The typical morning car ride

In this scene, the characters are:
Johanna: The harried mother who is trying to eat breakfast and drive.
Grant: The 2 1/2 year old boy who is learning to talk and like attention.
Brianna: The almost 5 year old girl who is part patient saint and part victim.

(For the sake of the script, the strange garbled language of the 2 year old will be translated into real English.)

G: Pancake, Pancake mommy.
J: Are you eating your pancakes Grant?
G: Pancake, eat pancake mommy.
G: Pancake in bag mommy.
G: Eat one pancake mommy.
J: Good Job Grant, Eat your pancakes.
G: Moon, Moon, Moon, Moon, Mommy.
G: Pancake moon mommy.
G: (progressively louder) Moon Pancake, Moon Pancake mommy.
B: Mom, he's trying to tell you he took a bite out of his pancake and it looks like a moon.
J: Oh, Thank's Bri. Did you make a moon pancake Grant?
G: Yeah, moon pancake.
G: (louder and louder) Moon, Moon, Moon, pancake, moon pancake mommy.
J: Eat the moon Grant.
G: Bite Moon Mommy?
G: I eat moon pancake mommy.
G: (still louder) Boat, Boat, Boat pancake mommy.
J: Is your pancake a boat now Grant?
G: Yes mommy.
G: Boat, Boat, Boat in water mommy.
G: Boat in water mommy, water, water, boat in water mommy.
J: OK Grant, you made a boat.
G: Boat water mommy.
J: Yes Grant, Boats go in the water, good honey, eat the boat.
J: How are you doing Brianna?
B: (answer overlapped and eventually drowned out by Grant's next line)
I want more pancakes mom; mine are gone already.
G: (LOUDER) I eat boat pancake mommy. Eat boat, Eat boat, Eat boat mommy.
J: (LOUDEST) OK Grant, you ate your boat.
Brianna, I'm sorry, I don't have any more. You can eat cereal at school.
- a few seconds of silence-
G: another pancake in bag mommy.
G: pancake, eat another pancake mommy, pancake, pancake
J: (rolls eyes) Yes Grant, you have another pancake, eat it.
G: pancake, eat mommy?
G: Moon pancake mommy!
- repeat for each of the next 5 pancakes!-

I felt like talking to no one in particular

I was looking at Amalah's site today and thinking how big Noah is getting... and pondering when it was between 2 and 3 that they stop looking like big babies and start looking like little children.

Grant is totally changing in that way. He doesn't really look like a baby anymore, and hasn't for some time, but especially recently he seems to look like a real live boy! Something about their faces and they way they carry themselves, and the way they look at you like "yeah right mom, I am so NOT doing whatever you just asked me, and HA!"

Grant has such a personality now, he talks A.L.L. THE FREAKIN' TIME. He never wants to do or eat what the rest of us have. His teacher told me the other day that he had "a severe case of the Two's". I think that's the nice way of saying my son is a holy terror one minute and a sweet little angel the next minute. Especially if you give in to what he wants!

Brianna has been trying so hard to help us because she's old enough to know when mommy and daddy are getting frustrated. She wants to be a good big sister but she's 4 1/2, she just can't sometimes. She tries to stop him from taking things out of the drawer, and ends up closing the drawer on his fingers. She comes to tell us he's making a mess and he throws hard plastic toys at her. She tries to get him food out of the pantry, but all she can reach is the chips and fruit snacks, and mommy said "no more".

I love my children very much. They are amazing little people who grow and change everyday.
They also annoy the heck out of me and does anyone want to borrow them for the weekend?

How can all these emotions happen simultaneously??????????

quickies

Go away perverts!

1. I made it to 31 without having braces. According to my fine dentist whom I trust, I will not be able to say the same thing at 32.

2. My children are SO annoying it's cute! The big one has a 13 year old sass mouth and the little one narrates his entire day! Maybe I will be bored enough later to bring you some of that.

3. I don't remember the last time I took pictures of my children. I am a horrible mother!

4. Work is settling a little, and I am counting down every day until spring break!

5. The new house is still up in the air because of attorney review issues.

6. The old house is not going anywhere. 4 months on the market and not a single showing. Looks like the price will be dropping yet again next week.

7. Without thinking, I just ate an entire box of Peanut Butter Patty Girl Scout Cookies! What was the last stupid thing you did?

8. I can't spell check my entries anymore because work internet is strange and moody.

Thrilled and Chilled

I have been reading Amalah for several years now, ever since Jamie got me hooked.

If you don't read Amalah, you should check her out. I connected right away because at the time she was pregnant with her son Noah. I was pregnant with Grant. CLICK. Noah is actually a scant 3 weeks older than Grant and I still read daily to see what he's doing and how she's holding up. She is funny and real.

Well, this week when her dream of a second pregnancy became a reality, I cried for her. And I cried for me. Because I don't think I will ever know that instant joy caused by a little pink line again. It is becoming more real that we can not afford, or should not afford, a third child. Beyond that, I think we are already outnumbered at 2-2. (The puppy dog face trumps reason every time!)

I will still read Amalah daily and live through her. I will pray for her and wish I lived closer so we could run into each other at the grocery store and I could confess that I'm stalking her.
Meanwhile, I will be a little sad that I'm not pregnant with her this time around.

But the kids are really good...

I was on a posting roll for a while there... and then....

-3 snow days out of 6 weekdays.
-A home inspection.
-My students turned in a research paper to be graded.
-I added that to the pile of homework and classwork.
(That wasn't getting graded due to house distractions.)
-Parent-Student-Teacher conferences.
-A major competition for the flag team I coach.
(Which was further complicated by said snow days.)
(However we got 1st so that was COOL!)

SO... I've been distracted and out of touch.
And as if that weren't enough, for the last 3 days our work e-mail system has been more down then not. When was the last time you went for more than a day with out comunicating via e-mail at work. I think this might be more detrimental then the snow days!

I feel buried alive.

Hurry up and wait!

So, it was a busy weekend.

Friday we had a "Snow Day" here in greater Chicagoland. Which was wonderful, except that I was already in the shower with shampoo in my hair when we got the call that school was cancelled... and we still had to get up sort of early because we had to be out of the house for the cleaning people, who never came because of the snow. But we had a nice breakfast out, and ran some errands, and went and worked out which was actually nice in the middle of the day when the machines were available.

Mid-day on Friday, we received yet another counter offer from the house sellers, we countered them... they came back asking us to come up $1000. Really people, $1000, is the "last word" that important to you... FINE! Take your $1000 and give me my house!

SO... if we can manage to find some sucker, I mean worthy family, to give us a contract our house within 60 days we will have our new house by summer. It took us only 3 days to hammer out a contract and now we wait 60 days to see if things will really work out.

In the meantime, this weekend was NUTS!
Saturday: Ballet class, Birthday party, Babysitting parents for Bill Engval performance ie Date night!
Sunday: SUPERBOWL!

I'm actually glad to be back at work!

Really and Truly, CRAZY- updated 2x

ORIGIONAL POST: 10:00am....
Soooooooo, Tuesday we put in a bid on a house! A beautiful home in a nice neighborhood with a park in easy walking distance and short drives to all the schools. We are in love with this house... a couple problems though....

1. WE HAVEN'T YET SOLD OUR CURRENT HOUSE!

2. The realtor representing the new house is dicking around with us. (Was supposed to have a respond to us last night and then claimed she didn't get the offer until 5:30 so we'd have to wait until tonight... we know they got it by 11am because it was time stamped! UGH)

3. Our own realtor is out of town and we are working with an associate of hers who just doesn't "get us".

4. I am PSYCHO about the whole thing and can't manage to get ANYTHING done at work or at home while waiting for a response.

I have SO much work to do today and just can NOT focus. I check my e-mail every 30 seconds and one ear is permanently applied to listening for faint cell phone ring from my purse. I will refrain from telling you more because I really can't focus on this and it has taken me 15 minutes to type this quick little post!

UPDATE 11:20 am... We got a counter offer! Thrilled but can't talk to realtor until next teaching break at 12:15... will update again!

UPDATE 1:15 pm... Decent counter offer, nothing too out of the ordinary except that as a home-sale contingency (meaning we have to sell our house by a certain date) they can make requirements for our current home... AND, they want us to drop our price by at least $10,000. Not sure about that part, lots of thinking to do....

Thanks Jamie!

39%

30% Geek

I couldn't get the other one to work.... Maybe I am not geeky enough!

The real me

I am considering getting a tattoo.

Several people whom I've told this too asked me if I'd been invaded by aliens or pod-people or something. Why is this so unbelievable?

Seriously, I am a fun person, I like spontaneous things, I have a sense of adventure!
I don't know why no one believes me but I DO!

I am thinking of a little solar system, planet, moon, stars kind of thing...
Or a heart/wings kind of thing...
Either way, It will have the initials A, B, G worked into it for Adam, Brianna, and Grant.
And I will leave room to add more initials but I'm 90% sure that is not going to happen.

I also know where... lower back/upper tush region. High enough that I could potentially show it if I choose too, low enough not to hurt too much. (I hear it hurts less on fleshy/fatty areas)

I think the strangest thing about all this is that it was my mom's idea. My over-60, church going, wait-until-your-married, not too many piercings please mom. My mom whom is lovingly and accurately described as "Sally Field" by my sister.

Adam is good with it, he'll even get one too.
Jamie is considering it.

An Interesting proposition to be sure!

The Frustration of the day is...

I joined a gym, a nice gym, a Health Club even! Adam and I are very proud of ourselves and have been going often (for the first 2 weeks). Said nice health club comes with exorbitant start up fee but said fee comes with "free" fitness testing including blood work, a cardio-stress test, 2 "free" personal training sessions, fitness counseling, a nutrition consultation, and some other cool stuff.

HOWEVER, they can't fit me in for this wonderful "free" testing for at least 4 weeks! People, why do I want my start up testing 6 weeks into my working out?!?! Why didn't they have more staff available if they have all these January Joiners? OR- Have the testing on a frickin' weekend already! I do work for a living and can't take off whenever the frick I feel like it!

UGH!

I want it bad...

First, a quick Hello to all the pervy Internet people... now go away, it's not about THAT.

I want to have a 3rd child. I want a third little person to love and grow and nurture. I want to watch another little person look more like Adam than me, and be deliriously happy.

I know that I should feel more than thrilled with the 2 beautiful children who already bless my life everyday. I know that a 3rd child is more work and more money and more headaches. All I can say to that is, bring it on! I was nauseous for months before, I can handle it again. Wake up for 6 months every night, multiple times, I can't think of anything I'd love more!

My loving husband thinks I am more nutso than a tree full of squirrels. He is SO DONE.
Before you even go there, I would never, n.e.v.e.r, knowingly try for a baby with out his knowledge and agreement. I need his full agreement, full patience, full happiness, full support. That being said, I still want one so badly I hurt a little.

I hurt to think that no other little person will get to be a sibling to the wonderful, beautiful, happy children we already have. I hurt to think that I will never feel those little kicks in the mornings, or watch my belly roll from side to side like a roller coaster, or again know what it's like to first hold that tiny little person who is part you and part the man you love more than anything.

I could go on and on, but I can't go on.
Lets keep this little emotional breakdown to ourselves okay?

Brianna

Brianna is a beautiful,


fearless (except for dogs),


Silly,


Monkey,


Princess!

Grant

Grant likes to play "hi-seek mama"
This means we spend much of our day seeking to find where he is hiding.
It's usually in the pantry!



Grant is a stinker and he knows it!




Hi-seek mama also has some fun perks.
(I swear people, this was his choice of a seat, not mine! Leave DCFS out of it, I have many witnesses!)

So many things to say

For once, I have a little free time today AND have enough brain cells to think and type! So much has been going on with our lives and I have had so little time or energy to talk about it.

1. Our home is on the market! YES, I know it's the worst possible time to sell a house, thank you for telling me the obvious. I could have proved that to you by the fact that in nearly 90 days on the market we have had exactly NO SHOWINGS! That's right, 3 months on the market, with a professional realtor, and we have had no one come see our home. YES- we have had open houses, those people weren't serious lookers, they were mostly our curious neighbors. YES- we have lowered our price, TWICE. We are trying to stay positive and look at this as a marathon. It's okay to start off a little slow as long as we finish the race within the time we'd hoped.

2. I've over committed myself at work, but that's not really new, just different on any given day. This year it's the program review committee, the internal community committee, the school improvement planning committee, team leader, flag coach, and 6th grade committee co-chair. Not to mention teaching my 100 or so kids and planning for them and grading all the work they do. Some people have said to my face that I need to slow down. They are mostly my co-workers who just complain about problems and then don't offer to help find solutions. I see myself as a go-getter who wants to be part of the solution. And the fact is, none of it will hurt when my resume looks fabulous in 2 years and I want an administrative position!

3. Oh yeah, did I mention I have two WONDERFUL children who are so amazing it's earth-shattering? The kids are growing so fast.
Brianna is curious about absolutely everything and does nothing but ask questions. I hate to stunt her curiosity, but I might muzzle her! :-) On the plus side she is learning so much and constantly astounds me with the things she picks up. Good and Bad things!
Grant has really found his voice too. Literally. He talks all the time. Sometimes to himself, sometimes to us, sometimes to the toys and TV. He can talk in short phrases and 3-4 word sentences now, it's amazing to hear him form questions and thoughts and actually understand what is going on inside that cute little head of his. On the other hand, I will be trying to find out if muzzles come in his size too. He actually figured out recently that "okay honey" is not the correct answer to whatever it is he's trying to tell me... Now he repeats his phrase over and over and over and over and over and over until I repeat back the right words and respond properly to the comment. Some favorites:

da da dat date mommy?--- Translation: Are we there yet mommy?
sis dack ot ide mommy.--- Translation: It's dark outside mommy.
ca bankie binkie ie ead mommy. Translation: Car blankie and binky are in bed mommy.

(Notice how they all end in mommy... you would think daddy was just a prop or a toy. He apparently is not to be asked questions of, even when he's in the same room or car!!!!!)

WELL- I guess I should go teach class now. Maybe I'll be back later with pictures...

Thanks for the idea Jamie!

You Belong in London

You belong in London, but you belong in many cities... Hong Kong, San Francisco, Sidney. You fit in almost anywhere. And London is diverse and international enough to satisfy many of your tastes. From curry to Shakespeare, London (almost) has it all!

What European City Do You Belong In?

Merry Christmas!

I'm not loving it right now

I don't have time for this post.

I have 300 papers to check and put in my grade book.
I have a flag routine to finish writing.
I have lots of paperwork to finish and mail ASAP.
I have checks to deposit.
I have checks to request.
I have kids to pay attention to, at home and at work.
I have Christmas shopping to finish.
I have to figure out how to work the sound system in the gym.
I have to breathe.

I don't want to do any of those things, except the shopping and breathing parts.

I want to be alone.
I want to get a massage.
I want to read blogs (which I haven't even had time to read this month).
I want to eat until I pop.
I want to watch my children, not my students.
I want this week to be over!

Because I don't have any real free time

A Meme/Forwarded email for you to enjoy:

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends.
Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!!
Just copy (not forward) this entire email and paste into a new e-mail that you can send.
Change all the answers so that they apply to you.
Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you...Tis the Season to be NICE!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? both, I like a nice mix under the tree
2. Real tree or artificial? fake, pre-lit!
3. When do you put up the tree? the first weekend of December
4. When do you take the tree down? when Adam makes me
5. Do you like eggnog? NO!!!!!!!!!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I have a hard time remembering early childhood.... probably Barbies or Dolls
7. Do you have a nativity scene? No
8. Hardest person to buy for? I'm not sure... Aunt Judy and Uncle Jim I guess
9. Easiest person to buy for? my kids
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Strange Catalog findings...
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, but sometimes late and called a Happy New Year card
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? White Christmas
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever... I start planning early but shop late
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes:)
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas: Mom's homemade candies, especially peanut butter balls.
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? white!
17. Favorite Christmas song? I like lots of different ones. Currently our family likes the songs on the Nick Jr. Christmas CD... nothing says Christmas like songs sung by Dora, her backpack, Diego, baby Jaguar, Tyrone, and Linny the Guinea Pig!
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home, or at family homes
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen & Rudolph (okay..I stole the previous person's answer...I cheated! But they stole it from the person ahead of them!)
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? angel, given to me by my parents when I was a kid because it looked like me.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? morning, except for the matching family PJ's mom gives us the night before.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? shopping in the snow and winter coats
23. What I love most about Christmas? Being with family and days off of school
24. Do you buy gifts for your pets? I don't have pets but I do buy gifts for other peoples pets so, Yes.
25. Have you ever been Christmas Caroling? yes, but I mostly pretended to sing because, I suck at singing on tune!
26. Hot chocolate or Hot Apple Cider? Hot Chocolate, extra marshmallows please!


Hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

The word of the day is...

(click on pic to clarify words...)

Stole this from an e-mail... I can't take credit...
If I'd bothered to create it, then it wouldn't be true anymore!

Halloween

So, other than the most boring title in history... here come some of the most boring (but CUTE!) pictures in history. (Sorry people, between committee meetings, may shoot self....)

Here, see Ariel and Flounder ready to go scrounge for human stuff (aka CANDY!)



Here, see Ariel and Flounder with their adoptive land parents, Superman and the mystery witch.



And here, Flounder sees a ane... I mean a plane!

Smarter than the average bear?

So this weekend, I went upstairs to see what Brianna was doing... up there by herself, for over 30 minutes.... I peeked around the corner and caught her unawares. She wasn't doing anything wrong, I just caught her by surprise.

She saw me, and said, "Damn It!"
I responded with awe, concern, and a very loud, "What did you just say?"
She looked a little sheepish and said questioningly, "Forget it!?!"

So here's my question: Does your 4 year old know how to lie and cover their tracks? Because mine sure as heck did! We spent the next 5 minutes... me trying to get her to repeat it, her trying not to make eye contact and think of anything else that would get her out of trouble. She finally admitted to it with a little grin, and spent 5 minutes in time-out willingly.

Seriously people... I don't even know where she got that one, REALLY! That's not a phrase Adam or I really use much. And we always do our best not to swear in front of the kids. Maybe daycare..... But with Brianna, it would only take one slip, she picks up on EVERYTHING! E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G!

I was not prepared for this!

How old are your ears?

You are about 20 years old

The teen repellent will no longer foil you, but you can still hear some pretty high tones. The highest pitched ultrasonic mosquito ringtone that I can hear is 16.7kHz

Find out which ringtones you can hear!

I don't know how REAL this is, but it's pretty funny to compare with your co-workers.
My 24 year old co-worker can hear 1 step better than me but my 27 year old co-worker has worse hearing.... I love being 30!

William Tell Overture for Moms

Perfect for anyone who is a mom, or has a mom. This is the funniest 2 min and 30 seconds I've seen in weeks!
Sound is a MUST for this one!

Oh Blog, How lazy I've been!

I have not posted any new news in SOOO long!
I could say I've been busy, but that's always true. (See also title of blog!)
I could blame home computer issues, but that's boring and hasn't been a significant problem since I went back to work Aug. 27.

So... since Aug. 27... I feel like Indiana Jones in danger of being plowed down by the giant boulder and I just can't run fast enough.

In the meantime, lets just say things are calming down a little, I have some pampering planned thanks to the Pretty in Pink campaign, and I have tomorrow off work thanks to Rosh Hashanah AND the kids are going to be staying at my parents!

If you have any extra relaxation, send it my way!

It's Done

I just finished the last Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".
(Don't worry, no spoilers here, I wouldn't dream of it!)

I picked up the book around 10:30 this morning from my local Borders and read all day. I stopped for food. I stopped a couple times to pay attention to the kids (who mostly watched TV all day). And I stopped for about an hour this evening... I had to hold off the last few chapters until the kids were asleep and I knew I could read completely uninterrupted.

It was an enthralling book. It lived up to all my hopes and then some. I have no idea that a day could fly by so fast. I estimate that it took me about 10 hours to read the book. I will have to read it again sometime soon because I'm sure I missed details along the way. I tend to do that... If I am really into a book, I read so fast that I miss some of the writers best nuances. I will read it again. And probably a third time next summer when I want to relive all the emotions of this time.

That being said... I find myself to be very sad. Not in any way related to the plot of the book, only that it is done. Now that I've read book 7, there won't be any more to look forward to. There won't be any more secrets, any more wonderfully written characters who grow and develop until I can feel them. There will be movies, which I always find predictably shallow compared to the books. You just can not take a book written with such depth and development and shorten it in any way. Even the most minor incidence, when left out, leaves a hole in the stories I love so much.

I will find new books to read. I will love them too. But I feel like Harry has left me.
This is silly, REALLY silly to some of you, but I feel like a good friend has moved very far away and I know we will lose touch.

I will miss you Harry. I've looked forward to all your adventures and I can't wait to share them with my children when the time comes.
Thank you J.K. Rowling for filling so many days with entertainment. However, if this should reach you... I do still have a few questions for you.

(I have intentionally left out links to all the copyrighted or trademarked items in this entry. Please don't sue me. If you want more information on any of the items, use Google. That's not my job!) :-)

No details, no energy

So, the rest of vacation was fine. It might have been just a little too long with my family but what are you going to do? A week's house rental means a week with the family. I was simultaneously glad and a little depressed to be home again.

Did a little grocery shopping... got back to normal... blah blah blah.

However, slight differentiation from blah when Tuesday night's stomach ache became uncontrollable pain with no position I could find relief in by Wednesday late afternoon. A quick call to the doctor led to a not as quick visit to the acute care center which was followed by a trip to the ER and an "emergency" appendectomy. That's right. I went to the doctor with generalized stomach pain around 6:30 Wednesday night and approx. 6 hours later I was no longer in possession of my appendix!

The surgeon, who had the personality of a door, said that it was the earliest case of appendicitis he'd ever operated on. That leads me to believe either; 1- I'm a wuss, 2- He says that to all the girls, or 3- I could have waited longer, been in more pain, and other people are just stupider than me. I vote for #3.

As of now, I am spending a lot of time on the couch... and loving the Vicodin.
I hope next week is less eventful.

Quick Change in Plans...

I said I wasn't going to post from vacation but....

Very cool vacation house, paid for by very cool parents who are here with us, has very cool wireless Internet for which new, somewhat cool notebook computer is compatible.

Quick re-cap so far:
Saturday... (WAY too much driving + with WAY too much stuff jammed in car) x (2 kids who do not want to nap on time + WAY too much Wiggles and Backyardigans DVDs) = INSANITY
Sunday... sleep in, grocery shop, rest, drink alcohol
Monday.... Pontoon boat rental, lots of sun, not quite enough sunblock on the grown-ups (Awesome day! I went tubing for the first time!)
Tuesday.... relax, grocery shopping, Dollar General going out of business clearance, shoe store with 50-70% off.
Wednesday... hectic morning trying to get kids out door to children's museum 1hour away only to get there and find out said museum was closed for the 4th of July holiday. Luckily, the kids think McDonalds playland is pretty cool and don't care about museum when nuggets are involved. Sparklers before rugrat bedtime, alcohol after rugrat bedtime.

So far... lots of fun. Still 2 days to go, and then another driving day... but we will pretend that's not going to happen.

Got to go... Wine coolers are getting warm.

Happy Independence Day Everyone!!!!!!

I'm Outta Here!

Nothing really new....

Adam and I had the babysitter come back last night and went to dinner and a movie as a couple!
Dinner was good... Movie was great (Pirates 3 anyone?) except that a REALLY annoying former student sat right in front of me with his detestable dad who thinks I suck. Sounds like a good combo for date night huh? I of course turned my back and rummaged in my purse as the lights came on and Adam told me when they were gone. I don't think they really noticed me since it was already dark when they entered... I HOPE they didn't notice me anyway... no one burst my bubble OK?

Today, a lot of laundry and packing. We are heading off tomorrow for a week in Tennessee with my parents, sister, and her boyfriend. My parents rented a house on a lake near Knoxville. The kids will be thrilled. I will be mostly thrilled... I'm hoping to gain a little alone time from all the live-in, free, babysitters next week! I only dread the 9 hour drive with the kids.... well, 9 hours driving + multiple potty/movement/food stops + lose an hour in the time change. We hope to make it to the house by around 6 EST if we leave our house around 5 CST!

I might have Internet access there, but I don't plan on updating my blog! SO THERE! But seriously... one of my 3 readers will be with me and the rest of you will just have to wait.
Luv ya anyway and Happy Independence Day!

And then the angels sang!

People, I hired a babysitter! Well, actually 2 because they are sisters and both were available and I didn't want to pick between them.

This morning, I called the nice neighbor girls and asked them to come by this afternoon. Currently, they are at my house with my kids. I am at the library ALONE! (Yes, I could be doing this from home with the kids but I had to do some computer stuff that my new computer at home is not yet set up for and/or to dang slow!)

Faithful readers (Hello to the 3 of you!) will know that Adam is not working this summer and will wonder why he's not with the kids while I get things done... He's golfing... with his dad. Which he sprung on me in the middle of Brianna's birthday party last weekend so of course I couldn't say no. Despite the fact that we have 900 things to do before this coming weekend and one car is in the shop!

Brianna was so excited to have new people to play with that she didn't shut up the whole 15 minutes I was giving the girls the important info. She has already planned that they will play in her castle after lunch, and then dress up, and then read some books. Yes, I could have done that with her to, but, I don't. Because she is annoying!

Don't start throwing things at me yet! You did not misunderstand, I said that my 4 year old daughter was annoying. And it's true. But she's only annoying to me. She is in that phase where she tests every single boundary I have, and does it in the most obvious, look-at-me-while-I-break-every-rule-you-crazy-mommy kind of way. To the average outsider or family member, she is sweet as pie and cute as a bunny. To me, she is 4 going on 15! Moms out there... you understand right?

Anyway, I think I will hire a babysitter more often!

Where does the time, and my brain, go?

If a few mere hours, my baby will be 4 years old. No longer a baby I guess, not even a toddler. She is a child, a little girl with a mind and opinions of her own.

Some days I am amazed by the clarity of thought with which she can tell a story, or remember some event that I'd never have thought important, or with how much love and caring she can show to us and especially to her little brother. And then, not a full 5 minutes later, I am amazed at the teenage attitude and stubborn streak that never fail to have me gritting my teeth and saying things like; "Because I said so" or the all time favorite "Just Because!"

Tonight after an especially trying trip to K-mart, I decided that I needed a quiet moment with her. I didn't want either of us to start her birthday in the morning by being irritated with each other. We pulled out her baby book. We looked at pictures and I told her some of my favorite little stories from when she was a newborn. We compared her foot now, to the little footprint the hospital made for us the day she was born. We measured how tall she was now, and then I showed her how big she was when she was born. I was a little choked up and surprised to find that I had forgotten some of the details of her birth... when did I start feeling pains, when did we get to the hospital, what exact time was she born. Those are crucial statistics and I already need a book to remind me after 4 short years.

She was only interested in turning the pages by herself and getting the tape measure off the counter. BY HERSELF, NO, I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO HELP! She didn't care that I couldn't remember that she was born at 9:58am. She only wanted to stay up 5 more minutes and practice sticking out her tongue like her 3 month picture.

I miss my baby, I'm a little unsure about this little girl, but I can't wait to see my daughter grow more each year. Happy Birthday Brianna, I love you!

Update

1. Computer Hard Drive was FRIED and we couldn't even use the little magic disk so....
2. Bought new computer! Nice HP notebook however....
3. Am waiting for Best Buy to set it up and then....
4. Will have to wait for new AOL CD or decide on new Internet server then...
5. Will have to upload/set-up etc.

We will still be limited by stubborn husband and his refusal to upgrade to ANYTHING but dial-up Internet. However, we will be back on-line and our marriage may be saved! (In the case that I don't get around to a post about that, let me just say, I didn't realize how much personal time I got when Adam was on the Internet instead of making me work!)

I may be back sooner than I thought! But don't hold your breath, because, this is me, I never posted all that much to start with!

Farewell, for now!

Well, this is good bye for now!

School is over for summer! I will be enjoying days at home with the kids and Adam... or I will be trying to endure spending the next 80 or so days (24 hours a day) with my husband and children... it depends on you point of view...

And in a further note... I think we may have killed our home computer! We haven't had reliable Internet access there for some time and now every time we turn on the computer, we can't even get to a workable screen. We get a message that basically says... you fried your system Jerk! (or something like that...)

Adam spent the better part of 4 hours on the phone with the helpful Utah Dell boys on Sunday and they have mailed us a magic disk that will erase everything we've ever done to the computer in last ditch hopes that this will save the thing! They say our operating system is corrupt or some other lofty computer jargon like that. I picture the computer laying on the operating table, with some doctor massaging it's heart and asking for everyone to clear!

On the upside, if it dies, we will be saving up all summer and looking for deals on a new computer. Yeah! (said dripping with sarcasm and a slight frown over all the dinners out she will sacrifice to pay for said computer)

On the real upside, I am hoping to convince Adam to take this opportunity to upgrade to wireless cable Internet and a laptop! Wish me luck!

SO- Enough said... I will try and get back to you all from the library or my in-laws...
Love!
and have a great summer!
Jo

Tag, I'm it!

Jamie tagged me for this meme....

She seems to think that I have all sorts of time on my hands since the school year is ending and I have a student teacher teaching my classes. She must not have noticed the severe lack of blogging due to the severe neuroticness of ME! I have been more busy now then ever before... AND I 'M NOT EVEN DOING MY OWN JOB!

Anyway... on with the meme....

3 things that scare me:

1. The death of close family
2. Spiders
3. people not thinking I'm smart and capable

3 people who make me laugh:

1. DH Adam
2. "The Kids" aka DD Brianna and DS Grant
3. my coworker and friend; Stephanie

3 things I love:

1. My Family
2. My Job (most days)
3. TV

3 things I hate/severely dislike:

1. reality TV
2. worrying about money around Tax time
3. having nothing to do (see comments above)

3 things I don't understand:

1. insensitive people
2. war
3. runny noses in kids

3 things on my desk:

1. Diet Coke
2. a To-Do pile
3. lots of pens, markers, highlighters, etc in quick reach.

3 things I'm doing right now:

1. Blogging
2. Listening to my student teacher and the class
3. wishing I had some chocolate

3 things I want to do before I die:

1. Travel
2. Be a Principal
3. hold political office?

3 things I can do well:

1. Teach
2. Have Babies
3. listen

3 things I can't do well:

1. talk on the phone and watch TV
2. be blunt
3. dislike you

3 things I think you should listen to:

1. your mother
2. small children
3. yourself

3 things I think you should never listen to:

1. People who don't know you well but give you advice
2. Internet medical info
3. People who are famous but haven't done anything worthy

3 things I'd like to learn

1. how to be blunt and nice at the same time
2. how to keep my house cleaner
3. How to get rich without trying

3 favorite foods:

1. Chocolate
2. pasta
3. peanut butter

3 shows I watched as a kid:

1. Smurfs
2. Solid Gold
3. Days of our Lives

3 things I regret:

1. debt before my marriage
2. not working harder at my early career
3. my own laziness

3 people I tag:

(This was the hardest because I don't have many blogging friends. I'm more of a reader than a chatter...)
1. Janet because I love reading more about my newest friends!
2-6. Stephanie, Heather, Jenny, Min, and Kate at Mama Drama. Because they are SO much fun!

SOOOO cute!

I found a great product when I was reading Dancing Through today.

Tutu Fantasy is having a contest! I LOVE contests!
But regardless of if I win or not, I think this might be a great gift for my niece for her birthday next month. She LOVES ballet class and LOVES dressing up... what could be better?

And I might get this one for Brianna!

Panic attack subsiding...

One of my favorite bloggers... Jenny over at Mama Drama... posted this post today.

Now, I love Jenny's posts and this one is no different. It is worded wonderfully and I can completely picture what she is saying. Therefore, the gratuitous scary picture is not needed. Seriously, I think I may have just died a little looking at that picture.

If you didn't know this about me... I am TERRIFIED of spiders. I currently have a pair of shoes sitting in the garage that I may never wear again because since they have been in said garage for several days, I am just sure that some family of spiders has made a home of them. I do a double take every time I pass the nail that has popped out of the wall in the office. I swear I just saw it moving and it will chase me down now.

I probably shouldn't laugh

I have been silently worrying for weeks (OK- maybe months) about Grant and his lack of words. He says Car, Ball, Cow, Meow, and Dada fairly regularly... but not Mama, eat, drink, etc... words that you would think he would actually need.

The past week or so has shown a good change in his language skills. He has added cracker, milk, and every mother's favorite... No.

That's right... last night... my precious baby boy said No for the first time! Except he doesn't just say no... he mimics the way Brianna says No when she's trying to keep him from stealing her toys! It starts really slow with a drawn out "N" sound and ends in a quick "O".

nnnnnnnNNNNNNNO!

I couldn't help cracking up! He says it just like Bri... and even makes the same little mad face! It never failed to make me laugh last night... and again this morning. I'm going to have quite a spitfire on my hands!

This may be my first attempt at recording, and uploading video... I just have to figure out the digital video part of my camera... and then actually get him to do it... and then upload it properly... By the time I do all that, he'll be talking in sentences!

And I love him anyway!

This weekend, my parents took the kids!! BOTH KIDS! for a whole 28 hours... not that I was counting or anything.

It was really nice having some time to ourselves. Even if we did spend the majority of that time doing manual labor. We ran errands with out tears. We worked in the garden without having to watch who was running in the street. We went out to dinner without rushing. We watched a movie with profanity. We slept in... until we just couldn't sleep anymore. We ate breakfast and simultaneously read the paper. We went for a walk without a stroller. And then... the best part... we went our separate ways! Adam went golfing with his dad and brother, I went to get a long overdue haircut and highlights.

By the time the kids came home on Sunday, we were ready for them.

It was so much fun to walk through the door and see little Grant light up... and lift up his little arms... and run toward me.... and call me "Dada".

That's right, my son calls his mother Dada... If you have a problem with that... Just don't tell me. OK- maybe I do have a little problem with this new development. Maybe I would like him to call me Mama. But maybe I will pretend not to notice and just enjoy his heart wrenching hugs and his big sloppy kisses and know that he loves me, no matter what name he uses.

Am I evil?

Is it wrong to think my own children are annoying?

Bri talks non-stop and usually in a "lovely" little whine. She is going through a very selfish phase and wants to be in my lap or next to me every time Grant is in the same place. She loves school as evidenced by the fact that she asks to go there during the weekend... but every evening when I ask her how school was; she only tells me bad things. Dylan hit me, Dylan bit Stacy, Arjun didn't share, I didn't get to play on the 'puter (Computer), etc. etc. etc. She actually has a hard time answering me when I ask her about good things that happened today.

Grant hasn't been feeling well this week. We've changing a LOT of dirty diapers and he has the killer diaper rash to prove it. Except now the Dr says that is doesn't sound like a true diaper rash, it sounds like a yeast rash and I actually had to go to the drugstore to buy Monistat for my sons butt! What a week! As a result of all this; he is clearly uncomfortable, often doesn't even want to sit down on his "ouchy tushy" and really wants to be held... A LOT!!!!! He won't eat properly and shakes his head No to everything but Ritz crackers and the Wiggles. Ugh.

At work things should be super easy. Note the careful use of SHOULD BE. The year is ending, lots of fun activities are getting started, and I have a student teacher so I don't even have to work all day! But here's the problem. My student teacher is awful. Her English language skills are questionable, her classroom management is non-existent, and her lessons barely teach anything. I am trying to help, I have done a lot of good things with her, she doesn't listen. She thinks she knows EVERYTHING and gets very defensive when people give her suggestions. She is barely on time each day, often arrives unprepared, and then blows out of here right at the end of the day.

Lord... what a complainer I am today.

I should be planning a fabulous weekend... Girls night out tonight and a weekend without the kids! (No, I'm not killing them or selling them, Grandma actually begged to take them!) I need to find a good mood quick! Maybe I'll see if anyone is selling one on e-bay....

My life is painfully NORMAL!!!

I have been trying to get better about posting... and finding nothing of interest to post.

I got some medical test results done... everything is normal, my cholesterol is actually great, and something called albumin in my blood is low but not dangerously so. The test showed that I need to work on my eating habits and loose some weight but a trained chimp could have told me that.

Grant is getting another tooth but I can't tell which one yet. He is up to a whopping 12 teeth now, we are expecting 8 more sometime in the next year or so. My guess is they will show up in groups of 2 or 3 about every 3 months, because, if nothing else, my son is "regular" in his every bodily function and behavior.

Brianna is talking up a storm and asks "Why" about EVERYTHING! This is not really of note though because she is 3 and 3 is the age of annoying and why! She says cute things, but nothing that cute. The most noticeable thing lately is that she repeats things.... apparently, I must say "Okey doke?" a LOT. She says it now but she says "obe dobe".

See... if your still reading... thanks.... what a load of nothing that turned out to be!

My brain is a steel sieve

A while ago, I read an article. No, of course I don't remember where or when.

Wait... don't leave yet... it gets better....

The article claimed that researchers had developed a theory about parental attachment with infants. The researchers had investigated especially the attachment of fathers and come to the following conclusion:

From birth to approx. age 3 ALL children are genetically programed to look more like their fathers than their mothers. The research went on to hypothesize that in the pre-paternity test world (and maybe the pre-monogamy days) that men needed proof that a child was theirs. therefore, all babies look more like their fathers at early ages to "prove" to the daddy that he should bother to bond with this baby.

What do you think?
Did you look like your dad when you were young?
What about your kids?.....

I know that both of my children look WAY more like my husband than me right now. It might be too late to save Bri, but I still have hope for Grant. ;-)

When in Doubt...

Post Pictures!


Brianna with her bangs cut by mommy!



Grant before his first haircut:



Grant after his first haircut:



Mommys worst picture of kids ever!

more about me

I know, I have been just awful about posting for MONTHS now! I can only say that work has been forced to take precedence. I am very proud of all the work I did in this time but miss my slow lazy days when I had time to update and read blogs.

Well, that time is here again and it's better than ever! I have a student teacher working with me this quarter and starting Thursday... She takes over all teaching and planning and grading and phone calls! I love it!

In the meantime, I have planned a few posts that will be coming soon.

For today: here is a little interview chain idea that Jamie took from Whoorl who took it from someone else... don't you love the blog world?

ANYWAY... Jamie's questions to me:

1. If you chose to max out your credit cards, at which store would you do so?

I could not just choose one store! I would need something for me, somethings for the kids, maybe a little something for Adam, lots of fun stuff for the house.... I guess if I had to pick one store it might be like Target because who can resist tons of cool stuff for cheap?

2. Facial hair on men: yeah, or nay?

I do sort of like facial hair on men, some men. I like beards on older men like my dad... if they can keep it trim and neat; no crazy-bum looking- Santa Claus beards! I do like my hubby with a little facial hair; I think he looks more mature. But again- I hate it if it looks scruffy!

3. What is your favorite winter sport?

Is drinking hot chocolate a sport?

4. Who is more annoying – Carson Daly or Ryan Seacrest?

I am not really annoyed by either. I try to avoid them both at all costs which is not hard since I am so hopelessly out of the cool 20-something zone! I only get to watch shows that come on after 8 pm or have some tie to cartoons! Show me cartoon versions of each one and then I'll vote!

5. Do you believe in heaven?

I think I do.... I mean I want to.... I mean yes. (sort of).
I am a very conflicted person religiously. On one hand I grew up with a strong Christian background and never questioned it. But I teach various religions for a living. I teach that one religion isn't right and another isn't wrong. That puts some of my earlier religious education into severe questioning. And if I question one thing, do I have to question it all?

Easter Pics

As always, Jamie is SOOOOO much better about posting pictures of my kids than I am!
Check them out...

I saw a famous person!

I am pretty sure I saw Randy Spelling downtown Chicago this weekend. His hair is longer now but I totally recognized the eyes and the stare! He was just walking down Ohio St, towards Michigan Ave around 1pm... I thought I handled it pretty well... I just walked backwards for about a block (looking at the back of his head) telling Adam that I was sure I knew that guy from a boy band or something. I wish I had looked more closely at who he was with but it was really fast!


In other news, I may actually have time to start posting again!
YEAH!
oh yeah... only 46 more work days till summer break!
(feel free to hate me now)
:-)

Of COURSE I have better things to do.... But....

A Meme I stole from Jamie:

(I am disappointed to find a distinct lack of Nora Roberts or Julie Garwood....)
And... I must note.... that I read many of these books while taking a "blow off class" called, Independent Literature, my senior year of high school. Thank you evil witch teacher for making us read the classics!

Look at the list of books below.

• Bold the ones you’ve read.
• Italicize the ones you want to
• Don't do anything to the ones that you aren’t interested in.


1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMavrier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

So, it's not my best post ever...

first haircut!

This weekend, Grant got his first hair cut. In all the process was a little sad because we loved his curls. Even now, 2 days later, I kind of do a double-take! I love his new do too but...

Before:


Note the Afro-like quality of the curls. My dear husband lovingly calls this "Jew-Hair". He's allowed to say that because he is Jewish and is the proud owner of similar curls!
(also a great picture of Brianna's hair and why mommy will no longer be cutting hair!)

During:


At this point we are all in Wiggle induced comas! BUT- no one is crying...

After:


My clean-cut little man is born, and LOVING the carousel ride as a reward! Mommy is only crying a little now.

as promised

Long ago, I promised you pictures...

The icky sweatshirts that meant well...



The sweater I exchanged for a cute red "denim" jacket....


Christmas Eve, our first experience with cookies for Santa....



Brianna on Christmas morning....



Grant on Christmas morning....



Brianna much later on Christmas morning...


Grant, a little later on Christmas morning...

No time but....

Everyone is doing fine!

Brianna LOVES the Bears all of a sudden now that I bought her a jersey.

Gymnastics was only 10 quadrillion times better when I switched her to a female teacher.

Grant is getting another new tooth and will only eat bread products! (crackers and pancakes really...)

Work is busy and won't slow down for a while but I will leave you with a snippet of my afternoons:

Bri: Knock, Knock
Me: Who's there?
Bri: (looking around randomly) Chair
Me: Chair who?
Bri: Chair Banana!
Get it?
CHAIR BANANA!!!!!!
(Ensue crazy cackling laughter!)

Be Strong

It finally happened.
Yesterday I had to follow through on one of those threats I seem to use too often.

At gymnastics, Brianna refused to go into the gym without me. She has been enrolled in the "big-girl class" for months but her new teacher is male. We have had a hard time getting her to go in and do her warm-ups but she has always gone in by the time they started the real stuff. This week, she REFUSED to enter.

I tried walking in with her, and leaving when she got to the group. NOPE.
The teacher tried sending one of the other kids out to get her. NOPE!
The female receptionist tried walking her in. NOPE!
- At this point I started threatening to go home.-
We stood at the door.... she clung to my leg.... I could not get her to tell me why...
- I threatened to take her home.-
The receptionist tried again... I tried again... the kid from her class tried again...
- I put on her first shoe.- BLOOD CURDLING SCREAMING ENSUED...
We went to the bathroom... I tried again... I tried again...
- AND FINALLY... WE WENT HOME!-

She kicked and screamed as I put her coat and shoes on. She cried and screamed, mostly the word "No", all the way home. She pouted and fussed for an hour afterwards.

But people... I made my point dang it! And I hated every minute of it. I tried not to laugh, or cry, as she screamed. I tried and tried again to get her to go participate. I tried to talk her down, I tried to talk myself down. I'm a teacher, I know that you have to make a point sometimes. But today, I am very sad.

I'll let you know how it goes the next time...
What do you think? Should I switch her to the class with the female teacher?

only 5 minutes now

All day long I have been meaning to post about how great Grant is doing with sign language. Sometime around Christmas he figured out that if he makes the same stupid hand motions mommy makes, he gets something he wants!

He now regularly uses "more" (although he usually means that he wants to eat.)
So we taught him "eat", but he only does that when we prompt him.
He is also quite good at requesting "milk" now. And that has prompted Brianna to use sign language to ask for milk too.

It's not quite the same when your 3 1/2 year old walks over to you and says "Mommy, can I please have some milk" while furiously pumping her fists up and down! She looks more like she's doing a dance then a sign... DESPITE THE FACT THAT SHE CAN ALREADY TALK, she insists on using the sign, and of course giggling like a maniac afterwards!

Ah, kids!

Happy, Crappy New Year

I had planned on posting today to wish my 6 readers a happy new year and tell you all about my wonderful break. (If you're new to my insanity, I am a teacher and didn't have to work between Dec. 22 and Jan. 8).

That all flew out the window this morning.

At the daycare center I normally love, this morning I hated. Both of my children had to move up to new classrooms after the break so this morning was understandably nutty. Bri took everything very well, she didn't seem disturbed at all by the new classroom since she still had her good friends and one of her former teachers with her. We'll see how she feels when she realizes it's permanent and not just for a day or two.

Grant is another matter entirely. My baby boy made a big change. He has no familiar teacher faces. He doesn't care much about the other kids, but they are at least familiar. This morning, Grant cried when I put him down in the new room. He cried when I held him in the new room. He SCREAMED when I handed him to the teacher. He even did that little twisting thing that only small children can do... while being held by the teacher, he turned his torso fully around to reach for me with both hands while screaming and kicking.

I know, he'll be fine. At least 8 different people today have told me "He'll be fine". In my brain I know that after a few days (weeks at worse!) he'll adjust and he really will be fine. However, today my brain can't tell my heart that because my heart is broken.

Thanks for asking...

Hi Wonder Mom! Thanks for asking...

I felt OK about Brianna leaving. We'd been away from her before, but my parents had come to our house. This was her first sleepover at someone else's house. I must have told her I loved her about 50 times, and reminded her that I'd see her tomorrow about 30! I was a little choked up when I drove away with an empty car, but looking back, I was more worried about how she'd handle it than I was upset that she was away.

My folks said she handled it really well, until the drive back to our house. Then, in her 3 year old mind, the drive was just too long. I guess when your 3, 90 minutes feels like 900. She was very clingy when she got home but it was TOTALLY worth it!

SOOO much fun

This weekend, Brianna spent her first annual weekend with my parents. They partied and had a great time! (Next year, my folks will take both kids! OH, the anticipation!)

Even still, with just Grant this weekend, it was very liberating. Saturday.... shopping BY MYSELF. Moms out there, you understand right? When was the last time you spent all afternoon shopping BY YOURSELF!?

Sunday- I took Grant with me to Toys-R-Us. He's young enough that I can buy presents for him and he won't realize it still.... I had SO. MUCH. FUN. I just wandered the aisles picking up what I wanted, until before I knew it, an hour and a half had gone by and there just wasn't any more room in, or under, the cart. Grant was even holding/playing with one of his toys already!

People, this is why being a parent is even more fun than being a kid. Not only did I get to wander and buy to my heart's content, in just one short week I will get to see the beautiful faces of my children open all those toys. Even if they promptly forget about them as each new wonderful packages is torn to shreds, I will remember the joy I felt making them happy.

Wahoo!!!!

ALL DAY yesterday, my work computer was blocking blogger beta as inappropriate content!
And I was sincerely attempting to waste my entire work day yesterday so I would have greatly appreciated being able to work on and post my photo essays I'm developing!

Today, I am trying to work... so the pictures will have to wait another day. Or maybe I'll stop working before my silly computer blocks this again....

Hmmmmm.....

A photo of my hair

but not my best self-photography....

It's the little things

My son, my wonderful 14 month old son, has started making connections. This is such a fun phase to watch.

This week, I was putting on his coat to take him home from daycare, and he started waving good bye! No one had to tell him to wave, he just knew that when the coat comes on, we leave. I was very touched by it. He is growing up very fast. Now that he is walking, he finally seems to have a personality. He's a touch of a drama king, but it's him.

On that note; file this under "bad mommy".
My son doesn't wear a coat most days. He has a coat, I just don't put it on him. Instead, I put him in a hoodie. In my defense, it's a warm hoodie. AND- I really am looking out for his safety. His real coat is very huge, very puffy. SO puffy, he doesn't fit in his carseat! Yes, ok, I know, I could uninstall his carseat and adjust the straps in the back. But I haven't. It's cold outside, it was in the single digits last week!... I know, thats exactly why I should do it, he needs the coat. And now I have gone in a little circle! I'm a bad mommy running in circles!

I am so horrible at posting!

Things that have happened since my last post:

1. I am actually feeling better after about a week of more medication than I'd like to admit!

2. Grant does nothing but walk now. Seriously, the kid doesn't even stop to play with toys most of the time. He just walks around the house in circles to practice. I hope I can get him to give half this dedication to school or an instrument someday! Now we just need some talking...

3. Brianna is a constant crank. She is in a "do-it yourself" phase. Anything we try and do with her/for her, she freaks out and has some version of a temper tantrum. I won't elaborate, it's too painful.

4. We went bowling with my entire family as a holiday celebration. Bri loved it, Grant only wanted to get down and walk, I suck at bowling, but it was fun. Enough said.

5. I CHOPPED OFF my hair! My hair was quite long, middle of my back-ish, it is now somewhere between chin and shoulder. I did not cry, I actually couldn't stop smiling. I decided that I'm going to be 30 next week. 3.0. people! It was time to give up my ponytail for a while. I love the change but I'm not ruling out the chance that I'll go back someday. I sort of miss my ponytail....

I am working on a photo essay regarding all of the above, but it might be a couple days....

Geico has it all wrong

Neanderthal man should leave Geico alone and sue me today!

With my messy hair (got up late, Thanks Nyquil!), mouth breathing (no thanks to Dayquil), and raspy voice... Today I am a neaderthal woman! Good think I'm teaching about the stone age, I'll just call it part of the lesson.

I feel a sick day coming on....

'Tis the Season

My mom always says 'tis. She even used to call us "Tizylish" but I don't really know what that means and it isn't what I'd planned on talking about today...

I love December!

I love the snow in December. (I hate it in Jan and Feb but that too is a different story.) My Birthday is in December, the 22nd, just in case.... you know. But I especially love all the family and decorating and hot cocoa and lights.

This weekend, we put up our brand new 8ft tree! It looks amazing, and was super easy thanks to the whole pre-lit thing. Even putting on the ornaments only took about 30 minutes. We were lucky enough to have the wonderful help of a 3 year old dynamo and were not impeded too much by the 1 year old fuss-budget. Brianna loved hanging ornaments on the back of the tree. I'm not sure but I think she liked saying excuse me and squezing by her parents as much as possible. We don't quite have enough ornaments for the new, bigger, tree but that was ok because we can't put anything at the bottom anyway. Grant will just break it or eat it!

I haven't yet put out any of the rest of my decorations, but all the boxes are just sitting in my living room waiting for me. I am a little obsessed with snowmen. By the end of this week, every decoratable surface of my first floor will be covered with snowmen, women, children, and families. This really works for me. Adam was raised Jewish, I was raised Protestant, we haven't really settled on an organized religion yet for our family but we celebrate both faiths. Snowmen are religion neutral. And they TOTALLY work in northern Illinois where winters are full of snow.

I do however draw the line at snowman/seasonal sweaters! I'm 30 people, not 300!

For Hannakah this year, my mother-in-law bought me a very nice, soft sweater... covered in snowflakes and polar bears. I love that she tried to buy me clothes. I love that she even remembered the turtleneck to go under the sweater. I do however plan on returning the sweater. Howard, Heather... please don't tell her, it just isn't necessary. I think I'll share more faux Hanukkah info later.

Later this week I'm planning a photo montage of my best and worst things about December...

and where did my spell check button go?