School and hair cuts

It’s that time again, the happiest time of year…BACK TO SCHOOL! Well, at least back to preschool 3 days a week. Dakota has been overjoyed to be back at her school. We are only one week in and she is already telling me her new best friend is Keegan, no not a little girl, a little boy. And so it begins! I am hoping that Keegan likes her as much as she likes him because it would really suck for her to think she’s made a new best friend and that not be the case. I did see the two of them playing on Friday when I picked her up to school and they were having a great time. Graeme and I have been discussing having her tested next year to enter Kindergarten early instead of waiting another year until she is officially 5. I get a lot of feedback on this one and almost everyone thinks it’s a great idea. I will be talking to her teachers this year about it to get their opinions too. As I’m tying this she is working in her alphabet book, it’s one of her favorite activities, she calls it “learning her alphabet” book. Now if only her little brother was as smart! That really isn’t fair, he is a very smart little toddler, just not in the language department. I have a feeling he is always going to be the kid who isn’t into reading or the arts but way more interested in how things work. It’s a good thing his dad is the same way so he will be able to relate to him more than I can in that area. This is a little off subject but it just happened yesterday and is a funny share. I took Dalton to get his hair cut yesterday and the hairdresser added some gel and spiked his hair before we left. When we picked Dakota up from school she leaned over and said “MOM! Dalton’s hair!” I told her we got it cut and asked her if she thought he was cute. She told me NO! Can you believe her? She went on to explain that it was sticking up and she likes it down. She told me all about how she did not like his hair for five minutes, then revisited the subject shortly after getting home. She once again told me that it wasn’t cute after her dad got home from work. This morning when I got Dalton up she exclaimed “look Mom Dalton’s hair is cute again cause it’s not up like this” (picture 3 year old holding her hair up from the top of her head). Well I think his hair is cute when it’s all stuck up.

Back to preschool

The CUTE new haircut, unless you agree with Dakota that is

Couch cushions are really walls

How often do you pick up couch cushions? Never, often, almost daily? I know some moms who will not allow their kids to pull all the couch cushions off the couch to make forts. I have also considered enforcing this rule in my house but I just can’t seem to find the energy to do so. I also enjoy watching Dakota make more and more elaborate forts as she gets older. She is adding stuffed animals and blankets and using the coffee table as a support. This game is much more fun now that I don’t have to do all the work. It also keeps her occupied for at least an hour.  She calls these couch cushion forts her traps. They are designed to trap her inside them to keep her brother from getting her. It’s just too bad that they never work, Dalton is more than capable of moving a couch cushion or crawling over or under to storm her castle. It’s fun to see her use her imagination and to see her develop in a whole new way. It is a pain in my but to have to put the couch back together after she loses interest in the game though. Soon enough she’ll be old enough to put the couch back together without my help too.

 

Rambelings and Pictures

I’ve started writing today’s blog entry 3 times now. Just can’t seem to get in the groove this morning. Spent a nice relaxing weekend with the family. We headed over to my aunt’s house yesterday for swimming and BBQ. It’s always good spending time with my family. My two cousins are turning into such teenagers, having friends over and spending hours gossiping with them. I remember when those girls were Dakota and Dalton’s age. Now they watch and play with my kids like I used to watch and play with them. My aunt gave Dakota a giant horse, it’s taller than Dalton is. She really wanted to sleep with it last night but it’s too big for the bed so it stood next to her bed all night. I got out of bed to find it standing the middle of the living room this morning. It looks like D has a favorite new stuffed animal. Just as long as she doesn’t want to take it to the store with us! She is currently using it as a bed as she watches Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

I just realized I never wrote about our trip to SD. I’ll keep it short: We had a great time. It was so good to spend time with my all grown up little brothers. Dakota and I stayed with Robbert and Corey and the new baby while my Aunt Angie, Lauren and Sarah stayed with my mom. Robbert and my mom only live 4 blocks from each other so it was easy going back and forth. We ate outside almost every night enjoying the weather. It was a bit cold and we were all driven inside one day since it rained. The rainy day might have been Dakota’s favorite since I took her for a walk and let her jump in puddles. She also discovered “wishes”, you all know them by their more common name, dandelions. So here are a few pictures from SD.

First time boarding a plane

Playing with her Uncle Robb and Cousin

My newest nephew: Bryson Robbert Hogan

My bro Austin

Wishes!

picking wishes on our morning walk

Dakota loves her Uncle Robb

stunting in the back yard

 Getting our BBQ on

 Austin, Dakota, Me, Shona and Sarah

Getting some Uncle Austin Love

Time with Grandma                                  Plane ride home

The Yoga Journey

Six days ago I sat in my living room watching a yoga video. That was all at first, just watched it. Graeme pointed out that watching the video did not actually count, haha funny man. I did actually participate in the video on Sunday, then again on Monday. Walking around work on Monday night I was amazed at how only two days of yoga stretching and muscle building had improved my back and my energy. Today is day five and wow do my legs burn!  This started with a need to build my lower back muscles. I have now “thrown my back out” three times. It is extremely painful, going through labor painful! Most of my problems are from seized muscles in the lower back, caused by those muscles not being strong enough to support me properly. With a lift and a bend I have the potential to be walking like an old lady for four days. I have kids and a job! I cannot afford to be bent over and in pain every time I bend too far to the right! So here’s to bettering myself through the most relaxing exercise I’ve ever tried. I think I’ve finally found my “thing” because let me tell you: gym machines, running and weights are NOT it for me. They piss me off and leave me feeling like I just wasted precious time. Yoga leaves me feeling strengthened, relaxed and centered. Yep, I said it centered. Mostly I am hoping to continue to feel results, note I didn’t say see them, at this point I don’t really care what my body looks like, I just really want it to feel better (she says while considering taking a full body photo to compare results after a month). So here’s to yoga! Wish me luck and endurance, because let’s face it people: Lazy might as well be my middle name.  

"Why oh Why" and "Mama Mama Mama"

Ahhh, where should I begin? Well with the children of course! Both kids are as amazing as ever (if I do say so myself). Dakota is starting to introduce herself to everyone we come in contact with. She is very serious about it too, pronouncing her name very carefully. Unfortunately most people still don’t understand her unless they have an ear for kid. Today she even added her last name and I was very impressed. She is also entering the world of “Why”. Why can’t I have candy, why do you have to go to work, why do I have to sleep, why can’t I go outside, why why why! I am trying so hard to remain patient but sometimes the good old standby of BECAUSE I SAID SO gets pulled out of the old mommy hat from time to time, I know all my friends who have been in the why stage understand all too well. In some ways it is amazing to see her exploring her world in a whole new way, in other ways it’s my own little personal hell to hear one more question that starts with why. At the same time I’m trying to understand Dalton’s language. I read to him daily and I’m constantly naming everything in the hopes that he will begin speaking more clearly. He has mastered Mama and Mom though and I hear that more times than I can count in a day. He will walk up to me and announce MAMA at every opportunity. When he wakes up I hear him calling me, alternating between Mama and Mom until I come in and get him. Who knew the word mom could be said in so many tones to convey so many thoughts. He does have one phrase that Graeme and I are always trying to figure out. We are constantly debating the meaning of this little sound. I cannot even begin to convey it here in writing but we think it’s all done/get down/give me help/look at this. Like I said, we are still trying to figure it out. He walked up to us the other day and “talked” to us in length about something…still not sure, we are guessing he was telling us how we could better his life by allowing him to have more juice, or maybe by sending his sister away so he could have all the attention. It sure will be nice when he can communicate more clearly though. He wants to use the little potty so bad and is always trying to pull his pants down, even when he’s wearing a onesie. I do let him sit on the potty and he has proudly peed in the potty three times now. I tell him all the time that if he wants to get potty trained he has to be able to say the word first. I don’t think he believes me though. I’m hoping his enthusiasm for the potty will continue as he learns to talk, maybe potty training will be a snap with this one.  Here’s hoping to less question beginning the why from Dakota and more words spoken from Dalton…hmmmm funny how that works, I really want one to start talking and the other to stop (not really though, I love her and all her whys).

And she's Back!

Well hi there! I didn't mean to keep you all out in the cold but I was having laptop issues. I was not about to try and keep up blogging with my phone or fire-there would be no way, some thing would have been thrown if I had tried to type a whole blog on a touch screen device. Well we finally broke down and bought a new lap top, which of course is tons of fun. I do have a lot to catch up on. Dakota finished her first year of preschool and her progress report was amazing (of course, she is MY child after all). Dalton is a constant source of annoyance and of course laughter. This kid gets into EVERYTHING! He is behind in his language development so the doc wants me to bring him in before his 2 year appointment to check on his speech progress. To be honest, I'm really not worried. He was late doing just about everything...it's just his thing. He can however unscrew the top off a jar, so his motor skills are just fine. He wants to know how everything works and this of course leads me to be annoyed because he is always getting into things he shouldn't. Baby proofing is really nothing more than another problem for him to solve.
I am preparing for a trip to South Dakota in a week. I am only taking Dakota with me. The trip was scheduled in order for me to say my final goodbyes to my Aunt Kathy. Her liver was failing and her doctors gave her 3 to 6 months with us. That was only 3 weeks ago. This past Saturday she passed away sooner than any of us thought she would. It saddens my heart that I was not able to see her one last time and hold her hand. But as one life passes a new one comes into the world. My future sister in law Corey is in labor as I type this. My little brother Robbert will soon be a daddy to a little boy. So although I will not be able to see my aunt, I will be able to hold my new nephew and give my mom support while she mourns for her sister and rejoices for her son. I promise I will write more soon, especially since I finally have a computer to do so on!

Husband missing!

HELP! My husband is missing…ok, not really. He’s in Texas for a week and the week is almost over. He will be home tomorrow or maybe Monday (if he decides to break up the 14 hour drive). I have missed him but it wasn’t as bad as I feared it would be. I’ve mostly kept my cool and have only really lost my temper once. I was really proud of myself because as I was losing my temper I turned around and stomped out of the room yelling over my shoulder that Dakota better change her attitude! She in turn marched off to her room to sulk. Ten minutes later all was well in our house again. My amazing MIL helped out the first few days while I was at work and I don’t even think the kids missed their daddy at all because who would miss him when they have NANA! I spent the past two days watching my friend’s 2 year old. You would think having a 1, 2 and 3 year old in the house would drive me nuts but it went really well and all the kids got along and Dakota was a SUPER STAR sharer and helper. She really embraced the older kid thing and was eager to help out when needed. Today was just the three of us so we headed to the mall. Mommy got her eyebrows threaded today. This was a new experience for me but I’m mostly pleased with the outcome. I’ll give it another try but for now I think I like waxing better (even if it does pull skin off). The kids played in the play area and after we stopped off to pick out Dakota’s Easter dress and we picked up a tie and a kick ass fedora for Dalton. Boy’s clothes are kind of dull so accessories are a must! The three of us got an early dinner at Cheese Cake Factory and I am looking forward to after bed time so I can eat my tiramisu cheese cake. Dakota would have gotten cheesecake too but she decided to only eat one bite of mac and cheese and 5 french-fries. Sorry kiddo, if you don’t eat you don’t get the good stuff afterward. She is so funny because when I told her that she could eat her dinner or NOT eat cheesecake she politely told me that she did not want cheesecake. Hopefully tomorrow night I will have my husband back to cuddle with, I do like having the bed all to myself but I like having him to cuddle with even more, and yes after almost 5 years of marriage we still cuddle!

 

Achoo! It's good to be a mom

I want you to picture this. You've taken a shower. Your makeup and hair is done. You are dressed and ready for work. You have 30 minutes before you have to walk out the door and you are feeling pretty good about yourself because you never have that much time. So you think to yourself I'm going to make something to eat before leaving. This was me on Tuesday afternoon (since my work day doesn't start until 5pm). I decided I'd make a quick and somewhat healthy egg burrito. I've got my eggs on the counter and I just took out the cheese and salsa and started the stove when I started coughing. This cough led to a massive sneeze. Bent over, hands on knees kind of sneeze, the kind of sneeze that leaves you looking for freckles on the wall because the force of it must have blown a few off your face. Oh yes ladies, you know this kind of sneeze, the kind of sneeze that leads to total bladder let down! There I was all ready for work and getting ready to make a snack and I feel the warm spread of urine soiling my nice clean jeans! I went off to the bathroom to change out of my wet clothes and to finish relieving myself and of course Dakota wants to know what I'm doing and like a good mommy I tell her I had an accident. "Ohhhh, that's ok mommy". Yep, honey, mommy's bladder let go when she sneezed. "That's bad mommy", this said in the most conciliatory little voice ever. Now I have no pants on, because I went to the closest bathroom to the kitchen, and as I pass through the kitchen on the way to my bedroom I see Dalton holding a white ball. I think to myself, where did he get that? Oh wait, do you remember that egg carton? It is now on the ground, two eggs are broken and a third is being held by my ever so curious and troublesome toddler. He is trying ever so hard to EAT the whole egg. I stop going to my bedroom and instead head into the kitchen to deliver my poor eggs from my son and clean up the floor before the dog tries to and before the kids can start some new art project with the pretty yellow egg yolks. Finally I am able to get dressed and amazingly had just enough time to through together that egg burrito that I wanted so badly to start with. It’s good to be a mom!

Rainbow Brite

Dakota has a new obsession and it’s all my fault. That’s right people I introduced my child to Rainbow Brite and for the last few days she has watched the Rainbow Brite movie each and every day. Rainbow was my favorite character when I was a little girl. I used to have my hair done like hers all the time, you know side pony tail with curls. My very favorite stuffed animal that I slept with every night was Starlight the horse. I loved that horse but it got lost when I was around 7 (I think) and I was heartbroken. My dad also made me a Rainbow Brite table that I loved as well, I do remember the table but my aunt supplied the information about my Dad making it and it being a Christmas Present. Any how, when I saw I could get the movie delivered through Netflix I had to order it! That first day Dakota and I watched it twice and I'll admit for the first sitting I sat there just as enchanted as her, watching Rainbow and Kris fight the Dark Princess. I sent back the DVD so Dakota has been watching it on YouTube (oh thank goodness for Youtube!) I checked on Amazon to see how much the movie would cost. Brace your self…$65.00! That’s right people! If you want to own your very own copy of Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer on DVD be ready to shell out some serious cash! Oh well, at least we have YouTube. I wonder what other cartoons from my past she would really like. I am anxiously waiting for The Little Mermaid to be rereleased from Disney! It’s on my Netflix queue but it has A VERY LONG WAIT. Oh well, like they say patience is a virtue.

The 100th Day of School

I finally volunteered in Dakota’s class room yesterday! It was soooo much fun. They celebrated their 100^th day of school with a pizza party. The kids were so cute and so excited to count out 100 snacks, make their 100 mask and 100 crown. I had the privilege of reading The Night Before the 100^th Day of School 4 times. The kids also got to jump up and down on bubble wrap while we all counted to 100 at the top of our lungs. Half way through the day Dakota decided she wanted to leave so we could go visit Nana. Miss Misty her teacher swore to me that she never acts this way and is always one of the first to sit down or do whatever she is supposed to do since she is her little people pleaser. Of course she acted out, I was there! Overall though she did a great job participating even though her mommy was there. The best part was having some of the other kids get really excited to see me and wave shyly since they recognized me from other group activities. One little boy even asked to sit on my lap during song time, I of course told him he couldn’t sit on me but he could sit right next to me. It is so amazing to see my little 3 year old being such a good student and making friends! You should see her last Name tracing paper! It’s amazing and has a place of honor on the Star Student board in her class room. I intend to take a picture of it once it comes off the board and comes home to me. I had such a good time in her class room I’m going to make a point of trying to volunteer at least one more time before the school year is out!

My finger hurts but I don't know which one

For about two weeks everyone and everything in the house had one name-Dada. I was dada, Dakota was dada, the sippy cup was dada, and you get the picture. Well this week we are now all mama! I have heard Dakota tell Dalton many times now that “I not mama! I’m Dakota!” Slowly he is starting to call me mama and Graeme dada. He has a few other “words” such as dog and thank you, at this point only Graeme and I (and Stormy) know that he is saying dog and thank you but I promise, that’s what he means. He also goes around the house pointing at the things he wants, unfortunately for him most those things are off limits. He is obsessed with coffee mugs! He comes straight at you hooting and pointing and grabbing for your mug like it is some huge prize. I’m not sure what that is all about because he doesn’t really want what’s in the cup, he just WANTS it. Meanwhile in the Qberry household I am trying to convince my daughter that her foot, back, finger, head etc doesn’t hurt, that she doesn’t need a band-aid or medicine. I think she’s going to be a hypochondriac; she is convinced that she needs medicine for every little bump and bruise and growing ache. She is also very considerate and will offer you medicine if you tell her you are not feeling well. She told me last week that “it’s ok mommy, Daddy will get you medicine” when I told her I wasn’t feeling well. I suppose I should foster this desire to take care of other people and maybe she’ll be a nurse or doctor when she grows up. Well, that’s the happening around here, my son is learning to talk and my daughter is trying to convince me that her finger really does hurt and that I should tell her which one needs a band-aid. Yes you read that correctly, I’m supposed to tell her which one is hurt because she doesn’t know.       

Teething sucks ass

Well crap, I had a pretty good one going all about teething and how Dalton's first molars are coming in. It was full of wit and mommy bitching and well, Dalton just pulled the plug on that whole thing. Literally pulled the plug on the laptop and since the laptop's battery is dying a slow death, as soon as he pulled it the laptop turned off and I lost the whole darn thing. So I'll just say this about teething-it sucks ass for Dalton and he sure is making sure that it sucks ass for us too! Oh please molars break through SOON!

Mommy is in a funk

The key to writing is to just sit down and do it, one word at a time, even when you don’t really want to. I like to have a kid anecdote to share, but this past week I’ve got nothing good. Just the same old normal kid stuff. I’ve been feeling incredibly overwhelmed with life lately, it’s a state I get into every once in awhile. I prefer being upbeat and full of energy but sometimes life just catches up with me and I feel anything but. Late nights working and getting woken up in the middle of the night by one crying child or the other. Tossing and turning to find a position that doesn’t make my back sore. All those things just add up to too little sleep and a grumpy Alicia. I would like a vacation…you know a real one. Stay in a nice condo or hotel room or even a cabin in the mountains. Spend a few days just relaxing and enjoying somewhere new. Spending time drinking a little too much because you have nowhere to be the next day and a cab to run you back to your room at the end of the night, good food that you don’t have to cook yourself and hours of leisure time. I’d love a whole week but even a long weekend would do. So if anyone out there wants to sponsor a vacation please know that I am not too proud to accept charity (insert smile and wink here). So here is to another week of motherhood, may it be an easy one filled with amazement and amusing anecdotes to share with my devoted readers.  

Hide and Seek

I have always wondered why kids love to play endless games of hide and seek. Even as a child this was not really my thing. Looking sucked and I wasn’t very patient during the hiding part either. Here I am all these years later once again playing my least favorite game. The best part of playing this time is who I get to play with. Dakota has just discovered this game and hasn’t really figured out the point yet. She knows that she needs to go into the other room and cover her eyes. She knows how to count, but sometimes only gives me a count of 4 to hide. She yells out “Ready not! I come!”. The part she is struggling with is the SECRET hiding place. When she hides she tells me exactly where I should come find her. “Mom go count and then find me in my bed” When it’s my turn to hide she tells me I have to hide in her bed and she will find me. I’ve tried to encourage her NOT to tell me where she is hiding and also that she doesn’t always have to hide in the same place. Contrary to her order, I once hid on the ground at the foot of her bed. I sat Indian style with her quilt over me. I was peeking so I had a good view of her racing into her room anticipating the moment she got to unveil me from my pre-assigned spot on the bed. She stopped dead and said “mom!” then “Mommy?!?” She ran out of her room calling for me. She got to daddy in the kitchen and I heard her tell him that I was gone. The poor thing was close to tears when I started yelling for her to come back into her room. As a result of my poor listening skills she told me today that I had to hide ON her bed and not on the floor. Soon hide and seek will become more complicated and she will discover the fun of finding the best hiding spots in the house, until then, I know exactly where to look.

The Great Cracker Caper

When did Dalton get so independent? More and more he acts like he’s a big boy already. He stole a bowl of crackers off the kitchen table today. He walked his bowl over to the coffee table and took a seat in the rocking chair. He wanted to sit down and have a snack. The absolute best part of his cracker adventure was his look of pride and success from setting himself up at the table. When I glanced over at him he had a big smile on his face and a cracker in his little hand. I want to know how he got so smart already? He is also becoming a pro with silverware. I don’t think Dakota started mastering a fork until she was closer to 18 months, but he yells and fusses until you give him his own fork so he can try to eat with it. He still tries to use the wrong end, but he is getting better with it each day. He is very conscience of how things work and he wants to use everything correctly. You should see him trying to color! He goes back and forth between trying to eat the crayon and making little sounds of glee while actually getting some of the crayon onto the paper. My future holds electronics in pieces I fear.     

Here's to Graeme

Graeme picked up a pair of Dakota’s shoes last night and said he couldn’t believe her feet were that big already. He was so sweet remembering her as his tiny little girl, “She should be little still and showing us her flower shoes and pooping in her diaper”  I told him to just wait 10 years from now and in his typical smart ass way he replied “At least she won’t be shitting in her pants”. Yep, that’s my husband! Regardless of his snarky answer I know that he is really missing his baby girl. Their relationship is just the perfect father/daughter relationship to me. I am so blessed by this man who loves his children deeply and is so devoted to them. He also somehow manages to put up with an insane wife and loves me not in spite of my quirks but because of them. So here is to Graeme, the man who makes me better and always makes me laugh.

 

Showing off her flower shoes (October 2011):

 

 Daddy and his Little Girl (May 2011)

 

Christmas Traditions and Memories (a little late)

It was so busy during the Christmas holidays that I didn’t spend any time to write. So here is the catch up on the Christmas happenings of 2012. Since having Dakota Christmas has become magical again for me. I struggled for many years during the holiday season. As so many people do, I felt so lonely. I felt like I was lacking all the traditions that other families had. I wanted Christmas to be special and it just wasn’t. Having my own family gave me the opportunity to create my own traditions, Graeme and I have been working to find the perfect Holiday magic ever since. I know love the holiday season and enjoy how busy we get and all the time we spend fellowshipping with our family and friends. The girls and I get together for a cookie party and have a blast baking and decorating and laughing together. We also gather at Stormy’s house for a casual dinner and gift giving or craft making.  The Quisenberry and McNabb families enjoy a cold night at the Zoo for Zoo Lights. Graeme and I also take the kids to see neighborhood Christmas lights (my favorite tradition) On Christmas we go to Uncle Bob’s for the annual Doty Prime Rib dinner. On Christmas morning we enjoy the magic of watching our children see the Christmas Tree surrounded with presents. We watch and laugh and enjoy watching the present opening with just us and our kiddos. This year we got Dakota a bike for Christmas and we even created a giant box and wrapped it so she would have a HUGE box under the tree. For the past several years we have hosted a Christmas dinner here at our house. We get a ham from the Pork Chop and eat and open presents and just enjoy each other and the season. In just a few short years we have already established some amazing Holiday traditions that I look forward to continuing in the years to come. Our gatherings are always casual and money is always tight. We don’t have formal dishes or fancy table settings, but we do have each other and we always have fun. As I look back on December I feel amazingly blessed by the joy we have in our lives.

Walking Boy and Talking Girl

Dalton is finally walking. It took him till he was almost 14mo old. Also, he is finally off a bottle and using only sippy cups; that took until just last week. He just takes longer to do everything than Dakota did. He is a very silly kid and I love to see him roaming around the house, it would be easier on me if he didn’t manage to get into so much trouble though.

Dakota just amazes me each day. We are struggling with being 3 years old though. Oh this girl can WHINE!  I am trying so hard to remain patient and consistent. I’ve started sending her off to her room when she is totally beyond normal communication. I try not to tell her she is in a time out, instead I tell her she should go calm down and we will talk when she feels better. This seems to be really helping. Sometimes she even calms down enough to speak to me without whining before she even gets to her room. She has even marched off to her room all on her own when she’s pissed at me. I give her a couple minuets then peek in, she laughs and hides under her blankets and is all cuddles and smiles again.  She is also getting so smart. She loves to count things and is learning her numbers so well. Her handwriting still is a bit crazy, I think that is mostly because she still can’t decide which hand to write with. She is constantly changing from right to left. I’m not worried though, I see her developing in so many other cool ways. I ran out to the store a couple days ago and when I got home she asked, “Are you back Mommy”. I told her no. Usually she just thinks about it and says, Yes you are and laughs. This time she thought really hard and told me, “You are in the house so you can’t be NOT back, you are home”. I loved to hear her logical answer.  I can’t wait to see who my kids turn out to be when they grow up and I’m loving every day as their mom.