Hot & Bothered

I have reached the point where I am now hotter, (temp. wise of course!), than everyone else. Air conditioning? Oh God, Yes please!!!! And it doesn't help that we are having a very warm December. It was 85 yesterday. And it doesn't help that I have outgrown all my shorts and summer type clothing that I bought for the beginning of the pregnancy. Once again, A/C??? Can't live without it!

And since I am so hot, I am easily bothered. It doesn't matter who, when, where, or what. I blame it on hormones. For example, Adam calls every night when he is on his way home. He usually asks what is the plan for dinner, as sometimes I need him to stop and get something. So, one night he asks about dinner and I reply meatballs. It's one of Russell's favorites and while Adam & I aren't crazy about meatballs, I try to make them as appealing as I can for everyone. And, they do take some time to make. So, his reply to meatballs the other night was "Oh." Now, I have to admit in retrospect that there probably wasn't any tone in his response, just a matter of fact "oh." But that night I heard "oh." Meaning I don't want meatballs, that sounds awful, I'll have something else that I can round up in the fridge. Well, being bothered, I immediately reply something to the effect of "That's the wrong answer, Adam. Try, thank you for taking time out of your day to provide our family with a nutritious meal. Thank you for standing on your pregnant feet in the kitchen and slaving over meatballs so that we can get hopefully get Russell to eat a big dinner since he's so skinny." Gasp!!! Bitchy, I know!! At least I can admit it.

And the bothered part isn't just bitchiness, I do cry easier now too. I'll try tell you a story about Russell and how some boy in his class said he doesn't think that Russ speaks English. Was he being mean? I don't know. But, it makes me cry just thinking about it. Kids suck and Russ tries so hard to make friends and be friends. It just makes you sad that you can't be there to protect from all that crap. He's only 6, can he get a break???? And now, of course, I am crying, so on to other news.

We had a really cool ultrasound on Friday. Rowan is growing!!! He is 4 1/2 lbs already and we are supposed to have 10 weeks to go. I didn't get to see my regular OB, I'll see him in 2 weeks. So, hopefully we'll have a better idea of when we think the Moose will be born. Adam was calling him Gigantor! At the rate he is growing he'll be a 10lb baby by my regular due date. OMG, I don't want a 10lb newborn!!! We'll see what Dr. Simpson says next time. The ultrasouond tech was pretty impressed with his size and thought that we'd be seeing her again next month to see how big he is.

So, this is one of the 3D pictures we got of Rowan. That is his umbilical cord in the upper left part of the picture. We think he is so cute!!!! And he has very similar qualities to Russ and Rach when they were newborns. We can definitely see the same nose and lips.

We did realize at this ultrasound, we'd better get our butts ready right after Xmas. Still need to get the new Pack n Play and his dresser. And, I need to wash his clothes and get some diapers and all those newborn things ready.

I have been reading my refresher course on breastfeeding. I love the Sears' book on breastfeeding - great info on how to get it going, good techniques, etc. I got another book which isn't as good, but there was a fascinating chapter on recent history of breastfeeding and the formula companies. When I opened the book to read, it was a chapter that I'd normally skip. But, something caught my attention and I ended up reading it. I won't bore you with the all the bad things that formula companies have done here and even more so in Africa. That could be a whole other entry or even blog. All I'll say is shame on those companies for being so malicious & irresponsible in the name of profit.

That is it for now. Hope for some nice cool weather for me!!! And please don't email to brag about how cold it is where you live. I did mention how easily bothered I am.....

Tur-what-ken???

This year for Thanksgiving, we thought we'd try a Turducken. I know, a what???? Basically it is an almost boneless turkey stuffed with a duck that is stuffed with a chicken breast and lots of stuffing in between the layers of meat. I ordered it from Louisiana, it costs more than it should, but what the hell, we are up for an adventure. So, we (Adam, me, Mikey & Jess) were all excited to get and try out turducken. We spend pretty much every Thanksgiving with the Boyntons, and have tried all kinds of things for Turkey Day. Although, I have to say Thanksgiving 2004 (Jess slaved all day in her kitchen) was by far the best.

Well, the final word on turducken. Just okay. Not worth the cost, not as good as we thought it would be, and it was no '2004'. Ha! But, the culinary adventure was fun and we'd always wonder what it was like if we hadn't done it. Just for the record, I still am not sure about the existence of the chicken in the whole thing, I didn't see it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there.

The week of Veteran's Day we decided to refinish our kitchen cabinets. It took about 2 weeks of stripping, sanding, painting, glazing, sealing, drying, and then hanging doors. But, it was well worth the effort. They look fantastic. We replaced all the hinges and handles too, so it was a complete change. We also changed our hood, ordered a new stove and will order new counter tops this week. We've wanted to do this since we moved in, but never did it. Well, let's be honest, we were dreading it. But with Rowan coming and it looks like we'll put the house on the slow market in March, it had to be done.

Here's a quick before and after photo - note the hardware in the middle of the cabinet doors and the routed grooves in the doors were actually painted black with the brown stain.

Ugh. Now they are an off white with a hand glazed aging and much better hardware. I have decided glazing is an art - very hard to keep all the doors and drawers looking like they belong together. In other words, not using too much or too little. I'll post more finishing pictures as we fcomplete the kitchen, but I am really proud of how they turned out and what a difference it makes. Hopefully it will help sell our house in the Spring.

Russell's 4 Smiley Face Art

I told Russ I would post his art so the whole world could see it. He insisted that we also scan the 4 smiley faces on the back side so everyone could see it that too : )

ADHD & an IEP, such a BFD, is it TGIF???

Acronyms, you gotta love them!

Well, to report on Russ, again, we've been on the med for almost 2 weeks. We are seeing improvements at school. He is finishing his work almost every day and the days he is not finishing his teacher thinks that he is learning to re-pace himself during the day. The other big difference is that he is taking more time to pay attention to details in his work. Especially coloring. He has always hated coloring, but he does need the practice to stay in the lines, work those fine motor skills and concentrate. Now, he really gets into coloring and is so extremely proud of himself. Yesterday he brought home some paper in he colored at school and he was thrilled b/c his teacher gave him 4 smiley face stamps (she is just a 1 stamp kind of gal) on it and announced in class what a beautiful job he had done on his paper and how proud she was of him for working so hard. So, he is regaining confidence at school and that is such a relief. Before he would not want to go to school, he'd want to be done with 1st grade and now he doesn't complain about school or wanting to be done with 1st grade.

At home he isn't as forgetful when asked to do something and once he's awake in the morning he can self start - no reminders to brush teeth, etc. He'll even make his bed without being told. The side effects we are seeing are decrease in appetite and going to bed later. The sleep issue is the most concerning, he's getting about 2 hours less per day. So, we have been trying to let him sleep in as late as possible on the weekends. And we are trying to make sure he gets better calories during the day when he eats. We see the psychiatrist next week, we'll see what she suggests to help with those.

And if that weren't enough going on with Russ - I had yet another IEP meeting about him and I have one more coming before Xmas. They tested Russ to see where he is with all his disabilities. He tested in speech and language. He did a fantastic job on speech and scores at a 7yr old level (he's 6 1/2) so he will be released from Speech Therapy! That is exciting!! His language score was a 92 which is the lowest 'normal' score for his age, so he could technically be done with language therapy too. His syntax scores are still very low, so we are choosing not releasing him language therapy, but will cut down from 2x per week to just once. He'll still see the OT for his fine motor skills, Russ has terrible writing and still has some issues forming letters correctly, but he is improving and hopefully with his new attention to detail, that will start to progress more also. We still have him in private therapy for speech and language, but she mostly works on his language issues. The private therapist also works for the district, so she is a wonderful resource when all this is happening and gives us great advice and guidance. I felt like his test scores were a good reflection of where he is at. We are so proud of him for all of his hard work!!!

I am glad to get a lot of this done before Rowan is born. It has been stressful and emotional. I typically don't miss having a drink when I am pregnant, but there have been a few days when dealing with all of this, I could have really used a good vodka tonic. I settled for some sparkling mineral water with lime instead and indulged in some chocolate! It is encouraging to see this all coming together for the moment. Hopefully the moment won't be a brief one!

The Russell Update

About a week and a half ago, I took Russell to the psychiatrist. Apparently we are not her typical client. Russell is our biological child, he lives with both parents, has biological siblings (one yet to be born) and I did not smoke or drink while I was pregnant with Russell or any other child for that matter. In fact when she was asking me about the smoking thing when going over family history and Russell's normal birth, Russell said to her "Smoking is bad for you; it turns your lungs black." And his tone was one of 'my mom is not bad and how dare you even ask'. It was pretty cute.
I had to fill out a lot of paperwork beforehand and I brought in examples of Russell's schoolwork, report cards dating when the issues started, a progress report showing his difficulty now, time lines of all the speech and language evaluations Russell has ever done, example of our behavior/chore chart at home, anything and everything I could think of to show what is going on with Russell. So we were reviewing all of it (I think she was a little overwhelmed by everything I brought) and Russell is just being Russell - chatting about things in and out of context, playing with his hands, getting up and examining things all over the office. She is watching him the whole time and carrying on a conversation with me, sometimes asking Russ questions and then after about 20 minutes she asks, "I am seeing Russell how you see him at home?" Yes. "Is this what he is like at school?" At school he knows to stay in his seat or he gets his name on the board, so he can control some of it. Then she says "You have really done most of the work for me, let's talk therapies."
I am thinking, that's it??? 20 minutes with her and that's it, she's decided??? So, I ask, "Really, that's it? Do you think it's ADHD?" Yes. "You don't think it is immaturity or anything developmental / language processing disorder related?" No. Then she tells me if I hadn't told her that Russ was in speech or language therapy, she wouldn't have guessed that he was. She said she could see some of his language issues - talking out of context and syntax errors - but not enough to the point that he'd be in therapy at school or privately.
Okay then!
We are already doing everything at home with his behavior / chore chart, rewards and consequences that needs to be done. Russell's teacher already makes accommodations for him in class, so the next step is some type of medication to see what results we get from that. She wanted him to see a pediatric cardiologist to make sure his heart is healthy and has no structural abnormalities. He even had an EKG, which was very exciting for a 6 yr old who likes science! Of course, Russ's ticker is in good shape (he has minor benign murmur that he has had since birth), so he was cleared!
We are trying a medication that you sprinkle in applesauce, (no pill swallowing), in the morning and it is an extended release med, so only once per day. Today is our third day on it. He started over the weekend and we noticed a couple of differences, but we aren't supposed to 'judge' it until he's taken it for 2 weeks. And then we go back to Dr. Chason to check in and make any adjustments if needed.
This certainly isn't an easy road to take, but I think I said before, we just have take this journey one day at a time.

Rachel Turns 3

Gone are the days of the 'terrific twos' and now are the days of the 'thrilling threes'!!!! Rachel's birthday was pretty uneventful - no big party this year, just a couple of friends over to help celebrate : ) Adam's mom, Jamie, came for a long weekend visit that coincided with Rachel's birthday, so it was nice that she could be here to celebrate too.

So, I have decided that Rachel is already bummed about getting older. Anytime we sing Happy Birthday to her or someone wishes her a happybirthday, she puts her face in her hands and whines. Get over it, toots, talk to the rest of us when you hit at least 30.

Adam took his mom and Russell deep sea fishing last weekend while Rachel and I farted around the house to get ready for the birthday dinner. They had a blast and caught so many fish, they gave some away. Meanwhile, Rach and I stayed in our jammies until like noon and had a quiet morning.

On Monday, there was no school (Fall Break. Whatever that is) and Jamie and I took the kids to Gulf World Marine Park. It is a smallish local marine park with a dolphin, sea lion, and bird shows with birds and other critters to look at. They did have sharks, so Russ was happy about that. We hadn't ever been and I can't say that we'll go back, but we had a good time.

Okay, a belly update.... We have pretty much settled on a name - shocking! Rowan Andrew Bright. Rowan seems to be growing at a pretty good pace now and so is my chest - yowza. I am at that point where it is getting harder to bend over and pick anything up. He is still most active when I am hungry and his kicks, punches, etc. are much stronger than before. My biggest complaint is leg cramps at night. They hurt and are so sharp, they wake you up; not any fun. It does seem to help when I take the time to stretch at night before bed.

More baby stuff from Jess came this weekend, including a breastpump (what a lifesaver!!). In the boxes were all of Russell's hooded towels from his newborn days. They still looked brand new - how that is possible after being used by 3 children is beyond me : ) Lots of blankets and bibs inthe boxes too. Jamie has decided by the time Rowan is born, we'll only need diapers! What can I say? We have amazing friends and family!!!!

Chan-ya, You Rock!

Before I forget, I wanted to post this funny story about Russell and then I'll get to TJ.

In Atlanta when I was taking Russ to the Dr. for his croup, we were checking in with the nurse and Russ was talking about how he loves sharks. He was saying that sharks are his favorite animal. The nurse was saying, well, aren't sharks a fish? Do you like any animals like dogs and cats? Russ says - oh yeah, I like cats, we have 3 cats. And then, (and remember we are in Atlanta, home to Michael Vick....) Russell says - But I love Dogfights. The nurses eyes pop out of her head and Russ is going on and on about killing the enemy, how dog fights are cool, blah blah blah. I am cracking up because he means 'dogfights' with airplanes like in WWII. So, I explain to the nurse what he means and she starts cracking up b/c obviously this little boy knows nothing about dog fighting with dogs and all that is going on with that!!! I thought it was so funny - of all the places to say you love dogfights, Russ has to say it to some stranger in Atlanta!!! That is one for the books!

Last weekend there was a message on the machine for from Tonja (of Garland and Tahoe fame, for those who need a reminder) saying that she scored baby boy stuff and that we were set. Let me quote the message "I scored like 2 Macy's bags full of boy clothes. You know, the big bags with handles". How I do know and miss the big Macy's bags with handles!!! Ha! Of course, I had to call her back... It turns out that her mother's group in Napa was doing a children's clothing exchange and almost everyone wanted and needed girls clothes, but had tons of boys clothes to trade. So, after asking the participants if she could share the wealth with me, Tonja scored big time!!! As we were catching up on the phone on other things, she was counting and counting. I can't remember the final tally, but the onesie count was near 30 and the sleeper count was near 20 and then there was a lot more that I can't even remember, it was that much. The baby will not be naked!!! Anyway, I just wanted to tell her again, Tonja, you are awesome! And thanks so much for thinking of us and scoring the great clothes. You rock!!!!

The Big Ultrasound

We have been looking forward to this ultrasound for a long time. Would it be a boy like we thought it was, would it be another girl? Whose generous offers of hand me downs were coming our way??? This baby is enough of a surprise, so we really wanted to know what he or she would be. In fact when Dawn had been teasing me that she was hoping this baby might be shy and we wouldn't be able to tell, I promptly said I would pay for another ultrasound myself if I had to!! I scheduled the appt. when I knew Adam would be off from work (before we left for Atlanta), after Rachel's soccer tots, and after the academic portion of the school day for Russ, (so he could come too and he'd only miss lunch and art).

We picked up Russell and headed over, we are all very excited! We get in the room and the nurse turns off the light so we can all see the big TV that projected all the images and Rachel starts crying. Then I get up on the bed/table so the nurse can start and Rachel is screaming. She wants on the table, she wants to sit with me (no room), she wants, she wants, and oh yeah, she wants! She's getting louder and louder and Adam says he has to take her out. She had passed the point of no return, she was that worked up. He had to take her to the car, screaming the whole way, lots of staring, he gets her a juice, she slurps it down and falls asleep. Poor guy. He stays out there in the car, not wanting to repeat anything that just happened!

So, that leaves me and Russ watching the ultrasound. Russ was a lot of fun and was so into it. He could see a lot of what she was pointing out. Every once in a while she'd print a picture just for Russell to keep. The nurse is measuring everything that needs to be measured and she goes quickly past the legs and I saw it. I turned to her and said do you know what the sex is? She says she is pretty sure was going to wait to do that part when my husband returned. I laughed and said, Rachel is done, she was so far gone that he won't be coming back. I thought it was nice of her to want to wait, but I knew Adam wasn't coming back. She goes back to the area and sure enough, we see it again. Definitely a boy! Sch-wing! Ha! No extra ultrasound for this child. I told the nurse about Dawn and she laughed and said she's pretty good at finding it when the parents want to know so they don't have to pay for another one.

Now, something new for this pregnancy is the 3D pictures you can get from an ultrasound. The baby has to be very still in order for it really to work. And this baby was moving nonstop. She even asked me if I had just had some sugar or OJ or caffeine - the kid was a mover. And, he kept his face covered with either his hands or his feet! It turns out that the baby moves a lot when I am hungry and I was hungry at the ultrasound. She did manage to get two 3D pictures, but they look like he has holes in skull, which he doesn't. Apparently the pictures can look a lot better than ones we got, which is pretty amazing since the ones we got are that bad, minus the holes of course!

We did get to see the baby's tongue stick out and he moved his mouth for us too. That was pretty cool - I hadn't ever seen that before. He is still laying side ways in my belly instead of up and down, but there's still time for him to move into position. I guess the placenta is a little lower than normal, but I think Rachel was the same way and it moved up. The concern there is to not block the way out for the baby! So, we might get one more look at him in a couple of months to make sure the placenta has moved up, we'll see. The nurse is hoping to get another chance to do a 3D picture!

The baby still has no name! We definitely like Andrew for his middle name. Right now we have been going back and forth between Rowan and Ryan, but we may just go for a non R name. For some reason I think he won't get his name until he's born and we can see him.

Atlanta Adventures

First of all, in case you don't know - we had our ultrasound and the baby is going to be a boy! But I'll post about that later.

After the ultrasound we got in the car and headed for Atlanta, which turned out to be about a 4.5 hour drive. Not too bad! We arrived around dinner time, so we checked into the hotel and headed over to the mall to find some dinner and let the kids run around. And, yes, indulge me in a bit of shopping at Macys!!!

The next day we all actually slept in until after 8am - hurray! We packed up and headed to the Georgia Aquarium. We really enjoyed it. It is huge and we have heard about the crowds, so we went first thing and were pleasantly surprised, no crowds. It is organized very well - all the galleries branch from the center of the building and that was helpful. I am not sure that this aquarium is better than Monterey; I think I like Monterey better. The highlight was definitely seeing the tank with the whale sharks. The aquarium currently has 4. One or two have died recently and we didn't ask why, we were too busy looking at all the fish that were in the tank with the whale sharks. They have one hammerhead shark and that was Russell's favorite. They also have (in other tanks) Beluga whales, seals, penguins, and pretty much every fish you can think of!

The aquarium shows a '4-D' movie whose main character is 'Deepo' and looks a lot like Nemo, minus the stripes. They are quick to point out that Deepo is NOT a clownfish. Ha! This was Russell's first 3D movie and he loved it. Rachel wouldn't wear the glasses, but the theatre blew bubbles at appropriate parts and she loved that!

Of course the trip wouldn't be a trip without some potty incident. Rachel is potty trained and LOVES public bathrooms. So, we didn't think any thing of taking her in undies (brought a spare change just in case!). She always tells us when she has to go. So, we are at the aquarium and she hasn't mentioned it and we hadn't even thought of asking her. We are at a touching tank, uh huh, you see where this going.... she has her hand in the water and pees all over the herself and the floor. We are walking away, thinking how did she get so wet on her shorts??? Duh! So, off to the parking garage to get the change of clothes and go back in top the aquarium to see Deepo and everything else we hadn't seen!!!

The World of Coca Cola was across the park from the aquarium, so we went there too. It wasn't a great place for the kids, but I have to say the staff there was very accommodating to families with young children. The highlight was the tasting room at the end. There you could taste all Coca Cola products from all over the world. Fanta sodas in flavors you didn't think existed! Sprite that didn't taste like Sprite. Most were good, a few were bad, very bad.

Okay, so that takes us to Saturday. Croup. Yeah, croup. Russell woke up Sat. morning with the croupy cough. Thankfully not in the middle of the night, but when he woke up. We tried all the tricks and they weren't working, he was upset, so off we went to the doctor. I found an immediate care center for children, called and spoke with the nurse, and took him there instead of the ER. What a relief that was. Quick, easy, they gave him the steroid treatment for croup and off we went for more adventures! Adam was ready to pack up and go home, but the doctor said as long as Russ wasn't running around and was in good spirits to stay and finish our weekend. So we did just that.

The rest of the day we spent at the Fernbank Natural History Museum. A small and pleasant museum located in the middle of a very affluent neighborhood near Emory University. It was typical - dinosaur bones, etc. The funniest thing was eating lunch in the cafe area and this elderly volunteer comes in and starts playing this baby grand piano. He was terrific and obviously very skilled. It was funny b/c here we are eating our corn dogs, chips and what have yous and we are listening to very classical music coming from a beautiful piano.

We hit the zoo after that. It was close, we had already bought our tickets and the weather was fantastic. Well, I think every other family with children under the age of 4 were there too! It was an okay zoo, nothing to get excited over. But the kids enjoyed it and that's what counts!

Sunday we headed home and got back in the early afternoon. It was a really fun weekend and we are so glad that we took the time to go. I'll try to post tomorrow about the ultrasound experience b/c that had its moments too. Well, Rachel had her moment.....

First Grade Blues

We are a little blue. Russell is having a hard time finishing work in class. It started out slowly, but now it is every day. And it isn't that he is incapable of doing the work or that he is being defiant, he just can not sit and concentrate. He's frustrated because he knows he can do the work, but he can't sit and do it. We're frustrated for the same reasons. When he gets home from school, I have to pretty much sit with him the entire time to help keep him focused on the task at hand. If I don't, then it takes him at least twice as long to finish. We think his self confidence is lower because of all of this and it is heartbreaking.
Some of this started in Kindergarten, but Kindergarten has more time in the day for finishing work, so it wasn't a huge concern. But now that he's in first grade and has more involved work all day long, he just can't get it done. Luckily, his teacher is really great and good at communicating what he is doing in class. Russ gets a lot of support in his class with the second teacher that helps and his speech therapist that also is in class twice per week to help, so he isn't missing out on the instruction and group activities; the self work is his big challenge.
So, can you guess where this leading???? Yep, we off to the psychiatrist to start an ADHD evaluation. Ugh. Is it the end of the world? No. But, you start to wonder is this kid ever going to get a break? Who knows? Maybe this is the 'break'? I guess all we can do is move forward with this, see where we land and keep on keepin' on!

Germs!!!

Rachel started school on Monday (obligatory picture, Rach picked out everything she wore!!) and she already has a cold. Her school started uneventfully. There were some crying classmates, so she fussed in her fake crying way. But, she got over herself! She has two friends from last year in class and two friends from SoccerTots in class too. One of our soccer/school pals is my OB's daughter - small world!!

So, germs. Last night the nose was starting to run and today, well can you say, DRAINAGE??? Bleh! It does seem early in the school year to start this up, but I guess it is unavoidable. At least we have a three day weekend to rest.

We have been planning a long weekend trip to Atlanta. We have been wanting to go and see the Georgia Aquarium and some of the other sites. Adam and I realized that if we didn't go soon, we might never go. So, we'll be off the last weekend of September. I am really looking forward to going. We think the kids are going to LOVE the aquarium. We'll also go to the zoo and then who knows what else we'll do. Our hotel is next to a mall with a Macy's. I haven't been to a Macy's in years - so I'll definitely be going there!!! : ) Before you mock me, if you lived here, you'd understand the lack of shopping options and how depressing it truly is.

And then we get our big ultrasound for the baby on Sept. 27th. Finally, we will know what this baby will be! Still no names picked, but maybe after we know if it is boy or girl it will be easier to decide.

First Grade, Riding the Bus and Goodnight Butterflies

Monday was Russell's first day of First Grade! It was pretty uneventful and no tears from the hormonal, pregnant mother. Here is the obligatory first day of school picture. I think he wore the same thing for the first day of Kindergarten!! He had to button the top button of his polo shirt and I have no clue why. This year we had to upgrade our lunchbox - we are so over Darth Vader and absolutely had to have a Pirates of the Caribbean lunchbox.

So far school is going well. Yesterday he came home and had to tell me all the kids he saw from his Kindergarten class and who he didn't find. He has 2 friends from K in his class this year, so he was really excited to see his friends and find the rest at lunch, PE, etc. Today he came home and said "I found Will!! But I still haven't found Dylan." He has also been looking a lot at his yearbook from last year, finding new and old friends' pictures.

Something new this year for him is to ride the bus home. For the past couple of years I have picked him up form school. It was getting to the point where we were only beating the bus by 5 or 6 minutes and Rachel wasn't getting a good nap. I am not ready for her to stop napping!! So, with the baby coming and all that, we thought we'd try the bus in the afternoon.

There was a little concern over where the bus stopped - I could just see myself waiting for him and the bus drives by, AH!!! But, it stops exactly where I thought it did, around the corner from our house, just a minute or two to walk, perfect! I gave his driver a little gift of just a baggy of some candies and tied a nice bow on it. She was thrilled. I just figure being a school bus driver is a thankless job, but when you think about it, it is one of those jobs that helps make the world go around, you know?

Okay, Miss Rachel. Let me just write that yesterday was the biggest public temper tantrum she has ever had. What, Rachel??? Shocking!!! Ha! It happened at school in the PTO room because she didn't want to leave. Ugh. We spent some time in our room when we got home.

She has this new way of going to bed that I also want to share : ) We both lay in her bed here is what we say:

R-Good night butterflies (she has butterflies that hang from her ceiling) Me- I repeat what she says

R- Good night bunnies (an iron bunny decoration hanging on her wall) and again, I repeat

R- Good night red wall (she has one red wall) I repeat

She turns to me and whispers - Good night Mom, I whisper good night to her

Then she asks for a hug and kiss (like she wouldn't get one!!) and she whispers I love you, of course, I repeat, and off to dreamland she goes. It is so cute.

'Tis the Season!

Prepare yourselves, the NFL season is quickly approaching. For us, this is right up there with Christmas. And when the two coincide, it truly is the season!!! We actually considered going to the Superbowl in Miami last year, a dream of ours, but quickly changed our minds when we saw the worst seats cost a small fortune. We'll get there one of these days, but until then, we will continue our worship at the house of NFL.

Adam and I both play Fantasy Football and we both have several teams. So, we have been reading our fantasy mags, Internet reports, setting up leagues and teams, exchanging the usual smack talk - a busy time of year! I know, we are total dorks, but happy dorks nonetheless! I am usually the only woman in our leagues and it is always such a thrill beat some dude with a huge ego and thinks he can play better than I. Adam loves to go work on Mondays when I hand it to one of his colleagues and they've got their tail between their legs. Now, don't get me wrong, I lose too, but unless one of my players is injured, it usually very close.

If you haven't discovered to joy of fantasy ball, or want to know more about it, we love to share! It is so much fun and changes the way you watch football. The kids live the excitement. One year I had Tiki Barber on my team and we were watching him play on TV. Russ was INTO IT. We were cheering for Tiki, heckling the other team, Russ was pretending to run like Tiki - a great Sunday afternoon!

Of course, the start of football also marks the start of the school year. Russ will start 1st grade on August 20th. Since I'm on the Board of the PTO and in the office about once a week, I snuck a peek at his teacher for next year and he is with the teacher I wanted for him. You may remember that they have him placed in an 'inclusion' class for the students with language delays. He has both speech and language delays, but the language is more severe.

When I was presented with this class placement at the last IEP, they kept talking about him being grouped with his 'like-abled' students (meaning all the kids with delays) in reading and math groups since they typically all function at the same level. The principal even told me this (btw, he retired this summer, no huge loss in my mind). Last year Russ was in flat out regular ed Kindergarten, he was in the highest reading and math group all year long. He started in the highest group and was never switched to the lower groups and was one of the best readers in his class.

So, obviously, my concern is that he'll get grouped with all the other students with delays which won't benefit him - he'd have even less exposure to 'normal-abled' peers, which defeats the whole purpose of mainstreaming children with disabilities into the regular ed classrooms. We want him to maintain his level of learning and continue to challenge him so he stays on that track. A soap box that I proudly stand upon. Anyway, the light at the end of the tunnel is that I have heard such good things about Russell's new teacher from many reliable sources, so I am hoping that she and I see eye to eye on the issue. I have a good feeling that we will.

The Big Purchase

Russell has been saving for an X-Wing Fighter. It costs $45 and he was certain he really wanted it. So we told him that he'd have to save his own money. He had about $20 initially and he earns $3 each week if he does his jobs around the house. And, then sometimes, when he goes above and beyond his chores we slip him a little extra!

All summer he has been saving. We even made a money chart and he'd cross out a number every time he earned a dollar. Sometimes we'd be shopping and he'd want something and we'd remind him he would have to spend his own money. He'd think about it and then decide he still wanted the X-Wing Fighter!

The day finally came today, he had saved enough money to buy it. We had to make a quick stop at his school for PTO stuff and he told everyone in the office that he was going to buy his X-Wing Fighter and always added a 'woo-hoo!' or some type of exclamation at the end. It was so cute.

When he got it home, he carefully took it out of the box - twisty ties and all and put it together. We are really proud of him for setting a goal and sticking with it over such a long time period. Great job, Russell!!!

Why?

Rachel has started asking "Why?" She's not even 3 yet, so I thought I had more time before this whole WHY thing started. Russ, with the speech delay, didn't go through the big why phase. He was 4 when he started asking it, but he never asked it a lot.

I did get some recent experience with the whys. My friend, Tracey, has a 3 yr old and he started the why campaign. One day I was watching him while she was at the doctor and after being asked why about 3,ooo times, (well maybe not THAT many, but it felt like it!!), I finally figured out if I answered with a big word that he didn't understand, he stopped asking. You know, like he didn't want to admit he didn't know the word. Why is Rachel's hair curly? Genetics. No response. Hmmm.... And the big word doesn't even have to make sense, you just answer it with authority. Why can't you paint on the walls? Multiplication. Why can't you scream your loudest inside the house? Plyometrics. You get the picture....

Okay, I have been keeping a short list of some of the funny things my kids say and want to post a few for fun and just remember them....

"Where's my hug?" - Rach to anyone she wants a hug from, especially Russell.

"Mom, I have to play with Rachel because she's my friend" - an excuse to get out of cleaning his room.

"That's a lot of belly" - Rachel said to Adam when he was putting on his shirt. In all fairness she will say "That's a lot of teeth, hair, eyes, nose, etc." to anyone she is sitting with.

"Dr. Olson is a doctor like Dr. Seuss, not Dr. Bruno" - Russ said about the vice principal, Dr. Olson, at his school. Dr. Bruno is our pediatrician. I thought it was such a funny and smart observation that I thought that's what they told the younger children at school, so I asked, and nope, he came up with that one all on his own.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, eleven, eleventeen, twelveteen" - the great 2 yr old counter. Usually she can count very well to 10 in English and Spanish, but sometimes seven and eleven get interchanged : )

"We could do time out together" - Russ said to my step mom last summer when he was trying to convince her to give him something that I said No to. And Pam was telling him they would get in trouble if she gave it to him, to which he said....

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, how I wonder what you are, I like to move it move it, you like to .............." - the Rachel medley.

"You have old air" - Russ to his speech therapist when she had bad breath. Luckily, she thought it was funny and not rude.

"Ooooh, how cute __________" - Rachel says about anything cute - babies, her friend Maddie, herself when she's done done something she finds clever or cute.

Photos, Baby Books and Hormones

Not a pretty mix!

Since I've been preggers and the weather is hot and humid, seizing the yard has been put on hold. Believe me, I tried, but it just isn't physically possible. So, I have now turned my yard obsession into a 'get all of these photos organized and into books' obsession.

I thought the first and simplest task would be to finish the kids' baby books. I always kept up the info in them, but never the photographs. I had an envelope for each child that I have had for years filled with photos for their baby books. So, I get started and finish Russell's, no problem. Then I start on Rachel's and I can't find her envelope. I look around, I can't find them. Her ultrasound pictures are in that envelope and I start getting worried. We only got one sonogram session for her, so they are very important.

Then I remember cleaning out old pictures a few days earlier - had I thrown out her envelope??? I was sure I had even though I knew I hadn't. So, off I go to the outside garbage bins, latex gloves and all. I did not see it. Well, I decide to print her pictures again, they were mostly digital, no big deal, but the ultrasound photos were no where to be found. I felt horrible. I was even wondering if my Dr. in OK still had them in my file. The hormones are really kicking in at this point. Poor Rachel, she won't have those pictures in her book, how could I lose them, on and on.

So, I print out some photos glue them in the book and put the book back in the cabinet when what did my hand touch??? Her damn envelope!!! I almost cried! There they were, right where I thought I had put them. So, I officially finished her book and it felt great!

I did manage to get some photos in some albums, but the rest I would like to scrapbook - I have gotta get my scrap back! Ha! I did figure out this week that I can scrapbook on the computer. I can use these templates to insert photos which will save me so much time. Then I can print out my pages and pop them in the book. I wish I would have figured that out about a year ago.

Progress on the Potty?

Hmmm, well this what my life has come down to - getting excited over poop in the potty! (My apologies to those who have no interest in this!!) Ha! It finally happened, Rachel made an effort to do number two. Now usually when the #2 happens, she will start saying "Where does poo poo go? In the potty!!" And that meant of course she had pooped in her diaper/pull up. But last night she was in the shower and stuck her head out and said something to the effect of that she needed to go potty. Success? A lot of stinky success! I used the nausea bit to get Adam to wipe and clean the potty. It wasn't a lie, it stunk and I am queasy. We were more excited than her about the whole experience. Maybe her indifference will equal more success? We'll see.....

I went to my first OB appt. last Friday. I liked the doctor, he was very nice, friendly, etc. I had a sonogram and saw the baby. It is about the size of a strawberry and you could see its heart beating, very cool. Everything is good. The official due date is February 10, 2008. The sonogram pictures are a little fuzzy, so I am not going to post one, but I'll get another sonogram in about 10-12 weeks. Those should be easier to see and I'll post it then.

Oh and before I forget.... Thank you for the all the name suggestions! The most interesting suggestion was from Schelley - Raavi. Everyone she knows with this name is a lot of fun and we'd definitely be giving the baby a good chance at a lifetime of fun if we chose that name : ) We are going to expand the search to A names and see if anything grabs us. The R names just don't seem to stand out like Russell and Rachel did to us. We definitely still have a lot of time and who knows what will sound good in 2 months?

Karate Kid and Miss Pigtails

Russell has finally started Karate and really seems to be enjoying it. Here he is in his 'gi' striking a pose! He loves all the grunts and other sayings while in class. He'll test in a week or so for his next belt and I think he'll pass. He only has to know some very simple terms and actions.

Then we have Rachel. She is loving doing her hair every morning and wants her pigtails in. She calls them bows. We are still working on the potty training. Adam and I have more motivation than ever to get her good and trained before the baby is born.

And speaking of the baby, good grief, I am nauseous, thirsty and tired. Lots of people have told me that the third pregnancy is the worst, but the baby is the easiest! Well, I hope THEY are right. So far they are. I think this has started off as the most challenging pregnancy so far. I have actually been napping quite a bit, which I never do. And I have heard from a few friends that I look pretty tired. So, I guess it shows and it isn't just my imagination!! Ha! No, more like, yaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

Thinking of being tired, which makes me think of being old... when I was a nanny in college, I nannied 3 hellions, no just kidding, they were angels ; ) Anyway, Jonathan is the youngest and he was in 1st grade (my God, Russell's age!!) when I started working for their family. Sigh, Jonathan got married this month!! How is that for feeling old???? Ha! Sweet little Jon Jon who called my Toyota Tercel a 'Terville'. The little boy who cried all the way through my interview about how much he missed their last nanny (I was way better than her!). Hard to believe he's all grown up and married, where does the time go?

Title Change

We are going to have to change the title to this blog. Instead of 'Adventures of Aim n Adam with R&R', it will need to be "Adventures of Aim n Adam with R&R&R'. GASP!! Or maybe we could change it to 'How did that happen?'. Or, 'Our days in a 3 bedroom house are limited!!'. Yes, that's right. I am pregnant. Bun in the oven. Preggers. Again. Totally a HUGE surprise and so not planned. And now that the initial shock has worn off, we are getting really excited about a new baby.

Last week, Rachel and I got a bit of a cold and I was really nauseous. Rachel had one throw up episode (after playing outside on a hot humid day with a full stomach), so of course, I thought we had a tummy bug. Then I couldn't stomach coffee. I am ALL about my morning cup. However, when I'm preggers, it is hard for me to drink. Hmmmmm..... then things seem to be late and whaddya know? Pregnant.

Part of the shock, beyond another baby is we have nothing, nada, zilch. We really thought we were done with Rachel. We have given away or sold everything. And, happily told those we gave to, to pass along or do what they will with anything. Go figure! Ha! Actually, my friend Jess and her friend, Pam, still have a few things - a swing, a breast pump, maternity clothes. So, I guess I can't say we have nothing ; )

Russell is thrilled. Yesterday he told me not to lose my egg. He wants to know when the baby will do somersaults, kick, etc. His excitement is contagious and it is very sweet. Oh, remember his friend, Kerri, (the adorable blonde with a firefighter dad???), well her mom is a labor and delivery nurse. So, I did call her yesterday to get the scoop on all the OBs here and she has given me a couple of choices. I will admit that is big relief. I had Russ here and the doctor is still practicing, but I wasn't crazy about her. So, to have a new choice, with a great recommendation is super.

Overall, I have been mainly nauseous and forgetful. The nausea has been manageable as long as eat little meals throughout the day. The forgetfulness - well, what was I talking about??? Ha!

OKay, time to have some breakfast and contemplate some new R names. Any suggestions????

Huh?

Russell has some color blindness. I know, it puzzles me too. He has this kids' encyclopedia about the human body and there is an example of a color blindness test. Russell couldn't see the number embedded in the picture. So, we found a few more online and there were a few he couldn't see. Such a random discovery!

So, I went ahead and made him an appointment for an eye exam with the optometrist on base. We went today. His vision itself is good. She said he has a bit of farsightedness, but it isn't enough for her to want him to have glasses. They did the color blindness test 3 times on each eye. He consistently missed about 10 (out of how many I don't remember at the moment) on each eye each time. He has some degrees of both types of color blindness. She said there are some shades he'll see, but others he won't. Eventually it will mean that there are some jobs he won't be able to do. He can see red and green on their own, so she doesn't think he'll have a problem driving, but she said as he gets older to have notice the lights when we are driving. And then, she wants to see him again next year. I have to research this a little more. It is kinda bizarre and another thing Russell will have to deal with and adjust to. Poor kid can't get a break!

In another 'huh?' moment. I was in the waiting room today with Rachel and we were looking thru a coloring book. Then she says "Look Mommy, there's the Eiffel Tower". And sure enough, there was a drawing of it. So there you go - Russell is color blind and Rachel is some type of world traveler??? Ha! I am pretty sure she knows the Eiffel Tower from watching Little Einsteins, but still, I was a little bit impressed.

Consider the Garden SEIZED!

And I feel so much better!! After deciding that I really disliked the yard, I have been getting really dirty and a little impulsive. One morning after aerobics, I just decided that I'd get to work in the backyard. What that means is cutting down these huge Leyland Cypress 'trees'. They are huge bushes really that are as tall as many trees and they are meant to make a privacy screen in your yard. We used to have them on all 3 sides of the backyard along the fences. They are very green and serve a useful purpose. However there are a few problems with them. 1 - they block the fence, so it is impossible to repair or replace any fencing. (This is why we removed them on the east side of the backyard right before Christmas - we needed to replace that fence) 2 - when you have a whole row of them that are all similar in size and then, say, a hurricane does damage to your row and several in the middle are taken out, you have this gap. The gap is hard to fill as the taller ones around it block the necessary light to grow new ones and it looks funny to just plant something else in the gap of your big green blockade. I tried to plant some news ones to fill the gap and they keep dying, hence my frustration and discontent with the yard.

Okay, so back to my impulsive behavior. Back from aerobics with Rachel in tow and I realize the yard waste people have yet to come and collect our neighborhood's yard waste. So, I think what a great time to start taking out those remaining cypresses on the west side of the yard. And then a self challenge... I wonder if I can cut them all down myself before they come collect the yard waste???? Hmmm, the chainsaw is broken.... Hmmmm, I don't like to use it anyway...... Hmmm, I have lots of other cutting tools.... Well, let's see what we can do. So, I get Rachel settled in for a nap, I get out my heavy duty garden gloves, find every saw and pruning tool we own, and I get BUSY. I start on one and it didn't seem to take too long. I get going on the next, done. Before I know it, all 6 are down and the yard waste man hasn't come yet. Damn, I'm good. What's next? Yea, that's right, it is wheelbarrow and dragging time. I am just giddy with myself. I start hauling it all out to the driveway, making a gigantic pile and then I hear the rumbling of the yard waste truck. Just under the gun, I get it all out, piled in a heap taller than myself. I think I'll say it again: Damn, I'm good.

The remaining stumps you ask? Well, I am not that impulsive - I called some guy to come grind them. He calls himself the "Tree Doctor" and he's missing his 2 front teeth and so are his assistants! What do I care??? They ground out the stumps for cheap, making way for the planting. Which we did and it looks terrific!

The next big project - taking out some grass (yippee!!!) and building some raised plant beds for veggies and such and then filling in with gravel around the beds. I told Adam it was all I wanted for my birthday!!! I can't wait!! I will proudly post some pictures of the completed project soon.

Oh, and thinking of birthdays... Mine is Thursday and I'll be 34... that's not the point though. Yesterday I bought some beer at the grocery store and I got carded! What a great birthday gift ; )

School's OUT!

Well, almost. Rachel's nursery school is out and Russ will be done Friday at 11:15. Goodbye Kindergarten, hello 1st grade!!! These last few days for him are a flurry of activity. Yesterday, they helped clean up the class and had some little lunch picnic.

Today was water play day for those who earn it with good behavior. (Rachel and I were helping in the concessions and checked in on Russ once. His friends all give me hugs, but he's too cool to do so at school! Rachel, on the other hand, had her audience and was happy for a good 3 hours until it was time to nap, so we came home.) Boy, the water play stuff was excellent. The PTO pays for these big inflatable slides, there must have been at 4 big inflatable things with water running on them. It looked like a lot of fun, messy, but fun.

Tomorrow, Russell's class has their end of the year party and the Kindergarten Awards. Rachel and I will be there to help. Well, I'll help and Rachel will party : ) I have been working on this big flower pot that I painted for Russell's teacher and then I had each student in class paint their hand and we did did hand prints on it and they wrote their names too. It is really cute. Their teacher is a gardener, so I know she will love it.

And then we have the half day on Friday. It kind of seems pointless to go, but he'll go. It will be fun for him and a good way to finish off the year.

I think I am more excited for summer than Russell is. I am telling you, I am tired of getting him up at 6:30 every morning to get some breakfast and dressed and out the door in time. Don't get me wrong, Rachel will be up every morning early, so I won't be sleeping in, but it will be nice to have a slower pace and less nagging!! What? Me?? NAG??? NEVER!!!! ; )

No huge summer plans this year. We did just do the Disney bit... Russ will go to speech only twice per week this summer. I'd like to get him in some karate lessons and have finally found a good teacher (a dad at school who is a fireman and has taught for years; he's great with all the kids. Plus, his daughter is named Rachel too, so there you go). Of course, swim lessons is on the agenda and my green thumb!! Which means gardening in the heat, but the AC will feel SO good when I come inside. (That's what I keep telling myself) I think all of that will be enough to keep us busy. And if it isn't, I might just have to complain in this blog!! Lucky you!!

What's that song... Schooooool's out for summer..... (Alice Cooper maybe??) In the fall I am sure I'll be begging for it to strat again; remember those Staples commercials "It's the most wonderful time of the year..."

Disney, SeaWorld, and the Return of My Green Thumbs

What can I say? We had a great vacation! It was a little tiring, but overall a terrific time and would do it again. I had read this book about Disney and how to have a plan when you get there and stick to it. I'm telling you this made a huge difference, we were way ahead of the game as far as figuring it all out and I am so glad I had read the book. Oh, the book is "The Unofficial Guide to DisneyWorld".

The condo we stayed at was pretty nice. It was a huge 2 bedroom apartment with a full kitchen, w/d, dvd player, huge bathrooms, screened in porch, lots of pools and playgrounds on site. So, for $300, it was worth it. the furniture was a little outdated, but it wasn't uncomfortable, just not our taste. But for $300 - who cares!!!

We spent our first full day at the Animal Kingdom in Disney World. We loved the safari - saw tons of animals, walked right on with a short wait, and the kids could see a lot. The rest of the park was just okay. It got congested quickly, it was hard to see the animals in the 'zoo' parts of the park, there were only a few rides that our kids could ride, the rest were too scary. Then there was this Dino playland area, but it was impossible to keep up with and supervise your own children, so we weren't very comfortable with that. There was a lot to look at, including a woman dressed in vines and walked on stilts. She blended in with the plant life and seemed to just walk out of the jungle - it was pretty cool. I did ride the new coaster - Everest. It was fun, not the greatest coaster, but not the worst either. If we go back, I don't think we would go back to the Animal Kingdom.

The second day we went to Epcot and it was really fantastic. Rachel could ride pretty much all the rides, so that made it more fun for her too. Epcot just so much to do and see, you could easily spend 2 days there. We enjoyed all the rides and seeing the World Showcase areas. We were surprised at how much we enjoyed Epcot. We managed the crowds perfectly - we didn't wait for anything, but as we were leaving each ride, we saw the lines building - that book was so right on!

The third day was on the the Magic Kingdom (a version of Disneyland, if you will, but pretty different also). We could have done 2 days here also. Again, the book did not lead us wrong. We hit all the rides just right, no waiting. We did use FastPass on a couple of rides, so we'd get our pass, go ride a different ride and then it would be time to use our pass. The kids enjoyed so many rides - Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Pirates (with Jack Sparrow recently added!), and Buzz LightYear. Russ LOVED Splash Mountain. He rode it twice. He liked it b/c it was 'splashy'. Rachel was pretty funny on Pirates. She kept her eyes covered, but peeked thru her fingers until she saw a candle and then it was all good! She looked for all the candles and had to tell me whenever she found one. They liked the Haunted Mansion too, Russ more than Rachel, but that is expected. We didn't make into ToonTown, but that was okay. It was surprising how crowded it got towards the end of the day, it just seems like common sense to get there early before the heat and the crowds.

Speaking of the heat. It got hotter as the week went on, so we timed that just right as far as going to Disney first thing. Weds. was a break day - pool and some shopping. Thursday we went to SeaWorld and it was hot and muggy and crowded - a lot of field trips being taken that day. We enjoyed it, but Rachel was not one to sit for the shows. So, we looked at all we could see, fed all that we could feed (sea lions, sharks, sting rays) and were outta there by lunch time. Our tickets were free (Busch's Salute to Military Heroes) and we appreciated those free tix, but would have disappointed if we paid to go.

We came home a day early. We spent Friday morning at a science museum and then left for home after that. As we were driving home and the kids were watching Peter pan for the 300th time, I just started thinking about the yard. I really have been discouraged about the backyard especially. I never work out there and I don't ever want to and I love to garden. Why is that????? The answer is I dislike how it is landscaped. So, I have decided to seize the yard. I need to make it mine. Which means I have to take out a lot, but change can be good and I need a change! My green thumbs are back, baby. Watch out Martha!

Whenever we have our final IEP....

... I am going to throw a huge party. What a relief that will be.

So, of course, Russ had his IEP (Individualized Education Progam) because he still has delays in fine motor skills, speech and language. Without going into great detail, I think this district has many issues with their special ed type services and their management of those services. And let me say that this IEP meeting was disorganized, again, and I have still haven't received my copy. That irritates me beyond belief.

Russell's IEP is renewed every year and last Friday we renewed what is essentially a contract with the district to provide Russell with appropriate services for his disabilities/delays. Like I said before, I wasn't expecting a surprise and I got several!! Let's start with the good ones. Russ's fine motor skills (handwriting and scissor cutting, etc.) have improved greatly this year and his therapist expects to release him at the the end of next school year. Terrific! Russ's speech and language therapist expects/hopes Russell will be released from those services by the 3rd grade. So, that was exciting to hear. They have never said anything like that before. Russell has done very well this year and we are glad that he may be caught up to his age level in these areas sooner rather than later.

The other surprise we have mixed feelings about. Russell is both speech and language impaired, meaning his speech (main issue is making correct sounds while speaking so he can be understood) and language (main issues are oral sentence structure, answering questions directly, making statements out of context) are behind grade level and he usually gets pulled from class to get therapy in school. Well, next year they have decided that all the children that will be in first grade who get pulled for language therapy will be put in one class together and the remainder of the class will be regular ed students. Apparently there are only three students now in Kindergarten that receive language therapy. So, the thought is that they will get more therapy in class together than being pulled out. We are not so sure about this for many reasons. For one thing, it seems weird that if there are only three students and they all aren't grouped together now and they are all doing well, what is the point? Our other issue is taht we want Russell mainstreamed in the sense that he is exposed to as many non-disabled peers as possible. I can understand that if they are all together and need the same type of assistance in class that it might be beneficial. The other pro is that the teacher of this class has experience with these types of kids and wants to teach the class. So, I know he won't get one of the old-school teachers that needs to retire. But, we still feel a bit wary.

It is a situation I will definitely watch and I have already let the principal know that if it doesn't work well for Russell (meaning his current success level isn't maintained) we will want a change in placement. Talking to Russell's principal is interesting. He is one those that isn't a real straight talker, but I make him give me straight answers to my questions. He's got a good sense of humor and he'll laugh when I am really making him to get to the point and not letting him talk around it. I don't think he used to that.

Anyway, I just thought it was funny that I wasn't expecting any surprises this time and even wrote that in this blog. But sure enough, I got one. Like I said in the beginning when Russell is released from all these services and we have our final IEP, it will be PARTY TIME!!

Okay, Saturday we're off to Orlando. We'll give our regards to Mickey Mouse and Shamu for everyone!!

TGIF

And let me say it again. TGIF.

It has been a very hectic couple of weeks. Russell's school had their spring fundraiser, Spring Fling (on Adam's bday). A carnival type deal with goofy games, bake sale, raffle, and silent auction. I was helping with the silent auction and then got put in charge of it and the raffle. So, that was a scramble getting it all organized on top of our normal schedule of tball twice a week, speech twice a week, dentist and doctor appointments, PTO meetings, strawberry picking with Rachel and friends, working in Russell's class, haircuts for me and the kids, getting the house ready for Adam's mom to come visit, getting over a lingering cold, (are you tired yet???) and baking for the bake sale, cake walk, AND soliciting donations for the auction. Plus it was Adam's birthday and trying to make his birthday special - nice dinner, baking his cake, gifts, etc. Luckily Adam's mom is a low maintenance guest and she fits right in with the chaos and is extremely helpful!!!

The Spring Fling. Now that I have done it, next year when I get roped in, it won't be as bad. I think if I do it from the start and I can do it my way, it will be easier. I was led to believe that the actual day of the event was my big commitment. But no, it was half the day Saturday and pretty much every morning and afternoon before and after school this week following up with all the bidders and making them pay and pick up their stuff. We had a lot of furniture donated from Target, so it wasn't easy. And except for Saturday, this was all with Rachel in tow. She now knows where all the goodies are in the front office and pretty much expects special treats every time she's there. Russell is in awe of the office and going behind the counter and seeing what the office really looks like and what/who is back there, that cracks me up. All in all the auction made about $5k, nothing to complain about, in my mind. I think the event all together is holding at about $12.5k. Again, in my mind, nothing to complain about. But last year they made $17k, so there is some snivelling, but not much!!

Yesterday as we were loading into the car I looked down and had a flat tire. So flat. So very, very flat. Of course, Adam was already at work. So, I call the neighbors, Lois and Ray, and Ray takes Russell to school, comes back and changes my flat tire to my full sized spare, (thank you very much!) and tells me where to go to get it fixed. I'm telling you, I have the BEST neighbors. I drop off my tire, they fix it and put it back on within an hour for free. The manager just said, 'Remember us when you need new tires'.

So, now it is Friday - hurray! I got to go back to aerobics, hurray! A normal day, hurray! Russell does have his IEP today. I am not expecting any surprises, but with this district, you never really know. So, I am prepared to fight the good fight, but hoping there's no need. I did warn Russell's teacher that I can be kind of a different person in IEP meetings and you may describe that with the b-word, and she laughed and said she was now really looking forward to it!!! It's sad that these districts just shove this info at parents and the parents don't realize they have a say in what types of services their child receives or how they receive it. I don't put up with THAT. I'll report on the outcome of the IEP next time.

Did I mention it is Friday????? HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Official

I entered the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest!

A few years ago, Adam and I saw a show on Bravo TV that was about the Current Bake-Off. They featured a few of the contestants and you got to see what the competition is all about and how it works. There are winners in each of the five recipe categories and one grand prize winner that wins a million big ones. I thought, hell I can use Pillsbury products to try to win a million dollars.

The recipe has to be original and completely yours, oh, and include certain ingredients in the Pillsbury family of products. My recipe that I have done for years is what we call Thai Chicken Peanut Yumminess. It is a peanut sauce with chicken, veggies, pasta, and topped with peanuts and cilantro. Very tasty. Well, peanut butter was never an ingredient and neither was anything else in my dish. So, I have been waiting. Finally this it. This year peanut butter is on THE list. However, pasta is not. So, I thought what I can do with my recipe and fit it into their products??? My answer was making my dish minus the pasta and putting it in a tortilla and baking it like a chimichanga. Da-da-da-daaaaaa the birth of Thai Chicken Chimichangas.

After many trials at home and in kitchens of friends and family, my recipe has been finalized and I entered it last night. It was interesting to see how much it changed after people tried it and made suggestions. (Thank you recipe testers!!!) It is definitely much better than the first version. I have searched and searched and can not find a recipe like it -I am thinking it is very unique!

So now all I can do is wait until like October of this year. They will choose 100 finalists who will all compete in the Bake-Off in April of 2008 in Dallas, Texas. I am really hoping to make that list of 100. I am still not sure if my recipe is good enough to win the big bucks, but the experience of competing would be unforgettable.

Adventures in T-Ball

Russell is playing on his first t-ball team. Our little city runs a pretty decent sized baseball league and has this very large park, baseball complex, community center, soccer and football fields, and the city pound.

At first the team was very organized and we were all excited. Then bad weather struck on most practice days and our little team started to get unorganized. We got it together for picture day, but then our coach became MIA. We have games twice per week. And while we all can't make every game, we do expect the coach to come to most games or call to say he won't be there, or state from the beginning that he scheduling conflicts and accept all the help he was offered from the rest of us. Well, he declined all of our help and then decided to not show. Then last night he shows up and tells some story about how he was filling in until the city could find a new coach.... BS in all of our minds. So, another dad took over coaching, his wife and I have taken over the team mom thing and I think we are getting it together. A disppointing start to the season. We were that team that was always unorganized and the other team parents would sort of give you that 'ugh, one of THOSE teams' looks. But, after last night's game, I think we are getting it together and hopefully we won't be one THOSE teams any longer. It is nice though that we are with a group of parents that will pull together and make it happen when the squeaky wheel falls off.

Miss Rachel. Well, her hair is finally long enough for some pig tails of some sort!! This picture is a little bit old, but you can see her little tails there! She won't leave them in very long and when she takes them out, her hair sort of stays in pig tail form, but they look like horns!!! Hilarious!! Yesterday was Field Day at Russell's school and the PTO was selling snacks and needed help. So, I said I'll stay as long as Rachel will let me. They all know Rachel and her personality, so they knew what I meant. That little stinker was so good! She even took a nap in her stroller when the time came. We stayed all day. I am sure her behavior had nothing to do with being the center of attention of all the parents and 5th grade students helping at the snack bar. Or that Rachel had the gym pretty much to herself to do what she wanted to do. Or that she had her fill of unlimited popcorn. OR that mom brought the little DVD player so she could watch a couple of videos. She was such a sweetie yesterday, we had a lot of fun staying at school all day. But, now that the PTO has seen I can be there with Rachel in tow, I think I'll be asked to do more....

Earlier this week, I got a chance to talk with my friend, LaDean. What a treat!! She is hanging in there. I thought she sounded terrific considering all that she has been through these last few weeks. You know you have a friend for life when you can pick up the phone and talk to someone you haven't spoken with in a few years, but it feels llike you spoke just the other day. I really treasure that.

Next week is Adam's birthday. His mom is coming for a long weekend and we always look forward to her visits. I hope we'll be able to squeeze in some jam making! The local strawberry farm is ripe and ready to be picked, a great time make some jam. I have always wanted to make jam, but feel like I need a jam making mentor. I emailed this to Jamie and she replied she'd try to get some fresh pectin to bring. I thought "What's pectin???" I definitely will need a jam mentor!!!

SSSSSPPPRRRIIINNNGGGGG BBRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!

This week, the kids are both on spring break. Yes, a bit earlier than other districts, but we did start school in the beginning of August. So, Friday after we got home, we had to make our annual call to Dawnie and brag how we were on break. Basically, ever since Russell started school and was talking well, we'd call Dawn and yell into her answering machine "SPRING BREAK!! WOOOO HOOOO! SPRING BREAK!" Well, you get the picture! This year, Russ reminded me we needed to call and brag!

We've been keeping busy this week. SLEEPING IN past 6am, running some errands, going to speech (of course!), playing in our little pools outside (it's been nearly 80 every day), building cornice boards for the kids' windows, I made an upholstered bulletin board for Rachel's room, a check up on an ear infection for Russell, spring cleaning, and watching Rachel's spring cold - will it get better? (The answer seems to be yes!) Tomorrow the beach is on our agenda.

Next week we'll be back to our regular schedule, but with a whirlwind of activity. Easter, then Adam's birthday, (his mom is coming to visit), the PTO fundraiser carnival at Russell's school that I have been involved with, t-ball gets back into full swing, dental cleanings, and, oh, did I ever mention we decided to take a trip top Disney at the end of April?

Watch out, Orlando, here comes the Bright family!! Adam and I have been deciding when to make the big trip. We knew we had to at some point while we lived here. We definitely wanted to go before Rachel turned three and we could save on her ticket costs! Will she remember? Probably not, but we wonder how much she'd remember when she was three anyway... So, then the decision came down to crowds (don't like the huge ones), the heat factor (needs to be hot enough for water rides and to wear shorts at night, but not oppressive heat), and availability of the $300/week condos available to military members (that's right, a 2 bedroom condo - $300 for the week). Yes, Russ will miss a week of school. But since he is doing so well this year, we thought it would be better to miss it now rather than the beginning of first grade. (Go ahead, Aim, rationalize all you want!!!!) Anyway, we are looking forward to it - it will be our first true family vacation (not counting trips to CA to visit family).

And, last but not least... Adam's grandmother passed away this week. I know, that's two in less than a week for us. Sad. Delcie Vuncannon. Her health had been poor for some time now, but to lose her so quickly was a bit shocking. We all seem to agree that her body had taken all it could take. Adam spent a lot of time with her while growing up. A couple of his favorite memories are of when she would take him on archaeological digs and when they would sit on her porch drinking lemonade just talking. He also remembers she and her friends discussing what they would do for New Year's Eve in 1999. Adam thinks he was maybe 7 years old at the time and although he didn't quite get the importance of the year 2000, he did understand that he wanted to go to that party!! So, he asked Delcie if he could go to the party and she did the math of what his age would be and she said that that would work out great, he would be a good age to come to the party! Like she would have told him no : )

Today a small group will spread Delcie's ashes in the Pacific Ocean. She loved to travel, she had seen so many places that most of us will never see, let's hope the water takes her to new places and back to some favorites.

Sad News

We received some bad news yesterday. My friend from high school, LaDean, and her family were in a car accident earlier this week and her husband, Jay, died. They were near Ely, Nevada when Jay swerved to miss hitting an elk, their car rolled and tragically Jay didn't survive. They have four children ranging in ages 11 - 4. They were all in the car and had very minor injuries. LaDean had some minor injuries - cuts on her face. They were all wearing seatbelts.

It is just heartbreaking to think and imagne what happened. Jay was such a good person. He really was someone you couldn't say anything bad about. He was a devoted father and husband. I remember talking with LaDean in high school and after about the type of man she wanted to marry - she knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted someone that was of her same faith, (Mormon), smart, caring, same family values, handsome (of course!) and someone that was taller than her - no easy feat as LaDean is probably 6ft. tall! I think that she had found everything in Jay and more. My heart just aches for her during this unfair twist of life.

I Miss California

When you live in places like Oklahoma City and southern Alabama, no wait, make that the Florida panhandle, you have to accept that it is a lot more conservative and everyone except you and a few others regularly attends church. And of course, once they figure out you don't go, they are always trying to invite you. We always politely decline. It's not that we have a thing against going to church, but I can't be a part of a group that discriminates against gay people. (Which most churches do around here) End of story. You can't really say that to your dentist as he holds the big needle in one hand and a drill in the other!!! So, my standard leave me alone line is something to the effect of we have been thinking about going to the church where Rachel's nursery school is. Apparently it's a fine church and everyone backs off and you don't have to get into the big, big gay discussion.

Anyway, our itty bitty local library has an 'Inspirational' sticker that it will put on the binding of the book to put it in yet another category. It's a pink sticker with an angel or something and about the size of a thumbail. Great, good, thanks for the warning. So, I checked out a few books one day while at the library with the kids. Basically I don't have much time to look for books for myself because Russell is trying to find books for me - Hey Mom, how about this book with this rocket, fire, beautiful woman, whatever on the cover? (He's is in the paperback racks) And then there is Rachel who looooooooooooooooooves to run thru the aisles and gleefully exclaim "Whoooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa". I try read about books online before we go to the library and then try to find them quickly. So, I saw one book by Dee Henderson. The name sounded familiar, the back said it was about a US Marshall and a forensic pathologist and there was no pink sticker. Worth a try!

I get it home and start reading. A mystery, not the greatest writing, but not bad either. Interesting enough to continue reading and then about halfway thru it hits. It's a total holy roller book. And not that the characters are just religious, they are on a mission to get all the other characters to church. And it isn't in the friendly way that people try to get you to church, it's the harassing, manipulating way and then that US Marshall turns into a pseudo-preacher. Ugh, what happened to the mystery? The new mystery is why this book is missing its little pink sticker! And, I am not against religion, but if I wanted it shoved in my face, I'd go talk to one of the neighbors or my dentist!

My new strategy when going to the library is to make a quick list ON PAPER. A quick funny about our library... I was trying to find the book "The Devil Wears Prada" before Christmas. When I asked the librarian for help, she said and I quote "Oh, I don't think we have THAT book". I miss California.

In All Fairness....

You know, sometimes we joke about Rachel and her strong personality. People will ask if we are going to have any more children and our standard answer is something to the effect of "Uh, no; you've met Rachel" kind of thing. And yes, she has been a handful since she was in the womb, (using my bladder as a trampoline- no wonder she's such a good jumper now), but she really is so stinkin' cute and so full of personality, I was thinking I would indulge in a little motherly bragging about Rachel. You are forewarned!!!!
Her big thing right now is to go to bed early, lights out, then she gets up turns on her light, plays with her toys quietly for about 30 minutes or so, then gets back in bed and waits for us to come turn out her light again. AND, when she gets up from her nap, she'll get up and play. We'll open her door to check on the lil' booger and she very calmly asks us to shut the door and she goes back to playing. And, when I say playing, I mean she's spreading her toys and hair bows all over the floor, so you can't see the carpet.
She is also into dancing at the moment. She does this thing where she says what she's going to do and then she does it. It goes like this "Oh! I know! Clap, clap clap. Stomp stomp stomp. Wiggle, wiggle wiggle. Sliiiiiiiiiiiide. Sliiiiiiiide. Ta-Da! Yea, Rachel!!!!" Her little wiggles are so cute - that diaper gives her a bit of booty. She'll even 'teach' the dance to a character or imaginary friend. Instead of saying ta da, yea Rachel, she'll say "That's great, Daisy. Let's try it again". I think Daisy is Daisy Duck. Sometimes she'll teach it to a character on the Little Einsteins.
Her new phrase at the moment is 'not really'. Rachel, do you want some ___________? "Not really Mom" Rachel, do you want to take a nap? "No (shakes head) not really".
She is a little stingy with the hugs and kisses. But sometimes, when you are lucky, she'll take your face in her hands (one hand on each of your cheeks) and give you tons of kisses. When she wants to snuggle or sit in your lap, she calls that 'me me'. "Mama, I want me me" and then proceeds to push anything or anyone out of the way. The pushing part is not so good, but her little voice gets a high pitch to it and it sounds so sweet.
Now, when she gets mad and is upset, she asks for a wipe. When she is all done wiping her face, she says "There, that's better". And when she is in trouble (what, Rachel in trouble???) she always asks for a hug, like that will make us forget she pulled the cats tail or did whatever it was that got her in trouble.
Okay, enough cute stories for now. But, tune in next time when we write all about Russell's t-ball adventures and how Aimee was convinced Rachel was running a fever and had to buy a new fancy thermometer because she was also convinced the old one was broken!!!!

I'll save the suspense on that - it wasn't broken. I did, however, get a really cool new thermometer!

The Big Trip to Dothan

Many of you may not that know that Adam and I LOVE museums of any kind. I guess you could call us museum junkies!! When Adam's mom was temporarily working in DC about 7 years ago, I had the opportunity to stay with her for a week and spend hours upon hours in museums. It was terrific! Of course, we are sharing our interest with the kids. In OKC there were lots of good local museums to get out and explore, but here in Panama City, not so much. And the ones that are here, well, they are, uhhhhh, well, you could say that they are___________ (you fill in the blank).

Because the museums here are ____________, that means we are off for grand adventures to find the good ones. We've been a couple of times to the air museum in Pensacola. It is terrific, but a long drive. We've been to a couple in Tallahasse - one bad, one good on that tally. And there are more to discover there, but last weekend we decided to head north to Dothan, Alabama. Doesn't it seem weird to think that Alabama is NORTH???? Anyhoo, we headed to Ft. Rucker, outside of Dothan to visit the Army Air Museum on its base. It was about 90 minutes away. Dothan is a pretty non descript place, but they do have a bigger mall than we do! I think Dothan is a farming area, what they farm, I have no clue. Anyway.....................

As we arrived at the museum, the kids were getting excited - a lot of helicopters and small planes outside and the building actually looked fairly large, so the potential was there. We get inside and discover that there is some ceremony taking place in the main exhibit hall where all the cool stuff is. Lots of people in uniform or dressed in suits, etc. And, it is so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Not exactly ideal circumstances for a 2 and 6 yr old. I'd tell you what the ceremony was if I knew, but noone seemed to know what it was for. Even the little lady in the gift shop was clueless. Oh, and there are a few tables with catering trays, punch bowl, etc. Good grief. I won't go into the details, but there was some screaming from a certain member of our family who is 2 years old. She very specifically said "I want that way" pointing towards the ceremony (they all ignored us). Finally the ceremony was over (we went outside for a while and came back in after it was over) and now it seemed appropriate to go in the main hall to look at the great displays. But then someoone wasn't happy with her sippy cup and was eyeing that punch bowl. The visit ended with me taking her to the car while the boys finished up oohing and aaahhing at all the big helicopter displays and then we made our way home.

"It Wasn't So Bad"

So, this morning was Russell's 6th Birthday Party! It was terrific! Look at the smile on this kid's face - I don't think he liked it at all!! Ha! 90 minutes of pure bouncing fun with about 20 kids and their parents. It was exactly how we had hoped it would be - a nice group of kiddos and their parents just having a blast and minimal work for us! I am now a convert; no more birthday parties at home.

I need to 'document' (for lack of a better term) that Russ has been so excited for his party and has been especially thrilled that his friend, Kerri, would be there. Here's what he has to say about Miss Kerri: Kerri has 2 Rs in her name and she's a very nice girl. Her dad is a firefighter and he helps people. It is so funny - he's just enamored with Kerri. Not sure if she is just as enamored, but she does seem to like Russ and they spent a lot of time playing together today. Pretty cute. Okay, you want a picture of Kerri...

So, we get in the car after the party and Russell is all grins. We ask him how he liked his party, what he thought of it, etc. His reply "It wasn't so bad".

Little fart.