Tuesday, May 26th

Somewhere in the middle of the night - PJ woke up and as RJ went to help him find his pacifier and blanket, he started screaming "Noooooooo...Nooooo Daddy....Nooooo" which is what he screams when we ask him to do anything he doesn't care to do. It is quite annoying as these are blood curdling screams. Then, a bit later...LJ came in to tell us that he is scared of the noises. It was 3:45 - I looked this time. So, I got up and went into his room to lay down with him. I asked him, "what noises?" and he said, "the noises that scare me." Fair enough. We determined that one noise is the AC turning off...a small thud. This is followed by another noise - water dripping into a bucket because the inside AC unit apparently leaks. I explained these noises to LJ and then there was another...a grumbling sound, which LJ informed me was his stomach. Eventually, we fell asleep and everyone stayed quiet until 7:30.

We ate breakfast and decided we would go to Money Bayou and do some crabbing. We recalled that last year, there was a sign posted that informed us that you need a permit to drive on the beach...and this is what we need to do to get to Money Bayou. Last year, we threw cautioned to the wind and decided that, since it was Memorial Day, the Gulf County Court House would be closed and that would be the excuse we would offer up if anyone took exception to our driving on the beach. This year, we decided we'd make it legal, so we figured out where the court house is and headed into town. Turns out - a permit to drive on the beach costs $15.00 per year for Gulf County property owners and $150.00 per year for non-property owners. There is no day permit or week permit...only year-long permits. Message received - Gulf County does not want visitors to drive on the beach. What.Ever. We bought shrimp and crab meat on the way home.

Once home, we swim-suited up and put on "sun scream" and headed to the beach. The boys are both enjoying the water and LJ is doing an exceptional job of enjoying the waves. PJ likes to be held - which gets tiring, but he is placated by using the forms we have to make turtles, starfish, and crabs in the sand. I make them, he destroys them.

We had lunch of leftover hotdogs and hamburgers and then all settled in for our afternoon naps. Around 5:00, we went back to the beach and did the whole thing all over again. We got home, took showers, and made pizza rolls, cheese sticks and mojitos. The kids ate PB&J and then the adults had a shrimp, new potato, and corn boil...it was gooood.

After dinner, the kids went to bed and the adults watched tv until we couldn't hold our eyes open anymore...about 9:30ish.

Monday, May 25th

The day started early as PJ woke up at 5:!5 - central time, so 6:15 here. I gave him his busy bag and that kept him happy in his crib for about 30 minutes. Then, we all got up, got dressed and went into town to eat breakfast and shop for groceries. Breakfast was at McDonald's and grocery shopping was at Piggly Wiggly. Jfer and I did the shopping and RJ took the kids to a park. This was terrific because everything would have taken much longer with the kids. The store is unfamiliar and the list was long - we have to buy everything down to salt and pepper. It took 2 carts, but these carts were rather small. Then we stopped at the dollar store because Jfer forgot to pack beach shoes, shorts or a brush....and then, it was discovered that she forgot to pack money. Very smart of her as this allowed her to get her dollar store items for free...!

We got home, unloaded the groceries, got dressed and headed for the beach. PJ wants to be in the water all.the.time. And he'll charge right out there, so we have to be vigilant. LJ likes the water too, but he is, and always has been, more cautious. The water is more brown than last year...because of all the rain they have been getting. But, the beach restoration project is finished and the beach is still nice, white, beautiful sand. We played for about an hour and then came home and showered off and ate lunch. The kids had PB&J and the adults had sandwiches...except Jfer who collected the tiniest of little mussels and boiled them open and took out the tiniest morsel of meat. She decided it was not worth it to collect those again.

The boys and Jfer took naps and I laid out on the deck for about 20 minutes and then came back in. LJ was not napping, so I laid down with him until he fell asleep (and took about a 1/2 hour nap in the process) and then went back on the deck for another 20 minutes. RJ watched tv shows and surfed the internet. PJ took a very long nap.

After naps, we went to rent our boogie boards and then headed back to the beach....around 5:00 eastern time. We spent about an hour and a half playing with the boogie boards and building sand castles. Then, we came home for showers and dinner - which was hamburgers and hot dogs...the kids ate a pizza shaped like Mickey Mouse's head. The kids then went to bed and Jfer, RJ, and I watched one episode of season 1 of Monk - which we brought with us. The DVD player does not have a remote, so we aren't' sure how we'll watch the 2nd episode since we're sure we'll have to put a DVD in for the kids at some point on Tuesday.

Vacation!

Vacation! Finally! This past week was busy with the conference and I was exhausted. It is over and was a success. Yesterday, I woke up, posted my 3 substantive posts and we left home by 9:00 am...picked up Jfer on the way out of town. The kids got their morning busy bags (snacks and a small toy or book) around Houston. We ate lunch at...wait for it...Cracker Barrel and the kids napped for a while. Upon waking, the kids got their afternoon busy bag and we got to the hotel around 5:00 pm. The hotel has this great 1 foot deep kids' pool with lots of fountains in it, so we all put on our suits and got some energy out.

We ate dinner at Sicily's Italian Buffet...which was actually pretty good. After dinner, the kids went to bed and then I worked on my University of Phoenix class, Jfer registered to win a free house and DH watched I Am Legend on tv. We all ended up watching I Am Legend and Jfer had to sing God is Bigger Than the Boogy Man so that she could fall asleep!

This morning, we got up, ate the wonderful breakfast at the hotel and were on the road by 9:15. We stopped in Pensacola for lunch at...Cracker Barrel and then PJ took a nap, but LJ did not. We stopped a few more times than we did yesterday, but made it to Port St. Joe by 5:15 (6:15 Eastern Time). We ate dinner at Joe Momma's Pizza...where they do not have cups with lids nor do they have straws??? ...the pizza was good though! A stop at McDonald's for milk chubs for the morning and we were on our way to the Cape. We got to our house and got the car unpacked, figured out the tv and then headed to the beach as the sun was setting. PJ fell down and busted his knee, we got bit by mosquitoes, BUT - we can't wait to play in the gulf tomorrow.

We've made our grocery list, know where to rent our boogy boards and plan to go to the grocery store and then play, play, play tomorrow!

A Flat Car and More...

First, the "more":

I am about to gouge my eyes out with this online training portion of my interview to teach this online course. There are like 8 of us acting as students in this class and we have assignments to do...only one assignment worth getting excited about each week, but we have to respond to 2 discussion topic questions this week - one was on Wednesday and the other is due tomorrow...and then we all have to post at least 3 substantive posts a day for at least 5 of 7 days in a week. This is the part that is killing me. To be substantive, it has to further the discussion and people seem to have a favorite way of doing this...by asking a question. So we have 8 people asking questions to try to get their substantive post points and about 1/2 of them are getting answered - and then another question gets asked. It is the infernal questioning loop of hell. But, I've devised a plan:

I go to the gym at 5:30 for RPM on MWF and for Body Pump on TR. After class and shower/getting ready, I go someplace with free wi-fi and coffee. I spend 1/2 an hour working on assignments and 1/2 an hour writing my 3 substantive posts. I discovered that for years, I've been getting an e-mail newsletter about online classroom instruction (I have no idea why, but I think it might be connected to this teaching newsletter I get) - this thing is a gold mine...it has all kinds of researched stuff about online classrooms and how to make them great. It is indexed by topic, so I just read someones post, search my online newsletter for the topic and write a reply that is substantive because it brings outside research in or expands on the poster's topic. I get my 3 done and then, I've fulfilled requirements within 1 hour's time each day. Any other time I get on and any other posts I read for the training is "bonus". Before I came up with this routine...this training was taking me TONS of time. Reading every post is a beating.

I've also been working on this conference next week. AUGH. And, I'm exhausted from all the exercise. But, I'm feeling good that I'm organized.

And, it is good thing I am getting this job because RJ keeps finding "good deals". The latest acquisition. A car. He is like some kind of predator with cars that sit in people's driveways or at the side of their house. He can tell you where 10 such vehicles are at any given time. Well, there is one that he's had his eye on for like 2 years and it appeared that the people were packing up the house yesterday. So, he stopped by. 19 hours later, we own a 1995 Oldsmobile Aurora with leather interior and 39,000 miles on it. It was driven by the lady's mother. It really is in great shape and it looks rather modern for being 14 years old. It must have been the cat's meow in 1995 - leather, dual airbags, fully automatic, dual position memory seats, side mirror defrost, cd player, etc...The owner said it needs a new rack and pinion, which RJ is not convinced is true, but even if it is - the part costs $140 + labor and RJ's labor is free. So, we have a "flat car" as LJ says (not a truck or suv) for the price of $1200 - that's right...$1200. So, a great deal, but...we are 2 people - we don't need 3 vehicles. So, RJ and I decided we would only buy it if he will sell his truck and then we can sell this Oldsmobile and buy a truck that we can all fit in...his current truck has no back seat....but - I am happy to have an Oldsmobile in the family again. You know, they don't make them anymore and prior to the Tahoe, I'd only ever driven Oldsmobiles. This one has a V8 4L engine, so it'll be peppy...I want to drive it for a while :-)

Long Time No Post

I have fallen off the wagon with blogging. Actually, it seems like I have other things to do when I'm online and blogging has fallen to the bottom of the list. I'll try to get it back in gear. Of course, if you remember from last summer - you'll be getting daily reports from beautiful, sunny, Florida one day soon!

Kids:
LJ and PJ are both fine...growing like crazy. Would you believe PJ's foot is nearly as big as LJ's? It is actually a bit frightening. LJ is asking all kinds of inquisitive questions and has gotten much better at remembering where he last saw things. This helps us parents not to have to look for things ALL.THE.TIME. PJ is talking quite a bit and he is currently saying, "nope" instead of "no". So, if I ask him if he wants to read a book, his reply is, "ummm...NOPE". LJ, on the other hand, wants me to read him books all the time. I try to show him small words (he knows all his letters) and tell him what they are, but then he'll say something like, "why is hello spelled H-E-L-L-O?" and I don't really know what to say. The other day, he asked me why dinosaurs and people did not live at the same time. #1 - how does he know this, and #2 - I think the explanation is beyond what he can handle. I find myself doing a lot of thinking about what he's asking and what he can understand. Of course, I admit that there are times that I tire of the constant questions and I give him the big explanation with words I know he won't understand...and he usually goes on his way. LJ and PJ play pretty well together, but there is a A LOT of wrestling, screaming and crying. LJ will be playing with something, PJ will want it, LJ will say no and PJ will scream NOOOOOO at the top of his lungs...and all the possible combinations of that scenario. Some days are great, other days, I send each of them to their own rooms and tell them not to come out until I come get them.

RJ:
Work is work. The end of the semester means students are graduating and that always makes RJ a little sad. We have several leaders who have been with us for 2-3 years, so we will miss seeing them. We are hosting a conference week after this coming week and that means this next week will be very busy. Not only do we need to get all the conference components in place, but we each have to plan our own sessions and the workshop we will be co-facilitating. But, RJ's true love - his garage - is where he'd rather focus. He has 1/2 of the driveway left and then the concrete will be finished. He was hoping to get it finished this month, but we are not sure that will be possible. He found a lathe - after a major string of being in the right place at the right time and being persistent as well. He has had fun admiring it and fixing it up.

MJ:
Work is work. Classes are pretty much over - one more final to give and then grades to turn in. I'll be off the month of June, but will teach the month of July. My goal - to break no bones this summer. I've taken on a second very-part-time job - someone has to pay for all the concrete and garages and lathes. I am going to teach a communications course for an all-online school. The application progress is insanely long and complicated, but I am to the training portion - which starts this week. After 4 weeks of training, I'll be given 2 courses that I will teach with a mentor watching over me. Should I make it through that - then I'll have my own courses. I'll actually be facilitating the course as the school has the syllabus, course materials, assignments, rubrics to grade assignments, etc. all laid out - and I must use them...so, I'm just following directions. But, all from the convenience of my home for just a few hours of my time a week. I've been going to the gym 5-6 days a week (it is rare that I go 6 times, but since it has happened a few times, I'll say it) - As usual, if I were being more vigilant about my calorie consumption, I'd be seeing more dramatic results. But, I've been doing some strength training 2 times a week and that has resulted in some changes...for example, I have some muscles in my arms and back...that have surfaced. I'm trying to decide if I'll keep getting up at 5:00 am or, if I'll try to go later in the morning (and take the kids) during June.

2 Years Old Tomorrow

I cannot believe PJ is going to be 2 tomorrow. Amazing. Oddly, I can hardly remember him being an infant...it seems like he was always just along for the ride and I don't have lots of infant memories. What I do remember - him in his swing taking 3 hour afternoon naps, me watching TV while I fed him in the middle of the night, and his not being all that interested in baby food. I am officially one of those people who "doesn't remember" things about her babies. :-(

PJ is talking a lot in the last month. He talking 3-4 word sentences and using pronouns. He is very into ownership as in, "mine" or "P's ___" or "L's ____" - he either wants it to be his or he wants to know whose it is. If you send him to the naughty chair, he can tell you why he was sent there...so, he knows what the offensive behavior was...this doesn't tend to stop him, however. If you call on the phone, you'll hear him in the background saying, "who is it?"

Today L and I are cleaning up the house (RJ got a great start while I was at work this morning) and making cupcakes for P's birthday. They will be decorated like Bob (and maybe Larry) from Veggie Tales...perhaps, I'll post pictures...?!

RJ - Diego

RJ was late to work Monday - he was rescuing baby possums. Driving down the road, he saw a grown up possum smashed on the side of the road and noticed little balls of fur moving around it. He pulled over and got out - and saw they were babies. 2 of them were for sure alive and maybe one more...it wasn't moving much, but it *is* a possum, so maybe it was playing dead - LOL. Great. What to do. I think possums are so ugly they creep me out, but RJ insists that even a baby possum is cute. So, he gets on his iPhone and rather quickly finds an animal rescue website and finds a local woman who is...get this...licensed! to take possums. Licensed. Who knew you needed a license? Anyway, she tells him to bring them to her, so he puts the 2 live possums and the 1 questionable possum in a box and drives about 20 miles to her house. She says they do better in pairs and these look good, so the 2 will probably live. The 1 - she'll bury for him. I've been calling RJ "Diego" ever since.

Cookie Kings!

Over the weekend was the local cookie contest...I was miffed that RJ and I would miss it because we were at the conference AND miffed that they had it so early...it was in June last year - April this year. BTW, when we found out it was going to be in April, RJ asked if PJ would be able to get a free cookie a day until June, since it was "a free cookie for a year". They said, "only until the contest in April", so PJ got ripped off 2 months. This whole thing is rather disorganized.

But, we arranged for Jfer (who was keeping them all weekend) to take them - and also arranged for another babysitter to meet her there so that each person could be in charge on one child. Jfer is more loving than competitive, let Erica be in charge of the child who was competing during the competition. Since I wasn't there, I don't really have any stories to tell except PJ won his age group (2 and under) by eating 3 cookies in 6 minutes! LJ won his age group (3-5) by eating 7 cookies in 6 minutes...and there was an 8th on his plate that he went ahead and ate after the buzzer went off...LOL. Apparently, there was some controversy as LJ's counter wasn't paying a lot of attention and claimed LJ had only eaten 6 cookies. Erica said, "no - he ate 7" and a parent of another competitor said the same thing, so LJ did win. We have 2 Cookie Kings - who can each get 1 cookie a day for a year...if the store holds up to their claims this year. The contest was on Saturday and we have yet to go get a cookie, but it'll be a fun thing to do!

ACK!

Um - I downloaded a Hilary Duff song.

My treat for making it 7 days without eating anything off of my plan AND weighing foods to ensure I'm eating the correct portion.

I heard this song at the gym and quickly tried to remember some lyrics so I could google it and find out the name and who sings it. Hilary Duff. Slightly mortified, but whatever. It is catchy and upbeat.

How 'bout Tales

PJ is a freak for Veggie Tales. He ALWAYS wants to watch "tales" - he carries the DVD case around the house, he wants to listen to the CDs we have (thanks Aunt Sharon - the kids LOVE this CD!) - he says "Bob" and "Larry" all the time. He says TONS of words and started to put 2 together a few weeks ago...things like "help me" or "hold me" - this week, he's started putting 3 together...when we turn on the TV to watch something, he now says, "how 'bout tales"...cracks me up. LJ likes Veggie Tales too, but also likes to watch other things, but so far -he's been pretty patient with watching Veggie Tales pretty much every time we watch TV.

Thinking About School...

Last week, we visited the pre-school we planned to send LJ to in the fall. We've heard such rave reviews from everyone we talk to, so we went ahead and filled out the application. Earlier in the week, we got the paperwork saying he'd been "accepted" - which means they have space for him during the time we wanted to send him...MWF 8:30 - 11:30. There are 16 kids to a class, so space is an issue. The enrollment fee is due March 6th, so we decided we'd better get over there and check it out for ourselves. Oh wow. This place is so idyllic.

When we arrived, the 4-year-old class was at some picnic tables outside - having their snack. LJ is way bigger than the kids we saw...heck, PJ is just a little smaller, but what can I say? Our kids are giants. The "campus" (it only has 3-year olds, 4-year olds, K and 1st grade) is comprised of little houses that are dotted along the acreage. The 4-year old house...on the porch there are a couple of easels with art paper and paints, a table - which that day held metallic paper and you could practice cutting with scissors, a table with hammers and wood blocks for carpentry, and a table with 2 big trays that held giant bubble wands. You walk into one room that has a board with all the kids' pictures on it, a schedule for the day, a loft with building blocks underneath and reading up top. In another room is a "work center" where you can pretend you are at work. There is a binder ring with laminated cards attached - each card has the name of one of their classmates, so you can write them a letter, if you want. There is a "home center" with a table, play kitchen, cookware, baby dolls, etc. There are a couple of art centers and music centers and reading centers as well. In another room, is another loft where you can read or play underneath, there are HUGE building blocks and hard hats and a wall with hooks for their coats and back packs - each hook has a child's picture above it - oh, and their is a cubby for each child. There is another room where they meet with the teacher's aid individually - to work on supervised crafts...they are currently making a barnyard.

Outside is HUGE play ground with all the usual playground stuff. All grass and dirt. There is a storage building that houses the bikes, trikes, and scooters (my jaw dropped)...and a big figure 8 side-walk that goes throughout the whole play area. There is a garden area (it is fenced off and requires a parent to volunteer to watch the kids for it to be open (which is supposedly not a problem once the weather is warmer) - the kids actually plant vegetables, herbs, etc. and harvest them and there are 4 festivals throughout the year that seem to be themed around the garden. There is a bridge over a pond/stream...the pond has minnows and little fish in it...and there are nets and buckets, so the kids can catch the fish (and put them back when they are finished). There are trees everywhere - so lots of shady areas.

The "schedule" does something like this:
8:30 - arrive and check-in with teacher
- journal time (they draw or write or whatever they want in their journal - which is blank sheets spiral bound. There is a date stamp they use to date their page and they can ask the teacher to write things on it if they want to dictate).
8:50 - circle time/sharing - telling each other whatever they want to share
9:10 - "center time"
9:30 - "clean up" - each child has a job to do
9:45 - music/songs/stories
10:10 - snack
10:30 - playground
10:55 - "center time"
11:20 - "clean up"
11:30 - go home

Once a week - a music teacher comes in and teaches them age-appropriate music stuff and once a week they go to chapel.

I think LJ is going to LOVE it.

Over the summer, his teacher will send him a postcard. Then she'll come to the house to meet him and tell him about school. She'll take the picture of him that will be over his coat hook. The first day of school - they have 8 kids come only. Then the other 8 come the 2nd class day and then on Friday - all 16 will be together. So, it is very transitional. I'm super-excited about it. His teacher has been teaching there for 17 years and her teacher's aid has been their for 15. I would LOVE to go to school there - LOL. Of course, I'll cry when I take his First Day of School picture.

The Last Vestige of Baby-hood (sniff, sniff)

I have to admit that LJ still has (had) his pacifier. We have always kept pacifier use confinded to the bed and only available during sleep-time, but - up until last Sunday, LJ still had his. Mind you, this is the same pacifier he's had since he was 8 months old (the last time we bought a pacifier for him). It was part of a 2-pack and one has been lost for a long time, so this was it. This thing was mangled, had holes in it and could not be too satisfying for him. About a month ago, I told LJ that he could take his pacifier to the toy store and trade it in for a toy. He thought about it and said, "when I get 5, I'll do that". I told him I didn't know if his pacifier would make it until he as 5 and I let it go. Last Thursday, I noticed the top bulb of the rubber part was hanging by a thread and I told him I had to take it off because it was dangerous...so, he had a stump for a pacifier. I told him that he needed to trade it in soon - if it gets too bad, the toy store won't take it. Last Friday, during nap time, I gave it to him and he told me I could put it back in the drawer - he didn't want it. Frankly, for about 6 months now - whenever I'd go in his room at night - he wouldn't have it in his mouth anyway. Last Saturday, we were out running errands and he said he wanted to go to the toy store, so I asked if he brought his pacifier and he hadn't, so we made plans to go on Sunday. Sunday came and he was ready to go. We took his pacifier and headed to the toy store.

LJ picked out a round-house for his train set and he was all-too-proud to hand the cashier his pacifier. I stayed behind to "get the receipt" and we went home and set up his round house. LJ has talked a little about missing his pacifier, but it is quickly followed by how much he loves his new toy. He has some ideas for what PJ should get when he trades in his pacifier...that kid is always scheming.

So, that is it. He is no longer a baby at all. That was the last thing. He still has a blanket he sleeps with, but I still have my baby blanket too...I don't sleep with it, but I have it.

I remember having my pacifier, so I was never itching for LJ to get rid of it...I figured it'd happen when it happened. I remember being told that we left my pacifier at my grandmother's house - being very upset about this sudden loss - and then SEEING MY PACIFIER IN THE TRASH CAN. I didn't take it out because I think I knew what was going on. They were going to take it away from me anyway. I recall feeling socked in the stomach - now, I would label that emotion...betrayed. It all worked out fine - I am a functioning adult with no parental issues, but I wanted LJ to come to this decision on his own...with just a little prodding from me!

Confession

Out of the blue - LJ told me that he helps himself to cookies on the counter. We made cookies for Valentine's Day and he told me, "I go in the kitchen and open the bag and get a cookie. If I hear Daddy coming, I shove the whole cookie in my mouth so that he won't know I am eating a cookie." It is hilarious to me that he can be so deceptive in one moment and then, out of the blue, just spontaneously rat himself out. I took this opportunity to remind him how sad Daddy was that he and PJ ate all of his Valentine's donuts. LJ has said he is sorry, out of the blue, about this many times. This time he said, "I'm sorry that we ate them, but Momma, I just like donuts."

They Played So Well Together...

This morning, my alarm went off at 5:00 am (I'm still going to the gym at 5:30 - 5 days a week) - and RJ told me he hadn't slept since 3:30...when LJ woke us up to tell us he had to go to the bathroom. Many times, he just goes, but for some reason - this time he decided he must inform us.

Once I got to work, I called the house and RJ told me that he was laying in bed and the kids were playing really well together. They had watched some TV (I set it up to where all LJ has to do is turn the tv on) and they were playing trains in LJ's room. Some days - they play really well together and some days they antagonize each other.

When I got back from class I went into RJ's office where he recounted the whole story of the morning...

RJ reiterated how nicely the boys had played together...how LJ was getting frustrated with PJ playing trains, so LJ set up a circle of train track for PJ to run his trains on, etc. RJ said that once he got out of bed and walked into the kitchen, he realized why that had been "playing so well together"...we bought RJ a bag of chocolate covered donuts for Valentine's Day and that bag was cleaned out...empty...zero donuts left. There were probably 12-15 donuts in that bag and those kids sat there and ate every last one of them. Hilarious. I can just imagine LJ bossing the whole process and giving PJ just enough to keep him from crying for more and blowing the whole operation.

Recovering from the Weekend

We were out of town over the weekend. A friend's 40th birthday celebration. We had fun and the kids behaved well all weekend. We are such sticklers for routine that I admit I was a bit worried about how the kids would do when not following the normal sequence of events, but we kept it tight and they did great.

One thing I hate about being away for the weekend - all the things I get done over the weekend (laundry and grocery shopping, for example) are still waiting for me when I get back...and I hate having to cram that stuff into the work week.

I learned that I had been committing an exercise blunder - a sin, really - on the treadmill. I had been holding onto the bars. Shhhh...please keep my secret. I knew it was kind of lazy, BUT - I was walking over 4 mph and on an incline, so how lazy is that? I was doing some research on HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and was looking up ideas for a routine on the treadmill. The article I read said, "click here if you are still holding onto the bars on the treadmill" - and then chastised me about it. So....I knocked my speed down to 3.2 mph and ceased to hold on. OMG - talk about getting my heart rate up...I spent the entire workout (walking up 3 hills...with an incline between 2% and 10%) in the upper ranges of my maximum heart rate. According to my monitor - I burned as many calories in 30 minutes as I was burning in 40. I did this on Friday and again yesterday. Today was Body Pump and that is always a challenge, but so rewarding. I have 2 new muscles (biceps and deltoids) to show for my efforts - which is good because I have not lost one single pound in 4 weeks. Which brings me to...

I am mad at my newest ipod app. It uses linear regression to analyze your weight (which you enter everyday) and it'll tell you what your "true weight" is and if you are on a losing trend or gaining trend. It also estimates how many calories extra you consumed or how many you were in deficit. It is just doing a these stats that I could do, but wouldn't. I needed something to entertain me while I am not seeing the scale move. Well, my weight was 2.5 pounds higher yesterday than it was on Friday (I didn't drink much fluid over the weekend and I ate out...so, while I didn't eat HORRIBLY - I did "gain" 2.5 pounds). Yesterday was the last day of data my "weight trend" needed to start analyzing my situation. It shows that I am on a STEEP weight incline trend and that I ate 2950 calories more (per day) than I need to maintain...and that, if I keep it at this rate - I'll gain 25 pounds this month. Of course, I know it just doesn't have enough data to be accurate, but still...talk about rude!

Seriously

I should be able to post blog updates from my new technology aquisition!

Sent from iPod

Beat It

While getting ready at the gym today - "they" played "Beat It" and it took me back to my youth...staying up late to watch Friday Night Videos (before MTV). That Thriller was a great album. It was, in fact, the first album I bought with "my own money". And yes, it was the record. I had terrible luck with the records I bought...they always seemed to have a scratch on them. Michael Jackson is a freak show - no doubt, but that was a great album.

I returned to work Monday and went to get the mail from my box...along with the junk mail and the holiday cards from odd entities (departments on campus with which I work - which seem to have a budget that allows them to send cards?!?!?) was a hand-addressed envelope - ie "personal mail". I opened it to find a letter from a student I had in class 6 years ago. This student took 2 courses from me and earned a C and a D, but came to see me every semester after. We'd talk about what classes to take - what major he wanted - how things were going, in general...set some goals for the semester (he had a scholarship and needed to make certain grades to keep it or to get into a major). One semester, he made a 3.2 and was so happy about it. The last time I saw him, he was a senior and I assumed he'd graduated. He wasn't a very good student, but he managed to keep his overall GPA above the minimum. The letter told me that he did not graduate, he failed out the next semester - he went home and worked minimum wage for a year and then decided college wasn't so bad and ended up earning a degree from a college in his hometown. Then, he commissioned in the United States Army and he sent me a picture of him and his family at his commissioning ceremony. The picture almost made me cry. He wanted to thank me for helping him all those semesters and to let me know that all of that help was not "in vain" (to use his words).

These are the moments when I realize how much I potentially impact people's lives (in a positive way). For him to take the time to hand write a letter and send me a picture is very meaningful to me (and I wrote him a letter in return). I get e-mails sometimes - or students come by when they are in town sometimes, but this was very special to me.

Our Giant Children

LJ and PJ had their respective well-visits today.

LJ - 44 inches tall and 51 pounds.

PJ - 36.5 inches tall and 38 pounds.

For comparison sake - LJ was 34 inches and 35 pounds at his 18 month visit (granted - PJ is 20.5 months)

Help us when they are teenagers.

Productive Day...

Today has been pretty productive. I've settled on a routine to try out this semester and I have my "Fixed Commitment Calendar" (time management concept I teach in class) set-up. It shows how I have time to workout, go to work, clean my house, do laundry, go to the grocery store, and REST. I can be flexible with when I do these things, but if I find myself in "chaos" (a self-regulation concept I teach in class), I can go back to following my schedule verbatim and I should be able to get to "stability". It will do me good to practice these concepts so I can show my students how they really do work

So, after going to the gym at 5:00 and showering and getting ready - I was home by 7:15...in time to get the kids their breakfast and sit down with my coffee to make my specific to-do list for the day.

On it:
go to grocery store
de-clutter pantry
throw away 1/2 filled old soda bottles
de-clutter kids' play kitchen
put birthdays on 2009 calendar
make dentist and dr. appointments for family
laundry
start dinner at 4:45

I still need to:
throw away the soda bottles - that'll take like 5 minutes at the most
de-clutter kids' kitchen - hmm...
laundry - not gonna happen today, but I have Tues and Sat as laundry days on my calendar, so no biggie
start dinner - it is only 4:00

I made PJ's 18 month and LJs 4 year well-visit for Fri. PJ will get the DTaP vaccine and LJ will get no vaccines. If his pre-school requires he have his 2nd MMR and Varicella - I'll get the objection forms. I'm willing for him to get those vaccines when he is 5 - for Kindergarten. I also made dental appointments for LJ and PJ. It is with a highly-praised pediatric dentist, so I hope it all goes well. The appointments are fully covered by our dental insurance (which I pay a a freakin' lot for...all due to errors on my part (long story) and I'm kicking myself for it) - so I'm taking PJ too. I'm going to get my money out of this dental insurance!

Happy New Year!

I've finished the Twilight Saga, so I can now resume normal life, but what would a New Year be without a vow to do some things better? The same old things keep floating to the surface, but THIS year will be THE year that they happen - right?!

I can only speak for myself, but...

1. I will workout 240 minutes a week (this translates into 120 minutes of cardio and 120 minutes of strength training).
2. I will de-clutter the house - I have a plan.
3. I will keep the house out of CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome).

That's all. I have a plan all mapped out. I start hard-core on Monday, Jan 5th - which is tomorrow.

The kids are fine, RJ is fine (he's putting a new fuel pump in the Tahoe) - looking forward to finishing the driveway this month...

Sam's To the Rescue

Sam's Wholesale Club - my hero! I decided on the way there (to buy diapers) that if they have Eclipse and it is less than $14, I'd buy it. They had it and it was $12.06...so I bought it. I started it last night. So far, it is ok - nothing much happening, but at least I'm not angry!

My Twilight Agony - as it unfolded SPOILER ALERT

If you have not read the first two books in the Twilight series and you think you might want to one day - don't read this...if you want to be surprised by the books!

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Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008 - (nap time)

Ok, here is my emotional and cognitive experience with these books thus far. Through most of Twilight, I was slightly amused by the love story - I could totally see why teenage girls would like it. I was most interested in the vampire parts. Then, it got super-interesting for me when James entered the picture and I got to know Alice, Jasper, Emmett, etc. I liked it and I was excited to start New Moon. I was majorly peeved at the beginning of New Moon. I did not like Edward leaving - just going away.The.End. Leaving Bella like that. I was pretty mad. I mean come on - from where I stand - he was Mr. Confident and pretty much making her emotionally dependent on him and then BAM. Gone. Then I had to read through (and it was starting to drone) Bella's agony at having to get past Edward. All the while I was pretty mad at the author. Then, I realized that I have to hand it to the author because I think she did a great job of making ME, the reader, feel the agony that Bella was feeling. I mean, I was mad because I feel like I go to know Alice, Carlisle, etc. now I am alone and isolated and I don't know what they are doing - and I have to get to know some new people...it is like I'm having to start all over again and that feels so frustrating to me.

At this point, I was only half-way through New Moon - Jacob and Bella are driving to ride the motorcycles for the first time...and I'm sure I'm being set-up (by the author) to like Jacob as he will help me get over the Cullens. I'm sure that just as soon as I feel like I can live with Jacob and forget about the Cullens...the Cullens will re-enter my life and I'll have turmoil again!

My problem is this - I just don't think that the Edward that the author created would just up and leave Bella. That is the problem I'm having and why I think I'm so crazy-obsessed with figuring out my emotion!

I'm not sure if I'll be Team Edward or Team Jacob yet. I'm pretty angry at Edward and I don't know if I can forgive him for leaving. So far, Jacob is a likable guy, but I don't know if he is charismatic enough for me to rally around. We'll see.


Saturday, December 20, 2008 (end of nap time)

I've finished New Moon and somehow the author made me love Edward again. Kudos to her because I thought it not possible for me to forgive him for leaving. I feel silly at how my heart aches with the descriptions - I absolutely cannot believe that this author can tug at my emotions. So, for now - I'm Team Edward. It seems you have to pick a team - as a topic of conversation, if nothing else.

For the record, I totally knew that Jacob was going to be "something"...AND I figured it would be whatever was the natural enemy of vampires...now I know what he is, but I saw that one coming. But, I also predicted that Edward would get some destruction started in Italy and that he would get into some kind of fight that would leave him drained and needing to eat - and Bella would be there, so she would turn into a vampire to save Edward. That didn't happen - so, I'm 1 for 1 in my predictions. Predicting what will happen is the only way I can detach myself enough (emotionally) so as not to get so mad/sad/forlorn, etc....yesterday and today were tough days for me! I have book #4 (on loan from Jfer), but not #3, so I'm off to the library to check it out just as soon as the kids are up from their nap. I am relieved to know there are only 4 books in the series, so I will have ultimate resolution to this saga.


Saturday, December 20, 2008 (bedtime)

Oh no! So I went to the library (the college library, mind you - because the city library has #3 checked out for the next decade)...the online card cat. said they have it...and It.Wasn't.On.The.Shelf. Horror. (Not unusual though...how many times was I confronted with the message "at the binder" when I finally found the perfect reference in college???) So, we head to 1/2 Price Books. Finding a specific book in that place is impossible...and I admit - I did not want to ask because I am sure I would blush a thousand capillaries to ask for a Young Adult book...although I could play it off that I was buying it as a gift, but I couldn't do it. So, we went to B&N where I discovered Eclipse is only in hardback and I could not bring myself to spend $20. I came home and e-requested it from the library (let them track it down/recall it from some other addict) and I'm waiting to be told that is is being held for me at the circulation desk. How will I survive???

2 Days Away

RJ and I were supposed to go to Memphis with M and B on Monday and come home on Thursday, but B had a family emergency and they were unable to go. RJ and I decided to go away for Monday night since Jfer was all lined up to stay with the kids. So, I booked a hotel room - at a new "aloft" hotel - that just opened 10 days earlier - and we headed out around 10 on Monday morning. It was cold everywhere - and I mean in the 20s and 30s cold...which is cold for us! We got to our hotel, checked in and headed to the super mall right nearby. We shopped a little, ate lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, and settled on seeing Four Christmases (don't bother), then met up with some friends for dinner. Meanwhile, it started sleeting.

We woke up Tuesday morning to school closings and reports of ice and accidents. So, we decided it not worth it to try to drive home in these conditions - with all of the overpasses on the interstate and all. We called Jfer and she said she could stay one more night. Since we are one of like 4 people staying at the hotel - no problem getting another night. We went to Dunkin Donuts because we don't have one at home and I LOVE their coffee... Then, we went in search of a fiber optic Christmas tree to put in LJ's room because I knew he'd love it. I figure CVS is probably the best place to get it, so we go in search of one. We do, indeed, find one at CVS, but we head to Target to look too. At Target we finish up shopping for the kids, but decide to buy the tree at CVS. Then, we head to La Madeline for mushroom soup and quiche for lunch. After an hour and a half browsing Ikea we head to the mall to read magazines at Barnes and Noble before our 5:20 showing of Quantum of Solace (don't bother). I also ran down to Gymboree to buy some tractor socks and into the Disney store to buy a t-shirt (for $5). After the movie, we went to Buca di Beppo for dinner...Chicken Saltimboca - soooo goooood! And back to the hotel room where we watched a House re-run.

Tuesday, we got out of bed and headed back to Dunkin Donuts for some coffee and to get the cutest little donuts decorated like snowmen to take to the kids and then head home. We stopped to visit some family on the way home.

We were happy to see the kids and I think Jfer was happy we got home. LJ has been a bit of a menace since we got home. Lots of talking back and saying NO. He is currently in behavior boot camp.


Yesterday, we got the Christmas cards in the mail (if you don't get one and you are reading this - it is because I don't have your address!) and RJ put the lights on the house.

Today has been gym, grocery store, random cleaning and reading...I'm on book #2 of the Twilight series...I can see why teenage girls would like it.

December Catch Up...

LJ...

...is a fiend for Starfall.com - I am too amazed at how quickly he took to using the computer.

...is in sass-pot mode...which means it is time for boot camp!

...has taken to "sleeping like daddy" - which means in his underwear...no pajamas. This is fine except he doesn't like to sleep under the covers in his bed...so he is probably very cold. When I go to bed, I put a blanket over him, but I now he'd be more comfortable if he'd actually get in his bed!

PJ...

...was waking up from his naps crying his head off...and nothing would make him stop. I'm decided to put him down earlier and see if that helps...it had been like 2 weeks of this and I got tired of it.

...had been napping for an hour and a half...that, plus 10-11 hours at night is only 11.5 - 12.5 hours of sleep and Ferber and I agree that he should be getting 13.5 - 14. So, we decided to move lunch up to 11:30 and put him down for his nap at noon instead of 1:00...worked perfectly...he began napping for 3 hours and ceased to wake up in a terrible mood, BUT...he began waking FOR THE DAY at 4:40 AM. This was completely unacceptable.

...on day 2 of waking in the 4:00 am hour, we let him cry for 3 minutes, then RJ went in and patted him on the back, cry 4 minutes, patting, etc...and he went back to sleep until 7:30. According to Ferber - he is in an "early sleep cycle"...which means we keep his daytime routine the way we adjusted it and just treat the 4:40 wake up the way we would treat a night waking and do the cry/pat and it should work itself out within a week or two...amazing we knew what to do - pretty much.

...a couple of nights ago - PJ woke up crying at 11:30 -RJ went in there and patted him on the back and left. 10 minutes later - crying. After a couple of minutes, RJ went in, patted him and left. After 10 minutes - crying. (Each time, when RJ opened the door - PJ would stop crying) RJ went in and told him to lay down and go to sleep...PJ stopped crying and laid down. I was amazed that this worked...but, alas - 15 minutes later - crying. This cycle continued until 12:40. RJ never got him out of the crib and never stayed in his room for more than 15 seconds...it was actually kind of interesting. Then, PJ slept until 7:00. All in all, it was a pretty good night - compared to what had been the norm this week.

...did not take a very long nap yesterday - about and hour and a half, but he wasn't cranky when he woke up or up until bed time, so I was not too miffed about it. And - get this...he did not cry out AT ALL last night...and slept until 7:00. Hooray! Of course, I'll need a couple of nights to feel like all is right again.

...has grown 5" since March...oh my.

RJ...

...has concrete on the brain.

I...

...am a loser. I got out of my routine and I must get back into it. Since classes are over, I felt that I could "sleep-in" and go to the gym when I wake up...around 6 or 7, instead of 5. Clearly, I cannot do this or I don't end up going at all. Oddly, when I do go later - I feel kind of out of it because it isn't the regular people around...it is the 7:00 am people and I don't recognize them.

...went to the gym this morning - as a part of my fresh start.

...am addressing Christmas cards and making peanut brittle.

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving 2008 - major enjoyment and major success.

Everyone (my brother and his family - including his son and his wife who live in London, my sister and her family and my mom - total of 19 people) began arriving Wednesday night - we went to Pei Wei for dinner. I had the Asian Chop Chicken Salad and it was sooo good, but I had odd dreams that night…one which involved a tornado that lifted the house up, spun it around and set it back down in the original place…but I remember thinking that the electricity would not work.

My alarm went off at 5:30 and I got up to meet my trainer at 6:00…yes, I worked out with my trainer at 6:00. There were about 5 people at the gym at that time. We worked arms and abs. I took my shower and got dressed and ready for the day – and home by 8:15. I consulted my very well-planned and very structured “to-do” list and schedule and got started on the day’s preparations.

Family began arriving around 10:00 am. Kids began playing and I was able to visit until 11:00 when my SIL and I headed to the store to pick up the deli trays (for a light lunch), drinks, ice and various other miscellaneous items. Once we got it all set up, it was buffet style for the light lunch of deli meats and cheeses, veggies and dip, chips and dip, cheese ball and super-yummy brownies and bar cookies that my niece brought. This year we set up to rented round tables in the living room and one kids’ table on the play porch – this allowed everyone to have a comfortable seat.

After lunch, PJ went down for his nap, but LJ stayed up and played with his cousins for a little while. Everyone just played so nicely and enjoyed each other’s company. I started the Thanksgiving dinner preparations and my sister and SIL pretty much did whatever I asked them to do. We made sweet potato casserole, dressing, garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and croissants. RJ “cooked” the turkeys on the grill…they were pre-cooked turkeys, so we just had to warm them up for about 3 hours. Having them on the grill is such a great thing because it leaves my oven open! Much less to coordinate.

My plan was to have the croissants rising at 3:30 so we could play Turkey Bowl 2008 from 3:30 – 4:30. I ran about 20 minutes behind, so the game started late. For 5 years, we have played a family football game on Thanksgiving Day. The teams get divided up with people with my maiden name vs. people without my maiden name. This works because my brother has 6 kids; however, we have one of his kids and her husband on my team now! This year, in true fashion, was more elaborate than the year before…this is what happens every year. We now have a field painted on the grass, cones to mark the end-zones and team t-shirts. It was a hard-fought game – with much running back into the house to check the things in the oven, but for the first time, my team did not win. I have to hand it to my brother’s family – they really brought their A game (and their son and his wife from London).

After team photos, it was back to getting dinner on the table – which was planned for 5:00, but happened at 5:40…which is totally within tolerances for such a big feast! Everything was super-delicious (if I do say so myself)…we ate a leisurely dinner and then cleaned up (with lots of help) and prepared the home-made whipped cream to slather on our pumpkin and pecan pies – which my SIL brought. The kids continued to play, while the adults watched football and visited. Everyone was out the door to their respective sleeping locations (somehow, we ended up with no overnight house guests) and RJ and I watched a House on the DVR.

Friday morning, everyone arrived for brunch at 9:30 – yummy egg casserole, bacon (lots of bacon) and butter braids (my sister brought). We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and visiting as family began departing for home or other adventures for the day. We put the kids down for an early nap so that we could meet up with people for lunch at 2:00 and I put on the turkey remains to make stock.

We’ve pretty much been relaxing, cleaning up, and doing laundry ever since. All-in-all, I think this Thanksgiving has been the best yet! The food was good and I felt very organized…no new recipes…this menu is THE Thanksgiving Menu – this is what Thanksgiving at our house will be…food-wise. I enjoyed seeing everyone and I know LJ and PJ had a TERRIFIC time playing with their cousins.

Driveway Update

As of 7:45 Monday morning - no cement has been poured. Due to over-estimation of what could be accomplished by when, a bit of rain, etc. things have not gone according to plan (I, for one, am not surprised!). The hope is to get this one section formed up and level so that one truck can show up today and the workers can see how it goes. You know - how long it takes, how much attention the concrete needs, how often the concrete needs attention, etc. An experiment, really. This will only have a hope of happening if it doesn't rain anymore.

Driveway

So, you might remember that this time last year, RJ put a new garage in our backyard. Now, he is pouring the new driveway and parking area. This will be fantastic when it is finished, but RJ is doing this himself (with help this weekend from Grandpa and Uncle Bobby). Most people would hire someone to pour concrete - which I somehow convinced RJ to do with the slab for the garage. Watching that process only solidified RJ's conviction that he can sooo do this himself...and, of course, do a better job. Which, I have to admit - he probably can, but it makes everything take soooo muuuuch looooonger. It is MUCH less expensive though.

I now know more about concrete than I care to know. The hideous and tedious part of this process, from my perspective, is building the forms and laying the rebar...but, RJ has decided to use fiber reinforced concrete which means he does not have to use rebar - he can just build the forms out of wood. His main concern is...he has never worked with cement on such a large scale (it will take 6 cement trucks to carry all of the cement needed), so his is unsure if 3 people (RJ, Grandpa and Uncle Bobby) will be enough to work with everything in the time-sensitive time that things need to be done.

He is gathering supplies, renting tools, and rigging up tools (I think there is something being fashioned with the motor to the power washer), etc. They are going to finish the tractor work - leveling the base - and build and set-up the forms today and tomorrow (40% chance of rain tomorrow, but we're ignoring that) and pour the cement on Monday. RJ has even decided he is going to stamp a pattern into the driveway portion (not the parking portion - it will be smooth for basketball, bikes, remote-control cars, etc) and will apply a stain after it is all dried (a charcoal color) - fancy!

Here is the pattern we've decided to use (we were somewhat limited with which patterns the store has to rent). It is a slate pattern, which is kind of weird because you'd never use slate on something you were going to drive on - it isn't strong enough, but...

Happy Birthday LJ!

By this time 4 years ago - LJ had arrived!

Today has been a fun day. The boys went to Chick-fil-a for breakfast and then played in the Tahoe until I got home from work. I put LJ's birthday surprise together while the kids busied themselves with something. Then, we led LJ into his room to see his surprise...the queen-sized bed in his room is now HIS bed and it has a quilt with different kinds of trucks on it - with pillow shams to match. He is pretty excited about it. He was happy to open the birthday mail he received yesterday while sitting on his new bed.

After lunch, he wanted to help me make his cupcakes and then he was excited to get to take a nap in his new bed.

We are meeting up with Jfer and Mawmaw at 5:00 to celebrate Jfer getting her ring and then LJ and I are going to help 2 of his babysitters celebrate getting their rings. LJ gets to stay up late for this - he is most excited.

Tomorrow is a big day as we prepare for his party. We also have a tailgate party to attend before his birthday party, so tomorrow will be another fun-filled day for LJ.

Preparing

We are preparing for LJ's birthday - I can't believe my baby is going to be 4 this Friday. How is this possible? He requested a Mickey Mouse theme and when I've asked again, just to be sure he doesn't think he said something else, he says, "I already told you, Mickey Mouse". So, there you go. (He does seem to have a bit of an attitude lately - I can only begin to imagine what 7th grade will be like if this is the attitude he's giving at age "almost 4")

It is not as easy to find Mickey Mouse party supplies as you might think. Minnie Mouse - not so much of a problem, but Mickey - a bit on the tough side. For example, the bakery has no Mickey Mouse cake themes, so we are going to have to do it on our own. RJ and I settled on cupcakes with some frosted in chocolate and some in cream cheese so we can arrange theme into a Mickey face. I did find plates, napkins, and goody bags in a Mickey theme and the kids can wear their Mickey Mouse ears from Disney World. There are just a few family members coming over, which is all LJ needs to have the time on his life.

Every commercial he sees and every circular that comes in the mail - if it advertises a toy, LJ asks if he can have it for his birthday...to which I reply, we already have something for you for your birthday. I think he'll like it too - I'll wait until after his birthday to tell you about it - that way, I can include his reaction.

PJ is talking more and more. When he falls down he says, "I ok" - if he doesn't say it, we ask, "are you ok?" to which he replies, "Yase" (he says yes, with a bit of a long "a" sound). He is very interested in pointing out your nose, eyes, hair, and teeth. If he does not want something he shakes his head and says "No". He opens the refrigerator and gets things out - usually his milk cup, but sometimes salad dressing or jello. He and LJ love to chase each other around the house - and this gets very noisy. I am trying to let them have fun without getting onto them all the time, but that is a struggle for me...I prefer less acting crazy, but they are kids and they are playing nicely.

Three Evil Words

Daylight
Saving(s)
Time

I think it has ended and we are back on Standard Time? - whatever, it doesn't really matter if we are on it or off of it...either way has evil issues. Clearly, Benjamin Franklin did not have young children when he conceived this idea. Needless to say, there is early morning rising and it is not making RJ happy. I am out of the house by 5:20, so I'm not bothered by the waking, but I find that I am ready for bed at 7:30 - yet LJ seems to never tire.

I.Don't.Like.It.

Halloween Recap

Wednesday night, there was a Halloween party on campus, so we dressed the kids in their costumes. LJ was a cowboy and PJ was a train engineer. They were so cute and so excited about the party. Of course, parking was a bear, but we found a spot and saw tons of kids in costumes on our way to the building. LJ demanded to be held because there was a skeleton costume that scared him.

He is just like his mother - I can remember screaming and screaming and crying because of this one kid in a scary mask who was trick-or-treating on our block...I was probably about 4. The thing I did not realize is that *I* was wearing that same mask! One of my sisters took great joy in torturing me by placing that mask around the house for weeks after Halloween. I'd innocently walk into the living room and look up to see the mask sitting on top of the lamp - and scream my head off. I still do not like scary movies or costumes. Who knew it was genetic?

We were at the party for about 10 minutes when the fire alarm went off and we had to leave the building. This happens frequently - enough that no one ever really thinks there is a fire. You know, students have exams and they can get out of it by pulling the alarm. Or, a balloon gets in front of the sensor, so the alarm goes off. So, the party was over for us, but we got to see a fire truck! Thursday night we had 10 students over for dinner. I dreaded it, but I as always ended up enjoying it. Plus, we got a clean house out of the deal. It seems impossible to keep up with everything one wants to keep up with in life.

Friday, once again, we dressed the kids in their costumes and went to campus as there are several residence halls (dorms, but the university doesn't want to call them that anymore) that were hosting trick-or-treaters. The best was a dorm that RJ lived in during college. If a room was participating, there was an orange paper on the door - the kids knocked and a student answered and said, "Ohhhh - they are so cute." - If they were girls, they would make these remarks. And students give tons of candy - good candy too. Add that to the candy I bought for trick-or-treaters (not thinking that we wouldn't be home to answer the door) and we have way more candy than is possible to eat.

I went to the gym 5 days last week...thank goodness.

Back to Normal?

This week, we are hoping to be back to normal. I am going to resume my 5:00 am daily trip to the gym and the boys are going to resume their nap schedules...today they were quiet (and asleep, I think) from 1:00 - 4:00, so this is a good start.

This past weekend, LJ and I went on a little trip all by ourselves - to visit with my message board moms. One mom, who lives in Australia, came over on "holiday" with her family. She and her family have spent almost 3 weeks in various parts of the country - mostly staying with moms from the board. This past weekend - we had a play date and LJ and I picked up one mom at the airport and then stayed at a hotel. LJ had a blast and it was great fun to have a special trip together. He was super well-behaved and had so much fun playing with the other 15 or so kids.

I think we are all at the tail-end of sickness. LJ still coughs as do I, but PJ seems cured. RJ is at the start of his coughing, but he doesn't seem to have been as hard hit as I was.

October

October has been a rough month at the J house. It started with such positive energy as I bit the bullet and joined a gym. My master plan is to get up at 5:00 am and get to the gym by 5:30 - work out for an hour and then shower and head to work. This worked super-well on T Sept 30 and W Oct 1. Throughout the day on W Oct 1 - I developed a sore throat and started to feel worse and worse. Oh, and DOMS set in - delayed onset muscle soreness. So, I felt I should take is easy and not workout on R Oct 2. I figured I just has a cold and it would pass quickly if I gave myself some rest.

F Oct 3 - S Oct 5 was the annual Pokerpalooza and, while I was sick, I had a great time. I really enjoyed that people brought their kids - it was nice to interact as families. I had a babysitter both nights, so RJ and I could play poker and hang out until 1:00 - which was not good for my resting plan. I developed a cough...no congestion, no runny nose - just a cough.

M Oct 6 - now I had congestion and a hacking cough. I was not feeling better, so I stuck with the resting. Plus, I had a workout with my personal trainer on Tuesday (3 sessions came with the fee to join) and I wanted to be rested for that. I was not feeling particularly well, but I went to meet Brandi Tuesday afternoon anyway. She worked me out pretty hard - I felt like throwing up...she told me this is actually normal and that many men actually do throw up during her sessions. Who knew this was normal? I suppose people who work out know this.

As the week progressed - I kept getting a little more sick and not much better...and now the kids are sick.

So, this has been October at the J house.

Ross "Chest"

When I got home from work this morning, LJ and RJ had the checkers/chess/backgammon box out. RJ had been trying - with some success - to teach LJ how to play checkers. So, I sat down with LJ while RJ went to get ready for work. LJ wanted to play "the other game" - which I discovered is chess and not backgammon. LJ told me, "Ross likes to play chest" and that he wanted to play "chest" too. I showed him how to set up the pieces, but I told him that I think chess is a bit complicated for a 3-year-old...maybe we could play "LJ chess"? He said, "no, I want to play "Ross 'Chest'". So, I attempted to show him how the difference pieces are allowed to move and then LJ agreed 'chest' is too much for a 3-year old, "but maybe I can play 'chest' when I'm 4"?!

Weekend Recap:

Saturday night: I’ll spare you the details, but I left the garage door open. When RJ went to "lock down the house" and checked to make sure the garage door was down, well…he opened the door from the kitchen to the garage to find a possum in our garage. Sick out. Our garage is FULL of stuff - no car could park there, so this possum has plenty of places to hide without leaving. RJ tried to chase him out, but the possum crawled behind some stuff. In the end, RJ opened the garage door just a bit, to give the possum a way to get out and that was that. Let me just say that I will not be going in the garage EVER again.

Sunday: I decided that I'm fairly certain that it is time to start moving PJ toward 1 nap a day. He takes the morning nap with zero problems, but the afternoon nap is becoming a rarity - I'd say he's taken one for me about 25% of the time in the past 2 weeks. So, I'm ready to intervene and start moving his morning nap back by 10-15 minutes every couple of days until he's napping at around 11:30. He'll probably need an earlier bedtime too, but he has been getting that lately - considering he has been up from about 11:30 am until bedtime for the past 2 weeks. Of course, Sunday morning, he woke up at 6:15 and was a crank-pot all morning. In his defense, he is sprouting his bottom molars, so I suppose that is a reason for crankiness. I thought, "There is no way we were even going to make it to his normal nap time of between 9:30 and 10:00, but we went outside and helped RJ clean up his garage. PJ was covered in dirt and chalk, so I gave him a bath before I put him down at 10:15. He slept until noon and did not take an afternoon nap. I still tried, but he didn’t sleep.

We bought the kids new shoes for the colder months. LJ's are a size 12 and they look so big. This is the part that is hard for me...seeing the shoes get bigger. It is just such a sign they are growing up. PJ’s are a size 8 super-wide…for reference, LJ wore a 6.5 at PJ’s age. They do both seem to love their new shoes.

After shoe shopping, we went out to lunch and the boys got haircuts before their naps. Neither of them slept. RJ then took LJ to the hardware store and LJ fell asleep in the car. So, RJ drove around for about 20 minutes to let LJ get a little cat-nap in. The boys went to bed at 7:30.

The Aftermath

Since the school was closed over the weekend - RJ and I did not have our Sunday evening meetings - but I asked Jfer to come over earlier in the day and RJ and I went to see The Dark Knight (we are probably the last 10% of people who haven't seen it) and went out to eat. That was nice...I liked the movie, but I kept thinking it was about to end and I could wait to go to the bathroom. I was wrong many times, but I made it to the end.

I admit that I did not want to go to work today. We had Friday off - in today's society, I guess the school decided it needed to allow people to go somewhere without missing class or work so that if it were really bad here - they wouldn't be so liable? I don't know, but we got the day off due to Hurricane Ike! It did give me time to clean the house in preparation for our evacuees (Grandma and Grandpa) and it gave RJ time to stake our trees...the trees we transplanted in the spring. But, that one day off got me out of my routine and now I just want to say "I'm finished with this semester" - which of course, I can't!

LJ has been being a menace lately - mostly due to lack of sleep. I can make him stay in bed (kind of), but I can't make him sleep and he's been exercising his free will on this one. He's gotten in the habit of getting up to tell us his tummy hurts. Oddly, it only hurts when he's supposed to be sleeping...of course, we are suspicious. It had gotten to where he'd come in at 5:30 AM to tell us his tummy hurts. Then, he'd be awake in his room, talking to himself - or he'd have made enough noise to wake up PJ. It was really getting frustrating...so, I "called the dr." yesterday and "the dr." told me that "if LJ's tummy hurt in the night, he shouldn't go swimming the next day". Wouldn't you know it - LJ did not get out of bed once last night and his tummy did not hurt. Amazing. Hopefully, he won't be too jaded if he ever realizes what has happened.

P.S. I've been told my spelling has not been good as of late. I'll do my best to correct this, but I'm usually typing while children are hanging off of my arm or banging on the key board. I suppose I could write while they are napping, but I chose to use that time to read my book or catch up on some tv and I don't see that changing anytime soon!

Random Catch Up - I'm a Horrible Blogger These Days!

LJ and PJ are in a nice phase right now...everyone is sleeping well (knocking on wood) and in a rather good and happy mood most of the time. They are playing fairly well together and PJ has seemed to tire of running to the bathroom, throwing the door open and trying to get in the potty. Or getting up onto the table. Or pulling the card out of the DVR.

Speaking of DVR - ours started deleting shows - like 10 hours worth last week. Not cool. I called Dish Network - with zero questions asked...the sent a new one. Of course, they want to keep us on the dish, so I'm sure the hardware is like nothing to them...just replace it and keep them paying the monthly fee - LOL. I was pleased to see that our new DVR has a 60 hour capacity as our old one had only 35.

One afternoon last week, I realized we would not make it through the rest of the day without buying some milk. I did NOT want to go to the grocery store at 4:30 in the afternoon - that is an exercise in madness. So, I texted RJ and told him that when he got home, we'd go to Sam's and buy some milk. Milk is not as cheap at Sam's as it is at the grocery store, but we also use a trip to Sam's as our entertainment. Walking up and down the aisles and seeing what's new, sizing up prices on things we've had our eye on, - this is family fun. One such item we keep our eye on - The Canon Rebel XTi. Holy Cow - they only had the display model left and it was $220.00 cheaper then the last price it was. Without a question - we bought it!!! We have been looking at this camera for 2 years. When my niece (SH) got married and asked RJ to consider taking the pictures - we thought about buying one then...that would have cost a ton of money and we decided not to do it AND not to take the wedding pictures (hers turned out fantastic without us!). We had considered a Nikon since we have a few really good, old, Nikon manual focus lenses, but in doing some research - it turns out we can actually uses those lenses on the Canon (with a step ring) and still use the light meter, etc. and I cannot use them on the Nikon. Whacked out, but true.

Finally, I got my hair colored (thank goodness) and I actually got a new style. My hair is not my friend. It has gotten wavier over the years (and with each pregnancy), but only underneath...the top layer of hair is straight as a board. I also have rather thick hair and it is also fairly coarse (as it is really just dyed gray hair). So, I'm tired of trying to make it bend under...I don't have the patience or desire to spend time with the round brush. At any rate, my directions were..."I want to keep the length in general, but if you need to take a little off - that is ok. If you can cut it where it won't matter if it is all perfectly styled - that would be terrific." It is shorter than I'd like, but not so short I'm upset (I think stylists tend to do shorter than you'd like most of the time) and it is rather "free", so I'm fairly happy. It feels like I have so little hair when I wash it!

The Comedian

LJ is fond of telling knock knock jokes. He's finally mastered the orange/banana knock knock. Whenever he starts to tell one - PJ starts yelling - "KNOCK KNOCK - KNOCK KNOCK"

I taught LJ the Boo Hoo knock knock joke and he's a pro now. I asked him if he thinks it is funny and he said yes, so I asked him what is funny about it and he said, "it is a knock knock joke!" - as if they are all funny. Hilarious!

PJ is on a hunger strike. The only things he'll eat are fruits. Oh, and he will drink milk. I'm not worried - he's clearly not malnourished and when he's hungry, I suppose he'll eat. I am getting tired of preparing something for him and then throwing it away. He also has two bottom teeth that broke through.

PJ slept until 8 this morning. Great, but now is whole day is running an hour late. I'm rolling with it.

Cast Off!

I got my cast off last Thursday (Aug 21) - !!!!! It was supposed to be an "x-ray only" visit, but the dr. decided I have healed enough and it is time to get on with the rest of it. I have a soft brace to wear for 2 weeks. This first week, I'm supposed to take it easy and still not use my arm, but I'm supposed to do some movements that will rebuild my muscles and flexibility. Next week, I can use my arm and continue with the exercises, but I'm to be more aggressive with them. I'm thrilled to have the cast off! The amount of dead skin I sloughed off is better left unmentioned other than this mentioning.

The dr. gave me a brace, but I didn't like it, so I bought another. This leaves the original brace as a pretend costume for LJ. He likes to put it on and then say to me, "I'm sorry you have a broken-ed arm" - which he's been saying for 5 weeks...to which I'm supposed to say, "Thank you, I'm sorry you have a broken arm". If I don't say this - I'm reminded. I overheard LJ telling PJ how he broke his arm on some stairs - complete with falling down demonstrations. He also told the lady at Blockbuster that he broke his arm...I think she saw me mouth "we're pretending", but I'm not sure.

PJ's 15-Month Stats

We finally got around to taking PJ in for his well-visit. Since he wasn't getting the MMR or the Varicella vaccine and I broke my wrist - we were pretty lax about the 12 month visit, so now - at almost 16 months...he's getting his 15 month visit.

Weight - 33 pounds
Height - 33 1/2 inches

The dr. brought us a list of his vaccines still to get and asked us which of them we wanted him to have today! I was beaming and so happy! Without us saying anything - they were ready for us. We told him that PJ would get Pc and Hib today and that was perfectly fine. The dr. also said he's read the introduction to The Vaccine Book that we gave him when we had our consultation. He remarked that he felt the book was going to be just fine as the introduction seemed like Dr. Sears is logical and not responding to any one issue or non-issue, but is rather being very pragmatic. I suppose our Dr. read the introduction this morning when he saw we were coming in - so he could say he's read some of it, but I don't care - at least he cares enough to want us to think he's read the book we gave him!

Yet Another Wrist Update

Went to the orthopedist for x-rays. It was super-crowded...turns out he was backed up because he is on call today and got called in for a surgery. The radiologist took my x-rays and had the dr. come in and look at them. He thinks it all looks good and I have to go back in a week for more check-up x-rays. I really appreciate that he is being so thorough. He asked how it feels and I told him that my arm has been bothering me the last few days. This cast has my wrist really immobilized, which I think is good, but I feel a lot of pressure and there just isn't much give. He was very contemplative and said, "well, you have a very high pain threshold - so do you think we should put on a new cast? Is there any burning?" I was honored! *I* have a "very high pain threshold" - what a compliment (am I sick or what?). I told him I don't feel burning, but it does feel like I have pressure in certain spots and that I think this cast is fine for another week. He told me to call if I feel burning because that is a sign of pressure sores. He instructed the radiologist nurse to put some mole skin in a couple of places and I followed her. I asked her how he could tell my pain threshold and she said, "because you are not a wimp - most people scream out and cry and you never have -the dr. can read people." I assume it is less hectic for the dr. if you aren't writhing in pain - I just never really thought about it before. I don't think I have a high pain threshold - I think I feel it - I just don't complain about it.

PJ Bilingual?

PJ has started telling us when he's ready to eat in the morning. He goes to his high chair, starts to climb up and in, and says, "NANA"...which LJ says is Spanish for banana. This morning PJ pointed at the tv, which he likes to turn on and off (which really bothers LJ), and said, "NAY NAY"...which LJ says is Spanish for no.

So, in LJ's mind - PJ speaks Spanish.

Mystery Solved

We didn't really know it was solvable, but PJ has been waking up at 5:30 on the dot every morning for the past 10 days...and that, combined with LJ's waking up and talking to himself, has made me and RJ a bit cranky. RJ would go in PJ's room and his white noise sounds would be off, so he'd turn them back on and PJ would go back to sleep (sometimes) for 15 minutes to an hour. 2 nights ago, RJ said he thought he heard a loud beeping sound before PJ cried out, so after some investigation I determined there was an alarm of some sort on...and I pushed some sequence of buttons to make a little bell on the display go away. Yesterday, PJ slept until 6:15 and this morning he slept until 6:30 - I, however, have been waking up at 5:40, so it will take me a bit longer to un-adjust from waking up at 5:30, but we are pleased!

We had a lovely visit from the S family over the weekend. LJ *loved* playing with his cousins, S, L, and C...they swam in the pool with him for 2 hours and he was in Heaven with the attention his "sisters" were showing him. Amazingly, LJ was on his best behaviour and was nothing short of a lovable and happy 3 year old boy. We are secretly hoping S and L will have loved their campus tour so much that they will come to school here in next fall...we would LOVE to have the chance to get to know them better!

Wrist Report

I had an appointment yesterday and Dr. is happy with the lack of compression - the bone still the right length. He drew some lines on my x-rays with a straight-edge and they intersected...then he used a protractor-like device to compute what I found out is the degree of dorsal radial tilt. Right now, I've lost 3 degrees of dorsal radial tilt and that is nothing I would notice mobility-wise, but he wants to watch that very closely, so I have an appointment on Thursday. He put a new cast on - this one is TIGHT. I think he wants my wrist completely immobilized. He hung me in traction so that everything would be lined up perfectly...I took 2 Vicodin when I got home...! I think this Dr. is pretty good and pretty thorough. He is a tough cookie to crack though - he is rather dry and all-business, so I was happy at my first appointment when I finally got him to smile! Today, I actually got him to smile and chuckle and as he left the room, he patted me on the shoulder...I figure if you can get them to interact with you - they are more invested in your care.

What's Inside...

LJ's newest obsession is knowing what is inside of everything. If my answer doesn't satisfy him, he'll say, "no, what's REALLY inside?" For example, this morning he asked "Momma, what's inside of toast?" to which I replied, "bread". He said, "No Momma, toast IS bread - what's REALLY inside of toast?" - and then it is hard to decide how to answer. Yesterday, he wanted to know what is inside of cheese enchiladas - the answer = cheese. Once again, he wanted to know what is REALLY inside of cheese enchiladas.

The trend this week has been that PJ cries at 5:15 am. RJ get his back to sleep - LJ gets up to go to the bathroom. He stays in there for a long time - RJ gets up to tell him to go back to bed. PJ wake up again around 6:00, LJ is talking to himself in his room. PJ does or doesn't go back to sleep/stay quiet for 20 more minutes. I get up with PJ and then let LJ get up at 7:00. It is like Grand Central Station starting WAY too early at our house.

Haircuts, Found Items, PJ News

RJ found LJ's pacifier and we did give it back to him. LJ wasn't crying about not having it (too much) and he was going to bed fine, but he was not sleeping fine. After a week, he was becoming sleep deprived and it was noticeable. In fact, in many ways, he was acting as I think a teenager would act. My opinion is that he only has it for sleeping, it stays in his room (granted, sometimes he tries to see if he can get away with bringing it out), and I think he'll give it up sooner rather than later...it almost has a hole in it...a crack that is almost all the way through. I remember my own pacifier, so I have a soft spot for this one. Plus, he near about came unglued when I was going to wash his blanket and would only allow it if he could put an old Diego shirt in with it...as if Diego would make sure his blanket didn't disappear like his pacifier.

DH gave the kids haircuts last night...it was long over due.

PJ's current routine:
Up anywhere from 5-7 in the morning. If the first number is 5, DH tries to make him go back to bed...this can usually stall him off until 6 something.

He eats all solid food and is on whole milk. He only drinks milk and water and he does not like chicken the way LJ did.

Morning nap between 9:30 and 10:00 - sleeps about an hour and a half. If you say, "are you ready to go night-night?" He'll say "NIGHT-NIGHT" and head for his room. Put him in bed with his blanket and pacifier and that is usually all it takes.

Afternoon nap between 2:00 and 2:30 - sleeps about an hour and a half.

Bedtime between 7:30 and 8:00.

PJ's Teeth:
He has the two bottom and two top teeth - and has for several months. Next, according to the charts, should be the one tooth on either side of the teeth he currently has. PJ did not get the memo as he does not have those teeth, but is sprouting 2 molars (1 on each side) on the top.

PJ's Words:
Momma
Dada
Hello
Mmm = milk
Nana = banana
Door (which he can open)
Dan Yee = thank you
No
Dora
Diego
Pinky Doo (another TV show)
Blue (Blue's Clues)
Night Night
Cast
Arm

What PJ Understands:
Pretty much every command we give him! Some he follows more willingly than others.

Which One to Tell?

Let's see, which story is most typical of our days lately...?

The one where the friendly-city-employee came over to inspect RJ's plumbing work in the "barn" and while waiting for RJ to get home - LJ pulled down his pants to show friendly-city-employee what color his underwear is...

or

The one where LJ woke up from his nap in a bad mood (typical lately...I don't think he's sleeping well - probably adjusting to losing his comfort item), so he laid in my lap and I smoothed his hair...but realize I haven't heard a peep from PJ who has left the room...so I get up and find him sitting IN the toilet bowl...like a little weeble-wobble - just sitting there.