I See the Future

This morning, I went out into the snow wearing only my pj's and a bathrobe and used a toy shovel to clear the snow off of a patch of grass so that the dog could go potty on it. Sunshine is so small, you see, that he is hesitant to step into the snow even when it's only a couple inches deep. Also, he just hates the cold.


Fortunately, it wasn't very cold today, but I foresaw my future, and all I can say is...oh boy.

To his credit, Sunshine did go potty on the clean square of grass I created for him so at least it's not for naught.

Why Aren't I Asleep?!

Beats me. Everyone else in the house is. Even the dog is asleep beside me. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here surfing the 'Net and listening to holiday music on Comcast cable. Sad thing is, they play the same dang holiday songs over and over and over. And, WHO THE HELL IS BILLY GILPIN?!!! He's got a lot of songs on this channel, and I've never even heard of this kid. Bah!

I'm not really in a pissy mood. (I'm just drawn that way, hehe.) I actually had a pretty decent day. We had Pumpkin's parent/teacher conference this afternoon. It went well, I suppose. My biggest question for his teachers was, "does (Pumpkin) really belong in a school like this?" According to Miss Danielle and Miss Shelly, this is the question most of their EEC parents ask. Oh, okay. Anyway, they assured me that, by his social interactions and participation in classroom activities, Pumpkin does display true signs of "giftedness." Hmph. I'm not sure if I'm completely convinced, but since we're already paid up for the whole school year, we'll just keep at it...though I don't look forward to continuing with my daily drive through hell to pick him up from school everyday (b/c of Bella's screaming all the way there and back, UGH!).

Don't get me wrong. I agree that Pumpkin is very intelligent; I'm just not sure he's any more intelligent than other kids his age. Then again, he is so articulate and knowledgeable that I tend to *forget* that he's still only 3 and often catch myself speaking to him like he's much older. But that's not all the time. Usually, I'm content to let him tear around the house with Sunshine doing what they do best, which is tear stuff up, haha.

In case you're wondering what's so special about this school, here's a glimpse of what they've *learned* so far this semester:


Isotrophy
Buoyancy
Gravity
Fractions
Music (they enjoyed a performance by some members of the Colorado Symphony)
Spanish

A bunch of other high-falutin' stuff too, but as y'all know, my memory is completely shot so that's all I can think of right now. Now, it's time to hit the sack. Until next time!

Freakin' Nuggets

I finally got around to working on some thank you cards and birth announcements today. Halfway through my project, I realized that I needed to buy different cards so off to Target I went. When I got back home an hour or so later (or more, who knows), the house was eerily silent. I asked QT what was going on, and he said, "the kids are asleep." Uhhh......ex-squeeze me?

That's right. BOTH KIDS ARE ASLEEP, AND IT'S ONLY 9PM. OMG! (yes, "only"...we're very lax parents, I know). Anyway, this is unbelievable. QT claims that he didn't have much to do with it since both kids just fell asleep while sitting with him on the sofa, but to me, this is nothing short of miraculous. Way to go, QT! As a reward, you get to keep watching your sports even though I'm home again. ;)

As I sit here watching the "freakin' Nuggets" losing against God-knows-what-team (oh, it's the Bulls, and they're tied now), I vow to dedicate this blog to QT, my hero. We're also watching...let's see, it looks like the Chargers and the Colts, but what I really want to say is HIP HIP HOORAY for the Texas Longhorns, QT's fave college team. Even though they were "off" this weekend, they've managed to make it back up to #2 in the college polls. Go Team!

A Day Like Today

I have had the utmost shittiest day today. I won't bother with the details, but suffice to say that at various times today, I dreamt of running away, screaming, crying, banging my head on the steering wheel, and all of the above at once. Probably other things too, but this is one instance in which my poor memory will work to my benefit. By tomorrow, probably the only memory I'll have of this incredibly lousy day will be this post. In fact, all of today's emotions are fading like mist even as I try to exorcise them by writing them down so perhaps I won't even have this post to remind me. I guess this really is for the best. Why would I even want to remember?

Still, scattered amongst the jagged events that made up my day today were a few sweet images and feelings that make a day like today tolerable...I mean, survivable, haha. BG's face lighting up with a big smile when she saw me peeking in on her. Pumpkin curling up beside me and brushing my hair while I read to him. Pumpkin giving BG her pacifier. BG cooing and smiling at Pumpkin. (That was perhaps the sweetest image I had all day.)

Here She Is!



And here's Pumpkin Pie with his sister in better days. Hopefully, he'll be back to his old self again very soon.

Life with BG #4

BG has been smiling for a couple of weeks now, but I just had to mention that she gave me a big ole' smile today!! It would've meant more if she hadn't also given the cat a big ole' grin just a couple minutes later, haha. Still, at least now I know for sure that she recognizes me. The books all say she was born recognizing at least my voice, but as I'm not prone to blind faith in any *theories,* it's nice to finally have some proof. And, I have to say, she is just the cutest little thing when she smiles and coos. It just makes me want to hug her and squeeze her and call her George.

I'd post a picture of her smiling, but I haven't taken one yet. Come to think of it, I've hardly broken out the camera at all or taken any pictures of her just lying around doing nothing in particular like I did of Pumpkin when he was a baby. Oh, no. Can it be? 2nd child syndrome! It happened to me! It can happen to you.

It's after midnight now, and BG is asleep, but I know now what I must do. Tomorrow, just as soon as I get everyone settled in for the morning (which means after both kids have eaten and after I call the pediatrician's office and after I've taken Sunshine outside to potty and cleaned his room and after I've given Pumpkin his neb treatments and after I feed BG again (b/c she'll be ready to eat again by then) and after I finally scarf down a piece of bread or something so that I don't faint from hunger), I will take my camera and sit on the floor to play with BG and snap some pictures of her! Gosh darn it all, I will do it!

Is It THAT Time of Year Already?

It's time to unpack the ornaments, shop for gifts, reconnect with old friends, and dust off our...nebulizer?! Yes, gentlefolk, it's THAT time of year again. Pumpkin and I got our flu shots in September and our first colds the week before Halloween. Neither of us got very sick, but Pumpkin hasn't been able to shake off his cough since then. Last week, the cough turned a bit croupy (right before the weekend, I might add). The cough had calmed down considerably by Saturday morning so I didn't take him to the doctor. I decided, instead, to pick up his last refill of Donatussin from the pharmacy just in case and also to keep the humidifier running in his room.

Except for the persistent dry cough, he was doing okay and was still running around and playing with his friends and with Sunshine so I assumed he was getting better. By Wednesday night, though, the croupy cough seemed to be making a comeback so I kept him home from school the next day and called his doctor's office again (the nurseline actually). On their advice, I started his albuterol treatments, but I once again declined to take him into the office to be checked out. (More on why later)

Friday morning, Pumpkin was doing better, but by late afternoon, he suddenly started wilting. One minute, he was running around playing, the next, he'd stopped talking and could barely keep his eyes open. By the time we got home, Pumpkin was crying that he was cold so I bundled him up in a big fuzzy blanket, and he fell asleep on the sofa. I was hoping that he would feel better after getting some rest, but I called the nurseline anyway and made an appointment to take him in that afternoon at 4:30 (cutting it close!).

Pumpkin stayed asleep--through loading him and BG in the car, through dropping BG off at a friend's house, and through driving to the doctor's office. In fact, he didn't wake up until we arrived at the pediatrician's, and even then, he insisted on taking his blanket inside with him and nearly fell asleep again on my lap. By the time we got into an exam room, he was burning up with fever. He vomited after the strep test then again when we got home, and it almost seemed like he was a bit delirious at times. We got him to take some steroid tablets to help with the croupy cough, but we all had a pretty rough night that night.

Since then, his fever has gone up and down, and the croupy cough has remained consistent even during the day, which I find baffling. I'm thinking we'll probably have to return to the doctor's office tomorrow...or at least call them again to find out what the next step is. As much as I complain about how much he talks (he talks A LOT), it's distressing to me to see how quiet he is now. It's so unlike him to be this quiet. He even turned down chocolate candy! True, I was trying to use it to bribe him into taking a spoonful of honey (for the cough), but if you know Pumpkin at all, you realize how bad he must feel to turn down candy. I'm tired now. We all are. I will keep you posted.

Life with BG, #3

The last of our visitors have gone, and the dust is finally settling around here. For the past couple of nights, BG has slept for 5-6 hour stretches at a time, and last night, she even did that in her own crib for a change! Woo-hoo! Celebrate!!

It was great having the family here again. Pumpkin was especially thrilled to see them and *planned* all sorts of fun things to do (mainly involving playing with his trains in our newly dubbed "train room" or watching train movies in his own room, hehe). Coincidentally, the Great Train Expo was in town the same weekend, and Beautiful Grandma was gracious enough to accept Pumpkin's invitation to accompany us to the show. (Cousin Lys joined us as well. :)

Sadly, their visit was so brief that we hardly had time to take any pictures. Haha, just kidding! It wasn't that brief. ;) For whatever reason though, we didn't really take that many pics so, hopefully, Chela will send me the ones she took. For now, here's a good one of Grandma holding BG at the train show. (And one of Pumpkin fast asleep with his buddy Sunshine :)

Still in Shock

I woke up wondering if it was true...AND IT WAS!!

We're not all a bunch of idiots after all! What a relief. My faith in my fellow man (and woman) is restored. Yay!! :)

I was saying to a friend yesterday that I used to admire John McCain before he won his party's nomination in this election. He used to be one of the good guys, and I may have considered voting for him if he hadn't made such a big slip up with his running mate. I mean, Sarah Palin literally came out of right field, and all I knew about her was what I saw in bits and pieces on the evening news or on video clips on the 'Net (or on my favorite: SNL, haha). Other than that, I really didn't know enough about her to form much of an opinion, though what I did see didn't really make her look all that good, sad to say. I did know that many people LOVED her because she was a regular person just like the rest of us. I agree with that. She certainly seems like she knows how to have fun, but people, hadn't you noticed that the last time we "elected" a regular guy to our nation's highest office (if you can call a spoiled rich party boy a regular guy), we ended up with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929, mired in a hopeless, costly, and mostly unnecessary war, with our civil rights trampled, and with the rich getting richer while the rest of us worry about how expensive a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk have gotten.? I can't believe you hadn't noticed that. Hmm.

Heck, this economic crisis has me so worried that I've resorted to buying Archer Farms branded groceries in order to save every little cent I can. For those of you who don't know, Archer Farms is like the modern day equivalent of the olden days' generic brands...only better. Remember this? Although I was too young to drink it when it was being sold, I remember seeing it in stores, haha.

Anyway, back to what I was saying. I have nothing personal against Sarah Palin, but if I've learned anything these past 8 years, it's this: Regular folks like me, who prefer to watch silly movies over CNN and who couldn't, to save our lives, name the Prime Minister of Malaysia (aka that Claymation dude) should absolutely NOT be in charge of this country. We, the regular people, definitely need to be led by those who are MORE IDEALISTIC and who pay more attention than us. (Note this does not say those whose interests lie solely in making themselves richer than us...there's a big difference there.) Hopefully, this Barack Obama is as smart and as honest as he seems. Good luck and God speed, Mr. Obama!

Election 2008

Wow! I seriously never thought I'd see the day. Barack Obama, a (half) black man (1/2 black not 1/2 man ;), was just elected President of these United States. And, our adopted home state of Colorado and our county in particular played an important part in making this happen. :)



The pundits keep saying that everyone will remember where they were and what they were doing when the election was called tonight. I was sitting on the sofa using the breast pump while QT held a sleeping BG. What a thing to remember, haha.

Halloween

The weekend before Halloween, we attended 'Trick or Treat for Health' at Centennial Medical Plaza.



The next day, we visited the Colorado Railroad Museum's Trick or Treat Train. We were a family of black cats. :)



The day before Halloween (October 30th), BG and I joined Pumpkin for a Halloween party at his school. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera to the party, but I was able to get a cute picture of the kids together when we got home (in orange shirts w/dog). Note the picture of the jack-o-lantern: I'm actually planning to keep this craft project forever because it has Pumpkin's 1st ever "signature." :) The last picture is of Pumpkin *trick-or-treating* around our neighborhood.



Forgive me, friends, but I am seriously falling asleep. I'm afraid that I am barely able to string 2 words together right now so please forgive me for posting such a *dry* blog. I'll be back soon to fix it up. For now, good night!

Life with BG, #2

Now that the last of our guests have gone, and we're on our own again, my posts have definitely gotten more sporadic. So much has happened in the past few weeks...busy, busy, busy!

BG is apparently completely "embrasilada" which roughly translates to mean that she's only happy if she's in someone's arms. For us, that means that we either have to be holding her or be resigned to listening to her holler, which definitely puts a crimp on our ability to prepare dinner or do laundry, for example. Not that I'm complaining b/c Lord knows I don't enjoy doing any of that stuff, but egads, our house is looking like a missile testing site. Even I can't stand it anymore, and that's saying a lot b/c everyone knows I have a high tolerance for *clutter.*

Anyway, today was a good day. BG actually slept in her crib for a couple of hours this afternoon, which allowed me enough time to take Sunshine out, do some laundry, prepare lunch for Pumpkin, clean the litter box, finish moving a dresser into my bedroom (from the hallway), and yes, even enjoy a sandwich. Unfortunately, the afternoon was a little less idyllic. BG cried...a lot. And, I couldn't figure out what she wanted or how to stop her. :(

Fast forward a few hours: kids are bathed, dinner is eaten, and I've just finished watching an SNL special election feature. BG's asleep, QT took Pumpkin up to bed about an hour ago, and I miraculously find myself with time to blog. Wow. Now what?

Pictures! Good idea. I'd best be quick b/c I'm falling asleep at the switch here.

Ok, brain's stopped working. I can't caption. Figure it out. Below:
Day Out With Thomas (Pumpkin with Daddy and with friends), School Carnival (me carrying BG in baby bag), Visit from Grandparents, and trip to Anderson Farms