Sorry!
Sorry to have disappeared. (Thanks for checking on us Amy!!!) We went on vacation. We are back now and I will write more later...I promise! I didn't realize how long it had been. Right now I am going to eat dindin, but tonight or tomorrow I will update and load pics....Congrats Megan on your BABY!!!!!
Okay...more later....
Vacation
We left last Friday (the 6th) and went to pick up a van. We went with Rachel, Erin, and Maya Rose and we all decided it would be much more fun if we could all ride together. So I called to confirm the reservation the Monday before and the people at Hertz assured me there would be a van waiting. So we get to the airport to pick up the van and Hertz doesn't have it! I was really mad...I mean to the point I was shaking. The woman at the desk offered us two cars...well we could have just driven our two cars...then offered us a Grand Marquis...That would mean three adults in the front seat, two car seats and an adult on the back seat..I don't think so...So she went around to the other rental car companies and found out that National had a van. We went down to their desk and the woman there hooked us up with a van and actually beat the price from Hertz. The Hertz lady was really apologetic and gave us a 100 dollars off our next rental. I was just so pissed at her...NEVERTHELESS, we got our van. It was a Saturn Relay and while it was great for the trip, I wouldn't recommend this van to anyone. The seats with the car seats behind them had to be all the way pushed up and straight up and down. So we put the kids behind each other. The passenger front seat just had to be sitting really straight. The person riding in the back seat had to wait to get out so the seat would fold down. It had a DVD system, but if you wanted sound the people up front had to listen to a movie they couldn't watch. (Not that I would buy a car with a DVD system in it anyway...) We jammed packed everything into the trunk, but I really don't see how we could have fit anything else in there. We did take one umbrella stroller...but that meant the other baby had to be carried all week (not that that was a problem...) Over all it felt really crowded, but still comfortable. We really liked the ability for all of us to ride together and surprisingly we only spent about 100 dollars in gas the whole week. Much less than I thought we would. But I didn't fall into lust with the van like I thought I would. Maybe if it had been a Toyota or Honda....ANYWAY, we got to Black Mountain Friday evening and mom and dad fixed dinner for us and we hung out. Saturday we went over to WWC and watched the girls soccer game and saw some old friends! It was a great day weather wise and the girls won! After the game we walked down to the farm and took the kids to see the piggies. By that time, it was time to go home, so we stopped and picked up dinner and coffee and called it a day. Sunday Rachel, Erin, and Maya Rose went to see Rachel's family over in Franklin (her parents just bought a house there) and we went to the mall...I know that sounds cheesy, but I love the the Asheville mall and besides it's where Jerry proposed to me! Then we just relaxed for the day. Monday we went into downtown Asheville. I could have spent days there just wandering around, but we went had babies and stuff, so we did the shortened tour. We went to Downtown Books and News, then went to Table (run by some WWC alum) and had a yummy lunch. We checked our this really cool toy store!!! Then we went on a tour of Highlands Brewery. We finished the day with dinner at Barley's pizza and Taproom. Very nice day indeed! Tuesday we walked into Black Mountain and had lunch at a really yummy Mexican place and walked around for a bit. And Wednesday my aunt Mavis came for a visit bearing gifts and Pie!!!
Overall it was a really good vacation. We weren't ready to kill each other and are all still friends. I wish we had been able to stay longer, but we'll know for next time.
Okay, we are off to brunch and then recover from vacation. Jerry has off until Monday so I think we'll try to get some yard work done!
October 13
The Kite Runner -- a review
The Kite Runner has got to be one of my top ten favorites now. I finished the book a couple of weeks ago and it is still sticking with me. The book is shocking and beautiful. It is a tale of youth and adulthood. It deals with religion or lack thereof. It is a tale of stolen innocence and the guilt that can be carried over decades. The story telling is very pointed and easy to read. The writing almost puts me in the mind of The Life of Pi. This book is both heartbreaking and uplifting and for an author to do this and throw in the history of a suffering nation without boring the reader is nothing short of incredible. I highly recommend this book.October 17
Does it bother anyone else?
I cannot STAND the Lamisil ad! I refresh whatever page it appears on. The thought of anything crawling up under my toenail gives me the heebie geebies. EEEEWWWWW!!!!!! Anyway....So we are back to "normal" life. sigh... It was so nice having Jerry around all day...Monday was sad for me. But we did just fine. We went on a walk and played all day. Today it was rainy, but we went to the library. It's not too bad, I just miss having him around...double sigh...
We cleaned up the room across from Elijah's and are making it a play room-ish room. Tomorrow we will get a gate and put it in the hallway so he can play in either his room or the one across the way. We think it'll be better than him having the whole living room, especially since he has learned to navigate our very complicated blockage system (some boxes...) to get to the chords behind the TV. He's becoming so independent! It's crazy! He has taken a few steps behind his walker, but mostly he likes to just push it back and forth...I'm seriously considering giving him the vacuum so he can clean whilst he pushes....lol....
Okay, that's it for now...Mr. EJ is getting cranky and I think that Jerry will get him to sleep if I let him sit here and listen to music...
October 18
Halloween...
So I made Elijah's Halloween costume...he was going to a Ninja...but alas alack, I made them a few months ago and now the pants are to small...sigh...so I was out at the Bargain Box today and I found the cutest little frog costume for 3 bucks!!! So he's going to be a frog...We bought a safety gate today and now Elijah has two rooms to crawl between and play in... Jerry is in there with him now.
Okay, that's really it...Just wanted to explain the cute frog pics that were added today.
October 24
Only Tuesday?
This week seems to already be dragging...sigh... Oh well...We have anew arrangement in our house. Jerry is keeping Elijah all night Friday and Saturday and I am keeping him all night Sunday- Thursday. It's not really fair to Jerry to be up all hours of the night and then go to work. At least if I want to I can stay in my PJs all day (yeah right...) It is nice though to get more sleep on the weekends for me. Elijah has been going through this phase (for lack of better word.) He goes to sleep fine and stays in his crib until about midnight. Last night I was up with him from midnight to 1:30...not a happy person. We have tried the crying it out (but staying in the room with him) thing. That was the worst night ever!!! First off, the let them cry for 15 minutes thing...not so much. He wouldn't calm down. So for half an hour both Jerry and I were trying to calm him down (we had removed him from the crib by now) and then it took another half hour just to resettle him. Not only was Elijah in tears (not to mention a snotty mess) I was too. So we decided that was not something that would work for us. I have checked out books and most of them are some form of let 'em cry. I went to check out the Dr. Sear's Baby Sleep book, but I couldn't find it...I did find a really cool baby yoga book and we are doing that. It has yoga for babies birth to 24 months. It's called Itsy Bitsy Yoga. The author designs movements based on development rather than age. It's really cool. She breaks everything down and then gives you routines for different times of the day and magic poses that are supposed to work anywhere! We did some this morning and then some right before I put him down for the night. I think I will try to incorporate this into his nighttime routine.
So going back to the sleeping thing. I have made a pallet for myself in Elijah's room and I am trying my damndest not to nurse him when he wakes in the middle of the night. It's really hard because that's what he wants And after an hour and half of fighting him in the middle of the night, I'm too exhausted to not give in. It's odd, if Jerry has him then of course Elijah's not rooting around for anything. He still wakes up, but Jerry can get him back down. Last night I think gas was an issue with his little tummy... We think it's just a stage. He was doing really well for a bit. But I think he is cutting a couple more teeth and he learned today how to stand up without pulling on something...instead he pushed with his legs, still holding on to whatever for balance. So now he walks around behind his little walker and if he falls down he's figured out how to get back up without pulling the walker over...sigh...I'm not ready for my little man to be so mobile yet!!! But he's just as sweet as can be.
ANYWAY, last weekend was really nice. We didn't really do anything. Saturday we spent the afternoon hanging out with Rachel, Erin, and MR. And that was about the most exciting thing we did.
This weekend we will be going to a Halloween party and then possibly to see Jerry's folks and his nieces. That should be fun.
The weather here suddenly got cold!!! (Well, relatively speaking...) It was in the 30's last night and there's a freeze warning out tonight. I still slept with the window open though...
Okay, my mom and dad called me to reprimand me for not putting up pics of the kiddo...so I shall do that and then turn in....
October 29
Halloween party and DLST
Yawn! But not really.... We went to a Halloween party last night. My plan was to keep EJ up until 9 in hopes that he would readjust to the Day Light Savings Time stuff with ease. Yeah, he feel asleep in the car and slept through getting out of the car and being put down... poor guy, I'm sure the super fun party was too much for him. There were lots of kids there and we all had tons of fun! (Not to mention the yummy food....) So I was totally prepared to be up at 5 o'clock with him. He also took a three hour nap yesterday morning...he NEVER does that!!! But SURPRISE!!! I feel asleep last night around 10 and woke up totally engorged at 7 DLST and had to wake EJ up to eat. Jerry said he had slept all night!!!! That's 2 nights in a row I got at least 8 hours! I feel GREAT!!!!! This week I am working on EJ not eating all night. He's been comfort nursing lots during the night, so we are trying to end that. These past 2 nights have been a step in that direction. Of course, Jerry has kept him these past two nights, so we'll see. But at least, I'm refreshed and ready to try this.So we were outside the other day for me to plant some spring flower seeds and I look over at EJ and he's doing this funny bear walk thing. I don't think he wanted his knees to touch the ground. I added a pic of it. It was sooo funny! He's got a new thing where he like to pull up between my legs and hold on to my pants and walk around wherever I go. Very cute, but when the timer is going off for dinner or I am waiting in line at a party for food, it's a bit constraining. Of course with the dinner timer, I un-grip his little hands...The dinner line was just amusing to the other guests.
Did I mention that our playgroup is now meeting at a park? I really like this much better. I don't have to worry about making sure my house is perfect and that everything is safe for all the babies or that I have enough room.
Okay, I'm gonna run b/c a little boy I know is trying to type for me.....gonna go see the grandparents and cousins today!!!
