Walk with God, Uncle Rick

Yesterday was Uncle Rick's memorial service and the family celebration of life. Some might find it difficult to celebrate the life of one who was so addicted to alcohol that even his closest family members felt distant. But, Uncle Rick was a happy soul with a loving heart and a smile that wouldn't quit. We had a wonderful day with family and friends sharing stories of Rick and things we remember best. I chose not to share my story of Shayna and Jessie barking their little fool heads off at him and the eventual bite Shayna blessed his hand with, but it was nice to hear other stories.
I think the best part of the day was when we hooked up with Dave's brother Wes over the internet with the webcam. He is stationed in Korea and couldn't make it out for the funeral. He was overjoyed to see us all together and shared with us the one thing he remembers best about Uncle Rick. They used to play their guitars and sing together. The craziest song ever....it's about a bird and his pecker....and his broken pecker....don't know the song? Me either really, but it was a favorite of Uncle Rick's and he used to play it any time he pulled out his guitar. So, anyway, Wes pulls out his guitar and finally (after much cajoling) agrees to sing it for Rick's daughters Sonya and Kristie. Well, EVERYONE gathered around for this performance and only AFTER Wes sang for us, did anyone tell him that the room was PACKED! Poor Wes...pretty sure he was embarrassed by the shear number of people listening to him. But, he was a good sport about it.

Toast to you, Uncle Rick! You are loved and missed by family and friends. May your soul rest peacefully in a place happier than you were on earth.

So much happening...

and yet surprisingly little to say.

Dave is getting used to his new car. I can't say he is particularly excited about it. Perhaps it's the timing (he wasn't ready), or maybe the outrageous sum of money that we can't afford, or I suppose it could be that he really loved his truck; but, in any case, he is not nearly as excited as one should be when they purchase their very first brand new car. Honestly, I think I am more excited about it than he is.

Jayden is challenging me daily. I need to hunt up a book on 4-yr-old behaviour so I can figure out what makes his little head tick. I am not good with the little ones...I hope when they are teenagers I will have a better handle on how to deal with them.

Eliana is an angel. She is such a happy child it makes me smile to just think of her. Which is good because I am going to start school next week and I will miss them both terribly while we all adjust to new schedules! Plus, I am going to be gone to LA next week for a couple of days while I record my songs on CD. I am pretty excited and nervous all at the same time! It's a whole new world for me...the music biz! More info on that next week.

Thank you ...

to everyone who was able to join us in our big birthday celebration today. Jayden and Eliana have been bouncing off the walls all afternoon from the excitement of having so many friends visit and spend the day with us. The pirate cake, decor, and treasure chests only added to their excitement. And spending the day in the pool with friends was too much fun for words. Ellie sat with my mom in the rocking chair at bedtime talking non-stop about the rocket ship that they launched up on the roof. Ok...so you can actually see the little plastic toy rocket sitting on the awning from the bedroom window, but still, she talked about swimming with everyone and all the fun they had. Jayden talked about all the fun he had swimming with his friends in the pool and about his pirate birthday. He must have said "Thank you for my really great Pirate Birthday party that I shared with Ellie" to Dave and me a hundred times since everyone left today.

We played three of the games that Jayden got for his birthday today. He wasn't crazy about Crocodile dentist because he didn't want to get bit and apparently he lost one of the bean bags from his Tic-Tac-Toe bean bag game already. I will have to hunt that up before the trash goes out. But, he LOVED the Diego numbers matching game that he got. He is even learning to be a little graceful about not winning. I hope he learns that soon!

All in all, it has been a very exciting day. Not all of the excitement was for the kids though. Dave and I left the kids with my parents for a couple of hours while we went car shopping. Yes, I said cars. Dave's truck broke-down AGAIN! He thinks he blew a head gasket. If that's the case, he is not getting it fixed! Plus, as I said in a previous post, I am not fixing that POS again! I was rather hoping it would wait until the house was done to announce its demise, though. In any case, Dave was hoping for a used Prius with carpool stickers. Since those are so rare these days and outrageously pricey for the ones you can find, we looked at the new Prius' today. I really liked what I saw! I think what we save in gas money from his 4Runner will pay most of the payment on the Prius. We didn't buy anything today, but it gave us a great place to start seriously thinking about what to do. We are still torn between a used Prius at a lesser cost, a new Prius for just a few thousand more (really a difference of only 2K-3K), or a cheap used something else until we can really afford a new car.

UPDATE: We bought a 2007 Prius today. It took FOUR AND A HALF HOURS!!!! I have never purchased a new car before. I didn't know it was an ALL DAY adventure. We are glad to be home with our new baby. :P

Playmates

Jayden has made friends with the boy next door. Shocking, I know! My open-hearted, friendly, happy, out-going little boy made a friend. ;)

Yesterday, he wanted to go play with his little friend so badly, he asked every 20 seconds if he could go play. Finally, it got to the point where I forgot why I was telling him no and said he needed to put his pants on (he doesn't like to wear pants) and shoes. Then he could go ask if his friend can play for a half-hour outside. Well, I'll tell you! No one has ever seen a little boy move so fast! He got dressed, shoes on, opened the front door and ran next door before I could blink!

Not one minute later, he was running back to our house. I met him on the step and he had a funny look. "What....", I started to ask. "He's not home!", Jayden wailed. And, no sooner did the words fall out of his mouth than did the tears start pouring out of his little eyes. He was absolutely devastated that he couldn't play with his friend. We went inside and the sobbing continued for another 10 minutes before he could finally get a hold of himself. I forgot that Jayden's buddy has swim lessons on Wednesdays. I knew I was saying no for a reason, but I forgot what it was. That was it.

I took the kids out to dinner at Red Robin as planned and after a good meal of grilled cheese, french fries and chocolate shake, Jayden was a happy kid again. When Daddy brought them home, Jayden's neighbor friend was standing outside the truck before Jayden could even get his buckles off. They had a great time playing for a little while before the sun went down and they had to get to bed. All in all, it wasn't a bad evening. I suffered a terrible broken heart for my baby though. Playdate rejection is difficult for us at all ages, but to see your children suffer heartache causes much more damage, I think.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY BOY!

My baby is 4 YEARS old today! I can hardly believe it has been that long! Where does the time go?!?

We've had a wonderful day so far. Jayden woke up pretty early this morning and came tip-toeing in to my room. He asked in the sweetest little voice, "Is today my birthday?" :) I couldn't help but laugh he was so cute! I said yes, but then I told him to lay down and rest some more because it was really early! But, he was too wound up already. I let him watch TV until everyone else was up. About 8:30, he couldn't contain himself anymore. So, we got Dave up and came downstairs "for breakfast". Little did Jayden know that his presents were waiting for him. He was very excited to see the huge box that Grandma and Papa had waiting. He played a bit with the little Diego bicycle we bought for him. But, he couldn't wait to open the wrapping paper! He got a little toy Sarge that Grandma has been hunting for for weeks; the bike from us, and Grandma and Papa gave him his own mini-jumping house. It's shaped like a boxing ring and 7 ft square. We have yet to set it up, but we probably will this evening. He was very excited by all of this, but he liked the Sarge the best. Go figure!

After breakfast, we headed down to Gilroy Gardens for the afternoon. It was a nice family birthday event. Dave got tired before any of the rest of us, but Eliana is the one napping now. Thinking I might take Jayden to the park later to meet up with some of our friends. Then, we will come home for a family dinner and Spiderman birthday cake that I made myself! Yeah...I didn't think I would venture one of these fancy cakes, but I did it and it doesn't look TOO bad. I'll have to post pics later. In fact, I'll get some pics of the whole day in a while so check back for them.

There's too much...

going on these days to keep up! My dad is doing well after his surgery. He is still really tired, but is recovering well. He seems encouraged by the weight-loss from his surgery and is planning to keep it up. YAY!

My dear Davey had his tonsils out on Wednesday last week. Despite all of his plans to the contrary, he was laid up for the whole weekend. He was hoping he would feel well enough to work on the house at least Saturday and Sunday and perhaps even Friday. But...he slept all day on Friday and most of Saturday and Sunday. He is off to work today for a least a part of the day. He doesn't anticipate being able to be there all day.

I am off to take Jayden to his very first real dentist appointment. He had his teeth "counted" the last time we were there, but he is in for the full cleaning today. Fingers crossed that it all goes well! :)

UPDATE------------------
So, Dave, who said he was going to work a half-day ended up being there all day. And Jayden, who was all excited about going to the dentist, did a great job! He got his teeth cleaned and flossed by the hygienist. Then, she tried to put the flouride on with those little cups. But, it was too big for him and he was gagging on it. She kept insisting it would work, but he threw-up on her. But, she still wanted to get the fluoride on. So, she painted it on and held his tongue out of the way. That worked much better! All in all, it was a good visit!

Electrician anyone?

I worked my butt off at the house last weekend. Dave showed me how to wire up electrical boxes and I spent the weekend running wires to various parts of the upstairs and making up boxes. It was actually a lot of fun. I wish I had more time in the earlier stages of the project to have worked at the house because I bet I would have liked doing that too! But, alas, the kids were not independent enough. Anyway, my fingers are really sore from putting those little screw-on wire caps on the ends of the wires...Dave says they are called "pigtails". I think that is a cute little name for "manly men doing manly men things" to call the work they are doing. But, who am I to judge. :)

The good news is that Dave thinks we only have 2-3 more days of work on our part left before we can call in the inspector, the insulation people, the air conditioning people and then the drywall guy. I am looking forward to the drywall going in. That really puts a time-frame to our moving home and I, for one, really want to move home! I think not living in my own home is hindering me from making and maintaining relationships with other moms and families. It could just be my imagination, but I don't think so. I want to reconnect with my neighborhood and my playgroups. I am hoping that when I move home, I can have some play dates for both Eliana and Jayden. They are such social kids that I feel bad when they don't have any friends to play with.

Actually, I felt even worse for Jayden today because a little boy at the park told Jayden that they couldn't be friends because they didn't go to the same school. I think it broke my heart. Jayden was sad for a short bit, but then like water off a duck's back, he was back to his normal self. Wish I were that resilient.

Helloooooooooooooooo Summertime!

Well--the first bit of good news is that Dad is home! He came home this morning. He still has post-surgical aches and pains, but nothing terribly unexpected in a 73-yr-old man who just spent a week in the hospital. He seems to be moving with less and less discomfort. Although, he can't find a comfortable place to sleep. Nothing like those reclining hospital beds to spoil a man! :)

The second bit of good news is that today was the last day of summer school! YAY!! I didn't enjoy teaching this class nearly as much as I had hoped that I would. Part of the problem was that they let kids in the class whose mommies made them take it rather than limiting the class to those kids who needed it to move on in math. It's not a public school, they don't have to take just anyone! But, it's over now! I also signed my contract for the school year today. I will teach just one class from 7:50 to 8:35 M-Th. I get all Fridays and regular holidays off! :) We are thinking the extra money will come in handy when we need things like carpet and Dave's new car....oh yeah...Dave needs a new car. We are thinking a used Prius with carpool stickers. They want a fortune for them, but with Dave's savings in gasoline, we can probably afford it! He will be sad to give up his truck, but I told him we didn't have to get rid of it. As long as he drives it once a week or so, it will stay in usable condition and we should be able to afford to keep it. Any more major repairs and it's toast though!

Update on Dad

He is doing much better today. The doctor said that he is treating him as if his appendix burst and that's why they are keeping him in the hospital. I think it's a good thing because he needs time to heal before he comes home to the house with all of here. The dr. said perhaps Thursday...oh! That's tomorrow!

The rest of us are doing fine. Hanging in and hanging out, but nothing fancy to report.

A week full of activity!

This week was chock full of activity. I went to work on June 18 teaching summer school at Notre Dame. I started then teaching just one class of Algebra 1 skills. This week I picked up a second class for SAT Preparation in Math. This class is way more fun than the first. Both of them have one more week!

But, during this last week we had a lot of fun at Kayleigh's 4th birthday party. My mom is watching the kids for me while I work. So, she took them over to Daniela and Kayleigh's house for the party and left as soon as I got there. That was fun. Then, Uncle Max came over to babysit on Friday while I tutored. I sure am working a lot of hours!

Saturday was busy, too. I started out the day with the pile-up of laundry that I didn't get to for the last 2 weeks while I was busy with working. So, there was a lot of clean stuff to put away and tons of dirty stuff to wash. I got started on the washing and managed to put away all the clean stuff. Additionally, I cleaned out drawers and the closet of all the crappy stuff to get tossed and out of season/size things to be stashed until they come handy again. I even found a stashed bag of clothes for Eliana today at our house that is perfect size and season for her right now! I now even have room to put them away! :) After I got laundry going, I took my mom out to lunch and we took lunch over to Dave and Jayden who were stranded at my house. Dave took his truck in to get fixed AGAIN! We're hoping this'll be the last repair on the truck before we might be able to afford a replacement vehicle.

All seemed to be fine after that, but my dad was feeling less than great. He declined dinner which turned out to be a good thing, because he had appendicitis and had emergency surgery this morning. He is recovering nicely and seems to be of good spirit at this time. Hopefully, he will be home in a couple of days. My mom is not nearly as good-spirited as he is....she is worried...with good reason, but even so.

I am off to bed...I have to teach in the morning.

HELP!!!!

I don't know what to do! My kids fight all the damn time! Jayden purposely takes toys, books, food, anything away from Ellie just to make her mad and make her cry. Eliana climbs into Jayden's chair and sits right on top of him and takes his toys and books just to make him mad and steal them back. The two of them goad eachother and tease eachother and it's driving me CUCKOO! Separately they are both little angels, but together! YIKES!! Wasn't it Ghostbusters where the demon had to have the key master and the other person together to wreak havoc? Not sure how the movie went, but I feel like I am about to get beaten by the enormous Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man!

In the meantime, I started teaching summer school yesterday. My class is BORING!!! They sit like lumps and don't talk and I am not sure I have enough enthusiasm to carry all of us through the course! I hope they start carrying their own weight in the next couple of days. I have to keep reminding myself that I am there for the money and the experience will be over in just a few weeks! But, who knows, maybe I will enjoy it in the end.

Jayden is doing great with spelling!

Saturday we were driving up to the boat. It's a long drive. We talked about many things including the cows on the side of the road. Jayden pointed out to Eliana that cows say, "Moo". When we reached the lake, we pointed out the water to the kids and they got apporpriately excited. I asked Eliana if she wanted to get on a boat. She replied with a resounding, "NO! NO GET WET!" A sentiment that she stuck to all weekend. So after that remark, we got quiet. We were quiet for a good ten minutes while we paid for parking at the ranger station and found a spot for the car. As we pulled into the space, Jayden decided to show off his spelling skills.

"K starts with FUCK," he announced.

Dave and I were shocked, of course. But when we got done laughing our asses off, Dave pointed out, "Not exactly, Jayden. FUCK has a K at the end, but it starts with F." I guess it's as good a spelling lesson as any, right? :)

Houseboat weekend!

We had a great family weekend on the boat this Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We were all actually very sad to leave for home this morning. Unfortunately, Dave has to work for a living and make lots of money for us to spend on the houseboat and other things....like building our house! :)

Here's some pics of our fun:

Money well spent!

When Jayden was about 4 months old, we bought him an Exersaucer for about $40. This lovely little jumpy toy was his favorite place to be when he wasn't curled up in my arms or sitting with Dave. He would jump and jump for minutes on end! When Jayden started crawling, I would put him in the Exersaucer to keep him from roaming too far when I needed some down time. He still loved it. We watched baseball games together while he was in it, we watched football; we watched Wheel of Fortune...ok...so we watched a lot of TV. I was working an awful lot of hours for someone who was only part-time and by the end of the day, I was darned tired! Unfortunately, there came the day when Jayden discovered that he could crawl out of the Exersaucer and regain his freedom. That was the day we had to put it away.

But, when Eliana was old enough to hold her head up, we pulled it out again. This was a joyous day for everyone...except Eliana. She HATED it. I could put her in there for about 5 minutes before she would start WAILING. Jayden, of course, didn't mind that, because once she was out, he could get in again and play. He still loved it. Despite Ellie's lack of interest in this toy, we continued to use it. She was ok in there if we fed her Goldfish or other little finger foods...until either Jayden or Shayna came along and stole her snacks. She really liked being in the toy when we took her outside, though. This was usually the only way she was allowed out back with the pool.

Well, the time came that Eliana was too big for the Exersaucer too and I put it away until a friend had a baby. Then, I dug it out and loaned it. We visited this friend many times in the last year and neither one of my darlings paid it the slightest notice at her house. Last night, I brought it back home. Before I could put it away today, it caught Ellie's attention. Check it out:
Eliana spent a good half hour playing by herself in there and then when she was done, Jayden just had to have his turn. LOL...as I am telling this very story, Eliana is back in it!!! :)

HAPPY POST THIS TIME!!

Really, not depressing like the last post. Marcy's impending move was only part of the inspiration for the last post. Mostly, though, it came from all the time I log hanging out with no adult interaction! This weekend, however, I had a completely unreal experience! I went to a reunion.

Not the "LIVE OAK HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1990" kind of reunion, but a much better one. Every year for about 20 years, my high school drama teacher would host a Drama Club Alumni camp out. The idea is that all the alumni (who wanted to) would meet up with Mr. K and and current students who dared venture out to camp and there would be a weekend of camaraderie and reminiscing. This was the second time I ventured to one of these camp outs..the last being 15 (or so) years ago. Mr. K is retiring at long last from a 32 year career of teaching drama. This camp out was billed as his last official camp out and much effort was put into gathering as many alum as possible for this trip. Thus, there were several people from my years at LOHS that I got to visit with, share stories, and catch-up with. It was a good weekend, albeit LONG! Between dinner and the beginning of the traditional "Capture the Flag" game, was a mind-blowingly slow couple of hours where the die-hards spent time planning our "winning strategy" (no one has ever won this game) while the dramatic ones were seen planning our campfire skits. Once the game began, the time seemed to drag on because our "strategy" was to sit and wait for them to come to us and we would capture most of their team and then rush in and get the flag. Thing was...they had the side of camp with the fire. They didn't come to us, they sat and chatted while we hid in the bushes and waited. An old friend and I were on the same team and "stationed" next to eachother. So, we decided (an hour into the game) to move out into the field and look at the stars. It was a GORGEOUS night out there before the moon came up (and after also). Perfect for star-gazing...and not the Hollywood kind. Gave us a chance to catch up and talk too. That was the best part of the game!

The fun began after the game when we gathered around the campfire. We started out with introducing ourselves (name, grad year, plays, roles, etc.) and well over an hour later (there were a lot of us and some people dragged on), the skits began. We had some of the funniest, well put-together skits I have ever seen around a campfire. I laughed out loud for all of them. Didn't hit the hay until way after 1 and up at 6 to get my butt home! Good LORD and I tired! But, it was a great weekend and I missed my hubby and the kids very much! Glad to be home! :)

DON'T READ THIS....

unless you want to hear my misery.

Motherhood is a lonely job. We give up our jobs, our husbands, our friends, and our lives to take care of our babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. When they are little, we are trapped in our homes by diaper changes, feeding times, and naps. Then, they get older, start school, make their own friends, and leave us for their own fun. We get left at home alone then too.

When we do get out, we meet other mommies who have babies our kids age. We may have nothing else in common with these moms, yet we try to form bonds over our children. When the children drift on to the next phase, so do we. Lasting friendships? Maybe. But especially in the Silicon Valley, what is a lasting friendship good for anyway? Phone calls and overnight visits hours away when one or the other of you moves to a new location. How many of us really have someone to call up and say, "Hey, let's get lunch!" or "Want to meet me for coffee?"

Ok..that's the end of my rant today. If you got this far, thanks for reading. If not, I totally understand. It's very negative today.

One step forward...

...and two steps back!

Yep, we had progress on our house. Dave went over there this morning to get some tools to put some fans in my parents' house and guess what?! Yep...you guessed it! It was our FOURTH break-in since AUGUST!!!!! There are no words to describe how angry I am at this moment in time. Dave is so mad that we are heading to Home Depot in just a few minutes to get several 2 X 4's to put over the doors in the back and front of the house. Fortunately our steel door is hard enough to break into that we are going to beef it up with extra locks, but no barricade. My mood right now....GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Oh yeah! And the bitch cop that came to take the report accused Dave of being on crank because he was pacing! Dave said at least her partner was nice.

Anyone know a deserving mom...

who has a story to tell for a cool prize in Palo Alto? Silicon Valley Moms Blog is having a contest to find the most deserving mom for a makeover, 3 months membership at Vivre with 2 personal trainer sessions; a brand new outfit from Romi Boutique; and a romantic dinner for two at Mantra! Sounds great! Check out the link:


But, here's my thing....How would I determine that I am more deserving of this than any other mom? Yes, I am a stay-at-home mom of 2 kids under age 4. Yes, I am still carrying extra baby fat from pregnancy #1 as well as #2. Yes, I wear my hair in a ponytail most days. Yes, it has gray showing through. Yes, I am still wearing clothes I bought in the 90's! I've had my shoes even longer! And, yes, Dave and I have enjoyed ONE SINGLE night alone since the kids were born. I wore a BORROWED dress for the occasion because I own NOTHING!!! In case you missed those pics, I refer you back to http://lstahlfamily.blogspot.com/2006_12_03_archive.html where we stayed in the fancy hotel with the in-room jacuzzi tub.

Come to think of it...that was not really a romantic night out. I froze my rear off in that slinky dress I borrowed from Judy and we could hardly talk over the music at the Symantec Christmas party. The best part of the night was eating sandwiches from the gift shop while watching some random movie ALL THE WAY THROUGH! I don't remember which movie it was, but I do remember waking up thinking, "Wow! Is it morning? We had better go clean the puke out of the car before we pick the kids up from Aunt Judy and Uncle Gary." This is all coming back to me now that I recall both kids puking in the car on the way to Judy and Gary's house. Oh, the fun times! :)

In any case, I don't think any of this makes me more special or more deserving of the great prizes SVMB is offering in their contest. I mean, so what--my hair is long over-due for styling (2 years); the gray is showing through (but I've never had it colored anyway); my clothes are jeans and tees; my shoes are either old and falling apart or sneakers; my marriage has seen better days (as has my fat ass); and I am carrying more weight than ever before. Oh...but did I mention my house??

Speaking of my house..there is progress. Today Dave met with the stucco guys and they are going to fix our leaky windows. As a bonus, the way they are going to fix them is by adding decorative trim to seal the problem spots and keep water out. We have figured out the loan issue and as soon as the money comes through we are going to make the house livable again and move home! YAY!!!!! Ok...I know...I am getting excited about it way too soon. But, we have been living here at Mom and Dad's for 430 days! Yes...I am counting now and it's been the LONGEST 6-8 weeks of my life! :)

Time is A-FLYING!!

I am sitting here on this glorious Mother's Day all by myself with the peace of early morning wondering WHERE THE HELL IS MAY RUNNING OFF TO???????? I can't believe how fast this month is flying by! We have been so busy. It seems we are running around nearly every day with tons to do! So, here is a little catch up on us:

Jayden is a busy busy boy! He can not sit still for the life of him. We need to get out every day and burn tons of energy to keep him from climbing the walls and terrorizing the household. On the bright side, something happened about a week and half ago. We were visiting with Marcy and gang. I told Jayden that if he pooped in his pants, we were going home. Lo and behold...he pooped in his pants not 5 minutes after we got there. To his credit, he knew he had to go and tried sitting on the toilet. But....I told him we were leaving and he needed to get his things and say good-bye. Marcy was right there while I was dealing with this and talked me out of it saying that we shouldn't punish him for an accident and he tried and....bottom line...We ended up staying. Here's the major event right here.....That was the LAST day he pooped in his pants! Every day since then, he has gone to the potty ALL BY HIMSELF, on his own choice, with no help from anyone, sat down, pooped, and on some occasions even wiped his own butt! YAYAYAYAYAY!!!!! Milestone ACHIEVED!! Thank you, MARCY! We rarely have peeing accidents anymore either, but we need to work on our nighttime accidents now.

Eliana is growing like a weed. She is getting more and more little girl and less and less my baby every day. She loves to have her hair combed and put up in clips or a little (and I mean little) ponytail. She usually pulls it out about 5 minutes after I put it in, but she likes having it done. Her hair is getting thick and long too. I can't wait to see what challenges it will bring in the next few years with all those adorable curls. She is also starting to talk a big bunch. Jayden was not nearly as vocal as Eliana is at her age. He would babble up a storm, but had much fewer words and less desire to be understood as she does. She has sentences like, "Me, eat!" "I'm thirsty." and "Me go out." These are usually coupled with actions like climbing into her high chair to eat, pulling on the fridge door for a drink and carrying her shoes and sweater to the front door and pulling on the door knob. I don't know what I am going to do if she figures out how to open the front door! :)

As for me, I am working up a storm these days. I am still tutoring 8 hours a week, but I am also working for Notre Dame as my mom's personal assistant 10 hours a week--writing tests, grading papers, making photo copies, etc. Maybe this has a lot to do with why I am so busy these days. However, I just bought myself a new stroller (the Baby Trend Sit-n-Stand) so that I am ready to go to Gilroy Gardens (formerly Bonfante), SF Zoo, and neighborhood strolling all summer long. I am working on my motivation for the SJ half-marathon that I am signed up for in October. I figure if I get started on walking, perhaps I can work up my stamina to start putting on the miles. I didn't get very far in the last month, but I think I have done better than the month before. I guess it's a place to start.

Dave is working hard. He works 5 days a week at his regular job and most weekends he is at the house both days. He is trying to figure out how much money we need to get us back in the house and then working out a loan for us to get it done. Our new plan is to be completely finished by Thanksgiving. If it works, we will have Turkey Day at our house again. Fingers crossed!!!

Progress is progress

Jayden pooped in the potty yesterday---ON PURPOSE!! But, today he didn't. So, we had some progress....someday it will all work out.

We are not up to much or doing anything terribly exciting. My choir has our annual spring concert this weekend. It will be fun. I think Dave is coming and his mom plans to come out and hear us too. Sherryl and Anthony are planning to come hear us on Saturday night. That should be nice.

My prayers go out to the Shuman clan tonight. They are crossing a bridge over rough water. Safe passage, Shumans!

Hugs to Julie! She walked her team through the Relay For Life this weekend. WAY TO GO, JULIE!

That's all I know. Peace out!

Girls are so amazing...

Eliana is sitting on the floor next to me playing with a magnetic letter board that I bought for Jayden a while back. While she is sitting there, she is singing the alphabet song! Granted, she is not actually saying the names of the letters...that would be too much! But, she is singing, "d, d, d, d e, d, g..." so only making the sounds she is really good at. But...still it's the ALPHABET song WHILE she is playing with the ALPHABET!!! AMAZING!

She also has a "DADDY" fixation. Yesterday she woke up and called out to Daddy who had already left for the day (taking Jayden to school). But she called out to him and the repeated "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! ..." over and over again as she searched the whole house for him. When he finally came home last night, her face lit up like a Christmas tree! This morning....the first thing she said to me after I picked her up from the crib..."DADDY!" and pointed to where Dave and Jayden were sleeping. you can't win! :)

Nothing to report

We are recovering from being sick...yet again! Poor Dave! He was sick on his birthday. That's kind of sucks for him. I planned a nice (fancy) dinner for him that we ended up eating tonight instead of Thursday because he said he wouldn't be able to eat on Thursday. We had filet mignon and green beans and mashed potatoes. YUM! But DAMN!!! I didn't know Filet mignon was $21 friggin' dollars a pound!!!!! HOLY CRAP!! Still it was good and it's Dave's fave...so we lived high off the hog tonight!

Jayden is doing well with going pee in the potty as long as we remember to send him. He shows no signs of initiative to go on his own and he is still pooping in his pants. I am tempted to have a day of all accidents to prove that he needs to pay better attention to his own body. But, then I am also tempted to put a diaper back on him and see where that leads. In the meantime, since no decision has been made, we send him to pee every hour or so and watch him like a hawk when he crawls behind a table or squats in a corner.

Nothing else going on. Hope all you loyal readers are well.

Happy Easter, Everyone!

And, Happy Sunday to those of us who don't celebrate Easter. :)

We have had an eventful day. We had the WORST brunch at the Fountain (inside the Fairmont) with Dave's mom and family this morning. It was ridiculously expensive and the food was not very impressive at all. Additionally, they charged us for Jayden (who was supposed to be free) and "forgot" to charge us for the drinks (which you would EXPECT to be free)! Oh well, at least we only do this brunch thing a couple of times a year. We just won't be going there EVER again! Although, they had a crème brulée on the dessert table that was SOO GOOD! I like crème brulée. :)

Immediately following brunch (which lasted until 12:30) we journeyed on to Bonfante Gardens (now known as Gilroy Gardens) and had a marvelous time. We enjoyed the rides and the games in fine weather. They had a scavenger hunt for the kids that was fun. Jayden liked getting the little toys and seeds they were passing out. I enjoyed following the map to get to the little tables. It was fun. Eliana had a good time on the rides. Dave was worried that she was too little to have fun, but she was smiling at every turn and even asked to go on some rides. The biggest hit of the day, though, was at the midway games. They had one game that was giving away GIANT (and do I mean BIG) bouncy balls (I think they are supposed to be basketballs colored in the colors of the favorite NBA teams). We got a dark blue and black ball that says San Antonio on it. It must be at least 2 feet in diameter! I expect we will have a lot of fun playing with it!

Hope you are all enjoying your special Sunday.

Until next time, au revoir.

Pee Pee and more Pee

My life must be one governed by a toddler/preschooler. It seems that my every post is about pee and that my posts are getting further and further apart. But, anyway....here's the scoop on the poop (hahahaha...I kill me!)

Jayden is fully in underwear now, FINALLY! He is pretty good about going to use the potty when I tell him to, but not yet ready to decide on his own when he needs to go. Not sure when or how to make that transition, but I think a few more accidents will have to tell us that info. In any case, Jayden is excited about wearing his Power Rangers underwear and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles underwear too. We have yet to open the other two packages that we bought (Cars and Superman) because he has been really good about keeping his pants dry!

Ellie likes to sit on the potty, too. Someday she will figure out what it is there for and she will get trained in a snap (I hope). But for now, I'll just let her up there when she wants it or when everyone else is having a turn. Who knows, maybe one of these days she will pee in the toilet and then have it all figured out. Here's to wishful thinking! :)

On the brighter side of things, I am going to pick up the kids pictures from JC Penney's today. They came out so good, I ended up spending $75 on pics. AND, that was after I got the free sitting fee and my $4.99/sheet coupon! Check them out!


1 2 3


4 5


6 7



8 9



10

Ok...so now you must see how I bought out the entire selection of pics! I couldn't choose from all these great images, so I got them all! Ok...I admit I think my kids are the cutest kids on the planet...but then all mothers think that of their children, right? But seriously, let me know which picture you like best.

"Mommy!!!! My penis hurts!!"

So, Jayden was jumping around in the family room tonight with Uncle Jeff. Next thing I know, he comes running in with tears in his eyes and hand over his crotch. It would be wonderful if he was coming to tell me that he tried to make it to the potty, but had an accident. However, that was not the case. It had nothing to do with the potty. Apparently he slipped while jumping.....

I had an otherwise very pleasant day. I went to a Luncheon to welcome the newest members of Las Madres. They always put together a very nice day--good food, lots of raffle prizes (I didn't win anything), great entertainment. The DJ they hired was none other than my little Max! I was surprised and very pleased that they hired him. I gave a recommendation for him over the chat group to someone who apparently really liked him and passed his name around. He is making a killing on Las Madres events! GO MAX!

House news: Nothing new. We need a loan. We don't have a loan. We are waiting to hear from someone about a loan. No progress made. End.

The week just got even busier!

As if we could possibly cram any more activity into the week....

We took the kids to Happy Hollow on Wednesday. Still a fun place for kids. They plan to revamp the whole park next year. I hope they don't revamp their prices too! But, we had a good time there.

Yesterday, we took the kids to The Jungle. We had a lot of fun there, too! Wes (Dave's bro) had the best time racking up a ton of tickets from the kiddie games. He let the kids go "shopping" at the end of the day. Jayden got some cool fire rescue cars and Eliana got a little stuffed piggy that snorts. We left there in time for Eliana to fall asleep in the car and get a nice nap in before Dave and I left for dinner at the Melting Pot. Dinner took 4 HOURS!! I have never had such a long meal! Apparently my body could not handle the stress of it as I came home with a nasty migraine. :(

Today we ended up doing a thousand errands with Michelle that didn't get done during the week for all the fun we were having. Then ran off to the photographer's studio for pictures. I get to see the proofs next week, but the kids looked great (despite a rash on Jayden's arms). I am hoping the rest of us looked decent too. We'll have to wait and see.

I am now off to get ready for Shabbat Services which start early tonight because of the potluck dinner we are having after. Mom and I are supposed to host the refreshements after services...it's some serious work. That's all I have time for! Busy busy busy! :)

Checking in

Just checking in...not much going on, but wanted to keep my readers happy with an update. Ok...I'm lying. I just wanted to know if there were readers out there missing me! :)

Here's the week in summary: Dave's sister arrived in town on Sunday; his brother and wife in town Monday; Sister's boyfriend will arrive today. Big "family" dinner tomorrow night at the Melting Pot. Should be yummy! I'm looking forward to it! Family and friends party at Aunt Judy's gig on Friday night in the bar. :( Not looking forward to it. Love Aunt Judy, love to hear her sing....but, I'm old. The music is too loud and I don't like hanging out in a bar. Gonna be a busy week!

Lullaby. Sleep all night...la la LA la la la la....

So, it finally happened!! YAY!! My kids both sleep through the night...the WHOLE night and here's the biggie....IN THEIR OWN BEDS!!!!!! YAAAAAAAY!!!

I have been hesitant in declaring it done, but Ellie has done it for a week now! YAY for us! Perhaps we will have caught up on sleep in a month's time and be ready for some real adventure! :) Plus, I am weaning (finally) and I can't wait to be done with that! I think we might need another week or so before I can say weaning is complete. On the bright side, it didn't take me nearly as long to wean Eliana as it took to wean Jayden! YAY, again! :)

Be on the look-out for the new Discovery Toys catalogs arriving in the mail! I absolutely LOVE what's on pages, 3, 5, and 23! ;)

Now that the flood has past....

I am back online! My computer suffered minor damage in the flood this week. What's that? Oh, yes...the flood. Well, Jayden had a cup of water at my desk and he spilled it; refilled it; spilled it again; found a spray bottle with more water and decided to use it to "clean" and thus...the flood. My desk was floating; the floor was squishy; Dave's desk was wet; and the kitchen floor was so deep with water that there were fish and a diving board for swimming! Ok..I might be exaggerating a tiny bit, but not a whole lot! All in all, the only equipment we had to replace was the keyboards for both my computer and Dave's. AND, it helped me clean up my desk...so...maybe it wasn't all bad..............................

Ok..yes it was! I nearly lost all control of my temper. But, I called Dave; took deep breaths; cleaned with deliberate moves; and totally calmed down before I addressed my bewildered tot with what he did and why it was wrong and what his consequences were for doing it. YAY ME! :)

Of course, it was all my fault in the first place. I gave him the cup to drink from. I left the spray bottle in sight and reach. AND, I left him alone long enough to cause a problem while I was putting Eliana down for a nap which took FOREVER because I am working on weaning her. I think we should be done with it by next week! Again, YAY ME! :)

Life in the dragon lane

A TAN Dragon Lies Beneath!

My inner dragon is the true draconic magic-user. Deep down I am very wise, somewhat shy, and I have a rather short fuse. But don't worry, tans prefer to spend their time counting their enormous treasure, so pass quietly and you'll stay out of danger. Click the image to try the Inner Dragon Online Quiz for yourself.

Ok...that said....here's what's been happening. We're sick again! OK, besides that....

Jayden is trying to learn to read. He is picking out simple words from books he knows and pointing to them, saying them, and spelling them. It's pre-reading, but the interest is what I am excited about. He is showing progress and growth in all areas of 3. Today, we were visiting an adult friend of mine and from the distance, I heard the toilet flush. I ran to see what they were doing and Jayden looks innocently at me and says, "I had to pee."

Me: "Nuh-uh! Are you serious? You just came in here all by yourself to go potty?!?!"

Jayden: "Yeah! But, the water is blue." (note here that she had those blue toilet things)

Me: "That's ok...it helps keep the toilet clean. Do you still need to go?"

Jayden: "Yeah, but I need help."

Me: "Ok, let's get to it then!" And, I put him on the toilet. In the meantime, Eliana was getting her little hands into everything. I think it was a calculated ploy, this potty thing, so that they wouldn't get into trouble for exploring. But...

Jayden (while getting down): "I'm all done. But, I didn't pee-pee."

It was all very funny and shocking and cool! This is the first time he has decided all by himself to tend to his toiletry needs. Last time he went pee on his own initiative, I had sent him to go change his diaper. I never told him to pee...he just did. I think we will have this pottying thing down before kindergarten yet.

Off to feed the little ones now.

It's raining..

but it's not yet pouring. The weather is actually kind of nice, but you know the expression. So, yesterday, Shayna had her little run-in with a bitty little kitty. Today, she could hardly move. I just took her to the vet for an evaluation. She seems to be fine, but the old bat pulled muscles in her back and hind legs. She is sore, but not broken. She is going to get a round of antibiotics for the possible infection from kitty-punctures and some pain meds until she is walking better. It cost us a pretty penny, but she's worth it.

So...to explain the raining....it's actually good news among the bad. Some thieves were caught stealing a car last night. No...not mine! But, someone who lives on my street. In addition to stealing the car, these guys broke into several other cars on the street including my brothers...but thankfully not mine. The good news...they got caught RED-HANDED. We are kind of hoping they are the same shits that keep messing with Dave's truck. If they are, then we expect that will stop too.

Dogs chase cats...

and sometimes the cats don't get away. Shayna chased a trio of cats out of our yard today, but one pretty grey cat didn't make it over the fence and got caught. It fought back before I could get in to break it up. Shayna is now (and it's all my fault for letting her out there in the first dang place) bleeding from several puncture wounds caused by the cat. One hole is in her face, one on the top of her head, and her ear is pretty chewed up. I am feeling pretty guilty for letting her out there and yet, she did her job keeping the yard clear of unwanted animals. I just never expect the cat to not get away and I never expected Shayna to actually catch it. I'm feeling pretty bad about the whole thing. I didn't want the cat to get hurt either...just didn't want him hanging around my yard and pooping in my grass and dirt...and bringing his fleas around...and....

Hope it heals without infection.

On the bright side, I found my camera! :)

The Good, The Bad, and the Mundane

Not a whole lot but sick going on here these days. Haven't heard from me in a while and wonder why? Not much to report. Here's the list:

House not done yet. Expected move in date...mid-March.

Jayden--not potty-trained or interested. One time poop was a fluke. Been sick with fever since Monday night. Missed school this week, but he is on the mend.

Eliana--likes to sit on potty...knows about pooping before hand and requests to use toilet for pooping. YAY!! Not sick! Also, YAY!

Dave--slaving away on the house. Took most of this week off to work. YAY!

Me--Sore throat going on 3 weeks now. Coupled with fatigue...may be allergies...may be sick. not sure. Lost my camera...hope it's in the car. :(

Shayna--great watchdog. Barks at all visitors including the leaves! :)

All in all...nothing special going on.

There may be a light at the end of the tunnel!

So, after my post on Eliana's desire to use the potty, the most amazing thing happened. We were playing at CityBeach in Fremont for my brother's birthday celebration. He wanted to go rock-climbing and this seemed like a good place to go since it had other things to do besides climb. It turned out that we didn't do anything else there, but still it was a good time. I would like to go back again.

Anyway, we headed out to Red Robin for lunch where we proceded to gorge on milkshakes and burgers. After lunch, Jayden had a funny look on his face. I asked, "What's up, Jayden, you okay?" He said, "Mommy, I hafta poopie." I said,"You have to or you already did?" "Not yet " "Can you h0ld it a second? Let's go to the bathroom!" "Ok"

Then we rushed to the bathroom, I put the paper down and put him on the potty...HE HELD IT! And, then, it was time to poop. Nope...he got scared and wanted to get down. I bribed him with a new toy if he pooped in the potty. He bit! A new toy is in the making! My adorable, stubborn, obstinate little boy finally agreed to poop in the potty! YAY!!

Later in the evening, we went out to dinner with Dave's brother (yep...a day of brothers!) and we went to Blockbuster to get some movies. While we were shopping, Jayden said,"I have to go potty!" I was dumbfounded! But, Ashley was waving at her nose as though he already pooped so I thought we were too late. Dave rushed Jayden to the potty but it was grosser than gross in there. He changed Jayden's diaper and figured since it was full of pee that he had already gone. Turns out, a few minutes later, Jayden was poopy again! HE ASKED TO GO TO THE POTTY TWICE IN THE SAME DAY! WOW!

I am hoping that was a jumpstart from Ellie's desire to use the potty. Maybe it is the start of something real....

Here's to hoping!

POOPIES IN THE POTTY!!

Ok...so most of you readers are mommies and you have little ones who are already potty trained. But, for those of us who have been struggling with our stubborn-gonna-do-it-their-own-way-in-their-own-time-tots... I got child-sized poopies in the potty tonight BY REQUEST!!! Nope...before you start saying "Yay, Jayden!" Let me stop you and correct it to "Yay, Ellie!"

Yep! I am not kidding! She said she had to go; patted her bottom and said poopies; pointed to the potty. I wasn't sure if she was serious or not, but figured "why not" and put her on the potty. She sat there for a minute like she usually does when she wants to sit there...and then, her face changed to the "pooping" face and there it was, "ker-splash"! I couldn't believe it! I think I was more excited about it than anyone else INCLUDING Ellie! But, it gives me hope that she will be easier to potty-train than Jayden who is still not using the toilet either by choice or by bribe. I hope that he chooses to get past this soon and start using the potty, but if not, we are going commando as soon as we get back into our house. No...that is not expected to be any time soon; but, it gives me something to look forward to. :)

Well, it seems to be a beat-em-up, bang-up, fix-em-up, treat-em-tender kind of week. Eliana got smacked in the head with a toy hammer when Jayden tried to get her interested in that toy instead of the one he had. Jayden smacked his forehead on the edge of a table while trying to pick something up from the floor. Eliana did some ballerina act yesterday while I wasn't home and gave herself a fat lip and a shiner. Dave said she hit the edge of the bed, but there was no discussion on what she did (or where he was) to create such a masterpiece on her face. Ok...to tell the truth, I didn't even notice it until he pointed it out. Her eye is bruised, but only on the lid and she has to close it for it to be seen. Her lip is a bit scratched up, but nothing that will keep her from healing quickly, eating fully, or smiling that infectious smile of hers. I'm hoping for bruise- and scratch-free faces next week. Maybe we will get some pics done. We'll see.

As for the rest of the week....we send prayers for Jonathan and Zachary who have been quite ill and spending time in the hospital. May they have full, quick recoveries and never put their poor mother through the hell she has been through this last week. Prayers for the Shumans...they are also cooped up with runny noses and other unfriendly viral crap. And, lastly, one more big prayer for Dave's grandma who was kept in the hospital overnight for blurred vision and slurred speech issues. May she have a full recovery and enjoy her stop-over in Reno with lots of winnings and no medical issues! :)

Discovery Museum and stuff

We have not been up to much lately. It's been a pretty uneventful week (thank GOD!). Sometimes these weeks are the longest weeks ever, but right after all the hustle and bustle of holidays and bringing in the new year and such, it seems like a blessing to have a simple, normal routine with very little activity.

My parents and I took the kids to the Children's Discovery Museum on Friday. It was our first trip there since Jayden was 6 months old. I have been reluctant to go because there is a lot of chaos there and I worried that it would be age-wise inappropriate for the kids. Most of the stuff there was designed with older kids in mind, I think. There is a lot of knowledge to be gained by playing with the equipment and such, but the level is over the heads of a 3 year old. However, both kids had a GREAT time playing on the stuff and with stuff and even though the "discovery" part was way over their heads, the play part was totally there! SO....here are some pics from the day!

Ellie wasn't excited by the motorcycle in the first picture (probably because she was in the back) but I had to pry her off the fire truck!







Grandma and Ellie were relaxing in the swing.
Both kids had a great time playing in the water area. Eliana LOVED the whirlpool while Jayden thought the balls floating on the water spouts were too much! Despite the great looking aprons CDM provided, the kids ended up SOAKED! Good thing we brought a change of clothes!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

May this new year find you in great times, healthy living, surrounded by love, and in good spirits! If not, try ale! ;)

Day at the Mall

Had a great day at the mall today with Daniela and Kayleigh. Jayden was excited about spending time with Kayleigh all morning. He kept talking about when we were going to go play with her and what they were going to do when we got to the play area at the mall. "And we are going to play at the play area in the mall. And when we go to the mall Kayleigh is going to be there. And we are going to play together."

Well, we managed to spend the whole day there! We did have a little shopping to do at Old Navy (I needed a belt to hold my pants up!HAHAHA) and Baby Gap and Sears and Target. As an added bonus, we ran into my mom at the mall. Yep, weird, I know. I live with her and I ran into her on separate outings at the mall. Small world I guess! :) Anyway, she encouraged me to stop at The Children's Place where she proceded to buy Ellie a cute new outfit. We tried to find something for Jayden, but they didn't really have anything nice in his size. Oh well, we'll get you next time, Bubs!

All in all, we had a fun day and got home quite exhausted! But, we still had play left in us. We took out our new GeoTrax set (thanks Grandma Tess) and played with those for quite a bit before dinner and after as well. Glad he likes those! :) But as an added surprise, when it was diaper changing time, Jayden decided that he was going to wear his Bob The Builder underwear instead. So, he put them on and a short while later, peed in them. Then, he chose to wear his Mater underwear over the pull-up. He peed in those, too, right before dinner; but, again, chose underwear instead of pull-ups. I was ok with all this, but then he peed in those, too. However, I was not going to give in to pull-ups! And he got another pair of underwear (good thing we have lots!) Well, he didn't outright pee in those, but he did leak a little. Fortunately, he did finally pee in the toilet, but that was right before bed. SO, he was destined for a pull-up for sure! Hopefully, tomorrow will be a drier day! :)

Merry Christmas to all my Christmas celebrating friends and family!



May this message find you in great health, surroundings of love, and deep in your cups of eggnog and brandy! :)

New Friends

Today we made some new friends. Ina and Sasha came to visit and play with us. Jayden and Eliana had a GREAT time sharing their toys and drinks and food with their new friend. It turns out, that Eliana and Sasha have the same birthday! What a small world it is! :)

We had such a good time playing this week, that next week we are going to their house to play. Jayden said he was really looking forward to that.

The best part of their playdate is that it wore them both out and they are both sleeping soundly. Jayden went willingly upstairs for a nap at 4 and even now at 7 hasn't even stirred despite my several attempts to wake him up. Eliana had more to eat before she crashed at 6 and even though she woke up about half an hour ago, she plopped right back down on the pillow and went back to sleep. I wonder if I should really try hard to wake them up and keep them up for a while, or let them sleep.....what to do? what to do?

Flat Tire

Nope...not the beer. On the car! We had a busy day fixing it too! Started off the day going to visit Grandma Tess at work so we could drop off the concert tickets with her. One the way there, the tire went flat. Called AAA when we got there and they were going to be 45 minutes or so. Now, I probably COULD have changed the tire myself, but 1) I've never had to change a tire before and I wasn't entirely sure knew how or had the strength to do it properly and 2) let's face it! That's why I pay membership to AAA.

So, there I was freezing my butt off waiting for the guy to come change my tire. The kids were off playing with Grandma Tess and eventually heading to the cafeteria for an unplanned lunch stop. And, the guy shows up. YAY! He changed the tire and the spare was flat too. Yep...flat! So, I'm thinking," Good thing I didn't try to do this myself or we would be here all day!" And, he pumps the tire up with air and we are ready to go. Now, why don't I have an air-pumper coming out of the hood of my car? Because when would anyone need that? TODAY! :)

I decided that after our impromptu lunch, we were going to the tire place to get the tire fixed. I tried to think of a good reason to delay doing it (out of pure laziness) but there was too much driving to be done last night to put it off. I took the non-freeway route all the way across town to the shop where I got the tires. Took me about half an hour to get there. And then, it took them about 1 1/2 hours to get to the car and tell me they couldn't repair the tire and they just replaced it. PHEW! That was a long outing for such little reward!

On the plus-side, my choir performed the first of two concerts last night and it was quite an enjoyable experience. I am tired, but hopefully today will prove restful and tonight will be another good concert. Mom, Dad, Dave and the kids will be there tonight along with some other familiar faces. Hope they don't make me nervous! :)

Last Weekend

So last weekend was super busy...especially Saturday. I went to Asilomar for the math conference where I gave my presentation and then up to Monterey for lunch with my mom and Charlotte. Then up to Boulder Creek to drop off the kids and San Francisco for the Masquerade Ball. Here are the pics from that busy busy day!
This is the gorgeous view from the window of the FishHopper restaurant where we had lunch




















Here is Mom and Charlotte in front of Monterey Bay.








These were just fun shots that Dave and I took in our hotel room before we headed out to the party. Don't like the pictures of me at all. The one of me by myself was of me acting goofy because of what Dave was saying right before he snapped the photo. I look slutty! (Is that a word?) I think he said something about my big boobs. And, the one of us together was off-center and I was trying to push Dave over but he wouldn't budge. Not sure why it came out so fuzzy though. Anyway, enjoy! :)

My Internet Places

These last couple of weeks have busy internet times for me. I recently started a MySpace page. I didn't think I would want to, but it's kind of fun. Tammy set me up on Turkey-Day because "Everyone else has one". So, why not me? Mostly, because I thought Dave would make fun of me....and he did! And, he still does!

Anyway, I found an old friend through MySpace. (Hi Lisa!) I hope that we can chat and keep up now that it is SO easy! I also found a new song that I LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! (Thanks B!) It's called "She Won't Last" by The Panic Channel. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

And, lastly, Julie sent me some pics of the kids from our visit in August.

WOW!!

When life is slow, I wonder if there will ever be anything to do. BUT, when life is busy it is CRAZY busy!

This past week was a prime example of what I mean by crazy! It all started last week with Thanksgiving actually. We had about 25 people over here for Thanksgiving dinner. Dave cooked up 2 turkeys and we made the stuffing, yams, and cranberries. Everyone who came brought a little something to add to dinner, which is always nice. We had a great holiday and enjoyed all the family and friends who came over.

The rest of the weekend was pretty tame with just a couple of outings and some tutoring for me. But, then the week started! Wednesday Aunt Judy came over in the morning and we took the kids up to Walnut Creek for a photo shoot for the next Discovery Toys catalog. They fixed us up with hair and make-up (that was really fun) and took about a thousand pictures of Judy and Jayden with a book-toy-game and Eliana and me with a little ball and Eliana by herself and Judy and Ellie and more and more. The original plan was for them to shoot Jayden on Wednesday and Eliana on Thursday. So, I booked us a hotel for Wednesday night and we stayed overnight. We decided to stay overnight anyway even though they did Ellie's photo shoot on Wednesday because it sounded like fun. We went to CPK for late lunch/early dinner. The food was GREAT as usual. And did a little wandering of the downtown plaza, but decided to hit Safeway for a bottle of wine and some munchies and go back to the room. Thursday morning we got the kids the free breakfast from the hotel (which was perfect for them with fruit an instant oatmeal) and drove back to the plaza for Starbuck's for us. While sitting in Starbuck's we saw Sephora across the way and decided to stop in. That was the cause of our tardiness and we got a parking ticket (WWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH). Neither one of us had ever gotten one before! Bummer, but not a big deal.

Then we came home. I put the kids down for naps and spent time printing out overhead slides for Saturday's big event. Then, before I knew it, my babysitter was here and it was time to start tutoring. Friday was my day to get to Kinko's and take care of last minute things for the weekend. Then, it was Saturday morning! 6AM--Get up and leave for Asilomar. The annual math teachers' conference is held the first weekend in December at Asilomar conference grounds in Pacific Grove. I signed up to speak at the conference last year and re-upped to speak again this year. Last year, my session was at 2 in the afternoon. This year, 8:30 AM! Since we (my mom, Charlotte, and I) decided we were not spending the whole weekend down there, we had to leave insanely early to make sure we had enough time to get there for my 8:30 session. We got there with plenty of time to spare. My session was packed and a lot of fun, but I'll tell you, it's going to take many many many many many more of these conferences before I am not nervous to speak to a group of adults anymore.

Anyway, we toured the conference for a couple of more hours and didn't find much more of interest to us. We found that without teaching in the classroom full-time, there really wasn't much we were going to be able to take away with us from the conference. So, we left really early and stopped on Cannery Row for lunch. YUM!! Then off to home. At home, I had a short amount of time to pack and shower before Dave and I packed the kids in the car to head up to Judy and Gary's for the night. Well...the kids were staying at Judy and Gary's for the night, but Dave and I were off to SF for Symantec's Holiday party--a masquerade ball--and we stayed overnight in the city. Typically, the trip up the hill was wrought with anguish--Jayden puked in the car about 15 minutes from Judy and Gary's. We were expecting it to be Ellie, but I guess you never can tell! :(

Despite all the troubles, we managed to get to SF and have a GREAT time. It was the first night we spent together without the kids since Ellie was born and except for the one night we left Jayden with Grandma Tess one night right after I got pregnant with Ellie (I was SO miserable) it was the first night since kids we spent alone! It was nice! We will definately be doing this again! Perhaps next time, though, we will go somewhere more our speed. SF is a little too busy and crazy for us. We are more beach, lake, country type people.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope you are all enjoying your family and/or friends on this exceptional holiday! Thanksgiving is one of the two most special holidays (the other is Passover) we celebrate at home. It's a day to spend with the people who make you feel good and to allow you to reflect on the great things you have in your life.

I am thankful for the loving, caring people in my life. I am thankful that my parents' house is large enough to hold 7 people and a dog even if we are in tight quarters. I am thankful that we are able to get along well enough that we aren't killing eachother or fighting all the time. I am thankful that Dave is working in a job that he likes and in a place where they like him. I am thankful that we are able to live comfortably within our means and that eventually we will have a nice house of our own to live in. I am thankful that I am surrounded by friends and family, that we are able to enjoy their company and have them enjoy ours. And here it is, I am thankful for my children! I thank God every day for their beautiful faces, healthy bodies, quick minds, easy smiles, and charming personalities! May they grow to be happy, successful, and healthy adults with loving, caring family and friends surrounding them!

To you and yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

OMG!!!

Can you believe a woman was recently kicked off a Delta Airlines flight for discreetly breastfeeding her child!? Here's an article on it:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15720339/?from=ET

Personally, I am hoping that there is more to this story than was written in the article, but just in case there wasn't...

Join me in telling Delta Airlines to get a clue and be supportive of breastfeeding mothers; and also in telling Congress it's time to pass the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, which amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding mothers. Clearly this law is needed now!

*SIGN THE PETITION TO SUPPORT BREASTFEEDING:

http://www.momsrising.org/breastfeeding-petition

MNO--YAY

Thanks for the great evening out last night, Ladies!

Last night the MonkeyMoms had a Mom's Night Out to spend some quality time with Julie while she was up here taking care of Roz after surgery. Prayers for a speedy recovery, Roz! We went to The Summit, which is a little steakhouse down the street from here. The food was ok, but not great. The desserts were really yucky. But, the company was good and the conversation was good. The best part of the conversation is that it wasn't centered around our kids and what they do, but around us as adults and our interests. It was a good time!

Don't you just wish...

you could fall asleep anywhere you wanted when you were tired?
Yep....just conked out at the dinner table. She was fussing for a minute, then she was quiet. I figured that she just went back to her dinner and didn't look because I was tending to Jayden on the other side of me. When Jayden got down from the table, I looked over at Ellie and this is what I saw!

Clowns and Witches!

Thank you all for the comments last time. I was feeling like I was out here in cyberspace all alone for a while. But, now that I know you are out there, I feel like babbling a little more. And, Kris, OF COURSE I REMEMBER YOU!!!

Actually, we have been so crazy around here, I haven't even had a chance to post our halloween pics!! Now that we are sporting colds, there is a little more down-time and I am able to get them posted. I managed to finish Dave's costume just in time for my boys to be clowns. For trick-or-treating, I put on a little make-up myself and wore a clown hat...just to fit in! :) My girls were witches...all 3 of them....Eliana, Ashley, and Grandma Tess!




This one was taken at the play area in the mall, where Mom and I took them to burn off some of that early afternoon energy, but it was too cute to pass up. I just love her little hat! :)

Woe is me!

Ok...so I am not so woe...but I am missing my friends and my kids' friends. I miss having regular playgroups where we get to see the same folks week after week and keep up in the lives of those around us. We are doing fine, don't get me wrong! I just miss the old days.

For those who read the last post, Jayden is doing fine. There didn't seem to be any reactions to the pills at all. Eliana is also doing ok. She fell down a few stairs yesterday so we rushed off to the store to get a baby gate for the top of the stairs. Of course, my mom and I were both on the stairs with Ellie when she fell yesterday, so a baby gate is not the be-all-end-all answer to the problem. But, it made me feel like I was doing something about it. Then, she broke out in the nastiest of all diaper rashes today. One diaper change was totally normal and then, BOOM, a short bit later (and I mean short...she has been pooping little pellet poops all day long), she had another poopy diaper and KERBLAM! Nasty rash all over. Poor girl...she wouldn't sit or stop crying and fussing and stupid me... I didn't know why. Once I cleaned her up and put half a tube of Desitin on her bum, she felt much better and wolfed down some dinner.

Anyway, I babble. If you are out there, I would love to hear it. :)

HOLY AROMASIN, BATMAN!!

Aromasin?? You are wondering what Aromasin is?? Well, let me tell you! Aromasin is the medication that my mom is taking for estrogen surpressants. Jayden, who is so independent it makes me cry sometimes, took 4 (yep that said FOUR) of these Aromasin pills. It made me freak out. I called Kaiser as soon as I found out. Unfortunately, that was nearly 3 HOURS after he swallowed these pills. My mom and I asked him about it and he said he took them and he described the little tiny pills. I'll tell you....I got a surge of adrenaline tonight! YIKES!

Bottom line here is that all is well, no reaction to them thusfar. Hoping it will pass through his system with no adverse affects!

CONGRATS JUDY AND GARY

Congratulations to Judy and Gary and all of the other 12,000 participants of the Inaugural Rock N' Roll 1/2 Marathon in San Jose! Judy and Gary completed the 13.1 mile race in just under 3 hours! ROCK ON!

As I posted previously, I was planning to join Judy in this race, but since decided I didn't have time to train. I was clearly right, but it turns out that a sneaky twist (get it...twist) of fate determined that even if I did train, I would not race on Sunday. I sprained my left ankle stepping off the curb (right into a @#$%^ing pothole) in front of my in-law's house Saturday night. I was hoping that it wasn't broken and x-rays Sunday morning assured me of that. But, the sprain was so bad that I couldn't put any weight on it at all. The crutches however were WAY more painful than the sprain (after several hours at the marathon rooting on Judy and Gary and hanging out for music and then lunch). I decided that I could walk (very carefully) and to Pittsburgh with those dang crutches! :)

Anyway, it's much better now even if it is still a bit swollen and hurts if I bend, twist, or move my foot in any way. :)

I'm on for next year's 1/2 marathon. I will start training as soon as I am able to fully walk again.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

Whoa!! Hang on there! HOLD THE PHONE!!! I said I love fall! I like the cool overcast weather! I NEVER SAID I WAS READY FOR RAIN!!!!!!!!!

We all went to our house to work today and as I was slaving away to vacuum the GINORMOUS amounts of filth, dirt, drywall, sawdust, nails, and other crap off the carpet Dave says we are keeping, Dave asked, "Did you hear anything about it raining today?" Well, of course, I am not one to read the paper, listen to the news or pay attention to the radio. So, I didn't know about any predictions of rain. However, I said, "Sure looks like it anyway." Apparently, I was a better weather-forecaster than I expected. Not five minutes later, HUGE drops of rain started to appear on my patio. Then it came down like a real rain. I couldn't believe it. A real rain!

Ordinarily, I love rain. I will go out in it and let it pour on me like nothing. But, right now my house is in a rather delicate stage. Sure as shit though....Dave called me on my way home.

"Can you come back and get Jayden?" he asked. "The rain is coming in the bedroom window in three places and the water is starting to pile up. Plus, the window in the kitchen is leaking as well as the new French doors that are still unfinished wood on the inside."

I just love remodeling. I will tell you plain as day. I am gonna LOVE my house when it's done. I just hope that happens before we have to choose between carpeting and sending Eliana to the college of her choice. :)

Walking and hugging

Eliana has finally made the switch from crawling to walking. I noticed it at a playdate this week. She was wandering all over the playroom on her FEET! I also noticed at home that she has taken to wandering around with stuff in her hands. I think when she discovered it was easier to transport her special treasures while walking and carrying than to drag the stuff and crawl, she was motivated to make the switch. Today she woke up from her nap on the living room floor (yep, I am a terrible mother, I let my kid nap on the floor!) she got up and wandered into the kitchen before I caught up with her. She had to be the cutest thing ever just tottering on her little feet with her eyes only half open. What a loving cuddle-bug she is, too. Just loves to toddle over and give hugs when she is playing, but when she is sleepy (just going down to sleep or just getting up) she likes to sit and hug and put her head down. I LOVE IT!

Jayden loves her, too. Today, he wanted to nap with her. He saw her sleeping on the floor and tip-toed around her. He asked if he could sleep with her. I said no because we can't wake her up or she will cry. He asked if he could give her a kiss. I said that would wake her up. So, he came over to me and gave me a big hug and kiss instead. LUCKY ME!

I love my kids! I love my life (today at least anyway)! I love that I get to stay home and watch them grow and change and learn! And, today is a beautiful fall day with grey overcast skies and a nice chill in the air. We are at home quietly cuddling and enjoying being together. Daddy is at our house slaving away to make it livable (hope that happens in the next decade or so). What a great day!

Fall begins--A New Year!

Last week marked the beginning of fall. I love autumn when the leaves turn their pretty gold, red, and brown colors and the weather begins to chill. I think fall is my favorite season. Of course, it has my favorite "secular" holiday in it---Halloween! I know...if you know me (and I would guess you aren't reading this unless you know me) you know that Halloween is my favorite non-Jewish holiday. I say "secular" because technically it is religios based holiday, but the way we celebrate it here in our fabulous country, it is secular. Halloween is actually a Pagan holiday that the Christian leaders adopted into practice when they tried to convert the world to their new religion. They knew that the people would not easily give up their traditions so many of the Christian practices are of Pagan decent. Halloween as we celebrate it in America is one of my faves, so thank you Pagans! (Funny what you learn working for the Catholics, eh?). I am thinking about hunting up my Halloween decorations and bringing them to my parents' house and decking us out, but I am not sure how my folks will react to that. Gonna wait until after Yom Kippur (Monday) to bring it up.

Speaking of...I am taking this opportunity of the Jewish New Year to reflect on my year and try to bring about change for the better. That is the purpose of these holidays as well. They are to give you time to reflect on how you have been and to develop a plan for improvement. I have decided on some things I need to work on this year. I hope to be a better person for it. SO...For all those of you that I have wronged in any way (by talking too much, not talking enough, failing to listen or failing to hear, doing too much or not doing enough, or doing the wrong thing or saying the wrong thing) please forgive me as I try to forgive myself. I am turning a new leaf and make you this promise that I will do my best to be a better person, friend, wife, mother, sister, daughter, neighbor, aunt, cousin, team member.

Jayden and Eliana

Things are pretty typical around here right now and there is not much to say. I keep thinking to myself, "It's time to post on your blog, Lyn." But, as I sit here thinking there isn't much time to type anything, I am also thinking there isn't much to say.

Jayden is liking preschool. When I pick him up, he asks me if he can stay and when he can go back to class. He likes his teachers and his class, it seems. He doesn't talk much about his classmates, so I am presuming he hasn't bonded with any particular children yet. He is still not potty-trained although he will go most of the time I put him on the pot. Sometimes, he flat out refuses...other times, he goes almost as soon as his tush hits the seat. Dave caught him trying to poop under the table the other day and dragged him to the bathroom. He was so proud of his "rocket ship" poop. Not much else to report on Jayden.

Eliana started music class on Thursday. She seems to like it. Daniela signed up Kayleigh and Ryan for the same class but an hour later. We stayed for their class last week and we will attend their class again this week because Daniela asked me to. I'm so nice! :) There are not too many people in her class so I am hoping for a merger between her class and mine that will end up meeting on the hour between our current schedules. I would really like that. The timing would be so much easier for me! And, Ellie seems to like the class and the extra attention she gets from me during the class now that she doesn't have to share it with Jayden. I like that part too.

Ellie is walking, now. She does crawl a lot still and when she can find something to hold on to while walking, she holds on. She doesn't need to, but I think she likes the security. She loves to wear her new little shoes. I didn't actually NEED to buy her new shoes, but when I was out getting Jayden shoes that he DESPERATELY needed, I couldn't help but look at her little feet and want to buy some for her too. :) She is all about shoes. She loves to go to the shoe pile where we (my mom, me, and Jayden) dump our shoes and play with them. She puts them on her hands AND her feet and wanders around with them.

If it isn't the shoes, though, it's the books. She has also turned into a real bookworm. She is so good at just sitting and playing with a pile of books for really long stretches of time. It's a real treat because not only did Jayden not do that, but he would destroy a paper book inside a New York minute if you didn't watch him like a hawk. Ellie is not exactly gentle with the books, but she is looking to "read" them and play rather than destroy. I think with Jayden, though, it is the engineer in him that makes him tick. First destruction, then construction. He wants to see how "it" goes together so he can make it.

Anyway, for someone who had nothing to write about, I seemed to have used up quite a few words. Now I need to seek solice elsewhere as my hide-out has been discovered by the children and the babysitter is still on the clock.

Preschool cake!

Today was Jayden's first day of preschool. I got the call last week that he was admitted to Temple Emanu-El Preschool which is the school of choice for us. So, early this morning, I got us all up and we rushed him off to school. He was pretty nervous about it. He was saying, "I don't want to go to school. Nobody likes me there because I am different."

Now, of course, this is not true. He was making up a story to cope with his nerves, but he was still nervous when we got there. Never-the-less, he smiled pretty for the pictures.

Ok..it may have been more goofy than pretty, but he was nervous.

Here he is meeting his teacher for the first time.


And, before I get accused of never posting pics of Eliana....here she is in her cake-y glory! Happy 1st birthday, Princess!

Happy Birthday to Me

I made it to my 34th birthday today. Nope...no surprise. In fact there is really no surprise because the one surprise that was being planned, my mom vetoed. My dear sweet loving brother who hates everyone elses messes is planning to take my car (which desperately needs it) to be cleaned. He was going to try to work out surprising me with it, but my mom told him that it was too complicated to work it out and he should just tell me. What a party pooper!!!

Speaking of poopers....Jayden, Eliana and I went to our friends' birthday party on Thursday and poor Jayden got a case of the trots. But, he was timely enough with it that I managed to put him on the toilet and he got to poopy in the potty! He was very excited about it. He talked about the "snake-y" poopy he had in the potty in Capitola and how this poopy was "runny" poopies. He is still talking about how he "poopied in the potty at the party". Unfortunatly, he can't carry that excitement to using the potty at home.

Well, I am off to celebrate my birthday at a baby shower for a woman I see about twice a year and then a wine tasting event with my parents and a bunch of their friends where the average age will be about 65. No...it's fine. I am actually looking forward to going.

Life's lessons

Well, I have learned 2 things since this weekend's travesty. They are not necessarily good things, but, then....we usually learn from our mistakes.

The first: Some people SUCK! Some people have no concept of civilized behavior or social acceptancies. Some people SUCK! Other's however, have more empathy in their little toe than those "some people" I previously referred to.

The second: I can't spell! Holy moley! I spelled THIEVES wrong! I need to go back to the 5th grade!

All's good. We are moving forward on our house project. Dave met with an insulation guy today that really seemed to know his stuff. The other guy that Dave talked to was clearly less than knowledgable in regards to the work that was capable of being done and how much it should cost to do it. So, now we are hoping to get some serious stuff done and be able to move back home soon....well, a couple of months probably, but maybe not next year now. :)

THEIVES!!!

People SUCK!!! There are so many selfish shitty people out there in this world that it makes me MAD! So moronically stupid SCUMBAG(S) (don't know if it was one or more scumbags) broke into our house and stole HUNDREDS UPON HUNDREDS of dollars of Dave's tools! They took hammers, screwdrivers, his WHOLE DAMN toolbag with all of his electrical tools as well as some power tools and the chargers for battery-operated tools. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! We haven't really been able to assess what else was missing, but it is ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo frustrating.

Yep....this post was not fun to read. But, I feel better having expressed my anger even with a lack of vocabulary, punctuation, and proper grammar.

The good news?? My children are having a great day. They are relaxing at home (well, my parents' house is going to be home for a while) and playing together and watching too much TV and all is good here. I feel like my personal space has been violated, but my family is healthy, happy, and safe....at least we are mostly healthy, mostly happy, and about as safe as you can expect to be in a big fucking city of evil-maniacal savages!

I'm calm...really. I'm calm! :)

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

Today is my baby's first birthday. I've spent the whole day remembering exactly what we were doing at this hour last year. It was a lot of fun to recall how we spent her first day, who came by to visit, how little she was then versus how big she is now, and mostly, I've been thinking about how much we have both changed and grown in the last year--more she than me, though! :)

As I type, I am watching her try really hard to play with her big brother (who I might add has also changed a great deal since meeting his sister for the first time last year). She is just starting to walk but chooses to crawl. She is not as strong as Jayden is (obviously) so she is easily scared and frustrated by his method of play. Right now the game is "hide under the big cardboard box". Since she can not get out from under the box, she doesn't really like that game. But, she still wants to play with him....and he, her! :)

It is a happy day!