Oooh the itch....

You know the one where you want to turn your life upside down, shake it around a bit and start anew? I do love our house and our neighborhood and our schools. But the job, my appearance, the routine with the kids, the daycare situation and the stress, well, I could be happy messing around with all of those for sure!

Job- ugh I'm so ready for something different! I just wade through work telling myself "Just hold out til after the new year and our planned vacation and maybe in the new year the economy will pick up." And some weeks at work are okay and others, well, let's just say I am SO happy to have survived. I know all jobs have their ups and downs, and working is never as fun as being home:) But would it be bad if I started a countdown til I could send some resumes in the mail?

My appearance, well, I'm getting older, I need to lose weight, get a good haircut, and better fitting clothing would help. This week my favorite shoes broke and I have had to compensate with some flats I dont' love because then I have to roll my pants up which is way out of fashion. So hopefully this weekend I can find some new ones!

Daycare- it just seems so jumbled and some things have happened this week that make me want to scoop the kids up and never let them out the door with anyone else but me and Jorge. I don't like giving up control, and I've come a LONG way to trusting others with our kids and letting them do things their own way. I hate when things get messed up in that department.

And I could use my husband back. He's been gone alot traveling. And we've survived! But his deadline is not over so he's been a maniac running around trying to get things done and it'll take a day til he gets his head screwed back on. I'll be waiting:)

My 6 year old!

What is Logan like at age 6? He is definitely at the crux between babyhood and big-kid-hood! He brought his Blue Blankey to school for show and tell (student of the week) and yet likes to build ugly scary Bionicles. He gives into his sister even if she wants his brand new toy before he has played with it. He doesn't care much for the zoo or animals or as much about sports or balloons (halleluja!) as he did when he was little. He's more well-rounded and less obsessive. He lost his first tooth this week and must have lost it during his sleep, we couldnt' find it. It never bothered him, he just figured the Tooth Fairy would come no matter what. And of course she did! Five whole dollars!

When he gets to the line for Kindergarten, the kids call his name and his whole face lights up. He has real friends and he's really good at it! He amazes me every day when he comes home with schoolwork. How could a child who still isn't sure of half the alphabet by sight write out a list of 10 recognizable words from the teacher saying them and him sounding them out?!?! I mean really!? He never ceases to amaze me. And when you point out his incredulous achievements (well, at least they are amazing to his adoring parents), he just shrugs and tells you like it is.

His demeanor still is a bit of a mystery. One minute he's running through the house screaming and excited because he's happy, and the next he's sobbing telling me he wants to be 5 forever (seriously, is that so cute?!) He can be serious and non-challant and boisterous depending on his mood. He still doesnt' love baths, but can jump on the trampoline with the best of them. He loves superheroes and playing legos. He adores new toys and gets plenty of them from all of his biggest fans.

I love my little Logan. He's still quite the individual and a very very very sweet soul.I can't imagine life without him:) Happy Birthday my Logan Anthony, my firsborn and my sweet baby boy.

Future Predictions

Logan: "We could get married and then have babies." (I'm not sure who he was actually talking about, we were talking about marriage.)

Me: "Logan, if you get married someday you can be a daddy and have babies. How many babies do you think you would want."

Logan: "I would want 162 babies."

Me: hysterical laughter

Logan: "Mom, I could totally handle that. I could totally handle 162 babies."

Me: "Logan, you crack me up!"

Logan: "Well, I could have 10 then, that would be way more easier."

Me: "Sylvie, how many babies would you like someday."

Sylvie: "Maybe one."

Proof is in the Numbers

I don't have the official numbers in front of me because they will be mailed to me, but I got a sneak peek at Logan's Phonological Test Scores. Here is the rundown:

Age 3 when he entered Phono: 181 (profound)

Age 4 beginning of the year: 165

Age 4 at the end of the school year: 151

So that's why they recommended he continue Phono in the class, he hadn't really made enough progress and was still high on the scale of needing help with speech.

So, they tested him this week, about 6 months after his last exam:

You ready? He scored a.... 24

Holy cow what a difference! 24 is considered "Mild" so my boy has improved quite a bit! So exciting. He had his last day of Phono, I had his IEP meeting where we changed his goal and met the new in-district speech teacher. She was already putting together ideas for Logan at the meeting and he will most likely come in with one other child from kindergarten. The speech room is right nearby and he will enjoy bonding with one other child for sure, the kindergarten class is pretty large, and he won't feel alone.

Graduating from Phono!

It started at age 2, we did Early Intervention where he ended up getting therapy sessions in my mother-in-laws house.

Then it moved to Early Childhood with testing and placement in the Phono class. 3 Days a week he went to Kensington and 2 days a week he got on a bus and went to Phono preschool. 5 days a week of papers, parties and treats and special days to coordinate, with things to practice at home from both schools.

Then he turned 4 and did the same thing all over again.

Then he turned 5 and while I wanted to pass him out of it, they weren't really offering the option. So we did phono again with the bus and the crazy schedule of 3 different schools to get 2 different children to on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

And finally I was able to get the school district to allow him to do therapy for 15-30 minutes a week during kindergarten hours! I was all worried that his Phono teacher would talk me out of it, and she said she agrees, he has improved enough to "GRADUATE" from phono!

I know it's a silly thing but this has been a part of our lives for 4 years and I guess I'm just taking this moment to revel in the fact that he has moved ON. We have survived, we have done a good thing and he is now in regular kindergarten with a mostly intelligible speech! I couldn't have done it without the grandparents. And it was worth it. This summer we had a meeting and they specifically said that all of our hard work (especially Logan's hard work!) has kept him out of Special Ed. Yeah for Logan!

He has always been my quirky backwards, do everything different than the books say, intense beyond belief for that first year to the point that I had to quit my job, adorable and not predictable boy. He has mellowed to a sweet boy beyond compare and now I can stop being the mom at the park who has to interject for him when the other kids don't understand. He talks to his friends on the playground and he talks a LOT more then ever before.

I just wanted to share my good news and send a note of encouragement for any mom in the group heading down the long road of "therapy" in any of its forms. It's so worthwhile to give your child a hand up when they need it so when all they want to do is be a "normal kindergartener" they have all the tools at their ready.

Playground Anctics

This was all this morning, in the 5 minutes waiting for the school bell to let my son into Kindergarten.

A to Logan: "You're #5 in line! How come you didn't get here first?"

W:"You know what Allison told me? She told me she likes me!"
A: "No she did not! That's a lie!" W looks like he's going to cry.

I turn around to see Allison making eyes with a boy in the next line. There is a cluster of girls saving a spot for another girl and all clamboring around Allison. She's cute, she's got a big sister and apparently she's not afraid to talk to the boys. Should I warn her mom?

A: "Hey Logan, guess what?"
Logan: "What?"
A: "BLPHTTT!" practically spits in his face and makes faces. Nice huh?

Geesh! This is KINDERGARTEN kids? Where's the sweetness? Apparently left behind in preschool.

11 -5 year old Boys.

Oh my! I just attended the first birthday party of the kindergarten year. This party was at home which to me conjures innocence, fun games and homemade cake. Well we had the second two but innocence, man I can picture some of these boys in junior high already. I think I need to send a spa certificate for their teacher this Christmas. Or perhaps buy her a trip to the Bahamas to recoup and get ready for round 2 of the rest of the year!

There was rowdiness, pure insane disregard for the kids toys, and knocking over of juice cups by whipping an inflatable pumpkin everywhere. They had some fun Halloween decorations like the one with a skeleton hand that comes out, and instead of just standing there laughing, it became a contest to see who could break the darn thing faster.

The mummy contest was crazy. The musical chair contest was ruthless. And the pinata left some kids in tears!

The parents hosting were great, they really did try to keep a handle on things. But what do you do when you announce "Time to play a new game!" and a child stands their ground and says "Not me!" and continues to destroy the playroom by throwing things all over the place.

I was actually happy to be there as I had to defend my son a few times, steal his toy gun back from 3 different kids (who took it right out of his hands), and pull a few boys off of him that were in a punching kinda mood. Good grief!

We have a birthday party coming up at Chuck E Cheese for Logan with the same 11 boys, and a Halloween party at kindergarten, I'll be curious to see the behavior of the kids for these events.

And to think, the 11 boys are only half of the kindergarten class. Now I'm glad to be an architect again!

What's for Dinner?

This is a typical dinner for the kids and me. I love serving the kids in these trays, as Logan especially is not very "Mixed food" friendly. He would flip out if I served him a casserole, he prefers compartments. Plus it makes it easier to say "eat all of your veggies or fruit" Since we had a big lunch and neither child is in a growth spurt at the moment, I had to do some cajoling to get them to eat this.



This, on the other hand, is Logan's dinner request. And lunch request. He tells me he would like to eat Ramen all the time. Even though it isn't healthy. And every food presented comes with the question "Is this healthy?" and eaten better if it is healthy.



I have to say it is nice to have ONE food you KNOW the kids will eat, no matter what. Sylvie's fav is rice from the in-laws restaurant. For a Long LONG LOOOOONG time, Logan preferred Hot Dogs, Scrambled eggs, Chocolate Milk and Breakfast Sausage. Sylvie is not as routine, she goes in phases. Usually when you stock up on something, she decides she no longer likes it:)

Robot Control Tower

I had a blast with the kids pulling out some old boxes from the recycling bins, our art supplies, and let them go to town. I made them 3 of the "cottages" and they made the others. Sylvie's is the well-colored variety and Logan's is a "Robot Control Tower." We had a great time!

A few weeks back, you know, when it was warmer!

I can't believe it was warm enough for a sundress and a sunny trip to our favorite sandbox park just a week or two ago! It's so chilly and wet and windy right now, Fall has come aknocking. I even turned on the radiant floor to help keep our toes warm!

I love this park. The smaller equipment is in a huge sandbox. There is a very accessible playground with neat swings and lots of ramps (not pictured). And there is the "Age 5-12" park. The kids took on the big kid park with gusto and had a great time! We stopped at Target on the way there to buy kites, but they were put away for the season- waah! This park even has a "kite-flying hill."

Room Parent

I'm so in love with the idea of helping when I can in Logan's school. Believe me, I'm not the one with 50 ideas and volunteering for every committee. Have to make sure I'm not spread too thin. Plus, everything I offer takes a bit away from either the kids time or my husband's time, or both. But there is just something so cool about walking through those halls with art projects and kids' names and desks lined up that makes me so happy for my Logan to be in school. I guess it means I have good memories from my school days and I'm excited for my kids to be given the chance to go just like I did.

But yes, I am excited to wrap things for a Halloween surprise and have some fun helping at the "parade" and so excited for all of these fun experiences we give these kids and watching them enjoy enjoy enjoy!!!!!

In the green schoolbag- Sylvie

And here are Sylvie's drawings. She likes to draw something and then change her mind about who it is depending on who she is discussing it with. So for me, in my interpretation, she always tells me all tall people are me. I like being tall:) I'm the one in purple. She recently drew some stick figures with REALLY long legs and said they were Logan- grown up.



I really like this apple tree she brought home this week. Very directed in what and how to make it I'm sure, but pretty nonetheless!

In the Backpacks- Logan

I thought I would show some papers that have come home from school that put a smile on my face recently


This one cracks me up. They do a cool activity where they have teh 4th graders come in and read to them. Apparently they read half the story and the kids had to draw/discuss what they thing the end was. The story was about a "big golden surprise thing." Logan drew a spaceship and was all excited for what it could be. He was extremely disappointed that the "Golden thing" was a sunflower. How boring compared to a spaceship!

We have words! Lots and lots of words! Most of his worksheets involve him copying words from somewhere, he lets me know which words he got to "pick myself."





And this one made me actually laugh out loud. This drawing is very different looking than anything he had previously done. He said it's an ice cream truck. Running over a mouse. BOYS!

Silly Sylvieisms

Sylvie: "Mom, can you cut the crusts off of my apple?"

Logan:"You're under arrest! Put your arms in the air."
Sylvie: "All of my dollies arms are in the air."
"Won't you be under arrest with me?"
Logan: "Are you a bad guy? Do you want to be in my club?"
Sylvie: "No, I'm a good guy. And I want to be in your club."
Logan: "Well only bad guys can be in my club."
Sylvie: "Well can your guy be good so I can be in your club?"
Logan: "Oh, okay, we'll be good guys and you can be in our club."

(Sees image of anything scary, say an alligator)
Sylvie: "Mom, are Alligators on our planet?"
Me: "Yes but they are only in zoos."
Sylvie: "But do they lick us? Are they nice?"
Me: "Alligators are not nice and they don't lick us. But they only live in cages at the zoo."
Sylvie: "Well DOGS are nice. They lick us. And snakes are nice, they lick us too."
Me:"Yes, snakes may have long tongues, but let's hope they don't lick us okay!?!"

Sylvie: "Mom, I wish our house looked just like this one!" (looking at the house that looks most identical to our house in the whole town).
Me: "That house really does look like our house! What is different that you like?"
Sylvie: "The door!" It was an older styles storm door with amber colored panels. Fancy!

Me:"Wow, looks like this house is getting a new driveway and garage" (looking at the mesh of metal laid over gravel waiting fora concrete pour)
Sylvie: "Or a giant 'Trapper Trapper'. You know, like to trap bugs." Heck yeah I hope it's really a giant Trapper Trapper because there won't be any bugs left in the neighborhood if they install a bug zapper that big!

We had a somewhat busy weekend so I was attempting to multi-task and dye my hair in the downstairs bathroom so I could fill the 25 minute waiting period with useful activities. Sylvie had never noticed that I dye my hair and was totally intrigued.
Sylvie:"Mom, will you look just like that lady on the box?"
Me: "No, just my hair will look like hers. I won't look like her thought."
Sylvie stares at the box thoughtfully for the entire time I dye my hair.
Sylvie: "Mom, I'm really glad you won't look like her. Her eyebrows look wrong. They look mean." She's so observant! The lady had shaped eyebrows and they were outlined with makeup and sure enough, they turned in at the center making her look meaner!

Tiddlywinks

I have no idea if this is the actual name for the game, but it's been fun! We got a big container of poker chips from a garage sale for 25 cents and it has been a good buy! Yesterday we played something like Bozo buckets with our bowls lined up on the floor. Then we built towers. And today we played what I called Tiddlywinks. You take one chip and press down on the edge of another chip and watch it "hop" aiming to make it land somewhere. Sylvie was able to do it pretty well so I would recommend it!

School Days

The kids did great for their first 2 weeks of crazy orientations, back to school adventures and the teary (for me) dropoffs at their respective schools. Logan has been very even-keeled about the whole thing. I ask him "So, Logan, are you getting used to kindergarten yet?" and get answers like "Mom, I'm ALREADY used to Kindergarten. I always listen to the teacher and I like it every day." So far he has talked about going to the gym, doing Jolly Phonics and saying the Pledge of Allegiance. He's always telling Sylvie what she'll get to do in preschool and that she's lucky she gets to play EVERY day.

We've hit a new phase at the park. Cowboys and Indians with the bigger boys. Including weapons, plotting, bombs and lots of running around. The big boys are really good with the 5 year olds. I'm not a big fan of weapons or politically incorrect games, but whatever, it's better than playing video games, involves social skills and talking to other kids, and it's playtime, which seems to be something he needs after a hard day at work at kindergarten.

Sylvie has Kimi in her class and we know the teacher, so it's been an easy transition. She's really ready for preschool and I'm sure she'll be a social butterfly in the class in no time. The crazy routine has been just as I expected, crazy and lots of waiting watching my watch at the same time.

All in all, a good start to the year, tons of paperwork to read through and keep track of. And a good dose of freaking out on my part about all I am supposed to do with Logan each day to help him succeed this year in kindergarten. Eeek!

August Snapshots from the Bike Trail

The Rocking Chair

"Mom! My rocking chair stepped on my brother's foot!"
Tend to a crying Logan, lots of love, he's okay, just a bruised toe and a bruised ego.

Later, never to be outdone by her older brother.....
"I just walk around my rocking chair and then sit on it.
But sometimes, my rocking chair steps on my toe too."

"Oh, I'm sorry, then do you cry when your rocking chair hurts your toe?"

"No..... I just laugh about it."

Breakfast Meltdown, Dinner Meltdown

Last night, Dinner Meltdown.....
Me:"Sylvie, how about this soup for dinner?"
Sylvie" YEAH!!!!" helps me make it, get it in a bowl she picked, so happy.
THEN she sees Logan's chosen soup. I say she can have it as well, but it's still cooking.

Total and complete meltdown.

This morning,
Sylvie "I want CANDY!"
Me: "It's morning, we don't eat candy in the morning. How about this or that...."

Sylvie obsesses over candy for about 10 minutes, starts tearing apart the kitchen by grabbing towels from the drawer (Freshly washed) and throwing them on the floor).

Logan: "Is this breakfast healthy?" ( a pre-made breakfast bar with a lot of sugar)
Me: "No, not really."
Logan: "Are grapes healthy?"
I get out grapes and Sylvie says
"Are carrots healthy? "
So the kids eat grapes and carrots for breakfast.

Hold strong, say no to the candy! At least until after breakfast.

Tales from the Vertically Challenged.....

That would be me. All 5 feet, 1/2" inch of me. It doesn't really bother me on a daily basis. We live in a world of handicap accessibility and Ankle-length pants. But in the past few days a few things have come up.

*Kohler Presentation: As in the toilet manufacturer. Despite the giggles and hilarity involved in any formal discussion of flushing, "grams of solid waste" at work, I promise it relates. There was talk about the direction water-management is taking and one thing they mentioned is a government-mandated move towards universality by making all new toilets "comfort height." For the record, that means about an 18 inch high base toilet when the current ones are 14" base height. Somehow by 2011 I don't see the bottom portion of my legs growing an additional 4 inches. I may have to start hoarding toilets.

*SUV: We got a loaner and MAN that thing was high. It's the same car I have but a different model. I couldn't get comfy because I couldn't put my seat low enough to drive with my heel on the floor. So I was hovering with my foot over the gas pedal to be able to see over the dashboard. Totally not a good fit for me and after driving for only 30 minutes, I had a pinpoint muscle ache from sitting incorrectly in the car. I also had to haul my body up and into the car, where with my slightly smaller SUV I just lift up onto my toes a bit and I'm in.

*Convenience shopping. Stopping back from an errand for the crucial gallon of milk, I reached up to grab something else from the dairy case and couldn't reach it! I could ask an employee, but the 5 people in line would not have been happy. So I asked another guy nearby to reach it. Only he had no idea what I was saying and his friend helped me. He could barely reach it either! Geesh!

Maybe I need to start wearing more heels! I do have a few pair for the colder months, but in summer I'm more of a flats and gym shoes kinda gal.

Conversations with a Curious Sylvie...

Watching Peter Pan, some remake...."Mom, do we have that pirate ship on our planet? Do pirate ships really fly?" "Yes.""Are there real pirate ships?""Yes. Just not real pirates."

Last night after she couldn't fall asleep, sparked by watching 'The Land Before Time' movie... "Mom, are dinosaurs real?" "Yes, they are real, but they lived a long long time ago, and they are all dead now." "But they can't come to our house?" "No, they are not alive, they lived a million years ago." "They lived 30 days ago?" "No, a million years ago." "Oh. Why did all the dinosaurs die?" "Because God decided that it was time for some people to live here to he waited til all the dinosaurs got old and didn't make any new baby dinosaurs and a long time later he put people on the earth instead. We know about dinosaurs because we found their bones."

Flashing back to when I was 12 babysitting for a family, I spent a few weekends explaining Fantasia and the meaning behind it to a 6 year old. And he was obsessed with reading about dinosaurs. I was relaying back a particularly funny comment to the mom and the mom said "Wait, now, were dinosaurs real?" So yeah, I think I had better start mentioning that one to Sylvie and Logan now so someday they can be smarter than their 5th grade babysitter!

Flashback Journal Entry: 10/23/05

Flashback to a Road Trip with Logan: just barely aged 2. Sylvie: In Utero

This weekend we attended a wedding for Ryan and Chrissy, who we knew both from U of I and Seattle (they still live in Seattle). We were very excited to see them, despite the 4 hour car ride to get there. The whole week was a scramble for us, staying up late and waking up early. Jorge was working on a competition at work and I was compensating trying to get everything ready for the trip- groceries, outfits for the wedding, etc with Logan around too. Thursday night Jorge worked until 2 am. He was hoping to come home by noon on Friday and take a nap. Of course not. So we hit the road around 5:30pm- not early like we planned, but just in time for rush hour. At least Logan got some baseball playing in the backyard in before we took off. I even had my neighbor watch him next door so I could pack the car while Jorge packed his suitcase! It took forever just to get to the expressway, and I think Logan's first video was over by the time our patience with it all ran out.

So after sitting in traffic forever, we hit McDonalds. With a playland. It was a toddler playland, so Logan loved the rubber flooring, the climbing toys, the small slides, and of course, playing with the balls we brought in with us. Okay, back on the road. It's dark, so it's hard to entertain Logan with much now. A few hours later, around bedtime for Logan, he has a serious meltdown. He's grabbing his bare feet, and I'm trying to see if he wants his boots on, his socks on, his slippers on, a foot massage, who knows! AAAHHHH.

Trying to drive with a screaming toddler is absolute chaos. So, stop two at a McDonalds. With no shoes yet. We bring the boots in, and get them on him once he sees the playland. It's after 9 and the playland is supposed to be closed, but thank goodness it isn't. We eat some apples and have a happy toddler again. Back in the car, and off the to the hotel. More videos and meltdowns for Logan later, he falls asleep for us in the car around 10:30. Less than an hour later, we're there. Our little light sleeper doesn't just lay in our arms, totally limp. No, he looks out of squinted eyes out the window the moment the car stops and spots balloons at the car dealership across the street. The kid is obsessed!!!!!

Into the hotel room, and as soon as the bags come in on the trolley, he sees his baseball bat and wants to play. It's around midnight. So we're thumping around the room, trying to put together his portable crib, and playing baseball. And tennis. And soccer. At midnight. With a very awake child. And a very tired mom and dad. We found out the wedding party is next door, so we stop by and say hello, with an awake Logan. Calming down the child is next to impossible. But we try, and when it looks like he may be tired, we put him in the crib. Yeah right. Jumping, kicking, throwing- SCREECHING!!!!!

And we're in a hotel, so the neighbors probably hate us. We try bringing him in bed with us. No go. He hates that anyway. He's still screaming, so Jorge suggests more baseball. It's now about 1 or 2 am, and Jorge is playing baseball with Logan once again. We put the baseballs to bed in the bathroom, and try to get him in bed with us. The kid moves all over. After about 1/2 hour, he falls asleep between us. Sideways. Shoving his head in my pregnant belly and his feet against Jorge. We don't dare move!

He woke up freaked out a few times in the night, and moved every 10 minutes, so thank goodness he finally woke up around 9, not 7 like usual. The day was great, we spent a few times on and off outside playing sports, and he was great at the wedding, which was beautiful. He tried to blow out the unity candles from the back of the church- his new trick. He was so tired by the reception, he was good and calm, didn't want to dance like I figured he would. He just wanted everyone to draw balloons for him. Which must have energized him for another evening!

We tried to get him to bed, and you guessed it, he just wanted to play baseball! So our friends came over and hung out to watch the World Series. (more baseball excitement for Logan). Between the 4 adults we spent another few hours drawing balloons and playing ball around the room. They headed out and it still took awhile to get him down, but he did sleep between us again.

This morning he woke up saying "ball" and wanting to get the balls and bats from their resting place in the bathroom before he was even awake enough to walk straight! The ride home was a blast- ha. He did okay, but when he passed naptime by two hours, he started screeching, I just said loudly "Logan, it's time to sleep, you've been awake for too many hours." He was silent. With some Sarah McLaughlin, he was asleep in about 5 minutes. We got home and when the car stopped, he woke up and said "ball."

As Jorge said "4 stops at McDonalds- $50, Two nights in a hotel- $100, a road trip with a future Hall-of-Famer in the backseat- priceless!" I swear, when he wouldn't sleep on Friday night we were contemplating calling up the Sox and asking if they needed a pinch hitter with unlimited energy and no need to sleep!

The good thing is Jorge and I kept a sense of humor over the weekend, and had a good time with our friends. And Logan spent way more time playing baseball than he could even imagine. So I would call it a success. As for future road trips anytime soon- NO WAY!!!!!!!!!

Flashback Journal Entry: 9-13-06

Vacation to see my husband, who has been working in California for weeks on end..... Logan: 2-1/2, Sylvie: Aged 9 months

The flight there.....It took three adults and a monster SUV to get all our stuff to the airport. Logan started crying realizing we were leaving Jorge's parents at the airport, then we went through security and he wanted to be in the stroller, so of course he wasn't happy knowing he was going to have to get out of it. So here's me with Sylvie in the Bjorn, two diaper bags- one with food and diapers, one with entertainment and extra clothes, and a purse, and a pillow, pushing the stroller with Logan crying. Lilia made the sign of the cross over me and Jorge and I were joking later that it probably meant "you're f-ing crazy."

So, I tell Logan we're taking our shoes off and he HATES that idea. I do it anyway then try to start dumping each bag into a separate little bin, calm Logan down and reassure him his shoes will go back on his feet in a minute, but in the meantime, could you please walk through the metal detector to that nice evil looking lady over there? Then to fold up the huge stroller and lift it onto the conveyer belt with Logan below me and a baby strapped to my chest. When I flew previously they made me take the bjorn off and put it through the detector, but this time I didn't have to. They took my entire diaper bag apart and made sure each thing was actually formula or baby tylenol or baby food, etc. and not a biological weapon.

Yeah! We made it through, 10 minutes of loading the stroller and attempting to tie gym shoes on with a bjorn on my chest and we're off! I couldn't wear slip-ons since there was so much walking involved, so I got the lovely challenge of tying my own shoes as well. I felt ready for the marathon ahead.

I had plenty of time to change two diapers, grab some french fries and fruit (no food on the 4 hour flight except brie and goat cheese on crackers for sale, a 2 year old's favorites) and listen to Logan whine and Sylvie started to headbutt me from being in the Bjorn too long. So I let the kids loose on the chairs and prayed that no real germs got onto their hands since I could not bring any Purell on the plane!

Lo and behold, both kids fell asleep- wonderful! Only, that leaves me with a stroller, three bags, a pillow and two children to load onto a plane!!!! I was envisioning how I could pack everything onto me, and thank goodness a kind mom (without her kids) offered to bring all my stuff onto the plane and that left me with just two kids. The flight attendant stood at the door and said "you really have your hands full!" I almost kicked her.

So, we took off, and as the pressure built, both kids woke up. Logan was very content with some stickers, markers, a new little Dora coloring book and scissors, for about an hour. We read books, talked, etc. for another hour. Then I brought out the DVD and played Baby Einstein to calm Sylvie down, nursed her, and she fell asleep on my lap. Put on Logans' DVD and he was zoned into it for the rest of the trip. The pillow came in VERY handy. When Sylvie fell asleep, she had to stay on my lap, so it was nice to have. And for the beginning of the trip, Logan fell asleep against it. He snuggled with it and fought with me for it. I also used to to hold Sylvie up while nursing.

Later in the flight, the flight attendants had me buckle Sylvie into the third seat in our row, she liked the man across the aisle, and did pretty well hanging out with us. Uneventful landing, and we all were awake leaving the plane. Found Jorge and Logan was soooo happy to see him! Four hours is a long time on a plane. But really we hadn't been home for 6 hours!

The flight home.....Getting checked in was a big ordeal since you had to leave from one certain place, go out the door, and back into another door. So strange! We waited in line right at security for about 4 minutes, letting people pass us because Logan wanted to finish his sippy of apple juice and Sylvie had to have some too, then I had to empty the rest in the trash. They didn't even bother to open the diaper bag, and we got through security quickly.

At the time, I thought the Chicago airport was bad, my goodness LA was worse! Chicago involved a lot of walking, LA was just plain unlabeled and ridiculous because they shifted everything around for security. We kept having to go down weird hallways to get to an elevator. I think I asked directions from 10 security people! And then in the elevator, I wasn't sure which floor to go to! Sat down to lunch with Logan and he did very well, ate well and Sylvie was entertained.

Then as we were leaving, he smacked his head on the wall (walked into it) and that was the end of Happy Logan. He was upset, and his upset about leaving dad, not being home, not knowing what was going on, all translated to tears on and off for the rest of our trip. And a few meltdowns. The flight was delayed 1/2 hr. Okay. Then they make an announcement. Bad Chicago weather, we may be up to 3 hours delayed. All the food and drink places close, and no one has any with them because of security restrictions. And we have to take an elevator to get to the bathrooms, or anywhere else. And Logan is upset that we are there still, and keeps telling me we need to go outside to get Daddy. Sylvie is now crawling all over the disgusting airport floor trying to put any little crumb into her mouth. Both kids eat all the snacks in my diaper bag, Logan drops half a Nutra Grain bar on the floor and smashes it with his foot, grinding it into his shoe. Lovely.

And of course, Logan is asleep again right before we need to board. I get the kids to the place where drop off the stroller, and the flight attendant actually gets all our bags on. She offered to take the baby but she was in the bjorn, so noto too helpful. Jorge bumped us up to business class with our miles -sweet! We waited one more hour on the plane before take-off. We left Jorge's place around 11am and got to Chicago at 9 pm LA time(11 pm Chicago time). Logan stayed asleep the entire flight!!!! He was so cute all curled up with his pillow and blankets. About an hour into the flight, Sylvie fell asleep, and I had something to drink and some warm nuts. And my feet up with the cool airplane chair watching outside. I felt like I was in a spa. It was wonderful.

Sylvie was pretty good until it got dark in the plane. I let her on the floor and she was climbing on the bags and making a mess. She only slept another few minutes the rest of the flight. She was pretty cranky at the end. When dinner came, I had her propped next to me and we both took turns eating from my special business class dinner. It was so cute. She was saying "mym mym mym." after each bite. We also shared a cookie:) Before we landed, Logan woke up and after freaking out, I got him some apple juice and a cookie and he was happy watching his little tv. Then he was upset we had to close it all up to land.

Sylvie cried the entire car ride home, and the kids are totally off with sleep. They went to bed at 12 last night. And Sylvie woke again at 1 and 6. Aaah! Well, there's my novel. We survived and it was a great trip. But ooh am I tired!!!!!

Maps

I got a map from the Dollar Store and hung it up near the back staircase. Today was so hot and humid all the taped-up posters were falling down. As I was running around making lunch, Sylvie asked me to fix it so I hung it nearby in the Dining Room. I was telling her all the different places, what the blue water meant, where we lived, etc. She was genuinely interested. She was running her finger around the edges of the state pretending to drive her car around like we did on our road trip this weekend.

And today she saw the radar map online that we frequent and understood what was happening. So fun to see a new concept "click!"

Fun Summer Day

Today was so much fun just doing typical neighborhood summer stuff. It was a cool summer so it wasn't too difficult to get out and about, but we've also been sick, done a ton of outings, and lots of playdates, not to mention Kensington Summer Camp! Seems some summers are for hanging out, some are for being on the go.

Getting everyone ready this morning was less than easy with Miss Didn't Sleep Well who is just so antagonistic some mornings. But eventually we got out the door, pink/red clothing combo and all. Whew. And Logan has been cranky but I let him wear pants so he was okay.

We packed the bikes in the car and rode to a nearby park. I wanted them to practice biking more on bigger stretches of sidewalk and they loved it! Sylvie wanted her scooter instead but she did really good. We also got to practice crossing the streets and such. There were two parks and the taller park was a bit hit. Sylvie learned to climb the "rainbow" by crossing one leg over another. And did the BIG tall curvy slide. Brave girl! Logan has stomach muscles of steel and was hanging on the monkey bars and doing the handled monkey bars over and over.

We ran into a 3 year old named Tyler. I know that because Logan said "Who are YOU?" It was a sweet question that was funny when he said it. Anyway, Tyler told us all about his world and his toys and Logan was practically underneath him trying to sneak a peak at the army tank and guy he was holding while Tyler and Sylvie had the funniest conversation about toys being too expensive to buy if they are $20. Some economy huh? I can't believe my kids are big enough to appear to be "mini-adults" with real opinions and conversations.

A pack of grade-school aged boys from across the street came over and they were so well-behaved. Normal boys doing normal things, including their 4 year old brother who was racing by on an old-school bigwheel. The boys in my immediate neighborhood who are going into 2nd grade are bugging me of late. On cell phones, mohawked hair and destructive. I saw one left home alone and climb out of his window the other day! And one banging tennis rackets on the fence until they bent. Not to mention the guns, guns, guns. Logan has guns, but the war games get a bit ridiculous sometimes.

Anyway, we all enjoyed the park for quite awhile. And after lunch we got out the water table, basketball, tennis games, baseball, roller-skates, watered flowers, made rainbows, just had fun in our backyard!

Now let's hope Sylvie takes a bit of a rest because she had a rough night. We're transitioning her from coming into our room too often and it's a lot of work. But what else is new right? At least the summer fun makes up for it!

First Spontaneously Written Words

Have arrived! Logan's conversation went something like this....
"Mom, I can write cat...CAT, cat. I can spell bat, BAT, bat....."
He got a new little composition notebook while school supply shopping and decided to fill it up.

I have to say I'm totally stoked! My little writer! Last year was the year of numbers, this year is setting up to be the year of words!!!!!

One Dollar, Two Dollars.....

From Michael's Craft Store....
How to entertain Logan with something that costs $1- a Boat you put together- complete with paint and glue and brush. How to entertain Logan for $2- His very first Dinosaur model. How to entertain Sylvie for a few dollars- give her a pink notebook and some stickers and watch her draw her very first Mermaid!

Outdoor Bubble Bath

The playhouse needed a major scrubdown, so we got out a bit of soap to help the process. Only, as I went to get the hose, Sylvie started the soaping process for us. Hope the grass is not too affected because the soap was plentiful. And as I turned around the kids were having the time of their lives! Sylvie was washing off leaves, dancing in the bubbles and giggling. Logan was grabbing handfuls, running across the yard and using as a weapon to fend off bad guys. Hilarious.

When it gets quiet.....

You had better start checking around for the kids asap. Yesterday we were chatting away doing legos and the conversation went something like this....

Sylvie: "Nan has nails like me." "Nan has toenails too."
Me: "Wow Sylvie. That's so neat. Someday we need to paint our nails again. That was so much fun wasn't it?"
Sylvie: "What about right now?"
Me: "No, not just this minute. Wait for mom to set it up for you."
Logan....blah blah blah legos...blah blah blah legos....
Me: blah blah blah legos.....WAIT SYLVIE< WHERE ARE YOU!?!?
No answer
SYLVIE!?!

And you guessed it, she found the nailpolish and was hanging out in the corner polishing her nails standing up. UGH, kids, they have no patience do they?!

A coffee analogy

So this morning I'm sitting at the computer desperately gulping down my cup of Jewel brand coffee with some flavored creamer in it, hoping the caffeine kicks in so I can play Polly Pockets and Star Wars without falling asleep. And my husband points out that there is an article in the Seattle Times online about the newly working Light Rail and all its' stations. I finally got a chance to see the station I worked on after so many years!

In 2003 I worked with a small group of people to produce the design and construction set for the Tukwila Station (has a lot of different names). My husband freelance'd and did the 3D renderings for us, and it was so much fun to see the building looking so complete! It would have been even more fun to see it in person, but such is life. I have to settle for computer images.

I was hit with an emotional punch because I missed Seattle, missed that group, missed that firm, and missed working on something so architecturally significant. It was a neat project, and an amazing year as I was baking Logan all the way til the last drawings and when I returned from maternity leave, we wrapped up loose ends. With that office, I ended up quitting to stay home with Logan. Which I would never in a million years change, as that was so necessary with him, his personality, and my emotional state.

It made me think of an analogy about coffee. When I was in grad school, I would get a delicious Americano from Tully's. Seattle's Best or Starbucks (all at one corner!) each day I worked downtown. And on days I was at school, I could get a "mocha" for 50 cents from the school cafe. As I started working more, I drank more good coffee. Then as I moved here and had two kids, getting a good coffee was my special treat at a mall or out shopping.

Last summer I worked in Oak Park (urban and suburban) and got a cup of thick, rich Intelligencia coffee in some form most mornings I worked. So yummy. And so required as Sylvie has still not mastered the art of always sleeping through the night. Then I was unemployed and when I started this new job there was free coffee. From a machine. As in, stick the coffee grounds in, press a button and enjoy some caffeine in a styrofoam cup. At first, well, it was the "hey I'm employed, I guess this is a perk- free coffee and all the little non-refrigerated creamers one can handle."

And 9 months into the job, it's not a great job, but it's not terrible either. It's kind of like the coffee- it is in my field, fulfills some of the yearning I have to do things like drafting and learning and completing projects. The coffee is not great but it works. Then you taste something good and you remember what you used to have, and it hits you like a ton of bricks.

Better brush up that resume, 'cause when this "Great Recession" lifts, you are not going to be able to hold me back.

Dollhouse!

This is my dollhouse my mom and I built the year I turned 11. Sylvie has begged and begged for me to bring it back up. It needs a paint job, but they had a blast this morning playing with it!

Latest Art Creations

Sylvie's at the top, Logan's (2) at the bottom. Sylvie has been into making people. She made a real elaborate picture for Uncle Bobby, forgot to photograph before sealing the envelope, but she even drew dogs- stick people with lots of extra legs. So adorable. Logan has stories to go with all his pictures, I love it!

Spanglish

Sylvie has turned a new leaf in her cognition level of spanish and english. She knows her kids' songs so well in english that she has decided to challenge to sing them in spanish. While the english words are playing. It's pretty amazing to me! Some songs I think she's just throwing spanish words together with a few english words thrown in, but others she knows the whole thing and can sing right over the music.

So last night she was singing the whole first song in english. Then the whole second song in spanish. And then she was being naughty and decided to sing the entire third song with potty words instead. In english and spanish. How fun age 3 is!

New Skates

Well, hand-me-downs from Logan. But still a fun learning experience!

"Logan, are you okay? Why are you crying?" Sylvie called out last night. The fans made the sound of him crying quietly even more difficult to hear, but she heard it. I lay next to him and he was having a bad dream. He came into bed with us, and was still upset, so I turned on some cartoons for a bit and then he fell asleep til 8 am!

I'm so excited! In the past week my in-laws signed the kids up for My Gym again, a summer camp every wednesday morning. And my mom signed the kids up for the summer program at my son's preschool. It'll be Tuesday, Thursday from 10-1. Tuesday's my mom is here so it will help her to have a great activity for the kids to run off and do for a few hours (including lunch) and then come back for a nice afternoon with her. That means on Thursdays I have a few hours to schedule appointments and things I need to get a babysitter for. But wait, my dentist doesn't even open on Thursdays at all. No wonder I never get that appt. in. I think I may have to get a new dentist!

Last night and today, I was a whirlwind of getting things done. We did lots of cooking and paperwork,. phone calls and scheduling. Just setting up the next 2 months of activities that need to get figured out now. And tomorrow in the morning we're getting together with Logan's friends from school, which he'll love!

Right now, though, I had to turn the AC on, take the kids to the park, eat dinner and wait for Jorge to get home. I spend all winter waiting for the heat to come and the minute it does, whew! it takes a bit of getting used to!

Today....

-Today I woke to a weird Saturday. Husband was on "duty" heading to help friend prep for a lifetime of marriage via a bachelor party.

-Today I gulped down more than 1 cup of coffee

-Today I got on the scale and lost 1.9 pounds. So I put on my gym shoes and made a point to be active again to keep the loss.

-Today I played with the kids. Really played. Arts and crafts. Playing dollhouse (Logan used Lego guys). Had a LOT of fun. Sometimes I feel guilty that I don't want to play, but today I did it! For many hours.

-Today I saw water in the basement and walked right past it and instead of freaking out, I did the laundry down there. Heck the water is going to the drain, basement is unfinished. Is it really a crisis? We'll spray with bleach to keep mold at bay. Proud of myself for not freaking out.

-Today I made meals. All of them. And snacks. And the kids ate veggies and fruit and protein aplenty. And I ate healthy. Well except for the wine I'm drinking right now.

-Today I got the kids bathed and when Logan pitched a fit I was all prepared with a bribe.

-Today after the bath, I drove the kids to the outside mall planning to soak in some daylight amid the wet grass, but on dry pavement. Both kids fell asleep (miraculous) so I kept driving and then came home. Logan kind of woke up sleepy so I asked him if he would mind a stroller ride.

-Today I pushed two asleep or sleepy kids for a power walk in a stroller. Neighbors commented that it looked like a workout. If felt like a workout pushing 70 pounds around, hoping it keeps that weight loss for me.

-Today I got home and Sylvie threw a fit that we didn't get to the mall while she was awake.

-Today I saw my husband for a brief interlude between bachelor golf and bachelor drinking and he wasn't drunk and wasn't planning on getting drunk to the hungover point. Which means a happy family Sunday which I hadn't counted on since the bachelor party plans- yeah!

-Today I fed the kids dinner and then brought them with their money to the dollar store where we got:
-Red Ariel hair for Sylvie and yellow dress-up shoes
-A gun and army stuff for Logan
-School supplies for me to hang on the wall and help with keeping my kids learning this summer.

-Today I am happy. Even without my husband it was a good Saturday. Now Sunday with my husband should be even better right?

Logan's Weekend Creations....

"Mom! We have a LOT of paper!"



















A "guy", his spaceship, and a wrist guard Logan wears and calls himself "Vador."




















A Robot, A Backpack. The backpack looks really cool and was very creative. He whipped that out in a matter of minutes. Below in blue and yellow is a set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle swords and a set of nunchucks.

Navy Pier

We attempted to go to the Field Museum. Attempted to get past hoards of fans going to cheer on Honduras in a soccer match. Got all the way there to find NO parking. So we went across town to Navy Pier. We explored the Children's museum and I was really impressed. I have a lot of pictures, but I'll just give you a taste of our day out as a family.

Digging for Dinosaur bones

















Logan inside a T-Rex skull


















Logan had us laughing when he pretended to "Sting" all of us dressed up like a bee.






















Sylvie's favorite activities were sorting the mail and mailing in the mailbox, and catching fish with a little net.




























Mailbox game

























Logan got a kick out of all the water activities
























Sylvie wanted to pose with the "Pink Guy"




















It was really nice being able to look out all the museum windows and orient back to the city. When I spotted Lakepoint Towers I had to snap a picture- it's my favorite:) Someday I may have a condo there.














We headed outside and even though it was chilly, the kids got to run around and jump all over the stairs. And dance. So cute!

Caterpillar, Caterpillar, Babies

I printed out 2 sets of activities from a Preschool website. It was 2 sheets, one with the blank caterpillar and one with a series of numbered circles. I was explaining the activity to my kids and they each immediately stopped me, they had their own ideas of what they wanted to do. So this is the result.....

Sylvie cut out the circles really well for her age! She even cut into one and taped it back together. Glue-sticked it and was asking about where she should stick them.



















Logan cut the whole caterpillar out, called it his friend, started telling me stories about how he's nice, doesn't bite, but sometimes is mean. And then carried him around in the crook of his arm like he had a new best friend. As I was cooking dinner, he dragged me over to show me the "house" he made for the caterpillar and how each piece of paper represented a room.




























I love these kids so much! And I love their creativity.

Story of the day. I was watching my favorite daytime tv about moms and babies and was teasing Logan about "what if he had a bunch of sisters" . Then we got on the topic of having babies and Sylvie said "I want to have 100 babies!" and Logan said "And me too." I told him that only women had babies but he could get married and be a daddy to babies and he got really upset, tears and all to which I replied "Maybe, by the time you're an adult, they'll let the daddies have the babies." He liked that idea:) Kids!

The Zoo

We visited this zoo on a lovely spring day and saw the Dinosaur exhibit! It was wonderful and the kids really enjoyed their time in the exhibit. I didn't bring a camera, but have a feeling we'll be going again, so perhaps I'll get some good pics next time. At the end of the trail, you had to walk through the gift shop to get out. I groaned and reminded the kids that we would not be buying toys today as we had previously discussed. Logan got all upset and was telling me he didn't want a toy, but he wanted a t-shirt. I finally asked him "Logan, did the kids at school have a t-shirt from the Dinosaur exhibit?" "Well, just Charlie." Ahh, Charlie. Logan's knight in shining armor. Gotta love when they have heroes. We didn't find the exact t-shirt, and moved quickly to the array of cool dinosaur toys. Sylvie got attached to one little Stegosaurus and Logan got a tiny sticker activity book. I'm a pushover.

So while Logan was doing his sticker book in the wagon, Sylvie and I spent some time enjoying watching the unusually hilarious bears in their area. I had been holding her and plopped her down in the wagon again and turned away to start pulling the wagon. When I heard an ear-piercing screech. Who fell into the bear pit? Did he get hurt? Did someone get stung by a bee? No, I quickly realized it was my Sylvie screaming at this crazy decibel and she was holding a finger out pointing to her hat laying on the ground nearby. A few moms with their faces in horrified expressions from the shear magnitude of her reaction to dropping a hat, ran over and helped me retreive it. The screaming stopped, the ringing in my ears eventually subsided, and all was better. Until bathtime did not go as she anticipated and Logan didn't join her. Which began another screamfest in an echoey bathroom and held her til she eventually calmed down and fell asleep in my arms. She's not big on "change."

Chauffer

I met with some representatives of the school district today and they recommended enrolling Logan in speech therapy for this school year once again. I had some apprehensions with this route, but it seems like the best option for now and they assured me that if he was really having trouble with it all, we could explore speech therapy at his local school. The big issue with that is they pull the kids out of class and he is only in school for 2 hours as it is. So this gives him the biggest chance to really concentrate on speech. Hoping for the best for him. We'll see what the future holds. So I put pen to paper and wrote out the preschool, kindergarten and Phono (speech) class schedules. WOW. We're going to be one busy family. Right now my mom watches the kids here on Tuesdays and I am home on Thursdays, so hopefully it will all work out okay. At least the grade school and preschool are close-by. And it sounds like the morning kindergarten has an easier drop-off and pick-up routine than the afternoons.

La Grange Pet Parade

The town nearby does a big pet parade. There are a lot of charity, auction, fundraiser, carnival activities associated with the weekend as well, so it's a huge draw for the communities nearby. Right now we just go to the parade, not really the other events. We tried to make our way to stand near some friends but after going driving few miles in every direction to keep reaching roadblocks, I realized I might have to go to the next state to get to an open street to cross the train tracks to get anywhere near them and gave up.

Two years ago, the parade was kind of opening day for the cicada infestation, the day they started flying around. I was at a cousin's event for the day, thank goodness I wasn't there dealing with the cicadas with Jorge and the kids. I was absolutely horrified with these creatures and in 13 or 17 years, or whenever it is they will come back, I resolve to NOT live anywhere near them, at least for those few months. I was around for the last infestation but this one was so incredibly gross in my everyday stepping on them into my office, getting whacked in the head by them on my way to the car, having them land on me and hang out on my neck in the car, and the noise, oh the sound they made- wow! I don't want to even post a picture because they were soooo gross and like a plague- eeew!

Okay, so the kids enjoyed this year's parade. Their favorite things were the volcano (no pics) and the T-Rex as they call the dinosaur on the zoo float. Sylvie fell in love with each and every tiny dog, and Logan made a beeline for the candy. Poor guy just missed a big haul when they threw candy right after they handed him some brochures. Sweet boy he is, he turned to bring them all the way back to me instead of running for the candy.

Here's a few pics to commemorate the day. Someday, we may have a series of pictures from all the years they attend the parade, that could be fun! Someday, I'm sure one or both of them will be in the parade.

The Cheerleader and the Jock?

I was watching Sylvie sit in her Cheerleader pose and thought "wow, I wonder if she'll be a cheerleader someday!" Cheerleading involves a loud voice, a big bright smile, some rhythm and some desire to be on display. Let's say I was none of the above when I was little. But her, well, she might actually fit the bill. Especially with the loud voice. Yes, especially that voice. Boy that girl can shriek! I say let's find her an outlet for these talents and when she's big enough, make some curly bows and put her hair in a pony, let her wear some makeup and there you go, a little cheerleader in the making.

My brother and I weren't super athletic. He did some t-ball and soccer. I did some gymnastics in grade school. My sister was in swimming, but by then I was much older and didn't attend all the meets. We certainly didn't spend each weekend on the run to athletic events through my childhood. If this family heads the direction of soccer, baseball and cheerleading, it'll be a whole new adventure. We might even need a minivan. Eek! Okay, maybe not.

It is funny to think of high school aged kids in my life. Will they be in the popular crowd? Will Sylvie be dramatic and catty, always in fights with her friends, or hold them tight like she hangs on to Logan. Will Logan be cool and sweet or too quiet and doing his own thing. Will the predictions for a cheerleader and a jock come true into high school, or will they find other talents before that age. Or will they be content to hang out at home and avoid extracurriculars altogether. Will they be full of teen angst or willing to hang out and chat about life.

Who knows, but it sure is fun to think about it. Before I really have to deal with the outings, the angst, the homework projects, the friends, etc etc. Preschool is looking mighty easy now!

Playing Dollhouse

Logan: "My guy is going to school."
Me: "What's his name?"
Logan: "He doesn't like names. He doesn't have a name."
Me:"So, is he going to kindergarten, preschool or first grade?"
Logan:"He's going to Kindergarten."

Me:"Sylvie, is your princess going to to school today?"
Sylvie:"Yes!"
Me:"So, what school is your princess going to? Kindergarten or preschool?"
Sylvie:"She's going to Sunscreen school. She will get sunscreen there. And toys there. And they eat candy. And they play with lots of princess toys. And they bring special toys to school too......"and on and on about 'sunscreen school.'

These kids crack me up.:)

Where did I misplace that Chrysal Ball?

I wish life was easy to figure out. Yes, I like a bit of adventure. But yes, that's me in that picture really pissed off in the back of the blow-up raft somewhere in Mexico because I got forced to white-water river raft. No I'm not glad I did it. It's not on my life's list of things to do. The few major things on my list. Marry a man I adore. Check. Have babies I live my days for. Check. Live in a good house (to fulfill my inner designer). Check. Have friends and family. Check. See a Madonna concert. Check- yup my husband remembered that one and came through for both my 25th and 30th birthday. Awesomeness. That woman is such an amazing singer, seeing her concert will probably be on Sylvie's life's list of things to do. Her personal life, I could do without.

My job this week has been tedious ad-nauseum. On the one hand, I cannot believe I don't have the patience for more than 2 of Logan's long-winded stories, but find myself charging through the task of drawing the teeny pieces of a specialty faucet/ cradle/ handsprayer to the 64th of an inch at work. All to have it show up at about 1/4 of an inch on the paper. In plan, side elevation and top elevation. It definitely fits my obnoxious will to be perfect, my eye for detail and yeah, I'll admit it, I enjoy looking at some of these bathroom fixture websites. They are pretty:)

I think anyone who has a career right now is possibly in the position of "Settling" right now. Settling for not their favorite job, not their favorite clients, and not their favorite projects. That's life in an economic downturn. But you know what, I'm in my early 30's and this is my prime. I'm feeling strong pulls towards greatness and while my brain says "no" my mind wanders to other experiences sometimes. Not to mention working more and better-paying could help us financially which is a daily battle with paycuts and fears of layoffs.

Today I was at the park and met a woman who worked in a firm nearby and was saying if I needed a job, call her up and she'd put a good word in for me. They do schools, something I had originally wanted to do and figured I'd be doing right now. It got me thinking, barring the economy that is still in the toilet as we speak, is it time to find a big job, not just the run of the mill. part time work? I grappled with that in September when I got this job and believe me I'm not planning to quit anytime soon! But in the big picture, would working more and more intense make me and us happy? Or is being with my babies during this formative time the right option, however stressed about money we get. I think for now, the part-time gig will do. But I also don't put it past me to stumble into some great opportunity someday.

Speaking of stumbling, do you believe in the accidental meetings we have that are supposed to give us "Signs" and clues as to what path we should be following in life? Today, was meeting this woman supposed to make me think about how great it is to be part time, lead me to this new opportunity in schools, or was it really just a total random coincidence.

I think I feel a strong gut feeling sometimes. The other day the power went out and back on. It was dark across the street and I swear if Sylvie wasn't already asleep, I was *this* close to walking across the street to check on the woman over there, it seemed her power hadn't returned. But how could it not? And it was late. She could be asleep. So randomly, I got delivered her flowers and she was chatty. Her power was out, for over 2 hours and she was crying saying how scared she was. My gut was right, I should have dodged rain drops, knocked and asked if she wanted to come over, in pj's and all. How much is left to chance, how much is a connection to the world and its people around us, and how much is destiny. I need my crystal ball to help me. Has anyone seen it?

Saturday Morning

Loganisms...

Some cute things Logan has said or done of late...

Strike a Pose
On Mother's Day he found some paper swords he had made at my mom's house and was trying to get us all to use them. He said "First you hold the sword and say your superhero name." "I'm Volor!" (that seems to be the made up name he loves lately). "And then you show your 'move.'" And he struck a fighting pose. Jorge could barely contain the laughter while he came up with his own superhero name and move, and we all enjoyed Logan's drive.

Growing Up
"Mom, how old is a teenager." Me: "Thirteen is the first year you are a teenager." and we talked about all the years, how you can drive at age 16 and at age 20 you weren't a teenager, you were an adult. He was asking questions about school as well so I told him when he was an adult he could go to college and decide what he wanted to do for a job and where he wanted to live.

We're reading bedtime books and he comes out with...

"Mom, I know what I want to do for my job. When I'm an adult. I want to work at McDonald's. And I want to live right here."

Excellent plan, my man. Last week the plan was to be a Fighter Pilot.

Detective
At night, when I'm getting everything ready, one of the kids will hide their favorite Richard Scarry book and come running in to tell me we need a Detective to find it because it is lost. Then Logan will get all excited because he finds "Clues." Mom! Look! , there is a CLUE! It's dots on the floor." And eventually we find it and they decide who the bad guy was and why he took the book. It's Imagination Central around here, all the way up to Bedtime!

Engineer
"Mom, what are those?" (Empty box from pop cans) "It's Recycling, you can re-use if you would like. "YES! I have an AIRPORT!!!!" So he grabbed all kinds of things to make his new toy extra fun and made a rocket ship out of the water bottle I had hidden inside. He glues raisin boxes on the side for the "wings." He loves creating.

Globos
While I was typing this Sylvie came over devastated. Her Helium balloon from Trader Joe's had deflated and would not "float" any longer. A new concept to this 3 year old, but it reminded me of my Logan's obsession with balloons. For his second birthday everyone brought balloons! His balloon obsession was far-reaching. At age 2, he had only a few "words." "Ma" was one, "Gobo" (Globo= Balloon in spanish) was another "Boon" (Balloon) was another. That was it. The other 5 were more sounds than word attempts. We would look at books and he would flip the pages til he found the page with balloons and want me to tell him stories about that page and that page only. Then he was done. I could tell you what pages in all of our books contain balloons. His Abuelita knew exactly where to get balloons in each mall because a crisis would ensue if he saw one and did not have one of his own. Not to mention the reams of paper we used to make paper balloons with real balloon string and the game that followed where we "bought" and "sold" them to each other for real money. It was "Money for Globos" and it took over our household for months.

This is a picture of Logan on his second birthday, with the balloons, and the next morning, before I popped them all (we had this down-pat as well , slicing near the tied part with sharp scissors, for if they made noise, all heck broke loose).

My sweet boy, he's 180 degrees different at age 5 than that silly obsessed cutie pie he was at age 2.

I wonder....

if we never have a third child, if it will ever feel like the right decision. And if instead my life will fill with other wishes and hopes. Or if we will have a third if like will be 10 times more chaotic than it is now and I'll look back on these days as the "easy ones." Wish I had a crystal ball! But for now, I'm thrilled with the two imaginative, creative, happy, hilarious babies and I have, and hugging their daddy as tight as possible smiling at the wonder of what we have. Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies in my life. You make it all possible and make my kids happy.

On the eve of this Mother's Day....

This is the sixth Mother's Day where I am a mom (one when Logan was in utero). And in true form, I am running around like only a mom could. We went to the children's museum today with my mom and hung out at her house for the afternoon. I was dealt a 3 year old's massive tantrum to navigate and survived. It got pretty loud, Logan kept whining that Sylvie's shrieking was hurting her ears. Fun fun!

From 5 pm til 9 pm life has been one giant blur of cooking, eating, cleaning dishes, last- minute errands, and a very exciting art project for the moms in our lives. I am exhausted and may not clean all the legos off of the floor before bed, but it was definitely worth the full day and getting all I wanted to get done today. Poor Jorge was at work for about 10 hours now, on a Saturday! Glad we had other plans to fill our time.

Someday my mother's days will be well-thought out, neat, organized and quiet. But for now, they are crazy, getting things ready, seeing two moms and a grandma, and dealing with the kids and life because after all, even though it's a holiday, the kids still need clean clothes, wiped faces and to eat 5 or 6 times through the day. I'm sure there will be 50 or more "Mom" requests tomorrow through the day. But I don't mind. I'm a mom. That's my life and I live for it.

Happy Mother's Day to all the other moms out there. Hope the day is all you expect, but if it's not exactly what you think it'll be, try to relax and enjoy the real meaning of the holiday, being a mommy to a child who loves the heck out of you:)

Kids can be so funny!

Sylvie's new way to dry off her hands after washing them...... And it's finally warm enough for dresses and it's hotter than heck in the house so we had to get the fans out as well! The weather went from frigid to stifling. Where was spring?

Logan pilfered some little milk creamers from breakfast with his grandparents. Later that day I opened my fridge to find them like this.....

Money, Money, Money

Why must you stress me out so? Logan and Sylvie, I wish for you an adult life of wealth. But given the fact that we are your parents, I wish for you some talent or luck at the lottery! Logan, brush up those baseball skills my boy! Sylvie, keep singing and maybe American Idol is in your future. Abby, what do you think about a career in acting?

Hoping the best for the upcoming slashing of salaries and work hours to arrive in the upcoming weeks at Jorge's office. And the continual lack of work in my office.

Should I change my facebook status?

to Single? Seriously, we need an extra mom around here. So maybe someone would like to marry into this crazy family and take on 1/3 of the responsibilities.

Grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, I've got you covered. Bills, household stuff, working as many hours as is humanly possible in this economy, Jorge has you covered.

Let's see where that leaves the gaps that we've needed help lately...

A handyman- my dad has fixed toilets and basement leaks, the stuff I really don't want to pay someone to fix

A gardener- my dad has done this. And we have some landscapers that stop by sometimes

Shuttle Mom- we need a parent to either take the children to the birthday parties they seem to have every 2 weeks, or stay home with the other child who is never invited.

Dentist Mom- Coming on the 6th visit to the dentist since December just for Sylvie alone, we need someone to either accompany her to her last visit (1 hour commute each way, horrendous schedule options) or take Logan to school and back because for some reason the only option I've had is to pull him out of school and take him along.

School Meeting Mom- Someone to come to Logan's school meetings that randomly happen at times like 1:00 pm on a Thursday afternoon. Or someone to stay with the kids, because they are not invited. We have 2 of these upcoming, for L's old school and his new school. Fun times!

Preschool Graduation Mom- I need someone to work for me so I can go shed tears that my little baby boy is growing up and will probably look absolutely adorable in a construction paper graduation cap. Even with a deadline, I need to be there.

Sense of Humor....

Logan's Sense of Humor....
The wheels on the bus go "Square, Square, Square...."
The babies on the bus go "Sh, Sh, Sh"
The mommies on the bus go "Wah, wah, wah...."
The people on the bus go "Up, Up, Up...."

Sylvie's Sense of Humor......
Potty humor all the way.
(Kids laughing about nothing).... Sylvie: "I hit it with my bompes!" or "I made a puma!" (not even sure how to spell that, but it's 'butt' in spanish and "fart" in spanish. I would say it is a good thing it's in another language but there are an awful lot of people in the area who also speak spanish.

Logan's Preschool Teacher's Sense of Humor
(In light of the 'Swine Flu Pandemic), I do think it was coincidental but it did get me giggling when I found it in his school bag today, right after the big page-long note about the Swine Flu..... He did ask why I kept laughing and I explained it a bit but all he heard is that something about that pig was funny (in a good way) and keeps telling people how funny it is:)

When to stop stressing that you aren't home full time....

Me: "Tomorrow is an Abuelo and Abuelita day."
Logan: "And Daddy will drop us off?"
Sylvie: "And you go to work?"
Logan: "And Daddy goes to work?"
Me: "Yep!"
Kids: "WOO-HOO!!!!"

Makes me feel so special. I think they're more excited about me going to work tomorrow than I am!

Adventure Saturday...we met the REAL Ariel!

We had a jam-packed Saturday full of excitement and one massive tantrum. Let's run down the exciting events.

These are my sweet kids who asked nicely all week if we could go to "Burger King" to get a Sponge Bob kids meal toy. We planned it, and went and here they are all sweet and happy waiting anxiously for the glorious Bob toys as the entire store is decked out in images of Bob himself. Alas, this darn Burger King is King of false advertising as we got some dumb Nickelodeon toys instead. Poor kids, they were so heartbroken. When the line died down I spoke with someone and he glanced through the box with kids meal bags and nope, no sponge bob's left. Guess what, this was the second time this happened at this particular burger king. So wrong. And what's crazy is they were out of control, understaffed and couldn't handle the lunch crowd at all. There was crazy beeping all over the kitchen and no one taking orders, he was running back making food too!!!! What a mess.

The McDonald's right next door has their act together. Also, I'm a bit miffed that the kids' meals price adds up pretty quickly because the mac and cheese is extra and the apples are extra and their grilled chicken sandwich is one of the priciest things on the menu. Let's just say we could have gone to Denny's for the same price! And I could have made Kraft Mac and Cheese without sponge bob toys at home for much less!





















We got to go to a kids' party where the REAL Ariel made an appearance! Sylvie was sooo nervous! She held onto that purse and a few of the Bdaygirl's fashion dolls the entire time. She was quite relieved when Ariel came to sing for us, played "Hot Potato" with a tiara, and generally was sweet and fun. We all pushed our stay a bit too long because it was downpouring, but the rain stopped and we headed home. Very ready.

"Mom, what's in Sylvie's hand? Why does she have BdayGirl's toys?"
"Sylvie, I told you we had to leave those there! Well, as soon as we go home, we're mailing them back to BdayGirl."
"No!"
Take them away at home, put into an envelope....
"They are MINE!!! I WANT THEM...." and continue the whining and crying and drama and carrying on for the next 20 minutes and then on and off for the rest of the evening. Oh my! We had talks about how it's not nice, BdayGirl misses her toys, etc. But reasoning with a 3 year old is next to impossible. Logan finally settled her down for good. He was talking to her and came back to inform me...

"Mom, Sylvie is done crying now. I told her we will get her the same toys for her birthday." and went back to play.

Mazes and Modern Development

Modern Development- Did you ever notice that if you live in a wealthy community, everything around you is more expensive, whereas if you live in a lower-level of income area, there are bargains to be had? Obvious but pretty prevalent when you start looking around.

A few things came to my attention lately:
-A new development near us in a very expensive neighborhood contains a Lifetime Fitness and lots of high-end shopping. Including a Kohler Spa. I was over there for a kids' bday party and was shocked at how many high-end things were there amidst the high-end houses, high-end streetlights, and high-end public landscaping.

-Driving along Harlem Avenue (Route 45), a major north-south arterial, you can tell what community you are in by what stores are on Harlem. I was a bit jealous of some of the lower-income areas that had cheaper grocery stores, Family Dollar Stores, Cardinal Fitness (cheaper workout facilities), etc etc. Not so jealous of the junky gas stations, roads that need repair, or falling apart buildings, but still, being closer to cheap shopping for essentials would be nice to lower that monthly shopping bill! We aren't even really close to a SuperWalmart or Meijer or anything, and we're not a "high end community."

-One of the major local grocery chains is lowering their prices. I was all excited and read the comments in the tribune online. So many people said the store is a rip-off and suggested alternate stores for groceries, none of which is within 25 minutes of here. Go figure! Anyway, they were also saying that the pricing seemed to differ tremendously from store to store depending on their location. I have shopped in Indiana and let me tell you, we're getting ripped off on everything here in Chicagoland!!!!

Mazes
I bought a friend a birthday present of a book of mazes by Kumon and couldn't resist getting one for my kids as well. We have a few workbooks of different brands from last summer that are almost gone. My favorite brand is "Big Skills, Little Hands." Logan's teacher suggested keeping up with cutting and tracing skills last summer, so we got these books and both kids love them. They were from Cotsco or Sam's club. So my assessment of the Kumon books is to get them cheap. I saw them at a bookstore for $14 or so. I got them at Target for $6.95. Huge difference! I also like the way the "Big Skills" books have tear-out pages and Kumon's didn't tear well.

But....the mazes are way too cool! How does one get a job doing this?

Sigh....

I grabbed the magazine we get from the University of Washington and came across some photos that made me feel like I was just punched in the stomach. It made me miss Seattle so bad, and be so grateful for my time there. It's not just that I want to visit again, though that would be nice (and expensive), but I miss being immersed in this place. The green, the hills, the mountains, the air, the water, the people, the university culture, all of it. It's like a piece of me is missing and I'll probably always feel that way. When we were there, I missed Chicago. How do people move to many different places and not feel like they left a piece of themselves behind?

Spike Mattford took a year and climbed onto the roof of Safeco Tower (UW Tower) and took these photos over a year's time. Gorgeous.

http://www.spikemafford.com/newwork/viewsfromthetop/

What $42,000 worth of damage to your yard looks like...

Looks kinda scary to me!

Lego Mania

Zach, Zach, he's a lego maniac........

Saturday was a full and busy day going to a wedding for a friend. Sunday Logan woke up, plopped down on the floor with his box of legos and didn't stop creating until I made him go to bed! He always makes neat things, but he would start telling us what he was going to make and then sit and figure out how to make it work. He kept trying to make things with moving parts.

This is my favorite. He calls it a Robot and I love that Spiderman is on the top in a special compartment in the head of the robot.
























Sylvie woke up and decided to learn today. She practiced cutting complex shapes, drawing, gluing, and wanted me to write words for her. We made a little paper dog bed and toys for the dog, and she cut the dog out herself! When she saw me taking pictures of Logan's creation, she set up all of her favorite amigos for me to take pictures of:



















Conversations in the last minutes while I was typing this:

Sylvie: "I need somebody to pwaaaay with me!" (play)

Logan: "Mom, can I have some more broccoli? Mmmm, mom this is so good (smacking his lips)" (had to run over and give it to him before he changed his mind. He's on round 2 of dinner. Maybe a growth spurt is on the horizon!)

Backyard Climbers

I had a swingset growing up and I know how wonderful they can be. It seems every house in America has one nowadays, often the wooden variety. We have a smaller yard with lots of trees, so we have decided that the nice grassy area is better for running games of soccer than a big ol' gymset. Plus, we have a park practically in sight from our house with a big climber and swings.

Today I saw the Toys R Us ad and I have to say I'm impressed by the direction the designs are taking. I have seen a trampoline with a jumping bar on one set, rock climbing walls have been out for awhile. But the "playhouse" portion of the typical wooden set has usually been a tarp over the top. Which wears out. And then the wood on the set fades and it looks like it needs upkeep (at least to me). My neighbors did use a blue stain and their gymset looks adorable and fresh. These new ones have little playhouse-looking tops. And they are really cute! Not that I want one, just happy to see what I consider fun designs going up in the backyards across America:)

Good Night, Good Morning

The kids have been so animated at bedtime and hilarious, dancing and acting out the stories we read. The other day Sylvie unbuttoned her shirt to make it like a cape to be the boy in "No David" and then they were using blankets as capes and then Sylvie put the blanket on her head and walked around saying "Who turned the Lights out?!" I keep wishing I had my camera, so I thought to grab it. Of course it ran out of battery and cut my movie short, but I think it's a cute little interaction between the two kids. Logan is asking about and pointing to the "Star" drawn on the wall if you can't make out the word he is saying. My favorite from this book is what I was trying toget her to say. She says "Who stole the tootie from the tootie jar." (cookie) when David tries to get the cookie jar. Too adorable. Darn running out of batteries camera. Er, darn user for not remembering to charge them:)

Logan is in the habit of bringing alllllll of his friends down and up each morning and night. I couldn't snap fast enough to get them in his arms, but it's quite hilarious. And Sylvie just wanted to say "Good Morning" to her friends in the camera.

No career moves in that direction

There is a family in our lives that has different standards of "housekeeping" than I do. My house is often messy, I get upset when I start seeing dog furballs rolling around and mad at myself when I wait too long between vacuuming. There are nights when the dishes are not done. I'm not perfect.

But this house is beyond my comprehension. The house itself should have been torn down when the family bought it. But instead they have spent 6 years "rehabbing" it. The village has had to step in and demand professionals help with certain pieces of the project. So as it stands, the house has new siding and looks okay at a glance.

We went inside today after an egg hunt and I came home furious. It is just so unfair and I think they are doing their children an injustice by letting them live in such squalor. The kids don't know how to take care of their things because there is nowhere safe to put them that they will not get stepped on. It's not a matter of no cash flow, there has been plenty of money dumped into garage sale junk over the years. And it's not time, the husband has entire summers off of his job to throw into remodeling.

Some things that drive me crazy-
*They remodeled the kitchen with IKEA cabs and took an extra 2 years to finish one strip of tile above the countertops. The framing at the doorways and windows is all exposed, they never put trim on any of it. So it's choppy drywall that's getting ripped to shreds.
*Clutter, Clutter,Clutter. It's not a huge house, but get a grip on buying junk you don't need, can't find, and is broken. Just because it's cheap or free doesn't mean it belongs in your home.
*One bedroom has been declared unuseable after a sizeable splinter on one child's foot. So they moved everything out and bought new laminate flooring for that room the next day. That was 3 years ago. Now that room is covered in old grungy rugs which are covered in every piece of junk you can imagine. Including things well outgrown by their children. And it's never been vaccuumed because it's covered in junk. Not even trash like wrappers, just "stuff." So now their kids share a room and it drives the son and daughter crazy, because they do each have their own room, it's just "unuseable."
*Throughout the entire house there are chunks of plaster falling off the walls and ceiling, exposed wood framing, no trim on any of the windows that have been replaced, exposed electrical boxes and none of the floors meet the walls. There is dirt, dust, animals dander from the dog and hampster and crumbs hanging out in every crevice and you can see it all sitting there.
*Nothing looks "clean." I know from having an older home that spraying some Swiffer type product on your tub will not get you anywhere. To clean my tub I have to use a combination of bleach powders, a stiff scrub-brush, a toothbrush and soft scrub. Not to mention a lot of elbow grease. Nothing has been cleaned with any amount of effort. Ever. She has a few times mentioned she has never really washed the hardwood floors, or does it once a year. Absolutely disgusting, especially looking at the floor.

So I guess all this feels good to type out because I can home so angry I wanted to scream at everyone in the house. And it hit me that I am very happy I am not a social worker or someone who deals with kids that have been abused or neglected in any way. I just cannot handle the news when I hear a parent was horrible to their child or some injustice has been done. I definitely could not come home from a day of walking into a house like theirs, saying "the kids are loved, there is food in the pantry, all is okay" and in good conscience let it continue. I wanted to tear into the mom next door and tell her it's NOT okay to live like that but I didn't. So I guess I'm not brave enough to speak my mind on the subject openly either.

Whew, it feels good to get all that out. Now off to go clean something!

Hoping for a Regular kinda Saturday

Yesterday was Friday. At least I think it was. I wouldn't know. It was a looooooong day! We got up early to get Sylvie to the dentist for her filling. She right off the bat decided this was not happening and I had to do a lot of co-ercing and threatening and bribing. Which is tiring! The dentist is a good ways away, so we got there early and I stopped for a snack since Sylvie really hadn't eaten much. Worked out great and we got there in plenty of time. Ariel was on the tv there so she was all excited and happy and just a bit thrown off when they took her hand to bring her back without mommy!!!!!

So, on my ride down to the dentist, I get some phone calls from Jorge. He is almost positive he has another kidney stone and he is driving so he is turning back from work and heading home. Another call, now he's headed to the ER. Yikes! I'm headed the other direction and this appointment has been a long time coming, so luckily his family can help him out.

So I'm sitting waiting watching the Sea Witch with Logan with my daughter getting a filling on a pretty bad tooth and my husband in the ER. What craziness!

Sylvie did well, though the cavity exposed a nerve so they had to do some major digging and she has to go in 2 more times. Poor baby! So she was numb, crying and done with the dentist. Logan was upset about daddy but I wanted to check in on him at the ER. He had passed the stone by the time we got there, but were waiting for results and his morphine to kick in.

So lots of "you go here with this person, I'll go there with that person" all day long and we now know Jorge has more kidney stones to wait out (yikes! He's had them twice before!) , Sylvie's whole lip is swollen (the doc says it's from biting, not from an allergic reaction). The day was just eternally looooooong. Had to get Jorge's car back from his family, etc. Oh, and the icing on the cake, the ER prescribed meds Jorge is allergic to (duh!), thank goodness Walgreens caught it. So we had a few trips to Walgreens where the pharmacist sized me up making sure I wasn't trying to get Narcotics for my own personal use- as if! But I'm sure it happens all the time.

Today I cleaned like a maniac and the kids are mostly back to normal. Sylvie's lip is still all swollen but the kids are playing again together and Jorge isn't writhing in pain, so let's hope for a normal, uneventful, if busy, Saturday.

Coming out of the fog

We're starting to feel better. Well most of us anyway. But what's left is zero energy, still not up to going out, and cold weather not conducive to getting outside much. So we're feeling lazy. And just when we were all at our wit's end, Sylvie decided to disrobe, which gave me a good excuse to introduce some new jammies Nan bought them. They adore them and it was a bright spot in our otherwise booo-ring evening.

Also, we did color eggs and do an egg hunt. The kids may be sick, but I didn't want to miss out on Easter altogether! Jorge got the pics of Logan's egg hunt since they went to the "big kid" area where there were fights over the "Golden Eggs", while Sylvie and I hung out with the littler ones where the candy was strewn all over the designated area.

Working Moms

I got in a few discussions this weekend about being a mom and working at the same time. I figured I'd throw some of my opinions on "paper" for posterity or to provoke thoughts or whatever.

*Today a woman had her last day at the office. She quit to stay home as a full-time mom. I didn't know her well, but someone said she has 4 kids. I always wondered how people even manage to raise a lot of children while working. I feel for moms I know who have a lot of children by chance but know they have to work to make money.

*I don't know if there is any "Easy" age to leave kids in daycare. When they are little, they are so needy and their awake times are short, so getting home, you get the cranky and bedtime, not so much playtime. When they are toddlers, if you are home, you are always in search of things to do with them as they get so busy and explore. So getting out of the house is a good expansion of their world, be it a babysitter's house or daycare, or even another person in your home to expand their experiences. But it's also when they seem to catch every single germ that wanders by.

Then comes preschool where most people seek some kind of learning setting for their child but it gets so darn complicated with the drop-off and pickup, and expensive, so there's a lot to consider there. Throw in Kindergarten which is 5 days a week of 2-3 hours at a time to make it complex. Grade school is longer days, but who gets off of work by 2:30 every day unless you work AT the school your children attend? And then drop-offs for all ages don't even coincide with your work start time (mine don't.)

*So given all that, if you went to a potential employer at a 40 hour a week job and said "I want to work but I'll need all school holidays off, spring/winter break, summer vacation, and the ability to stay home whenever my kids are sick" you'd probably be shown to the door. I totally understand why a lot of people I know just take split shifts from their spouses and then whoever is not working watches the kids. Throw in an adult case of the flu and you might be screwed, but that could happen without kids as well, so one would hope you would be allowed sick days, paid or unpaid.

*I think being a working mom is a rough job. My personal difficulty is transitioning from the pace of work to the pace of home. And going from being at work where I put a pen down, I pick it up from the same location, and only deal with my own messes, to home where there are spills, messes and messy noses. It's remembering show and tell and what car to drive on what day and where to go.

*But I've been home too and the boredom/ repetitive factor of the mundane everyday activities is a lot as well to handle.

I guess sometimes I totally wonder how the heck some people do it. We have family who is mostly flexible, and we've had to learn to adjust to get things to work. So if you are a mom and you work and you have figured out how to make it work, hooray for you, it's no small accomplishment!

Fashion Plate

We were cruising the aisles at Old Navy while Jorge picked out some new jeans. I found a dress and showed Sylvie and she was instantly in love with it. Then I saw some cute shirts on sale and was oohing and aahing over them. She took one look and stood back and said:

"I'm not so sure about those Mom." and walked away.

Looks like I'll have to bring her with me on any clothing shopping trips. And by the time she's 9, I'm seriously going to have clothing issues, I just know it!

Funnies

Sylvie has been sick, so we've done a lot of hanging out at home. A lot of funny things have been said of late. Here are a few.... (I'll spare the bodily fluid-related comments that are in abundance with this illness)

*(from deep asleep on my lap) "My Sister Ariel wants me to go swimming with her. And I can't find her!"

*(sweet off-key singsong voice) Logan: "I am sad when I am playing....." "Mom, I made that song up. I know lots of songs." Sylvie in her singsong voice, to the same tune "One day when I grow up I will be a real Cinderella."

*(playing at the Batman Cave) Sylvie "I am Buzz Lightyear and I need to go the bathroom" Logan "We don't have a bathroom at this Bat Cave."

As a side note, Logan has been completely lost without Sylvie as his little playmate. When she perked up after the walk, he was all excited to play with her and when she changed her mind, he got really upset. It makes me so happy to have given them the gift of each other. :)

Allergies

I am allergic to work.

Well, at least to the office. Most offices in springtime and summertime. Because they throw air conditioning through the space. AC containing mold, dust and who knows what.

I've been dealing with a lot of allergy things this week, it's getting annoying. And the kids must have heard me speak of it once too often because today Logan said:

"Mom, I'm allergic to cats." (because he was watching Tom and Jerry and I was talking on the phone about allergies)

"And mushrooms." (because Sylvie was getting praised for eating them and he needed a good excuse that would keep me from making him try them.)

Too hilarious! Ah-ah-choo! Must....take...allergy....meds....that....work.....

Aaaahhhh! Watch out behind you!

There is a DINOSAUR at the zoo!!!! He even moves and roars- How exciting! I had a fantastic day with some friends and their kids today at the zoo. Whew, we all need a day in the sun right? The kids were really good. Only one Sylvie meltdown and it was fueled by hunger, so that's easy to fix.

Thank you to all of you who wrote personal messages about my last post. It's amazing how we all go through the same things in different ways. I feel very loved to have gotten so many nice messages and hopefully we will all be in a different place by summer (including this country!)

Blah

I'm feeling so blah and uninspired lately. I don't love what I do at my job, I am a bit p'o'd at the company for who they are and there are a lot of lag times where there is not a lot to do, and that makes me feel worse. I worry I will lose my job constantly. Nothing like the head of company popping over to your cubicle on your "Friday" to make you freak out. I feel uninspired by work. Annoyed with the kids. They both have colds so I can't even understand what they are saying and the other night Logan's medicine got him hyper (it was recommended by the doc) and I just don't have the patience to deal with Sylvie's incessant non-sleeping issues (she's still sitting behind me after a crying fit at 9:40 pm on a non-nap day). I have been sick on and off all winter and I'm just done not feeling my 100%.

Money is always a stressor and I'm getting pretty underpaid right now, especially after the big paycut. But it's not like A- there are any jobs out there in my field or B- anyone who is hiring is paying anything decent. And heck, let's increase the cost of everything. Police are ticketing like crazy, I see 5 police every day on my 15 minute drive to work. There are cameras at all the main intersections and I keep hearing that people are getting tickets for not stopping at the exact perfect place before turning on red and getting tickets in the mail for $100!!! The news always gets me more riled up, I try to avoid it actually, they are so sensationalist. Can't cheer for the stock market for more than a minute, must hear about some child that did some horrendous thing to someone. Or about some company who just did big layoffs. I'm overwhelmed that I don't seem to care about some things. I spent years trying to get past not having a total say or input or knowledge of my kids every day activities and now I'm sad that it doesn't matter that much what they did. I want to be a "teacher" type and I don't really feel like I'm good at that. I don't feel like I'm good at making a routine, we do a lot of different things and then I get bored of them. I feel like I should shake my life up, and I know moving, having another child, switching jobs or careers is a really dumb move right now. And my kids are in a good school, I'm so excited about having all that picked out- that's a huge peace of mind in itself. I wish I could devote my attention to more things, be on top of the cooking, meal-planning, raising the kids. And I am. In spurts. And not all at once. I wish I had more patience for it all. But instead I feel restless. Big time.

I know I could be a million times worse off. I have a good family, live in a good place, gorgeous kids and a husband who loves me, surrounded by family, a religion and a church, have friends, have balance of work and home enough to clean my house and keep up with the laundry and still bring home a paycheck. I feel like I am not allowed to be disappointed in this stage of my life, especially in this economy. I need to be happy that I'm surviving it. But on my blog, I'm allowed to be whatever I want, so here it is. I'm not thrilled with it all right now. And don't really have a good sense of why or what I need to make it all better. Jorge says I need to do some soul-searching. I guess so. Any insight on how to do that?

PS- Sylvie is suddenly snoring on the couch behind me. That's a good thing:) Hoping tomorrow we can get out (though I did hear the word "Snow"!) and we can go to the zoo with friends and enjoy Logan's "Spring Break. " Is it bad that I keep ignoring the neighbor boy who wants to come play? I really don't like him. And I especially don't like being his babysitter. He breaks our toys.

PPS- If she's asleep, why oh why is Blue's Clues still on?

Hoping for a better tomorrow.

Playtime

Hey, it's Spiderman's Birthday! Let's all sing! Guests include: Little Mermaid, Baby from dollhouse, Spiderman, and Pip, Pop, Tutter, Ojo and Bear from the Big Blue House




















Bear being bossy




















Change of plans. Now it's Batman's Birthday. Let's sing again.



















Move over Thomas trains, Action Figures have taken over. Yes, we have little plastic bins to put them all away in. Yes, he has grandparents who buy a lot of toys. No, I don't miss Thomas and Percy all that much. He's much more imaginative nowadays!





















Batman's spacecraft- who knew?




























An Ariel doll who blows bubbles. What could be better?

Taking the Dog for a walk...Sylvie style

This story is from my mom and if you hate dogs or don't ever walk them, then skip this particular story.

Sylvie decided to take a walk with her doll stroller outside today. And chose her toy puppy to bring for a ride in it. After a bit, she stopped and said...

"Nan, I think my puppy has to go poop." So she took the dog out of the stroller (yes the beanie baby type puppy she sleeps with at night), put it on the grass in a squat position, and let him "go."

Oh my goodness she is one hilarious kid!

In Logan news he is currently obsessed with SuperHeroes and newly introduced to GI Joes. He wanted to play earlier and his idea of playing was me holding a stuffed McDonald's puppy while he had a Spiderman with suction cups on his hands. The object of the game was for me to repeat in excruciating detail each and every action his spiderman did with my dog. For 30 minutes or so. I personally think he needed to get some "bossiness" out of his system.

Spin Cycle

"Mommy, my doll is all clean now."

"Great! What are you doing with her now?"

"Drying her."

The Clown and the Inventor

I brought up some empty pop boxes from the basement to bring out to the recycling now that we can walk through the alley (no ice or snow drifts!) I decided to let the kids play with them. They fought about it at first, then I pretended I was a monster and after that, they played really well. Sylvie kept clowning around with the boxes. Logan tore them, rearranged them and made them into an "Airplane 3000" complete with guns and secrete buttons that, once pressed, would cause Logan to spin in a circle. I love seeing their little personalities. And boxes, as always, are a kid's best friend right?

Sometimes they really do listen!

We were walking outside in a recent warm-ish day and to distract the kids I told them every house has a name and started naming some on our street "Ranch" "Farmhouse" "Georgian" "Yellow House." I like to teach them about some architecture in a subtle way. That day they were not listening, and wouldn't stop whining that mom made them walk outside (they got this from my husband for sure!) and it was windy and the sidewalk was wet, whine whine whine.

So a week later, I'm in the front waiting for Logan's bus with Sylvie and she says "What is our house's name again? And the one across the street? What's that called?" Oh, our house is called "Georgian" by the way:)

She remembered!

Good Evening:)

Tonight was such a good evening!
*I got home and walked on the treadmill and talked to my mom on the phone BEFORE eating dinner. Always think I'll do this, never do it!
*Ate a really healthy dinner while kids were winding down
*Sylvie followed me around like a puppy dog, but there was none of the typical whining about everything
*Read some books on the couch with Sylvie.
*Did some arts and crafts
*We played Bat Cave, Princess Castle, Princesses and Superheroes mostly successfully. Without too many fights
*While we played all of that, I watched the "Biggest Loser" on DVR. Totally loving it so far! The teams getting off track made me all excited to stay on track
*Started doing leg lift type exercises. Sylvie copied and we all did some exercises together for awhile- fun!

And my highlight of the night...Sylvie saying...
"This is my favorite new friend. Her name is 'Silverware.'" What these kids come up with is so funny sometimes!

I heard some yawns, there is a chance the kids will go to sleep more willingly than the rest of the week. We shall see!!!

For one little minute....

Sylvie's bedtime story to stall me from leaving her in bed alone....

"Mommy, when I was a little baby,
For one little minute,
I got food for myself when I was hungry,
And I put it in the oven,
And it made me get bigger and bigger,
And then one day I was three.
That's what it was like when I was a little baby."

Boys can wear Pink too!

Pink eye that is. Oh joy.

Generation: i-phone

Jorge has an i-phone. My in-laws have i-phones. It is par for course that at one of our big sit-down family dinners at a restaurant that last 2 hours someone whips out their i-phone for Sylvie. She likes the silly games and knows very well how to use her little finger to navigate around. Better than I do! (I have one of those old-fashioned "flip phones" that maybe I'll save for my kids to laugh at someday). The touch screen is something she's very used to now.

So I shouldn't be surprised that when I clicked the tv onto On Demand and 4 shows came up in 4 squares, she walked over to the tv and deliberately pressed the "button" she wanted to come alive. I told her "It doesn't work that way yet Sylvie, but someday....it will."

Keep your wits about you.....

There is a new bike rider in town!

Next on the "To Do" list, learning to steer.

Running, Running, Running

Just a little deep thought for the day. I read a book "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" awhile ago. In the book she refers to different stages of one's life. 'Rice and salt days' is where I am right now. The days of labor, raising chilren, creating your life. And this part of my life is busy. Not too busy, I have plenty of "down-time." You know, time to sit and inhale information in all forms- written, conversations, internet, tv, music, etc. But in general, this is the busy time of keeping a house, raising kids, forming a career and indulging in hobbies and relationships.

One thing I am always struggling with is making time to be active. My days at home are relatively active, I'm on the go, running the kids here and there, chasing them on the playground equipment in warm weather, or climbing the stairs all over the house hauling things and little people from one level to another. And yet, I know somehow, to lose any real weight with this body, I need to really exercise. So I hop on the treadmill once in awhile, or take a walk with the dog, or take a bike ride. But it's always at the loss of something else- time with my kids, time doing taking care of the house, it becomes my "free time" activity as someone else usually has to be watching my children for me.

I don't particularly love being active. I do like taking walks and riding my bike, I'm not a huge fan of a health club type atmosphere (though I like lifting weights on their machines), so I constantly feel guilty that I don't make this a priority.

So, this brings me to my deep thought. Lately, a few times, I have come across some local elderly walking at a very slow, deliberate pace and it really hit me. It make me feel even more guilty for not getting in more exercise while I can and do have the ability to do so. It also struck me that this phase, this turbo-charged life that is on hyper-drive, will change into something else, a new phase, at some point. My body will slow down, my life will slow down, and I will probably walk slowly into Trader Joe's and watch another younger woman and her 3 year old enjoying the thrill of piling the cart high with grocery after grocery and counting down the minutes it takes to accomplish one of the 12 activities on their "to do" list. I guess it isn't a big revelation, but it has been on my mind.

Bassinet to Crib to Big Girl Bed

First we brought her home and she would only sleep here...

Or here.....

Or here......

Then she finally started sleeping here....

And finally, we have graduated to a Big Girl Bed! Let's hope it helps with some of the Big Girl sleep issues. I'm hopeful that the nighmares slow down now that she's surrounded by princesses. She may outgrow it in a year, but we have to take advantage while we can, her room is the size of a shoebox! But she loves it:)

Are you sure they will let her in school someday?

Is it too early for a drink? Let's see.....my learning experience of the day is JUST how persistant AND crazy AND dramatic Sylvie can be. She has not been sleeping well, has been having lots of nightmares, and the past few nights I have been back at that "getting a toddler to bed can wreak havoc on your emotional sanity" stage and it's draining. She can sleep in our bed well once in awhile, but the past 2 nights she's kicking, tossing, turning and generally making it really difficult to sleep. So she woke up cranky....again. And then was fighting with Logan all morning over toys.

So let's make today's agenda "Sign Logan up for Kindergarten from 9-11 am today only." and tell the kids. Let's say they scream, cry, fuss and whine about everything having to do with getting them ready to get out the door. And then let's add in the extra stress of my basement flooding late last night so me staying up late moving everything all around....again. Oh, and let's have me walking through that water in my socks finding appropriate proofs of residency for this morning. And filling out 15 pages of forms on my child.

So, we get there and it's soooo windy and cold both kids are miserable just walking to the school from our parking spot. Logan is upset, he's not keen on this whole " new school" idea. Sylvie's upset because today is something about Logan, and not her. Get inside, wait in line to check in at the desk, get to a multi-purpose room and oh look, they gave us goldfish and coloring pages, how sweet!

But wait, there is one red ball and lots of kids chasing it, we can do that too right? Mom says no, stay by me for a bit. Knows it's going to be an issue that there is only 1 ball. At least for Sylvie. Which it is. Insert 10 minutes of two kids whining about wanting wanting wanting wanting to play. Fine, go play, but don't come crying to me when you have to share the ball, promise? We promise.

"WAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! I CAN"T PLAY WITH THE BALL!!!!" Did you hear that over in Pennsylvania today, Joe? Because it sure was loud and Logan said it hurt his ears. Okay, now repeat that screaming and continue it for the next 45 minutes while you try to fill out 15 pages of forms (that are just different enough from the ones offered online that you need to re-copy it all in there and a few questions are worded differently, so make sure you are actually reading them or your child might get sucked into services he doesn't need). Insert well-meaning moms, other kids, a sweet brother, and staff trying to make her happy. Insert more screaming, more drama, and a big ol' headache for us all. Take time with the screaming child in a corner and watch her flail all around like a chicken with her head cut off wanting to go home NOW. Remind her to please be quiet so she doesn't set off the fire alarms or send ranting teachers into the room to yell, and hope for the best. Logan's preschool teacher has a child who she was signing up for kindergarten, and even she looked horrified at Sylvie's behavior, and she deals with these kids all day long!

Now in my real life, if we were at a store, we would have just left. If we were at home, she would have made the discipline rounds of a time out, a longer time out, toys in time out, time out in her room as a last resort. But the problem with following through with any of these right now is that she screams like a banshee through any and all of the above options, so this was not going to solve our noise level issue.

Sigh. Get paperwork done, pull myself together, try not to look like the worst mom on the planet and get in line to turn it all in. Where she stands next to me, crying and crying and finally stops. And then starts up again. And then stops. And then starts up again.

Let's just hope the school lets her in when it's her turn, but I'm thinking they may have her name and photo somewhere on the wall with a "Do not let her enter" sign next to it!!!! Let us hope the rest of this day is BETTER!!!! And perhaps she will fall asleep on the way home from dropping Logan off at preschool. Maybe I'll take the loooong way home. It'll be like a vacation!

Conversations of the night......

"I want you to marry me."
"I not gonna marry you. I am not Cinderella" (she had taken her costume off for the night)
"I can marry Snow White. Can you marry me Snow White?"
"No."
"I need someone to marry. Marry me today."
"No, I can marry you tomorrow."


"Is this moose toy from when I was a baby? He's broken."
"Yes, he's from when you were a baby."
"Then I will call him Moosey. Can we fix him?"
(later on) "Can I watch you sew him?"
"You can even try it." He sews his own stuffed animal very well!
"Sylvie! Come see! I can sew!!!!"
"Me too!" She does pretty patiently for a 3 year old as well.
"My daddy said you can use different colored string."
"Good, because we're out of brown. Should we use black?"
"I think when Moosey gets hurt we can use more and more and more colored strings. Then my Moosey will look like a RAINBOW." This boy is about as sweet as they come. He even let his sister get the first hug from Moosey after he was fixed. I'm proud of the new sewing skills too!

Bike Trail in February

It amazes me what a 45 minute bike ride in the cold can do to boost your mood. Especially when you got to ride for the first time in months. And especially when you spent the first 8 hours of your day stressed out because there was nothing to do at work. Bike Trail, you may not be beautiful yet, but come springtime, you'll be sick of seeing me:)

Tonight

1- Clean Up

Logan and I have had all-out battles where he does NOT want to clean up. Today I kept saying "in a minute we'll clean some of this up." But then 100 things took precedence. So finally it was time. I decided to turn on YouTube with Barney's "Cleanup" song to get them going. It went pretty well. Logan did defiantly decide he was "too tired" and a threat of putting his toys into time out worked. Even though he said "I don't like toys anymore" I just said "I don't mind if you don't like the toys, you still need to clean them up because I don't want to trip on them." and it worked! At some point Sylvie was saying "Mom, Logan's not putting any toys away." to which he responded "Shhh...Sylvie, you're not supposed to tell mom that! She has to see it herself." But then he started cleaning again.

2-YouTube gone wrong

I'm very aware that YouTube holds some very inappropriate content. Like vidoes that start with Elmo's theme song from Sesame Street and then cut to Tickle Me Elmo on fire. I've learned to pause the video and scroll to the comments and you usually get a good sense of what the video contains. So I was cleaning up with the kids and went to put some toys by the basement stairs and decided to haul them all the way down. I'm down there and hear "Mom, Barney is over!" followed by more Barney music. I'm calling up not to touch buttons but of course it was too late. My computer guru (Sylvie) had figured out how to click some picture of Barney. I came running up and over to the computer telling them they can't press computer buttons without mommy there next time. Sure enough it was some video clip called "Censored Barney" with some bleeping sounds. I don't have a clue how inappropriate it was, but they only saw about a minute. It looked like the Barney song made into a swearing barney song or some such nonsense. At least it wasn't visually inappropriate, but consider this your warning Mommies, you tube is dangerous territory!

3-Line Dancing

Sylvie likes to usurp the radio/cd player with Disney music. So when she is not demanding her music, I love to listen to some of my own. So I was enjoying some Billy Dean and decided to distract a fight between the two kids that was about to erupt with "Hey Logan, do you know how to Country Line Dance?" So I was attempting to show him and the kids were all giggly about it, I turned on some Garth Brooks and taught them a few fun steps. Granted, it has been a LONG time since I did this in a professional line-dancing bar. And I was never good at it. But hey, to the kids, I looked brilliant. We had SO MUCH FUN. And it was such a workout! Sashaying and dancing and spinning in circles and stomping around with them. Loud country music and happy kids. I hope my kids remember these moments because I sure will:)

Overheard at the office....Overheard at home.....

At the office.....

"Hey what are we doing for lunch?"
"I'll just got to the local place and pick up a pizza. How big of a pizza should we get?"
"We should ask Skinny Girl if she wants to eat pizza. I am pretty sure she's done with Jenny Craig now."

I almost laughed out loud. I mean, yeah, the first thing I want after losing a bunch of weight is office peer pressure to eat pizza for lunch right? And Skinny girl is not me (waah!) it's a woman I'm pretty shocked ever did Jenny Craig, she just seems the athletic and healthy type. I'm wondering if she feined "I'm on Jenny Craig" just to not deal with them making lunch plans each week! Anyway, that just gave me a good chuckle, so I figured I'd share:)

At home...

Logan: "Mommy, when is my next birthday?"
"November 10th."
L: "November 10th AGAIN!?! Every time!"
"Yup, your birthday is on the same day every year."
L: "Well, for my birthday I want a Star Wars lego set, a Transformer's movie,etc,etc....."

Logan's First Floorplan

I was sketching and Logan was asking what I was drawing. So I drew a floorplan of his room while telling him what each thing was. He ran into the next room and got a fresh piece of paper and drew his own.

Here is my kid-friendly floorplan of his bedroom..... Closet on the top, bed on the bottom right, and his blue blankey hiding out in the secret spot behind his bed.

Here is his version....not just copying but he really sat and drew his favorite things from the plan...He drew his closet on the top, his bed with pillow near the top, blue blankey on a little rug in his hiding spot. To the left is his fire engine desk with the circle "siren." He drew a second floorplan later with a mini-picture that he pretended he drew on his desk with a sun and everything. And he drew bunkbeds with him on the bottom and blankey on the top. I was so excited:)

I drew a floorplan with Sylvie and we focused on coloring things the color that they are. Then she took a pencil eraser and attacked it. Gotta love that girl! You never know what is coming next!

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

"Hey Logan and Sylvie, sit next to each other so I can take a picture."

"I love YOU!"

Cool Dude!

Adorable Hoodie

Even Abby wishes you a "Happy Valentine's Day!"

Dawgs......

I am feeling a renewed interest in my dog. I'm actually pretty enamored by her. It could be the cute haircut. But I'm thinking...when the kids were 200% more intense and needy (2 in diapers, bottles, wanting to be held all the time), the dog was just one more needy being who demanded things of me at the worst possible moment (like when I just sat down to feed the baby). We all always loved her, but sometimes I worried that her neediness, however small, would be what pushed me over the edge!

Now, I'm looking at her in a whole new light. She's my sweet quiet companion. When I run upstairs to take a shower, I can almost guarantee she left the family chaos behind and will be sitting on her little doggie pillow outside the bathroom door.

She requires one type of food. From one store. Once a month grocery shopping. And washing her dishes is simple. The kids...the amount of work that goes into their food shopping, prepping and cleaning up after, can get a bit ridiculous.

The dog just went bananas over some little toy I decided to give her. The kids, won't know it was once theirs.

After playing for 5 minutes with said toy, she's relaxing near me and letting me watch tv. When I play with the kids, they are like empty vessels upping the ante and amount of time and energy playing as far as I can stretch. And they never let me watch my own tv:)

The dog doesn't create laundry, require her own room, request toys, go to preschool or talk my ear off. Oh, and she will NEVER say 'no' or whine about taking a walk. Or have a meltdown about what clothing she is allowed to wear outside. Or get too cool to hang out with me.

Yeah, I'm all for it. Sweet Abby Pupcake can stay:) Just stop trying to eat the food off my kitchen table!

Deep Thoughts...

I went on a Reunion retreat this Saturday, like a "refresher course" for the religious retreats I went on in college. It was right near campus with a mass being held at a church in the heart of the University of Illinois. What a great university U of I is. In High School I was able to attend a studio charette on campus geared towards students who thought they would like to be architects. I immediately knew I needed to be an architect and needed to go to U of I. I was fortunate to make it in, and have parents willing to pay for me to attend.

So as I wandered campus in the middle of the retreat, I plopped down on a bench and wrote what I was thinking at the time....

I am bigger and smaller than the institutions that formed me.....

I am smaller. Here I sit on the campus of the Illini. A city in itself built around education, inspiration, challenge, acceptance and rejection. My 4 year visit is over, my belongings have been packed up and moved on. My apartments and dorms do not allude to my visit. My drawings no longer hang on the walls. The campus has taken on a new face. Not only nature's will, with trees growing and plant life blooming, but also new buildings, new pathways, upgrades in every direction. My visit is me, a visitor, I do not have a place where I belong. I am an observer.

I am bigger. I am larger than just this place. It is not the only experience. It only represents 4 of the 32 years I have lived. I have gleaned from this place a strong foundation for the theories and architects that have come before me. Learned the history of the world in built form. Listened to the opinions of others when I presented my own ideas. I created friendships, some long-term, some ending at graduation. I learned how to be independant and created an adult version of myself. And then I moved on......

While I am nostalgic for my time on campus, and my era of being a student, that time has become a part of my own history. A piece of who I am. I have continued to grow and learn in other ways, at other places, and with my own life. I look forward to seeing my children learn, it is their turn for school and learning. And my turn to teach.

All summer in a day

Did anyone see that movie or read that book? It was about some kids on another planet where one day a year there was sunshine and the flowers bloomed. Today it was sunny and warm enough to actually BE outside. It's so deceiving to watch tv shows where everyone is making snowmen and sledding all afternoon. While we went outside of course, it was so bitterly cold this winter that it was hard to not worry for our health! Today there was still a good amount of snowcover, and clear sidewalks, and sunshine!

We went for a walk around the block and the kids came up with a game called "kick the snow." I ran errands and dropped Logan off and Sylvie was asleep. So I put her in the stroller and walked down about 6 blocks to the CVS and filled the stroller basket with some essentials. It felt so so good to walk outside! I cannot believe the winters here, they are so unhealthy to me! Even in Seattle, I walked around in the rain!

We have all been sick on and off for an eternity. I think it went something like Flu-Colds-Cough-Flu for the rest of the family-Colds for the rest of the family- Massively annoying cough for both kids with me holding my breath til I catch it as well. Trying to keep germs away. Sylvie spitting a mouthful of purple Motrin at my face probably didn't help in keeping the germs away.

Here are a few recent pics...

Knocking the superpowers right out of her

Driving to work, surviving the bitter cold.

Listening to great music, Taking in the sunshine

Ready to begin my "Friday."

Finishing up deadlines left and right.

Plotting sheet after sheet.

Hauling paper and changing the plotter paper (heavy!).

Twice.

Emailing each designer to let them know their

drawings are ready and waiting.

Figuring out details.

Feeling on top of my game.

Not distracted, not tired. Not bored.

Chatting with my co-worker and laughing

that architecture made it to the top 5 worst jobs to

get into right now.

Eat a lunch I packed. Packed one for husband too.

Third time this week.

Good for the checkbook and the waistline.

Feeling good about life.

Make dinner before the kids arrive.

Open the door to a sick little girl with a fever.

Settle her on the couch.

Attend to a million things.

Sylvie is bright pink and burning up with fever and crying.

Freak out that there is no Motrin in the house and the Tylenol is not helping.

And the car in the garage has no carseats in it.

Call mom (no answer).

Think clearly. Get a wet rag.

Rock and hold the rag on her neck until she feels better.

Realize that no matter how much you feel

on top of your game, a sick child can just

knock you right off that pedestal.

And sit and think how grateful that my child's sickness

is just a fever and nothing more.

And smother my kids in hugs and kisses.

Take a phonecall from concerned Abuelita and let her

talk to the now chatty happy girl herself.:)

And smile.

Sniffle Sniffle

We went to see Disney on Ice today, otherwise known as the Icecapades. Our in-laws generously treated us, and that is a good thing looking at the price tags on all the souvineers/treats. Yes, they are pure genious. They attach toys to the food! Featured were the stories of the Little Mermaid, Cars, Lion King and Tinkerbell. Very cute. My kids don't really know the Lion King story, but I think they will be more excited to pay attention to the movie now.

So I'm sitting there, all excited to share such a fun experience with the kids. They kept wondering how it was all going to work, was it a movie, would the characters come near them (Sylvie's fear), would the "bad guys" be there from different movies? Lights go down and Sylvie was just in awe. Her expression never changed from slightly slack-jawed and totally watching every second of it. Logan did pretty good but his ear started hurting a lot from his cold, so he was upset and cranky by the end (plus it was the Tinkerbell story, not so boy-ish).

Sure enough, each Disney story tugs at my emotions. Here are the things that made that lump come to my throat and/or tear up in the span of 2 hours.

• Lights going down, soft glowing flashes of color on my children's faces
• How incredibly excited all the kids in the audience were to see their beloved Mayder and Lightening McQueen
• The Lion king stories- that music is so moving. And who doesn't cry when the mom and dad hold that baby cub up with that "Circle of Life" music playing?
• Mermaid- when the mermaid music started, Sylvie held her breath until Ariel, her beloved Ariel, arrived in full mermaid glory. Purple seashells and all. Aaah, seeing the kids joy that this tv character came to visit us, and gosh, I can't believe she actually knows how to ice skate! Sylvie was delirious on the inside, and on the outside she was sitting like a statue, hardly daring to move, lest that Sea Witch came up to our row to see her.
• Tinkerbell- this show was the finale, so it ended in finale type music that is meant to make you feel like you just lived a whole lifetime in an afternoon and your life's worried just disappeared. Kind of like the fireworks at the end of a day at Disney, when you can't believe it's all over, the day was sheer perfection.

So, yeah, I may have had to wipe a few tears away, but it was worth the few hours of absolute awe on my kids' faces:)

Top 10 of the last few days....

10. The kids are right now inviting me to their first "Garage sale." How much money do you think I should bring with to spend to re-buy the things I've already purchased?

9. Sylvie is telling me "Mommy, when I cough, there is somebody in here (pointing to her neck) and I have to go with Nan to put lotion on." Key point here: with Nan. The other day she went to put the lotion on by herself. A lot of lotion.

8.Logan's nose is so stuffy it's really hard to breathe. He keeps talking about his new McD's toys named "Shep" "Georgia" and "Cooper" and it sounds like another language.

7. We had a 4 am wake-up call the other morning where Logan told us his tummy hurt. Only to spill the contents of his tummy in the tub a bit later. Whew, tubs are easy to clean.

6. And then he spilled the rest of the contents of his tummy on the couch later. Which soaked through the sheet I had so carefully placed on there.

5. He may have caught that tummy bug from Sylvie because she blessed the same couch a few days prior. Twice. And the computer chair. And my face.

4. In a quick bathroom trip Logan decided to reach into the trash can and touch a razor that was thrown away there. And slice his finger. He was upset about the cut. But more upset about the Dora bandaids he was forced to wear. Daddy brought home Sponge Bob bandaids and I haven't heard any "it hurts" complaints since.

3. My husband's office had a big layoff which they called "Black Wednesday." Thank goodness he still has a job. So far.

2. The dog has needed some tune-ups and we got her to the vet. Now she's getting a haircut. Thanks goodness. It will cost more than the haircut I desperately need as well and should really try to fit in this weekend.

1. It's still way too cold for my taste. I am really anxious for spring. But being inside with sick kids, the house has stayed pretty clean. And organized. I think it helps that Logan hasn't wanted to draw all day long. And every linen in my house has been washed. Some twice. Do you think the couch would fit in the washing machine? :)

Glad you could fit us in your schedule....

Playing with "wedgets" (a building toy).

Sylvie: "Which princess should I make next?"

Me: "What about Barbie Fairytopia?"

Sylvie: (sigh) "I don't have time to make Barbie Fairytopia. "

Me: stiffling laughter

Sylvie: "Don't worry Mommy. I will have time tomorrow to make Barbie Fairytopia."

Dinnertime Tips and Tricks

For those with a 3 and 5 year old, feel free to steal any of these. Not all of these happen every night, but when it all works, dinnertime is just so much nicer!

*1 hr. before dinner- get down on the floor and play with the kids for a good 20 minutes. Preheat the oven if needed. Really pay attention and try not to think about dinner.

*30 minutes before dinner, put on a tv show that's about that long and tell the kids you need to cook dinner and when the show is over, dinner is on and tv is off.

*Tell Sylvie she does NOT need a big sippy of milk. Two reasons. One, she won't be hungry for dinner. Two, she'll have to pee during dinner. Which is just one more reason to disrupt dinner. If she insists, she gets a very small amount of milk.

*Have the kids set the table. Usually I call out "Who wants to set the table" and someone volunteers. So the silverware is all heaped in the middle, oh well. I let Sylvie stand on a stool at the silverware drawer and she can climb up and down and carry the stuff to the table in as many trips as she wants. Lets me get the last bits of dinner cooked or on the plates or cooled down.

*TV off. Music on. I find I'm a bit less frazzled if there is some nice jazz playing. So I've started using my cable tuner to get good music on in a few seconds.

*Water for dinner. We use a lot of closed-top cups during the day. I am trying to get the kids to pay attention enough not to knock everything over all the time, so a bit of water in a kid-sized sturdy open cup is good. Plus it reminds me to drink water with dinner too. They can get it themselves from the fridge or I get all of ours at once.

*Please and Thanks. We always said "Grace" growing up. But it feels forced. Logan's preschool says a quick singsong poem before snack and it's become habit in our house. "Please and Thank you are words we say, when we eat together every day." I like it. Plus it signals "settle down and time to eat."

*House rules- no running around, no standing on chairs at the table. If Sylvie is fidgety, she's allowed to stand on her stool at the table, but not on the chairs. Some kids get into this habit, it's hard to break! If it's just the kids and myself, dinner is quick, and they need to stick around until we are all mostly done. They ask permission. If it's a meal with Jorge, I let the kids run off and maybe even turn the tv back on while we enjoy our meal for longer.

*Getting the kids to eat. A few tricks. Asking for food off their plate was a good one when they were little. Right now I just kind of remind them "don't forget to try another bite of soup!" I ask them to show me their muscles or how tall they've gotten because they are eating so good. I used to talk to Logan about being a superhero and how they need lots of fuel from food. Sibling rivalry works. "Look Logan, can I give some of your pasta to your sister, you're not eating it. "

*My favorite current trick for eating is making a new "Food Friend." Logan came home with a sticker from school. Apparently he tried a pickle and since he was brave and tried it, he made a new food friend and was rewarded with a sticker. Now, when the kids get all "what's that!%&*" on me, I mention how they might just make a new food friend and get a sticker. This works better for my 5 year old, but usually by default Sylvie wants a sticker so she'll try the food. I guess you could reward yourself with a sticker if you only have one table-food eating child!

*NO dessert. Dessert after dinner is not a regular thing. Treats happen after lunch or in the afternoon. I've had all too many nights where the chocolate or cookies or even jello have the kids bouncing off the walls. So I prefer to serve treats much earlier in the day. Plus, I used to use dessert as an incentive to get the kids to eat and honestly they start asking "is this enough?" and then an hour later, they are hungry again because they did not eat.

*Don't count on being able to clean up or do the dishes right away. For some reason, the time right after dinner is usually super busy doing all the things I promised I would do while brushing them off during the making of dinner. If I just plan to do the dishes and such an hour or more after dinner is over, I'm not frustrated.

So those are my tips. Feel free to use them!

The everyday mundane

Well I usually have a lot of art supplies on this counter. I managed to clean the counter off except for things like pencils and glue and scissors I like to keep an eye on. I stayed up late to do it. It worked for about 30 seconds.

Check out my table right next to the counter. This is how my kids "entertain" themselves lately. Art projects galore. I swear I clean off this table every 2 hours. And don't get me started on the floor under this table.....the broom and I have a special relationship this year.

Cinderella is her favorite. She likes to call herself "Cinderella". She told my mom the other day "My sister Cinderella...." I'm waiting for the imaginary friend to arrive.

Adorable outfits just ask for photos, don't you think?

He kept moving, but when you have a baby boy, you think of legos and superheroes in your future. Here we have a Transformer shirt and lego creations. :)

Wow we got a lot of snow this go-around! It's still almost all there, thanks to the negative temperatures we had. That sunshine is so deceptive. I didn't think I'd get this pic, I thought the camera lens would fog up first.

Bonus

I got a bonus today:) It was preformance based which is really cool. They expect me to complete work on projects totalling a certain dollar amount based on my salary. Anything I complete over that, I get to keep 2% of the profits. It was a pretty good bonus- about 3 paychecks:) I was super excited!

Of course it's always nice getting a bonus but to me it was a special treat for a few reasons....
1-They cut back everyone's salaries by 10% starting this paycheck but kept the bonus program because basically we are earning so much extra for the company, letting us keep 2% isn't a big deal.
2-Jorge gets bonuses. I wanted mine too!
3-I got stiffed a LOT by never getting even a holiday bonus. One year was a bottle of wine (I couldn't drink at the time). One year I got about $100 max? I dished out $20 of it for a gift for the bosses! And the other years I worked at an office that didn't give bonuses or they let me go before the holidays arrived.

So YES I am proud of my hard work and really happy:) I'm trying to not think of the fact that they take 50% of it away in taxes. UGH!

A spelling milestone...

I must admit I read a friend's blog recently and my mouth dropped when I heard her daughter was spelling out words. And suddenly, this winter has brought an interest/obsession with letters from Logan! So very exciting.

Today he tore off a piece of paper and asked from the kitchen table "Mom, how do I spell dinosaur." Usually he is just asking. But he had a pencil in hand. So I spoke each letter. The only letter I had to demonstrate was the letter "u" and I showed him by tracing it in the air like he likes to do. So he brought the paper over and did really well! The letters were in a row, but backwards and a bit askew. But seriously...HE"S WRITING!!!!! I'm so incredibly proud.

Just now he wrote his own word and asked me what it spelled. It was TDiS. So I said "Tdis" and he said "I wrote 'this'!" Heck, we'll work on spelling. Yes, Logan, for the moment, you are sheer GENIUS!!!! Love this boy!

The Winter Blahs

I read somewhere about mid-January being one of the most popular times for people to take their own lives. The holiday hooplah is over, daylight is too short and the weather is ridiculous in most parts of our country. The news channels get past all the warm and fuzzy holiday news stories and onto the shootings, the failing economy, anything depressing. Preparations for Lent and Easter haven't even begun, spring seems an eternity away. And then throw in St. Valentine's Day being a difficult day if you aren't paired up with your soulmate yet. I can see why it's a tough time of the year.

I'm trying to stay upbeat myself. We are both employed- so far. Though both of our companies have let people go and may/will continue to. My company cut all of our salaries by 10%. I have a few groups of good friends- I enjoy the company of my co-workers, I have a group of moms that I get together with, I've been pretty close to my family and cousins, and my high school friends are still around in my life. The kids are happy and hilarious.

I think things like the recent airplane landing in the Hudson river have a place in our lives. They are there to inspire. Everyone came out of a plane with no engine power that crashed into a river. Alive and mostly unharmed! It reminds me of the earthquake I was in back in 2001. Tuesday was Fat Tuesday and the downtown area of Pioneer Square experienced a lot of looting. People overturning cars, just being obnoxious and destructive. It was all over the news and scary. So the next day, Ash Wednesday, I went to work (in Pioneer Square) and early in the morning there was a 6.4ish earthquake. Since that particular area is "built on garbage" it is not quite steady and it was quite the earthquake ride! Wow it was scary. But what struck me was the reaction after. The news crews were still in the area filming the morning news live in location from the previous looting and we all huddled around their tv's watching the size and extent of the damage. Our building was "red tagged" and we were not allowed to re-enter. There was a woman who had an antique shop in our building and she had spent the night guarding her store. With the earthquake, everything fell off the shelves. She came out crying and we all hugged her.

Very few cell phones were working (the systems were clogged) but those that were, people will willing to share. It was a general commotion of everyone running around checking on everyone else and making sure no one was hurt. Such a stark contrast to the night before where people had been destroying and galavanting and trampling had occurred.

My personal theory is that God decided Seattle needed a good swift kick in the pants to start appreciating what we have and working together. The economy was also failing at the time, and the earthquake brought work to a lot of architects, contractors, etc etc to repair and restore. It was practically the only work in our office at the time I know. So maybe the Hudson river landing was a kick in the pants that while the economy looks bleak and no one has money, life will move on and we just need to work together a bit more. At least I can hope right?!

Woke up this morning.....

And the furnace was OFF. Yes, off. Yes, according to the trib, the current ACTUAL temperature is now -17 degrees (windchill -34!). Yikes! All the heat rose in the house so I was walking down the stairs and Brrrrrr.....even the balusters were cold to the touch! I went to the thermostat and it read 66. Okay, just pop it up a few notches (though it was feeling a lot lower than 66). It went up and then back down. No change in heat turning on.

We turned around and woke up Jorge and we took a look at the furnace. Looked at the signal lights and nothing seemed too off. Turned off the switch at the side and turned it back on.It sputtered and then turned back on full blast. There was one signal light saying "weak flame input".

So my request for today is to think happy thoughts for my furnace that I do NOT have to replace the entire thing and that if anything it needs a tune-up. We do have an HVAC company who comes over every so often to fix and maintain, so it's not like the poor furnace has been neglected. We also have a boiler for our radiant floor for the addition only. That has given us trouble (it's from 1969) but so far the pilot hasn't even needed to be relit (no easy task- it's hard to get to- lay sideways on the floor, hold a button to turn on the gas and light the flame with a propane candle lighter all at the same time).

Heat...we need it when it's this cold!!!!! There is ice on the insides of my (newer) windows for crying out loud!!!!

"We didn't make chocolate cookies...."

We did not make them Sam I am.
We did not make them in the kitchen.
We did not make them on the table.
We did not make them Sam I am.

We did get all excited and found the recipe and I had some fresh whole wheat flour and chips and all the ingredients assembled on the table. That is...all the ingredients except sugar. Yeah, sugar. We were plum out of sugar. Who has a box of random cookie ingredients and is out of all the important stuff?

So I dug through the cabinets and found sweetened condensed milk. You can make ice cream of snow. Ready to wear my "cool mom" badge we got out snow and well, when I went to open the can, it had an expiration date. From a long time ago. So I decided that the evaporated milk might do. I looked it up. Condensed milk basically is evaporated milk wiht sugar in it. Yeah, since we have sugar around, I'll just add some in. So I settled for some fake sweetener and well Logan summed it up "This doesn't taste as good as just snow."

So we're eating chocolate chips alone and some day in the future, we'll be making the BEST chocolate chip cookies ever (with some wheat flower for some "health" factor). I can only dream.

Nonstop Energy!

Where do I get some? The kids have it! And they ate healthy all day! Today we have been home and playing and playing and playing and playing. They are just so full of energy and imagination and bursting to tell stories and be goofy. We've pretended we were at the movies (pretend popcorn eating and all!), painted, and the kids have been just all over the place.



This morning when the coffee kicked in I said "alright, let's play Hotel for Dogs" because that's what Logan had been begging to play. So I plopped down the dogs and vet office. Then Logan says "Let's do Spiderman too." So he brought spidermen to the floor. Sylvie brought her toys. And Abby brought her toy! I felt bombarded with them all talking and playing at once. It was crazy and fun. But goodness I needed a break after awhile!

And don't even get me started on Logan's paper projects. We officially have NO Paper left in the HOUSE!!!! Or tape. Or anything resembling a craft project. This child will run around like a crazy man wrapping "presents", making little tubes he calls telescopes and swords. The new quest is to make "Calendars" where he writes all the numbers and hangs them on a magnet with a hook. It's so cute! It reminds me of a friend whose son used to make "number rolls" writing numbers and taping them together. I dont' dare show him. My friend's little guy was in that habit for years! We might go broke buying paper, but I'm excited to see it:)


Here's a pic of all the things they brought over to play with. Too funny.

Update: This just in, I found his secret stash and he has been secretly taking the extra long paper from beside the computer desk to make extra big guns! Oh boy, how exciting!

(taken in secret from the computer desk between railings)

Oh goody!

Weather Forecast for tomorrow...9 am actual= -7 degrees, feels like -29 degrees

I'm just so unbelievably excited about all this! Can't wait!

Under the Sea.....Sylvie turned 3!

Snow Dog

Yep, you betcha we got a LOT of snow! Nowhere near mountainous, or blizzard amounts. But we got the high end of the prediction for the Chicagoland area. My guess is 8-10 inches at least in the last 2 days. So this is my second round of shoveling, and there was barely an indentation for my first round. Abby the 6 year old dog has never really minded the snow too much, her fur is so thick. She came out with me and was bouncing around like a bunny. It was hilarious. What a cutie pie! I had to wrap her up in a towel and pull snowballs off of her when we got inside.

The backyard shot shows how hard it can be to get to the alley to drop off garbage in the winter. When all those drifts get covered in ice (which could be a matter of days), it's virtually impossible without snowshoes. Fun times! The stairs belong to our neighbors who use their side door instead. This is why I took down our Christmas decorations long ago. And never put any outside. Seems like a good idea when it's 32 degrees and dry. Then snow, ice and below zero weather start making the idea of taking them all down a bit daunting!

Bedtime story...clothing optional

Me:"Once upon a time, there was a bad guy next door, so our neighbors called us and asked us to come get him. We all put on our superhero costumes. Sylvie, what did you put on?"

Sylvie:"Batgirl, no,Ariel, no, my Bride dress."

Me:"Logan, what did you put on."

Logan:"Nothin' " (pouting and not wanting to participate)

Me:"Okay, so mommy and daddy had their costumes on, and Sylvie was in her bride dress and Logan was naked. We all went next door." (Hysterical Laughter) "So we got there and the bad guy said "Woah, why are you naked? and he lost his concentration"

Logan: "So I punched him down!" Yeah!!!!!

No longer pouty, he went to bed picturing climbing the neighbors porch and surprising the bad guy:)

"Playschool"

Sylvie is all signed up for school for the fall. It will be her first of 2 years of preschool before she's old enough for Kindergarten in the public school. She is really excited. She watches Caillou most mornings and he goes to "Playschool", so despite the fact that "preschool" was said about 100 times yesterday by various people, it is officially "playschool" in her mind. I love it. Know what, at age 3, it is all play at school! She will attend on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Should be fun!

Educational Explosion!

We spent Christmas break obsessing verbally about numbers. Numbers of days until Santa arrived. Numbers of presents. Age transitions at holiday birthdays. So back to school now and Logan has gone crazy writing!!!! He sat down this morning and wrote out all the numbers. First it took "practice" and a few rounds of trying. But he did it! He wrote out 1-10 in order. Pretty cool! Yesterday he came home from school with a hat where he wrote out "Happy New Year!" with an exclamation point and all. I'm sure he copied it from a paper they had with the letters on it, but he insisted he did it himself and I am so proud of him!

Then he decided to be an author like Caillou and make a book. He drew pictures and hole punched the pages and we helped him tie them together. He now has a superhero book! In true little sis form, Sylvie had to find a reason to interrupt too much attention from big brother. If you notice, the one superhero has a bump on his head that he uses to bang his head against other bad guys. Please excuse our mess! The computer desk manages to catch everything.

Overheard....

Logan: "Can I play the game with you?"
Sylvie: "No"
Logan: (teary) "But I'm your big brother....."

Sylvie:"Spiderman, will you marry me?"
Spiderman/Logan: "Okay" (holding hands facing each other)
Together:"Here comes the bride....nuh nuh nuh nuh.....
Logan: "Let's go get the bad guy! " "Yeah!"
That's what I call a shotgun wedding!

Happy Birthday Sylvie!

You make our lives wonderful.

You sing all day long. Whether we listen or not.

You love to be "nudie bagudies" or in costume.

You adore your big brother, your family, and your dog.

You won't let anyone in your room, but insist on being in your brother's room at all times.

The Disney Princesses are your idols, but you get excited about Dora. You insist on at least 2 episodes of Caillou, "princess milk" and a blanket on the couch to start each day properly.

You want to be my little helper and dissolve into tears if I say no.

You cry if mommy isn't there when you wake up. You cry when you have to leave grandma. You cry when the mermaid song is over.

You smile and laugh and bounce to your heart's content when your favorite songs are playing. Or when someone is making you laugh. You love to have fun.

You light up our lives:) Happy Birthday little Sylvie Alecia who is now 3 whole years old!!!!!

Oh, and you are really not a morning person. But our family tradition is to do presents and muffins on birthday morning. So we kept with tradition. And you decided to dress up for the occasion.:)

New Dolly

The dropoff/Pickup

I spent a few minutes getting together the info for next year about the preschool hours and kindergarten hours for this 2009 school year. Here are our options....

Option 1
M,T,W,Th,F: drop off Logan at 8 am at school in Brookfield, pick him up at 10:50
Tu, Th: Drop off Sylvie at preschool at 9 am in LaGrange, pick her up at 11:30

Option 2
M,T,W,Th,F: drop off Logan at 11:55 at school in Brookfield, pick him up at 2:45.
Tu,Th: Drop off Sylvie at preschool at 12:15 in LaGrange, pick her up at 2:45.

Does anyone see anything wrong with Option 2? Somehow whoever does the drop off/pick up needs to be miraculously in 2 places at once.

Option 3
Skip preschool and kindergarten altogether, quit my job, and homeschool.

Send some happy thoughts my way on January 8th that we get morning preschool. Please?

How the heck do people even do all this and work too? Even without work schedules thrown in there, this is way too complicated! Plus, did I mention my job starts each day at 8 am? Thank goodness for family helping us out. And I always figured I'd hire a sitter if grandparents didn't want to deal with it all, just to drive or watch them for that last hour. But did you know that you have to have special car insurance to haul around other people's children on a daily basis? Seriously? Ugh.

Can you believe tomorrow is the last day of the year? I know I'm going to be antsy at work tomorrow!

Best Gift, Worst Gift

Best Gift for Sylvie: Bopping bouncy ball she can ride on. Hard to capture, but here's my Sylvie lady in all her dressed-up new costume glory bopping around the living room!

Worst gift-

Cupcake maker. I admit grandma asked permission before buying it and I consented.

How to make a cupcake

1. Spend half an hour washing everything and hoping it all dries


















2. Find three pieces of equipment you actually need in massive pile of useless equipment.

3. Spend 10 minutes trying to get the wrong piece onto the main cupcake maker. Walk out of the room to read it in "quiet" as children will not quiet for even a moment while you try to make sense out of instructions.

4. Find alternate piece. Put frosting inside piece.

5. Watch as frosting spills out the bottom of piece. Remember that the frosting they give you makes 1 tablespoon at a time and start freaking out. Look how much frosting is on my hand, and how much is left in the bowl.





















6. Tell children cupcakes cooked individually in the microwave are still hot, please do not touch. Repeat 50 times.

7. Get frosting all over everything but the machine. Make second batch of frosting (they only give you about 3 "batches" total). Insert into machine.

8. Let child press lever to make beautiful frosting swirls. Cupcake spins around to make frosting look prettier. In reality, cupcake attempts to escape and frosting is flinging across the room in pretty swirly patterns. Let kids decorate with minute ball-type "sprinkles".




















9. Watch kids enjoy 1 bite each of cupcake and then run towards your furniture covered in chocolate. Run after then wielding baby wipes and threats.

10. Repeat 1/2 hour washing time for each piece now caked with chocolate and package carefully into basement for "next time."

Merry Christmas!!!!

The pictures from Christmas morning are blurry, there just was not enough light and the kids were moving too fast! I took lots of video instead. I'll post one from the night before Christmas....getting ready for Santa!

This year Logan was sooooooooo excited about Santa coming. Sylvie cried about Santa being in the house after I put her to bed. I reassured her I would stay downstairs and make sure he was in and out quick as a wink and did not come upstairs at all.

There was a fun get-together on the 24th for Jorge's family and then home to get ready for Santa and then bed. The 25th was awake, presents, church, and then to my family's house for lots more fun. The highlight of my parent's house was after we all opened presents my mom said we should go downstairs. There was this big row of "BIG" gifts all wrapped up and she said there was one for each of us! So Logan, Sylvie, Jamie, Bobby, Joe, Jorge and Kristin each got a big present. I think we all felt like kids again. It was so much fun!

Tally: Our favorite gifts

Jorge: Laptop Backpack, Fun gadget Digital Tire Gauge, New Suitcase, New books, new movies

Kristin: Jorge got me 2 down pillows and cases, a fleece throw for the family room, and the movie "The Women" - all perfect. From his family I got a new coffee maker, perfume and a steam mop. From my family I got paintings of the kids from my brother (so cool!), IKEA toy shelf/ bins (so I can out them away for real at night!), boots, gloves, clothes, tickets from my aunt to legoland as a family (great idea!) and we actually have a few gift cards. It was a big Christmas and I didn't expect that at all!

Logan: Transformers, Transformers, Transformers (he's in 7th Heaven!) , games, Star Wars guys, Hot Wheels racing loop-the-loop, Power Rangers- the whole Jungle Fury team, Bakugan!, and lots of other boy toys

Sylvie: FP3 Player (music with headphones), Tinkerbell flower houses and dolls, Cupcake maker (can't wait!), and a nursery to take care of her dolls (Craig's List deal!), clothes, a little puppy in a purse. And one of her favorites was a Mermaid book from my mom with her name in it and our family members. So cute!

From my parents, the kids got these cool castles you build with styrofoam tubes. Just to let you know Bobby and I assembled Sylvie's a lot faster than it took Jorge, Logan, Joe and my dad to complete Logan's playhouse. Just so you know:)

We had a fantastic blessed Christmas and it was so wonderful to be around our family.

Here are the kids getting ready for Santa! They were disagreeing about what drink Santa wanted to have with his cookies. So we left both orange juice and milk for him!

Breakfast Chatter

Pancakes...Sausages.....snow falling outside.....

"Daddy! That's enough" Sylvie demanding that Jorge stop putting syrup on his own pancakes.
"Sylvie, are you watching my cholesterol now?"
"No, I'm watching Little Einsteins."
:)

Countdown to Christmas!

"Hey honey, didn't you say we needed wrapping paper?"

"Look at the tag. How much does that roll cost."

"$8"

"That's 4 times the price that I would pay."

"That's why men don't take care of these things."

Yup!

This is the first Christmas week I think I've worked in ages. When in grad school I always had the week off. And I had two winter babies, and I got laid off last Thanksgiving and started in January. Kinda weird working in an empty office. BUT...oh man almighty the free food is covering tables from sponsors and manufacturers. I went in the kitchen to cut up a pear and came out with a plate containing a pear and a triangle of chocolate cake. Evil!!!! So far so good though, getting things done. Despite snowfall and frigid temps. We even went out last night and got the last few gifts. And almost everything is wrapped:)

The other day began at 6am for me looking out the window at this:

Scarier still, this is what it looked like at 10 am. Windchill was -30 I believe.

And who would I be to not include a pic of the snowfall we've had! Can't even see the street!

What are the chances...

That Jorge has the flu. He was sick all morning and is sleeping the day away.

And what are the chances that he will give it to us. I spent the morning frantically double-cleaning every inch of our home, light switches, doorknobs, everything I can possibly think of that he would have touched. Ugh. Let's hope it's a fluke and not the flu. It's possible right? I can dream right?

Sweet Baby Logan

Poor Logan. Dad headed out for an hour of alone time while I got the kids to bed with their typical routine. After books, Logan got super upset and told me he didnt' need his blankey anymore. This a a big topic that has been obsessed over for many months and it never ends good. I don't know what it is, it's like he takes out his feelings about life on Blue Blankey. He was obsessing over the fact that he no longer needs it. And I was talking to him and he said he didn't want me to work anymore. Can you say stab through the heart? Ugh, that's so hard to hear! Poor thing!

Just had to write that out. My sweet baby Logan. Still lets me snuggle with him and rock him when he's all rolled up in a towel. Still loves to tell his mommy about each inch of his life.. Still loves his mommy.

Little boys. Best thing on earth:)Hope he's happier tomorrow!