A Day with the Girl

Today I took Sydney out for some QT - we need to work on our relationship. As always, the morning started out with her favorite place to eat... Good Egg! Excellent, yet again. Then we had to swing by the hospital and visit a very good friend of mine who had surgery on Wednesday to remove a 4cm cancerous tumor from her stomach. She loved seeing Sydney and Sydney was happy to see Cathy. They are buddies. After that quick trip - off to my favorite place to blow $$$ - Target! Got her a few things, Rick some Father's Day stuff & lots of baby basics. Then to our final destination. Paint Yourself Silly. This is a wonderful place. We've been there before but it was when Heather was out for my graduation from nursing school. It's in a new location & even better than before. She was really excited about it. It was a surprise... she only knew that we were going somewhere to make something with colors. As you can see, she picked out a sunflower and another little flower to paint. She tried her best, made a mess, but had a blast! The pieces should be done in 7-10 days. I'll post pics of the "finished" product.

A Good Book

As you all know, Sydney is doing the summer reading program at the library. While we were getting more books (see her blog), we came across this book "The Right Touch". Rick was very apprehensive to "go down that path" just yet, but since she's starting school in a few weeks, I thought it wouldn't hurt to at least expose her to the subject. When I got home from work tonight he was anxious to tell me about this book. "It's a really good book". He thought that it was very well written and explain the subject extremely well and in a very kid-friendly manner. If you have small kids or even young kids (Hannah, Taylor, etc), this is good book to read with them, if you haven't already had the discussion. Like Rick said, it's unfortunate that we need to have these conversations with our kids, but its an important one. We have to keep our kids safe...

The BEST Blog ever!!!

Rick is going to be helping Sydney with her own blog. It will be her little journal - a place where she can talk about whatever she wants to talk about. Check it out...

Meet Mowgli

This is what he's doing....Just like how Mowgli walks in the "Jungle Book". My thanks to Andria for pointing this out.

I'm tired of being tired

Here comes my first rant.

I'm so beyond over it... you just don't know. This morning Ryan opted for a 3:30 wake up time. Yeap, I know, what an awful time. Did he go back to sleep? Not until 5:45, which was great until Ms. Sydney came into the room and requested to get in bed with us. That was a good idea for about 2 seconds...since he's a light sleeper when he's just fallen asleep. He started to move around and she pops up "Good Morning Ryan", which of course wakes him up again. ARGH...I could have killed her. So much for us getting anymore sleep. So, up again at 6:20. I'm guessing he realized how angry I was at Sydney because he decided to poop all over the place again. He's rolling around the floor naked as I type. When it rains, it pours here.

I think what really gets me is that I don't get a break from it all. I understand that being a "mom" you make all these sacrifices, but geez, throw me a bone! When I'm sick (like I have been for the last week), when my12 hour shift at worked ended up being 14 hours, when I've been up so many times in the night & can't think anymore, when I've run around all day - I still manage to do loads of laundry, feed two kids, attempt to keep the house clean, deal with fussy boy & frustrated girl, cook some kind of meal for Rick & I, attempt peeing & showering on a regular basis. This sucks... Our yards are a mess, the patio is a wreck, I have clothes to put away, playroom to clean, bathrooms to clean, vacuum again, clean the tile... it's never ending is it?

I could go on & on, but what good will it do. I'm hoping to kick this cold finally at some point this week. I'll get myself & my life organized at some point this week. Now that Ryan is requiring less of my time, but is getting mobile, my cleaning schedule needs to change to accommodate his venturing around. Blah blah blah... I'm over it.

When I grow up

I want to be a mom just like Kate! After watching a marathon of "Jon & Kate + 8", I've realized that my life is a cakewalk compared to hers. She's got it down to a science. I guess with that many people under one roof, it's either one way always, or nothing.

Sydney

Here's what's going on with her... our little 5 year old, independent & outspoken daughter!

• Reading at least 5 books a day - signed up for the summer reading program and is determined to get all the prizes!
• Showering on her own, with a little help sometime
• Wiping her own butt!!!!! FINALLY... this is a huge step for her! We've been telling her that she needed to learn how to do it because they don't/won't help her at school. What a relief!
• Garden care daily... it's looking great!
  
• Attempting to be a better eater
  

Mr. Ryan

He's got a new place to hang out and play... the laundry basket! We used to put Sydney in there when she was little to watch "Finding Nemo". He seems to like it so far...
He's still getting better with the "crawling" thing. He can now do a push-up, like military style. It's so cute. He's rolling around and doing lots of creeping! Unfortunately, he's puking again. His GI doctor said this would start happening once he started to move around, so I'm not concerned. I just follow him around the floor cleaning up his mess. Oh well...

Any suggestions on how to keep him asleep past 4:30-5:00??? He seems to like that time to wake up every morning. We've seen so many sunrises in his young life - I'm so over it! At least it give me lots of time to get things done. I had two loads of laundry and the carpets just about all vacuumed before Rick got home this morning. BLAH. This is where he took his 15 minute nap this morning around 9:15.

Hummingbird Update

Those little guys are not quiet when you get close to the nest. I was being yelled at by both parent birds - at the same time! By the way, a hummingbird's tongue is very long and looks kinda clear in the sunlight. I was able to get a few good shots, but they wouldn't let me get close enough to get above the nest to see what was in it. I may have to try later today or tomorrow from another side of the tree - I was on the 8' ladder this morning. Anyway... have no idea what, i if anything, is in the nest.

Forgot this one...

He loved sitting in the shopping cart at Target. He sat there like he'd been doing it his whole life!

Graduation Day

Sydney's graduation was this morning. It was a very nice ceremony & the kids were all so well behaved! She's extremely excited about starting school again July 14th. We are trying to find things for her to do in the mean time. She got signed up for the summer reader program at the library and has a few birthday parties to go to, but for the most part it should be a pretty boring summer break for her. I'm hoping her school will do the summer school program - he teacher is just trying to determine how many people were interested in it. I guess we'll just wait and see. Here is the link to the Snapfish album. Be sure to check out YouTube for a little clip from today.

This is Sydney with one of her teacher's - Ms. Adrienne.This is her "invention" - it's a playroom cleaner. The spoon & fork pick up things and put in the in the bear's belly!

The Big Day for Sydney

Tomorrow morning Ms. Sydney "graduates" from kindergarten. In case you don't remember, she was moved from the Pre-K class to the other class earlier in the year because she needed more of a challenge. We are excited for her and marvel over all the accomplishments she has made during these last 2 years at Scholastic Arts. She can't wait to start "real school" in July. We are very proud of her and know she will continue to do wonderful things!!! More to come tomorrow...

The Little Creeper

Ryan has begun creeping! He's starting to really get the hand/knee coordination down. The little guy has begun cruising around the living room - getting stuck under furniture & bonking his head on things, none of which seems to really bother him. He'll occasionally cry out if we don't move him shortly after he's gotten stuck, but nothing more than that! He's also developed a great fondness for the remote and any type of paper or book. So we've stolen one of our old remotes that Sydney plays with for him and have pulled out some soft books for him to mess with. Wonder what's going to be next???

Poop, Poop & More Poop

After a horrible night battling this cold I'm getting (no sleep from 12:20-3:30ish), Ryan woke up 12:20 & 4:30 for his bottle. Luckily, he went back to sleep until around 6. After I finally drug myself out of the bed in his room, I brought him into the living room and put him on his mat. Grunt, grunt... he was pooping! I started my hot chocolate, went peed and came back to change him. He was laying down now, half onto the carpet. Oh shit.... we had ourselves a blowout unlike anything I've seen. It was in a 6+ inch circle on the mat, all over the back of his shirt, inside his pants, on his arms, back, and very little butt! It had the worst smell ever! It shot right out the back of his diaper and he smashed it all over the place. Rick walked in, looked at what I was dealing with for a little - "Is there anything I can do to help?" "Go start the tub, he'll need a bath." I just let him lay on the floor naked after all that. Got all the nasty clothes & mat into the washing machine for the first of 2 cycles. Rick gave him a very quick bath and got him dressed. This was a great way to start a day... HA!

Just trying something

Amy & I are curious if this will work... a link to our Snapfish albums! This one is for the kids/family from April.

The heat is on

This is why is SUCKS living in a desert... the heat!

Why do bad things happen to good people?

On day last week I read an article that the local newpaper had in it. Yes, I know, I never read the paper, but there was something in the title that prompted my interest. "130-mile police chase ends in murder and suicide for 2 brothers". That struck me very odd. I know TPD has a "no pursuit policy" when it comes to chasing the bad guy, so I wanted to find out what was the reason behind this chase. I read the article and there was a name that I knew, a name from my past. Willard Twiggs. I lived down the street from a guy with that name. It's not a very common name. I thought briefly... "I wonder if this is Willard from home?" I went on about my day and never thought about the article again. That was until yesterday... While driving Sydney to school, Mom called and told me she had just forwarded me an email from a lady from back home (Ama). It was about Willard & Travis Twiggs. I nearly drove the car off the road. That article came rushing back into my mind. "Oh my God... Mom, I know what you are talking about. I read an article last week about them". I could not, and still do not believe that this happened. I mean, really! I grew up down the street from them. Their parents still live in Ama on Ellen St. After doing a google search to read more, I was so heartbroken. How could this happen??? His parents, Nancy & Douglas, will never know why this happened. How sad a time for them all. My heart was so heavy with shock & sadness yesterday.

I can only say that, regardless of the reasons the war was started, or who you think is the reason behind it, our troops and their family need the support from every US citizen. No matter what...

TWO!!

Ryan now has two toofers! His second tooth started to pop out day before yesterday and came all the way out this am. He's very happy this morning and that may be why. Today, we venture out to Target where he will exposed to sitting in the shopping cart for the first time. Thanks to Sheila for our way-cool cart cover. No germs for us... Fun times ahead!!!

Good Night?

As usual, Ryan got his bottle and went to sleep around 8:30 last night. I got in bed not long after that. I checked on the little guy just before crawling into bed - passed out and snoozing good. Much to my surprise midnight got here - no sounds at all. Back to sleep... 2 am came around, nothing. 3 am, nothing. 4 am - thought might be a good idea to go see what's going on. As I peeked in on Sydney, I heard what I thought was a cough from Ryan. When I got into his room I noticed that the boy had not moved an inch from when I last saw him around 9 pm. WOW!!! So, back to bed I went. Knowing he'd be waking in an hour, I made his bottle, got my robe on, rearranged Sydney then waited. As I was lying in bed listening to the annoying hum of his monitor, I started to hear activity. Ryan was waking up, just like I knew he would. A few coughs, sneezes and toots...then the excitement started. Talking... yeap he was awake alright. So, off to his room to get him out of bed. He was just hanging out - playing with his paci & the crib toy. Scooped him up and brought him in here. He chugged his bottle, took a dump, puked a few times, cleaned out boogers, played with his balls while I changed his diaper and smiled all the while. Off to play he went. I got a load of laundry started - he started to freak. He was still tired... The story will end there because in the time it took to type this, he's fallen back to sleep on my lap. Today has started out good. Question is...will it stay that way??

Our New Neighbor

While outside this afternoon, I noticed a little hummingbird buzzing around in the tree up front. I've always loved watching them zoom around, but was AMAZED when I saw where "she" was going. Right before my eye - right into a nest! That's right... we are the proud neighbor of a hummingbird family. Let's not forget the 4 families of doves that set up shop in the backyard last Spring/Summer. I guess our house is the place to have little bird babies! My goal tomorrow - get pics of the nest. I'm insane enough to climb the ladder to get some pictures of what's in there. I hope to get luck & get at least one good shot of the egg(s). Check back tomorrow...

Seven

That's the number of times I physically had to get up with Ryan last night. This doesn't count all the other times I woke up to his melody of noises, which are sometimes worse because it takes me a long time to go back to sleep after them. 3:30 came and I caved. Went in his room, scooped him up and crawled into bed with him in there. He tossed and turned until I was tired of getting kicked, poked, scratched, sneezed on... 5:00!!! Time to get up - about thirty minutes before he usually wakes for the day, but I was pooped. Bottle time - 40 minutes of torture for the little guy. Lots of sneezing, coughing and choking because he couldn't breath. Looking forward to the day....

All quiet on the homefront

Well it's quiet for now... both kids are in bed sleeping. For some reason Sydney thought it necessary to sleep in the floor with all her animals tonight. Another battle we've decided not to fight. I've heard Ryan several times already hacking away. Poor thing - got Sydney's cold. On top of teething terribly(second tooth is due to arrive any day now), he's got this to deal with too. Like always, he's taking it like a champ. She's been dealing with that since last Tuesday. I can't believe it's been almost two weeks and she's still coughing. Dr. Auerbach said it's just a cold, but I still think she picked up something from Colossal Cave.

Oh well!!! I guess I'll go to sleep and pray for a good few hours before the madness begins. He had a terrible night last night which landed us sleeping on the sofa. I have a feeling that it was the first of many to come. Hopefully having his crib mattress elevated on one end will help with his congestion.

So....

I've decided to blog! About what, who knows. Just thought it was time for me to join the club. I'm sure you'll be reading a lot about what's going on with Ryan and Sydney, but then again, you might be reading about nothing that important. Either way, I hope it's a good read.