I guess I’m not doing so well posting lately. I guess it’s because I’ve limited time and I know how long it’ll take me to compose a post and it’s easier to read along with everyone else and make a short post than it is to go over everything here. So Alex was out of school Friday as well as Wednesday. He had gotten most of his energy back though he was still taking breaks, and running a slight fever (100-101). That Friday was crappy weather anyway, the whole weekend we stayed in mostly. It made it easier to make sure Alex took a nap, he may be out growing them but when he’s sick he desperately needs one because he doesn’t sleep well at night. I even went home early Friday from work. Lovely freezing rain and sleet made the roads crap.
I got to round two in the competition but I did not make it to the final round. The work turned in was so good. I’ll try again in the fall. I have been submitting to magazine calls as well. We’ll see if that gets me anywhere.
Last week was pretty quiet; everyone was feeling healthy once again. Quin was more than willing to try new foods. At this point it looks like he’ll be our eater. He can finish a full container of fruit or veggie plus some in one sitting. With Alex, when we started him on solids we were lucky to get him to eat half a container. Not that it matters too much, this could all change when he hits 15-18 months like it did with Alex and he’ll be picky and not eat anything, though maybe not who knows. Monday I was feeding him at the same time taking a few bites of my own dinner. He was eyeing my chicken, looked like he was thinking “that looks so much better than what you’re feeding me.” It was pretty tender so I gave him a couple of teeny tiny pieces. I guess we may be pureeing dinner for him sooner than I thought.
Babies are such amazing creatures. There is wonder in their eyes as they see new things. The concentration as they realize their hands can grab and move things. And to hear the pure joy in their laughter is more than enough to make you laugh yourself.
I’m so glad spring weather has arrived we’ve been to various parks a couple times in the last week. I love it because my kids sleep so much better. Alex tires himself out running around like a maniac and I think the fresh air just makes Quin sleepy. Thursday we went to a place called Annie’s Playground. I’m sure I won’t want to go during the summer when all the older kids are there. That’s one thing I remember from last summer. Seven, eight and nine year olds don’t pay much attention to younger kids when they run around. I know I picked Alex up and dusted him off a lot because he got knocked over by older kids racing by. At least in the spring and fall the older kids are in school on weekdays, so preschoolers can play with out being knocked over as much.
Friday while Alex was in school Quin and I went to Target. I needed a bunch of stuff for the dining room. We invited a couple over for dinner, Ken shot their wedding. But as he got to know the groom he found out they had a lot in common, including growing up in Brooklyn. Eddie grew up in the Brooklyn China town and Ken in Bensonhurst, but they were both really familiar with the area. We’ve met up with them several times and finally decided we wanted to make it a bit more than a casual aquaintenship. So we invited them over to dinner. It’s funny how having guests motivates you to put the finishing touches on rooms. I needed a spring/summer table cloth, everything I have that fits the table is fall/ winter. While I was there I found a curtain rod long enough to go across our triple window. My stepmom had left us sheers when they visited in November; I just had nothing to hang them on. I wasn’t willing to spend $80-100 for a custom rod which is what I would have had to get from Lowe’s or Home Depot. I knew Target carried ones that extended to 120” but they were never in stock. They were Friday. So we hung the rod and the sheers Saturday morning after I mopped the floor. Then I went in for my cut and color. I took Quin because Michelle hadn’t seen him yet except for photos. He was so good and flirted with all the ladies there. I think between the two boys I’m in trouble when they’re teens. I got home with an hour to spare for the final dinner prep.
We made planked salmon and grilled asparagus. I tried a new wine, well for me anyway. I like Shiraz but this one from Rosemount estates was a Shiraz Grenache. It had a bit more of a fruity flavor than a Shiraz usually has. I figured it would go well with the salmon. Actually I bout three bottles of wine because I couldn’t decide. I got a pinot noir from Robert Mondavi because I like it and a blush from a local winery. Just couldn’t decide what I wanted until we sat down for dinner and that’s the one I opened. Dinner went really well. Alex was a bundle of energy but in a good way, no whiney break downs. Eddie and Soli brought dessert, a fruit tart. The fresh strawberries and blueberries on top more than made up for the custard. The custard wasn’t so custardy, it was more like pudding, guess that’s why there was a thin layer of dark chocolate between it and the crust. If the chocolate hadn’t been there the crust would have been soaked and wouldn’t have held together.
We plan on getting together again for dim sum in a few weeks. And maybe try to get together for some Mah Jong at some point. Sunday was quiet we did make a trip out to look at washers and dryers. The ones we have are about ready to peter out. I have to run everything through the dryer twice to get it dry and last week one load I ran had items of clothes that were dry coming out of the washer. That says to me it isn’t agitating right. They are 15 years old so we knew it was coming. I do want a larger capacity washer, especially if we’re talking about trying for a third. A bigger dryer isn’t as important because not everything goes in the dryer any way.
That brings us to this week, which has been pretty much same old same old. Tuesday we did go up to Havre de Grace to the park there right on the bay. Just too hard to resist when you have such a gorgeous warm gift of a day. Ken gets back late tomorrow afternoon. He was down in GA again this week. He even went over to say hi to my dad. They went out to dinner at a little Mexican place my dad likes. Friday I have to work, though I think I’m taking a cake in because one of the girls who works Friday has her birthday that day too. Then the boys are taking me out to dinner on Saturday.
The only excitement next week is Quin’s 6 month appointment. Can’t believe it’s been six months already. Where does the time go? I’ll try and get more pictures posted this weekend. It all depends on how quickly I do my assignment for my Photoshop class. I’ll get nothing done tomorrow we have a birthday party at build-a-bear. The next lesson is released Friday; I’m hoping it won’t take too long. The one today I got through, with interruptions, in about 3 hours.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Don’t know what it is with me lately. I have stuff to say I just never come and put it down. Then things get backed up and weeks go by. The only way I can get everything down is to do it in word. Hmmm maybe I’ll just start a weekly word file and type in my thoughts every night and post at the end of the week. I wonder if this whole thing has to do with the creative flow I seem to be in right now. I’ve been very focused on photography and making digi pages.
So last week we got a highchair for Quin. A real one that is separate from the table. I thought about getting another like Alex’s that turns into a booster seat as he gets older but we have the room and if we have a third it’ll be used then too. The first night we had Quin in it while we ate dinner. He was thrilled he could see us at dinner time. The next night I made wet burritos. I turned to entertain Quin he grabbed my hand and started chewing on my finger, which probably had a bit of burrito on it. He was chomping down pretty good. I had picked up some cereal earlier in the week because we were planning on trying solids when we got back from my dad’s. We decided to try a little that night. He loved it. It certainly made things easier for Ken the nights I worked, he can feed him instead of fight with getting to take a bottle.
We left Monday morning for GA, by the time we actually got on the road it was twenty after 9:00, almost an hour after we planned. Though even with stops we made it there by a little after 8pm, so not too bad. My dad got to feed Quin that evening. They both had fun. They also have a new puppy, she’s actually about as old as Quin. Alex had fun all week chasing her around the yard and house. It certainly gave their older dog a break from being pestered by the puppy.
Ken left early Tuesday morning for TN, that’s where his job was last week. Left me with out transport until my dad got off work around 1pm most days. Donna was sick all week, and didn’t get close to the kids because of it. She found out Wednesday that what ever she had progressed into Bronchitis. Then she really kept her distance.
Quin caught the cold we’ve been passing around this time. He’s been pretty lucky. Lately it’s been Alex, then me then Ken, and a few days after ken starts feeling better Alex has a runny nose once again. Anyway it had been gumming up Quin’s right eye. I thought at first he might have pink eye but it never swelled up or got really bad. Just a little bit in the corners when he woke or cried. It got worse by mid week, luckily Donna had an unopened bottle of Little Noses (she uses it for her dogs). That helped a lot especially the one night Quin woke screaming I couldn’t figure out why at first then I realized he was trying to breathe through his nose and couldn’t. A drop in each nostril and a few minutes later he was clear enough to sleep.
I think the days of afternoon naps for Alex are numbered. If anything on the days he doesn’t got to school, he gets sleepy around 10:30-11:00am. If he naps then he’ll sleep three hours. It seems like every third day when he’s exhausted he’ll take a nap after school around 2pm. Of course last Friday he fell asleep next to the couch around three, this after he convinced me not to make him take a nap. Then yesterday he fell asleep on the couch around 4pm, next thing I know its 6:30 and he’s still asleep. He didn’t even protest when I carried him upstairs and wrestled him into his pjs.
We got back from GA Sunday around 8:30. After unloading the car, we found the laundry room flooded. As far as we can tell it happen earlier Sunday. The laundry room was flooded; the carpet in the finished portion is soaked in the areas closest to the laundry room. Funny thing is none of the boxes sitting on the carpet got wet. Looks like it soaked up the water and drew it down into the padding so nothing on top was touched. Now the boxes in the laundry room closet were waterlogged. That’s where the pipe was that caused the flood. Ken said it was the pipe leading to the outside spout. It somehow came unscrewed; Ken got it back together then spent until 2am with the shop vac sucking up the water. Luckily the boxes held china and glassware, so nothing that could be hurt by water. I spent yesterday afternoon repacking them. I think Ken’s project next winter is going to be making a China cabinet. I want to be able to display and use the china I got from my grandmother.
It dawned on me this morning as I folded the last of the laundry I did yesterday, that we’ll have to tear the wall out in the closet. I don’t want mold to get a foot hold inside the walls. I know this house had a problem with it before we moved in. It was upstairs in the linen closet, they had hook ups for a washer dryer up there. The previous owner had done it. I think it was a combo of that and the enormous pine tree we took down that caused the mold there. It was professionally cleaned out. I just don’t want to have it happen again.
My projects while I was at my dad’s was to scan old photos of that side of the family, I think I have about 60 scans. I even went through my dad’s slides. He has a Nikon negative scanner made it easier to get the slides scanned. The other was to have my dad shoot a family portrait of us. I guess I should just give it up at this point there is no way I’ll get both boys looking at the camera at the same time for a few years. There are a couple I like even though they aren’t perfect. In every photo someone is not looking at the camera.
I swear sometimes I’d like to strangle that boy. He’ll take children’s Tylenol or Motrin when he’s in the early stages of an illness but as soon as he feels really bad and is running a real fever he refuses. And if I make him take it he starts gagging to throw it up. He is so frustrating.
Quin is going to be my quiet charmer, I’m almost positive he’s gotten the John family gene. All three of his grandfathers have been completely fascinated with him. I guess part of it is he loves to be held where as Alex as soon as he was mobile he was off and exploring, a lot like him mother there. It’s really hard to hold and get close to someone who is constantly on the move. Alex also was pretty stand offish last year when we visited.
I think I’m going to try one day to count how many times Alex asks me “What’s that noise mommy?” Or “What’s that mommy?” The only problem is he’ll repeat it 3-5 times for a single item or sound. I stop answering after the second or third, no point in saying the same thing over and over, though he seems to enjoy it. He is also repeating everything we say. We have to be careful now more than ever what we say in front of him. I think the quarter jar is gonna start getting full.
I got a call today from the guy Ken sometimes works for doing weddings. He’s sending me the software he uses along with a site where I can watch video of how it’s used. Once I’m up to speed he said my base pay will be per 8pg/16 side album. If the album has more I get additional pay for every page. If I can knock them out in 20 minutes to a half hour I should end up making pretty good money.
I know there was something else I wanted to mention but it’s gone for now. If I follow through with the Word idea I’ll write it down when it comes to me.
So last week we got a highchair for Quin. A real one that is separate from the table. I thought about getting another like Alex’s that turns into a booster seat as he gets older but we have the room and if we have a third it’ll be used then too. The first night we had Quin in it while we ate dinner. He was thrilled he could see us at dinner time. The next night I made wet burritos. I turned to entertain Quin he grabbed my hand and started chewing on my finger, which probably had a bit of burrito on it. He was chomping down pretty good. I had picked up some cereal earlier in the week because we were planning on trying solids when we got back from my dad’s. We decided to try a little that night. He loved it. It certainly made things easier for Ken the nights I worked, he can feed him instead of fight with getting to take a bottle.
We left Monday morning for GA, by the time we actually got on the road it was twenty after 9:00, almost an hour after we planned. Though even with stops we made it there by a little after 8pm, so not too bad. My dad got to feed Quin that evening. They both had fun. They also have a new puppy, she’s actually about as old as Quin. Alex had fun all week chasing her around the yard and house. It certainly gave their older dog a break from being pestered by the puppy.
Ken left early Tuesday morning for TN, that’s where his job was last week. Left me with out transport until my dad got off work around 1pm most days. Donna was sick all week, and didn’t get close to the kids because of it. She found out Wednesday that what ever she had progressed into Bronchitis. Then she really kept her distance.
Quin caught the cold we’ve been passing around this time. He’s been pretty lucky. Lately it’s been Alex, then me then Ken, and a few days after ken starts feeling better Alex has a runny nose once again. Anyway it had been gumming up Quin’s right eye. I thought at first he might have pink eye but it never swelled up or got really bad. Just a little bit in the corners when he woke or cried. It got worse by mid week, luckily Donna had an unopened bottle of Little Noses (she uses it for her dogs). That helped a lot especially the one night Quin woke screaming I couldn’t figure out why at first then I realized he was trying to breathe through his nose and couldn’t. A drop in each nostril and a few minutes later he was clear enough to sleep.
I think the days of afternoon naps for Alex are numbered. If anything on the days he doesn’t got to school, he gets sleepy around 10:30-11:00am. If he naps then he’ll sleep three hours. It seems like every third day when he’s exhausted he’ll take a nap after school around 2pm. Of course last Friday he fell asleep next to the couch around three, this after he convinced me not to make him take a nap. Then yesterday he fell asleep on the couch around 4pm, next thing I know its 6:30 and he’s still asleep. He didn’t even protest when I carried him upstairs and wrestled him into his pjs.
We got back from GA Sunday around 8:30. After unloading the car, we found the laundry room flooded. As far as we can tell it happen earlier Sunday. The laundry room was flooded; the carpet in the finished portion is soaked in the areas closest to the laundry room. Funny thing is none of the boxes sitting on the carpet got wet. Looks like it soaked up the water and drew it down into the padding so nothing on top was touched. Now the boxes in the laundry room closet were waterlogged. That’s where the pipe was that caused the flood. Ken said it was the pipe leading to the outside spout. It somehow came unscrewed; Ken got it back together then spent until 2am with the shop vac sucking up the water. Luckily the boxes held china and glassware, so nothing that could be hurt by water. I spent yesterday afternoon repacking them. I think Ken’s project next winter is going to be making a China cabinet. I want to be able to display and use the china I got from my grandmother.
It dawned on me this morning as I folded the last of the laundry I did yesterday, that we’ll have to tear the wall out in the closet. I don’t want mold to get a foot hold inside the walls. I know this house had a problem with it before we moved in. It was upstairs in the linen closet, they had hook ups for a washer dryer up there. The previous owner had done it. I think it was a combo of that and the enormous pine tree we took down that caused the mold there. It was professionally cleaned out. I just don’t want to have it happen again.
My projects while I was at my dad’s was to scan old photos of that side of the family, I think I have about 60 scans. I even went through my dad’s slides. He has a Nikon negative scanner made it easier to get the slides scanned. The other was to have my dad shoot a family portrait of us. I guess I should just give it up at this point there is no way I’ll get both boys looking at the camera at the same time for a few years. There are a couple I like even though they aren’t perfect. In every photo someone is not looking at the camera.
I swear sometimes I’d like to strangle that boy. He’ll take children’s Tylenol or Motrin when he’s in the early stages of an illness but as soon as he feels really bad and is running a real fever he refuses. And if I make him take it he starts gagging to throw it up. He is so frustrating.
Quin is going to be my quiet charmer, I’m almost positive he’s gotten the John family gene. All three of his grandfathers have been completely fascinated with him. I guess part of it is he loves to be held where as Alex as soon as he was mobile he was off and exploring, a lot like him mother there. It’s really hard to hold and get close to someone who is constantly on the move. Alex also was pretty stand offish last year when we visited.
I think I’m going to try one day to count how many times Alex asks me “What’s that noise mommy?” Or “What’s that mommy?” The only problem is he’ll repeat it 3-5 times for a single item or sound. I stop answering after the second or third, no point in saying the same thing over and over, though he seems to enjoy it. He is also repeating everything we say. We have to be careful now more than ever what we say in front of him. I think the quarter jar is gonna start getting full.
I got a call today from the guy Ken sometimes works for doing weddings. He’s sending me the software he uses along with a site where I can watch video of how it’s used. Once I’m up to speed he said my base pay will be per 8pg/16 side album. If the album has more I get additional pay for every page. If I can knock them out in 20 minutes to a half hour I should end up making pretty good money.
I know there was something else I wanted to mention but it’s gone for now. If I follow through with the Word idea I’ll write it down when it comes to me.
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