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!

February 12, 2008

To start off, Beck said she didn't remember I had Chronic Wasting Disease - I complained about that on October 4th. Which, I might add, led to a later accusation by my father that maybe I'm just anemic. And poor Crissy called today to find out if I really have mono. No not really, like a doctor said I do. But I could.

7:15 Drop off. NOT showered. NOT awake. NOT amused.

Breakfast - bogart and oatmeal.

9:00 Went to stroller class. There was a teeny-tiny chance that there was going to be a camera crew at class from the Montel Williams show. The had approached Carolynne about it last week but it didn't pan out. Just in case, I wore my nice green fleece instead of my ratty CU sweatshirt.

But, alas, I will not be on national TV (I also volunteered to be Carolynne's "media specialist" should she need one in NY). But I did get a decent workout in.

Carolynne also bought Ariel some birthday balloons because I didn't do class in November and we had missed Ariel's birthday. Ariel was pretty happy about the balloons.

10:45 After class we stopped by Rubio's for lunch. Ariel nibbled on her quesedilla.

11:30 Picked up Adam, Ariel was asleep.

11:45 Got home, Ariel transfered to her bed.

1:30 Ariel woke up. I had combed her hair when she got to the house this morning, but her napped messed it up so I did it again, this time with aplomb. Ariel's first french braid:





2:30 Picked up Alex. We hung outside for a bit since it wasn't freezing cold or gusting wind.

3:00 Got home. Ariel had another snack - bogurt and cheddar bunnies.

4:30 Pick up.

Feb. 11, 2008

I apologize in advance if this is yet another uninspired blog. I think I traded in my SARS for mono and I'm just tired all the time. I slept 12 hours both Friday and Saturday night and I've been napping nearly every day. Or, maybe it's back to the Chronic Wasting Disease, I forgot I already had that one last year.

7:15 Drop off. And, if I may brag, I was awake AND showered.

Breakfast - oatmeal and bogart.

8:00 Walked Alex to school. Got home, cleaned up the breakfast mess, started some laundry and vacuumed.

9:20 Left for our adventure of the day - we picked up Ellen from Toyota where her car was being serviced. First, we went to the bank. Then we went to Starbucks. I got a Java chip even though I already had a coffee this morning. Ariel had 1/2 a donut. And then, I needed to return some library books and get some new ones. We are reading Ramona books now and the next one was only at the main branch, so we went there.

Ariel really liked the pish in the aquarium. And we happened to get there at storytime so we checked that out too.

Ariel is wearing her purple overalls today:



Ellen got the call that her car was done, so after storytime we dropped her off and then we picked up Adam. Too much car for Ariel, she fell asleep:



11:40 Got home, Ariel transfered to bed.

1:30 Ariel woke up, had mac & cheese and no apple sauce for lunch.

2:30 Picked up Alex from school and returned home with an extra kid - Gabriel.

The three boys played really well together and I tried to keep Ariel out of the way. She colored and then we read books and then she played with the magnet toys.

4:25 Pick up.

February 8, 2008

7:20 Drop off. Ariel seemed much happier than she had earlier in the week. For breakfast she had oatmeal.

8:00 Ariel and I walked Alex to school.

When we got home, I had to frost 2 dozen cupcakes for Adam's carnival on Sunday. I had baked them right when I got up.

9:30 After the cupcakes were done and Ariel and I were all showered, we went to a baby shower for one of the stroller moms. Here's a picture of me and Ariel and some other moms that the host took:



And a picture I took of Ariel.



Ariel enjoyed playing with Kyleigh's toys and eating cheddar bunnies.

11:25 Left the party to pick up Adam.

Got home, everyone had lunch. But I really writing this on Monday so I don't remember what everyone ate.

12:00 Ariel went down for a nap. I might have gone down for a nap too.

2:30 We all got up, picked up Alex from school.

4:00 Ariel went home.

February 7, 2008

Ah, my poor neglected little blog. No, I did not fall victim to SARS, though it was touch and go at times. I believe my bronchitis was brought on by back to back viral thingies, which the whole family also got. Ariel and the boys were sick last week again with fevers/colds and missed lots of school. Ariel did come to the house on Friday and everyone, including me, napped a lot.

Jeremy and I celebrated my 33rd birthday in Breckenridge last weekend while Grammie watched the boys. The snow was good, but we were both feeling out of it after a week of sickness. I hate to say it, but the most exciting part of our weekend might have been watching 9 straight hours of TV on Saturday. At least it was relaxing and quiet.

Ariel was also here on Tuesday, my official birthday. She was VERY crabby and took a morning nap instead of going to stroller class. She also took an afternoon nap and then woke up so crabby I asked Becky to pick her up at 3:30. She's been sick for a week so hopefully we are at the end of the crazies with her. And in case you are wondering how I spent my birthday evening, I joined 700 fellow Democrats at my local caucus. It was SUPER fun and Obama won with 80% of the vote. Jeremy did not caucus as he's a registered independent. Jeremy would also like to register a complaint of my using the word "caucus" as a verb, adjective and adverb in addition to noun.

And to make up for my lame birthday, last night we joined Melissa and her boyfriend and CB & Potts for trivia last night. We were a force to be reckoned with and Jeremy and I won our table a round of beer with our obscure knowledge of the New Order song Bizarre Love Triangle. And overall, our team came in second winning a $25 gift certificate. Our attempt for first place was thwarted by my illegal bathroom call to Dad to ask who the house speaker who retired in 1987 was. And, as good karma should work, my cheating did not pay off as Dad did not remember. But my awesome husband came up with the WWII answer Yalta (you'll have to play Jeopardy to figure out the question) and secured our second place win. I have a feeling the second half of the night would have been easier if I had not drank 18 more ounces of beer than I intended, but doggone it, it was FREE.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled blog.

7:15 Ariel arrived and I pried myself out of bed (see aforementioned FREE beer).

7:30 Alex informed me that he needed to be at school at 10:00 for his field trip to the Tibet Restaurant to celebrate the Chinese New Year. I had no paperwork or information about the field trip but after 2 phone calls to less lame moms, I determined that Alex DID in fact need to be at school before 10:00.

8:45 Went to the mall to say hi to the stroller moms and to give one a photo order. I missed all last week too. Since we didn't have time to work out, I just ran upstairs and grabbed a Starbucks.

9:20 Left the mall

9:45 Dropped Alex off at school. Speaking of Alex, I have to share this funny story he told us last night.

"Mrs. Young went in a cave when she was on vacation. She saw lots of rocks and spiders. And she bumped her head in the cave. And she said that when everyone in the class is yelling, her head hurts worse than when she bumped it." The delivery was perfect.

And while I'm at it, here's another cute boys story. We were talking about the Chinese New Year and Alex said China is a country on the other side of the world. Both boys have been studying Antarctica and Adam pointed out that Antarctica is on the bottom of the world so all the penguins are upside down. Maybe you had to be there for that one.

Anywho, after we dropped off Alex, Ariel and I went into Boulder for a car wash. I tried out the CA-like Puddles where real people wash and vacuum your car and I'm pretty impressed. There's no way a gas station wash was going to get off the layers of magnesium chloride that have been collecting all winter.

10:30 Got home.

11:30 Picked up Adam. Ariel messed up my plans and fell asleep in the car.

11:45 Got home, put Ariel in bed.

1:00 Ariel woke up, consented to have some yogurt for lunch.

2:30 Picked up Alex. After school, the kids watched Little Robots but Ariel wasn't interested. She said she wanted spaghetti o's but then she didn't eat them.

After the video, Alex worked on his valentines. Naturally, he picked Star Wars. There are 8 designs and they all look a lot like this:



I was telling Jeremy that I didn't see what Darth Vader and an energy beam had much to do with Valentine's Day, but then Jeremy said that was pretty much how he feels about the holiday, so there you go.

4:30 Pick up.

Ariel had a better day today, minus some mysterious crying jags involving her chococat fleece blanket.