Moving On

Dad is being inducted into yet another Hall of Fame this evening (the third, if my count is correct). Doesn't make us less proud of him, but it does make us wonder how many other Hall of Fames he can possibly make it in to considering he had a relatively short stint in the world of baseball (he made it to the minor league Phillies organization before leaving it all behind to get married). He was just that good, I guess! We, as in Mom, Ryan, Nick, and I, have happily tagged along to the induction ceremonies in the past for the free, delicious, expensive-looking meals and tonight the tradition will continue. Dad received three extra tickets and invited Ryan and me to go with him and Mom. Mom said it was the same place we went to for his Eastern Connecticut State University's Hall of Fame dinner and as I recall the food was particularly delicious. Really, any food is delicious to me at this point in my pregnancy eating frenzy, but it promises to be a good meal.

The local paper wrote a very nice piece on Dad, the first inductee they highlighted. For some reason they don't have it online, but a few people cut out the article and sent it to Dad so we all got to read it. They did have this on the website, though:

The New Britain Sports Hall of Fame has announced its induction class for 2010 and eight new members will join the elite club at a dinner and ceremony on April 22. Donald Fusari led the Eastern Connecticut baseball team in batting for three years in the 1970s and played baseball and basketball at New Britain High.

D will be watching Little Man, some nice father-son bonding time. Then D has tomorrow off and we will be dropping M off at Mom and Dad's later in the evening for our Date Night. Fun times ahead!

Keeping busy around here as usual, especially with all this nice weather that’s been coming our way:

• We ended up going to IKEA when D had his day off since it was a rainy day. Got two wooden toys for M and siblings for great prices. On the way back, we stopped by this lady’s house who had listed a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, Police Car Edition on Craigslist. Can you imagine the torture M had to go through sitting next to this new, way-fun toy the entire ride home without being able to touch it? He did very well for himself, I was proud of him. He kept saying “Hi!” to it as it rolled his way and he held out his hands a few times, which is his way of showing that he wants to pick something up or he wants something to pick him up (like birds, cats, bees that he sees from a distance). Being the mean parents that we are, we put him right down for a nap as soon as we got home, but he was zonked so he didn’t even notice the little car as I pulled him out of his carseat.

• We visited with D’s parents the next afternoon and D was digging around in their attic to find a coffee/tea press that he remembered storing up there. He ended up not finding it, but we came home with a carful of items from the attic! Some of D’s belongings, a wooden table and chair set from D’s mom’s childhood, a wooden youth chair that M uses instead of the Bumbo seat at the table now, a lot of Golden Books from D’s childhood, and probably some more stuff I’m forgetting. Dad and D refinished the youth chair and it turned out beautifully. M is really enjoying his new seating arrangement and so am I because he can get up and down from it all by himself. We were looking at something similar at IKEA so my back and belly would be saved from hauling M’s 30 pound self up and down at each meal and snacktime, but we were glad we ended up not buying anything!

• Nick is enduring Week 3 of Boot Camp and doing very well from all accounts. Everyone has been writing him and he’s been finding time to write back to all of us, too. I try to write a letter to him every third day because there are only so many Micah stories one can tell, but he insists he likes getting the letters and hearing about life back at home. So I keep writing. I had to buy stamps at the post office the other day since I was running low from the last time I bought them….at least a year ago! We never use them.

• M came down with a stomach bug last Monday night and was up a few times throwing up. A whole mix of emotions came with that since he had never been sick like that before. D was a HUGE help since his crib had to stripped and M had to be stripped and I had to try not to get sick. I don’t do throw up; I hardly ever get that sick and I definitely don’t like experiencing it with other people. You can imagine how comforting of a Kindergarten teacher I was during these [thankfully very few and very far between] instances. So, like any good toddler, M shared his sickness with us and forty-eight hours later D and I got it. Couldn’t have been more perfect timing since M was in bed and slept great, but the next day was kind of rough. D called out of work and we were going to send M to Dad and Mom’s, but Mom ended up getting sick later the same night we did! So the two of us managed quite nicely to entertain a very busy, bouncy toddler throughout the day as we tried to recover and get rest. It’s a day for the books, that’s for sure, but in some sort of weirdly odd way it was a cozy day. Since M didn’t expend much energy during the morning hours, he didn’t take a long nap, but we slept while he slept and D felt a lot better after his nap. I was just tired in general from a bad night’s sleep and from being in my first trimester. By the next day, we were all better and back to normal (except for feeling bad that Dad and Kristina caught it, too!) I guess this bug was going around the school attached to our church, which, had I known about, would have never put M in the nursery aka germ factory.

• I’m technically in my second trimester now and feeling 90% better. I still have to eat like crazy or I’ll feel sick. I go for my second doctor’s appointment tomorrow. It’s been a month already since my last one! M is good for making time fly while having fun.

• BreaBrea is as cute as ever. I love her little face, it’s so defined. She’s smiling at people now, which makes her that much cuter. M is so good with her and absolutely adores her. He wants to help feed her the bottle, pat her, push her in the swing, kiss her, and today he got to hold her for the first time. Which, of course, became a photo shoot and they both performed very well. M is going to be such a great big brother, maybe a little too helpful… Maybe I should pray that I do have another nine-pound-plus baby so s/he can withstand M.

• I’m in the market for a new cloth diapering system. gDiapers are awesome, but I think I’m ready to make the jump into full cloth diapering. Not the kind my mom used, but the twenty-first century type. My plan is to buy three or four types to try them out and pick the one we like best and buy that system. The one I think I’m going to like (which means it probably won’t work…) looks exactly like a disposable diaper, except it’s made of this plush minkee fabric on the outside (aka super soft). It doesn’t have a lot of parts to it and it’s a one size fits all deal, so I don’t have to buy different sizes. I’m testing them out on M, but hopefully he’ll be potty trained by the time Baby is here and after size one disposables, I can use the new system on him/her. I’m definitely using the organic-type disposables in the beginning because I remember how much M went the bathroom in the beginning and I’m not about to do that much laundry. And I still use the organic diapers at night with M, so I guess I’m a semi-cloth diaperer. Anyway, I’m finding good deals on Huggies Pure and Natural diapers: a small pack of 26 diapers is only $6 which is a great deal. That’s with a $3 off coupon. And I managed to print out six of them this past week.

• M can say his name now and answers the question, “What is your name?” when asked. He’s a talking and mimicking machine. I’m working on a Day in the Life of Micah post, there’s so much to include, but I won’t make it a book. I’m writing things down here and there as we go. For general stuff, I write on his calendar that I’m continuing from the One Year Baby Calendar to however-many-years-I-keep-it-up. It’s quick and practical and I hang it on the fridge so it’s easy to write milestones, cute sayings, or something fun we did that day. And it’s easily extendable to a number of kids since it doesn’t take a lot of time or effort. That’s the theory anyway!

• And finally, one book down in my summer reading list: Son of Hamas. It’s about a top Hamas guy who informed on the organization for an Israeli spy agency and found Christ in the meantime. Talk about cross-cultures. His story was really amazing and truly inspiring; I read it in three days. There’s another book along the same lines (Muslim turned Christian) called Once an Arafat Man. Here’s the last part of the description: “This book is a fascinating window into the book of Genesis, Islamic culture and the Arab-Israeli conflict. More importantly, it is a story of the ultimate hope rooted in Christ, the Savior of all--including Jews and Muslims.” I put it on hold at our library, so hopefully it’ll be in soon.

• Sorry no pictures, we got this new 4 GB memory card and our card reader won’t read it. D told me another way but it’s nearing my bedtime.

Completely enjoying this nice weather we're experiencing here. I was so ready for spring, but it feels a bit like summer out there, which is just fine, too. Saturday, while D was on long call, Grammy and Grpa wanted to take M to a local playground that was perfect for his height. He looked so big and grownup the entire time. The slides were a favorite and he turned around and went down on his belly all by himself. He wouldn't even attempt sitting up and going down, which I liked because next would be getting up and walking down the slide. The little cars also held his interest, and if all goes as planned, we'll be getting him a police car version of the yellow and red Little Tikes Cozy Coupe (that's what they're really called!) tomorrow off of craigslist. I've learned to test things out before buying them for him because most of the time what I think would hold his interest completely does not and vice versa.

We stayed until we couldn't take the heat any longer, but who knows when M would have been ready. Maybe never. Now, every time we pass a playground or a play set in someone's yard, he'll point it out and say something in his I-know-what-I'm-saying-but-not-many-other-people-do speech. I ended up bringing him to another playground yesterday, but it was for slightly older kids and he didn't enjoy it as much. He explored the surrounding area instead...and certainly didn't complain about the picnic lunch I packed!






In other happenings, I'm feeling a lot better as I approach week thirteen of my pregnancy. The weeks are flying by. I have another appointment in two weeks, so it'll be nice to hear the heartbeat again!

Continuing with the new life theme, the seeds M and I planted last week are well underway. The green bean, pea, pumpkin, and cucumber seeds are all starting to sprout. Sprouting seeds is more work than I anticipated: I have to make sure they're in the sun and properly watered throughout the day otherwise they won't sprout. I put them in seed starter containers and keep them inside for now, like our own little greenhouse. I planted three or four little containers of each kind in hopes of a big garden this year. Dad offered some of his land if all my pots aren't enough. There's a neat system called Square Foot Gardening that allows you to plant a lot in a small space, so I may or may not try that. Anyway, I'm excited about yummy, fresh, organic, cheap fruits and veggies (and herbs, when I get them going...) this summer...hopefully!

D has a three-day weekend starting tomorrow...yay! We'll probably take M to the park for a picnic and to feed the geese, if the weather cooperates. My backup plan is IKEA, so I think D is hoping for good weather :). D scored well on a big exam they had to take a few months ago. But that's not really news because he is one smart guy...and has been for a while!

I got a text mid-afternoon on Friday from D saying he had a surprise for me. He'll come home with cute things for me from time to time, so I was excited but didn't think too much about it. I was completely shocked when he later told me that he would be able to spend Easter with us after all. I guess he had asked a co-worker to switch a few weeks ago and the guy got back to him on Friday saying that yes, he would switch. He didn't tell me about it before because he didn't want me to be disappointed in case it didn't happen (does he know me or what!?). Anyway, he still had to work 8am til 8pm on Saturday and he has to work another Sunday to make up for Easter, but we got to spend a beautiful spring day together with friends and family celebrating Christ's resurrection.

Mom cooked up a delicious meal that actually filled me up for more than an hour...four hours actually. An all time record for the past few weeks. We headed over D's parents house to see Ayyyi (cousin Ari) for a bit before heading back to night church. M was w.i.p.e.d by night's end, poor guy. We all were, actually, but happy to have spent the day together.

My belly at 11 weeks. First one is with M, the second one is now. Angles are different, but you can still get the general idea.

Lots of little things going on here and there. I really should dedicate an entire post to Micah, he's growing up so quickly and changing so much. I enjoy his company and watching him learn and say new things. He's quite the conversationalist--with anyone and everyone. People are so gracious in the stores, going along with his stream of nonsensical words, nodding, and responding. It's fun to see that side of people, too, one that only a little one can bring out! He's such a little mimicker, too...of words, but especially of sounds and noises. I decided to extend his First Year calendar into a however-many-years-I-keep-it-up-calendar. It's something I will easily be able to do for however many kids we end up having, and it's a great replacement for a baby book that I'd probably never get around to doing (he has one for all his pre-birth and birth stuff, but then the calendar took over). I hang the calendar (that I got for $1) on fridge and write a snippet of something we did that day or a new word or sound that he said or anything that I think he might find interesting in years to come. It's working out great so far!

Another Micah project I have in the works is printing out some pictures of our baby in utero and putting them up on the fridge. Not sure if it'll help him make the connection, but it might since he's a smart one. I have a list of big brother books I want to check out from the library, too, so maybe that'll help. He's already fascinated with his little cousin Brea-Brea so this very well might be a waste of time, but you never know what will click when with toddlers. We're also making a baby collage by cutting out pictures of babies (and I might dig up a few family members' baby pictures for him to see), but Dad had a better idea: have the babies be with a big brother-type figure. Anyway, just trying to introduce him to the world of babies a few different ways.

Yet another thing we're working on (M and me) is starting the seedlings for our garden. We bought some seeds from the dollar store and the food store (and I have some basil seeds from my basil plant Rita gave me last year) that we're going to start sprouting in egg cartons. All you have to do it cut an X in the bottom of each egg holder, fill with soil, plant seeds, water until sprouts appear, and then plant in the garden. The egg carton is biodegradable, so you plant that right into the ground. Last year I got a late start (in May) in my garden because I didn't know this sprout-indoors secret.

Last night Mom had another one of her haircutting parties. There had to be at least twenty people there, some husbands included. A few people from our church were there and they had kids M's age, so he was a happy man. He did so well sharing all of the toys at Grammy's house (I never call them his, I just say "the toys" in hopes of lessening the greediness...don't know if it works or not, but it's worth a try!). I only heard a few "no, no"s when someone went near something he had and he was promptly corrected by Daddy or me. It's hard to teach a first child to share because most of the time they aren't around people who care to share their toys. Over the past few months I've been pretending I want a few of his toys as he was playing with them and used those times to teach sharing. Being in the church nursery three times a week also helps, I'm sure! All that to say that he had a great time with friends and I did, too! Mom always outdoes herself with the food she makes and since she's cooking healthier like us, it's always that much more yummy to eat! Last night she made crockpot orange chicken and brown rice along with some very tasty desserts. People filled in the rest: veggie platter, cheese and cracker platter, salad, rolls, and drinks. I didn't get anything done to my hair (Dad had recently cut it and did a great job), but Mom said people liked the results, so I'm sure there'll be another one in the near future.

D is on call for Easter, otherwise we'd all have matching outfits. Mom bought Micah and Brea matching outfits for the occasion and I have a dress that matches M's suit. I can't wait to see them together, they're going to look too adorable! Since Easter isn't all about new outfits, I'm reading a portion of the Easter story each day to M. I'm sure he isn't getting a lot of it, but again, you never know how much they understand. I won't be doing egg-dying with my kids, since bunnies and candy and eggs are not what Easter is all about, but there are a few other fun activities we will be doing (Easter cookies, Resurrection eggs, and I think I will do baskets, but with cross-centered items, not meaningless junk that gets thrown out in a week). We'll do egg dying on the first day of Spring, along with eating our free Rita's Water Ice, so no one is confused as to what Easter really means.

M had such a good time feeding these geese and ducks a few weeks ago. I'm sure it'll become a habit in the summer when it's warmer and less windy!



Alright, it's time to go scrounge up meal #14 of the day. I'm eating us out of house and home, rather, this baby is making me eat us out of house and home. Amazing pregnancies can be so different. With M, I ate only the suggested extra granola bar a day for the first two semesters. But this one...I should keep a food journal. I think I'd surprise myself!

In anticipation of this baby, as well as in consideration of my back (which has been pulled or twisted a few times since bending in the car to put my larger-than-average son in and out of his infant carseat) we took the plunge and bought a van. Not just any van: a Grand Caravan van. So there is no mistaking that what I am driving is indeed a van. I'm so not a van person. I thought I'd be able to survive any number of kids in a Volvo, but if you've seen my Volvo, it looks like I already have any number of kids, not the one that I do have. Vans just seem so cliche, but now I know why: they are very functional and they support back health. We've been in the market for a used one (we never buy new) for a few weeks, but at Nick's going away party on Saturday, Dad found out that a friend of the family was selling his 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan. We test drove it that night (on our way back from free Rita's water ice, yum! Not to be confused with free Ben & Jerry's ice cream yesterday, which was also, yum!) and decided to buy it for a great price. I've had to take M out to the van for a few tours and of course he's loving it. He loves to play in any car, but this one he can actually walk around in and climb on the back seats and stand on them. So I just try to look casual sitting in a parked van in my own driveway for minutes on end...




I got the van officially registered today and transferred the necessary equipment from the Volvo to the van, including M's carseat. As I was strapping it in, he climbed in and asked to be buckled, so I asked him, "Where do you want to go, Micah?" Without pause he said, "Grpa." You can imagine the tears when I pulled him out and told him "nap" instead. Ironically enough, Grpa stopped by, but M was still napping! Anyway, we're off to Grpa's now that I hear him chattering (he wakes up with a burst of conversation, it's quite funny to hear!).

I am here to attest to the fact that dollar store pregnancy tests do, in fact, work. D went to the store and got two (when he went to get M some play glasses, matter of fact…see nerdy picture a few blog posts ago…) on Valentine’s Day because he wanted me to take a test and I said I would as long as it was from the dollar store.


It came out very positive (changed in a few seconds instead of the recommended three minutes) and I’ve been feeling not-so-well since a few days later. Which leads me to believe that I am carrying a girl (or multiples, my mother hopes and prays…) because this pregnancy is so different than M’s. I’m going with the idea that M gave me an easy time in utero and a hard time sleeping for six months afterwards, so this baby is giving me a hard time now and will be an angel baby (like cousin Breana!!) on the outside. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. D has been absolutely wonderful, per usual, and is super excited about this baby even though it will mean more responsibility at home and at work (next year's residency schedule is a bit more demanding than this year).

Now I’m just praying for a relatively mild summer, like last summer, so my big belly and I will be relatively comfortable. It’s nice that I don’t have to buy an entirely new maternity wardrobe, although I borrowed a lot from a friend’s daughter in PA (which I obviously had to give back), so I might add a few new pieces here and there.

Here’s what we know so far: I’m ten weeks and two days along and am due around October 16th. We went to the doctor today for our first visit and she confirmed all this. However, since I had a C-section for M and want another one for this baby, they schedule it about a week before the due date. Mom said I should ask for October 10th, you know, 10-10-2010. It’s a Sunday, so I probably won’t be able to do it, but I’m thinking end of September-ish sounds even better. I like big babies, but not having to carry him/her around any longer than necessary is very appealing. Especially since I’m already showing…quite noticeably. The doctor was also able to find baby's heartbeat and it was strong in the 160s. We aren’t going to find out if s/he is a boy or girl, surprises are fun and I have plenty of neutral clothing for the first few weeks. We don’t have a preference, although D said it’d be nice to have a girl. I like having a boy, so I wouldn’t mind another one, but again it’s already decided and we’ll be happy with either! We're very excited about welcoming another little one :)!

If all goes according to plan, Micah will have a new cousin exactly 18 months after he was born...today, March 15th! Yana is being induced today at the hospital where D works as I write this (told him he can't sneak up to see the baby before me if she arrives during work hours!!). We are so excited to welcome her into our growing family and can't wait to see what she looks like and hold her and all the fun things that go along with having a baby (including being able to give her back to her mommy and daddy and get a good night's sleep!). Yana wants to go all natural, so please pray all goes well with that and our little girl is born safe and healthy...and soon! Ry and Yana have been such a great and involved uncle and auntie pair with M, so we all know what wonderful parents they will be! I'll post an update as soon as I know anything!!

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Breana London was born early this morning, March 16th, at 3:29am at 8.5 pounds and 21" long. Got that info from Mom via text around 4:30am since she was there to witness the birth! Ry sent me a picture this morning and her eyes were WIDE open. Can't wait to see her in person, although I think D might beat me there :(. M has a doctor's appointment and then it's naptime right at the beginning of visiting hours! I won't be posting a picture here, so contact Ry or Yana...or Mom or Dad...if you would like to see M's first cousin on his mommy's side!

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M and I followed Dad and Mom to the hospital before M's doctor's appointment around noontime, so we did get to see Breana today!!!!! I admit that I hogged her almost the entire time I was there (about 40 minutes), but I couldn't help it. She is such an adorable, quite, cute, cuddly little girl with a TON of dark hair. She looks totally like Yana's side of the family face on, but somehow she has Ryan's profile. M saw her and said "Hi BeeBee" but didn't pay her much mind after that, which was nice and odd. Nice because I got to hold Breana without interruption and odd because I thought he'd mind me holding another baby. He loves her already! Can't wait to hog, I mean hold, her in the days and weeks to come. Oh yes, D was able to tear himself away from his work and visit while we were there. I let him hold the baby for a good minute. I was feeling generous. We are heading up to Boston for a few days tomorrow (D's on vacation until Monday), so I had better start packing. Maybe we can sneak in another visit to the hospital on our way up there tomorrow...we have to pass right by it...

I think J.Timothy's proved to be a success in the way of coordinating the schedules of eight very busy people. Everyone was there: Dad, Mom, D, Micah, Ry, Yana, Nick, Kristina, and me. They did end up letting us have the room downstairs with the fireplace and we had it all to ourselves (which M loved because he got to visit every table and sit in the seats like a big boy...). We ate and talked and talked and ate until it was more than time to go. D and I had everyone back to our house for dessert. I made Lava Cakes from scratch since I knew Mom (and many others!) were big fans of them. They were so rich that I could only finish a little more than half of mine. Oh so yummy! Here is the YouTube video recipe I used to make these creations: Lava Cakes.



We've been keeping really busy, especially with all the coverage of the Olympics. D has been a good sport (ha, pun not intended) and has been watching the primetime coverage with me until he can't bear it anymore. At which point he turns to his computer for rescuing. He's also in the midst of those 12-hour work days which he has to do two or three times a week. Not fun, but not as bad as overnight calls!! M has been recovering from his bad cough for awhile now. D thinks he probably had bronchitis and it wouldn't surprise me. His sleeping was thrown off for a good week, poor guy, but now we're back on schedule and enjoying it. He's doing really well with his one three-(sometimes four!)-hour nap.

M is fascinated with glasses; Grammy and Grampa's, mine and D's, his aunties'. Small problem, though: he's not allowed to touch them. So D solved that problem and picked up two pairs for him at the dollar store. He loves them and wears them quite well :) I told him with his genes, he just might get his wish in the not too distant future...

D surprised me with a huge bunch of red tulips and my favorite dessert of dark chocolate covered almonds a few days before Valentine's Day. He said they were mostly because he missed me that week (he had worked three twelve-hour day), but it was convenient that Valentine's Day was just around the corner. He's wonderful. I made him some heart-shaped brownies and gave him a half an hour massage for his VDay gifts. Even better is that I feel loved every day, not just on Valentine's Day :).

Saturday was National Pretzel Day at Auntie Anne's, so we each got a pretzel at the mall for lunch. M ate all of his, except the two bites I took. I was kind of hoping I'd get half of his, too, but I should have known! Our little man was multitasking at the mall: eating and flirting. He flirts like an expert and I'm not sure why he knows how to do it so well, but I'm keeping a closer eye on him these days. It doesn't help that e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e. tell him how cute and handsome he is. It's going straight to his head...but that's what I'm here for :). Schmoozing does not work on me, though he has tried numerous times! He's such a ham...

Mom scolded me for not updating my blog more often. Too many other things to do, but I come up with some really good blog posts…in my head…right before falling asleep. Oh well.

Instead of blogging, I’ve entered the world of getting-things-for-free or getting coupons that make things almost free. I subscribe to at least five “money-saving” blogs and get at least five to seven emails a day from them. That takes time, you know! Speaking of savings, Once Upon a Child is having their $20 bag sale. Fit as much as you can in a bag and it’s yours for $20. Last year I walked out with a big bag and the medium-sized bag they give to fill because the girl just couldn’t cram everything I got back in the bag I filled. Yana and I are planning to go tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it! I’ll have to remember to tell Yana my roll-the-clothes strategy. It works well!

And I’ve been back into my food blogs lately. We’ve been keeping up our whole foods eating, but I needed new, yummy recipes to add to my stash. I made this creamy potato soup last night with the flounder we had and it was delish. M ate an entire bowl himself. Which isn’t saying much. Because he eats a massive amount of food all the time. But still, I enjoyed that he enjoyed his bowl of soup.

Speaking of Micah’s massive-eating skills, Mom and Dad took everyone (minus D, because apparently he’s the only one working on Wednesday mornings!) out to breakfast for Ry’s 26th birthday on Wednesday. We go to this place where two eggs, homefries, and toast are $1.50 (used to be $0.99, but inflation…). I ordered M the same meal as me (two eggs scrambled well done with wheat toast, in case you were wondering!) and he ate all the eggs, one and a half pieces of toast, and at least the four handfuls of homefries that I saw. Dad was amazed that he was eating so well. Why, I’m not sure because we eat over there quiet often and Dad has commented on the size of their food bill with only the two of them living there!

The 2010 Vancouver Olympics are just ONE WEEK away!!!!! Dad says he becomes an Olympic widow because Mom is obsessed with them. That’s not far from the truth. I might have to camp out over there myself because they get all these channels that have the various competitions on all day. I’m sure M will find them fascinating, too. He likes to watch woodworking videos with Grandpa and home improvements shows with Gpa and Grammy. Cartoons? Don’t think he knows they exist!

Mom and Dad’s 30th anniversary (whoa!) is coming up on Monday and all of their kids and grandkids are taking them out to J. Timothy’s on Tuesday night. They went there on their fifth anniversary while my grandparents watched Ry and me, so we thought it’d be fun to take them there these twenty-five years later. I tentatively reserved a room they have downstairs which has a fireplace in it. We’ll see if they have enough staff to make it possible because they usually only open it up on the weekends.

Micah is a little actor. Reminds me of my brother Nick. Dramatic and plays to the crowd. He’s also very goofy and will burst into a fit of giggles for the silliest reason. Last night it was because D was letting him turn the bathroom lights on and off and making it a funny noise to go along with it. I never heard him laugh so hard! We’re also making a conscious effort to teach sharing. It’s not something that comes naturally (to adults, even!) and when he’s around others, I’d like him to think of them first, so I’m starting on this character development now. I’m reading a book called Shepherding a Child’s Heart and it talks about addressing the heart attitude, not just the physical manifestations of the heart. Fascinating stuff. Charlotte Mason, whose teaching philosophy I really admire and hope to borrow from when homeschooling, has a list of more than 50 habits that children should exhibit and that parents can teach. Sharing is one of them, as are obedience, cleanliness, respect, etc. Poor kid doesn’t know what he’s in for! We’re making him “say” a lot words now instead of just pointing or grunting. For some reason his “please” is “daaa,” even though he can do the /p/ sound when prompted. It’s fun to hear him pronounce different things. His newest love is my Magic Bullet mixer. He’s fascinated with the noise it makes and how it spins whatever is inside around and around. He was doing pretend play with the little jungle animals I got him (noises and all!), until he remembered the mixer and then played with that during the rest of dinner prep. Overall, he’s such a joy to be around and watch. You know your kid can’t be too, too bad (although he can be!) when your mom and your brother both call this morning to ask if he could hang out (and me, too, I think).

Movie recommendation: D and I got a $5 credit to Amazon On Demand somewhere and we decided to use $3.99 of it last night and “rent” Whiteout. Wow, what a good movie! I was tense and on the edge of my seat most of the time; not something you want to be before bed. But it was worth it!

I invited Mom to Swagbucks because I was telling her about the ten dollars I got to Amazon.com just by using the Swagbucks search feature and she wanted in. Now every time a Swagbuck pops up on her computer screen she gets all excited. Embarrassing, I know.

Tonight is Ry’s bday party at Mom’s house and the rest of the month is filled with other fun activities. Mom sent out a mass text to everyone the other week with a list of events going on. Basically a where to be and when kind of thing. I went straight to my Google Calendar and added them :). D showed me that feature a year ago and I haven’t looked back since. Ok I think this is long enough! M is in the middle of his three or four hour nap, so I’ve got to get some things done!

All is well here in our household. I've seemed to arrive at some sort of settled-in feeling and am thoroughly enjoying it. I have a list of basically the same five things I/we do each morning for our morning routine, which mainly involved dishes and cleaning up the house before it gets messy again. I've always been known to try to do too much, but recently I've been realizing that I'd do all these chores at the expense of spending quality time with M. Sure, he'd always be around me and even helping me, but it wasn't quality time that I'd like him to remember. So I've cut my list down to five important things that must get done that day and that's it. And it's working out great. It's much more relaxing and I don't run around like a crazy woman trying to get bits and pieces of things done throughout the day.

In other news, M is now down to one nap :) and I'm loving it! I've been pushing him until 1pm (he could probably go down by 12pm) and he'll sleep at least until 4pm. Or for about three hours in and around that time period. I sit and rock with him while I sing and sometimes he'll fall asleep, but most of the time he'll just suck his thumb and play with my hair. After he's that relaxed, I'll put him down and that's it. We used to watch Baby Einstein before nap to transition him from go.go.go play to bedtime, but this routine seems to be working out just fine. I love sitting and cuddling with him because that's the only time it can happen (he'll sit and read nicely on our laps, but he's still moving, talking, etc.).

Goodwill has awesome secondhand books. I'll pop in every now and then and get 5 to 10 of them for Little Man. Most of the time they are $0.99 and then they have different color tickets that are half off certain weeks. I'm kind of picky about which ones I buy and I'll always wipe them down when we get home, but other than that, I prefer secondhand because new ones will look like that in a matter of a few readings. I haven't counted how many children's books we have, but if I did it would probably take me a while because I'd say we have at least 250, probably more like 300. I just rotate them around the house. My newest thing is baskets, so M now has two book baskets in the living room. I filled his wagon that he got for his birthday with the bigger books that wouldn't fit in the baskets. When we want to read, he'll haul a basket to the middle of the living room floor and we'll go through whatever ones he picks out to read. For all his boyness and brutishness, he's a lover of books...yay!

I have to spend $500 in groceries by March 6th. I think I can do it, but I don't spend nearly that much in a month and a half, so I'm going to stock up on items that'll last the year. Like olive oil, dishwasher detergent, whole chickens, soap, etc. The reason? Our awesome bank (not to be confused with our awesome mortgage company) sent an email saying that they're giving us $10 for every $100 we spend in groceries by the sixth of March. That's a very agreeable 10% back on groceries! Mom gave me a list of things to get for her while we were at Trader Joe's, so she's helping us reach our "goal." (She pays us back).

Oh, and I've been doing Swaybucks for a bit now and earned a $5 gift card to Amazon.com. I'm only 9 swagbucks away from earning another one :). I just set them as my search engine (although they use google, amongst others). So I just search the Internet like I always would and sometimes it'll pop up that I won 1 swagbuck or 5 or 10...those are much more rare! Anyway, can't beat getting something for nothing!

I should end with how very wonderful my husband is. Because he is. We had an awesome Date Night the other night, he makes everything that much more fun (and, we heard, Grams, Gpa, Grandma Rita, Uncle RyRy, and Auntie Yana enjoyed their time with Little Man).