Boston

Today I got to spend some time in Boston with my good friend Justin. Justin lives in LA and was visiting his brother who lives in the city. We haven't seen each other in close to ten years and it was great to catch up. Unfortunately, I have no pics of the two of us (kind of symbolic of the afternoon...so many unfinished conversations and unasked questions!), but my kids had a great time playing at Boston Common! Next time I get to visit with a long lost friend, I think I'll leave them home!

Back to work

If you haven't heard, I recently took a position as a home based family therapist. It's per Diem, which means I can work as much or as little as I want. I'm doing it to accrue the hours that I need to take the test to get a higher social work license....I need the equivalent of 9-10 months full time, so hopefully by the time my kids are in school, I'll be there!

Yesterday I had an orientation...When I came downstairs and got into the shower, Sam said, "What are you doing mommy?" I replied, "Taking a shower." He said, "You don't take showers in the morning, you drink coffee and watch a little tv..." Guess my life of leisure is over!

Grace is nine months old today!

And I didn't take a single picture!
27 inches and a little over 19 pounds. She has five teeth, (which is kind of funny...for weeks she's had three on the bottom and two on top. Sam's always came in pairs.) She's pulling up on everything and "cruising" around the furniture. She loves to eat...everything (french fries and macaroni and cheese are favorite...she gets giddy!)

Apple juice in my coffee....

Today was one of those days....chaos, absolute chaos. Kids that didn't stop clinging or wining. Messes that just kept growing. So tired, that I really think I could have slept through it all! Around 3 I made myself a fresh pot of coffee. I took the half and half out and then bent over to pick Grace up. When I stood up, I poured apple juice (which sometimes sits out on the counter all day long...) into my coffee and actually took a sip before realizing what I had done. I guess it could have been worse...the dish soap was next to the apple juice...

My first yoga class....

For those of you who haven't seen me in a while....I'm shorter than I used to be, considerably shorter...A few weeks ago I had a physical and discovered that I stand a giant 5'5" tall. Although I think that this is still slightly above the average height of most American women, my drivers license declares me to be 5'7". I'll admit, I don't honestly know if I was ever 5'7"...but what is indisputable is that when I had a physical just after Sam was born, I stood a proud 5'6 1/2".
My shrinking is concerning for a couple of reasons....there's the obvious osteoporosis, degenerative bone disease concerns...and then there is the fact that I have been telling myself that as a 5'7" women, I am only a few pounds overweight...(at some point I read that 5 pounds for every inch over five feet is acceptable and normal...a little piece of trivia that I have clung to for years!) However, now that I am in fact only 5'5"...well, let's just say that I have a little more than a "few" pounds to lose!

One of the things that the doctor suggested (along with a bone density scan and a lot of calcium supplements...) is to take a yoga class. Apparently, you can regain 1.5"! So yesterday morning, I headed off to my first, Bikram "Hot Core" Yoga class....

I was the first person to arrive...so I got to hang out with the instructor, Peter (who greeted me in bright red yoga panties and from what I could see has no hair anywhere on his body). Peter is a muscular freak of nature...he could be used to teach anatomy classes...even if he had been fully clothed, he's got a body type that screams, "I can wrap my legs around my shoulders and then walk on my elbows and feed myself with chop-sticks!"...Peter was very happy to meet me, he welcomed me to my "sanctuary" and began to demonstrate proper yogi breathing....then Peter let me into the yoga studio....I knew that it was going to be hot, but I had no idea that it would be so hot that I would be soaked in perspiration ten seconds after entering the room (I'm not exaggerating...not even a little).

My friend Ann ( who I begged to join me) arrived a few minutes later. Peter was happy to meet her too, although Ann (pronounced "On" by Peter) quickly fell out of Peter's good graces when she asked if it would be OK to take a break to call and check on her four month old son...the look on his face was the same that you might get if you showed up to test a Lamborghini riding on the back of a garbage truck...."This is your sanctuary, you want to take a phone break?"....

There were only four of us in the class...one very fit yoga body looking women, one middle aged, not in better shape than me looking women and then "On" and I ...My intimidation quickly melted (no pun intended) away as I discovered that I am more flexible than I thought, and I could in fact do most of what was being demanded....at one point, "On" and I got yelled at for talking...when we weren't, we just smiled at each other....I wanted to interrupt the reprimand and explain that we hadn't said a word, but decided that wasn't very Yogi...I also have problems following instructions like "proud chest, swing your arms, left over right, elbows behind your ears, perineum drawn upward" (Not really sure how to do that last thing...), Peter had to tell me more than once to bend "my other left leg"...but overall, I loved it. In fact, last night I felt so good that I contemplated going back this morning for another 90 minutes....but then I woke up this morning feeling like I had been beaten with a bag of rocks....I think I'm taller though.

Potty Training ...part 5

I'd say we are just about there, although technically, I guess we're only about 50%! We've pretty much got the peeing down...for all the rest, he holds it or asks for a diaper. Yesterday he tried and managed a little bit. He was so proud of himself. It was like he was the first person to ever use a toilet...soon, hopefully very soon!

All dressed up!

We get the best hand me downs from our friends Tracy and Jared. They brought boxes yesterday! This little number is so hilarious, I couldn't resist!

"Grace is being rough with me!"

While wrestling his sister into his lap so that I could try to take their picture...

A belated birthday party...

Last week on the way to grandma's for cake, Sam excitedly asked, "Is Abby gonna be there? Is Cooper gonna be there...". When I told him it was just going to be grandma and grandpa, he said in the saddest voice I have ever heard, "Oh...How come none of my friends are comin to my party?" I felt like the worst mother in the world...I had really good intentions, but then I got mastitis the week before his birthday and nothing at all got done. Soooo...yesterday I redeemed myself....My favorite part of the day was watching Sam run around the yard while we were hanging the pinata singing "Happy Birthday to me" at the top of his lungs. He was so excited.

Last week on the way to grandma's for cake, Sam excitedly asked, "Is Abby gonna be there? Is Cooper gonna be there...". When I told him it was just going to be grandma and grandpa, he said in the saddest voice I have ever heard, "Oh...How come none of my friends are comin to my party?" I felt like the worst mother in the world...I had really good intentions, but then I got mastitis the week before his birthday and nothing at all got done. Soooo...yesterday I redeemed myself....My favorite part of the day was watching Sam run around the yard while we were hanging the pinata singing "Happy Birthday to me" at the top of his lungs. He was so excited.

Feeding Fish

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Happy Birthday my Little Sam Man!

Birth...

One...

Two...

Three!

Although he has made it very clear that he doesn't want to have a birthday, my baby turns three today (All morning, "I don't want to have a birthday, no I want to be two." until he was told that he couldn't have presents if he didn't have a birthday...then he wanted to be three).

Although it feels like he's been a part of our lives forever, in fact, I can hardly remember my life before he was born...it seems impossible that another year has gone by. Over the last few months, he's really lost that baby look and I can see the little boy that he's becoming. It's with both sadness and excitement that I make this observation, because while one part of me wants to hold him tightly and try to keep him small, there is another part that loves to watch him grow.

Each day it's something new...an unsolicited "I love you mommy" or "Mommy, you're the best.", when I'm feeling completely spent...a question or observation that sounds really grown up ("Mommy you look nice today" or "Did you buy those shoes on sale?"), new word and mispronounced words no longer mispronounced (As of last week, "Nama" is "Grandma". He still calls McDonalds "Old McDonalds" though...).

I love to watch him play. He's incredibly fast and strong...he loves to play baseball and soccer. He loves to climb and swing. He'd rather be outside than anywhere...I hope that doesn't change. I love to hear him sing, he's as tone deaf and untalented in that area as I am, but he belts it out fearlessly...I hope that doesn't change either. He has a great sense of humor and loves to make people laugh...wonder where that comes from? He adores Grace, I often walk in and find him trying to pin her down to hold her. I'd yell at him, but he's usually saying "I love you Grace, your the best sister. You little peanut." It makes me melt.

So my little man, I love you very much and YOU are MY best buddy. Here's to another year full of fun and challenges. I can't wait to see what you've got up your sleeve.

Party, party, party!

Sam, Grace and I went to CT last Friday for a weekend of parties. Friday night was a "Potty Party" for Isaiah followed by a graduation party on Saturday night for my cousin Laura and Sunday afternoon we had bridal shower for my sister, Michelle. So busy, so fun!