Day at the Improv

This week was somewhat the same as last week. Had our time in the pool and went to the library.

I ordered a balance bike for DD on Sunday and it arrived on Tuesday!  She was very excited. I got her the bubbilicious since she likes pink and it was cheaper than just getting a neutral one.  DS can get his own when the time comes.

Li'l Shark Boy 

Monday we ran a few errands and then went swimming.

Tuesday, we went to story time as usual. It was not as crowded as the first week.  But it was so hot! I decided that we would not go with the group to the park afterwards. So after the story was read, we went back inside so DD could turn in her reading log (200 hours), get her prizes, and check out a few more books. She checked out a book by the author of The Runaway Dinner called The Pencil. It had a lot of the same characters.

On Wednesday, we decided to get in the pool in the morning. We had an incident. DD wanted to wear a life vest and her tube. I said she could go to the steps as I was putting DS into his float... I look over and she is in the water and her face is in because the vest and tube are making her top half of her body go in the water. I had to run and get her.  There was a teenage boy setting up his towel and never offered help... I'll leave it as a teenager thing and not a rude neighbor thing.  So we took her vest off (it was the one causing her to go face forward) and she was happy again.  After the pool, we had lunch and took a nice long nap.

Thursday, we set out for the library. I get to the garage and put the library books in when a lady tells me that the garage door is broken (she had to take a cab to get where she was going). So I called the property management to fix it. There was a piece broken, I guess I could have lifted it, but it's heavy. So we went back upstairs. I let the kids play with finger paint instead. The kids had fun with that. We have a deck that I set up the easel and paper so the house did not get paint all over it.  We used the packing paper. When DH came home, we went out to dinner, because I did not want to be stuck in the house.

Friday, we made it to the library, to check out books. Of course, DD turned in her reading record (another 200 hours) and re-checked out The Runaway Dinner! She checked out 13 books this time. She loves story time.

So, although, the week did not go according to plan, we had a great time.

Boy and Girl

Are little boys more curious than little girls?  All I know is that DS seems to be into everything, where with DD we did not really have to baby proof the house.
DS will go face first off the couch!  The other day, I put the kids in their room so I could clean up the breakfast mess. As I am finishing, I hear DS screaming, after 3 times, I realize it does not sound normal, so I run to the room and he has his hand trapped between his baby laptop and kept shutting the lid on it. And then later that day he was playing in the game room and DH noticed his computer fan stopped working right before DS started crying... he stuck his finger in the fan and stopped the blades. He's ok, just took a little skin.  And now he's climbing the stairs! He is full of personality too. Just watching him play cracks me up.  He gets all rough with the stuffed animals.  And the other day, DD was sitting on the couch eating a cheese stick and DS wanted some. She was ignoring him and he was getting loud and started hitting her.  I wish I could have captured that on video.

Before we moved, we had to get rid of a lot of stuff... mainly because we were moving into a place without a  yard or storage.  DD had to say goodbye to a lot of her good toys such as a water table, her little car and her trike.  We told her we would get a bike after we moved.  One day while checking my facebook newsfeed, I noticed a few contacts had posted photos of their kids on wooden bikes. They were called balance bikes. I decided a balance bike would be a good choice for DD to help build confidence and coordination.  We were at Toys R Us and they had one on clearance (at least that was what the sign next to the box said). It rang up 30 dollars more than I expected, so while we were waiting for the price confirmation, DH noticed the box was all taped up. The last item we purchased from Toys R Us came in a box that was taped up. It was a baby gate, a broken, dirty, used baby gate. I was able to get a brand new one. But we decided not to try our luck. So I went online and found one much cheaper from Amazon and it came in two days.  The assembly was pretty easy.

She wanted to hold him

New Bike

The Zoo

We took the kids to the zoo. We got an annual pass with parking. The zoo charges right at the gate for parking and admission.  At first, we were kind of confused, but then I actually think it's a pretty good concept. There were picnic tables in different areas, so patrons could come and go from the zoo and eat at the tables if they did not want to eat in the park and they did not have to worry about getting a handstamp for reentry.
The zoo kind of reminded of an amusement park when we walked in. There were photographers who wanted to take patron pictures in front of a green screen and there were tons of souvenir shops. The zoo had plenty of buildings to duck into in case of inclement weather, which was good because it started to rain. Thank goodness it did not last too long. For the summer, there is a dinosaur exhibit. We were not sure what to expect, I was thinking just statues or something. However, while waiting in line, we could hear loud rumbling noise (think Jurassic Park) and they had some cool dinosaurs. DD decided after seeing the first one, she did not like dinosaurs anymore, LOL.  The displays were awesome, they were animatronic! There was a huge T-Rex and some spitting dinos too.
We saw some animals that they do not have at the VA zoo, which was neat. Some of the animals included were bears (including polar bears), moose, camels, tigers,  and seals. There was also a play area for the kids.  Like the VA zoo, there was a farm section, however this zoo actually milked the cows and showed a display. The zoo also had a sky ride, train ride, pony rides, camel rides, and a zipline. We did not do any of those on our first trip, but we plan on checking them out later. Well, except maybe the camel ride. We ended the day with some yummy ice cream.
Since we got the annual pass, we plan on going a lot. I think it will be neat in the winter.

T Rex

Tiger

At the playground

Polar Bear

I survived!

I survived my first week in my new position.  Yes, I got a new job, sort of... After doing the budget, we realized that my paycheck went towards daycare expenses and fuel to get to work.  I am on a break until DS is old enough for school (or until I get bored).  My last day of work was the 18th of May and then we moved from the land of peanuts and ham to the land of beer and cheese.  This past week was my first week as a Stay at Home Mom.

So far, so good... I have not gone crazy yet.  I am trying to limit tv time to when DH is home. DD is having a hard time understanding, since she's so used to having the tv on all the time.

 

Monday we ran a few errands, went to the park, and then to the mall for lunch.  DD asked for "buh donals", and they have one in the mall.  We got home and had quiet time and read. We then went for a walk to get the mail and then DH came home from work.

Tuesday we went to the library for story time. The librarian, Ms Debbie is very animated and gets the kids going.  There were a lot of kids at story time since it was the first one of the summer.  I also enrolled DD into the summer reading program, so we checked out a few library books.  We ate lunch at home and read her books and had quiet time and again walked to the mailbox.

Wednesday we stayed home waiting for furniture delivery. I let the kids watch a Baby Einstein dvd while we waited.  After the delivery, we had a quick lunch at home and then headed out to get DH's Father's day gift (Nook Tablet). I told DD it was a surprise for DH. When DH came home, she got all excited and told him she had a surprise, LOL.

Thursday we went to the library again... they had a magician and boy were there tons of kids. There were several day cares there.  We returned the library books we checked out on Tuesday and got a few more.  Her favorite out of that bunch is The Runaway Dinner.  I guess she read that one with her Mimi.  After the library, we checked out an indoor playground called The Big Backyard.  It is a warehouse with playground equipment. I think its a neat concept for inclement weather.   It even had a section for babies.  The kids had fun playing.

Friday we had a Mom's group playgroup at one of the local parks.  It was good to meet some people and DD had fun playing.  It was so hot and we were so tired, so we ate lunch at home and laid down for a bit.

little update

Wow! It has been too long since I last blogged... A lot has happened.
I will try to upload photos later

DD started walking at 16.5 months! She is all over the place now. And she is talking and mimicking. She likes to do things her way or she throws a fit! I guess we will have to deal with this until she turns 3!
We just got back from Colorado. DD visited her Nana for the first time. The reason why it was her first visit was because our home was on the market and then I was in the middle of my busy season at work. We had a great visit. We went to the Pueblo zoo, the North Pole. We even visited some friends of Nana who built an earth home. It was so neat. It was built from old tires.

I am going to Florida next month so my father can see his grand baby. He has not seen her since last September. Just going to be DD and me, as DH is done with traveling. He has been on the road since we sold our home. He is worried that I won't be able to handle DD by myself in the airport, but I will be fine.

I would blog about the drama going on, but then that would mean keeping the drama around and it is not worth blogging about.

Heated Emotions

Wow! This past week was HOT! I think the month went in the record books for least amount of rain and most days in the 100's! The heat can lead to bad tempers

I took DD to Gymboree on Wednesday to make up the day she missed. The instructor brought out some hoops and she was in heaven. DD loved the hoops. She also liked the balls... So, Saturday, we are back on our regular day and the instructor is blowing bubbles and having the kids pop them. DD sees the hoops hanging on the wall and wanted them. Since she could not reach them, she threw herself on the ground and started crying. She was having a meltdown. I tried to distract her from the hoops with the bubbles, but she was not having any of that. So I scooped her up and left. I was not going to let her meltdown ruin the other kids and parents day.
I know she is still young, but I don't want her becoming a spoiled brat

So quite a few people I know are having issues/ended relationships. It got me to thinking. I told DH that I want to work on our relationship because I don't want it to end. I know there are various phases of a relationship and most people leave after the euphoric stage has gone. I am reading "The Five Languages of Love" and learning more on how to keep our relationship good.

Ican't really think of anything else

Rewind

Time to update!

Went to the rheumatologist today. The hospital changed all the signs and now none of the signs direct to each specialty clinic... not a big deal for me since I've been going for years, but could be a big hassle for new patients.

The doctor is concerned that my lupus is acting up again. She's been pretty patient with me in the fact that I don't want to take any meds while nursing. She did want to know when I plan on stopping nursing because she does not want my condition to get out of control. I told her ideally 18 months, but we shall see.

She asked about my lymphnodes because she could see in my record there was a test done. She said with my condition and swollen lymphs that I am a candidate to get cancer! OMG! Not another thing to worry me about! So today, I had a butt ton of labs done.

It started to rain on my drive back to work and I decided to go home. My body is in so much pain from my arthritis and DD not sleeping well and then I had a huge headache from the rain pressure. I went home and had a nice nap.

So, DH has been home a week. Does he think I am supposed to empty his luggage/bags and put them away? Does he think he is still living in a hotel? OMG! Everytime I see his luggage I want to punch him so bad. I am going to put it away this weekend. He's been home and the house has become cluttered. I was letting it slide since he just got home... but he's been home for a week, only worked one half day. Can you do some chores around the house? One would think that with another adult, the household chores would seem less... No! It seems I have more crap to do. At least he is making dinner, even if it comes with a collossal mess!

I go back to school in September. I am re-starting my Master's in Education, but not in elementary education, it will be Instruction and Human Improvement... more of the behind the scenes with curriculum development. This go round, I am paying for it out of pocket since I have used my VA benefits. I know I could use DH's, but I don't think that is fair. He needs to either use it or transfer it to DD. So, I applied for a FASFA loan and since we make too much, I was only qualified for the worst type of loan... no grants or anything. At first, I was excited, I could go to school full time and finish quickly. But then I started to think... I don't want to go into major debt for schooling. CG has tuition assistance which pays a portion and then I am going to pay the rest. So instead of going to school full time, I am going when we can afford it. It may take longer, but I know I won't be deep in debt when I am done.