Whatever!

Lila just got a fun dessert - Birthday Cake ice cream. She wasn't sure if she wanted that or some of my chocolate, so Doug showed her both. When he told her there was cake, and icing, and sprinkles all in the ice cream, AND that it would turn her tongue blue, she got pretty excited.

She started cackling madly and slapping her knees, and said, "What-eee-ver!"

The photo I put in my last post is stressing my mother out, so I'm giving her a new one to fixate on... :)

Precocious Children

Lila and I had the following conversation on Monday morning.

Lila (who was feeling very contrary): I don't like having school. It's not fun.

Me: You don't like having school?!? What do you not like about it?

Lila: When my school friends come... [mumble mumble]

Me: You don't like it when your school friends come? You always seem excited when they get here. Why don't you like it when they come?

Lila: I don't like the shape of their car.

The things that go on in her head leave me speechless at times. Of course, Doug says the same thing about me...

I love my son ever so much, but he is driving me completely bonkers today. When I put him down for his last nap, he screamed for 45 minutes before he fell asleep. I feel quite traumatized by the experience. I'm sure he'll wake up and flirt with me as though nothing happened. Good thing his flirty little smiles have the power to wipe my memory clean!

Zzzzzzz....

I was going to type out a real update to go with this photo, but that was two hours ago. Then I got distracted by my husband and children and now I'm having a hard time staying awake. I have a strong desire to go to bed right now. I'm also having difficulty speaking in complete and grammatically correct sentences because I've already gotten into the habit of making little mini-updates on Twitter.

I was just fixing a couple of snacks for Lila and I to eat on the way to the library. I was pulling grapes off the stems and getting ready to rinse them when Lila walked into the room and said, "No I don't like grapes, remember?"

"Excuse me? Since when?!?" I replied.

"Two hours ago."

Awesome.

Politics

If you are getting sick of inane Election Result Chatter, then just look at this cute Baby and go to the Happy Place.

I don't WANNA come up with a title!

My plan for tomorrow is as follows: Vote in the morning. Avoid all media outlets until the day is over because I JUST DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! I'm not going to share my opinions on the presidential race or who I'm going to vote for because there's enough of that going around lately. Also, my head hurts and I'm a bit grumpy.

I found a new addictive habit today. Twitter. I really don't need another reason to be drawn to my computer like a metal shaving to a magnet. I need to renew my habit of turning the monitor off when I'm not sitting down and doing something. That way I'm much less likely to be sucked in as I pass through the room.

Yeah - my head really hurts. Every noise seems amplified and grating. I told Doug I have a hangover - too many kids today. The time change has thrown everything out of whack. The children used to lose their minds precisely at 5 p.m. For the past couple of days it's happened at 4 p.m. That means that instead of dealing with two maniacs for a little while until Doug got home, I was dealing with them for what seemed a very long time until Doug got home.

Now I'm getting a wonderfully relaxing massage from my wonderfully wonderful husband, so I'm going to go.

So, Lila just told me she wanted some lunch and I was in the midst of being the Mommy Monster and "eating" Eli's cheeks to make him laugh. I asked her if she'd like some Eli for lunch and she said, "No." I told her that I was going to have some and started munching his cheeks again. She said, "No! We don't eat Eli." I asked her why not and she said,

"He just has germs on him. From your belly. That's why."

Stuff

I'm very tired this evening and I don't know that I have anything very interesting to say. Or maybe I do have interesting things to say, but not the energy or brain functioning to type them out. At the moment, I'm waiting for the last of our small group friends to leave so that I can come out of my room. I'm not able to participate in the discussions these days because of Eli's bedtime.

I could go out and mingle now that the discussion is over and Eli's asleep, but, due to the aforementioned lack of energy and brain functioning, I really don't want to.

I went to my second meeting of Smoothing the Way last night. That's a support group/training course for new homeschoolers. We talked about learning modalities, learning styles, and love languages. It was right up my alley because I love any label that can help me better understand myself and those around me. (don't worry though - i don't use them as little boxes to stick people in and then file them away.) I'm still trying to decide whether I'm a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic/tactile learner...

Articulate

I was just fixing a snack for myself (a pear - yuck - why do i force myself to eat healthy things?) and Lila was insisting that I was not cutting it up for myself, but for her. I finally relented and told her that I was, in fact, cutting it up for myself, but that I'd share it with her. I asked her to go get her bowl from the couch (where it had been left after an earlier snack).

She held up one of her hands (the one i had to torture her by removing a splinter from earlier) and said, "Actually, I have a bandaid on this one. I'd rather don't do it."

How do you argue with that?

If you need a reminder that she is, in fact, 3 years old, she also just told me that she's eating with a big Daddy Fork that's as big as her head and that I was eating with a little Baby Fork that's as small as my head. I'm not sure which image I find more disturbing - a fork as large as Lila's head or my head being as small as a salad fork!

The Most Beautiful Prayer

Shortly after I began doing the 60/60 Experiment, we had an idea to include Lila. We just explained that the watch beeps were to remind us to pray and then we'd pray out loud with her. It only took a couple of times for her to get the idea and then, whenever she'd hear the beep, she'd say, "Hey! We can pray!"

That lasted for a while and it got to be rather annoying, in a helpful way. I'd be oblivious to the beep or subconsciously putting off my moment of connection, when Lila would pipe up and I'd "have to" pray. Eventually, she started to lose interest, but we'd keep doing it. Sometimes she'd participate, and other times I think she might have been trying to block out my presence.

Well, every moment of this experiment was made worthwhile this morning. (not that i haven't seen God working in other ways as well, but this was enough even if i hadn't)

I was in our playroom/classroom, cleaning up before preschool, and didn't even have my watch on. I heard it beep from another room and only vaguely registered the sound. A few seconds later, Lila appeared beside me and said, "Let's pray to God!"

She got down on her knees next to me, folded her hands, bowed her head, closed her eyes (none of which we make her do when praying), and said,

"Hmm... Let's see... Thank you for school coming this week and please help me be kind and gentle to my friends. Amen."

She has been listening and she has been learning. Lila has offered her thanks to God before, but she has never asked for help on her own. What I am doing does make a difference and it fills my heart to know that God is using this experiment to make me a better godly example for my daughter.

Praise God for this beautiful child and all that He continues to teach me through her!

This is a cute little site to go to with your preschooler. You can dress up a fairie, turkey, or scarecrow and then print it out. Lila and I just did it and she especially enjoyed dressing up the fairie.

rock 'n' roll lila

Want to be a Blob

I just put my son down for bed, left the room... and I haven't heard a peep out of him. He must have been really tired! Lila, on the other hand, is running around the house (naked) and giggling like a maniac.

My resolve not to watch TV for a while is being sorely tested this evening. I've gotten too much in the habit of sitting down and blobbing after the kids are in bed. That's alright now and then, but not every night. I want Doug and I to start talking and playing games again. And I could do a much better job of preparing for school if I were not being distracted by SVU/CSI/Cold Case/House!

Ooh, our anniversary is this weekend (the 26th) and I got a fabulous gift for Doug! I can't tell you what it is until after he's gotten it though. My own husband only reads my blog about three times per year (when i specifically ask him to do so). I'm afraid, however, that if I put a "secret" on here, then he will decide to visit on his own for once. Anyway, I'm very excited! Actually, I got him two gifts and both should make him laugh, though they are very different.

The Facts of Life

Lila just asked, with complete exasperation, "Why do my panties ride up my tushie every day?!?"

Stalling

Am... so... sleepy.... Want... to go... to bed.... Must... clean... house.... Am... stalling... with blog....

Have you ever listened to a 3-year-old try to deliberately pick a fight? It usually begins with a seemingly innocent question, such as, "Why is it getting dark?" And then you, the parent, walk into the trap and answer with something logical (if slightly simplified), such as, "Because it's night time and the sun is going to shine on another part of the earth." GOTCHA! Now the 3-year-old comes back with, "Nooo! It's not night time!"

Much to Lila's chagrin, I refuse to engage in these absurd arguments. As she sits there, usually in the back seat, and tries to antagonize me with her powers of contrariness, I politely explain that I'm not going to argue with her. That usually only makes her more angry, but what can I do?!? I'm not going to actually have an argument with the child over whether or not it's night time (or whatever the chosen bait is). A few times she has even responded with, "Yes! I want you to argue with me!" We've decided to find a debate team for her when she gets older.

More of a Tangent than an Update

For those who live in Austin, you might be surprised to know that Freebird's has a really good kids' combo deal. You can get a cheese quesadilla, chips, and a drink for less than $3. I have a policy on Lila's food that I won't pay more in dollars than Lila is in years of age. That means that I currently won't pay more than $3.15 for her food. (don't worry, we don't deny her food altogether. she just eats off our plates.) Most places charge at least $5 for their kids' plates.

Anyway, I think there was something important or amusing I was going to relate... Oh, no, it's neither amusing nor important, but it might be of interest anyway. I rented The Happening and watched it last night. I truly don't know what I was thinking when I rented a creepy movie to watch while Doug was out of town. Thankfully, it was more of a Fascinating Creepy than a Scary Creepy.

I thought it was quite good and worth watching. I was mildly irritated by the environmental message at the end, not because I disagree, but because I GET IT ALREADY and I'm tired of watching that poor dead horse being beaten. Oh and I will warn you that there are some pretty disturbing images, especially at the beginning of the movie. But aside from all that, I enjoyed it!

"That ain't no happy child!"

Eli is on the bed next to me, screaming. I would like to scream too. Unfortunately, we have small group members showing up any minute, so I should probably not be found in a state of hysteria when they arrive. This is what happens when I put him down for his last nap of the afternoon and he refuses to go to sleep. He cries for 45 minutes instead and then I have to get him back up because it's too close to bedtime for him to go to sleep anymore.

Within an hour, he's a screaming maniac. It's too early to put him to bed for the night; too late to put him down for a nap. So we just have to try and keep him happy until bedtime. That means that one of us must be holding him constantly and probably also bouncing around in some way.

I would really like to walk out the door right now and not come back until they are both asleep.

Please do not leave comments about how sweet my children are or platitudes about enjoying these days before they are gone as that is guaranteed NOT to improve my mood. You may, however, leave comments about how you have days like this too, and how you have considered selling your children to gypsies before.

Thank you.

Things I don't want to talk about

Yeah, that whole "getting the kids to sleep" thing - I don't want to talk about it.

I have been a snotty mess all weekend. Actually, I've been sick for the better part of three weeks and I'm getting really tired of it! I think that what's going on now is mostly a heinous allergy attack, but it's compounded by the ulcer in my throat. Hmm... I don't want to talk about that either.

So, UT beat OU yesterday! Woot! Lila and I were gone for the first half of the game, but I got to watch the second half and it was the first fun game of the season. The others have been so one-sided that I lost interest pretty quickly and wandered away from the TV. Apparently Doug and Eli were watching the game before Lila and I got home and it sounds like it was very cute.

Eli was propped up in one corner of the love seat while Doug sat on the other side and ate his lunch. Eli was just staring at the football game, but every once in a while he'd look over at Doug, scowl at the food he was not getting to eat, and then grin at his Daddy. They were just chillin' on the couch, watchin' football!

Baby Stuff

I'm listening to Eli fuss as I try to get him to go to sleep on his own. At 3.5 months, when he was still in our room, I would put him down awake and he'd go to sleep with little to no fuss. At that time, he was also sleeping from 8:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. When we moved him into Lila's room, we were suddenly unwilling to let him fuss because we didn't want him to wake her up.

We started rocking him until he was totally asleep and then putting him down. He then started regularly waking up in the night again. Due to that, and some severe bedtime drama on Lila's part, we've moved his bedtime half an hour earlier than hers and I'm trying to get him to fall asleep on his own again. Tonight is the first attempt and it mostly seems to be making him angry, so far.

I'll give him one more minute (for a total of 5) and then go in and try to relax him, but not all the way to sleep. I'll keep you updated...

Oh, Eli also got his first "solid" food today - extremely runny rice cereal mixed with breast milk. He thought it was quite good and at it all up. He also tried to eat his bib and the spoon.

I Hate Ragweed!

Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it!

Not a Story about my Children

If I am feeding Eli while Lila is in the bath, I sometimes turn the TV on because there's only so much time that can be spent in contemplation of a nursing baby, no matter how cute he is. I did this last night and ended up getting totally sucked in to a ghost movie on the SciFi channel. (An American Haunting, in case you're interested.) Doug ended up sucked in as well and we watched the whole thing. It wasn't the best movie ever, but it was good enough that I was completely creeped out after it was over.

There are a few things we do while getting ready for bed at night. For me, one of those things is cleaning out the kitties' litter box, and this I did, with only slightly irrational fears that something was going to jump out of it and scare me. When I was carrying the bag of goods out to the trash can, I remembered that all the windows on the playhouse were open and there was a chance of rain. There was no way I was going into the dark backyard and inside a small dark house after that movie, so I decided to ask Doug to do it for me.

I went back inside, finished the rest of my little pre-bed chores, then found Doug and asked him to be chivalrous and do me this favor. He agreed, and, with only minor grumbling, found his shoes and headed for the back door.

At this point, I should probably tell you that one of the other things I do before bed is set the alarm. Since I was operating on auto-pilot, I went ahead and set the alarm as usual, without thinking about Doug needing to go back outside. I should also tell you that, for some unholy reason, opening the back door when the alarm is armed makes it go off instantly...

So I'm brushing my teeth when I hear this remarkably loud noise that sounds something like a banshee, or at least what I imagine a banshee would sound like, if they existed. I then hear the sounds of Doug running for the alarm keypad (halfway across the house, in the laundry room) and slipping and sliding on the wood floors along the way. Charlie, apparently, was in the path of this running and slipping, and was already understandably disturbed by the noise, so he freaks out and starts running and slipping too.

Unfortunately for him, he chose the same destination as Doug and thought that he was being chased, which freaked him out even more. All of this seemed to last much longer than the few seconds it actually did and then Doug reached the keypad and the alarm finally stopped. It had only taken me half a second to realize what was happening and I was fighing very hard to control my laughter when Doug came into the bathroom, looking like he had seen a ghost, and informed me that I could go out and close my own stupid windows.

He was all bark though and went on to close them after all. That gave me a chance to laugh and him a chance to recover his sense of humor about the situation. It still cracks me up. That one's going onto my List of Reasons I Wish we had Video Cameras Installed in Every Room.

The children, incidentally, slept through all of this, despite the fact that the alarm is right outside their room. Amazing.

[cough cough]

Things have been nuts around here for a week! Lila was sick, I was sick, Eli was sick, I was still sick, Eli was sick again, Lila was sick again... I think we are finally all well now. Or mostly well. Eli is still a bit spotty - more so than usual, I mean (see photo). He's also politely requesting some milk, so I have to go. At least I got a brief update in.

All together again

Doug and Lila are back home this evening and, thankfully, both kids are in bed. I felt a bit better today than yesterday, but I'm still pretty icky. (Stupid Evil Ragweed!) Eli had a fever for about 24 hours because of his immunizations, but he's all better now. Lila developed one of her fevers on Thursday afternoon, but that is gone too (though she's still acting sick - i.e., whining a lot).

In an unusual turn of events, I started preparing for school early this week. Usually, I'm preparing at 10 p.m. the night before, which leads to difficulties when I discover that I don't have something I'll need. This time, I read the list of needed supplies early enough in the day that I was able to go out and get some tempera paint (which has been called for every week and i keep having to improvise)!

Now I think I'm going to sit down with a bowl of ice cream and try to ignore the fact that my eyelids feel like sandpaper and my throat is sore and swollen. (hey, if i can't complain on my blog, then where CAN i complain?!?)

Doctor Chuy

Eli had his 4 month check-up today (a bit late). He's up to 14 lbs 13 oz and 23.5 inches. So, he's still a bit short and big-headed, but he's average overall. They gave him some more immunizations, which he did not appreciate and the doctor gave us a referral to a dermatologist for his eyelid problem. He was born with all those red blotches - just birthmarks - but his eyelids started being dry and flaky several weeks ago. It's probably nothing, but this doctor likes to be careful.

Doug and Lila are on their way to Dallas without Eli and I right now. They are going to meet our new nephew, Cole Peeler, who was born last week. Originally, we were all going to visit together, but I am sick. Most likely, it is a case of Evil Allergies, but I don't want to risk bringing any germs around the baby. Plus, if I'm going to feel crummy, I'd rather feel crummy at home.

Eli and I are distraught at being left behind, so I think we will be having dinner at Chuy's tonight to console ourselves. It's purely for medicinal purposes, you understand...

My baby is cute.

Exotic Pets

A pygmy possum peed on my son's back this morning. And my daughter had a python around her neck. We had our preschool field trip to the Pet Store and it was fraught with amusement! I brought along a camera, but it stayed in my bag the whole time. I'm hoping that one of the other moms, who brought her camera and actually used it, will share a few photos with me. I asked Lila which animal was her favorite and she said all of them were!

The only part of the trip that I didn't like was when they fed a small rat to a very big python. The two older brothers of one of the girls were there with us and they really wanted to see what would happen. Boys. I was hesitant about witnessing the event myself because I really like small furry animals, but my curiosity got the better of me. It only took about 30 seconds to decide that I didn't need to see any more.

I mean, if the snake had just grabbed the thing and consumed it, I think I could have handled watching. But nooo. The snake first had to squeeze the poor thing to death and that took FAR too long. I was on the verge of tears for about ten minutes after that. I helped myself recover by holding a floppy little ferret. I know they are stinky and I'll never own one, but it doesn't stop them from being really cute!

P.S. - Would you get a load of the fat rolls on this baby!

Sharks

We set Lila up with 'Finding Nemo' during our church small group meeting tonight. She usually hangs out with a few other kids during that time, but none of them were there this week. Anyway, she's seen this movie before, but always with other people around. Apparently, when watching it alone, the movie is too scary. She was particularly frightened by the sharks. Later, after we were home and doing before-bed prayers, she said of them, "Yeah. They're still freaking me out."

Quick One

I have approximately two minutes to finish this email before Eli must be fed. He's currently watching The Muppet Show with Lila (really, he's watching it - it's very cute). Once the video is over, we're going out for some fantastic New Jersey style pizza at Saccone's, so I want to get the boy fed before we leave. If he's feeling agreeable, then he'll just hang out while we eat. We'll see what happens.

This photo is from Lila's Olympic debut. Yesterday, her swim school held the 2008 Munchkin Olympics. She's showing off her medal (and her extreme fatigue) in this picture. That's my little swimmer!

Behold! A post!

Right now I have a headache and a soggy shoulder. The headache is from having my hair pulled back all day. The soggy shoulder is from the baby (that would be Eli) who insisted on spitting out his pacifier and licking my shirt while I was rocking him before bed. This is a symptom of his new love of fabric. He's not really interested in toys that we give him, but he'll play play endlessly with soft blankets and burp cloths. And they are always soggy when he returns them.

For those who haven't heard, we started our preschool class last week and it's going great! The girls love it and it's scratching the Teacher Itch that I've had as long as I can remember. We spent this week talking about Pockets, and next week we're moving on to Pets. We're even taking a field trip to an exotic pet store next weekend, where the girls will get to touch/hold some of the animals!

Oh, and Eli is out of our room! He has made a seamless transition to his crib in Lila's room and we have regained full use of our bedroom. Unfortunately, the aforementioned shirt-sogging baby is now fussing and needs to be rocked again...

A few free moments...

Ugh. I am sorry that it's been so long between posts lately. I don't have time to do it during the day and I can't do it in the evenings when I do have time. Soon, however, Eli will be sleeping in the room with Lila and I'll have full access to my bedroom again! I cannot wait!

Anyway, big things are happening here. Peeler Preschool starts tomorrow! For those who don't know, I'm going to be homeschooling Lila and three other little girls. I have a great preschool curriculum and we'll have class three mornings per week. I'm so excited that I could barely sleep last night and I'm not expecting tonight to be any better. I've wanted to be a teacher since I was a little kid!

Eli is growing and steadily improving his Skills of a Flirter. Lila, as an infant, liked to watch people. She'd make eye contact and just stare at you. She had one of those gazes that makes you uncomfortably suspicous that she might actually be reading your soul. Eli, on the other hand, wants to engage with people. He's not content to just be held or stare at things. He wants to be talked to and interacted with. It's fun to see his personality developing!

Long Time, No Post

I finally found a way to use this sling that works for Eli and I both. He loved being carried around this way because he was touching me, which is his favorite place to be, and he could look around at the world. I loved it because he wasn't crying and I could still use both my hands! Woot!

Things have been crazy busy since just before our vacation. We've been home for nearly a week, but I think it is only this afternoon that I can honestly say things are getting back to normal. I still have a disturbing pile of dirty laundry in my bathroom, but at least my to-do list is no longer following me around and throwing tomatoes at my head.

The beach was lovely and we took a LOT of photos. The cousins had a fantastic time playing together and kept each other nicely entertained most of the time. They did start to wear on each other by the end of the week, however. At the airport on Saturday, I was beginning to think that Lila and Olivia were going to end up in a fist-fight.

Oh, and one other great outcome from the girls spending so much time together: After seeing Liv go pee-pee on the big potty, Lila finally found the motivation she needed to potty train! She has been wearing Big Girl Panties most of the time since we got home and is doing a fantastic job! Hooray!

I tried...

I keep trying to type a post to go along with this photo, but Eli keeps sabotaging my efforts. I think it's time to give up and just leave you with a picture. :oI~

Alternate Identities and String Cheese

Lila and I have somewhat-recently discovered a kids' TV show called "Signing Time". The show teaches sign language and has hideously catchy songs that will get stuck in your head for days. The two main kids on the show are named Alex and Leah. Today, Lila has decided that she is Leah and her stuffed pig, normally known as Piggie, is now Alex.

She has been referring to herself in the third person all day. For example, "Leah is going to put some shoes on so the litter doesn't get on her feet." and "Are Leah's fingernails long?" One time, I accidentally referred to her as Lila and she corrected me. "No, I'm Leah!" Yes, of course. Excuse me. :oI~

On a different topic, I've discovered something odd about Charlie. Yesterday, I was eating a piece of string cheese and he started shadowing me and meowing like he thought I had something for him. I told him it was just cheese and let him smell it. Our cats, with a couple of amusing exceptions, have no interest in human food. Charlie has a weakness for peanut butter cookies and Cordelia can't resist barbecue potato chips.

Anyway, he sniffed the cheese and then kept hounding me, so I finally pulled of a small piece and gave it to him. He ate it and then started begging for more! I gave him one more piece, told him he was done, and thought no more of it. Today, Lila ate most of a piece of string cheese and then left a hunk on a plate on the coffee table when she went down for her nap. I looked up a bit later to see Charlie standing on his hind feet by the table and trying to rake the cheese off onto the floor! I guess he likes string cheese.

It's a bit eerie, really...

Fever

Poor Lila has one of her fevers today. My first clue this morning should have been when she wanted to sit in my lap and snuggle for more than 30 seconds. I didn't figure it out, however, until she started complaining of being cold. That's a sure sign that her temperature is on the rise. She didn't seem to feel bad this morning, but she's been much more puny this afternoon.

Earlier, I asked her if she wanted to call her Daddy at work - she has recently started to enjoy doing this and Doug gets a kick out of it - and she said yes. The following is an exact transcript of her side of the conversation (doug's side is pretty accurate - i had him on speaker phone - but i don't remember his exact words)...

[phone ringing]
Doug: Hello?
Lila: I have a fever.
Doug: ...what?
Lila: I have a fever.
Doug: You have a fever? How sad! I'm sorry you are feeling bad.
Lila: I just wanted to call you.
Doug: Well, I'm glad you called me. It's nice to talk to you.
Lila: Just be on your way home.
Doug: Oh, I'm not on my way home yet. I still have to work for a while.
Lila: Bye.
Doug: Bye-bye.
[lila closes phone]

What do I always talk about...?

Please behold the cuteness of my children's legs and feet. And take special note - Eli officially has chubbbbby thighs! WooHoo! [squeeze squeeze]

It was a degree or two below boiling yesterday, so we went out in the backyard. Lila and I both felt it was too hot (i could tell lila was hot by the way she started whining at me), but Eli had fun. He just lay there on the blanket with this little smile on his face. Maybe he was thinking, "Finally, I'm warm!" I'm pretty sure he thinks we're polar bears. And we don't even keep the house as cool as we'd like it! Anyway, I decided it was time to give up and come back in the house once I realized I was losing my battle against the random ants that kept finding our blanket and trying to attack us.

Lila has just spent the past half-hour putting "bandaids" all over my face, arms, legs, feet, neck, clothes, etc. These are actually stickers - most of them from Halloween. I look rather alarming, I fear. I took a picture, which I will post in due time.

Now I'm going to give Lila an early bath in hopes that Doug will agree to go to Chuy's for dinner... :)

Kids

This is a photo of my daughter, Fashion Statement Peeler. Rollers in her hair, a melon-pink outfit, navy blue pajama socks, and red shiny shoes that are two sized too big. All she needs to complete the outfit is a terrycloth robe. The rollers were our second failed attempt at curling her hair. The first attempt ended when she couldn't tolerate sleeping in them. This attempt ended when she insisted on removing them because they were "hurting." Oh well. We'll try again when she's older...

Eli had his two month check-up with the pediatrician yesterday. His latest stats are as follows:

Weight: 11 lbs (30th %ile)
Height: 21.5 in (5th %ile)
Head Circumference: 40 cm (50th %ile)

Translation: He's short and he's got a big head! :o)~

They checked him over and said he looks fine. He got his shots, which he hated, naturally. And everyone told me how much he looks like Lila (she's got a very large fan club at that doctor's office). Tomorrow, Lila goes for a follow-up visit with her Infectious Disease doctor.

stabbing, gagging, and hurting

Lila tried to put her eye out with a fork last night. For the past few months, she has become a fabulous puppeteer. Anything that crosses her path, or even parts of her body, can suddenly develop a personality and start speaking to you. We've been dining with Baby Fork at every meal for quite some time now. At dinner last night, Baby Fork got a little out of hand and stabbed Lila in the eye, drawing blood. Thankfully, he didn't get her eyeball, but it couldn't have gotten much closer. Baby Fork received a firm talking-to and a time out.

Oh, I tried another flavor of yogurt. I got strawberry with fruit on bottom (Brown Cow brand). I found it less repulsive than the vanilla flavor I tried a few days ago, but only slightly. I forced myself to eat half the cup, then had to stop because I was starting to feel like I might gag. I tried. Now I'm officially giving up. I just don't like yogurt.

Ugh, and while I'm complaining... I've been having some sharp lower back and pelvic pains. It started on Wednesday and has been getting slowly worse. (my back is hurting rather a lot as i type this.) I saw my OB/GYN this morning and she ruled out bladder, uterine, and kidney infections. Now I'm scheduled to have an ultrasound next week to see if I have an ovarian cyst. I'm not remotely worried, but please pray with me that the pain will go away because it's interfering with my already-interrupted sleep.

Yogurt? Ew!

I decided yesterday that I was going to try yogurt for the first time in... as far back as I can recall. I have always avoided it on principle - I don't like eating things that, as stated very clearly on the label, are alive. However, since I am currently trying to lose the rest of the weight I gained while pregnant, I've become more adventurous. I bought a box of Cream of Wheat last week and found it to be relatively edible. I also found that it makes my throat swell up. This week, I have been very intrigued by the yogurt commercials that claim to be a delicious way to cut fat out of your diet.

So, I pulled out a small container of vanilla yogurt (HEB brand). Doug is always saying how good it is and Lila just eats it right up. I took one bite and found it completely repulsive. It was tart and didn't taste remotely like vanilla, at least not to these taste buds. I sat there for a moment, recovering, and decided that I couldn't make a judgement based on the first bite.

I gathered my nerve for a few minutes and tried another small bite. I didn't find it any more appealing than the first. At that point, I felt no guilt in putting it back in the refrigerator and eating a pita with hummus instead. Oh well, I did try... And maybe - MAYBE - I'll try a different brand with a flavor that might mask the ickiness a little better. I make no promises, however.

Lila

This is a photo of Lila resolutely NOT looking at the camera.

I'm still not sure of the cause of Lila's discipline problems for the past several days - most likely a combination of factors - but she was much more her normal self today. Thank goodness! In fact, I don't think she got one time out today. It's so nice not to be whined at all day long!

Oh, there are a couple of funny things that she's been saying lately. The first one is something she started saying about a month ago. She uses it anytime we tell her something is about to happen and she doesn't want it to (e.g., a bath, doug leaving for work, etc.). She will say, in a fantastically drawn out whine, "Nooot a gooood ideeea!" The only reason it's not annoying is that it's so funny.

She's also started singing the song Pop Goes the Weasel, only her version is, "Plop goes the diesel..." I haven't corrected her because it cracks me up so much.

And one more thing about Lila: She floated on her back in swim class this morning - all by herself! That is major for her! She loves the water, but has always hated being on her back in it. She floated on her back and when the teacher told her to, she rolled over and put her face in the water. Amazing! The girl is just amazing!

Eli

Whew! The Boy has been a handful for the past several days. He just finished another one of those phases where he doesn't sleep much during the day and spends most of his awake time crying. He was spending a couple of hours in the evenings crying at full volume. After a day like that, you start to feel like the connections in your brain have snapped so that you can't think straight!

Now that he's back to normal, he's being very cute again. Doug and I are starting to get smiles out of him, but no one gets a bigger one than Lila. He gives her big grins and loves to stare at her. He already thinks his big sister is the best thing ever! Another small but cute thing he's started doing is grabbing a fistful of my shirt and holding on tight while he's eating. I've always loved the hijinks of a baby's free hand while they're nursing. It's like the hand has a mind of its own sometimes. The shirt-grabbing doesn't sound that exciting, but it looks very sweet!

His next appointment with the pediatrician is still a couple of weeks away. That's the visit where he'll get his first round of immunizations. I suspect that he's not going to like that very much. (ya think?!?) I always love finding out how much they've grown though. And having everyone in the office tell me how beautiful my children are! :o)~

Need to Vent

Oh my goodness, Lila has been difficult today! Fussing and whining. Disobeying. Throwing things. Arguing. Changing her mind seventeen times with every decision. Asking a thousand questions. Refusing to be in a different room than me for even five minutes! I haven't even been able to sit here and type these few sentences in peace.

She was talking and asking questions and whining non-stop so that I can't concentrate. I had to get up once to verify whether or not she'd eaten the snack she claimed to have eaten so that she could have a jelly bean (she had not). I had to ask her to please go play in another room for a few minutes because she was literally standing in my armpit. (she didn't go to another room, but she did at least go to the other SIDE of this room.)

Yesterday, she fell asleep in the car on the way home from swim class. She slept 15 minutes, which means she wouldn't go to sleep when naptime came. I tried two different times and indulged her way too much because I wanted to take a nap too, but had no success. So she went all day yesterday with a 15 minute nap. Because she was so tired, she woke up four or five times during the night.

When she was nuts this morning, I figured it was from the lack of sleep. She tried to get out of her nap again today, but since she had not slept even 5 minutes, I insisted. After a long battle, I got her to sleep and she took a normal nap. This afternoon, she is still nuts. So she's either still not caught up on sleep or she's just generally insane. Either way, I'm glad it's Friday!

Everyone is Fabulous!

It's fabulous how easily amused little kids are. Earlier this afternoon, Lila and I were playing a "game" called Row the Boat. This is just the two of us sitting facing each other, holding hands, and rocking back and forth while singing "Row, Row, Row your Boat". Lila thought it was hilarious. I played a round or two with this tiny stuffed kitten of hers and she was nearly shrieking, she thought it was so funny!

These kids are so awesome that I ALMOST want to have another one. I get over that pretty quickly though! I never again want to experience the solid year of depression struggles that pregnancy and childbirth bring with them for me. Some people enjoy being pregnant and to them I say, "Cheers! Go knock yourself out (or up, as it were)!" Hormones and I do not get along.

This is a total change of subject, but Doug was fantastic while we were up with my family in Seven Points! He was a constant support for all of us, but especially my step-father, Frank. I know it was completely exhausting for him - it was for all of us - but he was wise enough to take care of himself too. He asked his parents to come to town early to help us take care of the kids. That helped a lot!

[p.s. - this is a photo of my dad (a.k.a., grandaddy and rick) with the kiddos.]

[p.p.s. - eli, at six weeks old, rolled over from his belly to his back yesterday!]

Eli Update

I took Eli to the doctor this morning, to rule out constipation and/or an ear infection, and his weight is up to 9 lbs. 13 oz. He was small for his age at two weeks. I'll be interested to see where he stands at two months!

This is one of those sad, but cute things. Eli HATES the car seat, so if he is in it and not asleep, then he is screaming. Sometimes he reaches a level of crying where it really sounds like he's going to hurt himself. There have been many times when we were going somewhere and he started doing this and one of us would reach one arm back there to comfort him.

A few of those times, (here's the sad, but cute part) he would only calm down once he had grabbed onto one of our fingers. Then he'd just sit back there, doing that post-cry hiccuping thing, and hold tightly onto a finger.

"Oh good. You haven't left me. Just let me hold on to this so I don't forget..."

That is just one of the ways his personality is so different from Lila's at that age. He's also different in the way he "talks". The noises he makes are so Boy! He grunts and growls and shouts. It's very rare that he makes those cute little cooing noises. He's so funny!

Back Home

We're all back home now and Doug and I are exhausted. It was an intense week. The kids aren't all that exhausted (at least not physically) because they both slept all the way from Seven Points to Georgetown yesterday (that's three hours)! It was good to be around family - to mourn together and to know that they already knew what I was feeling, so I didn't have to talk about it if I didn't want to - but it is good to be home now too!

I'm still sad, naturally, but it's not all-consuming like it was for the first several days. Earlier, Lila and I were having "Bible Time" and she started talking about how we won't see Uncle Greg anymore (i don't know what prompted it). Then she said the Bible talks about Uncle Greg. I told her that, yes, the Bible talks about all people. It was sweet, but made me sad too.

Right now, Lila is playing on our bed. She is crawling under the covers and saying she's going to hide from Daddy. She's going to hide for a long time, if that's the case, because he won't be home for at least an hour!

Family Tragedy

For those who haven't already heard, my little brother, Greg Wagner, died on Monday. He drowned in the lake near my mom's house and was pulled from the water later that evening. We are all devastated and in shock. Please pray for God's comfort for all of us. The memorial service is today at 3 p.m. in Gun Barrel, TX.

Saturday

I'm feeling quite refreshed today after some very satisfying alone time this afternoon. I went out and had lunch by myself. Well, actually, I did take someone with me - a book! I was able to read and to eat without worrying about who was going to wake up or having to get up from the table half-a-dozen times to fetch something. After that, I went to Borders and enjoyed a brownie while I read my book some more!

I did get a Father's Day gift for Doug as well... which is good since I just remembered that I never got him a birthday present! (i know, i know - but i had a one-week-old infant and i wasn't allowed to drive yet!) I had decided on two gifts for Father's Day. Maybe I'll make one of them a birthday present...

Eli is four weeks old now and he seems so much bigger than when we brought him home. He's gained 1.5 lbs and 3 inches since he was born! (current stats: 8 lbs 8 oz and 21 inches) He is actually focusing on things now, including our faces, and will sometimes even track them with his eyes if they move. Lila has seen me pass a toy back and forth in front of him and tries to do it herself, but her technique is a little off. She holds it just a couple of inches in front of his face and moves it back and forth very quickly. Oh well. He thinks she's cool anyway! :)

Poop

I am pleased to report that the three of us had a fine day today and I even got a good bit of housework done! I have reclaimed our laundry room and the toilet bowls are no longer growing things. Equally exciting, but not nearly as enjoyable, was when my son pooped on the changing table. It shot out six inches! Ew!

That's still not as funny as what he did last week though. First, during a diaper change, he managed to pee onto his face. The next day, he peed into his open mouth! Gross! This boy is dangerous!

Our first normal-feeling Saturday

I'm trying to decide whether or not I should go to a movie this evening. I will definitely not be going to a super-late one, but I might go to a late evening show. It would be nice to watch a movie from beginning to end again. We've been watching them over two or three nights because if I'm at home and relaxed and the kids are asleep, then I want to go to bed too! We'll see what happens...

Right now, I'm waiting for Eli to wake up and eat so that Lila and I can go to the grocery store. Naturally, since I'm waiting for him, he has decided to sleep longer than he has all day! Oh well, it's not like the trip to the store is pressing. It's mostly just to get out of the house and to have a little alone time with my daughter. It will give Doug a break too because she wants him to play constantly.

I took a couple of Tylenol a little while ago and I hope they work soon. For some reason, I've had a sinus headache for two days. I say "for some reason" because the pollen count is not supposed to be that high right now. I guess even a little bit of grass pollen is enough to knock me out since I'm so allergic to it. When I have sinus pressure, it makes the spots where my wisdom teeth used to be ache. Strange!

Better

Wow, yesterday was rough. By the end of the day, I just wanted to walk out the front door. From 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., The Boy did not sleep for more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time. He took a one hour nap at 2 and then started up again. Even worse, he was fussing or full-on crying for most of the time that he was awake. Add to that the fussiness that Lila started because she wasn't getting enough attention and -- ACK!!!

The good news is that Eli seems to be in a much better mood today and there have actually been times when he was awake, but not crying. (yesterday, that only happened while he was eating.) I like it when he's quiet and alert. It's when he's cutest and he makes lots of funny faces. As long as he's awake like that, he keeps those eyeballs roaming all over the place. I guess he's still trying to figure us out too!

This morning was swim class and we all did a great job! Eli was content and cooperative. Lila was a fabulous swimmer and helper. And I managed to juggle both of them and our bags (in the rain) without hurting myself or losing my mind! And Doug is off playing golf with some suppliers, so I'm sure he's had a great morning too! In fact, he should be coming home and Lila should be waking from her nap any minute. I think I'll grab a few minutes of book reading before those things happen...

I tried...

Today is my first full day alone with the kids and I'm exhausted already! Really, I started off the day feeling exhausted, but that was thanks to allergies...

Ha! I started this post at noon. Now it is 7 p.m. I think I should give up and just post this photo. It has been a L-O-N-G day.

Finally

Well, to be perfectly honest, the first week home from the hospital was hell. I quickly descended into a depression every bit as bad as the one I experienced after Lila was born. The good news is that I am recovering much more quickly this time. There are a lot of contributing factors to my recovery, but the help of family and friends has been invaluable.

Eli is three weeks old now and we seem to be figuring him out a little more each day. It seems like much more than three weeks ago that I went to the hospital to have my c-section! Eli has been eating about every 2 hours during the day, but goes more like 3 to 3.5 hours between feedings at night. The interrupted sleep is not fun, but it could be much worse!

Lila didn't seem to mind Eli's presence at all for those first couple of weeks, but this past week has been more difficult. She is being very rude and defiant, and she told us once that she thinks he wants to go back (either into my belly or to the hospital - i'm not sure which). However, I know that is normal and I'm confident that she will adjust quickly... at least once life develops some sort of normalcy again.

Doug was off for three weeks and just went back to work this past Monday. He is very tired, of course, but doing well otherwise. I'm sure he'd love to be going to bed early with me, but has had conference calls at 9 p.m. the past two nights. For Father's Day, I'm thinking of sending him to the guest room for a night of uninterrupted sleep.

Okay, I'd better stop typing now before I wake up The Sleeper.

Things here are going pretty well. I'm just having trouble finding the time to sit down at the computer. Right now, Eli and I are about to go to bed. I'll try again tomorrow. :)