Good Riddance, February

Well, maybe my title is a bit harsh. But I'm so ready for spring. We had nice weather on Sunday and the boys spent lots of time outside, helping Ed with yard work, riding their tricycles, playing on the playground. Today it rained most of the day, but the temperature was pretty mild. I'll take it. Tomorrow is supposed to be colder, but then Wednesday, a projected high of 63! And then back to colder on Thursday and Friday and the following week. Spring teasers for sure, but at least it's closer! We're hearing lots of birds in the morning, the days are getting longer. It's just around the corner!

What other random thoughts can I spew here? We looked at houses this weekend. I saw three that I would have been pretty happy to live in--one that I really really love. Ed is hesitant, though. I'm trying to be patient and I'm trying to not get all hung up on any one house because basically, I'll be pretty happy anywhere. I'm just frustrated because Ed seems incapable of making a decision. Yes, it's a huge deal and a HUGE amount of money, but we need to make a decision soon because we need to enroll William in kindergarten soon. We need to get him on waitlists for after-school care. It just seems like NOTHING will satisfy him. Ugh.

Over the weekend, I bought the first set of BOB books for William. He got the hang of reading them pretty quickly. It's mostly sight reading, but he can figure out the words by sounding out the first letter and the last letter. The best part was how excited he was that he was actually reading. It's a start anyway! He read one of the books out loud to his class today. I'm impressed! I think I've been underestimating him a bit.

I also bought the "My First Bob Books" for Seth, mostly because one of the charaters is named Seth. My Seth, of course, loves the books. There are 12 books in the box and we've already read them all twice. You gotta love vanity!

Back to William, he has discovered the Evolution of Dance video on You Tube. He loves it and watches it over and over. The funniest part is that he sings along to all the songs. He also loves the flash mob videos, especially the Michael Jackson tribute in Stockholm. I get worried when he starts browsing You Tube on my iPhone, though. There's a lot of, um, inappropriate stuff on there. I always make him hand me the phone if what he starts playing doesn't sound familiar.

Seth's birthday party is all booked. We're going in with two of his friends from school who have birthdays right before and right after him. Makes much more sense then figuring out who wants which weekend, and then having three separate parties. Yay for combining forces! We're doing it at Pump It Up, one of those big inflatable slide/jumpy/bounce places. Seth is excited. Now I need to get cracking on William's party. I think we're going to have it at his Taekwondo studio. But I need William to comfirm that it's definitely what he wants. I can't believe we're already making plans for their birthday parties! Forget birthday parties, I can't believe it's time to register William for kindergarten!!!

For my final thought, I made ribs last night and the boys ate them! They thought the rib bones were pretty cool. Yay for adding more meals to our repertoire. And speaking of food, I need to go figure out what to make tomorrow night. Ugh. I really hate having to figure out what to cook every night. Whether I do it night by night, or weekly, or monthly, it still sucks!!

Wednesday Randomness

• Ten minutes ago, I thought of at least three things to blog about in randomness. And now those things have escaped me. I guess this is how it is as I approach 40!
• Oh yeah--I remember one thing. William has been eating!!! This is pretty exciting. Last night I made meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes and he ate all of the meatloaf, all the green beans, and half of the mashed potatoes. (Eventually, the pull of the mashed potatoes got to him and he succumbed to playing with them. But he ate half of them!) Tonight, we made homemade pizza (with homemade whole wheat crust) and he ate his entire generously sized piece, along with a whole bunch of grapes. This morning he ate two waffles. Not to mention the three waffles he ate one morning at Laura's. I'm hoping this means he's having a growth spurt! He could use one. He only weighs 33 pounds!
• I fell off the bandwagon and bit my nails some time last week. Work is super busy right now, and there's a lot going on at the daycare center. Both have me pretty much completely absorbed during the day. Oh well. I'll just start over!
• Along with eating, William has been drawing like crazy. Today it was all about spaceships. Last week was volcanoes. He's been using the dry erase board on our easel, much to Seth's dismay. Seth likes to paint on the easel, and doesn't like to share it with his brother.
• Tonight was a very good night. I brought a huge box home for the boys to play in after work. They drew all over it and told me where to cut out windows. I love cheap entertainment! They also helped me make the pizza. After they ate, the happily cleaned up while I made them ice cream. (Except that Seth conveniently had to use the bathroom during the clean-up. That boy is so manipulating!) Little to no whining (except when they wanted sippy cups). No losing my patience and no yelling!
• We're getting the Incredibles for Friday night movie night. William hasn't seen it so he's going to be thrilled! I haven't seen it either. Looking forward to it.
• Seth was recounting something that happened in school today and he used "like" several times. As in, "he was like, 'oh no!' and I was like, 'yes!'" How does that word enter their vocabulary at such a young age??? Is it relentless???
• Government shutdown might occur week after next. Lots of decisions to be made as for whether or not our daycare will stay open. Best case scenario--work shuts down and daycare stays open. I'd gladly sacrifiice a few days of pay to have a few days to myself!!!

Weekend at Laura's

Over our long holiday weekend, we visited LauraC and her twins, Nate and Alex. To say we had a great time would be an understatement. William and Seth had a blast and I loved catching up with Laura and hanging out. Laura was the perfect hostess and I actually felt like I was on vacation. It didn't hurt that the weather was mild and sunny! The boys were really good and they got along really well with Nate and Alex. I also got to see HeatherV and meet Ben and Ian, which was icing on the cake. And as if all of that wasn't awesome enough, Laura took some pictures of the boys and me. Despite the fact that William and Seth were less than cooperative, she managed to get a few great shots, including the ones she posted on her site. I am so fortunate that THE Laura Case lives within driving distance!

I didn't bring my camera, but I got a few shots with my iPhone. Seth loved all the sports equipment in the Case's backyard.

William loved the light sabers! (Don't ask me about this pose though.)

And this is what four 4-year-old boys, a 2-year-old boy, and a 10-month-old boy look like together at the table:

Our trip almost didn't happen, though, due to sickness and car trouble. When Ed took the car to get the oil changed on Wednesday, they reminded him that he needed to replace the front brakes. Meanwhile, Seth continued to cough and cough, and it got worse by mid-week. On Thursday, I took Seth to the doctor and fortunately, his lungs sounded clear and his ears were fine. It's still the upper respiratory virus, but the doctor prescribed an oral steroid for him and suggested he stay home on Friday and lay low. So that's what we did. We hung around the house all day and he was noticeably better. Meanwhile, Ed got the brakes fixed on the car, and all the planets aligned. I had originally planned to visit both Laura in Cary, NC, and my mom and brother in Charlotte, but I didn't want to push things with the boys, so I decided to just go to Laura's for a 3-day trip. (She lives only 5 hours from here, while my mom and brother would take an additional 3 hours.) I'm glad we did that because it was nice to have today to recover and hang out. (The boys' daycare was closed today for teacher training.)

Seth's cough is better, but it's still not knocked out. And on Saturday, William started getting the sniffles again. I guess this would be back-to-back-to-back-to-back colds for us. Hopefully, we can get through the rest of this week without having to go to the doctor's office!

In the meantime, I left Laura's inspired to make a few changes in our house. First and foremost, no more sippy cups! It's funny how your second child often gets to do things or see things much earlier than your first child ever did. But on the other hand, sometimes your older child hangs onto things much longer than you would like because your second child extends the boundaries a bit. William LOVES his sippy cups and is loathe to give them up. And because we use sippy cups, we pretty much let them drink anywhere in the house. Thus the chocolate milk and juice stains all over the sofa in the living room. After being at Laura's with nary a sippy cup in sight, I realized I just need to rip the band-aid off. When we got home, I declared that sippy cups will only be used in the car. At home, we drink in the kitchen from regular cups. They both whined and complained about it all day. I did let them use straws, but they still wanted sippy cups. I stayed strong, though. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

The next thing to work on is getting them to play without me in the room. They are so freakin' attached to me, it's ridiculous. And you would never have known that while we were at Laura's. They left me alone there. (For the most part.) But at home, I can't be out of their sight for more than 3 minutes. Drives me crazy.

The third thing to work on is staying calm when the boys are pushing my buttons. Laura showed amazing discipline and restraint when one of her boys pushed her buttons all weekend. I was so impressed, and it reinforced what I already know--that getting upset and angry and then yelling does nothing to address the behavior and is very ineffective. Unfortunately, I was not very successful at remaining calm and unaffected today. But I will redouble my efforts tomorrow.

So to summarize, awesome relaxing weekend with Laura, Nate, and Alex. Professional pictures taken. Inspired to be a better mom. Boys still sick, but not so bad. And I almost forgot--newfound love for Trader Joe's! I dragged the boys there today and got a bunch of goodies. Score! Definitely could not have asked for a better weekend. Thanks a million Laura!!!

William 4.75 and Seth 2.75

I've been working on a post in my head about the boys--William at age 4.75 and Seth at age 2.75. I have lots to say about them, but I'm so freakin' drained at the end of the day, I just don't have the energy to make the words flow from my brain to the keyboard. So I'll have to aim for a brief summary. The best way to describe the boys at these ages is challenging.

William 4.75 is surley, saucey, obnoxious, demanding, and not always my favorite person. He talks back. He whines. He complains.He thinks it's hysterical to utter any word having to do with any bodily function or private body part. He thinks it's hysterical when he snorts while laughing. Which induces him to snort while laughing even more. He thinks that I was put on the earth to serve his every need, at the instant that he needs it. He thinks it's okay to punch his brother when his brother doesn't do what he tells him to.

Seth 2.75 is stubborn, argumentative, and prone to fit-throwing when we make him do something he doesn't want to do. He often thinks that the rules don't apply to him. And he's pretty confident that he can talk his way out of anything. He is demanding and not very good at entertaining himself. And did I mention the fit-throwing? Ah yes, I think I did.

Despite all of this, and thankfully so, there is still much to love about William 4.75 and Seth 2.75. William 4.75 is, for the most part, a very thoughtful and sweet boy. When I was sick, he spent hours drawing pictures for me to make me feel better. He has done the same for his favorite teacher, who recently lost her father. He also loves to giggle and is quick to laugh. He is curious and inquisitive and has a fabulous imagination. He loves his little brother and is very protective of him. He engages Seth in his imaginative play and he is, in fact, capable of negotiating with Seth and working out compromises. Much of the time I am proud of him.

Seth 2.75 is often too cute for words. And speaking of negotiating--if that kid does not end up as a lawyer, I will be shocked. He tries to talk his way out of everything. He is not super sensitive--things tend to roll off his back pretty easily. He is tough and independent. Although he definitely enjoys the company of other people. He is also very affectionate and very funny. He likes to walk around with no pants and one sock on. That's just his thing. He loves his brother, but he doesn't take any you-know-what from William. He has learned, however, how to play the victim when William lashes out at him. He has quite the dramatic flair. Like his brother, he is thoughtful. And he is super helpful, in the way that 2 year olds can be helpful.

It's really hard to reconcile how crazy you are about your kids with how crazy they can make you. Each phase of their lives has the good, the bad, and the ugly. Making it through the bad and the ugly and hanging on for dear life to the good is what parenting is all about. Really, that's what life is all about. Fortunately, the good tends to linger long after the bad has been forgotten.

The Money Shot

The weather warmed up today (into the 50s) and we FINALLY got to play outside for an extended period fo time. We got out the trikes and the boys had a blast. I grabbed my camera, and while I know this won't win any photography contests,  I LOVE this picture.

They have been playing together so much lately. William wanted to wake Seth up from his nap this afternoon because he wanted to play "helicopter" with Seth. It is gratifying to be at this stage, to see the relationship developing between the two of them. They fight all the time, don't get me wrong. But I don't think it's going out on a limb to say that they are friends.

As far as my lack of posting goes, we've been busy. The boys are still coughing a bit, and I've got another sinus infection, but it seems like we're all on the road to better. I'm swamped at work and my house is a wreck and I'm definitely not getting enough sleep. But we've got a plan for that! More on all of that later. For now, I'll revel in a good weekend and hope that everything else falls into place.

February Not Turning Out as I Had Hoped

So February has started out much the same as January ended--with sickness. Seth caught another cold last week that started with a bad cough and ended up with wheezing. He went to school for part of the week, but we were home on Monday and Friday. William started showing cold symptoms on Thursday. Or maybe it was Wednesday, Hard to keep track. At first it just seemed like an average cold. But this weekend he started wheezing. And last night he spiked a fever. So home again yesterday and today. (Yesterday with me, today with Ed.) 

We went to the doctor yesterday and she ruled out ear infection and strep. She sent us to get a chest x-ray to determine if he has pneumonia. William did such a great job. I had Seth with me, so we had to wait outside the room while the technician took William to get the x-rays. He wasn't the slightest bit concerned that I wasn't going in with him. They let him pick out stickers when he was done, and he got one each for Seth, Daddy, and me. So sweet!

So anyway, the doctor called a short time later to say that the x-ray showed no pneumonia. So she diagnosed him with a viral-induced infection that caused asthma flare-up. She prescribed an oral steroid and said if he has a bad night, we should give him the oral steroid for the next 3-5 days.

In the meantime, I started feeling bad again on Saturday. Great! Fortunately, it's just a cold so far--enough to make me tired and grumpy, but not enough to allow me to stay in bed all day. Seth, meanwhile, is still coughing away, but otherwise seems fine. Nevermind that he has been throwing monster fits lately, crying so hard that he can't stop crying. He cried this morning on the way to school for 20 minutes and I had to carry him into school screaming. Not fun. His teacher said he calmed down quickly, so that's something, right? Man, this parenting gig is hard.

So that's where we are. Good thing I breastfed, right? (Note the sarcasm.) William is supposed to outgrow this whole asthma thing, and we're still waiting. If it gets much worse, I may have to pull on FMLA leave to get through this winter. Not good. But to keep things in perspective, they could be soooo much worse. If viral-induced asthma is the worst of my troubles, then my life must be pretty damn good. For now, we'll just keep hoping that tomorrow will be a better day.

Show Me the Mommy--Mommy Style

I FINALLY asked Ed to take a picture of the boys and me. It wasn't easy. They didn't exactly cooperate. But it's a picture of me and my boys, so I'll take it!

Happy weekend!

Wednesday Randomness--on Thursday

• Bridget's surgery went well and she is on the road to recovery. Thanks for your prayers and kind thoughts! In true Bridget fashion, her final thoughts expressed to me before her surgery were: "Please don't let me wake up with a headache." Hopefully, the pain meds are doing their job!
• Ed stayed home with Seth yesterday (Tuesday) because he was still coughing a LOT, and because I was afraid he'd go to school and tell everyone how he threw up the night before. Even though the vomiting was caused by mucus and gagging, I didn't really want to have to explain that to his teachers and the director. His teacher was already less than thrilled that he was at school on Monday. Not to mention the fact that now that I'm president of the board at our daycare, I feel like I have to adhere to a bit of a higher standard. Fortunately, he's better today, not coughing nearly as much. Hopefully he'll have a good day!
• I still haven't bitten my nails. Woo-hoo! I have to admit that it's getting harder. I keep reminding myself that it's cold and flu season, and really, it's disgusting to be biting my nails this time of year!
• Dinner this week is going well, even without a plan. I made salmon and asparagus on Sunday, with my own butter/garlic/white wine/dill/lemon juice sauce. It was pretty good! I rarely stray from recipes and wing it, so I was pretty psyched it turned out well. On Monday we did waffles and sausage and fruit. And last night, I made fried chicken, broccoli, and biscuits. Tonight I may be winging it a bit. Maybe chicken nuggets for the boys. They're homemade, so it's not as bad as it sounds!
• I'm signing William up for ice skating lessons. I'm debating on whether to sign Seth up for ice skating, too. I was thinking I'd sign him up for soccer. But it would be nice to have the two of them taking the same class together. I'm also trying to decide which class to sign them up for--weekend or weekday. Since William already takes taekwondo on Saturdays, I don't want to overload his weekends. I could sign them both up for a Wednesday night ice skating class that starts at 6:30, but I might need to leave work a little early to make it there in time to get both boys in their skates. And that would definitely make for a late night once we eat dinner and get home. Not the end of the world, but something to consider. I could sign William up for a Sunday class. There's only one time-slot available right now, so that would leave Seth out. But I could sign Seth up for soccer and let him wait on the ice skating. Decisions, decisions.
• I never finished this post yesterday (Wednesday) so I'm wrapping it up today (Thursday).
• I decided to sign both boys up for ice skating on Wednesday nights starting Mar. 2. The class goes for 6 weeks. After that, soccer starts, so I'll sign Seth up for a Saturday morning class. Woo-hoo! I hope the boys both like it and it doesn't kill us.
• I never did post about the snow storm that hit DC last week (or was it the week before that) right during rush hour. It had been raining all morning, and then it turned to wet, heavy snow. The rain had washed the salt and sand and chemicals off the roads, so everything turned into a slippery, awful mess, and traffic turned into a HUGE nightmare. Ed ended up staying in his office all night because he could not get onto the road that would take him home. There were cars stuck everywhere, and no one could go anywhere. It took people on average 4-5 hours to get home. Luckily, I left work at 3:00 p.m., just as the snow was starting, and it only took us an hour to get home. I've never been so thankful in my whole life!
• I think that's all for now.
  

My Thoughts Are with Bridget

My friend Bridget is undergoing brain surgery today to remove a tumor from her pituitary gland. Her quality of life over the last several years has suffered greatly, and I hope and pray (as much as I'm a praying person) that this surgery will be successful, without complications, and that she can begin the journey to getting her life back. Bridget is an amazing and strong woman, and I don't doubt for a second that she will get through this. She is the epitome of a steel magnolia--gracious and charming and stylish and one of the funniest people I know, and at the same time, smart as a whip and tough as nails. But if you can send your thoughts and prayers her way, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt. I mean, it is brain surgery, after all.