Last Weekend of February

I accomplished about nil point five this weekend. On Friday night Jim and I didn't have plans so we took it easy with the kids and watched Night at the Museum 2 (C+) after then went to bed.

I don't think I've mentioned it but Nicole has come in our room around 1:00 every night for about the last three weeks. I thought it was having to go to the bathroom that woke her up but she's often dry in the morning so that killed that theory. She's a relatively good sleeping addition - I don't get woken up too much and she likes to cuddle. Consensus of parents I've talked to is that it's okay for now....

On Saturday I met Jenna at Jazzercise. We both really like it but it's kinda pricey if we buy in and still only go 1/week after our Groupon sessions are over. 8 more to go before we have to decide....

Saturday night we didn't have plans either so we milled around, ran errands, ate dinner at Meijer of all places (their Bistro was our 4th place choice after our first three tries bombed but the whole family ate for less than $8 so not so hateful) before we went grocery shopping.

This morning we skipped Church, had a great breakfast and lunch. I went to Kohl's to go shopping and got about $85 worth of stuff. I've been goodwilling a lot of my things away lately so my wardrobe is taking a noticeable hit in the variety department....

TMI Alert!
OH, to make you groan, I got my 9th period since September of 2006 (that's 9 periods total in 39 months). I've been on the lookout for it for several months though so I was a bit excited when it came this morning. Then I realized that I'll pretty much have no reprieve of it for the next 20-25 years and I groaned.

Jim starts his NEW JOB tomorrow which means he'll be picking up and dropping off the kids from now on.

I'm sad that the Olympics are coming to an end. They always make me emotional and all hopeful for world peace and such.... I really enjoyed watching the Aerials this year. All the things I'll never experience but look SO cool. My DVR will most likely go from hitting 99% full at one point back to the normal 13% or so starting tomorrow.

Yeah, I really did just blog about poop

Nicole is OFFICIALLY potty-trained (#1 & #2!). Today marks day 5 that she's been in panties only (except when sleeping but even then she's only wet about 50% of the time when she wakes up). HOORAY! Now comes my "terror" that we'll be in the far corner of Target when she announces she has to go, forcing me to tear ass across the store in mad panic to get her there on time....

On Tuesday Jim predicted that Nicole was constipated as she said her stomach hurt and she hadn't gone in a few days. Wednesday night she told me she had to poop and it clearly took a lot of effort. When I asked her if she was doing okay she told me it was "stuck". Eventually all worked itself out and I thought the problem was solved.

When she was concluding her bath though she said she had to go again. Out of the tub and onto her potty she went. After several minutes she announced she was done and needed toilet paper. When I went to empty her potty I got the shock of my life - the whole thing was about filled with poop. It was like 2X what an adult should poop and it just came out of my 2.5 year old. Where did she store all that poop!? It was so amazing I actually called Jim upstairs to see it.

Yeah, being so awed by a bowel movement that you call someone else to look at it and then that person willingly comes to see... now that's what you call a "parenting moment". No one else in their right mind would do this....

Chris - 8 months old!

Yesterday Chris officially turned 8 months old. AWWWW!

He continues to be an amazingly happy baby. Each time he sees me his whole body wiggles with excitement and makes me all smiley. He's even gotten so excited and wiggled so much he's fallen over. awwww!

Some things he's up to:

• He clearly knows his own name and responds by looking or talking back to you if you say it


• Separation anxiety has set in over the last two weeks specifically (this is the reverse of all the wiggling I previously mentioned).


• He's starting in on the Gerber pick-up stars (the kind that melt in your mouth) but isn't so sure about the whole solid food thing yet.


• He likes to sing along with Nicole in the car

Some general things about him:

• He's a belly sleeper


• When he wakes up and can get in "walrus" position to look at me he smiles so big. This is promptly and always followed by lifting his arms and legs off the ground and balancing on his big pot belly while he wiggles in excitement and squeals


• He's nursing 3X, getting formula 2X and eating food 2X/day. I'll be upping him to 3 meals a day this weekend. His favorite foods are black beans, pineapple and yellow squash with rice cereal.


• He likes books but I think he's a little confused by the 2D nature of the pictures because he tries to grab the objects


• Poor thing's on his way to tubes in his ears. We'll know 3/3/10.


• Bathtime = splash time = big fun


• He LOVES to be tickled and cuddled


• Every night before bed (8-8:30ish) he gets rocked and has 3 versus of Amazing Grace sung to him (and one verse of humming for good measure). He holds his "sleepy bear" while we rock and sucks his thumb.

Life Update (LONG)

Things here have been busy. I feel like I open up every blog that's a "general life update" that way. hmmmm.... The following are totally random and a bit out of order but should sum it all up nicely.





I had big plans for Nicole's Valentine cake for her class. She still gave out regular Valentines to her friends but they were having a party so I wanted to make something special with my newfound skills. I went in on the 11th for lunch as usual but brought my camera to take the kids pictures (which they LOVED- what cheeses!). That night I made the cake and the morning of the 12th I got up early to decorate it. I think it turned out pretty good. I don't want to post other people's kids' pictures on the internet but if I did I think you could tell who's icing face belongs to who's real face. Can you tell which one is Nicole?

The other night Nicole and I had it out. She didn't want to brush her teeth. She wouldn't put on her pajamas. Nothing about the end of the evening was going well. I told her that if I counted to 3 and she didn't put her pj's on we weren't reading books. Fast forward... she's finally in bed and wants to read. I clearly and calmly explained the phrase "Good choices, good things happen. Bad choices, bad things happen" and reminded her that because she didn't put on her pajamas she wasn't getting any books. HOLY COW did that sink in. I've been hearing all about the good choices she makes several times a day since; especially at night while she's picking what books to read.

Chris and Nicole went to the doctor last weekend and got diagnosed with ear infections (double for him, single for her). Another round of antibiotics for both of them. Chris goes to an ENT on 3/3/10 and if the infection is still lingering he's getting tubes.

Jim's final interview for a new role (still at P&G) took place this week. Four candidates applied and he's been unofficially told he's a finalist. Should know this week. Good news - [the new worksite will have a gym (that insert is for Jim, I could care less about the gym part) and] it's only 3 minutes from daycare! He'd be in global finance for fem care which constitutes a lateral move.

Jenna and I started Jazzercise yesterday. I was blissfully rewarded for my efforts upon returning home. :) I liked it (Jazzercising I mean). She and I could laugh about being new and the ensuing learning curve but I felt good at the end - I was sweaty but not gross and I wasn't sore the next day. I'll work harder next Saturday. I think though that this is something I could maintain in my life. For the record there were about 30 people there, we were on the young 25% (average age was about 43 I'd guess), and there was only one leotard in sight (worn by a 65+ no less!).

OH, and I finished the Kabballah book a week and a half ago. Biggest surprise was that Jewish people believe in reincarnation! Few interesting tidbits:

• The soul enters the body 40 days after conception which means that Jewish people are fundamentally okay with abortion until that time and not after.
• We are all a part of one single soul - each of us is a small part and has to complete our "mission" on Earth by returning as many times as it takes to do so until with time the soul is whole again and we can all live eternally with God
• Jewish people have a prayer for everything. I'd be a bad Jew as I could never remember 1) all the prayers or 2) to say them at every appropriate occasion
• Hebrew is an amazing language for so many reasons - even the shapes of the letters and numerical value of each has a meaning that gives the Torah several levels to understand. My Hebrew = not so good.

Lastly, a funny thing when the girls came last weekend. She's a good sport so I hope she doesn't mind my sharing this.... Viki let Nicole dress her up as a mermaid by wrapping a green afghan around her waist. Nicole was all about dolling her up with a crown and calling her "my mermaid". At one point she stood back and looked at her mermaid and declared that Viki needed to "take your shirt off". Because mermaids don't wear shirts of course. She had us both dying with laughter.

On a daily basis I

• brush the bottom row of teeth first
• wear a bracelet
• tell Jim I love him at the conclusion of every phone call
• eat sweets of some kind
• remember something I should have done but didn't
• check my email
• shower in the morning even if I took a bath the night before
• put on mascara at a bare minimum
• ride in/drive a car
• reminisce

I'm not going crazy, I KNOW I saw...

• Several years ago I watched an MTV "documentry" on "Fuzzies" - people who like to dress up in mascot costumes for sexual purposes. Somehow I appear to be the only person on the planet watching MTV that day and it's such a weird subject that when I attempt to explain it to people I'm the one who gets weird looks. Update- it is "Furries" and I'm glad I'm not alone!
• My second cousins and I watched the movie "Fortress" about a farmtown school that got kidnapped and was held in a cave for ransom. I found the link to it on Yahoo! movies (see above for more info) and was pleased to see it got an A- even though no one I've ever talked to has heard of it!!
• At our old house I was constantly seeing things, shadows, movement, something out of the corner of my eye. I was so convinced of this and the possibility that there was some kind of ghost in the house that I went to a "seer" that my co-worker hired because he was seeing/hearing things in our office [of all places]. Sure enough, the seer said that at least two of us were brining spirits to the office with us daily. Not sure I totally buy it, but...

Sport Physics

LOVE LOVE LOVE the Olympics. I've been watching videos on the "behind the scenes" of the sports for a while. Here's the one I watched today on the science of bobsledding. Way cool! (no pun intended)

Top 10: MOVIES

I've been thinking about movies lately and if I could pinpoint my TOP 10. Here's a stab that I came up with on the drive into work. These are in no particular order

1. Gone in 60 Seconds
2. Oceans 11
3. Traffic
4. The Wizard of Oz
5. The Proposal
6. The Notebook
7. Overboard
8. Sweet Home Alabama
9. Forrest Gump
10. 10 Things I Hate About You

Thinking about this more today (Thursday) I think I'd replace Traffic with Dirty Dancing.

Happening around here...

1) I got my Ruminations email this morning and cocked an eyebrow at one comment:
There seems to be a lot of confusion about proper post-first-date protocol. To me, it's very simple. Ladies, if a guy takes you out, common courtesy calls for you to email, text, or Facebook message within 48 hours to say thank you. You can't believe the amount of courage it took me to ask you out. So even if there is no connection and you never want to see me again, at least thank me for trying. It's like the participation trophy of dating.
Clearly I've been married too long. I had no idea....

2) Nicole is fully into playing pretend. She started a few weeks ago when she shared her Sleepy Bear with Jenna and now can go full-out pretending she's a princess, Dora, or an animal.

3) Nicole is also pretty big into emulating people. The two 'people' she wants to be most like are Ryann and Dora. Nearly every time we go to the bathroom and she needs to get changed I hear "I wear panties like Ry Ry." Fortunately these role models are more than acceptable to me.

4) Speaking of Ry Ry, I saw a super cute thing that I'd like to get her for her birthday (she'll be 3 on March 18). I know she'd really like it but the $20 price tag is, in my opinion, too much for what the item actually is. We spend more than $20 on her present so I'm half tempted to say "screw it" and get it anyway but the cost-conscious buyer in me still doesn't like to overpay...

5) We were the ONLY team in our bowling league to actually show up for our 5:30 league time. Since I could really care less about the Super Bowl that was just fine with me. I had to look on Yahoo! to see who won this morning and even then I only saw by reading the article they had with the best commercial clips.

6) Lastly, since I have more free time on my hands lately while the kids sleep I've been watching some new shows. So far I haven't been overly impressed but I have been moderately entertained. Things I've seen for the first time just in the last week: The Ultimate Cake-Off, Rich Bride Poor Bride, Toddlers & Tiaras, & Project Runway. I did DVR ANTM per Jen Johnson's enthusiasm. I'll keep you posted if there are any diamonds in the rough....

Cake Decorating

I asked for cake decorating lessons for Christmas and my mom got them for Dad and I. We took a 4-week course at Michael's Craft Store. Here's our progress!

Week 2, our first cake! Mostly star techniques used.

.

Here I am making a house warming present for Karen C. Don't I look official?

Dad's Results


My results. Clearly my wording needs lots of work....

I forgot my camera the third week. We did lettering, swirl flowers, star flowers, vines, leaves, shells, hearts and clowns. I got the shells down pretty well but my hearts still need some work. Dad was a big fan of the clowns. He used one on his final project in week four.

Dad's icing strategy is clearly "More is More". His writing isn't too bad. His spelling and humor on the other hand....

The fourth week we worked with all stiff icing to make roses. I was encouraged by Martha's comment that they are a skill quickly developed with good results. Our icing was not the right consistency though so my ramp-up was slower than I'd like. When we finally got the right stuff in the bag things went better.

Mom and Mike's birthday was the night of our final class so I made a HB cake. Clearly my writing skills still aren't' there...

.

There's another class, Course 2, that starts next Saturday and covers basket weaving, royal icing (like for gingerbread houses), and a plethora of other flowers. I have friends coming in that weekend (YAHOO!) and Jenna and I are starting Jazzercise (a Groupon buy) that morning so my cake decorating pursuit is on hold for at least 3 more months....

.

I do have what I hope is a great idea in mind for Nicole's Valentine's Day party though!

Giving Back

I use the Internet for a lot, like most people my age.

• I blog
• I Facebook
• I read the news at Yahoo! and CNN
• We watch YouTube with Nicole
• I place orders online after researching deals at a variety of sites
• I get recipes at Meals.com
• I read parenting articles at BabyCenter.com
• etc. etc. etc.

Jim and I both feel like we take a lot from the Internet but don't really contribute back very much. Obviously no one probably cares about my specific input but I often don't feel like I'm doing my part in helping others electronically.

Jim started writing on Yahoo! answers - a forum where everyday people ask questions and everyday people who know the answers respond. Yahoo! in fact "rewards" the person with the best answer (which Jim has had) to help encourage you to keep responding.

I'm trying to write more online reviews of the products I buy. I read others reviews and take their feedback into consideration as I investigate products/services. I assume others do and I should help them if I have something useful to say.

Maybe some would politely argue that my blog serves as entertainment for others and that's a type of community contribution. Honestly though, this is more for my needs than yours (sorry) so I don't really count it as "service" to the greater online world.... Strangely I feel like others' blogs are a positive contribution as I do enjoy reading them, I'm glad that someone took the time to write, so I DO count their blogs as positive contribution.

Life around here

1) Nicole's had some weird symptoms in the last three weeks. She pukes 1-2 times in a fifteen minute period, most often the morning, and then has two days of diarrhea. Five days later the cycle repeats. Strange thing is that she's full of energy and other than not eating much she's her normal self. Kendall gave us some suggestions and we have one other lead on the issue. If she pukes again we'll be taking her back to the doctor. It was strange last night to be cheering for solid poop.

2) Chris's 4th tooth came in yesterday.

3) School is good for me - I have a core group of about 8 students (out of 27) who have an opinion on every single thing I throw out for discussion. There's another 8 who give thoughtful responses to several, but not all, questions and the rest sit and listen. I need to learn names quickly so I can call on the other 11. I have a great classroom though.

4) We've decided on our vacations for this year - we'll be headed to NYC in May, Michigan in July, and Arizona in October. NYC and AZ will be long weekend trips (one with kid(s), one without) to visit friends. Traverse City, MI will be the family vacation. I'd like to squeeze in another long weekend in there too but we'll have to see how the year plays out with vacation time. Nicole is very excited to go to NYC because she'll take her first airplane ride. I asked her how people get on the airplane and her deliberated response was "a big ladder". too cute!

5) I finished my cake decorating class this weekend. My roses were 80% successful. I need more practice but that's kind of the way it goes with perfecting any new skill. I think I'm going to hold off on course 2 for a little while....

6) I think we're back in 1st place in our bowling league! We have to bowl on Super Bowl Sunday though- bleh.