Guess what we did today?
It was bowling day for all the First graders at Brandon's school. There were many kids! It was a chaotic mess. I even felt a little sorry for the PE teacher who organized it, as it seemed like a chaotic mess for her, too. But the kids had fun. The best part - Brandon broke 100. His final score was 105, and Caitlin's was 102. The bumpers really help!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
My House, the Pharmacy
On Friday morning, when I went to pick up Caitlin's prescription eye drops for her pink-eye, the pharmacy staff at Safeway didn't know me. On Saturday, when I went to get Brandon's prescription eye drops for his hurt eye, the pharmacist thought I looked familiar. Today, when I went to get Caitlin's new prescription for her raging ear infection, I thought we might be on a first-name basis!
Caitlin's preschool called me this morning to tell me that Caitlin was crying and complaining her ear hurt. Caitlin has complained about her ears in the past, amidst much crying, and has had very little to show for it. For a girl who is rough and tumble outside, and has an assortment of band aids on her knees and elbows at any given time, she has a surprisingly low tolerance for certain other types of pain. We decided to wait it out, and the preschool called me again half an hour later saying she was hysterical. So I went to the school, gave her some tylenol, and took her to the car. She was fine. She was happy. She had not complained about her ear hurting at all prior to her hysterical outburst at school. I called the doctor anyway, and made an appointment for 1:15 (because I was not setting foot in the stupid Urgent Care center again!). She stopped crying and said she was hungry, so we went to lunch. Again, she was fine. She ate her lunch. She ate some of mine. Since she's not contagious, we headed back to to her school to pick up her friend that we carpool with. The staff at her preschool wondered if she was the same kid. No hysterical sobbing. No red puffy face. No complaining.
When I took her to her appointment, her pediatrician said the pressure on her ear was intense. She has a raging infection. She put Caitlin on a strong anti-biotic in hopes to get it all under control quickly so her eardrum doesn't perforate. Ugh!! That can be painful. I know. But hey, at least I don't have to do the eye-drops anymore! In a way I feel vindicated this time, after all our appointments and one trip to the Urgent Care because Caitlin cried that her ears hurt, only to find nothing is wrong. At least something was wrong this time. There was a reason for all the pain and crying.
I did feel a twinge of embarrassment when I went to the pharmacy yet again. My third time in 5 days. As if 5 hours in Urgent Care and 2 prescriptions over the weekend was not enough. But we managed to get it all done and under control before our 3:30 parent-teacher conference for Brandon. Three's a charm right? No more? Can I be done for a while? I'm tired.
Caitlin's preschool called me this morning to tell me that Caitlin was crying and complaining her ear hurt. Caitlin has complained about her ears in the past, amidst much crying, and has had very little to show for it. For a girl who is rough and tumble outside, and has an assortment of band aids on her knees and elbows at any given time, she has a surprisingly low tolerance for certain other types of pain. We decided to wait it out, and the preschool called me again half an hour later saying she was hysterical. So I went to the school, gave her some tylenol, and took her to the car. She was fine. She was happy. She had not complained about her ear hurting at all prior to her hysterical outburst at school. I called the doctor anyway, and made an appointment for 1:15 (because I was not setting foot in the stupid Urgent Care center again!). She stopped crying and said she was hungry, so we went to lunch. Again, she was fine. She ate her lunch. She ate some of mine. Since she's not contagious, we headed back to to her school to pick up her friend that we carpool with. The staff at her preschool wondered if she was the same kid. No hysterical sobbing. No red puffy face. No complaining.
When I took her to her appointment, her pediatrician said the pressure on her ear was intense. She has a raging infection. She put Caitlin on a strong anti-biotic in hopes to get it all under control quickly so her eardrum doesn't perforate. Ugh!! That can be painful. I know. But hey, at least I don't have to do the eye-drops anymore! In a way I feel vindicated this time, after all our appointments and one trip to the Urgent Care because Caitlin cried that her ears hurt, only to find nothing is wrong. At least something was wrong this time. There was a reason for all the pain and crying.
I did feel a twinge of embarrassment when I went to the pharmacy yet again. My third time in 5 days. As if 5 hours in Urgent Care and 2 prescriptions over the weekend was not enough. But we managed to get it all done and under control before our 3:30 parent-teacher conference for Brandon. Three's a charm right? No more? Can I be done for a while? I'm tired.
Monday, February 15, 2010
More Ugent Care
Did Brandon's follow-up eye exam tonight. Waited an hour and a half to be seen!! No one was in front of us! No one was in the waiting room! Why we can't go to the urgent care facilities at any one of the 4 hospitals located 3 miles from our house is beyond my comprehension. The hospitals are approved under our insurance - why not the urgent care? Why do I have to drive 8 miles away? I have now been to the Urgent Care facility at Boulder Community Hospital in Lafayette 4 times. Only once was the wait under an hour - and that's probably because we ended up there at 8:00 pm on a freezing cold snowy night with Caitlin for an ear infection that turned out to be very minor. The other times - once for my sprained foot and now twice for Brandon's eye - have been long waits (many hours) with very little explanation and absolutely nothing that looked urgent. At all. In the slightest. This is my last time going to that one. There has got to be somewhere else. Boulder and Arvada are both only 10 miles, so I think we'll head there. I didn't have a lot of experience with Urgent Care prior to having kids, and only went a few times when we lived in the Bay Area. What I've experienced since moving here has been ridiculous. We *never* waited this long when we lived in California. Honestly, there just aren't enough people around here to justify such long waits.
Now that I'm done ranting, I should let you know that Brandon's eye is healing just fine. There isn't even any evidence of a scratch on the cornea, which is good news. Only 3 more days of eye drops! Brandon isn't a fan, but he knows they're necessary. His eye is still variations of red and pink, but there isn't much bruising, which I was told would happen. No funny colors. No greens and yellows. I should probably let his teacher know he doesn't have pink-eye. Otherwise she might wonder. I'm really happy that he's healing well. Our neighbor met us when we came home tonight. He brought us lots of ice-cream gift certificates for the new Baskin-Robins that just opened down the street, and a Cinnabon gift card. I think they feel a little guilty. Brandon was a little perplexed, but he's looking forward to ice-cream. You know, once the weather gets above freezing!
Now that I'm done ranting, I should let you know that Brandon's eye is healing just fine. There isn't even any evidence of a scratch on the cornea, which is good news. Only 3 more days of eye drops! Brandon isn't a fan, but he knows they're necessary. His eye is still variations of red and pink, but there isn't much bruising, which I was told would happen. No funny colors. No greens and yellows. I should probably let his teacher know he doesn't have pink-eye. Otherwise she might wonder. I'm really happy that he's healing well. Our neighbor met us when we came home tonight. He brought us lots of ice-cream gift certificates for the new Baskin-Robins that just opened down the street, and a Cinnabon gift card. I think they feel a little guilty. Brandon was a little perplexed, but he's looking forward to ice-cream. You know, once the weather gets above freezing!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The Eyes Have It
Saturday morning I was sitting on the couch thinking "what to do, what to do?" After all, we had a three-day weekend coming up, and I didn't really want to just sit around. We don't celebrate Valentine's Day, so we had lots of time.
All of a sudden we heard screaming. Brandon screaming. From a few houses away, but getting louder and louder as he ran up the hill. Now, Brandon screams loudly and hysterically at any injury he gets - big or little - so we never know what to expect. Usually it's something minor. But when he burst in the door crying red tears, we knew something was wrong. When we also saw our J, our neighbor and Brandon's best friend, and his dad right behind them, we knew something was really wrong. As it turns out, Brandon's friend J had accidentally hit him in the eye with a stick. In the eye. Not just on the outside of his eye, but also on the sclera (the white part). Brandon's big red tears were tears mixed with blood.
Needless to say, there was much screaming and crying for a while. We checked the eye, but didn't see any foreign debris. It was cut, though, so we decided that we should take Brandon to Urgent Care. Brian had just come back from running, and I hadn't showered. Seeing that this wasn't life threatening, the bleeding had stopped, and that Brandon had calmed down after putting a cold washcloth up to eye, we gave the kids a snack, put on a video, and did a quick turn-around showers. We were out of the house in less than half-an-hour.
I'm not exactly sure why we hurried, as we spent the next three hours in the Urgent Care office. Ironically, nothing there seemed urgent. There were a few people ahead of us, and no one came in after us, but still we waited. And waited. And waiting. Oh my gosh, it was boring! Facilities in Colorado are nicer that the ones we had in California. They're newer, with exposed brick and soothing colors. But that only goes so far when you are sitting under fluorescent lighting with two young children. We had rushed, so we had no toys or games, and the only magazines I could find involved working on a car or skiing in Colorado. Seriously boring. I'm going to donate some magazines there so other families aren't bored out of their minds! One of the funniest moments was when Caitlin wandered through one set of automatic doors into a breezeway. The automatic double doors to the outside wouldn't open, and she couldn't quite figure out how to get back into the waiting room. It was a amusing since she didn't panic. I was more worried that she'd start playing with the de-icing pellets, but she never did that, either.
An hour into our wait, Brandon finally got back to see the nurse. We spend a whole 5 minutes in the nurses cubical doing administrative work, and then were sent back to the waiting room for another hour and half. By now it's almost 1:00, and the kids are getting hungry. Finally, around 2:30, Brandon and I are called back to the office rooms. Most patients are in curtain-walled areas, but (woo hoo!) we got to be in the eye-exam room. Brandon did an eye exam, and we waiting another 45 minutes for the doctor to come in. Amazing, Brandon was not whining for lunch, and managed to wait patiently. I'll bet the words "patience" and "patiently" were thought up by someone, somewhere who was a patient waiting for a doctor. Finally, at 3:05, we got to leave the Urgent Care.
So - the diagnosis. The doctor dyed Brandon's eye to look at the abrasion. He has scratches on his sclera and cornea. Nothing on the pupil, though, so no issues with his vision. The scratches are wide and have made divots, but aren't deep, so they should heal just fine. We got a prescription for antibiotic eye drops, and need to do a follow-up visit on Monday. On top of it all, Caitlin was diagnosed with pink-eye on Friday, so we have to keep the two of them apart for several days, and make sure they don't share any towels or linens. Pink-eye would not be good for Brandon's eye at this point! No bathing together, either, to keep the infection from spreading.
At 3:15 we finally sat down to get lunch. I've never been so excited to see Pad Thai in my life! We were so exhausted - and all from doing nothing but sitting and waiting. I am glad that Brandon's eye is not worse. I now have to do eye drops for both kids for the next 5 days, without mixing them up or cross-contamination. *Sigh*. And I have many more loads of laundry to keep the pink-eye from spreading.
We talked to Brandon a lot about sticks. He loves sticks. Always has. I don't want to forbid them, but he's never been allowed to play with them around other kids. He keeps his "collection" in the garage. I'm sad that the advice J's dad gave to him was "You have to be careful when you play with sticks." Even Brian was annoyed at that. The advice should have been "Don't play with sticks around other kids!" I realize they're boys. Accidents happen. But why is it my kid who comes home crying all the time? Our different parenting skills leave a lot to be desired. No sticks right now. At least for a while. I'm hoping that last night's snowfall will help quell the desire to play with sticks, since the sticks are not visible. Although, being Colorado means that it will all be melted by the end of the day!
All of a sudden we heard screaming. Brandon screaming. From a few houses away, but getting louder and louder as he ran up the hill. Now, Brandon screams loudly and hysterically at any injury he gets - big or little - so we never know what to expect. Usually it's something minor. But when he burst in the door crying red tears, we knew something was wrong. When we also saw our J, our neighbor and Brandon's best friend, and his dad right behind them, we knew something was really wrong. As it turns out, Brandon's friend J had accidentally hit him in the eye with a stick. In the eye. Not just on the outside of his eye, but also on the sclera (the white part). Brandon's big red tears were tears mixed with blood.
I'm not exactly sure why we hurried, as we spent the next three hours in the Urgent Care office. Ironically, nothing there seemed urgent. There were a few people ahead of us, and no one came in after us, but still we waited. And waited. And waiting. Oh my gosh, it was boring! Facilities in Colorado are nicer that the ones we had in California. They're newer, with exposed brick and soothing colors. But that only goes so far when you are sitting under fluorescent lighting with two young children. We had rushed, so we had no toys or games, and the only magazines I could find involved working on a car or skiing in Colorado. Seriously boring. I'm going to donate some magazines there so other families aren't bored out of their minds! One of the funniest moments was when Caitlin wandered through one set of automatic doors into a breezeway. The automatic double doors to the outside wouldn't open, and she couldn't quite figure out how to get back into the waiting room. It was a amusing since she didn't panic. I was more worried that she'd start playing with the de-icing pellets, but she never did that, either.
So - the diagnosis. The doctor dyed Brandon's eye to look at the abrasion. He has scratches on his sclera and cornea. Nothing on the pupil, though, so no issues with his vision. The scratches are wide and have made divots, but aren't deep, so they should heal just fine. We got a prescription for antibiotic eye drops, and need to do a follow-up visit on Monday. On top of it all, Caitlin was diagnosed with pink-eye on Friday, so we have to keep the two of them apart for several days, and make sure they don't share any towels or linens. Pink-eye would not be good for Brandon's eye at this point! No bathing together, either, to keep the infection from spreading.
At 3:15 we finally sat down to get lunch. I've never been so excited to see Pad Thai in my life! We were so exhausted - and all from doing nothing but sitting and waiting. I am glad that Brandon's eye is not worse. I now have to do eye drops for both kids for the next 5 days, without mixing them up or cross-contamination. *Sigh*. And I have many more loads of laundry to keep the pink-eye from spreading.
We talked to Brandon a lot about sticks. He loves sticks. Always has. I don't want to forbid them, but he's never been allowed to play with them around other kids. He keeps his "collection" in the garage. I'm sad that the advice J's dad gave to him was "You have to be careful when you play with sticks." Even Brian was annoyed at that. The advice should have been "Don't play with sticks around other kids!" I realize they're boys. Accidents happen. But why is it my kid who comes home crying all the time? Our different parenting skills leave a lot to be desired. No sticks right now. At least for a while. I'm hoping that last night's snowfall will help quell the desire to play with sticks, since the sticks are not visible. Although, being Colorado means that it will all be melted by the end of the day!
Saturday, February 06, 2010
New Tooth Coming Soon
Looks like we'll be having some tooth news in the near future. Brandon told Brian this morning that he felt like his gums were loose around one tooth. I didn't find this out until lunch time. Brandon was obsessed with the Rice Crispy treats at Noodles & Company, so we relented and split one (huge) treat amongst the family. As he was noshing on his, he mentioned the loose gums again. Not only is one of his lower baby teeth loose, but you can see the new one already poking through! It might even be the same tooth that came in first when he was 6 months old. So many of his classmates have lost one or more teeth already. He'll be joining their ranks soon. Childhood rites of passage, here we come!
Monday, February 01, 2010
Clean-Up on Aisle 6!
Caitlin and I headed over to a little discount grocery store in Dacono this morning. The poor girl has fluid in her lungs, and sounds like an asthmatic jogger most of the time. Today was spent keeping her away from other kids.
The grocery store was a fun find. I'm a bargain hunter. I'm currently wearing my 1 cent hoodie from Macy's that I bought a couple of summers ago. I've found a couple more 1 cent bargains at Macy's, but I guess the cashiers aren't suppose to sell them for that price. Oh well. Anyway, this grocery store was very much like Grocery Outlet in California. I got power bars for 50 cents, Pirates Booty for a dollar a bag, and our favorite snacking cereals by Kashi for only $1.75 a box (they're usually at least $3.50 per box, which I refuse to pay!). I was pleasantly surprised to find my favorite laundry detergent, Bi-O-Kleen, at $2.75 for 64 ounces. This chemical free, environmentally friendly liquid is usually priced between $9.50 at King Soopers, to $12-14 at Whole Foods and other natural grocery stores. I quickly snapped up 2. About 10 minutes later, as I was walking down the pasta and cracker aisle, I noticed my shoes sliding on the linoleum. As I looked down to see what on earth was so squishy, I saw this.....
Lovely. Some form of liquid spilled all over the floor. Then I looked in my cart and saw one of the Bi-O-Kleen bottles flipped over completely. Lid off. Detergent everywhere. And I mean everywhere! All over the cereal. All over the power bars. All over the food, the cart, the floor..... everywhere except the girl. Caitlin! She was making towers of food in the cart and then destroying them. She'd somehow managed to knock over the detergent and dislodge the cap, or was using the bottle as a wrecking ball. I'm not sure which one it was. About a third of the bottle poured out. The only reason that the entire bottle hadn't poured all over the floor was because it got caught in her shoe that she had taken off sometime after going to the store. Her entire shoe was filled with Bi-O-Kleen. I poured it back into the bottle.
I managed to maintain my composure, mostly because it's frowned upon to yell in stores, and ran up to the closest cashier to get some paper towels and a clean-up on aisle 6. It is seriously all I can do not to scream at the top of my lungs sometimes. Why is this girl so difficult to take shopping? Ugh!!! This is not a new thing - she's been awful in stores since birth. Last summer she managed to pull a shopping cart on top of her in Sprouts after only being in the store for 10 minutes (for your information, the cage-free brown eggs did much better after a 10 foot launch than the regular white shelled eggs). I love her dearly, but I'd love to just be able to leave her in the car, too. It was so embarrassing today. Not only did I have to call for a clean-up, but the poor man had to get two mop buckets, one with more water, to help him get the soap off the floor (should be really clean, though). I used half a roll of paper towels mopping up all the slimy detergent on the boxes. Then, I had to check-out and pay for my slightly slimy goods. No liquid seeped through anything, but it was a pain to clean-up. Caitlin at this point had no shoes, so we could only go straight home. On top of it all, she was really upset that she didn't get a gumball from the machine in the front of the store. I guess in my haste to leave I forgot that I'd said she could have one. *Sigh* She got over it a few miles down the road.
I did a load of laundry after we got home. My jacket, Caitlin's sweatshirt, and her shoes were coated with a layer of soap. I didn't have to add any to the water, though. I'm not sure her shoes will survive this. They're currently drying in front of the fireplace, and still feel slimy inside. It took about 10 trips to the sink (without any additional soap, mind you!) to finally feel like I'd washed the detergent off of my hands. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now, but grocery shopping is just not one of those things you can cut out of your life. I'm not looking forward to summer, when I have both kids all the time. Maybe I should hire a babysitter for my grocery shopping days.
Just for a visual, here's what I have left of my 64 ounce bottle:
The grocery store was a fun find. I'm a bargain hunter. I'm currently wearing my 1 cent hoodie from Macy's that I bought a couple of summers ago. I've found a couple more 1 cent bargains at Macy's, but I guess the cashiers aren't suppose to sell them for that price. Oh well. Anyway, this grocery store was very much like Grocery Outlet in California. I got power bars for 50 cents, Pirates Booty for a dollar a bag, and our favorite snacking cereals by Kashi for only $1.75 a box (they're usually at least $3.50 per box, which I refuse to pay!). I was pleasantly surprised to find my favorite laundry detergent, Bi-O-Kleen, at $2.75 for 64 ounces. This chemical free, environmentally friendly liquid is usually priced between $9.50 at King Soopers, to $12-14 at Whole Foods and other natural grocery stores. I quickly snapped up 2. About 10 minutes later, as I was walking down the pasta and cracker aisle, I noticed my shoes sliding on the linoleum. As I looked down to see what on earth was so squishy, I saw this.....
Lovely. Some form of liquid spilled all over the floor. Then I looked in my cart and saw one of the Bi-O-Kleen bottles flipped over completely. Lid off. Detergent everywhere. And I mean everywhere! All over the cereal. All over the power bars. All over the food, the cart, the floor..... everywhere except the girl. Caitlin! She was making towers of food in the cart and then destroying them. She'd somehow managed to knock over the detergent and dislodge the cap, or was using the bottle as a wrecking ball. I'm not sure which one it was. About a third of the bottle poured out. The only reason that the entire bottle hadn't poured all over the floor was because it got caught in her shoe that she had taken off sometime after going to the store. Her entire shoe was filled with Bi-O-Kleen. I poured it back into the bottle.
I managed to maintain my composure, mostly because it's frowned upon to yell in stores, and ran up to the closest cashier to get some paper towels and a clean-up on aisle 6. It is seriously all I can do not to scream at the top of my lungs sometimes. Why is this girl so difficult to take shopping? Ugh!!! This is not a new thing - she's been awful in stores since birth. Last summer she managed to pull a shopping cart on top of her in Sprouts after only being in the store for 10 minutes (for your information, the cage-free brown eggs did much better after a 10 foot launch than the regular white shelled eggs). I love her dearly, but I'd love to just be able to leave her in the car, too. It was so embarrassing today. Not only did I have to call for a clean-up, but the poor man had to get two mop buckets, one with more water, to help him get the soap off the floor (should be really clean, though). I used half a roll of paper towels mopping up all the slimy detergent on the boxes. Then, I had to check-out and pay for my slightly slimy goods. No liquid seeped through anything, but it was a pain to clean-up. Caitlin at this point had no shoes, so we could only go straight home. On top of it all, she was really upset that she didn't get a gumball from the machine in the front of the store. I guess in my haste to leave I forgot that I'd said she could have one. *Sigh* She got over it a few miles down the road.
I did a load of laundry after we got home. My jacket, Caitlin's sweatshirt, and her shoes were coated with a layer of soap. I didn't have to add any to the water, though. I'm not sure her shoes will survive this. They're currently drying in front of the fireplace, and still feel slimy inside. It took about 10 trips to the sink (without any additional soap, mind you!) to finally feel like I'd washed the detergent off of my hands. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now, but grocery shopping is just not one of those things you can cut out of your life. I'm not looking forward to summer, when I have both kids all the time. Maybe I should hire a babysitter for my grocery shopping days.
Just for a visual, here's what I have left of my 64 ounce bottle:
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Attack!!
Call me crazy, but I think the Rocky Mountain Ranch is under attack.
Good thing Brandon had positioned the ranch hand in a good place to fight off the Jurassic Park-esque attack.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Caitlin's 4-year Stats
Caitlin's 4 year stats are as follows:
Weight: 35 1/2 pounds (50th percentile)
Height: 41 inches (75th percentile)
Brandon, at the same age, weighed in at 33 pounds, and was 40 1/4 inches long, yet he was only in the 25th percentile for weight at 50th for height. I never cease to be amazed at the difference between boys and girls physically. They are so different! Caitlin has never looked as skinny as Brandon does, even when she's weighed less and has been taller (at same age comparisons).
Things Caitlin is doing lately:
*School - loves, loves, loves preschool. Can't wait to go!
*Counting - she gets up to 29 before she gets confused.
*Tracing - her ability to trace lines and letters is better than Brandon's at the same age. Must be a girl thing.
*Playing girl games - and by that I mean playing things that other girls want to play, like Polly Pockets, or babies, or different toys. We even had a playdate with only preschool girls the other day. Having an older brother has meant that trucks, cars, trains, Legos and dinosaurs have been all the rage for both kids in our house. She plays well with boys, which is good since there aren't any girls her age on our street. Recently we discovered that a girl friend from preschool lives just up the hill, so I'm sure that there will be more playdates to come!
*Talks very well. Both kids were early talkers. Brandon was easier to understand earlier on, but Caitlin's sentence structure and vocabulary beat his at the same ages. She just wasn't as clear until she was older.
*Naps and diapers are becoming a thing of the past. She still takes naps sometimes (she has to rest most days, even when there are no naps). I thought naptime would be done by now, but the early schedule we're subjected to has keep napping in our day, at least for a while. Caitlin requested to be diaper free for naps back in early October, and has only had one accident since then (and she was sick, so I don't really count that one). She has requested to sleep diaper-free at night, but the results have not been so positive. Our new saying is that she can be diaperless after she wakes up dry. She asks me almost every morning about her progress (we're so not there yet!).
*Food - Caitlin has become picky on amounts, but still loves her veggies!
*Activity - I sometimes wish there was less. Man, that girl is like the Enegizer Bunny - she keeps going and going and going...........
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
On Turning 4
We made it! Caitlin turned 4 today. And, honestly, if I never see another cupcake again in my life, it won't be too soon.We all talked, and decided that Caitlin's birthday this year would be celebrated outside of the house. Last year we had her party at our house, along with her friends, their siblings, and parents. That's a lot of people to host, but it would have been a very small party without everyone! This year Caitlin waffled between a Chuck-E-Cheese party and an indoor swimming pool party, finally choosing the pool. I managed to call and rent a room over Christmas break (while we were in California, no less!) for the 16th - the Saturday before her birthday. We send out an E-vite, and began preparing. She had a blast! Her happy face right here shows her joy.
Her actual birthday was today. I made arrangements to bring cupcakes to preschool. This time I got to stay with her during her little party. I wasn't able to stay at Brandon's school, which was part of a larger Christian school. That made me a little sad. I think Caitlin was happy to celebrate at her school, but I'm not sure. Maybe it was just a little overwhelming. She got to wear a birthday crown all day and was just thrilled! She asked if we could go play games at Chuck-E-Cheese after dinner, so our little family headed down to play skee-ball, and a whole host of other games before bed time. It was nice to not have to watch a whole host of other kids there, and nice to not have to eat there as well.
Happy 4th Birthday, Caitlin! I know how happy you are. This has been a big year. First you started preschool, also a big deal, and now you are finally four! I hope this year is wonderful!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Caitlin's World
I was recently able to upload some pictures from Caitlin's camera onto the computer. In the past it's been impossible to do, but something about the software for my new tiny camera has made this possible. In case you're wondering about Caitlin's world, here are a few pictures to help you understand what she sees.
Things we now know about Caitlin -
#1) She loves her family. She loves to take pictures of us. But her portrait aim is a little off.
#2) She likes "Shaun the Sheep". She was very pleased with her well-framed picture of Bitzer.
#3) She spends much time in the car (as seen in these fine portraits of the inside of our Honda):
#4) Random things appeal to her, such as the Roomba, and her feet.
Things we now know about Caitlin -
#1) She loves her family. She loves to take pictures of us. But her portrait aim is a little off.
#2) She likes "Shaun the Sheep". She was very pleased with her well-framed picture of Bitzer.
#3) She spends much time in the car (as seen in these fine portraits of the inside of our Honda):
#4) Random things appeal to her, such as the Roomba, and her feet.
Friday, January 08, 2010
I Love You, Kid.
Caitlin's favorite game is "I'll be the mommy and you be the kid." Brandon never expressed any interest in this game when he was 3. Maybe all little girls play this game, but it's new to me. Caitlin will play it with anyone who wants to, and the dialogue goes something like this:
Random participant: "I love you Mommy"
Caitlin: "I love you too, kid."
Random participant: "I love you Mommy"
Caitlin: "I love you too, kid."
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Leapster Expectations
Today was my first foray out into the real world after our long Christmas break. Brandon went back to school today, and I was heading to Bible Study. After getting Brandon out the door at 7:40 (which wasn't as easy as it had been pre-Christmas break), I managed to get Caitlin into the car and leave at a fairly normal time. The snow was lightly falling as we drove to Boulder. And Caitlin went on and on about wanting to come to class with me.
Now, I love my little daughter dearly, but do not (repeat - *do not*) want her to come to my class with me. I'm doing a Beth Moore study, and today was video day. If Caitlin comes to class with me, I don't get to watch to the video. I get to say "be quiet" about 50 thousand times. I get to listen to Caitlin sing her mashed-up renditions of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" or the "Jingle Bells, Batman smells" song (remember that one from your childhood? It's still around). I get to get up and get Caitlin snacks every 10 seconds. And, eventually, I get to leave with Caitlin in tow. Probably early. Call me selfish, but I wanted to watch the video! After about 10 minutes of Caitlin insisting that she was coming to my class, and me gently telling her that she gets to go to her own class, she broke out with a huge whine of "I'll just play my Leapster when you watch your video!"
Ah, the Leapster. I forgot about the Leapster. I also forgot the Leapster at home, which ended Caitlin's insistence about coming to class with me.
Then it dawned on me. In early November Brandon had a random Wednesday holiday. Bible study was still in session, so I took him with me. The 5-6 year old class isn't big, and Brandon still knows most of the kids and teachers there. Due to his young age for being in first grade, and the high number of homeschooled kids at our church, there are many kids in the class that are his age, slightly older, or at least at his same level. However, I told him that if the class was full, he could just come into my class with me and play his Leapster. It all made sense! Caitlin thought that because she now had a Leapster, she could just head off to class with Mom and play it in the corner. As if her Leapster ownership catapulted her into a new realm of big girl territory. Trouble is, Caitlin is high maintenance. Brandon is not. At least not in that sort of situation.
So now I know. I'm informed. And I'm wrong. I thought Caitlin didn't remember as much as Brandon. Silly me!
Now, I love my little daughter dearly, but do not (repeat - *do not*) want her to come to my class with me. I'm doing a Beth Moore study, and today was video day. If Caitlin comes to class with me, I don't get to watch to the video. I get to say "be quiet" about 50 thousand times. I get to listen to Caitlin sing her mashed-up renditions of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" or the "Jingle Bells, Batman smells" song (remember that one from your childhood? It's still around). I get to get up and get Caitlin snacks every 10 seconds. And, eventually, I get to leave with Caitlin in tow. Probably early. Call me selfish, but I wanted to watch the video! After about 10 minutes of Caitlin insisting that she was coming to my class, and me gently telling her that she gets to go to her own class, she broke out with a huge whine of "I'll just play my Leapster when you watch your video!"
Ah, the Leapster. I forgot about the Leapster. I also forgot the Leapster at home, which ended Caitlin's insistence about coming to class with me.
Then it dawned on me. In early November Brandon had a random Wednesday holiday. Bible study was still in session, so I took him with me. The 5-6 year old class isn't big, and Brandon still knows most of the kids and teachers there. Due to his young age for being in first grade, and the high number of homeschooled kids at our church, there are many kids in the class that are his age, slightly older, or at least at his same level. However, I told him that if the class was full, he could just come into my class with me and play his Leapster. It all made sense! Caitlin thought that because she now had a Leapster, she could just head off to class with Mom and play it in the corner. As if her Leapster ownership catapulted her into a new realm of big girl territory. Trouble is, Caitlin is high maintenance. Brandon is not. At least not in that sort of situation.
So now I know. I'm informed. And I'm wrong. I thought Caitlin didn't remember as much as Brandon. Silly me!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. I'm heading off to bed soon, but thought I'd share some pictures from our little family on this cold, wintry Christmas day. We spent our first Christmas with just our family. It began last night with services at our church, followed by a fun Christmas morning. We hear stories about crazy early mornings for some, but our children decided to give us a wonderful Christmas gift and slept in until 8:00 am! No parent can complain about that one. So, before I head off after a full day, here are the pictures to share. Enjoy!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas Carol Lyrics (According to Caitlin)
She sings them loudly, proudly, and rarely correctly!
We Three Kings of Glorious Art,
Marrying gifts, we've traveled so far
Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul, with a corncob pipe and a button nose, and toys made out of coal
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay on his sweet sweet head
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, No what fun it is to ride in one horse slapping hay (hey!)
Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king
Peace on earth, and mercy why? God and sinners reconsighed
Go telling on a mountain..........
And numerous selections from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
...calling the other reindeers, use to laugh and call him names....
...then one froggy Christmas eve....
...Rudolph with your snow so white, won't you guide my sleigh tonight
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, had a very shiny nose. And if you never saw it, you wouldn't even say it goes!
And those are just the lyrics she's trying to get right. If she doesn't know what the next line in a song is, she'll randomly make up some lyrics to continue the song.
We Three Kings of Glorious Art,
Marrying gifts, we've traveled so far
Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul, with a corncob pipe and a button nose, and toys made out of coal
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay on his sweet sweet head
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, No what fun it is to ride in one horse slapping hay (hey!)
Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king
Peace on earth, and mercy why? God and sinners reconsighed
Go telling on a mountain..........
And numerous selections from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
...calling the other reindeers, use to laugh and call him names....
...then one froggy Christmas eve....
...Rudolph with your snow so white, won't you guide my sleigh tonight
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, had a very shiny nose. And if you never saw it, you wouldn't even say it goes!
And those are just the lyrics she's trying to get right. If she doesn't know what the next line in a song is, she'll randomly make up some lyrics to continue the song.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Caitlin's Christmas Pageant
Caitlin has been practicing and practicing for her preschool's Christmas pageant. We've been singing songs at home, in the car, before bed, and (reluctantly on my part) in the stores. She sings and sings her little heart out. It's loud, unmelodic, and usually funny (except in the grocery store or mall). I'm now officially sick of a few Christmas songs, and long for Caitlin to be quiet most of the time. That, unfortunately, only happens when she's asleep (and not always then, either).
Tonight was Caitlin's pageant. Brian met me and the kids in Boulder, and we dropped Caitlin off at her classroom. After a short sermon by the pastor of the church where she goes to preschool, she and the other preschoolers paraded in and began their program. It was short and cute. Good thing, because this is one of the many faces Caitlin made during the performance:
Preschool programs are fun indeed!
I found a nice spot up in the balcony and got a shot of all the kids. I may have cut out a sheep or two, but I got most of them.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Come Back to Amazon
I order from Amazon. Not as much as some people I know, but I do order from Amazon. Books, CD's, shoes, all sorts of things. Today, I got this e-mail from them:
"Dear Amazon.com Customer,
As someone interested in automotive accessories, parts, or car electronics, you might want to check out our low prices on great gifts plus the top brands in tools and equipment, performance parts, car care, replacement parts, and accessories sold by Amazon.com.
You can also explore our new Wheels & Tires Store!"
Ooohh, the new Wheels and Tires store. Can't wait!
I've never ordered an automotive accessory from Amazon. Ever. Anyone who knows me should know how *not* into automotive accessories. Guess I need to go and update my profile and recommendations pages. Or start buying car parts for my brothers. They'd be happy!
As someone interested in automotive accessories, parts, or car electronics, you might want to check out our low prices on great gifts plus the top brands in tools and equipment, performance parts, car care, replacement parts, and accessories sold by Amazon.com.
You can also explore our new Wheels & Tires Store!"
Ooohh, the new Wheels and Tires store. Can't wait!
I've never ordered an automotive accessory from Amazon. Ever. Anyone who knows me should know how *not* into automotive accessories. Guess I need to go and update my profile and recommendations pages. Or start buying car parts for my brothers. They'd be happy!
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Baby, It's Cold Outside
I know it's cold outside. It was -11 when I walked Brandon down to our neighbor's house for the school drop off.
But I think the channel 9 thermometer is just a tad bit off today. -583? Really? I know it feels like that, especially when it's windy. But still!
But I think the channel 9 thermometer is just a tad bit off today. -583? Really? I know it feels like that, especially when it's windy. But still!
Brandon's Face
Brandon took a dive last Thursday evening. He fell in the neighbor's driveway and did a faceplant on the ice. The driveway was shoveled, but the ice that had formed was bumpy - like frozen raindrops. The left side of Brandon's face looked like hamburger! I felt so bad for the poor guy! His face and nose were all bloody. He had a half-dollar sized patch on his forehead that had gotten scraped up, and dime-sized patches under his nose and lips as well. His nose and lips were scratched up, but not as bad as the other places. Our neighbor even made him hot chocolate, but that didn't ease the suffering any. Brandon scabbed up overnight, and did not (at all) want to go to school the next morning. He got over his vanity pretty soon (probably after all the kids were somewhat in awe of his adventure, as little kids are apt to be), but complained about the scabs itching.
So now, almost a week later, he's looking a lot better. Here he is, right before school today:
Most of the scabs have fallen off, leaving behind the pink shaded area of newly healed skin. The patch on his forehead isn't smooth - it's full of little divots caused by the bumpy ice. We're still putting creams on his face so he won't scar too bad. With the freezing cold weather we're having, and the onset of winter, I'm hoping the lack of sunshine will mean he doesn't get any strange patterns on his face from being exposed to too much sun. But then again, it is Colorado. The sun is intense here. You'll note Brandon's looking a little shaggy. I even put off getting him a haircut so that the stylist wouldn't touch the sore patch on his forehead. Now that it's getting better, I guess I should put it off any longer.
So now, almost a week later, he's looking a lot better. Here he is, right before school today:
Monday, November 30, 2009
Back to Life
Back to the daily grind. Needed to wake up to an alarm this morning. If I need to wake up to an alarm, it's probably to early to get up. Although part of me is happy to get back to the schedule, I'm not ready to restart our early mornings. Back to sleepy morning kids. Back to rushed breakfasts and rushed mornings. Back to Brian leaving for work. Back to needing coffee in the morning instead of it being a pleasant experience with breakfast.
On the plus side, I'm back to Brandon in school, which he loves. A few free hours for me , as Caitlin goes back to school tomorrow. Her fever is gone, and all she seems to have left of her weekend illness is a cough. We even walked to school this morning. Right now only my feet hurt, instead of feet and legs. I should know by this evening or tomorrow morning how much I'll pay for that little 1-mile walk to and from school. Caitlin and I will join Brandon on his class scavenger hunt this afternoon, so I may know earlier than that!
I am grateful for the mornings I had to sleep in last week. I think it helped me recover from my own illness, and just catch up on much needed sleep. I accomplished a lot around the house, which I don't manage to do during our regular weeks. We had fun just being together as a family, and the kids love to have all the extra time to hang out with their Dad. And the best thing - it's only for a few weeks, and then we're off on Christmas break. We're spending Christmas at home this year. A first for me. Ever. I've always spend Christmas with family. We'll be visiting them after Christmas, but I'm grateful to not fly during the busiest time of the year, and grateful to not have to miss out on everything going on around town because we're not usually around to enjoy it.
Now, off to shower and finish our charity bags. We cleaned out our closet and the kids rooms. So much needed to go.
On the plus side, I'm back to Brandon in school, which he loves. A few free hours for me , as Caitlin goes back to school tomorrow. Her fever is gone, and all she seems to have left of her weekend illness is a cough. We even walked to school this morning. Right now only my feet hurt, instead of feet and legs. I should know by this evening or tomorrow morning how much I'll pay for that little 1-mile walk to and from school. Caitlin and I will join Brandon on his class scavenger hunt this afternoon, so I may know earlier than that!
I am grateful for the mornings I had to sleep in last week. I think it helped me recover from my own illness, and just catch up on much needed sleep. I accomplished a lot around the house, which I don't manage to do during our regular weeks. We had fun just being together as a family, and the kids love to have all the extra time to hang out with their Dad. And the best thing - it's only for a few weeks, and then we're off on Christmas break. We're spending Christmas at home this year. A first for me. Ever. I've always spend Christmas with family. We'll be visiting them after Christmas, but I'm grateful to not fly during the busiest time of the year, and grateful to not have to miss out on everything going on around town because we're not usually around to enjoy it.
Now, off to shower and finish our charity bags. We cleaned out our closet and the kids rooms. So much needed to go.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Fort Collins
In preparation for the yearly forced PTO, in which Brian has had to take time off, we planned on taking a couple of days and exploring Fort Collins. We also needed something to keep us busy, since schools here take the whole week of Thanksgiving off, not just the day of and the day after. There was no forced PTO this year, so we didn't have to go. But we went anyway. We booked the hotel a couple of weeks back, and told the kids that we were going to go out of town for a few days. Bad move on our part. We shouldn't have told them that early. Caitlin has asked every. single. day. for. two. weeks. when (when, Mommy, when?) are we going out of town?
Fort Collins is just over an hour north of us, and the last big city in Colorado before you hit Wyoming. At just over 130,000 people, it's not really that big, either. But we're getting use to that. We had fun exploring. I especially liked the area around CSU. But then again, I always like areas around older college campuses. I like the character. I like the trees. I like the idea that there is so much energy around universities. I'm not sure I'd like living around all of those young, crazy college students, which is why I don't live by a university. But I like being near them. We drove around a lot. The bitter winds prevented us from doing much outside until the last day. Once my ears begin to hurt, I'm done.
But for all the fun of Fort Collins, the biggest draw for the kids was ......
the indoor pool!!!
How can you beat an indoor pool? Caitlin loves swimming, and asks me oh, about every other day when we can go to an inside pool. It doesn't help that the pools here close right after Labor Day, and that we drive by the closed pool on a frequent basis. Caitlin looks longingly out her window as we drive by..........
So, into the pool we went. Day after day. Luckily they were satisfied with an hour. And the Residence Inn was hardly crowded in the days before Thanksgiving, so we had the pool and hot tub to ourselves. The kids had their life jackets and goggles, and were set. I got to try out my new suit, bought during the Land's End bathing suit clearance and sent right after Labor Day (which is when all the outdoor pools close in Colorado). We got to get out of the house for a few days. We got to explore a new town. And we got to swim in a heated indoor pool. It was a fun time for the entire P-4 family!
** just in case you're worried about this last picture, Brandon is doing a shark impersonation, not having a bad time in the pool!
Fort Collins is just over an hour north of us, and the last big city in Colorado before you hit Wyoming. At just over 130,000 people, it's not really that big, either. But we're getting use to that. We had fun exploring. I especially liked the area around CSU. But then again, I always like areas around older college campuses. I like the character. I like the trees. I like the idea that there is so much energy around universities. I'm not sure I'd like living around all of those young, crazy college students, which is why I don't live by a university. But I like being near them. We drove around a lot. The bitter winds prevented us from doing much outside until the last day. Once my ears begin to hurt, I'm done.
But for all the fun of Fort Collins, the biggest draw for the kids was ......
the indoor pool!!!
How can you beat an indoor pool? Caitlin loves swimming, and asks me oh, about every other day when we can go to an inside pool. It doesn't help that the pools here close right after Labor Day, and that we drive by the closed pool on a frequent basis. Caitlin looks longingly out her window as we drive by..........
So, into the pool we went. Day after day. Luckily they were satisfied with an hour. And the Residence Inn was hardly crowded in the days before Thanksgiving, so we had the pool and hot tub to ourselves. The kids had their life jackets and goggles, and were set. I got to try out my new suit, bought during the Land's End bathing suit clearance and sent right after Labor Day (which is when all the outdoor pools close in Colorado). We got to get out of the house for a few days. We got to explore a new town. And we got to swim in a heated indoor pool. It was a fun time for the entire P-4 family!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Pronation
My ankles over-pronate. Meaning, they roll inward more than normal whenever I walk, putting all the stress on the soft tissue of my feet and extra stress on my big toe. More information than you wanted to know, I'm sure. According to the x-rays and podiatrist exams, it's just how I'm built and now needs to be corrected. This has been going on all my life, and explains so many of the problems I've had. It was interesting to have the podiatrist point out things that I *may* have experienced, and realizing during her talk that I've gone through most of what she talked about. The extreme pain, though, is a new thing. I have all the symptoms and pain of plantar fasciitis, caused by the pronation. About this time last year I started having a lot of pain in my feet. I wasn't sure what was going on, but thought it may have something to do with my clumsy episodes in spring of 2008, where I sprained my right foot and then, a month later, broke the toe (I think) on my left foot. In the fall, I started having huge amounts of pain in my feet, ankles, knees and hips. Getting up was painful. Walking was painful. Standing was painful. Grocery shopping was painful. Picking Brandon up from school was painful. About the only thing that wasn't painful was sitting on my a-double-s, and that is what I did (and I am paying for my suddenly sedentary lifestyle). But every step I took hurt. It still does. Finally, just last month, I made an appointment with a podiatrist. After exams and x-rays, it was determined that I don't have plantar fasciitis, or knee problems, or more broken toes (which was what prompted the appointment in the first place). I have over-pronating ankles, which are causing bone spurs on my heels, and a whole host of problems. And I need custom orthotics for my shoes.
Yay! A diagnosis!
Boo! Orthotics. Custom. Nothing like that just before turning 40 to help make me feel young (and poor. They're expensive!).
So here I am. I picked up the orthotics yesterday, just in time for our trip to Fort Collins. They're not big, but they do make my shoes fit differently. I'm not sure how many pairs of shoes I'm going to have to give away. No more Dansko's for me, or Bass, as far as I can tell. The shoes that have come recommended are all expensive, and range from "fine" to "even my grandfather wouldn't have worn that". Josef Seibel? Comfort shoes? I haven't found a pair yet that doesn't make me look like an old man in the 1970's. All I'm missing is the leisure suit. In peach.
I'm curious to see how this all goes. I've only worn the orthotics for a few hours, as I am suppose to build up my wearing time. Then I'm suppose to wear them all day. Even at home. In my slippers. I'm a barefoot kind of gal, and have never liked wearing shoes at home, so this will be interesting. I may need to convert my moccasins to house shoes so I can at least be comfortable at home. I feel so old. But if these help, I may be able to go for a walk without experiencing shooting pains in my heels, and up through my legs and hips. I may be able wake up in the morning and walk instead of fall. I may again be able to carry my own children down the stairs of my house (I had to give that one up a couple months ago due to fear of falling). I may walk without a limp. Even when I'm not limping, every step still hurts. It has for most of this year. And that I am completely willing to give up.
Yay! A diagnosis!
Boo! Orthotics. Custom. Nothing like that just before turning 40 to help make me feel young (and poor. They're expensive!).
So here I am. I picked up the orthotics yesterday, just in time for our trip to Fort Collins. They're not big, but they do make my shoes fit differently. I'm not sure how many pairs of shoes I'm going to have to give away. No more Dansko's for me, or Bass, as far as I can tell. The shoes that have come recommended are all expensive, and range from "fine" to "even my grandfather wouldn't have worn that". Josef Seibel? Comfort shoes? I haven't found a pair yet that doesn't make me look like an old man in the 1970's. All I'm missing is the leisure suit. In peach.
I'm curious to see how this all goes. I've only worn the orthotics for a few hours, as I am suppose to build up my wearing time. Then I'm suppose to wear them all day. Even at home. In my slippers. I'm a barefoot kind of gal, and have never liked wearing shoes at home, so this will be interesting. I may need to convert my moccasins to house shoes so I can at least be comfortable at home. I feel so old. But if these help, I may be able to go for a walk without experiencing shooting pains in my heels, and up through my legs and hips. I may be able wake up in the morning and walk instead of fall. I may again be able to carry my own children down the stairs of my house (I had to give that one up a couple months ago due to fear of falling). I may walk without a limp. Even when I'm not limping, every step still hurts. It has for most of this year. And that I am completely willing to give up.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Jammies?
Caitlin has declared today to be a pajama day. Meaning she gets to wear pajamas all day. But we have a foot of new snow outside. Let's hope that a trip to the local mall makes her change her mind. These kids will need to run around somewhere today! And she doesn't get to wear footie jammies out into the snow with her boots!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Vampire Teeth
Aaahh, the joys of 25 cent vampire teeth at the after Halloween sale at King Soopers:
Scary, aren't they?
Scary, aren't they?
Monday, November 09, 2009
Dentist
November 2nd was Caitlin's first dental appointment - and Brandon's second. It's been a long while since I took Brandon to the dentist. March, 2007, in California, to be exact. I'm not sure why I've avoided the dentist. Probably because it's just been one more thing to do on my already long list of things to do!
The kids were very good. Although there was a kid's room at the dental office - complete with two sit-down Pac-Man games and a flat-screen TV playing DVD's, the kids wanted to be together. Caitlin went in first, and was such a big girl during her 360 degree dental x-ray, and all the individual x-rays. I truly think she wants to be a big girl, and things like going to the dentist, wearing her lead vest, and behaving well put her up a notch closer to that category. She then moved on to the dental office, where she waited for her first exam. After Caitlin's x-rays were done, Brandon moved on in to the x-ray room. He was just as good, being still for his 360 degree x-ray, and doing all the right stuff for his other x-rays and pictures. Caitlin went down in ranking from her "extremely good girl" status to "not so great" when she wouldn't stay in the exam room. The rooms were right next to each other, but yet she kept popping out, or having to go down the hall for unknown, mysterious reasons. I spent a good chunk of time following after her and leading her back to the exam room. After the dentist came in for her exam, she managed to stay put - even holding the suctioning device for the hygenist. She got to wear sunglasses during the exam, and for some reason, looked like a biker chick to me! Brandon, of course, was completely fine. He was excellent for our dentist back in California when he was 3 1/2, and I doubted he would have regressed now that he's older!
It was an experience for me, too. The 360 degree x-ray shows the kids' whole mouths. Not only can you see their jaws and teeth that are visible, but you can see all the adult teeth and molars hiding up in the gums, just waiting to come down. And they're big, too! Brandon's 12 year molars are already showing, along with Caitlin's 6 year molars. It's pretty amazing. On my own x-ray from my appointment a week earlier, I could see where my sinuses connect to my jaws, which explains why all my teeth hurt when I get a head cold or allergies. If it affects my sinuses, my teeth just ache! All our x-rays looked like something out of a horror movie, but they were fascinating!
Their results were good, too. No cavities for either kid. Not even an hint of a cavity. Caitlin did have some tartar issues. Brandon must take after me, as he had hardly any tartar on his teeth at all. The dentist noted that Brandon may not ever need orthodontic work. His teeth are evenly spaced and very straight, with plenty of room to house the adult teeth and molars that are already there on the x-ray. So far there aren't any wisdom tooth buds, so he may not have to worry about those, either. Of course, mine didn't come in until I was in college, and I got them out in my late twenties. Caitlin, on the other hand, already has a crossbite, which will need to be orthodontically treated when she's older. It's an even crossbite - as if her upper jaw shifted to one side. But it will reshape her jaws and teeth if not treated at some point. Her teeth don't have a lot of space between them like Brandon's, so there's no telling if her adult teeth will be straight when they come in, or crooked due to lack of space. I guess I should start putting money aside for braces now that I know she'll need them at some point!
You can see more pictures of the kid at the dentist on my picture site here.
The kids were very good. Although there was a kid's room at the dental office - complete with two sit-down Pac-Man games and a flat-screen TV playing DVD's, the kids wanted to be together. Caitlin went in first, and was such a big girl during her 360 degree dental x-ray, and all the individual x-rays. I truly think she wants to be a big girl, and things like going to the dentist, wearing her lead vest, and behaving well put her up a notch closer to that category. She then moved on to the dental office, where she waited for her first exam. After Caitlin's x-rays were done, Brandon moved on in to the x-ray room. He was just as good, being still for his 360 degree x-ray, and doing all the right stuff for his other x-rays and pictures. Caitlin went down in ranking from her "extremely good girl" status to "not so great" when she wouldn't stay in the exam room. The rooms were right next to each other, but yet she kept popping out, or having to go down the hall for unknown, mysterious reasons. I spent a good chunk of time following after her and leading her back to the exam room. After the dentist came in for her exam, she managed to stay put - even holding the suctioning device for the hygenist. She got to wear sunglasses during the exam, and for some reason, looked like a biker chick to me! Brandon, of course, was completely fine. He was excellent for our dentist back in California when he was 3 1/2, and I doubted he would have regressed now that he's older!
It was an experience for me, too. The 360 degree x-ray shows the kids' whole mouths. Not only can you see their jaws and teeth that are visible, but you can see all the adult teeth and molars hiding up in the gums, just waiting to come down. And they're big, too! Brandon's 12 year molars are already showing, along with Caitlin's 6 year molars. It's pretty amazing. On my own x-ray from my appointment a week earlier, I could see where my sinuses connect to my jaws, which explains why all my teeth hurt when I get a head cold or allergies. If it affects my sinuses, my teeth just ache! All our x-rays looked like something out of a horror movie, but they were fascinating!
Their results were good, too. No cavities for either kid. Not even an hint of a cavity. Caitlin did have some tartar issues. Brandon must take after me, as he had hardly any tartar on his teeth at all. The dentist noted that Brandon may not ever need orthodontic work. His teeth are evenly spaced and very straight, with plenty of room to house the adult teeth and molars that are already there on the x-ray. So far there aren't any wisdom tooth buds, so he may not have to worry about those, either. Of course, mine didn't come in until I was in college, and I got them out in my late twenties. Caitlin, on the other hand, already has a crossbite, which will need to be orthodontically treated when she's older. It's an even crossbite - as if her upper jaw shifted to one side. But it will reshape her jaws and teeth if not treated at some point. Her teeth don't have a lot of space between them like Brandon's, so there's no telling if her adult teeth will be straight when they come in, or crooked due to lack of space. I guess I should start putting money aside for braces now that I know she'll need them at some point!
You can see more pictures of the kid at the dentist on my picture site here.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
What? November?
In order to save myself some stress this year, I decided not to do write every day in November. Last year I kind of didn't want to do it. My sister was getting married, and both kids were in the wedding. I knew we'd be flying out to California at the end of the month, and would be there for a week. But I did it anyway, and hated almost every minute of it. Trying to come up with new and interesting things to report. Fun family pictures. All the while trying not to be depressing, as I have been told my blog is depressing.
But now I keep not writing. Not telling you what's going on. Have I lost interest? I'm not sure. Maybe there isn't a lot to write about. Maybe the early mornings, late nights, trying to get Caitlin to nap and getting Brandon to do homework are too much. Maybe I can't handle First grade.
To tell the truth, even though we've been busy, it hasn't been interesting. Every morning I get up, get ready, get the kids up, head to the school.......... it's all the same. Some days I drive to Boulder to drop Caitlin and the carpool off at preschool. Some days I pick her and the carpool up. Every day at 2:30 I have to be at Brandon's school to pick him up. Everyday he runs out yelling "Mommy, Mommy!" and give me a big hug around the legs. Then we head to the playground to play off some excess energy. Sometimes the days blend together and I am surprised by the end of the week, but more often they don't.
So, what have we been up to:
Halloween! So much fun for the kids this year. Brandon was a western sheriff, and Caitlin was a ghost. We went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood for the first time ever. It was a real treat. I did have to leave half way to take Caitlin home to Brian. Luckily, Brandon got to continue on with friends and I met up with them a little while later. We now have more candy than any one person should eat in a year.
School! Brandon loves First Grade. He had a hard time adjusting to the work and the hours (we're at school before 8:00 am every morning), but has it down now. Let's hope the holidays don't screw that up! Caitlin just loves preschool. I sometimes wonder if two mornings a week is enough for her, but I think we're doing good. Monday is our only free morning together, and it seems to work well. Caitlin feels like such a big girl at school, and always wants to do Brandon's homework with him. At this rate, she'll be doing multiplication before kindergarten!
Candy Land! Caitlin's into Candy Land. Pray for me. I've played more Candy Land this week than I have in the last year.
Organizing! It's time for "the change". Brandon's kind of outgrowing his size 5 clothes, but is not quite into size 6, so I've been going through his stuff and adding and subtracting clothes. I've also put away summer things and moved straight into winter stuff (although the temperatures this week were in the low 70's!). Caitlin is moving into some size 4's already. My room is a mess of boxes and clothes as we pull out the old and hang up the new. Add to that the fact that I was once again thinking of living in a small house, and I can't resist the urge to start going through our stuff again.
So, now you are up to date on our little household. Exciting, isn't it?
But now I keep not writing. Not telling you what's going on. Have I lost interest? I'm not sure. Maybe there isn't a lot to write about. Maybe the early mornings, late nights, trying to get Caitlin to nap and getting Brandon to do homework are too much. Maybe I can't handle First grade.
To tell the truth, even though we've been busy, it hasn't been interesting. Every morning I get up, get ready, get the kids up, head to the school.......... it's all the same. Some days I drive to Boulder to drop Caitlin and the carpool off at preschool. Some days I pick her and the carpool up. Every day at 2:30 I have to be at Brandon's school to pick him up. Everyday he runs out yelling "Mommy, Mommy!" and give me a big hug around the legs. Then we head to the playground to play off some excess energy. Sometimes the days blend together and I am surprised by the end of the week, but more often they don't.
So, what have we been up to:
Halloween! So much fun for the kids this year. Brandon was a western sheriff, and Caitlin was a ghost. We went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood for the first time ever. It was a real treat. I did have to leave half way to take Caitlin home to Brian. Luckily, Brandon got to continue on with friends and I met up with them a little while later. We now have more candy than any one person should eat in a year.
School! Brandon loves First Grade. He had a hard time adjusting to the work and the hours (we're at school before 8:00 am every morning), but has it down now. Let's hope the holidays don't screw that up! Caitlin just loves preschool. I sometimes wonder if two mornings a week is enough for her, but I think we're doing good. Monday is our only free morning together, and it seems to work well. Caitlin feels like such a big girl at school, and always wants to do Brandon's homework with him. At this rate, she'll be doing multiplication before kindergarten!
Candy Land! Caitlin's into Candy Land. Pray for me. I've played more Candy Land this week than I have in the last year.
Organizing! It's time for "the change". Brandon's kind of outgrowing his size 5 clothes, but is not quite into size 6, so I've been going through his stuff and adding and subtracting clothes. I've also put away summer things and moved straight into winter stuff (although the temperatures this week were in the low 70's!). Caitlin is moving into some size 4's already. My room is a mess of boxes and clothes as we pull out the old and hang up the new. Add to that the fact that I was once again thinking of living in a small house, and I can't resist the urge to start going through our stuff again.
So, now you are up to date on our little household. Exciting, isn't it?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
I'm Dreaming of a White Halloween
Here's the view we woke up to this morning- 21 inches of snow. And it's still snowing.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Snow
It's snowing now. An inch already. The news reports say 10-20 inches in the next 24 hours. And more snow on Thursday night. I'm just hoping this doesn't ruin Halloween for the kids. This is the first Halloween that has really mattered to Brandon. And to Caitlin, but I don't think it matters as much to her as it does to him. Snow never seems to stop much around here, so the show will go on. It might just go on in snowboots instead of cowboy boots!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Pumpkin Patch (Sort of )
Pumpkin patches here in Colorado are on farms. There are no cute corner lots. No games. No trains to ride. No pumpkins sitting nicely on straw bales. No fresh produce in the little stand on the way out. Nothing like the one that we use to visit yearly back in California. Here you go out the farm and walk the rows and rows of pumpkins, most still attached to the vines, trying to find one that suits you. It's an arduous, cold, and sometimes very dirty process, depending on what the weather has been like recently. Two years ago I went with Brandon's preschool to the pumpkin patch. We drove over 20 miles to go to a farm up outside of Longmont. The kids loved the tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch. And all the mud from the rain storm the day before. I did laundry right after we got home.Brian and I decided to take the kids to a local pumpkin patch today. A "You Pick 'Em" patch - which we were unaware of until the woman at the entrance handed us a little pumpkin saw to detach our prizes from the vine. We drove out onto the farm, parked, and proceeded to inspect our pumpkins. The colder temps we've had, along with snow and freezing temperatures we experienced the first week of October have not been friendly to the local pumpkin crop. Most of the pumpkins were either rotting, or had some serious soft spots. It was a project and a half trying to find a decent one. It turned our pumpkin patch adventure from one where were just looking for a nice pumpkin to a serious search where were had to find pumpkins that not only looked and felt good (ie: no soft spots), and that we thought might last until Friday night's pumpkin carving party (Caitlin got a little pumpkin during her field trip last week that has already been relegated to the garbage pail due to rotting). Combine that with a cold front blowing in and attempting not to trip over the tangled mass of pumpkin vines, and you had quite a different outing than what I've experienced in California at the Spina Farms patch, or Half Moon Bay. I can see the value of both, but city patches (the fake ones, as people here tell me) are a lot easier. And cleaner.
All in all, we did manage to find two pumpkins that will work, provided they don't rot before Friday. I'm keeping them in the house, though, since we are expected to get snow tomorrow and more freezing temperatures overnight and next week. I bought one at Sunflower Farmer's Market last week. That's our "just in case" pumpkin. Just in case the other two don't make it. The kids seemed to have fun (except when they got caught in the sticker patches, or tripped on vines). Brian inspected about 200 pumpkins, no exaggeration, and I played photographer. Mothers must get the quintessential cute-kids-at-the-pumpkin-patch pictures, you know. Just ignore all the dirt in ours. And the storm rolling in!
For more pictures, click here.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
October 16th
October 16th - last year
October 16th - this year
My what a difference a cold snap and snow in early October can make!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Two Year Anniversary
Lots of anniversaries this year for us. I've celebrated 2 years in Colorado in May, 6 years of gainful unemployment in August, 10 years of marriage in February, and now 2 years in our current house. We moved two years ago today.
I don't remember much about that weekend. Brian was gone the week before and the week after, but did manage to get back home right before we moved. He was suppose to on another business trip the day after our move, but his boss called him that night and told him to move his ticket to Sunday and stay at home another day. :-) I was busy packing, packing and doing more packing. We purged before we left California, only bought what was necessary for our awful little rental place after we moved here, and it still seemed like we owned far too much. The packing seemed excessive, even though at least a third of our belongings had not even been unpacked in our rental. It was badly laid out, and there wasn't room for our stuff - even though it was about 150 square feet bigger. Plus, we were hoping to move quickly. Oh how I hated that place. I've never missed it. Not once. Maybe the packing was getting to me because it was the second time in 5 months that we'd be moving. Or because I was exhausted. Who knows. I did contemplate having a bonfire of boxes to celebrate the move. Instead, I put them up as a freebie on Craigslist. Amazingly, it took weeks to get rid of the boxes! Not at all what I was use to!
So, what's changed in two years? Not much, as far as the house is concerned. The walls still look the same. Our bedroom is still green. We got furniture for the living room and a bed for the basement. Our life outside the house is a little different. Brandon finished preschool and started kindergarten at the local public school, which is half a mile away instead of 6 miles.That was a nice change. We've made a few friends, although community here seems hard to come by. The kids have gotten older. Caitlin has now lived over half her life in Colorado. She asks questions about California, but I doubt she really remembers it. Colorado has yet to feel like home, but I'm not pining for California, either. I miss my family and the friends we had. I miss the beach and the lovely green winters and the diversity. Don't miss the government, the over crowing, or the inability to talk to my neighbors because we don't speak the same language. Living in middle America is different. I'm slowly getting use to it. I've worn nothing but jeans for days! But I'm still not into football, the Broncos, or beer. And I miss people. It's a little creepy being the only person in a store in the mornings!
So here we are, in our little house (by Colorado standards). I like my house. And my backyard. Got some weird neighbors, but who doesn't? Happy two year anniversary to us!
I don't remember much about that weekend. Brian was gone the week before and the week after, but did manage to get back home right before we moved. He was suppose to on another business trip the day after our move, but his boss called him that night and told him to move his ticket to Sunday and stay at home another day. :-) I was busy packing, packing and doing more packing. We purged before we left California, only bought what was necessary for our awful little rental place after we moved here, and it still seemed like we owned far too much. The packing seemed excessive, even though at least a third of our belongings had not even been unpacked in our rental. It was badly laid out, and there wasn't room for our stuff - even though it was about 150 square feet bigger. Plus, we were hoping to move quickly. Oh how I hated that place. I've never missed it. Not once. Maybe the packing was getting to me because it was the second time in 5 months that we'd be moving. Or because I was exhausted. Who knows. I did contemplate having a bonfire of boxes to celebrate the move. Instead, I put them up as a freebie on Craigslist. Amazingly, it took weeks to get rid of the boxes! Not at all what I was use to!
So, what's changed in two years? Not much, as far as the house is concerned. The walls still look the same. Our bedroom is still green. We got furniture for the living room and a bed for the basement. Our life outside the house is a little different. Brandon finished preschool and started kindergarten at the local public school, which is half a mile away instead of 6 miles.That was a nice change. We've made a few friends, although community here seems hard to come by. The kids have gotten older. Caitlin has now lived over half her life in Colorado. She asks questions about California, but I doubt she really remembers it. Colorado has yet to feel like home, but I'm not pining for California, either. I miss my family and the friends we had. I miss the beach and the lovely green winters and the diversity. Don't miss the government, the over crowing, or the inability to talk to my neighbors because we don't speak the same language. Living in middle America is different. I'm slowly getting use to it. I've worn nothing but jeans for days! But I'm still not into football, the Broncos, or beer. And I miss people. It's a little creepy being the only person in a store in the mornings!
So here we are, in our little house (by Colorado standards). I like my house. And my backyard. Got some weird neighbors, but who doesn't? Happy two year anniversary to us!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Winter in Fall
October 10, 2009Woke up to 18 degrees and snowing! Hello? It's October!!! Just because I said I was ready for fall didn't necessarily mean that I was ready for winter! I was just ready for the heat of summer to be done. It's not a lot of snow, just enough to coat our back deck and be visible. It's strange to see the leaves that have started to turn sitting on top of the newly fallen snow.
Colorado weather is strange. As long as you don't mind the unexpected, it's all fine and good. The first summer here in 2007 was hot with lots of thunderstorms. The second summer was just hot, with the only rain being a weekend in August that was 50 degrees and drizzle for 3 straight days. Wrecked all the pumpkins last year. This year's summer was just about perfect. Cooler June and most of July. Temps got up to the mid '80's in late July and August, with lots of thunderstorms. The annual fall cool down started in mid-September. Our first winter here was cold and icy. Not a lot of snow during each snowfall, but snow on the ground for months. I think I bundled up and put on boots every morning in winter to take Brandon to school. Last winter was mild, except for a bout of almost record breaking cold in December, when the lows were 19 below zero, and highs were around zero for a week or two. Then, in March and April we were hit by blizzards that dumped 18 inches of wet snow on our house in under 24 hours! This winter --- who knows? I'm expecting cold and snowy, but that's only because this whole year seems to have been on the cooler and wetter side. But what do I know? I live in Colorado. Best to just not expect anything!
Luckily Brian made chocolate chip waffles and coffee for me this morning. And the weather report said the temperatures for the middle of next week are suppose to be a good 40 to 50 degrees warmer. For now I'll just turn on the fireplace and maybe make some hot cocoa for dessert. I'm resisting putting on Christmas music. It seems a little strange with all the fall decorations and pumpkins around the house! But the weather feels like December.
Diaperless Nap Times
We have achieved a little victory in the P-4 household. Caitlin is no longer wearing a pull-up when she naps! Yeah for Caitlin!
A couple of weeks ago Caitlin started making noises about not wanting to wear her pull-ups when she took a nap. She would occasionally wake up dry, but it was *very* occasional, so I ignored her requests. Then it dawned on me that it was only after she'd made the decision to be potty trained right after she turned 3 that she had any success at all (of course, she'd also made that decision at 2 1/2, while on vacation, without much luck). Anyway, I went to the store and got a shower curtain liner for the floor. Caitlin has been napping, and mostly sleeping on her floor since early June. Why, I don't know. Our carpet is nice and padded, but certainly no substitute for a mattress! One can buy a waterproof mattress pad, but not a waterproof carpet! So, in an effort to minimize my daily maid duties, I spread the shower curtain liner on the floor, put a blanket on top of it, and she curled up and took a nap. And guess what - no wet pants! That was September 30th. Every nap since then has been dry. Doesn't matter if they are one hour or two. I'm so impressed! Let's hope this is it! Her constant rash, one that looks awful, is also clearing up. We've long suspected she was allergic to Pull-Ups, but even after we quit them, the rash never cleared up without help. I think getting rid of the mid-day diaper is also helping the rash clear up. Hopefully, in the near future we can get rid of the shower liner, too. Or I can convince her to sleep in her bed. The smell of the plastic - ugh- it's killing me! Caitlin has certainly not been the easiest to potty train!
I never wrote about Brandon's potty training here, since it happened before I started blogging. He was ready to go, and kept talking about wanting to not wear a diaper right about the time I was about to give birth to Caitlin. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to handle a newborn and a potty-training toddler all the same time. I don't regret my decision. We thought we'd missed the window with Brandon, but two months later he was ready again, and we went for it. Once he got the hang of it all, he was done. He was 2 1/2. A month later, after weeks of dry naps and many discussions with a friend with more kids than me, Brandon went diaperless during his nap. Golden. In another 6 weeks, after countless dry nights, we were done there, too. This was three months before his third birthday. We were done! I boxed up the remaining diapers and pull-ups (and we had a lot), and focused on how to keep Brandon's pants up without the extra padding of the diapers (he was a skinny boy then, too!).
Many, many people told me how easy I had it with Brandon. I'm no fool - I knew he was a mellow child. Still, when you're potty training your first child you really have nothing to compare it to. Caitlin was always my problem diaper child. Allergic to everything, blowing out of the diapers, and unpredictable (for example, Brandon didn't poop anywhere but at home. Caitlin thought that anywhere was fine!). It seems, though, that when Caitlin makes the decisions, she really wants to do it. And I just need to say "okay". I'm thrilled! And the rash going away is such a bonus! I've gone back to the Seventh Generation chlorine free diapers as a precaution, just in case the Pull-Ups aren't the reason.
Now Caitlin's starting to make noises about not wearing a diaper at night. I'm not sure I'm ready for that just yet. Brian's in business travel mode, which means I'm alone with the kids for a while. It also means I'm worn out. Early mornings, late evenings, and doing everything else in between by myself just aggravate my chronically fatigued body even more, and I don't think I'm ready for a lot of late night pajama changes! So, I'll see how much she talks about it. I hope it's coming soon. She's almost 4. It would be a nice Christmas present to have a diaper-free house!
A couple of weeks ago Caitlin started making noises about not wanting to wear her pull-ups when she took a nap. She would occasionally wake up dry, but it was *very* occasional, so I ignored her requests. Then it dawned on me that it was only after she'd made the decision to be potty trained right after she turned 3 that she had any success at all (of course, she'd also made that decision at 2 1/2, while on vacation, without much luck). Anyway, I went to the store and got a shower curtain liner for the floor. Caitlin has been napping, and mostly sleeping on her floor since early June. Why, I don't know. Our carpet is nice and padded, but certainly no substitute for a mattress! One can buy a waterproof mattress pad, but not a waterproof carpet! So, in an effort to minimize my daily maid duties, I spread the shower curtain liner on the floor, put a blanket on top of it, and she curled up and took a nap. And guess what - no wet pants! That was September 30th. Every nap since then has been dry. Doesn't matter if they are one hour or two. I'm so impressed! Let's hope this is it! Her constant rash, one that looks awful, is also clearing up. We've long suspected she was allergic to Pull-Ups, but even after we quit them, the rash never cleared up without help. I think getting rid of the mid-day diaper is also helping the rash clear up. Hopefully, in the near future we can get rid of the shower liner, too. Or I can convince her to sleep in her bed. The smell of the plastic - ugh- it's killing me! Caitlin has certainly not been the easiest to potty train!
I never wrote about Brandon's potty training here, since it happened before I started blogging. He was ready to go, and kept talking about wanting to not wear a diaper right about the time I was about to give birth to Caitlin. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to handle a newborn and a potty-training toddler all the same time. I don't regret my decision. We thought we'd missed the window with Brandon, but two months later he was ready again, and we went for it. Once he got the hang of it all, he was done. He was 2 1/2. A month later, after weeks of dry naps and many discussions with a friend with more kids than me, Brandon went diaperless during his nap. Golden. In another 6 weeks, after countless dry nights, we were done there, too. This was three months before his third birthday. We were done! I boxed up the remaining diapers and pull-ups (and we had a lot), and focused on how to keep Brandon's pants up without the extra padding of the diapers (he was a skinny boy then, too!).
Many, many people told me how easy I had it with Brandon. I'm no fool - I knew he was a mellow child. Still, when you're potty training your first child you really have nothing to compare it to. Caitlin was always my problem diaper child. Allergic to everything, blowing out of the diapers, and unpredictable (for example, Brandon didn't poop anywhere but at home. Caitlin thought that anywhere was fine!). It seems, though, that when Caitlin makes the decisions, she really wants to do it. And I just need to say "okay". I'm thrilled! And the rash going away is such a bonus! I've gone back to the Seventh Generation chlorine free diapers as a precaution, just in case the Pull-Ups aren't the reason.
Now Caitlin's starting to make noises about not wearing a diaper at night. I'm not sure I'm ready for that just yet. Brian's in business travel mode, which means I'm alone with the kids for a while. It also means I'm worn out. Early mornings, late evenings, and doing everything else in between by myself just aggravate my chronically fatigued body even more, and I don't think I'm ready for a lot of late night pajama changes! So, I'll see how much she talks about it. I hope it's coming soon. She's almost 4. It would be a nice Christmas present to have a diaper-free house!
Friday, October 02, 2009
The Outfit of the Day
Caitlin wore this outfit all day yesterday (click on it to enlarge. You'll need to this to fully appreciate the pattern combination):
Which was only enhanced in greatness when she put on this sweatshirt to combat the cold, windy weather:
I suggested putting on a black skirt or shorts, but she refused. The pink striped shorts were prettier, she said.
I'm hoping that all the people who saw her yesterday are fully aware that she dressed her herself, with no help from her mom.
On the bright side, she did dress herself without any help. And she wore appropriate clothing for the cold weather.
Which was only enhanced in greatness when she put on this sweatshirt to combat the cold, windy weather:
I suggested putting on a black skirt or shorts, but she refused. The pink striped shorts were prettier, she said.
I'm hoping that all the people who saw her yesterday are fully aware that she dressed her herself, with no help from her mom.
On the bright side, she did dress herself without any help. And she wore appropriate clothing for the cold weather.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Still Dragging
Man, two days after the birthday party, and I'm still dragging. The joys of chronic fatigue. Not only do I get really tired, but things that should be routine take days to recover from. I'm not sure if I need to visit a coffee shop this afternoon or what. Caitlin and I needed to get out of the house this morning. I was in serious danger of falling asleep on the floor. That, plus the urge to clean up the mess from the weekend and get the house in order were gnawing at my brain. If I succumb to that today I may be too tired to wake up tomorrow!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Birthday Party
Wow - 10 days since my last post. We're still around. I'm still here. I'm just tired. Every time I think that we (meaning me and the kids) have adjusted to our new schedule, I'm reminded in so many tangible ways that I'm wrong!! Brandon's birthday was yet another reminder of how unprepared I've been lately.
Over the summer the local bowling alley ran a $2.00 per game special if you got there before 5 pm. We went one day at 4:45 and the whole family did two games. Our total bill, including shoes, was $22.00, I think. It was cheap. It was fun. The kids had a blast all through game one, and about halfway through game two. It was a fun thing we did as a family. On the way home Brandon announced that he wanted to have his birthday party there - well, either the bowling alley or the roller skating rink. The bowling alley was closer, and Caitlin doesn't cry at the music like she does at the roller rink.
So, off we go.....
Even thought it was at the bowling alley, I still had to prepare a few things. Goody bags and cupcakes were on the agenda. I'm a little tired of goody bags. They may go out the door in the future. I just can't see the point! But I did them this time for posterity, complete with mini-bubbles and glow sticks! Then there were the cupcakes! I had forgotten until the evening before that I was in charge of bringing cake. It was easy to forget, as the general rule at the bowling alley is no outside food allowed, except cake during birthday parties. So, due to a lot of frozen butter and short supply of sugar, I was at Safeway this morning buying cupcakes. I left with 36 of them. Yes, you read that right. 36. We only had 11 kids there! I got in my car and started to back out of the parking space before realizing how unnecessary those numbers were and returned a dozen cupcakes! Luckily the store took them back! Probably because only 5 minutes had passed since I purchased them.
Other things, besides the cupcakes, that I seemed unprepared for:
The bowling alley
While I did pay them to set up a party and provide us with food and fun, they assumed I was in charge and did nothing until I asked. I'm not use to this. No instructions. No "what is expected of the kids". No bowling guidelines. And the food was late (which was hard, since that was suppose to be the first order of business)! We did manage to keep the kids entertained by opening gifts. Little kids are almost as excited to give gifts as to receive them! It was cute.
The arcade
No, I did not know there were arcade games there. I would have brought quarters. Especially in light of the late food (see above).
Shoelaces
We had reservations about a couple of the kids that Brandon wanted to invite. The mere thought of those particular kids with bowling balls brought fear to our hearts. But never once did the horrific thought of shoelaces enter my mind! And how most kids Brandon's age have always worn velcro shoes and don't know how to tie shoelaces anymore! 20 shoes to tie. It took a while.
Shoes
No, I don't know all the sizes. Help! And returning them was another thing to keep in mind. Only one pair of shoes left the alley, which the parents returned later in the day.
In as much as I complain, we had a fun time. Brandon was so excited and happy he could hardly contain himself. Brian and I are grateful for the parents that stayed, since many kids needed a little help with aiming, bowling technique, and being told not to jump off the benches. The pizza was better than at most places, and we only left with 4 cupcakes!
And Brandon had his happy birthday party, which is what it was all about!
Over the summer the local bowling alley ran a $2.00 per game special if you got there before 5 pm. We went one day at 4:45 and the whole family did two games. Our total bill, including shoes, was $22.00, I think. It was cheap. It was fun. The kids had a blast all through game one, and about halfway through game two. It was a fun thing we did as a family. On the way home Brandon announced that he wanted to have his birthday party there - well, either the bowling alley or the roller skating rink. The bowling alley was closer, and Caitlin doesn't cry at the music like she does at the roller rink.
So, off we go.....
Even thought it was at the bowling alley, I still had to prepare a few things. Goody bags and cupcakes were on the agenda. I'm a little tired of goody bags. They may go out the door in the future. I just can't see the point! But I did them this time for posterity, complete with mini-bubbles and glow sticks! Then there were the cupcakes! I had forgotten until the evening before that I was in charge of bringing cake. It was easy to forget, as the general rule at the bowling alley is no outside food allowed, except cake during birthday parties. So, due to a lot of frozen butter and short supply of sugar, I was at Safeway this morning buying cupcakes. I left with 36 of them. Yes, you read that right. 36. We only had 11 kids there! I got in my car and started to back out of the parking space before realizing how unnecessary those numbers were and returned a dozen cupcakes! Luckily the store took them back! Probably because only 5 minutes had passed since I purchased them.
Other things, besides the cupcakes, that I seemed unprepared for:
The bowling alley
While I did pay them to set up a party and provide us with food and fun, they assumed I was in charge and did nothing until I asked. I'm not use to this. No instructions. No "what is expected of the kids". No bowling guidelines. And the food was late (which was hard, since that was suppose to be the first order of business)! We did manage to keep the kids entertained by opening gifts. Little kids are almost as excited to give gifts as to receive them! It was cute.
The arcade
No, I did not know there were arcade games there. I would have brought quarters. Especially in light of the late food (see above).
Shoelaces
We had reservations about a couple of the kids that Brandon wanted to invite. The mere thought of those particular kids with bowling balls brought fear to our hearts. But never once did the horrific thought of shoelaces enter my mind! And how most kids Brandon's age have always worn velcro shoes and don't know how to tie shoelaces anymore! 20 shoes to tie. It took a while.
Shoes
No, I don't know all the sizes. Help! And returning them was another thing to keep in mind. Only one pair of shoes left the alley, which the parents returned later in the day.
In as much as I complain, we had a fun time. Brandon was so excited and happy he could hardly contain himself. Brian and I are grateful for the parents that stayed, since many kids needed a little help with aiming, bowling technique, and being told not to jump off the benches. The pizza was better than at most places, and we only left with 4 cupcakes!
And Brandon had his happy birthday party, which is what it was all about!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Happy 6th Birthday, Brandon
Six years ago today, at this hour, I was probably in the hospital in labor with my firstborn. Aahh, what memories. Painful memories (in a literal sense).
This morning, while Brandon was getting dressed for school, his zipper got stuck. He struggled and struggled with it. When I offered to help, he retorted with "I totally *do not* need your help, Mom!"
So much for turning 6 today. I think he's turning 13 and is just really short for his age.
This morning, while Brandon was getting dressed for school, his zipper got stuck. He struggled and struggled with it. When I offered to help, he retorted with "I totally *do not* need your help, Mom!"
So much for turning 6 today. I think he's turning 13 and is just really short for his age.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Caitlin and the Dime
Tonight, as I was putting her diaper on for bed, Caitlin looked up at me with big, sorrowful eyes and said "Mommy, I don't want to talk to you." I wasn't sure why she would say that, so I treated it lightly and said "Why, honey. Don't you like me anymore?" Caitlin answered with "I love you Mommy. I just don't want to tell you." "Tell me what, sweetie." "That I swallowed the money."
A few minutes earlier Caitlin had found a Canadian dime on the floor. We didn't come home with much change, but we did have some change on us, and the kids took to it immediately. They get money from time to time, but have not put it in their mouths (at least not that I'm aware of).
So now I have a preschooler laying up in her room with a dime in her tummy. Should I be worried? There is no after-hours pediatric nurse at the pediatric office. Should I wait until morning to call? Should I try harder to find answers? Brandon didn't do stuff like this. Then again, Caitlin hasn't either. I just don't know.
I'll keep you updated.
A few minutes earlier Caitlin had found a Canadian dime on the floor. We didn't come home with much change, but we did have some change on us, and the kids took to it immediately. They get money from time to time, but have not put it in their mouths (at least not that I'm aware of).
So now I have a preschooler laying up in her room with a dime in her tummy. Should I be worried? There is no after-hours pediatric nurse at the pediatric office. Should I wait until morning to call? Should I try harder to find answers? Brandon didn't do stuff like this. Then again, Caitlin hasn't either. I just don't know.
I'll keep you updated.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
People Of Wal-Mart
People of Wal-Mart. Have you seen this one? Makes me feel very, very normal. And glad that I don't work at Wal-Mart.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Homework
Brandon has had one homework assignment so far - picking out a reading place in the house. He needed to do a good quality drawing of that place (according to the sheet), and answer several questions. The first question was "What room are you in?" (where is your special reading spot). His answer- "My bedroom". Another questions was "What will help you focus?" Brandon's answer - "my sister not in my room." Although I couldn't agree more, these were his unprompted words, not mine. My mom, a former preschool teacher, had a great idea of having Caitlin do her own homework, and got her a large basic skills comprehension book at Costco, with tear-out pages. Each time Brandon does his homework, Caitlin can do hers. Brandon has never really been excited about the prospect of homework, but Caitlin couldn't wait to do hers!! She was very intent on coloring all the yellow objects, and stayed inside the lines better than Brandon did at the same age.
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