We went around to deliver homemade zuchini bread to all the neighbors.
At one home, my DS tells the lady that we have a bigger tree. At the same home, the woman of the house ("WOH") asks DD if she wants to give her dog a treat. WOH hands a doggie treat to DD, who promptly puts it in her mouth! Great.

Swim Lessons

Last night was DD's first swim lesson. DS is old enough to do the lesson's by himself, but DD has to have a parent in the water with her.
DS was happy and proud.
DD wanted to play. She was fussing and crying almost the entire time. Not because she didn't want to be in the water, but because she wanted to do what she wanted to do. She did not want to play ring around the rosie or kick with the other children.

How you can tell I'm a mom

If you saw a woman in a suit walking to work this morning with a Dora umbrella barely covering her head, that was me.
If you saw a woman sitting at her desk eating lunch from a Thomas the Train container, that was me.

Overheard

Overheard this morning --
DS to DD: "you're the bad guy"
DD (loudly): "I am not the bad guy. I DD."
DS again: "you're the bad guy"
DD (even louder): "I not bad guy. My name DD!"

Potty Training

DD is almost there.
Stayed home all weekend. She had 3 accidents and spent most of the weekend sitting on the potty watching TV.
Day 1 - Monday. School wasn't so excited about underwear. She had an accident and the immediately put her back in the pull-up. She did fine at home.
Day 2 - Kept her in the pull up for school. Dry all morning. Great all afternoon at home. Went to neighbor's house to play - pooped in her underwear! (BTW - had neighbors over to celebrate getting their sod put in, the neighborhood is starting to look less like a construction zone and more like a neighborhood.)
Day 3 - overconfident & took her to school with underwear. Accident. Pull up.
Day 3.5 - She. woke. me. up. at. 4. AM. to. pee. Then didn't want to go back to sleep. I was impatient and banished her to bed. She cried. Bad mommy. Couldn't go back to sleep myself, but didn't want to make too much noise, so here I sit blogging.

Proud

DS learned to swing yesterday evening. It was a nice evening, and he just started pumping his legs. "Look, I did it!" Every once in a while he would get things confused, but was quickly back on track. I even called out DH to look and tell DS how proud he was. Good job, son.

The LOs love their new school. They were quite upset with us this weekend when we didn't take them to school.

Today is DS' first karate lesson. Hope he loves it!

Tonight I was reminded of something DD did when she was about 9 months old. I was putting on some purple footed PJs that had a chicken design all over it. She looked at it, her eyes got real big and she started yelling at the top of her lungs "bach, bach, bach" (how do you spell that anyway?) and pointed at her PJs. She was so excited that she had these chickens on her PJs. It was just the cutest thing.
What reminded me of this was that as we were lying in her bed this evening after singing her the nightly songs (mocking bird, itsy bitsy spider, twinkle twinkle and ABCs - in exactly that order), she started pointing at all the things on her PJs and asking "what is that." She pronounces each word very distinctly with a heavy emphasis on "is."
Totally adorable.

Single Parenting

DH is out of the country for 10 days, so I'm single-parenting it. I have help; my MIL is here for that time to help take care of the kids. But, this is the first time she's been to our house, so she doesn't know where anything is and I think she's sometimes a little tentative around me. She's a great MIL. I enjoy having her around and it is great that she is such a help with the LOs. They adore her. Today she got DD to pee on the potty!!!! Then she called me at work so I could tell DD how wonderful she is. It's pretty bad when you rely on your visiting MIL to start the potty training process. I'm also counting on daycare to take care of it. Bad mommy (and daddy).
It also doesn't help that DH and his sister purchased a 33 unit apartment building less than a month ago. So, here I am trying to juggle my job, my kids (who are a little freaked that daddy isn't around), and this apartment complex. DH hasn't had time to develop any routines to tell me about. I'm just winging it. Yesterday I got a call from a tenant who was rather pissy about the fact that garbage had piled up around the dumpster. When I talked to DH this morning, I asked him when and how often were they supposed to be emptied and who was the company so I could call them. He said Waste Management. I get to my office and spend a bit of time in the morning with Waste Management. They've never heard of us or the apartment complex. So, I take time out of work (I'm working on a time sensitive project) to drive the 20 minutes to the apartment office. It wasn't Waste Management, it was Allied Waste (sounds the same, right?). When I called, I found out that they had set everything up, but DH had forgot to mail in the contract! The lady was nice enough to set up a pick up for tomorrow at no charge and we're set up to begin on Oct 30. DH has it set up for every other week, but I think he's going to find that it needs to be weekly.
It's tough. DH has had to do all this juggling, while hauling the kids around. He sold an apartment building in NY, bought an apartment complex here and then had to figure out how to run it. He's done a phenomenal job. It just isn't easy. He finally admitted that he can't do this and take care of the kids at the same time. It's a good thing I already knew this and had set us up on a waiting list for daycare last December! It's amazing that more hasn't slipped through the cracks. He needs to be able to sit down and focus on the business, otherwise we're just going to have more of these little snafus. I'm really amazed at everything he gets done in a day. Far more than I get done in a week. But, I think he needs to slow down a little.
The LOs are very excited about starting 'school.' They are so ready.

Not much going on other than the normal business of life.
DH is overworked. Hopefully things will even out soon and we'll be back on a more normal schedule. I want to help, but am sometimes at a loss at what to do. I don't want to butt in on his business, but I don't want him to think I don't care or I'm not paying attention. Because I am paying attention.
The LOs seem to be having a blast. Tomorrow we get to tour their new school (daycare). I hope they love it!

Labor Day Redux

So, Labor Day was actually more than a week ago, but I've been busy with work.

We left around 9am on Saturday for the drive to Atlanta. It was later than I wanted to leave, but we waited until that morning to pack, so its actually not a bad start - all things considered.
The Little Ones did pretty well on the drive. It wasn't until toward the end that they got antsy. We had to pull over on I-285 b/c DS had to go potty "right now."
We spent the evening at the hotel and let them splash in the hotel pool. It was small and over-chlorinated, but we needed to let the kiddos get some ya-yas out of their system. I had bought some swim vests at a sporting goods store and was hoping that would help me feel less anxious about them being near the water and maybe make them less anxious about getting wet. DS officially started doggie paddling around the pool! He was so proud of himself - "look, I'm swimming." Keep in mind, he refuses to get his face wet and he was swimming with a psuedo-life vest, but its progress and I was very pleased for him! DH was so proud that you would think DS was Michael Phelps.
DD, of course, thought she could swim too. Which means she wouldn't let me touch her. Until she nearly drowned b/c she can't doggie paddle yet. It was getting late anyway and the kiddos needed to be bathed (chlorine smell was overwhelming and DD would get hives if I didn't get the chemicals off her skin). There was a Shoney's within walking distance of the hotel. Bleeech. These places used to be decent. It was never a gormet experience, but you could get a burger and some mac/cheese. The food was just bad and we should've walked to the McD's or Chik-fil-e instead.
This was a dry run for our Disney trip over Christmas. We were all in a single hotel room, with 2 queen beds. The kiddos slept in one bed and we slept in the other. We left the light on so that DH and I could read. I thought the LOs would be too tired and would just pass out, but I guess the excitement was just a bit much. They settled down, but it took them a while.
The next day we got up way too early. I was hoping my exhausted kids would sleep in the dark hotel room for longer. I hadn't slept well b/c every time DD rolled over, I had to peek and make sure she hadn't rolled off the bed. DH got up once to put her head back on the pillow (instead of at the foot of the bed) and I got up once to do the same thing. She's quite the traveller in her sleep! We didn't even get dressed, I just dragged everyone down to the continental breakfast in the lobby. Nothing very exciting - typical cereal, oatmeal, make your own waffle kind of thing. We had talked about bringing our own coffee maker. I regret that we didn't. The coffee was terrible. But, that's because we've become big coffee snobs.
So, we hung out in the hotel room until about 0945 and then headed for Six Flags. There were no lines, it was a little hot, but not too bad. The kids had a total BLAST riding all the little-kid rides. We got DS onto a kiddie roller coaster, but he didn't like it at all. There were a couple rides that I could see he was totally scared at first, but then realized that it was fun and started having a great time. I get the feeling that I'll be hanging out with DS while DD and DH go on all the big rides when they get older. We both hate heights and neither of us likes to spin around too much. We ate a little lunch and then headed over for the Thomas the Tank Engine area. They had a little playground and thomas train to ride. DS is a little old for it and DD isn't terribly interested in Thomas. But they enjoyed the train ride and really enjoyed the playground. I'm glad we saved that for the end. Otherwise, we would've spent too long at the playground and not enough time on the rides.
We tried to ride the big train back to the front gate. We got on and waited, and then there was an announcement that there was a mechanical problem and the ride was closed indefinately. By this point, DD had pooped her diaper and DS was just pooped. We got off and started trudging along. Wouldn't you know it - we heard the train whistle by us about 5 minutes later. Oh well.
DD fell asleep in the stroller before we even got to the car. Of course she woke up when we got to the hotel and thought it was party time! So we all laid down for a nap. DS got up first and went swimming with DH while I stayed in the room until DD woke up.
We went to Cracker Barrel for dinner and then to Walmart. The reason for going to Atlanta was to attend a wedding and I wanted to get some toys for the brides children and a card. We bought stuff for the kids to color.
The next day, we got up early and headed into town for the Georgia Acquarium. It's a great place. Very stroller/kid friendly - until you get to the play area. They very strictly enforce the height requirments for kids to play on the structure. Which means you had lots of very upset children who couldn't play on the structure with their older sibling! Why didn't they just make a play structure that was appropriate for everyone!? Then to make matters worse, the one slide that DD could go on, they have the slide entrance on the second floor on the opposite wall from the stairs to get to the slide. So, you either had to slide down with the child, or have another person waiting at the bottom to get the child. There was no way to put the child on the slide and get to the bottom to supervise before they were off and running. And you couldn't just stay on the bottom while the child went up the stairs by themselves, it was too far from the slide. It was truly terrible. Since we had gone a little faster through the exhibits than we should've (we counted on the play area keeping them happy for longer than it did), we were done by 11AM!
We ate a totally delicious meal at Legal Seafood.
Then back to the hotel room. DH took the kids upstairs for a nap and I went to get a pedicure. I was back before everyone woke up and had a little snooze. Once we woke up we got ready and drove to the wedding.
The wedding was, . . . .interesting. These are my relatives and they don't have any money. So, there were a few things that were different. The food was bad and they didn't have enough of some things and too much of other things. Oddly enough, the things they had too much of were the more expensive items. The glow-sticks were a big hit. My kids and the brides kids are similar in age and they were running around having a blast. It was nice to catch up with the family that was able to attend. I'm glad we went.

Cute things they say

DS can't say alligator - he says "alledeggor"
DD doesn't say carry me when she wants me to pick her up - she says "carry you"

Playdate

Sunday, we went to a dear friend's house for the morning. We went to law school together and she has a almost 3YO. I'm not too concerned with whether or not the kids get along. Mostly, I just want to hang out with my friend.

I think playdates are kind of interesting. Some playdates are just for the kids. And some are just for mommy or daddy! It's also interesting to see different parenting techniques.

On the way to my friend's house (lets call her Dawn, just for ease of reading), we had to stop over at another friend's house to feed/water her cats while she's out of town. Dawn lives about 1.5 hours away and my other friend's house is on the way there. Since I was in kind of a hurry to get on the road, we decided to eat at McD's for B-fast. When you have kids that need naps, your only real window of quality play time seems to be in the AM. DS has been nagging to go to McD's because he wants to get some more "bad guys" toys. Unfortunately, the McD's we stopped at had different toys this time. They only had the "shooters." (It's a Clone Wars/Star Wars theme.) DS was heartbroken and just couldn't understand how they were displaying all the toys but he couldn't get what he wanted. Ugh. Sniffles and tears.

On the way home, I was hoping DD would nap in the car. Of course not. I drove slowly and it didn't matter. Since she was awake anyway, I stopped for cheap gas and for a McD's toy. YAY - this McD's had a "bad guy" toy. Peace has reigned.

We were only 30 min from home when DS decided he had to go potty right now. I could've stopped a bunch of different places, but I thought I would brilliantly stop at a Home Goods store. Thank God the kids had their new McD's toys to keep them busy b/c mommy shopped. DD got a new bedspread and pretty things for the wall. I got a new bedspread too. It's yellow and sunny. Mommy is happy.

Saturday

DD has a new phrase: "My name is DD. I two." Over and over.

Today we visited DD & DS' new school. They'll be going to a very highly rated school starting in Oct. We've been signed up since DEC! Yowza. I know part of its all hype, but we were so spoiled with DS's first daycare. I know what great daycare is and I want to make sure that the kids have it. (Yeah, we call it school. But lets be real, its fancy daycare.)

They would've started earlier, but DS will turn 4 in Nov. We decided that rather than have him go to a 3YO room for a couple months and then transtion to a 4YO room, we would just wait until Oct when he can "legally" be in the 4 YO room (he'll be 3 and 11 months). DD could start school now, but she will be lost without big brother around. It'll be her first time in daycare and I think she'll be fine without her parents; but she gets very lost when her brother isn't around. Kind of sweet actually. I really hope they continue to have a close relationship. It's kind of macabre, but their dad and I aren't young chickents. Someday they'll only have each other (and their much older half siblings). I want them to be able to turn to each other for anything.

DS is learning how to write his letters. He's very excited about it and he's doing great.

My Brilliant Daughter

DD is 2.5. I love this age. She is funny and smart. The mommy in me just bursts with pride when the pediatrician told me how wonderfully advanced DD's verbal skills are. And when I see her actually draw faces - at 2.5! Pretty impressive, huh?
I used to worry because she didn't get as much exposure to creating art as her brother did. He was in a daycare from about 5mos to 3 or so and he was always drawing and fingerpainting at school. DD has been home with Daddy since she was born. Lord knows daddy is very much an old school type of parent. Anytime I would try to set up the fingerpaints for them to play, she would get so upset. Now, she's seems to be more "advanced" in this area than her brother was at the same age. I wonder if it has to do with the fact that girls tend to develop fine motor skills faster than boys? Or is it because she sees what her brother is doing and wants to play along? I call her my little "me too." Truthfully, I don't think it has to do with any of that sutff. She's just brilliant. And charming. And funny. And cute.

Sneaky little one

Yesterday when I got home from work, DS wanted to show me his new "bug catcher." Very cute little thing. It was in the garage, but he wanted to bring it inside. So, he brings it inside and tells me that he's going to hide it from Daddy. I kept asking him why he wanted to hide it, but he wouldn't tell me. He hid it in the pantry behind the flour. No big deal.
I told DH about it and he started laughing. Apparently he had told DS that he needed to leave the bug catcher in the garage.

Now What?

OK. I have a blog. Now what?