The Adventures of the Baden Family

Ugh.

2012-01-29T21:38:00.002-06:00

So I'm still in the midst of the "Recap" post - but this weekend has been a total downer. Nothing major really, just seems to be an endless amount of "crap" for one weekend. Wren was really coughing when I picked the kids up on Friday. Enough so that I actually called and got her an appointment on Saturday morning at the pediatrician's office. The plan was to go to the doctor at 10:30 and then meet the boys at the Trolley Stop Cafe for lunch around 11:45 -- just enough time for some yum brunch before naps.

Ha.

We didn't make it out of the waiting room at the pediatrician's office until just after 11. Then, we had to do a breathing treatment (10 minutes) and wait a wee bit longer for the RSV test to come back (positive - faint, but positive). Lovely. So, armed with a prescription for a nebulizer and some albuterol, we headed across the street to a local pharmacy that the doc knew would have a nebulizer in stock. Of course, Wren was a new patient - so after filling out all the forms and waiting a bit, we picked up the albuterol. We were then sent to the other side of the store for the machine. Sure... then I discovered I have a $250 equipment deductible on my insurance?? I actually need to double check that tomorrow - but who had time to argue when trying to coral a hungry and tired 20 month old? I went back to the front of the store to pay my $65 for the machine, the back to the other side of the store to get the machine. Now lugging a squirmy toddler a bag of medicine and a nebulizer, we headed to the car. Greg and Atticus had long given up on us and already gone for lunch. I debated on stopping somewhere or going through a drive-thru... but what sounded good was Chick-fil-A and their drive thru normally takes I swear close to 30 minutes at "meal time". Apparently being the only Chick-fil-A in town makes you quite desirable! (Perhaps we should open a franchise closer to Tulane and Loyola???) I opted not to get a sandwich, but I swung through the Cafe du Monde drive through for some coffee -- I had a feeling I was going to need it. They do offer beignets to go - but I didn't think I could pull off powdered sugar covered beignets while driving!!

As we exit the freeway to head home, Wren falls asleep. That was it - I couldn't get her back to sleep after we got home. Atticus did manage to finally fall asleep around 2:15. Ugh. Then -- we've had the joy of continuing the breathing treatments at home at meal times. Wren is usually good for about 3-4 minutes, but it takes close to 10 to get all the medicine down. Oh, and add to all this that Atticus is dying to push buttons. He's asked 1000 times (and no I'm really not exaggerating) if he could turn the machine on/off. He's been a handful all freaking weekend with the button pushing. He can not sit still - he has to always be touching something, climbing on something, opening drawers, etc. It's enough to honestly drive Greg and I nuts.

Today, we thought we'd go to brunch/lunch before naptime since we missed it yesterday. We all piled into the car and headed over to Trolley Stop. We should have known when it took 5 minutes to find a parking spot that we were in trouble. The line was to the door - we didn't even bother. Back to the car, we thought we'd head to the place around the corner from our house. We park, walk across the street and discover that both of the places around the corner from us have gone out of business. Ugh. So... we headed home where I warmed up some pancakes that I'd previously made and frozen, whipped up some scrambled eggs and sausage for the kids - and we did a make shift Baden Brunch. Then.. we thought surely everyone will nap! Ha. Wren napped for just under an hour - and then she woke up about the time Atticus was starting to settle down, and then it was game over. He didn't want to go to sleep if she was awake and playing. It was a mess. Greg finally went in and got Atticus to settle down and I played with Wren. She's breathing better and coughing less with the albuterol, but I think it's a bit of a stimulant that she's not used to!

And now... if I can't get the freaking dogs behind our house and next door to be quiet I'm going to go insane. Atticus takes after Greg and it takes him a while to settle down and fall asleep. Add to that, he's a feather light sleeper even after he's crashed... the yappy yappy *&%$ dogs won't stop barking. I can't believe how inconsiderate some folks are. If you're going to leave your bleeping animal outside for hours on end - don't have an animal! It's not fair to the animal, to your neighbors, etc etc.

Oy.

End rant.

I've got more important things to worry about and organize. Till the next update (which will actually appear before this one once it's done...

Stoked

2012-01-11T23:15:00.000-06:00

Greg surprised me this afternoon by telling me that he got me a ticket to see Sleep No More. I am beyond excited. I read about the show while on my trip to NYC last month and I've been drooling over tickets since then. I only mentioned the show to Greg once, so the fact that he remembered and managed to score tickets to a sold out show has me over the moon.

Seriously stoked.

Click HERE to see any number of reviews.

Siblings

2012-01-09T13:54:00.000-06:00

I haven't done a very good job lately of just documenting the ordinary things... so, my intention for this year is to drone on and on a bit more about the mundane day to day happenings in our lives. I know most of you will find it rather boring -- but hopefully one day I'll get the oomph to print out all the ramblings and my kids will know more about their childhood than I can actually remember at that given point in time. :)

So -- while I'm thinking about (mostly because Greg pointed it out to Rob while he was in town)... we're noticing a lot more sibling interaction. The kids are waaaay more aware of each other. Where the other one is, what they're doing (or not doing) and how they can engage one another. Lately this has involved a lot (and I mean a LOT) of screaming and hitting -- but hey, they're engaging right? Atticus always wants to be the first one to open Wren's door in the morning and tell her good morning. Granted, normally, it's because of his stomping, flopping, thrashing that she's waking up in the first place -- but that's a whole different story! Wren's favorite words I swear are Atti, brother, bubba and Atticus. She will repeat them over and over. She loves looking at pictures on the computer, phone, bookshelf of Atticus and pointing him out to me and Greg.

On occasion, they will also play quietly together for about 2 minutes or so. It's a start, right? Yesterday afternoon, they both had a ball at the small park/green space that's next to our house. They were chasing each other up and down the hills and around and around. It's nice to see some interaction between them. Sometimes there is sharing. Sometimes not. But it's finally starting to look like the age gap will be a good thing for them -- hopefully they'll end up friends in the long run!

Love You

2012-01-06T10:43:00.000-06:00

Last night when I was putting Wren to bed, I kissed her head and said I love you. And for the first time, she repeated it back to me. Love you. Two of the sweetest little words ever....

Verbose

2012-01-04T13:08:00.000-06:00

Wren is my little talker. She must have 300 words already and she'll repeat just about anything you say to her. She's begun using 2 and 3 word sentences. We should have known she'd be an early talker -- little lady has been screaming since the day she entered this world. Now it's just a combination of screaming and words. :)

Favorites from the recent road trip: "Yeah Texas" when we crossed the border and hearing her rattle off her good-byes as we drove away. Buh bye Bubbe, buh bye Pop, buh bye Uncle Shawn, buh bye Molly...

You want what for breakfast?

2012-01-04T13:05:00.000-06:00

Atticus has been asking for some odd things for breakfast lately. Since they aren't really bad options, I've been letting him choose...

While we were in Houston, he asked for broccoli with his breakfast. And then today, he asked if he could have chips and salsa when he finished his yogurt and banana. Ummm, okay -- if that's what you want!!

I did say no to Smarties (the candy) for breakfast, but I've indulged in some of the other odd requests! I suppose you crave what you crave!

Build a Paci?

2012-01-03T13:00:00.000-06:00

Just read a great suggestion. Since Atticus still isn't keen on the Paci Fairy coming to visit us -- what if I take him up to Build-A-Bear at the mall and let him pick out a bear, and put the paci inside the bear? That way it's still close -- and he can sleep with his new guy at night, but no more paci???

Think it would work?

Kidopolis Party

2011-12-16T21:46:00.000-06:00

The kids are having a holiday party this afternoon at day. Eeek. The peanut butter chocolate holiday bark has been made. I used this recipe from Cookies and Cups (actually she was guest posting on Katrina's Kitchen). But anywho -- my version came out looking pretty much like the original. I was impressed.

Lunchtime will be filled with baking White Chocolate Cranberry cookies. I only have one more of these mixes left. I'm going to be sad to eat the last one. :) Guess I'll just have to search and find another good recipe to replace the mix. It can be done....

Oh - and then I have to make latkes to take up to the party! I'm a little concerned. I've never actually made the latkes. I'm an expert latke eater -- but latke maker? We'll see!!

Oy vey -- so here's the update. I made some pretty rocking latkes and I totally forgot to take pictures of them! How dare I? I must have looked at a dozen different recipes and videos on how to make latkes. The funny part? There are only 4 or 5 ingredients in the darn things - how hard can it be? I took some tips from many of the comments on the official recipes. I can't tell you how many potatoes I used, but I'm guessing about 2.5 lbs maybe 3 pounds? I bought a 5 pound bag, but I got tired of peeling potatoes and I was running out of time so I just started mixing. I ended up using the box grater - actually it's a really nice one that we got as a wedding gift from Crate and Barrel. I don't remember who got it for us, but I really like it. It has interchangeable plates and it grates into a sealable glass dish. But I digress... I grated potatoes and then put them into bowl #1. I squeezed out at much water as I could with my hands and put the potatoes into bowl #2. The starch sank to the bottom of bowl #1 so I was able to drain off the water and then pick up the sludgy starch at the bottom of the bowl and move it back to bowl #2. Apparently the starch is part of what makes the latkes so crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle. To the potatoes and starch in #2, I added eh... 3T of matzoh meal, 1t kosher salt and 1/4t baking powder. (I know, totally controversial -- but it made them a bit creamier in the middle I think!). Oh, there was also 2 eggs (slightly beaten) and a grated yellow onion in the mix. I probably should have put the onion in the mini food chopper, but I didn't want to pull out another dish! I grated the onion and then squeezed it out in a paper towel. Very scientific I promise.

My final recipe:
3lbs russet potatoes (grated, water squeezed out into another bowl and then starch added back to grated potatoes)
1 medium yellow onion
2 eggs slightly beaten
3T matzoh meal
1t kosher salt
1/4t baking powder
vegetable oil - a lot of it and my nonstick wok (which was happy to come out from under the counter!)

This made 24 latkes - (actually, I think I had 27) which was just enough to split between the two classes. I should have saved some for us! Maybe I'll end up using the rest of the potatoes for us tomorrow!!

The party was pretty much mayhem. Toddlers, food, parents, arts and crafts... Atticus and another little boy were fighting at one point. I don't know who it was, but Atti got a pretty good scratch on his face. I know it happens every now and then, but I'm bummed there wasn't an adult close enough to stop it before it started. There was a lot of stimulation going on in their room! Wren was running around like a wild woman for a while. She couldn't decide if she wanted to be in her room or Atti's room or just running crazy. Greg and I had our hands full for a little while. But, we all survived. We handed out gift boxes with our cookies and chocolate bark to the teachers and the director and then we headed over to chambers to say hi to the Judge. It was the first time for me to actually meet her! The kids love Greg's office. There's a section of a bookcase that's filled with Mardi Gras beads, stuffed animals and other assorted toys. Wren was having fun playing with a nerf football. She kept throwing the ball and saying "touchdown". Goofy girl has always been a football fan! Atticus was doing some "work" on Daddy's computer - that seemed to keep him occupied for 20 minutes!!

It was a busy afternoon for all and an early night for all as well. Tomorrow morning will be busy too -- I need to pick up a birthday present for one of Atti's classmates and then we're headed to a party. The exciting part -- they live in Algiers Point which is just across the river from the French Quarter. Atticus and I are going to ride the ferry across and then walk the .4 miles from the docking station to Clay's house. I'll be sure to get some photos and report back!!

Wishlists

2011-12-08T21:57:00.000-06:00

We don't need much. Really -- we've still gone one more cross country move coming up. When your kids don't watch any tv -- it helps a bit with the toy buying for the holidays. They don't know who Dora is, or the Yo Gabba Gabba people or any other gimmick-y type thing. Sure, they know who Elmo is -- but they aren't in love with him. So, characters aren't very important. Atticus (and Wren) love the Thomas tent that Aunt Rhonda sent for Atti's birthday -- but more because it's a cool tent I think.

Atticus is into puzzles at the moment. That's why I added the big floor puzzles. He's mastered his 12 piece puzzles and he's ready for a bigger challenge. Wren really like Minnie Mouse, which is pretty funny considering the whole no tv thing... I'm not quite sure what to put on her list. She loves books. She's enjoying cooking in the play kitchen, but she's still pretty little and hasn't quite declared her love for one thing or another just yet! I think they'd both dig the pillow pets though...

Anywho -- if you're curious, you can go to Amazon and click on Wishlists at the top of the page. Search for my full name and you should see a link to the Wishlist.

Other welcome ideas -- membership to the Zoo/Aquarium. Cool sheets for Atti's new big boy bed, hairbows or shoes for my girly girl, a visit from friends and family here in NOLA -- that'd be the best!!

Brilliant

2011-12-07T10:32:00.001-06:00

My kids are brilliant. Perhaps I'm biased, but they're pretty darn smart. To occupy Atticus in the car and to help with his letters and alphabet, we've started pointing out words on signs, billboards, the side of the trolley, etc. This has of course led into Bubbe's favorite game "How Do You Spell?". We spell pretty much everything now and constantly. It has helped with letter recognition - so who am I to say anything?

Then, this morning, I put Wren in the booster seat at the kitchen table and she looked at the placemats, pointed to a letter and said "H". She was RIGHT! She was looking at the word Hanukkah. She also figured out "Y" too in Happy.

Brilliant I tell you.

Yack Yack

2011-12-04T22:14:00.000-06:00

If I don't write this down here I'm going to forget...

Wren must have a couple hundred words by now. It's amazing. My favorites at the moment are her animal sounds. When she sees a duck or if you ask her what a duck says -- she responds with "yack yack". She will also tell you that frogs say ribbit, cows say moo, kittens say meow, horses say a very enthusiastic neigh, puppies go woof, sheep says baaaaaaah and if you try and confuse her and ask what a bus says... she smiles, moves her hands and says round and round.

I also need to get some video of her running down the hall and through the house. I swear it's the cutest little run I've ever seen. But then again, I may be biased...

2 Ingredients?

2011-12-04T22:11:00.000-06:00

Yep. TWO ingredients. Atticus and I made pumpkin cookies - or maybe pumpkin muffins (we're not quite sure what to call them) with only 2 ingredients. And they are delish!

Seriously... a box of spice cake mix and a 15 oz can of pure pumpkin. That's it. We mixed it together and used a melon baller to scoop out "cookies" which went onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. No eggs, no oil, no butter....

We baked at 350 for about 14 minutes and they are so good!! We put raisins in about a dozen of the cookies -- the mix made a total of 30 cookies.

Crazy, eh?

New York - Solo Trip

2011-12-03T14:40:00.000-06:00

I just returned from a whirlwind trip to the city. I was able to see three different schools, one nursery program and a daycare. All that in 2 days and one morning (before jetting back to LGA).

I know that getting into a good school in NYC is a process and has all kinds of stress associated with the admissions process. However -- the more time I spent pondering what to wear and what to say in order to woo the admissions teams from these schools, the more I just wanted to laugh. I am who I am -- and so is our little man. If he's a fit for a particular school - great! If not, he's only 3 right now -- maybe one year in the big city and he will be a violin virtuoso or a published author or a child prodigy in who knows what! Actually - I am starting to think Atticus is rather brilliant. He can already identify and say the letters on almost any flash card we show him. I didn't even realize he could do this until last night in the bath tub. Granted, we are always spelling in the car and pointing out letters on big billboards, but it was last night in the tub when he was picking up some of his bath card/tile thingies and spelling the words that I had the thought -- holy moly, my child is a genius! :-) He's going to be absolutely FINE no matter where he ends up going to pre-K.

I really loved a couple of the schools we toured and I am quite looking forward to continuing the admissions process. And it's a process. I have no clue how well it will go when Atticus is totally out of his element for the testing and play dates. He's going to have just flown for 4 hours to New York, be staying at a hotel and then have to be charming to other kids, psychologists, parents, etc. It is what it is... so we'll see.

The nice thing about all of the schools and the JCC was the small ratio of kids to teachers. Atticus definitely thrives with a smaller ratio and more structure. What can I say, he's an engineer's kid! I love that even if he doesn't end up going to the international school, he's going to be surrounded by diversity. Different cultures, foods, races, sounds, people -- everything I could dream of. The same will go for Wren too. She's about 3 months too young to qualify for the majority of the formal nursery programs, but the daycares offer a lot of diversity too. The world is such a fascinating place and travel from here to anywhere is getting easier every year... I hope my kids are afforded the opportunities to travel anywhere their hearts desire. Travel Europe, live in South America, backpack Australia and New Zealand... just imagine the possibilities, especially if they are 18 years old and bi or tri-lingual. Oooooh.... so exciting.

This is really a rambling post. Essentially, there is a lot going on right now. I'm submitting applications and setting up parent and child interviews. The first week of January, Atticus and I will most likely be back up in the city. We hope Greg can come too - but there are a LOT of logistics we need to work out!! I'll keep the bloggy world updated when we know more.

Totally unrelated -- but while I was in the city, I did manage to meet up with a new friend, Fiona, for lunch and I had dinner with my Sister in Law, Rhonda, and her husband, Brian, close to Rockefeller Center. After dinner, we wandered over and saw the Rockefeller Christmas Tree all lit up. It really is a sight to see. The tree in ginormous! And... I remembered that the subway system is really quite cool. I didn't quite have it down to the same rhythm as when we were living in the city a couple years ago -- but it comes back pretty quick!

Death

2011-11-26T20:35:00.000-06:00

I revert back to my original stance -- this weekend just sucks. I learned today that a friend of mine lost her Grandmother this morning. I know it's a blessing in itself to be out of college with living grandparents - but I really wish we could celebrate Thanksgiving by giving Thanks, not by attending funerals.

Just when I was getting over the news from my friend, I received two messages from my friends and neighbors back in Perrysburg. Our next door neighbor, John, lost his fight with a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer this afternoon. He was 39. He has three amazing kids - 16,14 and 11. I'm reeling from the news. He was diagnosed sometime this spring. It hasn't been long. Atticus had so much fun over at their house this past summer. He shouted good morning across the fence to John and Michelle daily and was always asking if he could come to the pool or bounce on the trampoline with their youngest daughter. It's heart breaking...

So - even as my kids are acting up and being total pain in the tushes -- I'm going to go give them and my husband a big hug and kiss and be thankful for each day I have here.

For Real

2011-11-26T20:20:00.000-06:00

I'm now officially a parent. I have been woken up in the middle of the night -- gone into check on my three year old when he looks at me a bit funny (it's barely 5 am mind you) and says "I don't want this." What baby I ask and he holds out his hand. In my sleep induced state, I reach out to take what he's handing me only to discover it's a fistful of vomit. Fantastic. I can see where the rest of my morning is going...

Little man proceeding to barf off and on for about 2 hours. Somewhere around 8 am the diarrhea started. I was cursing my decision to get rid of all the pull-ups when I remembered there was still a small stash of size 6 Pampers. None of this however seems to have slowed Atticus down a bit. He's still been running, jumping, sliding, bouncing and everything in between since this morning. I had just put him down for nap and gotten about halfway down the stairs when he announced he needed to go poop again. 45 minutes later he went down for his nap.

He's been running a low fever - I haven't even bothered to measure it - but seems to be acting totally normal. Let's hope it's just the 24 hour stomach bug that's been making the rounds...

Big Boy Bed

2011-11-25T23:06:00.000-06:00

Can I get a hallelujah? The conversion kit for Atticus's crib is FINALLY here. Now we just have to drive across the Ponchatrain to pick it up. Yes - totally serious. My little man will not be sleeping in a crib when he leaves for college.

Of course, since I'm travelling this week -- Greg will probably pick up the kit and we'll wait until next week to assemble the big boy bed. That also buys us a week to purchase a mattress, but this weekend may be a great time to find one ??? possibly if there are Black Friday type deals at mattress stores. I'm off to do a wee bit of research momentarily.

I really wish there was a Hobby Lobby close by however... we will finally have the crib converted to the full sized bed, we have some new Hungry Catterpillar sheets from Bubbe and Pops (which he absolutely can not wait to use), some new big boy bedding in Navy, and all we'll be missing are some good accent pieces. I have some cool things I found on Craigslist ages ago that will get incorporated somehow including 4 navy blue airplane shaped pegs (like for towels or backpacks) as well as a red propellar that has has 3 silver "hangers" on each side. Apparently I thought Atticus was going to need to hang a lot of things in his room? Anywho, since he still loves planes and cars -- I'm going to stick with planes for the moment. I love that the bedding is so bright (although it is a tad more muted in person) but the main colors are a deep blue and red, so we can move without issue from sports themes to airplanes to race cars to just about anything else. And that is why I wish there was a HB closer by. I'm going to peruse the online store -- and hopefully I can find what I *think* I saw in a store ages ago!! Gotta love it.

I still want to get the Euro Pillow Sham (probably with the personalization because I'm dorky like that) that matches the quilt. We have the lamp coming as a Hanukkah present.... I should have been stocking up on PB Kids stuff when I worked at Pottery Barn so many years ago. Oy...

Ok... I'm supposed to be working on a million things other than the blog right now -- but this was a nice break!

I Loved Her First

2011-11-25T22:44:00.000-06:00

If you were at our wedding, you may or may not recall the song that played when I danced with my Dad. It was I Loved Her First by Heartland. I still cry when I hear the song...

Well, I don't even know how I came across these -- probably while browsing on Pinterest, but I found these cufflinks on Etsy. I've decided that I absolutely must get them and put them away for Wren to give to Greg sometime way way way in the future. I actually told Greg about them -- but I'm hoping that 28 years or so from now he'll have forgotten. :-)

Lagging.

2011-11-22T13:45:00.000-06:00

I've been a bad blogger lately. Not sure why really -- just haven't felt the spark I suppose.

Things are picking up in pace around here. We've decided to stay home for Thanksgiving and I'm planning a mini feast. I picked up a small Butterball Turkey Breast which just moved from the freezer to the fridge. I'm going for the not so fancy, but ever popular green bean casserole, my cousin Sarah's absolutely delish sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, bourbon cranberries, rolls and pumpkin pie. I really want to make the butternut squash bread pudding too -- but I'm afraid I'm already at the overkill level since who knows how much the littles will actually eat. I may pick up some brie today at the store for leftover sandwiches. I saw this yummy looking post for turkey and cranberry monte cristo sandwiches.

I've been doing more cooking lately. Part of my obsession with the site Pinterest is you can visually search for food. Sounds odd - and I suppose a lot depends on the quality of the photograph -- but I've found some new recipes. We made these Chicken Enchilada Puffs last night and while the kids weren't huge fans -- Greg and I both liked them. Have I mentioned that I stopped cooking separate meals for the kids? Yep -- they get what we get. Oh -- I make some kid friendly sides -- past few nights have included edamame, sweet corn, sweet potato fries, etc -- but there is only one main dish. Like it or leave it. We haven't had a ton of success yet -- but it's a work in process. I thought surely Wren would have loved the White Castle little slider sandwiches the other night, considering her love of beef, but maybe it was an off night? Eh... at least I'm trying and they're trying too...

Wren's finally feeling a bit better. She and I finally got to meet Dr. Glick yesterday for her 18 month checkup. I'd post her stats, but I actually didn't write them down -- plus the PA weighed her in her clothes and before I changed her diaper! Totally threw off the weight for the day I promise!! Dr. Glick was totally floored by how vocal Wren is -- her vocabulary is huge for 18 months. I mean, I knew she had a relatively large vocab -- but sounds like it's even more impressive than I thought. Figures though... our little songbird came out wailing so it was only a matter of time before those wails turned into words. Her cough is getting better - but still hanging on a wee bit. She's now on Zyrtec and Nasonex to clear up any extra drainage and she's just finished a round of antibiotics in an attempt to clear up any sinus infection that may still be lingering. We're going to continue the antibiotics for a few more days until she's symptom free for 5-7 days. Then -- if the cough returns, she's off to see an allergist, immunologist and who knows who else for a bit more digging into the long term cough. We've pretty much ruled out asthma -- I have asthma -- and this just doesn't fit the profile. So -- that leaves a possible infection in the adnoids that hasn't wanted to clear, keeps coming and going... a possible reaction to the Prevnar vaccine, an undiagnosed allergy (to who knows what...) and I think those were the only things mentioned yesterday. Dr. Glick really did spend her time listening to my concerns though and asking a ton of questions about when/why/how. I was much happier with her than the other two doctors I've seen thus far... Of course, she's the one who was recommended by Dr. Owens who we adore! Otherwise, Wren is doing great.

Atticus is a enjoying soccer, but it's a bit of a mixed bag of results thus far. He's so excited to go, and he's paying more attention than I gave him credit for initially -- but when the "team" breaks for halftime/break -- he starts to lose interest. Bummer. Maybe soccer won't be his cup of tea, but it's been good for his listening skills, coordination and just general outside activity. There are a few kids from his class at soccer, so that's been helpful to have a couple familiar faces. One little boy, Davis, is a cutie. He is about 6 months older than Atticus and he always comes and sits next to him before class. I'm not really sure why since during the first class Atticus bopped him on the head for no apparent reason! But, Davis has taken to Atti and tries to help him out. It's good to watch.

Atticus has been asking lately for swim lessons. I definitely think we'll be signing up for those at the JCC this year. His memory recall of certain events never ceases to amaze. It was in the bath a couple weeks ago that Atti was recalling how I dove off the diving board at my parent's pool this summer. That's what has sparked his desire to "swim like a fishy under the water". Although, the recent trip to the Audubon Aquarium probably had something to do with it too! If the weather cooperates this weekend, maybe it's time for us to bite the bullet and become members of the zoo and aquarium. The kids really had a blast. Atticus keeps talking about petting the "sting rags" on the nose and Wren is fascinated with penguins.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-15T10:52:00.000-06:00

I don't know what to do. We aren't travelling anywhere but we don't know very many folks yet here in NOLA. I used to hate Thanksgiving to be honest. Not the holiday itself but the events that always seem to happen during the extended 4 day weekend. For a long time, I associated the holiday with funerals. It wasn't pleasant. But -- while out in California, Nicole and I decided to make a change -- and honestly since then, I really enjoy Thanksgiving. I had an absolute blast the year we went to Disney Land. Really. That was fun. I've had great memories since then as well with my family in Austin and last year having all of the Baden's out to our house in Ohio. I think we pulled off a fantastic feast last year if I do say so myself.

So... what are we to do next week? The fact that we don't have any plans is weighing on my mind. Should I still make a full dinner for the four of us? Should I try to find someone here whose family we can join? Drive to Houston where we can hang out with our "closest" friends? I don't know.

But, I'm already craving butternut squash, stuffing, turkey, green beans, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie!!

Hmmmm -- what to do, what to do.

Whew.

2011-11-10T14:44:00.000-06:00

I promise, we've been busy. We've been busy with everything under the sun it seems like including another round of sick that's made the rounds. Poor Wren seems to have gotten the brunt of it. She's still coughing - and now she's got a sinus infection and possibly a new tooth to add to her misery. She just got over a stomach bug of some unknown variety last week and now this! It's so hard when you know something hurts, but you don't know what!!!

We've also begun in earnest our search for housing and preschools for New York City. The big decision that needs to be made is suburbs vs. city living. That's one. The second is whether or not we apply for private pre-K or just start off at a stand alone nursery school and then really get into the mess of things the following year. Oy vey. It's really stressful.

We have found several schools that sound great. My favorite at the moment is called Avenues. It's a brand new school slated to open in September 2012. The credentials of those founding the school are amazing and I really believe in their philosophy. So... do we give it a go? If we get in, Atticus could possibly be one of the first kids to start at the brand new school and follow through to graduation. That would be kind of cool. I love that this is the first campus of several others that are planned all over the world. I love the international and global flair. I love that the program is nursery through graduation. I don't love the $40K a year tuition. Yes, you read that right. $40,000 EVERY YEAR. Good grief, that's way more than my own college education and it downright rivals the cost of Greg's masters and law degrees! A huge consideration.

Then there's little birdie. Where will she go? She's too young for formal "nursery" school -- so she will be at a different location from Atticus most likely. Oy. Just try to imagine the logistics of getting one off to daycare, one off to pre-K, one off to the big "firm" job and me off to the home office (I hope) or possibly the local NYC office. I know millions of folks do actually do it -- but HOW? Or rather, how do they do all that and still manage to run a house (laundry, cooking, cleaning)? I was half serious and half joking -- but I've asked our neighbor from Ohio if she wants to move up there with us for a bit! She's trying to figure out where her life is headed -- and NYC is a great place for her. And, if there's the added bonus of a place to stay for her if she helps ferry the kids off to school(s) while getting her own ducks in a row. It would sort of buy some time for both of us. Might work, might not -- but something to add to the mix of things to ponder!

Oh... we've also started our soccer lessons with Atticus, our weekly OT sessions and a parenting seminar. It's a wee bit crazy.

We don't have any plans yet for the holidays, so if you find that you too are "homeless" and in need of some attention - please let us know and you'll always be welcome here in NOLA!!

Oh, and I have tons of new pics and videos. I'm trying to get Picasa to automatically sync with my iPhotos -- so let me know if you are having trouble accessing anything. It's still a work in progress (with me ending up with more versions of the same picture that I care to admit -- but that's just some behind the scenes clean-up that I need to deal with!).

Sensory Bin

2011-11-04T21:46:00.000-05:00

Got started making the colored rice for the sensory bin today. We'll finish up tomorrow & add in our gems and other treasures.

Preschool Consultants

2011-10-18T12:18:00.001-05:00

I know it's probably possible to find a good and reputable preschool that doesn't require laying a golden egg for admission -- but I'm starting to panic. I don't need my kids to attend the most prestigious school -- I think it's silly to be grooming them from birth on spatial relationships and vocabulary words just so they can get into the "right" preschool. Three year olds want paint and play-doh and blocks -- not to be quizzed on the state capitols or to complete the shape sequence in a puzzle.

But... I do realize that school choices can affect your long term success. Sad, but a lot of the world still revolves around where you went to school, your grades and who you know. And - since I know pretty much squat about the Manhattan area preschools (and there are at least 75 of them), we're looking into hiring a consultant to help us figure out where to concentrate. What would be the best fit for us and for our kids? Once we narrow down the choices, then we can turn in our applications and get ready for the testing and the interviews. Yes, seriously. They have to interview you and your kids for their spots at the school. It makes sense in a weird way. The school is aiming to have a good mix of boys, girls and different types of personalities. They don't want an entire class of bossy kids or an entire class of mousy shy wall flowers. Ugh.

So -- the choice now is how big of a package do we want or need from these companies that help with the preschool process? The basics can run about $750 to $1000. That will provide the basic details on the types of schools, the types of tests, the locations, the chances of admission, what the schools are looking for, blah blah blah. If you want the more advanced packages -- between $3000 and $4500 the consultants will help groom you and your children for the tests and interviews. The catch? If you start with the initial basics and then decide to "upgrade" there's no price break - which I feel is kind of mean and dumb. But I suppose people are willing to pay, so that's the way the rules work. There are only so many "spots" available for the full intensive coaching - and we're already late in the admissions game so if we want to do the full shebang, we have to decide this week.

Ugh. And none of this takes into account trying to find and/or continue occupational therapy for Atticus. We're starting next week back with OT -- so maybe after a year or so of weekly sessions he'll be a happy and somewhat focused 3 year old? We'll see!

Oh -- and don't even bother to ask what the tuition is at some of these "good" preschools and nursery school programs. Oy vey! It's enough to make you faint.

RAOK

2011-10-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

Random Acts of Kindness. I think this is practice that needs to be revived. Wouldn't it just make you feel a wee bit better to know that you did something small but just generally nice for someone today? Pay for the toll for the person behind you. Leave the extra 15 cents in the vending machine for the next person to find. Stash a one dollar bill in the "kid" section at the dollar store. Let the totally stressed out mom with the screaming kid cut in line at the grocery store -- something, anything.

I was thinking a lot about this after reading a blog post about a woman who did 30 something random acts on her 30 something birthday. I wanted to link up to the blog here to tell you all about it, but I couldn't remember the specifics. So I googled. Apparently, it's a bit of a trend and I like it.

Birthday Random Acts of Kindness

Who cares if it's your birthday? Just do something nice. Smile. Say hello. Let a car turn in front of you... try to be the better person. I think we'll all be a little bit better off.

At the Car Wash

2011-10-15T22:07:00.000-05:00

I was trying to think of something new to do with the kids this afternoon after nap time. We created a "carwash" in the backyard for the Matchbox cars. It wasn't thought through quite all the way -- but we made it work and the kids had fun. I did not however get any pictures. Bummer. We had a cookie sheet filled with shaving cream that functioned as our sudsy bubbles to drive the cars through, we had a bucket of water, a watering can, a spray bottle of water, lots of towels and washcloths...

I think it went well. It was messy, and as I type this I'm reminded that I have a pile of dirty, wet, shaving cream covered clothes and utensils outside -- but all told, something new.

Tomorrow's activity is going to be a bit more academic perhaps? I've got a bag of colored pom poms and I thought about somehow putting colors at the bottom of a 6 count muffin tin. (Paint.. construction paper... a crayon?) Once we know which bucket is for which color - the kids (ok, this is mainly for Atticus) have to use tongs to pick up the pom poms from a big bucket and place them in the right spot in the muffin tin.

I've been reading alot of mom blogs lately -- and there are some fantastic ideas out there. Lots of ideas for things to do that incorporate sensory stuff too which I think Atticus and Wren will enjoy. I'll post links to my favorites soon.

Gnocchi

2011-10-13T16:29:00.000-05:00

No-what? How do you spell it? It's like a what? A dumpling? I never heard of anything like that.

Sigh.

Gnochhi is apparently a foreign object to the 5 employees I talked to at the local Wal-Mart.

You know, it's a small potato dumpling. It's usually found by the pasta. You boil them and serve it with spaghetti sauce.... Nope. Nada. No recognition.

Strep.

2011-10-13T09:58:00.000-05:00

Again. Seriously? I never had strep growing up. I've only had it 4 times I think in my entire life and they've all been within the past couple of years. Ugh.

Yesterday I got two shots - Celestone and some form of penicillin along with a 7 day dose of antibiotics.

Let's hope I can kick this completely before my weekend away! Let's hope the little people in the house don't catch it. Atticus felt slightly warm this morning, but he was acting totally normal -- so he still went to school. I hope I didn't just send him off to infect his classroom. There was a note posted last week that a kiddo in his class was diagnosed with strep too. (Possibly where I got it???)

Anywho. It's a good thing I don't work in an office -- no breathing on everyone!!

Random Tuesday Thoughts

2011-10-11T22:45:00.000-05:00

Atticus was using his thinking cap today -- we were behind a convertible car on the way home from school this afternoon when he asked me how the man was going to wash his car with no top? I was surprised that he put two and two together for that one!

Wren has been having a ball playing in Atticus's Thomas the Tank play tent. She loves it. She may love it even more than Atti! Thanks again Aunt Rhonda. The tent and the Curious George puzzle from last year have been fan favorites lately!

I'd like to find a way to work for Pottery Barn Kids (or make friends with someone who works there). My wishlist from that store is growing - and even with the employee discount, I could do some serious damage. I sooooo should have bought more when I worked there. I missed out on holiday decor for sure not to mention all sorts of other standard things. Sigh. Hindsight.

I'm really looking forward to my trip soon. It will be my first time away from Wren since she was born. Really. I haven't spent a night away in 17 months. Oy. And - as an added bonus, I get to see old friends and attend a wedding. Woot.

It seems that Greg and I are jinxed on our wedding anniversary. In 2010, I flew out to San Diego to spend the weekend with Nicole (and Wren and Brad and Rhonda). This year, I was stuck in Houston while Greg was in NOLA - granted, I was able to have a great weekend with my friend Amy and her family. Now, we just found out that we'll be apart in 2012 as well. Greg is going to be the best man for his friend Corey at their wedding in Indiana. (I'm going on the assumption that the 4 of us won't be making the trek so soon after our move to NYC.) Guess we'll shoot for a nice anniversary in 2013?

We've signed Atticus up for an intro to soccer course that starts in a couple of weeks. That should prove interesting. No shin guards or cleats or anything -- just a pretty basic intro class. It's 6 weeks long and each week is only 40 minutes. I'm a little nervous, but we'll see!

I'm sure there are other random tidbits that I've been meaning to write down before I forget them -- but of course I can't think of them at the moment! More soon I'm sure.

By The Way

2011-10-10T22:45:00.000-05:00

Cake Batter Rice Crispy Treats -- totally awesome. It's like this secret hidden flavor that makes them even more melt in your mouth yummy.... I must not eat the entire pan myself. I must not.

I may have to send some to school with Atticus to keep from eating the entire pan.

Goodness they're good.

Costumes

2011-10-10T22:43:00.000-05:00

Well, it seems Atticus has decided he'd like to be a cowboy for Halloween this year. Should be easy enough. We've got the boots and the blue jeans. Worse case, he can wear his sister's cowboy hat (but I'll try to find him one of his own).

Wren I think will be Minnie Mouse. Bubbe bought her a Minnie when we were in Dallas and she loves that doll along with some Minnie pajamas that we got from my dear friend Amy. I have a great red dress with white polka dots (it's probably a hair small - but I think it'll do). All I need now are some ears with a bow. Wren is also in love with these black patent leather mary janes that she got from Amy (and Katie) -- but they're still too big. I'll have to figure out something for the shoes!

Now that the costumes are decided upon, I need to get cracking putting the pieces together and figuring out exactly where we're going to go! I'm hoping that the JCC or the synagogue will have something that we can attend that doesn't involve going door to door. :)

Yom Kippur

2011-10-09T13:03:00.000-05:00

Thank you to the Katz family for inviting the four of us over for the Break Fast. It's always a challenge to watch Atticus in someone else's house -- but since the grandparents already have 5 grandsons ranging in age from ~6 months to about 8 years old it wasn't too bad. Except for all the steps and the pool. :)

In other news, I hope G-d is very full of forgiveness towards a certain little 3 year old boy who hasn't quite grasped the concept of a memorial candle and continues to blow it out when we aren't looking. G'ah.

Cake Batter Rice Crispy Treats

2011-10-09T13:00:00.001-05:00

Found this recipe via Pinterest and I couldn't resist making it. I recruited some help (goodness help me) and Atticus and I put together this exciting pan of Cake Batter Rice Crispy Treats. We'll dig in after dinner tonight. (Picture to be added once I bring the camera upstairs and upload photos)

The close up of the yumminess.

The full pan of treats.

Dinner Again?

2011-10-06T16:43:00.000-05:00

Oy... this cooking everynight stuff is exhausting. I miss Mr. Joe. I need to start meal planning and getting a bit more organized.

The kids may very well eat pb&j sandwiches tonight if they don't want leftover pot roast!

I enjoy cooking. I do. But everyday is tough. Where's that magic wand? And it's even harder to order take-out because I can't figure out if I'm a bad parent if I leave the kids strapped into the car while I attempt to run into a restaurant to pick something up! (I haven't actually done it yet - just pondered the thought... but still!) I wonder if the burrito joint around the corner delivers?

Have You Heard Of...

2011-10-02T22:40:00.000-05:00

Pinterest? I'm addicted. It's like a visual virtual bookmark - but for everything! It's brilliant. I put a "Pin It" button on my browser toolbar - and anytime I'm on a site that has things I want to remember -- you can pin them and put them in the right bucket. Your pin will automatically credit the proper source - brilliant! Oh, and you and your friends can share/follow boards - sort of Twitter like - so you can find all sorts of other random and cool stuff. Hard to describe, but it's awesome. Trust me.

Customer Service

2011-10-02T22:37:00.000-05:00

Serious kudos go out to Keurig and their customer service. I called on Friday afternoon and spoke to a great guy named Tyler in Florida. I explained the issue - let him know I'm relatively appliance savvy and that I'd tried every troubleshooting tip from the manual including unplugging and "rebooting" the machine. He had me walk through a few steps - concurred that the water wasn't properly moving from the reservoir into the machine - asked for all my info and sent me the FedEx confirmation a few moments later with tracking information for a brand new machine. Wowzers! Upon receipt, I have to send back to Keurig a small part from my existing machine to prove that I truly do own a machine -- but that's it. No cost for the new machine. No cost to return the small part. Just, yep -- not working as it should. We're sending you a new machine!

I'm impressed.

Not so impressed thus far with the real estate company here in NOLA. Ugh. I did have a very nice chat with Pilar, the agent who facilitated the rental last Tuesday -- but I haven't heard anything from her since. Boo hiss. I sent a follow up email to her on Friday night -- I'm giving her until Tuesday to write back or call. Grrrr. Really - not the best business practices.

At least I have coffee....

Trolley

2011-10-02T13:54:00.000-05:00

Today I ventured out with the kids to Danneel Park. Nothing new for the weekend, except that we rode the St. Charles Streetcar from our house to the park! I had Wren strapped into the Ergo and Atticus did a fantastic job holding my hand and staying close. I know, very brave of me to try it on my own -- but the backyard was in a state and in dire need of attention (mowing, trimming, etc). There was no way that Greg was going to find any quiet time to get to the yard with children underfoot! All told, a successful morning. It's getting to be a bit tricky to watch two little ones at the park since they're always running in opposite directions, but thankfully Atticus is getting more independent. Or maybe that's not such a good thing at the park!!! Ha. Anywho - a good morning.

Wren's still running a low fever that I think is due to teething this time. She's been chomping on her fingers with gusto for the past couple of days. Poor thing - she just can't seem to shake the cold/cough/teething blah... But, she went down without a fuss for nap, so that's good. Atticus on the other hand took an hour to settle down today. Talking, singing, flopping all around - oy!

Neglect.

2011-09-30T16:39:00.000-05:00

Oy... I'm such a bad blog Mom. I haven't posted in 10 days. Sheesh. Well, let's see what's been going on? Greg came down with some mystery illness and spent four days curled up on a ball on the sofa until I made him go to the urgent care last Sunday. That was a treat. I attended a Newcomer's party thrown by the local Jewish Federation that was quite delightful. I met some great folks, and had the chance to hob nob with some of NOLA's finest including an acclaimed chef. Too bad I only got to try a tiny portion of what he'd cooked! I must make a point to visit his restaurant and say hello in the near future. Can't hurt to have a critically acclaimed chef as a friend, now can it? :-) Oh, and I also attended services for Rosh Hashana yesterday at Touro Synagogue. Beautiful sanctuary. Amazing ceiling and stained glass... wow!

We're still settling in a bit. We now have a small kitchen table - yay. Wren also has a dresser, but it's still in a box at the top of the stairs. I"m hoping that since we're all mostly healthy - perhaps we can get it put together this weekend. I'm not sure what else this weekend holds for us. Atticus has been asking to ride the trolley -- so perhaps we'll give that a go. I'm sure the park will factor in sometime as well, especially if the weather dips into the 80s. Woo hoo -- come on fall.... (I hear it's going to get down to the 40s up in Ohio!!)

Ok... I'm off to figure out dinner before I have to get the crew! Wishing everyone a sweet new year!

Colic

2011-09-20T14:32:00.002-05:00

I met a mom in the parking lot of the daycare this morning that just looked like she's been run ragged. Her little one was SCREAMING while mom got her out of the car and then she stopped. Mom said the little one hasn't stopped screaming yet (only 3.5 months) and is actually on probation from the daycare because she's keeping everyone else awake!!

I sooooo know her pain. I didn't even know what to tell her though... it gets better? Eventually? For us it took almost a year? That's not going to help. And she said that her husband is on a 3 month (or maybe 3 year) contract job in Brazil so she's on her own. Oy. Maybe I'll bring her a package of earplugs tomorrow. She's going to need them.

Maybe she can be my new lunch friend? She's going to need a break from her daughter...

Just Strap 'Em In

2011-09-19T16:45:00.003-05:00

I absolutely must tell this story before I forget and it gets lost in my memory...

(shaking my head and laughing still...)

So, on the night we (Jen, Bubbe, Atticus and Wren) flew from Detroit to Dallas, Pops met us at the airport. Our flight had been delayed due to weather in Detroit (that was actually a good thing as it bought be time to get some dinner for the kids and run to the restroom). We called Pops once we touched down and said that we'd be a bit before we made it to baggage claim. It takes quite the effort to get all of us off the plane, get the stroller, get our ducks in a row, head to the nearest restroom, pit-stop for all of us and then wind our way over to the carousel. We told Pops what suitcases to look for so he could grab them in case they things were unloading before we arrived. When we finally saw Pops, he exclaimed, "you didn't tell me about the car seats!". Well, no... we sort of assumed you'd know that we had two car seats in addition to the luggage because how else were we supposed to get home?

So, now with two car seats, a few suitcases, an Elmo backpack, a diaper bag, a laptop bag, a stroller, two kids, one mom and two grandparents we set out for the parking garage. WHEW. Pops thought it would be easier to pull the car up and let us get in curbside and we agreed. He jetted off and returned with the car a few minutes later. Mind you by this point, it's late and the kids are TIRED! Pops opens the trunk of the car and starts stacking suitcases, backpacks, bags and the car seats.

Huh? Wait, we need those car seats Pops...

His answer. Priceless.

"Can't we just strap them in and install the seats tomorrow?"

No Pops. The baby is only 15 months old. I don't think you can just "strap her in"...

Oy.

My Fitness Pal

2011-09-18T13:31:00.003-05:00

My brother convinced me to download an app called My Fitness Pal. I've done a fairly good job of tracking my eating and pseudo workouts. And by pseudo I mean -- carrying Wren all over creation, doing jumping jacks with Atticus, running/chasing the kids in a big circle in the living rom... but, whatever I'm doing seems to be working. I'm down ~5 lbs thus far with about 10 more to go. I'm hoping I can drop another 3 or so before I head out to Malibu in a few weeks for Tiffany's wedding. Buh buy baby weight... it's been fun eating everything in sight for the past few years, but it's time to go!

If you're on My Fitness Pal, let me know -- I'll add you to my list which right now is just my brother and my Dad. :) Always easier to do well when you're accountable to someone!

Potty Prodigy

2011-09-18T13:30:00.002-05:00

Wren may very well be a potty prodigy. Really, I mean it. She's been pointing to her diaper and saying pee-pee, so I pulled out the baby potty yesterday morning and put it in her room. She went twice yesterday! She didn't go yet today -- but we've only tried once. We'll give it another try after nap. :)

Wouldn't it be fabulous to be done with diapers all at once? Woo hoo!

Life in the Big Easy

2011-09-18T13:05:00.003-05:00

We're slowly settling in... and I'm making much more of an effort to meet folks here (at least compared to life in Ohio). I had lunch with a friend of friend (a very nice lawyer who's invited us over to his parent's house for the break fast after Yom Kippur). I've met with the woman who's in charge of newcomers to the Federation, Jody. She's great -- and she has a 3 year old son named Billy. And she has a ton of friend all of whom have 3 year old boys. Woot. I met a bunch of them out at Danneel Park yesterday morning. What a fantastic park. Both kids had a blast - and Atticus even learned how to pee on a tree. I know, right? Oy. At least boys have the option of peeing on a tree! It was a pretty funny sight to see half a dozen three year old boys all circled around a big tree going pee.

This morning was at Tot Social at the Uptown JCC. Wow. Note to self, call again tomorrow to see if there's any room available for the kids. The outside play area alone would make it worth switching daycares! I spoke with a few new Moms and Dads while Atticus and Wren made friends and played. It seems the Jewish community is full of three year old boys! :-)

After a morning of playing, I picked up Greg and we thought we'd try out the restaurant around the corner from us, Lucky Ladle. We arrived about 10 minutes before noon -- but when we went inside we were told that they were actually closing for the day! They'd been so busy that morning that they'd run out of food! Are you kidding me??? So, since we were still hungry - we went to the place next door, Jackson. While the food was quite tasty - the place was practically empty and it still took almost 40 minutes to get two plates of scrambled eggs for the kids, some french toast for me and a crepe for Greg. For some unknown reason - we just do NOT have good luck with restaurant service! Honestly - the table of 4 that came in well after us (at least 15 to 20 minutes) after were served first, and had already paid their tab and packed up before we could even contemplate asking for the check. Sigh.

Now... I'm ever so patiently waiting for the littles to fall asleep. Once that happens - I'm going to catch a few zzzzz's too!

Swamp Sized Mosquito

2011-09-11T20:46:00.002-05:00

My poor little prince. A swamp sized mosquito found him sometime yesterday and worked his blood sucking way up Atticus from his leg to his arm (twice) to his cheek and then twice on the edge of his left ear! Owie zowie! Big red welts and icky-oozy bug bites and there's not much I can do for him. Poor guy!!

First Saturday in NOLA

2011-09-10T23:27:00.003-05:00

Wow. What a first Saturday. Thank goodness I went to the Urgent Care Center yesterday -- I did have strep. I got a steroid shot in the tush, which seems to be working wonders and I've started on my 10 day course of Amoxicillian (or however you spell it)!

So, this morning, we packed up the kids and headed the 3. something miles to the French Quarter. We started out with beignets and coffee at Cafe Du Monde, then strolled across the street to catch the tourist-y horse and carriage ride (which Atticus loved and which lulled Wren to sleep), then a quick jaunt over to check out Greg's new office (much more formal than the previous year), and then a pop-over to the Seafood Festival for a quick bite before heading home for naps. Whew. I had wanted to try the shrimp poboy from Acme, but the line was too long (especially with two anxious toddlers) so I instead grabbed some crabcakes from Pigeon Caterers and some Gator Sliders from Royal House. I'd never actually had gator before. Pretty darn tasty. But, neither kid was a fan of the choices -- so it was time to pack it up and head home. I think they would have enjoyed shrimp, but alas... there's always tomorrow!

We also managed to check off one more thing from the to-do list today. We drove out to Target and purchased a dresser for Wren's room. Now she'll have someplace to put the two ginormous bags of clothes that our dear friend Amy (and her daughter, Katie) have donated to us! Wren does NOT need clothing right now -- that's for sure! :-)

I think tomorrow will be slightly calmer, but who knows. Atticus wants to bake cookies, so that will require a trip to the grocery store - always an adventure. I'm considering making these Pancake Squares for breakfast if I can find my baking powder... YUM. I honestly think I could eat breakfast for 3 meals a day. :-)

Lots more to say, but it's getting late. I've uploaded a ton of pictures and video to the July and August Picasa folders. If you don't have the links, let me know -- I think it was supposed to auto share with the group, but I'm not sure that actually happened... And I did get some pictures today, but they're still trapped on the camera. All in due time...

Hysteria -- Movie Trailer

2011-09-07T11:08:00.002-05:00

Oh My Goodness... depending upon the release date, I may have to fly somewhere to see this with some girlfriends! Thanks Amy for the tip off for this new film...

Too funny!

Mimi the Mouse

2011-08-31T12:27:00.002-05:00

Bubbe bought Wren a stuffed Minnie the Mouse at the Disney Store yesterday at the mall. Wren loves it, and she keeps stretching out her arms and saying "Mimi! Mimi!".

Guess the new baby is a hit!

Some Some

2011-08-31T10:55:00.002-05:00

Instead of saying the word "something", Atticus says "some some". I'm not sure why, but it cracks me up.

Mommy, can I have "some some"? Hee hee...

Underpants

2011-08-30T22:32:00.002-05:00

First night attempting to sleep in underpants - no pull-up. Fingers crossed.

May the force be with us...

Are You Kidding Me?

2011-08-30T22:22:00.002-05:00

Have the evening news on while doing a little work (only time of day when it's quiet around here) -- apparently there's a system that's developing in the Carribean right now has the possiblity of becoming a hurricane headed for Lousiana this weekend. Fantastic. Are you freaking kidding me? Wouldn't that just be my luck? How about a hurrican as a welcome to NOLA gift...

Mother Nature -- if you're listening... please, pretty please do NOT send any hurricanes to New Orleans this year. That'd be my big request. Thanks.

Good Grief

2011-08-28T21:13:00.002-05:00

So I've been a bit busy lately - and not necessarily in the most positive sense. Atticus is a challenging three year old. I know three as a general rule is a tempermental age -- but I think we've got it worse than most. I've got a list of questions growing for our next pediatrician visit -- or possibly for the therapy folks down in NOLA. It's been a rough couple of weeks. Let's hope the remainder of the move and the settling into the new house goes smoothly... goodness knows we could use it. On the upside - the kids are still healthy. :)

The next few days will be filled with DMV visits, running last minute errands, attempting to see Texas friends, attempting to squash in some work -- and then driving 9 hours with 2 toddlers. Delightful, eh?

I did get some great photos and video today while the Great Bubbe was over here -- one day I'll get everything uploaded and links sent out. :)

Overdue

2011-08-16T13:34:00.002-05:00

There is so much going on that I don't have the foggiest idea where to begin! Eeeeeek! Work stress, moving stress, children's illness stress....

We're working on packing, sorting, selling, donating etc. It's a daunting task.

Wren got better for a while - but then spent half of last night awake and screaming. It was not my idea of a good time. Then throw in some full blown 3 year old tantrums and it's enough to give any sane person a melt-down!

I need a magic wand. Anyone got one handy? Anyone....

Ballerina

2011-08-09T16:17:00.003-05:00

Atticus: Mom (Because somehow in the past few days I'm no longer Mommy): I want to be a ballerina.

Me: Oh really babe. Why's that?

Atticus: Because they get to play with legos. A LOT.

Me: Wow... I had no idea. What else do they do.

Atticus: I don't know. Is it time to blow out the lights?

Me: Yes baby... time for bed.

No clue what spurred this funny little conversation last night. :)

I'm going to see if Greg can get some video of Atticus singing Twinkle Twinkle tonight....

Case of the Mondays

2011-08-08T13:24:00.003-05:00

- Sick kid (now Wren's caught the cold).
- Atticus awoke to wet sheets, and wet wooby and wet pajamas.
- Atticus then managed to go through 3 pair of underwear and 3 pair of shorts before we made it to daycare.
- Forgot to sign up for dinner from the school and it looks like we'll be eating some random combination of things in the freezer tonight. (Which needs to happen anyways I guess!)
- Car needs oil change and a few other minor things looked at and the closest dealer is in Ann Arbor, MI and they can't see me until this coming Friday. (Cutting it a wee bit close, I know...)
- Freaking router at home needs to be reset a dozen times for no known reason
- Sick kids don't eat or nap well

There is so much to get done.... OY!

Big Things Are Happening

2011-08-07T11:22:00.002-05:00

Friday 8/5 -- Atticus wore underwear to school for the first time! He wore a diaper for naptime, but otherwise, he stayed dry until 5 pm when we had a minor poop incident.

Saturday 8/6 -- We all woke up gloriously at 7:30 am with everyone having stayed in their own beds until that hour!

Saturday 8/6 -- Wren took her first 4 wobbly unassisted steps. She then thought this was so much fun that she's continued through out the weekend to take 4-5 wobbly steps when standing up from a step (like into our living room or from the bottom stair of the staircase towards the front door).

Sunday 8/7 -- Atticus made "big poopie" as he termed it in the potty.

Big things I tell ya...

Zoo FAIL

2011-07-30T12:22:00.004-05:00

So originally I was going to meet a friend at the Toledo Zoo last weekend. But, she wasn't feeling well on Saturday and we were going to the air show in Dayton on Sunday. So.... the weather was supposed to be nice today so this morning I sent a quick text over to Mary and she said sure... see you there at 10. Well, Greg thought he'd better come since I'd have a tough time navigating animals and two kids. Nice thought, it's ALWAYS easier with one more adult! I pulled up the zoo website and purchased tickets and a parking pass online. I had the option to pick up the tickets at Will Call or print them at home. Normally, I would have just printed - but it said it could take up to 2 hours for the email to arrive. Ummmm, no thanks. So I chose will call. By the time we were all loaded up and out the door, I knew we'd miss Mary and Callahan -- but we'd give it a shot to see if we could find each other. We arrived at the zoo, made it to the parking lot, gathered our supplies and headed in.

The ticket line was fairly long, but I saw some booths that said Advanced Tickets or something along those lines. We headed that way and got in line. There was a woman standing by the gate to get in and she said, if you already have your tickets, I can let you in here. I went to show her the printout receipt and she tells me,"Oh -- you need to go to Guest Services to pick up your tickets." UGH - are you kidding me? I told Greg to stay there with Atticus and Wren and I headed over to Guest Services. I was number three in line. Doesn't sound too daunting except the person at the window apparently had a million and one issues! She was having a party there at 3, but the people were arriving at different times, and where would they leave the gifts and where did they catch the train and could some people do x while others did y, and what about if they had membership passes and what about BLAH BLAH BLAH. Seriously, it was ridiculous. Made even more so by the fact that will call tickets were being held at Guest Services! Oy. So - finally got the tickets, went back to the boys and got into the park. (Learned later that the woman at the gate was supposed to have given each of the kids a FREE Fisher Price toy -- but we never got those!!!) I was trying to read the map while slathering on sunscreen and texting with Mary to see where she was at this point. So - I turned the wrong way towards Africa instead of African Safari (or vice versa). G'ah.... turned back around and headed towards the new baby elephant, Lucas. The place was crowded, we didn't even get to see the baby and we never found Mary! We continued on, but it was so hot that 99% of the animals were hiding. Seriously. I think we saw 4 animals. We attempted to seek refuge in the Aquarium - but it was wicked crowded in there too - and my kids were getting restless. We tried to see what was offered at the Fisher Price special setup thingy - but there was a long line there too, so we kept walking. We ended up playing at the playground for a while before saying - two peas in a bucket! We packed up and headed to the car. It just wasn't meant to be.

And I'm still peeved we didn't get our free Fisher Price toy!

Poopies!

2011-07-27T22:43:00.001-05:00

Houston, we have confirmed two instances of poop. I repeat two instances of poop have in fact reached the bowl. Can I get a hallelujah!

The magic lure? Bubbles.

I love little kids. :-)

Party Plans

2011-07-27T14:37:00.003-05:00

Here's the plan thus far...

Food -

Popcorn to be served in paper cones (orange cones that I've painted with a white stripe to look like construction cones)
Go-Gurt Simple (because I felt I needed something a bit more substantial than just snacks incase the tots don't get home in time for lunch before naps)
Mini pretzels
Fruit salad (thought about fruit skewers, then thought sharp sticks and 3 year olds might be a bad idea!)
Dirt on a stick because it just sounds like fun and I have a lot of Oreos already at the house
Build your own cupcake station with strawberry and vanilla cupcakes (Atticus' choice) along with three types of frosting, sprinkles, oreo "dirt" and mini chocolate chips as toppings
Juice boxes and bottles of water

We've got a couple of automatic bubble blowing hand-held thingies for the kids to play with and we're bringing our bubble machine. We've also got hard hats and stickers to decorate them with...

I'm sticking with the orange and green theme from the invitations (diggers, dump trucks, cones etc) and I found on-sale orange table cloths, paper plates, cups and plasticware for 75 cents a package! Woo hoo. I've got some wooden dump trucks that I hope to use for the cupcake toppings. If that doesn't work -- they'll just be decorations and/or take homes for the kids. Crayons were on sale for back to school sales -- so I was able to pick up 24 packs of Crayola crayons for 39 cents each. Then, with a 25% off coupon - I was able to get coloring books for 75 cents -- which means the thank you for coming to my party take home gifts are coloring books and crayons. :-) I really wanted to find Tonka truck or Bob the Builder coloring books, but I wasn't able to...

As for things to do -- I was going to plan activities, but then thought -- eh...they're all right around 3 years old, do they really need organized activities just yet? So, we'll have the bubbles and I'm bringing a bunch of trucks for them to race around the pavilion with -- and then we'll just let them loose on the playground. I really wanted to create a demolition station using the cardboard bricks and some sort of wrecking ball, but I don't own any of the bricks and it seemed a bit silly to buy them just for the party...

If anyone out there has any other last minute brilliant ideas or if you think of some way to greatly improve upon my plans thus far... let me know. I have Friday afternoon to finish crafting, baking, etc and the party is this weekend!!

RSVP Rant

2011-07-27T14:35:00.002-05:00

Come on people. Phone, email, tell me in person -- why is it so hard to RSVP? Grrrr.

To those that have replied - my deepest thanks. I truly appreciate knowing whether or not I should bake 6 cupcakes or 2 dozen cupcakes. :-)

Growing Up

2011-07-26T19:31:00.002-05:00

Atticus is getting ready for bed right now and he just crawled into our bed and told me: Go away Mommy. I busy right now. Stop bothering me. I sleeping.

Here comes the independence!

I can still hear him barking orders to Greg... No Daddy. You sit here. Turn off light. Lay down.

Hee hee... at least he knows what he wants tonight!

Airplanes and Helicopters

2011-07-25T16:26:00.003-05:00

When Greg was growing up, he recalls going to the Dayton Air Show with his Dad. The tradition continued this weekend. We packed up the car and made the 2 hour trek south to Dayton to attend the air show. It's quite the production. $10 to park and $20 for each adult ticket for admission! But despite the heat - I know Atticus had a grand ole time!

Here are a few pictures from our day trip. Click on the collage to make it bigger.

Down.

2011-07-25T16:22:00.003-05:00

This is Wren's new favorite word. No up... although she has been very lovey lately -- nope, the word of the weekend was down. She's into exploring and wants to be down. Granted, then she's getting into all sorts of things she shouldn't or attempting to stand while holding onto wobbly objects (dresser drawers that can open and then close on one's fingers - OUCH!).

She's feeling slightly better from the ear infections, from what I can tell -- but she's gone back to not sleeping well. We're having a tough time getting her down (which is a real departure for her) and she's waking up anywhere from 3am - 5am. Ugh. We've got a trip to the ENT tomorrow and if they agree, we've got surgery scheduled for tubes on 8/5/11.

I Just Singing

2011-07-21T20:00:00.002-05:00

Row row row my boat down the street. Merrily merrily merrily life butter dreams.

Happy Birthday Atticus!

2011-07-20T22:18:00.002-05:00

My little man turned 3 years old today. Sigh. He's going to be leaving for college before I know it! But maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Today was a pretty good day for Atti. We started off by going to "school" for a pancake and egg with Mr. Joe. (I'm really going to miss the hot breakfasts at The Gathering Place). Then, it was off to Atti's room where his friends were very excited to see him and they sang Happy Birthday to him ALL day long (per Ms. Amber). Just after I left, Latonia brought two big balloons to his room too - very exciting! When I arrived to pick him up, I also learned that he went potty 4 times today and had only one wet diaper! Woo hoo. After I gathering up all his things, I surprised the little guy with a duck bill whistle for no real apparent reason. I just thought he'd like it. It looks kinda like this one, but with less creepy eyes. :) Next up, we headed over to a relatively new Perrysburg, OH hotspot called O-Deer Diner that opened up next to where we go for music classes. Not exactly a traditional diner per se, but we got hot dogs, chips and ice cream -- a classy dinner for a 3 year old, no?

When we arrived home, Atticus came in the house to find a giant dump truck and front loader waiting for him. Seriously, they're so big I didn't even wrap them. :) He didn't seem to mind. We'll give him some more gifts probably tomorrow. I also told him that the paci fairy had been to his room and had left him two big pieces of candy for being such a big boy and giving his paci to a new baby. That was an epic FAIL. Even though we'd been talking about it for ages, he totally flipped out when the paci wasn't there. I had to go summon the paci fairy and let her know that Atti just wasn't ready. He was going to give her back the candy until he was ready. We'll have to work on that one...

Overall, a good day for the little man. I'll post a more sappy traditional letter to him later this week...

Falling Behind

2011-07-19T10:17:00.003-05:00

There are way more things to get done that there are hours in the day. Holy moly batman. Between doctor's visits, move preparations, work, kids, and general mayhem....

I'm still trying to will the laundry to do itself. Sigh. My Jedi powers are rusty.

And for the record - I'm really going to miss the take home dinners from The Gathering Place when we move to New Orleans. In addition to all the normal brew-ha-ha, Greg and I are going to have to figure out how to feed our family with actual COOKING in the very near future. :)

And on that note -- back to the grind.

Laundry.

2011-07-17T20:51:00.001-05:00

I tried willing it to wash, dry and fold itself tonight - but so far, no luck. Maybe the folks in NYC have the right idea when using a laundry service! :-)

Peanut Update

2011-07-15T21:56:00.003-05:00

For those not in the know... Peanut's health has been steadily declining, especially since our move to Ohio. We have an appointment tomorrow morning to have her put to sleep. My eyes well up just typing that, but it's time. She has been an amazing little kitty and she's lived a good life. She's lived in more states than most people and she's even gotten to fly with Greg piloting an airplane. Even I haven't had that opportunity! She's been a part of Greg's life through thick and thin -- she's seen graduations, triumphs, weddings, babies and more. So, if it moves you -- just keep her and Greg especially in your thoughts tomorrow...

Here's a flashback photo of Greg and Peanut from 2007 ish?

Potty Update

2011-07-15T21:51:00.002-05:00

We are making some serious headway in the potty like a big boy movement. Granted, this now means that we spend an absurd amount of time in the bathroom -- but I think he's catching on. Atti will successfully pee every time he sits now. He's still going some in the diaper too, but I am happy with the progress of late. The big news came this week when he actually started peeing at school! Miss Amber gave him a small package of candy hearts (I'm sure that were left over from Valentines!!) and it got him all fired up. :-)

I'm trying to stay positive with every attempt and jump and cheer and perform the "potty dance" with each successful tinkle -- but I gotta tell you. When it's taking 1.5 hours for the bath/bedtime ritual because you have to go potty 4x, it gets a little old. Thankfully, I see a diaper free future on the horizon. Maybe Wren will train early and we'll be done done done in less than a year? Fingers crossed!! I'd like to move to NYC as a family of four that all wears big kid underpants!

Baked Chicken Strips

2011-07-09T22:49:00.002-05:00

So I had defrosted a couple of chicken breasts that needed to be cooked... I hadn't a clue what I was going to do, but found myself thinking at 10:15pm tonight, I'd best cook them somehow/someway otherwise it was just money down the drain.

So, I winged it based on a recipe I'd used once that I couldn't find. :)

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips

about 1/4 C mayo (I know - I hate mayo!)

1 pkg Lipton Onion Seasoning Mix

Italian Bread Crumbs

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Mix together the soup mix, a healthy dose of parmesan cheese and I'm guessing about a cup of the bread crumbs. I meant to toss in some additional seasonings, but honestly I forgot... Lightly cover the chicken with mayo and then dredge in the crumb mixture. Bake either in a greased 9x13 or on a cookie sheet with non-stick foil at 425 for about 20 minutes or until the juices run clear. So freaking good and moist!

Sand-Tastic

2011-07-08T22:08:00.002-05:00

On a slight whim, I picked up the kiddos about 30 minutes early this afternoon and we headed over to Sand-Tastic at Levis Commons. Atticus was a hoot. I had Wren strapped into the Ergo, so I wasn't able to really "dig" in to the sand -- but after about 15 minutes of skirting around the edge of the ginormous sandbox, Atti finally got up the nerve to go in. When you've got some sensory issues -- the feeling of sand on your bare feet has to be a new and potentially jarring feeling. But - he did really well. He grabbed a shovel and a pail and was moving sand from one bucket to another and generally having fun. Of course, it was getting near to dinner time, and I was on my own, but I bucked up and decided to be brave and walk across the parking lot and take the kids to Johnny Rockets. It went better than expected behavior wise. It was actually Wren who had the first melt down -- but I blame it on fatigue. She was just plain ole tired. Then, Atticus wanted to go into the "kitchen" of the restaurant and I was afraid I was going to dislocate his arm trying to keep him from doing so! Three year olds can be a *wee bit stubborn when they make up their minds! Granted, Atticus didn't eat anything (even though we ordered what he'd asked for...) and then decided at 8:30 when he was crawling into bed that he was hungry. Oy. I'm probably a bad Mom, but at that point I had to say sorry bud... we'll have a big breakfast tomorrow. Wren on the other hand had a Fiddlestick before we left daycare, then while Atticus was digging in the sand, she had a Mum Mum and a pouch of baby food. Then, she also proceeded to eat 3/4 of a grilled cheese sandwich at the restaurant. The little lady can pack it in -- she apparently does not have any issues eating most anything at anytime!

It was fun. I'm debating on going back again tomorrow afternoon... we'll have to see how the naps go and how hot it is when the kids wake up!!

Cool Idea

2011-07-05T14:36:00.003-05:00

This is so simple, it's amazing! Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes from a slice of watermelon. Insert a popsicle stick and then put the "pops" in the freezer. A couple hours later - wham-O presto... watermelon pops!!

I love it. (And I think both kiddos will too!)

Tips to the new Toddler Blog on Babble!

Fireworks

2011-07-04T13:55:00.002-05:00

Not only did we get to see a great fireworks show from our master bedroom this year... I also learned that our family witnessed the largest display of fireworks in the US history to date! According to Wikipedia (because everything you read on the internet is true) the 2009 display in Manhattan was the largest fireworks show!

If you didn't know us then - or weren't following... Greg, Jen and Atticus (no Wren yet) spent the summer of 2009 in Manhattan while Greg was working for Cravath. I actually posted a back then about catching the show. Apparently I didn't write enough though! It was really cool -- and the fact that we were able to watch from Cravath made it even cooler. Indoors, up on the I don't even remember what floor... it was a great show.

But... I have to give some serious kudos to the local neighborhood here too. The Belmont County Club put on quite a display -- about 30 minutes long -- right here in the middle of the neighborhood! Hallelujah, the kids slept miraculously through the entire thing too!

I think next year Atticus will be ready for sparklers... we'll see. :)

Bookshelf

2011-07-01T13:03:00.001-05:00

If only money was no object... check out this rocking bookshelf that I would LOVE to put in Wren's room.

Nurseryworks Tree Bookcase

Opposite of Mortified?

2011-07-01T12:58:00.003-05:00

Perhaps all the "stink" over the potty is sinking in? Not only was Atticus completely dry this morning when he woke up - but he also peed on the potty! He told me he was dry when I went in to get him which totally surprised me. I actually didn't believe him, but it was true, so immediately, I said AWESOME little dude - let's go sit on the potty right now! We stripped down and went in to the bathroom. First he wanted to stand, then sit, then wiggle around. I finally convinced him to sit for just a moment and we heard the first little tinkling sound. I must have looked like a crazy lady jumping up and down and clapping and hollaring. When I quieted down, we heard more tinkle, tinkle. I jumped around some more and kept on clapping. This scenario repeated 4 times until he told me he was done. He was so excited!

(Oh, and this whole time I was holding Wren who was also clapping for Atticus. Ha!!)

Let's hope we're onto something!!

Mortified

2011-06-29T11:59:00.003-05:00

Atticus has a new trick at school that's going to get him kicked out. Diaper digging. If he goes poop and the teacher doesn't notice right away, he's decided that the best course of action is to then remove the poop himself. Yep. With his hands. But wait, it gets better. They he either steps on it, or squishes it on a wall or ...

Seriously? Atticus? This has happened a few times? WHAT?

I just picked him up from school and he told me, "I make better choices Mommy." He was telling me this while looking me directly in the eye as if to say, "I'd like to make better choices Mommy." I'm kind of at a loss for what to do next. It's a safety issue -- so we have to devise a way for it to NOT happen again at school. But what else can we do? We offer every kind of reward/treat we can for sitting on the potty regardless of the outcome. But so far, he just hasn't shown much interest. He'll tell us when he goes, and he wants a new diaper, but we haven't found a way to get him to sit and stay on the pot. To anyone that knows Atti well, this won't come as much of a surprise -- but the kid is go, go, go! We have yet to find any activity that will interest him for more than 30 seconds.

Maybe over the long weekend, he'll just run around without pants for a few hours at a time? We've got to get him going on the potty!

Oh - and if my day couldn't be any more fun... I also had to go pick up Atticus because he has a rash across his torso and part of his back and he needs a doctor's note that says it isn't contagious. I don't think it is - he's just got sensitive skin and allergies (thanks Mom), but now we have a 4 pm with the pediatrician just to be sure. So, I went and picked him up, got him home and he finally fell asleep. Two minutes later - there was a knock at the door and the landlord's son is here to mow the grass. Oy. Really? Now? I asked that he start with the front of the house, away from Atti's room.... Fingers crossed.

Stolen Tweet

2011-06-28T12:34:00.005-05:00

My friend Amy found this tweet. Love it. :)

Not sure why it's not all appearing on my page. Click on the image to make it bigger so you can read it in its entirety.

I Can't Breathe

2011-06-27T13:22:00.001-05:00

Seriously. I can't breathe through my nose and my throat is starting to get sore and when I cough it feels like my guts and throat are on fire. Fantastic. This sucks. Just thought I'd share.

Sissy

2011-06-27T12:30:00.004-05:00

Well, the verdict is in -- double ear infections AGAIN. Poor little birdie was not a happy camper this weekend. Which, in turn, meant that her parents weren't happy campers either. While medicated, she was at least in relatively good spirits... hopefully the antibiotics kick in and she's back to "normal" soon. I don't recall how many ear infections in a row before you have to consider tubes, but even surgery has to be better than listening to your child howl uncontrollably because their ears hurt.

I've been giving Wren cool baths in the evening before bed for the past couple of nights. Last night, as she was babbling away, I swear she said "Sissy". So I asked her what her name was and she replied "Sissy". It was cute. Of course, she also repeats after you when you say "Birdie" or "Kitty" or anything else that ends in the long "e" sound. Oh, and I heard her say Thank You again this weekend too. She's definitely more vocal than her brother was...

I also picked up her photos from her one year birthday shoot.

Too stinking cute! Here's one of

my favorites -- the rest will go up online. And - because I was in a hurry trying to get out of the studio with a wiggly (and frosting covered) toddler, I have a TON of prints. Wallets, 3x5, 5x7... you name it. If there's something you want, let me know and I'll put one or two or three in the mail for you!!

Today's Summary

2011-06-23T21:37:00.002-05:00

Cat pee. Toddler poop. Juice box.

What do these things all have in common? Hmmm, one might be challenged to come up with a commonality between these three objects and yet my friends, I have done just that...

All three of these things were cleaned off of my floors today. Fun times at the Baden house today.

I'm beginning to feel guilty because of my lack of desire to be around Peanut. She's in dire need of attention, but she seems to seek it out at the least opportune times. And then - when I'm really in a hurry for something or another, she decides to pee (somewhere other than in her box). She's old. She's hurting. She can hardly breathe... I wish she could tell us on a scale of 1-10 what her pain level was at so that Greg could "see" through her eyes. I just don't think she's got much going for her these days but how do you know when it's time to say when? No easy answer to that one.

As for Atticus... apparently he's decided over the past couple days at school to take his poop out of his diaper. He knows when he has to go -- and usually goes to hide -- (going to have a hard time training this one I think) but I have no clue why he's suddenly wanting to touch poop. At school today, he put poop on the floor and then stepped on it. Fantastic. When I showed up this afternoon he was in his spare pants and some of the school's spare shoes. I didn't even know the school kept spare shoes, but I'm glad they do!! I brought home all the soiled clothes -- but I'm still trying to figure out the best method for getting poop out of Atti's shoes. Ewwww. I think I'll just have to retire another toothbrush in the morning to make sure it's all gone. Yuck. I mean really.... yuck.

I'd write more, but I'd probably just ramble on... so I'm going to go check to make sure there's not more cat pee in the master bath and call it a night.

Someone Call The Police?

2011-06-20T18:58:00.003-05:00

Sigh... While I'm not 100% sure, I'm about 99% sure that Atticus accidentally summoned the Perrysburg Police Department to his daycare this morning. Yep. On our way into the building I was trying to juggle holding Wren and her bag along with Atticus's swim bag all while logging into the building. (There's a touch screen computer that you log the kids in/out of -- which unlocks the door to the facility.) I turned to grab Atticus while I was opening the main door to the facility and told Atticus to stop touching things and to help with the door. I'm pretty sure (if my memory holds) that he was touching the small panel that contains the keypad with the building security system. Now, why it's so low that a not even three year old can reach it is beyond me - but that's for another post...

We then went into the building, we dropped Wren in her classroom and Atticus and I went to see Mr. Joe for some breakfast. Atticus had a couple of scrambled eggs, a huge pancake and 75% of the Kid's Clif bar that he'd taken from the kitchen on our way out the door. This of course in addition to the donut he'd eaten at home before we left! (You'd think I never feed my kids!!)

Finished breakfast, I dropped Atticus off in his room and went about my day. When I arrived to pick up the kids from school, there was a message on my account. It read - please don't let your kids touch the security panel while you're entering and leaving the building. I thought it was just for us -- but apparently everyone saw the message. BUT.... I know deep down that it was Atticus who accidentally triggered the silent alarm and sent the police department to the facility.

Ooooops!

Father's Day Weekend

2011-06-20T11:12:00.003-05:00

We had quite an eventful weekend. Saturday morning, the boys went out to get donuts for Daddy. Once again, they returned home with a large box containing 11 donuts (9 of which had at least one bite missing)! We all had some sugar and then packed up to head to a local air show at a small airport down the road in Millbury, OH. The airport is located just next door to Lake Highschool which was destroyed in a tornado just prior to our move to Ohio. Atticus thought it was grand fun to look at the airplanes and helicopters. He was even able to climb inside a few and sit in the cockpit. There was a lot of commotion and noise with planes taking off and landing with more regularity than we imagined -- but Atticus did a great job with the noise. It may help that we've also been reading a book from the library called The Noisy Airplane Ride. :-) Regardless, the kids had fun and it was nice to get out and walk around outside.

When we got home and got the little ones settled into naps, I snuck out to get in a little crafting time. Whew. I don't think I'll ever finish the kids scrapbooks - but at least I've made some progress. The afternoon was spent going on a walk, playing in the house, eating, etc. (I'm starting to get excited that soon we will all be eating the same thing for dinner!)

Sunday morning, we let Greg sleep in a little bit and the kids and I goofed off and finished "signing" our cards for Daddy. Atticus was very excited to show off his handy work! We squeezed in another nice walk around the neighborhood and then we met another little guy out for a stroll, Gavin. Atticus and Gavin (who will be 3 in September) hit it off and the two of them were playing on the tricycles, blowing bubbles, playing "fireman" in the backyard with the hose, etc while Greg got the chance to say hi and talk to Gavin's grandpa. Turns out the grandpa is about to retire as Vice President of the local community college. They had a nice chat and the boys had a blast. We hope Gavin comes to visit his grandparents again soon!

After naps, we packed up the family and headed down to visit with Grandma Baden and Papa. Atticus loves to visit Papa, but has a hard time staying put in Grandpa's room. We must have chased him up and down the hallway a few dozen times over the course of two hours!! The kids then got a treat and we stopped at McDonald's for dinner. :-) Whew.

Well Foo.

2011-06-20T11:11:00.003-05:00

Just when I thought we'd turned the corner and had Wren sleeping through the night (see last week's accomplishments) she's actually woken up at least once for the past three nights. Sigh... Last night she woke up twice. Fun times.

Birthday Party

2011-06-16T16:01:00.004-05:00

We have a date and a location. Woot.

Atticus's 3rd birthday party will take place at Three Meadows Park (or as Atti refers to it - The Pond Park) on July 31. I still have to determine the best time... I'm leaning towards an after lunch park play date. Any thoughts blogosphere?

There are picnic tables, restrooms, plenty of playground space and of course the ponds with the ducks and the fish! The party theme will be construction... backhoes, diggers, dump trucks and all other assorted construction equipment will be considered. I'm sure the girls from his class will love it. :)

Published!

2011-06-16T15:49:00.001-05:00

Greg has done it again... he's a published author. :)

Third-Party Assistance in Determining Obviousness

Dare I Speak It Aloud?

2011-06-16T10:09:00.003-05:00

Wren slept 13 hour last night. IN A ROW!

I actually had to wake her this morning at 8 am to make sure she had breakfast before we left for school...

I may faint.

So why exactly was I awake from 4-5 am? Ugh.... I never have insomnia!

Damn.

2011-06-14T19:19:00.002-05:00

I knew I spoke too soon. We were late getting Wren to dinner & bed and we futzed with the routine. Sigh.

Edited to Add: After going in half a dozen times and laying her back down on her back and reassuring her, she slept from just after 8 pm until 7 am.

Woot! That's three nights in a row of 8+ hours of sleep.

~ Jen
Sent from my iPhone

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2011-06-14T10:11:00.002-05:00

Wren is now sort of doing the hand motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider. It's the cutest thing ever. It almost makes up for the waking up a thousand times in the middle of the night. :)

Although actually (and I'm almost afraid to say this on paper) she slept 12 hours straight last night. In a row. Without waking. No screaming. No crying. It was probably a fluke.

I'm praying that it's the start of something wonderful... :-)

Movie Night

2011-06-12T22:10:00.001-05:00

OMG. Bridesmaids is the funniest movie I have seen in a loooooong time. I haven't laughed that much or that hard in ages.

And totally unrelated, but why can I not remember to put sunscreen on the back of my neck? Sheesh.

And congrats to the Dallas Mavericks. I'm not a basketball fan, but I hear the big win was well deserved.

Oh, and while I'm spewing random thought... Please, o pretty please let my children stay asleep until at least 6 am tomorrow morning. Thanks!

~ Jen
Sent from my iPhone

Sleep.

2011-06-12T13:38:00.002-05:00

I write a lot about sleep. Although I crave it - apparently my children do not. Nope. Not in any way shape or form. This is evidenced by the fact that my one year old is still waking one to two times a night and my normally consistent toddler is still awake talking/singing/screeching in his room at 2:40 pm. Apparently the author of Go the F to Sleep knows my children.

Seriously. Go to sleep. I'm about to have a mental breakdown especially because I think you just woke up your sister.

This sucks.

Sweet Dreams

2011-06-10T10:17:00.001-05:00

Listening to music while working today and this song came on... I'd forgotten about it to be honest, but it's such a sweet song for any Mom of a little boy!

Food - It begins.

2011-06-09T10:16:00.003-05:00

6/8 (aka Day One ish...)

1/2 cinnamon raisin bagel with light cream cheese

coffee

2 baked chicken strips and the rest of Wren's mac-n-cheese from the night before ~ 1C

pita chips and hummus (about a serving's worth)

large handful of chocolate yogurt covered raisins

homemade chicken parmesan (no parm tho) with spaghetti and tomato sauce

1 Shiner Bock

4 bites of Atti's grilled cheese sandwich

few bites of strawberries, raspberries and cantaloupe

- Not much in the way of exercise. I wanted to walk but it was 100 degrees. Ew.

6/9:

3/4 Amy's Organic breakfast burrito

6 bites of Atti's pancake at school

coffee

2 Hershey kisses

Lean Cuisine (really wanted the cheeseburger in the freezer, but I refrained)

almost a pound of really incredible strawberries

Weather Records

2011-06-08T10:18:00.002-05:00

I'm not quite sure why weather records seem to follow me. We had the record number of 100+ degrees days in Austin. Record snowfall this winter, record rainfall this spring and apparently now record heat for northwest Ohio. See this article. Can I pretty please get a little break? We just survived a butt-load of snow and torrential downpours of rain.. sun and 80 degrees would really be appreciated. Especially before we head down to NOLA for what I'm sure is going to be a record year of something. (Fingers crossed that it is NOT hurricanes!)

Accountability

2011-06-08T10:11:00.002-05:00

Eeeek. Now that the "nursing diet" is slowed to pretty much a halt --- and I'm a few years older than I was last time I found myself in this situation, I've had a sad realization. I can no longer eat the way I have been over the past several years and maintain my girly figure. :) After Atticus was born, I lost the baby weight and an additional 10-15 pounds. That was AWESOME. So, my goal is to now return to said weight and fit back into the new fancy clothes I purchased when I was at said weight.

In order to do this - I need to hold myself accountable for what I eat and how much I exercise. What better way to do this than to announce to my family and friends (who really don't care) my daily diary. I actually should just keep a diary/log -- but since this handy dandy blog already exists, I'm going to start here. Exciting for you all I know.

So -- here goes. I'll let you know tomorrow how it went today. Does that make any sense? Oy. Here's to fitting back into the clothes I purchased in NYC...

How Sweet.

2011-06-06T15:26:00.001-05:00

This morning Atticus told me that he liked Wren. I told him that was a very sweet thing to say. I then asked him why he liked his sister. His response? "She's pretty."

It's moments like these that make you forget/dismiss all the frustration from the hour previous...

Yummmm!

2011-06-05T09:55:00.001-05:00

Greg took Atti this morning for donuts. :-) Atti had a bite from each one (and then some)!!

Construction Themed Party

2011-06-03T08:32:00.002-05:00

So, I think we are going to have a birthday party for Atticus. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to do one -- I don't really know very many of the parents from his school, and the parents at music class aren't the most "open"... but Atti's now of the age where I think he'd really really like the party. One of the girl's in his class had a birthday a couple days ago and the mom brought cupcakes in for the class at school. All evening long, Atticus was singing Happy Birthday to Alissa....

I asked him what kind of cake he'd like for his birthday and he said, no joke, a "backhoe cake". I think this all stems from the backhoe that's still parked across the street -- but in any event, the kid does love his construction equipment. A friend from law school recently threw a pretty rocking construction party for her 3 year old son. I'm not quite as Martha handy as she is --but I think I can take some of her ideas, plus those that I've found online and create a pretty cool party. Instead of lots of activities (I'll plan a few) I think our piece de resistance will be a bounce house. :) We have a fabulously flat back yard and the weather here, while hot, won't be call the fire department hot.... so, that's the tentative plan. I'm putting it out there so I can be held accountable.

Check out this blog post where the parents really did create a backhoe birthday cake! I also like the faux pinata idea. Cute stuff!

What's With Me and the Birds?

2011-06-01T16:22:00.002-05:00

I failed to inform the blogosphere about the two, yes two, birds we had in the chimney/fireplace this weekend. The landlords really need to do something to the top of the chimney - but that's a different discussion. The result was that there were two birds in the fireplace when Atticus and I came down for breakfast over the weekend. Blah, blah... the landlord was over at the house and while Wren was napping and Atticus was distracted in the basement with Greg, Ray helped "free" the birds. Eeeeek! We were expecting one, and found two - and apparently uninjured as they began to fly around the living room. I let out a small scream and managed to fling open the sliding glass door in the kitchen. One little bird flew out and Ray caught the other one and gave it a gentle toss out the door (it took flight).

Then today, my dear SIL drops by with some medicine for little Peanut and there is another little bird half hopping half fluttering about in the front yard. I'm praying it didn't whack into the window and become injured... or that it hasn't falled from a tree, or broken something... I'm not quite sure what to do if that's the case!!

So - our bird tally for our time in Perrysburg stands at one dead, two alive but trapped in a chimney and possibly two injured. Good grief!

Warm Water

2011-05-31T08:59:00.004-05:00

Me: Atticus, do you want to try to go potty before we get in the bath.

Atticus: Nope. I no need to go.

Me: Ok, you're sure?

Atticus: blank stare

Me: Ok babe, test the bath water before we get it.

Atticus: He leans over and puts his hand in warm water and promptly begins to pee all over the floor.

It was like being back in college... pranking the intoxicated boys!

Sleep. I need sleep.

2011-05-31T08:54:00.002-05:00

So my dear baby girl decided to wake up last night just after midnight. The only way she would refrain from screaming bloody murder was when I was holding her while standing up. This went on for about an hour and a half. I finally laid down with her in our bed and passed out praying that she would stop tossing and turning and just fall asleep. It apparently worked until 5:40 am when she promptly woke again wanting to play. Oy vey. After much shushing she fell back asleep around 6:30 when Atticus woke up.

Needless to say, I'm pooped today.

I Should Be Napping

2011-05-30T14:22:00.001-05:00

Figures. The one day I choose NOT to lay down when the kids go down for the afternoon nap - they are both still comfortably snoozing several hours later. Sigh. That will teach me. Never give up on the opportunity to nap - it might actually work out in your favor!

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-30T13:41:00.003-05:00

I just may faint. Today it's sunny at 90 degrees with a light breeze. For that, I'd like to thank the men and women of the armed forces who are looking down today on everyone and sending love to the friends and families gathered at BBQs around the country!

We've had a great day thus far... (after the rocky night with Wren waking TWICE - I'm kind of over the whole "teething" thing). A little before 8 am, Atticus and I went downstairs to bake cinnamon rolls while Wren and Greg were still asleep. Atti helped me grease the pan and into the oven went the rolls. We changed diaper and got into clothes with no fuss and I asked him to play quietly with his cars while I came upstairs to check on Wren. Found her awake and quietly babbling - no screaming! Atti then proceeded to amaze me by sharing toys and being incredibly patient with Wren while we waited for the oven to ding. Then... everyone sat down and shared fruit, yogurt, milk and cinnamon rolls. Amazing, eh?

The sun was shining so I grabbed some sunscreen and a hat for Atti and the two of us went to the driveway to practice riding the bicycle. We said hi to our neighbors and they invited Atticus over for a dip in their pool. Atticus was quite excited. He changed into his new swimsuit and rashguard top and we went next door. He wanted to "swim like a fishy" (complete with hand motions for demonstration). He made it in to the second step, but that was as brave as he got. However.. he had a grand ole time sitting on the edge with his feet in the water, throwing the balls into the pool, carrying around the pool "noodle" from one end to the other... It was incredibly kind of our neighbors to allow him to play! Oh, and they fed him too because even though we'd just finished breakfast - he still needed some more crackers, cheese and Twizzlers!

When it was time to come back to our house for lunch and nap, we found that Greg had put together Atticus's birthday present from Bubbe and Pops -- the new Radio Flyer Tricycle! We had to pry him off to get him to eat lunch! Needless to say, I'm not sure what we'll be doing after nap - the park to feed the ducks, riding the tricycle, or going next door to the pool!

Ok, I'm off to do something productive around the house. Not sure what - but the list is long and I need to start somewhere!

Underpants - Take One

2011-05-28T09:42:00.002-05:00

Total Fail. Atticus and I have been talking all week about how on Saturday, he was going to be a BIG boy and wear his underpants and go potty on the big boy potty. About 7:45 am we took off jammies and put on our first pair of underpants and shorts. Within an hour, we'd gone through 4 sets of underpants and 4 pair of shorts. Mind you -- he hadn't yet eaten or had anything to drink?!?

I don't think he got it. We'll wait and try again in a couple weeks.