Video!!!!!!

I'm so excited :) I got Rejeanne to mostly sing the ABC song on video. It's an awful video because she was sitting on my lap and I realized she was singing the song all the way through again, so I grabbed the camera and tried for a reprise!

Baby Names - 2019?

So some famous babynamers have made some predictions on what names they think will be uberpopular in 2019. I'm a little horrified that some very, very strong contenders for future children of mine are on their radar!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-12-11/top-baby-names-of-the-future/

What names you ask?

Girls: Delilah, Ruby, Violet
Boys: Cash, River, Kai (which I technically can't use because my bff already used it)

Names I was happy to not see on there:
Gideon & Lazarus - Evangeline & Magdalena

Rejie Sings!

So, Rejeanne can sing a plethora of songs from Spongebob, either in full or in part, but lately we've been singing the ABC Song to her just randomly around the house. Usually when you finish singing she says "siiiing!" and that's it. Today, she sang the whole dang song start to finish. She has an amazing memory and I'm so happy she's able to show a little piece of what she has stashed up there!!

Cookies

I'm seriously considering using the word "cookies" as a substitute for more colorful vernacular. Not only have cookies played a part in my fatness, but my 3 year old has decided there are "cookies" and "bad cookies". I suppose I should be proud of the fact that she has figured out that cookies go in one end and come out transformed as "bad cookies" on the the other end, but this is not especially comforting at 1am.

In my house, if you hear "cookies!!!!" when you open a door to check on what should be a sleeping child around midnight, something really awful is happening.

Tonight, Rejeanne spent time doing business on the floor in her room, then decided the walls were in need of decoration. My artist used the "naughty baked goods" to create two walls of wonder, which my husband did not have the foresight to photograph for you all.

Of course, since she also decided to practice her capital letters (Rs, Ns & As) in feces on her bedroom walls, I also get to tell the preschool about this wonderous event. Sometimes, I would just like to tell them "You really don't want to know what goes on at home. Can we just skip this whole 'communication folder' thing??"

So, should I just be excited that she is making clear capital letters or does the fact they were written in crap completely overshadow the educational advance? I mean, spelling is great and all, but if it's done in poop I'm not sure that it should really count.

bah.

Tick Tock

I'm stressing hardcore about this semester. This semester is at a do or die point, and I think I'm closer to die than to do. So, what do I do? Blog, apparently. I should be deciding if I'm doing my paper and presentation on Queztalcoatl or Pancho Villa. Did I mention it's due tomorrow at noon? Or that my group dropped the class so I am the group presentation now? How about that my Spanish sucks and I know Alan is going to purposely ask me hard questions because he's a show off? Maybe he'll be absent? Maybe I'll be absent. Maybe I'll just work hard for the classes I still have a chance at a decent grade in and let the Spanish class go.

Who knows. The future is uncertain. I hate that class. I hate presentations. Most of all, I hate group projects that turn into solo projects at the last minute.

What I like is the fact that my former sis-in-law regifted me spa cards from our former-mother-in-law that I'm going to use in California to forget how awful this entire semester has been. For the record, never have to deal with the stress of trying to potty train a possibly most likely autistic child, school and doctors for said child, moving, cabinet installation and 7 illnesses back to back and think you're going to do well at anything. EVER!

I'm going to go cry myself to sleep now so I can get up at 5am and write something about a bird-serpenty god or a revolutionary. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee.

Trimdown Update

My trimdown efforts seem to be more along the lines of moderation this year. I can't say that I've eliminated the fat girl food entirely, but I'm eating significantly less of it. I'm not working out that much, but I'm doing it consistently. I have been doing good on the spiritual aspect and feeling more centered and able to get through the hard parts of the day. Overall, trimdown is going well and I have lost 2 pounds. Nothing major, but at least the scale is moving in the proper direction!

Something I Should Have Never Seen

I really enjoy random household gadgetry. Luckily, I'm poor so all I can do is salivate over these things and think "what a great idea this is!". I'm actually afraid to look through this gadget website. On the upside, I will always have an answer for "What would you like for your birthday?" from now on!

http://www.problemsolvers.com/welcome.asp

Annual Turkey to Tree Trimdown!!!!!

Annual Turkey To Tree Trimdown (T4)

It seems that a lot of people I know are embarking on what most people consider the impossible – losing weight during the holiday season!

So, I propose that we swing at windmills together and prove these naysayers wrong! Skinny people, you can participate too! I consider this more of an effort to remember to take proper care of oneself more than a month long diet! I think it is really easy to justify some extra cookies during this time of year, but if we are focusing on self-care during this month, it will be less likely to be a cookie marathon by Christmas.

What do I have to do, you ask? Well, it is simple (on paper anyways)

From today until late night December 23rd, you do the following:

1. Care for your mind and/or soul.
Do something spiritual every day for a total of 30 minutes. This includes prayer, reading, meditation or anything else you find uplifting to your soul. So as not to exclude my chubby atheist compadres, I’ll suggest some readings of philosophy, poetry or something else that will help focus your mind and explore your world.

2. Care for the belly!
Come up with a plan to keep the reins on the food. If you know some particular food pattern is a problem for you, focus on that. For me, it is going to be the sugary fat girl food each and every time! So, I’ll be avoiding it for the T4. So, put down the chips and figure out what you can eat instead :)

3. Care for the machine.
Don’t forget the body that keeps you mobile. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Take the stairs, office people (but make sure you won’t get locked in first! I did that once ). Since I’m a gimpy girl, I’ll be spending my 30 minute minimum in the pool. This amount is the MINIMUM!! Those silly experts claim you need 30 a day just to maintain your weight, but if you have cookie calories to contend with, you should probably aim higher! Skinny fit people, you all just ramp it up a little, okay?

4. Document your plan and your progress
Either post your plan and progress on your blog or facebook, or send me an email. Why? Because we all need the support :) I like to know what others are doing and what is working (or not working) for them. My email is crimsoncoconut at gmail dot com. I’ll probably be doing most of my updates on facebook, so if you aren’t my fb friend, add me. I will probably also do the end-of-efforts post on the blog as well in case you are just curious about the end result.

A Bit O' Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was pretty nice! We had the sister missionaries over and it was good to get to meet them. They are really lovely ladies and I'm pretty glad they are here! I tried to take pictures of my children, but as usual, they weren't very cooperative! Lee was unusually cooperative though, so I did get a picture of his foxy self.




I also got a picture of this super awesome pumpkin cheesecake with a maple pecan glaze. It was my first try at cheesecake and it was tasty beyond belief. It will be happening every Thanksgiving for the rest of my life!



What is there really ever to say about Thanksgiving? We ate for two days?

Veterans Day with a little Romance :)

For some reason, Veterans Day always has me reminiscing about this amazing story in my family.

During WWII, my granduncle, Bill Butler, was serving in the Pacific theatre on a boat. At the time, the soliders were not allowed to disclose to their loved ones where they were located. My grandaunt Beth (possibly his girlfriend back then, not sure if they were married yet, but I'm thinking not)had no clue where he was. Every time there was reports of action, women across the country had no way of knowing if those fights were touching the life of their solider.

Anyways, my ingenious granduncle came up with a way to let Beth know where he was. During WWII, Hawaii had their own money. He took one of these colorful notes and cut a heart out of the middle of it where it said "Hawaii" and mailed it to her with his next letter. She received the heart and knew where her guy was.

Me, being the incredulous cynical child that I was, had zero belief in that silly tale and of course said so to my granduncle (affectionately known as "Grumps") and he said "Oh yeah??" and, standing in his kitchen with a big ol' grin on his face opened his wallet and showed me the remaining portion of that 40+ year old Hawaiian dollar with the heart missing from the middle. While I was sitting there with my chin hitting the ground, he turned to his wife and said "Show her the rest of it, dear" and she opened her purse and showed me the heart he had sent her all those years ago.

Is that not the most beautiful story of wartime love EVER?? I think so :)

My Idea of Romance...

My husband has a tendency to be a very random individual. It has an upside and a downside. Lately, I've had tunnel vision on the downside, but he sprung what I'd like to call a "grand romantic gesture" at me completely randomly. These occasional surprises (plus never being boring or predictable) are definitely the upside of being married to Chaos. I'm not a fan of the usual romantic things for the most part. I'm more a veggie garden girl than a flower garden girl. I still like the flowers, but if you're going to bother, it should serve a purpose. Flowers look nice, but veggies keep you alive!! So, this may not be your idea of romance, but a little area in our room for me to hide and study in, complete with crazy motivational pics of my children and a dung beetle moving his dungly wares and MORE is definitely my idea of romance. Here's what the wall looks like. It makes me pretty happy :)



(And yes, that is Ahmadinejad in the lower left corner)

Halloween Pt. 2

Cyrus is much easier to get on camera. He is clearly swashbucklin' in this costume, but if you lose the hat, it apparently is much more reminiscent of "scarecrow" or "Civil War soldier". Too bad I couldn't get the parrot to stay on!




This last photo is of my friend's jellyfish costume. Best use of an umbrella and office trash EVER!!!!

Halloween Pt. 1

Our Halloween was pretty low key this year with all of us being some form of sick, but we did manage to get to the branch Halloween party at least!

Taking photos of Rejeanne is always a challenge. She likes to hide her face most of the time from the camera, plus she is fast moving and prone to making odd faces just in the nick of time. I think I did okay this year though!

Photo update

Moving has sucked! We do have a really nice neighbor though who has two kids (4 & 2). I thought she was single, but her husband is actually in med school and gone for a few months with that. They're in their last year, so she'll be gone in May, but it is nice to have a normal neighbor (other than Andie).

Anyways, moving and scholastic calamity aside, here's some of the latest photos. Not much to talk about so I figure the pics will do!

So, Who Wants to Babysit Me?

I went to the back doctor today. He's decided there is nothing wrong with my back so he's not going to give me pain meds. I want to kick this guy in the shins. I realize that there is nothing structurally wrong with my back but just because all the pain is from the "soft tissue" doesn't mean it hurts any less. Pain meds are pretty much the only way I've been able to get out of bed most days. I've done enough physical therapy exercises to kill a horse, but I get to go do another round. I used to walk to school, but that jacked up my foot really bad so I had to stop doing that too. Oh, there's also nothing structurally wrong with my foot.

Now, I know this isn't a newsflash to anyone, but I'm way too fat. Like, so fat the doctors are asking *me* if I have considered getting a gastric bypass. Last I checked, gastric bypass was something people go asking about, not the other way around. For the record, I'm not going to get a damn bypass. It would be useless, plus it would make me look like a walking cadaver. My problem is all mental. Too many days without food in the house, too many days on the streets and too many days being the focus of very unwelcome attention. I know it's my mind screaming for a defense and I'm trying to let it go but every time a few pounds disappear instead of feeling pumped that the efforts are paying off, my brain starts sending me telegrams about its desperate need for chocolate.

I know what to do to get rid of the weight. That is not the problem. What I need is someone to hold my hand and be a big ol' food nazi. Someone to growl at me until I comply. Someone to remind me that my husband is actually quite vicious and would take the limbs off of anyone who dared mess with me these days. Someone to remind me that I'm much more likely to enjoy the positive results of dumping 200 pounds than to suffer the negative parts. Someone to tell me that everyone feels this emotion or that emotion from time to time.

Why do I need this? Because I was doing pretty good this time last year on the losing weight front and then it all got hijacked when I experienced the feeling "shame" for the first time in my entire life. The PTSD therapy is working wonders for my anger problems. I'm actually pretty chill now. Unfortunately, leaving food alone and doing this PTSD therapy left me wide open for unexpected consequences in the form of an emotion I could have lived the rest of my life without feeling. Just that one feeling that one time has got me running for brownies every time I even *think* about trying to lose weight. So, I gained 70 pounds in the last year and I was already way too heavy to begin with. Basically, I'm too chicken to face real feelings and that's what the food is burying.

What in the heck am I going to do?

So Very Talc-ey

When Rejeanne gets mad, she usually creates a great deal of screaming and drama. Today, she got mad, then got fairly quiet. Since it was near naptime, Lee thought she had put herself to bed. Moms, you guys all know what silence means! Especially with two:



Please notice all the particulate matter in the air obscuring your view of my blinds. My camera ain't blurry, folks; Rejeanne just has a cloud around her.



Baby brother seems to be enjoying himself, despite his powdery coating.



It looks like she dumped the whole container on his head!


You can't tell in the pics, but she stripped nude for the festivities and was doing simultaneous jump-twirls on my very powdered bed. Wheeeeeee

A Cautionary Travel Tale

Since Ms. Charity posted her awful travel story, it got me thinking (and laughing) about my very worst travel adventure ever.

Many, many moons ago, in 1997, my ex Jason and I were still married, no kids, and living in Phoenix, AZ. We randomly moved back to CA. At some point, my old roommate asks me if I want my old furniture back since she was moving out. I tell her "nah, it was only $50 at a yard sale. I sure do love that furniture though but yeah, not worth the expense of coming to get it". Honestly, we might have even gotten the stuff for $25 or free because the neighbor selling it was interested in the roomie until he found out she was 17. Anyways, I get off the phone and my FIL perks up and says "you can't just leave perfectly good furniture". I proceed to tell him it was from a yard sale and looks like it was made for a log cabin in the 70's. While I appreciate that distinct lack of style, no one else in their right mind would want that furniture. Well, my FIL firmly felt that you should never leave a perfectly good couch, chair, end tables and lamp, behind, regardless of its campy exterior. After an hour of trying to talk him out of this, he insisted I call her back and say we will come get the furniture. I even pointed out to him that renting the trailer to haul it would cost more than the stuff was worth. "No matter," FIL says, "It's perfectly good furniture". *sigh*

I should have known this was not going to go well when I decided to wear sandals. I'm a big fan of thinking of all possible bad outcomes and planning accordingly. I went to put on my sandals and my mind goes "no no no! Wear socks and shoes in case the car breaks down in the middle of the desert and you have to walk half way to Phoenix in 120 degree weather. No need to get bit by a fire ant on top of it." And I told myself "Don't be ridiculous, be comfy, wear the sandals".

Our trip begins in an old, blue Buick with a lil'bit o' duct tape on the roof. Simon Rentals installs a little open trailer on the back and we set off. Everything is cool until just past Quartzsite, AZ when all the sudden, the car just sounds like hell. I say "Al, you should pull over" and he says "If I stop, it might not start again." I took the opportunity to mention that we just passed the last civilized place for about the next 400 miles. No matter, we drive til it dies apparently. Then a few more miles and I say "Oh crap! Al, I think it's on fire back there and it sounds like crap is falling off the car". Apparently, the word "fire" was enough to get it pulled over. So, I get out of the car, cursing my temptation of fate by wearing sandals, and take a look around. Nothing but desert as far as the eye can see. Al was right; the car didn't start ever again. So, we did what all old people and young girls do in this position. We started walking and decided that we couldn't be more than 10 miles out of town. It was flippin hot. Really flippin hot. And I'm in sandals. I don't like ants or dirt in my shoes. I didn't even want to go get this darn furniture in the first place. Luckily, we were only walking about a mile before some nice, Spanish-only family in a minivan pulls over. While Al was a little leery of a ride with people he couldn't speak to, I promised him that even a carload of Mexicans can put two and two together when they saw the dead car a mile back and an old man and a fat chick walking in the middle of nowhere in the AZ desert. Besides, there was kids in the car, how bad could these people be? I hopped in the van and I'm pretty sure Al only got in because he didn't want me being kidnapped by illegals or something equally lame. They offered us water and a sandwich too. They had a cooler :) So, they leave us in Quartzite and we determine that there is a U-Haul place. I take my second swing at convincing him that the furniture is not worth it and that we should get a rental car and go home. But no, this was not to be. After all, you can't leave perfectly good furniture.

So, we go to the U-Haul place and discover they have only one U-Haul. The largest one they make. This thing was the size of a semi. Al takes it after I make a third pitch for turning around and going home. He puts the several hundred dollar expenditure on the credit card. Al must have mentioned we were towing a trailer because the guy asks if we need a "ball hitch adapter" or something like that. Al, of course, says no because a hitch is a hitch and the U-Haul has a hook up on the back. I say "are you sure we don't need that thing?" and he says we don't need it. So we leave and drive the behemoth back to where the broke down car is. We park and get out. Al starts taking the trailer off the car and I see a ball of dust coming towards us in the distance. It gets a little closer then stops. At that point I can see it's the tow truck. The tow truck driver gets out and picks up something on the road, gets back in the truck and drives down to where we are. The tow truck driver hops out and says, with a twinkle in his eye, "I think I found something of yours". It a piece of our car. I take it and wave it at Al. I told him it sounded like we were losing part of the car! Our rather jolly tow truck driver hitches up the car and leaves. After Al signed the credit card slip, of course. Probably another $100 for the tow.

Al and I are alone in the desert with the world's largest U-Haul truck and a little indy brand trailer. It wasn't too long until Al discovers what the "ball hitch adapter" is. It's the thing that lets you hook a non-UHaul to a U-Haul. It turns out U-Haul has custom hitches that are specially sized to work only with other U-Haul products. I suggest we drive the behemoth back to Quartzite and rent the $10 trailer hitch. He says "I'm not spending $10 on a hitch. I have some rope in the car." That's right, people. He actually said that. "I have some rope in the car". He meant it too. An hour of the foulest language ever uttered by my former FIL ensued. After that, we have a craftily tied thin yellow nylon rope holding a trailer on to a near-semi. Al gives it a little bounce and attaches the flimsy safety chain (!)and says "Let's go". I smirk at him and point to the safety chain and say "Do you really thing that is going to do anything if that rope breaks?" and he says "The rope isn't going to break. Safety first!" with a smile and we set off for Phoenix. We make it without any other events. When we pull in to the apt complex, I get out. To my surprise, the trailer is still very securely fastened to the back of the U-Haul. Shock and awe, people. That was one heck of a surprise. Al smiles at me and says "See, it's fine! Let's go get the furniture. We load up. That U-haul is the biggest room that furniture has ever been in, guaranteed. We leave to head home. It was a really, really long day.

It's 1:00 A.M. We're 5 1/2 hours in to our 6 hour drive home. Al takes the 10/210 interchange, which is a rather sharp curve for a semi-truck sized U-Haul towing a little trailer. All the sudden, people in the cars are yelling at us. Finally, we understand the third guy who says "Dude! Your trailer!!" as he zooms by. I figure that thing must be swinging side to side or something. We pull over, Al gets out to check on the trailer. I hear him coming back because he's cussing again. He gets in the U-Haul and says "the trailer's gone". "The trailer's gone?" I say. He says "Yeah, it's gone. We have to go look for it". At this point, I just shut up. We drive up and down the freeways in the middle of the night for over a half hour. No trailer anywhere. Al finally gives up. He says in a very serious tone "Don't you EVER, EVER, EVER tell Sue I used a rope and tied that trailer on. EVER!" I say "ok" and we go home. We get there and my MIL, Sue, calls the highway patrol to try to find the trailer.

In the morning, the CHP calls back and says the located the trailer and the rental company was contacted. They were going to go pick it up. It turns out the trailer flew off the freeway at the interchange, went down the embankment, hit a motorcycle cop's bike, and landed against the cinderblock wall of a gas mart. Al calls the rental company and before he can try to find out the financial damage, they start profusely apologizing. Apparently, the thought the trailer, which they had attached, had fallen off of the Buick. Al didn't bother to correct them. Sue is wondering aloud "how could that trailer have come off the hitch like that??" and he just shrugged his shoulders and left the room.

For the record, we did keep it a secret for a long time and I don't think Sue ever found out about what happened. :P

Bad adventure, funny story :)

A Cautionary Tale :)

My lovely Rejie, who talks all the time but no one has a clue what she is saying, has really beginning to pick up some words. This morning, Cyrus and I are napping in the bedroom and Lee and Rejeanne are in the living room. I guess Lee dozed off or something because I get up from my nap and Rejeanne (who likes to run naked when she has to go potty) runs up to me naked and follows me into the bathroom. She sits on the potty and plays and hangs out and plays some more. She says "poop" and I say "poop goes in the potty" but she doesn't poop. Eventually, she leaves and goes back to the living room. I finish brushing my teeth and hair and go out to the living room. Lee's asleep and Rejeanne looks distressed and says "ewwwwwww, poop!!" and waives her hand around then turns around and I see Poop!! So I run and get the potty and put her on it while Lee is trying to figure out what is happening. I come back with the potty and Lee is trying to clean her hand off and I put her on the potty and say "you put your poop in the potty, not on your hand" and Rejie just keeps saying "ewwww" "bad poop" and "not on hand" while completely freaking out. It was hilarious. After she's clean enough to go in the bath, she calmed down and said "Bad Poop! not on hand". Maybe she does learn better when she's completely freaked out after all!

The best part when I asked her where she pooped she said "need pants. Daddy. Wake up wake up. Bad poop" I have this feeling perhaps she tried to wake Lee up to get a new diaper so she could poop! She doesn't like pooping in a wet diaper and a wet diaper that she had stripped off was sitting right by where he was sleeping. All in all, he's pretty lucky she didn't poop on him.

On the upside, maybe she'll get better about telling us she needs the potty now, and of course she has learned not to put her hand into her poop. This should also have freaked Lee out enough to keep him from dozing on the job for a little while.

*edit* UPDATE: Turd has been located. Thankfully not by Cyrus.

Guess What??!!

We're moving! We were supposed to move this summer, but the place we were going to take was needed much, much more by a gal with 4 kids in a 2 bdrm. apt. so we swapped spots on the waiting list. Usually only one of the 3bdrm places come open every year or two. We expected that we'd still be in our apt for another year or so, but today the landlord came up to see if we wanted it. Heck ya we do!! I'm so glad I hadn't made the carpet cleaning appt yet because then we would have had to pay twice for it since we have to pay a carpet cleaning fee when we move to the other unit. I'm totally excited to have a nice, open L-shaped kitchen instead of the tunnel I have here. It's also got laundry hook-ups in the unit and central air/heat. They also did a bunch of renovations this year. It's even big enough for me to invite the gals over to do stuff without us all feeling like we are sitting on top of each other. The best part though is that Cyrus can have a room! He is just to strong and unaware of the pain he inflicts to put him in a room with Rejeanne so he has stayed in our room and we had no plans to move him out until he has more self-control about pulling his sister's hair.

Anyways, we should be in the new place October 1st. The current tenants bought a house, so unless their escrow falls through, we are moving on in there!

So, fellow Vermillionaires, where should I go to score some boxes??

First Day of Preschool

I really wish my camera battery hadn't decided to stop charging about a month ago. It has caused us to miss taking a video of Cyrus trying to crawl and dance at the same time, most of Rejeanne's birthday goodness, her new skill at building forts, and most criminal of all: Rejie's first day of preschool!!

I managed to get her there early. She must have know she was going to have to stay by herself by assessing the adult to kid ratio. She refused to enter the room. She hunkered down in a tight little Rejie ball and wouldn't cooperate. I finally coax her into the room, and she re-balled by my feet. I decided to go the the circle puzzle to bribe her and while I was searching for it, she made her escape. Unfortunately for Rejeanne, one of the preschool staff saw her bolt on me and went to chase her down. She played with the puzzle with me, but I had to leave pretty quick after that and she screamed and screamed. I felt like a total jerk.

On the upside, the preschool staff considers her screaming from 8:45 to 10am a good day because she was mostly chill from 10-11:30. With standards that low, I probably don't have to worry about any meetings with the principal. I'm also pleased to report that Rejeanne kept her clothes on the entire time. *sigh* She is getting so big.

Oh! Cyrus is trying really hard to talk and is saying two word phrases here and there. I thought the boys were supposed to be the slow talkers???!

Rejie is THREE!

I can't believe she is three now (well, at 2:11 pm PDT). She is such a sweet, crafty, loving little girl. She doesn't listen to me, she lives in her own world but she brings me into her world very often. She cuddles and jabbers at me. She's really started to engage and communicate this week. I think she will bloom very soon with the words. She said button today and I haven't heard her say that word in over a year, but she just spontaneously said it while playing with the buttons on my shirt. She's also discovered a way to get stuff without using a chair. Lee and I are both stumped as to how she is getting at the far back of the counters and the top of the microwave without the chair, but we have evidence (i.e., contents of entire new box of cheerios all over the floor). Rejeanne is mysterious and keeps us on our toes. She still loves her brother even though he tackles her and pulls her hair. She has started giving him a good night kiss if he looks sleepy enough. Our lives are so blessed by her entrance into our family and we are so thankful for her health and her beautiful personality. I can't say enough about how much I love Rejeanne and I can't wait to see her grow in the coming years. She brings so much joy to my life.

In other news, Cyrus the over-enthusiastic baby encountered the Jensens' cat today. I thought he'd pull its fur off, but instead he immediately tried to kiss it! That didn't work too well, so he snuggled the kitty instead. It was sooo cute!

I have my U.Discover poster session in 13 hours. I think I'm nervous. How else would I know how many hours away it is?? *ack*

Also, for all the prayin' types, please pray for my friend Mandi's daughter, Kenna. She is getting tubes in her ears in a few hours. Not only would we like Kenna's surgery to go off without a hitch, but her mom has not had the best month and doesn't really want to finish the month off with anymore unhappy surprises. So, pray for Miss Kenna!!

Very fuzzy pic of TEETH!

Because the tops are rarely seen since they are still growing in, I had to go ahead and post the fuzzy pic of his teeth. Please ignore the multitude of horrifying photographic errors.

The Ides of...July?

It was my darling Cyrus Evander Leif's birthday on July 15th. I can't believe he's a year old already. He is big, strong, beautiful and well-suited to his warrior-ish name. He's also made me his favorite person! After having girls who preferred their dads at this age, I have to admit all the mom-cuddles and turning to me with his tears is very wonderful. I know a lot of the moms out there get a little sick of kids sticking to them like velcro and wanting ONLY them, but for me it is still a rare privilege and treasure. My girls are very interested in me now, but not then! There is something special about being the baby's favorite person, and I do adore holding the title (finally!).

My blog is sort of decrepit. I'm hoping to make it a little more bloggy in August. For now, I have vertigo and an ear ache in addition to my usual lengthy list of things that cause me pain all the time, and my summer research is in desperate need of love from me. Well, more work than love, but I think I'll be missing in action until the 25th or so.

Cyrus loved his gifts and still has a few more coming in August from his birthday cash from relatives. Unlike Rejeanne, he went right to task ripping paper and yelling at Rejeanne everytime she'd grab his freshly unwrapped gift and run away with it. It was pretty funny! I guess she finally gets the whole present thing. She even learned to say "present" very quickly! If only all words were as exciting as a present, she'd be set!

Mixed Feelings

I don't like the concept of "Special Education". Is it really special? Anyways, I'm trusting all these people in the room trying to sell us on special class for Rejeanne are going to prove themselves out in the end. I'm not really sure she should be in special ed. Sure, she doesn't talk much and tends to ball up in the corner when she's had enough, but regular preschool snapped Crimson right out of all her problems in 3 weeks. Couldn't the same thing happen for Rejeanne? It's not like they have any kind of concrete diagnosis for the kid. The best I can get is she has "more than one developmental delay" in the same paragraph as "she can do things at a 4 and 5 year old level in some areas". What am I supposed to do with that exactly?

Anyways, I was wearing a pink shirt again today. Rejeanne was standing next to me and I accidently bumped her. I said "I'm sorry, Rejie" and she responded "I sorry, Patrick" *sigh* I really need to convince her that I am not Patrick.

The Glory of Orthodontia

So Crimson has this expander thingy in the roof of her mouth to spread out her incredibly narrow palate. Well, things get caught up there. Apparently she had a kiwi seed stuck up there for 3 days that finally came out on the plane. Tonight, we had spaghetti with meat sauce. She got a piece of burger stuck up there and couldn't get it out. Well, I'm not willing to have a piece of anything remain stuck in her mouth so we tried to get it out. A bamboo skewer, 20 minutes, and a little brush thing later, I dislodge the offending meat. Of course, I freed it with such force that it flew out, hit me in the face and ricochet'd down my shirt.

So, is that gross or what?! hahahaha

Green Stuff

Since there is about a trillion versions of Green Stuff on the internet, I'm posting my favorite here on the blog so I don't have to scour the internet three times a year to find the recipe I like.

Green Stuff

1 large box lime Jello
12 ounce can of crushed pineapple
8 ounce package cream cheese
1 package of small marshmallows
large whipping cream

Drain pineapple and set juice aside. Mix cream cheese and pineapple. Set aside. Make Jello following package instructions, but use pineapple juice instead of water. Chill the Jello until firm. Blend cheese and pineapple with Jello. Don't be afraid to stir. Then blend about 3/4 of the package of small marshmallows. Stir until well blended. Then add whipping cream. Blend until there isn't any green showing. Cover and refrigerate until set and then serve.

Mom-Mom vs. Patrick Star

So, a little over a week ago, Rejeanne decided to say a few sentences. She has not really been able to do this for almost a year, so I was quite excited. She said "I want Daddy" and wandered around the house looking for him. She realized he was in the restroom, so she stripped naked and started running around the house. I'm assuming this was in an attempt to get me to put her on the potty, which happened to be in the same room Daddy was in. Since Grandma was here at the time, Rejeanne enlisted her in the conspiracy by climbing on top of a living room chair buck naked and turning to Grandma with her finger over her lips saying "shhhh" followed by the trademarked Rejie Impish Grin.

This was not to be the last of Rejeanne's hijinks that day. I'm laying on the couch next to Lee. Rejeanne climbs up on the couch with me and pokes at my belly. She then said something that sounded like "Hear this belly, are you Patrick?" and then it went something like this:

R: "Mom-mom"
M: "Rej-Rej"
R: "Mom-mom"
M: "Rejie"
R: "Are you Patrick?"
M: "No, I'm not Patrick"
(trying VERY hard not to laugh, Lee is not trying hard at all)

R: "Mom-mom"
M: "Rejie"
R: "Are you Patrick?" (Rejie is giggling because Lee is laughing hysterically by now)
M: "No, I'm not Patrick" (Now I'm laughing hysterically)

L: "Your shirt is Patrick-color" (gasping/laughing and possibly crying)
*5 minutes pass*

R: "Mom-mom"
M: "Rejie"
R: "You are Patrick"
M: "No, I'm Mom-mom"

Well, now anytime I wear anything coral-colored, Rejeanne calls me by Patrick instead of Mom-mom. I think she seriously believes I'm Patrick. I'm posting a horrifying picture of me in my "not leaving the house" clothes for your amusement. I have to admit the resemblance is unfortunately striking. *sigh*

Family?

*sigh* I think I've gotten to the point where I'm going to leave the subject of possible other children of my father alone. I managed to connect via internet with a gal who is the daughter of my father's 3rd (?) wife. I may have posted previously that I was trying to get in touch with her. I'm not sure. Anyways, she's not one of Louis' kids, but she did have this to say about him:

"Anyways, he was extremely sadistically abusive, yes, and my memories of him are not pleasant---at the ripe ages of 3 to 4, I was thrown across a room and into a wall, walked in on my mother being beaten while she was naked, and I spent alot of time with grandma after he held me down and force fed me when i had the flu until I threw up. They were not together even a year when she left him (running for her life and mine), and when he found her at my grandmother's, half of the West Covina police dept. showed up for his violent behavior." She went on to mention that incident involved him setting her grandmother's house on fire.

So, I'm thankful for the candor. My step-sibs who were raised by him were always rather cryptic. Mostly just "be glad you weren't raised by him" and "trust me, you didn't miss a thing, forget he exists". I think I just got a better picture why. I know my father had a temper and a propensity for violence, but I never saw anything but the slightest hints of it.

And people wonder why I read so many parenting books...

Bored

Seriously bored. I really need to think of stuff to do that doesn't involve cleaning the house or working on my research dealie or this stupid computer. Yeah. I guess that would be called a life, right? wheeeeeeee

Dear Rejeanne,

I was really amazed at what a big girl you were today. I'm awfully impressed that you are able to change your own diaper! I was thinking that perhaps you might find it easier to just use the potty. It takes a lot less effort and coordination. Just a little time management I suppose. Anyways, the potty is right where you left it. Do you think we could try to use it a little more often? I would have more money to buy a toy for you if I didn't have to buy you diapers. What do you think about that??

Love, Mom-Mom

Hey Anne! Name That Baby!

This list is mostly for Ms. Anne on my "People I Stalk on the Internet". I've only met her a couple times, long ago before she was married, but I found her to be lovely then and even more so now. She has five kids at home right now so I kinda caught a pattern in her naming preferences (I think!), so hopefully she’ll find a winner here!

I love names! I’ve been making name lists since I was in preschool. Writing lists of names over and over helped me stay calm and not so bored as a child and also is to be credited for my excellent penmanship.

Any name with two asterisks by it is my unsolicited advice for what to name Anne & Dominic’s son :) Feel free to offer comments with your opinions too! For the record, their other children at home are Bridget & Piper (the girls) & Regan, Ciaran, & Quinn (the boys)

IRISH NAMES THAT I COULDN’T FIND A SAINT FOR:

**Emmett
Fergal – brave & courageous
Garret – spear carrier
**Lochlan [LOCK-lun]
Riordan [REER-don] – royal poet
Seamus [SHAY-mus] – Irish form of James
Turlach – one who aids
**Dubhlainn [DUV-lin] – dark sword
Desmond
Cillian (Killian) – fierce & loyal
Carrick – rock

SAINT NAMES:


Finnén [FIN-yayn] (Finnian)
Fionnbhar (Finbarr)
Crispin
Cyprian
**Corcán (KURK-awn) – red, crimson
**Daigh [day] – fire
Faithleann [FAL-yan] (Fallon)
Farannán
**Librén [LEE-bren]
Lonán
Lucan
Marcán
Meallán [MYAL-awn] – lightning
Oliver
Rúadhán [ROO-awn] (**Rowan)
Tiarnach
Tressan
Ultán
Brogan
Beccán
Berach – pointed, sharp
Breccan – speckled
Cassán
**Abbán
Cairbre
Eoghan (Owen) – born of the yew tree
Faolan (Phelan) – wolf
Fergus – strong warrior
**Hugh – fire
**Lorcán – silent or fierce
Odhran (Oran/Orin) – dark-haired
**Ronan – little seal
**Tadhg [tyg] – poet philosopher
Simon
Simeon
Éimhín [AY-veen] – prompt, ready
**Declan
Dallán


A FEW GIRL NAMES FOR PASSERS-BY:

Aine (Anya) – splendor, radiance, brilliance
Alana/Alannah – darling child
Aislinn [AYSH-leen] – vision, dream
Caoimhe [KEE-va] – gentle, beautiful, precious
Blinne
Claire – clear, bright, famous
Graínne [GRAW-nya] (Grania)
Cadhla (Keela or Kyla) – beauty only poetry can capture
Maeve [mayv] – cause of great joy
Radha [ROW-uh] – vision; if you have a large Hindu population this name is also a diety-consort of that faith but is pronounced more like Roddah.
Saoirse [SEAR-sha] – freedom, liberty
Siobhán [shiv-AWN] – Irish form of Joan

Let's hope this never happens but...

if I were to ever have twins, I'd name them Jinx and Lucky (if it were a boy and a girl), Jinx & Jezebel (2 girls), and probably Lucky & Soren (2 boys) or maybe Brigham and Zion.

So, to answer the question - No, I'm not pregnant and if I were let's hope it wouldn't be twins!!!

However, if anyone uses those names on their twins and sends me proof, there's a cash prize in it for ya!

Not Her Smartest Idea

Today, Rejeanne thought it would be excellent to use our floor mat for a blanket. The underside of the mat is spiky so this was not a great idea. Of course, she insisted so I just got the camera out and captured it for later! Notice she is still sporting the pink boots around the house with no clothes.

Finally!!

Well, Cyrus started cruising yesterday! None of the girls ever tried to walk this early so I'm pretty excited about him being the fast walker. Today, he FINALLY did the one thing he was just a wee bit behind in: CYRUS SAT UP ON HIS OWN!!!! I can't tell you how exciting that was! I've been waiting for about 4 months for him to put himself in a sitting position and it finally happened. He's been able to sit if we place him on the floor in a sitting position, but he hasn't been able to sit up for himself. What a goof!

Watch What You Say Around Rejeanne!

Rejeanne doesn't really talk TO us. She babbles a lot and has Spongebob reinactments, but actual verbal communication is not really her thing right now. She has never been able to let us know if she doesn't feel well or if something is bothering her. At most, she'll throw a huge hissy fit, but since she does that about 20 times a day, it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak. So, before I actually turn myself into Matron Gertrude and become the night-night Nazi, I decided to take her to the doctor today to make 100% sure this insomnia was behavioral and not a physical reaction to something else. Keep in mind, she didn't sleep AT ALL last night. She sacked out for about an hour at 9:30 this morning though. Still, three days with hardly any sleep at all and none for more than about 2-3 hours at a time! So, the doctor gave her the all clear and told me it's behavioral and gave me instructions on how to break her spirit and such. Rejeanne was sitting on my lap the whole time he's saying this stuff.

So, anyone think it is coincidence that the doc says "take away the spongebob unless she sleeps at night, then use it for a morning reward with a special snack and never let her out of that room until morning" and Rejeanne only came out once tonight, I reminded her that the doc says there's nothing wrong so she has to go back to bed, and she didn't come out again? Silence even, NO after dark performances! Coincidence? I think not. Turns out she understands far, far, far more than I even knew. She just doesn't want to talk to us, but the ears are working and the wheels are turning.

Rejeanne, if you are reading this, (for all I know she can read too!), I got your number, kiddo! The jig is up.

Dumbest Idea Ever

Okay, so in case you haven't noticed, I'm rather sick of Rejeanne staying up all hours. So, in my unnatural state of sleep deprivation and my morbid curiosity, I gave up around 1:30 this morning and let her out of her room. She was really cuddly and kissy and I figured she'd fall asleep. Nope, not so much. She's running around the living room behind me, squealing with joy. Take note folks, it's 3:50am. Since we've gone this long, I really just want to see exactly how long she can go without sleep. She's already out done my highest expectations. *yawn*

Rejeanne the Insomniac

So, it's 1:00am. Rejeanne is still awake. She's not making much noise in there tonight but she's definitely awake. Lee thought he heard a choking noise so he went in there to check on her. Do you want to know what he found?

Rejeanne standing on her bed with her diaper down at her knees bending over shaking her naked butt towards the door and making choking/growling type sounds. Apparently as soon as she heard the door crack open she tried to pull up her diaper as fast as she could and flopped down to pretend she was asleep, with one cheek still hangin' out of course!

So, I guess the mystery of "what in the heck does she do in there for 5 hours with no toys" has been solved.

Cyrus = Super Big Boy

Ok, Cyrus just learned to crawl last month and last week he started trying to pull himself into a standing position (at least I think it was last week. Time is so blurry). So today, he pulled himself to standing with a diaper box and then pushed the diaper box in front of him as he WALKED holding on to it!! Holy Hannah! I'm am so proud of my little guy. I think he's going to walk earlier than the girls did. None of them walked until 13 months or later. Hopefully, he'll do the diaper box thing again tomorrow. Don't ever let anyone tell you that there is no advantage to a messy house! hahaha

Gettin' Ready

I've got the camera battery charging just in case Rejeanne decides to have Masterpiece Theatre After Dark in her room again tomorrow night. She either really enjoys her own company or she has an invisible friend in there. Either way, if she's still laughing at her own jokes tomorrow, I'll at least have some audio for you guys.

For Rejeanne

Dearest Rejeanne,

You stayed up playing for 5 hours after your bedtime last night *again*. I think I have figured out the nuances of your methods of ignoring me though (finally!). I have a feeling we're going to work this out soon. Also, you're a beautiful girl. You make me really happy and feel so loved. Thanks for grabbing my hand when you came with Dad to pick me up at the doctor's. Thanks for kissing my owie from the IV and whimpering with your mean face on at the nurse when she took the final set of vital signs. You are a kind, brave girl and I'm very lucky to be your mom.

Love, Mom-Mom

Still Here :)

Well, the doctors didn't kill me :) They said they had to keep upping the anesthesia to keep me calm though. When I get there, they tell me they're going to use sedation (Versed, etc) instead of general anesthesia. I told them I have PTSD and I get very freaked out by catheters so it probably wouldn't go well that way, but hey, I've never tried it. Judging by what I was saying and the panic attack I was having when I started to come out of it, I think I know why they had to up it. Stupid PTSD *sigh* It's better than it used to be at least :)

My bladder is hanging in there but there is definitely interstitial cystitis going on. On the upside, the procedure doesn't seem to have kicked off anything so let's hope it stays that way. I'm sooooo glad that is over with. Now I get to focus on my summer goals!!! woooohooooooooo!!!!!!! I love summer.

Blah -- Chances are you should just not read this post. Seriously, a little TMI for most of you

Rejeanne stayed up until 2am again. Cyrus is starting to wake up. I couldn't sleep because I completely freaked out that some doctor I barely know will be inching my close to death (general anesthesia) so that some other doctor can poke around my bladder. I'm freaking TERRIFIED that allowing this doctor to poke at my bladder will result in unleashing the IC beast that lurks there quietly right now. At this point, I just feel like I have a bladder infection all the time. This is NOT a big deal for me. It's annoying, but it's no biggie compared to the other pain I get and the bladder pain I had as a kid. I seriously can't bear the thought of IC coming back in full force like it did when I was little. My life used to revolve around bathrooms. My only consolation is that at least I have wireless internet. I could actually work from the bathroom nowdays. I'm sure a few of my friends remember me getting stuck in the bathroom. I tell ya, when you literally live in the bathroom, you start inviting people in! hahaha I remember laying in the bath with the curtain closed and having people hang out in the bathroom with me. If ya can't get Mohammed to the mountain, you bring the mountain to Mohammed, right? I've eaten meals in the bathroom. I've slept in the bathroom. I've stayed in the bathroom for three days straight before. I remember the very first time I had my "bladder problem" (they didn't know what in the heck was wrong with me back then). I was little, probably 3 or 4 years old. I was wearing pink overalls and I had just used the restroom and I was crying because of the pain. My mom got so mad at me because I wouldn't stop screaming and I wouldn't put my overalls back on. I just remember the pain and her buttoning up my overalls telling me to knock it off because she was going to be late to work. I don't think anyone really knew how much pain I was in. People kept thinking it felt like a bladder infection, but I hadn't had bladder infections so I didn't know what they were talking about. When I finally had a bladder infection for the first time, I almost died from it because I didn't know anything was wrong. Compared to IC, bladder infections are "slightly uncomfortable" and really barely even worth calling the doctor about pain-wise. If you take that type of pain, and MULTIPLY it by about 100 or so, you might scratch the surface of average IC pain. Interstitial cystitis is no joke. It's debilitating, unrelenting misery and I really, really don't want it back. I don't mind feeling a little uncomfortable from it, just this mild aching stuff I have now, but I would do just about anything if it would guarantee I could live out the rest of my life without that kind of pain again.

So, everyone just keep your toes crossed for me that this "hydrodistention" of my bladder doesn't make the IC harpy come shrieking back to life. I've known for about 10 years that it will eventually make a comeback. Most people don't even get a 16 year break from it like I have, so I am thankful for that. The flip side of that is that now that I've enjoyed normal life, I know what I was missing before and I don't want to go back to that.

I also hate that this doctor will see the scars of the abuse I dealt with as a child. I always hate the look on their faces. That look of veiled horror and pity. The knowing look because scars tell stories of their own. I really really hate that part especially because they are required by law to ask me about it and the bastard is dead. Maybe I should just start off with that. "Please don't ask me about my damaged urethra. I know it is damaged. I know you will know why. He's dead. Move on." I guess I don't because I always hope they won't notice or maybe just won't say anything. But since this dude is sticking a camera through there while looking around, I'm pretty dang sure if there is any damage still lurking, he'll see it. I wonder if urethras can scar. The first doctor that noticed it referred to it as being "essentially scarred" but it's a little tube so I don't know if that is what it is exactly. I guess I've never cared enough to check. Broken, scarred, damaged, who cares? It's really all the same.

It's 6am now. I'm tired but too freaked to sleep. Since I feel like brutalizing my readers, I'm just going to post this anyways. Good thing my mom can't read this at work anymore. I'm not sure she can handle all the things I keep from her.

The Sorrows of Being Nine

I thought this day would come in Kindergarten. Crimson is such a gentle, sensitive girl. I figured the kids in Kindergarten would eat her alive and change her forever. I didn't happen. Every year, I keep thinking "It'll happen this year" because I don't believe that sensitivity can make it through the torture of elementary school and I KNOW it can't survive junior high. Crimson is at the tail end of 3rd grade, I'm thinking this is another year that went surprisingly well. But no, it's finally the year that Crimson realizes that kids can be mean and that there isn't much one can do to change that. I feel so bad for her. Her feelings are really hurt. I told her to just avoid them the best she can and if they lay hands on her, beat the daylights out of them or die trying. Crimson, my obedient one, says "Mom, I'm supposed to tell the teacher if that happens. We aren't supposed to hit back." *sigh* Alrighty, I told her to do it that way the first time and if it happens again, wail on them til someone pulls you off and I'll tell the school that they didn't solve the problem the first time with their hippy nonsense so I told her to issue a beat down. She seemed satisfied with this. After talking to her step-mom, I discovered Crimson has been hiding her face and standing there when these kids are berating her, so then I had to get her back on the phone and give her The Lecture. Much like sending a soldier to war, I had to tell her to suck it up and not show weakness to the enemy.

Why is public school like this?? Is it so friggin' hard to just go to class and mind your business? Crimson pretty much does her own thing to the tune of her own drummer. I doubt Crimson even understands when this kid says "you think you're all that" and does everything possible to exclude her and demean her. This year has been so hard on Crimson. She's had to deal with discovering she is not great at everything, that people can be mean, that home life is not what it could be, etc. She all the sudden has started to catch the nuances of life and the faults of those around her, as well as her own. She has no hard exterior because she never knew she needed one. I really wish I could just take care of this stupidity for her, but I can't. I really hope she can learn how to never let them see her pain. It's really the only way to make that sort of thing stop (short of punching them in the face anyways).

I miss my Crimson. People, teach your kids manners. Seriously. Kids don't have to be mean ya know. They can learn to be civil just like anyone else. They just have to learn it AT HOME!! So, ban the snarky cartoons and speak to them kindly as much as you can. Oh, and take the teacher's side whenever there is a problem. Grrrrr!

Rambling Post About My Father's Escapades, or something like that

So for those of you who don't know, I'm an only child. Well, I was raised an only child. I have 5 step-siblings and four confirmed half siblings. My father was a fairly complicated individual. Said individual was married at least four times and none of those was to my mother. Anyways, I finally found what I like to call "The Missing Link". My mother seems to remember my father having a male child very close in age to me. My mom thought he was a year or so either younger or older and thought his name started with a P. I've gone throught the birth records of every Rivard in the state of California. Whoever Mystery Kid is, he's not named Rivard. One of my half-sibs told me that in the 70's and 80's my dad had been known to have relations with some coke head named Janice. Apparently, she would stop in occasionally at my dad's jewelry store over the course of many years. It is assumed that Madam Cokehead would be the mother of the missing kid. I truly NEVER thought I'd stumble upon the Janice person, due to her status as cokehead. They tend to fly way under the radar.

I don't know how I missed this before, but my dad was married to a gal named Janice from 1970-1972. I've found five marriages for Janice so far (I'm guessing there may be more!). I also found her mother's obituary from 2006 which says Janice is already dead and that she had two children, K. and W. I found a pic of K. on the internet. It's blurry, but she could pass for my dad's child. I can't find W. but that is not unusual with the felonious types. (I found his description on the NV DOC website) Based on the description of blonde and scrawny, I doubt he is my dad's kid, but he was born in 1979, so that would fit the gender and time frame better than the girl from the late 60's. Unfortunately, he's on probation right now and not in the lock up. If he were in the lockup, I could just write him and ask what he knows about his dad or his mom. Prisoners are fairly conversational people.

Anyways, it appears that if this is the missing kid, my assumptions from the outset are holding up. The kid never had a chance with my dad and a cokehead mom, he's probably in prison somewhere. Bah.

Since I'll probably be hunting for random half-sibs for the rest of my life, I made a small effort to contact K. I guess we'll see if she responds.

Yes, I can stalk people this good over an internet connection in a few hours time while avoiding my final paper. So, if you ever need to find someone, you know who to call...

Boots!

Rejeanne discovered her snow boots the other day. She didn't want anything to do with them when we first got them and they were a little too big. She discovered them while I was digging through the shoe box. She put them on and started modeling in them and looking down at her feet in all these different little poses saying "boot boot" the whole time. It was so freakin' cute! Anyways, she must really like how she looks in them because she wears them a lot in the house now. She also let me take her photo in them. She is usually less patient with my photography.

Rejeanne is one girly little girl.

Letter to The Toddler

Dear Rejeanne,

How is it that you can go to bed at 8:30pm yet find so many things to do in there that you stay awake until 2:00am? What is so interesting? There are no toys. There is nothing really but your bed, Crimson's bed and two dressers and a couple chairs. How is this enough to keep you awake and entertained for FIVE AND ONE HALF HOURS?????

Furthermore, how are you able to fall asleep at 2:00am and still get up at 7:00 or 8:00am, just like you used to do when you'd actually fall asleep at bedtime? How is this possible? Do you have insomnia? Are you waiting for us to go to bed so you can embark on some adventure that I have not noticed yet? Are you excited because it is springtime?

Tell me, dearest Rejeanne, how will I ever get a decent night's sleep again? You are so crafty that I am afraid to sleep until I *know* you are asleep. Especially now that you are able to scale our 6 ft tall bookshelves.

*yawn* I love you Rejie, but please, please, please, GO BACK TO SLEEPING MORE THAN 6 HOURS A NIGHT!

Time Flies When You're Havin' Fun

Another school year coming to a close, more people leaving. I used to love change, but it seems like the life of a Vermillionaire means that just as you start to feel like you have nice, supportive friendships then it is time for them to move away. Of course, there is always the upside, having friends all over the country and the new kids every August. I have to admit, I have a soft spot for the ladies of Vermillion, past and present. They have all brought something unique to the table along with their kind hearts. There is something special about this place.

Here's a photo of the current Lady Vermillionaires. It will be different soon enough :(


Here's my lovely Rejeanne, looking pensive. She played after hiding on my lap for awhile. She had a good time. I love this little girl more than I ever thought possible. It seems that love can grow infinitely. Just when I think that there is no way I could love my kids more, I find that eventually I do love them even more.

For all the moms with little kids

If you all haven't taken the time to read Ms. Anne's blog on my link list to the right, TAKE THE TIME. Anne's blog is one of the best ones out there in my opinion. I appreciate her thoughtful, authentic posts. She is always inspiring some type of introspection on my part. While Anne and I seem to have a fair amount in common, we certainly don't always agree on things, but her blog is well written, her ideas well supported, and that always gets me thinking about my perspective on similar situations in my own life or ways I'd like to grow and change.

Check it out!

Why Rejeanne Makes Me Laugh #23548

*sounds of tape coming off the wall in the next room*
Lee: "Uh Rejie? Are you taking your potty chart off the wall?"
*sounds of poster being smoothed back onto the wall*

Our Little Plot of Earth

I spent weeks trying to learn exactly what to do and when with my little plot of dirt at the community garden. I'm bound and determined to not only grow stuff, but grow them efficiently. Well, after all that research, I have settled on the Haphazard Gardening Method. For those of you unfamiliar with this form of gardening, it involves saying "forget it" to all the planning and just putting seeds in the dirt and putting water on it. I plan to continue watering it and see what happens.



The kids really enjoyed the walk to the garden and I even managed to get Rejeanne to listen to me! I actually got a two year old to understand "walk around, not on" the other people's gardens!! I consider that a minor miracle, especially since Rejeanne tends to not be particularly obedient when you really need her to be! Cyrus slept most of the time and then just chilled in the stroller babbling at us the rest of the time. He's a pretty mellow little guy. Lee's planting was less haphazard than mine, so we shall see who prevails!

While I'd love to enjoy the flowers and veggies and fruits we planted, I'll be impressed if the stuff will even put off a couple leaves. I'm not known for a green thumb, that much is certain!