February 29, 2008

Happy Leap Day!

Quick update on the Alex marriage front. Last night he decided he's not ever going to get married. Apparently his line of reasoning is that if he doesn't get married, he'll never have to move out of the house. When he announced this at dinner, Jeremy very vehemently told him that all kids leave the house at age 18 married or not, at which Adam burst into tears. I'm sure this conversation will be very funny to the boys in about 10 years or so. And so, onto

Potty Training Day #5

7:15 Drop off.

7:30 Nice pee on the potty. They boys liked singing the happy pee-pee song before they had to go to school.

Breakfast - bogurt

8:00 Got home from taking Alex to school. I was out of the regular hot cereal so I actually had to boil oats for breakfast. Ariel was not impressed.

8:50 After going potty, Ariel and I took a shower. She got dressed in her first non-pj outfit of the week and while I was getting dressed she had a accident, so off came the cute jeans.

9:45 Got to Kangaroo Kingdom. Almost immediately she had a pee accident.

10:25 Sat on her little potty in the KK bathroom and peed.

10:50 We made it over an hour before she pooped her pants. Luckily it was a very contained accident and by the time I had her cleaned up it was time to go.

11:30 Ariel looked very squirmy when we got to Adam's school so we went in and sat on her little potty in the girl's bathroom. While this was very entertaining to some 3rd graders (One conversation - "Is she ok?" "Yes, she's just being stubborn." "I don't think she old enough to know what stubborn means.") Ariel did not pee.

11:45 Got home. Ariel peed on the potty and then had some orangish sauce and not much mac&cheese for lunch.

After lunch Ariel and Adam were playing and Ariel had another accident. I found Ariel in the office taking her wet pants off. I sent her to her potty and Adam kept her company.

12:45 Got Ariel out of the bathroom. She had been sitting on her potty so long it had adhered to her thighs and when she stood up it flipped over. This is not the first time that's happened, but it is the first time it was full of pee. Sigh.

1:00 Ariel went down for a nap.

2:30 Woke Ariel up (with a slightly wet pullup) and she peed quickly before we went to pick Alex up.

2:50 Got home. I threw the challah ingredients into the bread machine and then we dashed off to Target.

So, backstory - a month ago Alex got a report from his teacher that he wasn't behaving well in class and not doing his work. This was very surprising, in 2 1/2 years of school we've never heard of Alex not behaving. We've been talking to Alex about what's going on and how his teacher gives up weekly reports (mostly in the form of happy/neutral/sad faces). At the same time, Alex has been begging to get a new bionicle, because apparently the 12 he already has just aren't enough. So last week I told him that if he got a good report and a smiley face he could get the bionicle today. He had great week, his teacher says he's like a new kid. I'm not much for the bribing, but I'm glad he's back on track. And he was almost as excited about the good report as he was about the bionicle.

3:15 Fast Target trip. Alex got his bionicle and Adam ended up with one too for being in the right place at the right time. I'm glad that Alex didn't notice or complain that he had to earn his and Adam didn't. And I got a new cheap cordless phone to replace the old cheap cordless phone that stopped working 2 weeks ago.

3:45 Got home. Ariel peed in the potty and then finished her lunch while the boys put their bionicles together:



And some good Alex stuff... Alex has never been into drawing or art until recently. A few weeks ago he brought home an art portfolio from art class at school and we framed a couple pictures. The top is monkeys in banana trees and the bottom is a self portrait (his friend commented, "You look very strong). Alex is very proud of these and we're glad he showing some more self confidence with his art work:



And at Sunday school last week he made a challah cover that we used tonight. It is a very elaborate Star Wars scene that I couldn't even begin to explain since it's one he made up and not from any movie. Ted did a pokemon one so I assumed all the kids just drew what they liked until I talked to Lauren. She drew a Jewish star and a kiddish cup. Ah, those crazy boys.



4:15 Ariel peed on the potty again. No accidents since she woke up from her nap AND she didn't soil Target (unlike poor Kangaroo Kingdom).

4:30 Pick up.

So, potty training... I agree with Becky, we may have to expand my original 7 day forecast. Ariel can do it, she's just being stubborn. And regardless of what a 9 year old thinks, Ariel can be stubborn without knowing what the word means. So, I think we have to wait for Ariel to come around. Eventually she'll get sick of wetting herself, right?

February 28, 2008

Welcome to

Potty Training Day #4

7:10 Drop off. We came in and sat on the potty but nothing happened.

Breakfast - just bogurt.

8:00 Pee accident

8:30 Tried to get Ariel to go potty before we left to for the mall but she didn't.

9:10 Got the the mall. Alex ran off with the class and Ariel and went to the bathroom. Ariel sat in the bathroom a long time. I got bored and Ellen and I texted a while. And still Ariel sat.

9:45 Poop, we have poop!!! (and strangely no pee)

We caught up with the class and I walked almost a lap around the mall when I noticed Ariel looked uncomfortable so we dashed back to the bathroom.

10:00 Ariel peed right away.

We found the class again and Ariel was in a great mood. She even exercised with us:



10:30 After class was over (I think I walked about 1/4 of a mile and did 30 pushups) we had lunch at Starbucks.

11:05 Checked back at the bathroom. Alex and I peed but Ariel just sat. Here's your obligatory potty picture of the day:



11:30 Picked up Adam from school.

11:45 Got home. I sat Ariel on the potty and she didn't do anything.

12:15 Still not having peed since 10, I put a pull up on Ariel and put her down for a nap.

12:45 Ariel was still not asleep so I got her out and she sat on the potty and peed right away. Then I put her back down.

1:30 Still not asleep and starting to be pretty cranky about it. When I checked her, she had pooped in her pullup. Given the time, we gave up on nap. I'm surprised she didn't sleep, she nearly nodded off in the car but I kept distracting her to keep her away.

2:30 Picked up Alex. She did not pee before we left.

2:45 We played a bit at school before I noticed Ariel's pants were wet and we went home.

She had another accident at home and didn't pee on the potty again.

4:15 Becky got here. Ariel sat on the potty again but still no action.

So, steps in the right direction were made today. Poop on the potty is always exciting and Ariel demonstrated some amazing bladder control. And not soiling a fairly upscale mall is a big plus. Now we just need to move in the direction of fewer accidents and Ariel initiating bathroom visits. Day 4 is a hard one, by day 7 we'll look back and laugh. Right?

February 27, 2008

Hello, and welcome to

Potty Training Day #3

7:10 Drop off a dry Ariel. We sat on the potty right away but nothing happened.

Your Adam of the day, "Did you know, girls have bellies and boys have tummies, for real!"

Breakfast - yogurt and not oatmeal

7:45 Nice potty pee before we got our coats on to take Alex to school.

8:30 Poopy accident. Ariel didn't tell me she needed to go, but she did go right to the bathroom and started to take her soiled pants off.

8:40 I thought we were set but then we had a pee accident.

8:45 Sears guy got here to deliver our new front loading washer and dryer. He took one look at our laundry closet and said, "Uh, no." We wanted to stack the units but the dryer vent is on one side and the drain on the others. That, and the dryer vent is this crazy flat rectangular mess that the guy confirmed is the reason for our lint problem. So now we need to get that dryer vent fixed so it can be the regular tube kind and stretch across the closet. And this leads me to another rant - the whole laundry closet thing. The people who lived in our house in the '90's did a big remodel and the closet was part of that. In fact, before the remodel, the laundry room was across the house in the old mud room but they thought it would be fun to stick in the master bedroom (believe me, it's NOT fun). It's across from the second bathroom they added and the family room on a slab. They could have done ANYTHING and they made the closet so small that you have to put in tiny units and a big flat vent. And the second bathroom is teeney too, I have no idea why they didn't do a really nice job with jack & jill sinks or even just some more space. They even added 2 ft to the master bedroom but logistically we cannot put a king sized bed and any piece of furniture in our room. Why why why????

So anyway, I had to refuse delivery and we'll have to get an expert in the closet to tell us what we can do. But we need to do something before our house burns down. That, and the washer agitator is broken and the clothes don't get spun dry and the whole thing is one big SNAFU.

9:35 After a bit of time in the bathroom (decked out in toddler style) we got a pee on the potty.



After Ariel got out of the bathroom, she built her pillow fort spaceship that's been happening lately:



10:20 Another pee on the potty!

10:40 Ellen came over with frappachinos. Ariel showed Ellen all her underwear, which since she had only had 2 accidents was mostly clean. At the moment she was wearing her spider man ones.

Ariel was being pretty wild when Ellen was here and we took a video hoping she'd say dammit too. No baby cursing, but here's what a day with Ariel is like:



11:10 Ellen left and Ariel commandeered my frappachino (baby, caffeinated beverage, what could go wrong?). No pee but no accident either.



11:30 Picked up Adam.

11:45 Got home. Ariel sat on the potty for a bit and didn't go so went had some mac & cheese for lunch.

12:20 After lunch Ariel got a cookie and joined George Costanza in the bathroom. She peed, Adam pooped and there was much celebration.



12:30 Put Ariel down for a nap and made a fatal mistake. Since she had just peed and since she woke up dry yesterday I thought that putting on a pullup would be too much work.

2:30 Woke up a wet Ariel in a wet bed, but she sat on the potty and peed.

2:35 Picked up Alex. It was a nice day so we played for a bit but then Alex had to go potty so we went home. Does my life completely revolve around the bathroom, or is it just me?

3:15 Got home. Ariel sat on the potty but did not pee.

3:45 Accident. Gave Ariel another Thin Mint to go sit on the potty. This will be great fodder for later years in therapy - "So, why do I associate Girl Scout cookies with the urge to poop?"

4:30 Pick up. Becky spent some time with Ariel in the bathroom.

4:45 Ariel finally peed.

So today's progress, Accidents: 3, Potties: 6. Stay the course, everyone, stay the course.

February 26, 2008

Potty Training Day #2

7:30 Ariel arrived late but dry. Good job Ariel!

Ariel sat on the potty and didn't do anything and then a short while later had an accident.

Breakfast - yogurt and oatmeal.

8:30 Poop accident. When one poops in panties, small pieces may fall out, but the majority is contained. Cause, you know, FYI.

9:00 More potty sitting with little action and lots of accidents.





Alex played with legos. He was really disappointed that we didn't go to the mall but I didn't have it in me. Though his disappointment probably stemmed from a miscommunication with the stroller class instructor. Last Thursday Alex was bored and she told him she didn't really have any toys for a kid his age but she'd bring something for him Tuesday. So now Alex has it worked up in his head that she's bringing him a lego star destroyer or at the very least a bionicle and I think it's probably a coloring book.



10:00 Alex, "Mommy, I don't think Ariel is ready to use the potty."

Patience, young Alex, patience.

10:45 Big pee in the potty. Much celebration with the pee pee candle.



11:15 Another pee in the potty.

11:30 Picked up Adam from school.

On the drive to Alex's school we revisited a common conversation - who the boys are going to marry. Adam is dead set on marrying me. Today Alex asked if he could marry Ariel - I told him no, we don't live in Kentucky. But I suppose if Adam and I are getting married, first cousins are starting to look pretty good for the 'ol gene pool.

11:45 Home - another pee in the potty, then lunch. Ariel didn't eat much (might have been full from cookies) but had some quesadilla.

12:20 Another pee in the potty, then down for a nap.

While Ariel napped, Adam watched some Duck Tails and then we played memory.



This expression is Adam. Picture everything he says bookended by, "Did you know...for real, I learned it at school!" For example, "Did you know humpback whales eat orka whales - for real, I learned it at school!" We may need to research alternative preschools for Adam.



Adam won, with very little cheating. Here's his pairs lined up to infinity and beyond. He got 23 of 36.



2:30 Woke Ariel up. She had a dry pull up and peed on the potty.

2:40 Picked up Alex from school. We were slightly late and Alex was peeved. When I told him we had to wait for Ariel to go potty, he reiterated, "Just put a diaper on her, and don't ever be late again!"

Got home, had a cheddar bunny snack. Ariel did not pee in a proper receptacle or otherwise.

3:15 Left to take the boys to their dentist visit.

3:30 Dentist visit. Ariel had an accident about 5 minutes in, but only let out enough to soak her pants and not enough to get on the floor. We hightailed it to the bathroom with the potty I brought and she finished up with some dental chocolate. Have I mentioned my dentist has as full stock of cookies and chocolate in the waiting room? When, exactly, is the right time to enjoy these treats? Before your appointment so your hygienist has to pick crumbs out of your teeth or after when your mouth feels about as clean as it will for the next 6 months? Anyway, I digress but free chocolate does come in handy for potty training.

Ariel enjoyed watching Alex get his teeth cleaned. She liked it so much she stood right by his head and demanded, "Mah turn next!" I gave her some protective sunglasses to distract her from her lack of dental care but alas they were too big and led to much Ariel cursing - dammit dammit dammit. Since Ariel is already cursing, I asked Becky if she's seen the Will Ferrell Landlord video. I think Ariel is a shoe-in for the sequel.

4:20 Ariel had another small accident and then was not amused when we went back to the bathroom. Maybe it's because I didn't bring any chocolate but I was getting seriously concerned about her blood sugar. Becky found us in there (she probably followed the wailing sound) and took over. Ariel did not pee in the potty but she did stop screaming.

So I do feel progress was made today and I want to remind everyone involved that this process takes about a week. Ariel was still mostly happy about the potty, had a accident to catch ratio of 5:5 and can stop peeing when she feels her pants getting wet. Keep the faith.

February 25, 2008

Before we start today off, I have to share Cute Things My Kids Said.

Adam: Who's that king, emperor of the world? Oh yeah, God.

After school on Friday, Alex was building a pretend fire with a fire circle. He was using rocks for the fire circle and eventually ran out. He started using pine cones and I asked him if pine cone could burn. He said in exasperation, "Mommy, it's just a pretend fire."

7:15 Drop off. Breakfast - bogurt and oatmeal.

8:00 Dropped Alex off at school. When we got home, it was the official start of

Potty Training Boot Camp

Our first step, saying goodbye to diapers. I sang "bye bye diapers" while Ariel put them in the trash can. And then, when she wasn't looking I pulled them out because we don't really throw away unused diapers, not when Hannah can wear them.

Then we put back on our pants, but not underwear. The mere mention of underwear sent Ariel into a near black-out rage so I didn't push it.

Here's Ariel with pants and no underwear and tappy-tappy shoes:



9:30 We had accident #1. Ariel didn't complain or tell me about it either. We put on more pants and no underwear.

To get things moving, I showed Ariel how to teach baby doll how to use the potty, and then baby doll got an m&m.

The potty is a bit big for baby, good thing the baby didn't end up in the real toliet:



I loaded Ariel up on liquids, including a juice box that I found in the back of the fridge:



The mere mention of "potty" also sent Ariel into a stiff screaming panic, but after I showed her that we could read books in the bathroom, she was all over it.



10:10 Ariel had another accident, this time involving #2. And when one is not wearing underwear and has on loose fitting pants, poop tends to just fall out a leg hole. FYI.

10:15 Shower.

Next, Baby put on underwear (picture Borat in a thong and you get the idea) and got an m&m. So then Ariel put on some underwear and got an m&m too:



11:00 A few more accidents. I think Ariel was no longer emptying her bladder into her pants but letting some out, then we would sit on the potty and nothing would happen and then we'd put underwear and pants on and she'd let out some more. But the improvement was, she cared her pants were wet, unlike the first accident.

11:10 Bad sign. Last pair of pants that Becky brought. That would be 6 pants in 3 hours.

11:25 Left to pick up Adam. I put a cloth diaper on Ariel's carseat just in case, but she was fine.

11:40 Got home. Had some spaghetti o's for lunch.

12:15 Pre-nap we finally got 10 drops of pee in the potty. We put pants back on and went to call Mommy and tell her all about it and then we had a huge accident.

12:30 Down for a nap. Lacking any pullups, Ariel wore a diaper that I pre-fastened and she pulled on like underwear.

Playing with Adam:



2:25 I had to wake up Ariel. Her diaper was a tad wet but we took it off right away. She sat on the potty but nothing happened and then we walked over to Alex's school.

2:40 Alex and Adam went to a playdate at Gabriel's house.

2:50 We got home and Ariel was still dry. She sat on the potty and we read and played with her phone and sang and read and and...

3:40 Finally! Success! Ariel peed in the potty! We celebrated by blowing out a pee-pee candle and having a thin mint. Uh, I guess I should say that was not the first thin mint, she had had a few already to get her to sit on the potty in the first place. And maybe a few m&m's too, but a lot of them were mini-sized.

3:50 Ariel had a slight running poopy accident. Sigh.

4:15 After only 5 minutes of sitting on the potty, Ariel had another good pee. Yay!

4:25 Pick up

So I thought we made really really good progress today, even though our accident to catch ratio was like 10:2. Ariel was screaming in rage at the mention of the potty in the morning and happily peeing by afternoon. And lest you feel sorry for Ariel, I think Ariel thinks this was the best day ever with Dee-Dee. I don't think Ariel has ever gotten one-on-one attention from me all day long. And I certainly haven't read to her for over 2 hours or loaded her up with cookies and candy.

February 22, 2008

7:15 Drop off. I was showered and dressed and ready. Jeremy said I looked like a normal person.

8:00 Took Alex to school.

Breakfast - oatmeal and a few waffle bites.

8:45 Went to Starbucks. I had a mocha and Ariel had a free sugar cookie.

9:30 We met Rachel (and Lilianna) and Jill (and Jake) at Kangaroo Kingdom. I think we are going to make this a regular Friday thing. I didn't even try to interact with Ariel, I brought my knitting and chatted. But as Jill pointed out, Ariel didn't want to play with me either. She has so much fun there.

Here's bubble time:



Do they taste as good as they look? (Alternatively - Ariel's oral fixation knows no bounds)



11:10 Left the Kingdom. Ariel fell asleep in the car.

11:30 Picked up Adam.

11:45 Got home, transfered Ariel to bed.

While Ariel napped, Hannah came over for 11 month pictures. Here's a few:







1:30 Ariel woke up and had bogurt at her request.

2:30 Picked up Alex from school. Adam said, "Hey Ariel, let's hold hands!" They are really sweet when they aren't trying to kill each other.



We played on the playground for a while.

Ariel's special friend is six year old Riley. Apparently Riley likes Ariel so much that she told her teacher that she wished her 20 month old brother was a girl like Ariel. And Ariel, so used to the boys telling her to go chase a car, loves that Riley wants to play with her. I told Riley's mom that anytime she needs to borrow Ariel, she's welcome to her.

Riley led Ariel by the hand all around the playground. They went down the slide together and then Riley pushed Ariel in the swing.



3:40 Got home. Ariel had a cheddar bunnies snack.

4:00 Pick up. Becky walked in on Ariel saying, "Dee-Dee, what happened? A mess." Yes, those would be cheddar bunnies on the floor, which wasn't so bad in itself until Ariel stepped on half of them. In the carpet. Yes, A Mess.

February 21, 2008

So, no drop off today. Becky and Laura very generously babysat last night so Jeremy and I could go play bar trivia. And sadly, bar trivia was not as fun as last time. The last round of 5 questions was the exact same as two weeks ago so it was boring and 75% of the teams knew all the answers just like us. We came in 4th place which did not come with any prizes. But the beer and company was good, it's just that I'm a tad competitive and now we have to go back next week and kick some butt.

Anyway, Becky brought Ariel long with her for babysitting and when Jeremy and I got home Ariel was asleep in Adam's bed (remember, Adam sleeps in a sleeping bag so there was plenty of room) so I told Becky to just leave her. At 12:30 Ariel woke up so I went into bed with her to keep her from waking Adam. At 2:30 she woke up again and was wiggling around and bumped her head on the wall so I moved us to the futon. And then at 5:30 Adam woke up screaming that he didn't want Ariel in his bed anymore (which she wasn't) so I got in bed with Adam (he'll be in his bed if I'm there). I don't think he fell back asleep and he was a bit crabby this morning. So, long night for me.

7:30 Ariel breakfast of oatmeal and bogurt.

9:00 Left for the mall late.

9:15 Stroller class. We did lots of arms today and I can barely type now.

10:30 After class we went to Starbucks and Ariel and Alex had their sack lunches. I had a java chip frappachino. Come on spring!

11:10 Left mall. Ariel did not fall asleep.

11:30 Picked up Adam

11:45 Home. Ariel was still awake so I let her play a little to gauge her sleepiness. She and Adam played with trains for a bit.



Welcome to my noisy life:











12:30 Another small lunch of more bogurt.

12:40 Ariel was not acting happy and peppy so I put her down for a nap. She whined for about 5 minutes and then fell asleep.

2:30 Had to wake Ariel to pick up Alex.

3:00 Got home with Alex.

3:15 Josh came over for a playdate with Alex. Ariel did not understand why she couldn't play with the big boys too. She eventually found other toys to play with and we read some books too.

4:15 Pick up.

February 20, 2008

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend (I asked Adam about the President's day holiday and what it was for and he said, "It's a really useful holiday"). We had lots of family fun time. We took the boys swimming on Saturday and to the WOW museum on Monday. And on Tuesday, I took the boys skiing at A-Basin. Yep, just me and the boys, and it was even fun.

The boys went into a half day lesson, which I am liking more than a full day. They were outside the whole time, no wasted movie or snack times. They ended up in a first timers group which was probably ok for Adam but not as fun for Alex. But no matter, when I picked them up at 12:30, Alex excitedly told me that his instructor said he was ready for the lift. So, I took Alex up the bunny hill twice and he did great. Being the cautious and timid guy he is, he figured out that turning keeps his speed down and he was able to follow in my tracks down the slope. And best of all, he's really excited about skiing now. He can't wait to ride the lift with Ted!

Here's Alex and I on the lift (not so easy to take a self portrait on a lift):



As for me, my day was fine too. A-Basin is keeping it real and old skool by not having any of those new-fangled high speed lifts. So I spent most of the day on a lift, but it was beautiful so I didn't mind. I was a bit disappointed in the new Montezuma Bowl. It was mostly blue terrain and the interesting black runs required hiking. Plus, you had to watch where you were going or you would end up below the lift and have to hike some more. The snow was ok, there wasn't any new snow but it was warm enough that it was soft. Here's the view from the top of A-Basin looking back over to Breckenridge (which you can see a bit past half way on the right side). And on the right side is Lake Dillon and Frisco.



Here's the enlarged shot of Breckenridge and I marked where I took the previous (from January 22) picture from:



Of course, then I had to look at the Breckenridge panoramic to see if I could find A-Basin. Because of the angle and how I used a very wide angle, it didn't really come out, but here is the area from the old picture. A-Basin is in that, well, basin behind that ridge:



And now, back to Wednesday:

7:15 Drop off - breakfast of oatmeal and bogurt.

8:00 Took Alex to school.

Ariel spent the morning messily playing by herself while I did chores.

10:45 Ariel and I went to the cookie store for some grocery shopping. When we were done, Ariel rode the horse and for the first time (for me at least) did not scream in terror when the horse started moving.



11:30 Picked up Adam.

11:45 Got home, had lunch. Ariel had sauce and mac & cheese.

12:15 Put Ariel down for a nap. While she slept, I prepared our enchiladas for tonight and then Adam and I whipped up some chocolate chip cookies. Adam is a great little helper in the kitchen. And his random comment about the cookies, "Mom, don't put cheese in the cookies, Ted wouldn't like that." Never mind his own father is allergic to dairy or that I said nothing about giving cookies to Ted (though Ted's family is always welcome to share). Just a random little comment from my very random little Adam.



Ariel's nap was going rather loudly to be productive to I checked up on her. Look at that little devil grin she has:



She played (but for the record, didn't cry) for a very long time.

2:00 Adam watched one of the Duck Tales that Becky dropped off for us this morning. Duck Tales is one of my favorite cartoons from childhood and I sincerely hope it's not too scary for my boys.

2:30 Adam survived Duck Tales, I had to wake Ariel up.

2:40 Got Alex from school, we played for a little bit. Alex talked Ariel into carrying his backpack home, I wish I had had my camera for that one.

3:10 Got home, had a cookie snack.

3:50 Ariel left early today so I could take Alex to the doctor. He has some spots and I'll report back tomorrow what the diagnoses is.

PS - Duck Tales is too scary for Alex but Adam and Ariel enjoy it.

February 15, 2008

7:15 Drop off. I'll be nice and skip the part where I bitch about getting up.

8:00 Ariel and I took Alex to school.

We got home and had nothing to do. And I was too ambivalent to think up anything exciting.

I took a picture of Alex's Valentine bag he made for school. All the other kids pasted pink and red hearts on their bags, and my kid drew a bionicle.



9:30 Found enough motivation to shower with Ariel. Ariel got a mini-spa treatment too. I clipped her finger and toenails, styled her hair (but no fancy French braid today) and put lotion on her chapped cheeks and painted her toes:



There, all pretty and drooly:



While I had my camera out I tried to do an artsy picture but I was using a spray bottle for the drops and it was troubling Ariel so I had to put everything away. But, here's my Christmas cactus blooming, despite much neglect:



While I was bored, I videoed Ariel's stunning rendition of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes that she's been treating me to all week:



11:30 Picked up Adam. We came home and had lunch. Ariel did not like the canned raviolis that Adam chose but she did eat some leftover oatmeal and some cheese.

12:15 Put Ariel down for a nap. She didn't want to.

1:00 Finally fell asleep. If she gives up her naps, I'm going to have to double my rate, lol.

While Ariel napped today, I wrought ugliness into the world. These hideous leg warmers are for community knitting this month. I mean, I know we are helping those less fortunate, but do we have to rub it into their faces?



And on a positive note, here are the socks I finished using Crissy's Hannukah yarn and the long circular needles she gave me. I am hooked on the magic loops method vs double pointed needles, thanks Crissy!



2:30 Had to wake Ariel to pick up Alex.

We stayed on the playground for a bit. It was only 45 degs but sunny. Ariel got her precious swing time in.

3:05 Got home.

3:50 Among much mutual bickering over blocks, Becky picked up Ariel.

February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day!

As usual, my sweetie went all out. Last night he brought home a bag of green M&Ms and told me about the flowers he saw but were too expensive. Awwww.....

7:20 Drop off. Ariel was a bit late because it snowed last night. Which reminds me, Ellen wanted me to tell everyone that I don't have SARS or CWD, but just SAD. Yesterday was beautiful, about 75 degs and I went for a walk and we played outside and I didn't nap. So apparently I just need to move somewhere that doesn't have a winter, or go to Mexico every year with Grammie.

Breakfast - bogart and oatmeal.

8:40 Left for stroller class. Only 5 moms showed up today but that didn't prevent us from working out.

After class I got a crepe and the kids ate their lunches. Ariel was proud of her big girl status, though she only liked her string cheese and cheddar bunnies and not the banana:



11:30 Picked up Adam.

11:45 Got home, Ariel was not asleep. I put her down for a nap and she was very vocally against it.

12:00 Checked on Ariel, she had a poopy so I changed it and put her back down. She fell asleep soon after.

1:15 I had to wake Ariel so we could all go to Alex's class' Valentine's Party (have you ever seen so many apostrophes correctly used?)

The party, of course, was chaos. Ariel enjoyed her cupcake though:



She also had quite a fan club among the kindergarten girls. Three girls didn't leave Ariel alone but Ariel didn't seem to mind:



2:40 Left Alex's school.

3:00 Got home, got in the car and drove to Gabriel's for a playdate. Tatania offered to take both Alex and Adam but I didn't have anything to do so we all went.

3:20 Got a call from Becky that she was leaving work. This came as at a good time because Ariel and Alex were squabbling over a Power Ranger's helmet and I'd had enough chaos today.

3:30 Drove home to Ariel's loud protests of "Helmet!!!!"

3:35 Becky was already here when we got home. Bye bye Ariel!