Tappity tap-tap...

The lad in my womb likes to tap dance in the wee hours. He really gets dancing during the midnight to two a.m. time frame. Alas, this means I have not been getting a good night's sleep - having bronchitis and coughing so much would be complication enough.

Three was very active like this during my last pregnancy. I'm guessing this guy will kick off his blankets and socks when he gets out, too.

Trucker Hats

Everyone looks better wearing a trucker hat. That's the verdict from baby boy, who culled some excellent specimens from his granddaddy's collection and distributed them for everyone to wear.

Things I want to do with my kids...

This is a long list, so I won't even attempt to write it all now. But I do want to be the mom who reads stories to her kids at bedtime, longer books where I read a chapter or part of a chapter every night and we pick up where we left off the next night. I want to do this with the Narnia series - I already have the full set which I got as a gift from my Amazon wishlist when Big Girl was tiny. My fabulous BIL sent it to me. He's a really thoughtful guy who always seems to pick great gifts. But I digress.

I also want to read them the Little House books. I think my childhood copies are still somewhere in my parents' basement, along with copies of lots of other great books that I will share with my kids.

I want to spend more time outside with the kids, and get Big Girl much more involved in planting and maintaining her herb garden this summer. It didn't do so well last summer, between the drought and the outdoor watering ban, but I think we can make smarter choices about plants and be better about bringing out the duck watering can to water the plants this summer. Then we can cook with some of the herbs and enjoy that.

I want to get my office organized more effectively so there's space for the kids to do coloring and crafty things while I'm in there doing research and whatnot. I know I can't do it by myself, so I need to be more assertive about getting assistance from Hubs (and, more likely, my dad) to get that room in kid-friendly order.

Zombie!

Baby boy is a regular walking champ now. He struts all over the house and is also developing a concerning penchant for climbing. Troublemaker! But I can't help thinking that the way he walks reminds me of a zombie. Sometimes he even holds his hands out in front. I just need to teach him to say, "Braaaaaaains!"

Easter egg hunt

I'm very excited about this afternoon's Easter egg hunt at our church. I think Hubs might actually get off work to attend, and this will be the first year that the baby boy will be able to participate. He wasn't really mobile last year. And I know big girl will have a wonderful time. I decorated her basket with some cute hot pink ribbon that has Hello Kitty on it - she loves it and I have enough left to tie a cute bow in her hair as well. I still need to track down baby boy's basket and put a green ribbon with cats and dogs on it on his basket. His sister picked it out for him when we took a girls-only trip to the Walmart a few days ago - because "bro loves dogs." Some moms appear to go all-out with the egg hunt and show up with girls in pretty smocked dresses and elaborately decorated baskets, but I'm a little more low-key. The kids will be wearing appropriate attire for playing outside, stuff that will wash well when they start digging into the candy and smear chocolate and colored sugar all over themselves. I stuffed 250 eggs with candy to contribute to the hunt. This should be fun.

YAWN!

I took some cough syrup last night, just so I could sleep for a few hours. I'm sick, again. Anyway, today I have medicine hangover - part of the reason why I stopped taking Zyrtec a few weeks back as well, because I wake up groggy and woozy and unmotivated to do anything except sleep some more. I've got that same heavy sensation in my body today, the same feeling of weight as if my bed's gravitational field is slowly towing me back in. Since the kids are napping, I may do it too, although I know I could do other things.

I've been asked to serve on the board for the regional library. I'm not positive that I'll be appointed, but I said I would love to do it. The library here in our town is in dire need of some TLC on multiple levels: state of the building, state of collections, level of awareness, quality of technology and access. And I think I could help a great deal, so I hope it will work out.

I referred myself to a specialist to get more input on my chronic illnesses. I've had far too many sinus infections, allergy flare-ups, colds, tonsil issues, and other issues lately, so I'll be seeing an ENT tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully he can do something to get me some relief. I'm tired of coughing and sneezing and feeling like crap all the time. Hopefully if I can breathe more easily, I'll feel more like exercising a bit.

My birthday is approaching, but I'm not expecting anything much this year. I already received a couple of nice sweaters from my aunts and uncles, and I think I'm still "ahead" with my parents, who got us some new appliances when we moved as "early" Christmas and birthday gifts. Maybe Hubs will get me a present that's truly intended for me, and not something he wants for himself. Oh, and I did order a few new attractive tops from the clearance section of the Talbots website, so I can look a little more presentable when I teach. Maybe I can persuade Hubs to sponsor an expansion to my shoe collection.

My mom should return to town today, after spending some time with her family after my grandfather's death. I'm eager to talk to her and spend some time with her. I want to ask her a lot of questions about her childhood and try to imprint them in my memory, since I feel like so much was lost in terms of family history and storytelling when my grandfather died. I need to do more to record family stories and other information that I feel I need to remember, and that I want the kids to know when they're older. I've been tossing around ideas in my mind about ways to do that - scrapbooks, typing up stories, maybe a CD or something. Not sure yet but I have a lot of ideas.

Back to the blog...

I haven't written anything for a few days - I was traveling for my grandfather's funeral and then I just didn't know what to write. I think that seeing my mom and my grandmother hurting is almost as hard to deal with as his death itself. I wish that I could do something to ameliorate their pain, and I wish I had taken more time to talk to Pop, to ask him questions about his life, to hear stories, to capture more about him before it was lost. I wish I had taken more time to be around him.

Big girl is parked next to my desk chair for a bit of coloring and this new strange game she plays, where she turns legos upside down and puts crayons in the holes and arranges the legos and drives them around. So many interesting things going on in that beautiful little mind, and sometimes I don't understand any of it. But it's fascinating to watch her talk to herself and invent these conversations between toys and narrate the things that she's doing.

Baby boy is napping - it's hard work inspecting all of the tractors and entertaining your relatives at the family farm all morning.

Wishful Shopping

I'm browsing around looking at cute clothes that I won't actually buy. I found this dress that would look amazing on Big Girl, but I won't get it for her because she already has several cute dresses for spring and summer. I made out like a bandit when I was shopping the clearance racks last fall. And she already has special occasion dresses for Easter and her birthday, so I must restrain myself.

I did pick up an Easter outfit for Baby Boy, finally. I exchanged some adorable clothes that my mom got from Gymboree, which unfortunately were too small, and got him a nice outfit that should be appropriate for cooler weather, since Easter falls so early this year. I remember that Big Girl couldn't wear her Easter dress for her first Easter because she would have been far too cold, so I tried to shop with that in mind. He can always lose the sweater if it's warmer that day.

It's all about the Bee Bo

Baby boy loves to talk about his Bee Bo, and he gets a big kick out of reading Belly Button Book (Boynton on Board). I love Sandra Boyton's books and the CDs of silly kids songs, and I wish she offered more products with the cute animal images on them. I have an old towel from my childhood that has a Boynton monster on it, and I know she used to license the image for mugs and the like. I would love to have more towels for the kids' bathroom. I guess I'll just have to be thwarted in this, for now. From what I've read, Boynton has a conservative approach to licensing products with her characters, and I guess I can respect that. In the meantime, I can just say "Bee Bo" and baby boy breaks out in giggles. He also likes to point to his Bee Bo and grin - very proud of himself! Ashley has a cute picture of Little Kid on her blog doing something similar, and it cracks me up.

The big girl who cried wolf...

We were in the car today (kids, my dad, and me) and baby boy kept tossing his stuffed dog into the floor. Then he'd call "Doggie! Uh-oh, doggie!" to get my dad to pick it up and give it back to him. After Dad did this a few times, I told the boy not to throw his dog anymore, and I said something about not being a little boy who cried wolf. Big girl piped up to ask what I meant about wolf, and I explained, briefly, that there was a famous story about a boy who called for help all the time when he really didn't need it, and then, when he did need help, people were reluctant to believe him. She said - quickly, and with a grin on her face - "Help! I need help!" Not even four, and already a smartass.

Productive day so far

I decided that I would be somewhat productive today. So, after the kids were fed, I parked the big girl in front of the tv and hauled baby boy to the bathroom, where I plopped him on the counter in front of the mirror and began torturing him. Or at least that's probably what the elderly neighbors next door thought, if they heard him.

I used Hubs' beard trimmer and gave baby boy a haircut. The beard trimmer is quieter than the clippers, so I hoped that it would be less annoying to subject. He was pretty agreeable for a long while - he played with a rubber duck, made faces at himself and me in the mirror, played with his toes, and was a pretty happy camper until I was about 2/3 of the way done. Then he started getting annoyed, by the noise and by my insistence that he not touch his head while I was trimming, and he started howling. When he howls, he starts getting hot and sweaty, and his fine hair becomes nearly impossible to trim because it's all sticking to his scalp. Ugh.

So I managed to finish up, and I think I got all of the straggly bits, and then I stripped him down for a bath to get the excess hair off. He had a grand time playing by himself with all of the ducks, squirting animal toys, cups, and the bar of soap (one of those great Johnson's Buddies bars - I still have a ton from that fabulous coupon that made them free). But the big girl heard us having fun and came in and wanted to take a bath too. She was frustrated that I wouldn't let her hop right in - I told her that there was too much hair in the water and that she could have her own bath after I got her brother clean and dressed. So she stood next to the tub impatiently until I got baby boy clean, dry, and dressed in one of his favorite shirts - it has a bear driving a train on the front - and a pair of hand-me-down jeans that still fit the slim big girl in the waist, but are now too short for her. He looks pretty cute, and I'll have to take a picture of him later (he's napping with a full belly now).

So the impatient big girl then got her own individual bath, with sole reign over the toys, and after her bath I trimmed her hair. I was apprehensive about doing this. I've always cut baby boy's hair, and sometimes I cut Hubs' hair, but big girl has long curly hair and that's a bit different. I've never tried it before. She has always gone to a salon - a kids' place called Peekado before we moved, and the lady who cuts my aunt's hair over here. With her, I can't use clippers that keep everything the same length, so I have to be more cautious, and I have to aim for a straight line while dealing with her wiley locks that curl up as soon as they start to dry.

Anyway, it took a long time, and she got frustrated with me for telling her to sit still when she wanted to wiggle and sing songs, but I cut off most of the split ends and uneven bits and she told me that her hair looked "so pretty" when I was done. I wonder if Hubs will notice.

After that, we rescued baby boy from his crib of torture - he kept saying "more" and "food" and doing the "more" baby sign that he learned from one of the nursery workers at church - and I started on the mac and cheese discussed in the previous post. I've done three loads of laundry and a load of dishes, made some phone calls, and arranged a mystery shop for next week which will give me a nice bonus. Now I just need to clean myself and get ready to teach tonight before the kids wake up...

A list of things on my mind...

• Big girl has developed a big problem with twirling her hair into knots and chewing on her hair. I am attempting to break the habit and I am beginning to wonder if a haircut will help. Her hair is getting quite long, so even when she doesn't help it along, it tangles easily.
• Baby boy went to the doctor today, after a fall last night which resulted in prolific bleeding from the underside of his lip. He apparently tore open the little connector that goes between the inside of the top lip and his gums. The doctor said to avoid salty and acidic foods, and he should heal fairly quickly. I'm glad he didn't need a stitch there or anything. He was a pain in the tuckus when the doctor wanted to examine it. His appetite remains prolific despite the injury.
  
• My BFF Mel will be moving closer in the spring, so that I can reasonably drive to see her and her partner in a day. She'll have a new job with a (hopefully less-psycho) new boss, and I'm just so happy for her. She's also moving back to the town where we both lived previously, so she'll already know people and places there.
• Hubs actually came home at a reasonable hour tonight - but that's because he's sick and tired and wanted to go to bed early. The kids are already in bed, too, and the dogs are fed and snoozing on the back deck, which means the house is really quiet and peaceful.
  

I think I'll take advantage of the quiet and go enjoy a Jane Austen movie from the BBC collection that the aforementioned BFF sent to me as a surprise gift.

She really did it this time

I sat big girl and baby boy down at the table with some food and stepped out to the back yard to feed the dogs. Big girl gets the bright idea to hop up and stroll over to the back door and lock the glass storm door. Which means that she and her baby brother are locked inside and I am outside with a couple of dogs and no keys.

I spend fifteen minutes attempting to coach her on how to turn the knob and unlock the door - but apparently she only knows how to turn it in one direction: the one that locks me out. She just looks at me and giggles and twirls her hair around her finger while I try to get her to unlock the door, but it's no use.

It's kind of dark in the back yard, and I'm kind of stuck in there, too. There are two gates. One is six feet tall and locked from the other side. The other is a gate in a chain link fence, and it's only about four feet tall. But it's on the dark side of the house, and because it has too much give there at the gate, such that determined dogs can wiggle through and escape if they feel so inclined, it also has three pieces of rope tying it shut. Three separate pieces of rope, with fancy knots, and it's completely dark on that side of the house. No exterior lights, no lights coming from the windows of my house or my neighbor's, since they aren't home. So - since only the dogs could see me, and they can't speak English - I climbed oh-so-gracefully over the chain length fence and plopped down on the other side. Fortunately I did not tear my jeans on the fence or land on my ass.

I went to the front door to see if I could coax big girl into unlocking it, but my efforts there were similarly unsuccessful. So I hiked up the street, in the dark except for some nice moonlight (because the exterior light in our front yard is broken at present), to see our friends up the street. They didn't have a spare key - I thought they might but no - but they did send their teenage girls down to keep an eye on big girl and baby boy through the front windows while I called Hubs on his cell phone.

Hubs was working late on a project, but he excused himself and raced home while I stood on the front porch with neighbor friend and continued to (unsuccessfully) coax big girl on the unlocking of dead bolts. By the time Hubs got there, baby boy was crying (but safely ensconced in his high chair where I had left him), and big girl had darted away from the front door several times to play in the water and make a big mess in the bathroom. She also grinned and made faces through the glass at us, brought out a drippy washcloth and wiped the window with it while proclaiming, "I wash your window," and danced around with her toy iron. She did not console her crying brother, despite my requests that she do so, and yet she also managed not to injure herself, her brother, or the house, aside from the water in the bathroom floor. So I was pretty relieved. And from now on, she will accompany me into the back yard to feed the dogs when Hubs isn't home, and I will also take the keys with me.

This wasn't the first time she had locked that storm door - she did it twice before, fortunately when Hubs was home to unlock it and let me back in. I guess that means I'm a slow learner and I should have seen this coming. My mom laughed when I told her about this, since she still remembers the time when I locked her out of the house and she had to break a window to get back inside. Yeah, I was about the same age that the big girl is now.

Yuck

I'm sitting here in the recliner with a box fan blowing full force on me. Sweat is dripping down my neck, my hair is wet from all of this, and it's pretty gross. I decided to give the snot patrol a bath and the experience has left me sweaty and crippled. My back always hurts after I give them a bath and yet I never think to get a knee cushion or take any other measures to make the whole process less painful.

But they had a fabulous time - I used the last of the Tigger bath bubbles and they had plenty of ducks and other toys in the tub, too. They conspired to start splashing in unison and get me all wet early in the process, which was hil-arious. The big girl made tea with her brother's little cup toys, which was great fun until she actually tasted the soapy water, and baby boy's ducks had a grand time as well.

Of course, when they're having this much fun, ending bathtime is never a popular move, so after screaming and complaining about it for a while, they've settled down to watch a Bob the Builder video while I cool off. Then a quick run to the grocery store before Hubs comes home. Maybe I'll pull a June Cleaver and have dinner ready when he gets here.

They're OD-ing on Little Bear today

Both the big girl and baby boy are sick again today, as am I. My husband - let's just call him Hubs, shall we? - is not suitably sympathetic to my illness, but that's not new. So we've been watching Noggin a lot today. I've been really bad about using Noggin and Bob the Builder videos as electronic babysitters lately. I've been sick and congested since sometimes in late December, with only the occasional day of feeling good, and both of the kiddos keep getting sick. So I'm simultaneously delighted and horrified by my big girl's ability to sing the theme songs to Wonder Pets and other fabulous preschooler tv fare. I guess mostly I love it, because sometimes she's so quiet and shy when I try to get her to sing. Particularly if she has an audience of any size, she sticks her two fingers into her mouth and just looks at me when I ask her to sing. This is the same frustratingly adorable pose she struck throughout most of her preschool's Christmas song assembly.

Meanwhile, Max and Ruby are now on - their relationship reminds me of big girl and baby boy sometimes b/c big girl has no problem bossing her brother around and being vocal in the comforts of her own home. And baby boy is wandering around the den with a gift bag over his head. Good times, good times.