TKB

In order to hold myself accountable, I have decided to post on here about my new venture... Turbo Kick Boxing. At one point in my life, I may have been able to do this quite well, but tonight told another story entirely. I am much heavier, less flexible and more out of shape than I once was -- which contributes to my ghastly performance at this evening's TKB class. Oh well, the instructor is nice, the other people in the class are also beginners, and it gets me out of the house at bedtime. Sorry Daddy! :)

I am going to stick with it and hope to get myself back into some sort of shape (other than round)! Keep you posted... but not too frequently.

Monkeys in a bed

I am so glad we splurged for the king!

Yummm

Remember how Little Lady was working on getting her fist to her mouth the other day? Well, yesterday she spent 95% of her awake time working on that skill. Seriously, even when she was supposed to be eating, she wanted to get her fist in her mouth. Eventually she'll get that thumb out from under her fingers and we'll have an official thumb sucker... but in the meantime it is all work and no play around here:

I see fist... struggle struggle squawk struggle
I can get it into my mouth... num num suck suck
Ack, involuntary spasm
Where did that fist go?
Ah, I see it again... concentrate, concentrate, squawk, struggle
Finally... suck suck suck
Dang, another spasm...
repeat over and over and over and over until I fall asleep.

Big Day

Little Lady is 2 months old!!!!!

And, she loves her bouncy seat, talking/cooing, sucking on her fist, and looking as adorable as can be!

Squeaker's First Day of Preschool

**EDIT: Must give credit where credit is due... GaMommy took these wonderful pictures since Mommy had to work (boo hoo)**

First Day of School

Little Man started Kindergarten this week. He is SO ready for Kindergarten, and if weren't for the age, maturity, and motor development, he would be ready for 1st grade...

Before we even moved to this school district, we were going to put LM in this kindergarten program. It is a special program for those children with late birthdays or who might need another year before the rigors of the full-day K program. Apparently, it isn't like it was when we were young. In kindergarten, they are expected to write sentences, stories, and illustrations. I seem to remember that was what you learned in 1st grade! Times have changed. Anyway, since his birthday is in October, and he tends to shy away from writing/coloring/finger-related activities and gravitates more to run run run/sword-fight/attack/chase/hide/scream/yell. Yes, all boy! So, we thought it would be best to place him in a 2-year kindergarten program. He has one year of half-day K that focuses on basic skills required for the full day curriculum the following year. One more year to grow!

So, the first day of school... it was spectacular. He was a little emotional (just like his mom - excitement and nervousness) but went in and just did beautifully. He is, apparently, a good listener and already made an impression on the teacher. ;) As long as he does it at school, that is all I really care about. He is a bit sad that he can't go all day, but there is time enough for that. It actually works out well that he goes 1/2 day since he still naps. The best part for me, we can walk to and from school. No driving and hauling kids in and out for a 2 minute drive. It is heavenly. Just a stroller, beautiful weather and a little bit of exercise.

Back at work

So, it occurred to me that I didn't start working again after LM and Squeaker until they were over a year old. And, poor Little Lady is being torn from her mother's arms before she is even 2 months old. POOR THING!!!!! I am glad to be at work and soooo thankful that I work for an employer that is so incredibly flexible to allow me to work just one day a week. I am even more thankful that my mom, wonderful GaMommy, is able to arrange her schedule to watch the kid(s) while I work... it sure does make everything just so much easier. And, since it is the beginning of the year, I have had to work 2 days in a row, and am now more confident than ever that one day a week is just right for me!

Just a heads up, I will be sobbing in my lap for the next 12 hours, as my boys will be starting Kindergarten and Preschool respectably. :( Sigh.

Random Trip to Expensive Theme Park

We took an impromptu trip to Sea World today... very spur of the moment... and I am so glad we did. We called Aunt Coleen to join us (since she wasn't working) and enjoyed the sunny Southern California weather. It was great - even without the naps. I didn't expect the boys to make it as long as we did (to dinner time) but they did quite well and had a fabulous time. Thankfully, they have a good AAA discount and I ignored the part where we are poor. :)

Yay, Mail!

What an exciting mail day... I finally purchased and received my brand new camera. It is so cute and small. I decided to go with Canon, since I loved my last one (that I apparently broke) so much. I found a good deal it when I was searching for searching around for something unrelated to this camera. I got distracted. And purchased my camera. My cute little green camera!



Now, I don't have to worry about breaking my mom's camera anymore and having to replace two. And, I have a cute green camera that fits right in my pocket without a problem.

Another exciting bit of mail came, a package from a dear college friend who apparently has nothing better to do with her time than make quilts. Check out this quilt:



Adorable! And... it adds a nice balance to all the pink we have accumulated in our house in the past month. THANK YOU!!!

The storm before the calm

I am baffled by how often I miss all the signs. Without fail, I misread certain 'signs' as ' someone has replaced my 4 yo with the devil!'. These 'signs', if interpreted correctly, would all point to 'SICK'.

Yesterday, Little Man had a horrible no good verrrrry bad day (...All details have been blocked from my mind). Today, he took a nap at 8am and again at 1:30pm and has been coughing, wheezing and generally content to sit on the couch. Um, sick.

Why do I never see it coming- even though Daddy was sick, I was sick and Little Lady was sick (currently getting over it), and LM had a runny nose yesterday- I mean, all the signs were there! The good news is, he was not replaced by the devil AND he is extremely more helpful when sick (and blowing germs into his sister's face) and helped LL burp after her meal. I am glad the storm has passed and am enjoying the calm while it lasts.

My parents got a washer and all I got was this box

Luckily, Daddy is so creative and turned an ordinary, plain, HUGE box into a CASTLE!!! Comes complete with drawbridge with string to pull it up and down.

It was looking a little pitiful in the garage, so I moved it into the backyard and let the boys loose with some leftover craft paint that was clumping. Boy were they a mess... and there are a few areas of stucco that are now green on the back of our house... but it was worth it for the end result. A multicolor castle. Gorgeous!!!

Caffeine Experiment

So, you know how kids with ADHD are given stimulant medications to improve their attention? Well, I decided that I would try a little 'holistic' experiment. Completely unscientific, you understand, but not totally off the mark.

My theory is as follows:

Can't physically sit still, even with bribery or by playing the 'statue' game=ADHD
ADHD(sometimes =) stimulant medication
Stimulant=Caffeine
Caffeine=Dark chocolate covered espresso beans (20 of them to be precise)

Beans ready to go - there were 20 to start (a serving size was 22)
Eating the beans - some encouragement to eat more than one at a time in less than 30 minutes. he savored every last bite.
Delicious -- note the chocolate drool, so tasty

Results:

Well, I would have to say, I was prepared for the worst - like it would not work at all, he'd be so hyper we'd have to get the ladder down to remove him from the chandelier (that he was playing with during lunch - aughh). I might even go as far as to say that he was notably calmer. I would definitely try again to determine test-retest reliability.

Discussion:

No actual determination of how much caffeine was consumed leads to difficulty with retest opportunities. I doubt he'd go for a cup of coffee with breakfast. Actually, I take that back, he is strange like that - such as oral sensory kiddo - loves lemons, limes, sour, spicy, sweet, and crunchy, so perhaps he'd like strong bitter coffee???

*Note: THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION TO TRY THIS AT HOME!!!!! No actual research was performed. I don't know that I would even recommend doing this to anyone else's child, unless they were as sleep deprived and impatient as I was today.

Soooo Big!

I don't know how big she is, but seems like Little Lady must have doubled in size in the last 2 weeks. I am not sure what happened to my newborn, she has turned into a full on baby. :( I have decided that I am going to have to keep track of her milestones online since I am one full baby book behind. Having stuff packed up for years doesn't promote task completion over here! Squeaker should have his baby book done by the time he is 18... and, Little Lady, I just hope you get one. Right now I am thinking I might start an online journal or blog for the sole purpose of milestone tracking... however, I can barely keep up this little blog these days. I am hoping that changes, though.

This thing looks so yummy... I keep seeing it fly in front of my face. Must focus to get in mouth...

Sweet Success