Nice reprieve

Can you believe I didn't have time to get online yesterday?

For those who are wondering, I had a lovely time alone. What's crazy? The first thing I did was CLEAN the house. I did laundry too. Why'd I do that? Because I could then RELISH in the cleanliness. Someone wasn't dirtying up the place immediately after I'd finished a task. The carpet didn't have crumbs in it an hour after I'd vacuumed. There weren't spots on the bathroom mirror less than 6 hours after I'd wiped it down. The odor of Lysol & Pinesol lingered in the air. Ahhh...

After I finished cleaning & doing the laundry, I headed out. I strolled leisurely through Target. I had my TINY purse without any snacks. I wasn't holding a sippy cup. I didn't have any toys with me. I could casually look through the store. I bought new sippy cups for the Bear. We're trying to get him off the regular sippy cups and onto ones that have straws. I bought a tentative birthday gift for a party the Princess and I will be attending next Saturday. Next, I ventured through Kohl's looking for more tentative birthday gifts for this boy. You see, I knew that a couple of the Mom's had already shopped at Target for this little boy (Batman fanatic) and I didn't want to end up with the same gift. That's why I ended up checking out what Kohl's had in stock. Thankfully, they had some cute t-shirts on sale and I got him a couple.

I went to Blockbuster and checked out what they had left on the shelves. I ended up with "Farscape - The Peacekeeper Wars" and "Little Black Book". Yes, yes, yes. I'm a sci-fi fan. My hubby would cringe every time I'd watch Farscape when it was on Friday nights. When they pulled the plug on that show, he sighed in relief. I was able to watch the 3-hour movie without any comments or interruptions. It was GREAT! I had to rent that Brittany Murphy one because I wouldn't watch it in my husband's presence. He'd say "Why'd you rent that stupid movie?" These words would have come out the mouth of a man who loves "Blazing Saddles". A classic! [gag!]

I picked up five books at the public library. I've got three weeks to finish them before they're due. Truth be told? I've already finished one. Yes! Yesterday, I only had 25 pages to go when the troops got home. I've just begun the second one.

Thankfully, I did have some much needed quiet time. I didn't miss any of them at all. I totally relished in the quiet. Being able to be independent. I saw glimpses of myself -- the way I used to be before I was married or had children. It was nice to focus on me. But now? I'm back to the grind. But a little more fresh.

Waiting anxiously

What for?

Waiting for my hubby to take my children away from me!

What?

He's taking the kids up for a sleepover at his parents house. Yes! All three of them will be 100 miles away for 24 hours!

[doing the happy dance]

I'll be able to lounge. I'll be able to go to the library and browse SLOWLY through the stacks. I'll be able to rent "chick" flicks at our local Blockbuster. I'm going to walk around the townhouse in shorts and a tank top. I'm going to eat salad for lunch & for dinner. No cooking! I'll be able to stay up late. I'll be able to sleep in as long as I want.

But I will be cleaning the bathrooms. Finishing all the laundry. Vacuuming all the rooms. Wiping all the surfaces in the kitchen (floor included).

A few chores can't diminish the time I'll have alone. Alone. Alone. Alone! No one clinging to my legs in protest. No one asking for a snack. No one asking for a video/DVD that they've watched 10 times already.

By the looks of it...they should be leaving in the next 45 minutes or so....

Yippee-kay-yoo!

A little multitasking please?

I couldn't let THIS one go by without adding it into the blogworld.

I caught my hubby carrying one item to his truck at a time. Yes, it was a piece of the crib, but one piece?

My solution? Help him out. I ended up carrying two pieces out to him as he's trying to put the one piece into the bed of his truck.

Putting it into bed of his truck?

Me: Why don't you put down the tailgate down?

Him: Don't need to. [grinning from ear to ear]

I walk off. I turn around as I'm about 20 feet away from him. He's pulling down the tailgate because he couldn't get the piece into the back of his truck. DUH!

I bring more pieces out to him and I see him closing the back of the truck. He was closing the back of the truck every time he'd walk back to the townhouse. Ummm...you're away from your truck two minutes at the most. Who is going to steal a baby crib, especially from our complex?

Having a selfish moment

I spoke with my folks a couple nights ago. I'm feeling selfish now. Remember that they said they wanted to move out here near us.

Here are my thoughts on the matter:

In my mind, it's a no brainer to move out here. The cost of living is so much less (for example: regular unleaded $1.79 versus $2.18 per gallon). The cost of homes are so much more affordable (ave cost for 3BR/2BA/2GA $210k versus $500k). The pace of the community is a lot slower. There's still open areas of wilderness.

Three years ago after my grandmother died, they said they wanted to make cosmetic improvements to their home. Have they done anything? Nope! They JUST got an estimate on putting new flooring in last weekend. They still haven't repainted the interior. They still haven't done anything to the kitchen. If they'd done the improvements over the last three years, they'd at least be able to enjoy the updates. If they plan on moving out here, then they're not going to be able to enjoy those updates since they'll end up putting the house on the market.

My Mom says it's my Dad who's the hold up. My Dad says it's my Mom that's the hold up. My suggestion to them? Enlist the services of my younger sister. Have HER call the different contractors and make appointments for estimates. She (supposedly) wants the improvements done to my folks house as much as I do (she still lives there). SOMEONE needs to make a decision. A big one. Then once one major thing is changed (say the kitchen), then that'll influence them to get the other major items done. Don't you think?

Finally, don't tell me you're going to move out here if you don't intend to do so. All you're doing is getting my hopes up. I'm relying on your word that you'll be out here. They said they wanted to move out here so they could help out with the kiddos. Umm... I need help with them NOW! Not a couple years from now.

There's no one here I'm close with. There's no one around here I can really talk with. There's no one here that I trust to watch the kiddos. I need a break. A serious one. If I don't get one I fear that I'll lose my mind! Why the hell would I keep asking them what the status is on their house? Why would I keep sending them info about homes that are for sale near us? Aren't those signs that I want them out here? Aren't those cries for help? From the daughter that never asked them for any help before?

(&%(@**!^$&&

Okay, I've vented enough now. Thanks for listening.

Occupation = Social Director?

Yes, that's my boy! He and I went to the Jibby Lube near the townhouse yesterday after we'd dropped off the Princess at preschool. There were two cars already in their bays and one truck waiting. I pulled up behind the one car. So there were four cars waiting to get finished. AND it was raining!

The Bear and I went to the waiting room. There were three men in there. Two older guys (G1 & G2) and a young guy (G3), who I'd guess was in his late 20s. The two older guys were sitting watching the tv. The young guy was standing talking on his cell. All was quiet.

I sat. The Bear discovered the soda vending machine. Oh the buttons! He got busy pushing all the buttons.

G1: [chuckle-chuckle] All kids are drawn to that stuff.

Me: Yeah, he loves stuff with buttons and knobs. He has to check it out.

G1: Oh, I was talking about the soda.

Me: Oh no. He's never had that stuff. He only drinks water and milk.

G1: He doesn't drink juice?

Me: No. We gave it to him once and he didn't like it.

This started an entire conversation about kids and their likes and dislikes. Turns out that G1 has a boy and a girl in their 20s & live locally. G2 has FIVE kids and 10 grandkids, who all live in Washington.

As I carried on my conversation with G1 and G2, the Bear came over to me. He noticed that G3 was standing there. You know what he did? He started playing peek-a-boo with him. Of course, G3 couldn't resist the cuteness of my child. He was quickly drawn into the conversation.

At one point, G2 stood up and looked through the windows they've got to the garage bays. The Bear walked over next to him. Put his little arms behind his back. And craned his head as if he was also looking through the window, which was a foot above his head.

So when the Bear gets older, he could become a social director. What do you think? Does your child like being social with total strangers? Does your child enjoy making people smile? What silly antics does your child do to draw people in?

Making Mommy Laugh

Princess: Mommy?

Me: Yes, honey?

Princess: When we move to our new house, we're going to have our refrigerator back. Right?

Me: I don't know honey. I think Daddy is thinking of getting a new refrigerator.

Princess: Why?

Me: I think he wants to get a bigger one. So we can have more food in it.

Princess:So we can put a whole bunch of yogurt in there?

Can you believe it? She wants more yogurt!

Someone I used to work with

As I was making my coffee this morning, my thoughts wandered to my past. My thoughts wandered and then became focused. Focused on one person. A guy I used to work with. I can't help but chuckle about my memories of this guy. I'll call him John.

After I graduated from college, I landed my first job. I'll call my first boss "Frank". He was a do-it-all guy in the accounting department. He was the right-hand man of "Diane" - the divisional CFO. Now, John had been on the job for a number of years and he reported to Frank. I was new on the job, so I had to work closely with John to learn my job.

What's unfortunate about that situation is that John felt threatened by my presence. Like I said. He'd been at the job for a number of years already. He didn't think the company needed a second person. Especially, a just-graduated young kid like me. I wasn't so young. I was 23! I was eager to learn. I was ready to do any kind of work to get the job done. I re-organized files. I put things in storage. I did WHATEVER task needed to get done. And I didn't complain. Maybe THAT is what made him feel threatened. He was 33 - only 10 years older than me. He didn't like to do anything but work on the computer. He felt it was beneath him to box things up. To clean up files. To dig out information.

One major thing about him? He didn't always smell "so fresh" at work. Yeah, I'm sure he showered. But why did he have that "the end of the day" scent to him when he just got to work? Did he not launder his clothes after every wearing? That's what I finally concluded. Thankfully, he wasn't butt-stinky foul smelling. So I made sure that my training time with him was as short as possible. I let him show me what needed to be done & then I went off and did what had to be accomplished. Whew!

We were fixed-asset accountants. That's right. I had to make sure the assets we purchased as a division were on the books correctly. I had to make sure the assets were paid for timely. Now John? He was anal. I mean REALLY anal. He wanted things HIS way or it was a problem. For our job, we had to obtain loads of information from another department. This department did the purchasing of most of the BIG assets that we had on the books. What's funny is that they were all free-spirited folks. They weren't much for details. I could tell when John would be on the phone with anyone from that group. He got this tone in his voice that sounded like he was saying "you idiots!" It drove me crazy! Why would he be so infuriating to these people that he needed information from? It turns out that department had the MOST fun working in it. They were the people who ended up being my friends. They were the ones I'd seek out when I got frustrated with my work environment.

When I first started, I wanted to be John's friend. But as time went on, I realized that he would always consider me an adversary. I decided to give him his space. I was professional. I no longer extented my hand out in friendship. But I included him when I had to. When it was "Boss' Day", I made sure to notify him of our gift giving strategy & made sure to get him to sign the card. But I never invited him to lunch. I never took breaks with him. None of that. I focused on the people who wanted to get to know me. Who wanted to be my friend. Even though I was not his friend, I made sure to remember occassions that he celebrated based upon his religion. It always surprised him when I would tell him "Happy ...." or whatever.

I left the company after 6 years. Then, I moved away with my hubby. I found out a year later that John fell in love and had got married. A year after that, I found out that John was getting a divorce. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised by that second bit of news. He was a difficult man to be around. But the news of his divorce did make me sad. Sad that he was alone again. Sad that he'd probably continue to be alone. It makes me raelize that WE have the choice to be WITH people. To be a part of other people's lives. To have people care about us. To care about others.

Now do any of YOU have a "John" in your life? A person who wanted to be your adversary for no apparent reason other than "just because"? Tell me about him/her! Go on! Share!

I'm sure I'll be bringing up lots of other tales of John. All the social foibles. All the drama. But there will be others from my past that I'll bring up. Some good. Some not so good.

Say what?

The Bear's vocabulary is growing every day. Here are some things he'll say.

Pway = play

Bay-bee = baby

Wassat = what's that (he'll have a wondering look on his eyes too)

No mow = no more

Aw-dun = all done

Yes peas = yes please

tha-thu = thank you

No-no-no = no more monkeys jumping on the bed (he'll shake his finger as he's saying it)

Ni-ni = Night-night

Bow-bow = pacifier

Tiwi = Tiwi (the name of one of his stuffed bears)

Shews = shoes

Socks = socks

Booat = boat (he says the "o" really long)

Haat = hat (he'll tap his head as he's saying it)

Waa = water (most of the time he'll be pulling on the refrigerator to help me get to the jug)

Teef = teeth (now he'll give us a HUGE grin when he says it)

Tum = tummy

Hans = hands

Fings = fingers (he'll move all his fingers in emphasis)

Toos = toes

Che = chin (he'll grab his chin to show us where it's at)

Eaws = ears

Twain/Choo-choo = train

Caw = car

Keys = keys

Twuck = truck

Booat = boat

Tig = tiger (long "i" sound for him)

Pi = pig

hurs = horse (he'll often follow that word up with a "neigh")

cooow = cow

Bub = bubbles

Bed = bed (he makes a soft "d" sound on this)

I'm sure I've missed a ton of new ones but that's all I can think of.

What's the cutest is that with the books we read to him frequently, I'll often leave the last word of a sentence hanging and he'll finish it.

Again? So soon?

About this time five years ago, I discovered that I was pregnant.

What's amazing about that? I'd had a miscarriage 1 1/2 months prior (in mid-November). I had quit my job that required me to travel 50% of the time. I was at home. Taking a break. Jobless.

I knew (even before I was late) that I was pregnant. I felt pregnant - as much as one can feel pregnant without feeling any nausea. I think it was a faint tenderness in my breasts that sealed the deal for me. I hadn't even taken a pregnancy test before I confirmed in my mind that I was indeed pregnant. But I waited another week before I tested again. Why'd I wait? I'd had a very light period at the end of December. My body was still recovering from the miscarriage, remember? I didn't even notice that I'd ovulated (I know the signs of my body ovulating). At the end of January, it was official. I was pregnant. Even my ob/gyn was flabbergasted that I'd become pregnant so quickly. We did an estimated delivery date because both of us were unsure of WHEN I'd ovulated.

I quickly found a job in town. I had to work until I was due. I had a TON of things to get before the baby arrived! I had to earn some money. Crib. Dresser. Clothes. Diapers (of various sizes). Toys. But the main reason for a new job? To stay busy. To keep my mind occupied in the event of another unfortunate ending.

We decided to wait until I'd past the 3 month mark before letting people know that we were expecting. My family was SO excited for us. My sisters was jazzed as well. My MIL? Remember that infamous question I told you about? "Was it an accident?" [pause-pause-pause] "Or were you trying?"

Now I have a beautiful, tall, lanky 4 year old. She has big brown eyes. Long dark brown hair. Long fingers. Thin feet. 3 little beauty marks. Intelligent as all heck. Sassy as anything when she's tired. The asker of a million questions. She's my princess!

Mother Nature...be kind!

Dang it all!

I woke this morning to the pitter-patter of rain on the windows. Tragic!

Mother Nature must have waited until I took my car to the carwash yesterday. I vacuumed it. I cleaned the windows with Windex. I wiped it all over with that Armor-all. I even sprayed shiny stuff on the tires!

ARGH!$^%$^@@^

Now my clean car will be a total mess. Mud spray up on the sides from the tired. Spots on the windows & body. The shiny tires coated with muck. The conditioned areas -- no longer shiny with a protective coating...but shiny because they're soaking wet.

How frustrating!

It's 3:30pm...gues what I've been doing?

I've been cleaning up.

Cleaning up? Why is that unusual? Because it was more poopy clean-up!

We put the Bear down for his nap at about 1pm.

I heard him about 3pm.

My hubby went into get him.

"Honey! I need help!"

What did I see when I came into the Bear's room?

I was assaulted with the smell of poopy. My hubby had my son at arms length. He was taking that kid to the bathroom to hose him down.

Me? What was my task? To get the bedroom clean again.

I inspected each crib friend (4 stuffed animals) to determine if any of them had been assaulted. Thankfully, none of them had been violated. I pulled the linens off the bed (bleah!) and threw them into the washer. On HOT. On the longest cycle possible. With extra laundry detergent. With an extra rinse cycle.

Task two was to wipe down the crib rails. I noted two specks of poopy on the wall. So I KNEW the Bear's fingers had touched those crib rails. Argh! After I wiped them down with Lysol. I let the crib dry. Then I sprayed Lysol on the entire thing.

Task three? Vacuum the carpet. I wanted to make sure that any tiny specks that might have fallen onto the carpet were vacuumed up and thrown into the trash.

The room is smelling fresh and clean now. Thanks to my cleaning efforts. AND to the wide open windows.

Now is anyone else dealing a child's fascination with his/her poopy? Tell me I'm NOT alone!

More progress on the house

We checked out the house this morning.

They've blown the insulation into all the exterior walls. The insulation is dry. They've shaven the extra off, so it's flush with the 2x6's. I can tell that they've cleaned up in the interior. There were a handfull of nails lying about -- MUCH less than previous visits. What was on the floor was mostly the shaven insulation. They've got the scaffolding up outside the house. I think that means they'll be blowing the exterior stucco soon.

We dropped by the sales office to sign some change order papers. Thankfully, we did stop by because we were able to meet one of our new neighbors! I'll call him "Jeff" because I like that name. Jeff looks in his late 30s & is in the cul-de-sac across the street from us. It's his house that is about a week ahead of ours. Jeff has our same floorplan but he's getting an extra bedroom instead of the loft. Turns out that Jeff has FOUR sons. Yes...FOUR! Ages 10, 8, 4, & 2. How much testosterone is in THAT household? I'm wondering if his wife is a stay-at-home Mom. I'm just glad we were able to meet one of our neighbors!

Bleah!

Can't leave the boy for a second!

He finished his lunch. I started up a video for him so he could wind down. I washed up his tray. I walk back to check on him.

What's he doing? Why is he on his back with his legs twisted to his right side? Why is left arm up in the air like that?

The Bear had gone poop. He'd stuck his hand into the back of his diaper. His left arm was up in the air because he had poopy on his fingers. He was on his back because he did NOT know what to do with himself.

Gross! Gross! Gross! Poopy on his fingers! Bleah!

Catwoman editing - WHO got paid for that?

I heard rumblings that this movie wasn't the greatest. I tend to not listen to ANY reviews of movies. Even after the movies have left the theaters and are in that limbo waiting to be released to DVD/video. But I did hear rumblings about this one. Not so flattering ones.

Now I understand why. Who edited that thing? Oh my gosh. I heard that they recut the film right before it was going to be released. Why? Now it's even MORE messed up. In my humble not in the industry opinion.

Why didn't they just leave it? Have us first see Halle as she's woken by her inconsiderate neighbors. Then cut to her painting and being drawn outside by the cat. This is where we'd be introduced to Benjamin. Exit her running out to her office late. THEN to that scene (the scene they put as the first scene of the movie) where she's trying to hurry her way into the office. I'm not too sure which office scene was supposed to be first though. The one where her boss sees her at her desk. Or the scene where Benjamin returns her wallet. Then she pulls in a late night trying to get the colors right for the boss. Then her attempting to deliver the new ad to her boss.

What told me they reshuffled these scenes in the beginning? Anyone notice her unique outfit? Like she wore it TWO days in a row? Like everyone else in the office had the same outfits? TWO days in a row?

Oy! What a mess!

But I watched the movie. Yes, I did. Go ahead a smirk. My husband did. I watched it all the way through (when he wasn't home). I had to finish it because I had to watch that sexy tall drink of water of a man -- Benjamin Bratt. Wowsers! What a cutie!

Buy it or don't bring it up...

About 4:30pm, I get a call from the hubs.

Me: Am I supposed to be cooking dinner tonight? [Thursday is usually take-out night]

Hubs: Yes.

Me: It would have been nice if you'd mentioned that this morning before you left for work.

Hubs: Let's just have those taquitos & some Spanish rice.

Me: Okay.

Hubs: I'll go to the store to pick up more sour cream, since your son loves that stuff.

Me: Alrighty.

Hubs: I'll get you some of that bean dip stuff you like. [He means 7-layer dip]

Me: Oh. Great! See you in a bit.

I get it all ready. I'm already savoring the taste of sour cream, guacamole, cheese, & beans on some blue tortillas chips. Around 5:15pm, my hubby arrives home.

Me: Everything is all ready.

Hubs: Okay. I couldn't find that stuff you like.

Me: You couldn't?

Hubs: I got you some spinach dip instead.

What the %uck? In what dimension is spinach dip anywhere close to 7-layer dip? Tell me! I'm thinking he looked in the wrong section and didn't bother looking anywhere else. ARGH! @#%!%!^

Memories of Europe

It's a beautiful day outside. For some reason I was thinking about my post-college trip. I was the first daughter to graduate from college. My reward? A 3-week tour of Europe. Yup!

I went with one of my really good friends in college. What's funny is that she and I had never traveled together before. But we both had just graduated from school. We were both jazzed about getting away from everyone and everything. We needed a break. Europe was calling to us.

I just looked on-line and very tour I took 15 years ago is still available. That's right! The SAME EXACT tour is still being run. Here it is

There was such beauty that spread before us as we drove throughout Europe. There was so much greenery. There were still vast spaces of countryside. I remember one point as we were in the bus driving towards the mountains. It seemed like we were driving towards a postcard. The blue of the sky seemed too blue. The snow on the mountaintops seemed too perfect.

What I remember feeling was so carefree. I took each day as a new adventure. We had an itinerary but the actual events that would unfold were a mystery.

Our first night, me, my friend, and two gals from New York got left behind at the Eiffel Tower. Our mistake? Trying to walk back to our hotel (my friend's idea). We ended up getting followed by some drunk American boys. I ended up hailing a taxi.

Giggling to ourselves the next morning as our tour guide announced in the bus that the "group" that had been left behind at the Eiffel Tower had made it back safely. He said "Take this as a lesson that we will leave you behind if you don't meet at the designated time." Since we'd just started the group, no one could figure out who got left behind. He-he-he!

We bought sandwiches & drinks at a sidewalk cafe and walked around Paris. We walked to the Louvre. We saw Notre Dame. Then we drank wine. Oh...how we drank wine throughout the tour.

Actually being able to go topless in the French Riviera. We had a group 10 girls all in a row. It was crazy fun because we were all such conservative types (accountants, teachers). I'm sure none of us would have done this stateside.

Accidentally bumping into a guy friend of mine. Yup! He was backpacking Europe for the summer. We both just happened to be in an artsy square area in Rome at 10pm at the same time. Go figure!

There were about 20 of us who took a romantic trip on the gondolas in Venice. What's funny is there was only ONE married couple on the trip. The rest of us were single. But it was neat seeing Venice at night on those gondolas. The guys (gondolas drivers?) sang for us, so we could just imagine how magical it would have been to be with someone we loved.

There was a purity when we stopped in Vienna. Of course, we couldn't help but sing songs from "The Sound of Music."

Munich was very different. It was clamoring with people. We visited a local beer place for dinner -- all 50 of us on the tour! When we sat down we ordered a stein of beer each. Little did we realize how large these steins would be! I remember being thirsty that night. I decided to guzzle that huge beer. I drank it up and pounded the stein on the table. The rest of the people around me looked at me in shock. Then they too threw back their beers and pounded their steins on the table. Hoo-ya! What fun! What was the funniest sight was seeing an older (and totally drunk) lady come up to one of the guys on our tour and try to pick him up.

What was the BEST was falling asleep in the cushy beds in Hopfgarten. They had down comforters. Down pillowtop mattresses. Down pillows. It was amazingly comfortable. The next day we took chair lifts up the mountainside. Since it was summer, it was amazingly green. There were cows grazing beneath us. We could see SO far because the air was so crisp and clear. What's funny is that we found the BEST little local bar (that we overtook). Who knew that there such a fun bar in that town?

Our stay at Mt. Pilatus was amazing. We took a train up to it. It was some sort of holiday & we were surprised to see a wonderful fireworks display that first night.

There was a pretty and not-so-pretty side of Amsterdam. We took a bicycle ride through the countryside -- past the windmills & tulips. We visited a farm that manufactured cheese. I can remember that there were chickens running all over this place. We did visit the "red light" district. Actually, our hotel was IN the red light district. Crazy eh?

Now WHY did I write about my trip to Europe? Because I heard a particular song on the radio this morning. What? "Walking on Sunshine" Why'd that song remind me of my trip? Because that was the "wake-up" song that the tour guide would play first thing when we'd start our drive on the bus each day.

I used to think maybe you loved me, now baby I'm sure
And I just can't wait 'til the day, when you knock on my door
Now every time I go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself down
'Cause I just can't wait 'til you write me you're comin' around

Now I'm walking on sunshine, whoa oh
I'm walking on sunshine, whoa oh
I'm walking on sunshine, whoa oh
And don't it feel good
And don't it feel good

I used to think maybe you loved me, now I know that it's true
And I don't wanna spend my whole life, just a-waitin' for you
Now I don't want you back for the weekend, not back for a day, no-no-no
I said baby I just want you back, and I want you to stay

Walkin' on sunshine, walkin' on sunshine, yeah

I feel alive, I feel a love, I feel a love that's really real
I feel alive, I feel a love, I feel a love that's really real
I'm on sunshine baby, oh, oh yeah, I'm on sunshine baby, oh
I'm walkin' on sunshine, whoa oh

And don't it feel good

I'm thinking that I want to do something like that for the kids when THEY graduate from college. What do you think? Do you already contemplate the day when YOUR children graduate from grade school? High school? College? I want my kids to feel those carefree moments that I did once they complete their education.

LOST

What the HECK is going on?

I'm just curious as to what Brian (Walt's Mom's husband) meant when he said "Things happen when he's around." I know there was that dead bird, but what else?

I found it awful. The thought that a Mom could hide years of correspondence from her child. How could she save it...yet not give Walt all those cards & letters from Michael? Eight years worth? And she kept it in a nice box? What is THAT about?

I found it funny that after Michael told Locke to stay away from his child...that he ended up having to have Locke help him find Walt. Ha! Now how was Locke supposed to stay away from the boy on that island? It's not like there are a lot of people to talk to. They only live at the beach and at that tiny fresh water area. Where ELSE is there to go safely?

I can't wait for the next new episode. Claire must have had that baby, eh? Looks like next week is a repeat! ARGH!

What NOT to ask me...

Hubs: What're you doing?

Me: Taking out the trash.

In my head: Uh...I've got a trashbag. What do you think I'm going to do with it? Leave it here next to the front door? I'm taking out the trash. The trash I asked YOU to take out 4 hours ago after we finished eating dinner. !%#$%!

Oprah on Monday Jan 17th

Did anyone watch yesterday?

I only was able to catch the last 25 minutes of the show. I'm so bummed that I missed the beginning. So all the guests were people that congregated on a hill after the tsunami. Right?

I couldn't believe the look on Nate's face. He still looks shell-shocked. Devastated. I feel so badly for him and the other guests. But I guess talking about it is a way to heal.

If anyone did watch it. Could you tell me more about what happened during the first half of the show?

Look what the kid did

I've got the most silly little guy.

My hubs was in the kitchen. He gave the Bear the hot-mitts. Look what the little boy did with them.

Then there's this yoga position that he likes. Isn't he flexible?

Can you hear me now?

Think its going to be another story about cellular service? Nope!

It's gonna be a tale of a man who shows endless amounts of evidence that he doesn't listen to his wife. She speaks. The sound goes to the husband's ears. The sound comes out the other ear. Nothing left in between in those ears. NOTHING!

Friday night after the kids were in bed I was chatting with my hubs.

Me: So what's our plan of attack for tomorrow's trip?

[We were going up to celebrate a birthday party at his cousin's house]

Hubs: We're going up around 10am. We'll stop by the mall for lunch. We can pick up a gift at the mall. Then we'll head over to the party.

Me: Where you planning on picking up the gift?

Hubs: The Children's Place

Me: We always go to there to get her (the birthday girl) a gift.

Hubs: Well, where do you suggest we go?

Me: Why don't we go to Kohl's that's right next to the freeway? Then we can grab some lunch at In-N-Out Burger across the street. Then we can go to the new IKEA store down the street after that.

Hubs: Hmmm...

Yesterday we drive up. Where is he driving to? The MALL! The thing about the mall is that he always parks in the same area all the time. The Mall is shaped like a capital A. He always parks at the end of the bottom right leg of the A. The food court? It's at the top of the A. So we have to walk all the way with two not-so-happy kidlings to the food court.

Once we've finished eating. Where do we head to buy the gift? The Children's Place. Thankfully, we detoured to the Gymboree store & picked something from there. Of course, he bought something at full price. And it wasn't the cutest thing there. It was cropped jeans and a striped t-shirt. Of all the things to pick! If you're going to pay full price you might as well select a unique cute outfit. You know?

We were finished. We headed back to the car. The long trek back to the car. The party started at 2pm. It was only 1pm. What did the man do? He drove to IKEA! We ended up parking a 10-minute walk away. We had to park across the street at a fitness center.

Me: Why are we even bothering? Let's just go. [I say this as he's looking for parking]

Hubs: Why? Let's do some window shopping.

Me: Fine. But I'm NOT going to carry your children.

We trek in. The hubs and I trek in. He is carrying BOTH kids. We got in. It's a madhouse. They're having a sale. Window shopping? Nope! It was all about trying to maneuver. Trying to keep an eye on the Bear (who wanted to wander on his own). About 20 minutes of trying to browse. I get sick of it. He's not keeping up with me. He's not looking at the stuff I'm trying to show him. The kids are cranky monsters. It's NOT fun. Going to IKEA is supposed to be FUN! We attempt to make a quick exit. No doing. It's a long trek out.

It's along trek out when you end up carrying a 30-pound child on your hip. And then carry said child on your shoulders when your arms feel like they're going to drop off your body.

Then we show up 30 minutes late for the party.....Go figure!

Now if he had gone with my plan? We wouldn't have any wasted time driving to and from place. We wouldn't have wasted time carrying the kids in and out of places. We could have gone to Kohl's and easily selected some clothes. They've got those cute little carts so if the kids didn't want to walk we could have kept them occupied with cart racing. Eating at In-N-Out Burger is always a hit. We could have eaten outside (it was about 70 degrees) and had the kids run around a bit to burn some energy. Then we could have gone to IKEA early so I didn't feel rushed. But NO! He didn't listen to me yet again. And we ended up with a cluster#uck. The kids were cranky. I was cranky. Not a good scene.

Making Mommy Laugh

I watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition EVERY Sunday evening.

During tonight's reveal, I witnessed the most cute thing.

As the homeowners saw their home for the first time, they displayed a normal reaction. What? Wide open eyes. Hands covering their mouths. Exclamations of "Oh" and "Wow"

What's the next thing I see?

The Bear. Standing in front of the tv. Both hands on his mouth. Eyes wide open. "Wow!"

Making Mommy Laugh

Once you finish eating your cereal for breakfast...

use your spoon as a pretend elephant truck.

That's what the Bear did this morning. He put his little yellow&green spoon in his mouth so that the handle pointed upwards. Then he started to make an elephant noise through his closed lips.

Looks like it'll be for him

For the last 6 months or so, my hubby has been eluding to the fact that he wants to buy me a new vehicle in 2005.

Me: That'll be great honey. All I want is something with three rows so that the kids won't have to LOOK at each other.

[You parents with more than one child know EXACTLY what I'm talking about]

Hubs: Yeah. How about a Land Rover?

Me: Ummm... that's a lot of money. Especially since the kids are still little & make a mess.

Hubs: But it'll be a nice car for you.

In my head, I'm thinking that it'll be a nice car for HIM when he's driving us around on the weekends. You see, he HATES my current vehicle. He thinks it's wimpy. That it doesn't have enough power under the hood. Also, the seat bottom is too short for his long legs. You know how it is on long drive. You want to be in comfort? Well, he's not. I think my vehicle is just fine. It gets me where I want to go. I've got enough power to pass other cars when I need to. It's a good car for me.

Like I said, my hubby has been eluding to the fact that he wants to buy me a car. What do I think it going to happen? I think we're going to have to get HIM a new car first.

Why? Since we've moved here (March 2004), we've had to bring his truck into the mechanic at least 6 times. SIX! It hasn't even been 12 months that we've lived here. It's a 1996 Dodge Ram truck. It's not that old, right? But those darn lights on the dashboard have been lighting up. Check Engine. Check Engine. Oy!

Last night he told me about the latest issue with his truck. He said that for the last two days it's been sounding funny. That it hasn't wanted to start. When it does start that it sounds like it's about to die. Then when he was at the gas station, it suddenly revved really high. Hmmm... Really suspect.

Once the kids were in bed, he and I had a short conversation.

Me: How long are you going to keep your little car? [This is his 2nd car - the one he's had since before we met. It also needs some work.]

Hubs: A while.

Me: I was thinking that we probably should get you a new car this year.

Hubs: But I'm getting you a car.

Me: I think YOU are the one who needs a new car. You are the one who is working and needs a reliable vehicle.

End of conversation.

This morning after I picked him up at the mechanic and was driving him back to work.

Hubs: He (the mechanic) thinks it's a bad battery connection.

Me: Okay. Then it'll be done by the end of the day. That's good. Especially since Monday is a day off for a lot of folks.

Pause. Pause. Pause.

Hubs: So if I trade in the truck, then I'll just buy a Land Rover. Then I'll drive your car.

Me: Why don't you just drive it?

Pause. Pause. Pause.

Me: If you trade the truck in what are we going to use when we need to bring the crib when we visit your family?

Hubs: Hmmmm...then maybe I'll just get that Chevy Suburban.

Me: That's fine honey. My car is running fine.

Can you believe he's hemming and hawing about getting a new vehicle? I know he wants a Chevy Suburban. I think he feels guilty that he's been talking about getting me something. Yes, I know they're gas guzzler vehicles, but we live really close to his office. If he buys one, I know he'll be much happier when we go on our trips to see his and my family. He'll have his "man" SUV. The kids will have the room they need. I'll have the room to take care of them all on long trips.

He's healthy as a horse

The Bear had his 24-month appointment yesterday morning.

He is now 30 pounds, which puts him in the 75% for weight. He gained more than 2 1/2 pounds in 6 months! Then it was a 1 3/4 inch increase in his heighth. At 35 inches, he's in the 50-75%. He got two shots this time. He only cried when the nurse was swabbing his arms and when she pushed the fluid in. Once he got those band-aids on, he was fine.

The Bear got a once over by the pediatrician. Checked his lungs & his heart. Of course, the Bear was a little wary of the guy putting this silver thing on his chest and his back. He kept a close eye on the pediatrician. Of course, my little guy was skeptical when the pediatrician started inspecting his tummy, his hips, and his "boy" parts. It was a quick little check. He was back in his diaper in less than a minute. The pediatrician noted how ticklish my Bear was and once the little guy had his diaper on...the pediatrician tickled his sides so that the Bear let out a few belly laughs. So now the pediatrician is a "good guy" in the Bear's eyes. Yeah!

My boy has been labeled as "fit for service" and we won't see the pediatrician again until the Bear is 3 years old. Yeah right! You think my daredevil will remain healthy for another 12 months? We can only hope.

Don't blame me because you were asleep

My son was SO ticked off yesterday.

Why?

Because I let him sleep.

What?

Yup!

I guess his immunizations really wiped him out. The Bear and I went to get the Princess from preschool. It was Lunch Bunch day, so we were scheduled to get her at 1pm. What happened on the way? He fell asleep. Fine. That's fine. We were about 10 minutes early, so I hung out in the car and let him sleep a little while longer. Fine. That's fine. I got him out of his carseat. He opened his eyes. Looked a little dazed. He got his arms out of the straps. When I picked him up, he flopped himself onto my shoulder. Fine. That's fine. I walked to the preschool. I opened the safety gate. I walked past the playground (where all the kids were playing). I got into the building. I gathered the Princess water container, lunchbox, and artwork. I walked back outside to the playground. I located the Princess. I gave her a one-armed hug. We chatted as we exited through the safety gate. She ran up the sidewalk to the car. I unlocked the car. She got inside and made her way to her carseat. I shift the Bear and place him into his carseat. He opened his eyes. Yes! You read that right. He JUST opened his eyes back up. He was asleep that ENTIRE time! He opened his eyes to find that he was being strapped back into his carseat. Let me tell you that he was PISSED! He wailed!

Why? Because he missed playing in the preschool.

Was I supposed to have woken him up from his slumber? Based upon his reaction upon his wake-up...I was supposed to have.

Geez...blame ME for your sleepiness. That's what a Mommy is for. Right?

How about a buffer?

I was almost a witness to an accident this morning.

I would have made an outstanding witness if the accident had occurred too. I'm not saying I'd be a good witness in all situations. Only for this one. Why? Because I was watching the scene closely.

I was going northbound. I slowed to a red light. The cars going westbound were on a hill. I happened to look at the cars that were in the westbound lane. Why'd I look? Because they were on an incline. They were at the top of a hill. I seem to look when folks are on a hill. Go figure.

Anyway, the westbound lane got their green light. The first car? It didn't immediately move. The truck behind it? It moved forward. Can you say mistake? Well, the first car finally started to move. BACKWARDS! It was a stick shift. Yup! You should have seen the expression on the guy driving that truck (the 2nd vehicle). His eyes looked like they were going to explode out of his head. As he saw the rear end of that first car approach him. I practically cackled with glee. Why? Because that truck shouldn't have moved one IOTA until that first car moved forward. Well, that first car finally moved forward. But you could hear the tires spinning on some loose gravel in the road. That's the worst thing to hear. Tires spinning on a hill. EEK!

But I certainly would have made a good witness this morning. Ya think?

House update

We did our frame walk-thru yesterday.

It was exciting! Hubby did the walk-thru on our previous home, so this was my first time.

The Princess was at school. I had to drag the Bear along with me. I had to carry his heaviness. There were too many sharp things all over. Nails. Plastic. Wood. Wasn't a place for the kid to meander around.

The sales rep and the construction manager did the walk-thru with us.We went through our options list. We verified that all the things we wanted added were in place. Additional recessed lighting (we had two moved a couple inches over). Extra outlets (we had two moved because they weren't placed at the correct height). Extra ceiling fan outlets. Exterior gas hub (for our future built-in barbeque).

When we were doing our walk-through they were installing our fire sprinkler system. Say what? I didn't remember reading that on the standard feature list. Was it an upgrade? If it was then they're installing it when we didn't order it. I guess it's a new standard feature. The hubs and I weren't going to question it. It's a great feature to have. It's also a localized system. This means that if there's a fire indicated in the den, then that's the only sprinkler that'll go off. It would be just stupid if it was a general system where all the sprinklers went off when a fire in just one room. Then we'd have water damage throughout the house versus a fire throughout. We were SO glad to hear it was a "smart" system.

We asked the construction manager about letting 3rd parties enter our homesite. My hubby really wants plantation shutters in a couple rooms (living/dining/den), but those things take six to eight weeks to get built. Anyway, the construction manager told us that once the drywall is up that they'd be okay to have 3rd parties visit the site. We would just have to call him to let him know people were coming out. This way he'd have someone supervise the contractors. He told us that they have contractors out there at the subdivision routinely because they know new homes need lots of things put in before folks want to actually move in. Some folks have landscaping people out there. Some (like us) have shutter or drapery people out. While some others have contractors out there to measure for bookshelves and built-in units for the nooks. But it was nice to see that our builder would accommodate our needs.

Turns out that once all the electrical is finished (today or tomorrow), they'll have another inspection of the place. They've already got all the duct work in for the air and heating units. They've also got all the plumbing done inside. Anway, once that inspection is done they'll blow in the insulation soon after. They use a wet insulation that expands. Once the insulation is dry, they'll put the drywall up. Yes! By the end of next week we may have the drywall up! Then it'll just be the interior stuff (mainly) that'll need to be finished up.

Yes, they still have to put the roof tiles in place. They've got the roof up. They've also got the tiles up there ready to be put in. They just have to get the roof guys in there. They've got other houses ahead of us, so we're down the line. It might be another two weeks before the tiles go into place.

Did I mention that we found our kitchen table over the weekend? About two months ago, the Bear and I went to a furniture that I'd been DYING to visit. We browsed around. Then I saw it. The perfect kitchen table for the house. It's a circular table on a pedestal foot and four chairs. It was even in a dark stain that my hubby would like. They wanted about $600 for the set.For a solid wood table and four chairs? SOLD! Well, I was sold from that moment. But I had to get the hubs in there. It took two months but I finally got him in there. You know what? He actually likes the table. He likes the color. He likes the fact that the chairs are included. He especially likes the price. Let me tell you that when we breezed through Pottery Barn, we saw similar tables for $600. Just the table! Then the chairs were like $80 a piece. Geez! We'll be going back to that store in a couple weeks to order the table. If the house gets delayed any more than we found out that the store will hold the table/chairs for us at no cost until the house is complete. Yeah! Win-win!

Now for the kids rooms, what'll I be putting up on the windows? I'm thinking of honeycomb shades. These are supposed to be good for keeping heat and cold out. The kind I want have mylar in the middle -- so that the room is dark when the shades are lowered. I'd also like to get them with the top/down feature. So I can open the shades up from the top to get light in but keep the bottoms down for privacy. Here's what I was thinking... But I am still leaning towards putting up a simple rod and sheer curtains for a layered affect. But then should I forego the honeycomb shades and put a blackout curtain instead? Thoughts? Anyone? Any interior designers out there?

As for how are we going to go about moving in? The hubs is going to team up with his brother and his father to get all the BIG furniture out of storage. They'll do that the first weekend after we close on the house. No, we don't plan on moving US in that first weekend. We'll still need to get a water softener along with a reverse-osmosis system installed. The hubs wants to epoxy the garage floors before we move in too.

The second weekend after we close will be when WE (the family) will move in. That 2nd weekend, I'm planning on flying my two sisters and my brother-in-law out from San Diego. We'll move all the stuff from this here townhouse to the new house. My younger sister can entertain the two kiddos while I haul stuff. I decided to fly them out (I need to book those flights once I talk to my sisters) so they wouldn't have to DRIVE the 6 hours back and forth. They'd be too tired to help if they had to do that drive. Ya know? Everyone will be rested and ready for moving stuff.

Whew! I think that's enough rambling on about the house situation. Sounds like the kiddos tape is almost done. It's 12:10pm, so I'd better get some lunch pulled together. What to have...what to have... Chicken noodle soup and ham sandwiches sounds like a winner to me. What are YOU having for lunch today?

Little snippets from his first year...

Here are highlights from his first year of life:

He was born via c-section. A day after I was scheduled for one. You see, I was having contractions the morning I was scheduled for my c-seciton. So I decided to TRY to have him naturally. Fine and dandy. They got me into a room. They let me go on my own for a while. They ended up giving me pitocin. I ended up having that darn c-section 24 hours after I'd originally been scheduled for one because my cervix wouldn't dilate past 5cm. Thankfully, my OBs practice is the on-call service for the hospital I was at. So I knew the doctor that ended up delivering my little guy.

My son didn't take to breastfeeding naturally. He was one of those who'd CLAMP on real tight. WAY too tight. And he'd suck WAY too hard. There were times when he'd get on and then end up coughing. Why? Because he'd suck to hard and it didn't take much to get my milk to come down. What resulted was a couple of sore and dry and thoroughly messed up nipples. There were a few days that I ended up shirtless for a couple hours because anything on my nipples were causing them to ache. It was a BAD scene. Really bad.

He developed this habit (early on) of turning his head away from me as he was nursing. Whoa! Can you say "OW!" That twisting caused my already tender nipples to hurt. I had to quickly get him to stop this bad habit. How? I would immediately detach him. Tell him not to twist his head. Make him wait a few seconds. Then I'd reattach him. Thankfully he figured out that twisting away from my breasts was NOT the thing to do.

He knew his sister's voice from the beginning. She'd enter the room and chat with me and he'd be turning his head trying to find her. He'd kick his little legs like "I hear her! I hear her! Where is she?"

We noticed he was a flirt when he was about 4 weeks old. Yup! FOUR weeks old. He broke out into a HUGE grin when a girl at the grocery store stopped to talk to him. At 2 years old, he continues to flirt with women. He might be in a not-so-happy mood, but once he sees a lady he's all smiles. "HI!"

By his 8th week of life, I was already contemplating when I'd start him on the bottle. It was just TOO difficult for me to have a 2 1/2 year old and a baby along with the breastfeeding. I knew at that time that I'd get him started on formula when he turned 3 months old. He was transitioned for formula full time by the time he was 4 months old.

His first belly laugh was on April 3, 2003. I was changing his diaper. I softly raked his naked little tummy with my fingers. He smiled. Then he broke out in a huge laugh.

By week 17, he wanted to practice getting into the standing position. We'd have him sitting on our laps. He'd lean forward. Then he'd get into the standing position while we held under his arms. Once we figured he liked the standing position, we put him into an Exersaucer (which he thoroughly enjoyed). He liked the freedom of movement. He'd turn around and check out all the activities.

We transitioned him into a convertible carseat (Britax Roundabout) at 18 weeks. The baby carrier/carseat was WAY too snug. He was already 17.5 pounds & 27.5 inches long, so he needed more room. Of course, I had to go to my handy-dandy install guy that I first met in 2000 (when he helped me install my daughter's carseat).

At 22 weeks, my little guy learned to sit with some support. I put him on the floor with the Boppy pillow around his back. I put some toys around him. He's happy as a clam. He also figured out how to get from his tummy to his back.

By 30 weeks, he could rotate 360 degrees on his tummy. He'd blow raspberries all the time. He could transition himself from the sitting position onto his tummy. Additionally, when we placed him on his hands & knees, he was able to push himself back into the sitting position. He could also almost push himself into the standing position when he used me as a prop. Yes! Standing!

His first tooth broke through his gums at 32 weeks.

At 38 weeks, he was walking across our family room without any assistance. At his 9 month appointment, his pediatrician (who has 5 kids of her own) was shaking her head. She said "I see kids every day but it's really something to see a 9 month old really walking."

We noted his fascination with balls (baseball/basketball/football/etc) at about 9 months. I remember one time when he was sitting across the family room from me. I rolled the ball over to him and it landed next to his foot. He picked it up and put it in his mouth. I asked him to "Throw it to Mommy" and...he did!

We decided to go the sign language route with the little guy, just as we did with his sister. It takes a bit of time for the kiddos to "get" it but once it happens then everyone has an easier time. He didn't start signing back to us until he was about 10 months old.

He received his first haircut in December 2003. We were visiting my family for the holidays. My younger sister was the designated stylist. She was the one who gave the Princess her first haircut so we continued the tradition. My little guy looked so mature once those extra bits of hair were trimmed away.

***********************

My little guy continues to be a very physical child. He loves to run. He loves to jump. He loves to run and jump over things at the same time. He does this sideways trot that's amazingly cute. He tries to keep up with his sister. He chews the inside of his left cheek. He gives nice kissy-lip kisses (no more slobbery ones). He loves to go out on errand with his Daddy. If he sees Daddy is getting ready to go out, then the little guy is on my hubby's leg like glue.

He doesn't like the taste of juice. He loves his water though. He only drinks milk if it's a little warm. He enjoys having cereal for breakfast. He finishes off his cereal breakfast with a couple servings of wheat germ. Usually after he's had about two bowls of cereal, I put wheat germ on the remaining milk. Then he'll practice spooning the wheat germ into his mouth. I usually have to give him at least 4 servings of wheat germ. Go figure!

He enjoys the concept of dogs but is skittish around dogs. He has a small stuffed dog that he'll cuddle with. He then shows me how he pets it gently. He now understands that concept. Gentle. When his sister is upset and lying on the couch, he'll come up to her and stroke her back or her hair. It's too cute.

He can hit a ball while holding a bat. He tosses the ball up with one hand and swings the bat with the other. He uses his golf clubs like hockey sticks. He has us use the other golf club to hit the golfballs to him. And he hits it as it comes to him. All we have to do now is get him on hockey skates! Ha! He can throw to us from at least 5 feet away.

He plays with his hair when he's tired. If we're holding him when he's tired, he twists OUR hair. He sleeps with 4 little stuffed animals in his crib along with two blankets. He uses the blankets as pillows. He bundles them up into a pile and stuffs them under his belly. Then he forms his body over them like a turtle.

He wears 2T in most clothes. We actually like the way 3T long sleeve shirts look on him. He's using size 5 diapers. He wears a size 7 in shoes. He loves wearing knit hats. When we go out, he'll point up to the hat/mitten basket and say "hat". He even puts it on himself.

***********************

I just adore my little guy. He's a bit of work. Especially when he's in a grumpy mood. But it's been well worth it. I'm sure he'll be the one who is going to give me heart attacks when he gets older. He's the daredevil of the family. I'm sure he'll be the one that wants to go water-skiing. Go rock climbing. Go scuba diving. He'll be the high risk danger kid. But for now? He's my litte/big boy.

He's not a baby

I've known this for a long time but my son is not a baby.

Now for a reality check? He's now TWO years old!

I cannot believe my son is two. He's always been a big boy, but now his numerical age fits his size. It's amazing how time has quickly passed.

It's already late (8:54pm --- that's late for me!) so I'll try to type in some more about how his birth has affected me sometime tomorrow.

My little Bear...I love him so dearly!

Making Mommy Laugh

Chase each other like silly. Giggly hysterically as you run. AND trying to get some breathing in at the same time.

The two kiddos were chasing each other back and forth from the hallway to the couch. They were also leaping over the Little Tykes golf clubs as they ran. Neither one tripped. Neither one fell.

The little guy was laughing so hard that his face got all RED. His head got so hot and sweaty!

The Princess was being very gentle and loving all the while. She pretended to reach out and tickle him as he ran, which made him even more giggly.

They'd take breaks every now and then. The Princess would lie down on her stomach on the carpet. The Bear would sit on her back. He'd look at the hubs and myself like he was the great hunter who'd bagged his prize. He'd have a HUGE grin on his face.

Those two can be at each other's throats at times...but tonight it was a joy to watch them.

It started out as a good idea...

Hubs came home last night. Here's our conversation in hushed tones.

Hubs: "X is going to be out of the office tomorrow."

Me: "Okay." [Waiting for some sort of punchline]

Hubs: "Since the boss is out of town, then you want to drop your son off?"

Me: "What?" [Now I'm thoroughly confused]

Hubs: "You know. Drop your son off with me at the office. So you can spend some time at the preschool?"

Me: "Really? Tomorrow?"

Hubs: "Yup. If you want to."

So he and I had a plan. I'd drop off the boy at his office at 8:45am. I'd be at the preschool from 9am to 10am. A short hour. But enough time to see the kids interact. Spend quality time with my daughter. That's the plan, right?

It starts off well. My kids don't even realize I'm driving a different way. My daughter realizes something is up as I'm driving into the driveway to my hubby's office.

Princess: "Mom? What're we doing at Daddy's office?"

Me: "I'm dropping the Bear off."

Prin: "What? Why? He's going to have special time with Daddy?"

Me: "Yeah. So I can spend some time with you at preschool."

Prin: "Oh yes! Yes! Yes!" [practically jumping in her now booster seat]

The Bear is excited to see Daddy. The Princess and I drive up the street to her preschool. We get settled in. We play. I also play with some of the other kids. It was all fine and good. An hour later.

Me: "Prin, I'm going to have to leave after Miss B finishes this story."

Prin: "NO!" [She curls up into my lap & buries her head into my armpit]

Me: "But Prin. You guys are going to have snacktime after the story. Then you'll be going to outside play."

Prin: "I want to stay with you."

There's more back and forth conversation about me leaving.

What ends up happening? I end up taking her home. After only an hour and 15 minutes at preschool. Oy!

It started out as a good idea.....

Where?

Let me tell you that my hubby has the WORST set of observational skills possible. A man who has a bachelors degree in Finance. A man who has an MBA. A man who used to be a navigator in the military. He does not pay attention to what's around him. I know that's one thing that they try to get military personnel to do.

"Be aware of your surroundings!"

Last night I was reading an article in the newspaper about Mexican restaurants. Specifically, how Wendy's will be closing a bunch of Baja Fresh locations in the mid-West.

Me: "It says Chipotle Restaurant continues to be #1 in sales for fast food Mexican."

Hubby: "Go figure."

Me: "It says that Wendy's is going to close about 20 Baja Fresh locations that are doing poorly."

Hubby: "Did they say where?"

Me: "It says there's one here!"

Hubby: "Really? Well, it wasn't listed in the phone book. Maybe that's why that location did so poorly. No one could find it."

Me: "Hmm...at least we've got a Chipotle near us. We should go there soon."

Hubby: "There's a Chipotle near us? Where?"

Me: "At X Road & Y Street" --> Please note that this is the main cross-street nearest my hubby's office.

Hubby: "Really? Where?" [He's got a lost look on his face]

Me: "Right next to the Trader Joe's."

Hubby: "There's a Trader Joe's on that corner?" [Looking even more confused]

Me: "Yes honey. There's a Chipotle and Trader Joe's right next door to each other. Right next to the KB Home office. On the southeast corner!"

Hubby: "Wow! I never saw it..."

Oh my golly! I was so ready to tap his forehead with the palm of my hand. He can be such a dunce! He drives to southwest corner of that intersection when he gets Dunkin Donuts! It's like how he never noticed the Outback Steakhouse on the northeast corner of that intersection.

Sometimes I want to yell at him. LOOK AROUND MAN! Check out your SURROUNDINGS! Geez...

Very different from the same loins

I can't help but marvel at how different my two children are from one another.

Of course, it may just be that I have a daughter and a son. It could be as simple as that. But it's so interesting at how each is so different and come from my husband and myself.

Pregnancy

Even while I was pregnant, I knew they'd be different. With my daughter, I felt hungry all the time. With my son, I had to force myself to eat. With my daughter, I gained 55 pounds. With my son, I only gained 30 pounds (well within the "recommended" amount). With my daughter, I was tired most of the time. With my son, I had more energy. With my daughter, I carried the weight throughout my entire lower part of my body. With my son, I carried in front only (you couldn't tell I was pregnant if you saw me from behind). My daughter would roll slowly, while my son would jab and push me suddenly. My daughter had hiccups in-utero, whereas my son never had one attack (he still tries to fight his hiccups to this day).

And they enter...

My daughter entered the world at 5 pounds 9 ounces. Just ONE ounce above the "low birthweight" limit. She nursed like a champ. She nursed casually. I had no difficulties with establishing her on a good breastfeeding schedule. I was able to nurse her for 9 months -- until my body gave out on me. She started sleeping through the night at 3 1/2 months of age, which is pretty amazing for a fully breastfed baby.

My son entered the world at 7 pounds 11 ounces. A big bruiser compared to his sister. It took us some time to estabish a nursing relationship. He sucked hard. Way TOO hard. I ended up with cracked nipples. I was only able to nurse him for 3 months. I couldn't handle him and my daughter along breastfeeding. It was too difficult. Then, my son didn't sleep through the night until he was almost 7 months old.

Height/weight

The one amazing similarity between the both of them is that they gained almost 4 pounds in their first month of life. Yes! You read that correctly. My daughter went from 5 lb 9 oz to 9 lb 2 oz. My son went from 7 lb 11 oz to 11 lb 7 oz. My pediatrician used to joke with me that I made "superman breastmilk." So even though my daughter started out small, she caught up to her peers in no time flat.

My daughter came into the world long and lanky. She's continued on that same vein. She's always been at 75% or higher in height, but in the 25% for weight. When she turned 4, she'd just gotten over the 30 pound mark. At 4 years old, she can finally sit in a booster seat! When I describe my daughter, I say she's "built like a reed." She's got long lanky limbs. She's got long fingers (hopefully we'll get her into some piano lessons one day). She's even got long slender feet & toes! Because she's thin and tall, I have the HARDEST time finding bottoms that fit her. I've had to basically dress her in leggings in the colder months because that's all that would fit her. Not ANY leggings either. Most leggings makers have a wider waist than my girl has on her. So for the last FOUR years, I've had to purchase Gymboree leggings for her. Thankfully, a handful of manufacturers have started to make slender size clothing (Lands End, Old Navy, GAP) so I can finally put her in jeans and pants.

My son has a bulky build to him. He's not short by any means. He's on the tall side, but he's hefty. He weighted 27 pounds at his 18 months appointment! My daughter wasn't 27 pounds until she was 30 months (2 1/2 years old)! I'm sure he'll be somewhere within the 30 pound mark at his 24 month appointment (next week). He reminds me of a football player. Wide shoulders. Thick thighs. Those thighs aren't fatty either. They're pure muscle. What's funny is that even his feet are bulky in shape. I have to buy WIDE shoes for his pudgy feet. I like these Nike's best for his pudgies because they come in wide width and because they're really flexible. I hate it when manufacturers make kids' shoes and the shoes are as stiff as a board.

Physicality

My daughter learned to walk two days before she turned one. I was at the kitchen table gathering stuff after dinner and my hubs was at the sink washing stuff. Suddenly, the Princess was going round and round the kitchen island. The hubs and I looked at each other in shock & in joy. We thought she was doing her normal practice routine of holding the lower cabinets and moving about the kitchen. But there she was walking freely in circles. She had her arms out like an airplane. She walked in a rocking motion side-to-side. But she was walking!

We could tell from the beginning that she was a "careful" baby. When learning new things, she'd do things cautiously. Slowly. If she didn't like something then she wouldn't do it again. You know how when you're a first-time parent and you're worried about SIDS? We didn't have ANYTHING to worry about. When she was about 6 months old, she rolled over for the first time. She didn't like that sensation one IOTA! So if we put her on her back she'd stay that way. Seriously! Even though it worried us a little at first, we realized that she would never be in danger of suffocating if she was on her tummy.

My son has been able to jump, run, hop, & trot for a long time. He's been walking (yes...walking without holding onto anything) since he was about 9 months old. One week he learned to crawl. Then he pulled himself up the next week. Then he was walking. It was SO quick. I couldn't believe it. The activity center/walker (picture below) we bought for him at 5 months didn't really get any use. You know what he used it for? To climb on. We tried to use it as a barrier in front of our fireplace. He'd just step onto the bottom rails and balance himself around the thing. Of course, I was nervous about him learning to walk so early. At 8 1/2 months, babies really don't understand the rules. I wanted to hover yet let him learn. When he chipped a piece off his front left tooth (at 10 months), I knew we'd be in for a bumping ride (read as "visits to the ER") with him.

What's nice about having him so physical? Is that he's challenging his sister. She's wrestling with him. Which makes her more confident in her strength. And helping him figure out his strength. Of course, there's the business of breaking the two apart when it becomes TOO physical. But hey! That goes with having two kids, right?

Personality

My daughter is on the shy side. She's kind of like me. Put into a new situation, she's quiet and observant. She checks out the scene. Then she interacts with people once she feels more comfortable. I don't try to make light of her shyness. I let her be herself. What I do is encourage her to interact. If she doesn't feel like it then I know she's not yet comfortable. I give her the time and the space to get acclimated. My daughter is also on the sensitive side. If she gets scolded, she pouts. If she gets hurt, she cries like nobodies tomorrow. Once you spray some Bactine and put a band-aid she's all fine.

Now, my son is Mister Personality. He's comfortable wherever he happens to be. He flirts like a maniac. We can be in a restaurant and he'll make google eyes at the waitress. We'll be at the grocery store and he'll make google eyes at the gals at the check-out. When he sees a lady? He's all about smiling. "HIiiii..." while he waves his chubby hand. When he says HI? It's kind of that lilting flirty way too! Where'd he learn that? Not from me! Not from my hubby! Now when my son gets scolded, he gets a semi-tantrum. He'll actually throw himself on the ground in protest. He'll just lie there on the ground spread eagle on his tummy. He won't cry. But he'll just lay there in protest. When he gets bumped? He generally bounces back up after a couple seconds (unless it's a real big bang on the head).

Milestones

Talking: My daughter and I could have conversations when she was 18 months old. My son? He's just beginning to string words together at almost 2 years of age.

Jumping: My daughter didn't learn how to jump until she was about 16 months old. My son learned by 11 months.

Throwing: My daughter learned to throw early on. But throwing AT someone? Not until she was 2 1/2 maybe. Now the little guy has been throwing AT us since he was 1 1/2. And let me say that he throws HARD.

Catching: My daughter learned at about 2 1/2. My son already can catch.

Bed: My daughter transitioned to a toddler bed at 21 months. She understood that she had to stay in the bed when she woke up. She'd just call us when she woke up. My son is STILL in a crib. We're going to keep him in that thing as long as possible. We'll be moving to our two-story house in March [crossing my fingers here], so we want him to still be in the crib at that time. This way he won't be wandering the halls. We need to get our gates and "security" system in place before he gets into a bed.

Potty-Training: My daughter was urinating in the toilet at 2 1/2 years old. She was having bowel movements in there by 3 1/2 years old. She just WOULD NOT have those in the toilet for the longest time. What's funny is that her best friend (who was a boy) also would have his bowel movements exclusively in a diaper. They'd both ask for them. Crazy, eh? My son is just getting oriented to the toilet. We sit him on his foam seat before bathtime.

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Now how different are YOUR kids? Does it amaze how at how unique each one is?

I tell you. It can be hard for me to keep shifting gears between each one. But they both are such a joy. Seeing each one develop into their individual selves is humbling. I have to take a step back. I have to NOT hover over them. I need to let them grow. I need to let them learn. My children aren't babies anymore!