2006 ends... 2007 begins (in about 5 hours!)

I don't even know how to summarize what 2006 was like. I don't know why I feel the need to do this at the end of this year, but here I sit trying (and having no luck!).

[start lame post]

There were lots of really wonderful moments in 2006, including moving into our new house. In general, life was good. However, there was also a lot of craziness. I think I am learning that our lives will be really crazy for quite some time. I need to accept it and just become okay with that. I usually am okay with insanity, but at times it gets too much for even me. (Poor MWH, he likes things calmer than me, so it must really be hard on him!)

For 2007, it'll be crazy too. MWH asked what I was going to do with myself now that the remodel was done. He didn't want me to be bored. Heh. He knows me too well. I told him not to worry, that I thought teaching my class would keep me out of trouble for the first 6 months of the year.

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

For the resolving part of the post...

1. Eat more whole grains. In general, we eat in a pretty healthy fashion, but getting more of these into our diet is my goal for 2007. I just found spelt tortillas that are pretty tasty to replace white flour ones. I need to find more recipes that use brown rice. We just tried a whole wheat pasta tonight and "not bad" was the verdict. Perhaps it will grow on us.

2. Hang with the girls more and specifically make sure I can spend more one-on-one time with each girl.

3. Learn to say NO better and also figure out what my limits are so I don't end up stressed.

[end lame post]

Have a safe and happy New Year!

Cleanin' up

Even T (16 months) helped clean when we moved.










(The cherry cabinet is missing its top. It's ordered.)

Holiday Vacation

This vacation stuff is exhausting! MWH and I have been off all week and we are so tired. Work is much easier than holidays and moving. If I weren't so tired, I'd have lots of fun stories for you, and a favorite moment 'cause I know I had some today. However, right now I'm so tired and in pain, that I can't think. My hips are killing me. I went on the swings at the park today. While I was swinging, I noticed that it was hurting my hips a little, but didn't think much of it. I hope the ibuprofen I just took kicks in soon.

I haven't been on the swings since K was about 10 days old. I really don't recommend swinging after giving birth 10 days prior and having a few stitches. (Yowch!) Today was the first time I was able to get past that memory and swing. I do love swinging, the flying through the air thing is pretty cool. I wonder if it was just this particular type of swing that hurt my hips or if I have to give up my swinging career.


Since I'm just tired, I'll ask you a question... Is it bad when K (2.5) wants to drink out of T's (16 months) cup and I happily let K because it means that is one less cup to wash?

MWH

He re-earned his name. We were out, and I went to get coffee and when I came back to the car, he said, "Didn't you want some of your tea?"

He doesn't even drink tea and he remembered for me. What a guy!
Sent via my BlackBerry

good food and good friends

We had 3 couples over for dinner tonight. (Don't worry, I didn't cook... I'm not quite that insane to host a dinner party where I cook less than one-week after moving! We got take-out Indian food... it was yummy!)

One of the other couples have two little boys. N (almost 5) and their son who is 4.5 played so well. They played with N's trains, watched a train video, and weren't too bad--except for when they were being crocodiles and making K (2.5) cry. The biggest hit of the night with the kids were my silicon oven mitts. The loved playing with them. (Those mitts inspired the crocodile behavior too.) T (16 months) kept making the other little boy (1 year) cry. She can be a bully! She is cute, but a bruiser.

I'd write more about the dinner party, but it's late and there's not that much to blog... We had a great time... I really like these other couples and hanging with them is always fun. We've been hanging with them for about 9 years now. It's nice.

More settlin'

What helps make a new house more homey?

A trip to Ikea!

(Boy, I'm tired... I keep reading homey and thinking it says horny 'cause my eyes are sort of going in and out of focus. I am seriously tired!)

Today a friend (DK) and her 2.5 year old, and me and my 2.5 year old headed to Ikea. I purchased a little rug for the kitchen (and I LOVE the color) and a big rug as a temporary rug for the living room and the color, well, it's neutral. I bought it 'cause it was inexpensive, wool, and I wanted to see if it was a good size. We can use it either downstairs or in our bedroom (under the bed with a little sticking out on the sides for our feet to hit first thing in the morning) when we get the "real" rug for the living room.

The two 2.5 year olds had a blast at Ikea. They slid, climbed, and ran through the store. I tried to contain them in the cart as much as I could. My 2.5 year old is very high energy. My friend's 2.5 year old is much calmer. We spent 3.5 hours in the store and before we got home both little girls were passed out in their carseats in the back of my car.

I'm so glad it worked out for DK and her daughter and us to go. DK is a great shopper. It was also nice because I haven't had a day with just K for a while. The funniest thing was after my friend and her little girl left, K was bored because her sisters weren't home yet. She really likes having people around. She is used to having little ones to play with.

What else.... I made a little progress unpacking in the kitchen tonight... and in the play room... The girls' bedroom is almost organized... We have to finish cleaning out our old house... I downloaded my camera... Because Nino asked, I'll share a picture of the new house (taken before we moved in).


This shows windows and french doors in the living room (soon the windows will have white shutters on them), and part of the dining room wall (remember, I told you how much I loved the burgandy?). Over the dining room is a loft area. The living room has high ceilings, but you can't tell from the picture... The french doors lead out to a deck that runs on the back of the house. The floor is perhaps my favorite part... I love the floor. I love cleaning the floor... I love to walk on it and look at it.

Stormy weather and Settling in...

Last night, in a very windy storm, we lost power, probably around 4 am. N (almost 5) woke us up and demanded for us to fix the problem. She wasn't very rational and kept crying. Finally, I crawled into K's bed and slept in their room. We didn't have power all day. It was finally restored around 7:30 or so tonight. I'm sure I got more unpacking done since I didn't have Internet access. (Heh!) We were supposed to have some friends over for dinner, but we had to cancel due to lack of power. We rescheduled for Friday.

We took the girls out to dinner (since we couldn't cook) and dinner was actually a nice experience. I think everyone was hungry because they sat quietly (or as quiet as they ever get) and ate. MWH and I actually were able to eat too. After dinner we drove around a little looking at Christmas lights, but N (almost 5) and K (2.5) weren't really into it. T (16 months) was. She was oooooh-ing and ahhhh-ing and saying, "What's that?" She loved them.

We went to Tar*get and got N a handcrank flashlight so that if the power goes out in the middle of the night, she has her own solution. We empowered her. (MWH made the pun originally... Heh!)

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

House update... We have one shower working (the girls'), one almost working (our shower in the master bath), and one that is causing great us consternation (guest bathroom). The two showers that are working (or almost) are the ones that had their innards mixed up. The contractor didn't have to go in from the outside of the house to fix our shower. He was able to remove some tile and fix things (yay!). For the girls' shower, the contractor had to go through the wall, but it was an interior wall. The wall is already back together and tomorrow it will be painted.

The shower causing all the problems is the one we didn't touch. We're hoping our contractor can find the part he needs to fix one of the problems... I'm not sure what we'll do if he doesn't... (I wasn't in on all the conversations about it today, I did hear something about tearing off all the tile to replace things... I guess we'll figure it out later.)

It's fun unpacking here! (Well, as fun as unpacking can be.) What is so nice is that this is "the" house. We hope/plan to be here for 15-20 years.

[TANGENT] Since when I went to college, I have moved at least 12 times and maybe more like 15 times... Yikes, that's a lot... MWH has only moved about 4 times in the same time that I moved so many. I was in school (college and then grad school) for so long and I moved every year... and then when I got my first job I moved 4 times in two years. When I moved in with MWH, life settled a bit. We lived in his house from 1997 - 2000 and then our first house from 2000-2005. We lived in our "interim" house for 1 year, and now here. Our new house for 15-20 years at least. [END TANGENT]

12/25/06--a recap and recipe

Yesterday was Christmas.

The girls got soooo much stuff. They had fun ripping their presents open. I couldn't believe how much stuff all the families sent. I think we should suggest an alternative to toys. I just read about the idea of people could giving memberships to things, e.g., Children's Museum, local parks, etc., instead of toys and I LOVE that idea. I think that's what we should ask for from now on!

Since we just moved, I am painfully aware of just how much stuff we have. WE HAVE WAY TOO MUCH.

In addition to feeling like our new house will burst at the seams from how many toys we have, another thing that depressed me was that after we opened all the presents, the girls asked for more presents. Upon reflecting, I think they wanted more presents because they liked the act of opening presents, and not that they wanted "more stuff." (At least that's what I hope.)

It was especially hard yesterday because we just moved. I'm not complaining because I wanted to move--and I'm delighted to be in our new house--it's just a fact that I don't know where anything is. I figured out a simple dinner to make for MWH and me as our Christmas dinner. However, it still took a LONG time to make it though because I didn't know where the cornstarch, my measuring cups, the spices I needed, or anything was... It would take 10-20 minutes looking for each item. I'm glad I went with a simple dinner*.

The girls were delighted to snack on cheese, crackers, bread and butter, fruit, peas/corn, homemade smoothies (yogurt, strawberries, banana and soymilk), and more bread and butter all day long. Since I didn't know where anything was, and since we discovered that the oven wasn't yet working, I didn't push them to eat other food items. The 3 little girls ate 3/4s of a loaf of bread yesterday. They do like bread!

It was also hard yesterday because my coffee place was closed. I went an entire day with only tea. Tea, while lovely and good, is not nearly as powerful as coffee. I was dragging by the end of the day.



Our favorite presents:

MWH's Mom made the girls some clothes and I love that. K (2.5) was delighted by the new clothes she got.

An Aqua Doodle (I bought it at the last minute because my friend DK suggested T and K might like it. They do and I do too! DK was right!)

Santa gave N a battery operated James train and she loves it! When she was 2-4 she loved all things Thomas (and especially James) Right about the time she turned 4 she decided she liked other things and now she's getting back into trains. I'm delighted because we have SOOOO many!




*Our Christmas Dinner
Spicy Peanut Sauce over Broccoli and Brown Rice

2 - 3 teaspoons of cornstarch (depending how thick you want the thickner)
2/3 cup of water
--------------

1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup peanut butter (homogenized or natural--just peanuts no other stuff)
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil
garlic cloves (I've made it with from 1 clove to 3 depending on my mood. Original recipe says 4.)
2 teaspoons sugar (I usually use less)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)

1. Combine the cornstarch and water in a saucepan and stir until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and stir constantly till thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

2. Combine all the other ingredients in a blender and puree. Add the cooled cornstarch mixture and either blend in the blender or stir well with a whisk.



The sauce is so yummy. You can pour it over so many things. I like it with Asian noodles or brown rice (and broccoli!).

Science Tuesday

Ooooooh! I just read about this. Finally!!! There might be some better predictors for women. Yay! Though I'm "done," I am excited for women/girls in the future.



I'm pasting the text from the link above in case it goes away.



Research Summary: Ticking Clock
May 14 - KGO - Today, sees the launch of 'Plan Ahead'. This ground-breaking ovarian reserve test helps women plan for the future by giving a predictive assessment of the number of eggs in their ovaries, compared to levels expected for women of the same age. Launched by Lifestyle Choices Ltd, the kit is initially available by mail order (0114 275 5723). It is anticipated that Plan Ahead will be rolled out to chemists, pharmacies and private clinics later in the year.

Developed by Professor Bill Ledger, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the University of Sheffield, Plan Ahead measures three hormone levels in the blood. The first two are the ovarian hormones, Inhibin B and AMH; and the third is FSH, a pituitary hormone. By combining these three, Lifestyle Choices has created the most accurate ovarian reserve hormone test available in the world today.

The test requires 3mls of blood, to be taken from the arm, on the second or third day of the woman's period. From analysis of the blood sample, the number of eggs present in the ovaries is calculated using the Ovarian Reserve Index and this is plotted onto a graph to show the woman's 'actual' position compared to the average population at that age.

The 'predictive' nature of this test means that ovarian reserve for the following two years can be forecast. Women can, therefore, make an informed decision as to whether, or how long, they can potentially delay before trying to conceive. In 2004, the average age for women in the UK having their first child was 27 years, a rise of 3.4 years since 1971. As many women defer trying for pregnancy, they run the risk of declining fertility and the inability to conceive. Surprisingly, one in 100 women will enter menopause by the age of 40. The Plan Ahead test helps identify women at risk of an early menopause several years before this occurs, giving them the chance to plan their lives accordingly. The test therefore helps women who wish to plan to have first and subsequent children at a time in their life when they are not 'biologically disadvantaged'.

Plan Ahead includes a comprehensive guide; 3ml blood sample vacutainer; reference sheet for the professional taking the blood sample; sealable plastic grip bag; Royal Mail-approved plastic screw top blood sample mailing container; and pre-addressed, postage-paid padded envelope for the sample to be mailed to Lifestyle Choices' laboratories for analysis.

Women can take their kit to get their blood test done either by their local GP or practice nurse; private clinic or doctor; via drop in centre (NHS or Private); or nation-wide at-home mobile blood testing service (full details at www.life-style-choices.com).

Once taken the blood sample is mailed to the Lifestyle Choices labs for analysis. Within 14-21 days the woman will receive a letter explaining her results, together with a Guide to Fertility booklet. A telephone helpline is also available to give advice to any woman who may have concerns following receipt of her results.

Commenting on the launch Professor Ledger states: "My hope is that Plan Ahead will help many women avoid the anguish caused by the early or unexpected arrival of declining fertility and menopause. Inhibin B and AMH hormone levels start to fall relatively early in reproductive life, with a later fall in FSH. By combining the test on all three hormones, we are able to offer women the most accurate ovarian reserve hormone test available in the world today, which will help them plan for the future by giving a predictive assessment of the number of eggs in their ovaries."

In conclusion Clare Brown, Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK said: "There is no doubt that couples are leaving having a family until later in life and the negative effect of that decision and the ability to conceive is well documented. Plan Ahead is a good method for women to check out whether their ovarian reserve is diminishing or otherwise allowing them to make a more informed decision on when to have a family. It is important to recognise though that whilst "Plan Ahead" is a valuable test, there are other factors that may cause difficulties in conceiving so it is vital that men and women make sure they are fully informed when making decisions on when to have a family."

-------------

FAST FACTS

Most women are born with approximately 2 million eggs in their ovaries. 90% of these eggs are lost by puberty. About 50,000 will remain at age 20. By 40 this has dropped to under 10,000.

Less than 0.01% of a woman's eggs will ever ovulate. The rest are programmed to be reabsorbed within the ovaries.

1 in 100 women will enter menopause by the age of 40, and fertility declines several years before onset of menopause.

There is a 13% chance of miscarriage for expectant women under 30. This increases to 35% at age 40.

The optimal time for a woman to conceive is between the ages of 18 and 35.

Women who smoke 20 cigarettes a day have menopause, on average, two years earlier than those who don't smoke.

Fertility begins to fall a decade before the arrival of menopause.

In 2000, 25% of first time mothers in the UK were under 25, 60% were 25-35, and 15% were over 35. This compares with 1980, when 40% of first time mothers were under 25, 55% were 25-35, and 5% were over 35.

FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) - FSH is a pituitary hormone that can be measured to show whether a woman is ovulating and/or close to menopause. However, FSH concentrations can fluctuate from month to month and concentrations tend to rise only when menopause is close. Therefore measurement of FSH alone can fail to identify early signs of decline in ovarian reserve and cannot give an accurate estimate of the number of eggs in the ovaries.

Inhibin B - Inhibin B is an ovarian hormone whose concentrations fall relatively early as a woman's ovarian reserve declines. It is released from the monthly group of eggs that start to mature (from which one egg will grow and ovulate). The size of the monthly group of maturing eggs reflects the number of eggs in the ovaries (the ovarian reserve). The relatively early fall in Inhibin B levels, as ovarian reserve falls, allows early detection of an abnormal fall in ovarian reserve in younger women (age 28 to 40).

AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone) - AMH is an ovarian hormone which can also be used to measure ovarian reserve. Its concentrations are relatively stable through a woman's fertile years, but decline as menopause approaches. Again, levels of AMH in the blood fall before FSH rises, allowing earlier prediction of loss of ovarian reserve. Combining the results of the AMH, Inhibin B and FSH tests into an 'ovarian reserve index' (ORI) allows tracking of ovarian reserve using blood samples taken every two years from age 28 onwards.

Around one in five women currently reaching the end of their fertile life are childless. This compares to one in ten women born in the mid-1940s.

According to Office of National Statistics data issued in 2004, the following facts applied to women having their first birth:


The most popular age range was 30 - 35
The mean age was 27.1 a rise of 3.4 years from 1971
---------

LIFESTYLE CHOICES - CORPORATE PROFILE

Lifestyle Choices Ltd was launched in October 2005 specifically to market a range of products in the female fertility and menopause markets. It is the first new spin-out company to be created as a result of an exclusive 'pipeline agreement' between Biofusion plc and the University of Sheffield.

An AIM-listed company, Biofusion was established in 2002 to commercialise university-generated Intellectual Property (IP). The company has agreed a ten-year exclusive arrangement with the University of Sheffield for the commercialisation of IP owned by the University in the area of medical life sciences. The agreement also gives Biofusion shareholdings in an existing portfolio of eight spin-out companies including Axordia, Celltran and Simcyp. Further information is available from www.biofusion.co.uk .

The University of Sheffield is a world-class life sciences research centre, spending £30m in 2002/3 on research in medical life sciences. This spending level is expected to grow year-on-year, giving an estimated £0.5bn of research funding over the next ten years. The University, which celebrates its centenary this year, can count five Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and researchers, and data from the latest UK Government's Research Assessment Exercise 2001 (RAE 2001) showed it ranked fifth in the UK for the quality of its life sciences research.

Day 1 in the new house and Christmas Eve

N (almost 5) swiftered like crazy. She didn't like how gritty the wood floor felt. Seriously, she helped clean a LOT. She did it for at least an hour on and off today... Maybe more.

I got a new dust mop. It's amazing how happy I am about my new dust mop... I don't like to clean, but I do love the new wood floor!

K's (2.5) quote of the day, "Dogs don't wear shirts, pants or tap shoes. That's silly."

T (16 months) is having fun trying to learn to go up and down the stairs at this house. I'm letting her try more since the stairs end on a carpeted landing, at this new house, as opposed to really hard tile, at the old house.

I am feeling more settled in the new house.... errr, about as settled as a person can feel when EVERYTHING is still in a box. I am so happy to finally be here. There is still a lot of work to be done on this new house, but we can live in it and get it finished faster I think. It will be easier for MWH and I to make sure things get done since we are here. Yippee!! We're here!

*********

K and I went to the grocery store to gather food, and I wanted to walk out. The store was more crowded than I have ever seen. It just seems so wrong that so much fuss is made about one day. K and I weren't shopping for food for Christmas especially, but rather just food. I overheard one woman say to someone in the store, "This is the third store I've been to and they don't have XXXXXXXX. I need to find it. Christmas just won't be the same with out it." I didn't hear what XXXXXXXXX was, but it seems silly to me to place so much emphasis on something like a food item and a holiday.

MWH got a little tree for the girls. It is 3 feet tall. We let them decorate it completely. It was fun to watch them collaborate on that venture! T knocked over the tree and N about lost it. We fixed it and all was well. We also hung lights around some of our windows and on the bannister. Right after Christmas is over I'm going to buy a really nice and big artificial tree for next year so that will be done.

I wish I liked Christmas better. I wish I didn't mind all the seemingly needless hustle and bustle. I just really don't like it. Everyone gets in such a hurry. When the girls are older, maybe we'll take off and go somewhere tropical and warm for the holidays. If only they hadn't have put Christmas during the holidays... then it wouldn't be so stressful. Heh.

I should like Christmas more. MWH proposed on Christmas. Maybe I'll tell you that story later. We also found out I was pregnant with T (16 months) on Christmas 2004. MWH took a picture of "the stick" in front of our Christmas tree. It's one of my favorite pictures. It's one of my favorite picture, I was so freaked, but MWH had the presence of mind to take a picture of it in front of the tree. It's a little blurry, but it makes me smile. Now T makes me smile. (Note: Picture taken in 2004. Not today!!!)

I guess one thing I do like about Christmas are the lights. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to get the girls in the car and go driving around in the evening to see pretty lights.

The shower saga

Two days ago, we were supposed to have the glass installed on the master bath shower. Yesterday we were supposed to get the fixtures (shower head and knobs for the shower to turn it on--I'm sure there's a technical name for the knobs, but I don't know it) installed.

The glass installer guy came and was working on installing the glass, and then got annoyed because we also had guys installing the cabinet doors and they were "in his way." He didn't say anything to the guys, he didn't ask if they could move, he just left. We were a little frustrated. Especially when MWH called and the glass installer suggested that the cabinet guys should have just known that they were in his way. (Ummmmm, okay, they should have been mind readers?)

Okay, strike one against the shower. We asked the general contractor to go ahead and install the fixtures on the shower (and for the little girls) (their bathtub surround was just put in yesterday). We figured that we could shower in their bathroom until we got the glass and we knew there was a chance we'd get the glass yesterday afternoon or today.

The contractor went to install the shower fixtures (different kinds for our bathroom and the girls' bathroom) (can you see where this is going?) and he discovered that his workers installed the wrong innards on the wrong showers. No big deal right? You just switch them, right? Not after you've tiled and installed the shower surround. ARRRRGGH! Our contractor now has to cut a hole through the outside of our house and get into the master shower that way and a hole in the laundry room wall to get to the little girl's shower innards.

So why all the hassle? Why don't we just use the fixtures for the girls' shower on our shower and vice versa? Well, apparently only part of the innards of the shower were switched and now it can't be done.... I don't understand it at all. Every time MWH tries to explain it to me, I get confused. (If I had seen the plumbing stuff, I might understand, but I never saw it so I don't... Also, my sleep deprivation is preventing higher order thinking. Did I mention I'm TIRED?)

There might be a way to order a new part and fix the problem that way (instead of tearing a hole in the wall and the outside of our house). But they (MWH and the contractor) don't know whether the part exists or not and if it does, how long it would take to get it. Apparently the contractor thinks he can get us a shower within a day when he returns from the holiday (Tuesday or Wednesday).

(Really, I don't understand the problem at all... I just know that those two showers don't work.)



When MWH told me about the problem with our shower and the girls' shower, I said, "Oh, no worries, we can just shower in the guest shower." (Note to self, NEVER THINK THAT THINGS ARE UNDER CONTROL.) Strike 3, or the final nail in the shower coffin, that shower is only plumbed with hot water.

There's some funky stuff with the plumbing in this house and we don't know if when we changed one thing in the family room (moved some pipes that were visible) if something got screwed up with that shower or if it has never worked properly. To get around the problem, we had the brilliant idea to turn down the water heater so the hottest water wouldn't scald. As I tried to see if we'd gotten the water heater cool enough, we noticed that the shower is leaking.

For the time being, our shower is 4 blocks away.

The good news for the day is that our washing machine is hooked up and seems to work.

Chameleons

Today, N (almost 5) is a Chameleon.

We have a video that talks about geckos and how they lick their eyes with their tongues and now she's decided that chameleons do this too (and that's what she is pretending to do) (the fun never ends).

The joy of moving....

I'm so tired I can barely blog.... It'll be a quick one.

We moved.

After we moved, we discovered that the one shower we thought would be working is not actually working... Well, it is working, but it's only spraying hot water. That means you can take a shower for about 20 seconds until the water becomes scalding. It's a good thing our old house is only 4 blocks away.

(I'm hopeful that MWH can figure out what is wrong with that shower tomorrow. He's very smart.)

I'll also have to tell you about what happened with the two other showers that we just discovered.

What else? ...

I have a new hobby of swiftering my new wood floor. If I don't blog as much, that's why. I think that you should all probably invest in Procter & Gamble (the company that makes Swifter). I imagine I'll be using a lot of both the wet and dry ones here. The reason for my new hobby is that there is a very fine coat of dust everywhere from when they finished the floor.

(Actually, tomorrow, if I can find one, I plan to get a washable swifter kind of thing.... and a telescoping feather duster..... and some wood soap...... and a Christmas tree........)

Remind me to tell you about the washing machine.... and the moving crew.... and the little girls and their new bed....

And... I'll think of more I'm sure. Right now, I must go eat ice cream and fall asleep.

Even though you may not be able to tell from this post, I am actually happy, no very very happy, we're here in our new house.

Movin'

Data kept me up until 1 am. Little T (16 months) had me up from 4-6 am. SO. TIRED.

Packer is coming in 45 minutes.

When it rains, it pours....

I think I used that title last year, but I was in a negative mood then. Right now, I'm feeling overwhelmed but upbeat.

I have this project I LOVE at work. I started working on it almost 10 years ago (10 years in July). It's a very important, and meaningful project, I feel. I've gotten to do some great work on it. It's not finding the cure for cancer or anything, but I feel that it's a project that has made a difference in the world. For the last 6 of the 10 years I've been working on the project, we've had to really scramble to find funding.

The reason why we have to scramble to find funding is that we're doing something that is important, but that people take forgranted. As I said, it's not finding the cure for cancer, or even rocket science therefore it's not sexy or glamorous. But it does help people on a day-to-day basis and make a small difference in the long term.

It's much easier to find funding for projects that are sexy and glamorous. This one is not high-risk with a potential high pay-off. It's every day and mundane support (that will help people in little ways and that little bit of help is almost guaranteed). Most funders don't like to fund that sort of work.

Anyway, in the last couple of months we've found 3 new opportunities for 3 new projects that would help my favorite project(TM). I'll describe them below...

1. Fairly sexy with NEW things involved. I will contribute to this effort fairly significantly, but not lead.

2. Not really sexy, but maybe pushing new efforts with some people I've already worked with a bit. I would like to lead this project, but I think it will need my supervisor's name on it as a bigger name at the helm because it would be funded by someone who requires more credentials than I have yet.

3. Something not sexy at all but with people I've been working with for 5 years, I think I might try to lead a new effort to make some new stuff happen....

None of these potentials are "funded" yet. All will require significant work to get funded. These things are the things I WANT to work on in 2007.

And then there is the class I'm teaching...
And then there is the effort with my colleague that has NO funding...

Ai-yi-yi! I want to do all of this in 30 hours or less per week.

Wish me luck.

a short update 'cause I'm stressed!

I don't have time to update, but if I don't, I won't have room in my head for the other things I need to think about.

Yesterday, I kind of took the day off to recover from the trip and get some new house things done. I'm glad I did, but bleh, today at work was stressful. Thinking about the move is stressful. All of the stuff I have to do before Christmas is stressful. I like my life at an even keel and the holidays just put things over the top for me. Moving and the holidays is doing me in!!!!

One good thing....The floor is done! Well, it's got all the coats of finish on it and is drying as I type right now! I went over and saw it and breathed the awful fumes from the finish for about 5 minutes. They can't be that bad because the floor guy breathes them the whole time he's finishing the floor and he's breathing hard because it's physically tough work to finish the floor. However, my head is now pounding and my ears are ringing. I don't know if it was the fumes or something else. I went to the chiropractor and perhaps that's why my head is pounding and ears are ringing... Who knows.... Or maybe it's just stress????

I have to show you a picture of the shoes K (2.5) got last night. They are so cute. They are so girly. Remind me later!

I have to figure out if I want to buy a real or artificial tree to have at the new house. I think I just want to get an artificial one that has lights in it already. I think this makes sense because, 1) I don't really like decorating, 2) the lights on the tree already make decorating easier, 3) the artificial tree, while it doesn't smell like Christmas (negative), doesn't shed it's needles everywhere (positive). I hope I can find one at least 50% off!

At work, we had the BIG meeting on Monday. We now need to write a letter/email to follow-up. I started listing points for the email. Then I got this request from one of my clients for a lot of data.

I was working on a little bit of data for another client (thanks for doing that KH!) but now, the other organization needs about 16 times the amount that the one organization is getting. I'm glad I spent some time thinking about the small project first because now I have to figure out how to get the large amount of data out of our database in the least painful way. The organization that wants a lot of data also needs it organized differently than the group that wanted the smaller set of data. I spent about 2 hours thinking about how to get the big amount of data out today. I think that the programmer and I figured some things out that will make it work.

Then another big potential project (MP) that we're working on just responded (positively) today and now we have to respond back to them. My supervisor just drafted a response and the team and I have to go through it tonight and give him feedback. He'll be sending it tomorrow. Fingers crossed that they like what we say!

Tomorrow I have to make myself spend 2 hours working on some searches for this other project. I HAVE TO DO THIS. I HAVE NO DESIRE TO DO IT. (I HAVE TO!)

Okay... Now I have to go work on data. I am still planning to go exercise because, 1) I like to, 2) it's good for me, and 3) if I don't go, I'll feel guilty. It's so easy to not go when you're busy and stressed, but I know that if I don't go once, I won't go often so I try not to let myself skip. (If I let myself skip when ever I was busy and stressed, I'd NEVER go.)

Jingle Bell Rock

The Holiday program at N's school was great. There were so many moments during it.... Any one of those could have been my favorite moment today, but they were trumped by something that happened tonight. As the little girls were getting ready to get in the bath tub, N was singing Jingle Bell Rock. I joined in.

Soon N and I were dancing around and singing, and then T (16 months) joined in (trying to sing). T was totally dancing with us--she's a good dancer. Then K (2.5) came running in to sing and dance too. Oh it was fun!

My little girls and me singing, dancing, and laughing to Jingle Bell Rock. Nino would have loved it! You can read about her love of Simple Pleasures here (and many other places on her blog).

Insane, but happy!

I'm home! Wheeee! I got home 4 hours early last night! I was so happy. I got to the airport in time to catch an earlier flight. I actually got home in time to see the girls last night right before they went to bed. Then I fell into bed and slept. K (2.5) let me sleep until 8:30 am this morning.

Last night, when I got home, T (16 months!) was mad at me. She gave me the dirtiest looks and didn't want me to hold her. I nursed her and she seemed to forgive me. Nursing--my secret weapon. Heh.

Today was N's (almost 5!) Holiday program at school. It was so cute. Again, I wanted to cry from the cuteness of it all. N was so happy that Mary Poppins, MWH, K, T and me were there to see her. So happy.

I can't wait to look at the pictures and video from it. Did I tell you my mini-DV camera died? We had to take the video on the little camera this time. Oh, well. We'll get a new DV camera soon. I'm sure one of the other parents would give me a copy of their footage if I asked. Everyone had their cameras going. Maybe I should ask the parents of one of the kids standing right beside N for a copy of their video (hmmmmm...).



What else...

Our floor!!!!! It's being finished. They put the first coat of finish on it and it is BEAUTIFUL! I am so excited. The floor guy says he'll be done end of day tomorrow. That means our contractor will be able to install the refrigerator, dishwasher and trash compactor on Friday. We'll move in Saturday and still need many things done, but it's good. I'm happy.

Today I
-ordered cable, internet and phone (we're going to do phone over the cable line....)
-lined up installation of our blinds on Friday between 2 and 3 pm
-ran over to the new house to look at the floor about 4 times
-waited for delivery and set up of the bed (it looks GREAT!)
-tried to recover from the trip
-started organizing for the move (we'll be doing that LATE INTO THE NIGHT)
-did a teeny bit of work for work
-wiped T and K's nose about 30,000 times today (they are much better today than yesterday)


One really funny thing... When I got home last night, I was still dressed in my new, really nice black suit and shoes. K rarely sees me dressed up. She LOVED my shoes. She is such a shoe girl. She tried on my work shoes and said she needed some new shoes. MWH said, "You should ask Santa for some new shoes." She looked at him aghast, and said, "No, I want to go shopping for the shoes." Heh. She already knows that shopping is half the fun.

And that is where K and I are going now. Shoe shopping.

Did I mention I was sooooooo happy to be home? I love being home! I missed my family!

Meeting

It's over. I thought it went okay. My supervisor was disappointed that we didn't leave with a concrete next step. I think they said some promising things and that we follow up and don't let go of the glimmer of insight they gave us.

Getting ready to board the plane in a second. Thanks for the good thoughts you sent. They are appreciated. More soon.
Sent via my BlackBerry

No internet

I'm on my trip. I'm staying at a place with no internet. More soon. Big meeting tomorrow.
Sent via my BlackBerry

crocodile

Today, N (almost 5!), is a crocodile. Being a crocodile involves slithering/crawling around very slowly and growling. I have almost stepped on the slow moving crocodile several times.

just realized...

I just realized that I needed to record that K will take her cold medicine now without screaming. It is nice. We really like the Triaminic Cold Strips. They do a good job with her nose.

One other thing... Do you know a good way to motivate a 2.5 year old who doesn't want to walk with you, but wants to either walk the other way or have you carry them?

Say to them, "Let's go see if there is more dog poop on the lawn." (We were heading home.) (We'd had some there last weekend and she was totally fascinated. Then it got cleaned up. She was sad.) Heh. (I can't believe I said that to her, but hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.)

3:45 pm update

I think the Zicam is helping. I'm kind of tired, but my nose is not filling up. My throat is a little sore. I'm hopeful the Zicam will continue to work and I won't end up with a full-blown cold.

I don't think T (15 months) has croup.

I am not packed.

I should probably go do some laundry.

K (2.5) and N (almost 5) are painting and doing art and I'm hanging with them while T naps.

T and I hung out this morning. N and K hung with Daddy and went to N's gymastics class. It was so small today that the teacher invited K to come in and do gymnastics too. She LOVED that.

What's worse than a cold?

Croup. T (15 months) sounds a little croupy this morning. She's okay if she stays calm, but once she starts moving around she breathes really heavy. Bleh. Double bleh. Triple bleh.

Did I mention I don't want to go on this trip? Now I want to go significantly less.

Several Sighs...

1. K (2.5) and T (15.5 months) now have the cold. T sounds like a little demi moore baby... It's sad! This cold is going to make K SGR girl again.

2. I am starting to feel the signs of a cold coming on. I have never tried Zicam but have read that it will help lessen the symptoms of a cold. I just sent MWH out to buy me some because I really don't want to be sick and flying on an airplane. I'll let you know what I think of Zicam.

3. A person I work with... not closely... (she's an administrator/business manager), apparently got all pissy today because another colleague and I weren't there to help her with something that she needed help with in relation to one of our projects... I am PISSY about the administrator's reaction because she gave my colleague and I NO INDICATION THAT SHE WOULD NEED US. In fact, she even kind of indicated to both my colleague and I that she was done working on our project.

She complained to one of the directors in our organization that we weren't responsive. Our director only heard the administrator's side of the story and the director sent a rebuking email to my colleague and me. I am so annoyed. My colleague responded to the director with a great email. I am still a little fuming and everything I write to explain/apologize to our director comes out wrong. Not sure if "least said, soonest mended" is best here. I'll sleep on it.

4. I don't want to go on my business trip. Several of my friends with children are saying, "GO! ENJOY YOURSELF! YOU GET SOME TIME OFF!" I would rather not go. I would rather hang with my children. I love hanging with my little girls. Sometimes they scream a lot, but I just like to be with them. They are my sweeties.

5. What else???... There was something else... Hmmmmm... [Play Jeopardy theme song]

6. So last month it was NaNoBloMo, and this month it's the Holidailies, and some people are talking about how they just can't do the daily blog thing. That all of their posts come out like garbarge, or that they only things that are appropriate for a private journal but not a blog. I do generally write everyday, but I am not a writer. I document. My posts are not works of art. They document my life.

There is no "right" answer about what a blog is. A blog is a flexible technology tool and you can use it however you want. My blog is full of mundane posts, but that is okay. That's what I choose to write about. My blog is for my little girls (when they grow up) so that they can know about our life with them when they were so little. I am certain I won't remember all of this. Every day goes so fast and it's a blur.

I don't know if the girls will be interested in reading this, but in case they want to know all about our lives, I want them to have this. I won't remember the details and I want them to know how crazy this time was, but also how much I enjoyed them. The cute things they said and did. I also want them to know things I did and thought too. Most of this probably would be better in a private journal, except that when I was writing in a private journal, I was more boring than I am now.

Now, because I do have an audience, I am more selective about what I do record. I try to write about things that I think other people and the little girls (in the future) would want to read. I try to find humor in situations. I find that the blog helps me think about things differently. I write this for me and the people who do want to read it. I like having a few readers. I like getting comments and other people's insight on things. I like being able to share with my friends who are far away more easily.


Okay... Off to watch Buffy and sleep.

K sayings...

When it's hot, it won't be cold, Mommy. (Said as we walked back from our class in the cold brisk morning air.)

I am going to run.... run like a jaguar. Watch me run like a jaguar, Mommy.

Curls!

Presenting T's curls.

One way to get applause

N (almost 5!) has been singing all of her Holiday Program songs from Preschool. Tonight, as we were driving home, I had all 3 little girls in the back and N was practicing. As she finished one song she said to T (15 months), "Now clap T__." T obliged. N said proudly, "Look, she's clapping. She liked my song." Heh.

It's all about the house

Today I went to the new house and met with a person selling window treatments. I took care of ordering the kitchen, the bedrooms and for the doors in the living room. I need to order something for the living room windows (most likely shutters.. DM, I have questions!), and something for two picture windows. I went wtih this company because for the bedrooms, I want things quickly. For the remaining windows, I might try to be a little more thoughtful and do a little more comparison shopping. I just didn't have time to do that for the bedrooms. It's done. Moving on.

I also am thinking about the design of things for the closets in all the rooms. I'm not doing majorly complex, but it still takes time.

Oh, they put the toliets in today! And the plumbing in our bathroom, and the kitchen! The other two bathrooms need counter tops before we can put in the sinks.

Our painter, remember the one I didn't really like, well, he's got some major touch-up work to do on the outside of the house. MAJOR. Fortunately we haven't paid him all that he needs for the job. He'll be back.

We need to put on a coat of semi-gloss paint on the dining room wall. The flat is already rubbing/chipping off. Not good. This is good quality paint, but semi-gloss makes more sense. Maybe just an eggshell or low-sheen, but something not flat.

Ohhhh... there are so many little details right now... Many of them are now in a little sticky note on my computer. Even though we're making good progress, Ai-Yi-Yi! Lots to do. I feel like I am understanding things better since I spent the day over at the house. Okay... Now I'm going to go pick up N (almost 5) from school.

Holiday Party

Tonight we went to MWH's work Holiday party. I'll tell you more about it later. It was fun. We took all the girls.... It was a family holiday party.

My "moments" today... T (15 months) was running around the party and we were chasing her. It was pretty crowded, but she was dodging everyone. She looked so cute in her little burgandy velvet dress with her little blonde curls bouncing. (Oh, a side moment, when she saw the dress this morning she touched it and said....oooooohhhh... Like it was so pretty. She wanted to put it on.)

Any way, she was running around and people would say, "Awwww, she's so cute." Then she'd nod her head as if to agree. I think she was just nodding her head for fun, but it was cute.

Later, when MWH was chasing her, he led her over to the desserts. He got one and she wanted it. She wanted it so much that he held it behind him and she ran after him all the way back to the table. It was hilarious to see her chasing after chocolate. He was totally carrot-ing her.

K (2.5) picked out a beautiful dress to wear to the party. It was beautiful. She said, "Everyone will say that I'm beautiful." She put on her dress and admired herself in the mirror a lot today. She wore her party dress all day. There was no getting it off of her. She is a little girl who loves beautiful things.

N (almost 5) had her little red dress with white fur trim on it (Mrs. Claus kind of dress). N loves red and she says she's going to be Santa so it was perfect for her.

I wore black. (I always wear black.) Heh.

suit or not?

I can't decide. For the big meeting. In the big city. On Monday. I found one I like. I have to go buy it. I bought a lovely skirt and sweater and I was going to go with that look but then MWH gave me a look when I modeled the outfit. The go for the suit look. Sigh.

I don't wear suits that often. Going to buy a suit seems like a lot. Sigh.

True Confessions...

Sometimes, when the girls are watching a show, like Clifford, I start to watch too, and I get so sucked in that I start to cheer or worry about the characters too.


Heh.

Listing

I have so much I want to write (so I can remember) but I have no time. Let's see how far I get in 10 minutes. Warning, there will be no organization to the post that follows. It's stream-of-consciousness, baby.

1. The kitchen counter tops are in and even installed in our kitchen. I saw them in very dim light, but I think I like them. Picture if you will, cherry cabinets with a dark counter top. Someday, I'll share pictures. It's starting to look like we might be moving in someday. I hope 12/23. That's when I have the movers booked.

2. My supervisor left for "the trip" today. Errrr, it was his last 1/2 day at work today and his flight leaves tomorrow. I had a mad scramble morning and now it's done. Errrr, it's not "done" but now it's just thinking time for me. I'm trying to figure out the best way to say things and trying to anticipate questions. I've been doing background reading on the man we'll be meeting with. We'll call him Mr. DC. (No, I'm not going to DC.) Hopefully the meeting with Mr. DC will be the start of something. That's why I'm naming him.

3. I have this tendency, after I wash my hands, to not dry them very well. I do a cursory sweep of them over the towel and that removes some of the water, but they tend to be pretty wet still. It's become a running joke that I like to give MWH hugs right after washing my hands because I like to dry my still wet hands on his shirt. I don't do this on purpose, but I do do it. Tonight, I tried (not realizing I was doing it) again. We were both rolling with laughter when he pointed it out.

4. N (almost 5!) just called T (15.5 months) the "laughing sister." It's true, T laughs all the time.

5. My favorite moment this morning was when N (almost 5!) and K (2.5) were out in the hallway and discussing the time. We've told K she can't come into our room until the digital clock in the hallway says 8 as the first number. This morning the clock said 9 as the first number. K wasn't sure if she could get up. Their conversation was so cute...

K: It doesn't say 8. Is it too early?
N: It says 9, and that's a GREAT time to get up.

I agree! I was delighted that K slept until 9! The only problem is that I've not slept past 8 for so long that even though she didn't wake us, I was up at 8.

6. I almost forgot a meeting this morning. It's a good thing the calendar on my crackberry didn't. I will be so glad when I have a little less on my plate. It's just crazy right now.

7. Someday I have to tell you more about the class I'll be teaching in January. It's on Human Development. I am excited because for most of the semester we'll be focusing on conception - age 5.

8. I am so glad that my company switched to an online reimbursement system for travel. The system SUCKS. In fact, it sucks so much that the admins are the only people who know how to use it, so it means I don't have to do my own reimbursements any more. I heart the system. I hope it takes a long time to fix!

9. N (almost 5!) has a pretty bad cold. She didn't go to preschool yesterday and was bouncing off the walls, so today she went. When I picked her up, she was exhausted. She came home and slept for two hours. I felt horrible that I let her go. It's so hard to know. She just woke up. She doesn't want to eat anything because, in her words, "Food doesn't taste good because I'm sick."

10. I made my Mom's Christmas Card today. She's doing better. She's sounding stronger and I am so relieved and thankful. More about that soon.

Okay... That was 15 minutes.

Countdowns

In just a little over a week, my business trip will be over. I will be so ecstatic. Did I mention how much I hate to travel? I find that I am increasingly worried/stressed about this trip and as a corollary, increasingly irritable and short-tempered. I think MWH will be glad when the trip is over and I return to more normal--insanely busy, but usually cheerful.

We are slated to move on 12/23.

We get the carpets cleaned 12/16.

They installed part of our counters in the kitchen today. Theoretically they will finish tomorrow.

The painter says he'll probably be done by Wednesday. He totally gets underpromise, overdeliver. I need to take lessons from him.

N (almost 5!) has another cold. We had her stay home from school today, but she was bouncing off the walls. She is so going back tomorrow. I wonder if T and K are going to get this one. I hope MWH and I can sit it out. (We managed to sit out the last one that started in November.... We'll see if we can do it again. Go Immune systems!)

I'm tired... Must go watch Buffy, and sleep! I need to write about N's upcoming birthday party soon. It should be fun. I'll do that when I'm not so tired.

Something new!

I don't know if any one else does this, but I just decided that I'm going to start doing, "My Favorite Moment" as a category. This is the kind of moment, when something happens and I think, "If I could capture the cuteness/this feeling and bottle it, this would be what I would want to capture!" I'm usually good at remembering, but not always. Sometimes it happens several times a day, and sometimes just once a day. (And some days, not at all--we've all had those days!)

Today it occurred when we were driving and all three girls were saying "Weeeeeeee" at the same time. Oh the cuteness was high. Periodically they all giggle at the same time and that is just too cute.

A little later today, K (30 months) was pushing N (almost 5!) in the stroller. T (15.5 months) was running beside K just scolding her. T was so funny. She wanted to push the stroller and she wouldn't stop yelling about it until she got her way. That's our little T!

Okay, those are my "moments." Have you had any recently?

Annual Trek

The girls were all atwitter this morning. They got up, got dressed, and then were raring to go. N (almost 5!) wanted to look beautiful. She picked out her dress, wanted to wear her princess tiara (I vetoed that) and had me put in a beautiful ponytail in her hair (with ribbons). K (2.5 years) got dressed in her matching dress to N.

T (15.5 months) missed the excitement because she slept in until almost 11 am (YOU GO GIRL!). We got her dressed in a cute little red and white dress.



At 11:45 we departed and were on our way to see Santa.

We stood in a short line (I picked the mall that happens to be closest to us and the least busy!) and N was chomping at the bit. When we got up to the front of the line, and it was our turn, none of the girls would go near Santa.

K wouldn't get within 3 feet. I was holding T so she got closer, but shook her head vehemently when I tried to hand her to him. N wouldn't get within 8 feet. N was the funniest because she was the most excited about the adventure.

I didn't force the girls to sit on Santa's lap. I don't really need pictures of them screaming nor do I need the stress of traumatizing them and trying to get them on his lap. I don't think we've yet managed to get a picture of any of our girls with Santa. I have one from my work party where I'm holding N when she was 11 months, and she's looking at Santa (and ready to burst into tears). I don't actually have any photos of any them with Santa. (As a humbug it sort of makes me proud--does that make me horrible?)

Coming together?

The house is mostly painted now. Our painter is projecting that he'll be done by Thursday. I am hopeful. The colors we picked... So far, I love them!!! I can't wait to see them with the wood floor done. The burgandy I picked for the dining room... It is bold and beautiful! I love that color. When I first painted a swatch on the wall I swooned. Seriously.

(I found it on the web on the paint company's web site, but it's not nearly as good. I'll try to post some pictures of it in our house soon.)

Did I tell you about the nightmare I had about the paint I had originally picked for most of the house? I freaked out and re-thought things and I am so glad I went with a lighter color. Yea, it's very light, but it looks good. I can always add more color later (if I can figure out where to do another accent wall). The lighter color will give us more freedom in terms of furniture. I don't think I would have liked the darker color. The new paint has really updated the house a lot.

One negative, the painter painted the downstairs bathroom a different color than I wanted. I wanted it to be the same color as the girls' bedroom, but it's the same color as the rest of the downstairs (in semi-gloss). Not the end of the world and I'm actually not even going to worry about it. I'm going with it.

Who knows, maybe I'll like the painter's choice for the bathroom walls... I can still do fun things with towels and other things in their bathroom. The very pale yellow may have looked horrible with the counter... I don't know. We'll see what the more neutral color (he picked) looks like soon. (It's hard to see in their bathroom because the lights aren't installed and there's just a portable work light in there.)

Someday we will have to buy some more furniture, but for the time being I just want to move and then figure things out. We'll have a roomy house for a while. We'll need to buy throw rugs and all that good stuff, but I want to savor figuring that out. (I'm sure I'll be ready to by a throw rug for the living room very quickly though as little girls will be playing on hard wood floors otherwise.)

The counter tops are scheduled to go in on Monday for the kitchen and our bathroom. I'm not sure when the counter for the girls' bathroom and the guest bathroom will be put in.

The next things are lining up the carpet cleaner (I kept the downstairs carpet), figuring out closet organizers, and beginning to pack/sort here. The one good thing about having been in a temporary house for a year and 3 months (but who is counting?) and not having unpacked all the way is that a lot of junk our precious possessions are in boxes so we don't have to re-pack them!

I think we'll be moving in without a mantle on the fireplace, but we just need a little more time to figure that out. (I wonder how long it will be not finished. I think we should make a goal to finish it before my birthday. MWH, I've always wanted a mantle for my birthday!)

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

My work presentation seems to be coming together too. I have so many things I still want to and need to say, to make the right argument, but I don't know if I'll get it all done today. I've sent part of what I've added to my supervisor and we'll make it happen. My supervisor leaves on Wednesday so he'll look it over today, we'll quickly talk on Monday (we have visitors from another company on Monday) and then we'll do more strategizing on Tuesday and then I'll keep working on it after he leaves.

The big goal for me is to remember to be soft-spoken during the presentation. I am often rather passionate about my work. I need to remain calm, speak softly, and make them want to hear more.

Love is ...

MWH buying me Candy Cane Tootsie Pops.

N (4 and 11/12ths) making me a necklace out of beads.

Little girls X 3

N's (4 and 11/12ths!) teacher told me that she wasn't listening very well at school. Sigh. Well, actually, I'm not too upset. She's usually really good at school and then sooooo hyper at home. It's kind of nice for me not to have to deal with her difficult listening habits and for the school to have to for a change. (Is it awful of me to think that?) I spoke with her and she said she would work on listening better. We'll see what happens. I will continue to remind her every morning that we need to be a good listener all the time.

I know she's probably not listening too well because she's getting excited about 1) Christmas, 2) moving to the new house, and 3) her fifth birthday. I know that she's also getting sick of running errands to get stuff for the new house. I was so proud of her today when we went to look at some window coverings today. She was so good.


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

K (2.5) is actually starting to wean. She's only nursing about 30 seconds at night (by her own choice) and about one minute in the morning (I usually have to ask her to stop). When she stops nursing she says, "I nursed a lot! I'm just like a little vacuum cleaner." I called her a vacuum cleaner once. She can get the milk going like you wouldn't believe. She is very efficient.

Since starting to wean, I have seen her eating habits improve. The last week, she's asked for a fruit smoothie every day. I have obliged. I blend vanilla yogurt, frozen strawberries, banana and soy milk. I am thrilled she eats (drinks) it. Today she asked for an apple. I was shocked! She's been such a horrible eater her whole life. That's one of the reasons I didn't push her to wean. I wanted to know she was getting some nutrition. Who knows, perhaps if I would have weaned her sooner, she would have started eating better sooner. We'll never know though. I have no regrets for not weaning her sooner. We're not "done" by any stretch of the imagination, but we are started! (I'm trying not to feel guilty about weaning her. I shouldn't. She has been nursing for 30 months!)

She's decided she is a big girl. She is sleeping better (mostly). She's still in kind of a rough phase. I guess, it's not unexpected. She is so independent and it's been all about her learning to do EVERYTHING by herself. I can't complain too much though because she will take herself in to the bathroom all by herself (when she feels like it) and that's pretty amazing for 2 year old. Despite the fact that the last 3 months have been very tough with her, I can't complain too much. Hopefully she'll be emerging from the bad phase soon. (Before 3 months ago, she was pretty horrible with her sleep patterns, but not in such a bad place with her behavior.)


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

T (15.5 months). What can I say? She's in a good place. She loves to laugh. She still screams like a T__-dactyl, but maybe, just a teeny bit less? I'm feeling like my hearing isn't being damaged every time I turn around. She's getting a few new words. She has said her own name and pointed to herself. She's pretending with toys. She loves to dance and for her age, she's really good. N wasn't very coordinated (still isn't) when she was young. (I think it's partially because she was always soooo tall.) K was very coordinated, and T is might even be more coordinated. (I think--it's a little hard to quantify). T loves to dance to the alphabet song and the theme song to "Little Einsteins."

T goes to bed so well at night. The week of Thanksgiving, when I was at my wit's end in relation to sleep, I started ignoring her when she woke up for her early morning nursing (around 4 or 5). Though I knew she didn't need to nurse, in my sleep deprived state I worried about whether she'd be okay if I didn't nurse her. I'm happy to report that she sleeps all night now (from 9 pm - 7:30 or 8 am). She tends to wake up a little earlier than we like (7:30-ish) but on overcast mornings she's been known to sleep until 9 or 9:30 (you go girl!)

It's going to be interesting to see what T does with the Christmas tree. We didn't a tree for N's first Christmas because we were too worried that she'd pull it down. For K's first and second Christmas, she did surprisingly well with the tree. N did really well with the tree her second Christmas (she was almost 2). She even helped decorate it. One favorite memory is her 3rd Christmas (almost 3) when she called it a "'mas tree." She couldn't quite say Christmas tree and the way she said 'mas tree sounded like mystery. I just told her this story and she loved hearing it.

Okay... That's all the cuteness/documentation for now.

So much going on

I finally got the x-rays of my back taken. I went to the doctor about a month ago and JUST had time to get them done. The only reason I had time to get them done was that I forgot to do something else that needed to be done before I could do the thing I was planning to do today. Oops.

I'm glad I got the x-rays done. I'm bummed that I didn't get an MRI, but it will be good to know how things look at a skeletal level. During the x-rays, I managed to flash the x-ray technician... just my underwere. Hopefully he's seen legs and underwere before. Heh.

I think my back is feeling a slight bit better. I plan to write more about it someday, but that probably won't happen until sometime next year I'm guessing. I really like my new chiropractor. I'm also trying to take it easy on my back right now. I'm still working out, but I'm avoiding impact as much as possible. I'm doing the elliptical machine instead of my aerobics class. I'm skipping my dance class. I'm going to look into physical therapy as soon as I hear from my doctor about the x-rays and as soon as my trip is over.

What else. Did I mention I heart Mary Poppins (our nanny)? She turned Alfred loose in the living room when she left today. I came home to a clean living room. So nice. It's just little things that make such a difference.

Okay... 10 minute break over. Back to work. More soon.

Really too busy

4 items on my to do list (for work) not including to the big presentation

4 items on my to do list for the new house

Too many items to count on my to do list for Christmas

Too many items on the list of things I need to do before the trip for the big presentation

9 half written blog entries... and that means either you'll see lots of blog entries pop up all at once, or I'll abandon and leave them unpublished forever

3 cute little girls that are very little and keep me hopping

Tired. Sleep now.

Why no blog entry?

I was busy writing MySQL queries tonight to look at some data. You didn't know I knew MySQL did you? Well, I don't know it that well, but in a pinch, I can look at other queries and the database structure and usually get things to work to give me the data I want. I know the basics.

I figured out two new queries that are just lovely (if I do say so myself). I also figured out 2 new things to look at in our data that are potentially very meaningful. I think it was a fairly productive night, but I'm tired now.

The little girls did some cute things today. N (almost 5!) and K (2.5) got up, brushed their teeth and got dressed all by themselves (N helped K). It was adorable! T (15 months) pretended to cook for, and then feed her Elmo doll. Also adorable.

Nitey-night.

Whew!

You know I have an upcoming work trip.

You know I don't want to go.

I was worried that N's preschool holiday program, the one that turned me into a huge Mommy puddle last year, was going to be on Monday during my trip. Thank goodness it is on Tuesday and not Monday.

Big sigh of relief!

A few random N things

N is almost 5. I can't believe it. She is so much fun. I pick her up from preschool and take her on errands with me a lot of days before we go home to little sisters. She is so helpful. (She also allows me to be a carpool and drive in the carpool lane during rush hour... So even if she's having a bad day, being grumpy, and not being helpful, she is still VERY helpful! Heh.)

In the last week, she has learned how to play the "Alphabet game." You know, when you are driving in the car and find each letter of the alphabet on signs?

We have counted to 100 (me helping a little, mostly when she'd get to a new set of ten, 70 and 80 are confusing to her).

She loves to hear about when she was a baby... She loves it when I tell her about what she liked to eat, or how she would sleep, or what her favorite toys were, or how much she loved to carry things when she learned to walk. I have a whole journal devoted to the study of N as a baby.

She is really good at writing grocery store lists for me. She LOVES doing that.

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

One little memory from early on... When she was a teeny baby, and I was new at nursing, and in disbelief that my body could produce milk and nourish a wee one, I would nurse her and then hand her over to her daddy to have him do a "tummy check." When she was little, her little tummy would get full, round and tight when she had nursed a lot. It was so sweet of MWH to check for me. I couldn't always tell, but he could. It made me feel better about my b^r^eas*ts actually working and doing what they were supposed to be doing.

accomplishment

For the longest time, N (almost 5!) has been watching older kids climb into the toddler swing all by themselves at the park, and then swing standing up. She'd ask me to help her do it too. I told her I was not going to help with that. She finally mastered getting into the toddler swing and swinging standing up all by herself (on Sunday). She. is. so. proud.

To the Moms of younger kids at our park, I apologize. I can't believe that N is now one of the big kids setting a bad example, and swinging standing up, but she came by it honestly. Soon, sooner than you will believe, your little ones will be doing the same thing. They grow up so fast.

Our painter...

We met with our painter today...

In case you're keeping score, I've had 4 interactions with our painter and three of the interactions have made me not happy.

Interaction 1. Before we decided to work with him, he calls to apologize for flaking off meeting my husband the day before and tells me all about the bad mayo he had which prevented him from meeting my husband. Really, TMI and EWWWWWW! (BAD)

Interaction 2. I meet him and he tells me that I shouldn't count on getting in the house before Christmas. He tells my husband and I that he doesn't think our general contractor's guys do good work when they hurry. He also says, "I don't want to be talking trash on them, but they don't do good work when they hurry." (BAD)

Interaction 3. We meet and go over the paint colors. He doesn't do anything that makes me mad, but he does look at some of the trim work our general contractor's guys have done and he says, "I really like going behind these guys. They do great work." I decide then that he's probably psycho. (Not good)

Interaction 4. He tells us that our general contractor "yelled" at his guys and he can't have that. Our general seems like a very gentle, soft spoken man. I could be wrong and he could have yelled, but I'm guessing that our general had asked the painters to not do the thing he supposedly "yelled" about several times and that the painter's guys kept doing it. I'm guessing our general contractor got firm, but I really doubt he yelled.

It's funny because no other person has complained about our general until this painter. (BAD)


I think our painter is a bit dramatic, over-the-top, and likes to stir things up. We know he did a good job on the outside of the house. We hope that he does as good of a job on the inside. After this, we hope that we're done with painting for a long time.

Note to self: In the future, when someone tells you about bad mayo before you meet them, don't even bother going forward with meeting them.

hrmmmmm....

I'm not feeling like blogging... Am I getting sick? Actually, I think I'm worried about my upcoming trip for work. I don't want to go. It's bringing me down. Soon it will be over. Two weeks from yesterday (Sunday) I head off for it. Two weeks and 12 hours from today hopefully I'll be almost landing to come home.

But before I go, I have to finish my presentation. I may be blogging a little less because of this, or it could be more since I'll probably be looking for ways to procrastinate. Oh, and I need to make our Holiday Card... and my Mom's.... and write our letter... and shop...

Yikes... The Holidaze have descended! I think I need to make an attitude change that this will be a fun time, 'cause right now I'm dreading it all....

I wish...

Saturday we had a fun day. We went to the park, N's gymnastics class, the children's museum, and then to our favorite Mexican place, A___ (sorry DM, but soon!) for dinner.

After we ate, we walked out by the little fountain and N (4 and 3/4s) and K (30 months) each got a penny to throw into the fountain and make a wish. There was one couple outside eating. They were kind of sitting close to the fountain. As we walked up, I hoped the girls didn't interupt them. Both K and N were being fairly calm and quiet (unusual for them) as they walked up for the fountain.

I handed N her penny and she said, in a sweet soft-spoken way, "I wish ...... for a kitty... a little kitten of my own."

The woman sitting nearby had turned to watch and she said, "Awwww..." She looked at me like I would be the World's Worst Mother if I didn't run out and buy N a kitty right then.

Then it was K's turn and she said, also sweetly and softly, "I wish for a little kitty too."

Another "Awwww" from the woman and now she looked like she might cry. Even though it wasn't any of the woman's business, I explained how we already had a cat and how we would get them a kitty when the time was right. Just so the woman didn't think I was horrible and mean.

Yea, they were being cute. Very very cute.

MWH and I discussed just how cute it was when we got back to the car. I told him that N and K probably made the woman want children-little girls. He agreed and then he one upped me. He said the fountain interaction had probably caused her to ovulate right then and there. He was probably right.

Labelin'

I've been working on labeling (or categorizing) my January '06 entries. It's done now! I managed to label the 55 posts from January in 2 nights. If I can keep up the pace I could have a completely labeled blog in about 12 more nights. I think the chances of me being able to keep up the pace are slim-to-none. I have that BIG presentation I have to create. I have a good outline of the presentation, and I got a lot more fodder on Thursday in the phone calls, but now I have to weave it into silk. (A couple of metaphors in there I believe...)

Anyway, as I read through the posts from January, I realize how much things have changed in 11 months. Wow.

1. My feelings towards work have changed during the course of this year. In January 06, I was still mentally checked out. I didn't want to be back at work and I didn't really care about it. Somewhere during the course of the year I got excited about work again and now I'm sucked back in. I do love my job. I do love where I work. I do wish I could have balance in my life. I don't actually think it's possible.

2. Back then, we had two part-time nannies instead of one full-time one. I also had some "nanny issues" last year with one of the part-time ones. This year, Mary Poppins (one of our part-time ones) is our full-time nanny and she is wonderful. Our other nanny last year was a sweet person, but she was no longer interested in being a nanny. Not for us or anyone.

She was planning her wedding and trying to find a job that she loved. She thought she found her perfect job, but when I last saw her (a month ago), she wasn't that happy with her job. I think she imagined that a new job would make everything perfect. She is still searching. It takes so long to find a "perfect" job. And then, even when you do, there are still things you'd change. I have a "perfect" job, but it also means that I never stop working. I mean, I do, but it's always there with me. I wish I could shut off my thoughts about it sometimes, but I can't. There is no such thing as "perfect" or at least not perfect forever. My feeling is that you can work to make sure something stays right for you, but that there no such thing as perfect.

3. T, N and K have all grown up so much! T is almost where K was a year ago (not quite, because she's 15 months younger) but I can see her catching up! Wow. They all grow up so fast.

4. I believed we'd be in our new house by June '06--HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. (Sorry... must end the post now because I am laughing too hard.)