Silly me!

I seem to pack a lot of activities into some days and leave other days with no outings at all. I am not sure how that always seems to happen! But, today we went to our last music class. I am sort of sad about it. Jayden has really enjoyed music class for the most part. He may not always seem to be paying attention to what is happening, but he always walks out with some song rolling off his tongue. We have been playing the hiding game a lot lately and he always wants me to sing the song we learned in class. I think he has demonstrated that the program had great value for him. Eliana seems to really like it too. I will continue to take her to class in the fall even if Jayden can't come with. Since Jayden is on the waiting list for preschool, I can't say for sure when he will get in and whether or not he is going to be attending music class or preschool. I guess we have to wait and see.

Anyway, I said we pack a lot in on some days...We went to Bonfante Gardens after music class today. It was a little warmer than I expected, but I don't know why I expected it to be less than hot. It was GILROY for God's sake! Nevertheless, we had a great time. We met Fernanda, Santiago, Xaree, Ivana, Marek, and Mira there. Sorry Cristina couldn't make it. Poor Vincent had a nasty fever last night. Well wishes y'all! We went on several rides (Jayden enjoyed the boat ride so much that we stayed on for a second go-around!); had a nice lunch in the air-conditioned restaurant; visited the water play where the kids had a blast and got absolutely soaked; played a game on the midway (Jayden chose to go fishing and he WON!); and decided it was time to head home. Well, stupid, silly, dinghy me!! I left my lights on when we got to the park. My battery was too low to start the car. So, I called Fernanda to see if she had jumper cables--which she did not. Then, I went to the Guest Services counter to see if they had a guy out there just for this sort of thing (I can't be the only moron out there!) but they don't. So, I called AAA and they said they would be about an hour. More time out in the hot hot sun! Luckily, I was smart enough to pack some water bottles. Eliana was a really thirsty girl. She drank about 1/2 a bottle while we were waiting. We went back and forth from the car to the shady benches a couple of times while we waited. Sure enough, the AAA guy showed up while we were on the benches BUT not until we were totally blocked from view by a big ol' school bus! NO, I did not miss the guy. I heard his truck and thought,"I bet that's my guy!" So I looked and there he was! He took my keys from me; put them in the ignition; turned it....and yep...it started right up!!!!! I was out there for only 30 minutes, but HOW STUPID!!! I could have done that! BUT IT DIDN'T WORK WHEN I TRIED TO START THE CAR!!!!! What an exciting end to my day!....

Oh no! Not the end! Just after I get home and unload the car, my brother announces that he needs to go downtown and pick up his car from the fix-it shop. Who gets to go?!? Yep!!! ME! So, Jayden and I loaded back up in the car (my mom volunteered to watch Eliana) and with Jeff, off we went on the most round-about tour of San Jose. The cool thing was that we were right under the flight path at the autobody shop. While Jayden and I were waiting for Jeff to take care of business, we watched several planes fly by at very close range. Jayden thought that was way cool! On the way home, we drove by the Tech Museum. That was awesome just because of it's size and the bright orange paint, but also because of the big Superman Returns advertisment on the front of it. Jayden is WAY into Superman these days. Not sure what sparked his interest, but he makes capes out of the most interesting things!

In any case, we also saw a lot of cars (which are very fun for Jayden) and I quote, "...a TRAIN ON THE ROAD!!" When we stopped for the lightrail to pass.

All in all, it was an extremely exciting day! The good thing about spending such an adventure-filled day with Jayden is that he provides about 80% of the dialogue. :)

Bite picture

So here it is. This is the picture of Jayden's bite about an hour after the incident. I got him home and laid him down for a nap then snapped the picture. He was almost totally unaware of this.

Last evening, Jayden was playing outside with my mom and me when Dave came home. When I prompted Jayden to tell Daddy what he had done that day he turned his back to Dave, pulled up his shirt (sort of) and said, "Boy scratched me and I cried and cried and cried!"

Dave: "You did all that crying?"

Jayden: "Yes! I did! I cried and cried and cried!"

Dave then pulls out a candy bar from the brown bag he is carrying and Jayden settled down to eat it as though the world were totally on hold for that moment when he was enjoying his chocolate. Oh if only I could have moments like that! To be totally free of any worries or cares and just living in the pure enjoyment of a candy bar!

A bit of this and a bite of that!

First things first! Thank you to Julie and Lori for the comments on my last post. I was venting some frustrations that I wasn't sure how to deal with and needed the input. The advice to put the group down lower in level of importance in my life was great. I polled the group to see what they wanted to do, and lo and behold! The group decided to get together and talk about it!

Lori--I will always treasure our special bond over founding this playgroup. If not for your outgoing nature, our little group would not exist.

Julie--Thank you for taking over when we needed you. Your efforts made our little group into a great group for the moms and not just about the kids.

In other news, we had a crazy busy weekend with Dave's siblings in town. Katie and Wes flew in from Texas Friday morning and Michelle flew in from Wyoming Friday night. They were coming out for the wedding that never happened, but we managed to spend the time having a great time, laughing, talking, swimming, bonding, drinking...oh and the drinking!

To follow up the out-of-control weekend, we went to Kayleigh's 3rd birthday party today. After all the swimming we did this weekend, I thought for sure Jayden would not be interested in the kiddie pool or the sprinklers, but he spent a good deal of time in the water again today! I should have known that just because it was overcast did not mean that water play would be cancelled. It was just as hot as yesterday....just without the sun! The kids had a good time playing with the other kids and I enjoyed visiting with the other moms. UNTIL...

DUM DUM DUUUUUUUUMMMMMM

Jayden got into a tousle with another kid at the party. I didn't see it and neither did the other mom, but the end result was that her kid BIT my baby! He came running to me screaming and holding his back. I didn't know what happened and he was too distraught to tell me. But, I lifted his shirt and there were two distinct rows of teeth marks. Clearly, he got bit! Poor baby! He screamed and screamed until I put the ice on him. That seemed to calm him down quite a bit and then we put an alcohol swab on it just in case there was a germ carry-over. There was talk of goodie bags (to Jayden that reads--presents) and suddenly he was over the bite and on to the next thing! What a trooper! And he bounced right back.

My heart goes out to Daniela and the mom of the kid who bit mine. They both apologized profusely for what happened, but neither were at fault. Unless you know your kid has a biting problem (which she didn't), you don't know what random thing is going to happen. And, I know Jayden can be rambunctious. He may have provoked the kid (not that biting is acceptable in any case) by being his usually exhuberant self! So, time to put it in the past and not worry about it any more.

for some reason, I can't post the picture of Jayden's bite tonight. I will try again another time. :)

Playdate frustrations spilled....

Ok...so here I am trying to decide how I really feel about this playgroup. On one hand, the playdates have been a consistent part of my life and Jayden's life for nearly 3 years. On the other hand, the group is sort of falling apart and there is very little if any participation on most weeks. Getting people to respond to "do you want to go to this" questions is like pulling teeth from a duck and then the response is usually "no".

So, why do I continue to put myself in a situation where I feel the need to keep the group going?!? Well, I tell myself that I need the others in the group as much as they need me, but I don't know that that is true. I think if I left the group no one would be the wiser and life would continue on. Then, I tell myself that the group is just going through some changes now with new babies and new houses and such; that I should be patient and see how things go. I don' t believe it though. I know that with small changes, big changes occur and nothing is the same as it was. When a new baby is added to the family, it gets more difficult for the family to get out and about. If things were challenging before, they are even more challenging after.

So, what do I do? Stick it out and hope that we all settle down again and have our regular playdates? Plan activities that I want to do and go at them all alone? Dump the group and find new people to hang with?? HELP!!! I don't know what to do! What I do know is that I am frustrated and lonely spending all my days with little adult interaction. The playdates are as much for me as they are the kids.

For any of you that actually read this and are in the playgroup, please don't think I am directing my frustrations at you personally. This is just in general to about the group and lack of participation in it and a cry for help about what I should do about it. Patience has never been my strong suit.

Crash! Boom! Bang!

Well...If I thought Jayden had a record number of falls the other day, I was just fooled into thinking they were major deals. Today, he had a major head-on collision with is friend William. Apparently, they were playing separately and both decided to run into the other room. With great misfortune, that took them around the same corner but in opposite directions. I've been told that you could hear the from their heads colliding all the way across the house! Then, great pause as if the world had stopped turning for a minute...then the screaming began. But, thankfully, Mimi was there to cuddle Jayden and hold the bag of frozen peas to his swelling head for a long enough time for Jayden to relax and the swelling to halt. Phew! Could-a been worse!

And just when you thought the day was going to calm down and go smoothly with kids napping and peace and quiet.....

Jayden decided not to nap today. Instead, he was playing in his bed and dropped his pacifier off the top of the bed. I suppose he thought he could just lean over and pick it up off the floor because the house went from blissfully quiet to screaming at full-force from his room. Well, naturally, I took off running to find out what was up. When I got to the door way of his bedroom, I peeked in and all I could see of my screaming child was his tiny butt and flailing legs sticking out from the top of the bed where the head of the bed is supposed to meet the wall. The rest of him was stuck upside-down between the bedframe and the wall. Poor thing! No wonder he was crying!

Hopefully that will be all for today and the REST of the day will be calm and peaceful. WELL!! One can hope! :)

JUNE!

This week has been CRAZY busy! I didn't even realize that today was Friday because I am so busy running around spending the week! In summary, Monday came and went with Sit-n-play in the morning; Tuesday was workout day; Wednesday we went to Bonfante Gardens Themepark (which is a ton of fun, good for adults, and totally awesome for little kids if you've never been); Thursday was graduation day--Ashley's school celebrated the promotion from 5th grade to middle school in the morning and Max's High School graduation was in the evening. Today, Friday, finally, we ventured out to the park in the morning, fought over naps in the afternoon, workout was cancelled--thankfully, and Jeff took Jayden out to play baseball in the park before dinner. Phew!

But, wait, we are not done yet, after dinner tonight, my mom and I took the kids out for a stroll around the block. I decided that I am probably not going to do the half-marathon. I don't really have the time to train and I barely have time for outdoor (childfree) exercise now. I am not going to be able to generate the hours of running needed to be able to complete 13 some-odd miles for the event. However, I did determine that I will try to drag my mommy out for a stroll every evening after dinner so as to increase my endurance as well as hers and get us both some exercise. The biggest benefit I see to this for me is that it will help spend a great deal of time in between the completion of our dinner and the time that Daddy gets home to help with the kiddies! :) On bath nights, this should spend almost all of our time! What a great way to bond!

OH YEAH!!! I almost forgot the most exciting (even if not in a good way) news of the week! Well, as you are most all aware, Dave's cousin Tammy has been busy planning her wedding for well over a year. Jayden was designated the ringbearer as he would be the cutest little 3 yr old boy there in a tux! But, she has been living apart from her betrothed since late July. During that time, their love has failed to survive and she cancelled her plans to wed. BOO HOO! My heart goes out to Tammy and Chett that they may recover from this with whole hearts and few scars. But, mostly, I send much needed love, hugs, and good thoughts to Judy and Gary who are closest to the hot spot right now and are absorbing a good deal of tension from the aftermath of the cancellation. As a bright spot...here is the pic we took of Jayden in his tux last week when we had him try it on and one of Eliana just because! Ain't they CUTE!?! :)

Marathons!

Today marks Day 1 of my "half-marathon" training. Aunt Judy asked me to join her in the San Jose's Rock N Roll Half-marathon in October. I would love to do it, but I don't think I am physically ready for that kind of committment nor do I think I have the time to train for it with the kids and all. But, I asked Jeff to join me in training for it and today we started out to see where we were physically. We ran around the block twice. Well...the first time we took Jayden and the dog so I'm not sure how much that counts. Jayden ran more than halfway, but when he pooped out I had to carry him the rest of the way home. When we caught our breath, I sent Jayden in the house and Jeff and I took Shayna out for one more turn of the block. It wasn't too bad, but I got bored of going slow and sprinted the last leg home just in time to get to the potty to pee. I really need to see a dr. about my bladder. I have to pee every time I jump or run. It annoys me to no end! AND, I am sure you all wanted to know that!

In other "marathon" news, Jayden fell today the most number of times I have ever seen including when he was learning to walk. Ok...maybe not that many, but it must have been at least a dozen times today! I'm not sure if something is up with that, or if he was just being clumsy or careless, but he has bumps, bruises, cuts, and scrapes all over! Poor baby!

There but for the grace...

Supreme tragedy has got me thinking today. A 5-yr old boy drowned yesterday while swimming with his friend in the friend's family pool. The moms of the kids went in the house to watch through the window and chat while the boys played. I keep thinking...pools and bathtubs can be so dangerous! Living at my parents' house keeps me on my toes, but the pool in the backyard is really scary. Jayden LOVES to swim! I worry he will someday find himself tempted by the pool without enough supervision and.....

I know...I worry too much. But, all the same, better safe than sorry?

I guess I have a good sense of water safety and I am trying hard to teach it to Jayden. Perhaps I will have as much luck with that as I did teaching him about cars in the road. He is very conscious of cars coming and going. He often even remembers to look for them and PANICS when he sees them. Something went right there.

But, my oh my, my heart, prayers, and thoughts for strength and healing go to the family that lost their little boy and to the family who owns the pool.

Exciting news!

I am full of exciting news today!

First and foremost, Caroline is finally in labor! YAY! Hope baby Petal arrives soon and healthy and happy and at home the way Mama wants. May the labor be short, the delivery easy, and the baby healthy!

Next, I met with a woman today who has a very interesting job. She is an Educational Therapist. Basically, kids with learning difficulties take some tests to see how they respond to certain stimuli and answer questions. Then, she takes the results of those tests and applies them to learning math and language to find out what the student's strengths and weaknesses are. VERY COOL JOB! The end result is that the student will gain strategies to deal with the way they learn and will help them to most efficiently become fully-functional members of society. I think I want to research this to find out more. It is very exciting stuff! (For geeky-math-me anyway!)

In other news, Dave and I picked out French doors to go in our living room today. I was surprised at the variety of options that were available at Home Depot. Dave got there first s he scoped the place out. He then showed me. We went in order from the cheap ugly ones to the medium ones to the expensive pretty ones that we picked. I think he planned that! We looked at front doors and shutters as well, but not seriously. We are about a million years away from replacing front doors and putting up decorative shutters. I don't think I had seen a stucco house with shutters before, though. So, I looked around on my way home today. I saw a couple but not many. The ones I saw though, I liked! The front of our house will be very plain otherwise, so we will need something to pretty it up! :)

Lastly, we got our loan money today. That means we have enough to start the last legs of work that need to get done to the house before we can move back home. I am not terribly exciting about moving back home just yet, though. First, I love having all the extra hands here to help out with the kids. I am going to miss having family so close! But, secondly, and more importantly, we are going to be moving back home to a smaller actual living space than we eitehr have now or had when we moved out! The reason is, our upstairs room that we had before won't be available for use again until after it is finished. We will be moving back home when the downstairs is livable but upstairs won't be done yet. I expect it will be MANY MANY MANY weeks before the upstairs will be functional too.

That's all I can think of on the Stahl-front today. I am off to watch the season finale of The Apprentice! Gotta know who won! My guess--Sean.

It's finally happened!

My kids are old enough to play together! I just peeked in on them playing together in the family room. They have a video on the TV that neither of them are watching and they are sitting together pushing the buttons on the Incredibles book that makes noise. I know it won't last but a minute, but it was very cute to see them together.

Ah-hah! As I am sitting here expressing my pleasure of their shared play, Eliana begins to express her DISpleasure! Not sure whether it was Jayden that set her off or the fact that she finally had a decent poop! I started giving her Yo-Baby yogurt the other day. I am thinking that it loosened her up. YAY! And, as an added bonus, she likes it! Wonder what else she likes that we haven't tried yet?

hmmmm........

NUTS!

ok...I am ROASTING! Dave is telling me I am nuts. What I want to know is this....If I am the one that's nuts, why is my son the one running around looking out the windows for the spaceships? And, why is my husband the one chasing after him trying to see what Jayden sees?

Yep...it's a fun night here at Casa de Kaminsky-Stahl. Not sure what name to give the house right now since we are all living here, but usually this house is Casa de Kaminsky. Casa de Stahl is not yet done. We are waiting on a couple of windows, the French doors that will go in the living room, and stucco on the part of the contractors. As for our part....there is no end to the list. I started today trying to list all of the work we still need to do so we can start putting dollar signs on it and prioritizing. I am so overwhelmed I don't even know where to begin! We need to re-drywall the whole house--obviously the upstairs as it is new, but the downstairs too because there is so much damage. We found termite damage in the 2x4's in the living room and bathroom downstairs so there is that repair work to do as well. The ceilings in the bedrooms need to be replaced due to water damage from the construction during the rain. All 3 bathrooms are going to need plumbing overhauls and new bathing fixtures--basically 2 tubs and a shower. The whole house needs to be carpeted, but I think that is going to have to wait ages! And the list goes on....

So, for now, we are playing house at Casa de Kaminsky. And with that, I will take my leave and put the baby to bed....again!