The breakup

Today is a milestone. I didn't take the pump to work. I'm over it. Cal is almost a year (wait...what?!?) and we have enough of a stockpile to get through till he's a year and can safely switch told whole milk. I wasn't getting enough output with the pump to justify hauling the thing around and taking up so much time in my day.

So yeah. End of an era.

And I'm one happy mommy!



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Thursday = piano day

Ellie has piano lessons on Thursdays. And it has been about 6 weeks so it has become engrained in our routine.











And Cal fell asleep on the way to school today. He usually wakes up when I park the car but today he was sound asleep and stayed asleep all the way into the classroom. He woke up when I started to unbuckle him.




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Food rules

Ellie learned about eating healthy at school today. Which kinda sucks for us. Because she now refuses to eat pepperoni or salami because it has sugar in it (her teacher said so) and applesauce (because apples are better for you than Apple sauce) and her normal foods. Plus, she ripped into me because I had a handful of goldfish. But at least she is eating eggs for breakfast without argument or asking for a bagel. She also just got down from her soapbox about how the fruit snack makers are tricking all the parents and kids; fruit snacks aren't healthy.

When we got the tour of the Kangaroos room before Cal moved up we were told that the non-walkers sit at the table with the bucket seats but the walkers sit at the tables with chairs close to the ground. A teacher will take three kids at a time to feed.

When I dropped Cal off this morning a teacher was looking for a kid to fill up her table (for walkers, down low). She wouldn't take a little boy just older than Cal, but walking, because he needs to be in the bucket seats. But, she took Cal and sat him in a chair. I asked about that because he isn't a walker. She said, oh, he's suck a good eater we don't worry about him. Ha! Little Cal, hanging with the big kids.












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Sunny

Ellie has been pretty good about wearing her sunglasses to school. She wears them around her neck because they have a rule that if it isn't on your body it can't go out with you to recess. So she wears them. Seems to work. She hasn't complained lately about headaches, which is good. But she complains that her friends want to wear them or touch them and she has to say no.



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Parties, pretty dresses, and pointing

What a weekend! Saturday we had Ellies birthday party which was a success. From the party she had a play date with a friend and then we went to her friends brothers birthday party! Pfew! What a day!! We were so exhausted and had Cal in bed around 5:30 and Ellie down by 7. And nick finally finished putting together the 785 pieces of the Playmobil Hotel.









Sunday it rained. But we did watch the Oscars. Ellie was pretty opinionated and critical of people's fashions.

And Cal is now pointing. He points and yells and looks at you like you are insane not to understand what he wants. Usually it's food. Or me.





And speak of food can Cal eat. I'm wondering it its a growth spurt. But yesterday, in one sitting, he ate: 1 banana, 2 graham crackers, my handful of black beans, black olives, and blueberries, 2 pieces of cantaloupe, and puffs. I would say the 95% of the food made it to his mouth.


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Ellies Birthday Week 3

(See the other blog for photos from yesterday, her actual birthday).

Today should be subtitled, Birthday Hangover.






Both kiddos slept in and were very groggy this morning.

But we made it out the door in time.

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Ellies birthday week 2

Me: Ellie what do you think will be different when you are 6?

Ellie: I'll lose a tooth!!!




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Ellies Birthday Week 1

Ellie turns 6 this week. And thanks to a calendar she made with her aunt, we are all acutely aware of how close it is.

We had a nice weekend. I think Cal was more than happy to be back at school. He is definitely an extroverted kid and hanging out with his friends is super exciting for him. We also have a new expression of an emotion, happy surprise, that started over the weekend. It's pretty funny to see his eyes get big and his mouth wide open and then turn into giggles.

But the weekend started out rough when E took a pretty big spill on her bike. Her chin took the brunt of it and she was sporting some pretty big band aids for a while.






She also has sunglasses to wear when outside to help with the photosensitivity that has been causing headaches.

Lots of bike riding, playgrounds, slip and slides, naps this weekend (Calvin napped in his crib!) and E and Nick went to Universal Studios yesterday. And I learned Cal can climb up stairs...pretty fast too.
























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Valentine's Day parties

Ellie does not have school today. Yesterday she was loaded full of sugar at school with a special Sweetheart Lunch, and parties in her classroom and after school program.

For the Sweethearts Lunch, nick took her Subway and ate lunch with her. Then they played on the playground with her friends and had sno-cones.










Calvin supposedly has a Valentine's Day picnic at school today. The kids were supposed to wear red or pink. He didn't have any clean red clothes, or any red clothes that don't have a Blackhawks or Cubs logo on them. So he got a little over dressed with his tuxedo onesie.















In the photos above you can see him standing at the gate between the Piglets room and the Kangaroos. He was shouting to his Piglet teachers and trying to see the babies.


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Responsibility

Ellie is very responsible. And mature. Especially for a 5 (almost 6) year old. Sometimes I forget that she is just in kindergarten.

Like this week, we handed her a $10 bill and told her to spend it at the schools book fair. We didn't know when she would go, if her class would go to the book fair or if she would go during recess or before school. Would she keep the money safe? How would she spend it?

She came home in Monday with a book and $5.50 in change. Of course it was a Barbie book that I had told her she couldn't get. But she explained that the Barbie book was a great value because of all the stickers and paper dolls it had.

Tuesday she came home with another book.



A friend mentioned to me that she forgets that Ellie is only 5 and in kindergarten because of how she behaves, implying that Ellie acts older than her age and grade level. At her parent teacher conference her teacher told us she was the most responsible in the class.

So apparently we did something right. I just have to keep reminding myself that my almost 6 year old is not 11.

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He's 11 months already...

How did that happen?









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It's not snowing

It's not snowing here. I'm not sad about it either.


Yesterday the kids went on a wagon ride with Nick.

Then Ellie, cal and I went to the Huntington. We had a blast. So much so that both passed out in the car ride home and stayed that way for 45 minutes after we got home. I got a nice relaxing moment sitting in our stoop while they both slept.







Then we went to a friends house and rode bikes. It was awesome.


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Exercise

Every morning I get a full workout in while getting ready with the kids to leave the house.

First it is an all upper body intensive workout trying to get Cals diaper changed and him dressed. He is quite the wiggle worm and has perfected the crocodile death roll when you try and put his arm through a sleeve.

Then I have my sprint where I have to make it to my bathroom and pee before Cal notices he is alone and makes it back to my bathroom.

Then I have at least 10 minutes of lunges as I bend down to pick stuff out of Cals hands and clean up spilled band aids as he crawls under my feet while in getting my face washed and makeup on.

Of course there is the walking while carrying at least 30 lbs of wiggling baby as I wake up E, get her fed, and nah her to get dressed.

Then we have another upper body workout getting him in his car seat and the car seat to the car.

Pfew!









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Ouch report

I got a call from daycare today. Cal bonked his head, so they called to let me know he was okay but had a bruise. And bruises look awesome on my fair skinned kids.

Apparently my active wanna-be walker pushed himself too far or too fast and fell hitting his head on a toy.

Not the first. Not the last.

Cal dancing this morning, before the head bruise.


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Boogers

I'm about to embarrass my son. So I will refrain from posting pictures.

The kid has boogers. Like man-sized boogers in his nose. And thanks to his ear tubes, we not only have nose boogers but we have ear boogers. And eye crusties, I can't forget about those. When he is congested boogers just come from everywhere.

Ellie is back at school and is 100%. I think the day off, while she probably could have gone to school, was worth it for her.

Cal is congested but went to school. He did need an afternoon nebulizing treatment which Nick did at school. I had told the teachers in the morning to call if his breathing started to appear rapid, shallow, or labored. And almost exactly 6 hours after his morning treatment (it is supposed to last 4-6 hours) we got the call. We are in the process of filling out the necessary forms to allow school to give the treatment to him if necessary.


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Sick day

Ellie was up most the night coughing. So she stayed home from school today and took it easy.

Since I am feeling under the weather I also took it easy (of course I will pay for it later with the amount of work on my desk). Ellie and I actually took an afternoon nap together in her bed.

Cal was fine this morning despite some ear drainage. But when I picked him up from school I could tell he was under the weather. We will see how tonight goes. I gave him a nebulizer treatment and that seems to have helped a bit.


Photos from drop off. Cal was happy to show E his yellow ball.








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