Date Night

This post will not have pictures or video because the iPad is upstairs and I'm too lazy to get it. But at least you get an update.

Tonight was date night - the very first of its kind! A mommy/daughter date night!

After dinner the kids took a quick bath, Poe put on a new outfit and she and I hit the town while Bubby & Bryan stayed at home and watched a movie.

First we hit MYO for some frozen yogurt and conversation ("So mommy, what did you do today? Was it a good day?") and then we headed to the high school to see a Musical Review - a Motown Review.

Penelope was SO excited for her night with mommy. Actually, she was probably more excited about the show than the time with me, but I'll take what I can get. She was literally jumping up and down while we waited in line to get her ticket. She was even more excited when she saw that M, the daughter of our principal, was there as well (with her family of course, M is 5-ish weeks younger than Poe).

The girls spent the entire show dancing, sitting in the same chair, and being mostly good and only slightly obnoxious. Considering that they're 3, the show started at 7, and they're 3 - they did really well. It was all music and most of the music was music you could dance to, so they spent 90% of the show dancing. We did have to remind them a few times not to talk while the performers were up... but they loved the music.

It was pretty great music. The soloists were fantastic, the band was phenomenal, the a cappella ensemble was great, the choirs were fun.

Overall it was a really wonderful evening. She went to bed an hour and a half later than normal so we'll see how it affects her tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to being able to do these things with her more often.

Funnies and updates

There are lots of really good reasons to teach your children the proper (formal) name for their body parts.

But right now my favorite reason is that it makes for some hilarious conversations.

After having a discussion with Penelope about her private area (she was a little red so we talked about her parts, their names, what hurt, and who gets to touch her parts [her, mommy & daddy to help her wipe, the doctor when mommy & daddy are there]) she and I had this conversation:

Me: Poe, do you need help with your jammies?
P: No thank you momma, me and my vulva can do it by myself.
M: You and your vulva?
P: Yes, I got it.
G: Vulva!
P: No Bubby, I have a vulva. You don't. Only me and mommy.
G: Penis!
M: Yes Bubby, you have a penis.
P: And I have a vulva.
M: *trying not to pee myself laughing* Yes, yes you do.

And now SLEEP.

Or lack thereof.

We're not in a Suck yet. But I'm starting to get so frustrated with G's wake-ups. He'll be two next month and he wakes up between 10 & 11 screaming for me. When he's put in our bed, he falls right back asleep and stays asleep until 5:30/6. He's slept 10+ hours before so I know he's capable, but at this point it seems like he'll only do it if someone is sleeping next to him - namely me (or my parents, apparently).

We pushed the kids' beds together in the hopes that having Sissy next to him would equal less wake-ups. So far it hasn't helped... He did great at my parent's house, but he was sleeping between one of my parents & Poe plus they have a super cool humidifier (we need to get one, our cheapo one broke).

I just don't know what to do with him, other than wait it out, which is probably what we'll do regardless - I just need to vent (and I need this to be documented so he - or his future spouse - can look back through this and realize that their child's night wakings are simply karma). I have briefly considered CIO, but we have no place to keep him away from P. I REFUSE to have two completely awake children at 12am. Refuse.

I will say that I love falling asleep with the kids... except the nights when it takes a half an hour. But holding Sissy's hand and having G-Funk curled up next to me with his cheek pressed against mine is just - heaven.

In other P&G news, a few times people have asked us if they're twins. Boy-child is up to P's ear now - soon he'll be the same size and will likely surpass her in height. He's solidly in 2T pants but is now in 3T shirts, child is long in the torso & arms. Swimmer maybe? Or pitcher, looks like he might end up left handed...

Girl-child is rocking the 5s, is 100% daytime potty trained and wakes up dry in the morning about half the time. She's getting really good at writing her letters and has started flirting with boys (already? WTF?). She continues to assert that she wants to be "a Princess diver" when she grows up and feed fish/clean tanks at the aquarium.

A month

It's been something like a month since my last update - and since I'm too lazy to double check we'll just imagine that I'm right (since I usually am anyway) and I'll try and remember everything we did this month.

Actually, I have grading to do, so this will be short (ok, who am I kidding, I have no desire to grade these papers and will probably spend most of the night bogging).

We just got back from a long weekend in Sac. The kids and I left Bryan in Salinas and headed out to spend a weekend with my parents. I spent most of the time out of the house and my parents spent most of the time reveling in grandchildren-dom. I pretty much partied like it was 1999 (well, 2002 since that's when I turned 21). It will be months before I have recovered enough for another karaoke-night out, but it was so much fun.

We seemed to pick up a bit of a cold while "up North" but it doesn't seem to be too serious. Dayquil has done a decent job of making mine tolerable. Hopefully it will go away soon.

So lets talk about the babies, shall we?

Poe-poe:
She is fully day-time potty trained and has been for over a month. We're still working on night training (actually, no not really, it'll happen when it happens). She's writing her name, which is so fun to watch. I love the big sloppy letters and the look on her face when she makes each one. She is SO proud of herself and we are really so proud of her. Daycare has been working with her on writing letters a few times a week and she really seems to enjoy it. We're actually thinking of skipping pre-school and just keeping her in daycare until she's ready for Kinder. We'll see.

G-Funk:
A few weeks ago we were in the beginning throes of the Pon Farr of the Sleep Suck, but then apparently the Bryan side of G's brain took over and he was able to shake it off without the need for any type of death match. (If you don't get the joke then you seriously need to re-watch you TOS and if you didn't get THAT reference then I don't know if we can be friends anymore).

Well last night the Funk was up for 1.5 hours. It was horrible but I'm hopeful it was a fluke and he'll be back to a "normal" sleep routine wherein he only wakes up once and then goes right back to bed when he's in bed with us.

G is also talking up a storm. 2-3 word sentences and his vocabulary has exploded. He's got an adorable gravely voice and has two levels: off and LOUD. I have no idea where he gets that from ;)

His hair is also getting pretty long - I can pull the back curls into a ponytail but I don't... I want to though. I SO want to. Poor bubs will probably never get his hair cut until he insists upon it. If I cut it now he'll look like a little boy and not like a little toddler and I am not ready to have two KIDS. I'd much rather have on kid and one "baby" thankyouverymuch.

The essays are calling my name. I should really get to work. More later (not sure when) plus pics (once Aunty Meagan [i.e. my sister] e-mails me the ones she took of the kids at the zoo this weekend).

I love you more

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

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

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?!?

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.