OSU game

Yesterday the girls, D and I went to our first OSU game of the season. This was the girls first game ever. They really had a good time watching the band, cheerleaders and hearing the loud noise from the game. They both dressed in scarlet and grey and knew how to sign O-H-I-O. We had to leave the game early so that D could take the girls camping down at my brother-in-laws land. They had a great time and got muddy and got to stay up late. They said that it rained which surprised me but it was actually the dew on the ground. Nathan and I had a really relaxing day spending some quality one on one time together. He is so active and loves to jump into my lap then immediately get up since he does not sit very long at one time. On Sunday morning we played in my bed and he was not into cuddling or snuggling. He was into to trying to get the fan pull or jumping onto me while I laid down. Needless to say we did not stay in the bed for too long.

For labor day we are just unpacking, de-cluttering and cleaning. D goes back to work tomorrow after his two week hiatus. It will be hard to readjust to not having him around so much. The girls will also miss him. I know that he is ready to go back to work but he will also miss all the action at home.

It would be great if we could live in an ideal world where we both get to work part-time jobs, share child rearing responsibilities, and get to really spend more quality time together. I think that society would be much happier if dad's could spend more time at home, mom's had more access to professional part-time jobs and children got to see more shared parenting. It is too bad that our society is too serious and that working more than full time is considered prestigious. I would love to live in Italy where "holiday" is at least 4 weeks and the pace is a little slower and not so orientated toward production and making money.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-spending alone time with Nathan
-D wanting to go camping with the girls and having fun with them
-seeing the girls when they get home
-participating in a great Labor Day Yoga class

Rain Stick

I had a great idea, well actually I have seen it on another blog, when I saw the container that D received his diploma in. It was a cylinder and it would make a great rain stick. So Mallory and I put some rice in it, closed it and then hammered some nails in it. Then Mallory painted it. It really does sound like those expensive rain sticks sold in the stores. I think that a longer tube would work better so I may go to a packaging/mail store and buy one for Julianne. The project was a great success and Mallory had fun hammering the nails in and painting it. It is always a great feeling when a project I think of actually works or is successful. I have led too many science projects that either did not work or were not much fun for the kids or for myself. This was a great success and will definitely do it again for Julianne.




I have finally finished my sock and glove animals. More importantly than finishing these animals is that I get to start on my new purse.

These are the newest addition to my animal collection. These are going to homes with new babies.

The animals on the left are the girls. It includes two monkeys and one dog. The girls like their animals but they love the new animals and tried to trade their old animals for the new animals but I told them they could not trade. These new animals were already taken.

This is the fabric that I am using for my Lantern Bag. Katie what do you think? I am going to use the paisley fabric for the main panel, the light brown for the inside pleats and the dark brown for the top and straps. I will let you know how it is going.

A side note. The tooth fairy forgot to come again that first night and she finally made it the next night. Julianne lost her other tooth today in school so she got a tooth necklace from the school nurse and the tooth fairy will not forget tonight!!!

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
- a cool rainy day
-reading a note that Julianne left for me at parent night
-seeing Julianne's face today when she came home with the tooth necklace from the school nurse (she has been wanting a tooth necklace from the school nurse since she first started loosing her teeth)
-having a lunch with D and more importantly having good conversation

We have a doctor in the house

Yesterday D received his Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology diploma. He has been waiting for this day for a long time. He has worked 4 long years on this degree. This includes going to school full time for three years and working at his internship for one year. Within this time he completed and defended his dissertation. This is a great accomplishment in itself but when you add to that having two newborns in the house, three children all together and a wife that is extra work to an already hectic lifestyle.

Reasons why I am very proud of my husband:
1. He discovered what his passion was and figured out how to achieve it.
2. He attended school full time and worked part-time one and sometimes two jobs in order to gain more experience and to pay for his school.
3. He studied nights while we were asleep
4. Overcame university bureaucracy
5. Discovered a lot about himself along the way
6. Grew from bad experiences
7. Finished what he started

The best thing about him getting his degree is that he will be able to do something that he is passionate about and talented in. He truly is a gifted psychologist and I know that from personal experiences:)

So when you see him for now on make sure you address him as Dr. D. (S I told you not to tell people to call me Dr. D)

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-seeing D excited about getting his diploma
-knowing that D does not have to worry anymore about what holdups there are to getting his diploma
-spending alone time with Mallory

Frisbee Golf

Yesterday we went to the local Frisbee golf park. It was really fun. We have not played Frisbee golf since college so it was fun to play a different game. We started out with Nathan in the backpack and then Mallory was getting tired so we took Nathan out and put Mallory in. She looked so funny in the backpack. She was to long for it and it was hard on Dwight after he carried her for awhile.



Nathan decided to practice his Frisbee throw.


We decided to put Nathan in the goal.

A week ago I took this picture of Julianne and her two loose teeth. Today she knocked the right one out with her knee. She was worried that since she lost it so late in the day that the tooth fairy might not be able to visit her. She remember that when she lost a previous tooth so late in the day the tooth fairy did not visit her that night. We told her that since she lost it so late in the day that the tooth fairy probably had other teeth to visit that came out earlier in the day. Sure enough the tooth fairy remembered to come the next night. We would have been out of excuses if she had not come that second night.


Today Mallory said she wanted to be a mail person when she grows up. We asked her why and she said that she "read it in her brain".

Things I am grateful/thankful for
-taking Tylenol and feeling the affects it has on headaches
-remembering the cute and creative things my children say and do
-seeing my dogs having fun at the dog park
-knowing that a kiss on a boo-boo and a hug can make Mallory feel better

Camp out

Friday night we camped out in our backyard. We pitched the tent, grilled out, made smores and even played some games in the dark (ghost in the graveyard). It was a great night and one that we hope to duplicate at least annually. The girls slept in the tent with their father and I "had" to sleep with Nathan in the house. I really do like to go camping but if I know that my bed is steps away I would rather sleep there. Plus someone had to sleep in the house with Nathan so I offered to do that. I had a great time since we did not have to pack everything and the house was convenient for food, bathrooms, electricity and other essentials for young children.





Mel even enjoyed the leftover marshmallows bits.

The girls new favorite toy is Bakugans which are little toys that are "small spheres magnetically morph into powerful Bakugan warriors when they roll onto the real metal Gate Cards". They basically are balls that when you put them on a metal cards they pop into an animal. There is a game associated with them of which I have not figured out nor have the girls. The girls just pretend play with them right now so we will see. As Julianne would say they are boy toys, but she really wants them. It is funny that since she is back in school she is discovering the new toys plus all the neighborhood kids have them so the girls wanted them. Mallory is even in the mix. The girls bought some on Friday with their own money and then Dwight took them today to get another one, with their own money. They were actually sold out of two Targets so they ended up buying some mini polly pockets. Crazy Bones was the latest craze this summer and now it is Bakugans. I have gotten over the fact that I really did not want them to have brand name trendy toys. We set a good foundation while they were younger with generic pretend toys and now they still really love those toys so I am OK with letting them buy, within reason, toys that they want to buy with their own money.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-seeing the girls faces when we completed the tent
-having a fire pit in our backyard for roasting marshmallows for smores
-seeing the rain after 20+ days without it
-spending quality time with the family

Julianne is adjusting well

Julianne had a good day at school. She went to school with our neighbor today and I am sure that that helped. The children are allowed to come to school 10 minutes early and play on the playground so that is what they did this morning. She had a good day and is slowly learning her new classmates names. So it seems like the first day sadness and crying has subsided and she is enjoying school. She had homework on Wednesday and Thursday. It was only drawing a picture about the first day of school and what she did over the summer so it was not too much but she does she really need to have homework? I don't think so. So we will see if it just getting the year started or if it is really going to be a daily occurrence.

Nathan is also enjoying my computer. He goes over to it once a day and plays with it and usually starts laughing. I think he likes the screen saver and then he likes moving the mouse. So today I got him in action. Aren't these pictures cute?


He also tried on Mallory's shoes and put them on correctly. He was so proud of himself.

Dwight was off of work this week so my neighbor and I went to the gym this morning, laid by the pool and then went shopping for fabric for a purse I am going to attempt to make. It was great to get out of the house and to have good conversations with a new friend. She was a great help in picking out the fabric for my purse. My friend Katie gave me the pattern so hopefully I will be able to make it soon. I am still trying to complete my sock and glove animals first before I start anything new. I have a tendency to get very excited about new projects, work on them for awhile and then start on something else before I finish the older project. So I am concentrating on getting the animals done first then work on the purse.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-having good uninterrupted conversations
-picking up Julianne from school and seeing her run toward my car
-being able to preserve memories through journaling, photography and video
-seeing the girls pretend play together

First day of school

Today was Julianne's first day of 1st grade. She was a little sad or I guess she was really upset. She cried and did not want me to leave. It was hard to drop her off. I felt really bad that she was so emotional. I think it was a combination of her not knowing as many kids as she had in Kindergarten and her going all day instead of just in the afternoon. The teacher wrote us an e-mail during the middle of the day and said that she was doing well and participated in class so that was good to hear.

Mallory missed her during the day. She was recording messages on Julianne's little recorder and she said, "I love Julianne and I hope that she comes back". We only explained to her last night that Julianne would be going to school all day almost every day and I think she was a little worried. So it will be an adjustment for her also. She was pretty quiet all day and pretty much played by herself. So we will see how she does. I think it will get better when she goes back to school which is a couple weeks after Labor Day.

Nathan of course was unchanged by it and pretty much played well with Mallory. So they will probably become good buds during this year.

The night before a neighbor girl came over and I dried her hair and flat ironed it and then she flat ironed the girls hair. So we had fun getting ready for the first day of school.





Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-having D there with me while dropping off Julianne at school
-knowing that Julianne worked through her sadness and had fun at school
-eating fresh tomatoes and cheese from the farmers market
-seeing Nathan sleeping

A day off

Yesterday my mother-in-law took the children to spend the at her house.  They love going to her house and we like it when they go.  They do not spend the night at her house too often.  It is probably one night every few months.  It is nice to be in our house without our children.  I sat around all day and watched TV and did some much needed sewing.  I made three Sock and Glove  animals.  I made one elephant, one pig and one sad dog.  Well actually they are not done yet but the major sewing is complete.  All I have to do now is to add the details and sew the arms/legs on.  I cleaned the house, got laundry done and enjoyed the quiet in the house.  We picked them up by lunch and went to my dads for his birthday.  The girls always enjoy themselves there since they get to jump on the trampoline, swim in the "pool", and play with their cousin Caitlyn and Andrew.  Julianne asked on our way home if we could get a trampoline and I said "heck no".  So it will just have to be a special treat for them when they go to grandpa and grandma Marci's.

Here are the girls on the trampoline.

The girls in the "pool".

The girls after the "pool" trying to warm up on the stones.

Here is Nathan with his cousin Andrew.  Andrew fell off the couch while on vacation and broke his arm.  

Here we are singing happy birthday to dad.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:

- my mother-in-law willing and able to take the kids for the night.

- running with Dwight on our day off.

- getting my kids back after a day off. 

- catching up on my sewing projects.

- the girls seeing a pretty sunset and talking about what they see and why it is pretty to them.

School Supply Sale

Today was the supply sale at Julianne's school.  We stocked up on her school supplies and paid 30 dollars for all the supplies and another 30 dollars for PTO stuff, field trip and classroom party fees.  I don't mind paying for that stuff but what does it really go toward?  I also put 50 dollars toward her school lunch debit card.  Isn't that funny that they now have debit cards for lunches.  I could go on my soap box about technology issues again but this one is actually pretty convenient.  You can specify if you don't want your child to have anything like if she/he is allergic to anything or you just don't want them to pick snacks, etc.  So we will see how it works.  I did not put any restrictions on her card yet so we will see how it goes.  Lunches are now $2.50 and I am not sure what she gets for that but here is a sampling of what they have next week.  

Wednesday: turkey & cheese sandwich, mayo/mustard, carrot sticks and apple slices

Thursday: Donato's pizza, tossed salad w/ dressing and pears

Friday: chicken nuggets, dipping sauce, steam broccoli, peaches and dinner roll with margarine

So that is a sample of what they have.  It does not sound as unhealthy as I thought it would be.  At least she will see different veggies everyday and she may or may not eat them but at least they are offered or given.  I am not sure if they just put all that on her plate or if she can choose to get the veggies on her plate or not.  If it was up to Julianne she would eat cheeseburgers and french fries and pizza everyday for lunch and dinner.  She is not a fan of my cooking since it contains veggies and herbs.  She is always asking me what I am cooking and she always claims that she will not like it.  Most of the time she does not like it but she does at least eat a bite of it regardless of if she likes it or not.  So it will be interesting to see how she likes the lunches.  I will allow her to eat lunch at school once a week and the other days we will pack her lunch.  I think she will appreciate getting the school lunches and she will think of it as a special treat.  

Here are random pictures from the last few weeks.

My neighbor let us borrow a "Sing Along-Trains" VHS and this was Nathan's first time really watching a movie.  He lasted probably about 10 minutes but seemed to enjoy it.  

Nathan and Julianne wrestling.

Mallory swinging at Highbanks Metro Park.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:

-Hearing Nathan yell "nima" when our neighbor, Nina, comes over to play.

-Seeing Dwight everyday

-Being energy efficient by keeping the windows open for long periods of time.

-cloth diapers-I really love using them and feel good about using them

My view

This is how I usually see Nathan as he is grabbing onto my legs and wanting me to get him something or wanting me to hold him.  So what did I do, I grabbed my camera and took pictures.  It was funny because I tried a couple of times and the light was not good or I was not happy with the picture so I just keep waiting until I was in the correct place.  Toward the end of me trying to get the perfect picture he started to stop holding onto my legs when I grabbed the camera.  I thought this is a good way to break him of that habit.  Anyway, it only worked for a day and he still continues to hold onto my legs and sometimes I even have to walk with him hanging onto my legs.  If I have something in my hands I can not pick him up.  

Julianne met with her teacher today for an assessment before school starts.  She had to read a few books and write a sentence.  She seemed to like her teacher so we will see.  She has been having some really rough days lately.  She is so emotional about everything and very hard to get along with.  She has suffered through many consequences this past week and I think it is a combination between not being able to suck her thumb and her starting school next week.   Sometimes I really don't have the patients to handle her.  I try to ask her to express what is really bothering her but most of the times she can not talk about it.  School does not start until next Wednesday, so we will see how the next couple of days goes.

Mallory had her last day of summer preschool today.  She always has a good time and enjoys going to school.  She is pretty laid back and enjoys must of what she participates in.  I feel bad I don't really mention her too much and it is not because she does not do a lot it is mostly because Nathan is at that age where he is discovering so much and has new things he says everyday.  Julianne is also going through some changes lately so she has been on my mind.  I guess it all evens out with time.  The time and devotion I have for all of my children is equal.   

Things I am grateful/thankful for:

-seeing how a balloon man at a festival can make my kids day

-appreciating when my kids say that they like my dinner and want me to make it again

-not having to answer annoying telephone solicitations since getting caller ID

-watching girls Olympic gymnastics

-having a challenging yoga class

Smashed Thumb

On Friday Julianne smashed her thumb (Yes, the one she sucks) while getting her bike out of the garage.  I was on the phone and she asked me if she could get her bike and I told her yes.  The next thing I know she is screaming her head off, a scream that I don't hear very often.  Our step ladder was on a hook above her bike and it had fallen off and smashed her thumb.  The nail is cracked toward the bottom and the nail was off when she first smashed it.  I does not look too bad so I don't know if the nail will stay on or fall off.  So she has had some adjustments at night not being able to suck her thumb.  She tells us that she can't fall asleep when she really does.  She started looking at books before bed last night and I think that might have helped.  So we will see what happens.

In the car today Nathan kind of said "mom where's fire".  We saw a fire truck drive by and we were talking about it and then he said that sentence.  Which is his first sentence and he did not say it again so he may not have said it but Julianne said that is also what she heard.  I was shocked to hear him say that.  He really only says some single words and cries; he is not even close to saying sentences so it was funny and shocking.  Like right now he is crying at the freezer because he wants a dicle.  

Nathan's eczema has been kind of bad lately.  It may be because of the weather and leaving the windows open, he had Doritos the other day, or he had a bite of my cereal with milk.  So who knows?

Things I am grateful/thankful for:

-perfect weather days

-leaving my windows open in the cooler weather

-hearing Julianne improve in her reading skills

-getting yeast to work for our pretzels

Free air conditioning

We have had the air conditioner off for more than two days.  The weather hear has been fantastic.  The nights are low 60's and the days are high 70's low 80's but the best is that the humidity is really low.  I love leaving the windows open especially while I am sleeping.  We have a great attic fan that circulates air throughout our house and it is just like having a fan in the upstairs sucking all the air up from the downstairs up to the upstairs.  We had an attic fan while I was growing up and I never really understood what it did but now I do.  

We went to the local farmers market on Wednesday and it was nice.  There were a lot of vendors there, live music and lots of great samples.  We did not buy any produce since I did not know what was there but hopefully we will go next week and I will get some local apples and hopefully some home grown tomatoes.  It was defiantly not like my beloved Knoxville Farmers Market but for a smaller suburb it was good.  There is a bigger Farmers Market in the Short North area on Saturday but I have not made it down there yet.  I will try to make the Wednesday Farmers Market a regular occurrence and then it will become my new favorite Farmers Market since I can't travel to Knoxville every Saturday.  

Today we took advantage of the great weather and went to a Columbus Metro Park and had a picnic and went on a short hike.  The girls had fun hiking and Nathan enjoyed throwing rocks into the river.  On our way back Mallory said "Look the moon is following us".  It was a great comment and she was enthralled with the moon and asking us where it was going?  Oh yeah and I have a funny story about here in the restroom at the park.  She was going "#2" (Julianne told me today that going "#3" is actually diarrhea, I did not know there was a #3) and had locked the bathroom door.  So as she was going she screamed and said that there was a spider walking by her feet.  She was screaming about it and talking about it and kind of freaking out.  I said I could not help her since she locked the bathroom door.  Then she started to really freak out since a large flying spider flew behind her.  She started screaming so loud and getting really scared and I could not get to her since the door was locked.  I told her to unlock the door but she was frozen.  Anyway she ended up unlocking the door and flying out of the stall with her dress up and panties down.  I had to wipe her and flush the toilet.  D and Julianne could hear her outside in the car screaming, that is how loud she was screaming.  It was a great story.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:

-watching the Olympic opening ceremony (it was amazing all the people that participated in it and the logistics it took to pull it off).

-sharing days like today with my family.

-having Nathan be snuggly with me last night.

Autism Speaks

I just got back for an Autism Walk Kick-Off Event which is a fundraiser for Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks is an organization that raises funds for research into the causes, prevention, treatment and cure for autism; raises public awareness about autism and it effects on individuals, families and society and to bring hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder.   The speakers at the event were very inspiring, emotional and dedicated to helping kids with autism. My 16 year brother is on the autism spectrum and I personally see how this effects people.  My stepmother spoke at the event and 12 years ago my brother was diagnosed with autism and at that time she was told that it was very rare and that there was not a lot of things she could do.  She said that even today they do not know anymore than they knew at that time as to why it occurs and what factors "cause" autism.  However, it is more prevalent today and more and more kids are being diagnosed.  Another story was of a father who's son is severely autistic and now that he is older they just had to put him into an institution because of his biting, aggression and sudden outbursts.  He was deeply hurt and angry that he had to put him into an institution.  I think that for me even though I personally know someone that is autistic it would be different if it was my child.  I think that some of my days are bad or hectic or I did not practice enough patients today but I need to appreciate days like that knowing that others may be having a harder time.  

Here are some statistics that I learned from the event:

• 1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism
  
• 1 in 94 boys is on the autism spectrum
• More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes and cancer combined
• Autism cost the nation over $90 billion per year, a figure that is expected to double in the next decade.
• Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
• Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism

I will be putting together a team for the Autism Speak-Walk Now for Autism which occurs on October 12th and will be asking my friends and family to join me on my team.   

Things that I am grateful/thankful for:

-Seeing a rainbow coming out of the Autism Speak Event

-Turning up the radio in the car and singing when a good song comes on

-Spending alone time with my husband 

-Kissing my kids goodnight

Until next time...

   

Some thoughts on Nathan

I have analyzed my son's lovable behavior with myself and have come to the conclusion that he is very possessive of myself and does not want anyone else to snuggle with me but yet he does not want to snuggle with me. My son is not very snuggly or huggy. He loves to play, be active, observe, be in the action, etc. so he does not really have the time or want to snuggle with me or anyone else. It is really hard to even get through a few pages of a board book with him because he will look at it and then after a few pages he starts to want to throw the book. My husband and I have done studies (our own experiments not real ones) with him to test different hypothesis and we have discovered that he does not want to snuggle with me however, he does not want anyone else to give hugs or snuggle with me. We have had the girls on me hugging and he yells at them and tries to pull them off of me and then I pick up him and he stays with me for about 10 seconds and then he wants down. If the girls return to their hugging positions he immediately starts acting up again. this is the same when Dwight and I are hugging. He cries and tries to move my hand off of him and then I go to hug him and he really does not want anything to do with me.

It is so funny to do these little experiments on him and or other children. I remember we used do these experiments with Julianne and she would love to be held by me and to give me hugs and kisses and would not like it if Dwight tried to hug myself or her. So it is just fun to see how they are different. I remember that Mallory did not really care either way. We love all our children and their different personalities and I think that discovering/predicting/analyzing our children's personalities is great joy of being a parent. When all my children were babies I always wondered how they would act and now they are at the point where I generally know their personalities and I know that these will change over time and through different situations.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-getting a close parking spot at our gym.
-watching great dancing on television.
-seeing Julianne bring herself out of an uncontrollable emotional state.
-having a great next door neighbor who is a very nice person and a good parent.

Zoo Day

Yesterday we visited the zoo and had lots of fun.  This was the first time I had been to this zoo in at least 15 years.  The zoo has changed a lot and it is about 3 times bigger than it was before.  In the four hours that we were there we only saw a little less than half than the zoo.  The girls and my friends boys all had a great time together.  My double running stroller was a nightmare in the crowded narrow paths and my arms are sore from it so my lesson is that I will bring another stroller next time.

Last week we had a science lesson about the sun and what it does to our environment, to our bodies and to the plants.  After that discussion we decided to see if the sun could make smores. We made a pizza box an oven (Family Fun magazine idea) and baked the smores in it.  The chocolate melted beautifully but the marshmallows did not melt well but they still made tasty treats.  

Things I am grateful/thankful for:

- Going to the zoo with my best friend and her children. 

- A generous mom giving me a buy one admission/get one free admission coupon

- A zoo employee finding my lost wallet on a water ride.

- Seeing Nathan excited to see me when I come home (saying Mama) only to reach down and     give him a hug and him say "wawa" (wanting my water bottle, not me). 

- Seeing Nathan give Julianne and Mallory a hug after not being with them for awhile.

- D saying that he missed me from being gone all day the previous day.   

Fabulous Friday

We had a great day on Friday. We had two of my friends over from Graduate School. Unfortunately one of my friend's husband got transferred to Dallas, TX so she will not be here for long. It has been nice to see her again after so many years of living in TN.  

In the afternoon after Dad got home we cleaned the cars, I was not much help because I was taking lots of pictures, and to our surprise the Ice Cream Truck came and we got lots of treats to eat. It was a great day for all of us.  

 

 

This is the first time that we have seen the ice cream truck in our new neighborhood. It was a great treat.  

Nathan's eczema has good days and bad days. Yesterday it was acting up and as I was taking lots of pictures of the action outside I took a picture of his legs.  

 

Another great thing about yesterday is when we went outside the sky was beautiful. The clouds were white and puffy and the light was shinning through the clouds.

 

Things I am grateful/thankful for: 

-The ice cream truck and all the joy it brings to a neighborhood. 

-The blue and pink stains the girls get on their faces after eating ice cream truck snow cones.  

-Appreciating the clouds and sky and how they are different everyday.