My Crabby Thoughts...

New blog...

2009-02-24T07:20:00.003-05:00

Hey guys, I have had a great run on Blogger, but it's time to move on. I have created a new blog at Wordpress and am hoping to be able to do more fun things over there. Everything has been exported so you should be able to see all old posts over there and all new posts will be posted over there in the future. Click here to link to it:

http://g-ratedlife.com/angelle

Things I want to remember

2009-02-23T11:39:00.003-05:00

These are some things I want to be able to remember about this age with Erin...

* How she will cling to your leg and say "uppy" when she wants to be held

* How when she counts she always says "one, two, sick" (six)

* How she is like a vulture when she sees food, she always has to share yours even if she just finished eating

* How she chases and tackles Ally all day everyday

* How she loves to do anything physical (climb, jump, push)

* How she will tell you "kishes" or "huggies" and then give you one

* How when I leave her in her room at nap/bedtime she says "Bye, Mom"

* How, if Mike is the one to get her in the morning, she gets into bed with me and gives me a big hug first thing, then asks to "wash (watch) a show" then says "'mote pees (remote, please)"

Smartest girl alive

2009-02-23T07:21:00.002-05:00

I know Mike already blogged about this, but I wanted to tell it too in case you don't check Mike's blog. Last night he called me into the craft room where he and Leah were playing around on the Paint program. He said, "Watch this," and he wrote H-A-T on the screen. Leah spelled it out first, then proceeded to say the sounds for each letter. It took a few tries to blend it together, but without help from us she figured out it said hat! Next we did frog, but I think that was too hard (the F-R blend AND the unusual O sound), but she got the next one, pig. It was pretty exciting.

I have to say though, I attribute a little of it to this new DVD we got called Letter Factory by Leapfrog (they have it at Target for $10). I was at the bookstore the other day in the children's section and I overheard two women talking. One said that her son had been watching this video and within a week was sounding out small words. So we ran right over to Target and picked it up. Leah has watched it twice and already is understanding letter-sound relationships. The next DVD in the series is the Talking Words Factory, which teaches them how to put sounds together to make words. In fact, this pack may be your best bet as its got the whole series plus Math Circus. It got absolutely fabulous reviews. I highly, highly recommend either the pack or the first DVD to see how it goes. I wish I had seen the pack before I bought the first one by itself.

MNO

2009-02-20T08:06:00.004-05:00

Mom's Night Out (MNO) was a blast last night. I made the Tokyo Tuna (we never buy tuna so it will be fun to eat something unusual) and I won the door prize of a dessert. I chose Key Lime Freeze. After the event, about 8 of us went across the street for a glass of wine and chit-chat. I really got to know about 3 of the moms and liked everyone I met. I am definitely looking forward to more events with this group.

Leah has had a low grade fever since yesterday afternoon. She is staying home from school today and will hopefully make a full recovery by tomorrow afternoon so she can attend a classmate's birthday party.

First date blues

2009-02-19T13:09:00.003-05:00

So I will have to tell two stories here to get to the point of the post.

#1 - I have been looking for a local mommy group to join for about a week now. I finally found New Mommies of South Charlotte Playgroup 2 days ago and promptly joined. The first event I could attend is scheduled for tonight, a Mommy's Night Out! We are meeting at Mr. Food no-Fuss Meals and we are having a food & wine tasting AND we get to bring home an entree all for $10! So I am excited about the opportunity to meet some new people, but for some reason I am nervous like this is a first date. Will they like my new haircut? Is it going to be cliquey or will they accept a new member readily? The pressure...

#2 - I went to the dentist today to have a cavity filled. Of course they numb you up good so my entire lower right jaw was numb. I was starving on the ride home so I decided to eat the apple I brought, I would just chew on the other side. Everything was going smoothly until I felt something weird on my lip. I looked in the mirror and saw that I had chomped down and the inside of my lip was all skinned and bleeding a little. Now two hours later, I have a fat lip.

So here is where the two stories converge. I have a fat lip to take with me to the Mom's Night Out. Yeah, I'll have to say, I gave myself a fat lip. Nice to meet you.

Our new haircuts

2009-02-17T13:47:00.005-05:00

What do you guys think? You can't really see my color because I took this in my bathroom and the light stinks.

Erin's Stats

2009-02-16T14:24:00.003-05:00

I forgot to update with Erin's stats from her 18 month appt on Friday. She is 24.6 lbs (55%) and 31 inches (25%). Her head is 47 cm. She is pretty much on target with all of her developmental things and WAY ahead in the area of communication. Her peed did tell us something interesting though. Erin has dysplasia abdominal muscle. Basically the muscle in the center of her stomach running vertically is weak. When she goes from laying on her back to sitting, you can see a vertical football-shaped muscle protrude as her stomach muscles contract. The dr said that she will have it all her life, although it will strengthen and get smaller with time, and it will not affect her in any way. Very strange. I had never really noticed it before. Maybe that's why it took her so long to roll over or go from laying to sitting up.

Also she did have an ear infection again. We are finally on Augmentin and are seeing a big difference this time around. She is sleeping well at night and napping well. So we are all happy over here now.

Winterguard

2009-02-15T20:01:00.003-05:00

So, you guys, Stacy and I went to the Raleigh Regional this past weekend and watched Open class and above. It was sooooo bittersweet. To have something be such a HUGE part of your life, then to just drop right out of it is a strange feeling. My sophomore year of college I marched UF's marching band in the fall and Paradigm Winterguard in the spring. So weekends were at games or rehearsals from August until April. I LIVED school and guard that whole year. Then I did Paradigm the next two seasons which, if you know anything about winterguard, means I was at rehearsals every Sunday and once a month the entire weekend again from August until April. I also marched my last two years of high school. So from '95-'00 I was a guard junkie. And then... nothing. I went to a few shows for the next year or two, but I wasn't performing anymore. Performing is like a drug, it is a high like no other. And I don't have any other way of feeling that any more and no prospect of it either. It is a tough pill to swallow. Made me a little bit sad to realize that is well and truly behind me.

Chatty Cathy (or Erin)

2009-02-13T13:16:00.001-05:00

Valentine treats and cards

2009-02-12T17:05:00.009-05:00

I have spent the last two days making Rice Krispie Treats for all of Leah and Erin's classmates and making cards for their teachers. Thought I'd share how everything came out.

Rice Krispie Treats saying Leah or Erin

All wrapped and ready for transport

Front of card to teacher, Erin's were different colors

Inside of card, Erin's had a different saying because I didn't find this one until this afternoon

On the back of Erin's teacher cards, I put this picture.

Here is the one I used for Leah.

Family Movie Night

2009-02-11T20:16:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, we started a new weekly tradition of Family Movie Night. We decided that on Friday nights, I would make something for dinner that we could eat on a blanket in the living room (or we would order in). Mike and I would pick a movie Leah had never seen and we would all watch together. It helps to expand Leah's repertoire of movies (Tink and Cinderella were getting old) and we are doing something together. Erin of course doesn't actually watch. She runs around and hugs us and lays on top of us. It's pretty cute. Anyway, just wanted to let you guys know about our fun new tradition.

PS We are going to Durham this weekend to hang with the Wrigleys and Stace and I are going to a winterguard show!!! So Family Movie Night will be in the car this week. :)

Erinisms

2009-02-11T16:49:00.000-05:00

* The other morning in her crib, Erin was singing "Sue-pah Leah" (SuperLeah after Super Why!) over and over.

* Erin runs up to you when you are standing up, hugs your legs and says, "Hi Mommy." So freaking adorable.

* This morning I sneezed and Erin said, "Bess you, Mommy" and then repeated it when I asked, "What did you say?"

* The phone rang this afternoon and Erin said "I gegit" (I'll get it)

It's like having a newborn...

2009-02-11T12:17:00.002-05:00

For some reason, for the last month I have not slept through the night. Almost every night, one kid or the other wakes up and needs something. Last night it was both of them an hour apart. And then on the nights that no one wakes up, I can't sleep. I wake up every hour it seems like. It is getting beyond frustrating.

I think Erin got used to me going in to her because she was sick and now expects it. So tonight I am breaking that pattern. No going in unless I think she has thrown up (which is unlikely). She can just cry it out and learn that nighttime is for sleeping. Maybe once she sleeps through the night consistently again, she will stop waking up at the butt-crack of dawn.

I am So tired in the mid-afternoons, then by 7 or so I am wide awake and can't settle down until after 10pm. So going to bed early is not going to help. Maybe I will take Tylenol PM one night and let Mike handle any emergencies.

We confess...

2009-02-09T08:41:00.002-05:00

Leah was not RIDING a snowboard. Mike's snowboard hangs on the wall in the music room. She was tugging on a little string hanging from it and it fell on her face, right between her eyes. Mike thought it would be funny to write it like she was actually snowboarding. Maybe she will in March!