Becky and Mike's Crazy Life!

First Day of Preschool!

2012-02-07T18:59:00.001-08:00

Today was Erik's first day of preschool. He did well, if you don't count that he refused food all day, screamed through lunch, talked so much through circle time that other children were sssshhhhing him and woke up all the other children 1/2 hour early from nap by yelling....Hi! You my friends? Over and over.
Other than that..... Perfect first day of school.
Then we came home and I cut his hair, and now he can't go out in public.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Walk Already!!

2012-02-05T16:43:00.000-08:00

Erik starts preschool on Tuesday (seriously? How the hell did that go by so quick?), yesterday he was just a baby and I was dropping him on his head! Time moves so quickly. This is a picture of him sitting at snack time on one of the days he visited, and actually ate snack since it consisted of foods he will allow to cross his lips. Perhaps someday he will eat a carb, until then he exists on sausage, chicken and cantaloupe.

He's still struggling with the walking thing. He's more of a cruiser these days, we have said goodbye to the highchair and now he has a little table and chair, but honestly I fear the amount of food that will now be easily placed onto the floor.

He has physical therapy with Amy each Sunday, some days he makes progress.....once he took 12 steps without any help! But then he has some kind of mental block and as soon as he realizes he's doing it by himself he sits down. There is a lot of frustrated crying and whining over this in our house. His first choice is always an activity he doesn't have to move around like books, building, cars etc. He would never choose to climb on anything. I know I know, people with climbing kids are all "count your blessings lady!" but seriously, I have a 2.5 year old who can't walk and there is no medical reason not too.
His therapist in convinced that because he is so smart it's harder for us to convince him that he will be OK if he will just let go! He won't walk....but he'll happily go on a roller coaster!! Can you believe he went on a roller coaster (albeit a teeny tiny one), with no problem.....he stood long enough for them to measure his height and then Daddy carried him on, perhaps we should have made him crawl on.
Crawling takes FOREVER!!
So, that's the latest update on the walking.
What's new with Mike and I? Not much, Mike is still working at Kitchen Collections and he really enjoys this large company that has a Mom and Pop feel to it. They give him a lot of autonomy to just manage his staff.
I'm of course still at PACCC, but I've begun to sing again and it feels SO good! I'd forgotten how much I love it. I'm joining my old chorus (Bay Area Showcase Chorus) for their trip to the World Choir Games this year in July in Cincinnati.....kind of like the Olympics of chorus singing....should be tons of fun! If you're anywhere near Cincinnati the first 2 weeks of July you should check it out!
I'm addicted to Pinterest....have you checked it out? I think it's been called Fantasy Football for Girls, and it is totally addicting....if you need an invite let me know, I'm happy to introduce you to my obsession.

29 months

2012-01-08T23:20:00.000-08:00

29 months.....unbelievable, how did he get to be 29 months, and how the hell is he STILL not walking!!

He starts school in 3 weeks. I guess he'll have to crawl his way through it.

He's been having PT every week for a month now. His therapist is named Amy and she's a very tiny Japanese lady, so now every small Asian woman we see he yells "There's my Amy!" She makes him bend and push and stoop, and try to walk.
Today she worked with him for almost 2 hours. He walks fine when he's distracted and not thinking about what he's doing. The hard part is distracting him enough that he forgets he "can't" walk. As soon as he realizes he's walking (or standing without leaning on something) he falls down. It's so frustrating to watch, knowing he can do it, if he'd try.
Amy thinks that because he's so smart that he knows he's not good at walking and doesn't have the confidence in it, so he chooses not to do it. Who chooses not to walk when they physically can? What two year old BOY chooses not to walk? We are all baffled. All we can do is keep pushing him and making him do it. We no longer carry him anywhere, we hold his hands and walk and stop every other second so he can find his balance, we move very very slowly.
In all other aspects he pretty dang smart, and pretty adorable. Tonight we had this conversation
Me: What kind of music do you like?
Erik: Punk, I'm easy Dude!
Me: Anything else?
Erik: Rock and Roll! I TOTALLY ROCK!
Me: What about barbershop?
Erik: Oh, No thank you.

He keeps me in stitches.
He freaks Mike out with his interesting requests, lately he wants a purse and a doll house. Luckily a little friend of his gave him a doll house that I was saving in the garage, I brought it in and he puts all his animals in it and the zoo keeper on the toilet. He also has a purse, a little leather pouch that he looks for when it's time to leave the house. There is nothing in it, but he's copying Mommy.
I bought him a doll about a year ago. I don't care what any Dad says, all little boys need a doll. It teaches them a thousand things, but the one I like best is they learn how to be daddies. Mike has always doubted that, until I captured this tonight.
The other day at the zoo I saw a father with two young boys (maybe 3-5) and one little boy had a doll, in a front carrier and was giving it a bottle....and his father and brother were so very OK with it that I wanted to thank them for allowing this boy to have a doll!
Boys need a doll.................and girls need some cars!
Blogger's not letting me embed video's anymore, so here's a link to my YouTube channel.
http://youtu.be/8UkkghqJ-bE

Latest Obsession

2012-01-08T22:36:00.000-08:00

     My latest obsession (beyond Pinterest and Pioneer Woman) is Couponing.  A little on the verge of extreme. When we were in Oklahoma in October we watched an Extreme Coupon marathon and the more I watched it the more I realized I could do that!!
    I found the Krazy Coupon website which I use EVERY DAY to tell me where the deals are and I've been doing it for about 9 weeks now and at the beginning I didn't see any difference in my groceries at all...but just this month I realized that I have cut our grocery bill..IN HALF!! This is huge for us. I'm not getting $500.00 worth of groceries for $20.00 like on the show, because California does not double coupons (dang).
     It takes some work....no it takes a lot of work, it's like a part time job and I won't lie and say it only takes a few minutes...it takes me a total of about 8 hours a week to do it. That includes shopping, clipping and organizing time. It saves us about 3-400 dollars a month (which I can use to pay other things) and my stockpile is beginning to grow. I now have enough (and all name brand thank you, there are no coupons for store brands) food each week to cover what we eat, as well as add to our overage. In 9 weeks I have added all this (the freezer was almost empty when I started)....I know it needs to be defrosted...how do I defrost it when there's stuff in it? I think it may never get defrosted!

Here's our 13 boxes of cereal (Mike's the only one who eats it, that should last a while!) I think we have enough toothpaste for a couple years, as well as laundry detergent and dish soap. I don't need 400 hand soaps, but 20 (they are in the back) should hold us for a while.

And here's all my soups and canned goods, and toilet paper. See that toilet paper? I got it today, I paid $6.45 for 6 12 packs of toilet paper......that my friends, was the deal of the day and should last us a good long time! I hope to get my grocery bill down from 600.00 a month to about 200.00 a month (I include diapers in that - that's a big chuck of our bill). I'm getting closer, soon I should just have to buy perishables and we can live off our stockpile. The downside, you can't plan your menu by what you want, you have to plan it by what you have.

Once I got things organized into a binder it didn't take me long to figure out how to plan my purchases. I buy 10 newspapers each Sunday, from an old guy named Johnnie who always gives me 15. The hardest part is separating the inserts and cutting all the coupons, sometimes I can get Mom to help me and that makes it really nice. We cut all the coupons and then put them into this binder. It weighs about 13 pounds. When people see me with it in the store they either tell me they wish they had the time to do it, or they ask me where stuff is because they think I work in the store and am taking inventory.
Here's my binder

Here's the table of contents, all title pages are downloaded from Krazy Coupon Lady....they seriously do all the work for you!

Here's a page with coupons, it's the pages you collect baseball cards in, so most coupons will fit in the little pockets.

So here's to couponing! I'm calling it my part time job!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

ERIK UPDATE
Erik has started his physical therapy and is making some progress. The PT suggested that we walk with him with a Hula Hoop so we tried, and it's making him able to balance on his own without leaning into you. Here's a video of him doing it. Just in case the video doesn't show up....as seems to be happening with blogger lately.
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It's hard to have a 2 year who can't walk, everyone treats him like a fragile little baby. I took him to school today for a couple hours since he will start in February and the children kept calling him "Teacher Becky's Baby" and they would say things like "Wow Teacher Becky your baby talks so good!" to which he would answer "I not a baby!"...and crawl away.....which only reinforced to the preschoolers that he IS a baby. Going to be school is likely going to be a bit tough for him. He did work VERY hard on standing at school today, I could tell he was trying so hard to hide his non-walking. He knows he should be walking, and perhaps the peer pressure at school is exactly what he needs to motivate him.
Here's a picture of him before the other children arrived so happy to be "at Mommas cool"

    Taking him to school this morning was tough for me, it's my school, and I have to say it's the best damn preschool I've ever seen. Not to brag, but we are awesome and we work very hard to make sure children are gaining the experiences they need to learn and grow at the pace they are ready for, but I still felt like I was throwing my child to the wolves this morning (and I was with him!). To all you parents who have ever walked away from a crying child as your dropped them off at school.....more power to you.  Erik was thrilled to go, and I didn't have to say goodbye, and I still wanted to scoop him up in my arms and beg him to stay little and cuddly forever.
     That craving for another child has begun.....but really how realistic is that? I'm FORTY-TWO! I doubt that will happen, but there is certainly a piece of me that would love another baby....and another piece of me that smacks me in the head every time I consider it.

SURGERY UPDATE
      I still have 6 pounds to lose....damn Halloween, damn Thanksgiving, damn every single day. I find it such a struggle to walk by anything without popping it in my mouth. SO, I still have 6 pounds to lose, next check up is Jan. 26....SURELY by then I can be down!
     I work for a wonderful company who has just started a wellness program and I am on the committee so I must set a good example. I've been walking everyday and using the "imapmywalk" app which tells me exactly how far I've gone, how many calories I've burned and then sends me an e-mail each week with my progress. I walked 7.35 miles this week.....WOO HOO!! Thank you PACCC for allowing me to walk during the day and encouraging me to do so!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
I can't believe Christmas is almost here. It feels like just yesterday Erik was an infant. I thought time went by fast before I had a child, but now it seems to be moving at light speed and I want it to stop!! Here is our family portrait for the year. Doesn't Erik look so happy? It's better than the scrunched up "CHEESE" face he makes for the pictures I take of him, too bad he couldn't have looked a little happier. The only reason he looks happy in the second one of him is because the photographer let him have a book. In all the other photos he was yelling...ALL DONE!!
See how he's leaving back a little (he was sitting on a stool) as soon as she snapped the picture he fell over backwards and smacked his head on the floor. Happy Day.

Pushing

2011-12-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

Hmmmmm....crazy blogger, sorry for the multiple postings. Here's the video I was trying to put into the other page.
He's gotten much better at pushing his toy, however he is still easily distracted especially stopping to sing along to the trains music.

28 months

2011-12-06T22:25:00.001-08:00

It's been hard posting things from my computer, for some reason it just won't work. So.....from my phone will have to do!
Erik is 28 months old today, so big, and yet so little all at the same time. On Saturday he and I were playing cars when he looked up at me and said "I love you"....it was the first time, unsolicited that he did it...I almost melted. It makes all the emotional meltdowns ( that happen every ten minutes) worth it.
His walking is......well, pushing. He has his first PT appointment this week so hopefully we'll see some improvement soon! For now, his pushing pushes onward!

I have no idea why this video didn't show up the first round...hopefully it does now!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-07T19:09:00.001-08:00

I at least have to put a picture up, even though it's late! Princess Presto and Super Why

And here's those damn cake pops I'm never ever making again......but they sure were delicious!

Erik still has never been truck or treating, he's content to hand out candy with Mom.

If you look closely he's eating his dinner at the table.
Hope your Halloween was great!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

27 Months

2011-11-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

I completely missed 26 months, we were on vacation in Oklahoma and honestly I have not taken that long of a vacation in years and I am just now (almost a month later) getting back to my normal life.
Erik is doing SO much better! He is beginning to stand alone and voila.....walk!!!!!! Well, not really walking, but pushing a toy, alone, and standing on his legs. Of course he did this for the first time on the day I met with his case working from Early Start to get the PT going. Isn't that how it always works? See? He gets a couple steps in!

Erik is a two year old, in every sense of the word. He goes from joy to screaming in a second. From loving to hitting in the next second, and from eating everything one day to eating nothing the next, like every other 2 year old on the planet. I get weary of explaining to my mother (don't worry she's not online she can't ready this) when she complains to me EVERYDAY about how many times he did something over and over, that this is how 2 year olds process information and learn. But the complaints don't end...I have to remind myself that she's old and tired and he can be loud and whiney - but I do get tired of defending his normal 2 year old behavior.

Our Oklahoma vacation was LOVELY and it was so good to see all those great cousins, siblings and parents! How I wish we lived closer....but man oh man do I love the California weather. I was also concerned that while in Oklahoma veggies and fruit were scarce...I love you California. While there my stepbrother Mark took this nice picture of our family. Lucky I had JUST had my hair done! ;)

And then he took this one, that melts my heart.....because Erik looks much older than I want him to be.

Driving to OK was everything I imagined it to be, we did our best to throw some fun things in each day so Erik wouldn't go crazy and so the grown ups wouldn't kill each other. The first night (or maybe the second I really don't remember at this point). We stopped in Laughlin Nevada. I'd never been there - I had no idea it was a very very tiny Vegas wanna be with a bit of scary Reno vibe. Erik loved the suite we were given (so did we it was huge!)

It had really awesome windows. The doorman however was not thrilled with our luggage (Aunt Vera I took this picture specifically for you....this was for 4 people and included all our food!) it was LOTS!

We found things to do all along the way! But the best was seeing family we hadn't seen in years. This is my Mom and her Aunt Bernie....she looks just like my Grandma Carole, they have the same voice...It was nice to see her and made me miss my grandma.

Erik being able to spend time with his cousins was the best thing of all.....although a couple times he did say "too many tousins!"

and there's two missing! It's impossible to get everyone together at the same time, but we tried our best.

All in all it was a fabulous time...coming home I was scared to go to my weigh in - remember I had 10 pounds to lose before my next meeting with my surgeon (on the 2nd of November). I knew going into that meeting I hadn't lost it, I was just praying I hadn't gained any sitting on my ass driving for days and loving life at every Cracker Barrel along the way. Cracker Barrel PLEASE come to California!

I lost 1 pound....and I was pretty proud for not gaining weight, so I now have until the 16th of December to lose 10 pounds........I'm back to my normal routine now....hello vegetables. I miss you Sonic, Taco Bueno, Chelinos and Ted's...I am grateful you are in Oklahoma and can't tempt me here!

Now, if I can just get rid of the Halloween Candy!

A diagnosis! FINALLY

2011-09-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

   Well, today was Erik's first appointment with the OT and PT. He was his usual charming, loud self. Proclaiming when they approached his feet "No thank you! and Almost done?" When the physical therapist was done manipulating his feet he looked up at him and said "I need my stroller, I go back home now". The PT - whose name was Tom (and who Erik called Uncle Tom - he does have an Uncle Tom, whom he really likes), gave him a mat and some toys and Erik showed all his crawling and standing skills.
After an hour of tests and observations we finally have a diagnosis...and here, off his medical charts it is. Mild or benign hypotonia.
Mild or benign hypotonia is often diagnosed by physical and occupational therapists through a series of exercises designed to assess developmental progress, or observation of physical interactions. Since a hypotonic child has difficulty deciphering his spatial location, he may have some recognizable coping mechanisms, such as locking the knees while attempting to walk. A common sign of low-tone infants is a tendency to observe the physical activity of those around them for a long time before attempting to imitate, due to frustration over early failures. Developmental delay can indicate hypotonia.

After talking with him for another hour this is basically a very mild form of floppy baby syndrome. Usually pretty common with Down's Syndrome children. There is no cure, there is no treatment except to allow him to progress at his own rate in really really supportive shoes which will train him to put his feet flat.

     He said this was not a cognitive delay, nor a nervous system delay like muscular dystrophy or CP - but rather a muscle sensation delay.
    So all those early signs when he wouldn't put his legs down as a baby and would never put weight on his legs were the very first indicators of this. Because most babies start putting weight on their legs, almost immediately they have all those months to build up the muscles in their thighs and especially their hips which down the road help them to walk. Because Erik refused to put any weight on his legs until he was almost 14 months old, he's 14 months behind in building the muscles he needs to eventually walk.
      This made a lot of sense to me, he has to build the foundation muscles before the walking muscles can even do their job, babies need to stand up on parents laps for 6 months before they even have the capability to push up and crawl, no wonder he didn't crawl until he was 16 months old!
     Tom the PT said he sees children with mild cases like this all the time, and they eventually catch up - although sometimes it takes a LONG time, and we can't push them or they will skip steps (in building muscle) and be weaker later on. It totally reminds me of the parents I see in my preschool who want me to push their child into academics and writing before they've mastered the skill of playing and interacting with others. Playing helps them build the foundation that everything else stands up on. With play you learn to problem solve, you can't figure out your math homework if you don't have the problem solving skills. I spend my days defending play and begging parents not to push their children into academics and organized sports before they've worked out the groundwork to build those things on. This is the same, only physically. We can't force him to walk if the hips muscles aren't developed enough. They only develop by allowing him to cruise up and down the furniture over and over until his legs tell him they are ready to take a step.
       He also informed me that he would do fine playing sports for fun as a teenager but would likely never be a star athlete. However after an hour with him answering questions with questions i.e Tom: Erik can you stand up please? Erik: Or crawl? Or sit? Or Dance?. Tom: Erik I need to look at your ankles please. Erik: Or a book, or my Mommy or check your e-mail? He thought a career as a lawyer or politician would be right up Erik's ally. When he asked Erik what he liked to do Erik responded "Play the plinano wif Mommy".
     Tom thought that was interesting since gross motor benign hypotonia really only has large motor delays - most of these children are excellent with their fine motor skills. It's true Erik's drawings are already representational and he loves to play the "plinano" and eat rice one small grain at a time (or flick it one grain at a time through the dinging room).
     So, this we can handle - he won't crawl to college, we may have to modify preschool a bit as he will likely crawl in there, but he will be fine with time.
     The hardest part for me is not shaving months off his age at the playground (which I am ashamed to say I almost always do), so I don't have to endure the questions and judgment of the others "2 years old and not walking?? "Wow he talks so well, I wonder whats wrong with his legs?"   Seriously it's so much easier to say he's 14 months old. He's a HUGE 14 month old, but his Momma's a big girl so it tends to be more believable.

8 years

2011-09-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

Today, Mike and I have been married for 8 years. On this day 8 years we wed, in front of two great friends and a judge in the courthouse in Las Vegas.
Why?
Because the December wedding that we had planned was beginning to be a pain to plan around everyone else's schedule, we'd already changed our wedding date 3 times...and honestly I felt like we'd have to change it again and I was OVER it. Bottom line was I wanted to be married to Mike, whether in a big white wedding, or the courthouse in Las Vegas. So in Vegas we wed!

This picture was taken moments before we were married and is the only picture of the day, as our friend who was taking the pictures left his camera in the last cab of the night.

We eventually did have that big white wedding about three months later, so we can't let the day go buy without a few pictures from that!

This buoy now hangs above our bed. I love it.

My father playing "Sea Captain!"

It was REALLY REALLY chilly here!

The entire wedding!

The Parents

The Rings

The Wedding Party

Mike and his Dad George

Becky, Shanan and Madi - My little Disneyland inspired flower girl, who is now a high school girl. Wow! Time sure flies by!

Steve and Becky

Yes I have a tattoo. I forget it because I typically don't see my back, except in pictures like this. It makes me feel a bit rebellious to have a tattoo.....sometimes a good girl needs a bit of rebellion!

Happy Anniversary my Sweet Mikey! I love you more than life!

Closer!

2011-09-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

I met today with the psychiatrist. I didn't realize that the paperwork before the appointment would be SO involved and SO detailed. They needed to know everything about me, including the religion I was brought up in. I don't know why that would have any bearing on my surgery but OK.
The psychiatrist was a lovely man, who I felt from the second he opened the door was very "Mormon Bishop like". Once I got into the office and saw the BA and MA on his walls from BYU and The University of Utah I knew I was in for an interesting conversation. (Spoiler alert: Current active LDS could be offended by my story, please note this is MY issue and no offense is intended)
He took a moment to read through my paperwork, and paused at the "Recovering LDS" that I had written in the "religion" space. He took a long pause as if trying to figure out how to approach me and why I had written that.
He also saw that I had gone to Ricks (Now BYU Idaho) and for some odd reason spent 18 months in Guatemala and he fiured things out pretty quickly. One box said "Have you ever had a panic attack" I checked the "maybe" box. He described the symptoms and then asked me if I'd like to change my answer to yes or no. I changed it to yes and he said "I don't need any details but where were you when you had one?" I told him I'd had 2 in my life. One in the MTC (Missionary Training Center) and one in the temple. Both of them were dismissed by MTC and Temple health workers as "lack of food"...which really is ironic don't you think? I may have a lot of things, lack of food is typically not one of them." Hmmm........perhaps it was a sign of things to come for me.
Anyway, he was lovely and passed me onto the surgeon with no red flags (Whew! I'm not TOO crazy), then it was on downstairs to Doogie Houser MD.
The surgeon (head of the department no less) is about 14. I don't think he's old enough to grow facial hair, I just have to believe he's so young he's up on all the good stuff!
He did a quick exam and said I only have 10 more pounds to lose and then I'm cleared for surgery....woo hoo!!! Then he talked me out of the lap band and into the gastric sleeve.

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So, I have another appointment mid-October and then we set a surgery date! Woo Hoo!!!
Becky

25 Months

2011-09-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

I know you want to ask.......no, he's NOT walking yet! He did have his 24 month check this week which he could have taken himself to. Every time the Dr. answered a question Erik answered it.

E - Hi Docto Wosen (Dr. Rosen)
Dr; Hi Erik, How are you?
E - Super Job!

She turns to me and says "Oh he's so cute and such a vocabulary at his age!" and then she says "Any concerns?"
REALLY??????? This is why Doctor's have a bad rap....she's had COUNTLESS conversations and e-mails with me about his walking and she turns to me and says any concerns? I wanted to flick her in the forehead with a big DUH and say...HE ISN'T WALKING AND HE'S 2!!!!!!!! I'M CONCERNED!! She even acted surprised when I reminded her about the non-walking thing. Seriously Doctors, I know you have a lot of patients, but come on, remember the big things!

She took a long look at his legs, ran an MRI and pronounced him "perfect" and than he "just doesn't feel like walking yet". I insisted on a PT consult. Luckily I got it. Funny thing, the Dr. that I pay 30.00 to each time I see could really care less if he's walking or not. But Early Start here in San Jose, a non-profit FREE service for children under 36 months had 15 pages of paperwork waiting for me withing a couple hours of my initial phone call to them and they are already working things up for an environmental observation. I think I know who'd I rather work with.

In all other aspects beyond his gross motor skills he's well advanced, he can draw a circle, a line, recognize all the letters of the alphabet and numbers to 20. He knows all his colors and told the Dr his favorite was "cacamarine" (Aquamarine). He's a funny little guy, I asked him tonight when I was putting him to bed if he was my little baby and he said "Nope, I'm just a little pirate". No idea where he gets this stuff.

He's also crazy 2 years old, he wears his emotions on his arms and can go from screaming tantrum throwing fit to loving kisses in a matter of seconds, as all toddler's do.

He's up to 33 pounds and 35 inches in height. 93rd percentile. Whew! Seriously I can't carry this kid anymore.

The tantrum Two's!

2011-08-30T21:22:00.001-07:00

Wow, Erik had an epic tantrum tonight. It lasted for one hour. I have no idea what even brought it on, one minute he was fine, the next his head was spinning in circles and I would not have been surprised to see horns sprout from his head.
Talk about wailing and gnashing of teeth, it was all I could do to keep my extremities out of the way of his mouth.
I can certainly see how parents would fall into the bedtime trap of allowing children to do whatever they want just to make the screaming stop. I was about to strike any bargain he could come up with just to get him to stop screeching!
He finally flipped a switch and as quickly as the tantrum started, it ended. He was back to singing "Old Macdonald" with his choice of "a wall" or a "door" as things on his farm, and adding "sartruse" (chartruse) and "cacamarine" (aquamarine) to his list of favorite colors.......crazy kid!
On the diet front I've had to go for many tests, the most recent being one for sleep apnea. I stop breathing 18 times an hour, that's 126 chances a night that I could have a heart attack or stroke. YIKES!
The Dr. gave me a C-Flex machine. It's horrible. Not as horrible as dying, but horrible to sleep with and be comfortable. I'm really struggling to use it all night. I haven't made it a whole night yet. It's really hard to get used to. And so super unsexy. Here's Mike modeling it for you. Don't you think it brings out his lovely blue eyes?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone on a teeny tiny keyboard.

Two

2011-08-16T22:09:00.001-07:00

Erik is now two, I thought for sure he'd be walking. Nope. He really doesn't care about walking. Some days I care, some days I don't. Everyone around me sure has an opinion though!
He's stuck in a weird place where his emotions are definitely two, his vocabulary is about four, and his legs are back at about 9 months.
He's in this new stage where when things don't go his way he immediately tries to bite, doesnt matter if its a table, a person or a toy. We've obviously been saying "Don't bite me!" often because now he yells BITE ME! just before he bites something....so we have to turn away and giggle at that. At least we get a warning now! One of my biggest fears as a preschool teacher was that my kid would be " the biter", thank goodness he doesn't go to daycare! I've started saying "kisses not bites", we'll see how that goes.
He also now answers every question we ask him with a guessing game a la (insert favorite game show host here). Erik, do you have a poop? " it's not a pee pee, it's not an accident, it's not pajamas". Oh look Erik there's a dog! " it's not a cat, it's not a lion, it's not a door". Imagine this is response to EVERYTHING we say. It's time to go to bed. "it's not time to eat, it's not time to play, it's not time for singing songs"........and repeat, all day. So interesting how he is classifying things by what they are NOT. He even does it with people, rotating his favorites. Say good night to Nana. " not to Jaymee, not to Grandma C, not to Papa and Mimi".......just say goodnight all ready!
Between the biting and the classifying it's like living with a Vampire Dr. Suess!
I'm interested to hear what the Dr will say at his 2 year check up when I tell her he STILL isn't walking. I'm sure Erik will let her know,"not running, not jumping, not swimming........"
Took these pictures of him today. In the second one he seems to be thinking about climbing the submarine!!

I'll let you know what the Dr cones up with since she swore he'd be walking by two.

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Horrible Parents 101

2011-08-05T22:17:00.001-07:00

Eriks birthday is tomorrow. We are going to rude Thomas the Train....yippee! (yawn!)
Tonight we decided to give him a couple little presents and his favorite dessert. Flan, homemade by me (and Jell-0).
I even thought it would be fun to put candles in it. I KNEW he was too young for candles, should have listened to myself.
Now I have a child who spent the evening chanting, no flan, no birthday!! What was I thinking?
Tomorrow should be great as long as we hid all candles and no one sings Happy Birthday!

YouTube Video

Are you kidding me?

2011-07-26T21:40:00.001-07:00

This week at Safeway I ran into an alumni parent that I hadn't seen in a while but who is a reader of my blog and she was mentioning her support of my weight loss endeavors and how appalling some people can act. It was fun to chat with her and as I was leaving the aisle ( which had gotten very crowded ) I had to squeeze by several other carts and as another woman was trying to come down the aisle I motioned that I was coming out and said, "one second and I'll be out", her response......."great, and thanks for leaving some food for the rest of us!"
WHAT???
I had to stop and replay what she said in my head...... Did she just? YES SHE DID!!!!
I of course found my friend and told her what happened..... We stalked the aisles together for a while looking for her, but what was I going to say if we found her?
My friend suggested I need a good come back when this happens (since it seems to happen often!)
What would you say? Help me think of something clever, and stinging all at the same time! Come on people, help a fat girl out!
Until I hear from you the perfect line I will retreat to my happy place.

Hermit Crab Homicide

2011-07-19T21:53:00.001-07:00

First a shout out to my sister in law Regina for the title!
Erik loves crabs, or "trabs" as he calls them. I was suckered into the Hermit crab kiosk at the mall and bought him a couple last week, 60 bucks including the accessories. New shells, sand and climbing pole, 40 bucks. Hermit Crabs for Dummies 8 bucks.
100 bucks in and we are down one crab already. Looks like an attack.
I think I need to read the book again, obviously the skimming I did the first time wasn't good enough, because I'm still a hermit crab dummy. Thank goodness I have Mom! We are the blind leading the blind.
Nothing as sad as a toddler saying "dood bye Trabbie, dood bye.

YouTube Video

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The Plan

2011-07-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been working hard to eat what the final life stage is after the

surgery. It feels like a lot of food, and at the same time, man I'm missing

those carbs!

I'm allowed to have one starch at each meal and these are my choices,

1 piece of toasted bread, 1 half of a baked potato or 6 crackers. That's

it. I know, 3 meals a day, it's easy to figure out what goes where.

I'm eating lots of fish and chicken. I'm now drinking 64oz of water a day,

and spending some extra special time in the bathroom.

Here's the whole meal plan, the same EVERY SINGLE DAY. I think this

is why I have failed at every other diet before..I like variety, I also adore carbs. It's not happening anymore.....I'm in
mourning, for pasta, rice and muffins.

For Breakfast you get*You get to add one protein if your a woman over 5'7 (Thank you genes for letting me be tall!!!! - or if you're a man)

2 Proteins - 2oz of meat, eggs, cheese or beans*
1 fruit - fruit is fruit

1 starch - you saw that list above

1 milk - Lots of choice here...NOT! 8oz of milk OR 6oz yogurt

1 fat - butter, oil, mayo, salad dressing, avocado, peanut butter, cream

cheese or sour cream.

For Lunch *Again add for the tall ones and the males, here you can also add 1 more cup of veggies

3 Proteins

2 Vegetables

1 Starch

1 fruit

1 Fat

For Dinner *and again we thank the tall and testosterone genes here for an extra protein and an extra veggie.

3 proteins

2 vegetables

1 starch

1 milk

1 fat

And there you have it folks, the bariatrics diet for the rest of my life.

I can do it, with reminders. I wrote the plan in chalk on my fridge, and

then I took a picture of it with my phone to keep it on me at all times. It's not the most professional, but it works as a cheat sheet.

I

wish it was easier to shout DEFLATE! to my body, or stick myself with a pin

and "POP"....but in the end this will make me healthier. If it doesn't I'm

going to be one crabby lady!

Maybe you can try it and see if it works for you! I'm two weeks in and down 8 pounds, and not starving (well except for pasta, bread.....).
And I apologize for the weird formatting in this post, my laptop is sick, and when I switched to the desktop to edit this, it did this.....I have no idea why (which is probably why my laptop is sick..because I just have no idea why).

23 Months

2011-07-06T23:34:00.000-07:00

I wish I could tell you he's walking. Nope...... But he does talk like crazy. Tonight in Office Depot he announced, "I love my penis and balls!". Such a proud parenting moment for me.
Here's a little look at what he's up to lately.

The beginning of the process

2011-07-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

     Today I went to the first of many appointments for the Lap Band Procedure. It was a 5 hour appointment where we were given a BINDER with all the information we need to know before the surgery. It was a lot of stuff!
     I was not prepared to feel so...loved and accepted. Seriously, Doctor's and anything related to them are no fun when you're fat. I have been shamed, put down and humiliated over and over again, and I begin to prepare myself for that for each appointment I go to. I was pleasantly surprised to be told that being overweight is not because I am lazy, or stupid or overeating constantly. That it is a combination of my life, my mind, my genes, and my childhood (this seems to be the big one for everyone). It was amazing to be one of the thinnest people in the room, that NEVER happens to me. I felt pretty! It was nice to be catered to for once, to be treated like a person, not an annoyance.....to be treated like I deserved help from the doctors. I love Kaiser......really I do, I have always been pleased with them, but today...to treat me (and all the others in the room) with so much dignity and respect, I am thrilled with them.
     I have broken a chair or two in my day (talk about humiliating - nothing worse), and to walk in and see this in a classroom where I always wonder if the folding chair is going to hold me, was refreshing.

Kaiser obviously owns these.......now to be completely inclusive, sprinkling them around all the offices, labs, waiting areas, would be awesome!

Here's the cliff's notes from my orientation today.
What I gain - My health, longer life, ability to do activities I can't now, shopping "off the rack" , increased fertility (we may be too late on the age front for this one, but hey...it's there).
What I have to do/give up.....FOREVER

Chew each bite 30 times
no more drinking ANYTHING with a meal
No more carbonated drinks (this will be the hardest for me)
No caffeine - ACK!
No alcohol (no problem!)
And none of these foods.....again.

Bagels, Biscuits, Bread
Cereal - cold or hot
Crackers (Saltines and Triscuts OK)
Doughnuts (Just writing this makes me REALLY want one!)
English Muffins (I eat one of these everyday for breakfast)
French Toast
Grits....ugh - no problem
Muffins
Pasta
Oatmeal
Pancakes
Processed Snack Food
Pastry
Pita Bread
Pretzels
Rice
Rice Cakes
Rolls
Stuffing
Tortilla's
Waffles
Coconut
Corn / Peas
Gum
Nuts/seeds
Popcorn
Cakes
Candy
Ice Cream
Cookies
Spicy Food
Pizza

So I think that leaves chicken, fish and vegetables....I'll sure be fun to take to a restaurant!
Wow - and I need to start eliminating all these things yesterday. My dear Mexican food, I will miss you so! Oh and Italian, you too!
I begin the journey today. I'll never wear a bikini - but hopefully, a pair of jeans with a shirt tucked IN, is in my near future.
God help me.

Not No, but HELL NO!

2011-06-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby, my adorable child has left the premises and been replaced with a tantrum throwing, NO! screaming brat!

Overnight, last night to be exact, he changed. For the first time today he told me NO! With defiance in his eyes, and I swear if he could stand up on his own he would have stomped a foot for dramatic effect. It all started with a hat. The hat in this picture to be exact.

We went to the zoo, it was hot and sunny. I made him wear the hat. It's a lovely hat, but he hates all hats.....which would be fine if his skin wasn't translucent white, but this white boy must wear a hat at all times outside. He took it off, I put it on, he took it off, I began to see the pattern and quickly did the teacher thing. I got down on his level, told him in a firm (yet loving!) voice. "The sun is out, it will burn your skin without a hat, you must wear the hat". I put it back on his head, he looked at me angrily, yanked the hat off and yelled NO! And then he waited to see what I would do. In my head I knew this was the moment my baby was gone. He has now figured out the meaning, and power of the word NO! and there will be no more baby for me. It was also the defining moment that I would make or break how he responded to future discipline.

I responded with "your choice is to wear the hat and see the animals, or not wear the hat and go home". I then put the hat on him again, he threw it again and I said. "It looks like you're choosing to go home". So we left (luckily we have passes and that's easy to do - not so easy at an expensive place), and I listened to a crying child wail "See yitto yams, see yitto yams!" (See little lambs!) all the way out.

As we head to the car the Mommy in me says Hey, now we can do the grocery shopping!, the teacher on the other shoulder says....don't push it, bad idea! The Wal-Mart across the street and the mommy win!

Everything went well until Erik realized there is no tank with crabs and lobsters at Wal-Mart (we don't have many Wal-Marts here so most of our grocery stores DO have fish tanks) and he LOST it. Yelling "Tabs Tabs!! and signing Crabs as fast as his little fingers could.

What could I do? Seriously he was SCREAMING his head off. I tried singing, I tried goldfish, cheese sticks, apple juice...everything in my cart was open and he was having none of it. I was the lady in the store with the screaming child. And I just had to let him scream. It was hell, toddler hell - I have now stepped into it's doors.

Yesterday he didn't have any tantrums, today he had 4. I will embrace the learning that is toddler hood, ignore the tantrums, and shop alone with all the other toddler mothers at nap time, and late night.

I'm gonna slap you

2011-06-24T23:02:00.000-07:00

Today in Costco a woman judged me by what was in my cart. She looked at me, the food in my cart, and called me fat. In the check-out line, in front of everyone.
Seriously? Did she really???
Yup.
I felt exactly like I did all those times in school when people made fun of me for being fat. Funny how I defaulted right back into that!
As an adult I am always shocked by the nerve of some people. But what could I do? I couldn't bitch slap her in the middle of Costco, even though I REALLY wanted to. Like I've ever slapped ANYONE, I would have no idea how to begin that, but if there was ever someone I'd like to take outside, it was this lady.
But seriously lady, how did you get past security?

Which is kind of a good segue into my next topic. I'm getting the lap band.....I know, I know. But seriously, I've tried every diet. I long to be thinner, I want to get on the floor with my child and hang out and I want to swing him in my lap at the park and fit in the swing. I was telling a friend the other night, I want to wear a bathing suit, that doesn't come with the old lady tummy hiding ruffle/skirt. I want to buy something off the rack at Old Navy....it's the little things.

So, I've had one orientation, several more to go and then I get to meet the surgeon. Should be an interesting journey, and I'll keep you informed all along the way. And maybe, if karma loves me, I'll run into rude lady some day again, and have a little chat with her....outside.

Dad's Day

2011-06-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

It's hard for me to be away from my family on special day's like today. While I'm thankful that Erik has a set of grandparents close, it breaks my heart that my family is missing out on seeing him grow because we are far away..sigh.
So, we do what all good citizens of this century do, we blog about his accomplishments, skype with far away relatives, and send little video snippets of his life as often as we can. As nice as that is, it still isn't the same as being there.
I missed my Daddy today.
We chatted via phone, but I missed his big hugs. However, I am glad that Erik was able to spend the day with his Daddy and Grandpa, in a low key hang out and play kind of way.

They played with toys....look at that 92 year old man on the floor digging for cars!

They took turns reading books, and giving instructions about reading books.

But most of all they hugged - Big three generation at a time, backward, grandpa initiated hugs

I hope you hugged a Dad today!

Sliding 101

2011-06-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

Step One - Get your Mama to lift you onto the slide. Ignore her when she tells you to hang on.

Step Two - Flap your arms with excitement all the way down!!!

Step Three - Completely understand the joy that is sliding.....and then do it over and over and over some more.

22 Months

2011-06-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

Erik is 22 months old today.........I know what your thinking, is he walking?? NO!!! Seriously, why won't this kid walk? There is a piece of me that's concerned, and another piece that sees the progress (he's cruising and walking holding onto furniture) he's made and knows.. (I know in my child development loving soul!) that he is fine...he's just a really really late walker.

I'm telling myself it's because he's working on his cognitive skills....which are seriously freaking me out. Tonight I was giving him a bath and he starting telling me what the letters stand for. I grabbed the camera, I had no idea he knew that stuff! You would think I was using flashcards, or that damn..."Your baby can read!" program. I'm SO far from that...we read books LOTS and LOTS of books. And that's it. How does he figure this stuff out?

See for yourself, oh and please excuse the "penis and balls" section in the middle, his Nana taught him that, we probably don't help by laughing at it when he says it. It takes a minute to get into and he misses a few letters, but I didn't know he could do that at all!

Being the teacher I am I was adamant that we start a goodnight routine from very early on, it started with two songs and a chat about the day and morphed into 10 songs, a sippy cup and some cuddles in bed, it went from 5 minutes to 20. SO much for sticking to the routine. Mike and Erik have a little routine as well, they say goodnight to many pictures in the house each night. Since Erik's cousins all live in Oklahoma we want him to know them so we keep their pictures up everywhere. And we say good night to them each night. This little video shows that routine, it also shows what a huge klutz (Maguire curse) I am, halfway through the video I knock over a lamp....remember that swimming video where I fell during Erik's swim lessons? I obviously can't walk and film at the same time.

This 22 month old is hoot (and heavy as hell...come on Dude, WALK!) once we started our snuggling when I stopped filming he gave lots of kisses, and then patted my belly, laid his head on it and said..."Mama Bubble Belly.....aaahhhh".
Well, kids are nothing if not honest!
Till next month, when Erik WILL be walking, if I have to tie strings to his limbs and turn him into a marionette!

Horsey

2011-05-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

Most children have a lovey or special item they are attached to. Something like a blanket or stuffed animal is pretty typical. Erik's had a blanket since he was born, an extra piece of materiel left over from a nightgown my mother made me when I was pregnant. He became attached right after my maternity leave when I went back to work. One day he was inconsolable so Mom wrapped him in my nightgown and ever since then he needed it. Here's a picture of that day.

Luckily she had lots of materiel left over. so we can cut him off a piece whenever the current one gets nasty and smelly like so many children's blankets do. The materiel is pink, with a Hawaiian print of big white flowers. Not very boyish, we don't really take it out in public. As a person who encourages children to be who they want to be, I will allow it, if he asks for it when he's older, but I think he'll probably just want it to be his "at home blankie".

He also has a "horsey" that I offered him one day after searching for hours and hours at the store for something I could give him that would replace my hair. I was starting to go bald for him always needing to hold my hair and rub it on his face. I had debated on a barbie, or a doll because they would have hair that felt like mine - but those items were quickly nixed by Mike. Guess he didn't want to add a barbie doll to the pink blankie. We found a stuffed horse for $2.00 with a tail and mane made of real feeling hair. Erik took to it immediately and my scalp felt so much better!! I noticed that it took about 4 months of Erik sleeping with that horse and rubbing it's mane on his face several times a day for it to look like a crazy drug horse with dreadlocks.

Luckily one day at Target I found a whole stash and I bought them ALL! I told the lady at the check out I needed them for a birthday party.

I am now rationing them and when the current Horsey gets to the dreadlocks stage he is swapped out with a new one. I wonder, is it really gross of me to save the dreadlocks horsey's? Part of me really wants to save them.

Here's a dreadlocks headed horse with the pile of new ones I found, he's looking a little worse for wear, but very loved.

If you happen to run across these little horsey's at Target, they run about $3.00, I'll pay you back if you snatch me up a few! Erik doesn't care about the color, it's the hair he's after.

oh GROSS!!

2011-05-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

At school we are raising silkworms, the children love them. They are a great project but also a pain, they eat boxes of mulberry leaves every day and mulberry leaves only grow on mulberry trees which aren't that plentiful, so it becomes another job for teachers just to feed them.
I've been stopping in on Saturdays to feed them and of course I had Erik with me. I sat him at the table and took his picture with the worms. He was enthralled with the "wormas" as he calls them.

So enthralled, that as soon as I turned away to get some leaves to feed them, he ate one. And tried to get another one in his mouth, but I wrestled it away from him. I tried very hard to stay calm and not vomit on him because I was so disgusted. He looked at me with a piece of worm in his mouth and sweetly said "worma's YUM Mama!" I told him we don't eat worms. Then I called poison control and they laughed and laughed and said he'd be fine.
When I told my mother she laughed and laughed and told me I gave her a heart attack at about the same age when she left me playing outside (because you could do that in the 70's) for a few minutes, and when she came back I had pulled six snails out of their shells and eaten them. When she returned I also said, "Mama Yum!" She didn't call poison control, but rushed me the 1/2 block down the street to Grandpa Joe, who laughed and laughed and assured her I'd be fine.

What have your toddlers eaten??

Little Dude with a Broadway Flair!

2011-05-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Erik's first word besides Dada and Mama was "Awesome". Yesterday I asked him if he was a baby, he said "Nah" I asked if he was a boy, again "Nah". Then what are you?? "A DUDE!! He calls himself a DUDE, hilarious!!
My little surfer dude, who has a soft spot in his heart for Broadway shows....wonder where he gets that! He's working on do re mi. As you can see here, he knows the last word of every phrase!
His walking is still non existent, however he is standing on his own (for long periods of time and ..wait for it....CRUISING!!
YE-HAW!!

FINALLY!!

2011-05-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

He's done it a couple of times before, but I finally got it on video, I think walking IS in his future...FINALLY!

21 Months

2011-05-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

Erik turned 21 months old today. I took this picture of him this afternoon in the sandbox, just before he ate a handful of sand and pronounced it "Yum" to my quick, "we don't eat sand".

I know what you're thinking, believe me I'm thinking it too. He's not walking yet. He IS pulling up to a standing position so that's HUGE!! He doesn't do it very often, but he does it!

I read once that children at this age learn 5 words a day. I find that to be very true with Erik, today I said to no one in particular, "I wonder where Nana is"....Erik spotted her and said "There she is!!" It's crazy this exploding language.

His independence is exploding as well as he chooses to eat, or more often not eat. If he had his way he'd live on nothing but apple juice and ketchup. He learned about ketchup a couple weeks ago and now he surveys his food (even breakfast) and then looks up with his big blue eyes and says kiss - up? (Ketchup!). That independence also rears it's head at bedtime, when he protests that it's not time for bed, but he doesn't cry more than a couple minutes before we hear him talking himself to sleep.

His MeMe and Papa sent him this itty bitty pool that he LOVES.....I think it may hold an inch of water, he loves it. Here's a little video of him moving those legs like crazy. He possesses the ability to walk...........he just isn't in the mood yet!

Mama, Papa and Baby

2011-04-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

My mother just bought this chair for Erik, my house is now reminiscent of The Three Little Bears. A big chair for Daddy, a medium sized chair for Mommy and a wee little chair for the smallest bear........

This can't be happening!

2011-04-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

It's only been one year between these two pictures. I don't age this quickly, how can he? It makes me sad and happy all at the same time to see him grow, but I miss that baby boy so. Babies are addicting.....I may need another. I am almost 42, this is likely impossible.......but oh that bald head!!!

And I really need to stop buying the vest diamond sweaters, his Christmas picture is the same as well. Someone stop me.

A Day in my Life

2011-04-12T22:53:00.000-07:00

I love my job as a preschool teacher / director. It cracks me up, I certainly don't do it for the money. Those kids are a real hoot and some of the things that come out of their mouths is priceless.
In honor of this being the Week of The Young Child I am devoting an entry to "a day in the life of a preschool teacher"

Arrive to school at 6:45 to set up the classroom and put out fires that may have started the night before (read; troubles)
7:00am Answer e-mails, fix snack and pour myself a big ol' Diet Coke to get through the day!
7:30am Open the doors - Bring on the kids!
From 7:30-9:30 The children play and can choose whatever activities they would like to do, or they can eat snack. I check in with parents, help with activities and usually find myself hovering around the bathroom saying things like "Watch your penis!", "Aim for the water!" and "Did you wipe?". I bet you don't say ANY of those in your job!
At 9:30 we begin the circle times, this is my favorite part of the day. I love singing with children. Today we had planned a field trip to walk to the grocery store that has a little Fruit and Veggie show thing and then the children would buy one piece of fruit and we would make an Ambrosia Salad when we returned to school.
During circle time I had to cover the following rules, rules that after years of field trips we have learned to state.
1. Stay with your teacher / partner - We use the "teachers are the bread and children are the peanut butter scenario"
2. No stepping on "un-pretty" flowers - this causes them to be so distracted!
3. Keep your clothes and shoes on your body.
4. If your partners hand is "sweaty and icky" you may hold their wrist.
5. Teachers have Kleenex if you need to pick your nose, please do not pick your nose while holding your friends hand

10:00 After everyone pees and finds their partner off we go! I have the privilege of holding one child's hand and leading the pack. Because I can't see, but only hear the conversations behind me, I begin laughing at what I hear. The walk to the grocery store is about a 10 minute walk for a grown up. For four teachers and 19 children it takes almost 40 minutes.
On the way I hear the following snippets as children talk about....anything.
       "I see a cigarette!! It's SOOOOO Nasty!"
       "What's Nasty?"
       "Oh that dog is HUGE!" Becky did you see it? It was HUGE HUGE!
       "Are we there yet?"
       "My Dad slept on the couch last night"
       "My Dad sleeps on the couch every night"
       "AN ANT!!!"
At this point I turn around to say - "Please watch out for the man on the ladder, do not touch him, or his ladder"
        "Why not can we touch him?"
       "Hey guy why do you have a ladder?"
        "Why can't we touch a ladder? Are ladders bad?"
        "Are we there yet?"
        "An ice cream store!"
        "No, it's frozen yogurt"
        "Teacher BeEEECKY! That's Ice cream right?" She says it's yogurt!"
        "When are we gonna get there?"

Finally we arrive to see the fruits and vegetable's sing! We are excited to learn about healthy food choices. I have noticed these singing fruits and vegetables before and just assumed they would sing about food right? They are in a barn, along with a cow, a farmer and chickens. I see people plant their kids in front of this scene while they shop and it lasts about five minutes. I have not ever listened.
Lesson learned.
We planted the children in front of the "show" and prepped them to hear about all the wonderful food they could eat. I pressed the button and the show began. A five minute show that was written in rap form and about saying No to Drugs!
Seriously?? Obviously it was made in the 80's!
Well, we get our fruit and back to school we go....by now the children are tired and there isn't much conversation going on except for;
         "My feet are KILLING me!"
          "Can we take a bus?"
          "Can you carry me?"
          "I'm tired!"
And those same things over and over all the way back to school. The child who keeps saying his feet are KILLING him is holding my hand. I say "you sound like a complaining old man!"...his response..."well, I am almost 6!"
By the time we get back to school it's almost time for lunch. I hurry to make a fruit salad and set up lunch.
Lunch is served family style, I spend the time convincing the children at my table that one bite of carrot will not kill them or make them vomit. I also work very hard to make sure no one spills their milk, it is my goal to get through one lunch time where no one spills their milk.......it has never happened.
1:00pm after another round of "watch your penis so the pee will go in the toilet"and then it's naptime......AHHHHHH
Such angels when they are sleeping.
I spend the afternoon in the office working on paperwork and trying not to eat whatever is being prepared for afternoon snack.
Children are awesome, funny little creatures. Spend some time with one this week and celebrate them!
Happy Week of The Young Child!!!

20 months

2011-04-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

Erik is 20 months old as of yesterday.

He still doesn't walk.

Why? I have tried EVERYTHING I can think of to encourage his walking skills. He could care less.

Since our 19 month report I can say that we have seen much progress! He can now climb up and down on things, stand and hold himself up against furniture and do this thing he calls standing, but is more like a Yoga Triangle Pose.

I know he'll walk soon enough, please let it be before he turns 2!! What kid doesn't walk before 2?

Mine, who can't walk, but can do phonics, has hundreds of words, and almost 100 signs. He signs (Uncle Steve?? Reading this??) and speaks all day long, he loves signing so much he makes up his own signs if he doesn't know one. His favorite show next to Yo Gabba Gabba is "signing time"

But seriously the walking............well, here you go see for yourself his "standing" pose. This was filmed yesterday at exactly 20 months old.

I'll hide it from his Dr, surely he'll walk into his 2 year appointment!

Crayons

2011-03-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

Erik loves colors (and letters and numbers) so I decided since he can keep things mostly out of his mouth it was time to try crayons. This is 4 minutes of pretty boring coloring, but the learning that is going on in his head as he makes the same marks over and over is awesome, and the educator in me just had to film and post it.

19 Months

2011-03-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

Erik turned 19 months old today. He still doesn't walk. I'm beginning to get a complex about it. Other parents always ask me how old he is and because he isn't walking I'm sometimes tempted to say he's younger than he is because I don't want to deal with all the "why isn't he walking?" questions.
Sigh.
He has to walk soon right?
He is excelling in every other aspect of his development. He talks in sentences, he memorizes letter sounds (B says Buh is his favorite), he dumps, he fills, he throws toddler tantrums...he does not walk. I will put my faith in his Doctor who is not worried at all......I hope he walks before he's 2.

Erik is entering into full blown toddler drama. Yesterday I thought he had a fever and couldn't find the temporal thermometer so had to go in the bottom. He was so unhappy at this that he screamed and then held his breath!! Held his breath! He's never done that before, and he held his breath for so long that he popped a bunch of blood vessels on both sides of his face! Seriously, this kid could be a handful. I guess if he tries it when he's a teenager I'll remind him if what happens to his face when he gets angry and maybe he won't get so upset.

But beyond the tantrums, and uncanny ability to wake up at exactly 6:15am EVERYDAY no matter what time we put him to bed, he is the joy of our lives.

I've been doing everything I can think of to help build the muscles in Erik's legs. Yoga ball, Gymboree and our newest endeavor.....Swimming Lessons! Erik loves them, he cries when he leave. Here's a little video of his second class. Please ignore the big lady in the purple suit. Because I was in the pool my only option for video was my mother, the lady who does not have e-mail and needs to write down the directions for her TV remote, so please bear with the shaky, blurry and pictures of the floor that happen when my mother is in charge of the video.

He also LOVES to be surprised.......especially by things that pop up.

I hope that next month at this time I can report that Erik is walking....or even pulling up would be great!

Letters

2011-02-22T22:17:00.000-08:00

Since Erik was really little he has liked numbers and letters. It's not something we've emphasized, but we tend to buy "educational" toys that have letters and numbers on them. He has taught himself these letters, and now he is working on the sounds the letters make....because he likes it. Of course we think it's adorable, but I promise we are not quizzing him. He quizzes himself all day and LOVES it!
I wonder if the energy focused on his letters, is draining the ability of his legs to walk. He's still not walking. I know, I've talked to the Dr....she thinks he's just slow and will be fine. We'll see - maybe the swim lessons will help, or gymboree, or me playing stand up games for 3 hours every night until he's crawling in the other direction because he just doesn't want me to stand him up anymore.

Disneyland.........and the flu

2011-02-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

     Last week we took a long anticipated trip to Disneyland. It was the first time we were going to get to spend a few days and not have to cram everything into one day and then drive home. We were so excited! And then we all got sick.

     It started with Erik, and then me. By the time we left on the plane Thursday evening I figured I could force myself to feel better and Erik was on the backside of things.....so we thought.

     As soon as we got into the air (after much happy excitement on Erik's part!), Erik vomited.....everywhere. Down my shirt, into my shoes, all over the side of the plane and into the vent. That awful curdled milk vomit from babies....the kind that REEKS!! Did I say it went into the vent? Yup! People were thrilled, I could hear muffled gagging from all around us, never was a planeful of people more excited to land!

     As I squished in my vomit filled shoes through the John Wayne airport to baggage claim I imagined all the other parents who've lived through the same thing. It really sucked, and it continued to suck as I pulled vomit cheese out of my bag, wallet and laptop for the next several days.

     Once we arrived at Disneyland (well at the Hotel near Disneyland) Erik perked up, and Nana and Daddy perked down!! But we forged forward for Erik to make his trip as fun as possible and while we spent more hours a day in the hotel room (bathroom) than we did actually in the park...we still had an OK trip!

Erik's first Dumbo ride, even Nana got on!

Erik really didn't have a problem with the characters, except for Balu.....he wasn't thrilled with this one.

Loved that the rooms came with cribs.....even though they were very "jail - like", and super squeaky!

The most loved "Mic-Mouse!"

It's pretty sunny at Disneyland, these don't work so well when you peek over the tops.

Erik and Nana waiting in line

The one character he loved...he waved her over, and blew her kisses...nothing like Princess Aurora to make your day!

What me tired?? Nah, let's hit the Tiki Room again!

Erik had a wonderful time!!

18 months old

2011-02-06T22:02:00.000-08:00

Today marks 18 months for Erik. It's gone too far now, he must stop growing immediately. I took all these pictures today, because he no longer looks like a baby (WAH!), he looks like a full fledged toddler.....who is counting the days to see "Mic Mouse!" We are heading to Disneyland on Thursday evening and he is very excited about it! Today he ate with a fork for the first time.

See how big he is? He could be 3 or 5!! Heaven help me.....how will I ever allow this child to leave my side?

This is the face he makes when something is "scary"....like a monster on Sesame Street which is what he was watching when I took this picture.

And this is his beautiful sleeping face! He is still obsessed with hair. Notice one hand on his, and one in mine.

An angel turned one and a half today. I have to go now, and take a big sniff of his head while he's still too young to know I do that.

The "F" word

2011-02-01T22:09:00.000-08:00

FAT....probably not what you were thinking right?

I've been thinking so much about FAT lately and how it feels to be part of that label.

Yesterday I took Erik to the mall to visit Mike and since it was his dinner time I set him up at the table (the kind with the swivel chairs that are attached) with the fruit and veggies I had brought for him from home. It didn't dawn on me that I might not fit in the chair. I barely fit, I had to STUFF myself in, and sit there while my beautiful son finished his dinner and I tried to hide behind the diaper bag. I prayed I wouldn't get stuck getting out. Humiliating.

It really got to me today when a friend of mine, after going to the Dr. about a rash this morning, was made to feel so bad about her weight that she left this simple Dr.'s appointment in tears. The Dr. gave her the usual "fat" lecture, but this time also felt it necessary to add in a math equation (how many calories make a pound) and the comment "I would really like you to lose some weight in my lifetime".

I was humiliated for her. I blinked back tears for her. I have lived that. I've lived Dr's telling me that I would never have a baby because I was fat, that if I did become pregnant I would immediately have gestational diabetes, and continue on to be a diabetic afterward, and that my blood pressure would be sky high through my entire pregnancy and they would have to induce me early. All because of FAT.

None of those things ever happened. But Doctors assured me they would, I kept waiting for it, THEY kept waiting for it. It was humiliating to listen to the lectures about it, with my head down while they made me feel guilty for the hell I was putting my baby through.

Sometimes Dr's suck.

As a FAT girl I would like to raise my hand and say;

I am not lazy, sitting at home eating Bon Bon's all huge dinners all night, I walk almost everyday, and I cook sensible dinners for myself and my family. I do enjoy food, and I love to cook. I am not living on salad, but I am certainly not a professional eater. Do not assume that you know how I eat.
Do not look in my shopping cart and then look at me and smile (if you approve of what's in my cart) or shake your head (if you don't). You don't know that I may be shopping for my family, or I may be at Costco shopping for 30 preschoolers, which requires 6 gallons of milk a week!
Do not tell me my child will be fat because I am. My child is exactly the weight he should be. I feed him only organic, healthy options.
Do not treat me as invisible, I am here. LOOK at me! I am not sloppy, I dress nicely, I fix my hair and wear make-up most days. I am fat, as you are thin, tall, short...whatever!

I don't want to be FAT. If I could have 3 magic wishes right now they would all include some type of way to make me thin. I have wanted to be thin everyday of my FAT life (something happened at about 11 and I got fat). I don't need a lecture from a Dr. Do they really think I'm not aware that I'm fat? Don't they think I've tried every crappy diet that has ever come along?? I appreciate your concern Dr. and when I come to you with joint pain, or a heart condition that is a result of my weight then your lecture is warranted, but if I just need you to look at my sinus infection, spare me the FAT lecture.....PLEASE! It only humiliates me more and makes me vow to search Kaiser's website for the fattest Dr I can find and immediately switch to them!

Being a FAT girl I have lived up to all the stereotypes. I'm the funny one, the outgoing one, the one with the great personality. It doesn't change that I am FAT and I hate it, but it will not make my life hell. I will still life my very best life, and the FAT kind of tags along.

To all my FAT friends -

You are gorgeous, no matter what
Keep up those winning, funny personalities - you are what makes the world go round (and makes all the skinny girls jealous of something!)
You will find someone to love you. I promise. There are men out there who can look into your heart and not how much you weigh, I've dated them. I married an amazing one, he is a saint about my weight and he is who I lean on when I'm having bad FAT days.
Be healthy, that's all that matters. If you eat healthy, move a little each day, and love people you will have a wonderful life

To those who embrace people no matter if they don't fit the mold - God bless you. To those who feel that FAT people are lazy and should know how to eat better and be thin...spend a little time with a FAT person, I bet you'd change your mind pretty quickly.

Barbershop and my baby!

2011-01-25T21:46:00.000-08:00

If you know me then you know that Barbershop music holds a place in my heart like nothing else. I have spent years singing with the Sweet Adelines, and it is what I miss the very most right now in my life. I can't tell you how much it warms my heart to see the reaction that Erik has to Barbershop music.
There is a children's show called Jack's Big Music Show that Erik adores, I love their mission statement (did you know children's shows have mission statements?), which is one of two reasons I allow him to watch it. The mission of Jack’s Big Music Show is to expose and foster an appreciation of music. Music and musical instruments help children expand their universe and develop memory, language, literacy, and reasoning skills as well as the cognitive, social, and motor skills that are needed to excel in school......and it really does do all those things!
The second reason is the Schwartzman Quartet which appears in almost every episode and sings a barbershop song. Erik lives for this quartet....today he started singing along! (Well, he tried to sing the "bum bums") but this child is riveted by this quartet!
I grabbed the video recorder and caught some of it. Oh please let this child continue his love for those beautiful barbershop harmonies and god bless Jack and his music show for exposing young children to barbershop music!

BOO!!

2011-01-24T20:41:00.000-08:00

You would never know that this is now a full fledged card carrying, temper tantrum throwing member of toddlerhood. Five minutes before this he had the biggest fit I've seen him throw yet, because I wouldn't stop eating my dinner and read him Brown Bear. He had to wait a whole five minutes and it was really really devastating!
He recovered very quickly.

Derby Divas

2011-01-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

My work holiday party was last night. I know, it's not the holidays - but we get a better turn out in January, people have less to do....and it works out really well in late January. It was a 70's theme and my team of 5 teachers and I works for a LONG time to come up with awesome costumes that would work great on all our variety of body shapes.
We were Roller Derby Divas! And we rocked the house with our bad ass selves!

Ugly...but oh so fun!

2011-01-17T14:58:00.000-08:00

Erik received several magnet things for Christmas which have been taking over my refrigerator for too many days. I wanted him to be able to play with them, but he wants to play with them all the time....and I don't want to be in the kitchen all the time, with him not allowing me to open the fridge.
I tried a cookie sheet....but it just wasn't big enough, so I went to Kragen and got one of those big trays you put under the car. Then a lovely man behind me in line (after hearing my plans for it) nicely put holes in each corner for me in the parking lot. Lucky!

I attached it to the wall and VOILA! Instant magnet space, without taking over my fridge....it is however, now in my living room, very very ugly...but Erik really likes it.

Sleeping Secrets

2011-01-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

I've had several people ask what I did to get Erik to go to bed on his own. Here's my routine.

After working in child care for the last 20 years the thing I have listened to parents complain about over and over again was getting their child to sleep in their own beds. I can't tell you how many parents have come to me complaining that their child will not go to sleep without them in the bed, or sleeping with the parents.The parents were tired when they began it as infants, and years later when they still have 5 year olds in their beds it's a hard habit to break. I took LOTS of mental notes through those years and swore to myself that I would never sleep with my child.

Wow...that is such an easy thing to do (co-sleeping) And it works for many families and many parents - but what I've learned the most after being a parent is you just gotta do what's right for you and your family and who cares what anyone else thinks of what your doing. Co-sleeping does not work for me....and I don't want to have to teach a 5 year old how to soothe themselves into sleeping without me there. So, I chose to do it now

I tried to sleep with Erik a couple times when he was sick because I just wanted him to go to sleep, so I could too. It was a miserable night of baby feet kicking me. Never again...those feet grow!

Here's our formula, and so far so good. We keep the same routine and the same bedtime every night - even if his nap was longer or shorter than usual - still the same 8:00pm bed time.

1) We get PJ's on after dinner if we don't take a bath. I'm one of those Mom's who doesn't give her kid a bath every day. It's one less chore I don't need in the evenings and right now he's inside all day so he's not dirty, I'm sure summer will bring more baths.
2) Playtime until 7:30
3) A bottle a 7:30
4) "Snuggle Time!" This is what we call it, Mike and I do that together (I love that he does this with us). We say goodnight to all the photo's on the wall (that's Erik's thing) we "throw" him in the middle of the bed and yell SNUGGLE TIME! and then give him tons of kisses and tickles. We lay him in between us and talk about what happened during the day (we went on a walk, what he ate for dinner etc) then we sing about 10 songs and read 2-4 books. We end with the same two songs (You are my Sunshine, SING!) each night so he knows that's the end of snuggle time. We give kisses, say I love you's and walk away.

The first few times was ROUGH - I started this routine when I had several nights home in a row so we could be consistent. He loved it all at first, except the walking away part. He screamed and I would say "I'll be back in to check on you in 5/10 minutes", and I would go in and let him know we were still there but it was time to go to bed. Every night he cried less. Now he happily gives kisses and puts himself to sleep. It has all translated to his naps as well.

I think every child is different, and every family is different - so parents need to be flexible and do what works for them. This works for us....maybe pieces of it, or the whole thing will work for you!
Sweet Dreams!

Walking

2011-01-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

This year it's my goal to move my body more. Not just from the car to my house, but actually something that resembles exercise. I've been coming home from work each day and taking Erik for a walk. We take different routes, he yells at birds and airplanes and I get a bit of a work out. He asks for a walk every day, this is good, it ,must be why some people have dogs. It's FORCING me to exercise, because the second I walk in the door he says "Walk Mama!"
Yesterday I had the grand plan to walk to Safeway (about a mile a way), grab a couple things and walk back. All was fine until we got into Safeway where Erik proceeded to yell "Shit" Shit" Shit" - or whatever that word is that he says over and over and very loudly! I hit the spice aisle and because he was in the stroller I got him too close to things and he took out an entire shelf of spices with one swipe of his foot. Is it wrong that I was a little bit happy that it was raining at our walk time today?

17 months and counting!

2011-01-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!! Erik is 17 months old today, as usual it is unbelievable to me. Sigh. I'm trying to savor every second, because honestly I don't believe that I will have any more children. I'm not closing the door to another child, I just don't think it will be a biological one so I am trying to remember every piece of this little guy.

He's happy, silly, smiley and quirky all at the same time. He loves Choo Choo trains, his pink blanket, corn dogs and the letter "S". He's really into letters and numbers (thank you Sesame Street), so into them that he randomly yells them. His favorite number is six, however when he says it, it sounds more like Shisx..which just ends up sounding like Shit. If we're lucky he alternates it with his other favorite number, 10! Shit, 10, Shit, 10, and you get the picture. He loves to say it loudly, over and over in public places. I have to at least be grateful that it's not like my little brother who used to replace his T's with F's and really loved trucks! Mom couldn't take him anywhere, there are trucks everywhere...and little boys with very loud voices. (Sorry Frank!)

Like I said earlier he's so into letters and numbers that it's all he talks about...he insists that his name is "S!"...yes, the letter S. Here's a little video of him saying it. If you can get through the shaky beginning.

If any of you find a potion that keeps children from growing up, please let me know.

Mike's Christmas Surprise

2010-12-20T23:01:00.000-08:00

Mike has been talking for a long time about how he needed a "man-cave" for his stuff. That he needed some Mike time ( I reminded him that he was married and that went away when he got married..but it fell on deaf ears), basically he needed somewhere to go play his video games where he could hide from my nagging him about the taking the trash out and my eye rolls at his TV viewing choices.
So, this year Mike got a Christmas miracle. I worked every moment I had that he was at work and Erik was asleep to transform out teeny tiny basement (that we used as storage) into his "Man-Cave". I dragged furniture down, I hung up sports stuff, and added a 26 inch hi-def flat screen TV (complete with cable) to round the whole thing out.
Since he has to stay home while we go to the beach for Christmas, I decided to give it to him early...besides anyone who knows me knows I couldn't keep this much fun a secret!! So I gave it to him tonight. I think he likes it. It's pretty cold down there, but hey, no one's nagging him to turn the channel off football, and I'm happy upstairs watching Oprah! It's a win win all the way around!
Merry Christmas my Love - Hope you have fun!

Tanta!

2010-12-12T22:14:00.000-08:00

Since seeing Santa (and we all remember how happy Erik was then), Erik has not stopped talking about "Tanta". Although when I ask if he wants to go see Santa...not so much, But he loves pictures, shows, songs....anything about him.

He still loves that bathtime and while I was trying to catch him singing, which is usually what he does, one long note after another, he was trying to blow bubbles here. Towards the end, after all the boring splashing and babbling, he notices something bothering him in between his legs, but he really can't quite get a good look, since his tummy and bubbles are in the way.

Happy Sunday!!

16 Months

2010-12-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

It's impossible that this child is 16 months old, but today he is. He can not grow up this fast. There has to be a way to slow it down.

This picture was taken a few minutes ago, he has discovered that he likes pasta....in his eyes. I'd better go run a bath, I can cry into it and wish him to stay little.

Christmas through his eyes!

2010-12-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays, next to Halloween, St. Patricks Day and Easter (I like them all). I love the lights and the twinkliness that is everywhere. It almost makes it worth getting dark earlier.
Christmas is even MORE amazing through the eyes of a child. Everything is new (and sometimes scary...Santa!), and full of excitement. Erik begs to go out, and he just wants to look around.
He loves the decorations in the yard, and the "Sismas tree" as he calls it.

Yesterday we went to a benefit for a friends child care program at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay (kicking myself for living there for so long and never going out there!), it was gingerbread house contest and tree lighting ceremony.

Erik saw his first gingerbread houses, and had the first cookie of his life - that was a big hit.

Seriously, the fire pits, the animated snow projected onto the building,the view of the ocean, the girls acapella choir, all the hot chocolate and egg nog you could drink.....it was very romantic, too bad Mike was working. It was slightly raining so the picture doesn't do it justice, but that place is seriously gorgeous...if you ever get the chance to go.

Since I now know how lovely it is, I'll be taking my hubby next time.

Erik very intently studying the different gingerbread houses on display. He loved any that had a train!

Notice that cookie and the green lips? He threw it down a moment later, but that's all it took to learn what a cookie was, the next one went down much faster!

I'm so grateful to see Christmas through his eyes this year, it makes everything just a bit more shiny! Wishing all of you a wonderful and shiny new holiday season!

Ta Ta!!

2010-11-22T21:35:00.000-08:00

Erik has a new love for Thomas the Tank Engine. He can't actually say Thomas so he calls him Ta-Ta, and with enthusiasm as in TA TA!!!!!
Nothing like walking through Target (where many Thomas items exist, seriously he spotted Thomas on toothpaste) with your son yelling TA TA's! at the top of his lungs and then madly laughing.
Men snicker, women giggle. It reminds me of my little brother who substituted his F's for his T's when he was little and he really REALLY liked trucks. Mom had to stop taking him to the store until he could pronounce his T's. I'll be sure not to take Erik to Hooter's any time soon.

Scary Santa

2010-11-21T17:40:00.000-08:00

We hit the mall early this morning for the annual picture on Santa's lap. Knowing that Erik is at the age where he's not totally fond of strangers we were prepared for a crying picture. We were not prepared for the AWESOME reaction on Santa's face.
My mom didn't get pictures with us with Santa, I'm sure because there were just too many kids to wrangle around Santa's lap and someone (ahem....Kerrie) would have been screaming their head off. It's too bad, I think everyone needs a picture of being scarred forever by an old man in a red suit.

Complete with large Alligator tear going down one cheek.

Thanks

2010-11-20T23:24:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again when we give thanks for all we are grateful for, that obligatory pass around the table where everyone says what they've loved about the year. Someday I think it would be fun to have an
"un" thanksgiving so we have a day we can just bitch about all the crap we've also been through, sometime in May would be good, 6 months from the thankful day. I'll bitch in May, right now I'll say I'm grateful for my family, my life, my job and caffeine, the one thing that gets me through it all.

Here's a little video of some of the things that make Erik happy. It took me hours to figure out how to splice these all together, Erik will probably be able to make his own this time next year. Please forgive the mistakes in it, it's my first editing attempt - (for some reasons theres a couple "enter text here" things going on, ignore them!) I hear elementary kids can do this for school projects. Geez, it has taken me two solid evenings

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday filled with family, food and fun!

Spanish Lesson

2010-11-08T15:34:00.001-08:00

Child counting rocks
Uno, dos, tres, taco , cinco....
Me:oh! You speak Spanish!
Child: Only the numbers

Jealous?

2010-11-07T21:12:00.000-08:00

Erik's been sick lately.....the Dr. said to "watch him"....I watched him, really closely. He did this. It's been a very messy weekend. Guess we need to go back to the Dr.

And this was 10 minutes after his bath...(and you can't see it all behind him!), we both had to get in the bath after this......

15 months old

2010-11-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

Seriously, he's 15 months old today. That amazes me, soon he will be 2 and 3 and 30!!!! It has to stop. He can't keep growing like this. I don't age this quickly, I don't understand how he can.

I tried to make a compilation video of a bunch of snippets of his months to emphasise that it feels about as fast a video to me the way he grows. But, I can't figure it out, I worked on it forever....and then it started be all wonky so I gave up.

SO instead I will tell you what he's like now. his hair is coming in curly....well, he has a spot on the top of his head where there is a bit of hair...and in that section he has ONE curl!! I hope it keeps coming in curly!

See it right there? On top? Doesn't he just look like the head of the Lollipop Guild? That one munchkin with the big Lollipop and one fat curl on top of his head. "Weeeeeee represent the lollipop guild....." and look he even spent some time on Halloween with Dorothy!

He still doesn't walk, but he's beginning to crawl and even though we vacuum every single day he finds the tiniest things to put in his mouth. Chicken and Peas? No thanks! Cat Hair? YUM!! He's also very concerned about the screws holding this border down, he spends a good deal of time trying to pick the screws out.

We took him to the Aquarium a while back and he LOVED it! He's been interested in fish for a while (all the books) and knows they swim and make a bubbly noise. We didn't realize they made him so happy! It was funny at the aquarium when we went in he began laughing and cackling and shaking he was so excited to see real fish!! I took a little video of it, it's very dark...but you get the gist. And he did this at EVERY TANK all day long.

He's been a little sick this week.....trying to figure out if it's teeth, ears, a virus.....who knows. But man he's sure been grumpy. This last picture was taken today - he turned 15 months old. He likes to sit on this airplane, however he is very unstable - as soon as I snapped this picture he fell off and hit his head. Sigh....I think we have a world of bumps and bruises ahead of us.

God and Preschool

2010-11-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a new child was visiting my program and she brought along her older brother to visit with her.
He was......energetic. At one point I did have to tell him that he needed to follow our rules (and then I told him what they were), the conversation went like this.
Me: You can use the stairs to to get onto the stage - we don't jump
Him: Grown-Ups can jump
Me: Nope grown ups use the stairs too
Him: My big brother can jump
Me: Nope EVERYONE uses the stairs
Him: Well....GOD can jump, because he's God and he could just levitate up there.
Me: Yes he could, but God likes it when people obey the rules so I'm sure God would use the stairs to be a good example for the little kids.
Him: Well, God could do whatever he wants.......and he went on and on and on...and ON, about all the things God could do and how God was the boss of the world.
Me (after listening for far too long about God and how he was the boss): Well, God may be the boss of the world, but I'm the boss here and you can use the stairs to get on the stage or you don't go on the stage.
He used the stairs..........and then started the same conversation with Santa Claus.
I walked away this time.

Crawler!!!

2010-11-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

He crawls!!! He crawls!!! He finally crawls!!!! He may not be completely up on all fours.....but that's definite crawling. See??

October

2010-11-02T22:09:00.000-07:00

October is typically one of my favorite months, because fall begins and there's that little holiday HALLOWEEN! I love everything about October, to me it feels like a new beginning. A new season, a time to dress up and be someone else! We decorate the house in a big way, and I love it. Apparently Erik is my child because he has loved it too! Today being the 2nd of November all the Halloween decorations are gone (replaced with Turkeys and Scarecrows of course), and Erik is missing them. I took him to Big Lots tonight (because as soon as I get home each day he insists on "BYE BYE MAMA!!" - again, totally my child), and of course the Halloween items were all thrown into one corner in a sad sale heap. Erik looked sad. He began to cry, for the unwanted Halloween decorations. Sighing loudly and saying over and over "Bye Bye Pumpums, bye bye skeletons!" I distracted him with singing Christmas decorations.

He had a great time passing out candy, dressing up as a frog and going to Mommy's school's Halloween party. When we were passing out candy I was afraid the big teenagers and their scary masks would scare Erik. Nope, the scarier they were the harder he clapped!! I hope he grows quickly, finally someone to do scary things and ride scary rides with.......I'll be set between him and niece Ava for riding scary rides while Mike waits on the sides.

Here we are at the school party.....The Princess and the Frog .

We also took a long weekend trip to Reno (whoa that place is NOT Vegas). We tried to find things to do for Erik......this was it. He was happy sitting under an Elephants Crotch banging the balls and making Elephant sounds.

One day we went to the Train Museum in Carson City (insert long boring sigh here), and as much as Erik is my child, he is also very related to Daddy since he lit up with happiness to see the "Choo Choo's" and spent the entire two hours we were there saying "Choo Choo" over and over. And now Mike has someone to spend hours looking at trains with......and it doesn't have to be me...WHEE! ;)

We did the usual Pumpkin Patch family trip and our pumpkin obsessed child LOVED the pumpkin patch!

The funniest part of the trip to the Pumpkin Patch was Erik riding a pony. I walked with him holding him on for the first lap and then the handler told me he would watch him so I didn't have to walk. I was VERY clear that Erik didn't really sit up well and he would need to hold him and not let him go. He assured me he would.

As he walks away with Erik I tell the other guy (in Spanish) to PLEASE go make sure he doesn't fall he isn't very stable....just as he goes to help Erik falls, you can see it here.

Man they are lucky he didn't fall completely off that horse!

Oh......and to end the month he pooped in the tub. Probably won't be the last time....so yucky.

Making Mike Crazy?

2010-10-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

My husband is a rule follower....a serious, follow EVERY thing to the letter, rule follower. I make him crazy.
We can't cook together, seriously he can't take it. I change things, or I don't measure things perfectly, and it just unwinds him.
He really can't stand it if I don't turn on the timer for something in the oven. Sometimes I do it on purpose just to see steam come out of his ears.
Tonight we were making calzones and he had done all the prep work and then I came in to put them together....and there he stood watching me, telling me "the recipe says to put 1/8th of the mixture inside and then fold it over with a 1/2 inch seam"....you're kidding right? I laughed and then wildly threw a whole spoonful (without measuring...GASP!) onto the dough and folded it over...without measuring 1/2 inch. Then...hold your breath for this one....I put it in the oven WITHOUT setting the timer!!! Oh No!! How will I ever know when it's done?

I'm not a rule follower when it comes to little things like recipes, or fashion (glitter is good for me any day of the year), I am a rule follower with things like job, taxes, etc. Perhaps we balance each other out this way, or make each other crazy.

I love that silly recipe follower, complete with timers and measuring devices. But, as much as I love him, I can't cook with him any more........it's just too much.

I'm sure he will kill me for making this picture public....oops! ;) I wanted to show that while a serious rule follower, sometimes....SOMETIMES, he gets a little wild. He just went crazy here!

Cat Attack

2010-10-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

Mom tells me not to pull the cats tail, and not to bite him or lick him. But, I really like how cat hair tastes and I just can't help but to find him and bite him! Today, as soon as Mommy left the room I rolled (really I crawled - but I only crawl to catch a Kitty....muahahaha) to the cat and bit him right on the tail. He didn't like it, and he scratched me.

And I cried and cried and cried....Mommy hopes this will make me not do it again, I doubt it, I REALLY like to get the kitty!

See the hole in my head? You can't see I also have a scratch behind each ear, and on my right shoulder. I'll get that kitty someday, I'm making plans.

Circle Time Silliness

2010-10-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

     I've been teaching preschool for 20 years now and many people over the years, after hearing my daily stories have told me I should write a book. While this blog has been mainly about Erik ...well, he is the cutest boy in the world.... it is supposed to be about our "crazy lives"....and the things that make it crazy are our jobs. Want to know what craziness happened in Mike's job life? His SUPER brainy wife, who redid his resume for him a few weeks ago put the WRONG (never a good word to use in combination with resume) phone number on it. So, people can't get a hold of him!!  He's been sending it out for weeks!!! He has applied for over 100 jobs, with the wrong number on his resume. UGH...seriously I need a big kick in the head for that one!
    My job on the other hand is as crazy (the children) as it usually is, I adore my job, it makes me laugh on a daily basis. I have decided that I will post stories from the depths of day care (no names of course), to share the crazy, zany things the children do and say.
     This week there have been some gems!!
     Today at story time I was reading a story when one child sneezed all over the side of the face and shoulder of another child. The "victim" looked at the sneezer and said "Ewwww!!!" and then looked at me and said "Teeeeeecha!"......"She blessyou'd on me!".
     It took me a few seconds to understand what she said....and then I just cracked up!
     This is after I spent the morning telling one child put his penis back in his pants several times, I finally asked him "Why do I still see your penis peeking out?" (Do you ever say things like that in YOUR job?)
      His response......"I'm cooling him off, he told me he was hot"

     In these Chronicles of child care I will also post a "Preschool Rules", which is something I have heard a child quote (yell) to another child during the week.
     This week's lesson : "It's not OK to pick your butt at circle time, if you pick your butt at circle time you have to wash your hands right away."

Ahhh.....the craziness that is our lives...WELCOME!

14 MONTHS

2010-10-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

Erik is 14 months old, as of yesterday. How is that possible?

How is it possible that he still doesn't crawl or walk?

Must be all the development his brain is doing.....he speaks in sentences, and really, I'm sure he'll walk soon, at least by Kindergarten. I'm not too worried about it. (well maybe just a touch - if he's not walking by 2...)

His obsession with books is still very high. Along with his new obsession - all things Halloween. He loves pumpkins and bats and anything black or orange. See these pj's he has on tonight? The first time I put them on him I said..."here are your skeleton pj's" He looked at me a repeated "sketon?" and pointed to his shirt. He repeats everything we say....a little parrot.

I miss Baby Erik, who wold cuddle with me and let me cover him in kisses, this new toddler version pushes me away and says "All done!" when he wants nothing more to do with me!! My little independent man.

My phone pooped out...seriously a big poop out....yesterday and I lost everything, and while it's a huge pain in the neck to reprogram everyone's phone numbers - I'm most bummed that I lost all my photos and videos of Erik. Thank\ goodness I uploaded this one just before it crashed!

Erik's new recent favorite word (and he uses this one correctly) is AWESOME! I am like totally raising a surfer.

I would not be surprised if as I was changing his clothes tomorrow he said "DUDE! This Elmo shirt is like totally AWESOME!

The Library

2010-09-14T22:41:00.000-07:00

Today was gorgeous, I decided to take advantage of it and take Erik to the library. This is an appropriate outing for my book obsessed child. I mean OBSESSED, he goes no where without books....even in the bath this child has a book. We are lucky enough to have a library about a 15 minute walk from our our house.

We loaded up into the stroller and off we went.

I haven't walked anywhere in a while........I should walk more.

We arrived at 4:30ish. The place was FULL of after school kids running a muck. Seriously, a muck. I haven't been in a library to find an actual book for pleasure in several years. All the research I did these last years in school consisted of online databases and text books. I was surprised at how high tech the library was...there was a cafe! In the library!!! There were tutors just out and about for the children to access. Pretty cool!

Erik and I quickly found our way to the baby books which were conveniently located in little baskets for babies to crawl around and pull out...SMART! I sat Erik next to a basket and he went to town pulling out book after book while I looked for some to check out for him. He was in book heaven I tell you. He didn't even care that I wasn't reading to him, he was just happy to leaf through books himself.

Erik had never been turned loose with so many books, he was enthralled. I was happy to just sit back and watch him.

When he started to pull those books off the shelf above him, the ones not meant for babies, I decided to intervene and put him in the middle of the rug, and allow him to roll to the basket of his choice.
I put him in the middle of the rug and turned around to clean up the pile we left on the floor. When I turned back around this is what I saw.......

A little Hispanic girl rubbing Erik's bald head...as if he were a Buddha, or a good luck charm. She was trying to be sneaky about it and sit behind him, maybe she thought he wouldn't notice. She couldn't stop herself...she rubbed and rubbed and rubbed. Erik sat there, not knowing what to think of this strange child rubbing his head. He tried to hand her books, she just rubbed his head. He flapped his arms, he smiled, cooed, laughed....and she rubbed and rubbed. I finally moved him to another spot so he could enjoy some books and not be "rubbed". I turned around to put the rest of the books away and this time when I turned back she had multiplied!

I'm sure Erik is thinking..."Oh no! TWO rubbers!" These little girls never moved from his side (where was their mother?? who knows). I don't think these children had ever had a book read to them, I began to read to Erik and they were glued to my side.

We got up and moved to another part of the library and they followed us.

I set Erik down again in another section by more baskets and the rubbing continued, but by now Erik was not going to be the only one rubbed......he was going to do some rubbing of his own!

But.....before we left, she got in a couple really good rubs for luck!

Salad Places

2010-09-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

It's been really hot here. So hot that turning the oven on in my little house is unthinkable. So we say let's go out!
Going out to eat with a loud, food slinging baby, also unthinkable.

We've been avoiding restaurants lately - because the whole experience is just too stressful for me.
I used to be a waitress at a place called Pioneer Pies (all you Oklahoma people will know that!) very similar to Marie Calender's. I'd see families come in with toddlers and try to send mind messages with my eyes to the hostess.

"Not in my section! Not in my section!"

She always sat them in my section.

Oh Man!!!! It was like a tornado went through there - and I always thought the parents were so rude to allow their child to throw food all over the floor!! I now know, it cannot be helped.

The food thrower (insert Erik's name here), is a pro. He can't walk yet - but he has the quick aim of a practiced sports figure. Things fly from his hands to the floor. I've starting tethering his sippy cup to the highchair. That's working for now, but food can't be tied down.

So, we can't NOT go out just because we have a child - but there are certain places we just can't go (Sam's Chowder House - I miss you). Salad Places to the rescue!! You know what I'm talking about - Fresh Choice, Soupersalad, Sweet Tomato's. Different name, same concept.

As a grown up with out children I steered very clear of these establishments, because they were FULL of children. I always wondered why.....do children like SALAD?? VEGGIES?? Not that I've noticed at school, can't be much different at home. Nope.....but in these places they can fill their plates with an assortment of cheese, olives, croutons, and anything else that goes in a salad but isn't technically a vegetable. I saw one child go by me tonight with a plate piled high with shredded cheese, just cheese. I think she had a dinner of cheese - and the dessert bar.

In this place there is chaos, there are loud children (louder than mine!), and there is no waiting waiting waiting for your food - you just get up and get whatever you want.

This is a haven for parents of young children. As I looked around I noticed the place was packed with college students (it's also cheap), young families, and seniors. No young couples in love holding hands, no families with children who are older than 5 and don't fling food.

I am shocked at my willingness to go there. I never enjoyed it before. Because it was just too many little children, and I get that all day long. I used to want peaceful quiet dinners. Now I'd just like to eat while my food is still warm.
Here my child can drop his food, he can yell, he can be...........a toddler. No one gives us dirty looks, because their children are doing it to.

I now understand why some restaurants play their music so loud. It's to drown out the shrieks of toddlers with newly discovered voices, the tantrums of two years wanting chocolate milk, and the soft sound of mother's pulling out their hair. Bless you, family restaurants for not cursing the hundred crackers on the floor under my child's chair, I promise I remember those waitress days - and I top well now. Thank you for being here for those of us with screeching, food throwing children!

I seem to be letting go of many things - if you see me going anywhere near a Chuck E. Cheese ....... Ever......Please intervene!!!

FREEBIES!!!!

2010-08-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me well, knows I am all about the free stuff, coupons and special offers.

Today I received a coupon in the mail for a new store in San Jose that just opened on Tuesday called Buy Buy Baby. I went home from work to get Erik and check it out (and take advantage of my coupon!).

Since the store is SO new they had a core, brand new staff who really had no idea what they were doing. As Erik and I walked in and were browsing, a young woman literally came running over and asked for my help is the photography studio. She had seen Erik from across the store and thought he was gorgeous.....now this was either a very honest young woman (or someone who know how to make sale!).

She said because the photo studio was new and this was the first store of this chain in California that they had no local models (models!) and she would like to use Erik as a model.

I had to sign a release and then she did the rest. He was wearing a terrible outfit for pictures and I didn't want to buy more clothes to add to his already huge collection so I asked her to do naked shots! And she did! JC Penny wouldn't do naked shots after 9 months....and I really wanted some of his cute little hiney. She said as long as he was under 1...........well come on, he's only 20 days over.

I said he was almost 1. What a bad example. Never do what I do. I'm bad.

She wanted me to fill out a ton of paperwork for him to get paid for the session - and then she showed me the price of the pictures and I about fainted. SO instead we did a trade!! He got $300.00 worth of photos - and she got a gorgeous model.

I must say it was the deal of the day!!! Here's a few of the good ones.

I love a bargain!

B-O-O-K

2010-08-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

We have a secret language we now speak in our house, it's called S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G. There are certain words we NEVER speak. One of those words is "Book".
Erik is obsessed with books, it's all he wants to do. I probably should edit the amount of books he has. I think it's about 50 now. Hey, I used to work at Barnes and Noble....I stocked up.

When I say he loves books, I'm not kidding. We can't say the word, or we're reading for the next hour. He usually just throws books at us when he wants us to read. Today he added the word "GEN!" (again), as he tossed the book at Mike.

When I came home from work there was a purple package in the mailbox. A new book from Papa and Grandma Liz. Mike couldn't get it open fast enough. As soon as Erik saw it was a book he was chanting, book, book book and flapping his arms.

We read it right away. As you can see - he really liked it.

Zoo

2010-08-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

Erik is really into animals. Like really. I spend his waking hours making animal sounds. It's what makes him happy. It makes me want to pluck out my eyelashes....especially the Mooing. He can do most of the noises, and some of the signs that go with them. His favorite animals today are Roosters and Elephants (last week was Cows, he's an equal animal attention giver).
We thought it was now time for his first trip to the zoo.
Going to the zoo in San Francisco in the summer requires ski hats, coats and mittens. It's so very odd to live 50 miles down the road in the regular weather - but San Francisco is like going to the other side of the world - always the opposite season. So we bundled Erik up in his best winter clothes (I know! It's August!) and away we went!

Of course we stopped for the obligatory overpriced "entrance" pictures.

We headed out promising Elephants, Lions and Roosters....Oh My! We found the duck statue...which was cool. But still not a rooster. We did eventually find one weird looking rooster. But Erik was more interested in YELLING...... BAA!! at every four legged animal that walked by at the petting zoo.

We looked every where for the Elephants, finally I asked "Lion Security" ...The Lions have their own security to keep the idiots known as dumb people out of their cages. Lion security told me the elephants were dead....Dead? Yep, like they died a few YEARS ago! If you're the zoo....don't you try to replace the Elephants pretty quickly? I mean aren't they one of the main attractions? Seriously, it's like checking out what rides are closed at Disneyland before you go. If the good ones are closed, whats the point. Had I known there were no elephants we would have gone to another zoo. We went for the elephants!! I felt like there should be a sign on the entrance stating "No Elephants" ....at least save my feet from walking around and thinking...gee they've got to be here somewhere!!! He was very interested in this gorilla who sat stone still and looked pretty pissed off at having to sit on a rock while people looked at him. Erik kept growling at him, and then signing "sleep" I don't think he's as sweet as the little gorilla in Goodnight GorillaHe even went to bed in his "zoo animal" PJ's. All in all it was a fun trip to the zoo, disappointing in the Elephant category, but...fun!

ZZZZZZzzzzzz

2010-08-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today was Erik's one year check up. The Dr. was thrilled with his vocabulary, especially all his animal impersonations and when I said "what does a Dr. say?" he shook his head and little finger imitating the Dr. from the Monkey song (no more Monkey's jumping on the bed), he won her heart in that moment.

She said he was thriving and she had no worries about his development. So....for all of the people in the world who keep asking "is he walking yet?".......NOPE...and guess what? TOTALLY NORMAL!!! I'm beginning to get a complex about it because as soon as I say "not yet" I can hear the cluck clucking of the tongues.

I know most children walk around a year. But many do not because they are working on their cognitive skills (smarts) so, your child may be walking, but mine is busy reading books and growing his brain. They will all catch up and be on the same plane by kindergarten so everyone please chill out - he will walk, when he's ready to walk. I promise to notify you the second it happens.

He also had to have those one year shots. Mike bowed out of this appointment long ago since he did the last ones and said there was no way he was holding him through that again. I felt so bad for the little guy. Every time the lady came out to call another victim into the injection clinic Erik would blow her a kiss. Blow her a kiss!! He had no idea in a matter of moments she was going to cause him lots of pain.

And she did. There was lots of pain, tears and thrashing about. I hate that part of these check ups. Luckily he didn't cry for too long - but after the first shot in the leg he looked at me and signed "all done!!" with big tears in his eyes, and he was signing "all done" through the next two shots until I could tell him it was all done.

We spent all morning in the Dr.'s office so Erik missed his nap. He slept for ten minutes on the way home which energized him for the afternoon. 5:00pm hit and he was tired, so I decided to feed him dinner, and this is what happened.

One Year

2010-08-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

It's been a year, since our lives changed forever. I feel like I was pregnant for YEARS, but this year just flew by in the flash. These are the little things that have made this year move like a speeding bullet. I've heard that once you have children life goes at double speed. It's true.

This year I learned:

The most beautiful thing on the planet is Erik's smile.

Life is so much more precious now.

The word Mama melts me....especially since Dada is much more common.

Staying up all night and working the next day is possible, not easy, but possible.

People with more than one children who manage to work, and get dinner on the table each night are pretty awesome in my book!

Sometimes the greatest trials end up being the best situations.

I love the sweet smell of wet sloppy baby kisses.

I also learned:

Baby vomit is really hard to get out of your hair - if you forget it's there for a couple days

My child's favorite thing in this world is my....HAIR

My husband can sing nursery rhymes in a way that cracks me up.

Wet babies are SO slippery!

Breast milk stains everything.

One child's voice can carry through a very crowded restaurant very quickly.

Yo Gabba Gabba is a very strange thing that babies love.

20 years of taking care of children, still did not prepare me for parenthood.

I hope the next years go much slower. I want to soak it all in and remember each little tidbit.

Mike and Erik, thank you for this year of love (and sometimes, tears).

Plaid

2010-08-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

I came home today to find Erik in this.

The following conversation happened:

Becky - What is he wearing?

Mike - What?

Becky - He doesn't match, it's like a bad scene from the 70's

Mike - He DOES match, see the pattern of the lines is the same.

Becky - But, um, the colors aren't the same, isn't it hurting your eyes?

Mike - It DOES match.

Becky - Under my breath so Mike doesn't hear.

Not in THIS universe!

The business of the non-busy

2010-07-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

For so many years I have been extra busy, working, going to school, trying to get pregnant and the baby that followed. I somehow managed it all. Now, that school is over, I find myself with not enough hours in the day to get everything done, when before I had plenty of time and managed to fit in homework as well!! What happened to me in 2 months?

July has been one of the craziest months so far. I stopped the Coumadin (blood thinners) and had to endure the Doctor's threat of "call me immediately if you feel anything weird" WHAT? I am ALWAYS feeling weird!!!! It has taken me the whole month of gradually getting through each day with less and less anxiety that I could die from a blood clot at any moment. Funny how when things get down to life or death we revert right back into those tried and true ways that make us feel better....mine - the old Mormon standard of prayers and promises........and comfort food.

I have been cooking nothing but Ree Drummond food. An amazing cook with super easy recipes. Problem is they are easy, delicious and not fat free. So I'm noticing a weight creep up - also a side effect of stopping the coumadin. Why is "skinniness" never a side effect in anything I consume? Anyway - the risks are less with each passing day that I will suddenly die (aren't you glad to know that?) and with each day I relax a little more.

It's also my dreaded birthday month......41.....has been creeping up all year, and tomorrow it will arrive. I plan on a pedicure and lunch out with girlfriends where I don't have to apologize for the crackers on the floor. For my present I have received a Wii Fit. It was my choice - no hints from hubby. It's actually SO fun, except for the part where I had to make an avatar of myself. When I stepped on the platform for the body test my avatar literally blew up...not so fun. She blew up so fat that her arms waved and she looked down at her body, then looked at me shaking her head as if to say "what the hell have you done?" Nice.........I'm getting guilt from my own avatar. Ugh

Let's see; the rest of this month has included: Erik's first birthday. I know, a little early, but it was a good date for his cousins to come (since everyone else lives in Oklahoma) and really - he's 1 - he could have cared less. He had tons of fun with the kids, but he is going through a stage where he likes singing - but only one person singing at a time - so when we all started singing Happy Birthday he flipped and looked like this!

Last week we took a vacation to the beach house, and threw in a quick one day trip to Disneyland to go with it. Disneyland was much different through the eyes of a parent. Lesson learned - Disney crammed into one day makes for VERY grumpy people! Next time we get a hotel. No more bottles and naps in Main Street USA while trying to avoid loud parades. Erik did have a barbershop quartet all to himself - they began to sing a quiet beautiful lullaby of When You Wish Upon A Star, when they all joined in together Erik was over it - such loud schreeching they stopped mid - song. He would have been fine if they had sung one at a time.

This was also my first trip to Disneyland when I felt like a grown up. A fuddy duddy old grown up with hip pain from walking around, and feet pain. I had no desire to run from ride to ride and get on as many things as possible. I have embraced middle age - there is no fighting it anymore. I am 41. I hope this decade is nice

I'll do my best to post more often from now on!

*Special Thanks to my brainy cousin Sara for figuring out how to re size my masthead!*

4th of July Flop

2010-07-04T22:58:00.001-07:00

Today was one of those days that just made me feel like the two ton lady.

I worked all morning getting the pool nice and clean so we could use it this afternoon. In fact I worked so hard cleaning it all up that I sunburned myself before I was actually IN the pool.

Erik fell asleep, Mike was inside and Mom was taking a nap.....I had the pool to myself!! The floaties to myself!! I suddenly became 10. You know, walking around and around the perimeter to make a whirlpool, floating lifelessly.....oh come on, you know you'd do it too.

At one point in the morning with all the cleaning I decided to add more water to the pool. I added a lot, and it's a bit on the lopsided side (because there is not one single area of our backyard that is completely flat), so one side was kind of "dipping".

In my great 40 year old (10!!) wisdom I decided to flop my fat ass into my floatie which would cause a wave for a second and then I would sunbathe.

It caused a wave alright, right up and over the side of the pool I rode that floatie. Because I went over the side backward (and it all happened so fast) I wasn't even aware for a second that I wasn't actually IN the pool anymore - I became aware of this as I suddenly floated by the BBQ pit. As I came to a skidding halt (still on the floatie!) I looked up and saw the whole side of the pool caved in (nothing like that sight to make you feel like a huge fat ass) and water POURING onto the patio (which was what had propelled me on the grass ). I jumped up and yanked the side of the pool back and Voila, it popped right back into place like nothing had happened.

Except I was left standing there, dripping and covered in wet grass and spiky burrs. I called Mike from the cell phone and asked him to come help me since I'd had a little "accident". He came out and I asked him to hose the grass off me, when he saw me, and then saw the wet patio, and grass......he laughed his ASS off for the rest of the night. Pissed that somehow we didn't catch that on video.

So.........This will be the 4th of July I remember as the year I fell OUT of the pool.

So heres a picture (not taken today) I went over the side where the blue floatie is......but I was riding the pink one.

Mommy Musings #1

2010-06-29T22:15:00.001-07:00

If my child goes swimming in the late afternoon, can I count it as his bath, if I promise to rinse off the chlorine and sunscreen?

Where is the sleep?

2010-06-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

I have heard the sleeping got easier as they got older.........I'm waiting!!!

Erik is calm and sweet, funny and good natured all day long, but as soon as the sun goes down his head spins around, he gnashes his teeth (all 4 and a half) and his eyes begin to roll into his head. It's like he can feel "night night" coming on and he is not having it!

If I hold him he wants Da Da Da Da!! If Mike holds him he says Nana Nana or Ma ma ma ma...If Nana holds him he yells for Papa!! It's crazy. We are like the three stooges running around, a bottle? diaper? Juice? Toy? ACK!!!

It usually ends up in a crying fit because I won't allow him to pull my hair (which is the one thing he LOVES doing - seriously......if anyone finds a stuffed animal completely made of hair I'll pay you back!), and he cries himself to sleep.

I remember being little (not as little as him) and hating to go to bed because I thought my parents were having a party, or doing something fun with out me. I'm sure they were just falling asleep in front of the TV as we do each night. If I can stay up past 10:00 it's a miracle, usually I end up like this at 4:30pm in the pool. Luckily Mike or Mom takes Erik in and allows me a little snooze.

Oh, can I say this "kiddie" pool, which is actually big enough for the grown ups too is AWESOME!!! Especially on days like today when it's flip flop melting hot.

Father's Day

2010-06-18T18:42:00.001-07:00

It's almost Father's Day! I am so grateful to have a wonderful husband and to celebrate his first Father's Day!!

He deserves an award since the last few months have not been easy, the last weeks of my school were a nightmare (not to mention the whole poopy graduation), he's started a new job and life is constantly changing.

We had a large *disagreement* a few days back about responsibilities and what I thought he should be doing, and what he thought I should be doing and of course neither of us was aware of the other's perspective and we sat down and had a LONG talk about how we want our marriage to work and how to communicate in a more positive (read: Non-nagging for me, and listening for him) way so that jobs around the house could get done in what feels like an equal manner to both of us.

I am proud of him for initiating this conversation and we've really worked hard the past couple of weeks to show how much we love each other and we are trying very hard not to take each other for granted.

In honor of Father's Day Erik has made him a special surprise and I got him a coffee maker (I totally gave it to him already so no spoilers here) that is his dream, he loves it so much he drinks coffee at night too......the only way it could be better is if it was an IV drip directly into his blood.

To my husband - Happy first Father's Day Love!

To my Dad - I love you Dad!! Thanks for making me laugh, and being a great Papa!

To my Father in Law - Thank you for being such a good Dad to your son, he learned how to be one from you!!

10 months old......and the long awaited poop story

2010-06-06T21:11:00.001-07:00

Erik is 10 months old today! It amazes me that 10 months has gone by so much faster than 9 months of pregnancy did! He still isn't crawling, but is considering it. He rolls and rolls all day long and his butt is getting higher in the air making his knees go underneath him, but that's about as closer to crawling as he gets. Doesn't he look so big in this picture? He's losing his sweet infant look and growing into a toddler with quite a distinct personality.

I've offered him choices (food,clothes) since he was born, and have been doing sign language with him since he was 3 months old and he is now totally getting it! Although he is funny because I'll ask him things in sign language like "eat" or "bottle" and instead of doing the sign back he just nods yes or no. I hold out two baby food jars and ask him to choose what he'd like and really studies them for a few seconds before touching the he one he wants. It's so funny.
He has a silly giggly personality that we see more and more of each day. He really likes to tease you and pretend he's being shy when really he wants to play games. He giggles at everything and he tries to tickle us when we are changing him.

He's so damn cute that I understand why parents find it impossible to discipline their own adorable children (who are not so adorable to us when they are throwing things in Target) maybe we should volunteer to discipline each other's children? That would be a nightmare......but sometimes I'd like to!!

Here he is with his new cousin Somer's hair bow on....he thought this was hilarious!

He won't wear his own sunglasses, but Mom's hot pink ones are good!!

He still looks exactly like his Daddy, even when choosing his head gear!

OK...I know you have all been waiting for the scoop on the poop at graduation, so here it is...complete with documenting photos. It started as a lovely evening of celebration of the 5 years I have been spending my weekends and evenings writing papers and reading boring journal articles. I had to arrive early of course for practice and Mike, Mom and Erik would come later.

I guess things started bad at home with the clothes for Erik being too small, then there was getting lost on the way to school, as well as trying to figure out the handicapped parking in the parking garage which was crazy. After listening to my mother complain and nag him for two hours (and she doesn't read this so it's OK if I write it) Mike did not arrive super happy - and Mom was already in a complaining mood. Add a very chilly wind and a packed auditorium and you have irritated people. Please look through the photos for vivid detail on what happens after the graduation.

Bundled up (in May!) and waiting to go in and see Mommy graduate.

Graduation is over and I find Mike and take the obligatory picture. But notice that Mom is no where to be found. I had seen her leave during the ceremony with the baby and assumed he needed a diaper change. My friend Diana (who was taking these pictures) went back in to find her and did.........and the chaos began.

So here's the whole group. We took a quick picture (can't you see how thrilled Mom is in it?) and then I asked her if everything was OK because...well...obviously she isn't happy. Her response "Erik's had 4 really poopy diapers and there are no more diapers and he has another poopy diaper that needs to be changed and blah blah blah..........she goes on and on about the poopy diapers (keep in mind it's really windy and cold, there are hundreds of people milling around, Erik's crying and I'm listening to a lecture on how many diapers I should bring with me everywhere) and how I need to have at least 5 (funny how that's the EXACT number she needed...I wanted to say...but what if I have 7?) While she's going on and on about how bad his last diapers were I found another diaper in the diaper bag and think, "I'll just change him really quick here in the stroller and we can get on with the happiness"......which there hasn't been much of yet!!

So....I begin to change him, being very careful not to get my flowing sleeves, sash or cords near the poop. And for some reason Diana continues to snap pictures....thank goodness. I lean in to change him and take off his diaper and as I turn to get the other diaper I here a little fart and think, ok he's done now. Nope that fart was the unplugging of a stopper that was holding in the shit volcano that followed.

When I turned back around with the clean diaper shit was flying out of this boys ass at the speed of projectile vomit, it was EVERYWHERE. It came out so fast that all of us just stepped back. I think I heard Mike say "Whoa" . I know I heard one man behind me say "well she got the right degree".

There was nothing else to do but let it fly out of his butt (only to make a large poop puddle on the ground). Oh, did I mention Mom had also used all the wipes for the other diapers? Diana went running to the bathroom for paper towels and we did our best to clean things up. I wiped what I could with the blanket he was laying on (and that promptly went into the trash).
I told you Diana took pictures of EVERYTHING. See that blanket under him? It's folded over on itself because it's covered in poop, his clothes, covered, the stroller base covered. And all I can think is...I have to wear this again tomorrow.....don't get poop on the gown, don't get poop on the gown!"

Mom clean up the stroller footstool and there is that one precious diaper that's left

This was immediately after the poop....he's still screaming, and look, Mike now looks like Mom did in the other picture.

Mike has moved closer (I think he was scared of a repeat), when we got home he said it felt like a scene out of Willy Wonka, thankfully no little German boys wandered by to fall into the chocolate river.

The only extra clothes was a shorts outfit, thank god we had another blanket!!!! Look how pale he is...he pooped all his color out.

Walking back to the car this is how I felt!!

I will never forget the Poopy Graduation. Nothing like being a parent.

Erik only eats puffs

2010-05-24T23:21:00.000-07:00

Growing - without eating

2010-05-24T23:06:00.000-07:00

This is Erik after his attempt to feed himself.

Erik is growing up......I wish he wouldn't (although leaving this whole separation anxiety/stranger anxiety thing wouldn't make me sad), I love his little chubbiness! He wants to be big - he doesn't like that I feed him. He has found "Puffs" and refuses to now eat anything else. I would not be surprised if his next word is "puff!" with an outstretched hand. I attached a video - but somehow it published itself in it's own blog so you can see it in the entry before this one.

He only wants to feed himself - but not baby food....regular food like.....

Popsicles!

I've given up and now just let him feed himself - but he still doesn't eat anything, and what does make his mouth also makes it into his ears, nose and fingernails.

He sits up Very straight now and prefers this to being on the ground. Even though on the ground he might eventually learn to crawl - he can't know everything that is going on if he's on the ground. Sitting up he feels a part of the conversation, and if he is feeling left out he definitely lets us know!

It amazes me that this child has been with us almost a year, I can barely remember life without him.

Stay tuned for the pictures from Becky's graduation and the story of Poop that will live on in all of our minds forever. That will appear tomorrow - now I need to go to bed!

The laughing

2010-04-29T22:06:00.000-07:00

The laughing is contagious. It happens at certain things that Erik finds funny. The ends of phrases of songs are hilarious to him (especially if sung quickly) the buzzz like a bee sound really makes him laugh.
I adore these little moments, in this crazy last month of school these are the minutes of my day that make it all worth it!
Check him out.

And this one is pretty cute too!!!

Homework Help

2010-04-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

Erik adores the outside, he really likes to watch leaves on trees. I am searching for ANYTHING that entertains him and allows me to do homework at the same time. Here was today's solution!

How to do it all?

2010-04-22T21:41:00.001-07:00

I think in this last month of school I may just lose my mind. I'd make a list, but it wouldn't be detailed enough. Next week is the worst week of all, there are 14 assignments due in my classes, that's two assignments each day.....yep losing my mind.

I was hoping my yoga class would ease my mind, and the last five minutes it does, but today this was the conversation going on in my head,

Is my bra showing?

Wow she's really bendy, how does she get her chest that low....it must be the boobs, I could do that too if I had those boobs....and not this stomach.

I wonder if it's possible to take the fat from my stomach and just push it up into the boob area? Like a tummy tuck and boob job all in one.

I hate this downward dog.....my eyes feel like they are going to come out of my head.

This makes my wrist hurt! oh probably because my little tiny wrists, one of the smallest parts of me...is holding up all the weight of the biggest parts of me...I'm surprised it hasn't snapped in half? I wonder if I could be excused from Yoga and still get a grade if my wrist snapped in half?

Thank god that's done, I hate that pose, now it's the stretching time yay! Yoga makes me feel tall, I wonder what I should make for dinner? Maybe dinner will make itself.

I'm supposed to be acknowledging my thoughts and letting them go, letting them go where? I don't get that. Is the girl next to me snoring? She is!! She fell asleep! Maybe her big boobs take all her energy so she has to sleep to recharge.

Why do I think things like this what is wrong with me??

See......and this is why I struggle to complete my homework in a timely fashion....my brain lives in tangent land and likes to go exploring constantly.

I did come home from Yoga and make a healthy dinner of chicken, rice and zucchini. Do you know how hard it is to get a child who is going through separation anxiety to play in the next room when he knows you're home? Well, it's impossible, but I have found a creative solution. I call it the Baby Bubble. I strap him in, and he can go anywhere I do that has a flat surface! He loves being in it, he happily plays and I can get things like dishes, laundry and dinner done!

Now, who wants to write a Yoga paper for me? Don't even get me started on the exercise class I am taking on the TV (kind of hypocritical don't you think?), we are supposed to be monitoring ourselves and working through the exercises. I haven't started at all - it's two weeks in. I foresee an entire weekend of continuous exercises in my near future.

The Vacation is Over

2010-04-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

Our little Vacation is over. It was 5 glorious days at the beach house. We prefer to take lots of little vacation's over the year as opposed to one big one. It seems to break things up and give us something to look forward to. We had a lovely time, walking on the beach (as you can see from the new masthead) and enjoying old friends, a new friend and a gorgeous place. Erik was able to meet his Godfather and spend some time with him. Becky and Mike were able to spend some time together as well, with lots of extra hands for holding Erik. Vacations make me grateful for what I have, and they ALWAYS remind me of things I need to change. After seeing this set of pictures (and there are very few with me in them), the thing that needs to change is my, ahem, fluffiness. I hate being fat, its the one thing in my life that I can't seem to gain control over - I'm going to try something new and I'll let you know how it works. Until then here's a few pics from vacation. Tomorrow it's back to work, and homework, and that damn Yoga class (which is growing on me), and only 4 more weeks until graduation!!!!!

These are not my feet, these are my friend Kim's feet - hers were prettier, but you get the idea of what we were doing.....absolutely nothing except sitting with our freshly pedicured toes pointed to the ocean while sipping fruity, yummy things. It was a very good day.

The ocean was of course too cold for the baby - but here he is in his very own hippo pool!

Mike is 45

2010-04-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

I'm sure he's thrilled that I just tossed that out into the world. My husband is 45 today which is only 5 years (for three months you are 5 years older than me!!!) older than me. Really? I am married to a 45 year old? And I'm 40! How is that even possible?? Just the other day I was turning 30 and I thought that was horribly old!

I can remember babysitting for people once going to a 40th birthday party and I couldn't even fathom being that old. I am shocked that it has crept up on me so quickly.

I don't feel 40, I don't think I look 40 (although the lady at Costco the other day told me I had the cutest grand baby......AARRRGHHH!!), this is why I have to stay fat - it fills out the wrinkles, if I lose weight then I'll look old.

It's OK honey 45 is the new 32 and if you're 32 that makes me 27...woo hoo!!

Love you Mike!

The top is a picture of Mike and his 91 year father on Easter. May Mike lice as long and be just as cute!

Bittersweet

2010-03-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

I've decided the Boobie Juice fountain is now officially closed. I've been contemplating it for a few weeks now-but finally made the decision yesterday and am turning off the faucets.
I need my life back, I can no longer plan things in 3 hour intervals.
I feel good....and guilty about the decision. I want to breastfeed him for the first year, and I made it a week shy of 8 months. But I just can't do it anymore. I am to the point where I hate my pump, and my boobs. I don't want to hate my boobs....so I've decided to shut them down for this kid.
Who knows....they could re-open in a couple years, but as of today they are officially out of business.
I don't know what to expect from here - hopefully they won't explode in the next couple of days. I don't know what happens when you stop - but I have excellent cleavage for this week so I need to wear all my plunging necklines!
Hoping you all have a wonderful Easter next Sunday. Yep It's next Sunday, wow that snuck up on us quickly! Here's a little bunny to put you in the mood.

Baby Soup!

2010-03-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

I can’t take credit for this adorable photo because I got the idea from Shanan – she sent me a photo of her adorable baby in a pot and I HAD to copy.

It didn’t dawn on me that her baby is two months younger and several pounds smaller! It took a while to find a pot big enough – This is a canning pot.

I wish I would have had a chef’s hat for his head. I had given him a wooden spoon but he was more interested in throwing it at me.

Don’t rush to call CPS on me, of COURSE the stove is not on, and you can’t tell but Mom is on one side of that picture and Mike is on the other ready to catch that baby if his pot tipped.

How can you not just eat him up?

The little milestones

2010-03-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

This little man is growing like a weed! Everyday he changes, changes so fast and so quickly that I want him to stop (well, he can stop when the teething's over - it's not fun when his teeth hurt).
He's rolling over everyday now - so much and I know crawling is not very far away! This weekend Mike and I had lots of errands to run and hauling that baby car seat in and out of everywhere is not very easy so we thought we'd try to see if he was ready to sit up in the cart and Viola!! He could do it!! He did it at Target and Whole Foods and tonight he sat in a restaurant high chair! Again, these are the little milestones that he achieves that are so bittersweet for me.
He;s giving sloppy baby kisses now, the kind that come with licks and slurps and an occasional burp - they are glorious.
But it's not all kisses and hugs - this teething stuff is for the birds!! He cried all afternoon today and was only not crying when being held - and I haven't yet figured out how to teach my Biology homework to do itself yet. So it isn't done. Erik is fussy fussy, which is hard to see on my little happy man, but once those teeth are in I'm hoping he will be back to his happy self.
Well....off I go to teach that Biology homework how to do itself.

I can't help it!

2010-03-01T21:03:00.001-08:00

I know, lots of posts lately, but OMG have you seen this boy? I can feel you all rolling your eyes right now. He's been trying out new laughs, and this is his Dudley Dooright Evil laugh. It's pretty dang adorable about 20 seconds in!

Mamma!!!

2010-02-28T21:42:00.000-08:00

After so many months of listening to Dadadadadada…over and over and over (I wasn’t jealous at all). We finally have Mamma!!! He started a couple days ago and now it’s all we hear (Tra la la hee hee ..that makes me so happy), I love the sound of it. FINALLY!! Daddy had his day…..Move over for Mamma!!!!

Sophie

2010-02-25T21:08:00.000-08:00

This is Sophie the Giraffe. She's a teether, best damn teether in the world. She cost $20.00. I forgot to hide the reciept when I brought her home and Mike wondered aloud "why the hell anyone would spend $20.00 on a teether".
I think he would change his song now. She is relief for all teething babies. Do you have a teething baby? Get Sophie! You can buy her on Amazon.
Here's a picture of Erik with her. You can see her in many of Erik's pictures - she is never too far from his hands.

Dad in Charge

2010-02-25T21:00:00.000-08:00

Mike has been unemployed for about 6 weeks now and while that sucks, the hidden blessing in the whole thing is that he gets to be a stay at home Dad. He's doing GREAT except sometimes when I come home - the outfits Erik has on are......interesting.
Today I came home to Erik in a pair of thermals and socks. When I asked Mike the reason for the outfit (since we don't live in Alaska the thermals aren't really necessary and it was 70 here today) he stated the it was the one with the least amount of snaps....."because all his clothes have so many snaps!!"
As long as he's dressed then I can't complain - but it does make me chuckle to see what I come home to each day.
Erik seems happy either way so that's what matters.
Here was today's outfit choice.

Parenting Choices

2010-02-23T19:34:00.001-08:00

++WARNING++ Star Wars and small children rant....be warned!

I know better - TV is NOT good for children. I know this better than anyone, I have often wondered about parents who allow 2 year olds to watch Star Wars or Sponge Bob and then say to me, "I have no idea why my child wants to sword fight all the time, he's so aggressive", and when I ask what he does at home their answer is "watch Star Wars and play video games" (and we're not talking about Sesame Street games, they are usually watching Daddy play aggressive games)and they don't understand why their child is aggressive, I want to say "really? You don't see it"?

Now, will I allow my 2 year old son to watch Star Wars? Maybe...we'll see when the time comes, at this point I surely can't say no - I've gone back on a few "I'll never's" since giving birth. I promise however NOT to be shocked when my child, afterward he begins to act aggressively. I will expect that behavior and know that it is my karma for allowing him to watch it.

Anyway, the reason for the title of my post is because I have done what I used to call bad parenting.

I have put my child in front of the TV.

I swore I'd never do it. But, I need 1/2 hour every now and then to get something done!!!!!! 1/2 hour, a couple times a week is my limit, and I of course didn't choose Star Wars - I chose Yo Gabba Gabba (which is lots of colors, annoying singing and silly dancing) I allow Yo Gabba Gabba because my child adores it. How I found it I don't even know - just came across it one day and it put a spell on Erik.

I thought perhaps it was just the TV that was putting a spell on him so I tested him on other shows...he's completely uninterested in them. But, Yo Gabba Gabba - is my 1/2 hour savior - Thank you DJ Lance, Foofa, Brobee, Rex and Moono - Mommy appreciates the help - even if it does cause me to sing ..."Don't, don't, don't bite your friends" for the next three hours.

As you can see - Erik is completely hypnotized. I filmed him because he doesn't even move during this show - whatever position he's in when it comes on is where he stays till it's over. Silly boy!!! I'm sure there is Star Wars in my future....but until then I'll allow 1/2 hour every so often.

Bath Time

2010-02-19T17:02:00.000-08:00

How can you not just gobble him up?

Super Ta Ta’s

2010-02-18T16:52:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was an interesting day at work. As you may have seen on the news, a plane crashed in East Palo Alto cutting off electricity to the whole city. We managed to get through the day with all the children in an “adventure/camping” kind of day.

It didn’t dawn on me until mid-morning when I usually do my pumping that I wouldn’t be able to pump. Since it was Wednesday it was my long day and I knew I wouldn’t be home from school until 8:00pm so not pumping for a few hours was NOT an option.

I went into my office to pump and then remembered…..no electricity…..I thought about what to do with my engorging boobs when it dawned on me that my wonderful pump had a car outlet charger…..ta da!!!!!

I did have to be creative though, there are two construction projects going on where we park so there are LOTS of construction workers milling around. I couldn’t just sit in the car, boobs to the wind and pump. I had to cover myself, or their ability to see in.

I used the super hero capes from the dress up area, to cover the windows. While I sat inside I wondered what the people outside must think about the Honda on the street that had a different colored cape hanging from each window. Something super was going on inside!! Super Ta Ta’s to the rescue!!!!!

Erik has a tooth!

2010-02-15T22:51:00.001-08:00

That’s what all the crying has been about! He’s been waking up screaming and I couldn’t figure out what was up. His gums were not swollen or red which is what I was told to look for so I was surprised when I felt a little something in his mouth today on the bottom gum. There’s another one coming in right next to it!

I don’t have a picture of it because he won’t move his tongue out of the way to get a picture…but, it’s there. Woo hoo!

Mark off another milestone – now if he could just get that rolling over down. His doctor told Mike that babies with large thighs sometimes really struggle to turn over……glad I wasn’t there to hear that one. Poor guy, got the Maguire big thighs. Hope they thin out before he has to walk!!

First day of Yoga

2010-02-02T20:06:00.000-08:00

Today was my first day of Yoga (the required PE in order for me to graduate). Now, if you know me you know I am of the fluffy kind of people (extra fluffy) and I don't love PE classes....in fact I hate them.

I used to get up at 5:00am every morning to take my friend Steve's aerobics class - that went on for a couple years, and I HATE these classes because I can just feel the snickering behind me...but I was a good friend so I went. I was so happy when Steve stopped teaching those damn perky 5:00am classes.

But.....I avoided all the PE requirements in order to graduate which is why I am stuck with them now. Dammit - someone should have told me that they would have been much easier 20 years and 20 pounds ago, they probably did - I didn't listen because all I could envision was 6th grade gym coming back to haunt me.

I arrived with a few minutes to spare (can't be late because then I would be stuck in the front with the teacher and the mirrors!! (Horror) and noticed that I was the only person wearing work out clothes and everyone else was just all laid back and in loose stuff...I was also the only one in tennis shoes - Yoga is apparently done barefoot. I was reprimanded for wearing street shoes on the floor.

I was not the oldest in the class by far - but I was the biggest....ugh ugh ugh!!! We really didn't do much today but go over the syllabus and do some simple breathing and relaxation techniques. They weren't very relaxing since all I could think about was how much my back was hurting due to the cheap ass yoga mat I paid 9.00 for at Wal-Mart. They should have a sign on them that says "If you're an old fatty might want to get the extra thick pad!" I saw some girls with those (girls whose entire body was the size of my thigh) and I wanted to trade them SO bad. But they were too busy texting and giggling their way through class. I tried to give them some annoyed "have some respect" looks but they were too into themselves to notice.
Sheez kids these days! Now I sound like my father.

We did one exercise where we had to bring our knees to our chests and I've never had any problems doing that and was surprised when I went to do it and it didn't happen!! I then realized that I have had a child and my muscles that used to be are no longer, and they were not responding to the commands from my brain - they were obviously on a lunch break. I had to cheat and pull behind my knees to get them up there. And all the while trying to breathe.....yea

I will survive the class - but my ass hurts like hell right now so I'd better find me a thicker mat before the next class on Thursday.
To my Aunt Vera who teaches and loves her Yoga - I will try to like Yoga - I will at least try to breathe my way through it - and find my own personal zen. If I can figure out how to ignore all the pain it may cause.
NAMASTE

Video

2010-01-31T23:09:00.000-08:00

Hmmmm.....Blogger has changed these on me and I haven't quite got the hang of this new format so here's the video that I speak of in the previous post - just click on this link.

Green Chair

Becky and Mike's Crazy Life!: The cat ate it.

2010-01-31T23:08:00.000-08:00

Becky and Mike's Crazy Life!: The cat ate it.