Testing my iphone
I've set up to text to my blog from my phone. Here's hoping it works.

They. Are. With. Me. All. The. Time.

Ok, so my stay-at-home, or work-from-home mommy friends will have no sympathy, but these summer vacations aren't what I expected. Don't get me wrong, I love the extra time with the girls, but I can't pay bills, take out the trash, or wipe my own ass without them underfoot. "Mommy, whatcha doin'?" "Where are you?" "Come here." "I need you." God forbid I want to indulge in a little treat... a candy bar for breakfast, an extra cookie after lunch... I'm standing in the kitchen sneaking it like a kid, eating so fast I don't enjoy it. Not that I can buy a candy bar anymore, they are with me at EVERY store. "I want one, too!"
And what's more, I'll get no reprieve once the school year starts. Used to be, I'd wake before the family and be out the door to work before anyone woke. Foolish me used to miss the kids in the a.m.! And I'd have a little time, even just a half hour, when I got home from work before I'd go pick them up from school. Even a half hour makes a difference! I'd use the time to do dishes, or check email... whatever. When school starts this September, however, It'll be me getting them both up, dressed and driven to school. Boo will go to school at CCS with me, and TT at a preschool on the way. It'll be me that picks them both up on the way home. There goes my mornings and my 1/2 hour in the afternoons.
I used to have a little reprieve in the evenings, too, as Craig would handle bath time. Granted, it wasn't much, but it was a few minutes sans kids. With school starting earlier in the day, we've decided bedtime needs to be earlier as well. Meaning, if I want us all to sit down to the table together for dinner every night (and to me, that's imperative), then bath has to happen before dinner... before Craig gets home. Who does bath now? Me, of course.
This is what I have to look forward to once school starts: Wake up with TT at 6. Wake up Boo at 7. Two cups of warm milk (each) with a little TV in the morning while I get dressed. Breakfast. I dress TT while Boo dresses and feeds the animals... me nagging her all the way to do it faster. Out the door by 8. Drop off TT. Take Boo to class and teach a room of 25 6-7 year olds all day. Get Boo from class. Pick up TT. Home for a snack, and two cups of warm milk (each). Entertain the kids until bath. Bath. Pack lunches for the next day. Dinner. Bedtime. Girls are down by 8:30, I hope. Dishes, lesson planning, falling asleep on the couch at 10 while Craig watches TV, etc.
So, I know it's not as dreary as all that... but right now, at this juncture, it's how I see it. I don't see "me" time in there ANYWHERE!

On the Move!

Finally!!!! We've got our new house, we've moved in, we're in the midst of unpacking, and we have internet up and running!!!! :-D

No complaints about going from under 1000 sq ft to almost 2800, but it is an adjustment. Still working on getting the kids (and myself) out of the habit of yelling for one another (how COOL that the house is too big to hear anything!). Kids are sleeping pretty well in their new rooms... and wait until I post pics of Boo's Rock N Roll room, set with chalk board walls and everything. And TT will have a Little Mermaid room. Craig was unsure of the idea, until I told him my collection either goes in T's room, or in the office. He opted for the former. I'm so glad this happened over my summer break... don't know how anything would have gotten done otherwise. Already feeling overwhelmed with the boxes.

We've got a lease signed and tenants all set up to move into the old house. Weird to be a landlord. For the moment, all's right in the world. Am I jinxing myself?

Boo's Tap Recital

Can you tell which one is Boo? (second from left)They tapped to Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." One of these days, I'll get around to uploading the digital video file, until then, these pics tell a pretty good story.

Boo's 5th birthday!!!

I can't believe she's 5!!!!! We had a Rock and Roll party this year, and it was a blast. We started "backstage" in the house, and glammed up our rockstars. They could get tattoos, funky colored hair, crazy nailpolish, and of course, lots of bling (sunglasses, bracelets, necklaces, bandanas). Then we introduced them "on stage" outside. They posed for the paparazzi and took turns rocking out on the karaoke machine... Boo managed to hog the mic most of the time. She's not shy, let's leave it at that.

Picture Time for TT!

This is my NEW favorite picture of TT...

Here are some more yummy pics of T...

A running account of TT's words

Like all mothers, I think my child is the cutest and smartest and most talented child in creation... that being said, TT, at 15 months, is talking up a storm. Here are the words she uses consistently and correctly, in no particular order, as of January 30th. In parenthesis is her pronunciation of the word.

more (moe), up, sissy (seesee), mommy, dada, eat, tree (tee), pumpkin (bobby), open (o-pee), walk, no, yeah, please (peas), cereal(seawall), cracker(cacuh), Cheerio(teer-o), help, apple, banana (nana), Elmo, kitty, doggy, rat, book, read, {25 words} bear, froggie (foggy), hi, bye, water (wawee), mix (mehmeh), paci (pahkee), yummy (nummy), eye, nose, ear, shoe, hair, head, sock, pants, spoon, strawberry (stawbear), T.V., cheese, bowl, all done (ah duh), wash, fish (pish), thank you (tee too), {50 words} chicken (chee chin), duck, sit, down, where, bath (bat), step, phone (bone), keys, ball, baby, juice (deuce), yucky, uh oh, pillow (wee woh), blanket (bay bet), outside (ow sigh), bubble, buttons (butts), grandpa (ba ba), Angelica (jell kah), Nicholas (nih nih), jacket (da ket), milk (meh){75 words}, flower (bough burr), belly button(bell bow), noodle (new no), potato (taytoe), there, dip it (her name for ranch dressing), ouch, owie, clap (ap)

My lord! I feel like there's more! She is starting to put her words together to make little sentences, like "pahkee where?," "o-pee butts" and "moe seesee cacuh peas." Get out your secret decoder rings!

Anyone know what the 'experts' say they should be saying at this age?

My best Disneyland Day EVER!

I just got back from taking Boo to Disneyland again. This time, it was just me and her. And did we have a fantastic day! Our news is that she's finally tall enough to ride the "big rides."

We went on Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Matterhorn and Star Tours. The weather was gorgeous, the crowds were few, and I got some quality time alone with my oldest child.

Just for my sis...

I got the girls each a Monchhichi for Hanukkah! TT's looks like the one we had as kids, Boo's is wearing a dress. Walk down memory lane much? As long as nobody throws up on this one, we'll be good!

Doing our part to help the economy!

Santa is bringing us some family fun this year (don't tell the kiddies)! We've ordered this tandem bike with an attachment for Boo on the back and a seat for TT in the front. After a TON of web-searching and visiting actual bike shops, we still found it cheapest on Amazon. The thing for Boo's bike, call a Trail Gator, is the coolest, because it hooks up her existing bike (the one she got last year and never rides cuz she can't petal well on her own yet). The family that exercises together...

Belated Halloween Pic

Boo was a Fairy and TT was a pumpkin. TT to this day (and it causes C much destress) calls herself "pumpkin", only it comes out more like "bobby." She says it while patting her chest. C thinks she has identity issues... I think it's so cute I can't correct her!

TTs Hospital Stay

Now that we're a few weeks out, and things are (almost) back to normal at the homestead, I thought I'd share the experience we went through.

TT was under the weather starting that Tuesday. School sent her home on Wednesday, and that evening she had a low-grade fever. She stayed home again on Thursday, but wasn't too sick. Until that evening. She had a high fever, and I gave her some tylonal, then she napped for 3 hours (not typical of TT, at all). When she woke at about 8, she was at a temp of 103.8. We gave Tylonal again, but after an hour, the temp was still high. That's when we called the 24 hour nurse line, and the nurse said we should take her to the ER. We gave the meds another 1/2 hour to work, but when her fever didn't break, we decided it was time to take her in.

C stayed home with a sleeping Boo, and TT and I were off to Kaiser Sunset's ER at 10 pm. They took us into Triage right away, and gave her motrin which she proceeded to spit out. They took us to a room, where an ER nurse started wiping her down with cold cloths. TT just wanted to sleep at this point, and wasn't upset unless being poked, prodded, examined or wiped. The ER doc came in, and ordered a chest xray. All of this happened really quickly. Then the waiting began. I sat for 4 hours sideways in a gurney with my back against the railing and a 25 lb. TT in my arms. Every 10 minutes, the nurse came in to wipe TT down and check her temp. After about 1 hour, the doc ordered tylonal sepositories and an ice bath. Poor TT did not like either of these! The first speaks for itself, as far as the ice bath... imagine being wiped down with a freezing cold, stiff, scratchy hospital washcloth. BLAH! I don't blame her for crying. After a few hours of this, her fever was under control. She was hooked up to monitors, and when they found that her pulsox was low I had to hold a oxygen mask near her face as she slept. After about 3 hours waiting, the doc came back and said that the xray showed either RSV or pnuemonia, and that we were being admitted to the Pediatric ICU. A team of nurses came in to put in an IV. Now, I have to say, I understand that ER nurses are about getting the job done, not the comfort of the patient, but after 10 minutes of them holding TT down and trying 4 times to find a vein, I was crying more than poor TT. I finally asked if the PICU could do it, since they have more experience with babies. I don't know how long it would have gone on if I hadn't spoken up. The even more frustrating part is that the nurse said to me later that he knew he wouldn't be able to find a vein, but had to try or the PICU would get upset (a PICU nurse debunked this). That was the first of my many "breakdowns." I was so scared for poor T, and didn't know what was to come. It took T maybe 5 minutes to calm down, it took me a 1/2 hour.

So once paperwork was handled, they wheeled us (yes, I had to sit in the wheelchair so TT could travel, since she wouldn't let me put her down, and hospital policy says I couldn't just walk with her) up to an ISOLATION ROOM in the PICU. Nurses, doctors and visitors had to wear masks and gowns when entering our room. Talk about making you fear the worst! It was about 4 in the morning. The nursing staff was so nice and understanding. The Pediatric docs, too.
While waiting for the docs to rule out RSV, TT had to be administered oxygen through those little tubes that go up her nostrils and behind her ears. She didn't like that much, and pulled them out. The nurse suggested swaddling her, which many of you know was how she preferred to sleep well past 6 months old. Once swaddled and hooked up to oxygen, she fell asleep in my arms and I was able to set her down in the crib for the first time in about 7 hours. It only lasted 1/2 hour, as they needed to try for an IV again. The PICU nurses were way better, but still couldn't find a vein. They tried once, gave her a break in mommy's arms then tried a second time. Between the ER and the PICU, they tried her inner elbow, both her wrists, and two different spots on her ankles. They were going to get a nurse up from the NICU to try, but the doc said if she stays hydrated and keeps peeing, we wouldn't need it. It was a viral infection, so she wouldn't need IV antibiotics. My singluar goal became getting that child to nurse so she wouldn't need to be hooked up to an IV. I didn't sleep at all that night. C got Boo off to school, arranged for her to be picked up after school, and came straight to the hospital. By this time, we had a diagnosis of brochialitis, but didn't know if it was caused by RSV. The docs said we had to stay until she could get enough oxygen on her own. There were no meds that could be given short of tylonal for the pain/fever. We were there until Sunday, with me staying the night in the room, and C heading home each night to stay with Boo. TT did not let you put her down for very long, and she slept so much of the time. On Friday, C got her to smile and that reasurred me a bit. On Saturday, her FIRST BIRTHDAY, she spent a bit more time alert and awake. We started seeing glimses of the TT we knew. By Sunday, she was breathing enough oxygen on her own, but still had a mild fever. We were told this was normal, as she's still fighting the infection.
At her followup appointment the next day, the doc found not one, but two ear infections, so it was on to the antibiotics she went! She was prescribed amoxicillin, which I happen to be very allergic to. I didn't know just touching my skin would set off a reaction, however, and when TT wouldn't take the meds, I helped C hold her down. She proceeded to throw it back up on me, and I had a rash that covered my right arm. Since she wouldn't take the oral antibiotics, we had to take her for a shot every day for 3 days. When her ears still didn't clear, we went onto another oral antibiotic and now she's at about 75%. She has another appointment in a few weeks, but I think we've made it out of the woods.

A week after we first took her in, her personality was back. She was smiling more, not sleeping as much, and doing pretty well. But she was still so super-clingy. I was worried that she had lost that independent, adventurous spirit I had admired in her. Now, 2 weeks later, and with her feeling so much better, her independence has returned. She still needs to touch base a bit more often, but is off and chasing after her sister, or the cat, or a rouge Cheerio that she sees on the floor.

All I can say is that we survived our scare, and it truly could have been so much worse. It really makes me feel grateful for the good health my girls have had so far. I have an even deeper respect for families with cronically ill children. I know that you do what you have to do, and I know I'd step up if it were necessary, but I can't imagine a month, a year, a child's lifetime, spent as we spent just one week. Thanks to everyone for all your thoughts and wishes. We are so happy our little TT is okay!

uncanny similarities

A year ago Friday night, we were heading into the hospital after feeling the first contractions. This Friday, we were sitting in the ER at the same hospital with TT having a fever of 103.8.

A year ago Saturday, we welcomed TT into the world. This Saturday, she spent her first birthday hooked up to oxygen in the Pediatric ICU, in isolation, because they feared RSV.

A year ago Sunday, we were bringing our baby home for the first time. This Sunday we brought a very sick, very tired, very scared TT home after spending 3 nights in the PICU.

So, we're not out of the woods yet, but we're doing so much better. TT has brochiatitis. Her lungs are now pretty clear, and she's getting enough oxygen on her own. She's still battling a fever and isn't eating or drinking too much, which puts her at risk of dehydration. But she's much more alert. And she's home. Two tired parents and one worried sister are very happy that she's home.

Thanks to all for their thoughts and well-wishes throughout this. Love you all!

A BIG CHANGE

Boo got a haircut! Not just a trim, mind you. And I love my little Boo, because she's donating her chopped hair to Locks of Love, where they use it to make wigs for children who have no hair. It inspired me to do it, too. And doesn't she look just adorable in her little bob??

My favorite picture of TT ... so far

My sis got married

And we got some great pics of the family all dolled up. We clean up nicely, don't you think?

Were in trouble, now!

Watch our TT go!!!

More photos

Some recent pics of the family

Weigh in on Boo's Chores

We decided, now that Boo is 4 years old, she's old enough to have some "official" chores around the house. So I made her a list of daily chores. It's very basic... feeding the pets 2x a day, brushing her teeth 2x a day, and picking up her toys before bed. She has been amazingly responsible about it so far, and finds great joy in remembering, even when it slips our minds. She's awefully cute, too, when feeding the pets and talking to them ("Wait, Chucky...wait, here you go... good boy!")

My question to you is on the allowance issue. Part of me believes that you do chores in a family BECAUSE it's your responsibility to help out the family... money shouldn't be the incentive. But I also want her to learn the value of money and how hard work helps her "earn" rewards. Thoughts? What do you / will you do with yours? Is she too young to worry about it yet? Thanks for weighing in, and I'll let you know what we decide.

Boo's Dance Recital

Boo was in her first dance recital 6/7/08. They danced to "Put on a Happy Face." She's to the left of the boy. It was the cutest, most expensive 1.5 minutes of Boo's life so far. What with the $58 costume, the $30 recital fee, and the $16 tickets (x5), it cost a small fortune to do. But my god, was she every DELICIOUS!!! Here are a few pics, I'll try to figure out how to upload the video soon, too.

TT is growing up!

She's 8 months old now, and has two bottom teeth. She's very close to crawling. She's a happy, smiley little darling. She only gets grumpy when sleepy, and wants to nuzzle into someone's neck in order to fall asleep. She grunts and groans until she finally dozes off. She wants to hold, touch, and taste everything she comes in contact with.

TT is growing up just way to fast. I can't believe how close it's getting to her first birthday. Time flies...

Boo's Party Pics

I swear it didn't shrink!

TT at 7 1/2 months wearing the same shirt Boo wore when she was TWO AND A HALF!!!

Boo is 4 YEARS OLD!

I cannot believe my little munchkin just turned 4. It's astonishing to me how fast the time has gone. She is such a little girl now, not a baby for quite some time. She likes girly things, like High School Musical, ballet, princesses, and the Jonas Brothers. She starts pre-k in the fall. She's in her first dance recital this weekend. She talks of where she'll go to college. She still likes two cups of warm milk in the morning, and two in the afternoon. She'll tell you that, now that she's four, she likes peanuts (even though she hasn't tried them again since deciding at 3 that she didn't like them). She has a goofy sense of humor, and comprehends jokes that should be above her. She likes what she calls "potty humor." Thanks, daddy. And has the biggest heart I've ever seen. She's in love with her baby sister, Troy, and the dog (in that order). She's sensitive and dramatic. Any and all things musical suck her right in and grab her attention. She loves to dance and make up songs. She thinks everything is "awesome." I think she is awesome. I can't wait to see her grow to a little lady, and yet wish I could keep her young forever.

Boo's sense of humor

Boo is a funny little girl. Last night at dinner (we were eating chili and corn chips), she noticed her glass was "broken." She gets to drink out of "big girl" glasses at the table. I told her it was only a chip... not the kind of chip we were eating, but a little piece missing from her glass. A few minutes later, she picked up a corn chip, took a small nibble, and said... "Mommy, my chip has a chip in it!" We proceeded to laugh hysterically. Have I mentioned, by the way, that she turns 4 in less than a month! Time flies!

TT is 6 months old!

You know it's Passover when...

Boo reads "he built a small house, called a macaroon around himself" in The Very Hungry Caterpiller.

Some of my new creations...

So, I've sort of gotten hooked on my sewing machine. Learning has been fun, and I'm finding it quite a creative outlet. My time spent sewing will greatly go down once I start back to work, but here are a few of the things I've made. Keep in mind, I've never used a sewing machine in my life up until about a month ago, so don't judge to harshly!

Easter Pics

My beautiful girls!

Sleep Training

My way of sleep training has absolutely NOTHING to do with letting the baby cry herself to sleep. I know many, many parents who swear by this method, but it goes against every instinct I have as a mother, and I tend to trust my instincts.
My "sleep training" involves making night and day VERY different for TT (I did the same for Boo). Nighttime is always in the crib, feedings always in the rocker in her room. It's dark with very little interaction. Daytime is always more relaxed. Feedings, naps, etc happen where ever they happen. It's not always dark or quiet. I truly believe this helps them sleep through the night sooner. Both my girls slept 7-8 hours in a row by 3 months. I mention this because at 4 am, TT was laughing and smiling at me, and it was VERY hard to not smile right back. She was just being so yummy!
Also note, however, that I'm not bragging about my bedtime methods. My problem lies with when they reach the age of manupulation... I had to stay in Boo's room until she fell asleep, often laying on the floor and dozing off myself. Bedtime became a real issue for Boo once she stopped nursing at 16 months, partially because I allowed her to nurse herself to sleep, and lasted until her 2nd birthday. A mistake I hope not to repeat with TT.
TT does things differently than Boo, and doesn't often fall asleep while nursing. She does, however, want to be held while drifting off. I'm trying to follow the "experts" advice, and lay her down before she's fully asleep. It works most of the time. She also loves being swaddled, and the paci is a must right now for sleeping.

TT likes peas...

Can you imagine what

she'd look like if she

didn't like them??

My latest project...

So, years ago I bought a sewing machine, never having used one in my life, but having hand-sewn a few things (my Little Mermaid costume being my most memorable). Turns out it's not so difficult, and I made a door snake to keep the draft out of TT's room. Boo wanted a snake of her own, so I modified the design a little, and made her a bean bag snake. Now I'm starting a project I wanted to make when I first bought the machine. I've been saving special pieces of Boo's baby clothes and am making a quilt. It will be years in the making, with the finished project being something I can send off to college with her (FYI, I've started saving TT's, too, so don't think she'll be left out). Here are a few of the unfinished panels. Other things that will be added include her "I love Troy" shirt, her "I'm a big sister" shirt, etc. as she outgrows them. I have lots more to cut up and assemble that she's already outgrown, but it's working out pretty well, I think.

TT is 4 months old!

My little girl is growing up so fast. I feel like time is zooming by, and I am not ready to go back to work in less than 2 months. For some reason, it feels even harder this time, although I'm sure I'm just not remembering leaving Boo. Maybe it's because TT won't take a bottle, so I haven't even left her to go see a movie yet. Maybe it's because I know that once I'm back at work, my one-on-one time with her will be completely over, as Boo will be picked up from school at the same time I pick up TT. Maybe I just realize even more what I'll be missing.

I know I'm lucky to even get 6 months home with her. Too many people I know have to go back after the state-allowed 6 WEEKS! And I do love my job, even though I feel so incredibly disconnected from the classroom right now. I should feel less anxious, because we're leaving her with Boo at her daycare, and the people running it are like family. They've had Boo since she was 7 months old. They already love TT and hold and play with her when I pick up Boo. I don't know why I'm stressing about it now.

Edible Underwear

Hey, at least they were clean!

Car Seat Trouble SOLVED!!

TT would wail EVERY time I loaded her into the car... I tried everything! Loosening the straps, cushioning the straps, getting her a flashy, light-up remote control mirror, etc. What finally worked was when I discovered that her swaddling blanket was equiped with holes for her seat belt. Now she's happy as a clam every time we drive! Hurray!

Fuh-ood for thought

Here's a little phonics lesson from your friendly neighborhood teacher...
"M" does not go muh, it goes mmmmm.
Likewise, "B" does not go buh, "D" does not go duh, "C" and "K" do not go kuh, etc.

It's about isolating the sounds more. Let's use M as an example. Pay attention to your mouth as you say mmmmmm. See how your mouth stays closed through the whole sound? Now say muh. Your mouth opens at the end of the sound. Now think about words that have the M sound, but AREN'T followed by the short U. We don't say muh-oon. And how about words with M at the end? We say Tom, not To-muh.
Other sounds are harder to isolate. "H" is just a huff of breath. "C" and "K" are almost clicks of the tongue. Does it matter in the grand scheme of things? Probably not, but it makes it so much easier for early readers to sound out words. Which is why, although I'm so proud of my Boo for knowing letters and sounds, I cringe a little when she corrects me to tell me that "M" goes muh and NOT mmmm, because that's what she learned at preschool.

What is the world coming to?

My eye caught this in the market today. Blah! This is taking "convenience food" to a new and disgusting level. Does anyone actually buy this stuff?

Ahh, that wet dog smell!

Why, exactly, did we buy him TWO dog houses?

Boo's Sorry Dinner

With the hubby working late, I've gotten quite lazy about dinner. Here's Boo's meal from last night... such a gourmet!

Have you ever?...

...Gone to the bathroom with a sleeping baby in your arms because you were afraid if you put her down, she'd wake up?
Just asking...

Sleeping kidlets...

I should be sleeping, too, after the night I had. Boo went to bed with a slightly sniffly nose, and woke up at 3 am throwing up mucus. The high point of the day was when Boo gushed mucus, soup, and tea all over herself, the couch, Magpie (he's back!), TT and ME! And I was being so careful about keeping the two kids apart so that TT wouldn't get sick. Well, here's hoping the breastfeeding keeps her healthy. On top of it all, it's raining and gloomy out, which I normally enjoy but am feeling awfully trapped at the moment. It's bitter cold out there, too. And I feel bad for Chuck (the dog) being stuck outside. Can't bring myself to let him in now, he'll wake the kidlets and I'll lose my 5 minutes of peace. Boo is stirring and sitting up... That wasn't even 5!!

Poor Magpie

Boo's once loved and covetted Magpie, the little stuffed cat/blanket that has LITERALLY gone with us EVERYWHERE for the past 3 1/2 years, has been relegated to "guarding" Boo's gluestick in her pretend kitchen sink. Poor guy's been there for almost a week now. Sigh... my little girl is growing up!

Those who know us, know that I've spent many a day as Magpie's protector, with Magpie slung over my shoulder at a party or a park. Only to whip him off again when Boo gets hurt and cries "I want my Magpie!"

Magpie, who has dried Boo's tears and wiped her nose. Magpie, who's ear has been chewed, who's bow gets wrapped around Boo's fingers when she's sleepy and enjoying a cup of warm milk. The shame of it all... to be reduced to this...

My heart is breaking, for the poor toy no longer needed and for the little lady that my baby has become.

Feeling Hippy-Dippy

...not NECESSARILY a bad thing... well, maybe... I was walking out of Trader Joe's, with my reusable bag full of vegetarian and organic food, with my baby in a sling.

3 going on 13!

My daughter's room looks like Tiger Beat magazine threw up all over it! She is High School Musical CRAZY!! What other 3 year old obsesses over Troy??? Granted, she mainly likes it for the singing and dancing, but still... she insisted on having Troy's pic right next to her bed.

Boy, are we in trouble when she's a real teen!!!

I don't mean to brag...

...this is the monkey Boo drew. SHE'S ONLY 3!!! My talented little girl! I'm always amazed by her. We're doing little mini lessons on phonics, since she already knows all her letters, and our first lesson was M. We did some crafts and heard some stories. My friends say you can tell I'm a teacher! But I'm not pushing her into anything. We're just having fun and stressing the love of books and reading.

Nien Nunb

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Took me a while to find out his name (thanks, sHeM!), but TT is a spitting image of this Star Wars character! Check out those cheeks!! By the way, TT can now roll from her back to her side and is teething a bit!

Family Photos

My friend, Emily (http://www.emifoto.com/) took these pics of our family for us. We got alot of great ones, but here are a few. Love to hear your thoughts! :-)

Enchanted - Update

We took the cousins to see Enchanted, and Boo was a bit scared so we walked the lobby a few times, but in all I didn't end up scarring her for life by taking her to a PG movie. She LOVED the princess meet-n-greet afterwords, here we are with Giselle and all our girl cousins & aunts after the show. My sis is holding TT (My back got a much-needed break from hauling my 16 lb. baby). Boo is in blue, holding Giselle's hand. I enjoyed the movie, too. Very cute, and lots of fun references to Disney Princesses of the past.

Going Green

Some very GREEN sites for the New Year!

Catalog Choice let's you opt-out of catalog mailings for free. Just register with them. I did. http://www.catalogchoice.org/
GreenDimes was featured on Oprah. For about ten cents a day ($36), you can stop unsolicited junk mailings and they plant trees on your behalf. You also get a reusable bag, t-shirt, children's book on conservation, and some free CFL bulbs. http://www.greendimes.com/
Reusable bags are where it's at. I use Ecobag's produce bags at the supermarket and farmer's market, as well as the canvas ones for all my shopping. http://www.ecobags.com/
Here's one you probably never thought of: The website ChangeTheMargins is pushing hard for every person out there who owns or uses a printer at home or work to change the settings on their margins from the standard 1.25 inches to .75 inches. They note that if everyone in the US complied with their wish, we'd save an area slightly smaller than the state of Rhode Island *every year*. Uh huh, that's a lot of trees. And if you need another reason to visit the site, it's worth mentioning that they are also petitioning Microsoft to change the default print settings to the smaller margin so you never even have to think about it. http://www.changethemargins.com/

Enchanted

I'm off to take Boo to see Enchanted at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. They do a whole princess meet & greet at the end of it, and we're going with all the girl cousins. I'm a bit nervous, because it's rated PG, and she tends to be sensitive to "scary" parts... but we're taking the risk. I'm feeling guilty, because it's something I want to do, and I'm afraid I'm pushing her to far into something that will frighten her. We shall soon see!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's 4 am, and I HAVEN'T just returned from a night on the town, but have instead been in bed for hours... I'm only up now in order to pump a bottle for TT. I'm not complaining, just pointing out how different life has become!

Holiday Photos

Disneyland Trip

Yesterday, TT went to Disneyland for the second time, and she's only 2 months old. I've lost count of how many trips this is for Boo.

Here's a pic of us, along with friends.

I love Christmas time at Disneyland!

The famous "Chuck Wagon"

Through an infant's eyes

Not sure who they really make these for, the babies or the parents...

All TT ever sees is giraffe butt, elephant butt, tiger butt, lion butt, oh, and monkey butt.

Blog intro

So, here I am. A 33 year old mother of 2. "Boo" is my 3 1/2 year old daughter. She is very bright and VERY emotional. She loves to dance and is currently obsessed with a little movie called High School Musical. "TT" is my 2 month old daughter. Boo says she doesn't do much yet except "cry, poop, eat & sleep." But now she smiles, which is golden! She's a bruiser, weighing in at just under 14 lbs, and wearing 6 month clothing already.

My husband, C, works as a senior animator in the video game business and I'm a first grade teacher. We joke that I mold kids and he corrupts them!

We live in a 900 sq. ft. house near Glendale, CA. with our two cats, Monty and Mabel, and our 90 lb. Golden Retriever, Chuck. Monty is 25 lbs in his own right. He has a habit of peeing on the floor of the baby's room (which is soon going to get him kicked outside) and screaming at you the moment the clock strikes 11pm if he doesn't have food in his bowl. Mabel is the skittish one, still not quite sure of what to make of TT. Both cats have been with me for over a decade. Chuck is a lovable beast. A little out of control, a little hyper (I just read Be the Pack Leader by Cesar Milan so I hope to change that). His claim to fame is the "Chuck Wagon." It's a wagon that he hitches to and pulls with the girls inside. He's on leash, of course, but one day I fully expect Boo to be at the reigns yelling "Mush!"