Last day of maternity leave

My 12 weeks are up and Monday I head back to work. While I'm excited to have mental stimulation and interact with adults on a regular basis, I'm also very sad to not have Calvin hanging around me 24/7.

And while I had grand plans for what I was going to do today (expensive fancy coffee shop for breakfast, movie in the morning, shopping, all culminating with a dentist appointment this afternoon) Mother Nature had other plans giving me a horrible headcold and fever necessitating a long stint on the couch. Perhaps this is the Universe telling me to rest and its okay to do nothing on the last day that I technically can.

Today is also Ellies last school shirt day of preschool (which makes me a little emotional). However, as it took all my strength to get the kids up, dressed, and Ellie to school I didn't get a picture. Mommy fail. That Calvin's disappointing glare...



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Happy 30th Birthday Aunt Susu!!

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Open house fun

Last night was Ellies open house where she got to show off what her day at school is like. She had told me that she was excited to show us math work.

When we arrived her friends were already there. But instead of running over and being super social Ellie found a table, set herself up and went to go her math work right away. Ellie and all her friends all were engrossed int heir work and telling their parents all about it. Pretty clever if her teacher to get the kids to do another 90 minutes of work in the evening! All the kids worked by themselves, with their parents. The room was quiet while buzzing with academic activity. Ellie wanted to show us The Bank Game but she needed a friend to work with. She patiently waited for her friend to be done with her work and then asked if she wanted to do the team math exercise with her. And the two seamlessly, quietly, and efficiently worked together. It was a pretty amazing experience to watch the kids work and interact in the classroom.

Unfortunately Cal started to get hungry and a little fussy so he and I left a little early. But Ellie, Nick, and Grandparents Harrer all stayed till the end. Besides math work Ellie did some reading and showed off her writing as well.













Cal and I are our for an OVERLY decadent breakfast. Churros, chocolate, and a luxurious latte all from a place in Old Town. When else can I enjoy this breakfast and a good book on a Wednesday morning? #enjoyingmaternityleave






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Not enough sleep

So Cal was awake from 2:30 until about 8:00am. Fun. Well, he slept probably about an hour in there around 4:00. However, he slept long enough for me to enjoy a nice breakfast at a local coffee haunt. Where besides the delicious muffin I enjoyed overhearing the conversations of locals. Put this on things I will miss when I'm back to work.






Yesterday Ellie had a good time hanging with a hedgehog who was a pet of a friend of a friend who was hosting a party at her place.












Tonight is an open house at Ellies school. It's intended for the kids to show off their work and what they do during their school day. Ellie is very excited, especially since the Grandparentals Harrer are in town and will come with us.


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Let it go!

Last night Nick fed, changed, and put to bed both kids all by himself! I had a coworker/friend from Boston in town and so we went out to dinner and left nick at home with the kiddos. It was Cal's first bottle not from me and only his 3rd bottle. Nick said he took it like a champ (I wasn't worried). Apparently Ellie pushed the boundaries a little bit with her sleep routine, but eventually (by 8:30) both kids were in bed and asleep.

Today Ellie elected to wear one of her new Frozen shirts that I bought her. It is a little shilly today with some coastal fog, but she rejected a sweatshirt...






...the cold never bothered her anyway...

Cal and I stopped for coffee and a pastry at a local coffee shop. I'm reading and having yummy coffee while he sleeps all snuggled in his carseat.



Soon though we have some errands and finally cleaning of the house before the Grandparentals Harrer arrive!!

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Don't worry Susie...

Everything is all well out here in Pasadena. Despite the black of a post yesterday (see earlier post from today) and a late one today.

No great photos of the kids today. Yesterday Cal and I took Ellie to ballet (makeup class because we missed one on last Sunday because we were up in SB).








Today at school Vedder (the school gecko) was out of her little sleeping place. There was a cricket in the cage and I think she was hungry...



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Technical difficulties

I totally wrote a post yesterday, but it didn't get posted and it has disappeared.

I wrote about how Cal got up at 5:50am and was fed and burped by 6:15 and I thought that was great because we had a busy morning planned and I could get up early and not have to rush around. But then this happened...



And we were warm and cozy and didn't get out of bed until after 7. And then I ran into this:







Yep, a very sleepy girl who didn't want to get out of bed. So we ran around all crazily just like every morning.

And Cal and I had a busy morning walking to Webster to get Ellie completely registered for after school programs and dropping off the dental form. And I got the flyer for the kindergarten family meet and greet for later this summer. I can't believe it's almost kindergarten time...



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That kind of day

We slept well (comparatively) last night. But this morning there was a Ma. cranky Pants in the house and she is over the age of 30. Cal and Ellie were great this morning, I wasn't feeling it. Maybe it's because it is cold and overcast, or something else. But I woke up feeling blah and nothing has gone my way today...and it's not even 9:30am.

At school Ellie was sweet and have hugs and kisses to Cal before she ran into class.

Over tired

After our whirlwind and fun trip up to Santa Barbara yesterday we are all over tired. Ellie had trouble falling asleep and slept late. I'm not sure Cal really slept. We had a rough night last night. I slept through my alarm... It was not a fun morning. But we all made it up and to school. And it's not super hot anymore, it was overcast and cool.

Even in his carseat he didn't want to sleep this morning!

Congrats Susie!

So Susie got the job she has been wanting. After two degrees from Harvard and a rigorous interview process, Susie is now a dean/principal/administrator at the school she has been teaching at. Yeah! So exciting.

In other news Ellie had a dentist appointment yesterday. It didn't go too well. She was well behaved (showing Frozen on a TV on the ceiling helped). But she has the start of two cavities. And we spent the majority of the appointment looking at her X-rays and talking about the removal of her extra tooth which will be scheduled in July. She will get general anesthesia and the process takes about an hour. Much more invasive than I had originally thought. 

In good news it's only supposed to get to 98 degrees today! 

Cal and I stopped by a new coffee shop in Altadena. That's what you do on maternity leave...try new things right?

Normals

It's normal for Cal to fuss in the morning.

It's normal for Ellie not to finish her breakfast.

It's normal to forget to brush our teeth in the morning in our rush.

It's normal for Ellie to leave the house with tangles.

It's normal to put on sunscreen to protect Ellies "delicate skin".

It's normal for Ellie to eat chicken and broccoli (because Aunt Susu does).

It's normal to have two siblings that love to hold hands in the morning.

Sleeping Children

At least I got to wash my face without listening crying, fussing, or complaining about clothes/shoes.

Another piece in the why Ellie is stressed puzzle...I found out that her two besties (twins) won't be at summer school. So there are only a few more weeks before the girls don't see each other everyday. And Ellie knows, but she hasn't brought it up with us before. 

Cal hung out on his play mate a little bit this morning. He was happy for about 10 minutes, until he for fussy.

It's gonna be a hot day. Highs of 100!! (I know right?!? It's May!!). 

Two for One

Two kids, one photo!!

Stressed??

What a weekend! Legoland and Mothers Day! Pfew. 

But what is tiring is having a stressed out Ellie. At least I think that's what's up. We don't know. She's having meltdowns at ballet and not wanting to participate. Her teacher said Ellie has started not being "loving and kind" at school. 

Is she finally reacting to Cal's arrival? Is she upset that the school year, and seeing her best friends daily will be coming riven end as they won't be at school together next year? Is she starting to stress out about starting kindergarten? 

We don't know but something is up.

But this morning at least she was normal playing with her dolls in her kitchen and reading to them. (The stroller is a high chair for Baby Sister).

Cal was pretty happy with his hair this morning.

Birthday hangover

We had such a great afternoon/ evening with Nick yesterday... But we all went to bed late (over tired Cal is not fun). And so we were all a little cranky and groggy this morning.

But at school Ellie became a little more chipper and showed me the " Seven Chain" that she has been working on. Basically it's visually counting by sevens.

Cal is taking a longer than usual first morning nap now. But that's okay.

 (Photo is from yesterday but he's awake and cute so...)

Happy Birthday Nick!!

Stars aligned

Last night Nick, Ellie, and Calvin were all asleep by 8:00pm. Calvin was down for the night. Lately he gets really fussy around 7:00pm. So we swaddle him and put him in his crib with some ocean noises and he sleeps until 1:30 or 2 am. 

This morning we were a up, and ready, and got all our morning chores done. So there was some reading and playing and tummy time. 

Cal tool a good nap on the way to school. Sometimes it is the start of his morning nap and sometimes it isn't. Today it was.

Ellie and I took a look at the frogs/tadpoles. We hasn't checked in on them in a little bit. Unfortunately quite a few have died. But there are some adorable speckles frogs and one more froglet that is almost a frog.