Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Weekend Summary

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't blogged for a while. I have been so busy working my Usborne business. I attended that conference on Saturday. It went really well and I learned some really cool things about different UBAH programs. I am ordering the Your Baby Can Read program and can't wait to start it with the kids. I watched only about a minute of the testimonial DVD and I was goose-bumpy and teary-eyed. Then people in the crowd started talking about the results that they had seen with the program. I'm as so excited. This is definitely something I want to make other people aware of and now I feel prepared to do it.
Another program I am absolutely excited about it a program called Literacy for a Lifetime. This program matches grants and donations at 50% with $200 minimum. It is neat because anyone who has grant or donation money can make it stretch. $200 turns into $300; $400 into $600; etc. And, the best part about it is that there is only one piece of paperwork and it is very simple. Not a bunch of hoops to jump through. Easy for the customer and easy for the consultant.
I also have been working really hard on getting everything together for the Spring Bazaar. Yesterday I secured a woman who will give free 5-10 minute massages to the people attending the Bazaar. So cool. Can't wait for that. I am still waiting on a bunch of people to get back to me, but hopefully those calls and emails will start coming in soon.
The kids have been spending a lot of time with Fundi. I enjoy hearing the stories from him about the things that they did during the times I am gone. The other day while I was at my Convention, I called home and asked to say Hi to the kids. Captain said "Hi, Mommy." and I just about cried. What a little sweetie. Of course, Burbles didn't say much if anything, but it was neat to know that she listened to what I was saying to her. I also got to meet a bunch of cool people at the Convention.
I'm very excited about something that could be happening today, but I can't say anything or someone might get in trouble, but what I can say is that there either could be a big change or no change at all. I'm voting for a BIG CHANGE! I'll let you know more when I can.
Have a good day, everyone!

Friday, January 25, 2008

On a Lighter Note...

Now, I know most of you could probably care less, but I just had to show you the stack of baby food containers that goes into our garbage each morning. This is only one meal, people. I wish they would make a larger container of baby food where a person could portion the food out appropriately, but then again, I should probably just make the stuff.

Fundi baked a cake the other day and before we knew it, Captain was on the counter trying to get in on the action. I bet he'll know what to do at Birthday Number Two.
Here is Nibble. He fell asleep at the wheel... oh, I mean chair. He was eating. Fundi got up to do something. He came back and Nibble was sound asleep. I came home from town (my first time out in days and woke him up by telling Fundi the boob story about Fiona. (see previous post)
On to a different topic: Yesterday was a pretty good day. After Fundi gets up (he is working nights right now) Burbles has been napping. I fix lunch. Burbles wakes up. I go get her and hold her and feed her a bottle and we nap. The two of us. It is so nice and allows me the pleasure of staying up until 11 and not being a terrible grouch by the following evening.
Last night was one of those Right Start Classes where the kids who aren't really in school get to go to school to try it out. It is only one night a month, but it is a lot of fun and I wish it would be once a week. This month's theme was Games and much of the night was spent in the Gym. I need me a gym. Captain had a ball, pun intended. He was running and playing and organizing (don't know who he gets that from, haha). At one point, the teacher grabbed the garbage can of balls, dragged them to the center of the gym and started emptying the can. She set the can down behind her and started explaining to the other kids (the ones who were listening, and definitely not Captain) how they were going to play basketball. In the meanwhile, Captain pushed the garbage can clear across the gym to the door where it had originally been sitting. The teachers, God Bless Them, are wonderful and have the patience of Saints. Even when the kids do not listen and do their own thing entirely, they just go with the flow. Example: last night everyone was playing Duck, Duck, Goose (Duck, Duck, Grey Duck for you weirdos from Iowa) and Captain went around the inside of the circle Duck, Duck, Ducking. Fiona got goosed from the outside of the circle and was chasing the teacher to tag her when Fiona got a little far behind and just turned around (she isn't a dummy) and ran at the teacher from the other direction. Now, the teacher had specifically covered this in the five times that she had repeated the rules, but for whatever reason, a child who is only three doesn't really get "You have to go the same direction as I am if you want to catch me." I don't blame her, this direction is pretty abstract, when you think about it. So, even though the teacher got tagged by Fiona who was running in the opposite direction as the teacher, the teacher still made a big deal about how Fiona had caught the teacher. What a sport. Anyhow, because Captain was all wore out when we got home and it was already an hour past his bedtime, I put him to bed. He woke up at 8:30 this morning! I am always amazed.
He learned how to holler sometime yesterday. His first holler was at Fiona and it went something like this "No. No. No." OK, so that is exactly how it went, but I was curious to see if this would continue. And it did. All Day. And Today. It is like everything, even common phrases "Baby. Sleeping." is punctuated with a vocal level that I haven't heard in my quiet little boy. Poor Fundi. He is trying to sleep. And, to the best of my ability, I am ignoring it until it becomes too obnoxious to bear. I fear that acknowledging and making a big deal out of this new Loud Voice will only make it worse for the attention that it gets him. Any other hints?
Burbles learned to pucker sometime yesterday. She was so cute. Fundi says to me: "She is making fishy lips". Today I got to experience this for myself. Every time she took a bite of food, she puckered and the smacked her lips. It was cute. What was even cuter was when I started imitating her and she started giggling so hard. Then it was contagious and we just sat there for five minutes (or more) making fishy lips and smacking and giggling. What a riot.
I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first? OK, the bad news: The Big Band Dance will not include the Alumni this year; however, hopefully next year it will work out that we can play. This is due to the (and I totally understand) band instructor not wanting to disappoint her students who have worked so hard to this point. I thought about it after we had discussed all of this and though... "Now, if that were me when I were in high school and a bunch of alum who think they are still good (but don't know for sure if they are) come in and want to play with the band who practices their tails off, I don't know if I would be too happy about it." It was in that instant that I thought, now, maybe this isn't such a great idea. As a matter of fact, I would love to organize an alumni jazz band and then have it play at some sort of alumni gathering. I think that would be fun.
OK, the good news: I am going to an Usborne conference tomorrow in the Twin Cities. I am so excited to meet other people and share ideas and hopefully make some new friends.
And More Good News: I am organizing a Spring Bazaar for March 1st (Hey Lion, contact me about PChef, please...) and am so excited about it. I am hoping to have a bunch of different vendors from around the area come in and set up tables. Hopefully it goes over well. If you are in the area, please look for info closer to the date and plan on attending. Help support local businesses and individual in your community who can bring the products to you.
And Even More Good News: I have been reading like a banshee. I am so proud of myself. I even have a DSLite game that I haven't touched since I got it. I still do by brain training every night after the kids go to bed, but it isn't like the thing is attached to me.
Hope everyone has a good day and I just want to mention that I am so happy that Alice's Mom is doing well and that things looked good! That God for Modern Medicine.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

The way things used to be-- Part 1

Another thing I have been thinking is:
You don't have your kids, they have you.
That has absolutely nothing to do with what this post is going to be about, but I had to put it out there so that I can remember it later.

On with the post:
Last night I had a dream, or a nightmare, or something strangely in between. I woke up and tended to Burbles and then felt strangely like everything in that dream had been true and that is the way things really were. I stumbled back to bed to try and fall back asleep only to lay there thinking about the past and how things were. I will try to explain.

The book that I read, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, dealt a lot with bullying and the defense for the boy in the story rested on the fact that he had been bullied all his life. One of the points in the story was that if a person looks back at their high school years, they do not see the happy times and all of the good things. Every person looks back and can vividly remember something bad that had happened. Every person, even the popular kids, will look back and remember how terrible a certain point had been. Even one instance of bullying can be traumatic to a person, now take a look at those people who have been bullied excessively. I am sure that each of you can relate to this on some level or another. Unfortunately, I feel I can relate to this far more than most.

When I look back at school, I see myself as someone who would have been worth knowing. I seemed to float well in many crowds, although, I would have preferred my friends to be from the "In" crowd. To this day, I would still consider myself friends with a few of the people I went to high school with. I even had a friend from the "In" crowd as a bridesmaid in my wedding. I enjoy her company and look forward to many years of friendship with her in the future. Sure, we have a history, some of it not so nice, but she is more valuable as a person than what a couple of moments in high school can measure. That, and I know we have both grown and changed. We have similar values. We have similar fields of study. But, more than that, she is someone who was there the first time I drove a car and applied makeup. As far as I remember, she was there at all of my birthday parties and we kept in touch through college. With her, there are still some memories that sting. I remember hearing through the grapevine that she had called me annoying. This was right before prom of our freshman year and it started a huge turmoil and changed our plans and caused me a lot of pain. The deal was: I was riding in the limo with the cool kids. I didn't have a date, but one of our mutual guy friends had agreed to go with me as a friend if neither of us had a date the week before the prom. That was the case, but we hadn't settled the deal. I found out (probably on Tuesday before a Saturday prom) that he had been asked by two of the cool girls to go with them together. Because of this, I no longer had a date and had been pushed out of the limo (looking back, I probably wasn't in the limo to begin with, but they were stringing me along saying that I was). I was terribly upset, but they said that I could still come to dinner with them, I would just have to find my own ride. I could still meet up with them before at one of our friends' house and the only difference would be that I couldn't go in the limo. That also meant that I didn't have to pay the $50 fee for the limo either. Unlike most of my friends, I had purchased my own dress and accessories (in excess of $400) and would also have to pay my way in the limo and at dinner as well. (You have to wash lots of dishes to make this kind of money at minimum wage.) My mom and Gummie agreed to drive me to and from the restaurant, over an hour away. In the meanwhile, they started an ongoing conversation with the limo driver. I didn't know about this, but while over an hour away and at dinner, Mom and Gummie made friends with the driver who agreed that it was pointless for them to stick around and that I could just ride up front with him. I was his "guest" and wouldn't have to pay for the ride. While I am sure they meant well, and I was terribly excited to be riding in the limo, even if it was in the front, their plan back-fired and by the time we actually arrived at the prom, I had eight "close-enemies". One of the parents called Mom and demanded that I pay the $50 for my ride. We did, just to make sure that that wasn't the reason I was their immediate target of dislike. During the dinner I had felt like and outsider. During the prom, I felt like I was the plague. To this day, I can't see a limo without thinking bad thoughts. And, I have never had the opportunity to ride in a limo to make things right. Oh, I made the best of a bad situation, I just hung out at the prom with my other friends who weren't the cool kids. I had an OK time. Certainly, it wasn't the fun time that I would have had had everyone been OK with the situation, but it was fun. I made a few upper-class friends that night. Became friends with a boy and his girlfriend who were in choir with me. Monday morning, the cool kids still treated me like I had the plague. This would continue for the rest of the school year and into the next. I was still in track and field, and I started to befriend the older kids who weren't in my grade.
The following year, I made friends with a girl who was a year younger than I was. They were freshmen now. I had known this girl forever. She was a neighbor and her parents and my parents were friends. Her friends became my friends and I found myself spending lots of time with them. I started getting invited to the parties that I wanted to go to. I spent nights chatting girl talk on the phone. When I got my driver's license, we went shopping and hung out even more. The spring of my sophomore year, my new friend and I rode a Greyhound Bus to North Carolina. It was an amazing experience--one that I will never forget. Things just seemed to keep getting better. Although I had some classes with my old friends, I had taken a course designed for juniors and had to rearrange my schedule because of this. I managed to avoid them for the most part (my school was very small and I graduated with 28 other kids in my class). The fall of my junior year, my parents decided to sell our farm and move into town. We had lived in our house my whole life. Coincidentally, my friend's family also decided to sell their farm and move at the same time. Both our families were shopping for homes at the same time. Our family had found the perfect house and put an offer in on it the following day. I was so excited that we finally knew where we were going and I called my friend to tell her about the house. It just so happened that her family had also looked at the same house and was putting in an offer on it as well. With my excitement, I lost our family the home that we wanted. They put the offer in before our realtor could present ours. Their offer was accepted. That morning, my friend's father called and told my father that because we were putting in an offer on the home, they would not be putting in the offer. I don't know why he did this, because they did just the opposite of what he said. That tore our relationship apart. Our families divided. Our parents had gone on their honeymoons together almost 25 years before, but now there was war. I was asked not to speak to my friend. We ended up buying a house only a quarter mile away on the same street. Without realizing it, we became friends again. Our parents didn't really agree with this friendship, but they understood, I think. That summer, my friend and I worked an eight hour a day job together wrapping caramels by hand at a factory in a nearby town. We spent more and more time together. She had changed some of her classes and was able to manage an early graduation. We were graduating together. We were looking for colleges together. We were growing up together.
My beginning of my senior year was great. I wasn't on the outside. People took a while getting used to the idea that my friend would graduate with us, but eventually everyone was hanging out. After football games, we would go to someones house and hang out and talk for hours. We were all on top of the world. We could see the future. We could see that we wouldn't be stuck here forever. We had started to plan who we would become. That winter, there was a basketball game that happened on the night of a snowstorm. We were all at the game and figured that the following day would be a snow day. We decided to go to my friend's house and go sledding. Living so close, I went and got my snowmobile. I had gotten a new one that year. It had an electric start and reverse and I was so excited to show my friends. I got to the party and there were a few people from my grade there, but more than that, my friend's little brother was there. He was still in elementary and was a little snot, but for whatever reason, what he said that night got to me. I had pulled up to the top of the hill and needed to drive down, so I put my snowmobile in reverse. It beeped, like other machines going in reverse. Her brother said something to the effect that the beeper was appropriate for a person of my size. Everyone laughed. I was devastated. I don't think I talked to my friend after that. I may have said only a few sentences to her since including speaking with her at her older brother's wake when he died in a motorcycle accident. I keep in touch with some of the other people I graduated with as well. I have more in common with some than with others and things have changed over time. I try not to hold grudges. Things that happened in high school should stay in high school. We were young, ignorant, and we all thought we were right.
In the end, though, I'm sure everyone can relate to this at some level. I felt so alone, but so did everyone else. High school was over and I was moving on to bigger and better things. I don't know if I would have chosen the same if I had to go back, but that is where Part 2 of the story comes in. A different day. As to my choices, they are what they are. These situations made me who I am. As I go on with my life, I sometimes wonder where people ended up. I wonder if they ever felt as alone as I did. I wonder if we could have a conversation nine years later or if things would be the same as they were back then. I hope they learned as much as I did about people and the rules of life. As much as I wish I could have some closure about certain things that happened, I know that some people aren't big enough to deal with it, or maybe they just don't remember because it wasn't that important to them, or maybe they just don't care.

The dream, itself, was a picture of me at a reunion with all of the girl-friends (platonic, obviously; high school and college) that I had had over the years all meeting up in Las Vegas (a place where I do not really have a desire to revisit because I felt so out of place for the one day that I was there). They invited Fundi and I but told us that everything would be happening at one hotel when in all actuality, we got there and everything was happening at another hotel/bar. They had managed to "forget" to tell me that plans had changed. In all actuality, they never changed the plans but had told me incorrectly from the start. I found them, accidentally, while I was having a drink with Fundi at one of the bars. We had been looking around for them but stumbled on them by accident. They obviously were not expecting me. I confronted them and asked them if I was not important enough to have just left me alone. If they hadn't wanted me there, they should have just left it be and not made me spend money to get somewhere I wasn't wanted. I asked if that was the case. They admitted to stringing me along like it was a joke. They were playing a joke on me. After all of this, I asked them, point blank, if I was not indeed important enough to know as a person. They said that they "hadn't had the time then and didn't have the time now." They said that I had never really been their friend, but they had used me for whatever they had needed at the time. They said that currently I wasn't worth their time as an individual to get to know again. They had absolutely no interest in me or my family and they had me escorted from the hotel bar making me pay my drink bill, which I refused because the bartender had been witness to all of this, and anyone with an iota of compassion would have said that my six dollar bill was on the house. The bar owner had happened to be a former classmate of Fundi's and she was in on all of this as well. I walked out.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

The woman with three arms had triplets...

OK, so I don't have any proof of this... but anyway, it is the same saying that has been running thorough my mind all morning. It isn't that bad, really... I promise. But, I just keep wondering how parents with multiples or many children do it? How do they get the time to do anything they want or need (bathroom, eat, sleep) to do? This is loaded. I know. They make certain things unimportant... things like making sure the laundry basket is empty (and both the washer and dryer), making sure their hair is combed (teeth brushing is important, though), and making sure there isn't any dust on their nick knacks. And, they make certain things important... things like encouragement, time, trust, discipline, and love. Those who have never done it before could never know how trying, difficult, sleepless, rewarding, and fulfilling having a child is. This fact is especially compounded when you (or I) have been reading books where there are sappy children situations or when you hear about a young father dying unexpectedly. You think about the choices you make and the values you instill in your children. You think about their future and your future. You remember the frailty of life and the finality (and certainty) of death.

I just put new batteries in all the battery operated toys.

I haven't left the house since Saturday.

Last night my kids managed to sleep from 6:15 (Burbles) and 6:30 (Captain) until 6:00 and 7:30 respectively. Once again, Captain didn't have clothes on when I went to retrieve him from his room. I didn't watch TV. Nothing on lately. Except... except did you hear???? Big Brother 9 will be on three nights a week starting February 12th. Thank you writer's strike. Anyhow... What I did do was read a book called The Choice by Nicholas Sparks. The book I read before that was called Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.


Checkout my reading list on Goodreads - where you can see what your friends are reading.
http://www.goodreads.com/friend/i?i=LTM2MDYzODI0NjY6MzEz%0A


Anyway, I have also been doing things around the house that are baby related. I have been putting away all of the "stuff" that comes with having little-little babies around (breast pumps, baby towels, burp cloths, pacifiers, etc.) and I changed over the kids' clothes to the next size up. Captain is now wearing 18 month stuff... finally. Although, most of these clothes are still a little long or big in the waist. I was just sick of looking at all those same 12 month clothes that he has been wearing for 10 months. And Burbles is now wearing 12 month clothes. They are still both wearing size 3 diapers, although they are finally in short supply in the pantry. Also, I think we have purchased our last container of formula. We have two and a half containers left. She hasn't been drinking more than 20 oz a day because she is eating more solid baby food, so the containers are lasting quite a while now (instead of the one a week that we had been going through). I hope that those two containers will last us through her one year birthday in three months when she can transition to whole milk. Then I will be done with bottles for a while. At least my own kids' bottles.

I am getting excited about summer (even though it hasn't stayed above zero here for quite a while). I'm looking forward to having kids that will be able to go places and doing things. I am especially looking forward to watching them explore new things. I love their expressions when something new is presented to them. It is amazing to watch the wheels turning as they learn about that new thing and how that thing works into their perception of the world. Amazing, I say.

This brings me to something new that Captain is doing lately: "Ouch... ouch.... bump... kiss it Mommy." Now, I'm not a big fan of this behavior, but for the time being, I'm entertaining it. I think that teaching a child sympathy works wonders, especially if that child has siblings. More than that, when he accidentally hurts me or I hurt myself (walk into something or whatever) I pretend cry. Empathy is important as well. Although, this may already be backfiring because sometimes he comes to me (from not being hurt) fake crying saying "Ouch... ouch... bump... kiss it Mommy." Now, I know that he isn't hurt. I know that he didn't get a bump. Do I know though that he doesn't want a kiss? Of course he wants a kiss. He is after all, a little boy. So, I redirect and acknowledge his need for attention by kissing him and then dancing or doing something funny like tickling. This usually works, I guess. But I looked at him the other day and wondered how long this would last. How long will he be willing to admit that he is hurt? How long will he be willing to admit that he needs Mommy or Daddy? How long will he be willing to come to us with everything? How long will we be able to watch him with the eyes of parents in wonder and awe before he does something that makes us start treating him like a big boy? Or does this ever happen? Is this why parents think that their kids can do no wrong? I don't think I am there, though. I know that he hits other kids. I watch him as he pushes his sister to the floor or puts his fingers in her mouth. (He is always quick to say "Sorry" and hug.) We respond appropriately and life goes on. I just hope that we do not ever come to the point where we have to admit that he does wrong. For now, it is what it is, I guess.

Burbles. She surprised us the other day. She said "Hi" and waved. It was amazing. I love her smile and her expressions. She is learning more about herself and her surroundings every day. She amazes me at how quick she is. She crawls like lightning. She is smart too. She snatches the toys she knows her brother likes and then lightning crawls away from him. She is putting balls into containers already. She still puts everything in her mouth, but even Captain still does that. She is the cutest little thing. She is a happy baby and very good natured... unless, of course, you are a stranger, in which case, she has to warm up (and this may take a while) before she will do anything less than scream if you even look like you are going to pick her up. She has red hair and an Irish temper to match. Thanks Gummie for that :).

I know this post sounds slightly jaded. It is all in light of the books I just got done reading. I'm not sad or depressed.

Here is the pretty lady herself. Look at that hair. and the potential for lots of curl and body.
Burbles and Daddy in the baby room right after a bath and before bedtime.
Yes. I. Am. This. Good. These two eat breakfast together in the mornings. It is a challenge, but it works out OK. I try and get it all over and done with. Now, an awesome mom would make the baby food, but for us it is just easier to buy the stuff. I figure by the time I bought the groceries and put in all the time into making the food, storing the food, etc, I am just better off leaving things to the professionals. That, and I know it is done right this way. No question of whether or not the stuff is too thick.
Fiona gave herself boobs this morning and I couldn't help but snicker. Then I grabbed my camera, but before I could get everything ready, Captain had felt of them and realized they were balls and knocked them out of her shirt. Unfortunately the second time she did it, they weren't positioned as perfectly as the first. I even watched her adjust them before she walked over to Captain to make sure that they were even. She even knew enough to pick the same size balls. Watch out guys, look who's stuffing her bra!Captain and his little balls that he is absolutely obsessed with. He moves them around the house and attempts to put them in places where he knows his sister can't get to them. Last night he even insisted that he carry them downstairs with him to bed (they didn't go in the bed with him, however) so that she didn't get them even though she was already sleeping.
There are usually nine. I don't know where the other one is and he obviously doesn't either or it would be here. He has mastered the task of carrying at least two in each hand and can cradle another in his arms if he is careful.

Yeah, they all go through a stage like this, I think. She wanted whatever was at the bottom of that tub. Somehow she managed to get her upper body over, but then she couldn't figure out what to do next.
And then she fell in.
Then Daddy gave her a big Kiss.
Elephant photo: 9 months
Elephant Photo: 21 months

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Dear Captain--month 21

Dear Captain,
I would like to have started this months ago, but today is the day. You are 21 months old today and it is amazing to see how much you have changed and grown. You explore the world and learn and this is all so amazing for a parent to watch. Oh, to have the eyes of a child. We see how you change from day to day, but it is only when we look back when we realize how far you have come.
This past month you have been more and more active and more and more persistant. You are a little more moody than usual. I have a feeling that this is the beginning of your "terrible twos". You don't much care to share your toys or our attention, but your little sister still loves you. The two of you get along pretty well. She is not able to really defend herself yet and you steal toys from her, but pretty soon she'll be bigger than you and then the tables will be reversed. You have been very interested in sorting things and lining them up lately. You sorted all of the big rubber balls the other day and lined them up along the banister. Anytime someone moved them, you got defensive and cried and put them all back where they had been disturbed.
You are a tender heart. You love hugs and kisses and you give them out freely. Last night when Grumpa E came over, you called him over to your highchair so you could give him a hug and a kiss. You blew Gramma G a kiss yesterday and even told Auntie J that you loved her. You are great at developing relationships with people and have a real fondness for others. I believe you see the good in people. I hope that this never changes. I hope you are always able to bring out the good in others.
Yesterday we sorted your toys and you were disturbed by this. You would have preferred that they all stay where they were and you were nervous that they were going away. We will just be rotating them so that you are able to play with different toys daily. Today is block and ball day and you have been building towers up to 6 blocks tall. Then you take great joy in knocking them all down and giggling. However, if someone other than you knock the blocks down or if you knock them down before you are ready, you become upset.
We tried to potty train you a while back, but you just aren't ready quite yet. Lately, though, you have shown more interest and the other day you insisted on going on the potty and you immediately went tinkle. We are so excited that you are picking up on these things. Can't wait to have one less diaper to change.
You are also very helpful around the house. You help unload the dishes (even the ones that aren't clean), you help load and transfer the laundry, you even help pick up toys if it suits you. You help throw away garbage and you try and soothe Burbles when she is crying. You even soothe Nibble when he cries.
You talk really well too. You can repeat almost anything someone says. You sing songs. (Itsy Bitsy Spider, Amazing Grace, You are my Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle, Raffi songs, Alleluia, Gloria... the list goes on and on.) You are able to count to ten and sing almost the entire alphabet without help. I find you very easy to understand even if someone else doesn't quite get what you are trying to say. It is the language of a mother and her child.
We moved you downstairs about a month ago and you are doing very well down there. You go to sleep at 6:30-7pm every night without a fight and wake up at about 7 in the morning. You nap only once a day for about an hour and a half. You have three things that must be with you when you sleep: Glowy, Tiger, and Blanket. When we put you in your crib, you are overjoyed to see these friends of yours.
You are a risk taker and enjoy walking the edge. You like to push the limits. If this continues, we may have to put you in a bubble. I fear you will be my bungee-jumper and sky-diver. You have no fear of heights, of people, of new experiences.
A couple of days ago you started spitting. Not a fan of this behavior, but I think it is just a stage. If we could only teach you to do this when we brush your teeth. You much like the taste of your fluoride-free toothpaste and swallow it as soon as the brush is in your mouth.
Like I said before, it is so neat to watch you change and grow. Your father and I sometimes watch you in amazement as you go about your daily work of being a child. The new things that you can find to do.
We love you more and more each day,
Mommy

Monday, January 14, 2008

A day in January...

Ok, so here I am, mid-January writing my first post of the new year. I need to become more efficient at prioritizing, even if it is just to write a little bit about our day. I was reading another mom's blog, and found that she wrote monthly letters to her children, presumably on their month-birthday. I found that terribly interesting and enviable and hope to start doing this with our kids even if it is just something short that they can enjoy later. I know, get my own ideas, right? But I think I am running out of new ideas and what is life if we can't borrow?
Here is what we have been doing: playing with the kids, feeding the kids (I will not bore you telling you how often we use our highchairs, but we have a rotation), changing the kids, tried to potty train (didn't work... no bladder control yet, wait a while and try again), doing laundry (excessive amounts of bibs and baby clothes), playing Nintendo DS, reading, watching kids (my own and not my own), running around, enjoying everyone else's blogs and all that business. Here is what I haven't been doing: writing my own blog, obsessing over recycling and the mess it makes on my counter, scrapbooking, reading my camera's owner's manual, watching TV. The list goes on. All I can say is this: Before Fundi and I had Captain, we thought that we didn't have time to do what we wanted. Then, we had Captain and we wondered what we had done with all our free time. Then we had Burbles and we wondered what we did with all our free time. This multiplies when we watch WDW and Fiona as well. I find, however, that I am able to watch the four of them with little trouble on my own. But, when Fundi is available, it takes the both of us. I just haven't figured out how all of this works, but we will eventually.
I have my first Usborne party of the new year tomorrow night. I am hoping that it will go well.
I would like to tell you a cute story.
Last week, Fundi and I decided to load everyone (4 kids and all) up to go to the grocery store and out to eat at our favorite Chinese Buffet (necessary only because of the ease of dining at this particular restaurant with multiple children). Loading and unloading was a slight chore, but more than that, it was absolutely comical to be out and about with so many kids so young. Fiona, the oldest at almost 4; Captain, 20 months; Burbles, 9 months; and WDW (soon to be renamed, stay tuned for details), 5 months. We started our little adventure by running errands in our small town. We completed these without incident and actually ended up with two of the four sleeping before we left town. We got to the grocery store and everyone was in a pretty good mood. Burbles was in the waaaay back of the van, so I took her out of her carseat entirely. WDW was in his carseat. So, I put WDW's carseat on the cart, Captain in the big basket of the cart (temporarily), Fiona walking and holding the cart, and I was carrying Burbles. To complicate matters, half-way into the store, I realized that I had forgotten something I was supposed to give to someone in the store, so I sent Fundi back to retrieve it. In essence, I had stranded myself with four kids in the middle of the parking lot of a grocery store in the middle of winter in Minnesota. Smart, no? So, I made it into the store alright. Thankfully, the car-carts with the seats up front and in the cart were available, so I managed to pile Captain and Fiona in the front of the cart and Burbles sitting up like a big-girl in the cart by me. I left WDW in the cart so that he could be pushed around by Fundi. As I was arranging the kids, two women came into the store and grabbed a cart. I was pulled off to the side, minding my own business, when I looked up just in time to see one of the women do the tap-and-point in my direction obviously mystified as to why a perfectly sane-looking person would bring four young young young children to the grocery store solo. Fundi showed up just in time to take WDW and we proceeded. Now, this was not the only tap-and-point circumstance, but it was the most obvious and I thought it hilarious. We went to Chinese after shopping and ended up having a very enjoyable experience. All of the kids were very well behaved, although working belts on the highchairs are necessary and absent at this time. We ended up having many little conversations with many people in the restaurant. (Obviously having kids opens a whole interaction with other people that isn't normally there.) Most enviably, an eighty-seven year old woman approached me in the bathroom on my third diaper change and started talking to me. She had been born and lived in my town for 13 years. She said that she enjoyed living here and hated leaving but never made it back when she grew up. She was young looking and very spry and moved with grace. I told her that she looked wonderful for her age and she said that she takes a class in the pool at the YMCA. Amazing. She stopped on her way out of the restaurant and talked to the kids and Fundi and he was also amazed to learn her age. ---Side note: I think that these conversations with people are what make a person's day. I love them and make it a point to interact with people in this way on a regular basis.---
Since I posted last, I have also had the enjoyable experience of snowmobiling with my dad. I used to really love snowmobiling and had my snowmobile stolen by one of my high-school-classmates while I was in college. We never replaced it, and I have been bitter ever since, but for the first time in many years, I was able to ride this year and I really had a good time. We took the long trails and rode more than we probably should have for as out of shape as I am, but I wasn't all that sore the next day.
I have also had the pleasure of getting back into playing my horn. In high school and through some of college, I played the trumpet. I also really enjoyed doing this and had missed it. Every year, our school sets up one basketball game where the alumni are welcome to play pep band with the high schoolers. Many people show up and it is a rockin' good time. After this particular pep-band, I talked with the band instructor and a couple of other alum and we discussed having an alumni jazz band. I can't wait to play in the Big Band Dance on February 9th! I'm excited and it gives me just the motivation that I need to start practicing again. So COOOL!
Anyhow, I started this post this morning and it is now 7:15pm, so I'll sign off for now and write more sometime soon.

Photos and Comments

This was today... Now, who is getting whom to sleep? See... she looks pretty proud of herself.
Ok, so I was taking a photo of WDW... (whose new name is Nibble. He enjoys eating and now he has two teeth, so I find it amusing to call him Nibble.) but you can see who thought she was being photographed. Oh, and notice the high-chair use?
Our little man. This is a hat that he got from my Sister B for Christmas. It matches Fundi's hat.
This was the day we tried potty training. He enjoyed watching the potty movie (that stupid song has been stuck in my head ever since... Bye bye pee pee, Bye Bye Poop...) and eating the "Moooore" (M&Ms) but even after peeing a lot on the potty, he got off and tinkled a little here and there.
So here is what I do to torture my kid.... actually, he was kinda throwing a fit because Fiona got this fairy outfit as a Christmas gift and he wanted to wear it all. The fairy riding the pink motorcycle.
How beautiful
Poof... you're an ogre...
Pretty Princess
Mommy and Burbles. Fundi's brother's wife and her daughter.
Captain's parents and he and his brother J.
Our family.
They got a wagon for Christmas from Fundi's Brother and his wife. We are excited to use it.
Captain feeding his sister. I walked away for a second and she started whining. He enjoys helping, although a lot of times it is more mess than anything. He couldn't get enough of the oyster stew at Christmas. The spoon wasn't fast enough.
Grampa G and Captain.
Captain reading a book that he got as a gift from A in California.
Captain and Burbles. This is the new tubby routine. It works well as long as Burbles is last in/first out.