Piped up from the backseat of the car today.

"That is a hughmonglious cloud!"

Yep, sure is a big one, I agreed.

"Yah, and that's a stratus! OOOhh and a CUBIS!"

Err...oh, yeah, that kind of hughmonglious cloud
I think he means cumulus.

And I think it goes without saying that Antonio is studying Clouds in school this week.


Julia was grabby girl as she nursed to sleep tonight.
It could have been the strawberry shortcake I was trying to eat, she was diving for the bowl.
So, to distract her, I gave her a tissue to hold.
She fell asleep clutching it, I tried to tug it out of her hand, but she wouldn't let go.
She was tucked into bed with it.

Fast food

Stinky made breakfast this morning.
She was a little late in the delivery, so I had to stash it for later.

At 6:30am, after loading up the kids in the car I noticed cat activity by my driver's side door.
Tigger was sniffing a little dead rodent something, too little for rat too big for mouse...ick none-the-less.

Stinky's look of pride quickly turned to confusion as I walked off in search of a shovel.
That's the closest thing to a ten foot pole I have *shiver*
One quick scoop and flick into the outside trash can and I didn't even gag.
Antonio missed the whole situation, which is perfect, I didn't have enough coffee yet to answer one meeelion questions about it.

Antonio is so enjoying his guppy status in swim class.
Last night they swam the length of the pool with a teacher at their side.
Then they were given pool noodles & swam two more laps, once on their tummies, and again on their backs. He also took some time to have a splash fight with one of the boys, but it was halted as soon as one of the little girls started shrieking.

He is all kinds of excited about the upcoming visit from the Easter Bunny. I've been fielding all kinds of questions relating to it. I say it, because the question of gender came up just the other day, "Mom, is the Easter Bunny a boy bunny or a girl bunny."
Hmm......, "Well, it's just a Bunny, I'm not certain what kind it is."
Let's just not go there m'kay?

He's expressed wishes for a chocolate bunny in his Easter basket, and has asked if the EB will be hiding eggs inside or outside. I told him we'll just have to wait and see.*


Julia has become fascinated with the cats. When she spots one, she will stare at it in rapt attention, cheeks jiggling in concentration. She's tried smiling at them, but has discovered that they are not smiling back type creatures.
I think it makes the cats uncomfortable to have such intent attention on them; cats are, by nature, paranoid creatures. They tend to walk off once they notice her staring at them.

Moving on with the food tasting, yesterday she had mashed up banana.

Loved.it.

She didn't even give me her, "What the hell is this?!" face after the first bite.
The highchair is working out to be a great deal. She can be up in the middle of the activity & have bites too. Antonio is so great about rotating out her toys when she looses interest or dancing around like a maniac making her laugh.

He still freaks out and demands to know exactly what I'm feeding her.
Even though I tell him, as mommy, I know what is okay and not okay to feed the baby. I'll point out that he made it through babyhood just fine under my care, and he will relent.






*Chocolate Easter Rabbit is standing by for basket placement as I type

Antonio had a pretty good day at school today. They said he was tired and not very into circle time today, but after nap time, things went better.
He spent time playing outside when we got home. The older kids are building a fort in the woods, and Antonio so wants to be out there too.

Let me sound like a mom here... But it's dangerous out there, there's junk & I'm worried he'll get hurt. That said, I have to be a drag and the woods are off limits until it's been cleaned out. Which he hates, because, "allllllllllllllll of the other kids are in the woods."

*hm*

This evening after bathtime, Antonio and I decorated an Easter Tree. He put all of the eggs up & did a fantastic job. I kept Madam Grabbyhands at bay.

Julia is enjoying her throne. She has her command center & Antonio keeps toys rotating through so she doesn't get too bored. I think he is as jazzed about the new toys as she is.

Tonight she ate sweet potatoes. She prefers to not be fed, but rather have her spoon loaded & handed to her so she can do it herself. This is all before she has one tooth through.
She's workin' it though, everything she can get her hand on to bring to her mouth gets chewed to hell.

We got to see Geno this weekend!
He flew in Saturday evening & spent the rest of the weekend with us.

The kids and I ventured down to Gramma's house Saturday evening, since it's closer to where I'd be picking him up & since it would be so late, the kids could sleep while I fetched him.
So, not only dad time, but Jammie Party too, what a deal!

Julia amazed him with her weed-like hair & Antonio was pulling out all the stunts to impress.

We spent Sunday afternoon getting things ready for the week, and in our spare time, purchased & put together a high chair for Princess Julia.
Once placed in it, you could see the, "Ah ha! This is my place!" light go off.
This is the cool aquarium high chair with doo-dad chew toys and an activity center, in short all kinds of things to keep her grabby little hands busy busy busy!

It's rainy today.
What a surprise (!)

The boy has hauled out his box o' k'nex. This project has kept him busy for at least a half hour...




I think he's planning on a bigger project that may take a leetle longer...




The girl is just along for the ride, getting into whatever toy she can get at



=

Julia is into tasting things, so today she's going to try carrots. I steamed up some baby carrots & I think she'll dig it. Getting a high chair here soon will be a good thing. I think she's about ready for something mushed up in a bowl for her to dip her fingers into.


Here she is taking a bite




I don't think her eyes are closed in carroty goodness bliss....







More like she's trying to concoct the perfect face to fully express that she'd rather not have those again for a little while.


Now, about this rolling business, I'm not kidding when I say that she's going all over the living room. She's got places to go, man. Her launch pad is always her little play area, but there are bigger and better things to see than those boring old toys. It may take her a minute or two, but she can get where she needs to go.







Yesterday afternoon when I picked up Antonio from daycare, the teacher told me that he had a few bouts of diarrhea.
When we got situated in the truck, his explanation was, "Mom, I pee'd out of my butt."

I'm not lying.

This is where the skill of Stealth Laugh comes in handy. I was dying! Of course I was concerned about how he was feeling, but damn, some things just get to you.

He spent the evening eating bananas and yoghurt in his jammies. Only one little episode when we first got home, but things quieted down after that.

This morning he had another small episode & here's where the parent dilemma came in. I had to go into work, just for an hour or so, to get class started. Should I bring him with, or take him to daycare?
If he came with, there's a long walk from parking to my office, plus what if he has to go again?
Would daycare take him?
Yes, the thought of not even telling them he wasn't all better crossed my mind too. I couldn't even get irrationally mad at Geno for not being here, since he wouldn't have been able to not go to work either. I chanced it, took him into daycare & explained what the deal was, & the lady was just so cool about it.
Thankyouthankyouthankyou!

After getting things situated at work, I stopped by Safeway for Pedialite, cough strips, more yoghurt & a few other things. Corned beef, cabbage & potatoes were displayed everywhere, & sounded good, but after some considerationn I decided against the cabbage & opted for organic mustard greens. On the way to the checkout, I decided to grab a bottle of chardonnay, to hell with it, I got the big one.*

We've been lounging in jammies the rest of today, watching movies and drinking Pedialite mixed with Gatoraide, Pedialite alone tastes like crap. As he took his first few sips of nekked Pedialite, after each one he would wipe off his tounge with his sleeve. "Mommy, this stuff tasts soapy."

He's right, blagh!

I had to explain to him why he needed to drink so much, and every time he's pee'd (from the right spot) he announces, "Mom I'm rehydrated."
I think he's on the mend.





Julia has almost outgrown her bucket carseat, her little feets dangle off the edge. As I type, the cover to the big carseat is in the dryer. She hates bucket carseat, and I hope that sitting up more will make her happier to be in the seat. My only dilemma with letting the bucket seat go was the shopping carts when I grocery shop with her, so I'll keep it in the back of the truck until she's sitting up better.

Oh yeah, and she's pulling hair now too...yeowtch!


*not to say that I'm going to chug it all in one evening, it'll last a while...

Who knew bedtime would be so sweet?
Such a coveted hour...the silence that follows....ahhhhhh

Antonio had a great day at school. His teacher and I talked about him laying down for about 20 minutes during nap time on the days he gets there before her. Today was one of those days, up at 5 am, at daycare by 5:50. At home, Extreme Mad Face is still happening, as is Argue Boy. I know it takes a bit for us to get our routine down, but right now is hard.

He is being so helpful with Julia. She just thinks he is the greatest thing ever! Antonio can make her laugh like no one else, they adore each other. He helped giver her bath tonight & tried to help get her dressed in jammies, but her feet were too kicky and he just couldn't catch them.

Speaking of Rolly Girl, I'm thinking of constructing a romper out of Swiffers. There must be some kind of static magnetism from the dust bunnies under the couch, she always ends up there. She figured out she can steam roll over her play gym & tries to do the same thing to the couch leg.

Tonight she had some of that biter biscuit while I was making dinner, but kept on gagging herself with it. I took the mesh food holder dealie & put some cubed up apple in it. She loved it! When she dropped it she freaked out. I think she's ready for a high chair, she's getting too big for the bouncer seat & wants to sit up and do more things.

Geno left Friday. He'll be in Fladah for about a week, then back here for training for a few weeks. After that it's 6 months in Cuba.

We've both been talking to Antonio a lot about dad leaving, and while he understands dad's not going to be around, it's a pretty big picture for a 5 year old to wrap his head around. He's slipped into Angry Boy mode, gets frustrated pretty easy and has extreme mad face. So far reminding him to ask for help when he freaks over something not going well settles him pretty quickly. The extra hugs and talks and hang out/cuddle time is good stuff too.

He does know that we have a few options of touch base with Dad when he needs it. We can call, email, write letters, or draw pictures to send. Once Geno gets situated in Cuba, we're hoping he'll have internet access wherever it is he'll be living. Then we can IM with the web cam. It'll be good for all of us.

Antonio commando-d in last night around 5 am. Tigger had scratched him for some reason. I may have to talk about shutting his door at night. He got up around 8 and made himself some breakfast, Gorilla 'Chunks' (Munch). Grandma sent him home with a box yesterday.

Julia is having some breakfast right now, and just coughed and crapped at the same time, all without loosing her latch. Now, that's mulit-tasking.
She's rolling everywhere now. Last night, she rolled over to the toy basket and pulled it over to get to the toys inside.

Meet Chick



Gramma came to visit on Satuday. Usually Gramma visits include a jammie party sleep over, but not this time. Being the fantastic Gramma she is, she left a little present for him to discover Sunday morning. Chick chirps when you place him on your hand, Antonio was immedietly attached to him.


Monday, Antonio went to school, and unbeknownst to Dad, Chick went with.
We didn't know until later on that night, after he was tucked in bed & had story time.
I don't know how we missed it's happy little cheep. Antonio was near tears as he explained that he had forgotten Chick outside in the play yard. Some kid had broken him by ripping it off it's beak, and he was so concerned that Chick was alone and scared.

We reassured him that one of the ladies must have picked Chick up and put him inside, safe and warm. That we'd talk to one of the teachers when he went in and get Chick back to him safely.

Luckily Chick was found, dirty, beakless and happy to get the hell outta there.




The culprits of my distraction

Name: Antonio
Age: 5
Favorites include: Spiderman & pizza
Most recent accomplishment: Moving up from Level 2 "Seahorse" to Level 3 "Guppy" in swim class.
This kid can jellyfish bob like a mo fo.
Current Challenge: Sneaking more computer time, tying his shoes and invisibility




Name: Julia
Age: 5 months
Favorites include: Nursing, having people to smile at & playing Rocket Baby
Most recent accomplishment: Rolling over, must.reach.that.toy...
Current Challenge: Getting her big toe in her mouth

Aaaahhhh Saturday's

DSCN0964
Originally uploaded by Distracted.