Kate's Birthday Party

Kate was 1 on Tuesday.  Today is the big first birthday party to include a princess castle cake.  She had her 1 year check up yesterday and the doctor proclaimed her "perfect".  Like everything else she does she's advanced from 50% weaned to probably 75% this week.  Mommy is glad we're past that stage.  Her favorite foods are chicken fingers and broccoli and we are having both for the party.  Kate is standing up and trying to maintain her balance "no hands".  Could that first step be far behind?  She says mom, da, hi, bye and some other stuff that only she can understand.  She shakes her head no both when she means no and when we tell her no.  She'll be wearing a new pink dress for the festivities.  Pictures to follow.

Daddy's Comin' Home

We had a lovely day at the park yesterday.  The weather is still picture perfect.  Today we'll be going to a birthday party and when we get home Daddy will be back from California!!! Just in time for Kate's first birthday on Tuesday.

So much for that

My Scrapbook that is.  Was supposed to go to a crop tonight and the babysitter called while I was picking the kids up from daycare.  Now when Jeff is home I feel bad going out on a Friday night but tonight I felt ready for a night with the girls, eating chocolate and getting caught up on my books....but it was not to be.  By the time Jackson fell asleep it was after nine and although I wasn't tired from too much wine tonight I didn't feel like dragging out the stuff and setting up.  I have no good book to dig into and hate this feeling of being bored when there is usually so much I'm dying to do.  Funny how I have such a hard time just being.  I did logoff from my laptop and put work away for the time being. 

So the dogs are home and they smelled so nice when I picked them up.  They were fresh from a bath.  Rascal rode home in Kate's car seat - the little freak....They were tired out from their week at camp.  I am glad they went and got some attention.  They deserve it.  Chloe looks beautiful.  I think she lost a pound or two.  Woof.  I wish Club Pet was closer.  They'd be there a lot more especially for the grooming.  They come back perfect.

Inmates Running the Asylum

I feel like such a fraud.  I grew up being a dog lover and always had the pets with me wherever I was in the house.  Geez until Kate was born both dogs slept with us.  Now that they've been confined to our kitchen/family room area of the house behind the baby gates and are no longer permitted upstairs at night (Rascal ruined that privilege for both of them) and I see how much cleaner the house stays, I don't know if I could ever have a pet running loose in the house again.  I've been trying to give them extra love and attention (such as it is given I don't exercise so theirs comes from being outside in the yard) but the part of me that's left to give after work and the kids ain't much... Jeff is in California through the 17th and I'm here with the little ones right now.  The weather here is picture perfect and the doggies spent most of the day yesterday outdoors.  The boxer likes to move  around as the sun shifts so she's always basking.  Today while the kids and I were having lunch my neighbor rang the doorbell to let me know that Chloe (boxer) was apparently outside the boundaries of the electric fence and hanging out in his yard - not bothering anyone but clearly out of her element...I knew the new batteries for the collars had come so I brought her in and changed her battery leaving her inside and Rascal outside.  I came up to put the kids for their naps shortly afterward (sidebar:  How nice is it to have one kid that I can rock for a bit, give a big kiss to, and put in the crib and she'll go to sleep for me?).  Kate fell asleep and finally Jackson did too and so did I.  Chloe was just barking her head off so I went downstairs to see what's up....my neighbor rang the doorbell again.  This time to report that Rascal was frolicking about with him, his wife, daughter, and their dog as they were outside doing yardwork...Hmmmm.  Both batteries gone bad at the same time.  Granted it's time to change them but they shouldn't go DEAD in a month.  I check the unit in the garage and the light is off.  I check the one in the basement and it's on.  Back to the garage.  Flip the switch back and forth and Voila!  it's back on again.  This is my omen that it's a good think I made arrangements for the pe(s)ts to have a week away at "camp" this week.  So Rascal is now in and I come upstairs to finish my rest and Chloe is barking in the basement...down I go to find Rascal asleep on the back of one of our chairs....he, who is not allowed on the furniture and he KNOWS it....I've been giving them inches and they've been taking miles.  I can't wait to get them out of my hair and to Club Pet in the morning.  It would be such a disaster if they got into one of their horrendous fights, ran away, or even made one of their huge messes in the house while Jeff is away and I'm trying to hold it together by myself.  I don't know what it is with my dogs but they are like having another two small children who have to be monitored constantly.  They have changed my whole outlook on pets.  

Milestones

I know it's way past due but Jeff dropped the crib mattress down so that Kate can't lean over and fall out of her crib.  Sort of drives the point home that she's capable of sitting up, then standing up by herself, and she wants to get where she wants to go, with or without me.  He's leaving for Cali tomorrow morning and will be gone for 10 days.  Let's just hope that the rocket goes up and the satellite gets launched and all is right with this project that's he's been working on for the past two years or so.  I'm sure we'll be fine.  Last time I just hunkered down and made taking care of the kids my primary and just about only focus since I didn't have him here to share that with me....it just leaves me less time to myself and less time to play around.  The big thing is taking care of the pets AND the kids given that of the four of them only one is capable of getting his own food and even at that he still needs help opening the top of the yogurt, etc....so for all intents it's four little beings dependent on only me...oops!  I forgot that damn cat again...so make it five.  And then I still have to make it to the office at a very busy time...yes, it's still busy and will remain busy.  We've taken the season out of busy season and we're just always busy.  This is a good thing as it means (relative) job security.  Of course if I screw up, all bets are off!  The kids had their pics taken today - the photographer came to daycare.  Jax went first by himself, then the two of them on a bench with his arm around her...she, with the sour puss....then she freaked out when he got up so they could take her alone...don't know if they ever tried it again.  At least the bow stayed in her hair for the pics, such as they are.  They're all on notice that Kate only likes certain people there and the others are pushing it if they so much as look at her, nevermind actually speak to her.  Moving to the older infant room and cutting her two top front teeth has been exhausting for my dear baby girl!

It's hot here already and I've turned the air conditioning on just to cool things off.  I hate that walking to the 2nd floor and feeling the stuffiness thing.  So I'm about to go lay things out for tomorrow.  Both kids need a fresh set of clean/spare clothes for school as both needed a clothing change this week.  Both also need sunscreen.  I love getting the notice in the middle of the week so that it makes me feel like I have to schedule a trip to the store vs. waiting until the weekend.  This is classic Monday afternoon:  Jackson needs wipes....why couldn't you tell me Friday afternoon so I could pick them up over the weekend?  Or better yet, so that the nice Peapod delivery man could have brought them?  God forbid I should have time to have an eyebrow wax or a manicure!

Ok, so I am off to get Kate's bottles ready, clean the coffee maker and set it up for tomorrow, throw in a load of wash, let the mutts in, all the while ignoring the huge basket or laundry that needs sorting and folding....I have to be at a meeting in the a.m. by 7:30...this would be funny if I didin't really want to go...I got to work at 10:15 today, late for a weekly team meeting where our new Director of HR was in attendance.  When I push the envelope, I really go all out.  The kids are still on Standard Time, what can I say?

 

 

Easter is here

Having missed out on the spiritual aspects of Lent by burying myself in work over the past couple of months I surface this weekend to feel guilty that I'm not observing the most sacred time in the year for a Catholic.  And I'm tempted to just write this one off and say that I "missed" it but I'm thinking that I can salvage the whole thing for myself by just working toward going to Mass tomorrow.  I don't like to be an Easter Catholic and I feel as though I'm missing something if I don't take the whole season to reflect on where I am spiritually and what the holiday means to me this year but realize that it's a cop out if I am thinking all this today and don't go tomorrow.  I'm ashamed of myself I guess and feel like I have to hide from God and not go for all the flowers and the celebration because I wasn't around for all the reflecting, repenting and sacrificing.  Good dose of the guilt and I'm feeling almost prodigal...not that I'm looking for excuses but it's more work when your mate isn't of the same faith and you go it alone.  Plus, at times, it the choice of going to Mass when I like to go and missing out of the family breakfast time vs. going later.  Now that last part is just an excuse.  So I'm going tomorrow.

Around here I'm trying to get the house in order as the clutter has been winning over the past few weeks.  I snuck up on the laundry and finished putting last week's away and will now tackle this weeks'.  The groceries have been bought and the eggs are hardboiled and waiting to be dyed.  The Easter basket stuff is hidden away for the time being and the dining room table, after a quick dusting, will be ready to receive them tomorrow. 

I'd like to take the kids to the circus tomorrow after getting all the chores done today but Alex is here today and not tomorrow and Jeff would want her to go too so rather than drop everything today to go and leave it for Sunday I guess we're not going.  I'm annoyed about that.  I don't like this if Alex isn't here to go then nobody goes but it's on me to rearrange what I want to do to accommodate it.  I don't feel that great today and the house is in need of attention so I will be stressed and won't enjoy myself if we go today.  But if we get tickets for tomorrow and I know that I'm working toward getting things done before we go (and going to Mass) then I'll enjoy it.  I don't like that if Alex can't go we all won't go.  There are things she does when she's with her mom that my kids don't get to do so why should everything they do have to include her or they don't get to do it at all?  I really want to go tomorrow, maybe I'll push the issue. 

 

 

You've never seen a man...

move so fast...I just put Jackson down for a nap and told Jeff that if he did me a "favor" and changed Kate's diaper I'd take her shopping with me....ahhh, what he won't do for some alone time.  Kate, the holy terror, just crawled up the two steps between family room and kitchen for the first time by herself....she's on the move in a big way these days.  Putting her in a shopping cart for a bit may contain her and amuse her at the same time, I'm hoping!