I got some 1 hour prints done at Walmart to send to Robby and when I picked them up, they were labeled "Copyright?". As annoying as that can be for some, it makes me happy when that happens. That someone suspects that they even MIGHT be professional just makes me grin. I had to sign a disclaimer or something saying they were mine to absolve Walmart of any liability. Next time I'll be sure to have one of my business cards on hand just in case.
Then, as we were browsing the cameras to get one for Robby, one of the photo techs stopped us and recognized Jadzia from the pictures. Jadzia liked the attention - she was only briefly shy and then she started smiling and waving to the woman.
Now, of course, no trip to Walmart (or out of the house period) would be complete without a few bumps along the way. Anya was not at all happy in the cart so I ended up carrying her around most of the store while trying to turn the cart with my hip. I really need to find that cart cover because I think she'd like it better.
And on the way out to the car, Inara lost her shoe. Of course I didn't discover that the shoe was lost until we reached the car. I looked back down the packing lot row and saw it several parking spots down just sitting there. I jogged back with the shopping cart and Anya, Jadzia and Inara already being loaded into the car, and grabbed it.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
If I ever needed proof...
That I didn't need more kids, today was the proof. We went to the post office and the PX today. Since I did the whole musical car seats bit, I no longer had the use of the infant carrier for Anya. I grabbed the double stroller for use at the post office and didn't really think beyond that. The post office was an easy trip as Inara was confined and not getting into trouble as usual.
When we got to the PX, however, I had to put Anya, who doesn't sit up very well, in the seat of the cart - she kept flopping to the side mostly, though the strap kept her from falling completely. She was also very cranky so I ended up having to carry her through most of the store anyway. By the time we checked out, I was tired and sweaty. I still had intentions to go to the commissary but with Anya crying and Inara on the brink of a 2 year old tantrum - I gave up that plan and we went home.
In the end, I realized I didn't have enough hands or sanity for the three kids I have, let alone adding any more. Of course, I have no intentions of having any more but today was certainly the proof.
I did buy the girls a few new outfits which I'm sure you'll see in pictures soon. For now, here's a sneak peak of one of the dresses.
When we got to the PX, however, I had to put Anya, who doesn't sit up very well, in the seat of the cart - she kept flopping to the side mostly, though the strap kept her from falling completely. She was also very cranky so I ended up having to carry her through most of the store anyway. By the time we checked out, I was tired and sweaty. I still had intentions to go to the commissary but with Anya crying and Inara on the brink of a 2 year old tantrum - I gave up that plan and we went home.
In the end, I realized I didn't have enough hands or sanity for the three kids I have, let alone adding any more. Of course, I have no intentions of having any more but today was certainly the proof.
I did buy the girls a few new outfits which I'm sure you'll see in pictures soon. For now, here's a sneak peak of one of the dresses.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Got Bit by the Cleaning Bug
I got bit by a bug today - a cleaning bug. It started just by doing the dishes. Not an uncommon chore really but it has to start somewhere.
Actually it may have started when I washed the dog yesterday. Apparently washing him triggered some major shedding because even though I'd swept just before bathing him, tumbleweeds of dog hair were blowing through my house like crazy today. So maybe that's where it really started.
So anyway I washed the dishes. And when I let the dog out back he started stampeding around tearing into a box of clothes that has been sitting on the porch for way too long growing a natural habitat. It was supposed to go to goodwill months ago and never made it. And then it rained...a lot. So I finally got tired of seeing the every decaying box sit on the porch and started to break it all down and take it to the trash cans. After doing all that and sweeping up the porch, I noticed that the windows were really dirty thanks to Gimli constantly jumping on the couch and sticking his nose to the window when we leave the house.
So I cleaned the windows. Which led me to cleaning off the dusty window sills and eventually the baseboards which were turning red from the red dirt that is everywhere here (and is tracked in by the dogs). It was also on the walls so I started scrubbing those.
To top it off, I finally took the boxes of Christmas decorations that have been down but sitting in the hall for a month back out to the garage. Gimli, being the pesky dog that he is, has marked his territory on them at some point it seems so then I needed to sweep and mop at least that area. Of course there was mud tracked in from all the rain - oh and the dogs - so I really had to sweep and mod all the downstairs.
And just when I thought I was done, I remembered the downstairs bathroom had been decimated by Bluto being locked in it the other day for just about 15 minutes. While I'd cleaned most of it up, I hadn't mopped it up - so I did.
Isn't it amazing how just about everything traced back to the dogs?
Actually it may have started when I washed the dog yesterday. Apparently washing him triggered some major shedding because even though I'd swept just before bathing him, tumbleweeds of dog hair were blowing through my house like crazy today. So maybe that's where it really started.
So anyway I washed the dishes. And when I let the dog out back he started stampeding around tearing into a box of clothes that has been sitting on the porch for way too long growing a natural habitat. It was supposed to go to goodwill months ago and never made it. And then it rained...a lot. So I finally got tired of seeing the every decaying box sit on the porch and started to break it all down and take it to the trash cans. After doing all that and sweeping up the porch, I noticed that the windows were really dirty thanks to Gimli constantly jumping on the couch and sticking his nose to the window when we leave the house.
So I cleaned the windows. Which led me to cleaning off the dusty window sills and eventually the baseboards which were turning red from the red dirt that is everywhere here (and is tracked in by the dogs). It was also on the walls so I started scrubbing those.
To top it off, I finally took the boxes of Christmas decorations that have been down but sitting in the hall for a month back out to the garage. Gimli, being the pesky dog that he is, has marked his territory on them at some point it seems so then I needed to sweep and mop at least that area. Of course there was mud tracked in from all the rain - oh and the dogs - so I really had to sweep and mod all the downstairs.
And just when I thought I was done, I remembered the downstairs bathroom had been decimated by Bluto being locked in it the other day for just about 15 minutes. While I'd cleaned most of it up, I hadn't mopped it up - so I did.
Isn't it amazing how just about everything traced back to the dogs?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Inara the Thief
Yesterday, we made a run to the commissary for a few little things. Since we weren't doing a major shopping trip, I grabbed one of the fun "car carts" that lack in proper basket space (especially when an infant car seat takes up part of the limited space) but have steering wheels for the kids. The kids were very well behaved throughout the shopping trip. Jadzia was quick to inform me of other children that were not so happy at the moment and I had nothing but sympathy for those mothers.
After grabbing far more than I'd intended to buy and filling up what little basket space there was with mostly stuff I didn't really need, I proceeded to the check out. I chatted with the cashier as I unloaded and commented about how I always leave with more than I came in for. For once, Jadzia and Inara both seemed to keep their arms and legs inside the vehicle.
Now at a commissary, we have baggers who take your groceries to your car, load said groceries and work on tips alone. Usually I try to have my key and tip ready when we get to the car so they can get back inside quickly in order to help someone else but, as it sometimes happens, the key had shimmied its way down to the bottom of the diaper bag. The very bottom. After a couple minutes of digging, I was able to open the car and started to get the kids inside.
That's when I noticed Inara had a candy bar. Not one that we bought or even picked up; or at least I hadn't picked it up. Near as I can assume, Inara had snagged it from the candy shelf as I checked out and no one ever noticed. I took it away from Inara, much to her dismay, and asked the bagger to take it back inside for me. What happened to it from there I don't know as I now had a crying two year old on my hands. I tipped the bagger and wrestled Inara into her car seat so we could go home.
Why do grocery stores put the candy there, at perfect height for little hands? Don't answer that, I already know but I wonder how much is accidentally stolen by grabby children sitting in the cart waiting for mommy to check out? And while I'm asking rhetorical questions, why do they keys (or the pen, or the wallet or whatever it is you need at a given moment) always slip to the very bottom of the bag?
After grabbing far more than I'd intended to buy and filling up what little basket space there was with mostly stuff I didn't really need, I proceeded to the check out. I chatted with the cashier as I unloaded and commented about how I always leave with more than I came in for. For once, Jadzia and Inara both seemed to keep their arms and legs inside the vehicle.
Now at a commissary, we have baggers who take your groceries to your car, load said groceries and work on tips alone. Usually I try to have my key and tip ready when we get to the car so they can get back inside quickly in order to help someone else but, as it sometimes happens, the key had shimmied its way down to the bottom of the diaper bag. The very bottom. After a couple minutes of digging, I was able to open the car and started to get the kids inside.
That's when I noticed Inara had a candy bar. Not one that we bought or even picked up; or at least I hadn't picked it up. Near as I can assume, Inara had snagged it from the candy shelf as I checked out and no one ever noticed. I took it away from Inara, much to her dismay, and asked the bagger to take it back inside for me. What happened to it from there I don't know as I now had a crying two year old on my hands. I tipped the bagger and wrestled Inara into her car seat so we could go home.
Why do grocery stores put the candy there, at perfect height for little hands? Don't answer that, I already know but I wonder how much is accidentally stolen by grabby children sitting in the cart waiting for mommy to check out? And while I'm asking rhetorical questions, why do they keys (or the pen, or the wallet or whatever it is you need at a given moment) always slip to the very bottom of the bag?
Monday, January 26, 2009
Musical Chairs
Or musical car seats as the case may be. Anyone with multiple young children probably knows this game. As a child gets bigger and older, they need to move into a different car seat to meet their needs. Now when you have three kids with three different sets of car seat needs, you get to play musical car seats periodically.
Before today, Anya was in an infant carrier - a Graco Snugride dating back to Jadzia's infant days and on its last child to be sure. Newer Snugrides have higher height limits, but the ones from 2004 are outgrown at 26 inches. If you recall my post about the WIC appointment a couple weeks ago, Anya was just over 26 inches which meant she needed a new seat. Jadzia, while still within the limits of her current seat, will remained harnessed as long as I can manage so instead of buying Anya a new seat, I bought Jadzia one. Jadzia moved into a Graco Nautilus which harnesses until 65lbs and then can become a booster until 100lbs. By moving her, she freed up the Fisher Price Safety Voyage for Inara to move into which freed up the Graco ComfortSport for Anya to move into. And the Snugride can now be retired.
Jadzia was very excited about her new car seat and kept a vigilant eye on me while I assembled and adjusted the straps accordingly. After it was ready, I took it out to the van for the acrobatic feat that is uninstalling and reinstalling car seats. Since every kid was moving to a new seat, every seat had to be moved from it's spot. Have you ever installed a car seat? Getting it in place is the easy part, it's the tightening it down so it can't possibly move that's the acrobatic part. Now multiply that by 3 and I was sweating and tired by the time it was all said and done. Of course in true Mommy-brain fashion, I installed and locked down Inara's seat without having her sit in it to adjust the height of the shoulder straps. Since the straps secure in the back of the seat, which was now firmly pressed into the seat of the van, it's somewhat difficult to readjust said straps without taking the car seat back out.
I brought the kids out intending to adjust all the straps and then we'd walk to the mailbox and check the mail. Jadzia's seat had already been adjusted but she wanted to have car seat fun like her sisters so she was busy strapping herself in while I adjusted the others. As I finished and was about to get them all out so we could check the mail, the rain started. Somehow walking in the rain with three kids that were already conveniently strapped into the car seemed stupid. So we drove the tenth of a mile to the mailbox and back.
Before today, Anya was in an infant carrier - a Graco Snugride dating back to Jadzia's infant days and on its last child to be sure. Newer Snugrides have higher height limits, but the ones from 2004 are outgrown at 26 inches. If you recall my post about the WIC appointment a couple weeks ago, Anya was just over 26 inches which meant she needed a new seat. Jadzia, while still within the limits of her current seat, will remained harnessed as long as I can manage so instead of buying Anya a new seat, I bought Jadzia one. Jadzia moved into a Graco Nautilus which harnesses until 65lbs and then can become a booster until 100lbs. By moving her, she freed up the Fisher Price Safety Voyage for Inara to move into which freed up the Graco ComfortSport for Anya to move into. And the Snugride can now be retired.
Jadzia was very excited about her new car seat and kept a vigilant eye on me while I assembled and adjusted the straps accordingly. After it was ready, I took it out to the van for the acrobatic feat that is uninstalling and reinstalling car seats. Since every kid was moving to a new seat, every seat had to be moved from it's spot. Have you ever installed a car seat? Getting it in place is the easy part, it's the tightening it down so it can't possibly move that's the acrobatic part. Now multiply that by 3 and I was sweating and tired by the time it was all said and done. Of course in true Mommy-brain fashion, I installed and locked down Inara's seat without having her sit in it to adjust the height of the shoulder straps. Since the straps secure in the back of the seat, which was now firmly pressed into the seat of the van, it's somewhat difficult to readjust said straps without taking the car seat back out.
I brought the kids out intending to adjust all the straps and then we'd walk to the mailbox and check the mail. Jadzia's seat had already been adjusted but she wanted to have car seat fun like her sisters so she was busy strapping herself in while I adjusted the others. As I finished and was about to get them all out so we could check the mail, the rain started. Somehow walking in the rain with three kids that were already conveniently strapped into the car seemed stupid. So we drove the tenth of a mile to the mailbox and back.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Today was a Lazy Day
Last night - or in the wee hours of the morning - Anya decided being awake was better than sleeping. After over an hour of back and forth nursing, holding, crying, etc, I finally got her back to bed. By then it was after 2am. Around 5am, Robby called from Iraq and I think we talked for about 30 minutes. Of course I don't remember it half as well as I ought because I was half asleep through the conversation. But it wasn't a bad reason to be deprived of sleep to be sure but when Anya woke up about an hour later I had to seriously drag myself out of bed to get her.
By the time we were all up for the morning, I was dragging my feet. So we didn't do much today but stick around the house. When I had both Inara and Anya down for naps I laid down on the couch and ended up dozing off while Jadzia played. I woke up several times and didn't really get "good" sleep but it was a nice recharge at least.
By the time we were all up for the morning, I was dragging my feet. So we didn't do much today but stick around the house. When I had both Inara and Anya down for naps I laid down on the couch and ended up dozing off while Jadzia played. I woke up several times and didn't really get "good" sleep but it was a nice recharge at least.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Five Years Ago
Robby and I got married. It was a rainy morning in Texas leading up to the ceremony but anyone who knows anything about Texas weather knows that if you wait long enough, it will change. We had scheduled the wedding at the park in the gazebo and we got more than enough calls that morning asking if everything was on at the park. The rain lightened to a drizzle in the early afternoon so we were all safe under the cover of the gazebo. When the ceremony officially started, the clouds cleared, the rain stopped and the sun was shining through the clouds. It stayed perfectly clear until we were all safely away and indoors.
Robby and I are/were members of a Star Trek fan group who were are saber guard at the wedding. We're still distance members but not as involved obviously given that they're located in Austin, Texas and we're in Hawaii.
walking up with my dad
the vows
walking back away
Robby's stepmom, dad, Robby, the JP, me, my mom and my dad
Robby and I are/were members of a Star Trek fan group who were are saber guard at the wedding. We're still distance members but not as involved obviously given that they're located in Austin, Texas and we're in Hawaii.
walking up with my dad
the vows
walking back away
Robby's stepmom, dad, Robby, the JP, me, my mom and my dadFriday, January 23, 2009
Cinderelly, Cinderelly!
Yes, it was a Cinderella day today in honor of Princess Inara! I started the cake last night but spent the bulk of today actually applying icing and decorating. I stowed the presents upstairs where they wouldn't be seen until it was time so the rest of the day was business as usual pretty much. Except Jadzia and I sang happy birthday to Inara a half dozen times all day. The first time she looked at us like we'd grown three heads, then she just grinned with the occasional head bury into her blanket. I'm not sure if that was her being shy or embarrassed.I invited our neighbors over for the cake and presents - that was the gist of our birthday celebration really. Inara and their little boy were playing at the chalkboard while we finished setting up and wouldn't come into the other room at first. I finally went to get her and told her to come open her presents. She took a few steps toward me and turned to the boy and started patting her knees like she has seen me call the dogs.
When I brought the presents out the first thing Jadzia asked was which one was hers. I tried explaining the whole "this is Inara's day" concept but I don't think she got it really. So when it came time to open the presents, Jadzia was quick to jump in and "help" Inara; even when Inara was doing just fine.
It was a fun, mellow day and I can honestly say Inara is two. Today she acted her age that's for sure. She was grabbing at things, throwing things, crying and screaming. I see fun times ahead - note the sarcasm.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
I have cake in my freezer.
Cake that is not quite Cinderella looking yet. It's on it's way but right now it's just a bunch of cake. When I get up in the morning I'll have to do the decorating all day off and on (as the kids allow). Pictures will come tomorrow of the Cinderella "masterpiece".
Today we went to Walmart for some last minute (read ALL) gifts for Inara's birthday. I had intended to get her Cinderella stuff to go with her Cinderella cake and her Cinderella obsession but I couldn't find anything I really liked in that department. So I got her some baby doll stuff.
I also did some retail therapy. I got new bedding for my bed and the kids got new shoes and I got new PJs. Lots of stuff I totally didn't need but looks like fund to get anyway. Between that trip and ordering a new car seat for Jadzia from Amazon, I spent a little on the high side today. Of course the car seat was a need, not just a want.
Today we went to Walmart for some last minute (read ALL) gifts for Inara's birthday. I had intended to get her Cinderella stuff to go with her Cinderella cake and her Cinderella obsession but I couldn't find anything I really liked in that department. So I got her some baby doll stuff.
I also did some retail therapy. I got new bedding for my bed and the kids got new shoes and I got new PJs. Lots of stuff I totally didn't need but looks like fund to get anyway. Between that trip and ordering a new car seat for Jadzia from Amazon, I spent a little on the high side today. Of course the car seat was a need, not just a want.
Happy Birthday Robby
Happy Birthday Robby!
I got to talk to him last night -which was his birthday in Iraq. Wished him an early happy anniversary too, in case we don't get to talk then.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
I just want Cinderella!
Why has Disney decided to mash all the Princesses together? As I mentioned in a previous post, Inara is OBSESSED with Cinderella. She has no interest in Belle or Aurora or Ariel. She just likes Cinderella. Well her birthday is on Friday and I was thinking about getting her some Cinderella bedding or a Cinderella blanket. But most of what I found was "princesses" with at least 3 if not 5 of the princesses. I don't even LIKE character bedding really but what can I say, she likes Cinderella.
I did find a couple of sets, one I liked but it was almost 150$ on eBay - um NO. The other I didn't really like and it just looked - well like character bedding. That's when I started looking for just a blanket instead of a set, I figured I could get solid colored sheets to coordinate with the blanket and there ya go. Same problem. Plenty of princesses, not so much of the individuals.
So I guess I'll have to move on to some other Cinderella madness. Like a Cinderella cake - there will be massive baking mess in my kitchen tomorrow in preparation for Friday.
On a birthday note, tomorrow (the 22nd) is Robby's birthday so tomorrow will be super bleh.
P.S. Remember that missing sippy cup from a few days back? Found it! Well, actually Jadzia found it and put it up on the counter and then I found it. I couldn't get a straight answer out of her as to where she found it but it's been found and washed. On that note, even a few day old juice develops a bit of a stink. nothing like milk but still, something. Something fruity.
I did find a couple of sets, one I liked but it was almost 150$ on eBay - um NO. The other I didn't really like and it just looked - well like character bedding. That's when I started looking for just a blanket instead of a set, I figured I could get solid colored sheets to coordinate with the blanket and there ya go. Same problem. Plenty of princesses, not so much of the individuals.
So I guess I'll have to move on to some other Cinderella madness. Like a Cinderella cake - there will be massive baking mess in my kitchen tomorrow in preparation for Friday.
On a birthday note, tomorrow (the 22nd) is Robby's birthday so tomorrow will be super bleh.
P.S. Remember that missing sippy cup from a few days back? Found it! Well, actually Jadzia found it and put it up on the counter and then I found it. I couldn't get a straight answer out of her as to where she found it but it's been found and washed. On that note, even a few day old juice develops a bit of a stink. nothing like milk but still, something. Something fruity.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Groceries, groceries everywhere....
I finally went to the commissary today. We also ran to the post office first. At the post office, Inara was being a stubborn 2 year old and refusing to listen to anything I said so I ended up having to carrying her while she cried and tried to wriggle free of my arms. I'm beginning to think that taking her anywhere is just a bad idea.
It started to rain on the way to the commissary but we made a quick dash inside and came away mostly dry. This time I arrived with a well constructed list in hand. A list that contained dinner ideas and the fixings for said dinners. As a result I managed to come away with enough food, including dinner stuff to last a couple weeks probably aside from things like milk and such. Lots of staples that are easy to mix and match too which is good. I still got some junk food but I planned it that way for the most part. I like junk food, what can I say? The kids were well behaved and "bud-oh" even stayed in the car.
Naturally, when I got home it all went to heck. Anya was crying, the phone was ringing, the dog was trap on top of the table (of his own doing I might add) and I was tracking in mud and sliding all over the kitchen as I brought in and unloaded groceries. Bringing everything home was more exhausting than the actual shopping part. But eventually I had lunch in front of Jadzia and Inara and Anya was nursing calmly and drifting off. Of course the moment I attempted to take her to bed, she woke up and started crying. We repeated this cycle twice over the next hour or so before I finally had both her and Inara down for naps.
Now I bought all that stuff with meals in mind and was very good about buying real food this time to make real meals. So what did we have for dinner?
Pizza...
Oh and I have a house guest for a couple weeks. A friend of Robby's is leaving the island and needed a place to crash until they finish all his paperwork and such. Grand old Army motto of "hurry up and wait" applies in this case as they seemed to want you available to them immediately just to put you aside for awhile until they get around to it.
It started to rain on the way to the commissary but we made a quick dash inside and came away mostly dry. This time I arrived with a well constructed list in hand. A list that contained dinner ideas and the fixings for said dinners. As a result I managed to come away with enough food, including dinner stuff to last a couple weeks probably aside from things like milk and such. Lots of staples that are easy to mix and match too which is good. I still got some junk food but I planned it that way for the most part. I like junk food, what can I say? The kids were well behaved and "bud-oh" even stayed in the car.
Naturally, when I got home it all went to heck. Anya was crying, the phone was ringing, the dog was trap on top of the table (of his own doing I might add) and I was tracking in mud and sliding all over the kitchen as I brought in and unloaded groceries. Bringing everything home was more exhausting than the actual shopping part. But eventually I had lunch in front of Jadzia and Inara and Anya was nursing calmly and drifting off. Of course the moment I attempted to take her to bed, she woke up and started crying. We repeated this cycle twice over the next hour or so before I finally had both her and Inara down for naps.
Now I bought all that stuff with meals in mind and was very good about buying real food this time to make real meals. So what did we have for dinner?
Pizza...
Oh and I have a house guest for a couple weeks. A friend of Robby's is leaving the island and needed a place to crash until they finish all his paperwork and such. Grand old Army motto of "hurry up and wait" applies in this case as they seemed to want you available to them immediately just to put you aside for awhile until they get around to it.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Battle of the Naps!
Today was not a good day for sleeping.
Anya apparently decided she wanted to take lots of little 10-15 minute cat naps but no real solid naps. She's either wake up as I was carrying her up to her room or she'd wake up within 15 minutes of being put down. Of course she'd be cranky at that point and the easiest and sometimes only way to soothe her then is to feed her. I felt like she spent all dang day on me because she wouldn't sleep, she wouldn't play, she wouldn't let me put her down. As a result I'll probably be leaking like crazy tomorrow.
And Miss Inara, who you may have figured out does not like going down for naps, cried off and on for over an hour today because she didn't want to sleep. I put her down and closed the door and she started crying; that's normal so I went downstairs. A few minutes later she still crying but is starting to calm down. Either she is going to sleep or has gotten out of bed to play. Then she starts crying again. Calms down, cries, calms down, lather rinse repeat. I went up to check on her and put her back in bed a couple times because she desperately needed this nap today. She was cranky and rubbing her eyes and would have been a beast by 5PM if she didn't nap at all. So she FINALLY falls asleep around 3 which is an hour after she should be asleep. Normally she sleeps for 2 hours and she needs to be up around 4PM or bedtime is a challenge. I let her sleep until 430PM and they stayed up a little later than usual. Like naptime, when I closed the door, Inara started crying and trying to get out of bed. Thankfully, with Jadzia in there at bedtime she's quick to calm down and go to sleep.
Tomorrow is the long put off Commissary trip! Stay tuned for exciting details.
Anya apparently decided she wanted to take lots of little 10-15 minute cat naps but no real solid naps. She's either wake up as I was carrying her up to her room or she'd wake up within 15 minutes of being put down. Of course she'd be cranky at that point and the easiest and sometimes only way to soothe her then is to feed her. I felt like she spent all dang day on me because she wouldn't sleep, she wouldn't play, she wouldn't let me put her down. As a result I'll probably be leaking like crazy tomorrow.
And Miss Inara, who you may have figured out does not like going down for naps, cried off and on for over an hour today because she didn't want to sleep. I put her down and closed the door and she started crying; that's normal so I went downstairs. A few minutes later she still crying but is starting to calm down. Either she is going to sleep or has gotten out of bed to play. Then she starts crying again. Calms down, cries, calms down, lather rinse repeat. I went up to check on her and put her back in bed a couple times because she desperately needed this nap today. She was cranky and rubbing her eyes and would have been a beast by 5PM if she didn't nap at all. So she FINALLY falls asleep around 3 which is an hour after she should be asleep. Normally she sleeps for 2 hours and she needs to be up around 4PM or bedtime is a challenge. I let her sleep until 430PM and they stayed up a little later than usual. Like naptime, when I closed the door, Inara started crying and trying to get out of bed. Thankfully, with Jadzia in there at bedtime she's quick to calm down and go to sleep.
Tomorrow is the long put off Commissary trip! Stay tuned for exciting details.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Point of No Return
I stayed up way too late reading last night. It was already 1am when I hit the point of no return. You know that point in a book where you have to finish, where every chapter leads you into the next by a cliffhanger and there isn't a conclusion until, well the conclusion of the book. Often it's the last 50-75 pages or so. With this book it was the last hundred. As I said, it was already 1am when I hit that point. It was almost 3am when I finally turned off the light and went to sleep. But I finished the book so that makes 8 for the year.
When I read Breaking Dawn the first time (and the second for that matter), I hit that point around 1am then too. I didn't go to bed until 3am then either. The funny part is that the second time, of course I already knew what happened and how the book ended but still, I hit that point and I just couldn't put the book down until I was done with it.
I burned dinner a smidge tonight because Robby called. They were leaving Kuwait for Iraq - I'm not sure when we'll get to talk to him next so I was glad he called. We got cut off mid conversation though but that's okay. Always good to hear his voice regardless.
When I read Breaking Dawn the first time (and the second for that matter), I hit that point around 1am then too. I didn't go to bed until 3am then either. The funny part is that the second time, of course I already knew what happened and how the book ended but still, I hit that point and I just couldn't put the book down until I was done with it.
I burned dinner a smidge tonight because Robby called. They were leaving Kuwait for Iraq - I'm not sure when we'll get to talk to him next so I was glad he called. We got cut off mid conversation though but that's okay. Always good to hear his voice regardless.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
A Modge Podge
Hey you, look to left! Down, down a little further, probably need to keep going....see the clocks? Yeah I added those today. There's a 13 hour time difference between Hawaii and Iraq. If you ignore the AM/PM part it doesn't seem like much difference at all. Oh and the pesky different DAYS sometimes. I thought they were cool and I don't always remember what time it is there so handy - for me at least.
On to more important - er interesting, well different topics! So remember how I told you about Jadzia napping and NOT peeing in her bed. This girl can sleep through anything so I was mightily impressed by that yesterday. She still wears a pull-up at night for that reason. Well this morning, about an hour or so before they normally wake up, she starts crying. I figure she's still sick and achy so I stumble my way toward their room and she cries out "I have to go potty!!" through her tears. Now they have bunk beds and Jadzia sleeps on top. We've impressed on her MANY times not to come down unless one of us is there just in case so I'm (or my sleep) is a victim of my own teaching. I watch her come down and off she goes to the bathroom. Of course Inara is awake and watching all this and I'm beginning to hear the stirs of Miss Anya in the other room and Bluto has picked up on the fact that we're awake and is whining downstairs. By the time Jadzia returns from the bathroom, the whole house is awake so there is no hope of returning to bed for even an extra 30 minutes of sleep. Shame really.
As much as I really wanted that extra sleep, this event could be a step in the right direction toward night-training Jadzia. She's been day-trained for a year and a half now and I've just been waiting for her to shows signs of waking up to potty instead of sleeping through it. I think this was my sign. I can only hope her bladder learns to sleep an extra hour though.
A few hours later, Anya was down for a nap and Jadzia and Inara were playing happily so I laid down on the couch to relax for a few (since I knew the moment I tried to relax too hard Anya would wake up or some such thing). First Inara came over carrying a Goldfish box -a box that is woefully empty. The almost two year old does not understand that there are no Goldfish in the box, nor are there any in the house. Tears and screams are produced in an effort to make Mommy magically produce Goldfish. I flunked magic class so obviously that doesn't work. Somehow, I convince her to take something else and I can return to relaxing. Then Bluto comes over. You see, the dog is intrigued by anything at his face level, which, when laying on the couch, is me. Yeah, doggy slobber is surely one way to interrupt a good veg. After shooing him away a couple times he seems to get the message and stays away. Back to relaxing - and that's when Anya wakes up, and the door bell rings. At the door, thankfully, is my neighbor bearing muffins which makes the kids happy and distracts the dog who follows them around hoping for a handout or a few dropped morsels. Have I mentioned how much I love her?
P.S. Jadzia and Inara seem to be mostly on the mend illness wise. Still mildly feverish and cranky but tolerable.
I finished my 7th book of the year today and am on to book 8!
On to more important - er interesting, well different topics! So remember how I told you about Jadzia napping and NOT peeing in her bed. This girl can sleep through anything so I was mightily impressed by that yesterday. She still wears a pull-up at night for that reason. Well this morning, about an hour or so before they normally wake up, she starts crying. I figure she's still sick and achy so I stumble my way toward their room and she cries out "I have to go potty!!" through her tears. Now they have bunk beds and Jadzia sleeps on top. We've impressed on her MANY times not to come down unless one of us is there just in case so I'm (or my sleep) is a victim of my own teaching. I watch her come down and off she goes to the bathroom. Of course Inara is awake and watching all this and I'm beginning to hear the stirs of Miss Anya in the other room and Bluto has picked up on the fact that we're awake and is whining downstairs. By the time Jadzia returns from the bathroom, the whole house is awake so there is no hope of returning to bed for even an extra 30 minutes of sleep. Shame really.
As much as I really wanted that extra sleep, this event could be a step in the right direction toward night-training Jadzia. She's been day-trained for a year and a half now and I've just been waiting for her to shows signs of waking up to potty instead of sleeping through it. I think this was my sign. I can only hope her bladder learns to sleep an extra hour though.
A few hours later, Anya was down for a nap and Jadzia and Inara were playing happily so I laid down on the couch to relax for a few (since I knew the moment I tried to relax too hard Anya would wake up or some such thing). First Inara came over carrying a Goldfish box -a box that is woefully empty. The almost two year old does not understand that there are no Goldfish in the box, nor are there any in the house. Tears and screams are produced in an effort to make Mommy magically produce Goldfish. I flunked magic class so obviously that doesn't work. Somehow, I convince her to take something else and I can return to relaxing. Then Bluto comes over. You see, the dog is intrigued by anything at his face level, which, when laying on the couch, is me. Yeah, doggy slobber is surely one way to interrupt a good veg. After shooing him away a couple times he seems to get the message and stays away. Back to relaxing - and that's when Anya wakes up, and the door bell rings. At the door, thankfully, is my neighbor bearing muffins which makes the kids happy and distracts the dog who follows them around hoping for a handout or a few dropped morsels. Have I mentioned how much I love her?
P.S. Jadzia and Inara seem to be mostly on the mend illness wise. Still mildly feverish and cranky but tolerable.
I finished my 7th book of the year today and am on to book 8!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Mother Nature
In case you weren't aware - and I'm pretty sure you're not - the big bad wolf is huffing and puffing and trying to blow us all down here in Hawaii. All the schools and public offices were pretty much shut down for the day due to high winds and rain. I keep hearing noise from the doors like they're opening but it's just the wind hitting them hard. The wind pounding against the window last night woke me up a couple times - in case you haven't been keeping count - I didn't get much sleep last night.I watched P.S. I Love You last night which was the Netflix movie we'd just gotten. When I went to drop it in the mail box it wasn't raining. As I started to walk back it started to drizzle a bit. By the time I was back to the house it was POURING and I was soaked through to the bone. At that time I didn't think much of it except th
at I was wet. When I went back to the mailbox to check the mail for the day, it was nice and dry. So I got my mail and felt the first drops hitting my head. Once again I got home feeling like a wet rag. This time, however, I'd dressed accordingly and worn a jacket to shield me from the wind and rain hitting me. Apparently Mother Nature didn't think I needed to go to the mailboxes today.P.S. Those trees don't normally look so slanted. Just in case you were curious.
The Black Hole
Apparently my house has a sippy-eating black hole somewhere. Each day the kids get a sippy that they use throughout the day unless something happens. At the end of the day, I retrieve said sippys from their final resting place and into the sink they go. Yesterday, Jadzia asked for more drink so, as always, I told her to bring me her sippy. A few minutes later she returns with no sippy. Now Jadzia is not particularly skilled or devoted to truly looking for things and tends to walk around looking at things mostly eye level. She doesn't often look toward the ground, let alone under furniture or toys. So the fact that she returned without her prize was hardly surprising. So we began to search. My neighbor and her son were over hanging out with us for the day and neither of us could find the lost cup. Now normally, I would search until I could search no more because normally the sippys are filled with milk. Milk, as you know, does not last long before it begins to develop a funk and is just plain nasty. As such, I don't like to leave milk sippys unfound. The last time I did, when it was finally found (in the microwave of the toy kitchen; 2 weeks later) I didn't even open it and immediately threw it out. Yesterday, as luck would have it, we were out of milk so the sippy had juice in it. So with a screaming infant in the swing, a cranky toddler on the stairs and a thirsty preschooler at my heels - I gave up the search vowing to find it later. I gave her a new cup and restored everything to right.
The sippy has not been found.
Today, as I'm making up lunch for the kids, Inara comes asking for more milk (saved by my neighbor on the milk front). I tell her to go find her sippy. She understands this sentence and yet her favorite word as of late is "no". So she said no and started to whine for milk. Anya, in true Anya fashion, is cranky at this most convenient time and Jadzia is sick. And the phone rings. Did I mention I was making lunch at this point? Yeah I'm putting in an order for a 3rd arm tomorrow. When I don't immediately produce a new sippy filled with fresh milk from thin air, Inara walks off pouting and I continue stirring and bouncing the baby. She returns a few minutes later and repeats "Milk" and this time attempts to open the fridge. At not quite 2, she isn't able to perform such a feat thankfully. And again, she has no sippy so I ask her again to get her sippy cup. More "no"s, whining and pouting. She storms off again. I put Anya in the swing to finish the food which triggers her to start crying. I plate up the food, get them all seated, retrieve Anya and we eat. Halfway through, more pleas for milk, more requests for the cup, more no's and so on and so forth. When we're almost done eating, Jadzia starts crying and complaining of a sore throat. She, who never naps, wants to take a nap so Anya still in one arm, I take Jadzia upstairs and tuck her in. When I get downstairs again, what do I hear but "milk!" No, there is still no sippy. I am about to concede defeat and get a new sippy when the phone rings distracting me from my concession. I begin to thoroughly hunt for the sippy while bouncing the baby, tripping over Inara and talking to my dad on the phone. Eventually, I have to put Anya down to look under furniture *cue baby crying*. In the very last place I intended to look before declaring the sippy MIA, I found it. With fresh milk in hand, order was restored to the universe. (It was in the play oven in case you're curious).
In all of my hunting for Inara's wayward sippy I still didn't find Jadzia's from yesterday. I suspect thieves came in the night to steal it but I can't be certain.
As I mentioned before, Jadzia is sick. She woke up four or five times last night crying and feverish. At the time she couldn't explain exactly why she was crying except that she was sick and didn't feel better. After some Tylenol she slept a little better until around 6AM. After a morning dose of Motrin, she declared herself better and claimed she wasn't sick anymore - after I had decided we wouldn't go to the store today after all due to the sick child. Of course when the Motrin wore off, she was sick again. After I asked her if anything hurt she said her mouth hurt, which I was further able to figure out that she actually meant her throat hurt. Now even when she is sick, Jadzia rarely takes a nap. Once in awhile if she's really sick she may dose off unintentionally while laying on the couch but she doesn't voluntarily put herself in such a position. Today, however, she said she wanted to take a nap so I put her down. Which is why I have had the last 30 minutes in complete silence as all three kids are currently sleeping. If I weren't worried about her peeing in her sleep and how to get her out of her and Inara's room when she does get up without Inara having an aborted nap, I'd be thrilled.
Despite her illness, Jadzia has new skills. We keep a gate at the bottom of the stairs to keep Inara from going up them all day and to keep Bluto downstairs. Jadzia has learned how to go over the gate! Normally this could be a bad thing but Jadzia is a pretty good kid and has, so far, only used her new powers for good instead of evil. I can send her upstairs to retrieve forgotten things or a new outfit for one of the kids if they get messy or whatever else might be needed. She ended up going over the gate 3 times today for various items! What a helper - now hopefully Inara doesn't learn from observation too soon.
Update: Jadzia woke up roughly an hour after I'd put Inara down for a nap. She didn't pee in her bed, in fact she woke up because she needed to potty. She did, however, abort Inara's nap. Inara is now awake and also has a fever. And Anya, who went down about fifteen minutes after Inara is also awake now. There is some sort of unfairness there but such it is.
The sippy has not been found.
Today, as I'm making up lunch for the kids, Inara comes asking for more milk (saved by my neighbor on the milk front). I tell her to go find her sippy. She understands this sentence and yet her favorite word as of late is "no". So she said no and started to whine for milk. Anya, in true Anya fashion, is cranky at this most convenient time and Jadzia is sick. And the phone rings. Did I mention I was making lunch at this point? Yeah I'm putting in an order for a 3rd arm tomorrow. When I don't immediately produce a new sippy filled with fresh milk from thin air, Inara walks off pouting and I continue stirring and bouncing the baby. She returns a few minutes later and repeats "Milk" and this time attempts to open the fridge. At not quite 2, she isn't able to perform such a feat thankfully. And again, she has no sippy so I ask her again to get her sippy cup. More "no"s, whining and pouting. She storms off again. I put Anya in the swing to finish the food which triggers her to start crying. I plate up the food, get them all seated, retrieve Anya and we eat. Halfway through, more pleas for milk, more requests for the cup, more no's and so on and so forth. When we're almost done eating, Jadzia starts crying and complaining of a sore throat. She, who never naps, wants to take a nap so Anya still in one arm, I take Jadzia upstairs and tuck her in. When I get downstairs again, what do I hear but "milk!" No, there is still no sippy. I am about to concede defeat and get a new sippy when the phone rings distracting me from my concession. I begin to thoroughly hunt for the sippy while bouncing the baby, tripping over Inara and talking to my dad on the phone. Eventually, I have to put Anya down to look under furniture *cue baby crying*. In the very last place I intended to look before declaring the sippy MIA, I found it. With fresh milk in hand, order was restored to the universe. (It was in the play oven in case you're curious).
In all of my hunting for Inara's wayward sippy I still didn't find Jadzia's from yesterday. I suspect thieves came in the night to steal it but I can't be certain.
As I mentioned before, Jadzia is sick. She woke up four or five times last night crying and feverish. At the time she couldn't explain exactly why she was crying except that she was sick and didn't feel better. After some Tylenol she slept a little better until around 6AM. After a morning dose of Motrin, she declared herself better and claimed she wasn't sick anymore - after I had decided we wouldn't go to the store today after all due to the sick child. Of course when the Motrin wore off, she was sick again. After I asked her if anything hurt she said her mouth hurt, which I was further able to figure out that she actually meant her throat hurt. Now even when she is sick, Jadzia rarely takes a nap. Once in awhile if she's really sick she may dose off unintentionally while laying on the couch but she doesn't voluntarily put herself in such a position. Today, however, she said she wanted to take a nap so I put her down. Which is why I have had the last 30 minutes in complete silence as all three kids are currently sleeping. If I weren't worried about her peeing in her sleep and how to get her out of her and Inara's room when she does get up without Inara having an aborted nap, I'd be thrilled.
Despite her illness, Jadzia has new skills. We keep a gate at the bottom of the stairs to keep Inara from going up them all day and to keep Bluto downstairs. Jadzia has learned how to go over the gate! Normally this could be a bad thing but Jadzia is a pretty good kid and has, so far, only used her new powers for good instead of evil. I can send her upstairs to retrieve forgotten things or a new outfit for one of the kids if they get messy or whatever else might be needed. She ended up going over the gate 3 times today for various items! What a helper - now hopefully Inara doesn't learn from observation too soon.
Update: Jadzia woke up roughly an hour after I'd put Inara down for a nap. She didn't pee in her bed, in fact she woke up because she needed to potty. She did, however, abort Inara's nap. Inara is now awake and also has a fever. And Anya, who went down about fifteen minutes after Inara is also awake now. There is some sort of unfairness there but such it is.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The Adventures of Kirby
Y'all know the Kirby people right? The really expensive vacuum sales people? Yeah, they've struck here twice before and I managed to avoid the spiel each time by explaining I already have a Kirby (truth) and I don't need another one (also truth). I kindly take their contact information so I can use them for replacement parts.
Today, they came again. They offered to do my stairs and upstairs hall even though they knew I already had a Kirby and would not be buying another. Well I've been fighting a losing battle with dog hair as of late and figured what the heck. I hate vacuuming period, I despise doing the stairs because it's a pain so if someone else was gonna do it for me while I listened to a sales pitch - I could do that. Of course when I agreed to this, I figured it would take 45 minutes to an hour. Two hours later the stairs and hall were finally done and the real pressure started.
Do you remember mentioning that I already had a Kirby? That I didn't need a new one? Yeah, I thought so - so do I. They, apparently, did not. While I like my Kirby and it does good work, I don't need another one. I don't want another one. I don't want to upgrade to the newest generation of Kirby vacuum.
By the time the demonstration was done, Anya was hungry and tired. The kids should have eaten an hour before and be gearing up for bed -instead they were following up and down the stairs and hungry. I thought he would be packed up and out quickly. Yeah packing up took almost as long as the demo it seemed. In the end, I did buy a replacement hose and belt that I needed at least but managed to shoo them out the door with a promise to call if I reconsidered or needed parts.
If the Kirby people come a knocking - don't let them in even if they save you from a dreaded chore. Well unless you want a Kirby.
Today, they came again. They offered to do my stairs and upstairs hall even though they knew I already had a Kirby and would not be buying another. Well I've been fighting a losing battle with dog hair as of late and figured what the heck. I hate vacuuming period, I despise doing the stairs because it's a pain so if someone else was gonna do it for me while I listened to a sales pitch - I could do that. Of course when I agreed to this, I figured it would take 45 minutes to an hour. Two hours later the stairs and hall were finally done and the real pressure started.
Do you remember mentioning that I already had a Kirby? That I didn't need a new one? Yeah, I thought so - so do I. They, apparently, did not. While I like my Kirby and it does good work, I don't need another one. I don't want another one. I don't want to upgrade to the newest generation of Kirby vacuum.
By the time the demonstration was done, Anya was hungry and tired. The kids should have eaten an hour before and be gearing up for bed -instead they were following up and down the stairs and hungry. I thought he would be packed up and out quickly. Yeah packing up took almost as long as the demo it seemed. In the end, I did buy a replacement hose and belt that I needed at least but managed to shoo them out the door with a promise to call if I reconsidered or needed parts.
If the Kirby people come a knocking - don't let them in even if they save you from a dreaded chore. Well unless you want a Kirby.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
For the Love of Milk
My kids drink milk like it's going out of style. Inara all but throws her sippy if she finds anything other than milk in it most of the time. Jadzia, thankfully, has started to occasionally drink water and juice but her drink of choice is still milk. Since we don't have the room or the money to keep a cow on hand, we get WIC to help feed the milk addicts. Well today was our WIC appointment and I asked myself many times if it was all worth it.
The kids were great when we first got there. Anya had eaten right before we left the house so she was happy and chattery. Jadzia and Inara were initially engrossed in the movie they had playing - which oddly enough was one of the many Land Before Time sequels. After fifteen minutes or so, they both had gotten up to play with the other kids. They don't go to daycare so they don't have constant interaction with other children. Despite that, they've developed into pretty good and social kids. Jadzia joined the game they were playing which seemed to be a cross between Hide and Go Seek and Tag. Inara watch from a safe distance until she found some smaller children to go join.
And then we waited.
If you've ever been on WIC, you'll know that there is a lot of waiting involved. Today was a recertification appointment which meant it was even longer than normal. First they had to check all the paperwork. They noticed the kids' shot records were not current and Anya's was non-existent but didn't press me on it.
And then we waited.
Next they needed to take the kids' measurements. I think they either miswrote, mistyped or mismeasured Jadzia because unless my own measuring tape is labeled wrong, there is no way she's almost 46 inches tall. According to WIC she was 45.875 inches tall - according to mine she is more like 41.875 inches tall. As a result, her growth chart with WIC now looks VERY strange. She was 39 lbs. Inara measured 33.25 inches tall and 27.5 lbs. Anya is 26.75 inches and 15.5 lbs. Anya did not want to be measured and kept pointing her toes out so they couldn't put the board against the flat of her foot.
After the measuring we talked to WIC lady #1 who asked if we had any questions or problems that they could help with. She double checked all my answers to the nutrition surveys about the kids. Due to Jadzia's miscalculated height she suggested giving her some extra calories to help the weight balance the inches. I can't wait for our next appointment when Jadzia "shrinks" probably.
Meanwhile Jadzia and Inara were playing happily with other kids. I kept looking up to keep an eye on them but they were doing well and having a grand time.
And then we waited.
WIC lady # 2 called us over to make sure we got the right checks for the ages and feeding tendencies of the kids. She congratulated me on breastfeeding Anya for 6 months and suggested adding in more baby food to Anya's diet since she's now 6 months old.
By this time Anya was hungry and tired. She was fussing as we talked to the WIC lady and between her and trying to keep my third eye on the other two; I didn't hear most of what she said. There was a lot of smiling and nodding and saying "yeah".
And then we waited.
I attempted to feed Anya but she wouldn't have it. I think she has a personal objection to being covered up to feed. I can't say I blame her, I wouldn't want something on my head either. But, I also didn't want to flash a room full of children in order to feed her either. Of course even if I'd removed the cover, she was so far gone at that point that I don't think she would have eaten anyway. When I gave up on that, I looked up and spotted Jadzia easily but didn't see Inara anywhere. For a few brief seconds I had no idea where she was and was about to run down the hall looking in every room in the building. As it turned out, she'd walked behind a partition they had in the room and had no idea she was "lost", albeit briefly.
I started pacing the room trying to sooth Anya while we waited. Inara was then being chased and pulled on by a boy which was very upsetting to her. I could see the happy day falling down around me at that point. I rescued Inara to find she had "his" penny. Prying said penny from her grasp was a feat fit for the jaws of life, or at least a heavy duty tool. As soon as the penny left her little hand the crying and screaming started. Which is about the time they called me up to sign out. I did so quickly and snatched everything up. As soon as I put Anya in her carseat she resumed crying so I had a tantruming toddler on one side and a crying infant on the other. Jadzia looked on helpless. First I tried to hold Inara's hand to walk her out but her knees folded and she dropped to the ground; refusing to walk. After a few more failed attempt to get her to walk, I heaved her up and under my arms like a sack of potatoes - a screaming and flailing sack of potatoes. We got halfway out the building before Inara calmed down enough to walk on her own the rest of the way to the car.
When I left this morning, I had every intention of going to the appointment, then the post office, then the commissary. I was trying to be efficient by doing all the errands in one shot. We did make it to the post office but I knew Anya would not make it through a commissary trip so we came home. Commissary tomorrow...maybe.
The kids were great when we first got there. Anya had eaten right before we left the house so she was happy and chattery. Jadzia and Inara were initially engrossed in the movie they had playing - which oddly enough was one of the many Land Before Time sequels. After fifteen minutes or so, they both had gotten up to play with the other kids. They don't go to daycare so they don't have constant interaction with other children. Despite that, they've developed into pretty good and social kids. Jadzia joined the game they were playing which seemed to be a cross between Hide and Go Seek and Tag. Inara watch from a safe distance until she found some smaller children to go join.
And then we waited.
If you've ever been on WIC, you'll know that there is a lot of waiting involved. Today was a recertification appointment which meant it was even longer than normal. First they had to check all the paperwork. They noticed the kids' shot records were not current and Anya's was non-existent but didn't press me on it.
And then we waited.
Next they needed to take the kids' measurements. I think they either miswrote, mistyped or mismeasured Jadzia because unless my own measuring tape is labeled wrong, there is no way she's almost 46 inches tall. According to WIC she was 45.875 inches tall - according to mine she is more like 41.875 inches tall. As a result, her growth chart with WIC now looks VERY strange. She was 39 lbs. Inara measured 33.25 inches tall and 27.5 lbs. Anya is 26.75 inches and 15.5 lbs. Anya did not want to be measured and kept pointing her toes out so they couldn't put the board against the flat of her foot.
After the measuring we talked to WIC lady #1 who asked if we had any questions or problems that they could help with. She double checked all my answers to the nutrition surveys about the kids. Due to Jadzia's miscalculated height she suggested giving her some extra calories to help the weight balance the inches. I can't wait for our next appointment when Jadzia "shrinks" probably.
Meanwhile Jadzia and Inara were playing happily with other kids. I kept looking up to keep an eye on them but they were doing well and having a grand time.
And then we waited.
WIC lady # 2 called us over to make sure we got the right checks for the ages and feeding tendencies of the kids. She congratulated me on breastfeeding Anya for 6 months and suggested adding in more baby food to Anya's diet since she's now 6 months old.
By this time Anya was hungry and tired. She was fussing as we talked to the WIC lady and between her and trying to keep my third eye on the other two; I didn't hear most of what she said. There was a lot of smiling and nodding and saying "yeah".
And then we waited.
I attempted to feed Anya but she wouldn't have it. I think she has a personal objection to being covered up to feed. I can't say I blame her, I wouldn't want something on my head either. But, I also didn't want to flash a room full of children in order to feed her either. Of course even if I'd removed the cover, she was so far gone at that point that I don't think she would have eaten anyway. When I gave up on that, I looked up and spotted Jadzia easily but didn't see Inara anywhere. For a few brief seconds I had no idea where she was and was about to run down the hall looking in every room in the building. As it turned out, she'd walked behind a partition they had in the room and had no idea she was "lost", albeit briefly.
I started pacing the room trying to sooth Anya while we waited. Inara was then being chased and pulled on by a boy which was very upsetting to her. I could see the happy day falling down around me at that point. I rescued Inara to find she had "his" penny. Prying said penny from her grasp was a feat fit for the jaws of life, or at least a heavy duty tool. As soon as the penny left her little hand the crying and screaming started. Which is about the time they called me up to sign out. I did so quickly and snatched everything up. As soon as I put Anya in her carseat she resumed crying so I had a tantruming toddler on one side and a crying infant on the other. Jadzia looked on helpless. First I tried to hold Inara's hand to walk her out but her knees folded and she dropped to the ground; refusing to walk. After a few more failed attempt to get her to walk, I heaved her up and under my arms like a sack of potatoes - a screaming and flailing sack of potatoes. We got halfway out the building before Inara calmed down enough to walk on her own the rest of the way to the car.
When I left this morning, I had every intention of going to the appointment, then the post office, then the commissary. I was trying to be efficient by doing all the errands in one shot. We did make it to the post office but I knew Anya would not make it through a commissary trip so we came home. Commissary tomorrow...maybe.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Cinderella in Wonderland
Or something like that. Before kids, before the Army, before Hawaii, before we were actually married - Robby and I lived with his sister and her family (her, a husband and 2 kids at the time). During our short time there, our niece rather liked the movie Finding Nemo. By "rather liked" I mean she watched it at least 4 times a day, everyday for months on end. As a result, I have a rather strong dislike of Nemo and Dory and Marlin and even poor little Squirt. There is such a thing as too much and we reached it quickly. My mom's girlfriend, knowing my Nemo grudge and knowing that I managed to keep Nemo out of my house for almost four years, was kind enough to send Jadzia Finding Nemo as a birthday present this past year.
But I digress, our niece was around 2 years old at the time the one-movie-day started. When Jadzia reached 2 and started watching the occasional movie, I was happy - nay thrilled, ecstatic, jumping for joy, etc - that she seemed to appreciate variety. No movie was every watched more than once a day at least. Even if the same movies were watched each day, once a day I could handle. Plus I went out of my way to hunt down several Disney movies; despite the pesky Disney Vault in order to offer her choices. Since then, very rarely has the same movie been watched multiple times in a day - until recently.
Inara, who is fast approaching 2 years old has glommed onto Cinderella. In the beginning she would varied it up by choosing one of the three (yes we have Cinderlla, Cinderella II and Cinderella III). But now, she only has eyes for the original. I can't say I blame her, Cinderellas II and III were about as good as every other straight to DVD Disney cartoon sequel; in short: they're bad. Not to be out done or some other such nonsense, Jadzia has picked Alice in Wonderland as her movie - and only Alice in Wonderland (aside from the occasional Jurassic Park viewing). Unlike the dreaded Nemo months, I can relegate the Cinderella in Wonderland marathon to the playroom, marginally preserving what sanity I have remaining. I'm rather fond of Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland and would hate to have them ruined by 4 or more viewings a day. If I ever wish for the glass slipper to fit Anastasia or for the Queen of Hearts to have successfully beheaded Alice, I know I'll have slipped over the edge.
I am plotting, however, to detach Jadzia from her Alice addiction by procuring the original Land Before Time (NO! I do not need, nor desire, the complete collection of crappy sequels). As she has developed a fondness for dinosaurs; I feel Littlefoot and even Sharptooth would be far less emotionally damaging than Jurassic Park.
As for Inara, I predict another princess cake being made soon - this time blue with blond hair. I suppose we'll have a full on Cinderella party for her in a couple weeks too. Of course by then she'll probably have glommed onto Sleeping Beauty...or Finding Nemo.
But I digress, our niece was around 2 years old at the time the one-movie-day started. When Jadzia reached 2 and started watching the occasional movie, I was happy - nay thrilled, ecstatic, jumping for joy, etc - that she seemed to appreciate variety. No movie was every watched more than once a day at least. Even if the same movies were watched each day, once a day I could handle. Plus I went out of my way to hunt down several Disney movies; despite the pesky Disney Vault in order to offer her choices. Since then, very rarely has the same movie been watched multiple times in a day - until recently.
Inara, who is fast approaching 2 years old has glommed onto Cinderella. In the beginning she would varied it up by choosing one of the three (yes we have Cinderlla, Cinderella II and Cinderella III). But now, she only has eyes for the original. I can't say I blame her, Cinderellas II and III were about as good as every other straight to DVD Disney cartoon sequel; in short: they're bad. Not to be out done or some other such nonsense, Jadzia has picked Alice in Wonderland as her movie - and only Alice in Wonderland (aside from the occasional Jurassic Park viewing). Unlike the dreaded Nemo months, I can relegate the Cinderella in Wonderland marathon to the playroom, marginally preserving what sanity I have remaining. I'm rather fond of Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland and would hate to have them ruined by 4 or more viewings a day. If I ever wish for the glass slipper to fit Anastasia or for the Queen of Hearts to have successfully beheaded Alice, I know I'll have slipped over the edge.
I am plotting, however, to detach Jadzia from her Alice addiction by procuring the original Land Before Time (NO! I do not need, nor desire, the complete collection of crappy sequels). As she has developed a fondness for dinosaurs; I feel Littlefoot and even Sharptooth would be far less emotionally damaging than Jurassic Park.
As for Inara, I predict another princess cake being made soon - this time blue with blond hair. I suppose we'll have a full on Cinderella party for her in a couple weeks too. Of course by then she'll probably have glommed onto Sleeping Beauty...or Finding Nemo.
Victory is mine!!
I found the cable remote!! It was deep within the couch and my arm attempted to get sucked in twice. But I've got it now!
That is all!
That is all!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Books, books everywhere
As you all know by now - I love to read. Eight months ago I had no TBR pile (to be read) and had to make a book store trip usually to get my next book. I wasn't reading as much then either which is probably why I didn't keep a "stock" so to speak. Now, thanks mostly to PaperBackSwap, I have books and more books.Most books I trade on PBS for new books but I have a few on my keeper shelf. Some of those include the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast, the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris, Queen Betsy series by MaryJanice Davidson, anything by Jane Austen, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer and various other individual books.
Now these are my TBR shelf, which is minimal compared to some from what I understand. In picture one I have several Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series, various MaryJanice Davidsons, the Vegas Vampire books, Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy books 2 and 3, a bunch of Annette Blairs, Kim Harrisons Rachel Morgan series and several others! Picture 2 has some of my historical fictions, straight fictions, classics, science fictions and some more paranormals.
This, of course, doesn't include the almost 200 I have on my wishlist on PBS that I haven't gotten yet. So as I said, books books everywhere!
A Challenge for You
Can you find this shoe? Bluto chewed one of the pair up and I particularly liked these. IF I can find a pair on ebay or something, I might consider replacing them. It's a size 7 from Gymboree but I don't know what line. My mom got it from a consignment store this past fall so most likely 2007 or before. It looks like a fall design but I'm not too knowledgeable about Gymbo lines. SOOOO anyone care to hunt it down for me? At least a name of the line so my searching on ebay is more effective?Please ignore the fact that the shoe is dirty - I don't need a dirty pair to replace it; Inara can handle that part all on her own. Good luck and all that!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
I'm Standing on an Ottoman With a Couch on my Head
(for those who don't play YoVille, I took a screen shot to explain the title of my post this evening)Today started like any other day- even better perhaps seeing as Anya slept so well last night. But it was not to last. Most of the day was like every other. Inara shoved movies at me demanding that I start them, Jadzia played on her computer and then sat on the couch "reading" a book and asking what was happening in every picture. How do you explain to a 4 year old that a T-Rex killed Littlefoot's family exactly? This dinosaur adventure led her to pulling out Jurassic Park, which she refers to as my dinosaur movie. The adventures of Littlefoot suddenly seems a lot tamer and easier to explain now. This is the same child who watched Wizard of Oz and the freaky flying monkeys everyday for two weeks straight though so I suspect the mental damage has already been done; poor kid will be in therapy for years.
In order to start dinner, I put Anya down on a blanket on the floor which attracted Jadzia and Inara. They seem to be fascinated with everything I do with Anya and must participate in their own fashion. Tonight that meant they laid down on the blanket with her and wiggled around like non-mobile babies. I couldn't let this temporary, non-destructive mode fool me of course because - well I know my kids. After getting everything started, Bluto (that would be the Australian Shepherd) was acting like he needed to go out. It was raining and muddy but that couldn't really be helped so out he went. Then I scooped up Anya to try and feed her and get her to sleep before dinner was done. She was acting tired and it seemed like fortuitous timing as serving up dinner and eating is always easier if she is asleep or content not in my arms. I asked Jadzia to let the dog in and he bounds inside like a bundle of pent up energy. A MUDDY bundle. The muddy bundle immediately jumped onto the furniture. After he peed on the chair some time ago, he's been banned from the furniture - which he well knows (or I think he does - I don't speak dog). After shooing him of the chair, restraining myself from killing him and tossing him in the laundry room for his own protection I cleaned up the muddy mess and the stream of pee from the base of the chair to the laundry room (he pees when he gets in serious trouble). I was boiling potatoes for dinner and they started to boil over during the insanity so I had to check on them. That's when I nearly burned myself with the steam.
In the midst of all this Inara is trying to demand my attention so she can get more milk, Anya is screaming because I had to put her down to NOT kill the dog and Jadzia seems to find herself directly in my path at every turn. Now in hindsight, I know she wasn't intentionally getting in my way but given the chain of events it was surely aggravating. I managed to finish dinner, serve it up and even eat it without strangling anyone (human or canine). Anya was growing fussier by the minute though as she we long overdue for sleep - or so it seemed. As soon as I finished my own food and was able to pick her back up she was happy as a clam and started chattering in my lap.
We buy a lot of toys in twos around here as we have three kids, two of which would play with most toys at this point. Months ago, Robby bought them some cheap plastic golf sets just for fun. They never used them for golfing as the clubs came apart within 15 minutes of giving them to the kids. The flags and "holes" disappeared into some unknown black hole that eats pieces of toys here and the balls were chased and then eaten by Bluto mostly. The golf "bags" (not actually a bag mind you), however, remained in tact and they have floated around the house since, usually being a catch all for random small toys. Tonight one of the wheels popped off one of the bags. Inara pulled the other one out and was playing with the wheels. Jadzia, being Jadzia, just had to have her own wheels and Inara wasn't handing one of hers over. So I intentionally broke the wheels off the other bag. It simply wasn't a battle worth fighting tonight. They can actually be fixed pretty easily should I decide to - or I could make the wheels and bags disappear...there's a thought.
After all this, I signed onto YoVille while trying to get Anya to sleep and due to some funny glitches my character was standing on an ottoman with a couch on her head. It seemed oddly symbolic of my evening and that is why my title is what it is.
I might just jinx myself...
But Anya has started sleeping longer at night! On Tuesday I blogged about her sleeping a long stretch Monday night, of course that night she was up every couple of hours. But since then she's slept 6-8 hours each night before waking. Last night I put her down just before midnight and when I woke up a little after 8 she was just waking up; and not even cranky either! I actually was a little panicked when I realized what time it was!
I'll probably blog more later but wanted to share my news.
I'll probably blog more later but wanted to share my news.
Friday, January 9, 2009
I've lost it...
And by "it" I mean the remote to the cable box. I know you all were thinking I meant my mind weren't you? Admit it. Well I hate to tell you this but I lost THAT a long time ago. I do have three kids after all - three young kids.
But back to the cable remote - we have three remotes for the downstairs "system"; a TV remote for the TV itself, a cable remote for the cable box and a DVD remote for the DVD player (duh right?). Beyond that we also have the XBox controller, the Wii remotes, etc. Well I've lost the cable remote. I have NO clue where it's gone which scares me. I moved the couch last night only to find every missing toy, a couple of kids bowls, random papers and a lot of dog hair that has slid under it. Since I'd already gone through the hassle of moving it; I took the time to clean it all up so now it's clean under the couch at least. But, no remote. I haven't found it IN the couch either. I'm a little nervous that perhaps little hands have gotten a hold of it and ferreted it away somewhere.
As a result of my under the couch adventure - Jadzia and Inara seem to think it's Christmas all over again as they dig through the small box of wayward toys that were recovered last night.
So, anyone out there know where my lost remote is? I had to change the box by hand last night to watch Grey's Anatomy - oh the horror ;)
Oh and I've failed in my book-a-day attempt; shocker eh? I have barely read in the last three days partially because of tiredness and partially because it hurts to sit up in bed now (grr!)
But back to the cable remote - we have three remotes for the downstairs "system"; a TV remote for the TV itself, a cable remote for the cable box and a DVD remote for the DVD player (duh right?). Beyond that we also have the XBox controller, the Wii remotes, etc. Well I've lost the cable remote. I have NO clue where it's gone which scares me. I moved the couch last night only to find every missing toy, a couple of kids bowls, random papers and a lot of dog hair that has slid under it. Since I'd already gone through the hassle of moving it; I took the time to clean it all up so now it's clean under the couch at least. But, no remote. I haven't found it IN the couch either. I'm a little nervous that perhaps little hands have gotten a hold of it and ferreted it away somewhere.
As a result of my under the couch adventure - Jadzia and Inara seem to think it's Christmas all over again as they dig through the small box of wayward toys that were recovered last night.
So, anyone out there know where my lost remote is? I had to change the box by hand last night to watch Grey's Anatomy - oh the horror ;)
Oh and I've failed in my book-a-day attempt; shocker eh? I have barely read in the last three days partially because of tiredness and partially because it hurts to sit up in bed now (grr!)
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Comfort Food
I don't think I was ready to go to the commissary (that's a grocery store). Not that I am incapable mentally or physically - just that I walked out with a lot more than I intended to buy and none of it particularly meal worthy. I bought mostly "comfort food" even though I'm pretty ok at this point. As I hit each aisle, things just looked good so I bought them. Thinks like chips and dip and kit kats and cool whip. For those about to puke, I will not eat them all together at one time.
Aside from the comfort food, have you ever gone to the store with three kids, four years old and under? I don't recommend it as a regular event but it might merit a place in amateur or professional sports. After a relatively painless jaunt to the post office (aside from the pain of sitting on my aching tailbone and getting in and out of the car) we rolled into the commissary, found a quick parking spot and prepared to disembark. Inara has an attachment to a particular blanket (which we have 3 of) and rarely leaves home without it. On occasion, I can convince her to leave said blanket in the car. I attempted diplomacy to persuade her today. No such luck, the blanket came out of the car with her, at which point she immediately handed it to me to carry. Um....no. So I told her the blanket had to stay in the car if I had to carry it. Well she's not quite 2; I don't think this carefully constructed argument carried much weight with her as she kept shoving the blanket at me. So I took it, and put it in the car. The moment the door closed she started crying and calling for her "bud-oh" (that would be the blanket by the way). I locked the car with "bud-oh" safely inside and took her hand. Her feet were magically rooted to the ground and there was moving short of being that mom. You know, the mom physically dragging the screaming toddler across the parking lot. Yeah that was me. Meanwhile I was carrying the carseat with Anya in one hand, the diaper bag on my shoulder and keeping the eye in the back of my head on Jadzia, who was holding Inara's other hand.
By the time we got to the front of the store, the screaming and resistance had simmered down and I strapped them all into the cart. My commissary, thank my lucky stars, has many of the carts that have extra seats for children attached to the basket itself. So Jadzia and Inara got strapped into their seats, Anya got put up in the basket seat and we were off to shop. Within a few minutes of getting inside, Inara has began a new chant "bud-oh, bud-oh, bud-oh". Meanwhile Jadzia is pointing out AND reaching for everything that looks remotely interesting. Curse those colorful boxes for just about every product! An hour later and way too much comfort food later - we got back to the car where Inara climbed into the front seat first to retrieve her lost "bud-oh" and ascertain that the time in the car was not a detriment to it's health.
I'm going to go have chips and dip for lunch now.
Aside from the comfort food, have you ever gone to the store with three kids, four years old and under? I don't recommend it as a regular event but it might merit a place in amateur or professional sports. After a relatively painless jaunt to the post office (aside from the pain of sitting on my aching tailbone and getting in and out of the car) we rolled into the commissary, found a quick parking spot and prepared to disembark. Inara has an attachment to a particular blanket (which we have 3 of) and rarely leaves home without it. On occasion, I can convince her to leave said blanket in the car. I attempted diplomacy to persuade her today. No such luck, the blanket came out of the car with her, at which point she immediately handed it to me to carry. Um....no. So I told her the blanket had to stay in the car if I had to carry it. Well she's not quite 2; I don't think this carefully constructed argument carried much weight with her as she kept shoving the blanket at me. So I took it, and put it in the car. The moment the door closed she started crying and calling for her "bud-oh" (that would be the blanket by the way). I locked the car with "bud-oh" safely inside and took her hand. Her feet were magically rooted to the ground and there was moving short of being that mom. You know, the mom physically dragging the screaming toddler across the parking lot. Yeah that was me. Meanwhile I was carrying the carseat with Anya in one hand, the diaper bag on my shoulder and keeping the eye in the back of my head on Jadzia, who was holding Inara's other hand.
By the time we got to the front of the store, the screaming and resistance had simmered down and I strapped them all into the cart. My commissary, thank my lucky stars, has many of the carts that have extra seats for children attached to the basket itself. So Jadzia and Inara got strapped into their seats, Anya got put up in the basket seat and we were off to shop. Within a few minutes of getting inside, Inara has began a new chant "bud-oh, bud-oh, bud-oh". Meanwhile Jadzia is pointing out AND reaching for everything that looks remotely interesting. Curse those colorful boxes for just about every product! An hour later and way too much comfort food later - we got back to the car where Inara climbed into the front seat first to retrieve her lost "bud-oh" and ascertain that the time in the car was not a detriment to it's health.
I'm going to go have chips and dip for lunch now.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
A day for reinforcements!
Inara went to bed last night with a mild fever - while this isn't a GOOD thing, it's not necessarily the herald of sickness. My kids often have unexplained mild fevers (100 or under); they come and go quickly. She woke up this morning a little snotty and cranky as all get out. The fever was gone though. Regardless, this is not the way to start the day. Before nap time we had at least five melt downs about who knows what. Inara has become a very demanding child - she wanted to watch a movie almost as soon as we came downstairs and I told her she'd have to wait a moment so I could do the morning routine (sippys, feed the dpgs, diaper changes, etc) and I turned to the kitchen to begin all that. Ms Inara, with movie in hand, comes after me yelling "Mamma! Mamma!" repeatedly and then began smacking me in the leg with her hand and pulling on my pants while continuing her chant.
Finally, nap time rolled around and I took the kicking and screaming child to her bed and tucked her in with her blanket (while she was still twisting and screaming mind you). In case you haven't noticed, Inara isn't too keen on nap time although she still desperately needs said nap. As luck would have it, I managed to get Anya down for a nap during the same time and Jadzia was absorbed with her computer game making be-uuuuuuuuuuu-tiful letters. Oh for an hour of peace!
When I go upstairs to retrieve Sleeping Beauty (aka Inara), I see a shadow under the door - a shadow that shouldn't be there. Upon opening the door I find that Inara's clothes are covered in some unknown substance. On closer inspection, it would appear that Inara got a hold of a bottle of wood glue I'd used to repair the doll house - wood glue I thought I'd removed from their room. Oops. So now the doll cradle and the child and a small patch of the carpet is covered in wood glue.
While making dinner, we had a repeat performance of the "Mamma!" chant, this time in regards to milk. Complete with pants pulling and leg smacking. Meanwhile Jadzia is standing on a footstool to "help" me cook - by help I mean she told me everything I was doing, what would I do without her.
But just when I thought my head was going to explode, the phone rang and it was Robby! (he called while I was typing this which is why I started it over an hour ago). Oh sweet bliss. I attempted to retreat to a bathroom to talk without hovering children but that resulted in Inara pounding on the door with a fine rendition of the "Mamma" chant and then Jadzia being kind enough to open the door for her mid-pound so she, Jadzia and Bluto all stumbled in...so much for peaceful conversation.
Toward the end of the conversation, Jadzia was looking for her stick (a walking stick done for her by my dad). Apparently Inara had found a cane (her stick) and so Jadzia needed one too. Why do I have sticks in the house for my children? It seems like a really bad idea in hindsight. There was a lot of pounding the sticks on the floor and a lot of noise and yet they have not poked anyones eye out. The two monsters are currently laying on the dog (the big one) and laughing while playing with their sticks.
Is it bedtime yet?! Actually, it is! First bed time then the sticks disappear....
Finally, nap time rolled around and I took the kicking and screaming child to her bed and tucked her in with her blanket (while she was still twisting and screaming mind you). In case you haven't noticed, Inara isn't too keen on nap time although she still desperately needs said nap. As luck would have it, I managed to get Anya down for a nap during the same time and Jadzia was absorbed with her computer game making be-uuuuuuuuuuu-tiful letters. Oh for an hour of peace!
When I go upstairs to retrieve Sleeping Beauty (aka Inara), I see a shadow under the door - a shadow that shouldn't be there. Upon opening the door I find that Inara's clothes are covered in some unknown substance. On closer inspection, it would appear that Inara got a hold of a bottle of wood glue I'd used to repair the doll house - wood glue I thought I'd removed from their room. Oops. So now the doll cradle and the child and a small patch of the carpet is covered in wood glue.
While making dinner, we had a repeat performance of the "Mamma!" chant, this time in regards to milk. Complete with pants pulling and leg smacking. Meanwhile Jadzia is standing on a footstool to "help" me cook - by help I mean she told me everything I was doing, what would I do without her.
But just when I thought my head was going to explode, the phone rang and it was Robby! (he called while I was typing this which is why I started it over an hour ago). Oh sweet bliss. I attempted to retreat to a bathroom to talk without hovering children but that resulted in Inara pounding on the door with a fine rendition of the "Mamma" chant and then Jadzia being kind enough to open the door for her mid-pound so she, Jadzia and Bluto all stumbled in...so much for peaceful conversation.
Toward the end of the conversation, Jadzia was looking for her stick (a walking stick done for her by my dad). Apparently Inara had found a cane (her stick) and so Jadzia needed one too. Why do I have sticks in the house for my children? It seems like a really bad idea in hindsight. There was a lot of pounding the sticks on the floor and a lot of noise and yet they have not poked anyones eye out. The two monsters are currently laying on the dog (the big one) and laughing while playing with their sticks.
Is it bedtime yet?! Actually, it is! First bed time then the sticks disappear....
It's a family
Last night I got two text from two totally different wives whose husbands deployed with Robby. I'm not sure if it's just common to wait a few days after departure and then make the rounds checking up on people or if they were talking about who they had and had not talked to or what but I appreciate their reaching out. I continued to text with them for awhile - even though I have only met each of them a couple times, it's nice to have back up on the island just in case. And it's nice to know there are people to talk to if I need it.
My mom doesn't quite understand (maybe she does now, not sure) why I didn't move back to Texas for the deployment and be close to family. I don't think I could ever explain it completely to her. Beyond the logistics of moving us and the dogs back to Texas for a year just to have to move back to Hawaii when Robby got back, I wanted - maybe even needed - to be in a military setting around people who have been there, done that or are doing it with me. No they aren't blood relations, but they are a family of sorts and they know what it's like and are experiencing it at the same time I am. As one of the other wives said last night; we have to stick together.
My mom doesn't quite understand (maybe she does now, not sure) why I didn't move back to Texas for the deployment and be close to family. I don't think I could ever explain it completely to her. Beyond the logistics of moving us and the dogs back to Texas for a year just to have to move back to Hawaii when Robby got back, I wanted - maybe even needed - to be in a military setting around people who have been there, done that or are doing it with me. No they aren't blood relations, but they are a family of sorts and they know what it's like and are experiencing it at the same time I am. As one of the other wives said last night; we have to stick together.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Sleep and Product Placement
I think that Anya slept 7 hours straight last. I say think because, well my night time memory is somewhat fuzzy as of late. All the days, er nights, tend to blend together. Anyway, I know I fed her around 1AM and put her down by 130AM. I know I woke up around 545AM and checked on her but didn't feed her because she was asleep. I know she woke up at 830AM. Since I don't remember anything in between I assume she slept from 130AM to 830AM then. And I like to think I would have remembered waking up because getting out of bed hurts like the dickens right now - I am one giant bruise I think!
On another note, Jadzia got the Fisher Price Fun-2-Learn Computer as a Christmas gift and she is in love with it. She gets super excited when she makes the letters on the computer and calls me over the show me! "Look mommy! A BEAUTIFUL B!" Of course "beautiful" comes out something like "Be -UUUUUUUUUUU - ti -ful" with a lot of stress on the u. A couple months ago I made her worksheet/coloring pages with the letters and Disney characters in hopes of getting her interested and it lasted maybe a day before she was no longer interested in learning. The power of technology. :)
Between the computer and the Leapster Learning Game System she got for her birthday, she's almost lost interest in the Princesses. On the Leapster Game, she has a Dora game courtesy of Grandma - mind you she has no idea about the Dora TV show due to careful avoidance on my part. But she loves her Dora game; I might have to let her watch the show....maybe...er maybe not.
On another note, Jadzia got the Fisher Price Fun-2-Learn Computer as a Christmas gift and she is in love with it. She gets super excited when she makes the letters on the computer and calls me over the show me! "Look mommy! A BEAUTIFUL B!" Of course "beautiful" comes out something like "Be -UUUUUUUUUUU - ti -ful" with a lot of stress on the u. A couple months ago I made her worksheet/coloring pages with the letters and Disney characters in hopes of getting her interested and it lasted maybe a day before she was no longer interested in learning. The power of technology. :)
Between the computer and the Leapster Learning Game System she got for her birthday, she's almost lost interest in the Princesses. On the Leapster Game, she has a Dora game courtesy of Grandma - mind you she has no idea about the Dora TV show due to careful avoidance on my part. But she loves her Dora game; I might have to let her watch the show....maybe...er maybe not.
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