February 2, 2008

That Build a Bear is a smart place. We received in the mail a $5 birthday certificate for Jocelyn so I decided why not - we need another stuffed animal around here! But anyway, she got there and looked over the choices for a while but couldn't decide so I finally had to give her just 2 choices and then she decided easily - a bright pink pepto bismal-looking bear. (The other choice was a brown furry bear).

So I hand her the bear and tell her to stand in line and I must say she's the cutest stander in liner ever! But then when it was our turn she didn't want to go, and when I handed her bear to the stuffer person, she started screaming! Like SCREAMING! So unlike her! Another helper came over to show her the color buttons on the fluff machine and she was quiet while it was being explained, and then she started screaming again! When it was stuffed she quieted down and did the rub the heart on your nose and give it a kiss thing, which was just too cute. Then I show her the bear and you'd think I was revealing the head of medusa! She got this terrified look on her face and I decided to tuck the bear into my arm before she started screaming again.

Now the bear-clothes-shopping, that was a different story! This girl was born to shop! She very much enjoyed pointing out all the pink outfits (her birthday is at the right time of year - they were rich with pink for valentine's day!) We settled on a pink flower dress, pink underpants, and pink hello kitty slippers. It is SO pink! She was happy with the bear by the time we left, and hugged it in the car and has been carrying it around all day. I have no idea what upset her so much! In retrospect I think she got up earlier than usual because when we got home she fell asleep on the couch, and she doesn't nap usually. She was crying while we had to name the bear, so I named it Jocelyn, but she says the bear's name is Pink. I've got some picture of her with the bear and will post them tomorrow or Monday.

We played hide and seek tonight. To hide, Jocelyn runs into another room, and then lies on the ground face down. hahaha

Jocelyn is not good at sharing. Any toy that Jesse wants, she takes and holds over her head. It's pretty funny when she gets two or three up there! Of course, Jesse is no fool, that's when he decides it's time to give her a good belt to the gut. oy - these two bicker and brawl all day long!! And if I decide to hug one without the other?!?! Lord help us all.

Timothy has been recruited into a recess production of High School Musical 2. He's Troy. He went over to a girl's house today to practice for 2 hours. This week he printed out all the lyrics to the songs and then as he was showing them to me he said "wow, this is a lot to do for me - I have to practice karate, viola, and now this. I don't know if I can do it all." Then he played Webkinz for 2 hours. «roll eyes»

When I picked him up from Emma's house today there were 5 little girls and Timothy. In the car I asked him if he had fun. "It was ok," he said. "They mostly told me what to do a lot."

I got invited to a lunch with 3 co-workers to celebrate one of them (Kate) passing her (actuarial) exam (now she just has one left). They were going for sushi and I'm very proud to say that I went and I tried actual sushi. I got the Japanese Lunch Box with assorted sushi - which means I got this cute little sectioned plate with a scoop of rice and a mini-salad and then 2 dumplings (those seemed cooked), 2 california rolls, and 5 pieces of raw fish with rice tucked underneath them. The dumplings were very good, the california rolls were so so (I'm not a huge avocado fan), and the raw fish was actually quite good. One was tuna - I don't know what the others were. Surprisingly, I was too full to eat the rice or salad. Well, I was also saving room for dessert - warm hazelnut chocolate lava cake (which I shared with another coworker). Oh, and also had miseo soup first - that I didn't care for. Tofu is gross (I got by that part by swallowing the little bits whole instead of chewing) and the seaweed flavor leaves a bit to be desired. But anyway, I was so glad I tried it! They had plenty of cooked dishes I could have wimped out on, but I did not.

Morgan's week was so-so - most days were alright, but one day he bit his para. He traded beds with Uncle Joey this week (Uncle Joey has a new apartment which is a studio, so he was trying to maximize floor space by acquiring a smaller bed). So Morgan has a queen bed now and looks just adorable in it and seems to Iike it very much. I ordered him a bedding set and some sheets from overstock.com. The set I really liked said "dry clean only", so I went with choice #2.

No big news on Jesse I don't think. His molars are about halfway in. Earlier this week they were keeping him up so I brought him down to get some tylenol. Just as I was finishing measuring it out - he grabbed it from me, stuck it in his mouth, and sucked it down! Then he went back to sleep and slept all night - I guess that's what he needed!

Tax time again -I'm trying to get motivated to go download turbotax .... 

January 27, 2008

Once upon a time there was a pretty little princess named Jocelyn who liked to have tea parties. The princess and her mother the queen live in a house of blue and there has not previously been much call for tea parties. But lucky for the princess, Santa brought her a new porcelain teddy bear tea set. So the queen prepared the tea and some miniature coffee cakes on the miniature teddy bear plates and the two of them sat down to tea. They were having such fun that soon the oldest prince wanted to join them.

The prince said his name was Mrs. Huckleberry and spoke with an english accent, but the queen and the princess were not fooled. They shared their tea with him but giggled at his silliness. When they were done the queen took the princess up to bed and tucked her in with some bedtime stories and wondered what she had done right in this life to have such a beautiful princess to share her blue castle with.

Now this particular princess knows that she is a princess. If the queen mistakenly calls her Jocelyn, the princess says "no, I'm PRINCESS Jocelyn". When asked what the name of the littlest prince is, she replies "that's sweetie pie". Princess Jocelyn has a birthday approaching and she is very excited about it. The queen has shown her the presents she'll get to open and each morning the princess asks if it is time for her birthday party. At night the queen can sneak up to her room and stand quietly at the door and hear the princess singing happy birthday to herself. At the end of the song the princess says to herself "here, have a present".

The princess has a slight obsession with drawing and coloring and has recently redecorated her walls with drawings of strange creatures that grow arms and legs out of their heads and hair that stands on end but have big eyes and smiles. One day when the princess was performing acts of coloring before the queen, she broke her crayon. "Oh how sad, the crayon is broken," she said, looking at her crayon. "That's ok, I'll just get another one, I'll be right back Mommy."

The littlest prince, Prince Sweetie Pie, gained his freedom this week. The gate that preciously barred him from full access to the upper levels of the castle was removed as Prince Sweetie Pie has become adept at climbing both up and down the castle stairs. Prince Sweetie Pie could not be happier! He finds the princess as irresistible as the rest of the kingdom does and wants to follow her all around and poke her belly button. You see, the princess has been trying to convert the blue castle to a nudist institution, despite the best efforts of the king and queen to prevent this. She squeals with delight when Prince Sweetie Pie pokes her belly button, and giggles like the Pillsbury Doughboy.

The princess's older brother, Prince Morgan Porgan, has been having issues staying in his room at night. The king and queen bought a gate to contain him, but Prince Morgan Porgan broke the gate and snuck out of his room after the king and queen had gone to bed and managed to stay up all night playing video games and swinging. The next day at school Prince Morgan Porgan was VERY tired and almost fell asleep at his desk. So the king and queen had to alter the design of the gate and (fingers crossed) seem to have done so successfully. For 3 nights Prince Morgan Porgan has stayed in his room and seems quite chipper from actually getting some sleep. In the mornings he runs a block against the gate and the king gets up and lets him out. Somehow he knows not to do this at 3am! (I imagine that would NOT amuse the king).

The king and queen celebrated 15 years together this week. They tried to remember a time before they had such a loud and busy castle, but they could not. The king bought purple roses for the queen, knowing they are her favorite. Upon seeing the flowers, Princess Jocelyn exclaimed, "oh look! They're adorable!"

At the royal family dinner one night this week, somehow the subject of computer modems came up. "What's a modem?" asked the oldest prince. The king and queen explained the ancient tradition of dial-up.

I guess that's the update from the blue castle - the royal family hopes that all of you are enjoying your weekend. 

January 21, 2008

Holy good golly it is COLD out!!

So I found some movies from Feb 2001 to July 2001 - when Morgan was 7-12 months. I watched it all and I gotta say, even now, even REALLY looking, he seems perfectly normal to me (besides being covered in eczema, poor kid). He responded to his name, he did the hand motions to the song ‘open shut them’, he was saying mama and baba, clapping, making eye contact, playing with balls and cars, army crawling, and generally grunting. There was only one little thing - this strange little hand motion he did - but it was sort of like the one that went with the song, so who knows. On the tape I said it was the thing he did when he wanted to be picked up.

I've got to find the next set of tapes tomorrow so I can see what happened next. I believe it was around 15 months when he started spinning plates, so whatever happened was after 12 months but before 15. One thing is that he had nothing but formula for the first year - no solids at all because of his gag reflex (which I guess would be another weird thing). So no gluten, no dairy prior to one ... but also the MMR was at 12 months and that's when the mercury was still in there ... I don't know. Not that it matters particularly, but it's still interesting.

The really interesting thing was Timothy. I always say that he was borderline ASD when he was little. Well there was no borderline about it - he was full on asperger's with no debate! He turned 3 in June 2001 so this was the surrounding months. The kid was WEIRD WEIRD WEIRD. He spoke generally in movie quotes. You could NOT have a conversation with him! He only had triggers as to what he would say or do. If I said "one" then he'd start counting and not be deterred until he was done. He ran through full cartoon sections. He couldn't answer questions, especially once he saw the camera was on as he was too distracted and OCD over the camera. It was so strange to watch! I even called him rainman on tape trying to get his attention away from the script he was doing! Seriously, he had no original thought or ideas at all, that were obvious to the camera anyway. If I saw that in a child today I'd call EI myself.

The other funny thing about Timothy is that he had Jocelyn's voice - or vice versa I guess! Same laugh, same voice - except Timothy had a lisp (I assume due to the gaping distance between his teeth where the binky usually sat).

Well I got Morgan's new gate installed. Hard-mounted, 42in high with child proof one handed open. My butt! Morgan had it open in no time!! The only advantage to this gate is that we can *hear* it when he opens it so then we can run in there and put him back. That worked around 5am. At 8am (ok, yes, we were still in bed at 8am) he came into our room with a big smile on his face. He crawled into bed between us. Jesse decided to love on him and started crawling on him and giving him kisses. Morgan kissed him back! He also touched his face - awww. So they had a little snuggle fest and it was just too adorable.

Jocelyn has a new passion for reading books and we have been going through a dozen a night probably. Of course, if Jesse tries to touch one that is in the queue while we are reading .... oy. Jesse has a new passion for poking Jocelyn's belly button and giggling. haha. So at least it works out for him that we can't seem to keep clothing on her! Actually she's been doing better now that it's cold out.

Jocelyn and I went to Target on Saturday to get Chase's birthday present and a new hair dryer for me. She was little miss chatty the whole time pointing out all the various toys she saw. Then we ran into someone I know from work and she clammed up like she didn't know how to speak. Isn't it always the way!! I picked up a few more things for her for her birthday and got everything wrapped.

I asked Jocelyn yesterday if she wanted to paint her nails and she did, so I said we had to cut them first and we did without her giving me any hard time. Then when I said she could go pick out paints and she asked for paper - she wanted to actually paint. So I found some water colors I've had sitting around for years and showed her how to dip the brush. She sat at the table for TWO HOURS and painted! Every once in a while she'd say "look mommy!" and I'd tell her how great it was, and then she'd keep going. Quite a concentrated look on her face too! It was super cute.

The application for preschool came this week and we got it filled out and it's ready to go into the mail tomorrow. The questions were really hard though like "My child has tantrums never rarely sometimes often always" and others like that. I think the hardest one was "My child's language is understood by others never rarely sometimes often always". I put often but that's because I can almost always understand her - but I'm not sure how often other random strangers can understand her? I guess we'll see when she has her assessment! 

January 12, 2008

Today Jocelyn was sitting on Josh's lap and Morgan spontaneously came over to her and hugged her. She LOVED it. So she held her arms out and asked for more hugs ("more hugs Morgan?"). He hugged her again and then touched both her cheeks with his hands. This is how he says he loves you, but it was the first time he had ever done it to her so she was scared. When he let go she looked at me confused and frightened and I told her "Morgan loves you Jocelyn, that's how Morgan says I Love You". She turned to Morgan and said "more hands Morgan?" touching her face as she said it. He was on to his next task by then and didn't respond, but I just thought it was so cute and sweet. She adores him and now I know he adores her too.

I heard from Morgan's preschool teacher today and found out that the 1/1 cutoff for the integrated preschool is flexible so I can apply for Jocelyn to attend in the fall and they'll have her in to observe her and see if she's mature enough. I'm so excited!! She would so love it there! Now if only I can get her to be more mature ... haha

I ordered a new gate for Morgan's room. This one attaches to the door frame and is 42" tall. I'm hoping that will keep him in his room in the morning. While the melatonin works on most nights, even then he gets up around 5am (vs. 4am on the others). We've learned to unplug the TV and stereo, so he had been just swinging all morning, but now he's started eating. If he eats gluten-food, the report on his day from his teachers is not good. One morning this week he ate goldfish and his teacher wrote that he had several meltdowns during the day and couldn't manage to stay for assembly (when usually he loves assemblies!). She said it was his worst day all year. So that inspired me to order the gate. Should be here this week I would think.

He's also still chewing everything at school so they got some 'chewelry' for him which is basically necklaces made out of curly plastic that is, I guess, fun to chew. She said he chewed it, so that was step one. He's not really chewing at home, so we're not having as much of an issue, though I may get him some for car rides.

Oh, and Jocelyn had another week with no accidents! I dare say she's potty trained, and did so all on her own. woo hoo! Now she goes in, closes the door, pees and/or poops, empties her potty into the big potty, and then knocks on the door to be let out. She's also learned how to lock the door when it's open, leave the bathroom, and then close it so that the empty bathroom is locked. Crafty little bugger.

We came across a book we have where it came with a CD of the story as well and Jocelyn really likes it, so I went out today and got some more for her birthday. We were GOING to go to Target and get Chase's present afterwards but in the 2 minutes drive from Border's to Target Jesse decided to somehow pour his bottle of OJ all over (ALL OVER) himself. Oy, so that will have to wait.

Jocelyn has spent hours this week coloring, and hours playing with playdoh - it's so funny to have a kid that sits there and does table work! She loves her coloring books and makes a concerted effort at staying in the lines. She doesn't succeed, but definitely gives it her all!

It was beautiful out today and I got to run outside - did 4.2mi in 45 min. That was all I had in me - it's really been too long just doing the treadmill, I've lost my stamina. During the week I've been trying to do 25 min on the treadmill each day, but some days after 10 min I throw it in. Unfortunately, exercise isn't a thought-that-counts situation! haha. Now on the news they are saying it's going to snow snow snow Sunday night -like 12 inches perhaps. blech.

Let's see, what else. Timothy bought a webkinz with his holiday money and it arrived today so he now only spent a good part on the day on webkinz, but then his new chihuahua hung out with him watching video games. He also went over to a neighbor's house this week and they *gasp* played outside.

Jesse continues to explore the world of talking. He's branched into what one might call purposeful babbling, where he seems to THINK he is making sense, but actually is not. The cutest was tonight when he was crying and I picked him up and handed him the yogurt bottle he had dropped a few minutes before. He said "no" and swatted it away, and then pointed to my chest and said "mama". awww!

Jocelyn has figured out that Jesse can do ring around the rosie except that he doesn't "fall down" - so she pushes him. oy! Then he doesn't get up fast enough either so she tries to pull him up too. She's not strong enough for that though. I took him with me to Borders today and let him walk around. He would have been quite content to walk all over the place all afternoon. What he was NOT content to do was stand still for a second while I picked out what I wanted. I was trying to hold him while he flailed to get down at the checkout counter and the checker person said "how you doing big guy?" and he says "goo" and the checker person was like "did he just say good???" I don't think he did, but passed it off like he was a genius anyway.

Ok it's late, I should probably go get some sleep. Jesse had another week sleeping through the night and I tell you, I could get used to this! I feel like all rested and stuff. 

January 6, 2008

Well good afternoon everyone! Another busy week here in crazyland - made more hectic by my recent addiction to electronic scrabble.

We all went back to work/school on Wednesday. Morgan had a good week, but he usually does after a vacation - probably because he's so excited to leave the house! I told his teacher how much he likes the swing at home and she says they don't have swings at school. What school doesn't have swings??? I asked Timothy if his school has swings and it does. Weird! Maybe I'll write the principal...

Jocelyn got to visit her new school this week and to say she loved it would be an understatement. I got an email from the director afterwards who said she certainly anticipated no problems! haha. She's all signed up for Mondays and Wednesdays. We did the later session (I think it's 11 - 12:45) because Jocelyn tends to sleep in in the morning and then be a BEAR, so she'll do better a little later I think. Or at least Josh will do better getting her out of the house!

Oh this is funny - Jocelyn calls me running on the treadmill "going in the stroller" - I guess because the only time she's ever in a stroller is when I take her and Jesse out in the jogger - hahaha.

Jesse is starting to use mama in a way that makes me think he knows what it means, which is just adorable. He's trying lots of new words, though his fallbacks are no and ut-oh and da? Da? means anything that he's pointing at. I think it started as door because that's usually what he's pointing at, but now it pretty much goes for everything.

He's big into imitating, which of course thrills us. He LOVES the vacuum and now REALLY LOVES his play vacuum! He was imitating me while I was doing yoga this morning and it was just too cute!! Jocelyn was trying to do it as well, but she was actually doing a pretty good job. Of course, she was nekkid from the waist down, so downward facing dog was not a photo-op - hahaha.

So the reason that Jocelyn was nekkid from the waist down was that she takes her pants off every time she uses the potty - which she does all on her own! She hasn't had an accident all week and even wakes up dry. Yay Jocelyn! Josh has stopped putting a diaper on her to go out even.

Jesse has found a new love - himself. My mom refinished a full length standing mirror for me that goes in my bedroom and Jesse likes to play peekaboo with the baby in the mirror. He plays peekaboo by putting his hands on the top of his head and then pulling them off and yelling boo. hahaha. I can't quite tell but I'm starting to think that he's getting that it's him. Not quite yet but sort of...

Timothy had a friend over this week. He has nice friends. They played well together and then Josh drove him home after dinner.

Oh, so I was nursing Jesse today and Jocelyn lifted up her shirt and stuck out her belly and said to Josh "eat it daddy, eat the belly". hahahaha - he gave her a kiss on her belly button.

It was cold this week so I was mostly forced to use the treadmill. I did finally get outside yesterday and did a bit over 3 miles. Today my back was sore so I did a yoga video and then was feeling much better so did 2 miles on the treadmill. Of course when I was done it had gotten nice out, so I could have gone outside. Ah well. It's supposed to be warm tomorrow but I doubt I'll make it outside during the week until it starts getting light out again.

I guess that's it. It's been a while since we heard from many of you - time to ping! 

January 2, 2008

Ok, how cool is this - I remembered that I wanted to send Jocelyn to the preschool that they have at the high school so went to find out when and the director says I'm right on time and there's an open house tomorrow and Josh can take her in to see the room and give the registration and such. The session doesn't start until mid-March and runs until the end of May - so about 10 weeks. So 2 days a week, 2 hours each day for 10 weeks is $65!! ($45 fee plus $20 registration). Then you have to pay a $30 late fee upfront and if you aren't ever late, you get it back at the end.

So each kid is assigned to their own high school student (who has to observe their learning and write a paper on it). Then it runs like a regular preschool. I can't believe there isn't a waiting list!! Actually I bet there will be soon - I think this is the first year they are doing it. They have a separate entrance inside the high school. The director asked me how I heard about it as she was working on marketing for next year.

Jocelyn is going to LOVE IT!! 

December 31, 2007

Oyoyoy is the week over already?? I have so much to say that I can't think of anything to say.

Jesse has been all about talking this week. He's constantly trying new words. It cracks me up it's just too cute. He also says towwwwwne when we sing wheels on the bus, and thinks he's pretty smart for singing along! Jesse's been a good sport about sleep this week. We seem to have a routine where he gets up about 5am and I bring him in bed with me and he nurses and sleeps until 7 or 7:30, at which point he grabs the remote and hits me in the head with it. So then I turn on Barney and he watches that until 8 and then he's ready to get up for the day. Not bad! Oh, and he thinks farts are funny. I mean, he knows farts are funny, even when it's whoopie cushion farts, which are all the rage around the house these days.

Jocelyn had pigtails in today. I love it when she has pigtails in! Of course, it takes me a couple hours to forget how I had to hold her down screaming in order to get them in, but by the afternoon they are super cute! She was in quite a mood today - yikes. She's doing well with the potty though, so I can't complain. She also thinks batteries are called a screwdriver, since I always ask Josh for a screwdriver in order to get the little door on the toys open, so today she found a battery and brought it to me and said "here mommy, a screwdriver" and I said "no, that's a battery" and she said "no it's not, it's a SCREWDRIVER!!!" oy. I shhh'd her and she told me not to shhh her. Oy again!

I got Jocelyn a doorway swing for Hanukkah and both she and Morgan love it. Morgan goes so high! Yet he's really quite aware of his body position and those walking by him. So far the only person he's hit is Josh, and I think he did that on purpose - haha. For Jocelyn and Jesse he's able to reposition his legs or jump off in order to avoid them, it's rather impressive. He loves it. He calls it a slide, but he loves it. He helped himself to a breakfast of M&Ms today - ooops. I really need to be more careful with where I leave things!!

Timothy and I went out for a run today. We did a mile together (in a bit under 12 minutes) and then I went off and did about 3/4 mi at a quicker pace and then caught up to him again and we jogged a bit again and then walked up the hill. For not having been out in a while, he did well. He says he wants running tights like mine, but I told him he has to run more first and then we'll see. Pretty soon he can just wear mine!! It's been hard enough telling the difference between Timothy's and Morgan's laundry, but now their shirts and mine are not all that different either. (by the way - who gave Morgan the "Green Party" t-shirt for xmas?? did you note that kermit the frog is smoking a bong on the shirt, as is the ghost from ghostbusters?? he won't be wearing that one to school! haha).

I was off all week so we all sat around and played with our new toys all week. Josh got the Band of Brothers miniseries on DVD and we've been watching that (again) - it's so good!! One more day off and then back to work/school. ahhhh well.

Happy New Year!! 

December 16, 2007

What a fun weekend! First of all - I BAKED! I think we all know that is VERY unusual!! Yesterday I made gingerbread dough from a recipe mom had to give me from memory and involved such measurements as "a big blob" and such instruction as "beat the sh!t out of it". The cookies turned out great though! Jocelyn only licked the frosting off of hers, but Jesse was happy to help her eat the cookie part.

Then yesterday I also made tollhouse cookies with m&ms. Jocelyn helped, and also helped sample the product - she approved. They don't look quite right, but they taste fine. I doubled the recipe because I was going to bring some to work, but they look very wrong, so I'm too embarrassed to bring them to work. Guess we'll just have to eat them all!

We also got the tree up and decorated yesterday, and hung all the kids' stockings going up the stairs so it looks just adorable in here!

Today I folded and put away 8 loads of laundry and made the very lofty goal of matching up every sock in the house. I matched up a bunch but have about 2 dozen loners on the table still. They will likely make their way into the trash. In between loads I installed the doorway swing that Jocelyn got for Hanukkah. Boy does she love that!! She doesn't sit in it - she does it superman style. She must have played in it for hours today, it was adorable.

We also painted ornaments today and hung them on "Morgan's tree" which is an evergreen in a little pot that he brought home from school a year or so ago, maybe for arbor day? I can't remember. But it's our resident Charlie Brown tree now.

Oh yeah, here's something funny. We were having something messy for dinner one day this week and Timothy had a nice shirt on so I suggested he take it off. He did, then looked down at himself and said "wow, I've really let myself go". hahahahaha. I swear he didn't get it from me!

Jocelyn got a Gobo Fraggle doll from Susan and Jonathan for Hanukkah. She loves that thing so much - SO much - that I decided to get online and order Red for her stocking. I got it at Amazon and they only had 3 left in stock and were out of Wembleys! My goodness I did not realize that the Fraggles were so popular again.

We got a little snow this week - probably 10 inches on Thursday and another couple today. Today was icy and icky. Yesterday we blew up the snow tubes and went out sledding. I think it took longer to get dressed that it took to sled. I found a new purpose for my running tights though - under jeans out in the snow - perfect! I was soaked but didn't even know it. Jocelyn was having fun for a while and then suddenly NOT so we went in side.

Several times this weekend Josh asked me what Jocelyn's problem was. "She's almost 3, that's her problem" sigh. So cute and yet the mood swings! Today she actually cried out of no where because she wanted me to clean her mirror. So we got windex and cleaned the mirror. We weren't even near the mirror! Not even on the same floor!

Too snowy and cold out this weekend for outdoor running so I did the treadmill - 3 miles yesterday and 2 miles today. The treadmill bites compared to outside, but I keep the portable dvd on it and watch dvds while I workout, so that's something.

Oh, we found some gluten free animal crackers that Morgan likes! That is pretty exciting. I had a parent teacher conference with Morgan's teacher this week. I asked her if there was anything where he was performing at the same level as his peers and she said for math he was actually a bit ahead of his class. For reading he's about a year behind, but she showed me the types of things he was reading and it was pretty impressive - definitely better than he does for me at home. The sweet thing was afterwards when I went back to the special room there was the picture of Morgan holding the snake up on the wall and I said "oh, I love that picture, I have it on my fridge". His para looked at me and said "I have it on my fridge too!" awww, that's so nice!

I was supposed to have Timothy's conference on Friday but they had a 90 minute delay so conferences were canceled and I'm rescheduled for Wednesday.

Jesse is saying more and more words these days - yum, ball, more, etc etc. He's hysterical. He's also getting so fat I can barely zip his pjs! He's got this big ol' baby belly on him - it's just too cute. He slept through the night all week long and then the last two nights got up at 2am. The first 2am night I brought him in bed with me figuring it was a fluke. But then last night I sent Josh in there to inform Jesse that the milk bar is closed and he should go back to sleep until there's light out! We'll see how tonight goes. 

December 9, 2007

Ok, don't tell anyone - but I got 8 HOURS OF SLEEP last night! In a row! Jesse got even more - upwards of 10 hours! Like I said, don't tell anyone - I don't want to jinx it. He's actually slept well the last 3 nights. About 8:30 to 6:30 the last two nights, and probably would have been the same Thursday night but I have to wake him up at 5:30 so I can nurse him before work. Can't tell if it's because he's feeling better, or because we turned the heat up a bit upstairs, but hey, who cares! So now I'm sitting up to the kitchen counter having my cup of decaf (because really, who needs caffeine after 8 hours of sleep??) while Jesse enjoys a big breakfast of eggs, cheese, fruit loops, cheerios, a cereal bar, and apple juice (watered down of course). We've also been feeding him as much as humanly possible to try to eek more sleep out of him, so maybe that's what's working.

Of course, I can't really call him my peanut anymore because having reached 20lbs, he's 2nd only to Timothy in weight at age 1. Who would have guessed?!?! Morgan was the lightweight at 18lbs 13oz at age 1. Jesse's latest word is "boo" as in peek-a-boo. He thinks he is VERY funny.

Timothy, Morgan and I went to the dentist this week. Morgan was quite interested while she was scraping my teeth, and stood over me watching, which was cute. But then she started the brushing part and he started crying. Not sure if it was just the noise or if he thought she was hurting me, but the appt went downhill from there. Timothy was next and did a fantastic job with the xrays! yay! The bad news is that he was two teeth coming in one in front of the other that should be one beside the other. So we got a referral to the orthodontist - ack!!

Then it was Morgan's turn. I've been concerned because Morgan has not lost any teeth yet and I've been afraid that maybe he doesn't have any!! So I wrestled him into the chair, basically sitting in it myself and pulling him on top of me. Despite him taking off a pound or two from his new diet, this was no small feat!! Good thing I've been working out! He didn't bite the hygienist, so a victory there. She says his 6 year molars are about in and his bottom teeth are starting to get slightly loose. So that was good news. We made appts for June on our way out. This time I split into 2 appts because Jocelyn needs to start going to the dentist too!

The boys got their report cards this week. They both did well. Timothy's only poor mark was in handwriting - not a huge surprise there if you've ever seen his handwriting! Morgan exceeded expectations in math. Morgan's grades are against his IEP, so hard to say in what areas he meets expectations for his grade level.

We had a high school student here this week to get some video footage of Morgan and to interview me for a piece she is doing on autism for the Fox 61 Student News. Her 10 year old brother is autistic so I chatted with her mom a bit (who is one of the paras at Morgan's school) and she had some good tips.

Hanukkah has been so fun this week. Jocelyn LOVES the candles and LOVES the presents!! She can light her own menorah, which is too cute. I have to remember to get some pictures tonight. Then we take turns opening presents and she is surprisingly good at waiting her turn. Of course, once they are all open she assumes they are all for her and proceeds to beat anyone that tries to touch them, but hey, close enough right?

The big hit so far is something called star station from fisher price. It's a little web cam type camera that hooks up to the TV and then comes with 2 microphones so you can sing along with the music cartridge it comes with and see yourself on TV while you do. ALL the kids love it - Morgan especially! He was even in there by himself singing and singing - so cute. Timothy took some time to do talk show style interviews with everyone. Hysterical.

We got snow on Friday evening but it was mostly gone by yesterday so I still went out for a run - made it 7 miles! Was a bit slower than usual because it looked slippery in spots and I didn't want to fall. So it took me just under 78 minutes, but that's cool. I'm a little sore today but not too bad. Can't decide if I'll try a short run today - I'm afraid with the holiday eating I'm back up a couple pounds, so either need to ease off the cookies and candy or run more. I think I'll pick run more! 

December 1, 2007

Well well well what a week! I should warn you now - if you are feeling queasy, step away from the email!!!

Let's see, we last left off at Thanksgiving right? We had spent the morning at Elisabeth's making gingerbreak houses and cookies, then dined at Mandy's - yum! The kids all had a great time, as did we. Then Friday Susan and Jonathan came and we had Thanksgiving part 2! Saturday night they watched the kids and Josh and I went out for a few hours - it's been a while since we did that!! A little shopping, a little panera, it was fun. Jesse did fine until he heard my voice as I walked in the door, at which point he started sobbing.

Around 10pm Saturday night as we were all sitting around chatting I heard Jocelyn cry. Turns out she had thrown up. So we got her cleaned up and aired out her room and then put her back to bed. By Sunday morning Josh and I were taking turns in the bathroom and Timothy was camping out on the couch. Jocelyn was fine. Susan took a few quick pictures and then they hit the road - I don't blame them! The rest of us spent the day on the couch.

Sunday night around 1 am Jocelyn threw up again. She'd been fine all day! oyoyoy. Timothy was fine Monday, Josh was not, Jesse was not (and therefore had to miss his well-baby appt which we rescheduled for next week) and we kept Morgan home just in case and I worked from home. Monday night around 1 am Jocelyn threw up again!! She'd been fine all day!!

Tuesday Timothy was home again (poop soup as he calls it), I worked from home, Jesse was still throwing up, and we kept Morgan home again just in case. Tuesday night, or rather Wednesday morning, at 4am, Jocelyn threw up AGAIN! She'd be fine all day!!

Wednesday I finally went back to work, Timothy and Morgan went back to school, but Jesse was still not great. Wednesday night Jocelyn finally slept through without puking!

Thursday things were looking up. Thursday night Morgan threw up - oy! So Friday he stayed home and Jesse and Jocelyn had to miss playgroup. I think *think* that finally today we're better! PHEW!

As of yesterday - no more breastmilk in the freezer. Josh said he actually got teary-eyed giving the last bottle to Jesse. Jesse's not a baby any more, and there won't be any more. Only lasted for a second though, because when you have 4 kids throwing up all week, there's not a lot of time to be sad about not having 5! hahahaha

I missed yoga on Tuesday but did get out for a quick run Wednesday (2.05 miles in 20 min - beat my 10-min-mile goal!!! then did some hill sprints) and today I went out for a longer run (5.9miles - 65min). My new shoes arrived but I'm not going to wear them until I hit the 300 mile mark.

Not much else for news - Hanukkah starts Tuesday night - yay! 

Friday, November 23, 2007

Good morning everyone! Hope everyone had a wonderful turkey day - I know we did. I didn't take enough pictures and am waiting for mom to send me hers (hint hint!).

Jesse decided to get up at 5:30am today, after also being up at 2:30 even though the rest of the week he had slept through the night, and as I was rocking him trying to coax him back to sleep I noticed that Josh's shoes were in front of the rocking chair and his wine glass was on the dresser. I assume that means Jesse was up last night too. I went to bed at 8:30 exhausted from a long but very fun day. So anyway, figured I'd let Josh sleep in and came down and gave Jesse some breakfast, after which he decided he really is tired and now is back to bed. I'm on my 2nd cup of expresso, so back to bed isn't going to happen for me!

Being up several hours before you want to may seem an odd time for your mind to start wandering about the various things you are thankful for, but that is what I found myself doing as I shoveled kix and cheerios into Jesse this morning. The funny thing is, it wasn't really the obvious stuff.

I mean, of course I am thankful that I have a wonderful husband that I still love and that still loves me. I'm thankful that he doesn't seem to mind that there are some things that having 4 kids does to your body that cannot be erased, no matter how far you run. I'm thankful that he never complains if I have to work late or work early because he sees the big picture. I'm thankful that he does his share of the housework and often my share too, that he knows how to cook since I don't, and that he loves having a big family (since these days having 4 counts as big!).

And of course I'm thankful for the kids. I'm thankful that Timothy still thinks I'm pretty cool and that Morgan, despite his sensory issues, is so affectionate. I'm thankful that Jocelyn says things like "oh it's broken? don't worry, mommy can fix it" and "I love you too!". I'm thankful that Jesse is still nursing, because I know at this point it's pretty much of up to him how long we go. I'm also thankful that he points and talks and responds to his name.

And of course I'm thankful for my health, even as I glance at the giant pile of used kleenex beside me. I'm thankful that when Morgan's teacher asked if he gave us problems when taking his temp I had to respond that I didn't know because I really haven't had to do it in a long time. I'm thankful that I had a doctor who didn't pressure me to supplement with formula when Jesse was so slow to gain, but rather recognized that that was just how he was. And I'm thankful that he finally did start to gain and now is all kinds of sumo!

But what about the other stuff? The little things that maybe we take for granted?

For example, I'm thankful for M&Ms. Whoever invented this marvelous candy that melts in your mouth but not in your hands should have, in my mind, beat out Gore for the Nobel prize, clean hands down!

I'm thankful for DVRs and pausing live TV because now I can tend to a child that may cry after being put to bed because she can't find that 5th binky she knew she had a minute ago, and still catch the pivotal moment of House. I'm thankful for email and the internet, and that for over 5 years now you all have been humoring me by reading these weekly email rants.

I'm thankful for valet dry-cleaning, despite the ridiculous and sexist price difference between cleaning a man's shirt and a women's blouse. I'm thankful for squeezable ketchup and reclosable cheese (how has this feature not been added to cereal and chips??).

I'm thankful for baby gates, indoor carpeting, velcro, carbonated water, earphones, microwaves, Fisher Price Little people, UnderArmor sports bras, iPods, Noggin, thick cotton socks, fuzzy slippers, nursing bras, footsie pajamas, message boards, washable markers, tearless shampoo, ouchless hairbands, yoga pants, platinum, board books, hooded towels, fragrance free wipes, hammock swings, glow in the dark paint, digital cameras, heated seats (in the car), jacuzzi tubs, epidurals, travel high chairs, robeez, overalls, baby shirts that have snaps at the neck (clearly designed by a mom of big-headed children), school buses, iMovie, high speed wireless internet, despair.com, online shopping, ionic air purifiers, carpet shampooers, dishwashers, garbage disposals, spell check, and remote controls (though I wish they would have some sort of clapper where an alarm would go off when you clapped).

I could go on and on. I guess I have gone on and on!

And of course I'm thankful for all of you - hope everyone has a great weekend! 

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Why is it that once you get motivated to write your holiday newsletter and have it all formatted and test it on the first page and such, that THAT is the minute you run out of black ink and don't have any replacement cartridges??? argh! Plus I had already gone to Target and didn't feel like going back out - so it'll just have to sit in computer memory for a while.

No big news this week. We all have colds, which means that Jesse has learned to hold a tissue to his nose and make a noise with his mouth that sounds almost exactly like me blowing my nose. Today I cleaned Jocelyn's room and even shampooed the carpet - it was just gorgeous in there. Then we put her to bed in her clean room with clean sheets and everything all perfect. An hour later I checked on her as I was walking by and noticed that she had emptied the contents of her bureau on to the floor. oyoyoyoy

The glow in the dark paint for Morgan arrived so I put some stars (that look more like polka dots) in his closet and painted his name on the molding. Looks cute. Timothy has gotten back into club penguin, but this time I made him pay the membership with his own money. I should have figured that trick out sooner! 

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Oh I hurt, I hurt! Yesterday despite being quite exhausted from Jesse's birthday party, I decided to go out for a run and see how far I could make it before collapsing. I went 8 miles!! Now today I hurt.

So Jesse is a whole year old - where does the time go?? We actually did a cake Wednesday night because Timothy and I had to go to his viola *informance* (informal performance) on Thursday. Then yesterday everyone came down for a breakfast birthday party. It's always so cute to see all the kids together. Jocelyn has a particularly good time playing with her cousins. Jesse and Chase look the most alike of all the cousins I think - especially in profile. Coordinating the photo shoot was a challenge but I think we got a few good ones.

Jesse got a bunch of Little People toys for his birthday. Jocelyn decided they were really for her and wouldn't let him play with them! So I explained that they were HIS toys but if she wanted to SHARE that I was sure he would SHARE. This morning I heard her explaining it to him - "These are BABY'S toys but we SHARE". haha.

On the subject of the informance - oyoyoy. There we are all sitting in the gymnasium with the handouts we picked up on the way in (on the nice side, we got to sit next to our kids). The teacher starts talking into the microphone and I can barely make out a word she's saying. She proceeds to read the 7 page handout to us - for 30 MINUTES! Just as I was ready to stand up and scream ENOUGH ALREADY!!! at the top of my lungs, Timothy looks at me and says "isn't this great mom?" So then they actually got to play, so that was nice. Timothy's actually pretty good for someone that's only been playing for 2 months. At one point they all had to teach their parents how to play hot cross buns. My year of violin lessons paid off - I was a quick study and TImothy was quite impressed. That was cute. When the teacher finally said we could go, I told Timothy to hustle up and pack his viola while I put the stand away. We were the first ones out of there, by a large margin! I considered taking time to beat the teacher on the way out, but didn't want to miss Survivor.

Jesse had his first tantrum yesterday. Josh took something away from him and he held onto the couch and stomped his feet. It was too funny!

Morgan's started biting his teachers again - oy. He hasn't broken the skin yet, so that's something. His teacher called me at work on Thursday and we discussed a few strategies.

Mom and I got the hammock swing installed in Morgan's closet yesterday while she was here. It held Josh's weight, so seems pretty sturdy. I coaxed Morgan into it last night and found him in it this morning, so I think it's a hit. Now I have to order some glow in the dark paint for the walls in there.

Jocelyn can't manage to keep her clothes on these days. That's all well and good during the day, but at night she takes her pjs and diaper off and pees on her floor. oy! Wednesday night after putting everything back on her 3 times I finally grabbed a pair of footsies, cut off the feet, and put them on her backwards so they zipped up the back. That did the trick.

I guess that's about it from here - if I get the energy to get off the couch today I'll get some pictures posted. We have ones from the New York trip that Susan sent too and I still have ones from the last New York trip from Timothy's camera. Oh I'm behind! 

Sunday, November 4, 2007

J&J are napping right now so we sent the boys to their rooms for an hour while we try to enjoy some quiet! Jocelyn has been in a MOOD today - yikes!

Yesterday was rainy and cold so I went out to run but only did 35 minutes, or about 3 miles. I had had some plans but was feeling run down and needing of a break, so canceled everything and we all sat around all day. It was nice, we really needed it. Once the kids went to bed Josh and I caught up on 4 episodes of Heroes.

This morning was sunny and nice so I ran 6.5 miles!! Took me 72 minutes, so not going to be winning the Olympics any time soon - haha. It was beautiful out though, which helps distract me. Then when I got back we took all the kids out and did some yard work. Jesse rode in the backpack while Josh mowed for a bit, then I had a turn with Jesse in the backpack while I raked. Morgan and Jocelyn played in the yard and then in the car. Timothy helped me rake (gasp!). It's leaf pick up this week so we just have to rake them to the edge of the street and a truck comes by and sucks them up.

Oh, Halloween! Yes, Jocelyn loves Halloween. I took Timothy and Morgan and Jocelyn out - Jocelyn was in the umbrella stroller (which, by the way, is very difficult to push through leaves) but not buckled (so when we went down steep driveways, I walked backwards. In the dark. On leaves.) Anyway - once Jocelyn figured out that they were giving out candy - she was totally on board with the event. We went out for 90 minutes and made it down to the street that does all the decorations. Now I know why no one comes to our house! This street had full graveyards set up, the witch's cauldron, floating ghosts, the whole nine yards! Jocelyn got a little grabby with the candy and I'd say "Jocelyn, what do you day" to which she'd respond "CANDY!" She did say thank you though, so that's nice. She also said HI to EVERYONE - HI PRINCESS! HI MONSTER! etc etc - it was hysterical. I apologized to various parents for how shy she is - haha.

Morgan did a pretty good job too. He ate through one of the handles of his candy bag, but generally kept up - besides having to take 2 laps around every basketball hoop before ascending any stairs. I had to prompt him to say trick or treat, but he still did and said thank you too. He mostly just enjoyed being outside and kicking all the leaves on the sidewalk as we walked. I think the kids could have gone on for quite some time but we turned back because I was exhausted. When we got back Josh said the doorbell had only rung once all night. It was 7:45 by now and we had one more group before 8 and then turned the light out. We gave Morgan a GFCF peanutbutter cup and Jocelyn and Timothy each chose a candy from their bags and then it was bedtime.

Morgan's note on Friday said he started biting people again - but didn't say who or why or how many times.

While I was out running this morning Josh gave Jesse a couple ounces of cow's milk to see if he'd drink it (I can't believe he's almost 1 already!). He took a sip and handed back to Josh while saying "doh" (no). Josh thought it was a fluke but he's done the same thing all day when we give it to him - even when we added chocolate syrup! 

October 28, 2007

Well we have a walker! Jesse walks everywhere now and can get to standing on his own. It's just adorable. He still falls down a lot - a la Maggie Simpson - but is generally sure footed and can take corners and everything! I stepped on the scale with and without him the other day and looks like he's pushing 19 Ibs. We may get to turn his car seat around sometime before he's 2! He outgrew all his 6-9month clothing in about 3 weeks and the 12 month stuff is starting to not look so big either.

On the subject of Jesse - I didn't pump at all this week (I HUTH - Hung Up The Horns). Still about 150oz in the freezer but it's definitely dwindling and good thing, we need the freezer space for Morgan's gluten free nuggets! haha. We still nurse mornings and evenings (and sometimes during the night - like this week as he has a cold and that means no sleep for anyone) and all day on the weekends and my body seems to have adjusted to that just fine.

Yesterday was Jocelyn's last gymnastics (or, as she calls it, nastics) class. The place is moving and therefore closed until January. I think she'll miss it.

Today Josh took Timothy and Morgan to NYC with Uncle Joey. They met up with Jeremy and Susan and Jonathan and went to the Museum of Natural History and Central Park and, of course, FAO Schwartz. Sounds like fun was had by all.

That left me with J&J. We met up with friends from work and their kids over at the playground at 9am (where Jesse managed to fall into a bench and get a goose egg on his forehead) and then everyone came back here for a bit (it was too chilly to stay at the playground for much longer!). Jesse missed his morning nap and Jocelyn turned b*tchy about 20 minutes before everyone left (not sure if she was the reason they left or not!). So after lunch I put Jesse down and asked Jocelyn if she wanted to take a nap, but she declined (not all that politely!). I was too tired to argue so I turned on some Noggin show and she sat down and then laid down and fell asleep on the floor. I covered her with a blanket and enjoyed 2 hours of quiet.

SO quiet! I didn't know what to do with myself! I ended up catching up on a few shows that I DVR'd due to the World Series and folding laundry. So not totally unproductive. When Jocelyn woke up I got her a cup of water and she sat in my lap cuddling as we watched the rest of ANTM.

Then when Jesse got up I nursed him, gave them both snacks, and then put on the new hats and mittens from Great-Grammy Lessard (which fit great Grammy and Jocelyn loved hers and thought we were going to go in the snow - haha. The string between Jocelyn's mittens is a little snug and I may have to just cut it) and put them in the jogging stroller and went for a run. About 15 minutes in it felt like I was working WAY harder than usual. I knew it was windy and in the wind pushing a jogging stroller is like dragging a parachute, but still ... so I looked down and one tire was pretty close to flat. So I just walked it home - I was exhausted anyway. (I went out yesterday and did 5 miles, so the average over the weekend was fine - haha).

I put a big bowl of cheerios on the floor next to the bathtub and had a bath while the two of them crunched on cheerios, which mostly stayed in the bowl.

Oh, and the subject of the bath, Friday night before bed we put all the kids in the big tub (Jesse's stay was short - he was everywhere and didn't understand the concept of slippery) and then got out and played in our room for a while. Jesse dances, which cracks me up. Jocelyn dances WELL, which is even funnier. Jesse started doing downward facing dog with his head on the ground, so I was doing the same, looking at him through his legs. That got a giggle. I went to grab the video camera but couldn't find it! So we got some snapshots instead.

So this week we decided we need to cut the boys off from so much TV. So we have a new no tv/computerlvideo games from 4-7pm rule. Timothy didn't take kindly to the new policy - hee hee - but he got used to it. I think we've got the new routine down. We moved dinner earlier since everyone is in a way better mood when they are fed. So I get home a bit before 5 and nurse the baby while Josh is finishing dinner, then we all eat, then we all play. We've managed to get Morgan to sing with us, and do things like ring around the rosie and hokey pokey. He'll also play catch a bit. Blocks didn't go as well! We're still trying new things. Then at 7 Josh puts Morgan and Jocelyn to bed while I go for a run. It's dark but once I make it a few houses down there are street lights, so not that bad. I got a red wrist light to make myself better seen. It doesn't work out every night. Monday we weren't quite 'with* the new schedule so that was a no-go. Tuesdays I have yoga. Wednesday was raining. Thursday I got out though, so that was good. Then Fridays are my day off. ok, so it only worked once - but I have faith for the future!

Oh, I won a pair of sneakers! I entered a contest I saw in Runner's World magazine and they were giving away lots - I think a hundred pairs a week for 2 months or something like that. Well I won! They arrived this week. Not a brand I've heard of (RKYA I think?), but they will be my treadmill sneakers yay!

Not sure if I said last week that Morgan's school pictures came and they turned out AWESOME. SUCH a great picture! The note from his teacher on Friday said that he's been doing great work with his regular teachers and she's very happy with his progress. So that's nice! It's been almost 4 weeks on the diet and we still aren't seeing a difference, but rumor has it it takes 3 months, sometimes longer depending on age and weight. But I would think if it's working at all we would start to see *something* in the next month? Of course, not exactly sure what I'm looking for.

I emptied out Morgan's closet and plan to put his hammock swing in there just as soon as I figure out how to get it attached to the ceiling (which may require waiting for Mom to come down here and figure it out for me). I'm going to get him glow in the dark paint for hannukah and paint stars on the ceiling and walls (I tried the stickers but a) they don't stick to the popcorn ceiling and b) he peeled them all off the walls). Jonathan and Susan bought him a glow in the dark solar system mobile today that we can hang in there as well. The cleaning-it-out part was a little funny because it was during family play time so basically the entire family was in there on top of me while I was trying to clean it. Everyone seems to enjoy the space!

I guess that's about it from here. I'm sure Jocelyn said more funny stuff this week but I can't think of anything right now. Go Sox! 

October 21, 2007

Gooood morning everyone! Well let's see, something must have happened this week.

Last Sunday we went out and got pumpkins and then went to the playground. Jocelyn is lacking a healthy fear of strangers. When she needs help on a slide or swing or whatever, she just asks whoever is closest, no matter whether she knows them or not! There were a couple teenagers sitting at a table and she went and joined them, babbled for a bit, and then when she excused herself she said "ok, bye kids!" and left. Too funny.

Monday when I got to work and booted up the ol' pumping spreadsheet I realized that I didn't need to be pumping any more. I have enough in the freezer to make it until he's 1 and then probably a little more than that. Since I was down to one pump a day anyway, I just moved it later and later in the day and pumped for shorter times each day. Then Friday I didn't pump at all - so weird! It's bitter sweet - it's nice to not have to worry about scheduling time and then baring myself at work, but it means my last baby is getting all grown up.

Every night after Morgan and Jocelyn go to bed, Jesse and I get on the floor and he practices walking from me to the couch and then back. He loves this - he's quite proud of himself! Now he's started walking backwards and trying to turn around (which usually results in a tumble). He still mainly crawls when he's on his own, but is getting better and better with the walking - definitely less lunging.

Tuesday was yoga. We did a half pigeon or a sitting pigeon or something like that - I can't quite remember the name but it was a challenge and I had to leave my hands on my thighs instead of lifting them in the air and doing the look up back bend thing.

Wednesday Morgan's note for the day said he's constantly taking his shoes off again, so we switched back to the high tops. He's been super stimmy this week and when I ask him what he's doing, I usually have to ask 10 times before I get a response. Josh is getting antsy with the diet and wants to give up, but we've made it 3 weeks already so might as well keep going! He's definitely thinned out a bit, especially in his face, so if nothing else, that's a good thing.

Thursday I found out that Timothy has an "informal recital" on 11/8, which I was thinking of skipping since it's Jesse's birthday and that doesn't quite seem fair, but the note home said students and parents are *strongly encouraged* to attend. oy. At least it's free - I think!

I didn't run all week and was going to on Friday but it was raining when I got home so I took a bath instead. I did go out yesterday and just did a couple miles and then did some uphill sprints which was a nice change of pace and my legs are sore today.

Yesterday was gymnastics. We walked in and Jocelyn says to her friend "Hi Marin, how’s it going?" which gave Marin's mom quite a giggle. Only Marin and Grace showed up yesterday, so it was a small group and at the end they all did ring around the rosie while they waited for their stickers, which was super cute! Then I took Jocelyn and Jesse and we went up to Old Sturbridge Village and met up with a couple friends from my mommy board and their babies. It was a beautiful day! I hadn't been to OSV in years and years. It's a little pricey!! Besides the $20 entry fee (at least kids under 3 are free) I had to take out a 2nd mortgage to pay for the chicken tenders and french fries I bought Jocelyn - yikes!

There were 2 pigs fighting over one spot that they both wanted to be sleeping in and Jocelyn kept jumping and saying "ah! the pigs scary me!"

Then we came home and after my run I took a swipe at the game closet - taking out games to donate so we can make room for this year's holiday haul.

Looks like another nice day so I think we'll go find a playground or something. We need to run Morgan! 

October 13, 2007

WeIl let's kick off this weekly update with a collection of funny things. Jocelyn has said over the past couple weeks:

1 - I was putting her pants on her and she was standing at the time. She fell over trying to get her foot in and would no longer wear those pants because "they are too slippery".

2 - At gymnastics this morning, Marin was sitting on a mat so Jocelyn walked over and said "sit with me?" and sat down beside her. Then she turned to me and said "take a picture!"

3 - me: Jocelyn what color is this?

Jocelyn: wipe

me: it's whiTe

Jocelyn: no, it's wipe

4 - When Auntie Mandy was visiting last week we noticed Jocelyn was calling her Elisabeth (Lisbe!). I said Jocelyn, this is Auntie MANDY. She says no, it's Lisbe!!

5 - While changing Jesse I said (as I usually do) "Jesse, I can see your doodle!" Jocelyn was naked at the time and looked down at herself and said "hey, where's my doodle?"

6 - When Jocelyn falls down she says "ouch, sorry!"

7 - Jocelyn talks about herself in 3rd person - Jocelyn's hungry, Jocelyn wants munch. Jocelyn wants to go to bed and watch fraggles.

8 - Jocelyn calls most grown women either mom and grandma depending on age. She calls all little girls Mary.

9 - Jocelyn likes to wait for Morgan's bus. When it stops and the doors open she says "can I have my Morgan please?"

10 - this morning after gymnastics we took Timothy to karate and went in to watch for a bit. She spent the whole time yelling "hey - there's Timothy! hi Timothy! what's Timothy doing? hi Timothy!" Finally Jocelyn was getting restless so I asked her if she wanted to leave and she said yes. When we got to the door and she realized Timothy wasn't coming with us, she freaked out - "MY TIMOTHY! TIMOTHY GET IN THE CAR! I WANT MY TIMOTHY!" By then she was screaming so loud that we HAD to leave - she cried a good bit of the way home despite me trying to explain that daddy would go get Timothy later and bring him home. She finally asked if she could go to bed and get binkies and watch fraggles. I said sure and that was that - I guess fraggles trump Timothy.

ok that's all I can think of right now. She does keep me in stitches though, that's for sure.

We're got another cold here and everyone is all stuffed up - yay! Actually I'm ok so far, but it's just a matter of time really. I finally got back out and ran yesterday just a couple miies and today I'm a little sore but not bad. I got to stretch out a little at gymnastics this morning - haha.

Jesse's getting a bit more daring with his walking, but yesterday he took a digger straight into Josh's knee and got a bloody nose. The fact that he already had a stuffy nose wasn't helping I don't think. It wasn't like blood running out type tiling but rather when he cried it would drip out like boogars. Are you glad I described that?

Timothy's school pictures carne and they turned out quite nice. Morgan's should be here next week. I'm thinking about taking Jocelyn and Jesse in for pictures but am still scared from Timothy's tantrum back in ‘99, which was the last time we went in to a picture studio.

Timothy's progress report also arrived - glowing as usual, comment to work on neatness as usual. Timothy had the mile run at school and came in last. But he said everyone cheered lor him at the end and were nice. It had been at least a month since he's gone out with me, since it had been that long since I've been out myself. We'll work on it for next time.

I've been asking Morgan what he's doing every day to use it as a judge for whether this diet is making any difference. Here are the answers:

Wednesday: lying down (which was true)

Thursday: sleeping (which wasn't true - haha)

Friday: good (so I repeated - WHAT are you doing, to which he said I'm doing GOOD) Today: I am lying down (which was a full sentence but not quite true - he was sitting)

I ordered GFCF peanutbutter cups from a kosher chocolatier and Morgan approves of them - yay! Actually I tried a bite and it's pretty good. Dairyfree chocolate is yummy - it's just more like dark chocolate that's all.

I ordered Jesse some Little People stuff for his birthday and got it wrapped this week. Only 4 weeks until he turns 1!

I guess that's it for now. Morgan's teacher had a baby girl this week (she also has a 3 year old boy) so I need to go out and pick up a card.

Oh wait, I forgot one other thing with Jocelyn - I stayed home Friday and took her to playgroup. The teacher puts balls on the parachute and then we all shake the parachute so it looks like popcorn. Then the kids get on the parachute and we drag them around. When Jocelyn got off, she was holding 4 of 5 balls in her arms! That made it very difficult to do the hokey pokey! Then later she tried to take a ball away from an 18-month old (Nicholas) and I told her that wasn't nice, she had to share. So she gave it back and he put it in the baby hoop. She gave him another, and he put it in the hoop. Pretty soon she was running all over the room getting more and more and giving them to him faster than he could get rid of them. He LOVED it.

After that fun was over she took some of the smaller foam balls and started building a pyramid out of them. It was getting pretty elaborate so she motioned for another boy to hand her a ball. He gave her the wrong color so she tossed it aside and explained that she needed pink. So off he went and collected all the small pink balls and she built a big castle of them. The moms all commented that he will make some woman a fine husband - haha. The he got the yellow ones for himself and copied her castle. It was pretty cute. I chatted with his dad and turns out he's 2 days younger than Jocelyn. Then we picked up and got our sticker and went home.  

October 7, 2007

Good afternoon everyone! We just got back from Wild Oats in West Hartford where we were seeking a rumored gluten free chicken nugget - and success - we found them! So we pretty much bought them out. Also got some gluten free dairy free brownie mix and some *rice dreams* dairy free ice cream treats (well, mostly dairy free - the rice dreams brand may contain traces but the other brand did not). So $300 later we have a couple weeks worth of chicken nuggets and some ice cream and brownies. yikers - this diet is expensive! nice store though.

So Jesse has been standing on his own and taking steps here and there with coaxing, but after watching Patience walking all over yesterday, he decided to walk clear across the room on his own yesterday! ok, about 10 steps before he tumbled, but quite impressive none the less! he also slept until 6:15 this morning - yay! He's been doing better with the sleep - mostly sleeps until 5am after going to bed around 9pm, so that's not bad. He's got 2 more teeth breaking through - so 4 on top and 2 on the bottom.

Jocelyn continues to love gymnastics. This week she went on the big balance beam! The other weeks she wouldn't go near it, until last week she finally sat on it, and then this week she walked the whole thing and jumped off the end practically before I could catch her. (I held her while she walked but wasn't expecting her to jump!). She jumps off everything now - she jumped off our bed on to the floor! Then she says "oh, that hurt me" and didn't do it again. huh!

Josh takes Jesse and Jocelyn to play group Friday mornings where they sing and do the parachute. At home Jocelyn does a mean hokey pokey (which Morgan also enjoys - especially when we get to put our butts in, our butts out, etc).

Morgan's been gluten free dairy free for a week now. Any difference so far is too subtle to notice. I thought I was seeing something, but then today he's totally wired out, so I guess not. He hadn't asked for any gluten foods all week until last night when he started asking tor pizza. So hence the trip to Wild Oats to find some more choices. They had not only chicken nuggets but a good selection of fries and tater tots. He had a good week at school so so far so good.

Timothy had a birthday party this morning and he got to be the magician's assistant, so that was good. But then apparently some people don't play *fair* at capture the flag - haha. When I showed up about a dozen boys were int he back yard playing football and all I could hear was *no, you can't do that* *hey that's not fair* blah blah blah. kids.

Mandy and family were here for a visit yesterday. Patience is so freakin' cute - especially with the walking! We got to hear her say no. Repeatedly. hahahaha. Sage and Jocelyn seem to be good buddies now, and tor the highlight of my day - I got Ruby a dress that she liked! That was pretty thrilling! She altered the intended fashion a bit - a la Project Runway - and definitely improved upon the design. You can witness all the girls in the fashions I chose in the pictures I put up yesterday.

Jesse is definitely gaining on Patience in the height department, so that's good! The boy charts are a pretty good clip above the girl charts at this point, so maybe he'll still be on the chart at his 12 month appt (in only 1 more month!).

My mom was down on Monday and we went out and did some holiday shopping. Of course my favorite part of the shopping was shopping for myself! We stopped at The Gap to get pants in a size 6!! Then at Ann Taylor I got a suit (again the pants in a size 6, jacket in an 8). The thrill of wearing single digits has not worn off. Santa also bought me new shoes as my feet lost half a size as well.

We also got a bunch of stuff for the kids. Grandma got Jesse a ball pit for his birthday - that's going to be a hit! And for Jocelyn for Christmas we found a doorway playhouse that is THE coolest thing ever. She's going to faint.

My cold is dragging on and I still haven't gotten back out running. Maybe this week though ... Everyone else seems to have patched up, though Jesse is still sniffling. I did make it back to yoga class the last 2 weeks though, which I very much enjoy.

Oh, it's been forever since a <<ticka ticka ticka» pump report! I know you must have missed them dearly. I went down to 2 pumps a day when we got back from vacation, so only getting about 6-7oz per day. The freezer stash is still over 200oz though, so starting tomorrow I'll just do one pump a day. That will be weird! But my intent is to be weaned from the pump when his birthday arrives, or soon after. He still nurses before work and after work and whenever he wants on the weekends. I don't have any urge to stop that part at this point, so maybe we can make it through flu season. 

September 22, 2007

Well cold season has found Connecticut. Ugh. It started with Timothy and has made it around to everyone except Morgan. I worked from home on Mon and Tues and went in Wed only to get the call from Josh that he couldn't function. So I went home and he went to bed. Thursday and Friday he was well enough that I went to work, but still not good. It's dragging on in all of us but he seems to have it the worst, or so he says. I haven't been able to run all week though as I get winded going up a flight of stairs and am coughing up a lung. blech.

Jocelyn had her 3rd gymnastics class this morning. She's already improving in her listening and following directions skills and manages to do most of the warm up exercises. Today she specifically got off the balance beam so she could give me a good shove in the stomach for trying to help her. oy. So that she does herself. At the end of class the teacher lets them go on the big equipment. Jocelyn is always desperate to try the big balance beam until we actually get up to it, then not so much. But she did the big bars today and liked that.

So after some discussion, we've decided to put Morgan on a gluten free casein free diet - more commonly known as the GFCF diet. It's going to be rough for him while he gets used to it, not to mention that he'll be living on chicken and lay's potato chips. No dairy, no flour, no nothing. I went out today to get some gluten free cereals and cookies, but they are all generally gross, so we'll see if he eats them. I did manage to find fries that have only potatoes and veggie oil, so I think that's good. He'll eat bananas and cantaloupe and those are ok. We're going low sugar too. The theory is that some kids with autism have a 'leaky gut' and can't digest gluten or casein and so it seeps through their gut into their blood stream and interferes with brain development and also acts like a drug. So essentially the fact that he spaz's out after a big meal could be because he's just hopped up on goofballs. The diet has mixed reviews. Some say it does nothing, others claim it's a miracle, others are in between. I figure the worst that happens is that he's generally pissed and loses a few pounds, neither of which is the end of the world.

One site I was reading theorized that if you can be on the diet long enough to heal the gut, you can then phase gluten and casein back in and be ok. Many theories, few studies, but that's the basket holding our eggs right now.

In Jesse news, he is pulling up on everything and cruising all day. He can crawl for real and sometimes does and sometimes still army crawls. Last night he slept from 8 to 5 and the night before from 10 to 5, so we're getting somewhere I hope! He's also about the cutest thing EVER. He can stand on his own for a few seconds at a time so he pulls up on the couch and then lets go roller coaster style and then claps for himself and falls over, repeat. It's hysterical.

Timothy had a nice compliment from his karate teacher. Timothy was helping one of the younger students learn a new move so he showed the kid how to do it and then got down on one knee so the kid could kick him in the head (since that was the move). The teacher came over and told him nice team work and see him after class. After class he was awarded with a stack of new technique cards, which are like karate trading cards. I thought that was so nice!

So Josh was sick in bed Wednesday night and I had to put Jocelyn to bed so I told Timothy to watch Jesse. When I came down Jesse was on the 2nd stair and Timothy was nowhere to be seen. So I sat down with Jesse and yelled "Timothy? Is the baby ok?" and he yelled back "yeah he's fine" and then came looking for him. When he found me there with Jesse he looks at me and says "oh, you're good." hahahaha

Tomorrow Jocelyn and I are going to an apple orchard/hay ride/pumpkin type place with a few friends from work and their toddlers. I hope she doesn't embarrass me with her attitude! Usually she's well behaved when we're out though, so I think it will be fun. 

September 8, 2007

Jocelyn is currently dancing around the room in front of my singing "I'm so happy - I had fun with kids - I'm so happy - I had fun with kids".

This morning was our first gymnastics class - to say she enjoyed herself would be a bit of an understatement. It was pretty cute. There were only 3 kids - Jocelyn, Marin, and Grace. The teacher (Coach Jackie) lead warm-ups and then lead us through a circuit showing us what to and how to spot the kids. Then they got to run around and do whichever ones they wanted. Jocelyn didn't care that much for the mini-tramp or the somersault mat, but she was quite gifted on the balance beam (complete with the ta-da dismount) and by the end I didn't even have to spot her.

She also enjoyed hanging from the bar much like the hanging from the treadmill that she does at home! She got a sticker at the end and gave the coach a high-5 and then cried because she didn't want to leave (but not a tantrum like she'd have at home - she's actually surprisingly well behaved when we are out in public).

The other girls were younger - Grace wasn't quite 2 (and wasn't quite into it!) and Marin was just 2 (and a superstar - she got used as the example when we were learning the circuit). Jocelyn tried chatting with them and playing with them but they weren't quite the playing type yet. Anyway, it was a lot of fun (and very hot! - Jocelyn was sweating profusely but didn't seem bothered by it).

Jesse is now pulling up to standing on pretty much anything including us, and he can also get from his belly into a sitting position, which is pretty cute. Last night for dinner I gave him kidney beans straight from the can and he gobbled them right up. He's getting his front teeth and they are monsters yikes! It's made him pretty cranky and he's not been sleeping particularly well. Ah well. Today he started grinding his teeth - ewwwwww.

The boys made it through a week of school. Timothy chose the viola as an instrument, so he'll get that next week and will have lessons once a week during school hours. I guess the first concert is December 17th - I'm not really looking forward to it - hahaha.

Morgan had an iffy day on Thursday because he'd been up half the night (when I went to get the baby at 4:30am I heard him downstairs playing video games - he's learned that the 2 lb gate is really no match for his 70lb frame). But otherwise he had a good week.

This week starts the Rec Center classes. I'm doing Yoga on Tuesday evenings and Jocelyn and Jesse are doing Fun with Movement on Friday mornings. I have a feeling Jocelyn will enjoy it.

I've run 12 miles so far this week. I ran 13 miles last week so I need to get out and run today so I can top that. Yesterday Timothy came with me for the first mile and beat his record - his new record is 11 minutes for the mile! In a few weeks I'm going to have to start working on my own speed to keep up with him (I'm a pretty slow runner - my own record is just under 10 minutes for the mile but usually I run about an 11 min pace).

Twice this week I took Jocelyn and Jesse with me (mostly because Jesse's lack of napping is starting to drive Josh over the edge, so he needs a few minutes to himself when I get home). Pushing 42 pounds of kids up a hill is pretty tough! Then pulling back so they don't fly down the other side, all while running, is also a challenge! They are good for about 30 minutes but after that they start pinching each other and screeching (which isn't really a problem for me since I'm wearing headphones, but I'm guessing we're not big favorites of the neighbors).

I guess that's about it from here. I haven't checked the boys' backpacks yet but feel confident it's fundraiser time - so for those of you who need wrapping paper, it's your lucky day! Expect an email from me later. 

September 1, 2007

Well holy crud you will never believe the news today - Jesse slept 11 hours IN A ROW last night! His previous record was 7 and average is more like 4, so this was quite a surprise! He went down at 8:15 or so. I woke up at 4:15 and thought wow, but rolled over and went back to sleep thinking he'd be up any time. I woke up again at 5:15 and was puzzled but went back to sleep. At 6:15 I finally got out of bed to make sure he was still breathing. Then I went back to bed again. Finally at 7:15 I heard him stir and rushed in to feed him before my chest exploded. My goodness! I certainly hope we get a repeat performance tonight!

So anyway, Josh had to drag all 4 kids to the dr on Monday for Morgan's annual appt (we thought there weren't going to be any shots _ we thought wrong!). Juggling Jocelyn and Jesse while getting Morgan to pee in a cup and get shots is NOT easy (especially since Morgan is now 72lbs and 50 inches - he's a big boy!! It's the 97th percentile for weight and around 85th for height). Also when Josh was holding the cup for Morgan to pee in, and told Morgan to pee, Morgan looked at him like - ummm, well why don't you get your hand out of the way you crazy perv!

Anyway - our doctor is a family practice doctor so he's the dr for all our kids and for me and Josh - we see him A LOT as I'm sure you all have gathered. He shook Josh's hand but Josh said he was oddly quiet. Oh and here's a little funny - Jocelyn calls all women mommy and all men daddy, but apparently there's an age cut-off because the nurse (who is in her mid-50s I'd say) she called Grandma - hahahaha. The nurse was not amused!

So Tuesday Josh went back with just Timothy (for his appt - he's 78lbs and 55inches which I think is about the same percentiles as Morgan) and Jesse (while Uncle Joey sat with Jocelyn and Morgan) and the dr apologized for being so quiet the day before but he was just in awe of our kids and how they all help each other out. I guess, among other things, Jocelyn was playing peek-a-boo with Jesse while Josh was in the bathroom with Morgan, and Timothy (who is 9) was making sure that J&J stayed in the room and didn't escape. Also Timothy held Jesse while Josh held Morgan down so he could get a shot (they tried to do a TB test as well, but couldn't - they did do the finger prick but Morgan wouldn't wear a band-aid so then got blood everywhere and all over himself - oh and after his shot he was whimpering and asking for a mama-hug - awwww). But anyway - the point - the dr was very complimentary about how we have such a loving family. Isn't that nice??

Wednesday was the first day of school so I worked from home so I could wait for the bus with Timothy and get a picture (which is still in my camera) and also get a picture of Morgan coming home (their busses come at about the same time so I couldn't do both in the morning). Getting off the bus Morgan looked like he was beaten with a rubber mallet all day - he was EXHAUSTED - could barely walk! So funny. Timothy was tired too and both boys fell asleep by 7pm! I asked Timothy about his day and he explained, as he does every year, the bathroom procedure - haha. Seems Morgan had a good week too and got back into the routine quickly - even giving a classmate a high 5 on the way back to his seat after writing the day of the week on the calendar!

In other news the very ugly hallway wallpaper was finally driving me crazy enough that I ripped it all down. So last night I primed the upstairs including the part I had to do from a ladder (NOT my favorite part!). Today I have to finish priming the downstairs and also go buy paint. I think I'm just going to get a very light off white - the hallway is rather dark so can't really handle a color.

I ran on Tuesday this week and then Thursday Timothy and I went to the track where I set a new personal best for the 5k - still penguin speed at 32:37 though - haha. This morning I got up and ran another 5k outdoors - 33:36, not too bad.

Jesse is still trying to figure out how to crawl. He army crawls and then will get up on hands and knees but can't figure out how to move once he's up there. So then he gets on hands and toes (a la downward facing dog) and walks his feet forward but not his hands and then falls over. It's very funny.

Josh was at the grocery store with Jocelyn and Jesse yesterday. He had one of those carts with the car thingy as part of it so Jocelyn was riding in that. He said it was great while they were moving - she'd be saying such things as "weeeee, beep beep, here we go" - but that every time he stopped to put something in the cart she's scream "daddy! it's broken! it's not working'" She talked the whole time, saying hi to one lady in every aisle as they passed back and forth. They ended up behind that lady in the checkout and after a bit she turned to Josh and said "she really lets you know what's going on huh?" hahahaha - yeah, she talks a bit, that's for sure!