Ten Months + One Day...and Deals Galore...

My Kristen. What a girl. She climbed onto the first step of the kitchen stool today all by herself.

Owen no longer wants to go to Little Gym. He says that it's not fun. That's a quote. "It's not fun." So now I get to try to figure out how to get a refund on the big ole tuition I paid in advance for this semester. I don't want to push him to do something that isn't really that important and that he doesn't enjoy, and he's lost his love of it since he switched from the mommy & me class to the parents-watch-from-the-window class. And his bestest L.G. friend Riley is moving up to the later class, so he won't even have seeing her to look forward to.

I've gotten some seriously ridiculous bargains the last couple of days. It all started with a trip to Old Navy for some fleece b/c my husband insists on keeping the thermostat too low for my comfort. Well, it turns out that they're having half off of the already reduced prices on a third of the store. $70 and two sackfuls later, I left with something for everyone in the family. I get home to try on (no self-respecting mother of two actually tries on in the store) and discover that a sweater I bought is coming apart at a seam. Clearly this will require an exchange, and my man asks that I check for some jeans/pants for him while I'm there. Awwwwyeah...return trip. Today when I went I found an entire section of women's wear I'd overlooked yesterday. Another $100 and I left with two more giant sackfuls. I felt like I almost was stealing the stuff. Shirts for like $2-6. Pants for $7-$9. One entire outfit for Kristen for $1.50. It was like a garage sale. Crazy. Then over to Target, where the deals weren't quite as good but still respectable. And tonight we found glass fireplace doors - originally $260 and a perfect fit for our fireplace - for only $100 at Lowe's. Mid-January evidently is quite a wonderful time to shop. Tonight I had to thank my man for earning a good living so I can take advantage of such surprise bargains.

We're school shopping for Owen. I'm visiting a montessori tomorrow morning; Herb will visit the same school on Thursday morning. Just a few more to check out and then we can make a decision.

January 8, 2007

The beginning of the second week of the new year, and I'm very happy with how it's progressing. I'm always so optimistic at the beginning of the year, working hard to be everything I want myself to be. Friendly, kind, busy, healthy (or -ier, anyway), wifely, fun, coordinated, productive, interesting, happy! It usually wears off at some point, don't worry. *smirk*

My boss called me today and asked if I would come teach a half-day with her on Friday, so I'm looking forward to that (and the little bonus money it'll provide). I've got to get appointments set with my brand new teachers for the second reporting period. Next big deadline is February 23rd, so the next six weeks are going to fly by! My experienced teachers all seem to be doing well; I've heard from many of them this time around saying all's OK.

My friend Stephanie had her baby on Saturday morning...like almost two weeks early! Easton was 6 lbs. 6 oz. and is as cute as can be. I always forget how tiny newborns are. Owen, Kristen, and I visited them at Steph's mom's house this afternoon for a little while. Big brother Tanner is so gentle and loving to his brother (and was sharing the love with Owen as well) and Tanner and Owen had a fun time with the fishing puzzle we brought him, too.

I woke up at 5:00 this morning with the worst tension headache I can remember having in a loooong time. My head, neck, shoulders, upper back, and chest were unbelieveably painful! I had a snack and took an Aleve and felt much better (but exhausted!) three hours later when I was awakened by the Kristen squawk I mistook for an Owen squawk (complete with chest grabbing).

I just finished reading The No Cry Potty Training Solution by E. Pantley and really liked it. I don't know if I mentioned this in a previous post, but on New Year's Eve we declared a full-fledged war on diapers in our house. A positive war, but still. Training underwear only in the daytime...pull-ups at night only...trips to the bathroom every hour and a half to two hours...the works. And guess what? It's working like a charm! Owen has only had three pee-pee accidents and no poop accidents in the nine days of switch. And he's waking up with a dry pull up most mornings. Owen definitely seems to be the kind of kid that needs firm guidance (this is how it's done) rather than the kind of kid that takes the big leaps on his own (I see how it's done and I'm going to do it!). Anyway, I'm very excited and proud of him (and thrilled not to have to change those big boy poops), but even more importantly, he's really proud of himself!

Another book by E. Pantley I'm reading at the moment is called Hidden Messages. So far it's lame, but I'm hoping it'll improve with a little more time. The other book I'm reading is called Mothers Who Think. It was my friend's book club selection for November (I'm behind, ha ha) and it's a good read - a collection of essays I'm enjoying very much - and perfect for my reading habits as I frequently have to pick up and put down anything I'm reading.

Allrightie, it's bedtime. Nitey nite!

Feliz Ano Nuevo (Happy New Year)

Welcome to 2007 and another post from yours truly. This is going to be a great year!

Kid updates: Owen got his first stitches on 12/22 - two in his forehead - after a run-in with a bed frame in a Hammond hotel. Yikes! FYI - forehead wounds bleed a lot. Kids scream while they're getting stitches even when it isn't hurting them a bit. Ice cream fixes everything. Kristen has six teeth now! Tooth three came in for Herb's birthday. Tooth four...three days later. Tooth five...same day as the stitches. Tooth six...Merry Christmas. She also has mastered clapping for herself and her brother. Adorable? Of course.

I've finally concluded that our closet shelving will be more functional if I remove and raise it several inches and have decided to consider it a closet renovation rather than a repair of my own installation mistake of 3.5 years ago. Once three years has passed, one can consider it a renovation, can't one? :D Along with raising it, I'm considering rearranging some of the shelving while I'm at it. See? Renovation. Obviously.

Herb's slaving away at his class preparation...he submits his packet in just a year and a half and wants to strengthen his course evals between now and then. Of course he also wants to make sure his classes are fair and that people learn something along the way, so he's integrating some neat requirements this semester that should better prepare his students for whatever it is they do after they leave him.

Christmas was wonderful. Well, except for the stitches part. I bought a bunch of stuff for myself (shoes!!!) and I also got a gym membership (Benton finally got YOGA, y'all!) and child-free hours each week to go to classes. Herb got a trip down to see his family for his birthday/Christmas combo as well as a future heritage-hunting expedition which probably will occur later this summer. Owen and Kristen got more toys than should be allowed by law, but all were terriffic and appreciated! Money from some gift-givers sits in the bank waiting for the spring selection of swingsets to arrive in stores so we can add one to our backyard. We took our tree down last weekend and declared it would be put in the yard sale this spring. I got a tree stand for $2 at Lowe's and this year we're going to do a real tree.

In other exciting news, my sister is pregnant with her second child, due July 15. Big sister Aurora will be 2 in August...so best of luck to all of them! :D We thought Sara had miscarried this weekend so it was a wonderful surprise when at her miscarriage follow-up appointment a healthy and happy baby was found.

This will be a year for babies. My friend Stephanie is due in a couple of weeks, Peony and Marjorie will have February babies, March will bring the arrival of my cousin Amy's baby, Mary will deliver in June, and then Sara in July. There could be more...I can't keep track of them all!

Gotta go - Herb needs me to shut down.