Mo' Ritchie

It's 100 times worse when the kid is sick

2009-04-07T21:54:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting in Charlie's dark bedroom, on the spare twin mattress we threw on the floor so I wouldn't throw out my back when he needed me in the middle of the night, listening to my son whimper in his sleep.

He's so sick. Monday it seemed like a cold, maybe pink eye. Tuesday, all the cold symptoms disappeared, just to be replaced with consistent puking. He started at 6 this morning, and kept at it throughout the day, capping things off with a huge horking session just before bedtime. He's been asleep for about 1 and 1/2 hours and hopefully, the puking is over. I am pessimistic though and will be on this twin mattress on the floor until morning.

My morning sickness is just about wrapping up, at 17 weeks. Now, my kid's got it. As miserable as I was, I would take it all back just so he didn't have to suffer now. He's only 4. He doesn't understand.

In between bouts, he said, "Mommy, help me throw up now so I don't do it later." I wish I could just take it all away, kid.

Bedrest, yo

2009-03-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

So we had to go to the doctor on Friday after I started bleeding on Thursday and we found out that the placenta ain't where it's supposed to be. I've got a misplaced placenta. The technical term is placenta previa and it just means it's resting on top of the cervix. This could be dangerous, but because I'm only 16 weeks, it will likely get out of the way in its own sweet time and I'll be able to get back to that triathlon I was training for.

That's the funny thing - I am the least active person I know. So the question I would like answered is what caused the bleeding in the first place. Because it's not like I'm DOING anything.

Complicating things is the fact I'm on blood thinners. If I start bleeding again, I have to stop the blood thinners, which in theory is keeping the kid alive. So this should be a lot of fun.

In other gross news, Charlie is FINALLY not afraid of pooping in the potty. This took about 2 years, people. But he's a big kid now - he yells from the bathroom, "I pooped and I'm not even scared!" Hurray!

Never should have made fun of Katie Holmes

2009-03-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

Last week, I received in the mail my very own Hi Bebe Heart Rate Monitor. Yes, I bought an at-home doppler heart rate monitor. Now, it's not my very own, personal ultrasound machine. But it's close - and for this, I apologize to Katie Holmes for making fun of her freakiness when she was pregnant with Suri and had an ultrasound machine installed in her home. Honestly, if I had Tom Cruise money, I would do it, well, in a heartbeat.

Sometimes, it's difficult to find the heartbeat. My pulse seems to get in the way - I can hear the faint rapid beats behind my thunderous slow beats. Other times, I hear it right away. It's always pretty fast - 155 bpm, which if the wives' tales are correct, indicated it's a girl in there. I'm just saying.

It's been good that I've had it because for the last 2 days I've been sicker than anyone should be with a flu bug that no one else in my family seems to have contracted. When I couldn't sleep because of the nausea or the weird pains in the back of my thighs, I retraced my steps, trying to figure out who's germy hand I shook that no one else in my family touched. I was worried about the baby in the beginning of the illness because I had a fever of 102 - I figured that could be bad for a fetus-y sized thing. The fever broke quickly, and luckily I had my Hi Bebe Heart Rate Monitor, because I could still see that the kid's heartbeat was a solid 155, even when I was puking up a lung.

My doctor told me I was doing everything right - just don't get dehydrated and call him if I get back over 101.5. I think it's just about done, though. The one positive from this Martian Death Flu is I discovered VitaminWater! Hurray! Where have you been my whole life? Oh, down aisle 6? Good to know - I'll visit you often!

38 years/14 weeks

2009-03-10T19:40:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my 38th birthday. Happy birthday me! I got so many emails and Facebook wishes that I felt very popular and loved. I talked to Jen and Kris and Joe on the phone, along with my whole family, and it was just a great day. It also was the final day of Birthday Week, where Jason basically has to be my servant for a week while I get to sleep, laze and generally sloth around. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Yesterday also marked the beginning of week 14 of this pregnancy and it started with me violently retching into the toilet. I thought the morning sickness was supposed to end at the first trimester. Happy birthday to me! I had about 4 days of no nausea at all, and man, I felt great! I felt like the sun was shining again (I know I live in San Diego and the sun shines most days, so I guess I mean figuratively). I felt like a human - alive again! I started thinking, "That first trimester wasn't so bad." Then, on the 5th day, I got out of the shower and puked my guts out. I've been sick ever since.

So that's basically it - maybe I'll post again when the puking stops for good. Or when I have baby pics - whichever comes first.

My long delay

2009-02-26T15:25:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy being knocked up.

I didn't want to announce it early on, because many of you know I've been down this road before. Several times. 7 to be exact. And I wasn't very optimistic that pregnancy number 8 would make it. But here I am, at the end of week 12, and I feel pretty confident that I made it through the first trimester. I go to my awesome doctor on Tuesday for yet another ultrasound to see if I made it to lucky week 13.

I've been sicker than any other pregnancy over the past 8 weeks or so. We're talking vomiting at least once a day, every day, any time - morning sickness is all-day-sickness in this pregnancy. I've been on injections of blood thinners daily to try to keep my blood from clotting - turns out that's what probably caused all the other miscarriages. When I wasn't sick I was sleeping. So I didn't update much.

I'll post another update after the doctor on Tuesday when I am sure I made it thru the first trimester. Meanwhile, we're all very happy and looking forward to having another little baby in the house. It's been 4 years since we've had one and we miss the baby smells and coos and squeals.

Yay us!

Camping, Ritchie Style

2008-12-05T22:46:00.000-08:00

Charlie's been obsessed with camping lately. He has been begging us to set up a tent (that he won't sleep in), roast marshmallows (that he won't eat) and tell scary stories (that he won't allow us to tell, because they are "toooooo scar-wee").

So, today, we bought a tent at Target and set it up in our living room. We made a campfire in the fireplace with a Java Log, a Duraflame-like product made out of 100% recycled coffee grounds (I'm not kidding - we're in California). We lined the floor of the tent with fuzzy fleece blankets. We I dragged down two mattresses from Charlie's room. We got snacks from the pantry and refrigerator. We used the "outhouse" i.e. powder room. And we settled in for one of the most relaxing evenings we've had in quite some time.

My Dog is Ballsy

2008-11-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

Charlie left the remainder of his dinner of chicken nuggets and goldfish crackers on a big red plastic tray on the table. He went to bed and there it sat, taunting Boo, daring him, practically hissing, "You talkin' to me?"

Boo spent 15 minutes snurfing at the tray, looking over his shoulder and Jason and me, either checking to see if he was going to get in trouble, or asking if he was gonna get a little help. Our lack of response indicated that he was NOT going to get in trouble, but at the same time, we were NOT going to help him, so he took matters into his own paws.

CRASH! The big red plastic tray of nuggets was batted to the floor with a swing of his tiny little paw, and instead of feeling bad about it, instead of being scared of the noise, he dove right into the feast.

Some days, like today, he's happy we brought that kid home from the hospital that cold December day 4 years ago.

The end of October

2008-10-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

Wow - it's been a while since I last wrote. So much has happened. We moved out of one house, into another. The Breedorfs came for a visit. Charlie started preschool. And my mom is coming tomorrow to help me decorate the new place.

I've been updating my Facebook page way more often than this blog. It's becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with all the "keeping up with" technology these days.

Charlie has a habit of calling everyone "Sir." Like me. If I say, "Don't keep banging that truck into the wall," he'll respond, "Sorry sir!" Or I say, "Do you want some more milk?" He'll say, "Yes, sir!" It's disconcerting.

He's also developed fears and started having nightmares. I made a bottle of "Good Dreams Spray" - water in a spray bottle - and since then he hasn't had any nightmares. I don't know if it's a coincidence or if it worked. But something strange started happening. A year ago, in the middle of the night, we drove to Jason's parents house to help them evacuate from the wildfires. We got off at our normal exit and we were confronted with a wall of fire. A fireman turned us around and we drove over burning embers to the next exit and managed to get to his parents before the roadblocks were installed.

Now, a year later, suddenly Charlie started freaking out when we use that exit. The first time he said, "No turning left, go straight, go straight." I totally turned left because I was on my way to Target and uh, he's three and he's not going to tell me how to get to Target. So he freaked out crying hysterically and the only thing that would calm him down is getting off at the next exit (coincidentally, it was the exit I needed to get to Target, so there). The tears stopped and we went on our way.

Today, Jason was driving Charlie and Boo over to pick up his mom while I worked and the cleaners cleaned the house. They went the long way, over the mountain and by Lake Hodges, and he had a great time. They picked her up and Jase went to get onto the highway on the same exit. He was instantly hysterical. "Turn right, Daddy! Don't go there!" For the entire 20 minutes of the drive he was screaming "No, we have to go back. Stop! Watch out!"

He went straight to his room when he came home and I went up after him to see if I could figure out the problem. He was talking like he does after his nightmares. "We can't go there, Mommy. Stop! Turn around!" He was talking as if he was reliving something. In his mind, it was happening. I figured out he was talking about a dream so I started rubbing his back and telling him that dreams are pretend, not real. "It's dangerous," he said, quieter now, his sobs turning into sniffles.

I then realized that the nightmares he's been having have been of the night of the fire. I could test it again, and drive down that exit ramp, but I think I'll just go to the next exit. 30 extra seconds out of my way isn't going to hurt anyone, and will probably help my child to not relive the first traumatic experience he ever had.

I wonder what else he remembers?

TV Star!

2008-09-08T23:17:00.000-07:00

Jase was on the local news Friday night!

It was awesome: http://www.10news.com/video/17406028/index.html

I hope you wrote that in pencil...

2008-08-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

Well, somehow the idiot who owns the house we're renting managed to sell it out from under us WHILE WE'RE STILL LIVING HERE.

Hmm... can you tell how I feel about living through multiple home showings while working full-time and taking care of a small child without the aide of a nanny, babysitter, or guide dog? Oh wait, I know JUST how I feel - exactly like I did last August when we were selling our OWN house. It's one thing to clean up for viewings when you own the house, but cleaning up a rental, to help the jackass who decided to sell it for way lower than it's worth at the worst of the market just so he can kick you out on the the street is downright depressing.

(And no, Boo is not a guide dog. Ever since the kid came into our household Boo spends the majority of his time laying on the arm of the couch and rolling his pug eyes, saying, "It wasn't MY idea to add him to our family. Your bright idea, YOUR problem.")

So we'll be moving again, in about a month. Yes, dickhead agreed to a 30-day escrow, even though our lease is up in October. I'm not even going to figure out how many times we will have moved counting this next upcoming one. I'll have to dive head-first into a giant vat of Death by Chocolate ice cream and freeze my sorrows.

There are pros of course - and it all must be happening for some reason that will make sense after all the boxes have been unpacked and change-of-address forms have been filled out. But I can't help but be sad a bit, not for leaving this house, but for giving up the security of owning our own home in Seattle. We'll own again, and soon. But until then, we'll continue to be modern-day, minivan-driving surburban gypsies.

Depot Depot

2008-08-19T22:45:00.000-07:00

Today Jase, Charlie and I went to Depot Depot (aka Home Depot). Jase was talking to two employees who were NOT Olympic athletes (I guess if they were, they would be in Beijing - but based on the beer gut and neck tattoo, I think I would be pretty safe in saying that even if it wasn't August 2008) I had to distract Charlie, to keep him from yelling, "Daddy, whatcha doin?" 73 times.

Charlie decided he wanted to push the cart. By himself. "Charlie do it, Mommy." Since it was Monday afternoon and not crowded I figured this was the perfect distraction.

We turned to go down an aisle ("Turn left, Mommy!") and he was pushing so slowly, paying such attention. His little tongue was sticking out of his mouth in concentration. But it still was veering way to the left.

Eventually, he crashed it into the shelves. He looked at me, and clear as a bell, said, "That wasn't supposed to happen."

I Hear... Monsters!

2008-07-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

I was putting C to bed tonight and he was all snuggled in bed and I was just about to give him a final kiss goodnight and his head suddenly shot up and he started tugging at his ear.

"What's that noise?" he asked me.

I heard nothing unusual, so I said, "What noise?"

He replied, "Hmmm?" which is what he does when he doesn't know how to answer me.

He pulled his ear again and said, "What's that noise?" and I said, "What noise? What does it sound like?"

He looked at me sideways and said slowly, "It sounds like... monsters!"

So I said quickly, "It's not monsters! It's just a ringing in your ears! You don't have to be afraid!" I panicked, thinking it was going to be a long night of bad dreams.

He held his hand up in front of my lips to silence me. He then said, "It's gone. Phew! That was a close one!" He then laid his curly head down and said, "I love you, Mommy. Sweet dreams!"

Thinking of Monsters?

~~~~~

I am keenly aware that I haven't updated the Great Poop Entry. Well, unfortunately, Charlie hasn't pooped in the potty since. I'll spare you the details. You're welcome.

Charlie Pooped on the Potty!

2008-07-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

HE DID IT!!!

I will provide all of the details - every single one - tomorrow. I just wanted to mark it on the calendar that today, Charlie pooped on the potty!

I Love the 4th

2008-07-05T21:33:00.001-07:00

We had such a Norman Rockwell weekend!

Friday, on the 4th of July, we picked up Bubbe and headed to IHOP for pattycakes (i.e. pancakes). We've been training Charlie for a couple weeks now to eat like a human being at various restaurants in San Diego county. I'm proud to say that he sat through the entire meal without yelling, jumping up and down in the booth, or sitting under the table. He kept himself entertained with jelly packets.

We then went to the Rancho Bernardo Spirit of the Fourth parade. We ran a bit late and were worried we wouldn't find a place to park, but it all worked out perfectly - we had great seats on a median! But in my rush, I forgot my camera, so no pics for you! Charlie saluted all the military folks, and keeping his hand on his forehead, he waved his fingers. So it was a salute-wave. There were these Asian drummers in bright yellow caftans all banging on drums. Charlie loved them!

We then went home to rest up before heading out again to find fireworks. We brought Boo with us so we found a place where we could watch from the car. This was Charlie's first fireworks and he fell asleep right before they started, but he woke up after the first fireworks exploded. He loved them! "That was a BIG one, Mommy!" he said.

Charlie fell asleep in the car, so Jason carried him upstairs and he slept through the night. The next day, Saturday, we picked Bubbe up again and went to Old Poway Park. This park has a real, honest to God steam locomotive. Charlie's obsessed with trains. When he realized he could actually ride on this train, well, he was excited.

It was a great day - a great weekend.

Goodbye Sunshine!

2008-06-30T09:19:00.001-07:00

We have a round window on the second floor of our house that faces east. Every morning, sunshine pours through it onto our stairway, inviting us to go downstairs and start our day.

This morning, as we walked downstairs through the sunshine, Charlie stopped, turned around and waved and said, "Goodbye, sunshine!"

Cuter every day!

Charlie Hates Animals, Loves Trains

2008-06-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

We took Charlie to the World Famous San Diego Zoo. We have an annual membership because we're responsible solid parents.

Turns out, Charlie hates animals.

I guess I should amend that statement - Charlie hates zoo animals. Domesticated animals are fine. Animals in cages, that can't ever harm him or get close to him - he want to "do sumthin else".

He was super pumped to be walking into this cave next to water behind a pane of glass until an otter swam up to him to say hello. "All done, let's go, sumthing else!" as he shook his hands back and forth in front of him, waving the traumatic experience away. All the parents got such a kick out of my little neurotic Woody Allen, while their children ooohed and aaahhhed on cue at the "coot aminals".

Charlie was way into the telescope at the monkey exhibit though. And the elevator to the tiger swamp. He also liked this tunnel thing.

Good thing I sprung for that annual membership because I'm sure Charlie will be BEGGING to return.

The World Famous San Diego Zoo is located in Balboa Park, this huge, beautiful setting that houses probably 173 museums. Maybe not that many. But close, I'm sure. It also has an old fashioned carousel, a huge playground, and, Charlie's favorite, a miniature train.

The miniature train was everything the zoo wasn't - it elicited sounds from my son that most parents only hear on Christmas morning. $2.00 to ride. Way cheaper than the zoo membership. The pictures speak for themselves.

2008-06-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

Tonight, when we were putting Charlie to bed, he started talking.

"Daddy loves Mommy. Mommy loves Daddy. Charlie loves Mommy and Daddy."

We had a group hug. Then he said,

"Daddy, Mommy very much. Mommy, Daddy very much. Charlie, Mommy and Daddy very much."

Every day, he gets the tiniest bit sweeter.

~~~~~~~

I go in to get a hi-res ultrasound on Thursday to try to figure out why my right ovary has decided to go on full-out attack. Oh, and hopefully someone can give me a clue as to when this miscarriage will actually be finished miscarrying. That would be nice to know. The not knowing how permanent this is, how this affects my fertility in general, the lack of basic trust I have in my health care professionals - all of it really shits the bed, as a friend said to me once, after miscarriage number 2, I think. Maybe 3. In any case, the longer this lingers, the longer it will be for me to put number 6 in that cobwebby card catalog drawer in my brain labeled "Misfortunes, Solutions Unknown". Until then, I walk around feeling like I actually still have it in me, and I have no way of getting it out.

Thank god for Charlie, man. We say it all the time. Thank god for Charlie.

Itsa Cysta

2008-06-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, I had a pain in my side that I was certain was appendicitis. I went to the emergency room after my doctor told me over the phone to run, not walk (I thought about explaining to him that I was doubled over in pain, and would not be running anywhere, but decided to hang up and hightail it), and discovered my appendix was just fine. Turns out I have a bunch of cysts on my ovary. At least one was leaking. Ew. So I was like, whatever, it hurts, what do ya got for me? So they sent over the nurse with the IV.

I tried to warn the lady that I have tiny veins, but she wouldn't listen. She poked my arm about 8,000 times, and then she began to swear under her breath. "I was 100% today, too!" she said, all pissed off. She looked at me then with an evil eye and I would have felt guilty if she wasn't jabbing a big thick needle into my arm, wiggling it around to try to tap some vein, any vein. "Dammit, it collapsed!" She threw me another ugly glare, "I was 100% perfect today, until you came along." She got up to get a new needle and I sent Jason a silent message with my eyes: "oh shit get me out of here." But I knew that needle would eventually get me the good stuff, the nectar of all that is beautiful, full of rainbows and unicorns, so I decided to turn my arm over to her again.

"Just a little poke," she said sarcastically as she stabbed my arm a second time. She wiggled the needle back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, and then she says something you never want to hear the person inserting anything intravenously to say: "Is it getting hot in here?"

She yanks that needle out and says, "I'm done." I was like, "But what about my nectar of all that is beautiful?" She said, "I'll get the new girl over here to do it."

Oh, great.

Turns out the new girl kicks ass at finding a vein and did it on her first try, one-handed and blindfolded. The veteran came back to give me the juicy juice and she said, "I'm going to give this to you slow - if you get it too quickly, you'll probably freak out." I felt a cool warmth enter my arm and coat my spine, oozing downward into my legs and I was so suddenly thick and dense, I was certain I couldn't move my arms and legs. Surely this was overkill for a leaky cyst, no? But no matter - I'll take it anyway.

The nurse asked me how I was feeling, and I replied, "Heavy." "Oh you're not heavy, hon. The meds must be working."

I don't know what that sadist gave me, but all was forgiven.

It was a nice try...

2008-05-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

Looks like this pregnancy is going the way the five before it did - another miscarriage. That makes six total for those keeping count. I'll talk to my doctor tomorrow about next steps - I'm guessing I wasn't on the right dosage of blood thinner.

Ah well - it was a good effort.

Doctor AND Hair Appt? In ONE DAY?

2008-05-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

Today was a busy day at the Ritchie house. First, my housecleaners came at an earlier time. Those of you who haven't hired housecleaners may not understand the stress this causes.

It takes way longer to clean up before the cleaners actually get here than it does for the cleaners to actually clean my house. I mentioned this to my sister, who responded "Uh, YEAH - you're doing all the hard stuff." I sort of disagree with her. I think any job that requires a toilet brush is considered hard.

So they came at 11:30 instead of 1:00 so Jason and I could go to my doctor appointment. I got my first ultrasound today. Because I am a high-risk pregnancy, this is the first of hopefully many ultrasounds. I am so barely pregnant (5 weeks, 5 days or thereabouts) my doctor wasn't sure he would be able to see anything yet. Well, he thinks he saw the gestational sac, but he's not sure and couldn't get a picture. That's comforting! So, I'll go in on Monday and get another blood test to make sure it's still on track, and if it is, I'll get another ultrasound next Friday.

So after that weird non-event, I went to see my awesome hairdresser Kati to get my hair cut, finally. I was supposed to go at the end of February, but Jason's dad got sick and with everything going on I kept putting it off. It's actually good that I let it grow so long. See, I don't make decisions about my hair anymore. Kati is in complete and total control of what my hair looks like. The first time I met her, I said to her, "I'm going to be quiet and read this magazine, and not look at what you're doing, until you're completely finished. Are you okay with that?" She immediately said "Yes" in her Chilean accent and I knew I was at the beginning of a beautiful relationship. I don't know why I trusted her so completely that first meeting. We still talk about it. I think it's her confidence. She's the expert, and she is good at what she does.

About six months ago Kati decided I was going to grow my hair out. I have all but given up on ever having hair that was longer than 3/4 of an inch. Every time I tried to grow it longer my head would turn into a giant mushroom. My hair didn't grow down, it grew out. Turns out I hadn't met the right stylist. I let Kati shape and style my hair throughout the process and didn't even realize I was growing it out until last week, I instinctively put it in a ponytail - albeit a tiny one.

My hair is now exactly how Kati envisioned it and I am telling you I never thought my hair could do this. It's straight, and it actually bounces! My hair has never bounced!

Here's a pic:

Kati is a genius. She's opening her own salon next month and I will of course follow her anywhere.

We then had dinner at Bubbe's house - yummy sweet and sour chicken with rice, salad and fresh berries for dessert - very healthy and delish. Bubbe generously took care of Charlie all afternoon while I was getting probed and primped. We went home and after C went to bed, we got things ready for our 1st ever garage sale, which will be happening tomorrow morning, bright and early!

Oh. We're still struggling with potty training.

Changes

2008-05-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a long, long time since I posted anything. My apologies - things have been bizarre around here.

Most of you know that Jason's father died on March 1. I haven't known what to say about it, so I haven't posted anything. It's been a huge adjustment, an enormous change in our lives. There's a hole in our family now. I have found myself trying to be upbeat and talkative when sadness comes around. Turns out I'm not too comfortable with emotion. Time doesn't heal, but it softens the edges a bit. We have developed new routines. We've been keeping Andie busy. We're all doing our best.

I've done my best to distract everyone by getting pregnant - again. This is the 7th time I've been pregnant. You all know I have just the one kid, so do the math. This time, though, I am under the care of a specialist who has me giving myself daily injections of a blood thinner right into my belly. I'm also on progesterone, high doses of folic acid, and baby aspirin. I'm about 6 weeks along. I've toyed with waiting until 12 weeks to report the news, but decided against it for a couple of reasons. One, with the conditions I have (Factor V Leiden and MTHFR) the risk for miscarriage does not reduce after the first trimester, like it does for most women. Awesome. So waiting until 12 weeks doesn't make much sense. Two, this is what we're going through right now - it's exciting and scary and painful and full of possibilities. It's life at a time we've been through so much death. I'm okay with tell you all if you're okay with the possibility that at any time within the next 34 weeks I could come back here and tell you it's all over. It's sad, but it's reality. And hopefully, under the care of my doctor, I won't be reporting any bad news at all!

Charlie has been the light for all of us the last couple of months. He's ginormously huge. Tall. I don't know how that happened, since his parents are not giants by any means. I still haven't cut his hair. He talks all the time, elaborate discussions that begin with "Sometimes....." or "One day....." or "One night....." His favorite book is "Oh, the Places You'll Go." He knows all of the words. He's interested in adding. He gets to walk the dog on the dirt path portion of our walk - he switches the leash from one hand to the other behind his back like a pro. He's been spending a lot of time with his Bubbe. He has lots of friends, both in our little neighborhood and in his playgroup. He gives us "O" kisses and says, "I love you TOO". We're always amazed by his happiness and excitement.

So that's the Ritchies right now. We're riding the roller coaster!

Colors are Beautiful

2008-02-25T21:25:00.001-08:00

After Charlie's bath, Charlie was laying on my lap, on his stomach, looking over the side of the bathtub, at the water as it drained. The only toys he played with tonight were 7 small plastic bowls of different colors - red, orange, purple. I was drying his back as he said, "Colors booootiful."

I asked, "Did you say the color of the bowls are beautiful?"

"Yes, Mommy. Colors bowls bootiful. That's right!" He rested his little chin on his hand and watched the bowls spinning slowly in the current as the water drained away.

They were beautiful - like little jewels floating in a crystal clear pool of water. It reminded me of that Asian tradition of placing floating lanterns in a lake.

That's right, Charlie. Colorful are beautiful.

Pics

2008-02-08T22:08:00.000-08:00

Hopefully these will work. If not I'm going back to Flickr.

I've been sick for 2 weeks with bronchitis. I've been a miserable whiny bore. Luckily, Jase and Charlie didn't catch it.... yet!

UPDATE: Ugh. That didn't work. Well, until I straighten this all out here are some links to some pics. Hopefully you can see them this way.

Ritchie Family Pictures

Cute Pics of Charlie, Boo, and my new table and rug

Naps - The Missing Link

2008-01-23T14:46:00.000-08:00

Charlie stopped taking naps right after Christmas.

I'm devastated.

I had such a great system. Play with Charlie. Put him down for his nap while I worked on the Asian edition. Get him up when I was done. Play more. Put him down for sleep right before I worked on the European edition.

Now he's awake while I work and it has been quite an adjustment. More so for me than him.

The problem with this - well, one of the many problems - is that he is still really tired. He needs to nap. He just won't. So he's not only awake for 3 extra hours, but he's cranky.

We're settling into a new routine - QT or Quiet Time. Charlie and I go to my room, he watches a video on his little dvd player, or his "computer" as he calls it (well, more like con-poo-ter) and I work on my con-poo-ter.

When we are totally sick of each other, we go over to Bubbe's and spend the afternoon with her and Zadie. Man, that's nice. He just hangs with her and all I have to do is work! No getting crackers or milk. No uncapping of markers or opening the play-doh.

I love not having to multitask.

Other than the naps, things have been good. Charlie and I had a great trip to Michigan. It was our first trip without Jason and it went off without a hitch. We sat in first class - lemme tell you those people were NOT happy to see a toddler sitting with them. But he didn't cry once. He watched videos and ate crackers and played with trains, his newest obsession. He was the perfect child.

He was also the perfect child in Michigan. He was cute, loving, fun. All of his cousins adored him, especially 4 year old Jenna, who wasn't used to having a younger kid around to boss around. She loved it. He loved hanging with Nonnie and playing hide and seek with Tommy and Heather. Anne made him some pj's that are so cute. It was probably the best visit ever.

But once we got home, he became a no nap-taking, backtalking 3 year old who's favorite word is "No!" He says no even when I'm not asking a question. "The sun's out, Charlie." "NO!"

We've started using Love and Logic, a discipline technique that my sister has used with her kids. Let me tell you, it's extremely effective. Basically, I give Charlie a bunch of choices all day long that really mean nothing. This way, he feels he's in control of his life. When I want him to go upstairs and take a bath, I don't ask him, "Do you want to take a bath?" because he would quickly snap that off with a "No!" So I say, "Time for your bath. Do you want to walk upstairs like a duck, or do you want to walk like a dog?" He thinks about it, says, "Dog, mommy!" and so we walk upstairs barking like dogs.

Do I look like an idiot? Probably. But I have a kid who is now going to take a bath without argument. I can't tell you how happy that makes me.

He still has his moments. When he does, he has to have either a time-out or bedroom time. He's not a fan of either. Right when he does something wrong, I always say, "Uh oh!" Now, he's learning when I say "Uh oh!" he better stop whatever he's doing or else he's gonna get a time out or bedroom time.

It felt really weird at first but let me tell you, when I got him to change his clothes without an argument the first time, I was sold.

I have tons of pics but they haven't been working lately so I'll have to investigate that. We got our yearly pictures taken and they turned out really good. I'll get that up soon.

Do You Know the Muffin Man?

2007-12-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

Charlie and I made muffins the other day. He liked cracking the egg, pouring in the water, stirring the batter, but the part he liked most?

The muffin tin liners.

Once I pulled those bad babies out, my sous chef abandoned me, choosing to instead meticulously count each wrapper while placing them into another muffin tin pan, and then counting them again while removing each one. Once that was done, he started over.

Finally he said to me, "Mommy, help please." He carefully carried the tin with the empty wrappers toward me, and slowly handed it to me. I held the tin as he opened the bottom drawer of our kitchen island, where his cups and little bowls are kept. He then took the tin from me and very slowly put the tin with the empty wrappers. Once it was in the drawer, which was apparently his makeshift oven, he closed it carefully, clapped his hands and said, "All done!"

(Pictures of the Muffin Incident)

~~~~

Hanukkah started on Tuesday and we've been going over to Bubbe and Zadie's house every night for candle lighting, dreidel spin-offs and presents. He's INTO it, man. His Bubbe numbered all the presents and the first night, after he opened present #1, a tricked out truck, he held up two fingers and said, "Two presents?" then went to the closet where the other presents were stored. Today is day 4, and he now understands that he gets one present a night. This morning, when I went to get him in his room, the first thing he said to me was, "Four present?" while holding up four tiny fingers. No "Hi, Mommy." No "Good morning!"

The kid gets it.

In just over a week he will be three years old. Three years. That's insanity. He understands that his birthday means a cake and presents. Then after that, Christmas presents. December is a sweet, sweet month for this sweet, sweet boy.

Hanukkah Pics

Birthday Pics

Christmas Pics