Thanksgiving Labor

Thanksgiving is over. It wasw at my house, and we had a lot of out of town relatives come in to celebrate. It was a lot of work, getting the house ready, planning the meal, dealing with my family (my parents and my kids.) Yikes, it was a LOT of work! There was a lot of chaos. Not just today. Buddy knocked over his dog food and ate about 10 lbs of kibble Tue night. So he was up most of the night, trying not to throw up on my newly cleaned carpets. Then Wed night I had to kick all the family out b/c my girls and Jeremy were all sick with colds and just needed some peace and quiet. That helped a lot. We got everything going well this morning and it seemed like all was good. Except, the turkey wasn't done at the thigh meat level. A whole lot of other little things that felt like big things went wrong too. Amazingly, everything came out tasting good and the kids were well behaved. It sort of reminded me of giving birth though. It wasn't as bad as I thought it could have been, but I am not running out to do it again. Same with Thanksgiving. Although I think I might ask about an epidural for the next time I host a holiday.

Blues

So I got the offer from my interview, which included one whole week of vacation. And only ONE week. I had to turn it down since there is now way I can make that work with 2 kids. I am very bummed because I don't know if I could have negotiated better to get the time. I really would like to go back to work. The more time I spend with the girls, the more I want to go. I love them, but I find that I interact with them more when I haven't been around them ALL day. At least we learned about our childcare needs with this process, and are preparing for me to return to work in January. Now I just need to find another job.

Christmas is coming

Last week the toy catalog for Toys'r'Us arrived. Cassidy finally saw it this morning sitting on the breakfast table. She started flipping through and asking what different things were. She was impressed by the Barbie doll house (you know the one, with the working elevator and hot tub). I thought about it, and grabbed a crayon. I explained how when you see something that you would like for Christmas you circle it with your crayon. I have to say, Cassidy is not greedy. She really wants a stroller for dolls. So she focused on finding that. I still clearly remember sitting in my grandparents house, waiting my turn with the catalog to circle all the toys that I might like. Sure feels funny being on the other side.

Knock knock and more

It's one of those times in life when so many things are happening at once I don't know which way to turn. I was inspired during my weekend away and sent off a few resumes when I got home. Well, actually, yesterday morning. Not that it mattered much as I got a call back last night! Woohoo! I played phone tag all day today, but have an interview scheduled for this Friday. Eeek! It would be a big step and I need to make sure it's going to work. Then last night, Cassidy got the idea of 'knock knock' jokes. Sort of. After watching an episode of Little Bear, she tried this one out, "Knock knock. Who's there? Cow. Cow who? No, Cow's moo and Owl's who!" I said that Grandpa Oma would like these jokes, and she wanted to call him right away and give them a try. 3 year olds have an odd sense of humor though, so anything can be there. "Who's there? Jacket. Jacket who? Jacket's don't who." Or when you try to tell her a joke. "Knock knock. Who's there? Boo. Who Boo?" Well, that sort of defeats the joke.

Women's Wellness Weekend

This weekend I took off for 3 days without the hubbie and without the girls. *happy sigh* We took a ferry ride out to Orcas Island and signed up for classes like Yoga, kickboxing, beadworking and belly dancing. All meals were provided, the dishes were done by someone else, and only my teeth to remember to brush. It was heavenly to go back to a mindset of only worrying about my wants and needs. I had a massage, got my nails done, and an ice cream sundae for dessert. But this morning, as the time to departure was coming closer, I had a new feeling. It was a little odd, since I've never had it before. I missed my girls. I've missed Jeremy many times before, but I've never been apart from my girls for so long. I was so happy when I got home and saw a huge sign that Jeremy helped them make "Welcome Home Mommy", and a naked Cassidy still dripping from the tub because she couldn't wait to see me.

Halloween

We had quite a busy Halloween. The morning was peaceful, but then things picked up. Keira and I picked up Cassidy then headed home for lunch. After that it was time to take baths and get costumes on. Cassidy was Strawberry Shortcake (we even washed her hair with Strawberry shampoo in case anyone checked) and Keira was Strawberry's li'l sis Apple Dumpling. Well, it turns out only the hard core Strawberry fans know that, but they were still darn cute. We headed in to Jeremy's work for a quick round of trick-or-treating. Which was quite fun for Cassidy, but frustrating for Keira. She got the idea of taking candy, but didn't want to stop at 1. So every time we made her move on she would throw a fit until we got to the next bowl. We had some punch and then headed home. We only visited a few houses as it was raining. Keira did much better about going to doors, and Cassidy did great saying, "Trick-or-Treat". They managed a few Thank-you's too.

Oma the Artist

I took the girls to the book store after Cassidy's haircut. I was hoping to find some books on Thanksgiving, but the girls were more interested in running around. Until Cassidy found the thumb print book for Christmas designs. So you get a stamp pad and it teaches you how to use your thumb prints to make things like a stocking, santa, and his sleigh. Yesterday Jeremy and I were trying to watch the Penn State game, and to keep Cassidy busy. Jeremy busted out the book with Cassidy, and the proceeded to stamp away. Jeremy made a nice sleigh, and asked, "How's that?" Cassidy said, "Oma could do it better." Us, laughing! "C'mon, that looks pretty good." Cassidy tapped the sleigh and gave Daddy an "I have eyes, Dad, let's not fool ourselves."

The latest preschool fad

Cassidy's preschool schedule has been reduced. She was staying 4 days 9-3 and Fridays 9-12, but she couldn't cut it. Seems she was getting too tired in the afternoons. Was taking a rest in the book corner and was fussy and was not doing any work. So we reduced her to two full days instead of four. Today I picked her up early, so it was a LONG afternoon. While waiting for Jeremy to get home, I decided to have a glass of wine while the girls ate dinner. Well deserved. Cassidy wanted a juice box. I asked her if the other kids at school got juice boxes. "Yeah, but not all of them." "What do the other kids have?" "Angelina has milk!" "Oh." "And some kids have wine." "Oh really?" The same kids who have boob jobs for graduation presents is my guess.

Argh! Pirates in the kitchen!

Keira loves her Daddy. A lot. So she has a very difficult time letting him out the door in the morning. The only thing that seems to work is a show called The Backyardigans. Where they do lots of singing and dancing numbers. One with pirates, who say, "Argh!" And Keira and Cassidy now gladly say, "Argh!" when you ask what a pirate says.
While driving in the car yesterday Cassidy asked where her Halloween pencil was. I said, at home, on the island. She was quiet for a few. Then said, "Mom, what if the pirates get it?" "Why would the pirates get your pencil?" Another pause, "Pirates like islands, right?" "Yes. Yes, they do."

The Grandpa-Only Store

Jeremy is off to a screenwriting class this weekend, so I would be flying solo with hte girls for about 4 days, except I called my parents and begged them to stay with me. Instead of being a weekend where the girls torture me and I wonder how I will keep them entertained it has been a whirlwind of adventure for all of us. I specificaly wanted help to remove the hideous wallpaper from Cassidy's walls, and Fiday night we went to Home Depot to gather up some supplies. Saturday, the fury started, we went out to check on the salmon run in some small creeks. We didn't see any salmon, but at least made a trip to the animal farm. Then it was back home for Keira's nap and the removal of everything from Cassidy's room. The removal took quite some time (about 4 hours off-and-on for 3 adults) Yikes! It was a lot of work. We were ready to go eat after that and headed to the Downtown Center. They have a candy store there that Cassidy figured out what it was a few visits ago. When she asked to go in, I thought I was being pretty creative when I said, "I can't go in there. Only Grandpa's can go in that store." So as we are telling Cassidy what restaurant we are going to, she asks, "Is that where the chinese food restaurant is?" "Yes" "Oh. Is that where the bears you can play on are?" "Yes" "You know what that means? This is where the candy store that only Grandpas can go in is. And I have Grandpa!" Steel trap for a brain! Thankfully Grandpa was obliging and took her in and let her pick out ONE thing. One huge lollipop about as big as her!!

Dancing and Heart Beeps

Keira is a dancing, singing, music machine. She loves music, and kids shows that feature music. Backyardigans in particular. She tries to sing a long with the opening number, and will let Jeremy and Cassidy leave the house in the morning in and only if Backyardigans is on. She also loves, to turn on the boom box to find out what is playing so she can 'dace, dace'. Usually she gets static and she still manages to get down and shake her tail feathers. And the ABC song is like an old classic to her. She loves to sing that one, and I am guessing she will know her alphabet soon.

Cassidy had an interesting experience when we went fishing this summer. They cleaned the fish in front of the kids and explained the intrenal organs and such. Tonight while reading a book on bears, there was a picture of a bear catching a salmon as it jumped from the water. Cassidy asked about it, and I told her what it was. She said, Eww. I told her that it wasn't bad, after all, she eats salmon. She said, "But I don't eat them when they have their heart beeps. He's naughty to eat them when they have their heart beeps." No swallowing gold fish for her in college. Woohoo!

Pumpkin Patch Blahs

Saturday we had some friends over for dinner and cards. Keira went down at a good time, but Cassidy was up late. Wouldn't have been so bad, but the next morning we had to head out to the pumpkin patch with Cassidy's preschool class. It was a potluck lunch at a farm. For some reason, Jeremy and I were exhausted too, so it was all we could do to get there. We showed up and headed on to a tractor pulling hay to take us to the field. We picked up some big pumpkins and the girls had fun walking through all the mud. Yeah, it was fun for the exhausted parents *sarcasm*. In my state of exhaustion I made some comment to an Indian or Sri Lankan to the effect of, "all our names must sound the same to you" since I had confused her name with someone from Mothers&More. Ugh! I forgot the camera, so I don't have pictures either. At least we have 55lbs of pumpkin to remember the day.

I can't wait to be a grown-up

Tonight Cassidy said to me, "I can't wait to be a grown-up". "Why is that?" "Because I'm a little girl." "Okay. But why can't you wait to be a grown-up?" "Because I'm a little girl." These arguments are so circular. "Okay, what do you think you will do that will be so fun when you grow-up?" "Umm..Teach kids how to play piano." What's not to love about that answer??

Sibling Rivalry

We had a late night on Saturday as we went to a friends for dinner. Cassidy didn't go to bed until 9:30. Yikes. And she started her full days of preschool this week. She has been running pretty tired. Yet I wasn't expecting what happened yesterday. On our ride home from the school, Keira started shouting, "Aahh" for no apparent reason. I thought she was playing with Cassidy, but then I realized that Cassidy wasn't saying "Aahh" back in a playful way, despite Keira's giggling every time she did it. Cassidy was upset. Then it happened, "Mommy, Keira keeps saying 'Aahh' and I don't want her to." I almost started to laugh if it wasn't for the crying and Keira's random "Aahh"s. When did I become the one listening to complaints instead of making them??

Salmon Days 2005

We have been going to the Salmon Days Festival in Issaquah since our first October out here. It's become our tradition, and we LOVE it. Besides the kettle corn, ribbon fries and other food items they have lots of local crafts and artists and a parade. It's a fun day. The forecast for this weekend was RAIN, but we headed out anyway (put the umbrella in the trunk, but left it there instead of taking it onto the bus with us). We set ourselves up on the parade route, and had a great time watching the marching bands, waving to princesses on floats and seeing the horses go by. The girls must have looked extra cute, because one of the princesses looked at me and said, "They are soo cute" and Jeremy caught one of the horse riders getting another rider to "Look over at the little red heads". It rained during the parade, but we were under a tree, so it wasn't bad. We headed into the festival and got some kettle corn, and got stopped AGAIN. "Can I just stop you and stare at them for awhile?" from a nice woman, who was just in awe. It started to pour and we found an overhang to hide out under. Well, we headed out when it looked like it was slowing down, got pretty wet, and decided to leave. At least we did the parade. I took one picture, but not of us, of the rain. I'll try to post it later.

Power to the People

Today was a long day. I had Shawna and the boys over to play in the yard as it is about to start raining for 6 days or so. The combo of all 5 kids was enough to exhaust me. The girls were fed and the kitchen was clean by the time Jeremy got home (which is quiet an achievement I must say), and when he called to say he was on his way I informed him that I would be 'tagging out'. Jeremy got the girls down and we had just settled down to watch World Series of Poker when the power went out. Well, we wouldn't let a little power outage stop us. Jeremy pulled out his portable DVD player and we put on Jerry Maguire. So as Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding are hoping into a taxi, the battery runs out. Noooo!!! I am incomplete now. So I let the dog out, but Mischief runs out too, and they both ran off into the dark. *grumble* We got the candles going upstairs and then I go out for my last check to bring them in for the night. Buddy came running, but no Mischief. Jeremy went for a drink of water and did one last check for Mischief. She cmae in, with a mouse in her mouth!! Imagine a flashlight as your only light source to try and capture a little tiny scurrying mouse. Ack! The flashing light and quick change in camera angle would make you motion sick faster than Blair Witch. Jeremy finally caught the mouse (my hero) and took it way far away from the house. We finally get upstairs and settled when the lights flash on and the TV flicks on.

Farming Twins

Friday we headed out to a small farm with some other moms from my Mothers & More group. It was a blast. The girls went on a hay ride, and played with seeds, and picked out some gourds. We will probably go back to pick out pumpkins soon as they had the best looking stuff. I thought I would tell everyone that the red heads were mine, but there were a ton there. 2 red head boys in our group and then another red head mom with her 2 red headed children. Not that was crazy, but when I looked at her oldest, my jaw almost hit the floor. It was like looking back in time. Cassidy's doppelganger. Her name is Hayden, and she lives here, and at least we've met her once. Here's a pic. Which is Cassidy?? LOL

Selfish Stores

I went out with my friend Shawna and her 3 boys on Thursday. Cassidy was in preschool for the DAY, so we threw an extra car seat in Shawna's minivan, and headed out. We went to a couple of outlet furniture stores after we had some lunch. And at the last store, the kids and us were getting tired. As we were walking around, her 4 yr old announced he had to go pee. So Shawna went to go find the bathroom. When she returned she was not too happy, as they would not allow him to use their bathroom, but sent them over to the Starbucks across the parking lot. Bradley I'm sure asked why they had to go and Shawna explained that the store was being selfish and not sharing their bathroom. We headed over to look at some of the furniture and there were signs posted saying, 'Adults only'. Shawna had had it (and so had I). She announced, "C'mon kids. Let's leave this child unfriendly store.) As we roll out the front door, Bradley leans back in and asks the lady working there, "Are you selfish for not sharing your bathroom?" Don't let a 4 yr old hear it if you don't want it repeated.

Birthday Party Ins and Outs

So, you think you can handle a 2 hour birthday party for a preschooler? The highlights follow. We arrive a little late, so already you are down to 1 hour and 45 minutes. It's at a place that features blow-up bouncy houses, obstacle courses and slides. Sound easy, until your 20 month old goes into the obstacle course and you have to follow her through to make sure she doesn't fall off the climbing wall and break her neck. Repeat 3 times. At some point enters the Don Juan of the class. He is wearing stylish jeans and a button up shirt, that has a few buttons undone to reveal his gold chain. The family is Latino, so that's not crazy, but when I caught the whiff of his cologne (which was good, btw) as he passed by me (on lap 2 of obstacle course) I couldn't help but wonder who it was for. (Thankfully Cassidy has told me on several occasions that she doesn't like him.) ;) When you finally get your little one out of the obstacle course, it is to the slide. Which is about 25 feet high. Your 3.5 year old comes up and says she's thirsty with only an hour left to go. You head out and get a drink and pray that the end is apporaching. Shouldn't there be pizza soon?? You walk back in to find that they are posing for a photo, you get your 3.5 year old set up and look around for the baby. Oh, there she is climbing the slide that all the kids are sitting at the base of. The laugh that went up when she skids and does a roll before landing in the pile of kids! Finally, pizza time. Then it's cake time. Woohoo! The end is in sight. Wait a minute, did someone say pinata? Finally, time to grab your favor bag and a balloon and head out the door. Sounds like the ordeal is over, but you have to take back your sugared up kids home!!

Madame President Cassidy

Yesterday our family participated in something frivilous, we went for a drive. With gas prices at and over $3/gal our 45 minute jaunt was needed though. When the kids are buckled up they can't get into trouble and for some reason they stay pretty quiet in the car, so Jeremy and I can actually have a conversation. As our drive started, Cassidy wanted a visor in her window to block the sun, and later, she took it out. Then immediately complained about the sun, and how Mommy took it out. I think there was even a 'Mommy ruined it' as I tried to put the visor back in place. Jeremy and I laughed as she denied the truth in front of her, and I turned to him and said, "Do you think we have the 1st woman president of the United States in the car?" We went on to discover, that she could do the job now. .... Iraq, you invaded Kuwait, go sit on the naughty stool for 3 minutes. No, no crying, and before you get off say sorry and give Kuwait a hug. .... Middle East peace would be no problem if they had Cassidy around. "Palestine, why don't you like Israel?" 'You see, it goes back thousands of years.' "Why?" 'That is a good question. My father is a Muslim and their mother is a Jew and that is why we don't like them.' "Why?" 'We have different beliefs.' "Why?" 'You are starting to make sense. I ask myself that sometimes.' Eventually, they would have to give in to stop her from asking. ..... You have some new policy change. 'Ms. President Cassidy, listen to this great idea that a lobbyist has.' "No! You listen to MY words!" .... As long as China doesn't figure out to ship her all the latest toys and Belgium doesn't send her choclates to distract her it might work out. I'm voting Cassidy in 2008!