Since the end of July, I've been stuck at the same weight... 1X5.5. Totally and completely STUCK. Seriously. The scale has barely fluctuated...
It's been a little depressing, but I'm mostly not thinking about it. (My best mental health tip for happiness is to be too busy to think about things!) I KNOW that my body won't lose all the weight until I stop breastfeeding... Perhaps I could starve myself and lose some weight, but that just doesn't seem healthy to me.
I think K (32 months) is weaning so I think the demands on my body (in terms of milk production) are lessening. I think I am finally losing a bit of weight. Tonight, at the gym, my weight was 1X4. That's 1.5 pounds lighter!
We'll see if it stays there. If it does stay there, then I'm about 6 pounds away from the weight I was before kids. I am making progress because one year ago, I was about 12 pounds away from my pre-kids weight. (Yea, that's only a loss of one-half pound a month, but that's SIGNIFICANTLY better than gaining weight!)
I don't like to diet. I'm thrilled that I am eating normally (with treats) and losing weight. I do like to work out and I am very active. If I could find time to sneak in another work out a week, I'd probably be able to lose weight a little faster, but given my work insanity and this class that I'm now teaching, I don't think it's possible. Maybe I should try to get to campus about 10 or 15 minutes earlier and walk around outside for that time. It wouldn't be a "work out" but it would be a nice walk... (hmmmmm....)
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Qualitative changes
Miss K is changing. Qualitatively. (I do love that word.) Oh, let me count the ways Miss K is changing....
Miss K has NEVER liked doing the warm-up and stretches in her gymnastics class (wonder where she gets that... I always skip those in my aerobics class). Usually I would just go to her class late because if we got there on time I'd have to physically hold her back from running off to the fun obstacle course part of the gym. Today, she told me she was going to be really good and do everything Teacher G___ told her to do--even the bear walks and the butterfly stretches.
By golly, by gum, she did. She was really on task the whole time in class. She worked really hard. She concentrated. She even walked across a balance beam that was sloped up at a slight angle ALL BY HERSELF.
Wowza. She's getting close to being a really nice 3-year old! She's becoming a good listener for the most part.... She's doing a pretty good job sleeping... and we've got weaning action going on... (Have I written about that? I know I've started many a post about it, but I don't think I've published one yet.) And then there is the potty-training... (Woo-double-hoo!)
Almost three (32 months) is such a fun age.
She's getting tall and lean... Losing all the baby-chub. I am thrilled watching her grow, but sad that she's not my baby K anymore.
Miss K has NEVER liked doing the warm-up and stretches in her gymnastics class (wonder where she gets that... I always skip those in my aerobics class). Usually I would just go to her class late because if we got there on time I'd have to physically hold her back from running off to the fun obstacle course part of the gym. Today, she told me she was going to be really good and do everything Teacher G___ told her to do--even the bear walks and the butterfly stretches.
By golly, by gum, she did. She was really on task the whole time in class. She worked really hard. She concentrated. She even walked across a balance beam that was sloped up at a slight angle ALL BY HERSELF.
Wowza. She's getting close to being a really nice 3-year old! She's becoming a good listener for the most part.... She's doing a pretty good job sleeping... and we've got weaning action going on... (Have I written about that? I know I've started many a post about it, but I don't think I've published one yet.) And then there is the potty-training... (Woo-double-hoo!)
Almost three (32 months) is such a fun age.
She's getting tall and lean... Losing all the baby-chub. I am thrilled watching her grow, but sad that she's not my baby K anymore.
Mirrors, Mirror on the wall...
We finally got mirrors in our bathrooms! It was kind of weird walking into a bathroom and not having a mirror in front of the sink. Now we do. (Only about 15 more big things to do on the house before we're pretty close to done.)
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
No way to write this right...
When I was trying to get pregnant with N, after my miscarriage, and after many cycles with too short of a lutuel phase and not good progesterone on day 21, I convinced that something was wrong, seriously wrong with me.
My OB was sympathetic. She tested me for all sorts of infections, blood clotting problems, auto-immune disorders (I'd had/have one), and gave me clomid.
She also told me something like this, "Nearly everyone, of childbearing age, in a sexual relationship, with a functioning, normal-shaped uterus and clear fallopian tubes will end up pregnant and having a baby at some point. Even though it feels like it is taking forever, at some point, the stars will align and all of the conditions will be just perfect--the egg, the sperm, and the uterine lining will all be perfect. Then after conception, all of the hormones required to support the pregnancy will be in balance. Sometimes it doesn't seem like it will ever happen, but most likely it will. What we do with fertility treatments is just try to speed up the aligning of the stars. Sometimes we can, and sometimes we can't. Sometimes it just takes time."
I think she was trying to prepare me that it might take a while, and that medical science might not be able to help me, but that sometimes nature does the right thing. Fortunately, clomid and progesterone suppositories did the trick for N and K.
Then BAM, when I was saying, "It might be nice to have a third baby in a couple of years...." The stars aligned and T showed up.
My world was rocked. I am so grateful.
I know that there have been a few surprises in the blogosphere lately. I know, for some of these women who experienced a much longer journey of infertility, their worlds are even more rocked than mine was. I just want to say, that I don't think they "just relaxed." I think it was much more than that. The stars aligned.
I hope, for all of them, that things are good and continue to stay good. I say many NBHHYs for them every night . For every woman who wants to become a mother, I wish that for them. I wouldn't wish infertility on my worst enemy. Every day, I am thankful for my 3 little girls.
My OB was sympathetic. She tested me for all sorts of infections, blood clotting problems, auto-immune disorders (I'd had/have one), and gave me clomid.
She also told me something like this, "Nearly everyone, of childbearing age, in a sexual relationship, with a functioning, normal-shaped uterus and clear fallopian tubes will end up pregnant and having a baby at some point. Even though it feels like it is taking forever, at some point, the stars will align and all of the conditions will be just perfect--the egg, the sperm, and the uterine lining will all be perfect. Then after conception, all of the hormones required to support the pregnancy will be in balance. Sometimes it doesn't seem like it will ever happen, but most likely it will. What we do with fertility treatments is just try to speed up the aligning of the stars. Sometimes we can, and sometimes we can't. Sometimes it just takes time."
I think she was trying to prepare me that it might take a while, and that medical science might not be able to help me, but that sometimes nature does the right thing. Fortunately, clomid and progesterone suppositories did the trick for N and K.
Then BAM, when I was saying, "It might be nice to have a third baby in a couple of years...." The stars aligned and T showed up.
My world was rocked. I am so grateful.
I know that there have been a few surprises in the blogosphere lately. I know, for some of these women who experienced a much longer journey of infertility, their worlds are even more rocked than mine was. I just want to say, that I don't think they "just relaxed." I think it was much more than that. The stars aligned.
I hope, for all of them, that things are good and continue to stay good. I say many NBHHYs for them every night . For every woman who wants to become a mother, I wish that for them. I wouldn't wish infertility on my worst enemy. Every day, I am thankful for my 3 little girls.
Monday, January 29, 2007
All work and no blogging...
That's what it feels like the past few days. It's not quite true, but I haven't gotten a chance to do the posts I really want to do.
Soon! Really!
Soon! Really!
Ding, ding, ding...
We have a winner. My friend Colleen guessed correctly. Miss K has been doing really GREAT on the potty. She stayed dry in her pull-up all week (last week) and on Saturday I put her in "big-girl-pants." She stayed dry. Sunday too... Today too....
Knock wood... Throwing salt over my shoulder... (is it the left or right one?) All that good superstitious behavior stuff....
What we're doing... We remind her to go to the bathroom every 3-4 hours... Sometimes she even tells us she needs to go... if she won't go, we take her in the bathroom and get her to sit on the potty. She will go when she's up there.
She's even staying dry at night. I'm having her sleep in a pull-up for a bit longer, but she's been dry several nights so far (5 or 6, I've lost track).
She was ready for the push towards potty-training. She's been close for a long time. She got interested in potty training when she was really young... like 13 months... She started pooping on the potty pretty much every day a LONG time ago.... I actually expected her to just do it all by herself ... I was expecting it any day now... (Have been since June...)
I finally realized that I needed to get into the frame of mind to really make an effort to help her figure out the final bit...
A side note...
Miss K does have a fear of going to the bathroom when she doesn't have the little potty seat that fits on top of a regular potty (to keep her from falling in). I didn't realize the extent of her fear until we were out Saturday ... She was in her big girl pants. I tried to get her to sit on the potty at the library... Oh, my the screams! (Did you hear them? Around 4:30 pm? Yea, that was K. She did not want to sit on the potty!)
Fortunately, after we'd been out for ~3 hours, I was able to convince her that I could hold her and keep her from falling in.... Well, I couldn't convince her that I would keep her from falling in until I bribed her ... I told her that if she went on the potty we could go to the ICE CREAM STORE and she could get chocolate ice cream with m&ms on top.
Woo-hoo! It worked. It also helped her get over her fear a bit.
This morning, she and I went out and got princess big girl pants... Then she found a princess purse that she needed... Then she found some Dora shoes... She got them all. I was weak... I figure we're saving money on diapers for her from here on out... Miss K was probably less expensive to potty train than Miss N. Miss N wanted trains (Thomas trains) for her reward... We probably had to get her 6 or 7 trains before she was potty trained. (Those trains are expensive!)
I'm sure we'll still have to work with Miss K for a while to make sure she stays dry. I always say that at first, potty-training is getting the Mom / Dad / nanny to remember to get the little one to the bathroom in time. It takes a while for the little one to internalize it all. We're definitely well on our way, and Miss K is definitely working really hard, but I'm not naive enough to think, "we're done..."
We also get to do this again in 12-15 months again with Miss T.
Knock wood... Throwing salt over my shoulder... (is it the left or right one?) All that good superstitious behavior stuff....
What we're doing... We remind her to go to the bathroom every 3-4 hours... Sometimes she even tells us she needs to go... if she won't go, we take her in the bathroom and get her to sit on the potty. She will go when she's up there.
She's even staying dry at night. I'm having her sleep in a pull-up for a bit longer, but she's been dry several nights so far (5 or 6, I've lost track).
She was ready for the push towards potty-training. She's been close for a long time. She got interested in potty training when she was really young... like 13 months... She started pooping on the potty pretty much every day a LONG time ago.... I actually expected her to just do it all by herself ... I was expecting it any day now... (Have been since June...)
I finally realized that I needed to get into the frame of mind to really make an effort to help her figure out the final bit...
A side note...
Miss K does have a fear of going to the bathroom when she doesn't have the little potty seat that fits on top of a regular potty (to keep her from falling in). I didn't realize the extent of her fear until we were out Saturday ... She was in her big girl pants. I tried to get her to sit on the potty at the library... Oh, my the screams! (Did you hear them? Around 4:30 pm? Yea, that was K. She did not want to sit on the potty!)
Fortunately, after we'd been out for ~3 hours, I was able to convince her that I could hold her and keep her from falling in.... Well, I couldn't convince her that I would keep her from falling in until I bribed her ... I told her that if she went on the potty we could go to the ICE CREAM STORE and she could get chocolate ice cream with m&ms on top.
Woo-hoo! It worked. It also helped her get over her fear a bit.
This morning, she and I went out and got princess big girl pants... Then she found a princess purse that she needed... Then she found some Dora shoes... She got them all. I was weak... I figure we're saving money on diapers for her from here on out... Miss K was probably less expensive to potty train than Miss N. Miss N wanted trains (Thomas trains) for her reward... We probably had to get her 6 or 7 trains before she was potty trained. (Those trains are expensive!)
I'm sure we'll still have to work with Miss K for a while to make sure she stays dry. I always say that at first, potty-training is getting the Mom / Dad / nanny to remember to get the little one to the bathroom in time. It takes a while for the little one to internalize it all. We're definitely well on our way, and Miss K is definitely working really hard, but I'm not naive enough to think, "we're done..."
We also get to do this again in 12-15 months again with Miss T.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Almost back
I'm almost back. I just need to do a little more on my lecture for tomorrow and getting ready for class. And then, I have some exciting news.... (No, I'm not pregnant!)
I leave you with this picture
and this link. What's your guess? What exciting news do I have?
I leave you with this picture
and this link. What's your guess? What exciting news do I have?
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Squirrels 25, Me 1
The squirrels are kicking my A___!
Almost done.
Learning new stuff.
Tired.
Everything always takes longer than you expect.
Almost done.
Learning new stuff.
Tired.
Everything always takes longer than you expect.
Friday, January 26, 2007
There's always a first Tuesday in a month...
That's what I told a colleague today when we were discussing a meeting time.
Yea, I'm a little tired.
I had this weird dream... We were at the beach and we found two tarantulas fighting over a little tarantula-sized pink (hot pink) polka-dotted dress.
I really gotta quit working so hard.
Back to those squirrels and several other meetings and a SE due today (not even started... not actually going to happen... not actually too worried about it.)
K has the cold now... (I knew she was getting it yesterday. Today it's official though.) (Recap... N got it last Saturday... T got it Monday, K got it Thursday. There's the path of contagion. N's the vector.)
Yea, I'm a little tired.
I had this weird dream... We were at the beach and we found two tarantulas fighting over a little tarantula-sized pink (hot pink) polka-dotted dress.
I really gotta quit working so hard.
Back to those squirrels and several other meetings and a SE due today (not even started... not actually going to happen... not actually too worried about it.)
K has the cold now... (I knew she was getting it yesterday. Today it's official though.) (Recap... N got it last Saturday... T got it Monday, K got it Thursday. There's the path of contagion. N's the vector.)
squirrels
I have a friend who calls SQL, a squirrel.... It's a long story. I'm too tired to explain. Needless to say, I've got SQL queries coming out of my ears! (It's kind of painful actually.)
I got a great question on the previous post (thanks Alice!). I'll answer as soon as I am not totally swamped with squirrely stuff. I should be back tomorrow (Friday) afternoon.
I got a great question on the previous post (thanks Alice!). I'll answer as soon as I am not totally swamped with squirrely stuff. I should be back tomorrow (Friday) afternoon.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Pizza and floors...
Does it count as pizza for breakfast if you're eating pizza for your first meal of the day, but it's 3:20 pm?
On a related note, Is putting your little girls in clean white socks and polar fleece pajamas after their bath and letting them slip and slide on your hard wood floor a good way to clean it?
Actually, though I didn't get food until 3:20 pm, I had coffee, tea and a good day! It was my first day of [local state university] class. I'm not going to blog that much about it here. I do have another blog set up for myself about the course. (One entry thus far, but if you want to read it let me know. For now, I'm going to keep it password entry only.)
After the class, I picked up N (5) and took her to art class, and Mary Poppins met me there with the other little girls (K and T)... Mary Poppins stayed for N's art class and I took K and T to the park! YIPPPEEE... It was a beautiful day. I'm so glad we could go.
It's funny, but working allows me to cherish things like sneaking away to the park with my little girls. It sounds trite, and cliche, but I am a better mother because I work (mostly). If I didn't work, I'd be depressed, I'm quite sure, and we all know that's not good for kids. If Momma aint happy, aint no one happy. (I'm not sure who said that originally, I think it's a song, but I don't have time to google it.)
I don't do well when I stay home a lot. I don't like to clean. I don't like to organize. I like to cook, but that's the end of my domestic interests pretty much. Though I'm not here with the girls for every second, when I am, I am happy. I'm working on being a little less busy (INSANE) with my "regular job" so that I can do this sneaking off to the park thing a little more.
Even though the class will take up some more of my time, it will actually make me draw a boundary between my work life at work and my home life I think. Or at least that's the plan.
By teaching this class, I am trying on a different identity. It's the identity I imagined I'd have when I went to graduate school. After graduate school, I found a terrific opportunity and I seized it. I have no regrets. I have learned a LOT. I've had a lot of fun. I've gotten to do some fabulous things. I am so happy with my career. I've been at my job for almost 10 years.
[Sidebar Assuming we get more funding to continue our work (always an if), I imagine I'll stay where I am at that job for 5-10 more years. If we don't get more funding, then it might be time for a slightly different thing for me. (KH: No worries! It would be at least a two year transition though as I am funded to do things I like for 2 more years. We'll know more about our chances for additional funding for what I like in about a month.) ]
Anyway, I am excited to be teaching this class. It's good. I'll most likely have 33 lovely students. Ask me at the end of the semester if I still describe them that way. Heh.
Okay, question for you all... Tell me your favorite stage/age of children. Or... Open Season.... Ask me any question you want about the development of kids 0-18 and I'll try to answer your question.
On a related note, Is putting your little girls in clean white socks and polar fleece pajamas after their bath and letting them slip and slide on your hard wood floor a good way to clean it?
Actually, though I didn't get food until 3:20 pm, I had coffee, tea and a good day! It was my first day of [local state university] class. I'm not going to blog that much about it here. I do have another blog set up for myself about the course. (One entry thus far, but if you want to read it let me know. For now, I'm going to keep it password entry only.)
After the class, I picked up N (5) and took her to art class, and Mary Poppins met me there with the other little girls (K and T)... Mary Poppins stayed for N's art class and I took K and T to the park! YIPPPEEE... It was a beautiful day. I'm so glad we could go.
It's funny, but working allows me to cherish things like sneaking away to the park with my little girls. It sounds trite, and cliche, but I am a better mother because I work (mostly). If I didn't work, I'd be depressed, I'm quite sure, and we all know that's not good for kids. If Momma aint happy, aint no one happy. (I'm not sure who said that originally, I think it's a song, but I don't have time to google it.)
I don't do well when I stay home a lot. I don't like to clean. I don't like to organize. I like to cook, but that's the end of my domestic interests pretty much. Though I'm not here with the girls for every second, when I am, I am happy. I'm working on being a little less busy (INSANE) with my "regular job" so that I can do this sneaking off to the park thing a little more.
Even though the class will take up some more of my time, it will actually make me draw a boundary between my work life at work and my home life I think. Or at least that's the plan.
By teaching this class, I am trying on a different identity. It's the identity I imagined I'd have when I went to graduate school. After graduate school, I found a terrific opportunity and I seized it. I have no regrets. I have learned a LOT. I've had a lot of fun. I've gotten to do some fabulous things. I am so happy with my career. I've been at my job for almost 10 years.
[Sidebar Assuming we get more funding to continue our work (always an if), I imagine I'll stay where I am at that job for 5-10 more years. If we don't get more funding, then it might be time for a slightly different thing for me. (KH: No worries! It would be at least a two year transition though as I am funded to do things I like for 2 more years. We'll know more about our chances for additional funding for what I like in about a month.) ]
Anyway, I am excited to be teaching this class. It's good. I'll most likely have 33 lovely students. Ask me at the end of the semester if I still describe them that way. Heh.
Okay, question for you all... Tell me your favorite stage/age of children. Or... Open Season.... Ask me any question you want about the development of kids 0-18 and I'll try to answer your question.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Cute T
Miss T (17 months) has claimed K's (32 months) baby doll for her own. Miss T carries it around all the time, feeds it all the time and tonight, went to bed with it. She is so in love with that doll! The doll does take a second to our Cat though. She loves him! She's been trying to feed him (actually feed him his food) for a couple of months now. She likes to pet him and tries to brush him. He's not so sure about this!
Froggy cuteness
To counteract some of my grumpiness from before...
When we got home from school, N decided she needed to take a bath RIGHT THEN because she wanted to recreate the life cycle of the frog. She was going to hatch from an egg, turn into a tadpole/pollywog (hence the necessity of the bath), grow front limbs and legs, not sure if she said, grow gills, but then lose a tail. Pretty cute, eh?
(As I have said before, N gets VERY into acting things out and pretending.)
When we got home from school, N decided she needed to take a bath RIGHT THEN because she wanted to recreate the life cycle of the frog. She was going to hatch from an egg, turn into a tadpole/pollywog (hence the necessity of the bath), grow front limbs and legs, not sure if she said, grow gills, but then lose a tail. Pretty cute, eh?
(As I have said before, N gets VERY into acting things out and pretending.)
I HATE traffic
From my work, to N's preschool, it takes the following amounts of time for the following pick-up times. The distance doesn't change, just the TRAFFIC. Did I mention that I hate traffic?
3:30 pick-up 10-15 minutes
4:00 pick-up 10-20 minutes
4:30 pick-up 15-25 minutes
5:00 pick-up 20-30 minutes
5:30 pick-up 25-45 minutes
6:00 pick-up 40-?? minutes
The place ends care at 6. Today, I got in my car at 5:10 and got to the school at 5:55. It was stressful. MWH was in a meeting and I couldn't get ahold of him. When he called back, at 5:45, he couldn't have left his office, walked to his car and made it to the preschool in time. [Section deleted (due to language) about MWH and his cell phone.]
I was so worried that I wasn't going to get N in time. Fortunately, I did.
From this post, you can probably guess that I was really busy today. I got a request for data from a client last night and I had to spend 2 hours thinking about it. Two hours I hadn't planned on spending on it TODAY, but that's what we have to do. My class starts tomorrow and I don't have all the copies I need of the syllabus because I had to fight with the copier. I forgot how sucky copy machines are. Of course, the good one is "out of service" and I had to use an old one. I should have looked for another one, but I didn't have that much time and I don't know where the others are (besides, if you go to another floor, people look at you funny).
Okay... More later.
3:30 pick-up 10-15 minutes
4:00 pick-up 10-20 minutes
4:30 pick-up 15-25 minutes
5:00 pick-up 20-30 minutes
5:30 pick-up 25-45 minutes
6:00 pick-up 40-?? minutes
The place ends care at 6. Today, I got in my car at 5:10 and got to the school at 5:55. It was stressful. MWH was in a meeting and I couldn't get ahold of him. When he called back, at 5:45, he couldn't have left his office, walked to his car and made it to the preschool in time. [Section deleted (due to language) about MWH and his cell phone.]
I was so worried that I wasn't going to get N in time. Fortunately, I did.
From this post, you can probably guess that I was really busy today. I got a request for data from a client last night and I had to spend 2 hours thinking about it. Two hours I hadn't planned on spending on it TODAY, but that's what we have to do. My class starts tomorrow and I don't have all the copies I need of the syllabus because I had to fight with the copier. I forgot how sucky copy machines are. Of course, the good one is "out of service" and I had to use an old one. I should have looked for another one, but I didn't have that much time and I don't know where the others are (besides, if you go to another floor, people look at you funny).
Okay... More later.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Planets (a lecture by N)
In preschool, Miss N learned all about planets at preschool. This morning, when K (32 months) and N (5) got up and joined us in bed, and MWH and I weren't quite awake we flipped on the TV for them. (I don't have a problem with a little TV here and there.) Little Einsteins were on. N and K were delighted.
The episode was about the planets. After the episode was over, N kept asking K, "Do you want me to tell you about Saturn?" Then she would say, "Saturn has a lot of moons. It's my favorite planet. It's the second biggest." Then, "Do you want me to tell you about Jupiter?" "Jupiter is the biggest planet and has a big red spot." She went on and on. MWH and I were proud!
The episode was about the planets. After the episode was over, N kept asking K, "Do you want me to tell you about Saturn?" Then she would say, "Saturn has a lot of moons. It's my favorite planet. It's the second biggest." Then, "Do you want me to tell you about Jupiter?" "Jupiter is the biggest planet and has a big red spot." She went on and on. MWH and I were proud!
making it even uglier
Our front door is pretty ugly. We've done so much to the house that now it's an eyesore.
Really.
We needed to re-key the lock, and MWH bought a kit to do so, but the kit had horrible instructions and he did part of it only to realize that if they had written better instructions he could have done a trick to make it an easy task, but they wrote AWFUL instructions and because of that, the re-keying turned into an impossible task. Replacing the door handle was the only option.
The door handle is kind of, um complex. We didn't really want to invest in another one like it. I told him it didn't matter to me if we ended up with an ugly solution.
My reasoning was, if we ended up with something really ugly we'd end up replacing the whole front door sooner because it would cause pain when we looked at it. MWH opted to go with a regular knob and cover the part of the hole in the door from the old handle with some sheets of metal. Yup. It's ugly!
Yup, I have pain when I look at it.
Yup, we have incentive to get a new door soon!
Really.
We needed to re-key the lock, and MWH bought a kit to do so, but the kit had horrible instructions and he did part of it only to realize that if they had written better instructions he could have done a trick to make it an easy task, but they wrote AWFUL instructions and because of that, the re-keying turned into an impossible task. Replacing the door handle was the only option.
The door handle is kind of, um complex. We didn't really want to invest in another one like it. I told him it didn't matter to me if we ended up with an ugly solution.
My reasoning was, if we ended up with something really ugly we'd end up replacing the whole front door sooner because it would cause pain when we looked at it. MWH opted to go with a regular knob and cover the part of the hole in the door from the old handle with some sheets of metal. Yup. It's ugly!
Yup, I have pain when I look at it.
Yup, we have incentive to get a new door soon!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
More
Today, K called carousels (K___sels). Pretty funny.
T is 17 months old, and it's not common for babies of this age to say that many words. Because she understands everything we say to her when we speak to her, I keep expecting her to speak more. (Seriously, she understands every request we give her and completes 95% of them accurately. On the other 5% she just stands and shrieks like a toddler.) She also communicates very well by pointing, nodding and screeching when she doesn't like something or when she really really wants something!
It doesn't seem like she is learning words very quickly right now (the vocabulary boom should start within a month though), but today she learned and began to say, "yuck," and "trash." (She kept trying to clean things up off the ground at the park. I kept telling her, "No, Yuck! Trash! Yuck! She began to repeat that.)
T is 17 months old, and it's not common for babies of this age to say that many words. Because she understands everything we say to her when we speak to her, I keep expecting her to speak more. (Seriously, she understands every request we give her and completes 95% of them accurately. On the other 5% she just stands and shrieks like a toddler.) She also communicates very well by pointing, nodding and screeching when she doesn't like something or when she really really wants something!
It doesn't seem like she is learning words very quickly right now (the vocabulary boom should start within a month though), but today she learned and began to say, "yuck," and "trash." (She kept trying to clean things up off the ground at the park. I kept telling her, "No, Yuck! Trash! Yuck! She began to repeat that.)
A Saturday in January
It was a fairly warm Saturday today and we decided to take the 3 little girls to this fun park (HH). N (5) remembered it from the last time we went (last April--Oh my, how TIME FLIES!) and was excited. K (32 months) was dubious when I told her it was more fun than the Mue-Z-em (her favorite spot). T (17 months) is always up for an adventure.
We headed there and played. T on the slides was very funny. She is fearless. She is perhaps the most coordinated 17 month old ever. Every parent who saw her climb and slide said, "How old is she?" She'd climb up really high stairs and then slide down really steep slides. She'd do it all by herself. She'd laugh and laugh. Some other kids, older than she, were scared of the slide. T loved it! When older kids would try to get in front of her she'd usually hold her own. She is #3 and she is Miss T!
Poor Miss N is coming down with another cold. Sigh. I don't think I wrote that we had one before Christmas, and then I'm not sure if we had another one while my friend was visiting or if it was sort of a relapse of the one we got right before Christmas. We've been well for about 2 weeks now, so I guess it's time for N to get another cold and then share it with her sisters. Sigh, sigh, sigh. Once again, I can only hope that MWH and I don't catch this one. I should probably get out the Zicam again. Miss N asked if she were ever going to be well again. Poor little drama queen girl.
Miss K is really getting to be such a big and good girl now. She still has her moments, but they are getting less frequent and less intense! Woo-hoo.
We headed there and played. T on the slides was very funny. She is fearless. She is perhaps the most coordinated 17 month old ever. Every parent who saw her climb and slide said, "How old is she?" She'd climb up really high stairs and then slide down really steep slides. She'd do it all by herself. She'd laugh and laugh. Some other kids, older than she, were scared of the slide. T loved it! When older kids would try to get in front of her she'd usually hold her own. She is #3 and she is Miss T!
Poor Miss N is coming down with another cold. Sigh. I don't think I wrote that we had one before Christmas, and then I'm not sure if we had another one while my friend was visiting or if it was sort of a relapse of the one we got right before Christmas. We've been well for about 2 weeks now, so I guess it's time for N to get another cold and then share it with her sisters. Sigh, sigh, sigh. Once again, I can only hope that MWH and I don't catch this one. I should probably get out the Zicam again. Miss N asked if she were ever going to be well again. Poor little drama queen girl.
Miss K is really getting to be such a big and good girl now. She still has her moments, but they are getting less frequent and less intense! Woo-hoo.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Poor MWH!
Tonight, as MWH was helping K (32 months), our Girly-girl (TM) get ready for her bath, he said, "Let me take off your pants." She looked him straight in the eye and said, "These are tights Daddy." Heh.
Shoes!
As I was getting T (17 months) ready for bed last night, I took off one shoe. I had struggled to take it off, but finally I got it off her foot. T grabbed the other shoe, undid the velcro and easily pulled it off of her foot and handed me the shoe. She gave me sort of smug look when she handed it to me, as if to say, it works better when you do it this way.
Cat call
Let's try again. Today, I got a cat call. I haven't received one in years! I was at [local state university] and crossing a street. A guy yelled, appreciatively, out the window of his car. I felt special.
I was on the phone with MWH and we laughed!
Sent via my BlackBerry
Everything!
Today I woke up at 6 am because I was stressed out! (I never wake up early because of stress.) I tried to go back to sleep for a while, but decided that I should probably just get up and do some work.
I got up and spent most of the time working on my course (Human Development starting on 1/24).
Here's what's on the table for today.
I have to run to [local state university] and try to meet with the mentor professor and finish all the paperwork for getting online accounts and etc. for teaching the class.
I have to work on that paper. I was supposed to give it back to my colleague today, but I haven't even had a chance to open it since she sent it to me on Wednesday. I did finish my part of the annual report (I think). (I'm waiting to hear back from my supervisor to confirm that I'm done.)
I have to go to N's preschool and do a 15 minute presentation on "America." Um, Yikes? It's cultural week at her preschool and I agreed to this. Do I know what I'm doing? Kind of... I'll tell you about that later. This one is the thing that is stressing me out the most today.
I got up and spent most of the time working on my course (Human Development starting on 1/24).
Here's what's on the table for today.
I have to run to [local state university] and try to meet with the mentor professor and finish all the paperwork for getting online accounts and etc. for teaching the class.
I have to work on that paper. I was supposed to give it back to my colleague today, but I haven't even had a chance to open it since she sent it to me on Wednesday. I did finish my part of the annual report (I think). (I'm waiting to hear back from my supervisor to confirm that I'm done.)
I have to go to N's preschool and do a 15 minute presentation on "America." Um, Yikes? It's cultural week at her preschool and I agreed to this. Do I know what I'm doing? Kind of... I'll tell you about that later. This one is the thing that is stressing me out the most today.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
The incredible adventures of Miss K and the Potty....
Okay, the title is probably a little over the top, eh?
Miss K (2.5) is potty training. She's gotten pretty far on her own. Seriously...on her own. I have done so little. She is the most self-sufficient and independent girl EVER. Seriously.
She started potty training herself around 18-20 months. We were all delighted. She would take herself into the bathroom, take off her own diaper and go. All. by. herself. I figured I'd get her potty trained over the summer. However, over the summer I was too busy and T was still so young. I couldn't deal with potty training too.
She's now 2 years 8 months. She's now enrolled in a preschool for the summer (starting in June) that requires her to be potty trained. It's time to start getting more serious.
She runs around saying, "I'm going to go to preschool after I learn to use the potty all the time and not wear diapers or pull-ups."
That's her mantra.
She wants to do it, but she forgets. N was all dry by the time she was 2 years 10 months. She got serious about it when she was 2 years 9 months. I was encouraging very strongly and bribing all the time! N was really good at staying dry, but NOT good at the whole pooping on the potty thing. (N didn't master that until 3 years 2 months.)
Miss K, of course, is the opposite. She has been pooping on the potty perfectly for MONTHS! I was excited when it happened. A wet diaper is no big deal. The other kind are! Not having to deal with those is NICE.
Miss K stays dry if we ask her to go to the bathroom every 2 - 3 hours. She could manage to stay dry at preschool now, if it started tomorrow, because preschool is only 3 hours long and they do have a scheduled potty break.
Right now, I guess it's more than "asking" her. It's asking and then HAVING her go. If you ask, and then don't have her go, she will end up going in her diaper with in 1/2 hour or so. She's pretty suggestible.
We're at the point where as long as we "make her" go, she stays dry! She even has stayed dry overnight a couple of nights. Woo-hoo!
I've tried sticking "big girl" pants under her pull-up, and she had one "accident" but I haven't done that consistently. This weekend we'll do wear big girl pants under her pull-up again. I'm not stressing about the potty training thing this time. With N, I stressed much more. I am so much more mellow this time. I know she'll do it someday, and I'm guessing pretty soon (within a couple of months).
As soon as she "learns to use the potty all the time and not wear diapers or pull-ups." she and I are going SHOE shopping. She is my shoe girl.
Shoes! It's. all. about. shoes! And preschool. She is so excited for preschool.
Miss K (2.5) is potty training. She's gotten pretty far on her own. Seriously...on her own. I have done so little. She is the most self-sufficient and independent girl EVER. Seriously.
She started potty training herself around 18-20 months. We were all delighted. She would take herself into the bathroom, take off her own diaper and go. All. by. herself. I figured I'd get her potty trained over the summer. However, over the summer I was too busy and T was still so young. I couldn't deal with potty training too.
She's now 2 years 8 months. She's now enrolled in a preschool for the summer (starting in June) that requires her to be potty trained. It's time to start getting more serious.
She runs around saying, "I'm going to go to preschool after I learn to use the potty all the time and not wear diapers or pull-ups."
That's her mantra.
She wants to do it, but she forgets. N was all dry by the time she was 2 years 10 months. She got serious about it when she was 2 years 9 months. I was encouraging very strongly and bribing all the time! N was really good at staying dry, but NOT good at the whole pooping on the potty thing. (N didn't master that until 3 years 2 months.)
Miss K, of course, is the opposite. She has been pooping on the potty perfectly for MONTHS! I was excited when it happened. A wet diaper is no big deal. The other kind are! Not having to deal with those is NICE.
Miss K stays dry if we ask her to go to the bathroom every 2 - 3 hours. She could manage to stay dry at preschool now, if it started tomorrow, because preschool is only 3 hours long and they do have a scheduled potty break.
Right now, I guess it's more than "asking" her. It's asking and then HAVING her go. If you ask, and then don't have her go, she will end up going in her diaper with in 1/2 hour or so. She's pretty suggestible.
We're at the point where as long as we "make her" go, she stays dry! She even has stayed dry overnight a couple of nights. Woo-hoo!
I've tried sticking "big girl" pants under her pull-up, and she had one "accident" but I haven't done that consistently. This weekend we'll do wear big girl pants under her pull-up again. I'm not stressing about the potty training thing this time. With N, I stressed much more. I am so much more mellow this time. I know she'll do it someday, and I'm guessing pretty soon (within a couple of months).
As soon as she "learns to use the potty all the time and not wear diapers or pull-ups." she and I are going SHOE shopping. She is my shoe girl.
Shoes! It's. all. about. shoes! And preschool. She is so excited for preschool.
We have no towel bars!
Since we moved in (almost a month ago), we've had no towel bars. I'm happy to report that we still don't have towel bars, but we now have towel hooks in the bathrooms! Woo-hoo. MWH rocks!
[Begin somewhat related comment...
I've made it a goal to empty 1-2 boxes a week until we are done. At that rate, I shouldn't have too many boxes left at the end of the year. Within a couple of months I won't have many boxes except for the ones full of books. We have about 50? boxes full of books. We need to either buy some new book shelves or build some shelves in the office. We haven't decided.
End somewhat related comment]
[Begin somewhat related comment...
I've made it a goal to empty 1-2 boxes a week until we are done. At that rate, I shouldn't have too many boxes left at the end of the year. Within a couple of months I won't have many boxes except for the ones full of books. We have about 50? boxes full of books. We need to either buy some new book shelves or build some shelves in the office. We haven't decided.
End somewhat related comment]
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
never burn bridges....
I am always amazed at how some people, people you hope to not ever have to work with again, reappear....
It's even worse when they reappear and have POWER.
Yup... a person from my past is coming back. I was always nice to her, but I had really really really hoped I wouldn't have to deal with her again.
It's even worse when they reappear and have POWER.
Yup... a person from my past is coming back. I was always nice to her, but I had really really really hoped I wouldn't have to deal with her again.
don't even know what to call this one...
I got my hair trimmed on Saturday. I think in about a week I'll really like the cut. Right now, it's a little too short. Don't you hate that? I feel a little like a freshly shorn sheep (or as I imagine they would feel after a shearing.)
Whenever I get my hair cut, I think about my stylist's poor mother. She had three children. When the third child was born, the first child was 27 months old. CAN YOU IMAGINE? I can't. My first child was 44 months old and I couldn't believe that 3 children in 44 months was possible.
My back is not happy at all today.
I need to get back to my report now.
Whenever I get my hair cut, I think about my stylist's poor mother. She had three children. When the third child was born, the first child was 27 months old. CAN YOU IMAGINE? I can't. My first child was 44 months old and I couldn't believe that 3 children in 44 months was possible.
My back is not happy at all today.
I need to get back to my report now.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Probably shouldn't blog tonight...
Long day. I still have many miles to go before I sleep.
I forgot a meeting today.
(I HATE IT WHEN I DO THAT.) (MY REMINDER TECHNOLOGY FAILED ME BECAUSE I FORGOT TO STICK IN THE REMINDER, so I guess I failed it.) Me=loser.
Hopefully forgetting the meeting won't have damaged the (new) relationship with this group too much. I think it will be okay. (I think the guy I was supposed to meet with has children, and can therefore understand.)
********
I went to my dance class tonight. I took a break for most of November and all of December in an attempt to let my back recover a bit. I think I probably un-did all the recovery that happened in that month or so in one class. D'oh! and Ouch! I should probably ice my back tonight.
The girls have to get used to me going to my dance class again. They weren't in bed / lights out until 10:15 because I didn't get home until 9:30. They like their Mommy to say good night and snuggle.
********
N (5) didn't listen to what I said today and broke a toy. I got upset, and tried talking to her. She just doesn't get it. So frustrating.
********
I have a potty-training post that I'm working on about K (2 years 8 months). (Kind of funny because my friend KH just wrote one and she and I often experience parallel lives.)
********
I am looking forward to having an "All T all the time day" soon. My little one hasn't gotten enough one-on-one Mommy lately and I feel bad.
I'm tired. Have to go work on that Annual Report.
I forgot a meeting today.
(I HATE IT WHEN I DO THAT.) (MY REMINDER TECHNOLOGY FAILED ME BECAUSE I FORGOT TO STICK IN THE REMINDER, so I guess I failed it.) Me=loser.
Hopefully forgetting the meeting won't have damaged the (new) relationship with this group too much. I think it will be okay. (I think the guy I was supposed to meet with has children, and can therefore understand.)
********
I went to my dance class tonight. I took a break for most of November and all of December in an attempt to let my back recover a bit. I think I probably un-did all the recovery that happened in that month or so in one class. D'oh! and Ouch! I should probably ice my back tonight.
The girls have to get used to me going to my dance class again. They weren't in bed / lights out until 10:15 because I didn't get home until 9:30. They like their Mommy to say good night and snuggle.
********
N (5) didn't listen to what I said today and broke a toy. I got upset, and tried talking to her. She just doesn't get it. So frustrating.
********
I have a potty-training post that I'm working on about K (2 years 8 months). (Kind of funny because my friend KH just wrote one and she and I often experience parallel lives.)
********
I am looking forward to having an "All T all the time day" soon. My little one hasn't gotten enough one-on-one Mommy lately and I feel bad.
I'm tired. Have to go work on that Annual Report.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
No sick pigs in my house
Today, Miss N (5) woke up and decided that she was a "sick pig." Why, I do not know.
Being a sick pig entailed crawling around on the floor and coughing. A lot. I couldn't take it any more. I told her that I would not allow a sick pig in my house. A healthy one, fine, but not a sick one. Sick pigs must go outside all by themselves. Suddenly, she was well.
Being a sick pig entailed crawling around on the floor and coughing. A lot. I couldn't take it any more. I told her that I would not allow a sick pig in my house. A healthy one, fine, but not a sick one. Sick pigs must go outside all by themselves. Suddenly, she was well.
boyfriend?!
Miss N says that one of the little boys from preschool who came to her birthday party is her boyfriend... We were asking her about him and she couldn't stop talking. Oh my! She's spoken of him quite a bit, but I thought it was because he was always getting into trouble... I didn't realize she liked him.
Papers and Reports...
Yup... That's what I'm working on today. So much to do. So little time.
I have decided that working in 15-20 minute increments doesn't really help me. I need two-hour blocks of time to really make progress. I'm trying to make that happen so I can be more effective and productive.
*****************
Here's a little Alfred report for you... He's so wonderful.
I haven't ever seen a Roomba commercial, but if they don't talk about how the robot can easily clean under your bed for you, they are missing a VERY IMPORTANT selling point. I LOVE HIM FOR THAT ALONE. I love him for many other reasons, but the fact that he gets all that dust from under my bed is amazing.
*****************
We're getting ready to have dinner with one of MWH's family members. The little girls are excited. I'm making a marvelous wintery-hearty soup. I'll share the recipe with you later. (Remind me if I forget.)
*****************
Sometimes I do wonder how MWH and I keep going. We're both so busy. But somehow we do keep going. I guess the secret is to not think about how crazy it is... If we did, we'd probably cry and not be able to stop crying. We do laugh a lot. I think it keeps us sane. Laughter is pretty amazing stuff.
I have decided that working in 15-20 minute increments doesn't really help me. I need two-hour blocks of time to really make progress. I'm trying to make that happen so I can be more effective and productive.
*****************
Here's a little Alfred report for you... He's so wonderful.
I haven't ever seen a Roomba commercial, but if they don't talk about how the robot can easily clean under your bed for you, they are missing a VERY IMPORTANT selling point. I LOVE HIM FOR THAT ALONE. I love him for many other reasons, but the fact that he gets all that dust from under my bed is amazing.
*****************
We're getting ready to have dinner with one of MWH's family members. The little girls are excited. I'm making a marvelous wintery-hearty soup. I'll share the recipe with you later. (Remind me if I forget.)
*****************
Sometimes I do wonder how MWH and I keep going. We're both so busy. But somehow we do keep going. I guess the secret is to not think about how crazy it is... If we did, we'd probably cry and not be able to stop crying. We do laugh a lot. I think it keeps us sane. Laughter is pretty amazing stuff.
You didn't ask...
Here's some free advice... If you're a consultant, and you've gotten the feeling that the people you are working for might think you're a little overpaid, don't send an email summarizing all of days you've worked over the course of a year (80!) and suggest that you need more time for the next year.
Good grief... A full-time job is only 250 days. How could our consultant have possibly worked 80????? That's nearly 1/3 time. The consultant has another full-time job and other consulting gigs. I am one of the leaders of the project and I probably didn't even work 80 days on that project.
80. Wow. Not sure how.
[Edited to add: Especially, don't tell someone that you were given 80 days of pay for the work you did when the person you are telling will soon be doing all of the work you did plus more and getting paid for only 10 days worth of time. I'm just saying.]
[Edited to add, again, I think perhaps it was 80 days over 2 years, which is a bit better, but still a lot. (Also don't write a confusing email that causes people to think you worked 80 days in 1 year when it was really two years!) I looked and found that I worked 60 days on that particular project last year.]
Good grief... A full-time job is only 250 days. How could our consultant have possibly worked 80????? That's nearly 1/3 time. The consultant has another full-time job and other consulting gigs. I am one of the leaders of the project and I probably didn't even work 80 days on that project.
80. Wow. Not sure how.
[Edited to add: Especially, don't tell someone that you were given 80 days of pay for the work you did when the person you are telling will soon be doing all of the work you did plus more and getting paid for only 10 days worth of time. I'm just saying.]
[Edited to add, again, I think perhaps it was 80 days over 2 years, which is a bit better, but still a lot. (Also don't write a confusing email that causes people to think you worked 80 days in 1 year when it was really two years!) I looked and found that I worked 60 days on that particular project last year.]
Saturday, January 13, 2007
T is for...
totally turning into a toddler who is close to two. Okay, she's not yet 18 months (not even 17) but she is sassy!
With all 3 girls, they had their "terrible twos" before age two. I decided that terrible twos started right after the first birthday in the second year, not at the second birthday. I think a lot of the "terrible" comes from the fact that they have opinions but can't yet speak. They are frustrated!
She's growing up so fast. She loves to sit at the table and color now. She loves to color on the bathtub walls with the bath crayons.
1. This morning, she picked out a pair of pants and refused to wear anything else. They were cute, but dang... We're in trouble. Miss K didn't start expressing strong opinions about her clothes until she was over 2.
2. I think T is trading places with K. (K's getting easier... T's getting harder.)
3. T totally talks back. If she doesn't like something she tells you about it!
I remember watching T a few months ago wondering if she'd ever be difficult. Well, she's getting there. Not horrible 'cause she's a pretty easy going girl, but certainly not as easy as she was 6 months ago. She's got opinions! She is so independent!
*************************
One funny thing, and I'm not sure if I recorded this or not... (not sure if I should, but hey, why not)
T trims her own nails... I guess she must bite them, but I've never seen her bite them and they aren't really bitten looking.
Many months ago, I realized that I hadn't trimmed her nails in a while and I went to do it. They were trimmed. Excellent, I thought, Mary Poppins is trimming her nails. The next time I had a chance, I thanked Mary Poppins. She said, "But I'm not trimming them." Huh...? MWH wasn't doing them either. We decided she must be doing them herself.
With all 3 girls, they had their "terrible twos" before age two. I decided that terrible twos started right after the first birthday in the second year, not at the second birthday. I think a lot of the "terrible" comes from the fact that they have opinions but can't yet speak. They are frustrated!
She's growing up so fast. She loves to sit at the table and color now. She loves to color on the bathtub walls with the bath crayons.
1. This morning, she picked out a pair of pants and refused to wear anything else. They were cute, but dang... We're in trouble. Miss K didn't start expressing strong opinions about her clothes until she was over 2.
2. I think T is trading places with K. (K's getting easier... T's getting harder.)
3. T totally talks back. If she doesn't like something she tells you about it!
I remember watching T a few months ago wondering if she'd ever be difficult. Well, she's getting there. Not horrible 'cause she's a pretty easy going girl, but certainly not as easy as she was 6 months ago. She's got opinions! She is so independent!
*************************
One funny thing, and I'm not sure if I recorded this or not... (not sure if I should, but hey, why not)
T trims her own nails... I guess she must bite them, but I've never seen her bite them and they aren't really bitten looking.
Many months ago, I realized that I hadn't trimmed her nails in a while and I went to do it. They were trimmed. Excellent, I thought, Mary Poppins is trimming her nails. The next time I had a chance, I thanked Mary Poppins. She said, "But I'm not trimming them." Huh...? MWH wasn't doing them either. We decided she must be doing them herself.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Snippets X 3
N (5!) has recently become aware of mortality. Recently, she got a "baby balloon" ('cause it was kind of little) from the grocery store. She was sitting in her car seat holding a conversation with it on our drive home. (N was being both N and the baby balloon (BB).)
N: You'll grow up soon baby balloon.
BB: I'll get bigger?
N: Yes, soon you'll be 1 week, then 2, then 3.
BB: I can't wait to have my birthday party
N: Yes, then you'll get older.
BB: I don't want to get older and die.
N: Don't worry, you won't die, you'll pop.
****************************
K (2.5) is our little social butterfly. The other night she was talking to her Grandma on the phone. She was telling Grandma about something and Grandma was asking lots of questions. Finally, there was a pause. Miss K said, "And how are you Grandma?"
K, N and MWH were reading books in K and N's bedroom. I was sitting on the couch doing something (probably blogging) and K came out and said, "Mommy, we're reading books, won't you come join us?"
Did I tell you K knows how to spell her name? I have her spelling it on video. I might stick it on the web and if you want to see it, let me know your email address (if I don't have it.) (Don't worry, I'll delete comments with email addresses in them.)
****************************
This next one is a little hard to believe, but both Mary Poppins and I heard it and were shocked! We both really think T said this.
Background: In our new house, we have a garbage compactor. T (16.5 months) has figured out how to turn it on. She likes doing this. She does her little "happy T dance" when she does it. The other morning she turned it on and Mary Poppins was asking her about whether she should.
MP: Who said you could turn that on?
T: I said.
MP: Oh you did?
T: I did.
MP: Get over here you little rascal.
T: [runs off laughing]
N: You'll grow up soon baby balloon.
BB: I'll get bigger?
N: Yes, soon you'll be 1 week, then 2, then 3.
BB: I can't wait to have my birthday party
N: Yes, then you'll get older.
BB: I don't want to get older and die.
N: Don't worry, you won't die, you'll pop.
****************************
K (2.5) is our little social butterfly. The other night she was talking to her Grandma on the phone. She was telling Grandma about something and Grandma was asking lots of questions. Finally, there was a pause. Miss K said, "And how are you Grandma?"
K, N and MWH were reading books in K and N's bedroom. I was sitting on the couch doing something (probably blogging) and K came out and said, "Mommy, we're reading books, won't you come join us?"
Did I tell you K knows how to spell her name? I have her spelling it on video. I might stick it on the web and if you want to see it, let me know your email address (if I don't have it.) (Don't worry, I'll delete comments with email addresses in them.)
****************************
This next one is a little hard to believe, but both Mary Poppins and I heard it and were shocked! We both really think T said this.
Background: In our new house, we have a garbage compactor. T (16.5 months) has figured out how to turn it on. She likes doing this. She does her little "happy T dance" when she does it. The other morning she turned it on and Mary Poppins was asking her about whether she should.
MP: Who said you could turn that on?
T: I said.
MP: Oh you did?
T: I did.
MP: Get over here you little rascal.
T: [runs off laughing]
sustained, fortified and Thank you!
Thanks guys. Welcome Alice! (I have a special post for you that I was working on already (coincidentally before I knew your speciality). It's snippets of some conversations.) And, Yay! MWH commented. (Isn't he cute?)
If you're still lurking out there, please feel free to comment when ever! It is odd to blog, but I've found, if you've taken the plunge to blog and stuck with it, it's probably because you want to have conversations with people. So that means, please feel free to comment any time!!!!!
For me, when I started, I didn't want to have conversations with people. I just wanted to try out this new tool and understand it (for work). Then I started commenting myself and talking with people and I realized that it is fun to have the conversation, and the conversation and dialogue is an important part of the blogosphere. I mean I "knew" that when I started, but my belief is that if you live something (e.g., blogging) you understand it in a whole new way.
Okay... If any one else wants to de-lurk, please please do! And don't feel like you have to wait until next year on de-lurking week.... You have an open invitation to de-lurk any time!!!!
And now back to our regularly scheduled Crazy-Mommy blog.
If you're still lurking out there, please feel free to comment when ever! It is odd to blog, but I've found, if you've taken the plunge to blog and stuck with it, it's probably because you want to have conversations with people. So that means, please feel free to comment any time!!!!!
For me, when I started, I didn't want to have conversations with people. I just wanted to try out this new tool and understand it (for work). Then I started commenting myself and talking with people and I realized that it is fun to have the conversation, and the conversation and dialogue is an important part of the blogosphere. I mean I "knew" that when I started, but my belief is that if you live something (e.g., blogging) you understand it in a whole new way.
Okay... If any one else wants to de-lurk, please please do! And don't feel like you have to wait until next year on de-lurking week.... You have an open invitation to de-lurk any time!!!!
And now back to our regularly scheduled Crazy-Mommy blog.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
National De-lurking Week
As invented by Papernapkin.
If you read my blog, please let me know! Even if I know you and know you read, leave me a comment. If I don't know you, then please de-lurk. It doesn't hurt. I promise. I'd love to know why you read. Really. Really! Pretty please? Or if you don't want to leave a long comment, then just say, "Hi!"
Every now and then I'm troubled by the blog...The whole blog thing is a little random. When I stop to think about it, I can't believe I actually write a lot of details about my life and publish them on the Internet. However, I've met lots of nice people (see sidebar) and I read lots of other people's blogs and I find them so useful and interesting. I would love to know more about the people who read this on a regular basis. Your comments will sustain and fortify me.
I personally vow that I will de-lurk on a couple of blogs that I read, but where I don't comment. C'mon, de-lurk... Everyone's doing it! (Tee hee... Peer pressure.)
Thanks and XOXO!
If you read my blog, please let me know! Even if I know you and know you read, leave me a comment. If I don't know you, then please de-lurk. It doesn't hurt. I promise. I'd love to know why you read. Really. Really! Pretty please? Or if you don't want to leave a long comment, then just say, "Hi!"
Every now and then I'm troubled by the blog...The whole blog thing is a little random. When I stop to think about it, I can't believe I actually write a lot of details about my life and publish them on the Internet. However, I've met lots of nice people (see sidebar) and I read lots of other people's blogs and I find them so useful and interesting. I would love to know more about the people who read this on a regular basis. Your comments will sustain and fortify me.
I personally vow that I will de-lurk on a couple of blogs that I read, but where I don't comment. C'mon, de-lurk... Everyone's doing it! (Tee hee... Peer pressure.)
Thanks and XOXO!
It's back....
Sometimes it seems I'm haunted by my work.
This paper is back. I knew it would be back, but ....
I'm having a hard time getting my head back into it. I'm having a hard time wanting to get into it because of the love-hate relationship I have with writing academic papers. We got reviewer comments on it. Though I know when we address their comments we will have a stronger paper, I don't like their comments. I don't like the way most academics write comments. They have a such condescending air to them. Like, "Gasp! You didn't consider XXXXX? It is obvious you are stupid." Okay, maybe not, but that's what I read.
Oh, and an annual report and my self-evaluationare due soon. I have a lot of other things going on with 2 other projects and for these things I listed in this post, I need a LOT of time to concentrate on them. I don't have it. If I blog less, this is why. (If I blog more, I'm procrastinating.) (Just thought you'd want to know.)
This paper is back. I knew it would be back, but ....
I'm having a hard time getting my head back into it. I'm having a hard time wanting to get into it because of the love-hate relationship I have with writing academic papers. We got reviewer comments on it. Though I know when we address their comments we will have a stronger paper, I don't like their comments. I don't like the way most academics write comments. They have a such condescending air to them. Like, "Gasp! You didn't consider XXXXX? It is obvious you are stupid." Okay, maybe not, but that's what I read.
Oh, and an annual report and my self-evaluationare due soon. I have a lot of other things going on with 2 other projects and for these things I listed in this post, I need a LOT of time to concentrate on them. I don't have it. If I blog less, this is why. (If I blog more, I'm procrastinating.) (Just thought you'd want to know.)
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Being awake is painful....
That's where I am today. It happens about once every week or two. Even caffeine can't help. Must sleep soon. I tried to take a nap, but I'm too stressed. When I shut my eyes, the billion things I need to do just float in my head.
N's Birthday
N's birthday was great. N is great. She is 5 now. We had fun. To celebrate, we had N's first nanny and husband, and her current nanny for dinner last night. It was low-key, but we'd already done the BIG party on Friday. (I still have thank you notes to write too!)
I didn't get a picture of it, but when we sang happy birthday to her last night, she looked a little like the Statue of Liberty. I had baked cupcakes for her party, and cupcakes for preschool, and I just didn't have any more time to bake anything else. We decided to do ice cream cones last night. N LOVES ice cream cones, so I figured she'd be fine with this. I stuck the birthday candle (a 5) on top of her ice cream cone and lit it. She held the cone up as we sang to her, kind of like a flaming torch, ergo Statue of Liberty.
She is such a sweet and cool kid. She is smart too. She loves counting to 100 now. She is back into trains and less into princesses! I can't believe she's 5. She is excited to be 5. I am still adjusting. Wowza. A 5 year old. Who would have thought?
I just asked MWH if he has anything he wanted to record for posterity about N on her 5th birthday.... First, before I record what he wants me to record, I have to explain that MWH loves his shower. His shower is usually a 30-40 minute event in the morning. He thought a long time about what features he wanted in the new shower that he designed. He did a great job. I have to say that I really appreciate the new shower, but I probably take it forgranted. He did a great job. (MWH takes cheese forgranted--heh... Just too tired to explain that one though. Diversity makes the world less boring though.)
MWH wants to record how N has decided she is old enough for a shower.
In the new shower in the girls' bathroom, the shower is adjustable height. N is now proudly taking a shower, with the shower adjusted for a 45 inch (or so) tall person, behind the shower curtain, all by herself, as she puts it, "Just like a Grown-up."
Last night, she said, "Look, I'm washing my hair, just like a grown up. Look, I'm washing my face, just like a grown up. Look, I'm taking a shower, just like a grown-up."
Just like a grown up.
Where did my first baby go? How did she get so big? It's wonderful, it's fun to watch, but I can't believe it.
I didn't get a picture of it, but when we sang happy birthday to her last night, she looked a little like the Statue of Liberty. I had baked cupcakes for her party, and cupcakes for preschool, and I just didn't have any more time to bake anything else. We decided to do ice cream cones last night. N LOVES ice cream cones, so I figured she'd be fine with this. I stuck the birthday candle (a 5) on top of her ice cream cone and lit it. She held the cone up as we sang to her, kind of like a flaming torch, ergo Statue of Liberty.
She is such a sweet and cool kid. She is smart too. She loves counting to 100 now. She is back into trains and less into princesses! I can't believe she's 5. She is excited to be 5. I am still adjusting. Wowza. A 5 year old. Who would have thought?
I just asked MWH if he has anything he wanted to record for posterity about N on her 5th birthday.... First, before I record what he wants me to record, I have to explain that MWH loves his shower. His shower is usually a 30-40 minute event in the morning. He thought a long time about what features he wanted in the new shower that he designed. He did a great job. I have to say that I really appreciate the new shower, but I probably take it forgranted. He did a great job. (MWH takes cheese forgranted--heh... Just too tired to explain that one though. Diversity makes the world less boring though.)
MWH wants to record how N has decided she is old enough for a shower.
In the new shower in the girls' bathroom, the shower is adjustable height. N is now proudly taking a shower, with the shower adjusted for a 45 inch (or so) tall person, behind the shower curtain, all by herself, as she puts it, "Just like a Grown-up."
Last night, she said, "Look, I'm washing my hair, just like a grown up. Look, I'm washing my face, just like a grown up. Look, I'm taking a shower, just like a grown-up."
Just like a grown up.
Where did my first baby go? How did she get so big? It's wonderful, it's fun to watch, but I can't believe it.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Very brief
Kind of drained.
My friend left today. I hope her children are sleeping on the plane right now! I hope she is too.
Work is busy. Big meetings early in the morning for both MWH and me (separate ones at our separate work places).
Baked more cupcakes for my little girl who is turning 5 TODAY (it's after midnight!). That's kind of emotional too--the turning 5 part, not the baking part. I still have to plan a little birthday get together that will happen tomorrow at dinner and clean the house.
Exhausted now.
My friend left today. I hope her children are sleeping on the plane right now! I hope she is too.
Work is busy. Big meetings early in the morning for both MWH and me (separate ones at our separate work places).
Baked more cupcakes for my little girl who is turning 5 TODAY (it's after midnight!). That's kind of emotional too--the turning 5 part, not the baking part. I still have to plan a little birthday get together that will happen tomorrow at dinner and clean the house.
Exhausted now.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Medicalization of Society
I've been thinking a lot about this (see below). I loved this perspective. (Someday, when life is a little more settled I'll write my own thoughts on this, but today, I have a lot of work to do and very little time left to get it done. Three little girls are cute, but they can be demanding!)
The perspective is from http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/editorial/16404189.htm. (That link should take you to the article, but I know at some point it won't work so I'm also pasting the content below. I'm giving full credit to the authors, but I will want to read the text again in the future.)
Posted on Sun, Jan. 07, 2007
New health threat: an epidemic of diagnoses
SOME MEDICAL TREATMENTS CAN PUT HEALTHY PEOPLE AT UNNECESSARY RISK
By H. Gilbert Welch, Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin
For most Americans, the biggest health threat is not avian flu, West Nile virus or ``mad cow'' disease. It's our health care system.
You might think this is because doctors make mistakes (we do make mistakes). But you can't be a victim of medical error if you are not in the health care system. The larger threat posed by American medicine is that more and more of us are being drawn into the system not because of an epidemic of disease, but because of an epidemic of diagnoses.
Americans live longer than ever, yet more of us are told we are sick. How can this be? One reason is that we devote more resources to medical care than any other country. Some of this investment is productive, curing disease and alleviating suffering. But it also leads to more diagnoses, a trend that has become an epidemic.
This epidemic is a threat to your health. It has two distinct sources. One is the medicalization of everyday life. Most of us experience physical or emotional sensations we don't like, and in the past, this was considered a part of life. Increasingly, however, such sensations are considered symptoms of disease. Everyday experiences like insomnia, sadness, twitchy legs and impaired sex drive now become diagnoses: sleep disorder, depression, restless leg syndrome and sexual dysfunction.
Perhaps most worrisome is the medicalization of childhood. If children cough after exercising, they have asthma; if they have trouble reading, they are dyslexic; if they are unhappy, they are depressed; and if they alternate between unhappiness and liveliness, they have bipolar disorder. While these diagnoses may benefit the few with severe symptoms, one has to wonder about the effect on the many whose symptoms are mild, intermittent or transient.
The other source is the drive to find disease early. While diagnoses used to be reserved for serious illness, we now diagnose illness in people who have no symptoms at all, those with so-called pre-disease or those ``at risk.''
Two developments accelerate this process. First, advanced technology allows doctors to look really hard for things to be wrong. We can detect trace molecules in the blood. We can direct fiber-optic devices into every orifice. And CT scans, ultrasounds, MRI and PET scans let doctors define subtle structural defects deep inside the body. These technologies make it possible to give a diagnosis to just about everybody: arthritis in people without joint pain, stomach damage in people without heartburn, and prostate cancer in over a million people who, but for testing, would have lived as long without being a cancer patient.
Second, the rules are changing. Expert panels constantly expand what constitutes disease: thresholds for diagnosing diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis and obesity have all fallen in the past few years. The criterion for normal cholesterol has dropped multiple times. With these changes, disease can now be diagnosed in more than half the population.
Most of us assume that all this additional diagnosis can be only beneficial. And some of it surely is. But at the extreme, the logic of early detection is absurd. If more than half of us are sick, what does it mean to be normal? Many more of us harbor pre-disease than will ever get disease, and all of us are ``at risk.'' The medicalization of everyday life is no less problematic. Exactly what are we doing to our children when 40 percent of summer campers are on one or more chronic prescription medications?
No one should take the process of making people into patients lightly. There are real drawbacks. Simply labeling people as diseased can make them feel anxious and vulnerable -- a particular concern in children.
But the real problem with the epidemic of diagnoses is that it leads to an epidemic of treatments. Not all treatments have important benefits, but almost all can have harms. Sometimes the harms are known, but often the harms of new therapies take years to emerge -- after many have been exposed. For the severely ill, these harms generally pale relative to the potential benefits. But for those experiencing mild symptoms, the harms become much more relevant. And for the many labeled as having pre-disease or as being at risk but destined to remain healthy, treatment can only cause harm.
The epidemic of diagnoses has many causes. More diagnoses mean more money for drug manufacturers, hospitals, physicians and disease advocacy groups. Researchers, and even the disease-based organization of the National Institutes of Health, secure their stature (and financing) by promoting the detection of ``their'' disease. Medico-legal concerns also drive the epidemic. While failing to make a diagnosis can result in lawsuits, there are no corresponding penalties for over-diagnosis. Thus, the path of least resistance for clinicians is to diagnose liberally -- even when we wonder if doing so really helps our patients.
As more of us are being told we are sick, fewer of us are being told we are well. People need to think hard about the benefits and risks of increased diagnosis: The fundamental question they face is whether or not to become a patient. And doctors need to remember the value of reassuring people that they are not sick. Perhaps someone should start monitoring a new health metric: the proportion of the population not requiring medical care. And the National Institutes of Health could propose a new goal for medical researchers: reduce the need for medical services, not increase it.
The authors are senior research associates at the VA Outcomes Group in Vermont. They wrote this article for the New York Times.
DR. H. GILBERT WELCH is the author of ``Should I Be Tested for Cancer? Maybe Not and Here's Why.'' DRS. LISA SCHWARTZ and STEVEN WOLOSHIN
The perspective is from http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/editorial/16404189.htm. (That link should take you to the article, but I know at some point it won't work so I'm also pasting the content below. I'm giving full credit to the authors, but I will want to read the text again in the future.)
Posted on Sun, Jan. 07, 2007
New health threat: an epidemic of diagnoses
SOME MEDICAL TREATMENTS CAN PUT HEALTHY PEOPLE AT UNNECESSARY RISK
By H. Gilbert Welch, Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin
For most Americans, the biggest health threat is not avian flu, West Nile virus or ``mad cow'' disease. It's our health care system.
You might think this is because doctors make mistakes (we do make mistakes). But you can't be a victim of medical error if you are not in the health care system. The larger threat posed by American medicine is that more and more of us are being drawn into the system not because of an epidemic of disease, but because of an epidemic of diagnoses.
Americans live longer than ever, yet more of us are told we are sick. How can this be? One reason is that we devote more resources to medical care than any other country. Some of this investment is productive, curing disease and alleviating suffering. But it also leads to more diagnoses, a trend that has become an epidemic.
This epidemic is a threat to your health. It has two distinct sources. One is the medicalization of everyday life. Most of us experience physical or emotional sensations we don't like, and in the past, this was considered a part of life. Increasingly, however, such sensations are considered symptoms of disease. Everyday experiences like insomnia, sadness, twitchy legs and impaired sex drive now become diagnoses: sleep disorder, depression, restless leg syndrome and sexual dysfunction.
Perhaps most worrisome is the medicalization of childhood. If children cough after exercising, they have asthma; if they have trouble reading, they are dyslexic; if they are unhappy, they are depressed; and if they alternate between unhappiness and liveliness, they have bipolar disorder. While these diagnoses may benefit the few with severe symptoms, one has to wonder about the effect on the many whose symptoms are mild, intermittent or transient.
The other source is the drive to find disease early. While diagnoses used to be reserved for serious illness, we now diagnose illness in people who have no symptoms at all, those with so-called pre-disease or those ``at risk.''
Two developments accelerate this process. First, advanced technology allows doctors to look really hard for things to be wrong. We can detect trace molecules in the blood. We can direct fiber-optic devices into every orifice. And CT scans, ultrasounds, MRI and PET scans let doctors define subtle structural defects deep inside the body. These technologies make it possible to give a diagnosis to just about everybody: arthritis in people without joint pain, stomach damage in people without heartburn, and prostate cancer in over a million people who, but for testing, would have lived as long without being a cancer patient.
Second, the rules are changing. Expert panels constantly expand what constitutes disease: thresholds for diagnosing diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis and obesity have all fallen in the past few years. The criterion for normal cholesterol has dropped multiple times. With these changes, disease can now be diagnosed in more than half the population.
Most of us assume that all this additional diagnosis can be only beneficial. And some of it surely is. But at the extreme, the logic of early detection is absurd. If more than half of us are sick, what does it mean to be normal? Many more of us harbor pre-disease than will ever get disease, and all of us are ``at risk.'' The medicalization of everyday life is no less problematic. Exactly what are we doing to our children when 40 percent of summer campers are on one or more chronic prescription medications?
No one should take the process of making people into patients lightly. There are real drawbacks. Simply labeling people as diseased can make them feel anxious and vulnerable -- a particular concern in children.
But the real problem with the epidemic of diagnoses is that it leads to an epidemic of treatments. Not all treatments have important benefits, but almost all can have harms. Sometimes the harms are known, but often the harms of new therapies take years to emerge -- after many have been exposed. For the severely ill, these harms generally pale relative to the potential benefits. But for those experiencing mild symptoms, the harms become much more relevant. And for the many labeled as having pre-disease or as being at risk but destined to remain healthy, treatment can only cause harm.
The epidemic of diagnoses has many causes. More diagnoses mean more money for drug manufacturers, hospitals, physicians and disease advocacy groups. Researchers, and even the disease-based organization of the National Institutes of Health, secure their stature (and financing) by promoting the detection of ``their'' disease. Medico-legal concerns also drive the epidemic. While failing to make a diagnosis can result in lawsuits, there are no corresponding penalties for over-diagnosis. Thus, the path of least resistance for clinicians is to diagnose liberally -- even when we wonder if doing so really helps our patients.
As more of us are being told we are sick, fewer of us are being told we are well. People need to think hard about the benefits and risks of increased diagnosis: The fundamental question they face is whether or not to become a patient. And doctors need to remember the value of reassuring people that they are not sick. Perhaps someone should start monitoring a new health metric: the proportion of the population not requiring medical care. And the National Institutes of Health could propose a new goal for medical researchers: reduce the need for medical services, not increase it.
The authors are senior research associates at the VA Outcomes Group in Vermont. They wrote this article for the New York Times.
DR. H. GILBERT WELCH is the author of ``Should I Be Tested for Cancer? Maybe Not and Here's Why.'' DRS. LISA SCHWARTZ and STEVEN WOLOSHIN
Denial
I am in denial that my friend will be going home tomorrow. It's been so great seeing her and her family. Her kids are so cute and growing. (Mine are too, but I can definitely see it in hers. Since I see mine everyday, it's hard to tell how much they have grown.)
She and her family have been very busy running around, on a very fast trip. It's been so nice having her to talk to in person and to take a trip to the spa with her. (More on that later.) I have missed her since August. I will continue to miss her. Sigh.
She will be back soon though. I know it's going to be hard when she goes back to their home for the next bit of time. Especially after a 3 week whirlwind trip across the U.S. and seeing everyone. (I'm hoping the flight back home is good and that the kids are good on it! I'm hoping that the memories of the trip make going back a little easier.)
I will make a pledge (here in public) to try to remember to keep Skype on more. (I am very bad about that. It just kind of makes my computer act funny sometimes.) (Going to add it to my start-up applications now.)
She and her family have been very busy running around, on a very fast trip. It's been so nice having her to talk to in person and to take a trip to the spa with her. (More on that later.) I have missed her since August. I will continue to miss her. Sigh.
She will be back soon though. I know it's going to be hard when she goes back to their home for the next bit of time. Especially after a 3 week whirlwind trip across the U.S. and seeing everyone. (I'm hoping the flight back home is good and that the kids are good on it! I'm hoping that the memories of the trip make going back a little easier.)
I will make a pledge (here in public) to try to remember to keep Skype on more. (I am very bad about that. It just kind of makes my computer act funny sometimes.) (Going to add it to my start-up applications now.)
Saturday, January 06, 2007
They are cute...
But they are NOT rational.
K (2.5) stayed dry in her pull-up all day. I was proud. You know that that means... (pride comes before a fall).
I told K how proud I was of her and then I said, "Let's go potty and then we can get a chocolatey-goodness treat."
She agreed. We walked down to the bathroom. She was helping me put the potty seat on the potty. She froze. I knew she was starting to go to the bathroom IN HER PULL-UP. I said, "STOP!" She did. She went on the potty too. I was in shock. She stayed dry ALL DAY. What was another 20 seconds? Apparently, it was too much to ask.
I told her I was disappointed and therefore no chocolatey-goodness. She said, "How about if I poop on the potty to make you happy again?"
Heh. How can you be mad at that?
K (2.5) stayed dry in her pull-up all day. I was proud. You know that that means... (pride comes before a fall).
I told K how proud I was of her and then I said, "Let's go potty and then we can get a chocolatey-goodness treat."
She agreed. We walked down to the bathroom. She was helping me put the potty seat on the potty. She froze. I knew she was starting to go to the bathroom IN HER PULL-UP. I said, "STOP!" She did. She went on the potty too. I was in shock. She stayed dry ALL DAY. What was another 20 seconds? Apparently, it was too much to ask.
I told her I was disappointed and therefore no chocolatey-goodness. She said, "How about if I poop on the potty to make you happy again?"
Heh. How can you be mad at that?
Friday, January 05, 2007
Bouncy goodness
Today, we had N's birthday party! It was fun! (Her actual birthday is still a few days from now.)
Usually, I do smallish parties at our house with a few friends. Even though the parties are "small affairs," I usually end up stressing myself out cleaning, cooking, baking, running around the entire party doing domestic kinds of things and not having very much fun.
For this party, since we just moved, I decided to do something different. I decided to have it somewhere else. We went to Pump it Up! I booked in October and it was impossible to get a weekend date. Note to self, book earlier to get a weekend.
I decided to do Pump it Up because a friend had had a party there and it was 1) very clean, 2) well organized, 3) the kids, even though they are running around are kind of all together because of the way the place is set-up. (At places like the kid's museum or Chuck E. Cheese, the kids all kind of scatter and are only together during the cake.)
At Pump it Up, you start in one room and play with JUST your friends for 40 minutes, then move to a second room with your friends and play on different bouncy / jumpy slides and houses for another 40 minutes. The last 40 minutes is in the "party room" and you have drinks, pizza and cake. After 80 minutes of bouncing you have VERY HUNGRY KIDS.
We jumped. We bounced. We loved it! 3 or 4 of the other parents were doing lots of jumping and bouncing too. The kids loved it too. (Heh.) At the end, N was really tired and got grumpy and started crying. I felt bad and we said, "It's her party and she can cry if she wants to." I'm not surprised she was crying and tired. She was so excited that she didn't fall asleep last night until about 11 pm and then she bounced out of bed at 8 am in anticipation! Because she was up so early, she and I went out to buy cupcake ingredients and then baked them. That was fun too.
(Tangent: N and I got to a grocery store before 9 am. The store wasn't open. I have NEVER IN MY LIFE gotten to a store that early in the morning. Since I'm not a morning person, I didn't know it was possible to get somewhere before it opened. Wowza. You learn something new every day.)
Most likely more soon about the party.... Now I'm tired. Must sleep.
Usually, I do smallish parties at our house with a few friends. Even though the parties are "small affairs," I usually end up stressing myself out cleaning, cooking, baking, running around the entire party doing domestic kinds of things and not having very much fun.
For this party, since we just moved, I decided to do something different. I decided to have it somewhere else. We went to Pump it Up! I booked in October and it was impossible to get a weekend date. Note to self, book earlier to get a weekend.
I decided to do Pump it Up because a friend had had a party there and it was 1) very clean, 2) well organized, 3) the kids, even though they are running around are kind of all together because of the way the place is set-up. (At places like the kid's museum or Chuck E. Cheese, the kids all kind of scatter and are only together during the cake.)
At Pump it Up, you start in one room and play with JUST your friends for 40 minutes, then move to a second room with your friends and play on different bouncy / jumpy slides and houses for another 40 minutes. The last 40 minutes is in the "party room" and you have drinks, pizza and cake. After 80 minutes of bouncing you have VERY HUNGRY KIDS.
We jumped. We bounced. We loved it! 3 or 4 of the other parents were doing lots of jumping and bouncing too. The kids loved it too. (Heh.) At the end, N was really tired and got grumpy and started crying. I felt bad and we said, "It's her party and she can cry if she wants to." I'm not surprised she was crying and tired. She was so excited that she didn't fall asleep last night until about 11 pm and then she bounced out of bed at 8 am in anticipation! Because she was up so early, she and I went out to buy cupcake ingredients and then baked them. That was fun too.
(Tangent: N and I got to a grocery store before 9 am. The store wasn't open. I have NEVER IN MY LIFE gotten to a store that early in the morning. Since I'm not a morning person, I didn't know it was possible to get somewhere before it opened. Wowza. You learn something new every day.)
Most likely more soon about the party.... Now I'm tired. Must sleep.
A new holiday?
Both N ( asymptotically close to 5!) and K (2.5) loved Halloween.
They loved going out and trick-or-treating. It was after dark! We were running around! People were giving us candy!
What's not to love?
Together, they decided that it would be perfect if Christmas included trick-or-treating in the festivities. Those girls... Always thinking.
They loved going out and trick-or-treating. It was after dark! We were running around! People were giving us candy!
What's not to love?
Together, they decided that it would be perfect if Christmas included trick-or-treating in the festivities. Those girls... Always thinking.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
More lame excuses
I have started a lovely post about today, a wonderful day at the spa, but alas, I can't finish it. Perhaps tomorrow. Right now, I have to go make these for N's birthday party! (Or go to sleep so I can get up early and make them--that might be the best option. I'm TIRED!)
My little N is turning 5!!!!! We're having her birthday party a few days early. I'm so excited my friend and her family are here for the party.
Also, our nanny truly is Mary Poppins. She had my 3 and my friend's two kids today. She wasn't even sweating or swearing when we came home. I. am. in. awe. I. am. not. worthy.
Don't these and these (I'm thinking I could even use whole wheat flour in these for a healthy treat) and these sound yummy?
My little N is turning 5!!!!! We're having her birthday party a few days early. I'm so excited my friend and her family are here for the party.
Also, our nanny truly is Mary Poppins. She had my 3 and my friend's two kids today. She wasn't even sweating or swearing when we came home. I. am. in. awe. I. am. not. worthy.
Don't these and these (I'm thinking I could even use whole wheat flour in these for a healthy treat) and these sound yummy?
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Maybe tomorrow
I'm exhausted. My friend is here and it's fun! I had a big work deadline get moved up from Monday 1/8 to TODAY so I had to stay up late last night and get up early and work today. More soon.
Monday, January 01, 2007
1/1/07
I. am. so. tired.
T (16 months) woke up at 7. I think I was in the midst of a sleep cycle or something. I don't feel like I'm completely awake. I totally wish I could have taken a nap today. I'm so tired that my fingers hurt. Seriously. My nerve damage can cause pain in my fingers if I'm tired.
We took the girls to see the new Charlotte's Web. It was very nicely done. N (almost 5) has watched the older version about 4,000 times. (Okay maybe a few less than that.) She knows the story. She seemed to really like the new version. Both K (2.5) and N love going to the movies. T squirms a lot. One thing, N noticed, today for the first time, that Charlotte died at the end of the movie. When we got to the car, N said, "This one was different. Charlotte didn't die in the other one." She was asking tons of questions about dying in the movie, but I had to tell her we would talk about it later because it was too hard to talk in the theatre. Unfortunately, she didn't bring it back up.
Tomorrow, my good friend arrives for a visit. She knows about the blog so if I'm not blogging it's not because I'm trying to protect my secret identity, but rather 'cause we're off playing! It will be an interesting adventure as we'll have 5 kids in this house.
T (16 months) woke up at 7. I think I was in the midst of a sleep cycle or something. I don't feel like I'm completely awake. I totally wish I could have taken a nap today. I'm so tired that my fingers hurt. Seriously. My nerve damage can cause pain in my fingers if I'm tired.
We took the girls to see the new Charlotte's Web. It was very nicely done. N (almost 5) has watched the older version about 4,000 times. (Okay maybe a few less than that.) She knows the story. She seemed to really like the new version. Both K (2.5) and N love going to the movies. T squirms a lot. One thing, N noticed, today for the first time, that Charlotte died at the end of the movie. When we got to the car, N said, "This one was different. Charlotte didn't die in the other one." She was asking tons of questions about dying in the movie, but I had to tell her we would talk about it later because it was too hard to talk in the theatre. Unfortunately, she didn't bring it back up.
Tomorrow, my good friend arrives for a visit. She knows about the blog so if I'm not blogging it's not because I'm trying to protect my secret identity, but rather 'cause we're off playing! It will be an interesting adventure as we'll have 5 kids in this house.
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