Better but not 100%

So my stomach is better but it's not 100%. So again I was moving slow this morning. Th worst part is trying to parent on only eating applesauce because everything else makes you sick to your stomach.

And poor Cal is congested and not sleeping too well. Last night after his 2 am feeding he had a very hard time going back to sleep. And of course I was weak and tired.

Again this morning Ellie was awesome. And in a milestone yesterday, I took off the child lock on her side so she can get herself out in the kids and drive lane. My little 5 year old going on 12.

And of course having a weak stomach and being queasy for work today I had to get on a little skiff in the LA Harbor. Which thankfully it's relatively cool and the wind was nice or I could have been tossing cookies.

Cal had picture day yesterday at school. The teachers were laughing because apparently Cal was the only baby that didn't smile and apparently he's usually the happiest smiliest baby. Oh well. He was wearing a tie.

Um, photos for today...

I found this in the photo log. Nick took it. I have no idea what it's from or for. But that's a great smile.




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Icky sicky

Well we started off the weekend having a great time apple picking. We took a day trip up into the mountains to this tiny town to pick apples and eat mini apple donuts. Cal got to take a ride in the new to us backpack which he LOVED. We had BBQ for lunch. The weather was crisp and a little chilly but not too much that we were uncomfortable. It was fun.





















When we got home after getting the kids in bed Nick and I opted to order some Indian food for delivery from a new place. Nick ordered yak against my warning that he would get sick eating yak from a new delivery Indian restaurant. But joke was on me as I got, what in pretty sure is food poisoning, from chicken tikka masala. So all day yesterday was not a lot of fun and I'm still having issues and recovering. Doing my best to stay hydrated but it's been difficult to keep anything down. Ellie was fantastic this morning helping me with Cal and taking responsibility for herself while I succumbed to the issues that come with food poisoning. And all at the start of a crazy hectic busy week for me (despite all the issues I had to go into work yesterday). But I'm starting to feel better...


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Today Ellies first school project was due. It was a poster about her favorite insect. When I asked what she wanted to do the poster on she declared she wanted it to be "that white butterfly at the SB Museum that I was afraid of". A little googling and looking at pictures online we found it, the cabbage white butterfly. She was supposed to cut some pictures, glue, and write sentences about the butterfly that she learned by doing some research. So she did.

Did you know the females have more dots on their wings than males (who have only one). Or that they eat their own egg shells? Or the adults prefer only blue, yellow, and purple flowers? Or that they live everywhere in the US except in the Channel Islands (just off the coast here)? Well Ellie does!

She was proud of her poster (as she should be she worked hard!). It was fun to walk with her today and see all her friends with their posters and chatting away about them. Seems like most the class (girls and boys) did butterflies in general or a specific butterfly (Monarch was very popular). Except her friend chose to do the praying mantis which was pretty awesome.












Last night we had a family dinner as we got take out from Domenicos (school fundraiser). Cal joined us at the table playing with toys. We also have him an apple to play with.









Today is free dress day at school (no uniform required) and it is Ellies first school assembly. Should be an exciting day for her.

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Cranky baby

Cal slept well last night. But this morning he was a different baby. He was super cranky and fussy and I couldn't make him happy. Not even his beloved peaches not Ellie could make him happy for more than about 2 minutes. He's been a little congested so maybe that's what's going on, or Ellie and i's non morning people attributes are rubbing off on him.

Below is the kiddos in the morning during first breakfast. I can get E to eat a hard boiled egg in the morning followed up by a cereal bar or muffin in the car. You can't really tell, but Cal is covered in peaches. He is a pretty clean eater not wanting those peaches to go to waste!


Tonight is restaurant night at Domenicos (aka gnocchi restaurant or the Italian restaurant by our house) to raise money for Es school. So guess what's for dinner??

I also learned of other fundraising opportunities including through Vons, Ralphs and Amazon...so look for more information from me about that.

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Fires on wharfs. Failed giant wood trusses. Broken post tensioning tendons in parking garages. Design of a new theatre stage substructure. And restoration of historic concrete at a LA landmark. I love my job and it keeps me super busy. Things have been hectic lately and I'm about to start construction on three projects for the winter.

And then I had a PTA meeting tonight. Being involved in Ellies school could be a full time job! (Stay sitting on your hands...).

So basically it's crazy.

Enjoy a selfie.



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Location:Excuse my tardiness

Food

I'm lucky in that both of my kids eat well and not put up inch of a fight a feeding time. That said there are things that get frustrating.

Like the fact that Cal is super social right now and any little noise, change in light, or modification to the electromagnetic field around his head (slight exaggeration, whatever) he will become totally distracted and stop eating and turn his head. This can be very painful for me. This morning he had no interest in the sweet potatoes I wanted to feed him for breakfast because he heard Mallie walking around and Ellie was in the room. He and I now have to do feedings in his room, alone, with the lights off.

This weekend Ellie and I made pumpkin muffins with some chocolate chips. Then after they were done baking, Ellie proceeded to pick and eat all the chocolate chips that were visible from the tops of the muffin! Grr!

Ellie is taking her lunch this week. She was coming home super cranky from school and yes she is exhausted after a long day, but we weren't sure how much food she was actually eating when she bought her lunch. So this week she is taking her lunch (buying on Friday for pizza day) so that hopefully we can get more and better food into her stomach.






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Rolling

This morning, like I usually do, I put Cal on his playmat to do some tummy time with some toys and I walked away to deal with Ellie or get dressed or something. When I can back I found Cal on his back! And pretty pleased with himself!




Last night Nick saw him roll over from front to back, well, he was up on his side and Nick thinks he startled him and he rolled over unintentionally. But this morning, he did it all by himself!

This weekend was fun. We had Cal's six month portraits on Saturday morning. And then we went and Nick used his unlimited weight cup at Yogurtland. Then Saturday afternoon and evening Nick and Ellie went to an Anaheim baseball game with her friend and dad (it was a daddy/daughter date night). Sunday Ellie had ballet and then declared she wants to be a pirate to Halloween. We also did some grocery shopping and all kiddos got bathed last night.















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Jog a Thon

Today Ellie had her first Jog-A-Thon for school. She was really excited and gung-ho. She even put on and tightened her shoes by herself. Good thing the weather turned and it isn't going to be over 100 today. And Ellie was in the first group of jiggers which would start at 8:00 while it was still really cool and overcast. I can't wait to hear about how it went and how many laps she ran.




Cal got up right at 6:00 this morning and was HUNGRY! He seemed pretty fussy around 6:45 despite me and Ellie trying to keep him happy (yes, E was so excited she was up early) so I put him in his carseat with a pacifier and he promptly fell asleep...guess he was tired and not ready to start the day yet. But at daycare drop off he was happy to see friends, play with a little flashlight they have and chew on a book...you know normal baby stuff. And apparently he LOVES peaches.



Yesterday was back to school night. A lot of it was repeat information for us. But it was nice to spend time in Es classroom and chat with her teacher and see other parents. E and C both spent the evening at Kids Klub which let me and Nick have a random dinner out on a week night sans kiddos. Ellie had had a pizza party with Popsicles at school then had a burrito followed by ice cream sundaes and cookies at kids Klub. Plus all the excitement and activities at Kids Klub (she came home with crafts) and she was bouncing off the walls when we picked her up at 8 and crashed hard at home. Cal apparently went to sleep around 7 (fairly normal) but got woken up by crying kids just before 8. But he quickly fell asleep when we for home. And one of his normal infant teachers during the day was there at night with him so that was good for him as well.

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No butts

So Ellies first grade homework packet asks her to do a "circle map" which essentially is a brain storming platform for categorizing or defining a specific noun. This week it was "animals". So Ellie had to come up with various things that describe animals. Trying to explain the concept to her I asked her to think of things that made animals different than plants. Immediately she said, "no roots" and then, "ears". So she wrote and drew those. Then thinking a little more she said, "butts! Animals have butts!". Entirely correct I let her write it down, not sure if that is the best judgement call but I tried to suppress my inner elementary school kid giggles. It was funny, accurate, but funny. Looks like she has a little class clown in her from her father.




Cal was his normal happy camper this morning despite waking and being hungry at 12:30, 2:00, 3:30 and 5:15. But he did sleep from 7 to 12:30. I sent homemade peach babyfood with Cal to school today. Adding new foods to his list which includes banana, rice and oatmeal cereal, carrots, peas, avocado (not a favorite), applesauce, and sweet potatoes. I'll add pumpkin next probably and maybe another vegetable. Any recommendations?



Tonight is Back to School Night so E and C are signed up for evening care at Kids Klub. E is super excited because it is ice cream sundae night. Tomorrow is the Walk-a-Thon at school too. Busy week.

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Well

All things completed this morning. Cal ate applesauce. Ellie, my little grown up, asked to buy her lunch and she asked to do the kiss and drive so I wouldn't walk her into school. Jokes on her, I volunteered (with Nick) to be the room parent! She can't be away from us that easily!

I didn't take a picture today so enjoy this gem from my sassy daughter.


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Hot

It's hot. So hot I got a text from the Pasadena Unified School District yesterday telling me they have enacted the emergency heat rules. Essentially, kids didn't go outside yesterday. It was hot. Like over 100 degrees hot. Ellie has two water bottles in her bag and I told her to drink plenty of water.

We remembered everything today, and I even got two breakfasts into Ellie (an hard boiled egg and a cereal bar). But she wasn't happy to have to wear a skirt and shirt for her uniform today.






She was happy to go to school today I promise.

Cal...he was his normal happy baby self. Here is a photo from over the weekend working hard to get to a ball he really wanted.






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Reset

So I took some me time on Friday evening in the form of a little shopping and an evening at an overly indulgent spa. It was fantastic. On Saturday morning nick took E to Universal Studios and Cal took a long nap allowing me time to enjoy the cooler morning weather, an iced coffee, and a library book with a little outdoor reading. Of course it quickly became 100 degrees and Cal and I spent the rest of our time together inside the AC cleaning and organizing the dining room.

Once Nick and Ellie got home we all got dressed and the kiddos got dropped off at Kids Klub (Cal's regular daily daycare) for some Saturday night fun. Ellie enjoyed a bouncy house and dinner and other fun activities including part of a movie. Of course she also fell down and scraped her chin and got a nasty bruise on her chin. Totally okay just a little scrap but a bruise none the less. Nick and I enjoyed dinner at a restaurant that had a white table cloth.

Yesterday it got up to 108 degrees. We had a full morning and E had ballet (I didn't make her wear tights). I don't remember the last time it was the least bit chilly that I wanted to wear a light sweater or anything. Ugh.

This morning was as smooth as Monday mornings go. Ellie played with Cal on his little ad-hoc play mat.



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I need to reset my brain

Today E asked if we could do the "kiss and drive" lane again. Sure! It shaves at least 10-15 minutes off of my morning and she seems to love the added responsibility. (Although yesterday she learned you can buy breakfast at school in the cafeteria and was amazed by that and no doubt will begin asking to do that as well).

See her pink backpack. That's little Ellie heading off with the big kids at school.


This morning I left Cals bottles on the counter. I totally forgot his Dino-bag with his meals in it. So after dropping him off I has to go home get the bag and go back to daycare, thus eliminating the savings of time from dropping E off early. But I did get to see Cal doing his thing when I came back with his three 5.5oz bottles and mashed avocado. He was hanging with his teacher chomping on some celery.






Yeah. My brain needs a reset. Hopefully I can accomplish that this weekend. Tonight I have a facial booked. Tomorrow night Nick and I are dropping both kids at Kids Klub in the evening so we can go out to dinner. Ellie is excited. This is really a dry run for having both there next Thursday for Back to School night at Webster.

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All grown up

So Cal went to the doctor yesterday. Got some shots and weighed in at 20 lbs and 26 inches long. So he's short and pudgy. Nick said he did well. The doctor was happy with his growth and surprised by how well he is sitting. When asked about rolling over, the fact that he isn't, the doctor wasn't surprised pointing out how big he is.












So for the past few days I have walked E to the kinder playground but left before the bell in an effort to get to a job site ASAP given that my coworkers were starting work at 6am. Today she asked that I leave her at school before the bell. I threw out the idea of dropping her off in the kiss and drive lane, she seemed really excited. Of course she would have to navigate to the upper grade playground and over to the kindergarten playground. When I asked if she knew where to go she said to me, "I think so. If not ill ask an older kid". Okay then. So I pulled up, she unbuckled herself, I opened her door, and little E with her giant pink backpack ran away from the car with just one wave goodbye at me. She's all grown up! And of course, I didn't get any pictures...

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Cal's half birthday

So today the little man is six months old. We had time for a photo shoot with Hobbes this morning (because he was up at 5:30....).

He was very excited and distracted by both Mallie and his favorite toy.





One difference between Cal and Ellie at this age...Cal has a strong preference for toys and especially for some in particular. Plus he is a little more social and very vocal about being left alone or not be able to see me.

As E finished her kindergarten homework on Monday...we started the first grade homework last night. She finished all the language/writing homework by herself easily. The math...well, it's not the math, is the questions posed by common core math. The terminology is all new to us but the concepts are the same. It just takes a little bit to decipher what they are trying to get the child to do. And why do we need number sentences...why isn't is just an addition or subtraction problem...whatever. We will get it figured out. And if the common core developers could figure out how to smell a math problem, that would be in the homework as well...they seem to be using all other senses to explain what 4+2 is.

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Again

Not sure what is up with the little man...but he did not sleep last night. I tried to out him down at 6:30 but as tired as he was he wouldn't fall asleep. Finally after 8 when Nick got home, I finally was able to leave him. He was then up at 11:00 (pacifier and some soothing), 11:30 (pacifier and pick up to soothe), 1:00 (fed), 3:00 (pacifier and soothe), 3:30 (pacifier), 5:00 (fed) and decided he didn't want to go to sleep. I was exhausted and just had to let him cry in his crib from 5:30 until I couldn't take it anymore at 5:45. And just like yesterday I will be in the field and on my feet all day today...in the heat. If "exhaustion" where you heck yourself into a hospital to avoid people was a real thing for real people (and not just celebrities) I would consider it right about now.

And Nick is totally in the dog house. After coming home (and waking me up while I held Cal in the chair in his room... Obv fell asleep whole trying to get him asleep) from 5 days of galavanting around Chicago seeing friends, Cubs games, family, beer, and not being responsible for keeping two children fed, busy, and alive at the same time as crazy work stress...the first thing he says to me is, "wow! A lot going on here huh?" Which is is code for: damn this house is a mess! The only person I'm looking for sympathy from here is Nick. Calling you out here.

In other news, E was excited to be at school and more excited I left before the bell rang. And Webster also started a new music program that includes kindergarteners yesterday. E wouldn't talk about it last night (she was on a mission to finish all her homework in one night).






And not sure if its the teething or what but apparently Cal is a thumb sucker. If he doesn't have a pacifier his thumb is in his mouth.



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Incomplete

Can't think in complete sentences. Up every 2 hours, two nights in a row. Cleaned poop out of armpits. Took both kids to office for 3 hours yesterday to not be SO behind this week. Ants. Cat hates me;slow to clean the litter box. Tears before school. Every two hours! Second tooth. New stroller transaction stress. Had to get a new Sophie too. Non stop. Why does everyone need to eat every 3 hours? Five days is too long.












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