Out Sick

Since I can't be "out sick" from being a mommy, let's just say I have been "out sick" from writing on my blog. It's been a month and half, because that's about how long we have been sick at our house. We are on virus #3 or #4, not sure anymore if what I have now is new or just something that didn't really go away that struck back with a vengeance. The kiddos had the croup with this last virus. Little Miss 1 had it the worst - she sounded like she was doing an E.T. impression when she breathed "El-li-ot, El-li-ot...". But considering I know of at least two families in our ward who took their kids to the hospital for breathing treatments with this croup, I guess we were lucky.

Before we were sick, my niece E2 was baptized. My parents came for a few days, and it was nice to see them. They brought my son a Halloween counting book, which he loves because it has ghosts in it. He is really  excited for Christmas and all, but last night he was singing to himself a Halloween song in his room. Thanksgiving we got together with Werty's clan. Werty finally saw his new niece, tiny little girl. Someday I will be healthy, and actually get to hold her! Lots of family, lots of love. Made my first lemon meringue pie - tasted great, but didn't fully set. But that's ok, there were so many pies that no one but me ate it. And then it didn't fully survive the car trip home. But, I think I know what went wrong, so there's always next time.The day after Thanksgiving we put up our tree. Here is Little Miss in her new Christmas dress.





Meanwhile, Little Miss1 had her 18 mos check-up. Here are her stats:
W: 25 lbs 8 oz  70%
L: 32 in  55%
Head: 19.5 in  100% (she's related to her brother, what can I say?)
Cuteness: 100%
Hair: still not as long as Jack-Jack's, but she can do curly pig-tails.







On Monday, I said to myself, it's December and it feels like we should have snow by now. Hahaha. No, I hadn't checked the weather forecast in at least a week. Too sick to care and all that. Well, it snowed, and it's snowing again. Bear loves it, Little Miss isn't so sure yet.

My Brave Boy...and his stats

"Remember? We are going to the doctor this morning to see how big you are."

"Uh, Mommy, I am a little bit scared."

"Are you scared you are going to have a shot at the Doctor's?"

Bear nodded.

"Well, I asked when I talked to them on the phone and they said you weren't getting shots today. You will have to get them before Kindergarten, but not today."

"OK."

We get to the doctor's, and after a decent wait, we get in and the nurse explains that Bear is supposed to get shots today. Oh, poo. I lied to my child. I asked when I made the appointment - I really did - but I should have known better.

So, I tell my brave little boy that yes, we are getting shots today, and I remind him about D@niel Tiger and how it hurts really bad, but only for a second. And the nurse tells him he can have a treat if he gets his shots, and he really likes that idea. And he is so brave, all calm, until they stick him, three shots, and by the last stick, he is crying in shock. So brave.

Last night he reminded me, "walk only on the big ones," a game he likes to play in the kitchen where everyone only walks on the big square tiles instead of the smaller rectangles. "Well, it may be hard to do that because I am walking with Little Miss." "It's okay, Mommy. You don't have to be perfect." Nope, Mommy is not perfect - and sometimes she tells you that you aren't getting shots, and then you are. But my boy still loves me. And I am so glad.

Bear: 4 years old
Weight: 42 lbs 6 oz  90%
Height: 3' 7.5"  95%

Fall Gardening

I planted 8 new red tulip bulbs. Every year we seem to lose some - I think something is eating them. I am going to spread the rest of the mulch over the front flower beds, and then I declare myself done with Fall planting. I've got too many other things to do!

Sick Kids...again

We were only completely healthy for about a week. Now both my kids are running fevers. I am pretty sure it is a flu - because Bear is sick enough that he has no energy to do much more than lay around. He had to miss his preschool trip to the pumpkin patch and corn maze this morning. He was sad, but he was tired to really protest. Now, this is my child who takes after me when it come to being sick - he runs around and gets hyper when he isn't feeling well, and then crashes. This is the reason my mother usually didn't notice when I was sick - I was much too cheerful and full of energy to be sick. She usually didn't believe me until my sister would get sick, and then I would pipe up that I felt the same symptoms. (I just thought my sister FBS was whiny growing up, but I guess I am the abnormailty.) So, when Bear just wants to cuddle up in a blanket all day, he is REALLY sick. I am trying to keep them inside and away from people. Poor Little Miss went straight to the door and cried after breakfast for at least 10 minutes - No, mommy, I can't take it, we need to GO somewhere!

What I really want to do is get some fabric so I can be working on something (*cough* something other than cleaning my house, since I feel sick and have a lack of energy too) while we are locked up at home.

Cold 5k

I ran another 5k this morning. And by running, I mean, I jogged. My sweet Werty surprised me by being at the finish line with the kids cheering me on. Bear ran the last bit together with me. Werty almost didn't recognize me - I was so cold that I put the shirt they provided on over the brightly colored shirt he had seen my leave in this morning. He also noticed that I had improved my form since the 5k I did in May - I looked like a real jogger. (Whereas last time I looked like I was going to keel over at the end.) And it's true, I had more control this time. But it was cold. Really cold waiting for 45 mins for the kids mile to be done. Then the first part of the race was a slight incline, in the shade and the wind, next to a smoggy major street - State Street for those familiar - and it was more unpleasant to breathe than I expected. The second half of the race was in the sunlight, and was much nicer, as we ran back and forth through the neighborhood streets. With the weather turning cold, I have no intention of purchasing a bunch of gear so that I can run any of the winter 5ks. So this was it for a while. I am proud of the improvements I have made this year. I will continue to run at the rec center, where it's nicely climate controlled.

FHE and Costumes

After we had a lesson out of the Friend magazine for FHE, we went to T@rget to check out Halloween costumes. I have learned that if I wait until October to look for costumes, the cute ones (for little kids and toddlers) are already gone. Last year, Bear was not impressed with any of them, and insisted on being a snowman, which they don't make costumes for, so I had to sew one and make it up as I went along. This year, we found something he liked -- maybe not his first choice, which would have been something I had to sew, a red ghost (think Pacman Blinky ghost) -- but he was excited enough about it, that we bought it. And we found something cute for Little Miss as well. Next year, she will be old enough to have an opinion, but this year I get to decide. Bear will be a fireman, and Little Miss will be an owl. Unless they change their minds. I am keeping the receipt just in case.

Zoo Trip 2013

Last weekend we went on our annual zoo trip. Werty vowed that next year he is taking a day off work and we will go on a weekday instead of the last Saturday before the school year starts...it was so crowded that we missed meeting up with Werty's brothers and their kids. We being the only ones without a cell...they found each other just fine. We did find each other in time for lunch and the bird show. Then we split up because they had already seen the things we hadn't.

 Here is our zoo's baby elephant - she just turned 4, same age as Bear.

 Last year, the snow leopard had 3 baby cubs about the same age as Little Miss, the zoo still has mother and one cub, this one. I love the baby animals...

 Here is a new baby giraffe!

 Bear at the bird show. He loved the birds flying right at and over his head.

 Bear and Werty on the carousel. He wanted to sit in the peacock seats because he didn't want an animal that went up and down.

Bear is almost as big as a female adult orangutan. 

 They had a special lego theme exhibit going on, although some of the lego animals had been removed due to heat damage...but here is the polar bear, make completely of little legos. And the kids spent about 20 mins playing with these big legos before we left.

 Even Little Miss tried doing some legos.

 After the zoo, it was about 5pm, so we stopped by to visit my grandparents before leaving Salt Lake.

Conquering Stairs

My kids continue to grow in different ways. Little Miss has been climbing up the stairs for weeks now, but still couldn't climb down. Last week, she got it. She has conquered the stairs! Every day she tries out new sounds and new words. Yesterday, the word was 'cheese' (because she didn't like any of the other options I offered to her for her snack). Meanwhile, Bear is becoming a 4 year old. This morning he found a fortune cookie in the kitchen, and declared that he was going to help me with cleaning up his room and the family room, that he was old enough for chores, and as a reward when he was done, could he have the fortune cookie? Sure! So, he cleaned up the toys throughout the house - his room, the living room, the family room. Then we had lunch, and after lunch, he ate the fortune cookie. It's so nice when there are opportunities for positive reinforcement!

 (I would like to point out that Little Miss is eating a roma tomato from our garden in this photo. She was eating raspberries, but they ran out before she wanted them to. Werty gave her a tomato to cheer her up, and a few minutes later she started eating the tomato quite happily.)

This is the newest dress I made for her.

PS Mom, do you like any of these pics for your book?

15 Month Stats - Little Miss

Poor Little Miss had a tummy virus, and spent Wednesday and Thursday with a high fever (103 is high in my book - and it got to 103.9 Thursday night). Today she is finally back to eating real food, and very happy about it. Here are her stats from her 15 month check-up on Friday. I will have to take her back in next week to get her shots now that her fever is gone.

Weight:  22 lbs.  40%  (I think she probably lost a pound being sick this week.)
Height:  33 inches  95%  (She might not be as tall as Jack-Jack, but 95% is still tall in my book.)
Head:  19 inches  95%

First Step

So, Little Miss 1 is pulling herself up and wanting to stand. She still isn't sure how to get back down again. She took her first step from the piano bench to the couch, while we were having a google hangout call with Werty's family on Sunday. Not that the computer was aimed at her feet, so all anyone saw was her head. I cleared off the camera today so that we have it ready for when she takes her first independent steps. She continues to pull herself up on stuff, even toys in the middle of the room, so I think she will start walking very soon. Meanwhile, she continues to climb on everything she can reach, including the stairs. Here's the photographic evidence:

 And here are both kids, playing together, in case you think we only take pics of Little Miss.

Idaho and Back

We attended the funeral for Werty's great Aunt yesterday. We had a nice visit. We saw Cherney's cute little new house. When we got home Little Miss was hugging everything, so happy to be back at her own house and out of the car. The smelly car. This is not the first time that BooBear has thrown up half way to ID. Now that he's a little older and can tell us what happened, we have realized (we're a little thick sometimes, ok?) that he gets car sick. Werty finally told me on this trip that 1. Werty got more car sick than the rest of his siblings when he was a child and 2. what tips and tricks that we can do to keep him from getting car sick. I had learned from past trips to bring extra clothes, which turned out to be a good thing as BooBear went through all three outfits (he sat on pair of short #3 to keep his nice shorts from getting soiled by his yucky car seat.) I was also smart and didn't put him in his church clothes for the acutal car trip, so he still had nice, clean clothes for the funeral/reunion. It was nice to see everyone. Good luck to cousin L and his upcoming trip to Cape Verde. We hope he will be able to bring his fiancee to the US soon, so they can get married in the temple.

Here are some new pics to share:

BooBear said he was making a "sandwich."

Little Miss riding her bike by herself, pushing with her legs, for the first time.

She has reached that age where she does lots of "firsts" and cute random things. I took this pic this morning, when she was sleeping with her bum up in the air.

My Reaction

My son learned a 4 letter word. A word that we don't use in our house because, as parents, we set the example. A word that I have been dreading. A word that I have been preparing for, trying to decide what my reaction should be. He learned the word HATE.

Yesterday, Bear was having a time-out from his sister's ride-on fire truck because he was being too rough with it, using it to bump into his sister, etc. After his time out, I told him his sister was having a turn on it, and he couldn't have it back until after her turn. Perhaps the consequence was more severe than it should have been for the infraction (because in my mind this was strike number3, and in his mind, the last infraction wasn't as bad as the first 2). He threw a fit. When I tried to talk to him, he told me, "Mommy, I hate you." And when all he got was stunned silence, he looked me in the eye and repeated it again, slowly and deliberately.

This is it. The moment I have dreaded/planned for/hoped would never come. What will my reaction be? Do I get angry? Sad? And then...I just laughed. He was surprised and almost laughed himself...but then he remembered that he was mad at me. Frowny face returned.

"I don't believe you." I said in my 'you're silly' voice. "Because I love you so much!" And then I gave him a hug. There were a few more minutes of tantrum after that because he still wasn't getting what he wanted, but I am pleased with my reaction. I was able to laugh it off, diffuse the situation instead of escalating it, and reassure my son that I loved him. And hopefully he will not permanently add "I hate you" to his list of things he does or says when he's mad.

Summerfest Carnival

This year we decided our kids were old enough to take to the Summerfest carnival that our city does every year. The first thing the kiddos did was sit in the back of a real helicopter!

BooBear rode rides appropriate for his age, mostly vehicles that go around in a circle.

I took both kids on the carousel. Little Miss enjoyed it at first, but by the end she was starting to get scared.

BooBear in the boat ride. Little Miss watching her brother and eating fishy crackers.

We grabbed some carnival fare for dinner and headed home right before the parade started - we were almost cut off from being able to walk home. We saw a lot of people we knew going TO the parade, while we walked home. When they are a little older, we'll try to the parade. We spent about two hours total, just right for our little ones.

Welcome New Little Niece!

Cherry had her baby last week. She went into labor on her own, and everything went quickly and smoothly.

Here is Little Miss being pushed by one of the girls in the ward at the annual end-of-school block party.

 Doesn't this look like the cover of the book, "I Love You Forever"? Too funny.

 I had lunch last week with some of my former PHS friends. Sherrie just retired, and Gloria is visiting from Chile. She came to see her daughter who had just had a baby. The best part is, her daughter didn't know she was coming and was totally surprised. It has been two years since Gloria was in the States. Both of her daughters now have two kids.

 I finally let Little Miss in the sandbox. Yes, she did try to eat the sand the first time. We just keep the binky in when she is in the sandbox.

 Werty has been working this week on a plumbing problem. His exploratory meddling on Saturday caused it to start leaking. Tuesday we had another plumbing issue that came up, so Wednesday and Thursday he  removed the corroded trap in the upstairs bathtub plumbing, snaked the clogs, and now he is going to put in a new trap and pipes tonight. He was supposed to finish last night, so I could bathe the kiddos this morning, but he was short one piece of pipe. So, tonight. Here is Bear helping out his daddy. When Werty was buying the bigger wrench there, he bought a smaller, matching one for Bear. What a great daddy!

IB Program Cancelled

PSD has cancelled the IB program due to budget. It's a good thing I quit last year, because this alone would have made me want to quit. I know how difficult it was to get the program up and running, I watched it, I campaigned for it, I worked so hard to be a part of it. Without any discussion with the teachers involved, they informed them the program was over. It feels like the district really doesn't care about PHS, like they have given up on it academically. It's an "at-risk" school. Good thing they are getting that new football field, since kids at "at-risks" schools only get to college on athletic scholarships.

Three Day Weekend

If we just got done with a three day weekend, then why am I tired? :P It's been a while, so it's time for some pics.

 "Are you my Mummy?" - Dr. Who, The Impossible Child
 

  
 BooBear was having fun wearing Daddy's welding helmet.

 FHE and BBQ last night at our house. Here's what the little kids were doing during the FHE lesson:

 You'll recognize my son as the ring leader.

 Here Little Miss was trying to pull herself up today to see what her brother was doing.