Running Wild

So I changed the title.

2012-01-17T21:20:00.000-05:00

I feel like it was time. Or something. And that more accurately reflects my life at the moment. Or maybe it should be running sweating and breathing heavy. But, that doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well.

I've been following a few blogs that are solely about running. One is a woman who lives in my town that is training for a marathon. She seems like me, about 2 years in the future. She wanted to run a half marathon to prove to herself she could do it. She ran a few, and now wants to tackle a marathon. I'm not sure I'll get there, but I did say I was never running again after my first 5K. So, who knows.

I'm somewhat sad I missed the marathon trials for the olympics that were on the other day. I catch myself watching runners on tv, and reading about them in the newspaper. All to gain something, anything, that will help me.

At the Y, the running coach posted an article about helpful running tips. They were from a guy who runs 100 mile races. He suggests buying good reflective great and a headlamp for running in the dark. And putting screws in your shoes for running on ice. Um... yeah. Not really the advice I wanted. I kind of want to know do I need to down a bottle of gatorade after every run or is water enough? Or perhaps, do I need fancy running socks, or do my cotton specials do the trick?

My running partner and I bought some fancy new running pants at Target the other day. Because they were on sale of course! I'm afraid as I run, the seams will rip, and I will be frozen as I stand there wondering what part of me do I cover up first? One of the things in that crazy article was about compression, and does it really work to help runners. Your parts aren't jiggling so much, so the blood flow is quicker, helping you maintain your speed or some such nonsense. These pants sure do compress my legs, so we'll see. The best part - is they are size large. Just as is everything else i buy these days. At the concert Jeff and I went to in December, I bought a tshirt at it. A size large. And it fit perfectly. I was too happy. The guy who sold it to us probably thought I had a mental disorder.

So, I'm solidly in 4 mile runs now. I've done 3. I plotted a new route at the Y, so I'm not running the same old road. Well, I am, just in an different order.

I tried to potty train E this week - to horrible failure. I want her to be ready, but she just isn't. So, I bought another box of diapers, and as soon as they are gone - about 1.5 months- I'll try again. I spent a lot of time in the bathroom floor trying to get her to pee. She was just not having any of it. She had no cues. And I know that is the real thing. She will be in a wet diaper all day. Until she cares, she's not going to care to go potty. Even if full size reeses peanut butter cups are her reward.

I made a photo book for Jeff of his grandfather that passed away back in October. I put in it pics of the kids with his grandfather, and of us with him. Some of the pics of me, truly make me shake my head. Was I really that heavy? Were my arms really that big? Did my face look like a tomato? It's just amazing to see the transformation in just 16 months.

I was talking to someone about what sparked this transformation - and why I run. I basically had one answer - I run because I shouldn't be able to. I almost cry every time I get done with a run. Seriously. Because I shouldn't be able to do it. Today my knees are killing me. The last thing I want to do is go run tomorrow. It's supposed to be cold and windy - AGAIN! But I do it. Because I look at the pictures of me in that book, and of what I looked like 16 months ago, and I never want to look like that again.

Never.

I am still alive, and running - probably kicking too.

2012-01-09T19:07:00.000-05:00

I was told by my friend Gisela - who lives half a world away- that I need to keep up with my blog more. I also know that some people don't have Facebook - *gasp* and have to keep up with us this way. I think I might have a nervous breakdown if I had to go without Facebook for a month. Whenever we go into WV, we lose data coverage, so it's like a weekend away from technology. But Jeff and I know the exact spots that data comes back as we drive down the road, and its like we can sing a tune to the beeps and music that our phones make as we gets texts, emails and Word Feud plays.

So, what the heck has happened in the past two months? Heather will remind me - very often- that just a week before the Turkey Trot, that I said I was never running again. I wanted to run the 5K to scratch it off my bucket list, and to prove to myself that I could do it. But, it's like I've gotten the bug. I'll admit to watching running on tv, and looking at people running marathons, and wondering if I'll ever run one. Now, 6 months ago, I just wondered if I wouldn't die running to get the mail.

I ran my second 5K on December 11th. It was 27 degrees, and this one was pretty serious. It was a half marathon, and a 5K. The half marathoners were were some serious running gear and stretching and looking very focused. The 5Kers were just wondering when we would be done so we could get our free beer. Haha. That was the best part of the race, when you were done, you got beer. And a solar blanket thing to keep you warm - since it was 27 degrees outside!

I ran a great pace at this 5K, tho my final time was only 4 seconds slower than my turkey trot time. The hills were steeper, so that's what I'm going with! But, I ran the entire thing - something I didn't do at the Turkey Trot, and I felt like overall my run and pace were improved. It's hard to compare the two races, as they weren't on the same course, and the temp change was about 35 degrees. But it's hard not to compare. I am disappointed in my time, but not in my run.

After that race, I tried to keep training with my friend Heather - who was running a 5K on NYE. But my heart just wasn't into it. I was kind of finished with running - disillusioned with my time at my last race, and just not feeling it. Then, we caught the stomach flu, and Christmas, and visiting, and blah blah. But, like most things, you get out of your funk, and you train harder. So, after we got back from WV after New Years, I started training again. I know a whole bunch of people who are just starting C25K, and I am their motivation. I've been told that. Me, fat old lady, has motivated someone to run. That is the oddest sentence I have ever written.

I want to work on my 5K time to get it down. The next 5K I want to run is on March 4th. I want to beat my time by more than 4 seconds. Maybe 10 seconds this time! But, I'm moving on to bigger and loftier goals. The Fredericksburg Historic Half Marathon is May 24th. There is NO way - I think- I can train to go from 3 miles to 13 in just five months. But, there is a relay part - you run half, and your partner runs half, so basically you each run a little more than 10K - 6.6 miles, to equal 13.2 miles. 6.6 is doable. Finding a partner is not however. Haha. Everyone I have asked looks at me like I have 4 heads.

So, now I'm doing Bridge to 10K. Which is like level two of C25K. I need to run 3 days a week. Run a 5K, then run a 5K plus more - whatever I can do, then run a challenge course - like hills, or sprints, or trails, or something. This past weekend, I ran my neighborhood, which is the land of 60 degree hills. I ran 2.4 miles in a course Jeff and I have laid out. I ran it all. Something I've never done before when running in my neighborhood.

It's just amazing to me the progress. Today was my runday, so I decided I was just going to run the 5K. But then my friend got called back to the Y for a diaper change, so I kept running without her. By the time she got back to me, I was about a quarter mile ahead. So, at the end she still needed to run that quarter mile, and I went with her. And then I just kept going. She stopped and said I was crazy and went in to shower. Haha. But I kept going, and ran an additional mile. So, today I ran 4.1 miles. In 60:01. Horrible time. And I thought my legs might fall off. But I ran it. ALL OF IT. 4.1 freaking miles. Seriously? I will admit I started crying when I finished. Luckily I was far away from people and I was able to get myself under control before I went back into the building. But, running is such a mental and emotional sport. You have to force yourself to keep going. Mentally challenge yourself. Your legs really won't fall off if you keep running, but if you give up in your mind - which I've done on many training runs- then your run is pretty much over.

So, for right now, I'm working toward the Historic Half. And finding a partner. If not, I might just sign up for the half anyway. You can walk it. So, I might just run to the halfway point - where the relay corral is, and then walk the rest. I have until March or so to try and figure out what I want to do.

In other news, Jeff turned 40 in December. We had a huge party for him, and it was so great to see so many people who love him and who came to the party. I had it catered with his favorite food - Famous Dave's and Sushi from our favorite sushi place. I made a ton of desserts and other stuff, and everyone had a great time. For his birthday present, I got him tickets to see the Mighty Mighty Bosstones - his favorite band - at their hometown concert in Boston after Christmas. My brother was taking the kids for 3 days while we went up there, so we went kidless for the first time ever overnight. We rented a car, drove to Boston - uh... next time we might fly- we ate at a Diners, Drive Ins and Dives in CT, and had a great time. The concert was awesome, we bought shirts, and a poster, and other random stuff. We had great sushi and froze our butts off in the Boston cold. But it was well worth it to bring Jeff into his 40s in style.

So, as I sit here, I'm afraid I won't be able to get up. My knees are killing me. But, I plan to put the kids to bed, and then relax with a piece of cake. Jeff got me the next Wilton Cake Decorating class for Christmas, so we'll have lots of cake and decorations to eat in the next 4 weeks. Not that I mind too much. Running burns a lot of calories!

So, anyone want to run 6.6 miles with me in May???

I did it. And now I want to do it again.

2011-11-24T21:47:00.000-05:00

Today was the day I've been working toward for the past 3 months. I never really thought it would happen, or that my body would cooperate, but I ran the Turkey Trot today. 5K. 3.1 miles.

My official time- 39:01. I wanted to complete it in under 40 minutes. Tho, I had a "wow" time of under 35 minutes, but it's ok that I didn't make that. I am so happy with my time. I did stop for water. It's not like what you see on tv - kind of like how childbirth isn't all roses and clean babies. The kids dishing out the water were slow and only doing one cup at a time. I grabbed a cup and tried to drink while running and spilled half of it down my shirt, so I stopped, drank, and then continued on. So, note for next time - no drink. I probably could have been in 37-38 minutes.

This 5K was no joke. Hills, people everywhere. But running in a crowd was amazing. When I first started, I was passing people left and right, to get to my pace. Then people started passing me, old people, kids, people pushing triple strollers. But, I kept on, and when I saw the 3 mile marker, something in my head just clicked, and I took off. I sprinted the last part and ran across the finish line. I passed probably 30 people. I wanted to finish strong, and my legs - tired- felt like they could do it.

I really thought I might cry. Or vomit. But I did neither, and went to greet Alex and E and Jeff. Alex was screaming for me as I crossed the finish line.

Honestly, this is something I never thought I would be able to do. I'm old, fat, not a runner, and sweet like a crazy lady when I run. And already, I'm contemplating doing another one in just 2 weeks. I want to beat my time.

I am so thankful for my running partners. We all started the race together, and cheered each other on as we passed by one another. We are all on different fitness levels, but we all did great - beat what we wanted to beat for ourselves.

I'm not a runner, but I've definitely got the bug.

I'm too tired to blog.

2011-11-16T16:43:00.000-05:00

This blogging thing is just not working out. I guess I think my life is just not interesting enough. Or something. But some interesting things have happened to me in the past few weeks.

I've run 3.2 miles three times in the past two weeks. I did not die. I wanted to see what my time was, so I could know what my realistic time should be at the turkey trot. My third time was almost 3 minutes slower than my first time, which seems odd. I talked to the running coach at the Y, and I'm overtraining. I'm taking classes, running - too much. So, I cut out cycling. I'm not running every other day like you should in the couch to 5k program. I'm running sprints one day a week instead of a full run. I'm done with the 9 week program anyway - where you are running for 30 minutes. So, she wanted me to do some other stuff. Still run, but just not for 30 minutes. I was exhausting myself. And my legs feel it. My butt too. It jiggles when I run. Baby Got Back came on my music mix one day as I was running and I thought it was my theme song.

But, today is one week until the turkey trot. So, I'm taking it easy on the hard runs, and just trying to keep up. Honestly, I just want to quit until the race, but I know that isn't good. I'm not sure me and running are a good fix. I'm absolutely drenched in sweat by the time I'm done, and I'm breathing like I'm having a heart attack. But, I'm running. And it's something that 3 months ago I never thought I would be able to do.

Jeff's grandfather was very ill a few weeks ago, and we drove into WV to visit with him. On the way home, we hit a deer. I hit a deer. We're amazed we made it home - as we were still 3 hours from home and the van had substantial damage. I've had more than one person ask me if I kept the deer. Um... no. Tho venison is nice, I don't know how to field dress a deer. A guy who lived in the house beside where it happened came running out to help when he heard the collision. He offered to help put it in our van to take it home. I can only imagine what the kids would have thought of that! Jeff offered to put it in his truck, but he refused. It was somewhat odd.

But, my car is now fixed, and has a new grill with chrome on it! It's an upgrade from our old grill. Bling bling. When we went into WV the next weekend to visit Jeff's family - his grandfather passed away on 10/30- I went thru that section of road at about 40mph. I was scanning the road constantly. My heart was beating faster. It was like I had PTSD. But, we're traveled those roads for years, and never hit anything. And likely, will never hit anything again, so I've just got to come to terms with it.

Blah.

2011-10-26T17:54:00.000-05:00

Been feeling blah lately. Jeff's grandfather is doing very poorly, and think its just a matter of days before he passes. Tho, we thought that two weeks ago, and he made it two weeks.

On the way home from WV for the visit, I hit a deer. Completely messed up my car, and scared me to death. We're all ok, tho it's all Alex talked about for the next day. Not sure how we made it home, but we did. Had to get the van towed to the shop, and they'll have it for about 1.5 weeks to fix it. Until then, I'm driving around in my Jetson mobile. It's as big as a space ship, and sounds like the Jetson's cars.

I'm sick. And I'm still trying to run. I get the runner's high when I'm done, but then I get exhausted and just want to sleep all day. Today we ran for 25 minutes. And about 2.25 miles. So, we're getting there. I want to run 3.1 in under 35 minutes, so I still need to work on it. but today was the first time we went for distance and not just time. So, I'll go with it.

Jeff is on another trip tonight, and the kids are really dragging me down. My throat is killing me, so it hurts to yell, and I feel like that is all I do lately.

So blah.

I think I can... I think I can.

2011-10-15T10:45:00.000-05:00

So, today I am officially signing up for the 5K on Thanksgiving. I am very excited about it. Tho, I feel kind of weird getting all excited about 3 miles. I mean, didn't our parents walk 3 miles up hill everyday to school? But we are talking about old, overweight Cindy running 3 miles. Something I never thought would ever happen.

I'm training with 2 friends. We meet MWF and run. Yesterday we warmed up, then ran for 8 minutes, walked for 5, then ran for 8 - tho it was probably closer to 10 because somehow I hit the pause button on my phone! Can you believe it? Me... running for 8 minutes, and being ok. Yes, toward the end I was more shuffling than running, but I never walked. I kept going. And it felt amazing. Runners high maybe?

I just feel.... I don't know. I am just feeling good about myself. And that doesn't happen very often.

Alex is amazing me with the things he is learning in school. Homework started this week. He was a list of things to do for the week, and we have from Monday until Friday to get them done. So, when he gets home from school, he can play/watch tv, then we have dinner and then we do homework after dinner. He is working on the letter S, so we had to color a picture of S words, cut out pictures that start with S in the newspaper - He cut out a Steeler! HaHa. He had to count as high as he could, and then we did heads/tails with a coin and counted which had more, which had less. He knows how to tally - where you draw 4 lines and then cross them to make the 5th line. I just am amazed at what he is learning.

And I still wish I could be in his room all day. I just want to see what he does. At dinner we talk about his school day and what he learned, but I know I am missing out on fun stuff he is doing. I told the teacher at his conference that I would love to volunteer in his class. So I need to make some time to do that.

On Thursday, we met Paula Deen! I love her, and her southern accent. Her hair was as big as it is on tv, and she was just as sweet. She played high five with Alex and kept saying - you're missing sugah! It was so cute. But since she was playing with him, I didn't really get to talk to her. But, now I have a signed book from her. It's probably the first non-Star Trek person I've gotten a real autograph from. Except Barry Williams when I was in college. :)

Week 3 - 5K training, done.

2011-10-02T18:07:00.000-05:00

I still don't have any idea of how in the hell I'm going to be able to run for 30 straight minutes. This week was running in 3 minute bursts, and I'm sure the person on the treadmill next to me thought I was going to explode at any point - as he listened to my labored breathing.

I can tell you though, I do not like running. I am committed to my goal, but I don't foresee any 10Ks or half marathons in my future after I scratch this off my list. I much prefer taking classes. At this point, I'm too out of shape to take classes and run, so I'm running three times a week, and taking one class.

But, this week is week 4, and it's halfway through the training.So, here we go.

In the past two weeks, I've known 3 people who have had babies - all girls! My best friend had her baby last night, and I am so excited for her. I really feel our family is complete - with two kids- but that doesn't mean that sometimes I don't think about what would happen if we had the craziness that is 3 kids. But, I am kind of past the infant stage. I can easily go hold 3 little babies and smell them and get my fix. And since E rips out any and all things cute from her hair, I can buy cute bows and ribbons for them too!

I feel like the past two weeks, I've seen Jeff about 2 days. And it's true. He was on travel for a week and a half, Then home for 2 days, and then left again to go see his grandfather who is in failing health. We expect to hear, very soon, that he has passed away. I'm glad Jeff was able to make it in and say his goodbyes, but can't imagine how difficult it is.

I may die, but I will do a 5K

2011-09-24T08:39:00.000-05:00

Week 2 is done. 8 more to go. My knee feels the size of a large tire, and makes crackling sounds when I bend it. But, running is good right? Also, my left foot hurts. Should I stop running? I don't know. I'm taking the weekend off from exercise to see how I feel on Monday. I am so in the zone of running this 5K - but I don't want to ignore if I'm killing myself.

I ran outside - in the rain- yesterday because I couldn't go to the gym. E had a high fever the night before and you can't take them in for 24 hours. So, I was running and walking, pushing a stroller, in the rain. That's dedication right? And if you have seen my neighborhood, it's full of hills! I did a 2 mile loop and it took about 30 minutes. I should be doing 3 miles in 30 minutes, so I've got work to do.

E had a speech therapy appointment yesterday. I assumed she wouldn't interact with the therapist at all and hide under my legs, but she did great! At 2 years old, she had 10-15 words. Which isn't a lot. So, I called for an evaluation for her. In the past month, she really has had that word explosion I have been waiting for. She probably says 75+ words now - but not sentences. So, I just wanted to see where she stood and to get some pointers.

The therapist gave me some pointers on stuff to do with her but she sees no delay at all with e. Said she can come back out in 6 months to see her again if I think she's not talking as she should. According to those scientific looking charts, she is right on track. A big thing is that the therapist can understand 50% of the words, and she could.

A few things I need to work on - make E point things out and name them - instead of me saying - where is the butterfly, say show me something on this page. Make her point and name it. Also, make her name things she wants to play with. Tell her to get a toy, and then ask her to name it. I've really been "talking for her" so I'll need to switch it up a bit. She also suggested using the Sandra Boyton books with her - and we have plenty. There are bright big pictures in them, easy stuff for her to name. And easy word patterns for her to follow.

Watching the clock.

2011-09-09T16:58:00.000-05:00

I feel like all I ever do any more is watch the clock. Is it time to get Alex to the bus, is it time to pick him up. I'm so worried about missing the bus - but the school is exactly one mile from our house, so I could easily drive him.

Being a SAHM, means not really being on a schedule. Basically I have dinner done when Jeff gets home but that's about it. Oh, and bedtime. I'm strict with bedtime! But other than that, hey wanna spend 2 hours in Target for no reason - no problem! Wanna play at the park until 4:35 so I can still get home and make dinner by 5:30 - sure!

I'm constantly checking the time. Checking my email to see if Alex has had a meltdown. I imagine they would call me if he did, as it was be epic. But, Alex has been doing great at school. He loves his teacher, loves riding the bus, loves waiting for the bus, especially loves lunch time.

I still wish I could watch video of him all day, but that's fading. I wait to ask him about his day until we are eating dinner, so it can be "dinner conversation." Plus so he won't have to tell the story twice.

E knows when the clock says 3 something, it's time to go get Aaaallllaaaa. Today she brought me her shoes at 3:15. So, a bit early, but she really misses him. Alex gets off the bus and gives me a big hug.

He's learning the months and days, and always helps me change the date on the calendar thing we have when he's eating breakfast. He's learning to play games and new songs. He's also learning how to color in the lines. His coloring has vastly improved over the past two weeks. His handwriting has not. But, it's getting there. I work with him a lot on writing, so I can only imagine what the other kid's papers look like.

We got our first fundraising thing yesterday. It's already begun. At least it isn't wrapping paper or Joe Corbi pizza. Blech. Or candy bars. It's hard enough to resist stuff now, I can't imagine having a big box of candy.

On a side note, I'm seriously considering running a 5K. I've been running at the gym - I have about a 15 minute mile. Which is horrendous. But for an overweight 35 year old, isn't so bad. I need a goal. I need something to work toward. I don't have a high school reunion or some other thing I need to lose weight for, so I need some other sort of goal. I really would like to be able to run a 5K and say I did it. And have a picture of me at the finish line.

I've been working hard at the gym to get in better shape, and in a year, I've lost 48 pounds as of today. And 3 clothing sizes. I've been taking the boot camp class at the gym taught by the triathlon coach. She's very motivating. I'm not doing a marathon anytime soon, but we do run in her class and do things I never thought I could do. Last week I did 210 pushups. Seriously? Today I did 2 pull up. Huh? A year ago I never thought I would be able to say I did those things.

I'm not ready for the muscle milk just yet, but it does feel very good to be getting in shape. I gave away 2 trash bags of clothes that don't fit me anymore. 2 trash bags. I am almost solidly in a Large shirt. What?? Seriously. It's very weird to write these things down - like I almost can't believe it. I eat watermelon for dessert instead of brownies. It sucks, don't let me lie to you, but I'm happy to eat it.

Missing Him. Kind of.

2011-08-27T15:19:00.000-05:00

I've been with Alex mostly every moment of his life. I went back to work for 2 weeks when he was 2 months old, so I could officially give 2 weeks notice and get my vacation pay. That was like 3 paychecks!

Even when Alex goes with Jeff somewhere, I'm always quizzing them when they get home. What did you do, where did you go - even if it was just to the grocery store. I'm a bit wrapped up in his life.

So, it's VERY hard for me, when Alex is gone for 8 entire hours, and he comes home and I ask about his day, and he says - I don't remember. So, then I have to break it down for him and he tells me what they did most of the day. It kills me not to know what he is doing. IF the school offered a still picture shot of the classroom everyday, I would pay for it. Just to see what he is doing.

I hope this fades a little with time, but right now it's raw. He loves school, but complains the bus is loud and this one kid in his class is mean. I'm sure he'll get used to it, as will I. E and I are having a nice time too. Our first real day alone was Friday, as Jeff took the whole day off on Thursday. We went to the gym, then to Target - where we stopped to look at every box that had spongebob or Elmo on it. We snacked on popcorn, and I didn't have to yell at anyone.

At home we put puzzles together, built a marble race, and watched Bubble Guppies. It reminds me of what Alex and I used to do - 3 years ago. I know in a month or so, I'll cherish this time with E, and I'll know that Alex is ok at school. But it's all so new right now.

I signed up to volunteer in Alex's classroom. I have no idea what that means, but I signed up anyway. The teacher emailed me and asked if I would be willing to help her with a project. I said sure, and wondered what homework I would get. So, Alex brought home a big bag on Friday - I need to write the kids names on bags, and then put sticker letters of their names into each bag. Not too bad! Plus, I made Alex help me, so it's learning for him too. And the nice thing is I saw the kids name list of the class. There is only one Alex! Unlike on the playground when I yell Alex and 4 people turn around. Plus, there is an Elizabeth. So, it feels right.

Alex has the weekend, and we'll be back to the school thing on Monday. I do feel myself watching the clock. Waiting for 8:10 to walk him to the bus stop and 3:50 to pick him up. I've never been a slave to the clock before, so this is new for me too. But, I guess some routine is good.

Who is being trained here - me or Alex?

So, here we go again.

2011-08-25T17:29:00.000-05:00

I have a few friends that are starting to blog, and I thought, hmm... yeah I have one of those. I think it has 3 inches of dust on it like everything in my house.

So, today, on my 35th - *gulp* birthday, and Alex's first day of school, I'm going to start writing again. I know Facebook has mostly taken over everyone's life. Who even wants a Google+ account because you have facebook. But I know there are people who don't have a Facebook account - and perhaps they have indoor plumbing as well.

I don't know what exciting stuff to write about, but with Alex starting school, I am filled with all kinds of emotions. Sad that some of his best friends are born in the wrong month, so they have to wait a whole year to go to kindergarten. Sad about friends that have moved away and we don't see them anymore. Also sad about friends who we have disagreed with and lost, because Alex asks about them all the time. I'm not all sad I guess, but there is a lot of sadness lately. Is Alex really 5 and ready to start school? I guess he really is. Is E really 2 and a complete drama queen? Yes she is.

Am I sad that it will be only me and E during the day? Kind of. But also excited to have some alone time with her. This means playing something other than blocks, marble race and Wii. But, I'll be sad not to see Alex's block garages that E immediately runs over and knocks down.

So, anyway, blah blah. I'm excited for two friends that are pregnant and ready to pop any day soon! I love little babies, especially when I can still sleep at night. I'm excited that we are becoming good friends with our neighbors - who are also having a baby in a month. They like sushi, football and brownies. What isn't to love?

Fixing up the house - because we have to.

2011-08-02T13:52:00.000-05:00

So yeah, I think everyone has taken a blogging break this summer. I just don't feel all that interesting to write anything about. Right now, the kids are outside playing in the pool and water tables, and I'm sitting in the shade with my laptop. I feel like a 2011 Mom or something.

I have random thoughts sometimes, but nothing that will make a good blog post. Like I hate Ann Curry. She is fine on Dateline NBC, when she doesn't have to talk to anyone, but on the Today Show where she actually has to talk to people and deliver the news. Ugh. Tho I still love Matt Lauer. For some unknown reason. So I still watch the Today Show.

I officially past the 40 pounds lost mark about a week ago - from October. I've fill up a huge rubbermaid container of clothes I can't wear anyone. I've dropped two sizes. It's a great feeling. I'm 20 pounds away from my wedding weight - which is my next milestone. I thought the summer would derail me with losing weight, but it hasn't. The biggest thing I miss is making desserts. I was beginning to be a bit of a 1950s housewife - with always having some sort of cake or pie at home for after dinner. I was finally trying out all those recipe cards that I've been saving.But now I have dessert maybe once a month. And it's fat free sugar free pudding. Blah. Alex and E need to get a little older so that they can eat more dessert. If it isn't a cookie, they don't want it.

E turned 2 in July, and Alex is turning 5 in August. E needs to go to speech therapy - which I am somewhat grateful for, since I need a way to communicate with her that doesn't involve screeching for either of us. Alex goes to school on August 24th. He's so excited. More excited than I thought he would be. We've done a few things at the school and he's been great - he always leaves there with a huge smile on his face.

It hasn't been all fun and smiles tho. The past 3 weeks or so have been a bit of a house nightmare. I love our wrap around porch, but its wood, and wood rots. We put our hand on it for support and a big chunk came off. Oops. So, we had to figure out how to fix it. Bought a few tools, borrowed a few tools, a few trips to the contractor store - who knew Lowes and Home Depot didn't sell what we needed! Slapped some paint on the railing, and it's all new and fresh.

We got to enjoy that for one day - and Jeff left on a work trip- when I went to the basement to get something and saw Lake Barnett. I thought it was our AC pipes freezing again - as that happens sometimes, but this was a ton of water. After mopping forever and the water still coming from somewhere, I saw it was the water heater. Borrowed a wet vac from a neighbor, called a friend who is friends with a plumber. Plumber came over and said he thought he could fix it but not until later - as he was still on his current job. So, more mopping and he comes over a few hours later to fix. Can't fix it - need a new water heater. Jeff - on travel- and I try to figure out what to do. Jeff can fix almost anything, but he is 400 miles away and can't be home for 2 more days. Water is shut off to the house, so I'm filling up milk jugs and buckets of water from the neighbors house, and showering at the Y. I did a load of towels - from all my cleaning - at a friend's house. You really do find out who can help you in a pinch when you need water and showers. :) After calling around to plumbers to see how much it costs to install a water heater - and having a small heartattack- we officially decide to fix it ourselves. I can deal without water for a few days, and it'll be worth the savings. The next day I buy a water heater and have it delivered, and Jeff fixes it when he gets home. We fix a few leaks, and it's good to go. The first few nights I was still getting up about every house to check the basement as I was sure something would burst.

So, after we had hot water for about a week, we fixed rotten boards on the rest of our deck and painted all the columns and railings. Painting sucks. As does plumbing work. I can see why these people get paid a lot of money. But, it's nice to see our gleaming white porch and know that we painted it.

So, that's life up until this point. I've been looking at and applying for jobs when I see one that is exciting. I have yet to get a phone interview. Maybe I am not as awesome as I think I am? Or perhaps, the 9857694875645 other people applying have more experience. Hopefully, at some point in the near future I'll find something.

I guess my Mom knew what she was doing. Or Something.

2011-06-17T19:06:00.000-05:00

We went to Kings Dominion the other day, and I felt like I was channeling my Mom.

I used to HATE, and I mean HATE not eating in the park. I didn't understand why we couldn't just eat inside the park, no we had to walk ALL the way back out to the car. It was always the same thing - she'd put hotdogs in a water thermos thing and pour boiling water over them to cook them. We'd open the back door on the station wagon - open it like a tailgate for a pickup- and eat hotdogs and chips. Then we'd go back into the park until it was time for dinner, and repeat all over again. Of course, being 10 you don't understand that paying $10 for chicken and fries for lunch is a bit unreasonable.

So, when we go to KD, I pack a lunch for us. I don't have the cool thermos like my Mom had, so I pack sandwiches. I knew we were going to stay late this trip, so I even had pb&j in the car for the drive home so we wouldn't have to buy dinner somewhere. It is absolutely ridiculous how much food costs inside the park. And I never realized this until I was the one that was going to have to pay for it!

Tho, I have to say that the souveniers are somewhat reasonably priced. And since KD switched over to Snoopy stuff this year, I'm more inclined to buy stuff. Even tho I tell my Mom all the time I don't need anymore Snoopy stuff. Who can resist a towel that has the black zig zag on it from Charlie Brown? Not me for very much longer....

It's kind of sad that I can't open my back door like my mom's car and eat lunch like we used to. That back door thing was a good spot to sit. You can throw newspapers or phone books from the back of the car quite easily when that is down. I know these things. You would think delivering phone books in the middle of summer was an awesome way to pass the time. Well, it wasn't. And my Mom kept all the money! I guess she paid the mortgage and water bill....

I feel like a little kid again when I go to KD with my kids. I remember that it was always so much fun going when I was younger. We would get there when the place opened, and leave when it closed. I've heard my friends scream for their Moms on roller coasters, and had to talk to my Mom on the way home to keep her awake.

I can't even think of a title.

2011-05-06T14:32:00.000-05:00

Blah. So, I'm so not into blogging much anymore. I feel with the invention of facebook, I tell all my stories there. But, I know some people aren't on facebook or aren't as obsessed with it as I am. But really, I never really think - oh, I have to blog that! anymore.

Alex isn't very exciting these days - tho the stuff that comes out of his mouth sometimes is! And E - being the second child, her milestones just aren't as blog worthy to me. I'm sure she'll end up in therapy someday for that, but hey, what can you do.

The two things I've been doing lately is cooking and going to the gym. One requires the other. I've been doing the stairmaster and treadmill for months with minimal results. I hate dieting, and am trying to just eat healthy, but you all know how that goes. So, this week I decided to shake things up. I started doing classes. On Wednesday I did Water Zumba. Now the instructor, who was out of the water, was sweating like crazy. I hardly felt anything. Plus, I was the youngest person by about 50 years. I had done water aerobics a few months ago, but again, I was the youngest person in the room by decades and didn't get that much out of it. Everyone is into Zumba it seems, so I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I'm going to try a regular Zumba class and see. The one nice thing about the water Zumba was no one could see when I screwed up a move. :)

Today I did a cycling class. It felt totally 1990s, but I wanted something that would work off some fat. The teacher said that whenever I needed to stop, I could, and that she didn't expect me to even make it a half hour - it's an hour class. Well, I made it the whole hour and she was impressed. The only thing I broke was my water bottle when I dropped it on the floor. I was damn impressed with myself. I was sweating like crazy but I never gave up. My butt hurt because it's 9 sizes bigger than the tiny seat, but it was such a good workout. I'm trying to lose this next 10 pounds and get away from a certain number. Right now I'm below my pregnancy weight with Alex, but still fat. :) My next goal is my wedding weight - and I have about 34 pounds to go.

I really like going to the gym. I've read so many books while working out, and Alex and E love going to the nursery and the kids gym. I'll admit that when I am done working out, I'll sit in the lobby and play angry birds for a half hour, just to have quiet and peace to myself. Is that so wrong? I guess the best thing is being able to put on clothes that haven't fit in years! I've been giving away clothes as they don't fit, so I can't gain weight or I'd have to run around naked and no one wants that.

The other excitement in my days is cooking. I've mentioned many times before that we are making our way through the America's Test Kitchen cookbook. This past weekend I made a coconut cake - all from scratch. It was HEAVEN! Jeff said that it is the best cake he has ever had. He's so not a sweets person. Which is hard when I want to split dessert! Alex loved it as well. on Wednesday I made Beef Burgundy. Which takes FOREVER and uses 93485039845 ingredients. I love trying new recipes and finding out what sucks and what doesn't. Someday I'll make beef wellington. That's my ultimate "to-make" dish.

Yum.

Signed. Sealed. Registered.

2011-04-27T19:59:00.000-05:00

Alex is now officially registered for Kindergarten. It feels like such a milestone. And I guess it is. It's hard to believe he will be 5, and will be starting the next stage in his life. That sounds so profound. Blah. I'm ready for him to go to school, and he is too. I'm not sad at sending him. I'm really sad about thinking that he is old enough to go. I'm also ready for the one on one time with Elizabeth. She's always had to compete with Alex. So, it'll be nice to just be able to hang out with her. Maybe we'll go get weekly mani/pedis! :)

I had to prep him to talk to the teacher and answer her questions. He's very open and talkative to people he knows but is a bit shy around new adults. Tho lately, he's been a chatterbox. He loves to tell everyone he is 4. And that Abby is 4 and Caitlin is 2. His sister is 1, and that I am 34. He's a bit obsessed with ages.

When we got to the school, the teacher took Alex to her classroom and I filled out paperwork and proved that I lived where I do. I think it would be somewhat easier to get a passport than enroll your child in school.

When Alex came back to the front of the school he was so excited about the classroom and what he did. He colored a picture, wrote his name, counted bears and cut some paper. I guess he did ok. My biggest worry was that he would start talking gibberish or say he didn't know how to count or something. I know this was just an assessment so they can know what they are dealing with in the fall, but it was still a little nerve wracking. I also assumed I would be with him, but nope - I was filling out paperwork.

So, my next thing on my list is to find him a first day of school outfit. Jeff already poo pooed the sweater vest outfit I found at Gymboree. I have a bit of an unhealthy obsession with sweater vests. And perhaps it will be too hot in August for one, and it was more of an Easter sweater vest. But it still was adorable. And I still want it for him.

Virginia is for Car Repairs. Not Lovers.

2011-04-18T10:34:00.002-05:00

So, in Virginia, you have to get your car inspected every year. Its a good thing I guess - so people get their brakes done and don't drive on bald tires. But it's also annoying, because auto shops do the inspections - not the DMV or anything, so I'm always certain that they are going to screw me because I'm a girl or say something is wrong when it isn't.

We changed the windshield wipers since we knew those were going bad, and checked all the lights and such. Thought it would be a simple thing. But no, it failed. The power steering rack - the thing that makes it easy to steer- is leaking fluid. Get a quote for $1300 to fix it. Uh yeah. I call around to a couple other shops, and all the shops give me the same quote.

Jeff, who has worked on cars all his life has said that he has never changed one. They are supposed to last the life of the car. So, a little research on the internet shows that Chrysler sucks and these things leak and die all the time at early miles. At one point, 1300 steering racks were on order. How can this not be a recall?

Anyway, Jeff basically has every tool known to man, and is pretty handy with fixing cars. He's never done one of these, but looks in the repair manual and online and thinks it will take the better part of a day or so. He said that is was definitely leaking, but that it's not really a safety issue - you won't be driving down the road and then just fly off a bridge. If it goes bad, it'll just be hard to steer.

Well, he got the old one out, after about 5 hours of work, and 2 trips to the auto parts store. There are about 50 bolts and things to move to get it out. So, he is halfway done. So, now, in the evenings, he is going to work on getting the new one in. He said that it should go in quicker than it came out. Hopefully. He's spent about $200 on parts and tools, so if he can get it back in, we will have saved almost $1100.

I'm thankful that he can fix this kind of stuff for us. Our 80 year old neighbor came out to check what we were doing and he was trying to help. We were just waiting for him to come out - he's nosey, but in a good way I guess. I even got my hands dirty and cut up the back of my hand trying to get out one stupid bolt that was halting the process.

I can't wait until Alex is old enough to learn about tools and fixing cars. Jeff asks for a tool and I admit I almost checked on google on my phone to see what it looked like so I didn't look dumb. :)

So, right now, my van is up on jack stands in our driveway. We're living rural right now. And I'm stuck at home. Not that I really had anywhere to go, but I don't like being at home for long periods of time, as everyone can attest to. But, at least its a nice day, so I can run the kids ragged outside.

I've been baking since I dont know how to fix cars. I made cinnamon rolls from scratch - delish! And brownies. Today we might make cookies. If I can't leave the house, maybe I'll just be a 5-s type housewife and have a nice hot pie ready for when Jeff gets home from work. Now I gotta go find my apron and pearls!

Ready for School.

2011-04-12T15:28:00.001-05:00

You can preregister online and then take in the 9843753984 pieces of documentation to prove he is who he is and you live where you say you do. I'm going to take that over tomorrow.

It's a bit exciting. He is SSSOOOO excited to go. We drive past his school all the time - its basically on the way back to our house if we are out. He talks about riding the bus all the time. He wants to go.

I often go back and forth on whether I should have sent him to preschool. But, I think he'll be fine. I talked with a friend of mine who is a kindergarten teacher and she says all the kids are basically on the same level after about a week. The preschoolers just know how to sit in a circle quicker. :)

I just ordered him some Super Mario Brothers folders. I have no clue if he even needs folders, but I know he will flip over these. I can't wait to go backpack shopping with him. Haha.

Knock Knock.

2011-04-07T07:21:00.000-05:00

Alex is on the road to becoming a comedian. Or perhaps not, since his jokes are awful. But, he has been telling jokes like crazy lately. I'm not sure what spurs his love of stuff. It's not like Jeff and I are big joke tellers. At least not ones for a 4 year old ear. :) I know on Sid the Science Kid they tell jokes a lot. but he hardly watches that show. He really loves Knock Knock Jokes. And he tries to get E to play along, but all she ever does is say "knock knock" and moves her hand like she is knocking on a door.

Knock Knock
Who's There?
Tree
Tree who?
Tree is blowing!

Yeah. Comedy genius right? He basically looks around and uses what he sees. He falls over laughing and I have to fake it, but hey, he's having fun.

Jeff and I are addicted to America's Test Kitchen. I believe I've told you this before. We are working our way through the book. It's very interesting to see them make a recipe, then read the recipe in the book. If I get lost, I just start the show again and watch them make it. The only thing I haven't liked so far is their potato salad. But that is because it is made with vinegar. And Manda will tell you that I DO NOT like vinegar. But, I tried it.

Over the weekend we made chicken kiev. I never in a million years would have picked that recipe, but it was Jeff's turn to pick. I just can't imagine butter coming out of a piece of chicken in a good thing. But it was awesome. So good. I also used taragon for the first time. Not a fan. Tastes like licorice.

I love trying new recipes and figuring out how to cook in different ways. Jeff is sad that when we try a recipe we really like, he thinks we will never have it again because I want to try a new recipe. I ate the same thing week after week growing up, so I like variety!

Tonight we are making a pork roast. It's a super simple recipe - Love those! Marinated it overnight in salt and brown sugar, and will slow roast it for 5-6 hours in the oven. That's it! The only thing that sucks is smelling it for those 5-6 hours. On the show, the host said it was one of his top 5 recipes ever. So, if he not so great recipes are good, then this should be awesome. We shall see about 5pm.

We have started our garden again. Will be planting tomatoes, broccoli, green peppers, lettuce and squash. We're hoping to get a better crop this year - I think last year our raised bed was too crowded. So, we're not going to plant as much this year. Last year, if the seed sprouted, we planted it. And not much grew except for cherry tomatoes. So, we'll try again. When the zombie attack and we have to grow our own food, I want to be prepared and know what I am doing.

That's right. When the zombies attack. It'll happen. Just ask Jeff.

I feel accomplished.

2011-03-28T13:23:00.000-05:00

It's not often that we actually cross off anything on our to do list. Or do stuff we need to do. Like dust, or clean the gutters. Blah. This weekend, I felt very accomplished.

I sold some kid clothes and a few toys at a local consignment sale. It's a church that does the sale, and they take 30% of your profit and it goes to their youth group. I feel like that is a better way to spend my profit money than giving it to a for-profit place. I sold about a third of my stuff and should make a little over $100. Not too bad. It's a huge ordeal to tag everything and get it all sorted, and actually part with the stuff. Many times Alex would see something and beg me not to sell it. I let him take back one item. We donated toys to the hospital back in December and he didn't have any issues with letting go of stuff then. I really don't know why he was having such a hard time this time. Maybe because I didn't get rid of anything he liked back then??

Between that sale, and a few other sales in the past few weeks, Alex and E are set for spring/summer and fall. And perhaps beyond if they don't grow too quick. I'm noticing that with Alex and E's clothes - I buy 2 or 3 for every 1 item for Alex. Alex has one pair of shoes, and E has 5. But, this is the advantages of shopping these sales - I spent less than what I made at the sale for all their clothes for the next 9 months or longer. Alex is getting to the size that it is harder to find stuff for him that isn't ripped or stained. So, I'm going to have to start *gasp* shopping at the real stores. But, as I told Jeff, with the money we have saved in the past 5 years, it's ok to start spending money on clothes. It really does pain me to spend more than $2 or so on a pair of jeans.

After all the sorting and sales, Jeff and I finished our taxes. Yeah! And we signed up for Fios. We are like the last people on the planet getting Fios. But we finally got tired of Comcast jacking up our rates and not getting anything for it. We've been talking FOREVER about switching, but just never did. Because we just talk the talk and never get moving on anything. So, I'm just glad that we made some headway.

With our tax refund, we're going to get a nice surroundsound thingymajig so that we can be like the movies. We usually have movie night on Friday night, so it'll be like the theater right? I just shake my head yes at whatever he'll want to get because I have no idea of those things. I did request that we have to actually hang up the speakers and make it all fancy. He's agreed to that.

Now if we can just get to the rest of our to do list. I don't even know whats on it. But I'm sure there is something.

I hate winter. I love spring.

2011-03-17T18:56:00.001-05:00

Spring means the park. And the park means picnic lunches and hanging out for hours. And by hours I mean 4.5 hours. It was glorious. And warm. And the kids were making soup in the mudpuddles under the swings.

This is stuff we can't do in our house. I won't allow it. But you want to throw rocks and sticks and round pointy ball things into a mud puddle and call it soup - OUTSIDE- then go right ahead.

I can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow.

Days like this - when the park isn't crowded on a nice day- make me happy to stay at home. I know on Saturday the park will suck. But on Thursday, it's perfect. And my friends and I share snacks, drinks, stories and meltdowns.

Glorious.

E didn't nap today - since we were at the park for 4.5 hours. So, she of course fell asleep while eating dinner. Mid-applesauce. We tried to wake her up so she could go to bed at a reasonable hour, but she would whine as her eyes were rolling back into her head and falling asleep again. So, I put her to bed. At 5:30. And she'll stay there until morning. She loves to sleep. She got that from me.

So, Alex and I went to Target. I love Target almost as much as I love the park. I found all kinds of stuff on clearance and am filling up my new pantry. The one thing this house didn't come with is a pantry. It sucks. We have food stuck everywhere. I never know what I have or how much I have. As I started going through stuff, I found out I had 6 boxes of brownie mix. That's a bit much. So, Jeff and I came up with a plan to put shelves in the basement to be our pantry. We got the shelves this week at Costco - Number 3 after the park and Target- and will be cool home people and build our pantry this weekend. I've already started going through the crap that is downstairs to make room for our pantry. Boxed up kitchen appliances that I haven't used in 5 years. The pressure cooker we had to have - and have never used. The old tea maker. The chilled dip thingy from Tupperware. The easy brownie pan thing that was all the rage 2 years ago - still sealed in the box. (And I made brownies tonight and didn't even use it - so now I only have 5 boxes of brownies) Cake pans. Blah. It was all hidden before.

But I love organizing, so here we go.

Florida Trip Wrap Up.

2011-03-14T14:45:00.000-05:00

It feels so long ago already - and it was just a few weeks. We had such a good time on our trip - even tho most of it was left unplanned and we were just going to wing it. We are really planners - well, moreso me, so it was actually good to have what we were going to do and when kind of up in the air. Of course, this monumentally backfired on us on the shuttle launch night. But I'll get to that.

We drove down the day before the launch. We got to Brunswick GA, which was about 9 hours away. We specifically picked a hotel with an indoor pool, as that was a great motivation factor on the last trip on the way down. Alex loves to swim, and I kept telling him we would swim when we got there. Get to the hotel, only to find out that the pool is closed for repairs. Whoops. We were going to go out and grab some dinner, but they had a restaurant in the hotel, and we got free meals for the kids, so we just decided we had enough of driving and ate there. It would have been fine, but E was tired and cranky, they brought out the wrong dinner for her. It was a steak place, so I got a steak, but E was sitting on my lap - the only place she would be quiet. So, Jeff had to cut my steak for me. I asked him if he would feed it to him too, but he drew the line at cutting it. Haha.

So, I set two different alarms, so we can get up bright and early the next morning to get to the launch. The launch is at 4:50, and we are about 3 hours away. I could not find any information about traffic, how long it would take to get to the visitor center, what to expect. The only thing was people said leave a lot of time. Ok, what is a lot of time, when should we leave? It was a bit frustrating. I wanted to leave no later than 8am, so we would have plenty of time.

We got to just outside titusville about 11:30. We stopped and got some subway subs for lunch, and also to take in with us to eat. And we got into the line to get to the Kennedy Space Center. We waited maybe 45 minutes in line and then we were on our way. I was amazed. I thought for sure it would take hours.

So, we get parked, load up the stroller with all our junk, and the kids :)- and head off to be searched. It wasn't too bad - just like airport security I guess. We have no idea where to watch the launch from. I searched online for the best spot but got different answers from different places. Plus, there are crowds of people in different spots as well. We stake out a spot somewhat in the shade, and close to the stage where astronauts are talking and they have a big screen showing the shuttle being prepared for launch. We sat down, ate lunch and tried to entertain the kids for the next 4 hours. As we got closer to launch time, we left where we were and went to a better spot - Jeff was using Google Earth to find the best spot. We couldn't see the launch pad from the visitor center, so we just have to guess and go off of what other people said - in order to know where to stand. We finally ended up where we should have been all along, and had a great view of the launch.

Alex was really amazed at the shuttle going into the sky, tho he kept thinking that something was wrong with it from all the smoke. The sound that you hear about 35 seconds after liftoff - amazing. It's what people always talk about, and it was awesome to hear. I'll admit to getting a little choked up when it finally went up. We had started talking about this trip almost a year before, and we went down in November to see the launch that was eventually scrubbed, so it was great to finally see it happen.

After the launch, we went and listened to a mission control specialist talk about what the astronauts were doing and how everything was working. We also saw the launch from a bunch of different angles on TV screens. It was just an awesome experience.

We knew traffic getting out was going to be rough, so we hung around for a few hours. Let the kids play on the playground, ate some dinner and bought souvenirs. When we finally left, it took about an hour to go 5 miles.

We didn't have a hotel booked for this night because if the launch didn't happen, we were going to head over to Orlando. If it did, we were going to head south for the rest of our vacation. We knew the hotels around the KSC were booked - we had checked, but we figured if we drove down the road for a half hour or so, we'd have our pick of hotels. WRONG! We were driving 95S with a caravan of other cars and we would all see each other in the lobby only to be told they were sold out. Jeff was on his phone trying to find a hotel and was having no luck. About 11pm - 3 hours after we started driving- we were seriously considering stopping in a rest area and sleeping in the car. We figured the kids were in their car seats and would be fine. We tried one last place, and they had rooms. It didn't look like the best place, but it was a bed and bathroom.

When we get to our room, the number of the room is written in sharpie. And one of the two door locks didn't work. Honestly, I didn't care. Everyone was tired, and cranky and we just needed to go to sleep. We placed all our luggage by the door so if someone tried to get it, they'd have a hard time. We were actually kind of worried about that. But, we all slept fine, got up and went to Cracker Barrel for a yummy breakfast and headed on down the road.

We stopped in Port St Lucie for one night. It's just a random town that we picked on our way south. We all hit the beach and had a fun afternoon. We saw a tour bus full of baseball players going into our hotel and I thought maybe they were a major league team. But no - they were from Rutgers. But I still took a picture of them. Haha. The next day we headed to Ft. Lauderdale. We spent 3 days here. Loved it. Mostly because I love the beach. Jeff and I found a sushi buffet and got our fill. Alex tried to eat jello with chopsticks, and E found a friend who I believe was French. We also ate at Primanti Brothers - a famous Pittsburgh restaurant. Their thing is to put french fries on their sandwiches. The many times we've been in Pittsburgh, we've never eaten there. So, it took driving all the way to Florida to eat there. Jeff and I weren't that impressed with the sandwiches - tho we think we each had small heartattacks after eating them.

We left Ft Lauderdale and headed to Tampa. Jeff had a work conference to attend for several days - the reason our trip was extended this time. Since he was "already" in Florida, they wanted him to go. Guess mileage was cheaper than airfare! Jeff had to go to boring meetings and stress about work stuff. The kids and I swam in the pool, went to the Glazer Children's Museum and the Lowry Zoo. All fantastic. We left about 1pm on his last day of meetings and headed north. We stopped in Savannah Georgia. The next morning, Jeff and Alex went to a military museum, and E and I hit the outlet mall that we passed the exit before our hotel. We made it home about 9pm and had never wanted to see our bed so badly.

It's one thing to travel and live the hotel life with adults, but with two kids and all their crap that comes along with it! Plus, E hates the pack n play and fought sleep almost every night. She's almost too long for it anyway, so I imagine the next trip we take, she'll be in a bed.

I've uploaded pics on facebook and flickr. Too many to post here.

I'm trying to wean Alex off of electronics.

2011-03-10T09:40:00.000-05:00

Not the TV of course, that would be silly. As it is the electronic babysitter. :) When E goes down for her nap, Alex and I do something together - as it's our time alone. I usually ask what he wants to do, and we do it. So, that usually involves playing the Wii or Angry Birds - he calls it Birdy Game.

He's addicted to both of these - constantly asking to play. But, I don't let him play when E is awake - since she can't play, and will screech the entire time. When we went on vacation, the Wii stayed at home of course, but Birdy game came with us. It was a great way to keep him quiet on the 14 hour drive to Florida. He also played it in the mornings when he got up. I have Angry Birds on both my phone and ipod, so when one died, he had another loaded up. It was a nice thing to have for him on our trip - as it kept him quiet in the mornings while other people were still sleeping.

But, since we have been home, I've been having boot camp for Birdy Game. He's played it once, and got frustrated with it, so I took it away. He hasn't asked to play it since I took it away - because he has been constantly asking about playing Wii. I guess he misses his Mario Kart. The Wii is still locked in the safe, so that's my excuse as to why he can't play it. We've been doing other stuff during our time in the afternoon - like stamps, and coloring, or making cakes - I made a from scratch red velvet cake the other day. I've made frosting from scratch, but never a cake. It was divine. And the perfect way to stay on your diet when there is cake in the house is to give 3/4ths of it away to friends.

So anyway, the first thing Alex asks about in the morning is playing Wii. At some point I'll get it out of the safe. But for now, I'm all about baking or playing candy land. I guess those should be options anyway during the afternoons, but I hate winter and I hate staying inside. I'd much rather be outside every afternoon with him instead of inside anyway.

In a word, Awesome.

2011-03-07T13:36:00.000-05:00

Our Florida vacation - take two- was awesome. It was tiring, unpredictable and I'm kind of over hotel rooms at the moment. But, it was something I will always remember.

Details to come. I'm still working on laundry.

February can suck it too.

2011-02-13T17:25:00.002-05:00

Seriously.

Blah.

Tho, I am anxiously awaiting the 24th for the shuttle launch. I'll find out in a few days whether it will be the quickest trip down and back from Florida ever, or if we get to extend our stay about a week.

January can suck it.

2011-02-01T23:14:00.000-05:00

I'm over January. Really. It's after Christmas, and there isn't anything to look forward to for several months. It's cold, dreary. In Virginia, we've been getting ice storms and snow storms - just enough to be annoying, and just enough that I can't leave the house. I can shovel snow tho, just can't drink anywhere.

The other reason January can suck it - is because I think Alex and January don't agree. When he was 5 months old, in January, he was hospitalized for suspected RSV. Turned out to be a nasty virus, not RSV, thank goodness. Or something. Last January, Alex had another nasty virus and had a febrile seizure. Scariest thing I've ever seen in my life, and I hoped I would never see it again. I have an Aunt who has epilepsy, so I've seen seizures before, but she's an adult, not my child, and her seizures weren't the "twitchy" kind - she just repeated phrases and kind of rocked back and forth.

So, what happens this January? Apparently Alex has another virus, which I didn't even know he had, and he has another seizure. So, the one thing I never wanted to see again in my life, I saw it again. Tho, going through the first one, I was prepared for this one, and did everything correctly - unlike last time. And I'm concerned that he had another seizure that we didn't see. He wet the bed a few hours before he had the seizure that I saw. He hasn't wet the bed in months, probably a year. So it was very unusual. But I just chalked it up to him being in a deep sleep, or something. He didn't complain about being hot or not feeling well, and went right back to bed. I'm wondering if he had 2 seizures that night, but we only saw one.

I had these seizures as a child, and there is medicine they can give you if they last longer than 5 minutes. But his never do. So, it's one of those things he will grow out of. Blah.

January can also suck it because my grandmother is not doing well. We just celebrated her 92nd birthday. She was way more lucid than the last time I saw her in November. But she is now in a nursing home, confined to a wheelchair, and doesn't know who anyone is. So, in a year, she went from living at home, to living in assisted living, to now in a nursing home. It just sucks. My other grandmother wasted away in a nursing home for years. I guess you have quality of life there. You don't know that you don't know anyone. To you, taking a nap and staring out the window is the best part of your day.

I just hate that up until last year, she was walking, talking, cooking, being herself. Now she isn't. I also hate that people that seem to care less about her were at her party. My one cousin was there with her kids - the last time they saw her was probably at her 90th birthday party - and I know that 2 of her kids that were there, that was the first time they had met my grandmother. That was the mother of runon sentences. I live 2 hours away, and try to get up to see her every couple of months. They've gone years without seeing her, and they live a half hour away. This is the same side of the family that was right there with a truck to take everything they could out of her house when it was put up for sale.

When I would visit my grandmother, she would send me home with stuff - so that I could have it and enjoy it, and no one else would get it. She gave me her china so that no one else could get it. Elizabeth's middle name - Grace- is named after her. It just really irks me that family just shows up when its convenient and there is cake.

Blah. It's been a sucky month.

But February will hopefully prove to be a better month. The Steeler's are in the Super Bowl. We're having a big party with all our Steeler's friends. In 06 and 09 they won the Super Bowl and I was pregnant both times. Not pregnant now, so I'm hoping that doesn't ruin our chances! Also, we're headed to Florida again at the end of the month to see the shuttle launch. We're just making a quick trip - if you can call it that. No Disney this time, as really, not much has changed there in the past 4 months! So, it's basically down and back. I'm hoping the kids are ready for another marathon session in the car. Thank god for DVD players.

Aching Uterus.

2011-01-17T11:12:00.000-05:00

So, two people I know just had babies in the past two weeks, and one of my good friends had a baby on Friday. It kind of makes your uterus hurt, seeing those tiny babies. Jeff and I are done having kids, but it doesn't mean that I might not yearn for more. If I was younger, if we had more money, blah blah. I'm happy to hold the new baby and smell her and watch her yawn. I love little baby yawns.

But then my friends remind me - up all night, cost of formula, washing bottles, can't leave the house with 4 hours of prep work. Oh, I know what comes with a baby. I actually went back to my email and looked at what I was writing to friends in July 2009. It's kind of a scared straight!

So, for now, I'll just make phone calls to go and hold the baby while my friend can go take a shower in peace for 5 minutes.

The big thing is I want to go back to work. E is old enough now that I don't mind putting her in daycare if I went back to work. Alex will start school in the fall, so if I got something soon, he would only be in it for a little while. I've been applying randomly for jobs, but haven't heard anything. The problem is 4 million people are applying for the same job. A friend told me she applied to be a waitress at a new restaurant that was opening - and there were over 800 applications. Seriously? I have no hope.

E is now on the Paula Deen Diet.

2011-01-14T20:52:00.000-05:00

We have to fatten her up. You would think this would not be a problem in my family. However, it is apparently.

E had her 18m appt today. She is 22.5lbs - which is the same she weighed at her 15 month appt. So, she is on the Paula Deen diet - upping her calories with butter, cheese and other fattening things. Right after the appointment, we ate lunch of nuggets and fries. I guess I could have slathered them with cheese and butter, and perhaps more lard, but I didn't.

She really does eat well, and a lot, and a variety of foods. She does not like PB&J tho. I've tried to feed it to her on crackers, on bread, on tortillas, on a spoon. The girl just does not like it. Should I put coke in her sippy? She loves my coke zero. Of course, zero calories. So, that's no help.

She had a nasty virus in midNovember where she lost 1.5 pounds. Not much to you or I, but when you only weight 22 to begin with, that's a lot. The Dr and I both think that she is still catching up from that loss, but she really dropped off her curve. So, her head and height is at 95% and her weight is at 25%. I bought some Boost for her today and she didn't want it at all. So, maybe if I put some chocolate in it? I have no idea. I also am going to try and give her a bedtime snack. I'm bad with snacks for E, because I usually only think about it when Alex asks for a snack.

If only I could be on a high calorie diet. I would save Tastykake first hand with my increased intake of chocolate frosted cupcakes and butterscotch krimpets. Delish.

First Week Success!

2011-01-08T10:38:00.000-05:00

I hopped on the scale today - I lost 5.5 pounds since Monday. Wahooo! Only 4598453 more to go. :)

So far, following the plan has been pretty easy. It's a little hard trying to readjust point values but I'm working on that. I love that you can eat as much fruit as you want. I've noticed that I'm super hungry about 8pm. That's our normal snack time. So, I've been eating an apple or orange. You can also eat veggies for no points, but who wants a big pile of green beans at 8pm?

So, I'm happy. I'm also happy that the gym isn't super crowded. I was wondering if it was going to be packed with everyone making NY resolutions to lose weight. But, I go in the middle of the morning when all the other losers are at work I suppose.

In other news, we are so torn about whether to go back down to Florida for the shuttle launch. It's been delayed again - this time until most likely the end of February. We were just there in November, so we don't need to do Disney again. But, what is there really to do in Florida in February? Too cold for the beach. We could go to museums and such, but we could do that here. The trip home from Florida last time was a mess with Alex puking several times and just seeming like it was taking 56 hours to cross any state line.

We looked into the Auto train and flying, but both of those are insanely expensive. And the auto train actually takes 18 hours! It's only 13 to drive!

The biggest thing, is we don't wanna make the drive all the way down again, and then it gets delayed again. This time we don't have disney to distract us. And we did everything in titusville we wanted to do last time we were down. So, we're thinking. The cost to add the launch viewing into the ticket was only $8 I think onto the price of the normal entrance ticket, so we aren't out a bunch of money if we don't see it.

If we don't go down, we'll probably go over to Waples Island or something like that on the Eastern Shore in the near future. When we went to Chincoteaque Island when Alex was 1, there is a NASA site over there, and they launch rockets. So, we could always go over for a rocket launch - and it's only about 4 hours to get there!

Back on the Wagon.

2011-01-02T22:41:00.000-05:00

Back onto Weight Watchers.

I've been maintaining since before Thanksgiving, but starting tomorrow - since today we had to finish all the pie and cookies from Christmas! I'll be back on Weight Watchers. I'm still at my lowest since before 2006 - I'm about 15 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant with him. I haven't seen this weight in a long time, and it's been nice to maintain it - even tho I haven't been really trying.

WW has a new plan with new point system. I did a 7 day free trial on their website, read all about the new plan, know most of what I need to know, and downloaded an app on my droid to track points. So yeah, I do it the free way. Haha. It's crazy expensive. $27 a month? Hell no!

Anyway, I'm not setting any goals or anything - just plan on going slow and steady. I'll weigh in every Saturday - as that is the day that is cheat day. I save all my "extra" weekly points and splurge on that day on whatever I want. It works out well that way. Plus that is our America's Test Kitchen day. :)

Today we made Chicken and Dumplings from ATK. VERY good. Tho, as always happens, our dumplings didn't poof very much. We thought we messed up with the temperature of the milk, but when I checked the date of our baking powder - since we made fresh biscuits on Saturday morning that didn't rise either - I found out it expired in 2008. Ooops. So, we're blaming the baking powder. And I promptly put that on my shopping list. It's just one of those things that you can never use up - kind of like random spices that you buy for one recipe and then never use again.

It was pretty complicated to make, and Jeff and I were flying around the kitchen trying to get it made and not step on the Hot Wheels tracks that had been placed underfoot. I froze the leftovers, as it made enough for us and a friend we had over for dinner, and then half the dutch oven was still full. It'll be a nice meal to put out later for an easy dinner.

New Year. New Post. New uh... Something Else.

2011-01-01T15:50:00.000-05:00

What a hell of a week we've had. Seriously. I had all these plans to blog and stuff - yes I think about it all the time. I should write something, but then the screeching and stuff gets in the way.

Christmas this year just didn't feel the same. I was never in the mood to make cookies or treats, I didn't make my normal batch of stuff I make for the neighbors. Alex and I did make sugar cookies that *gasp* came from a box. I took some of those to our favorite neighbor and to the new couple that moved in next door. We put up lights and decorated inside the house but it just didn't seem like we were in the spirit. I love Christmas. And I was so excited for Christmas this year with Alex because he seemed so into Santa and wanted to see him everytime he could - as opposed to years past when he just screamed and ran away from him.

We started out Christmas Eve with our tradition of eating junk food and going out to look at lights. We eat a bunch of appetizer type food and drink sparkling juice. It's kind of a take off of the Christmas Eve party that Jeff and his brothers and sister threw for his parents for their Christmas Gift when they didn't have much to spend on gifts. I like it, and the kids like eating their weight in pigs in a blanket and cheese.

Then, we pile into the car and go out to look at lights. Alex was whining the whole time and fell asleep about 20 minutes into the trip, and then E fell asleep about 2 minutes later. Jeff had a hankering for Egg Nog, so we went out in search of some. We went to 7-11, 2 WaWa's, Bloom the grocery store, and finally ended up at McDonalds for an Egg Nog shake. It wasn't quite egg nog for him, but it was as best as we could get at 8pm on Christmas Eve.

Jeff and I never got to see A Christmas Story either! That's a tradition! Maybe that was what messed us up. Tho, I think it was really the stomach virus that E got on Christmas Eve, and that we all ended up getting Christmas night that really messed us up. We have never all 4 been sick at the same time, but we can't say that anymore. It was awful. I hate puking. I think it is the worst feeling in the world. And I puked for half the night. Luckily, the toy store also puked in our living room so the kids had new stuff to play with.

E loved her shopping cart,

and Alex loved his Marble Race game. As much as he wanted Gator Golf, I think he has played it twice. He really loves all the stuff we got that you can build. He just loves to build stuff, take it apart, and build something else.

We decided to go up to visit my parents and brother's family on Christmas because the snow storm to end all snow storms was coming, and we were afraid we wouldn't make it up there later in the week. Little did we know that everyone felt ill up there too, so we were all just a house full of sickies - tho we didn't quite know it yet. Jeff spent most of Christmas puking in my brother's back yard and we opened gifts as quick as we could and drove back home. I got sick a few hours after we got home and Alex got sick about midnight. It was a fun night, but by morning we were done with being sick, and just feeling miserable.

So, Christmas 2010, that is what I will remember about you. We didn't make it into WV to visit with Jeff's family because we were still feeling not quite right. So, we stayed home for New Years. It was nice not to travel anywhere for a whole week. We are normally so on the go around this time. We never really get a chance to just hang out at our house and play with our toys.

We went over to a friends house for NYE. We watched the kids run circles in her living room and play Kinect. I love the pictures that it takes after each game. Tho, I might have to hurt someone if they end up on the internet. Haha. E was the last kid standing - and the youngest. She made it to 1am. I tried many times to get her to go to sleep and she wasn't having it. I guess she is just a party girl!

I got several America's Test Kitchen recipe books - my favorite cooking show, along with their "down home" version - Cooks Country. We're decided to make a recipe from the book each Saturday. Jeff and I both love to cook, but we hardly ever make these elaborate type meals because we had two kids running around our feet. So, we decided Saturday would be a good day, because one of us could wrangle the kids while the other one cooked. I love trying different types of food and trying new ways to cook things. We just bought a dutch oven the week before Christmas and I've already used it once. I made Jeff - Braised Short Ribs - for his birthday. And tomorrow we're making our first recipe out of the book - Chicken Pot Pie. We're starting small. Haha. But its a huge step up from the version on the back of the Bisquick Box!!

I'm no quitter.

2010-12-15T16:42:00.000-05:00

Tho I thought about it. I feel like my life is such an open book on Facebook that why even have a blog. But I know some people that aren't on facebook - seriously? so this is a way to keep in touch. I've just felt so blah about writing lately. Plus, the fact that E is dwindling on her naps - her once 3.5 hour naps are down to about 1.5 hours. She's going to be like Alex and drop her nap at two years old probably.

Add into it, whenever I get onto the computer, I'm usually Christmas shopping. I've done about 80% of my shopping online. I love it! My house is filled with bubble wrap and packing boxes but that's ok. Alex loves to run to the door when the doorbell rings and see what package is at the front door.

Tho, lately, it's been diaper boxes. If you haven't already, join Amazon.com Mom. you get 30% off diapers and they ship them free to your door in 2 days. Jeff's sister gave me a few coupons as well that made them even cheaper! I've been able to get E's diapers for about 11 cents each. Which, in size 4 is crazy talk. She's got 3 boxes in her closet right now. I'm about to order another box since the coupons expire at the end of the month. But I had to do some moving around so I can fit more diapers in there! Haha. Before E was born, I had stuffed the closet full of diapers and wipes. I'd just find them on sale and stock up. I've bought wipes once since she's been born, and she's 18 months old. Ok, so maybe I bought a few too much. :) Anyway, join Amazon Mom. You get Amazon Prime for free for like 3 months I think. And you don't have to buy baby stuff either. Half of my Christmas presents came from two day shipping on Amazon.

So, anyway, that's about it. I'll try to post more often. So don't call me a quitter.

All Better.

2010-11-21T17:26:00.000-05:00

I figured I should update for those wondering if E made it through the week.

E had the nasty Fredericksburg Share the Crap Outta Your Parents virus. No flu or strep, ears and lungs were clear. They did a CBC count. The Dr told me that they could do it if we came back in a few days, or do it now, and went into all sorts of reasons for both. I just looked at her, and looked at E and said do it. They do it right in the office. A few of her levels were high normal, but nothing abnormal, so bacterial infection and UTI was ruled out. It's just one of those things that you can't throw drugs at - you just treat the fever. I went out twice to buy more tylenol and motrin. I really should have 5 or 6 bottles of the stuff in my cabinet, because my kids usually get fevers for days.

I took a picture of all the times I took her temp and what I did - because those three days were kind of a blur. I didn't put down all the times I took her temp because I forgot or if it was close to normal I didn't write it down.

It took 3 days for the fever to break below 100. Same thing Alex had in January. She drank fine during the sickness but couldn't get her to eat anything. The only thing that broke that was Target popcorn. I think that stuff could save all the ills of the world if we tried. 6 days later and she's almost back to normal. She lost a whole pound, which when you only weigh 21 to begin with, it a lot of your weight.

Sickness, Disney and More Sickness.

2010-11-16T12:56:00.002-05:00

Oh, and no shuttle launch. I'm working on a post covering the last month, but until then, I thought I would at least post something because I saw on a friend's blog that I hadn't posted in 4 weeks.

We've got another hour to wait and then taking E to the Dr. She woke up in the middle of the night with a 105.5 fever. Yes, you read that right. I kind of wish I had taken a picture of the thermometer, but I was too busy stripping her naked and throwing her into the bath with a cold water sippy. Her temp came down to 101.9 within 45 minutes of sippy, bath, tylenol and lighter clothes. But, something is wrong. She hasn't eaten now in almost 2 days. I'm thinking ear infection, but we'll see. Alex had his febrile seizure at 103.8 so when I saw 105 I almost hit the floor. Your other kids are more likely to have febrile seizures if one of your kids has had one. Both my brother and I had them, so it's something in the Class genes I guess. Scarey shit. I replay Alex's seizure in my head a lot. When I see an ambulance, I replay my phone call to 911. I'm sure I sounded like a screeching cat on the phone.

Anyway, enough with the horror stories. Hopefully E has something treatable with drugs, because I've had enough of the colds and virus' that don't take drugs around here.

Dieting sucks, so I'm exercising.

2010-10-18T16:20:00.000-05:00

We joined the Y about 3 weeks ago, and I have been going 4 days a week. I love it. The kids adjusted great to the nursery. E had a hard time the first week or so. She still would rather just sit in the high chair and look at everyone else playing. I told the nursery staff that it is fine with me if she spends her entire time up there. Whatever causes less screaming. She's getting better - she will actually reach out to the nursery person to go to them, but they said if her feet touch the floor, she starts screaming. So, she either sits in someone's lap, or she sits in the high chair. Today tho, they said she just got up from the lady's lap and went over to play with a toy. So, a drama queen she is!

Alex goes to the kids gym, and he can run and play basketball and have fun. I've worked my way up to 50 minutes on the treadmill and 10 on the elliptical. I feel so good! I'm not really counting points with WW anymore, but trying to serve healthy meals.

My pants are fitting looser, my watch is almost swinging around my wrist - where it was hugely tight before, and my wedding rings roll all around my finger. It's so nice to have something tangible to see. Not that watching my weight go down isn't tangible, but being able to put on a pair of jeans and not have them cut you in two is a great feeling.

Of course, this is all about 2 weeks before we go to Florida and completely ruin everything.

The biggest thing is going through my magazines. I just had 3 huge stacks of magazines to be read in the closet. It's interesting to see the earlier magazine is July 2009. Little Miss E has kept me from my magazine reading. I sign up for all kinds of free magazines, but never have a chance to sit down and read them. I go through about 4 or so magazines at a time, so I've cut down on my pile. It's been nice! I plan to move onto backlogged books soon, but it's good getting through these magazines. I missed out on a bunch of coupons, but I've gotten some good recipes to try.

Reliving my College Days

2010-10-04T13:39:00.003-05:00

I've never really had an urge to go to my college reunions. Any year can come to the yearly reunion, but of course, they want you to come to the 5,10,15 year ones. I just felt like I would be the only person there that I knew. College reunions are different than high school. But Marymount wasn't a big school, so surely I'd know someone. But alas, I never went.

This year, I had two groups of friends that started up a thing to go to the reunion. The emails started going around several months ago but still I didn't think I was going to go. But then a friend that I haven't seen since my wedding contacted me and said she was coming. So, I thought, I guess I better go. I haven't been back to Marymount since I graduated - 12 years ago. Sheesh that's a long time. I think I took Jeff on a quick drive through campus once when we were first dating.

It's changed so much. There is now a 3 story student center, the quad is gone, and the parking lot next to the library now looks like a castle that has residence halls, classrooms and parking. I took random pictures all over the campus. Of stuff that is only important to me. I went to the new bookstore and marveled how light and airy it was. It was on the top of the student center and not in the basement of a residence hall. It was so nostalgic to be back there. I really have no desire to live in a dorm again, but I remember when I couldn't imagine not living there. I had the same room for my Junior and Senior year, and I made Alex stand next to it as i took a picture.

I also ran into the guy who I used to adore - the Director of Student Activities. I was surprised that he was still there and that he recognized me. I used to lust after his job - that is what i wanted to be. When I was applying for jobs when I was graduating, I had my general resume for any job that I could get, and I had my event planning resume. Of course, now being in the real world, I can't imagine having to be on campus until 4am tearing down sets from dances or going to things on the weekends, but back then, that is what I wanted my life to be.

As I walked around campus, I remembered yelling at certain windows to talk to friends and hanging out at the desk workers desk at 3am when I went on a Mountain Dew run. I remember how much money I spent at Metro29 and McDonald's. It was just a little bit of my past that made me smile.

I really enjoyed my college days. Yes, I could have dealt with not having to have 3 jobs, and the enormous debt I left with - thank you credit cards and student loans! but I would not change it for anything. It was fun to catch up with people too. I recognized so many people but of course couldn't remember their names. You would lock eyes with them, and then do a double take that you knew them but couldn't place them.

Alex liked the speed bumps all over campus the most. Maybe he'll get more excited about more important stuff as he gets older. :)

Respect His Name!

2010-09-23T12:35:00.002-05:00

This article really hits home - http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/personal/04/20/rs.respect.my.childs.name/index.html?iref=obinsite

Apparently we took too long to name Alex when I was pregnant, so my Mom decided his name would be Henry. It was all cute and fun, until he gets Christmas, Birthday, any kind of present or card addressed to Henry. They even call him Henry in front of him and he doesn't answer - because, well, his name isn't Henry.

They have named E - Mini-Me, as she is a Mini-Cindy, but all I can think of is the guy from Austin Powers. It's been shortened to Mini, and that one isn't so bad. As Mini isn't a real name, and I could see it as a nickname.

I've asked my family to call Alex, Alex. He doesn't care now, and can't read, but I imagine when he gets older, he isn't going to want presents addressed to Henry.

It's one of those battles that I will never win.

A Time Before Caller ID.

2010-09-23T09:30:00.002-05:00

So, my phone kind of half died. I have two screens - one on the outside and one on the inside. They started acting wonky one day - not showing the correct pictures and stuff. And then the next day they just didn't work. they would light up, but it would just be a blank screen. So, uh... how do you use a cell phone if you can't see anything? I became immediately aware of how much I use my cell phone for.

I had to turn off texting - because, well, I couldn't see what people were writing me. Since now I am a complete texting fool, I got TextFree on my IPod. It's a free app that gives you a phone number so you can text. The only thing is I can't get pictures. That's the other thing - I am constantly taking pictures with my phone. Not anymore.

But the worst thing - is I don't know who is calling me. It's like living in the 80s when you just picked up the phone and hoped for the best. I have a few custom ringtones for people, but most people just get the Super Mario Brother's tune. And if you call and don't leave a message, I have no idea that you called. I check my voice mail several times a day to see if anyone has called.

Also, I printed out a little sheet with my address book, so I could call people if I wanted to. Because I have no idea what anyone's phone number is. We are almost to our upgrade date and then I can get a new phone. I looked up my problem on google and this phone has this problem a lot. But normally it happens in the first couple of months - not after almost 2 years like me. So, now I have to search for a new phone. But I'm getting along living in the 80s with my broken cell phone.

Elizabeth is taking more and more steps. She still is crawling 95% of the time, but if you stand her up, she'll walk. I remember when Alex first started walking, he would walk like Frankenstein. And then people said it was bad to call him Frankenstein. But I thought it was funny. So, I'll have to come up with a new name for E. Something that people can tell me is wrong as well. Any suggestions?

One Step, Two Step, Now I need shoes!!

2010-09-19T21:21:00.002-05:00

Finally! We work with E every few days or so to walk, and today she took a few steps from the end table to the bed. Jeff and I were able to get her to take a few steps between us, but she still likes to plop down on her butt and then crawl. She's been cruising around the furniture forever, but wouldn't walk on her own.

So, I'll take it. 3 steps is the most she got. I guess I'll have to actually put shoes on her now when we go out. I'm the worst about that. She's got SO many cute shoes, but I never put them on her. Luckily, they still fit her - as I just tried them on her. And she has... count them.... 9 pairs of shoes in her current size. Nine! I don't think Alex has had 9 pairs of shoes his whole life. It really is the sad state of affairs of dressing a boy vs a girl. Not that I try to make E girly - I mean, she loves to eat chew on acorns and rocks- but girls shoes are so much cuter!

We had wanted to take a camping trip earlier in the summer and just never got around to it. Like most things in our life, we never scheduled it. So, since it's been cooler in the evenings, we got the tent out and Jeff and Alex camped out last night. He loved it. The tent started in the back yard, but Alex didn't want to sleep on the ground, so we compromised and put it on the deck. We made smores and roasted hotdogs on the deck, and then when it got super dark, Alex and Jeff got into the tent. They talked about the stars and monsters that were outside. I was inside right by the door and could kind of hear what they were talking about.

I was sure that Alex would wake up about 10pm and want to come inside, but they spent the whole night out there. And then this morning we had a big camp type breakfast - which kept us full until dinner. Alex and E had fun going in and out of the tent all afternoon. It's funny what amuses kids.

So, it's a little late in the season to go camping now, but we're going to try and go in the spring. E will be a little older then as well - she was the main concern when trying to plan when to go. Lugging all the crap you have to with camping and adding in baby crap is a lot of crap!

I'm getting so excited for our Disney trip. We were able to get official launch tickets, so we should have a great view. We're going to spend 3 days on the coast, and then go over to Disney. I have to say - looking up prices for tickets and hotels- my family sure spoiled us when we were little when we went to Disney. There is no way we can swing staying in the nice hotels that we stayed at. My favorite hotel was the Wilderness Lodge. What a fun, country type hotel. My least favorite was the Polynesian Resort. I just remember that I had the worst time that trip. I remember that my grandmothers were going to a Luau or something and I wanted to go and I couldn't. Now I'd probably love that hotel, but that's the memory I have. The Luau and all the thatched huts everywhere.

I'm a crazy list maker, and I've already started making lists of what to bring and what to buy. Luckily we tend to go on long vacations in the fall - like our honeymoon- so we can get all the summer clothes and stuff on clearance. I remember right before our honeymoon, Jeff got all his shorts for like $2 a pair at Target. Whereas I had been buying for months. Full price! Oh well.

No one likes the dentist.

2010-09-14T07:24:00.003-05:00

I took Alex for his checkup yesterday and when I was making the appointment for his next 6 month appointment, I said I also wanted to make one for E. They asked if I wanted to get her in earlier, and I said I would just wait 6 months so I could bring them both in. Well, then had an opening right then for an appt, so that was kind of nice. She of course didn't like it and cried, but when she got her fabulous new purple toothbrush she was happy. Haha. They just brush her teeth with this gritty toothpaste stuff to get off the plaque, and then put fluoride treatment on, and then the Dentist checked for cavities. She passed everything!

I was most upset that I didn't have my camera with me to take a pic of her in the dentist chair. My phone camera doesn't work, so I didn't get a pic. She did get 3 stickers from the dental assistant that she loved. She was mad when I took them off her shirt when I was putting her to bed, so I had to put them on her PJs.

No amount of bribing on my part made Alex enjoy his dentist visit. He did SO well at his last appointment, opened his mouth and let them clean his teeth. But this time he clamped his mouth shut and cried the entire time. The dentist was able to do what he needed to but it wasn't without lots of tears and screaming. He wasn't the loudest screamer in the place, so that was nice. Haha. He took an xray which I was impressed that he stayed still long enough for it to come out. We could see his adult teeth. It seems like his baby teeth just came in, and now we need to start watching for teeth to fall out!

I really like the place I take them to. They do mostly children so the dentist and assistants really know how to work with the kids. The assistant was really working hard to bribe him too to open his mouth, but it didn't really work. haha

Amazon Mom.

2010-09-07T21:53:00.002-05:00

Amazon Mom

I'm really not one to toot the horn for websites, but come on, everyone uses Amazon.com. Especially with the holidays coming up. They have a new program called Amazon Mom and you get 3 months of Amazon Prime - which is free 2 day shipping. There is other stuff, but really, who doesn't want free 2 day shipping.

Since it's a "Mom" program, you get an extra 15% off some baby stuff. I looked at the diapers. I never buy diapers online, as I can usually get a better deal with coupons and a sale, or at Costco. But, I bought a pack of diapers for Elizabeth for 17 cents per diaper. That's very cheap for Huggies. Normally I buy the costco generic brand - which are huggies- but they are usually 22-24 cents per diaper.

Ok, so enough of my frugal boringness. You don't have to be a parent to join the club, but I guess it helps since some of the extras are baby-related.

And no, I don't get anything for telling you about this. I just like to share a good deal when I find one. :)

America's Test Kitchen.

2010-09-06T12:16:00.003-05:00

I love this show. I love all the cooks, the guy who hosts the equipment corner, the guy who does the market research on food and equipment, and especially the host in his bowtie and apron. I really don't watch much Food Network anymore. The recipes just seem overly complicated - not to mention that there are more "reality shows" on than real cooking shows it seems. Tho I do love me some Iron Chef.

Alex watched PBS during the day, so it seems every night when Jeff and I sit down to watch TV, it is still on PBS. At night, it is all cooking shows. America's Test Kitchen, Cooks Country, Julia and Jaques - funny show, even if I don't think I could make any of the food, Lidia Italian or something like that. We'll just sit there and watch all these shows and start to get hungry.

The other night, we were watching Cooks Country - which has "down home" recipes from the people at America's Test Kitchen. They made broiled steaks and stuffed potatoes. 2 of my and Jeff's favorite things. So, we found the recipes, and went shopping the next day to buy steak and potatoes. Both recipes were really good, tho I don't think we'll stuff the potatoes anymore like they did in this recipe. I like how they made the crunchy shells, but I'll put my normal stuffed potato stuffing in it. E LOVED the potato filling. She probably had about half her body weight in potato filling. And we could next the next morning, as her diaper reeked of garlic!

http://www.food.com/recipe/broiled-steaks-337165

http://www.mangeratrois.net/index.php/recipes/potatoes/589-super-stuffed-baked-potatoes

I feel like I should post.

2010-08-31T21:26:00.003-05:00

But I really have nothing to say. All of us are older - except Jeff who turns older in December. Alex has really learned to whine, and E is....just cute. Apparently I take too many picture of her because the minute I turn the camera toward her, she cocks her head and smiles. Such a cute smile.

I purchased the first Christmas present today. For Jeff. It's not even September. But, I like to spread the buying over a couple months so it's not such a shock to the budget come December. I really have no idea what to buy Alex and E. I think I'm going to get E a play vacuum cleaner - as she seems to seek those things our whenever we go anywhere. I think Alex will get a Wii game - as he LOVES to play the Wii lately. And he's getting pretty good at the games we have that he can play. Tho his favorite thing is to make Wii Characters. Every time I turn it on, there is like 3 new people popping on. He loves to go back and change the color of their shirts. Haha.

Our garden was pretty much a disaster this year. We planted too many tomato plants and they just grew and took over like a weed. We always have plenty of tomatoes, but we didn't have the over abundance that we thought we might get. We wanted to can some and make juice with some, but we barely have enough to cover our weekly BLTs. Our squash made huge leaves and huge flowers, but never produced a squash. Our lettuce made like 4 leaves of lettuce and then died. And our pepper plants made about 4 peppers. I think everything was just too crowded. We were so excited to plant that we planted everything that sprouted, thinking that some of it wouldn't grow - but ALL of it did. So, next year we're going to thin out the tomatoes - forget cherry tomatoes. Too much hassle for not much reward, and just go for the beefsteak. I'm already thinking of next year and we still have stuff growing.

I'm getting excited for fall. It's been SO HOT this summer, that we spent most of our time indoors during the day. I love being outside with the kids but we would just melt. I want to go back to spending hours at the park while the kids play and packing a huge lunch and just gossiping about everyone and everything in the world. E isn't walking yet, so she'll be a bit of a handful at the park, but I can deal I suppose.

The kids and I survived Jeff's 2 work travel weeks. And now he's scheduled to go away again at the end of Sept.He's going to have quite the collection of hotel shampoos before this year is over.

The bestest brithday present Jeff got me was to sign me up for the Wilton Cake Decorating Class. I was supposed to take it several months ago but it got canceled. So now I'm taking it next month. I'm way more excited than a normal person should be. I've bought all my supplies and can't wait to learn how to make a cake look pretty - and not have fits at 11pm the night before one of my kid's birthdays and swearing I'm about to run to Target and grab a cake. So, friends beware- I'll have extra cake at my house in September. Pretty decorated cake!

My Last Post as a 33 year old.

2010-08-24T21:51:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow I will be old. I always equate my birthday with going back to school, even tho I've been out of school for over 10 years. But, with friends with older kids and all the back to school sales, it really does bring back memories of going back to school.

Alex talks about going to school all the time. He's got two backpacks, and he'll randomly put one on and stand at the window - waiting for the school bus. I feel like maybe he should be going to preschool this year, but I'm sticking to the decision to keep him home. We've been doing some learning type stuff while E takes her afternoon nap. Today we tried to play Chutes and Ladders. Which makes me sad, as my friend Manda gave me that game, and she moved away over the weekend. But anyway, Alex doesn't play by the rules - he just wants to move the kids up the ladders and down the slides. He always wants to start at spot 1 because he doesn't understand going 6 spots on one turn and then moving from that spot another 3 spots for your next turn. I guess that is something that needs to be learned.

Jeff is away on travel again. He was in Detroit for 4 days and now he is in MD for 4 days. We're going up to visit him tomorrow for my birthday. Because the thought of spending my birthday at home alone, was a bit depressing. We'll have breakfast together on Thursday and then Alex, E and I are off to the Baltimore Aquarium with my niece and nephew. I haven't been there since middle school. I worry that Alex might think that a big shark is going to try and eat him. But, he does well at the zoo, so I think he'll be ok.

E is changing her ways about everyday it seems. I could never get her to eat bananas, avocados, or eggs. Now she loves them. Wendy got her to eat ice cream cake when I swore up and down that she wouldn't eat it. If she doesn't want to eat it, she scrinches up her face and shakes her head no. And if you try to shove the spoon in her mouth, she does all she can to avoid you. It's cute, so I'll keep trying to shove stuff in her mouth. Haha. She also has a new love for Honey Nut Cheerios. If she wants something, she points and grunts. I hope she grows out of that one once she learns some more words. Pointing and grunting isn't very becoming on a young lady.

Alex's 4 Year Checkup.

2010-08-16T10:15:00.003-05:00

He weighs 47lbs - 97% and 43 inches- 95. He's on the same curve he's been on since like 2 months old, so he's just a big boy!

He did very good at the appt. Answered all the questions from the nurse and Dr and followed their instructions. He even had to pee in a cup. He's getting so old - peeing in a cup, getting his blood pressure taken, eye and hearing test, not getting weighed on the baby scale. Sheesh. It's like he's growing up or something.

He got 4 shots, had his finger pricked to test iron - 11.7 (which is fine), and got the flu mist. So, he's good and drugged up now. Haha. He doesn't need anymore shots until he turns 11, so that is good.

He was more upset that they put band-aids on his legs than actually getting the shot. This is the same boy that wants band-aids all over him when he doesn't have a scratch. But when he actually needs them, he is screaming bloody murder to get them off. And they were even cool camo band-aids!

E was just staring at him through the entire appt. She's so used to getting poked and prodded that I guess it was nice that she just got to sit there and not be touched.

We made it through last night with Jeff being gone. He's been gone overnight once before on a trip, but this will be the first time he's been gone more than one night. Alex asked for him last night at bedtime, but was ok. I imagine by the time Wednesday night comes, he will be having a harder time. Alex loves days with me, but really loves his nights with Daddy. Mommy is pushed aside so Alex and Daddy can play.

I stayed up way too late last night watching TV and writing thank you cards. I did get through 3 episodes of Mad Men and 2 episodes of 19 kids and counting. I never get a chance to just sit down and watch stuff for more than 10 minutes at a time it seems. So, it was nice to have that chance! Tonight's schedule will include more Mad Men - I'm watching last season. I already know how last season ended, so I'm trying to get to at least the beginning of this season so I won't be spoiled anymore. It was interesting to watch last night - the main character gave birth. It was all very sterile and the nurse was mean and the husbands stayed in the waiting room and drank and smoked. It's so completely different now. I can't imagine Jeff in the waiting room for hours while I was giving birth. Or smoking right after I had the baby. I might have gotten a few looks on that one!

What a week. Blah.

2010-08-13T12:06:00.002-05:00

I don't even know what to title this post, but feel like I need to post something. The past week and a half have been very draining.

First we thought my grandmother had a stroke. It turns out it was a reaction to medication, but I'm still a little leery that they thought it was a stroke when it wasn't. She was in the hospital for several days and now is back home. The kids and I went up the next day after she got out of the hospital. Just like our visit back in May - she barely talked to me. Anyone that knows my grandmother - knows she talks up a storm. But she's just not talking. She's looking around and seems to know what is going on, but I don't know. I hate to see her there, sitting in her chair, letting life drift by. But she smiled almost the entire time we were there watching the kids play. And she has such a way with Elizabeth. She can hold her and she's so content in the world.

I talked to the nurses - she lives in an assisted living place- and they said she has been acting fine and talking. But I guess when I show up, she shuts up! We had a nice visit, ate lunch with her and the other ladies at the place and then drove over to my brother's house. Alex and Travis love to play with each other and I'm sad that they live so far apart.

On the drive home I stopped by IKEA and bought random Swedish goodness. I love that store. Who would have thought that the Swedes made awesome cinnamon rolls!

The next day, I get a call from my Mom that my Dad's Uncle has passed away. He was 97, and it wasn't unexpected, but still sad. When I was up visiting, my Mom made a comment about how my grandmother and Uncle Clarence would probably die the same week. Well, now half of that was true. Clarence was the last of the 4 Class brothers. My grandfather - Ernest- died in 1966 I believe, Norman and Deemer died in the mid 80s. Now, my Dad is the oldest Class. It's an honor I guess, but still hard to take that in. I don't think of my Dad as being 68 - he looks the same to me as he did 15 years ago - although maybe a little grayer on top!

We celebrated Alex's birthday on the 10th - we watched Toy Story 2 (he's seen the first one a gazillion times, but hadn't seen the second one, so we got him the DVD. Now we can finally see the third!) Then we went to Chuck E Cheese and CiCi's for dinner. We all went to bed early, to get up on Wednesday for the funeral.

E had a horrible night and was so miserable in the morning. I just couldn't even stand to think about having her in the car with us for 2 hours up there. So, Jeff stayed home with her and I took Alex to the funeral. Jeff said that she slept and snotted on his stomach most of the morning. I assumed it was teething, because she's got big basketball gums right now waiting for 2 molars to pop through.

The funeral was fine. My Dad and brother were paul bearers (should that be capitalized? Is it even spelled right?) After the funeral, we went around and visited other family members buried there. My Dad's parents are there, my brother's twin girls are there, other Class' are there. Clarence's wife was buried a little away from him - buried with her parents. She passed away just a few years ago.

I come home exhausted and just relax for the rest of the night. I know I have a ton of stuff to do for Alex's party on Saturday. Then, we find out that Jeff's Dad's uncle passed away. He was sick for a few weeks. We can't make it in for that funeral, as it's this Sunday, and Jeff is leaving for a business trip to Michigan on Sunday afternoon.

I just feel like everything is swirling around me and I just can't sit down and catch a break. Took E to the Dr this morning because she had a fever of 104.4. After Alex had his seizure, I don't mess around with high fevers. She has a double ear infection. So, I feel horrible that she has been so cranky because of her ears hurting, and not her teeth. But, hopefully she feels better soon when the drugs kick in!

So, now I'm avoiding working on Alex's cake because I'm afraid it will be a disaster like E's cake. Of course, no one thought her cake was a disaster. I'm trying working with fondant with his cake, so we'll see how this turns out. Just tell me it looks good. I don't even cake if it tastes good!

Well, she can climb up steps now.

2010-07-30T15:27:00.002-05:00

E was in the living room, and I came up to the kitchen. Turn around and she is at my feet. What the?? Put her in the living room again and came back upstairs and she climbed right up those stairs. So, guess we'll have to start locking the gates now.

She chases after Alex so fast. She crawls but it's at like super sonic speed. I'm going to be in trouble when she starts walking.

Not much excitement in our house lately. We got out first tomato and green pepper off our plants. They were small - the tomato only made 1 BLT. Haha. But there are about 30 more green tomatoes on the plants, so it'll be soon when we won't have to share a BLT.

I've found that E is so different than Alex when it comes to adventure. She hates the ocean and sand. Alex loved it at this age. She hates sweets - like cookies and frosting. Alex loved them. She doesn't like the pool unless she has me in a death grip for safety. Alex is a water guy - just like me. Except I'm a girl. I could spend everyday and all day on the beach or in the pool or at the water park in Kings Dominion. E and Jeff will just have to stay home and stay dry while Alex and I water it up!

We're off to two family reunions this weekend. One for Jeff's Dad's side of the family, and the other for Jeff's Mom's side. It's nice that they are in the same weekend, but that means a lot of potato salad and seeing people that I don't remember. It's also sad that Jeff's grandfather won't be at the reunion. He passed away in 2008, but it's still a missing piece when he is not there. We could not make it to the 2009 reunion because it was right after I had E, so it will be especially hard this year to not see him there.

One Year Checkup.

2010-07-21T15:40:00.002-05:00

Sigh. do I really have a one year old??

weight- 20lb 12ozs 50%
height- 30.25 inches 80%
Head- 48.25cm 97%

Alex's Stats at one year-
weight- 25lb 8ozs
height- 31.5 inches
Head- 49.50cm

She only gained 12 ounces from her 9 month checkup and is down about 5 ounces from a visit a month ago when she had an ear infection. She is a crazy crawler though, and often sweats a ton during the day since she crawls so much. So Dr said just to weigh her every now and again to see if she is gaining. She eats a lot, so I'm not sure I could shove any more food down her!

It's crazy to see that Alex weighed almost 5 pounds more than E at one year. He was a hefty boy. He never really crawled and only thinned out once he started walking. I'm sure that E will start walking soon. She's started cruising around furniture. Before I would try to walk with her and she would just draw her feet underneath her. Like - what the heck are you doing mom? I guess walking is not an instinct. Or at least wasn't to her when she wasn't ready.

I always think the cutest thing ever - besides earrings on little girls- is when babies rub their eyes because they are tired. That, she could do. But walking - well, she preferred to just be drug around by her arms.

We've been hanging out in the house and playing with E's birthday toys. She got 2 stuffed bears as presents, so I hope that E likes stuffed animals more than Alex does. He could care less about them. He never really played with them - even as I shoved more and more at him. He did like the old Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer show stuffed animals we had - the angry elf and some army- that Jeff got years ago. He would go to bed with them a lot - because they were in Jeff's tanks. He doesn't need them anymore but would often take them with us to the store or to bed. So I guess it comes in spurts.

We got E a toddler sized water table that she loves. We have to play with it at 7 at night though since it's been a million degrees outside lately. She loves the water - bath tubs, pools, water tables- but hated the beach. How does that work? Guess she likes nice clean water that isn't in waves?

Jeff is going to be going on travel a lot in August it looks like. Might even have to miss Alex's birthday. Not that Alex would really know I guess, but I love birthdays. And love going to birthday parties. I love buying presents for little kids and seeing how much they love - or hate, haha- the gift. It's one reason I love Christmas and finding the perfect gift. Alex has had his presents in the basement for over a month. He keeps finding them, and I tell him they are for someone else. He really wants them, so at least I know I bought good gifts. Haha.

Anyway, I hope Jeff doesn't have to travel too much. E has been a crankpot the past few days because she is getting all 4 molars at once. Yep - fun times at the Barnett house. Her gums are super swollen, but she spits out teething tablets, and I put orajel on her gums and she puked. So, it's just Tylenol. It looks like a top one might come in any day. And when it does, I'll give her steak. :)

She is a bear to put to bed at night. Last night it took almost 2 hours. Jeff and I switched off trying to get her to sleep. She pulls the same stunt that Alex used to - nice and quiet and asleep on your shoulder and as soon as you move her to the bed, wide awake screaming. It's so sad to hear her somewhat hoarse from screaming, but there is nothing else we can do. I supposed we could rock her all night, but Momma needs sleep too. She's too big to fit on my boppy now. We spent many nights asleep together that way when she was little. Jeff would always come in and pick her up and put her to bed and get me to bed. Aahhh - the little things. This is the kind of reminiscing that gets you baby fever. Then your 4 year old acts up and whines and cries and that baby fever goes away pretty quick. :)

Savannah and Travis visit for the week!

2010-07-16T06:59:00.003-05:00

My niece and nephew have been visiting us for the past week. We picked them up at my nephew's birthday party last weekend, and my brother will pick them back up this weekend at E's party. We decided to have them down for a week to give them some fun this summer. Both my brother and sister-in-law work, so it leaves the kids home a lot. Since I'm home anyway, we thought it would be a good fit.

Travis and Alex are having a blast and E and Savannah are attached at the hip. Savannah gets E up everyday, changes her diaper and plays with her all day. Alex and Travis are playing really well together and have found cool new things to play - like restaurant and with the train table. It's fun to watch them play - as Alex usually plays by himself at home, or spends most of the day trying to get his toys away from E.

We've been keeping busy while they are here - because I want to pack a lot of fun into their week. We've gone bowling, went to Kings Dominion and went to the local bouncey house. Today we're going to a local park that has a creek that they can wade in and look for fish and frogs.

I'll be sad when they leave, tho it will be a bit more relaxing. And it'll be much easier to make lunches and dinner. With 4 kids drinking milk, I think I'm going through a gallon every two days. And it's a bit more stressful to keep track of 4 kids when we are out. But so far, I haven't misplaced anyone.

I've gotten both kids to try new foods and adjust to how we do things at our house. Travis wasn't used to going to bed early, but he's been getting used to it. As soon as I have it perfect, he'll go back home and back to his later bedtime. I know Alex will be really upset when Travis leaves. He has a playmate from sunup to sundown. And E would probably be happy to go home with Savannah.

Travis has picked up another girlfriend to add to his list, and Savannah has made a friend with Jake, and now they are on Facebook together! Wow - technology.

I'm so glad we offered to have them down for this week. I think it was a great break for them from what they are used to, and it's been fun to have them down. But, honestly, I'm ready to go back to only fixing 4 meals! Oh, and did I mention the laundry? I am definitely not Duggar material!

Happy Birthday!

2010-07-14T07:02:00.003-05:00

Just a day late in posting.

It's amazing how different things are with child number 2. When Alex was close to turning one, I think I cried about every other day. And the day before he turned one was the worst - knowing that he was going to be a year old the next day.

With E - it's bittersweet but not as emotional. I don't even think I shed a tear - but don't tell her that. We went to Kings Dominion yesterday so she got to ride rides and play in the waterpark for her special day. She didn't open her presents because it was get home, eat dinner, bath and bed. So, we'll let her check out her presents today. We got her a Little People House and a toddler water table. It was hard to find her something because Alex had everything. I mean, you only need so many walking toys and toddler driving things. It's also interesting to watch her play with toys Alex had when he was a year old. She loves the two things we got Alex when he turned a year old - a train set and a little piano thing. Alex LOVED those toys, and she does as well. Alex will show her how all the buttons work and how to play with them "right." Meaning you don't chew on everything - you play with it!!

It's hard to believe she's one now. She's not a baby anymore, but not a toddler because she can't walk yet. But, she's getting close! She can cruise around furniture. She can crawl way faster than she should be able to. She eats food like a champ - loves cheese and pasta the best. She can say - DaDa, Uh Oh (and uses when appropriate), LaLa (Mommy). She can wave bye. It's just...I don't know. A year ago she was just a little blob that couldn't do anything. And now she's growing into her own person. She loves Alex. LOVES him. She seeks him out and loves to look and touch him. And she can really squeel if he takes her toy or - god forbid- tries to steal some of her food.

I love my bed. And my pillow. My Kids do not.

2010-07-09T22:14:00.002-05:00

We're just back from a whirlwind of a week. We went to visit Jeff's family over the 4th of July weekend. We spend most of the time in their pool - where we tried unsuccessfully to teach Alex how to swim with floaties. He's more of an inner-tube kid. But he loves the water. He would spend all day in a pool or getting a bath if we let him. The pool was great as it was over a million degrees all weekend. Maybe not a million, but it sure felt like it.

We all seemed to slow down because of the heat. E took great naps. I sat on the couch and read my book. And we ate snacks - because cooking would take too much energy. We took Alex to see the town parade, and he loved it. Probably because most of the floats throw candy for the kids. He had an entire hatfull of candy. Most of which I think we left at Jeff's parents house. On purpose? Maybe. E was napping during the parade back home with Jeff's Mom. Did I mention how much she slept? She slept all night, and was so happy during the day. It makes being lazy that much easier.

We didn't take Alex to the town fireworks. They didn't start until 10pm and I thought for sure as soon as we got into the car to go to town, that he would fall asleep. Plus, last year, he was so scared of the fireworks. But Jeff's Dad set some off during the day, and he was fine. So, ok, fine. We just didn't feel like driving into town. :) But I did watch some on TV. Totally not the same.

We spent Monday afternoon at Jeff's cousin's house. They have a boy and girl - both about 6 months younger than Alex and E. It's kind of cool that it happened that way. E played with a water table all afternoon. I had been looking for another birthday present for her, but didn't know they made water tables "toddler sized." Alex has a sand/water table, but it's way too big for her. She was in love with this thing and played with it all afternoon. So, as soon as we got home, I ordered her one for her birthday.

It was nice hanging out with Sean and Family - normally we stop in for a quick visit because they are on our way out of town, but since Jeff took the whole week off, we stayed for dinner and then got on the road when it was almost dark. Both kids slept all the way home.

We got home, climbed into our beds - I love our bed. And our pillow. You really can recreate anything in another person's house or a hotel, but you can never bring your bed with you. I think my butt has curved out a nice spot in my bed, as I sleep in the same position every night. So, we get home and have a hard time getting the kids back to sleep. Guess they like their uncomfortable car seats and the packnplay.

Tuesday was laundry and repacking everything because Wednesday we left for the beach! We had wanted to go to Buckroe Beach close to VA Beach in honor of Jeff's grandfather - who told stories of going there when he was younger. But, it's not the same beach as it was back then. In fact, it's just a little tiny beach and most of the hotels are miles away. We figured it would be a good one day trip or something, but not a nice few day beach trip. Jeff isn't much of a beach person, so we didn't want to go to VA Beach or Ocean City, MD. We decided to go to the Outer Banks in NC. It was just what we needed. It wasn't crowded. No boardwalk. No crazy young people. I loved it.

We got a hotel right on the beach so we didn't have to go far to get into the water and so we could go back and forth between the beach and room in case we needed something, or to put E down for a nap. I love the smell of the beach, and in another life, I could probably live on the beach. Alex shares my love for the beach and had no problems making friends with other little kids and built sand castles and dug holes for hours. We also spent a lot of time jumping waves in the ocean. It was rough tho - that I wasn't expecting. The undertow was crazy, so I couldn't let him just play by the water. He would get sucked in! I'm not sure if it is always this way, or if it was just the weather. I loved it tho. But when you have to hold onto a 4 year old for dear life, it's not all it's cracked up to be.

Now E on the other hand, HATED the beach. She didn't want to be in the water, she didn't want to play in the sand. She wanted nothing to do with the fun. Until a little girl came over and asked to play with her. I said - well, as you can see, she's screaming and crying, I'm not sure how much fun she will be. The little girl - maybe 6- said let me go put some water in this bucket and maybe she'll like it. I figured, ok, let the little girl try. But it worked. E splashed in the bucket and had fun putting toys in and out of the bucket. The little girl - I never got her name, but she said her middle name was Elizabeth- said that it worked for another baby a few days ago. So, that saved our beach trip. Haha. We just kept refilling that bucket. Until, about an hour later, when E took a 2 hour nap on the beach. Jeff and I watched Alex built forts and we played with the sand between our toes.

Our hotel also had a pool, so we spent a lot of time in that, since the ocean was so rough. E could handle that. I guess she's not a rough seas or sand all over you kind of girl. Tho, she ate a TON of sand. She was chewing on all the toys in the sand and just sucking her thumb which had sand all over it. She didn't even seem to mind when it came out the other end.

We came home Friday afternoon and we had a horrible time getting both kids to sleep tonight. They both cried and fought it. They slept like rocks at the beach. Probably because they were so tired. But I long for my own bed when I'm on vacation. I guess my kids like the vacation beds better.

So, while we are so happy to be home, tomorrow we will get back in the car and go up to Baltimore for my nephew's birthday party. After the party, we are bringing my niece and nephew back with us for a week. It should be fun and I'm going to show them why I'm a cool Aunt. And it's not just because I'm going to take them to Kings Dominion and Chick-Fil-A. Haha. So, our house will be a little louder for the next week. I imagine that there won't be much sleep going on either. Last time Alex and my nephew slept in the same house, I don't think they got any sleep. They were like little girls at a slumber party - giggling and talking until they passed out.

But, I'm excited. But not excited to get back into the car. As much as my butt is molded to my bed, I think it's also molded to the driver's seat in my car!

Technology is great.

2010-06-28T17:31:00.002-05:00

So, I've been teaching Alex to count with my car and my Wii. Why use silly books or flash cards, when I can use stuff that I have! He's been able to count to 20 or so for a while, but I never really went above 20. I mean, at what point do you need to learn to count to 34?

On Wii Fit, everything has a countdown clock. And since Alex loves to watch my shame as I workout, I decided I would at least make him think. I'll ask him what color hula hoop the Terminator is going to throw me next or what game I should play next. Then I noticed he started to get all excited about the countdown clock.

He loves to stand in front of the microwave and watch it count down. Something that will probably give him face cancer in a few years. And he loves to watch the timer when I'm cooking dinner. So, I just started saying the numbers and having him countdown with me. So, he can count down from 100.

I wasn't sure if he would be able to get the counting up part, but in my car, I have a little digital display that shows me all kinds of info that I don't need. One of the buttons shows the distance traveled. I use this a lot when going somewhere when I have directions because I can't be trusted to be able to add to my actual odometer for the correct amount of miles.

I noticed one day that Alex was counting with the display. It goes in tenths of miles, so by the time you reach 1 mile, it reads 1.0. And 10 miles reads 10.0 He just ignored the decimal place and counts to 100.

It's just interesting to me the way that he learns stuff like this. It wasn't intentional to teach him how to count to 100, but it's a nice side effect.

My namesake in Texas.

2010-06-21T07:07:00.001-05:00

So, there is another chick in the world named Cindy Barnett. But she lives in Texas. And is a court reporter. But everyone thinks my gmail - cindybarnett@gmail.com- is her. But I am not her.

So, I get all kinds of emails about showing up for court and when will my pages will be done. I ignored them for a while - kind of vicariously living through her as a star court reporter. I mean, I have no deadlines, so I might as well think about her deadlines.

Then I started writing back to let them know that I was not the person they were looking for and that I hope they found the right email. I didn't want another Cindy Barnett in the world to be losing work or getting in trouble. Then, somehow, I got her email address - she has her middle initial in her gmail address. Which is easy to miss if someone was just looking at the address quickly. So, I sent her a message and told her how I was getting emails for her, and that I would forward on any additional messages I got.

She was really nice and thanked me and we are both Barnett's by marriage. That was it and I haven't gotten an email in a month or so.

Until today.

Apparently this other Cindy Barnett has a kid. And has some sort of visitation order with the Father of the child. And he is not happy. And wants changes. A lot of them. And I know all of this. I know he wants the child to spend 4th of July with him and his parents. And that he is not happy that she is not returning his calls.

So, I sent him a message that he had the wrong email address and gave him the correct one. I'm interested to see if he writes me back - most people do to thank me for correcting the email- and if he is embarrassed.

I really didn't want to know all of this about Cindy Barnett in Texas. But it just reminds me that cyberspace is an interesting thing. And perhaps don't send something by email unless you are sure of the address. I know I've sent out emails to the wrong people - the worst being asking a question about birth control pills and including my mother on the "To" list. Not sure how she got on that list, but she'll still bring it up to this day. Because she just does.

So, I hope my other Cindy gets things worked out with Ronnie and their daugther. But I don't need an email about it.

Fear.

2010-06-17T08:09:00.002-05:00

I have a fear of a lot of things. Random things that just pop into my head - like if I drove into a lake, could I get both kids out of their car seats and to safety? If an attack happened at a mall or grocery store, could I keep myself safe, and not poop my pants? Yes, I watch too much 24 and Flash Forward.

Then there is my fear of being rear ended. I was rear ended about a year and a half ago. Not even a big car accident - guy rear ended me at a red light. He swore the light turned green and I had started to go. Only problem was the light was still red. I still, even a year and a half later- HATE when people get close to my rear bumper. I'm convinced they will hit me. And I'll leave lots of extra space between me and the car in front of me so I can inch forward when I feel they are too close. It's gotten better over time, but I'm just so scared of being hit - especially when I normally travel with 2 kids in the car.

My other fear is one of my kids having a seizure. Alex had one in January due to a high temp. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life as I watch my child shake and moan and lips turn blue. It turns out to be a "normal" thing that can happen to kids up to age 5. My brother and I both had them. And that causes my kids to be a little higher percentage to get them - especially E now that Alex has had one. My brother's kids have never had one, so I guess I got the lucky gene. I'm constantly taking their temp when they look a little off.

When Alex had his seizure, the temp they got in the ER was 103.9. They said it could have been higher before and come down a bit. So, anything over 103 scares me.

E had a rectal temp (poor girl, I hate doing it that way, but it's the most accurate) of 103.7 on Sunday morning, which came down quickly to 99 after a few doses of Tylenol. Not sure what brought on the temp, but we had been outside selling stuff at a yard sale the day before and it was HOT! I figured she was just still overheated. She had a mild fever Monday and Tuesday - never getting over 101. Then yesterday morning it is 104.1. It dropped down to 102.0 in 45 minutes after giving Tylenol. Went to the Dr and she has a right ear infection. I asked about the super high temps relating to the ear infection and he said it was a pretty bad one, so her body was working overtime. This is her first ear infection so I didn't even know what was wrong. Alex always tugged on his ear or was incredibly cranky. E just kind of goes with the flow. She was a bit sluggish the past few days but I figured she was getting over it.

So, poor girl, I take her temp about every 1-2 hours. She's got 3 doses of the antibiotic in her, and she seems to be doing a little better. She's even eating some more. I should have known something was seriously wrong when a Barnett baby wouldn't eat!

Super Fat Fat Clothes.

2010-06-13T15:45:00.002-05:00

I've been working at clearing my house of clutter. Tho, somehow it still looks completely filled with junk. I go through the old toys as I bring them out for E to play with. Somehow, I put all the annoying toys into the crawl space. Guess maybe I thought that crawl space fairy would take them away? I still had some stuff leftover from the spring consignment sales as well. So, I took this all over to my friend's house for her yard sale.

We of course, picked the hottest day ever, and we kept moving our chairs around her front yard to stay in the shade. For some reason, no one wanted to buy Alex's old winter clothes - that seemed to be about all I had left to sell. But, it will work out in my favor at the fall consignment sales!

I think I sold about $13 worth of stuff and came home with more than I left with, as I went around buying all of her stuff. But I did get some cool cake pans and a laminated poster of the USA (Alex's room is a map theme, so this fits in well.)

She was going to donate all the leftovers to the local hospice, so I also decided to go through my clothes. I've been wearing my normal frumpy - too big shirts for a while now. Since I've lost about 22 pounds since February, I don't need to wear them. In fact, I can wear some of the stuff that has been shoved into the back of my closet for years. It's nice to put a shirt on that fits just right. And isn't stretched across my stomach and makes me look like a stuffed sausage. Yep, that's me.

I know if those huge shirts were in there, I'd just continue to put them on. And then if I happened to gain back a little weight, I's always have some shirts I could wear. Well, they went into the donate pile. I also had about 15 shirts in my "workout clothes" pile. Because, you know, I workout so much. Actually, I've been doing the Wii Fit every morning for a few weeks and it's been great. But really, I don't need 15 workout shirts. It was mainly shirts that had a hole in it or some of my college shirts. I got it down to 3 shirts. Because, really, that's all any sane person needs.

So, I feel like I've gotten rid of most of my super fat fat clothes. Which is a good feeling. Because I'm losing weight and hoping to fit into a bunch of clothes that have about 6 inches of dust on them. So, currently, I'm in super fat clothes. And hopefully in a few months, I can move down to just fat clothes. It'll be a nice feeling.

Looks like we have another pterodactyl in the house.

2010-06-09T14:04:00.002-05:00

Alex screeched. Loudly. When he was an infant. We used to kid that he was a pterodactyl. Well, it seems that the screaming gene must be genetic because E has it too. And oh boy can she scream. Right in my ear! She hates to be sitting still, so if you are holding her, she's climbing and scraping her way to try and crawl down your back. All while screeching. Put her on the floor and she's off like lightening. She's still not crawling - just army crawling. But man can she move. She gets up on her knees and has taken maybe 3 "steps" that way, but then falls to her stomach and gets moving. Alex rolled everywhere because he could get there quicker than crawling. So, it'll be interesting to see if she crawls the right way before she walks.

Alex has a stutter that comes and comes. He elongates words - mostly the first word in a sentence. He'll do it really bad for 2 days and then it'll get more infrequent. And then come back. I read on stuttering.com or something like that - that stuttering can happen about 3.5 and stop by 5. So, it looks like it's just a developmental thing. I can see how frustrated he gets when he can't get out what he wants to say, but he works through it.

We're really getting use out of our Kings Dominion season passes. We went yesterday and had a blast. It was the first time we went to the water park area, and both Alex and E loved it. It's funny that the water slide that I couldn't throw Alex down last year - he spent the better part of two hours on yesterday. E splished and splashed for about an hour and then she was tuckered out.

I also put her on some of the kiddie rides and she loved it. Before I had only let her ride the Merry Go Round, and we were old ladies sitting in the seat part that doesn't move. But a friend of mine told her that as long as she can sit up well, you can put her on the rides - she had done this with her 16 month old. I didn't put her on anything that I thought she might fall over, but she loved all the car rides and the black light car shooter ride thing. Her poor little brain is probably all scrambled today.

It was the first time I've been to KD that I didn't ride any roller coasters. It's weird to me because before last year, I don't even think I've been to the water park part of an amusement park before. Who cares about water rides, when you could ride roller coasters all day. We'd ride the log flume or the white water canyon, but we'd never play in the actual water park part. I have several friends who have KD passes and 2 more I'm trying to convince to get them, so hopefully I don't have to go by myself again. I did fine by myself yesterday though. But it would have been nice to have someone to talk to - other than Alex asking to ride everything in site.

Well, she's old. Let's feed her food.

2010-06-04T16:22:00.002-05:00

It's interesting to me how I parent E versus how I parented Alex. With Alex, I followed all the rules and stared at the development charts to make sure he was doing what he was supposed to do. With E, as long as she's breathing - that seems to be ok with me. I don't worry that she didn't roll over until 8 months old. I don't worry when she doesn't take a nap. Frustrated, yes. Worry, no.

Yesterday for some reason I decided that she should start eating real people food. She can eat puffs and baby snacks like a champ, so I decided that she just needed to start eating with her hands. So, last night was spaghetti, so she got some plain spaghetti and ripped up bread. She loved it. She liked the bread more of course than the cold spaghetti noodles. And I think at least more than half got in her stomach.

This morning, she had a broken up waffle and cheerios. She loved it. For lunch she had some of Alex's hot dog bun. I'm sensing a trend here with the bread products. But really, she's not quite ready for chicken nuggets and fries.

Someone asked me the other day how old she was, and I said - almost 10 months. And then I realized it was June, and she will be almost 11 months in just a few days. I don't track her days like I did with Alex. I mean, I even forgot how old she was. I'm sure with her first birthday coming up - I won't be as upset as I was when Alex turned one. But I love watching her grow up and doing all the things she couldn't do 6 months ago.

Alex constantly asks about going to school. When he is bigger. Right now he is small and stays home. But when he is big, he'll get his backpack and get on the schoolbus and go to school. I don't regret not signing him up for preschool in the fall. I know that is all anyone is talking about around here. But, I like having him home and we can afford for me to stay home and teach him. I talked to a friend of mine who is a kindergarten teacher and I asked her if she could tell the difference between preschool kids and kids who didn't go. I wanted to know if I was doing a disservice by not enrolling him. She said that it takes about a week and they are all on the same page. And a lot of times the people who go to preschool don't know as much as the parents would like to think.

It's not the money to me, but the effort (driving him there, and then turning around and picking him up 3 hours later. Honestly yes, I am lazy and I would be watching the clock and not enjoying the time with E) and what he would get out of preschool. I know there are so many people for and against, and honestly, it's one of those things in a long line of parenting issues that people fight about. Blah. Who cares.

That seems like the wrong note to leave this post with, but I'm gonna do it anyway. Who cares!

I feel like I have no time for updates.

2010-05-22T20:11:00.002-05:00

I really only do two things during the week - go to the mall for storytime and free Chick-A-Way on Wednesday and the storytime at the library and then the park on Thursday. Sense a trend? But somehow my days get all mixed in together and I feel like I can never catch up on my DVR or sit down for 2 minutes.

Maybe some day I'll relax.

In the meantime, E can go from laying down to sitting up. It's pretty cute to go get her in the morning and see her sitting up playing with her toys. Pretty soon we'll have to lower her crib I suppose.

And yesterday she grabbed my leg and held on for dear life as she stood up. Is it possible that she will walk before she will crawl??

It's sad to not see this fleshy blob on the floor that needs my constant attention. She can play by herself and is getting better at feeding herself. And she has really mastered screeching when Alex takes the toy she is playing with. I can already see the battles that this will cause. My brother and I fought over stupid stuff - like having half of the floor hump in the backseat, and who was touching who at the dinner table - he was a lefty, so he was always bumping me when he was cutting something.

Alex is so in love with her, but I can already see him doing stuff to her to get a reaction. It's like as soon as I turn my back, he is pulling her bow out of her hair or stealing her toy to make her cry.

Tho, when she does cry, he starts singing twinkle twinkle little star to her to get her to quiet down.

That kind of stuff melts your heart.

I packed it up this morning.

2010-05-11T16:17:00.000-05:00

Burp cloths.
Those pads you put under the baby so leaky diapers and spitup doesn't ruin the sheets.
My breast pump.
Bottles - she's been on sippy cups for 2 months now.
Pacifiers - she hasn't used these since she was a few months old.
The breathable bumper pad - she just pulls it down so it's not helping at this point.

All put away into a rubbermaid tote.

Sad.

I also pulled out the convertible car seat from our crawl space. I'm washing the cover and found petrified cheerios under the cover. Haha. I had to clean it up before Alex thought he could eat them.

I brought my double stroller in the house to change it from holding an infant car seat to just holding a baby.

Double sad.

Whine.

Daddy's Girl Already.

2010-05-05T18:09:00.000-05:00

Jeff walked out of the room and E turned and said....

Da Da Da

Of course she did. She's a Daddy's girl.

Alex is a Momma's boy. He said Mum Mum Mum first.

:)

Shuttle Launce in 3...2...1...

2010-04-25T16:38:00.001-05:00

Jeff and I are nerds. I'll admit it. I've been to Kennedy Space Center in Florida several times with my family but never seen a shuttle launch. Never really thought about it, until it was announced that soon - there will be no more launches. Jeff and I started talking about what a great experience it would be to go see one. There was 3 left - May, July and Sept. We even have a pic of E in the hospital room when a shuttle launch was happening.

We picked Sept - because it's the last one, and because Florida in July is ungodly hot! I know this because we always went to Florida in the summer. In July.

I booked our hotel on the Space Coast today. I'm so excited! E will be just over a year old, so hopefully she will be off baby food and will be able to have a good time. And I'm sure Alex will love it as well.

You can't buy tickets to the launch until about 4 weeks before the launch, but I was worried about the hotels booking up. With this being the last launch, I'm sure that they will. In fact, some of the bigger hotels were already booked.

We're planning to drive down. Everyone calls us crazy, but we do drive 6 hours to WV several times a year and don't have a problem. We plan to take 2 days to travel down - stopping in South Carolina for the night probably, and then continuing down the next day. We're going to stay on the Coast for 3 nights. So, in case the launch is scrubbed for rain or other delays, we'll still be in the area.

Afterwards, we plan to take the kids to Disney for a few days. Just do the Magic Kingdom and maybe Animal Park. I'd like to do a Disney vacation the right way - staying in the Disney hotel and doing all the parks, but I'd like to wait until the kids were a bit older and could enjoy it more. I love Disney World and went every 3 or 4 years growing up. And I want my kids to have the same thing.

I'm trying to convince my Mom to come with us. She's a huge space nut. And she even went to Space Camp many years ago. If they had let women in the space program in the 60s, I wonder if she would have tried to go. My Mom is thinking about just flying down for the launch and then home. She can't take that much time off of work.

So, anyway, I'm excited. I still have to wait many months to go, and we have several mini vacations planned before Sept. It should be a great experience and one that I'll never forget. As long as it takes off on time!!

I love food. What's wrong with my kids?

2010-04-24T08:59:00.002-05:00

So, we've set up some rules at our house since the pushing incident and the not eating dinner incidenti, or incidentsssss, or whatever. 1. Listen to Mommy and Daddy. 2. Be nice to kids. 3. Eat your dinner. I had no idea I had to actually makes rules for him to follow so that he would be a normal kid, but hey, what do I know?

Last night was again a fight at dinner - with both of them. The rule at dinner is - you have to try each item - protein, starch, veggie. After that, you can have a pb&j. Alex all the time will say - I don't like chicken. When in reality he hoovers down chicken. He's just testing. I don't care. He can either eat a piece of that chicken or he goes to bed. Those are his two options. Last night we had fish, shrimp and a spinach side dish thingy. All things he has eaten and liked before. Well, before even trying anything, he said he didn't like anything. I guess if it isn't a nugget, he doesn't want it.

I told him, you need to try one piece of each and tell me if you like it. Because he'll try it and then say - oh I love this! He wouldn't do it, and wouldn't budge, so off to his room his went. I know people say that they don't make their kids eat and they'll eat when they are hungry. But, I plan his snacks and meals around dinner so that he is hungry at dinnertime. We sit down at the table as a family and eat dinner. We have since he's been 1 day old. I understand he might not like what we have for dinner, but he still has to try it.

So, then I turned to E to feed her dinner. She had some yogurt and then I've been trying to give her some protein, so I bought some of the yucky meat jarred baby food. She likes the chicken and turkey stuff pretty well. Tonight, we were trying some ground beef and veggie mixture. Well, I put a little in her mouth, she instantly starts gagging - even though the food is on her tongue, and throws up so much I don't know where it all came from. And of course, she had yogurt right before that, so it smelled lovely. She puked like you see on tv shows where it just keeps coming and coming. I just jumped up and stood back and yelled sometime with the f word in it I think. Good thing Alex was upstairs.

So, the high chair needed a good scrubbing anyway I guess. So did the floor. I'm guessing it's a texture issue. I tried to feed her some cottage cheese a few days ago and the same thing happened. She doesn't even swallow the food - it's just on her tongue for literally 2 seconds before the Exerocist appears. I don't think she is allergic to anything as again, she hasn't even swallowed it.

So, we'll be on baby food for a while I guess. While I don't want her to grow up, I want her to be able to pick up food and eat it and start trying new things to eat. There are only so many options in the baby food aisle. I got out my mini food processor to chop up the food we are eating so she can try it, but it doesn't get it to the texture of the baby food. So I might have to wait on that one.

E's 9 Month Stats.

2010-04-19T13:08:00.001-05:00

Weight - 20 pounds - 75%
Height- 28 inches - 75%
Head- 47cm - over 100%

She's staying on the curve for everything. My ped suggested I give her some protein. I shy away from the meat jarred baby food. I know it is just like the veggies and there is nothing to be afraid of, but the meat baby food is scary to me. I have a small food processor - from when I was attempting to make Alex's baby food and failed miserably- so she suggested I just chop up whatever meat we're having and add some water. Since that is what Gerber does anyway.

I talked to the Ped about how E will put EVERYTHING into her mouth, except food. At first I thought the puffs were too small and she just didn't know what to do with them. So, I bought the wagon wheels and the veggie curl things. But she picks them up, looks at them, and throws them on the floor. If I put it in her mouth, she'll eat it. It's really quite puzzling. My Ped said maybe she was just lazy and wanted me to feed her. Then we both kind of laughed. It's nothing to really worry about - she's got the grip, as she can pick up the food, she just doesn't want to put it in her mouth.

They tested her iron and it was fine and she got 1 shot. I can't believe the next time she'll go to the Dr is for her one year appt! sigh. She's growing up so fast.

I'm over it. For realsy.

2010-04-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

He won't listen. Takes him 2 hours to eat his dinner. He has to eat what I put on his plate - I always give a small amount and he can have more if he wants it. Last night he was eating his peas one at a time. He wanted to go play, but we eat dinner together as a family, so he had to sit.

Bedtime is a nightmare lately. He's afraid of monsters, or needs 40 things before he can go to bed. Last week he was puking he got so upset.

He's just not listening lately. And the big thing is being rough with E. He adores her, but he has started rubbing her hard or pinching her arm or foot. Or taking away the exact toy she is playing with. There are a million others in the house, but now she gets upset when he takes the one she is playing with.

He likes to growl - and play monster. Well, this is ok for a few kids, but his one friend - I have told him not to growl at her because she does not like it. So what did he keep doing today? growling at her.

Today at the mall we were at the little play area. I was changing E's diaper, and all of a sudden I hear - whose child is this in the blue shirt - he's pushing a bunch of kids. Right as she said that, I saw him push down a little girl No reason - just shoved her. Of course, E was naked on the bench so I could just run right in there and get him.

I was so embarrassed. I don't want MY kid to be the one that other parents have to find the parent of because of bad behavior. I made him come out the playroom, sit down while I finished with E. Then I made him go into the play area and find every kid he pushed. I found the little girl he pushed and made him apologize. I asked him who else he pushed and he showed me another kid and we went up to him and apologized. Alex tried to give each boy a hug but they were timid of him. Haha. And then a bunch of kids came up and said he pushed them as well. I just had to let out a little laugh and say - I guess you pushed everyone in here. Who knows how many he pushed, but it was all I could think to do.

I hope the parents appreciate that I saw my kid doing something bad, made him apologize and then we left the mall, came home and he went straight to his room. No tv for the rest of the day - only books and toys. And no playing Wii with Daddy tonight - which is his most favorite thing.

I just want him to go back to the somewhat listening kid he was - not the never listening kid he is now. Did something switch off in his brain?

I'm over it.

Alex is a nightmare to get to sleep these days.

2010-04-10T19:07:00.000-05:00

For the past two days, he's gotten himself into such a tizzy at dinner that he has thrown up. He has a history of puking when he gets really upset. It's because he hasn't wanted to eat his dinner. I make him eat it - it's not a crazy amount of food, and he hasn't been snacking. And I'll ask him - do you want a cookie? Yes! Well, if you have room for a cookie, you have room for dinner. Of course, then Jeff wants a cookie and I don't really have any cookies. Haha.

Tonight, he was in bed, and as soon as I go to leave the room, he starts crying about monsters, wanting water, wanting dinner, wanting a story - all stall tactics. I ran this boy crazy today, he should want to go to bed!

Not two minutes later, he has puked all in his bed. Gotta change all the sheets. Ugh. And that pizza looked great coming back up. It was like I could see all the individual pieces of shredded cheese. Haha.

So, is this a stage of some sort? E has also been incredibly cranky the past few days. I went to Leah's first birthday party today, and I spent at least 45 minutes trying to get E to stop crying and go to sleep. I put her in my friend's crib, put her in the car seat. Finally, I just left her in the car seat, went outside and got some lunch, and sat down next to her and ate it. She finally fell asleep and slept for about 2 hours.

I'm just done with it. Blah!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-06T07:20:00.002-05:00

We went to WV for Easter this year. We went for a shorter time than usual because Jeff can't get the time off that he used to be able to. It's an adjustment, but it just has to make us better planners. When he had 3 day weekends every other week, it made it easier to just go somewhere for the weekend. Now that he has a schedule like everyone else, it takes a little more planning. Tho having him home at 5:30 is much preferred.

It was nice to get away for a few days. I read a book - something I haven't done in ages! Alex played outside and got so sweaty all the time that Jeff's Mom buzzed his hair. It's his annual summer look. They have a stream that runs through their property, and we spend a lot of time down there throwing rocks and sticks into the water. And then Alex decided he wanted to get in the water - even though it was super cold. But hey, why not. He had fun. It reminded me of the stream and rocks that ran through Jeff's grandparent's property in PA. We don't have anything like that here - at least not public that I know about. And if it's public, everyone else is there. It's just one of those things that makes visiting WV special.

On Easter morning, we sent Alex out on an Easter Egg Hunt. But, most of his chocolate candy melted - since it was in eggs, laying out in the hot 90 degree sun. He didn't seem to mind though. But, since I got E's Easter dress a month ago, I didn't realize it was supposed to be so hot. So, she's in a long sleeve, thick dress. I was nice and didn't put the tights I had bought on her, so she didn't mind too much. The dress was so cute. It was still a little big on her, so maybe she can wear it in the fall!

On our way out of town, we stopped to visit Jeff's Aunt and Uncle, and his grandmother lives with them. Also, his cousins were in. It's nice to see everyone. Jeff's cousins have a big dog, and there was more running and sweating chasing after the dog. Alex really loves dogs - big ones, small ones - doesn't matter the size. I'd really like to get him a dog someday. Maybe soon, but probably not. I'd like to be out of the baby stage with E, before I go taking on having a dog. We always had dogs growing up, so it's definitely something I miss.

Finally...

2010-03-27T15:31:00.002-05:00

She can roll over. But just one way. From back to front. She only seems to do it in her crib - so I assume it is to get a toy. I've tried this tactic many times on the floor with her, but she wanted to have nothing to do with it. But put her down for a nap and then walk away and she's all over rolling over.

The only problem? she hates being on her tummy. And as soon as she is on her tummy, she army crawls backwards. So, she ends up in the corner of her crib, all squished, and crying. I've helped her out of this predicament a few times, but she's on her own now. She's gotta learn somehow. Apparently me trying to teach her to roll over didn't work, so if she's gonna do stuff on her own, let her start now. Haha. :)

She still doesn't babble - yelling she is good at. Babbling, not so much. She can army crawl backwards but not forwards. She can only roll over one way. She's getting her third tooth, but it's a side tooth, so her teeth still won't meet. No steak for her anytime son. She is SO different than Alex. Not that I want them to be the same, but it's just interesting to me to see how she reaches stuff in a different timeframe.

Blah. Ouch. ZZzzzzzzz. And more Blah.

2010-03-23T07:42:00.002-05:00

I was sick. Still am sick. Sicker than I have been in a long time. And of course it was strep. I used to get strep throat every year when I was younger. Then I went through a magical 10 year or so period where I didn't get it at all. And the last few years, it's been back. One time I got it twice in a year.

Remember that exhaustion I was talking about before? It was just the beginning of strep I guess. I had a fever on Thursday night and I felt crappy but then on Friday morning I felt pretty good. Until about 1pm. Then I felt bad again. I went to bed early and woke up about 4am and my throat was killing me. Look in my mouth, and of course, white patches everywhere. I get on the computer and look up to see what time my general practitioner opens on a Saturday and set my alarm. Go to the Dr, tell him all he needs to know and walk out with a prescription for antibiotics. Only problem is - the pharmacy doesn't open until 9! So, I sit in the car and play on my ipod. I love that thing.

Finally get my prescription, come home and sleep for about 3 hours. Wake up still feeling like crap, try to be socialable for a few hours, then lay back down for another 3 hour nap. I haven't slept this much in forever! I try to drink but it's so painful. Forget about eating. Sunday wasn't any better. I had about 2 bites of some rice and beans - trying to think about soft foods- before I had to stop.

The grossest part of this whole experience was spitting. Not that I am a girly girl, but I don't like to spit. But, I couldn't swallow, and my mouth would get dry from not drinking, so every once in a while I'd swish some water in my mouth and then spit it out.

Yesterday I was able to get down 1 egg at breakfast and then finished my rice and beans from the other night. Today is day 4 on the antibiotic. Throat still really hurts - tho it is less. White patches are definitely smaller but still there. Now the pain has moved into my lower jaw. So, now it's painful to talk. I know, Alex and Jeff should be happy I can't talk as much. I'm just concerned that tomorrow is my last antibiotic pill and I'm not healed yet. Normally with strep, I'm feeling almost back to normal by day 2. Blah.

Alex has started stuttering. But not in the traditional way. He just stutters the first word. Like, he's say - I I I I I need a drink. or Wha Wha Wha Wha What are you doing? He only does it on the first word, so I don't think it's just a stutter - but maybe something else. Nothing I'm too worried about as people have told me their kids have done this too and then outgrown it.

E still only has 2 teeth, can't roll over and can army crawl backwards. So, she's all kinds of mixed up. Someday she'll get it all together. She's just taking her sweet time. Which is fine. Second babies can reach those milestones as slow as they want. that's the magic of second babies.

I'm Exhausted.

2010-03-18T13:35:00.001-05:00

Seriously. E hasn't been sleeping. Decides it would be more fun to cry at night and not go to bed, and then get up between 1-4 times a night. Yeah. It sucks getting used to sleeping all night and then have to get up so much. I'm not sure what is the issue - she sleeps fine for naps and is fine all day, but come about 7pm when we start the routine to get them into bed, she just melts down. Last night Jeff rocked her for about a half hour or so and she was just fine. And then we moved her to the crib and she fell asleep. I'm not sure if it is teeth or what. I don't imagine she's sick - unless she has night sickness, because she's fine during the day.

Last night I fell asleep at 9:30. I slept great until about 2:30am or so when the crying started. And then Alex was up at 6:45am because he got sent to bed early last night for pushing E over in the tub. At least he had had his dinner. :)

Plus, we've gone to the park the past couple of days, and that just drains me. My legs hurt, my body aches. Sheesh - am I 300 years old?

Alex loves the park though, so we keep going. And E loves the swing. Now if I could just keep her hat on her, we'd be getting somewhere. Her head is so big that the infant hats with the tied and velcro don't fit her humungo head.

If I could just get some sleep, I think I would feel human again.

Hobby Monday and Crafty Wednesday.

2010-03-09T08:56:00.002-05:00

I guess I am a creature of habit. Or I like schedules. It's most likely the latter. If left to myself, I never seem to have time for anything, but with a schedule, I seem to be able to get things done if I want to.

I don't know if I wrote about Hobby Monday before, but Monday nights, Jeff and I do what we want to after the kids go to bed. Jeff plays XBox and I scrapbook. I created a little scrapbook nest in the basement - with a radio and my new Cricut machine. If I have a space of a couple hours, it's nice to be able to get stuff done.

My friend Heather is very crafty. She was always telling me about projects she was doing or what she wanted to do. So, we instituted Crafty Wednesday. We get together and do something crafty. Sometimes it's with the kids - like putting beads on pipe cleaners and making bracelets. She showed me how to make a tutu - which turned out so cute! I then went and bought all kinds of tulle because I can see me making E all kinds of tutus. Alex even put one on, but I don't think it's a look he'll sport very often.

This past week - we took old cat litter/food buckets from Costco, covered the lid with fabric and stuffed "stuffed animal stuffing" (we killed a few stuffed animals we hated or were all stained up) and glued the fabric down. It made a cute seat for the kids to sit on, and also a toy bucket! I'm putting play food in Alex's, since we have so much. I need to find a nice ribbon to put around the fabric edge to cover it - as it's ugly, but other than that, it's done!

It's a nice way to spend a winter day/evening when you have to stay inside. Now that the weather is warming up, I don't know about keeping my current schedule - maybe save it for a rainy day. But who am I kidding - I heard the weatherman talk about snow the other day, so I may keep this schedule for a while.

I hate the bottle - give me the sippy cup please!!

2010-03-05T15:48:00.001-05:00

So, I've been giving E a sippy cup with water in it for about a month or so - to try and get her used to using one. Well, the other day, she had her bottle in the morning, and I could not get her to drink another bottle. I had tried all day. Finally about 4pm, I thought she really needed something else to drink, so I gave her some water in a sippy cup to see if she would drink it - I wasn't sure if she just wasn't thirsty or what. She downed the water in about 3 seconds. So, I put formula in it and she downed that in about 4 seconds.

I'm assuming it is because she can get the formula out of a sippy in about half the time of a bottle - even though we are on the fastest flow bottles. It actually has turned out pretty good, because while I am making Alex breakfast or doing something else, I can give her the sippy and she happily drinks her formula. She could hold her bottle, but wouldn't most of the time, so I was having to stop whatever I was doing and feed her. It's really just much easier this way.

So, yesterday I went out and stocked up on sippy cups. I don't have any of the chewable type ones left from Alex because he bit the tops of them off. I guess he had a thing for plastic.

I'm still trying to give her a bottle but I guess I should just stop since she has no interest in them anymore. It's just another step to her growing up. And I'm just not ready for it yet!!

Kitchen Cure 2010 - The beginning.

2010-03-03T09:25:00.002-05:00

I've got a long way to go, but it's a start.

Spices Cabinet - Before

Spice Cabinet - After

It might not look like much of a difference, but I did combine some spices and got rid of some that we haven't used in FOREVER. I was keeping them in hope of using them someday, but they are all probably expired and bad anyway.

Big Tool Drawer- Before
I could barely open this drawer before. And what's that on top!! My whisk I've been looking for!

Big Tool Drawer- After
I took the mixing blades and put them with the mixer and moved stuff around. Had two BBQ temp forks in there - and we use 0. So, one went into the Freecycle bag.
I also found the tip to our flavor injector thingy. Again, it was in a completely different drawer.

I'm not going to post pictures of everything I clean on here, but you can see I've gotten a good start! It feels good to purge.

Kitchen Cure 2010

2010-03-02T11:21:00.000-05:00

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/kitchen-spring-cure-2010/kitchen-cure-week-1-clean-out-the-fridge-and-pantry-the-spring-2010-kitchen-cure-108042

I joined this. Tho, I am doing it a bit out of order. I actually went through my spices and pantry a few weeks ago and got rid of stuff, so I'm starting with going through all the cabinets in my kitchen. I haven't take stuff out of them and cleaned them, uh... since we moved in to the house. And I'm not saying how long ago that way, but it was years. I always look at some of my cabinets and think, I need to clean that, and then shut the door and never look back.

So far I've cleaned the outside of all my cabinets on the bottom, an cleaned out 2 drawers and my Tupperware cabinet. I've got a bag started of stuff I'm going to put on freecycle and I've moved things to where they should be!

AND!! I found the whisk I've been looking for! I knew I had a better whisk than the crappy one I've been using, and I finally found it - in a different drawer.

I've taken some before and after pictures. I'm also going to try and go through our glasses again. We have SO many glasses and cups. We just keep accumulating them.

So, anyway, join with me and clean your kitchen!

Let her sleep, and you get peace.

2010-02-26T08:07:00.002-05:00

I remember when Alex was about this age, that I was ruled by his nap schedule. Some people work with schedules, and some people don't. I'm a scheduler. It gives some sort of structure to my otherwise unstructured life.

A few months ago, I started trying to sleep train E when she was incredibly cranky. I found a schedule that worked for us and we were all happy and well rested. Well, since the Blizzard 2010 messed everything up and I try to get out of the house more often because I was stuck inside for so long, her schedule is messed up again. She is still in her infant carrier and used to sleep so well in it. But now she has decided that sleeping is for the weak, and she's not weak. She'll take a 20 minute nap if we are on our way somewhere, but always wakes up when we get there or soon after. And she won't sleep if there is anything interesting to look at.

This was leading to melt downs that I haven't seen since she was just a few months old. I knew it was from lack of sleep. So, yesterday I started back with the forced napping. I know I'm crabby when I don't get enough sleep. She slept for a total of 5 hours yesterday. She normally naps 3-4 hours per day. Obviously her schedule was off.

When Alex was little, I left where ever I was at 1pm and came home so he could nap. He was happy and I was too, tho I hated leaving somewhere if the only reason was so he could nap. But, he thrived on his schedule and was a happier baby. My friends aren't at my house at 7pm when he was melting down from not sleeping.

E has a little bit different schedule - she'll get up about 7:30am or so, and will go back down for a nap about 9. And she's up about 11, so we can then go out. I can barely get out of the house by 11 anyway, so that works for us.

Alex loves to make E laugh and tickle her and play with her. I know at some point in the future they'll hate each other, but they just have so much fun now. Alex is nice to her so he can steal her toys I think. But she doesn't mind too much right now. As long as she has something to chew on.

She still can't roll over but she has started scooting backwards. Our lives have officially gotten 100 times harder. It's so cute to watch her struggle to go forward but she only goes backwards. I have to look at Alex's baby book, but I think she is beginning to move sooner than Alex. He rolled eveywhere and I don't think E will ever roll. She's stubborn like that.

I was signed up to take a Wilton Cake Decorating Class next month and it's been canceled. Of course, after I bought all the supplies for it. But it's stuff I need anyway so I'll use it. I'm hoping to take it in April. I was looking through the course book and I think I'm going to be the worst person in the class. I don't think I can even do the items on the day 1 class. I decorate cakes like a 3rd grader. Maybe 2nd grader. I think in a different life I could have been a baker. I would have loved to go to culinary school and been a pastry chef. Anyone can make dinner, but I love making desserts. I would love to know how to make fancy desserts and learn how things go together. So, I'll just start off with this class - if I can ever take it.

Bring on the steak.

2010-02-11T11:34:00.002-05:00

She has a tooth. Finally. 3 days before she turns 7 months old - a bottom tooth has popped through. You can't see it yet, but it definitely grips the spoon as I'm shoveling food into her mouth.

I'm kind of in denial about E growing up and getting teeth and ordering off the kids menu. She still can't roll over, so I guess I have that. But, she can drink from a sippy cup, eat puffs, sit up, stand for 10-15 seconds if propped next to something. She's also become a wonderful sleeper. She takes 2 naps during the day, and sleeps at night from 7pm-8am. It's glorious. Glorious I tell you.

If you read any Mommy blog, they talk about 2 things - sleep and poop. As much as I like to sleep, I'm glad to finally be getting some nights of full sleep. I still wake up tired, as it will take time to get used to sleeping again. Or something.

We've been snowed in for years it seems. Alex is so over the snow that he doesn't ever want to go out in it. Jeff has to work everyday because his job doesn't close. He's worked from home a few days, but he goes into the office most every day. It would be nice for him to have a few days off. Seems all we ever do with our time off is shovel snow. Did I mention the snow?

Alex was all excited to make a snowman but it turned out to be a snow blob - as we couldn't get the balls to work. But, it was a cute snow blob. I still haven't taken him sledding as it seems to snow on the weekends when Jeff is home, and I don't want to take E out in the cold. My favorite memory of snow as a kid is going sledding all day with my Mom and Brother. I loved it. The taller the hill the better. In college we went sledding on cafeteria trays. It probably goes along with my love of roller coasters.

We were thinking about going away this upcoming weekend to Great Wolf Lodge. I've been looking into it to go for a few weeks and with all this snow, we just wanted to get some place warm. We've never been, but it's an indoor water park and hotel - but only the hotel guests can use it, so it's not too crowded. A hot pool sounds so yummy right now. And E loves the water, so I know she would love it too.

Too bad this weekend is Valentine's Day and a 3 day weekend, because the prices were double what they normally are. But, it's probably worth it to keep my sanity.

I'm hoping to get out of the house tomorrow. Maybe. Our driveway may never be clear again. We've shoveled so much that you'd think I'd lost 10 pounds by now. But I make up for the shoveling by baking and cooking. At least I have a happy tummy.

Dear Snow.

2010-02-08T12:00:00.001-05:00

Dear Snow-

I hate you.

Love,
The Barnett Family.

Memories.

2010-02-03T12:22:00.002-05:00

We've started a new tradition - well, I say tradition, but it's really only been the past two nights- of watching videos of Alex when he was a baby before putting him to bed. Most of the video of him in on our camcorder - which, is really a useless piece of junk now. My phone and camera take pretty good video and I don't have to process it off of a tape. Technology. ehhhh.

Anyway, I have about 100 videos since August 2006. Most of them are between 30 seconds and 2 minutes long. And they are so interesting to watch. I tend to think of Alex as the kid he is today - he can talk and walk and feed himself and has all his teeth. I can't remember when he was 7 months old and would just babble and roll on the floor. Or how when we went to the park he used to go down on his stomach backwards - it took him forever to want to go down on his butt.

It's so cool to watch videos I've taken with his friends - and how they've changed in the past 3 years. Alex and Ada had huge heads. I mean, really huge. I guess I always knew Alex had a huge head, but looking at the videos - it's massive. :)

Someone once told me that your first kid - you have a picture and video of everything they did. The second kid - you video some important stuff, but that the first kid is in all the pictures. And if you have a third kid - well, you would never know they existed because there isn't any pictures of him. And it's kind of true. I try very hard to get pictures of E by herself and doing interesting things.

One thing I've noticed from these videos is that I need to break out some of Alex's old toys. I guess I was just assuming she wasn't old enough. But, she'll be 7 months old in a week, and she's becoming more interactive with her toys. She can sit up perfectly now, so I can break out the playtent I had for Alex that I loved. and he loved it too. It's funny how I can remember the songs from the toys perfectly as well. I heard them so much that they are just ingrained in my brain.

Mentally Exhausted.

2010-01-26T11:59:00.001-05:00

This past week has been so mentally and physically exhausting. I'm just now getting back to sleeping through the night and not being scared out of my mind, or letting crazy thoughts enter my head.

I survived on Pepsi and Twix bars. Which is probably why I gained a few pounds this week. But, everyone in the house is on the mend and we'll hopefully be getting back to normal. We missed my Grandmother's 91st birthday party on Saturday. I'm sad that she might not have very many more birthdays, and am sad that we missed this one. It turns out it was a bit filled with family drama, but isn't every family get-together that way? Jeff and I plan to go up in a few weeks and visit on our own. I know my grandmother loved the visitors she had on Saturday, but it will be nice to have some one on one time with her. She has such a calming effect on E.

We also missed Ms. Willa's party. I've got her gift here - that Alex keeps trying to play with. But, when Ms. Willa sees it, she might wonder why Alex wants to play with it. Haha. With Manda having a new new new newborn, we're staying far away from her. I told her that I would leave the present on her doorstep and she can let it sit out in the cold for a while if she wants. Haha.

Another thing weighing on my mind is Jeff's first travel is Thursday. It's just a day trip, but he'll be gone from 5am until late late. Not that it is a big deal to have the kids all to myself for the day, but I'm still reeling from last week and just knowing that he is here in the mornings and comes home at 5:15 is comforting. Maybe I'll have to invite myself to someone's house for dinner. haha.

The big test will be in April - when he is most likely going to CA for a week. I would love to go too, but getting on an airplane with a 9 month old and a 3 year old isn't my idea of fun. Plus, having to entertain them while Jeff is working. Tho, it is quite warm in CA.

Six Months Old.

2010-01-15T16:36:00.003-05:00

Really? When did this happen? About two days ago. I'm really in denial that she's growing up. She's just starting to explode with all that she can do. She can really sit up well - tho she does tend to fall over randomly and it makes me giggle. She doesn't startle or anything - just falls over, like she's had too much to drink.

She's not rolling over yet. I guess it's my fault, as I don't do tummy time. Anyone with a kid will tell you that kids hate to be put on their stomach. So, I don't do it. She can stand using her legs - with help, and she can bounce for an hour in her bouncer, and she can sit up. She is eating 4 jars of food a day, so she's hoovering the food down. So what if she can't roll over? Well, apparently, it's important, because the Dr seemed concerned. I need to look up in Alex's baby book to see when he rolled over. I'd like to think that maybe she's just relaxed in not rolling over.

The Dr suggested more tummy time - which I will do. I do put her on the bed, and push down beside her so that she has gravity help her roll over. And she can roll to her side, just not all the way over. Her arm gets in the way.

I bought sippy cups the other day because I was looking at pictures of Alex when he was 6 months old and there are tons of him with a sippy cup. I'm so much more relaxed with E that I don't even think about what I should be doing. I just go with the flow. Which is why I guess she can't roll over. As long as she can roll ove rby high school, I think I'll be ok. I haven't even done anything with the sippy cups. They are all still just sitting out and wrapped up. So, I did the first half of it.

I just noticed the other day, that she is a chunky baby. Since we've been on formula only for the past 3 weeks, and with solids now, she's packing on the weight. She no longer has wrists or ankles - just a little line in her fat arms and legs shows for a wrist and ankle.

she's also very happy. She smiles a lot. And if Daddy is in the room - watch out, because she won't look at you, only Daddy. Trying to feed her when her head is cocked to the side staring at Daddy is getting harder. Guess she loves him. :)

Head- 46.5cm 100%
Weight- 18lbs 3ozs - 90%
Height- 26.5 inches - 75%

So, her head is still huge, and she's tall, but no longer lean. Haha. At least she has hair. Poor Alex was bald and fat and long. I look back at pictures of him and just shake my head at how large his alien head was. You can do that when it's your child.

Mommy saves the world. Again.

2010-01-12T22:48:00.001-05:00

Alex drools like nobodies business when he sleeps. I used to think he was leaking everywhere - when he still wore a diaper. He is all over the place in his bed, so there would be wet spots all over the place when I would check on it. But, it's just drool. So, when we got him a pillow, I got a cover for it - so I wouldn't have to wash the pillow every 2 days.

He carries his pillow into my room in the morning - as he's usually up before E and we lay in bed and watch TV. He always tells me, "we watch George, then you watch news. Doesn't that sound like fun?" Why yes, yes it does. News sucks! George is cool.

Anyway, he's always throwing his pillow around or jumping on it or something. I guess tonight, when he was trying to get comfy, he noticed that the plastic covering on his pillow had ripped. Apparently - this means the universe is collapsing, as there was screaming and yelling and we had to rush to find out what was the matter so he didn't wake up E. One bad thing about them being in rooms right next to each other I guess.

Jeff got there before I did, and calmed Alex down, and when I walked in the room, it looked like someone had punched him in the stomach. He was so upset. He gets really upset at stuff that gets broken - like puzzle pieces or a balloon. I told him to wait just a second, opened his closet door, and gave him another pillow with a case already on it. You see, I was prepared for this somehow.

He grabbed the pillow in amazement, scrunched it up against his body, and started crying. And then said - Thanks Mommy.

Jeff and I just kind of looked at each other, and I almost started bawling. He jumped right back into bed and fell asleep.

Not ready for travel.

2010-01-08T13:28:00.002-05:00

Jeff's new job includes travel. Most of it is only to Aberdeen, MD, but at some point he'll also have to go to Detroit. Why would anyone want to go to Detroit? Aberdeen is about an hour above Baltimore, so a 3 hour drive from here. Most people go up and get a hotel for the night before - so they don't have to leave at 2am to get up there in time.

He's been told he needs to go on travel in 2 weeks. It's good for him - so he can see the vehicle himself and watch testing and such - since he's now responsible for knowing how the vehicle works. But, I'm just not ready for him to travel. Well, I thought I was, and then last night changed my mind.

Jeff had a work thing he had to do last night, and didn't get home until 9pm. As I was getting Alex ready for bed, he kept asking where Daddy was. I told him that Daddy was still at work but would be here when he got up in the morning. He said that he wanted to open the door for Daddy, say welcome home, and then get him dinner - which is basically how the evening goes when Jeff gets home. It was so sweet that he said that. It was like his night wasn't complete if he couldn't see Jeff walk through the door. Also, Alex plays differently with Daddy than he does with me. With Daddy there is more wrestling and jumping. He seemed lost that he couldn't wrestle with Daddy right before bed.

He doesn't even seem to remember anything this morning. HE woke up about 10pm last night and wanted a drink. I asked him if he wanted to say hi to Daddy but he said no, drank his water, and went back to bed. So, maybe it won't be so bad when Jeff has to leave for a few days. Alex seemed fine with Jeff being gone for 1 night, but I don't know how hard it's going to be when it's more than a night.

Banana Snot.

2010-01-05T22:53:00.002-05:00

So yeah, I could make a resolution this year to blog more. But really, who wants that? I don't make new year's resolutions. I also don't make wishes when I blow out birthday candles. When I was making Jeff's birthday pie a few weeks ago - which I then burned in the oven and pecan pie filling burnt to a nice black puddle on the bottom of my oven- I realized I didn't even get a birthday cake, or pie for that matter this year. But no matter. I did fill my belly with conveyor belt sushi and that was cake enough for me.

So, where was I? Do you hate when writers talk to themselves? At least I'm not talking in the 3rd person. Yet.

This post is being made on lack of sleep. Even though I have an almost 6 month old, she doesn't sleep through the night with any regularity. And when she does happen to sleep for more than 6 hours or so, Alex wakes up and has some request. It's really quite odd to open your crusty sleepy eyes and see a halo of a little man standing in front of you. I'm blind without my contacts so he's all blurry. He doesn't have a gate on his door - so that he can go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. But, he still comes and tells me he has to pee. I'm trying to break him of this habit, but it's not working. I also took the gate off of E's door - we had it on there to keep Alex out of her room- but I kicked it so many times at 2am that I took it down.

Last night I was woken up 3 times. twice by E, once by Alex. And I didn't even get into bed until almost midnight. Which is lately - unheard of for me. But, I got an iPod Touch for Christmas and I'm addicted to Words with Friends. It's like Scrabble. And I love it. It's so easy to hold in my hand and play a round while feeding E or rocking her to sleep or holding onto Alex. And I've got games on it for Alex as well - because Lord knows I can't have anything for myself. We got this monkey game - which Alex calls his George game (for Curious George). It's pretty simple so he can play it. He'll tell me all day - you play the word game (scrabble) and I'll play the George game. Smart kid. I'm not sure why I'm playing Words with Friends. Currently, in the 4 games that I have going on, I'm losing by at least 50 points in each game. If you play and wanna beat someone with apparently a very small vocabulary, my name is Cinfy. I'm addicted to playing because in the evening it seems like everyone is online playing. Jeff is sitting in one chair playing Modern Warfare, and I'm in another playing scrabble. It's not quite the background noise I would ask for, but we are in the same room and I'll tell him when I make a good word, and he'll tell me when he shoots 3 people in a row. So, it works for us. I don't even realize what time it is, and have been getting to bed late. So, when I'm woken up 2 hours later by some screaming child in my house, it sucks.

Back to the banana snot, After we got home from WV for New Years, I decided to start E on real food. She's had a bunch of tastes of things - like cool whip, frosting, and maybe a sliver of bread or two. I decided to start off with bananas. I think with Alex I started with sweet potatoes. I'm sure I have that written down somewhere but I don't care to go look it up. smashed bananas look like snot. Chunky snot. And that is all I can think about as I'm shoveling it in her face. She loves it. And can't seem to get enough. Alex has no known food allergies, but I'm still being careful with her with food just in case. I'll do the whole - feed them one food for 3 days to make sure they are ok with it until you move to another food. I can see her eying up the shrimp I had on my plate tonight, but she'll have to wait for that.

I weaned E. Or really, she weaned me.

2009-12-27T14:44:00.001-05:00

My supply took a drastic turn after Thanksgiving. It was because I wasn't drinking as much as I should and not eating very well - we were at my inlaws house. Well, I couldn't even fill her up at one meal per day. I was trying to space out 2 times - one in the morning and one in the evening to let my supply build up. But, it just wasn't working. So, I decided that Christmas Eve would be my last time BFing. I woke up on Christmas morning and put on a regular bra! Haha.

She hasn't even seemed to notice. She was having a hard time feeding and would pull off about every 2 seconds and just wasn't having it. I made it farther than I ever thought I would. I feel like BFing helped keep her well when everyone else in the house had the death crud. So, I made it five and a half months. That is so much farther than I thought I would make at even 2 weeks.

Christmas Eve.

2009-12-24T22:29:00.002-05:00

It seems like I've been waiting for this day for 364 days. The actual day of Christmas is so quick, that I much prefer Christmas Eve. Wrapping, getting things just right. Baking. Watching A Christmas Story 2 or 3 times. And we have a nice little family tradition that we started a few years ago with Alex. We go to the store and buy a bunch of appetizer type food - like chips and dip, cheese, crackers, cookies, and sparkling juice. Jeff and I aren't big drinkers, so we go for the juice. Haha. We sit in the kitchen with Christmas music playing and eat and drink and sing and dance. It's especially nice now that Alex can sing and dance around with us. Elizabeth was napping while we were eating, but I'm sure if she was with us, she would have just looked at us like we were crazy. Which is the look she normally gives us!

After out bellies are full, we go out and look at Christmas lights. We go to the same neighborhoods each year. Alex was really underimpressed this year with the lights. But I think it was because he was tired. He fell asleep about 20 minutes into driving around. Jeff and I are pointing out lights and we hear snoring. So, we drive around a little more and head back home. Because, while I like to look at Christmas lights, I'd much rather be at home in my PJs.

I looked forever for matching PJs for the kids. Finally found some at A Children's Place. Alex has blue ones and E had pink ones. I had all these visions of putting them next to the tree and taking all these cute pictures. But, Alex could barely wake up when we got home, and we didn't even put him in PJs when we got home. Just took off his shoes and threw him into bed. E was awake and ready to party, so we had junk food dinner round 2 while E looked at us - again- like we were crazy.

And then we sat down to watch the first time of many for the next 24 hours - A Christmas Story. I know a lot of people hate that movie, but Jeff and I love it. And we quote it all year long. One year for our Christmas Eve party, we even got Ovaltine. :)

Now, both kids are asleep, Jeff is asleep in the chair, and I had to put together Alex's toy from Santa - a shopping cart. When I was growing up, the presents from Santa weren't wrapped. And Jeff's parents didn't wrap gifts, so we're going with unwrapped = Santa. It makes it easier than trying to wrap a shopping cart. I got a bunch of food for it as well, so it's sitting beside the tree all ready for him to see.

I'm excited for Alex tomorrow. I can't wait to see his reaction to the presents under the tree. We've talked a lot about Christmas Day and Santa. I'm not sure he knows what to expect, but I remember last Christmas when he turned the corner in the morning and saw all the presents - his eyes lit up and he was so excited.

So, until then, I'm going to try and sleep tonight. And hopefully I don't get a belly ache from all the junk I ate tonight.

Mr. T Mohawk Bomb

2009-12-20T17:01:00.001-05:00

Mr. T Mohawk Hair
Originally uploaded by Cinfy.

Elizabeth has had a small patch of mohawk hair since she was born. Last week, it fell. And I was sad. I loved her mohawk hair. And with flat hair, her face looked SO big. She's got a bit of a square face, so she needs the lift in her hair. If this was the 80s, I could get away with hairspraying her hair to stand up that way.

For some reason, last night, her mohawk came back. I was so happy! Today I took tons of pictures of it. But, she's following everything I do, so to try and get a side shot of her head - she moves her head to follow the camera. So, this was the best front shot I got.

I told Jeff that I would let her color her mohawk if she wanted. But, since she can't talk, well, she's just going to have to keep it plain.

We got a huge snowstorm as everyone knows. The first day, Alex wanted to go back inside after about 5 minutes. He just was not into being in that cold stuff. But today, we were outside for about 2 hours. He had much more fun. We went sledding down a neighbor's driveway and threw snowballs at each other. Luckily, Alex doesn't have good aim.

Five Months and One Day.

2009-12-14T09:35:00.002-05:00

I had a bit of a busy weekends, so I didn't even have a chance to think that yesterday was E's 5th month birthday. Or 5th monthday. Or whatever it is called.

Jeff finished his first week at his new job, and he's found an office friend who likes all the nerd things he does - including the awful show 'Tim and Eric's Awesome Show.' I leave the room when he wants to watch that - haha. I'm happy that he seems to be fitting in and liking his new job. It's a lot more stressful than his old job - as he was there for 4 years, and knew how to do everything. But, there is something about moving onto something different and taking on a challenge. And now that he is an Engineer, this can only help him in the future. He seems to really like what he is doing so far, so I hope that continues. Plus, at his old job, the news is out there that they may cancel the vehicle. It's one of the recommendations from this panel that recommends these things. So, even if he would have survived the next round of layoffs (rumored to be this month), he couldn't really survive the program being canceled.

It's so nice to have him home at 5:30. It's like 5 extra hours per day, when it's really only 1.5 or so. But, we can eat at a normal time, we can get Alex to bed at a more normal time. And we can actually sit and decompress from the day. Instead of rushing to get everything done and then falling asleep on the couch together.

Elizabeth is getting heavy. She's getting to the point that carrying her in the car seat is getting difficult, and I'm sure I'm going to throw my back out at some point. I kept telling everyone that she weighed 13.5 pounds, because that's what she weighed at her 4 month check, but I weighed her the other day and she is 15.5 pounds! She's growing the same way Alex grew - long torso and short legs. So, I have all these one piece outfits that don't fit her at all but are still too cute and I put them on her. I've been putting away several of her 3-6 month shirts because they are just too tight and have a scoop neck if they are a onesie. I'm a bit in denial that I'll have to move her to 6-9 month clothes probably after Christmas.

She still hasn't been doing so great since Thanksgiving. She's only sleeping through the night maybe 1 night a week. And cranky. Oh my goodness - this child can crank. Alex will come up to me and tell me - Momma, Eliwizzabeff's crankin! We went to a wedding on Saturday night for my friend Amy and Tyler, and left Elizabeth and Alex with my friend Wendy. Alex was fine, wrestling with Wendy's 3 boys. And apparently ate his weight in mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. Elizabeth - well, Wendy said she was chatting and looking cute for about 20 minutes, and then just starting crying. And nothing they could do could calm her down. Matt got his hearing protection for shooting, and was walking her around with those on. I have to say - that is the smartest idea I have heard. Matt said they worked great. She finally fell asleep after 2 hours of screaming. We felt so bad. Her middle son was doing everything he could to make her stop crying, and at one point told Wendy - she's just not happy. That was true. I told Wendy that next time she has permission to break out the whiskey. For her or Elizabeth.

The wedding was a lot of fun. We don't get out much without kids, and especially all dressed up. Since I don't work, I don't wear my fancy shoes much anymore, and I realize that I'm old and my feet hurt way too early in the evening. It was nice to see some people I haven't seen in a while, and actually go to a wedding. Jeff and I reminisced about our own wedding as we were at the reception. It's hard to believe is was a little over 6 years ago that we got married. We've been thinking about our honeymoon because I read a blog from Hurley on Lost, and he recently went to the Big Island Hawaii. We spent the bulk of our honeymoon on the big island. And he did everything that we did. And even stayed in our favorite hotel that we found - the Dolphin Bay Hotel. He talked about the fake lava statue and the free bananas in the lobby. I would love to go back to Hawaii at some point. Too bad the 13 hour flight is what keeps us from going back.

Sunday I took a girl's shopping trip to finish our Christmas shopping. Alex and daddy had a boys day at home, and me, Elizabeth and Wendy hit the outlet mall. We found favorite snacks from our past - Soft Patch Chocolate Chip Cookies for me and Charleston Chews for Wendy. We had Auntie Anne's pretzels and McDonald's Sweet Tea. I think we may have ate more than we shopped. And then, as we were cutting through the crazy long line of people waiting for Santa, I saw an old co-worker. We chatted for a few minutes about how everyone has left our old credit union, but moved onto a different credit union. It must be that once you work for a CU, you always work for one. It was fun to catch up with her for a few minutes and then off for more shopping.

My main mission was to find Elizabeth a hat with a fluffy ball on top. And matching jammies for Alex and E. I got both, and always finished up almost all my shopping. As soon as Jeff tells me what he wants, I can get that too. Now I've got to think about wrapping the mound of gifts in our bedroom. But, I love playing Christmas music and wrapping.

New Job, New Life.

2009-12-07T09:10:00.002-05:00

Jeff starts his new job today. We have been very thankful that in this horrible economy, we hadn't been hit by layoffs and bad news at work. But, then, last month, Jeff's current job laid off 40 people. And there was news that all the contractors would be gone by Christmas. Jeff is a subcontractor at his current job and the main contractor - to save money- was getting rid of all of them. Or, at least that was the rumor. And then when the first round of layoffs happened, we started to freak out.

Jeff had been talking with his company about another position but his company was waiting to see if they won the contract from the government. I feel like I'm talking in a foreign language. Anyway, they were very interested in having him switch over to this other position - but we had to wait for things to work out. Plus, Jeff is kind of the only person at his job that does what he does. So, it would leave a big hole at his current company. But, if the goal was to get rid of all the subcontractors, then he'd be gone anyway.

Fast forward to today - and Jeff is starting his new job. I'm hoping it will breathe new life into our family. Jeff left home at 7am, and didn't get home until 7pm. We all fell asleep in the living room most nights because we were so tired. Jeff worked 9 hour days and then had every other Friday off, but that day off was to catch up on sleep. Most nights, Jeff would get home, we'd eat dinner and then put alex to bed. We could never do anything during the week, because, there just wasn't time. Add in 9 hour work day, plus hour to hour and a half commute, and it doesn't leave time for anything.

The most exciting thing about this job is it is an engineering position. He's got a mechanical engineering degree, but never used it - as his first job was computer programming, and he just stuck with that. But, he is very excited to get back to his roots and back to figuring out problems, and maybe using a pencil. I'm happy for him. I'm happy that our home life will hopefully become somewhat normal. We don't know what his work hours are yet, but the best thing is the half hour commute. He'll miss all the traffic he had to sit in at the other job. Even though he'll be going back to 5 days a week, it will be so nice to have him home. And nice for Jeff not to hear the alarm clock go off at 5:45am.

I'm just happy to be able to have help at home during E's witching hour from 5-7pm. Jeff missed that before. But not now. :)

Never Leave Home Without It - The Swing

2009-11-30T22:16:00.002-05:00

Traveling with an infant. Hmmm. Smart? No. I remember Alex's first Christmas - he was 4.5 months old. It was awful. If he wasn't screaming, well, he was screaming. Being first time parents, we were sure we were ruining him - and that is why he was screaming. But no, it was teeth. 2 teeth that popped through a week later on New Year's Day.

Teething sucks. And so does screwing up what semblance of a schedule you might have with an infant. In the car, Elizabeth actually does better than Alex. There's a lot less whining coming from the right side of the car. She just wakes up long enough to cry to eat, and then goes back to sleep.

The biggest problem is I forgot the swing. You know the thing I talk about that is the only thing that helps her nap during the day? Yep. In our living room. 250 miles away from us. It's pretty bad when you actually consider going to the store to buy another one - even though I already own two swings. She was just out of her element. We brought the pack-n-play - which she doesn't nap in at home. I didn't do any test runs to have her sleep in it, which was my mistake. I also packed way too many clothes for all of us. But, she puked and pooped on a lot of our clothes, so we actually used more clothes that we should have.

It made the few days we had in WV stressful, tiring and just not much fun. We did have a nice time visiting Jeff's family and watching Alex play with Grammy and Papaw. He went on lawn mower rides and took walks in the woods. Grammy had to take him to the bathroom every time he had to go. Jeff and I just wouldn't do. Alex got to see it snow and Elizabeth saw her first snow. I also packed light jackets - thinking we were in Virginia weather, when it's typically 15-20 degrees colder in the mountains. I had to borrow gloves and scarves from Jeff's Mom.

We learned a lot of what to pack/bring for Christmas. I'm hoping that the pack-n-play sleeping goes better then. It's exhausting getting up every 2 hours because she's not in something she recognizes. Jeff's Mom is a night owl, and I'd just go downstairs and we'd sit and talk for 2 hours until E started getting sleepy and then I'd tell her I'd see her in another 2 hours. We talked about our weird dreams we had - like the Burger King King throwing Whoppers at me and Jeff. And Jeff's Mom had some weird dream about an orange ball that was yelling at her.

There's a lot to remember about how hard traveling with an infant is. Alex is 3, and can pretty much do mostly everything. Except go drive to Five Guys and get me dinner. Going back to a helpless baby who won't listen to reason when you tell her you are exhausted and she can't possibly be awake so soon- it's just hard.

It took me all of today to recover. Both kids slept in today - probably because they were back in their own beds, with their own surroundings.

She hates Cereal.

2009-11-23T22:33:00.002-05:00

So, in vast contrast to my last posting where I said I was going to wait to feed E cereal, I lied and started feeding her. She just seems so interested in watching us eat, and I wanted to give her some.

Well, she hates it. she scrinches up her face and she gets this weird uni-brow looking wrinkle in the middle of her forehead. She really doesn't like it. But she doesn't know how to get it out of her mouth, so she just has to eat it. Poor girl. The next night I mixed in some formula with it, and she seemed to tolerate that a little more. Alex tastes it everynight and he lets me know that it tastes horrible. But, since we are feeding it to E, he needs to have some.

He's been more obsessed lately with doing things like E. He is constantly asking me to get in the crib to sleep. He's not over the weight limit, so I put him in there, and he happily played in there for like 20 minutes. He's also constantly in the swing or the bassinet of the pack-n-play. I just kind of ignore him, as yelling at him to get out of those things didn't work so well. Of course, ignoring him isn't working so well either. I figure he can't break the stuff. Or, maybe he can. I'm just too tired to deal with it.

E sleeps through the night - unless it's a rare occasion, but she'll only get up once per night. She sleeps from about 9pm - 6:30am. But when she wakes up, I still feel like I have gotten up 3 times that night. I don't sleep very well at night. She's taken to having a conversation with the crib turtle about 2am every night. She just talks to him about her day and how much she hated the rice cereal and then she goes back to bed. But I have the magical mommy hearing, so I hear it and then can't get back to sleep. This goes along with the magical mommy spit that cleans everything. I'm hoping someday in the next 15 years I'll be able to sleep through the night. As someone who could sleep all day, I really miss that.

My friend Stephanie told me that her husband told her one morning that he would pay her $100 to go walk the dog because he didn't want to get up so early. She declined, rolled over and went back to sleep. hah. Now, if only Jeff could lactate so we could have this same conversation.

E's 4 month checkup.

2009-11-18T11:51:00.001-05:00

Height- 24.5 inches - 50%
Weight- 13lbs 6ozs - 50%
Head- 44cm - over 100%

She's still on the curve for everything but the head - she shot way up from last time. But, Alex did the same thing - he had a big head, and then it went to super big head. We had to get a scan of his brain to rule anything out and meet with a neurologist, but she told us that big headed parents have big headed babies. And unless something else was wrong, a shot up like that in head size is not a concern.

She's 1 inch shorter than Alex at the same time, but 4 pounds lighter. Now, Alex was completely on formula for 2 months by his 4 month appointment, and he is a boy, so I think she is doing ok.

She's doing fine, and did really well with her shots. She only cried after the needle came out of her leg, and then only cried for about 2 seconds and was just looking around the room like hey, what's going on? So, she does SO much better than Alex with shots. He would cry very hard for a long time. So, maybe E will be my tough child? :)

Four Months Old

2009-11-15T17:39:00.002-05:00

E turned four months old a few days ago. I didn't even think about it on the day she turned 4 months. I guess that's the problem being the second child. Already, I'm starting to forget moments like that. I'm sure with Alex's 4 month birthday I baked a cake and ran around like a crazy lady hoping to impress him.

As they say with the second child, you take less photos of them, and usually there is another kid in the picture. I've been trying my hardest to take pictures of her by herself, and even take some video. With Alex, I got out the video camera and took video of him all the time. We had it at the hospital with us and video taped everything. With E, I don't even think it's been charged up in over a year. With our phones, it just doesn't make sense. Plus, my camera takes pretty good video. I wonder if the video camera will go out the window like typewriters and VCR Machines.

She's growing and growing. Her infant car seat is starting to get to the point that it's heavy to carry. She's almost 13 pounds, but I'll get the exact figure on Wednesday at her 4 month checkup. In the past two days, she's just started babbling. She does it in the crib all the time. She's amazed that these sounds are coming out of her mouth that aren't screams. And I have to say I am happy that something else comes out of those lungs than screaming.

I've gotten out some teether toys and cleaned all the little chew toys (lovely term) I had for Alex. She seems disinterested to chew on them - preferring her thumb. Like Alex, she gave up the pacifier by 3 months old. But, unlike Alex, she loves to suck her thumb. So, we'll have to see how she's doing in a year with that thumb.

I've decided to hold off just a little bit on solids. We started Alex at 4 months, but maybe I am wanting her to stay a baby for a little while longer. I've bought the box of rice cereal, and it's sitting in my pantry. But, for now, it goes unopened. Of course, this doesn't mean that she hasn't tried chocolate frosting, pizza sauce and maybe a few other fingertip things that we have around the house. That's the other thing with a second child. You know chocolate frosting isn't going to kill them.

Everyone in the house has the death crud, except E. I'm wondering if it's because I'm breastfeeding and she's getting some antibodies. I don't think we had the swine, just a nasty cold that made us all feel like crap. Jeff, Alex and I all had different symptoms, so I don't even know if we have the same crud bug. We've still got it, so most likely we'll be avoiding everyone this upcoming week.

As for breastfeeding, I'm so elated to have made it to 4 months. She's getting 2 formula bottles per day- one in mid-afternoon and one before bed. She's drinking 6ozs at each one, so I'm thinking the weaning process might be soon. I've worked so hard to get to 4 months, and I don't want to stop. That's another reason I'm avoiding solids right now. Because I know when she starts them full force, that my supply will definitely go down. And right now I'm holding somewhat strong. I'd like to make it through the winter, or at least until January/February when all the sickness crap is almost done. I feel like BFing is helping her and me. Well, mostly her, stay well. This is the first sickness I've had in a while, when Jeff and Alex have been sick before.

So, anyway, Happy 4 months and 2 days. Now if I could just get her to nap.....

E Meets her Namesake.

2009-11-13T12:07:00.001-05:00

IMG_0790
Originally uploaded by Cinfy.

On Wednesday, I took the kids up for a marathon tour of MD to visit family and friends. The main reason for the visit was to visit my grandmother - who E is named after - her middle name Grace is my grandmother's middle name. I had been wanting to get up to see her for a while, but the over 2 hour car ride to her place wasn't something that I thought E was ready for.

My grandmother is living in an assisted living home, and it seems to really have done wonders for her. Before, she was all alone all day in her home, until my Uncle came home from work. Now, she's got her little old lady friends, and they go out into the community on bus rides and she goes out to lunch and just has people to talk to. It seems to have really raised her spirits, and she can walk great now. She's walking with a walker, but she can really get around with that thing. The only sad part, is that I think her mind is finally starting to go. She'll be 91 in January. She asked me the same question about 50 times, and she was confused as to who my Mom was. She thought my Uncle was my Dad. But, I think she is doing pretty well for 90.

She was so great with E. She just held her the whole time we were up there. E was content to just sit in her lap and look around. Alex just wanted to drink all the water out of the water fountain. My grandmother and Alex looked through her photo albums in her room and I think the visit really made her day.

I don't get to visit her very often, so I was glad to have finally made the trip and that E and Mom-Mom got to meet.

Well, I guess I'll keep writing.

2009-11-07T08:03:00.003-05:00

Well, everyone but Manda can keep reading. :P I just don't feel like I have time to do anything anymore. It's even worse than when E was an infant. How can that be?

I'm working on sleep training E. She just does not want to sleep. She will go from 7am-3pm without napping. Only catnapping for 5-10 minutes after eating. I am trying up for 2 hours, down for a nap. Up for 2 hours, down for a nap. But it's not working. I try the crib, the swing, holding her - she doesn't want to sleep. And then finally at 3pm she sleeps for 4 hours because she is so tired. I know I just need to keep trying. I'm missing her sleep cues. So, maybe I'll try sleep every 1.5 hours. She must have Jeff's sleep genes because he doesn't need much sleep. Unlike me. I could sleep for days. Last night I went to bed at 9:30. I wanted to go to bed at 6:30, but I said I'm not 65 yet, I have to make it until 9:30. And I slept until 7am.

Well, except for being woken up at 1am by Alex. We ran out of diapers 4 days ago, so he's been wearing underwear at night. He's potty trained during the day. It's so nice to see him run upstairs to use the potty and I can just sit there. No cleaning up two diapers. No cleaning up the massive amounts of poop that come out of him. It's nice. Tho, from when I was pregnant, he knows every bathroom in every store we go to. So, if we walk past the bathroom, he says he has to go. I don't know if he is just saying that or what, but he does pee everytime he goes in there.

The first two nights without a diaper he didn't pee at all in his bed. Well, the past two nights, he's peed the bed. The 3rd night it was about 6:30am, and last night it was about 1am. He only does it once, so I guess I can be thankful for that. Jeff said last night at 1am that perhaps we need to go back to diapers. But, I think that is a step backwards. He peed in his pants several times when we were first potty training. This is just the next step.

When I changed him bed, I just took the sheet and threw it on the bed. I didn't feel like putting on the fitted sheet at 1am. And then he made it to 8am.

Alex seems to be remembering things too. He'll tell me about stuff he did two weeks ago with great clarity. Jeff, Alex and Jeff's friend Rich went to a tank show a couple weeks ago, and Alex will randomly bring up that he went to see tanks with Mr. Rich and ate a hot dog. It's interesting what he remembers. Like, he remembers eating a hot dog and playing in the dirt at the field. I can't remember what is my earliest memory, but I wonder now that Alex is remembering stuff like this - if this is what he will think of when he thinks of being young.

Next week I'll be making my first big trip with E. I'm going to visit my grandmother - E and Alex's great-grandmother. She lives in MD and is about 2.5 hours away. E is doing much better in the car now so I'm ready for the trip. My grandmother is 90 and just can't make the trip down here anymore. Grace is E's middle name, and she's named after my grandmother. Elizabeth is my other grandmother's name - she passed away in 1997. I've wanted to go visit for a while, but just didn't feel like she was ready to make the trip. Alex loves riding in the car, so that's no issue. I'm going on Veteran's Day because hopefully the traffic will be lighter. Jeff has to work, so it will just be me. But, that's how everyday is, so I'm excited go up and see her. We're going to WV for Thanksgiving, so this trip will be a nice trial run.

I might be ending this blog soon.

2009-11-03T14:29:00.003-05:00

I just don't seem to have time to update anything, and I update so much on Facebook that I feel like I'm updating twice. Does anyone even still read this thing?

Plus, I feel like this is just another Mommy blog that talks about poops and naps. But, honestly, that is the excitement in my life right now. Maybe when I feel more exciting, I can come back and write.

Go to sleep!

2009-10-26T09:41:00.003-05:00

So, Elizabeth hates to sleep during the day. She hates it. She won't sleep. But, by 3pm, she's such a bear that she needs to sleep - and she does- for almost 4 hours. I know she needs a morning nap - you can't just go from 8am-3pm with no sleep. So, I'm doing a little bit of sleep training. Basically, I was missing her cue that she was sleepy, and as every parent knows, when your kid gets overtired, there is just no getting them to sleep. It doesn't make much sense - you're tired, go to bed. But 3 month olds just don't listen that well.

So, I'm going on my mommy instinct on when she needs to sleep. Since she gets up about 8am, I'm going to put her down about 10am. And then around 3pm. She is always good about sleeping in the afternoon, but not so much in the AM. I think she has Jeff sleep genes.

So, today was day 1. I put her in her crib at 10am, not much fussing. Then came the fussing. And then, 5 simple minutes later - asleep.

I remember just holding Alex all day long and letting him sleep. E has the same problem if that you move her after she's asleep, she'll wake up and not go back to sleep. Normally she cat naps after eating but as soon as I move, she's up. When I just had Alex, I could sit in the chair all day and it didn't matter. I remember I watched the first 3 seasons of the XFiles on DVD when he was little. Because I could just sit and watch TV. But now Alex wants me to play with him and keep him entertained, so I just can't sit.

So, the key is to get her to bed when she's drowsy and not quite asleep. It worked today. Let's see if it will work this afternoon as well.

Happy Three Months to my Beautiful Baby Girl.

2009-10-13T15:55:00.001-05:00

At the park
Originally uploaded by Cinfy.

Wow - I really had to look at the calendar to see that today is your three month birthday! Or monthday. Or something. How long do we count in months? I think it is until age two, and then you start with the years.

I can't believe it's been three months. You look so different from when you were born. Your hair has filled in, your face has filled out - hah!, and you are alert and awake more and more each day.

There's been some rough days, but there's been some incredible days. Your brother loves you to pieces. You'll learn very quickly that he will protect you like no one else can. My older brother was the same way. He always wants to just look at you. If he gets in trouble for hitting you or tickling too hard, he immediately comes over and says "sorry baby sister" and kisses you.

You aren't cooing very much yet, but almost everyone can get a smile out of you. And you are starting to drool like crazy - which makes me think teeth might be coming soon. Alex got his first two teeth at 4 months old, so you might be close.

I'm also so proud of being able to breastfeed you for 3 months. You've been getting a supplement bottle once a day for a month, but breastfeeding is still going well. Of course, when those teeth come in, we might have to rethink that! I wanted so badly to just make it to one month, that now we are at 3 months and it doesn't seem so bad.

Alex does not have swine flu.

2009-10-05T16:45:00.001-05:00

Tho, he was just tested for it. :) He had a nasty cough all weekend - it was to the point that he would just cough for minutes on end it seemed. Jeff was the same way when he had bronchitis last year, so we figured something was wrong with him.

She didn't think he had the flu, but wanted to test him anyway, So, I figured why not? She said that she had diagnosed 10 kids today alone with swine flu. Sheesh. It's just a swipe the nose test that takes 10 minutes. It came back negative, tho for about 10 minutes I started to freak out that he might have it. But really, he doesn't have flu symptoms - just a nasty cough and a low grade fever.

It reminded me of when he was checked for RSV when he was 5 months old and had to spend the night in the hospital. Tho the two hospital tests came back negative for RSV.

So, we got a prescription for an antibiotic. Went to Target to get it filled and they are out of it. Sheesh. At least they told me before they left me walk away. Went to Rite Aid and they said they would have to check. I guess there is a run on antibiotics or something. They had it was it was going to take over a half hour to fill, so I just came home. I'll go back out after dinner and pick it up.

She said he wasn't contagious as long as he doesn't have a fever. He hasn't had one today, so hopefully that keeps up.

She told me I could get him some children's Musinex. Jeff took the stuff when he had bronchitis - before he knew that is what it was- and he coughed even more violently than before. So, I'm kind of leery of getting some for him.

My main concern is not getting Elizabeth sick. Alex is really good about covering his mouth when he's coughing - well, as much as a 3 year old can remember. And we're washing hands more than normal. Tho, it should be the norm with all the icky bugs going around.

Descriptions - by Alex.

2009-09-28T08:19:00.002-05:00

I'm starting to find it very interesting how Alex describes things. He does it very literally - basing his description on how he sees the thing.

Like - we have this Elmo DVD and the box is green. So, when he wants to watch it, he asks to watch Green Elmo.

We watched another Elmo movie on Netflix instant watch called Elmo visits Grouchland or something like that. Well, the gist of the movie was that this mean man stole Elmo's blanket. So, that movie is called Elmo's Blanket.

We play music for him at night to go to sleep. I hate completely quiet rooms, and Alex has always had a musical thing in his crib, so when he moved to his big boy room, we let him use my old CD player. I have tons of kids CDs, so we let him pick which one he wants. One day he started screaming about baby shovel. At first we couldn't figure out the word shovel, but we let him go through the CDs, and he picks out a CD that has a baby and a shovel on it.

It's just the way he sees his world I guess.

Two Month Appointment -is she really that old?

2009-09-23T20:46:00.000-05:00

Sleep. It's a wonderful thing. Except when you are breastfeeding. We've been supplementing an evening formula bottle for about two weeks now. It started off at about 2 ounces, and has grown to between 4 and 5 at night. She started sleeping about 5 hours at the first night stretch when we started this. It was so nice to get those 5 hours. You wouldn't think 5 hours would make you well rested, but when I was used to between 2 and 3 at a time, it felt like a lifetime.

It would be 2am, and I would be wide awake. I'd surf the internet or play spider solitaire until I got tired again. After that first stretch of long sleep, she would go back to 2-3 hours.

For the past three nights, she's slept almost 12 hours each night. Seriously? It's heaven. Except when I wake up about 4am and my chest feels like it's got a 40 pound weight on it and hurts like only tight skin can hurt. Yeah - it takes your body a few days to get used to the change in schedule. So, no one gave my boobs advance notice that I wasn't going to be feeding her 3-4 times throughout the night.

This change in her nighttime schedule has changed her daytime schedule a little bit. She's taking a later morning nap - used to be she'd nap from 10-1 or so, but now it's later when she's been napping. And then that pushes her evening nap from 3 to 4 or even 5. Tho, it's kind of nice when she falls asleep later as she isn't screaming from 6-7 while I'm trying to cook dinner. She hates to be put down - she's like Alex in that way- so I'm either holding her trying to chop onions or she's in the swing screaming her head off because I put her down. I try to do as much dinner prep as I can during her afternoon nap so that the screaming is minimal. It's really bad when Jeff walks through the door and both Alex and E are screaming. Welcome home Daddy!

Elizabeth had her two month checkup today. She is -
Height- 23.5 inches - 90%
Weight- 10lbs 14ozs - 50%
Head- 41cm - 90%

Alex's two month stats were-
Height- 23.5 inches - 75%
Weight- 11lbs 1oz - 50%
Head- 40cm - 50%

So, she's got him on head size. She's going to be long and skinny. She's already tight in some of her 0-3 month onesies. She's got Alex's long torso and short legs. It's interesting that they weighed the same. Alex started out a pound heavier than her, and also was almost completely on formula at 2 months.

We started potty training Alex, and it's going way better than I could have hoped. I guess this is one benefit to have waited so long is that it isn't going to take as long for him to get it. Tho today we had a bit of a poop issue where he pooped 4 times in his underwear. 4 times!! I know he hasn't gone in like 2 days, but wow. Cleaning poop out of underwear sucks. But, such is being a parent - doing things that suck sometimes.

He loves his Sesame Street underwear - to the point that he likes to play with them. He'll line them up all in a row and talk to the characters. If that's what he wants to play with, more power to him. I'm still asking him about every half hour if he has to go, and most of the time he does. He'll fight sometimes - like if he is watching tv or playing and doesn't want to stop. But I'm trying to teach him that he can stop what he's doing, go pee, and then come back to it.

I've even ventured out to the store with him in just underwear. Since just recently being pregnant, I know where the bathroom is in every store - and also what fast food joints have the best bathroom. So, if he has to go, I know where I can get him to it quickly. He seems so proud to go to the bathroom. We've been reading him a potty book and the main character is Michael. He'll say "I peed in the potty like Michael." So, he gets it. the other day he asked if Michael could come over, so that was kind of sad.

The only thing I have to work out is nighttime. We are still putting a diaper on him at night, and if he yells that he has to go to the bathroom, I'll take him. I mean, I used to be up anyway feeding Elizabeth so I thought no big deal. But now Alex has been up more at night than her! We put a gate on his door at night to keep him in his room. We're going to move that and put the gate on the nursery door, but then that would allow him to move around the house on his own, and I'm not liking that. So, we think we'll get another gate to put just past the bathroom so that he can go to and from the bathroom on his own.

Day 3 - Making progress!

2009-09-19T14:30:00.000-05:00

Day 3 is still going well. He's having 2 accidents late in the day - mostly because I guess I get tired of asking him. But, he has come to me a few times and said he had to pee. Still no pooping in the potty yet.

Today we had to go out and I put him in a diaper. We got home and he said he had to pee. So I told him to just wait a minute - as I was bringing groceries in the house- and he pulled down his pants and took off his diaper and peed in the driveway. But, the best thing was that his diaper was dry - so he had held it the entire time we were out.

But now there is a big pee spot on my driveway. Haha.

Potty Training - Day One.

2009-09-17T14:25:00.001-05:00

Well, I just decided that today I would put him in his underwear. We've tried putting it over and under his diaper and tried to get him to consistently go to the bathroom. So, this morning after I changed his diaper, the underwear went on. But, he has to do it the Alex way, and wear them backwards - since the picture is on the butt part. But, he's not close to having to wear them the right way, so backwards it is.

I'm asking him about every 15-20 minutes if he has to go. And he hasn't had an accident yet. We had to make a quick run to the dump and I took him to our neighborhood park on the way back, so I had a diaper on him then. I asked him if he had to pee while at the park, and he said no. I said, if you pee, I'll let you ride in the baby swing. I never let him ride in it, because he's so heavy to pick up and down. Well, down the pants came and he peed on the rocks next to the trees. And then for the next 10 minutes he talked about how he peed on the rocks.

He did poop in his diaper while we were at the park. He has never pooped in the potty, so that will be a hurdle to get over. But so far, he hasn't peed in his pants. As soon as we got home, I changed his poopy diaper and put him back into underwear.

He doesn't take naps anymore, but he'll get a diaper for tonight. He's been so good about going all day! Makes me think that maybe I can get him somewhat trained maybe by this weekend. He still hasn't told me he has to pee - it's all me asking him. But hopefully that will change.

Yeah!