Friday, November 28, 2008

A day late but here goes

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope you all had a great day yesterday. We did once the kids both took naps. Boy did Max need one. If and when we would say no to a request, he would throw a fit. Argh was that painful. It took a good half hour to calm him down. And then another 10 to convince him to close his eyes that if he didn't fall asleep within 5 minutes that we would leave his room. Once he settled down, he was out in 15 seconds I believe and then slept 3 hours. He was like a new person when he awoke. I think the best part was that he truly wanted to help me make all the sides for Thanksgiving dinner. The only one that I vetoed help on was the stuffing since I was a little nervous making it. My mom usually makes it every year not I.

My sister in law, Kat, showed up around 5pm with her friend having driven 9 hours from San Francisco. The kids were happy to see the both of them and ready to eat or so we thought. Maggie ended up not eating much but Max ate, giggled, played, ate some more. We did the store bought thing for dessert and we all enjoyed the smoked turkey that Krismon made. A friend from work, Aki, came to dinner as well and Maggie made sure that he sat next to her. The kids have him wrapped around their little fingers. He is so great with them. He plays with them, lets them climb all over him and he listens to them. They kept him in their room before bed for an extra 5 to 10 minutes. I hazard a guess that he enjoys his time with them as well.

Today, Kat and her friend are off to camp in Death Valley and in their place we have some more friends coming to stay. They have a daughter 6 months younger than Max and another daughter who is 9 months old. The kids all get along. The baby takes it all in stride which is great. It looks to be a fun weekend for all of us. Krismon does have to work today, Chris offered to watch all the kids so Jehan and I could go shopping. I would hope that he could watch 4 kids since he is a captain in the army! lol Anyways he is great with kids and I know mine love to play with him.

So that is what we have in store.... Oh and it has been raining so I am glad we have some movies the kids haven't seen before.

Monday, November 24, 2008

I do believe I give up

I want to post every day truly I do but sometimes time runs out on me. I had this up since yesterday but just did not find the necessary time to put thoughts down. I got carried away with laundry and cleaning out a closet that I neglected to really clean the house and instead went ahead killed my back the end of the day.

Okay so I was writing this yesterday and still I didn't finish it. UGH what is up? I think I officially give up. I have not been able to stay on top of my blogging.

Yesterday Max's school had their Thanksgiving feast. I had Maggie go to Shelby's house so that I could attend and spend some time with Max. It was nice. I got to meet Max's best friend's parents. Max has been invited to go to his birthday hike at Red Rock about a week before his own birthday. They are a year apart in age but you can tell these kids care about each other. Max makes sure we pack no peanuts in his lunch so he can sit with his friend. And his friend upon seeing him everyday picks him up in a bear hug. His parents worried about him picking Max up so I asked Max if it was okay. Max assured us that it was just fine. This is his first real best friend. I think the concept of friends took longer for him or else he just observed more until he made up his mind. Maggie has all sorts of friends and has for quite some time. Hers though is a blanket statement for the most part. She can name some friends and has been asking for a play date with one of her friends which I found to be quite great.

Okay my duty is done for the day. Got to go.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Yesterday in review

Maggie and I ran errands, enjoyed bread at the bread place, bought a new twin mattress for Max. Came home, napped a sleeping Maggie. My parents came around 1pm. Maggie woke up about an hour later. My dad took a nap, my mom and Maggie and I went and picked Max up from school which is always a treat for him and my mom.
At 5:30, we all piled in a car and headed over to our friend, Lisa's house. She held a bbq in honor of the baby. I think she wants the baby to be as big of a meat eater as Maggie is! lol. We had kielbasa, grilled chicken, 2 kinds of hamburgers (mine was well done of course) a stuffed pork roast or something like that. Steak was also on the menu but it would be a travesty to grill it to well done so I skipped on that. She had great sides as well and we brought the cheesecake. Got to love costco for getting cheesecake. She got her stuff at Whole Foods so you know that was all good. It was such an enjoyable evening that we didn't leave until an hour and a half after the kids bedtime. Sorry kids.... They were having a great time. Max loves making up games and getting adults involved. Lisa has a pool table so there were infinite possibilities of games. Of course, we paid the piper. Max has been getting a dry hacking cough that is worse at night and in the morning. He ended up on the blow up mattress in our room with vicks rub and the vicks dry machine as well as a humidier and cholorseptic spray on his throat around 11:30. Maggie did not follow suit until 4:30. I let her sleep next to me which meant that she was all up in my stuff! Argh with a huge lip before the side of the bed, while I was squashed with a tiny corner of the pillow.

So last night did have one teachable moment that went pretty well. Max jumped off the stairs into our friend, Millie's arms. He hit his toe and it hurt. Krismon was trying to heck I don't know the term. He suggested that if Max finished his cheesecake he would feel better. A few people laughed. Instead of finding it funny, Max thought that they were laughing at him. I saw him feel even worse at that point and we talked a bit so I could ask him how he felt. I gave him empathy but that didn't fulfill his need because he needed to hear from Krismon and to have others understand how he felt. I quickly explained and Krismon went to him to talk to him. It felt good to be able to help him voice his feelings and dispel some of the negativity from the situation. So that was that.

Oh and yesterday was our 9th wedding anniversary too. Though we tend to celebrate our marriage more when we eloped to Vegas. lol

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Here goes

I am 10weeks and 6 days pregnant! We had our first doctor's appt yesterday. The ultrasound showed more detail than I am used to when they are this tiny. On Sunday, I will fall into the high risk category when I turn 35. YEE to the HAW. So that means on Dec. 3rd, we will get confirmation of our little one's gender.

Before you ask, yes, we plan to find out. Why? Well, we have each of the last two times. This time around each child wants the sibling of their same gender. I want to know so that I can help whichever child it is over their disappointment and get them excited about the newest member to come. Maggie may be a little more difficult because she tends to be stubborn. Not sure who she gets that from.... lol.

Already, I am having the lovely heartburn and sleep issues. This morning I woke up at 4am and could not for the life of me get back to sleep. At 5, I called it quits on trying for more sleep and made coffee. Maggie joined me about 20 minutes later and Max 10 til 6. Maggie and I chatted about if the baby was a boy would she be okay. She was a little stubborn but I talked about how much she loves my friend's baby, Sam. She seemed to start to come around a little. I think Max would be fine either way but eh, who knows we shall see in two weeks. And no, there is only one.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

No words

Not sure what to write. Didn't write yesterday. My mind is a blank canvas. I am sleepy. Hmm maybe I will add more later.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Yesterday

Was an especially good day for the kiddos. Max did a decent job focusing at his violin lesson. They both ended up napping a long with Krismon. We had some friends from the Bay Area come over. They are in town for a conference. My kids love their kids and we enjoy getting together. It was pizza and Kung Fu panda time. Well that was after the kids took apart the play room upstairs, nothing like 5 kids and 5 adults together to have a good time in a house.

Even better, today we get to spend much of our time with them again while Michelle goes to conference stuff. Can you imagine 2 toddlers and a preschooler stuck in a hotel room all day? It doesn't paint a pretty picture. Or taking them out into a casino area or even the mall areas? I would go mad and have to be carted away.


So this didn't get done yesterday. I admit while watching Peter Pan, I crashed out. Krismon even took a picture of me asleep on the floor with my head on the floor pillow. Max and M had fun watching. The twins and their dad crashed out on one sofa. Maggie slept in her room. Once everyone was up and moving it was off to the mall and CPK for M's birthday party. There were 8 kids total and then about as many adults. We sat down and ate, then the kids ran around in the mall like crazy pent up kids scaring all the single and childless couples who would get sneers and looks of disgust on their faces as our kids wove in and around them. It was fashion show mall and our kids were doing a good job of walking the runway. lol. We did at one point get them to play duck, duck, duck, duck, duck........ they were pretty young so they weren't wanting to get to the goose anytime soon. And when our party broke up, a sign of relief was audibly heard from the fashionable people who were scared and nervous that the kids would rub something off on them. hehe.

It was great fun seeing our friends and it gave Max a chance to steal kisses which made him happy! Now we just need to plan the wedding.....

Friday, November 14, 2008

The weiner mobile

If I was an Oscar Meyer Weiner... Go ahead hum the song in your head for a few moments. Yes, I did get to see it today. Crazy me, I decided to take the kids and go birthday gift shopping. It was an open air mini mall. We went to a few stores. I had the stroller so I could contain at least one. That worked pretty well until we got to Gymboree. Darn, I knew I should have strapped Maggie down. She is the main culprit of uncooperativeness. hmm guess that is not really a word but you get the point. She was running around while I searched for the perfect gift for this little girl. When it was all said and done, I got it done and we headed off to get an early lunch. Again, I should have strapped her in. I pretty much figured out what I wanted. Max was taking forever to decide and Maggie decided it would be fun to run away from the counter. Already frazzled, I am sure that I was a delight to all patrons and employees at Panera. I kept my voice low and expressed my frustration as simply as possible. Max did make up his mind and got soup and we paid and made our way to where we would sit. I was glad that Maggie did not fight me about the highchair. We ate and shared our food and ate. We packed up, got in the car and started to head home. We were close to Krismon's office.

He called and asked where we were at. I explained where we were, he said get on over and come check out the weiner mobile. We got there a couple minutes later, parked and the kids saw their Papa and ran to him and hugged him and a co worker, Lisa. She was delighted since sometimes they go into their shy modes. We got a couple of photos, they got to go inside. They even got videoed by Brett at Zappos tv. We went in the office for a bit, the kids handed out more hugs before we took Krismon out to lunch.

The kids, obviously, don't really understand the significance of the weiner mobile but it was fun to show them and they did enjoy the ketchup and mustard seats in the car or truck or whatever it really is. And I do have a photos but am lazy. Maybe I will post with just a picture after this so you can all see and believe.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Mom and Daughter time

So part of our time together was going to Joanns for crafty supplies. The sculpty clay was on sale and at some point, I am determined to be a crafty mama. Just don't hold your breath, please.... We went and got some and one kit as well. A friend of mine made this excellently crafty xmas tree last year with different ornaments on it for each day leading up to xmas. I so wanted to make it and we had a craft night planned and then I was too tuckered out. It was pretty sucky because she is really truly a talented person. She makes the best baked goods as well. And she is completely underappreciated for that talent since her husband doesn't have a baked sweet tooth. I don't hold it against him but wow I wish that she lived closer so that I could get more of those baked goods. Anyways, I digress. Psst and it isn't only the sweet baked goods that she is fabulous at. Not by a long shot, she makes the best savory stuff as well. Hmm I better email her about this post so she knows that I am truly in awe of her talents. Maybe she will bake me something... Okay I should have left that to myself.

So we go the clay and now what. I better figure out something to do so that it doesn't just dry in a clump of nothingness. Plus I was thinking it would be a great way for the kids to make their gifts for family. So here is hoping that some sort of creative bug climbs up my ahem....

After Joanns, we made our trip to Costco. It is so much nicer going there with just one child. No fights no running opposite directions. We got to go around, giggle, pick up the necessities like milk and fruit and cereal. It went pretty quick and was she happy to get to the end, you betcha! In our family, that means more often than not, hotdog time. I gave her most of the dog since I had had something not too long before that. Then we deviated from the norm and got a churro. Those things are sinful. They are more doughy than donuts and just sooooooo yummy. We even managed to save some for Max. What good women we are!

After that it was off to home and nap time. But I am enjoying this time with her more and more, getting out and talking and giggling and seeing who can out 'I love you' more. Do you know that game? I say, 'Guess what?' and Maggie responds, 'I love you!' It started in the car because I would say both parts and now she beats me to the punchline and then we have to go back and forth and sometimes we say, 'No, I love you' or 'I love you more' or 'I love you too too too.' She just giggles. I know this time will pass and that she will get older and get to a point where she might say the opposite instead so I want to relish this time with her now.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

ARGH I missed a day AGAIN!

Yikes what is up with me and not posting daily like I said I would. I think I need my hands smacked.

We are still fighting that daily battle or I should say that nightly battle. They seem to be going to sleep easier but they are both becoming problem night time sleepers. And Krismon has been taking pity on me and dealing with them mostly. Last night, I couldn't even say exactly what happened. Max ended up on the air mattress at some point and then around 3am, Krismon took him to the bathroom only to notice Maggie was on the mattress as well. And she had stolen his covers so he was cold. So then Krismon had to truck it upstairs to grab another pillow and blanket to cover Max in. Around 5am, Maggie woke up and had wet the mattress. I stripped her down and brought her to bed with me until around 5:30 when she started getting noisy and I needed to get up to get somewhere by around 7am. I really wish I could have let the boys sleep in longer but that was not in their cards. I left the kids in Krismon capable hands while I went to my meeting. Sure enough, later when I saw Maggie at playgroup, I could tell he had dressed her. I asked if she had been good for him and she looked at me very innocently and said yes. Now if she could just be good for us at night or rather him....
And if Max could just learn to wake up and go back to sleep until 6am. Ah the world would be a much better place.

Hmmm maybe we need to start including those tidbits in our prayers until they come true. Or is that like jinxing yourself. I just saw a movie where this little girl is told not to dream about bunnies and to keep saying it over and over and over again. Reverse psychology to get rid of the monster dreams so should we be doing the reverse instead? Something to ponder

Monday, November 10, 2008

Before I check out for the night

I pondered all day what I would write.
Would it be thoughtful?
Could I be thankful?
Now I am just silly
because it is chilly
Will this ever end?
Hmmm you better hope so.....

This was one of those blah days. I did stuff but it was mostly groceries, cleaning, laundry, a little more reading, taking one to ballet class, picking one up from school, walking to pick one up from ballet class, struggling to figure out what to make for dinner, dinner made, tired and cranky boy, unpleasant dining experience with said boy and figidy(sp?) girl, bath time battles and giggles, bed time reading, prayers and gratitude. Ahhhhh.

And now I can go lay in my bed. Good night

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Almost every weekend

I am not sure what it is well actually I am pretty sure what it is but every weekend, I get completely wiped out. I spent most of yesterday on the couch with a tummy ache that just would not go away. My poor belly is just not enjoying certain foods right now. I think yesterday it reacted to the chili from the night before. I might need to start taking beano or something. Yes this certainly is a pretty subject to discuss on a blog! lol.

Maggie and I did go out for a bit yesterday to the mall. I have to tell you that I am really starting to enjoy our outings together. While she is not quite as independent as Max, her vocabulary and personality make it much easier for us to communicate and enjoy our time together. I feel like I have neglected her in ways that I didn't with Max when Max was her age. And yes, I know that a certain amount of that is normal but I am hoping to change that so she can a wide variety of experiences like Max had.

Here is hoping today that I feel better and that we can have fun as a family doing something.

PS the kids watched Peter Pan last night for the first time and LOVED it. Maggie was thrilled to see tinkerbell in action. I almost feel bad that we didn't have her go as tinkerbell for halloween. There is always next year if she so desires.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

A no go on Yesterday

Why you may ask? For no good reason, other than I went to a playgroup that turned into a marathon. The kids were having fun, I was hanging out with friends there seemed to be no reason to leave right away. Of course, when I got home, I was wiped out. Maggie crashed in the car, Max was still a chatter box keeping me company on the drive home. The rest of the day seemed a blur. I don't really remember what I did except that I watched Oprah and made a really benign Turkey Chili for supper. The kids went to bed and I followed suit not long after. That sadly is what most of my days seem to be. But oh I forgot the kids were up by around 4am which meant I didn't really sleep much after that time either and for some reason not know to me, that didn't end up bothering much. Crazy huh?

Thursday, November 6, 2008

The post that goes no where

Because that is where my mind is today. I feel like a blank slate. I have a thought, think I should go with it and then poof it is gone. The only thing to stay consistent is my desire for soup in a bread bowl. Kind of sad, huh? I think it is because it finally got chilly here and my toes still have yet to warm up. I have been in comfort food mode now for a few days which can not be good nutritionally. Not that that has stopped me.

Tonight we are planning to eat a lovely turkey breast that didn't finish roasting last night until after we ate and pairing that with some mash potatoes and salad. It makes me feel much more midwestern, you know, meat and potatoes. lol.

Okay so maybe I will have more to write later that will go somewhere but as of now. poooooof

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

I cried, I cried, I cried

I didn't wail and moan but tears did slide out of my eyes. Heck, I am still tearing up today. I do not agree in every way with Obama but I do believe that "YES WE CAN". I, now, know that my children if they desire to be President of the United States have that opportunity. That was part of the hope that he gave me. Even now it is hard to write with tears in my eyes. I feel like now every opportunity is fully available.

This morning, Max actually ended up sleeping in. When he came down, he plopped on the couch to watch tv. He did not get to stay up and watch the results with us. I brought him over the newspaper and said would you like to see a picture of our newly elected president. I set the newspaper down in front of him. He gasped, I asked him to read the headline. He read out loud, "Change is coming to America!" I add the exclamation point because that was how excited he was. He highfived me and then stood up and wanted to high five me again. I know that he doesn't exactly know what all Obama stands for and he supports him in many ways because he is my candidate of choice and because I took him to some of the rallies. I want him to have the next four years or more to really learn about this president and to see how our country works to support him and to support each other.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

When will it be over?

I am just waiting waiting waiting and wanting the results to be known....


And did you watch Oprah. 109 yr old woman who has been voting since the vote was legalized in the 60s. Her kids and grandkids and great grandkids are voting. It was so cool to hear her history and know how historic it must be for her.

That's all I got right now.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Yeah yeah yeah I know

I broke my own intent and on the second day too! All I can say in my defense is that yesterday was not a good day and I was afraid of how my post would sound coming out. It was rough, rough, rough.... Just ask my children and my husband.


Today on the other hand, much much better. In fact, the kids actually let us sleep until 6am and I do believe that Maggie did not come down once. Do I expect this to be the norm yet? No but maybe we can continue working toward complete night independence. I think the kids actually ended up sleeping in Maggie's bed together. Oh course, Max is a convoluted sleeper so he slept the opposite direction. lol.

This morning, Krismon made us all pancakes. The lovely man even made the kids mickey mouse pancakes. He sure is a softy. Then we had the kids second ever dentist appt. Man were they troopers. Max acted like an old pro get films done and his teeth cleaned. Maggie sat nicely holding my hand while getting her teeth cleaned and check. The dentist and hygienists were impressed and happy that they were the first appts of the day. I think it felt like it was a good start to their day. We dropped Max off at school happy as a clam. Maggie and I went home ate a snack, took a break and then headed out shopping. We finished shopping at Costco and got a hot dog. Maggie can eat. After having her half, she wanted to get another one and not eat the fro yo. I love that we went to costco so that I could pick up something for dinner and not even have to think. Ahhh that was nice. She took a good long nap and then soon we will head out to ballet. Then I get Max for about an hour. It should be nice to spend a little time together. So here is hoping that all our good moods last and that we get to enjoy the rest of the day together. I am certainly planning to stay optimistic and enjoy my kids.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

NaBloPoMo

I am hopping on the bandwagon and am going to try and post everyday for an entire month. I have a hard time coming up with posts sometimes but I am hoping to overcome writers block on those days by writing anything in desperation. Thanks Gen for writing your post. http://insanityenjoyed.blogspot.com/2008/11/all-month-long.html

I enjoy reading blogs and sometimes I am even good at writing comments so here is hoping that I can make this kind of commitment to the blog and that people will actually read it. lol.....

Anyone else care to join me?

Anyone else ready for Tuesday to come and go, so that hopefully some of the vitriol will die down? I have this dream that in not too many years we will have a system that recognizes more than the two parties that we currently see posting so many negative ads. I would like to see the other parties in our country get a chance to debate on a national level with the dems and the repubs. I would love to feel confident voting for the candidate that I feel best represents me and what I would like to see for my country and my people. Right now, we still seem to be playing this game of fitting a ball into a square hole and we just use brute force to get it through. I did vote for Barack and I feel confident in his abilities and his capacity to govern but.... When I did a little on line test of the issues that are important to me and how I would vote the issues, Ralph Nader came up as my true candidate. I was a little surprised but not really. Did I believe that I could vote for him? no Why not? Because Sarah Palin scares me a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot, well you get the idea. Having two more supreme court justices end up being conservative, scares the holy heck out of me. I believe in choice and I believe that only God has the right to judge if what a woman did or did not do was right or wrong. Just like only God has the right to judge if homosexuality is wrong. I know, I know my high horse. To get back to the subject, I really do hope that in so many number of years that our system can evolve to include more parties and more points of view so that more of us can vote for who we want as opposed to voting against who we don't want which was the case in 2004. Hmm I think I better change my standing to independent after this election is done.