Achievements

I have two boys to brag about today!!

First, and wins the Makes Mommy Most Relieved award, Jacob is officially potty trained!!!!! !!!!! Let me just add a few more of those.... !!!!!!!!!!!!

He's been using the potty for everything (minus a small accident on the bathroom floor last night) for a little more than a week now. He's been going to bed in underwear, and staying dry. He hasn't worn a diaper for more than a week! And I haven't had to clean dirty underwear, or dirty floors. It's marvelous!!! I'm so proud! Jacob's pretty pleased with himself, too. He exclaims after every trip to poop, "I'm so such a big boy, Mommy!" It's true. He is "so such a big boy". He can even take off his pants and underwear all by himself, and put them back on most of the time. And he earned all 10 starts on his little chart, so we'll be celebrating at the bouncy place tomorrow evening. Yay! I am so glad to be down to one child in diapers.

Second, Alex has become and expert at standing still. Look!



I took this video of Melinda helping him balance yesterday morning. Since then, he is letting go of everything in sight and just standing there. I can set him down quickly, and 8 out of 10 times, he'll stand easily. He's also regularly taking 2-3 steps at a time with no outside support. Just his own self propelling him along. He's been enjoying the game of walking between two people. Although, if Jesse isn't ready to play that game, I can set him down standing in the middle of the floor and then back up till he tries to comes to me. You can tell he's really excited about this, too, because he just starts giggling like crazy as he starts walking towards you. I have absolutely no doubts he'll be walking steadily within the month.

The Day After Thanksgiving

Today is a nice day, isn't it? Jesse gets to stay home from work. We get to eat leftovers (and pie!) all day long. The sun is out. And as much as we hate Black Friday madness, we needed a new TV and did our shopping around online, and only had to spend about half an hour in a single store this morning to get what we wanted at a great price. (Happy early Christmas, Becky and Jesse!) And seriously, Black Friday is so insane, isn't it? I just saw a headline and read the story of a Wal-Mart employee being trampled to death by frenzied shoppers. It's such a sad world, sometimes. :(

Then again, Alex just fell asleep, laying on the floor, in the middle of playing, which he hasn't done since he became mobile. So again, today is a nice day, for me at least.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was so yummy! We're very much enjoying the leftovers. I wish they could last forever. And thanks to Brightonwoman, who reminded me to not just throw away my carcass. It's currently sitting on the stove, simmering happily and turning itself into delicious broth. Our turkey turned out great. Emily and my sister Melissa expressed curiosity about the brining method, and yes, it's a fantastic!! We used it last year, too, and I'll be surprised if we ever try anything different. It turns out so incredibly moist, and it's so easy to pull off! All you need is a bucket and a meat thermometer to do it right. You don't have to worry about basting, or wrapping in foil, or anything like that. Even with the prep you need to do before hand, it's the easiest system I've tried, and virtually fool-proof.

There were only a couple rough points in my day:
1) During the last 10-minute crunch-time before food, where I have to cook about 4 different things all at the same time (without ruining any of them), Alex decided that was the time to go completely haywire and frenzied with tears and screaming. I shooed Jesse out of the kitchen to take care of Alex, but sitting down and holding him wasn't helping. Alex was frantic. And you mothers out there probably know what it feels like when your baby is screaming like they need you desperately. Only, I had four things to do at once and couldn't stop to switch with Jesse. I was already stressed out from self-imposed pressure of not ruining the food. So the stress of my baby screaming made me snap. "JESSE! Stand UP with him!!" I practically growled right along with the yelling. (And for the record, yeah, he did calm down almost completely just by Jesse standing instead of sitting. I hate that baby trick.) But as soon as I could step away from the kitchen I took Alex, and he nursed happily and just about fell asleep, while Jesse cut the turkey. Thankfully, it was easy to calm back down with the frantic cooknig and the screaming baby taken care of, and I think Jesse understood my stress, and he accepted my apology easily. Dinner was happy after all. ;)

2) I didn't get my turkey nap. :( It looked like everyone was poised to take a nap all at the same time. It would have been so lovely and perfect. But Jacob started bouncing off the walls. Jesse went out of the front room and laid on the couch while Jacob entertained himself. But then Melinda got up to use the bathroom and then decided she wasn't tired anymore. And when Alex wouldn't settle down long enough to close his eyes, I stuck him in the crib to play until he was more tired, and I was just about to doze off when he got upset. And still wouldn't fall asleep, even when I tried nursing him more and snuggling. So, off to the front room we all went. And Jesse stayed asleep. Until the kids started making too much noise, then he retreated back to the bedroom. I sure envied him, right about then. But I slept plenty well last night, at least.

A few of you practically demanded to have my pumpkin pie recipes. I'm happy to oblige!! I can't remember where I got these, anymore, so I can't credit their sources, unfortunately.

Eggnog Pumpkin Pie

1 can (15oz) solid-pack pumpkin

1 ¼ cups eggnog

2/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice

¼ tsp salt

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, eggnog, sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice and salt.

Pour into pastry shell.

Bake at 375º for 60-65 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate until serving.

Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp sugar

1 ½ cups whipped topping, thawed

1 Keebler "Ready Crust"® Graham Cracker pie crust

¾ cup cold milk

2 packages (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding & pie filling

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

Directions:

1. Whisk together cream cheese, 1 Tbsp milk and sugar. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spread on bottom of crust.

2. Beat ¾ cup milk, pudding mix and spice in mixing bowl with wire whisk for 1 minute. Whisk in pumpkin. Mixture will be thick. Carefully spread over cream cheese alyer.

3. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or until set.

4. Garnish as desired. Store in refrigerator.

*May substitute 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves in place of pumpkin pie spice.

Now, the only thing left to do is decide where on earth to put up our Christmas tree, and hopefully get around to it sometime this weekend. I'm afraid Alex is going to pull it down if we put it anywhere remotely within his reach. I was dead-set on putting it outside on our porch.... but I think I've changed my mind, and I'm hoping maybe he'll just play with the branches instead of pulling it over. We're going to have to do some furniture rearranging to find a spot for it, though. But I can't wait for the Christmas decorations!! I've already been listening to my Christmas music this whole week. :)

Oh, and P.S., Mom: Yes, the punch we made is just a variation on the Wilcox punch. :) Jesse's family does something very similar and calls it "flu juice". We just kind of combine what we like of each of the two variations!

On Your Marks, Get Set, BAKE!

It's been awfully quiet in the blogosphere today. Well, particularly all afternoon and evening. I suppose everyone and their brother is in full gear for the Thanksgiving meal preparations, or traveling, or both, huh?

We're on our own for Thanksgiving this year, which we're actually pretty excited about. If you go to someone's house to visit, the company is splendid, but you miss out on all the mouth-watering leftovers! Seriously, I think leftovers might be the absolute best part about the traditional Thanksgiving meal. So we're happy to celebrate on our own.

We've been busy this evening, getting the baking and cleaning done. I pulled out my menu plan from last year, when Ben and Brea visited, and decided, what the heck? It went swimmingly last year, I enjoyed every bite of it, and following it exactly would make things easier on my already near-constant deer-in-the-headlights brain.

Which means, of course, that I'm totally going overboard on pies. Totally. Completely. OVERboard. But I love pies! And so does Jesse. But seriously? If you know anyone in my local area who might like to share some pie with me, tell me who they are, so I don't put on 20 pounds in one weekend, mmmmkay?

Up on our menu is:

• Turkey, brined and roasted a la Alton Brown
• Sausage stuffing/dressing
• Sweet potatoes ("casserole", but it's really just basically mashed and baked in a pan)
• Mashed potatoes & turkey gravy
• Waldorf salad
  
• Herbed corn
• Broccoli
• Pickle spears
• Olives
  
• Rolls
• ...and (do I dare publicly admit I love this stuff??) cottage cheese/whipped cream/pineapple/orange jello "salad"
• Sparkling cider
• Cranberry/ginger ale/limeade punch
  

All to be followed by four delicious pies, of course.

• Apple Pie
• Eggnog Pumpkin Pie (baked)
• Cheesecake Pumpkin Pie (refrigerated)
• Cheesecake with Cherry/strawberry topping
  

Mmm. I can't wait! Don't you just love Thanksgiving?
And I won't have to cook for the rest of the weekend. Ahhhhh, bliss.

Coming Full Circle

As I prepared to write this post, I realized a happy thing: My blog has come full circle.

The very first post I ever put up on my blog, weeks before I told anyone I was, in fact, starting to keep a blog, I posted about our first snow.

And here we are again: Our first snow of the year.

Now, of course, there are some major differences. One, there wasn't so much snow that we could run out and make snow angels. Two, this first snow is a few weeks earlier than last year's first snow. Three, I'm a terrible mommy and don't even know where my children's mittens and snow hats are, exactly, and the winter coats still need to be washed from last winter. Ugh.

They were all excited to see the snow. Even Jesse came home, giddy as a school child, about the snow he got to see during the day. But he also predictably complained that it wasn't a snowstorm. I know, dear, I thought, we don't live in Colorado right now. We can't expect snowstorms in November. I did let Melinda and Jacob venture outside on the porch to play in the snowflakes, but I'm afraid that was as much energy as I could summon for the event. Otherwise, I happily watched from the warm front room. And just to show how not energetic I've been for the past week... this snow happened on Friday. And it's now Tuesday night. I didn't want to put the effort into plugging in my camera, uploading my pictures to the computer, and then typing a really easy post. Wow, that sounds sad.

Jacob was just too funny... he kept grabbing Alex by the cheeks, and exclaiming, "It's SNOW, Alex, Look, it's SNOW!!!" Over and over and over. Melinda was practically bouncing off the walls, just thrilled with it all. (How did she know that snow would start in November, anyway??) And after they had finished playing outside (the snow finally stopped, and it didn't stick around on the porch long enough to be much fun, either), they came inside and warmed their hands with rice socks that I had thrown in the microwave for them.

And so there you have it. I haven't been blogging for quite a full year, but I've gone from one first snow of the winter season to the next first snow of the new season. It's all quite perfect timing, really, because I've been putting together my blog in book form through blurb.com, and I really wanted to sort of wrap it up in a meaningful way. What better way than coming full circle?

Here's to another magical and adventurous winter, spring, summer and fall ahead of me!

Addendum

In the proccess of writing that completely not in-a-nutshell kid update yesterday, I totally forgot to mention a few of the biggest things I wanted to tell you about Alex.

1)  He's doing pat-a-cake!  He claps enthusiastically, he's started rolling his hands at just the right point, and does the cutest little high-pitched sigh, just like the way we always say, "and throw! it in the oven", while he throws his hands up in the air.  He anticipates the "throw it" part, so I can really see his memory working.  And he also initiates the game by doing any one of those things, getting you to play along.  He loves it, and it's so cute!

2)  He's getting so crazy tall!  He's figured out he can tip-toe while holding onto cupboards, desks, and bookcases... and oh boy, the trouble he's starting to get into!  He can reach the tops of our computer desks, and often pulls things down if they're too close to the edge.  And he just loves to terrorize daddy by fingering keyboard keys while Jesse's using the keyboard.  Oh, and of course, he loves to steal the computer mice, with their bright red laser sensors. And last night, he was working SO HARD to try and reach a half-eaten apple that someone had left on the dining room table.  He could reach it with his fingertips, but only managed to push it away further!

3)  He figures things out much too easily!  Yesterday he kept coming in the kitchen while I was trying to cook, and headed straight for the open dishwasher.  I closed it up, but he still went on over, pulled up to stand next to it at the counter, and then proceeded to wedge his fingers against the corners of it until he opened it and could grab at the silverware.  And while I was trying to pay the bills, I would only have my eyes off of him for about one minute, when he would crawl all the way from the front room, down the hall, through the entire length of my bedroom, through the bathroom door, and into the other bathroom so he could stand at the tub.  Fantasizing about splashing in warm water, I'm sure.  And he did this not once, but twice.  He just knows his way around the house, and can get anywhere he wants to go - and quickly!  And this morning, at the end of music class, Melinda put away an instrument that Alex had been completely absorbed in.  Alex wasted no time in crawling across the room, kneeling at the box, taking the lid off (it wasn't closed tightly, but still...), and then finding the instrument and playing with it again.

Growing so fast.  What's a poor mother to do?

Those Crazy Kids

It's been a while since I really updated on what the kids have been up to.  It feels like I used to say something at least weekly, if not more often than that.

Melinda:
Melinda has been very busy working on learning how to read, of course!  We've really been enjoying How To Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  I highly recommend it to anyone out there who is interested in teaching their own young children how to read!  I really love the method they use.  And we're now 28 lessons in (we do 2 lessons most days, because she's just been so eager to keep going), and she's reading 4-lined "stories", with hardly a hitch.  Her biggest difficulty is with words like "the" and "that", or "can" and "cat" - not paying attention to the ending and just guessing what it will be.  But she's getting better, practicing every day, and starting to be able to read words without sounding them out really slowly first, and recognizing a lot of words by sight.  It's really cool!  I'm so proud of her, and she loves it so much, too!  Here's a sampling of what she's read over the last few days (each "story" on its own line):

a sock is in the sun.  the sock is on me.
an ant is fat.  it can sit and eat.
a man sat on a ram.  that ram can not see.
the sock is near a man.  a cat is in that sock.

Melinda also learned how to skip this past week.  While we were singing "Skip to My Lou", she asked me what skipping is.  I showed her, and she picked it up in all of about 5 seconds.  I was so impressed!

Art Class is over now, and she's sad about that.  I think we'll try and find some swimming lessons next, even though we're just getting to the cold weather.  I think it will just be more worthwhile for her to learn how to swim than to pay money to let her hop around a gym or something. 

While I was out of town, Melinda didn't even miss me.  In fact, she only said "I miss" one time, on Sunday afternoon.  And that was to tell Jesse, "I miss Alex." She had a lot of fun with Jesse staying home.  Maybe a little too much fun.  I had to switch back to the time difference between coasts, and had a sluggish few days in the process while I was a little sleep starved (Yeah, Alex had to adjust, too.  What fun...).  She was less than thrilled that I didn't immediately rush them out to a playground or jump at the opportunity to play games.  But boy, oh, boy, did she ever get excited about having Alex home again.  Poor kid didn't know what hit him!!

Jacob:
Jacob has been eager to do reading lessons right along with Melinda.  The program, being meant for "bright" 3.5 year-olds or older children, is still a little bit beyond him, but he's known his alphabet for a solid year now, and he can sound out any word we come across in the lessons.  He just can't magically transform the sounds into the actual word just yet.  But I imagine he'll put the pieces together pretty easily once he's ready.

Jacob did something pretty unexpected while I was gone: He started using the potty again!!  We had been doing great on the potty training front before our move to the new apartment, but life in upheaval and a brand new carpet didn't mix, and when he went back to diapers it was like we were all the way back to square one again.  If I took the diaper off, he had accidents every single time. And no amount of naked time or underwear-only time was changing that.  Very, very, very frustrating.  Especially when he had to poop.  But when I got home from Washington, he was taking off his diaper in the morning to use the potty, and then having no accidents all day long.  And he hasn't had a pee accident since I've been home - not a single one!!  He's pooped in his diaper first thing in the morning or right after going to bed a couple times, but he's also gone on the potty a couple times.  I made a new deal with him, one I think he's more excited about than anything else I've tried:  If he poops on the potty (with no diaper/underwear accident first) 10 times, then we'll go play at "the bouncy place".  He is so excited.  Every time he poops on the potty (which, really, has only been twice), he says, "Can we go to the bouncy place now???"  Hate to disappoint the kid.  BUT, we've got a chart set up so he can see his progress.  And get stickers, of course.  Gotta love stickers!

And, is it just a boy thing, or what?  I cannot keep Jacob from hitting everyone and everything in sight when he gets excited.  He'll grab a toy, run around the house, start swinging it around with all his energy, and then suddenly focus it on something.  Usually, that something is Alex.  Or Melinda.  But mostly Alex.  And sometimes the walls.  Or other toys.  But mostly Alex.  And boy oh boy, does the mama bear inside me get upset about that.  And then I go and get upset that I'm getting upset with one child all while trying to protect the other.  I just keep thinking, "Jacob... just you wait until your brother is old enough to fight back.  You're going to have a revolution on your hands!!"  Alex wails and wails, of course, but he's usually easily soothed.  But really, Jacob isn't being malicious.  Just channeling all his energy in the wrong direction.  And he tends to be very rough with his siblings.  I suppose he doesn't realize what he's doing, but it's still really difficult to deal with, when Melinda starts wailing and throwing a fit because Jacob hits her, and then Alex joins in on it, and then if I try to separate Jacob from them both, suddenly things are getting banged on and crashing around elsewhere.  Winter's going to feel pretty long... isn't it?  And of course, none of this is helped by the fact that he really could use naps every now and then, but will only fall asleep if he's in a car.  And then he has to wake up to get out of the car, because I just don't have enough hands to carry in two children at a time.  I'm well-acquainted with the effects of being over-tired.  And I think Jacob is definitely being affected by exactly that, a lot of the time.  And yet, somehow, bedtime continues to be a struggle for him most nights.

Oh! I was so happy to talk to him on the phone while I was away.  Usually, when I have him talk on the phone with other people, he'll just sit and nod silently, or say "I don't know" in an Eeyore sort of voice, or grin a silly grin and still say only the occasional "yes" or what have you.  In short, he simply hasn't been able to carry on a phone conversation.  But when he talked to me on the phone, I could hardly tell it was him!  I thought he might be Melinda, at first, because there he was, spouting off full sentences with such enjoyment and vitality!  I was amazed.  And I've really been paying attention to how many big sentences he says now days.  It's amazing how much he's growing!

Alex:
Alex is being himself.  That is to say, I swear he wishes he were as big as Melinda and Jacob.  He looks and acts so much older than he actually is.  While we were in Washington, he was going crazy.  CRA-ZY!  There were several times that he was letting go of people or furniture to stand and take a step or two before he dropped down.  At SEVEN MONTHS!!  And if he started getting over-tired, he would just keep going, only with less control.  There was one day that he seriously rammed his head into something hard at least 5 separate times in 5 different places.  From whacking his temple and ear into the corner of the computer desk, to thwacking face-first into the corner of a door jamb while trying to climb one of my sisters, to flopping face-first onto linoleum while trying to play "King of the Aunt".  I wasn't sure if I was going to be bringing home a baby or a giant walking bruise, you know?  He really did have a great time with my family, though.  There was a dog to chase,

Cousins to tackle,

Aunts to help put him to sleep,

And cousins to walk him around the house.

Simply put, there were hours and hours of readily available entertainment!

He enjoyed all the attention and activity, and went to sleep easily pretty much every time he got tired.  Aaaand, then we came home.  And suddenly he wasn't falling asleep until 2am, and waking up after 20 minute stretches again.  Sometimes less.  I was about to tear my hair out, when I got a glimpse of his gums.  He's got a top tooth ready to come out any day, now.  I can see it just under the surface.  This kid is CRAZY, I tell you!  Not only is he trying to walk so much earlier than normal, he's also trying to get a 3rd (and probably at least a 4th) tooth months before either of my children ever had a single one!  And then bites everything in sight! 

Oh, speaking of my baby causing people pain, he's picked up a new habit.  When he's tired, he starts pinching.  Skin.  Only skin.  He'll pinch my arm with one hand, and my chest near the collarbone with the other hand.  Or, if he can reach my face, he'll pinch my cheekbones.  Or nose.  And of course, it should go without saying that he'll also pinch my breast any time he gets the chance while nursing.  And if Jesse's holding him, he'll pinch and grab arm hair at the same time.  And he pinches hard.  He grabs anything he can get a grip on, which is usually the skin and a layer of muscle along with it, and just squeeeeeeeze it between his fingers and thumb till you're screeching in pain.  I can't seem to distract him from it.  I've tried nursing necklaces, dolls, toys, and just trying to pin his arms down and away from pinching targets, but it's pretty impossible to stop him.  He is dead intent on pinching, and we already know he's determined and strong.  Things are not in our favor.

I wish he would take up Jacob's habit instead - it's much nicer.  He only fiddles with his ears when he's tired. 

At any rate, he's learning and growing like crazy.  He's already outgrowing the leather soft-soled shoes I bought for him just last month.  Most of the clothes he has that I thought would last all winter long are already starting to get tight.  And he just keeps on truckin', eager for the next big thing. 

So there you have it, updates of all three kids, in a sort-of nutshell.  :)

On the Job Front

Well, it's been an interesting morning.  Jesse came home with news that about half of his company was laid off this morning.  In a sort of sneak-attack, too: It seems like only the VP's knew, and not even the managers knew anything until this morning.  No "which underling can you live without" queries, just "these people are gone, just so you know."  They had a big meeting to tell everyone about it at the same time.  According to Jesse, all of the technicians are gone (including quite a few people who have been around as long as Jesse, or longer), so who knows what's going to happen work-wise?  Sounds like either there won't be much work, or there will be too much for the people left to do on their own. 

But the bottom line is that Jesse has (finally!) decided to job-hunt pretty much full time during his free time at home.

We're certainly grateful that he is able to keep his job, at least for now.  They said there wouldn't be a second round of layoffs.  But I know that line.  Same thing was said after my law firm laid off people back in 2001.  Guess whose job was lost in the supposedly not-going-to-happen second round?   Yeah, mine.  So I don't put much stock in someone telling you there won't be a second round.  Especially not when they did this bunch of lay-offs so stealthily. 

Like I told Jesse, I'm glad he's got some motivation on his own, now, even if it is a pretty crappy kind of motivation.  I just wasn't doing so well at encouraging him.  I just hope and pray that in this economy, job hunting won't be impossible.

We both feel pretty terrible for everyone laid off. It's not a pleasant thing to go through, especially this time of year.  We know that first-hand.  I'm just glad we don't have to feel it with kids in the house to take care of, too.

Home Again

Ugh.  I had just about finished typing a post about getting home from Washington, when the electricity flickered for some unexplained reason (it's only foggy outside??), and my computer rebooted.  I thought that Blogger would automatically save my post and it would still be at least mostly here when I got back, but it wasn't.  I don't have time to re-type it now.  I'll get around to it later.  When I'm not annoyed at having to repeat myself.  When I do, I'll edit this post instead of posting a new one. 

For now, I'll just say what I opened with before.  While sitting on the airplane yesterday on the way home, I realized that I honestly didn't care where my home is.  Not as long as Jesse is there when I get to it.  That moment was the first time in my life I've actually felt the truth in the phrase, "Home is where the heart is".  Previously, I've associated home with location, and returning to the location of my home is what felt like a homecoming.  But yesterday, after being away from my family for 5 days, I was eager (desperate?) to be with them again.  And so, as I talked softly into Alex's ear, trying to keep him entertained and happy the whole trip home, and I said, "In just a few minutes, we'll be home, and we'll get to see Melinda and Jacob and Daddy again!  Aren't you so glad to go home?"  And it just hit me.  That's what home is.  The place you want to be at the end of the day, with people you love and share your life with.

See?  Wasn't "vacation" good for me?  I needed a break, and I got.  Now, back to life, and feeling grateful for it, struggles and all. 

T.G.I.F.

Thursday night, after Jacob was asleep and Melinda still getting up and down like she'd never get tired enough to sleep, she called Jesse in, insisting she had a secret to tell him.  She's never used that phrasing before, so we didn't ignore it, and Jesse went in to listen to her secret.  Of course I asked him about it when he came back out.  But it's a secret either he or Melinda are sworn not to tell me until just before I leave for Washington tomorrow.  (I hate knowing there's a secret and not being in on it.... even if I have a good guess as to what it might be...)

The autumn colors are absolutely astounding right now.  So vibrant.  I can't even think of the words to describe it, really.  It seems like every leaf of every tree is just bursting full of color.  And there's so many colors, and they're all so rich!  Not yellows, oranges and reds... but gold, and bronze, and copper, and ruby... burnished brass.  Lemon yellow, fiery orange. Entire hillsides like this!  And next to the still-perfect bright green grass, the deep forest greens of the evergreen trees, and with the odd angle of the afternoon sun lighting the trees just so, and the deepness of the shadows... it's really all just so breathtaking.  It's nearly impossible to drive down a road and watch the road instead of staring drop-jawed, full of awe at the colors on either side of the road, or up ahead.  I really wish I had a camera while I was in the car. Or that if I did have a camera, that I could take a picture while driving, so I could show you.  It's just amazing. 

I was so sleepy today that I couldn't read a book during Melinda and Jacob's art class.  My eyes kept crossing and I had to keep re-reading sentences.  So, I gave up, and I napped in the car instead.  Totally zonked out.  Glad I had set the alarm on my cell phone, so I wasn't late picking the kids up!  But wow... I haven't taken a nap in a car like that since my days as a legal secretary with 1-hour lunches.  (Thank you, universe, that Alex was nice and slept right along with me!)

Alex took an unassisted step from his activity table to my outstretched arms today.  He fell down after that step, but still.  Walking by 8 months, anyone?

We were shopping earlier this week, not a full week after Halloween, and can you believe the store was not only decorated for Christmas, but playing Christmas music as well?  Is that just NUTS??  Does Thanksgiving not exist anymore?  I voiced my purturbance a few times, and now Melinda is right on board with me.  "Why don't they decorate for Thanksgiving, Mommy?  Why do all the stores have to decorate for Christmas??" (Said with a slight scowl on her face, of course.)  This morning I went into her room, and she had decorated the underside of the top bunk with toys and scarves and such.  They were Thanksgiving decorations, and she's leaving them there. 

We just finished lesson 16 in How To Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  Melinda has read a few short sentences now!!  She's very proud of herself.  I don't know when we'll stop doing two lessons at a time.  She seems to have no problem with two at a time.  If she keeps it up, she could be reading well in just a month or so, I think.  Although we introduced the sound "th" today, and she had a hard time saying only "th" instead of "that".  And sometimes she doesn't take her time and immediately assumes how a word will end (like sam = sat, for instance).  She rolls her eyes at me and groans really big when I have to correct her.  She never has been one to take her time with anything, and that could be a hurdle as we get deeper into the lessons.

Jacob has been a ball full of aggressive energy the last few days.  Not always antagonistic, but even the innocent aggression is difficult for me to deal with.  Like laying on top of Alex and trapping him while I'm not in the room.  Or whacking people, even playfully, with a toy or piece of clothing.  Or chasing Melinda down with hard toys in both hands.  I probably haven't been doing enough to get his energy out otherwise.  Maybe my energy for those sorts of things will return once I'm home again next week, after a breather from being on constant mommy alert.  Well, sort of, at least.  Alex still has to have me, but he's different.  I've always been better at parenting the babies.  Maybe because they don't require so much brain effort and exuberant playfulness, just persistance and patience.  Anyway, maybe I'll be better after a break. 

Speaking of a break.  I was telling Jesse something about running the house while I'm gone, and I honestly said, "while I'm on vacation".  And I didn't realize it until after I was silent again and the words replayed through my head.  I was a little mortified that I had just referred to attending my grandfather's funeral and leaving the majority of my family behind as "vacation".  I guess my subconcious desire for a break runs a little stronger than I thought!

Anyway.  I just wanted to write up a little bit of a post before I head off to spend all day in airports and on airplanes tomorrow, all by my lonesome self and a non-verbal little guy.  I'll be back on Thursday, but I wouldn't be too surprised if I found some time to blog while I'm at my parents' house, but I'll probably save commenting on other blogs for when I get home.  (Times like this, I wish I had an iPod and a cell phone plan with internet access.... something interesting to do on a plane, huh?)

Send some prayers for a safe and uneventful journey.  I always get so nervous when flying without my family right there with me.  Or Jesse flying without us.  It feels wrong to be separated. 
Even when I'm anxious for a break.

Comments

A couple people brought it to my attention that there's some funkiness going on with the embedded comment form that I've been using, creating errors so you can't post a comment. (It's been so quiet over here!)

I'm not sure what the problem is, but even I couldn't get it to work. So, at least for now, I'm switching back to the old style of commenting, with the link taking you to a new page. If I find anything to help me understand what the problem is, or if it's something I can fix, I'll switch back eventually.

So, please, comment away, everything should be working again! And I *have* missed your comments!

Sad News

My grandpa passed away late Sunday night/ early Monday morning.  I'm doing fine right now - I'm sure the emotions will catch up to me when I'm back home in Washington for the funeral, but since I had been expecting to hear this news, I had already gotten over the shock aspect of it.

Although, there was a bit in the email my Aunt Marrea wrote that made me get teary-eyed, since I had just talked about all my memories.  She said she had been reading in Grandpa's history (which I didn't even know he had), and this is something he wrote:

"It has been a fun experience living here on earth.  It is great that it lasts so long and then we move on, but while we are here, we sure do make some wonderful friends.  We have been blessed to have so many and thank the Lord for all the comfort they bring.  I pray we will be together again one day.  I certainly love the grandchildren,  I am very grateful that most of them are living lives like they should.  This makes me very grateful because I know it will help them along their way."

So I've made some flight arrangments for myself and Alex (who nurses and therefore has to stay with mommy, not that I'll complain!), and Jesse gets bereavement leave from work and will stay home with Melinda and Jacob.  I'm happy to say the bereavement leave is paid leave, and doesn't even eat into his regular vacation time!   I'll be leaving Saturday afternoon and coming back late Wednesday night.  So... Jesse gets to be the full-time "single" parent for 5 days.  Is it okay to admit I'm a little nervous for him?  He's never done anything like this before.  Not even a single day.  A few hours here and there.... but not more that that!  He seems to feel confident that he'll do just fine (and if I stop and think for just a minute - yes, he's a grownup too, after all! - I think he'll do fine, also).  And I'm more than eager to get a break from it, myself.  I'm sure there'll be lots of relatives wanting to share Alex with me back home in Washington, too. The only part I'm not looking forward to is flying across the country alone with a baby... in full planes and less-than-ideal seats.  Ought to be a riot....

We were talking about Grandpa dying during dinner on Monday night, and Melinda was full of questions.  It was really a kind of funny discussion (especially with questions like, "How did he get so old so fast?").  But don't even ask me to explain how on earth the conversation evloved from talking about grandparents dying to the way certain animals hop.  Children are the perfect remedy, aren't they?

I Voted

I voted today, did you??  :)

We got lucky - no lines!  Jesse went during lunch, and there were only 3 other people there.  When he got home, he stayed with Jacob and Alex, and I took Melinda with me.  I thought she might be interested, even though we've never talked about elections with her, and she was.  Our polling place is an elementary school, so she was happy to see the inside of a school, for one thing.  Also, we have electronic voting, and so she even got to help me vote.  She touched the screen for the first few pages of voting, how fun!  I told her which one to select, she pushed it, and we both had fun.  There were more people there when Melinda and I got there, but I still only had to wait after one person to get my little voting machine card, and not at all to get to a booth.

And of course, we both got "I voted" stickers.  Isn't that fun?  And on the way out, we bought some Girl Scout cookies.  Because I'm weak like that, and hey, there's no Krispy Kreme nearby to go get a free donut from.  (You'd think the couple bags of Halloween candy would be a deterrent, but then, that would require me having a rational thought about sweets in the house.)

A Riddle

What has two feet, four wheels, and a great big drooly smile?




Yup, he is on the move.  This is Alex, today, at 7 months old and 2 days.  And he's been doing this all day long.  I brought in groceries, and when I walked in the room, he was all by himself, walking with the wagon, Melinda and Jacob nowhere to be seen.  I asked them if they had given it to him and gotten him going, but no, he did it all by himself.  And has been loving it.

Election 2008

I grew up in a Republican household.  I married into another one.  I voted Republican eagerly, early in my eligible years.  But I've found my political leanings changing little by little as time goes on, to the point where I now consider myself Independent.  I voted both Democratic and Republican during our last local election.  I've learned to look more at the issues than the party affiliation. 

I've been very on-the-fence for this Presidential Election.  Only one candidate really caught my excitement, and that was Ron Paul, who I voted for in the primaries, but- not surprisingly- isn't on the final ballot.  So I've been watching the debates, reading the websites, listening to the opinions and discussions of good friends, and trying to figure out which way I want to go this year.  I've had a really hard time deciding.  There's enough I don't agree with in each major Presidential candidate's platform that I've remained undecided for this entire time (yes, the undecided do exist!!).  And of course, living in a true-blue democratic state, half the time I haven't felt like I really need to figure out where I stand, because it is absolutely doubtless that Maryland's electoral votes will go towards Obama no matter what I choose.

But, tomorrow is the election, and a choice has to be made.  I believe in doing my civic duty of voting, whether or not I think it really matters or will make an impact. 

And I decided that I'm voting 3rd party.  I'm very tired of a two-party system in this country.  There isn't enough variance, and I'm more than a little disgusted at how the two major parties essentially force the alternate parties (Green, Libertarian, Constitution, etc.) out of the spotlight, leaving them absolutely no chance because they simply don't have the millions of dollars to back up their campaigns. And beside that point, I really agree with so much more of the alternate party platforms and ideologies than I do with either major political party.  Watching the 3rd Party Presidential Debates was particularly eye-opening.  I get excited about what they have to say, and think they could do our country a lot of good with the changes they would make.  I wish they had a better chance.  Any one of them.

It was interesting to have this article shared with me today, discussing the problem with the way a majority of my religion votes.  Elder Marlin K. Jensen, of the First Quorum of the Seventy, was "designated by church officials to respond to The Salt Lake Tribune's request for an interview on the topic of partisan imbalance in Utah and among LDS members."

It was a long article, but I wanted to share just a few quotes, in case you don't want to read the whole thing:

In an hourlong interview at the church's worldwide headquarters in downtown Salt Lake City arranged and overseen by LDS media-relations director Mike Otterson, Jensen discussed leaders' views about the seeming demise of two-party politics among members. Among the concerns he aired:-- The LDS Church's reputation as a one-party monolith is damaging in the long run because of the seesaw fortunes of the national political parties.

-- The overwhelming Republican bent of LDS members in Utah and the Intermountain West undermines the checks-and-balances principle of democratic government.

-- Any notion that it is impossible to be a Democrat and a good Mormon is wrongheaded and should be "obliterated."

-- Faithful LDS members have a moral obligation to actively participate in politics and civic affairs, a duty many have neglected.

~~~~~~~~

"There is sort of a division along Mormon/non-Mormon, Republican/Democratic lines," says Elder Marlin Jensen, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. "We regret that more than anything -- that there would become a church party and a non-church party. That would be the last thing that we would want to have happen."

Jensen said major national political parties may take stands that do not coincide with teachings of the 10 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but that should not put them out of bounds for members.

~~~~~~~~

"Everyone who is a good Latter-day Saint is going to have to pick and choose a little bit regardless of the party that they're in and that may be required a lot more in the future than it has been in the past. But I think there's room for that and the gospel leaves us lots of latitude."

This article is from 1998.  Ten years ago!  I haven't seen any sort of shift, personally, of how people tend to vote within church membership.  And even though I had never read this article before, at least I see a shift in the way I think about politics.  That's a start.  At least, I like to think I'm more open-minded than I was 10 years ago!

And of course, just as I'm deciding how I'll vote this year, a letter from the First Presidency was read in Sacrament meeting, as is typical for the time just before an election (emphasis mine), reaffirming the political neutrality of the Church:

As citizens we have the privilege and duty of electing office holders and influencing public policy. Participation in the political process affects our communities and nation today and in the future.
Latter-day Saints as citizens are to seek out and then uphold leaders who will act with integrity and are wise, good, and honest. Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties.

Therefore, in this election year, we urge you to register to vote, to study the issues and candidates carefully and prayerfully, and then to vote for and actively support those you believe will most nearly carry out your ideas of good government.

Anyway... I just wanted to share.  I thought it was all very interesting.  I'm just finding that there are so many different issues out there, and no one party can cover them all the way I think they should.  Nor do I think that it would benefit the country to be imbalanced in the favor of one party.  There needs to be a bigger variety of representation out there.  I hope that someday, the two-party system of the United States will expand and allow a greater representation of alternate parties.

And of course, don't forget to get out and vote tomorrow, however you feel is best! 

Playing Catch-up

Boy, I got behind in blogging this week! It's time for one big, giant, happy review!

Well, the happy part may be debatable. Last Sunday, Jacob, Alex and I stayed home from church, because we thought Jacob was sick. The night before, he kept waking up pretty hysterical, similar to the way Melinda does when she has a fever. Only, Jacob didn't have a fever. He just kept waking up (barely awake, really) and screaming. That along with a runny nose made us suspect he was sick. But, he was fine, I think. But I missed church. And Jesse wasn't feeling too great by the time he got home, with a raspy cough and headache.

I woke up in the middle of Sunday night/Monday morning with a gallbladder attack. I've had them occasionally since just before I got married, and I didn't realize until a couple years ago that they were gallbladder attacks. I'm not sure exactly what triggers them, but we've been starting to guess that it's too much fatty food. I've been wanting to do a really good intestinal cleanse ever since I figured it out, but it's not exactly safe while breastfeeding. I had big plans once Jacob was weaned... but then Alex decided to join the family, so the plans have been put on hold for a while again. Anyway... when I get a gallbladder attack, I can't sleep through them. So I spent most of that night wide awake and in pain. Jesse had been debating taking a sick day on Monday anyway, so when he learned that I had been up all night (I don't wake him up anymore, there's nothing to be done but suffer through it till they go away on their own in the morning), he decided to stay home. I stayed blissfully in bed until almost noon, and did nothing productive the rest of the day.

We got back into the swing of things by Tuesday. We finally officially started teaching Melinda to read. We're using the "How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" book. Just from reading the introduction, I was very impressed with their philosophy and presentation. Melinda got super excited to be doing something so officially "school-like", and since she's already 5 years old, we've been doing 2 lessons a day to kind of speed up the beginnings of the program, which are easy-peasy for her level. But Jacob insists on doing EVERYTHING like Melinda (right down to having the exact same piece of Halloween candy that she picks), so he's sort of learning, too. He's a little on the young side for the program (it's for "bright" 3.5 year olds, to average 4-5 year olds), but he's having fun playing along. I've been impressed with how well Melinda is picking up the penmanship part of the lesson, and she's very eager to do her lessons each day. We even went to the school supply store to buy stickers and writing sheets (because my poorly-drawn lines were making things difficult!!).

This week, we also implemented something we've needed for a while now. After dinner, things usually start falling apart around here, going into chaos and arguments and meltdowns, and generally just too much stress. I asked Jesse if he would agree to make the time between dinner and the kids' bedtime a "no TV/no computer" time of day. He thought it was a good idea, and we've been doing it... as much as I want to go straight to my computer after dinner is over. ;) We've been playing games and reading books instead, and the evenings are feeling much more calm and relaxed. I'm glad.

Alex has been teething in earnest. Both his bottom teeth are poking out now, and they're VERY sharp! He has been biting me while nursing quite a lot, which has been, well... excruciating. I don't really remember Melinda biting, except maybe once or twice. And Jacob, even if he did bite, didn't get teeth until 12 months anyway. But no, little Alex has to do everything he can think of to turn our world upside down. ;) I did scream so loud once that he started crying and just looked so scared... but I couldn't really feel sorry for him because it hurt so badly! Anyway, I have been starting to pick up on the precursers to his biting now, and I think we're about out of the worst of it, finally. This has been a very painful week.

And of course, Alex does something else that Melinda and Jacob never really did - he puts everything in his mouth. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before. (And what sort of nonsense is that, that 1st and 2nd babies, who had no small toys in the house, didn't care about eating whatever they could find, but the 3rd one, who has near complete access to a plethora of small toys, decides to eat everything? It's just cruel!) Well, Thursday night, I think it was, I was making dinner in the kitchen while the kids played in the front room. I heard Alex gagging in earnest, and ran to check him. He had a bracelet in his hand that Melinda had made from pony beads, and had obviously gotten it apart and had a bead caught in his throat. It sounded like he was only half-breathing, his air passage partially blocked. I immediately flipped him over and started patting him (well, more like hitting him) on his back, just like you're supposed to, but it wasn't working. He was still gagging/half-breathing, and the saliva coming from his mouth was all frothy and he was getting so upset and it was all taking so long and not getting better, I was getting so close to panicking. I kept on thwapping at his back, with him turned onto his belly and tilted downwards. Jesse walked in, home from work, to the middle of all this, and tried to figure out what was going on, then started telling me to do heimlich or something (oh gosh, he needs more of a refresher than I do!!). Finally, finally, his breathing sounded clear, and he started calming down. But no pony bead came out. But once he recovered from the panic, he seemed perfectly fine. I can only assume that means he swallowed it. They're small enough to swallow, after all. (Guess who gets to inspect diapers for the next long while?) But it was scary. Defiintely the most terrifying moment I've had as a mother. And since then, we've turned a little bit militant: Any toy that we find unattended on the ground, that is a choking hazard, gets thrown away. No second chances. Here's to hoping we don't have a repeat of this experience.

Friday was a busy day. Between playgroup, Art Play, and trick-or-treating, I was hardly home at all! Luckily, I did get downtime during Art Play while Alex napped. I just sat in the car and read a book. He's done that a few weeks in a row, now, and I'm enjoying the uninterrupted reading time. We went to Trader Joe's after Art Play, and when I got the diaper bag out of the car, we realized Jacob's thermos was missing. We had left it at playgroup. So, after Trader Joe's, we went and retrieved it. By the time we got home, I had enough time to feed Alex, and then get the kids' costumes on. We went trick-or-treating before it was dark! How cool is that! Melinda had so much fun this year. It really amazed me how differently she treated Halloween this year, compared to years before. She knew what Halloween was pretty well even last year (I can't even count how many times she's asked me over the past year when we get to go trick-or-treating again!), but this year, she just seemed so much older about it all. She ran ahead of us to each house, she eagerly said "trick or treat!" and "thank you" or even "happy Halloween!" after getting candy. She got excited at pointing out other kids' costumes (especially the little girl dressed like a mermaid!). She just wasn't the small toddler needing to hold a hand this year, you know? Jacob, however, was exactly that toddler! Okay, I know, he's technically a preschooler, but you know what I mean. He got tired of walking. Eventually, Alex didn't care to stay in the stroller anymore, so I carried him, and Jacob got a short little ride in the stroller between each house. And you know how Jacob wants to do everything like Melinda? At houses where they were allowed to choose a candy from a bowl, Melinda would pick first, and then Jacob dug through the bowl until he could find one exactly like hers. Exactly. It was a little maddening. I wanted to yell to each adult, "Don't let them choose, PLEASE!!!" But it was fun. And of course, everyone thought Jacob was a rooster, just like when Melinda wore that costume. But after a while, instead of giving people a chance to to guess and then having to correct them, and started telling people "I'm a phoenix!!" right after "Trick-or-treat!". I'm glad we started so early. The weather was still pretty mild while the sun was up, but as soon as it started getting dark, we got cold, fast. We're lucky we were close to our car when it got dark (because, yes, we drove to a nearby neighborhood instead of trick-or-treating in apartment buildings).

After we put the kids to bed on Halloween, Melinda got really excited for the next day being the first day of November. "It's going to snow tomorrow!!", she exclaimed. I'm not sure where she got the idea that November = snow. But I'm not ready for snow. But that's beside the point. I just thought it was a funny thing to say, really, and she was truly excited about it.

Saturday, I woke up feeling pretty yucky. I didn't want to get out of bed. I have a cold. Actually, all of us have a cold. Well, everyone but Melinda, somehow. I had big plans for doing a million chores and errands on Saturday, but it just didn't happen. We did a few loads of laundry, and Jesse did some dishes, I let everything else slide for another day. So... that makes for two very unproductive, sick-day type of days in one week. It was frustrating. My kitchen was sparkling clean on Sunday, and by Tuesday, it was intolerable. Same deal on Saturday. How on earth can dishes pile up so quickly?? And I won't even mention the amount of laundry!!!

And then Alex woke up today with a cough and an extra runny nose. He sounds pretty uncomfortable... but he's not extra cranky at all, thank goodness. And he even took an extra long nap, yay! Still, it's pretty un-fun for the whole family (minus mysterious Melinda) to have a stuffy, cough-y cold.

And for an update on my Grandpa. Over the weekend I got word (and you have to understand, I'm getting this about fourth-hand) that just after the big meeting with all the doctors, Grandpa was responding well and sitting up and having conversations. They even let his dog come in and keep him company for a little while. He was doing "100% better". I wasn't sure what to make of this news, but grandma Linda was feeling pretty hopeful, I guess. Mostly, I just felt confused. Here I was, completely accepting and getting ready to let go of him, and he has this awesome turn-around. Emotional roller coaster. But when I checked my email on Halloween, I had a new message: Linda had signed a stop-treatment plan, so he was no longer receiving dialysis or tube feeding. I don't know how long his turn around lasted, but I hope it was long enough to say good-byes to the people who were there with him. He was transferred to a hospice that Friday, where he would be kept comfortable and pain free, and it was expected that it would only be a few days before he passes. Apparently he had developed bed sores that would have required surgery, he hasn't responded to treatment, and his calcium levels had increased despite dialysis. I'm sure Linda had a very hard time signing the papers, but his wishes are being fulfilled by doing so. I have no new word right now, but it's been a couple days, so I'm sure it won't be long. I'm thinking of him a lot, in the meantime.

Oh yes, and I had so much fun reading Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale that I rushed out to the library to see if I could get more of her books. I picked up Goose Girl and Enna Burning on Wednesday. I finished them both by Saturday night. And loved them both. So, seriously (MELISSA), if you're looking for a good book to read, check out a book by Shannon Hale. I think you'll be happy you did!

And here's a photo of Alex's favorite new pastime: Being walked around the house!

Book & Cocoa Winner!

Thank you to everyone who participated! I knew I was getting a lot of entrants by the number of emails I was reading, but I didn't know the total until this morning. 105! This was a lot of fun. I wish I had a copy of this book to share with everyone, I really do.

However, a single winner had to be selected. Random.org's Random Integer Generator provided me with the number 75. The corresponding comment was Jodi from Michigan! Congratulations, Jodi! You've been sent an email with instructions to get back to me with your mailing address by Sunday evening.

To the rest of you: If for whatever reason, Jodi doesn't get back to me, I will be selecting another winner. But I do hope all of you will read Shannon Hale's "Book of a Thousand Days". I'm sure that you will love it!

Again, thank you for coming by and participating in the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. I had so much fun, and I hope you all did, too!