April Doings

Tis the season for continuing eduction. :) I'm back on the road again. I haven't posted for a while, simply because I've been crazy busy. So, here are a few iphone photos for my friends and family who think I have stopped posting. I guess I'm just too busy "doing" right now to take real photos. I do love the iphone. And the ipad. To brag, I ran my Keynote from it this week. So Cool! I did not even bring the laptop this past trip.


I took a few photos of trees while up in NY. Oddly, I worry that my children will think these big shrubs in Texas are actual trees. I am making it a point to get them up north at least once a year. If nothing else, I can remind them that real trees should be taller than your house. Ha.My trip to NY last week was crazy. No, really crazy. For starters, I forgot my wedding ring at home in the cleaning solution. That's a good lesson in vanity. I wanted my ring to be pretty since I was going to a high fashion city. Instead, I had to substitute my ring for what I had on hand, PVC pipe remnants from my course. Ha!
I guess my biggest "news" this past week was the trip itself. I had a "first time ever" while in Albany. It was more like a "What the heck do I do know?" moment. I've spoken to lots of people. Thousands actually. I've had lots of weird things happen during my courses. But, I've never had someone die. Which, is technically what happened last Thursday. I didn't see all the commotion since she was sitting in the back row. Apparently, she walked out the door not feeling well and promptly passed out. The entire back row rushed out. My first thought was that everyone in the room knows CPR since we are all therapists. I am probably not needed. I asked if she was "OK" to a woman standing in the door watching me and the commotion. She shot me a very hallow look and said, "I don't think so." What do you do in this situation? It certainly wasn't in any books I had read....

So, I kept talking. I figured the more normal I appeared, the less panicked people would be. There was about six people "working" on her, so they didn't need more bystanders. Then, when I heard the ambulance pull up, I announced that we would be taking our afternoon break early and I would pass out the certificates to all of the attendees. They were free to do as they wished. I then stated that if anyone would like to pray with me, I would meet them at the front of the room. Can you believe that only ONE person came up? I was a bit shocked. And, no one left. They all just stared at me and expected me to continue as if nothing had happened. CRAZY! As she left, a lady came back in and said they couldn't get a pulse on her. So, in my mind, a woman has just died in my course. And I have to continue to make jokes and entertain these people for another two hours.

The good news, is that I was able to get ahold of her co-worker and found out that she simply had a vasovagal response and some GI issues and she was back to work on Monday. I've been in email contact with her. Praise God that she was OK. I guess it really is just "two or more", even without the "more" some days. Then, traveling from Albany to Westchester, I got stuck behind a closed road for four hours due to a big fatality a few miles up. I was a little freaked out at this point so I pulled over and found a mall. A little retail therapy and a cool NYC hat later, I was good to continue. But still, I struggled all week with how to answer, "How was your trip?" I didn't realize that lady had even survived until I received word from her on Thursday morning.

On the home front, we've been trying to have more family time now that the kids are getting a little more engagable. We're trying out some new sporting activities.
Yes, that is a racket from my Mom's house. I believe it is older than I am. We let Andy use a badminton racket. Good thing our neighborhood garage sale was this weekend, I bought a few newer rackets. :)

Suzy is starting to really like to climb trees. Ahem... Texas trees....shrubs.
We went to the Austin Rodeo and wore our overalls. Like another friend mentioned on her blog, we did get in free. However, I think we were the only ones that knew it was overall day. Oh well. We embraced it and had fun.
I have to laugh at this. When Jan came to visit, we took her to Spec's. It's a huge liquor store with lots of other exotic foods. they have little carts for the kids. I carted them up and down the massive booze isles and fed them little European break sticks. Don't they look thrilled?
Suzy continues to be a wonderful big sister. She loves to help Andy at the playground.
A few shots from a little photo shoot I purchased with a Groupon.

My other big news is that I bought a Momma er, um... Grand mama bike. I love it. It's totally stable. It fits both kids. It fits in the back of my van. And it's horn says, "Arrugga!" Awesome. Thanks, Sweet Rob, for a great Mother's Day part One. (Part two comes next Friday... more later.)
A little play date at the park with some of our best friends. I can't believe Andy is old enough to teeter and totter.
This week was spent hauling four yards of compost and three yards of mulch to my garden beds. I ripped out almost all of the plants from the previous owners and have been literally up to my elbows in dirt all week long. Luckily, I have good helpers. It has taken me a LONG time.


This is what my playroom currently looks like. Baby dolls have taken over. It keeps the kids busy while I shovel. I will clean another day....
Lastly, we celebrated another birthday with Papop. We love you, Papop! Happy Birthday!
Suzy has embraced a new way to eat ice cream cake.
So, there you have it. A little of the Mama Drama from my last two weeks. It's never dull in Martiville!

For Jennifer :)

Since you liked the close up one. Although, it may have just been the bold colors that you liked..... ;)

roadside photography

During naps today, I decided to head out and take some pictures of some flowers I saw on a super busy highway last night. Not a place I could go with kids. Mopac and Braker for those who are local. I thought I would have lots of leisure lens and settings play. Not so much. It was a little un-nerving, even for me, to be so close to such quick traffic. I'm crazy enough not to want to damage the flowers, which meant I was pressed up against the inside of a small guard rail. Litterally inches from really fast cars....

My goal was to get a shot that was nice enough to blow up really big to put behind our couch on that enormous wall in our living room. I had fun, but I may have to keep practicing to invest in a really big canvas. Still, I think these may make nice 11X16s......





Texas really does know how to do wildflowers in the spring.

Buddies

Andy and Suzy seem to have a great sibling relationship. Right now, they adore one another. I pray it continues.

A Fun Week

It was an absolute beautiful day today so we went out to the Y trail with some friends. I truly do love this patch of bluebonnets at mile 1.0.
We fed the ducks today and it was a complete riot. They really are pretty aggressive. But, Andy really loves it. Such a risk taker. Suzy is way off on the right at one of the playscapes. She's not as risky. ;)
On a side, I bought this sand toy at a garage sale this past weekend. The problem is, I HATE sand. But, I like the idea of a sensory tub. So, instead I filled it with shaving cream. I invited Lane over, but it wasn't his idea of fun.
Andy wasn't thrilled, but he made the best of it and enjoyed playing in the water and squirting it out. :) Fun times!

Sugar and Spice Update

So I will take time and record for their futures....

April 2010

Andy is still sugar. It's just that he has entered the sticky stage. Still yummy, but a lot of mess to go along with it. His favorite things right now are balls, bubbles, balloons ("namoons"), cars (they are mostly all "trucks"), and jumping ("dumping"). He loves the trampoline and I even built him some special PVC stairs so he could go up and down independently. He is on.the.move constantly. If, however, he feels a threat that I will not be giving him my sole attention, he quickly becomes a sticky little part of my being. "Mama" is still by far his most spoken word. He is making slow progress with "Daddy". For the longest time, "Mama" was a general phrase meaning, "Hey big person that could help me - I want your attention." I believe it drove Rob crazy. ;) He will now also say Grammy ("Ammy") and Popop. Suzy ("Oosie") and Nala ("Ala") are also very used names around our house. "Ala" pretty much means any dog right now. Sometimes, he calls Katie "Kitty" but then seems to be confused and quickly revert back to "Ala". He enjoys making the sounds of KittyKats, Ducks, Dogs, Monkeys, Birds, etc. My favorite is how he identifies a rooster.... "Doodledoos."

He continues to sleep with "Baby" Peanut and two blankies. He's still really good about naps and bedtime but wakes up really early and plays very loudly in his crib. On the food front, he is beginning to be a little less indifferent but still eats quite a variety. Oatmeal is still the only food he won't even try. He's not a huge fan of things on his feet except shoes and is starting to like to wash his hands. He says, "Hi" and "Bye-Bye", Pease and Tank Too without prompting. He will even sometimes tell Suzy "Orry" if he steps on her. Not as often, however, as she thinks he should.

When I hold him, sometimes he takes my face and turns it with his sweet little hands, just to make sure he has my full attention. He will also approach you from the side and bend over to stick his face in yours. It's really cute. Only slightly annoying. He will babble an entire conversation with you and then very seriously get your attention with, "OKay?" When I ask for lovins or kisses he will lean his forehead towards me as if granting permission for me to love him. He will give spontaneous hugs on occasion but I can count his lip kisses on one hand. Just last week, he has started initiating nose kisses at bedtimes. When he runs, he still balances with his hands out behind him and there is often a heavy spring/stomp to his step.

He adores Suzy and wants to be with her a lot. He looks forward to picking her up from school and waking her up in the morning. A favorite phrase around her is "I too". A very typical little brother wanting to share everything with her. I love it.

Suzy is still spicey. Always full of life and energy and depending on the day, the spice can soften you up or really keep you on your toes and make fire shoot from your mouth. For the most part, she's a bit like Cinnamon right now. I really enjoy being around her. We have started her with an OT colleague I really respect and she's really seeming to have more control now of her little body in regards to the sensory processing. She's also starting to taste new foods and with a sticker reward chart. She is tasting all kinds of things to earn movies. Her favorite continues to be Curious George but she is also branching out to LeapFrog and Diego (She was introduced to this at the hair style place.... ugh.)

She is very into imaginative ("imagination") play and making up new words that I have no clue how to re pronounce or define. Like Andy, there is a lot of "Is that so?" on my part. Her favorite current location for her imaginary play is "Ladies World". This is basically the side path on my house. She has claimed it for her own and does lots of planting, birthing babies, creating mud soup recipes, and all kinds of random lady things. Random is another favorite word for Suzy. She obviously gets that from me. ;) My favorite is when she announces that Andy has placed something in a random place again. Mischief is another word that will illicit a giggle just upon the mention of it. Andy is Mr. Mischief at our house. She really delights in him getting into things and making messes.

She loves to do things like I do. She has started taking lots of photos with my old cameras and she loves to garden with me. She is actually becoming helpful in lots of areas like laundry, dishes, and entertaining Andy on occasion. She is super honest. I am very grateful for that. However, it will sometimes get her in trouble, just as it does her Momma. Yes, the more I describe her, the more I see of me. Her little friend was sad the other day and she went to our garden unprompted and picked her some flowers. At Easter, she gave away more eggs than she put in her own basket.

A fun game for her is to be a bed bug and crawl around between the fitted sheet and the mattress. She is also doing a therapeutic listening program. Her favorite way to take a bath is to bring all the paints in and do experiments. Her favorite mix is when all the paint is gone. Hence, we have a lot of brown creations. At school, they talked about sugar bugs and it took us a few months to get her to stop obsessing about brushing her teeth. She now brushes happily twice a day.

I'm really amazed at how grown up she has become in just the last few months. I know the changes at this stage will just continue to get quicker and better.

Sweet babies, I love you so much and am so grateful that I get to be your Mommy. We are entering a fun stage in our family.

Lots of Fun at the YMCA

I may be one of the only mothers I know whose kids beg to go to the YMCA. Granted, they get to watch movies, so it's an easy sell. But, regardless I so love our Y. They just completed a wonderful trail this fall and I've really enjoyed all the photography opportunities. We dressed up this morning and headed out for some spontaneous fun and exercise with Mommy Me (Marietta).

None of the photos are edited yet, they were just taken for fun. I really like how the light turned out in the first two.

At mile marker 1.5, there is a huge field of blue bonnets.
Plus, lots of other little patches tucked in along the way.
This was my favorite spot at mile 1.0. I love the light from the shade.

The light and color was perfect. This has no editing at all. The down side was we strolled out to the 1.5 mile and worked our way back. By this shot, the kids were "done."
Here are a few more of my favorites from our little "hike".
Mommy Me is hilarious.

Apparently I am not.




Some of my favorite "out takes". This is a very typical Andy posture these days. He is like my favorite little leg tumor. You can almost hear the "No!" from his pouty little lips.
"Mommy, I have a idea..."
Andy is actually "giving love" here. He leans in and permits you to kiss his little head.
Yes, Suzy has a blue bonnet head in her mouth. I'm so proud.
Here is another example of her odd little stage of peering into my lens. I find it very funny.
Andy pulling out the entire blue bonnet plant to show Suzy. As she said, "He's sure good at mischief". I tried to replant it. Please forgive us.
Hands out for the promised candy photo treats.
"Spring Break!" (Thanks, Uncle James).
Andy is very particular about things on his feet.
"Can we go to the childcare now!!!!????"