Through Bear's Eyes

I used to wonder what Bear's view of the world was like...what she sees and how she sees it. For her birthday she got her very own camera. Apparently this is how she views the world...Hope you enjoy her version of our trip.

The rest...

So our trip wasn't all bad. There were some good memorable moments...



...celebrating the fact that it was Chipmunk's first Christmas.







...visiting the Snoopy store and ice rink in Santa Rosa, CA.



...Bear learning the word "zamboni."



...celebrating a birthday.



...spending time with loved ones.

Hope you all had a wonderful...virus-free...holiday.

Sick in Sacramento

Christmas was rough this year. The kids were sick. Yup, again. This time wasn't so fun though. We ran the whole gamut from fevers to upset stomachs. It was one messy Christmas...ew.

Bear was fine after about a day or so, but Chipmunk is still not doing so well. After peaking at a fever of 104.1, we took him to see a doctor who basically told us that there wasn't much to be done, prescribed some meds and sent us on our way. Currently he's still running a lowgrade fever, and just not eating much by way of solid foods. Plus, he's super unhappy and seems to be only wanting the comfort of mom.

So Chipmunk spent his first Christmas very much the same way Bear spent her first Christmas...ill.

So amidst all the icky symptoms we've tried to have as normal a Christmas as possible.

Tried.

So we're still here...sick in Sacramento.

3 years

I can't believe our little girl is three years old today.



I still remember that night three years ago...coming home from a family Christmas, feeling like I ate one too many scoops of super cheesy mashed potatoes...Matt felt it, too (indigestion...ugh). We couldn't sleep that night and little did we know that we wouldn't sleep that night. I remember it was 3 am when I decided that I just couldn't sleep so I propped my pregnant self up with pillows to read a book. About 5 minutes into my reading I felt really weird and decided to get out of bed. As soon as I stepped into the bathroom my water broke, surprise hit my face and with a weak voice I managed to yell out to Matt who responded, "what! are you serious?!"

Calmly, yet quickly...we were out the door, into the car, driving quietly into the night to the unloading zone at the hospital...I remember a security guard wheeling me into labor and delivery...getting settled into a room and then the constant questions, check ups, contractions, ivs, whirlwind of procedures...

And then it all stopped...at least that's what it felt like to me. It was as if time slowed down as my little girl was being placed into my arms...my tiny baby girl with her chubby cheeks and soft mound of black hair. It was surreal.

And today, she's three years old. She's no longer my baby, but rather my child. She's roasting bears, drawing monsters and calling firemen on the phone. With her constant conversation and her insatiable curiosity (why? why? why?) and her beaming personality, I'm still as amazed now as I was back then.

3 years old. Wow.

Happy Birthday, Little Bear!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you!

From 2008

Climber

I think because his sister didn't start crawling (and combat crawling at that) until she was 10 months old, it feels like Chipmunk is on the fast track. He crawled a little before he was 6 months old, pulled himself up to standing a month later and has been cruising ever since. When he hit 10 months old he started doing something Bear didn't start until she was almost 2 years old...climbing.

He climbs on top of plastic tubs. He climbs onto the kitchen play set (as you can see above). Lately, he's been climbing into and out of the exersaucer on his own, too.

I hope he doesn't figure out how to climb out of the crib. Scary thought.

What's Cooking?

Roasted Teddy Bear. Yum.

Just don't tell Chipmunk what his sister did to his bear.

Chipmunk Bites

Since we are traveling to see family this week, I scheduled some random posts to pop up during this week...just in case you miss us and need to read more about what we've been up to.

Chipmunk has this thing about biting.

See this?



And this?



He also bit out chunks of wood from the 30 year old vintage crib at his grandparents house.

Occasionally, he takes a bite of my knee or arm.

At our visit to the County Fair last Fall, I found a hole in the map right where we were trying to look for information.

He's ripped holes, made scratches and punctured with those eight little teeth.

Man, he's got strong teeth.

Another ha ha moment

Lately, Bear has been enamored with talking on the telephone. This is one of her most recent "imaginary" conversations.

"Hello? Dire Dighter (Fire fighter)? We need help. You coming? You come in the truck. Okay, Dire Dighter. See you later!"

She's not yet three and already imagining about firemen rescuing her. Hmmm.

Chipmunk's latest attempt at talking? "Whooooaaa!" whenever he sees something worth the exclamation. Oh, and "ssssssss" which in baby talk is "cheese" as in whenever Bear points her camera at him.

Silly kids.

Internet Hiatus

We've been having withdrawal these past four days. Why??? Our lovely internet was out. Gone. Nada. Not only the internet, but our cable service was out, too. So we were put on a non-self-imposed internet hiatus (no paying bills, no online Christmas shopping, no updates for our Tivo service). Yup, no tv, no internet...Whatever did we do with ourselves these past four days?

So for all of you waiting for our Christmas cards (my address list was online) or return emails, they're coming. If you noticed that my commenting on Facebook was non-existent or that our blogs have been mysteriously quiet, well we've been sitting here twiddling our thumbs instead. Right.

Surprisingly, it felt twice as busy. Who knew?

Why We Love Costco

After spending an hour or so looking for Chipmunk's teddy bear, we left Costco resigned to the fact that we would never see "Bear Bear" again. Today Matt called and they had found the bear and kept it for us to pick up.

Besides the cheap hot dogs, that is why we love Costco.

The Budding Artiste

Bear has been loving "art" lately. Whenever she gets a chance she runs up to me and asks, "I do art?" This means pulling out her box with her crayons and glue and scissors and a quiet 45 minutes of her "creating." Her favorite part being when her work is completed and she runs up to show either Matt or myself her masterpiece. Before her work consisted of random blobs and scribbles, but lately her work is starting to take actual shape and form. So now for you, our blog readers, we present Bear's gallery of her latest artwork.



"Monster," 2008. Medium: Magnadoodle.



"Monster has Belly Button," 2008. Medium: Magnadoodle.



"Orange Fish," 2008. Medium: Orange Crayon.



"Daddy, Mommy, me and Baby and Sonja," 2008. Medium: Purple Crayon.

She really enjoys her "art." She's like a little Miro.

Thanksgiving Recap 2008

Busy weekends have a way of sneaking by in a mad rush. Thanksgiving weekend was almost "thankless" mostly because we didn't have enough opportunity to give thanks through all the busy-ness. So better late than never...here are our thanks:

Wednesday: We're thankful for arriving safely, despite the rain, traffic and 10 hours stuck on the road. We're thankful for a warm place to sleep and seeing Matt's family again.

Thursday: We're thankful for family gatherings. We're thankful for great-grandmas and aunts and cousins and dim sum. We're thankful for smoked turkeys and full tummies and ample relatives to watch over our happy children. We're also thankful for home-baked apple pie and ice cream.

Friday: We're thankful that Berkeley is only a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Sacramento. We're thankful for seeing my family healthy and well. We're thankful for fondue and artichoke and purple yams. We're thankful for B the dog, who put up with Bear and kept her company most of the day. (We're also thankful for Black Friday sales at the Apple store...hee hee)

Saturday: We're thankful for the newly renovated Science museum at Golden Gate Park which had Bear and Chipmunk exclaiming "wow!" from the moment we arrived. We're thankful for R and her forethought in getting tickets online weeks ago because otherwise we wouldn't have been let in. (By the way, I highly recommend it...super-cool exhibits for nerds like me).

Sunday: We're thankful for Sunday mornings, catching up with friends and celebrating soon-to-be parents. We're thankful for long afternoon naps and chances to bake with grandmas.

Monday: We're thankful for being able to come home safely, settle in and rest up from a long, fun weekend.

And some pics...

Ill Effects

My kids are ill again. It's becoming a little too common for my taste. They also have this knack for getting sick a week before we see the grandparents. Doesn't matter whether the grandparents are coming here for a visit or we're traveling to see them, they just have impeccable timing. And of course, now that Thanksgiving is fast approaching they seem to have caught another bug.

Bear caught the bug first. The fever was so sudden that it caused her to have another febrile seizure. And yes, I know it's a normal reaction to a sudden, rising fever for many young kids...nonetheless, it's still hard to watch. At least this time I didn't panic...just went down my mental checklist of to-dos (tylenol, lukewarm bath, lots of liquids, wait...). She was over the worst of it after a day of rest...

Next it was Chipmunk's turn (minus the seizure). He just felt warm tonight, so to be cautious I took his temp and the thermometer blinked 101.9 at me. So just to be safe, we took the same precautions and went down the fever checklist. Now he's sleeping, feels cooler to the touch, and I'm holding my breath because I know it's going to be a long night of wakings.

I know they'll be fine, they have strong immune systems, but every time they get sick my head runs through lists of questions usually starting with "Is it my fault??

I know I can't control what germs they come in contact with, nor would I want to be constantly covering them with antibiotic junk (not good!), but I start developing this itch every time they fall ill. It's the itch that tells me that my kids got sick because of something that I did or didn't do. I didn't clean the house enough. I didn't give them proper naps. I didn't wash their hands after letting them play somewhere. I let them eat that cheerio that fell on the carpet.

I know that it's not true, but I still think this way despite. Is this normal? Or am I the one that is sick?

Nine Months...

Well Chipmunk has now officially been outside the womb just as long as he's been in it, and I must say that it's quite impressive how much he's grown.

Weight: 21 lbs, 12 oz (70%ile)
Height: 29 and three quarters inches (90%ile)

All the doctor had to say was, "he's a big boy!"

Yup, he is a big boy. Oof.

Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

I'm sorry that we've been neglecting you lately. As much as we'd like to keep up and post our daily thoughts and adventures, it's just been hard getting to the computer to do anything besides mindless internet surfing (or computer games).

It's been busy. Mostly because now that Chipmunk is at a place where he's more content doing things on his own...playing, falling asleep, eating...I've been working more on those goals that I've left by the wayside since his birth.

So papers are finally getting organized, Bear is potty training and learning her alphabet sounds, I've been finding some time to read and to craft, we've been utilizing our local library, and Matt has been keeping himself busy, too.

The other reason we haven't had much to post is because well, life has gotten to a rather routine point. Our days are filled with organized naps and meals and I always said I didn't want to just write fluff. But perhaps now that the holidays are coming we'll at least have some trips and merry diversions to post about in the near future.

Until then, dear blog, sit tight. We'll catch up with you soon.

Sincerely,
Us

Our library visit

Today, at our visit to the library, Bear outdid herself. I couldn't stop laughing at her comments.

On the weather outside:

Bear: Exiting the library "Wow, whatta nithe(nice) day! Nithe, thunny (sunny) day outside."

When you realize perhaps there should be more visits to the library and less television:

Bear: Sitting outside by a water fountain "I see a quirl(squirrel), mommy! A quirl like on tv like on Curious George!"

On being sixteen:

Bear: Getting into the car "I want to drive the car, mommy. I want to drive home."

Me: You know, you're not supposed to drive the car unless you're sixteen years old.

Bear: "Sixteen? Oh, okay."

Hungry?

I just watched Bear finish two hard-boiled eggs, 1 bowl of cereal with milk, and a whole banana and then ask for more. Meanwhile, on the other side of the table Chipmunk ate a whole container of baby yogurt, a quarter cup of oatmeal, one egg yolk and then follow with a whole banana himself. Then he pounded the table asking for more, so I sprinkled the table with Cheerios.

Yes, I do feed them regularly.

People are always commenting on my kids' eating habits. Not just about how much they eat, but what they eat. My daughter would rather eat her salad than her slice of pizza. My kids could sit through a whole meal scarfing just broccoli and tofu. So when Bear asks if she can have a little ice cream, I indulge, only because I know it won't curb her regular appetite for things like celery and carrots.

I'm not complaining, especially since I've seen families who run after their kids with spoon in hand forcing them to eat something. It's just that I've noticed how much more I've been purchasing at the grocery stores and how much more often I have to visit these establishments just to keep up with their little bellies. Plus, what goes in, must come out as they say, and I often get the short end of the stick on that one.

One day I'll tell them about what good eaters they were as babes. I'll tell them stories about how strangers at restaurants always commented on how they loved watching them eat or at the amount of greenery that inhabited their plates. I'll tell them about how meals were no problem because they sat the whole time and ate. But I'll also remind them how blessed they were that they could get their fill on a regular basis and how blessed they were for never having to want.

In the meantime, I think I need to go cook. I'm running out of cooked broccoli.

Bear's Vote

While throngs of citizens around the nation are casting their vote for what is probably the most historic election that I've witnessed in my lifetime, Bear is sitting in her room trying to decide what shoes will adorn her tiny feet.

Carefully she pulls pairs of shoes out of her shoe drawer and inspects them. She makes comments here and there and tries each pair of shoes on. Then when she's finished she replaces her shoes carefully back into the red plastic drawer. And it goes on for an hour or so.

"Oh, wow! Nice shoes!"

"So pretty!"

"I like these shoes!"

"These my dance-y shoes!"

"Oh, shiny!"

In the end she decided on her "dance-y shoes," well, because they're "dance-y" and they matched her shirt. That's our little girl for you.

Next vote: Purses

Priorities

So we realized this week that we haven't taught Chipmunk how to do any of those basic baby things...oh, you know, like clapping hands...yet he already knows how to signal a touchdown. We have priorities in this household.

Pumpkin Aftermath

After you carve pumpkins, you roast the seeds!



After carving pumpkins the kids were too excited and riled up. So excited were they that naps were scarce that afternoon. After putting Bear to bed twice for her nap, I thought she was finally asleep. Nope. I found her a half hour later playing with her toys in the hallway. Sneaky. So napless and tired we headed out.



Bear did her usual Trick or Treating at the local mall amongst the throngs of costumed kids. "Twick or Tweet!"



Chipmunk was a little upset...perhaps because Bear wouldn't share her candy with him.

Then it was on to our church where they were hosting a "Children's Night." Bear ran around playing games to her heart's content. Chipmunk was a little tired, so he stuck to me like glue. All twenty-something pounds. Oof.



After we put our overtired kids to bed, I told Matt, "I'm so glad everyday isn't Halloween." Pooped.

Pumpkin Fun

We stumbled into the pumpkin patch this morning and the only rule I gave Bear was the same one my parents gave me: "As long as you can carry the pumpkin yourself, we can buy it." She picked out a small one, perfect sized that she could carry to the cash register herself.



She carried that pumpkin to the car, from the car into our home, and then all the way to the kitchen table. I opened it up and she cleaned out the pumpkin herself. Then she helped me pick out the seeds.



She had a grand ol' time squishing the pumpkin guts between her fingers. After a while she decided that she wanted a happy face on her pumpkin. I carved a face and then she added the "freckles."



Chipmunk made his own pumpkin, too...er, well he had a little help. He did however mention that he wanted Hoho the monkey on it from "Ni Hao, Kai Lan."



They're both very excited about getting all dressed up in their costumes and Bear is even practicing how to say, "Trick or Treat." What fun!

Whoosh!

That's the sound of time flying by.

October is in its last leg and I'm already starting to stress about the holiday season. Seriously. There's something wrong with me.

First of all, I don't deal with stress well...scratch that. I don't deal with the anticipation of stress well. See, we're not even there yet and I'm already starting to worry about travel plans and gift buying. It's silly, I know. But here I am wondering if Chipmunk will be needing a warm coat this winter.

Everyday I'm reminded about how quickly things progress. Chipmunk is cruising around our home. Bear is losing those babyish features and becoming more and more childlike. Another anniversary, another birthday, another set of holidays to travel and plan for.

Whoosh.

Perhaps that's also the sound of the last of my energy deflating.

Foiled Again

I don't sleep well. Never have. There's just something about me and sleep that doesn't mesh well, which is bad because, well...sleep is kind of necessary and good for me and so on and so forth.

So it always amazes me how something that it so necessary and so vital is the hardest thing for me to do sometimes. I lay awake at night listening to the various sounds of our neighborhood and the thoughts swirling in my head, so that come morning I'm super tired and just not the best caregiver to two kids. So I try napping, but those naps seem to just mess up my schedule even further. It's a vicious cycle.

Yet, the internet is plastered with articles about how getting a proper night's sleep is important and could even save us money.

So tonight I had it planned to go to bed earlier (earlier, not early - baby steps, please!). I had a good start. I finished watching Project Runway, managed to get in my bedtime routine, read a little and settle in for the night.

And yet it's 1 am and I'm still up (and writing a blog no less!) and my little Bear is laying on our couch listening to the sound of my typing after shuffling into our bedroom and crying because Chipmunk was whimpering in his crib.

I'll just have to try again tomorrow night. *Sigh*

October Is In Full Swing!

I actually got an early start on costume-making this year. I figured that with two costumes to put together (and my shotty tailoring skills), I better not procrastinate.



Matt finally got his little jedi. I vetoed his "St@r Wars" votes the last two years for Bear, but this year he got his wish for Chipmunk.



This was the first year we let Bear choose her own costume. Even before we could come up with some suitable choices she decided she would be a "pink PIN-cess!"



She picked out her own fabric, too. Pink and shiny.

Oh, and we can't forget the little friends...

From 2008

From 2008

Looks like October is in full swing!

A Little Hello

Hello! I know it's been a while since we last posted. Just been busy. That's all. Nothing major. We're still here, and we're glad that you've stopped by.

Bear says hello. She is sorry she hasn't had much time to spend with you. Her schedule has been jam-packed with play dates, birthday parties and more play dates, but she hasn't forgotten about you.



She wanted to tell you all about her bicycle and how she hopes to learn to ride it someday. She's also been taking good care of her brother and taking the time to sing songs loudly wherever she goes.

Chipmunk also says hello. He is sorry that he hasn't had the opportunity to tell you what he's been up to. He's been busy crawling around and learning how to pull himself to a standing position.



About 2 weeks ago he had an epiphany and realized how much fun it is to be him. He enjoys his car rides, loves playing with his sister (crawls after her screaming with glee), and enjoys eating all his meals. His mom thinks he's a completely different baby sometimes. So he's sorry he hasn't had time to post, but he's been busy enjoying life.

So hello to all of you out there! We hope you are all well, too.

Medical Mystery

Matt went to bed last night after dosing himself with some Nyquil trying to shake off the chills. I managed to put Chipmunk to sleep despite his head congestion and inability to breathe through his nose. Bear woke up at about 10:30 whimpering on and off because she was having trouble with her stuffy nose and couldn't comfortably fall asleep again for hours

Me? I'm quite well.

It's a medical mystery to me. I'm always healthy and my family is wheezing up a storm around me. I get the least amount of sleep, too. If anything, I should be the one who is sick all the time. It doesn't make sense to me.

My optimistic friends always tell me, "what's wrong with that? That's a good thing because then there is someone to take care of the rest of the family." True. If I was sick with the rest of them, I'd still have to take care of them all, just feel miserable while doing so.

I was sick a lot as a kid. Perhaps that has something to do with it. It got to the point where people stopped taking care of me because I already knew how to take care of myself. Whenever I came down with something, I got the, "oh she'll be fine-she's always sick" response, whereas my sister would complain of a stomach pain and they were plotting which route to take to the hospital. Then again, she just didn't get sick that often. Now she gets sick everytime she hangs out with my kids. Go figure.

So for the next couple of days and nights I'll be taking care of my family. I just hope after they're healthy again, they'll let me sleep for a couple of days.

Mommy in Distress

It's been a rough day with Chipmunk. He caught a cold and is having trouble sleeping. At one rough moment in the day, Bear ran up and said, "Mommy, I come rescue you, okay?"

Sweet kid.

For the Smiles

I've decided that putting in the effort and taking our kids on special outings is beneficial for the whole family. The kids get to take in some culture, fun and some fresh air. The parents get that warm fuzzy feeling inside when they see the tremendous smiles on their kids faces.

This week we went to the County Fair. Some highlights:

Bear's First Pony Ride



We were standing by the pony ride deciding where to go next, when Bear turned to Matt and asked, "I ride pony?" Uh, okay.

Seeing all the Animals



Her favorite was by far the bunny ("pet bunny like Curious George?" she asked). She also got to pet a bearded dragon, see some turtles, ooh and aah at the baby farm animals, and visit with some tarantulas at an insect display.

Hanging Around



Chipmunk was dying to get out and move around. Unfortunately, the fair doesn't have too many places for babies to stretch their legs. He had to settle for riding in the sling wrap with me. I can't tell you how many times people stopped to say hello to Chipmunk. He got more attention than some of the displays we visited.

Fried Foods

When at the fair, you have to eat fried foods.



We stuck with funnel cake. but deep fried artichoke hearts and deep fried cupcakes did pique my interest. Gotta love that fair food!

Trains

Once again, Bear rode a train. A carnival train, of course.



There was this really neat model train exhibit, too. It was impressive and I wish I had gotten some pictures of it.

Ah, the County Fair.

My Favorite Bear Moments (Spoken)

Bear runs into the kids section at a local bookstore and sees a book with a stuffed unicorn next to it.

Bear: Oooh, wow, Goats!
Me: No, those are unicorns.
Bear: Oooh, wow, CORNS!

Bear gets stuck on a staircase that has a landing in the middle that you can either take another set of stairs back down or take a set to the upper floor.

Bear:(sobbing hysterically) I got lost on da hill, mommy!

Bear converses with the doctor when we take Chipmunk to see her.

Bear: Hi doctor! Baby hurt foot...fix it! Ummm, maybe bandage.

Bear tries to console Chipmunk when I step away for a minute

Bear: Okay, Baby. Good boy. Mommy right back. Here play Sonja...Hey! Don't! (Yells) Moooooommmmmmy! Baby eat Sonja! Now dirty! Needs bath. ("Sonja needs a bath" is what we tell her when Sonja mysteriously goes away and comes back clean a minute later)

Bear singing "Where is Thumbkin?" when she thinks no one is looking

Bear: Where is pumpkin? Where is pumpkin? How are you? How are you? Na na na na day sir. Va ma na ma dank you. Wun away. Wun away.

Bear is getting irritated with her brother playing with her toys and runs over to grab whatever toy he is playing with

Bear: Aaaaaiiiii-yaaaaa! Baby! Not yours!

Yeah, I'm guessing Kai lan has something to do with the last one. I'm a fan of "ai-goo" myself (Korean interjection - for those of you who don't know)

Most of the reason I'm recording these here is because I don't want to forget those little sayings that make me laugh from day to day. I hope that when she gets older I can return here and show her how silly she was at the age of two.

Little Friends are Hard to Find

Sometimes you just don't know what will become your child's best friend and comfort. Bear has her Sonja. Sonja is the ragged, gray, fraying love of her life. It would devastate her if she were to ever disappear. It was disheartening enough to watch her cry after Sonja fell in a mud puddle. Because of this, and here's our little secret, we actually have two Sonja dolls. When Bear started becoming attached we luckily found Sonja still available at our local toy store. So we took the advice of a friend and started alternating Sonja dolls unbeknownst to our little girl.

Recently, a friend of ours found another Sonja doll and gave it to us to use somehow. So now our count is at three, but one of them is pristeen. I guess we could wash it a few times, run it over with the car, drag it through a sandbox to give it that timeworn look and throw that one in the mix, but for now we'll keep it shiny and new just in case.

Chipmunk has a little brown beanie bear that he's been becoming attached to. Whenever he gets his hands on it, he shoves the little brown nose into his mouth. When he's tired, he rests his head against the belly and in bed he rolls his arm around the tiny bear body. So we decided that perhaps we better look for at least one other. I think Matt just ordered three of them. Sounds crazy, I know, but we had to do quite some searching for this little brown bear. According to it's maker's website, it's RETIRED! So I think he figured that we bite the bullet now instead of searching later for a retired toy bear.

So that's our secret. We've got multiples.

Shhh...don't tell our kids.

Baby Got Toejam

Once again we visited the doctor today. It seems Chipmunk's big toe on his right foot is marred. We think his toenail snagged, ripped and eventually it just got infected. This lead to an ingrown toenail and our poor little Chipmunk has to take some antibiotics and undergo some foot-soaking treatments as we pray it will mend. If not, he might have to go see a foot specialist, who will probably have to do a minor surgery on his toe.

Yup, his poor little toenail is jammed in his poor little toe.

Poor baby. You should see him wince whenever his toe is grazed.

From 8/31

Trapped

It's official. We have movement. Chipmunk is combat crawling his way through our home and quickly invading areas of which we haven't re-childproofed. So we've resorted to blockades made of toy bins, chairs and the existing couches. Which makes me laugh at myself because before Bear was born, I was adamant about not having to cage in our child. Yet, once we found our crawling infant getting into places where dirty shoes lie or near electrical equipment, that notion was quickly reneged, just without the fancy gate. So Chipmunk has his little play area and all the more dangerous toys are located outside the "fence."

Now that he's getting some exercise, does this mean he's going to lose his Buddha like physique?

Parking Spot vs. Dignity?

Today the kids and I had a great morning at the Farmers' Market. We saw some friends, bought some fruits and vegetables, played at the playground and took a nice stroll in the sunshine. After changing a diaper and then feeding Chipmunk, we got ready to leave.

Packing the car is no easy task. Both kids need to be buckled in and made sure that all is comfortable. The stroller needs to be disassembled and packed back into the crowded trunk. All diaper bags, purses and such need to be placed back into the car and then last of all, I need to settle in before driving away.

All the while this was happening a young man in a sedan waited patiently for my spot. I felt bad for him having to sit there and wait. But I guess once you commit to a parking spot, sometimes you really want to see it through to the end.

Just as I was about to pull out, a woman in her SUV with what looked like a 4 year old sitting in the front seat (unsafe?) decided to try and swoop into the spot at the last minute. I felt bad for the young man in the sedan so I pulled back into the spot and tried to wave the woman in the SUV to leave. She instead pulled in further.

So the sedan man pulled up next to the SUV lady and told her calmly but firmly that she was unfairly seizing a spot that he so patiently invested his time into. The SUV lady looked at him and didn't respond. Since this debacle was happening at my back bumper, I couldn't leave, nor did I want to lest the SUV lady got her way.

He reasoned again and then the SUV lady pretended not to speak any English. What?! In any language you should get the point when cars behind you are blaring their horns and the person in the parking spot is waving you to move on. I was apalled at the gall of this woman, and even more baffled by the example she was teaching the four year old in the front seat.

The young sedan man then graciously backed off, and the SUV lady, to my chagrin, got her spot. Why oh why do people do things like this? It's just a parking spot for goodness sake!

So SUV lady, if you're out there I have to ask, was it worth it? Was it worth teaching your 4 year old to lie and treat others with disdain? Was it worth causing grief to that many people? Was it worth trading your dignity for a parking spot? Because you know, when that upstanding young man gave you the spot despite all you did, he showed that he had his head in the right place. He earned my respect and proved his dignity. You, on the otherhand, well...I have nothing nice to say, so I just won't say anything at all.

Last to Bed

It's late. I know. This is just how it always is. I'm always the last to bed.

I just need to decompress after each day, and it seems that the length of decompression increases with each child added to the family. So I end up staying up late even though my body so desperately needs the sleep to function the next day.

That's just how it is with introverts. It's nice to be with other people, but afterwards it's even nicer to just be by yourself.

So I read, or blog, or even sew for an hour or so just to unwind before settling in. Then I go about the house, pick things up, turn off lights and head off to bed. Even before I step into our bedroom I detour into the kids room and watch their sweet little faces as they sleep.

Then once I feel that all is well, I'll climb into bed, tuck myself into the covers, and close my eyes. And it's those moments before I fall asleep where I replay my day, analyze my actions, muse in appreciation and sometimes have creative swirls that develop into ideas and plans.

Then after all is said and done, I finally sleep.

Empty Tank

Chipmunk got his official 6 month weigh in today.

19 pounds, 9 ounces heavy (75%)
28 and a half inches tall (95%)
Working on tooth number 7, 8 and 9

Just as Bear did, Chipmunk has been getting some nice nicknames, too.

"Tank" "Little Linebacker" "Man-child" "Bubba"

He's been night-waking the past couple nights...a lot. The doctor concluded that he just wasn't getting enough to eat. I was just feeding him the proper amount according to the books. She said I needed to double it! So poor kid has been starving and going to sleep on an empty tank.

So when we got home I doubled his meal portion and he gobbled it right up! Now he is happily napping on a full tank.

Myself!

Bear's latest rant usually involves her doing things on her own. She'll tell me, "no Mommy, I do it myself!" It's cute, but it reminds me of lessons that took me 30 years to learn...

I ran for student body president when I was in 5th grade. One of the things I wanted to do was fold a bunch of origami cranes and use them as handouts for my campaign. After folding a couple, I found it was too big of a task. My parents and my sister ended up helping me fold hundreds of cranes only after I cried in frustration. I remember my mom telling me, "why didn't you just ask for help?"

Chemistry was never my best subject (probably why I became a Biology major instead) and I remember how frustrated I was with my homework. I think I gave up half way down a worksheet because it just didn't make any sense...plus I had it in my head that my Chem teacher was nuts and didn't teach us a thing about how to work the problems. Instead of asking for help, I failed that chapter. Again I remember my mom helping me with the next chapter and asking me, "why didn't you just ask for help?"

In college I spent more of my time studying trying to learn how to work things on my own rather than use office hours to visit and discuss things with my professors, which probably would have been more beneficial. As a teacher I spent too much time muddling through trial and error rather than asking my colleagues for the best way they found to teach certain difficult concepts. Even when I'm toting around 2 kids and having difficulties, my first instinct is to try and find a way to deal with it on my own instead of simply asking a friend for a hand. That's just the way I am and I know it's not always a good thing.

Even my friends and family are keen to my problem. I often get told, "because I know you won't ask for help..." Of course I wonder if it's pride, fear or just plain stubbornness that makes me overburden myself so.

So it tickles a nerve within me when Bear makes her declaration to do things "Myself!" Of course, I always let her try because I love that she wants to learn, but my 30 years of "should-haves" always pushes me to tell her, "okay, but if you need help, just ask, alright?" And you know what? She does.

Yum Yum in the Tum

Avocado is yum. It makes a great face mask, too!

That's A Sport?

I'm sorry, but I don't understand how synchronized diving is an Olympic sport. Can anyone explain to me why they add this to the official roster but take away baseball and softball?

Food, Glorious Food

Here's Chipmunk getting his first few bites of rice cereal.



He's been waiting for this day for a long time.



Ah, finally. Real food at last.