She slept through again!

Is it too much to hope this is it? uh, probably, right? anyhow, I woke soooo refreshed and actually Griffin woke me up because he had to pee at 6 a.m. and then he came into bed with me until Paisley woke at 6:45. Pretty sweet :)

Good Sleep!!

I will celebrate that for one night since that is probably as long as it will last, right? She usually manages to do this right before company arrives just to throw me into thinking we might be getting somewhere, then the company throws it all off, and we repeat the cycle.

oh well, for now, last night was great and after my work out I needed some rest ;)

Then end of 2008

I was thinking the other day about how quickly this year has gone by. In may ways that is always true at this time of year but seriously this has been a fast year. I know it's because we have been quite busy but I would also like to think it's because we have been living a LOT! I think it's true. I made the jump to working part time "officially". I say that in quotes because much of my office working has been part time since starting...first there was heinen's competing, then laziness, then pregnancy #1, then Griffin....then a short stint of hard hard working, then Paisley. But now I have surrendered to it but in a healthy way. M/W/F I am full force (except when on lunch break like now ;)) and T/TH/S/S I am home, mentally and physically. It has been really healthy for me and I think for the rest of the crew. It has given us a chance for play dates and time to keep the house tidier and explore cooking more and I hope next summer to explore gardening more.

Anyhow, as this year comes to an end and next year begins I wish all of you (all 3-4 of you that I know read and the others that might) a happy New Year. May all your families have health and peace as 2009 unfolds!

Merry Christmas

Another one bites the dust...

Griffin got the flu bug. He woke up in pee and puke but didn't seem bothered by either. I asked him if he was sick and he said, "no, I fine." Then he puked all over the hallway and his hand. He had a tiny bit of toast and some juice and is home with Lee. Fun Vacation times for the hubby once again! ha. poor kiddo...he really is pleasant when he's sick though.

Is it possible?

Is it possible the 2nd year of life, only 1 month into it, is truly harder than the 1st year? Man oh man this kid is killing me. I do remember this with Griffin though so that is reassuring, especially since I am really really loving my crazy, stubborn 3 1/2 year old. I mean it! he is just too funny and adorable these days even if stubborn and crazy.

Paisley on the other hand, cute and adorable, and driving me bat shit crazy. I'm so tired and she is definitely not helping in that category. Then there is the pointing and yelling. Oh, and have I mentioned the pinching? yeah, that's fun too. Then of course there is the physical assault on her brother. He isn't always nice to her but has been very nice recently and she just doesn't care....she is beating him up to no end.

Anyhow, this too shall pass and I still adore them both. I'm sure my parents will come visit next week and think she is lovely. lol.

Griffin story from this a.m.

Me drying my hair in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet lid
Griffin, "I have to go potty."
Me: "Ok, let me get up."
Griffin: "Oh, sank you."
Me: "no problem"
Griffin goes potty and then puts the seat lid back down and says, "here so you can sit."

Then he leaves the bathroom, closes the door only to return 30 sec. later and says, "you want the door bopen?" "ok mommy" props the door open and leaves again. haha.

List of accomplishments, thanks, and things that happened in 2008

care to participate...go for it in the comments section.

What I've done in 2008

Mothered 2 children
Been a wife another year
Improved our house cleanliness
Began making my own kefir
Starting wasting less
Starting recycling more
Particpated in CityFresh and LOVED it!
Committed to using only 1 car 4 days/week all summer and fall and did it mostly
stayed home 2 days/week and LOVED it
worked 3 days/week and LOVED it
survived and enjoyed our first family cross-country car trip to St. Louis
Had my highest billed charges for one month ever at the office
Began sewing again
tried to be a better friend
joined the Y and am using it
pumped milk for an entire year (and still going)
nursed a babe all year (and still going)
paid our bills almost entirely on time all year
didn't use credit
saved for christmas beforehand
shopped some for christmas beforehand

2008 things I'm thankful for:

my family :)
my office
my house
my new president!
my health
my friends
my strength
my kindness ;)

Things that happened in 2008 worth mentioning!

My grandmother moved cross country to re-retire here. It's full circle in a way and I"m loving it.
I decided to work part time. This was relinquishing control from work and giving it back to my family. It was the BEST decision ever.
We began our journey to become debt free!


I'll keep adding to this but there is a start....

why?

So, I need to take my own advice and my husband so kindly reminded me of it this a.m. "You can't change what has happened, only how you respond to it." It's great advice and I really should listen but man, I'm pissed at myself.

I gave Paisley a plate of bananas this a.m. to occupy her while I dried my hair. My hair is freaking a horse's mane so it takes forever to dry. I heard her squawking but I wasn't finished....the next thing I heard was the plate dropping. Griffin confirmed before I got downstairs that it was broken. :( Our new plates too. I was really really hoping for once to keep this set of plates more than a year or two....we paid a good deal for them. I LOVE them and they are sturdy. Ugh. So, I'm not sure why I'm so pissed at myself...for giving her the plate? for having hugely thick hair? for having a kid who is so impatient she throws plates on the floor? for not having a clean kid's plate to give her instead? ugh.


have I mentioned.....ugh.

We go to see Santa

We did this last saturday but just getting around to posting the pics. They are pretty funny. lol.

Commentary on being nice...

would appreciate feedback. I think I'm a fairly nice person. I consider people's feelings, I try to do the right thing in regards to human kind, and although I could do better I try not to talk about people behind their backs. Apparently I may be too nice. That is neither here nor there. what I want to know is where is the line drawn. I mean, I want to be assertive and firm in my choices but I want to relay compassion, sincerity, and NICE :) At any rate, I've always struggled with this and although it's improving I would love other's insight. I was raised by two wonderful, caring, giving, NICE people whom probably get taken advantage of because of this but overall I think are praised for their way of living. So, when is it right to be more of a bully about your opinion? when is it ok to say the F word? (ever?) when is it best to sugar coat? some of this is rhetorical banter but seriously...would love people's opinions.

Paisley is over her throw-ups. Lee is too. Griffin and I have been spared so it seems. I sure hope so. We saw Santa this weekend. Paisley screamed. Griffin was skeptical followed by excitement followed by anger when Santa didn't give him the toy right then that he asked for. lol. Anyhow, we are doing well. Getting in the christmas spirit.

Oh, and I'm SEWING! it's fun. Gotta get the dress pattern and fabric soon kelly, don't you worry :)

Paisley Walking-for Heather ;)

What a way to start year 2

Sick! blech. Poor Paisley got the throw ups, then a raging fever, and is still suffering from clingy crabby baby syndrome ;) I am hoping she is going to turn around from this soon though because I am sooooo tired. I am being forced to sleep with her all over me in order to get any sleep. It's so funny trying not to compare children. I really do try but if I was to step back a moment and reflect it continues to amaze me how difficult one child can be in one regard and yet the other child is difficult in an entirely other way. Griffin is WILD and likes to move move move all the time. He wasn't a great sleeper before 10 months old but once he figured it out he really was great. Never much of a co-sleeper except when cold...then he'll take all the covers and curl up next to Lee so he can pee on him in the a.m. haha. Anyhow, Paisley is a needy sleeper. She LOVES being right on top of me or right next to me...then she smells the boob and WANTS it. I am exhausted. This vacation has probably stunk for Lee as well. Oh well. Luckily he has more time off at the end of the month.

Busy week for the little one

Paisley is now walking, clapping, doing "sooo big" with her arms on command, climbing into and out of the small chairs by herself, getting down from the couch/bed by herself, and generally acting not like a baby any longer. It's been a busy week of learning for her. She has also been sleeping generally better. I'm still exhausted. I swear that will go away at some point....

Griffin has also been busy learning his full name, the last names of both sets of grandparents, and the last names of his aunt and uncles. Not sure he realizes what it means but it cracks me up when he announces things like, "that's Great Grammy Norris" who it decidedly is NOT. lol. He just thinks well, that's family, they have the same name as him.

Paisley is One

hard to believe we've made it a year but we have! So fun. I need to take some pictures of her tonight just to document. She is walking pretty much on her own now and really thinks it's the greatest. I love you baby girl :)

She's walking!

Paisley has been taking a few steps here and there for several weeks but last night she decided that was it she was going to walk. I think it will still be a few weeks before she is doing it fulltime but she could surprise me. She was just taking off and stopping if she almost lost her balance. It is a thrill to see a young child figuring that out...such joy on their face. I'll admit though it made me just a titch sad to think she is growing up pretty fast. Ugh, why do they do that?

She has been sleeping horribly the last two nights. I am not sure why but I am going to blame the walking. I am trying to keep my cool but it's hard when you're exhausted. Thankfully for all of our sanity (mine mostly but that will keep Lee sane too) Liza is coming to clean today. We did a fair amount of prepping for her so I hope she can really get into the knooks and crannies.

Griffin and I went swimming yesterday. The pool was a little cooler than I like and they didn't have any hot water in the showers but it was FUN! He has been wearing his muscle man swim outfit and it really keeps afloat. He is still nervous but that is wearing off. Now I just have to keep up with taking him to the pool. Bring your suits mom and dad!!

Water water everywhere....

We went swimming this a.m. with some friends (hi guys :)) Griffin really had a blast! and so did P and so did I!! We swam/played for about 1 1/2 hours and then ate a snack. Then we headed to Trader Joe's for the rest of our groceries (I have been shopping differently these days and it's working for the budget). When we got home Griffin asked to take a bath. He was in there for nearly 2 hours!! (oh my). He would just let out some cool water and then fill with hot again when it got too cold. It was hysterical. Then Paisley went for a nap (unusual but loved by me) and Griffin sat with me on the couch---I'll admit he watched t.v. and I napped. ssshhhh, don't tell. After daddy returned home he wanted to go back in the bathtub. I swear this kid will turn into a fish. To top off the day I headed to the pool after the kids were in bed just to stretch out and go in the whirlpool. aaaah, what a nice day....

Simple Mom Giveaway

http://simplemom.net/epson-artisan-printer-giveaway/

I hope someone I know wins (maybe me!)

Going to visit Barack Obama

Apparently that is where we were heading this a.m. according to Griffin. When the car turned on the radio was talking about Obama and Griffin yelled out, "Boke Obama, we going to visit him. We going to see him. He's nice." That kid is too funny.

Yesterday was a great day with the kiddos...no napping but we had a lot of fun out and about with friends, at the office, and then in the front yard raking leaves. Griffin got out 2 of his bikes and let Paisley play with one of them. She was sitting on it and enjoying herself. Then he decided he wanted to be on it as well. He climbed on and made her then ride "bitch"...it was the cutest darn thing I"ve seen in a long time :) It makes me sooo happy when he is nice to her. I always wanted a brother, especially an older one so it's awesome she will have that experience.

Just some thoughts

I can't help but think, as I sit listening to Obama's speech from last night, what a glorious hope bubbling up inside of me. I hope, hope, hope that even just a bit of what he wants to accomplish can come to fruition. SOMETHING has to change and really really hope he is the man to do it! I Loved the part of his speech where he spoke to the people who aren't quite on board with him yet...he said, "I will be your president too." I'm sure every president-elect says something to that effect but it just seemed different from his lips. I am now listening to McCain's concession speech and it is quite nice as well....

gosh, I just hope this is the beginning of something grand!!

GoBama!!

Woot! I'm so excited :)

Paisley/Griffin

Paisley is cruising around the furniture. She is LOVING to have us walk with her holding her hands. It's such a cute stage although exhausting. I"m trying to keep my patience with it because soon all she will want is her independence.

Griffin spent the weekend with daddy having a "guys weekend". He is now completely back to momcentric needs...it's also very annoying. The best was his request for me to "wash his junk. do it mommy. do it." I had to try very hard not to completely lose it laughing at that one...I have such a dirty mind. lol.

I guess we now own a wii fit. Thanksgiving should be great working out with everyone ;)

and now hiccups?

what gives body? uggh. given the stuff I've read on hiccups I'm guessing it's because i'm not getting a deep enough inspriation/expiration so my "switch" is now weirded out. ugh, I hope they go away soon.

Sick

Blech. I am sick. still. now it's moved fully into my chest. I am at work again. somehow I seemed to have felt better yesterday when I didn't have to work but did have the kids??? weird. anyhow, I am doing everything to try to get better aside from truly slowing down...it's just not entirely possible. the kids did sleep pretty well last night which was wonderful and Griffin has been dry for going on 48 hours fully!! we shall see what today brings of course.

cough cough, sore throat, yuck....

Pet Peeve

I get so annoyed when you grow to like a product, you think it is successful in its intended purpose, is well-priced, is easily found at many stores you frequent and BAM, the company gets rid of it. I don't get it? My newest realization was with Dawn Direct Foam...cannot find it anywhere around here and it seems to have been replaced with some new Dawn Power Scrub. Whatever....it forced me to make the switch to something greener and healthier for my family...7th generation! and what an awesome price $2.89 for the bottle!! I tested it this a.m. with a pan of grease from burgers last night and it worked spendidly :) Yahoo!! but boo on Dawn....

Tagged...not really...but I'm playing anyhow :)

Saw this on another blog and thought it was fun ...play along too, one word answers only though!

1. Where is your cell phone? downstairs
2. Where is your significant other? couch
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? strong
5. Your father? awesome
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? uhhhhh
8. Your dream/goal? freedom
9. The room you're in? bedroom
10. Your hobby? work
11. Your fear? loneliness
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? secure
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? rested
15. One of your wish list items? vacation
16. Where you grew up? Missouri
17. The last thing you did? wake
18. What are you wearing? clothes
19. Your TV? Higglytown
20. Your pet? mazzy-mune
21. Your computer? bright
22. Your mood? tired
23. Missing someone? always?
24. Your car? driveway
25. Something you're not wearing? bra
26. Favorite Store? Joe's
27. Your summer? nice!
28. Love someone? Indeed
29. Your favorite color? yellow
30. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
31. Last time you cried? sunday

Aaaah, monday

Most people don't say that but after 3 days in a row at home with the kids I AM! ha. Had a talk with the husband and feeling better about life....it's all on the upswing!!

Boo at the zoo was fun. took a few pictures but none came out. Will make sure to get them on halloween. The costumes were adorable. I think they really captured the personas well :) Lee and I reconfirmed what we already know about our family. 1)don't do things like boo at the zoo until kids are older and 2)don't meet up with people. This probably makes us sound anti-social but really it's just confusing and stressful for us. Maybe for others too? It's fun to see people but I think at these ages we will save seeing people for play dates, not mass chaos events. lol. We lost his hat too (green and white hand knit :( ) so I was pretty bummed. I will call today but unlikely I'm sure to get it back. So, now we need a new one because he won't wear the other hat we own....little turd. haha.

Griffin did say he had a lot of fun so maybe it wasn't all a waste of time. I think he said this though because at the very end before we left we ran into real live ROBOTS! They were sooo cool and literally made his evening. He shook their hand and was just in awe. So, I'm glad we went overall.

off to work...

The weekends are long

I love being with my kids. I really really mean that. I love being with my husband. I really really mean that. What I'm not sure is that I love being with them all together. lol.

I just read a blog entry from a woman whose husband recently got a job traveling. She said, "man I complain about him when he's gone because I have to do everything myself and then I complain when he returns because he messes with my routine." This is my life although Lee does not travel. I need to find a better way of assimilating the two worlds, weekdays and weekends. Uggh, it's making me bonkers. The screaming and insanity of my weekends makes me long for mondays. blech.

Anyhow, yesterday was a little crazy but fun. Paisley refused to nap the entire day which made for one tired little girl last evening and she therefore didn't sleep well. Amazingly she was in a great mood all day but seriously? no nap? what is that about? We attended a birthday party at the metroparks in the afternoon. G man took a bit to warm up to the idea and kept complaining he was cold....once he got into it though he got plenty filthy and full of candy. Happy Day for him!

Today is boo at the zoo...we are still working on their costumes. I feel like a loser and that noone will realize he is Mac or that she is PC. Whatever, right? I should feel confident in my choice to be creative :)

I'm still feeling under the weather. I want to just laze around all day but 1)there is too much to be done and 2)see above regarding my crazy family.

love to all....

Griffin's imagination

Griffin is really beginning to get into imaginative play. I LOVE catching him do it and overhear him at play. He does it frequently with his bakugan but yesterday we were outside and he was building a "castle" with the rocks from the little tree. My inclination was to tell him no and put those rocks away but then I was fascinated with what he was going to do. I realize I so often don't trust him because when he raised one rock over his head I freaked and screamed, "don't throw that!" to which he replied, "I not. it's how to make the castle." It was all part of it. So, then once the castle was built he had to walk around the castle and avoid the mud (grass). It just melted my heart! :LOVE:

P's sleeping

the set back of last week must have been from that eye tooth because she is back to sleeping quite well again! thank the lord. Last night was 6:30 p.m. bedtime, fussed two separate times in late evening, and woke to eat at 5:15 a.m.!! Then back to sleep until 7:15 a.m.!! All in her crib :)

Cooking, Cleaning, enjoying the fall days

We are on a budget. We started it a little over a month ago and I'd say it's going so-so. Neither of us are very good at it but we have an end goal so it's making it easier to encourage each other to save rather than enable each other to spend money. Part of this is I am challenging myself to cook more, even with the kiddos around being crazy....somedays this is very very challenging but overall it's working out well and I'm finding ways to incorporate their help and at times their taste buds. P really doesn't care for anything spicey which is a shame and similarly to her brother has chosen one thing she will allow me to feed her (applesauce-G's was yogurt)...otherwise she has to do it herself. She's lucky she's so darn cute :) Yesterday I made pumpkin/sweet potato soup. It had a hint of chili powder, fresh lime juice, and I LOVED it! GG loved it as well and I shared some with my friend too. I served it with fresh steamed veggies and a turkey burger. I just was in love with this meal...lol...

Yesterday morning I needed desperately to vaccuum the first floor, there was bits of food and dog hair everywhere so I set to it after the kids ate breakfast. P crawled around while I got to work and G played upstairs, naked on my bed, with his Bakugan. I cracked up at this but hey, at least he entertained himself. Then it was time for us to go participate in our cleaning co-op (a group of friends are taking turns each week helping out cleaning at the others house--it's fun and my turn is next Tuesday!!). Griffin did not want to put clothes on so we could leave the house. This has not happened in a long time and I had to bribe him with taking a toy from the house to the other house (this is something we are working on NOT doing so I was aggravated at having to resort to it and of course we forgot the toy at the lady's house so he was a bit crushed later on). Griffin was such a nice friend while playing at the lady's house and I sorted boxes from her basement for her. P just crawled around. Griffin shared with the other little boy and really handled it well when the other little boy was pushing. He chose often to use his words instead of just push back (he did push back once but I prolly would have too in that situation). Anyhow, I was sooo proud of him!

When we got home is when I began cooking and let them have some quiet time. I guess the boy got too quiet and I didn't notice. The next thing I knew he came into the kitchen and said, "I did something to the toy-lip (toilet)." me-"what did you do?" G-"I don't know but it got bigger! (shows arms all big and to the side) me-bolting upstairs to find 2 inches of water all over the bathroom floor. So, 7 wet towels later and thankfully not a call to a plumber it was cleaned up. I told him he MUST inform me if he needs to use the restroom in the future. So far he has complied. It was too cute though he had tried to unplug the mess and actually had the plunger in the toilet when I got up there. He is one fiercely independent child!

gotta get back to work.

I have been a very bad blogger

I am so sorry and have no excuse. Last week was a bit of a high anxiety week for me and I think I just couldn't muster much "good" in written form so I just didn't blog. I'm feeling better though and wanted to say so :) Sorry for the lapse

Tuesday

Creative title, eh? I'm tired what can I say?

So, it rained today. a lot. we were supposed to go to the Gardens this a.m. with Gudrun but it was pouring then. So, we went later in the day during the 2 hours it was not raining today. Good luck, eh? It was gorgeous and honestly I felt like I was in another city. Not that I don't think Cleveland is beautiful but this was just so different than anything else I've seen in Cleveland. I am hoping to get a membership and go back in the future. I would like to explore more with Griffin and whomever attends with us :)

I took Griffin swimming again tonight. It was late (8-9 p.m.) but he was still in a decent behaving mood so I went for it. We had a blast again. I asked him on the way there what the one rule was at the pool and he said, "no running." That was amazing to me :) and the right answer or at least the one I was looking for. We started him out in the lifevest and he liked that and was really getting good at swimming without me holding him. Then I asked him if he wanted to try without the vest. He said, "YES!" and boy did he ever want to try....unfortunately he just doesn't quite get it yet, swimming that is, so he kept sinking. The good news is he wasn't upset by it and kept trying. I'm thinking this is going to be a worthy investment! We are excited to go back next sunday. He was one tuckered out little boy after and fell asleep in our bed with Lee...I just moved him to his bed without a hitch....

Sunday Swimming

So, we went to the Y yesterday for our first trip to the pool. Griffin was a bit skiddish at first but soon warmed up to the water. I LOVED being in the water! He let me take him into the deeper water where I could stand but he couldn't but then he wanted to get out again. That's when we opted for the life jacket. I knew that he might have trouble staying "down" with it on but I thought it might make him more fearless. It did a bit until it toppled him over like a turtle-poor boy. Then Julia, a 4 y.o., showed up and his fears quickly disappeared. She jumped in the water by herself, she swam by herself, and she went under water. By then end of our hour session in the water he was wearing the life jacket doggy paddling by himself, albeit slowly, to the walls. It was amazing to watch the transformation. We are going to try to go again tomorrow evening!!

Great Day

Today was just all around a nice family day. I got to sleep in until 10 a.m.!!! woot. We took our time getting ready for the day with Lee playing with the kids, me taking a long shower, tidying a bit, eating a late breakfast, the kids eating for the third time of the day (ha), etc. We finally were ready to walk up to the YMCA and sign up for our new membership. We stopped for chai and coffee first, then a quick stop at elder N's house, then to the Y. We all got our id's, even Griffin, and we are set. G man and I are going swimming tomorrow to break in our membership!! On our way home we got ice cream at DQ and then stopped again at the in-laws for a visit. The rest of the day involved dinner, baths, and bedtime. I did some watching of t.v. and cooking this evening. Yes, a great day...

things of note: P took two steps today on her own. I think it was a fluke but it marks the beginnings of her walking! G said Please several times on his own today, he is practicing holding up two or three fingers (it's hard to get those fingers in the right spots), he is continuing to learn magic, and he ate SPAGHETTI! for the first time tonight with the family---this is a major deal :)

tomorrow is my morning on with the kids so I should get to bed....

She threw me a bone

Thank the freaking lord. She slept from 7:30 p.m. until 3 a.m. This wasn't all the way through since she woke like 4 times before I even went to bed but she settled herself back to sleep all those times. Then she came to bed with me at 3 a.m. and made my life hell. I"ll take it but I really need to figure out how to get her BACK in the crib after that middle of the night feeding. Ah well..it's still some amount of progress, right?

We had a glorious day yesterday. Went for ice cream and then to the zoo. Aunt Tamara came with us and since she has a broken leg Griffin got to ride around with her on the motorized cart. This worked for me as then Ms. P and I just visited with GG. It was sooo nice out. Then home for some resting and playing. Finally a loooong bath followed by more playing outside. Griffin only broke down at the end because he was really tired. I'm sad to think he is going to stop napping but it makes for a much earlier evening of peace so maybe it isn't such a bad thing. A really great day all around.

10 months old!

Sunday was my grandmother's 80th and also Paisley 10 month date :)

Stupid Me

So, I try hard to be green but some things I just cannot give into....my streaky stainless steel was one of them until tonight. I have always used nothing or just water on them when I clean but once/month allowed my cleaning lady to be toxic in our house with ZEP ss cleaner. It was STRONG but it worked and the smell didn't linger more than a day and I didn't feel ill from it (so it must be safe, right? ha). Well, neither of us have been able to locate the stuff since I ran out a few months ago. Finally I just broke down and bought a different brand. Bad idea. It looks great...but now my house is making me ill. More specifically my kitchen but it seems to be spreading. Blech. I feel lousy and it's all my damn fault. Lee cannot smell anything due to allergies but the poor kids...how do I get rid of this stuff? HELP!!!

She slept through the night!!

We were at a birthday party until 7:45 p.m. Then both kids fell asleep in the car. Paisley woke when I got her out of the car but I put her right back down and she was asleep by 8:45 p.m. She slept in her crib until 4:50 a.m.!!!! It was insane and awesome...of course I paid for it big time from 5 -7 a.m. but it was worth it :) also, I missed her....stupid I"m sure but it was weird not sleeping with her. I think it is best for us both in regards to actually sleeping but man, where's my baby going? :( she's growing up fast...

Biker Babe

10 is the magic number?

I am starting to think with all the superstition in me that Paisley is getting close to sleeping through the night. It hasn't happened yet but we have made GREAT strides over the weekend. Let's pray that is the case. She will be 10 months next sunday and that is around the same time G man began sleeping through as well. Only downside....I got my period 3 weeks later. So, I'm on the lookout for that too-blech.

something about my husband

I try hard not to write about my husband on here. I just don't think it's very nice or often what I might say wouldn't be very nice ;) but this story is just too funny to me NOT to share.

So, my grandmother helped me clean up my basement yesterday. Down there was a basket (one of my good laundry baskets) full of stuff from his old office. In the basket included one really big monster guy. We were going through the basket while G napped and as soon as I saw that I said, "Oh man Griffin is going to love that thing." Lee did not looked pleased at sharing with him. lol. You see, my husband has a small sharing problem. It started when he was little and his brothers ruined all his GI joes. We've talked about it but he can't help it. He's protective of his toys. It makes me giggle. I"m giggling right now.

So, he said, "I'll just put this upstairs on my shelf" I giggled inside knowing that Griffin would spot that guy anywhere he put it and he was doomed to share with his son. Sure enough just now before bed Griffin spotted him, saying, "what's THAT!" Lee said, "It's nothing and tried to hide him under some clothes." haha. Griffin did not let up and I Just giggled watching Lee squirm out of it. Guess who is sleeping with the monster guy? giggle giggle giggle. lol. I love my husband even though he can't share.

Reasons we don't do home improvement projects

So, our dryer has been making a squealing noise for a little while now. It hasn't gotten worse but it hasn't gotten better. A patient of mine told me it was an easy fix and probably the belt...my mom had also mentioned this as a possibility so I figured I would fix it. no problem, right? Lee HATES when I do this sort of thing. I am so eager to do it but doing things on my own, especially when learning, has never been my strong suit...I love learning, I love doing, but I like help ;) so he usually gets dragged into the project (that's the part he doesn't like). Anyhow, we start to investigate on the computer and waaaaay too many options as to the problem are coming up but one theme was apparent...go look at the machine. So, the family headed to the freshly cleaned basement for a looksie.

We unplug it, we move it away from the wall, we try to figure out how to look inside, we discover you must remove the back panel, we remove the back panel, Griffin finds batteries but calls them coins, we put those back, we remove a second panel with a bit more difficulty because the lint trap was holding it down, many coins fall out of the dryer when we tilt it, Griffin picks up coins and puts them in his mouth, I yell at him, we clean up lots of dust dog hair fur lint etc from inside and outside the dryer, we remove two separate pieces of metal lodged in places inside the dryer, we decide to turn it on to see if that improves or removes the squeal (it does mostly), Lee announces there is a fire and flits around a bit alerting me to it, I flit around some more figuring out what to do to get the fire out, I announce maybe it is the puff inside the dryer being dried that is on fire, Lee opens dryer, I see the light from inside illuminate the back panel but I confuse the light with fire and start panicking, I get a bucket of water, Lee looks inside and realizes it is the light....I recover from a heart attack, we put everything back together, no fire, all is well, squealing resolved!

wow, we should stick to our day jobs :)

stats

Weight 21 lb. 8.8 oz. (between 75-90%)
Height 28 3/4 inches (90%)
Head 17 7/8 inches (between 75-90%)

So, still a big girl :) but slowing down from last visit. I think she is just great. lol.
Paisley did not like the doctor touching her or investigating her different parts (eyes, ears, belly, chest, etc.). The Dr. said, "wow, she's socially advanced. they don't normally do that until way past 1 year." I had to laugh because what mother doesn't like to hear that their kid is "advanced" but really what does that mean? neither of my kids goes by the book either and they certainly aren't reading the same book. haha.

Anyhow, clean bill of health. Griffin got his 2nd tetanus. I think we are done with shots though. I feel good about him having that one although he broke my heart when it was done. He didn't cry but he wimpered and said, "ow why'd she do that? no no no." poor kiddo....

Paisley's check up today

I'm putting in guesses at 21 lbs. 5 oz. as her weight. Lee said, "only 21 lbs.?" haha. She is heavy but I just keep thinking that she won't be as heavy as she feels. Time will tell....1 hour and 20 minutes to be exact :)

Be back later with stats...

20 years ago...

I saw this on a blog I follow and thought it would be fun :)

20 years ago....
1. I was 10 years old, and in 4th grade.
2. I lived in St. Louis, MO on shenandoah...loved that house
3. I was the tallest girl in my class that year.

10 years ago....
1. I was dating Lee
2. I had just decided to work full time instead of go back to school
3. I was working at a friend's office doing retirement pension advisement.

5 years ago....
1. We were rapidly preparing for our wedding.
2. We were living in Lakewood in a friend's house with another roommate
3. Lee had a new job, I was working at Heinen's, and I had signed the lease on THIS place, my office!

3 years ago....
1. Griffin was a newbie :)
2. We traveled to Florida for his first plane ride to visit my gma for her 80th
3. Lee's grandmother was in a nursing home dying :(

1 year ago....
1. I was getting as big as a house.
2. Griffin was becoming the little person he is now instead of a baby.
3. I had just returned from St. Louis for a mom only weekend....it was nice!

This year so far....
1. we are enjoying the family life of 2 kidlets.
2. The kids have done great at their new sitter.
3. We all survived a 10 hour car trip to St. Louis and BACK!

Yesterday....
1. We all stayed home and played with a friend's daughter.
2. Then we walked to the office and baba's house for a quick visit.
3. Then the kids broke down and gave us another difficult evening...grrrr.

Today....
1. I am working again!
2. The kids are back at daycare.
3. The morning went very smoothly.

Tomorrow....
1. Paisley has her 9 month check up at 9 1/2 months.
2. it's City Fresh Day!
3. I am hoping to sneak away for an evening with some friends.

Next year....
1. I will keep working working working so I can make some MOOLAH!
2. Paisley will be running and Griffin will be running faster.
3. My BIL and Kelly move here---yahoo!

I tag....
1. Paaprints
2. Wawap
3.Meredith
4. mom (even though you don't have a blog)

The P stands alone :)

She stood today alone in the middle of the grass for a good 10+ seconds, then gracefully plopped to her hands. She had been standing next to a toy and her brother kindly pulled it away from her, she kept standing and then she realized she was standing and smiled at me and then like I said, plopped forward gently. Wow! not even 10 months old and doing this, I'm thinking she will definitely walk before G man did....

Laundry

I am one of those people that actually finds doing laundry therapeutic. I know, I"m crazy, shut up! I should say actually that I USED to find it therapeutic because now I can barely get one load done without having to wash it twice (because it sat for too long the first time), dry it 2-3 times (because it sat and/or because our drier needs some TLC), fold it on the D-L (when they are sleeping and I"m exhausted or in between battling each of them trying to knock down the piles of perfectly folded laundry all while they find it thoroughly amusing and I try not to laugh but I do too because they are cute and it's making them happy), and then putting it away! puh-lease...like that happens unless my mother is coming to visit (and then sometimes not even then ) or my cleaning lady is showing up. man, so much for therapy. haha.

I'm sure I will get back to finding it therapeutic. Then I will think back to these times and cry in my laundry pile, right? lol.

Today

Today I watched my friend's daughter since she watched the kids for me last friday. It was great! She is such a sweet little girl and since they all normally go to the same daycare they already knew how to play together. It was a nice day. Griffin was better today but still defiant defiant defiant. It's at times like he doesn't hear me but from the smirk on his face I know he hears me. soooo frustrating. and by the time Lee gets home I've had it with him and that is exactly when Paisley becomes needy. It's wearing on my nerves to say the least. I am desperate for some time away that I can just be away....I really really really want to go to mosaic this week but I need to go to JWCL meeting. I also haven't run any of this past lee so who knows what I'll be actually doing thursday evening. blech....I'm ready for life to be more "normal"...what is that though, right?

Sorry for the absence

So, I figured out that it was much much easier having P sick and Griffin feeling well. Griffin generally can entertain himself around the house and me and P was happy just being with me....the reverse was a semi-disaster on our household. lol. P was all over the place, still wanting to be held a good portion of the time, and G was whiney, itchy, crabby, stubborn, etc. the list goes on and on...I "think" we are doing better now. whew! All said the pox didn't keep us down too badly...I'm glad they are now immune, or at least I hope so.

All else is going well. Shout out to Kris and Will on a fabulous wedding this past weekend. We are trying to get organized around this place and I feel like it's finally happening. Now if I can just keep up with it and get back to organized at the office. I feel like I did when I was taking algebra and geometry at the same time....one up, one down. I'll figure it out and then prolly have another kiddo, right?

well, kids are a calling....

The face is affected

poor guy has them all in his scalp and on his face/neck today. they make me itchy just looking at him so no wonder he's kind of miserable. We've given some benadryl, doing oatmeal baths, and using the yarrow stick..all of that with some distraction and he is managing.

keeping the boy down

Not an easy task. Griffin is used to being on the go and used to playing outside, at the park, etc. He has been less than pleased about being housebound. We are getting through it though. His pox are coming on strong now. Torso mostly covered, a few trickling down his legs, and his neck is getting a good bunch as well...that part makes me itchy when I look at him. His face seems relatively untouched at the moment. Such a different pattern of appearance than with Paisley...hmmm...they are always so different :)

Tonight we went for drive through custard and a drive in the metroparks with Gudrun. Griffin is insisting non calling her Great Grammy. She's ok with that...that makes 4 names for a woman that got rid of all her names except her first ;) Gudrun, GG, Ami, and Great Grammy. I think she'll live but we all might get confused. lol.

pox, an old bag, and lots of working

hee hee. the old bag is in reference to my lovely sweet 80 year old grandmother who just moved to Lakewood. She is far from an old bag but sometimes calls her self that or "the old lady"....at any rate I don't really think of her as that. She's my grandmother and my friend :) We have had a nice time in her first week "alone" in her new home.

Work has been busy and I've been productive yet there is always more to do. The house is the same way....never ends, eh?

Pox..he woke with more this a.m. Keeping him down is proving to be more difficult than it was with Paisley. He doesnt' seem sick at all. I caught him rubbing his arm across his belly as though maybe it itched but he didn't do it again. there are definitely more this a.m. I feel bad for him if they come out in full force soon but luckily his sis sailed through so I have high hopes for him as well. Only thing of note: bit of a temp. (nothing concerning) and he is clingy to me.

more pox

just for record keeping...G showed first signs of pox tonight. 2 that are fluid filled, a bunch just popping up small still, he seems unphased.

will try to catch up soon...been crazy busy and distracted around here.

A new perspective

I needed to get one so we headed out of the house. I always do better with the kids out of the house, with friends especially but just out of the usual. I'm wondering if it's because then I don't feel the need to "do" things since I"m not home and I can just focus on them or if it's because I tend to take them places out of the house they will enjoy so then I'm not as annoyed by them??? who knows but at any rate we left the house. We headed to bay n play which is a wooden playground in bay village. We met up with Nat, Dave, and Mary and then my relatives. We stayed about 2 hours and it was definitely what G man needed to tucker him out. He was a good boy, actually listening, and then did quite well once we were home. The only other diff? I was alone, no Lee....I really would like to be able to parent together...it makes it easier I would think but in our case it really hasn't been. ugggh.

I need more patience...

Do you think I can buy some somewhere? off to google...

haha. jk.


no really Griffin is a good boy but MAN he is stubborn. He has a plan and he wants to stick with it even when it 1) makes no sense 2) at times is dangerous and 3) isn't what I want him to do.

I have got to figure out a way to better pre-empt his demands...the strange part is that when (at least for the most part) either of us, Lee or I , are alone with him he is not too difficult. As soon as he sees us distracted he plays us off each other. It's soooo difficult.


Paisley has really started exploring other people. She is now grabbing, pinching, pulling hair, pushing a little. None of it seems sinister but she has a devilish grin as she does it. Griffin finds it hysterical which I'm sure is feeding her doing it. Since she adores him!

Have I mentioned I"m tired? yeah, still tired...

Simple Mom AWESOME giveaway

This counts as my third entry (at least I hope) but if any of you reading this enter and win you will be forced to share with me. lol.

http://simplemom.net/gift-basket-giveaway/#comment-5201

GREAT DAY!

We had just a an absolutely great day. We first met Aunt Meredith, Daniel and Julia at the beach with GG. Mary, Nat, and Tamara met us as well. Then the first bunch went off on their merry way for some lunch and the rest of us crossed over to The Coffee House for some lunch. It was yummy and the kids played. Then Mary and Nat parted ways with us so they could go home. We continued on to Lake Erie nature and science center, to the creek near their to wade through the water (OMG Griffin was in heaven and so was P). Lastly we stopped back at honey hut for some ice cream. He was just so pleasant all day and for the most part well behaved (I mean he is still 3 y.o.). Days like today make me long for him to never be older than he is this minute...that maybe makes no sense. I guess I just want to squeeze this memory into a bottle. I"m exhausted so I"m probably making little to no sense....nighty night. tomorrow is indeed another day and a busy one at that.

Decluttered

Today I gave or threw away:

old camera
old walkman
3 candle holders
some new in box shampoo/conditioner that I will not use
ipod covers I will not ever use


this is going well so far...

Houston we have a tooth...

Poor kiddo gets no teeth for nearly 9 months and then gets her first one while having the Pox. she is still in such good spirits considering all. poor babe.

bottom right 1st tooth at just shy of 9 months.

pox timeline

for my records:

Tuesday 12th: P woke with cold
Wed evening: noticed two spots...hmmmm
Thursday: more spots, suspicious, Griffin woke with same cold
Friday: definitely pox
Saturday: she officially has them all over her body, still in good spirits and doesn't seem itchy. no word from Griffin
Sunday: still popping up, filling with fluid, and some are scabbing. she is definitely acting a little more irritated today but no fever. FIRST TOOTH DISCOVERED AS WELL...poor kiddo cannot win

We got the Pox

Well, paisley does. I'm pretty sure Griffin is working on them but so far nothing. Paisley has the sweetest, cutest baby pox ever and she is still smiling. What is with this child? I know she just wants more siblings. lol.

Big Trouble Griffin

Seriously, the kid is just being defiant. I think it probably is more just extreme curiosity and exploration in his mind but he is destructive, stubborn, and defiant when we reprimand him. Today we all took naps, well, except we 3 fell asleep while Griffin quietly escaped from his room, tore apart the bathroom, dumped hydrogen peroxide all over, including all over my hair dryer, dumped the q-tips and bandaids across his room. Then he went into Paisley's room and anything he could tear apart he did. Then he dragged a toy from his room to P's room and used it to scale the t.v. stand in order to pull down a toy that is Lee's (thankfully the new in package was not harmed). He also took all of his clothes off the hangers, out of the drawers, and off the shelves. I'm not certain of the above order of his destruction but seriously?? Insanity. He should have been exhausted too which is just part of the problem. He didn't nap the last four days at home! It's not looking good for my sanity. haha. This is going to be a long next 6 months I believe in that department. So, here it is almost 9 p.m. and he is still awake in his room and I can hear him messing around again. What's a mom to do....grrrrr.

On a pleasant note we took a family trip to Huntington beach today. It was sooooo gorgeous. I didn't want to leave to tell you the truth. I could have stayed there all day and let G man play. it was just really really nice.

Sewing...

I just have to learn to do this. I know that I have the potential to learn. I have done a decent job in the past, I can follow direction well for lessons, and now I have the desire ;)

So, I think that's what I want for xmas. A sewing machine. We don't really have the room but I remember my mom using the dining room table so why can't I do it too, right? It's the same dining room table, anyhow.

I just keep seeing all these projects that I want to do and I bet I could do many of them, even if poorly at first, if I had a machine. Plus, I have been racking my brain for something "green" (I know I'm vogue-lol) to put on a wish list since I really don't "need" anything. My families will not take that for an answer. This way, maybe we can all be happy. This is all said with complete naivity as I have no clue how much sewing machines cost..might be just way too much money.

A really great day

We all had a pretty great day today. It was typical in that Griffin still acted very much like a 3 y.o. and Paisley acted very much like an 8 month old and they both generally drove me insane. It was not typical in that I handled it much better than I have been handling it. I'm not sure why other than I wanted to enjoy the day, we were outside for most of it and well, it just was a good day :)

First I got my haircut while the kids stayed with their little sitter. She loves them, they love her...harmony.

Then we dropped sitter back at home and went to the Nature Center to meet a friend and her little boy. We walked the trails and ran around the nature center. Griffin was quite enamored with the little boy and wanted to show him everything. It was adorable.

Then home for a nap. While Griffin napped Paisley ate watermelon and I made stuffed cabbage. This was an experiment for me and although it all smelled wonderful going together I feel weird trying it to eat. I will for lunch tomorrow but man, I'm chicken. I know, I'm a weirdo.

After nap, dinner and then we heard from lee that he would be home late. Auntie Tamara was playing sand volleyball tonight so we decided to go watch her play. It was a lot of fun. Griffin ran up and down the hill, playing with me, paisley, himself this game of throwing and/or kicking the ball and running after it. It was pretty hysterical and I think he loved it. Then we sat by the lake while Griffin threw rocks and sticks into the tide. Paisley loved the canadian geese (maybe ducks? but I think they were geese). After the games we got a bit of food, played more on the playground, and then home. Bath for both, met up with Lee, and finally bedtime. It's 11:15 and they both just recently went down. I'm soon to follow.

A good day.

A couple side notes. Kids have been exposed to chicken pox. I have had chicken pox twice before. I have mysterious itchy spots appearing on my body. Kids have none. what is going on???

Griffin went down for his nap pretty easily or so it seemed from the lack of sound. I went to make sure and found no sign of him in his room. I thought, "oh crap. he's in the baby's crib messing around." nope, not there either. "oh crap, he's in the bathroom." nope, no Griffin. not in my room either. Then I thought I must have just missed him in one of the rooms. Nope, nowhere. slight panic was setting in, but only slight. How do you lose your own kid in your house? Big box in the hallway. I check it thinking he's sleeping inside. No Griffin. More panic is setting in....WTF? He's under his bed, fast asleep. Goofy, scary child.

Off to bed. I'm quite tired after our day. A good tired though. I bet I used the word good a LOT in this post. oh well. good good good. goody goody goody. 1 week 1 day until goody moves here!!!

Mommy Time Out

It's been an up and down weekend. Not all bad but rough and I'm glad to end on a high note. A friend took me (and Paisley) for ice cream this evening followed by a great talk. I love her :) It was just what I needed and apparently what P needed as well. Griffin did great with Lee at home for the evening and all is back in harmony---at least slightly.

off to another week. Let's hope it's a good one, right?

new old phone

my old black and silver phone is functioning right now. At least i have a phone. It's weird not having one. Wow, what world do i live in? I think I need to evaluate my dependence on my phone. lol. later gators.

Break Down

I hit a wall tonight. I really haven't felt like I have been able to cry much since Paisley was born. Well, I may have cried some right after she was born but given how crummy and exhausted I have been over the last several months, it didn't connect with my lack of tears. Anyhow, I also think since I was sooooo emotional while pregnant with her this has been strange for me. I have seen sad things happen, heard of unhappy news, and even felt sad but no tears UNTIL tonight. when the damn sprint telephone guy told me my phone was fried and he would gladly sell me a new one for $400!! Yeah right dude. Man, you might think I'm poking fun here or kidding about the tears but I'm not. That brought on the tears and man, did the flood gate open. I feel remarkably better. Not about my phone but about my tears production. The phone thing still stinks but Lee is trying to snipe me one on ebay for a smaller fee...hoping it works. Uggh, always freaking something, isn't it?

New Pics of the Kids

Paisley 8 months


Griffin 3 years old

Help yourself, Griffin

Funny story about Griffin. We walked up to the grocery store yesterday with my mom. I actually had P in the sling so my mom was pushing the stroller. G wanted to get out once we were there which is fine. First he wanted to smell the sunflowers. I told him, "smell them but don't touch them." Then he got ahead of my mom a bit and went to "smell" the broccoli (or at least that was what she thought he was going to do), instead, he took a huge bite out of it. A lady nearby saw this and said to my mom, "well, that was a kodak moment :)" My kid is craz-ay!

Last night P ate dinner with us. She is so not into baby mush food. She wants the real stuff man. She had three pieces of steak, two pieces of yellow squash, a nilla wafer, and two pieces of watermelon. Guess what! She slept soooooo well. I am hoping to incorporate more food soon so she will sleep better. It was glorious. She was hysterical with the steak. My little carnivore LOVED it.

Feeling more energized

A couple decent night's sleep and I'm feeling much much better about the world. Wow, what lack of sleep can do to a person. It's awful.

Anyhow, kids have been good. A difficult day on tuesday but still good overall. Work was wild yesterday-people hurting and calling for last minute appointments. I am still not at my numbers I want to be seeing but it is progressing in a nice direction. I am doing something wrong though becuase I am exhausted at the end of each day. I still think I need to streamline some functions at the office to make life less cluttered. Ugh!

Today my parents arrive from St. Louis. Griffin (and I) are sooooooo excited! I don't think baby P knows the diff but she will be happy to have extra hands around that love her. They will be busy working on GG's condo but it will be nice to have dinner with them and see them in and out of the house.

well, nothing else much is new. just moving along. trying to read this book for book club. Wow, that is a task since my children give me approximately 5 minutes a day to blog and another 5 to read. haha. guess maybe I should consolidate and take 10 minutes to read?

What do you mean a Croc is not a bandaid?

So, Griffin refused shoes last night while playing outside. I should have known better but alas I let him be piggie free! He, of course, tripped and stubbed his toe. He was hollering about it and when Lee went to investigate he screamed more. He didn't even want us to look at him, let alone the toe. I couldn't really tell what was going on with the nail so I dumped some hydrogen peroxide on it while Lee held him a bit. It seemed from what I could tell just to be around the nail and not actually the nail. So, I calmed him down a bit and then he asked for his shoe. No bandaid, No looking, no nothing, just his shoe. He even slept with just that shoe on and wouldn't take it off this morning. Bath should be interesting tonight ;)

My kid is such a goof....

Such a bad evening BUT....

actually a decent night's sleep. So, Paisley gave us such heck going to bed but when she FINALLY was asleep next to me at 1:30 a.m. she slept through until 6 a.m. and then was up at 6:30 a.m. I feel half human but WTF man? why so late Ms. P?

Only one night waking!!

P went in her crib around 11 p.m. and didn't wake again until 2:45 a.m.!!! Then she went back to sleep and woke again at 6 a.m.!!! Then she woke for the day at 7 a.m.!!! I feel like a different human being this a.m.

We got our bikes and went for our first ride. It was seriously one of my favorite memories as a family to date. I am so strange in that I love being active with my peeps...just makes me soooo happy! Griffin was cute. He kept saying hello to people we passed and telling them, "this is my mommy and my daddy and my graisley and their bikes." lol.

Still Tired.

I am not sure how or when this will remedy but it will, right? so tired I think I'm going partially insane. I cannot think right at work nor remember crap (even if I've written myself a note-tried that yesterday). I remember this with Griffin (or his baby book confirms it for me) but man, it STINKS! The weird thing is this phase (and others from the past and probably some in the future) haven't deterred me from considering a third child...considering, not HAVING. lol. I know I"m miserable and crabby and just not fun to be around but Lee is trying so hard to be patient with me and help me through this. Uggh, off to shower for work, it's my saturday!

Happy Birthday Aunt Reemra

for those that don't know that is Griffin talk for my dear friend Tamara :) We have both decided that is better than some names he could have chosen to call her ;)

Anyhow, happy birthday girlie...sorry your day is almost over as I'm posting this. Hope you had a terrific week away and we'll celebrate when you return.

Boo boo city

Griffin is either getting clumsier or getting more active than before. He has obtained soooo many boo boos over the last month. The kid is starting to look like I harm him (and I decidedly do NOT). Tonight one said boo boo (from the bike running over his foot) broke open and he came downstairs, naked might I add, to tell us about it. We figured it was his foot but he wouldn't even let us look at it so we weren't quite sure. Then I doubted anything was wrong and took him back to bed. That is where I found blood on his wall and window (and also his clothes in a pile on the floor). The kid is going to freeze his butt off with the AC going. Boo boos apparently feel better naked :)

annoyed

I forgot my breastpump at home. this isn't a huge deal since I don't live far from home but I"m on foot today and have an eye doc appoinment at lunch too so my time is limited. Grrrrr. I'm annoyed, can you tell?

Trip to Buffalo and beyond

Buffalo was great. The kids did fine on the car ride and slept well while there so I was happy. Griffin even ate well. Paisley ate even better....she had a slice of apple, piece of zucchini (big chunk), hunk of sausage, piece of corn on the cob, and part of a hamburger bun. She demolished it all without any teeth!!! haha. Kevin was amazed!!

I go back to work tomorrow. It's been crazy with this much time off. I need to get my head back in the game. Summer is flying by and I have some to-do lists to accomplish. I feel like we'll be planning P's 1st birthday before we know it. Sheesh...

Today is a hot one. We met Nat and Mary early at the playground and had a couple hours of fun there. P is now napping and Griffin is hopefully heading there soon. I have been doing this muffin cup trick for getting Griffin to eat and it is working really well. I continue to give him things I know he'll eat but he is actually eating them as opposed to refusing, demanding cookies or donuts, and then just being hell on wheels because he didn't eat. I am also glad he is becoming less dependent (or we are) on the kefir smoothies. I don't mind if he has 3/day but for awhile he was living on them 5-6/day because he wouldn't eat much else.

She's on the move

No crawling but she is doing this seated butt scootch/rock thing that can get her pretty much anywhere she wants to go....thankfully not quickly :)

Carbon footprint, Mr. Demando, and cooking

First off, I calculated my carbon footprint at this site www.earthlab.com/carbonprofile via my aunt's blog. It was 373. I guess that is ok. It is lower than Ohio's average but higher than the U.S. average of 359. I will keep working on it.

We have a lot of demanding, pointing, shouting, telling us what to do behavior happening from Mr. Griffin. A classic demand occurred last night as I helped him use the potty before bedtime. (background: now that he is peeing in the potty like a M-A-N he pees on everything because, ya know, it's fun) So, I'm standing there waiting for him.

G: mommy, trash can wet.
Me:no it's not wet right now Griffin, it has spots from when it was wet the other day
G: mommy, clean my trash can. you clean it right now! (pointing and shouting at me)

yeah, ok, kid, sure...I'll get right on that. now, get to bed :)


Cooking, cooking. I defrosted some ground pork and ground turkey yesterday. Then last night we made wonton soup from scratch (well with cheater chicken stock), meatloaf, and meatballs for spaghetti sauce. The soup was soooo tasty and even Lee ate it. I am attempting to find new recipes that are quick but fun that we can try. I think I'm tired of cooking because I'm tired of cooking what we normally eat. ha.

Heading to buffalo in the a.m. I hope it doesn't rain all weekend. I reallly want the kids to play outside together so we can all relax!!

Tired again...

I'm sure it is tiring listening to me complain about being tired. Everytime I feel I get caught up one or the other of the kids spirals me right back into the hole of fatigue. Last night it was Paisley again. Of course given the way they tend to behave, Griffin slept through the night and mostly stayed dry all night. lol. Paisley must be teething, still no signs of teeth, but I finally gave her some tylenol at 2:45 a.m. and she sacked out within 30 minutes. Sheesh, I'm tired.

bipolar sleep

so why is it that as soon as one kid starts sleeping better the other sleeps worse?

on a good note Paisley has been doing great with sleep, naps and at night.

Griffin is having a lot of problems with wetting the bed at night. he wakes very upset because of it. we have three sets of sheets but between work, wetting at night and nap, and cycling of laundry I cannot keep up.

he ended up in bed with us last night. he was pitching a fit that lee tried to get in bed too and told him , "my bed. daddy go to couch." nice, eh? the worst part is lee was ready to comply until I reminded him that he was the adult and it was OUR bed. what fools....

after all the nighttime fun P was up at 6 am....good lord.

Another Busy Weekend

We had another busy but great weekend. I think we are finally getting into a nice routine with the kids. Griffin napped both days which helped but he should have since he was up at the crack of dawn each day...sheesh. Johnny Angel was in town to celebrate his bday and we had a nice dinner at the Elder Norris Clan's house in his honor. The rain stopped just long enough for us to spend the evening outside. Due to the rain we got nothing done around the outside of the house but we did get a walk in last evening. Walked up to Giant Eagle for a few items for the week (juice and bananas). Griffin walked the entire way and gave Lee a heart attack a few times when he would walk right up to the edge of the sidewalk but not actually go into the street (I had more faith that he would stop and he did :))

Anyhow, short week this week for work but we are going to Buffalo for a couple days for the 4th so lots to do. I am feeling less tired though so I think I can make it all happen....

A Joke

Read this out loud, it will be funnier.

My patient always tells me silly jokes. He's old and it entertains him more than me most of the time. Recently I sent him a bill because he hadn't been in for awhile (and I wanted my money-lol). Anyhow, as I sealed the bill I thought, "man I kind of miss the crappy jokes." He sent this with his payment...better than the $36

What is a Honeymoon Salad?


Lettuce Alone and No Dressing

Day at the zoo...

Yesterday we joined Aunt Reemra (Tamara) at the zoo with her old friend, Jean, and Jean's 3 children. We were there from about 11-2:30 and had a grand time. I do continue to realize how difficult it is for me being with the kids in a group outing because it's so hard to meet the needs of the people we are with AND my children. yesterday was no exception to this but I think went fairly well considering. I would have liked to have seen more of the animals but G man seemed to enjoy himself regardless. It is also amazing to me how more uptight most people are with my child. I know him and know he knows limits, himself in space, etc. Sure, he's 3 y.o., but I tend to give him a LOT of freedom in public. Man, people kind of freak out about that....they are usually trying to corral him constantly. lol.

The kids were waaaay tired after the zoo but neither really napped (P for 45 min. and G just had some quiet time). All in all though another great day "at home" with them.

On other discussion, we are still struggling to get out the door on time. I guess I need to be better organized but really I need to make my husband a sleep study appointment to see if we can resolve any of his sleepiness.

Weekend Recap

It was a long weekend but we actually got several things accomplished so it was a nice one.

Friday night Lee went to a geek tournament...no really he went to play magic the gathering but I like to tease him. Dad was in town so once he finished up over at the condo he helped me with the kiddos. The evening actually went quite well.

While I was putting G to bed that night he told me he missed me and didn't want me to work. I told him that I worked so I could buy him things like food, clothes, toys, etc. He said, "oh, yeah." Then he said, "they were mean to me." I asked him who and he said, "Jo-Nas (the kid at daycare), he hit me. I said ouch." I asked him why Jonas hit him. "because I hit Jo-Nas." lol. Well, kid, if you are going to rat yourself out I'm not going to be too empathetic. haha.

Saturday I worked, then went for my haircut. Lee stayed with the kids and since my dad took G for donuts (their little tradition) Lee was able to get Paisley down for a nap. A nap which lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes!!! Go lee!! Then Grandpa David picked G up and took him for the afternoon of zoo and fun times. Julie watched Paisley while Lee and I went for a late lunch, to Costco, and Trader Joe's. It was glorious getting out without the children and not feeling rushed.

Yesterday we went to the AP Cleveland Picnic at the Stewart's house. It was a blast. I realized how relaxed I was there which means a lot. In part because I feel a bond forming with the Stewarts that makes me quite happy but also because I feel such a true connection with this group, I don't feel judged, and I really like them so talking to them is easy :) It was a lovely afternoon and almost avoided the rain. Afterwards we all took naps although I don't think G actually slept. We are all still tired from the busy weekend but hopefully they can sleep in a bit tomorrow a.m.

Yes this is a naked baby

This is for a woman on my AP board, Mati.....she picked up the sheepskin for us at Ikea and she LOVES baby chub.

Hot momma

So, I've been walking more the last few weeks even if my previous post said I haven't. I really have been walking more around town. Three times this week I have also been whistled at by men in trucks. haha. hot dog. I find this hysterical.

Picture of a 3 y.o.

This is my new favorite picture of G man taken the week of his third birthday!

Paisley and Apricots

Not sure how well it is visible but she really really loved the apricots!! They were organic fresh apricots from Nature's bin. I halved them, baked them, and then put them in the magic bullet skins and all....they tasted yummy even to me. A bit tart but she didn't seem to care about that. I hope that it settles in her tummy too :)

Better Week

Last week was not a great week. We had just returned from vacation and life got quite chaotic. I really tried to take it all in stride but my emotions got the better of me and I was left ANGRY! I think my husband has finally figured out how to handle me in those situations because all he said on sunday was, "it's ok. today is the end of this week. next week will be better and it begins in a few hours." :) He got it! I honestly felt instantly better....I'm crazy, I know.

Today is Tuesday. I'm home with the kids. I want to run errands in lakewood and walk doing so but it really really looks like rain. So far my committment to walking everywhere is weak. I admit it. There is no reason other than the commitment I made to walk but I still want to do it. OH well...all I can do is keep trying, right?

Work has been soooo busy. I know that is good but it's taking some getting used to. I have to focus very hard to get everything done in one day because otherwise it will be two days before I get back to it. I LOVE the new schedule overall but that part will be an adjustment.

I have to get some pictures up soon. I apologize. At least I have been taking them, right?

Well check ups for all

I took the kids to the pediatrician yesterday. Griffin for his 3 year check and paisley for her 6 month.

Stats:

Griffin-30.5 lbs. (50-75%), 38.25 in. (75%)
Paisley-19 lb. 6 oz (90%), 95+% for height (blanking on the inches), and 90% for her head

needless to say, they are both doing great. She eased my mind on a few minor questions and we were on our way. We spent most of the day outside gardening, going to the park, and just messing in the water. The rest of the day (mid day when it was the hottest) we were inside playing, taking photos, and napping. Oh the joys of napping....I hope Griffin naps all summer!

Griffin's 3rd Birthday

I'm a little behind on life. Like 2 days at this point :) I think I'm just still recovering from the trip home from St. Louis although maybe i"m more behind because I still haven't posted about our vacation either ????

We had a wonderful day on Tuesday to celebrate G's bday. He woke in a great mood and I think new it was his day :) We ran a few errands and then met Natalee, Momma Mary, and Aunt Reemra (Tamara) at the pancake house. G was pretty well behaved considering his age and found great joy in using the bathroom many many times. He's a fool in love with his bathrooms. I guess just like his mother used to be. Then we walked up to Target teaching the kids a lesson in black top (street) vs. white top (sidewalk). Trying to make progress in that arena so I don't fear walking near cars with him.

After that the rain seemed to have stopped we drove to the Nature Center in the metroparks and explored the center and outside paths. Griffin and Nat had a blast. I'm not sure what they enjoyed the best in the center but the animals, big tree house, and fake turtle shell were high on the list. Then we went down a path outside. They explored the skater bugs, frogs in hiding, and enjoyed picking up sticks from the path and throwing them back into the water. Then the rain came :) We got soaked and I think Griffin ultimately had the BEST birthday a little boy could ask for ;) He was soaking wet walking through mud puddles and his mother was laughing.

After drying a bit it was off for home where we all napped. Dad arrived home from work with a present (the geotrax grand central station) and pizza for dinner. Then Auntie Lisa showed up with a cake---volcano cake with real smoke (dry ice)!!! We were all impressed!

more later....kids are calling.

6 month weigh-in...

unofficial (read not the doc's office), naked, and a little late but she is most definitely bigger than Griffin was at this age.


19 lb. 8 oz.

For Nat....

Jinxed

Not really but not the blissful nights sleep of saturday night. The last two nights have been better than last week but she has been "fitful". That is the best I can describe. I personally think it is because she needs to poop all night and lo and behold each morning she does....why not just do it at 9 p.m. the night before so we can both sleep? hahaha.

In other news Griffin has been a great boy. He's been talking up a storm and listening better. I will attempt to jinx myself again and say that I think we may be coming out of what I refer to as the "1/2 year syndrome". This refers to me not liking Griffin very much on the 1/2 year (6 months old, 18 months old, 2 1/2 years old)...so far it's proven true and by the time his birthday roles around I'm in love again :)


off to work more....busy busy day.

Some sleep finally..

I know that this will jinx it for tonight or the future but I am just so excited to feel rested. P went to sleep last night at 9:30 and didn't wake until 4 a.m.!!!


Then she ate and the next time she woke me was 7 a.m.!! Now she is napping in her crib like a good little girl. I figured I would commend her "performance" with a picture :)

Here she is at almost 6 months, smiley and sitting unassisted.

Happy Mother's Day

To all mothers out there, especially the ones reading my blog (wink). I hope you have a terrific day and that your children are nice to you. love, me

Relish in the cuteness

Do they know it's saturday?

I swear my kids know it is the weekend and get up extra early because it is. tomorrow is mother's day and the only thing I've asked for is to sleep in. I just know they will decide to sleep in tomorrow as well...little buggers. I'm sooo tired and I cannot shake this headache I've had for a few days. I had some dental work done on tuesday and I'm pretty sure that is what caused it...an adjustment helped on wednesday but I had no time to go again yesterday. Uggh.

I got some gas..

in my new van! haha. gotcha, didn't I? I know we signed up for this van and I love it, I really do but it pained me very much to fill the tank this a.m. for $58!!!!!! YIKES! It must have a large tank since it was almost 18 gallons of gas but seriously that is insane. Of course I haven't filled the tank since I bought the van which was April 21st. It is May 6th so that is over 2 weeks...guess that is good.

I have often wondered if my son's incessant t.v. watching is good or bad. I think about this almost daily. Recently he has self-regulated so it hasn't bothered me quite as much. This morning I was reminded of why not only t.v. but specifically Dora the Explorer isn't so bad....We were driving along and we play this game where we "catch daddy" in the car. He is always in front of us and we drive along behind him until he goes straight and we turn. Anyhow, Griffin shouts out, "Catch daddy. He's going over the train tracks. He's going up the Hill. He's going to work." This is common in Dora, list three things to your destination. Anyhow, this continued as we 1)dropped Paisley off at "the big house" (aka her daycare) 2)went to the gas station (which was NOT the donut store as Griffin kept reminding me but is near the donut store) and 3)drop Griffin off at Elaban's (as he said, "Drop Me next? my turn?")

He's such a doll.....

I want to write more often....

but it all just seems so trivial and complaining....I wish I could get my head out of this anxiety ridden pessimistic place. Uggh!

Weekend Fun

Another busy weekend although I do feel somewhat accomplished. I worked saturday a.m. and Lee came to the office to help with some computer things. A few bugs later and he fixed a couple problems for me ;) We then did a family target run which was needed for several key items, mainly dinosaur eggs for the bathtub and diapers for Paisley...of course not sure what added up to so much because we sure did spend a lot. haha. oh well...

Today I had planned to tackle the basement. It was beginning to get out of control again and also with the growing number of clothes the kids are out growing I needed to sort by size all of them. Lee was set to tend to the chillins while I did this project. It was a long day but I managed to actually make progress on the project. Emptied some trash, mostly sorted the clothes, and finished most of the laundry for the household. It feels good to check that one off the list...

Poor lee is really suffering from allergies. He has tried everything and this is not a new things...every year in fact. He wants to rip his eyes and nose out. Uggh. We are thinking Griffin and P must also have the allergies...either that or they both have colds again. At any rate they are all pretty miserable and I"m fine. I hope I at least stay that way. I will repeat that the only thing worse than having sick kids is being sick yourself while you have sick kids or being sick yourself while both your kids and husband are sick. NO THANK YOU...

Ask...

and it will be provided. I don't mean to get all philosophical on you but this seriously happens to me more often than I like to admit, yet, I remain unable to commit to faith. Oh well..I'm working on it. Anyhow, all morning (and really all week) I've been freaking out about money. Not because we won't ever have any but because for the next week it was going to be tight...well, my mailbox listened and today was PAYDAY! thank the lord. Now I can go worry about something else, right? hahaha.

Collecting my thoughts...

Wednesdays are my "day off". I don't often do nothing these days and more often than not I go into the office anyhow. Yesterday I did not! I still did several things around the house but it felt so good to just spend time with Paisley and just be. A lot going on in my head these days so I needed that day. Of course all that time spent with P had me pretty exhausted by the end of the day and very "touched out"....she was not wanting to settle down. It seems she was just hungry so once we figured that out and gave her 3 oz. of frozen milk she went to sleep. I think this kid is on an endless growth spurt.

On other news, she moved to her 'big girl" car seat which was just Griffin's old big boy car seat. I am not happy with it and as soon as I can get the money and convince lee we will be getting her a marathon as well.

Glorious Spring...

Today is sooooo beautiful! I'm loving that we are actually having a spring this year :) It's making me all giddy....

Today is my BIL's birthday.....happy day Mark!! They are driving back to Virginia after a nice weekend visiting. We'll miss you guys...we hope you are serious about moving here because we will have a rockin' time if so :)

Not much else new. Gotta do some major tidying of the house so Liza can clean tomorrow. Thank god for Liza. The baptism will be at our house this weekend so we need to organize and get ready for the brigade. lol. and the cooking....oh, the eating we will do, the eating we will do...yummo

Put it out there....

they both slept well! AND we, the parents, went to sleep at a decent hour so I feel HUMAN today. haha. Of course I would like a few days in a row of this to feel totally caught up but I'm probably pushing my luck, right?

It is sooooo beautiful out today. I want to just run in the sun...

Sleepy Mommy

I wish a few things. I wish I could sleep more. I wish I could sleep in in the morning. Mostly I just wish my kids would sleep "well" on the same nights. Currently and for the last 1-2 months they are taking turns with the occasional double whammy of piss poor sleep. I am just exhausted. I keep going though....

Last night was the Junior's Vintage Views. A fun night but I felt bad because out of the 24 windows we had 5 that we "knew"....and they were some of the lowest bids of the evening. It proves to me that it is so self-serving, that group. Oh well. Next year I plan to be just a member and see how I feel about the group. No need to give up quite yet. I just hope I can continue to say no when needed.

The office is doing well again. I have had 2 great weeks in a row which doesn't help in getting caught up. I really need to be spending entire weekends there to get caught up but with the two little ones that is far from possible. P and I did spend one saturday a.m. there which worked out well. Maybe I will do that again with her soon.

The kids have been a lot of fun during the day. We have been going on many walks as the weather has turned to spring!! P is almost turning over. I have seen her do it a few times and she tries to almost always. She HATES belly time which they say all babes do but I figure she'll get used to it once she can roll herself all over the place...why MAKE her like it, you know? She is doing great at her new sitter's and in the almost 2 months she has been there has only had one semi rough day.

G is also doing well. We continue to battle this mysterious ear problem, drainage, pain once in awhile (although tough to tell with an almost 3 y.o.). He is talking up a storm and becoming more intelligible to others. Right now Uncle Mark, Uncle John, and Aunt Kelly are in town so he is enjoying talking about them coming over, taking him for donuts, playing with his toys. Pretty funny....."My Mark, My JOhn, My Kelly....me come to play and me get donuts with my mark, my kelly, my john" We are pretty sure John is his fav but he loves them all :) I have been talking up my parents coming next weekend and they are also taking him for donuts apparently-lol! Can you tell his favorite treat?

well, I should go "talk" to P...she is talking to her daddy but he is snoring away next to her.

I got rolls....

oh yeah!!!

craptacular sleep

Our kids are trying to kill both of us. I say this in jest but seriously they are both sleeping like crap and then on the nights they do sleep fairly well one or the other is up at the crack of dawn. I feel so strapped for energy and continue to have so much to do. I am coping but barely. I am feeling like miserable company as well and Lee never knows exactly how to handle me during that (think PMS).

On the upside the next two weeks bring visits from several family members and last week was my best week at the office since P was born!! So, it ain't all bad :)

I promise promise promise to take some photos soon. I have been just awful about it I know, and MUST make it a priority

Scaredy Cat

Griffin came home from Chal's house yesterday talking about how he was so scared of the cat. It had teeth and claws and was going to bite him. Lee shared that this was all he spoke of on the way home. Chal does not have a cat. Weird.

Anyhow, G man woke twice last night, not really awake, yelling, "No cat, no cat". Poor guy. Do you think he is hallucinating? "I see dead people" kinds of stuff?

Good Day

Today was long and busy but really a great day. Both kids woke fairly early but in good moods. I tidied the upstairs, gathered laundry, etc. while Lee kept them entertained. Then he began working on his windows for the auction. I continued to tidy the house a bit until about 11 a.m. Then I gathered them all up (a feat with that stubborn boy) and we headed outside. He didn't want to just run around and have fun with me like he does at Jennifer's...no, he wanted me to push him to the playground in his little stroller. I already had P in the sling so I figured, "hey, I"m superwoman, right? why not?" (note the sarcasm here please). We made it to the park, P fell asleep in the sling, G ran around having a time for nearly 2 hours. We made two attempts at potty but "nothing came out". Then we headed home...he was soooo tired and had a little meltdown but eventually went down for a nap.

I picked up the winter's collection of dog poo in our yard....it took two full bags and nearly 30 minutes to accomplish. I am hurting sooo much in my thighs from up down up down.

Then P and I headed to Heinen's for groceries. Came home, unloaded, cooked Linner, got G up, made him Linner, we all ate. Then we all showered (even G). I dropped a gift at a friend's house while Lee took G man to Chal's for apple pie (in celebration of his 84th birthday).

Anyhow, there is more to the day but it's getting quite late. I still have a few things to do....uggh!

waking dry

just for tracking, Griffin has woken in a.m. dry two days in a row now and yesterday at nap. We are still using diapers for these occasions but he isn't peeing in them. He is doing so well I am seriously waiting for the other shoe to drop...maybe it won't ever?

TGITHEWEEKEND

I am so tired. It's been a long week and I had planned to go into work today but Lee has a haircut so I cannot. Oh well. Hopefully I can get caught up on monday from the business. I am going to put my energy efforts into the house this weekend and try to get it cleaned up. It's pretty trashed these days.

P's well baby check up went great. The ped was quite impressed with her "sparkle". She said she is "off the charts" on weight and 95th for height. Of course their scale only has her at 16 lb. 10 oz. but still...Wow!!!! That was completely naked too. We go back at 6 months and will bring G man along for his 3 year appointment.

Potty Training is going great. We are doing a diaper at night but he wakes up and asks to use the potty. he is a little goofy all day about it asking to use it, sometimes using it, sometimes just laughing about it...but no accidents. We are watching closely for BM withholding which I think may be going on a bit...apparently the Ped says that this is most of what she sees in her practice....CONSTIPATION from withholding and it isn't just at the potty trainging age. Wow! Lucky her, right? Anyhow, he is doing great. He even had an evening at Baba and Grandpas without an accident.

later gators...

Updating

Potty Training Saga...
day 1: 1 accident pee, no pooping at all
day 2: 1 accident pee, no pooping at all
day 3 (daycare): 2 pee accidents, pooped on potty at home that night, no accidents at home until night
day 4 (daycare): no accidents, pooped on potty twice but forgot to pull down pants both times
day 5 (daycare): one accident after drinking and she forgot to ask him to go potty, so far hasn't gone at home today.


Miss Paisley weighed in at 17 lb. 4 oz. clothed today. We will get the "official" on friday at her doc's appointment. She is killing me to carry for long periods of time....you think? haha.

I forgot in the midst of crazy illness to mention that I finally got the quilt my mom made from the ribbons...it's AMAZING! I hardly want to hand it over to P. haha. I will get pictures up soon. I heard strange noises from G..gotta run.

And we have Poop...

in the potty!! Day 3 of potty training and he had 2 accidents (pee) but also pooped on the potty!!! I am very impressed.

Meanwhile, Paisley is quickly growing out of all her clothes and diapers I have hanging around ;) She is close to 17 lbs. already--wow!

For those that played the picture game, it is Griffin BUT it made you think, didn't it? I was amazed when I saw the picture to tell you the truth and I kNEW it was Griffin.

well, off to be with the fam more....

Guess the baby...Griffin or Paisley?

Happy Birthday to me :)

I'm 30 today. i am usually so psyched about my birthday but it is difficult to even notice this year with all that has been going on....anyhow that's me...30!

A New Baby...

not one of ours this time..thank the lord. haha. Our friends had their baby boy last night, little Graden. Congrats!! He was 3 weeks early but all is well.

Lucky Charm

I had to dress her in this even though we are all in our jammies. Thanks Uncle Mark and F.A. Kelly :)

case of the mondays alright....

apparently my kids did NOT want to venture into life this week quite yet. we are home sick again today....they are both on the mend thank god. I sure hope my psyche can be soon too.

Sick kid again...

This time it is baby girl :( Her first cold. I was warned at daycare last week that a 1-2 day virus was going around but I figured she had already been exposed when I was hearing of it. I sent her anyhow...well, she was exposed to something, somewhere. Who knows really where since I don't shelter her too much. Anyhow her poor little nose and she has a wee little cough. We are watching her and just gave her her first tylenol since she was a bit worn out and worked up. She finally fell asleep on Lee and they are downstairs now...we'll see how long daddy lasts holding her since she is a very heavy girl.

The rest of the weekend is going well...getting some things done around here, purging and stuff. I went to costco and TJ's also yesterday to stock up for my parents visit. I think it will be a grand time.