Ah! The joys of seasons! Even in California, where it was just pleasant all the time, I managed to complain. "Oye! Sunny AGAIN? I just can't go to the park one more day! I need an excuse to watch movies all day."
Tough to please, that's me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go stop ignoring my bored children.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
8 years
Today marks eight years since I walked down an aisle and started a whole new family. Changed my name. Started sharing a bed (over-rated). Became a gypsy. Became an adult. Became a wife.
One of my friends here asked if we were going to go on a date for our anniversary. Uh, no. Who would watch the children? "Get a babysitter" I hear the collective chant of everyone I meet. And I respond, How exactly do you "get a babysitter". Right now, all I can think of to find one is to stalk teenage girls in my neighborhood and ask them. Seems creepy and weird and not the right way at all. So any tips on how to find a babysitter are welcome. Asking my friends is not an option. They all use relatives. "Oh, Matthew just goes to his Grandma's once a month. Then we have a few days to ourselves." Barf. When our family comes into town, they are more than willing to watch the kids. But we always feel torn. Here is our family that we only get to see every couple of months and traveled 9 hours to be here for a few days. We could go out and leave them in our boring house wondering which of the 5 remotes turns on the tv. Or we could stay at home and spend time with people we love and hardly ever get to spend time with.
Anyway, back to the anniversary. 8 years. Kind of like turning 17 or 26. Not a very exciting year to mark. Doesn't even have the ring of "7 year itch" to it. Which, by the way, as far as I know we had no 7 year itching. Although I am very itchy due to a bad case of poison ivy right now.
Okay, I'm feeling very stream-of-consciousness right now. 8 years. 5 dwellings. 3 states. 2 kids. Countless jobs (I'm just counting myself now). Never a single day that I have regretted it. Regretted that Jeff couldn't have gotten a job in Ohio, yes. But never that I wasn't with Jeff. I just don't get sick of him. Which seems like a terrible thing to say, but in my experience, too much time with anyone and you're ready to spend some time apart. Not Jeff. We can spend weeks of vacation together, where he doesn't go to work, and the only thing we feel at the end of his time off is disappointment that we can't win the lotto and have him stay home all the time. For 2 people who seemingly don't have much in common, we sure like to hang out together.
This isn't turning out nearly as mushy as I had hoped. I'm not real good with the PDA. I'll just say this...Jeff could be married to anyone happily. I honestly believe that, because he is so laid-back and considerate and kind and such an amazing care-taker. I don't know why he is with ME, because I think there are very FEW people that would be happy married to me (lazy, lazy, lazy, and thinks she is funny). But I snagged him, so that is that. I thank my lucky stars every day that I get him, and not somebody else. I hear so many people complaining about their husbands/marriages, and I just don't feel that. I make up lame-o stories about how detail oriented he is in order to fit in (I don't actually want the TV remote...just give me the GD cable remote that you KNOW I want, but insist on "teaching" me that I should call it the Cable remote).
I just love him. Clear and simple. The only family member that I'll ever get to handpick. You kind of get stuck with everyone else...this is your one chance to choose someone to get stuck with forever. And I'm so glad we picked each other.
One of my friends here asked if we were going to go on a date for our anniversary. Uh, no. Who would watch the children? "Get a babysitter" I hear the collective chant of everyone I meet. And I respond, How exactly do you "get a babysitter". Right now, all I can think of to find one is to stalk teenage girls in my neighborhood and ask them. Seems creepy and weird and not the right way at all. So any tips on how to find a babysitter are welcome. Asking my friends is not an option. They all use relatives. "Oh, Matthew just goes to his Grandma's once a month. Then we have a few days to ourselves." Barf. When our family comes into town, they are more than willing to watch the kids. But we always feel torn. Here is our family that we only get to see every couple of months and traveled 9 hours to be here for a few days. We could go out and leave them in our boring house wondering which of the 5 remotes turns on the tv. Or we could stay at home and spend time with people we love and hardly ever get to spend time with.
Anyway, back to the anniversary. 8 years. Kind of like turning 17 or 26. Not a very exciting year to mark. Doesn't even have the ring of "7 year itch" to it. Which, by the way, as far as I know we had no 7 year itching. Although I am very itchy due to a bad case of poison ivy right now.
Okay, I'm feeling very stream-of-consciousness right now. 8 years. 5 dwellings. 3 states. 2 kids. Countless jobs (I'm just counting myself now). Never a single day that I have regretted it. Regretted that Jeff couldn't have gotten a job in Ohio, yes. But never that I wasn't with Jeff. I just don't get sick of him. Which seems like a terrible thing to say, but in my experience, too much time with anyone and you're ready to spend some time apart. Not Jeff. We can spend weeks of vacation together, where he doesn't go to work, and the only thing we feel at the end of his time off is disappointment that we can't win the lotto and have him stay home all the time. For 2 people who seemingly don't have much in common, we sure like to hang out together.
This isn't turning out nearly as mushy as I had hoped. I'm not real good with the PDA. I'll just say this...Jeff could be married to anyone happily. I honestly believe that, because he is so laid-back and considerate and kind and such an amazing care-taker. I don't know why he is with ME, because I think there are very FEW people that would be happy married to me (lazy, lazy, lazy, and thinks she is funny). But I snagged him, so that is that. I thank my lucky stars every day that I get him, and not somebody else. I hear so many people complaining about their husbands/marriages, and I just don't feel that. I make up lame-o stories about how detail oriented he is in order to fit in (I don't actually want the TV remote...just give me the GD cable remote that you KNOW I want, but insist on "teaching" me that I should call it the Cable remote).
I just love him. Clear and simple. The only family member that I'll ever get to handpick. You kind of get stuck with everyone else...this is your one chance to choose someone to get stuck with forever. And I'm so glad we picked each other.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Explosion
Lily is having an explosion. And I don't mean the kind that cause me to change her outfit 3 times a day...although she's having those as well. No, she's having the same 9 month explosion that Andrew did, where after turning 9 months, every day brings something new. It is so AMAZING to watch. Here are some of the things she has started to do...this WEEK:Point (at objects, at pictures in books)
Pick up objects and say, "Hisssss"...which we are interpreting as "this" because once you tell her what it is, she is satisfied
Crawl up a step
Follow people around from room to room
Eat peaches and grapes (cut up in SMALL pieces, people). Throw pasta on the floor.
Squeal and crawl excitedly to Jeff when he comes home from work
Fake cry when Andrew stops her from doing something
Discover and play in dog bowl
Next up? Pulling herself up to standing. She is DESPERATE to accomplish this. The rate she's going, I bet it will happen this week sometime. Big girl.
And two Andrew stories:
Andrew call for help when he has pooped. Usually, he hollers out a charming, "Someone come wipe my butt!". So proud. So one evening, Andrew calls for his dad from the bathroom...although not in the "usual" way. Jeff walks in and asks, "Do you need a wipe?" Andrew replies, "No, Dad. Turn on the light. If I go poop, you will hear a splash. That's how you know."
We have an extra fridge in the basement where we keep lots of drinks...unfortunately mostly non-alcoholic (although after today, I am reconsidering stocking it with wine and vodka). This evening, I asked Andrew to go down and pick out waters for dinner. (I love having a 3 year old...they can DO stuff...and are excited by it still). Andrew calls up from the basement, "Do you want regular or spicy water?" Apparently, carbonated water is now "spicy" water...that's what the kids are saying these days. ;)
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Is it possible to love more than this?
No, really. I don't think it's actually possible to love this much. Surely my heart will break soon. Oh, wait. Andrew just knocked over his box of crayons...and Lily is rushing to eat them. Andrew just chucked one at her. Maybe this is how my heart will survive. ;)
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Favorite signs
Every once in a while, a sign just makes me chuckle. So I take a picture. I probably look like an idiot taking pictures of these signs...but they still make me chuckle when I see them.
In Texas last June. Isn't it supposed to be "Dumpster"?
At the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. This is at the hippo exhibit, which is all open with birds flying freely. There is one place to watch the hippos swimming...and it is directly under a branch. This sign is there in case you didn't look up when choosing a viewing vantage point. Love it!
And my new favorite, from the Academy of Natural Sciences. This is one of those honey bee hive displays. The bees can enter and leave the building through a tube, but make their hive in this plastic display case. In case you can't read the sign it says,
"Please do NOT tap on the glass."
"Besides, what would you do if the glass BROKE?"
Love it!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Academy of Natural Sciences
We have a bad habit as a family. We usually only do fun and new activities when we have visitors. But we are trying to break that trend. Sunday we decided to ditch church again (I know, I barely have time to think I'm so busy polishing my halo) to go to Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences. I think it should actually be called, "Museum of dino bones and other random crap we've collected that people might take their kids to see." That means dino bones, stuffed/taxidermied animals/animal rescue. It was a strange collection of stuff, but we had fun.
I wanted a shot of us pretending we were going to be eaten by this large, scary fish dinosaur. Instead looks like me every afternoon about 4:00. Except my hands would be around Andrew's neck. And Lily would be crying.
Andrew and Jeff in front of T-rex. It's really hard to get your flash to catch that huge reptile.
In the randomness that was this museum, Andrew got to pet a tarantula. And a rat. Weird.
Andrew inside T-rex's mouth. I can hear all the archaeologists that read my blog screaming in horror. Relax. It is a mold...not a real skeleton.
Andrew riding a bronze tortoise. Again, museum of randomness would be a better title.
This was our view walking out of the museum. Historic Logan Square. Which is actually a circle. Go figure.
One of my favorite sights in Philly. That's the City Hall. Ben Franklin sits on top overlooking the city. It's a really pretty building. Not a very pretty picture, but I swear it's cool in person.
The swing set
Okay, so this first one isn't actually of the swing set. It's of Andrew's gladiator outfit he likes to dress up in. Isn't he cute? It won't be long before this gladiator is chasing a little dressed-up princess/fairy/ballerina around.
Here's Jeff working on the swing set. Back-breaking, sweat poring, awful work. And we made Jeff's 59 year old father do it. In the rain.
This is a shot of the piles of wood. There were many more piles in our garage. They did not come labeled. We had to measure each one and try to figure out which was which.
Lily loves her new swing!
The finished product! This picture is a case study for safety code violations. I promise that we (and by "we", I mean Jeff) have added rails to the part that starts the tunnel. And we almost never leave Lily unattended in the swing while Andrew kicks soccer balls around her.
Anybody want to come and play?
Monday, July 30, 2007
New theme song
Lily has suddenly become a very proficient crawler. She is EVERYWHERE. She loves this new trick. And she now has a new theme song:
I WILL FOLLOW HIM (to the tune of the song by the same name by Little Peggy March)
I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go,
And near him, I always will be,
For nothing can keep me away, Since I am crawling.
I will follow him, ever since I spied his toys I knew,
There isn't an ocean too deep,
A mountain so high, it can keep,
Keep me away, away from his stuff.
I love him, I love him, I love him,
And where he goes, I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow.
Can you guess who she's following? It ain't God, I'll tell you that. And can you guess the reaction of this "Him"? It's been an interesting few days ("Keep her away from me! She's following me again!")
I WILL FOLLOW HIM (to the tune of the song by the same name by Little Peggy March)
I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go,
And near him, I always will be,
For nothing can keep me away, Since I am crawling.
I will follow him, ever since I spied his toys I knew,
There isn't an ocean too deep,
A mountain so high, it can keep,
Keep me away, away from his stuff.
I love him, I love him, I love him,
And where he goes, I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow.
Can you guess who she's following? It ain't God, I'll tell you that. And can you guess the reaction of this "Him"? It's been an interesting few days ("Keep her away from me! She's following me again!")
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Apologies
Sometimes when I'm in a waiting room with my children, (or a restaurant, grocery store, parking lot...you get the idea), I feel like apologizing to all the pregnant women present.
Not to the childless present. For all I know, they are swinging single, or have an empty nest, or whatever. After dealing with my whiny, shrieking tots they get to go home to...I don't know...read novels, go to the movies, clean their grout...whatever. No apologies from me, they can put up with a few annoying minutes in a waiting room.
Not to the other mothers and fathers. With them I share a silent eyeroll and shrug. I know they are thinking, "Thank God it isn't my kid for once."
But I DO want to apologize to the pregnant ladies. It could be their first pregnancy. In which case, watching my kids be...well, normal kids, is akin to telling a 5 year old there is no Santa. Shattering a dream that has inevitably formed in their head. They sit at home, their every need catered to by an attentive husband/mother/sister/anyone in the nearby vicinity. During all of their copious free time, they put their feet up and stroke their swollen belly fondly and imagine life with their precious little one yet to come. These dreams are not of sweet potatoes that are found in ears 2 days after it was eaten (seriously...it spreads like a fungus). These dreams do not include vomit clean-up at 2 am. Or mouthy comebacks. Or spitting or kicking or picking noses or poop up the back of a onesie and how will you avoid the hair as you take it off or reading the same book/singing the same songs/watching the same movie 1,000 times...a week.
After watching my children, I can only think of two outcomes. #1- They are horrified by the demon-spawn that they have wriggling inside them. They panic wondering how they will manage not to kill their children before they reach adulthood. #2- They look at me scornfully and think, "I'm going to be a much better mother than her. My child will never have food on their face/scream in public/eat things off the floor/ etc etc. I'm so lucky I won't have to deal with kids like hers."
Most new moms probably fall under outcome #2...so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad after all.
Not to the childless present. For all I know, they are swinging single, or have an empty nest, or whatever. After dealing with my whiny, shrieking tots they get to go home to...I don't know...read novels, go to the movies, clean their grout...whatever. No apologies from me, they can put up with a few annoying minutes in a waiting room.
Not to the other mothers and fathers. With them I share a silent eyeroll and shrug. I know they are thinking, "Thank God it isn't my kid for once."
But I DO want to apologize to the pregnant ladies. It could be their first pregnancy. In which case, watching my kids be...well, normal kids, is akin to telling a 5 year old there is no Santa. Shattering a dream that has inevitably formed in their head. They sit at home, their every need catered to by an attentive husband/mother/sister/anyone in the nearby vicinity. During all of their copious free time, they put their feet up and stroke their swollen belly fondly and imagine life with their precious little one yet to come. These dreams are not of sweet potatoes that are found in ears 2 days after it was eaten (seriously...it spreads like a fungus). These dreams do not include vomit clean-up at 2 am. Or mouthy comebacks. Or spitting or kicking or picking noses or poop up the back of a onesie and how will you avoid the hair as you take it off or reading the same book/singing the same songs/watching the same movie 1,000 times...a week.
After watching my children, I can only think of two outcomes. #1- They are horrified by the demon-spawn that they have wriggling inside them. They panic wondering how they will manage not to kill their children before they reach adulthood. #2- They look at me scornfully and think, "I'm going to be a much better mother than her. My child will never have food on their face/scream in public/eat things off the floor/ etc etc. I'm so lucky I won't have to deal with kids like hers."
Most new moms probably fall under outcome #2...so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad after all.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Potter envy
I started Harry Potter Monday night.
I finished Harry Potter Wednesday morning.
My children were neglected. My husband was neglected. My chores were neglected...but I can't blame that last one on a book...my chores are ALWAYS neglected.
Now Jeff has started the book. And I am envious. HE hasn't finished the series yet. HE hasn't read all the exciting passages. I eagerly ask him what part he's at...remembering what emotions I felt as I read that section. I'm so jealous.
I need a life.
I finished Harry Potter Wednesday morning.
My children were neglected. My husband was neglected. My chores were neglected...but I can't blame that last one on a book...my chores are ALWAYS neglected.
Now Jeff has started the book. And I am envious. HE hasn't finished the series yet. HE hasn't read all the exciting passages. I eagerly ask him what part he's at...remembering what emotions I felt as I read that section. I'm so jealous.
I need a life.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Odds 'n' Ends
I will not be posting much the next few days. I will be doing one of the following during my precious free time:
1) Reading Harry Potter
2) Painting the gargantuan wooden structure that now graces our backyard so it won't crack and fall apart upon first freeze.
3) Starting on-line graduate courses so I can keep my teaching certificate in case there is an Apocalypse and I wish to teach again.
Probably in that order.
A few things to tide you over until my next titillating update...
Lily has her first tooth! One of the bottom little teeth has reared it's sharp edge. Maybe this is why she hasn't wanted solids for the last 2 days??? Lily is crawling! She is also pushing herself up from a tummy position into a sitting position (she does the splits to do that...it looks quite painful). She is getting into things left and right. Do you think this is an appropriate time to baby proof?
Funny Andrew story: We were outside just before bedtime. Jeff was getting ready to add a rail to the top of our play structure and Andrew was running around underneath and on top of play structure (motivating Jeff to finish so Andrew won't plummet to the ground and break bones). I said, "Okay, I"m setting my timer for 10 minutes and then you'll have to get ready for bed." Andrew turns to me and earnestly says, "Are you talking to Dad or me?"
1) Reading Harry Potter
2) Painting the gargantuan wooden structure that now graces our backyard so it won't crack and fall apart upon first freeze.
3) Starting on-line graduate courses so I can keep my teaching certificate in case there is an Apocalypse and I wish to teach again.
Probably in that order.
A few things to tide you over until my next titillating update...
Lily has her first tooth! One of the bottom little teeth has reared it's sharp edge. Maybe this is why she hasn't wanted solids for the last 2 days??? Lily is crawling! She is also pushing herself up from a tummy position into a sitting position (she does the splits to do that...it looks quite painful). She is getting into things left and right. Do you think this is an appropriate time to baby proof?
Funny Andrew story: We were outside just before bedtime. Jeff was getting ready to add a rail to the top of our play structure and Andrew was running around underneath and on top of play structure (motivating Jeff to finish so Andrew won't plummet to the ground and break bones). I said, "Okay, I"m setting my timer for 10 minutes and then you'll have to get ready for bed." Andrew turns to me and earnestly says, "Are you talking to Dad or me?"
Monday, July 23, 2007
New York City...and a huge project
I know some of you may think that a lack of post about New York means that I was wandering the city with a cardboard sign saying, "Lost my friends. Please take me back to Pennsylvania." I WAS a bit worried while I was there that I would lose my friends...because I had NO IDEA where I was or how to get places. But I did make it back home safe and sound Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, I couldn't post because everyone else at my house was doing back-breaking labor.
Let's start from the beginning. I got all gussied up and went to one of my friend's houses...she was driving us all into the city. She lived in Manhattan for many years, so she is very comfortable driving there. If there was no traffic, the drive should take around 90 minutes. It took us 3 hours because it was Friday afternoon. Once there, we had a hard time finding parking near our hotel because of that water/steam line break...it was right around the corner from us. We dropped our bags off and hoofed it to the restaurant. It was so nice to have complete conversations with these girls. I learned so much about them...and never once was a story interrupted. Amazing! After dinner we hoofed it to the theatre (there was much hoofing around...thank heavens I decided to go with the less attractive/more comfy shoes). Wicked was very enjoyable. I read the book and found the middle part boring...this play kind of skipped all the boring parts. It was surprisingly funny. But it is probably my least favorite musical that I've ever seen. I am a sucker for male voices...and this is a primarily female musical. Still very good. Afterwards, we went to a bar overlooking Times Square and had drinks and chocolate cake. Went back to the hotel and slept.
At this point, I wasn't all that enamored with NYC. Not that I was expecting to be. I am NOT a city person, crowds make me grouchy (hence the 6 years of grump in SoCal). Friday night was full of honking cabs, pushy people, and nothing but concrete. I had a great time with my friends, but I was having a hard time mustering up enthusiasm for the Big Apple. Saturday we woke up early and went to Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Central Park. Lots of walking. And I really enjoyed it. Not many people were out and there is such history and beauty in the city. St. Pat's actually moved me to tears. Really cool. It made me want to go back. I have to give credit to the 5 ladies showing me around. They were so excited to have a NYC newbie with them and were full on tour guides the whole time. They were ALL perfect traveling companions, and I could spend a week with them without getting irritated. That's pretty amazing considering there were 6 of us. Oh, wait. Maybe I was the annoying one. ;)
I came home EXHAUSTED, since dumb me went to bed at 2 am and woke up at 6 am. Hmmmm, not smart. But Jeff and his dad and his mom had been working on our new swing set, so I couldn't really complain. This thing is monstrous and complicated and just a general pain in the you-know-what. Jeff and Paul were hardly grumbling...at least not when I was around. The kids behaved well, although Andrew really liked to play with the screws and washers...which is not a good thing when you go to look for them and they've been thrown in the yard somewhere.
So I'm sneaking in this post while the in-laws are out shopping for a part that Sam's Club excluded from the set. Ugh. Poor things.
So that was our weekend. I'm ready to go exploring more of NYC...but not without my tour guides. And I will someday post pictures of our fantastic wooden wonderland...but I'll wait until it's finished so you can see it in all it's glory.
Let's start from the beginning. I got all gussied up and went to one of my friend's houses...she was driving us all into the city. She lived in Manhattan for many years, so she is very comfortable driving there. If there was no traffic, the drive should take around 90 minutes. It took us 3 hours because it was Friday afternoon. Once there, we had a hard time finding parking near our hotel because of that water/steam line break...it was right around the corner from us. We dropped our bags off and hoofed it to the restaurant. It was so nice to have complete conversations with these girls. I learned so much about them...and never once was a story interrupted. Amazing! After dinner we hoofed it to the theatre (there was much hoofing around...thank heavens I decided to go with the less attractive/more comfy shoes). Wicked was very enjoyable. I read the book and found the middle part boring...this play kind of skipped all the boring parts. It was surprisingly funny. But it is probably my least favorite musical that I've ever seen. I am a sucker for male voices...and this is a primarily female musical. Still very good. Afterwards, we went to a bar overlooking Times Square and had drinks and chocolate cake. Went back to the hotel and slept.
At this point, I wasn't all that enamored with NYC. Not that I was expecting to be. I am NOT a city person, crowds make me grouchy (hence the 6 years of grump in SoCal). Friday night was full of honking cabs, pushy people, and nothing but concrete. I had a great time with my friends, but I was having a hard time mustering up enthusiasm for the Big Apple. Saturday we woke up early and went to Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Central Park. Lots of walking. And I really enjoyed it. Not many people were out and there is such history and beauty in the city. St. Pat's actually moved me to tears. Really cool. It made me want to go back. I have to give credit to the 5 ladies showing me around. They were so excited to have a NYC newbie with them and were full on tour guides the whole time. They were ALL perfect traveling companions, and I could spend a week with them without getting irritated. That's pretty amazing considering there were 6 of us. Oh, wait. Maybe I was the annoying one. ;)
I came home EXHAUSTED, since dumb me went to bed at 2 am and woke up at 6 am. Hmmmm, not smart. But Jeff and his dad and his mom had been working on our new swing set, so I couldn't really complain. This thing is monstrous and complicated and just a general pain in the you-know-what. Jeff and Paul were hardly grumbling...at least not when I was around. The kids behaved well, although Andrew really liked to play with the screws and washers...which is not a good thing when you go to look for them and they've been thrown in the yard somewhere.
So I'm sneaking in this post while the in-laws are out shopping for a part that Sam's Club excluded from the set. Ugh. Poor things.
So that was our weekend. I'm ready to go exploring more of NYC...but not without my tour guides. And I will someday post pictures of our fantastic wooden wonderland...but I'll wait until it's finished so you can see it in all it's glory.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Girl's Night Out
Oh. My. God.
I'm going to wet my pants I'm so excited. I'm going to New York this afternoon with a bunch of ladies from my playgroup. We're going to get dressed up (for us, anyway), eat dinner without children, go see Wicked...on Broadway no less, go out afterwards, collapse in exhaustion...
Oh, wait, that last part is probably just me. I am the only NYC virgin in the group...the rest have lived there or near there once upon a time. I'm sure there will be much laughing at my open mouthed gaping. "Look, Maude! That there shore is a beeeeg buildin'"
So. Excited.
I'm going to wet my pants I'm so excited. I'm going to New York this afternoon with a bunch of ladies from my playgroup. We're going to get dressed up (for us, anyway), eat dinner without children, go see Wicked...on Broadway no less, go out afterwards, collapse in exhaustion...
Oh, wait, that last part is probably just me. I am the only NYC virgin in the group...the rest have lived there or near there once upon a time. I'm sure there will be much laughing at my open mouthed gaping. "Look, Maude! That there shore is a beeeeg buildin'"
So. Excited.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Awry
Is Awry a word? I think so. It is how my day went today.
I made a list. I'm a big list-maker...a much bigger list-maker than list-doer. So I made a list of what we could do today. We've been desperately bored the last few days, and I was determined to DO something with my children.
Item #1: Raspberry picking. There is a farm right down the street with a store full of little pints of raspberries...or you can pick them yourself. So I drive to the field and park on the edge of the road, strap Lily to my chest (God Bless Bjorn), and get Andrew out. He is already unnerved by the long weeds he has to walk through. Uh, hello? Been in our yard lately? He should be used to walking through long weeds, for heavens sake. Anyhoo, there were already about 10 guys out there picking...you know, to stock the little store for the pansies that don't want to experience nature and pick their own fruit. Problem is...it was about 8:30 when Andrew and I arrived, and these guys had probably been picking for 2 hours already. So it was pretty hard to find a berry left behind. Couple that with the thorns (when we picked strawberries, we didn't have this problem) and Andrew was out. Until I allowed him to sample a berry off the vine. Then he was willing to pick them...but they were immediately popped into his mouth. He WOULD NOT put them in the basket. I decided that we'd had enough of picking, envisioning one of the workers yelling, "Hey, lady! This ain't no breakfast buffet!" (say with thick Philly accent). I loaded kids up in car and drove directly to the store and bought 2 pints of raspberries. Pansy.
Item #2: Lily nap. Hooray! I accomplished something on my list! Andrew and I re-read his library books (which are actually quite good this week), played a game (there was no throwing of pieces either!), and played Gladiator (I've got to publish pictures of him in this costume...too cute).
Item #3: Go to mall to pick up Lily's pictures. I was sooooo ready for this. I packed us a lunch so we could save money and be healthy and then spend money on icecream or water ice or whatever little treat we wanted. I had Andrew all psyched to run around. I had double stroller packed. Halfway there, I realize that I left the packed lunch behind. Bummer. But at least we are going to the mall...we'll just have to buy lunch. Get to the mall and notice lots of mall cops congregating outside one of the entrances. Hmmm. Unload the children into stroller. As I start walking towards it, a woman informs me that the entire mall is shut down due to a gas leak. You can only get into Sears or Macy's. Don't need to go to those stores. Go to Burger King instead. Check back after lunch to see if I can get the pictures from JC Penney yet. Firetrucks and ambulances surrounding JC Penney. Yikes. Not meant to be.
All other items are banking on us having spent a few hours in the mall. List is almost obliterated. Except for this really cool children's concert in the park at 7 pm tonight. So excited to take Andrew...get him excited...he takes nap in anticipation of staying up later.
Rains out.
-sigh- Sometimes despite my best efforts...
I made a list. I'm a big list-maker...a much bigger list-maker than list-doer. So I made a list of what we could do today. We've been desperately bored the last few days, and I was determined to DO something with my children.
Item #1: Raspberry picking. There is a farm right down the street with a store full of little pints of raspberries...or you can pick them yourself. So I drive to the field and park on the edge of the road, strap Lily to my chest (God Bless Bjorn), and get Andrew out. He is already unnerved by the long weeds he has to walk through. Uh, hello? Been in our yard lately? He should be used to walking through long weeds, for heavens sake. Anyhoo, there were already about 10 guys out there picking...you know, to stock the little store for the pansies that don't want to experience nature and pick their own fruit. Problem is...it was about 8:30 when Andrew and I arrived, and these guys had probably been picking for 2 hours already. So it was pretty hard to find a berry left behind. Couple that with the thorns (when we picked strawberries, we didn't have this problem) and Andrew was out. Until I allowed him to sample a berry off the vine. Then he was willing to pick them...but they were immediately popped into his mouth. He WOULD NOT put them in the basket. I decided that we'd had enough of picking, envisioning one of the workers yelling, "Hey, lady! This ain't no breakfast buffet!" (say with thick Philly accent). I loaded kids up in car and drove directly to the store and bought 2 pints of raspberries. Pansy.
Item #2: Lily nap. Hooray! I accomplished something on my list! Andrew and I re-read his library books (which are actually quite good this week), played a game (there was no throwing of pieces either!), and played Gladiator (I've got to publish pictures of him in this costume...too cute).
Item #3: Go to mall to pick up Lily's pictures. I was sooooo ready for this. I packed us a lunch so we could save money and be healthy and then spend money on icecream or water ice or whatever little treat we wanted. I had Andrew all psyched to run around. I had double stroller packed. Halfway there, I realize that I left the packed lunch behind. Bummer. But at least we are going to the mall...we'll just have to buy lunch. Get to the mall and notice lots of mall cops congregating outside one of the entrances. Hmmm. Unload the children into stroller. As I start walking towards it, a woman informs me that the entire mall is shut down due to a gas leak. You can only get into Sears or Macy's. Don't need to go to those stores. Go to Burger King instead. Check back after lunch to see if I can get the pictures from JC Penney yet. Firetrucks and ambulances surrounding JC Penney. Yikes. Not meant to be.
All other items are banking on us having spent a few hours in the mall. List is almost obliterated. Except for this really cool children's concert in the park at 7 pm tonight. So excited to take Andrew...get him excited...he takes nap in anticipation of staying up later.
Rains out.
-sigh- Sometimes despite my best efforts...
On a postive, Andrew was able to stay awake to catch fireflies because of his nap. It was lovely. All these plans and he was thrilled to catch these tiny flickering little beetles. He'll probably remember that longer than some dumb concert. ;)
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
What a girl
I must brag about my second born. I spend much of my time on this blog bragging about Andrew. This is because he is older, therefore doing some pretty amazing things. And, sadly, Lily is the second child...so there will always be someone older doing pretty amazing things, while she is mostly doing things we've already seen before. But I am immensely proud and astonished by her as well. Here are some things my amazing girl is doing.
a) She is weird. I'm so glad. That means she will fit in with the rest of this kooky crowd. Her new favorite game? When I go to wipe off her face, she opens her mouth nice and wide. She likes me to put the washcloth in her mouth and wiggle around while she makes noise. It makes a funny sound, and she is thrilled by it. Weirdo. I've already described the injured soldier crawl. I can't put her hair in pig-tails because she is dragging her head around on the ground as she "crawls"...they just fall right out. Weirdo.
b) She officially knows her first sign! Andrew's first was "More" because he always wanted more food more food more food. Lily is the opposite...of course. Her first sign is "All done" because she only wants star puffs. 2 spoonfuls of cereal and Lily is flashing me the all done sign. When I comply she gets all smiley. And if I say "All done", she immediately does the sign. Smarty pants. Andrew didn't start signing until a year. Not that I'm comparing (damnit). She also surprised me today by waving bye bye. Who knew she could do that?
c) She is in love with Shadow. She wants to throw the ball for Shadow, she wants to feed Shadow, she wants Shadow to lick her fingers off, she wants to pat Shadow. Jeff and I now rank below Andrew AND the dog. Sad.
d) This child is NOT a Momma's girl. Andrew could not let me out of his sight. He would throw a fit if it wasn't his Mommy. Lily is the friendliest most independent little social butterfly ever. She is happy to be passed around...as long as she can still view the action. Don't even try to hug her...not going to happen. Totally different temperament from cuddlebug Andrew. Not that I'm comparing (damnit). She does like to pat me on the back...like I pat her on the back. Cute.
Okay, I'll stop. I swear someday I'm going to rename this blog, "Bragging by a Disillusioned Maniac Mother."
a) She is weird. I'm so glad. That means she will fit in with the rest of this kooky crowd. Her new favorite game? When I go to wipe off her face, she opens her mouth nice and wide. She likes me to put the washcloth in her mouth and wiggle around while she makes noise. It makes a funny sound, and she is thrilled by it. Weirdo. I've already described the injured soldier crawl. I can't put her hair in pig-tails because she is dragging her head around on the ground as she "crawls"...they just fall right out. Weirdo.
b) She officially knows her first sign! Andrew's first was "More" because he always wanted more food more food more food. Lily is the opposite...of course. Her first sign is "All done" because she only wants star puffs. 2 spoonfuls of cereal and Lily is flashing me the all done sign. When I comply she gets all smiley. And if I say "All done", she immediately does the sign. Smarty pants. Andrew didn't start signing until a year. Not that I'm comparing (damnit). She also surprised me today by waving bye bye. Who knew she could do that?
c) She is in love with Shadow. She wants to throw the ball for Shadow, she wants to feed Shadow, she wants Shadow to lick her fingers off, she wants to pat Shadow. Jeff and I now rank below Andrew AND the dog. Sad.
d) This child is NOT a Momma's girl. Andrew could not let me out of his sight. He would throw a fit if it wasn't his Mommy. Lily is the friendliest most independent little social butterfly ever. She is happy to be passed around...as long as she can still view the action. Don't even try to hug her...not going to happen. Totally different temperament from cuddlebug Andrew. Not that I'm comparing (damnit). She does like to pat me on the back...like I pat her on the back. Cute.
Okay, I'll stop. I swear someday I'm going to rename this blog, "Bragging by a Disillusioned Maniac Mother."
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
If I have to watch one more race...
When I envisioned having kids, I thought of crafts, cooking, science experiments, pretend play.
My life is reduced to playing sports and watching car races. Or spaceship races. Or caterpillar races.
Dear Lord. My child does not want to leave the house. He does not want to bake cookies. He does not want to color. He does not want to paint. He gets frustrated by games. He gets frustrated by physical challenges. He gets frustrated by writing/drawing/painting.
He loves to race.
All day long, all I hear is, "Mom, do you want to watch a race?" This sounds all well and good at first. I get to sit and watch him race blocks, cars, dust bunnies, you name it. But DEAR LORD. After 6 hours straight, I feel like I'm going insane. There is always a long description of each racer before the race can begin. And you must listen intently to this description or else he'll start all over again.
"Mom, you wanna watch a race? Okay, this black car is Jack Johnson McDogglogger. He is faster than Chick Hicks, McQueen, or Doc. He is an Escape. He is on a secret mission to take dogloggers from pirates. He's a really good fighter. Do you think he looks cool? Do you like him?" And on through the other 9 racers. Finally you get to the actual race. Andrew flies around the house holding each one. "Who do you want to win?" You pick one, and then you are expected to react when your car wins/loses. As if you can remember which of the 9 you picked. If your response is inappropriate, the race needs to start again...complete with descriptions.
This is why my child watches too much tv.
My life is reduced to playing sports and watching car races. Or spaceship races. Or caterpillar races.
Dear Lord. My child does not want to leave the house. He does not want to bake cookies. He does not want to color. He does not want to paint. He gets frustrated by games. He gets frustrated by physical challenges. He gets frustrated by writing/drawing/painting.
He loves to race.
All day long, all I hear is, "Mom, do you want to watch a race?" This sounds all well and good at first. I get to sit and watch him race blocks, cars, dust bunnies, you name it. But DEAR LORD. After 6 hours straight, I feel like I'm going insane. There is always a long description of each racer before the race can begin. And you must listen intently to this description or else he'll start all over again.
"Mom, you wanna watch a race? Okay, this black car is Jack Johnson McDogglogger. He is faster than Chick Hicks, McQueen, or Doc. He is an Escape. He is on a secret mission to take dogloggers from pirates. He's a really good fighter. Do you think he looks cool? Do you like him?" And on through the other 9 racers. Finally you get to the actual race. Andrew flies around the house holding each one. "Who do you want to win?" You pick one, and then you are expected to react when your car wins/loses. As if you can remember which of the 9 you picked. If your response is inappropriate, the race needs to start again...complete with descriptions.
This is why my child watches too much tv.
Monday, July 16, 2007
No nap doldrums
Andrew isn't sleeping. He's doing fine. I'm going crazy.
Does it mean I shouldn't be a parent if I NEED a break from him during the day? Summer is boring...too hot to do much, no scheduled activities. I NEED an hour break from the kids. But Andrew is staying up late, waking up early, and not napping. I feel like my sister Kate, for heaven's sake.
So the not going to bed at night was really bad. So I decided that we were watching too much tv, and taking too much rest time during the day. We've just cut those out. And I want to cry.
He IS going to bed much better since the change. And he really acts fine without the nap/rest time. It's me that needs it. It's me that is grouchy at the end of the day now. It's me that's breaking down into tantrums several times a day.
So I'm basically forced to choose if I want my evenings child-free or my afternoons. And now I've got to think of lots more to do with Andrew during the day...or else I will go INSANE.
Does it mean I shouldn't be a parent if I NEED a break from him during the day? Summer is boring...too hot to do much, no scheduled activities. I NEED an hour break from the kids. But Andrew is staying up late, waking up early, and not napping. I feel like my sister Kate, for heaven's sake.
So the not going to bed at night was really bad. So I decided that we were watching too much tv, and taking too much rest time during the day. We've just cut those out. And I want to cry.
He IS going to bed much better since the change. And he really acts fine without the nap/rest time. It's me that needs it. It's me that is grouchy at the end of the day now. It's me that's breaking down into tantrums several times a day.
So I'm basically forced to choose if I want my evenings child-free or my afternoons. And now I've got to think of lots more to do with Andrew during the day...or else I will go INSANE.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Forward motion
Lily is on the move! Technically, she's been rolling all over the place for a month or so, and she's been scooting backwards for a couple of weeks. But she now has forward motion.
As usual, she is doing it her own way. This child will not do things her brother's way. You should see her crawl. It has been a process. She first started scooting backwards. Then she would scoot backwards and roll towards something. If the direction wasn't quite right, she's swivel herself around and try rolling again. She would eventually hit the mark, but it took a while. Today she is pushing forward with her two legs and pulling with her right arm. Her left arm and face drag on the floor. It looks like a scene out of a war movie. Like Lily was shot in the left shoulder and is dragging herself to the safe zone. But it is effective. She gets where she wants to.
Also this weekend? We found her sitting up in her crib. Who knew she could get from lying to sitting! Also starting to look up...as in up on the fireplace, up on chairs, up up up! And she is trying to figure out how to get stuff down from there.
Babyproofing, here we come! Go Lily Go!
As usual, she is doing it her own way. This child will not do things her brother's way. You should see her crawl. It has been a process. She first started scooting backwards. Then she would scoot backwards and roll towards something. If the direction wasn't quite right, she's swivel herself around and try rolling again. She would eventually hit the mark, but it took a while. Today she is pushing forward with her two legs and pulling with her right arm. Her left arm and face drag on the floor. It looks like a scene out of a war movie. Like Lily was shot in the left shoulder and is dragging herself to the safe zone. But it is effective. She gets where she wants to.
Also this weekend? We found her sitting up in her crib. Who knew she could get from lying to sitting! Also starting to look up...as in up on the fireplace, up on chairs, up up up! And she is trying to figure out how to get stuff down from there.
Babyproofing, here we come! Go Lily Go!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Resort community
Jeff and I have always dreamed of buying a home in a resort community. We have lots of dreams. Like adding an addition on our house. We can't even choke up the money to repaint the front hall, but we're going to add an addition. Yea, right.
Anyway, our dream of living in a resort community is coming true! Apparently, we ALREADY live in a resort. Because I met our new neighbors yesterday...and this home is their vacation home!!! They live in Silicon Valley, are private contractors, and usually come back to visit family for about 2 months in the summer. They are sick of staying with family or in hotels, and so decided to buy a place. They actually looked at our house last summer, but weren't quite ready to commit.
Can you imagine? A $425,000 home that you'll just use 8 weeks a year???
The real bummer is how incredibly nice this woman is. She has 2 kids...who instantly clicked with Andrew. Such nice kids. We instantly clicked as well...started chatting easily, feeling very comfortable with each other. I have not found a neighbor like this yet, and have been feeling very down about our neighborhood. It looked so good when we moved in, but we are not in the "in" crowd, and are excluded from most things. Here is a wonderful family with kids just 2 doors down...and they'll be leaving August 21 until next summer.
Arghhhhh! I'll just have to enjoy their company (read: stalk) for as long as I can!
Anyway, our dream of living in a resort community is coming true! Apparently, we ALREADY live in a resort. Because I met our new neighbors yesterday...and this home is their vacation home!!! They live in Silicon Valley, are private contractors, and usually come back to visit family for about 2 months in the summer. They are sick of staying with family or in hotels, and so decided to buy a place. They actually looked at our house last summer, but weren't quite ready to commit.
Can you imagine? A $425,000 home that you'll just use 8 weeks a year???
The real bummer is how incredibly nice this woman is. She has 2 kids...who instantly clicked with Andrew. Such nice kids. We instantly clicked as well...started chatting easily, feeling very comfortable with each other. I have not found a neighbor like this yet, and have been feeling very down about our neighborhood. It looked so good when we moved in, but we are not in the "in" crowd, and are excluded from most things. Here is a wonderful family with kids just 2 doors down...and they'll be leaving August 21 until next summer.
Arghhhhh! I'll just have to enjoy their company (read: stalk) for as long as I can!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Smaller than average?
How does someone only in the 25%tile have thighs like this???Lily had her doctor's appointment and she is 25th%tile all across the board. 17lbs14oz, 27 1/4 in. The doctor said around 9 months, genetics starts to kick in and weight and height settle into a pattern for a while. Genetics? I'm pretty sure there's no one in our house that is 25th percentile. Maybe it's a stray midgit gene from Aunt Andrea.
Healthy as a horse...and cute as a button. The doctor came in the room and gave me this big schpeel about how 9 month olds don't usually tolerate the exam well...they are developing stranger anxiety, etc etc. Not Lily. She grabbed all the doctor's tools, patted the doc on her face, and was generally giggly and friendly through the whole thing. Doc picked her up after examining her and said, "You are just the sweetest thing!"
Yea, we know. ;)
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Birthday girl!
No, you haven't forgotten when Lily's birthday is. Or mine. Today is Shadow's birthday. She's turning the big 5!I don't write much about Shadow, because she is so daggone easy, there aren't many stories about her. She is 13 pounds of pure puppy love. She is a purebred Shetland Chicocker (Shetland Sheepdog + Chihuahua + Cocker Spaniel) that we got from the pound as a puppy in September 2002. She (along with her less awesome sister) was a substitute for the baby we were trying hard to have. Jeff REALLY didn't want a dog (still doesn't for that matter)...but he just couldn't say no to a woman that had just had a miscarriage ;) I know when to ask for things. :) Shadow looked nothing like the dog I had imagined, but when I sat down on the floor with that big litter, she just jumped into my lap...hopped down to play...and then hopped right back up into my lap...like she belonged there. And she's been my dog ever since.
She doesn't bark...certainly never yipping. She doesn't pee in the house...unless we forget to let her out. She is healthy. She tolerates the kids without a snap or snarl. She won't even eat food that falls to the ground until she is told she can. Seriously. Lily will drop a tasty morsel 2 inches from Shadow's nose, and the dog won't touch it until we give her the go ahead. We don't have an electric fence or a chain or a regular fence, because Shadow doesn't leave the yard. Everyone who meets her wants her. If we would ever want to get rid of her, there would be a long list of people to take her. But we don't need to get rid of her. Because she is a wonderful dog. Jeff doesn't like her, but even he admits we couldn't have a better dog than her. He just wishes we didn't have one at all.
So Happy Birthday, Shadow! You may have been the runt of the litter...heck you still are the runt of our litter...but we love you lots. Okay, Mommy loves you lots. Lily is starting to obsess about you also. Andrew could kind of care less. But Mommy loves you.
A mass of pictures
I know it is really nice when each post has a little picture added. But I don't work like that, apparently. When I download my camera...I download a lot of pictures. So here are some dating back from our trip in June.
4 generations
It is impossible to pose 3 kids!!! Here are the cousins.
Andrew posing for a picture...nice.
Lily and Andrew drinking juice.
Lily and Andrew with our guests, Aunt Bonnie and Great-Grandma
Lily enjoys trying to take down Memere's curtains
It's really fun!
Andrew and Colin
4 generations
It is impossible to pose 3 kids!!! Here are the cousins.
Andrew posing for a picture...nice.
Lily and Andrew drinking juice.
Lily and Andrew with our guests, Aunt Bonnie and Great-Grandma
Lily enjoys trying to take down Memere's curtainsIt's really fun!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Dinner date
One of my friends in playgroup sent out an e-mail over the weekend inviting any husband-less person to her house for dinner tonight. Her husband is out of town and she was wanting some company. Poor thing probably thought maybe one of us would respond...but it turns out 3 of us were husband-less tonight, so she ended up with a houseful.
So all in all there were 4 adults and 6 children under the age of 4. Kimber is used to her house being full with her one daughter. Tee hee hee. Welcome, Chaos.
It was a fun evening. Andrew screamed...literally screamed...for the first 15 minutes because he wanted to leave. And I wonder why we aren't invited places. Once I explained that he could scream all night but we still weren't leaving, he tried to calm down and eventually had a great time. Thank heavens I brought a bottle of wine!
Gatherings with more than one mother all usually end up the same way. Tonight was no different. The mothers yell conversation over the happy noises of their children...and each conversation is usually interrupted about 5 times with children needing the potty, needing a fight broken up, needing to say, "stop chasing that cat", etc etc...until we forget what the conversation was supposed to be about in the first place. And we have so much ground to cover! One of the ladies is 9 months pregnant...with no name for her son, one of the ladies is in the process of finishing her home studies to adopt a 3rd child, and the hostess is waiting for her adoption from China to come through.
Anyway, the kids ate their pizza while barking like dogs, then decorated cupcakes...which amped up the energy a bit, and just generally had a noisy good time. Andrew cried when we had to leave (I could KILL that boy sometimes), and as I thanked Kimber for the lovely evening she said...
"I'm glad you had fun. But I must be a terrible hostess. This evening seemed like such chaos."
Spoken like a true novice. I assured her that the chaos had nothing to do with her hostessing skills...it just comes with the territory when you have this many children in one small space. And then Andrew came up and said, "Thank you for dinner, but this house is a mess!"
Lovely. I assure you...we WILL NEVER be invited out again. Well, maybe Lily and I will. ;)
So all in all there were 4 adults and 6 children under the age of 4. Kimber is used to her house being full with her one daughter. Tee hee hee. Welcome, Chaos.
It was a fun evening. Andrew screamed...literally screamed...for the first 15 minutes because he wanted to leave. And I wonder why we aren't invited places. Once I explained that he could scream all night but we still weren't leaving, he tried to calm down and eventually had a great time. Thank heavens I brought a bottle of wine!
Gatherings with more than one mother all usually end up the same way. Tonight was no different. The mothers yell conversation over the happy noises of their children...and each conversation is usually interrupted about 5 times with children needing the potty, needing a fight broken up, needing to say, "stop chasing that cat", etc etc...until we forget what the conversation was supposed to be about in the first place. And we have so much ground to cover! One of the ladies is 9 months pregnant...with no name for her son, one of the ladies is in the process of finishing her home studies to adopt a 3rd child, and the hostess is waiting for her adoption from China to come through.
Anyway, the kids ate their pizza while barking like dogs, then decorated cupcakes...which amped up the energy a bit, and just generally had a noisy good time. Andrew cried when we had to leave (I could KILL that boy sometimes), and as I thanked Kimber for the lovely evening she said...
"I'm glad you had fun. But I must be a terrible hostess. This evening seemed like such chaos."
Spoken like a true novice. I assured her that the chaos had nothing to do with her hostessing skills...it just comes with the territory when you have this many children in one small space. And then Andrew came up and said, "Thank you for dinner, but this house is a mess!"
Lovely. I assure you...we WILL NEVER be invited out again. Well, maybe Lily and I will. ;)
Monday, July 09, 2007
Peacock
When we came back from Ohio, we took a toy with us from my mom's house. She isn't expecting any new grandchildren anytime soon, and Lily will have outgrown it by the time we are back in Ohio. So...we brought it with us to Philly.
It's a Fisher Price Noah's Arc that my mom got from a consignment shop back when Andrew was a baby. It has 2 of each animal...in theory. I think there are 3 alligators and only one lonely zebra in this set...but you get the idea.
Lily loves this thing. She loves pulling each animal out and putting animals back in. She likes to hold the animals, suck and chew them, and roll over them (ouch!). We started noticing that she was often chewing on the male peacock. It is the most colorful of the animals, and the fan of feathers makes a great chew toy.
Now we realize that Mr. Peacock is a full on obsession. She will play with the other animals...once she has found Mr. Peacock. I have hidden him deep down in the arc under the other animals...and she will methodically pull out all the animals and discard them immediately until she locates Mr. Peacock. Then she will happily play with him and forget any other animals left in the arc or discarded to the side.
Today, I hid Mr. Peacock in a clear bin. Lily took all the animals out of the arc...no Mr. Peacock! She then spied him in the bin...and flung herself towards the bin. She emptied it and had a lovely reunion.
How exactly does a 9 month old learn this type of obsession. Oh, wait. Lily's had lots of experience with obsession...Mr. Andrew is still her #1 guy. I see boy band concerts in my future...
It's a Fisher Price Noah's Arc that my mom got from a consignment shop back when Andrew was a baby. It has 2 of each animal...in theory. I think there are 3 alligators and only one lonely zebra in this set...but you get the idea.
Lily loves this thing. She loves pulling each animal out and putting animals back in. She likes to hold the animals, suck and chew them, and roll over them (ouch!). We started noticing that she was often chewing on the male peacock. It is the most colorful of the animals, and the fan of feathers makes a great chew toy.
Now we realize that Mr. Peacock is a full on obsession. She will play with the other animals...once she has found Mr. Peacock. I have hidden him deep down in the arc under the other animals...and she will methodically pull out all the animals and discard them immediately until she locates Mr. Peacock. Then she will happily play with him and forget any other animals left in the arc or discarded to the side.
Today, I hid Mr. Peacock in a clear bin. Lily took all the animals out of the arc...no Mr. Peacock! She then spied him in the bin...and flung herself towards the bin. She emptied it and had a lovely reunion.
How exactly does a 9 month old learn this type of obsession. Oh, wait. Lily's had lots of experience with obsession...Mr. Andrew is still her #1 guy. I see boy band concerts in my future...
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