 | Diary Navigation:
|
June 13, 2003
June 13, 2003:
Busy, busy, busy…
We’ve had lots of things to do over the past few weeks. Rachel’s preschool had its open house on the same day as Cole’s birthday party—which was on the same day as the neighborhood pool party at the club house—which was the same day that Stephanie & Richard invited us to dinner. It’s fun to have so many things to do with the kids, but I wish they could be spread out more over several weekends instead of cramming everything into one day. The open house was fun. A lot of planning went into the big day. Along with the usual food (hot dogs, snow cones, pizza, sodas), there were activities inside every classroom like face painting and games (Go Fish, find the buried treasure, toss the balls, picking leaves from the tree, etc.). They had cute prizes for the kids and handed out balloons and stickers and candy. One of the classrooms was arts-and-crafts where they made crafts out of paper bags, silk flowers, glitter, buttons, and paint. There was a room for face painting. Outside, they had two separate balloon moon walk jumps set up on the playground. Rachel & Avery had a great time jumping around inside the moon walk. I wanted to join them, but I restrained myself. Stephanie & I were interested in the silent auction which was set up in the café. Stephanie & Richard bid on several things which they ended up winning: a night on the town, including limo, dinner, and a stay at a local inn; 2 separate rounds of golf for 4; and a dinner package for 2 at three different restaurants. I decided to bid on the painter’s package, and ended up winning. A paint contractor will come to our home and paint a room of our choosing. Now we need to decide which room we want painted, and it will be a good time to get an estimate on the cathedral areas in our foyer that need painting.
Cole’s 3rd birthday party was held at a Gymboree music-type place called Fundamentally Music. There were about 12 kids & 12 parents. I had never been to one of these parties, and it was different, but fun. The kids ran around in their bare feet in the dance studio. They danced to music, tossed balls around, played musical instruments, tried to catch bubbles, and sang & clapped. Afterwards, they had a nice cake and then Cole opened his presents. I was surprised at how well organized it was, and we were in and out of there in about 2 hours. We had dinner at Jax Grille with Reid & Tina & Cole and some of Tina’s family afterwards. Rachel, normally our picky eater, ate two orders of grilled cheese and all of Mitch’s chicken tenders, we couldn’t believe it!
Telge Park
We met some “couple” friends & their kids at Telge Park. It was so hot out—in the high 90’s. I guess “hot” and “Texas” go hand in hand. Everyone brought something to contribute to the meal, and we tried to visit in between chasing after the kids on the playground slides and swings. Avery & Rachel brought their scooters; it was cute to watch them “scoot” around together. We took a walk through the woods, until some idiot stranger tried to scare the girls by telling them there were snakes in the woods. That set them all off to screaming and running back to the picnic table. Mitch got in line with the rest of the kids for the slide, so I stood behind him and followed him up the steps to the top. He slid down with a big “wheee!” and then I had no choice but to follow him down the slide as there was a long line of kids behind me. I had to crawl through a tunnel at the top of the ladder, and then I was stuck on my knees sliding down the slide. I tore all the nail polish off my toes and scraped up my feet pretty bad. I tried to smile and not scream and swear!
Rachel
I stayed home with Rachel one day last week. She had another 24-hour episode of vomiting. I don’t know what is going around, but it seems our children have had their fair share (and then some). Friday, I picked her up from school and I noticed that she was just not herself, even though she kept insisting that she was fine. She finally admitted that her ear was hurting and when I looked at it, I could see it was infected. There was a stream of liquid wax that had run down the side of her neck. I checked both ears with a flashlight. Then I called the pediatrician. He called in a prescription and asked us to bring Rachel in on Saturday morning. We took both kids in because Mitch had a wet cough and runny nose most of the week. Mitch’s ears were clear, but he did get two prescriptions for his cough/runny nose and eye drops too. Rachel was much better by the end of the week and back to her normal self by Monday.
Mitch
We’ve noticed a lot of changes in Mitch over the past month. He’s a lot more vocal and loud about everything. He is starting to put more two-words together at a time, including noun and action verb, which is the next step after mastering single words. He used to point at the cat and say, “kitty,” and now he will say, “kitty meow” or “kitty pet,” as he pets Angus. He knows most of his body parts. He can point to and say: nose, eyes, mouth, ear, mouth, chin, hair, knee, feet and hands. He can throw the ball overhand and underhand with great force. He is definitely right-handed. He is still doing things like pulling the kitchen chairs over to the counters and crawling and standing on the counters and table. If we take a chair away from him, he will just choose another one for his mission. He has started hitting a lot more. He hits Rachel out of the blue and for no reason (although I’m sure he owes her for plenty of past transgressions), and he hits/slaps me as well as Jerry. We tell him “No!” very strongly. If we are holding him, we will put him down when we tell him, “no!” Sometimes he just laughs (very irritating) and other times he will burst out crying. He is very sensitive, and if we use harsh words or raise our voices, he will cry.
Summertime = melting popsicles…
The kids really enjoy popsicles. Rachel can never finish one before it melts all over her face, hands, and clothes. We eat them outside at the patio table. I love banana popsicles, which happen to be yellow, so Mitch tries to grab it from me every time. He doesn’t understand that he is supposed to hold it by the stick, though, and holds onto the frozen ice. He will drop it when his hands get too cold. When he picks it up, it is covered in sand/grass/dirt, but he just holds on, all the while it is melting all over the place. I have tried cutting it up for him, but he’s not interested in that, he wants to hold the popsicle, not eat it.
Rachel…
All of a sudden Rachel is very interested in riding her bike. Just a month ago, her attention span was too short to continue pedaling herself long enough to go anywhere. And her steering skills needed a lot of work. She would get frustrated and give up. She has mastered her pedaling skills and can pedal all the way around the cul-de-sac and down the neighborhood streets without stopping. Jerry has raised the seat and handle bars. She really wants to get a pink Barbie bike, which is similar to Lauren’s bike. Lauren is permitted to ride her bike in the street because she is older (6) and she rides safely with Susan or her friend Briana. I think Rachel will be ready for a new 2-wheel bike for her birthday in August.
It’s sew easy…
I started my sewing classes last week. I had my second one last night. It makes for a late night, as the classes are from 7 to 10 p.m., and I’m really exhausted on Friday mornings. But, it’s really fun! I never thought I’d think or say that, but I’m really enjoying it. The first class was pretty basic. There are 12 people in the class, including one man. We each introduced ourselves and said what we wanted to learn. The guy in the class just bought a house and wants to learn to make his own draperies. Many of the women want to sew clothes for themselves, and there are a few who want to do home dec. I was the only one who mentioned Barbie clothes. Our first assignment was to go to a fabric store to buy a simple pattern (no button holes or zippers), along with fabric and notions. We were told to wash and dry the fabric, lay out the pattern and cut it out to bring to the second class. I went to JoAnn’s and browsed through the pattern books. I had no idea what I would make for my first project. I decided to make Rachel a simple Capri pants & top outfit. Angie came over on Sunday to help me lay out the pattern correctly. I cut it out later that night and was ready to sew at the second class. I thought I’d be dying of boredom in the class, but the 3 hours really flies by with so many students and just one teacher. We are all making different things, and there’s always someone needing help with their sewing machine, or a pattern, and we have to stand in line at the ironing board. I worked on the top last night and will finish it this weekend. Hopefully I can get started on the Capri’s and I will buy material for my second pattern this weekend. My second pattern is a sun dress for Rachel. Hopefully, it will be something that she will like and hopefully it will fit. The teacher said the first time, it will take you several hours to complete one project. Then, if you use the same pattern, the next time, it will take you about an hour, and the next time about 30 minutes. So far, everything is going well, I haven’t sewn my thumb to my thigh (yet).
I recently had my annual well woman exam. Last week my doctor called to say that my pap came back with bad results. I had to go in on Tuesday for another pap and a biopsy. It was not a particularly pleasant procedure, but I’m glad it is over with and I’ll do my best not to worry while waiting for the results.
Warmly,
Megan
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/m/millimaki/
 |  |
|
want to keep a diary on iParenting?
Authoring a diary on the iParenting network allows you to chronicle your family's story, preserving it for years to come. It's also a great way to get the most out of the iParenting community. Click here to start...
|
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families. 
