Welcome Back

After an entire week off from work (which I haven't had since maternity leave with Seth), I have to admit that I woke up this morning with some small sense of dread. My "vacation" was pretty nice, if you leave out the part where I had a raging sinus infection all week, but it was also a bit exhausting. The thought of the morning scramble and dropping the kids off at school and picking up where I left off at work--well, let's just say I wanted to pull the covers over my head and not have to face anything.

But instead I went through the motions and only yelled at the boys three times before we even got out the door and only choked back tears once, when Seth had a total meltdown when I dropped him off, and only avoided one task at work that I've been avoiding for two weeks. So not a terrible day, really. What I need to do now is go to sleep, but I thought of some things I wanted to write about, before I forget entirely.

• I've been on antibiotics, Sudafed, and ibruprofin for my sinus infection since Friday, but I'm still in pain. On Wednesday night, the night we stayed in the hotel, I was in so much pain, I thought I might have to go to the ER. I slept upright in a chair while Ed slept on the pull-out couch and the boys each got their own double bed. (They both slept great, btw--and they both ended up sleeping horizontally on their bed.) I finally started feeling better at 4:00 a.m. Since then, I've had a lot of pain in my ears, teeth, and facial bones. I'm SO tired of feeling awful!
• Seth has started stuttering. He just does it when he first starts a sentence. His teacher said it's common when kids experience a language explosion. Their brains work faster than their mouths. It's pretty cute, actually, but we're keeping a close eye on it, too.
• Seth is still using the potty off and on. He hasn't asked to wear underwear, but he has no problem pulling his diaper off. Mabye this weekend I'll put him in underwear and see what happens.
• Ed and I got a babysitter again on Saturday night so we could go out for Ed's birthday. We saw a movie (Switch) and ate Thai food. We had a nice time.
• I'm trying to get back on trace with menu planning this week. I stocked up on meat at the grocery store over the weekend, so I have plenty to work with. But I've been pretty lazy about prepping the night before. I've also been a little lax on the food waste. Tonight I threw out some leftover steak and chicken that we never finished, some bacon that we didn't use up, and half a bag of salad that we didn't finish. That's a lot of waste!
• On Friday I was planning on taking the boys to a lake about 2 hours from our house, but I went to the Minute Clinic in the morning for my sinus infection and the day got off track. So instead, we went to a local pool that has fountains and slides and a sand play area, and the boys LOVED it. We stayed there for almost 5 hours. I may take them again this weekend and drag Ed with us.
• I've already started thinking about Christmas and what Santa will bring the boys this year. William is so easy to shop for and Seth is so hard. Seth is really into art so Santa may have to bring him an easel. William found a Polar Express train set and I think he's talked his grandmother into buying it for him. I think Santa might bring William some more blocks and a viewfinder. But there's still plenty of time!

I guess that's enough for now. Time for bed and a repeat performance tomorrow, hopefully without the yelling, tears, and pain.

We Survived Sesame Place

We survived! And we even had fun. I don't even know where to begin. I'm exhausted, I think I have an ear infection in addition to a sinus infection, Ed says he has a sore throat. But the boys? They're awesome. They had a great time. But in hindsight, I don't think an amusement park is really for them. They're not crazy into rides. In fact, on most of the rides we stood in line for, either Seth or William bolted at the last minute. The only rides Seth went on were the teacups, the rambling river (which he did not really enjoy), and the slimey chutes water ride. William enjoyed the dry rides, but he wasn't interested in all of them. He rode the roller coaster twice (it's tiny--very mild), but put his head down and closed his eyes the whole time. He bolted at the slimey chutes ride. But he loved the rambling river (floating in innertubes along a waterway). They both loved the bounce house, and they loved this area that had huge punching bags that they could run through like a maze. They loved the spray park. And William's favorite spot, where he spent a good hour or more today, was this area filled with sand for digging. He could have stayed there all day.

But backing up a bit, the drive there took much longer than anticipated--4 hours rather than 3. When we got there, the weather was overcast and cool, but lots of people were still doing the water rides. We didn't wear our swimsuits to the park, though, so we stuck to all the dry stuff on Wednesday. At first we kind of meandered around, aimless. The park was not crowded at all, which was really nice. The lines for rides were not long at all. We saw a few characters (Bert, Cookie and Telly, Zoey, The Count) and William loved having his picture taken with them. Seth wanted nothing to do with them, except when we were walking away, and then he'd wave at them madly and shout "Goodbye Bert Bye Zoey!" At 2:00 we watched the parade. At 3:30 we saw a live show, Elmo Rocks. By this time, the boys looked almost comatose, so we talked about leaving and going to see Megan and Sam and Seren and Wyeth. William was gung ho. But then we passed by the merry-go-round and the boys wanted to ride on it. Then we passed the big play area, and the boys perked up, and that was it. They wanted to stay, William wanted to ride more rides, Seth wanted to climb in the nets. So we had to bail on Megan and family. I was bummed, but in hindsight, I'm glad we stayed because the boys had a blast playing and I felt like we really got our money's worth. We finally left the park at 6:45 that night, but not before getting more pictures with Elmo and Abby Cadabby.

Today's weather was beautiful--sunny and highs in the mid-80s. We put on our swimsuits and sunscreen and headed to the park. We got there before it opened and stood in line. LOTS more people were there today so lines were long. We did the rambling river and slimey chutes today, but that was it. We spent the rest of the time at the splash pad and the sandy beach area. We finally left the park for home around 1:30 and got on the road at 1:45. Seth was alseep before we hit the highway and he actually slept for about 2 hours, which I have never seen him do in the car. William fell asleep, too, for about an hour. We hit rush hour traffic between Baltimore and DC (great timing) and didn't get home until 6:00 p.m. (great timing, huh?), but we survived! We had fun. The boys had lots of fun. And next time, we'll just go to the beach. :-)

So now, pictures. Note Seth's buzz cut. I took him on Tuesday after school and asked the guy to cut it short. Yikes! He looks cute, though. The rest of the pictures are self-explanatory.

Case of the Crazies

Blogging has taken a back seat to life. My minor cold turned full blown and yesterday, I was miserable. Thank goodness I already had the day off from work. I took the kids to school and came home and slept for three hours. But my plan to clean the house from top to bottom went out the window. Instead, I swept and mopped the kitchen floor and vacuumed the main level. Good enough.

I'm home today, too, and feeling much better, but I'm a teensy bit stressed because I'm trying to get us ready for our trip to Sesame Place tomorrow. We're planning on leaving bright and early, at 7:00 a.m. But because nothing can ever go quite as smoothly as we would wish, the weather tomorrow has decided not to cooperate. It will be rainy in the morning, overcast and cool all day. Which is actually kind of great for amusement park weather. Except when the amusement park is mostly water rides. By cool, I mean mid-70s. I think it will be too cool to want to play in the water. Plus there could be scattered showers. My fervent hope is that the park will be very uncrowded, it will be overcast, but it won't rain, we will have fun on all the dry rides and won't have to stand in line, we will see the parade and a live show or two, and then we will leave the park in the late afternoon and then will get to see Megan and Sam and Seren and Wyeth for dinner, and then on Thursday, the sun will come out, we'll go back to the park for the wet rides, and we'll head home in the afternoon, exhausted but happy. Is that too much to ask?

Now the big question is, what the heck do I pack? I had been planning to go to the park in bathing suits, water shoes, and coverups. But that's not really going to do now. I guess I'll put the boys in shorts and t-shirts with a light jacket. And we'll just bring swim suits and towels just in case. And maybe on Thursday, we'll want to wear the swim suits to the park. I did get snacks and drinks and will make a picnic lunch for us to eat tomorrow. I've read so many reviews of the park, it makes my head spin. But almost all of them say the food is super expensive and not very good. So why waste the money? As for the plan to see Megan and Sam and family, I really really hope it works out. But not knowing how long we will want to stay at the park, and not knowing how the day will go and how grumpy the boys might be, we are playing it by ear. Megan and Sam have been gracious enough to plan for us to come, but to understand if we don't make it. (Thanks Megan!)

As for the rest of my life, the boys are doing well. Seth is still randomly using the potty, both at school and at home. It makes me wonder if I should try to put him in underwear this weekend and see what happens. Can't really hurt, right? I'm just not sure I have the energy for it. William has been super obnoxious lately--lots of potty mouth and saying "stupid." We'll see how he does on the trip. Last weekend was a bit crazy--two birthday parties, a baby naming ceremony for one of Ed's friends, an open house for a house that we all loved (but we are a bit gun-shy and do not want to move too quickly), me getting sicker each day, and no naps for anyone. On Saturday morning, I drove the boys to William's taekwondo class, only to realize that it was closed last week for summer vacation. Then we drove home and then to William's birthday party, only to realize that it started 30 minutes later than I thought. So no taekwondo for William, no Zoom Around the Room for Seth, and way too much car time for mom. On Sunday, William and Ed went to the baby naming ceremony and Seth and I stayed home (since I sounded horrible, by this point). But then we had to meet Ed and William at the lunch later so that we could switch cars and kids, and I took William to the birthday party and Ed took Seth home.

So that should bring you up to date. Hopefully I will return with tons of great pictures and stories about what an awesome trip we had. On Friday, I was hoping to take the kids to a local lake to give them a chance to dig in the sand and play on a "beach." Not the same as a real beach, but the next best thing, right? I guess we'll just play it by ear. In the meantime, send us good weather vibes and wish us lots of luck!

Phone Photo Friday

Seth has continued to use the potty off and on during the day. Sometimes he wants to wear underwear, sometimes he wants a diaper. He's happy to wear underwear over his diaper, which makes things much easier for us. (Sort-of, unless he constantly want to pull off his diaper to use the potty.) We're just following his lead and we'll see what happens. I shot this picture two nights ago when he wanted to see himself in underwear.

And because I don't want to leave William out, I thought I'd mention his love of blocks. He LOVES to build with blocks. If I could only keep one of our toys, it would be our set of blocks. Here are two of his recent creations:

Sometimes he builds a parking garage, sometimes it's an apartment building. The one above was a train station. My SIL gave this set of blocks to William as a gift. They were hand-made by a neighbor of hers, who doesn't make them anymore. I'd kill for another set!

Thanks, I Needed That!

Ed had to work late tonight so I was solo for the evening routine. Normally this isn't a big deal, but I feel like crap and was NOT looking forward to the evening. The boys, however, were close to perfect. When we got home, Seth painted with dot paints while William alternated between playing in the playroom and the family room. I put dinner together between helping Seth put paint caps back on and helping William do whatever it was he was trying to do. They watched a Backyardigans episode and William did his nebulizer treatment while I finished up dinner, and then we sat down and ate together. After dinner we did bath and books without any drama. And both boys were in their beds asleep by 8:00 p.m. Such a relief!

Our other big news of the day was that Seth pooped and peed on the potty at school today! He told his teacher he needed to go, ran to the bathroom and pulled down his shorts and undid his diaper, and proceeded to use the potty. That's huge! When he got home, he used the potty again, and then wanted to put on underwear, so I let him. He peed on the potty several more times throughout the night. He's still very young, so I'm not deluded into thinking that he's close to being PT'd. But this is pretty big progress. I'm not convinced he can really tell when he needs to go, but maybe I'm wrong. In the meantime, I'll keep encouraging him and letting him wear underwear whenever he wants. The prospect of no more diapers makes me giddy! Of course, then there's the thoughts of accidents which brings me down to Earth again. I guess there's always a light at the end of the tunnel, though!

Home Again, Home Again . . .

William was still running a low fever yesterday so I stayed home with him today. Seth stayed home, too, since daycare is 20 miles from here. William was better today. Still coughing, but not the seal-bark cough, and no fever. So if he has a good night, he'll go back to school tomorrow. Today he said he misses school. I miss it, too. Especially considering William's favorite words of late are stupid, poop, pee-pee, and penis. Lovely!

We didn't do very much today. We went to the library and then made a quick grocery stop for milk, OJ, apple juice, and diapers. We made oatmeal flax cookies that didn't turn out very well (imo). The boys seemed to like them, so we'll see if they get eaten. I figure they'll be good for breakfast. Other than that, the boys watched TV and played. It was too hot to play outside. But we did manage to take a family walk to the water fountain after dinner.

Seth is starting to really get engaged in imaginative play with William. Today they were running around the house pretending they were on a space shuttle. Then they built a space pod with the couch cushions. When we made cookies, one was licking the beater and one was licking the spoon and they started sticking the cookie dough on each other's faces and hair, and they giggled hysterically.It's gratifying to see them playing together. That's not to say they get along particularly well, though. I don't know if they fight any more or less than average siblings, but William gets physical with Seth very quickly when Seth doesn't listen to him. And Seth doesn't have much respect for William's space. So it's inevitable that I break up fights every day. William sometimes says that he's not going to be Seth's brother anymore. Or he'll tell me he doesn't want a brother anymore. But then I'll catch William giving Seth a hug and saying, "I love you in the whole wide world!" So I guess they're okay. I tell them often that brothers are friends and that brothers take care of each other. We'll see if that sticks.

I'm off to bed. I'm afraid I've caught the croup bug. So far I just have cold symptoms, so let's hope it stays that way. We have a big week next week with our Sesame Place trip coming up. I guess it's good to get all the sickies out of our systems now!

Menu Plan Monday -- August 16

I did a mini-run to the grocery store this past weekend instead of a big shop. But instead of going back to the store this week, I'm going to try to get through the week with what's on hand. We don't have much in the way of fresh fruit or veggies, but there's enough to get by.

Sunday: Frozen pizza and grapes

Monday: Steak, corn on the cob, broccoli, biscuits

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner (french toast, waffles, bacon, eggs) with fruit

Wednesday: Lemon mustard chicken tenders, green beans, stuffing

Thursday: Meatballs subs (with turkey meatballs)

Friday: Shells and cheese, broccoli (I think I'll make boiled shrimp for Ed and me)

Saturday: TBD--hopefully seafood but maybe more chicken

Another One Bites the Dust, and a Very Happy Anniversary

This time it's William. He now has croup (I'm assuming it's croup) and after reading Lindsay's blog, I'm really hoping it's not strep! I thought we were out of the woods because it's been two weeks since Seth was sick and William hadn't shown any symptoms. But on Thursday night, William didn't sleep very well and he felt warm. But he was okay on Friday morning--good mood and no fever. So he went to school. His teachers said he had a great day, but when we got home, I noticed he felt hot and sure enough, he had a temperature of 101.

He has been great though--you wouldn't know that he was sick. On Saturday, we had to skip the blueberry/raspberry picking with Ed's family (Ed's sister and their 3 boys are in town) which was soooo disappointing. Ed and Seth went, but we didn't tell William that they went picking because I know he would have been so upset. This morning, William started with the seal-bark coughing, and I was worried that we might need to take him to the ER for steroids. But after some ibruprofin, he seemed a lot better. He mostly laid low and watched TV all day. Ed went to his family's in the afternoon for crabs and burgers while I stayed home with both boys. We didn't tell William where Ed was, and decided to keep Seth home, too. It sucks that William didn't get to see his cousins. But what can you do. Ed will stay home with William tomorrow and take him to the doctor.

Although William was sick, Ed and I still went out for our anniversary dinner. We had a great evening and a really good meal and a really expensive, but totally worth it, bottle of wine. We didn't even finish the bottle and I was more than a bit tipsy. We corked the bottle and brought it home, so we'll be able to enjoy another glass sometime this week. I didn't even manage to write a special "happy anniversary" post to Ed, but the sentiment that I feel every year on our anniversary is still burning bright. He still makes me laugh, he still inspires me, I love the father that he is to our boys, and I love the partnership that we have become. Thanks for six amazing years, sweetie! I can't wait to see where the next six will take us. I love you!

Phone Photo Friday

William's class has a listening station where kids can listen to stories and follow along with the book. In the mornings, Seth loves to go upstairs to William's classroom first, before going to his own classroom. When he discovered the listening station, he made himself comfortable. I sometimes think Seth has no idea that he's actually younger than William.

Summer's Not Over Yet, and Small Victories

Although we all feel summer winding down, it's not over yet. Since I get to leave work early, we left work/daycare today and headed straight for the pool. I had gotten everything together this morning and put it in the car, including snacks for dinner. We had a great time. We spent a lot of time in the big pool, and Seth jumped from the side of the pool, holding onto my hands, and went completely under the water, over and over again. He loved it. William watched him, and asked him if he liked it. And he even told Seth he was proud of him. But William is still very scared of getting his head wet. On Sunday, he slipped and accidentally went under the water and it scared the crap out of him. He didn't freak out, and we talked about how it wasn't a big deal, and he was fine. But today, he was especially cautious in the big pool, afraid that he would slip again.

Anyway, I'm super excited that Seth will happily go under water. And I'm going to try to get to the pool as often as possible in the next few weeks. Slowly but surely, my kids will learn to love to swim.

In other news, yesterday was our monthly daycare board meeting, and I scored a little victory. We did our annual budget in June and one of the benefits we offer staff is a Metro subsidy (for those who take public transportation). Somehow, we missed increasing that subsidy in our 2010-2011 budget, despite the fact that Metro fares have increased over 20% in the last six months. One of the teachers said something to me about it and I felt really bad. So I asked the president and treasurer if we could make that addition to the budget, either supplementally or worked into the budget we already passed. The treasurer was not in favor of it, and I didn't get the feeling that the president was gung-ho about it either. But I presented my case at the board meeting and the rest of the board agreed with me. We increased the current subsidy by $10/month. It's the first time I've really led the fight on something--not that it was really a fight or anything. The treasurer was just worried about the budget impact, should more teachers decide to use the subsidy. But my argument was that the teachers that use Metro do so because they have to, and the increases hit them hard. I couldn't imagine living on the salaries that they live on, so I certainly think our Center can afford to come up with that extra money, especially when we've been running surpluses for the last 3 or 4 years. Anyway, I think it only really affects two teachers who spend more than the subsidy, but I think it shows the teachers that we care about them and that we're doing our best to be responsive to their needs.

Man--how is it already 10:00? Time for bed. This lap top makes it way to easy to stay up late and waste time!

This and That

No organized thoughts here, just some things I want to write down.

• I'm still working on the exercise thing. Last week, I think I managed to walk twice, and William and I went out last night and tonight for a walk. Hoping to make it happen at least 2 or 3 more nights this week.
• The boys are sleeping pretty well. William no longer pitches a fit about not getting milk before bed. And amazingly enough, he'll drink water if he's thirsty without complaining. He hasn't leaked in two weeks, and although he's still not consistently dry in the mornings, I'm not too worried about that.
• On our last visit to the library, William checked out 9 books on space, including 3 or 4 specifically on Apollo 11's mission to the moon. I can now describe to you in great detail how we sent men to the moon. I think I'm going to reread The Right Stuff.
• Is it just me, or has everything gotten just a little bit more expensive over the last several weeks? I shop at Safeway, and they made a big deal about lowering all these prices several months ago, but now they're all inching back up. And I tried to get a bunch of books at Amazon, but I ended up getting them at Barnes & Noble online because they were cheaper. 
• William loves camoflauge. He has two paris of camo shorts that he wears all the time. He has two shirts that include a camo pattern that he wears all the time. I think I'll be buying lots of camo for the fall.
• Seth loves scissors. I had gotten a pair of kids safety scissors for William, but Seth immediately claimed them as his and carried them around for 3 straight days. Now he keeps them in the same kitchen drawer where I keep the regular scissors, and he gets them out all the time. Luckily, they're safety scissors and hardly cut paper, much less anything else. But it's only a matter of time before he gets ahold of a real pair of scissors. (I did remove the real scissors from the drawer, btw.)
• Ed and I will celebrate our 6th anniversary on Saturday, and after exhausting our list of family and friends, I broke down and hired a babysitter. I got one of the teachers at our school, which is awesome. But they're sooooo expensive--$20/hour, with a 4-hour minimum. The babysitter will cost more than dinner. But it's only money, right? And time alone with the hubby to celebrate our marriage will be well worth it in the end.
• I feel like I have a lot more to say, but now my mind is blank. It's just as well. There's only so many boring things I can talk about. Plus, Ed and I need to finalize plans for Sesame Place. I'm getting excited for that trip and hoping that it feels like a vacation, even though it's going to be a short trip. (I might be even more excited that I'm taking the whole week off, and while the boys are in school on Monday and Tuesday, I'll be cashing in my Mother's Day gift--a spa day!) So I'm off to plan!

Menu Plan Monday -- August 9

Last week's menu plan was pretty flexible. We didn't end up eating the chicken on Wednesday. For some reason that I can't remember, we met Ed at Firehouse Subs instead. We had the hamburgers on Thursday instead of Saturday; on Saturday night we had halibut and broccoli. So the lemon oregano chicken got moved to Sunday, and we'll have the shrimp scampi on Tuesday.

Sunday: Lemon oregano chicken, green beans, dinner rolls

Monday: Tacos

Tuesday: Mahi mahi, corn on the cob, broccoli

Wednesday: Breakfast for Dinner (waffles, French toast, bacon, fruit)

Thursday: Shrimp scampi

Friday: Pork schnitzel, broccoli, biscuits

Saturday: Ed and I are going out for our anniversary; kids will probably eat mac-n-cheese or chicken nuggets

In other news, I'm the proud owner of a new laptop. I'm still breaking it in, but I'm pretty happy. In other, other news, Seth is better--just a bit of a residual cough. We had a good weekend--taekwondo, birthday party, grocery shopping, swimming, chores, and playing at home. I can't believe how quickly the summer is winding down. Seth is transitioning to the Two's room this week, so I'm pretty excited for him to move up and take on new challenges. William's friends from the 3's room are joining him in Pre-K now, too. We finally made it to recess (when Congress takes their August vacation), so things are much quieter. We get to leave work an hour earlier, too, which is awesome. That's about all for now.

I Think I Fried My Motherboard

I tried adding new memory to my computer last night but I was a little too rash and didn't pay quite enough attention to the different types of memory and I put the wrong type of memory into my PC and I think I fried my motherboard. So I am computerless at home. Thank goodness for my iPhone. But I feel a little naked without a computer to jump onto whenever I need to. If I did, in fact, fry my motherboard, then I will have to get a new computer. (Ed thinks I did it on purpose because I've been wanting a laptop.) That doesn't exactly mesh with my financial plan for this summer/fall, but I think I can still pull it off. I can get a cheap laptop that has way more capacity and memory than my current PC, or I could get an even cheaper desktop. I'm leaning towards a laptop. Stay tuned!

In other news, my baby is also fried. Seth is home again today. He has a full-on ear infection and he started wheezing last night. So his upper respiratory infection turned into a lower respiratory infection. Poor guy. He was awake from about 2:30 a.m. until almost 5:00 a.m. I gave him ibuprofen because he felt hot. But the funny thing is, he wasn't fussy or cranky. He was chatty and happy, ready to play, and WIDE awake. He wanted to watch something, so we finally gave in when we nebulized him at 4:00 a.m. (once I became convinced he was wheezing). Hopefully the antibiotic and a few days of nebulizer treatments will fix him right up. Thank goodness he's a pleasant patient!

Menu Plan Monday (on Tuesday, again) -- August 2

Last week, we went a little bit off the menu plan. We skipped the quesadillas on Tuesday and I made waffles and breakfast for dinner. On Wednesday, I went to Harris Teeter during lunch and got Mahi Mahi for dinner. It was good and both boys ate it. On Thursday, I made the stromboli but the boys didn't eat it. On Friday, I hadn't cut up the peppers and celery and onions for the dirty rice, so instead, I made French toast for William and a hot dog for Seth. And I made the dirty rice on Saturday night. The boys wouldn't touch it, though. Live and learn! So, on to this week's menu:

Monday: Spaghetti and turkey meatballs (Seth ate spaghetti and sauce and William ate plain spaghetti with butter and Parmesan cheese; neither one would eat the meatballs; they both ate grapes)

Tuesday: French dip sandwiches with fruit and salad (Seth will actually eat salad)

Wednesday: Lemon oregano chicken breasts, broccoli, dinner rolls

Thursday: Shrimp scampi, green beans, dinner rolls

Friday: Homemade pizza (using the pizza dough from this recipe)

Saturday: Hamburgers and hot dogs with fries and fruit

Visit to the ER

Seth and I got to spend 4 hours at the ER on Sunday. On Saturday his nose started running, and by the afternoon, he had started running a fever. Then overnight, he started the seal-barking cough. He has croup, and by Sunday afternoon, his breathing had started worrying me a lot. I had hoped we could wait until Monday morning and visit our pediatrician, but knowing how fast breathing can deteriorate, I took him in. They gave him an oral steroid and two epinephrine breathing treatments. The breathing treatments didn't seem to have a big impact, but once the steroid kicked in, we got to go home. He was really good at the hospital. He mostly watched videos and played games on my iPhone. By the last hour, he was clearly feeling better so he started walking around, getting to know the nurses and techs in the ER. He can be quite charming when he turns it on.

Here's a picture he took of me. I think he shows a lot of talent!

His fever broke in the wee hours of the morning, and he hardly coughed at all overnight. He was pretty hoarse today, but otherwise, he was in a good mood. He hardly napped, which is not like him, but if that's the worst of it, I can't complain. William was happy to have a stay-home day today, and we made the most of it. We went to the library and then to Barnes & Noble. After Seth didn't nap, we went to the soft playroom at the rec center where he takes his "Zoom Around the Room" class. The boys got to run around and jump and flip and go nuts for an hour. After that we played on the outside playground for a while, and then headed home. Seth was asleep by 7:15 and William was asleep by 8:00. Hopefully we will all get a  good night's sleep. Lord knows I need one. Now if we can just get through the week without William getting sick, I will know that we dodged a bullet. Seeing as how his nose was running a little bit today, somehow, I think that's asking too much. Oh well--a girl can dream, right?

I Tried, and A Breakthrough

I finished NurtureShock, and one of the chapters that got me thinking the most was the one on kids playing. The authors spend a lot of time explaining a curriculum developed by two psychologists called Tools of the Mind that helps develop executive function in kids. There's a lot more to it than I'm able to explain here, but one of the tenets is planned play.

"The plan consists of children describing the roles and actions they will engage in during the first few minutes of play. This initial plan is used to help children act purposefully. Children modify and change their plans as they play with each other during center time."

So based on this idea and what I read from the Tools of the Mind Web site (I thought the Parents info was very helpful), I thought I would try to create a play plan for last night when we got home. I thought it would be great to play restaurant. We could make dinner and then make menus and then role play as waiters or customers and eat dinner.

Rule number one: Play plans should come from the kids, NOT the parents. LOL

In the car on the way home, I asked the boys, "Do you guys want to play restaurant when we get home?" They both enthusiastically answered, "Yeah!" So we talked about how we could make menus and be waiters and someone could be the chef. Then William said, "Can I watch Backyardigans when we get home?" I said, "What about restaurant? Don't you want to play restaurant?" He said, "Well, I don't think so. I just want to watch TV."

Hmph.

When we got home, I did not turn on the TV. But William still didn't want to play restaurant. Seth wanted to be the chef, though, so I got out the dough for the Stromboli. I asked William if he wanted to make the menus. He said no. Mind you, by now, the whole concept of the "play plan" has been completely dashed. William did take interest in the Stromboli for all of, oh, 2 seconds. Then he said he was too busy to play because he needed to work with his cranes and build a building.

Looks like I'm going to have work on this. Actually, William has NO problem playing, using his imagination and using objects in symbolic ways. At a very young age, he started taking various large utensils out of the kitchen drawers and using them as digger controls. He'd stick them between the couch cushions and say, "Look Mommy! These are my controls for my backhoe." Anything can become anything in his world. He's always inspired by what he sees on TV or reads in books. If he watches a show on space, he'll get up to find his rockets and space shuttle. If he sees a construction video, he goes to find his construction toys. Seth, on the other hand, doesn't really play like William plays. He is more literal and hands on. I think he would benefit from a little more guidance and prompting. He definitely uses his imagination, but he's just not inspired by toys as much as William is.

At any rate, as I've already said, the book has given me so much to think about. I'm going to go back and re-read some chapters. I'm going to pay a lot more attention to the books we read and the TV that we watch. I'm going to take a more active role in teaching the boys. I feel like I've missed some important opportunities to really work with the boys in their cognitive abilities. I've been somewhat lazy, relying on the awesome teachers and curriculum at daycare to take care of that stuff. I thought that a lot of intelligence is innate, and the boys will be who they are. But after reading the book, I think I've fallen through a bit in that part of my job as a parent. I'm not beating myself up, and I know that Ed and I do a lot of things right. We read to the boys every night and often in the morning and many times on the weekends. We talk to them, respond to them, ask a lot of questions, answer a LOT of questions, we provide appropriate toys and take them to lots of different places. But overall, I think there's more I could be doing to help develop their little brains. Fortunately, they're both still young, and it's not too late!

Switching gears here, I mentioned a breakthrough in my title. William still wears a pull-up to bed, which I really have no problem with. He very very rarely wakes up dry, and for some kids, it just takes a lot longer than others. So no big deal. For the last few weeks, however, William has been peeing so much in his pull-up that he's had leaks almost every night. And these are the overnight, heavy-duty pull-ups. I realized that the problem is that once he has the pull-up on, he feels free to unload in it, whether he's sleeping or not. So he'll use it before he falls asleep, instead of getting up to use the potty. And he uses it in the morning when he wakes up, instead of using the potty. So we've made some changes. We've stopped doing chocolate milk right before bed. He has it with his dinner and has to finish it by 7:30. After that, if he's thirsty, I'll give him water. But that's all. (And since he doesn't like water, he won't drink very much.) Next, I don't put him in the pull-up until right before bed. So he wears underwear while we're reading stories. And finally, in the morning, as soon as he wakes up, I take him in the bathroom and take his pull-up off and put him in underwear. He hasn't had any leaks for the past 4 nights. And last night, for the first time, he woke up around 2:00 a.m. and got up and used the potty. (Of course, he woke me up so I could "help" him, but I'll take it!) I don't really want him to wake up in the middle of the night every night to use the potty. So I'm assuming that he still can't hold it all night, and that the pull-up will remain for the near future. But if I can get him to get up and use the potty when he's AWAKE, I think that's progress.

So, that's our breakthrough. I'm glad it's Friday, and I'm definitely looking forward to the weekend! It seems like it's been a long week.

This and That

I re-instituted the evening walk tonight. We've had a two-day break in the humidity, so I took advantage of it. (And the fact that Ed was home from work before we were, making the evening routine much easier.) William came with me and he spent most of the time holding a stick with a pine cone attached to it and pretending it was some kind of light. He had a running dialogue going that I only partly paid attention to. When I asked him what his favorite part of the day was, he said it was learning about volcanoes and how they "interrupt." (Instead of erupt.) Too funny. The only problem with the evening walk was that William didn't fall asleep until 9:30. But that may have been the case whether we walked or not. Hard to know.

In other news, I'm almost done reading NurtureShock and now I'm a little freaked out. There's a chapter about how a lot of "educational" programs and books actually teach kids relational aggression (basically, how to be mean to other kids without physical or verbal aggression). The chapter doesn't say which shows and books are bad, though. I need a list! It mentioned Arthur, which is one of William's favorites. (He really likes the books, too.) And Spongebob Sqaurepants (which we've never watched), which I could have figured out. And Clifford (which William likes, but we haven't watched it in a long time.) But what else?  Both William and Seth love Backyardigans, and fortunately, I don't think there are ever any examples of relational aggression on that show. They're never mean to each other. So I can't imagine that show is objectionable. William likes Martha Speaks and Word Girl. Both are meant for older kids, but I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out if they portray relational aggression. Other shows the boys like are Sid the Science Kid (no relational aggression that I've seen), and Bob the Builder. I think the machines get into tiffs on that show, so I should pay more attention.

But what about the damage I've already done by letting them watch the objectionable shows? I say that partly tongue in cheek--if you believed and tried to follow every parenting advice book, you'd be twisting yourself into knots. So much of parenting is common sense and moderation. But there's a lot of research to back up what the authors of the book have discovered. And that part makes me wig out just a teensy tiny bit. The book might not start out as a parenting advice book, but really, that's what it is. "Here's all the ways parents are f-ing up their kids, and here's the research to prove it." Great. It's definitely enlightening, and I'm glad I've read it, and I'll definitely re-read certain chapters. I'm taking it all with a grain of salt, but it's kind of depressing, if you ask me. Despite that, I'm planning on buying a copy of the book to give to the teachers at William and Seth's school. And it's getting late, and I want to finish it tonight. So I'm signing off!

Menu Plan Monday -- July 26

Another good weekend. Not much to report! We went to a friend's house for dinner on Saturday and had a great time. We definitely need to work on socializing more! Seth's Zoom Around the Room class was much better this weekend. He still got upset when it was time to clean up for circle time, but he got over it quickly. He wouldn't participate in the songs, but he did participate in the parachute play, and he enjoyed it. William, meanwhile, earned his white belt in Taekwondo, and Ed said he did pretty well in the class. He got a gold star that I have to sew onto his uniform, though, and I have no idea how to do that. Thank God for Google! We also spent time at the pool yesterday, so we're meeting our goal of pool time every week.

We've had three weekends in a row of very few commitments and it has been so nice not to run around and feel pressed for time. We haven't really done any "fun" or exciting adventures with the boys, but I think they enjoy playing at home just as much. Next weekend may be "busy." We'll probably celebrate Ed's grandmother's birthday, and I'm going to visit a friend with a new baby (by myself). Hopefully we'll still find time for the pool. And maybe we'll even do the pool after work one day this week. We did it on Friday and it was great.

Switching gears, here's this week's dinner plan.

Sunday: Grilled salmon, corn on the cob, broccoli, dinner rolls

Monday: Parmesan chicken nuggets, green beans, biscuits

Tuesday: Black bean quesadillas

Wednesday: Waffles/breakfast for dinner with fruit salad

Thursday: Ham and cheese Stromboli (I doubt William will like this, so I'll offer William ham and cheese or pepperoni and cheese separately. He doesn't like melted cheese.)

Friday: Dirty rice (I love this recipe but I'm not sure if the boys will like it. So I'll need to have a backup.)

Saturday: Dinner out

Phone Photo Friday--Late Edition

We finally made it to the pool after work today.

And although I gripe about it a lot, there's one good thing about DC traffic--the view:

Mean Mommy

Tonight was not a good night. William was primed for meltdowns by the time I picked him and Seth up from school. I forgot the apple juice for the car ride home, but before I could even explain that we could walk to the corner store right by the school to get some, he threw a fit. Once he calmed down, we got some juice and all was okay. But then we hit traffic and it took us 50 minutes to get home. (I can't even begin to tell you how horrible traffic has been, and how cranky it makes me. There's construction going on by one of the bridges and it's causing cluster-you-know-what at every other bridge leading into Virginia..

Once home, both boys played while I made dinner (I didn't even take the time to change my clothes), but then neither one wanted to stop playing to actually eat dinner. They both claimed they weren't hungry, and even though I warned them several times that if they chose not to eat, they would not get chocolate milk, and they would not get another chance to eat (it was after 7:00 by this point, so it's not like there would have been time for them to eat later anyway), they both said fine. Then they didn't want to stop playing and clean up when it was time to go upstairs and take a bath. After several warnings that they would have to go to their rooms if they didn't clean up, they both ignored us, so they both got put in their rooms, and much crying and wailing ensued. After a few minutes, we let them out and told them to clean up. William continued to cry and wail, so he stayed in his room for a few more minutes.

After finally cleaning up their toys, we went upstairs to take a bath, and William was still whining and crying. And of course, they both wanted to eat. Nope, sorry. Cry cry cry. Once in the bath, they fought. They settled down, but when it was time to get out, cry cry cry. Then William wanted chocolate milk. Whine whine whine. I said no twenty times. He's nothing if not persistent. It's almost 9:00 and he's still awake. He hasn't asked for chocolate milk for at least 10 minutes. Let's hope he's given up. Seth seemed okay with ice water before bed. I'm worried they'll both wake up because they're hungry. But such is life. Sometimes parenting just sucks.

Awesome Chicken and NurtureShock

I was convinced that tonight's Thai Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Dipping Sauce was going to be a major disaster. The recipe calls for a basting sauce made of cilantro, jalapeno peppers, fish sauce, sesame oil, and garlic. You mix all of that in the blender and then coat the chicken in it right before you put in on the grill (or under the broiler). Well, we didn't have any jalapenos, so I left those out. And while the recipe calls for 4 cloves of garlic, I missed the part where you only use two cloves for the basting sauce and then use the other two for the dipping sauce. I used all four for the basting sauce. And I also missed the part where you coat the chicken with the sauce right before grilling. I poured the sauce over the chicken last night and put in the fridge for about 20 hours. Furthermore, once all the ingredients were blended, all I could smell was the sesame oil. And when I tasted it, all I could taste was sesame oil and salt. The cilantro flavor did not seem to come through. So, I did not have high hopes.

When we got home today, I went ahead and put the chicken on the grill. And when it was done, I made the dipping sauce. And OH MY GOD--it was awesome! Sooooo good. And for people who don't like spicy food, leaving out the jalapenos was fine. (I will probably leave out the peppers again next time I make it for the kids, but if I was just making it for me and Ed, or for a dinner party, I'd probably add just one jalapeno.) The dipping sauce really made it awesome, although neither of the boys liked the dipping sauce. They did, however, eat every bite of their chicken. So score! It might taste even better if you make the sauce and put it on the chicken right away and then cooked it, rather than making it the night before. But either way, it's easy, quick, and yummy. I'm very excited to have a new chicken recipe that's a touch exotic, yet easy, and something that everyone loves. Plus, it's a great way to use up cilantro.

In other news, I'm reading NurtureShock, and wow--it's really thought-provoking. It's definitely not a judgmental parenting book, prescribing a certain way to do things. It does, however, leave me feeling somewhat panicked that I've probably been doing a lot of things "wrong."  But mostly, it's making me consider and understand things from a different perspective--such as how we praise kids, talking about race, the importance of sleep, and intelligence--and I feel like I will be a better parent for having read and processed the book. I highly recommend it!

Menu Plan Monday, I mean Tuesday, and Updates

Better late than never, right?

Sunday: Parmesan chicken tenders, corn on the cob, broccoli (Made by Ed)

Monday: Annie's mac-n-cheese, green beans (William has not been eating mac-n-cheese lately--kind of weird. He ate yogurt, some of the beans, a few bites of bread, and a few bites of American cheese.)

Tuesday: Shrimp scampi with asparagus

Wednesday: Thai Grilled Chicken with Cilantro dipping sauce, salad, dinner rolls

Thursday: Pork piccata, broccoli, biscuits

Friday: Homemade pizza

Saturday: TBD--Black bean and cheese quesadillas as a fallback

Now for the updates:

Sleeping: Since I wrote the post about being so tired, both boys have been sleeping pretty well. Seth has been sleeping through the night, but I hear him wake up and drink from his cup but he goes right back to sleep. I've been putting watered down apple juice in the cup because although he's been fine with water a few times, more often he stands up and calls for me and wants chocolate milk. So if I keep watering down the apple juice, I figure that's an okay trade-off. I do wonder if I broke him of the habit of drinking anything during the night, if he would stop waking up. Only one way to find out, I guess.

William has been waking up around 5 a.m. or so. He usually gets into our bed, and wants chocolate milk. I've found that if I give him milk, he'll drink it and go back to sleep for another hour or more. If I don't, he'll doze and wake up every 10 minutes and ask for chocolate milk. Kind of a no-brainer in my book--he gets his milk. If it's before 5 a.m., though, he doesn't get milk. So that's where we stand with sleeping. It's definitely better!

Food waste: I've been terrible with food waste lately. I have half a cantaloupe and half a small watermelon that I'll have to throw out this week. (For some reason, the boys have not been eating a lot of fruit lately.) We also never finished up the leftover pork chops from last week. And there's some steak from Friday night that we're struggling with finishing. I'll probably be able to eat a lot of it by bringing steak salad to work tomorrow. And I can offer some to William tonight if he doesn't want the shrimp scampi. Anyway, definitely need to pick it up a notch! I threw out some cottage cheese that hadn't gone bad, but I had tried the low sodium kind, and blech! I did not like it. I should have tried putting it in a smoothie or some other such recipe. But I didn't have the energy to figure out what to do with it. Boo on me. I've also got a tight budget the next two weeks, so I need to minimize extra spending. That means bringing lunch to work every day, and making do with what's in the pantry and freezer and not making extra grocery store runs. And of course, eating the food already purchased and prepared.

Home search: I mentioned in my last post that Ed and I went to a bunch of open houses last weekend. I was disappointed, mostly because our desire for the kind of house we want to live in is not going to be possible in the neighborhoods we want to live in. So we're either going to have to live further out and deal with the commute, or we're going to have to settle for less house. Neither one of us wants a house that we'll have to fix up. We're really not good with home projects, and we'll just end up never doing anything and we'll live in a house that we don't really like. It's hard enough to make simple decorating decisions. I don't want to have to meet with contractors and re-do bathrooms and replace fixtures and floors and carpet and all the other things that we'd want to do if we bought closer in. Maybe I'm getting discouraged too soon. We still have time, and housing prices look like they will continue to fall. (Although not in the close-in areas where we want to live.) That could mean fewer prospects on the market, but spring is always a better time for house hunting anyway. We'll see.

Exercise: That should really say, lack of exercise. I just can't get it together peoples. Getting up early is not happening. And walking after dinner is not happening. I could probably be making more of an effort to walk after dinner, but it's been so freakin' hot, and thunderstorms have been common in the evenings. And it's been hard to get the boys bathed and ready for bed by 7:45. By the time I'm done reading stories to William, it's been more like 8:15 or 8:30, and by then, the last thing I want to do is go walking. I guess it's my mindset that needs changing more than my schedule. I'll keep trying! 

So that's about it for my world. Not sure if swimming will happen this week. The weather calls for possible thunderstorms every afternoon. I think I'll put bathing suits and towels in the car and if the weather looks good one evening, I'll have Ed meet us at the pool with pizza. Now THAT'S a good plan!

Weekend Report

Another good weekend--low key, not a lot of commitments, time to do chores, hang out, take a nap. Seth's nose started dripping like a faucet again today. Ed's did, too. William has been fighting something for two weeks now, but it still hasn't gotten the best of him. On Friday, he seemed pretty congested and wiped his nose a lot with the back of his hand. (Lovely.) But he hasn't gotten worse over the weekend. I got probiotic vitamins for the boys--chewables--but Seth doesn't like them. I should have just gotten the kind that you sprinkle in drinks or food. Oh well, live and learn.

But anyway, back to the weekend. Friday night was movie night for William. He LOVES movie night. I put Seth down to sleep while Ed and William pop popcorn, and then we all sit on the couch and watch a movie. We usually try to pick a short movie, but Friday night, William wanted to watch Karate Kid--the original one with Ralph Macchio. I thought he'd want to turn it off as soon as it started. But he watched almost the entire movie. He stayed up until 10:30! We payed for it a little bit on Saturday, but it could have been much worse. He didn't even take a nap on Saturday like I thought he would.

On Saturday morning, Ed took William to Taekwondo and I took Seth to "Zoom around the room"--a soft playroom where the kids have free play and then gather for circle time to sing songs and do the parachute thing. Seth was a bit of a terror during the class. The moms kept giving me sympathetic looks, and one mom even said to me, "It's okay. We've all had a two year old." Most of the kids were older than Seth, but not that much older. He really wasn't that bad until it was circle time. The teacher started pushing all the soft blocks to the wall to make room and Seth freaked. He was screaming and crying and trying to drag the blocks back to the center of the room. He wanted NO part of circle time and song-singing. I finally carried him out of the room kicking and crying, and we watched circle time through the window. After a few songs, he agreed to go back in if he could sit on the side and watch. He did. During parachute time, the teacher told me to come grab a handle, and she figured Seth would want to join in. I knew Seth would freak, but I didn't want to refuse the request, so I joined. And Seth freaked. He starting crying again and grabbed at my shirt and arm and leg, trying to drag me away. It was pretty funny. Luckily, it was the very end. Once it was all over, he perked right up, got a sticker from the teacher, said "Thank you," and even gave the teacher a hug. Can't wait until next week! (That was sarcasm, in case it doesn't come across in my writing.)

The rest of Saturday was spent going to Target, taking a nap (Seth and me), playing (William and Ed), and then going to the pool. I decided to take the boys swimming in the late afternoon (5:30 p.m.), and brought along a picnic dinner. It was awesome. The boys had a great time, it wasn't too hot, and it helped wear them out for bed. We got home at 7:30, put on pajamas, brushed teeth, read stories and I turned out lights. William fell asleep immediately. Seth, on the other hand, did not. He was wide awake. Ed got him out of the crib after about a half an hour of listening to him try to talk to us and brought him downstairs. They watched TV. Seth came upstairs with me for a little while and played while I folded laundry. He went back downstairs and watched more TV. He finally went to sleep at 10:30. What gives?

The really crazy thing that happened this weekend, though, was that William slept in on Sunday morning until 8:15 a.m. He had woken up at 5:45 a.m. and asked for some juice. I gave him some, changed his pull-up, and he came into our bed and went back to sleep instantly. And he slept until 8:15!!!! He has NEVER slept that late. I was so glad that he caught up on his sleep. Seth, meanwhile, woke up at 5:15 a.m., but also went back to sleep, and he slept until 7:15. I thought he would sleep later, but considering that fact that he took a 3-hour nap both Saturday and Sunday, I think he's getting enough sleep. And tonight (Sunday), he fell asleep pretty quickly. They both did.

So overall, a really good weekend. Today, Ed and I spent four hours looking at open houses in various neighborhoods while Ed's parents' watched the kids. It was a little depressing. What we can afford pretty much sucks. Luckily, we still have time. In the meantime, where we live now works pretty well. I especially like having the pool so close. And speaking of the pool, I'm planning a possible pool night after work one day this week. I'll have a picnic dinner again, and we can swim until bed time. We'll see if the weather cooperates.

A Night in the Life

For the last three days, traffic getting out of DC has been HORRIBLE. It has taken us well over an hour to get home every day. I have tried every route possible, and each one is worse than the one before. It's making me nuts. There must be 300 ways to get from Capitol Hill to Virginia, and each way that I choose is the most jammed. I think it has something to do with some repaving that's occurring on one span of one bridge. Either that, or I just have a knack for choosing the MOST CONGESTED way home.

At any rate, our plan today was to stop by the library on the way home so I could pick up a book on hold for me (I finally came up for Nurtureshock!), and the boys could get a few books, too. Then we would go home and eat. On the hellacious drive home, however, which took one hour and ten minutes, William needed to use the bathroom. I was already on the interstate, though--the HOV lanes, where there are no exits and only concrete barriers on both sides of the lanes. I could have pulled onto the shoulder (which is hardly wide enough for the minivan) and let him pee into a diaper or pull-up from the diaper bag (done that before), except we didn't have the diaper bag, so no diapers or pull-ups. I could have let him pee out of the side of the van, onto the pavement. But that's just gross, and I didn't want to open that can of worms. So I begged him to hold it. And then I finally told him that if he had to pee in his pants, that was okay. We could clean it up when we got home. So that's what he did. His mood sure did improve, though, once he let it all out!

So instead of the library on the way home, we went home, got William changed and cleaned up, got the car seat cleaned up and the cover in the washer, and got dinner for the boys. (Quesadillas for Ed, Seth, and me; waffle and broccoli for William.) The boys still wanted to go to the library, though, so at 7:40 p.m., we headed to the library. I quickly picked up my book, and then helped William pick out some books. Seth is always a bit of a mess at the library, so I was that mom using my loud whisper  voice (you know the voice, right? Where you yell in a whisper?) every five seconds--"Seth, stay with Mommy." "Seth, do not pull books off the shelf." "Seth, we do NOT stand on books. That's not okay." "Seth! Where'd you go?" It was great fun.

But we made it home, the boys were happy, we still fit in baths and books, and they were in bed with lights out at 9:00. Much later than usual, but a successful night in the long run. And once the boys went to bed, I made banana crunch muffins, so even more productive than I could have anticipated. And since I have not been posting a lot of pictures lately, here are two of my recent favorites, taken with the new point and shoot. Maybe not the greatest camera, but definitely the greatest kids!

Midnight Snack

At around 12:30 a.m. this morning, Seth woke up crying, "Cracker. I want a cracker." He's never asked for anything to eat before in the middle of the night, so I figured he must really be hungry. I brought him downstairs and pulled out a box of Ritz crackers. Then he said, "Cheese." So I got out a piece of American cheese and divvied it up among the crackers. Seth sat at the kitchen table and happily munched on his snack. I got him a cup of milk and sat down next to him. I was in a total sleep stupor, but he was so cute eating his crackers and cheese in the dark. After he finished eating, he took several slurps of milk, and then asked to go back upstairs.

Once upstairs, I rocked him for a few minutes, but it took several attempts before he got settled and fell back asleep. I finally went back to sleep at 1:30 a.m. Then, at 4:30 a.m., William woke up coughing. He wanted to come into our bed. I said no. He wanted me to come into his bed. I said no. I compromised and laid a comforter on our floor next to our bed and let him sleep there. He coughed and coughed and begged for chocolate milk. I got him some orange juice. He finally drifted back to sleep at around 5:15 a.m., only to wake up again an hour later.

Sigh. This has basically been the pattern since we got back from vacation. Seth wakes up around 12:30 or 1:00 a.m., and then William wakes up around 4:30 a.m. It's like having an infant all over again. (At least my infants, who didn't sleep.) They usually go back to sleep pretty quickly, but they insist on waking me up before they do. Isn't that thoughtful of them? William goes through these phases pretty regularly. A few weeks of sleeping through the night, and a few weeks of waking up in the wee hours of the morning (for a variety of reasons). Seth has moments (a few days here and there) where he'll sleep all night, but he usually wakes up once. I'm used to it, and as long as they go right back to sleep, it isn't usually a huge deal. Not something I feel the need to do anything about.

But right now, I'm tired. Bone tired. So I guess it's time to make more of an effort. For William, that means working on incentives for staying in his bed all night and not waking mommy. For Seth, it means, well, I don't know what it means. I guess it means letting him cry and taking the risk that William will wake up, too. Something's gotta give. I'm not getting any younger, and since a full night of sleep still seems like a pipe dream at this point in my life, I guess I need to be a bit more proactive. And yes, I've said this all before. No reason to think I'll be any more successful this time than any other time. But you can't let failure keep you from trying, right? Well, that's what I keep telling myself, anyway.

In the meantime, I'll just keep trying to appreciate all the moments I spend with the boys--even those that happen in the wee hours of the morning.

Menu Plan Monday -- July 12

The menu plan has been non-existent over the past two weeks, so I'm glad to have it back in place. It hasn't been too bad, though. I managed to get us through last week's mini-week without a grocery store run (other than for milk and OJ) and without a lot of takeout. We did get carry-out from a local restaurant one day last week. It was right next to the barber shop where we got William's haircut. Nice change of pace for a weeknight!

Anyway, we also haven't been too great with food waste, so time to take it up a notch. I really want to start composting, but there's no good place for a compost bin at our townhouse. Not to mention the fact that I wouldn't use the compost. All in good time, though. Time to get back into the groove with the menu and eating the food we buy and prepare. So without further ado:

Sunday: Ribs, asparagus, crescent rolls (we use a dry rub recipe--sage, thyme, salt, and pepper--from the Joy of Cooking cookbook on the ribs, and then either cook them in the oven, or on the grill. Yum!)

Monday: Chicken enchiladas, salad (William will probably not eat these, so he'll have leftovers)

Tuesday: Leftovers (Trying to eat up leftover steak from Friday night, leftover ribs, leftover pork chops, and leftover wagon wheel pasta)

Wednesday: Homemade pizza (not entirely homemade, since I'm using pizza dough from a can) and salad

Thursday: Quesadillas (Cheese and black bean, with salsa and sour cream--again, William probably won't eat them, so I'll offer him waffles, or maybe he'll just eat a plain tortilla)

Friday: Sirloin steak, twice-baked potatoes, salad or broccoli

Saturday: TBD, hopefully fish of some kind. (We may take a little trip to the DC waterfront, where they have all kinds of fresh seafood markets. In all my years in DC, I've never been there!)

Still Working on Vacation Recovery

Last week was long. Even though it was short. And if you think that doesn't make any sense, welcome to my world. Seth and I are still getting over our colds. And it seems like William is on the verge of getting sick. (Fingers crossed that his immune system is kicking into high gear!) Fortunately, we had no obligations this weekend, so I used the time to rest and get organized. The boys got to spend a lot of time playing at home. And we even managed to make homemade cookies and cream ice cream with the new hand-crank ice cream maker that Ed's parents gave me for my birthday. Mmmmmm.

But first things first. I promised to report on our trip to North Carolina over the 4th of July weekend. As I mentioned, it was great. It was hard, mind you, and I'm not sure I'll do it again without Ed, but overall, it was great. The boys did really well on the long drives. They watched videos mostly. (At least William did. Seth is not much for TV, yet.) William did a lot of "when-are-we-going-to-get-there?" whining, but that was the worst of it, so not too bad. Ed's parents were a big help, which definitely made it easier.When we arrived in Charlotte on Friday evening, we ate dinner at Ed's sister's house (with the boys' cousins, ages 7, 5, and almost 1), and then headed to my mom and brother's house.

On Saturday, we spent the early morning at a park right next to the complex where my mom and brother live. Later, we went to an awesome park near downtown Charlotte. There was a playground and an old locomotive steam engine that the boys could play in. There was a big pond with lots of ducks and then a small nature museum. The boys had a blast. In the afternoon, we went swimming in the pool (part of their townhouse complex), and we went out to eat in the evening. The only hitch with Saturday night was that Seth had started showing signs of a cold on Saturday, and by Saturday night, it was pretty apparent he didn't feel well. I gave him some generic Motrin before bed, but then I don't know what happened. The child would not go to sleep. He was WIDE AWAKE. He screamed if I put him in his pack and play, he played if I put him in the bed with me (William was also in the bed, fast asleep), and he came downstairs repeatedly if I tried leaving him in the bed. I was beyond frustrated. I wanted to rip my hair out. I was so exhausted and I just couldn't deal. It was about then that I swore I would never do a trip like that again without Ed. Luckily, my brother was downstairs, so I took Seth downstairs and deposited him with my brother while I went back upstairs and chilled out for a little while. Finally, Seth was ready to go to sleep.

On Sunday (the 4th), we went to Ed's sister's house, and even though Seth was not feeling well, he was a trooper. The boys had a great time with their cousins, and their cousins' toys, and around mid-day, we went to an awesome water park. We stayed there for several hours and then came home and Seth took a long nap. Meanwhile, William played and I got to relax. When it finally got dark, the neighbors all got together and started shooting off awesome fireworks from the cul-de-sac. William was beyond excited. He LOVED it. Seth, meanwhile, was beyond scared. He sat on the couch in the family room, under a blanket, as me and the two grandmas alternated going outside and sitting inside with Seth. Poor Seth!

On Monday, we left Charlotte in the morning and I took Ed's parents to Chapel Hill to visit friends and then headed over to LauraC's. I posted about that already, so that brings us back to this week. And oh yeah--pictures! I brought my new point-and-shoot camera with me, but it turns out that my camera was never the problem. I'm the problem. My pictures with the point-and-shoot are even crappier than with the good camera. Bummer. Here are a few shots anyway.

These were taken at my brother's, in a park that's right next door to their complex.

This shot, although blurry (note the stellar photography skills!) is pretty funny. This was taken at the water park on the 4th of July:

Here are all the grandkids--five boys!

And finally, five grandsons with Grandma.

As for our recovery, hopefully, this weekend got us over the hump. I finished up the laundry, cleaned bathrooms, dusted (here and there), went to the grocery store, cleaned a few things out, and made a menu plan. I'm definitely feeling more settled as we head into the new week. Hopefully, I'll post a bit more. And we'll get back into a groove. That holding pattern doesn't look so bad from where I stand now!

Vacation Recovery

We're back from our long weekend and have entered the "recovery" phase. Our mini-vacation went really well, and the boys had a great time. Seth and I both got sick, but it's just a summer cold, so things could have been a lot worse. It didn't really slow us down, and we all managed to have fun. The boys did great on the long drive there and back, and having Ed's parents along helped a lot.

I have pictures to download and stories to tell (not as many pictures as I had hoped to take, but that seems to be the norm), but all in good time. For now, I just wanted to say I'm back. And of course, I have to give a shout out to LauraC and JonC, the most gracious hosts anyone could imagine. They opened their home to us and they could not have been nicer. When we arrived, I had to wake William up and he was super grumpy. So we were not off to a good start. I was a little worried that he had caught the cold bug, too, but he rallied and we all put on our swim gear and headed to the pool. My boys watched Nate and Alex swim like fish, and Seth and Alex proved to be the perfect pool buddies. Seth repeatedly threw water rockets into the pool and then yelled, "I want my rocket! I want my rocket!" And then Alex would happily fetch the rockets for Seth.

After swimming, the boys played in the back yard and William was in heaven. I was surprised at how well they all got along. After all four boys took a bath together (where they still got along really well), they all went to bed and gave Laura and me a chance to catch up. Initially, William had said that he wanted to sleep in Nate and Alex's room, so Laura set them all up with sleeping bags. But at the last minute, William chickened out, and ended up sleeping in the bed with me.

As Laura mentioned, we enjoyed catching up, knowing that we would see each other again soon. And yes--Seth was quite the two year old (not just at Laura's house, but the whole weekend), reinforcing for both of us the certainty that we feel about not having more babies. (Even when I spent time with my SIL's 9-month-old son, who couldn't be a cuter or easier baby, I could unquestionably say that I do NOT want to go there again.) But back to the point--Laura and Jon are so awesome and they go out of their way to make guests feel welcomed, without making you think they're going out of their way. (The true definition of graciousness!) I was uber-impressed with how independent Nate and Alex are, and I have to admit that several times since we've left, I've said things to William like, "Nate and Alex drink out of big boy cups." (William has an attachment to his sippy cups.) And "Nate and Alex get dressed all by themselves." And "Nate and Alex always wash their hands when they go to the bathroom. (Don't ask.)

Anyway, it was a great visit and I hope we can return the favor in the not-too-distant future. Thanks so much Laura and Jon! And I will give the low-down on the rest of the weekend in my next post, with pictures. I'm just glad to be back, and hoping we have an easy transition back into our routine.

Taking Time

Yesterday's weather was gorgeous! Gone is the high heat and humidity we've been experiencing for the last three weeks. Instead we had blue skies, temps in the low 80s, and very low humidity. It actually felt cool enough in the morning to wear a sweater! When we got home from work (after going through the Burger King drive-thru, a first for me!), we were pleasantly surprised to find Ed home. So the boys quickly ate dinner and we all headed out for a walk.

The boys had a blast. We let them walk along the path with us and push the strollers. We went to the waterfall that graces the entrance of our development, which the boys love. Then we walked around the pond and back home. Once home, I let the boys play on the playground and draw with chalk on the sidewalk. I took that time to clean out the car in preparation for our trip. Although I had tons of things to do to get ready, the weather was just too gorgeous to pass up. We finally dragged the boys inside at 7:45 to start the bedtime routine.

Of course, that meant that I didn't start the laundry until 8:15, and I didn't head out to the store until 9:30, and I didn't go to bed until after 11:00. But none of that matters when you have a gorgeous day in June and the chance to spend time with the three boys you love most in the world! Today's weather is a repeat of yesterday's, so I'm thinking we'll do the same thing tonight. If Ed has to work late, maybe we'll get Subway sandwiches and have a picnic in the park by my office. Seth always wants to stop and get out when we pass it on the way home, and I always think, "One day, we'll do that." So here's our chance.

I probably won't post again until we get back, so wish us luck! And happy 4th of July to everyone!

Holy Busy

The death of Senator Byrd on Monday morning has resulted in a very busy week for us in the Senate Historical Office. Even though he was 92 and has been in frail health in recent years, his death still came as a shock to me. There are just some people that you think will always be around.

One of my jobs in our office is to update the statistical lists that we maintain on all aspects of Senate history--senators, elections, sessions of Congress, party leadership, committees, Senate officers, and powers of the Senate. I've been updating lots of lists, including the list of funerals held in the Senate Chamber. Senator Byrd is the longest-serving senator in Senate history, and also the longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history. It's very appropriate that this man, who put the institution of the Senate above all else, would want some kind of service on the floor of the Senate Chamber. But since this has not been done since 1959, we were flooded with calls on Monday and Tuesday about Senate Chamber funerals, and all the myriad details involved. It looks like most details have been ironed out, but we are working on making our Funerals subject file more complete, including precedents for all of the questions that planners and reporters have been asking this week.

In the meantime, I haven't had much time to post, or to even think about posting. Yesterday was my birthday and Ed's sister babysat the boys so Ed could take me out to dinner. We ate at Outback and while the food was okay (my steak was tough), the company was fantastic. It was a nice evening. Before we left, the boys gave me my birthday presents--a point-and-shoot digital camera, with camera case, memory card, and mini tripod. While I still plan on learning how to use the manual settings of my full-size camera, it is too big to carry around conveniently. And since I mostly use the auto settings anyway, I'm happy to have a tiny camera that I can fit into my pocket.

In other news, Seth now likes scrambled eggs. So yay for that! And I'm taking a road trip with the boys to North Carolina on Friday morning. We're spending July 4th weekend with my mom and brother and Ed's sister and BIL and their three boys. Unfortunately, Ed is not coming because he can't take the time off work, but probably more so because he doesn't want to suffer through the drive (he has serious road-trip phobias). But his parents are driving down with us, so that should make things easier. (Or harder, depending. LOL) I'm looking forward to the trip, and I think it will be a lot of fun, but what I'm REALLY looking forward to is visiting the Case family on the way back. We're going there on Monday and will spend Monday night there and head home on Tuesday morning. (My in-laws are staying with friends in Chapel Hill. Laura loves us, but not THAT much! LOL) I can't wait to see them and I hope we'll take some better pictures this time! ;-)

So the next two nights will involve some major running around, trying to get things ready for the trip. I need to do laundry, make a trip to the grocery store for snacks and drinks, make a trip to Target for anything else I'm forgetting, and pack. Should be fun. At least I know the trip will be!