July 2007

July 02

FANTASIC MONDAY!!!

So far this Monday has ROCKED!!!  Jerry stayed home this morning and we went to Fit For Fun.  They open at 9 and we got there around 10 after and NO ONE else was there!  It was great.  Elijah can be really shy around other kids until he warms up, so it was great to have a place for him to play all by himself, then by the time other kids were coming in, he was all about playing with them.  This place is so cool and totally worth the 4 bucks they charge (only the kids...parents are free!!)  They have a big play area for the kids, a snack room (they provide snack!), a small toys  (like train table stuff) room, an outside play area, and an art room.  It's funny to watch kids come in, they run in and run around to all the stuff and then see something else and run to it...  Elijah really liked the ride in cars, so that's what he did most of the time.  Jerry really liked it and I think it will become a place that he may bring Elijah when they have a dad and me day.  I'll post pics at the bottom.  I think Jerry got pics of everything but the art room!
This weekend was good.  I spent Saturday sewing.  I made many slings and doll slings.  I am hoping to get a good stock to take to homecoming in October.  I am expecting another bolt of fabric this week and more rings for the slings as well.  I have about 10 hats knitted and I will bring a bunch of sunhats as well, though I think the knitted ones will sell better.  I finished ribboning 10 dream catchers (i'm going with a larger size this time.)  So Jerry kept Elijah all day Saturday.
Yesterday we just sorta hung out in the morning, then went to the playground, but it was soooo freaking humid that we went for ice cream.  We've had lots of discussions about where we want to be in a few years and Jerry says that's ice cream talk... I will never argue over ice cream.
I just found out that my friend Carmen had her baby this morning at 1:55.  Her water broke at 4 yesterday, she went to the hospital at 11 and had the baby at 1:55 (au natural).  Baby weighed in at 8 pounds 12 ounces and 20 inches long!!!  She beat Elijah in weight, but not in height!
Elijah's new favorite thing is sweet potato fries!  They are really yummy and (I chickened out and bought the store bought, frozen kind, instead of making my own...) they have no salt added...  He's also in love with sweet peas.  So he has the sweet peas and sweet potato fries with blueberries and milk on the side...crazy boy!!!
Speaking of... the man is done with lunch and is tuckered out from all the playing, so off to bed he goes!!!!







July 08

Sunday

So this week seemed really long.  I miss Rachel!!!
Monday was good.   I don't really remember what we did on Tuesday.  Wednesday, Jerry was supposed to take half a day off, but ended up working 10 hours straight...sigh... but then he took Thursday off.  This was fine, but we had play group in the morning, so we only got to spend the afternoon with him.  Friday I went out for a walk and was about to go in when my friend Carla came out, so I ended up walking about 4 miles.  That was fine, but it was REALLY hot and VERY humid.  So when I got in, I felt kinda gross the rest of the day.  I ended up with a horrid headache.  I was supposed to go to Pass Your Plate but just couldn't do it.  So Jerry rescheduled me for Saturday afternoon.  I haven't had a headache like that for ages.  Jerry took Elijah for the night and I went to bed at 9:30.  I didn't really sleep all that well, but I woke up feeling much better on Saturday.  So we really did nothing all weekend because the weather was rainy.   We had the oil changed in the car at the mall, but that's it.  I did go to PYP on Saturday and that was fun.  We got another 10 meals.  It's so nice to just open your freezer and decide what you want to eat the next couple of days and not have to really do any planning.  We get them split, so it's really like 20 meals, though each one lasts us a couple of days.  I grilled some flank steak yesterday and it was really yummy!  Today, we didn't really do anything either.  We need rain, but this sprinkling on and off is annoying.  We really need to cut the grass, it has this non harmful, but gross mold-y stuff on it and the only way to get rid of it is to mow and then sweep it off.  Every time we go to mow it rains...sigh...  hopefully tomorrow I can get it done in the afternoon.  We also need to hang the diapers out to dry... we are running low... super sigh...
My parents are back from Maine.  They drove some friends up and then rented a car to come home.  They are coming to visit in a week!!!!  Really excited!!!!  Jerry and I will go see Harry Potter when they arrive and have some dates without a baby present!!!  I hope that they stay for a bit.  Now that Elijah warms up to people a little faster it is definitely easier to leave him.  We left him with Rachel a few weeks ago and he did great!
So Carmen had her baby and I got to hold her (the baby, not Carmen) on thursday.  She weighed a few more ounces than Elijah did, and it was amazing to think that he was ever that small.  Man I am so jealous of all the pregnant women around me.  In our group there are three other women who are pregnant and then Jerry's coworker is pregnant with twins.  I forgot how difficult it was trying and being let down month after month.  Everyone says to just stop trying, but that's impossible for me... sigh... I know it will happen eventually, but I am an instant gratification kind of girl... I want it to happen when I want it!!!  I've prepared myself for the morning sickness and all the exhaustion...sigh...
Oh well....
Oh we went on a movie watching spree last week.  We watched Bridge To Terabithia...man that was a good movie...but quite sad...stupid Disney!!!  Then we watched Man of the Year with Robin Williams...eeehhh, it was okay, but seemed like a long political commentary.  Lastly, we watched Breech.  I thought it was a decent movie and well acted.
Tonight we are watching Shooter with Mark Walberg... I really like him (liked him as Marky Mark too...hehehehe) and hope that this will be a good movie.
Okay, Jerry needs to work, so I will give up the laptop and settle in with the movie, my knitting, and some Raisinettes!
July 10

My little man

He's growing up so fast.  On Friday he will be a year and half old...  sniff sniff...  Today we went to the baby story time and the toddler story time.  Then we went to get his hair cut.  His first hair cut.  Both Jerry and I have been putting it off.  He's just so darn cute with all that hair.  But it was getting a little out of hand.  So I took him into this place that cuts kid's hair.  He did pretty well.  He started out in a little car seat and ended up in my lap.  The place is really neat.  There is a doggy day spa next to the salon and there's a big window so you can see the dogs.  They have a ton of toys and lollipops (which my kid wouldn't even taste...oh well, more for mom!!)
After his hair cut he just looked so much older!  We went to see Jerry at work and now the munchkin's down for his nap.
I also forgot to tell you that last week for group I made a 4th of july cake with strawberries and blueberries... very Martha Stewart if I do say so myself...  So that's the random pic that I'll attach here.
Hope you are staying cool where you are...it's so hot here!!!



July 11

Daddy

So Elijah usually has showers now instead of baths.  Half the time I'm in the shower with him.  Tonight we were showering and when I'm in the shower, we call Jerry to come and get the wet baby when he's done.  Usually I tell Elijah to call daddy and then I do it.  Then for a bit Elijah would yell dada after I did it.  Tonight, I looked at Elijah and said, "Elijah you're all done, call daddy."  Elijah looked at me, stuck his head out of the shower and yelled, "DADDY!!!"  Jerry and I were floored.  He's only called Jerry dada or signed dad.  I was so clear...daddy... Jerry came in and answered him and then went back out and there it was again, "Daddy!!!"  It's funny, because he won't say it to his face...just when he wants Jerry.
Anyway, I just wanted to share.  Elijah really is growing up so fast.  I feel like I just blinked and BAM I have a little guy...  I was holding Carmen's baby last week and it was so hard to believe that Elijah was once that small and slept so peacefully in my arms...now I'm lucky to get him to sit in my lap for a minute to brush his hair... sigh... I guess he'll be going off to school before I know it...
Okay, this is making me sad... so Elijah said Daddy and that ROCKS!!!!!!
July 13

giggle

I love my husband.  I just finished reading his latest blog entry and it really is hilarious and quite accurate.  There are many times in parenthood that I have just wanted to sit down and cry, but then Jerry writes about it and I wonder why I don't spend the day laughing my butt off.  Anyway, check out his blog.  The entry before his current one is about Elijah as well and also very good...
Also he has a poll going and I'm curious if people agree with me on it... I know you are curious... go on click the link... you know you wanna!
July 14

18 months!!!

Holy Moly!!!  My kid is 18 months old!!!  Where did the time go?  I'm going to put a couple pics on this post of the last 15 month pics and start his new album.
Last night Rachel, Erin, and MR came over for dinner.  It's awesome that our kids play so well together.  There were spans of time that we didn't even see the munchkins.  They were just playing in Elijah's room.  After dinner they entertained us.  Elijah hid behind the curtain that covers the washer and then would pop out, MR would go crazy laughing and shouting.  It was very entertaining.  I know it's sad, but hey we don't get out much... and you would have laughed too!   I'm so freaking glad they are back in town I can barely contain myself.
My folks get here on Monday afternoon.  Jerry is taking off Thursday and Friday.  This should be perfect.  By then Elijah will have warmed up to my folks and Jerry and I can go out.  We'll go see Harry Potter one night and maybe do a dance class of some sort one evening... who knows... we'll see.  Tuesday I'll take my folks to story time with us and then maybe we'll swing by Fit For Fun.  Wednesday we'll probably hit the Beach and maybe the Farmer's Market (depending on how unbearably hot it is).  I'm REALLY excited for them to come.  I have no idea how long they are staying, but I would be fine with them staying a couple of weeks... we'll see.
Okay, I am finishing some laundry up... so here are the last 15 month pics...




July 19

YEA FOR PARENTS!!!

My parents came in on Monday evening.  They have been a GREAT help.  We sorta hung out on Tuesday, though I did have a dentist appointment.  We went to the beach yesterday, which is the only place that it's tolerable in this heat.  jerry took today and tomorrow off from work, so this morning he and my dad were outside mowing and weedwacking.  Then jerry and I went to see HARRY POTTER this evening!!!!  It was GREAT!  I mean there was definitely things left out of the movie, but overall it was really good.  Those kids are growing up...but I hope they continue until the end of the series.  Tomorrow mom and dad are taking Elijah to the aquarium and that's as far as we've gotten.  I was a little worried that Elijah would be cranky since he only took a half hour nap  but he did great.  He blew Jerry and me a kiss on our way out and went back to playing.  (side note: I went to church on Sunday and Jerry went to work, so I took Elijah with me and left him in the nursery for the first time... they give out pagers and I totally expected to get paged, but he made it through the whole service in the nursery!!!  My little man is growing up.)  I have no idea what we will do for the rest of the weekend and into next week, but I plan on getting out of the house at least once more with my hubby!
So I guess that's about it.  My folks are here and I'm really happy about that!!!!!!  I'll post some pics from the beach day...
July 25

Boo for parents leaving

SIGH... my folks left this morning.  It was so great having them here.  They did sooo much work.  They mowed our lawn (a rather large feat as the riding mower is broken and the electric mower can be tricky until you get the rhythm of dealing with the cord), weed wacked, watched Elijah (LOTS!!!) and all around were great to have around... I really wish we lived closer together...sigh... Also while they were here we got gutters installed!!!  I know that sounds dumb, but I'm really excited about it!  They are seamless gutters and I wondered how they did it, but it was really cool.  They have huge rolls of the material and they guide it through this machine and it comes out as gutters.  They just measure it and then hang it... They were done with our house in about 1 1/2 hours.  So my folks took elijah to story time and then to walk around downtown so he wouldn't be screaming to go outside while the guys were hanging the stuff.  I had 3 good hours of Harry Potter reading.  I finished the book last night.  Jerry stayed up until 2:30 in the morning finishing Sunday...crazy man!  It really liked the book, I thought that JK Rowlings did a very good job tying things up.  That's all I'll say on it.
So we are canceling our Vonage phone service.  There are many reasons, but mostly it's due to our Internet.  Our router, modem, and the phone thingy do not communicate very well, so our service was constantly going in and out.  We have changed our cell phone provider so we now get reception in the house, so we no longer need a phone.  Also there were no local numbers available so our number was based out of a town that's an hour and half from here... Anyway, Jerry has a cell phone now and that bumped our cell phone bill up, but it will still be cheaper than having a cell phone and Vonage when cancel...does that make sense?
Oh yeah!!!  We also bought edging.  It's made of 100% receycled materials.  Jerry dug the trench and we installed it the other day.  It looks really good.  I was sick of the stupid grass taking over our flower garden areas.  We need to lay some newspaper and mulch to get rid of some other grassy issues, but then I think we will finally be done with much of our outdoor garden areas.  Next will come tree removal (maybe) and planting of some different trees.  And then a fence.  I think we will be in this house when the next baby comes along (nope, not knocked up yet...) and I want to be able to allow Elijah to run around in the back yard without having to chase him around the house.  I mean now is fine doing that, but I can't imagine doing that with an infant attached to me...  so we are thinking about doing that this winter when it's not scorching hot (not that we would be installing it... but you know...)
I guess that's about it.  I'll post some pics from Oma and Opa's visit and then it's on to my next book (I'm now reading another series of books ...again young adult... )The Golden Compass is the first book and I HIGHLY recommend it.  There is a movie of the first one coming out sometime soon.  Be well!!!
July 29

Already the end of a weekend?

Sigh...
Friday was good.  I met our midwife and had my annual (not knocked up) and really liked meeting her.  She was really down to earth and talked to both Jerry and I and then after the examination I met with her in her office to talk to her.  She answered all my questions and was really really nice.  Turns out she knew a girl I went to college with.  Such a small world.
So while all this was well and good, it happened during Elijah's nap time.  So he didn't go down for a nap until 3 and didn't wake up until 5:30 (we decided to let him sleep.)  Okay...so we knew he would go to bed a bit later.  We really didn't think that would be a big deal.  So at 9:30 he finally fell asleep.  Good.  I brought him to bed with me around 1 (he wasn't really awake, but was wiggly and I really was just too sleepy to go back to come get him in 10 minutes... SO fine, we went back to sleep.  At 3 a.m. the crazy kid woke up SCREAMING... and he wouldn't stop.  So I got up and walked around with him.  This calmed him down, but he didn't go to sleep.  He was still crying, just not screaming.  I remembered that he's cutting his 2 year molars, so I went and got the IB and gave him a dose and went on and changed his diaper (not something we usually need to do, but he was really really wet.)  He let me sit down with him so I rocked him in the living room.  I thought he had fallen asleep, so I brought him back to bed...silly me... He started screaming again.  I was a little freaked out.  He kept trying to get off the bed, so I finally let him.  He was calmer for about 10 seconds and then started signing up and screaming again.  I kept signing what hurts? and he didn't respond, so I don't think he was in pain...  Eventually I turned on the TV, disabled the remote and gave him the remote.  That seemed to help a bit.  He eventually feel asleep at 5 a.m.  SHEESH... SO I thought surely he would sleep until 8 or 9...NOPE (idiot) he woke up at 6:30...(are you freaking kidding me?!?!?!)  This time I immediately turned on Sesame Street (the Spanish version) and let him watch that.  I went back to sleep (waking every once and a while to check on him.)  He feel back asleep around 7:30 and then slept until 8:20.  I was BEAT!
So Saturday we went to Home Depot with the purpose to buy the things that divert water from the gutter away from the house.  We ended up buying wasp spray, worm poop, and another roll of edging.  Yeah, we should have remembered the gutter things.  We got home in time for the bottom to fall our of the sky.  So we had a little trench the water made off of a couple of the downspouts...live and learn right?  Elijah went down for a nap and slept through most of the storm, but it got really close a couple of times and he woke up (right as I was falling asleep I might add...sigh)  Jerry worked for 4 hours yesterday, so I couldn't even hand the boy child off.  Oh well.  We did go out after the storm to buy a bed rail.  That was an adventure.  Many lights were blinking.  But it was kinda fun to try and figure out how to get home avoiding major intersections where the lights were out.  We did really well, I must say.
Today was our work day though.  We went and picked up 9 bags of mulch and the gutter things.  We thought that we would need 12 bags of mulch to do the front and side of the house (we only bought 9 b/c we thought that was all that would fit into the car...turns out we could've done 12, but we were ready to go home...)  So all 9 bags are now on the side only and we could easily put another 4 or 5 bags down over there.  So next weekend we will get more.  We put paper down first and then the mulch.  Hopefully that will help with the grass.  By the time we finished that, it was lunch time.  Elijah ate and went down for his nap.  Jerry went back to work again.  When EJ woke up, I went and installed the edging around an area off of the patio that we will fill in with mulch and then his sandbox will live there.  By the time I finished that Jerry was home so we went for ICE CREAM!!!!    Now we are home, jerry is putting Elijah to bed and I just finished watching the JK Rowling interview on Dateline!
now that you have read a play by play of my weekend...
I just can't believe this weekend is almost over.  I was so spoiled with Jerry home 4 days in a row last week and my parents being here.  Though Jerry's put in almost 30 hours of OT this week.  So he's banking it and taking some time off in the middle of the month so we can really work on Elijah's sleeping.  He's doing really well with it, but I don't have the energy to wake up in the middle of the night and get the kiddo back down in his bed (especially knowing I have to be up and be with it every morning.) It's just so much easier to bring him to bed, where (normally) he sleeps through the night.  He does sleep the majority of the night in his crib, so I am hopeful.  We'll see.  But it will be nice to have Jerry home and we can work on some more house projects.
Okay, enough rambling.  I must say that I am missing the three main blogs I read...  but I know they are all busy with moving and helping and visiting with parents...  just want them to know they are missed!