I'm An Ingrate...

Maybe not an ingrate, but certainly guilty of not making any Thanksgiving related gratitude posts last week. What can I say? I was so grateful for my family, home, (Daniel's job especially during this economic season) etc.. That I spent the whole week enjoying them, instead of blogging. Here's a quick recap...you know because despite the fact that I use this forum as a soapbox to ramble about random things, it's still primarily a family journal. Boring, I know.

We spent some time hanging out as a family early last week, and Daniel actually made considerable progress on the mantle. Shocking and exhilarating. X learned to crawl and sit up from the floor by himself. He's all over the house now. J learned to ride her bike with no training wheels. She's practically a professional after practicing for a few days.

(I made my first attempt at Key Lime Pie with help from my juicing squad.)We spent Thanksgiving at my parents' house. I took practically no pictures. On Friday "the cousins" came over for a play date and lunch. We made Christmas ornaments and faux gingerbread houses. It was fun. I've decided I want my niece to come live with me. She's so cute and sweet, I could squeeze her to death. No offense to her brothers, they're cute too. :)

Our first Saturday since soccer season ended was quite productive. We spent a lot of time outside, and I am almost finished with J's Christmas stocking. Here is a photo of Coach Daniel and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And that brings us back to Sunday. This Sunday I am grateful for the blessings that we enjoy daily. A loving family, a comfortable home, a good job, the constant emotional support from Grammy/Grampy, the list could go on forever. I often feel undeserving of the depth and breadth of it all. I feel like all that I can do is try to pay some of it forward, as I could never pay it all back.

We hope you all had a great week too! There is much to be done before Christmas, but I'll be back. I'm anxious to get this wisdom teeth business over with on Tuesday, so that I can be done with medical stuff. Hooray!

No More Baby Tub

Someone doesn't need the baby tub anymore. Try not to be blinded by his handsomeness...I know it's really difficult. You may need to shield your eyes.

Running the Streets

With the rate our family is growing, we look to be forming some type of suburban street gang. We'll be taking applications soon, but I warn you, there may be hazing. J has been practicing riding B's old bike with no training wheels. Eventually, we'll take the training wheels off of her new bike (once she's confident enough to ride to school without training wheels).
She's taken to it quite well. I hadn't noticed L stunting on her Dora 4 wheeler in the background until I loaded this picture into the computer.A self portrait of the photo crew. If I don't turn the camera around once in awhile, I won't have any photographic evidence of my own existence.

Dusty Camera

My camera has been suffering from lack of use lately. I feel like I've barely taken any pictures in weeks. I need to remedy that.

The girls have the whole week off of school for Thanksgiving, and we started out this morning by cleaning the house. They mopped and did the upstairs, I vacuumed, cleaned bathrooms, and washed sheets. It's good to have a clean house, it relaxes me.

Now that the "babies" are down for naps,and everyone had lunch, we just played a few rounds of Hit the Deck, and are all using our computers. J needed me to log her in to Pixie Hollow, a big favorite around here. She needed to create a new screen name though. When I asked her what I should put, without a moment's hesitation she said, "Rachel DaisyWings." Ummm...okay. What? does she have a secret bank of aliases stored in her brain for just such an occasion as this? She's such a nut.

Daniel is working half days today and tomorrow, so I am anxiously awaiting his arrival so that I can escape to the grocery store. Tomorrow afternoon I have my appointment with the oral surgeon and then we schedule my wisdom teeth extraction.

Happy Monday!

For Those Who Are Following

For those following along with my medical saga, the CAT scan came back fine I guess. "No further evaluation necessary." Hopefully that's the end of that annoying series of tests.

I Stuck

L keeps buckling herself into the baby swing. The only problem is that she can't unbuckle it. She does it over and over, each time saying "I STUCK!" until I get her out. Rinse, repeat, ad nauseam.

Equations

Sometimes, I feel like I'm in a movie. As we were sitting waiting FOREVER for my CAT scan today, Daniel was doing his usual nonsense. He was writing and calculating equations all over the back of the magazine he was reading, all the while carrying on a conversation with me. I will never understand how his mind works, I will never understand any of the equations that he writes. He drives me absolutely insane most of the time, but darn it if the brilliance doesn't still give me the butterflies sometimes. I wonder if this is abnormal. I wonder what unusual things other people are attracted to in their spouses. I can't be the only one. Now, if only I could find the magical trick to make him finish some of the household projects that he has started. Sigh, I need to hire a handyman.

CAT Scan

I had a CAT scan today on my neck/lymph nodes...and it was not fun. First I had to sit for 2 hours because despite the fact that my Dr sent me the referral form, they somehow forgot to call and authorize the procedure with my insurance company. Two and a half hours after my appointment time, I finally got in for my scan. Two scans actually. The first one was easy. Then, they did the iodine one. When they turned on the iodine into my veins, I felt like someone lit my entire body on fire, and then I couldn't breathe. I managed to stay still until she rolled me out of the machine, and then I threw up 5 times. Lame. Hopefully, it will turn out normal. Next up, wisdom teeth removal. The consult is next week. If I never see another Dr again, it will be too soon.

Milestones

X is army crawling now. He also does a normal crawl...backwards. He spends a lot of time bouncing on his hands and knees as if he is going to crawl, then slides backwards. Rolling and tummy scooting are his primary methods of travel. He also cut his first tooth this weekend. He's growing up!

What Goes Around Comes Around

I've noticed a trend the past couple of years. Everything that I wore in middle school is coming back into style. I think that makes me officially old. If only I still had that pair of paisley parachute pants with matching shirt from Burdines...no...on second thought that would still be hideous. I did read that Hypercolor is back in style though, you know you had one. Let's just be honest.

I'm expecting any day now my daughters will be asking me to help them peg their pants and find them some Sam and Libby ballet flats with the giant bow, or some of those Bass moccasin shoes. I hope they don't want me to make the beehive shaped laces. I never managed to acquire that skill and it may come back to haunt me yet.

B came home today showing off the snap bracelet that she got out of the treasure box at school. Ahhh...snap bracelets, I remember you well. I think my mom drove all over Palm Beach County trying to find me some snap bracelets (circa 1990). They were a hot item and therefore hard to come by. I think we finally found one at a Ben Franklin Crafts (do those exist anymore?). It had yellow smiley faces all over it. Good times. I may have to hunt some down for stocking stuffers this year since I saw J-bean eyeing it like it was magical. I hope I don't need a time machine to find them.

The Best Kind Of Day

After the big girls and Daniel left this morning, and I finished cleaning up the kitchen and feeding the baby, L decided we should take a walk. It has been raining extensively for the past day or two and I knew everything would be wet, but we decided to take an impromptu walk anyway.

She grabbed two of her stuffed animals and placed them gently in her spot in the jogging stroller telling me in no uncertain terms that she would be walking not riding. That's a new development. I practically had to pry B&J's behinds out of the stroller with a shoe horn when they were over 5 years old (they're still bitter about it too). We headed out toward the park, splashing in puddles, and picking up red leaves and moldy sticks to examine. When we finally got there she played and played, including mastering the rock climbing structure up to the high slide.

The weather is beautiful. 75 degrees, balmy, with a slight hint of fresh coolness in the air. The best kind of day. I love Texas in November. I also love it when an unplanned event comes together so well. I finally bribed her to come home with the promise of a snack and Elmo. The walk home was even slower than the walk there. At one point her stuffed bear must have felt fussy because she picked him up out of the stroller and patted him while she walked. Then, we heard a train and she held him up high above her head and said, "Twain? Heawr Twain?". She has a strong mothering instinct. When J was throwing up all day Friday, she sat behind her and patted her on the back and talked to her softly while she was face down in the bucket. Her personality is just too much sometimes. It's like she's daring the world not to love her. Impossible.

Another One Bites The Dust

X and I are sick with a cold/fever. J&L have been sick with this horrible vomiting thing since Friday morning. I assume its the same thing affecting us differently, Daniel thinks it's 2 different illnesses. Daniel and B have remained healthy...until now...B started throwing up a few minutes ago. The fun never ends around here.

Nerd Watching

I have an unintentional and long standing hobby of nerd watching. It's like bird watching, but more fun. I trace the roots of this hobby back to 1995, when I spent quite a bit of time quietly observing the boy in my psychology class who NEVER worked with a partner during group work. I think you all know how that turned out.

Nerds fascinate me. I think it's the combination of brilliance and not caring about what other people think of you that does me in. I admire those qualities. I love quirkiness in general, and when I discovered the nerd variety of quirkiness 13 years ago, I was done for, and I have the t-shirt to prove it...I recently had the opportunity to indulge my habit when I showed up for my annual flu shot at Daniel's company campus and had to sit outside for awhile waiting for him (you know since I don't have a security badge a.k.a. nerd credentials). I was able to observe 3 nerd species on this particular day. Lunch time outside of a tech company is a prime nerd watching time by the way, in case you want to take up the hobby.

Foreign Nerds: Nerds know no nationality. They come from every country in the world. I love hearing all of the different accents in a group of nerds, it's like an auditory rainbow. I still don't understand most of what they're saying, but that is not due to the accents, it's due to the nonsensical words that all nerds love to string together when they are with their own kind.

Head Nerd: In a group of nerds, there is often a head nerd. He is usually slightly older and more assertive than the other nerds. You can often spot him by the rounded belly that is evident in his nerd uniform. If you are not familiar with the dress code, it involves a tucked in button up or golf shirt, and belted Docker style pants, pocket protector is optional (but always a highlight when you spot one)

Camouflage Nerd: This type of nerd is tricky. He shuns the nerd uniform and goes for an almost normal dress code. He can carry on a conversation about things like sports or music when he wants to. You might not realize he is a nerd at all, then sooner or later he will open his mouth, and out will come a litany of indecipherable words and phrases. He is sneaky, and you must be a careful nerd watcher to identify his subtle cues if you are watching from afar.

It was a productive session. And then I spotted him, my own personal nerd, coming to escort me into nerd headquarters and take me out to lunch. I don't know what I would do without him, I do love the nerds, and that love has profoundly affected the course of my life.

House of Horrors

Today is going to stink. It's 8:30am and I've cleaned up vomit 3 times already. J is home from school, L is doing it too. I'm just waiting for B to end up coming down with it while she is at school. I heard that there was a stomach thing going around yesterday, it didn't take long to arrive here.

I absolutely hate vomit. I almost never do it, and luckily my kids almost never do either. I can recall only 3 times in my entire child rearing experience that they've come down with a throwing up sickness. Yuck!

Useless Fact

Work is a little slow this afternoon. I just ate a Reese's peanut butter cup with 3 pieces of corrugated paper on it. It was testing me to see how badly I wanted to eat it by making me remove layer after surprising layer of paper.

This blog has been primarily about candy for the past week. Sad, but I'm feeling un-bloggy. I may have to break out my story/observations about my Nerd Watching habit tomorrow. It's better than discussing politics right?

Another reason I haven't been terribly productive lately. This little one is killing me with cuteness...
"Mama, you pay wif me?" "Mama, pay wif me, us-stairs. Come on." Like that isn't going to work every time! I've spent too much time playing recently. I'm trying to teach her to bump the puck in air hockey instead of catching, throwing and turning her paddle sideways.

Dare I Say It?

I think (knock on wood) that X is finally past his screaming at all times when not being held phase. It was a looooooooong phase for him. The past few days he has finally been rolling around all over the floor and playing with toys, instead of screaming until I come back and pick him up. It took at least 2 weeks of putting him down for occasional 15 minute periods and letting him freak out, but I think it finally worked.

We talked about Gratitude for FHE last night and decorated J's turkey project for school. It's a kindergarten thing that B did 2 years ago also. They send home a turkey and later a tree, and you are supposed to decorate it as a family. J enjoyed being the one to dictate the project. We all gave her ideas and she approved or denied what we could work on.

Confessions

1. I put the bag of Reese's peanut butter cups at the bottom of the candy to hand out on Halloween on purpose.

2. I was secretly pleased when Trunk or Treat ended just as I was approaching the Reese's.

3. I ate an unfortunate number of them during nap today while I was working, and now I want to hurl.

...L's awake...back to my real job.

Halloween 2008

L and I carved her pumpkin and X's during the school day. She's deadly with a pumpkin saw.

J punching out her dragon pattern. They punched their patterns and asked me to saw them out. I tried to talk them into carving their own simple pattern, but they had high aspirations. So high in fact, that my smallest pumpkin saw gave up the ghost. She served me well for many a Halloween, it's time for a replacement.

They are wearing the tie dyed pumpkin shirts that we made last week. They didn't turn out exactly like they were supposed to, but they still liked them. This is the pose J struck when I said, "show me your shirt". She looks like she's having some sort of episode.

We made "witch's brew" drinks and personal pizzas before we got dressed and headed out.



We stopped to pillage and plunder Grammy's house first, then proceeded to trunk or treat.



As if this photo isn't bad enough, Daniel unwrapped the lollipop and gave it back to him! I'm pretty sure that is not an American Association of Pediatrics approved infant food.

I didn't have my tripod with me, so this is a blurry shot of some of the pumpkins.

We hope y'all had a great Halloween!