To ABQ, and beyond!

I’ll start with Nathaniel this week. Nathaniel loved playing with his cousins, and their toys. He loved pushing the empty doll stroller around, I’m sure because it had wheels, and he really loved the talking phonics schoolbus. So much so, that he tried desperately to get us to bring it home! He’s talking more and more. The boys delight in having him repeat after them. He’s been surprising us with what he mimics too. In the car ride home from the airport I played the usual game of “1, 2, 3… Quiet!” to get the boys to stop talking so loud. We were then surprised when Nathaniel chimed in right after, “un, to, fee, twite!” Deborah and I just burst into laughter. So much for that game! Oh, and one more funny, Nathaniel decided that our milk was not flavorful enough, I guess. So he decided to add some ingredients to it. When Mike went to pour it on his cereal, he complained there was already cereal in the milk! I laughed and took the milk to the sink and got a gallon pitcher to pour out the rattling jug into. I found 4 Reese’s Puffs, 3 cheerios, 2 plastic utensils, and a stylus to a Nintendo DS. Sounds a little like a redneck Christmas song, right?

Joshua had a fun time in Albuquerque too. He liked most playing the computer games with his cousins. He LOVED the primary activity – and kept telling me of sewing on the buttons and going on the wagon rides. He also loved getting out all the toys and games Deborah had hidden away. He found a game set that had checkers, chess, Chinese checkers & mancala pieces. While he and the cousins like playing with it, they were often distraught that Nathaniel would scatter the pieces and then try to eat them.

Michael, for whom we made the “birthday” trip so he could see his cousins, spent most of the time on his aunt’s computer. It didn’t help that the poor guy had a very high fever for the first 3 days we were there. But once he got over the fever, he went right to what he really wanted to do: play more computer. I told Deborah that I think Michael would very much miss her computer! I keep asking him what he wants for his birthday, but all he tells me are activities. He doesn’t seem to want any toys. Maybe I’ll just have to take him to the toy aisle at a store to see if that’s really true…

Mike came with us on this trip and fixed the Newren’s sprinklers. He and Elijah spent all morning fixing them, but mostly running to and from stores for parts, or returning things. Then I told Elijah about Mike’s offer to help him carry in a freezer if he wanted to buy one. Deborah’s been wanting a chest freezer for quite some time. That, apparently, was all Elijah had been waiting for. He and Mike spent hours measuring & pricing freezers, until they found the perfect one. They brought it home triumphantly only to find it had a huge dent in the lid! They took it back, and had to go to another store to find a decent one. This one had scratches and dents too, but they weren’t willing to make yet another trip. I can’t say that I blame them! I’d be tired after 4 hours of shopping too, especially following all the digging they did earlier!

Mike also managed to glue one of the chairs back together that had been wobbly. He told me a few more things he wanted to fix the next time he came… Deborah told me she thought it was funny that Mike wanted to fix everything in their house, but I know Mike. He wants to fix things because he likes that feeling of accomplishment when things are fixed, and he got to do it on somebody else’s (grateful) dime!

Deborah and I thought it VERY funny that the men were out shopping all Saturday while we stayed home with the kids. We thought it should have been the other way around, except for what they were shopping for!

I surprised myself this week by overcoming my fears a little more. I hate driving places I don’t know, and I hate driving cars I’m not familiar with. But to do both is just terrifying! I almost NEVER drive out of state. I always make Mike. But when it was time for Mike to go on Monday I decided it was time to swallow my fears (a little) and take him to the airport myself. Albuquerque roads are pretty straightforward, and the signs were very clear. Elijah’s car was new to me, but I had driven it once or twice (a long time ago) before. And I did it! I did bring the Tom-tom (it’s nice to have a security blanket, just in case) but I didn’t have to look at it. Then, after that accomplishment, a few days later I surprised Deborah (she knows my aversions) by saying I would drive so we could all go to the park at the same time, and she wouldn’t have to make 2 trips. We had a good time at the park, even though it was very hot. Then to top this off, I left the park before her, and went to a local gas station to get my kids a slushy drink – by myself! I know it doesn’t seem like much, and I was never far from Elijah’s home, but it was a big step for me. Maybe the next time I go I’ll actually be confident enough to drive somewhere really fun with Deborah.

On another note, the pregnancy is progressing just fine, and I don’t have anything more than common minor problems that most pregnant women deal with. Woohoo! Only 52 days to go!

Anyone seen my mind?

I have a changing "table" in my laundry room . It comes in handy to use the counter right next to the laundry sink to change the babies, because if they're too messy, you can just plop them in the sink and give them a quick bath. The problem is that Nathaniel likes to pull everything else on the counter into the bath with him. After loosing the umpteenth diaper to a bath, I decided to put them out of reach. Problem solved.

Then the next day I was changing Nathaniel, and couldn't find any diapers in the laundry room! I quickly called for Michael, and when he came in, gave him instructions to get diapers from upstairs - HURRY!! Then Nathaniel giggled and pointed up and said, "Di-ers!"
I looked where he was pointing, and sure enough, there were the diapers on the high shelf, right where I'd put them. I giggled with him. Silly mommy. Maybe someday I'll be as smart as my baby.

I knew that my babies were taking all my brain cells, but I didn't know they were taking my memory too.

Summer doldrums

I miss school. I never thought that would happen, but I do. I miss the kids getting up at a reasonable hour - at the same time – and getting themselves ready for the day. I miss the structure, and being able to shop for an hour without 2 extra kids in tow. I miss not feeling guilty that they were wasting the day. They definitely do that now. I’ve been so lazy. I’d say it’s because I’m pregnant and I feel crappy (which is true) but I know other women who are pregnant don’t let their families go to pot. I had this grandiose idea that I’d set out their “summer learning” and a note about chores, and they’d do their work, chores, and be clean and ready for the day, including having eaten breakfast by a reasonable hour…. Everyday. Yeah, well that hasn’t happened. I did it last summer, but it takes work to write up the note, put out the homework, come up with a chore, come up with a possible reward, AND worst of all carry through with the reward. I used rewards like going to the park, or ikea, or Mcdonalds playplace, or playing a game last year. This year I’m just too pooped! I just want a nap! I have no incentive to get my kids up and going early most days, except that I want to go to bed early as well as sleep in, and that’s hard to do when you hear the pitter patter of untired little feet sneaking about.

On another pregnancy related note, I soon won’t be able to travel with Mike anymore, and it’s probably a good thing. Pregnancy seems to have eaten up my brain. Maybe my body decided that it didn’t have enough raw material to make a new baby brain, and it would just be easier to plunder my head directly, or maybe I’m just so sleep deprived I’ll never regain my short-term memory. (you try sleeping with a 30 lb. basketball strapped to your tummy!) Whatever the case, I can’t remember things worth a darn... On this last trip to San Jose I forgot only 2 (crucial) things: Diapers, and MY swimsuit. It turned out ok though. I used swim diapers to hold Thaniel over during the day (thank heavens I remember the spare outfit!), and Mike was able to go with us to swim. I was sad though, because if I had remembered my suit I could have gotten in the pool with all of them, and perhaps gone back later in the evening for a night swim with the boys when we wouldn’t have had to worry about sunblock.

On a similar note… I can’t find my camera. I’ll give a quarter to the first person who can find it for me… :)

Michael is my great little helper right now. He loves playing on the computer, and is willing to help out a great deal, but even more so when I promise him computer time for it. He says his favorite part about summer is to go swimming in the hotel.

Josh also loves the swimming, and began asking when we’d get to the pool before we even left the house to get on the airplane for the hotel pool.

Thaniel is becoming quite the little chatterbox. He will often (but not always) attempt to repeat what you ask him to say. He’s also started talking in sentences in the last few weeks, although not all things he says are “real words”. The funniest part is sometimes everything he says is just babble to me, and he’ll look at me expectantly waiting for my response, verbal or otherwise. Sometimes he gets mad at me for not understanding him, and I just have to tell him I’m sorry that mama’s not smart enough. One of his favorite phrases is “Mah-tee pay bang!” Roughly translated this is “Michael, play bang!”
“Bang” is what Thaniel calls trackmania – a racecar driving/ track building computer game. He’ll often call for Josh to “pay bang!” too. The boys are all to happy to ask mama if they can please make Thaniel happy by playing the game for him.