Needle work recent projects

Spiderman and Radio Active Girl.

Check out some recent projects in the Picasa album, Knitty knitty bang bang album. Missing is the blanket I made over the summer. I will have the Rosetta costume I sewed and created a pattern for closer to Halloween with Sophia wearing it. Just finished the wings. Looking good...
Here is the link.

Lil' Helper

I am so loving Dylan's help. He is like a little shadow, following me around and wanting to do everything I do. Now, if only his eagerness lasts long enough that I can assign him tasks with real rather than toy equipment. If I go to sweep the floor, he runs for his broom. If I pull out the vacuum, he gets his, even though it is broken :(, and follows me around the whole time until "we" have finished the job. When it is time to make a meal, he is right in there wanting to help. He cracks his own eggs and scrambles them for breakfast, peels the carrots and potatoes... When outside, he runs for his mower, turns the key and fills up the gas when I get the big one out. Makes cutting the lawn worth the effort for me to see him tailing me with his more. I literally have a smile on the whole time. Gotto cherish these times as I know there will be a day when he grumbles when asked to perform such duties. When they become work, rather than fun.

Dylan's new bed!

Dylan FINALLY at long last has his big boy bed. He was SO excited as we had it loaded on the roof of the 4Runner. Giant smiles and screeches. Pictures to follow. Sorry, you will have to wait as he has Sophia's spare pink sheets on at the moment (his are in the mail). Wouldn't want to tarnish the memory.

Little Things

I finally wrote down some of the little things that the kids do that put smiles on my face...

I love listening to Sophia playing with her princess dolls, mixed in with Dylan's firefighter dolls and her prince dolls. The story lines are hilarious. There are fires to be rescued from, lots of really loud smooches... One little clip (I think two princesses were talking to each other) "I love your boobies, hee hee" "I love YOUR boobies, hee hee" "Your pink ones and your blue ones"... It isn't all boob talk, though. They go to the doctor, get nasal mist flu medicine, have time outs... You know, a reenactment of our week and then some princess story lines. Her little princess stories are complete with a sound track as she breaks into song as they do in the movies.

Some Dylan stuff: I love seeing the bathroom stool in his room under his light switch - like how he has initiative and is problem solving. Little remnant of his actions. I love hearing Dylan hop out of bed in the morning, truck on the the bathroom, go pee, say "Dibble dibble dob" as I did when showing him to go pee on his own, then quietly coming to our room and hopping in bed for a little snuggle.

I love seeing Sophia's little collections around the house - she has odd assortments in little bags and boxes of dolls, found objects... Not sure what the rationale is as to what goes in, but it is cute.

I love how Dylan can do so much at three already with his mentor, Sophia, encouraging him along. He really likes to be able to do all that she can. He can undress and then choose his clothes and put them on all on his own. He puts on his shoes (most of the time on the right feet) all on his own, and he can even go down the fire pole in the playground ALL by himself!

I love listening to the kids play hide and seek (a daily activity these days). Dylan can already count to ten! He usually gets it right, however, he gets mixed up and I hear him shouting 1,2,3,4,6,8,4,5,6,9,10,4,6,7,8,9 Watch out, here I come!

Phew! Glad I got those down.

Good days and bad days

Some days are good, some are bad. Some feel bad and then the next day, you realize it wasn't so bad and that makes that day a good day. And then something happens and just poops all over that day. I have just described the last two days. the end.

Oh, you would like me to elaborate? Ok, so here we go...

Yesterday was "open enrollment letter day". I had to get to the Quincy school board bright and early to get my letter in to try get Sophia at the top of the list to go to a different school than the one in our district. I got there at 7.30am. I was rushing and a little irritated that I didn't get there a little earlier (7?). I was surprised there was no line as they told me each year parents line up early to get their letter at the top of the pile. I THOUGHT they opened at 9 and that the person in charge would be there at 8, so with two little kids in tow, I thought 7am would be about as early as I could sit "in line" with them. The thunderclouds were literally forming over our heads and were aptly a true omen. After parking in the $7 T parking lot, I rushed upstairs surprised to find all the doors unlocked and no line. I went right into the office to see there were already 10 people's names on the list at BOTH schools I had letters to try get Sophia into. NOT GOOD. The lady said there was already a line at 6am when she got there. I was so stressed. I thought, gee, I would have suffered through 6am if I knew. Heck, we wouldn't even have had to wait long, just pop our letter into her hand. I had a really rough time thinking about how we are going to have to move as I find it hard to swallow paying for private school in kindergarten. Even harder to swallow having Sophia attend the school in our district. Then it was orientation day at school and BOTH kids were like glue on me. I was so irritable about the school letter thing that their glueiness was extra hard to take. They were literally the only ones that were clinging to their parents. And that was yesterday.

Today, was Sophia's orientation day. Still glue, but not as bad. As she was with her class for an hour, the parents were sent to another room to wait (???). I had a chance to talk to a couple other moms and found out they, too, attended letter day at the school board. One mom said her husband was there at 4.15AM. yes. AM. and he was FOURTH in line! The first people spent the WHOLE night there - 11pm the night before. CRAZY. I started to feel less bad about not getting there by 6am, as that would not have made a difference. Then I overheard her mention something about "no child left behind" law that allows you to insist on your child not attend certain schools. I need more info on this, however, it gave me great hope and I feel better about my options. Though it won't guarantee me into the schools I really want, it might keep Sophia out of the bottom three. So, that was good. We then came home, kids ATE their lunch all up - wahoo! That is really good with our track record. Went out to play for an hour in the yard before nap. About 12.50 a "guy" comes walking up the street. He seemed "suspicious", so I had my eye on him. Then he tells Sophia (who was wearing her flip flops) that she needs to go get shoes on so she doesn't hurt her feet. I don't say anything, just wait for him to keep walking. Then I see him starting to walk up the driveway and I tell him I have things under control and he doesn't need to talk to my kids. "He says sorry, I see you are worried, I'm not a pedophile." Great. I thought he was gone, but then 10 minutes later, he comes walking back and I see him sit on our step at the sidewalk. I hurry the kids in the house and hope he leaves. After locking the front door I see him standing up and obviously requiring great effort to not fall over. At that point, I was kind of hoping he would so I could call the police and have him taken away from our house. He regained balance and then I see him walking up the driveway again, look into the garage, take off his jacket, hang it on the fence... Ok, I started freaking out. I have troubles even lock that side door without my key. So, I do in fact call the police. It felt like FOREVER for them to arrive. Not that I thought I couldn't take him - I am sure I could have just pushed him over and he would have fallen, but I didn't want it to come to that. Sweat was literally rolling down my back. They finally arrived and spoke to him. And then I felt bad. He was definitely on something, however, I started to feel really sorry for him. They asked him if he was on medication or had any needles on him. He was telling them he was diabetic and that he had some pills for anxiety and some other stuff. They asked where he lived. worked and he said with his parents and he was on disability. The more I heard the worse I felt. The officer kept coming over to me and his attitude made me feel even worse for the guy stumbling around our yard. He called him a freak, was definitely using, had issues, etc... I, however, saw that he was more harmless and in need of help. If the kids were not in the yard and if I had more control over the LOCKS in our house, perhaps I would not have reacted with such fear. Just goes to show, you never know the real story. I guess I don't regret calling the police as I was looking out for the safety of the kids and I. He was acting drunk and didn't heed my request to not come in the yard. And he was literally INSIDE our garage when I placed the call. It was the officers job to see if we "needed saving", however, I think they should have realized after questioning that he wasn't up to no good. I feel like a magnet for these kinds of people lately. There is a "wandering girl" who keeps coming into our yard. She lives in the neighborhood, and again, not harmful, just not wanted around. She keeps telling the kids they should do this and that, giving her expert advise on stuff (she watches nanny 911, after all). I have no reason to ask her to leave other than that I am uncomfortable with her around. And that would be rude. Then at the grocery store this old guy, tells me I need to tell Dylan to sit down (he was standing in the basket of the cart ready to scan my next item.). I let him stand while we were not moving and would ask him to sit when on the move. I didn't feel the need to explain all this, and just said that I have it under control. Well, that was not good enough for the old guy. He went on (and on) about how he saw a kid crack his head open falling out of a cart. I tried my best to ignore him, finished our scans, asked Dylan to sit and moved on. So this day that started to climb to a good day, had to crash. And now as I sit, those clouds are once again beginning to loom outside. Literally.

When I turn 5

The kids are fixed on 5. Seems like it will be a magical year. Sophia likes to tell me when she turns five she will run with me and then take a shower. Then of course, Dylan chimes in saying he will run with me too, when he turns 5. They often use 5 as a milestone marker for other things, just can't think of any off hand.

Right back at-ch'ya

I always mean to record the amusing things the kids say and do. I will think about them at odd times of the day and say to myself, I really have to right that down. And then I grab the laptop a few hours/ days later and draw a blank. Not this time, baby! Mental recording at tub 2 hours ago and presto, recording for prosperity now. Ok, with all that, this probably won't even get you to crack a smile. Still gets me, so here we go...

Part of the bed ritual is going pee before climbing into the tub. Sometimes the kids will have one a little but earlier than the tub starting, so I will ask them to try anyway.. I didn't realize it, however, today Dylan said back to me what I ask him to do before we head out or go pee when he doesn't think he has to. I ask him to empty the tank. So funny to see him upstairs before tub and have him tell me he is going to empty the tank. I seriously had to think about what he meant and was saying. He is such a cutie with his potty talk. We were reading Mr. Brown Can Moo for a while and on the rain page, they say dibble dibble dop. SOOOO, in order to get him to shake off the dribbles I would say dibble dibble dop when he is to shake or dab with TP. I smile every time I hear him go pee on his own and he says dibble dibble dop as he finishes.

Gearing up for School

Well, I guess we are all set now. Dylan's new spiderman fetish coupled with Sophia's continuing princess phase has brought these little gems home with us. Lunch box and wheeled back packs. The packs are HUGE, especially considering they have NO books or things to bring to school with them. I guess we can put the lunch bags into the packs. That will be something. Sophia has been asking everyday since we returned from canada "Is it school day today?" I made a chain for her today in hopes of deterring this question from popping up everyday. She can see how many links there are and knows there are still a LOT of days left. Little does she know that this soon will be a question of "How many more days until school vacation?"

So, I have been looking at tiles and thinking about my upcoming house projects when the kids are BOTH in school for at least three mornings a week. Wow. 4 hours, three times a week. THat's like, TWELVE HOURS! PER WEEK. ok, more like 3hours three times a week when you include drop-off and pick up. Still 9 more hours than I have had previously.

Cottage country, Canada July 2010

I have been away from most Internet connections for a month now, so I apologise to my loyal five readers for my lack of posts. Not saying this one will make up for the break, however, I am uploading photos as I type! If I am so inspired, I may even add my "oh so witty captions" (that you would have already read if you are on FB).



Let's see... the beginning. Ahhh, yes. The first few days it was just our crew and my parents and my mom's brother, Calvin and his wife, Darlene. Many evenings of cards and days on the beach. Sophia had a hard time exchanging her Knitting Dresses for a bathing suit (even though the one I found for her is UBER DUPER CUTE). Dylan would walk around the shore in an inner tube, parking it on the beach and then re-launching it. He only dunked his head once under water the whole trip, and lets just say it was a shock to us all (and quite accidental). Note to self, Dylan, when submerged under water, stand up immediately and close your mouth and eyes while under water. Talk about a scare!



Ainley and her crew arrived next and we all went up to Cooks Creek for Sophie and Peter Oleksuk's internment. The mosquitoes were TERRIBLE the first couple weeks and were unfortunate to be present for the internment. Shed some tears, shared some memories and took comfort in family.



The rest of the vacation was at the cottage with brief trips back to Selkirk every week for mad laundry loads, gardening duties (mmm, raspberries, carrots, beans, lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers...) The monsoon from the previous months were hard on the garden and Tomatoes and potatoes are not coming up.

The first couple weeks were pretty rough on Dylan - poor little guy was eaten to bits by mosquitoes - literally head to toe. luckily after that there was a mysterious fish fly invasion for a couple nights and then the mosquitoes were quite tolerable (so long as you stayed out of the trees and shade which my dear Dylan seemed strangely attracted to...)

The boys next door - Carson and Chase were a big hit with all the kids. Carson was especially nice and looked out for the younger ones and tried to include them in their games. Sophia and Dylan are still asking for the boys.

Most of the fun for Dylan involved running up and down the beach (about a million times) sometimes with a truck and sometimes without. The winds picked up the last couple days and he was very entertaining with his crazy dance on the beach. Sophia remained more of a land lover most of the time, however, turned around the last week and became are real water baby. Now she keeps looking for chances to dunk her head in the water and practices every night at bath.

The last couple weeks my back started acting up and would go from intolerable pain to tolerable. My stroller tire was going flat everyday, so that had me worried for my trip home and changing planes on my own with the kids. Luckily the pain bounced back to tolerable the day of travel and my new tire arrived two days before departure. I have to say I was NOT happy with Delta in my travels as the flight crew were pretty rude and snooty as well as completely unhelpful at the terminal where I had to change planes. Was not too pleased either to find that the two bags that I paid $50 for as checked luggage AND both car seats did NOT come home with us. After running with four carry-ons, two kids packed in a stroller whose wheel was not properly inflated and was bulging at the side and all wobbly to catch my connection we sat on the plane at the gate for at least 40 minutes and the bags STILL didn't make it??!! grrr. It had been a good 3 hours or so since we could last use the bathroom and Sophia had to go pretty bad after getting on the plane. The flight attendant was so rude in our exchange to let her use the bathroom. Made it sound like we were going to be causing the plane to me late to depart. Well, Sophia got her poop out in record speed and then we sat on at the gate for that 40+ minutes. grrrr. anyway, not a great return story, however a good vacation was had. Gains: S&D were sleeping later in the morning (yay me), they learned how fun it is to play with others and each other and they got more used to and started ENJOYING the water. yippy! Now, enjoy some photos!

4 out of 5

Looks like four of my five readers have tuned in to my page. At least that is what my latest poll indicates to me. hehe. Little FYI, you can leave comments anonymously (no email trail required) if you like. I like comments. Nice comments more so than mean ones. I like to know what the people are thinking. You know, so when I run for Prime Minister or president in the future, I will know what you want and can address your issues.

Missed a spot

Was invited to join a friend at her in-law's house in Hull today. GORGEOUS. Beautiful house, amazing ocean front property. Very pampered to be able to hang out there for the morning. Kids had fun with their toys and lunch. I applied sunscreen nice and evenly to the kids. I, however, not to lucky. Missed that big patch of back - you know the one. Where the hand reaching from above doesn't quite reach the one from below. Gonna be a little sore, me thinks. har, me maties.

I have been pleased with my running efforts as of late. I have been able to get out there every day for over a month now. Runs are between 3 and 4 miles typically with an occasional longer one. I have been irritated that it is so hard to time myself on runs with my sweep hand watch and estimating how much time I sit at red lights. Soooooo, I bought myself a stop watch. HA! I love it. Still have to work out the kinks - best way to hold onto it and the stroller, get the start stop more readily pressed, etc... I have timed two runs so far. Not improving my speed as the second took 1.5 min longer than the previous days' run of that route. But it is fun and amusing to me none the less.

Early Birthday Party

Seeing as we will be in Winnipeg/ Selkirk/ Lake Manitoba for Dylan's actual birthday, I decided to have an early party to fulfill his wish to have a super duper ginormous truck party. We did the best we could with the trucks and decor, however, the guest list was small. Family only. Bruder made out like a bandit this year. Three ginormous truck, with the big fav from Me-mere and Pe-pere. I was "fearful" of this and requested he open their gift last so that my gift would be opened and not forgotten with the excitement of the BACKHOE LOADER ON A FLAT BED SEMI. Sweet. Dylan also got a pretty cool imaginex boat that Sophia took a shine to as well. The little boat trailer truck is GREAT packing size for our trip this summer. Daddio scored on the car carrier truck. Now the only thing left is to decide who we must sell to make room for all these trucks...

Check out les photos.

The Accidental Gardener

First, I'd like to thank the smarty pants who took my poll. Pthththththth. :) Well, at least you took it, more than I can say for the rest of you.

So, it appears as though I have unintentionally planted me some cucumbers. I am pretty sure these "weeds" are cukes. I used my compost for the first time ever, scattering bits around the beds. This weed seems to be popping up EVERYWHERE. At first I was yanking them. Now? I have decided to let them grow and see what they end up as. If they are in fact, cukes, they are far bigger and more healthy than the ones I planted ON PURPOSE last year.

Say WHAT?

Ok, I guess I am in the mood for change. Want to redo the bathrooms. Came back from IKEA to actually DESIGN some fun kids' bedrooms. So, I started with my blog and gave it a make-over. You likey? take my new poll :)

trucks vs princesses

So, in order to be a fair mom, I thought I should be obligated to know as much about Dylan's trucks as I do about Sophia's princesses. You know, so we can relate to each other better.

Princesses:
Belle - Brunette, yellow dress, Maurice is her father, both captured by beast at one point or another
Sleeping Beauty - blond, pink dress (though there was some disagreement among her fairy godmothers whether it should be blue or pink. AKA Princess Aurora and Briar Rose. Bonus info: three fairy godmothers' names are Fauna, Merryweather and flora (their dresses are green, blue and pink respectively)
Jasmine - teal jumpsuit, black hair, married to Aladdin ("prince" Ali)
Ariel - Mermaid, in love with Prince Eric, red hair
Cinderella - Blue dress, blond, with Prince Philip(?)
Princess Tiana - Dark hair, green dress
Snow White - ate apple, fell asleep, only short haired princess, black hair, red, yellow and blue dress

Trucks:
Articulated truck: Had a "blade" to push load off long dump truck part
Hydraulic Excavator - Caterpillar wheels, rotating middle part with digger scoop
Wheel loader - wheels are "two daddies tall", large loader shovel in front
Backhoe loader - shovel in front, digger bucket behind
Mini-excavator - Small bucket in front, I believe can support the weight of 5 small cars, many attachments include drill, jackhammer...
motor grader - for road making, can also have snow plow attachment
Mining truck - big daddy of all dump trucks
Skid Steer Loader - wheeled small loader truck
Bulldozer - Shovel is 9feet tall, Caterpillar wheels.

Well, I guess that is as much as i can remember for now. Not bad :)

As cars are to dolls

So, I find it very cute listening to the kids play. At dinner Dylan was playing with his trucks on the table and talking through his cars. "I want to go in the middle. Ok, you can go in the middle..." as he parks his cars all in a row.

On a different note, I was pleased my own activities this afternoon. Hit the outlets in Wrentham and managed to pick up my "list" of summer clothes I was hoping to acquire for hanging at the beach and around town with the kids. Managed to keep withing the birthday money budget and tell myself NO unless it was a perfect fit. Plus I got to drive the beamer really fast. The AC in it was a super awesome bonus to boot.

Memorial Day 2010

The photos are in! Have a look see.

Grooooooaaaaaannnnnn

So I have a bunch of little gems I like to rattle off to the kids. Thought it would be fun to record as many as I can recall at the moment.

Up-a-doodle-noodle
whoops a doodle
Buckle you, Buck-a-roo!
Look where you are going, not where you have been.
Can't cook it cold.

Songs I sing regularly:
Going in the beep beep, going in the beep beep, going in the beep beep yeah! (heading out)
Home diddy home diddy home home home home, home diddy home diddy, home home home home. Home diddy home diddy home home home home, we are go-ing home home home. Mamma, Sophia a-and Dylan, mamma, Sophia a-and Dylan, momma, Sophia a-and Dylan. We are going home home home (cute to hear the kids sing this to me now).

I know there must be more, I will have to have to come back to this entry.

Month of May

This month claimed two cell phone in water fatalities, one computer in a cereal incident, one rat in our truck ventilation system (not so concerned for the rat as for the stinky car effect) and one tire to a miscellaneous piece of metal. Tire was salvaged and found the rat so I suppose wasn't all bad. Hmmm, the good? Well, I guess not good, but could have been worse. Could have had an accident with the tire going flat mid-ride or major auto damage. Our phone plans are coming up for renewal in July rather than a year from now. So yeah, things could be worse. Here just hoping they get better for June and all this bad karma is left behind in the month of may.

Thank Heaven for Little Boys

Well, Dylan has to be the squiggliest little guy I know. He just LOVES to hang on my arm, leg.. and give me a good snuggle. I know there will come a day when he will cringe when I try to kiss him, so for now I cherish his words " i want more kisses, lots and lots of kisses".

Had a pretty good week. Made it 6 out of 7 days in a row with exercise. Wahoo! The max was on Thursdays when I boycotted our stinky car (literally stinky and literally something has crawled up and died "somewhere"). I took the kids into Boston via train. Was 1.7mi to the T station, then a half hour ride into town. got off and had a brief stop at first playground until too many kids started taking over. Then we were off to the destination playground on the Charles river. I wasn't entirely sure where it was, but knew it was somewhat close to the Arlington bridge. Kids were in the stroller and when we got to the foot bridge, all I had to say was "Dylan, look, ramp!" and he was out of the stroller raring to go and run. He had fun on all the little bridges along the Charles as we searched (in the wrong direction) for the playground. After a while I decided to head the other way and we finally arrived (2.5 miles later) and our destination playground. We noticed squirrels rummaging through all the strollers there looking for food, but were not deterred from our stay... until Sophia tripped over my foot 5 minutes later and scraped her knee. Not bad, but did draw blood and the ground looked a little dirty. I cleaned it out with water and a Kleenex and was trying to convince her to stay and have lunch before deciding to go. Well, that darned squirrel had to land on OUR stroller and that was it. Game over. Sophia would NOT stay any longer. Sigh. 2 hours to get there, 5 minutes there, and an hour to get home. 6.5 miles logged.

Looks like this week will be a scorcher - 30+ degrees (C) for a few days. Hello summer.

So, I am also in the midst of knitting another dress for Sophia seeing as the first has been such a hit with her. I am not having good vibes from this one. Was knitting for a week and wasn't happy with it and started over. I am happier with this attempt, but still not thrilled with the pattern. I have altered the pattern a bit on the skirt and bought some bling to add when I am done knitting. We'll see...

Two wheels. That's it.

Sophia rode a bike for the first time withOUT training wheels. Couldn't believe my eyes. She rode around the driveway and pedaled a bunch of times, even making a few tight turns and kept riding. Still learning, but she is DOING it. Wowza. Did I mention she is only 4?

Mother's day/ Birthday 2010

So, Ethan diligently followed the mommy wants mommy gets thing for today. Kids? Not so much. Dylan woke up at 5.30am and would NOT go back to sleep and we listened to him call for us for half an hour. Sophia woke up at 6.30am (after a rough bedtime with her getting out of bed as late as 9pm) and started crying immediately. They didn't really get the pamper mommy/ shower her with love thing. Maybe next year.... I woke to coffee and a nice Lox and cream cheese bagel. Then was happy to receive the Black Eyed Peas CD from Dylan and had a little dance party in the living room. He has been wanting to give this to me for a while now. I can't wait to see the pictures Ethan took of him buying it for me. Sophia had her fussy one for a while, but Ethan managed to get her out of the house long enough so I could wash and wax the floors. Crazy, I know, but I really wanted the floors to shine today.
Anyhoooo, so I was able to get to Home Depot and use my gift cards on some rose bushes, marigolds and hostas that were planted about the house and yard. Very impressed that I even used my compost bin goo for the first time EVER. We shall see how that goes... I didn't plant the roses yet, as I think I will go the added mile and get some humus as I haven't had much luck with roses before and want to give these ones a better chance. I got a run in and a whole lotta goodies devoured. Not a bad day indeed.

The Self Portrtait

Sophia has taken to Ethan's affinity for taking self portraits. Here are some examples from our young shutter bug.

Sorting

First another shout out to my posse, yeah, you four out there. Woot Woot. Do I hear a fifth? Going once, going twice...

I am continuously amused finding Sophia's bags and boxes around the house. She like to tote along little parcels filled with miscellaneous objects be they pretend food from her kitchen, peppered with a few princess dolls, tiny shoe, ribbon... They are so randomly put together, yet she love to put them in whatever little bag or box is around and have that as her little stash for the hour.

Photos

As promised, photo from the boating trip. As predicted, battery was low and died after two shots. As per Blogger, photo upload sucks and pictures not in order I would like. So, I suppose we will just have to start with my little princess and her fashion sense. It was in the 80's (mid 20's) and she chose flip flops and the swizzle had I knit to accompany her ensemble.

Yeah, I agree, looks so much cuter on Sophia.

Ta-da! Le boat pic. It got much sunnier out. Really, it did.

Pets

First, a little shout out to my three readers. Hey. How's it going?

Ok, now to the pet topic. This has come up a few times. Sophia wants a dog. I told her that Dylan is allergic and besides, she is afraid of every dog she sees. That's ok, mommy, I won't be. I promise. Then I tell her that I am not ready for all the work involved - daily walks, feeding, cost of vet bills... and then there is potty training and picking up their poop. Dylan became interested here and told me he would help with potty training. He said "I turn on the poo poo fan" for him. So cute. He is very adamant about the use of said fan.

Boat day

First day of the season to head out on the boat. Not a bad day for a picnic with disposable dishes considering the major water main break contaminating the water for 2 million people surrounding Boston. I feel like a settler from the 1800's boiling my water to wash dishes by hand. I have done one load and am already sick of it, haha. Try to remember the camera to take some photos of our outing. Hope it's battery isn't dead, though I do recall it being low last time I used it...

Hi, YOU.

Ok, Now I remember why I don't add photos very often into this blog (instead use picasa). It SUCKS. And now it is even worse than before. I USED to be able to move the pictures I uploaded around after they are randomly inserted at the beginning of the entry by blogger. It was tedious then to do so, however, was at least doable. Now, it isn't letting me move them, so I thought I would move my text instead. Well, THAT resulted in my LOSING those lovely words all together. GRRRR.

Alas, I copied and pasted said text in another document and will toggle back and forth to re-type it here. Love ya, blogger.

Yay! Someone took my poll! Everyday, eh? I apologise for not blogging more frequently. I am now in between knitting projects AND I have the polls open so there is extra time and motivation for me to drop in more frequently. If you don't want to add your name to the followers list, how about giving me clues as to who you are in the comments section at the end of the entry. I love a good mystery game :) So, here are a couple pic's of the kids that I think are hilarious. I was in another country while the kids were atop the counter, by the way. Good ol' dad...

Speaking of my knitting, here is the truck sweater I started 6 days ago. Fin! Still have to block it and add a couple buttons, so I will post the TRUE finished product when that is done. Here is a teaser.

What else is new? Started a lawn project. Had a little help getting started, ahem, Bob. Trying 1/4 of the lawn to see how she goes. Laid down 25 bags of dirt, added fertilizer and seed and water and got my fingers crossed. Weather has been good for planting - cool and wet without being overly wet. Please grow! Bought a few more plants for the side of the house and along the front. Funny how quickly Home Depot can suck up $75 out of your wallet. Like a HOOVER.

We are experiencing a resurgence of princess days here at the ol' homestead. Sophia has started wearing her dress up dresses and that has roused Dylan's interest in them too. At least his favorite is the blue one. I am going to share the rest of the photos via PICASA here. Have a look see :)

Polls are open

OK, my curiosity has peaked. Who's reading this stuff I write and how often. Check out the right side of the blog and please take a second to do my poll. Would love to know WHO you are too, so sign in at the right too and maybe I will give you a little shout out. Imagine, your name in print. You could be famous. Note also, the poll says you can vote for more than one option. Feel free to leave a comment, too, even if just to say "Hi"

School Vacation = Mamma overtime, double time, on the double

Has been a busy week and it is only Wednesday. Yeesh. Monday was gym and groceries and I can't even remember what. Tuesday we went to Rhode Island to the zoo. What a great zoo and park. Really bummed I forgot Dylan's Inhalers. He started coughing a bunch after the "fun house" jumpy thing and it freaked me out and we headed home. Today was Beantown by train day. Invited a couple friends and their kids to hit the town with the kids. Lots of others had this idea. The playground we went to was PACKED and not to suited to Sophia's style. I admit it stressed me too, so between the two of us we didn't last long there. Hit the carousel, followed by a picnic and some hill running by the kids (this time I remembered Dylan's inhaler and was able to use it). I only had my phone to capture these images and thought it was a good time to upload all that I have taken since January. So here they are.

Princess Overload

Sophia is REALLY full speed ahead in princess land. Most of her pretend play involves princesses. She has the little tiny dolls and re-enacts all the princess stories with them. Whether it be pricking a finger on a spindle or getting true loves' first kiss. She is really good at the improv thing too. I was sewing the bling onto Marysa's dress and she asked about it. I told her that dress was for Marysa. Then instantly, one of her dolls became princess Marysa and Marysa was in the story for the rest of the night, getting HER first kiss and all with princess sleeping beauty.

So, I have tried to keep track of my knitting in one place (picasa web album) and while moving pictures around from other albums already posted there, the order got messed up. While irritating, I am glad they are at least in one album. Have a LOOK if you like.

Speaking of improve, Sophia is playing again with the princess dolls and just added a little Sesame Street into it. "moving frontwards, moving backwards" - I can hear the song they sing about that in my head now. Oh great. I think that song will be in my head for the day. AHHHHHH.

Overwhelmed

Got back on Monday morning (12.15am) after a full and emotional weekend away saying good-bye to my grandmother. I had spent a week preparing for the visit - ensuring the kids and Ethan had their meals taken care of, activities planned... and came back to a million things that needed to be done. Like three days were added to this week to make up for the ones I missed. Laundry, groceries, doctor's appointment, dentist appointment (kids), driver's licence renewal, passport renewal, gymnastics lessons, swim lessons, need to get clothes that fit the kids, shoes for summer, gardening stuff - lawn and pretty flowers, Ethan is travelling again tomorrow through Friday and then off to Maine for the weekend. AHHHHHHHH. I think I will just bury my head in a hole and knit. Speaking of, I realized I bought the wrong size contrast color yarn and need to exchange THAT before the weekend too. GRRRR. Was hoping to have a double header and get both passport and driver's photos done today. But alas, just did the license and have to do the hair and make up again another day. GRRRRR.

Hollow leg

Sophia must have a hollow leg. We went to IHOP for dinner the other night while Ethan was in Minneapolis. I ordered her the "silver 5". That had 5 small pancakes, a scrambled egg and slice of bacon. She ate ALL of that, a few bites of Dylan's egg and about a third of my chicken out of my sandwich plus some of my fries. Amazing. Normally I have to chase her down to eat, but not that day, apparently. Then she was SUPER hyper and I regretted the syrup on those pancakes...

I have to tell you something...

Dylan has been super cute going to bed these past few weeks. At nap or bedtime, after I have put his covers on him, he sits up and declares, "I have to tell you something". He gets a huge smile on his face, snuggles up to the side of the bed really close to me and sits there.... He doesn't REALLY have anything to say, he sits there trying to come up with something on the spot. It is so cute to see the wheels turning as he thinks of something. I usually help him along and we go over the fun things we did that day or will do the next.

First Tackle

So proud of little D. Sophia has been known to tackle Dylan all the time. She comes at him, gives him a bear hug that ends with him on the floor and him squirming and screaming to get out of her grip. Well, today, he took his turn at the tackle move at the mall play area. He was chasing her, went for the hug hold and brought her down. She was laughing the whole time and I saw him sneak in a kiss on her leg as she squirmed free. That part warmed my heart like crazy. Eyes welling up now as I see it again in my mind. I was so impressed with his moves though. Yay Dylan!

Oh so litteral

Sophia woke up the other morning VERY grouchy, whiny and cranky. I got upset at her and told her that it sounded like she woke up on the wrong side of the bed and that maybe she should go back to bed wake up on the right side. Well, that through her off into an even greater fit. I couldn't understand why she was getting so upset over that until I heard what she was saying through her cries. She was VERY upset that she physically wasn't able to get up on any other side of the bed. "But mommy, there is a wall on the other side I couldn't get out on the other side..." I thought that was hilarious and felt bad for her being so worried about it. So cute.

Ok, so that little gem took me about 4 days to write down. Kind of why I haven't been writing here so much. These little things happen all the time, or I think of something, but the computer isn't handy. Then when it IS handy, I can't remember what it was that was so clever, cute or worthy or recording.

Happy spring!

Bathing suit season

Both Sophia and Dylan start swim lessons this week. Yikes! I have them signed up for the mom and tot classes which means I have to don a swimsuit TOO, two times a week for the next ten weeks. Yay me. I tried to get Sophia in a class last spring and that went rather poorly. Hoping a new year is better.

Took Dylan to an allergist last week. Turns out he is allergic to dust mites, grass, a couple moulds found in nature, mouse (??), and dog. The mites is the biggy. He has had a stuffy nose and itchy eyes for a long time now and I have been at my wits end trying to console him with that. Turns out the mites are most likely the cause of that. SO, I tried to de-dust his room - removed the glider, bought some dust mite covers for his bedding (which is now all crunchy, poor guy) and vacuumed the heck out of his room. I am not a super clean person, so this will be difficult to maintain. I had actually just made that observation about myself before this appointment. How most of the other moms I know seem to have their homes in a constant state of clean, it comes "naturally" to them. I had been trying to raise the bar at home and make sure all eating surfaces are wiped and toys picked up. Quite difficult with three kids (yes, one is rather large). I have also been trying to change Dylan out of his jammies when not in bed and back into them for naps to keep mites to a min. Well, two days after this "program", Dylan gets a massive cold with a major runny nose. GRRRRR, I haven't even been able to see if all my efforts are really working or not. Sigh...

Looking forward to some family visits on the horizon - Ainley drives down this weekend and the rents are coming first week of April.

Bathroom Humor

Ok, I still laugh every time Dylan toots. I know this isn't setting a good precedent, but I can't help it. It is so cute.

Dylan is now a full fledged potty goer - will do #1 completely on his own and #2 he can do except the wipe.

Like Sophia, he sometimes asks me to leave while he poops "because it is going to get stinky". Last night's comment was priceless, though. "I have to make pee pees and poo poos and toots in the toilet." And that he did... For 25 minutes!

Got my second migraine ever. First happened a week before our wedding and my vision was all blurred and I couldn't read. Then I got a mild headache. This time I was in the grocery store with Dylan and the eye thing happened (looked it up online - thought it was an ocular migraine, however, it think now that was the "aura" preceding the headache) and then as I was driving, the headache set in. Still had to get Sophia and hit one ore grocery store. not pretty. Hope these things do not become a regular thing. Head is still "sensitive".

Liking the new range. Have been trying out meats. My slow cooked roast turned out so amazing and my chicken on the bone (drum sticks, thighs and breast) have been super moist. I made Ethan's cake in there and some SUPER yummy muffins.

New Range, Week 1

Double batch shortbread cookies
Double batch sugar cookies
Chocolate chip cookies (two sheets at the same time)
Roast beef cooked WHILE roasting potatoes in the drawer below
Chicken soup
Lasagna
Frying pan dinner, AKA American chop suey
Hamburger and hot dog buns
Roasted chicken parts
Hot dogs. heheh.

So, I have used the probe a couple times. Doesn't have my confidence. The roast turned out super, Sophia DID have four slices, after all, however, the probe was about 10 off from my instant read one. The probe was reading higher than the thermometer. I think the thermometer was more accurate as the roast looked pretty dead on for 135 that the instant read one told me. Still working out the kinks, however, Sophia gave me all the encouragement I need when whe told me "Thank you for the nice dinner" today. Awwwwe...

Picasa Web Album photos available

I have posted new photos on picasa. Many have been posted on facebook already, so if you look at those, you will see a lot of repeats. Noticed that I didn't have many pictures here anymore.

Fully potty trained at 2.7

Dylan has passed the final stage of potty training. He has now been going ALL by himself. I sat here on the couch just now, for instance, and Dylan went downstairs on his own, went potty - pants down and up all on his own and came upstairs to tell me he wiped his bum. The other day he did the same, only for number 2 - sat himself down and was getting ready to wipe when I came in. wahoo!

You get what you get and you don't get upset

Words to live by, eh? Sophia came home from school with this little gem and has been saying it around the house the past couple weeks. I like it.

Speaking of Sophia, she is so great to listen to playing. She has really been into make believe and reenacts the movies (princess ones, of course). She is very dramatic - intonations of her voice, definitely acting out a part. She pretends she is one of the princesses and I can pick up actual parts of the movies. One in particular that stands out to her is in The Little Mermaid, I think. I remember the part about the seagull trying to listen to prince Erik's heart. He, of course, thinks you can here it in the foot, but that is beside the point. Sophia keeps talking about a "beating heart" in her play. Maybe there is another heart part in another movie, where ever it is from, it is pretty cute.

Dylan is in the throws of Candy Pop Lane (candy land). He asks to play it a hundred times a day. He doesn't care about moving on the board, winning or losing. he just like picking the cards and gets so excited about the colors he gets. Pretty funny (if you can get past the fact that you have just played 8 games that morning).

I am getting pretty irritated with my bugs. I have been sick for over two weeks now and I think there has not been one pain reliever free day for over two weeks. The head aches are terrible and this latest phase of junk in my lungs/ cough is not helping that. PLEASE, bugs, TAKE A HIKE. Party is OVER.

Cindy Clark! Come on Down! You have won a NEW RANGE!

Yup, the price was right. I was playing the players. Sears started with their 15% off sale. Then they through in the 10% off if you sign up for their credit card. This brought the Stainless steel model into the picture. Still about $100 over my limit once tax was included. So, I thought I would see what I could do with this number. I called a few local places to see if they would beat it. Apparently that number was pretty low and only one would "play" with me. They knocked $10 off the sears prices (saying that was below cost for them and they would lose money, but they had a price guarantee and had to do it). So, I thought I saw a free ship thing on Sears's website so I decided I would go with sears. Thought the extra $10 was worth it to have it shipped here and not be responsible for damage en route. I then realized the free shipping was INSTEAD of the 10% off. I decided then to go with the OTHER place offering it for $10 less. Then my little recall button went off and I remembered seeing a price match guarantee thing on the Sears website. I had nothing to lose, so I called their 1-800 number and brought them the New England appliance stainless price. They told me then that their policy was to take off the difference of their price PLUS an additional 10%. WAHOO! The range was on sale for $1657. The NEA price came in $10 lower than the sears CARD price of $1492. SO, the difference was taken between 1657 (listed sale price) and 1482. Plus another 10%. In the end, all said and told, I got my convection GE range with lower baking drawer, tri-ring cook top element and 5th warming element for $1399. ($1317 before tax). That is even lower than the $1331 quoted to me by sears initially for the black model. Wahoo!

Living in the Moment

Thought I would record some of the things that just happen throughout the day. Things that are of great amusement to me, however, forgotten if not recorded instantly. So, today, I really tried hard to keep remembering a couple of the funny things the kids said and write them down here.

First off is Sophia. She sauntered into the bathroom this morning, topless and hand on hip telling me "I'm sweating hot, mama. I was building this huge tower and got sweating hot so I took my shirt off". Her hip jutted out and hand on the other was priceless.

Dylan has this little gem that is ongoing. He keeps asking to play "Candy Pop Lane". AKA Candy Land. It sounds SO cute that it usually gets me in a couple games with him. When extreme boredom with the game sets in I tell him "That's it! :)" he puts the game away and comes back with an even MORE dreaded game - the literally never ending "Chutes and Ladders". UGH! Just when you think you are almost at the end, WHAM, another chute. SHOOT! game goes on forever. I have thought it was cute that Dylan has shown such an interest in games (even if it mostly to pick the cards from the pile and spin the little dial).

Another step ahead

So Dylan just had a couple more firsts this week. He has been potty trained for the last three months, however, each bathroom trip has involved 90-99% assistance (pulling down pants, leaning him forward, hugs and snuggles while he is seated for business...) This week, however, Dylan has been trying to do it all himself. For number one, at least. He has been pulling down the pants, I watch him get "the lean" in to make sure " it all goes in the bowl" and then he even does a little body jiggle to shake it off, heheh. He then shreds off a little toilet paper from the roll and wipes. SO cute.

The other first is his story reading level. Ok, I am reading, DUH, but his attention span and books being read has skyrocketed. I think it may have to do with him being sick and too tired to care as much, but we have been reading really LONG books - beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and the Lion King. They are so long that we read for about 15 minutes, put in the book mark and start up again the next day. These books have some pretty big words in them too which I am sure he doesn't understand, but he still listens and seems content.

I was very impressed with Sophia today and her first day of gymnastics. She didn't make a big deal about saying bye to me (I went over to her for fear she would cry and she didn't even pay attention to me). I went to the upstairs viewing area and she only looked up a few times to wave. She listened very well to the teachers and had a lot of fun with the activities. She did VERY well with the backwards somersaults. Yay S!

Answering service

I was in the shower the other day and when I got out, Sophia informed me that she was on the phone. First instinct was that she was on her play phone. Mother's instinct was that she was REALLY talking on the REAL phone. I asked her which phone she was on and she described the REAL one. I then asked is anyone was talking back to her and she said yes, it was grandpa. After a few more questions (and I was dry) I took the phone and sure enough, my dad was on the line and the time indicated they had been talking for 5 minutes! I then listened to her continue talking to him and was impressed at her slow and clear speech (stuff she learned with Lydia, the speech therapist). cool.

Dylan has a newbie too. He finally likes a veggie! Turns out to be broccoli. All of a sudden he has been wanting it and eating it first off his plate. We have only had it a few times in the past couple weeks, but that is great for me as he has not been one to eat ANY veggies until now.

Speaking of little D. He has a weird bug right now. Throwing up. No fever, or other symptoms. Was tired the first day of this. Low appetite yesterday, however, kept the little he ate down. Has had fun and been happy in between bouts. Was a little sluggish but not much to notice. Then we went to dinner after a b-day party and he started throwing up again! Poor little D. Hope he is ok tonight...

Sophia at 4

My little bunny is growing like a weed. Had her 4 year check up yesterday. Stats: 41.25 inches tall ( in the 80's percentile) and 37.75lb (in the 60's percentile). Had FOUR needles plus an H1N1 nose squirt. She didn't not handle those very well, but what can you do. Dylan was a a champ with his H1N1 shot in his leg though. Yay! Sophia is a healthy girl, so we are happy with that.

New year started here in Quincy. Got back from Los Gatos on New Years Eve. Stayed up until midnight (probably the first in a long time. Was easy as it was only 9pm in CA time).

Made it through our first week home. I just finished Sophia's sweater, complete with bling. I have a feeling, however, she will not like it as much as Dylan likes to wear the one I made him. I am fairly pleased with it though. I think adding a few more rows onto the hood would make it more wearable and I am not really happy with the zipper insertion (not very neatly done. I think a combo of not doing it before and my impatience to get the sweater done are behind that). I also think there is a little too much bling. I may take off the flower buttons I added to the neck area.

So,I underwent the knife yesterday. Had a little more "mole" removed. Two things were unexpected there. First, that I would be off from the gym for a whole month! (Off for two weeks while first biopsy heals and then I have a second one the same day those stitches come out and will have two weeks off for that). I was really enjoying going regularly, especially after running everyday in CA. Dylan has been asking to go with me and I hope that he will not lose his zeal for the gym after not going for a long time. Second surprise was just how big the slice and dice was for the biopsy. I was expecting a little cut with about 2 stitches. Took the bandage off and there were SEVEN! Ugh, no wonder there has been... discomfort.

And now, dun-da-dadahhhhh! Here are the long awaited photos from December and January.

Happy Boxing Day!

Wow, it has been over a month since my last post. A new record! To my defense, there has a lot goin' on. My mom and dad came to visit on December 8th and Sophia had her 4th Birthday party on the 12th. We then left for Los Gatos, CA to spend Christmas with Ethan's sister, Sylvia and her family and Emily on the 15th. The period prior to the 8th was filled with Christmas gift buying, birthday party planning and Christmas card making. As soon as I get our cord for the camera (left behind) I will post pictures of all.

Sophia's 4th Birthday party was held at Ellis Gym and she had a BLAST. Was so great to see her laughing and running and playing WITH the other kids at her party. She claimed it was the best birthday party ever. YAY! We had strawberry cupcakes at the gym party and chocolate raspberry cake at the "after party" at our house.

I had my mom re-teach me some knitting stuff and teach me some new knitting stuff. I was able to crank out a pair of mittens for Dylan in the midst of the chaos at the house while they were visiting and get started on a sweater for Dylan. I finished the sweater (in about 8 days) in CA with a little technical assistance from Emily and Dylan wore it on the 22nd and has worn it another two times since. My fingers are all a jitter and I am anxious to start on my third project. Will hit the knitting store soon.

We had a nice Christmas Eve party here and I went to town on the butter tarts. They were fine even with my mess up on the sugar type I put in the crust. Bob prepared a feast of lobster and beef and we munched on fancy hors oeuvres like pate and caviar. The highlight to my night was seeing Dylan chowing down on a slice of bread with caviar on it. He was licking the caviar OFF, rather and leaving the bread. Then I asked him if he wanted more caviar or a cookie and he asked for caviar!

I have been making the most of the weather here - approx. 3 mile run everyday plus another 3 mile walk into town for last minute Christmas gift in the first week. The kids are enjoying their stroller runs with me, so I hope to keep it up in the frigid Boston air. We'll see...

We have another four days to go in Cali and then back to the grind. Sophia has really come out of her shell here and I hope she stays out. Syl and Bob invited their friends over a few night after I arrived with the kids and Sophia REALLy took to their boys (aged 5 and 7). For the first time ever, she forgot all about me and ran, chased and laughed with them all night. It was great to see. When I told her they were coming again on Christmas Eve, she asked "Jack too?" and when I told her yes, she squealed with delight. Hilarious. She has left no platform un-sung or dramatized upon while here either. So funny how she is such a performer. Dylan has become one with the little green tractor ride on toy here. He is on it everyday and at the party was zooming around after anyone who would ride on another one in front of him. Good times :)

10

Dylan can count to ten! We have been reading the Foot Book while he, er, sits on the pot for a while now. I think this has helped him with his numbers and colors. One page says "more and more feet, 24 feet" Then I count the feet with him and he has gotten to 10 all on his own. The feet are also different colors and we identify the different colors - show me a pink foot, etc...

My Christmas/ birthday shopping is well underway. I am pretty happy with the amount that has been done, however, I have to keep on top of it this year because we are leaving on the 15th.

New Niece

As of Friday, November 13th, I have a new niece: Sydney Paige Stevenson :) Welcome to the fam, little one. Can't wait to meet you! Congrats to Lana, Brent and Marysa on their new addition.

What else is new.... Well, Dylan sent us to the ER again recently. Ethan was in Minneapolis and Dylan got sick, of course. No phone on me, I went to the pedi office and they sent us to the ER. Poor little guy needs some better lungs! Thankfully he is better now, could do without these scares, though.

Fall has come and we are having a string of good weather. Nice to have 60+ degree days in November. Getting ready for our trip to Canada on the 25th to visit Ainley and my other nieces and nephews. Gearing up for Sophia's b-day and Christmas. Keep going through waves of thinking things are under control and then others that everything is a loose end and will never get done in time. Normal for this time of year for me I suppose.

Wicked Smaaht

Sophia and Dylan keep surprising me with all the little things they know. In the car, Sophia told me that she is sitting on Dylan's LEFT side. Yay! She has figured that out! Dylan has been doing very well with his colors and number's too. Sophia has been talking a lot about being three and almost four. Dylan surprised me recently saying he is almost three! He knows three is after two, woohoo.

Stroller drama. I am the worst at picking strollers. Started off by picking the cheapest and they really didn't work out. Then there was BOB. Paid a small fortune for "him" and thought I had the best stroller out there. He was big, bulky and heavy. Not cool. Not good for jogging. I have tried to like it, but I have had serious stroller envy of all the others out there - in particular the Phil and Ted. So, I decided to unload BOB and get me a Phil and Ted. I SO with P&T was my FIRST stroller. Could have skipped a lot of back break and frustration with ALL the others. Not sure what is up with the wheels on this new stroller, but I hope to have worked out the kinks. Rides like a dream, is SO small and light! I know it is way late in the game to be getting a new stroller. But I sold the BOB and made sure i didn't spend more than I sold it for. (which I practically GAVE AWAY, grrrr.)

Happy Halloween!

Repeat after me

I have noticed more and more lately that Dylan will say things and keep saying them until I repeat back what he has told me. I think it is a confirmation to him that he has said it correctly if someone else says it back - like he has been understood. I can't just answer him, say umm hmm, or yes. He will get louder and keep saying it until I repeat what he has said.

And now I will repeat what I have said about Dylan in the past - he is such a little sweet heart! He has a heart of gold. If I mention I have an ouchie or someone else (Sophia) complains of something, he right away runs over and gives a kiss. Catches me off guard sometimes as sometimes I just say the word while talking and he comes to kiss me. In books, too, if a character is hurt, he leans in and gives that character a kiss. SOOOO sweet. He is going to break a lot of heart - will be a vicious circle - break a heart, kiss it, thus breaking another heart, then has to kiss it...

Giddy-up

Here's another shout out to Lana. I have found myself treating the kids a lot like horses, perhaps due to my dear friend, Lana's, influence. When trying to put on shoes for instance, I will tap their leg as I have seen her do to her horses to get them to lift their leg up. I do the cheek "click click" to get the kids moving, hurry up. Sometimes I will even pat my leg to get them to come. Now if only I could get Dylan to eat apples and carrots like horses we could be onto something.

I realize I have neglected this site for quite a while, so here is a summer/ fall recap. We spent most long weekends up in Maine through out the summer. Most of my time was spent scraping, priming, painting and then painting some more. I don't miss that, however, I do miss the extra calories that I burned. Winter fat is setting in - EARLY. I then brought in the peach crop from our tree and made jam, chutney, sauce and pies. Oooo, so many peaches...

Sophia started her second year of preschool in September. She is at a new school and I like it so much better. I think she will really like her teachers and be able to make some friends. We got to go apple picking in the fall and I can't believe how YUMMY fresh they taste. Made a few apple pies out of those as well as my first apple turn overs. YUM.

We were able to get a good price on plane tickets and now our on again off again trip to California for Christmas is on again. The kids and I will head up mid December and be joined by Ethan on the 23rd. Come home new years eve - wahoo! Now I have a million things to get done between our upcoming trip up to visit Ainley for US thanksgiving, Sophia's b-day and getting Christmas shopping underwraps in time.

I have also been slacking in posting photos, so here is a link to some I posted on Picasaweb

How things have changed...

As a teenager and young "adult" I would spend hours in the bathroom. I would primp my hair, dust my face, primp my hair (I have a lot of hair). Now a days I STILL spend hours in the bathroom. This time it is mostly with Dylan inhaling obnoxious fumes. He is the cutest little guy, but MAN his poops smell bad. And he enjoys his time on the pot a little too much. Upon sitting he right away insists on "read book". And we read the same two books over and over while listening to Elmo shout "Great job!" "you did it!" you're growing up, just like Elmo!" His leg is pressed against the button, so these shouts outs are repeated over and over and over. I have found putting a book under hi foot to help move his leg off the button a bit. Anyway, it really is stinky. At least when he was in diapers he would find a corner to discretely do his business and then return to the room, I would get ONE whiff, change him and be done with it. I now spend the money I am saving on diapers on air fresheners.

Oh, here's a shout out to my little Lana. Thanks for reading! Woot Woot!

Fairy Tales and other Children's Classics

I have recently gotten into buying "the classics" for Sophia. We don't have many movies and I thought she should know about the princesses as she IS in prime princess age. I also started to remember the titles of classics I was read as a child. Well, it has been becoming increasingly more evident how horrible they are for kids. All the princesses are in fear of their lives from an evil witch wanting to kill them. The classics like Hansel and Gretel are about evil mothers wanting to abandon her kids in a forest only to have them "rescued" by an evil witch who wants to eat them. GRRR. I tried to read Lion King to the kids and had to change it up and have Mufasa "sleep" at the hands of the Wildebeasts. Sigh...

Wish lists

Christmas and b-days are a coming, so check out the running wish list on the right for ideas for the kids and eventually me. I will take stuff off as I buy it. I hear amazon jacks up the prices close to Christmas, so I will try and get our shopping done early...

First day of school

Friday was Sophia's first official day at school. I thought she was going to make it without any tears, however, after our little good bye and kiss the waterworks started when I neared the door. She only cried for a couple minutes after I left, though and had fun. I guess I am not up for mom of the year. Unlike the other moms, I did NOT take pictures of my little girl on her first day of school. I did NOT have a special outfit for her and I did not shed a tear. I guess having her go to school last year made this less climatic, but I had none of those things happen last year either...

Dylan's potty training is going well! He has had very few accidents. Yesterday at the gym he even told them he had to go and they came to get me! Tonight he went upstairs on his own, pulled down both pants and undies, sat on the toilet and commenced action. Only problem was, aim. Luckily I was peering around the corner and caught the fountain and was able to redirect "traffic" without too much mess.

Potty training still on...

Third morning, third dry diaper, third big first pee in toilet. I took the kids to the gym today and noticed there was pee in his diaper when we got back when he asked to go. I will cut him some slack as he WAS with strangers, haha. my champ.

4 pees on the potty... TODAY

Things are moving fast. Maybe too fast. I have heard of "windows" for potty training and this really feels like a "window". Dylan is excited about it, he even asked to go a couple times. He really pushes it out just to get something. pretty funny actually. But is he REALLY ready? I don't think he knows how to actually hold it yet, though he has been able to stop mid stream. hmmmm. With Sophia, it took an entire day of her peeing on the floor with NO attempts to go on the potty AND she seemed unable to stop the flow. Perhaps if I were to just let Dylan go all day with no diaper like I did for Sophia that he would have accidents all over the place too, but then would get it after a bunch of puddles. I don't look forward to the "leave the house anxiety" either. Sophia was older and also in a bed - able to get up to go if needed. She was also dry all night and able to hold it for a long time in the morning. Hmmmm. Not sure if Dylan is dry at night or if he pees as soon as he wakes up. He has been wet through his pj's a bunch of times. Oh, decisions decisions... He is really having fun with the potty, though... Got a poop out yesterday even. Ok, it was literally the size of a pea, but STILL :)

D.O.N.E.

One month ago today. Ok, maybe one month and three days, but who's counting. Started "operation paint house". Bob helped get things started with the pressure washer and then helped when he could with some scraping. I finished the scraping, sanded and then went on vacation. HA! Once again, upon return, Bob got things cooking again and started the priming. Thanks to him, the house was primed. Then he went and bought a house of his own and then there was one. Me. I called in some reinforcements - Emily, to take over with the kids so I could get some serious painting done. And now, the green is complete. Or at least as complete as it will ever be. Two coats on 95% of the house (NOT doing a second coat above dining room bump out - "light" ladder wouldn't reach and that orange ladder is just too much for me to ever try hoist again to reach that area). There are two coats on half the garage - not doing the two sides that aren't ever seen. I even patched a bunch of the roughed up boards before getting the second coat on. And now I am done. Let's hope the trim really does just "take care of itself..."

Peeing on Command

Ok, Maybe I am a little more anxious than I was with Sophia to start potty training. I really hate poopy diapers smelling up the place. Plus, Dylan has had more "inspiration" than Sophia did to start - gets to watch THREE people use the potty. At any rate he has used the big (little) boy potty about 5 times now! First couple were caught mid stream while he was releasing in the tub. He was able to stop, let me take him out and finish on the potty. The last few times were pees on command. Two were bath time requests to sit and pee before bath and once was a mid day request to have a seat and see what happens. Yay Dylan!

Summer Vacation

We are up in Wayne this week. Have been having good weather so I don't mind the thunder shower we are currently experiencing. Nice even. Arrived late Friday afternoon, been on the boat everyday. Gone tubing, knee boarding AND skiing. Pretty sweet. Sophia went tubing BY HERSELF for the first time ever today. Very impressed with her brevity. She joined me for a ride and we even had some wake behind the boat. Dylan is covered head to toe in skeeter bites (as I knew he would, but is still sad to see). Here's a look at our trip thus far.