Donald and I have really been trying to eat healthier. In reality that translates into me not buying junk food when I go to the store anymore and trying to cook better meals. If it were just me and Lauren, this would be easy. We'll both eat almost anything. Donald, on the other hand, is the world's pickiest eater. He won't eat rice, any vegetable except corn, green beans, and peas - and only canned. He hates all seafood, fish, wheat bread, cream cheese, sour cream, any fruit except watermelon and canned pears, or anything even the least bit spicy. Needless to say, it's getting difficult to find healthy things that leave out these ingredients.
Over the past few months, I've figured out that once of the easiest ways to eat more vegetables is to throw baby spinach in everything. I put it in my lasagna, spaghetti, smoothies (yes, really - just toss in a handful - it'll turn your smoothie green but you won't taste it at all), sandwiches, wraps - anything. Of course, anything that I put spinach in, Donald won't eat. So I usually end up making two different versions, one with spinach and one without.
I got sneaky tonight, though. I decided to make Shrimp (Chicken for Donald) Penne with Creamy Pesto, and Donald of course got home from work before I could throw in the spinach. I'd already decided that I was putting it in his and he'd just have to deal with it. I had the spinach all chopped up with the garlic and in a bowl on the stove. When he came into the kitchen, he asked - "What is that green stuff?" I told him it was parsley, hahah! He bought it to, and ate his dinner, spinach and all, and even said it was good. I win!
No, I did not tell him he ate spinach. He would then just say something like, "I thought I tasted something funny in there". I'll let him believe that he's eating parsley for the rest of his life. MEN!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Oh man, my schedule has been kicking my butt the last few weeks. Monday through Wednesday nights I spend working on school work. I'm trying to get the last of my work done before the end of September. It's going to be cutting it close, but I really want a couple months to relax before student teaching (and then moving). I have five papers left for Math/Science, then seven for Social Studies/Health/Art. So if I can continue to get 2-3 done each week, I should be fine. Thursday - Sunday I spend prepping for my Kaplan class. It technically shouldn't take me that long, but do you know how long it's been since I've done trig? A very long time (and I wasn't that good at it in the first place). The algebra came back pretty easily, which I was surprised about. Anyway, class is going well. Teaching is actually fun (probably a good thing). We'll see how it goes when I get real students, haha. I have two more weeks of training and then hopefully I'll get my own class to teach.
I know I'm going to be so much busier during student teaching and I am so dreading it. I already hate locking myself in the spare bedroom at night so I can get things done. It totally sucks, but I suppose it'll be worth it soon. To top it off, Lauren has been going to bed later and later (11:20 tonight when she finally fell asleep), so I get less time at night to work. This is probably because when she wakes up in the morning, I'm so beat from staying up until 2-3 the night before she usually ends up nursing back to sleep. If we actually got up the first time she woke up around 7-8 instead of going back to sleep until 10, she'd probably go to bed earlier. And then wake up earlier. So I'm screwed either way. Heh.
Yeah I know I'm complaining. Except that I'm really not. I do like being busy - I get more done when I have a lot to do. Better time management I think. Anyway, so if you don't hear much from me in the next few weeks, you'll know why.
I know I'm going to be so much busier during student teaching and I am so dreading it. I already hate locking myself in the spare bedroom at night so I can get things done. It totally sucks, but I suppose it'll be worth it soon. To top it off, Lauren has been going to bed later and later (11:20 tonight when she finally fell asleep), so I get less time at night to work. This is probably because when she wakes up in the morning, I'm so beat from staying up until 2-3 the night before she usually ends up nursing back to sleep. If we actually got up the first time she woke up around 7-8 instead of going back to sleep until 10, she'd probably go to bed earlier. And then wake up earlier. So I'm screwed either way. Heh.
Yeah I know I'm complaining. Except that I'm really not. I do like being busy - I get more done when I have a lot to do. Better time management I think. Anyway, so if you don't hear much from me in the next few weeks, you'll know why.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Okay, this heat is just getting ridiculous now (right now - temp 100, heat index 109). All of my Mississippi friends can relate, I'm sure. Lauren and I stayed inside this week because it was so hot, and I was looking forward to next week for some more reasonable weather (read: not over 98 degrees). I just checked the 10-day forecast, and now the highs are over 100 every day for the next five days. It's not supposed to be anywhere near bearable until next Saturday, with a high of 94. Yay. Another week of being stuck inside.
I had to get out of the house today. Since school started yesterday, I thought it was safe to assume that the playground at McDonald's would be free of big kids. I was wrong. When we got there, there was only one other little boy playing. Within 10 minutes, a whole slew of boys showed up. With their moms of course, but they may as well have been there alone. They were demon children if I've ever seen any. They ranged in age from probably 4-7, and they were craaaazy. The moms didn't seem to care - they just let them beat the crap out of each other. The other mom of the little boy came and sat next to me and was giving the other moms dirty looks, and I can't say I blame her. I know boys will be boys, but damn, control your kids! So, needless to say, we didn't stay at McDonald's long.
I'm starving. I had a cheeseburger at McD's for lunch and some of Peeler's Happy Meal fries, and I just ate a plum, but I'm still starving. Guess that means I'd better cook dinner....
I had to get out of the house today. Since school started yesterday, I thought it was safe to assume that the playground at McDonald's would be free of big kids. I was wrong. When we got there, there was only one other little boy playing. Within 10 minutes, a whole slew of boys showed up. With their moms of course, but they may as well have been there alone. They were demon children if I've ever seen any. They ranged in age from probably 4-7, and they were craaaazy. The moms didn't seem to care - they just let them beat the crap out of each other. The other mom of the little boy came and sat next to me and was giving the other moms dirty looks, and I can't say I blame her. I know boys will be boys, but damn, control your kids! So, needless to say, we didn't stay at McDonald's long.
I'm starving. I had a cheeseburger at McD's for lunch and some of Peeler's Happy Meal fries, and I just ate a plum, but I'm still starving. Guess that means I'd better cook dinner....
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Lexy went back to the doctor today. She was diagnosed with Fibrocystic Breast disease. It's nothing life-threatening or anything, but she does have to go back in for a biopsy the 24th, I think. She has one lump that they are concerned about that they just want to make sure isn't cancerous. She is supposed to limit her fat and caffeine intake and also take a Vitamin E supplement. So I guess she will be fine, pending the results of the biopsy of course.
Speaking of, she's still going headstrong with the wedding idea. I'm supposed to be finding a red dress to wear to her wedding at the courthouse :o| I wish I could just convince her to get pre-martial counseling, but she "doesn't have that kind of money". Whatev.
Speaking of, she's still going headstrong with the wedding idea. I'm supposed to be finding a red dress to wear to her wedding at the courthouse :o| I wish I could just convince her to get pre-martial counseling, but she "doesn't have that kind of money". Whatev.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Whew! We had a busy weekend! We left right after Donald got off work on Friday for Meridian. We got there around 7:30, checked into the hotel, and then went in search of food. We ended up eating at the hotel restaurant, but I think we'd have been better off going to Waffle House. Donald ordered the chicken strip dinner for $7.99 and got 3 chicken strips and about 4 onion rings. After dinner we went swimming, then went right to bed.
Neither one of us slept for crap Friday night. I had to be up at 5:30, and I don't think I got any real sleep until around 2:00. The plan was for me to just drive myself to the test center so Lauren and Donald could sleep in, but of course Lauren woke up the minute I got out of bed. Donald ended up taking me to the test so that Lauren would hopefully fall back asleep in the car, but of course that didn't happen.
I had to be at the center for my first test at 7:30. Testing was supposed to start at 8:00, but our proctor was horrible and didn't manage to get us started until almost 9:00! This first test was Elementary Education: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (K-5) which I honestly found to be easy. There were 120 multiple choice questions in 120 minutes. There were only 2-3 questions that I really wasn't sure about - one involving meiosis, which I'm still not sure of the answer even after looking the info up online. The other one that I remember was something involving a pre-writing activity and I kept second-guessing myself. Other than that, I really knew all the material so I think I did pretty well.
I got done with the first test around 11:00, and didn't have to be back for my second exam until 2:15, so we went to the mall, just for something to do. When we walked in, I noticed a sign that said something about a drawing for a $500 mall gift card, so we went and signed up for that. You had to be present to win, so we went to Goody's and I found a few pairs of pants for cheap and then had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We went to the drawing, and discovered that they were actually giving out 10 gift cards, ranging in value from $25-$500. They first drew the 10 names out, and Donald was called! He went up on stage, and then from the 10 people the drew for the specific cards. He ended up winning $50, which was awesome! We didn't have any more time to shop, though, so now we have a gift card for the Meridian mall and we have no idea when we'll ever be back to Meridian. That's okay, though, because that mall and the mall in Janesville are owned by the same company, so we can use the card in Janesville next time we go home.
I got back to the center at 2:15 for the next test, which was Principles of Learning (5-9). This test was rough! It was four case studies with three constructed response questions for each study, plus 24 multiple choice questions in 2 hours. That basically gave me 5 minutes to write each answer, which is not a lot. I really wasn't that prepared for the content of this exam as I should have been either, which didn't help matters. The first case study was about the social and emotional development of adolescents, and my program has really focused on the under 12 set, so I had to dig waaaay back to my undergrad years for this one. I probably screwed it up. The multiple choice questions were again easy, so hopefully I made up some ground there. We'll see in a month!
After the test, we drove to Philadelphia to play at the casino a bit. Donald and I each had $20. He lost his in a matter of 15 minutes, but I was able to keep mine for at least a half hour before I got bored and we decided to leave. I cashed out with $21.07, so I won a buck. Yippie. We then had dinner at a Chinese buffet, then drove home. We ended up getting home around 10:30 last night. We both passed out promptly. Heh.
Of course Lauren woke up earlier than normal this morning, so that sucked. I spent the day prepping for my Kaplan teacher training course, and Donald picked up the house. My course started at 5:00 and lasted till 9:00. It wasn't as horrible as I'd expected. We had to prepare an introduction, so everyone presented that and then we listened to the trainer yak for 2 hours. Then we had 5 minutes to prepare a lesson, and then had to teach that lesson. My lesson was on verb tense. Considering that it was the first time I'd really ever taught, I think I did okay. I stumbled on the imperfect tense and felt retarded, but other than that I survived. For the next class, I have 2 teach-backs to prepare, both in Reading. The class was interesting, but I'm really not used to sitting in class anymore. I had a horrible headache by the time we were finished.
Okay, well....that's it I guess. I'm POOPED so I'm headed to bed!
Neither one of us slept for crap Friday night. I had to be up at 5:30, and I don't think I got any real sleep until around 2:00. The plan was for me to just drive myself to the test center so Lauren and Donald could sleep in, but of course Lauren woke up the minute I got out of bed. Donald ended up taking me to the test so that Lauren would hopefully fall back asleep in the car, but of course that didn't happen.
I had to be at the center for my first test at 7:30. Testing was supposed to start at 8:00, but our proctor was horrible and didn't manage to get us started until almost 9:00! This first test was Elementary Education: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (K-5) which I honestly found to be easy. There were 120 multiple choice questions in 120 minutes. There were only 2-3 questions that I really wasn't sure about - one involving meiosis, which I'm still not sure of the answer even after looking the info up online. The other one that I remember was something involving a pre-writing activity and I kept second-guessing myself. Other than that, I really knew all the material so I think I did pretty well.
I got done with the first test around 11:00, and didn't have to be back for my second exam until 2:15, so we went to the mall, just for something to do. When we walked in, I noticed a sign that said something about a drawing for a $500 mall gift card, so we went and signed up for that. You had to be present to win, so we went to Goody's and I found a few pairs of pants for cheap and then had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We went to the drawing, and discovered that they were actually giving out 10 gift cards, ranging in value from $25-$500. They first drew the 10 names out, and Donald was called! He went up on stage, and then from the 10 people the drew for the specific cards. He ended up winning $50, which was awesome! We didn't have any more time to shop, though, so now we have a gift card for the Meridian mall and we have no idea when we'll ever be back to Meridian. That's okay, though, because that mall and the mall in Janesville are owned by the same company, so we can use the card in Janesville next time we go home.
I got back to the center at 2:15 for the next test, which was Principles of Learning (5-9). This test was rough! It was four case studies with three constructed response questions for each study, plus 24 multiple choice questions in 2 hours. That basically gave me 5 minutes to write each answer, which is not a lot. I really wasn't that prepared for the content of this exam as I should have been either, which didn't help matters. The first case study was about the social and emotional development of adolescents, and my program has really focused on the under 12 set, so I had to dig waaaay back to my undergrad years for this one. I probably screwed it up. The multiple choice questions were again easy, so hopefully I made up some ground there. We'll see in a month!
After the test, we drove to Philadelphia to play at the casino a bit. Donald and I each had $20. He lost his in a matter of 15 minutes, but I was able to keep mine for at least a half hour before I got bored and we decided to leave. I cashed out with $21.07, so I won a buck. Yippie. We then had dinner at a Chinese buffet, then drove home. We ended up getting home around 10:30 last night. We both passed out promptly. Heh.
Of course Lauren woke up earlier than normal this morning, so that sucked. I spent the day prepping for my Kaplan teacher training course, and Donald picked up the house. My course started at 5:00 and lasted till 9:00. It wasn't as horrible as I'd expected. We had to prepare an introduction, so everyone presented that and then we listened to the trainer yak for 2 hours. Then we had 5 minutes to prepare a lesson, and then had to teach that lesson. My lesson was on verb tense. Considering that it was the first time I'd really ever taught, I think I did okay. I stumbled on the imperfect tense and felt retarded, but other than that I survived. For the next class, I have 2 teach-backs to prepare, both in Reading. The class was interesting, but I'm really not used to sitting in class anymore. I had a horrible headache by the time we were finished.
Okay, well....that's it I guess. I'm POOPED so I'm headed to bed!
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Lauren and I went to Lenny's Subs for lunch today. Afterwards, we walked next door to Micheal's craft store. I still had my cup of ice tea with me, so I let Lauren hang on to it while we were in the store. She was drinking what was left of it while we were waiting in line, and she was being quiet, so I left her alone. Then this old biddy behind me in line asks just what I'm letting my baby drink. I should have replied, "Jack and Coke" but I didn't, and just said tea. Then she said, "Well, I guess that's better for her than Coke." Damn old ladies need to mind their own business. I never give my kid soda and she's had tea about 3 times in her life. 98% of the time she drinks either water or milk. I know what's good and not good for her, I don't need an old crabby lady telling me! Man! Maybe I'm just uptight about these things....
In other news, I'm taking the Praxis II this weekend. We have to go all the way to Meridian for it. I have no idea why there wasn't a test offered in Jackson (it being the biggest city in MS and all...), but whatever. So we're driving down Friday night and coming back Saturday night. I test 7:30-10:30 and 2:30-5:30 (I think). I haven't studied for it at all, so I'm really hoping I pass. Good thing MS has the lowest passing scores in the country. Hah! It kind of irks me that I even have to take it - my initial license will be in Oregon and the Praxis isn't required there - they have their own state exam. But because I'm student teaching in Mississippi, I have to pass the Praxis before I can do that. Anyway, I really wanted to get to Barnes and Noble to read through the study guide, but I don't know if it's going to happen.
Finally, our internet has been crazy slow lately and I hadn't been able to figure out why. We set up a wireless network a few months ago and I guess we never got around to configuring the security settings because last night I discover that there were two other people stealing our internet! Dang them! Paul and Ebony whoever you are...no more stealing my bandwidth! Well they can't now because I set up our security tonight. Took me FOREVER but I think I finally got it figured out. It's going much faster now!
In other news, I'm taking the Praxis II this weekend. We have to go all the way to Meridian for it. I have no idea why there wasn't a test offered in Jackson (it being the biggest city in MS and all...), but whatever. So we're driving down Friday night and coming back Saturday night. I test 7:30-10:30 and 2:30-5:30 (I think). I haven't studied for it at all, so I'm really hoping I pass. Good thing MS has the lowest passing scores in the country. Hah! It kind of irks me that I even have to take it - my initial license will be in Oregon and the Praxis isn't required there - they have their own state exam. But because I'm student teaching in Mississippi, I have to pass the Praxis before I can do that. Anyway, I really wanted to get to Barnes and Noble to read through the study guide, but I don't know if it's going to happen.
Finally, our internet has been crazy slow lately and I hadn't been able to figure out why. We set up a wireless network a few months ago and I guess we never got around to configuring the security settings because last night I discover that there were two other people stealing our internet! Dang them! Paul and Ebony whoever you are...no more stealing my bandwidth! Well they can't now because I set up our security tonight. Took me FOREVER but I think I finally got it figured out. It's going much faster now!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
A couple weeks ago we bought Lauren a potty because she is just so interested in pee and poop. She loves to sit on it diaper-less or otherwise.
Proof that our children really do learn from us. Hah!
"I know something is supposed to be happening..."
Proof that our children really do learn from us. Hah!
"I know something is supposed to be happening..."She hasn't peed in it yet, and really there's no hurry. She definately knows what pee and poo are though, as she loves to follow me into the bathroom and say "Mama pee! Poo!"
Nothing is sacred anymore. Not even my poo.
Nothing is sacred anymore. Not even my poo.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Vent about the family...
What makes people self-destruct? I just don't understand. This has been quite a weekend for my family, and everything that happened is just ridiculous.
First, my brother: Him and four friends were out on the strip Friday night drinking. Supposedly three black guys in a truck came by, yelling racial obscenities towards Jake and his friends. I don't know exactly what happened then, but I can gather that Jake and company yelled back, etc. Whatever happened, it ended in the three guys beating the crap out of Jake so bad that he was in intensive care until today. His right eardrum was crushed and the doctor says he'll never regain his hearing in that ear. He also has some blood sitting on his brain, but the doctors think it will go away on its own. Thankfully he's going to be OK - we were all worried for a while. No doubt that if he hadn't been drinking - when they did the blood test for alcohol is BAC was .29 - he would have (hopefully) had the sense to get the hell out of dodge. This is not the first time Jake has had alcohol related problems - he's already had two DUIs along with numerous underage drinking tickets (he's only 20).
Then, Lex - I've vented about Lexy before. She just doesn't get it. Now she has decided to marry some guy named Eric - today is the first I heard about him, when she told me that I had to come up in November for her wedding. WTF? I guess she's been dating him two months. Mom doesn't know about it yet, and I'm sure not going to be the one to tell her. I'm not exactly old and wise, but I do know a few things, and one of them is that relationships don't work out just because you love somebody. I've tried talking to her sooo many times. I just want to shake her and yell "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING TO YOURSELF?"
Is the root of all this really just low self-esteem? Does Jake not care enough about himself that he just drinks himself to death, slowly? Does he not care enough about his future to not accumulate thousands of dollars of fines, not to mention a criminal record? Does Lexy really not care about herself enough that she sleeps with anything that moves? Does she not care enough about her future to not take out multiple payday loans and then not pay them back? How do you "fix" this? Can they be helped? Or are they just going to have to figure it all out for themselves someday - when it will probably be too late?
First, my brother: Him and four friends were out on the strip Friday night drinking. Supposedly three black guys in a truck came by, yelling racial obscenities towards Jake and his friends. I don't know exactly what happened then, but I can gather that Jake and company yelled back, etc. Whatever happened, it ended in the three guys beating the crap out of Jake so bad that he was in intensive care until today. His right eardrum was crushed and the doctor says he'll never regain his hearing in that ear. He also has some blood sitting on his brain, but the doctors think it will go away on its own. Thankfully he's going to be OK - we were all worried for a while. No doubt that if he hadn't been drinking - when they did the blood test for alcohol is BAC was .29 - he would have (hopefully) had the sense to get the hell out of dodge. This is not the first time Jake has had alcohol related problems - he's already had two DUIs along with numerous underage drinking tickets (he's only 20).
Then, Lex - I've vented about Lexy before. She just doesn't get it. Now she has decided to marry some guy named Eric - today is the first I heard about him, when she told me that I had to come up in November for her wedding. WTF? I guess she's been dating him two months. Mom doesn't know about it yet, and I'm sure not going to be the one to tell her. I'm not exactly old and wise, but I do know a few things, and one of them is that relationships don't work out just because you love somebody. I've tried talking to her sooo many times. I just want to shake her and yell "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING TO YOURSELF?"
Is the root of all this really just low self-esteem? Does Jake not care enough about himself that he just drinks himself to death, slowly? Does he not care enough about his future to not accumulate thousands of dollars of fines, not to mention a criminal record? Does Lexy really not care about herself enough that she sleeps with anything that moves? Does she not care enough about her future to not take out multiple payday loans and then not pay them back? How do you "fix" this? Can they be helped? Or are they just going to have to figure it all out for themselves someday - when it will probably be too late?
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Lauren had her 18 month check-up today. She's 23.5 pounds (35th percentile) and 33 inches (86th percentile), so she's still tall and lean! She has to go back in a month for a height check, though, because she's dropped 10 percentiles. The doctor is not worried - she just wants to make sure that she's still growing okay.
I really like this clinic we are taking her to. The staff is so wonderful and they really take their time. We see a nurse practitioner instead of a doctor and I bet she spent 20 minutes in the room with us chatting and playing with Lauren.
Lexy went to her Doctor appointment today, too. I don't know what's going on with her. Supposedly the surgeon told her that the lump went away? and that she wouldn't need surgery after all? I don't know - she rescheduled her appointment so mom couldn't go with her so who knows what's really going on. I'm not going to worry about it for now - she's probably just after attention again :o(
I really like this clinic we are taking her to. The staff is so wonderful and they really take their time. We see a nurse practitioner instead of a doctor and I bet she spent 20 minutes in the room with us chatting and playing with Lauren.
Lexy went to her Doctor appointment today, too. I don't know what's going on with her. Supposedly the surgeon told her that the lump went away? and that she wouldn't need surgery after all? I don't know - she rescheduled her appointment so mom couldn't go with her so who knows what's really going on. I'm not going to worry about it for now - she's probably just after attention again :o(
Monday, July 23, 2007
Donald and I were doing something last night, and not paying much attention to what Lauren was up to. When we looked, she had taken every single book off of her shelf and piled them on her chair. Way to entertain yourself, kiddo!
She was so proud of herself! And then she promptly knocked the whole stack over and laughed callously as mom had to pick them up. Funny stuff.
She was so proud of herself! And then she promptly knocked the whole stack over and laughed callously as mom had to pick them up. Funny stuff.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Happy Half-Day, Lauren!
Today (well, yesterday now, I guess) is Lauren's halfday! I can't believe she's already 18 months old. She's growing up so fast.
My Rooster rarely sits still. She is go, go, go from the minute she wakes up until she finally goes to sleep. That's why I haven't posted many pictures lately because she's never still enough for me to take any! I did manage a few last night -
She really is my clever little monkey. Of course I may be partial. Hahah. She still loves to read her books, and her new favorite book is Olivia. She can recognize and name a few letters of the alphabet. She knows all of her body parts and can name most of them when asked. She just learned "elbow" the other day and loves saying it. She calls her tummy "mine". I haven't quite figured that one out yet. She will point to just about anything you ask her to in any of her books. We are working on colors but they seem to be giving her a bit of trouble. I know she knows blue and green, but the others...not so much.
We bought her a potty chair at Target the other day because she is so interested in Donald and I going to the bathroom. She loves sitting on it when we are in the bathroom and says, "Pee, pee, pee" over and over and over. She hasn't peed in the potty yet, but she has succeeded in peeing on the bathroom floor a few times! I'm really in no hurry to potty train, though - we will follow her lead and she'll let us know when she's ready.
She's also sleeping very well now. She still nurses to sleep, but she is in her own bed now (still in our room) and usually stays in her own bed and doesn't wake up at all until early morning. We need to work on the nursing to sleep thing, especially at nap time, since I will be student teaching in less than six months and she'll need to be able to get to sleep on her own by then. Speaking of nursing, she still loves it and doesn't seem to want to give it up any time soon. She's only nursing now in the morning as she wakes up, at nap time, and at bed time (and sometimes once after dinner). As she gets closer to 2, we will think more about weaning. Until then, she is happy and as long as she is happy, we are happy.
While she is definitely in the terrible toddler stage, she is still a good girl. She has her bad days, but they don't happen too often. I know her very well, and I can usually tell why she is upset and what needs to change to make her feel better. I know the days that I don't give her enough attention because she lets me know! I've really been trying to work less during the day and spend most of my time with her. She's only going to be little once :o)
My Rooster rarely sits still. She is go, go, go from the minute she wakes up until she finally goes to sleep. That's why I haven't posted many pictures lately because she's never still enough for me to take any! I did manage a few last night -
She really is my clever little monkey. Of course I may be partial. Hahah. She still loves to read her books, and her new favorite book is Olivia. She can recognize and name a few letters of the alphabet. She knows all of her body parts and can name most of them when asked. She just learned "elbow" the other day and loves saying it. She calls her tummy "mine". I haven't quite figured that one out yet. She will point to just about anything you ask her to in any of her books. We are working on colors but they seem to be giving her a bit of trouble. I know she knows blue and green, but the others...not so much.We bought her a potty chair at Target the other day because she is so interested in Donald and I going to the bathroom. She loves sitting on it when we are in the bathroom and says, "Pee, pee, pee" over and over and over. She hasn't peed in the potty yet, but she has succeeded in peeing on the bathroom floor a few times! I'm really in no hurry to potty train, though - we will follow her lead and she'll let us know when she's ready.
She's also sleeping very well now. She still nurses to sleep, but she is in her own bed now (still in our room) and usually stays in her own bed and doesn't wake up at all until early morning. We need to work on the nursing to sleep thing, especially at nap time, since I will be student teaching in less than six months and she'll need to be able to get to sleep on her own by then. Speaking of nursing, she still loves it and doesn't seem to want to give it up any time soon. She's only nursing now in the morning as she wakes up, at nap time, and at bed time (and sometimes once after dinner). As she gets closer to 2, we will think more about weaning. Until then, she is happy and as long as she is happy, we are happy.
While she is definitely in the terrible toddler stage, she is still a good girl. She has her bad days, but they don't happen too often. I know her very well, and I can usually tell why she is upset and what needs to change to make her feel better. I know the days that I don't give her enough attention because she lets me know! I've really been trying to work less during the day and spend most of my time with her. She's only going to be little once :o)
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Our central air is not working, and it is so hot in here! It is blowing....but not cooling. And it figures - today is the first HOT day we've had in a while. I am calling maintenance as soon as I get up tomorrow and hopefully they can get it fixed pretty quickly! I'll die without air....
We have a busy weekend coming up. Saturday I'm doing an event at Wal-Mart in Pearl, giving away free White Cloud diapers. Fun times. Can't really complain, though...it pays $82 for 5 hours. Hopefully Peeler does okay with Donald all day!
Speaking of Donald, he's been working like crazy lately. Last week he had 20 hours of overtime! A few weeks ago, the girl doing all the audits quit, and they never replaced her, so Donald was stuck doing audits (which is a full-time job by itself), and now they've decided that he's good at them, so he gets to keep doing them! The overtime is not all bad though - it is helping us reach our savings goal for moving. So anyway, I think Donald's going in to work on Saturday morning before I leave and probably Sunday, too.
We have a busy weekend coming up. Saturday I'm doing an event at Wal-Mart in Pearl, giving away free White Cloud diapers. Fun times. Can't really complain, though...it pays $82 for 5 hours. Hopefully Peeler does okay with Donald all day!
Speaking of Donald, he's been working like crazy lately. Last week he had 20 hours of overtime! A few weeks ago, the girl doing all the audits quit, and they never replaced her, so Donald was stuck doing audits (which is a full-time job by itself), and now they've decided that he's good at them, so he gets to keep doing them! The overtime is not all bad though - it is helping us reach our savings goal for moving. So anyway, I think Donald's going in to work on Saturday morning before I leave and probably Sunday, too.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
I have been so tired the last few days, and I've finally figured out why. Instead of the usual Diet Coke or Diet Dr. Pepper that flows through my veins, I've been drinking Caffeine Free Diet Coke. Kroger had a sale a few weeks ago, and I had coupons, so I stocked up, and that's all we have left. I was so exhausted this morning, I had to stop at Starbucks and get a cup of coffee on the way to the playground. I was about to fall asleep! An hour and another Diet Coke later, and I was feeling fine. Must go get caffeinated soda tomorrow! Something has to supplement the measly 5 hours of sleep I get a night!
In my exhaustion this morning, Lauren had a first. She watched TV! Donald and I watch TV at night when she's around, but she's never actually watched a kid show before. Well, this morning I hooked up the DVD player and put in Disney's Alice in Wonderland, and then I planted my butt on the sofa. It lasted all of 15 minutes until she was bored with it. Figures.
After the TV didn't work, I gave in and we got dressed. We started for the playground, but on the way there it started to rain, so we went to the Micky D's with a playground indoors. There was this other little girl there, she was probably 2-3ish. Peeler LOVED her. They walked around hugging each other. It was so cute. Just when I thought it couldn't get any cuter, Peeler gave her a kiss. I wish I would have had my camera with me. Just darling.
And as if this post needed another topic, I got hired by Kaplan! I start training in two weeks. I have to attend a 4-5 hour training session every Sunday in August, with additional computer training at home (it's paid). After training, I'll be teaching my very own once-a-week class. I'm looking forward to it - I won't make much only working a few hours a week, but it'll be nice to get out and maybe meet some people. I'd pretty much given up on the job - I had my interview waaaay back in the middle of May. They said they'd contact me when they had a training session start, and I never heard anything until yesterday. I'm glad I got in, though!
In my exhaustion this morning, Lauren had a first. She watched TV! Donald and I watch TV at night when she's around, but she's never actually watched a kid show before. Well, this morning I hooked up the DVD player and put in Disney's Alice in Wonderland, and then I planted my butt on the sofa. It lasted all of 15 minutes until she was bored with it. Figures.
After the TV didn't work, I gave in and we got dressed. We started for the playground, but on the way there it started to rain, so we went to the Micky D's with a playground indoors. There was this other little girl there, she was probably 2-3ish. Peeler LOVED her. They walked around hugging each other. It was so cute. Just when I thought it couldn't get any cuter, Peeler gave her a kiss. I wish I would have had my camera with me. Just darling.
And as if this post needed another topic, I got hired by Kaplan! I start training in two weeks. I have to attend a 4-5 hour training session every Sunday in August, with additional computer training at home (it's paid). After training, I'll be teaching my very own once-a-week class. I'm looking forward to it - I won't make much only working a few hours a week, but it'll be nice to get out and maybe meet some people. I'd pretty much given up on the job - I had my interview waaaay back in the middle of May. They said they'd contact me when they had a training session start, and I never heard anything until yesterday. I'm glad I got in, though!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
The Peeler is officially driving me crazy now. Damn toddlerhood. I'd been warned that 16-22 months was horrible, but jeez....
Today she would not stop biting me. Seriously. She wasn't biting hard enough to hurt, and I think she was just trying to play, but it's still a no-no. Every time she'd bite me, I look her straight in the eyes and say, "No biting. Biting hurts mommy," and plop her on her chair. In three seconds, she'd be right back up, running over to me and putting her teeth on me again, laughing as soon as I plopped her back on her chair. Eyeyeyeye.
The child is just so uncivilized. Hahaha. I know that that's the way she's supposed to be right now, like a little caveman, but that doesn't make it any more fun to live with. We were eating popcorn tonight, and she just put her hand in the bowl and went crazy, splattering popcorn all over. She's also figured out the "limp baby" technique in where if she doesn't want to do something she just goes limp and collapses on the floor.
We may all survive this year in one piece....or we may not....
Today she would not stop biting me. Seriously. She wasn't biting hard enough to hurt, and I think she was just trying to play, but it's still a no-no. Every time she'd bite me, I look her straight in the eyes and say, "No biting. Biting hurts mommy," and plop her on her chair. In three seconds, she'd be right back up, running over to me and putting her teeth on me again, laughing as soon as I plopped her back on her chair. Eyeyeyeye.
The child is just so uncivilized. Hahaha. I know that that's the way she's supposed to be right now, like a little caveman, but that doesn't make it any more fun to live with. We were eating popcorn tonight, and she just put her hand in the bowl and went crazy, splattering popcorn all over. She's also figured out the "limp baby" technique in where if she doesn't want to do something she just goes limp and collapses on the floor.
We may all survive this year in one piece....or we may not....
Friday, July 13, 2007
Soooo....
My sister told my mom and I a couple weeks ago that she felt a lump in her breast. Neither one of us really took it too seriously, but we both told her to make an appointment with the doctor to get it looked at. You might wonder why we didn't really think too much of it - Lexy is like the little boy who cried wolf. She's cried so many times we just stopped making a big deal out of these types of things. Lexy ended up making an appointment and went to the doctor last Friday.
The doctor did a breast exam and was concerned because Lexy says the lump hurts. She scheduled an ultrasound to determine what kind of lump it was, and she went to that yesterday. The ultrasound found that the lump is solid (so not a cyst) and that Lexy would need a biopsy and bloodwork to determine if it is cancerous, but she will need to get the lump removed surgically regardless. Her next appointment is with the surgeon July 24.
The good news is that it is pretty unlikely that it is cancer. She's only 19, and cancer doesn't run in our family. There are a million other things that it could be. Still, I'm worried about her and I know my mom is worried....
My sister told my mom and I a couple weeks ago that she felt a lump in her breast. Neither one of us really took it too seriously, but we both told her to make an appointment with the doctor to get it looked at. You might wonder why we didn't really think too much of it - Lexy is like the little boy who cried wolf. She's cried so many times we just stopped making a big deal out of these types of things. Lexy ended up making an appointment and went to the doctor last Friday.
The doctor did a breast exam and was concerned because Lexy says the lump hurts. She scheduled an ultrasound to determine what kind of lump it was, and she went to that yesterday. The ultrasound found that the lump is solid (so not a cyst) and that Lexy would need a biopsy and bloodwork to determine if it is cancerous, but she will need to get the lump removed surgically regardless. Her next appointment is with the surgeon July 24.
The good news is that it is pretty unlikely that it is cancer. She's only 19, and cancer doesn't run in our family. There are a million other things that it could be. Still, I'm worried about her and I know my mom is worried....
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Sometimes kids just make you swear. Or at least they do me.
Case in point - Thursday I had a bunch of errands to run with Lauren. First we stopped at CVS, then ran to Target. On the way home we had to stop at Kinko's to FedEx a box to my dad. In Kinko's there's a card rack, and of course there's a card with a dog on it. Lauren loves dogs. The entire time I'm trying to get the form filled out, Lauren is practically screaming, "Woof! Woof!".
"Yes, baby, that's a dog,".
"Woof! Woof! Woof freakin' woof!"
After I finish getting the box shipped, I take her over the card rack to look more closely at the dog. Big mistake. Huge. As we start to leave, the tantrum starts.
"Wooooooofffff! Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! Wooooooooooooooffffff, MAMAMMAMAMAMA WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOF!!!"
So I put her in the car, trying to nicely explain to an irrational toddler that the doggy lives in Kinkos and can't come home with us. Yeah, that didn't go so well. Of course, by now it's POURING outside, and I'm trying to drive home without killing us both.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! MAMAMA I FREAKING HATE YOU!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFF!!!!"
This continues for ten minutes. Of course we hit every red light between Kinkos and our house. I've finally had it, and yell - "Peeler! The doggy is DEAD! Now shut your hole!".
Yeah, not my best parenting moment.
It finally dawned on me that I do have a radio in my car and I turn it up as loud as I can without feeling too guilty that I'm damaging my kid's hearing. Her woooooofing eventually faded into a whimper and we got home in one piece.
The rest of the afternoon continued on in the same fashion, until I couldn't take it any longer. I locked us both in the bedroom, laid on the bed, and pretended I was asleep until she finally crawled up next to me and passed out.
An hour later, she woke up and was the sweetest thing ever. Go figure.
Case in point - Thursday I had a bunch of errands to run with Lauren. First we stopped at CVS, then ran to Target. On the way home we had to stop at Kinko's to FedEx a box to my dad. In Kinko's there's a card rack, and of course there's a card with a dog on it. Lauren loves dogs. The entire time I'm trying to get the form filled out, Lauren is practically screaming, "Woof! Woof!".
"Yes, baby, that's a dog,".
"Woof! Woof! Woof freakin' woof!"
After I finish getting the box shipped, I take her over the card rack to look more closely at the dog. Big mistake. Huge. As we start to leave, the tantrum starts.
"Wooooooofffff! Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! Wooooooooooooooffffff, MAMAMMAMAMAMA WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOF!!!"
So I put her in the car, trying to nicely explain to an irrational toddler that the doggy lives in Kinkos and can't come home with us. Yeah, that didn't go so well. Of course, by now it's POURING outside, and I'm trying to drive home without killing us both.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! MAMAMA I FREAKING HATE YOU!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFF!!!!"
This continues for ten minutes. Of course we hit every red light between Kinkos and our house. I've finally had it, and yell - "Peeler! The doggy is DEAD! Now shut your hole!".
Yeah, not my best parenting moment.
It finally dawned on me that I do have a radio in my car and I turn it up as loud as I can without feeling too guilty that I'm damaging my kid's hearing. Her woooooofing eventually faded into a whimper and we got home in one piece.
The rest of the afternoon continued on in the same fashion, until I couldn't take it any longer. I locked us both in the bedroom, laid on the bed, and pretended I was asleep until she finally crawled up next to me and passed out.
An hour later, she woke up and was the sweetest thing ever. Go figure.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Hope you all had a nice 4th. Ours was just fine. We were planning on grilling this afternoon, but it looked like it was going to rain, so we scrapped that plan and went to CrapDonald's instead. The only good thing about McDonald's is that they have an indoor playground so Peeler can run around and be crazy without driving other people crazy. After dinner we headed over to the festival in Madison. It started to rain about ten minutes after we got there, and it didn't look like it was going to quit any time soon, so we went to WalFart for a while and just walked around. After an hour of that, we left, discovered it had quit raining, so went back to the park to watch the fireworks. They were surprisingly good! Lauren really liked them, too. It ended up taking us nearly an hour to get out of the park, so we didn't get home until after ten.
So, yeah, we had a good day. Donald and I still miss our 4th of July celebrations that we used to have in Wisconsin, though. Those were never boring. Our friend, Levi, his birthday is the 4th as well, so we always did a joint celebration that included lots of alcohol and even more fireworks. The last year we were up there (2005), I was pregnant and felt like crap, so I missed most of the fun. Donald had enough for the both of us, though. Our friend, Shawn, worked the night shift at the Hampton and kept the pool area open for our crew. Well, Donald decided it would be a good idea to empty about 20 mini-sized bottles of shampoo into the hot tub. Needless to say, there were suds EVERYWHERE. I slept through the entire event, but in the morning when we went down for breakfast, the pool area was still knee-deep in suds. It was horrible - and funny!
The year before that (2004), we were again at the Hampton. I honestly don't remember much of that year because Cortney decided it would be a good idea to play a drinking game with Blue UV. Now seriously, I've never been a big drinker. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been drunk. OMG, I ended up sooooo drunk that night. I paid for it too - I was sick!
I'm trying to remember what year Nick stayed at the Hampton with us. Must have been 2003 - maybe 2002? I can't remember. Anyway, that night ended with him streaking down the hallway nekkid - we have (or had) it on video somewhere! Yeah that was fun. Was that the year of the trip to Denny's to see if we could buy whip cream? Cort you'll have to clear that up for me - I think it was!
Ah, memories. Now we're all grown up and scattered all over the country. Sometimes I still wish we were all together up there, but it wouldn't be the same anyway. Most of us have kids, and you just can't do that sort of stuff with munchkins around. Eh, oh well. Someday the kiddos will be grown and we can be the crazy old people who act like we're 20 :o)
Anyway, Donald and I miss you Wisconsin people! Wish we could have been there :o(
So, yeah, we had a good day. Donald and I still miss our 4th of July celebrations that we used to have in Wisconsin, though. Those were never boring. Our friend, Levi, his birthday is the 4th as well, so we always did a joint celebration that included lots of alcohol and even more fireworks. The last year we were up there (2005), I was pregnant and felt like crap, so I missed most of the fun. Donald had enough for the both of us, though. Our friend, Shawn, worked the night shift at the Hampton and kept the pool area open for our crew. Well, Donald decided it would be a good idea to empty about 20 mini-sized bottles of shampoo into the hot tub. Needless to say, there were suds EVERYWHERE. I slept through the entire event, but in the morning when we went down for breakfast, the pool area was still knee-deep in suds. It was horrible - and funny!
The year before that (2004), we were again at the Hampton. I honestly don't remember much of that year because Cortney decided it would be a good idea to play a drinking game with Blue UV. Now seriously, I've never been a big drinker. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been drunk. OMG, I ended up sooooo drunk that night. I paid for it too - I was sick!
I'm trying to remember what year Nick stayed at the Hampton with us. Must have been 2003 - maybe 2002? I can't remember. Anyway, that night ended with him streaking down the hallway nekkid - we have (or had) it on video somewhere! Yeah that was fun. Was that the year of the trip to Denny's to see if we could buy whip cream? Cort you'll have to clear that up for me - I think it was!
Ah, memories. Now we're all grown up and scattered all over the country. Sometimes I still wish we were all together up there, but it wouldn't be the same anyway. Most of us have kids, and you just can't do that sort of stuff with munchkins around. Eh, oh well. Someday the kiddos will be grown and we can be the crazy old people who act like we're 20 :o)
Anyway, Donald and I miss you Wisconsin people! Wish we could have been there :o(
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