Colonial Times

Clara must think that it's time for another trip down to Williamsburg. "Colonial" things have been popping up all week. First, she finally got to do one of the activities from her Colonial Kids book. For anyone interested... it's "Colonial Kids: An Activity Guide to Life in the New World" by Laurie Carlson. She and Jason worked together to create some candied grapefruit peel (p. 46). She had been wanting to try grapefruit (I think the name garners attention... a citrus that tastes like grapes?). Jason bought one grapefruit to serve two purposes: she gets to taste it and she can use the peels for a project. Well, I think it probably goes without saying that she didn't like the taste at all... although I must give her credit... she ate the whole segment without complaint, just politely refusing any offers for more. The project couldn't be done in one night, so they did just a little bit each night and finished it on Saturday morning. He didn't want to complete any steps without her involvement, which was nice (and she had her hand in every step... even watching and measuring to ensure that each strip of peel measured exactly one pencil width wide). They turned out really yummy (although Lucas did not like them one bit). Here is what the finished candied peels look like (they kind of look like french fries).

And second, Clara is determined that for her birthday party, she is going to wear her colonial dress. She calls herself the "colonial queen". The funny (not-so-funny) thing is that with her input, we have decided on a fairy theme for her party this year. Why doesn't she want to dress up like a fairy? Well, I guess it doesn't matter in the end... as long as she's happy and her party is fun. Below is a picture of Clara in the colonial dress that we bought off craigslist (it's quite big). What she doesn't know is that Jason's mom is making her a brand new colonial dress as a birthday surprise... shhh! It's a secret!!

In other, less colonial-related news... Lucas is reading better and better each day. On Saturday, at the dance studio, I brought some books to occupy him while Clara was in class. He read Hop on Pop, In A People House and part of One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by himself (with very minimal help on a handful of words). He is funny when he reads, though... if he comes upon a word with a silent E at the end, he'll say the word then look at you and announce "you don't pronounce the E at the end"... it is too cute!

Eli has begun the ritualistic grabbing/fighting with Lucas. It's hard to remember back, but I'm pretty sure Lucas didn't start that until much later. A minor milestone occurred this weekend when we took the tray off of Eli's high chair and moved the high chair so that it sits at the table like a regular chair. Well, Eli's position at the table is right next to Lucas... so it's constant. Eli tries to take Lucas' placemat, Lucas' milk, Lucas' utensils, and even Lucas' plate. I'd move him to the other side of the table if I thought that would help, but then he'd be next to Clara and we'd have the same issues (except a lot more spilled milk). No... I just think this is something that will work itself out (maybe after the novelty of having Lucas' things so close wears off). I mean, if I eventually plan to have them share a bedroom... isn't this just one of those hurdles we must clear?

The End and the Start of a Long Weekend

Here I am at the very last few remaining minutes of a long weekend. It's been a very relaxing weekend. I know... we should have done something fun with four days off (I've been wanting to see Monticello and Jason still has many battlefields to explore), but it was just too cold outside to even think of braving the elements. Instead, Jason spent a lot of time in the basement clearing out our filing cabinet and organizing some of our many piles of miscellaneous papers that pile up and pile up and pile up. The basement looks amazing. I do wish that I had been more productive... maybe I could have actually started/finished putting those photos that are sitting in that box into an album.

Going in reverse order, we celebrated (without actually celebrating) Eli's 4/3 birthday yesterday (Monday). Yes... he is now one year and four months old. His vocabulary has expanded slightly. Now instead of only saying "hi" and "baba" (his way of saying mama), he also says "bye bye". It used to be that at bedtime when I tucked him in, I would say goodnight and he would respond with "hi" (he used hi for both hi and bye). Now he tells me "bye bye" as I kiss him goodnight. Also, he had his 15-month checkup this past week. His vitals are as follows: weight – 23lbs 12.8oz (34th %ile) and height – 31 ¼ in (43rd %ile). His percentiles are up (he jumped a few lines on the curves)... go Eli boy!!

And still poor Lucas. He finally gets better after that horrendous stomach virus and then all weekend he was suffering with a virus in his eyes (not pinkeye). He is doing much better now, his eyes aren't oozing anymore, but they are still red and swollen. He just looks so pitiful.

Saturday night we went over to a friend's house for game night. They gave us a quick tour of the wonders of the Wii. Clara and Lucas tried out baseball, I crushed Jason in a game of bowling, and then they demonstrated the aggressiveness of boxing. After the kids went to bed (notice I did not say sleep... since Clara and Lucas were heard talking and laughing for hours after we put them to bed), we got out the big guns and played Rock Band until the wee hours of the morning. Our band didn't do too bad at all... that was my alterego on drums (she did vocals on a few songs)... I think she might be finally starting to get the hang of it. It was tremendous fun!! We were definitely sluggish the following day, but it was so worth it.

Friday was the start of Jason's long weekend (as it was his Friday off). He stayed home with Eli while I went to the dentist and then to volunteer in Clara's classroom. The dentist appointment was pretty much routine, although they did fit me for a bite guard to use at night. I've been having some jaw pain due to teeth clenching at night while I sleep, so hopefully this will take care of that. But what I really want to talk about was my first experience volunteering in my kid's class. I was terrified. I'm not good with kids in general... sometimes that includes my own. I kept hoping that maybe the teacher would take pity on me and sit me in a corner stuffing envelopes or something on par with that. You know... take a slow, one step at a time approach. But no. It was completely the opposite. I walked in and she sat me with two kids and had me helping them with their assignment. As each kid finished, I had to call another to come up. What a nerve-racking hour!! I keep replaying it in my head and I've finally decided that it was probably the best thing for me... that sink-or-swim approach. Now, when I go back, I definitely won't be quite so scared... I mean what could be worse than working one-on-one with the kids? Ok, well, obviously, reading or speaking to all the kids at once could easily be worse (public speaking fear slowly creeping into my chest as I think of the possibility). Aside from my own anxieties, I am so very glad that I did it and I will continue to do it for as long as I can. The look on Clara's face when she saw me there was, for lack of a better word, priceless. She was so proud and excited and I know that she felt special, singled out as the occasional child would interrupt their own activity to come over and ask me whose mom I was. And the truth was... after the first couple of kids, once I stopped sweating, it wasn't so bad.

And tomorrow, the routine starts back up again. No more relaxing, not too much free-time, and my alterego is hiding in the closet until the next game night. However, I can take solace in the fact that it's only a three day week... before another long weekend.

Clara's 6th Birthday List

Yes... here it is transcribed word for word from the list she handed me. I love it.

- watch
- backpack (with lunchbag)
- butterfly lamp
- rainbowy striped journal
- new flashlight bulbs (for star theater)
- new sunglasses
- A HUNDRED MINI PAGES, WITH ONLY DOT-TO-DOTS!
- MY OWN Laptop!
- Video game (for whole family)
- Kid Scrabble game
- 1,000-paged dictionary
- recorder or clarinet

So you think my obsession with online Scrabble has rubbed off a bit? And she is reaching if she thinks she'll get her very own laptop!! Isn't it enough that she has access to three computers in this house? The watch and the backpack (with attached lunchbag) are things that she wants because her friend at school, Catherine, has them... peer pressure starting already.

We are still thinking about what to do to celebrate the girl turning 6... but we are pretty sure it's going to be very low key (ie: very inexpensive). Some friends, some cake, and some games.

Nausea and Homework

This week has really just been all about Lucas. Poor thing has been so sick all week. He started throwing up on Sunday afternoon and was still throwing up Wednesday night. He did seem like he was getting better on Tuesday (even was eating pretty well), but then that night at the dinner table (yes... yuck), it all came back up. Let me tell you... by Wednesday, when he was still unable to keep anything down, I was on an emotional edge (borderline tears). I took him to the doctor on Thursday morning and was basically told that it just needs to work it's way out of his system (although she did give me a prescription for medicine to ease his nausea). Clara's sickness kind of ran a similar course, but she didn't seem quite so lethargic or puny... so I didn't worry quite as bad. I think Lucas may have been dehydrated, whereas Clara was more receptive to taking in fluids other than milk (Lucas only wanted milk... nothing but milk). I know that it's always hard when the kids get sick (they just seem so helpless and small), but I found it just so hard to deal with trying to comfort him and help him get better, all while constantly cleaning up after him. The anti-nausea medicine was a wonder-drug! After he was taking that, he was drinking and eventually eating. He was so improved in just a day's time that he even went to school Friday morning. Once I put some thought into it I realized that is was probably the Dramamine that ultimately helped Clara (as it is just an anti-nausea drug). If I had realized that earlier, could I have just given Lucas some Dramamine?

Once he got better, I was desperate for a break. The timing was perfect when I was invited to a Mom's Night Out on Saturday night! It was a relaxing evening of board games and adult conversation with a neighbor who's daughter is on Clara's soccer team.

Clara's homework this week is definitely worth sharing. One of her assignments was to write about something she did over the break. Out of all the things she did (saw her Grammy & Papa and her Nana, baked cookies, decorated a gingerbread house, played with friends she only sees once a year, got terribly sick, opened presents, and the obvious... traveled to Missouri), she chose to write her paragraph about Big Brutus (the second largest electric shovel in the world, used for strip mining in the early 1960s), which we visited one afternoon. Here is what she wrote: "I went to Big Brutus in KS.. It was for compelling people. Big Brutus did not dig coal. The huge bucket removed the overburden - dirt and rocks covering the coal seams." I especially liked the use of a period after her abbreviation of Kansas (because it only stands to reason that an abbreviation needs a period). And no idea where she came up with the "compelling people" phrase, but maybe she's right... maybe it really is only for people who are forceful or demand attention (probably not... as I enjoyed our visit there... and I am definitely not compelling). Also.. let's just reflect a moment... what 5 year old writes about "overburden"!!

Another part of her homework involved a Challenge (sort of a creative thinking exercise). This week her challenge was this: "The answer is 27. What is the question?" Here is what she came up with: "How many times did the star try to fly up into the sky into the solar system?" Very cute.

There have been a couple of job leads that came up this week for Jason as well... so may this be the start of something exciting?

Happy New Year

I'm sitting here with a very sick boy and figured now would be a good time to catch up. The holidays are all over. Thank goodness... it was a very long time away from home. We spent the Christmas holiday in Joplin, Missouri with our families. Our drive to Missouri was surprisingly accomplished in a single day (that's 1151 miles). Everything just seemed to work in our favor (we were making great time and then the kids all fell asleep right outside of St. Louis) so we decided to just keep going. It was a very long drive and we won't ever try to do it in one day again!

It was a nice holiday... we were able to see some friends/family that we only see once a year. Of course, the theme for the holidays this year seems to be illness (as experienced over Thanksgiving)... so to continue that theme, both Jason and Clara were horribly sick. Jason got a 24-hr bug the Tuesday before Christmas (while we were visiting some friends) and Clara got the same thing the day after Christmas (only hers lasted 4 days!). Aside from that, our Christmas was really nice. Christmas Eve was spent with Jason's family (parents, brother, his wife, and their son). The day consisted of a nice visit, dinner, opening presents, and ended with a game of dominoes. The next day, Christmas, was spent with my family (mom, sister1, her husband, sister2 and her boyfriend). The day started with opening presents, playing with all the new toys, a fabulous feast (Jason's parents and sister's husband's mom joined us for that), and ended with some very tired kids.

We didn't stay quite as long as we originally were thinking. The plan was to leave Missouri and head home Wednesday or Thursday after Christmas, but we decided to leave Tuesday... and the trip still seemed too long. It is sad that we are there for an amount of time that seems too long and yet there are still friends that we don't get a chance to see.

One thing that was special for me this year... my sister, who will be graduating high school in May asked me to take her senior pictures. I definitely took this as a compliment, but for someone like me who loves taking pictures, it was a treat. I posted a few of my favorites on Flickr (the link on the lower left hand side of this page should get you there).

Our drive home wasn't as stressful, we broke it up over four days. We spent our first night in Lawrence, Kansas with a very dear friend that I haven't seen in a long time (I said I wouldn't give an exact time, but it was 3 years - Lucas was 9 months old when we were there last). That may have been the best part of the trip for me. Our next night (New Year's Eve) was spent with good friends in St. Louis, Missouri. Although, we had no intention of staying up to ring in the new year, an evening of Rock Band made the hours just fly by (and yes... I took my turn on vocals, reluctantly, but it turns out that may be the only part I score well on). Then our last night was spent in Lewisburg, West Virginia, just 4 hours from home. So going, 1151 miles in one day... returning, 4 days! Quite a difference, with the latter being the more enjoyable by far!

Thus ends a nice summary of our Christmas vacation. I will be glad to get back to normal... Lucas getting the bug put a bit of a damper on our return. For the most part, things are put away. Jason took down all the lights and put away the few decorations we had out. All the laundry is done. Most of the stuff is unpacked and put away (there are a few toys I need to make a space for). And I've already downloaded all the pictures and updated Flickr. It is time to move on... the holidays are officially over. Did I already say 'thank goodness'?

Oh and by the way... Jason purchased a GPS right before our trip. I thought it was a frivolous purchase since we've traveled this same route many times in the past (how could it possibly come into use?). Allow me to retract my doubts... it was so useful many times not just during our drive to and from Missouri, but while we were in Missouri. I highly recommend them now... no more doubting Heather.

Next on the agenda... come up with a plan for Clara's birthday and figure out what to do about this whole digital TV changeover. We just found out what a headache it's going to be for people like us who still use a VCR to record TV shows... ugh. Maybe we'll just keep basic cable until they make a DVR that has a built-in digital tuner... any guesses when that might be?

Let me end this post by saying Happy New Year to you! I am full of hope for 2009... Jason will find a great new job that will keep us here permanently!