My beautiful boy

I got lucky. I got to do Curious J's bedtime tonight. That meants from about 7:15pm on, he was all mine to hang out with. He chose to hang out in a box for a while. We talked a little, and then we read magazines. The sweet boy shared some sensitive stuff with me, too. First, he asked if our house would be in heaven. I said, "No, but from what I hear, you will be very happy when you get there." He said to me, "I don't want to leave earth, I like it here." My reply, "Me, too, kid."

The second was after I told him I was going to Pastor M's ordination in March. A few minutes later, he said, "I don't want you to leave our family." Me: "Why would I leave our family?" J: "When you go away." Me: "I am only going to be gone for a few days, and I will never leave this family."
- Of course, being the airplane phobic I am, I wanted to ask if he knew something I didn't. ;)

Even though I feel like I spend most of my day keeping him in line, and even though nine times out of ten he would choose his dad, I am glad to see we can still have some special moments together.

My adorable family

BDR is showing me videos of J when he was the same age as BE. Scarily enough, J was pulling himself up and crawling. But his verbals were nowhere near BE's abilities. Comparing? No. Just realizing their strengths are in different areas. And it's learning to use those strengths as confidence builders while working on the improvement areas. The good news is that BE looks like J when he was a baby. So I guess that means they are biologically connected. ;)

Blog #1 for the night: Debbie Downer

So this blog is one of those that you write when you feel kinda pissy about the way the world works. You get tired of the haters. So make it known, I am not complaining about my life. I love my life. I don't have a bad life, I had bad moments in life, although really very seldom. And when I am hydrated, fed, rested, and medicated, I know just how good I have it. Even when one or more of those things are missing, I'm still pretty aware of it.

Now that we've established that. I hope all the people out there, who spend most of their time complaining about their lives when really they have it good, to shut the eff up. And if you THINK that's you, it's probably NOT you. I know, because I am the paranoid type, too. Because the people who do think life is so effing' tough usually don't realize that they have it as good as they do. Healthy? Roof over your head? Fed? Not being abused? No traumatic events in your life? You are loved by at least one person in your life in this world? Friends?

And remember that someone else's grass may seem greener from where you are standing, but unless you know the whole story, you can't just assume that things are all merry and sunshine. Because some people put on happy faces even when something awful is happening to them.

Ok, this hypocryte is going to write a happier blog now.

The weekend in review (update: a gripe of the weekend)

(Skip to the end for the positive part)
This weekend we decided to head down to our hometown to go to a going away party for my sister, Pastor M, who is about to get her own congregation as a pastor. I guess that is what those people are call. Denominations seem to use different words to describe the person with the same job.

Anyway, it gave us a chance to see my dad who just turned 70 and see my MIL, who is about to turn 62. Plus Curious J has been asking for a sleepover at his Gibbo's house (my MIL) since the last time he was there at Christmas. We also got to see my extended family on my dad's side at this shindig. Because it seems a little too ironic to travel TO a going away party from AWAY. ;)

BE did AWESOME on the way down. The entire family was talking during the car ride down. She even took two naps while I got to sit next to BDR. Seriously, awesome. The tricky part became that she did not take an afternoon nap during or shortly after the party. So at bedtime, she was very tired. Very tired in a different environment then her own. And to top it all off, BE has been a bad sleeper lately. I have held her for multiple hours during the night for the past 4 or 5 nights. Funny, because she is finally a very happy girl during the day. It can never be simple, right? So BE was up three times before 11pm. After everyone went to bed and she woke up I just decided to sit in the chair and hold her the next time she woke up. Well, that was stupid. She stayed awake until 1am, at which time she demanded a bottle to go back to sleep (in other words, she cried and cried no matter what I did until a bottle was given). Then we sat in the ever so comfortable chair tossing and turning until about 7am at which time she woke up. I try to not make BDR take baby duty on the trip down because I need him to be awake for the car ride home.

I hit a near breaking point last night. To not be able to sleep in my bed for majority of a night is really starting to mess with my head and my parenting. So as I sit here at 9:30pm, I am going to finish this blog and head to bed.

This morning, we (more like my ILs) promised J a donut for breakfast, but because of slowness, we didn't leave the house until close to lunch. To be fair, I have no problem with them giving him donuts for breakfast when we visit. Trying to coordinate two families to meetup, we had to reschedule donuts until after lunch and a trip to the toystore. You'd think I didn't just say trip to the toystore because he was not very happy to have to reschedule the donuts. Fortunately, he thoroughly enjoyed the toy store. Got some awesome toys purchased by his grandparents. Even BE got a couple of toys and a few very comfortable outfits that are easy to get on and off.

The trip back home was mediocre. BE didn't get more than 5 minute naps this morning or early afternoon. She is not a baby who can be transported sleeping. (Sigh) There really is something to having a schedule for her and I. So after she woke up in the middle of the car ride home, she was very angry - to the point of throwing up. I got to enjoy the rest of the car ride smushed between two carseats. Good times. I have never looked so forward to getting back to a Monday routine.

I do want to point out a few things that were positive.
1. It was nice to see my extended family again. We are all getting older; who knows how long we will continue to be able to do this. We were able to get in some good arguments - it wouldn't be a visit without them.
2. BDR and I got to enjoy two of our eateries from high school. Imo's pizza and Burt's Chuckwagon. (and Krispy Kreme, which was not around in high school)
3. J loved seeing his family. And while he loves everyone, he especially enjoyed hanging out with his Uncle, Ranger. Maybe it's because Ranger can act like a kid himself or the fact that he works with kids as a job. Listening to them talk last night was one of the highlights of the weekend.
4. J's got some cool new toys. LEGO sets! WOO HOO!
5. BE has been using her arms so much more this weekend. Grabbing bottles, grabbing toys, grabbing faces. It's beautiful.
6. As exhausted as I am, I have been enjoying that BE can now fall asleep on my chest. I got to enjoy that a few times this weekend.
7. As I am reminded by a very good person, no matter how annoyed I get with my family, they're intentions are always good. That makes me an extremely lucky person. And I know that. Hopefully the feeling is mutual. Even the annoying part. ;)
8. That beautiful 60 degree weather (yup, it was 60 there).
9. That car ride to our destination is one of those moments that will always stick with me. We were all participating in talking and singing. It made me happy.

See, I can find the good too. I'm just tired and cranky. Do you eyes hurt yet from reading so much. Then go to bed.

Blue Eyes: The Evaluation

Blue Eyes has been a busy girl lately: Playdate, doctor's appointments, therapy sessions, evaluations. The doctor's appointment paid off big time, and we now have a happy baby a lot more during the day. Today was BE's evaluation with a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. She qualified for services. She needs to work on exploring her environment, reaching and manipulating things, as well as working on losening up the shoulder muscles so she can bring her arms forward. It's kind of a domino effect because the acid reflux caused BE to arch her back. Then that became her comfortable position. Because that was her comfortable position, she didn't keep her hands and arms forward which kept her from grabbing and manipulating the things in front of her. Yep, all from the acid reflux.

The OT and PT said she has good muscle tone, and is smart and social. They believe that within 6 months, she will meet the developmental goals appropriate for her age. Some goals are to get her to cruise around the house and be able to feed herself. Seeing the little one she is now, I will be amazed to see her in this process.

I got nothing

I got nothing to give tonight. Good day. The early morning was tough. I held BE from 3am until 8am. But the day was very great. Productive with good time spent with the kids (a nice balance). We had a great dinner time. Happy kids. Fun family hangout while BDR prepared dinner. I was on my A game putting both kids to bed after giving them both a bath. The only problem is BE keeps waking up about once an hour since she went to sleep. Fortunately I have cute kids, so I can let the lack of time to myself pass.

Gotta go to bed now. Well, at least until BE wakes up again. ;)

Tonight you are getting an action shot of Curious J doing what he does best - jump around. And then BE just chillin' after a good meal.

Baby playdate

Today, BE and I met with a neighborhood mom and her baby boy for a playdate. You may wonder what babies do at playdates. Really, it's a way for moms to having adult contact. Personally, I like to think that babies benefit from seeing what other babies do. BE was curious about our baby friend today. She was curious enough to actually stay on her tummy for about 10 minutes without trying to roll over. If you know what pains we have had with tummy time, you will know that this is an accomplishment for her. I'd like to think that the other baby motivated her, but it might have also been the cool blanket on the ground.

If we're lucky, he'll give us a rose and we'll get to go on another day again. Wait, wrong show.

I'm THAT parent

Today was school tour day for prospective kindergarten families. As I was getting ready to leave the house, I banged my head on my hutch. There's a reason I tell you this.

Fast forward about 1 hour. We are nearing the end of the tours. It's warm in the school. I have my coat on. We are touring in groups. It's parent question time in the small library room filled with many parents. I start getting light headed. So I go in the hallway near the front door. I feel better. I go back inside the library. This time I get light headed and my ears start to get pressure or go silent. You know, the feelings right before you pass out. I haul it back to the hallway chair.

A very nice parent who was giving the tours came out and made sure I was ok. I mentioned the warmth and the fact that I banged my head. But she adds that it also is a bit overwhelming to think about kindergarten.

Oh shit. I am now that parent that is anxious about my baby going to school all because it's warm in the school or my head is internally bleeding. I try to reassure her that it is the warmth. I am sure I am (not) believed. To prove it was the heat, I got up, walked outside and felt immediately fine. It helps that it was 30 degrees outside.

I swear, it was just the heat.

PS - I had a great day with my kids (not just good - GREAT), and a great night at bunco. I don't get enough time to talk to the women I play with. They are kinda awesome.

PPS - Curious J thought the afternoon school tour was great. It helps that they had bowling in the gym/cafeteria with fun music playing.

My latest project

At Christmastime, I made our family ornaments. And because I just usually sit and play spider solitaire while watching tv most nights (I know, I'm very busy), I decided to pull the polymer clay back out. So I have two things I want to work on.

#1 Angry bird guys. I picked these because Jack loves the angry birds game, and because they look pretty easy to make. No complicated color mixing. Very basic shapes. I haven't made one yet.
#2 Miniature food. I found this website that shows me step by step how to make little foods like carrots, tomatos, bread. I tried the bread. It didn't turn out like the picture. But I'll try again. I did, however, make a pea pod. I'd show you a picture, but I'm too lazy to get out my camera. I have this secret wish that Blue Eyes will like dollhouse stuff so I can make things for it - just like I have enjoyed building train tracks and lego creations with J.

On tap for tomorrow: School visits for kindergarten (fast breathing), and Bunco with mom friends from J's school.

Also, my dad is turning 70 tomorrow. So wish him a Happy Birthday! :) I can't believe he is 70. He doesn't make me think of a 70 year old man. To me, he is still the 40 or 50 something year old man that took me to school in the morning or came to visit me at college. And sometimes, he tries to be, too. He has softened with age. I hope he has many more years to come. I take for granted the fact that I do no have all the time in the world with my parents. I know I don't. And I hope that I have time to not be an ass of a daughter.

I bought a dress

Yeah, you heard me. I bought a dress. I found it on ebay - new with tags. Here it is:


I secretly wanted to try this dress and a few other dresses that were hot pink. But if I couldn't try it on in person, then I didn't want to risk it.


I bought the dress to wear to my sister's ordination in March in Tampa, Florida. BDR was curious as to why I would buy a dress for this event, when I usually where pants and a shirt to events that he goes to. And even though I joke that I am looking for Mr. Right #2 so we can all move to Utah and be one happy family, I want to see if it is possible for me to dress and look like a beautiful adult. The rest of the time, I have one or two kids to get ready for something, but this occasion will be in a place where I have to take care of no children prior to the event. Can I do it? Do I still have it in me? It might be fun to do this; and so I will try. Who the hell knows, I might look frumpy in the dress and end up wearing a pant and shirt combo. ;)