May 2009

May 01

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACIE!!!!

One year ago today we held you for the first time and were overwhelmed with how lucky we were to have such a perfect baby girl!  On year later you:

• are trying to walk
• are learning new words
• are playing with Elijah
• will play independently
• love to dance
• can climb
• are sneaky
• smile easily
• love to cuddle
• still have eczema
• are night weaned
• love broccoli
• love chicken
• refused to every eat baby food
• can drink from a straw
• have a few signs down pat
• is very tolerant of Elijah's games where you are the dog...

Grace and I have had our first argument.  It went like this:

me: Look Grace, it's a plane.

Grace: bird?

me: Well, it flies like a bird, but it's a plane.

Grace: bird.

me: It's a plane sweetie.

Grace: Bird!

me: It's a plane.

Grace: BIRD!

I'm pretty sure that I lost.  Of course, she was riding in the car with Jerry and said, "plane."  (punk!)

Anyway, Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  I hope that you are as happy with us!  We sure love you!!!
 

May 02

First Birthday Party -- Gracie Style

We had cake!

and more cake...

and more cake

and played

and ate

All surrounded by friends!  It was really windy, but warm.  Overall a pretty darn good birthday!!

May 18

Grace's Well Child Check and VACATION!!!

I wrote a huge entry about Grace's Well Child Check Up, but stupid Windows Live Writer froze and it got lost in cyber world... sooo the gist:

Grace weighs in at 20 pounds (25-50%), is 29.5 inches tall (75%), and I can never remember her head size, but it's in the 50%.  She is all around well.  She does have low iron so we are on a Multi-vitamin with iron for her.  Her eczema is really bad, so we (after lots of talking!) broke down and got her a steroid creme.  I now feel like a total jerk for not getting it for her six months ago.  Overnight her eczema is gone.  We can only use it 5-7 days at a time and then have to take her off it for 4-5 days, but keep her lathered in the thickest lotion one has ever seen.  So far, GREAT!  So, I've made peace with it.  Two days after her appointment Grace took many independent steps, while on the ferry on vacation, she took off!  She is officially a walker now!

Okay VACATION!!!! WAHOO!!  (This is a REALLY long entry...but it's our whole vacation...so sorry in advance!)

We went to the Outer Banks hanging out in Kitty Hawk, to be more specific.  Here's how our week went (I will add an album of our week shortly!):

Saturday:  Got up bright and early to be on the road by 7:00 a.m.  We had to be at the ferry gate by 10:00 and made it there by 9:52.  Luckily we had pre-ordered our ticket as the ferry was full and if you didn't have a ticket, you were out of luck... or at least stuck waiting for the next ferry 3 hours away!  Elijah thought the ferry was the cat's meow and we spent the 2.5 hours wandering around talking about how the waves were generated, what a life buoy was, and why channel markers are VERY important!  We also saw a bunch of HUGE jelly fish (to which he informed me that it was okay, because the turtles will eat them...thanks Diego!) and some dolphins.  Grace found her sea legs and loved wandering around in the air conditioned part of the boat.  Afterward walking so much, Jerry and Grace took a nap in the car while Elijah and I explored the ferry yet some more!  Once we got off the first ferry, we raced to the next one.  This one was only 30 minutes.  So we hung out in the car.  Then it was a 1.5 hour drive to Kitty Hawk.  After unloading the car, Elijah, Grace, and I went to the pool and the playground on the grounds while Jerry went grocery shopping.

Sunday: We lazed around and explored the grounds a little more.  We went to the main rec area and checked e-mail and played around.  After lunch and a nap, we went to the beach for some afternoon playing.  Elijah got to stay up a little later and watch Finding Nemo (thanks for the movies Kristie!!!)

Monday: It was rainy and chilly.  So we decided to hit the aquarium.  Elijah was excited to see the "diving boys" in the tank and when we arrived we rushed to the big tank.  The question/answer time with the divers was over, which actually worked in our favor.  All the big groups were gone, but the divers were still in the tank cleaning.  So we got a front row seat to see the divers and the HUGE sharks.  I'm not sure you could pay me enough to be in there with those sharks.  Obviously the sharks knew what it was all about, they seemingly would swim by where all the people were standing and SMILE, showing off all 8703245 teeth they have!  My kids were FACINATED!  They loved it.  So after the divers finished cleaning, we went back to see all we had missed.  It was a good day.  Elijah and Grace were awesome!  So we stopped by the gift shop and Elijah got a souvenir of a truck with sharks on it!  cost: $23

Tuesday: The rain was gone, the sun was out and the temp was perfect at 67.  We hit the Roanoke Island Festival Park.  This is by far the best day we had!  This park has a replica of the Elizabeth II ship.  Complete with actors in New World garb and speaking in Old English-ish style.  This is all well and good, but I always don't know how to react...  Anyway, we had a nice visit with the boat, but that wasn't the end of it!  We walked a little way down a forest path and into an English settlement with tents and a blacksmith.  We were given a tour of the tents and then got penny nails made for us from the apprentice black smith.  (Fun fact: 100 nails cost a penny then...sounds cheap... not so much... one penny then is worth 100 DOLLARS today.  So nails were only used to hang doors.)  So THEN we walk up the trail a little more and there is a GREAT hands on museum.  We were greeted here by a museum worker who was thought that Elijah pretending to be a puppy was cute and totally played along.  She guided us through the whole museum, personally.  This museum ROCKED!  There were dress up clothes, boats to climb on, tents to walk through, a pirate that told funny stories from his ship, a general store, and a house.  There were interesting things for the parents to read and no one was saying, "NO DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!"  In fact, there were little hand prints and foot prints that led through the museum for kids to follow and to know that it was indeed ENCOURAGED to put their little grubby paws on things!  THEN we went out to a fossil digging area where you are encouraged to dig and sort through dirt to find sharks teeth and other various things.  Apparently there was even more to see, but we had to get the kiddos fed and napped.  The pass is good for two days and next time we will go back the second day for sure!  It was worth every penny!  cost: $16 (kids under 5 are FREE!!!)

Wednesday: Again, the weather was sunny and warm.  So we packed the kids up and headed up the coast to Corolla to the Currituck Lighthouse.  After a brief screw up in directions from yours truly we arrived at the lighthouse.  Elijah and I decided to climb to the top.  All well and good in thought... not so much in reality.  First, I forget how much I really don't like places that are high up.  Secondly, I had a 3 year old to worry about in addition, which was rather nerve wracking.  Walking up the stairs you can see through to below.  There is a space in between each stair and I was left wondering if it was indeed big enough for Elijah to slip through and down many stories... It didn't help that it goes around and around, making me not only wary of the height, but also rather dizzy.  But it was fine.  Elijah was GREAT going up.  He climbed all on his own (mostly with me holding onto his hand.)  We stopped at each landing that had a window and looked out.  When we got to the top we waved to Jerry and Grace.  Then we walked around the top.  Elijah was excited and wanted to stand on the bottom railing.  This left me wondering why the hell there was no plexiglass covering the whole top of the lighthouse.  So, of course, when I tried to pull him back, he had a massive breakdown.  I explained that it was very dangerous to be that close to the edge and it made mommy VERY nervous.  He then decided it was time to go back down and I was more than willing to oblige.  Of course, we had to wait for 5 of the slowest people in the world to finish climbing (there is really no room to pass at the top.)  Then it was down the lighthouse for us.  This started out okay and then Elijah realized that he could see all the way to the bottom and FREAKED out!  He got scared.  He wanted me to carry him.  My legs were already sore from climbing the 8 million stairs to the top, no way was I going to carry him all the way down.  So we stopped on a landing and I hugged him and reassured him that it was fine and I would hold his hand.  What tickled me was what got him to agree to walk down.  I told him we could count the stairs in between each landing.  This seemed like a great idea to him and he made it all the way to the next to the last landing, where he suddenly declared (very loudly) that he had to pee!  Screw the tired legs, I scooped him up, waited for some dazed looking children to hurry the hell up the stairs and ran him down the stairs, stopping only to pick up a sticker that said we climbed to the top, and ran him to the bathroom, where he peed in the toilet without incident!  We then walked back to Jerry and Grace and I went in to the gift shop and got a little snow globe for Elijah.  I was very proud of him!  We took a stroll out to the sound and then headed for some food and back to the condo for some naps.  cost: $12 (including admission to the lighthouse and souvenir)

Thursday: Warm, sunny, and WINDY!  We headed to the Wright Brother Memorial.  I have to say, that this is not a great place to take kids.  Well, I shouldn't say that...it's not a great museum to take kids.  Elijah wanted to see the big plane.  They were giving a lecture where the big plane was... we had to leave the area, Elijah broke down.  BUT I got him excited by (foolishly) coercing him into a race to the top of the monument.  So, once he agreed, I had to actually do it!  SO, Elijah and I raced to the top of the monument.  I am still feeling the soreness in my thighs from the lighthouse climb and the shin splints from running up a big-ass hill...sigh... Anyway, it was fun.  Even more windy at the top.  But great view.  After hanging out up there for a bit (read, catching my breath) we RAN down the hill to meet Jerry and Grace at the airplane sculpture.  This is where you should go if you bring children here.  The kids can climb on the plane and hang on the figure and all around get all the sillies out.  In fact, had I known it was back there, we may have forgone the museum all together.  Though there are some interesting things in there and SOME hands on stuff, but not a lot.  So the day redeemed itself at the end.  cost: $14 (including a 7 day pass to the park (wish we had known this beforehand as well.  We would have gotten it at the beginning of the week and gone a couple more times for the kids to play) and a souvenir.)

Friday: This was our last day on the islands.  What better way to spend the day than climbing up Jockey's Ridge.  The climb is tedious and there is no easy way to get up on top.  Don't be fooled.  But I think it's worth it.  You climb up these huge dunes and really see how thin these islands are.  From the top you can see the sound and the beach.  And regardless that there were three school groups there, you can completely feel very isolated.   We took some sand toys up.  This is where people hang glide as well.  We happened to be there on the first day of a hang gliding festival.  Unfortunately, Elijah got antsy so we only got to see some practice flights as they tested where the best take off place would be.  Some of the high schoolers that were there were sliding down the dunes.  Elijah wanted to slide down SO much.  So I thought, what the heck.  I walked down in front of him and since he didn't have anything to slide down on except for his tush, he scootched down the whole way.  But he thought he was something else!  He smiled the whole time and laughed!  So it was good.  At the bottom, he wanted to go back and do it again, but with bribes of going to the beach, he left willingly enough.  cost: free!

Saturday: Our trip home was uneventful (thankfully!)  We drove all the way back and for this I'm thankful.  1) it is really hard to schedule the long ferry ride.  If you don't make it you are stuck for 3 hours and that's saying the next ferry isn't booked.  You can only get on and off of Okracoke Island by boat.  2) it was raining and rough water...not so much for Erin.  So we drove.  It's only about 5 hours, but that's a bit of a trip with kids and only a few rest stops.  Nevertheless, it was fine.  Elijah entertained us the last leg of the trip with made up songs about: bedtime, bears, a twinkle twinkle little star remix, good and bad dinosaurs, mama and dadu raccoons, peeing and pooping.  He also made up some stories that he "read" from some construction paper that he had in his little pack (can I just say this was a handy little investment and I filled it with things for him to do including: coloring books, chalk, crayons, dry erase markers, books, lacing cards, and toys!  Got one for Grace too!)

Overall VERY good vacation.  Busy, but you have to be with kids or they get bored and then you go crazy.  We also utilized the resort's indoor pool a few times, as well as their video rentals.  The costs I included did not included the MANY times we ate out, but I thought that we did A LOT of stuff for not a lot of money!  Best kind of vacation!!

May 24

Another good week

my folks left yesterday morning.  They arrived last Sunday for a visit.  It was a quick adjustment to come home from vacation then to dive into hostess, but my folks stayed at a hotel this visit and this allowed for a little more downtime in the evening and waking up time in the morning.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't as nice as it could have been, but it's all good.  We hung around the house on Monday.  Tuesday we had soccer, so mom and dad played with Elijah and Grace for the morning.  Right before we left for soccer mom and I went to get the right sized bolts for the baby bike seat.  Wednesday was a HUGE day.  Elijah had his first dentist appointment.  I was very nervous since he would NOT open his mouth for the doctor at his 3 year old well child check.  I also thought that they would simply look at his teeth and count them and make sure everything was okay.  HE DID GREAT!   I was SO proud!!  I seriously almost cried! not only did he let them look at his teeth, he let them polish them, and floss them!  We decided to just bring him to our dentist instead of a pediatric dentist because of insurance and convenience.  They said that if there were any problems then they would refer us to a pediatric dentist, but his teeth were perfect!  He got to choose two toys from the treasure chest and got a new toothbrush.  My folks then took him down to a local cafe while I had my teeth cleaned.  Turns out that I had a cavity.  But the scheduled me in for 8 the next morning.  So Thursday I went in and had the filling, then I went to the cafe until about 9:15.  At 9:30 I had an appointment to tour the preschool where we may send Elijah.  We are looking for a year from August.  But I want to start looking now so we can start putting money in Jerry's flex spending account at work.  This one is in a church about 10 minutes from our house.  It's 9-12 (or 1 if we pay an extra fee per month) 5 days a week.  Our biggest thing is to get him comfy around teachers and other peers.  They do a lot of learning through play which is a big deal for us.  I'm excited for him, and a little sad since it means my little guy is growing up. Thursday was also our 9th anniversary! Friday morning was spent at the beach.  Mostly because it was the first day that it wasn't freezing cold or raining.  My daughter has no fear!  This child LOVES the water.  We had to bring her out after about 10 minutes because it wasn't THAT warm yet, but she was fascinated.   And her confidence wore off on Elijah a little bit.  He came into the water as well.  I decided, though, that it would be really hard to take them together on my own.  So it will be a rare day that we go by ourselves.  Not that the beach is that fun without at least another adult.  So we got back, ate lunch, and I sent the kiddos off to nap while I got ready for an actual DATE!  Jerry and I went to see Angels and Demons while mom and dad took the kiddos to a local free family concert.  We met up afterward for dinner and ice cream.  Elijah did not fall asleep until 10:00!!!  And then woke up at 6:45 on Saturday...WTF?  SO anyway, with grouchy toddler in tow we met mom and dad for breakfast before they hit the road.  I got my lawn mowed.  Dad weed whacked my back yard.  I ALMOST have the pool rid of algae.  Overall life is good.  We have ordered a new mower, an electric one with a cord.  I love our reel mower, but it's already getting SO hot...so this is another option.  I really wanted a battery powered one, but the one I want is REALLY expensive, so this is something that we know how to use and it will be easier than the reel mower and still low emissions.  So hopefully it will all be good!  Our garden is looking better.  It rained so much that all the nutrients in the soil washed out, so we fertilized and sprayed the worm poop on there a few times and it's looking much better.  I'll get pics soon!  okay... I'm going to go enjoy the fact that Jerry has an extra day off this weekend and watch a totally brain candy movie!!!

May 31

Curiosity Killed the Cat...

but satisfaction brought him back right?  I hope the same is true for little boys.  Elijah has entered the question stage.  This is all well and good, I really try to encourage questions asked and finding answers... but there really should be a limited on questions asked before 9 in the morning!

It's actually all good.  Here is a sampling of the questions we have been getting lately:

• What's that?  (pointing to random things... most frustrating is while in the car and I can't see what he's pointing to... the question increases in volume and intensity until I, thinking my head is going to explode risk the lives of myself and our children to see what the hell he is pointing to only to find that whatever he was pointing to is gone since he started pointing to it 5 minutes ago.)
• What's that train/plane/truck/car/bird/bug/tree (you get the idea) does? (Yes, the grammar is bad, I try to restate the question correctly, but he doesn't get it...yet... sigh, this question seems to be easy right?  Not so much.  I have tried saying the following, "What do you think it does?" (response: I don't know mommy, what it does?) "It takes people places." (response: WHERE?) and finally, "I don't know!" (response: why you not know mommy...) sigh... also, Air Force One does touch and go practice once a month here.  I made the mistake of telling Elijah that it was Barack Obama's plane, so through in the mix of this, "Mommy is that Orock Omama's plane?" "Yes it is." "Where he going?"  lather, rinse, repeat....)
• Why? (I ask myself this question often... At least, thus far (KNOCK ON WOOD) it is usually just one why, I try really hard to come up with good answers as to nip the 9835769 whys in the bud, but we'll see...)
• Where does steam/smoke/rain/thunder/lightening come from? (again, try to answer as best I can... have had the Why question follow these...)
• Will you/Gracie/Dadoo play with me?  (I love this question, because he really just wants you to sit on the floor with him.  But he comes up with the best stories during his playing.  You will get dressed up as a fire boy or ride in a plane or build a dumping trash garage, but it's totally worth it!  Grace ends up getting distracted within a few minutes.  He will also ask me if others can play with him.  I tell him it's not up to me.  He needs to ask that person.  This is probably my favorite question.)

This stage is definitely keeping me on my toes, but I love that he gets it and remembers things we tell him/he sees.  At the same time, it makes me a little sad.  He's growing up (literally and figuratively) SO quick.  He really has only been speaking understandable sentences for a year.  It's CRAZY!  Sigh... My little guy...

January 2009

January 03

Happy New Year

So I amazingly made it until midnight on New Years Eve.  We watched the last Harry Potter and then counted down.  It was nice.  Jerry had Thursday off so we went out for breakfast and then hung out at the house.  Yesterday I realized that I needed to do two things:

1) get organized for Elijah's party and

2) make a costume for him to wear to a birthday party we had today.

So I decided to make a piñata with pull tabs for Elijah's party.  I had never heard of these until we went to a Halloween party.  It was cool.  The kids take turns pulling streamers until someone pulls one that opens the trap door.  It's nice for kids that don't really have the strength to whack the crap out of a traditional piñata and eliminated the possibility of getting whacked in the head with a crazy toddler swinging a stick!  So I blew up a picture of Curious George in a fire helmet and painted a cardboard box.  Today I pasted the picture onto the box and painted George.  I also cut the trap door.  It needs some more work, but I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out.

Now, the costume.  Elijah has a little friend who had a princess/prince birthday.  I gotta say that a princess outfit is WAY easier to come by.  I guess I could have spent a lot of money on a costume, but I didn't want to do that.  We talked about dressing him as a Prince of Egypt.  I guess if I had worked on it before yesterday then that could have worked out, but ya know... I found a site that had some ideas and I took those and ran with it... this is what I ended up with:

I am pleased with how it turned out.  Elijah really liked it and I think he had fun at the party.  I was an amazing party to say the least.  They played games and won prizes, had lunch, had cake, and got a very nice parting present.  I think that Elijah's was the only homemade outfit, but he was one of three boys and one of the boys is super little.  The little girls were all cute in their princess outfits.

Tomorrow, instead of taking my movie day, I'm going to go party supply shopping.  I looked at the room we will be using at the fire station today.  I think it will be fun.  Once everyone gets there, we'll get a little presentation from a fire fighter, then we'll do a little craft, read Curious George Goes to the Fire Station, eat cake and pull the strings on the piñata... that's a lot to fit into 2 hours...  I am making most of the stuff to go into the goodie bags.  My folks are getting here Thursday afternoon, so I think I'll do most of the goodie bag stuff then.  I'm super excited about the whole thing!

Okay... I guess that's it!  Happy New Year!  Here's hoping that 2009 will be GRAND!

January 04

Starring Grace...

Look what she did tonight:

GRACE CRAWLING!!!

January 07

Cause it's just annoying me...

What is this, "Boys will be boys" shit!  I get really annoyed when people use this as an excuse.  "Oh, my son is climbing up the slide backwards even though there are children waiting to come down... but boys will be boys."  "Oh, my son drove really fast into a tree but I bought him a new car...but boys will be boys."  "Oh, my son beat the crap out of his girl friend, but that's okay, because boys will be boys."  WTF?!?!  When does this cycle that boys somehow get special treatment because they have a penis end?  It really aggravates me.  Especially when moms justify this.  How are you allowing your child to think he is better than a girl?  Better than his mom?  WTF?!?!?  Seriously?

Honestly, this hasn't happened to me personally, but I have read about parents getting mad at someone for requesting their sons act responsibly and it hurts me to hear them getting defensive of their children.  Then turn around and wonder what to do about their kid the preschool bully.  PLEASE!  Do they not see the cycle they are perpetuating?  Sigh.  I have had to deal with the gender issue.  Elijah likes to pick flowers and put them in his hair (which is now almost constantly in a pony tail... and I know he is a pretty child...) which leads people to think that he is a girl.  And when I tell them his name is Elijah, they come up with things, like, "Oh the flower threw me off, but I see the airplane in his hand now, that even things out."  Seriously?  I was asked in the grocery store the other day if I was sure Grace was a girl.  I had her in a blue and green sleep and play, "That's a girl?  Are you sure?"  SERIOUSLY?  Um, yeah... last time I changed her diaper... but ya know... What is wrong with people?

There is a whole other blog entry that is stewing in my head about gender roles and how we as a society tend to deal with them.  Trucks=boys Dolls=girls kinda thing.  And while I don't believe in that, I don't push dolls on Elijah, yet he plays with them.  I don't push trucks on Grace, but she tries to steal Elijah's when he's not looking (though I think she just likes things that roll...she thinks they're funny.)  Anyway... another entry...

Okay... I'm done with my soapbox...for now... ;)

January 11

The Boy Child's Third B-day

I must say that the party was quite successful!   My mom and I got to the fire station a little after 9 and I gotta say that if we had gotten there any later, the morning would have started in a much different way.  Apparently, there was a communication breakdown between the station coordinator and the chief/firefighters.  They were on their way to a training across the street and didn't know we were coming.  Not too much of a big deal, except I had planned for time for a tour of the station (and we would've been locked out as well.)  But ANYWAY, not a big deal.  We got in and set up.  The chief got us hats and offered to come back over and do show us a fire engine or two and gave us his cell number.  He was REALLY nice!  So after setting up, my friend, Jenn, showed up with the cake.  Last year she did the train cake and that was amazing... but this one was even more so!!  She made a fire engine cake!  It was INCREDIBLE!!!  She did an amazing job!

As the kids came in we had a table set up with goodie bags that had crayons (among other things) in it and a Curious George mask out for them to color and play with.  We also had some snack out for them to munch on.  Our play group doesn't do presents, but we gave Elijah a Curious George Doll and the book Curious George and the Firefighters.  So he got to open that and I read the book to the kids.  (Dad said that was the best part....hehehehe!)  After story time, we had cake.  I gotta say I almost cried when I cut it.  I mean it was just that pretty...but it's cake and it was meant to be eaten.  It was very very yummy!  After they finished the cake, I brought over the pull tab piñata I made.  I was impressed with it.  I found a bunch of fun little toys in to fill it with.  I think the kids liked that.  One of the prizes in the piñata was Curious George balloons, so some of the parents blew a bunch up and the kids played balloon while I put in a call to the fire chief.  He had some of the firefighters come over and show us the one of the engines.  The kids got to climb all over it and play.  It was really cool.  They also ran the lights for us.

Overall, it was an incredible party.  Elijah had a great time, and that was the most important thing!  Grace did great with very little nap and horrid sleep the night before.  Elijah was hyped up and didn't take a nap that afternoon, but he did rest in his room.  After nap we went out to the condo my folks are staying in for the week out at the beach.  It's about a half hour drive out there, but it's not too bad.

My folks brought a ton of stuff down with them.  I found an easel at the Goodwill in Black Mountain while we were up there, but it didn't fit in our car, so they brought that.  They brought the bike they found for Elijah as well.  They brought Christmas presents from Laura (really cool stacking trucks for Elijah and Grace and a very nice necklace pendant for me!)

I will start a new album with the pics...

Three Years Ago Today...

I was still in the hospital getting to know my little man.  Who knew that in three years he would be such an amazing little man!Happy Birthday little guy!

my kiddo at birth: 8 pounds 6 ounces

one year old!

two years old

three years old!!

January 13

So there is news...

I hadn't really realized I hadn't blogged about this yet, until Megan commented on my Facebook Status.   I sometimes get so involved in Facebook and I forget that not everyone is on there...or is my friend on there.... ANYWAY...

The week before Christmas Jerry was asked in for an interview for a company here in Wilmington.  The next week he went in for a lunch interview and was offered a job.  He negotiated a higher salary and handed in his resignation the following day.  Last Wednesday he was promptly (yet amicably) fired.  He started his new job this Monday.  The great thing about the firing is that since he handed in his two week notice, they had to pay him through those two weeks.  So he's pretty much getting a week with two paychecks... sweet!  It's too bad that his former company didn't realize his importance until after he left.  He and another worker left for this new company the same week!  The new company is a direct competitor to his old company.  Apparently, last Friday after Jerry and his coworker left, the company promptly gave everyone a raise (some more than others!)  Still, if he hadn't left and they had given the raises, he 1)still wouldn't be making as much as he is now and 2)they would expect him to work even more than he was and no overtime pay.  Here he gets overtime pay, stock options, and there is actually a HR department.... what a concept!

Anyway, we are REALLY excited about it!!  He started Monday and thus far is enjoying it.  I personally am not thrilled to be staying here, but I am thrilled that Jerry is in a better situation.  I was really getting worried about the amount of stress he was under.  Also, this is an international company, so there is the possibility of travel overseas.  They also tend to promote from within, so he's not going to be stuck in the same situation with no hope of actually going anywhere.

So that's it!  Wahoo!

January 18

The folks have gone, but it's Jerry's birthday!!

So my parents left on Saturday morning.  (boooooooooo!)

But before they left, I was able to clean the WHOLE garage!!  It was a huge relief to be able to do this.  We've been trying to since we moved in!  And it's done and it's looks soooo good!  Our biggest issue is the recycling.  For some reason we just take forever to take it to the place.  And every time we do it, I'm always amazed at how little time it really takes.  So I moved our recycling to beside the garage door into the house.  My reasoning is if it's right there (instead of across the garage) then maybe we'll take it more often...we'll see.  I should have taken a before and after pic.  Someone came and picked up the front loader too, so that made a huge dent.

We also had a picnic at a local park and played outside before it became bone chilling cold.  Elijah has mastered his bike and I bought him a bell and fashioned a basket on the front.  I think I'm in for a faster walk in the mornings and afternoons.  He can go a lot faster than he could on his tricycle.  But he's (so far) good about listening and pulling off the road when a car comes by.  Grace has taken off with the crawling and is in to everything.  She is very stealth.  Half the time you don't even realized she's moved, until you look for her in the last place you saw her and realize she's gone!  It's pretty cool and I think that she's quite proud of herself!

On Friday we went to the serpentarium.   It was neat, but a little creepy.  There were a lot of snakes in there and I gotta say that they were just in these glass cages with hinges and one dinky little lock.   There were some big honking snakes there as well as a man eating crocodile.   There was a cobra that was all riled up behind the glass and trying to strike at us as we went by... eek!   I'll post some pics in a bit.  Friday evening we met Kristie&co. at Brixx Pizza to celebrate Jerry's birthday and his new job.  We had invited some other friends, but due to weddings and the sickies, were unable to come.  I gotta say, we had to wait for a LONG time to get a seat, so I think it worked out for the best.  We'll have to go another time with all the friends and plan to get there at like 4 to be able to eat by 7!  Anyway, the food and company made up for it!  Today is Jerry's actual birthday and he went into put in a little overtime this morning.  So Elijah, Grace, and I went out and got balloons and a cake for him.

We have a busy rest of the month ahead of us, including birthday parties, an inauguration viewing, preschool, wednesday friendsday, and play group.  In February Elijah will start a soccer class.  He's really taken an interest in soccer, so we signed him up.  It's a parent participation class, so Jerry will take his lunch early to watch Grace and I'll go with Elijah.  If he likes it, we'll continue with other classes and eventually a team.  It's wild to see him grow up and really like and dislike things.  I will try to keep on top of things and post as often as I can!

January 20

Snow on Inauguration Day!!!

It very rarely snows here.  And when it does it very rarely lasts more than 10 minutes.  Today it started snowing around 10 and it's still flurry-ing now.  Since it is also inauguration day, I had the TV on all day.  But I totally didn't think to take pictures of Elijah and Grace with the TV watching our new president get sworn in.  Sigh...  Ah well.  Elijah and I talked about how great it was that we have a new president and that it was historic.  Here's our conversation this morning:

Me: Elijah who is that?

Elijah: Obak Mama

Me: Barack Obama?  Who is he?

Elijah: yes.  Obak Mama is the presidennn.

Me: Oh okay.  He's the new president?

Elijah: yes. Mommy, it's 'nowing?  Go p'ay?

So, out we went. Into the snow and this is what I did get pictures of:

It was a good day!

January 26

The days are lost on me...

I don't know why I even try to keep track on my days anymore.  I went through most of today thinking it was Friday... sigh...

Anyway, after the snow on Tuesday our week went by fairly quick.

Wednesday the kids and I drove our to an acquaintance's to pick up a climber/slide and delivered it to kate&co.  That was an adventure in and of itself, but the kind where you had to be there and know the people involved, so I won't bore you.

Thursday we went to the park for playgroup.  Not many showed up.  It was still chilly and the snow/ice was melting, but in the sun it was nice and the boy child needed to be outside.  Kristie&co met us there too and we ended up going to the mall and purchasing the last two Mario Kart games for the Wii!!

Friday we met Kate&co at the park for more play time.  I got to exert my badass-ness toward some jerk-y high schoolers.  They were trying to break the kid's equipment and were cussing and scaring the kids.  I went over and yelled at them and then hunted down their teachers (across the park relaxing under a picnic shelter!) and (nicely) told them to get their kids off the playground equipment that was meant for 5 year olds.  I couldn't believe they let the kids out there unsupervised.  Jerry said I should have asked what school they were from and called the principal...hindsight and all.  My adrenaline was pumping after all that.  I was REALLY mad.  Elijah wasn't even playing on the equipment, but there were lots of little kids and they were getting trampled.  I can't believe that more parents didn't stand up to them.  I mean what are they going to do?  Call you a name?  Whatever.  Anyway, we were all okay and the high schoolers were made to leave the playground area.

Saturday, Jerry had to work.  So I packed up the kiddos and went across town to the model train expo.  Elijah loved it.  He stared at one exhibit for two hours straight!  Insane!!  We left and met Jerry for lunch.

Sunday, Jerry worked again.  The biggest thing to happen was Elijah learned to pee standing up!  Not sure this is a good thing, but so far he has really good aim.

We are relaxing today.  I booked us a mini vacation in Myrtle Beach for mid February.  This place has got a huge indoor water park.  I'm sure the weather won't be great, but I'm just excited to get away.  We have something going on every weekend (except Valentine's) so I'm sure we'll be ready for a break.  I also confirmed with my folks our Outer Banks vacation.  We are going in early May.  Again, probably not the warmest weather, but I think it will be nice enough for the kiddos to enough the sand dunes and the light houses.  We are also going to see about going to see the wild horses in Corolla.

October 2008

October 08

There and Back Again...a REALLY long post...

So I guess I need to rewind a bit.  Getting ready for our trip was a long process, that would have been made easier had Elijah and Grace not gotten sick.  I don't know where they picked it up, but they had a fever and cough and runny nose and it was annoying.  Then the day before we were to leave, Jerry got sick.  Sigh.  I was a little more annoyed.  But fortunately, I didn't get sick.  ANYWAY, before we left, this happened:

That's right, Miss Grace decided that she would sit up a little bit (long enough for me to get the camera and take about half a dozen pics!  It's still the tripod sitting thing, but it's still a big step!  She's excited about it, being able to reach things and whatnot!

Okay, moving on...lots to cover.  We left Thursday morning.  Jerry and Elijah slept until 8-ish (and only because I woke them up.)  So we got on the road around 10.  I was super paranoid about the car trip.  Elijah has just soooo much energy and for him to have to be in a carseat for 6 hours = not so much!  But he did really well, as did Grace.  I have to say that the ride up was helped with this.  It kept Elijah busy for at least 1.5 hours of the trip!  Best of all is that as the pictures dry you can reuse them.  And if anything spills its just water!  LOVE IT!!!  (at least on the way up... but that's for later...)

So we get to my folks house and Elijah is immediately excited to be there and had my folks off and running.  Of course, Grace captured everyone's hearts as well.  So Elijah played and then we ate and then watched the VP debates.  Gotta say... not really impressed by Palin... never was to begin with, but that was her time to shine, and not so much.  Do love Tina Fey's SNL sketch of it though!!!  Then went to bed.

Friday we got a slow start.  My dad was on jury duty pretty much the whole time.  Jerry and I took Grace and met Leah at Barley's for pizza lunch.  Elijah went to hang with my mom at WWC.  We came back home for naps and dinner and then Jerry, Grace, and I went to the homecoming BBQ.  We just went for friendship not for food this year (good thing, since I heard they turned people away that didn't pre-register!)  It was a good evening.  I caught up with lots of friends.  It was really fun.  (side note: we left Elijah with my folks knowing that we would be really late.  So I left them with a movie (a rarity and special treat) thinking that Elijah would fall asleep... ummm, not so much.  He watched the WHOLE freakin' thing! ha!)  After the bonfire was lit, we decided to head up to the theatre since they were having a reception at 10 (at night!!!!!)  Grace had fallen asleep for about 2 hours in the sling, but she was WIDE awake!  So we went up for a bit and it was FANTASTIC!  I love that theatre.  It made me miss the stage (something that I haven't felt for quite a few years now).  I came across this picture in the lobby...not as young as I used to be for sure... I'm the one in the middle by the way:

This is from a (very little known) play called "Film is Evil, Radio is Good".  It is a very odd play, but it was really fun!

So after a late night Friday (for everyone!) we thought the kids would sleep in on Saturday...not so much!  We got up rather early, but dragged our feet for a bit and ended up on campus around 11:45.  We walked around a bit with Rebecca, Patrick, and Dane.  It was interesting to be on the campus and really look around.  It's changed sooo much since we were there as students.  We hooked up with Leah on the soccer field and watched the soccer games, bounced with Elijah in the bouncy houses, hung out with friends, and ate ice cream.  We left for a little rest period.  While we were at home my folks gave Elijah a BIKE!  You would have thought that the world had stopped!  He was soooo freakin' excited.  He jumped on the bike and was off.  He could have cared less when we left to go back to a casual, fun dinner that Katie had put together!  It was amazing what she did!  There was music later, but we were beat, and I really couldn't ask my folks to deal with Elijah two nights in a row (especially since he had had no nap that day.)  So after catching up with more friends at dinner, we went home.

Sunday, I went in to church with my folks and Jerry got the morning off from everything.  Elijah was still clingy and after Sunday school with my mom, had a bit of a melt down, so after I sang the anthem with the choir, I went and hung out with him.  After lunch, I brought the kids home and we relaxed.  At 2, Obama spoke to a crowd of 28000 people in Asheville so we watched on TV.  I was amazed that he was there.  It was REALLY cool!  Katie met me for dinner and then came over and hung out a bit.  It was so nice to see her and just sit and talk.  It was (as always) as if we hadn't really been apart from each other.  I miss her so much!  There are days it seems everything remind me of some inside joke we shared.  I was thinking about my days at WWC and I think that the friends I had there are the best I ever had (exception with Laura and Katrin... knew them outside of WWC and I include them in best category!)  I have very good friends here.  I haven't known them as long.  But my WWC friends (and the exceptions!)FREAKIN' rock.  After all, I did meet Jerry there...

Monday mom and I took the kids to the lake to play and walk around.  It was a nice day and Elijah learned about Geese (or gooses...hehehehe!)  And Grace learned that sand is oh so fun to play in.  We had a picnic in the park on the way home and then relaxed around the house.  I made dinner for my folks (turkey meatloaf...sooo yummy!) and watched HEROS!

Tuesday was a rainy day.  Elijah wanted to play, so my mom took him out for a bit, but it was a little chilly.  Dad finished his jury duty around 2:30 so Jerry and I went out for dinner on our own and walked around the mall (meaningful since we got engaged there...hehehehe!)  Then came home and watched the debates...another blog entry...maybe...  I stayed up WAY to late trying a new pattern on circular knitting needles.  I have been scared of them, but mom had this pattern for a grocery bag and I wanted one, so I tried it (must say that it did not turn out right, but I'm no longer scared of circular needles...still don't really like them, but not scared....)

Today we drove home.  It did not go well.  We were all tired, and Elijah didn't get that he couldn't get out of the car and play with the toys on the playground below my folks house...for the WHOLE ride home...sigh... he cried for my folks the whole way...no nap... just whining and crying.  That's not true.  He had periods of clam playing, but not a whole lot.  He kept waking Grace up and it annoyed me...but I was crabby too.  I didn't want to leave and I know now that we have the challenge of trying to get Elijah potty trained while Jerry is home until next Wednesday.

Sorry this has been so long, but I haven't blogged in a long time and this week was so much fun!  I miss the mountains soooo much and I need to write this stuff down to remember.  I'm going to post some pics to an album to match!

October 16

Alone again

during the day anyway.  Jerry went back to work today and he is going to start working through lunch.  This means I'm on my own with naps.  So I tried since Monday to put Elijah and Grace down on my own.  It worked Monday and that was it.  But today wasn't so bad.  We have finally broken the habit of rocking Elijah to sleep for nap.  He gets to watch Curious George, take a truck with him to bed, play for about 15 minutes and then he has to at least be quiet in his room.  We had a little bit of a struggle, but both kiddos are asleep for now!  WAHOO!

So since we got back last Wednesday we have been working on potty training.  I swear I would rather go through natural labor again than deal with this, but I am determined.  Yesterday was a major success in that Elijah stayed dry all day...well I should say that he kept his undies dry all day.  We put him in a diaper for nap and night and both were soaked, but it is the small victories that keep me going.  We are rewarding for EVERYTHING right now.  He gets a sticker for trying to go, a sticker and one skittle for peeing, a sticker and three skittles for pooping, and for staying clean and dry all day he gets to have a glow in the dark bracelet to take to bed.  He was super excited about the bracelet last night. I got a few packs at the dollar tree.  I think I'll have to go back and stock up.  He quasi pooped in the potty once, but I made a HUGE deal out of it, so I'm hoping that he'll go again.  He is however, trying to use the whole "I gotta poop" at naptime to avoid going to sleep.  Not okay with me.  And I let him know that today.  I hope that he gets this soon.  I am refusing to go back to diapers.  We have training pants and vinyl covers, so we are set.  He did have an accident at the park today, but I think it was my fault.  I really think he was trying to get my attention to tell me, but I was trying to sort out Grace and didn't respond immediately.  He did however, tell me he had gone pee...so that's a step in the right direction.

Okay, now... the f!#$ing washer.  They came to fix it three weeks ago.  The motherboard they brought didn't work.  So they ordered one from Kenmore and put it in yesterday.  It didn't solve the problem either.  However, for some reason we ended up having to pay for the part.  Sigh.  ANYWAY, so we go to do another load of laundry and the knob is broken.  We call the appliance place and they can't send someone out to fix what they broke until today between 10-12.  Well, that didn't work as I was going to be gone and Jerry is at work.  So we have decided we are going to buy a used machine and save up for one we like.  However, apparently this isn't a malfunction of just our brand.  Apparently this happens quite often with many front loaders.  Sigh... I don't like this solution, but if we spend even just 70 more bucks on this machine (which is what it would be just to have someone from Sears come look at it) it's the same price as another machine.  It's all rather annoying.  I mean our clothes are SOAKING wet since there is no final spin.  I have been wringing out each item into the washer and then throwing it into the dryer, then running a drain cycle to get rid of the water.  What a pain.  So I'm letting it go.  We'll hopefully something reasonable on Saturday and maybe we can sell this one for parts.

Okay, that's it for know.  The girl child is up and trying to pull my lip off....hehehehehe.

October 20

The Weekend

This is just a short post.  I am in the process of writing a longer one that will (hopefully) be my last political blog for a bit.  But in the meantime...

The potty training has taken a fabulous turn!  Elijah goes when we ask him without (as much) complaining.  He has stayed dry since Friday and as a reward gets a glo-bracelet to take to bed with him each night (thank you Target for offering 15 for a dollar!!)  He gets a M&M candy for each pee and 5 for each poop (which has yet to happen, but at least he's waiting until the nap or night diaper goes on...sometimes...  I understand the pooping is a little harder of a concept.  I'm a little worried about constipation now though.  He is holding the poop.  We try to let him do it his way, but...well, we'll see.

Grace has started solids officially.  Well, bananas anyway.  We will move on to better things just as soon as I get off my butt and make them.

We threw in the towel with the washer.  We went Friday evening to a little whole in the wall used appliance place and purchased a used Whirlpool top loader for 150 (including delivery and installation!)  Much cheaper than having to hire someone else to look at the washer and charge some insane price to fix it.  The guy that sold the washer also gave us the name of someone that might buy the front loader off of us!

So Saturday was spent doing 138927407 loads of laundry.  I still have some to do, but most of it is done, folded, and put away.

Sunday was spent weed whacking the jungle that was our back yard. It still needs to be mowed down, but it looks much better.  Now to kill all the ants that think our backyard is prime real estate for their multi-level condos!  And to do so massive black widow killing (killed three yesterday and I know there are more hiding...Dear Black Widows, there are perfectly good woods right next door...move there or face the wrath of my shoe!!!)

Today we finally got rid of the chair that was with Jerry for many many years.  It's been sitting in our garage since we moved in.  Today the trash people agreed to take it for us!  Tonight someone is coming to look at the exercise bike (that has been out there for almost as long!) and since we took the recycling earlier last week, our garage is looking like, well, a garage!  For some reason this gives me a since of calm.  I mean there is still a lot of organizing that needs to happen out there, but I feel like I can move around and deal with it better.

Okay, Elijah has been really quiet now for a bit, he has either 1) decided that mommy is right and he needs to rest quietly in his bed, 2) up to no good, or 3) taking a poop (finally!)  Whatever the choice, I will go check on him and then get back to work (I am working for a company called ChaCha!  totally crap pay, but the work is really really easy and I can work for 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there.  If I can make a little money, the the daunting-ness of paying for college out of pocket next fall seems a little less, well, daunting...)

October 23

quick update

just have to say that elijah is doing great with the potty training.  yesterday after rest time (not sleeping...sigh) when he is in a diaper and told me he had to poop...he could've gone in the diaper, but he took off the diaper climbed up on the toilet (the potty seat and chair are soooo last week) and with a little trepidation pooped in the potty voluntarily!!!!  i was so happy i almost peed my pants!!   today at the park he peed three times and had no accidents!  i know this is probably not of any interest to anyone, but honestly when we (re)started this process i told jerry i would rather go through natural childbirth again twice than deal with this.  i'm glad we stuck with it.  i knew it was happen, it was just a rough few days.  he's even starting to realize when he has to go pee on his own!

the not sleeping at nap thing is bugging the heck out of me!  jerry and i talked about it and we think that it's just his pattern.  when he learns a new skill he just doesn't sleep as well.  i have taken to putting the gate up and ignoring his whining.  but he wakes grace up and that pisses me off.  i just don't know what to do.  i end up being a total grouch because i'm tired from dealing with them.  when grace doesn't get her rest she doesn't sleep well at night.  i don't need a lot of sleep, but elijah comes to me in the middle of the night and wants jerry, so i have to wake up and take him in there to him.  then come back in and settle grace back down.  and then try to get back to sleep.  i guess my tiredness is my own fault.  i'm exhausted by the end of the day, but i just can't go to sleep.  i feel like i haven't seen jerry in ages (though we did watch indiana jones the other night...not a good movie...but nevertheless...)  we did get to go out for dinner when we were in the mountains.  and i haven't had any time away to myself since i got my hair cut when grace was 2 months old.  this is going to need to change fairly soon i think, or i am going to go crazy.

jerry just came home.  he's early.  i am guessing that he thinks maybe i need some help with the crazy boy child...and he's right, but now i have to go make some dinner.

October 28

No rest for the mommas

The one thing I don't like about being a mom is that you can't call in sick.  I came down with a cold or allergies or something.  I'm not snotty, but I have a scratchy throat and am sneezing like crazy.  No fever... but exhausted.  Nevertheless, my day simply has to start.  I did cancel plans with a friend yesterday and we didn't go on our preschool groups field trip today.  But we will get back into the swing of things starting tomorrow.

Elijah is still boycotting his naps (for the most part.)  I'm not keen on this at all. (yes, i said keen...move on...) but I don't know what to do.  I was making him watch Oklahoma with me (with Hugh Jackman...that man can sing!)  but that only got us through a day and a half.  I have tried sending him to his room and putting up the gate... works for all of 15 minutes.  Today we fought and at 3 he fell asleep.  I woke him up at 4 since that's our house rule.  We'll figure something out.

I have decided that I'm not going to post my political blog.  One, it's waaaaaayyyyy long and not even finished and two, it's not going to change anyone's mind.  It's just going to annoy me.  So, I leave it to this: The Daily Show!

February 2008

February 05

what a weekend....

So I belong to this online mommies group.  I have been there since Elijah was about 6months I guess.  I've really enjoyed it.  It's been nice to be on a message board with so many other moms with so many backgrounds.  I have made some friends from there and learned a lot.  So last week one of my friends suddenly disappeared from the message board.  We are also Facebook friends and had a game of Scrabulous going, and she disappeared from there.  So I posted a message on the message board asking if anyone had heard from her and if she was okay.  Minutes later my post was removed and I got a PM from the moderator saying that her account was temporarily suspended.  How fishy... So then I get an e-mail from MySpace (which I'm not fond of, but still have an active account) from another mom from the message board that said that there were several moms from the site who were being investigated and weren't allowed on the board.  So a little more delving, and I find that there are 6 REALLY active members that hadn't logged on for several days.  I keep digging and I find one of their blogs and she told the whole story and I must say that all weekend I just felt like I was trying to solve a mystery and that it wasn't really real.  These women had started e-mailing each other and had (apparently) talked trash about someone on the site.  One of the women ended up sending copies of the e-mails to the state moderator (as this is a national network) and then all hell broke loose.   These women were banned from the site (a couple have been re-allowed back on, for various reasons) and very vague posts were made by the moderator of the site and the state moderator.

This whole thing has sorta struck a chord with me.  First, I think that the whole thing is rather high school-ish.  But then to take 6 very vocal women away from a group, and only give some vague reasoning... I mean we are all adults (last time I checked) and I think that we have the ability to make up our minds.  But it has all been kept very hush hush.  The site is rather boring now.  I mean these women were very active in arranging play dates and MNO and things like that.  They donated their time and sometimes their money to help out with events.  It's very disheartening.  And I have to say I'm torn.  On one hand, I really value the opinions of these women.  They always have ideas and are there  if I'm having issues with Elijah.  They come form every walk of life.  I like the diversity.  On the other hand, I'm not sure that I feel very positive about how this was handled.  Regardless, I'm glad that I have my little Thursday playgroup that is separate from this on line group.  Though I'm not sure that the suspended women are as lucky...super sigh...

Anyway, that took up a lot of my weekend time.  Poor Jerry was reduced to using the desktop to get on the internet.

Friday's MW appointment went well.  We are both a little concerned about my weight gain, but I know I need to eat better food...i.e. no more Little Debbie's...sigh... though I have to say, I have just been starving all the time lately.  Regardless what I eat.  So I'm eating a lot of everything, not just junk.  Grace is transverse (long ways) which is fine for right now.  She has a lot of room...though seems to like the bottom of my uterus more than the top.  She is VERY active and has been keeping me up for hours at a time at night.  I need to start sitting on the bouncy ball and seeing if that will calm her down.  I do feel like she is sorta trying out the upside down thing.  In the past few days she has been experimenting with kicking farther up... we'll see... like I said, we still have plenty of time.

I went to the dentist today.  I really dislike the dentist, but seeing as I probably won't go for a while after Grace is born, I kept my appointment today.  I do have a question though...why is it that dental hygienist and hair dressers have such issues with silence?  I could care less about this woman's daughter and her school issues or how long her labor was and why the epidural wouldn't take... I don't know you!!!  sigh...  Anyway, it's very odd... I just want to be there and get the heck out!  At least at the hairdresser you can talk back...

The fence people are here!!!!   WAHOO!!!   We are supposed to have a our fence finished by this weekend!  That's really exciting!  Today's weather is GREAT!  It's 75 and sunny, so I'm hoping they will make good progress.

Okay, I am off to try my hand at making AIO diapers.  I think I've figured it out and now I need to put everything together.  We'll see.  Tonight Elijah and I are going to a pancake dinner at a friend's church...yum-o!!!  I take my GTT on Thursday morning, so I have to be REALLY REALLY good food wise tomorrow.  Have a great day!

February 08

Houston we have a fence!!!!

Those that are close to me (distance wise) are probably already sick of hearing it, but WE HAVE A FENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm so freakin' excited about it and so is Elijah.  They finished the work on Wednesday afternoon.   I got up and went to my GTT on Thursday...after going to the wrong place...ah pregnancy brain!...then came home and Jerry and Elijah had been up there since Elijah had gotten up.  Which meant he hadn't even eaten breakfast before wanting to going out to play.  So it's already worth every penny.  Elijah is having a hard time realizing that we can't be out there all the time though.  He wants to go out before getting dressed in the morning and eat out there... not that I'm complaining that my kid wants to be outside, but there are other things I have to do during the day.  We had friends over today so I was getting the house in a tidy state before they got here...not acceptable to Elijah... poor baby...  We did go play before lunch and after nap.  All that's out there right now is his sand box, some trucks, and a ball or two.  But that's keeping him busy for now.  We are looking at a Step 2 swing set-y thing that he can grow into a bit and isn't too permanent (in case of moving, etc.) which will make the summer even better!  My plan is to be able to sit on the patio and nurse Grace while Elijah plays until he passes out...HA!

My folks are coming down at the beginning of March to take care of Elijah for a night so Jerry and I can go on a baby-moon.  Then they'll bring Elijah down and we'll stay with them a night (they have a condo in Myrtle Beach for a few days) and then come back home.  I would love to go away for a week, but Jerry is keeping his PTO for the baby (and other possible vacation-y things like homecoming next October) and I guess we are all nervous about Elijah at night...though he'll probably surprise us all.  So I'll take the night.  We are staying in a place that has an indoor water area, with a lazy river!!!!  We'll probably go walk Broadway on the Beach and see a movie or two and eat out and watch really bad TV....actually we'll probably fall asleep by 9 and sleep until check out!  I'll be 31 weeks by then...man the home stretch.

I don't know if I've mentioned Elijah's language lately, but he is really talking now.  It really seems the last few weeks it's insane.  He picks up words so quickly.  He's suddenly much more interested in talking than signing.  He still uses his signs, but isn't as intersted in learning new ones.  This is fine.  It's just my little man growing up...sniff sniff.

I got my GTT results back today and everything is normal...WAHOO!  I didn't think that it would be high...well maybe I was a little worried.  But I didn't feel as weird as I did when I took it with Elijah.  My MW called this afternoon to tell me that everything looked good... so WAHOO!!!   No 3 hour test... that would have killed me!

Okay, Jerry just drove up with dinner, so I'm off to EAT!!!!!

February 13

when story time isn't story time...sigh...

  So yesterday I decided to give story time another shot.  So after getting ready and going on a short walk, we head out to the library.  We stopped going because I was getting annoyed that other kids were running around the whole time and the parents were either talking among themselves or reading other books (out loud...) So, I tried to be all positive.  The kids still were running around, though this time it seems the parents were paying attention to the story...I'm all about leading by example, but your kid needs to be paying attention to you for the example to work... Elijah was getting flustered because the kids were running in front of him and he couldn't see the book.  He kept telling them, "Move, eeease," and that was heart breaking.  I started saying something to the kids and finally some mom's caught on.  So, I keep looking at the clock, thinking about just leaving, when the reader stands up and pulls out a DVD?!?!  What got me even more than the fact we were going to be watching a DVD at story time is that suddenly the moms told their kids they needed to come sit down and watch TV...WHAT?!?!  You don't make your kid sit and listen to an actual person, but you make them sit and listen to TV?  This is STORYTIME...hello!  Not to mention total rudeness to the storyteller.  Sigh... I guess maybe the whole thing is indicative of what goes on at home.  I'm not saying that Elijah doesn't watch TV, but it is never a forced thing.  And we read 1328974896698 books everyday (some to the point of my insanity...) and people are perplexed when I say that he'll sit through all those books.  It's not forced either, he likes the stories.  I like that he can tell some back to me or remembers something from a book and talks about it.  I love that he, for the most part, could care less about TV.  I digress, I understand that toddlers aren't always going to sit through a story time, but what I don't understand is parents not showing respect to the storyteller or to the other children who are paying attention.  sigh...

anyway, that's my rant for today.  nothing exciting is happening these days... Grace kicks me lots.  She has decided that the top of my uterus is an okay place to hang out too and I appreciate that.  Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.  I got Jerry's gift this morning.  It's not big, but we are going on a baby moon in a few weeks, so that's our real present.  I just wanted to get him a little something.  I got Elijah a kite.  I think he'll like that.  We went puddle jumping this morning too.  I got a good video of him playing, I'll try to add it sometime.

Ohhh, I finished Stephen King's new book, Duma Key... very good....creepy, but good.  I finished it within my 3 week allotment, but barely!  I really like him as a writer and this is one of the better books he's written.  I'm back now to the Jane Green books Jerry got me for Christmas.

February 17

too good too be true...

Jerry has kept Elijah at night for the past week.  Elijah has gone to bed on his own, no crying, no whining, we have had our little routine, kissed him good night, shut the door (well left it a crack) and we've heard not a peep.  Elijah has then been sleeping straight through until 6 -6:30 then coming to bed with Jerry and sleeping at least another hour.  We have been holding our breath.   Didn't want to think that maybe he had  worked it all out.  So I thought, sure I can handle a night listening for him.  Jerry deserves many nights off... What's the big deal? He'll get up at 6 and come snuggle in bed...sigh... not so much tonight.

At 1:30 I am awaken to frantic MAMA DADO MAMA DADO and crying.  By the time I get my preggo belly out of bed, he has thrown open the door and is crying hysterically.  So, I go into his room and I pick him up and calm him down.  I put him back in bed and sing to him a bit.  I tell him mommy will be right out in the living room, get up and leave the door open a crack.  I have barely gotten myself settled onto the sofa, before he is crying again and standing in the door.  I bring him onto the couch with me thinking he needs some cuddles.  He must have had a nightmare or something.  Every time he just about drops off to sleep, he starts crying and grabbing for me.  So I move to the recliner.  Thinking I can rock him back to sleep.  Nope... not happening.  It is now 3:00 and I'm suddenly starving, but am determined to get this kid back to sleep.  I ask him if I let him get in bed with me will he go to sleep.  He hops off my lap and goes and gets his pillow, walks right by me and into the bedroom and crawls in bed.  Great, I think he'll just go to sleep.  So I lie down beside him and he cuddles up to me and STILL will not go to sleep.   He is still at least.  I slow my breathing down and eventually (after several tries without success) he falls asleep and I am able to push him over to the other side of the bed.  It is now 3:45 and I am beat, but starving and Grace has decided now is a good time to run laps around my uterus.  So I get up and make myself a banana with PB and settle back into bed with reruns of the Cosby Show on and the laptop.  I am now wide awake (as is Grace) and Elijah (thankfully) is sound asleep with his butt up in the air, here beside me.  It is currently 4:14 and I'm not sure sleep is coming anytime soon.  This wouldn't be too much of an issue, except we are supposed to go to see Jerry's folks tomorrow and many people will be there, which means 1) one of Jerry's brother's will make a crack about me getting fat....hahahaha...charming... 2) Someone will comment on how tired I look...always nice to hear... 3)Elijah will be totally thrown off nap and eating schedules and will be very clingy because of all the strange people around...4)I will have a short fuse and little patience because of lack of sleep... 5)sleeping in the car is sorta out of the question because Jerry has to take a Benedryl before leaving since his mom has a cat (allergies) so if he can drive he'll be yawning all the way...not a problem except that Jerry has to stop his yawns in order to not trigger an asthma attack...this is very loud and startling...and also, I'm rather preggo and riding in a car, is not comfortable....  I'm sure that I could bow out of going, but it's Jerry's dad's b-day and I want to be there for that.   So suck it up Erin...you have had less sleep before in your life and done more...

So here's to hoping that The Cosby Show will lullaby me to sleep and that Elijah will continue to sleep and that I can get in at least a few hours...... and here's to Grace calming down so all that can happen as well...ahhhhh, positive thinking...  Good night...rather...good morning... what are the odds I can get IHOP out of this when Jerry wakes up?  hmmmmm....

February 19

what a cutie!

Jerry shared this with me this morning:

Jerry was sleeping and heard on the monitor, "Mama, Dado? Mama Dado?"  And as he is starting to rouse from sleep he heard this getting farther away, and then suddenly the bedroom door opens and there is Elijah standing there, all happy, looking at Jerry, "DADO!"  And crawls up in bed with him and snuggles down.  Since it was 7 in the morning, all was good...but man what a cutie...

I just wanted to share...

Sunday was fine.  No one commented on how tired I looked, but a brother did make a comment on me being fat (what are you 12?)  I made myself stay up until 10 and then slept really well.

Yesterday Elijah and I worked on dealing with frustration in more creative ways than throwing, spitting, hitting, etc.  I was impressed with myself keeping my cool through the whole thing... Showing by example and all...sigh... he seems to be getting it though.  We only had one time out and I think that was more for my sanity.  He did, however, only take a 27 minute nap and that was not okay with me...but he woke up happy...so whatever.  It just takes so freaking long to get him back on track once he's knocked off.

We are off to a tie-dye party this morning!!!  Wahoo!  Should be lots of fun.  We'll end with a potluck lunch...I'm taking spinach pie...yum-o!!!

February 28

oh no oh no oh no

This is Elijah's newest phrase.... EVERYTHING is oh no oh no oh no...always in threes.  It's sorta cute.  Yesterday I was tie dying some more old t-shirt and onesies and he comes running out of his room, "Momma, oh no oh no oh no!" grabs my hand and I go back to his room where he has poured/spilled/accidentally knocked over his juice on the carpet.  Part of me wanted to blow up and get mad, but the oter part (the part that won out) wants him to tell me about these things instead of me finding trails of ants coming into the room...sigh...

Anyway, the doddle bug has a cold.  I'm glad this is happening this week instead of next week when my folks are coming and Jerry and I are going on a baby moon (wahoo!!!!)  But he's been so freakin' whiny that it's beginning to drive me nuts.  He falls to pieces over EVERYTHING and I'm a bit over it.  He just has a little snotty nose and a small cough... but it's enough to make him a bear.  Sigh...  to make matters worse, he wakes up not hungry but by 10 he's starving, so I give him his breakfast (today he ate TWO bowls of oatmeal!!!)  SO then at lunch he's not really hungry for anything other than a snack...after nap he wakes up not hungry but at 4 he's starving again...sigh... At least we convinced him to eat dinner tonight.  He also hasn't really wanted anything to drink.  This is odd since usually we have no problem getting fluids in him.  I thought that maybe his throat was hurting, but he'll drink a smoothie...just not ice water?  Odd kid.  I took him grocery shopping this morning because I was going crazy being in the house.

Tomorrow is our last monthly MW appointment.  I think we go to 3 weeks now and then after then next one every 2?  I can't remember.  I do remember that I never got to the weekly appointments with Elijah.  I am having trouble with my right hip lately.  It kills!  Not all the time, though it is becoming more annoying more often.  But if I sleep on my left side (you know, the one you are "supposed" to sleep on whist with child) and I get up, I honestly can't walk on my right leg it hurts so bad.  I'm guessing that it's just the relaxin stuff making my joints a little looser, but I'm going to ask about it tomorrow.  I think that my weight is better this month, but I don't know.  I'm refusing to step on a scale.  I just know that if I freak out about it, I may tend to not eat enough.  We'll see tomorrow.

Oh, yeah, so last night around 3:45, I get up to what? pee... of course... and as I'm heading to bathroom, who do I run into? Elijah.  He's just waddling (since we triple up on his diaper overnight...it's a pretty funny waddle to watch) to Jerry's room.  He looks up at me with his little sleepy eyes and walks over grabs my hand, says, "Mama" and walks over to Jerry's door and goes in and just climbs in.  Jerry wakes up a bit and we have a conversation about the whole thing...though when I come into the room in the morning, Jerry asks how Elijah ended up in bed with him... overall pretty funny and cute too.

I guess that's it.  I haven't blogged lately mostly because nothing really has been happening... but I guess this is a good little catch up.

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!