I'm posting everyday in June!

A few months ago, the National Blog Posting Month group went monthly.  Instead of just posting everyday in  November only, the NaBloPoMo group is providing a monthly theme to explore.  I've hesitated making another blogging commitment like I did in November because of computer problems, busyness, other stuff, but June's theme is really speaking to me.  The theme is home.   So much of my energy is focused on making a home for my family, but I've never really explicitly explored what home really means to me.   I think I'll be posting a lot of pictures, since that's where my interest is taking me these days, but with the photos and accompanying text, I'll be exploring why the images mean home to me.  I want to really focus on why home is so much more than a house!  

Keeping it Real

Keeping it Real, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

Just wanted to keep it real here on the blog and show you the state of affairs after a quick trip to the grocery store Wednesday afternoon to pick up a few things I needed to make tortilla chicken soup.  Here are both boys shrieking and crying and covered in the juice from the strawberries that I grabbed from the produce section and fed them to keep them quiet happy while shopping.   

Before I had kids I always looked a little askance at the moms who were feeding their children while grocery shopping with food they had just taken from the shelves before they paid for it. Now I totally get it: its a survival tactic. 

The boys were already shellacked in post daycare food/craft/dirt grunge so I wasn't feeling like mother of the year as I pushed my little urchins around the store. Andrew won't go into the cart anymore, he wants to walk - ugg.   In an effort to keep him within range I let him "steer" the cart. That went as about as well as you'd expect.  Five minutes in Owen was over it all and he just started melting down food or no food.   Doomed from the start, I shouldn't have even tried, another night of spaghetti would have been just fine.   From now on, I'll shop BEFORE I pick up the boys.   

Heard entering the grocery store tonight

Andrew:  They're already magic?

Leslie: Yes, they're automatic doors.

Andrew: Right, already magic.

He thinks those auto-flush toilets are "already magic" too.

(If you say "already magic" really fast it sounds like "automatic".)

The Toddler Habitrail

The toddler Habitrail is awesome, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

Regan's mom emailed on Friday night with the classic parental S.O.S, "it's going to rain tomorrow, what are we going to do to with the kids?!" I started to panic - ack, how are we going to get these kids good and tired if we have to stay inside all day? Luckily, the weather held on Saturday and it did not rain so we were able to get the kids outside and to the park - crisis averted.

Here's Regan and Andrew in the tube connecting two parts of the playground; it really only extends about a foot farther than this picture shows, but it reminded me of the habitrail homes I had for my hamsters when I was a kid.  Typing this just reminded me of the time I was in seventh grade my cat ate my pet hamster Henry.  Poor Henry escaped his home and my cat just did what cats do to rodents; circle of life in the suburbs.  

So long highchair

So long highchair, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

Owen decided tonight that he was done with the highchair. He just refused to get into it; he did his best impersonation of a two by four - a wailing two by four. So I plopped him in Andrew's booster seat and poof! Instant smiles and cooperation. Is this what they mean by "child led parenting"?

Boys on the move

Boys on the move, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

We went up to Simi Valley yesterday and BBQ'd with the Ziglers. Our Memorial Day weekend weather is not the best and it was cloudy and cool and threatened to rain all day. Andrew and Owen had a great time playing with Matthew and Mason.  (As we were driving away after an afternoon of big fun, Andrew already asked if Matthew and Mason to come visit him!) These boys are extra special; they both have super gentle natures and are good, good boys.   They greeted us with big smiles and freely gave out the hugs when we were leaving. Matthew, who is six, played with peek-a-boo with Owen and really seem to love hanging out with a toddler!  They shared their toys and were gentlemen during lunch.  (I was sooo glad that we've being working on Andrew's table manners and he was able to sit at the table and eat his lunch - unlike the first night we went to Ellen's house for dinner.  That was not pretty and Andrew needed two time outs,  but that's another story.)  It was a big day for Andrew, he tried a two wheeler bicycle for the first time and a scooter; the bike (with training wheels) was more successful, he lasted about 3 seconds on the scooter.  

In the picture Mason's pulling all three of them in a wagon on the way to the park.  Here's short video of the scene.

Recommendation: Oprah's Turkey Burgers - approved by the pickiest three-year old on the planet.

Owen 15 Months

Owen May 2008, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

My second angel baby. My big boy. My curious and fearless child.

Owen's move to the Toddler room has been just as seamless as Andrew's move to the Threes. Owen's experience with his older brother and size are huge advantages for him. He isn't phased at all when another child comes up to him and wants to get his toy or tries push him around. He has the confidence to stay calm and has figured out that these kids are way less troublesome than his own brother!

He has moved to one nap a day so now the boys are on the same schedule. They wake up at the same time, nap at the same time and go to bed about the same time. This routine really helps things run smoothly during the week. Owen goes down at 7:30 pm and Andrew goes to bed at 8:30 and mom goes to bed at 8:31. (Not really, but since I'm up at 5:30 am, I'm not far behind them!)

Owen loves animals and the trips to the park to check on "our" ducks is just as much fun for him as it is for Andrew. If there is a dog visiting the park, Owen is the first to spot it and the first to walk over and say hello. He isn't frightened by animals and displays a gentle and curious attitude toward them.

Owen really loves music. He loves to listen and dance. A couple of weeks ago we walked through Downtown Disney on our way home from Disneyland. There was a crowd gathered around a salsa band. The crowd had formed a big circle several people deep in-front of the band, but nobody was in the circle dancing - until Owen walked right in and started swinging his arms and clapping to the beat!

He loves to play outside and really loves playing with balls. Oh, and prying that boy out of the bathtub is something I do not look forward to every night.

Owen has not outgrown his desire to stick everything in his mouth; mother-panic inducing things. It really is like living with a puppy sometimes. I pull shredded magazines and shoes out of that boy's mouth on a regular basis. I think the shoes and sand gross me out the most. He's getting better, but he's not to be trusted in a sandbox.

Owen had his first driving lesson last weekend and I have 2 minutes of extremely cute video of same, but on the advice of counsel and not wanting to be branded a worse mother than Britney Spears, I am not posting the video here. But the next time you visit I'll show you!

Owen missed his nap today too, and its 7:45 and he's up in his crib protesting loudly about being there. Why is it that when kids are really tired its a lot harder to get them to go to bed? That one I will never understand.

Andrew 38 Months

Andrew May 2008, originally uploaded by leslie_capron.

"Mom, I'm in the three's classroom now."
"Do you like it?"
"Yes, I go to the three's tomorrow"
"Yes, you do."

Why hello little boy! Do you know where my toddler Andrew is? Oh, I see, he's growing up, and he's you!

Andrew has made a fantastic transition to his new classroom. His first day was Monday and I was prepared to see a stressed little guy when I went to pick him up. How wrong I was. Monday afternoon the entire class was sitting on the floor in rapt attention to their teacher and her flash cards of the letter of the day. Andrew was sitting quietly and listening. Wow. Of the group of kids who moved up with him, it was reported by his teacher that he's made the best transition. I really think he was ready for a little more structure and a little less "free time" than what he was having in the two's classroom. Its amazing how much more a teacher can do when she doesn't have to potty train 15 kids!

As for potty training, the week before Andrew was still not making it through his nap without going pee. This week, he hasn't had a accident since Tuesday. I know that things change fast, but I am one relieved mama that it hasn't been too traumatic. I think this has gone well since he knows so many of the kids and he has many friends in the new room.

Andrews energy level has gone through the stratosphere. Lately, he enjoys running, jumping and finding rocks and throwing rocks and making loud noises. I think these are textbook three year old boy activities.

Eight months into my part time schedule I'm finally doing activities that I couldn't manage before. I had been just picking the boys up early, then doing errands (grocery shop, haircuts), or just coming home early with them. Now I have a few play dates a week so the boys get more play time with their friends, but in a bit calmer environment. This may end soon though because two of his friend's mom's are going to be going back to work after their maternity leaves soon. But I'm taking advantage while I can!

On days we don't visit friends, our routine includes going to the various parks in Irvine. Turtle Rock park has a batch of ducklings we've been checking on. This park is tops on our list too because it has a little creek that runs through it. Andrew especially likes throwing rocks into the creek and making big splashes.

Andrew's behavior has been really good lately. The time-outs have really slowed; he's been averaging one a week. I hope this streak continues.

He's having more fun with Owen these days. Its been a cool confluence of luck that Owen is a bit big and rough-and-tumble for his age while Andrew is somewhat more reserved. The two of them together are able to have fun doing really similar things. They like the same jungle gyms at the park and are pretty well matched during the wrestling sessions.

Andrew's also started a gardening project. We have a crop of carrots that have started to geminate in the back yard. He's having fun watering them and checking on them every day.

I wrote earlier this week about Andrew's eating habits. Well, it was a short lived victory. I just bribed him with a Skittle so he'd eat his yogurt. The yogurt, by the way, was already a compromise since he cried when I gave him his plate of lasagna and broccoli.

He still needs a good nap every day (three hours) to be manageable and a good boy. Which he really is 90% of the time. Right now we're paying for no nap. He's teary and irrational. But we know that after a good night's sleep he'll be his happy, energetic little self again.

Back in business for reals

Hubby did not disappoint.  New Apple Mini is awesome.  Commence regularly scheduled blogging.

Hint hint

I loosened up the controls on posting comments; so hopefully commenting will now be easier. No need to sign in now.

Update

Owen is back to himself this week.  Hand, Foot and Mouth disease is not fun. Although for Owen it was more like Mouth, Tongue and Leg disease.  He didn't get a rash on his hands or feet at all.  Which, because of the unusually literal name of this disease, got me worried because if he's missing two of the three symptoms of this disease, what the heck does this boy have?  Scarlet Fever?  The Internet was not helpful.  I couldn't find any pediatric disease that perfectly matched his symptoms, so I tried to relax and just go with what his pediatrician said. Thankfully it only lasted a couple of days and burned through only two nights of sleep.  If HF&M befalls your family - go straight to the Motrin, Tylenol wasn't cutting it for this fever and mouth pain.

 

Andrew is doing great. In exciting culinary news, Andrew ATE HIS WHOLE DINNER LAST NIGHT PLUS TWO BANANAS.  Holy mackerel it's a miracle.  This boy hasn't eaten dinner in months.   Dinner unusually goes like this:  I make something extremely kid friendly, like spaghetti, breaded chicken breasts, or mac and cheese, with a side of fruit and some string cheese.  And without fail the only thing Andrew eats is fruit, and then asks for about a billion glasses of milk. Because he's hungry!  Last night Andrew ate two servings of mac & cheese, two servings of apple sauce, grapes and two bananas.  Amazing. Maybe he's started to grow a bit or maybe the move to the Three's class with its new activities is making him more hungry. (BTW, Owen is the opposite.  Owen pretty much eats whatever you put in front of him and at this point has eaten more vegetables than Andrew has in his whole life).

 

Sadly, it looks like Choppers is off on an adventure and has decided not to come home.  She's been gone since Saturday morning.  We left the garage door opened and our kitchen door into the garage wasn't closed all the way - she saw her opportunity and took it.  Andrew has been asking where she is and I just say "I don't know - she's still out on her adventure."  He seems satisfied with that answer.  We describe our weekend boondoggles (our random home tours, spontaneous visits to LA to ride the train, etc.) as "adventures" so I'm hoping he has a positive association with the word and isn't too worried about the cat. 

 

The home-front is good. Although I'm really getting ready to move to another house (sorry if you've heard that before from us, but I really mean it now!)  After I got a call from our home-owner's association scolding me for putting up my lost cat signs and then telling me they were doing me a favor because next time I'll have to pay for any damage that resulted from my scotch tape on the mail boxes, I really am not feeling the love in the neighborhood.   They are way more concerned about the state of the community mail boxes than my cat - not cool.  Also,  I REALLY WANT A YARD!   North Tustin is still a promising new location. 

 

More pictures will be up as soon as I find a way.  Eric just emailed and said he bought me a present so cross your fingers that it is a new computer!  Or a new house, either one is fine.

Rest in peace

Well, it didn't last long. The computer is officially dead. We'll be getting a new one soon and then I can get back to posting. I've missed you! There's lots to catch up on with the boys. Today I'm home with Owen, he has Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. His vet, er pediatrician, said this should pass in about four days, but in the mean time he'll be uncomfortable. He has blisters in his throat that make it painful for him to eat, so he's in pain and hungry. Thankfully he's sleeping right now. (If that garbage truck outside wakes him up they'll be h*ll to pay!). Phew, he's still sleeping.

I'm posting from my work 'puter which I rarely can do. We've got schizophrenic web controls here at work - some days I can access my blog, but other day's I'm denied and sent threatening messages saying my web surfing will trigger a corporate audit, so I don't like to push it.

On deck I've got lots of video of the boys. We've been going to the park in the afternoon to check on the baby ducks and to do some serious rock throwing (not at the ducks of course). What is it with boys and rocks?! I've got some cute stuff. So as soon as the IT department (Eric), makes his recommendation we'll be purchasing a new computer soon and I'll be back to my more regular posting.

Happy Friday everyone!

Cross your fingers!

Eric just spent a heroic couple of hours digging into the computer, literally. The cover was off and he was operating on it with tweezers. He revived it! We've backed up all of the pictures. I'll let him explain the details, but so far so good. Even if we just delayed the inevitable for just a little longer, that's cool with me!

Update

Our home computer died AGAIN. If you've been following along, this is the third time our HP has died. We are going to get a new computer. Probably an Apple. But we will send it back so they can revive it (hopefully) one more time so I can pull off all of our pictures and video.

You don't need to tell me that I should have backed-up our photos. I know.