catching up

We've had a very busy few weeks, with April vacation and all kinds of events.

We went away to the Cape for a weekend, and then Celia went to stay with Nana and Grandpa for part of her school vacation. I was able to get some things done at home. I wanted to do a lot of gardening, but the weather was cold and rainy. I'm now somewhat caught up, having planted everything that needs to be planted for now. The magnolia is in bloom, and we have some spring flowers out. 

I've been running a bit more, and would like to get in good enough shape to train for a half in the fall. We'll see... Went for my first run in shorts (probably my only run in shorts ever again, since it was back to 40 degrees again the next day). Broke out the fanny pack for some longer runs. Hopefully will do a 6 or 7 miler this weekend. 

Henry was sick with a fever, coughing and sneezing for most of last week. My work week was messed up by that, and it was not the ideal return from vacation. Now I have a cold. 

Last weekend, I went to a reunion for the Wheaton Chorale's 25th anniversary of being co-ed. My people were there. The best group of people in the world, and I got to spend a whole day with them. We rehearsed, ate, walked around campus and talked and reminisced, sang in a concert, went out to dinner and pretended we were back in Italy. Amazing day. I miss my Wheaton days. 

Today we went to an event at the zoo. It was a fundraiser for cystic fibrosis. Our whole daycare was part of a team walking there. We got to walk around the zoo, see the three new baby giraffes, and the kids loved playing on the playground and going on a couple rides. 

Henry wanted to touch all the animals. He has no concept of danger. Luckily there is an area with goats we can touch.

I've been trying to switch my grocery shopping day to a week day, and for some reason it's completely thrown me off with meal planning and planning what groceries we need. I also can't figure out what day is the best to go. Anyway, planning to go tomorrow since I know I have some time. 

Time to head outside and play.

spring has arrived, no fooling!

Spring finally seems to have arrived! The snow is almost gone, we have a sunny 50 degree day today, and Henry and I have taken full advantage. This morning we went to the grocery store for a couple things, and then stopped to play at the park. It was actually still pretty cold, but nice enough to be outside for a little while. Henry loved running around and throwing his ball, then chasing it. Basically, he's a dog. Haha.

The library is right across the street, so we often do the park and library together. Henry was so good in the library today. I think we may have turned the corner as far as his crazy library behavior goes. The children's room has some toys, and he played quietly for a long time while I found some books. The bottom one has a CD with it, and I think the kids will like listening to it in the car. Henry is now starting to enjoy longer and more complex stories, so it's getting even more fun to read with him. Some recent favorites have been Caps for Sale, Harold and the Purple Crayon, and The Little Engine That Could. 

We went outside again after lunch. Hyacinths and tulips are starting to peek out of the dirt, and we have some new growth coming up on other plants too. It really is a miracle, how plants grow and how all things in nature are connected. Henry is going to love playing outside this year. He's now old enough to roam the yard without a lot of supervision. I did a little yard clearing, picking up sticks, while he explored. He kept throwing his ball down the hill and then going to get it. Each time, he would say "I'll be right back. I'm just going to get my ball." And he would march very seriously down the hill. 

Other things that are happening around here this week...

... I made a new behavior reward system for Celia. We've been having a lot of trouble with whining, arguing, and some tantrums lately. Punishing the bad behavior alone doesn't seem to be working, so we decided to make a behavior chart. Each morning, Celia picks three super hero kids to put on her chart. They all start on the "happy" side, but if she whines, yells, or has a tantrum one of them gets moved to the "sad" side. Twice a day, at lunch (or after school) and after dinner, we reset. If she still has at least one super hero on the good side, she gets a small treat. Then the heros go back to the good side again and we start over. So far she has been excited about the super heros and the rewards, so hopefully it will get us past this horrible whining phase. We need to find something that works, because Henry has started imitating her behavior and we often end up with two whining, yelling, or tantruming kids. 

It's hard to see in the picture, but everything is laminated and there are velcro dots to put the super heros on. Extra super heros are stored on the back, so she can choose three each morning.

... We've really gotten into playing with shaving cream in the last few days. It's such a good activity. They play in the shaving cream for a long time, and then they can play at the sink to wash the shaving cream away and play in the water. 

... Celia is very excited about the Easter Bunny coming. I find it a little strange because we do not emphasize the Easter Bunny at all, and really don't make a big deal of it. In fact, I almost didn't do the Easter Bunny at all. I suppose it's just the magic of it that appeals to Celia. So anyway, we are anxiously awaiting the Easter Bunny these days. 

... Henry continues to say the cutest things these days. When we were outside today, he said, "Mommy, can you blow some warm air? It's too cold for me out here." Haha. And sometimes I call him Lover, or Lover Man, as a nickname. And he has started calling me Lover Mommy. Ha! This morning I said, "Let's go, Lover Man!". And he said "Okay, let's go, Lover Mommy!" 

... Despite Celia's recent behavior issues, isn't she still just the sweetest little thing? She is always well behaved at school. She loves school. I hope that continues next year. And she is always so happy to see me when I pick her up. Henry really likes going to get Sister on Tuesdays. He asks for her all day when she's at school. 

monday miscellany

1) Still no sign of spring around here. It's 13 degrees as I type. Horrible and depressing. 

2) On Saturday it was in the high 40s, with a terrible freezing wind. So we decided it was a nice day to play outside... 

The kids walked around on the snow and grass, drew with chalk, and Henry spent a while just running in circles. Haha. They are going to be so happy when we can play outside every day. 

3) I'm not a big decorator, partly because I can't be bothered and mostly because I can't stand clutter. But I did put out some spring things, hoping real spring would follow. 

4) I found the babies like this the other day. Cutest little things.

5) Henry has been saying the funniest things lately. He's using all these complex grammar structures and new words, and it's so strange to hear them coming out of a 2-year-old's mouth. We live across from a horse farm, and yesterday we saw a horse walking along the road. I told him that maybe we would see it again when it came back, and Henry said, "Hopefully..." What toddler says "hopefully"?!

6) We have a relatively normal week, this week. Henry has a cold so he is staying home today. Chris will stay home for the morning and then I will take over. I only had to cancel one client that way. Henry could go to daycare, but I want to stop the spread of viruses there. If one child gets sick, they all get sick. On Friday I'm going to a professional development conference. I hate spending the day cooped up in a conference room, but this means I don't have to worry about PD for the rest of the year! One more conference in October, paid for by work, and I'm done. I think doing a conference early in the year is going to be the way to go from now on. 

7) Henry helped me make banana pudding the other day. He helped pour and stir, and he was so happy about being able to really help. 

8) I spend a big chunk of time prepping food on Sundays. Yesterday I was finishing during Henry's nap, and was feeling so sick and tired of constantly dealing with food prep. But look at all the good stuff Chris and I have to eat all week. It's worth the work. We are both eating big salads with oil-free dressing for lunch these days. 

9) Just a couple more of the sweet babies. 

    When will I stop calling them my babies? Never. 

10) Now that I'm done writing and have to go get the kids up, I'm wishing I cancelled all my clients to stay home with Henry all day. Stupid work. Sometimes I feel like it's just ridiculous that I leave my own kids to go spend the day with other people's kids. But it's different, of course. My kids are developing well, and my clients need help. I have the skills to help them, so I should use those skills. And I need a paycheck. Stupid paycheck. I can't wait until I can reduce my hours in the fall. 

Maybe I'll do another day in the life post this week? If I can get my act together? 

monday miscellany

1) We had a warm (50 degrees) and sunny weekend! The two inches of ice on the driveway melted enough to get chipped away, and the kids finally had good weather for playing outside. 

2) Chris has been away, and my mom has been staying with us so I have help with the kids. It would not be easy to be on my own with them for almost a whole week. They are at quite a challenging stage- at each other all the time. 

3) When they're not at each other, they do have their moments. Celia went to see Henry the other morning, while I was still getting dressed. I found them together in his crib. Apparently Celia can climb in there. 

4) Am I the only one who is not in a hurry to put my children in beds? A crib is an amazing thing. 

5) Henry has started reading books to himself. It is adorable. He likes The Mitten and has part of that memorized, so sometimes he recites that. The other day he was looking at Maisy Goes to Bed:

"Once a time, Maisy go bed. Once a time, Maisy going bed. Good night."

6) Henry just finished his latest round of medication for an ear infection. Please, please, please let this be the last of the winter illnesses for the year. 

7) We have been eating some good plants lately. I haven't been posting about our diet very much, but we love our plant-based diet. Only problem is the kids are in a really picky phase right now. Most kids go through that, I guess. It occurs to me that two of these pictures really look like they contain dairy. They do not. The pizza cheese is made from cashews, water, and some other stuff. The shells are filled with tofu ricotta. 

8) I have a busy work week with extra stuff going on. Starting next week, I want to be done taking on any extra stuff. Hoping I can squeeze in some weekday spring runs/workouts if I stop working extra hours so much. 

miscellany monday

1) We had a good weekend. My parents were here part of Saturday, so I got to go grocery shopping and get some other things done all by myself. On Sunday the weather was much warmer than it has been, so we went outside for a little walk. It's also nice that the snow has melted. I'm sure that won't last. 

2) I'm writing this on Sunday night, looking forward to some Downton Abbey!

3) We also went out for a snack and walked around outside a little. Both kids now like to pack bags to bring when we go somewhere. Henry packed his "coffee" (an empty cup) and a beanbag. Haha. He is so cute. 

4) It is just impossible to get them both to look and smile at the same time.

5) I have a crazy busy week for work. For some reason I booked 17 hours instead of my usual 11-12. Plus, I have a four hour first aid and CPR training. Henry has to go to daycare an extra day this week :(

6) Speaking of schedules and daycare, I'm figuring out what I can do with my work schedule so that I can drop off and pick up Celia from school when she starts kindergarten in the fall. It's going to be busy and I will have to work fewer hours, but I just can't see putting her on the bus. She is so tiny. 

7) Right now I'm reading In The Kingdom of Men. It's a good one. 

8) My mom gave me some E-Cloths for cleaning. They are amazing! I used them this weekend and ordered the floor mop. I can't believe how clean it gets the floors without much elbow grease. 

9) Don't know if I've put up these pictures of the kids from their haircuts a couple weeks ago.

catching up

1) I had to have another procedure (lower GI series) on Friday. I shouldn't have to have this done again for five years, which is a big relief. It was not fun. The prep is terrible and the procedure is (far) less than enjoyable. I also didn't feel well for about 24 hours afterward.

One good thing is that I didn't lose any weight this time. And now it's done with, and I can enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas without any medical stuff (hopefully) to deal with.

2) These two...

3) Yesterday Celia was playing with our Little People toys (without Henry around to ruin everything) and she really got into it. She built different buildings for them with blocks, and was so busy talking and pretending with them.

4) A big box that came with a delivery provided a lot of entertainment this week. They have spent hours playing with it. It has been a house, a truck, a car, a restaurant, and an art studio.

5) Pita girl. She's just so sweet. I love looking at her little profile. She was holding twisty ties in her hand. We were at the grocery store and she kept asking for twisty ties in the produce area.

Later that day, I found this:

She made it into a plant for a caterpillar.

6) I set up the best activity for the kids yesterday. It kept them busy for at least a half hour while I was making dinner. Stick pieces of dry spaghetti into a play dough base. Have the kids stack Cheerios on the spaghetti sticks. Celia and Henry loved this, and it was so easy!

7) I'm kind of wanting to start decorating for Christmas, but I held off this weekend. I did get out a couple of little Christmas houses that light up, and Celia likes to turn them on. Maybe next weekend I'll do a little more.

8) I'm trying to make the most of my time when I have an hour or so at home alone some days. Sometimes I have a block of time to go home in the middle of a work day, or I get done early and have time before picking up the kids. I'm trying to keep some space in my schedule. But what to do during that time? The first thing I usually do is prep dinner or clean the house- things that aren't easy to do with the kids around. But I really need to use some of that time for exercise/doing something for myself. Somehow I need to balance getting the dinner prep done (which significantly decreases my stress) and getting exercise in too. Today I'm taking a walk when I stop at home during lunch, and prepping dinner before I pick up the kids.

monday miscellany

1) Less than a month ago, our China kitty died. On Friday our other cat, Izzy, did too. Izzy's health started to deteriorate rapidly after China died. First he changed his habits (like where he would sleep), and then we noticed he wasn't eating much. Finally, he had lost a lot of weight and wasn't eating and drinking at all. He had a growth involving his liver. Izzy and China lived together all their lives, and they were both more than 17 years old. Now that they're both gone I keep walking into rooms expecting to see one of the cats, and neither is there. It's strange.

2) Henry had his first hair cut last week! I used to trim Celia's hair myself, but I knew it would be a disaster if I tried to do Henry's. I took him to a kids' hair cut place on Tuesday morning while Celia was at school. Henry understood he was getting hair cut, but he kept saying "ouch!" when I talked about it, so I'm pretty sure he thought it would hurt. He was such a good boy, and didn't move or make a peep while his hair was being cut. He did make the funniest facial expressions.

3) Celia made an owl hand puppet at school (she is in the "Owl" class). Her description of the owl (notice that the owl does not like to play with Henry):

4) The dining room is almost done! We just have finishing touches- new light fixture, hang paintings on walls, put up curtains. The walls and crown molding (remember Chris built the crown himself, in four pieces?) look great.

5) Can you believe it's November now? Yowzers.