Domicile

Holy Cow!! It was so fun to house shop and day dream about our house. Finding my dream home was just the icing on the cake. We are so excited to move in. Today it hit me. I have to MOVE. That means packing things in boxes (the easy part for me) and UNPACKING them on the other side (not my favorite part, in fact, there are a few boxes that I never unpacked from the summer--score!). That means work. I also just realized that I am going to have a baby. I have been ignoring that for the last 6 months, not because of her extra 21st chromosome, but because I DON"T HAVE TIME FOR ANOTHER CHILD. Strangely, she is coming anyway. In 5 weeks.

Crap.

Since my sweet husband (who is on the mend, btw) took the kids away, I was planning on doing lots of pre moving stuff. I was even going to clean the cars and organize the garage. Instead, I have eaten 3 Ruben sandwiches (my favorite, don't forget the cranberry mustard), watched the Animal Planet Channel almost non-stop (WHY? I hate animals.... something is wrong with me..) and pretty much have not moved off the couch except to fetch the occasional diaper for Norah. It is a good thing that my husband does not read my blog because I feel guilty for not being more productive. Not guilty enough to get off my rear and DO something.....

I finally got my hands on some pictures of the house. I didn't want to post the link because it has the price on it and that is tacky (although, I did send the link to a few friends and didn't realize that it wasn't just the PICTURES... sorry). I am going to give you a walking tour that might be a bit too involved for the average reader, but since most of my family will likely never see it in real life, this is the next best thing. This is also for you AJ... but I fully expect YOU to see it in real life someday. The rest of you are invited too, come visit San Francisco and stay for dinner!

I am very excited to get settled. I think that I am the only person on the planet that isn't on the Mid Century Modern bandwagon. I really do love the style and have often been envious about some of the homes and designs of my friends (and we have some families in our ward that have refurbished some Eichlers that would take your breath away). I am an Arts and Crafts girl. MCM just isn't my thing. It isn't how I live. The very first piece of furniture that I bought was Arts and Crafts (sometimes called Mission style). In fact, ALL my furniture is. Arts and Crafts style was a backlash of the very ornate Victorian style. Instead of being fussy and swirly, it is simple, dark woods, natural, straight lines, exposed beams (thanks to my sister Jen for giving me some good background). It is just very clean and simple. It feels very calm and the symmetry appeals to me. The best part about our new house is that the architecture is decoration enough. A few family pictures and we are set...

So, here is is!

Welcome to my home, come on up to my front porch!!

This is just inside the front door. This was the original porch of the house but now it is a really large entry way. There are glass "windows" on all the sides. One shows the outside (the one you see here) the other shows you a view into the front room, the other, into the dining room. So, even though it is dark wood, it feels very light and open. Also, the lot is very narrow, but this is the only place in the house where you can see the neighbor's house...

Just to the right of where this picture ends (by the crosses and the heart chest) is the open entryway. There are built in shelves in the left corner and that awesome fireplace (which will not be used for a LONG time. It needs to be completely upgraded inside and out). It is a smallish room, but since this is a dedicated "front room" that won't have a TV or anything child related it doesn't really matter. It is still a light and happy space.

When I saw this picture on the web listing I actually gasped. This is on the other side of that glass wall in the entryway. This space is the same size as the front room, but it means we have a dedicated dining room (something we have never had before). On the left wall (you can't see it) is some really interesting, but beautiful, built in drawers and cupboards. They are original to the house and will give us some great storage. You can't really see it, but at the top of the room where the wood meets the (original) wall paper there is a little ledge with some wonderful detail work. Can't you just see candles all around the room? Sigh.

This is the kitchen. The little window on the top left of the photo (by the fridge) is a little open window into the dining room. The kitchen was updated in 2005. AND it is dark wood. It even has an island that the kids can eat at (on my wish list) and a kitchen desk (something I have learned I can't live without). It is unusual to have a large kitchen in these old houses. Most have galley kitchens. The original owners knocked down some walls and made it a large space. Smart move and one of the reasons we knew we wanted it. It seems that around here you either get tiny dark rooms, or totally open floor plans. This was a nice middle ground (and one we preferred anyway).

This is the other view of the kitchen. It was taken from where the fridge it. On the left of the door that goes outside (so, behind that red chair) is the house access to the studio apartment. There is no picture of it, but it is up a flight of stairs. There is also outside access to the studio. The garage is on that side of the house and has been halfway turned into a playroom. That is a project we will finish in a few years. Until then it will be an exercise/storage room. There is a full bath and kitchen in the studio and a half bath and laundry room downstairs at the back of the garage.

This is the little family room area just off the kitchen. This is idea because it is a small-ish space and it is close to the kitchen (where I tend to spend my time). The kids can be close by, but not right on top of me. Just to the right (you can see it in the previous picture) is the staircase. There is a little nook under the stairs that will just fit the toy shelves and play kitchen. Add a TV and comfy couch and we have a perfect play room/tv room. It is out of the way (and therefore doesn't have to be clean whenever the doorbell rings) and easy to clean up. Perfect. There is not a picture of it, but on the other side of the stairs is one bedroom. It will be Lauren's room.

This is the downstairs bathroom. It is right next to Lu's room. It was also updated in 2005, so everything is new.

At the top of the staircase is this large hallway. I love that it is big enough to put a comfy chair and bookshelf for a nice reading space, or a desk for a homework station. It is having these extra, usable spaces that make this a good house for us. Not really a "room" but space we can use. There is no picture, but there is a bathroom and a laundry room just on the other side of that red chair.... and upstairs laundry was also something that I have dreamed about.

This is the other upstairs bedroom. It is just big enough for a bed, a crib and a dresser. There is a big closet at the foot of the bed. This is all that Cubby and No need. It is also right next to the master bedroom, so the babies are really close by. Eventually, we will turn this into the little girl's rooms and put Cubby in the finished garage room. For now, I need to know what the little tornado is up to.

This is the master bedroom. Small-ish but perfect. It is big enough to fit a bed, a dresser, a chair and enough breathing room to not feel cramped, but not big enough for a weight bench and exercise bike. :-) I love that it is bright and airy. There is another window across from the bed (not pictured).

Here is the master bath. Another thing on my wish list (you know, the list of things that would make you pass out if you got it, but not something you expect...). There is a HUGE tub and a great shower. It is also updated and feels clean. We have always had old bathrooms. It seems that no matter how clean they are, they don't FEEL clean when they are old. It is a pretty small space, but perfect for us.

This was what put us over the top on this house (besides the studio apt). We knew we needed a place for full time help to live. That means that the fourth bedroom was gone. We weren't sure if there was a space to put the baby. This is the closet in the master bedroom. It is the size of the garage. They knocked a hole in the wall (and made a secret door that is behind a bookcase, very Scooby Doo). The first half is a huge closet with TONS of shelves. The second half is what will become the baby's nursery. There is plenty of room for a crib, a rocking chair, a changing table/dresser and a great window. We aren't sure if it is insulated, but since we OWN this house and don't have stupid home owners rules, we can put a window air unit if we need to. This becomes our 4th bedroom. It is quiet and private and means I can take care of baby in the night and not have to move to the couch (Derek gets a pass on night baby care since he works at 4:00 am..... ). Pretty slick, huh?

Finally, this is the whole reason we needed a bigger place. My poor Cubby needs a place to run around. The yard isn't very big, but it is big enough to have a sandbox, a play structure and room to hit a ball. We were kind of bummed that the deck takes up about half of the yard space and considered taking it out. When the engineers report came back, they told us that the yard doesn't have great drainage (all of our town is on a gentle upward slope and we are at the bottom. We needed to be sure that all the runoff didn't empty into our foundation) and that the problem area is under the deck. It needs to be taken up, have proper pipes put in and replaced. Sweet. We just won't replace it all the way. Problem solved. The other plus to this property is that because of the slope of the land, the property behind us sits on a terraced lot (so that no one has a slanted back yard). This means that the fence behind us is about 12 feet tall. The one on the left side of this picture is about 8 feet. The other side is the side of the garage/studio. All of this translates into 1) not seeing the neighbors and 2) a Cubby proof yard. I am sure he will figure out a way to escape from it somehow, but it might take us awhile.

So that is it!! Our new house. It feels like a great fresh start. A new school for the kids, a new town for us, closer to work for dad (and a MUCH shorter commute), a new congregation, a neighborhood with yards and trees and sidewalks and kids. I am very sad to leave our community here after 10 great years, but excited about getting to know the new one. Besides, we are only about 15 miles away. I will still be down here all the time for doctors appointments and play dates. So it isn't REALLY goodbye.

Ahhh....love....

I hope everyone had a great Valentines Day. I sure did.


My husband gave me the best Valentines gift ever!!! It just so happened that he has been out of town for the previous week, leaving me with the kids (pictures of the mass destruction to follow). His family was going to Utah to ski for the long weekend, so he took the big kids. Away. ALL OF THE LONG WEEKEND. This might not be as significant to you as it is for me, but I have to say that this has been bliss. I can actually hear the silence. I haven't said a negative word in hours. I can do what I want, when ever I want (and so far that has meant sleeping a lot). I cleaned the kitchen and did the laundry and picked up the toys... AND IT IS STILL DONE!!!!

It is just me and Miss Norah and we are having a ball. I so rarely get quiet time with her, it has been really fun to work with her on her therapies as well as just chill out with her. She actually does better (and eats better) when things aren't so crazy. It has taught me the value of getting this girl away from the chaos every so often and giving her quiet time with us (and re-enforcing that getting lots of help this year is a GOOD thing). I watched all my TV boyfriends (and some of yours), went to bed at 8:30 (even bypassing a girls night out, that is how crazy I am). My ladies are here and I don't have to go to McDonalds. I get to blog instead. Sigh. This is the good life.

Of course I miss my kids. I miss their little faces and their sweet words (those do occasionally pop out). I don't miss the markers on the wall, the mustard on the floor, the squabbles, the referee-ing, the constant messes, the diapers, the baths, the fighting, the whining, arguing about what Lu is NOT allowed to wear to school (tank tops and sparkly tights... NO), making bacon 3 times a day because that is all Cub will eat right now, car seats, Yo Gabba, etc, etc. This might sound terrible, but I just needed a vacation from my kids. Things are about to get pretty nuts around here and I can't imagine that there will be a time that I can do this again.

Even though I didn't NEED a vacation from the husband, it is nice not to have ANYONE to answer to. Do you know what makes it even better? He is SO sick (I just found out that he might have pneumonia). So, while he is dealing with the squabbles, the ski clothes, the diapers, and hacking up his lungs, I get to go to the mall and eat tortilla soup.

Love doesn't have to be passion and roses and chocolates (although those are nice too). Sometimes love is getting the H$&% out of dodge.

Ah, Love.

My new TV boyfriend....

I have one (or two). Do you? I also have a movie star boyfriend. My husband has movie star girlfriends. It is something that we laugh about. It is funny how the girls that I think are really pretty are not the ones he does, and vice versa. All the guys that he thinks girls would like remind me of child molesters (and they will remain nameless on this blog...the stars, not the child molesters... if I knew any I would let you know...).

AnyHOOOO, back to my new TV boyfriend. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to Dr. Drew.

I know, I know. You have seen him on MTV and on (horror) The Tyra Banks show and other MTV Generation type places. I thought the same thing: "Dr. Drew, you are a sell out, what can you do for me?" Well, he has brought us the little nugget called Celebrity Rehab. I had no desire to watch this show. I didn't need to see a show that was all about watching the train wreck similar to what we are watching with Britney Spears on a daily basis (seriously, how is it possible to NOT know what she is doing? It is everywhere). A friend told me that she watched it and it was surprisingly real, interesting and touching. With the writers strike and all, I decided to try it. I recorded it and watched it one night while folding one trillion loads of laundry (it really was one trillion). It was gripping. It was sad. I was ENTHRALLED. I was impressed with the process. Dr. Drew has a nice combo of being empathetic and compassionate, but still tough and realistic.

The "celebrities" are in varying stages of denial and readiness to be sober. I have been in front of my fair share of therapists. I have been in situations with myself and loved ones where change needs to happen and sometimes we are ready and sometimes we are not. It is a process and frankly, I saw a lot of real reactions there. I know that much of it is in the editing, but it was great. So, if you are looking for a pretty decent show, try this one. It isn't the run of the mill celebrity rehab show. But, remember that I feed my kids McDonalds and read US Weekly and People. If you are holy, you might want to skip it. Plus, tell me that he isn't a handsome silver haired man with wicked guns. I think of Dr. Drew as the icing on the cake....

Escape to Chimp Eden's Eugene Cussons aka "The new Crocodile Hunter"

The other show that I am strangely obsessed with is the new Animal Planet show "Escape to Chimp Eden". Again, I know. I am not an animal person, at ALL. I have always had a soft spot for chimps though. I recorded this one on a whim and loved it. He is the new Steve Irwin. This crazy guy lives in South Africa and goes around Africa saving and rehabilitating chimps. He is a lot like the crocodile hunter in the sense that he is a guy with an accent that is INSANE, but you can see that he feels strongly about what he does. It is also slightly more interesting to watch him wrestle with the chimps than crocs for some reason. It's another one to check out, and this coming from me... the non animal person.

A few other shows that I have been watching (and to be honest, haven't really noticed the writers strike because I haven't been watching network shows) are No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. You might have seen him as a judge on Top Chef or read one of his books. His shows are on the Travel Channel. He goes to different cities and countries and checks out the local cuisine and customs and filters it all for you through his 51 year old, New Yorker, slightly alcoholic eyes. It is a riot and always interesting. There is also a really great blog on the Travel Channel site about this show too. Some of you are already fans, so you can back me up on this one.

Last, I love the other Travel Channel show called Bizarre Eats with Andrew Zimmerman. He goes to other countries and shows you all the things that they eat that would make most of us gag here in our peanut butter and fast food world. It is strangely compelling and off putting at the same time. I can say that I get a new appreciation for other cultures and foods, even if I never want to eat Nigerian hot pot made with singed cow skin. You don't have to pay too much attention and you might get the added benefit of your kids seeing it and being just a tiny bit more grateful for the meal they are getting.

So there you have it. This is the TV that I watch when I have a minute. I actually end up watching most of this stuff in the middle of the night. I am in that phase of pregnancy where I am up a lot at night and I catch up on all my shows then. I have a feeling that this will continue when I have a little one wanting to eat at night.

What other shows am I missing? What are you watching? Inspire me.

We are at McDonalds, so it must be Friday....

Real men wear tutu's. Two of them.


So, today is Friday.



Fridays are one of the very few "scheduled" days at my house. In my dream world I would do laundry on a specific day, and grocery shop on other specific days, but I tend to be more of a fly by the seat of my pants kind of mom. Fridays are the exception. That is because the cleaning ladies come on Friday. My kids call them the "ladies". I call them the "magical fairies that come to make the whole world a better place and keep my toilets clean".



I like my title better.



The ladies show up at 8:30 sharp. I am their first stop. Usually I try and have the dishes done and all the rooms picked up. We usually get this done. This leaves them to do the deep cleaning. They have a rotating system, one week they deep clean the kitchen (fridge, oven, baseboards, etc), the next week it is bathrooms, the next it is bedrooms and furniture (seriously, does anyone ever vacuum their furniture? Or under it? My ladies do!!!), etc. It is worth every single penny. What I love the best about it is that it starts the clock over each week. I am pretty good about keeping it up in between visits, but there are times when it all goes to pot and I still get to start the weekend with a tidy house.



I use an agency for the service, but get the same ladies each time. They don't speak any English (they do say "Hi Jacob") and I speak no Spanish, but they are the highlight of my week. They always look at all my kids and my growing belly and I think they feel kind of sorry for me. How do I know? Well, the times that I don't get everything picked up they actually put the toys in the proper bins instead of just putting it on the first available surface (which they should TOTALLY do, as I am in charge of picking up, not them). They are great.



The only problem with having the ladies come over so early is that my kids like to "help". The kind of help that isn't much help at all. We try to leave, but finding places to go at 8:00 am isn't as easy as you would think. The answer was, of course, McDonalds. Where else can you eat a delicious sausage sandwich, drink Diet Coke and let your kids exhaust themselves? There is one not too far from me that has a great playground. Lots of tubes and slides for the big kids and a toddler area for Nori. Lots of tables where I can keep an eye on the kids and write out my to do lists and meal plans (or read US Weekly, whatever). Lauren doesn't start school until 10:30 (I know, gag). So we get to have a good long play date, a "healthy" breakfast and leave our ladies in peace.



So go ahead and add this to my list of mother of the year. Yes, my children eat at McDonalds once a week. Even the baby. I could make excuses but I won't. I know that my children eat a balance of healthy and junk. That is the life I choose. Bravo to all you parents that only feed their children organic, healthy things. I love that, in theory. In reality, I buy Trader Joe's cheesy poufs (and they disappear SO fast in my house), chocolate, McDonalds and more than twice this week dinner has consisted of Shrek Chicken Noodle Soup and peaches. Ok, more than three times. I don't spend much time on mom guilt. I am doing the best I can. It seems to be good enough. There is always room for improvement (like yesterday when I was "yelling mom"). But, I choose to give myself a break.



I was worried that I would miss my ladies with this move. I asked them if they worked in the town we are moving to (just about 15 miles north). They told me that they would come work for me on the weekend, not through the agency, because they like us. It turns out that more than half of the money I am paying doesn't go to them. I can pay the same amount of money for a bigger place, still have a weekend slot and THEY make more money. Everyone wins. Rosa has three kids in Mexico and Ana has two kids here (amazing how much I can learn when neither of us speaks the same language...). I think that is a fair deal...I might be trying to justify poaching them a TINY bit, but they are doing it on their time off, so it isn't that big of a deal.



Happy Monday!! I know that most of you guys are still buried in snow. We are holding steady at 70 degrees. It is a good day.



Goals today: Keep Jacob out of the makeup. Have ONE conversation w/ my 7 year old where she doesn't cry, feed Norah at least one bottle of baby food and one piece of cheese, take a nap.



Again, lower the bar and you can get it ALL done... ;-)

Sunshine!!!

Sunshine!!!

We finally have a day without rain! I can't believe it. It is still cold (California cold, not real world cold) and so we have been OUTSIDE. Hurrah.I wrote that "to do" list because I thought it was the most random and eclectic list of things to do in one day, not because it was a particularly busy day... it was actually a great day and I got most things done. I did not, however, stay away from the pie. It was GOOOOOOOD.I did end up getting Cubby's sutures out a few nights ago. It was, uhm, an experience. The only time I could get was 6:00 pm.... so I knew I had to ditch 2/3 of the kids. I dropped the girls off at the fabulous Suzi's house. When I showed up, her house was quiet and clean, the kids had their jammies on (her kids, not mine), the table was set and candles lit with a lovely fire in the fireplace. It was such a good example of peace and calm. It reminds me that it really makes a difference on how the house feels when you do a little bit of prep. I need to work on that. As Suzi pulled a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies out she sent me on my way as the children ran into the play room and started to play, WITH EACH OTHER. That is the magic of Suzi's house.

We raced to the doctor and Jacob was fine, all smiles and silly words. He had a pen and paper and pretended to take my order for food for a long time. I checked in and told the nurse that I was going to need some help and that there was NO WAY I could hold him down. My exact words were "he is freakishly strong". She laughed and sent me into a room. The doctor came, looked at him and decided to put some of that numbing stuff on him. Again I said "he is really strong, we are going to need at least two other people to hold him down.... or a Valium, he, he". She did the sympathetic head tilt thing and looked at me with an "oh, you moms are so funny, but I am the doctor and I know what I am doing" expression. I gave her my best "seriously, this kid is freakishly strong, you will just have to see" expression and we were off.

The SECOND Cubby saw the scissors (that is what they hold the needle with when putting them in, so that was his trauma trigger) he started to struggle. We wrapped him up in a sheet to restrain him, I held his body and the male nurse held his head. After struggling for about 5 minutes and not getting a single stitch out, she called for more help. I told her that I didn't think it would be enough.... another woman nurse showed up and held his lower body. Another 10 minutes (and still no stitches out) and she called for another nurse to come and hold his head. Two male nurses held his head; two of us held his body and it still took about 20 minutes to get them all out.

After it was over, Jacob was FINE, as in singing and laughing fine. The doctor said "wow, that was harder than I thought it would be" and I just looked at her with my least offensive "are you kidding me? I am his MOTHER. I know this kid and I told you so at least three times" look. I am too pregnant to use actual words you see. The best part was that the sheet was drenched from all his struggles and his skin was RED. If you can imagine how much it takes for my boy with skin the color of strong coffee to look red, you get an idea of how hard he was working. She did suggest that next time (and we all know that there will be a next time) they use dissolvable stitches.

No kidding.

Off to the park today. I am going to get some pictures of the house and give all the details on a post I am working on. I am trying to figure out how to get pictures off the "realtor’s tour" website with out showing the price..... Otherwise, I will just take pictures while it is empty. Have a good day. See, I am blogging more. I can follow through on a few things...

To Do List Today...

1. Call following doctors and make appts for Norah: neruologist, dermatologist, audiologist and early intervention center. Force feed her in between (she gained 1 pound last month...hurrah, a pound that I EARNED with blood, sweat and tears).

2. Make coffin for/ plan burial service for Sleepy, the hermit crab. Poor Sleepy lasted just a few weeks. Gulp. My daughter does NOT handle death of pets well. Maybe that is why we shouldn't have let her have any more.

3. Take Jacob to the doctor so we can get his stitches out. Prepare to be verbally abused (he kept calling the doctor "stupid, you are so stupid" when he got them in. That is the ultimate swear in our house) and kicked. This kid is freakishly strong.

4. Get glitter glue off Jacob's face and hair before I take him in.

5. Wash brush and comb Norah's hair. Braid.

6. Buy a house and try and figure out WHY this was a good idea when I am seconds from delivering a baby. Get mortgage loan papers to realtor. Confirm last two inspections and review and sign counter offer. We decided to start "looking" 9 days ago.... more on this story later....

7. Two loads of laundry. This MUST be done because we are all running around either half naked (Jacob), in our worst and least favorite maternity shirt (me) or dress-ups (the girls).

8. Try NOT to eat the entire Key Lime Pie in my fridge that is for a friend. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..

There you have it. That is seriously my to do list today. Any ideas how to get glitter glue off a small boy? A nice scripture for Sleepy the Hermit Crab? Key Lime Pie? Anyone?

P.S. Spell check wouldn't work on this post and I am too lazy to retype this on Word and make sure I spelled everything right. If I show my uneducated spelling roots here, oh well. My teacher mother will be horrified, but I am too tired. Did I mention that my children are vampires and don't sleep at night? ;-)

Catch up.... or not?

I have been wanting to post forever, but I feel like there is so much to cover. Here is just a smidgen:

--the wicked Billy Joel concert we attended

--Christmas/New Years stuff--goodwill and resolutions and all that stuff

--The trip to Park City

--Our awesome trip to Disneyland

--The sewage saga. Will it ever end? Who knows.......

--MLK Day. I have some strong feelings about this. Apparently not strong enough.

--being pregnant

--our impending minivan purchase

--Jacob resisting potty training unless he gets "Diet Coke" as his potty treat

--The "I promise it is coming" Down Syndrome post

--Norah's development and health--new big and scary stuff coming down the pike

--The other children (yes, they exist and are pretty funny)

--Our visit with Jacob's family

And the list goes on. I want to post about these things b/c this is my journal and I don't want to miss recording these things. I feel like I need to sit down and write a BIG entry about it. When that doesn't happen, it just doesn't get done at all. Maybe this is like what they always tell you about scrap booking (not that I do that either). Just start where you are.

So, where we are today is pretty mellow. Yesterday I got a pedicure and had lunch with my dear friend Suzi (who will forever remain blog-less, which is sad b/c she has a LOT of great things to offer). Red toes and all the Thai food I could eat, and these days that is a lot. Yum. It was very good for my soul. I had hoped that it would mean I would come home and be motivated to attack the laundry, before it attacked me. Sadly, all it made me want to do is take a nap. So I did. Today the laundry and I are going to have a little talk.

It is still raining here and it hasn't been above 50 degrees all week and apparently it won't go above that for the next week or so. Now, I know that many of you are languishing in the snow and much colder temperatures than that. You are shoveling driveways and scraping cars. That stinks, it really does. But frankly, I don't want to hear about it. If you live somewhere with snow you EXPECT it to get cold there, so you own things like coats and scarves and shoes that require socks. There is a reason why I live where I do. I want to be able to take my kids to the park all year long. I don't want to bundle them into long pants, shoes, coats, etc, etc. Everyone here pays approximately one hundred kajillion dollars to live here. The thing that we always tell each other to make us feel better about the fact that no one has a yard and that we will always live in a condo is "well, the weather really is great... and you can't beat the parks". When the weather is cold and rainy, we all start to get a little bit bitter about our rent/mortgage payment. There isn't enough room in my house for Jacob to get his wiggles out. That is why, right now I am letting him cut apart a bag of peperoni with scissors while watching "Buzz Lightyears". What else is he supposed to do? (OK, relax, I do entertain him and they are not big kid scissors, I am just making a point).

OK, I just felt guilty enough to send him out to the back porch where he is now playing in the rain and rotting leaves. MUCH better.

Actually not. It is 15 minutes later and he has returned covered with a strange silvery, glitter like powder. Let's hope it isn't toxic. I better go investigate and decide if I need to call poison control yet again.....

Whew, it was only (only!!) Lauren's makeup kit. And there is lip gloss involved too. Good times.

Don't think that I am being a downer or am grumpy, I actually am not. Things are going pretty well. I am feeling great. I don't think that I am too big, pregnancy wise. I have gained more than I would have liked, but that is because I never stop eating, so it is only to be expected. In fact, right now, we are eating a breakfast of baby back ribs. They are leftover from a football party last week. I toss the almost cleaned bones to Norah in her chair and Jacob (when he isn't cutting the peperoni) at the table and they clean off the bones for me. EVERYONE WINS. Norah has even rubbled some bar-b-que sauce in her hair. This should make brushing it out later a little bit more fun. Have you ever brushed sauce out of a 6 inch afro? It is slightly more fun than cleaning the closet and less fun that wrestling a bobcat. Come on over if you want to give it a shot.

I have a great babysitter who loves my kids. I trust her with them and they love her. She is black and does great things with Norah's hair. There is only one tiny problem. She only shows up half the time. Other times, she shows up on days that I didn't schedule her. We have liked her so much we have not been too harsh about it, but that has to change. I keep missing doctor appointments and have to scramble to reschedule and find last minute sitters. I hate doing that. So, back on the nanny hunt. The irony is that we pay top salary AND we used an agency to find her. We aren't trying to nickle and dime here. We want to pay someone that will stick around, love our kids and compensate them in a way that makes them have some loyalty to us. Here comes the irony, NO ONE WANTS TO DO IT!! My standards are very low. In fact, I told the agency that I was looking for someone who would 1) show up and 2) keep the kids alive. I told you. I would have thought that low standards and top dollar would be a winning combination.

You might wonder why I need a nanny. That is a good question. Almost everyone I know has as many (or more) kids than I do and they do it all by themselves. Some of them even manage to start businesses and do artistic things like paint or sew on the side. That amazes me. I have been accused of not wanting to spend time with my kids and even "why did you have kids anyway if you aren't going to spend time with them". To those people I always want to answer "Surely you know it is because I hate children". But I don't. I WANT to, but I don't. I have a nanny for many reasons. Not that I need anyone's permission or give to much thought to what others think, but I might as well put it out there. First of all, I never thought that I would be the SAH mom that had "help". I made fun of those moms. And like everything else I made fun of as a youngster, I have become it. At the beginning of the summer I found myself in a situation where I needed to be at least two places at once and NONE of those places was appropriate for children. Add to that the fact that the children needed to be places too, it just became clear that there wasn't enough of me to go around. I hired my fantastic "manny" for the summer (Hi, Julian) and I was hooked. Julians job was to make Jacob tired, mostly. He could have Norah on his hip and chase Jacob and take them swimming and on walks and basically occupy him while I went to various appointments and took Lauren to her camp/lessons, etc. It was heaven. Soon we moved back into our house and I still found myself needing to be in more than once place at once. Between myself and Norah, there are a lot of doctors to see. When the new one shows up she will have more appointements and theapies than the rest of us put together. Hence the nanny. Also, I consider it the ultimate luxury to go shopping (I am talking Target/Safeway shopping, not fun stuff like mall shopping) without children. It makes me happy. THAT, my friends is why I want a nanny. We are lucky that my husband's job provides us with enough income to provide this luxury. We are UN-lucky in the fact that he is not here from the hours of 4:00 am to 6:00 pm daily, and often travels. I also have house cleaners, but that is a post for another day...

So, that was long and rambling but it is the state of affairs in our home these days. We are crusing along. I am feeling the itch to be more creative, to sew or to read. This might be nesting (I am not the type that wants to clean when nesting....).

I also miss my blog. I haven't done it for a long time and there have been some great stories. When I walk into my kitchen, the computer looks at me like a neglected pet. Then I feel guilty ad yell at it and walk away.

I have been reading blogs and feel like I am totally caught up in blogland........ so that is something.

I'll be back soon. I promise.

Wahhhhh...

I know it has been donkey's years since I posted and I have lots to tell, some fun ER stories about Jacob (electrocution!! stitches!!!), Christmas, Norah talking, Lauren's new pet, etc...

Right now we are on our third day of rain. We were so smug b/c we didn't loose power. Then the septic tank backed up onto our newly refinished floors (as in three days ago). All the storm drains are backing up in the entire state (it feels like) and no one can use the toilets at our house.

Good times. And only 5 more days of rain to go....

I'll be back when it doesn't smell like poo anymore. ;-)

Ill leave you with this photo of us trying to snap the kids in their Christmas Jammies. These really were the best ones.....

This weekend...

We are going to

to see the

play the

spending hours in the freezing, freezing

But it's ok because afterwards we will eat

enjoy this

and this

and even try seeing one of these

and sleep in this

with none of these.

The woodland creatures will be cared for by

(note...not my real mom....)

who might go

but probably not, because we left her with lots of

and

and

and

and

(just kidding--sort of)

To everyone else not lucky enough to stand in the snow for a football game this weekend, have a good one anyway (and cheer for the Bronco's).....

Can't.... catch.... up.....

Christmas card photo rejects....

Look at that snaggle tooth mouth? So cute...

All pictures of N were either with her hands on her face or her eyes were going in different directions. I couldn't get them both to focus on me for love OR money, and I offered both.

Cubby was giving me the stink eye the whole time.

...and N is finished. No more pictures.

Whew. We have been busy.

We have been ticking off our Christmas list. This year we made a list (as a family) of all the things we wanted to do this season. I really didn't think that we would do so well, but D has been really good about making sure we schedule in the time. So far we have managed to do the following:

--Attend the Nutcracker (a dance school production, very good and SHORT...)

--Decorate the house. I let Lu do it this year and it looks awesome. Mostly because I didn't have to do it.

--Get a tree. We even got the lights put on it. We haven't managed to get any ornaments on it yet. This week. Maybe.


--Decorate candy houses. I copied an idea that I saw on a craft blog (I am too lazy to do the link). I bought unfinished bird houses at the craft store. I painted them white and then varnished them. No more putting houses together. I can just wash them off and use them again next year. We also used leftover Halloween candy. I discovered the best things to use are Nerds (they make a cool cobblestone effect)and pixie sticks (to "color" the snow). We used no chocolate and it was just fine.

--Took the kids for "their" shopping trip. I am trying really hard to make Christmas about giving. We don't go overboard on the gifts really. Just a few for each person. I wanted each kid (the big ones anyway) to see what it is like to REALLY think about giving someone what they want/need. I had each of them think about what the other members of the family would like, then we went to the dollar store and they could choose whatever they wanted. They will wrap them all by themselves too.

--Make Christmas cards. I have not sent them yet. Not even close....

--Lauren requested to "have a dinner". I wasn't sure what that involved but it was really simple. Invite some friends to dinner. I kind of cheated and did this on the same night as the candy houses. We had

--See the creche exhibit at the church. Every year our stake puts on an amazing exhibit with hundreds of creches. I have been involved with it in years past, but this year it was nice to just go and see it. They have a kids room where the kids can try on costumes from the Nativity story, make a craft, watch a puppet show. Fun for about 10 minutes.

There are still several things we have to do. Things like putting ornaments on the tree and having a Family Movie Night where we get our jammies (thanks for the idea ~J). We go to the beach on the morning of Christmas Eve. We are also going to try and see the lights at the Oakland Temple. This one might not get accomplished this year. I also need to wrap the Christmas books so the kids can open one each day and read a new story. My mom gives us a Christmas story book each year, so we have a good collection. I am also looking for a good service project that would be meaningful for Lu to do. We do try and work in service all year long, but this is a good time to find projects.

I am working on the DS thing...blah. Meanwhile, is there anything you do that is special for Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate)? All my best traditions are ones I have borrowed from other people.....

Down Syndrome 101

I have a big long post about Down Syndrome coming up (lucky you).

It is a short FYI for the benefit of friends and family and also to address some questions we have been asked. If you have a question you want me to include or are just curious about, e mail me and I will include it....

I am just polishing it up.....

We also think we have a name for her. I just wanted to name her as soon as possible (after very much NOT being a "name the baby in utero" kind of gal). We are thinking old fashioned and traditional and one that she can easily say........... we have a short list........

The stuff that comes out of her mouth...

Lately, Lauren has been giving me lots of gems. It is like she suddenly decided to start using every phrase she ever heard on TV. Here are a few gems:

L-Mom, do you have a Countrywide Loan?

Me- No, why?

L-- Well, you should get one. They have no filing fees, no closing costs and no hidden fees. They are really good.

Me-- OK, thanks.


Take 2

Me-- Lu, I can hear you muttering under your breath. What is going on?

L-- Jacob is a vile old man. (not sure why.....).

Take 3

Me-- (as Lauren gets out of the car to go to school). Goodbye sweetie, I love you

L--Another day, another dime, another dollar (and closes the door)....

Take 4

Derek has been kicking around the idea of getting a new job. Long story for another post, but he currently has a job that he is doing really well at. He is good at it, he establishing himself as a real player in his industry and is being mentored by great people. It is the kind of job that pays obscene amounts of money, but requires nothing short of you soul. Having this baby has helped us understand that we need to restructure things and maybe look for a job that is a little bit closer, or allows him more sleep, etc.

Lauren caught wind of one of these conversations and after doing the hard sell to get us to move next to her cousins and Miles and Owen and Phoebe in Utah, she settled on finding him a job somewhere here. Each day she calls Derek and tells him about jobs that she has found around town. It is also a great topic of conversation for her "what should Daddy do?". This morning she saw a "help wanted" sign in front of Round Table Pizza. She was so excited to tell him about it. She also thinks he should work at Jamba Juice or the gas station. I get the feeling that she thinks that these jobs are SO COOL, she can't understand why he wants to look for another "money" job (we explained that she works in finance and helps other people invest their money).

So, if you know if any open positions at a Pizza Hut, a Jamba, a toy store or a book store, Derek's agent Lauren might be calling you.

She really is my sweet girl. It has been so fun to see her grown up personality come out.

Thanksgiving--by the numbers

Did everyone have a good Thanksgiving? Is there anyone out there that DIDN'T have a member of the family throwing up the entire day? I haven't heard of one yet. Maybe that is the new Thanksgiving tradition of our country.

We went with my husband's family to Park City, Utah. This is handy b/c my parents live really close by. So does my best friend. In theory, this would mean lots of fun social things and babysitting and visiting with family. In a perfect storm of awesomeness...none of that happened. So here it is, Turkey Day 2007 by the numbers...

Number of times someone threw up-- many, many, many....

Number of times it was on the plane -- 80%

Number of most consecutive hours of sleep by me or D -- 3

Number of times Jacob almost died during the long weekend -- 3 (not kidding)

Number of fun pre-planned social outings I attended -- 0

Number of times I had to go to the stupid outlet mall -- 4

Number of gifts I had to return on Black Friday after being really organized and buying the Christmas presents for the in laws in advance, only to find out that this year we are drawing names -- 8

Number of children I was ready to sell to the gypsies by the end of the trip (or to anyone, really) -- 2

Number of times I either tripped, dropped something or otherwise found out that my body does NOT seem to want to obey my brain -- eleventy million

Number of very beautiful, very expensive, band new white suede couches that my daughter managed to spill Vitamin Water all over and totally destroy -- 1

Number of times I watched Shrek 3 -- 10

Number of times I stayed awake past 7:30 pm -- 0

Number of times I will drag the whole family back to Park City for a holiday, even though it is a really nice house and wonderful opportunity -- 0

That is us. I really don't mean to make it so complain-y, but it was pretty comical. It really was a perfect storm of evil. My kids argued and fought. They tried to kill themselves (twice being hung by the bunk bed rails, once jumping off the third floor balcony), they got sick, they didn't sleep, they wandered the house all night (once Cubby woke up with a full bag of Doritos's clutched in his hands...no one knows where they came from....) and generally were a lot of work. That is what it comes down to, I think. It wasn't that we didn't have a good time and want to see the family, it was just a lot of work. I don't want to do it anymore. Is it terrible if I play the Down Syndrome card after this and just bow out? Seriously, my kids can argue, almost die and puke at our house just as easily as anywhere else. Right?

Who am I kidding? We will be back in a month.

How was your Thanksgiving? Seriously, did anyone have a healthy household? I am curious.

The best birthday present ever....

A little bird must have told you all that I had a birthday yesterday....

I had decided to stay in my jammies all day as a gift to myself. By the time I had gotten up to go to the door for the mail man for the third time, I just got dressed already! It was so fun to get all your sweet packages and cards and e mails and calls. In this house, nothing comes in the mail unless it is a bill, and if it IS a real card, it is a birthday invitation for my daughter. This time they were for ME!!! I never get packages either......

The point is, what a fun day and THANK YOU for all your kind words. It was the perfect birthday because I spent the whole day being reminded that even though I want to put my head under the sand some days, the world is full of people that are wonderful and kind.

The best birthday present ever (besides being showered all day with fun stuff) was that at my Dr. appointment yesterday we got great news. I had a bunch of ultrasounds and meetings with a cardiologist to see if the baby's heart is OK. 50% of children with Down Syndrome have major heart and intestinal issues that require surgery. We are clear. She is also really big (they tend to be small, gestationally) and have other issues with arm and leg bones. Nada. That was a great birthday present. Hopefully, no surgery. Also, on the ultrasound I could see that she has her dad's chin (think Jay Leno).

AND Project Runway started. How could a day get better?

More info soon....

Sick Day...

Big sister has step throat, I am pretty sure Cubby has it too (the Dr. let me just call in and gave me the meds...she is great). L stayed home from school today. In the morning she was curled on the couch and miserable. A few hours later she came to my room looking for my "fancy shoes" and I know that the meds were kicking in. A few minutes later I came down stairs (where it had been suspiciously quiet for a long time) to find that the kids had built an enormous playhouse with blankets (complete with a toilet, a kitchen and Nerds for food) and were dressed up.

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the first of many times when Jacob proves he will do ANYTHING to be part of L's big plans.

He actually was happy to be dressed up, in this picture he was mad b/c I wouldn't turn on the music until he took the picture.....

I am sure that this won't be last time that someone tells him he would be a very pretty girl. He reminds me of the kids I work with in Africa. Most of them keep their hair cut very short and you only know that the little ones are girls because they are all wearing dresses.

They turned on Nick Jr. Radio and played the songs and danced. They were doing a West Coast Swing style dance complete with the splits and lifts. Not bad.

Norah is in full swing of toddler hood. She is acting like a real 18 month old, climbing, getting into things (the dishwasher being a new favorite). She is standing more and I am seeing more progress with her. I know she still needs help, but it means that she really is coming along at her own pace. I appreciate the suggestions of the commenter's about her legs. We have done test after test and know her Vitamin D is OK and her hips are OK. Her eating is doing better too. She has days when she doesn't want to eat at all (except eggnog and cheesecake) and other days, like last night, when she ate two entire pieces of meatloaf. I think she looks chunkier.... we will see.

Today I have a bunch of ultrasound's to get a better idea of what is going on with the baby's heart and tummy. It will be nice to have that info.

Off to run errands. Kid updates coming soon...

Oh yes he does...

He still loves salad. He eats it for breakfast AND lunch. Lately we have been having goat cheese, pomegranate seed and red onion w/ poppy seed dressing. But he will eat it plain too. His favorite food is broccoli. He bypassed McDonald's hash browns (what???) the other day and begged for fruit. He didn't eat one piece of Halloween candy and I have never seen him finish a dessert. I wish I could claim the credit for this, but this is just how he came. He also eats and loves pickles, sushi, mustard, BBQ sauce, Thai noodles, curry and anything else spicy or strange. Yet he will not eat french fries. Again, he is my most complex child.


He did, however, find a Costco sized package of gum yesterday and chew them all and leave them around the house....

I need to get more protein into this child. No wonder he is only two apples tall!!! Also, he is still pretty much always naked. It is a loosing battle.

Babysitter in Utah over Christmas..

Greetings Blog world,

This is actually a want ad. I know that so many of you live in the SLC/Provo area I am hoping you can help me. My extended family will be going to Park City for the Christmas Holiday. We won't arrive until the 27th, but I think that the others will be there the 23rd-ish. We will be in town until the 3rd. We need childcare. I know that there is someone out there that one of you knows that would like to make some extra cash at the break. Maybe a student home for the holiday? Maybe a mom that wants to put a dent in the Santa bills? Anyone? We are trying to avoid using a service and really would like to build the list of people that we know who can sit. We will be visiting here a lot in the next few years and it would be nice to have a list of sitters.

Here are the details:
--Never more than 4 children, ages 7, 3, 18 months and 12 months. During the days, the two older ones will ski (usually) and it will just be the little ones. Evenings will likely be all the kids.

--Pay is between 15 and 20 dollars an hour, depending on how many kids you have (if it is one or two it is 15$, three or four is 20$).

--We need some days (while the adults are skiing/shopping/generally not chasing the kids) and some evenings. I think that you can count on New Years Eve. The catch is that I am not totally sure of the schedule right now (the days I could guess and are more flexible) but the evenings won't be pinned down until the first part of December

--The biggest requirement is that the sitter needs to have experience (and be able to let me talk to two people who can tell me how great you are) and be the kind of person who shows up and is on time. You will also need to get yourself to Park City. The house is just past Stein Ericson's Lodge and is in a gated community that is patrolled and plowed. It is very safe.

--Someone who is intuitive would be nice. If you need to feed the kids, be able to put a lunch or dinner together, be able to not worry when the 3 year old doesn't want to go to bed, be willing to chat with the 7 year old (and I mean chat and chat and chat). That kind of thing. Three of the kids are mine, one is my nephew. Pretty easy kids.

I would love to hear any and all ideas. I think that a high school student would not be the best thing but could be talked into it (I know SEVERAL HS students that are much more capable than college students). An adult is fine, etc. Just someone who will keep the kids safe and will not just "not show up". That is key. This is my ONE job assigned to me by the in laws this season and I need to represent. ;-)

E mail me if you want or leave me a comment on how to contact you. rebeccakbingham at yahoo dot com.

Thanks. This could be a really great opportunity to make some serious cash this month. My inlaws are all about leaving the kids with a sitter while the adults go do things, and who can argue with that? If they had their way, there would be a sitter there 24/7. I don't anticipate that one person would be able to do it all, so the more the better....

THANK YOU!

The thing about Norah...

So I have been reading some blogs lately of people who have children with Down Syndrome. One thing that I have seen and liked is that they did a monthly update of their children. It was really helpful for someone like me to be able to read a chronology of how things went. Then it occurred to me that I should do this for my other kids too. We have an early intervention diagnostic appointment with Norah and I realized that I can't remember when she crawled, pulled up, etc. That might be why I didn't really notice that she was behind. Oops.

So here is an update on the queen. The grandma's will like it, it will serve as future reference for the kids (and me) and the rest of you might possibly be bored. I know that this blog is pretty much only about my kids now. That will change again soon. I do actually have other thoughts in my head besides that, but lately I have been in full-on survival mode and this is happy stuff. You really don't want to hear about the rest of it.... ;-)

Norah was born pretty premature. Somewhere between 5-7 weeks early. She was tiny, but left the hospital just a few days after birth. We knew that there could be some issues with her in the future as a preemie, so this is not much of a surprise. From the very beginning, this child has been 85% easygoing and sweet and 15% pure attitude. There isn't much middle ground with her. I also said early on that one thing I knew that was going to be an issue with this girl is motivation. How right I was. Last month Norah was officially diagnosed as developmentally delayed. Again, no surprise, but still hard to hear the pediatrician say. In true Dr. fashion, they listed all the potential problems and the need to get her checked out and see if she has mental issues, physical, etc. It feels like a lot. My mama gut tells me that she will be OK eventually, but does need a little bit of help right now.

Here is where we stand right now, at 16 months:

Language--As far as I can tell, Norah doesn't really attach any specific sounds to meaning. She also doesn't appear to understand much of what we say to her. She doesn't point (most kids do this at 12 months). She doesn't say "mama" "dada" or make animal sounds. She doesn't wave bye bye or seem to understand what we are saying when we say that word. Lately she has started to copy the tone or cadence of our words and repeat it, but I still am sure she doesn't seem to know what the words mean. I am not even sure she recognizes her own name.... well maybe. If I say to here "where is Jacob?" she will look at him. She does the same for Mom, Dad and Lulu. That is about it. Her first real "trick" is if we ask her "What does a pirate say?" and she will answer "agrhhhh". Sadly, she also says this for an answer to anything else it appears we are asking her. She doesn't appear to understand what the world "no" means. She has reacted to it a few times, but I am sure it was because of tone, not the word. We have to wait for the speech therapist to let us know what our language goals are with her, but it is pretty clear we have our work cut out for us here. The good news is that over the last few weeks, she has really started to "talk". She sounds just like the old school McDonald's character Rubble Rubble. Remember him? I know that my other kids did this MUCH earlier. The good news is that she is doing it now. I don't think there are hearing issues, but we will have to wait and see about that. She has also started to shake her head for no if she doesn't want something.

Physical Development -- Norah doesn't walk or really pull herself up on furniture. She doesn't walk along furniture. The few times I have seen her crawl towards something and pull herself up to get it is for the toilet, which she LOVES to play in. Dilemma--do we let her play in the toilet b/c it helps her practice and makes her legs strong or not? I haven't found anything else that is interesting enough for her to do that. It brings us back to that old motivation problem. She was a later crawler and sitter. She sat up at about 8 or 9 months and started to army crawl at about 12 months. In the last few weeks she has moved exclusively to hands and knees crawling. In the last 6 weeks she has also mastered going up from a crawl to sitting on her knees or flipping over when laying down and crawling. I know she COULD do these things earlier, she just wouldn't. She started crawling up the stairs at about 12 months, but hasn't done it since. If I put her on a chair or couch, stays there. She doesn't try to get down or even fall down. She just stays. Yet, she will wiggle out of the buckle in the high chair and be on the tray or counter in a second. So I know she CAN do it if she wants to.

If we try and hold her by the hands to help her walk she pulls her feet up and then cries. I got her a walker and she sits in it and pulls her feet up. She won't walk in it. Again, we are waiting for physical therapy to start so we can see what her goals are, but we have a lot of work to do. I think that this one is going to come, I really think she just can't be bothered. Good news--this week she found a baby doll in the toy box and hugged it, cradled it and put it in a bed. This is HUGE. Also, she found her shoes and tried to put them on her feet. This shows us that she knows what these things are and knows what they do. She has NEVER done this kind of thing before.

Also, she is a teeny, tiny thing. In the last few months she kind of fell off the weight charts and is firmly entrenched in "failure to thrive" territory. Our goal as parents is to get as many calories as possible into her body, healthy ones. It was only when I really sat down and concentrated on her eating that I realized she doesn't really eat that much. She isn't interested. We have been feeding her a lot of Greek yogurt (16 grams of fat per cup), Trader Joe's Belgian Chocolate Pudding (20 grams of fat per cup), eggs, half and half in the bottle, etc. It is an all day affair. Some days she eats more than others. We have a check up in two weeks and hope that she has put on some weight. If that doesn't work, I am going to crack out the Truffles from Costco and Doritos. She is still in 6-12's or 12-18 months clothes but wears size 4 diapers. She has chunky legs and arms, she is just really, really small. Except for her hair.

Socially, I think she is right on. She loves to play with her siblings and they love to make her laugh. She plays "games" with her dad that are special only to him. She loves to hear music and will bounce and sing. She can play peek a boo. She loves to fill and empty baskets full of things. A cup and 10 pieces of cereal will keep her busy for 15 minutes. She loves books and loves to be read to. She plays well with other kids but is very attached to me and to Monique (our nanny). She is a hugger and a snuggler and would prefer to be held than on her own. This is one area that I am not worried about her at all. Again, I guess we have to see what the therapist says, but I think she is right on target.

There you have it. The rundown on N's development. Of course there is much more to her than this, but this will help me to keep track of her progress. It will also be interesting to compare her with the next one. I keep hearing about how children with DS are delayed, but the timing seems to be about the same as Norah's so far, so no biggie.

Next up is Cubby and Lu, then some new stuff about the new baby and the new challenges. I am still processing, but want to thank everyone for your comments, your links to others who are a little bit farther down the road than we are and just the general kindness. It has been wonderful and helpful....

Happy Wednesday.....

P.S. Oh, her eyes. She does NOT need glasses. We will continue to patch her and in a few months she will have surgery that should straighten them out. Poor baby will be able to have both eyes look in the same direction. ;-)

Parenting tip of the week...

You know how your kids haven't totally figured out the time difference yet? You know how your kids probably get cranky an hour early in the evening (is it just mine?). When my kids are tired the get CRAZY. Persnickety is the best word for it. I have a solution--though this might only work for younger kids. I imagine that there is a point when they won't do it any more. Probably about the same time they don't fall for "I am going to time you and see if you can run upstairs and get my remote/slippers/book in less than 30 seconds".

Here is one of our favorite games (and they still think it is a game. Suckers). Find what motivates them (money for child #1, Popsicles for child #2). Put on a loud song and tell that that whoever can jump or dance for the longest amount of time gets the prize. If you have really competitive children, your kids will be too exhausted to fight and will be THRILLED to sit and watch a movie.

Seriously. This one saves my life.

You are welcome.

Holy Hair....

We have been keeping No's hair mostly in braids or puffs, but it is getting really long. When it is wet it is twice this length. When we get out of the bathtub she sits between my legs and all her hair gets combed out, oiled and lotioned. She isn't used to having it down any more and she kept pulling it out to look at it....

Norah has the most beautiful curls and her hair is still pretty soft. I think her curls are going to be the type that grow OUT and not down. It just seems to keep getting bigger. I love it down, but I don't love how snarled it gets from the car seat and naps. She doesn't love it when I have to comb all the growlers out, so braids it is for now. We have been using Curly Cuties products and have been really happy. They smell REALLY good and even though they are kind of pricey, they last a really long time. I can comb out all her hair very easily after the bath and in the morning when I use the conditioner and hair milkshake.

This is how she sleeps each night (braids or no braids). I think she looks so cute with her little do rag... and they are all pink, of course. I helps keep her hair from getting too snarly and her braids from getting too fuzzy.....


As much as I love Norah's hair and love to do it, I am kind of glad that this next baby will be bald as a cue ball until she is about two (if the genetics hold out and she is a little white haired baby like Lu was...). No hair to deal with. ;-)