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! 

August 25, 2007

I just don't understand how 1 cat can shed so much in 2 weeks! Every time we get back from vacation it looks like at least 3 cats exploded all over the house! I seriously thought maybe he'd be bald when we finally located him. We spent this morning vacuuming and putting everything away.

We had a really great time. We found an ice cream place called The Dugout that became a bit of an obsession, so we made daily trips out. For the most part the weather was pretty good. The 2nd week was a little cool but we swam all but one day (and even that day I jumped in and swam for 10 minutes just to get in some cardio).

When mom and dad were there we played poker and Timothy was the big winner of the night, which pleased him very much. Jocelyn wanted to be the center of attention no matter who was visiting. When Grammie and Maurice and Judy and Ron stopped by, Jocelyn entertained everyone with Baa Baa Black Sheep and several other songs. Jesse was good about letting people hold him, if only for a few minutes.

We were all allergic to something while there - not sure what. Morgan was even more out of sorts than usual (and is already more 'awake' since we've been home). Jocelyn, Jesse, and Josh all broke out in eczema all over and my nose ran the whole time. I guess Timothy escaped it. So strange though!

Timothy discovered the magic of the face mask and so instead of spending all of vacation arguing about putting his face in the water, he swam all over the place with his face mask on. He still wouldn't go too deep, but that's ok.

Jocelyn wore arm floaties most of the time but then in the last couple days she had proven that she can walk around without getting into trouble so I stopped putting them on her. She loved all the floats we got. We actually drove around Sebago one day and stopped at a float store (where they blow them up for you!!) and I let her pick one out. She picked a seal and called it a turtle but loved it the whole time. Morgan touched it one day and all hell broke loose so next time we were out I got one for him too. He didn't care for it much but Jocelyn loved it so she adopted it and it became "Morgan's turnle" vs. hers which was "Jocelyn's turnle".

We also had a float where I was in one side and either Jesse or Jocelyn was in the other side facing me. They both like it - though Jocelyn liked it more. That one was called "the boat".

Morgan was a water bug as usual. He goes about out to his chin, which used to give me a heart attack, but he seems to have a pretty good idea of what he is capable of doing or not doing and so we keep an eye but let him be.

Jesse mostly slept during beach time since I didn't want him to get too much sun (and couldn't decide if it was sunscreen that they were allergic to) so we'd wait for his morning nap and then go down to the water (taking the monitor with us). He did come down a couple times though, and then in the afternoons when it was shady. He really liked the water and didn't seem to balk too much at the temperature. He splashed and ate wet sand and played in the PNP that we kept down at the water.

One night Jesse woke up crying around 10 after going down at 8. Josh went and got him while I was finishing checking my emails. They sat together on the couch and next time I looked over Jesse had fallen asleep as Josh rubbed his hand. It was so cute! Jesse doesn't often fall asleep without nursing, much less in a sitting up position!

The drive home was hairy and it took us an hour to go 7 exits on 495 due to an accident. Only one lane was closed and only 2 cars were involved so I have no idea why on earth it took so long! But whatever. The kids were awful - or more notably Morgan and Jocelyn were awful. Morgan holds his finger very close to, but not touching, Jocelyn - which causes her to shriek and scream. I think I actually used such sentences as "Jocelyn stop screaming or I'll come back there and beat you" and "Morgan, stop almost touching your sister". At one point I was over the back of my seat giving Jesse a bottle while searching for Jocelyn's bear and pinching Morgan on the foot each time he almost-touched Jocelyn. Fun is!! It took us 6 hours to get home - oyoyoyoy. At a rest stop Josh and I discussed our next car - a limo with a sound proof glass thingy between the front and back seats. Doesn't that sound like heaven??? I wonder if you need a special license ... hmmmmm

So as for next year - I think we've outgrown this house. Morgan and Jocelyn sharing a bedroom is a problem. He likes to go to bed early and get up early and Jocelyn is the opposite, so it was a bit of an issue, and ended up with Jocelyn getting less sleep than she needed and being in a total mood for a better part of each day. So we're going to see about a different house next year. For me, though, it's less about the place and more about getting to spend 2 whole weeks with the family. Josh gets to see all the kids all day every day, so it's not much of a vacation for him. But I miss a lot being at work all day. I had fun just getting on the floor and letting Jesse crawl over me (Mom - he's finally going from sitting to belly easily!) and getting up on his hands and knees and rocking but then not going anywhere. I loved watching Jocelyn and Jesse play together and Jocelyn crawling in my lap saying "sit with you?".

Timothy organized some games for us, which was fun (trivia about BB8!) and raced for the car at any mention of ice cream. Morgan was difficult to engage but some hearty tickling usually did the trick.  Josh says his vacation starts Wednesday (when school starts!).

The scale this morning says I only gained 2.5 Ibs in the last 2 weeks - not bad! The first week I was good about running, but I fell off the wagon the 2nd week. We ate EVERYTHING - usually 2. Mom bought us lobster and steak dinner while they were there, and then we had lobsters again just me and Josh (we hid them from Jocelyn - she loved lobster and would have eaten a whole one herself!). We also had lobster rolls, Pat's pizza, and every other take out. Then of course the daily ice cream ... so I'm pretty pleased at 2.5Ibs! Josh actually lost weight. Swimming must be better exercise than I thought!

Well I guess that's about it from here. I'm exhausted from a morning of cleaning (I wonder if I can count that as my cardio today??) and Josh has been grocery shopping so we have more than just the spoiled chicken that we forgot was in the fridge while we were gone (and which Timothy asked if he could have for breakfast this morning - ewwwww). 

August 11, 2007

Well we're here and settled and for now stealing someone's high speed signal so I thought I'd send this before we get figured out.

It was a looooooooong day. We were out of the house by 9, which was quite an accomplishment. Jesse cooed and fell asleep around 10. Traffic wasn't so bad. At 10:45 Jesse woke up and Timothy announced his immediate need for a facility and so we figured it was close enough to call it lunch time. We stopped at a McDonalds and I got everyone sitting down while Josh got food. The boys sat in chairs quietly without moving or getting up. Jocelyn sat nicely in a high chair and Jesse in my lap (I tried nursing him but he was too busy looking everywhere). The food came and everyone waited patiently for me to layout napkins and put their food on them. Who on earth are these kids???

They ate like angels. Then the food was gone .... and so were the angels! Morgan got up and developed selective deafness. He didn't respond to his name for the rest of the day. Jocelyn didn't want to leave. Jesse, having refused to nurse repeatedly, was quite upset once we got in the car. We got back on the highway to find that our relatively traffic-less day was over. Ahhhh well.

I managed to give Jesse an ounce of breastmilk I'd brought from home, then pumped another and gave him that. Eventually nothing made hirn happy and he screamed for about 40 minutes. Just as he fell asleep, we reached Grammy Lessard's house. Morgan and Jocelyn bickered most of the way in the car but after a while I put on the Jack's Big Music Show CD and that kept them happy. It made Josh cranky as heck though!

Jocelyn is so bossy in the car! When we got out at Grammy's she handed her bear to Timothy "Timothy, take the bear - TAKE THE BEAR" then handed her cup to Morgan "Morgan, take the ... MORGAN ... MORGAN TAKE THE CUP" (I said the part about how he didn't respond to his name all day right??).

The kids managed to make quick work of Grammy's place and she'll probably be digging goldfish out of her couch for about a week to ten days. That'll teach her to invite us over! On our way out we stopped at the cemetery to see Grandpa Lessard. I wanted to get a picture of the kids sitting on him. Morgan didn't want a picture. Then we got Morgan in the picture and Jocelyn didn't want a picture. Oy. Who knows what I got - we'll see when I download them.

The drive up 302 behind a bunch of people who apparently are in no hurry and/or have no idea where they are/going was fun as usual. Jocelyn was screaming because Morgan was touching her. Morgan was touching her more because she was screaming. Jesse fell asleep. Timothy had his headphones on. He balked at one of Jocelyn's demands to hold something for her and I asked him to please, just for the next hour, do whatever she said - Josh was nearing the brink and I didn't think he could take another round of the Jack's Big Music Show CD. By the tirne we got to Krainin, Jocelyn was dead asleep - out like a light. Her mouth was wide open and Morgan was carefully wiping drool off her chin as it gathered. He loves her when she's quiet!

Since she was sleeping we decided to stop for groceries and Timothy and Josh went in while I stayed in the car with the other kids. I gave the portable DVD to Morgan with Nemo on and took Jesse out and finally got him to nurse. After 30 minutes Jocelyn woke up and the troops were getting restless. I called Josh and he was checking out - yay!

We got here and noticed a for sale sign out front! Eeeek! I hope the buyers rent it out next year!

Got everything thrown in the house and groceries unpacked and put our suits on and ran down into the water. A problem I had not anticipated - Jocelyn is not scared at all! Walked right in the cold water and started jumping around. Giving me a freakin' heart attack because she's rather wobbly. oy! I put her in a mom/baby float/boat thing I have and we went way out deep and she loves it.

We brought the walker down to the water and put it at the water's edge and Jesse in it so he could kick his feet in the water. I must say this is the most brilliant idea I've ever had because he LOVES IT. I also sat him at the edge but he didn't care for that as much.

Then we got dressed and finished unpacking and making beds and Josh made dinner. Jesse's down at least for a while but Jocelyn is having some adjustment issues to her new room so she's not asleep yet, though she is at least still in bed. We'll see how that goes ... 

August 8, 2007

Well if you draw the point thick enough, then we're back on the chart! Jesse was 16lbs 13oz today which put him just onto the 5th percentile line if you squint a little. Yay! 27 inches is about the 15th percentile for height - so actually he's pretty proportional. Said yes to all the developmental stuff except that he's not pulling up, so that's pretty good.

I got myself a tetanus booster while I was there - that new one with the pertussis in it or whatever. Didn't hurt as much as I remember, or really at all but then things haven't really hurt since I gave birth, hahaha.

Jocelyn fell down the stairs on Monday. She got a rug burn on her nose and the back of her shoulder but was otherwise unharmed. Josh was standing right there - he said it was a scary fall and she looked like she was dead when she landed in a pile at the bottom.

That's the bullet from here - next stop vacation! 

August 4, 2007

Yesterday Timothy and Morgan went to the museum with Morgan's old preschool teacher. She's so sweet - she emailed me pictures and a summary of the day:

"Today was great! Both boys had a lot of fun - in Timothy's words, "It was so awesome!" Attached is the first set of pictures. I will send more in sets of 5 at a time. I hope it was ok to bring them back 20 mins early. We got to KidCity at 10 and stayed until 12:45, which included a break for lunch. By 12:45 Timothy was getting bored - Morgan could've kept going forever! So, we decided to drive back and go to the playground (Boundless) for a while. We got there and stayed for only 10 minutes - it was much too hot, so we went home at that point.

Timothy really enjoyed the video room and cars the best at KidCity. And Morgan liked the slide, spaceship, and bubbles the best. Timothy is very patient and helpful - he was very cute in the car trying to explain to me that sometimes Morgan likes to repeat movies. Morgan did excellent and did great listening. Timothy and Morgan both had a sandwich for lunch. Timothy also had an oatmeal pie and a few Cheez Its - Morgan wasn't interested in those. In the car, Morgan said he wanted an oatmeal pie and Cheez Its, but then he didn't want them when I handed them to him, so Timothy ate those, too (hope that's ok).

Both boys drank all their water on the car ride home, and after the playground Timothy had a juice box while Morgan had 2 juice boxes. Timothy slept in the car from KidCity to the playground for about 20 minutes - he was funny because he didn't want me to know he fell asleep so he said, "Yeah, my head just kept falling asleep, but I was really awake even though my eyes were closed".

I accidentally kept one of their water bottles in my bag - I'll stop into school next week and send it home with Morgan (if you need it before that, I could drop it off at your house)."

It's funny because I was reading this to Timothy and at the part where it says he fell asleep, he shouted "NO I DIDN'T!" hahahaha. I asked if Morgan kicked in the car (he usually does) and he said yes but Miss Dana said "quiet hands, quiet feet" and he stopped. We'll have to try that!

Jocelyn did not have a repeat potty performance despite all the presents I wrapped up (thanks for the surprise box idea Katie! I'm going to try that). Oh well! Her new favorite thing is to pick up the phone when it rings. She says "hi Joey" and then hangs up. So if anyone calls and this happens - call back! Yesterday I called and had been talking to Josh for about 30 seconds when she picked up the extension and said "Daddy? I hungwy. I need munch. Get off the phone. Bye bye!" and hung up. Bossy little thing! I guess this is a bit of a *squeaky wheel* family - hahaha.

Jesse got a 2nd tooth this week and also learned to clap. Well, mostly learned - sometimes his hands miss each other - hahaha. My friend Beka and her husband and almost 1-year old son are coming over today for a play date, which I think will be even more fun than usual since Jesse is mobile now. He's a speed demon in his walker and Jocelyn is afraid of him when he's in it because he rushes everyone and clips their toes. You have to hold him still so she can run by - it's too funny.

Jesse has not been very hungry this week. This morning I couldn't even get him to finish a yogurt. After about 2/3rds of it he started spitting it at me after every bite. Nice! He's also not been much interested in bottles during the day, having only 6oz per day or so - so my freezer stash is up and also he gets up more at night to make up for it. oy. Yesterday Josh gave him part of a donut and he just threw it on the ground - didn't even try it! I haven't weighed him yet today but I hope he didn't backslide!

One more week until vacation! That means today I have to make the list over the bazillion things we need to pack and then tomorrow start packing them. Timothy needs to finish his summer homework this week before we go. Morgan's last day of school is Thursday (we sent his summer homework to school so I assume he's done it there - at least I hope so!). 

August 2, 2007

Jocelyn peed on the potty!

I had been trying to bribe her with candy, but it wasn't working. So I wrapped up a toy car and Josh took her to the bathroom and told her if she peed on the potty she would get a present and showed it to her. 2 seconds later she had peed on the potty and was anxiously running into the livingroom to open the present.

Now I have to go find some stickers or something to wrap up for tomorrow! 

July 29, 2007

Well I gave Jocelyn her first haircut yesterday - just an inch or two off the middle of the back. It was turning into a mullet - haha. Don't worry - what's left is still curly. I was taping a lock of it into her baby book and noticed that when she was 9 months old she weighed 16lbs 11 oz. It's quite possible Jesse will be very close to that! Of course, the boy chart is bigger than the girl chart, so we probably won't make the chart, but still, it's something.

He only gained 1oz this week. I've been slacking in the last couple weeks - just letting him eat what he wants and not pushing more (just seems like you shouldn't have to force feed a baby!), but it's not quite putting the weight on. So perhaps we'll push a little harder this week. He sees the doctor for his 9-month appt on 8/8.

Mandy and Elisabeth and their clans were here Friday for dinner and spent the night. My goodness 8 kids can make a bunch of noise! Mandy told Elisabeth she's only allowed to have 1 more - hahaha. It was so fun though - the cousins all play so nicely together. Sage was all about Timothy and it seemed whenever he turned around she was hugging him, and whenever he sat down she was next to him. It was adorable. Jocelyn and Timothy slept in our room and we moved them to the floor when we went to bed. Around 11 :30pm I saw Jocelyn get up and sleepily head for the door, so I held out my arms and she ended up between me and Josh in bed. At 2:30 Jesse joined us. Thank goodness for king-sized beds!

It's funny that even though Chase looks like Rob and Jesse looks like Josh, they actually also look alike. Roughly the same size - same hair color and style, same dark eyes. When I first got home from work Elisabeth had both babies sitting in front of her and from across the room I couldn't tell which baby was mine!

Friday we had cake for Morgan and Patience and then baths for everyone. Jocelyn gets cake in places that cake just doesn't belong! Saturday morning Jeff made egg sandwiches for everyone and then everyone packed up and headed home.

Both yesterday and today we've had Jocelyn in underpants. Well, we *put* Jocelyn in underpants - it only takes about 5 minutes before she's naked. Just as well - we'd be out of outfits by now. As it is I'm going to have to run the carpet steamer again in most rooms! oyoyoy - I am the WORST potty trainer!

Despite the humidity and heat, I did get out and run today. I should have gone earlier but stole an extra hour's sleep instead. Then I had to wait for Jesse to go down for a nap so it was 11 before I went out - pretty much the hottest time of day! I do run through a shady neighborhood but seemed to always be on the wrong side of the road today. I was HOT HOT HOT! I got this cool new Nike shirt that has a built in pocket for an iPod. I got a size large but it is REALLY tight - so not the most becoming of shirts, but it's very useful to have that pocket there, so such is life. I've never been accused of being fashionable! Anyway, I made it 5.5 miles in 61 minutes and then walked a few minutes home. I carry water with me, which was gone by the time I got home, and then 2 more were gone soon after that! It was weird - about 5 minutes before I was done I broke out with goosebumps all over - so strange! Josh decided it was borderline heat exhaustion and forced me to drink water and take a cool bath. No arguments here.

Yesterday I couldn't seem to get out to run so jumped rope instead. How did we ever do that for hours as kids??? It's hard work! I actually rented a jump rope workout video from netflix so was learning the various moves in instruction mode but ran out of time with that and just jumped for 10 minutes and called it a day. I do want to get back to the video this week though - says you can burn up to 1000 calories in an hour! I'm already planning what I can eat extra if I burn that much - hee hee.

We started watching Happy Feet and made it about halfway through before Josh and I realized we were alone in the room and the kids had all desserted. Jocelyn LOVES the dancing parts - but her attention span for tv or movies is only about 30 minutes. So we stopped and will watch more later - it is pretty cute.

Two more weeks until vacation, which means next weekend will be spent making the list of everything we need to bring and starting to pack it up. I have to have a check list for each kid and each of me and Josh and then the other items - camera, video camera, etc etc. We bring EVERYTHING! It'll be a challenge to fit it in the car this year, that's for sure! 

July 28, 2007

So Josh and I were out having a butt and when we come back in there's a flood in the kitchen and Jocelyn is holding a water bottle with no top and Morgan is soaked. We stand there for a second and then we realize that Jocelyn has been asking Morgan for water so he fills the water bottle for her (all the way up to the top but then takes a sip at which point it spills on him) then hands it to her very carefully (we got a demo once we suspected this was occurring) and then Jocelyn dumps it all out on the floor and asks for more. Nifty little duo those two!