It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I love you more

2012-01-20T16:53:00.001-08:00

In playing the "I love you more" game with Penelope I had a revelation. All the years I played that game with my mom, she was right. She did love me more.- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Apple - read this post

2012-01-18T21:27:00.000-08:00

Apple needs to invent a devise that implants into my brain and allows me to record mental notes for review later.

Get on that now people.

Anyway, I'm trying to remember all the hilarious things my kids have said/done lately. Let's go child by child, shall we?

Griffin:
He's been talking a lot more - whenever Sissy lets him. His verbal vocabulary is well over 20 words. One of his favorite words is "fart" and he laughs hysterically and screams it. Holy hell is he ever a boy. He's also started saying "I love you" which comes out as "Uh-V Ooo". He demands hugs, loves making train noises, and over pronounces the ending consonants of words. Example: milk is iLKKKKKKK, dog is daaKKKKKKKK, and fart is faaaaaTTTTTTT.

He's also now jumping and actually making it off the ground. He's also doing somersaults, climbing on everything, and is obsessed with everyone's potty habits.

His sleep is... meh. Not nearly as bad as the week of Sleep Suck, but still not where I would love it to be. We'll get there.

Penelope:
The child never STOPS talking. A lot of it is hilarious.

Like when she chased Griffin around demanding "true love's first kiss". Or when she pointed to a picture of a little boy on a toy box and said "look, that was me when I used to be a boy!" Or "Mama, when I was baby Penelope I lived in your belly and ate your belly button" (I have no idea where she got that). Or "No! I'm your husband!" (Bryan and I were snuggling on the couch and she wanted to snuggle with me).

She's also a liar. She doesn't consciously lie, but she'll make up answers if she doesn't know the right one. And she's a fake crier. Ah, our little drama queen. THAT will be fun when she's a teenager.

Resolutions

2012-01-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

Obviously regular blogging is not one of my resolutions this year.

I had some, but forgot them. So now I'm going to make some more. I'll warn you now- none are very earth shattering.

1. Go to the beach at least once a month. We live 8 miles from the ocean (although not 8 miles from our favorite dog-friendly beach, but it only takes us 20-30 minutes to get there). There's at least one weekend a month where the weather is nice enough for a day at the beach. It's good for the kids, it's good for the dogs, it's good for us all. And we all love the beach - Poe especially. She spends the entire time running up and down the shore. I have no idea why she loves running so much (I hate it) but I'm glad she likes the exercise.

2. Grow out my hair - I've decided not to cut my hair (bangs excepted) for an entire year. If I could afford extensions I would get them... maybe for Mother's Day. I keep saying I want my hair to be really long, but I always get frustrated and cut it. So no haircuts. I may trim it if the ends split, but I hope to be able to go the whole year without cutting my hair.

3. Maintain - or lose 4 lbs. I would love to lose 4 more pounds so I can be at a nice 1*5. I've lost 50lbs since last year and fit into all my pre-pregnancy clothes so I don't really need to lose any weight. But, being a product of my environment, I can't help but feel the need to set a weight loss goal. I know, I know... but it's a hard habit to break. Anyone who has struggled with weight issues understands - it's irrational but it's hard to shake.

And that's it. I could make more, but I probably wouldn't remember (and keep) them all. I think this is a manageable number and all ones that are reachable. Perhaps I will revisit the list in a few months to see how things are coming along. But perhaps not.

He falls asleep how?!?

2012-01-15T20:25:00.000-08:00

Some nights I wish we had a night-vision camera in the kid's bedroom so I could just post a video of the gymnastics that is bedtime.

The kids' beds are about 2 feet apart and there is a body pillow between them. At bedtime I lay on the pillow and read a book (or two) while Penelope listens attentively and Griffin alternately does yoga and attempts to SIT ON MY FACE.

Then, after lights out, we all lay down until the G man falls asleep. This takes anywhere from 5-60 minutes and usually lasts 20. We used to rock him, but that took just as long and could get uncomfortable. Laying down with Penelope is what actually taught her to put herself to sleep. We started earlier with Pen, and she has always been a better sleeper than G. So far it hasn't seemed to do much to help G learn to put himself to sleep.

I think we're going to try and get him attached to a lovey - I have no idea how but I'm willing to give it a go.

Anyway, after lights out the gymnastics don't end. Neither does his attempts to suffocate me. He'll roll over onto me, press his cheek onto my face, hug my arms, bury his head into my chest, kick me, grab my hand and put it on his face... he's also taken to attempting to undress himself.

It is both hilarious and annoying.

I wish "shhh", rock, bounce, pat, rub his back - to no avail. Eventually he falls asleep and I have no idea if anything I did actually helped.

I'm not quite sure what to try next or if it's just something we wait out. I have a feeling we just wait it out.

A little less sucky

2012-01-14T22:02:00.001-08:00

Thankfully Griffin's sleep has gotten better the last few days, but it's still nowhere near great.

He's still waking up at least once, but the week-long stretch of multiple wakings, screaming, and bottle demands are done. For now at least.

I am SO looking forward to the day when he sleeps through the night without waking at all. It will come, but we may be looking at another few months of waking up to bring him into bed with us. I don't mind - provided its just the once - cosleeping doesn't really bother me. At some point we want our bed back full time, but they're only this little once and I've yet to come across another method that I feel comfortable with.

I know that at some point G will learn to self-soothe. We might actually try going to Build A Bear to see if having him pick out a special lovey will speed the process along. He hasn't really connected with a stuffed animal or blanket and he doesn't take a pacifier... His "lovey" right now is me. Which is sweet, but uncomfortable at 2am when he rolls over and squeezes me with all his might.Although it does make me smile when he hugs me and murmurs "mama" in his sleep.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Major Malfunction

2012-01-10T22:14:00.000-08:00

Often, in the middle of the night, I find myself wanting to ask my son "what's your major malfunction?!"

We are currently suffering through what I like to call The Suck. It is called The Suck for 2 reasons: 1. it sucks and 2. you really just have to suck it up and deal with it.

There are lots of "The Suck" in parenting. What The Suck is depends on the age, and in some cases the child. But every child has a Suck. Generally, The Suck is outweighed by The Awesome - or at least they're 50/50 - but sometimes The Suck is greater than The Awesome and you want to just reboot the day (or you know, your life) or skip to bedtime or the 1st grade. Whichever comes first.

Some Sucks are: the 6 month sleep regression, a 9 month old who doesn't sleep through the night (because most don't, so don't get your hopes up), weekly tantrums, suddenly becoming a picky eater, etc. Sucks are temporary, which is the bright side of a Suck.

Griffin's Suck is sleep. It's always been sleep, and will probably be sleep for awhile longer. The Sleep Suck is one of the worst Sucks to have (with the exception of the Colic Suck, which is *also* a Sleep Suck and thus is a double whammy of Suckage). All Sucks suck, it's in their very nature, but some are more sucktacular than others.

And the Sleep Suck is pretty much the worst Suck.

Sometimes the Sleep Suck morphs into what I like to call Hell. And I call it this because it's pretty much the perfect description of the situation. Hell happens when your 3 year old doesn't sleep for 24+ hours (yeah, I know someone who dealt with this on a regular basis). Hell happens when your child goes to bed at 12am and wakes up for the day at 4am for an entire month. Hell happens when you cannot take your toddler out without a full meltdown and so are forced to water down milk in order to make it last the day.

I have not yet experienced Hell. But I know parents who have.

What we are dealing with right now, is just Suck. Which sucks, to be sure, but it just something that we have to deal with - unless is morphs into Hell, in which case I am driving them the 3 hours to Sacramento so I can have a weekend of SLEEP.

This incarnation of Suck is regular night wakings - every 45 minutes or so - that come with whining, plaintive cries of "mama!", and often an emphatic (read: loud) request for milk. This means that G is up at least 8 times, sometimes more. Getting him back down is sometimes easy, sometimes not and it's hard to tell when he's going to need more help self-soothing.

So we're tired. *Almost* newborn phase tired. And really? I haven't gotten consistent good sleep since Penelope was born and damn it, I deserve it. But there's not a whole hell of a lot I can do but comfort the G-man, keep trying new things to help him learn to self-soothe, and just wait it out.

But mark my words. Child will be getting some sweet, sweet revenge when he's a teenager. Mommy holds a sleep-deprivation grudge. For sure.

Pintrest

2012-01-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is Jessica, and I'm addicted to Pintrest

(This is where you say, "Hello Jessica").

Anyway, a fellow blogger named Julie wrote this post about the things she's done based on pintrest, and it's inspired me to write one about my own pintrest obsession. Be prepared, I've done a lot.

1. The Owl Hats. I've already blogged about these hats. I've made 5 so far, all for kids, and I love each new one more than the last. They're a little time consuming (especially the d**m ears) but so super cute.

2. The puzzle coasters (see blog post linked in #1) were also inspired by a friend's pintrest site (before I had a pintrest page). I just changed things up a little to make them puzzles instead of just homemade coasters.

3. The Hand Tree! (small version in linked post). I love this craft - although I wasn't ready to do it with the kids quite yet. I made a big one for our house - do you like?

Bryan & my arms/hands make the trunk and the kids' hands are the upper branches. Things I've learned from this craft - Griffin has big hands (almost as big as Poe's) and I have TINY wrists. Like freakishly small.

4. Headbands. I have actually tried 4 headband patterns found through pintrest. I don't have pictures of them all, but here are a few:
If you like this one, here's the link to the pin
For this one, I took this pin and this pin to create a "new" headband. I still want to learn how to do the crochet stitch of the rainbow headbands, I love the way it looks.

5. Wall Art - this actually didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped, but they look ok.

Perhaps I just need more of them. Here's the link to the pin where I got the idea. If I do it again, I'll change things up a little.

I have a LOT of things on my pintrest boards that I have yet to try. Hairstyles, more crochet crafts, recipes, decorating ideas... Pintrest is completely addicting - so be wary before you begin.

Happy crafting!

Selling the Cloth

2012-01-05T14:01:00.001-08:00

Using cloth diapers has saved us a ton of money. A TON. Especially with two kids in diapers at the same time.

But since the move, with both of us working, and with the kids in daycare, we've given up on cloth diapers and switched to disposables. We just weren't generating enough for a load every other day, so they'd sit in the diaper pail and marinate. Which was gross. Add in our washer and dryer are downstairs and in the garage (with no direct door, you have to go outside to access the garage) and cloth became a hassle. It never really was before. So we packed up the diapers and they've been sitting in a closet for over a month.

It's finally time to move them out of the closet. Most of them are still in excellent condition and are the "new" BG 4.0s, which is cloth diaper speak means a very popular type of CD. Some of them are plain, some are patterned. Some I made myself. And I'm selling them.

They all come with microfiber inserts, some newer, some 2 years old.

So I have 5 BG 3.0s, 12 BG 4.0s, and 8 handmade in the 3.0 style. Here's a pic:

They retail from 15-18 a piece, and I'll negotiate price, I'd love to get $5 a diaper. I'll also throw in our 2 wet bags.any takers?- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The purse

2012-01-04T14:57:00.001-08:00

I will let you male readers in on a little secret. No woman is ever happy with her purse.

We carry them everywhere. We are lost without them. We spend hours (literally) agonizing on which purse to choose. We spend hundreds of dollars on them. We let out excited squeals when a friend shows up with a new one. We are jealous of those with expensive ones. We often own more than one so we can match our outfits with them... You would imagine that an accessory that claims so much of our attention would be an accessory that we love as much as our shoes (which, btw, we often loathe as well).

But no. We hate the purse. No, we hate our purse. It is never good enough. Never big enough, or it's too big. The straps are too long or too short. The color is too bright or too busy. There are too many pockets or not enough places to put out stuff. Things gets lost in the bottom or they fall out the sides. The purse is never quite right.

And so we buy a new one. Hopeful that this time will be different. This time the relationship will last, this time it will fulfill all our needs. This time it won't be deficient in a critical area of need. This time we will love our purse.

And every time we are disappointed.

I know this. I have known this for years. If I was to put together a slideshows of all my purses over the years it would look a lot like my old dating record. One is too small, one was way too busy, another's strap kept awkwardly pulling my hair, one kept falling off my arm... And I had hoped that one day I would find the "perfect" purse. The one to settle down with and keep around. I mean, I found a man I wanted to marry, you'd thinking finding a purse would be easier.

But it isn't.

I'm still trying though. Today I bought a purse that, like so many before (and like a few ex boyfriends) I know will be deficient. But I'm bringing it home anyway.

Why? It's cute. It's blue. And it was on sale for $7.50, marked down from $98.00. Thank you New Year sale at Kohls.

So here she is.

Unlike my old purse, I'll be able to keep my iPad in this one. I'll also be able to fit Griffin in here should I need to. It's huge. This means I will lose my keys and my phones to the bottom. Although it does have front pockets, so maybe I can train myself to put my phone and keys in there... Probably not.We'll see. I am both apprehensive and hopeful- pretty normal feelings for the beginning of a new purse relationship.

And now I can say goodbye to my last purse, who is full of cookie dust (Griffin stuck a shortbread cookie in it one day). This one never held everything I needed it to and so it was time for a change.

Wish me luck.- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

You Guys

2012-01-04T11:08:00.001-08:00

I am going crazy. Like, literally.

I posted today about New Years Day and in that post, I promised a NYE post would be coming soon.

Only I ALREADY POSTED ABOUT NYE.

Also? I posted about some of my Christmas crafts TWICE. Because I keep forgetting that I've posted. Because I'm going crazy.

This either means I need more sleep or that I need the regular structure of the work day (or both), in order to retain my short term memory.

Isn't this supposed to happen when I'm old? You know, like 40? ;)

New Years Day

2012-01-04T09:36:00.001-08:00

A NYE post will come soon, but today it's all about New Years Day.It was a really stellar weekend out here. Mid 70s, sunny, a little breezy, but overall gorgeous. We took advantage of the weather and spent time outside, but also visited one of our favorite Monterey spots: the Aquarium.

If you've never been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, you should go. It's amazing, and gives you the excuse to see us :) (we have guest passes!) both kids love the aquarium, they know the layout of the building and we have a pretty regular route. Otters, Deep Sea (includes jellyfish, sharks, sea turtles, sunfish, etc), play area, penguins, octopus, sea horses, and occasionally includes petting the bat rays, starfish, and hermit crabs.We "hung out" with an exceptionally friendly penguin named Pebble on this trip. I'm not sure if it was a male or female penguin, but it was very interested in swimming up against the glass where we were and making eye contact with G. Here are some pictures:

Looking out at the ocean:

In a penguin egg:

By the Puffin exhibit:

On the play area:

After the Aquarium we headed home. I was expecting naps after a morning of running around the aquarium and was a little disappointed that no one was tired (well, mommy & daddy aside). So we broke out the bikes and spent the afternoon outside.

(G's bike it a little too big... Maybe in a few months he'll be ready to try and "ride" it).

Next was skating:

All in all (no naps aside) it was a great day. A great anniversary, and a great start to the new year. Here's hoping your new year started well and stays great!- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

C-c-c-c-c-RAFTY!

2011-12-31T21:42:00.000-08:00

Being on a 3 week break has some pretty major advantages. Traveling (well, that isn't necessarily and advantage at times), catching up on TV shows, gorging on sweets until you gain 3 pounds, working on the but-shaped dent in the couch. Ah yes, break.

It has also given me an opportunity to craft. So here are some of the projects we've been working on...

These were Christmas gifts for the family - puzzle coasters. The kids drew on 8x8 pieces of paper and I cut them up in fours and mod podged them onto while title. After they dried, I sprayed them with acrylic spray, and super glued cork board onto the back. Voila! A fun set of homemade coasters.

We also made a homemade gift for my Aunt for her birthday. This required less active work on the part of the kids, but it turned out to be SUPER cute.

The trunks are the kids' arms and hands. It's mod podge (again, that stuff is so versatile!). I want to make a larger on to hand on our wall but haven't quite gotten around to it yet. It's actually rather time consuming to cut the leaves and paste them on, but I really love the way it turned out.

I've also gotten back into crochet. I made some beanies, but then tried out an owl hat. Here's my 1st try.

And Bubby's

And Sissy's

I have a few different types of hats/hoods that I want to try before I go back next week, we'll see how many actually get done :)

Anniversary!

2011-12-31T21:09:00.000-08:00

I have Christmas and traveling blogging to do, but today is our anniversary so I'll start with that and work my way back.

4 years ago tonight Bryan and I were married - we had a wonderful wedding that started at 9pm NYE and ended at 2am New Years Day with only a brief interruption to actually get married shortly after the stroke of midnight.

The day we got married was a pretty nice one. Cold, but sunny and no sign of rain.

Today wasn't too different, just warmer. And so to celebrate, we went to the beach. And now you're jealous. You should be, it was awesome. In fact, it was the only time during the day that Penelope didn't whine, maybe we should go to the beach everyday...

So Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband - here's hoping for many, many more!

Christmas Crafts

2011-12-20T22:01:00.000-08:00

I realize that posting this will spoil the surprise for anyone that receives these gifts in a few days, but I am quite proud of them and have a hard time keeping secrets so I will post it anyway.

This year is a "thin" one since for most of the year I was unemployed. I've been trying to figure out a way to give all the people we love meaningful gifts without breaking the bank. A friend of mine posted a link on how to make home-made coasters. The blog post used holiday napkins as the decoration - but I decided to use the kid's artwork instead.

So I gathered up supplies (white 4x4 tile, mod podge, cork backing, acrylic spray) and had the kids color (which was quite the ordeal once we got to the last few pieces of paper - turns out that making two toddlers churn out artwork is harder than it sounds).

I then cute, pasted, layered, sprayed, and glued.

And Viola!

They were pretty easy to make, but rather time consuming.

I have a boat-load of Hod Podge left over and a bunch of craft ideas, so maybe I'll start work on those when we get back from our bi-State holiday tour.

Baking with the babies

2011-12-20T21:27:00.000-08:00

For Penelope's birthday we make cupcakes for daycare and cake for our pizza-party. Penelope helped with both (and actually helped). Griffin watched.

It was actually a lot of fun. Prior to this event, Penelope's "helping" has been less than helpful when it comes to cooking. But this time she was able to count out scoops, stir without making a mess, and didn't try and stick her hand into the batter.

Plus, she looked super cute while baking.

The Bubs

2011-12-20T21:20:00.000-08:00

So my mom gets off my back :)

2011-12-20T21:13:00.000-08:00

For the last two days my mom has been pestering me to post these pictures of our cookie decorating party this weekend. I have a lot of posts to catch up on, so posting this now isn't quite right chronologically, but I'm sure y'all will be able to figure things out.

So yes. Cookies.

It's a tradition in our family to bake an army of cookies around the holidays and invite people over to decorate. My parents recently uncovered a significant amount of video from Christmases past of all of us, plus many other family and friends, decorating oodles of cookies. I have many, many fond memories of cookie decoration parties. In fact, most of my Christmas memories are of cookie parties.

I have learned many things from my years participating in cookie parties.

1. Bake the cookies beforehand.
2. Wax paper the heck out of your decorating surface.
3. Keep sprinkles out of the reach of anyone under the age of 5.
4. Bake about a dozen cookie (or slightly less) per participant.

The reason you "only" bake a dozen cookies per participant is that the younger kids lose interest about 2 cookies in (and eat those anyway), the older kids decorate about 10 before losing interest, and the adults usually end up making a dozen "fancy" cookies before just slathering on some frosting and sprinkling it with whatever is handy. So a dozen per person means less 'grunt' work at the end of the party and you still get enough cookies for everyone to eat a few and take some home.

This year my parents were 3+ hours away and I considered not doing any cookies. It was the end of the semester, I was exhausted, Bryan was busy with work and school, and the parties can be a lot of work. But because I have such fond memories of cookie parties I decided to have one anyway and invite some of my coworkers.

And I am so, so, SO glad I did. We all had a wonderful time - the kids (well, Penelope) still talks about the cookie party, so I know that she's starting to form the same kind of memories I have about the holiday season. And I love that we're establishing traditions for our family. We don't have religious traditions (since we're Atheists) but we still feel that traditions are important, so the cookie parties give us an opportunity to create/maintain some secular holiday traditions that we can enjoy every year.

Also? We have Star Wars cookie cutters. So the party was extra awesome.

And now - finally - here are the pictures:

Star Wars batch

All the baked cookies

Griffin "decorating"

Two of Penelope's cookies and one of mine

With the Bubs

Sissy with her crown (which she got at the $1 bin at Target for being brave and peeing in the bathroom there - which, BTW, is loud and scary)

Apparently I have not learned rule #3 well enough

Heather, Andrew, & Chrissy - A&C teach English at SHS. H is a SPED Aid and is married to A. H&A have two girls (6 & 16 months).

All of us, sitting in the front are Patrice and her son Connor. C came because of the Star Wars cookies ;)

Some of Connor's "masterpieces"

More cookies!

As you can see, we had fun. So much fun that we forgot to take video. This will definitely be a yearly event so next year I promise video.

"I don't wanna be 3"

2011-12-06T21:39:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was Poe's birthday and to celebrate we went out to pizza. I invited a few colleagues from work and we had a small, but very fun, party. Penny had so much fun with her friends Maggie & Sophia (daughter of the Principal & Activities Director, repectively) that in the car on the ride home she said:

"Mommy, I don't wanna be three. I wanna be two."

"Why sissy?"

"I have another birthday party and see my friends!"

So I guess this means I need to be proactive and arrange a playdate.

Getting to Three

2011-12-04T20:00:00.001-08:00

I was planning on a picture montage of Penelope from birth to 3... but it was about 30 pictures. So instead I'll TRY and choose just one from birth, 1, 2, & 3. Try.

Happy Third Birthday my Love.

Snugglebunny

2011-11-30T20:16:00.001-08:00

I've had about a dozen blog posts marinating around in my head for what seems like ages and what is probably more like days. And now that I have a few minutes to post I am drawing a huge, predictable, contemptible blank. D**n it. So what follows may not be coherent nor well written but hey, at least it's a blog.

Bubby is, perhaps, the most snuggly child in the entire world. They come in frequent yet short bursts of burryhisheadinyourchest bear hugs. It is absolutely one of the best things in the whole world. Sissy is also very snuggly, she likes to snuggle in next to you to read or watch a movie... but Bubby's snuggles are of a very unique variety. While Sissy's are sweet and almost tender, Griffin's feel like he's embracing you with his entire soul.

He's so fracking adorable.

But he's not a baby anymore. BIG HUGE SIGH. He's *almost* slept through the night for the past 4 nights and he is more vocal everyday. He's almost 2 for goodness sake. TWO.

Speaking of no-longer-a-baby. Penelope turns THREE on Monday. W.T.F.

She's doing really well with potty training. We had one accident yesterday but that's been the only once since Saturday. We're very proud of her - and she's very proud of herself. She had her birthday party the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was a skating party and overall, it was a lot of fun. I think some of the kids were still a smidge too young, but they have to start sometime, right? I need to get the pics off my mom's Facebook page so I can post them on the blog. There's some video of P & G skating as well. Griffin actually loves it (for about 10 minutes, which is pretty good for a 1.5 year old). I think B is looking forward to when the kids are a bit more proficient so they can all go out and race :)

For her actual birthday, I think we'll just go out to dinner and keep it low-key. I might see if some of my coworkers can make it out, a few of them have kids P's age so it would be nice to socialize with other families.

It would just be nice to socialize :) We're into a rhythm with our schedules, but we haven't really made the time for life outside the four of us. Not to say that we're hermits, but regular playdates, dinners, nights out, or date night just haven't made it onto our list of things to do. There are just 2.5 weeks left of the semester and one of those weeks is Finals week. So I have just a little over a week to finish up curriculum and prep for our final.

In my Frosh classes we're actually conducting a trial (similar to Mock Trial) putting Odysseus on trial. The prosecution will try to prove that he isn't a hero and the defense will try to prove he is. We have attorneys, witnesses, court reporters, jurors, a bailiff, and a judge (me!). I'm really looking forward to it. It should be a lot of fun - for the students and for me. At least, I hope it is.

Speaking of work, I have some to do.

Potty training

2011-11-20T19:56:00.001-08:00

I have in previous posts mentioned how much I loathe potty training. I don't hate it as much as teething, but it comes in at a pretty close second.

The reason I despise the PT is mostly because I hate the constant questioning and bribing. We don't have a backyard that's kid friendly AND it's freezing outside, so naked training is out. And she refuses to be naked anyway unless she's taking a bath. She wants to wear underwear until you pull it out and then she cries that she wants a diaper "like Bubby". She never says she has to pee so you end up asking every 20 minutes. Exhausting. And confining, we end up spending lots of time indoors close to a potty and I get cabin fever LIKE CRAZY.

So we hadn't really done much in the way of potty training except having her sit on the potty before bathtime.

Until now. Friday when I picked her up from daycare, she told Miss Monica and I that she was ready for underwear and that she wasn't going to wear diapers anymore "because I'm a big girl, not a baby like Bubba."

So we jumped in. Saturday morning we pulled out the pull-ups (after a mini tantrum when she demanded a diaper because she was "a baby, mama, I'm just a baby" - this ended with the promise of stickers). I think I already blogged about Saturday's accidents (just 2) and today we just had 1 (pee) which means she pooped on the potty. Not willingly, I saw her "assume the position" and so I carried her into the bathroom while she protested. But she did it and was very proud of herself.

She's going to hate me for writing this post when she's older.

I would really love for her to be able to *tell* me when she has to go. Hopefully that will happen by her birthday... hopefully.

Who's iPad?

2011-11-20T14:07:00.001-08:00

Not mine, apparently.

Both children have decided that Mommy's iPad is actually their iPad. And I can't really blame them, it's loaded with apps designed just for them. Our current favorites are "The Monster at the End of this Book" (thanks Lorena) and Elmo's ABCs. But they can both find the Netflix app and access Calliou or Yo Gabba Gabba without any assistance. I'm surprised Griffin hasn't ordered something or e-mailed someone yet.

And we've eliminated diapers for Poe. Yesterday was day 1 and she had 1 accident and then refused to poop on the potty. But she did pee on the potty 4 times, so it was a good first day. Today was harder since we went to the aquarium and she refused to pee there... so she is in a pull up for naps and I can bet she'll pee during her nap.

It's a process.

So.

2011-11-14T20:41:00.001-08:00

I left the adoption meeting tonight both well informed and a little sad.

A little sad because based on what I learned today, it doesn't look like we're ready to seriously start the process. That doesn't mean we won't ever be ready, but it's not going to happen now. Or even next year.

The major road block is that opposite gendered children can't share rooms. And while we have a 3 bedroom house, one room is Bryan's office/TV room, one room is our bedroom, and the other is for Poe & G. So while their bedroom could hold another bed (especially if we went with bunk beds), it won't work for foster-adopt requirements for space.

It also looks like the best option for us is to adopt a school-aged child... 1st grade or so. And neither one of us is ready to do that until P & G are a little older.

So things are on hold. For now... and we'll see how things progress.

I knew it wasn't going to be a quick process. I knew that it would be awhile before we actually had a child placed with us... but I was hoping that we could at least start the process. So I'm a little sad that we're not even ready for that - and that I don't know when we will be ready.

Monday, Monday, Monday!

2011-11-12T20:47:00.001-08:00

So Monday is the informational meeting at a local adoption/fostering agency. I am both excited and a tad apprehensive.

I want to adopt. I feel that our family has the love to give. I feel that it's the socially responsible thing to do.

But oh boy am I nervous.

Lately the kids have been... challenging. Griffin's sleep is still erratic, Penelope is testing boundaries, potty training is a headache, and we're all stressed out. So the idea of adding another child into the mix is occasionally overwhelming.

But it's not overwhelming because of the adoption aspect, it would be just as overwhelming if we decided to get pregnant (perhaps more overwhelming that way since the newborn phase is incredibly taxing).

It's just a very different mindset, this choosing to have another child. With Poe and Griff I spent most of my pregnancies in a quasi state of shock. There was no "Is this the right time? How will this affect our family dynamic? Can we afford a child?" - we just coped because, well, we had to. And it was ok - while the babies weren't planned, they were most certainly loved and we cannot imagine life without them. I honestly wouldn't change things (I know I'm supposed to say that), I mean, I would change some things. I would change Griffin's sleep habits. I would change Penelope's desire to potty train. I would hire a maid if I could. But those are little things (ok, the sleep thing is kinda big, at least while we're in the thick of it), but you know what I mean.

And I know. I know that when we've finished the adoption process; when we have three beautiful children; when we've all adjusted to life as a 5-some; when we're all reading together before bed, or opening presents on Christmas morning, or having breakfast together, or singing songs in the car, or making another of the 1,000,000 memories we'll share that B & I will know that what we did was the right thing for us, for our family, for our kids. We'll know that the hoops were worth it, that tantrums in surround sound are fleeting, that our life is best measured in hugs rather than in account balances.

We'll get there. We're close to being there. But we're not quite there yet.

Also? My baby girl is not a baby anymore:

2011-11-04T05:54:00.001-07:00

Was a 5 (or was it 6?) wakings night... But they all were relatively short lived and he went back to sleep with some shushing and patting. Better. Not great.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Last night...

Well, we survived the Rapture

2011-11-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it, the Rapture was supposed to happen a few weeks ago. So congrats, you survived. Or maybe, sorry you're still here?

Anyway, updates.

We have a new daycare provider (DCP). We liked our old day DCP, but she moved and it was the perfect (albeit stressful) opportunity to find something a little more structured. And we did! Monica's Daycare is run a lot more like school-prep with plenty of outside play, arts and crafts, and... potty training! We actually haven't started Poe on the PT wagon quite yet, but we will soon.

She, of course, loves her new daycare. She loves making new friends, she loves spending all day with kids her age, she loves the structure and the learning activities. I honestly don't know if there's anything she doesn't love. She wakes every morning with a cheery "Good morning Mommy! Good morning Daddy! Good morning Bubba! Good Morning Harley!". She calls strangers in parking lots and grocery stores her "best friend".

This isn't to say that she's always this cheery, friendly, and lovey. She has bad days. But overall? She is my sunshine.

Our favorite game is to ask each other "guess what?.... I LOVE YOU!"

She's also taken to asking us about our days over dinner. It is adorable. "Hey B, how was your day?" is perhaps the sweetest and funniest thing I hear her say every day. Or "Mama, how was your sleep?" Or "Bubby, did you have a good nappy?"

Speaking of the Bubs, Monster has been regressing with his sleep, which SUCKS. I mention this because he's now awake and I have to run and get him.

I know, I know

2011-10-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

It's been ages. Well, at least it feels like ages.

Part of the reason I haven't posted is because I (we) are crazy-busy. Homecoming just wrapped up this weekend and as Frosh class adviser I spent a fair amount of time dedicated to the whole process. Not nearly as much time as some other staff members though - yeesh - Homecoming is a time consuming monster.

The other reason is that blogger is blocked when I'm logged into my school e-mail. So even at home I have to switch G-Mail accounts in order to access this page. Not a super big deal, but with me being a. busy and b. lazy, it really hampered any serious blogging.

Not like I'm going to get into much serious blogging anyway - it's almost 9:30 and I have my plans finished, have half of my grading done, and I'm exhausted. My bed is seductively calling my name, but I wanted to get at least a few things down first.

Griffin is 18 months old - a whole year and a half! He's been celebrating this by sleeping slightly better (thankyouFSM), adding a few new words to his vocab (remote, moo, sorry), and climbing. On everything. I posted his growth charts to Facebook, but he's 95% for height (as always) and 50-ish% for weight (as always). He's tall and lean - just like his Daddy. His curls are coming in quite nicely and he's very close to rockin' the Billy Cyrus mullet. Still haven't gotten him a haircut and I'm not planning on it anytime soon. I love his mop.

Poe is fast approaching 3... going on 18. She's into the back-talking phase (although if she's anything like her mother that's not really a phase). She is also the nice police. Bryan and I have a habit of playfully smacking each other on the rear. Penelope does not like this and will often say (mostly to me, since Daddy is her favorite). "Stop that. Be nice and no hitting or you will sit in a time-out!" So now we sneak in our love-smacks while she's not looking.

We also tattle on each other to her. Which just goes to show how incredibly mature we both are at all times. :) She enjoys scolding us I think.

She is also big into singing now. She's seems to be constantly singing... the ABC's, some Princess song, The Wheels on the Bus, and Itsy-Bitsy Spiderman... it goes like this:

The itsy bitsy Spiderman went up the water-spout
Down came the rain and washed Spiderman out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy Spiderman went up the spout again!

So hilarious.

I briefly mentioned Homecoming above - and I want to revisit it at some point because Pen got to be in the Homecoming parade. G and I were in it as well, but it was just so we could sit with her and the other Princesses (Disney theme). She dressed as Belle and had a grand time waving to everyone and shouting "hello people! Happy Homecoming!"

She was supposed to be in the halftime show with the other girls, but it ran too far past bedtime and she had had enough. So we bowed out and she went home and fell asleep about 2 seconds after she lay down.

I have lots of pictures and I promise to try to post them soon.

There is really so much more... but I now that I'm actually sitting down to type I can't remember any of it.

Hopefully things settle down a little and I can find more time to post. I miss chronicling all that the kids do.

Lets talk for a minute about schedules

2011-10-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

I've been complaining a lot on Facebook about BTSA. It's a program for new teachers that is supposed to support new teachers. Sounds good huh?

Well, it's not. It is, in fact, the one thing that is stressing me out to the point of tears. Mostly because it is incredibly time consuming... your first year of teaching is time consuming anyway - what with all the planning, grading, adjusting, evaluations, working on things like classroom management and effective lesson planning, trainings, and that little thing called a family (and this is the short list). Add in mounds of paperwork (the relevance of which is not entirely clear) and mandatory meetings and seminars, and you have one time-sucking program.

I have an "assignment" due on the 7th. In addition to some collaborative logs which were due Friday that I didn't complete. The logs are apparently due every month, but that was not made clear at the beginning of this whole process. In fact, little was actually made clear at the beginning, which is why I find the whole thing so stressful and supremely annoying.

Here's my daily weekday schedule. Let's see if we can find some time in it where I should have worked on BTSA instead of something else.

M-F
5:30am - wake up, shower, eat, dress, make lunch
6:30am - leave for work
6:45am - arrive at work, grade, respond to e-mail, make copies, write objectives on the boards of my multiple classrooms
8am - school starts
10am - prep period: make copies, grade papers, input grades, respond to e-mails
12:05pm - lunch: eat, grade, respond to e-mails, attend the occasional meeting (at least two a week), give make-up tests, pee
2:50pm - school ends: meet with students, meet with teachers, check mailbox, respond to e-mails, organize my rolling cart for the next day, pack work into my satchel to take home.
3:30pm - go home (or supervise a Freshman flower party), pick up the kids
4pm - spend time with the kids, play outside, run errands
5pm - start dinner, do dishes
5:45 or 6pm - eat dinner
6:30pm - bath time
7pm - winding down with Kipper
7:30pm - reading time with Penelope, Bryan rocks Griffin
8pm - kids in bed, grading, responding to e-mail, updating grades, lesson planning, having a conversation with my husband
9:30pm - go to bed

So what do I do? Not grade? Not plan? Not spend time with my kids? Stay up until midnight and wake up at 4?

This month I have TWO seminars. Plus I'm supposed to use prep time to observe classes, have weekly meetings with my support teacher, and work on the next "module" which is an assessment of teaching. THE SAME THING I DID IN MY TEACHER CREDENTIALING PROGRAM.

I do not have any TIME.

Notice how no-where in that schedule is there time just for me. I check Facebook/Proboards/my personal e-mail in the morning while I shovel down my toast or in between grading essays. I do not exercise. I do not read for pleasure. This is why I haven't updated consistently since I started working. We recently joined the YMCA and I will be fitting in some exercise time at least once a week. We do have our weekends for family time - and I REFUSE to give that up for BTSA. Refuse.

My schedule is balanced for my job as a teacher. It will get better as I get further into teaching - there will be slightly less lesson planning and I'll become more efficient with my grading. But adding the paperwork for this "support" program into the mix throws it all off kilter. It means I give up my precious weekend time. It means I spend less time with my children. And I am not ok with this.

Nothing better

2011-10-02T18:29:00.001-07:00

Than singing loudly and dramatically to Disney Princess songs with the Poe.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I can't find our camera

2011-10-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

Not like I'd use it anyway, but our camera has been MIA since the move. It's probably in a box somewhere and FSM only know where the battery charger is.

I do have a camera on my iPad, and I've been using it really inconsistently to take pics of the kids and of life out here in sunny Salinas (and it has been sunny recently, today is as clear as a bell and in the mid 70s, it's gorgeous).

So I feel bad about the lack of picture posting but not bad enough to actually do something to remedy the situation.

Today we went to a health faire that our insurance put on - and got some free flu shots (not the kids, they didn't have the pediatric shots there or some other such nonsense) and picked up a bunch of fliers, half of which I promptly recycled when I got home. Half were actually useful though, so that's pretty good for a health faire.

I did the "free health screening" which I thought was going to be a bunch of nonsense but was actually marginally helpful so score on that front. My blood pressure is so low that the health technician looked at the cuff like something was wrong with it until I told her that I have always had super low blood pressure. Usually it's at 110/80 which is on the low side of normal, but today is was 98/60. It was like that all through my pregnancies (and no, I am NOT pregnant) and my midwives always asked me how I was able to do things like stand, let alone run after a toddler.All my cholesterol and blood sugar levels were in the excellent to normal range and the woman reviewing my paperwork gave me an "A+". My BMI is almost exactly where I wanted it to be. I'd like to knock off a smidge more, but I'm just happy it's back into the normal range.

This is an exciting post, isn't it?

On to the kids.

I have recently decided that Griffin is more wild animal than human being. He's taken to rolling around on the floor and attempting to scale the walls. He's part dog and part monkey, perhaps. However, his vocabulary is coming along quite nicely so I know that there's still human in there somewhere (underneath the layers of dried yogurt and oatmeal). There are hyenas that are neater than he is.

He goes in for his 18 month check up in less than two weeks. I can't believe he's already a year and a half old! And Penelope will be THREE in two months. WTF? Yeah, yeah, yeah, time flies, blah blah blah. I know. But holy crap.

My babies aren't really much of babies.And this is why I only feel the tiniest bit of guilt for enjoying the last time Griffin was sick because he would actually snuggle with me then. Don't judge. 99% of the time he's a blur of activity, so I try and enjoy the rare times when he's lovey... I should clarify. He's lovey a lot - the child loves to give hugs and kisses. But he does so with speed and he leads with his head. So while you get lots of kisses, you also get black eyes and bruised arms. Sick Bubby is a sunggly, gentle Bubby. He's also clingy and whiny, but hey - at least I get my snuggles.

Poe is... Poe. We have a new favorite game. She says "guess what?" I say "what?" she says "I love you!" - it is the best.game.ever.

She's also started really singing. The Little Mermaid song, the theme from Aladdin, the Spectacular Spiderman theme song... I promise we don't actually watch that much TV. Unless I need to do something like dishes or cleaning... ok, so we watch an hour a day. Which is more than I had planned on before they were born, but that always happens - you make grand plans and then they all go to pot. We could always move the TV to the garage, but I like winding down with Kipper every night or watching Spiderman on Saturday mornings. I like the occasional family movie night. I like being able to pee by myself. So the TV stays.

I think both kids are due for a tandem growth spurt. Griffin always eats like it's his last meal, but Pen has recently joined him in the "shovelinallyoucan" buffet. They took a three hour nap on Friday and then actually slept for almost 11 hours last night (not straight, Penny was up once and G was up twice). But that's still pretty good...

Griffin's sleep has been better, but he's still up at least once a night. I'm really looking forward to when that stops, but I'm not going to hold my breath. It'll happen when it happens.

I just looked at the clock. I should really start grading essays.

Sigh.

My students are not going to be happy with me on Monday. Some of them wrote decent papers but didn't address the prompt and I am slashing those grades. If you can't answer the question it doesn't matter how great your grammar is, KWIM?Ok, time to be productive.

The next chapter

2011-09-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

So I should really, really, really, really, really be finishing my sub plans for tomorrow. But I'm not.In part because ohmyholypasta that is boring - I've written way too many sub plans already this year for trainings and seminars and I'm tired of writing them. Luckily for my sub, my LAD kids are taking the CELDT and my Freshmen are typing in the library. Easy peasy (hopefully). So it's not like my plans have to be magically detailed. But I'm still not motivated to write them.The larger part of my reluctance to be productive is that I sooooooo owe you all a blog. It's been AGES since I posted last. I can't even remember what my last post was about. Probably about how weird or disgusting the youngest child is, because he's really weird and disgusting (in that sweet, endearing way).But you all deserve a real update and I have one to give you.We're adopting.Not today. Or even next week or next month. But today I talked with someone from a local adoption/foster agency and in November I'm going to attend an informational meeting so we can start the process. Ideally we'd have a new little Rodgers by *next* Christmas. So Poe will be 4, Griff will be 2.5, and NLR (new little Rodgers) will be...??? Our ideal age range is 3 or younger. So we'll see what the universe has in store for us.This has been something Bryan and I have talked about for awhile. And I don't want to put it off anymore - we have the love and the room (well, we need a bigger car, but that's an easy thing to fix). I've always wanted lots of kids, and three is our compromise. I also hate being pregnant with a passion of one thousand suns... plus I've finally lost all my baby weight. So this allows us to grow our family while preserving my sanity and my waist. My PPD with Griffin was pretty horrible, I don't want to go through that again. I also don't want to take off weeks and weeks of work. Obviously I'll take some time off when NLR joins our family so we can all have time to bond, adjust, and enjoy each other. But there's no "healing" time involved in adoption. No breastfeeding woes. No pads the size of life rafts.I'm sure it will come with it's own unique set of challenges, but I'm looking forward to facing those challenges as a family.I asked Penelope if she wanted a new brother or sister and she said "ummm... yes Mommy, I would please"Griffin just headbutted me. I take that as a yes.I'm really looking forward to it. Since both Poe & G were unplanned I never got the opportunity to anticipate or plan. We rolled with the surprise and were happy - but the intentionality of this process is a whole different animal. And the organizer in me loves it.So the process will not be fast. And I'm sure it will be stressful at times. We don't have any race/gender preferences. We do only want one (so no sibling groups), and for a variety of reasons we can't take a child with significant health issues.But we've made the first step, and I'm so very glad we have.

Boys are disgusting

2011-09-18T08:18:00.001-07:00

Exhibit A:

The other day I was taking a shower and G-Man was in the bathroom with me. I hear an odd splashing sound and peek out to see Griffin dip Bryan's toothbrush in the toilet and then brush his teeth with it.

Gross.

Exhibit B:

Griffin tends to spit up. Especially since he is in a constant state of motion even after he eats. This morning he spit up on the rug after having done a somersault about 2 minutes after eating. Immediately after he pukes he sticks his hand in it.

Exhibit C:

He routinely lifts the lid of the potty seat and either puts his hand or his foot in the pee-catching receptacle.

Gross. Boys are GROSS.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A difference of opinion

2011-09-03T19:07:00.001-07:00

Griffin and I don't always see eye to eye.

Case in point:

My idea of brushing his hair is sitting down (mostly still) for 10 seconds.

His idea of me brushing his hair is wiggling out of my grasp, crawling around on the floor while laughing hysterically as I mutter obscenities under my breath, shrieking with delight when he is recaptured, then flailing around like some sort of Pentecostal as I attempt to brush, and finally it ends with me giving up. This lasts about 6 minutes.

I have a feeling this won't be the only thing we disagree about as he grows up.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

No time, you get this

2011-08-30T21:32:00.001-07:00

Things are i.n.s.a.n.e. in the Rodgers household.

Mostly because I don't think I really grasped just how many meetings teachers are required to attend. There are even more your first year (although heaven forbid you become Dept Chair b/c you have a crazy # of meetings then). I literally have meetings twice a week. At least. Some at lunch, some afterschool. Today I had two. Tomorrow I have one. Tomorrow is also Back To School Night. Friday I have one. Oh! I forgot, I have two tomorrow since I have one before school AND at lunch.

Now, approx 25% of these meetings are my fault... i.e. I called them. And it's because I'm meeting with counselors/intervention specialists/SPED aids/students to work with those who are falling behind. I know, it's only week 3 (4?) but there are a few students who already need to play catch up. I want that to happen NOW instead of December 1st. So I bring a bit of this on myself.

The rest of the meetings are required but MOST of them are productive. So at least something is being accomplished or I'm discussing events/information that is relevant/directly impacts my teaching practice or my students. So thank goodness for those kinds of meetings... because I've been in useless meetings and they make me want to pull out my hair.

In kid-related news, I have decided that our children are geniuses. GENIUSES. Griffin can point to #s 1-9. He also has about 10 signs and 3 spoken words. And other than the fact that he's still not sleeping through the night and can throw a tantrum which can be seen from space, he's the sweetest boy child I have ever known. I'm totally unbiased.

I'm actually pretty impressed with his number recognition skills. I need to work on letters.

Penelope recites books from memory. Not joking. If she's NOT reading by her 4th birthday I'll be shocked. I wouldn't be surprised if she read much sooner than that. She can't throw a ball (she throws it behind her) but she'll read very early. Since she is my child, no one should be surprised. Bryan might argue that I still cannot throw a ball. (He'd be wrong. I can throw. Just not accurately or with any distance.)

Let's see... what else?

Poe has taken to saying "be careful with my body" when she is being roughhoused (is that a form of that word? Is it a verb or noun? Meh, whatever). It's pretty funny. I've taken to saying it as well, it's a good phrase.

Weaning is going ok. We nurse once a day - usually at 4am. I'm hoping that soon we'll give that one up (because hopefully he'll soon be sleeping at 4am). He's getting better with sleep as long as I'm NOT the one to put him to bed. Stinker.

Daycare is going well, the kids still like Stephanie and she's been teaching them Spanish and phonics. I'm glad it's working out... just one less thing to worry about.

Bryan is still working, the house is good, we're all ok. We had a fever scare last week that landed us in the ER but everyone is better. I turn 30 in 13-ish days (eep!) and will hopefully spend the weekend before my birthday on the beach.

More later. Maybe. Probably. I've been neglecting the blog and haven't been posting as often in some of my forums. I will be giving at least one up, I just don't have the time... and when I do have downtime I really need to spend it sleeping or spending as much time with B and the kids as I can. From what I have heard from many experienced teachers is that you need to find balance or else you burn out quickly. I'd like to retire as a teacher so I need to start pacing myself.

I'll start next week. Next week is better for that. M'kay?

Where does the time go?

2011-08-21T21:37:00.001-07:00

So we have all survived an entire week of work and daycare. In fact, most of us enjoyed the week and the new routine... Although we would all enjoy it a lot more if Griffin would decided that sleep is a worthwhile endeavor.

I haven't nursed him since 4am this morning, so we'll see. He hasn't asked to nurse yet, but since he prefers to nurse at night I'm expecting a few protests tonight. I have no idea if I will cave or hold firm. At 4am, nothing is certain.

Anyway, a full week has passed - already! Next thing you know it will be Labor Day, then my birthday, then Winter Break, then Spring Break, and then the end of the year. Ohmygoshyouguys the year is almost over!

This year I turn 30, Penelope turns 3, and Griffin will be 2. Bryan will also age, but since he looks perpetually 23 it doesn't matter if I post his age since no one will believe me. (he'll be 38)

So my question is, where does the time go? We celebrate our 4th anniversary this year. FOUR. I know that's nowhere near my parents 31 years, but I feel like we just got married. Now we have two kids and a car payment.

Speaking of weddings, I can officially fit into my little black dress from our wedding. It doesn't fit quite the same, but I can zip it. hooray! I don't think I can quite fit into the wedding dress though, I still need to lose 5ish more pounds. I'm 2 lbs away from having lost 40lbs since G's birth so I'm feeling pretty good about that. I could probably be doing better if I'd excise once in awhile. I think a few of us SHS staff are going to get together once a week for yoga, so that will help. It will also be nice to do something just for me and to cultivate some deeper friendships out here.

Speaking of work, I should head to bed so I can attempt as much sleep as Griffin will allow before work tomorrow. But before I sign off, here are some pictures of our trip to the aquarium this weekend.

And then one more of Sissy since I didn't get a ton of her at the aquarium

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

How you know...

2011-08-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

So, how do you know when your toddler has seen "The Little Mermaid" too many times?

When you're out to eat and the first thing she does upon sitting down at the table is exclaim "Look Mommy, a dinglehopper!" and the proceed to comb her hair with a fork.

Also overheard today:

"Hi, my name is Penelope and that is my mommy Jessica and I am two. What's your name?"

AND

"Mama, you're big and daddy is big but Bubby is little. (pause) And I'm little too"

Ok, so how did YOU wean?

2011-08-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

Last night was awful.

Griffin nursed to sleep at 8; woke up at 9:30 and nursed; woke up at 12:30 and I tried rubbing his back, rocking, singing, shhh'ing... it seemed to work at first, his eyes were still closed and he settled back down for a moment. But then? Then it was terrible, horrible, no good, and very bad. He screamed and flailed about like a child possessed. *sigh* Bryan took him at that point and gave him a bottle. He had a few ounces and eventually fell asleep. Then he was up AGAIN at 4:00, 5:30, and finally at 7:15.

I nursed him each subsequent waking for about 20 minutes - not like it helped since he woke up each time cranky, whiny, and on the verge of screaming. Which is what he's been like every night for the past.... 16 months?

If I would have nursed him during the Abyss (as I have taken to calling it) he would have fallen asleep, but he would have stayed attached for anywhere from 20-40 minutes in order to stay asleep. This is not ok. He is not an infant anymore and I cannot sleep while he nurses.

So if we're counting, that means that Bryan and I got less than 6 hours of sleep and no stretch longer than 2.5 hours.

The whole situation pretty much sucks.

And B and I are very much looking forward to next week when we'll be in Sacramento and my parents will have the kids for a night.

Weaning

2011-08-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

That is one daunting title, isn't it?

For the past few days, Bryan and I have been tossing around the idea of weaning Griffin. I've been thinking about it for a few weeks, but not seriously... and I think it's time to get serious. Griffin's sleep is terrible. It's not getting any better and I am at the limit of my ability to cope. I can no longer afford to sleep in until 7 or 8 after a difficult night, I'm up at 5:30 and go to bed at 10. I need him to sleep.

Also? He's become a bit of a monster. Tantrum throwing, banshee screaming, balled fists, crocodile tears, hyperventilation.... all when I leave his sight or when I tell him that it's not the time to nurse (since we don't nurse on demand anymore).

I know some of this tantrum throwing can be attributed to recent changes - the move, daycare, etc. And I know some of this tantrum throwing can be attributed to the age. Tantrums are pretty common when children can't express themselves fully - heck, I see it in high school when teens don't have the language/vocabulary to adequately express their emotions/opinions. They don't throw tantrums, but they certainly act out and get defiant and angry.

Anyway, G turns into a different, less pleasant, child when I'm around.

Common denominator in all of these areas? Nursing.

And so I think it is time. I'm just not quite sure how to go about it. Cold turkey? Slow decrease?

Although perhaps Griffin will make the decision for me, tonight he only asked to nurse once and didn't nurse to sleep. I don't think that's ever happened before. So perhaps, perhaps, this process will be relatively painless for everyone involved. Perhaps.

But I'm not going to hold my breath.

Refreshed

2011-08-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend was truly wonderful - for a lot of reasons, mostly though it was because we were able to spend so much time together as a family. Last weekend we were still so busy unpacking, the weekend before was the move, and prior to that I was working at HLC at least day each weekend so we only had one day during the weekend to be all together. Bryan's been swamped too, so he's been spending as much time as possible working. This weekend, while he and I both did a little bit of work (him more than me), we spent a lot of time doing fun (and free!) family activities.

But before I get into the weekend (with pictures!) I wanted to talk about daycare. Friday was the kids' first day in daycare and it went really, really well. Stephanie said they were great and Poe had such a good time that she didn't want to leave. She actually asked me twice this weekend to go play at Stephanie's house, so I think daycare is a hit. I'm sure both kids will have days when they don't want to go, but we've found a good fit I think. This week will be their full week in daycare and I don't really foresee any problems. So that's nice.

On to the weekend!

Friday night after picking the kids up we headed back to campus for the Freshman mixer. I saw a lot of my students, met a parent, and the kids got to play with some other teacher/admin toddlers. My principal has a daughter a month younger than Poe (and a baby boy that's due any day) and the activities director has a daughter the same age as the principal's daughter. The girls seemed to have a really good time together. Penelope was wearing her Princess crown, so one of the little girls kept calling her Princess... as in "hey Princess! Come here Princess!" So cute.

Saturday G and I woke up early and took a mommy/son trip to Seaside for teacher appreciation day at Staples. It was nice to spend some time with him one on one and I think he enjoyed it as well. Afterward B and I talked about the beach or the Aquarium, but decided to get a small start on the backyard. Our backyard is basically an L shaped dirt run. Not super wide, but not super narrow. Semi divided in two. All dirt.

Since we live in the "salad bowl" I decided that I'd really like to start a garden. We're not planning on being in this place for years, but I know almost nothing about gardening and so am considering this my starter garden. When we own a place out here a few years down the line then my experiences with this garden will help me design my permanent garden.

So we picked a spot and got to digging. The plot will end up being 13' x 6' - so not huge, but decent sized. We got rid of all the top soil (like my handy dandy gardening for dummies website suggested) and did a bit of tilling. It took a little while to get the soil removed so we didn't till it all. We'll probably rent a small roto tiller in a couple of weeks and get the rest done. We're also considering putting sod on one side of the yard so we have a place to come out and sit/play, but I don't want to get too ambitious.

After lunch and naps we unpacked the office (finally). We also did an early dinner/bath so we could all watch a movie together downstairs. It was a nice homebody day. At one point Bryan took Penny for a bike ride and I took Griffin and the dog for a walk, but in general we stayed at home and just enjoyed being together.

Sunday we were more ambitious. The beach topped our list, followed by shopping, lunch, naps, a bike ride to the grocery store, dinner, the park, and finally baths and bed. Here's some beach pictures.

Ok, so this picture has to be explained... Griffin was digging trenches with his head. Yes, you read that right. I have no idea why. I have some video, will upload it later

So yeah, we had fun. Penelope was all about running up and down the beach. She ran with Harley and I for awhile and then ran for a long stretch with Bryan and Harley - that child loves to run. She also loves the beach, who can blame her?

Griffin and I buried each others feet and I made sand castles that he knocked over. He was all about immersing himself in the sand.

Neither child was brave enough to put their toes in the ocean :) I was! And Harley, of course, she loves the beach more than all of us combined.

I wish I had more pictures of the park, but we were too busy having fun. The kids spent some time in the swings, I swung... we played tag as a family, we climbed on the playground equipment. The park itself is small, but I LOVE having a park less than 2 blocks away. The library is also super close, less than a block. And I bike to school, it's only 1.5 blocks away. Love.

We did some light grocery shopping as well, just enough to fit in the back of the bike trailer. It is wonderful that I can take the kids to the grocery store on my bike. It is amazing that I can go days without getting into a car.

I do wish our daycare provider lived a little closer so I could ride my bike, but alas she does not. She's on the other side of town and while I could technically ride my bike, parts of that ride are just not safe for cyclists. Oh well. Even with that daily ride, we haven't had to put gas in the car since 8/5, which is a record for us.

Tomorrow starts the first full week of school and I feel ready. I still have some planning to do for the week and a few copies to make in the morning, but I feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle my 6th period... I thought 6th period last year was an anomaly of energetic and... challenging kids, but apparently that's just 6th period. My group this year is a level up from last year's group (and I mean a level up in challenge). Things should get even more interesting when they shuffle schedules around after this next round of placement testing (long story). But I'm ready for them. Bring it on LAD B!

Names

2011-08-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

So, Tina Fey named her new baby girl Penelope.

I am of two minds about this news.

1. I love that name! Great minds think alike!

2. *&%$@#$%^! Now everyone and their sister will name their daughters Penelope. I purposefully chose names for my children that were uncommon. Names that I loved and we're not on the top 100 list of baby names the FIVE years prior to their birth. I am one of 1,000,000,000,000 Jessica's and while the name itself is fine, I hated being one of the 2 or 3 Jessica's in my class. I was always Jessica B. It sucked. The upside was no one every misspelled or mispronounced my name, but it wasn't until adulthood that I can to appreciate this small upside.

Penelope is a wonderful name. It's beautiful, it has a great literary history, it's historical. It was also #946 on the list of 1,000 in 2001, #359 in 2008 (when Poe was born), and #200 last year. &$#!#$^%#@.

At least, if she's one of a dozen Penelope's at her school, she'll probably be the only Penny Lane.

Day One: Check

2011-08-10T20:41:00.001-07:00

I survived day 1.

And it actually went pretty well. There were some pitchy spots, but nothing went wrong and by the third class I had my rhythm down and was much more comfortable and had a lot more fun. The kids did too, the first day is always a combination of fear and boredom for a lot of students - especially Freshmen. And I have A LOT of Freshman.

I haven't decided if this means our Principal likes me or hates me ;)

Moving around wasn't fun, but it worked as well as it could have. I have a few things to add to my rolling cart to make things a bit easier and it helps that the teachers I share classrooms with are all great to work with. We all teach 9th grade English at some point in our days, so we're working on closely pacing our classrooms and using similar materials so that we can maximize our time and energy (among other things). Our school is really big on PLCs (professional learning communities) and I am embracing the collaboration. It's great to have common pacing and curriculum guides so that we're a more cohesive department and all of our students needs are met. I was lucky enough to have worked at a PLC based school for my student teaching as well. In fact, my mentor teachers at ML are so super collaborative that they've offered to share materials with me even though I'm not on their site. They are teh awesome.

So yes, day one is complete.

Day two and day three are going to be pretty standard across the board and (unfortunately) not very exciting. Procedures need to be explained and mandatory testing needs to be done so we can get it out of the way and move on to the fun stuff. Next week should be much more exciting for the students - and for myself - as I get to delve into the short stories and start teaching lessons with GRR & CM (Gradual Release of Responsibility and Constructing Meaning). I'll get fully trained in both this year, but I've gotten the teaser training and some plans. It's pretty great stuff - google it if you want to know more.

I'll try and post more about each specific class later... but I have some organizational stuff to do and I'd love to get to bed before 10. Even though this is a short school week, it's a busy one!

Oh, and the kids start daycare on Friday - next week we're full time, but our first day is Friday. We were lucky enough to find a home daycare run by someone I really, really like. I got a great vibe from her and I think the kids will do well. Her set-up isn't ideal (apartment complex) but Bryan, the kids, and I all liked her, she's bilingual (which I LOVE), and the kids will interact with children their own age and a bit older. It's not set up like a preschool, but that will come eventually. Poe will actually be in preschool next year so that will be another fun hunt.

I do want to write a post on weaning since I'm thinking about starting that process. I have some seriously conflicting feelings that all seem to depend on which way the wind is blowing. Seriously. I love breastfeeding, but this weaning business sucks.

The First Day of School

2011-08-09T21:07:00.000-07:00

Is tomorrow. Although if you're reading this on Facebook then it already happened since FB doesn't usually update the blog feature quickly. Anyway. For me, as I type this, the first day of school is tomorrow.

My mom asked me if I was excited. I don't know if that's the right word. Overwhelmed isn't the right word either. My Principal is excited. I know a few teachers who are overwhelmed and one who is slightly terrified.

Me? I feel... purposeful. I'm a good teacher, one day I'd like to be a great teacher. I work at it, I adjust, I get feedback, I am flexible, I am organized, I apparently love the comma. I have been presented with a challenge that has been complicated by sharing three rooms instead of just having one classroom. But I've done that before, so it's not like I can't handle the logistics.

I can do this. I'm just ready.

Well, except for my seating charts... and definite textbook check-out days for LAD B... and emergency sub plans... and Monday warm-ups... and...

But tomorrow? Yeah, I got this.

So I'm ready. Prepared. Focused.

Excited? Not really. I'm not unexcited. I think, perhaps, in order to get to the emotion of excited you have to be able to have all the details in place or be able to ignore or gloss over the details - which is difficult for me to do. So I don't really get excited very often, I just get busy organizing or planning.

Speaking of which, I need to organize my briefcase & pack my lunch so I have less to do in the morning. Since the remote hook-up to the student database is currently glitchy on my end, I need to get in early and mess with my seating charts... and double check to make sure my copies are in my box. And and and...

Being a teacher is a lot like being a mom. You're never really done.

My seahorse

2011-08-07T14:22:00.001-07:00

We all know that seahorse daddies do all the baby-gestating work. And while Bryan wasn't able to actually gestate and birth our wonderful children, he is an incredibly involved father. Compared to a significant number of daddies in the US, Bryan is pretty sea horse-eque.

And now, he is literally a sea horse daddy.

Best moment at the Aquarium that day.

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A little bit about the move

2011-08-01T21:17:00.001-07:00

We have moved. We have (mostly) unpacked. We are exhausted.

The move itself went well thanks to family and friends who came out to help us load up the truck and clean up (and unload too). Shout outs to Bryan's grandparents who generously let us use their trailer, my parents for keeping the kids out from underfoot, my brother for being excellent manual labor, and Lee, Adam, Michael, and Jenny for coming out and braving the heat to help us load up. You are all wonderfully awesome and we are eternally grateful.

...goodbye North Highlands...

...hello Salinas!

As you can see we are not quite fully unpacked and we have also decided that now is a great time to introduce our youngest to manual labor.

Today was my first day of new teacher "training" which had both very useful and rather boring parts. It was mostly very useful. I'll be in various trainings until Friday, which we have off, and then start in service workdays next week and will start school on Wednesday.

I finally have my schedule and I have two preps, 3 periods of freshman English and 2 periods of ELD (English language development). I'm both excited and nervous. What I am NOT excited about is having 3 classrooms. It is an unfortunate reality that there are just not enough classrooms and so a few of us teachers have to share. S for my first two periods I'm on the move (the classrooms are across the hallway from each other) and them I'm upstairs in one classroom for my last three periods. Not bad, but not ideal. Maybe next year I'll get a room of my own, for now I'm happy to have a job in my field less than a year after getting my credential.

More later, I hope. The kids are asleep (and made the transition beautifully) and I should take advantage of it and go to sleep as well. Have to be up at 6 now!

PS, I get three weeks for Winter Break. Suh-weet.

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Daycare

2011-07-28T21:35:00.001-07:00

Next week we have the unenviable task of looking for daycare for the kiddos. Fortunately we have my brother for awhile to fill in the gaps until we find something, but I'm really not looking forward to the whole process. I've made a few calls and scheduled a few appointments but even though the providers sound nice over the phone, I still feel nervous about leaving my kids with strangers.

I know that I am not the first or the last mom to feel this way, I'd bet 99% of moms feel the same when choosing a daycare provider they haven't known for years... So I'm in good company.

Then someone had the gall to tell me that they'd never put their kids in daycare because they "didn't want someone else to raise their kids" and THEN they said that it was "ok" that moms who "have to work" use daycare because they had a "valid excuse". Yeah. That actually happened.

Bryan and I raise our kids. Daycare does not. Period. Parents who work because they love it and not because they have economic need raise their kids. Parents who have to work because of economic need raise their kids. While I am sure a few shitty parents out there really don't do much parenting when their kids aren't at daycare, those parents are not the norm and assuming they are is some ridiculously twisted logic. If daycare providers are "raising" your kids then so are their school teachers, coaches, and summer camp counselors. No one talks about how 4th grade teachers are "raising" their students, so why do they insist that the daycare lady (or man!) is? It's just bull.

So anyway, now we have to figure out questions to ask and I have to worry about things like "what new 'fun' words will my kids pick up?" "how often will they get sick now?" "what will happen if someone bites my child, or if my child bites someone?" "how can I be sure my kids are never spanked?" "what ideas or concepts will my child learn that I don't sanction?"

There are a lot more.

A lot.

I can't choose a religious daycare because I don't want my kids exposed to religion just yet. They will be eventually it would be impossible to hide it and I have no desire to do so, but it will be something we discuss as a family and not something that they are told is absolute truth when mommy's not around. I have no problem if my children decide to be religious one day, but that day isn't today nor is it tomorrow. I have a feeling most religious parents feel the same way about Atheism. Which is fine, it's a parents prerogative to raise their children with or without religion.

I also need to find a daycare that feels the same way about discipline as I do. i.e. No spanking, ever. We do not spank and I feel very strongly that spanking is both ineffective and counterproductive. It's not legal to spank a non-consenting adult, so why do we spank kids? Hitting is justified when? In the boxing ring and in self defense, neither of which apply to disciplining a child. Of all of the kids I have witnessed receive a spanking during my time working with at risk families, all of them have turned around a hit someone or something else within a few minutes of their punishment. ALL. They hit their siblings, pets, walls, toys, friends, and some have even tried to hit their parents. Not good. So we're a no spanking household. I have yet to personally see it be an effective form of punishment and most studies out there back me up on this one.

Then we get to call references and I have to refrain from asking for fingerprints and background checks for the workers and the parents of all the other kids. Because I'm crazy like that.

I'm sure we'll find a good place, nay, a great place. I'm sure the kids will love it. I'm sure I will cry buckets.

I'm sure that when they're 30 and looking for daycare for their own kids, they will feel the exact same way.

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I cried today

2011-07-27T21:35:00.001-07:00

So today was the first time I got emotional about our move. Ive been so incredibly busy since I got offered the job (2 weeks ago!) that I haven't really stopped to let myself do much processing... But today it hit me, in two days we will be leaving Sacramento and all of our family and friends.

Hopefully my parents won't be too far behind us, because we will miss them terribly. Luckily my brother will be spending a few weeks down with us to keep an eye on the munchkins while we search for a daycare that meets my probably unrealistic expectations.

And I know, like I've said in another post, that we'll make new friends. But I really like the ones we have now and I will miss them so much it makes my stomach hurt a little. Penelope will miss them. Griffin will miss them. Bryan will miss them.

But I think I'll miss them most. Mostly because Penelope's memory is rather short. And also because these women helped keep my sane, they donated breast milk to my babies, watched the kids when I was student teaching, were a source of reassurance about whatever parenting issues were on the table, gave me an excuse (nay reason) to leave the house, passed on ideas and tricks, brought over food after G was born, let us borrow toys/clothes, and gave this SAHM a chance to talk to a rational adult during the day.

I hope that the move doesn't mean that I will lose touch with these extraordinary women, thanks to Facebook we will hopefully "see" each other and I've given them all an open invitation to come down and visit (the aquarium isn't more than 20 minutes from us!).

But it's still hard to leave them even though I am so incredibly excited about teaching and living in a new place.

Today was the last Wednesday playgroup that we attends (hence this pst and the tears on the drive home)... And here are some pictures of our crazy and wonderful babies.

Poe and Orson

Griffin and Olivia

Penny and Olivia

Gus

Gus, Angelina, Orson, Oli, Ava, Penny, Griffin, Alina, and Linden (with Mama Alisha). Not pictured, Maddox and Jude. Our friends who didn't make today's group are: Sophia, Elli, Will, Jackson, and Lucy (and their mommies of course). Also? 4 new babies are due in the next few months!

Kim took more pictures and they're probably better ones since a) she uses a real camera and b) she's a much better photographer than I am.

I will miss my mommies!

Tomorrow: the zoo, a visit to my moms work, and dinner with my grandparents. Friday is our last gymnastics class and then we load everything up!

A post on Penny's last dance class will be forthcoming.

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Pre move weekend

2011-07-24T20:49:00.001-07:00

It was a busy weekend... My parents took the kids from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon (and hosted the garage sale, which my grandma was gracious enough to man) so Bryan and I could do the bulk of the packing. We got a least 75% of the house packed, but looking at what's left the number may be closer to 85%. The kids have a few toys and clothes out, I still have some clothes, and we have all our toiletry stuff still to pack... We also kept the TV up and Bryan's computer and desk since he will need that all this week for work.

But everything else is in a box, or at the dump, or at the Goodwill. We may need to make one more dump run because we're getting rid of a lot of stuff. I probably could have tossed more, but I'm a little sentimental. I'm keeping the hats my midwives knitted for the kids, all my old journals (dating back to Junior High), my brownie sash, Conco hardhat, and other miscellaneous items that I never use but couldn't bear to throw away. So a fair amount will stay in boxes until my children have the unenviable take of sorting through it all after I'm dead.

Some they'll love, like my mom's prom dresses or the crystal flutes from our wedding; and some will make them scratch the heads, like college essays and notebooks. But I cant get rid of it.

Some of what I have can be called heirlooms, but most is just sentimental... The journal I made during grief counseling after my grandfather died, a scrap of paper he had written on before his death, his nametag... I h ave a note my junior high school boyfriend passed me in class. And a comic a friend drew, and a flask of my uncles, and handkerchief of my great grandmas.

I have a ridiculous scrapbook I made of the first 6 months of my and Bryan's courtship, including movie tickets from our first date and the boarding passes from our trip to Hawaii.

In sorting through all the stuff, I decided that I am a hoarder of good memories. Even my grief journal is a good memory. The bad stuff I tossed, an apology letter from an ex is one of the things I threw away.

I love the life Bryan and I are making together. I love packing it up into boxes and taking it to some place new where we can watch it grow. I will love unpacking it and arranging it in our new home, the first place we ever decided to live together (since he owned this house before we met). And I will love accumulating new memories that I will hoard and fondly pack away the next time we move.

So happy packing to all my friends who are also moving, may our journeys be safe, fun, and full of love.

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7 Days to Salinas

2011-07-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

In just 7 days we will be moving to breezy Salinas, CA. For those who are unfamiliar with California's geography, that's about 10ish miles inland from the Monterey Bay area. The house we've rented is about 7 miles from the beach, a 5 minute car ride.

I was offered a job with Salinas Union High School District, teaching English at Salinas High. The school itself is beautiful, it was redone a few years back. I'm still not sure exactly what grades I'll be teaching, I should find that out August 1st when I start the New Teacher Institute (sounds fun, huh?).

School starts August 10th, so we have little time to pack, move, and I have precious little time to plan. It's both exciting and stressful. I'm really looking forward to having my own classroom... I'm also looking forward to a change in scenery (i.e. weather).

We'll miss our friends terribly though. I'm sure we'll all be able to make new friends, but it will be hard to leave everyone. I think Penelope will have the roughest time with the transition, she *loves* her friends and talks about them all the time. Orson-this, Sophia-that, Linden, Lucy, Gus, Maddox, Ava, Will... the list goes on.

This next week will be the last time we'll be able to go to play groups, meet up at the zoo, and just hang out. I plan on taking as many pictures as possible. You know, in between all the packing.

I will attempt to take and post as many pictures of the move and the new house as I can...

Friends

2011-07-20T21:12:00.001-07:00

A picture post. I have a real, lengthy, post brewing all about my new job and our upcoming move but for now, lots of pictures.

Gus, Orson, and Griffin playing with water.

Griffin after attempting to eat the (thankfully) non-toxic paints

Gus on the horse swing

Orson, Penelope, and Ava holding hands as they and Gus ran circles around baby Angelina

Baby Angelina is the calm in the center of the storm

From last weekend (family reunion):

Griffin with his cousin Payton

Some sibling love

Me with cousin Chloe

Penny dancing with Caitlyn

Family!

A very tired Bucky (my parents new dog)

Griffin and Chloe playing

One sacked-out Penelope on the drive home

This spot is about 7 miles from our new house :)

We move in less than 2 weeks!

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Walking in Mommy's shoes

2011-07-10T17:58:00.001-07:00

So I realize that letting her walk through the pile of toys could have easily resulted in a sprained ankle, but it didn't. So the video is amusing rather than tragic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRJEHoLy1Zg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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Spaghetti Boy

2011-07-07T21:39:00.001-07:00

Some pictures.

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Something must be wrong with me

2011-07-01T21:51:00.001-07:00

I have vacuumed and swept the floors three times this week. Three. That's more than they've been cleaned in the last month (and, if I'm being honest, the last two months). I also moped, but I only did that once.

Why? I have no idea, but I have two theories. One: the closer I get to 30 the more I become my mother. She is the Queen of Clean. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, unlike many women I know, turning into my mother is not an insult. Two: my mom has been gone for a week and I miss her, so I have been trying to channel her energy by eliminating dust bunnies.

It could also be that the kids (i.e. Griffin) are finally old enough to be able to entertain themselves and not be underfoot while I do some chores.

Mind you, sweeping and moping is as far as it has gone. I haven't done anything radical like clean the bathtub. I have done dishes, but I can't really get away with NOT doing the dishes. I've done laundry and diapers too. I'm practically a homemaker. Tomorrow I'm baking a cake for my brothers birthday party, I shall wear an apron in honor of the occasion.

And Griffin, while terrified of the vacuum, is in love with the broom. In.love. He's actually rather helpful, he gets the dust pail and actually attempts to place it on the floor while I sweep up the massive amounts of dog hair. It's sweet.

I'll try and get a picture of him "helping", it just hasn't been convenient to pick up the camera while cleaning.

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Amy is 30!

2011-06-27T20:21:00.001-07:00

One of my best friends, who I've known since the 2nd grade, just turned 30. So this weekend we headed over to Oakley to celebrate. Here are some pics.

My mom with the kids...

Griffin in sissy's princess sunglasses

Amy and the kids and I

Cake face!

So happy birthday Amy!

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Mud

2011-06-24T13:09:00.001-07:00

Today we spent the morning at a park with my LC's weekly play group. She (my LC) had one of her sons there and he graciously offered to watch toddlers while the mommies (and a dad) sat in the shade and chatted about everything from latches to diaper rash to iPads. The kids had fun (as you will see from the pictures) and I did as well. We've gone to the group a few times, but I m going to try and make it more of a regular outing. The park has a great shady spot and they have swings and a play structure (for Sac area natives, it's East Portal Park).

The park also has a malfunctioning sprinkler head (or a drainage issue) because it was MUDDY.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

As you can see, Griffin spent much more time IN the mud. He required an outfit change and a good dose of water. Penelope just got her feet a little dirty.

I can't really complain, they were having fun and being supervised. A little mud (or a lot) isn't going to hurt and was most definitely worth it to be able and sit and have a conversation with adults without constantly checking in with the kids.

So everyone wins. Except Griffin's socks, which will never be white again.

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Sunday

2011-06-20T06:48:00.001-07:00

Father's Day was today and it was pretty wonderful. Even though I had to work for a dew hours, we all had a really great day. We went to see a Rivercats game with my parents (local AAA baseball team, A's affiliate, playing the Giants affiliate).

One of the great things about Raley Field is the lawn seating. For $7 you can sit in the grass and watch the game. It's cheap, the seats are pretty good, and the kids can run around a bit. My parents, Bryan, and the kid got there early enough to get pretty good shade. I got there about an hour after first pitch and the kids did well enough to stay for the entire game. Griffin nursed the second he saw me and slept for most of the rest of the game.

Penelope made some new friends, most notably a little boy named Hunter who was 5 and with whom she had a few tickle fights.

The love of my life :)

Daddy and baby girl

My parents with Bubby

With my babies

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Ok, one more time

2011-06-20T06:47:00.001-07:00

Blogger has crashed twice on me and I think it's because I'm posting too many pictures at once. So we will try this one day at a time.

Saturday. Chloe's 2nd birthday party!

My mom reading to Griffin and Chloe.

Me and the "babies"

Piano playing toddlers!

I don't have any pictures of Penelope from that day. She spent 90% of her time in the pool with my mom. She was in love with the water; Griffin, not so much. I don't think he liked the cool water on his man-bits.

Everyone had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed spending time with family that I don't get to see very often, and the kids all had fun with each other. I have some really amazing cousins that I grew up with and I would really like for the kids to get to know their really amazing cousins. I applied for a job in Chico, so maybe they'll get a chance :)

Ok, so hopefully blogger won't eat this.

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A little bit of this, and a lot more of that

2011-06-17T21:29:00.001-07:00

I've actually been meaning to post for awhile now, but I've been caught up in reading during any spare moment. If you know me well then you'll know how...consumed I can become with a book. It doesn't even have to be a good book, I've spent plenty of time voraciously reading some really terrible books.

Last week I signed up for "Reading Adventure" at work, which is a summer reading program for our students that comes with a t-shirt and a pizza party at the end of the year. Under the guise of "motivating the kids" I signed up to read 8 books this summer, which is lower than my pre-child summer reading but much, much higher than anything I've been able to accomplish post-children. In fact, other than text books, I don't think I've had the opportunity to read 8 books since Penelope's birth. This is unusual for me.

Although having spent a good part of the day today trying to squeeze in as much reading time as possible, it's not hard to see why I haven't read much lately. The kids, of course, take up a lot of my time, but I also get reading tunnel vision and tend to neglect things when I'm reading. Things like eating, chores, and changing diapers.

I have read two books in the last three days, but the house is a disaster and the laundry isn't moving itself. Also? My kids would like to play with me. So no new book for a couple of days.

We did go out today, it was really lovely day. Not nearly as hot as it had been, and since Griffin decided 6am was the perfect time to wake up we were out of the house before 9. I took a chance on Fairytale Town, which can be kind of a crapshoot on Fridays. The zoo is always crazy-busy those days so FTT seemed like a slightly safer bet. It was pretty empty and the munchkins were able to run around rather freely.

Penelope made some new friends, one 4 year old and a pair of 6 year old girls. One girl taught her how to play duck-duck-goose and the older girls all pretended to be princesses in Cinderella's carriage (the carriage was real, this is Fairytale Town after all). All in all the kids had a good time and both took decent naps, which is good because the boy-child has been super clingy and I needed a break.

Here are some pictures from the day.

Penelope on the stage... She insisted on going up there and "dancing". In this picture she's saying "look at me mama!" *sigh* I think shell be ready for her first dance recital this August.

Crawling in the cheese (from The Cheese Stands Alone)

On Jack and Jill's hill fetching some water

In other news, I've slowed down on potty training because I am lazy.

Griffin is sort of sleeping better; for two nights he's only been up once. I'm not holding my breath. The books did say it might take a month of new routines/techniques before they were consistently effective. So we'll see. As long as we don't get any repeats of The Night From Hell then we should be ok. I still really look forward to Saturday nights when my parents have the kids because I get a least 8 solid hours of sleep. I miss my babies in the morning, but I do not miss 2am wake up calls in the slightest.

One of my oldest and dearest friends turned 30 in February. Another one of my oldest and dearest friends turns 30 next week. And the third oldest and dearest friends turns 30 a week before I turn 29 (again). Where the heck has the time gone? I swear to you that it was just last week my mom and I were getting ready to go see NKOTB for my 10th birthday. (FTR I have exactly three oldest and dearest friends. I have known Amy since the 4th grade, Christina since the 7th grade, and Meagan since the 9th grade).

Oh! For whatever reason that reminds me of some funny Penelope-isms. She's has become rather obsessed with "princess music" and so we listen to a lot of Disney soundtracks, especially The Princess and the Frog since it's fun and jazzy, even Griffin likes it (I have video of a naked Griffin rocking out but I won't post it online, next time you see me, ask and I'll show it to you). Penelope is now fond of saying "mama, I'm almost there!" and "I got to dig a little deeper!" and "mama, I'm a princess." yes honey, yes you are.

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Bestest daughter ever

2011-06-13T20:14:00.001-07:00

There a lot of reasons why Penelope is the bestest daughter ever (even though she drives me batty sometimes). Here are just a few:

1. She is currently in bed (she was put to bed at 7:30, it is now 8:05) reading the Star Wars ABC book to herself and her "friends" aka Jessie and Woody. She is getting 90% of the words right.

2. When Griffin was crying earlier today she came up to him, gave him a hug, and handed him a stuffed dinosaur (Rex from Toy Story). When that didn't make him stop crying, she put the head of the Rex near his face and said "rawr" which made him laugh. She then kissed him and said "it's awright bubba, you gonna be ok".

3. Yesterday she came up to me, gave me a hug and said "I love you baby girl".

4. Everywhere we go she calls random strangers her friends and after introducing herself tells them "I love you!" or "thanks for coming" when we part ways.

5. Even though she fought me at bath time and screamed like she was being murdered when I tried to wash her hair, she gave me a huge hug and a kiss after I put on her pajamas and told me she loved me.

6. She helped me clean up the living room and her room...and was actually helpful.

I could go on, because she's really awesome. And not just in the way that a mom naturally thinks her kids are awesome. She's objectively awesome. Pretty much the best daughter ever, excepting me of course ;)

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You should see this

2011-06-13T16:40:00.001-07:00

Because it is hilarious

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pjXMYd3xco

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Potty Training... do I have to?

2011-06-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

So we've started potty training. I've been meaning to do this for months, but Penny hasn't really been ready. And although I keep saying that I am ready, I'm really not. Because it's a lot of work. Like, a lot.

Saturday she peed on the potty 4 times, and it took a considerable amount of coaxing. Sunday, 6 times. Great, right? Yeah! But today? 0. Now, I know each day won't be a major success, but today has been frustrating. And I just don't have the energy (or the short term memory) to have her sit on the potty every hour to see if she will pee.

I really want her to be potty trained - at least day trained - and at least for pee.

But this is going to be exhausting. Mostly for me, and I'm not sure if I'm up for the task (although I'm 99% sure Penelope is). I guess parenting is less about what is best for me and what is best for my kids. But darn it, I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate potty training.

/whine

Ugh. This afternoon we'll buy some pull ups and go from there. I just need to suck it up and get this done.

If Bryan and I ever have more kids, I am 80% sure we'll adopt, and 100% sure the child will be old enough to be potty trained already.

Anger management

2011-06-09T21:32:00.001-07:00

Last night was awful. Really, really awful. Griffin was up over four hours and I was so very frustrated that I had to take a break from him. I half hoped that letting him cry, safe and secure in his crib, would actually work and he'd fall asleep and stay asleep; that I would be proven wrong about CIO and have to eat my words. And you know what? I wish that it worked. I wish I would have had to come on the blog and admit I was wrong, wrong, wrong.

But it didn't work. And I've become even more convinced that CIO is not appropriate for Griffin.

I'm hoping last night was just some horrific fluke. Because I honestly don't know what I'll do if we have another night like that.

When you become a parent, you're never really prepared for just how much (and often how quickly) you fall in love with your child. But you are also equally unprepared for how crazy they can make you... how angry you can get. I loved my son last night, but I did not like him. I was exhausted, frustrated, and since he's not sick or teething, I could not (and still don't) understand why he wouldn't just go back to sleep.

He was just as exhausted. When he's tired his eyes get puffy and he gets these horrible dark circles. And yet there he was, alternately babbling and screaming, for over four hours. Four. Rocking did not work, nursing, bouncing, patting, singing... we even tried a bottle. He still.would.not.sleep.

I had some choice words for him, mainly "go to f*cking sleep already".

I'm not much of a curser, but holy mother of Oprah, I was fed up.

He finally let us sleep around 2am. Woke up again at 5:30 and (thankfully) went back to sleep and slept until 7am. He's asleep right now... And has been for an hour. Let's all hope he stays that way until at least 2 and then goes back down without a battle. I just don't know if I have it in me.

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Did you hear?

2011-06-08T07:31:00.001-07:00

Apparently oatmeal is good for the skin.

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Dance class

2011-06-07T21:41:00.001-07:00

I owe you all a substantive blog, but I don't have the energy for one. So here are some pictures. Penelope is now taking ballet/tap once a week and my parents have set her up with everything she could conceivably need (and more). She loves her class. Loves. It's fun to watch. They're actually going to have a dance recital in August so there will be more pictures to come.

Getting ready to go

Drinking her smoothies before class

Her shoes (my attempt at any artsy photo... Probably would look better in black and white, but I don't have editing software on the iPad)

Getting a glimpse of herself in the mirror

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Jinxed it

2011-06-02T21:15:00.001-07:00

I haven't blogged lately, sorry. A lot has been going on and I have a backlog of pictures and video to upload.

But first? Sleep. As so many of you know, sleep has been a touchy subject in the Rodgers household since Mr. Griffin was born. I reached the end of my rope during our trip to Wyoming and was afraid I was going to have to resort to the cry it out method in order to get some sleep. But the book No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers seems to have been our magic bullet. By incorporating some of the strategies advised in the book (notably keeping the room cooler, blacking out he windows, and moving up bedtime), Griffins sleep has improved remarkably.

He now goes down around 7:30 and gets up once between 2 and 4, nurses back to sleep, and is up for the day around 6:30. This means that Bryan no longer has to get up with him and I'm only up once a night. once. It is glorious.

We've also instituted family reading before bed. Which is really nice. We all climb onto Penny's bed and read book for 20-30 minutes.

So the kids are usually asleep before 8 and I feel much more well rested (and sane).

Of course, now that I've been telling people how improved things have gotten, the kids decide to have a rough start to the night. Although it's probably not because I jinxed myself, but because they both took late naps. Oh well. Griffin took over an hour to get to sleep and Penelope is still awake in bed. Could be worse, right? Hopefully the rest of the night is not as challenging as bedtime was.

What else... Still applying for jobs. Have applied for over 20 teaching positions in a variety of cities (and States!). I'm hopeful, but I'm not going to hold my breath. The job market is pretty terrible for teachers now.

Ok, here are some pictures...

Penny feeding the ducks. I'm happy her hair is long enough for one pony tail.

We had quite a few ducks and geese show up, one of them startled Penny when it got a little too close. I really hate geese, but Poe loves feeding them.

My mom and Penny at the Memorial Day parade by our house.

Penelope and her friend Gabe. Same parade. So cute!

Ok, video later.

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WIC

2011-05-31T16:34:00.001-07:00

First, WTH is up with the weather. Considering the mountain of scientific evidence and the fact that it's cold and raining on May 31st, I do not understand how some people can deny climate change.

Anyway, today the boy child and I went shopping for our WIC goods. The process is frustrating at times, especially since WIC seems to be stuck in the 90s (paper checks? Soooooooooo last century). Also because their nutrition guidelines are just shitty. They need to seriously reevaluate what they give families. Here are some examples.

Juice: we get 128oz of juice a month... per child. That's a outrageous amount of juice. No child needs that much juice in a month. It's like sugar water. All the sweetness of fruit without all of the other healthy bits. The "meat" of fruit is what is best for you. Not the juice. Kids need to be drinking more water and less juice. They should take the juice allotment and up the fruits & veggies you get.

Speaking of fruits & veggies, you get $6 a month. That is stupid-low. Kids need more whole fruits and veggies. Six dollars is barely enough to buy a container of strawberries and a bag of lettuce. It is ridiculous how little the allotment is for actual food.

This brings me to milk. We get two gallons per month. Again, per child. That's FOUR gallons of milk. That's a crazy amount of milk. Why? Because you don't need to drink that much milk. Maybe a glass a day. If you're getting plenty of fruits and veggies, you get plenty of calcium. Leafy greens people, leafy greens. Put down the cow juice and drink some damn water.

"Whole grains": ugh. You get 16oz, which is less than most loafs of bread. We end up with a ton of oatmeal. Which is fine since Penny loves oatmeal, but it's just silly. The way they set it up, most WIC parents I see buy cheap white bread (ew) when they should be encouraging parents to buy whole grain bread for their kids. It's just back-ass wards.

Eggs: maybe some people go through 24 eggs a month. We certainly do not. That's a lot of eggs.

There's more than annoys me, but I'll save it for another post. Time to go make dinner, baked chicken, brown rice, and salad. With water to drink (ok, I will have a glass of wine).

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Location:Home...and wet

Spray and Wash challenge part 2

2011-05-25T13:55:00.001-07:00

So yesterday? Two days ago? I posted the following picture of some stained kids clothes.

All heavily stained that were being treated with Spray and Wash. The worst of the bunch was Griffin's baseball onesie which had three day old tomato sauce stains.

Here they are after being laundered (we use Gain detergent).

While this isn't the best picture, you can see that most of the staining is gone. In fact, the only shirt that needs to be hit with another wash is the aforementioned baseball onesie. Three day old sauce stains are pretty much the Hulk of stains, so I'm not surprised that it needs another round. Overall I'm happy with the effectiveness of the Spray and Wash.

I may be a mom of two, and I may do a lot of laundry, but I am far from a laundry or stain expert. So far my kids don't produce the level or frequency of stains that warrants involvement heavier than the Spray and Wash. And really, I'm pretty lazy, so if something did warrant a major laundry intervention then odds are my kids would be forced to wear the clothing with stains or forced to just toss it. In which case they would probably complain to my mother and she would fix it since she is much more of a domestic goddess than I am.

Wow, what a riveting blog post. Sorry guys.

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Location:Home

Cousins and more pictures

2011-05-23T20:59:00.001-07:00

Last year, just a few months after Griffin was born, Bryan's brother, sister in law, and their three kids came out to visit from Wyoming. We had a lot of fun. We went to Fairytale town, the beach, Second Saturday, and the pool. Penelope had a blast with her cousins and we were really excited to see how she and Griffin would interact with them this time around. The twins are 4 and Gadge is 7 so there's a bit of an age difference, but it's not too bad.

We were not disappointed. Penelope adores her cousins and so does Griffin. They had a really great time together. I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked, but I did get a few.

Griffin (13 months), Jesse (4 years), Kaylen (10 months), Gadge (7 years...going on 13), Penelope (2.5 years), and Arianna (4 years)

Bryan with Gadge and Griffin

Tree (our Sister in Law) was nice enough to keep the kids out of school for two days so we could spend as much time together as possible. It was really nice to spend so much time with our Rodgers cousins :)

Poe, Tree, and Ari

And now for some random pics of the kids.

Griffin and Penelope sharing an apple

Griffin at the Rodgers ranch. We didn't spike his hair, the infamous Wyoming wind did that.

Also? Penelope kept telling me "oh mommy, it's so windy!" or "oh no! The wind!" to which I replied "welcome to Wyoming".

This is her throwing a fit because I wouldn't let her play with the iPad.

And I think that is all for my Wyoming related blogging! I probably missed at least a few things, but that's at least the basics. It was a good, but exhausting trip.

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Location:Home, peacefully

One more Wyoming post

2011-05-23T20:36:00.001-07:00

The kids are in bed and I am completely unmotivated to finish laundry. I really should...or I should break out an exercise video, but I won't. Instead I'll post this blog and inundate you all with Wyoming blog posts.

Oh. And I'm now up to 25lbs of weight loss. 15 left!

So let's see...I posted about the Science Zone, the mammoth, cows in road, and the gentleman's club, right? What's left?

Horses! What is a post about Wyoming without a mention of horses?

Dave and Debb have what I consider to be a lot of horses. One is Jill's horse, one is a boarder, and the rest are Debb's (if memory serves that means 3. I'm pretty sure there are 5 total). They also have donkey, George. We went out to the barn everyday to see the horses and George. If the weather had been nicer we may have attempted a ride, but Poe wasn't quite brave enough to pet any of them so I don't know how riding would have gone. I haven't ridden a horse since I was in Girl Scouts. I was pretty decent though, meaning I didn't fall of.

Here are some pics.

This is Debb's show horse whose name I can never remember. I want to call her Sensation, but I think that's the name of Jill's horse. I am terrible with names anyway, but seriously bad with horse names.

This next one is of George. The only reason I remember his name is because he's the only donkey.

He really wanted to see Penelope. She really didn't want to get close.

Here she is in the barn.

She really enjoyed looking at the animals even if she wasn't too keen on hands on interaction. I got to pet the horses though. It was fun to be so close. I do love them even though my biggest equestrian accomplishment is not falling off one.

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Location:Home

Cows!

2011-05-23T20:16:00.001-07:00

Saturday (back in Wyoming) we left Casper and headed to Douglas to have dinner at B's grandparent's ranch. Although first we had lunch with Bryan's step brother, his 10 month old son, and Bryan's step sister. It was nice to spend some time with them, and the baby is adorable :) Jill, B's step sister, was nice enough to give up her room while we were in town so Penelope could have a bed to herself. Poe loved sleeping in Aunty Jill's room and constantly commented about how pretty Jill's ribbons are (Jill is an accomplished equestrian).

So lunch was nice. We got to catch up and I know Bryan really enjoyed the one on one time with his siblings.

I had hoped the kids would sleep on the way to the ranch, but alas they I'd not. That's ok, they would have missed this if they had:

Yup, that's right. A road entirely blocked by a herd of cattle. There were three real, live cowboys herding the bunch. Here's a cow close up:

I was driving, so I got to drive through my very first herd.

Oh! That day was the day for animals in the road, as we were leaving Bryan's dads house, some antelope decided it would be an excellent idea to run zig zags across the road.

So we got our fair share of wildlife.

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Location:The couch, at home

I was THAT mom

2011-05-23T15:04:00.001-07:00

Traveling means a disruption of schedules. A disruption of schedules means little or no naps and short sleep at night. This translates into one ridiculously fussy toddler. Griffin had his issues as well, but since he's clingy anyway they weren't nearly as pronounced as the problems we encountered with Penelope.

She's ordinarily a crazy-good kid. As in, we get maybe one tantrum a day and it's usually pretty mild with more nuclear tantrums occurring once a week, sometimes more often, but never really frequent. She just has a pretty mellow personality and is easy to redirect. There's no magic parenting involved, we just got lucky.

She's also a creature of habit and needs sleep. She didn't get her normal amount this trip and so was much more difficult to handle. Still, it wasn't too horrible until we got to the airport this morning. I swear to you, it was like my child was possessed. She would.not.stop.screaming. We finally strapped her into a stroller because she refused to go anywhere unless carried and I had Griffin and Bryan was tackling the luggage. So I pushed my screaming, writing toddler through the Denver airport. For over 10 minutes I kid you not. She was thrashing around in the stroller, so much so that I had to push it solely on the back wheels because she would try and stop the stroller by kicking the wheels or putting her feet on the ground. Mind you, she was screaming the entire time and I am not exaggerating in the slightest.

It was awful. People stared, I ignored them (would have liked to see them try to make her stop), and Bryan shot them all dirty looks as he followed behind us with the luggage cart and our 4 carry ons.

Did I mention how terrible it was? She finally calmed down when we got to the check in and Bryan released her from the torture devise and picked her up. She stayed in his arms until security and was then back in his arms until we boarded the plane.

She's in desperate need of a return to our normal schedule. I'm going to put her to bed early tonight and hope that she wakes up mostly back to normal.

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Location:Home, thankfully

The Spray and Wash challenge

2011-05-23T14:51:00.001-07:00

So before I post about the ordeal that was the Denver airport (and finish posts about the remainder of the Wyoming trip) I wanted to post the following picture.

I have started trip laundry and, as you can see, there are a few... messy pieces that are in need of washing. I've already sprayed them with Spray and Wash so we'll see how well it works. I'll take after-pictures. Guess I need to start carrying travel sized Spray and Wash with me. Maybe they should send me some.

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Location:Home!!!

Monday morning

2011-05-23T05:33:00.001-07:00

So I'm going to work backwards here since we all fell asleep shortly after 8 last night and I didn't have the time to blog about the rest of our stay in Wyoming. Perhaps I'll get time to do that on the plane and post them once we land.

Actually, i'll link to a video in a second, but only because I had the opportunity to upload it to YouTube last night.

But first? It's Monday morning and in a few short hours we will be back home. This vacation has been fun, but it's also been incredibly exhausting. Griffins sleep has been atrocious and we've spent quite a bit of time in the car. So while I'm glad we came out, I'm very glad were going home. I actually downloaded a book on toddler sleep yesterday and started reading it in the car so I'm hoping that a return to our normal schedule, with help from the book, will equal some truly good nights.

All we have left to do this morning is get dressed, pack up, eat, and turn on the rental car (which is covered in mud and animal feces... I'll talk more about that later). Then we'll just hope for no delays and be back in sunny CA by lunch.

Anyway, here's the video I promised. Griffins first attempt at eating spaghetti with a fork.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJHirAaV5qM&sns=em

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Location:Doubletree Hotel, Denver

The meetup

2011-05-22T18:19:00.001-07:00

I know I've mentioned it before, but I have a few friends that I've never met. We met through an online baby group and have remained friends over the past 3 years. We're a pretty diverse bunch: age, politics, religion, education, etc. In fact, one of the few things we have in common is that we're all women and we all have kids who were due in December of 2008.

I've met a few of them, and every time I have the opportunity I try and meet more. I have grand dreams of being the first to meet everyone, but that might not happen. We're hoping to all be able to get together when the kids turn 5 and I really hope that happens.

Anyway, Lissy, Matt, and Zach live in Colorado Springs so they came out today to hang out. We spent an hour or so at the park and then had dinner. It was fun, the kids had a good time and Bryan and enjoyed chatting with Lissy and Matt. We commiserated over temper tantrums and pasta at the Olive Garden. Here are some pictures.

Zach and Penny holding hands on the walk to the park....

It was a really nice afternoon and a wonderful beak from the car. I have loads more pictures of Wyoming that I will post soon. If the kids fall asleep at a reasonable hour I'll try and do it tonight.

Tomorrow is our flight back, and while we'll miss family & friends out here we'll be very happy to be home. Very happy. I miss our routine, our bed, and I even miss our dog :)

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Location:Doubletree Hotel, Denver

Science Center

2011-05-20T16:23:00.001-07:00

There's really not a ton of indoor kids activities in Casper. But there is a Science Center and it's pretty neat. There are a lot of hands on activities for kids and a toddler play area. We went there today with Bryan's brother, sister in law, and their three kids. Oodles of Rodgers!

I didn't take a ton of pictures, but here are Jessie, Ari, and I with the community we built with magnetic pieces.

We also went to the mall today to get the twins their birthday presents and to play in the indoor play area (did I mention that it showers yesterday? And that today Wyoming is the coldest spot in the nation?!?!). Anyway, the kids had fun.

Now we're relaxing at B's dad's house. Penny is down for nap #2 since she's been a beast the last two days. More tantrums and hitting than in a normal week. I think she's just still adjusting to the new environment and a little overwhelmed. She's not really a fan of change. It's been frustrating though, hopefully after this nap she'll settle down. G seems to be adjusting ok, he's more clingy than normal, but I expected that. Hs sleep still sucks and we're going to have to do something about that when we get home. Not sure exactly what, but something must be done.

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Location:Wyoming

The "Gentleman's Club"

2011-05-20T16:02:00.001-07:00

So I have a lot to talk about that is trip related, but I wanted to tell you all about Northern Dreams Gentleman's Club in Casper, Wyoming. Why? Because it's the first building you encounter when you exit the freeway to get to my father in laws house. Here it is:

I took this picture while we were driving (I was not driving). Isn't it... Fabulous?

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Location:Wyoming

Trip journal #1

2011-05-18T20:40:00.001-07:00

So I have plans to write a few trips blogs while we're out here, but you know what they say about the best laid plans...

We left early Tuesday and the flight went pretty well. They gave us an extra seat for free (hooray Southwest!) so Griffin was able to handout nhis caraway instead of on my lap. Here he is on the plane:

And here he is sleeping... He only slept for about an hour and I had to nurse him in his seat (not easy) but hey, at least he slept, right?

After we landed we got our luggage and got our rental car... Well, not right away. There was a mix up and, long story short, it got us a free upgrade to a Chevy Traverse which comes with a DVD player in tieback. Super score.

After lunch, we headed to Coors Field to see a Rockies/Giants game. We were all decked out in our Giants gear (complete with sign!) and made it on the jumbo-tron! The kids did great for having no naps (or short) naps and being in a very new and very overwhelming situation. Here are some pictures from the game.

After the game we headed to Bryan's aunt & uncle's house. B's dousing Greg came out for dinner and we had a really nice time hanging out and chatting with them. I made the mistake of having a glass of wine with dinner and it aggravated with what I am pretty sure was altitude sickness... Or at least the start of it. Copious amounts of water, coffee the next morning, and some Tylenol later and I feel better. Although I would love to be able to sleep for a week.

This morning was the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. They had a lot of dinosaur skeletons and Penelope loved it.

We had hoped the museum would tire them out enough to sleep most of the ride to Wyoming but it was not to be. This is where the DVD player in the rental came in handy. So the drive wasn't great, but it could have been worse.

Now the kids are asleep and I'm crossing my fingers they both sleep well. They need it. I need it.

More later I hope. Thankfully my inlaws have wifi.

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Location:Wyoming

Squishy face

2011-05-13T09:52:00.001-07:00

Griffin has a very special "look" that he saves for when he's trying to be particularly charming. We call it his squishy face.

It's hard to capture on camera because he reserves it for moments of extreme joy/silliness and for when he's doing some hard-core flirting. It's hilarious and most certainly not nearly as sexy as he thinks it is... Especially when he has food in his mouth.

We went out to dinner tonight since I came home from work, took one look at the kitchen, and gave up. It was just Dennys, nothing fancy. Across from us was a family containing a preteen girl with long brownish hair. Griffin was in love. He was constantly looking back to get a glimpse of her, grinning, hiding his head, and blushing. And flashing her this:

The squishy face.

Nice, right?

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Location:Home

Unnecessary vs. Necessary

2011-05-13T09:51:00.001-07:00

As a parent, especially as a first time parent, you get a lot of advise. Much of it is in the form of "you really need to get xyz". There are approximately 1,765,835,000 baby related devices out there are you really don't need most of them. And some people will find some things essential while others will find them useless; a lot of that depends on your parenting style and philosophy and the temperament of your children, among other things. So a lot of the blogs, articles, and free advise from random people at the mall may not reflect what you really need.

But here's what I consider(ed) necessary (aside from things like diapers, carseats, and clothes) and what I found to be really unnecessary; at least this is what works for our family.

Necessary The changing table. Babies can be changed almost anywhere. When they're little you can even change then in your lap. But we have a couch full of static electricity, and constantly bending to change a diaper is a pain... One of the problems of being tall I guess. Also? With changing tables you can strap your wiggly child in so they cannot escape! Genius! It also keeps all your cloth diapers in one convenient location, which I liked. So for us, a changing table really was necessary.

Necessary. Baby carrier. I wore both kids when they were infants and I still wear Griffin, especially when we go out around his nap time. Yeah, he's heavy, but he sleeps and Poe and I aren't stuck at home during morning naps. Baby carriers are also much more compact than strollers (although we still have a stroller). We can nurse in it as well, which means I can push Penelope on the swings and nurse Griffin.

Unnecessary. Nursing covers. I know a lot of women who love their nursing covers. And I don't have a problem with them in theory (although nothing screams "breastfeeding!" more than a nursing cover), but in practice they just don't work for me. I found it really difficult to latch, monitor progress, and relax. In fact, I couldn't relax. I kept having to check to make sure that nothing was blocking Griffin's airways. I was also fiddling with it so much (and Griffin hated it) that it really got in the way and was too distracting for us both. I actually found a way to nurse without a cover that was much more discreet than using a cover ever was. You couldn't tell I was nursing. And now I've gotten to the point where I really don't care if someone can tell if I'm nursing or not. But I know not everyone gets to that level of comfort. When it comes down to it, women should use whatever they need to support nursing.

Unnecessary.Swaddling cloth. Again, I know a lot of women to swear by these. We swaddled Penelope for a few month and swaddled Griffin for about three days. After that it became too much of a pain. He'd wiggle his way out anyway and swaddling didn't help his sleep at all. It does for some babies, and I know some parents who swaddle their 6month olds. Whatever works, right? I wish swaddling had helped G sleep, but alas it was not for us.

Necessary/Unnecessary.The binky. The pacifier (binky) was a lifesaver with Pen. G refused it and prefers to use me as his pacifier. There are pros and cons to using a binky. I know some people hate them... But they're like anything else when it comes to parenting, they're not inherently good or evil and can be used positively and detrimentally. If your four year old is walking around all day and talking with a pacifier in their mouth then it can actually negatively impact their speech. But if your two year old uses it to get to sleep then it's really no big deal. They're not going to pack the binky to take with them to college.

There are probably a hundred more products I could weigh in on (literally), but I'm done doling out unsolicited advise for tonight :)

I have a couple posts planned on childbirth... Some recent debates have ticked me off and I feel the need to sound off. So you can look forward to (or skip over) that post when I get around to writing it.

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Peer pressure

2011-05-11T08:18:00.001-07:00

When the kids are older, I hope they avoid caving to peer pressure on a whole host of issues: drugs, sex, listening to shirty music, etc. But right I wouldn't mind if Penelope was heavily influenced by her peers in one specific area: potty training.

I haven't started any so of serious potty training because she really hasn't been ready and I don't want it to be a battle. I've. Tried a multitude of techniques to get her interested in the potty but they haven't worked. I'm certainly not giving up, but I'm also not pushing it. It's just not worth the headache right now.

I do want her to potty train, so we constantly ask her about the potty, but no matter how we approach it this is her response:

"no thank you, I want my diaper"

Lately I've been telling her about all of her friends that use the potty. My hope is that it will convince her to at least try. Most of her friends still wear diapers, but there are a few who are fully potty trained. Today we're going to hang out with two of them. I told Pen about it and this was our conversation:

Me: Hey Pen, guess who we're going to see today to the zoo? Linden and Sophia!
Pen: Sophia? Yea mommy!
M: You know what, both Linden and Sophia go pee and poop on the potty. Isn't that neat?
P: Really neat, they go pee-pee obj t he potty! Good job!
M: Let's try and go pee-pee on the potty, like a big girl. Like Linden and Sophia.
P: No thanks mommy, I like my diaper.

Fail.

One day she will potty train. Sooner rather than later. But not today.

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Location:Home

Differences

2011-05-08T21:30:00.001-07:00

So I was reminded today during bathtime just how different the kids are from one another. There share a fair amount of traits, both physical and personality traits, but they are very different in some ways. This isn't surprising, but it is interesting - at least for me. Here is a short list of some of the most obvious differences:

1. Bathtime: while they both love the bath, Griffin's love for the water borders on worship. If I didn't know any better I'd say he was Kevin Costner in Waterworld (you know, with the gills behind his ears, don't tell me you didn't see that movie). The child will dump buckets of water onto his own head and then spurt, laugh, and do it again... And again... And again. Poe will splash and sit in the bath for as long as you let her, but she hates having water poured on her head. Hates. She's finally gotten the hang of leaning her head back when you rinse her hair, but she's still not a fan of water on her head. Suffice it to say, swimming lessons should be interesting this year for both kids.

2. Food: Penny is currently going through a picky stage, but at Griffin's age she was a pretty good eater. Only she wouldn't really eat meat. She still doesn't care for it. Griffin on the other hand cannot get enough of the animal flesh. Pork, beef, chicken, you name it. I haven't tried fish yet, but since I'm the only one who eats fish I don't buy it. Maybe next time we go out I'll order some salmon and let G try it.

3. Sleeping: it's well documented on this blog how Griffin's sleep is less than ideal. He has a harder time going to sleep and staying asleep than Penelope did at this age. I'm hoping it's something he catches up to her with very soon. I have no idea if this is just a G thing or if it's a formula vs breast milk thing. He seems to sleep better if I give him a bottle before bed AND nurse him, but that doesn't always work. Maybe it's a combination of both. I guess it doesn't really matter since he's not ready to stop nursing and I'm not ready to try sleep training. I haven't ruled out sleep training, but it is my last resort.

4. Cars: Griffin is infinitely more interested in cars and trains, or really any vehicle, than Penelope ever was. She had car/train toys, but never drove them around the house like G does. She never attempted to make "vroom" sounds until recently and never really preferred to play with moving toys. She always preferred books. G likes books, but he eats them half as often as he reads them.

5. Alone time: Poe has always been really good about playing on her own and hanging out by herself. G, not so much. He prefers to play with someone else.

6. No means... apparently for Griffin it means "try that again". While Penny will disobey (she is 2), she is now and has always been much more responsive to authority figures. She was also easier to redirect. Griffin is capable of being distracted, but it takes a lot more effort and a few more tries.

There are certainly more differences... And they share quite a few things in common, like loving to have their picture taken and smiling on command. They also share a love of the dog, grapes, and yogurt.

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Teeth and lullabies

2011-05-08T15:00:00.001-07:00

First off, happy mothers day to all my fellow mommies.

Secondly, why is it that Griffin sleeps great for everyone but us? He only woke up once last night while at my parents house. No fair. Oh well, at least I got to sleep in so happy mothers day to me.

Perhaps his decent sleep is because molar#4 broke through. So he now has twelve teeth, although not all his molars are all the way in. I'm hoping that in the next week or so they'll all be functional so he can chew his food instead of just swallowing it. Of course, that probably won't happen since he shovels the stuff in like we've been withholding it. Boys.

I wanted to talk a little about lullabies, but I can't figure out a decent segway from teeth talk. Consider this your transition.

When I was pregnant (both times around) I would sing to the kids, Griffin got a lot of it since I sang Penelope to sleep each night. I have my regular "set list" and add songs as needed. Usually one round is enough although there are some nights when I give multiple encores. Sometimes I end up on autopilot when I'm tired and will end up singing the same song over and over - then that songs will end up playing in my dreams, which isn't as awesome as it sounds, it's actually rather annoying.

So for the record, here's the set list:
Baby Mine from the Dumbo soundtrack
Stay Awake from the Mary Poppins soundtrack
Goodnight My Angel by Billy Joel
Baby James by James Taylor
Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn

Occasionally I'll throw in a Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald tune like Always or Miss Otis Regrets or Someone to Watch Over Me

YouTube Video

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Outside

2011-05-06T16:15:00.001-07:00

So I am now the proud owner of an iPad and am currently experimenting with the blogging feature and typing two handed on the keyboard. I expect that some of my posts will end up on damnautocorrect.com or whatever that site is... I'm not sure how to link to websites yet using this interface. So bear with me.

Bryan will now be taking ownership of the laptop since he needs it for school. It was actually cheaper for us to get me the iPad instead of another computer (since I refuse to buy a PC as every one I've ever bought has needed to be replaced a year after purchase). The laptop lasted me three years and will probably last Bryan many more than that. Hopefully the iPad has better longevity than my old PC laptops.

Anyway, here I sit, in the front yard typing away while the kids scream at me and eat chalk. Parenthood. It's grand.

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Location:The front lawn

Just over halfway

2011-05-06T07:51:00.001-07:00

There are many reasons why I wouldn't recommend having your children 16 months apart. One is that it leaves you precious little time to lose babyweight before you tack on some more. When we got pregnant with Griffin I still had 15lbs to go before I was back to my "normal" weight, in part because I really gained too much when pregnant with Penelope. You're not really eating for 2, you're eating for 1.2. You actually don't need that many more calories a day when pregnant but I ate everything that wasn't nailed down and gained almost 40lbs w/ Poe.

Most of what I ate was healthy, but you can still pack on the pounds eating healthy foods if you eat too much.

I didn't gain as much with Griffin, closer to 30lbs, but when all was said and done I was about 43lbs overweight after G was born. For me, nursing did not help me lose baby weight (although it does for some) so I carried around and extra 40-ish lbs for 9 month after G's birth.

Around New Years I started losing weight. It was mostly unintentional at first, my goal was to eat better and cut down on soda not necessarily to lose a bunch of weight. I figured that weight loss would equal milk production drop (and I was partially right, I lost some milk production but not all) and so I wasn't quite ready to sacrifice nursing in order to move out of my "fat" jeans.

But once I started to lose a little it motivated me to lose more. I just feel better (physically and emotionally) when I'm not overweight.

It's been slow going. I don't have a ton of time to exercise, I don't belong to a gym, and I have this horrible habit of eating what the kids don't finish... BUT I've finally gotten to a pretty big milestone in my weight loss journey. I am officially halfway to my goal weight.

So I have lost 22 lbs.

I would really like to lose another 20 or so by the time my 30th birthday rolls around in September. My original goal was to lose another 25, but while I think I can do it, I don't think I can maintain that weight. I don't need to be a size 6 again - I'm almost 30 and have two kids (plus my Grand Canyon-like hips) but I think I can maintain a size 8/10. And really, it's not about being super skinny, it's about being healthy and setting a good example for my kids... which means not killing myself with diet/exercise while still being active and eating right.

So there. 22lbs. Go me! :)

My son is a superhero (villian?)

2011-05-04T06:54:00.001-07:00

This morning I came to the conclusion that Griffin is a superhero. Or supervillian, not sure yet which. Regardless, he clearly has the qualities necessary for either. Here is my evidence.

1. Superhuman strength. He is strong. Really, really strong. Stronger than Poe at this age for sure. His strength gives the ability to throw any sippy on the ground from an height and dislodge the plastic water flow mechanism inside the sippy so that it leaks all over the d*mn floor. He does this at every meal. I can't even do that.

2. Expressive eyebrows. Griffin can move his eyebrows independently. Seriously.

3. His laugh. G's laugh is... maniacal at times. You know, the more I write the more I suspect he's actually a supervillian.

4. Leadership qualities. This is, of course, just a nice way of saying that G does what he wants, when he wants. He occasionally listens to reason (i.e. Bryan and I), but more often than not he forges his own path.

5. A sidekick. The dog. Griffin is fascinated with Harley-Quinn and she loves him (mostly because he drops food). She lets him do anything to her. He often uses her as a prop to stand or walk. He joins her on the dog bed, he pulls her ears, runs her over with his walker, attempts to steal her dog treats, and tries to throw her balls. She takes all of the abuse without growling or whining.

6. He drives me crazy. I'd bet that Superman's parents got a little tired of his antics. Same goes for Lex Luthor. The child seriously drives me up a wall sometimes, but man do I love him. The only reasonable explanation for this is mind control, right?

So, what do you think?

Tutu Toddlers

2011-05-03T20:24:00.001-07:00

Penelope's first ballet lesson was today. It was more of a movement class with tutus, but she did learn a few ballet positions and she had a TON of fun. She was running around like a crazy person, making new friends, and have the time of her life.

In honor of her foray into ballet, my parents bought her this:

She loved it (obviously).

Annoyances

2011-05-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

Lately everything seems to annoy me. I don't know if women go through a hormonal shift 1 year after baby (since I was pregnant when Penny turned a year) so maybe that explains it. I know you go through one at weaning, but we're still nursing...

Anyway, this means that I have compiled a list of small things that really, really annoy me. At least they really annoy me lately. They're annoying in general, but a few times I've had to stop myself from saying something to these offending people.

1. People who call chimpanzees "monkeys". Look, I know Curious George has us all thinking that monkeys are tail-less and often walk around on two legs, but let me set you straight dear readers. Curious George is not a monkey and neither are chimpanzees. Chimps and monkeys are primates, but chimps are apes (as are gorillas) and if ONE more person at the zoo tells their impressionable young child to "look at that monkey! He's eating an onion" then I will verbally berate them for being an idiot. Plus? That chimp is actually A GIRL. If you LOOK it's not that hard to tell. Fricking morons.

2. Girl children wearing stripper clothing is not sexy, it's disturbing. They'll turn into sexual beings eventually, but putting your toddler in hot pants and a tube top makes you a shitty parent. Period. End of story. Hell, allowing your 7 year old to wear short shorts with "Juicy" written across the back is just as awful.

3. When it is sprinkling your windshield wipers do not have to be on "ludicrous" speed. They have speed settings for a reason. You look like an idiot. Stop it.

4. When you enter a freeway via on-ramp you're supposed to speed up you *&^%& jackwagon. It is not appropriate to enter traffic going 35 mph. This will earn you a stare of death as we pass. And what is it lately with the middle aged, chubby, balding, white guys in convertibles driving 50mph on the freeway? Seriously dude, your precious mid-life-crisis-mobile will not explode if you go over 55. There is not a bomb on it. Go the d*mn speed limit.

5. Mosquitoes. I hate you.

6. Do dog farts have to be that smelly? WTH did the dog EAT?

7. People who talk loudly about their sex lives at brunch. Look, I know it's an outdoor cafe, and you're having multiple glasses of wine at 11:30am, and you're out with your bestest gay friend, but I don't give a crap about your sex life and I'd rather not hear about it while I'm trying to enjoy my overpriced salad. Thanks.

That's it. For now.

Some Truths

2011-05-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

1. One year olds are crap at folding laundry. They also suck at loading the dishwasher. In fact, they're pretty much useless when it comes to housework.

2. Two year olds are crap at folding laundry, but at least they're genuinely trying to help. Two year olds are only slightly better than one year olds at loading the dishwasher, although they not bad at unloading the dishwasher. Although, to be fair, Griffin is pretty good at unloading the silverware compartment, only he just throws the utensils on the floor. Fail.

3. Babies come hardwired to love remote controls. I have no idea why. They are also able to figure out how to change channels, turn on x-boxes, mute the TV, and navigate Netflix on the Wii, and call or text everyone in your contact list... but they can't figure out how to go to the bathroom in the toilet. They're savants I guess.

4. Younger siblings are the only reason why older siblings eat anything. "Hey, Bubba likes it!" is sometimes the only way to get Penelope to eat dinner.

5. No matter how short of a trip you're taking to the grocery store, it is inevitable that someone will desperately need a diaper change or a snack. Probably both. You will, at some point, find yourself in the checkout line in Safeway covered in urine and snot because your child just peed ten gallons and is crying for goldfish.

6. The loudest toy is always the favorite.

7. Toymakers are assholes.

8. The day you decide your toddler is able to make it through a day without a change of clothes is the day she discovers mud, has diarrhea, or both.

9. Snack cups are possessed by evil spirits and they will deliberately hide themselves and/or run away in pairs.

10. Some days, bedtime will be the most glorious moment of your day.

Ketchup Water

2011-05-01T13:24:00.001-07:00

Toddler are gross. Ok, kids are gross. Like, really, really disgusting.

At lunch Penelope was experimenting with a "big girl" cup. She was actually doing quite well, until lunch came (with potatoes, hence the ketchup) and we shifted our focus to eating and the boy-child. Mistake. Because the next thing we know Penelope is spooning her ketchup into her big girl cup, mixing it up, and then drinking it. G.R.O.S.S.

Bryan was visibly repulsed.

It was pretty nasty.

Also? She peed all over herself. AND threw at least two tantrums. I don't know who replaced my daughter with a normal 2 year old, but I demand to have her back.

Oh, and Griffin has decided that high 5's involve heads. You hold up your hand and he head-butts it. It's pretty hilarious. I'll try and get it on camera.

It never goes away...

2011-04-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

Recently I've had some friends lose family members. It's always sad when someone you love passes away, and we all deal with it differently... but one thing remains the same - while the grief and pain fade over time, it never really goes away. You never really stop missing the ones you lose, even years or decades later.

My Grandpa Vern passed away when I was a teenager. I still miss him. When he first passed I cried for days. Months afterward the pangs of grief were still fresh. Even now, many years after his passing, I still mourn the loss. He will never meet my children. He never saw me graduate. But I was able to say goodbye to him; I was able to make sure he knew how much I loved him.

On the other hand, I never got to say goodbye to my Uncle Lee. I was never able to let him know how much he meant to me... how much I loved him. I've talked a little about Lee before on the old blog and I can't remember if I've said much about him here. I don't have the time or energy to chronicle our long and complex history, but I will say this: he was as influential in my life as my parents were, and he died about a year and a half before Bryan and I got married.

So it's not like his passing is "new" but it still hurts. Some days more than others. The other day on my way to work, this song played on my iPod and I cried the whole way through. For those who don't wish to click on the link, it's Billy Joel's She's Always a Woman. It may seem like an odd song to remind one of your gay uncle, but Lee once told me that whenever he heard that song he thought of me. Which can be seen as both very complimentary and not quite so complimentary depending on how you interpret the song.

I like to think of it as a compliment. Mostly.

Regardless, the song is now forever linked in my mind with my Uncle. And when it played the other day the intensity of my grief shocked me. After all, it's been years.

The ache, the sadness, the pain - it fades. But it never disappears. After awhile, like the grief I still carry from my grandfather's passing, it becomes comforting. Which I admit sounds strange... but the memory of him, tinged with sadness, makes me both wistful and happy. Happy to have had the time I did, and happy to have loved someone so very much (and to be loved back) that even after all this time I still miss them. If he had never loved me or I had never loved him, then I wouldn't still find myself tearing up when I listen to certain songs or look at old pictures.

I'm very lucky even though right now, I'm also very sad.

First Crush

2011-04-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

DVD covers and cartoon characters aside, Penelope has recently developed her first real crush. A crush on an actual human being.

His name is Jared and he's one of my brother's best friends. I've known Jared for 7 years? 8? I have no idea. Suffice it to say it's been awhile. He and my brother are in a band together (Jared plays guitar, Nic plays drums) and he's a genuinely nice guy.

She used to be a tad afraid of him (for AGES she was wary of practically every male excepting Bryan, my Dad, and my brother) but she's gotten over that. Apparently the other day she was sitting on the couch next to him carrying on a conversation about a movie, or a picture, or something - as much as a 2 year old can converse with a guy in his mid 20s. She also didn't want to have anything to do with my Dad or my brother at that point, which is quite shocking and cemented the suspicion that she's got quite a crush on The Hammer (which is Bryan's nickname for Jared).

I really like Jared and I totally and completely approve of his being Poe's first crush. He's perfect first crush material: he's older than her, cute, listens attentively, and listens attentively. Did I mention that twice? It's because it's important. Because listening to a toddler is the key to her heart; she just wants to be noticed (and adored, she totally gets that from Bryan).

I will try and get a picture of the two of them together so I can show it to her future boyfriend/girlfriend (because you never know) one day and embarrass the heck out of her.

Move over Woody

2011-04-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

Tarzan is in town.

Today after nap Penelope found the DVD case for Disney's Tarzan movie and then did the following.

1. Hugged the case and said "I love you Tarzan!"

2. Was jumping on her bed when the DVD hit her arm. She said "Mommy, Tarzan hit me! It's ok Tarzan, I'm sorry. Tarzan, kiss and make better?" Then she pressed the DVD to her arm and made the kissing noise... then "Thank you Tarzan!"

3. Told me that "Pah-pooh-pea and Tarzan go play outside Mommy!"

4. Ran to the far end of the driveway and said (to the DVD) "Ready Tarzan? We're racing, one, two, three, GO!" and the proceeded to run across the driveway with the DVD and said "We're fast Mommy! Tarzan and Pah-pooh-pea are fast!"

I love her.

Also? Griffin kept throwing the chalk-eggs (Easter basket prizes) down the driveway to see how far they rolled. But hey, at least he wasn't trying to eat them.

Monday Nights

2011-04-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

So I have a love/hate relationship with Monday nights. Bryan has class so I have dinner/bathtime/bedtime on my own, which isn't much fun. BUT since he's gone I can watch my horrible shows or chick flicks without getting teased. Tonight I'm watching For Colored Girls, well - as much as I can because Penelope has gotten out of bed 4 times already tonight. There's a few scenes I've missed so far but I think I still have the gist. If I have to miss anymore then I'll switch over to my new vice and watch this movie later.

My new vice - what is it, you ask? It's Army Wives. Yes. Army Wives. And I will tell you this. I love it. It's predicable, it's overly melodramatic, and the dialogue was probably written by teenagers. But I love it.

You know what else I love? My crazy-ass kids. Today Penelope had a conversation with a wall. Yes, you read that right. She said "Nice to meet you!" and "How are you wall?"

She also hugged everyone today in turn and told them she loved them. Also? She loves Tarzan. And milk. And oatmeal bars. And practically everything in the world it seems.

Oh. I have pictures. Only I can't find the cord to the camera.

And so far? For Colored Girls is really good. Even though I've missed at least 4 scenes.

One about the boy

2011-04-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

Today Griffin walked from the living room into the hallway all by himself! He's getting better everyday although he still prefers to use his walker, but I think that's just because he can run with it. Soon, very soon, he won't need it anymore. I'm soooo looking forward to that day. I know it will be exhausting to run after him, but I'd rather chase him then lift a 26lb weight all day.

Something I am not looking forward to, at least at this point, is weaning. We're having a lot of fun nursing right now. Griffin enjoys trying to shove his fingers or his foot inside my mouth while we nurse. I try and bite whatever appendage is closest and he laughs while nursing, usually spilling milk. I'm glad that so far he is still content to nurse so I won't have to think about weaning for awhile.

I had a lot more to talk about, but I've forgotten it already. *sigh* I'll get my memory back one of these days, right?

Family Pics

2011-04-20T21:14:00.001-07:00

About a week ago I hauled my parents, brother, Bryan, and the munchkins out to McKinley park at 9am to get our pictures taken. I had a met a photographer there a few months ago who has a daughter P's age and just had a baby boy.

We were out for maybe an hour or so and here's what he came up with. I really like them. I'll post some directly once I get the CD, but for now please visit his blog and comment.

http://www.robertcristiephotography.com/?p=965

Right now I don't have a favorite, but the ones of Nic and Penny with the dandelion are wonderful. I also really like the solo Griffin ones. And... well, all of them.

Waiting...

2011-04-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

For the last two days, I've spent Griffin's nap tense with anticipation of him waking up right as I start something (or am in the middle of something). This means that I've actually been putting him in his crib to nap instead of nursing him for the hour and a half period of his afternoon nap.

He's actually been doing pretty well. It used to be that I'd get 10 minutes of crib time before the nurse-a-thon commenced and now sometimes I get an hour (!!!) or even a smidge more. This is nice because I can actually get a few things done (like blog). Today I was able to prepare tonight's kabobs and stick them in the fridge, pee all by myself (this happens so rarely that it just MUST be documented), and change for work... plus this post (we'll see how far I get).

He's also been a bit better about sleeping at night. He's about where Penelope was at around 9-ish months. He goes down pretty well and is waking up about twice a night. Occasionally he needs a bottle, but more and more often he's content just to nurse. If he keeps this up (being behind P's sleep patterns by 4-5 months) then he'll be sleeping through the night at 19 months or so... which is pretty good when you think about it. I know some people who can't handle night wakings at that age and sleep train, but among my friends who do not sleep train, 19 months is good/average for the elimination of night-waking. We'll see. He could surprise us and STTN earlier (or later).

And yes, still nursing - so we made it a year! I'm really proud of us, we both worked hard to get here. Some days he's less interested in nursing than others, but he still seems to really enjoy nursing so we'll keep on keepin' on. He's become very... demonstrative when he wants to nurse. Usually I know he's ready when he starts using my chest as a drum or peeks down my shirt as if to say "hey there boobies, what's happening?"

His first plane ride is coming up in less than a month. We leave for Denver on May 17th - we'll spend a day or so in Denver and then drive up to Wyoming to see some of B's family. I'm looking forward to the trip, it's been about a year since we saw B's brother, SIL, and their kids. And G hasn't met B's Dad and Stepmom yet... neither kid has meet B's paternal grandparents so that will be a lot of fun.

Which reminds me, I need to order my iPad for the plane ride :)

Well, we're coming up on the 1hour mark of G's nap. So I'll sign of here. I bet the moment I publish this post he'll wake up.

Graduation and stats

2011-04-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Today I measured the babies (and I use that term very, very loosely).

Griffin is 32inches & 26.5lbs (with diaper) and Penelope is 39inches and 33.1lbs (with diaper).

So not too much growth since the last time I measured them a few months ago. G's gained some weight and is really close to P's 1 year stats. They're the same height but she outweighed him by just a smidge.

Also? I graduated Sunday. It was nice to walk, although the ceremony was... ok I guess. The guest speaker was 2007's CA Teacher of the Year and his speech was... ok I guess. Meh, whatever.

The VERY BEST part of the day was when I was shaking the hand of the University President after they announced my name. It went like this:

University President: "Has anyone ever told you that you look like Tina Fey?"
Me: "I get that sometimes."
UP: "Well, you really do. Congratulations on your Masters."

Kick ass.

Griffin's 1st birthday

2011-04-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

I don't know which is more exhausting, birthing a 9lb 1oz 22.5 inch baby boy or throwing a 1st birthday party for said baby boy.

All I know is that I'm exhausted. And happy. Today's party went well and the kids had a BLAST. Penelope loves the park, her friends, and cake so today was pretty much the perfect day for her. Griffin loves to eat, so today was also the perfect day for him.

So here are some pictures - and some video of our now toddler (yep, he's walking!) at the end.

Artwork courtesy of Uncle O-Nic

Birthday Boy!

Mommy & a sorta sleepy birthday boy

Griffin and his Aunty Liz

Mmmmm... cake

Granny K & Penelope

Walking around with Uncle O-Nic

And.... he walks!

You need to read Tina Fey's memoir

2011-04-14T14:50:00.001-07:00

Yes, you.

Go buy it. Or borrow it from the library. Or download it on your e-reader.

But you need to read it, because it is literally the best book I have read in the last 2 days and quite possibly the best book I have read in the last 20 years. Not only did it make me laugh so hard I peed my pants (seriously. I seriously peed my pants). It made me cry in bits and was generally really freaking awesome.

She is right about nearly everything and the stuff she's not right about doesn't matter anyway.

I love her. And so you should buy her book. Like, now.

A poem

2011-04-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't written poetry in years. I used to write semi-regularly being a geek an all, and most of my poems were tolerable with a few good ones and a few not-so-good ones. But I haven't had the time to do much writing... and the longer in between poems the less I feel like writing.

Until NPR. For the last two days they had some poets on during one of the shows. Maybe it's "Talk of the Nation", but I'm not sure.

Anyway, they have inspired me to take up my pen. So in honor of Griffin's 1st birthday I give you my very first poem in over 5 years.

Be kind.

Happy Birthday Griffin

A year today my life began
In earnest, at least
And full overran
But the levies held, thank goodness

I never knew how much joy
Or frustration
Two sets of "mama" would bring
But I learned quickly

Life changes in an instant
Or nine months, or a year
And you find yourself in places unexpected
Yet exciting... or maybe terrifying is more apropos

But good
Oh so good, and wonderful, and perfect
When baby smiles turn into toddler toothy grins
And sibling laughter fills the house
And you learn to appreciate your own parents
For not selling you to Gypsies
When you threw that tantrum over vacuuming the stairs...
When you were ten

Here's to 365 days of
Life in technicolor
Where everything is vivid and bright
And you're surrounded by little people

To borrow from Dickinson -

My life grew twice before its close
It yet remains to see
If Providence unveil and third event to me

Although Providence can wait for potty training.

Please

It feels nice to write again.

In a few days...

2011-04-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

The beast-child will be one. ONE.

As in an entire YEAR OLD. People, where has the time gone?????

I read once that in parenting, the days are long but the years are short. Which is the most perfect description of anything ever.

This year has flown by, although I will admit that there have been a fair number of days that have felt as though they lasted for eons and nights that were longer than some ice ages. I am happy to see though, that we have all survived a year with two babies 16 months apart. It was touch and go for awhile (and I'm only half joking). But we're all here, Bryan and I are still married, and we plan on staying that way for the foreseeable future. :)

I have 1,876,093 things to do to get ready for G's party. The ONLY thing I have done is reserve the space and send out invites. So yeah, I'm way behind. But I work every day this week (granted, they're only 2 hour shifts) and I have an interview Thursday at the Zoo for a summer teaching position, so it's not like I have TIME or anything.

Thursday I will attempt to get some shopping done (for the food) before or after the interview and Friday the kids and I may hit the 99cent store or Party City for party favors. Friday night after work Bonnie is coming over to help me make macaroni salad and cake (thank you Bonnie!) and my parents will have the kids, so hopefully we can get it all done. There will be wine involved. Lots of wine.

Then Saturday is the big day!

AND Sunday I graduate - which reminds me that I need to get my mom the gown & hood so she can iron it. I haven't told her I need this done. So... Mommy? Can you please iron my gown & hood for me? Pretty please? We don't own an ironing board and you know and I know (and the world now) that you are 1 BILLION times better at I am at ironing. A billion.