Dogs, Stickers, Ducks and more...........

A salute to our T-dog, who turned 3 years old last Friday. We celebrated her birthday with cake (she didn't get to enjoy it :() but she did enjoy her three gifts that we bought her. Here's Tatum Happy Cakes Roberts posing with her ginormous chew bone! Yes, her middle name is Happy Cakes, that is what C-man named her when he received her for his 2 year birthday. He was really into "Happy Cakes" for birthdays, weddings, showers, etc. that year! Tatum has been the usual middle child.....seeking attention, dramatic, forgiving, sensitive, loving, and energetic! We enjoy her lovingness and naughtiness all wrapped up into this cute package!.......sure hope Miss-O is not expecting a dog for her 2nd b-day.......if we do, we're getting a tiny one that can fit in my purse and doesn't shed!

Here's what T-dog is thinking, "The ideal dog food would be a treat that tastes like a postman."

She devoutly guards us daily from the blue uniformed individual that crosses her territory and delivers us our mail!
"Ticka! Ticka!" We thought Miss-O was saying she wanted tickled, until she showed us she wanted to play with the stickers.....her new passion and interest! The first place they go is on her nose and the rest of the family members' noses! Here is Dad and O with "HO-HO tickas"
O's sticker fascination! We took the opportunity to teach her the colors with these stickers, she managed to claim all the "tickas" were "geen!"
No, we did not just recently visit the farm.....this is a picture of our neighbor's duck.....(they have 10! plus a rabbit, turtle, cat and dog) Last spring, there were two ducks that hatched ducklings and C-man and I had the opportunity to watch the ducklings peck their way out of the eggs.....at a distance......since mommy duck was very protective! We've got "bird's eye view" (ha!) this year from our window. Each day we watch Momma duck to see how her eggs are doing....Today, she took a break from squatting on her eggs and I counted 20! Not sure if all of these eggs will turn into ducklings????? But it's been fun watching and waiting......it's like free discovery channel out our side window. There's another Momma duck behind this one that is in the window well and is sitting on a nest of eggs, not as many as this Mommy's...........it's like having a farm right here in the city.....(not sure if it is even with city ordinance, but we wouldn't tattle on them...they are wholesome people....and we enjoy their love of animals and nature!)
Peek! I just realized I have never taken a picture of O with her usual blanket positioned on her head. This must be a position of comfort or she likes the feeling of wearing a veil? She walks around like this, she sleeps like this, this is miss-O and her "ni-ni" and she wouldn't have it any other way!

Weekly pics

Happy Earth Day! We ate dinner by the natural light and used real napkins!
Earthly jello dessert!
Stuck on you!
Cheese!

BGB Days # 3-5

Not too bad with the Big Girl Bed this week!
Day Number 3 & 5; she fell asleep in her room on the floor, not even near her bed during her naps.
Day Number 4: she played quietly in her room for an hour during nap time and only received a 20 minute "car nap," prior to that.
As for nights, Day #3, she went down right away and fell asleep but then woke up with a second wind, but only took Grandma 45 minutes to get her back to bed.
Day #4; she fell asleep without a hitch; probably because she didn't have a nap that helped it out. Last night, she stayed in her bed all by herself and fell asleep on her own!!!
It's really cute how after she's done with a nap or waking for the morning, she knocks on the door when she's ready to come out. Sometimes she'll play before she knocks.....so, I think the transition is easier than what I thought it was going to be...now it's all about consistency!!!

p.s. I did move the radio to a safe spot, I was afraid she'd pull out the cord or wrap it around her neck......so now it's still available for her to play her music before bedtime but not get into the cord or outlet.....

Mission: BGB Day 2#

Last night Miss-O surprised Grandma and Grandpa in walking into her room, turning on her music and laying on her bed all by herself......she did this 7:50 pm......The two split up the duties between her and C-man......C-man fell asleep, she screamed and woke him up.

I came home from church and then played a tennis match between the two of them for an hour and half. Putting one in their bed after the other.

9:45 pm: I broke down, put them in my bed watched baby Einstein and miss-O actually laid down and quieted. Poor C-man, he states, "Mom, I'm so stressed and angry right now." I could say that we all were last night!

After begging C-man to stay put in our bed, I laid miss-0 back in hers and finally after rocking and rolling and wrapping her blanket around her head, she gave up. 5 minutes later, Connor gave up too....I was in survival mode last night, there was no consistency about it and they really are a two person job to get them both to sleep. I'm projecting about a month for this to get under control...

Time it took to get her to sleep: 2hr 40 min. Time she slept: 10 hrs. Found her laying on the floor this morning, sleeping.

I asked Paul if a padded room would be appropriate? Then I know she'd be safe!

We'll persevere, it's hard because we were smooth sailing and now just have some rocky waters to overcome......

Mission: BIG GIRL BED

Miss-O posing in her Big Girl Bed.....she looks so grown up :(

Bidding her crib a farewell....or wondering what the heck it is blocking her in for?
The crib block, that she snuck out of.....parent's creativity=failure :(
Big brother ready to promote a good night's sleep....he said he'd catch her if she fell.....

To much of our surprise, Miss-O has become a Houdini and yesterday demonstrated her feat in climbing and laying on top of the crib rails! AAAHHH! My first response, quick! we need to get a crib tent! Paul thought that instead of paying out money for something that may or may not work, let's try the resources that we already have; the toddler bed.



Paul brought up the bed, yesterday after her nap and second attempt of escape, and Miss-O was very curious about it. Paul put the mattress on it and she hopped right in and read a book, snuggled with her puppy and rested on her back....okay, maybe this transition won't be too bad.



Last night, Grandma Roberts came over for back-up help...(literally, back help since mine went out on Saturday) We used a lot of techniques........

• just laid her in the bed and shut the door and trapped her in with the old crib....nope! she snuck out


• C-man laid on the pillow on the floor next to the bed and we all tried to coax her into laying down....nope!


• C-man and I laid in his bed while Grandma tried to get her to lay down.....nope!


• While C-man and I lay in his bed, Grandma rocked her in the living room....almost...but nope!


• C-man laid in her bed with her.....nope!


• C-man and I rocked in the living room and Grandma did her toddler whisperer act in the room, let miss-o be a bit restless, sang to her and then finally....it worked and C-man was asleep too!.....Victory!

Time it took 1st night: 1 hr and 40 min. Length of time slept in bed: 10 hours! Amount of sleep I got: 7.5 hours interrupted every hour to check on her and also watch it hail!

This afternoon, I was a bit hesitant for nap and I really didn't want to wrestle her and wrench my back.......so, I laid her into the bed and she snuggled in and then popped right up. I laid on the floor and let her climb up and down, up and down, up and down until she wanted to leave the room....finally we rocked and she fell asleep and I tucked her in.......

Time it took for nap: 45 min.

Miss-O's self-soothing is being restless, talking to her stuffed dogs, reading books, until she finally has had enough and she falls asleep. The crib has always been her little security place....but now she is more independent and testing the freedom....hopefully consistency and allowing her to self-soothe, this transition won't be too bumpy......but the beginning is so hard to find what works...........Well, I hate to admit it but my baby is growing up........I wanted her in the crib as long as she could be and I guess she's telling us she's had enough...........or at least she's telling us that she's not safe anymore

Other tricks I have up my sleeve; just take the mattress of the toddler bed and let her sleep on that. Find a puppy pillow case or Elmo pillow case and a pillow so that she can be excited to sleep with them. I know that something will work, we'll roll with it and find out what it is.........

Household Artists

C-man and Miss O have found some common ground. They love to color (or cowah per Miss O's language). They will occupy themselves for a good 15 minutes side by side coloring, until Miss O decides to sit on C-man's work or C-man decides he wants to use the color she is using.....problem-solving in the making! Here are the artists at work.......

I love this picture of Miss-O, this is the day she wore her first side ponytails! Her part isn't the best but neither was per participation!
C-man is quite proud of his snail that he doodled.
Close up of the snail!
Here's a picture colored a month ago that hangs proudly on my kitchen utility door from Miss O!

Someone's Junk = Someone's Treasure

It's that time of the year again, our city's spring clean up. A time to take whatever trash that may exist in your homes and get rid of it.....I always get a hoot out of this. Every year, people come out of the woodwork and drive by in their trucks and trailers and grab our things and go......I get a good feeling that they will get some good use out of it. I also get a good feeling because my house is free of clutter.
items that have been snatched so far today:

our stinky dog rug that after lots of resolve washings the smell never came out....gone!

Connor's stroller and car-seat set that I've put over 1,000-5,000 miles (no lie!) on it and the wheels are wobbly....disappeared!

the exersaucer that was missing a few toys....snatched

Paul's old bike.....bye-bye

some garden fencing that I never opened.......taken care of......(okay now I sound like Grandma Weinberg buying things and then never opening them or they still have tags on them....)

there is an end table I anticipate leaving us, as well as a dog kennel and dog bed......I told Paul we should donate those to the local Animal rescue league.....he didn't respond but to ask if I wanted to drive it WAY over there......hmmmmm

the rest of the stuff is debris from our basement room that we tore apart and made into a toy room........I'm so excited to see our garage floor!! Yahoo!
and to think I still have 12 totes of baby clothes and toys to put on a garage sale yet this summer! I will feel so purged after that!

I've always remember when asking my mother about why we have garage sales and she put it frankly; one person's junk is another person's treasure!

Secret Senses

Here's a diddy for you to get to know me a little more...things I've never thought about sharing but am going to today:

• Sight: In college I LOVED getting the syllabus for my classes.....it was so fun to write all the assignments and tests on my calendar and then I would color-code it. I love sunsets, it reminds me of God's work of art, one is never the same. When I'm driving anywhere and pass a church with a sign, I love reading their thought of the day, it is inspirational and something that I need that day.
• Hearing: When I'm in the car all by myself, I listen to the 1150 AM Catholic station. It has everything from the Rosary prayer, to Focus on the Family, Catholic Answers....I'm always learning something new and again feeling inspired.
• Smell: I secretly smell the kids' blankets that they sleep with......they smell so good (unless they've been dragged in unknown places)
• Taste: When I was in High School and had a wonderful metabolism and in every sport that the school would offer, I could eat a quart of ice-cream without a problem.....usually I had help with my sister and we would compete to find the biggest Oreo cookie in the cookies-n-cream ice cream container! I also love Peanut Butter sandwiches dipped in Chili! I eat Doritos dipped in cottage cheese!
• Touch: Ever since I can remember, (oh, maybe 2-3 years old) my blanket consisted of the satin edges. I would curl that up just right and rub it underneath my finger nails for comfort.....guess what? I still do this today! I'll use my hair or any other material and rub it under my finger nails......it's so soothing!

Well, there you have it...secret things about me that you might have not known before.......it was fun to ponder over these...took me awhile to figure them out.......what are your secret senses?

Words of Wisdom

By the grace of God, my son is amazing! This little four and a half year old has taught me so many things. Things as simple as the names of bugs and dinosaurs, to things that are as abstract as love, and wisdom.

He just provided me some insight of wisdom the other day. Monday, I officially heard the news of the student appeal. I didn't blog much about anymore since I was okay with it, but the appeal did reach the board of chairpersons and they decided how the grade would end up.
So, Monday, I received the letter from the board of chairpersons that they were upholding my grade and told the student to consider a restart in a year or so. So I did some celebrating and felt validated.
Connor wanted to know why I was cheering and excited and after I explained it to him on a four year old level. He told me, "Mom, that naughty student probably is sad right now and it's not nice to be a poor winner." That took me right off my high-horse and back to earth. Wow, what perspective he provided me....so I decided not to celebrate and just leave it as it is.
I was the one that taught him not to be a poor winner, and he opened my eyes and let me realize I was being a poor winner. That night, I decided to pray for that student...the serenity prayer......hopefully she'll be able to accept this, learn from it and move on in her life.......it would be a lot of wasted life if she continued to ruminate on it..............

It's not easy being Green!

April is the month of Earth Day, so we are reminded this month and GO Green!

You know, I remember as a teenager reading my "Seventeen" magazine and how good it is to recycle and be earth friendly. Amazing that it takes another almost ten years until we see corporate world doing this and promoting this. It makes me wonder if it is because our generation is now in the Corporate world and an active part of society.?.......

Last year I read an article in a magazine and watched Oprah and I felt so overwhelmed, I thought I want to do it all to help save the earth and make a better life for my children and grandchildren to come.......instead of changing all of my unearthly habits, I've been working on them one by one. So here are a few things we are doing to be Green:

1. We are recycling paper, plastic, aluminum cans....(our city has a wonderful recycling program)
2. We are changing our light bulbs over to the energy-saving ones that are to last longer and cut down on the energy bill...I forget what they are called....ironic thing about this is when it comes to disposing them, it takes special matters because of a certain chemical they contain......hmmmm
3. I've been using "Method" a brand of natural cleaners for the kitchen/bathroom floors and the wooden floors.....they smell really good, last longer because they are concentrated, a bit more expensive but I believe I'm saving money in the long run. I get them at Target. They also have surface cleaners, hand soap etc.
4. We try to unplug the microwave and tv at night when they are not in use....this sometimes gets overlooked. I was religiously doing this last year at this time but need to get back into the habit of it.
5. We try to eat more family foods and prepare at home then there isn't the fast-food Styrofoam and unrecycable containers to throw away......I think it's important to sit down and eat as a family, what a better way to see how every one's life is going and what part of the day was good or bad.

So, this year I want to do some more changes........here is what I'd like to do

1. buy some of those canvas bags that they've been selling at the grocery store for a buck, instead of using the plastic bags........we do reuse the plastic bags for garbage liners and diapers, but we always have soooo many of them.
2. Connor, Olivia, and I are either going to walk Connor to school or ride bike when it is nice out...it is only a few blocks away.
3. Be more conscientious of the items that I buy and make sure the containers and packaging are simple and can be easily recycled.
4. Continue to teach Connor and Olivia about recycling and loving our earth.

There is so much that we can do, but I've discovered that I can't do it all and try to be super-woman and save the world. It takes many of us to do small things to help change our world into a safe and earth-friendly place.

Half-way House

You probably looked at the title and thought what is she going to blog about? Well, I'm calling our a house a "half-way" house right now. Not a house that will accompany pregnant teens, people with alcoholism, or juvenile delinquents in a transitional period to real life, but a house that is "half-way" sided.

Paul and I decided that our sage green house with chipping paint siding needed a face lift. Instead of using our own blood, sweat, and tears, we decided to contract and have someone do it for us.

Our house will now be a sandalwood color with green shutters.....that will hard for me when I give directions to new people...I usually say it's the green house on the corner, can't miss it!

The guys started yesterday and should be completed by Monday!

We've felt a difference in the temperature of our house already, the insulation has made it warmer and we've already knocked down our thermometer by four degrees!

Back of the house ...they are framing our windows and placing soffits and putting up covered gutters, we'll just have to paint the cinder blocks.
North side of the house
Front of the house.
Our entry way...

I'll be excited to show you the before and after pictures.

But right now I'll let you enjoy my "half-way" house as I am!

Connor's First Love Note

Monday, Connor came home and gave me this piece of paper. He said, "Jackie gave me a letter at school today!" I read it out loud and he just grinned. He told me that Jackie and Abby and Olivia are his girlfriends. I stated, "yes they are friends and they are girls and so that's how they are your girlfriends" He agreed and said that he has boyfriends too. Aidan, Deylin, Cooper, and Thomas are his friends and boys so they are his boyfriends.

Phew! I'm glad that is clarified...it just seems too young for him to actually have a girlfriend. I asked him when he can kiss a girl and he said, "Grandma said not until I'm 18."

Kids these days just want hurry and grow up so fast, I want him to enjoy being friends with both girls and boys and enjoy finding his identity before he has to worry about girls. He has a good ten years to even worry about them. But meanwhile, it was a cute note and I'm glad that he is liked by his friends at school.

The above is a scanned copy of the note, this is the original way it is written...isn't that cute?

Globetrotters!

There's a funny story behind this one....Last year, Connor noticed the adds for the Globetrotters and since the Globetrotters and Scooby-doo are good friends, he thought it would be cool to see them. Well, unfortunately the Globetrotters were playing the same time as Aunt Jolyn's wedding weekend last year. When I told him this, for a while he thought that the Globetrotters were coming to Aunt Jolyn's wedding. Can you imagine his 3 year old brain at the time??? Globetrotters spinning balls and doing tricks in the church while Jolyn walks down the aisle! Ha-ha!
This year we decided to surprise him and go see the Globetrotters. We gave him clues; red,white, & blue....you can eat popcorn there...he decided it was the movies. I told him that it would be lighted up, maybe it was Chuck E. Cheese's........we said that there would be a thousand people there....then he was speechless......we got inside Wells Fargo Arena and he still didn't know what was going on until we showed him the spinning ball on the digital screen.....he smiled and said he liked his surprise!

Connor wanted a good look at the players, even though we had good seats!
Special K and another player cleaning up popcorn off the floor, gave it back to the girl and a boy came along and ate from it not knowing where it had been!
Dad and Connor
Connor and Mom

We had a good time. Connor really got into their jokes and would cheer and clap for both teams. His favorite part was when Special K pulled down the other player's shorts and then that player pulled down Special K's! My favorite was when they did a play and did it all in rewind....it was cool! They are fun to watch and all the proceeds go to good will and for medicine in Africa.

WHAT??!!!

Look what it did yesterday! It was a chance of mixture of rain and snow....it rained, then it snowed! Big fat snowflakes falling down! God sure does have a good sense of humor! Today it is melting and the grass is really green. Mom and Dad said the last snow has a good amount of nitrogen in it soooo.....hopefully this is our last snow?

Here's the snow flakes that I captured on black paper, they were bigger than quarters!

April Fool's Day!

This is day 2 for Olivia having high fevers. She went in yesterday to the Dr. and he thinks it is a virus but they swabbed her and we're awaiting the culture results. For the first time it wasn't her ears. Poor honey, she looks so sad today and doesn't want to play much. I wish this was an April fool's joke :(

Today I received many April Foolings from Connor. This doesn't surprise me because he has a neat sense of humor. Here are some of the foolings:

• Mom, there's a spider on your back.....Happy Fool's Day!


• Mom, there's a paper on your back.....Happy April Fool's Day!


• Mom, I ate a spider.....Fools Day!


• Mom, there's money on your back....April Fool's Day!

This was also really funny...today he was washing his hands and he told me that 99 germs were washed off and he still has one germ on his hands.