My head hurts

This could be from a number of reasons. I do have a cold and a cough and each cough sends a little burst of pain up there. And oh, yes, there is that lack of sleep thing. Last night was SOOOOO irritating. I had a full and stressful day yesterday and was probably a little worked up from that. Not a good day to decided to try skipping the allergy (sleep) medicine I have been hooked on. I went to bed around 9.30, tossed and turned until about midnight, got up to tend to Dylan, went back to bed only to decided to try getting UP and doing the crossword downstairs a bit. Went back to bed around 12.30 and tossed and turned until Dylan needed me again around 1am (poor little guy is STILL sick, hello, over two weeks later now!). Fell asleep at some point only to have my "alarm" go off at 5am. Oh, D... Of course HE is making up for last nights' lack of sleep now, and here I am... Typing... Afraid to close my eyes for I know the second I do, he will wake up.

molars

Ok, so Dylan now has two new molars and is letting us know how he feels about it. Constantly. Let me paint the picture. He cries and fusses so I go to pick him up. Then he squirms in my arms, cries and fusses. I put him down as my tolerance for the crying in my ear wanes as does my ability to keep a grasp of his writhing body. I put him down. Repeat...

Longest day

So, I started the day at the crack of dawn. Oh wait, the sun doesn't rise at 5am anymore, does it. Dylan AND Sophia got me out of bed and I was none too pleased. This cold this I have received from the kids is getting worse everyday - nice headache to wake up to each day. Kids were fussing, so by 7am I had the vacuum out and started cleaning the house. Dylan is mesmerized by the vacuum and it usually is good for capturing his attention. The house WAS filthy, so off I went. Started in the living room and he followed me around the house. I was only interrupted a few times when he strayed, tried to climb on something and fell, bursting into tears. Got him down for his nap at 8.15am and then started to think of "what to do next". We decided on the Science Museum and hit that when Dylan woke up. Had a fine time there, aside from Sophia's fussy outbursts. Made it home by 12.30 and as I made lunch Sophia requested a nap. D, Ethan and I all ate our ham sandies outside enjoying the warm sunny weather. After the kids woke from their afternoon naps we hooked up the boat and went down to Scituate. Got the boat in the water (even though Ethan just winterized it that morning) and hit the "Spit". We had a fun time running on the rippled sand and got home around 5.30pm. I got the burgers and beans cooking while Ethan re-winterized the boat. Ethan finished up his stuff while I bathed and tucked in the kids and then cleaned up from dinner. I think I have redefined "pooped". This cold I have, for lack of a better word, sucks.

Pictures to follow...later.

Boo at the Zoo

Tried the kids' costumes out today. I have been nervous that Sophia would reject it and I would have to bribe her with candy to wear it. Not So! Well, almost not. I DID say there would be candy at the zoo and she needed her costume. Well, she sure wanted it on fast. We got the kids dressed after D's morning nap and headed to Franklin Park Zoo. We got there just in time for the festivities. Started with the walk down the main path, getting treats at tables on the way, went through the gorilla exhibit and then hitched a train ride back to the start. Entered the 12 o'clock costume contest and the kids WON for the 0-6yrs Animal category. YAY!

Next stop was the carousel and after the sugar was coursing well through the kids veins, we headed home. A pretty good morning, I'd say! See our pictures on Shutterfly!

Itching to knit

So, now that my neck cozy is complete, I would like to get onto the next thing. Thinking mittens and hats for the kids and a nice cozy "shoulder shrug thing-y" for me. Winter is coming and as I sit here on the couch next to the windows - even with the shades down - I feel a chill and would love a little warmth without having to put on a sweater. Like a wearable afghan. I think I will start on this first. Fat yarn, fat needles, should go fast, right?

I finally uploaded Thanksgiving pictures to Shutterfly. I get so frustrated these day with uploading. I started on Shutterfly, now I have a blog and then there is facebook. I want each site to have the pictures embedded in their own site but do not want to upload and write captions three times. I suppose I will stick with my current method, even though I don't like it.

Night out

We had our first night out with a sitter for both kids yesterday. We had a neighbor look after Sophia once over a year ago and she basically came and watched tv while we went out to dinner. Our neighbor was having a party, so we needed to put off the task we have been able to avoid until now - sitter hunt. Thanks to my mom's group, I was recommended a GREAT sitter. Such a nice girl! I spent my spare moments during the day cleaning the house ... for the sitter. We don't do this often, so I dug deep into my childhood memories of being a sitter myself and tried to think what was provided for me. I do recall the houses to be VERY clean, drinks available...? I also remember standing on my head to get the blood flowing to keep myself awake, but I digress. Not the point here. What are you supposed to offer your sitter? We had a netflix DVD in the house and I bought some chips, dug up some Halloween candy and set out some fruit. (She didn't have any of it, by the way).

Anyway, I gave the kids their bath and put Dylan to bed, leaving Sophia in the tub. Ethan left to get the sitter and I read to Sophia, telling her daddy had to go to the store. We chose not to tell her we were leaving as we thought she would have a hard time going to bed. I was nervous, though, as the last few nights she has been lingering at bedtime, calling to me after I put her down AND having to go poop. I asked her over and over during bath if she had to go and she said no. So, down I went. I felt better knowing we were going to be across the street should an incident occur. I met the sitter and felt great about her, and extremely awkward about myself and the situation. Tried to give her the lo' down for the night (most likely saying too much - water is in the fridge??) We then left for our party and were having a good time. I kept checking my phone, yet no calls. We also noticed what a great view they have into our living room. We had the shades half drawn and I could practically see which show she was selecting off the guide channel (I literally DID see the guide channel come up). When we got home, she said that Sophia did call out for me a bunch of times and then even started coming down the stairs! She also said that she told her that I had stepped out for a minute and asked if she wanted to go back to bed. Sophia was COOL with this, said ok and asked if she wanted to see her pink room. She introduced her to Lamby and then went to bed. HA!

Today I rewarded myself for going out last night by giving in to my year long desire to own a leisure suit. Express has them, but they are very expensive for "leisure wear" in my opinion. It IS very comfy and I kind of feel a little "hollywood-ish" in it. You know - the stars stepping out in their "sweats", yet still manage to look good? I am feeling it. I think Ethan is as taken with it as I am and I can expect to see one in black under the tree this year, haha.

Knitting re-birth

I learned to knit when I was about 10 or so and managed to knit a sweater, booties for my cabbage patch kid, scarves... under the direction and apprenticeship of my mother. 25 or so years have past and this experience has become all but a distant memory. I have been getting the itch for the past year to pick up some needles and knit the kids some simple, yet, sentimental (at least for my part) sweaters or hats. Only problem is that my mentor is now in another time zone than me. I therefore signed up for the "Mom night out Knitting" event. I was armed with a bottle of sparkling water and hit the town. Went pretty well and I am up to speed on the basic knit project. I made a "neck cozy" last night (finished up during pm nap today) and am raring to go on a hat. Only problem is, I don't know how to read a pattern, and if I were to make a mistake mid way through - drop a stitch or something, I would be S.O.L. hmmmm.
Here is the lovely Sophia all excited about what mommy produced at school last night. Dylan was a little more apathetic.
Here is Dylan doing his finest "blue steel" pose.

Sick

So Dylan is officially sick. And he isn't limp baby about it. Nope, after waking up about 4 times last night he has been a real "gem" this morning. Crying for everything and then swatting it away. Wanting to be held and then struggling to get away. It is one of those difficult mom days where you know your little one is suffering, yet his fussing makes the sympathy a little forced to give and patience is wafer thin. Ooops, there it went, just snapped again - duct tape anyone?

Shorter days?

So, I thought in the fall the days were supposed to be getting shorter. Apparently our house has been caught in some kind of worm hole and we are still on summer time. Dylan woke at a cheery 4am. I went to him and rocked and sang and put him back down. I then both tried to fall asleep while staying awake to listen for him to see if he would fall asleep. This makes sense only to a mother, or at least a mother with early risers. So, by 5am I thought I was out of the woods and then was roused by Sophia at 5.20 calling to me. I tried to go to her and cover her up and get her to sleep, but noooooo, she said she had to go poo poo. Great. At least she woke for it. I was still determined to put her back to bed after mission was accomplished. The effort was not a speedy affair. She finally was done and then I heard Dylan making noise again. SIGHHH. No more sleep for me. I think my kids have systematically dispelled all the old wives tales about kids. "oh, they are waking early because it is brighter in the morning during the summer. They will sleep later when the sun gets up later" WRONG.

So, Dylan has been super cute with his clapping lately. You just have to start singing a few bars to a song and he will start clapping to the beat. Then when you get to the end, he lifts his hands over his head and shouts "hurray!"

Sophia is back into extreme mommy mode again too. I believe this is a reaction to her going to school now. She cries "miss mommy" while I am sitting in the room. She is wanting to be with me all the time and has been crying when I leave her at the daycare/ school. So frustrating.

Pun'kins, pun'kins, everywhere - PUN'KINS!

We spent the first day of Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend at a pumpkin patch in Sharon. We took a hayride out to the patch, chose a pumpkin while Sophia cried all done, no pumpkin, got back on the wagon and hit the playground, capping out visit off feeding some sheep and then feeding ourselves some yummy Spanish cheese and Iggy bread. It sounds more Normal Rockwell than it actually was. There was a lot of crankiness on the part of a little someone we know. But a beautiful day, none the less and I would be happy to try again next fall.

School days, rotten poopy school days.

Sophia didn't do well today. She cried when I left and was "cranky" and crying the whole time after I left. When I got her I felt so bad for her. She was alone at the lunch table (other kids already laying down for a nap) and she was upset. I tried to get there at least at noon (not before as I had other days) as I wanted to give her a chance to eat her lunch. Every other time she was still finishing lunch and the other kids were too. I didn't double check my watch, but I couldn't have been more than 12.02. So, I was pretty surprised to see everyone laying down. I was also put off by the girl in charge (not even the normal teacher) who seemed pretty indifferent to Sophia's disposition. Kind of got the impression her attitude was "she is upset, whatever.". There is a chance Sophia could be coming down with something as she was pretty "cranky" (as the child care person put it) this afternoon. There was also a little girl that I noticed had red blotchy parts on her face that is common when kids have colds - runny nose, watery eyes... So, it is highly possible Sophia is getting this cold. The good news if she IS sick tomorrow is that I have a reason for her being upset today. The bad news is that she will be sick and then Dylan will get sick. Boo hoo.

Potty trained at 15 months

So, Dylan is now potty trained. Ok, pick your jaw up off the floor. He doesn't actually pee on the toilet, however, he now gets his own diaper whenever he wants a change, lays on the rug "in the position", waits for the change and then takes the balled up diaper and puts it in the trash all on his own. SO CUTE! I much prefer this to the major struggles we were having not long ago trying to get him to lay still for the change. At one point I was even holding his legs down with my leg so I could have both hands to manage the rest of the change.

15 mo plus a day

So, looks like three months doesn't get you much these days. Dylan had his 15 month appointment today and has not grown a hair (in height) dropping him from 84th percentile to 47th, gained a scant 1/2 pound, again dropping from 18th percentile to 9th, and no more teeth. His head, however, did manage to expand another 1.5cm to 48.25cm. Grandparents beware - if you are knitting hats, make them a little bigger.

My poor little guy just doesn't eat enough. GRRRR.

A weekend in Maine

We were up in Maine this past weekend for a baby shower and enjoyed some brisk Maine air.
So, who says little boys need to wear blue? This pink jacket of his sister's works just fine. Mid morning popcorn picnic on black sand island.
As promised: the lip.
Mandy's shower.
And who can resist a picture of Buck on his Truck. Yes, I think we will save this one for his first date...

Change me, I'm yours

Dylan has been so cute with his diapers lately. First it was copying Sophia when she was wearing diapers (many moons ago, haha) he would lay down beside her. Now he requests the changes himself. He was a little stinky a couple weeks ago and I said to him, oooo, stinky, need your diaper changed? Then I went back to my laptop as a good mother does. He went into the dining room, pulled out a diaper and then laid down on the rug. I didn't even realize this right away as I was here, on the laptop. When I looked down, there he was. Then, a little more recently, I was in the kitchen and mentioned to him that I thought he may have pee pees. Again, off to the diaper corner, grabbed a diaper and waited for me in the living room, laying on the rug "in the position". Today, I was walking down the stairs with a pack of baby wipes and the instant he saw this, he ran for a diaper and got "in the position". I love it! I really think he is very intuitive and highly intelligent.

Mr. Pouty Lip

So, I have yet to capture Dylan's funny lip on camera as each time I bring it out his lip disappears and his whiny face appears as he cries for me to give him the camera. A shame, really, as his lip is so funny. It isn't really an upset look. Sometimes it is thinking (usually about mischievous deeds he could perform), other times it is about a faux grouchiness over a situation. I love it, though. He brings the bottom lip over the top lip, but it doesn't curl down as if he were frowning. Too cute.

So, Sophia's third day at school went well - I was so proud of her. She got off to a rocky start again. Woke in the morning, wouldn't eat breakfast when I mentioned it was a school day. She then said she wanted to go BACK to bed at 6, so I said sure. She went down from 6-7ish and when she heard D and I in his room, she called to me. When I went to get her she said "school now?" I thought - YAY! She wants to go! That moment passed rather quickly and she again refused food and didn't want to go. I got her to school and she started crying again and didn't want to stay. Rather she wanted ME TO STAY. I left and was sad to go again. I went to get her at noon and I think she was onto me and chose a seat with a view of the window in the door. She spotted me right away and said "Mommy's here!" I went to get her and she was in a very good mood. The teacher (she has a different on on Fridays and I quite liked this one) said Sophia did very well. There were two more new kids and Sophia went up to them and said "nice to meet you" and took their hand and showed them around. SO SWEET! If only I could be a fly on the wall... or even that nasty GIANT spider they have on the outside of their window. I swear that thing is the size of my thumb up to the first knuckle. Sophia's first craft project there, incidental was making a spider web on black craft paper with glue and cotton balls.

Goldie locks and his three chairs

So, Dylan pretty much burns his calories as he eats them. During meal time I sit him in his booster seat, usually try to just put a small portion of food on his tray, he picks at it a bit, then starts to throw it, I scold him, remove the tray and release him. He then climbs into Sophia's chair (she has vacated it long before his take over) and get all proud and insists on bites from there. Then he climbs from her chair to mine and leans over my back for another bite. Then he climbs down and back onto Sophia's chair... And so on and so on.

A brighter day,

Ok, not literally brighter - just had a down pour and the sky is mighty gray. Metaphorically speaking, however, it has been brighter.

I dropped Sophia off at preschool and she was NOT happy. she cried and clung to me and I had to peal her off (this you may take literally) in order to leave. I had to keep myself from crying while saying good-bye. I kept myself occupied and kept waiting for the phone to ring to pick Sophia up. I went to Wal-mart (and for once didn't leave angry and irritated at the store), had lunch with D and went back to get Sophia. I got there 5 minutes early and peaked through the window and saw her eating a bowl of fruit. She looked much better and wasn't upset so I hung back and waited for her to finish eating. I went in for another peak and she spotted me so I went in. She was super happy to see me and wasn't crying to leave like the other day. She apparently only cried a little bit after I left and then got involved with the activities and had fun out in the playground. She even met a little friend. Another girl had her first day today and Sophia started to click with her. YAY! She even SAID she had fun today.

I have a landscape update too at my other blog site.