week 1

I think I have successfully completed week 1 of my first graduate level class. Sunday I started Organizational Leadership and Management. I have read all of my chapters, participated fully in online discussions and even did one of the assesment thingies for one of my two papers due next week. I am definitely trying to stay ahead of things since I can now easily see how hard it will be to catch up if I fall behind. Hopefully we don't all come down with the plague at our house anytime soon.

Ava is fighting off something. She has a fever but other than that seems fine. I am pretty much just letting the fever do its job and giving her lots of water and juice, and encouraging naps and watching movies on the couch. I hate how much tv she watched today, but it is the only way to get her to sit still. The fact that it hasn't progressed to anything else, tells me it isn't the flu. It is just a bug of sorts. Practically everyone I know is sick with something so this is not at all surprising.

I have been having the feeling lately like I forgot to put things on the calendar. I keep thinking there is a ton of stuff in November that I should have down and I just don't. Any of you expect me to be somewhere sometime? Last week I had put a note in my calendar but didn't fill in what. It was like "appointment 9am" I had no idea where I was supposed to be and could just vaguely remember saying, "yes, that should work." No idea who I said that to. A week later it now comes to me. At least the plans were tentative, so they were in fact real, just not set in stone. Oops!

Since I like to avoid things that I don't enjoy doing, like cleaning my house, I have been keeping myself pretty busy. I am almost done crocheting a hat for Justin. Sizing hats is hard. Maybe just for me, but it is. This could have something to do with the fact that I have never done a gage swatch or blocked anything. I am going to knit myself a cardigan next. I just have to go get some yarn. I have the pattern all picked out. I should work on making a gage swatch for that, shouldn't I? Then I would have to learn how to count my gage and that just is all sorts of complicated. Interesting factoid. Aside from the first project ever, a blanket, I have never made anything for myself and even that blanket was just more of a household blanket than something just for me. I don't even know where that blanket is. Ok, that really wasn't that interesting of a factoid.

I have also been reading the Sookie Stackhouse books. They are horrible but I just can't stop. I did stop for a while. I got through one, got the second one, and got through half of it before I decided it was just not getting any better and stopped. I read about three other books, and then got bored. I went back to #2 and finished it. I was then embarressed that I had read two crappy books. So a few books later, I got the third because I was bored and couldn't think of anything else to get. I wanted easy reading. I sure got it because fine literature, these books are not. I am now on book 6. I guess this is only embarressing IF you actually read the book to realize what crap it is, but then you are reading the crap too so there!

Blog people out there: What is blogfrog and why do I get emails from them? I skim them and it talks about increasing readership and topics and what you should talk about and how to build an audience. That is just too much pressure for my own rambling drivil. Look at this post. Do I actually have anything to say????? Blogfrog, I don't know what you are trying to sell, but you are barking up the wrong tree. I don't even have a cool layout for crying out loud.

Coming soon:
Rhys' greedy laugh.
Halloween
Digital scrapbooking, me???

Oops

So I never updated on here. Ava isn't having her surgery today. We have decided to go with her regular eye doctor to do the surgery instead of at Children's. The surgery hasn't been scheduled with him yet. We are not rushing into it because it isn't critical. She actually had a pressure check yesterday and the numbers were 18 and 15, which is excellent.

hello my name is:

I was going to make this post all cool and have pictures to go along with the introductions I am about to make, but I just don't have it in my right now. Maybe I will do it tomorrow.

So we have some new characters in our house. It is probably important to know the cast if you are ever over. We have the old regulars: Nina and Calvin. We then got Baby Sister. She was the doll Ava got when Rhys was born. Then for Christmas Ava got another doll from my grandparents. This is currently her favorite. His/her name is Jesus. He kind of smells like men's cologne, so Ava will say things like, "Hmmmm, this kind of smells like Jesus." She will also say, "Where is Jesus?" "Oh! Jesus pooped!" She has quite a few My Little Ponies. She has decided on pink one is called Popping Style. Someone is named Fred, but I haven't figured out which doll.

She talks about Jack constantly. I figured out the other day that Jack isn't real, at all. Jack is her imaginary friend. She has told me that Jack is a baby but he was born before she was. He is very silly and does lots of crazy things. She said he is pink like her, and gets purple spots sometimes. He has hair like Rhys. She asked if she can wear her favorite shirt. Justin asked which shirt was her favorite. She responded with, "The one Jack was wearing." That wasn't very helpful.

Last night she introduced her feet (I have mentioned that she talks to her feet in the car and bathtub in the past) to my mom. They are Jacob and Nathan. Funny that we had neighbors with those names when I was growing up. You know she is having a good conversation with her feet in the car if she has taken her shoes and socks off while we are driving.

I will be interested to see if Fred turns out to be another imaginary friend or not. It will be very hard to tell Fred and Jack apart, that is for sure.

spontanious

Today it was a mostly nice day out. I didn't have any plans but I wanted to do something. The kids slept in way late, so late that I couldn't go to the class at the gym that I had semi-planned on attending. We had a late breakfast, got everybody dressed and ran to the the craft store to get some supplies. We were then on our way to go leaf collecting. And then the sky changed and it looked like it was going to rain. What did I see? A grand opening sign and an open door to a paint your own pottery thing. We pulled in and an hour or so later, Ava has a super smudgey, globby, painted pumpkin plate with her name on it. We will be picking this up on Friday after it has been fired. There aren't any studio fees at this one, so if Ava wants to take 2 hours to paint a 2 inch rabbit then so be it. She has wandered around the store pointing out all the things she wants to paint. Bonus is, we still have the leaf collecting as a back up plan for tomorrow.

finished

I have officially finished knitting my second scarf. I am ready to move on to another project. I am thinking hats are my way to go this winter. My only thing with that is, hats are best when they are crocheted. This is even from the lady who taught my knitting class. Maybe I can make a hat and knit the matching scarf?

Pepe almost got a new home today. Instead he will be losing his claws and his nuts in the next couple of days. I am still reserving the right to send him to a shelter. He is on probation.

Rhys has figured out how to go up stairs. My life has just gotten significantly more difficult. He is getting so much better at walking, rarely crawling anymore. Top teeth are also on the horizon. He is just getting so old so fast.

I think I will be starting school next week. Unless I miserably failed my entrance writing exam, which I would like to think is somewhat impossible, I am accepted into the school. They are currently waiting on my transcripts to show up to verify that I do in fact have a bachelor's degree. This school seems to be one of those, easy to get into, but if you don't get good grades you are out, kind of place.

I have had about 7 hours of sleep in the last 2 days. Some of that was my fault. Either way, I am exhausted and can't wait to go to sleep in about 2 minutes. Bed time before 10pm. That is proof that I am tired.

The New Mommy Makeover

Thanks to reality shows about plastic surgery and probably plenty of other societal influences, plastic surgery after kids has become a very common consideration. The mommy makeover. Just get a boob job and a tummy tuck. It is fine. You aren't really getting plastic surgery. You are just putting things back into place, undoing the damage to your body caused by pregnancy and sometimes childbirth. This isn't a cheap endeavor. It is like buying a nice new car.

So I have decided to give myself a different kind of makeover. Not that I wouldn't want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and not be able to tell that I have ever had kids, but in reality, I will never be 24 and childless again so no surgery can truly bring me back to that place. I have always thought that I could never go through with that kind of surgery because it seems like such a frivolous way to spend money. I decided there is another way to spend thousands of dollars, possibly frivolously, but at least I will be sending a better message to my kids besides appearance is everything, it is worth 3 years of college. College...oh yes, my point. My mommy makeover is a masters degree.

I have decided to go back to school to get my Masters in Public Administration specializing in non-profits. I have no idea what I will do with this degree. I would rather not think about that right now. I am currently enjoying my relatively responsibility-free, part-time job status and don't have any plans on changing it. I just think I would like to keep my options open for the future. I think if I do go back to work full time, or get a "real" job (my job is real, I just think of it so differently now that it isn't M-F, 8-4), I will want to move up and will need my masters, so I better just get it. Plus I think it will be good for me. I will feel better about myself. I will have a sense of accomplishment. Maybe even more self-worth. I will keep my brain from getting rusty, stay sharp, even though some days I talk about poop more than any other topic and often question if I am only talking to myself since nobody seems to be listening to me at all. Maybe I won't make money with this new degree. Maybe I will be tossing away thousands of dollars on a degree that I do nothing with. Maybe I will volunteer my time with some non-profit, or charity. Maybe I will start one of my own. Who knows? I will have the ability and the option and that is good enough for me right now. But I think that just goes into what I value about myself and what do I want other people to value about me. Is it my appearance or is it my mind? I think I have just voted mind.

stinky

Here is an email I got earlier this week from Justin.

ava this morning: "daddy you need to spray pepes poop!" me: "i dont smell anything, i dont think he pooped." ava: "he did! you need to spray it! its stinky!"

all morning: "daddy i dont like this stinky drink! I need a new one!" me: "ava, its water in a clean cup. its not stinky." "it is! its stinky! i dont want it!"

2 minutes ago, whining/crying: "daddy, i dont want this stinky drink!" me: "ava, maybe its your breath that stinks." her: "no, its my drink!"

after brushing her teeth: "ava, is your drink still stinky?" her: "it isnt!"

*****

The other night driving home, Ava had a great goal if driving into the sunset. She kept telling me to get closer to the yellow. I told her we actually couldn't unless we were flying in an airplane because the sun stays the same distance from the earth all the time, so it only looks like we could get closer. Her solution was to "get rid of the wheels on the car and put some sharp things on it (wings) and we can fly to the yellow on bacation. Oooh we should do it on Daddy's little car, it will be better."

*****

Ava has now learned to always sit in the grocery cart. She flipped out and landed on her head. She was fine and just has a bruise, but I doubt that it was enjoyable. I think she has a higher pain tolerance than I do. She stopped crying in about a minute.

*****

Rhys is getting really brave with his walking. He still looks funny walking because he is about as tall as the average 6 month old. He is also obsessed with cell phones. He just tucks it by his ear or under his arm and walks around like a very old, drunk person, randomly saying "hiiiiiiii".

******

I have been a little concerned about how Rhys will learn to use silverware while eating. He skipped baby food so he isn't used to being fed with a spoon. We didn't teach Ava how to do it, she learned at daycare, so I don't even have the experience to rely on. Yesterday he was playing with a tea set. He held a cup and a little spoon and was pretending to scoop stuff out of the cup with the spoon and put it in his mouth. Apparently I don't have anything to worry about, at least with pretend food.

Non-specifics

October is booking up. I have to work on getting the Halloween costumes figured out. I like it that I say I have to, but the only weekend day in October that doesn't have something planned is Halloween.

Pepe and Tequi hate each other. Our days are filled with constant growling and wrestling. Pepe just inhaled a chunk of food in attempts to chase Tequi away from the food. Tequi yells and growls, Pepe chases and torments. It is noisy. Pepe also thinks that he can jump as far as he wants. He sometimes tries to go from the back of a kitchen chair to the table. He doesn't make it and wacks his head on the table and flips around as he falls. He does not always land on his feet. He is also obsessed with food. He eats anything he can find, including saran wrap with foot on it. I never said he was smart.

The plague seems to have gone away for now. Crabbiness and the need for extra sleep is still there, but not as much. Fever is gone so we are free to go into the world again. So of course, we will go to the gym and the land of germs. I want to do latin impact class.

still here

We are still here in the land of Sick. Slight fevers still all around. 99-100. I don't trust that they aren't contagious yet since I was told that they will be fine to rejoin the world when the fever goes away. Eating has resumed. Sleeping continues. The cabin fever has set in. Justin is at church right now. I will be surprised if he doesn't make a break for the hills.

Oh my head...

Wednesday Rhys woke up with a fever. He had been acting a little off the day before, so I was thinking ear infection. He had a fever of 103 so we went to the doctor. No ear infection. He had herpangina. Fun!!! His fever did go up to 104 by the end of the day, but seemed to have gotten better over night. When I had checked on him in the middle of the night he was covered in sweat but finally cooler. The last couple of days he has been sleepy and whiney and just clearly uncomfortable. He has been either fever free or only up to 100, so that is good, but he actually seemed to feel better with the fever. His throat hurts so he doesn't want to drink much, only when he is really hungry. He obviously had a headache. He just reaches up and rubs at his eyes or grabs his head and just flails around and whimpers. It is pretty sad to watch since there isn't a whole lot we can do for him. The tylenol seems to help but only for a little bit and then he gets tired and we put him to bed and he wakes up hurting again.

I woke up with a migraine this morning which is never a good thing. It didn't get to the puking point but I was close. Justin was at least working from home so I was able to take a nap in the afternoon. It finally went mostly away by 8pm which is good since I had to work the overnight.

Ava started to get really whiney around five and I noticed she felt warmer. The sickness has clearly been passed on. She now is hanging out at 101 and says her head hurts and her throat hurts. At least she can tell us what hurts but even then there isn't a whole lot that we can do.

Plans are definitely canceled for pretty much the entire weekend. We had tons of things scheduled this weekend. I think the only things left to do, barring anyone else getting sick is I am going to go to my friend's bachelorette party, but just won't be staying all that long and Justin will be going to church on Sunday because he has about 4 places to be there. Hopefully there will be some good movies on tv this weekend.